A “muck carpet” illustrating how different types and levels of manure can affect grassland is helping get nutrient management messages across to livestock farmers.

Different application rates, associated nutrient levels and the relative costs of buying equivalent fertilisers can all be demonstrated on the two-metre-by-four-metre installation developed by EBLEX and Creedy Associates.

It turned heads at last week’s Beef South West event, in Devon, and is helping focus attention on how to cut on-farm costs and improve efficiency.

EBLEX beef and sheep scientist Dr Liz Genever said: “Feeding grass and forage crops properly with slurries and manures can boost growth.

“This means bought-in feed requirements can be reduced with potential savings to the business.

“However, for it to be done effectively, we need to look more closely at what is being spread and at what rate.

“Otherwise, requirements will not be met and nutrients could be wasted. We want to encourage more livestock farmers to evaluate what they are putting on, looking at the nutrient needs of a specific field with a soil test and applying slurry or manure when and where appropriate.

“We are encouraging producers to use manures and slurries as a source of nutrients that saves them money, rather than a waste product that needs to be got rid of.

“If 25 tonnes per hectare of manure is applied, it can supply 15kg of nitrogen, 48kg of phosphate and 180kg of potash, which could supply the phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) needed for a cut of silage.

“If these nutrients had to be bought in, it would cost around £190 per hectare. The muck carpet is proving to be a good way of getting these messages across.

“Overall, our focus is on improving grassland yield and utilisation to ensure production is maximised off grass, which helps to reduce cost of production.

“We need to understand how much grass we are growing and utilising, and look to see how we can improve it.

“This message is the same if the farm is based on re-seeds or environmental grazing – we still need to know what we are growing.”

EBLEX’s Better Returns Programme has just published a new manual on the topic, Managing nutrients for Better Returns, which can be downloaded from www.eblex.org.uk