New Pig Slurry Store with Pump and Mixer Works Wonders for Farmer’s Crops

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For an expanding pig business in Yorkshire that needed to meet environmental permitting regulations, A-Consult has completed the installation of a new 2200m³ (5m deep) concrete slurry tank, together with a pump and mixer, installed by Landia.

The new pig slurry storage system provides the farm with significantly greater capacity while also giving the business improved control over the handling and application of slurry. The installation combines a concrete slurry store from A-Consult with Landia pumping and mixing equipment designed for the demanding conditions associated with pig farming.

At the 600-acre, largely arable farm, which mainly produces wheat, pig numbers were increased from 2,000 to 3,200, prompting the need for a suitable slurry store, with pump and mixer system.

The increase in livestock numbers meant the farm required additional slurry storage capacity to support its operations and comply with environmental permitting requirements. At the same time, the farm wanted a system that could make efficient use of the nutrients contained within the slurry while providing a practical and reliable method of mixing and transferring it.

Electrical submersible mixer provides simple slurry management

“Before we chose A-Consult & Landia, there was a suggestion that we could use a tractor to drive a PTO-driven stirrer to mix the slurry, but that wouldn’t work for us because our two tractors are normally used as a pair,” said farm proprietor, Nigel Lee.

“We preferred the option of an electrical submersible mixer, which would do the job at the push of a button at minimal cost; offset from the 50kWp (kilowatt-peak) solar panels on our grain store.”

The use of an electrical submersible mixer provided the farm with an alternative to relying on tractor-mounted equipment for slurry mixing. For an arable and pig farming operation where tractors are already required for other agricultural duties, having a dedicated slurry mixer can provide greater operational flexibility.

The ability to operate the mixer at the push of a button also provides a straightforward approach to slurry management while allowing the farm to make use of electricity generated by its existing 50kWp solar panel installation.

concrete slurry store — The new A-Consult pig slurry store in Yorkshire.

Concrete slurry tank chosen for long-term value

Whilst weighing up all the pros and cons, what ultimately sealed the decision for Nigel was visiting another (larger) pig farm in Yorkshire that already had the A-Consult tank and Landia pump/mixer set-up.

“Seeing it all first-hand showed me how simple yet very effective this installation would be,” continued Nigel.

“Cost-wise, there wouldn’t have been much in it at first, but the A-Consult concrete tank and the Landia equipment also made far more economic sense for the long term.”

The decision highlights the importance of considering the whole-life cost of slurry storage and handling equipment rather than simply the initial installation price.

While traditionally, steel tanks were noticeably cheaper until substantial material price increases, the lifetime of an enamel-lined or glass-lined tank would be 20-25 years, whereas the design life of a concrete tank will typically be 50 years.

It is also not unusual for Landia pumps and mixers (suitably serviced) in the pig industry to last 20-plus years.

The Landia mixer is one of the few that has twin mechanical seals to prevent ingress, compared to most that only have one mechanical seal and one lip seal.

For livestock farms investing in long-term slurry storage infrastructure, equipment durability can be an important consideration. The combination of a concrete slurry tank with robust pumping and mixing equipment is intended to provide a long service life while keeping routine operation and maintenance straightforward.

Fast installation of the new pig slurry store

“Also,” said Nigel, “installation was easy. We’d sorted out the hard core for the base, and the panels for the new tank were up in a day.”

The installation process was another benefit for the farm. With the hard core prepared in advance for the tank base, the panels for the new A-Consult concrete slurry store were erected in a single day.

The construction method also incorporates features designed to protect the tank structure over its working life.

Unlike most, the A-Consult tank benefits from tensioning wires within the panels, so that they can’t suffer from corrosion inside the tank, or from weather conditions on the outside. Rubber seals on the joints also provide longevity by allowing slight movement when filling and emptying.

These design features are intended to provide durability while accommodating the movement associated with the regular filling and emptying of a large slurry store.

dry well landia pump — The dry-well Landia pump, which is used at numerous pig farms.

Landia pump and mixer for pig slurry handling

Howard Burton from Landia, said: “Some pig farms like the flexibility of the portable trolley mixer from Landia, which stops the build-up of crust that would attract flies. The dry-well 15kW Landia Chopper pump will always deal easily with ingress of foodstuffs or solidification of bedding materials, using its external knife system to continuously reduce the particle sizes of solids. It’s a very neat installation with the covered tank, pump, mixer, ladder, gantry, manway, top-fill pipe and transfer pipe, with just a 24-hour timer on the mixer and manual control on pump, it pretty much looks after itself.”

The Landia Chopper pump is designed to handle the solids that can be present in pig slurry, including foodstuffs and bedding materials. Its external knife system continuously reduces the particle size of solids to help maintain effective pumping.

The complete installation incorporates the covered slurry tank together with the pump, mixer, ladder, gantry, manway, top-fill pipe and transfer pipe. A 24-hour timer controls the mixer while the pump is operated manually.

For the farm, this provides a relatively simple slurry storage and handling system designed around the practical requirements of a modern pig unit.

‘Saving of between £40,000 to £50,000 per year on our fertilizer bill’

Even the first spread of slurry from the new A-Consult/Landia set-up provided new benefits, as Nigel Lee explains:

“Because the Landia mixer does such a good job of homogenising the slurry, we get a better uptake with uniformed nitrogen, phosphate, potash and trace elements. Nitrogen had increased from about four and a half kilos per cube to five and a half, which I thought was quite a big jump, really, in percentage terms.”

The effective mixing of the slurry was therefore important not only for storage and pumping but also for its subsequent use as a source of nutrients for the farm’s crops.

Homogenising the slurry helps provide a more uniform mixture before it is applied to agricultural land. This can help the farm make better use of the nitrogen, phosphate, potash and trace elements contained within the slurry.

He added: “Also, with fertiliser prices still so high, it is more and more critical to utilize the slurry to the best of your ability. We’re on course to make a saving of between £40,000 to £50,000 per year on our fertilizer bill.”

For an arable farm producing crops such as wheat and oilseed rape, making effective use of available organic nutrients can reduce reliance on purchased fertiliser. In this case, the farm expects the improved use of slurry to deliver a significant annual reduction in its fertiliser bill.

Inside the new tank during construction.

‘Retains the valuable nitrogen for use in our soil for crops’

“Overall, we are very happy with the new system. The covered A-Consult tank helps protect the environment by greatly reducing ammonia and methane from going into the atmosphere – and retains the valuable nitrogen for use in our soil for crops. The slurry is applied to oilseed rape and wheat in Spring, which maximises the benefits of the nitrogen, and minimises the loss from either volatilisation or leaching.”

“The new store also gives us far more flexibility, especially during prolonged rainfall, allowing us to apply the slurry earlier, or delay, if necessary, from the typical March/April period. This extra breathing space is a big plus.”

The covered slurry store provides the farm with additional environmental and operational benefits. By reducing emissions and retaining valuable nutrients within the slurry, the system helps the farm make better use of the material as an agricultural fertiliser.

The ability to store slurry for longer also gives the farm greater flexibility over when it can be applied to the land. This is particularly important during periods of prolonged rainfall when field conditions may prevent slurry spreading.

Rather than being restricted to applying slurry within a narrow window, the additional storage capacity allows the farm to delay application when necessary or apply it earlier when conditions are suitable.

For a 600-acre farm with a combination of pig production and arable cropping, this flexibility can be particularly valuable. The new 2200m³ concrete slurry tank provides additional storage capacity while the Landia pump and mixer provide the equipment required to mix and transfer the slurry.

The project demonstrates how modern pig slurry storage, slurry pumps and slurry mixers can work together to support both livestock and arable farming operations. By improving slurry management, the A-Consult and Landia installation is helping the Yorkshire farm maximise the value of its organic fertiliser while providing additional storage capacity and operational flexibility.

Landia: www.landiaworld.com

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Landia's headquarters are located in Lem, which is how it has been since 1933. Today, Landia has subsidiaries in England, Germany, Norway and the US, and a sales office in China. In addition, Landia products are sold in 45 countries worldwide. Landia supplies pumping and mixing solutions to many different industries, with the most important ones being agriculture, wastewater, biogas plants and the fish industry. In general, you will find Landia's products wherever there is a difficult medium to be pumped or mixed. Landia survives by selling quality solutions in close partnership with the customers.

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