Last week, Midwestern BioAg unveiled a new manufacturing process that transforms dairy manure into a uniform, dry fertilizer granule that the company says can be efficiently stored, transported and spread.
The TerraNu Nutrient Technology process infuses essential crop nutrients into a manure base, aiming to give more farms access to the biological benefits of manure. The company says each granule has the same guaranteed analysis, allowing for even in-field distribution.
The new manufacturing facility is at Indiana-based Fair Oaks Farms, a collection of 12 dairies with herds totaling 36,000 milking cows. Midwestern BioAg says it committed to the Fair Oaks location largely because of the farms’ prior investments to maximize nutrient-use efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. Production is expected to begin in March. Sales efforts are expected to focus on farms and retailers within 100 miles of the new plant.
“This is how it should work,” says Mike McCloskey, co-founder of Fair Oaks Farms. “We don’t want anything go to waste. Our manure powers parts of the farm, runs a fleet of trucks and feeds many of our own crops. Now, it can provide essential nutrients for other farms. Midwestern BioAg is building on our earlier work.”
The fertilizers will deliver a full suite of agricultural nutrients, including micronutrients. The base material is made primarily of decomposed microbes from the digested manure. This biological material is food for living soil microbes when the product is used as fertilizer. It draws nutrients into the soil-life food chain, helping make them more available to plants.
“This helps close the nutrient gap in farming,” says Midwestern BioAg CEO Tony Michaels. “A typical American farm once had both crops and livestock. Today, with necessary specialization, there is a disconnect. The crops are in one place, the cows in another, and many farms miss out on the benefits of manure. We can fix that.”
TerraNu Nutrient Technology has potential to help address nutrient-loading and water-quality challenges faced by some large dairies, the company said. Because it is cumbersome and expensive to transport, cow manure rarely travels more than 10 miles from dairies. The TerraNu process facilitates transfer of excess nutrients to distant farms, reducing impacts on local water supplies.
Midwestern BioAg, based in Madison, Wis., manufactures and distributes fertilizers that build soil health to increase yields and quality of both food and forage.
Source: KPC News