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Slurry has for many farmers become a difficult material to handle and
costly to apply. There are also the associated problems such as grazing resistance
following spring and summer spreading. Application to silage ground between
cuts has exacerbated poor fermentation leading to substandard winter fodder.
This has resulted in a very high proportion of valuable nutrients having to
be applied to crops other than grass(e.g. maize), at a time when most of the
benefits are being lost to the elements.
Research has shown that a typical dairy cow is capable of producing up to
£50 worth of Nitrogen per year, providing it can be applied at a time
when the crop is able to fully utilise it.
Research has been carried out by MAFF, ADAS and the Institute of Grassland
Research (IGER) making available very convincing technical data. This supports
the regulated use of slurry with specialist equipment throughout the growing
and grazing season.
Reports have shown that through injection grass production has increased and
'bought in' fertiliser costs have fallen. Added to this, the little and often
approach reduces the potential risk of 'run off' and eliminates the possibility
of water course contamination.
The injection of analysed slurry is the best way of making use of an under-utilised
resource, reducing the losses of valuable Nitrogen.
Tests show that if slurry is spread on the surface 40% of its ammonium nitrogen
content is lost to the atmosphere through volatilisation. This is important
because 40 - 60% of the total Nitrogen content in slurry is in the form of
ammonium nitrogen, so injection can result in considerable savings.
Slurry Injection also protects the environment by reducing both leaching (which
can lead to pollution of water courses) and volatilisation (which can contribute
to acid rain).
This technique reduces complaints from the public about smell, shallow injection
can decrease emissions by 50 - 60% and there are major advantages in terms
of less ground compaction.
