Growers Propose Litter Facility
Poultry Group Wants To Build Baling Plant
Posted: December 21, 2012
HARRISONBURG — One West Virginia group has a plan for how to move thousands of tons of poultry litter out of the Virginias, and it’s searching for local farmers to help.
The group hopes to build a facility that would bale poultry litter to sell to other states, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. In addition to getting the nitrogen and phosphorus-rich litter out of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the plant could be profitable for farmers, according to Mike Weaver, one member of the group heading up the project.
Weaver is the president of the Contract Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias.
He’s optimistic that the project will receive an $82,000 grant through the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to fund the next phase of the feasibility study.
If the project gets a green light, the total cost would be roughly $2.2 million.
The plant would pay farmers $15 a ton for their litter. That’s about $5 more per ton than they get on average for litter, Weaver said. And he should know; he grows about 92,000 chickens for Pilgrim’s Pride in Oak Flat, W.Va.
The goal is for the plant to be a cooperative, so its construction depends in part on whether a significant amount of growers sign up to take part.
To reach the goal of baling 45,000 tons of litter per year, the operation would need 450 member-owners to commit 100 tons each annually, for example. Growers could commit more or less tons than that benchmark, however.
Weaver said he plans to hold at least one interest meeting in Virginia, probably in Broadway, in the next two months.
While the group hasn’t pinpointed an exact location for the building that would house the equipment, it could be as close to Virginia as Mathias, W.Va., which would leave farmers in Rockingham, Page and Shenandoah counties eligible for membership. Growers must be within about 60 miles of the plant to become a member.
“Hopefully, [growers’] number one reason for participating will be concern for the environment and doing the right thing,” Weaver said. “But there’s also an economic incentive.”
That incentive is true for the growers and potential customers, he says.
Baled litter — which costs roughly $50 per ton — is not only convenient to ship but can be stored outside for up to three years.
The group has several potential buyers already, including the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association.
“It’s looking better all the time because it’s going to be economically viable,” Weaver said. “The only real ‘if’ we have right now is can we get the supply we’re going to need?”
If the project takes hold, it would be only the second one in the country.
The company that produces the litter baler, White River Fertilizer Supply, operates the facility in northwest Arkansas, where about 30 growers supply litter to the 4-year-old plant.
While it didn’t turn a profit its first year, it’s become lucrative, especially since commercial fertilizer prices have been on the rise, according to company co-owner Tracy Argo.
“It takes what most people consider waste and it turns it into a profit for the growers while at the same time eliminating the excess phosphorus from the area,” Argo said.
His goal is to eventually have about six litter baling plants in the Chesapeake Bay area.
Contact Candace Sipos at 574-6275 or csipos@dnronline.com
The group hopes to build a facility that would bale poultry litter to sell to other states, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. In addition to getting the nitrogen and phosphorus-rich litter out of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the plant could be profitable for farmers, according to Mike Weaver, one member of the group heading up the project.
Weaver is the president of the Contract Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias.
He’s optimistic that the project will receive an $82,000 grant through the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to fund the next phase of the feasibility study.
If the project gets a green light, the total cost would be roughly $2.2 million.
The plant would pay farmers $15 a ton for their litter. That’s about $5 more per ton than they get on average for litter, Weaver said. And he should know; he grows about 92,000 chickens for Pilgrim’s Pride in Oak Flat, W.Va.
The goal is for the plant to be a cooperative, so its construction depends in part on whether a significant amount of growers sign up to take part.
To reach the goal of baling 45,000 tons of litter per year, the operation would need 450 member-owners to commit 100 tons each annually, for example. Growers could commit more or less tons than that benchmark, however.
Weaver said he plans to hold at least one interest meeting in Virginia, probably in Broadway, in the next two months.
While the group hasn’t pinpointed an exact location for the building that would house the equipment, it could be as close to Virginia as Mathias, W.Va., which would leave farmers in Rockingham, Page and Shenandoah counties eligible for membership. Growers must be within about 60 miles of the plant to become a member.
“Hopefully, [growers’] number one reason for participating will be concern for the environment and doing the right thing,” Weaver said. “But there’s also an economic incentive.”
That incentive is true for the growers and potential customers, he says.
Baled litter — which costs roughly $50 per ton — is not only convenient to ship but can be stored outside for up to three years.
The group has several potential buyers already, including the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association.
“It’s looking better all the time because it’s going to be economically viable,” Weaver said. “The only real ‘if’ we have right now is can we get the supply we’re going to need?”
If the project takes hold, it would be only the second one in the country.
The company that produces the litter baler, White River Fertilizer Supply, operates the facility in northwest Arkansas, where about 30 growers supply litter to the 4-year-old plant.
While it didn’t turn a profit its first year, it’s become lucrative, especially since commercial fertilizer prices have been on the rise, according to company co-owner Tracy Argo.
“It takes what most people consider waste and it turns it into a profit for the growers while at the same time eliminating the excess phosphorus from the area,” Argo said.
His goal is to eventually have about six litter baling plants in the Chesapeake Bay area.
Contact Candace Sipos at 574-6275 or csipos@dnronline.com