sludge from city?

Anyone ever get the sludge from their city/town put on fields?
What about on future grass hay crop?

Distant neighbors do. Here it is highly regulated, sampled, can't do same field every year, no canning crops on it the same year, etc.

As such it seems the only logical way to use the stuff, recycle it.

If your laws are not so regulated in your area on the stuff, I'd be concerened about heavy metals and other bad things mixed in with it. It can be
an issue of no one is watching.

If your customers are horse owners, depends how fussy they are, horse people pay the big bucks, but they come with some overhead, and can
get ideas in their heads, depends if they are the types that get ideas and would shop elsewhere.

In general it is a good way to recycle and be green with our waste stream and I'd be for it, but there can be some concerns to iron out first?

Paul

been doing that here on row crop for several years and some last year on pasture. City does soil samples as they can only put on so much "N" but I have not seen any adverse issues with it. plus side is it's free. they also have to mix some stuff with it for smell and flies.
Gary

(quoted from post at 09:23:42 05/07/15) been doing that here on row crop for several years and some last year on pasture. City does soil samples as they can only put on so much "N" but I have not seen any adverse issues with it. plus side is it's free. they also have to mix some stuff with it for smell and flies.
Gary

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I may pass this time because I'll be cutting in 3-4 weeks. One guy I talked to said it didn't have any odor.

ours, when it's first put down to me smells like muddy water is best way I can describe it, but clears up pretty fast.

The sludge my neighbor about 2 miles from my home applied STUNK for days.

could be difference in processing. no one has ever said it really stinks. I know our city adds some stuff to help keep that down so maybe that's why. I don't know for sure.

(quoted from post at 04:14:27 05/08/15)
The sludge my neighbor about 2 miles from my home applied STUNK for days.

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The guy called me yesterday inquiring about my property and as we talked I told him it would be applied to a hay field and he said it couldn't be mowed off in the near future because it would be too rough because they knife it in(inject). He said that they usually like it applied to a field that is going to be tilled.
I have some grass hay customers so I declined.

In our town there are several factories
that have chemicals that are unknown
because it's a trade secret in other words
there is something in that sludge. It is
regulated and I would like to use it but
there is always a way around the rules. It
also depends on your rock formations if you
drive down the road look at where the cut
the road through if it's got cracks all the
way down it could be karst that let's water
and things through quickly if you do it
pull a water sample before that way if
anything gets in later you have the early
sample. Some wells around here now have
arsenic in them

I wound up a tomato farmer when I used it. Seems tomato seeds apparently from the tomatoes you buy in the store and use in salads
and all, survive the process and numerous volunteer tomato plants sprouted. Other than that, no big deal.

(quoted from post at 05:34:07 05/07/15) Anyone ever get the sludge from their city/town put on fields?
What about on future grass hay crop?

Click to expand...

Something I can comment on.

I work at an industrial waste water plant and we have to dispose of 5 to 8 dump truck loads of sludge every day. When the pastures and hayfields are good to drive a semi on a contractor slings it on the fields at a rate of 2.5 to 3.5 dry tons per acer.

Most states have tight controls on what waste water plants get rid of. Samples of the sludge are sent to a lab for all sorts of test before any permit is given. If you are worried about what is in the sludge, ask for the current certificate of analysis and take it to a soil expert of your choice for advice.

Since there are many different types of waste water plants (WWP) there are several different types of sludge. The type I have experience with is called "Activated Aerobic Waste" or "Aerobic Waste". In short it is just harmless bacteria and mineral.

For Activated Aerobic Waste the N, P, and K values will be rather low but the benefit to the hay crop is fantastic unless there is a drought. I have used it 4 times. In normal rain fall years expect a 30% increase in hay production. In a drought, no gain at all.

While the fertilizer value is low there is some sort of biological event that goes on that crops seem to respond to.

Bonus tip: Run a field spike (pasture aerator) or a or some sort of pasture renovator over the area so that the bacteria can get into the root zone. This will cause the effect of last for 2 or 3 years.

I think you should give it some real consideration.

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