Computerized Control System for Static Pile Composting of Dairy Manure

The Solid Aerobic Biodrying (SAB) system was developed and installed on an 85-cow dairy in the New York City drinking supply watershed. The SAB uses the static pile composting method to treat the dairy manure for land application or off farm sale. An automatic computerized control system was developed to maintain appropriate temperatures of the compost piles while optimizing for moisture loss and retention time in the building. This paper will detail the design and construction of the graphical programming interface, hardware used, and the costs and benefits of the control system.