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U.K. Update: Most manure, slurry broadcast spread, says report
May 24, 2024
By Manure Manager
The Scottish Agricultural Census, conducted June 2023, has been summarized in a new report. The Census covers soil cover, tillage, irrigation and nutrient management.
Among the key findings: most operations separate applications of slurry (the common term for liquid manure in the U.K.) and mineral fertilizer, and most manure and slurry are broadcast spread.
By their own estimation, respondents said broadcast spreading with manure not ploughed in accounts for 43 percent of manure spread. Broadcast spreading with manure ploughed in after four hours accounts for 30 percent of manure spread on holdings. Other spreading techniques account for small amounts of the total spread.
The report emphasized that precision spreading techniques such as band spreading with trailing hoses and shoes – as opposed to broadcast spreading – can be beneficial in the sense of both nutrients and emissions. “Rapid incorporation of manure and slurry, following application onto fields, can also reduce ammonia emissions, and preserve nitrogen in the soil.”
Read the full census report here.
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