Crusty pond before Digest-it for Effluent.

Rod also installed a solids screen separator late in 2008 and had the primary pond cleaned in February 2009 to remove the ‘putrid’ sludge and slurry build-up from the bottom, in addition to clearing the one-metre deep crust on top of the pond.

“This new system seemed to work well for three to four months,” Rod said.

“But during winter in 2009, the primary pond started to develop a three to four-inch crust on the top again. To make the situation worse, there was also the additional rain water coming off the feed pad, so that in spring we put three additional ponds in to handle the extra water and effluent.”

Rod also installed filter screens in the irrigation pipeline that supplied effluent water to the centre pivot irrigators. However, the slurry build up continued to hamper Rod and Jenny’s efforts to make efficient use of the effluent water for their irrigation.

The couple are used to making things happen and they are not afraid to think outside the box – they knew they urgently needed a resolution and they turned to BioAg’s Digest-it® for Dairies. Digest-it is a fermented culture, developed to help create and maintain a balanced microbial environment in effluent ponds. Simply by pouring a small amount of the ready to use liquid product on to their yard before the wash down every day, they have not only broken up their effluent pond’s crusty surface (by stimulating the microbial digestion of organic matter), they have also eliminated the smell historically associated with manure ponds.