Friday, 26 November 2021 08:55

'Free fertiliser' from the pond

Written by  Staff Reporters
A crust-free effluent pond allows hasslefree irrigation of nutrients to paddocks. A crust-free effluent pond allows hasslefree irrigation of nutrients to paddocks.

Otorohanga farmer Grant Mitchell milks 176 cows once-aday throughout the year, so good grass growth is crucial.

To keep the grass growing, Mitchell has been tapping into “free fertiliser” from his effluent pond for the past 10 years.

Effluent is sprayed onto 7ha of the farm at a time and within a week the cows can graze that area.

To make sure that the effluent is easily irrigated, Mitchell says he has been using the Impact effluent treatment from Bioworks, pouring five litres of the product into the pond every month.

Mitchell built the 1200 cubic metre effluent pond in 2009. The pond became anaerobic not long after he started using it and a thick crust formed on top.

“There was even grass growing on top of the crusted pond,” he told Dairy News.

Irrigating the crusty effluent wasn’t easy, he says. Cows were also delaying their moving to grazing paddocks sprayed with the crusting effluent. The odour from the pond was also becoming an issue.

“You couldn’t put cows onto an irrigated paddock until about three weeks after the cannon had been in the paddock,” he says.

Mitchell started looking for solutions, settling on Impact because it is formulated to speed up the pond’s natural oxidation process.

“The crust went away leaving just green water in the pond. We put them in paddocks now and the cows are there next week munching away.

“There’s no need for a stirrer now, there’s no crust and Impact does its own job. We are getting green, mixed effluent going on the grass and it’s all rich fertiliser.”

Mitchell says the bad smell has gone away.

“When I look at the pond now, it’s just full of green water. I can see bubbles coming up and I know the bacteria are doing their stuff under water.”

Making An Impact

Results of treatment:

  • Reduced sludge, crust and odour
  • Requires once a month dosing
  • Just pour into pond
  • Non-hazardous
  • Reduced chance of pond liner damage
  • Better nutrient availability
  • Graze sprayed pasture sooner.

More like this

Tractor to help budding farmers

Jeff Farm is a 2433ha property near Gore, owned and run by the Salvation Army since the early 1950s after it was gifted by farmer Edmund Jeff, with the stipulation it be "used to train young people with a passion for agriculture, who would not otherwise have such a career option" - for a career in the New Zealand agricultural industry.

A year of global challenges

As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.

BA Pumps expand

Cambridge based BA Pumps & Sprayers, specialists in New Zealand-made spraying equipment, has acquired Tokoroa Engineering’s product range, including the iconic Milk Bar mobile calf feeder products, alongside calf and feed trailers.

Entries open for innovation award

Fieldays and its renowned Innovation Awards are celebrating their 57th year, marking a longstanding tradition in the agricultural calendar, with the latter delivering a platform for problem-solvers to showcase their innovation to the primary industries.

Mounting kit helps with accurate metering, spreading

StocksAg has introduced a mounting kit to fit its Turbo Jet 8 or 10 units to pneumatic trailed SKY EasyDrills, allowing separate metering and accurate application of products like Avadex through an additional set of outlets behind the drill’s press wheel.

Featured

Massey Research Field Day attracts huge interest

More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.

Expo set to wow again

Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.

A year of global challenges

As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.

Boost for hort exports

The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.

National

OSPRI's costly software upgrade

Animal disease management agency OSPRI has announced sweeping governance changes as it seeks to recover from the expensive failure of…

Machinery & Products

BA Pumps expand

Cambridge based BA Pumps & Sprayers, specialists in New Zealand-made spraying equipment, has acquired Tokoroa Engineering’s product range, including the…

Entries open for innovation award

Fieldays and its renowned Innovation Awards are celebrating their 57th year, marking a longstanding tradition in the agricultural calendar, with…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Chinese strategy

OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.

Not fair

OPINION: The Listener's latest piece on winter grazing among Southland dairy farmers leaves much to be desired.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter