Farming Monthly National July 2018 | Page 40

| Energy Proper job for slurry and renewables at Kemble Farms “We’re always happy to see the Landia van turn up when it is time for our pumps and mixers to be serviced”, says Miles Bishop, AD Manager at Kemble Farms, near Cirencester. W e know it’s going to be a ‘proper job’. We work well together. A company with a can-do approach and a genuine interest in how their equipment is working, is always welcome here”. In a young industry that has often tested business relationships to the limit, this bon accord between customer and supplier – who have been on good terms since day one – is something of a coll ector’s item. For some, the complexities of getting one’s AD plant up and running has arguably generated more questions and unforeseen costs than actual renewable energy – and during the past decade, many weighty expectations, together with consultants and suppliers have come and gone. Performance is important of course, but the benefit of equipment longevity, reliability and supplier back-up increasingly shines through over time. Trust is vital. Biogas plants can need plenty of hand-holding – which isn’t helped of course if 40 | Farming Monthly | July 2018 there are warring parties. Almost a decade before Kemble took the bold decision to establish its own AD plant, four Landia chopper pumps and mixers had created a solid track record handling cattle slurry at the 1450 hectare farm, which today has a dairy herd close to 1,000. Invented in 1950 as a slurry pump with a knife system that prevents solids from entering the pump’s casing, the launch of the chopper pump was a landmark in pumping technology because here was a piece of engineering that could cut the straw often found in liquid animal manure, which would typically cause blockages in less sturdy pumps. More Landia pumps and mixers, typically 18.5kW and 5.5kW have been purchased since, with the most recent addition replacing a mixer from a different manufacturer (in one of Kemble Farm’s reception tanks) that was constantly tripping out, as Miles Bishop explains. “Foreign objects were forever wrapping themselves around the propeller, causing the unprotected mechanical seal to fail”, he said. “We had to keep winching the mixer out, also finding it contaminated internally with slurry where the power supply went in – but as much as we tried to clean it, flush it and armour it, we were fighting a losing battle. It then cost us when out for repair by having to use cumbersome and time-consuming work- arounds – but in the end, enough was enough. I think this is the problem with off-the-shelf. It was over-specified on power and under- specified on duty, but it was probably considered by the supplier to be the nearest one they had to the application. But, it would never seal properly and worse still, the manufacturer wasn’t interested. They were a struggle to work with, whereas now, we have a decent, strong Landia pump, specified specially for the job, plus help and friendly, practical advice whenever we need it”. ‘Serious Hours’ When Miles took on Kemble Farms’ AD Plant five years ago, he was also faced with the challenge of optimising the AD process, in which at the middle of the site sits a large digestate liquor store (an intermediate tank) www.farmingmonthly.co.uk