Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 8.8
Biogas production facility at a Chinese egg farm. (Courtesy of Gates.)
relatively long-term storage or be designed for regular flushing to an outside storage
structure. In most cases, the manure is applied as a fertilizer to crop lands although a
small portion is used in bioenergy generation such as anaerobic digesters for biogas
production (Figure 8.8) or biomass combustion generator facilities.
8.4 FEED MANUFACTURING
Feed manufacturing for commercial production operations is highly automated from
receiving through distribution. A combination of computers, programmable logic
controllers, and process controllers are used to manage handling and processing
within the feed mill. Commercially available turn-key control systems are avail-
able from several suppliers, and often incorporate real-time process observation with
mobile devices such as personal digital assistants, smart phones, or tablet computers
(Shoen, 2012). Tracking of diet components is critical for maintaining traceability
in the event of contamination by toxins or pathogens and modern feed mill manage-
ment systems support this capability.
Diet formulations are input into a computer system that controls addition of feed-
stuffs in the correct amounts; micronutrients such as supplemental amino acids and
trace minerals are apportioned and mixed separately in smaller batch units with
more accurate weighing equipment. Initial processing (grinding, flaking, etc.) var-
ies between target species and diet; diets for swine and latter stages of meat poultry
