NewsFebruary 2012Drilling down to tap liquid assetsWith mains water prices skyrocketing, Rattlerow Farms is keen to utilise its own natural resources. It has been drilling boreholes at most sites in a bid to reduce costs and be more self-sufficient.
During the past year mains water prices have risen by four times the rate of inflation on average, equating to a whopping 60 per cent rise over the past four years. These huge increases, mostly due to water companies having to comply with European directives on water quality, are adding considerable costs to domestic agriculture and food production. And the situation is not helped by the fact that many water companies tend to operate like a monopoly within their own regional franchise areas so are not subject to usual market forces. To combat rising prices Rattlerow has been sinking bore holes on a number of its farms. “At current prices, the company would expect to pay an annual bill of around £10,000 for a mains water supply to a typical unit. Although the cost of drilling a borehole can vary, a good estimate is also £10,000, so in some cases the investment has paid back within a year. This can equate to a saving of £1 a pig,” explains Adrian Lawson, Rattlerow’s Joint Managing Director. Bore holes do require management, but with water prices constantly rising they could prove a good investment and pig farms should consider their options. “We have now completed 20 bores with only a few smaller sites left to do,” adds Mr Lawson. Boring bonus However, sinking a well is not always simple as site geology and the natural water table can sometimes present problems. “Most of our bore holes have only required a 30 metres deep drill, however for some we have had to go down more than 100 metres,” says Mr Lawson. Water quality can also be an issue and some supplies might require an iron filtration or bacterial treatment, which will add to extraction costs, and bore holes also require routine maintenance. Farmers should also remember that bore holes can be affected by climatic conditions and can dry up, so it’s important to retain the mains connection. January 2012Rattlerow tackles ruts and mudAt this time of year mud is a huge problem on outdoor sites. Large herds using bigger tractors and teleporters have all experienced rutting down roadways and muddy field conditions. Even the best sites in the low rainfall areas of East Anglia have reported problems. Stone separation and gradients don’t help and in the very worst situations gullies have been cut across fields.
The environment agency has been very active in requesting that we move pigs early from sloping sites and create a 6m buffer zones around fields. We have tried to put roadways round contours and subsoil so the surface capping is broken. This has been a learning process and has taken some negotiation with landlords to allow the units to migrate to the better land. Some sites, which were previously reasonable, have caused problems when pigs have returned as the soil seems to have accumulated more body. Poor soil conditions do cost money. Big tractors have proved expensive to maintain - bearings don't stand up to being immersed in sandy, mud slurry. Feed usage is higher when there is no dry land to feed on and the amount of straw we are use also increases when there is more water around. Lower pressure January 2012Energetic investment - Green power options to fuel our businessRattlerow Farms upped the pace to get solar panels installed on many of its farms before the 12th December deadline, when feed in tariffs were reduced by 50%. Seven 50kW systems - the maximum size that qualified for the higher feed in tariff subsidies - have been installed. None of the installations are visible from the road and so no planning permission was required. However, planning remains a rather grey area for solar panels and dependent on the local authority. Rattlerow has received conflicting advice, but has found that if the electricity generated will be used on site then no planning was required for roof installations.
The cost of solar panels has fallen considerably during the past year making solar energy a very competitive and attractive option for farm businesses. A “quality” German solar panel 50kw system now costs about £95000 and the reduction in installation costs means that payback can now be less than 6 years for those on a higher rate feed in tariffs. The systems in place on Rattlerow’s farms are expected to earn in the region of £18000 a year depending on how much power is consumed on site. But the key bonus is the inflation linked feed-in tariff rate, which should be available for the next 25 years. Although photovoltarics is one of the simplest and most renewable energy technologies, Rattlerow is now taking time out to consider the economic advantages of installing any more solar panels now that tariffs have halved. Even so with installation costs becoming more competitive and energy prices continuing to rise, it is likely that PV will economically be viable without subsidies. Monitored systems Reviewing other renewables The renewable heat incentive has focussed attention on heat pumps and Rattlerow has fitted one ground-sourced heat pump serving a farrowing house. If it performs as well as predicted, then every £1 spent on electric should be returning £1.70 in subsidy. Again, it’s a competitive and viable system. Biogas is another major interest and Rattlerow plans to take advantage of the incentives currently on offer. Two thirds of the revenue is subsidy that is guaranteed and index linked to inflation, but biogas systems are far more complicated than some of the other technologies. As a company we must ensure renewable are managed carefully. They do offer significant advantages but they must not divert investment or resources away from our core business of genetic improvement and pig breeding.
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