MANURE'S VALUE AS A FERTILIZER ONLY MATTERS IF YOU CAN GET IT INTO THE FIELD.

Your pit stopped working.

You're seeing crust, foam, solids, odor, or flies. Five problems. One cause.

Get a treatment plan

or call 833-258-7631

Restart the biological process.

PitCharger uses bacteria and enzymes selected for the specific condition being treated.

How PitCharger restarts a stalled pit

Liquefied. Since 1998.

Since 1998, PitCharger products have been used by producers in 45 states, Puerto Rico, and three countries. Every program starts with a conversation about your operation and the problem you're dealing with.

Get a treatment plan Call 833-258-7631

Five symptoms. One stalled process.

Manure pits and lagoons decompose naturally, but confinement conditions stall the process. The bacteria that digest cellulose fiber collapse, fiber accumulates as crust and hardpan, and gas stops releasing steadily. Crust, foam, odor, flies, and lost capacity are all the same failure showing up in five places.

At the surface
Crust and foam
Undigested cellulose fiber floats and mats into a crust that seals gas underneath. In hog barns that trapped gas becomes foam, and foam concentrates methane at explosive levels a few feet under the floor.
In the air
Odor and flies
Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia build under the crust and release in slugs at agitation. The same crust is a warm, moist, undisturbed breeding deck that produces flies faster than any spray program kills them.
On the bottom
Lost capacity
The fraction that sinks compacts into hardpan that behaves more like soil than manure. It takes storage you paid to build, adds agitation hours, and locks up nutrients that never reach a field.

Under the slats

Compacted solids, coming back into suspension.

How does the treatment restart a stalled pit?

PitCharger helps restore biological activity in manure pits and lagoons when the existing system is no longer breaking down material effectively. Depending on the problem, treatment may use bacteria, enzymes, or other specific modes of action to help break down solids, crust, and other material that interferes with manure handling and storage.

The secondary effect matters as much as the first. As bacteria work, they convert organic nitrogen into plant-available ammonium nitrogen. More of the nitrogen you already paid for in feed reaches the crop in the season you spread it, which is why a treated pit is worth more per gallon than an untreated one.

Most producers should notice a difference within the first month, with continued improvement through the second and third months. Significant results are normally measured after about six months. Odor can respond much faster, often within the first week.

Read how treatment works, and what to expect when

A manure pit photographed beneath the barn slats, its surface built up into a thick, hardened crust, with a treatment pipe reaching down through the gap.

What changes, and when

First week
When it comes to odor, producers can often notice a significant change within the first week. Some producers have noticed a substantial change within the first 24 hours.
First month
Most producers should notice a difference within the first month, and odor keeps improving through the second and third weeks.
Months 2 and 3
Continued improvement. Crust weakens and moves back into the manure, and solids become easier to suspend during agitation and pumping. In a deep pit, much of this change happens below the surface before it is easy to see.
About 6 months
Significant results are normally measured after about six months. This refers to broader changes in the manure system, not odor reduction.

Where it ends up

The nitrogen you already paid for, reaching the crop.

Manure applied to cropland. Once bacteria have converted organic nitrogen to ammonium, it is available to the crop in the season you spread it — rather than mineralizing slowly over years you have already fertilized around.

What are you running?

The mechanism is the same everywhere. The structure, the dosing, and the problem that brought you here are not.

Products designed to solve specific problems

PitCharger products are formulated for specific manure-management problems. Depending on the product, formulations may include bacteria, enzymes, or other specific modes of action. Not every product works the same way, so we identify the problem first, then recommend the right product and treatment protocol.

Pit foam is handled separately, because it needs a different diagnosis and treatment process. How we approach foam

What customers measured

Two documented accounts. We publish what we can source and nothing else.

“Since using PitCharger, we haven't had the crusting issue we previously experienced and flies are close to non-existent.”
Carl
Livestock producer, Mankato, Minnesota
Reported recovering approximately 200,000 gallons of usable lagoon capacity after treatment.
“Tests were very positive on the reduction of solids. Pits with additive showed significant reduction of solids compared to non-treated pits.”
Nick
Livestock cooperative, Central Iowa

The same hog barn manure pit photographed before and after PitCharger treatment. The before image shows a thick, dark foam layer built up the pit wall; the after image shows the foam collapsed to a flat surface. — A customer's hog pit before and after treatment. Foam of this depth traps methane at explosive concentrations a few feet under the barn floor. How we approach foam

What the studies reported

Both are the company's own account, credited to the institutions named. We have not seen the underlying documents and do not present these as independent findings.

~50%
Reduction in hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and overall odor against untreated buildings
A year-long Iowa State/Farmland study, as reported by PitCharger, showed approximately a 50% reduction in hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and overall odor compared with untreated buildings.
Reported by PitCharger, crediting Dr. Bundy, Iowa State University and Farmland.
$2,225
Annual reduction in medical costs reported alongside the study
A year-long health and welfare study involving 58,000 hogs showed a reduction in odor with the use of PitCharger, alongside a reported reduction in medical costs of $2,225 annually.
Reported by PitCharger. The company states it consulted Dr. Broderson of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Veterinary Diagnostic Center as a result of the data.

~200,000

Gallons of usable lagoon capacity recovered, as reported by a producer in Mankato, Minnesota

1998

Solving manure problems for producers since 1998

45

States where PitCharger products have been used, plus Puerto Rico and three countries

From the barn

A pit that had crusted over, pumped down to under eight inches.

Tim Kremer of PitCharger on a customer's barn: solids that had built up on the bottom and turned into a crust, and what the barn looked like after treatment. Twenty loads out to the field this year, and the nutrients going with them.

If you have questions about crust, odors, or flies on your farm, call 833-258-7631. We will help figure out what is causing it.

Call 833-258-7631 Get a treatment plan

Captions are burned into the video. About one minute.

How much would your operation need?

Put in your head count and manure structure and the calculator returns estimated gallons per month, a treatment timeline, and — if you know your pit volume — an estimate of the storage capacity sitting under your sludge.

Open the dosing calculator

The right treatment starts with understanding your pit or lagoon.

We start by learning how your manure system is designed, what problem you are dealing with, and how you currently manage it. From there, we recommend the product, treatment rate, and application method that best fit the situation.

Different problems require different treatment approaches.

Get a treatment plan Call 833-258-7631