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Senator Alex Padilla of California, has reintroduced the Converting Our Waste Sustainably (COWS) Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air and water quality, and adopt sustainable alternative manure management practices. The COWS Act will make alternative manure management practices eligible under USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and provide technical assistance and training to aid in practice adoption. Such expansion of opportunities will provide farmers access to the tools and support they need to continue the great work they’re already doing in conserving the environment.

Jeff Porter, technical consultant for Newtrient, participated in a recent webinar highlighting the findings of a completed 2020 NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant. The grant, evaluating 15 different dairy manure management technologies, assessed the performance, environmental impacts, and economic benefits of their adoption.

The North American Manure Expo took place in Wayne, Nebraska, drawing in over 800 farmers and farm advisers to view live demonstrations, educational sessions, panels, and exhibits focused on manure management technology. The Expo provides a comprehensive overview of the science behind manure applications and innovative technologies, of which are particularly important topics at a time where the rising costs of commercial fertilizers are limiting nutrient options for producers.

Jamie Vander Molen Boehl, Newtrient Senior Vice President, joined a breakout panel session at the Dairy Sustainability Alliance Spring Meeting to discuss an ongoing collaborative project with Athian, Dairy Farmers of America, ALDI, and a California dairy farmer. The panel focused on the project, of which supports the implementation of manure management technologies, and how this group of collaborators are working together to provide farms with critical connections, credible technical assistance, and long-term revenue streams.

The Fernandes family of Tulare County, California has been farming for over 100 years. Across the family’s five dairies, each of the operations has its own anaerobic digester, breaking down dairy manure to generate various forms of renewable energy from methane. Over time, these digesters are expected to reduce over 550,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. In addition to the digesters, in the face of the challenges of climate change, each of the dairies also contain manure management upgrades such as solid-liquid separation, composting, and sand removal.

Manure, when used effectively, can be a valuable source of nutrients to growing crops and soil health. Melissa Wilson, a University of Minnesota professor, soil scientist, and water quality specialist understands that valuing manure as a resource rather than a waste is especially important to both the environment and profitability. In her career, she consults with farms on best management practices in regard to manure and in collaboration with Extension Engineer, Erin Cortus, led the creation of ManureDB, a tool that collects and aggregates manure data across the U.S. to update manure book values over time.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has recently announced the investment of up to $310 million for producer conservation practices across the U.S. through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program. This farmer-first program is focusing on conservation activities in regard to soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat improvements.

Dairy farmers have always been committed to sustainability, particularly in terms of productivity and profitability, as stewards of their land and animals to preserve the longevity of their farm for future generations to come. Supply chain companies also focus on their footprint, specifically in terms of their various scopes of emissions. Strong partnerships between food companies and their dairy farms are crucial to help mitigate the risks of adopting new on-farm technologies to lower a dairy’s footprint while remaining economically viable.

The American Biogas Council released new data showing an increase in the number of American dairies recycling their manure into renewable energy using biogas capture systems of which encompass 16 billion gallons of manure from 2.5 million dairy cows, while preventing about 1 million tons of methane emissions. With close to $4 billion invested into dairy biogas projects since 2020, this opens the door for more farms to turn their manure into renewable energy and natural fertilizer while substantial untapped potential remains across the U.S.

With synthetic fertilizer costs on the rise, manure becomes an even more precious resource of nutrients for crops. Often paying for itself, manure testing can be a feasible way to see where and which nutrients can be credited when used as a fertilizer. Manure is a valuable resource with much more value to be gained when its contents are understood and used effectively.