Guernsey, Hereford, Holstein, Jersey, ...Best Dung BTU?

I'm set to order 2 tons of cow dung and would like to get an idea of the BTU/carbon content of specific breeds. On first thought I was set to order Holstein dung but then started thinking about the higher fat content in Jersey milk. I wonder if there is a correlation between the high milk fat content of the Jersey breed and if their dung contained a higher carbon count or something. But then maybe it is the reverse, meaning that since the Jersey puts more fat into its milk is it possible that their dung has less of a heat load and I would be better off getting some Holstein dung.

Does anyone have a species specific dung btu calculation spread sheet they can post?

Also, does anyone have any pictures of their dung bin they can post. I'm trying to get some ideas. Thinking about building it next to my neighbors property line. He's always talking dung so I think he'd be all right with it.

The included pics are from my dung dealer's shop. I don't like the idea of storing it like this without a roof. Probably loose a lot to the elements and those pesky dung beetles.

What a crappy job that must be.... Dung Dryer. Theres a job that really stinks. Looks like he literally stepped in it.

It may be s**t to you but my electric rates aren`t going up this year, my elictric power comes partially from a cow dung to electric producing generator. Its at a near-by dairy farm & is now said to have less than a four year payback on the investment, & the end result is a ready to use fertilizer.

Is your electric power coming from a utility that purchases power from a methane generator coupled to an internal combustion engine/generator ? Or are you buying power directly from your manure manipulating neighbor(s) ?

So what are your plans ? Will you set up your own methane generator or burn dry dung for heat ? Do you have any websites that document the local use of manure in your area ? If it is for heat, it seems it is far more efficient to collect and burn higher caloric density wood. Isn't manure for heat only used where there is no wood as in parts of Mongolia. I believe yurts are heated with horse manure. BWDIK.

I plan to cook with it as well.

Most daries these days do wet, or slury manure. With the type of diet they have the cattle on, they usually have a constant case of the runs. I am not asking this to be silly or anything, but is the farmer feeding a differnt ration to be able to sell you the dung that is in a much more usable form? Is he on the Growers programs with high calcium lime and Growers Mineral Solution? The diarea is usually caused by trying to get the cows to eat more then they can actually digest, and this is because the feed value of the forages is far less then it was 50 years ago before the big age of commercial ferilizers got started.

No I`m in a rural area, don`t think there are too many dairy farms in the cities. The Co. is northwestern rural electric co-op in Pa. it has mostly its own generating facilities & buys very little off market. Its part of a larger group of co-ops, has Raystown Lake Dam hydro-electric, part of an atomic plant & I forget what else. The poo generator is kind of all natural, it goes into enclosed pits & the enzymes work on it to emit the gas that in turn gives the fuel for the generator, when the pits are switched & cleaned the end result is a natural fertilizer. The only downside is that the farmer now makes more off the power than the farm but without the farm theres nothing to make the power. Its supposed to be the largest one in the U.S. so far but theres already more planned. Dried manure has been used for centuries most everywhere, this is a fresh manure that naturally creates methane. There are quite a few countries experimenting with this, this guy has a pretty size-able herd, it takes allot of crap.
No I don`t buy the dung, the electric co-op is partners with the farmer & buys the excess power for its grid.
No special diet that I know of, I`ve spent time in my neighbors barn & you got to be careful where your standing, must be a common thing with dairy cattle, tends to splash a bit.

What you are dealing with there is definately a methane digestor. Not new technology at all. When I was a kid in the 70's my parents were looking into turn key hog operations that were almost self supporting from the methane digestors for the pig manure. The only thing that got in the way was the federal government blocked the plans for the digestors all together. If the digestor is running properly, what comes out is the best possible top soil you can find. Many municiple systems use the same thing. There is a large one in Hanover PA that has been running efficently for decades. Back in the 70's the only thing they could do with the methane though was burn it off in a large outside burner. Middle River plant in Baltimore County MD had the same thing. Middle river used to sell the end product round the country to schools to fertilize the athletic fields. Then the feds stepped in during the 80's and ruined everything.

samhill wrote:The poo generator is kind of all natural, it goes into enclosed pits & the enzymes work on it to emit the gas that in turn gives the fuel for the generator

If you agree to poop in the pit every day, do you get an additional discount on your electricity?
Seriously, though, this is fascinating! I didn't know this sort of thing really existed.

Your right Bear, its been awhile since I first learned about it, I guess they finally got the technology right or the Feds finally figured it out. My bet is the technology. I`m gonna have to stop up there & take a look for myself in the near future.

.....seen it in operation......viable, renewable and a tax credit.

Dung has probably been a fuel for centuries, it always makes me wonder why or how someone decides tose if this s**t will burn. They used to collect buffalo chips out on the plains for use in winter & what farmboy has never thrown a cow pie or two.

samhill wrote:what farmboy has never thrown a cow pie or two.

Yeah, they were probably the inspiration for the frisbee. The aboriginal Australians probably shaped them into boomarangs. What's a kangaroo pie look like?

Wow, in keeping with the dung theme, check out this link. You can't make this stuff up!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12059969



"He is known in Catalan as the caganer. That translates most politely as 'the defecator' - and there he is, squatting under a tree with his trousers down.

At the nearby Christmas market amid the sprigs of holly and Santa hats rows of miniature, crouching country boys are lined up for sale.

Innocuous-looking from the front, their buttocks are bare and each one has a small, brown deposit beneath."