NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
July 6, 2000
A demonstration of how livestock producers can use coal combustion ash (fly ash) to improve feedlot pen conditions will take place at the Carrington Research Extension Center field day, Wednesday, July 19.
A combination of tours and demonstrations on crops and livestock will be conducted during morning and afternoon sessions. The morning sessions will begin at 9:00 a.m. with tours departing at 9:30. The afternoon session of different tours will begin at 1:00 p.m. A sponsored noon lunch will be served.
During a special afternoon tour at the annual field day, participants will be able to watch as a feedlot pen is stabilized with fly ash. The tour will run from 1:15 to 3 p.m. and will demonstrate how normal farm equipment can be used to spread and incorporate fly ash into the pen surface. A final compaction step finishes the stabilized surface.
Experts from the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, NDSU and EN-ROC Inc., a company that markets fly ash and consults on its use, will be available to discuss its use in feedlots.
A new research project at the Carrington Research Extension Center is using fly ash from power utilities in North Dakota and Minnesota to stabilize feedlot soil. Research from Texas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio and other states suggests that fly ash can be used to form a stronger, more durable surface in feedlot pens than the original soil would allow. Treating the pen surface with fly ash will increase the compressive strength of the soil and improve its ability to withstand saturated conditions. Referred to as soil stabilization, this treatment will help prevent deep areas of mud from forming. The Carrington project is measuring the improvement in pen conditions and will also investigate if fly ash treatments can limit the amount of leaching of nutrients under feeding areas.
The field day is open to the public. The Carrington Center is located 3.5 miles north of Carrington on Highway 281. For more information or assistance please call (701) 652-2951.
###
NDSU Agriculture Communication
Source: Scott Birchall, (701) 652-2951
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629