Slurry Tanker or Irrigator? Glenn’s Tried Both!

If you’re looking for a solid opinion on whether to go for a slurry tanker or irrigator system, Glenn & Karen Speed are your dairy farmers! It’s not too often you find farmers who have run both systems at the same time, over two comparable farms, but this is exactly the position Glenn & Karen were in when they discovered a major difference between the two…


Located in the Taupo region, Glenn and Karen operated two adjacent farms with 1,000 cows on each. Both farms operated similarly. They each had their own cow shed and pond storage. They used the same feed, fertiliser, and had the same pasture etc. The only difference was the effluent irrigation system. Where one farm pumped the effluent underground and out through irrigators, the other used a slurry tanker

Nevada 20,000L Tridem Axle Slurry Tanker

One night while analysing the books, Karen pointed out a significant difference between the amount of fertiliser being used on each farm as well as production. The numbers don’t lie. The farm operating a slurry tanker used far less fertiliser while producing more. The slurry tanker was able to spread the effluent nutrients further, and to the areas that most needed it, enabling them to make more effective use of the nutrients on hand.

  • ‘We didn’t sit down and do a full-on analysis to be able to tell you all the numbers, but what we saw was enough to decide it would be worthwhile investing in a bigger tanker for use over both farms!’
    Glenn Speed
    Dairy Farmer, Taupo

So the decision was made to upgrade the old slurry tanker to a new Nevada 20,000L Tridem Axle Slurry Tanker with duo RainWave™ applicators, and they haven’t looked back…

  • ‘The tanker is possibly a little more labour intensive, but not much, and it’s more than compensated by the fact we can follow rotations and spread just about everywhere, and evenly. It’s saved loads on ferts, and production’s better – it was the right move for us.’

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