(MI) The Alpena News – As with any business, agricultural producers must be constantly aware of the environment and how their operations have an impact. For the Tolan family, manure constitutes the largest portion of the Sanborn Township dairy operation’s efforts for maintaining environmental compliance.

The Tolans’ cows produce about three million gallons of manure per year. The cow stalls are bedded with sand semi annually, which provides a cushion for the cow to lay on as well as benefits for overall cow health. The excess sand from the stalls mix with the manure that the cows produce.

Twice each day the alleys the cows walk in are scraped and the manure/sand mixture is pushed into the manure pit. The wash and waste water from cleaning and sanitizing the milking equipment and milking parlor is also pumped into the manure it, Russ Tolan said. More