JD Spicher wanted to consolidate manure storage and upgrade outdated milking facilities to improve productivity and lower costs on his dairy farm. We helped him do this and much more, delivering a comprehensive, farm-wide approach to nutrient management and cover crops that also improves long-term sustainability and soil health on his property. All of the facilities were designed to function holistically as one, balancing the varied needs of all the project stakeholders alongside complex approval requirements at the local, state, and federal level.

Our work encompassed planning, engineering, permitting, and construction administration for:

• A 64-foot x 40-foot roofed bed pack manure storage facility
• A 50-foot x 64-foot heavy use area supporting the new milking facility
• Heavy use area protection
• Waste transfer system
• Roof runoff management structures
• Underground outlet
• Subsurface drainage
• Fencing
• A multi-species cover crop plan to improve soil health while storing and slowly releasing nitrogen for next year’s corn crop (reducing reliance on commercial fertilizer)

Throughout planning, design, and construction, we coordinated extensively with the farmer and his project partners, which included the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Mifflin County Conservation District, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. These coordinated partnerships lead to significant and measurable results within local community and for water quality in Pennsylvania.