Don’t lose valuable slurry storage capacity

As the slurry spreading season has now come to pass, farmers have been urged to focus their attentions on clean water – particularly limiting its ingress into slurry stores or slatted tanks.

Year-in-year out, as Kilkenny-based Teagasc Dairy Advisor, Nigel Kennington explained on a recent episode of the Environmental Edge podcast, clean water ends up in the slurry stores on some farms, with the result being a more dilute, voluminous slurry, eating into valuable slurry storage capacity.

The priority now, Nigel explained, is keeping as much storage as you can. The starting point to achieving this is checking the condition and functionality of shoots and down pipes. Are they working sufficiently and are hanging right? Are they allowing clean water to enter your slurry stores? Are shoots large enough to catch the falling rain and prevent its entry into your slurry tanks? All three are key points farmers must answer in an effort to maximise storage capacity and prevent clean water entry.

Farmyard assessments

Farmyard assessments are also essential, with Nigel advising farmers to examine their yards to ensure clean water does not enter slurry stores. This, however, may prove difficult in some cases due to the topography factors, but options such as installing kerbing to divert clean water flow or minimising the area accessible by livestock maybe two mechanisms available to farmers.

Sufficient capacity

With the winter housing period fast approaching, Nigel also encouraged farmers to engage with their agricultural advisor to complete an assessment of their slurry storage capacity and to put a plan in place. Where sufficient capacity isn’t available – and time fast running out to remedy the situation through building additional stores – one option could be to examine the stock present and identify animals that may be sold before the winter starts.

Continuing on the topic of having sufficient slurry storage, Nigel reminded farmers that having capacity, along with a buffer to store slurry beyond the closed periods for their region, can actually prove positive in terms of farm profitability. This arises as farmers can apply the slurry at times when it will give an economic response in terms of grass growth, while also having the benefit of being applied in ideal conditions – an important aspect in protecting water quality. For farmers considering investing in additional slurry storage capacity, Nigel urged them to examine the options available under TAMS III and to assess the tax benefits of utilising accelerate capital allowances may bring to their businesses.

For more insights on the above, listen to the Environmental Edge podcast below where Nigel Kennington discusses the options at length with Cathal Somers, Teagasc Water Quality Specialist, and Deirdre Glynn, Teagasc Sustainability Advisor: