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Manure management becoming easier with sand separator
Green Meadows Farm has four sand-manure seperators operating at its Riley Road farm in Elsie, Clinton County. Here, an augur seperates and washes sand for reuse.
Sand has long been recognized as the most suitable bedding for dairy cows. However, it wasn't until recently it became even more desirable -- especially for the home of the nation's largest registered holstein herd.
Green Meadows Farm in Clinton County, a family-owned operation, showcased its new manure-management system, as well as its 6,800 head of cows, during an open house, Sept. 10.
Most Michigan dairy farmers agree that sand provides a healthy environment for the udder, keeps cows cleaner and aids in cow traction on slick concrete. But, when manure is mixed with sand, it becomes incompatible with long-term storage practices. The mixture is difficult to agitate, pump and apply to land. Its abrasive nature results in excessive wear on equipment.
To solve some of those problems, Green Meadows Farm has gone on the cutting edge -- installing four new McLanahan Sand-Manure Separators.
These new systems are designed to separate bedding from manure, allowing for the sand to be washed and reused and the manure to be pumped, irrigated or injected.
"Producers are spending upwards of $30 to $50 per cow a year in sand, so if you've got 2,000 cows, that could be an amazing savings if you recover and reuse 90 percent of the sand," said Thad Maugle, an engineer with McLanahan.
Each of the four units at Green Meadows handles about 800 cows per day. "It's the biggest system we have in place right now," Maugle explained.
Currently, 10 similar, but smaller, systems are operating in a three-state area. Each unit costs about $28,600. Rick Batora, general manager at Green Meadows, says some of that cost can be recouped through labor cuts. "It's labor-efficient because we have only one person handling daily production per 2,100 cows," he said.
While this manure-management method looks appealing, it hasn't been without its problems. "We've had some difficulty in the delivery system to the separator," Batora said. "We started with an auger, but that wore out in 90 days. Right now, we're using a pump, but that creates problems when the velocity is too thick; and if you water it down before it gets to the separator, the sand separates before it gets there. There's a new auger in the works that we're hoping will do the trick for us."
One of the problems, Batora discovered, with implementing new devices and methods is the trial period is often on the farm. "There's really no one to ask what works best because it hasn't been used enough yet to know," he said.
Once the sand and manure are separated, the fiber is removed, stacked and stored, while the liquid is pumped a mile and a half off-site to a 15-acre lagoon. From there, it is irrigated on 500 acres with a center pivot.
More than 3,000 people visited Green Meadows Farm during the open house, the first since 1985. The event drew curious groups on busses, travelers from Canada and others from as far away as Oregon. "We have a lot of pride in our cows, which includes 3,200 in milking stock," Batora said. "Our breeding program is 70 years old."
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