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With NI livestock farms producing 6,000t of excess phosphorous (P), the agri-industry must develop sustainable methods of dealing with waste nutrients, Jonathan McFerran from DAERA told attendees at the CAFRE slurry management event on Tuesday.
During his presentation, McFerran outlined possible options coming forward under phase one of a funding programme aimed at developing sustainable solutions for livestock slurry in NI.
One option involves linking livestock farms with anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. The slurry on the farm is separated, with the solid material, which is high in P, used to produce biomethane in the AD plant. The liquid fraction of the slurry, remains on-farm as a low P fertiliser. An added benefit with slurry separation is a marked reduction in liquid volumes returning to storage tanks, with could be as much as a 20%.
Challenge
However, upscaling that process across NI would take significant financial incentives, which are unlikely to come from government at present. Despite that, McFerran said DAERA is committed to resolving the challenge of surplus P, especially with the issues around Lough Neagh, which are likely to come back into mainstream news this summer.
“Agriculture needs to show it that is taking action and can be part of the solution” he said.
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