Straw for muck - allocation of costs within a business

[l'ordinary bonville]

What will everyone else do when EA say you can't spread pig or poultry muck or any slurries in the autumn?

 

[teslacoils]

Spread it on ahead of osr, or onto growing grass, subject to closed seasons. There's not much grass around here, so I'll happily take fym etc and I'll only charge £5/t for it to be delivered.

 

[Brisel]

What will everyone else do when EA say you can't spread pig or poultry muck or any slurries in the autumn?

Look again at the agronomic justification for certain crops to receive autumn N eg. after oats with chopped straw, osr, grass, no till, cover crops

 

[l'ordinary bonville]

Look again at the agronomic justification for certain crops to receive autumn N eg. after oats with chopped straw, osr, grass, no till, cover crops

I'm thinking slurry/muck then a winter cover crop.

Stores N and carbon in balance for the next crop and long term biology of the soil.

Pity is the guidance doesn't recommend N for a cover crop because why would you?? Why would you pay for bagged N but yet you might have the perfect chance to utilise organic N

 

[peachmelba]

So I bale my organic straw and then sell it for composting for the production of mushroom compost.

I then take the money and buy in PAS100. I reckon that I need to put on at least 4 ton for every 1 ton I take off the land to make it stack. PAS100 is currently around the £14.50 per ton delivered.

With the Cattle I used to have I kept the straw production and muck production separate. I.e. I sold the straw to the Cattle enterprise at market rate and then bought the muck back. Only way to be sure that costs were allocated in the correct percentage.

It is very hard to calculate especially when you start adding in cover crops like stubble turnips, etc.. Finger in the air is the best solution..

 

[Brisel]

I'm thinking slurry/muck then a winter cover crop.

Stores N and carbon in balance for the next crop and long term biology of the soil.

Pity is the guidance doesn't recommend N for a cover crop because why would you?? Why would you pay for bagged N but yet you might have the perfect chance to utilise organic N

I'd try an argue that the cover crop will store the N for you but at that time of year biomass growth is low and N use efficiency from ammonia/urea/nitrate containing manures is going to be low - far lower than bagged fertiliser. I'd play the organic matter angle rather than the nitrogen one but it's the nitrate leaching and ammonia volatilisation that the EA are going to focus on.