Milking it

A Sustainable Dairy Farm Proposal in Rural Canterbury By Richard Jones ID 1244912

Although there is a vast network of aquifers under Canterbury, their water is a delicate resource which could easily be contaminated through over-abstraction. Currently, the three rural regions surrounding Christchurch City all abstract at least a third more water from the aquifers than they are allocated. The trend is getting worse and if not addressed, the consequences could be disastrous. The spring-fed streams which flow through Christchurch could potentially dry up and saltwater could leach into the aquifers contaminating the Citys pristine drinking water. My proposal is for a Dairy Farm with 450 milking cows that minimises the water abstracted from the aquifers and effectively uses this water on site. The farm is located near the small town of Lincoln, approximately 22km south west of Christchurch City. Christchurch City

Dairy Farm Water Cycle

Conventional Cycle
Aquifers
Pumping

Proposed Cycle
Rain Aquifers
Well

River

Domestic / Industrial Greywater

Pumping

Rain

Roof Catchment

Well

Wetland Filtration

Cow Shed Cleaning

Stock Water

Irrigation

Tank

Effluent

Stock

Cow Shed Cleaning

Irrigation

Holding Ponds

Manure

River and Aquifers

Effluent

Liquid

Solids

Effluent Tank

Existing Site Layout

To Lincoln (1.5km)

Paddock Fertiliser

Garden Compost

Waste

Anaerobic Digestion

Springs Creek

River and Aquifers

Heat

Biogas

Organic Fertiliser

Wastewater (contaminanted)

Buildings

Reciprocating Engine

Wetland Filtration

Springs Rd

Existing Buildings Existing Stream

Generator

River and Aquifers

Electricity

Farm

Local Grid

Collins Rd
0m 500m 1km Flows to Lake Ellesmere (8km)

Anaerobic Digestion Process

Wetland Filtration Process Water The Anaerobic Digestion process will be used to turn effluent from the cow shed and yard into useful by-products as opposed to the waste products conventionally generated on a farm. The process involves collecting the effluent and feeding it into a digester, where the effluent spends approximately 16 days at 35oC while it is broken down by bacteria. The breakdown process produces biogas (65% methane, 35% carbon dioxide). This gas can be combusted to generate electricity to be used both on the farm and the extra will be sold to the grid. Other by-products include a digestate which will be dried and then used as a fertilizer on the pasture. Mildly contaminated water is also produced which will pass through wetland filtration before it is used again on the farm for irrigation. Cow Shed / Yard Manure Biogas Anaerobic Digester

Wetlands Grey Water Filtration Process

Grey Water In

Primary Tank

Secondary Tank

Effluent

Liquids

Separation Tank Mixing De-Watering Pit Fertilizer Evaporation Digestate Residential Heating
H xh ot E au as st G

Sludge

Separation Tanks

Sub-Surface Flow Wetland Filtration

es

Farm Electricity Grid Excess Generator Engine Biogas Storage

This is the process of cleaning incoming grey water from Lincoln Town on the farm site. Firstly, the grey water passes through separation tanks to separate the large solids from the liquids. The liquids then move to the sub-surface flow wetlands. As the water passes through the gravels, substrates and roots of the wetland plants above, the water is filtered. The water then moves onto a vertical flow wetland. Gravity ensures the water flows downward and filters through several types of substrate and the root systems on its way to the outlet. Clean but non-potable water is the product of the whole system which will be used for irrigation and other cleaning purposes on the farm. This process is also similar to the wetlands used around the buffer zone to the stream on the site.

Clean (Non-Potable) Water Out

Vertical Flow Wetland Filtration

Rice Paddy Water Process

A variation of the terraced rice paddy irrigation technique will be used across the farm to irrigate the land. The general principle behind a rice paddy is that each terrace is full of water up to the top of the retaining wall. Water then overflows over the top of the wall and naturally feeds down to the next terrace due to gravity. This process repeats down to the lowest terrace. The Lincoln farm will use the same principle but across large flat terraces with minimal step down. The terraces will not be full of water but will have a high moisture content across the soil and pass from terrace to terrace through piping under each retaining wall. Paddock Terrace 1 Retaining Wall Paddock Terrace 2

Shelterbelt Wind Reduction Process

Up to 40m

Pinus Radiata (Pine) 50h Wind Reduction up to 50 x height (leeward side)

Piping under retaining wall

5h Wind Reduction up to 5 x height (windward side)

Raceway Clay and Gravel

Paddock Terrace 3

Wind on farms effects the ability of the pasture to grow with maximum efficiency. Increased wind speed causes water in the pasture to evaporate at a faster rate thereby wasting that water. The diagram above shows the effect of shelterbelts on the wind passing across a site. Good shelterbelts cause the majority (but not all) of the wind to pass over the trees reducing the wind speed on the leeward side. A good shelterbelt should be approximately 50% permeable and will significantly reduce the wind speed for up to 50 times the height of the trees. The diagram to the right shows the shelterbelt designed to be used on the Lincoln farm site. It contains mainly native trees that are proven to grow well in the Canterbury Region.

Plagianthis Regius (Manatu)

Up to 15m Griselinia Littoralis (Papaumu) Up to 10m

Pittosporum Tenuifolium (Kohuhu) Phormium Tenax (Flax) Fence .75m 1m 1.5m 2m 2m Fence 1.5m

Up to 2m

Paddock

Ripple Concept and Layout Development

The main concept for the layout of the site and buildings comes from water wave interference patterns. The ripple interaction is overlaid across the site to define the layout of buildings, paddocks, water and shelterbelts.

Wind Studies
Wind is an important factor influencing the design of a farm. Pasture loses increasing amounts of water through transpiration with increasing wind speed. If there is less wind, less water evaporates from the grass and therefore less irrigation is required. The optimal wind speed is below 6 metres per second as above this, grass will be permanently damaged. The diagrams below show varying configurations of shelterbelts and their influence on the wind. The bottom diagram shows this materialised onto the site with a north-easterly wind (the dominant high wind direction in Lincoln).

25 m/s

6 m/s 0 m/s

Standard Shelterbelt

Angled Shelterbelt

C Shaped Hybrid

V Shaped Catchers

V Shaped Deflectors

V Shaped Hybrid

L Shaped Catchers

L Shaped Deflectors

L Shaped Hybrid

S Shaped Deflectors

Angled S Shaped Deflectors

Corner C Shape Hybrid

Water Movement

Flow of Water down Terraces Flow of Piped Water pumped from the Stream

Circulation

Human Circulation Animal Circulation

Overall Site Layout

Site Plan Key

Pasture 135 ha Flood Paddocks 3.7 ha Water 4.3 ha Wetland 12 ha Shelterbelt Contour Height

Scale 1:4000
Cow Shed

Cow Shed Roof Plan

Glass Panels hinged at the centre

Scale 1:200

Cow Shed Plan

13 10 12 16 15 5 3 4 2 1 18 14

6 17 19

11

A
Key
1 Yard 2 Rotary Milker 3 Milk Room 4 Storage 5 Milk Tank 6 Garage 7 Generator 8 Biogas Tank 9 Anaerobic Digestion Tank 10 Effluent Slurry Tank 11 Office 12 Dining / Lounge Room 13 Toilets 14 Calving Barn 15 Feeding Troughs 16 Water Storage Tanks 17 Driveway 18 Road to Paddocks 19 10m Radius Turning Circle

5.5

18.0

11.0

72.0

38.0

24.0

66.0

270.0

Cow Shed Section AA

Perspective Photo Render