Brian Hammond
Brian Hammond
Brian Hammond is farm
manager for Carnreagh
Farms at the 182ha (450-
acre) Ballyalloly Farm,
Comber, Co Down, where he
grows 50ha (125 acres) of
potatoes as well as cereals
and oilseed rape
MUCK, muck, glorious muck. Much, if not all, our spare time in the winter months is spent carting 3000-4000t of FYM.
The reason for this massive operation is our potato acreage. I have not mentioned this before, but apart from 200t of Record on a crisping contract, our entire crop is grown without the use of chemical fertilisers, with all nutrients coming from FYM.
The crop is in fact chemical fertiliser-free and marketed as such. This niche market we supply has been very successful for ourselves and our packers (Wilsons Country) who, in 1996 won The Ballygowan Good Food Award, judged by the Irish Guild of Food Writers.
With no livestock on the farm it is therefore necessary to cart FYM from near and far. It is piled up in several locations around the farm and spread in the spring before ploughing in, ready for the following crop of potatoes.
In cost terms, fertiliser would probably be cheaper after all the time, wear and tear are taken into account. There is, however, a big benefit for subsequent cereal crops with improved soil structure and fertility.
Cereal yields have risen steadily in fields which have had two or three potato crops over the last 10 years, whereas, in fields deemed unsuitable for potatoes, they have declined. FYM is much better than anything you can get from a bag or a bottle. It is, in my opinion, the elixir of life for soil.
The storm on Christmas Eve caused some minor damage, the worst of which was the removal of the polythene sheet from our chilling tunnel, which, after six years, was ready for replacement anyway.
Nineteen-ninety-eight started the same as 1997 ended – very wet and very windy. The last time this happened, according to John Kettley, was 1976. That should cheer most potato growers up. *
Stockpiling muck is the main winter activity at Ballyalloly Farm, N Ireland. Potatoes are the immediate beneficiaries, but subsequent crops enjoy a better soil structure and nutrient boost too, says Brian Hammond.