Mark Dreisbach – Pine Grove, Pennsylvania
5 horses on wood pellet bedding
Mark became interested in the idea of forced air composting and with the O2Compost System, he happy to no longer be polluting the ground or surface water. The finished compost works very well on his pastures as a soil amendment.

Follow Your Bliss Farm – Columbus, North Carolina
2 horses on wood pellet bedding and/or fine shavings
Marcy Wright installed an O2Compost system because she "wanted the task of manure management to be as simple, convenient and 'green' as possible." While the finished compost is currently being used as mulch for their extensive perennial landscaping, she has also had inquiries from local organic farmers who wish to purchase the compost. Special Feature: the builder of this system devised a clever sliding roof design which makes it even easier to use. Read more.

Ghost Farm – Chestertown, Maryland
9 horses on wood pellet bedding
Primarily funded with grant money from the NRCS, this system was built to convert an existing concrete manure pile to a more efficient aerated system. While most of the finished compost is spread onto the farm's fields, the rest is being stockpiled to see what earth worms will do with it.

Ed Jessen – Huger, South Carolina
3 horses wood pellet bedding
After a little trial and error, for Mr. Jessen the trick to creating the perfect compost was to put a roof over the bins to keep out rain and allow the finished compost to dry enough. He uses the final compost product as bedding in his stalls and as a fertilizer in the garden. "Mixed in with decent top soil, it retains moisture but still allows good drainage in the event of a hard rain - and man does it make things grow! Thanks for your work on this extremely necessary part of horse keeping."

Kathy Wells – Shelburne, Vermont
4 draft horses on heat treated wood pellet bedding
Being part of a 1400 acre farmland trust, Kathy was concerned about properly disposing of the manure from her horses. So she enlisted the help of Birdseye Building Company to construct a 3-bay O2Compost system. The owner of the local Market Garden enthusiastically removes the finished compost product every six weeks for his own use. Heat coils prevent the manure piles from freezing during the bitterly cold winter months.

Beverly King – Edmonds, Oklahoma
2 horses on compost bedding
After reading about The Perfect Horsekeeper book by Dr. Karen Hayes, the Kings installed a small permanent O2C aerated bin system. They modified the 3-bay design by adding a fourth bay to allow them an extra 30 days to empty the cured bin and get it ready for a new batch. The finished compost is currently going back into the stalls as bedding and it is being used around the house in flower beds, and being shared with relatives. Eventually, the Kings plan to sell their refined product.

Brian & Anna Smith – Camden, North Carolina
6 horses on softwood pellets and comfort stalls
Living on limited acreage and quickly running out of room, the Smiths constructed the O2C system to help solve their growing manure problem. To increase the stability and durability of the bay walls, a 16" tall concrete wall was added around the base of the bins. The Smiths intend to recover the cost of construction by selling the finished compost product.

Bob Nickerson – Sterling, Massachusetts
9 horses on pine shavings
Bob installed this 3-bay top-down system as a way to reduce environmental impacts on a nearby reservoir. By replacing his static pile system, he has also reduced labor by omitting the need to turn the piles every week. Although the finished compost is curently being used to renovate pastures, eventually it will be sold to several interested buyers.

Fred Luce – Milford, New Jersey
4 horses on wood pellets
In an attempt to save shallow rooted pines on his property, Fred Luce searched for an alternative, more environmentally-friendly solution to manure management. He built his O2Compost system to accommodate up to six horses. He plans to spread some of the compost on his paddocks and sell what's left to friends and a local landscaper.

Otter Creek Farm – Greenville, North Carolina
10 horses on wood pellets
This bin system processes 8-10 cubic yards of manure every two weeks. It has been in operation since March 2004 and produces excellent quality compost that is used on an adjoining organic farm. The compost will be sold to landscapers and homeowners beginning in Spring 2005.

Robert and Teri Garofalo - Poughquag, New York
3 horses on chipped corrugated cardboard
The Garofalos live in a very cold winter climate. Their successful 3-bin system is a testament to the fact that compost is self-insulating and largely unaffected by the cold weather when the airflow is properly adjusted. Robert has been extraordinarily diligent at monitoring temperatures in his compost system and at sending his data in for my review. His efforts have paid off.

Bowling Farm – Eureka, Missouri
6 horses on wood pellet bedding
An existing shed roof along side of an existing barn was used to cover an aerated 3-bay compost system. A corn elevator is used to efficiently transfer raw manure and bedding from inside the barn to the compost bays (right). The finished compost is refined using a soil shredder and the finished product is used in a local nursery.

Trueblood Stable – Santa Ana, California
2 horses on wood pellet bedding
This aerated bin system was scaled down from our 5-10 horse system. Each bin has a 2.5 cubic yard capacity to accommodate approximately two weeks’ worth of manure. It is constructed out of masonry block and has a retractable wooden lid. It stair steps down to conform to the slope.

Canterbury Farm - Morrisville, Vermont
3 horses (soon to be more) on Comfort Stall flooring and minimal wood pellet bedding
Sharon Ahern found O₂Compost through Karen Hayes' book, "How to be the Perfect Horsekeeper". The "old timers" in her area thought that she was "nuts" for designing her facility using the Perfect Stall approach, especially when it came to composting the manure. But now, everyone wants to know how she figured it all out and she loves giving tours. Sharon has been instrumental in helping O₂Compost design for extreme cold weather conditions and in 2008 wll be one of our training facilities in the New England states.

Mary Wright's Farm - McLendon Hills, North Carolina
3 horses on wood pellet bedding
Mary Wright recently moved to North Carolina to realize her dream of having a small barn in her back yard, adjoining miles of equestrian trail. In designing her barn, she wanted a convenient and effective way to manage manure and spent bedding, to control odors and flies, and to produce a finished compost that she could use to amend her sandy garden soil. With the help of her barn builder, Mary constructed a 3-bay system immediately adjoining her barn. Now, with the help of O₂Compost, she is producing high-quality compost.

Smoky Hills Farm - Salem, Oregon
3 horses on wood pellet bedding
Fred and Helen Dalzell have recently completed this 3-bin system and have assisted in continuing to refine our approach to designing and constructing these systems. Their hope is to utilize the finished compost in developing a vermicompost (worm compost) operation.

Chakola's Place - Goshen, New Hampshire
5 horses, 1 mule, and 14 miniature donkeys on wood pellet bedding
This aerated 3-bin compost system was constructed under an EQUIP Grant through the Walpole County Conservation District. The design took into account heavy loads for both snow and wind and it is now successfully composting. The plan is to utilize the finished compost on an area recently put into pasture.

Linda O'Neill and Al Smith – Canning, Nova Scotia, Canada
8 horses on wood pellet bedding
This is a top-down aerated bin system constructed into the hillside using concrete counter forte walls and the blower, which is mounted in the roof structure, provides the aeration to each of the three bins. Linda and Al are currently experimenting with negative aeration, wherein fresh air is drawn into the mix from the top of the pile, thereby pulling the heat-front down toward the base of the pile.

Tim Gross – South Carolina
6 horses on wood pellet bedding
This aerated bin system accommodates 8 cubic yards per bin and each bin takes between two and three weeks to fill. Process time is less than four weeks and the finished compost is used around the farm. Plans are to sell the finished compost beginning in Spring 2005.

Piper Farms – Arlington, Washington
3 horses on wood pellet bedding
This is the simplest, least-cost aerated compost bin to date. The total cost was under $150 (plus equipment) and it works great. Prior to setting up an aerated compost system, the piles of manure got soaking wet and leached into a nearby creek.

Ross Farm Museum - New Ross, Nova Scotia, Canada
Ross Farm Museum is a small farm that demonstrates historic farming practices. Part of their mission at the museum is to demonstrate sustainable, organic farming practices, including the reuse of manure that is generated by draft horses as well as other livestock on the farm. Barry Hiltz, farm manager, constructed their 3-bay compost system with lumber that had been milled from trees that came down in a large storm. Even with significant temperature swings during the winter months, this system has operated continuously since construction in 2004.

Abercrombie Farms – Maltby, Washington
3 horses on wood pellet bedding, plus chickens and geese
This newly constructed system was built with non-treated wood and stair steps down to conform to site grades. Each bin has a 10 cubic yard capacity and takes approximately three weeks to fill. The finished compost will be used throughout the one-acre garden.

Farnham Farms – Snohomish, Washington
3 horses and 12 sheep on wood pellets
This bay system incorporates aeration in the concrete slab and it takes approximately two weeks to fill each bin. The owner says “Process time is four weeks and the worms love it. As soon as a batch is finished, all of my neighbors come and get it. I can’t make it fast enough.”