Contaminated Manure

[realfood]

I have received the following message concerning the uplift of manure, contaminated by the herbicide Aminopyralid made by Dow.

"Dow AgroSciences are organising the free collection and appropriate disposal of manure that contains trace amounts of aminopyralid and would like to know if you would be interested in this service.

If this is a service that you would like undertaken, then please reply back with the following information. Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to arrange disposal services in all cases, although we will do our best to help you.

To help in this matter, please answer the questions below and reply back to me by 16th October 2009:

1) Approximately how much manure (either bags or estimated weight) do you have that requires collection?

2) Where is the manure located?

3) Please provide precise details of access arrangements for the site where the manure is located including confirmation of whether there is vehicle access. If you are not the owner of the site, please also confirm whether the owner or another person's permission is required to enter the site:

4) Please provide your contact details: full name, address, postcode and particularly a day time telephone number:

If you do not reply it will be assumed that you do not need any further assistance with the removal of any manure.

Following receipt of this information, I will contact you on behalf of Dow AgroSciences to discuss the follow up arrangements.

Please note that any assistance offered is without admission of liability on the part of Dow AgroSciences or Stewardship Ltd in relation to any losses or damage which may have been caused to your crops.

A website, www.manurematters.co.uk has been created to provide further information.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter and assuring you of our best intentions

Steve Higginbotham
E-mail: manurematters@stewardship-ltd.co.uk "


I would suggest that everybody should take advantage of this offer to get rid of their stockpiles of this contaminated manure and contact them using the above e-mail address by the 16th October.

[Westi]

What are they going to do with tons & tons of contaminated
manure

Westi

[glallotments]

Good question but apparently they have sent exactly the same email to others too so some sort of system must be being put into operation. It would be good to have information confirming that this has happened.

By the way the test that has been mentioned by the ACP isn't anything other than the bean test.

[Johnboy]

Hi Westi,
Every scrap of the collected manure will be absorbed back into farming.
Amino Pyralid is used to control broadleaved weeds in grass crops and any affected manure can be spread on grassland where it will do absolutely no harm. Although I do not think that AP is licenced to be used on Cereal crops direct there doesnt seem to be any restriction on using affected manure to grow any grass/cereal crop.
JB.

[glallotments]

Johnboy
You are correct in that aminopyralid isn't licensed for use on cereal crops in this country.

It can be spread on grassland. I have asked what will happen if animals graze grassland whener contaminated manure has been spread. Will they injest any of the residual contamination and perpetuate the problem albeit to a weaken degree but haven't had a response yet to that and several other questions.

By the way the petition is now almost 2260. Anyone who hasn'y yet signed the petetion is here

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/aminopyralidban/

[peter]

Hi Westi,
Every scrap of the collected manure will be absorbed back into farming.
Amino Pyralid is used to control broadleaved weeds in grass crops and any affected manure can be spread on grassland where it will do absolutely no harm. Although I do not think that AP is licenced to be used on Cereal crops direct there doesnt seem to be any restriction on using affected manure to grow any grass/cereal crop.
JB.

JB, sadly it will perpetuate the issue.

[Johnboy]

Hi Peter,
It is possible that a severely weakened contamination could occur but the affects are yet to be proved. If the spread manure actually controls broad leafed weeds then there is the likelihood but I very much doubt it.
What perturbs me is that because the AP has not been used directly then there is no reason for a person to declare the AP has been used. I wonder what safeguards Dow have made?
AP has proved itself as a weapon against broad leaf weeds but the trouble is that the affects are so far reaching and for this reason I believe that it should be banned for good. There are methods of controlling broad leaf weeds that do not reek the havoc that AP has.
As of yesterday it doesn't concern me personally!! Yet it still must be banned for all time.
JB.

[glallotments]

The problem and petition was mentioned in the news section of the latest KG magazine and also the latest edition of another gardening magazine that I won't mention here. Hope it boosts the signatures.

Don't forget petition closes on 23 October!

[Monika]

We yesterday spread our large pile of contaminated manure on a 20'x20' bed which will be used for brassicas in 2010. We have tried to really work it into the soil and will do so again in early spring. Hopefully, the soil microbes will have done their bit and it should be 'clean' by then. Wish us luck!

Petition signed, by the way. I, too, think it AP should be banned for good because, with so many different people involved between the application of the weedkiller and the eventual use of the manure, there could never be a guarantee that it does not get into the wrong place.

[realfood]

Recognizing and testing for Aminopyralid contamination of manure.

On my website, I have recently updated the information available on aminopyralid manure contamination. In addition, there are photos to show the typical signs to look out for, that indicate aminopyralid contamination.
New photos and instructions have been added to show how to test manure for aminopyralid contamination. Although the test will take a few weeks to carry out at this time of the year, it is advisable to carry out the test before spreading new supplies of manure over your plot. As there must be thousands of tons of contaminated manure stockpiled on farms and stables, let the buyer beware!!
See this page for information and photos:-
http://www.growyourown.info/page164.html

[Johnboy]

Hi Realfood,
Why should there be thousands of tons of contaminated manure stockpiled? There really is no proof in what you have said because the manure can be used for fertilizing grass crops. At present there are masses of tons being spread on grass crops and although this may or may not contaminate next years crops. No actual spraying of AP should have been done this last season but I appreciate that certain individual farmers may have disregarded the regulations, this is a very unknown quantity so it is certainly still a case of buyer beware. The trouble lies where a rogue farmer has used AP he is very unlikely to pass on the information that he has broken the law. Thankfully the vast majority of farmers didn't
use AP in the first place and the amount of rogue farmers will be an absolute minimum. Most farmers are very responsible people especially where the use of chemicals is concerned.
JB.

[glallotments]

New photos and instructions have been added to show how to test manure for aminopyralid contamination. Although the test will take a few weeks to carry out at this time of the year, it is advisable to carry out the test before spreading new supplies of manure over your plot.

Hi realfood
To be honest I just don't see how the test can prove anything other than that the contamination IS present. There are just far too many variables involved. My reasoning is explained here http://glallotments.co.uk/Manure7.aspxI am worried that people may use this test and think all is well if they get a negative result. Testing for the small amount of residue that can adversely affect sensitive crops is difficult if not impossible even in lab conditions using more controlled testing. I asked DOW about this and their response was:

"This manure test has been put in place as a simple procedure for manure suppliers to check whether residues of aminopyralid might be present in their stocks of manure. A positive result would obviously indicate that the manure should not, under any circumstances, be supplied to gardeners or allotment-holders. A negative result does not guarantee the suitability of the tested batch of manure for use in gardens or allotments, but could be used as additional information when trying to establish the provenance of that manure.

Questions about the source of the manure, and forage within the manure, should always be asked in conjunction with carrying out the test. The test alone should not be relied upon to guarantee the provenance of manure supplies. Gardeners and allotment-holders must always satisfy themselves, as much as possible, as to the suitability of the manure they are planning to use".

Monika - great that you have signed - it's disappointing that the more famous professionals haven't signed up and I have emailed lots of them. Wonder if it is not the done thing.

[glallotments]

The problem and petition was mentioned in the news section of the latest KG magazine and also the latest edition of another gardening magazine that I won't mention here. Hope it boosts the signatures.

The article in the garden mags was as a result of the director of the Soil Association making public a letter that he sent to Hilary Benn. I have posted the contents of the letter on my website if anyone is interested.

It's here
http://glallotments.co.uk/Manure5.aspx

[oldherbaceous]

Dear glallotments, we are very much indebted to you for providing us with all the up to date information as it becomes available. It saves us having to trawl different sites trying to keep in touch with what is happening.

So a big thank-you.

[glallotments]

We need a final push to get more signatures on the epetition. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/aminopyralidban/

The last date for signing is 23 October so there is little time to spare. MPs are being directed to the petition and so it could have an affect of convincing them that there is concern out here. One MP at least has even signed up - maybe we need to encourage more of them to support us. I have tried to encourage high profile gardeners to sign up but with little success although one or two recognisable names are on the list. I know lots of you have signed up so thanks for that. It would be good if all the magazine crowd would sign up to support us.

Please encourage as many people as you can to sign, post on as many forums as you can or on your own website or blog or social network page. Recommend the page to one of the web sharing utilities such as Stumbleupon. Anything you can think of - just take a couple of minutes.

I know realfood has been busily posting all over the place as I keep bumping into him!

The ACP had the problem again on the agenda of their last meeting and should post the minutes today but none have arrived yet. When I find them I will post on this web page http://glallotments.co.uk/Manure5.aspx