It seems that the main question that everyone is trying to solve at the moment is how do we make chicken muck dryer? The industry is coming together, with Nick Tilt at the forefront with BFREPA trying to find an effective solution to reducing the volume of muck produced each week, and ensuring that we are left with a product that is easily stackable, efficient to transport and still as potent, if not more so, when used on arable land. Richard Turner and Charles Macleod of St. David’s Poultry Team has been analysing the moisture content of various flocks at different ages of maturity in a study coordinated with members of BFREPA, as to find a solution, you must first know exactly hat the situation is currently, and at this point you can truly measure the effectiveness of various interventions.
The average moisture content on leaving the shed, where no interventions are in place, tends to fall around 60-70%. With the incoming modifications to legislation on the handling of manure, mainly effecting Wales at first, but highly likely to also affect the whole industry in time, we need to find an answer to reduce the moisture content significantly to the region of 30%. This will allow greater storage capacities on farm and reduced logistical costs on moving the manure. As Steve Carlyle outlined, if we are moving manure at a moisture content of 70%, we are moving 7 ton of water to 3 ton of manure, effectively driving large amount of water around the country at great cost and inefficiency.
This situation is going to require everybody to work together, to find a range of solutions that fit the variety of egg producing businesses, and the answer will most likely come from a combination of the above measures.
Having members of BFREPA working together, with the technical input of the combined arms of the industry is critical, as if we can find a solution then every farm will be in a place where they have reduced costs on storage and movement. Challenges come and if the egg sector has been able to find answers to before, it will again.