Dairy Manure Covers

Dairy Manure Storage Cover Installation

Plastic Fusion Fabricators installs impermeable covers for dairy manure storage — pits, basins, and lagoons — at dairy operations nationwide. For a modern dairy, the manure cover is the first piece of a methane strategy: a gas-tight geomembrane that seals the storage surface, captures the methane the manure produces for flaring or renewable energy, and at the same time contains the odor and ammonia that draw complaints, retains nutrient value, and keeps rainwater out. We custom-fabricate each cover to the structure and install it to perform through years of agitation, gas, and weather. With 40+ years building covers and containment across 24 states, Plastic Fusion installs dairy manure covers engineered for the operation.

Dairy manure is one of the largest sources of agricultural methane — which makes it one of the largest opportunities. An open dairy lagoon or storage pit lets that methane escape along with the ammonia and odor, and collects rainwater that adds to handling volume. A gas-tight impermeable cover changes the equation: it seals the storage so the methane collects instead of escaping, where it can be flared to cut emissions or routed to energy recovery and renewable natural gas — while controlling the odor and emissions that put dairies under regulatory pressure.

Dairy Manure Structures We Cover

• Dairy manure storage pits and basins — sealing in-ground and above-ground storage
• Dairy lagoon covers — covering earthen dairy manure lagoons
• Dairy manure tank covers — covers for storage tanks at the operation
• Slurry and digestate storage covers — covering processed manure storage

Why Dairies Cover Manure Storage

• Odor and ammonia control — sealing the surface contains the gases that generate neighbor complaints and regulatory pressure
• Methane capture for energy or flaring — trapping the methane dairy manure produces, for flaring or renewable energy recovery
• Nutrient retention — reducing ammonia loss keeps more nitrogen value in the manure as fertilizer
• Rainwater exclusion — keeping precipitation out so you aren’t hauling and applying rainwater
• Emissions and air-quality compliance — meeting the requirements that increasingly apply to dairy manure storage

The Dairy Methane Opportunity

Dairy manure is one of the largest sources of agricultural methane — and capturing it is now a revenue opportunity, not just a compliance measure. A gas-tight impermeable cover is the first step: it seals the storage so the methane collects instead of escaping, where it can be flared to reduce emissions or routed to energy recovery and renewable natural gas. Plastic Fusion builds the gas-tight cover that makes dairy methane capture possible, with the collection detailing to connect it to your flare or gas system. For a covered lagoon engineered specifically to produce and capture biogas, see our covered lagoon digester page.

Cover Materials

We fabricate dairy manure covers from HDPE, LLDPE, and RPP geomembrane, selected for the corrosive, gas-laden environment of manure storage. Every cover is custom-fabricated to the structure and fusion-welded into a continuous, gas-tight membrane built to contain odor and capture gas.

Why Dairy Producers and Engineers Choose Plastic Fusion

• 40+ years building geomembrane covers and containment
• Gas-tight covers custom-fabricated to the exact structure
• Methane-capture detailing to connect to flare and energy systems
• Materials selected for the corrosive environment of dairy manure
• Certified geomembrane welders with documented seam QA/QC
• Active projects across 24 states with nationwide mobilization

Related Pages

• All manure storage covers — for the full range of manure pit and storage covers
• Manure lagoon covers — for floating covers on large earthen manure lagoons, see manure lagoon covers
• Manure lagoon liners — to line a dairy manure lagoon, see manure lagoon liners

Dairy Manure Cover FAQs

Why cover a dairy manure lagoon or pit?

The main drivers are odor, emissions, and methane. Open dairy manure storage releases ammonia and methane, generating odor complaints and air-quality concerns, and it collects rainwater that adds to handling volume. A gas-tight cover seals the surface — containing odor, capturing methane for flaring or energy, retaining nitrogen value, and excluding rainwater. For many dairies, covering storage is both an operational improvement and an emissions strategy.

Can a dairy manure cover capture methane for energy?

Yes. Sealing the storage with a gas-tight cover traps the methane that dairy manure produces, and that gas can be flared to cut emissions or routed to energy recovery and renewable natural gas. We build the cover with the collection detailing to feed your flare or gas system. For storage engineered specifically as a biogas-producing covered lagoon digester, that’s a dedicated system we also build.

What’s the difference between a dairy manure cover and a lagoon cover?

They overlap — a dairy lagoon cover is a manure cover on an earthen dairy lagoon. This page focuses on covers for dairy manure storage broadly, including pits, basins, and lagoons. For the engineering specific to floating covers on large earthen lagoons, our manure lagoon covers page covers that in depth.

Request a Quote

If your dairy is dealing with odor, emissions, lost methane, or rainwater in manure storage, an engineered cover addresses all of it. Plastic Fusion custom-fabricates and installs dairy manure covers built to your operation. Contact us with your structure details for a quote.