Effective manure management

Diss Monitor Farm meeting

Using manures, sewage sludge and composts to boost organic matter on your farm works in many ways but are we getting the most from their use?

Join Diss Monitor Farmer Richard Ling and Mel Holloway, ADAS, to discuss getting the best return from manures: effective placement in field using soil and manure testing results, calculating the financial value of manure and staying on the right side of regulation.

What is the best way of using straw on-farm - to chop or remove and replace with muck?  What is the effect on soil biology, the need to lime, the link with drainage and black-grass?  Join us for the discussion.

Speakers and topics

• Mel Holloway, ADAS: manure management, use and regulations

Programme

• Registration and sandwhich lunch
• Welcome and introduction: Teresa Meadows, AHDB
• Farm update: Richard Ling, Diss Monitor Farmer
• Manure management and effective use of organic matter amendments: Mel Holloway, ADAS
• Where to employ variable rate manure utilisation at Rookery Farm? Group discussion
• Refreshment break
•  Boosting organic matter in my system using manures: farmer speaker - TBC
• Collaboration opportunities with local livestock farmers: Nerys Wright, AHDB
• Meeting summary and close: Teresa Meadows, AHDB
• Depart

Diss Monitor Farm

Richard Ling farms 400 ha on varied soil types from sandy loam to heavy clay loams. His arable rotation, on 380 ha, includes wheat, oilseed rape, winter barley for feed or spring malting barley. The farm employs one full time member of staff and casual labour when required. Richard mainly operates a min-till system but assesses each field based on soil health. The farm also has a beef finishing unit for Morrisons, aiming to finish 150 British Blues per year; business and residential lets; and a self-storage business. Richard’s ambition is to carry on building a resilient and profitable farming business, with a good work-life balance for all. Through being a monitor farmer, Richard is keen to learn with others and better understand the industry and the challenges facing it.