The new Manure and Nutrient Management Centre at this year's Grassland and Muck Event is set to help increase farmers’ confidence in their use of manure. Sponsored by the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative, the Centre will provide a focal point for technical information and practical guidelines for the economical and environmentally sustainable use of manures, essential for compliance with the proposed NVZ rules, Water Framework Directive and other environmental regulations. The centre will also host stands from ADAS, Defra, The Environment Agency and BPEX.
The Manure and Nutrient Management Centre will:
- Highlight key changes in proposed NVZ and other environmental regulations and help farmers understand how these changes may affect them
- Demonstrate the potential for fertiliser savings from grass plots, with a range of manure and fertiliser nitrogen treatments
- Demonstrate how to estimate the content of a loaded spreader and the assessment of field application rate
- Demonstrate simple slurry analysis methods.
- Provide an opportunity to discuss manure management problems with technical experts
- Demonstrate updated software including PLANET and MANNER
- Demonstrate a new technique for rapid analysis of farm manure samples
- Provide an opportunity to view a range of manure application rates and spread patterns
- Offer a chance to speak to catchment sensitive farming officers
For the first time at Grassland and Muck, farmers will be able to bring samples of manure or slurry for free testing, the first step in effective muck management. A LINK funded research consortium will analyse samples using NIRS (Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy).
“This technique is already widely used for analysis of forage and grain samples,” says Ken Smith, ADAS Principal Research Scientist. “The technology is now under further development to provide a rapid, reliable and low-cost analysis of organic manures, including sludge biosolids, for a wide range of nutrients.”
To assist the development of the technique, more samples are needed for the analysis database, and the project would like to invite farmers to bring along manure samples for free testing. If you wish to bring a sample, follow these collection guidelines: Mix a few samples from different parts of a manure heap in a clean bucket and then put a smaller sub-sample, of up to 1kg in weight, in a strong, sealed bag and label with manure type, name and contact details. For slurries, collect about 1 litre from a well-mixed tank/store in a clean plastic container. Bring the sample to the ADAS stand at the Manure and Nutrient Management Centre for testing. Results, including dry matter content, nitrogen (total and mineral), phosphorus, sulphur and organic matter, will be provided with interpretation.
Visitors to the Manure and Nutrient Management Centre will be able see their analysis incorporated into MANNER (MANure Nutrient Evaluation Routine) and PLANET (Planning Land Application of Nutrients for Efficiency and environmenT) software. MANNER currently has 10,000 users, and is used to predict manure nitrogen availability, nitrogen losses and nutrient supply to crops. The software combines manure analysis data with soil type and management conditions such as time, rate and method of application, as well as environmental influences, such as soil conditions and weather.
PLANET is a computerised version of DEFRA’s industry standard fertiliser recommendations for crops. The software allows farmers to plan an integrated nutrient management strategy for their farm.
“Fertilisers have more than doubled in price over the last two years, and interest in managing manures as a nutrient source is unprecedented” says Ken Smith. “At current fertiliser prices, manure production from a 100 cow dairy herd might be worth almost £7,000/year, from a 1000 place finishing pig unit £17,000/ year and from a 50,000 place laying hen unit, around £40,000/year.”
According to Mark Tucker from Yara, the Grassland & Muck Event partners, “to put the value of muck into economic context, an application of a typical cattle slurry, at 40t/ha, would provide N worth £17/ha, P2O5 worth £26/ha and K2O worth £46/ha giving a total contribution of £89/ha.”
Ken Smith adds that savings in fertiliser applications to a cereal crop in excess of £100/ha are not difficult to achieve from a well-timed application of slurry or solid manure, but statistics on fertiliser use show that little allowance is made for the contribution from manures when considering crop nutrient requirements and fertiliser inputs: “This results in excessive nutrient inputs, reduced profitability and increased risk of environmental emissions,” he says.
“We recommend that farmers have farm manure regularly tested, as better information gives increased confidence in manure as a significant source of crop nutrients. Targeted use of manure can save money and reduces environmental pollution.”
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Notes for Editors
Grassland & Muck 2008
Grassland and Muck 2008 is the triennial event for the industry. Partnered by Yara UK Limited and proudly presented by the Royal Agricultural Society of England.
Yara UK Limited
- Yara UK Limited is the UK business unit of Yara International ASA, with our head office at Immingham in NE Lincolnshire.
- Yara UK Limited is the leading supplier of agricultural fertilizer-both in solid and liquid form- and horticultural and amenity fertilizer, to the UK market.
- Yara International ASA, the parent company of Yara UK, is a leading chemical company that converts energy and nitrogen from the air into essential products for farmers and industrial customers. As the number one global supplier and developer of mineral fertilizers and agronomic solutions, we help provide food for a growing population.
- Yara International ASA has 6,800 employees, operating in 120 countries and with a turnover in excess of £3.5billion. The head office of Yara International is in Oslo, Norway.
- The Business model for Yara comprises three business
segments:
- Upstream- global production plants
- Downstream- the global sales and marketing of fertilizers and plant nutrition products, divided in to nine business units of which the UK & Ireland is one unit.
- Industrial- the sales and marketing of products for industrial applications
- The name “Yara” is taken from a Nordic word meaning ‘good harvest’.
- For further information on Yara UK Ltd, please see www.yara.co.uk
- For further information on Yara International ASA, please see www.yara.com
For further information please contact:
Alice
Bell, RASE
Tel: 02476 858 276
Email:
aliceb@rase.org.uk
Ken Smith, ADAS
Tel: +44 (0)1902 693308
Mob: 07785 388920
Email: ken.smith@adas.co.uk
Jane Craigie, Event PR
Tel: 01466 780078
Mob: 07795 278767
Email:
jane@janecraigie.com
