The Rural Voice, 1998-09, Page 26A research team at Ridgetown College is working to turn huge
volumes of liquid pig manure into something valuable
Composting into the future
Story and photos by Allison Lawlor
Aresearch team at Ridgetown
College is working on
solving a new problem in an
old way.
The research team thinks they
have come up with a system that will
eliminate liquid pig manure odour —
even minutes after application.
Responding to the public outcry in
recent months over odours wafting
from Targe hog operations across the
province, Ridgetown College,
University of Guelph, undertook a
project aimed at finding a practical
way to reduce the odours of liquid
pig manure while maintaining
nutrient levels.
22 THE RURAL VOICE
A Cover -All building (above left) houses the Ridgetown College composting
project. Manure is composted with wheat straw (top left); corn cobs (top right)
and wood chips. Engineer, John Fleming is heading up the project (above right).
"We targeted liquid swine manure
because that poses the greatest
environmental challenge right now,"
said John Fleming, engineer and
research project manager at
Ridgetown College. Fleming is
working in conjunction with Dr. Jim
Morris and several others at the
college on research.
The project, now in its first year
still has two more years to find the
perfect formula for making compost
out of liquid pig manure.
"I think of this process as a
recipe," said Fleming. "There are a
lot of things we have to get at the
right balance."
The project at Ridgetown College
is funded by a number of
organizations, including Ontario Pork
and Kent County Pork Producers.
Fleming said the project has received
between $250,000-$300,000 in
funding. While the research team is
excited about the results so far, they
realize there are still a lot of kinks to