Open Letter to Farmers Weekly from Isaac Carswell

Dear Editor,

With the autumn rush nearly over, my mind has turned to the spring digestate spreading rush.

Most of BioteCH4’s 400,000m3 digestate is spread in the spring, when it is hurriedly tankered out to distant fields, reducing daily spreading output. Recent, wet springs have only compounded this problem and it is everyone’s bottom line which pays the price. So why is it the norm to put expensive artificial fertiliser on the fields instead of digestate?

It is the norm because as an industry, we view digestate and slurry storage as a necessary evil to get through the winter. But instead, we should be viewing them in the same light as liquid fertiliser tanks or a bulk fertiliser shed – as a storehouse to increase efficiencies, be that price or output. No one with a shed, waits until a week before needing fertiliser to place the order, panicking that the weather won’t hold, and deliveries won’t be on time. No, they buy when the price is right, store until they need it, then utilise in the weather window.

BioteCH4’s dream is to increase the number of digestate stores, large enough to fertilise all the fields surrounding it. Filled when the price is right, quickly emptied when the weather window allows. No more panic or forgotten crops. BioteCH4 wants to make this dream a reality and wants to speak to as many farmers as possible about revitalising old slurry stores or building new digestate stores.

Please get in touch with me about how we can work together: isaac.carswell@ch4mail.com.

Isaac Carswell
Digestate and Business Development Manager
BioteCH4

Could using Digestate be the Answer to the
Rising Cost of Artificial Fertilisers?

In a time where are all watching our spending, it makes sense to provide cost-effective alternatives for business owners and farmers alike. Read on to find out more about how the rising costs of artificial fertilisers is effecting the sector.