Storage of cattle manure

Diarmuid B

Hi guys, I recently built a 2 bay dry shed to keep the cattle on for the winter. Since then we have found out that it is illegal to stockpile the manure in the field so we're looking for an alternative way of storing it. Would we just get away with a concrete floor with three walls around it and a separate tank to take the run off from this? And also would we have to roof this or could you get away with just using a heavy tarpaulin like the one you would use on a silage pit?
Cheers.

DBB

Moving to Farming & Forestry forum
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Thanks,
DBB

blue5000

What part of the country are you in? It can be tipped in the field from 15th January.

Diarmuid B

blue5000 wrote: »

What part of the country are you in? It can be tipped in the field from 15th January.

North Roscommon. Not the best part of the country weather wise!!

blue5000

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/ruralenvironment/environment/nitrates/NitratesExplanatoryHandbook14Mar2014.pdf

Have a look here, you're in zone B, so ok for 15th Jan.

zetor 4911

You need 18 weeks storage for your farmyard manure and the heap in the field can't be used to make up the 18 weeks. So the storage can consist of the concrete floor shed where the stock are housed and if that doesn't give you the 18 weeks then you need a storage pit for the balance. This pit can be roofed or unroofed, if unroofed you need a tank to collect the seepage and rainfall. If roofed you don't require any tank if no seepage is escaping. The cover over the pit has to be permanent so a removable cover won't suffice. Hope this clarifies it for you.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Diarmuid B wrote: »

Hi guys, I recently built a 2 bay dry shed to keep the cattle on for the winter. Since then we have found out that it is illegal to stockpile the manure in the field so we're looking for an alternative way of storing it. Would we just get away with a concrete floor with three walls around it and a separate tank to take the run off from this? And also would we have to roof this or could you get away with just using a heavy tarpaulin like the one you would use on a silage pit?
Cheers.

I bed the dry cattle on straw and I make a big heap in the shed (it takes up about 20% of the floor space).

It can be stored on concrete with 3 walls as long as all the runoff from rain and the manure settling are collected and held until the 16th of January in your area and can be spread by tanker from then on.

Buford T. Justice XIX

blue5000 wrote: »

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/ruralenvironment/environment/nitrates/NitratesExplanatoryHandbook14Mar2014.pdf

Have a look here, you're in zone B, so ok for 15th Jan.

The 15th Jan is still closed, blue, the 16th is the first open day.;)

cute geoge

I have some dung to clean out of loose shed but i have no f.y.m. storage pit .Can i tip this in field from jan16th .I have sufficent slurry storage for my cattle ,this is just a small house for 2 lame cows

zetor 4911

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I bed the dry cattle on straw and I make a big heap in the shed (it takes up about 20% of the floor space).

It can be stored on concrete with 3 walls as long as all the runoff from rain and the manure settling are collected and held until the 16th of January in your area and can be spread by tanker from then on.

You still need the 18 weeks storage irrespective of been able to put it out on land on the 16th of January.

Diarmuid B

zetor 4911 wrote: »

You need 18 weeks storage for your farmyard manure and the heap in the field can't be used to make up the 18 weeks. So the storage can consist of the concrete floor shed where the stock are housed and if that doesn't give you the 18 weeks then you need a storage pit for the balance. This pit can be roofed or unroofed, if unroofed you need a tank to collect the seepage and rainfall. If roofed you don't require any tank if no seepage is escaping. The cover over the pit has to be permanent so a removable cover won't suffice. Hope this clarifies it for you.

Without meaning to sound dumb what kind of roof would I have to put up? We only have 10 cattle so the dung heap wouldn't be that big, I thought a tarpaulin would suit and direct the run off from this into a storage tank.

zetor 4911

Diarmuid B wrote: »

Without meaning to sound dumb what kind of roof would I have to put up? We only have 10 cattle so the dung heap wouldn't be that big, I thought a tarpaulin would suit and direct the run off from this into a storage tank.

You could just put a tank beside the pit and no roof. If you don't want the tank then a roof is needed which would be made of RSJ and cladding.

Buford T. Justice XIX

cute geoge wrote: »

I have some dung to clean out of loose shed but i have no f.y.m. storage pit .Can i tip this in field from jan16th .I have sufficent slurry storage for my cattle ,this is just a small house for 2 lame cows

19
Storing farmyard manure in a field
You must not store farmyard manure in a field during the
prohibited spreading period for farmyard manure (chec
You can store it in a field during the spreading season,
but you must store it in a compact heap and you cannot store it within the buffer zones in the
following table. Farmyard manure is the only organic fertiliser that may be stored in a field during
the spreading season and no organic fertiliser may be stored in the field during the prohibited spreading period
.

See page 19 of blues link above.

Diarmuid B

zetor 4911 wrote: »

You could just put a tank beside the pit and no roof. If you don't want the tank then a roof is needed which would be made of RSJ and cladding.

Okay so if i put in a tank beside it I can leave the manure exposed on top?

jimini0

zetor 4911 wrote: »

You could just put a tank beside the pit and no roof. If you don't want the tank then a roof is needed which would be made of RSJ and cladding.

I have a concrete pad no walls but it has a runoff channel to an old tank the father had to put in for reps years ago. I must put a some walls up around it.
Must invest in a minimuck spreader. Its a pain in the ass with the box tipping piles in the middle of field

zetor 4911

Diarmuid B wrote: »

Okay so if i put in a tank beside it I can leave the manure exposed on top?

Correct. But make sure you have the required storage in the tank for the rainfall and the manure seepage for your area. Consult the nitrate directive (S.I. No. 31 of 2014) on the Departments website.

Diarmuid B

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Correct. But make sure you have the required storage in the tank for the rainfall and the manure seepage for your area. Consult the nitrate directive (S.I. No. 31 of 2014) on the Departments website.

That's perfect. It shouldn't be too expensive to put up that kind of storage slab and tank then?

zetor 4911

Diarmuid B wrote: »

That's perfect. It shouldn't be too expensive to put up that kind of storage slab and tank then?

Not sure what it would cost but if it was mine I would put the roof on it and avoid the tank as you would not have to spread the seepage but if you have the way to spread it that is different.

Diarmuid B

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Not sure what it would cost but if it was mine I would put the roof on it and avoid the tank as you would not have to spread the seepage but if you have the way to spread it that is different.

One of our neighbours has a slurry tank so spreading the effluent isn't an issue. Thanks so much for your help! Now to get quotes for the cost!!

kevthegaff

Wouldn't ye think in a dry field it would be OK:-( can you store on gravel in field?

Genghis Cant

Would A two Bay shed with ten cattle in it not be capable of holding all the dung they'd produce in the closed period or is storage required one way or the other?
Could it not be stored within said shed?

zetor 4911

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Would A two Bay shed with ten cattle in it not be capable of holding all the dung they'd produce in the closed period or is storage required one way or the other?
Could it not be stored within said shed?

It can but very unlikely you would get 18 weeks storage in the shed.

White Clover

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Would A two Bay shed with ten cattle in it not be capable of holding all the dung they'd produce in the closed period or is storage required one way or the other?
Could it not be stored within said shed?

My thinking on it also. Op, let the bedding build up and only clean out after 16th January and stockpile in field then.

Diarmuid B

Na they go through quite a bit of bedding. possibly could get away with it but we're trying to maintain good animal husbandry so I don't think we could leave it build up for 18 weeks! Plus we have newborn calves in there. Thanks so much for all the help guys!

White Clover

Diarmuid B wrote: »

Na they go through quite a bit of bedding. possibly could get away with it but we're trying to maintain good animal husbandry so I don't think we could leave it build up for 18 weeks! Plus we have newborn calves in there. Thanks so much for all the help guys!

I'm not talking about leaving it go into complete scutter. The secret is plenty straw at the start. As the bed rises up it will be easier keep it dry. The higher the bed the cosier it will be.

Diarmuid B

We haven't used straw yet white clover. Got two of the fields cleaned up last summer and we baled the rushes and scrub that was on it, so rather than just dumping the bales or giving them away we decided to use that for the bedding.

Who2

Bite the bullet if you have to go to the bother of putting up a tank and a roofed area you would be as well off putting up a small slatted shed and lye back for calves. A decent shed is worth a good few acres.

White Clover

Diarmuid B wrote: »

We haven't used straw yet white clover. Got two of the fields cleaned up last summer and we baled the rushes and scrub that was on it, so rather than just dumping the bales or giving them away we decided to use that for the bedding.

From this I'm assuming you're cleaning out the shed every few days then rebedding it with a shake of rushes?
What I'm saying is to put in 2 or 3 times as much rushes at the start and keep bedding it then, don't allow it to go into scutter. You will find after a while that you won't have to bed as often while still only using the same amount each time.

Diarmuid B

White Clover wrote: »

From this I'm assuming you're cleaning out the shed every few days then rebedding it with a shake of rushes?
What I'm saying is to put in 2 or 3 times as much rushes at the start and keep bedding it then, don't allow it to go into scutter. You will find after a while that you won't have to bed as often while still only using the same amount each time.

No no we put a good heap in at the start and keep topping it up every 3-4 days or so. We only clean it out every 5 weeks or that.

Genghis Cant

Diarmuid B wrote: »

No no we put a good heap in at the start and keep topping it up every 3-4 days or so. We only clean it out every 5 weeks or that.

I think, and I could be wrong, but I think there mightn't be great bedding in baled rushes. If you got a few good bales of straw they might form a far better bed.
The calves will generally find dry lying around the walls.

GrasstoMilk

zetor 4911 wrote: »

It can but very unlikely you would get 18 weeks storage in the shed.

OP keep the straw in them they'll be fine. Don't go building expensive stuff unless you really want to.
I've 30 weanlings in a 3 bay lean 2 and fed in there as well. Only cleaned out the front of it a week ago where they feed. You should be fine. They get 2/3 bales of straw a week depending on which day the 3rd feeding if week lands on as there fed every 3 days

As someone else said you'd be as well build a tank at front of shed and use straw as lye back.

tractorporn

Bear in mind that you should be able to get a grant for a dung stead under TAMS.

Diarmuid B

tractorporn wrote: »

Bear in mind that you should be able to get a grant for a dung stead under TAMS.

Oh that's brilliant, I'll have a look into that with our planner. Any idea how much of a grant you get?

alps

tractorporn wrote: »

Bear in mind that you should be able to get a grant for a dung stead under TAMS.

Do you need to get planning permission for a dung stead, if you are applying for a grant?

CHOPS01

Is waste silage classed as manure ?
Am feeding 9 bullocks round bales in a yard with the gate open to a half acre and they can go from there to rough square of ground which has an old house on it. They also have access to a house on the yard which g throw a bit of straw on.Slurry and soiled bedding is shoved into open pit. Every third bale or so I load up the waste from the ring feeder and tip it in the rough paddock.
Am I ok

zetor 4911

CHOPS01 wrote: »

Is waste silage classed as manure ?
Am feeding 9 bullocks round bales in a yard with the gate open to a half acre and they can go from there to rough square of ground which has an old house on it. They also have access to a house on the yard which g throw a bit of straw on.Slurry and soiled bedding is shoved into open pit. Every third bale or so I load up the waste from the ring feeder and tip it in the rough paddock.
Am I ok

I would class that as manure so should not be out on land.

charolais0153

tractorporn wrote: »

Bear in mind that you should be able to get a grant for a dung stead under TAMS.

Don't think you can and if you could you'd have to have effluent tank and shiy like that I'd say

charolais0153

Diarmuid B wrote: »

Oh that's brilliant, I'll have a look into that with our planner. Any idea how much of a grant you get?

What county are you in and when do you normally house the cattle that are in this shed

Buford T. Justice XIX

CHOPS01 wrote: »

Is waste silage classed as manure ?
Am feeding 9 bullocks round bales in a yard with the gate open to a half acre and they can go from there to rough square of ground which has an old house on it. They also have access to a house on the yard which g throw a bit of straw on.Slurry and soiled bedding is shoved into open pit. Every third bale or so I load up the waste from the ring feeder and tip it in the rough paddock.
Am I ok

Yeah, silage waste is classed as manure so need to be stored as well.

CHOPS01

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Yeah, silage waste is classed as manure so need to be stored as well.

Lovely. Guess I'll be forking it over the wall into the open pit.

Bass Reeves

OP I would price different options. Most may be grant aided. However issue with grant aid is complete job has to be done to grant spec. You really seem to have two options. The first is to build a dung stead you may well get away with a lined lagoon for run off. But you may need to put up fencing etc. With small projects like these even though in theory the grant is 40%(or 60%for a young trained farmer) it works out much lower as you do not get economies of scale.

I would seriously consider a slatted tank under part or all of existing shed. I presume that even though shed is only 2bay it is 20'+ deep.. While the closed period is 18 weeks everything is relative to when you house cattle. So in reality if going the dung storage route it is relative to how long you have cattle on the shed pre mid January. As long as when and if you get a visit within the closed period that an inspector sees that you have an adequate setup in place. Remember if you are stocked below 1LU/HA you can outwinter.

I would really consider slats as the most viable option. Rushes have two issues. they are not great bedding and unless you let them rot down for 2_3 years you are spreading the seeds across your land when spreading the dung. Straw is not a cheap option across the west of Ireland. Taking one year with another it will average 20_30euro/bale in small quantities. If the floor of your shed is sloped to the front or back I would consider a tank in front of shed with slats but the best option is a tank under the she'd itself remember you could leave a goodish sloped towards at the front of the slats to save their tegrity of your shed.. there are 2-3 mass concrete providers that make present made tank that you can slot straight into position.

What ever you do research all your options before you opt for the project you choose

Buford T. Justice XIX

CHOPS01 wrote: »

Lovely. Guess I'll be forking it over the wall into the open pit.

It's a PITA alright but better know now than after an inspector arrives in the yard.

charolais0153

CHOPS01 wrote: »

Lovely. Guess I'll be forking it over the wall into the open pit.

You could chance it...its only 2 weeks

CloughCasey1

CHOPS01 wrote: »

Lovely. Guess I'll be forking it over the wall into the open pit.

Use it as bedding mixed with the straw.