Managing Livestock Wastes

This is a compilation of paper s presente d at the 1975 Agricultural Waste Conference , sponsore d by Cornel University and the National Science Foundation, discussing the energy required in agriculture and waste management . Although these paper s are individual contributions, each addresses one of three topics: (i) energy and food production, (ii ) energy consumption for controlling wastes, and (iii ) energy reclamation from agricultural wastes. The first section, which consist s of 10 papers, discusse s the energy requirement s for food production globally, statewide, or locally—for a given agricultural unit, i.e., a 100-cow dairy farm. Within this section, the reader can find extensive data on the energy requirement s for various farm operations. Since much of the data are given on an energy basis, they are not dated like the economi c figures. The second section, energy consumption for controlling wastes, discusses the energy impact of pollution control and of various agricultural and municipal waste water treatment operations . The paper s in the final section, which comprises about half the book, consider the potential for biogas production from agricultural wastes— some from the engineering aspect s of biogas production, and others from the chemistr y of anaerobi c fermentation. This section includes an interest ing two-paper series on protein production from animal wastes. Most of the papers consider biogas production from agricultural product s concentrate d in one place, like animal manure, rather than from those produced from plant residues scattered over the soil surface. Most of the paper s in this volume were authored by engineer s and, in this reviewer' s opinion, wil l be a valuable resource for agricultural , civil , and environmenta l engineer s engaged in establishing energy budget s for various agricultural operations and waste managemen t schemes . The figures and schemati c diagrams are well-done and, unlike many other conference proceedings , this volume contains a valuable subject-matte r index. Thus, it shoul d be a good library investment.—R. H. DOWDY, Soil Structure Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, and University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108.