The Mesa Grande Business Development Corporation (Mesa Grande) retained GBB to conduct a limited Manure Composting Planning Study to help the tribe understand the broad implications and opportunities of the prospective manure composting operation as it relates to any applicable state and county regulations; how best to collect, manage, and process the manure into finished compost, including the most appropriate type of composting system, its potential capital costs, and compost mix considerations; and compost sales, including logistics and potential revenues.

The Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe located approximately 65 miles northeast of San Diego, CA, near Santa Ysabel, CA. Santa Ysabel is a small, unincorporated community of roughly 1,000 Tribal members and non-Tribal residents.

The Mesa Grande Business Development Corporation was in the process of leasing the equine facilities of a 560-acre former horse farm, with two tenants totaling up to 70 horses on the property. GBB was tasked with assisting in understanding how to manage the manure the horses will produce and compost it, both as a means of managing it and as a valuable soil amendment that can be used on-site and possibly sold to generate additional revenue.

GBB’s research, to help Mesa Grande’s planning for on-site manure composting implementation, included information on the:

• Best compost technology, size, configuration, and footprint for the expected volume of manure, along with cost estimates
• Possibility of adding wood waste infected by beetles to the manure for composting and related regulations
• Effect of mixing manure with green waste from lawn and ground maintenance on the marketing of the compost as a product
• The best system for gathering pasture manure
• Processing is necessary after the manure and yard waste have cured
• Local manure composting market and pricing
• Compost sales revenue models
• State and county regulations on manure disposal and composting