Scott Farm
Welcome to DairyNZ's Scott Farm - Effective farming systems for dairy farmers.
This page contains a short farm profile and information on research conducted on Scott Farm.
Focus
DairyNZ's larger scale farming systems research trials are based at Scott Farm.
A main feature of Scott Farm is an Advanced Ponds System (APS) for treating dairy wastewater from both Lye and Scott Farms. Research trials to utilise nutrients from these effluent ponds are also conducted on this farm.
Farm profile
| Milking cows: | 340 (Subject to scientific requirements) |
| Research focus: | Large scale farm systems trials |
| Soil type and fertility: | Peaty loams, Sandy loams, Silt loams |
| Dairy Infrastructure: |
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Effluent processing ‘environmentally friendly’ 10-pond system
Lye and Scott Farm's dairy effluent is piped to a ‘environmentally friendly’ 10-pond system on Scott Farm.
An Advanced Ponds System (APS), designed by NIWA, is used for treating farm dairy wastewater.
 Overview of Advanced Ponds System. Primary effluent enters at left, treated water exits the series of ponds at right. |
E.coli bacteria count is becoming increasingly important in dairy farm effluent. Ideally, treatment of dairy wastewater should be so effective that when the effluent is discharged and mixed with streams, the E.coli count should be low enough to swim in.
APS ponds are in 4 stages
Stage 1: Fermentation pit for raw effluent
These ponds allow for sedimentation and methane fermentation.
Stage 2: High-rate pond
This is a large, shallow high-rate pond with baffles and a paddle wheel to keep the water circulating. The shallow water allows maximum penetration of sunlight for algae to grow, photosynthesise and produce oxygen, as well as for killing bacteria.
 The large, shallow high-rate pond in the APS system, with baffles and a paddle wheel to keep the water circulating. |
Stage 3: Settling ponds
Water moves on from high-rate ponds to algal settling ponds, where algae settle out to be harvested as high-nutrient, slow-release fertiliser. Alternatively, the algae can be returned to the fermentation pit.
Stage 4: Maturation pond
The maturation pond is large and shallow, about a meter deep, where the water undergoes final disinfection from solar ultraviolet light, protozoa grazing and sedimentation. The resulting water is of sufficient quality to use as washwater, irrigate farmland or discharge into waterways.
Source: Dairy Exporter, February 2004, p14
Key research projects
Most research work at Scott Farm is focused on large scale farm systems trials.
Resource Efficient Dairy (RED) trial
The aim of the RED (Resource Efficient Dairying) trial is to measure the economic and environmental effects of different feed inputs and management processes on a dairy farm. This farm systems trial started in 2001 and is intended to continue until 2006 to allow lag effects time to show. The trial design is based on 6 farm systems with feed inputs that vary from 17 to 40 t DM/ha/year, and with stocking rates varying from 3 to 7 cows/ha. >>more
Effluent pond aquatic plant production
Lye and Scott Farm dairy effluent is piped into a new advanced Pond System designed for efficient dairy-farm effluent treatment (see above). The ponds incorporate technology for growing algae and duckweed - aquatic plants that mop up nutrients in the effluent.
Besides purifying effluent wastewater, algae and duckweed could become high protein feed supplements having crude protein contents of 40-45%.
Research, funded by DairyNZ measures seasonal dry matter yields, dry matter and protein contents, faecal bacteria and heavy metal contents of these aquatic plants.
Contact Errol Thom
Green Gold
"Where there is muck there is money!” | |
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Duckweed, eg |
Algae, eg |
