Teagasc Slurry Advice - Farming | farming news | cattle prices | ifa

Teagasc Slurry Advice

Written by Cian MacSweeny
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
The persistent rain we have experienced throughout the late summer and autumn has left livestock farmers in great difficulty trying to apply slurry and animal manures. The waterlogged ground conditions stop farmers from using machinery on their land for spreading, leaving many farmers stuck. Due to the poor weather conditions, many farmers have been housing their animals by night since mid September in some areas and many are now considering full time housing from late October. Teagasc say that some farmers have already up to 40 per cent of their tank capacity taken up with the closed period for spreading almost here. Teagasc are advising farmers to spread slurry in the spring to maximize the amount of nutrients growing crops utilize. However, the farmers that held off until later in the year this time round are now experiencing great difficulties due to the wet conditions of August and September. The situation is worsened now with the need to house stock earlier in the season. Dairy specialist George Ramsbottom advised farmers at a dairy farm walk in Kildare yesterday to plan ahead for their nutrient management strategy for 2009 now. He said: “Higher prices for artificial fertilizers have increased the monetary value of the nutrients in slurry and animal manures. These organic fertilizers can make a valuable contribution to the fertilizer needs of the farm. The atrocious weather this summer and autumn has reinforced the importance of using slurry early in the year to reduce the quantities of artificial fertilizer applied. Many farmers are now caught and are unable to spread slurry due to the bad ground conditions.” The focus of the dairy farm walk was to set up the grazing platform for the spring by shutting off paddocks early enough in the autumn. Mr. Ramsbottom said famers should begin planning their spring grass immediately, by preparing to close off forty to sixty per cent of the grazing area by 1 November to guarantee adequate grass covers for early spring grazing. He said that this can bring costs down by as much as €2 per cow per day.

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