Digestate Pro’s and Con’s.

[Top Tip.]

One or two folk starting to use it up here, what has been folks experience with it . It seems to grow a heavy crop of grass.

 

[Bald Rick]

One or two folk starting to use it up here, what has been folks experience with it . It seems to grow a heavy crop of grass.

Responded as if it was sewage sludge .........

Sorry, digestate

Pros: crops react to it very quickly
Higher in available N than slurry or FYM (but remember to factor this in if in an NVZ)
Can be offered free if you are close to an AD plant (but rarer than hens teeth)

Cons: it can burn if put on too enthusiastically
Can be expensive to bring on to farm unless the AD are paying for the privilege
They need to spread most of the year so be wary as they may try and get on when the land isn't suitable
Can be very liquid so can run off on sloping ground. Better injected but that is slow and needs soils to be pliable
You're helping out an AD plant that is heavily subsidised whilst you are paying a fortune for your power

 

[Bald Rick]

and you will still find sweetcorn in it ........

 

[Top Tip.]

Responded as if it was sewage sludge .........

Sorry, digestate

Pros: crops react to it very quickly
Higher in available N than slurry or FYM (but remember to factor this in if in an NVZ)
Can be offered free if you are close to an AD plant (but rarer than hens teeth)

Cons: it can burn if put on too enthusiastically
Can be expensive to bring on to farm unless the AD are paying for the privilege
They need to spread most of the year so be wary as they may try and get on when the land isn't suitable
Can be very liquid so can run off on sloping ground. Better injected but that is slow and needs soils to be pliable
You're helping out an AD plant that is heavily subsidised whilst you are paying a fortune for your power

They are talking ten ton to the acre at £5 a ton is that reasonable?

 

[nick...]

I'm told black grass seed does not get killed in the process.don't know wether that's true but been told by several people
nick...

 

[Chae1]

One or two folk starting to use it up here, what has been folks experience with it . It seems to grow a heavy crop of grass.

Depends what digestors food source is?

Could just be Draff, silage and pot ale. In which case it's not going to be much different to what comes out of a cow.

Or could be food waste, which would contain micro plastics. Make sure it meets pas110 standards.

We use some, just do a bit at a time, then make your own mind up. Don't clart your whole farm in it every year. Like everything, best done in moderation.

I can't think of many downsides to be honest.

 

[JockCroft]

They are talking ten ton to the acre at £5 a ton is that reasonable?

Is that from Ardersier? Or the Whisky one?

 

[sjt01]

I'm told black grass seed does not get killed in the process.don't know wether that's true but been told by several people
nick...

From WRAP (full document attached). Seeing that the retention time is normally 30 to 50 days, blackgrass kill in Mesophillic AD (MAD) in 5 days should be plenty good enough

 

[teslacoils]

It's good gear unless you have to pay for it. If you have to pay, you'll moan about missed bits and them not turning up on time.

 

[Top Tip.]

Is that from Ardersier? Or the Whisky one?

Whisky

 

[Zippy768]

Offered some last year. Accepted for pre osr drilling. Don't think it made a difference to what did and didn't make to a crop. Applied well and even cultivated up and levelled their headland runs.

Glad I didn't accept any for the spring. Timeliness was my main worry. Would had been a nightmare.

Gonna stick to the in-house fert

 

[Luke Cropwalker]

They are talking ten ton to the acre at £5 a ton is that reasonable?

Do you have an analysis of the digestate and is that a spread price?

 

[Top Tip.]

Do you have an analysis of the digestate and is that a spread price?

I don’t have an analysis. That is a spread price.

 

[DaveGrohl]

and you will still find sweetcorn in it ........

Does it smell of asparagus?

 

[Luke Cropwalker]

I don’t have an analysis. That is a spread price.

They should be able to give you an analysis, if they are reluctant then I would run a mile.

 

[Top Tip.]

They should be able to give you an analysis, if they are reluctant then I would run a mile.

I don’t think getting the analysis will be a problem the feed stock will be mostly distillery byproducts . There’s a choice of liquid or solid , would the solid need to be ploughed in?

 

[deleted user 837354]

I don’t think getting the analysis will be a problem the feed stock will be mostly distillery byproducts . There’s a choice of liquid or solid , would the solid need to be ploughed in?

Does the material smell or is it being applied at hefty doses? If it's not too offensive or you don't have locals to worry about then spreading materials on the surface and allowing the worms to do the rest is a legitimate approach. I've known people do this with (well rotted/turned/heaped up, mind) dung before and it doesn't hurt the crop in any way.

 

[deleted user 837354]

From WRAP (full document attached). Seeing that the retention time is normally 30 to 50 days, blackgrass kill in Mesophillic AD (MAD) in 5 days should be plenty good enough

I incubated seeds in digestate held at 40 degrees in an incubator for several weeks and found that the seeds largely died very quickly, certainly within 7 days- just as your results there suggest. So blackgrass and docks, etc, likely not an issue if the process is carefully controlled. I guess it would be possible to send material into a secondary 'pot' for a time to give it more residence time before sending it to a lagoon?

 

[Luke Cropwalker]

I don’t think getting the analysis will be a problem the feed stock will be mostly distillery byproducts . There’s a choice of liquid or solid , would the solid need to be ploughed in?

Any organic manure applied to a growing crop does not need to be incorporated into the soil.

 

[Sandy]

I don’t think getting the analysis will be a problem the feed stock will be mostly distillery byproducts . There’s a choice of liquid or solid , would the solid need to be ploughed in?

Liquid will be more potent the fibre is better mixed in with cattle/pig dung