Engineering Commons^™

Edge-Of-Field Hydrology And Nutrient Fluxes Within Northeastern Agroecosystems: Evaluation Of Alternative Management Practices And Water Quality Models, Cameron Robert Twombly

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural runoff is one of largest contributors of phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and sediment affecting freshwater systems in watersheds across the Northeastern U.S., including the Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont. Agricultural cropping systems, such as corn silage and haylands, used for dairy feed production have been shown to impact watershed hydrology and water quality. Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) have the potential to decrease runoff volumes and flow rates and the associated export of nutrients and sediment from agricultural fields. Many states in the Northeastern U.S., including Vermont, are beginning to require farmers to implement water quality BMPs and further …

Vermont Bioenergy Initiative: Final Report To The Us Department Of Energy, Christopher William Callahan, Scott Sawyer, Ellen Kahler

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

The purpose of the Vermont Bioenergy Initiative (VBI) was to foster the development of sustainable, distributed, small-scale biodiesel and grass/mixed fiber industries in Vermont in order to produce bioenergy for local transportation, agricultural, and thermal applications, as a replacement for fossil fuel based energy.

The VBI marked the first strategic effort to reduce Vermont’s dependency on petroleum through the development of homegrown alternatives. With billions of gallons of ethanol produced and blended with gasoline each year in the United States—and very little possibility of corn-based ethanol development in Vermont—we focused on a specific subset of bioenergy alternatives: We worked with …

An Update On Solid Grass Biomass Fuels In Vermont, Christopher William Callahan

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

This report documents recent testing involving the densification and combustion of solid, grass biomass fuels in a small commercial boiler (342,100 BTU/hr output rating). Fuel briquettes (or “pucks”) were made from Switchgrass, Miscanthus, Reed Canary, MulchHay and “Ag Biomass” / Field Residue as well as mixtures of these feedstocks with ground wood chips. Our findings were:

1.On-farm, small scale densification of grass and agricultural biomass solid fuels via pucking is feasible with a conversion (densification) cost of $49-148 per ton anda finished fuel cost in the range of $85-228 per ton ($5.2 –14.4 per million BTU).

2.Sustained, reliable combustion of …

Promoting Adoption Of Biomass Fuels For Heating Vegetable Greenhouses In Vermont, Christopher William Callahan, Vernon Grubinger

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In the Northeast, early and late season production of food crops using greenhouses requires the addition of heat to maintain temperature and also to control humidity. The heating fuel used is generally propane or other fossil fuels. The use of greenhouses, and greenhouse heating, are on the increase in Vermont as growers respond to increased demand for local food throughout the year. Greenhouse production is also on the rise because it allows growers to protect against extreme weather events such as heavy rain or drought, and it affords better control of the growing environment, leading to improved yield and quality. …

Increasing Supply And Quality Of Local Storage Vegetables, Christopher William Callahan, Vernon Grubinger

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

This project installed environmental monitoring equipment to improve storage conditions and ultimately the quality of 1,736 tons of winter storage crops at 9 farms throughout Vermont . The cumulative market value of these storage crops produced during the 2012-2014 growing seasons was $3.5 million. Improved storage monitoring led to better control of storage conditions, in part through automated notification to farmers when abnormal conditions were occurring. This allowed for prompt correction of problems such as open doors and failing or inoperative cooling equipment. Losses of storage crops (cull rates) were reduced from ~15% to ~5% of stored volume. Sixty-six energy …

2013 Annual Report Of Uvm Extension And The Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station, Uvm Extension And Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station

Annual Reports

2013 Annual report of outreach and research from UVM Extension and Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station.