2013 - Volume #37, Issue #5, Page #28
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Loader-Mounted Unit Chops Up Carcasses For Composting
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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2013 - Volume #37, Issue #5