C4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 19, 1993
Pork Prose
by
? Kenneth B. Kephart
DEAD PIG
COMPOSTING
Success stories are mounting for
composting dead pigs. Recipes
differ, composting areas vary from
one farm to another, but all opera
tions use the same concept the
aerobic decomposition of organic
material by microorganisms.
The Nature
Of Composting
Because many aspects of com
posting are inexact, the process
can occur over a wide range of
conditions and with many
materials.
For optimum composting, there
should be 20 to 40 times as much
carbon as nitrogen. Moisture con
tent should be 40 to 65 percent
Particle size should be '/• to
'A inches in diameter. The pH of
the mix should lie between 5.5 and
9.0, and there should be at least 5
percent oxygen in the pile.
Let’s assume we’re planning to
LAND PHIDEE
15’ ROTARY CUTTER
Land Pride 15’ Rotary Cutter
offers rugged dependability
Sorting with a 10-gauge deck for the center section and wings,
we've added effective reinforcement channels to each section for
superior strength. With a mowing height ranging from 2” to 14", it
can also handle material up to two inches thick. With two self
leveling rods from front to rear, mowing height can easily be main
tained, as well as deck-flexing being held to a minimum.
PENNSYLVANIA
Straley Farm Supply, Inc.
1760 East Canal Road
Dover, PA 17315
717-292-2631
Keller Brothers
R 7 Box 405
Lebanon, PA 17042
717-949-6501
1950 Fruitville Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
717-569-2500
Marshall Machinery, Inc.
Route 642
Honesdale, PA 18431
717-729-7117
Pikevllle Equipment Inc.
RD 2, Oysterdale Road
Oley, PA 19547
215-987-6277
Penn State Extension Swine Specialist
compost a 120-pound swine car
cass. A rough estimate of the car
bonmitrogen ratio for a pig that
size is about 9. That’s too low, so
we’ll have to add carbon. The car
bon source isn’t critical, although
the texture will influence the com
posting process. Sawdust seems to
be the material of choice because it
has a small particle size, it’s absor
bent, handles easily, and has a high
carbon content.
Charles Fulhage, extension ag
engineer at the University of Mis
souri, recommends about 100 cub
ic feet of sawdust for every 1,000
pounds of carcasses. On that basis,
our 120-pound carcass will require
12 cubic feet of sawdust
Poultry litter, straw, or straw
manure mixtures have also been
used. The straw mixtures may
require longer composting times,
but are otherwise satisfactory.
The moisture content for most
hogs is about 60 percent which is
high for optimum composting. The
carbon source will often bring the
water content into the correct
Tractor Parts Co.
335 Central Road
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
717-784-0250
Stouffer Bros. Inc.
1066 Lincoln Way West
Chambersburg, PA 17201
717-263-8424
Stoltzfus Farm Service
Cochranville, PA
215-593-2407
M.S. Yearsley & Sons
West Chester, PA
215-696-2990
Norman D. Clark &
Son, Inc.
Honey Grove, PA
717-734-3682
Loysville, PA
717-789-3117
Nlcarry Equipment Co.
RD 2, Rt. 61, 3 Miles S. of
Leesport, Reading, PA
215-926-2441
range, but if very dry material is
added as a carbon source, up to .5
pounds of water must be added for
every pound of carcass.
The pH of a live hog is about 7,
but quickly drops following death.
However, no adjustments need be
made to ensure proper
composting.
The concentration of oxygen is
the mixture is important. When the
material is first put into the com
post area, air is naturally trapped in
the layers. Microorganisms quick
ly use the available oxygen, and
setding of the contents also expels
the entrapped air.
Unless the pile is turned or air is
otherwise injected, the aerobic
process slows. In an operation
where frequent turning is not prac
tical, the use of a small-particle
carbon source, such as sawdust,
may be a disadvantage.
Straw, on the other hand, is
more difficult to pack, and there
fore may be the best choice if the
pile is left undisturbed.
1. Composting bins made of
large round bales. The May IS,
1993 issue of National Hog Fanner
features a sketch of compost bins
made of large round bales set end
to-end. Each compost bin is three
sided, with four bales making up
the back wall, and three bales com
prising each of the side walls. Two
bins are needed (primary and sec
ondary). For a 100-sow herd, the
total area required in the two bins
is 125-150 square feet. Start with 1
Deerfield Ag & Turf
Center, Inc.
RR 2 Box 212
Watsontown, PA 17777
717-538-3557
I NEW JERSEY |
Caldwell Tractor &
Equipment, Inc.
480 U.S. Route 46
Fairfield, NJ. 07006
201-227-6772
Rodlo Tractor Sales
North White Horse Pike
Hammonton, N.J. 08037
609-561-0141
Frank Rymon & Sons,
Inc.
RD 3, Box 355
Washington, N.J. 07882
201-689-1464
Reed Brothers
Petticoat Bridge Rd.
Columbus, N.J. 08022
609-267-3363
Systems That
Have Worked
Hey! Folks
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We’ve got service all around this section
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And that ain’t all, our prices are right
reasonable, and if you’re a tightwad
we’ll let you do the Job yourself if you’ve
got over 500 square feet. It can save you
right smart a money.
So call me on my nickel at 800-692-0123.
If I’m not by the phone, some real live
person will fake your number, and I’ll
try to get bach to you real soon. Usually
somebody is awake in this outfit, so you
just call any time day or night. But,
please mind the Lord, and don’t call on
Sunday.
Just one more thing. We fellows make
our living doing this kind of work, and
we’ve got children to feed and bills.
That’s our side of it, but you’ve got such
things too, A lot of people tell us that
this Seabbling saves a whole lot more
than it costs. So go ahead and do it.
It’ll put shoes on everybody’s feet.
Be looking to hear from you folks right soon.
foot of sawdust in the primary bin.
Place the carcasses and cover with
a foot of sawdust. Continue layer
ing carcasses and sawdust until the
bin is full. After three months,
move the contents to the secondary
bin. After another three months,
the material will resemble humus,
with very little odor. Some easily
crumbled bones will remain.
2. 8 by 8 bins, with ventilated
sides. These three-sided bins are
constructed with 2-inch by 8-inch
boards. A 'A -inch to V* -inch gap is
left between the boards for air
flow. Concrete walls can surround
the wooden bin, as long as a four
inch air space is allowed between
the concrete and wooden panels. In
a demonstration project at the Uni
versity of Arkansas, researchers
successfully composted large and
small pigs in these bins. A straw
broiler litter-straw “sandwich”
was added to begin the composting
process in early September 1992.
After 48 hours, pigs and carbon
sources were added using the fol
lowing formula:
Parts by weight
1 pound pig carcasses (each
weighing less than 25 pounds)
I.S pounds broiler litter.
1 pound wheat straw
Up to .5 pound water.
Carcasses were added to the bin
in layers over a 23-day period, then
completely covered with litter. On
the 37th day, when temperature at
the 10-inch depth started to
decline, the stack was moved to a
secondary bin. Temperatures at
various depths in die mixture
ranged from 122 to 144 degrees F
during the demonstration. The pile
was removed 80 days after the first
pig was added, and 54 days after
the last pig was added. The only
remains were hoofs, and some
mummified skin which crumbled
easily. In a related project, a sow
was cut into 25-pound pieces and
composted in another bin. After 74
days, the sow was totally decom
posed except for the largest pelvic
bones, a few large ribs, the skull,
and the hoofs. All bones were bare
The Scabbier Man
800-692-0123
with no meat or skin attached.
3. Empty pens in an open-front
hog building. In this demonstra
tion at the University of Missouri,
pens from an open front building
measured approximately 6.S feet
by 9.5 feet To each pen, the fol
lowing materials were added: a
layer of straw (about S pounds/
square foot), a layer of dead pigs,
followed by a (fry manure-straw
mixture, and another layer of straw
equal to one half of the weight of
dead pigs. The layers were
repeated until a final depth of
about 3 feet was reached. The pile
was left undisturbed for about 70
days (beginning late spring and
ending in early fall). Composting
was complete with smaller pigs
(only a brown spot remained);
however, larger hogs and sows did
not break down completely, appa
rently because the mixture got a
little too dry. No rodents were
observed, but when the mixture
was loaded onto the spreader at the
end, there were a lot of
cockroaches.
Summary
Composting continues to look
promising as a method of dead pig
disposal. It should be noted that
this process is not formally cov
ered by law (Pennsylvania Act
317, passed in 1945). However,
the Bureau of Animal Industry is
rewriting the law to include com
posting. In the meantime it recog
nizes composting as an acceptable
means of dead animal disposal as
long as the process is conducted in
a manner that is not offensive or a
threat to biosecurity.
The rate and effectiveness of
composting is maximized under
ideal conditions of car
bonmitrogen ratio, moisture, and
oxygen concentration. Fortunate
ly, the process is forgiving enough
that a wide range of conditions will
support satisfactory composting.
(Turn to Page C 5)
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