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XtraBlatt Issue 02-2019

TITLE THEME 4 he feels.

TITLE THEME 4 he feels. After four years, a ley is regarded as “permanent” under Danish regulations – and there are restrictions to breaking this up. On the Laursen farm the arable ley includes 5% clover. This is maximum inclusion currently because the nitrogen “fixed” by the clover has to be calculated within total permitted organic manure, or N content, per hectare. CONTRACTOR DEMAND One of the two contractors that work for Niels Laursen is Torben Kamp who runs the Maskinstation Skamstrup in Varde. This firm has 27 full-time employees and three main specialties: agricultural work, earth moving and civil engineering operations and transport. In the agricultural sector, dairy farmers are major customers. Torben Kamp reckons that dairy farm operations include annually application of around 600,000 m 3 slurry, chopping some 3,500 to 4,000 ha of forage maize with his fleet of four silage harvesters, and ensiling four to five cuts of grass from approx. 2,500 ha. He, too, has experienced the substantial structural changes in the last years: “Ten years ago 20% of our customers still had less than 100 cows. Nowadays, this applies to only three farms. All the others have substantially expanded their herds.” From his point of view this trend is certainly advantageous. It means most farmers he works for are on a more professional footing, concentrating mainly on the livestock and leaving 4 Contractor Torben Kamp presently runs four silage machinery chains for harvesting and driving home to the clamp. 5 Krone importer Dan Hamann values the average size of Danish dairy farm, now at 300 cows with upward tendency. quasi all outside work to the contractor. He’s very aware of the risks involved, though. “When customer numbers sink, each farm then represents a greater share of turnover and our dependence on winning the available work naturally increases. But with most farmers, discussions on pricing are less frequent than before. Farmers expect best work quality and highest flexibility from us. Then they’re prepared to pay the price involved”, says contractor Kamp. He adds that there are one or two who now and again decide to try buying their own forage harvester, especially when a particular manufacturer launches a sales campaign in the district. “But all too soon comes the realisation that a lot more than a new forage harvester is needed. A capable harvesting machinery chain is also required. Spare parts and workshop servicing are expensive – and above all a good workforce is crucial, with the added problem that knowledgeable workers are increasingly hard to find.” Torben Kamp says he’s very satisfied with his many regular customers – and 10

EU. Now, introducing it is all the more difficult.” CONTROLLED TRAFFIC Another theme associated with pasture management and apparently subject to great interest in Denmark is “controlled traffic”. Not only Torben Kamp confirms this, but also his contractor colleague Hans Tobiasen from Ribe, who employs a full-time staff of 21 in his Skamstrup contractor business with a range of services comparable to Torben Kamp’s. The idea behind controlled traffic involves using the same tracks across the field for all machinery operations, a strategy well-supported nowadays through GPS navigation aids. Soil compaction from heavy machinery is limited to the tracks and because the rest of the field is less-wheeled, overall yields have increased. Output from grass can increase by up to 7%, according to Danish field trial results. 5 with his long-year employees. The cost theme definitely applies to slurry application. For the individual farmer, the expensive machinery for slurry injection and SyreN logistics would be impossible to justify financially. On top of this, a special certificate is required for applying acid with the slurry. Torben Kamp also takes care of the documentation as a service for most of his customers. Reporting this aspect of slurry application is mandatory for every Danish farm. “While we don’t have to sample slurry and need no proof of site-specific applications, precise documentation of the slurry amounts applied is nevertheless demanded by the state. And every cow in Denmark is recorded, too”, he explains. Such documentation is mandatory not only for farmers, but also for any dealers involved. Once per year, he says, all respective data must be delivered to a central office which also carries out spot accuracy checks. “If figures are not completely accurate, penalties can include repayment of EU premiums and severe fines”, he adds. This contractor sees the Fertiliser Ordinance since 2000 as a hard cure for agriculture. But reckons that farmers have come to terms with the Ordinance in the meantime. “Luckily, here in Denmark we’ve had enough time to work ourselves into the procedure step by step. It is a complete puzzle to me why, in Germany, one has waited until now before applying the Ordinance. After all, it was decided upon long ago by the The aim with grassland is to achieve establishment of permanent tracks every 24 m, with maize every 12 m. This approach already functions very well for slurry applications, says Hans Tobiasen. At work in his fleet are five three-axle tankers plus a three-wheeled self-propelled tanker, together carting and applying around 350,000 m 3 annually. Incidentally, a full 60% of his customers want their slurry injected into their pasture, the remainder preferring the trailing hose system. “Only forage harvesting machinery, for instance mowing and tedding equipment, have other working widths that don’t fit the required tracks. And with maize chopping, our harvesters still don’t manage the 12 m widths”, he admits. Hans Tobiasen agrees with the positive evaluation of the more practically suitable Danish requirements for N and P application since 2017. “The yields on pasture are acceptable. Nitrogen is no longer a limiting factor, as was the case even three years ago. Maybe phosphorus could cause such a problem over the longer term for maize, but not necessarily for grass.” He sees as interesting a trial project by the local biogas plant operator. Here, phosphorus is extracted from fermentation residue. The P-reduced material is then used for pasture manuring, and the extruded P added to residue applied for manuring maize. “In this way, the permitted limited values can be met best and respective crop requirements covered to a great extent,” is his first impression.« 11