Davey Microlene Farm

Filtration plug and play system ready to be installed

Maurice has a dairy farm on the outskirts of Winton with around 600 cows, his water system has had a lot of ongoing maintenance and issues with blockages due to a mineral imbalance across the farm water infrastructure, of mostly iron and manganese. Nind Dairy Services suggested Maurice install a Davey Microlene Farm, as it’s simple and easy to install – with a plug and play set up that fully self-contained, so it’s all in one box, and not taking up any space in the dairy shed. The Davey Microlene Farm is also self-cleaning.

The Davey Microlene Farm also ties in with the HALO Farm System, which is connected to the cloud and tracks water usage, tank levels and system pressure – this data is sent to the farmer in real time (and can be accessed on your smartphone or laptop) and to Nind Dairy Services. The HALO Farm system means Nind Dairy Services can monitor any problems directly and the more they can monitor, the better, this allows them to keep an eye on it and be proactive, rather than reactive to any water issues.

Davey Microlene Farm Solving Water Issues on the Farm

The Davey Microlene Farm offers a complete water filtration system for the whole system and is custom built to suit the farm requirements with all plumbing in and out and power hooked up in one simple to service spot. It will be a few weeks before Maurice will see any results from the system, as it starts to filter out the mineral imbalance, as a lot of mineral residue in the existing pipework will begin to break away and leave the system. Water testing is done before the initial set up, and then a few weeks down the track to assess the system and see how it’s performing and make adjustments if necessary.

The Davey Microlene Farm system isn’t just great for the infrastructure on the farm by prolonging the life of the system, but also helps increase your dairy yield, and your bottom dollar. As more palatable water results in an increased take-up in water from your dairy cattle, generating a higher milk output from your dairy herd.

Davey water experts on site commissioning with Nind Dairy Services

The Davey Microlene Farm and backwash tank cleans itself automatically from that tank

Interior of Davey Microlene Farm and HALO Farm System installed by Nind Dairy Services

Davey Microlene Farm water filtration system can result in an increase in water uptake and higher milk yields

What are the water results from the installation of a Davey Microlene Farm?

Before the Davey Microlene Farm

We had Maurice Dodd’s farm tested before and after the installation of a Davey Microlene Farm system and the results have been really positive with a huge improvement. The initial test results showed that the bore water contained a significant amount of iron (2.65mg/l) and high manganese (0.3mg/l). Turbidity was high at 3.76 NTU. At these levels, the iron and manganese caused pipes and coolers to block up with oxidised metals and it also makes the water taste unpalatable. High turbidity and low UVT (UV light Transmissivity) hindered the possibility of bacterial treatment by UV light.

After the Davey Microlene Farm

The Davey Microlene Farm was a perfect solution to treat the water to remove the high levels of iron and manganese. The Davey Microlene Farm installed also includes a UV and cartridge system to treat coliforms potentially found in bore water.

The second water test results are in. The Davey Microlene Farm resulted in water that had near to zero iron and manganese. Turbidity was down from 17.63 to 0.24 NTU. UVT increased from 70.1 to 95.9. All values are now within drinking water standards guidelines.

Now all vital signs for the system are able to be monitored by a cloud-based HALO system by Maurice and by Nind Dairy Services. Parameters that can be seen on HALO dashboard include treated water tank level, daily usage, m3/hr flow produced, and system pressure.

With the Davey Microlene Farm and HALO system installed, Maurice Dodd’s farm can now enjoy problem free water in the milking shed and a healthy heard.

I’ve been working with Nind Dairy Services and Electrical for about 16 years now. We had significant manganese and iron deposits causing issues on the farm and in the plant. You could see the valves were getting a sheen and the pipelines were slowly getting restricted with a buildup of iron. There was a fair bit of ongoing maintenance; undoing them and cleaning them out. When cleaning the shed you could see a build-up of the minerals was affecting the concrete, over time it was depositing a layer of mineral sludge.
The team at Nind Dairy Services sorted out the problem. Going forward, the Microlene system will certainly see improvements on the farm. It’s a lot nicer working with clean, soft water in the plant and far better for the stock to drink than tangy hard water. We’re already noticing a change in cleaning down the plant, in the water troughs, and the storage tanks are looking a hell of a lot cleaner. Going forward, the HALO system will be good for keeping an eye on things.
I’d recommend Nind Dairy Services, they’ve got the expertise and knowledge to sort out a problem. They’re happy to install something new and can give you the technical advice as to if it will be practical to use.

– MAURICE DODDS – PATRICE DOWNS