The Value Was Already There

Sometimes the useful bit is not adding more, but making better use of what is already there.

Written by: Steve Holloway — Technical Manager, SFS

Slurry has always been one of those materials that is useful and awkward in fairly equal measure. It contains nutrients and organic matter worth returning to the land, but storage changes it. Fibre rises, heavier material settles, crust forms and what went into the store reasonably mixed can be rather less cooperative when it comes back out.

That is more than a handling nuisance. Different fractions carry different things, so poor remixing can mean the material leaving the store is less consistent than the material that went in. It can also mean more agitation, more pump time, more interruptions and more machinery tied up getting the job done.

SlurryTop works on that problem biologically. It is a liquid treatment, supplied in IBCs, so it can be added directly into the slurry store. A readily available carbon and energy source helps activate the biology, vermicompost extract contributes a wider organic background, and the Microbi8 consortium provides the organisms themselves. Those microbes attach to organic material and release enzymes that act on proteins, starches, fats and plant fibre.

The point of using a consortium is that slurry is not one material. Different members of Microbi8 contribute different strengths: some are better at opening tougher fibre, some work under lower-oxygen conditions, some recycle smaller compounds, and others bring useful functions that become more relevant once the slurry reaches the soil.

As that fibrous and organic matrix starts to open up, the slurry can become easier to remix and pump. A softer crust, fewer fibrous clumps and steadier flow can save time, fuel and machinery effort while also helping produce a more even material for spreading.

The second part of the story happens after spreading. Treated slurry can carry viable cells and spores, enzymes, microbial biomass and partly conditioned organic material into the soil. Some members of Microbi8 have useful functions there too. Bacillus megaterium is associated with phosphorus cycling and phosphate solubilisation, while Bacillus amyloliquefaciens has competitive root-zone characteristics — the “guard dog” role. Other members continue contributing to decomposition and nutrient cycling around fresh organic material.

They do not need to take over the native soil biology to contribute something useful. A period of activity around slurry carbon, residues and the root zone can still add biological function while the material is being broken down and recycled.

That is really the SlurryTop story in two parts: make the slurry easier and cheaper to handle in the store, then carry useful biology and conditioned organic material onto the land.

The value was already there. SlurryTop is about helping make more of it usable.