Terry Feldman

According to agricultural engineer and livestock environment consultant Terry Feldmann, East Peoria, IL, you can expect to save anywhere from .23 to 1.5 cents in application costs for each gallon of manure you don't have to handle. Storage costs can also be reduced, in addition to the basic water supply costs.

Feldmann estimates that manure handling costs range from .23 cents per gallon for simple irrigation systems up to 1.5 cents per gallon for tanker systems with long travel distances to fields. Umbilical or drag systems range from .5 to .8 cents per gallon, Feldmann says.

According to University of Nebraska research, pigs on Farmweld DRIK-0-MAT® Water Cups use about 1.0 gallon per day per pig, compared to 1.33 per day per pig for pigs on swinging nipple waterers. So if you cut water waste by 25 percent — from 1.33 to 1.0 gallons per day — you'll save $964 in a year's time if you use an umbilical system to apply manure from a 1,000-head finishing building.

Annual Manure Application Cost Savings

.33 gal. Savings/day

x 1,000 head x 365 days;

x $.008 application cost

= $964 annual savings

Another research trial at Nebraska showed that pigs on standard nipple waterers used 1.6 gallons of water per day. That translates into a $1,752 savings in annual application costs using an umbilical system if you reduce water use to 1.0 gallon per day.

Annual Manure Application Cost Savings

.6 gal. Savings/day

x 1,000 head x 365 days

x $.008 application cost

= $1,752 annual savings

Adjust these examples to match your specific application method and your system's building capacity and number of operating days.

Feldmann says that daily water use also impacts the amount of manure storage your operation requires. For example, say you were planning to build a 12 ft. deep, 200 ft. diameter round concrete outdoor storage tank, which would hold 2.8 million gallons of waste. If you reduce total water use by 25 percent, you'd require 2.1 million gallons capacity and could get away with a 173 ft. diameter tank instead of the 200 ft. tank.

Feldmann estimates storage tank building costs at $.0475 per gallon. The 173 ft. tank would cost $99,750, compared to $133,000 for a 200 ft. tank. This example is for areas where rainfall is equal to evaporation and should be adjusted in areas where rainfall exceeds evaporation.

Concrete Storage Tank Building Costs

200 ft. tank = 2.8 mil gal. X $.0475/gal. = $133,000

173 ft. tank = 2.1 mil gal. $0475/gal. = $99,750

= $33,250 savings

Feldmann says that reducing water waste also reduces water supply costs. The impact depends on your specific supply costs. If you operate in an area where it is expensive to obtain water, then obviously you'll save more. Furthermore, Feldmann says that reducing your water supply requirement could help you avoid fines if you operate in an area where daily use restrictions are established.

Reducing daily water waste helps cut manure application cost, storage cost and water supply cost. And all of that makes good economic sense, says Feldmann.

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