Contaminated manure

[azadigger]

The RHS have put out a warning about manure contaminated with hormone based herbicides.
The herbicide passes through the host animal (eg, cattle) when they are fed grass or straw that has been treated. They recommend asking supliers to confirn their manure is free from contamination. Has anyone else come across this?

[MINESAPINT]

It is something I am concerned about as I have had a few loads of manure from a local non-organic farm. Any idea what problems it might cause?

[azadigger]

They say it can cause abnormal growth of vegetable plants. They also say crops may not be fit for consumption, probably because the herbicides concerned are hormone based. The RHS web site has a news link and offers some advice about checking the source of the manure you use. I hope this helps.

[Peggy Sue]

I'm really worried about this scare now, my tomatoes showed the absulte classic symptoms as per all teh photos I've seen on websites, they also exhibited this last year too and it was a mystery then. I now have one potato, growing in a bag, mixed with manure showing this and one end of my bean row was affected too in exactly the same way, curled leaves, sickly plant.

What bothers me is my compost heap is horse manure from my own horse, the farmer sprays the fields (unfortunately) but has not used any Dow chemicals which are associated with this scare, he has used the same ragwort killer which is hormone based that he has used for years and says evryone on the allotments has used the muck for years no problem and he sprays his own beans with cow muck with no adverse affects to the beans.

If this is not his grass or hay (hay comes from his fields too) and the horses there live out so no straw (blamed on many sites) where is the contamination coming from? I suspect it is therefore more than just this one Dow chemical- does anyone else have any info on aminopyralids as I can't seem to find any on google.

I really want to find out as I now have 6 pallet sized compost heaps full of manure I ahve collected and barrowed over and if it's really no good thats a lot to barrow back- if I don't have to that is!

Any info very welcome!!

[Jobi1canobi]

I can't believe that even poop isn't sacred! Is there anything that isn't contaminated these days?

[MKG]

I'm really worried about this scare now, my tomatoes showed the absulte classic symptoms as per all teh photos I've seen on websites, they also exhibited this last year too and it was a mystery then. I now have one potato, growing in a bag, mixed with manure showing this and one end of my bean row was affected too in exactly the same way, curled leaves, sickly plant.

What bothers me is my compost heap is horse manure from my own horse, the farmer sprays the fields (unfortunately) but has not used any Dow chemicals which are associated with this scare, he has used the same ragwort killer which is hormone based that he has used for years and says evryone on the allotments has used the muck for years no problem and he sprays his own beans with cow muck with no adverse affects to the beans.

If this is not his grass or hay (hay comes from his fields too) and the horses there live out so no straw (blamed on many sites) where is the contamination coming from? I suspect it is therefore more than just this one Dow chemical- does anyone else have any info on aminopyralids as I can't seem to find any on google.

I really want to find out as I now have 6 pallet sized compost heaps full of manure I ahve collected and barrowed over and if it's really no good thats a lot to barrow back- if I don't have to that is!

Any info very welcome!!

Well, Dow is the only company whose products contain the nasty in question - and I've just read Dow documentation from way back warning that manure from animals kept on land treated with it MUST NOT be used as a fertiliser. Ergo, this time it isn't the company's fault - it's the farmers who have got greedy and sold the manure regardless. I wonder if your particular farmer is telling you the whole truth about what he sprayed and where he sprayed it.

Anyway, apparently it takes six months to break down if it's been incorporated into the soil but up to two years if the manure is still in a pile. Not great, but at least it goes away eventually.

[Peggy Sue]

Well I keep my horse on his land so it's not like he's sold me the manure, and I have to say when I first quizzed him about it he wasn't defensive he just said he's find out what he's used and got back to me a few days later saying what ahd been used on what fields this year, last year and in history, how he'd used the muck on his beans with no ill effects etc.

There does seem to be something missing in this puzzle, and if for some reason it's NOT my manure I really don't want to barrow it all away, since I didn't buy it I'm never going to get him to collect it!!

[Peggy Sue]

There's a petition to ban this stuff- I've signed, here's the link:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Aminopyralid/