Smart Slurry Aeration System on the Pemberton's Farm

How it Started vs How it’s Going!

Well-known Youtuber, Tom Pemberton, and his father manage a large scale dairy farm in Lytham, England, along with Pemberton’s Farm Shop where they sell all their farm produce.

In recent months, the Pemberton’s have worked tirelessly to upgrade their farming systems and become as efficient as they possibly can. Their farm business is growing rapidly, with cow numbers increasing, and it’s time to make some changes!

Amongst many farm upgrades, they decided to opt for the safer, smarter solution and install the Dairypower Smart Slurry Aeration System in their round steel slurry store.

How it Started...

The Pembertons had serious issues with a crust forming on their slurry in their steel tank, which made agitating and managing their slurry extremely difficult.

They also had problems with moss and grass growing on the top of the slurry store. This meant that they needed to find a safer, long-term, and sustainable approach to agitate their slurry.

Due to a significant build-up of silt inside their tank, the Pembertons’ storage capacity was also limited. They had previously utilised separators in the tank, but their massive farm expansion necessitated a change.

After months of studying and investigating suitable slurry management systems for their farm, the Pembertons discovered the Dairypower Smart Slurry Aeration System, which proved to be the optimal solution for them in terms of slurry management. The fact that the slurry was consistent and in a homogeneous, pumpable state at all times was a huge selling factor for the Pembertons.

They believed the Dairypower aeration system would work well with their slurry tanker’s dribble bar and also reduce the need for slurry bugs, which they were spending a lot of money on throughout the year. With this particular system, there is an even distribution of nutrients in the slurry tank because the slurry is consistent at all times. This will aid in the regrowth of grass on their land and lower their fertiliser costs – little did they know how important this was going to be in 2022!

Tom from Pemberton's Farm updating their slurry management system with Dairypower

September 2021 rolled around, and the Pemberton duo chose to have our Smart Slurry Aeration System installed. The round steel tank was supplied with our uPVC non-degrading pipework, and the pump unit was installed later after an electricity connection was established.

The day had finally come to install the Pemberton’s Smart Slurry Aeration System. Dairypower UK’s Rhys and the fitting team from James Holding Dairy Engineering were present on the day to assist with system installation and to provide a full explanation of how our aeration system works for a YouTube video on Tom’s page. It’s hard to believe, it took less than a day for the pipework to be fitted!

With the pipework fully installed into the tank, it could then be utilised straight away and start to be filled with slurry – making sure that the usual slurry management had minimal disruption.

How it's Going...

The Smart Slurry Aeration System installed on the Pemberton’s farm, was only going to take 16 minutes to fully aerate his tank at one time! This would run 4-6 times a day, on low energy consumption, while keeping his slurry in a homogeneous, pumpable state. Tom couldn’t believe that aerating his slurry and eliminating tractor agitation would only cost him approximately 50p per day with the Dairypower system!

Once an electricity connection was available and the pump unit was installed, it was finally time for the aeration system to be turned on. With a few months’ worth of slurry already in the tank with no agitation of any kind, a crust had already formed on the surface. Instantly the bubbles of air rose to the surface, mixing and moving the slurry. It was hard to believe, the hard, compacted crust was fully broken down in only a matter of hours of the aeration system working!

Fast forward several weeks, the Pemberton’s round steel slurry store was filled with ⅔ of slurry – it was time to get some of this moving! This was Tom’s first time spreading aerated slurry and it was a lot different to spreading non-aerated slurry. Tom, described the aerated slurry as the ‘perfect consistency’, as the slurry was in a constant, homogeneous, pumpable state. The first litre is the same as the last!

The Pembertons began tanking and the aerated slurry made the perfect pairing with their dribble bar on their slurry tanker. Major labour savings were made, with no more unnecessary time spent agitating the slurry – it was as simple as hook-up, extract and spread!

And Now...

It has been 6 months since the Pembertons installed their Smart Slurry Aeration System in their round steel slurry store. In Tom’s final roundup of his farm improvements he described the Dairypower Smart Slurry Aeration System as the perfect addition to their farming set-up, and something they would definitely do again!

Tom’s dad went as far as saying it was the best thing that they have introduced to their farm for the summer ahead, as it makes spreading slurry easier, and produces better quality slurry. This will be a massive benefit as it will decrease chemical fertiliser usage – a very important factor to consider now, with rapidly increasing fertiliser prices.

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