Patz says new product reduces odor from manure applications
Heather Thorstensen
Date Modified: 10/19/2009 3:02 PM
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Agri News staff writer
MADISON, Wis. -- Livestock producers may no longer have to worry about sending offensive odors down wind after they apply manure to their fields.
Patz Corporation, a Wisconsin-based company, displayed a new manure treatment system at World Dairy Expo. It's said to reduce manure's odor and pathogens while increasing nutrient concentration.
It's called OZy, for its "odor zapping" purpose.
OZy's secret weapon is a series of electrical pulses. A hose pulls manure from pits, lagoons or above-ground slurry tanks to the system. As manure travels through tubes inside, the pulses kill odor-causing bacteria and pathogens. It ruptures cell walls, a process called cell lysis. Manure returns to the opposite end of the holding tank and should sit for at least 10 days before it's land applied.
"To our knowledge, there's nothing else like it," said John Hoffner, OZy product manager.
OZy can treat 100 gallons per minute, or approximately 140,000 gallons in a day. Models range from $99,000 to $150,000 for individual producers to custom land applicators.
The company isn't claiming odor is reduced at the barn site. Research shows the treatment's effect isn't noticeable there because fresh manure is added on a regular basis. It's when the manure is land applied that people have noticed a difference.
Hoffner didn't have an exact level of how much the odor is reduced on fields. Odor is subjective, he said, but OZy has been tested in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Iowa and user testimonials have been extremely positive.
"Based on our user testimonies of dairy and hog operations, multiple land application treatments at their respective facilities have resulted in virtual elimination of offensive odors," says a brochure from the company. One farmer said people walked near his fields and were oblivious that manure was even nearby.
Hoffner described the scent that's left as an earthy, organic smell. This could benefit farmers dealing with urban sprawl or neighbors who aren't happy with smells of traditional livestock production.
Darrell Patz, president of Patz Corporation, said OZy will also help producers with environmental issues.
"If we can help livestock producers meet these challenges, we want to help them," Patz said.
Independent research shows coliform levels are reduced by an average of 72 percent and E. coli levels are reduced on average by 79 percent with the product. Reducing these pathogens can lower risk of ground and surface water contamination. If a producer has a flush barn, reduced pathogens lower the risk of disease or mastitis in the herd.
The system's ability to lower the number of pathogens but leave in concentrated nutrients allows producers to use a higher application rate, said Hoffner. Independent research also shows a 41 percent average reduction in solids and a 57 average reduction in phosphorus in the liquid portion.
The system is designed to be as simple and unobtrusive as possible. It tracks the amount of treated gallons and can detect any interruption in flow. If it senses an interruption, it shuts down to avoid a spill and can send alarms through a phone call. When properly installed, the grounding process prevents danger of electrical hazards to people, equipment and animals. Its generator is quiet and rated at speaking-level decibels from 23 feet.
Patz Corporation has been in business since 1948. It sells other manure and feed handling equipment with a dealer network that includes Minnesota and Iowa. To learn more, visit www.patzcorp.com.