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Midwestern Bio Ag produces TerraNu fertilizer from dairy cow manure


Trident has been fortunate and honoured to be involved with a group of visionary people that put an unbelievable effort in progressing the state of technology in modern dairy farming. Prairies Edge Dairy and Midwestern Bio Ag have been working on a game-changing project that allows the concentration of nutrients from dairy cow manure to produce an organic-based fertilizer at commercial scale. On June 16, 2017 Midwest Bio-Ag invited to an Open House at the new Fertilizer Plant to celebrate the project completion, showcase process details and present its TerraNu fertilizer products.

The key to the process is linking to the farmers and closing the loop.

Dr. Tony Michaels, CEO Midwestern Bio Ag, made introductions and congratulated a variety of people who were key to the completion of this project, including Gary Zimmer, one of the visionary forces at Midwest Bio-Ag and father of soil biology. Mike McCloskey and Carl Ramsey were recognized as the key drivers at Prairies Edge Dairy. Together with their technology partner Trident both had the vision and expertise to implement a state-of-the-art Nutrient Recovery System on their farm, allowing efficient and fully automated nutrient extraction from their dairy cows’ manure and providing a natural fertilizer feedstock to the TerraNu plant.

Midwestern Bio Ag fertilizer plant weighing systemOliver Construction (contractor) and Aqua Engineering (engineering firm) as well as FEECO (provider of the granulation and drying equipment) were represented. The plant is projected to operate 24/7 and provide jobs to up to 18 employees. It is estimated to have the capacity to handle the high Phosphorus cake from approximately 30,000 cows.

Mike McCloskey shared some milestones in Prairies Edge’s history including their anaerobic digester setup allowing them to power a fleet of CNG trucks and the recent implementation of the Trident Nutrient Recovery System and how it impacted their ability to manage the dairy’s environmental foot print effectively.

The TerraNu product is 96% dry matter and represents a complete custom blended fertilizer that improves the production of the soil. There are three products that are currently available: TerraNu Ignite™ (all-in-one fertilizer), TerraNu MicroPack™ (micro-nutrient delivery system), and finally a calcium based product called TerraNu Calcium™ (calcium, sulfur and other manure based nutrients). The process is initiated by water activation of bacteria in the granulated pellet and unleashes the biology of the soil in a way no other fertilizer product can.

According to McCloskey, the fertilizer plant can now produce a specifically designed ratio for the soil and he went on to say that the vertical integration of the project partners represents a model that can now be replicated by others. Douglas Rosenberg, Director Midwestern Bio Ag, adds that the key to the process is linking to the farmers and closing the loop.

For more details visit http://www.midwesternbioag.com/terranumedia/
Thank you to Newtrient for their contributions and photos.

Midwestern Bio Ag Open House at Fair OaksMidwestern Bio Ag fertilizer plant dry product intakeMidwestern Bio Ag fertilizer plant dry product storageMidwestern Bio Ag finished fertilizer produced from manure

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