Sludge Watch ==> Dead Stock Poses Challenges

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

There is a strong case to be made for using dead stock for biomass energy 
generation.
With avian flu in the wings, and BSE culls, and other pathogen issues - we 
need to be
able to disinfect a high number of carcasses....so as to avoid the problems 
of scavanging
and vector discussed in this story

And we might want to manage sewage sludge the same way...for the same public 
health
reasons.

Dead stock should not go to cement kilns, since this high phosphoric acid 
material can
corrupt the cement, so it doesn't have the required strength or set up time.

................................................................................................................

Dead stock pose challenges
this document web posted: 2006-11-09
Western Producer

By Brian Cross
Saskatoon newsroom

CUDWORTH, SASK. - A potentially stinky problem is mounting in parts of
Saskatchewan as hog producers look for new ways to dispose of dead animals.

With the discovery of BSE in 2003 and the subsequent collapse of export
markets for Canadian meat and bone meal, rendering companies in Western
Canada stopped collecting dead animals as a free service to producers.

As a result, livestock producers pay to have their dead animals removed
while others bury the carcasses on site, an option that has some rural
residents concerned about odour, disease, ground water contamination and
scavengers.

"Previous to the discovery of BSE, there was no charge to collect fallen
livestock, at least not within a 125 kilometre radius of Saskatoon and
Moose Jaw," said Bruce King, divisional manager of West Coast Reductions
in Saskatoon.

"There's now a four cent per pound fee for dead stock removal," he
added. "We're just trying to recover some of our transportation costs."

King said market prices for meat and bone meal produced from rendered
animal carcasses were $250 a tonne before BSE was confirmed in an
Alberta beef cow in May 2003.

Within weeks, bone meal exports were halted and the price fell to $40 a
tonne.

The need for rendered materials, such as hog and cattle carcasses, also
bottomed out.

In Saskatchewan, the response by large-scale hog barns has varied from
producer to producer, said Andy Jansen, a manager in charge of
inspections and regulations with Saskatchewan Agriculture.

Some large producers continued to refrigerate dead animals and pay to
have the carcasses transported to rendering plants.

Others opted for composting, incineration or burial, which is the least
expensive alternative.

"Burial pits are an option that we approve," said Jansen.

"It is considered a normal agricultural practice, but there are some
management practices that go with it."

Jansen said changes in the rendering industry have accentuated the
importance of dead stock management.

He said a number of operators have switched to on-site burial and, in
some cases, the transition has generated complaints.

"(Some) operators don't recognize how much work is involved in managing
dead stock properly," he said.

"Scavengers is usually where we get most of our complaints. There is a
potential for odour as well ... but our key concern with burial pits is
to ensure that water resources are being protected."

Jansen said operators who switch to on-site burial are expected to
contact Saskatchewan Agriculture to ensure burial pits are properly located.

He said pits should be in discreet locations, preferably surrounded by
shelterbelts, and carcasses should be covered with straw or dirt.

Soil type and proximity to aquifers should also be considered before a
burial site is selected.

Cattle producer David Viczko of Cudworth, Sask., agreed that dead stock
disposal is an important management issue for intensive livestock
producers, but he wondered if on-site burial is a good option.

Viczko, who lives within a few kilometres of a Stomp Pork Farms
finishing barn, said pits that contain dead feeder pigs, sows, weanlings
and discarded fetuses are attracting rats, flies, ravens, magpies,
coyotes and other scavengers.

Viczko is also concerned about odour and the potential for ground water
contamination.

"I'm not against intensive livestock operations," said Viczko, who once
had a trucking contract with the barns' owners.

"I'm all for adding value and I welcome any kind of progress we can make
in this province, but it's got to be done responsibly."

Viczko described the pits he has seen as a smorgasbord for rats and
other scavengers.

Each pit is surrounded by straw bales that are supposed to be used to
cover the dead animals, but according to Viczko, the bales provide a
perfect nesting spot for rats.

"They (the rats) have got it all. They've got a smorgasbord right there
and then, when they're done feeding, they go back and hide in the straw
bales."

Viczko's other major concern is contamination.

He said above average rainfall during the past few years has raised the
water table and exacerbated the potential for ground water
contamination, spread of disease and leaching of antibiotics.

Viczko said a neighbour who lives near the site no longer uses his well
because the water smells so bad.

"When you have ground water that's higher than the base of your lagoons
and pits, you've got to wonder if there's a serious risk of contamination."

He and another neighbour, Kelly Borstmayer, are considering filing a
formal complaint to the Agricultural Operations Review Board.

At Saskatchewan Agriculture, Jansen confirmed that complaints over dead
animal disposal have become more prevalent.

"We've had to deal with a few complaints, after the fact, due to changes
in the rendering (industry)," he said. "They're looking for alternatives."

Jansen said hog barns over a certain size are required to submit manure
and dead stock management plans before they receive government approval
to operate.

Hog barns that change their management practices are expected to inform
provincial livestock regulators.

"For the most part, (producers) have been pretty good," he said.

"In fact, the hog industry is probably better than most because they've
been under more scrutiny and they're more sensitive to these things."

Brad Cramer, general manager of Stomp Pork Farms, said the issue of dead
stock management is an industry-wide problem that could grow.

He said his company has followed the guidelines set out by Saskatchewan
Agriculture and has received no complaints from neighbours.

"We want to be good corporate citizens and good neighbours in the
communities that we're involved in" he said.

"So we encourage people, that if they feel there is an issue, please
call us because we want to be proactive."

Cramer said the company is looking at a strategy that involves on-site
composters valued at $50,000 each.

"We know there's (an industry-wide) problem but the constraint is
capital, and any dollars that you spend, there's no return," he said.

"But again, we have to be responsible and manage our dead stock and
we're doing the best we can."

Hog production in Saskatchewan stands at roughly 2.4 million pigs per
year, including 2.2 million slaughter hogs and roughly 200,000 weanlings
for export.

Industry estimates suggest annual mortality rates of three to four percent.