This channel is all about how to produce food sustainably, thinking about different aspects of primary production. Topics will include crop nutrients, using organic manures as fertilisers and soil conditioners, and reducing emissions of ammonia and greenhouse gases from agriculture. Some videos will be aimed at farmers, agronomists, government advisors and agricultural students. Some useful BASIS and FACTS revision! Other videos will be more for home gardeners, small scale food production, and anyone interested in how food is produced.
Mary has been working in the field of environmental consultancy and sustainable land management for a long while now and is also FACTS qualified.
Hi I’m looking at a biogas plant in Australia. I’m wondering if I can use whole crop wheat barley and ryegrass silage or hay to run a plant. Also if the digestate is applied with the seeding of the next crop to aid in germination will the nitrogen losses be to great?
Hello, lady, I am writing to you from Algeria, and since you are specialized in the field of organic fertilizer and agriculture in general, I wanted to ask you. I planted plant seeds in a compost container without soil, and this compost was one I made 4 months ago. It is leftover vegetables, cow and sheep dung, and sawdust, but when I planted it, it did not flower at all. Is it because there is compost without dirt? Then I returnedI played the ball again and added dirt. I am waiting for the result. Please explain this matter to me. Thank yo
Hi. Thanks for your question. Generally, because of its chemical properties such as its high nutrient density and high electrical conductivity, compost used alone is too powerful for sowing seeds. Mixing it with a low nutrient content material such as soil will reduce the concentration of nutrients. Here is an example of making a growing medium from garden compost: www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/how-to-make-your-own-potting-mix
Hello Mary, This is very helpful, thank you. I am looking to blend manure, biochar and microorganisms in a fermentation machine to produce organic fertiliser. I am looking for guidance, mentorship, tutoring in this area, can you please point me in the right direction?
@@sustainablefoodproduction3213 Hello Mary, good to hear back from you. I am based in Kasese District, Uganda, East Africa. I work with a group of farmers and we are looking to overcome the vicious cycle of inorganic fertilizer usage by switching to organic fertilizers
Thank you Joe. Looking forward to having the updates please. I think the yields were increasing with the increasing biochar because it served as an absorber of nutrients slowly releasing it back for plant uptake.
This is excellent. Thanks for the simplified lecture. Is what is the difference between Total Ammonium Nitrogen TAN and RAN? Also, how can one calculate TAN AND RAN?
Hi Francis. Thanks for your question. RAN or Readily Available Nitrogen (i.e. ammonium-N, nitrate-N and uric acid-N) is the nitrogen that is potentially available for rapid crop uptake. You need to have the digestate analysed for these (uric acid only needed for poultry manure). You would then add the analysis values together to get the total RAN. There is more information in RB209: ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/rb209-section-2-organic-materials
Hi. Check out my digestate use in horticulture video for different ways that you may be able to use your digestate. Also, do you have any neighbouring farmers who may be interested to use it?
Hi mam.. Very informative... Which is best practice for agricultre, using the digested slurry as whole or seprated liquer and fibre.... Could you please explain?
Hi. Thanks for your question. In the UK some AD sites separate the digestate into solid and liquid fractions and others use it whole. Farmers can apply the liquid digestate using one of the low emission spreading options I mention in my other video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G_ANE0hPdYQ.html Generally the solid digestate is applied to land using the same equipment as for manure.
Really informative video Thank u I’m currently setting up an anaerobic digester on farm to treat and utilise the bi product of piggery waste My video series is very poor”only new on RU-vid and just a farmer” But my question is.. if I am going to heat the digestate to boiling point (in order to remove pathogens) prior to anaerobic conditions will this affect the bacteria needed for methane production?
Hi. In the UK there are specific pasteurisation rules (time/temperature/particle size etc) for animal by-products. Some UK AD sites pasteurise in a separate unit before the AD and some after. Worth checking the rules in your country to see what is required. The main AD vessel will have the bacteria in, so adding a small amount of new feedstock which has been pasteurised and cooled should not influence the digester bugs too much. (of course provided that the feedstock type is the same as what is already in the digester, and it sounds like pig slurry is your thing, so more of the same). AD sites often inoculate the digester to start up the bacteria. Good luck with your project!
Hi Adam. Thanks for your question. I checked with Joe Newton, and his response was: 'with all the pots, there was an activation period of up to 5 days before planting any beetroot. In terms of the biochar itself, when discussing activation and pre-inoculation with the provider at TerrAffix Soil Solutions, he said that it was semi activated'.
Hi Sanjay. Interesting question. In the UK most of the digestate is applied to agricultural land. Some crop-based digestates are starting to be used in horticulture, including home gardening - check out my video on this for more details: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q5-Pm_1R4Wc.html
Great fertilizer. There are things inside slurry ... you will need a lot of cash to buy them. I use bioslurry for 4 years now on olive orchards in Greece. i imagine that slurry increased the biodiversity in my soil because i don't have verticillium problems the last 2 years.i lower my fertilizer use and my costs . I want to filter it so i can apply it with foliar applications now.
Hi Stathis. Many thanks for sharing your experience. Yes farmers in the UK also see the fertiliser value of the digestate, especially now that fertiliser prices are increasing a lot. A UK study also showed a reduction in verticillium when digestate was used, in strawberries* - here's the full report: projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Research%20Papers/Horticulture/SF%20157_Report_Annual_2016.pdf *Note that as per the video you always need to check the regulations for digestate use in your country.
Hi. There is some information for UK ammonia emissions including from livestock housing and slurry storage in this report: uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat09/1903141332_UK_Agriculture_Ammonia_Emission_Report_1990-2017.pdf
Hi, thanks for your comment. The photo you see in this video at 3 minutes, 20 seconds is the separated solid digestate fibre. I have more photos of the solid in my DH01 video - link here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q5-Pm_1R4Wc.html at 6 minutes 30 secs and also at 11 minutes 30 secs. The appearance and colour of the separated solid fibre do vary depending on the feedstock and the separation system. More photos here: www.fullcirclegrowing.co.uk/bio-mulch
Very good informative but missing a huge opportunity for benefiting the environment and reducing farmers costs at the same time. the only benefit of a cover over slurry is to reduce the dilution effect and increase in volume of dirty water .Therefore slurry needs a roof not a cover .
Hi Jon. Thanks for your comment. For impermeable covers, the rainwater remains on top of the store/lagoon cover and can be collected as clean water, hence reducing the total volume of slurry to be spread. More details in video S2.
I work with dairy farmers to reduce their environmental impact via stabilising volatile gasses such as ammonia by treating slurry with an additive (Plocher) product from Germany which is a catalyst which switches the sorry to becoming aerobic which then results in the production of Carbonic acid which stabilises the ammonia as ammonium .I have used an ammonia meter to test the off gassing of treated slurry and found only low levels of Ammonia form 5 to 12 Ppm and this was while stirring the slurry.When applying this slurry to the field there is no off gassing and therefore the need to inject or trailing shoe is nullified along with the need to cover the slurry and or encourage a crust which results in further production of Ammonia as the slurry becomes anaerobic. The reduction in fertiliser Nitrogen is possible as the slurry contains available N in the form of Ammonia as well as organic N which is broken down slowly throughout the following season.The slurry becomes a homogenous mixture which results in an even spread across the land which can then be balanced accurately with additional fertiliser applied .The results are a total environmental gain with little or no loss of volatile gasses to the environment, and a reduction in fossil fuel use the apply the slurry and a further environmental benefit when the famed reduces his fertiliser nitrogen purchases which is probably the biggest environmental gain as Nitrogen fertilise rmanafacture and use is very inefficient resulting huge damage to the ozone layer lasting for 114 years .
@@sustainablefoodproduction3213 Hi There and thank you for the interest and being open to other concepts. Yes Plocher did some research in Kingshay and if i can have an email i may be able to find it as they charged me £50 to access it.I also want to ontroduce you to Agriton and Andrew Sinnock who is going to get in touch with you .He is promoting Bokashi in the UK as a method of fermenting slurry and manure which stabilises Ammonia and as the policy for covering slury pits is already established in England his additions of bugs and fungi will work in Anaerobic situations which Plocher won,t and so for England and covered slurry pits this is the product to use . Agriton have similar research carried out at Kingshay . With best wishes for a better environment and cleaner air and water . Cheers Jon thesoilexpert.co.uk
Hello Mary! very informative videos! 7:55 why the deep injection is not suitable for dry and high clay soil (>35%)? is it because of the immobilization of ammonium? at least is not lost via volatilization of ammonia!
Hi Alejandro. Thanks for your comment. I have discussed this with a few equipment providers and farmers who spread slurries and digestates, to be sure to understand from all angles the limitations of deep injection in heavy clay soils. Several farmers who apply organic manures mentioned that when clay soil is very dry, it tends to have deep cracks which may be more than a metre deep, and so slurry or digestate applied via deep injection could potentially run down through these cracks into land drains and ultimately into ground water. Tramspread highlighted that for deep injection high hose power is needed, high diesel usage, high wear and tear and hence high running costs, in combination with a low work rate. So when the soil is heavy clay and potentially also dry, all of these factors will be exacerbated. One farmer thought that maybe the injector would not get in deep enough if the soil is too hard, and hence more ammonia could be released, or the injector could rip up lumps of clay soil.
Hi Alejandro. Tom Misselbrook, expert on ammonia emissions from agriculture also had some thoughts on your question: 'My understanding is that deep injection is predominantly restricted to application to arable land pre-sowing of crops. The mechanical damage occurring means that use on grassland or growing arable crops can result in significant yield reductions. It may be suitable for wider spaced row crops (e.g. maize) depending on machine design. I’m not sure of the restriction regarding dry soils, but may be associated with the additional soil mechanical damage that could occur. With high clay content soils, the restrictions may similarly be to do with additional soil structural damage, the creation of preferential pathways for pollutant transfer to water, and the additional power required for the operation. If the clay soils have existing drainage network, then there is also risk of direct transfer of slurry to drainage channels'.
