News from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

Workshops to Look at What's New in Manure: Uses, Methods, Technology

Manure Technology workshops are set for March 19 in western Ohio near Grand Lake St. Marys and for March 20 in northern Ohio at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. The programs feature many of the same topics and speakers but also some different ones, said Mary Wicks of Ohio State's Ohio Composting and Manure Management Program, one of the organizers. But the focus of both workshops is the same, Wicks said: The latest on-farm practices for managing manure nutrients; and opportunities for new technologies, including anaerobic digestion. The speakers at both locations will be from OARDC, Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and such companies as Clear Horizons, Menke Consulting, NuVention Solutions, Phase 3 Renewables, quasar energy group, BioTown Ag beef feedlot and Amiran Technologies. Complete lists of the topics and speakers are online at http://go.osu.edu/Hve (Maria Stein; pdf) and http://go.osu.edu/Hvg (Wooster; pdf). The Wooster session has a registration fee -- $15 by March 12, $20 after that date -- while the one in Maria Stein is free, thanks to its sponsors. Registration at either location includes a continental breakfast and lunch. The Maria Stein program goes from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Knights of St. John Hall, 8608 State Route 119; the Wooster program, from 9:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m. in OARDC's Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave. Reserve a spot and lunch at the Maria Stein program by contacting OSU Extension's Mercer County office, 419-586-2179, ellis.301@cfaes.osu.edu. Or, for more information, call Jim Keller, 419-733-0240, or Jim Hoorman, 419-421-7255. Register for the Wooster program by sending your name, contact information and registration fee (with checks made payable to OARDC/OSU) to Mary Wicks, OARDC/OSU, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691. Contact Wicks as well -- 330-202-3533, wicks.14@osu.edu -- for more information. Participants in either workshop are eligible for 4.0 Ohio Department of Agriculture Certified Livestock Manager continuing education units (CEUs) and 3.0 Ohio Professional Engineers professional development hours (PDHs). The sponsors of the Maria Stein program are OSU Extension and the area group Ag Solutions. Sponsoring the Wooster program are OARDC, OSU Extension, the Ohio Soybean Council and OBIC. OARDC and OSU Extension are the research and outreach arms, respectively, of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Source of inspiration: Make the most of manure? Two coming workshops will help farmers do just that. 2.16.2012