Kentucky.com, KY
03-28-07
UK gets $500,000 grant for manure
10 SCHOOLS SHARE IN EFFORT TO BATTLE SMELL AND GASES
By Andy Mead
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A nearly $500,000 federal grant announced yesterday will allow the University of
Kentucky to look for ways to make hog manure not smell so bad and, more
importantly, give off fewer greenhouse gases.
The grant, from the Department of Agriculture's National Research Initiative, is
part of $5 million in grants spread among 10 universities.
Although it was just announced, Rich Gates, chairman of UK's Biosystems and
Agricultural Engineering Department, said work funded by the grant started about
a month ago.
Hog waste already is collected as a diluted liquid in huge vats, Gates said. Twice
a year, it is applied to fields at the root zone, where it replaces commercial
fertilizers.
The waste is carefully applied so that it produces the right nutrients to feed crops
without getting into creeks or groundwater.
The problem, Gates said, is that microbes working in the manure while it is
stored give off gases that smell bad and are harmful to the environment.
At UK's Animal Research Center in Woodford County, mulch will be used as a
biofilter to try to reduce both the odor and the gases.
"It's part of trying to come up with sustainable agricultural solutions," Gates said.
Other schools that received awards from the same program are Alabama A&M
University, University of California-Irvine, University of Connecticut, Georgia
Institute of Technology, University of Illinois, Iowa State University, Kansas
State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Texas A&M University.
Reach Andy Mead at 231-3319 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3319; or at
amead@herald-leader.com.