Managing Manure
The farm was specifically designed to effectively and efficiently handle manure from our cows while reducing odors and preventing potential runoff. Not only do we care about our community, our families and friends live near the dairy so responsible manure management is always a top priority. Watch the video above to learn about our manure recycling system.
Manure is an excellent organic fertilizer and adding it to the soil, brings additional benefits in the form of organic matter and micro-nutrients which enhances the health and productivity of the crops grown on those lands. Before any nutrients are applied, we test our soil to help us determine the amount of nutrients that are needed and when they are needed.
We follow strict manure storage and handling regulations and hold a permit with the state and are subject to regular inspections performed by the Ohio Department of Agriculture in collaboration with Ohio EPA. We are also certified by Validus, a 3rd party certification group.
Protecting and Improving our Natural Resources
At MVP Dairy, we strive to protect and preserve our natural resources like the land, air and water but we also work to improve them! We implement several regenerative farming practices that include no-till farming, cover crops, precision irrigation, grid soil-sampling and buffer strips. These practices promote the health of our soil and help prevent erosion and runoff. Regenerative farming also helps leverage the power of plants by keeping carbon in the soil while increasing the soil’s water retention abilities and organic matter which improves the overall quality and health of our environment. Learn more about our farming practices at VanTilburg Farms.
Sustainable farming practices are not limited to our facilities and cropland, another positive impact also comes from ensuring our cows are healthy and comfortable so that they can use feed and water most efficiently. We’ve been farming here for four generations and ultimately our goal is to be able to hand the land over to the 5th generation in better shape than we got it. Check out our ecocycle for more information or learn more about MVP dairy’s public commitment to sustainable farming practices.
Promoting Biodiversity
As responsible stewards of the land, we are also working to increase biodiversity on our farm. We plant a variety of cover crops species in our fields and have created a wetland area to serve as a habitat to a variety of plants and wildlife and installed several boxes for birds, bats, ducks and insects. We’ve also planted several trees and hope to add pollinator habitats between our freestall barns soon.
To create benchmarks and to measure our impact, we work with EcoPractices to do an evaluation of our regenerative agricultural practices. Check out MVP’s EcoPractices reports: