During a recent visit to his tillage farm in Larch Hill, Co Kildare, fourth-generation farmer Darragh Cleary said: “We were looking for something that could replace the benefits of growing beet on the farm up to 2006.”
After losing that important break crop, the family began growing winter oilseed rape but soon realised that this crop alone wasn’t enough to return nutrients, organic matter and improve the health of their soils.
It was then that Darragh, along with his brother Gavin and father Pat, looked to the UK for a solution and began to explore the process of producing compost to spread on the farm.
Composting
Cleary Composting and Shredding was set up in 2006 with the aim of producing compost to spread on the land. Green waste material such as grass clippings, leaves, Christmas trees and other foliage is delivered to their yard by a number of small landscapers and waste-recycling companies. All of the material originates from the Leinster region and a small gate fee is charged per tonne of material delivered.
Gavin runs the composting business and explained that a large proportion of this green waste, which is used to make compost, would otherwise end up in landfills.
Under EU law, a permit to compost over 25,000t is subject to licensing by the Environmental Protection Agency. Cleary Composting currently has a permit for 10,000t, so it is subject to licensing by the local authority.
However, due to space restrictions, the current capacity limits intake to less than 10,000t. Then, following screening and weight loss, the company’s annual usable compost output is approximately 30% of the total green waste intake.
The composting process
The delivered green material is weighed, inspected and tipped into the yard. The material is shredded using a slow-speed shredder. Each batch is then placed into individual windrows for a 12-week period where temperatures within the rows can get as high as 700C.
Each batch is then screened to between 15mm and 20mm which removes some of the oversized material. At this stage, some oversized material from previous batches is reintroduced as it has been decomposing for some time and is full of the beneficial bacteria and microorganisms, which helps to speed up the composting process.
A slow-speed shredder is used to shred green waste material.
The batches may need to be watered during dry periods to aid decomposition. The water that is needed to do this is usually pumped from collection tanks at the bottom of the yard.
Each batch is then placed into windrows again for a four- to six-week maturation period.
After this process, grade one compost is produced and is ready to be spread on the land.
Each batch is tested before it is spread and contains roughly 8kg to 9kg of N/t, which is around 5% available, 2kg to 3kg of P/t, which is around 75% available and 5kg to 6kg/t of K, which is roughly 80% available. The compost has a carbon/nitrogen ratio of approximately 25:1.
The shredded green waste is piled into windrows and allowed to decompose.
Compost’s contribution to soil health
“I was more than surprised with the results at the start. We didn’t see the yellowing of our crops in spring anymore. It remains that lovely green colour,” explains Darragh’s father Pat.
The majority of the compost is spread in the autumn as soon as the fields are clear and trafficable. A local contractor who uses a Fendt 828 with a tri-axle Bergmann disc spreader, equipped with weigh cells and auto steer, spreads all the compost. This costs around €3/t plus vat.
The farm is managed by Darragh with help from his father Pat during busy periods. The 2016 Zurich Tillage Farmer of the Year award winner grows over 240ha of cereals, brassicas and legumes.
Just over 70% of the land is farmed on long-term leases with soil types ranging from medium to heavy clay. Soil fertility varies from field to field but overall P indices are generally high while K indices tend to be low – a key problem that compost is helping to address.
The farm normally operates a six-year rotation consisting of winter oilseed rape, winter wheat, winter barley, spring beans, winter wheat and winter barley. Crops are established using a Horsch Sprinter 4 ST drill with min-till drilling.
Based on experience, compost appears to be a natural deterrent for slugs and Darragh believes this is partially down to having a thriving ecosystem and natural predation, quoting a high population of beneficial ground beetles in his fields.
Compost forms an important part of the slug control strategy, especially after brassicas and cover crops, which tend to attract higher populations.
Compost has undoubtedly made the land more friable, returned beneficial bacteria and microorganisms to the soil and has contributed significantly to increasing the earthworm populations, although the min-till system and cover cropping have also helped with this.
The slow release nature of compost means major and minor nutrients are released throughout the season helping crops remain green all throughout winter.
Challenges
The venture has not been without its challenges, however. Rigorous planning regulations and public objections have made the process lengthy and has come at significant cost. A comprehensive pre-planning report and environmental impact assessment were also required to ensure full compliance with the local authorities regulations.
Opportunities
Using compost on the Clearys’ farm has led to an increase in earthworm populations and natural predation, improved soil structure, decreased inputs and helped to achieve higher yields. This has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the Cleary operation.
There is significant potential for this to be replicated on many more farms around the country, explains Darragh. With an ever-growing urban population continuing to challenge our waste management capacity, farmers could form part of the solution through farm-scale composting of green materials.
In return, farmers produce their own soil conditioners which, when managed correctly, provide a range of benefits for soil health.
Green material can be composted and used as a soil conditioner. The compost is rich in microorganisms which provide benefits to soil health.This compost contains roughly 9kg of N, 2kg to 3kg of P and 5kg to 6kg of K per tonne but is very slow release.
During a recent visit to his tillage farm in Larch Hill, Co Kildare, fourth-generation farmer Darragh Cleary said: “We were looking for something that could replace the benefits of growing beet on the farm up to 2006.”
After losing that important break crop, the family began growing winter oilseed rape but soon realised that this crop alone wasn’t enough to return nutrients, organic matter and improve the health of their soils.
It was then that Darragh, along with his brother Gavin and father Pat, looked to the UK for a solution and began to explore the process of producing compost to spread on the farm.
Composting
Cleary Composting and Shredding was set up in 2006 with the aim of producing compost to spread on the land. Green waste material such as grass clippings, leaves, Christmas trees and other foliage is delivered to their yard by a number of small landscapers and waste-recycling companies. All of the material originates from the Leinster region and a small gate fee is charged per tonne of material delivered.
Gavin runs the composting business and explained that a large proportion of this green waste, which is used to make compost, would otherwise end up in landfills.
Under EU law, a permit to compost over 25,000t is subject to licensing by the Environmental Protection Agency. Cleary Composting currently has a permit for 10,000t, so it is subject to licensing by the local authority.
However, due to space restrictions, the current capacity limits intake to less than 10,000t. Then, following screening and weight loss, the company’s annual usable compost output is approximately 30% of the total green waste intake.
The composting process
The delivered green material is weighed, inspected and tipped into the yard. The material is shredded using a slow-speed shredder. Each batch is then placed into individual windrows for a 12-week period where temperatures within the rows can get as high as 700C.
Each batch is then screened to between 15mm and 20mm which removes some of the oversized material. At this stage, some oversized material from previous batches is reintroduced as it has been decomposing for some time and is full of the beneficial bacteria and microorganisms, which helps to speed up the composting process.
A slow-speed shredder is used to shred green waste material.
The batches may need to be watered during dry periods to aid decomposition. The water that is needed to do this is usually pumped from collection tanks at the bottom of the yard.
Each batch is then placed into windrows again for a four- to six-week maturation period.
After this process, grade one compost is produced and is ready to be spread on the land.
Each batch is tested before it is spread and contains roughly 8kg to 9kg of N/t, which is around 5% available, 2kg to 3kg of P/t, which is around 75% available and 5kg to 6kg/t of K, which is roughly 80% available. The compost has a carbon/nitrogen ratio of approximately 25:1.
The shredded green waste is piled into windrows and allowed to decompose.
Compost’s contribution to soil health
“I was more than surprised with the results at the start. We didn’t see the yellowing of our crops in spring anymore. It remains that lovely green colour,” explains Darragh’s father Pat.
The majority of the compost is spread in the autumn as soon as the fields are clear and trafficable. A local contractor who uses a Fendt 828 with a tri-axle Bergmann disc spreader, equipped with weigh cells and auto steer, spreads all the compost. This costs around €3/t plus vat.
The farm is managed by Darragh with help from his father Pat during busy periods. The 2016 Zurich Tillage Farmer of the Year award winner grows over 240ha of cereals, brassicas and legumes.
Just over 70% of the land is farmed on long-term leases with soil types ranging from medium to heavy clay. Soil fertility varies from field to field but overall P indices are generally high while K indices tend to be low – a key problem that compost is helping to address.
The farm normally operates a six-year rotation consisting of winter oilseed rape, winter wheat, winter barley, spring beans, winter wheat and winter barley. Crops are established using a Horsch Sprinter 4 ST drill with min-till drilling.
Based on experience, compost appears to be a natural deterrent for slugs and Darragh believes this is partially down to having a thriving ecosystem and natural predation, quoting a high population of beneficial ground beetles in his fields.
Compost forms an important part of the slug control strategy, especially after brassicas and cover crops, which tend to attract higher populations.
Compost has undoubtedly made the land more friable, returned beneficial bacteria and microorganisms to the soil and has contributed significantly to increasing the earthworm populations, although the min-till system and cover cropping have also helped with this.
The slow release nature of compost means major and minor nutrients are released throughout the season helping crops remain green all throughout winter.
Challenges
The venture has not been without its challenges, however. Rigorous planning regulations and public objections have made the process lengthy and has come at significant cost. A comprehensive pre-planning report and environmental impact assessment were also required to ensure full compliance with the local authorities regulations.
Opportunities
Using compost on the Clearys’ farm has led to an increase in earthworm populations and natural predation, improved soil structure, decreased inputs and helped to achieve higher yields. This has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the Cleary operation.
There is significant potential for this to be replicated on many more farms around the country, explains Darragh. With an ever-growing urban population continuing to challenge our waste management capacity, farmers could form part of the solution through farm-scale composting of green materials.
In return, farmers produce their own soil conditioners which, when managed correctly, provide a range of benefits for soil health.
Green material can be composted and used as a soil conditioner. The compost is rich in microorganisms which provide benefits to soil health.This compost contains roughly 9kg of N, 2kg to 3kg of P and 5kg to 6kg of K per tonne but is very slow release. 
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