Making the most from muck
Having grown up on a dairy farm and worked in several other farming businesses, it wasn’t until Andrew Sincock moved into the commercial world, he began to appreciate the manure he’d been surrounded by in his former life. He shares what he’s learnt on Farming Focus™.
“My interest in organic manures started really when I joined Agriton. Of all the products they supplied, one really caught my eye and stood out as being very different, very interesting, very simple,” explained Andrew.
The importance of organic manures
A failure to complete the soil/plant/animal/waste cycle has impacted our soils according to organic manure advocate Andrew: “Our inability to effectively use and recycle organic manures has contributed to our declining soil health and soil fertility. So for me, the ability to put this so-called waste product back into the soil, where it can ultimately feed soil biology is huge.
“As farmers, we cannot continually mine the natural fertility of our soils that have built up over millennia. We have to replace them.”
The benefits of manure Andrew says are two-fold, impacting soil organic matter and soil structure.
“Adding organic manures to the soil, is a really good, easy, quick way of increasing soil organic matter. Soil organic matter increases water holding capacity, water infiltration rates,” he said.
And he suggests this water-holding capacity is critical to most farming systems, relating it to soil’s CEC – cation exchange capacity.
“It's like your phone battery. Doesn't matter how big it is, if it's 100% full, you could keep it plugged in all night, it's not going to take on any more juice. If your CEC is 100%, your soil is saturated with nutrients. Therefore, whatever you add to it additionally is going to disappear if it's not used straight away.
“So, it's almost always water-holding capacity. If you have poor soil health, you have an inability to hold on to moisture, it doesn't matter how much fertiliser you can apply. If you don't have any rain, you're not going to grow a crop.”
When it comes to soil structure, Andrew references research being done at Rothamsted by former podcast guest, Professor Andrew Neal, showing it’s the micro-organisms in soil, its soil biology, which builds good soil structure.
Farm Resilience: Does it start with the soil?
Comparing it to a pile of bricks needing a builder to become a home, Andrew described how it works: “Adding organic matter is one thing, and it's great. It adds structure to the soil, but it's the biology that then comes along and organises that structure in such a way that it can be used. It's not just as simple as applying loads of organic matter. It's allowing the biology the time to be able to organise it.”
He admits it’s not a quick fix.
“We've decreased our soil health, soil fertility in the last, say, 60, 70 years. It's going to take a long time to rebuild it. So, if you apply organic manures today, yes, you will see some benefit this year and some benefit the following year. But the truth is, most of those benefits probably won't be realised for a decade or two.”
Valuing the nutrients in organic manures
Andrew believes farmers need to change how they think about manure and see it as an asset: “The majority of farmers are not valuing their organic manures. And the reason being is the fact that it's a waste product. It's a byproduct of something else. So, until farmers can change their mindset and realise this manure that's coming out the back of the animal is valuable, I don't think they're ever going to value it properly.”
He recommends using AHDB’s nutrient management guide (RB209) to establish an average value for different types of manure, although suggests detailed analysis is definitely worth the time and financial outlay. He also encourages farmers to treat their manures in the same way as their bought-in fertiliser.
“Do you store your fertiliser in the corner of a field for six months, or do you build a shed to put it in? Of course, they all build a shed to put it in, yet we treat our organic manures very, very differently. And we shouldn't be, because they are just as useful, they're just as valuable, we just need to analyse them to be able to then appreciate their value.”
How to use organic manures
Andrew advises applying nutrients “where they’re needed, at the right time and in the right form”. For example, applying slurry with injections or dribble bars rather than splash plates.
And aware it’s somewhat controversial, he also advocates spring applications, rather than spreading in the autumn:
“What we should be doing is managing the organic manures through that winter period. So, when it comes to the spring, they're in a form that we can then apply and use when the crops are actively growing.”
Mindful of farmers’ reluctance or inability to store large amounts of slurry over winter or to invest in additional machinery, Andrew encourages a ‘do the best you can’ approach.
He also recommends looking for available funding, such as capital grants, or speaking to water companies or Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers, sharing examples of farmers benefitting from such schemes.
“We have sources of funding available to farmers. They're not going to pay for it all. They're going to help. But if you start valuing these organic manures, you will appreciate they have more value, and therefore, you'll be willing to spend a little bit of your own money to maximise their potential. It doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be expensive. It can be really, really simple.”
Organic manures take-home messages
- Think differently about organic manures. Rather than seeing them as a waste product, see them as an asset.
- Start by making incremental improvements; it’s about best endeavours, you don’t have to do it all at once.
- Everyone will be different but just try it, give it a go and create a safe-to-fail trial.
Listen to the full episode at https://www.cornishmutual.co.uk/news-advice/farming-focus-podcast/ - also available via Spotify and Apple podcasts.
Making manures matter – Andrew Sincock’s Nuffield Farming Scholarship
Building on his interest in organic manures, Andrew Sincock was awarded a 2023 Nuffield Farming Scholarship to study how the value of organic manure as fertiliser can be maximised, particularly through composting. He wanted to work out the best way to recycle, repurpose and reuse ‘free’ nutrients already on farm but often wasted.
Travelling through countries as diverse as New Zealand, Kenya, Chile, Japan, Qatar, Thailand and Belgium, Andrew concluded there’s no ‘one size fits all’ with composts and manures being largely context specific:
“What makes a good compost, to me, will be very different to another farmer. You know, for me, I might need soil structure, whereas another farmer might want yield. It's just making sure you use the right process in the right sort of situation to get the best results out of it.”
His time spent in Kenya was a particular highlight, but not because of what he learnt about the use of manures: “The people I met couldn't have been more accommodating. They could not have done enough for me. They gave me the last scraps of food that they had for the week. And they were going to go hungry for the next two days because they wanted to put on a feast for me.
“It is so refreshing, and I'm still annoyed at myself for not having changed my own lifestyle more, knowing what I know. Everybody needs to experience it.”
His experiences reflect comments made about Africa by Jim Bliss in a previous episode, Rewilding: The Future of Marginal Farming?
And it was these personal experiences which came to dominate Andrew’s travels.
“The biggest take home was definitely the personal development. Yes, I learned loads about composting and I'm still learning loads about composting, but when it came to personal things, all of those were far more beneficial.”
“I think it was finding genuinely innovative people doing innovative things. And the people I wanted to speak to are super humble. They're recycling a waste product. They're very resourceful people.”
Andrew presented his Nuffield Farming Scholarship report at the Nuffield Farming conference in November 2024
Andrew Sincock is Managing Director of Agriton UK and Agro-Vital UK and a 2023 Nuffield Scholar.