Dairy Milk House Wastewater Treatment

Kevin Janni, Professor and Head
Jun Zhu, Associate Professor, Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca, MN
Sara Christopherson, Extension Onsite Sewage Treatment Educator
David Schmidt, Assistant Extension Engineer
John Bilotta, Carver County Extension Educator
Chip Hentges, Carver County SWCD

Funding Source

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station; Minnesota Extension Service; Carver County Soil and Water Conservation District; Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Bongards’ Creameries; Carver Board of Water and Soil Resources; Carver County Environmental Services; Wright County Planning and Zoning; Wright County Soil Water Conservation District; Bevens Creek Watershed; Crow River Watershed; Natural Resources Conservation Services; Metropolitan Council; Bio-Microbics; NCS Wastewater Solutions; Pirana; Geoflow

Objective

The objective of this project is to evaluate and demonstrate effective techniques and/or systems to reduce environmental pollution from dairy milk house wastewater and disseminate the results to dairy producers in Minnesota.

Need or Impact

Many small and mid-sized dairy operations in Minnesota need to upgrade their milk house wastewater handling systems to comply with Minnesota Feedlot Rules (Minnesota Rules Chapter 7020). Producers want systems that perform reliably, meet environmental regulations, fit their management practices, and are economical to install and operate. Performance, cost, and management information gathered for this project will provide producers, engineers, Extension educators, and technical staff practical and technical information needed to select and design effective and economical systems.

Project Status

In progress.