Dane County already has two manure digesters and now it is considering adding a third centralized digester, among other solutions for handling manure, such as compost, according to a report from Wisconsin State Farmer. The county’s Land and Water Resources Department held a meeting in Waunakee on Feb. 15 to gather input from local farmers.
The county’s current manure digesters are located in Waunakee and Middleton and operate as a partnership between the county, independent businesses, and farmers. In 2021, those two digesters processed more than 90 million gallons of manure and removed about 168,000 pounds of phosphorus before the remains were returned to the original farms and used to fertilize cropland.
Dane County has allocated $3 million in this year’s budget to do a feasibility study for another manure-handling site and potential land acquisition to make that possible.
