Dept. of Agriculture, Green Mountain Technology to Demonstrate New Animal Waste Technology Grant Project

Howard Co. Manure Composter is First Completed Demonstration Project

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture and Green Mountain Technologies will sponsor a tour  of  a new manure composting system at Days End Farm Horse Rescue on Tuesday, June 14. The project is the first completed demonstration project funded by the state’s Animal Waste Technology Grant Fund.

Although composting is not new, the closed in-vessel composting system reduces environmental factors that impact composting success. The system can process batches of 1.5 tons of horse manure in two weeks, and reduces nutrient and input volume by about 50 percent. The final compost product will be used for bedding, on-site landscaping needs and possible sale to a local nursery. Green Mountain Technologies, which developed this project, operates out of Seattle, Wash. The company can use web-enabled controllers and probes to monitor temperatures and manage the composter remotely.

Reauthorized in 2013, the department’s Animal Waste Technology Fund provides grants to companies that demonstrate innovative technologies on farms and alternative strategies for managing animal manure. These technologies may generate energy from animal manure, reduce on-farm waste streams, and repurpose manure by creating marketable fertilizer and other products and by-products. To date, the program has issued $3.7 million in grants to demonstrate alternative technologies for manure management.

WHAT:  Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder, Green Mountain Technologies President and Chief Engineer Michael Byan-Brown, and Days End Farm Horse Rescue Equine Program Director, DeEtte Hillsman will host a tour of the first completed demonstration project funded by the Animal Waste Technology Grant Fund.

WHEN:  Tuesday, June 14, 2016 from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

WHERE:  Days End Farm Horse Rescue, 1372 Woodbine Road, Woodbine, MD 21797

DIRECTIONS:  Take Route 70 west, to Route 94 south (Exit 73-Woodbine Rd). Days End Farm is 0.8 mile on right. Parking on the left as you enter the property.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:     Media interested in attending the event should RSVP to Julie Oberg, 410-841-5888 or julie.oberg@maryland.gov.

Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter @MdAgDept.