[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1362-E1363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO JIM AND KRISTIE DOCHEFF

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 21, 1998

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate two of my constituents, Jim and Kristie Docheff, for their 
environmental stewardship. Jim and Kristie, along with their children, 
Chisum, Joshua and Meghann own and operate the Diamond D Dairy in Weld 
County, Colorado. The Docheff's turn their cattle's manure into 
valuable, organic compost which they sell to gardeners and vegetable 
growers across Colorado. They discovered this innovative waste 
management strategy quite by accident when they were unable to have 
their manure hauled away for fertilizer as they would normally do. 
Piled up during a wet spring, ammonia and bacteria diligently heated 
and transformed the accumulated manure. The heat sterilizes pathogens 
and kills plant seeds to eventually produce a fine, dry compost with 
the consistency and smell of rich earth.
  Rather than paying thousands of dollars annually to have farmers 
remove the waste to spread on their fields, the Docheff's now spread 
the waste into long windows, which they periodically turn with a newly 
purchased tractor and compost turner. Depending upon the season, the 
process takes between six weeks and four months.
  During recent months controversy has surrounded animal feeding 
operations. The EPA has stringent regulatory guidelines for certain 
concentrated animal feeding operations, Or (CAFOs). Environmental 
groups are leading the charge for more federal involvement and tougher 
regulations on agriculture run-off. But,

[[Page E1363]]

as the Docheff's have demonstrated, a little initiative can do more 
than a lot of regulation.
  Their innovation, ingenuity and hard work has turned what many 
perceive as an environmental problem into a valuable product and a 
thriving new business. Mr. Speaker, I applaud Jim and Kristie Docheff 
for their efforts and I am happy to say that many other dairies and 
producers are following their good example. I commend the efforts of 
National Hog Farms, Longmont Foods, and Morning Fresh Farms, and many 
others to continue providing services of tremendous value to Colorado 
while promoting environmental stewardship through voluntary, market-
based measures.

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