Land with excess copper?

Cmoran

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Galway Ireland
Friend of mine is having trouble with a farm he is renting it seems the land is poisoned from excess pig slurry over a number of years he lost a few sheep and got them tested showing up copper poisoning as the problem he has taken the farm on long term lease and is wondering what be best way to cure his problem? Ewes that are over 6 months on this farm tend to start failing in condition until moved to fresh ground. Ram lambs tend to fail after 1 month
 

PSQ

Member
Arable Farmer

The abstract mentions Calcium 'water treatment residue', raise the pH and lock up the copper, but then you'd run into issues with P&K availability???

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PSQ

Member
Arable Farmer
Plan B: If it's been in grass for years then take soil cores to 12", but split them in to 3 buckets - top 4", middle 4", bottom 4", and if the results come back as considerably more Cu in the top 4" ('stratified'), then plough to 12", or the topsoil depth, and dilute the copper concentration through the whole of the top soil layer.

We had a patch in a margin brought back into a field with a weird stunting effect on plants. Soil analysis showed a really high zinc concentration, and it turned out to be where the previous generation had bulldozed a fence line and burned it. Ploughed it a few times, you wouldn't know it was there.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Friend of mine is having trouble with a farm he is renting it seems the land is poisoned from excess pig slurry over a number of years he lost a few sheep and got them tested showing up copper poisoning as the problem he has taken the farm on long term lease and is wondering what be best way to cure his problem? Ewes that are over 6 months on this farm tend to start failing in condition until moved to fresh ground. Ram lambs tend to fail after 1 month

What’s the pH like? When we came here the pH in ever field was in the low 5’s. We limed everything at 2t/ac in year one. We also have high molybdenum, which locks copper up, inducing copper deficiency, even though copper levels in soil and forage aren’t desperately low. The liming made the effect of that molybdenum more of a problem (for us).

Supplying Molybdenum would perhaps sort your friend’s problem, either by making it more available by liming, or by supplementing from elsewhere?

Maybe another option would be to stock it with a breed of sheep that absorbs copper less readily. (UK & Irish) Suffolk’s and their crosses are notoriously poor at absorbing it, hence the constant shitty arses if they don’t get copper, whereas Texels will soak it up and die readily. I dare say there are other breeds that will cope with higher copper levels too, but I don’t know which.

Just a few thoughts.:)
 

Cmoran

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Galway Ireland
What’s the pH like? When we came here the pH in ever field was in the low 5’s. We limed everything at 2t/ac in year one. We also have high molybdenum, which locks copper up, inducing copper deficiency, even though copper levels in soil and forage aren’t desperately low. The liming made the effect of that molybdenum more of a problem (for us).

Supplying Molybdenum would perhaps sort your friend’s problem, either by making it more available by liming, or by supplementing from elsewhere?

Maybe another option would be to stock it with a breed of sheep that absorbs copper less readily. (UK & Irish) Suffolk’s and their crosses are notoriously poor at absorbing it, hence the constant shitty arses if they don’t get copper, whereas Texels will soak it up and die readily. I dare say there are other breeds that will cope with higher copper levels too, but I don’t know which.

Just a few thoughts.:)
The breds of sheep my friend runs are mayo mountain easycare and soay the soay are the only flock not affected by the problem
 

sheepdogtrail

Member
Livestock Farmer
I would recommend at least 5 soil and forage analysis done at various times of the year. That should get your friend to the point of being able to remedy the situation. All of that data should be presented to a nutritionist who should have the knowledge to sort it out.
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
What’s the pH like? When we came here the pH in ever field was in the low 5’s. We limed everything at 2t/ac in year one. We also have high molybdenum, which locks copper up, inducing copper deficiency, even though copper levels in soil and forage aren’t desperately low. The liming made the effect of that molybdenum more of a problem (for us).

Supplying Molybdenum would perhaps sort your friend’s problem, either by making it more available by liming, or by supplementing from elsewhere?

Maybe another option would be to stock it with a breed of sheep that absorbs copper less readily. (UK & Irish) Suffolk’s and their crosses are notoriously poor at absorbing it, hence the constant shitty arses if they don’t get copper, whereas Texels will soak it up and die readily. I dare say there are other breeds that will cope with higher copper levels too, but I don’t know which.

Just a few thoughts.:)
Moly. in connection with Sulphur as well looks like / less mentioned

good old fashioned slag had fair bit of Sulphur in it iirc. wouldve raised the ph as well.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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