A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 25, 2000
(Continued from Pago Al)
“We went to banks and tried
to estimate the cash flows on
steers, pigs, dairy, and chickens,
and this seemed to work out a
the best match for price-per
income,” said Kelly.
The size of an available farm,
20 acres, made farming afford
able and opened the door for
turkey farming in 1997.
“Everything was running, we
just walked in and took over,”
said Kelly.
Although Heidi grew up on a
small poultry operation in Ohio,
Kelly was new to the poultry
business. Consequently he spent
a month at the turkey farm with
the previous owners to learn
how to manage the farm.
“I got the basics down that I
could survive on, and just keep
getting better as I go,” he said.
The turkeys, which come to
the farm when they are one day
old, will leave the farm as fin
ished birds 13 weeks later. The
Eckerts process six batches of
turkeys per year through their
barns. They grow their turkeys
under contract with Wampler
Foods in New Oxford, Pennsyl
vania. Wampler Foods supplies
the feed, medication, birds, and
shavings for the barn floors and
the Eckerts supply the labor for
care of the turkeys.
Because of the current
demand for turkey, the barns
are filled with turkeys year
round. “Years ago, people did
one flock a year for Thanksgiv
ing, but turkeys got more popu
lar. It’s not just a treat anymore
you can get turkey any time,”
How Is Organic Matter
Content Measured?
Jennifer G. Becker
Extension Engineer
Why do we need to concern
ourselves with the amount of or
ganic matter that is present in
wastewater?
It is important to know what
the organic matter content of a
waste stream is because it influ
ences the selection of a suitable
method of wastewater treatment
and disposal.
Other important wastewater
characteristics that must be con
sidered when selecting a treat
ment method include the rate of
production and the levels of
solids and nutrients such as ni
trogen and phosphorus.
Example: A food processor is
exploring sprinkler irrigation as
a potential method for treating
and disposing of the processing
wastewater because several sites
with appropriate soil character
istics are available for irrigation.
However, if some wastewater
components are present at high
levels, irrigation may not be pos
sible. For example, excessive
suspended solids in the waste
may clog irrigation equipment
and soils. High levels of salts can
also sometimes be a problem, al
though normal rainfall in the
'Mid-Atlantic region is generally
sufficient to leach salt out of the
soil.
Nutrient management plans,
which are required by the Water
Quality Improvement Act of
1998, may also limit application
on the basis of the nitrogen and
phosphorus content of the
wastewater.
Finally, consideration must be
given to the organic matter con
tent of the wastewater because
high loadings of organic matter
can cause excessive build-up of
soil microorganisms that grow
on the applied organic material.
Turkey Fanning The Right Fit For Eckert Family
No cold turkey on this farm one batch of 16,000 tur
keys requires 6,000 to 8,000 gallons of gas during their
stay at the farm, mostly to maintain the balmy 80-degree
temperature necessary when the birds are poults.
said Kelly.“ The turkey market’s
really strong right now.”
“Turkey meat is nutritious
and low in fat and people are
really health conscious any
more,” said Heidi.
Caring for turkeys, as typical
of any agriculture operation, is a
full-time job. The water foun
tains are washed every day for
proper sanitation, and all of the
birds must be checked several
times daily and through the
night. The Eckerts rototill the
litter once a week to keep the
turkeys’ bedding fresh and put
in new shavings in and sanitize
the bam for each incoming
batch of poults.
In addition, the haras’ venti
lation system is changed manu-
This can cause a microbial
slime layer to form on the soil
surface, which can lead to soil
surface clogging, and in turn,
surface ponding, unpleasant
odors, and vegetation decay.
Because organic matter can
play such an important role in
determining the success or fail
ure of wastewater treatment
methods, permits from the
Maryland Department of the
Environment for land applica
tion or surface discharge of pro
cessing wastewater define limits
for the amount of organic
matter that can be applied.
These permits also define nu
trient and other parameter
limits, as well as hydraulic load
ing rates and application sched
ules.
What is actually measured
when we quantify the organic
matter in wastewater?
Frequently, we do not need to
know the concentrations of indi
vidual organic compounds
present in wastewater. Instead,
it is often sufficient to have a
combined measure of the mix
tures of organic compounds
found in wastewater. Two of the
most commonly used measures
of the combined organic content
of wastewater are expressed in
terms of oxygen demand.
These two measures are called
the biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD) and the chemical oxygen
demand (COD). At first, use of
the term “oxygen demand” to
report organic matter content
may seem confusing. This con
vention is used because most or
ganic compounds in water
undergo oxidation reactions,
and if dissolved oxygen is
present, these reactions con-
(Turn to Pago A 29)
ally three to four times daily.
Shutting flaps and curtains con
trols the speed of air flow and
consequently the temperature
for the turkeys.
Changing ventilation involves
watching the gauges and adjust
ing accordingly to ensure not
only proper temperature but
also keep down the ammonia
levels detrimental to turkey
health. An alarm system rings
the phone in the Eckert’s home
if the temperature drops to dan
gerous levels or the electricity
goes off.
The feeding, fortunately, is
automatic. The first seven days,
however, after the poults arrive
'at the barn they are fed by hand.
Feed is scooped into the small
trays for the poults. As the
poults grow and are able to
reach, the automatic feeders
with pelleted feed are lowered
from the ceiling. Rings surround
the poults and keep them not
only snug in their 80-degree at
mosphere, but also keep the
birds from crowding together
too much, according to Kelly.
The poults, which arrive at
the farm in batches of 16,000,
come to the farm from a Wam
pler hatchery in Harrisonburg,
Va. They are started in two
brooder barns and moved to the
four finisher barns as they
mature.
The Eckerts move the poults
out of the end of the building
onto a ramp which leads onto a
trailer. The trailer then hauls the
birds up the hill to the finisher
barns. Each barn is 40 by 200
feet.
When the finished turkeys
leave, they weigh 13-16 pounds
each, usually 16, said Kelly.
“We haven’t had trouble with
health because we maintain
biosecurity,’’ said Heidi.
“When somebody comes from
a farm, we spray the vehicles
tires, fender walls, and under
carriage,” said Kelly.
Mortality cards, feed slips,
and feed conversions are the
records which the Eckerts keep
for the operation. Kelly checks
the feed and gas levels every
other day.
The Eckerts would like to
expand with numbers in both
the turkey and swine portions of
their farm. “We’d like to get to
the point where we can have all
our children have farms,” said
Heidi. “Hopefully they’ll have
interest. Age and time will tell.”
Kelly, who hopes to get out of
the hauling business, plans to
triple the size of the hog opera
tion m the next year.
Katie, an aspiring veterinar
ian and already an important
part of the Eckert operation, is
proving her interest in the agri
culture business. A fourth
grader at Jonestown Elementary
School, Katie takes care of the
Katie, who would like to be a veterinarian, is already an
experienced animal handler. Her brother, Kevin, is quickly
learning the ins and outs of producing turkeys.
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The best part of turkey farming, according to the Eckert
children, is getting a shipment of new poults. Kevin, 2, and
Keith, 3, carefully cradle one-day-old poults. The boys’
father, Kelly, describes the birds as “very nosy and curi
ous.”
pigs, 30-40 goats, and helps with enjoy riding on the tractor. “
the turkeys. Besides helping out think the farm is good for chil
on the family farm and complet- dren to learn a work ethic,” sak
ing her schoolwork, she is also Heidi. “Sometimes children ge
actively involved with the North too involved with TV or vide<
Mountain Goat Club. games, and farming is a gooc
Kevin and Keith, proud wear- way to show them what a goo(
ers of green John Deere hats, work ethic is.”
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