Poop to Power
By Jim Klinker, Opening Speech to
Waste to Energy Workshop.
October 24, 2007
My being here today I think started with a phone call from Maggie two months ago. Her question and our discussion went something like this…
Maggie---Hi, I’m Maggie Witt from Region 9 EPA, does the Farm Bureau have any data on the inventory of manure in west Maricopa County?…
(Note: Over the years when a call comes from Region 9 nothing good usually happens---air quality, water quality, endangered species regulations just to mention a few.)
Jim---No we really do not, what are you looking for?
Maggie---We are wanting to study the effectiveness of using manure to power our electric pumps that are used at the Hassayampa Superfund site.
Jim---Are we talking poop to power here?
After a long pause the answer was yes.
We have been phone buddies ever since.
So I appreciate being asked to be part of your kick off team.
Agriculture is evolving. The little 240 acre farm I grew up on is no longer the economic model of a successful operation that can compete in the world agricultural market. The farm family that farms what remains of Klinker Brothers farms in central Nebraska is incorporated and with land they lease from us and 25 other landowners along with land they own, are farming and raising hogs on nearly 8,000 acres.
Livestock operations are getting larger and more sophisticated. Animals are healthier, have better nutrition, are safer from the elements and predators and are more productive.
Farmers and Livestock producers are progressive. They are vertically integrating their farms to add value to their products. They are growing livestock and livestock products labeled organic, free range and natural. They are feeding organic grain to animals and marketing the organic manure from those animals to fertilize pastures for organic cows to give organic milk. And they are always looking for economic opportunities.
So let’s talk about manure…
Agriculture has never considered manure a waste. I cleaned my share of pig and chicken houses and scraped many cattle pens and then drove the manure spreader to the field and put the nutrient on the soil where the corn would grow the next spring.
We have come a long way from that limited view of a resource.
Just think about this…
100 train cars full of Nebraska corn are delivered to an ethanol plant per week
Ethanol to fuel vehicles comes out one door of the plant and distillers grain is delivered to the associated dairy by conveyor belt out the back door
The distillers grain goes into the cow and out the bottom door of the cow comes milk and out the back door of the cow comes manure.
The manure is harvested and taken to the anarobic digester that makes electricity to run the dairy.
Science fiction-NO-you will here about such a dairy later today.
And the issues surrounding energy has national independence and national security implications. We support the national initiative that agriculture will produce 25 percent of the nations energy needs by 2025.
So we have gathered here today…Region 9 EPA, APS and utility consultants, the oversite agencies for agriculture, environment and land use, energy and agriculture developers and a few of us that represent an industry that stands ready to embrace new technology and new opportunities.
Working through the challenges will take this partnership.
