DAIRY NEWS MARCH 11, 2014
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 45
Separator saves ground, runs maintenance-free GARETH GILLATT
A PPP Industries screwpress solids separator has made effluent management effortless and virtually maintenance free for a Te Awamutu dairy farmer. Mark Barr milks 500 cows on a 160ha dairy conversion 10km south of Te Awamutu. Until last season the property was a maize farm, Then Barr put in a 50-bail shed, a 100 x 20m feed pad and an above-ground effluent tank of 2.5 million L capacity, meeting a 70-day capacity requirement. With the timing of the conversion and a heavy clay based soil Barr says getting effluent management right was essential for the success of the farm. Effluent is collected from the cowshed and stand-off shelter in a sump for processing through a separator. Liquids are pumped into the tank; solids are stored in piles beside the tanks. Liquid is spread on the farm by travelling irrigators; contractors use muck spreaders to distribute solid materials twice a year. Barr says a separator was essential because the
use of a tank over a pond makes solids difficult to deal with once they are in there. “Once the solids are in the tank they’re pretty much impossible to get out.” He installed a PPP-supplied ESY SP 600 separator after seeing it in action at Mystery Creek and hearing good things from a friend about its performance and lack of maintenance. The separated liquids and solids are both easy to deal with, he says. PPP Industries general manager Nick Morison says screw-press separators do a better job than weeping walls and static screens. “With weeping walls, all you are doing is delaying the day you have to deal with the solids.” Barr says pressing solids means no problems with smells or sludge; the solids can be dealt with weekly or monthly. Solids larger than 0.50mm are removed from the effluent and the remaining solid material is in a stackable, drip-free form. As the liquid is essentially water, Barr is able to spread it at 40% of 10ml of rainwater, twice what he had been applying on another property where a traditional pond was used, even though soil on that
farm was more porous. “Because the product is basically water it can be put on at a much heavier rate, which is a huge plus.” Spreading mostly water also saved a lot on maintenance and running costs, Barr says. The low solids volume requires much less power than his other operations. An 11.4hp Mono pump is adequate. And because the irrigators are free of sediment, maintenance is virtually non-existent, he says. “On the other farm there’d be a blockage I’d need to clear at least once a month if
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not more often. With the screw-press separator it simply requires shifting the irrigators.” The separator has run smoothly for one season – no maintenance, no downtime. The solids are an effective fertiliser for crops, having a fairly long release and giving good growth rates. Tel. 0800 901 902 www.pppindustries. co.nz Separated liquid and solids are easy to deal with, says farmer Mark Barr.
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