Chicken muck and no till
- Thread starter ajd132
- Start date
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
muck can be spread on grass without incorporation so why not cover crop
General-Lee
Member
- Location
- Devon
Cover crops are arable so the rule book says....incorporate
- Location
- South Wales UK
Doing it around here today.
Stunk the Vale out ???
Stunk the Vale out ???
Just before the bank holiday weekend.... lovely.
- Location
- South Wales UK
Public/ farmer relations going well ???
Good point and will at least confuse an inspector
Adams1978
Member
From the regulations
19.—(1) A person who applies organic manure on to the surface of bare soil or stubble (other than soil that has been sown) must ensure that it is incorporated into the soil in accordance with this regulation.
(2) Poultry manure must be incorporated as soon as practicable (and within 24 hours at the latest).
So yes it would be illegal. Same 24 hour rule applies for all organic manures.
The regulations do not define incorporation the previous guidance:
Guidance on complying with the rules for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in England for 2013 to 2016
Incorporation
A technique that achieves some mixing between the organic manure and the soil.
Crop
any vegetation which is grown for agricultural profit or benefit, including grains, vegetables and fruit, grass and forage, horticulture and bulbs grown in open fields.
So it is open to interpretation what incorporation is, so if you have made an attempt to scratch it in to the surface, you should be fine as long as you don’t cause a pollution. Something like a straw rake or something like a claydon terrastar or Hankmo starmixer will incorporate without too much disturbance.
Same applies for interpretation of crop, as it would be fairly easy to argue the cover crop is agricultural benefit. It would be difficult to argue the cover crop would need that level of muck to make it grow, it would be better to justify the application is for the spring crop.
The idea around the incorporation is that there is less nitrogen lost to the atmosphere and reduces the risk of surface run off to the nearest ditch. So benefits are that you have more nitrogen ££ in the soil to feed the crop, bugs and fungi, and less escaping in to the environment.
19.—(1) A person who applies organic manure on to the surface of bare soil or stubble (other than soil that has been sown) must ensure that it is incorporated into the soil in accordance with this regulation.
(2) Poultry manure must be incorporated as soon as practicable (and within 24 hours at the latest).
So yes it would be illegal. Same 24 hour rule applies for all organic manures.
The regulations do not define incorporation the previous guidance:
Guidance on complying with the rules for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in England for 2013 to 2016
Incorporation
A technique that achieves some mixing between the organic manure and the soil.
Crop
any vegetation which is grown for agricultural profit or benefit, including grains, vegetables and fruit, grass and forage, horticulture and bulbs grown in open fields.
So it is open to interpretation what incorporation is, so if you have made an attempt to scratch it in to the surface, you should be fine as long as you don’t cause a pollution. Something like a straw rake or something like a claydon terrastar or Hankmo starmixer will incorporate without too much disturbance.
Same applies for interpretation of crop, as it would be fairly easy to argue the cover crop is agricultural benefit. It would be difficult to argue the cover crop would need that level of muck to make it grow, it would be better to justify the application is for the spring crop.
The idea around the incorporation is that there is less nitrogen lost to the atmosphere and reduces the risk of surface run off to the nearest ditch. So benefits are that you have more nitrogen ££ in the soil to feed the crop, bugs and fungi, and less escaping in to the environment.
True but gives a shallow false seed bed if you got bad grass weeds