With the price of fertiliser having almost trebled in recent months, some farmers will be looking to pig slurry as a cheaper alternative to chemical fertiliser next spring.

While beef and lamb prices are currently in a good position and dairying is continuing as strong as ever, pork price finds itself in a different situation, with prices under pressure and feed costs continuing to rise.

In light of the overall situation, it is not entirely unreasonable to think that pork producers may well be examining charging farmers for slurry delivered to tanks or spread on land. But it begs the question: How much money is it worth?

Teagasc has recently moved to assess the value of pig slurry and has outlined how much it is worth per 1,000 gallons to farmers, in nutrient value context and cost equivalent.

According to Teagasc, pig slurry is worth €48/1,000 gallons, or 1m3 (4.3% solids) is worth €10.50.

So, from the Teagasc figures, a 4,000 gallon tank-load of pig slurry would have a nutrient value of €192.

The table below gives an overview of Teagasc’s values:

Nitrogen
(N)
Phosphorus
(P)
Potassium
(K)
Nutrient content (kg/m³) 4.20.82.2
Nutrient availability (%)50100100
Fertiliser cost per kg (€)2.183.691.33
Value (€)€4.58€2.95€2.93
Source: Teagasc

It is important to point out that Teagasc’s monetary values for pig slurry are based on chemical fertiliser prices from November 2021.

1,000 gallons has the equivalent nutrient value to a 50kg bag of 19:7:20, according to Teagasc.

While the nutrient value of pig slurry hasn’t changed, the value of the nutrients respective to current fertiliser prices has increased significantly.

With costs having significantly increased over the past few months, farmers using larger quantities of chemical fertiliser will no doubt be analysing their fertiliser budget for this year and finding ways to make savings where possible.

The use of pig slurry is just one way farmers may be able to reduce costs for next year.