Tim Shepherd - Sr. Extension Associate
M.S. from Iowa State University
Graduate Fields: Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Areas of Interest: Dairy Waste Management
Professional Organizations: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Email: tas229@cornell.edu
PRO-DAIRY's Integrated Dairy Waste Management Program
Current Research:
Dairy farm growth and sustainability in New York State highly depends upon solving manure and waste management concerns as they relate to environmental and community relations. Resolving this limitation requires identifying, evaluating and implementing manure and waste treatment technologies which provide positive benefits the producer, environment, and community. The future of manure and farm-waste management provides for the integration of new technologies capable of increasing the sustainability and profitability of dairy production. Specific dairy waste and manure management systems have the potential to provide value-added byproducts through the production of energy, bedding, and exportable organic matter and nutrients.
We are currently assessing the feasibility and applicability of advanced manure treatment technologies. The first system incorporates chemical pre-treatment to improve the nutrient capture (Nitrogen, Phosphorus) of traditional mechanical manure-solid separators. The second system incorporates sequenced mechanical separation utilizing industrial membrane technology. The ultimate goal of each system is to concentrate and partition nutrients and solids into a small mass fraction of the waste: (1) enhancing the economics of transportation and application, (2) producing a low-strength liquid waste suitable for irrigation or tertiary treatment, and (3) improving nutrient management systems to ensure environmental sustainability.
Selected Recent Publications:
Shepherd, T.A., R.T. Burns, L.B. Moody, D.R. Raman, K.J. Stalder. 2008. Investigating Conductivity to Predict Magnesium Addition Requirements for Struvite Precipitation in Swine Manure Slurries. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 25(1).
Shepherd, T.A., R.T. Burns, D.R. Raman, L.B. Moody, K.J. Stalder. 2008. Performance of a Pilot-Scale Air Sparged Continuous Flow Reactor and Hydrocyclone for Struvite Precipitation and Removal from Liquid Swine Manure. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. (Accepted for Publication, final proof).