Stratford manufacturer’s lagoon pump earns award at U.S. show

photo: Stratford's Nuhn Industries Ltd. has created a manure lagoon crawler that is generating interest across North America.

by MATT MCINTOSH

An innovative manure pump has garnered its Stratford manufacturer an innovation award at this year's Farm Progress Show in Decatur Illinois.

That’s pretty good when you consider Nuhn Industries Ltd.’s futuristic Lagoon Crawler was built in a mere 10 days.

"Our staff worked well into the evening for some time to get it done and ready” for its first event — this year’s North American Manure Expo that was held near Guelph in August, says Ian Nuhn, the engineer who designed the machine. The crawler was one of several types of manure processing equipment featured at the August event near Guelph.

“We're very happy to see our hard work paying off,” Nuhn says of the Farm Progress Show award and the growing interest in the crawler.

The crawler resembles a large off-road go-cart, and is outfitted with Nuhn Industries' header pump design. The pump won the innovation award at last year's Farm Progress Show.

What makes the pump different is the replacement of a one inlet/one outlet with three outlets. This lets the machine pump more manure with less energy; about 7,000 gallons per minute with 135 horsepower to be exact.
 
The crawler itself is amphibious, and with the help of a wheelbase that can extend upwards of five feet, is able to drive in and out of lagoons on a whim. Jets are also used to stir up the manure, ensuring a consistently mixed fertilizer.
 
To top it all off, the crawler and all its functions are remote controlled, and the company is currently working on a model capable of driving itself along a programmed course.
 
"It's a set-it and forget-it type thing. We're going for a design that, once it's driven around the lagoon's perimeter, can calculate and proceed on a course all on its own," explains Nuhn.

The retail price of the lagoon crawler is estimated to be somewhere between $135,000 and $150,000. And although it's not yet in full production, requests for crawlers have come in from all over Canada and the United States.
 
"We tried to combine all our technologies with this piece," says Nuhn. "We wanted something that was handy for farmers, could run on its own, and could do a good job agitating the lagoon. I think we have or will have that with the crawler, and we couldn't be happier." BF