Dairy effluent management

What is effluent and why is it important?

Dairy cows produce large amounts of nutrient-rich manure and urine that need to be washed off from concrete surfaces where the cows congregate at certain times of the day, such as during milking.

Dairy effluent is any solid and/or liquid matter from manure or urine, as well as wastewater from milking, cleaning and yard wash-down activities on dairy farms.

Dairy effluent that is not managed appropriately can discharge to groundwater and/or surface water, or create nuisance odours or impacts off farm. Nutrients and organic matter from dairy effluent that enter waterways can reduce water quality and drive algal blooms and fish kills in our estuaries.

While too many nutrients in our estuaries are not a good thing, they can be a valuable resource if captured and re-used on the farm.

The Healthy Estuaries WA Dairy Project builds on the achievements of the Regional Estuaries Initiative DairyCare Project.

Did you know?

The average dairy cow produces 65 kg of manure every day and 10–15 per cent of this is collected on the milking yard. This means that at least 2 tonnes of manure per cow is managed each year in the dairy effluent system. For an average-sized WA herd, this adds up to about 1,000 tonnes of manure a year – that’s a lot of nutrients! When farm businesses invest in feeding or housing infrastructure for the dairy herd, the amount of manure being collected and needing to be managed increases significantly.

Dairy for Healthy Estuaries:

The Dairy for Healthy Estuaries project is working to reduce nutrient runoff and leaching from dairy farms and improve the water quality of our estuaries. The project is led by Western Dairy in partnership with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and is supported by catchment groups and dairy farmers.

Project aims:

Provides farmers with information and tools to make better nutrient management decisions
Builds industry capacity to lead and deliver better outcomes for dairy farms and their effluent management systems
Reduces the nutrient footprint of the WA dairy industry and protects the health of our waterways and estuaries
Works in partnership with industry groups to explore opportunities for quality assurance programs linked to nutrient management and sustainability

How are we working towards this?

Providing ongoing extension support to farmers to implement the best management practices outlined in the 2021 Code of Practice for Dairy Farm Effluent WA (Code of Practice)
Preparing effluent management plans for new dairy sheds or upgrades to existing effluent management systems
Carrying out effluent system reviews using the standards in the Code of Practice as a benchmarking tool
Promoting the business case for effluent management and conducting trials to highlight the benefits of effluent application for pasture growth and soil health
Supporting local governments that are assessing development applications for dairy farms and their effluent systems
Keeping up with the latest best practices for effluent management, and communicating about available effluent system technologies to minimise nutrient loss to waterways
Engaging with stakeholders in the dairy industry and working collaboratively to achieve shared sustainability goals and quality assurance standards
Working with farmers, industry representatives and catchment councils on the Sustainable Agriculture Project Reference Group to shape the direction and outcomes of the project