After rain comes sunshine (finally), you could say. Due to the weather conditions and the time of year, manure sales are very busy. The demand is high and that is also necessary with the large supply available. However, the demand has been so high that in some areas it is once again necessary to find cattle slurry at short distances. Other customers are therefore being asked whether they will switch to liquid manure a lot further away from the customer. Sales of fattening pig slurry remain difficult.
These are busy weeks according to manure transporters and contractors. "This week I am full and next week looks like it too," reports a manure transporter from the south of the country. The capacity is used to the maximum extent possible, at least. Some of the staff sometimes still take holidays. Spreading manure after the grain harvest is spread throughout the Netherlands, a completely different picture than this spring when spreading in the south was rare under good conditions.
Customer loves cattle slurry
The demand for cattle slurry has been high throughout the entire season. The sale of fattening pig slurry is a lot more difficult. Comparatively, cattle slurry - just like at the beginning of 2024 - still yields a higher balance than fattening pig slurry per hectare thanks to the more favorable contents. With the current sky-high sales prices, the supply of manure provides a considerable extra balance per hectare and arable farmers usually do not want to miss this in this year with probably disappointing harvests.
Supply is drying up in some regions
Nationally, the supply of both fattening pig and cattle slurry remains large. Various manure silos and storage areas were also not emptied in the spring, while the cellars of livestock farmers were also largely full. It's a bit of a double whammy, but it's still making a big difference in some regions, according to some contractors and manure transporters. In some areas the demand for cattle slurry has been very high, causing livestock farmers to sell off a lot and the warehouses to be (very) empty. Livestock farmers calculate how much manure they still need to get through the winter, or at least until a certain date, and see that not much more is needed to reach that point. In several cases that point has already been reached. They can dispose of a little more, but why dispose of it at these high prices if they don't have to?
As a result, supply is drying up somewhat in some regions. To meet demand, cattle slurry must be sourced from further away or other customers must be approached. What also happens is that the liquid manure comes from quite a number of different livestock farmers. There is still plenty of manure from other areas and it is certainly not the case that the supply of liquid manure has decreased drastically or that this is the average trend. There are also plenty of areas and livestock farmers that still need to be properly disposed of and have difficulty finding a buyer. However, it is a sign that the overcrowded manure market in some areas is calming down somewhat when it comes to cattle slurry. In addition, the extension of the spreading season a little bit of air with two weeks on grassland.
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Prices remain sky high
The developments are not (yet) reflected in DCA's weekly fertilizer quotations. These remain quite stable in week 33. According to manure transporters, a decline in selling prices cannot be seen again because it concerns a limited number of regions and the supply elsewhere is often more than sufficient. Fattening pig slurry is expected to increase rather than decrease.
A complete overview You can find the pork and cattle slurry prices per region here.