Nitrogen: some practical solutions for the poultry industry

Over four million tonnes of poultry manure are produced annually in the UK, containing about 100 000 tonnes of nitrogen (N). During the housing, storage and land spreading of poultry manures, ammonia N losses have been estimated at 44 000 tonnes per annum, equivalent to about 19 % of estimated UK ammonia emissions in 1996. Poultry manure applications to agricultural land should supply no more than 250 kg total N/ha per annum to comply with recommendations in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Water Code and proposed manure loading rates in designated Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in England and Wales. To recycle the annual manure N output from 1000 layers and 1000 broiler places requires 2.6 and 2.0 hectares of land, respectively. To make best use of the readily available N content of poultry manures, applications should be made when there is a crop requirement (generally spring and summer) and should be managed as part of an integrated fertilizer N programme.