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Ask the average person on the street what a dairy lagoon is, and you’ll get some interesting answers like “a big pool of milk.”
Sensible though that answer may be, a dairy lagoon is far from a big pool of milk.
It’s actually a huge, lined, holding pond for liquefied animal waste from hundreds of cows.
While picturing this in your mind may not bring a smile to your face, the beneficial results of a dairy lagoon are something to be very happy about.
A properly constructed dairy lagoon prevents animal waste from seeping into the groundwater aquifers tapped for our drinking water and other uses.
Instead of entering our groundwater or running off the land into nearby streams, the animal waste is stored in the lagoon and used as fertilizer during the plant-growing season.
In 2007, the Moses Lake Conservation District, working with other community partners, assisted the Voss Dairy Farm with construction of a 1.5 million gallon dairy lagoon.
Mishele Loera of the Moses Lake Conservation District explains:
"The Moses Lake Conservation District, along with Grant Conservation District, worked closely with NRCS to provide technical service and cost share funds to dairyman James Voss. The lagoon serves several purposes:
It enabled Voss Dairy to become a certified facility; it protects groundwater; and it provides fertilizer on an as-needed basis for application to the Voss Dairy farm’s crops which help feed the dairy animals. This project also gave Mr. Voss the ability to further expand his dairy operation in the future, which will enable him to be a viable dairy that is profitable, up to date, and supportive of his family lifestyle."
Like most conservation district projects, the Moses Lake dairy lagoon is the result of a community partnership.
Districts are expert at matching private landowner needs with available resources to achieve on-the-ground conservation of Washington’s soil, water, and wildlife habitats.
Help for your next voluntary project is just a phone call away.
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