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Aromas in the Countryside AromasAlong with the smell of new mown hay and honeysuckle in the spring goes the aroma of organic fertiliser. There is no doubt that this can be quite strong. I have been asked by several people what these odours are and why we have them around the village. Over the past 40 years there has been an increasing use of artificial fertiliser made from petrochemicals sold by firms like ICI. Successive UK and European governments encouraged the production of food at any cost to make sure all the shelves were full. This was achieved by the use of artificial fertilisers with organic fertiliser seen as a poor relation and, to some extent, a waste disposal problem. The introduction of the Water Framework and Nitrate Directive in 1996 set strict limits on the amount of organic fertiliser which could be applied to an area of land at any one time during a year. On the other hand, the drive to reduce the reliance on petrochemicals has made the use of organic fertiliser a requirement. In order to meet the requirements of the Nitrate Directive we can no longer apply organic fertilisers in large volumes during the winter months, we have to apply little and often throughout the year. The warmer weather does make the aroma more volatile and with lower rainfall during the summer months it may linger. We are making every effort to minimise the effects of this. We have an under road pipe system which allows us to spread more than 60% without having to carry it to the field by road. It is then applied at ground level thereby avoiding the droplets being atomised into the air. We operate a boomed tanker for accurate application to make maximum use of a valuable resource. We also separate the dairy manure composting the solids. This highly valuable fertiliser is then taken to areas on the estate with poor soil structure and low organic matter to improve their long term fertility. Organic fertiliser is the ultimate in recycling. Without good use of organic fertiliser we would not be reducing the nation’s reliance on petrochemicals. We also get the sweet smell of new mown hay. Alastair Jeffrey Yattendon Estates Limited Farms Director |
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