ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF IN-HOUSE WINDROW COMPOSTING (IWC) OF POULTRY LITTER
Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory
2012 Annual Report
1a.Objectives (from AD-416):
To evaluate the environmental impacts (both odor and water quality) of in-house poultry litter windrow composting.
1b.Approach (from AD-416):
Runoff samples will be collected from all field sites at the USDA-ARS facility at Riesel for 2 years to compare the water quality impacts of applying fresh litter and in-house windrow composted litter.
This project, conducted in cooperation with Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI)of Texas AgriLife Research and Extension, was designed to reduce bacteria runoff and other negative environmental impacts of poultry litter application through demonstration and evaluation of an in-house windrow composting procedure. To date, one year of baseline data prior to litter application has been collected. In addition, one year of data on the water quality and odor impacts of applying fresh litter (common practice) and in-house windrow composted litter have been collected on six small watersheds at the USDA-ARS Riesel Watersheds. Initial results indicate little water quality impact of in-house windrow composting; however, this process did reduce the concentrations of individual odorant compounds, particularly those with a manure-like descriptor.