Cows at Kinnard Farms near Casco, October 18, 2018. PC: Fox 11 Online
LUXEMBURG, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Kewaunee County farm shared details Tuesday of its new manure processing facility.
Kinnard Farms is working with Sedron Technologies on a treatment plant for treating liquid manure, creating dry organic fertilizer, ammonia, and water. It would reduce the need for liquid manure storage and spreading on land. A presentation was made Tuesday to the county’s Land & Water Conservation Committee.
Lee Kinnard said the technology would be the next step forward for handling this material.
“That’s what really attracted us to this technology. When you can hold, not only the soil in place, but actually build the soil, sequester carbon, actually build organic matter; we feel that this innovation, this technology, is the fast track to getting that done on a very large scale,” Kinnard said.
The town of Lincoln approved the permits for the $15 million plant earlier this year, and construction is underway, according to town assessor Joe Jerabek.
The project comes in the wake of Kinnard Farms’ lawsuit settlement with the DNR. That deal calls for the company to eventually stop spreading liquid manure in exchange for avoiding groundwater monitoring requirements.
The Kinnard operation includes 16 industrial farms with about 8,000 cows. It has struggled with agricultural pollution for years as contaminants seeped into private wells. Kewaunee County has relatively shallow soil that does a poor job filtering water, making the area especially susceptible to groundwater contamination.
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