The Rural Voice, 1998-11, Page 26UNDER COVER
A Seaforth company designs a new solution for liquid manure
tanks designed to keep the smell in, and the rain out
Story and photo by Allison Lawlor
Summergrcen Systems Ltd. in
Seaforth, has come up with a
new way to cover open manure
tanks at a reasonable cost.
The Geo Air -Dome is an air
supported structure, similar to the
covers used over tennis courts and
mini -golf courses. It can be used to
cover manure tanks, water treatment
systems and other waste products.
The first Geo Air -Dome went up
in January. By the end of August
another seven had been sold. Next
year, Dan Lambert, president of
Summergrcen, hopes to sell over 30
domes in Ontario alone. Lambert said
there is interest in the U.S. and
Europe for the product. He has
already sold domes in Iowa.
This summer Glen Nafziger of
Brunner got rid of the steel fence
around his 12 -foot deep, 60 -foot
diameter tank and installed a Geo
Air -Dome. Ministry regulations
specify that low tanks must have
either a cover or a fcncc around
them.
"With an open tank I could never
fill it more than two feet from the
top. With the rain we were losing a
lot of space," he said. "I figured we
were losing half a tank."
For a tank that holds 200,000
gallons, it was too much wasted
space for Nafzigcr, who uses the tank
for waste products.
When Nafziger decided to cover
his tank, he priced concrete and
figured it would cost him S25,000.
He decided to try the dome. It cost
him under $10,000 which included
installing bigger doors for easier
pumping. The installation was
completed in under five hours and
the dome came with a 10-ycar
guarantcc.
Nafziger hadn't received
complaints from his neighbours when
he decided to put up the dome but he
knew there was an odour coming
from his tank. He said there is Tess
odour now. He also added that while
the dome is not 100 per cern air tight
it is a lot better than before.
Murray Isaac, a pig farmer with a
70 -sow farrow -to -finish operation
near Listowel, is another satisfied
customer. In May, he decided he
needed a cover for his 68 -foot
diameter -liquid manure tank. He
decided on the dome because it was
cheaper than concrete. With the
The Geo Air -Dome (below) provides
an alternative for farmers wanting
covered manure tanks.
22 THE RURAL VOICE