Friday, March 29, 2024

Slurry cleaning systems

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Passageways or scrapeways both indoors and outside can be cleaned by automatic scrapers. Most common were hydraulic scrapers that require a raised, covered track to be installed in the centre along the length of the passageway. One drawback is the track prohibits the use of scrapers behind a tractor if the system breaks down. But farmers reported they were very reliable. Recessed chain scrapers were less prevalent in new sheds and reportedly less reliable as effluent and bedding can get into the moving parts. A raised concrete strip along the face of a feed barrier in the scrapeway gives the cow a clear area to put her front feet so that when the scraper comes past she can stay feeding and just lift her back legs. Without that cows turn to face the scraper.
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Slatted concrete floors are common in passageways with this one having rubber matting over top.

Floodwash systems generally used recycled or green water, where solids have been separated or captured out of the slurry.  Rainwater collection systems using rain water diverted from farm building roofs could also be used.

Planning in design can mean gravity is utilised and so pumping costs can be saved. There is a benefit in labour saving and machinery cost over scraping with a tractor. The lanes must be sloped correctly to get the right fall and flow of water with 2-4% ideal.

Care needs to be taken with the slope across the passageways. It either needs to be flat so water flows down the passageway evenly across its width or it needs to be very slightly sloped out towards the heel stone of the cubicle with the same slope from the centre out to both sides to ensure even flow of water down both sides.

DairyCo advice is that the success of the system relies on creating a wave of water around 20cm in length and 75mm deep, moving at a velocity of 2m/sec to allow the water to be in contact with the slurry for 10 seconds.

Floodwashing needs to be frequent to be effective in washing manure away, with some advice suggesting every two hours with the flushing system on an automatic timer.

The frequency of cleaning can benefit hoof health but care has to be taken that dirty water doesn’t splash up into beds or the bow wave doesn’t go over the height of the heel stone.

To reduce odour problems 20% of the stored water used for floodwash should be changed each day. A warning though, DairyCo points to limits on emissions of ammonia imposed in the Netherlands and suggests such limits, like to be legislative in the UK, could make the system unsustainable. In New Zealand impacts on greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets could become a factor in the longer term.

Slatted floors in scrapeways at the end of passageways or part way down long scrapeways provide a means of getting slurry out of sheds. Underground concrete channels leading to slurry storage ponds were common but plenty of ventilation was needed to keep ammonia levels down in the shed.

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