Consider using compost as fertiliser
With the price rise of urea in the past 12 months you may be asking yourself if you can access other cheaper sources of nitrogen.
Producers may consider the use of manure or compost but there are some animal health risks to take into account.
You must be confident the introduction of such products will not present a biosecurity risk to your livestock or property – assess whether the products will introduce pests, chemical issues, weeds, or diseases.
Some of these risks will be minimised if the products have been effectively composted because the composting process deactivates most pathogens.
If using pig or poultry manure you need to consider whether it contains Restricted Animal Material (RAM). RAM is defined as any material taken from a vertebrate animal other than tallow, gelatin, milk products or oils.
It includes rendered products, such as blood meal, meat meal, meat and bone meal, fish meal, poultry meal, eggs, feather meal, and compounded feeds made from these products.
It is illegal to feed RAM to ruminant animals or to allow ruminants access to a stockpile of material containing RAM.
This restriction is referred to as the ruminant feed ban. This ban commenced in 1996 to minimise the risk of spreading the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent, commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’.
Where compost containing RAM is spread on a pasture paddock used for grazing ruminant animals, the livestock should be kept out of the paddock for 21 days until there has been sufficient sustained pasture growth to absorb the compost, to limit any ingestion of potentially contaminated soil.
Where manure and compost are used as fertilisers, keep a close eye on these paddocks for signs of anything unusual. New weeds, pests or diseases need to be identified quickly, contained, and eradicated to prevent further spread.
If any new or unusual pest or disease occurs, inform your local agronomist or veterinarian.
For further advice on the ruminant feed ban visit the Agriculture Victoria website or contact Agriculture Victoria’s animal health or veterinary officers on 136 186.