Regulatory requirements, especially proposed standards regarding phosphorous loading, are continually tightening the economic viability of land applying organic wastes in Brown County, Wisconsin. Recognizing that there could be an environmentally acceptable and economically agreeable alternative to land application, Packerland – Green Bay, a company of Smithfield Beef Group, Inc. seized the opportunity to team up with regional organic waste producers to investigate the feasibility of constructing and operating a regional compost facility. After several exploratory meetings in early 2004, Packerland joined up with these stakeholders to develop a scope of work that outlined the potential investigation, summarized as: Determine if a regional compost facility(s), that accepts a variety of different organic feedstocks, could be constructed and operated in an economical, environmentally compliant and non-intrusive (to local residents) manner. Packerland and Green Bay Metropolitan Sewer District contributed about $28,000 each to the project, and Brown County Land Conservation, Environmental Defense, the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation and two other local companies contributed the balance of the $100,000 study.

Harvey Economics, of Denver, CO, was selected as the lead consultant for the study after all bids were reviewed. Joining Harvey Economics were STS Consultants and Synagro Technologies. Harvey Economics prepared, scrutinized and compiled the findings of the study while the other two firms focused on the technological and regulatory sides. The major tasks of the consultant were as follows:

• Determine the likely end products
• Determine the “recipe” to produce compost based on the various feedstocks
• Determine the marketability of the finished product
• Determine the technology (windrow, static pile, etc.) of the compost facility
• Determine economic viability of the compost facility(s)

The consultants led several stakeholder meetings to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each critical decision. Environmental regulators and local and state governmental officials attended the meetings, portraying their approval of our initiative to seek an alternative management program. After much iteration of all the data accumulated, a preliminary final report has been presented to the stakeholders. The preliminary report is summarized as follows:

• Approximately 131,000 tons per year of organic feedstock
• Approximately 172,800 cubic yards per year composted end product
• Dewatering equipment (portable?) would need to be purchased for dairy farms
• Two composting facilities would be required:
• Dairy farms would compost materials at a windrow facility
• Meat-packing/municipal waste facilities would compost in an enclosed building with air control system with a “in-vessel” compost technology
• A viable market for the compost product could likely be established
• Regulatory and “not-in-my-back-yard” hurdles could be overcome

The final conclusion regarding the economics of the project has not been released yet. However, preliminary numbers show the compost facilities to be very expensive to construct and operate. It was hoped that a regional compost facility would provide for an economic benefit to the stakeholders and all people in the State. The stakeholders would benefit from paying less for disposal of their organic wastes, the dairy producers (that weren’t participating in the Compost project) would benefit from more land being freed up so that new Phosphorous Standards wouldn’t drastically affect their financial viability. The State would benefit since the project would foster a long-term stability of the industries. The State and its people could also potentially benefit by improvements in water quality from reducing phosphorous loadings on the soils and watersheds.

Both local and State governments have commended Packerland for its proactive position on this Initiative. Numerous articles about the Initiative have been written in local newspapers and national magazines. On a similar note, The Ohio Feedlot, another company of Smithfield Beef Group, Inc., expects to begin composting about 50,000 tons per year of manure by 2005. The feedlot is completing a major capital project that will allow for the neighboring compost facility to accept all the manure as a feedstock for compost. This environmentally sound project is expected to save the company over $250,000 per year, reduce the potential for nutrient runoff in the Little Miami Watershed, and earn acclaim from local and State environmental agencies.

Mark Ritsema is the Environmental Director for Smithfield Beef Group, Inc.

The Packerland Packing facility in Plainwell, Michigan was honored along with sixteen other diverse companies as the “2004 America’s Safest Companies” by Occupational Hazard Magazine in its October 2004 issue.

According to Occupational Hazard, the 2004 America's Safest Companies were chosen based on recommendations by industry professionals, recognition by industry associations, participation in programs such as OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program, state and local awards, and Occupational Hazards' own research. This year's winners have clearly made safety a business value. They have invested time and energy to surpass minimum government standards and created an environment where employees come first, which is key to being one of today's industry leaders.

At the Plainwell facility, safety is a condition of employment and is integrated into the production and business models to the point where it is a part of all decisions made in upgrading and improving the facility.

“Whether it's increasing production goals, or making facility or process modifications," said Leigh Floyd, occupational safety manager at the facility, "engineering and safety requirements must be satisfied before a project is approved.”

"Safety," he added, "must be integrated as a core business and personal value, recognizing not only that good safety is good business, but also that it's important for each member of the business to have a personal value for their own safety and the safety of the people they work with."

Other honored companies include: Anheuser-Busch Inc., L’Oreal USA, Texas Instruments, and Monsanto Co.

Congratulations to all 1200 employees at the Plainwell facility.