Livestock farmers are currently on the cautious side with the disposal of manure. Margins in pig farming in particular are under pressure and the motto is: minimize costs. For the somewhat longer term, livestock farmers and traders are also looking at the development in the fertilizer market with a slanted eye.
Pig farmers are careful when disposing of manure. Pig prices are moderate, while costs for, for example, feed and energy have risen sharply. This combination puts a heavy burden on the liquidity of many pig farms. What is necessary, but if there is sufficient storage space, pig farmers prefer to postpone the removal of manure and the associated costs.
In cattle farming, things seem to be a bit busier with the disposal of liquid manure, according to various insiders. There are still some companies with a surplus on the mineral balance that remove manure in the last weeks of the year. This partly concerns liquid manure, but there is also some that is separated in order to remove sufficient phosphate.
Spring makes or breaks manure sales
In the background, the relatively high fertilizer prices also play a role in the animal manure market. This could create additional demand for liquid manure next spring. Traders and commission agents have not yet noticed that there is an immediate increase in demand from arable farming, but livestock farmers seem to be preparing for this by at least not removing more manure than is strictly necessary. Insiders warn that this is a gamble. For example, liquid manure can be used in wheat as a substitute for expensive artificial fertilizer and there is certainly additional interest in this from arable farming. If it is dry next spring, giving contractors a sufficiently long period to drag hoses in the wheat, the manure will easily find a destination. If it remains wet for a long time, sales may be disappointing. The capacity is simply not there to spread all the manure for which there is demand.