Farm slurry is the name given to fertiliser made from cow dung mixed with water that is then spread on the fields to encourage crops to grow.
The dung is collected from cow sheds and stored in slurry pits or lagoons. DEFRA advises farmer that the best time to spread slurry is spring and summer when crops need it most; there are regulations that are supposed to prevent spreading at the wrong time of year.
There is almost universal agreement that slurry does not smell good, though a heavy pong will encourage some folk to take a deep breath and laud “the healthy smell of the countryside”.
Farm slurry is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and while these help plants grow, they cause problems elsewhere.
Slurry, being liquid, is easily washed away into rivers by rain. Once there, the fertilisers promote algal blooms that choke aquatic ecosystems. Badly managed slurry is a major source of water pollution in Britain today.
Working with slurry can be dangerous; it’s easy to become overcome by the gas fumes released during the slurry mixing process.
