More nitrogen from LESS slurry

At this time of the year, reports emerge about new words that have been added to dictionaries or new words that have gained everyday usage over the previous 12 months. Brexit was one such word in 2016. In farming terms, LESS will be the new phrase of 2019.

Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) is now in every day use. The term refers to the way slurry is spread.

The days are numbered for the traditional splashplate. New equipment such as trailing shoes and dribble bars reduce ammonia losses. They do this by placing the slurry in narrow lines close to the surface of the field. This reduces the slurry's exposure to wind and sun which in turn reduces ammonia losses by an average of 30%.

This simple mechanism is one of the ways Ireland is going to overcome the ammonia problem. Agriculture accounts for 98% of the ammonia emitted in Ireland. Ammonia emissions cause a reduction in air quality and Ireland has exceeded it's limit for ammonia emissions.

At the Teagasc National Dairy Conference earlier this month, Teagasc advisor William Burchill explained that there's an increased availability of nitrogen in slurry when that slurry is spread with LESS equipment. The increase is to the tune of on average three extra units of nitrogen per 1,000 gallons of slurry.

Most of the increased availability of nitrogen is in the summertime, when nitrogen losses through ammonia would be highest, but there are still benefits to using LESS in spring.

He said that on average a cow will produce about 1,200 gallons of slurry over a 16-week winter. With 100 cows, 150,000 gallons of slurry would be produced. If this slurry was spread with LESS equipment in spring 1,305 units of nitrogen (equivalent to 2.4t of CAN) would be supplied compared with only 495 units of nitrogen supplied if a splashplate was used in summertime.

He suggested replacing 23 units/acre of chemical nitrogen in the first application with 2,500 gallons/acre of nitrogen spread with LESS equipment on a portion of the farm.

Of course, it's not correct to say this extra nitrogen efficiency comes for free. LESS equipment is more expensive to buy than traditional splashplate types and contractors charge more when spreading using LESS techniques.

However, the extra cost is offset by higher nitrogen efficiency and by the fact that slurry can be spread on fields with higher grass covers allowing for earlier turn around time between spreading and subsequent grazing.

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