Yard Drainage - Case Study

Big Results from Small Drains

Traveling around Ireland, South Australian Dave Harvey saw a commonly used drainage system that he incorporated into his dairy at Meningie. The slot drains he inserted into his exit race are small, effective and inexpensive, meaning Dave could afford to install a network of them. He now has drainage points only about one metre apart and that means he's hosing a lot less.

"Normally, in a big dairy, you'd have drainage points about 15 metres apart, which means at any one point you're having to hose the manure about seven metres," he said. "These slot drains are very small, but they carry a lot."

His version involves a drain dug 300mm deep into which he lays a 100mm PVC pipe. But before laying the pipe, Dave cut it open with an angle grinder, leaving a 50mm gap that faces upward when the pipe is placed in the drain. He cut two strips of 4mm - thick galvanised flat steel and then welded a reinforcing spacer bar about every half metre along, joining the two strips. This rests on top of the PVC pipe, forming the ‘throat' of the drain.

"Then you just pour concrete around it to set it in place and that's it," Dave said. "It's not wide enough that a cow can put her hoof in, nor an adult their foot. It's just wide enough to get your fingers in if you drop anything in there. The big PVC pipe carries a lot of effluent without an additional hosing down.

"We only have to push our effluent a metre or two and then it drops into a drain," he said. "You don't need a lot of water to wash it down the drain. "I'd say it's worth doing even with an existing installation if you're in it for the long term."

Want more information?

Contact CowTime Project Manager
Department of Primary Industries, Victoria
Phone (03) 5624 2221 or e-mail cowtime.project@dpi.vic.gov.au

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