Animal manure removal has risen sharply again

In the first half of 2016, players in the agricultural sector transported a record volume to manure. That record was achieved by a plus in the transport of cattle and slurry. It also became apparent at the beginning of the year that the General Administrative Order (AMvB) land-relatedness would have an effect on manure sales.

Now to the facts. Statistics from Statistics Netherlands show that animal manure discharge increased again in 2016. In 2016, more than 30,7 million tons of manure was sold. This is an increase of more than six percent compared to 2015. This increase is accompanied by a three percent increase in the number of kilograms (kg) of phosphate. This increased to 2016 million kg of phosphate in 137,1.

Animal manure discharge has not only increased compared to 2015. Over the past five years, total manure discharge has increased by more than 20 percent. This can be explained in various ways. The abolition of the milk quota is one of these. In 2015, manure sales increased by almost 10 percent compared to 2014. 

The largest increase is visible in the animal transport of slurry. In 2016, 4 million tons of slurry was sold. That is an increase of 20 percent compared to 2015. There is also an upward trend in the sales of cattle manure. This increased by 2016 percent in 9 to 12,7 million tons of manure. However, this is still a lot less than the increase in 2015, when manure sales increased by more than 18 percent.

On the other hand, a large decline is visible in the sales of horse manure. Last year, 5,6 percent less manure was sold, only 1,9 million tons, than the year before. That is almost the same as five years ago. In 2012, 1,87 million tons of horse manure was sold. This outcome is surprising, because the number of horses per company is actually increasing.

There are a number of striking elements visible among the manure buyers. A large part of the manure goes to the arable farm via the intermediary, but a significant decrease is visible this year. In 2016, arable farms purchased 8,8 million tons of manure. That is almost six percent less than in 2015. While in 2015, 30 percent more was purchased compared to the previous year. The biggest cause of this decline is the wet spring of 2016. This meant that entrepreneurs could only start fertilizing later or refrain from doing so.

Another striking decline is visible among grazing livestock farms. Nearly 2016 million tons of manure was purchased here in 3,5. In 2015 this was still 3,9 million tons. That is a decrease of more than 11 percent. The main reason for this is that entrepreneurs have more livestock of their own. The AMvB land-related was introduced in 2016. It appears that farmers have purchased enough additional land to use their own manure.

Finally, it is striking that there has been a very large increase in manure consumption at horticultural companies. In 2016, horticultural companies purchased more than 1,1 million tons of manure. That is an increase of 260 percent compared to the previous year. If we look at previous years, we see that an average of 1,2 million tons of manure is purchased in five years. In 2015, this fell by 78 percent to 300.000 tons. A logical explanation is therefore that horticultural companies have returned to normal volumes.  

All in all, we see that a large part of the market has started selling and/or purchasing more manure. Slurry manure and cattle manure in particular are being sold significantly more. That was already apparent the record which was achieved in the first half of 2016. With the introduction of phosphate rights, animal manure removal and purchase will remain a surprise for next year.