Alternative Biological
Treatment of Manure
M. E. de Haro Martí ,
M. Chahine,
and S. St Hilaire
Today’s presentation
 Manure treatment using Black Soldier Flies
 Black Soldier Fly research in southern Idaho
 Worm composting, how it works
 Examples of working systems
 Future of alternative biological systems in
southern Idaho
Black Soldier Fly (BSF)
 Hermetia Illucens
 Naturally occurring in
southern USA, Central and
South America
 Considered non-pest
 Larvae are voracious organic
matter eaters
 As adults they don’t feed on
live or decaying organic
matter (no working mouth parts)
How Black Soldier Flies work?
 In nature, adults lay eggs mostly in manure
(preferred), worm composting, decaying
corpses, undisturbed garbage (less preferred)
 Larvae feed in the organic matter reducing its
volume by 40 to 50%
 Larvae goes trough six instars
 When reaching the pupae stage they migrate
from the feeding area looking for a dry and
protected place to finalize pupation
BSF research in southern Idaho
 Three years WSARE grant (UI, ISU)
• Two years lab research (ISU, Pocatello)
• One plus year of research within fish
industry application (UI, Hagerman)
• One year on-farm trial (Dairy in Buhl)
 Results from research are very promising
 More on-farm trials needed to achieve a
working systems for dry and cold climates
BSF research in southern Idaho
Research results in southern Idaho showed:
 BSF 40% protein and 30% fat content make it
an excellent feed source for salmon and trout
 Dried or frozen pupae has a long shelf life
 BSF fed with fish offal has higher omega 3
fatty acids content
 BSF can comprise an important part of the fish
feedstock in local hatcheries
 No after taste in fish fed with BSF
Research results in southern Idaho showed:
 BSF larvae can reduce volume of dairy
manure by 50% and DM solids weight by 40%
 Important waste nutrient reduction (table)
 Takes care of separated solids as well as fish
offal (two waste streams become feedstock!)
 In ID they need to be fed fish offal to reach
pupation stage faster
 Cold nights significantly reduce BSF activity
 Good results even under adverse
environmental and working conditions
Nutrient Reduction in Manure
Processed by Black Soldier Fly
Item
PostPre-processed
processed bymanure (Kg)
product (Kg)
Net
reduction
(%)
Weight, DM
345.2
212.6
38.4
Total N
10.6
4.8
55.1
1.50
23.9
Total P
1.97
Carbon
Ash
156.0
69.0
92.5
63.8
40.7
7.6
Events time line
Fish offal addition
Two days after fish offal addition
Black Soldier Fly Larvae at work two days
after fish offal addition
Vermicomposting
 Composting with worms
 Half dozen different species
of earthworm are used
 Eisenia fetida most common
 Naturally occurring around
the world
 They are scavengers and
decaying organic matter
eaters (vegetal materials)
Vermicomposting
 Vermicomposting has been used to process
different types of wastes for many years
 Effective but slow process
 Reduce volume by 40% to 50%
 Castings have excellent properties as fertilizer
and soil amendment
 Worms can be commercialized in diverse ways
 On-farm and municipal scale facilities exist
and have diverse grades of success
Using Vermicompost
Turnips: 0%, 10%, 20% vermicompost by volume
added to field plots, Biological & Agricultural
Engineering, NC State University
Vermicomposting examples
Queensland, Australia
Tarboro, NC
Swine manure
Geneseo, NY
Dairy manure
UI research and Extension 2010
 Pilot project to test a worm composting unit
designed in Gooding, ID
 Collaboration with local high school and
designer company
Alternative biological systems in
southern Idaho - challenges
 Black Soldier Fly and Vermicomposting
systems have similar challenges in the area
 Creating a suitable environment to operate
year round is the most challenging technically
and economically
 They can handle just part of the dairy and fish
industry waste streams
 By products are of relatively high value
 More market assessment needed
Challenges and answers
 Suitable farm scale systems for BSF and
vermicompost need to be developed more
 Producers and market acceptability needs to
increase
 More funding is necessary to develop research
on farm-scale initiatives and adaptation to our
geographical area
 Capacity to be a sustainable and profitable
part of dairy and waste management
operations
Questions?