Cl (Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 15, 1996 COMPOSTING WITH PAWS AND APAWS Robert E. Graves, Prof. James Hilton, Assoc. Prof. Greta Martin, Res. A&istant Ag and Biological Engineering Dept. Fanners compost manure to produce a salable product, control odors, reduce fly populations, reduce the volume of material handled, change chemical forms, or a combination of these reasons. Composting requires labor, equipment, space, and manage ment How these inputs are com bined depends on the particular farm and its composting goals. Composting to control odor dur ing storage and spreading of man ure requires less time and effort than composting to produce a com pletely stable and homogenous material for sale to homeowners or landscapers. FOR SALE PEANUT HULLS For BEDDING Most effective as bedding for ali kinds of beef and dairy cattle, hogs, . hors The Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department and Farm Operations unit at the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences have been learning about low input Passive Aerated Windrow Sys tems (PAWS) composting. The goal is to provide sufficient com posting to control odors and flies. A windrow of well mixed com post ingredients is built over 10-feet-long, 4-inch diameter per forated pipes spaced about two feet apart These pipes provide an air supply under die compost pile. After the windrows are built this system “takes care of itself.” No labor, machinery, or additional space is required for regular win drow turning or mixing. As the compost heats, hot air rises through the pile and fresh air is pulled to the bottom of the pile through the perforated pipes. Pro viding an air supply across the bot tom of the pile keeps more of the pile active and eliminates hot or r • Contains 100% white ortho phosphoric acid. Made in USA. • Non-corrosive. Won’t settle. • Top quality. Excellent service. • Newest equipment. • Financially sound... and growing! □ I sell to farmers. How do I become your distributor? □ I'm a farmer. What’s the price? Where do I get it? CALL or SEND FOR FACTS: Phone:Bl4-364-1349 ALL-PLANT LIQUID PLANT FOOD, INC. cold spots that results from too little air. The idea is to provide more complete and consistent compost ing throughout the pile without regular turning. Reports indicate’ successful composting without any additional turning of piles. If the raw material is left exposed, the surface of the pile will not reach optimum composting temp eratures. If the entire pile is “blanketed” with a 6-16 inch layer of finished compost, mote com plete composting will result PAWS composting has been demonstrated around southeastern Pennsylvania in a cooperative pro ject between Rodale and PSU under the leadership of Cary Oshins (Rodale) and Sally Pick (Penn State Extension, Montgom ery County). Working around the many pipes during pile construction and load out can be a problem. After the V All-Plant LIQUID PLANT FOOD 9-18-9 PLUS OTHERS! Big Demand Requires More Distributors! 821 State Rd. SUN., RFO3, Ashland. Ohio 44805 pipes are laid out, material must be carefully placed on top without moving or damaging the pipes. The pipes also interfere with effi cient removal of the material. Schedule 40 or stronger pipes can be pulled out of the pile with a hook, chain, and tractor before loadout Lightweight pipes must be removed individually as mater ial is removed from them. Last fall, as part of a project sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, an alternative or modified PAWS method (APAWS) was compared to the traditional pipe method on the Penn State research farms. One windrow was built using perfor ated pipes and a second was built on a 6-12 inch layer of chopped com fodder. The hope was that the com fodder would remain porous enough to provide air across the bottom of the pile and also absorb excess liquid and nutrients. Less Abrasive Top Cover ALSO: Custom Loop Stalls For Existing Barns INSTALLATION AVAILABLE. 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Supply RD 1, Mill Hall, PA 17751 717-726-6760 MORTON BUILDINGS Since 1903 When it was time to load out the compost, the fodder would be scraped up with the compost and spread. Both systems seemed to work satisfactorily. The cold, wet fall was not conductive to any out door composting method. This project will be repeated this sum mer to gain hot weather experience and to evaluate if flies are attracted to the piles. It was also demon strated at Ag Progress Days in August If you want to leant more, con tact the composters’ researchers, Greta Martin, (814) 863-7710; Jim Hilton, (814) 863-1817; or Glen Cauffman, (814) 865-4433. To leant more about all types of com posting, you can purchase the “On- Farm Composting Handbook,” NRAES-54, for $l5. Send a check made payable to Penn State to the Publication Distribution Center, 112 Ag Administration Bldg., Uni versity Park, PA 16802.
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