Solutions for Low Impact Dairy Farms
Improve your operating costs with a safer, simpler and smarter solution to your problem.
Improving overall cow health
Bacteria that commonly cause environmental mastitis are Streptococcus uberis or Escherichia coli. Other environmental organisms causing mastitis include other coliform bacteria (Klebsiella species, Enterobacter aerogenes), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Arcanobacterium (formerly Actinomyces or Corynebacterium) pyogenes, Serratia species, Nocardia species, Candida (yeast) and Protheca (algae).
The recommendations that no more than two pats of manure are present per square metre and no water is visible in foot prints are crude estimates designed to focus farmers’ attention at least on gross contamination, given the lack of other more sophisticated monitoring techniques. Checking for fresh liquid manure, rather than dried pats, gives an indication of recent faecal contamination.
Practical and economic factors influence the surfaces available for calving cows and must be individually assessed for each farm.
Effluent seepage into waterways
Environmental guidelines dictate we must adhere to some basic rules. All effluent from the dairy, feedpads, standoff areas, underpasses and tracks must be contained and reused (most commonly spread back on pastures and crop).
- Effluent must not enter surface waters (including billabongs, canals, springs, swamps, natural or artificial channels, lakes, lagoons, creeks and rivers).
- Effluent must not enter ground waters either directly or through infiltration (for example seepage from ponds).
- Effluent must not contaminate land (discharging effluent onto the same small area over time will cause nutrient overload and contaminate land).
- Offensive odours must not impact beyond property boundaries
Revive and restore topsoil
Regenerate topsoil in your fields with nature’s cheapest fertiliser.
If you separate your liquid from solid effluent it is commonly understood the majority of the nutrient value is held in the liquid portion of the effluent. But it is important not to undervalue the organic matter.
Organic matter added to fields improves the structure of all types of soils, from gritty sand to heavy clay. Organic material contains acids that can make plant roots more permeable, improving their uptake of water and nutrients, and it can dissolve minerals within the soil, leaving them available for plant roots.
Many organic amendments also provide some additional nutrients to the soil, although organic matter is not considered fertiliser.
Organic matter improves the quality of your soil and helps to keep your fields in balance with nature. You can add it as an amendment and work it into your soil (usually during cropping) or take the easier route and use it as mulch on top. It will eventually work itself into the soil.
Find out more about the equipment McLanahan has designed for the dairy industry
McLanahan Sand Manure Separators, Liquid Solid Separators and Rotary Bedding Dryers help farmers effectively deal with effluent by turning it into reusable, dry bedding. Liquid can be recovered to fertilise fields and regenerate top soil.
Products available include:
- Sand Manure Pumps
- Screw Press Separator
- Liquid Solid Separator (LSS)
- Sloped Screen Separator
How we have helped low impact dairy operations
Mid North Coast, NSW
Located on the Mid North Coast, this small dairy operation with 400 milking cows needed a transfer pump to manage their effluent waste. Currently, the effluent system traps large solids in a sump. From there, the effluent is pumped into a twin effluent pond system, with a hose transferring the effluent from the pump to the first pond.
McLanahan’s solution was to implement a sloped screen separator at the end of the feed pad. The sloped screen separator has the ability to process anywhere between 300 – 600L/minute.
Coupled with the sloped screen separator is a transfer pump. Intelligent design features included stainless steel threading on the pump shaft to prevent rust and corrosion over time. All controls are located at the top of the pump for ease-of-use.
The project scope included the pump itself, for a 1.8m-deep pit, a 3-phase, 7.5 kW motor, a belt and pulley kit (7.5 kW) and the starter panel – also 3-phase and 7.5 kW.