Survival of coliform bacteria in static compost piles of dairy waste solids intended for freestall bedding

Dairy waste solids separated from a slurry by a centrifugal separator were composted in 12 static piles. Seven of the compost piles were naturally aerated, and five were aerated by a fan that forced air through the piles of solids. The natural aeration process aged the manure solids in an unconfined pile. The fan in the forced aeration process forced air into a perforated plenum beneath the compost piles. Dairy waste solids in each compost pile were heated into the thermophilic temperature range and generally composted well. At most sampling points, coliform bacteria declined to low or undetectable numbers early in the composting period. However, as the composting process proceeded, bacterial numbers increased to approximately those present in raw dairy waste solids. Findings of this study suggest that composting offers little benefit toward net reduction in coliform bacterial numbers in dairy waste solids.