Adding OM back to the soil

[Shutesy]

I want to add some OM back into our soils across the farm. We chop pretty much all crop residues back onto the stubbles apart from the occasional few acres of baling the neighbor might do some years. Quite often when drilling on our more difficult fields, unless conditions are absolutely ideal we struggle to get a good amount of tilth in the top 2-3 inches around the seed which can be sat under clods or lumps of soil which are not great for quick, vigourous establishment (or any establishment at all sometimes!). Years and years of ploughing and powerharrowing seem to have taken there toll, OM levels are between 2 and 3% on average but the workability of the soil is often poor IMO and our soil health/life isn't to great I don't think, an example of this when we were ploughing was the fact that we were ploughing straw and stubble back up that had been ploughed down say 14-15 months earlier. There are a couple of fields with drainage issues here and there which I will hopefully get rectified as time goes on.
I have been using cover crops before spring crops which are helping but also getting heavy land to dry out in the spring when its got a mat of plant matter across it, isn't always easy. Establishing cover crops can also be a bit hit and miss I have found, especially in dry summers like 2016 here where nearly all cover crops and most of the OSR failed as well.
Our contract for the low pesticide 1st wheat we grow prohibits the use of animal manures (non nearby anyway) or sewage waste in the rotation, therefore I am thinking of trying some compost. Our nearest site is 13 miles away and is run by Tamar Energy (anybody used them before?). What sort of price per t should I be looking at? I know there isn't a huge amount in nutrient terms in compost other than perhaps a bit of P and K but looking at it from a point of view of improving soil OM with the addition of a bit of P and K I think it might be worth a go. Has anyone got any other suggestions?

 

[JCMaloney]

Tamar are a bit "south east" orientated according to this: http://www.tamar-energy.com/compost-biofertiliser/

I`m not sure if this tells you all you need to know? http://www.tamar-energy.com/media/1215/wrap-dc-agri-research-summary.pdf

Off the same website.

As long as its clean..... nowt worse then GW with shredded metal in it.

 

[Brisel]

I think you need to take your own samples & get them analysed before doing the maths. Transport is what kills the viability of bulky materials like digestate and compost. I value compost on the basis of fertiliser value with the organic matter "value" covering the hassle. If it's not PAS 100 then I would imagine that your wheat contract prohibits it plus you'll need a very expensive and time consuming EA deployment licence.

Setting aside the economics for a moment - what can you offer Tamar? Concrete for tipping all year round? That might make the price keener because they are producing all year round & most farmers only want it delivered at or just before the point of application but expect your infrastructure to take a pounding in winter.

Can you maximise your use of animal manures elsewhere in the rotation that allows a sufficient harvest interval for your 1st wheat?

 

[Andrew K]

I am only a mile away from Tamar, and believe me they have plenty of farmers after compost, most of them pick it up themselves. Dont expect it for free!

 

[Shutesy]

I am only a mile away from Tamar, and believe me they have plenty of farmers after compost, most of them pick it up themselves. Dont expect it for free!

Spoken to Tamar this morning and another company nr Buntingford. Neither will deliver. The company at Buntingford supply the compost free. I would have to hire in a haulage firm to get it to the farm as neither is close enough to haul with a tractor and trailer.

 

[snarling bee]

Compost is one of the best for improving OM, but there is not much in it otherwise. We cart it 6 miles and it is hardly worth it by the time it is spread. I'm hopefully going into straw based pig B&B for that reason.

 

[hendrebc]

Grass it and buy some cows or sheep or both

 

[Shutesy]

Grass it and buy some cows or sheep or both

I'm no livestock farmer unfortunately and I like growing crops plus I quite like my weekends to do what I like during the not so busy times of the year.
Does anybody get companies like Mick George to haul products like compost or do I need a firm running artic lorries rather than 8 wheelers?

 

[Kevtherev]

Any access to poultry manure?
Or straw for muck deal with local livestock unit?

 

[Shutesy]

Any access to poultry manure?
Or straw for muck deal with local livestock unit?

Have looked into it as far as I can with my own knowledge, there are very few livestock farms in a 10 mile radius of us, most being mixed farms grow all there own straw and use the muck on there own land. I don't really know how you would go about finding out the locations of large poultry farms but I'm pretty sure there isn't any within 20 miles of us. And our contract for the wheat we grow states no livestock manures or sewage waste for a minimum of 3 years before the wheat crop is grown, IMO I don't have enough land to stretch a rotation out far enough to have 4 years between 1st wheats hence why compost seems to be the only option.

 

[Kevtherev]

Stubble turnips and sheep on let

 

[snarling bee]

Is your wheat contract that lucrative that you cannot ditch it? Then get your own poultry unit - they're the in thing you know.

 

[Shutesy]

Stubble turnips and sheep on let

A possibility, a lot of fencing involved, did have a chat with a member on here a couple of years ago about grazing some cover crops with sheep but we decided against it the time being, was a good thing as bugger all cover crop grew that summer/autumn anyway.

Is your wheat contract that lucrative that you cannot ditch it? Then get your own poultry unit - they're the in thing you know.

Not sure about our own poultry unit but when you can sell wheat at pushing £190/t this year its worth doing despite its few drawbacks.

 

[Dead Rabbits]

What do @Clive and @martian think.?

Realizing we all have our constraints, your system sounds flawed. Change your system. Carbon is all around us, you just need a system in place that puts it into your soil. Rather than removing it

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I am thinking big biomass covercrops and any livestock opportunity that comes your way - one year in ten is better than nart - easily the most cost effective route to more carbon as either will create a positive flow in, 'build a pipeline' as opposed to 'carrying buckets'... carbon stocks are really only a snapshot of a moment in time, it is quite dynamic in a farming system

 

[snarling bee]

Mob grazing cattle is the best option for increasing OM.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Stubble turnips and sheep on let

Im giving that up. I dont feel there are enough benefits.

 

[Flat 10]

I'm no livestock farmer unfortunately and I like growing crops plus I quite like my weekends to do what I like during the not so busy times of the year.
Does anybody get companies like Mick George to haul products like compost or do I need a firm running artic lorries rather than 8 wheelers?

Artics would be best unless you have someone who can backload

 

[Clive]

Compost is good but I wouldn’t want to be paying much for it

Cover crops are basically grow your own compost so that would be (and mostly is) my approach

Key is keep the cheap, drill tight behind combine, use some N maybe and find species that suit your soils and product max biomass

FYM is the ultimate if you can find it though

 

[Shutesy]

Compost is good but I wouldn’t want to be paying much for it

Cover crops are basically grow your own compost so that would be (and mostly is) my approach

Key is keep the cheap, drill tight behind combine, use some N maybe and find species that suit your soils and product max biomass

FYM is the ultimate if you can find it though

Found I can get the compost for free, just got to get it hauled and spread.

Will keep growing cover crops, trying to farm save some more seed to mix up for them, where do you get any seed you buy in (if any)? Beans and OSR are the only non cereal plants we grow so need to add things like oats, millet, sunflowers etc by using bought in seed.

There's just not the livestock farms in this part of the country to get FYM from and our wheat contract says we cant use FYM.