Be prepared to see fewer trucks on area roads near Kinnard Farms in Casco after Sedron officially completed work on its manure processing facility this week.
Kinnard Farms became the second Midwestern farm to have such a facility, which converts manure from the 9,000-cow dairy into an OMRI Listed liquid ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a dry solid fertilizer and clean water. The facility is expected to eliminate the need to haul and land-apply 120 million gallons of liquid manure annually while providing fertilizer for other farmers to use and removing thousands of truck trips from area roads.
“We’ve been working toward this for years, and the system is doing exactly what Sedron said it would,” said Lee Kinnard of Kinnard Farms. “The reclaimed nutrients pay for the facility, we get the water back, and our neighbors see fewer trucks on the road. That’s what being a good steward looks like now.”
Sedron Vice President of Development Lucas Reid has been involved with the project every step of the way. He remembers the moment that inspired the technology more than a decade ago, when Bill Gates took a sip of water produced from human waste by the Janicki Omni Processor. That demonstration sparked conversations about what was possible, including a potential application at Kinnard Farms.
Now that the facility is fully operational, Reid is excited to see its benefits, especially for organic farmers who could use the liquid ammonium nitrate fertilizer in their fields.
The other Varcor system is located at Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana, where it processes manure from more than 20,000 animals. According to Sedron, the fertilizer is available to growers and distributors nationwide in grades containing 7% and 10% nitrogen, with a 16% grade expected by 2028.
