Manure Management - National Version (General)

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
Research Participant Information

Title of the Study: Identifying US Manure Management Practices
Principal Investigator: Rebecca Larson. Phone: (608) 890-3171. Email: [email protected]
Student Researchers: Horacio Aguirre-Villegas. Phone: (608) 262-9703. Email: [email protected]. Alysa Bradley. Email: [email protected]

DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH
You are invited to participate in a research study to identify manure management practices used in the US. You have been asked, as a result of a random selection process, to participate as an owner or manager of a livestock operation. This information will help researchers and educators develop engineering designs and management practices for handling, processing, and storage of manure.
You can complete the survey in the location of your choosing.

WHAT WILL MY PARTICIPATION INVOLVE?
If you decide to participate in this research, you will be asked to complete one survey which will require approximately 15 minutes to complete. This survey will cover questions about your manure management system including collection, transportation, storage, processing (Anaerobic Digestion, Solid-liquid separation, and Sand separation), and land application.

ARE THERE ANY RISKS TO ME?
We do not anticipate any risks resulting from participation in this study.

ARE THERE ANY BENEFITS TO ME?
Although there are no immediate benefits from this study, the information will facilitate research on manure systems, increase development of manure management practices and user tools, and provide more detailed economic analyses.

HOW WILL MY CONFIDENTIALITY BE PROTECTED?
THIS STUDY IS COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. Neither your name nor any other identifiable information will be recorded.

WHOM SHOULD I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?
You may ask any questions about the research at any time. If you have questions about the research during or after completing the survey please feel free to contact any of the researchers listed above.
If you are not satisfied with the response of the research team, have more questions, or want to talk with someone about your rights as a research participant, you should contact the University of Wisconsin Education Research and Social & Behavioral Science IRB Office at 608-263-2320.
Your participation is completely voluntary. If you decide not to participate or to withdraw from the study it will have no effect on any services or treatment you are currently receiving.

Instructions:

Units: If the units you report are different from the ones that are suggested in the survey, please specify the units you are using.

You DO NOT need to answer every question.
If the question does not apply or the answer is “zero”, please enter “0”. If you do not know an answer or prefer not to answer please leave it blank.

Please review your answers carefully before going to the next page as you will not be able to go back after you press continue. However, you can save the survey and continue later on if you need to consult some data sources.

Do not use the "go back" or "forward" buttons from your internet browser.

1. In what state is your facility located?

I. GENERAL FARM OPERATIONS
The questions below ask about general characteristics of your facility and animal operations. Please answer these questions to the best of your ability

A. Livestock and Housing

3. How many animals do you have on your facility?

	Number
Dairy

Beef

Pigs

Poultry

Sheep

Goats

Other

4. If you answered "other" above, please specify.

5. Please indicate the housing situation that best fits the livestock on your facility


Confined w/roof

Confined in feedlot

Confined in feedlot w/roofed section

Grazed year round

Grazed and confined w/roof

Grazed and confined in feedlot

Grazed and confined in feedlot w/roofed section

6. What type of bedding is used on your facility? (please select all that apply)

7. If you selected "other" above, please specify the type of bedding.

8. On average, how much bedding do you replace (in pounds)? (Example: 10 pounds/day, OR 500 pounds/week, OR 2000 pounds/month)

9. How much bedding do you recycle? (example: 60% of total bedding used; OR 250 pounds/week. If none, enter "0")

10. Where does your feed supply come from?

	Estimated Percentage (%)
Owned land

Rented land

Purchased feed

11. How many acres of the land you own/rent are not being used for production (marginal land)? (If none, enter "0")

12. On how many acres of land owned by you do you apply manure? (If none, enter "0")

13. On how many acres of land NOT owned by you do you apply manure? (If none, enter "0")

14. Do you receive manure from facilities other than that produced by your own animals? If you do, how much? (Tons/year)? If none, enter "0"

II. MANURE OPERATIONS
The following questions will give us more specific information about the manure related operations that exist in the US.

Solid (20% or more dry matter)

Semi-solid (13-19% dry matter)

Slurry (8-12% dry matter)

Liquid (liquid slurry 1-7% dry matter)

16. Please estimate, in pounds, the amount of manure your facility produces in a year.

A. Manure Collection Systems

17. How frequently do you collect manure? (For example: every day, OR 3 times per week.)

Other (please specify)

B. Manure Transportation

Directly to manure processing (anaerobic digestion, composting, sand separation, solid separation, etc.) before land application or long-term storage

To long-term storage before land application (storage longer than 1 month)

Directly to land application (no storage)

To temporary storage before sale

Other (please specify any details)

a) Transportation to processing:

Other (please specify)

C. Manure Processing

Solid-liquid separation

Other (please specify any details)

a) Anaerobic digestion:

Other (please specify any details)

23. What is the volume of your digester (gallons)?

24. On average, approximately how much biogas is produced per day (cubic feet)?

25. On average, what is the methane content of the biogas produced (percentage)?

26. On average, what percentage of the biogas is used to heat the digester?

27. If you have a gas clean up system, please provide a brief description of it (type, power, etc.):

28. How do you use the biogas that is produced at your facility (percent)? Please make sure the total adds up to 100% (e.g. 50% boiler, 50% electricity exported to the grid).

	Percentage
Electricity used on farm

Electricity exported to the grid

Boiler

Biogas flared

Compressed biogas

Other

Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine

30. What is the capacity of your electrical generation technology? (e.g. 750 kW)

31. If you capture and reuse excess heat from your electrical generation system, what applications do you reuse the heat for? (if you do not capture any excess heat, please enter "0")

Bedded Pack/Composting Barn

In-Vessel (e.g. rotating drum)

Other (Please Specify)

33. What additives or substrates are added before composting? (If none, please enter "0")

34. How long does your facility's composting process take? (e.g. 3 months)

Other (Please specify)

c) Solid-liquid separation:

Other (Please specify)

37. What is the approximate solids production per day? (example: 2 tons per day)

Used on-farm as fertilizer

Used on-farm as bedding

Other (Please specify)

Mechanical (e.g. McLanahan, Parkson, etc.)

Transport to storage

Apply directly to land

In-place earthen basin

Clay-lined earthen basin

Geosynthetic clay liner

Below-ground concrete pit

Above-ground concrete pit

Above-ground glass-lined steel pit

Deep pit under the barn floor

42. What are the dimensions of the long-term storage (feet)?


Depth (if applicable)

Diameter (if round storage)

Width (if storage is rectangular)

Length (if storage is rectangular)

Synthetic lagoon cover

Organic (example: straw, sawdust)

Natural crust that forms on top of stored manure

E. Manure Application

46. Please estimate the average distance traveled from the manure storage to the field entrance (miles). (example: 10 miles)

47. If you incorporate manure, within how many days do you incorporate it? (If you do not incorporate manure by tillage, enter a "0")

48. How long does it take to apply the manure each time it is done? (example: 80 hours in spring and 80 hours in fall)

Pump drag hose surface broadcast

Pump drag hose injection

Tanker/spreader broadcast

Tanker/spreader injection

Other (please specify)

50. How much manure does your facility sell (in pounds)? (Example: 200 pounds/week, OR 800 pounds/month, OR 9000 pounds/year)

51. If you are willing to share this information, please give the average price per ton at which your facility sells manure. (Example $20/ton)