Virginia SAM Initiative: Poultry Litter Injection

The purpose of the project is to lay the foundation for expanded adoption of poultry litter injection technologies that will achieve the goal of improved soil health and manure nutrient retention, while also addressing local and regional water quality and habitat resource concerns.

This project builds on efforts of Land Grant University researchers and engineers to develop technologies capable of commercial-scale poultry litter injection. As part of this on-going process (funded in part through a national CIG grant award to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in 2013), project partners have made significant progress in addressing technological barriers to poultry litter injection. To date, early prototype poultry litter Subsurfers have been used to support field trials and two engineering designs have been developed that show promise commercial-scale deployment.

Building on lessons learned from the earlier CIG project, Virginia Tech’s poultry litter Subsurfer will be re-engineered and used to conduct a field demonstration on the Valley View Farm that allows for a side-by-side comparison of poultry litter injection versus surface application. Results will be shared with producers at field day events and farmer meetings.