Three CALS faculty will lead the charge in this partnership with Netafim:\u00a0Chad Poole<\/a>, assistant professor and Extension specialist with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering<\/a>, Stephanie Kulesza<\/a>, assistant professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences<\/a>, and Mahmoud Sharara<\/a>, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CALS will be an essential part of the hog farm testing phase for Netafim\u2019s SDI-E (Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Effluent) system. If successful, it could help reduce and\/or eliminate leaching from hog farm wastewater application events and greatly reduce odor and climate-warming gases, according to Rob Brown, Netafim\u2019s dealer relationship manager for the Mid-Atlantic region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more, the system is designed to take the nutrients found in hog farm effluent and spoon-feed them to farmers\u2019 crops. This technology would reduce farmers\u2019 need for synthetic fertilizers, says Erwin Newell, vice president of business development and irrigation for TriEst Ag Group. The nutrient-rich water would be distributed below the soil surface, which helps eliminate odor in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have an interest in being able to evaluate this technology \u2014 what will it provide the industry; is it something growers can use efficiently; are there problems associated with it; and are there challenges?\u201d Poole says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netafim, and its dealer partner, TriEst Ag, see academia as an essential partner in testing the success of this new system, bringing expertise in research and data gathering, as well as credibility by providing unbiased results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNC State was identified because it\u2019s a very robust organization as far as breadth and capabilities to do this research,\u201d says Jim Ed Beach, U.S. commercial lead for sustainable solutions at Netafim. \u201cIt\u2019s located in the third-largest hog-producing state, so that\u2019s a key geography for us, and NC State is a wonderful university that puts out great data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The system itself took roughly seven years to develop and, while it has been implemented in the dairy and swine industries, it remains in the testing phase in the swine industry, Beach says. Currently, it\u2019s operational in about 35 dairies and two swine operations in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The focus for the CALS partnership is testing within the swine industry. Currently, swine wastewater is sprayed onto farm fields. This new application technology may have a potential benefit of reducing both odors and nutrient leaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith our technology, we can protect the groundwater and keep gasses from escaping into the environment,\u201d Brown says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kulesza notes the partnership will aid researchers in pursuing this relevant topic for the long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndustry partners are crucial for everything we do,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge benefit when we\u2019re able to get money to assess technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Funding to support graduate student research is also a key component in training the next generation of researchers to build on these solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMuch of our work is carried out by graduate students and undergraduate students as part of their training,\u201d Sharara says. \u201cNetafim understands that work is valuable and they are willing to invest in students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the graduate students working on this project get the benefit of hands-on experience that enhances their education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019ll be able to work on a real-world project and publish this research when they\u2019re done,\u201d Poole says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers note that it\u2019s early in the testing process. Part of their job is to evaluate all of the pros and cons as this project moves forward and to provide impartial feedback. It\u2019s about figuring out how all of the intricacies are going to play out, Poole says. But the potential is part of what makes the partnership so compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis could be a very exciting upgrade to a part of the waste management system that has been virtually unchanged for decades,\u201d Kulesza says.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n By Lea Hart<\/p>\n\n\n\n International irrigation company Netafim, the precision agriculture business of Orbia, and TriEst Ag Group have partnered with NC State University\u2019s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to develop a more environmentally friendly solution for managing wastewater from hog farms. The technology could also have long-term benefits for crop farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netafim\u2019s support for the college includes funding to assist graduate students working in water and air quality, funding for a sponsored research project and funds for the purchase and installation of two drip irrigation systems for use at the university\u2019s Tidewater Research Station<\/a>, located in Plymouth, N.C. Netafim has also donated a state-of-the-art automatic programmable drip filtration system as part of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three CALS faculty will lead the charge in this partnership with Netafim:\u00a0Chad Poole<\/a>, assistant professor and Extension specialist with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering<\/a>, Stephanie Kulesza<\/a>, assistant professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences<\/a>, and Mahmoud Sharara<\/a>, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CALS will be an essential part of the hog farm testing phase for Netafim\u2019s SDI-E (Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Effluent) system. If successful, it could help reduce and\/or eliminate leaching from hog farm wastewater application events and greatly reduce odor and climate-warming gases, according to Rob Brown, Netafim\u2019s dealer relationship manager for the Mid-Atlantic region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more, the system is designed to take the nutrients found in hog farm effluent and spoon-feed them to farmers\u2019 crops. This technology would reduce farmers\u2019 need for synthetic fertilizers, says Erwin Newell, vice president of business development and irrigation for TriEst Ag Group. The nutrient-rich water would be distributed below the soil surface, which helps eliminate odor in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have an interest in being able to evaluate this technology \u2014 what will it provide the industry; is it something growers can use efficiently; are there problems associated with it; and are there challenges?\u201d Poole says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netafim, and its dealer partner, TriEst Ag, see academia as an essential partner in testing the success of this new system, bringing expertise in research and data gathering, as well as credibility by providing unbiased results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNC State was identified because it\u2019s a very robust organization as far as breadth and capabilities to do this research,\u201d says Jim Ed Beach, U.S. commercial lead for sustainable solutions at Netafim. \u201cIt\u2019s located in the third-largest hog-producing state, so that\u2019s a key geography for us, and NC State is a wonderful university that puts out great data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The system itself took roughly seven years to develop and, while it has been implemented in the dairy and swine industries, it remains in the testing phase in the swine industry, Beach says. Currently, it\u2019s operational in about 35 dairies and two swine operations in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The focus for the CALS partnership is testing within the swine industry. Currently, swine wastewater is sprayed onto farm fields. This new application technology may have a potential benefit of reducing both odors and nutrient leaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith our technology, we can protect the groundwater and keep gasses from escaping into the environment,\u201d Brown says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kulesza notes the partnership will aid researchers in pursuing this relevant topic for the long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndustry partners are crucial for everything we do,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge benefit when we\u2019re able to get money to assess technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Funding to support graduate student research is also a key component in training the next generation of researchers to build on these solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMuch of our work is carried out by graduate students and undergraduate students as part of their training,\u201d Sharara says. \u201cNetafim understands that work is valuable and they are willing to invest in students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the graduate students working on this project get the benefit of hands-on experience that enhances their education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019ll be able to work on a real-world project and publish this research when they\u2019re done,\u201d Poole says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers note that it\u2019s early in the testing process. Part of their job is to evaluate all of the pros and cons as this project moves forward and to provide impartial feedback. It\u2019s about figuring out how all of the intricacies are going to play out, Poole says. But the potential is part of what makes the partnership so compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis could be a very exciting upgrade to a part of the waste management system that has been virtually unchanged for decades,\u201d Kulesza says.<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CALS researchers have partnered with an international irrigation company to help develop a more environmentally friendly solution for managing wastewater from hog farms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2917,"featured_media":993958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"caption\":\"Netafim's custom drip filtration system.\",\"displayCategoryID\":1181,\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1181,1163],"tags":[261,1165],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"coauthors":[1999],"class_list":["post-993954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newswire","category-research","tag-department-of-biological-and-agricultural-engineering","tag-department-of-crop-and-soil-sciences"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":1181,"name":"Newswire","slug":"newswire","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1181,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1651,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2917"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=993954"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994062,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993954\/revisions\/994062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/993958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=993954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=993954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=993954"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=993954"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=993954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"a](\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/NC-State-Netafim-SDI-pictures2-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"irrigation](\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Netafim-Irrigation-1024x576.jpeg\")