Right
Equipment for the Job
Terry Weaver
 My
Case pocketknife is more than a knife! It’s been a screwdriver,
tin snips, and a wire stripper. It’s also dug out
slivers, peeled oranges and cleaned sparkplugs. This
amazing, but often dull instrument can have many uses
but it works best to cut things. These other “uses” of
my
knife have special tools that do the job better.
Same with your liquid supplement equipment! Many
types of tanks can make-do, various kinds of pumps can
work, but having the right equipment, set up properly,
makes supplementing your cattle easier, faster, and less
costly. Replacement, maintenance, or repair cost of poor,
improperly installed
equipment can quickly
exceed the additional
cost of purchasing
the right equipment
the first time. Let’s
separate liquid supplement
equipment into
categories and discuss
further. If you get
supplement delivered into your lick tanks by a dealer,
you may disregard the storage and pumping sections.
Liquid Supplement Storage
Size is an issue; depending on your estimated daily usage
during peak supplement season. For bulk loads, the capacity
should be for a 24-ton load (approximately 4200 gallons)
one week before you anticipate needing it. For a 500 cow
operation that would be at least a 6,000 gallon tank. You
should avoid “cutting it close” and running out of supplement.
Liquid supplement can be effectively stored in steel,
concrete, or poly tanks. Cone bottom or dished bottom tanks
with the discharge at the lowest point minimizes frequency
of cleaning. Do NOT use tanks that have contained heavy
metal products such as leaded gasoline. A large drain at the
lowest point on the tank facilitates yearly maintenance or cleaning.
All liquid supplement tanks should be vented
with a minimum of two 3” diameter vents. Suga-Lik® Liquid
Supplements and molasses are high dry matter, viscous
materials. Constant temperatures below 70°F may require
some products to be stored in heated tanks. Conversely,
never exceed 115°F because charring or carmelization
can occur.
Pumping and Plumbing
Many ranches use a gravity system; the storage tank is
located atop wooden, concrete, or metal support stands.
The liquid supplement is gravity-fed into a delivery vessel,
and then gravity fed again into feeders. Large outlet pipes
and valves at least 6” in diameter are recommended. This
may be the simplest, most inexpensive system; although
without a pump it doesn’t allow for helpful recirculation.
Tanks, on or below ground level, need to have a pump
system to fill the delivery tanks. Gear pumps are recommended
and should be selected based on flow requirements.
These pumps can be either gas-engine or electric motor
driven, positioned as close to the storage tank as possible
and below the level of the tank to insure adequate pump
feed. The suction line between the pump and storage tank
should be larger than the pump inlet but no less than 3” in
diameter. Piping can be mild steel, galvanized steel or PVC. Gate-type
valves are recommended. Return lines
are recommended so that product can be recirculated.
Delivery Tanks
Delivery vessels can come in many shapes, sizes and styles.
Most ranchers mount tanks on trucks or heavy-duty wagons
pulled by tractors. They either gravity feed or pump liquid
supplement with PTO or gas-engine driven pumps into
feeders. Truck mounted tanks are faster and more efficient
but have some disadvantages in wet weather when pastures
become boggy. Some ranchers solve this by using old, allterrain
military trucks. Smaller producers might use a tank
that fits into the bed of a pickup and gravity feed to their
feeders. The important requirements for the delivery tanks
are that they be strong enough to withstand the sloshing of
product across rough pastures and have a system for ease
of filling, emptying and cleaning.
Feeders
Trough style is only limited by the rancher’s imagination. I
have seen everything from old bathtubs to cut-up culverts and tires.
I admire the ingenuity. These are usually cheap
and available, however, one calf lost because he gets
turned upside down in a bathtub can cost the operation.
Commercial companies produce liquid feed troughs designed
especially for feeding cattle. Open top trough and lick-wheel
feeders come in a variety of sizes and styles. Poly feeders
seem to be very durable, safe, and easy to handle. Size
and style depends upon your situation. Lick-wheel tanks
are slightly more costly than open top troughs, but keep
wildlife (i.e. wild hogs) out and protect the supplement from
the weather. It is important to move the feeders frequently
to keep the denuded areas to a minimum.
Using the right equipment, setup properly, is the basis
for a job done well. Use the right equipment for the right job!
If you would like more information, just give us a call. We
look forward to earning your business.
It’s Truly Important- Feed
from a Certified Facility
Pat Whidden, PAS
This past December’s “Washington BSE cow incident” got the
media all fired up! Most news purveyors were on a mad cow alert!! At this writing
(mid January), I hope that it’s the last time the media has any reason
to report about BSE. Our government (USDA and FDA) and industry trade groups
(NCBA and AFIA) have done commendable work helping minimize damage to our beef
industry.
The recent multi-year risk analysis published by Harvard University says, “The
U.S. is highly resistant to any introduction of BSE.” Further it said, “Measures
taken by the government and industry make the U.S. robust against the spread
of BSE to animals or humans should it be introduced.” In addition to recent
new rules regarding downer animals, perhaps the most significant measure was
federal FDA’s 1997 rule banning the feeding of most mammalian proteins
to ruminants. Shortly after that, many of you asked for and received assurance
from your feed suppliers that this was so.
Can you know for certain? You can be darn sure
if your supplier is FCI certified. The Facility Certification Institute
(FCI) is an independent, third party certification organization (you
might think of it sort of like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval)
for the feed industry. Your feed supplier may not want to use banned
protein products; he may tell you he’s not. But to be surer, he
should be inspected and certified. The FCI inspection process is more
rigorous than the FDA inspection. FCI inspection is annual, whereas the
government’s isn’t. If your feed supplier displays the FCI
seal, you can be assured he’s had to pass a stern inspection of
his facilities, processes, procedures and paper work.
As a cattleman, you should also understand the rule. For example, if you’re
feeding bulk commodities, you should be sure the truck did not haul any prohibited
protein products. I’d advise against feeding pet food, poultry feed, and
poultry litter to cattle. You should assure yourself that you’re doing
all you can to be a responsible feeder.
I’d advise you to look for the FCI seal. That’s one way to know for
certain. For a list of FCI approved facilities, check the website www.certifiedfacility.org.
By feeding products produced in an FCI-approved facility, you can safely assure
your customers that you’re abiding by the rule.
Call the dealer nearest you or 800-940-7253 or
visit www.suga-lik.com
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