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The slurry centre will join the popular soil surgery and silage clinics offering timely advice to farmers visiting the Dairy Event and Livestock Show, to be held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 September by its organiser, the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers.

All three features will be staged in the Forage for Livestock Exhibition along with other exhibits each offering progressive dairy, beef, sheep and commercial goat farmers advice on how to make more efficient use of their home grown forages.

Farmers are invited to bring along to the new slurry centre a sample of either manure or slurry for free testing. A LINK funded research consortium will analyse samples using NIRS (Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy) to provide an analysis report including total N, available N and phosphate. ADAS slurry and manure specialists will be available to interpret the results and to discuss with farmers how to make the best use of manures and slurries on their farm.

The popular soil surgery will once again be examining samples of established sward, including turf layer. Independent dairy specialists, Kingshay Farming Trust and Josephine Scamell, agricultural nutritionist of Ground Level Nutrition will be assessing soil status, free of charge and offering advice on how to improve its structure. The silage clinic, sponsored by Sciantec, will analyse samples of either clamp, big bale, maize silage or hay again free of charge; turn around time is two hours, and a panel of silage experts will be on hand to discuss the results and offer advice.

"RABDF is aware that responding to environmental requirements, making cost savings and building a sustainable business are high on the agenda for all livestock farmers," comments the association's chief executive, Nick Everington. "Both the soil surgery and silage clinic have proved to offer visitors good independent advice to help them make more from their resources. Building on those free evaluation services, we've introduced the slurry centre to help farmers to accurately evaluate what no longer can regarded as waste, but a valuable asset."

For information on how best to collect samples please ask for sampling instructions and bags when you order your tickets 0845 458 2711 or on line www.dairyevent.co.uk -

11:04am Wednesday 27th August 2008

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