Trailing Shoe Slurry Spreading at Greenmount
Martin Mulholland, Greenmount Campus
Slurry from housed livestock in Northern Ireland has a fertilizer value of £20 million as it contains valuable sources of plant nutrients in the form of Nitrogen, Potash and Phosphate. The method and timing of slurry spreading dictates how successfully these nutrients are used by the growing crop whether grass or arable. Spreading slurry using systems such as the Trailing Shoe can improve the utilization of slurry nitrogen and maintain high rates of grass growth. This is particularly important where inorganic fertilizer application levels are limited under the Nitrates Directive.
Trailing Shoe Slurry Spreading
Recent research at AFBI, Hillsborough has demonstrated that spreading slurry using a Trailing Shoe slurry tanker increases the utilization of nitrogen by up to 25 percent compared to conventional splash plate application systems. The resultant saving in fertilizer costs is worth up to £16 per hectare depending on application rate. This new technology has been adopted as management policy on the Greenmount Campus dairy unit to increase nitrogen utilization from slurry and reduce fertilizer costs. Additional benefits of the technology include:
- A wider window of opportunity to apply slurry before and between silage cuts,
- Opportunities to utilize slurry in grazing systems without tainting the grazing sward,
- Reduced smell from slurry spreading, and
- A less visible operation in the countryside
Local Demonstrations
Demonstrations of Trailing Shoe slurry application technology are planned at a range of locations across Northern Ireland over the coming weeks at: Greenmount, Newtownards, Donaghcloney, Markethill, Hilltown, Ballymoney, Dungiven, Cookstown and Brookeborough. Contact your local Dairying Development Adviser for further details.
Slurry being spread by Trailing Shoe at Greenmount Campus following first cut silage harvested at the beginning of May