Awesome CowPots™

I watched a new episode of Dirty Jobs earlier this evening and I have been inspired to write about it. This time Mike interned with the awesome farmer/inventor/entrepreneur who makes CowPots™ . “Matt and Ben Freund are second generation dairy farmers in the northwest hills of Connecticut.” They maximized what most people would think is a pile of smelly poo. I suggest you watch the poo pot maker episode of Dirty Jobs to really appreciate what trouble they go through to make renewable energy and biodegradable natural fertilizer pots.

This farmer produces organic dairy milk and turns the cow waste into useful methane gas to power his home, uses the manure to fertilize his land and turns the poo in to cash. Seriously, I say someone should hire him as a consultant-think tank for the American government, they badly need someone who has his brains!

Back to the poo, the process starts with scrapping the nasty smelling stuff into a tank where micro-organisms eat the cow manure. Tiny bubbles appear in the tank as a sign of some micro-organism passing-gas-action at that point, methane gas is collected. They didn’t elaborate how but that’s a good for another show. From the tank, the mess is pumped into a separator to remove the liquids from the solids. The solids are dropped into a hole and the liquids are pumped into this lagoon of the same matter. The solids are then composted for 10 days. The composed is then mixed with water and other proprietary substance in a giant cake mixer. The “cake” is then molded and dried. The finished product come out without the smell of cow manure since the ammonia was removed. The whole process of turning the poo to pots takes 31 days. Easily said than done because it sure was a smelly and dirty job.

People who go through such great lengths to make a sustainable and socially responsible way of living should get recognized so that others will follow. As a consumer, I would like to support the CowPot. It’s organic soil conditioner and pot in one. Transplant conviniently by burying the roots with the pot which decomposes and fertilizes the soil.