Dereck Kerrigan, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, was the winner of the NC slurry agitator in our slurry safety competition late last year, organised in association with Irish Rural Link.

Dereck took delivery of his new agitator last week and we spoke to him about how it will impact on his farming system as he plans the future development of the family dairy farm.

Dereck spoke with NC dealers Lyons and Burton from Kilcock to help him to decide on the final specification of his agitator, which was then manufactured by NC Engineering, based at Killyruddan Road, Hamiltonsbawn, Co Armagh, to meet his specific needs.

His new NC 3800 agitator will be powered by the farm’s Valtra A95 tractor, which is the main tractor on the farm run by Dereck and his father John.

Slurry management is important on the Kerrigan farm. The slurry tank on the Kerrigan farm is outside with full slat cover. The slurry is scraped into the area by a tractor scraper and an automatic scraper system under the cows delivers slurry from another shed.

This external slurry tank is 22.5m (75ft) long and 3.3m (11ft) deep with four agitation points, one at each corner. The depth of the tank means that slurry must be agitated regularly and especially before emptying and spreading, to ensure that it flows properly.

The Kerrigans have used the services of a local contractor for slurry agitation, while Dereck operates their own 1,300-gallon capacity Major vacuum tanker for spreading. The arrival of the new NC agitator means that they will manage the agitation to suit the buildup of slurry and to suit any spreading opportunity.

Dereck aims to cover this slurry tank area with a shed to reduce and ultimately eliminate the need for tractor scraping. A roof will also reduce the entry of rainwater.