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Addressing water quality impacts from dairy agriculture in Texas through innovative waste management strategies. The Texas Farm Bureau leads efforts to balance agricultural needs with environmental concerns.
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Animal Agriculture and Water Resources in Texas Ned Meister Director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities Texas Farm Bureau Steel Maloney Principal Hydrologist Cascade Earth Sciences
Overview of the Issue • Urbanization of rural areas has increased contact with agricultural operations • Increasing demands on water resources requires management to protect water quality • Concerns over water quality impacts from animal agriculture (dairies) need to be addressed in Texas
Overview of the Issue • Dairy industry is a major economic engine –Employment – Local turnover of dollars – Dairy service companies – Regional agriculture • Need a solution to maintain a healthy dairy industry • Municipal water needs • Increasing population base • Water treatment cost • Public concern about water quality
Role of Texas Farm Bureau • General Farm Organization that promotes agriculture based on policy determined by members through a grass roots process • Organization’s corporate office in Waco, TX • Interest in water quality same as municipal users • Seek economically viable solutions to reduce agricultural impact • Facilitate efforts among basin interests
TFB View of the Issue • Water quality is important to agriculture and to municipal interests • A viable dairy industry is important for the economic well being of other Central Texas agriculture • Technology is available to address dairy waste management
TFB View of the Solution • TFB Initiated Model Dairy Waste Project – Grant from Philip Morris Co. – Selected Dairy Cooperator – Contracted with Cascade Earth Sciences to design and construct project – Invited participation by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality – Ask for and received support from community
Why are there Concerns • Animal Agriculture concentrates production in a restricted area • Produced wastes that exceed the carrying capacity of production area • Without on-site treatment or expanded area to manage produced wastes, impacts to water quality can occur
What are the Potential WQ Impacts • Soil erosion • Storm water runoff with elevated levels of nutrients • Leached nutrients to groundwater • Direct surface water discharge
Proven Watershed Solutions Exist • Understanding and utilizing the natural buffering ability of soil and vegetation • Public policy development based on science, not fears and politics alone
Utilizing Mother Nature to Protect WQ • Land application is the most common and proven method for animal waste management • Utilizes the natural treatment and buffering abilities of soil and vegetation • Is as old as mother nature with thousands of existing systems
Why On-Site Waste Management Makes Sense • Wastewater reuse reduces fresh water demands • Reuse of nutrients conserves resources and reduces costs • It is the “green solution” • Conserves power and fuel
If Land Application is So Great Why Are There WQ Problems? • Soil and vegetation have a limited recycling capacity • Few systems match site recycling capacity to application rates • “Process looks so simple I do not need a professional”
Model Dairy Waste Project • Bosque watershed has phosphorous WQ impacts • Dairy waste is a potential source of phosphorous • TFB has organized an effort to improve dairy waste management in Texas • CES joined the effort and brings 25 years of land based waste management experience
Objective • Develop waste management system capable of: • Reducing the majority of phosphorous in wastewater • Reducing odors from lagoons • Generating by-products for use by operator and sale to third parties • Being economically viable for dairy
Land Limiting Constituent (LLC) • Determining the site recycling capacity (soil and vegetation) for various constituents of concerns: • Phosphorous • Nitrogen • Hydraulics • Salts • Other
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) • Determining the maximum daily load a surface water body can carry without water quality impact • The TMDL for the Bosque Watershed has determined that phosphorous is most limiting
Balanced Solution • Animal Ag (Dairy) = Produced Waste • Treatment System Capacity (TSC) = • Produced waste - LLC – TMDL • Example • (TSC) 250 lbs = 1000 lbs – 750 lbs – 0 lbs
Approach to Solution • Determine site recycling capacity (LLC) • Utilize existing infrastructure as much as possible • Maximize on-site management of waste • Design system that produces by-products that are useable on and off site
System Description • Remove larger solids for composting • Digest wastewater in a manner that produces phosphorous enriched biosolids and methane • Recycle treated water back to barns for flushing • Land apply excess water below LLC
By-product Usage • Compost – Mixed with peanut hulls “fiber” and used for cow bedding, land application and off-site sale • Methane – Used for power generation and/or on-site heating • Biosolids – Land applied on-site below LLC or composted for off-site sale
System Economics • Goal is to not increase existing waste management cost • Cash flow from by-products will off set new infrastructure cost • New system will be less labor intensive • Grant funds will be primarily used for monitoring and educational purposes
Why Solution Makes Political, Agricultural and Economic Sense • Partnership with TFB, TCEQ, and Operator to demonstrate solution • Methods are proven in other applications • Approach allows operator to manage their own facility and maximize use of by-products • By-products produced have value (power) • Provides an opportunity for the development of a new service industry to manage systems
Questions? • For more information about the Model Dairy Waste Project Contact: • Ned Meister (254) 751-2457 • nmeister@txfb.org • Steel Maloney (208) 233-5443 • steelm@Cascade-Earth.com