Pa. Product Among Top 10 World Ag Expo Picks

Pump Promises Improved Manure Handling on Sand-Bedded Dairies

Dick Wanner
Lancaster Farming Staff

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania-made pump used by dairy farmers who bed cows with sand has been named one of the top 10 new products for the year by the World Ag Expo, an annual event held in Tulare, Calif., drawing some 100,000 attendees and 1,600 vendors of agricultural products and services.

McLanahan Corporation’s new 44 Super Magnum Sand Pump was chosen by a field of agribusiness professionals from a field of 70 entries. Their pump is designed to move manure from freestall dairy barns that use sand for bedding. According to Robert Plank, a McLanahan engineer who helped develop the 44 Super Magnum, sand is murder on manure pumps because of abrasiveness.

McLanahan has been in the manure handling equipment business for a little over a decade, but it’s history with abrasive fluids goes back 135 rears to a time when the company was actively involved in phosphate mining. Company founder Calvin McLanahan’s son, Samuel, developed a method to clean clay from their mining equipment. The company soon started manufacturing specialized mining equipment, and after about a century or so, used their expertise to develop equipment for sand-laden manure.

The new sand pump is the latest in a line of dairy-focused equipment that includes sand separation systems, a stall filler and specially designed augers.

According to Plank, the sand pump uses technology familiar to the mining industry. Nitrile rubber, a synthetic material, is used to coat the pump components, and allows them to wear much longer than uncoated metal parts.

The pump has an eight-foot-long vertical shaft that fits into existing applications.

The pump has been tested for a year, Plank said, and has met the company’s expectations. One is being used on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. The other sand pump is on the Kulp Family Dairy in Martinsburg, Pa., not far from the McLanahan factory.

The Kulps have a 1,400-cow herd housed in a freestall barn with fine sand for bedding. The McLanahan pump has been running continuously for a year. Phil Kulp said the steel pumps they had been using previously needed rebuilt after two weeks to a month of service. One issue with the McLanahan pump has been a tendency to jam up with foreign material that’s more than an inch-and-a-half wide — rocks, placentas, hoof blocks, etc.

They screen the larger particles out of the manure stream, Kulp said, and as long as they scrape the screen off several times a day they’re okay. And if an impeller does get jammed up, they can fix it pretty quickly.

Robert Plank said they’re satisfied with the performance of their two pumps in the field, and have started marketing efforts. He said they have several pumps in the factory ready to go.

The pump was the only product from the eastern U.S. to make the top 10 list.

The 43rd annual World Ag Expo will be held February 9-11, 2010 in Tulare, Calif. The nine other top 10 products chosen to highlight the event are listed here with the product, manufacturer, location and descriptions provided by the manufacturers:

AutoFarm OnTrac2 GPS, Novariant, AutoFarm, Fremont, Calif. — The OnTrac2 GPS Assisted Steering System works with two-wheel and four-wheel drive tractors, combines, sprayers and spreaders. With unit in place farming operations are performed with greater accuracy, covering more ground faster and more efficiently.

Cooling Station, Heat Relief Solutions, Napa, Calif. — Self-contained mobile heat-relief facility helps prevent heat illness among farm workers. The 16-foot, all-steel tandem axle trailer is highway legal and can carry a total of 300 gallons of potable water. Features include an aluminum shade canopy; a commercial two-stage oscillating fogging fan plus an optional satellite fan that can be used with a water misting pump up to 200 feet from the trailer; and two 10-gallon food-grade drinking water tanks with dispensers for large cups.

Forklift 180-degree Bin Inverter, Schieler Harvester, Terra Bella, Calif. — This forklift attachment for dumping bins of fruit, nuts or other bulk items, does what no conventional hydraulic bin dumper can — it allows the bin to turn over a full 180 degrees to completely empty the bin of its contents. The attachment saves growers time and money.

Gripple T-Clip, Gripple, Inc., Aurora, Ill. — An innovative wire-gripping device, called the Gripple T-Clip offers a revolutionary way to start or terminate a fence. It replaces the time and trouble of knotting or stapling wires at the end post with a fast, simple twist and push action.

Hoof Supervisor System, Feed Supervisor Software, Dresser, Wis. — Hoof Supervisor, a new computerized chute-side data recording system, enables hoof trimmers to collect report and analyze results of their work more efficiently.

Magswitch Magnets, Forney Industries, Fort Collins, Colo. — Magswitch Magnets offer farmers and ranchers a faster, more precise and easier-to-use alternative to clamp, hold, position or lift ferrous steel for fabrication, welding, wood working projects and general repair projects.

LWR Manure Treatment System, Livestock Water Recycling, Calgary, Alberta — A new spray-on house fly bait product takes control of house flies in livestock facilities to a new, higher level. It can be applied indoors and outdoors out of reach of livestock and domestic animals to kill flies quickly in places where conventional scatter baits can’t be used.

One Shot Tree Recognition System, Nelson Mfg. Co., Inc. , Yuba City, Calif. — The One Shot limits spray applications to trees offering an inexpensive yet dependable and effective way to minimize chemical costs and drift when spraying orchards.

Stinger Automatic Load Securing System, Stinger, Inc., Haven, Kan. — Trying to throw straps against high winds, fussing with tie-down ropes and crawling on top of the load when securing a trailer full of large square straw bales are a thing of the past with the new Automatic Load Securing System. The hydraulically operated system features two straps suspended between a stationary bulkhead at the front of the trailer and a sliding bulkhead at the rear. To secure the load, press a switch, activating hydraulic cylinders carefully securing the load.