Photo: Collected
A new system to treat animal waste from dairy farms is promising
to cut river pollution and costs for farmers.
Coleg Sir Gâr Gelli Aur college farm in Carmarthenshire has been
turning slurry into solid agricultural fertiliser that is cheaper than imported
counterparts.
The technology also filters the waste to the point where it can become used by the farm as a clean water source.
After five years in development, the process is ready to be
rolled out commercially on farms across Wales. John Owen, from the Tywi farm nutrient partnership, said
slurries are difficult and costly to store safely. They contain phosphates, a pollutant that can kill fish and
aquatic life. Early data suggests the process cuts phosphates by 90%.
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"It concentrates the liquid slurry nutrients into solid
form," he explained. "A lot of farms will be able to export the solid
nutrients or use them on their own land as fertilisers."
It could give farmers added income at a time of dramatic
increases in the cost of agricultural fertilisers and water shortages.
It is even being tested as a possible drinking source for livestock. The process sees the remaining waste filtered through a series of reed bed ditches, leaving water now being used to wash down yards and clean equipment.
"[The process] purifies the water into a quality clean
enough for cows to drink," Mr Owen said.
The development team was supported by Welsh government grants,
European funding and a range of commercial companies.
Mr Owen said the system was now up and running on Gelli Aur college farm, near Llandeilo, and could be rolled out on other farms at any time.
"Our commercial partners are already talking to a number of
farmers about implementing the process," Mr Owen said.
"But we also want to explore the possibility of localised treatment hubs so not only the medium to large scale farmers could take advantage, but some of the smaller farms as well." See details.
|Source: Online/SZK
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