Loader-Mounted Unit Chops Up Carcasses For Composting

Loader-Mounted Unit Chops Up Carcasses For Composting LIVESTOCK Handling The Smidley Piece Maker from Marting Mfg makes disposal of animal carcasses easier and faster It breaks up large carcasses that don’t otherwise fit Marting’s 5-ft dia in-vessel composter “We make our industrial composter for the swine market but get lots of requests for a unit that can handle cattle ” explains Matt Winter Marting Mfg of Iowa “We could make a larger composter vessel but we decided instead to make a unit that breaks a large carcass into smaller pieces to fit our existing composter ” The heavy-duty Piece Maker is ultra simple and built to handle the job of slicing through muscle and bone It consists of an upper jaw that closes between two lower jaws At more than 7 ft wide with jaws that will open to 42 in the unit is built to pick up and process a full-size dairy cow Winter says it closes very slowly so there’s no “back-splash” of carcass material “It weighs around 2 000 lbs and requires 2 000 to 2 500 psi to power the cylinders ” he says “Most skid steers can handle it or it can be mounted on a 3-pt hitch We also have quick-attach units for payloaders and telehandlers ” The current design will retail at just under $20 000 Winter says the company is also planning to make a composter with a built-in Piece Maker In the meantime the device has proven so efficient at breaking up and handling large carcasses that Marting is considering making a smaller unit for swine “It speeds the process of decomposition whether in composters like ours or in a static compost pile ” says Winter Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Marting Mfg Of Iowa Inc 551 3rd Ave S E P O Box 67 Britt Iowa 50423 ph 800 392-5632; www marting com

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