Bringing slurry management back to the farm and investing in two Vogelsang BackPac application systems has provided significant savings and whole system benefits to a Welsh dairy farm.
VJ Thomas & Son has invested in making the most of slurry as its dairy herd has expanded. The 2,500-acre operation is run from Pancross Farm, South Wales, and includes both grassland and arable crops.
A slurry separator and a 500kw biodigester have been installed to provide a liquid slurry that is pumped through a series of underground pipes to enable umbilical application on almost all of the farm’s fields.
“We make sure everything we apply is less than three percent dry matter. This enables us to pump it through five miles of underground pipes to hydrants where we can hook up the umbilical kit and apply it using our 24-metre Vogelsang BackPac dribble bar systems,” explains farm manager, Chris Hanks.
The slurry is tested on-farm using an Agros testing kit, and three times a year a sample is sent to Lancrop for greater analysis.
“We have been managing the whole process on farm, with help from our agronomist David Llewellyn, for three years. As the farm has grown it has become ever more important that we are agile too. Being coastal, our weather windows can be short and unpredictable so when conditions allow we need to be at full capacity straight away,” he says.
The land is split, with 800 acres set aside for silage, 600 acres for maize, 1000 acres for wheat and the remainder planted with either spring barley or stubble turnips.
“We put two applications of slurry on the wheat crop. The maize has one application pre-emergence and another at three-leaf stage. We apply to the grassland before first and second cut too, so spring can be a really busy period,” he says.
The farm operates a min till system and manages all field work apart from maize planting on-farm with a dedicated team operating a fleet of John Deere tractors. With four lagoons, the underground pipe system, four 4,000-gallon tankers, and two Winbag nurse tanks, slurry can be moved around fields quickly and efficiently.
“Setting up and investing in the infrastructure has been a challenge, but we have the right equipment now and it is working well. We tried using trailing shoe applicators, but the stony ground meant that the shoes were pulling up stones that were then a nuisance when mowing. The volume through the Vogelsang dribble bars is also better and it helps that our slurry has such a low dry matter,” he says.
Having such a well separated slurry has enabled the farm to pump 150-180 cubes per hour over distances of more than a mile.
“We have two people teams and two tractors. Both dribble systems are 24 metres wide. The latest Vogelsang BackPac is lightweight, which reduces soil compaction and has a headland management system so we are only applying slurry where it is needed,” he says.
Vogelsang’s BackPac design is centrally mounted on the tractor to reduce movement and improve accuracy. The arms fold quickly and neatly behind the tractor to make access to tighter spaces easier for operators.
“The BackPac has 300mm drop pipes which allow the slurry to travel 150mm each way, so there is no crop striping or banding. Some applicators are 500mm so there is a gap in the middle that doesn’t get the benefit of the slurry,” he adds.
Forage production is a major concern for the farm which operates a multi cut silage system from which the first cut is fed to high yielding cows all year round. Subsequent cuts are clamped separately and fed to lower yielding, dry cows and youngstock.
“First cut is really important to us. We use an Italian rye mix and graze the leys with sheep over winter. We start by N-Min testing silage ground, then apply slurry and some fertiliser to top up the soil nutrients that can be made plant available,” he says.
Following this, and three to four weeks before harvesting the first cut, the farm uses SmartGrass to boost the gibberellic acid (GA3) which increases the cell wall thickness of the plant.
“The last application is Physiocrop, which provides additional amino acids to the grass to mitigate against stress,” he adds.
The grass leys are sometimes only down for a year due to the rotation requiring fields for maize. This means grass follows wheat and is sometimes pulled out after just nine months later to accommodate maize.
“We have a John Deere forager with Harvest Lab that provides us with data to help maximise protein, dry matter and yield. From this we have been able to utilise slurry more efficiently and manage our input costs more carefully too,” he says.
Applying slurry at varying times for the crops in the rotation has an added benefit of making best use of the farm’s tractor fleet and its workforce. Having brought slurry management back to the farm, Mr Hanks is convinced that it has been an agronomic and operational benefit to the whole business.
“Slurry application provides vital hours of work for our staff and makes better use of the fleet too. Having the best applicators helps us to make best use of a valuable natural resource, and the applicator technology is distributing it to the soil where it can be absorbed and its nutrients made available to the crop,” he says.
More machinery inevitably means more to go wrong, and Mr Hanks is aware of the responsibility the team has to maintaining the equipment.
“Finding parts can be tricky, but some suppliers like Vogelsang have a UK parts department that can get us what we need off the shelf, rather than having to wait for imports. This is a big help, because if we need to apply slurry, we can’t be waiting weeks or months,” he says.
Wales has not seen the same grants made available for slurry management as England, which is currently benefiting from both the Slurry Infrastructure Grants and the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF).
“We have made our own investments, which have been significant but thoroughly worthwhile. Taking responsibility for slurry management and application has been a steep learning curve but it has reduced our costs and is improving our soils,” he says.
Longer term the farm is looking to address its phosphate levels by reducing phosphates and better managing its slurry.
“We are looking at three systems to extract phosphate and there is the potential to use polymer extraction that binds to the phosphate in order to remove it from the slurry and digestate. This will then enable phosphate management across the farm to build on the nutrient plans we have in place,” he says.
With or without grants, Pancross Farm is committed to making best use of its slurry and managing its soil health to optimise crop production and create a sustainable farming system.
“We are on track to see both crop and milk yields rise and, going forward, we have the reins to manage what some see as a problem, but we know is an asset,” concludes Mr Hanks.