Testimonials
Thomas Todd, Wyndham Farm, Wigton, Penrith.
"There was no smell and after stirring for just half an hour bubbles were coming up through the slats."
The farm is 900 ft above sea level. One of the first dairy farms in the country to move from Friesians to Holsteins in the 1970’s, over the last 15 years he has gradually moved over to a herd of Montbelliard cattle.
"On deciding to build a new cow shed in 2010 with a 400,000 gallon slatted tank for the slurry, colleagues told me I would have major problems getting the slurry out. For the small cost of SlurryBugs I decided to treat the new tank. Getting the slurry out has been effortless. ?There was no smell and after stirring for just half an hour bubbles were coming up through the slats. This is a great result which I intend to make even better by making savings on fertiliser and still growing as much grass." (See picture to the right)
David Holt, Knightshulme Farm, Middlewich. 120 cow herd.
"The last fertiliser I bought was in 2007"
"We’ve found the inoculant is bringing real savings to the fertiliser bill- we make a total of 200 acres of grass silage and we’ve been able to reduce nitrogen applications by 75%. We are making savings in power because the slurry is better to handle; we used to aerate the slurry on a frequent basis, however that’s no longer required because the inoculant is helping to convert the solid material into a more spreadable liquid. For relatively little outlay and effort, we are making big savings and the inoculant is helping us to make more from our own natural resources and improve our farm’s future sustainability.
"Overall introducing bugs to the slurry has led to huge savings. Farmers that don’t have the courage to do what I did should treat their slurry and just try 20 acres with less fertiliser. If the cows are fed on a reasonably high input system, then there are enough nutrients in the slurry for the bugs to capture nitrogen and the other important nutrients. It is possible to do as I did and cut back the fertiliser by 2/3rds from the start, you will never know unless you try."
David Holt spent £9720 (40 tonnes at £243/tonne Ammonia Nitrate) on fertiliser in 2007.
Since then he has used SlurryBugs and saved £9122.50 per year by cutting out the cost of bought-in fertiliser.
Robert and Nick Pocock, Idson farm, Stringston, Somerset. 300 cow herd. Ave yield 8,500 litres.
"Palatability of the grass has improved"
"The SlurryBooster automated system has reduced my bought in fertiliser costs significantly. The concept of the fully maintained and serviced automated system means our large pit, which is scraped into every day, is inoculated all the time giving much better results. There is also a noticeable improvement in the palatability of the grass following spreading."
Mr Phillips of Trebared Farm, Cardigan
"I have used no fertiliser on my maize crop since using SlurryBugs"
“We used to apply 50kg/acre ammonium phosphate down the spout, and a further 50kgs N units/acre top dressing. However since we’ve applied the inoculated slurry to the maize fields over the last six years, we’ve realised that we’re able to grow a high quality maize crop without any purchased fertiliser. The real value of Slurrybugs can be seen with my maize which I grow using only slurry. All fields this year produced 20 tonnes per acre with the best at 34% Dry Matter, 36% starch and the lowest 30% dry matter and 26% starch. Now it is even more important to preserve the nurtrients in the slurry and save on fertilizer costs."
"We can now depend totally on slurry for N,P and K. We are confident that the inoculated slurry is helping to improve the soil’s residual N and we are also taking samples of soil for analysis for P and K indexes which are being maintained at between 2 and 3.”
“I only need to stir every 3rd emptying which means the nitrogen stays in the slurry instead of being lost as ammonia. We’ve saved on labour and fuel and we now have a slurry that lends itself to injection – it’s consistent and in spreadable form. In addition, odour has been naturally reduced. We’re aware that the bugs have helped to increase the slurry’s N content and we’ve made instant savings to the fertiliser bill; we’ve cut back on bagged nitrogen by 25 units N/acre across 200 acres of silage swards, I’m also aware from our silage analysis that sugar content has consistently improved.”
Stuart Shepherd, Moons Farm, Nr Preston, Lancashire. 250 cows.
"Smells have reduced since using SlurryBugs"
"My large underground tanks used to be difficult to pump out due to crusting. Having used SlurryBugs for 8 years the tanks have since stayed liquid making them easy to pump, there is little or no ammonia smell and the nutrients in the slurry have helped yield excellent crops. Over this time SlurryBugs has become art of my farm system. I initially introduced the inoculant to improve the slurry’s consistency, but since then crusting and separation have ceased to be a problem and agitation has been minimised bringing savings in time, labour and fuel."
If you would like to speak to someone in your area who is using SlurryBugs, give us a call on 01772 860085.
A photo of Mr Todd's slatted tanks at emptying time, overflowing with bubbling, oxygenated slurry
