Bedding Composter™

The bedding cost in a modern dairy operation is one of the most significant and most consistently underestimated recurring expenditures in the annual budget. Purchased straw, sawdust, sand, or commercial bedding materials represent a direct cash outflow that compounds across every cow in the herd, across every day of the year, without generating any production return. The EYS Bedding Composter™ converts that cost centre into a production asset — transforming the manure solids that every dairy operation generates in abundance into premium-quality, pathogen-free, low-bacteria bedding material that cows prefer, that supports udder health, and that costs a fraction of any purchased alternative to produce.

The Science Behind the System
Aerobic composting is one of the oldest and most effective biological processes available to organic waste management — but in its conventional windrow form, it is also one of the slowest and most labour-intensive. Windrow composting of separated manure solids typically requires weeks of turning, monitoring, and maturation management before a consistent, hygienic product is achieved. The EYS Bedding Composter™ accelerates that process dramatically by creating the precisely controlled environment that aerobic bacteria require to work at maximum efficiency. The HDPE polymeric drum provides a sealed, thermally stable environment in which temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels are maintained at the optimal parameters for aerobic fermentation by the PLC control system continuously and automatically. Within that environment, the naturally present aerobic bacteria populate rapidly, consume the organic compounds in the separated solid material, and generate the exothermic heat that is simultaneously the composting mechanism and the hygienisation system. Solids self-heat to 70°C and above as a direct consequence of bacterial activity — achieving the temperature threshold that destroys mastitis-causing pathogens, reduces total bacterial count, and produces the hygienic bedding material that deep-bedding dairy management requires, without any external heat input.

The HD Separator: The Critical Input Parameter
The performance of the composting drum is directly dependent on the moisture content of the solid material it receives. Solids that are too wet create anaerobic conditions in the drum that suppress aerobic fermentation, reduce self-heating, and produce a composting outcome that does not meet hygienisation or bedding quality standards. The EYS Bedding Composter™ system addresses this dependency at the source — incorporating the SP600HD Heavy-Duty screw press separator as the integrated dewatering stage that prepares the solid input to the precise moisture level that optimal aerobic fermentation requires. The SP600HD is specified for this application because its 1.0mm screen and HD auger geometry consistently achieve the dry matter percentage in the separated solid fraction — 35–40% DM — that provides the moisture conditions for fast, effective fermentation in the drum. The separator output is automatically conveyed to the drum input via the integrated feeding system, with the dosing unit managing the feed rate to match drum capacity and retention time requirements. The entire feed pathway from manure pit to drum is automated — eliminating the manual handling that conventional composting requires at every transfer point.

Retention Time, Consistency, and Product Quality
The drum retention time is programmable through the PLC control system — 24 hours for bedding material production and 72 hours for compost production — allowing the same system to serve both applications depending on the operation’s priorities at any given time. The controlled environment of the drum produces a consistent product quality every day, regardless of seasonal temperature variation, staffing variation, or the batch-to-batch manure consistency variation that outdoor windrow composting cannot manage. The bedding material that comes out of the drum on day one of operation is the same quality as the material that comes out a year later — because the process parameters are controlled by the system, not by ambient conditions or operator judgment.

EU Hygienisation Compliance: Automated and Recorded
Compliance with EU hygienisation regulations requires documented evidence that the composted material has achieved 70°C for a defined period. The EYS Bedding Composter™ delivers this compliance automatically — four wireless drum sensors monitor temperature continuously throughout the retention period, and the wireless hygiene record system logs temperature data that provides the documented proof of compliance required by EU regulations. The temperature log is accessible via smartphone or PC at any time, from any location, without requiring physical access to the system. Compliance is not managed by the farmer — it is generated and recorded by the system as a consequence of normal operation.

Automation, Remote Access, and Operational Simplicity
The EYS Bedding Composter™ is designed as a user-friendly automated system that requires minimal daily supervision. The PLC control system manages all process parameters — temperature, moisture, oxygen, drum rotation, and feeding — automatically and continuously. The touchscreen control interface provides clear, accessible status information and parameter adjustment capability for operators who want to monitor or modify the process. Remote access via smartphone or PC allows the system to be monitored and adjusted from anywhere with an internet connection — eliminating the requirement for constant physical presence at the system and reducing the labour cost of composting management to a minimum.

Four Model Sizes for Every Scale
The BC Series range covers drum capacities from 4m³ (BC5) to 36m³ (BC50) — providing the operational scale to serve small dairy operations through to large-scale commercial composting applications. All models share the same system architecture, the same automation platform, and the same SP600HD separator integration. The containerised, factory-assembled format makes installation straightforward and transport simple — the system arrives ready to connect and commission without major civil works or extended installation periods.

The Economic and Environmental Case
The EYS Bedding Composter™ is a win-win investment in every measurable dimension. The farmer wins through reduced bedding cost, improved cow comfort, better udder health outcomes, and lower mastitis incidence. The environment wins through organic waste being converted into a productive resource rather than managed as a disposal problem. The agricultural sector wins through a demonstration that responsible manure management and profitable dairy production are not competing objectives but complementary ones. For operations where bedding cost, herd health, regulatory compliance, and environmental responsibility are managed as unified priorities, the EYS Bedding Composter™ is the system that serves all four simultaneously.