Benefits of applying organic manures to agricultural landOrganic manures applied to agricultural land may be produced on the farm (slurries, farmyard manures and poultry manures) or supplied from other sources such as treated sewage sludges(biosolids) and other industrial ‘wastes’ such as composts, water treatment cake (WTC) and paper crumble.
Organic MatterAll of these organic manures, particularly solid manures, add useful amounts of organic matter to soils, acting as soil conditioners and structural improvers.
Organic matter is Defra’s key indicator of soil quality and its importance is stressed in the Cross Compliance Soil Protection Review completed by farmers in England in autumn 2006 and updated at the end of 2007 and 2008. It improves soil physical characteristics such as porosity which saves energy in cultivating heavy soils and also improves their natural drainage. It improves the water holding capacity on light soils, increasing drought resistance, and increases the microbial biomass (bacteria, fungi, earthworms etc) of all soils which helps to maintain soil fertility. The structural stability of soil is increased which reduces the risk of slumping, capping and soil loss by water erosion.
NutrientsOrganic manures can contain all of the essential major crop nutrients and trace elements. The nutrient content of each type of organic material varies somewhat, depending on the feedstock but the actual nutrient levels can be obtained from the supplier (envar). The plant nutrients in most organic manures are held in the soils fertility reserves and become available to plants slowly over time. The exact availability to plants depends on a range of environmental factors such as soil moisture, temperatures and biological activity.
Financial savingsIt doesn’t matter to a crop whether it gets its nutrients from a bag or from a dressing of organic manure – they are all the same nutrients to the crop. Therefore organic manures can help to substantially reduce the cost of purchasing bagged fertilisers, particularly phosphate and potash. Some organic materials, such as paper sludge/crumble, provide a significant neutralising value and are successfully used as a direct substitute for ground limestone whilst also providing other useful nutrients. To this should be added the unquantifiable benefits of the sulphur, magnesium and trace elements plus the possibly substantial improvements in soil fertility, crop yield and crop quality which the organic matter may contribute over time.
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