1. Perdue AgriRecycle Tour Jen Rafter Maryland Coastal Bays Program

2. PAR, 03/18/16 2

3. Tour led by: – Jeff Smith Director, Corporate Environmental Services at Perdue Farms MCBP CAC (Citizens Advisory Committee) member – Wayne Hudson VP of Operations – Attending: Roman Jesien, Jen Rafter, Katherine Phillips, Amanda Poskaitis, Emma Rice

5. The Facility Began operation in July 2001. Manufactures high humate organic fertilizer. Permitted to produce 80,000 tons of finished product each year. Marketed/shipped approximately 500,000 tons of finished product out of the plant. Approximately 50% of the finished product has been shipped outside of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. PAR, 03/18/16 5

6. Transport Perdue will pick up litter for free from any integrator’s farms In 2001 processed 50,000 lbs but were unable to sell Plant has never reached capacity – Windrowing reduces litter use – Farmers, esp. from other integrators, may prefer to get rid of litter themselves- get $7/18 mile Estimated $50 million loss over life of plant

7. Windrow composting Piling the litter into rows (windrows) down length of the house. Often done with a tractor and blade set on an angle. Specialized composting equipment and skid steer loaders can also be used. Bacteria in the litter causes a composting and heat within the windrows. – minimum temperature recommendation is 130°F, total time usually 8 to 10 days This can be done for years – anecdotally, up to 15 http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1269/inhouse-windrow-composting-q-and-a/

10. Process Litter is screened and sifted – Negative air system to prevent odor, dust Goes through dryers — a high-heat cycle to kill E. coli, Salmonella, and seeds Then through grinders (hammer mill) Treated litter goes through a pelletizing machine to produce a slow-release fertilizer Finally, product is cooled

11. Fertilizer Uses Originally intended for sales to large-scale farms but market is primarily small organic farms and home owners PAR exports half of current production off the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The other half replaces chemical fertilizers locally.

12. The Products MicroSTART60 organic fertilizer has a nutrient analysis of 3-2-3 NPK. MicroSTART60 Prilled Plus has a nutrient analysis of 7-1-1 NPK. Perdue AgriRecycle’s products are compliant with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) for use in organic crop production. All of Perdue AgriRecycle’s products are listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). PAR, 03/18/16 12

14. Summary Plant has never reached capacity Cheaper for farmers to get manure directly off farm than pay for processed litter Half of product leaves shore