Manure Is a Resource
The deep-bedded hoop barns are usually cleaned out in the summer and fall. Because the roof keeps the rain and moisture off the bedpack, manure remains relatively dry and odor is less of an issue.
“For our customers we’ve found the permitting process and environmental management is fairly simple and straight forward,” says Brent Bryant, Hoop Beef Systems. “We’ve never had a customer have an odor complaint or an environmental complaint.”
“The manure is a very valuable fertilizer resource. We manage it as fertilizer and treat it as such. In our own operation, for example, we measure every pound that goes out of the building, we apply it with a manure spreader with GPS exactly where and how we want it. It’s not something to get rid of, it something you want to us and maximize its value.”