Digest-it® now a key part of the slurry management system used on North West beef unit

He finishes 100 top quality Continental-bred bullocks annually with weanlings bought-in during January/February period which are either finished off grass or in the house the following winter.

There are three slatted sheds on the Stewart farm, providing a total of 100,000 gallons’ slurry storage capacity.

David is keen to maximise the value of the slurry available to him. He also wants access to the slurry in a way that reduces the amount of agitation and mixing required.

“If at all possible, I plan to get slurry out in February with an umbilical system.The less time required to mix the tanks obviously saves time and money but, it also minimises the stress on the cattle when all of this activity is taking place.”

Following discussions with his local United Feeds’ representative Andrew McMenamin, David started adding Digest-it®, amicrobial slurry inoculant to his slatted tanks at the beginning of the housing period in 2021 and he has used the product each winter ever since.

“The driver for meto useDigest-it®was to reduce the time required to mix slurry in the spring,” David explained.

“And it works tremendously well in meeting this requirement even though the cattle on the farm tend to produce very thick slurry, which was difficult to mix.

“Over the past two years, I have found that adding the product to the tanks at the start of the housing period significantly reduces the agitation time required the following spring compared to before we had it.”

David concluded: “I have also noticed that there is much less smell associated with slurries treated with Digest-it®. One container of Digest-it® will inoculate 100,000 gallons of slurry, which makes its application a very straightforward job for me.

“Bottom line: the product works for me and I have it in the tanks for the third season.”

The potential of animal slurries as powerful soil conditioners, while also delivering important nutrients to crops, has long been recognised.

However, it has taken years of research and development in the field of microbiology to convert all this potential into true reality.

Digest-it®, now available from United Feeds Ltd, is a microbial inoculant that acts to increase nutrient recovery from slurry.

The additive also reduces ammonia emissions from slurry and grows more, higher quality grass, by improving soil health.

As well as being proven globally, the product has been trialled extensively in Ireland by for the past nine years. This work has confirmed that treated slurry will produce up to an additional 2t of grass dry matter per hectare, relative to that achieved when untreated slurry only is used.

At current prices, this is worth an additional £300/ha to the farmer.

United Feeds’ agronomist, Chloe Kyle,was a recent visitor to the Stewart farm.

She commented: “Digest-it® impacts positively on every aspect of soil health.

“Driving all of this is the ability for treated slurry to enhance soil earthworm numbers. This is at the very heart of achieving greater sustainability on farms.

“Earthworms act to improve soil structure. Their burrowing activities are key to improving aggregate formation within a soil profile.”

Chloe continued: “As farmers face-up to the challenge of lowering the carbon footprint of their enterprises and becoming more sustainable, they must seek to identify ways of maximising the resources generated within their businesses.

“Making best use of animal slurries is critically important in this context. It’s an approach that will allow farmers to grow more grass or produce the same amount with a reduced dependency on chemical fertilisers.”

She concluded: “Digest-it® will allow farmers to achieve one or other of these objectives in a very meaningful manner.”

Digest-it® comes in 20L drums: one drum will treat 100,000gallons of slurry. It takes 12 weeks for the slurry additive to generate its full effect, therefore the sooner it is added to slurry tanks the better. For more information, please call contact your local United Feeds representative, Call 02890759000 or email [email protected]