The Rural Voice, 1979-07, Page 11Manurigation
It's speedy and it saves
BY ALICE GIBB
"Manurigation" or the spreading of
liquid manure using equipment tradition-
ally used for water irrigation of crops is
catching on with area livestock farmers.
The advantages of disposing of stored
manure this way include speed, savings in
labour, reduction in soil compaction and a
chance to get on the land earlier in the
spring.
The major disadvantage is that the
switch to manurigation represents a fair
investment in capital - an investment which
is practical only if the farmer has a large
volume of manure to be spread.
Doug Mahon, a young Staffa area
dairyman in Perth County, started experi-
menting with manurigation three years
ago. Mr. Mahon's introduction to
manurigation was at a display of water
irrigation equipment at the International
Plowing Match held in Bruce County a few
years ago. Although Mr. Mahon, brother
Barry and father Williamjownersof Hilton
Farms Ltd, knew manurigation was easier
with hog manure, which contains more
moisture, they decided to try spreading
their cow manure the same way.
In 1974, the Mahons built a slatted floor
barn for their Holsteins. The barn has ten
holding tanks for the manure, each eight
feet deep, which together hold roughly
750,000 gallons of manure, which is
removed twice a year.
When the Mahons first tried
manurigation, they had 50 milking cows,
but now the herd has doubled.
Up until last fall, the Mahons used a
stationary gun system to spread the liquid
manure. The three fixed guns could spread
16,000 gallons of manure an hour, and the
manure was spread on a different 25 acres
each time the storage pits were emptied.
Mr. Mahon said when they empty their
storage pits they try to leave about 16
inches of manure in the bottom as culture
for the next tank.
Since cow manure isn't as moist, they
add water to the mixture.
TRAVELLING GUN
This spring the Mahons carried their
commitment to manurigation a step
further, buying a $14,000 travelling gun
which means they're saving manpower.
The wheel -mounted sprinkler comes with
an automatic winch that drags it across the
field at a predetermined speed.
Mr. Mahon said the gun has 600 feet of
rubber hose attached to it, and there is
1,200 feet of cable to the stationary winch
in the field which pulls the gun towards
itself, with the hose following behind. This
means the gun can cover half the distance
of a section of land. Since a gasoline engine
propels the winch, Mr. Mahon can start the
engine and then go on to other chores
around the farm. The liquid manure is
spread in a 100 to 125 foot radius around
the gun, and there are six different speeds
the winch can be set at.
Doug Mahon said he sets the winch at
one of the slower speeds and leaves it for
an eight hour period, so a 1200 foot strip of
land gets a good coating of fertilizer.
In addition to the travelling gun, Mr.
Mahon's basic irrigation equipment
includes 2,000 feet each of four and five
inch aluminum pipe, enough to reach to the
back of a 100 acre farm, and a worm gear
pump. Worm gear pumps are a necessary
Doug Mahon
requirement when using cow manure for
manurigation, since standard irrigation
pumps can easily become clogged with hair
or other solid content. Mr. Mahon also has
a small air compressor to blow the lines
free before they're stored away.
The Mahons spread the manure in April
and October and one advantage of this
system is that manure can be spread in
almost any kind of weather, since you're
not moving heavy machinery back and
forth on the land. Doug Mahon moves the
pipe out to the fields with his pickup truck
or small tractor. This spring, with the
travelling gun, it took him a week to put on
the manure "from absolute start to
finish." The only manpower involved was
moving the pipes to another part of the
field.
When spreading the liquid manure on
corn stubble in the fall, Mr. Mahon adds
the normal nitrogen he would use
ordinarily, but when he spreads it on sod in
the spring, he doesn't add any additional
commercial fertilizer, since the sod will be
plowed up.
What does Doug Mahon view as the
main advantage of the system? The main
benefit is getting away from compacting
the soil by tramping down the land with a
tractor and large tank. Also, getting on the
land earlier spreads out the workload at
planting time. Finally, the manpower
savings gives Mahon the time to look after
ot:ier things that need doing around the
farm.
Gary Van Loon, a Staffa area hog farmer,
is a more recent convert to• manurigation,
trying it for the first time this spring. The
equipment he used belongs to Doug
THE RURAL VOICE/ JULY 1979 PQ. 9