Slurry and manure testing

Slurries, manures but increasingly composts and digestates are now regularly applied to many livestock and arable soils throughout the UK. Farm manures in particular are of variable and sometimes unknown quality, dry matter or analysis. It is important to know what quality the slurry or manure is. ForFarmers are able to sample and analyse all your slurries, farmyard manures and other organic products, giving you a full and complete analysis relevant to your business.

Soil testing

Soil pH plays an important role in the availability of nutrients. A soil pH of around 7 is optimal for the maximum availability of all nutrients and is in line with the optimum pH for grass growth of 6 to 7. Basic soil testing is important because:

pH: Correct pH for optimum plant growth and uptake of nutrients

Nitrogen: If soil pH is under optimum, Nitrogen uptake can be reduced by up to 50%. 

Low Phopshorus: Poor root development, poor use of nutrients

Low Potassium: Poor transport and utilisation of nutrients and poor growth. 

ForFarmers can offer a full soil analysis service, from a basic soil sample indicating pH, P, K and Mg to a full broad spectrum or broad spectrum extra measuring all the most important micro nutrients, soil texture and organic matter in your soil. We believe that soil analysis is the foundation of good crop husbandry and efficient and profitable high quality forage production and management. 

Fresh grass analysis

Fresh grass analysis is useful to measure the amount of residual nitrogen in the plant which may cause a potential problem with the silage fermentation. It also provides information on the amount of sugar which can be used by bacteria to produce lactic acid during the fermentation. If the sugar content is too low or the buffering from nitrogen too high, then there may be a problem achieving an effective fermentation. 

Dry matter is also a consideration as low dry matter, wetter material needs to produce more acid and reach a lower pH before it becomes stable in the clamp. Dryer material may pose a greater risk to yeast, mould and aerobic stability challenge, so this information can be used to help make a decision with the timing of cutting and management of the crop. 

SilageManager

SilageManager is ForFarmers forage analysis service. Detailed analysis reports are available for all main forage crops in the following areas:

SilageManager - standard analysis for basic forage nutrient information

SilageManager+ - enhanced analysis for more detailed silage nutrient information

SilageManager Mins - silage mineral, trace element and heavy metal information

Silage quality is one of the most important factors to consider when making nutritional decisions and formualting dairy rations. The more we know about silage quality the better the nutritional solution. Feed2Milk nutrients in SilageManager+ provide additional information on qualitative measures resulting in more accurate assessment of forage quality and the impact on the cow as well as improved efficiency of forage utilisation - increased milk from forage.