The manure balance shows how much phosphate has been supplied via animals and feed and how much has been removed with animals and manure. The feed quality plays an important role in this. A feed package with a low cost price often means a higher supply of phosphate. Every half kilo more phosphorus in the feed means one kilo more phosphate in the manure and that requires more manure to be removed.
A number of pig farmers have taken the feed price as a starting point this year when choosing the feed package, says Gijs Vinken, pig farming specialist at Fransen Gerrits (FG). ‘Of course the price is an important aspect, but they may not have thought carefully about the fact that a feed package with a lower price often goes hand in hand with a higher phosphorus content in the feed.’
That is a pity, thinks Henk Oppers, manure expert at FG Business Development. ‘Because every half kilo extra phosphorus in the feed means that there is 1 kilo more phosphate in the manure of a meat pig.’ According to Oppers, pig farmers with a cheap feed package would do well to (have) the manure balance drawn up.