COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR UTILIZING SLURRY EFFLUENTS IN MILKING PARLOURS

Abstract

Based on experimental and theoretical studies, the authors determined the payback period for the construction of a greenhouse for utilizing slurry effluents from a milking parlor in growing flower crops. Complete utilization of 4.4 tons of slurry effluents per day produced on a farm for 640 cows requires a greenhouse for growing roses with an area of almost 0.6 hectares, which is comparable to the total area of cowsheds. The largest share in the cost of rose growing belongs to the cost of depreciation and electricity costs. Capital investments required for the construction of a cultivation facility amount to 98,612 thousand rubles, while the recovery period for these costs amounts to 8.9 years. When the milking parlor slurry is applied to the fields, it will be necessary to build approximately two plastic-covered lagoons to store the effluents for six months. The cost of capital investments for the construction of lagoons is almost 30 times less than that required for the construction of a cultivation facility. However, due to the low annual economic effect, the payback period increases sharply. The payback period of the disposal technology for slurry effluents from the milking parlor in case of the construction of a greenhouse and the cultivation of roses is 3.8 times less than the basic technology implying its storage and application to the fields. The high efficiency of introducing liquid manure from the milking parlor into cultivation facilities makes it suitable for the construction of greenhouses at dairy farms.