Farm Composting Made Easy

Farm Composting Made Easy

Composting is not a regular farm activity. Conventional farmers get nutrients from chemicals and through crop rotations, as well as spreading dung from their livestock enterprises, should they have them. Organic farmers, who are forbidden the use of chemical fertilisers, have to rely entirely on crop rotations and mixed farming systems which produce quantities of dung and farm yard manure. Composting, the accelerated rotting of organic material, is mostly associated with smallholders and allotment keepers.

Full scale farmers are finding compost a good source of soil nutrient, and a wonderful soil conditioner. Composting dung and farm yard manure produces something far more beneficial than fresh or rotted dung. Material such as straw, green waste from council collection, waste from vegetable and fruit growing and processing, this and more can be converted into compost. Apart from its value to farmers, there's an increasing commercial market, created by the future ban imposed on the digging and use of peat. In the next two years, the horticultural industry will be searching for a substitute to go in the pots of bedding and other plants.

Composting is set to become far more main stream than at present.

• Farmers and advisors are recognising that the condition of soils is deteriorating, both on arable and grassland. Soil is losing organic matter. The contribution of farm yard manure, or cattle slurry, is a fraction of what happens when the manure is turned into compost. The elements of phosphate and potash are both made more accessible to plants, and the compost makes a big improvement in soil structure, leading to increased worms and other biological activity.
• The rising cost of chemical fertilisers is making compost and other natural sources of plant nutrients increasing valuable, and therefore popular. 

The current issue of Practical Farm Ideas magazine features a home built compost turner - one which would suit a farm with up 600 acres. The project requires:

• general workshop skills, 
• parts which can be sourced locally for scrap metal prices - the main component is a heavy duty lorry axle.
• a week or less of work  

So instead of starting the farm composting with a substantial investment in a machine to turn and aerate the material - it's a tedious and poorly done job using a loader and bucket  - a turner can be made with a few components and a few days in the workshop. The machine we feature has turned 25,000 cu metres over the last few years, and has the ability to turn more. 

The home built compost turner uses an adapted lorry rear axle and drive shaft to turn the windrow of compost

   

The PT 170 composter is a significant farm investment 

Soil with low organic content, few worms, little biological activity

This soil is has been managed differently, with plenty of organic material resulting in a high worm count and good water retention

As chemical fertilisers become increasingly expensive, farmers who are wanting to reduce costs and save money will be turning to ideas such as compost and other methods to improve the fertility of their land through biology rather than chemistry. 

Building a compost turner in the workshop is the kind of project which will pay huge dividends over the next few years. The home made machine can be replaced by something bigger and more costly when composting experience is gained. 

Click HERE for more information on the home built machine

Further info:

Practical Farm Ideas is a good source of information on reduced tillage systems. There's a feature on Cover Cropping in Vol 22-1 which we forecast will become "The Next Farm Revolution', because it answers so many of today's problems: declining soil condition; increasing inputs especially of diesel, fertiliser and pesticides; increasing need for heavy expensive machinery; reduction in habitat for birds, wildlife and insects. The magazine is so enthused by the topic of cover cropping the next issue has a further feature that shows how a 3,000 acre Midlands farmer has made the conversion, has got rid of his big machines such as the Caterpillar Challenger 875C (which could use 120 litres of diesel/hr towing the Simba Solo), the John Deere 8530, and now does the whole farm with a couple of 240hp tractors, and at a push says he could do it with just one.

A subscription will ensure you receive this interesting farm publication through the post.

Mike Donovan

editor, Practical Farm Ideas

11 St Mary's St, Whitland, Carmarthenshire, SA34 0PY  T: 01994 240978

28 Brampton St, Ross on Wye, Herefordshire HR9 7EQ   T: 01989 218268

T:  01994 240978       M: 07778 877514 

www.farmideas.co.uk     editor@farmideas.co.uk   Twitter: @farmideas    

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Bovine TB moves up a gear - to the concern of all involved

New figures published today show an increase of 9.6 per cent in cattle slaughtered for TB in England, which has now reached a figure of 38,010. It provokes a number of serious concerns.

To summarise the problem:  The cost of compensation to the taxpayer rises as the costs in the following categories:

1. The compensation paid to farmers

2. Costs of testing - vet visits to farms etc

3. Costs of badger and other wildlife controls

Added to this is the cost to the farmer of lost sales of cattle and milk interruption, plus the costs of herding for testing, and associated weight losses. 

Thorny question of agricultural wage controls

 NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond is firmly behind the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board saying "Removing this separate structure seems entirely consistent with modern notions of workers' rights, industrial relations and business management." 

He says few farm workers receive the minimum.....   

Cleaning machinery prevents spread of seed and animal disease

Taking unwashed machines from one farm to another risks spreading disease

Moving farm machinery from one county to another, from one farm to another farm, or even from one field to the next field, has the real possibility of transferring seeds and diseases that can affect both plants and animals. How easy it is to finish one job, pack the harvester or spreader for transport, and drive off down the road to the next farm - or load the machine onto a truck or trailer and move it hundreds of miles to the next farm which needs the service. 

Winter work on grassland will pay dividends

Some timely ideas for grassland farmers to think of doing now

A 'Think Piece' Blog:  Traditional grass management involves doing nothing over the winter months. Farmers wait until the soil warms up in the spring, when fertiliser is applied and the roller and the chain harrow get their annual outing. This Blog suggests that farmers who forget about their grassland over the winter are missing a trick. There's plenty of planning, and also when conditions are right some field work which will pay dividends in the following season.

Winter is the time for livestock farmers to plan the next season's grazing. Six months from now cattle and sheep will be getting much if not all their feed from the grass you grow, and the more pre-season preparation you can do the better grass production will result. Stock will grow, gain condition and provide financial returns on low cost grazing. 

What areas of the grazing need to be checked, and what can I do about it in the cold winter months?

Reducing cow feed costs by up to 10%

Feeding cattle is a skilled job

Many farmers get 'the boy' to do the feeding. He doesn't mind doing it - it's mechanical and not hard work. Neither is it too complicated. He can do it unsupervised. Unlike milking, where a mistake can lead to a disaster, feeding has fewer pitfalls.  So milking is seen as the most important work on the dairy farm, and even in a beef unit. feeding is often a routine left for someone who's had little or no training. 

Think again. Feed is the most costly input in both milk and beef. The combined cost of bought in concentrates and feed materials, plus the home grown or bought in forage is greater than the cost of labour or anything else. 

Organic Farming Takes a Knock

FOR TWO DECADES and more farmers have been told that doing it organically is the only 'sustainable' way to farm. In the past few weeks I have read two reports which question the benefits of organic farming.  These are two high profile studies come from the most prestigious sources - the universities of Oxford in the UK and Stanford in the USA. Both have gained considerable media exposure, and they conclude that conventional farming isn't as bad as we've been told.

I conclude that organic farming is beneficial to all farmers, as it provides a premium market for all types of food that has the effect of providing an uplift for the food market as a whole.

Quad bike gets electronic locking

The New Issue of Practical Farm Ideas, Vol 21, issue 2, has been printed, mailed to subscribers and will be in selected rural stores from Thursday Aug 9. Click through here for details and to order 

Our cover story in this new issue helps farmers keep their quad bikes - and other machinery - on the farm and not part of an insurance claim for theft.

Quad bikes are so often left with their keys in the ignition. It means that Fred can use it and leave the bike for Jim. That the keys won't fall out of the pocket when chasing sheep. Or, if the bike is parked close to where you're working, there's no chance it will be nicked in broad daylight.

Scallies will cruise by and check to see if the keys are there,

Spotlight on The Dairy Crisis

The role of each party involved and why the minister might be deaf. 

A neighbouring dairy farmer dropped in yesterday...  "what can be done to get us out of this mess?" he asks. He's an efficient farmer, runs a herd of 140 cows with his son, and is very concerned about the milk price reductions due in August. 

I suggested farmers need to look at the components of the problem. What is the role of government? Of the farming unions as representatives of producers? Of milk buyers and, last but not least, the farmers themselves? Can farmers really expect Minister Jim Paice to order an increase in the milk price?

Practical Farm Ideas magazine helps farmers find new methods that improve efficiency. This blog shows how one farmer has gained real control over mastitis in his herd - with zero cases in 130 cows the year we visited him.

Home built back-flushing