Maintaining Feedlot Infrastructure

Having A Maintenance And Repair Plan

A modern farm must function as a business unit with an integrated plan for maintenance and servicing of all tools, equipment, machinery and implements necessary for the operation. This plan needs to be established as part of the total management plan and integrated from top-level management down to the operator level. Planning and control are vital if an effective maintenance plan is to be implemented. The management must, in conjunction with the person who will be responsible for the maintenance procedure, establish from the outset a plan that is practical and functional (It is important that this person is in a senior management position).

This plan must allow for unforeseen deviations, but only under extreme conditions. At this point, it is important to establish a plan for the storage of tools, equipment, machinery and implements. This storage will determine the value that management places on the maintenance level of the tools, equipment, machinery and implements. It must include a demarcated area that is specific to the cleaning of tools, equipment, machinery and implements. This area must conform to the farm’s conservation and environmental policy and plan that would take into account the use of harmful chemicals that will be detrimental to the environment.

Once the five-year production plan for the farm is established, then planning for maintenance of tools, equipment, machinery and implements machinery within the production plan can begin.

Budget

Maintenance Budgets

A farm maintenance budget needs to be practical and consists of two sections:

• Frequent routine maintenance costs- these costs are budgeted for in general but not planned for. For example, a tractor might get a puncture, and this would come out of this cost centre.
• Major maintenance work- in the plan it would be budgeted that after one year the tractor would require a major service and after five years the engine would require a total overhaul.

Maintenance Plan and Processes

Major maintenance work involves complete rework of equipment, machinery and implements or an engine that has had considerable service time. This sort of maintenance is planned and budgeted for and would be scheduled to occur during a non-productive period on the farm.

In the planning stage, the managers would have to decide if they are going to have the infrastructure available to do major maintenance work on equipment, machinery and implements, or are going to outsource this work. If they decide to keep the work in-house, they must plan to have all the tools and equipment available to carry out major repair work.

The costs involved in the maintenance are substantial and if machinery and equipment are not checked and repaired regularly, it will result in a major breakdown which will cost considerably more to repair.

Often all major maintenance is carried out by specialists as some machinery and equipment are too specialized to be serviced by untrained persons. The farm store would normally have a list of the suppliers of all tools, equipment, machinery and implements operating on the farm and if a new part is required to carry out work identified during a frequent inspection then the stores can order the part if they do not carry it as a stock item.

Part of the planning process would be to identify how much capital would be invested in-stock items for maintenance and what would be acceptable downtime if the maintenance team has to wait for the supplier to deliver. A balance needs to be planned for, as it is very costly to keep stock in the store and it can be costly to production not to have it immediately available.

Maintenance Involves

Routine Planning

The routine maintenance and scheduling plan need to be broken into two major sections.

Detailing the pre-planned times that coincide with non-production peaks for major maintenance and;

There are frequent inspections, daily/weekly/monthly checks, that are carried out on the tools, equipment, machinery and implements.

Inspections

Frequent inspections would identify the need to replace or repair faulty items.

Maintenance of Equipment and Machines

A maintenance schedule would involve the operator cleaning the air filter and spark plug and the outside of the machine for physical dirt on a daily basis. If the operator notices that there is an oil leak on the engine, then the operator must report it to their supervisor who will authorize the operator to book the machine at the workshop. The operator conducts a daily routine service at the end of the day and on a monthly basis takes the machine into the workshop for service.

During downtime, the machine will be booked in for a major overhaul.

The workshop must be flexible and cater for tools, equipment, machinery and implements being brought in for minor essential repairs out of the set schedule, a sprayer that has an oil leak needs immediate attention as the lack of oil would cause major damage to the machine with further use.

Part of the plan for maintenance needs to be the availability of a replacement machine that can allow the operator to continue operating while the broken machine is being fixed. There needs to be an agreed-upon time for faulty tools, equipment, machinery and implements to be taken to the workshop, machines must be booked in and a job card issued for the work that needs to be conducted. For every type of equipment, machinery and implement operating on the farm there must be the necessary specific or generic tools available to carry out maintenance. Most machinery and implements come with a set of spanners that is specific to them. It is best for the workshop to have a set and for the operator to have a set to take into the field.

Pen Maintenance

Beef feedlot operations are faced with daily tasks of managing feed and cattle inventory, animal health, labour, operational activities and marketing of the resident cattle in the yards. No less important are details to manage the feedlot environment and facilities. All of this is made more tedious and challenging by the forces of Mother Nature. In the northern and central plains, the long winter and the recent spring storms have crippled one area of management that may have created some cattle issues. That area is feedlot pen maintenance and cattle comfort. Many open-lot cattle feeding sites have been burdened by mud and water accumulations – making regular pen cleaning difficult. Closed, confined feeding facilities may be hampered in removing stockpiled manure and or disposal of pit-stored waste. In the face of muddy, soggy feedlot pens, cattle discomfort and lameness are potential problems that producers may be facing. The end result of these problems may be loss of performance and negative closeouts.

Cattle Pens

Scrape pens frequently so that solid manure does not accumulate.

Solid Settling Structures

Clean out solids settling structure after every rainfall and before the structure is full. Make sure slotted gates aren’t plugged or frozen.

Retain liquids long enough for solids to settle out, but as short a time as possible so that ammonia levels don’t become elevated. Check berms frequently for erosion. Maintain vegetation on berms to stabilize the side slopes.

Areas below Solids Settling Structures

Keep grass mowed so that you can inspect waterways and filter strips. Make sure that liquid run-off spreads out so that it is more likely to be absorbed by soils.

Check grass waterways frequently for signs of channelizing. Check grass filter strips frequently for signs of channelizing or trenching. Repair reseed and mulch areas that are channelized as soon as possible to re-establish vegetation and prevent more damage.

Check for tile inlets and subsurface tile lines. Plug the tile or divert the manure away from the tile if there is a potential for contamination.

After Rainstorm or Freeze/Thaw Cycle

Look for odours and signs of brown water in waterways after a rainstorm or freeze/thaw cycle. If brown water or odours are present, there may be a problem. Make sure the run-off is not reaching a stream.

Check below the solids settling structure to make sure that liquid run-off does not go directly to a stream. The longer the distance the run-off has to travel, the more likely that it will be absorbed or diluted. The minimum required r open feedlots are to protect water quality so that downstream waters are free from unpleasant odours or colour, sludge deposits and floating debris. Down-stream waters must also be free from substances like manure solids or excess nutrients that can cause algae blooms or fish kills.

Solids settling structure with a slotted gate

Maintain Most Conditions

As long as the layer of loose manure is at 25 to 35 per cent moisture content, dust and odour problems are minimized. Recent research has shown that 0.3 in (8mm) of moisture, in the form of rain or irrigation, minimizes ammonia losses to the atmosphere.

Increasing or decreasing animal numbers in a pen can help to maintain this moisture level. In warm, dry periods, animal numbers per pen can be increased to increase the amount of urine, thereby helping to keep the pen surface damp. The limits to animal numbers per pen are feed bunk space, watered space and pen area per animal.

If sufficient water is available, sprinkler systems can also be used for dust control. However, remember that additional water on the pen surface can increase odours from the feedlot.

Fill in Low Spots

As part of ongoing pen management, low spots that develop need to be filled in. The ideal fill is clay or silt soil. Filling in these spots provides a smooth, even pen surface and prevents ponding of water.

Ensure Proper Drainage

Feedlot runoff has high organic matter content, therefore a high pollution potential.

Direct the feedlot runoff to storage ponds or catch basins where it is stored until it can be applied to cropland. Protect ground and surface water from high organic matter content feedlot runoff with proper drainage design.

Diversion drains – Diversion banks prevent runoff from areas outside the feedlot from entering controlled drainage areas of pens, cattle alleys, and feeding alleys. This decreases the amount of liquid to be handled. Diversions can be as simple as a furrow. Upslope runoff can also be excluded from the waste land spreading areas.

Pens – Allow free drainage of runoff and water spillage from waters to exit the pen and enter the feedlot drains.

Pen requirements are:

• • Feed troughs are located at the top of the en slope and run parallel to the contour to minimize pen to pen drainage.
  • Water trough aprons are located and shaped to shed rainfall and divert runoff around the watering area.
  • Fence lines are built so that manure accumulating under the fence can be easily removed.
  • Construct a stable pen base with a smooth uniform surface.
  • Pen slope 2% to 4%.

Feedlot mounds – Build the mound, if used, parallel to the drainage direction, and avoid blocking the drainage path.

Feedlot drains – Construct drains below feeding pens to carry runoff to sediment and catch basins. The preferred design has the drain outside the pen. If the drain is inside the pen, it increases pen areas. An option is to build a second alley for handling cattle, so cattle don’t walk along the drain. Don’t build drains across roadways used for hauling feed.

Catch and sediment basins – Feedlot runoff is held until it can be utilized on cropland. Depending on the design and runoff patterns, solids may be a problem. Sedimentation basins upstream from the catch basin will minimize the solid build up in the catch basin.

Manure stockpiles – Where short term manure stockpiling occurs outside the pen area, ensure that drainage is directed into the containment system. Also, the stockpile should be placed on a compacted clay base to protect groundwater.

Why Pen Maintenance Are Important

Feedlot animals do best – with optimal performance – when environmental conditions are good and cattle are minimally stressed. Stress is increased with wet, muddy conditions or when pens are too dry and dusty. Strategic pen management can help minimize these problems.

Clean pens and clean cattle are important because:

• Muddy pens increase feeding costs.
• Animals at the plant are docked for ‘tag’.
• Ground and surface water quality can be affected by high organic matter runoff.
• Water and waste movement in feeding pens is controlled by the water-holding ability of the manure pack, the impermeable soil/manure layer sealing the feeding pen, and the slope and drainage patterns of the pen drain, and catch basins.

Mud

Chris Reinhardt, extension feedlot specialist at Kansas State University, says the most obvious time animal comfort and performance are affected is when pens are muddy. Mud can also predispose animals to foot rot.

If water (or mud) is excessive, cattle tend to move less; they try to find the most comfortable place and remain there. If they eat and drink less because they aren’t moving around, they perform at a lower level.

It has been estimated that 10-20 cm of mud in a pen can decrease feed intake by 8 to 15 percent, reduce daily gain by 14 percent and increase feed conversion by 13 percent.

Severely muddy conditions (30 cm to 60 cm deep mud) may reduce intake by as much as 30 percent and reduce daily gain and increase feed conversion by 25 percent. Steers that might normally gain 1,5 kg per day may gain only 1kg on days when pens are muddy. That means for every four days of mud, cattle will require one additional day to reach the finished weight.

100 Steers in a muddy pen can cost up to R 7000 per month extra. Every 4 muddy days adds 1 day to the total time spent in the feedlot.

Dry, Dusty Conditions

During a hot summer, cattle limit their activity during the heat of the day and then dramatically increase their activity at sundown when it’s cooler. This generates a great deal of dust within the pens and across the entire feed yard.

Dusty conditions can cause respiratory irritation that may lead to or exacerbate respiratory disease in new cattle as well as in heavy cattle near the finish.

By periodically scraping the pen surface – once a week or at least monthly – and removing the dry, dusty manure material, the amount of dust generated can be greatly reduced.

During dry periods, pen surface moisture may diminish to less than 10 percent. Sprinkling can be used to increase the water content of the pen surface to help bind the dust and ammonia.

Why the Cleaning of water Troughs and Feed Bunkers Take Place

Feedlots are places where cattle are forced to live in close proximity to each other in an unnatural environment for them. This close proximity of cattle from, often, a range of sources creates ideal circumstances for the spread of sickness and diseases. To lessen the risk of the diseases and sicknesses spreading a thorough and well-designed cleaning programme must be implemented within each feedlot.

Research has also shown that the weight gain of cattle fed spoilt feed declines rapidly. This gives us another reason to make sure that cleaning is done regularly and in a set manner. Clumps of feed leftover in the bunkers are likely to spoil and create conditions that can negatively affect the weight gaining process. Similarly, dirty water can create ideal conditions where diseases can spread and multiply with astonishing speed throughout the entire feedlot.

The cleaning schedule will depend on the size of the feedlot. As it is best practice to feed cattle as early as possible in the morning cleaning is usually the first duty performed every day in the feedlot. The amount of cleaning teams employed for this duty varies between feedlots. It normally takes a well-trained cleaning team about 15 minutes to empty out, clean and sanitise a feed bunker and a water trough within a feeding pen.

The length of time necessary to refill feed bunkers and water troughs within the feedlot is then also used to decide the number of cleaning teams to be employed. If four cleaning teams are employed in a feeding lot that consists of sixteen feeding pens the cleaning process can then be completed in an hour with 4 teams cleaning one pen each at a time.

It is also important that feed bunkers and water troughs are refilled as soon as possible after cleaning, therefore the cleaning and refilling processes must be scheduled in such a manner that they run concurrently with each other. In most instances, it is good practice to clean one section of feeding pens and as the cleaning teams move to the next section the refilling process can start in the previous section.

Feedlot Cleaning

The main waste product of a beef cattle feedlot is manure. To maintain good conditions for workers and cattle and to ensure sound environmental performance, manure must be removed from feedlot pens regularly. Some feedlots use bedding and this, along with small amounts of spoilt feed thrown into the pen during bunk cleaning, is removed with manure during pen cleaning. Thus, manure handling becomes a major ongoing part of feedlot management. Spoilt silage and mill run, mortalities, and sometimes boiler ash, are other solid wastes that may also need to be managed.

Pen Cleaning

Pens must be cleaned regularly to:

• Optimise cattle performance and welfare
• Present animals for pre-slaughter inspection in a clean condition
• Provide a safe work environment for staff (particularly pen riders)
• Minimise odour levels
• Minimise dust during hot, dry conditions
• Promote good pen drainage
• Promote good integrity of the pen surface
• Minimise costs of pen maintenance.

Frequent, regular pen cleaning reduces the average depth of manure over the pens, promoting more rapid pen drying. Odour emissions from wet feedlot manure can be 50–100 times higher than from dry manure, and the odour is more offensive. Even a small area of wet manure, such as a pothole, can be a significant source of the odour. Regular pen inspection allows low spots to be identified early and repaired.

Muddy, odorous conditions do not provide a pleasant, safe working environment for pen riders and others working within the feedlot. Weight gains can be reduced by 30–40% and feed conversion rates increased by 20–35% when cattle are kept on deep manure. Wet, muddy conditions also adversely affect animal health, with an increased incidence of foot problems such as foot abscesses.

Effect of Mud on Efficiency and Access to Bunk

Manure Pad

As manure deposited on the floor of feedlot pens dries and is compacted by the action of cattle hooves, it typically forms layers. The lowest layer may be an ‘interface layer’ – a compacted, moist plastic mixture of manure and soil – which has low permeability and can reduce nutrient leaching through the feedlot pen. If there is no interface layer, the manure layer overlies the feedlot base directly as a moist and plastic layer, sometimes with a crust on the surface.

The thickness of the manure layer depends upon the manure deposition rate, the pen cleaning frequency, weather conditions and other factors. Under dry conditions, about 20 mm of manure accumulates across the pens after 25 days, gradually increasing to about 30 mm after 75 days and to around 35 mm after 100 days. When the dry compact manure pack is moistened by rainfall, it may double in depth.

Principles of Pen Cleaning

Feedlot pens should be cleaned at least every 13 weeks. Ideally, pen cleaning should occur when the manure is moist (but not wet). Moist manure is more easily removed in a good even cut for a smooth pen surface. However, pens should be cleaned regularly even when conditions are not ideal.

If the manure–soil interface layer will be retained, it is necessary to determine the depth of manure covering it. In moist manure, a screwdriver pushed into the pad will encounter increased resistance at the interface layer. The difference is less distinct if the manure is hard and dry and it may be necessary to dig into the pad to confirm the depth to interface.

The depth of manure, and its moisture content, will vary over the pen; for example, manure will accumulate and may be wetter under shade. During cleaning, care needs to be taken to prevent machinery from cutting too deep in different parts of the pen. If the manure is too hard, pen cleaning can be deferred until the manure moisture content increases.

Because of climatic conditions, some feedlots do clean all manure from the feedlot floor. But this may include large amounts of soil or rock resulting in more material for processing, including manure screening. It may also increase pen maintenance needs and result in more wear and tear on manure handling equipment.

Attention to detail during pen cleaning is important to control odour since even small areas of wet manure can emit significant odour. Every time pens are cleaned, manure that has accumulated under fence lines, along the sides of feed bunks and water troughs, and along aprons should also be removed. Cleaning under the bottom fence line more frequently will also promote good pen drainage and fly control.

Manure can be temporarily mounded in the pens before stockpiling and composting, but never in drains or cattle alleys. Temporary mounding of manure in the pen may increase management flexibility because:

• Decomposition reduces the mass of manure to be removed from the pen.
• Pens can be cleaned as required and more regularly.
• The manure mound can be removed from the pen at a convenient time.
• Mounds should be removed when conditions allow but also when:
  • They become too high for machinery to practically and safely drive over them.
  • They become a hazard to the welfare of cattle.
  • They begin to disintegrate under dry conditions.
  • Manure haulage equipment becomes available.

To form stable mounds, the manure needs to be moist enough to be well compacted so that it can support the weight of cattle and also exclude air. Mounds should be shaped so they shed runoff and are located so as not to interfere with pen drainage. In un-shaded pens, they should be situated in the centre of the pen with their long axis running down the slope. In pens with a shade over the centre or top third of the pen, they should be located downslope of the shade structure.

Drains below the feedlot pens (which often also act as cattle lanes) are used to catch rainfall-runoff and direct it to a holding pond generally via a sedimentation basin, tank or terrace. Drains need to be kept free of sediment build-up to maintain maximum flow capacity. Where drains are vegetated, the grass should be kept short by regular mowing.

Sedimentation facilities are designed to remove at least 50% of the settleable solids in the runoff and should be cleaned out when they are dry to maintain removal capacity. This will reduce the amount of organic matter entering the holding pond and hence the potential odour emission rate. Weirs also need to be cleaned when deposited sediment is sufficiently dry. In wetter climates, having two sedimentation facilities in parallel allows one to be dried and cleaned while the other is in operation.

Manure entering the holding pond is broken down by microbial action, but some ungradable material is deposited as sludge on the floor of the pond. Holding ponds need to be cleaned when the required water-storage capacity is compromised (e.g. less than 80% available), typically every 5 to 20 years depending on the initial size of the pond and the efficiency of the sedimentation system.

Pen Cleaning Equipment

Equipment that can be used for pen cleaning includes:

Tractor-drawn box scrapers – box scrapers are widely used in medium to large feedlots in conjunction with wheel loaders. These scrapers provide good depth control, a smooth pen finish, single manure removal and mounding operation and a fast rate of manure removal. However, they are less effective in wet conditions when an excavator may need to be used instead.

Wheel loaders – wheel loaders are widely used in medium and large feedlots for removing mounded manure from the pen. While they can also be used to quickly clean the pens, they often produce a rough surface finish and may damage the interface layer. Buckets should be fitted with small teeth to minimise damage to the pen surface.

Excavators – excavators can efficiently remove manure, particularly under wet conditions, but need to be used carefully as it can be difficult to achieve good depth control and a smooth finish. They are efficient at transferring mounded manure into trucks.

Skid-steer bobcats – bobcats can be used to tidy up small areas.

Under-fence pushers – mounted on tractors, front-end loaders or bobcats, under-fence pushers are commonly used for removing manure from under fence lines, around shade posts and water troughs; and manure and spilt feed from feed bunk aprons.

Slider blade – mounted on a skid steer bobcat, the slider blade can be used in place of an under-fence pusher but can also clean drains and lanes.

Graders – graders are suitable only for cleaning large pens; they provide good depth control and a smooth finish.

Manure collection and handling is a significant component of the feedlot budget. Different manure removal technologies offer different efficiencies in time and energy, but the most efficient systems may conflict with retaining an interface layer and maintaining an even pen surface.

For example, tractor-drawn box scrapers, which provide good depth control and a smooth finish, could have a capacity of 45–50 t/hr. compared to 80 t/hr, for the wheel loaders, which may produce a rough surface finish and damage the interface layer. The manure harvested with a wheel loader is likely to contain extra soil and rock, and this will increase the mass of material for transportation and processing.

Local climate conditions can also interfere with the retention of an interface layer and equipment used.

Once the pens are clean, routine maintenance, such as patching potholes, can be carried out.

Manure removed from pens is usually transported by truck to a stockpiling or composting area, allowing manure spreading to occur at the most suitable time and independently of the pen cleaning and manure collection process. The efficiency of manure removal is improved by:

• Minimising idling time during truck loading
• Using larger capacity trucks
• Loading the trucks in the pen rather than having to transport the manure to the truck. If this is not possible, locate the truck in the stock lane or drain below the pen so that feeding is not disrupted.

Under Fence Cleaning

Under-fence cleaning is done at every pen cleaning, but also between pen cleanings as needed to remove accumulated manure that will obstruct pen drainage. This is particularly important for manure that has accumulated under the fence line at the bottom of the pen.

Manure is moved from under the fence lines into the pen and is collected during pen scraping/cleaning operations. Alternatively, it is taken immediately to the manure stockpiling /composting area; it should never be left in the drains.

Click here to learn more about automatic cow cleaning.

Click here to learn more about managing mud and manure in feedlots.

Click here to learn more about cleaning equipment for cleaning cattle.