More Info response

Melsted Park
317 Lawnville Rd,
BLACK MOUNTAIN, Q, 4563

Jack Lewis
Development Planner
Noosa Council
PO Box 141
TEWANTIN, Q, 4565

22nd May 2014

To Jack Lewis,
Response to Information Request
Application:		MCU14/0028
Proposal:		Material Change of Use (Animal Husbandry Type 2 – Intensive)
Street Address:		317 Lawnville Rd, Black Mountain, Q, 4563
Property Description:	 Lot 2 RP 83801
Planning Scheme:	The Noosa Plan (September 2013)

Information Required:
Plans
Please find the amended plan of the property, showing scale, buffer distances and property boundaries.

Traffic

Vehicles used to transport chickens and eggs will be either a normal car or a commercial van = a Small Rigid Vehicle (SRV 6.4m long – 4t capacity).
At times a Medium Rigid Vehicle (MRV 8.8m long – 8t capacity) will be used to deliver point of lay chickens to the property.
Grain is likely to be delivered by a Heavy Rigid Vehicle (HRV 12.5m long – 12t capacity).
Bulk grain delivery will be approximately every four weeks when in the height of production, 1000 chickens. Point of Lay hens will be delivered on an all in/all out basis, so this is likely to be once or twice a year.
Turning for a HRV is 17.7m. There may need to be more road base applied to existing turning area, to ensure surface stability. Please see attached map showing driveway and proposed silo.

Waste Management

Location of composting facility is on Driveway map. A vegetation buffer is also noted on the Driveway map as the nearest neighbours are within 100m. Aerobic composting when carried out correctly has no offensive odour and the end product is safe and can be used as a fertiliser. This is well document and tested all over the world.
We intend on using aerobic composting.
Odour control will be managed by monitoring the compost closely as correctly managed compost has no odour.
“Once the composter is capped, a 36 inch probe-type thermometer is needed to monitor the temperature of the compost. For the first time, it is best to obtain a daily reading. For following runs a reading every three days will be sufficient to show how well the material is composting and when the compost should be moved. Temperatures of the compost should reach 135 to 160 F within two to four days following loading. To work properly temperatures in excess of 130 F are needed. Once the temperature drops below 120 F, usually 14 days following capping, the compost should be moved to the secondary bin and again capped. The secondary bin should be monitored in the same manner as the primary bin. After 14 days the compost can be stored or applied to the fields in the same manner as manure.
If the compost fails to heat or is malodorous, it is usually because the materials are too wet. Saturated material excludes the oxygen and the compost will quickly become anaerobic. This situation can be remedied by turning the compost and adding in more dry manure or manure-litter mixture.
If the compost is too low in moisture, it will fail to heat also. Compost too low in moisture usually results from the adding of very dry manure or manure mixture. To collect the problem, simply transfer the compost to another bin, while gradually adding a small amount of water, evenly distributed, during the transfer process.” https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/NCR/NCR-530.html

“Flies, rodents, and other pests are seldom a problem with properly managed composter units. The solid structure of the bins, especially the concrete slab discourages ground level pests and scavengers from raiding the bins. Most insect larvae are killed at 115 F, a temperature lower than that achieved during efficient composting. At certain times of the year some flies may be observed on the bin walls. These may be controlled with an insecticide.” https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/NCR/NCR-530.html Rodents can be controlled with traps and baits, if required.
Aerobic composting has no ‘run off’ if the correct amount of water is applied.
The structure will stop rain being introduced to the compost ensuring that there will be no leaching. The structure will be built to ensure there is no run off from ground water into the composting pile, a block wall at the back (southern side).
Depth to water table is greater than 10m. A concrete base will ensure that there is no leaching of the nutrients into the ground.
Roof of composting structure will be made out of either iron or waterproof shade cloth and measures will be taken to collect water from the roof of the structure.  See example plan of composting structure below and there is  a picture of one on the attached article.
Base to be made out of concrete.
Visual screening is a vegetation buffer.
No sterilisation required for use of composted material.
Please see attached sheet for all details on compost management, or download it from http://www.fsaconsulting.net/pdfs/note%205-composting%20chicken%20carcasses%20v2.pdf
Please note the ‘Size of Operation’ paragraph in the attached document, we have scaled it back to 1000 birds:
A 1000 bird operation with 4% mortality rate will produce approximately 50kg of mortalities per batch or an average daily mortality of about 1kg for the batch. An average daily bird loss of 1kg/d will require approximately 0.12m³ of bin capacity (0.06m³ for the primary bin and 0.06m³ for the secondary bin).
Therefore daily mortalities will be composted in a domestic composting bin, as per guidelines in the attached document. At the end of a laying cycle the deceased birds will be composted in constructed composting bays (see picture below for an example plan). At the end of the hens laying cycle, some birds will be offered for sale and the remainder will be composted to return nutrients to our soil. 200 laying hens weigh approximately 200kg, therefore a bin capacity of 25m³ (12.5m³ for the primary bin and 12.5m³ for the secondary bin) will be required, making bin sizes approximately 3mx3m, layered to 1.5m high. Composting bin location is noted on Driveway Map.

Yours faithfully,
Anna and Michael Henbury
The Henbury Family Trust

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