John Schaap Education BS Agricultural Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 1995 MS Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, 1997 Professional licenses Registered Agricultural Engineer (California) Registered Civil Engineer (California, Colorado) Project Experience Boom times dairy expansion and relocation; Displacement of ~160,000 milk cows in Chino Valley (east of Los Angeles) by urban land uses; 2000-2005: High milk prices and low feed prices, significant real estate exchange money to be reinvested; Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group (P&P) Diversified Ag & Civil Engineering Firm Dairy Services; Agricultural Services; Water and Wastewater; Irrigation District Management; Municipal Infrastructure; Land Development; Land Surveying and GIS; Planning & Environmental. The Dairy Industry in California Dairy is the number one agricultural business; 22% of the U.S. milk supply originates there; California dairy business is a $47 billion USD industry employing over 400,000 people; California dairy business is characterized by: Efficiency; Economies of scale; Intense management; Transitions out of urban areas; New environmental scrutiny. Tulare County, California $1.2 billion USD annual milk crop value; About 300 dairies; 464,000 milk cows; Average herd size ~ 1500 milk cows; Average milk production = 70 lbs (30.8 l) /hd/day w/ 3.68% fat and 3.28% protein; 1
Predominant Dairy Housing Southwest USA Weather Data vs. Predominant Housing Location Average Annual Precip. Average Annual Temp. (1971-2000) (1971 2000) Predominant Housing Redding, CA 35.6in / 85 cm 62 F / 17 C Freestalls Freestalls Sacramento, CA 18.0 in / 46 cm 61 F / 16 C Freestalls Modesto, CA 13.9 in / 35 cm 62 F/ 17 C Freestalls Visalia, CA 11.0 in / 28 cm 63 F/ 17 C Freestalls / Open Lots Freestalls Freestalls & Open Lots Freestalls, Open Lots, and Loafing / Saudi Barns with Intensive Cooling Open Lots Bakersfield, CA 6.5 in / 17 cm 65 F/ 19 C Freestalls / Open Lots El Centro, CA 3.0 in / 8 cm 73 F/ 23 C Freestalls, Open Lots, and Loafing / Saudi Barns with Intensive Cooling Phoenix, AZ 8.3 in / 21 cm 74 F/ 23 C Freestalls, Open Lots, and Loafing / Saudi Barns with Intensive Cooling Clovis, NM 18.6 in / 47 cm 57 F/ 14 C Open lots Roswell, NM 13.5 in / 34 cm 61 F/ 16 C Open lots El Paso, TX 9.4 in / 24 cm 64 F / 18 C Open lots Lubbock, TX* 18.7 in / 48 cm 73 F/ 23 C Open lots Other Weather Factors Freestalls Fog (San Joaquin Valley of California); Wind (Texas and New Mexico); Humidity; Presence or absence of snow and number of days snow per year; Animals can be locked in during wet weather to keep them dry and clean; Typically naturally ventilated in the Southwest, dictating haunch height, roof pitch, and ridge vent opening; Can provide good supplemental cooling in hot weather with fans and soakers; Choice of bedding: sand, manure, wood shavings, newspaper, other things; Cost: ~$1,000 USD / milk cow. Freestalls, cont d Ideally oriented east-west; Access to 100 ft (30.5 m) deep exercise pen Freestall beds 2
Happy Cows Freestalls for milk cows. Open lots for dry cows, heifers Tulare, California Open or Dry lots Typically about 300 ft (91 m) deep corrals (600 ft 2 or 55 m 2 per animal); Slope typically varies between about 2% and 4%; Shade at peak/grade break or special shade pads; Shades run north-south; Cost: ~$650 USD / cow. Southern Panhandle, Texas Freestalls vs. Open (Dry) Lots Transition to freestalls for milk cows after 1997-1998 El Nino years in Tulare County, California. By 2009, 38% of milk cows are in freestalls; Freestalls also have the advantage of helping to provide better cooling. Loafing / Saudi Barns Can provide intensive evaporative cooling. Fans with high pressure mist are used; Curtains help contain conditioned air; Loose bedding is scraped out to dry in corrals every day and dry bedding is scraped in; Cost: ~$800 USD / cow (cooling costs can add $100-500 USD / cow). 3
Loafing Van Leeuwen (Saudi) barn / AZ in Arizona pics Loafing (Saudi) barn under construction in Imperial Valley, CA Tractor and scraper at work bedding the loafing barn Van Leeuwen / AZ pics Loafing (Saudi) barn in Arizona with curtains deployed Compost Barns Provide at least 80-100 ft 2 (7.4-9.3 m 2 ) per cow for Holsteins; Use fine, dry wood shavings or sawdust for bedding; Aerate the pack twice daily 10 inches (25 cm) deep or deeper to keep it aerobic and fluffy; Biological activity helps dry the pack; Add bedding when it begins to stick to the cows; Compost barns, cont d Temperature Humidity Index Enhance biological activity to generate heat to drive off moisture, and ventilate the barn well to remove the moisture; Use excellent cow prep at milking time; Optimum management is absolutely necessary to achieve desirable results. Heat stress can occur as low as 72 F (22 C); High heat and humidity can be fatal; Milk production drops off up to 30%. Temperature Dairy Heat Stress Chart F 116 113 110 107 104 101 THI = 99 98 95 92 THI = 90 89 86 83 80 THI = 78 77 74 THI = 72 71 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 No Stress Mild Stress Distressed Fatal Severe Stress Percent Relative Humidity 4
Typical Cooling Aids Soakers over stanchion line alternately soak and cool the cow by evaporative cooling and conduction; Fans; Increase the flow of air across the cow s body to aid in evaporative cooling; Small ½ hp (0.37 kw) units to 7 hp (5.2 kw) Korral Kools; Sometimes inject high pressure mist at the fan. Small droplet size readily evaporates, dropping the air temperature. 1 gpm (3.8 l/min) every 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m), on 1 min., off 4 min Fans mounted on bed columns Commodity barn - Colorado Front Range $15-20 / ft 2 ($160-$215/m 2 ) Dairy Development Process Preliminary dairy design; Permitting; Land use agency, if applicable; Environmental agencies; Detailed design; Construction; Ongoing operation and compliance. Hay Barns - Colorado Front Range $2.50-$3 / ft 2 ($27-$32/m 2 ) 5
Preliminary Dairy Design With owner preferences taken as a given, a facility is designed with the following in mind: Cow comfort Throughput and labor efficiency Daily and life cycle cow flow Milk cows close to dairy barn Groups that transfer on a regular basis are in close proximity (dry, closeup, hospital, fresh, etc.) Feeding and delivery traffic patterns Preliminary Dairy Design Considerations, Continued Orientation to sun and prevailing winds for shade, ventilation, and cow comfort Topography for site drainage Biosecurity and bioterrorism Setbacks and buildable area Farmland and irrigation system Other existing facilities Land Use Map Freestall T style dairy site plan Management Practices Weeping wall solid separator, California Housing: Freestalls, Open Lots, Loafing Barns Waste management Collection Scraped or vacuumed Flushed lanes Solids separation Mechanical Gravity / Weeping Wall Treatment Bedding Sand Manure or other 6
Slope screen separators, California Screw press separator at end of plug flow digester, California Water Quality Protection Protection of surface water; Containment of runoff; Flood protection; Protection of groundwater; Wastewater retention pond liner; Agronomic nutrient applications; Proper site design (slope, no ponding water). Detailed Dairy Design Implement and provide for permitted mitigations; Building permit packages, if applicable; Bid packages for contractors; Lagoon workplan; Building Permits / Plans Structural plans and calculations Plumbing Electrical Mechanical Construction Contractor correspondence; Clarify and answer questions; Deal with changes; Construction observation; Help with getting permit conditions in place and signed off. 7
Digesters Covered anaerobic lagoon Lindsay, California Types: Covered lagoon (flushed effluent); Plug flow (scraped, high solids content); Other. Revenue: Green power (electricity or natural gas); Carbon credits; Generator burning biomethane, Lindsay, California Challenges in California Ethanol high feed prices and effect on profitability; Environmental compliance costs: Air Quality VOC emissions concern now focused on feed; Water Quality Compliance costs for new general permit. The End 8