“My father, Jim Ranck, and I operate 300 sows, farrow to finish here at Noble Oak Farm. We market about 150 market hogs a week, and we produce everything here ourselves for the operation. We also have about 500 acres of crops that support the hogs. Currently all of our manure storage is 6 foot or deeper under barn pits, under full slot barns, so we have very limited agitation capabilities. We land apply all of our manure, and we do institute some no till practices, which gives a lot of opportunity for nuisance odors to travel. So we were interesting in reducing some odor and also keeping the solids broken down, agitated and mixed within the profile of the manure in our pits. The most noticeable attribute that we observed since using Breakdown® is the consistency of the nutrient density throughout the depth of the pit. We also observed odor reduction as well, both in the pit in the barn and also when we pump and land apply it. Odor is harder to quantify, but we feel it is a noticeable difference as well. We mix the dry product with water prior to application to more evenly distribute it throughout the liquid pit. We’ve been very happy with the performance of Breakdown® over the years that we have been using it"
Jeremy Ranck
Noble Oak Farm, Hog Farm, Christiana, PA
“Here at Conebella Farm in Chester County, PA, we are a 100% Ayrshire Herd. We have a cheese business where 10% of our milk production currently goes in to cheese. We had a manure pit installed in 2002. We did not use any product in it up until a year and a half ago, when we started using Breakdown®. Before that, we had a very thick crust on the top of the pit. We started using the Breakdown® and last summer when we hauled, we could notice a difference. It stirred much easier. When we emptied in the fall after corn, we got right down to the bottom. For the first time, since we started having manure flow into that pit, I could see the bottom of the liner. It was all liquid at the bottom, maybe a few clumps here and there, but for the most part it was all liquid. We emptied that pit out pretty much in its entirety for the first time. We are very impressed with that. We are currently dumping Breakdown® right into the manure drop once a week.
Don Gable
Conebella Farm, Dairy Farm, Elverson, PA
“We started using Breakdown® about a year and a half ago. We weren’t able to get all the manure agitated properly in the past, but with Breakdown® we were able to cut our agitation time down substantially which saves a lot of fuel and time. With Breakdown®, the manure is a lot more uniform all throughout the spreading process. It does an amazing job.
Tyler Gable
Conebella Farm, Dairy Farm, Elverson, PA
“Everything here is low tech, but I’m dealing with what exists, rather what’s ideal. I want a solid manure pack in the barn because I have calves born in here all winter, and if they are wading through a bunch of muck, they don’t make it. But with a solid manure pack the calves get around. I bed and feed at the same time, which takes a lot of bedding, and that can kill a manure spreader. Breakdown® is a big help in cleaning out and getting it through a manure spreader. I’m not in to unloading manure spreaders with a pitch fork, and so this doesn’t tear up a manure spreader, and that is pretty important to me. Breakdown® also holds down odor and gives me a partial compost without the extra work, so it cleans out much easier."
“If I don’t use Vital Breakdown®, my manure pack doesn’t breakdown. Then it takes more time to haul it out. That’s money!"
“If I don’t use Vital Breakdown®, my manure pack doesn’t breakdown. Then it takes more time to haul it out. That’s money!"
Paul Hartz
Beef Cattle, Morgantown, PA