In southern Idaho’s sprawling dairy country, cow manure has long been a costly headache for farmers and a growing environmental concern. Now, a team backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture is turning that problem into opportunity, transforming waste into fertilizer, clean water and even biodegradable plastics.
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Dairy manure becomes profits
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Mario de Haro-Marti’s model compost vessels provide replicated units with inline gas sensors for testing additives enhancing the value of compost.
From left, doctoral student Nick Guho and Professor Erik Coats sample the fermenters where bacteria produce bioplastics.
The technologies paint a picture of a circular dairy bioeconomy, one in which nearly every component of manure and wastewater is recovered and reused.
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