90 | nzdairy DAIRY SERVICES » Precision Slurry Ltd Stirring drives real nutrient gains Precision Slurry operates across the Central Plateau, Bay of Plenty, and South Waikato. Karen Phelps Getting dairy effluent right starts long before it reaches the paddock. Brothers Glen and Robert Crafar of Precision Slurry say the difference between average results and real nutrient value often comes down to one thing - a proper stir. The Central Plateau–based dairy effluent contractor has built its business around professional stirring, pumping, and spreading, helping farmers unlock nutrients that can sit unused for years in poorly mixed ponds and tanks. Robert says good stirring is the highest-impact part of the job and the area where many systems fall short. “If you don’t get the stir right, you’re not getting the nutrients out,” he says. “The stirrer is the highest wearing part of what we do, but it’s also the most important. It’s the difference between a good job and an average job.” Precision Slurry operates across the Central Plateau, Bay of Plenty, and South Waikato, specialising solely in dairy effluent since 2016. Glen and Robert started the business to solve challenges on Glen’s sharemilking operation, and demand quickly grew as other farmers recognised the value of having ponds properly stirred and emptied. “A lot of ponds haven’t been cleaned out properly for years or ever,” he says. “People are often surprised by how deep their pond actually is once everything’s stirred properly. That’s when you know you’ve got all the sludge, sand, and nutrients back in suspension.” Precision Slurry has also expanded into the growing niche of desludging above-ground storage, including bladders and effluent tanks. Many of these systems are now reaching the stage where crusts and sand build-up are limiting capacity and performance. “Robert designed and built an attachment for our stirrers so we can work with limited maccess points and over tank walls,” Glen says. “Without it, you simply can’t get these tanks mixed properly.” The company runs a range of stirrers, including long-reach units up to 12 metres fitted with cannons to get hard to reach areas and open propellers designed to break up heavy crusts. Some systems develop thick surface growth that requires significant chopping before nutrients can be released and spread evenly. Glen cautions that bladders have a limited lifespan in New Zealand conditions. “The sun here is harsh and they can become brittle over time. If you’re installing one, it should be bunded. Otherwise, other systems are often a better long-term solution.” A dairy farmer himself, milking 800 cows, Glen says keeping effluent systems simple makes the biggest difference day to day. “We don’t separate solids on our own farm. It’s easier to keep everything together, then get the pond properly stirred and emptied once a year or every couple of years. Separators add cost and maintenance.” For Glen And Robert, the message is clear. “Farmers want a system that works without constant attention. Most electric stirrers, sand traps, and separator systems require constant upkeep which people don’t have time for. By the time you add up the cost of installation, electricity and the farmers time spent tending to these systems, often a more cost effective and time saving option is to keep it all together, let your fixed system pump the water off the top, and once a year get us to give the system a really good stir and spread all those valuable nutrients exactly where you need them.” Liquid waste solutions P R O U D LY S U P P O RT I N G P R E C I S I ON S L U R R Y L T D WORLD-CLASS TANKERS IMPORTED FROM KOTTE GARANT Kaiser Vacuum Trucks MADE IN NEW ZEALAND Call David: 027 436 9999 Email: david@kaiserag.co.nz Website: kaiserag.co.nz/effluent-spreaders/
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