Increased feed and fertiliser input costs have focused the collective mind back on the true value of muck and forage for UK livestock farmers. Given the impact of variable cost hikes over the past six months, the Grassland & Muck Event being held at Stoneleigh Park on the 21 and 22 May, will land at an opportune time.
The event, organised by the RASE, has technical and topical issues at its heart. Key issues being tackled at the event will be the practical and financial impact of new NVZ regulations, enterprise profitability taking into account increased feed and fertiliser costs, maximising the quality and quantity of home-produced forage and the real value of muck and farm yard manure (FYM).
The event site is big; totalling 77ha (190 acres) of Stoneleigh Park, and will include 65ha (160 acres) of working grass and muck handling and demonstrations.
There will be working machinery demonstrations from over 40 manufacturers Machines will include mowers, rakes, grabs, balers, forage harvesters, tedders, bale wrappers, manure spreaders and slurry tankers. The exhibitors are as follows:
| Area | Exhibiting companies |
| Grass Working Plots | AGCO, ALO, Case IH, Claas, JCB, John Deere, Krone, K-Two, Kuhn, Lely, Masstock, McHale, Merlo, New Holland, Opico, Pottinger, Rustons Engineering, Schuitemaker Machines, Strautmann, Tanco Autowrap, Tanlake Farm & Machinery, Tarrup, Teagle, Vicon, Westmac and Sunshine Agriculture. |
| Clamp face demonstrations | AGCO, Claas, CNH, John Deere, Jackson Pumping, JCB, Manitou and Merlo. |
| Muck Handling Demonstrations | Ag Chem Europe, G T Bunning & Sons, Harry West (Prees), Hi Spec Eng , Joskin, K-two Sales, Kuhn Farm Machinery, Nutritech, Olesen Agriculture, Pichon, Richard Western, Rolland Trailers, Rustons Engineering, Samson Agro, Schuitemaker Machines, Shelbourne Reynolds, Spreadwise, Strautmann and Teagle |
New for Grassland and Muck 2008 is a Manure and Nutrient Management Centre, sponsored by the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative. The centre sits alongside the muck demonstrations creating a one-stop-shop for the latest NVZ and catchment management advice. This is the place to see muck equipment in action! The latest muck spreaders and slurry tankers will be spreading 650 tonnes of muck, and slurry injection systems will also be on display.
ADAS is encouraging visitors to bring along slurry and FYM samples for nutrient analysis and there will be advisors on hand to calculate how much you should apply on your farm plus fertiliser top-up rates.
Mark Tucker, Agronomy Manager for Yara UK Ltd, official partner of the Grassland & Muck Event, adds; “fertiliser prices are higher for this season because global demand is outstripping supply. This means that farmers will need to make the most of every kg of fertiliser they apply and also maximise the nutrient value of muck and slurry. If farmers then target their nitrogen applications carefully, even at prices of around £265/tonne (34.5% N), most can expect an estimated return of £3 for every £1 spent on nitrogen fertilizer.
“To put the value of muck into economic context, an application of 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,” he adds.
Event visitors are invited on a first-come first-served basis to a series of technical forums on NVZs, maximising meat and milk production from effective grass quality management. The forums, sponsored by Keenan and partnered by the British Grassland Society, will be followed by practical demonstrations on ration mixing and accurate measurement of dry matter content of grazed swards.
For visitors interested in information gathering on varieties, sowing and grass responses to different soil treatments, there will be 10 grass plot demonstrations. In this area, DLF Trifolium will be launching ForageMax, a new range of modern, highly trialled cultivars which include specialist mixtures, HorseMax, DroughtMax with festulolium, a tall fescue/Italian ryegrass cross and GrassMax overseeding mixtures, the latter which has been proven in independent trials.
The interest and buzz surrounding the Grassland & Muck Event demonstrates how important grass and muck are within the current economic and legislative climate.
“Any forage-based system is very dependent on getting the detail and the science right,” says Alice Bell, the RASE’ Technical Events Manager. “We will use the Grassland & Muck Event to bring alive the science, legislative requirements and physical handling of muck and grass, two increasingly important farm assets,” she concludes.
For more details and to save money by booking tickets in advance go to www.grasslandevent.co.uk. Tickets are priced at £12 for adult tickets booked before 15th May and £15 on the gate. Student tickets are priced at £10 in advance and £15 on the gate and RASE member tickets are £8 in advance and £10 on the gate. Visitors can earn up to 3 BASIS points by attending different areas of the event and pig producers attending the Manure and Nutrient Management Centre can ear 2 PIPR points.
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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
Rosie Carne, Yara UK Ltd
Tel: 01469 554643
Email:
rosie.carne@yara.com
Jane Craigie, Event PR
Tel: 01466 780078
Email:
jane@janecraigie.com
