Feasibility and production costs of composting breeder and pullet litter with eggshell waste

Journal of Applied Poultry Research

Volumn 18, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 172-184

  Kemper, N P ^a   Goodwin Jr , H L ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS   (United States)

Author keywords

Breeder and pullet litter management; Composting; Eggshell waste

Indexed keywords

BACTERIA (MICROORGANISMS);

EID: 73449116396     PISSN: 10566171     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3382/japr.2007-00094     Document Type: Article

References (41)

1. Goodwin, H. L., Jr., J. Hipp, and J. Wimberly. 2000. Off-farm Litter Management and Third-Party Enterprises. Foundation for Organic Resources Management, Winrock International, Little Rock. http://www.winrock.org/us_programs/files/Off-Farm%20Litter%20Management%20report.pdf Accessed May 5, 2008.
2. Vandevender, K. Poultry Litter Nutrient Summary Information. Unpublished data collected by producers in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma from 1993 to 2000. Analyzed by the University of Arkansas Agricultural Diagnostic Laboratory; summarized by Karl VanDevender, Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
3. Goodwin, H. L., Jr. 2006. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Personal communication.
4. Goodwin, H. L., Jr., R. Carreira, K. Young, and S. Hamm. 2005. Feasibility Assessment of Establishing the Ozark Poultry Litter Bank. Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation District Project 03-900, October 2003-2005. http://arkansaswater.org/319/03-900.html Accessed May 5, 2008.
5. Long, D. 2007. Personal communication. http://www.membrell.net/
6. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. 1993. SoilFacts-Soil Acidity and Proper Lime Use. Publ. AG43917. http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/publications/Soilfacts/AG439-17_Archived/ Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
7. Das, K. C., M. Y. Minkara, N. D. Melear, and E. W. Tollner. 2002. Effect of poultry litter amendment on hatchery waste composting. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 11:282-290.
8. Rynk, R. 1992. On-Farm Composting Handbook. No. 54. Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service, Ithaca, NY.
9. US Environmental Protection Agency. 2008. Wastes-Resource Conservation-Reduce, Reuse, Recycle-Composting. http://www.epa.gov/compost/ Accessed May 5, 2008.
10. Gouin, F. 1995. Compost use in the horticultural industries: Green industry composting. BioCycle Special Report. The JG Press Inc., Emmaus, PA.
11. Scheurell, S., and W. Mahaffee. 2002. Compost tea: Principles and prospects for plant disease control. Compost Sci. Util. 10:313-338.
12. Faucette, B., J. Governo, and B. Graffagnini. 2003. Compost pricing and market survey in Georgia. Biocycle 44:32-33.
13. Walker, P., D. Williams, and T. M. Waliczek. 2006. An analysis of the horticulture industry as a potential valueadded market for compost. Compost Sci. Util. 14:23-31.
14. BBC Laboratories. 2006. Home page. BBC Laboratories, Tempe, AZ. http://www.bbclabs.com Accessed May 2, 2008.
15. During the composting process, there is typically a dramatic decrease in volume of the inputs used. This generally results in an end-product that has a higher concentration of nutrients, when compared with the nutrient content of the inputs used. This study did not measure the reduction in volume, although a reduction in volume was anecdotally observed and documented with photographs. However, nutrient content estimates were made on a per ton of finished compost basis
16. Membrell LLC. 2007. 5335 South Garrison, Carthage, MO. http://www.membrell.com/
17. Midwest Bio-Systems Inc. 2006. Compost Workshop Manual. Workshop September 13-15, 2006, Sedalia, MO. Midwest Bio-Systems Inc., Tampico, IL.
18. Midwest Bio-Systems Inc. 2006. http://www.midwestbiosystems.com
19. For the first 2 wk, each blend was kept below ideal moisture because the original eggshells were to be 50% moisture. This was planned to last for only 4 d; however, the trucking company contracted to haul eggshells for the project was unable to do so.
20. BBC Laboratories. 2006. Compost Sampling for Microbiological Analysis: Instructions for Sampling and Shipping. BBC Laboratories, Tempe, AZ. http://www.bbclabs.com Accessed May 2, 2008.
21. Willson, G. B., and D. Dalmat. 1986. Measuring Compost Stability. BioCycle 27:34-37.
22. Fixed costs are estimated before interest and tax.
23. Haith, D., T. Crone, A. Sherman, J. Lincoln, J. Reed, S. Saidi, and J. Trembley. 2001. Co-Composter version 2a. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
24. Midwest Bio-Systems Inc. (MBS). 2006. ACS Compost's True Value in the Soil. http://www.midwestbiosystems.com/acs-value.html Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
25. Safley, C. D., and L. M. Safley, Jr. 1991. Economic analysis of alternative poultry litter compost systems. Department of Agricultural Resources Economics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
26. Major cost items that a compost production facility would need to produce compost are included, but some overhead items, such as office, machinery, supplies, legal services, and marketing costs, were omitted, as were interest and taxes. These costs can represent a substantial portion of a firm's budget depending on various factors. Entrepreneurs should be aware of the costs excluded from this study.
27. In practice, operating at 100% efficiency is not realistic, given variations in weather, feedstock availability, and timing of compost sales and delivery. The authors used 90% efficiency to allow for unforeseen circumstances that would not allow the "ideal" production cycle to be fulfilled.
28. USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2006. Mean Arkansas farm land value per acre FY2006. Land Values and Cash Rents 2006 Summary. August 2006. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/AgriLandVa//2000s/2006/AgriLandVa-08-04-2006.pdf Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
29. To account for the decrease in volume, a 9.2% reduction loss factor was assumed for both systems.
30. Average hay price for all hay is from USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2006. All Other Hay: Price per Ton and Value of Production, by State and United States, 2003-2005. Crop Values 2005 Summary. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/CropValuSu//2000s/2006/CropValuSu-02-15-2006.pdf Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
31. Pricing is $425 for the inoculant pack and is enough to treat 1,000 cubic yards.
32. USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2006. Prices Paid: Farm Machinery and Tractors, United States, April 2000-2005. Agricultural Prices 2005 Summary. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/AgriPricSu//2000s/2006/AgriPricSu-07-21-2006_revision.pdf Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
33. United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statisitics. 2006. May 2005 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for State of Arkansas. May 24, 2006. http://stats.bls.gov/oes/2005/may/oes_ar.htm#b45-0000 Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
34. United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statisitics. 2006. May 2005 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for State of Arkansas. May 24, 2006. http://stats.bls.gov/oes/2005/may/oes_ar.htm#b45-0000 Accessed Feb. 5, 2009. Mean value for "First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers" from BLS.
35. Two windrows at the same stage of the production cycle are typically combined when volume has reduced. This allows the production facility to be used for more production by using less space. Instead of combining windrows (because each windrow is a different blend), each blend was simply folded on top of itself to create a windrow with half the length but twice the height. At this point, the same volume was being produced on half the area.
36. Results from BBC Laboratories. BBC Laboratories. 2006. Functional Groups, Maturity, and Stability Measures of Compost. BBC Laboratories, Tempe, AZ. http://www.bbclabs.com Accessed Sept. 2006.
37. Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission. 2006. Regulation No. 22: Solid Waste Management Rules. Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, Little Rock.
38. Averages across blends are presented in the breakeven analysis to shorten the presentation.
39. 3/h screening machine.
40. All cost estimates are made before interest and tax.
41. Screening machine ownership would be required by 1) total time required and 2) frequency of screening.