Developing Projects and Partners to Comprehensively Treat Dairy Manure in the San Joaquin Valley

Date: January 11, 2006, Modesto, CA

Forum Summary (PDF, 880 KB)

Over 60 representatives of local, state and federal agencies, elected officials, dairy industry representatives, environmental groups, academics, and others participated in the forum, Developing Projects and Partners to Comprehensively Treat Dairy Manure in the San Joaquin Valley. Building on the Local Government Commission’s Waste to Watts meeting held in October 2004, this one-day forum offered participants an opportunity to devise comprehensive pilot projects for treating dairy manure in the San Joaquin Valley. The goal of this activity was to brainstorm ideas to protect Valley air, water and soil, and utilize manure as a resource, while still being financially viable for dairies.

During the forum, experts discussed the environmental issues and opportunities associated with dairy manure, provided examples of treatment technologies, and outlined various grants and loans available for financing pilot projects. Participants ended the day using the information presented, and their own expertise, to develop potential pilot projects. They looked at the needs of particular sites, the technologies that could best fit into a comprehensive approach, which financing mechanisms would best fit, and developed the next steps for moving forward with pilot projects. A summary of the forum's activities will be made available at a later date.

Presentations/Handouts:

• Anaerobic Digesters – George Simons, Principal Research Consultant, ITRON [Presentation] (PDF, 727 KB)
• Manure-to-Fuels – Ken Krich, Assistant Director, California Institute for Energy and Environment [Presentation] (PDF, 2 MB)
• Gasification – Bryan Jenkins, Executive Director, California Biomass Collaborative, Professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis [Presentation] (PDF, 1.1 MB)
• Farm Pilot Project Coordination Program – Bob Monley, General Manager, Farm Pilot Project Coordination, Inc. [Presentation] (PDF, 538 KB); [Handout on FPPC 2005 Summit] (PDF, 412 KB)