Founded in 1992, ATD Manure Systems Inc. has been developing sustainable solutions to environmental challenges facing the hog and dairy industries in Canada. Both sectors were incapable of increasing their selling prices so our approach was to create new products to sell or somehow wring out current costs of production.
Today the livestock industry faces challenges in nutrient regulations, climate change and sustainability. Our challenge was to identify the farm processes that were costly and define solutions based on improved outcomes and/or reduced costs – we concentrated on Manure Management .
Defining the Project
The success of your project is based on a detailed analysis of where you are now and where you want to be in the future. We will describe the options and their outcomes to ensure they will meet your needs. With the options identified ATD and ATD’s suppliers will produce a Projected Operation Estimate, an Installation Plan, and Time Line showing its integration with existing processes. This will be developed in consultation with your team of builders and consultants. Upon approval we will ask our supplier’s to install the world-class equipment needed to complete that Plan and run final acceptance trials to complete the project.
Return on Investment
We will work with you to identify the potential for your farm as part of our recommendation and before any commitments are made. So you can see the whole picture.
Reliability
ATD Manure Systems has now identified the processes that can be integrated to provide robust systems incorporating improved materials, and proven technology in a farm setting and we are proud to be able to present them. They had to be scalable, apply to hog and dairy manures, raw or digested, run unattended, provide an acceptable ROI, reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG’s) and fuel consumption, operate in all weather, have a small footprint, and preserve more nutrients in a form that improves their effectiveness.
At last, the numbers have come together. We will not make a promise that we cannot deliver.
People
Personal Profile:
Vic Van Slyke CPA (ret’d), MBA
Employment:
ATD Manure Systems Inc., founder, owner
NEC – consultant
Steintron International – comptroller, General Manager Retail
Startup Alfalfa Cubing with First Nations Band
Canadian Forest Products, Chief Camp accountant, systems analyst, Department Manager
Government of Canada, Jr. income tax assessor, cost auditor.
Bank of Nova Scotia, Jr. accountant. Government of Canada, Jr. income tax assessor, cost auditor
Bell-hop Union Club, Victoria, part time, after school.
Education:
Simon Fraser University – MBA
Night School – Registered Industrial Accountant to become CPA,
Mt. Douglas High School graduate with University Entrance, School council President, Citizenship Award.
Upon retirement I was introduced to a startup in North Vancouver attempting to create a fertilizer product from organic waste destined to the landfill using the process of Aerobic Thermophilic Digestion. This failed but it introduced me to my partners, and we decided to further its development. One of those partners has passed away and the other remains in a passive role leaving me as the sole owner. In 1992 our private company ATD Waste Systems Inc. was formed and subsequently changed its name to ATD Manure Systems Inc.
After creating a digester on the BCIT campus and obtaining a patent on a method to determine digestion completion we developed a Business Plan that pointed out we needed to develop an organics collection system for the city and obtain a ban or disincentive for organic disposal by landfill. As neither prospect was likely at that time, a business contact directed us to the BC Pork Producers who were the object of odor complaints and had issued an RFP for a solution. It soon became obvious that odor was not the only problem and existing technology was not sized appropriately for the farms that needed it. It also became obvious that both hog and dairy operators were not able to increase selling prices so any solution would have to earn its return from reducing operational costs or from a new product.
We watched other companies sell equipment that had to be uninstalled as we investigated and rejected currently accepted processes as too costly, ineffective, not scalable, too slow, with too large a footprint and not weatherproof. Result – our chemical/mechanical approach. We integrated the results of an earlier equipment trial with an old concept in water storage – The Reservoir – to allow the capture of off-season water to supplement Irrigation needs and allow a reduction of aquifer demand.
It is called ATD’s 2 Step system. Step 1 will remove virtually all the solids at the barn at 30% D.M. and optionally reduce solids-free water by 28% to the Reservoir if restrictions are needed. This exchanges the pumping of slurry solids for spreading drier solids always available in storage. Step 2 introduces RO and optionally Ammonia capturing to reduce freshwater consumption by up to 58% or store it for irrigation. It will earn its return from the reduction in spreading costs while providing the means to meet tightening water regulations, protecting herds and crop with increased irrigation storage capacity.
It will improve present operations and provide a path for smaller dairies to grow and adapt to the new challenges of water supply.