Dairy shed water use analysis
Over a number of years, dairy extension officers have been assisting dairy farmers across Victoria to develop effluent management plans for dairy sheds.
This has involved comprehensive on farm data collection, including water use measurements and calculations to determine water use by each of the main processes in the dairy operation.
In 2005, the department released the ‘Water use in dairy sheds’ report. The report highlighted the variation in the volumes of fresh and recycled water used in dairy shed processes and the total volumes for various dairy shed systems.
This information has been useful for dairy extension staff and service providers assisting dairy farmers to assess and compare their water use requirements against similar dairy shed systems. In turn, this has enabled farmers to adopt water saving strategies and maintain dairy operations despite drought conditions.
This report, prepared by biometrician Leigh Callinan, is an update of the 2005 report. It provides predictions of ‘reasonable’ daily water use and determines correlations between the volume of water used within the dairy shed per day and herd numbers or shed type.
Download: