Livestockwaste is a precious natural fertiliser for small livestock farms, and atroublesome by-product for intensive livestock productioninstallations. The scale of the problem can be illustrated by thefertiliser production volume ? a non-litter system farm with 2.000 cowsproduces 50,000 m3 of slurry annually, a shallow bedding system farm with 5.000 grower-finishers produces 12,500 tons of manure and 11,000 m3 of fermented urine (Annex XIII).
InPoland, farms produce 101 million tons of manure, fermented urine andslurry annually, including around 80.8 million tons of manure, around12.8 million m3 of fermented urine, and around 7.5 m3[J1] of slurry annually. Average nitrogen production contained in naturalfertilisers is as follows: around 460,000 tons of N, around 240,000 tonsof phosphorus (P2O5) and around 640,000 tons of potassium (K2O). Average NPK volume in natural fertilisers spread per 1 ha of arable land is 83 (max. 125) kg, or around 191 kg per 1 LU.
Largevolumes of waste must be removed from livestock buildings, stored anddisposed, which poses a serious logistical challenge, especially forlarge-scale livestock farms. Fertiliser disposal requires continuoustechnical supervision, high flow capacity of the draining system, andregular collection and removal of manure (in litter systems). Animalfertilisers must be disposed into leak-proof tanks or slabs, which canoccupy large space or area. According to the Helsinki Convention on theProtection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (HELCOM),the minimum storage capacity level required should be 6 months storage(manure can be used in pre-summer and pre-winter ploughing) representingthe following parameters: cattle farms ? 20,000 m3 slurry tank(s), grower-finisher farms ? 2,450 m2 manure slabs and 2,100 m3 fermented urine tanks (Annex XIII).
Thereis also the issue of livestock waste utilisation. According to the Actof 10 July 2007 on fertilisers and fertilisation (Polish Journal of LawsDz.U. 2007.147.1033), large-scale livestock farms are under the duty tospread at least 70% of the slurry they produce on agricultural landthey own or lease.With the reduced maximum nitrogen dose of 170kg/ha/year (maximum phosphorus dose is 25 kg/ha/year), a cattle farmwith 2.000 LU would need at least 823.5 ha of arable land, and agrower-finisher farm of 5.000 LU ? would need at least 123.5 ha (withoutincluding fermented urine) (Annex XIII). Natural fertiliseroverproduction it has to be disposed (for use by other farmers) under awritten fertiliser disposal contract (which need to be kept on file forthe minimum period of 8 years) (Annex XII). If livestock waste is usedas a fertiliser, it must be borne in mind that the majority of plantsmore easily adapt to nitrogen deficiency than nitrogen excess.
Over-fertilisationor fertilisation carried out at incorrect time and under improperconditions has been quite common since many large-scale livestock farmsare unable to make use of the volumes of natural fertiliser theyproduce. This can be explained by unauthorised increase in livestocksize beyond the limits defined in the relevant permit or decision, orproviding false data on the agricultural land owned or rented inrequests for integrated permit / environmental impact reports, orunauthorised modifications of animal rearing conditions, etc. In thebroader context, this can be explained by the fact that, as isfrequently the case, livestock waste is not accounted for in theagricultural production cycle and food supplies, and in thecost-accounting of livestock farming.