This is a really neat idea for farmers to help contribute to curbing global climate change. It’s happening at the Leckford Estate, Hampshire, UK. FYI, just in case you’re not sure, farmyard slurry is the waste of farm animals combined with water and perhaps other bits and pieces such as hay. It’s normally fed into a pit where it can be used as a fertiliser.
In this instance, the slurry pit is covered and sealed. It is left for months where it will bubble and steam producing gas which is filtered, purified and collected. The gas no longer goes into the atmosphere where it contributes to global warming. You might know that methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warmer.
The resultant product is fuel to power tractors. And instead of tractors releasing fossil fuel produced carbon dioxide they will release carbon dioxide that was most recently in the form of grass. The concept is that cows fed on grass which is processed by the digestive system which is then passed out as waste and that waste goes into the slurry pit. So, the end result of the carbon dioxide from a tractor which is powered by slurry methane is that it comes from grass rather than being dug up in the form of oil.
Any remaining slurry left behind can be used as a fertiliser which will help the grass to grow and take up the same amount of carbon dioxide.
“Effectively, we are using animal manure to power tractors and removing carbon from the atmosphere”, said Andrew Hoad the head of Leckford Estate. He estimated that including the savings from fertiliser the estate will reduce the farm’s carbon footprint by 1300 tons a year.
The UK government wants the plan to be copied. Lord Benyon from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and George Eustice, the former Environment Secretary went to the estate to enjoy the opening of the system last Thursday.
Apparently, UK legislation is coming into force which will mean that most farmers will have to cover their slurry tanks to keep out rainwater. The government is hoping that a lot of farmers decide that it is worthwhile to keep the gases produced by the slurry contained at the same time for the reasons stated above.
George Eustice said: “It is a win-win on every level. I just don’t see a downside. It’s incredibly exciting.”
The question is whether the system is scalable meaning can be scaled up to be used across the country. David Webster from the sustainable farming organisation Leaf said: “Farmers need to know that if they are going to make those investments, the business will benefit, that the efficiency savings will have longevity.”
My thanks to The Times newspaper of Saturday, October 7, 2027 for this story.
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