Rubber-lined sand pump has longer life

After a rain-soaked opening day at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif., the clouds are starting to break and sunshine is in the forecast for the remaining two days of the 80-acre show. At 11 a.m., the traffic in the Dairy Center as well as the Hoard’s Dairyman booth was very brisk.

Yesterday, we reported that Hoof Supervisor made the finals for World Ag Expo’s Top 10 New Products. Another product with direct dairy ties that made The Top 10 New Products is McLanahan’s 44 Super Magnum Sand Pump. Many herds across the country have turned to sand because of the great cow comfort benefits. However, sand has one major downside; it simply wears out farm equipment due to its abrasive nature.

The new pump which debuted at the World Ag Expo has been tested in field conditions at a commercial dairy in Pennsylvania for the past year and has been working quite well. McLanahan also tells us that a pair of pumps recently were installed in New York and Wisconsin.

In order to deal with sand’s abrasive action, the 44 Super Magnum Sand Pump has split castings that are protected by replaceable rubber liners while the impeller is made from molded rubber. Both rubber components are made of nitrile — a synthetic rubber polymer. Nitrile was the material of choice because it not only stands up better to sand, but it is also oil resistant and stands up to most milk house chemicals which improves its life in many dairy environments. A heavy-duty mechanical seal made from tungsten carbide/silicon carbide protects the bearings and shafts from sand and manure.

The unit retails between $20,000 and $25,000. The price depends on the motor size, which ranges from 10 to 40 HP (horsepower), diameter of the shaft which ranges from 3 to 8 inches, among other features.

To check out the other Top 10 new products at World Ag Expo, go to www.worldagexpo.com/attendeeschoice You can cast your vote based on a five-star scale for your favorite new product once you've previewed them.

Vote for your favorite new product at World Ag Expo

Tracking hoof health just got a bit easier thanks to a newly introduced product called Hoof Supervisor. The computer program that utilizes touchscreen technology allows hoof trimmers to enter hoof health data cowside. World Ag Expo officials thought so much of the software program that they selected it as one of the Top 10 New Products out of 70 entries at the show which began on Tuesday, February 9.

The Hoof Supervisor program hit the market last year. The program’s hoof health coding system is based on the work of the International Lameness Committee. That committee developed international dairy language to properly code not only hoof health disease, but also the location of the foot problem.

Hoof Supervisor allows the trimmer to keep data on countless herds. In addition, data files are created on each cow in the herd so that hoof health can be tracked over time. At the end of the day, the hoof trimmer can print out reports detailing each trim along with any issues that need additional follow-up. There are 18 specific follow-up codes that can be entered for specific post-trim action by the farm team.

For those farms with herd management software programs, a comma-delimited computer file can be created that includes: cow identification, trim date, lesion information on a specific claw, and notes on specific actions like blocking or wrapping. If the herd manager or dairy producer wants to look back at previous trims, that is a possibility as well.

The software program retails for $1,600. The Hoof Supervisor team encourages hoof trimmers to purchase the rugged touchscreen tablet-style computer which already has the software built into it. The 10.4 inch screen is easy to maneuver, it can withstand temperatures ranging from -20 to 140 °F, it is extremely durable, and it can be sprayed clean with a water hose. All these features do come at a cost of $6,000.

You can cast your vote for your favorite new product once you previewed them.
To check out the other Top 10 new products at World Ag Expo, go to www.worldagexpo.com/attendeeschoice

The show is about to begin again at World Ag Expo

There’s been plenty of rain this week (and more is forecast next week) at the home of the world’s largest farm equipment show, buoying hopes that dry weather must be in store for World Ag Expo Feb. 9-10-11 in Tulare, California.

Economic recession will take a small bite out of overall exhibitor numbers at the 43rd annual show, although around 1,600 are still confirmed. Things will probably be more noticeably smaller in the dairy area, where exhibitor numbers are expected to be down about 15 percent from last year.

Major changes at this year’s show include a return to 9 a.m. opening times each day; elimination of the Dairy Technology Center exhibit area, which is now the Seminar Center that will host all free seminars at the show; and the Hilvers Building is now the Hilvers Career & Education Center, featuring exhibits promoting colleges and universities, and offering resources to help agricultural job-seekers find employment.

The first stop for anyone planning to attend World Ag Expo is http://www.worldagexpo.com/ where maps, schedules and perhaps more information about literally every facet of the show than one can imagine can be found. All visitors are also strongly encouraged to register for admission and buy discount tickets in advance on the website.