Livestock lagoons keep getting bigger, and maximizing nutrients from those pits means churning up contents to get all you can for farm fields. Nuhn Industries Ltd., an innovator in manure management tools, brought an interesting machine to the Farm Progress Show. The Lagoon Crawler, a remote-control machine powered by a 160-hp Cummins 4-cylinder engine, is designed to drive right onto the pond.

A center-mounted pump pushes material through jets positioned around the machine to propel it around the lagoon. The independent nature of the Lagoon Crawler means even very large pits can be agitated for pumping into tanks more efficiently. Ian Nuhn designed this machine in two days and had it built in another seven. “It has 13,000 pounds of floating ballast. It cruises on top of the lagoon,” he adds.

Nuhn says there’s even an “unleash hell” setting where the pump will push material through all the propulsion jets around the machine for maximum lagoon agitation.

The first-built machine (shown here) has since been running. It’s an innovative way to churn a lagoon and make the most of the nutrients for your crop. Pricing is about $150,000 for the rig. Visit nuhn.ca.

Editor's note: This product was featured as the "Good Buy" in the October issue of Farm Industry News magazine.

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