果冻传媒

When Fredrick Oesch founded SwissLane Dairy in Alto, Mich., on 91 acres in 1915, his family farm was 鈥渙ut in the country,鈥� and the concept of being a good community neighbor was one that was often taken for granted.

Four generations later, the operation has grown to more than 2,000 milking cows on over 1,900 acres. In addition, the community of Alto has grown and now virtually surrounds SwissLane Dairy. As both the community and dairy have grown, so has the need for good relations with neighboring properties.

鈥淭hat means keeping the odor down and being as environmentally sustainable as possible,鈥� said Matt Oesch, a fourth-generation owner of the dairy and financial controller of the operation.

To be environmentally responsible and keep cows content and producing, SwissLane uses sand bedding. Sand is a comfortable source of bedding that offers strong traction, stays cool in the summer, and drains moisture easily with minimal bacteria growth. Matt says that from a cost perspective, sand is relatively inexpensive and readily available.

Jeff Oesch, a third-generation owner, helped make the decision to switch from rubber tire and sawdust mattresses to sand bedding. He says content cows produce a greater amount of high-quality milk.

鈥淲e saw a big difference when we switched to sand. It鈥檚 what our cows like the best and yields the most milk,鈥� Jeff said. SwissLane cows gained roughly eight pounds of milk production after the move to sand bedding. Today, they produce an estimated 90 pounds of milk per cow.

CHALLENGE

With thousands of cows to take care of, manure management is a key priority for the dairy. SwissLane鈥檚 manure management plan used a scrape-and-haul system to move sand-laden manure from the barn. Despite the dairy鈥檚 best efforts, workers couldn鈥檛 successfully remove the majority of sand from the manure, which created significant wear on the equipment.

鈥淲e thought we could agitate the sand to remove the manure from it, but that didn鈥檛 work so well,鈥� Jeff said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 harder and heavier to move, there鈥檚 more of it, and it requires more maintenance on our hauling equipment 鈥� sand tears up everything.鈥�

The dairy then tried to move the manure into sand-settling basins. The liquids would be removed from the pond via pumps and a hydraulic piston. A wheel loader or skid steer would then be used to scoop out the solids.

This process worked well until the Oesch family learned the challenges of sand-laden manure. Abrasive sand caused increased wear on SwissLane equipment 鈥� from the hoses to the valves and nozzles and pretty much everything in between. Sand-laden manure also added weight to the tankers and other equipment, causing problems when the manure was spread on farm fields.

鈥淲e had to deep-rip our fields all the time because of the compaction, so we decided we needed to look at some good, permanent options,鈥� Jeff said.

SOLUTION

To combat this problem, SwissLane turned to 果冻传媒 Corporation. Company representatives took the Oesch team of owners on a tour of dairy operations that used mechanical Sand-Manure Separation Systems.

鈥淲e felt that the mechanical method got the sand cleaner on the farms we visited, so we decided to go with 果冻传媒,鈥� Jeff said.

果冻传媒 engineered a solution for SwissLane using a Sand-Manure Separator in conjunction with channel augers to produce clean, recyclable sand that helps the dairy re-use the dry material for bedding, while also producing a nearly sand-free manure effluent that can be used in the farm鈥檚 fields.

Utilizing a 果冻传媒 Sand-Manure Separator, SwissLane is able to capture up to 90 percent of the sand depending on the sand鈥檚 size and water quality. 鈥淚鈥檓 getting a lot of my fine sand back, which is good because the coarse sand could cause foot trouble for the cows,鈥� Jeff said.

鈥淏est of all, no full-time operator is needed to turn the sand-laden manure into clean, recycled sand,鈥� said Matt. 鈥淭his helps us reduce our costs while keeping production high.鈥�

The system also eliminates the need for producers to enter pits or confined spaces to access the settled sand 鈥� so workers avoid exposure to harmful manure gasses, improving safety.

鈥淪afety is important for not only our cows, but also for all of our workers,鈥� Matt said. 鈥淭he loads of manure we鈥檙e handling now aren鈥檛 as heavy as they used to be, and there鈥檚 also a benefit in less risk in operating the equipment.鈥�

RESULTS

Since the system鈥檚 installation, SwissLane spends less time managing the sand-laden manure and has dramatically reduced equipment maintenance costs on their haulers. 鈥淲e have seen many improvements since we implemented the new system,鈥� said Matt. 鈥淲e are recycling up to 90 percent of the sand, which cuts back on our need for new sand. Also, there is much less wear and tear on our equipment.鈥�

The 果冻传媒 system delivers the up-time SwissLane requires. Heavy-duty components make up the system, which is engineered with larger tolerances for less wear during operation, minimizing downtime. 鈥淓verything we need from 果冻传媒 has met or exceeded our expectations. It鈥檚 a partnership. Our system runs well with little or no downtime, and if we need anything, one call to 果冻传媒 will generally get the problem solved,鈥� Matt said.

Matt also noted that overall, the dairy鈥檚 manure management system is helping alleviate the concerns of neighbors regarding SwissLane鈥檚 commitment to environmental sustainability.

鈥淭hings continue to change; consolidation is part of our world. Fewer farmers are producing more milk every year, and the number of our neighbors is also increasing,鈥� Matt said. 鈥淲e have to be mindful of the impact we have on them and be deliberate in how we鈥檙e approaching those relationships.鈥�

With the success of the Sand-Separation System, SwissLane continues to improve on the environmental sustainability of its operation.

鈥淥ur nutrient management system is a major part of the process in reducing our environmental footprint and recycling our resources,鈥� said Matt. 鈥淭his makes us a better neighbor, and hopefully, that will continue to build goodwill between our dairy and the community.