Digestate costs

[Steve770]

Just had the bill for digestate and spreading via the dribble bar. Feel we may be having our pants pulled at the price per M³.
Anybody have any costs per M³ for reference...TIA

 

[PSQ]

What is it leaving on the field per M3, other than deep compaction?

 

[Luke Cropwalker]

Just had the bill for digestate and spreading via the dribble bar. Feel we may be having our pants pulled at the price per M³.
Anybody have any costs per M³ for reference...TIA

Did you not agree a price having seen a recent analysis before the digestate was spread? Often the only cost to the receiving farmer is just for spreading.

 

[FMF74]

£2.50 a cube here, Digestate worth £8 I believe

 

[Steve770]

£2.50 a cube here, Digestate worth £8 I believe

We were originally charged £1/cube 3-4years ago, great product does a grand job, but last years worked out at £1.50/cube, early spreading invoice here at £4.50/ cube for 2024. Seems quite a step from £1.50, no extra people using it so no competition to push it up, was interested to see the picture across the board.

 

[Brisel]

So many ifs and buts here. Do you have your own store or is it tankered in from far away? Long runs of pipework to access awkward fields? Extra pumps for hills? Digestate analysis?

 

[Top Tip.]

£5 a ton up here spread.

 

[Steve770]

What is it leaving on the field per M3, other than deep compaction?

Readily available N, P, K, and S reduced fert bill, increased OM. Guys on 800 tyres, and variable pressure on tractor and tanker, sticks to tramlines and we only go to fields that will take the weight and not clay. Chalk soil.

 

[Steve770]

So many ifs and buts here. Do you have your own store or is it tankered in from far away? Long runs of pipework to access awkward fields? Extra pumps for hills? Digestate analysis?

Nurse tank for artics to blow into, AD plant 20 mins away, no pipework as tractor and tanker return to nurse tank for refills. Anlysis is pretty standard, alters very little.

 

[N.Yorks.]

Just had the bill for digestate and spreading via the dribble bar. Feel we may be having our pants pulled at the price per M³.
Anybody have any costs per M³ for reference...TIA

If they didn't tell you it was going to be more expensive I'd be inclined to only pay what it was last year. Surely they can't just make up a price without you agreeing to it in the first place?

 

[FarmerBruce]

About £2/cube round here

 

[Chae1]

We don't pay anything. Get it delivered and spread for free.

 

[Steve770]

Did you not agree a price having seen a recent analysis before the digestate was spread? Often the only cost to the receiving farmer is just for spreading.

We will have to going forward, as the spreading costs were as expected, but the cost per cube, not a 3x increase.

 

[Steve770]

We don't pay anything. Get it delivered and spread for free.

Do you grow for the AD plant?

 

[Woody j]

We don't pay anything. Get it delivered and spread for free.

Same here, I would guess it won’t be long untill someone will pay to get rid of it

 

[d williams]

Same here, I would guess it won’t be long untill someone will pay to get rid of it

If farmers realised the asset they have then they should be charging to dispose of this waste and other waste products
Digestate is a good product used properly but not worth paying for
And is expensive to handle either yourself or paying others

 

[Chae1]

Do you grow for the AD plant?

No.

We don't always get. Would rather pay if guaranteed supply.

We pay for fibre and apply ourselves, it's liquid we get free.

 

[76masseyman]

We pay sewage disposal in our water bills, we pay to get rid of plastic waste etc.
Why should we pay to take, what is effectively a waste product of the AD industry ?
If they get bunged up, they would have to stop, then they’d be paying us to take it.

 

[PI Stsker]

We pay sewage disposal in our water bills, we pay to get rid of plastic waste etc.
Why should we pay to take, what is effectively a waste product of the AD industry ?
If they get bunged up, they would have to stop, then they’d be paying us to take it.

Equally; people pay for sewage sludge for their land so why wouldn’t you pay for Digestate which is arguably a better product than sludge..?
Buisness is buisness, if they can make a few quid selling it why wouldn’t they. Could say if all the farmers in the UK dumped there milk or topped the corn and said sod yah we would get a better price but that’s never going to happen. Same as people will always pay for a good Digestate product.

 

[PI Stsker]

Nurse tank for artics to blow into, AD plant 20 mins away, no pipework as tractor and tanker return to nurse tank for refills. Anlysis is pretty standard, alters very little.

To me this looks like a generic Digestate N example table. Can you confirm which table your referring to that your getting.

generally speaking, as a general rule Digestate from food waste tends to have a lower DM and higher available N, where as farm based Digestate has a higher DM and a lower available N. In other words the food waste stuff is better short term as ‘rocket fuel’ but the farm based stuff better longer term for soil health and not locking up soil.