Manure Storage in the Town of Hopewell

Ontario County SWCD recently completed our final project in the NYS Ag and Markets CAFO Waste Storage and Transfer Grant Program. For this project we installed a 3.4 million gallon waste storage system on a dairy farm in the Town of Hopewell. This storage is a large concrete box structure with two bays that serves as a full collection system for all runoff from the silage bunk storage pad, as well as providing 6 months of manure storage for the farm. This project involved complex site work as we had to fit the new storage facility into a tight footprint directly in the center of a busy farmstead. New silage storage bunks were installed by the farm concurrently with this project and are now located directly upslope of this new waste storage facility. This new storage has allowed the farm to discontinue use of an old Vegetative Treatment Area (VTA) that had become a long-term operation and maintenance concern. Having 6 months of manure storage will allow this farm to time manure application during appropriate weather conditions and during times of optimal nutrient uptake to meet crop needs.