MANURE HANDLING SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL FOR CONFINED DAIRY HOUSING1

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Abstract
There is no single best manure handling system. Odor and appropriate time of disposal are two of the most difficult waste problems facing dairymen. Systems may range from a gutter cleaner and daily hauling with a manure spreader to extended storage in concrete tanks whose contents are pumped and spread periodically. Daily hauling requires the lowest investment in equipment but has the disadvantage of possible higher labor costs and the hazard of encountering unfavorable weather, soil, or crop conditions. Slat floors in warm free-stall barns, or gutters with grated bottoms in conventional stall barn, both with under-the-building manure storage, offer suitable systems for manure handling with a minimum of labor. Carefully planned ventilation systems of high capacity must be provided for all confined units. Research shows that manure containing little bedding deposited in the end of a 30 × 90 × 8 ft external flat-bottom tank will distribute itself under its own weight. Waste heat from the dairy barn ventilation system is used to prevent freezing.

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