2.1 Understanding dairy terms and definitions
Understanding the dairy terms and definitions in these guidelines is important for both dairy developers and consent authorities. The NSW dairy industry is adopting more complex systems that need new facilities and management practices. These changes have introduced new language for all parties involved in dairy, land use planning, and environmental planning and management.
The incorporation of permanent feeding areas and housing facilities into a dairy system provides improved management and flexibility for operators to prepare for and respond to climate variability and extreme weather events. They increase options to reduce farm risks and create an operating environment that is centred on cow comfort and workforce wellbeing. These facilities also open up opportunities to explore technologies that can improve the efficiency of the dairy system.
The dairy complex is the entire land area encompassing the dairy (dairy parlour) where cows are milked, as well as areas where they are contained for feeding and/or loafing (resting), held in yards, and where feed is delivered, prepared, handled and stored. An area for trucks to park and collect milk, and farm vehicle parking is also included. Infrastructure associated with the storage and treatment of manure (manure management system) is incorporated, however, manure reuse areas are not.
Manure includes faecal and urinary excreta in liquid, slurry, semi-slurry (often referred to as sludge) and solid form. Feed waste, bedding and soil are also managed within the manure management system. Figure 1 explains these classification and handling options. Effluent is a term used for liquid manure and it is produced by cleaning the dairy and holding yards with water. It can contain small volumes of residual milk and chemicals used to clean dairy plants and equipment. A controlled drainage area collects and contains the water run-off while excluding rainwater inflows. Effluent is a valuable resource within the system as it may be stored, recycled and used for washing manure from holding yards, alleys, feedpads and contained housing.
The manure management system of a dairy complex is designed to manage the manure stream from its point of generation, such as the facilities outlined in this section, through to its typical reuse as a valuable nutrient source onto land (manure reuse areas) and/or, in very specific scenarios, exported off-site as saleable byproduct. It typically includes infrastructure to contain (for example, controlled drainage), manage (for example, solids traps and settling ponds), store (for example, storage ponds and bunded, impermeable flooring stockpile areas) and reuse manure. Chapter 7 of the National Guidelines for Dairy Feedpads and Contained Housing provides more technical information on the different design options and dairy system considerations for each of these components.
