Composting dairy slurry

泥浆和粪便是宝贵的农场资源，但它们的营养物质不稳定，会造成排放和污染，包括硝酸盐淋失。这项提案将评估将奶牛场粪便堆肥、单独处理污水并从而在耕作系统中建立循环的可能性。农场的碳源将用于堆肥，稳定养分，生产更平衡、更有益的肥料。该项目将测试不同形式的堆肥，监测堆肥、泥浆和污水的营养状况，并测量与泥浆相比，堆肥、储存和传播过程中产生的排放量。最终，输出结果将用于评估以农场为基础的湿地生态系统处理污水的潜力。首先，来自刮掉的院子的粪便将被从泥浆系统中带走，并与碳源(农家庭院的粪便、修剪过的柳树的木屑和绿篱)结合在一起，产生堆肥基质。我们假设，与泥浆相比，这一过程将以生物形式稳定养分，可用作土壤改良剂，并降低硝酸盐淋失和流失的风险。该项目将评估不同的堆肥方法，并测量营养成分随时间的变化。将试验两种主要的堆肥系统；Bokashi和传统的翻转系统。我们的目标是了解堆肥的最佳比例和类型，以最大限度地减少负面影响，并为土壤健康和肥力提供最佳的营养剖面。这项研究将在皇家农业大学通过田间农场实验和实验室分析进行，同时还将进行文献综述，以了解当前的做法及其对该系统的适用性。项目的第二部分将在第一年开始，但在项目持续时间之后继续，并将调查固体粪便去除后粪便中液体部分的使用情况。其目的是将这种液体中的所有/大部分营养物质用于堆肥过程。然后，剩余的污水将流经一个包含柳树的净化湿地系统，这些柳树将被复制用于堆肥过程。需要进行调查，以了解如何在湿地系统中处理这种液体部分，因为在当前的监管框架下，任何与粪便接触的液体都被视为受环境监管的泥浆。

Slurry and manures are valuable farm resources, but their nutrients are labile, causing emissions and pollution, including nitrate leaching. This proposal will assess the potential for composting dairy farm manure, treating dirty water separately and thereby building circularity into the farming system. Carbon sources from the farm will be used to compost manure, stabilising the nutrients and producing a more balanced and beneficial fertiliser. The project will test different forms of composting, monitor the nutrient profiles of the composts, slurry and dirty water, as well as measure the emissions produced during composting, storage and spreading, compared to slurry. Ultimately, the outputs will be used to assess the potential for treating dirty water with a farm-based Wetland Ecosystem Treatment (WET) system.Firstly, manure from scraped yards will be taken away from the slurry system and combined with carbon sources (farmyard manure, woodchip from pollarded willows, and coppiced hedges) to produce a composted substrate. We hypothesise that this process will stabilize nutrients in a biological form that can be used as a soil improver, with lower risk of nitrate leaching and run off, compared to slurry. The project will assess different ways of composting the manure and measure the nutrient profile changes over time. Two main composting systems will be trialed; Bokashi and a traditional turned system. We aim to understand the optimal ratio and type of ingredients for composting with minimal negative effects and optimal nutrient profiles for soil health and fertility. This will be conducted via field experiments on farm and laboratory analysis at the Royal Agricultural University, alongside a literature review to understand current practices and their applicability to this system.The second part of the project will start in the first year but continue beyond the duration of the project, and will investigate use of the liquid fraction from manure when the solid manure has been removed. The aim is to take all/most of the nutrients from this liquid for use in the composting process. The remaining dirty water will then run through a cleansing wetland system incorporating willows that would be coppiced for use in the composting process. Investigation is needed to see how this liquid fraction can be treated in a wetland system as under the current regulatory frame work any liquid that has been in contact with manure is considered subject to environmental regulation as slurry.