Another round of funding from the Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) and Dairy Plus are imminent. If your dairy has not gotten AMMP or digester funding from CDFA you are eligible for AMMP funding in this round. If your dairy has gotten either digester or AMMP funding from CDFA in the past you are still eligible for Dairy Plus. The goal of both programs is to reduce the production of methane from manure stored in lagoons. This is accomplished by keeping more of the manure out of the lagoon by separating it from the flush water before it enters the lagoon, converting from flush to scrape and handling the scraped manure in a drier form, or treating the manure in a compost bedded pack barn or pasture. The Dairy Plus Program also has the additional goal of improving water quality, though AMMP also has this benefit in many cases.

In the Central Valley water quality regulations are changing with new Nitrate Management Zones and the upcoming revision to the dairy general order. These funding opportunities are an important assistance in preparing for these water quality changes, as well as reducing manure methane emissions.

Practices funded by AMMP include increasing time on pasture, traditional mechanical solid separation, compost bedded pack barns, partial conversion from flush to scrape, advanced solid separation using flocculants or beads and vermifiltration, or worm filters. It is my understanding that centrifuge manure separators will be added to AMMP in this round. Dairy Plus will fund vermifiltration, weeping walls, and advanced solid-liquid separation assisted by flocculants and/or bead filters. Dairy Plus will also fund subsurface drip irrigation using liquid manure and composting in conjunction with one of the practices above.

Kyle and I will be assisting dairies that want to apply for AMMP and Dairy Plus. We have a list of dairies that have already expressed interest in having us help them with their application, but we have some additional capacity. If you are interested in applying for funding under one of these programs the time to get started is now.

If you have questions or would like to talk through your ideas for these programs reach out to me at 209-556-2490 or [email protected]