To improve soil health and increase crop yields, the best place to start is with your slurry. Using SlurryBugs slurry additives works the BioCircle to your advantage.
SlurryBugs®
SlurryBugs® slurry additive contains a unique blend of bacteria and fungus, individually selected due to their high lignocellulosic activities. This means they work together synergistically to break down the fibrous content of your slurry by attacking its individual components at a molecular level. Not only does this prevent the undigested fibre from tangling into a web that can otherwise slowly accumulate into a crust, but it also releases these nutrients back into the available liquid portion of the slurry, making more nutrients available as a fertiliser resource.
Recommended Treatment
SlurryBugs® slurry inoculants are intended to treat the entire volume of slurry for the duration of its storage. The bacteria are dosed at the start of storage, allowing them to rapidly colonise the store. They quickly start digesting any existing crust from underneath, and continue to break down any new fibrous material as soon as it is added to the store. If slurry is removed during the storage period, this will take the microorganisms out with it, so any extra slurry added back into the store will need a top up of SlurryBugs®.
Treat with SlurryBugs® for just £0.40 per treated tonne!
Treating slurry with SlurryBugs® helps to:
2 Years of Defra Backed Research
Breaks Down Fibrous Slurry Under Covers
Increases Fertiliser Nutrient Recovery
Maximises Slurry Storage Capacity
Simple and Easy Dosing
The graph shows the increase in nutrient content of Slurry when using SlurryBugs® compared to an untreated control
”"Slurry Bugs certainly reduced the crust. Mixing was much quicker, reducing time and diesel costs. Very happy with the results."
Mark Hunter, Scottish Dairy FarmerWest Tarbrax Farm, Lanarkshire
Each bag of SlurryBugs can treat 500,000 L (500 m3 or 110,000 gallons) of slurry for the duration of its storage.
Pour the entire contents of the sachets into a bucket of warm (not hot) water and mix thoroughly until the water becomes cloudy, 1 pot requires ~10L of water. Some of the microorganisms have been dried onto a granular substrate which is not soluble, so do not worry about this sedimenting at the bottom. Pour the cloudy mixture into the collection tank, channels, slats, or directly into the store at the point where fresh slurry is emptied into lagoons. This will promote a better mixing across the whole store.
– Winter Treatment:
Based on the volume of slurry you intend to collect, the entire winter requirement of SlurryBugs should be dosed all at once, when your store is at its lowest capacity, ideally after your final spreading in autumn.
– Summer Treatment:
It is advisable to keep a low level of slurry in your store over summer to maintain the microorganism population for the next season. Some customers prefer to add a second dose of SlurryBugs during this time to prevent crust formation during the hot dry weather.
SlurryBugs® Maintenance
On stores without existing crusting issues, SlurryBugs® Maintenance can be used as an insurance policy to prevent any crust formation and to keep the slurry homogeneous. SlurryBugs® Maintenance contains a lower concentration of microorganisms and only 4 of the 5 strains.
Recommended Treatment
SlurryBugs® slurry inoculants are intended to treat the entire volume of slurry for the duration of its storage. The bacteria are dosed at the start of storage, allowing them to rapidly colonise the store. They quickly start digesting any existing crust from underneath, and continue to break down any new fibrous material as soon as it is added to the store. If slurry is removed during the storage period, this will take the microorganisms out with it, so any extra slurry added back into the store will need a top up of SlurryBugs®.
Treat with SlurryBugs® Maintenance for just £0.40 per treated tonne!
Treating slurry with SlurryBugs® Maintenance helps to:
Simple and Easy Dosing
Prevents Crusting Under Covers
Maximises slurry storage capacity
Increases usable fertiliser nutrients
Each bag of SlurryBugs can treat 500,000 L (500 m3 or 110,000 gallons) of slurry for the duration of its storage.
Pour the entire contents of the sachets into a bucket of warm (not hot) water and mix thoroughly until the water becomes cloudy, 1 pot requires ~10L of water. Some of the microorganisms have been dried onto a granular substrate which is not soluble, so do not worry about this sedimenting at the bottom. Pour the cloudy mixture into the collection tank, channels, slats, or directly into the store at the point where fresh slurry is emptied into lagoons. This will promote a better mixing across the whole store.
– Winter Treatment:
Based on the volume of slurry you intend to collect, the entire winter requirement of SlurryBugs should be dosed all at once, when your store is at its lowest capacity, ideally after your final spreading in autumn.
– Summer Treatment:
It is advisable to keep a low level of slurry in your store over summer to maintain the microorganism population for the next season. Some customers prefer to add a second dose of SlurryBugs during this time to prevent crust formation during the hot dry weather.
Slurry Analysis Service
At EnviroSystems, we know the value of Slurry and work with our customers to try and maximise its value as an organic fertiliser. To do that, farmers need to understand exactly what is in their slurry to determine application rates, ensure they are keeping within the RB209 limits, and to calculate how much bought-in fertiliser they need to top up their fields with.
Our analysis service is designed to help farmers fully understand what they have and how it can be used. Our analysis is carried out by NRM laboratories, but we then interpret the data they produce and package it up into a user-friendly format, to make understanding it easier for the farmer.
We rate your slurry data against the RB209 range, and give it a rating of High, Average or Low. We then colour code these ratings to make it easy to see whether a value outside of the recommended limits needs to be monitored, or responded to urgently. We then convert the raw data into spreading rates of kg/m3 or lb/1000 gallons, meaning it’s easy for farmers to calculate how much they need to spread, using whichever format they are comfortable with.
We also calculate the amount of Nitrogen in plant available forms, and give this a rating against the RB209 standard ranges, and an approximate m3 volume that would replace 1 tonne of ammonium nitrate. Finally, we calculate the approximate N-P-K ratio of your slurry, making it easy to see whether you have an unbalanced organic fertiliser.
To what extent can SlurryBugs® reduce crust formation
Over a 2 year development phase supported by funding from Defra and Innovate UK, rigorous scientific trials showed that the combination of bacteria and fungus in SlurryBugs® was able to reduce the accumulated crust weight by 29% over a 3-month period.
This reduction can help to prevent crusts forming under covered slurry stores, which is paramount in facilitating the successful introduction of covers as part of Defra’s ammonia reduction strategy.
How does SlurryBugs® impact your slurry's nutrients?
SlurryBugs has increased Nitrogen by 43%.
Ammonium Nitrogen by 21%.
Phosphorous by 48%.
Potassium by 17%.
The video compares slurry treated with SlurryBugs® & untreated slurry.
SlurryBugs in action ...
See what Edward Towers thinks about
SlurryBugs®
Lancashire Farm before treatment
with SlurryBugs®
Lancashire Farm after 1 week of treatment
with SlurryBugs®
Lancashire Farm after 4 weeks of treatment
with SlurryBugs®
SLURRYBUGS CALCULATOR
Use this simple calculator to work out how many bags of SlurryBugs you will need
MuckMaster
Maximise your Manure Potential
- Speed up the Natural Decomposition
- Increase Nutrient Availability
- Convert Organic Matter into Plant Available N-P-K
- Reduce Pile Volume (+136%)
- Reduce Manure Density (-30%)
How Does it Work?
Muck Master contains a specialist blend of lignocellulosic microbes to speed up decomposition of manures and solid wastes. They break down the large fibrous organic material and release it as plant-available nutrients, increasing the value of the fertiliser.
Muck Master contains a mix of aerobic fungus and bacteria, along with anaerobic species which can survive at the bottom of piles where oxygen can not easily get to.
Each 1kg bag will treat a 50 m3 pile of manure.
A pile of 10m long, 5m wide and 4m tall is 100m3
How do I apply it?
The additive can be applied as a powder or after mixing in warm water before applying. If mixing with water, some of the microorganisms have been dried down onto a granular substrate which is not soluble, so do not worry about this sedimenting at the bottom.
Spread the additive evenly over the pile, ideally at approximately 3/4 of the final height. The moisture and heat within the pile will quickly activate the bacteria and fungal strains. As rain water leaches through the pile the microorganisms will be spread evenly throughout the pile.
What evidence do you have?
Muck Master was trialled across 2 sites, using fresh horse manure as the substrate.
In a controlled covered environment, the additive showed an ability to increase the rate at which the pile reduced in volume by 136%, whilst reducing the density by 30%. This confirms the acceleration of decomposition, resulting in a more concentrated yet loose and aerated material. It also reached neutral pH (7.5) faster and had a greater electrical conductivity, suggesting a higher ionic content.
In terms of nutrient profile, the treated pile showed almost a 10x increase in ammonia nitrogen concentration against the control, and saw significant increases in nitrate concentration whilst the control remained undetectable. Combined this demonstrates a conversion from organic into plant available nitrogen. The control sample showed a gradual reduction in Phosphorus and Potassium levels, whilst the treated sample retained the majority of its starting concentration.
In an open pile experiment, similar results were seen in terms of volume reduction and density changes, alongside a visibly more soil-like texture. The pile also contained less yellowed fermented material in the core, which is a result of the increased aeration of the pile as the density reduces. This also led to an increase in the presence of worms and insects, further enhancing decomposition.
Will it work on equestrian Manures?
Muck Master was designed to break down the fibrous content of solid manures, this means it works equally well on farmyard manures and in the equestrian industry, with a range of bedding materials.
In fact, it was tested on equestrian manures containing wood based bedding materials, and the data talks for itself. It successfully sped up decomposition, reduced the pile size, and increased the plant available nutrients, making storage easier whilst enriching the fertiliser quality.
1
SlurryBugs® should be mixed in a large bucket of warm water and left for 20 minutes prior to application to slurry.
2
SlurryBugs® must always be applied to the liquid slurry and not the crust.
3
Dosing can take place in collection tanks, channels and slats or at the point where fresh slurry is emptied into lagoons or stores.
4
For best results, treatment needs to take place regularly, to keep the bacterial populations high.
