23 Jan How to create valuable fertiliser from the effluent pond on your farm
There are two good reasons why effluent management at intensive animal operations is becoming more important:
- nutrient management, and
- pollution mitigation.
Generally, we assume that the effluent system we install on our farms will manage itself ‘naturally’. Periodically, we know we’ll need to give it a clean-out of both solid and liquid waste.
Trouble is, if effluent ponds are not managed, or the farming enterprise has grown beyond its working capacity, you can get into trouble. Nutrients fail to be distributed effectively or they fail to breakdown in the proper digestion process in the system.
Why Ignition helps – microbes do the work for you
Ignition has been designed to kick-start the process and maintain the proper biological balance in these types of systems.
Most systems slow down under the burden of solids not breaking down. Ignition includes microbes that digest effluent pond solids to start the system again and manage its continuous flow.
Other biologicals in the blend encourage the natural systems to work more efficiently.
- They help to hold the nutrients in a readily available form for plant uptake
- They’re not in a wholly soluble nutrient form, which can be easily lost from the farm
How to use Ignition to benefit your farm
For the best result for a small to medium size farm enterprise, we recommend 5 buckets annually. At the start of your program, use two 15kg bucket. This will kick-start the effluent pond’s biological activity. From then on, use one 15kg bucket into the system every 3 months.
Application of the product is as simple as tipping the bucket of Ignition on the dairy yard, close to the drain to the pond system. Then hosing the contents into that drain.
On large enterprises, our recommended program is based on 6-7 buckets annually. So, two 15 kg buckets to start off, one 15kg next quarter and two 15kgs buckets after that. It is a 2-1-2-1 bucket program.
The management of nutrient and effluent is becoming more important as we try to find ways to be more efficient on the farm. Ignition is one answer to better farming practice.
The annual cost of using Ignition in your effluent pond management program:
| Size of farm | # buckets per year | Cost per bucket | Total annual cost |
| Small to medium enterprises | 5 buckets | $220 GST inclusive | $1,100 |
| Large enterprise | 7 buckets | $220 GST inclusive | $1,540 |
Ignition helps release a ready source of energy for your plants. It’s a granulated blend of powerful microbes and microbial stimulants to kick-start your compost and manure heap and effluent pond, creating a cost-effective, natural fertiliser.
For more information, send a message or phone Kev on 0400 061 732