Slats over Pit Manure Management and Storage

Slats over Pit Manure Management and Storage offers beef feedlots labor savings and optimizes manure value. We have noticed an increased interest in Slats over Pit Manure Management and Storage systems, especially in regions of the US where environmental regulations have called for increased manure storage requirements for newly permitted facilities.

Typically a slatted facility contains a pit (about 8’-12’ deep) for the manure under the resting area and employs precast concrete slats over the pit for cattle flooring.

Generally speaking slat-over-pit facilities offer the advantages of:

• Increased manure storage capacity
• Decreased labor costs (associated with bedding and manure handling)
• Elimination of all bedding costs
• Increased fertilizer value of the manure (compared with solid manure)

The downsides of the slatted manure management and storage systems include:

• Typically higher cost of initial construction due to precast slats and excavation for the pit
• Increased equipment costs including rubber mats agitator and liquid manure spreader
• Cattle comfort and health
  • Though many factors remain when considering the type of manure management and storage system an over-riding factor can be cattle comfort. When used throughout the entire feeding process slats are more stressful than bed pack systems.
  • There can be cattle health issues associated with slat-over-pit systems when used long term. These include hoof damage as well as damage to the tails of animals.
  • Additionally slat-over-pit designs can facilitate higher cattle density which may produce a more stressful environment depending on how the facility is managed.

There are many factors to consider when deciding on the type of manure management and storage system for your operation. If you would like to get connected to beef producers and industry experts with experience in this area we invite you to visit with a Summit Livestock Facilities representative at 1-800-552-2981.

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Do you have more questions that are not covered in this article? If you need help designing and planning, please contact Summit Livestock Facilities at 800.213.0567 or click here to email us. If you are ready to get a price, click here to request a quote and a member of our customer engagement team will help you determine the next steps of your project.