“It was the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten!”
The results were immediate and impressive. “What used to take three hours to do by hand and about an hour and a half with the previous machine now takes just 17 minutes.” “The Tow and Collect effectively picks up manure from alpacas, sheep, goats, and even pigs, ensuring a thorough cleanup in just one pass.”
For Pam and Paul Ellenberger of Bent Limb Farm, located outside of Redding, Pennsylvania, effective manure management is essential to maintaining healthy pastures for their diverse collection of animals, including alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats, and pigs. Since 2011, they have worked on their 55-acre property, using sustainable practices to ensure the well-being of their animals and pastures.
Alpacas, in particular, tend to drop manure in concentrated piles, leading to dead spots where grass won’t grow. Managing these piles manually was a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. “One of our main pastures used to take three hours to clean by hand,” Pam explains. “We invested in a pasture vacuum, which cut the time in half, but it was heavy and ineffective when the manure was even slightly wet.”
Determined to find a better solution, Paul researched alternatives and discovered the Tow and Collect. It became Pam’s Christmas present that year—a gift that turned an arduous chore into a quick and easy task.
“It was the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten!”
The results were immediate and impressive. “What used to take three hours to do by hand and about an hour and a half with the previous machine now takes just 17 minutes.” The Tow and Collect effectively picks up manure from alpacas, sheep, goats, and even pigs, ensuring a thorough cleanup in just one pass.
Even their long-time farmhand, who has been with them for eight years, quickly adapted to the new machine. “She loves it, especially since she no longer has to collect manure by hand. The Tow and Collect is easy to operate, allows for simple adjustments, and requires minimal maintenance.” Regular upkeep is also straightforward: “To clean it, we lift it with the tractor forks, making maintenance easy.”
Recently, Pam and Paul upgraded to the new model with remote-controlled electric adjustments, making the process even more seamless. “As we get older, we look for smarter, less physically demanding solutions. The ability to raise and lower the machine, open the collection hopper, and empty it—all by remote control—was a game-changer.”
Previously, they had to manually crank the machine and get off the ATV to empty it. Now, everything can be done while staying seated. To truly test the efficiency of the new model, they purposely let the pasture go uncleared before putting it to work.
“It did not disappoint.”
One particularly useful feature is the ability to raise the brushes between manure piles instead of dragging them across the entire pasture, which should extend their lifespan. “The remote is well-designed—sturdy, easy to handle, and large enough that we won’t lose it in the pasture.”
For Pam, the Tow and Collect has been a game-changer for their farm. “I’m expecting great things from this”
