Event Date
Join to learn about the production of soil amendments from dairy manure and almond woody biomass, and their application on almond orchards. Topics will include composting and pelletization of manure solids, application of manure compost products to orchards and research results on soil properties, crop yields, and greenhouse gas emissions from the orchard after the application of manure compost.
This is a workshop for the UC Davis Healthy Soils Project (HSP), funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Almond Board of California (ABC), and California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF).
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The UC Davis Healthy Soils Project
The goal of this project is to recycle dairy manure and almond woody biomass as nutrient rich, safe, organic amendments to achieve carbon sequestration, economical and sustainable benefits to the soil, crop, and environment. This is a multiple-year study that started in July 2019 and will conclude in March 2023. The Principal Investigator of the project is Professor Ruihong Zhang of UC Davis. She leads an interdisciplinary research team consisting of faculty, staff and graduate students from several UC Davis departments, including Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Plant Sciences, Animal Science, and Population Health and Reproduction.
The objectives of the project are to: (1) produce and characterize physical and chemical properties of dairy manure compost products; (2) investigate and demonstrate the effectiveness of compost products in sequestering carbon and improving soil health on a commercial almond orchard and determine the impact of compost application on the greenhouse gas emissions; and (3) conduct outreach activities and disseminate research results to stakeholders and the public.
We welcome you to join us for a two-hour virtual workshop where you will hear about the research results from the project as well as the healthy soil related programs from CDFA, ABC and CDRF.
Workshop Program
10:00 am Welcome and Introduction
- Abdolhossein Edalati (UC Davis): Welcome and Introduction
- Ruihong Zhang (UC Davis): UC Davis Healthy Soils Project
10:10 am Remarks from Research Sponsors
- Elizabeth Hessom (California Department of Food and Agriculture)
- Denise Mullinax (California Dairy Research Foundation)
- Guangwei Huang (Almond Board of California)
10:25 am Sustainable Farming
- Aaron Wickstrom (Wickstrom Dairies)
10:35 am Research Presentations
- Abdolhossein Edalati –Manure and Biomass Composting, Pelletization and Orchard Application
- Pramod Pandey – Microbial Safety of Dairy Manure Products
- Sat Darshan Khalsa – Soil Health and Almond Tree Performance
- Hamed El Mashad – Field Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Product Economics
- Ruihong Zhang – Project Conclusions and Future Research Needs