WATER: Improving Your Herd’s Most Important Nutrient

Published on Tue, 09/16/2014 - 5:17pm

If you do just one thing to improve the health of your herd and improve productivity, it should be to provide the best quality drinking water possible.
Contaminated drinking water isn’t just bad for your cows and their milk. A cow will produce less milk if she isn’t drinking enough due to poor-quality water, which is bad for your bottom-line. And drinking water treated with chemicals isn’t the ideal answer.
In traditional drinking water systems for livestock, various toxic chemicals are added to the water to control bacteria, biofilm growth and calcium scale build-up.
A dairy cow drinks, on average, 25 gallons a day. What goes into the water, goes into the cow and that can then ultimately go into the milk. You don’t want your cows ingesting water contaminated with micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi and parasites), nor do you want them drinking water full of chemicals.
The Silver Bullet Water Treatment System works differently and without any toxic chemicals. Using nature’s own process the system conditions water using a very strong, safe and effective EPA recognized disinfection method called an Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP).
With the Silver Bullet System, air from the surrounding environment is pulled into the Silver Bullet processor sleeves using pumps. The air then passes through the sleeves, which contain UV lamps and other patented components.
Silver Bullet’s patented AOP technology then uses that air to generate highly reactive hydroxyl and oxygen free radicals which nature uses to clean air and water. These in turn oxidize contaminants in the water and kill bacteria. Silver Bullet differs from other systems because it treats water without water passing through the unit. Instead, a gas is produced and bubbled into the water to complete the non-toxic disinfection process.
Some of the reactive oxygen atoms combine with H2O to make H2O2 or hydrogen peroxide which acts as a lasting nontoxic biocide killing bacteria throughout the system, while other oxygen atoms keep minerals such as calcium in solution, which prevents scaling.
The reactive oxygen atoms break down the buildup of calcium and biofilm stuck on pipes and drinking system components, so the calcium chips away and remains in the water. The result is your drinking system stays cleaner without adding traditional toxic chemicals.
It is a win-win situation with drinking water systems that work more efficiently and animals that stay healthy. The process is also odorless and tasteless so, unlike adding chemicals, the livestock wants to drink the Silver Bullet treated water.
“Sick cows present a two-fold cost. First is the cost of care. Second is the cost of lost production: unhealthy animals have to be taken out of production. This costs dairymen a ton of money. Bacteria from the well, pipes or due to cross-contamination is a major cause. Silver Bullet offers farmers a solution that improves herd health and milk quality without adding toxic chemicals. And since we rent the system without a long term commitment, there is no upfront capital cost and little risk. We earn your business each and every month. All of this is a win, win, for the farmer’s bottom-line,” said David Sunshine, CEO of Silver Bullet Water Treatment.
AOP may sound like science fiction, but it is an EPA recognized, cutting-edge technology that is already available and in use. It has also been verified for its effectiveness by independent third-party researchers. The Linden Research Group tested Silver Bullet’s technology, proving its capability as an AOP and summarized in their findings that the system is an effective biocide with a high kill rate, capable of producing a high level of hydroxyl radicals.
“Using traditional methods to measure the production of hydroxyl radicals, we found the Silver Bullet operates as an advanced oxidation process and was effective at inactivating a wide range of microorganisms over time,” said researcher Dr. Karl Linden.
“We are excited by this independent validation of our technology recognizing Silver Bullet’s Water Treatment System as an Advanced Oxidation Process” said David Kolstad, CTO of Silver Bullet. “Our patented technology harnesses nature’s own process to condition water and improve its performance. Our innovative Water Treatment System is improving livestock drinking water, cooling system water, and aquaculture water without the use of toxic chemicals.”
Tests at Colorado State University (CSU) confirmed the effectiveness of the Silver Bullet System on dairy farms. In the fall/winter 2012, four dairy farms (two in Colorado and two in Kansas) participated in a 20-week switchback experiment comparing milk performance for treated and untreated water periods.
The water consumed by high producing cows was treated with the Silver Bullet Water Treatment System. Water samples were collected at the wellheads and at the cows’ drinking troughs on each farm. Silver Bullet reduced all bacteria counts measured in cows’ drinking troughs by more than half.
The CSU study also found an increase in the quality of milk production and other benchmarks. Milk fat and milk protein increased and somatic cell counts decreased when cows consumed water treated by Silver Bullet.
Founded in 2001, Silver Bullet is a Denver-based company that has been recognized for their ground-breaking work in safer water treatments. The company’s Water Treatment System is touted for its disruptive technology, innovation in improving water use, supply and treatment in commercial agriculture and cooling tower settings.
The Silver Bullet System is an American-made and American-invented product that is produced in Colorado. Before moving into livestock drinking water, the company focused on commercial building cooling towers — where their technology eliminates the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and other life-threatening illnesses. It also reduces water and energy use. Today, besides the hundreds of livestock operations using the system, Silver Bullet’s technology is being used by hospitals, data centers, hotels and office buildings in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Silver Bullet’s water treatment system minimizes water use, reduces maintenance and provides significant energy savings. Installation takes less than a day, requires little upfront capital costs, and rents for a monthly fee.
In 2012, Silver Bullet was recognized with the Best Venture award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for its cost effective and environmentally responsible water treatment solution.
Not only has the Silver Bullet System been scientifically proven, it has real-world results and the support of dairymen and livestock producers nationwide. The Silver Bullet system is a box about the size of a kitchen cabinet that can be easily installed at farm wellheads in less than a day.
“Having owned a livestock operation myself and worked in the industry for years, I know the importance of a farmer’s routine and we at Silver Bullet respect it. Installation of Silver Bullet technology is simple and fast, and we check the system regularly. The only thing we disrupt is the impact of harmful bacteria on the herd. Livestock drinking water treatment today is not only about killing bacteria in the water. It’s also about mitigating the negative effects of other minerals in the water like Iron and Manganese which can impact the production of dairy cows. Silver Bullet’s AOP technology has the ability to oxidize and precipitate Manganese and Iron out of the water. It also kills the bacteria that produce the Hydrogen Sulfide gas (and oxidizes the gas itself) that causes the rotten egg smell which dairy cows hate.” said Doug White, Silver Bullet Vice President of Agricultural Sales.
“Our cows love water treated by Silver Bullet,” said Yuma Dairy’s Jeremiah Lungwitz. “It tastes and smells great — so they drink more of it. And as all dairymen know — a cow that drinks more, produces more. And we are seeing high quality milk products.”
Yuma Dairy, situated on the Colorado plains, has 2,000 dairy cows. After Silver Bullet was installed, the bacteria count dropped by 99.5%, providing a good “insurance policy” for keeping Lungwitz’s cows healthy. Even farmers on city or county water systems benefit from Silver Bullet — the residual biocide from the SB system eliminates cross-contamination in the troughs.
“Installing Silver Bullet was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” commented Lungwitz. “It has delivered what they promised and more.”
Bijou Hill Dairy, with 1,200 cows just outside of Denver, Colorado, installed the Silver Bullet Water Treatment System over two years ago. “Since installing the Silver Bullet system, we have seen a reduction of bacteria to an undetectable level in our milk chiller and the overall health of our herd is better than ever,” said Craig Pearson, co-owner, Bijou Hill Dairy. “The water is very clean, very clear; you really notice a difference. You notice a difference in maintenance and we also notice a difference in the cows.” During the treatment, an independent lab found the troughs at Bijou Hill Dairy showed: a 10,000 fold reduction in Coliforms, a 100 fold reduction in HPC, a 10 fold reduction in Staphylococcus Aureus (Staph), a 10 fold reduction in Escherichia Coli (E.Coli), and Listeria has nearly been eradicated. Somatic cell count has gone down by 100,000 cells.
Lee Holtmeier of Linn Willow Creek Dairy in Linn, Kansas has said about the Silver Bullet System installed on his dairy “We have had the Silver Bullet operating for 10 months with great results. Before we started using the Silver Bullet we had high somatic cell counts and mastitis issues in our herd. The first thing we noticed when we started using the Silver Bullet was that our drop line bacteria decreased. We are now seeing fewer instances of mastitis, lower bacterial counts in our water lines and lower somatic cell counts.”
Those types of results make it crystal clear — the quality of the water your cattle are consuming matters greatly. With proven APO technology, easy installation and a risk free rental program, it just makes sense to explore what a Silver Bullet Water Treatment System can bring to your herd.

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