Betley Farms, in Pulaski, Wis., has been in the Betley family since 1943. Now heading into its fourth generation, Betley Farms is operated by Jeff Betley and his wife, parents and children. The Betleys are currently milking around 3,800 cows and are in the process of expanding their facilities, which will include a new milking parlor and an additional freestall barn.
Betley Farms historically bedded its cows on sand, but when the opportunity arose for the dairy to put in an anaerobic digester, the Betleys decided to switch to manure fibers and use the digestate — the material remaining after anaerobic digestion — as bedding material.
With the new organic bedding, the Betleys knew they were going to need some sort of drying system to ensure the lowest possible moisture content in the fibers they were putting back under their cows.
“We had a developer that had a lot of experience with the McLanahan Bedding Dryer, so we decided to go with it,” Jeff Betley explained. “He was absolutely convinced this is the way to go.”
Through Komro, the McLanahan dealer in Wisconsin, Betley Farms installed a McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer to transform manure fibers from the digester into clean, dry bedding material for the cows.
The manure produced by the cows is pumped to the digester, and after the digestion process, the digestate is sent back to the dairy. The manure fibers are dewatered with screw presses before being fed to the McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer for additional moisture removal.
The McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer is a triple-pass rotary dryer that features three drums in one: an internal drum, an intermediate drum and an outer drum. Inside the Manure Bedding Dryer, the fibers are subjected to high heat as they are lifted and showered through each of the drums. This high heat not only removes excess moisture, but also kills pathogens present in the fibers. The result is clean, dry bedding that can be reused in the freestalls immediately.
The most challenging part of the transition from sand to manure fibers has been managing the organic bedding, but the Betleys are staying on top of it with help from the McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer and by following best bedding practices, such as changing the bedding more frequently and grooming the freestalls every day to ensure low mastitis cases and low somatic cell counts.
Additionally, Betley Farms uses the material processed through the McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer as soon as possible to limit bacterial growth.
“We don’t let any get older than 24 hours; everything gets used the day it’s made,” Betley said.
He shared that the McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer receives fibers from the screw presses that are in the 60% moisture range and dries them to around 40% moisture. While there isn’t a published range on the ideal moisture content for recycled manure fibers, drier bedding slows bacterial growth and absorbs moisture in the stalls to keep cows cleaner and drier for longer.
“The key for us right now is making sure there’s a cleaner product underneath that cow,” shared Betley.
In terms of operation, Betley said the McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer has been working well. They keep up with the required daily preventative maintenance tasks, and Komro has assisted them with performing some of the more long-term maintenance activities.
“The Bedding Dryer has been very trouble-free,” Betley said. “The dryer itself has been really solid.”
As a busy dairy farmer with many daily tasks, Betley appreciates that he doesn’t need to “babysit” the McLanahan Bedding Dryer.
“The guys – I’ve got a great staff here – they don’t talk about it very much, so that means it’s just running,” Betley shared. “It’s like the animals – the ones you know are the problem ones. The rest of them are the great ones that you don’t know.”
While the Betleys are still adjusting to their new manure management system overall, they’ve been pleased with the McLanahan Manure Bedding Dryer.
“It’s all new, but it is proven to be very trustworthy,” Betley said.
