Our customers inspire us daily with how they choose to use our solar pumps to better their farms. We heard from one customer, John, who works at Virginia Tech University in the United States where they are conducting training sessions for local cattle farmers and how they can integrate solar pumps to their farms.
John was kind enough to send us some photographs and details about the training sessions they hold, and this got us thinking…
Why are pumps needed for getting water to cattle?
Often cattle farms are situated close to water sources such as rivers and ponds, so why would you need a pump? Pumps can be used to move water from the source to in-field water troughs for the herd to drink from. Moving from source to trough drinking comes with several advantages:
Maintaining water quality
Cattle entering water bodies can significantly reduce water quality. They introduce sediment via bank erosion as they enter the stream and also stir up particles from the river bed. They also defecate and urinate in the water which increases the volume of nitrates and other particles.
Reduced riverbank and riparian zone damage
Cattle going through foliage at the river edge and breaking down the riverbank sides is a real problem when cows enter the water to drink.
Increased cow health
Studies have shown that there are increased calf survival rates and fewer leg injuries within the herd when cattle drink from a trough rather than direct from the source.
We also found out from farms near our factory that it is easier to maintain cattle hygiene if there is water accessible away from the river. Farmers can use this water to wash the herd instead of relying on cows entering the rivers.
Increased milk production
Cows have been shown to drink more from in-field water troughs than rivers. Increased water intake results in increased volumes of milk produced and even increased butterfat content within the milk.
Why are solar pumps brilliant solutions for cattle farmers?
The nature of cattle farms are that they are large expanses of field often far from grid connected utilities. It is not usually possible or cost effective to connect a pump into the grid even if it’s available in these locations.
Fuel powered pumps, such as petrol pumps, require regular filling with fuel, are noisy and require careful watching to ensure that troughs don’t quickly overfill.
Solar pumps are a great solution because they do not require a grid connection – the solar panel can be placed with the pump near the water source as a compact unit.
Why are Futurepump solar pumps the ideal solution?
Futurepump solar pumps are portable, they are easy to move to different locations which is helpful if there are many water sources and water troughs to fill on the farm.
The flowrate of our SF2 pump is up to 3,600 L/hour. This means you can fill several large water troughs in an hour but it’s not so high that the pump requires constant watching.
Cows are curious creatures so we recommend that if you are using the pump in a field with cattle to either place the pump and panel into a fenced area or raise the panel on a pole. We’ve learned from farmer experience that cows and breakable solar panels do not mix well!
Thank you to Virginia Tech University
We wanted to extend a thank you to John at Virginia Tech for inspiring this blog and for his hard work in training farmers in the benefits of using Futurepump solar pumps for irrigation and cattle farming.
Futurepump solar pump options:
At Futurepump we have three pumps available through our webshop which are suited for different farming requirements:
The Futurepump SE1: For pumping up to 1,600 L/hr in full sunshine. The SE1 has a suction lift of 7m and total head of 15m.
The Futurepump SF2: Pumps up to 3,600 L/hr in full sun with a suction lift of 7m and total head of 15m.
The SF2H (high-head SF2): To get the SF2H you can purchase an upgrade kit on our webshop. With the SF2H you can pump up to 1,500 L/hr at a maximum head of 25m (120W version) or 45m (240W version).
