Changing broiler dung and dry poultry manure into money
4 September 2024
6 minute learn
Poultry farmers deal with the manufacturing of eggs and meat for the buyer. Nevertheless, retaining poultry additionally produces residues equivalent to dry poultry manure and broiler dung. These residues – or would it not be higher to name them by-products or co-products? – have been transferring additional into the centre of consideration (in Germany) for a while now. The rationale: the vitamins and natural matter they include make them more and more priceless (see Desk 1). It is a welcome growth, particularly for poultry farmers in areas with a excessive density of livestock, as a result of they will flip the unwelcome residues into a beautiful by-product.
Imply nutrient contents of farm-produced fertilisers (contemporary matter)
Supply: https://www.raiffeisen.com/pfl… (as at 9 August 2024)
| Stable manure | DM content material (%) | N (kg/m³, t) | P₂O₅(kg/m³, t) | K₂O (kg/m³, t) |
| Turkey manure (in tonnes) | 50 | 19,1 | 18,1 | 16,4 |
| Duck manure (in tonnes) | 30 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Goose manure (in tonnes) | 30 | 8 | 6 | 11 |
| Broiler manure (in tonnes) | 55 | 28 | 21 | 23 |
| Hen manure (in tonnes) | 30 | 18,1 | 12,5 | 10,4 |
| Hen manure (in tonnes) | 60 | 29,9 | 22 | 20,2 |
| Poultry manure | ||||
| Recent poultry manure (in tonnes) | 28 | 17 | 11,4 | 10 |
| Dry poultry manure (in tonnes) | 50 | 25,5 | 20,1 | 17,5 |
| Dried poultry manure (in tonnes) | 70 | 32 | 27,7 | 22,8 |
Versatile use
Farmers can utilise their farm-produced manure in quite a lot of methods to contribute to the farm income with extra revenues. The quantity and sustainability of this contribution is basically in their very own arms. For instance, farmers can use some broiler manure as a priceless natural fertiliser on their very own farmland. This reduces the prices for mineral fertilisers and will increase the humus content material of their soil.
Farm-produced manure may be very a lot in demand in areas with a low density of livestock: contractors specialising within the commerce and provide of natural fertilisers acquire the manure from areas with a excessive density of livestock and ship it to areas with a low density of livestock. Previously, broiler farmers typically both needed to pay a small sum of money for this service or handed over their manure with out incomes something.
Struggle on Ukraine
With the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing power disaster, costs for mineral fertilisers rose sharply (see Chart 1). On the identical time, dry poultry manure and broiler dung have been all of the sudden in excessive demand. Farmers have been typically capable of promote their manure at excellent costs. Costs have presently calmed down once more. In the long run, they’re more likely to stabilise at a barely greater degree than earlier than the power disaster.
The EU settlement to cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions by a minimal of 55 per cent by 2030 in comparison with 1990, and to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050, performs an necessary function for the query “How a lot are my residues value?”. The EU settlement implies that the usage of fossil fuels will turn out to be increasingly costly; by 2050, fossil fuels ought to not be used in any respect.
Particularly in broiler manufacturing, nevertheless, homes have to be heated to round 33 °C when the day-old chicks are first moved in, which is a really energy-intensive interval. The commonest gas right now continues to be pure gasoline. However what can broiler producers do to cut back their power prices whereas additionally contributing to climate-neutral manufacturing? There is no such thing as a easy reply to this query contemplating the complexity of the problem.
Environment friendly and sustainable: round financial system
One key phrase for the reply: round financial system. Farmers who function a biogas plant alongside their broiler manufacturing are within the snug place of having the ability to warmth their poultry homes with the generated waste warmth, and so they can even produce electrical energy from the biogas. This reduces the usage of fossil fuels (typically pure gasoline) and permits farmers to utilise poultry manure for their very own sustainable manufacturing of biogas.
The vitamins stay nearly completely within the digestate, which is subsequently effectively suited as a fertiliser on arable land and grassland. For the right dedication of fertiliser necessities, the digestate should at all times be examined for its respective nutrient content material, nevertheless.
Not all broiler producers have a biogas plant – nor have they got to, as a result of they will promote their manure to biogas plant operators. This process has lengthy been widespread in agrarian areas, particularly, and is changing into more and more necessary now. The reason being the rising value for maize, which causes the operators of biogas crops to show in direction of inexpensive choices.
As well as, the large-scale cultivation of maize to be used in biogas crops is considered very critically – as a result of the place maize grows, no meals could be grown, in keeping with the final opinion.
From this viewpoint, the 150 m3 to 200 m3 of biogas per tonne of contemporary matter from the animal different will not be unhealthy in any respect.
Versatile biomethane
And growth continues, with the key phrase being biomethane manufacturing. Along with producing electrical energy from biogas, switching from the earlier on-site energy technology to biomethane manufacturing could be an attention-grabbing choice. This is applicable particularly to bigger crops and to these for which the so-called EEG remuneration expires after 20 years. Primarily based on the German Renewable Vitality Sources Act, operators of biogas crops obtained this remuneration for feeding electrical energy into the grid.
Biomethane has the nice benefit that it’s chemically an identical to pure gasoline and that it may be fed into the prevailing gasoline grid. Biomethane can thus be used for electrical energy and warmth technology in addition to within the gas market.
However what precisely does this imply for the poultry manure? Round 250 crops all through Germany produce biomethane, and the quantity grows daily. These crops can even use poultry manure as enter materials, and plant operators are fairly ready to pay for this manure. It could make sense to conclude longer-term contracts.
Conclusion:
The relevance of poultry manure is altering from being thought-about an “annoying” residue to being perceived as a priceless by-product, particularly in areas with a excessive density of livestock. Manure could be unfold on the fields as a standard fertiliser or be used to supply biogas.
To realize the local weather targets talked about firstly, nevertheless, biomethane will turn out to be more and more necessary for the gas sector – significantly when it originates from “residues” equivalent to poultry manure.
If farmers produce biomethane themselves, both individually or as a bunch, the greenhouse gasoline (GHG) discount quota implies that one other side needs to be stored in thoughts: Firms that promote CO2-emitting fuels in Germany, i.e. diesel and petrol, should compensate for the greenhouse gasoline emissions which might be produced when these fuels are burned, for instance by shopping for GHG quota shares. Biomethane producers can promote these GHG quota shares to greenhouse gasoline distributors within the gas sector, equivalent to Shell.
China
Regardless of the various constructive prospects for the home biomethane market, there’s additionally a catch: If giant quantities of biofuel are imported from China after which marketed in Germany, falsely labelled as “climate-friendly” throughout the scope of the Renewable Vitality Directive II (RED II), this doesn’t adjust to the unique intention of this directive.
Many of the Chinese language biofuels don’t come from residues, however are produced from palm oil – and but German petroleum corporations can nonetheless fulfil their obligation to cut back greenhouse gases on this method. Which means that the home biomethane worth chain is not aggressive, which has a big affect on the revenues generated by poultry manure.
