Hawaii...where it all began.
What started as a frustrating day for George Kahumoku, Jr., farm owner of Kealia Farms in South Kona, has turned into a technology that is gaining interest across the entire Pacific basin. In the extension profession, it is a joy to work with producers who we call the “early adopters”. These producers latch on to new ideas and technology and make it work for their operations, improving production efficiency and their bottom-line. George was an early adopter who had many projects going on at the farm, within his community, with his music business, and in his life. One of his projects (and passions) was raising pigs and so George and Glen Fukumoto (College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources' livestock extension agent) were looking at ways to improve George's deep-bedded waste management system using the carbon-rich macadamia nut byproducts of shells and husks. One summer, due to George’s great reproductive management skills, he had a bumper crop of weaned pigs, which he temporarily housed in his dog kennels.
The kennel had sloping floors that dropped-off into a lower containment level with a drain for the wash water. Husks were used as shallow bedding in the pens, but the pigs (and gravity) forced all of the material out of the pen into the basin where it clogged the drain. Being curious animals, the pigs played with the water nozzle until the lower containment area was filled with water too. When Glen arrived on George’s farm, he was frustrated with the big mess the pigs were making in their pens. What Glen saw was not the mess, but an innovative idea. This is when the light bulb started flashing and Glen told George, “This is it!” The deep-bedded system had already been implemented in several European and Asian countries in the early 90’s, however there were some emerging concerns. The carbon bedding was immobile making clean-up difficult. As the manure accumulated, so did the liquid waste increase in the pens and the heat from the composting; conditions that optimized disease and parasite build-up that stressed the pigs.
The kennel had sloping floors that dropped-off into a lower containment level with a drain for the wash water. Husks were used as shallow bedding in the pens, but the pigs (and gravity) forced all of the material out of the pen into the basin where it clogged the drain. Being curious animals, the pigs played with the water nozzle until the lower containment area was filled with water too. When Glen arrived on George’s farm, he was frustrated with the big mess the pigs were making in their pens. What Glen saw was not the mess, but an innovative idea. This is when the light bulb started flashing and Glen told George, “This is it!” The deep-bedded system had already been implemented in several European and Asian countries in the early 90’s, however there were some emerging concerns. The carbon bedding was immobile making clean-up difficult. As the manure accumulated, so did the liquid waste increase in the pens and the heat from the composting; conditions that optimized disease and parasite build-up that stressed the pigs.
Dry Litter Technology
With the sloping floors (and gravity) of the dog kennel, and with a pig’s natural grubbing and hoof actions, the bedding material could flow out of the pen into a (waste) holding area, eliminating any build-up of manure in the pens. The pens would stay dry and the bedding material that was discharged into the holding area was already pre-mixed with animal nutrients creating a ready-made compost. Odors and fly populations would be very minimal and no water would be used for pen clean up. That “aha moment” (a sudden understanding, recognition or resolution) was when the modified deep litter system was born. It took several years of on-farm research trials to prove the technology worked and for the concept to evolve into the modified dry litter (since it is not deep bedded) or dry litter technology. Other name iterations include: composting piggery, portable dry litter pen, and dry litter piggery. The key paradigm shift in the modified dry litter concept is that the pig waste is now a valuable and easy to handle resource, which can add value to the operation (sales of compost) or save cost in nutrient input for the farms’ crop enterprise.
Outreach, Adoption and Implementation
The U.S. E.P.A. 319 research portion of the project was completed in 1995-96. The first outreach and introduction of the technology to the Pacific island nations was through a Western SARE project in 1997. National exposure and the results of the research work were published as a proceedings article in 1999. Three demonstration projects of the Dry Litter System have been deployed in the Pacific: 1) Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Service-Tinian Island, 2) University of Guam-Dededo Agriculture Research Station, and 3) American Samoa Community College. In 2010, there were six producer operated Modified Dry Litter Systems; two on Tinian, CNMI, one in American Samoa, two on Hawaii island and one on Oahu. The greatest impact of the technology has been in American Samoa, where 11 facilities were under construction in 2010 for a total of 25 dry litter facilities on Tutuila island.
In addition, there are several portable dry litter systems in place as well. A recent article in the Samoa News called the modified dry litter waste management system ‘a model for the Pacific’.”
In addition, there are several portable dry litter systems in place as well. A recent article in the Samoa News called the modified dry litter waste management system ‘a model for the Pacific’.”