New manure pit monitoring system for swine producers

New AP Pit Monitoring Stick system helps swine producers manage manure pit levels.

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com

There are times a farmer can simply use their gut to determine the best course of action—but sometimes, it’s better to trust technology to avoid nasty foul-ups.

New from AGCO’s swine production equipment brand, AP (Automated Production Systems), is a new tool—the Pit Monitoring Stick—that will provide swine producers with real-time data to more effectively schedule manure pit pumping.

While manure pit levels have been traditionally measured with a measuring stick or tape, the Pit Monitoring Stick combines a controller, pressure sensor, and stick that the operator inserts into the pit to reveal the amount of storage space is left.

John Slavin, Product Manager with AP explained: “This new system also provides insights on how much pit storage producers are using week-to-week and month-to-month.

“As a further benefit, it can help detect excessive soaking and large water leaks without the producer being on-site.”

The Pit Monitoring Stick my be operated as a stand-alone system, or it can connect to AP’s EDGE barn controller to provide automated updates and alerts about manure pit storage levels.

AP said that the Pit Monitoring Stick system will be introduced at the 2022 World Pork Expo, June 8-10, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa.

For more information, producers can contact their AP dealer or visit https://www.automatedproduction.com.