Compost Boosts Revenue At Wisconsin Dairy
Brothers Steve and Mark Petersen generate valuable extra income from their 50-cow Wisconsin dairy herd by composting and selling manure. Mark says their all-organic product is highly sought after for top-dressing lawns and growing flowers, vegetables, and landscaping plants. They have many return customers near their 300-acre farm as well as in Green Bay and Fond du Lac. The product is also sold by Wisconsin master gardeners at plant sales. A 5-gal. bucketful sells for $2 and bulk material is priced at $40 a cubic yard.
The Petersens set up their composting operation by working with guidelines from Jeff Erb of the Wisconsin Extension Department. They’re licensed by the state of Wisconsin. Producing the compost is labor-intensive and time consuming, but the brothers say it’s definitely worth the effort. It’s also safer because it keeps tractors, manure spreaders and mud off a major highway where they’re located.
Steve says composting starts about the same time as spring field work, so they spend many days working extra long hours, especially during late April and May until about the first of June. The summer compost business is quieter though it picks up in the fall until freezing.
The compost they sell is a year-old odor-free product that looks like chocolate brownie mix. They produce it in a special field where manure first dries while laying on the ground in a thin layer, then it’s pushed into a windrow where a large compost turning machine mechanically agitates the manure.
The manure heats up to between 120 and 140 degrees as bacterial activity increases. They turn the row when material temperature falls to about 110 degrees. The finished compost is about half the volume of the original manure.
The Petersen dairy operation uses shredded newspaper as cattle bedding which they produce with their bale chopper. Several local groups and individuals supply the waste paper, which Mark says goes about a third further than a similar amount of straw at about half the price. They use about 1,500 lbs. of paper a week for their operation, which costs less than a similar amount of straw.
The Petersen’s compost site is on flat land protected by a filter strip of grass. Mark says producing good compost depends a lot on good weather, just like growing crops. The manure needs regular moisture, but not too much or the rows become muddy and can’t be turned. Sometimes they cover rows for protection if too much rain is forecasted. Rows cure during the winter and aren’t turned or disturbed, which the Petersen’s say produces a higher quality product.
In addition to composting, the Petersens raise row crops with zone tilling and plant cover crops whenever possible. Both methods have helped improve soil tilth and reduce soil loss to erosion.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Petersen Dairy, 5410 North Ballard Road, Appleton, Wis. 54913.
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Compost Boosts Revenue At Wisconsin Dairy DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Brothers Steve and Mark Petersen generate valuable extra income from their 50-cow Wisconsin dairy herd by composting and selling manure Mark says their all-organic product is highly sought after for top-dressing lawns and growing flowers vegetables and landscaping plants They have many return customers near their 300-acre farm as well as in Green Bay and Fond du Lac The product is also sold by Wisconsin master gardeners at plant sales A 5-gal bucketful sells for $2 and bulk material is priced at $40 a cubic yard The Petersens set up their composting operation by working with guidelines from Jeff Erb of the Wisconsin Extension Department They’re licensed by the state of Wisconsin Producing the compost is labor-intensive and time consuming but the brothers say it’s definitely worth the effort It’s also safer because it keeps tractors manure spreaders and mud off a major highway where they’re located Steve says composting starts about the same time as spring field work so they spend many days working extra long hours especially during late April and May until about the first of June The summer compost business is quieter though it picks up in the fall until freezing The compost they sell is a year-old odor-free product that looks like chocolate brownie mix They produce it in a special field where manure first dries while laying on the ground in a thin layer then it’s pushed into a windrow where a large compost turning machine mechanically agitates the manure The manure heats up to between 120 and 140 degrees as bacterial activity increases They turn the row when material temperature falls to about 110 degrees The finished compost is about half the volume of the original manure The Petersen dairy operation uses shredded newspaper as cattle bedding which they produce with their bale chopper Several local groups and individuals supply the waste paper which Mark says goes about a third further than a similar amount of straw at about half the price They use about 1 500 lbs of paper a week for their operation which costs less than a similar amount of straw The Petersen’s compost site is on flat land protected by a filter strip of grass Mark says producing good compost depends a lot on good weather just like growing crops The manure needs regular moisture but not too much or the rows become muddy and can’t be turned Sometimes they cover rows for protection if too much rain is forecasted Rows cure during the winter and aren’t turned or disturbed which the Petersen’s say produces a higher quality product In addition to composting the Petersens raise row crops with zone tilling and plant cover crops whenever possible Both methods have helped improve soil tilth and reduce soil loss to erosion Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Petersen Dairy 5410 North Ballard Road Appleton Wis 54913
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