Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:This project engaged stakeholders with different backgrounds: organic farmers, prospective organic farmers (landowners growing vegetables or meat that are not yet certified), brewery operators, wastewater treatment managers, a biogas industry representative, agricultural extension educators, and organic certifying agents in addition to university-affiliated researchers/educators. Approximately 45 participants attended a workshop, which included short seminars on organic practices, NOP standards, soil management, biogas production, and digestate amendments to soils. The seminar series was followed by breakout group discussions on (1) soil and plant nutrient management; (2) brewery waste management; and (3) education and workforce training needs for organic agriculture. Severeal farm owners, a brewery and restaurant owner, extension educators, organic certifiers, waste managers, and legal professionals have all agreed to participate in the next phase of this project to develop innovative solutions for waste processing that meet the needs of organic farmers while also meeting the standards for organic certification. Both undergraduate and graduate students were also engaged with this project. This funding supported hands-on training experiences with anaerobic digestion of brewery waste and direct engagement with farm and brewery operations. These experiences are essential for training a new generation of organic farmers. The project activities took place in the Appalachian region of southeast Ohio where the population is economically disadvantaged and traditionally underserved in innovative farm science. Changes/Problems:Due to COVID-19, we held small group outdoor meetings with farmers and brewers instead of a larger group meeting to share the outcomes of the workshop and details of the multi-year plan that resulted. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The workshop supported by this planning grant provided a seminar series that included training by Organic Certifying agents, practicing farmers, biogas operators, and professional lawyers. The multi-discplinary perspectives provides professional development for everyone involved. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Small group meetings occured with farmers and brewery owners to provide a summary of the workshop outcomes. A copy of the full multi-year plan that was developed and submitted as part of a recent application for funding was shared with the workshop stakeholders that expressed interest in participating. We hoped to continue this work with new funding from USDA that has not yet been approved. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is a final report for the planning grant. The plan for future work requires additional funding, and the full proposal that was prepared this year will be revised according to reviewer comments and resubmitted next year.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Identify stakeholder interest in developing closed-loop systems for brewery waste management that meets organic certification standards. There is substantial interest in waste management issues among farmers in the region, but it is clear that there is limited awareness about the growing brewery waste stream. Wastewater treatment plant managers on the other hand are very aware of the increased volume of brewery waste, and the limited options for sludge disposal after treatment. Spent grain waste from Jackie O's brewery is already repurposed as feed for cattle and as an ingredient for foods in their brewpub (tortillas, breads, etc.). There are, however, challenges for storage of this material because it spoils quickly; local breweries are not currently able to safely store and use all of the spent grains produced. Objective 2: Identify farmers that already use organic practices in the region that would pursue certification if subsidized (financially and/or with regulatory consultation). There are at least 18 commercial farms in the local region that claim to use organically certifiable practices or that claim no industrial chemical applications are used as pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizer. Of these, only one is actually USDA certified organic. This indicates that there is strong interest in organic agriculture, and there is a need for greater resources and education to support achieving certification. Several farmers cited the high costs and time commitment as deterrents for pursuing certification. Most were familiar with the regional certifying agent, OEFFA, but were not fully aware of the reimbursements and support that is available to offset costs of organic certification. Objective 3: Summarize group meetings and apply to multi-year plan based on (a) the potential of brewery waste and digestate for organic agriculture, (b) the gaps in knowledge that must be filled to advance practices that exploit this potential, and (c) curricular gaps that could meet training needs for the organic agriculture workforce. (a) Most of the growth in the brewing industry is expected to occur in small to midsize breweries, and not in large-scale commercial breweries. As such, there is a lot of potential for developing technologies that address the growing waste management needs in rural municipalities with growing microbrewery sectors. The ingredients and processing technologies in microbreweries are well-suited to yield wastes that can be applied in organic soil management. (b) There is a gap in knowledge about how brewery waste should be handled (when stored, transported, applied to soil) for use in organic agriculture. There is also a lack of clear guidance in the NOP standards about the use of brewery waste. None of the stakeholders at the aforementioned workshop, except the PDs, were familiar with the potential applications of the trub portion of the brewery waste. The chemical composition of trub is similar to that of spent grain, but the slurry consistency makes it less feasible for livestock feed. The limited research on the use of trub as feedstock for biogas production and as a fertilizer is reviewed in a subsequent section of this document. It is clear that there is a gap in knowledge about the potential benefits of exploiting this growing waste resource for agricultural applications. (c) Farmers indicate an aging workforce in the farming community, and difficulty finding laborers that are knowledgeable in soil management. Application to muli-year plan: A multi-year was developed and a full proposal was submitted to the USDA OREI program in response to the Fiscal Year 2020 Request for Applications.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Optimizing Feedstock Mixtures for Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste, Brewery Waste, and Crop Residues
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Davis SC. Science x people: perspectives from best practices in agriculture. Inspire Session: Addressing the Challenges of Ecologys Human Dimensions. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. August 3-6, 2020. Virtual Meeting Platform. (invited)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Miller KE, Herman T, Philipinanto DA, Davis SC. Anaerobic digestion of food waste, brewery waste, and agricultural residues in an off-grid continuous reactor. Energies. submitted for review and still under review.
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