Monthly Archives: November 2018

Delivering multiple benefits with manure management

The management and treatment of manures and slurries from livestock production is becoming an increasing issue around the world. The potential of manure to cause environmental harm and contribute to climate change when not correctly stored, handled or applied is significant. However, manures and slurries also represent a valuable resource and can return valuable crop nutrients to farmland in a way which does not rely on energy-intensive industrial processing.

In the European Union some 1.4 billion tonnes of manure is produced each year, the majority of which needs management ranging from simple, low cost methods – such as appropriate storage – to complex techniques such separation or anaerobic digestion (AD). However, estimates suggest that less than 10 per cent of the EU’s manure is currently actively managed.1

In many countries there are environmental restrictions on the application of manures to land, meaning that farms must have sufficient storage capacity for manure which cannot be applied directly to land. As up to 90 per cent of pig and cattle slurry is water, reducing the water content is an effective way to reduce the required storage capacity. Furthermore, being able to store manure so that it can be applied when the nutrients it contains will be of maximum benefit is good agricultural practice and can help to maintain or improve crop yields, as well as reducing potential odours and gaseous emissions during application.

Finding solutions

These challenges led to the creation of the EU-funded EfficientHeat project in 2011, which looked at an ‘Integrated and cost-effective solutions to reduce the volume of pig slurry; minimise pollutant emissions and process energy consumption’. The project, which was co-ordinated by HRS Sales and Product Development Director Arnold Kleijn, looked at how to improve the situation for pig producers in Spain, many of whom were reliant on off-site treatment plants to reduce the volume of slurry and manure produced.

By the time the project was concluded in 2013, not only had it cut treatment costs by 40 per cent, but it had also speeded up the treatment process, reduced energy consumption by 25 per cent, cut slurry volumes by 60 per cent and created potential revenue streams for farmers in terms of nutrients and potential biogas.

Arnold Kleijn explains: “We used evaporation because the thermal energy needed for evaporation can often be obtained from nearby combined heat and power plants at little or no cost. One of the keys to success was improving the scraping action in the evaporator and preventing the concentrated manure from sticking to the surfaces. This increases heat transfer rates two- to threefold, increasing efficiency and speeding up the evaporation process. By combining the various technologies, we reduced slurry volume by up to 60 per cent, resulting in less storage requirements and fewer tanker journeys.”

Following the success of the EfficientHeat project, HRS Heat Exchangers continued to develop the technology to improve its efficiency and make it suitable for practical use on farms. We utilised our Unicus Series scraped-surface heat exchanger technology to provide the necessary evaporation and used acid dosing to reduce volatile ammonia in the process.

The first commercial HRS plant was commissioned in Spain and treats up to 12 tonnes and hour of pig manure from a number of nearby farms. The system has reduced volumes and therefore storage and treatment requirements, while the concentrated manure is returned to the farms for use as fertiliser. Since this first plant, we have been involved in four other plants which manage and concentrate digestate from anaerobic digestion plants using a very similar process.

1 Inventory of Manure Processing Activities in Europe, 2011. Available at http://agro-technology-atlas.eu/docs/21010_technical_report_I_inventory.pdf

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Berry Gardens aims to double business

Berry Gardens chief executive Jacqui Green has revealed that the soft- and stonefruit cooperative plans to double its turnover to £700 million by the mid-2020s.

Her comments came during a discussion of the business and the overall industry with FJP editor Michael Barker at the FPJ Live event in Coventry last week. The expansion, which comes along with previously announced plans for new and improved production facilities, is part of the company’s PICK initiative, which stands for People; Innovation; Collaboration and Knowledge.

“We’ve got some really ambitious growth plans, and maybe Brexit might have a big influence on it, but we’re looking to double the size of the business by the mid-2020s,” said Jacqui. “We’d [previously]looked at the future and it wasn’t comfortable. A lot of growth has been grower-driven.”

She added that thanks to their healthy eating message, berries had the potential to compete with unhealthy confectionery and snacks and that this was where she saw most future growth in consumption coming from.

Photo Caption: Jacqui Green speaking at FPJ Live

Photo Credit: Richard Crowhurst

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UK potato harvesting described as ‘patchy’

The maincrop potato harvest is now well underway, although a mixture of very dry conditions and torrential rains are adding to what was already a ‘patchy’ and difficult situation for the crop.

One grower, Ben Sykes from North Yorkshire told Farmers Guardian that by 8 October they had harvested around 20 per cent of their 220 ha crop, compared with 40-50 per cent in an average year.

“They were planted a lot later because of a wet spring and it has been a stressful growing season with the heat. We’ve had to wait a long time for them to mature and now we are harvesting dangerously late,” he said.

Earlier this year AHDB Potatoes’ planting survey recorded a 3 per cent drop in area, making it the third lowest planting figure on record, while overall the North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) association estimates crop yields in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and the UK will be 8 per cent below the five-year average at around 30-40 t/ha depending on irrigation and water availability.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Birmingham opens new wholesale market

Birmingham’s new integrated wholesale market, which is one of the largest in Europe, has been officially opened at a launch event on Friday 5 October.

The event was billed as a celebration of the market’s 850-year history, and saw traders joined in the new environment by a steel band, Chinese lion dance and television crew. Mark Tate, chairman of the Birmingham Wholesale Fresh Produce Association, told those at the event: “I’d like to thank all the traders who supported my decisions throughout the process, our belief has driven us to this magnificent building today. I have a request that goes out to all the people of Birmingham and the Midlands, we need your support, to keep buying our fruit and vegetables, and meat and fish from the wholesale market.”

Chris Taplee, of wholesaler Mack Birmingham, commented, “This place is magnificent, I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’m now I’m looking forward to the next 30. Trade has picked up, we’re getting people from Wolverhampton now; someone from Liverpool came the other day. It’s the shot in the arm we needed.”

The new location on Nobel Way in Witton is how to almost 90 traders, including those selling meat poultry and fish as well as fresh produce, based around a large central covered avenue, together with warehouses, a cafe and management offices.

Photo Credit: Birmingham Wholesale Market

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New strategy launched for apple industry

English Apples & Pears (EAP) has unveiled a new strategy that it hopes will see the UK top fruit sector fulfil its potential over the next twelve years.

The Great British Apples strategy, which is presented in a video on the EAP website, includes a target to increase production and boost the market share of the UK crop from its current level of 42 per cent to 60 per cent by 2030.

EAP chair Ali Capper says in the film, “In our opinion there’s a massive opportunity for growth. With the right support from both government and retail there’s an opportunity to grow market share to 60 per cent by 2030. Everyone at English Apples & Pears is up for the challenge.”

Among the areas that the strategy wants to see improved are immigration policy, technology, investment in what consumers want, and telling the story of UK apples. “Our first priority is to work with the government to secure the immigration policies that our sector needs,” Capper said.

Speaking to journalist Fred Searle at the FPJ Live event in Coventry last week, Capper agreed that it was “quite a punchy” target, adding: “It doesn’t get more long term than planning orchards, and that long term nature means that we need a good relationship with retailers.”

Photo Credit: NFU

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