The Lake Improvement Association today announced that Ag Conversions, a division of Wisconsin-based Amiran Technologies, will be presenting its process for converting manure and dredge material into salable potting soil and fertilizer at the October Lake Improvement Association Members’ Meeting, to be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 1, 2011, at the Celina Moose Lodge. The public is invited to attend.
Ag Conversions uses what itcalls the
SMART Ag System to convert manure to fertilizer and lake sediment to potting soil. The company then sells the majority of the finished products to buyers located outside the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed.
The processes employed by Ag Conversions address two major contributors to recent water quality issues at Grand Lake St. Marys. Manure runoff from watershed farms adds excess phosphorus and other nutrients to the lake. This creates an environment ideal for the growth of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which leads to toxic algal blooms. The excess nutrients eventually settle on the bottom of the lake, adding to the problem. Ag Conversions collects and converts both manure before it enters the watershed’s waterways as well as dredged sediment from the lake, then relocates the converted products out of the area.
The community should embrace companies such as Ag Conversions, said LIA Vice President Mark Piening: “In today’s economy state and federal entities can have difficulty obtaining the necessary funds to restore Grand Lake St. Marys. But when innovative companies can find ways to profit from our problem, they have privately-funded incentive to reduce watershed nutrients and remove nutrients from the lake. Eventually, that leaves us with a clean Grand Lake St. Marys and a revitalized local economy. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.”
Learn More about Ag Conversions at www.agconversions.net.