Archive:Agriculture - manure storage statistics

Data from September 2013. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article presents statistics on manure storage facilities in the European Union (EU). These facilities are found on holdings (almost exclusively) with livestock and are used to store manure before its application on the farm to improve the nutrient content of the land. While manure is a valuable fertiliser if applied correctly and in the right quantities — it can be an environmental risk if applied in surplus or under the wrong conditions (for example, when the land is frozen or there is heavy rainfall).

The volume of manure produced on a farm relates, among others, to the number, breed, age and gender of livestock, types of feedstuff, climatic conditions and the time of year. Many small livestock farms do not have the land, equipment or time to recycle all of the manure that is generated on-farm. Larger farms also face difficulties in manure management practices, for example, investing in adequate resources for storage. Farmers often choose to apply manure in the spring and early autumn, so their storage facilities might need to be of sufficient size to accommodate manure collected over at least a six-month period.

Manure storage facilities and manure application are closely linked to emissions of ammonia (NH₃), nitrous oxides (N₂O) and methane (CH₄), the latter two both being greenhouse gases — see separate articles on greenhouse gases and ammonia emissions for more details. The level of emissions from manure storage facilities depends on the type of manure storage (manure as a solid, liquid, or slurry) and whether or not the manure storage facility is covered (protected from the elements). When manure is stored or treated as a liquid it decomposes anaerobically (in other words, without the need for oxygen) and can produce a significant quantity of methane; the temperature and the retention time in storage greatly affect the amount of methane produced.

While the storage of manure has environmental consequences, so too does the application of manure. When manure is applied on the land, it tends to decompose under more aerobic conditions and less methane is produced. However, ammonia emissions from manure spreading principally occur during the first 12 hours after the application of manure. Higher levels of emissions tend to be recorded when manure is not incorporated into the soil rapidly. The application of manure during heavy rainfall can result in different environmental risks, such as nitrate losses through leaching and phosphorous losses through sediment that is transported in surface run-off (leading to the pollution of ground and surface waters).

Main statistical findings

Agricultural holdings with manure storage facilities

There were 2.3 million agricultural holdings in the EU-28 that had manure storage facilities in 2010 (see Table 1). Some 82 % of these holdings had storage facilities for solid dung, 35 % had storage facilities for liquid manure, 26 % had slurry tanks and 5 % had slurry lagoons; note that some agricultural holdings were able to store manure in more than one of these different types of facility. Each type of storage facility has its own characteristics that a farmer must take into consideration: among others these concern differences in storage volume, odour level, potential run-off, retention of nutrient content, potential gas dangers and emissions levels, site requirements and suitability.

There are wide variations in the different types of manure storage facility used across the EU Member States:

storage facilities for solid dung were found on a majority of holdings that had manure storage facilities in all of the EU Member States in 2010, with the exception of Belgium (just 22 %). Indeed, more than half of the Member States reported that in excess of four fifths of their farm holdings with manure storage facilities had facilities for solid dung: this share rose above 95 % in Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovakia and Romania. In Switzerland, every agricultural holding with manure storage facilities had a storage facility for solid dung and a storage facility for liquid manure;

liquid manure storage facilities were found on a majority of agricultural holdings with storage facilities in Belgium, Lithuania and Austria (all between 60–64 %), as well as Slovenia (73 %), Poland (78 %) and the Czech Republic (80 %). By contrast, there were no liquid manure storage facilities on agricultural holdings in Luxembourg, Portugal or the United Kingdom;

slurry tanks were found on a majority of agricultural holdings with storage facilities in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg (where the highest proportion was recorded, 82 %) but were uncommon in many of the other EU Member States;

slurry lagoons were a relatively uncommon option for manure storage in most EU Member States, the highest proportion of holdings with this storage facility being in Spain (31 %) and the Netherlands (40 %).

Subdivision 2

Data sources and availability

Context

Further Eurostat information

Data visualisation

Regional Statistics Illustrated - select statistical domain 'xxx' (= Agriculture, Economy, Education, Health, Information society, Labour market, Population, Science and technology, Tourism or Transport) (top right)

Publications

Title of the publication

Main tables

Title of top Main tables folder, see:

Title(s) of second level folder (if any)

Title(s) of third level folder (if any)

Database

Title of top Database folder, see:

Title(s) of second level folder (if any)

Title(s) of third level folder (if any)

Other information

Regulation 1737/2005 (generating url [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32005R1737:EN:NOT Regulation 1737/2005]) of DD Month YYYY on ...
Directive 2003/86/EC (generating url [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003L0086:EN:NOT Directive 2003/86/EC]) of DD Month YYYY on ...
Commission Decision 2003/86/EC (generating url [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003D0086:EN:NOT Commission Decision 2003/86/EC]) of DD Month YYYY on ...

External links

Name of organisation/web site/deep link

Notes

[[Category:<Subtheme category name(s)>|Agriculture - manure storage statistics]] [[Category:<Statistical article>|Agriculture - manure storage statistics]]