Abstract: We milk 1000 cows and have 1 covered manure storage, built in 2012, with a flare. A satellite storage is being covered this April also with a flare. The largest benefit to our farm from the cover is that no precipitation gets in the manure; instead the rainwater is pumped off the covered lagoon and goes to a separate storage that we use to irrigate growing crops with a center pivot. This keeps over 1.2 million gallons of water out of the manure, while making the storage have 1/3 greater capacity by having no precipitation in it. The resulting manure has a higher nutrient content due to no dilution taking place. We are trying to find a way to use the gas produced besides just burning it off. There is over 5 million cubic feet of gas produced per year.

Bio: Dale Stein, Chair New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, Semi-Retired Dairy Farmer, Stein Farms LeRoy NY. Dale is a senior partner in Stein Farms LeRoy with 1800 head dairy cattle and 2500 acres farmed for cow feed. He is a life-long conservationist helping the environment, from planting over 10,000 trees to building and improving wildlife habitat on his farm.