Dr Ted Howard and Dr John Aber Production Costs of Wood Shavings for Animal Bedding Stump to Shed Supported by USDA McIntire Stennis NH00073 M Hatch NH00605 projects and Origins of Project ID: 703249
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Matt Smith, PhD Student in Natural Resou..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Matt Smith, PhD Student in Natural ResourcesDr. Ted Howard and Dr. John Aber
Production Costs of Wood Shavings for Animal Bedding: Stump to Shed
Supported by USDA McIntire-
Stennis
NH00073- M, Hatch NH00605 projects and Slide2
Origins of ProjectUNH meeting with New England dairy farmers to determine areas of research need
Conclusion of meeting: Devise new approaches to reducing input costs for dairy farming feed, energy and bedding, while also reducing ecological footprint of dairy farming
Our focus Bedding and Energy Slide3
An Integrated System to Provide Bedding,
Composting and Energy
http://attra.ncat.org/images/solar-gh/solar_greenhouse.gif
Woodlands
Bedded Pack
Heat Recovery
Compost
Wood Shavings
Compost back to Farm FieldsSlide4
Step 1: Establish bedding benchmark - Analyze current bedding at UNH (cost/quality/quantity)
Input material – kiln-dried eastern white pine (EWP) shavings
Comfortable for cowsClean/softRegionally available (although declining)Used to be relatively inexpensiveCompatible with composting system
UNH 12/2013 White pine
shaving delivery to UNH Organic Dairy (moving floor 18-wheeler)Slide5
Bedding cost at UNHCost $1800-$2100/100 yd3 ($600 in freight from 100 miles away)
Higher costs in the winter months (reduced availability due to reduction in manufacturing and competing markets)Roughly $74,000-$85,000 per year for UNH farm system, with $11,200 – $12,600 at the UNH ODRF
11/2012 delivery to UNH Equine CenterSlide6
Solution to Reduce Cost @ UNH Organic Dairy Produce bedding from on-farm sources (160 acre woodlot) with a wood shaver
Uses 4’ or 8’ logs 2-24’’ in diameter “shaving log”Only softwoods can be used (hardwoods not suitable bedding)Most likely bedding source (and highest grade = eastern white pine)Machine Cost = $60,000
UNH ODRF Summer 2013Slide7
Step 1: Build On-Farm Bedding Production Model to Assess whether UNH should Purchase Wood ShaverInput Variables (25):
Power sourceMachine outputFarm feedstock requirementCurrent cost of bedding
Cost of shaving millInterest Rate# of years of loanFuel consumption of mill Electric consumption
Electric cost (kw/h)Etc.
Results:Hours of machine operation/year for farm demandHours of log loadingFeedstock requirement (cords/ton) for farmLabor cost/year
Fuel Cost/year
Energy cost/year
Maintenance cost
Cost of shavings/yd
3
, ft
3
Etc. Slide8
Step 2: Harvest the WoodFelled with chainsaws and brought to landing with cable skidder50 cords eastern white pine and 10 cords of eastern hemlock harvested
Total cost per cord to the landing $78Can sustainably harvest 2.1 acres/year for a 75 yr rotation (Aber et al. 2008)
Acreage requirement less if doing a volume swap
UNH 8/2012 1 acre patch cut @ Organic DairySlide9
Volume Swap (Saw logs for Pulp)Traded sawlogs for pulp in a 1.25 : 1 ratioSplit cost savings in fuel between two parties Gained 25% more biomass to shave from same acreage
UNH ODRF 8/2012 unloading of pulp and loading of saw logs during volume swapSlide10
Step 3: Shave the Wood and Verify Model≈ 6 logs loaded into hopper (3 minutes to load batch)
While machine shaves logs for 20 minutes: Load next six logs onto log platformDebark (testing a manual method)Record biomass #’s for research purposes
Current output 12 yd3/hr.Output is adjustable and dependent on desired shaving thickness
UNH ODRF Summer 2013Slide11
Initial Cost Analysis60 cords harvested, at a cost of $78/cordCost ≈ $6.00 per yd3
of green shavings from UNH Drying methods and cost to be added in the futureCurrently purchasing shavings for $18-$21/yd
3Detailed Cost Analysis to come out by summer 2014
UNH ODRF Summer 2013Slide12
Accomplishments Thus FarBuilt “On-farm animal bedding production model”
Allows for quick analysis of whether it is economical for a farmer (or institution) to purchase a shaving machine – justified UNH purchaseHarvested 1 acre to feed new UNH shaving machineCompleted stem-analysis on 50 harvested EWP trees
UNH 8/2012 1 acre patch cut @ Organic DairySlide13
Verify model and release to the public Test eastern white pine against eastern hemlock as a bedding source (microbial counts, cost of shaving, cow comfort, etc.)Test various methods to drying bedding – kiln driers are at least $50,000 (not economical for small farmer)
Develop a guide on growing pine for the purpose of producing animal bedding (underway and close to finished)
Future Research for Bedding ProjectSlide14
Steve Eisenhaure – Manager of the UNH Woodlands and Natural AreasCharles Simms – Masters student at UNH and summer work study student on the projectTom Oxford – Coordinator of Farm Services
Nicole Guindon – ODRF ManagerMark Dill – ODRF Assistant Manager
AcknowledgmentsSlide15
QuestionsSlide16
Lancaster, K.F., and Leak, W.B. 1978. A silvicultural guide for white pine in the northeast. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report NE-41. Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, Pennsylvania, USA.Wendel, G.W., Smith, H.G. 1990. Pinus strobus L. Eastern White Pine. Silvics of north America, Conifers. Agric. Hand b. 654. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, pp. 476-488
.Wilson, R.W., and McQuilkin, W.F. 1965. In Silvics of forest trees of the United States. p. 329-337. H.A. Fowells, comp. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 271. Washington DC.
References