Composte site may help dairymen manage manure

There are 240 dairies with an average of about 120 milking cows each in Cache County, notes Douglas Cone, president of Bridgerland Composting, Inc. "A lot of the manure is applied raw - not always at opportune times, like when the ground is frozen," he says.

"With spring runoff, many farmers can't contain the waste on their premises."

Having earned a degree in animal science and worked for soil and water conservation districts, Cone sees both sides of the picture. Bridgerland is using a $58,000 grant from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Water Quality to study whether a regional composting site could help these dairies. "We hope to have this study …