Bailey Compost - Snohomish, Washington

In 1992, I began my composting career at Bailand Farms in Snohomish, Washignton. This was a hobby of sorts - an opportunity to take what I had learned as a consultant working on municipal composting projects and applying it to dairy manure. I built turned windrow compost piles and after much time and effort, I decided to experiment with Aerated Static Pile (ASP) Composting. The picture shown here was my very first aerated compost pile, comprised of scraped dairy manure mixed with horse manure and bedding as a bulking agent. This pilot project was very successful and ultimately led to what is now "Bailey Compost", a green waste (90%) and dairy manure (10%) compost system.

Wickerink Dairy / Growell Potting Mix – Duncan, B.C., Canada
300-head dairy herd
Jerry Wickerink utilizes composted dairy manure from his herd as a component of his topsoil blends for his other business, Growell Compost. Growell produces both bulk and bagged products and is the best established brand in their area of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Their compost system was designed with assistance provided by O2Compost and includes aeration trenches constructed into the concrete base.

State University of New York (SUNY) – Cobleskill, New York

While working in partnership with the Pennsylvania company Integrity Nutrient Control Systems, O2Compost designed an aerated compost system for SUNY Cobleskill to manage their separated dairy manure. We are continuing to work on this project, in association with Dr. Robert Rynk, to incorporate horse manure / bedding from their equine studies department along with food waste from dining halls around the campus.

Faith Dairy - Puyallup, Washington

Following a year of experimentation with aerated composting, Terry Mensonides has developed a strong market for his dairy manure compost and is exploring the possibility of developing a cooperative with other dairies in Washington State to sell compost that is produced on each of the participating farms.

Messick Dairy – Midland, Virginia
400-head dairy herd
Messick Dairy also utilizes an aerated composting system to process separated dairy manure from their herd. In this system, the solids are first composted in one of four active compost bays for a period of three to four weeks. The material from each bay is then transferred to an aerated curing and storage bay for an additional three to four weeks. The finished product is then screened and distributed to landscapers and nurseries in a 20-mile radius of the farm.

Twin Oaks Dairy – Emmitsburg, Maryland
350-head dairy herd
Twin Oaks utilizes aerated composting to process separated dairy manure from their 350-head herd of milk cows and heifers. O2Compost provided design assistance to Integrity Nutrient Control Systems of Chambersburg, PA for this project. The dairy manure separator can be seen on the left side of this photo, with an aerated static pile in Bay No. 2 to the right.

Composting is conducted in a building that incorporates air distribution in the concrete floor. In addition to design services, operator training and marketing assistance was also provided by O2Compost. All of the compost being generated is now sold to landscapers and homeowners within a 10-mile radius of the dairy.

Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, Virginia
Research facility
In 2004, Virginia Polytechnic Institute completed construction on a new dairy sciences facility. This facility is utilized for research purposes and serves as a state-of-the-art manure handling equipment demonstration site. In support of the company Integrity Nutrient Control Systems of Chambersburg, PA, O2Compost provided comprehensive training to the VT staff and operators.

This is an aerated compost system that utilizes four high pressure / high volume blowers operated independently by a programmable logic controller. With this system, separated dairy manure is stacked for approximately three weeks, giving it time for excess liquids to drain from the fibrous solids. The manure is then placed on a simple network of aeration pipes and airflow is induced through the mix for approximately four weeks.

With this operation, offensive odors have been controlled (the compost building is located near one of the entrances to the university and is subject to complaints when odors are prevalent). The finished product is being used around the university in landscaped areas and is land applied in research corn fields. Plans also include marketing the finished compost on a wholesale basis to private distributors in and around Blacksburg, VA.