Farmer making more money selling cow muck than it does milk

Cows graze in a field before being milked. Credit: PA

A farmer is now making more money selling slurry from his 900 dairy cowsthan he does from selling their milk.

The owner of Yorkshire Dales-based Metcalfe Farms, near Leyburn, said while he was selling the 33 litres of milk each of his Holstein heifers producedaily at a loss, 100 tonnes of slurry scraped from the barns was helping topartially balance the books.

This is because the cow muck is being used to power nearbybusinesses and was also being sold to the National Grid.

David Metcalfe, who launched the power enterprise with his brothers Brianand Philip and Stokesley-based anaerobic digestion firm JFS & Associates, said other dairy farmers struggling with the low prices could benefit fromsimilar schemes if they grouped together.

He said the 200KW of electricity the cattle produce had led to power bills for the three firms on the site falling by 60 per cent.

In addition, the nutrient-rich processed slurry had led to fertiliser billshalving as the product is rich in nitrogen, phosphate and potash.

Falling prices, which have seen supermarkets selling milk cheaper thanwater, have left many dairy farmers in a desperate situation with some losing up to 10p for each litre they sell.

He said:

How it works:

  • The slurry is piped into an anaerobic digester on site, before being broken down by bacteria to produce methane gas. This is then used to produce electricity for the dairy, haulage and truck repair firms on the site, which employ 160 people.