A34-I_ancaster Farming, Saturday, December 13, 2003 Swine Producers (Continued from Page A 1) bams, the manure pit is divided into sections, lengthwise. Since the hogs tend to deposit about two-thirds of their manure in the center section, the outside pits fill much more slowly with fresh ma nure. Manure will be pumped from the central area to the di gester. and eventually returned for storage in the pits along the edge. That system should eliminate the need for a one-million gallon outside manure holding tank, according to Caressa Crone. But that's just one benefit the Crones hope to gain from the new setup. They expect manure odors to be reduced by about 90 percent, and for most of the facilities' electrical needs to be supplied by the biogas-run generator. The digester itself consists of a circular, concrete tank, 12 feet deep and 42 feet across, where manure will stay for about a month during the digestion pro cess. Biogas will be collected in an inflatable bag directly above the digester and burned in a 350 cubic-inch Chevrolet engine to generate electricity. The digester tank is divided into two sections. In the first, a "complete mix digestion” takes place, at a temperature of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Manure flows into the second section of the tank via a spillway. From this chamber, manure is pumped to the pits for storage. Digester construction began this fall. The Crones expect to 2004 AG DIRECTORY The yeai 2004 marks the fourth annual Lancaster Farming Ag Directory. Looking foi the experts in field and barnyard manage ment 7 Looking for the leaders for crop and farm financial planning 7 Then you've come to the right place For 2004, Lancaster Farming plans a new portion of the book “Call On The Experts.” It's a component ot our Ag Dnectoiy helpful tor those seeking answeis right at your fingeitips The directory is scheduled m the Dec. 27 issue. In 2003, the Ag Directory totaled 152 pages and was jam packed with contact names, numbers, addresses, and even Websites horn agriculture m our eight-state region, including Pennsylvania and sunoundmg states The "essential" refei ence book will include mote names, addresses, phone num bers, and Web addresses than ever before. Make the 2004 Lancaster Farming Ag Directory your source of expert information from the more than $5O billion legional ag industry Incorporated CONSIDERING EXPANDING YOUR FARM OPERATION? Team Ag’s Engineers and Nutrient Management Planners will give you the professional support you need for your expansion, regarding CAFO, Nutrient Management and local permits. Call us today for an estimate. TeamAg, Inc. 901 Dawn Avenue, Ephrata, PA 17522 r Site Surveys * Grant Writing 1 Site Engineering and Manure Systems Design + Nutrient Management Planning * Precision Agriculture 1 CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) Permits Natural Resources Management *• Crop Management/Scouting/Soil Testing start the digestion process next spring when the weather warms up, according to Stanley Crone. Some heat may need to be added to start the digestion, but once it is operating, the process will generate its own heat. Digestion of the manure con tinues to some extent even after it has left the digester, according to Robb Meinen, Penn State senior extension associate who is moni toring the project. Many details remain to be seen about just how well the process will work and how efficient it will be. But the Pennsylvania Depart ment of Agriculture has enough confidence in the $256,000 proj ect to contribute about $75,000 toward its construction and mon itoring. Penn State is involved in developing and monitoring the project. Also contributing some funds are the Pennsylvania De partment of Environmental Pro tection, the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council, and Wengers Feeds. Schick Enterprises of Kutztown is the contractor. Ken Kephart, Penn State ani mal science professor, conducted a feasibility study earlier this year for the project, which he called “The Development of a Novel Anaerobic Digester System.” “The new design will clearly reduce capital requirements, but careful analysis and performance monitoring will be needed to judge the feasibilility of this ap proach,” Kephart reported. “Based on our preliminary as sumptions of total project cost, s4feamAg 717/721-6795 www.TeamAglnc.com Email: TeamAg@TeamAglnc.com Caressa Crone interacts with pigs in the finishing barn. The scale shown here is used for sorting hogs as they near market size. At sorting time, the pigs must pass through the scale in order to reach the feeding station. A computer-controlled gate separates the animals by weight. available grants, anticipated electrical generation, and debt service, annual expenses are ex pected to exceed revenue esti mates by about $4,000 per year.” Kephart noted some factors which could change the economic returns include reduction of ma nure volume collected because of a lower than expected amount of manure deposited over collection ICE CREAM FREEZER • KEYSTONE Farm Show, January 6-8, 2004 • PA STATE Farm Show, January 10-17, 2004 ! NAME: ; ADDRESS: ! TOWN: ! STATE: Winners To Be Announced In Jan. 24 Issue Of Lancaster Farming lanes, lower than expected biogas output, and excess electrical generation during times of rela tively low electrical demand on the farm. Any extra electricity would be sold to the utility company at 2 cents per kilowatt hour (KWH), compared to a 10 cent per KWH purchase price, according to Ke phart. The Original Old Fashioned & 6 Qt. Hand DEPOSIT THIS COUPON AT LANCASTER FARMING BOOTH AT THE ZIP: Lancaster Farming Meinen noted that extra electricity generated might also be used to pre-heat “attic air” in the hog barns to supplement the gas heat system already in place. As far as the hog finishing bams already in operation, Ca ressa Crone is pleased with the labor-saving automatic sorting PHONE: (Turn to Page ASS)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers