1. Matt Smith, PhD Student in Natural Resources Dr. Ted Howard and Dr. John Aber Supported by USDA McIntire-Stennis NH00073- M, Hatch NH00605 projects and

2. UNH meeting with New England dairy farmers to determine areas of research need Conclusion of meeting: Devise new approaches to reducing input costs for dairy farming feed, energy and bedding, while also reducing ecological footprint of dairy farming Our focus  Bedding and Energy

3. An Integrated System to Provide Bedding, Composting and Energy http://attra.ncat.org/images/solar-gh/solar_greenhouse.gif Woodlands Bedded Pack Heat Recovery Compost Wood Shavings Compost back to Farm Fields

4. Input material – kiln- dried eastern white pine (EWP) shavings Comfortable for cows Clean/soft Regionally available (although declining) Used to be relatively inexpensive Compatible with composting system UNH 12/2013 White pine shaving delivery to UNH Organic Dairy (moving floor 18-wheeler)

5. Cost $1800-$2100/100 yd 3 ($600 in freight from 100 miles away) Higher costs in the winter months (reduced availability due to reduction in manufacturing and competing markets) Roughly $74,000-$85,000 per year for UNH farm system, with $11,200 – $12,600 at the UNH ODRF 11/2012 delivery to UNH Equine Center

6. Produce bedding from on- farm sources (160 acre woodlot) with a wood shaver Uses 4’ or 8’ logs 2-24’’ in diameter “shaving log” Only softwoods can be used (hardwoods not suitable bedding) Most likely bedding source (and highest grade = eastern white pine) Machine Cost = $60,000 UNH ODRF Summer 2013

7. Input Variables (25): Power source Machine output Farm feedstock requirement Current cost of bedding Cost of shaving mill Interest Rate # of years of loan Fuel consumption of mill Electric consumption Electric cost (kw/h) Etc. Results: Hours of machine operation/year for farm demand Hours of log loading Feedstock requirement (cords/ton) for farm Labor cost/year Fuel Cost/year Energy cost/year Maintenance cost Cost of shavings/yd 3, ft 3 Etc.

8. Felled with chainsaws and brought to landing with cable skidder 50 cords eastern white pine and 10 cords of eastern hemlock harvested Total cost per cord to the landing $78 Can sustainably harvest 2.1 acres/year for a 75 yr rotation (Aber et al. 2008) Acreage requirement less if doing a volume swap UNH 8/2012 1 acre patch cut @ Organic Dairy

9. Traded sawlogs for pulp in a 1.25 : 1 ratio Split cost savings in fuel between two parties Gained 25% more biomass to shave from same acreage UNH ODRF 8/2012 unloading of pulp and loading of saw logs during volume swap

10. ≈ 6 logs loaded into hopper (3 minutes to load batch) While machine shaves logs for 20 minutes: Load next six logs onto log platform Debark (testing a manual method) Record biomass #’s for research purposes Current output 12 yd 3 /hr. Output is adjustable and dependent on desired shaving thickness UNH ODRF Summer 2013

11. 60 cords harvested, at a cost of $78/cord Cost ≈ $6.00 per yd 3 of green shavings from UNH Drying methods and cost to be added in the future Currently purchasing shavings for $18-$21/yd 3 Detailed Cost Analysis to come out by summer 2014 UNH ODRF Summer 2013

12. Built “On-farm animal bedding production model” Allows for quick analysis of whether it is economical for a farmer (or institution) to purchase a shaving machine – justified UNH purchase Harvested 1 acre to feed new UNH shaving machine Completed stem-analysis on 50 harvested EWP trees UNH 8/2012 1 acre patch cut @ Organic Dairy

13. Verify model and release to the public Test eastern white pine against eastern hemlock as a bedding source (microbial counts, cost of shaving, cow comfort, etc.) Test various methods to drying bedding – kiln driers are at least $50,000 (not economical for small farmer) Develop a guide on growing pine for the purpose of producing animal bedding (underway and close to finished)

14. Steve Eisenhaure – Manager of the UNH Woodlands and Natural Areas Charles Simms – Masters student at UNH and summer work study student on the project Tom Oxford – Coordinator of Farm Services Nicole Guindon – ODRF Manager Mark Dill – ODRF Assistant Manager

16. Lancaster, K.F., and Leak, W.B. 1978. A silvicultural guide for white pine in the northeast. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report NE-41. Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, Pennsylvania, USA. Wendel, G.W., Smith, H.G. 1990. Pinus strobus L. Eastern White Pine. Silvics of north America, Conifers. Agric. Hand b. 654. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, pp. 476-488. Wilson, R.W., and McQuilkin, W.F. 1965. In Silvics of forest trees of the United States. p. 329-337. H.A. Fowells, comp. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 271. Washington DC.