It can be hard to stay on top of all the rules and regulations you need to adhere to if you are involved in the farming industry. The environmental regulations imposed on the agricultural and farming industry are always changing and it can cost your business a lot of money if you do not meet the rules. One of the areas you may not think about that is affected by environmental regulations is the type of covers you use for your crops and equipment and other areas of your farm.
You need to think carefully about the products and systems you choose. If you are finding that difficult, we are here to help. In the following post, we are going to look at some of the most popular and readily available types of liners and covers and why you might want to invest in them.
Different Kinds of Agriculture Liners and Covers
There are a lot of different agricultural cover systems out there and choosing the right one for your business needs can be tricky. Here we outline some of the most common options.
Stormwater Collection
It doesn’t matter whether you are looking to collect stormwater to protect your agricultural and farmlands from flooding and erosion or to reuse it to water gardens, having liners are vital. When you collect stormwater in lakes or ponds, it’s a great way to prevent erosion and it also has the benefit that the water can be used in irrigation. Ideally, you will want to use environmentally friendly covers and liners.
Irrigation Pond Liners
Many agricultural setups utilize irrigation ponds. Whether you are running a ranch or farm or something else, you need some form of irrigation. You need to choose the right kind of liners for this application to ensure you don’t suffer from water loss through seepage. Floating covers are also a great addition in areas where you are going through a drought, to stop your irrigation ponds from evaporating.
Cistern and Tank Liners
If you have any kind of agricultural setups, you should be familiar with cistern and tank liners. There are many reasons why you need these, to protect against both primary and secondary forms of contaminants in fertilizers and fuels and the kind that is likely to cause issues with your cisterns and tanks. With regards to fertilizer and fuel contamination, you especially need to make sure you choose the best liner. Among other qualities, they should be very durable and have chemical-resistant properties.
Manure Lagoon Liners
For farms and dairies, one particular form of protective covering that has become a huge requirement is having liners for any manure lagoons you have. The reason there are such strict rules regarding this is that you need to provide containment for any manure you keep as well as allowing for waste products to runoff, while also preventing the surrounding land from being contaminated.
Greenhouses, Aquaculture and Hydroponics
For greenhouses, aquaculture, and hydroponics, there are several ways you can use agricultural liners. Whether you run some kind of fish hatchery and need a liner for that. When choosing liners for these applications you need to make sure they are appropriately certified for use with potable water and are safe for plants and fish. As well as agriculture covers, you may need to also invest in light deprivation tarps and greenhouse covers if you are producing plants and/or food. As well as the uses noted above, there are many other uses for these kinds of covers, such as lining ditches, controlling erosion levels, and preventing the growth and spread of unwanted plants and weeds.
In all areas, whenever you are choosing liners for the different needs and setups on your farm or agricultural land, you need to ensure that they are not going to contravene any specific environmental regulations.