Aminopyralid contaminated manure - Information on removal, finding safe manure

[realfood]

I have received the following message concerning the uplift of manure, contaminated by the herbicide Aminopyralid made by Dow.

"Dow AgroSciences are organising the free collection and appropriate disposal of manure that contains trace amounts of aminopyralid and would like to know if you would be interested in this service.

If this is a service that you would like undertaken, then please reply back with the following information. Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to arrange disposal services in all cases, although we will do our best to help you.

To help in this matter, please answer the questions below and reply back to me by 16th October 2009:

1) Approximately how much manure (either bags or estimated weight) do you have that requires collection?

2) Where is the manure located?

3) Please provide precise details of access arrangements for the site where the manure is located including confirmation of whether there is vehicle access. If you are not the owner of the site, please also confirm whether the owner or another person's permission is required to enter the site:

4) Please provide your contact details: full name, address, postcode and particularly a day time telephone number:

If you do not reply it will be assumed that you do not need any further assistance with the removal of any manure.

Following receipt of this information, I will contact you on behalf of Dow AgroSciences to discuss the follow up arrangements.

Please note that any assistance offered is without admission of liability on the part of Dow AgroSciences or Stewardship Ltd in relation to any losses or damage which may have been caused to your crops.

A website, Manure - check provenance before buying has been created to provide further information.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter and assuring you of our best intentions

Steve Higginbotham
E-mail: manurematters@stewardship-ltd.co.uk "


I would suggest that everybody should take advantage of this offer to get rid of their stockpiles of this contaminated manure and contact them using the above e-mail address by the 16th October.

[zazen999]

Cripes - that's an interesting move.

I'm putting it up as a sticky, so that it stays at the top of the screen.

Thanks for letting people know.

[Flummery]

My guess is that they hope no one will be bothered to estimate the weight of their manure pile etc. They get good PR for offering though. The problem has been that if you had the problem, you only know because you've used the manure already!

I hope there are people who can take them up on this - they should be prepared to clean up their act.

[HeyWayne]

Please note that any assistance offered is without admission of liability on the part of Dow AgroSciences or Stewardship Ltd in relation to any losses or damage which may have been caused to your crops.

Hmmm, really?

So they're just doing it out of the goodness of their heart?

At least they're doing it I guess.

[oldie]

According to Garden Organic the Government is about to give the O.K. to Dow to start reselling the stuff without any modifications to the formula.

[zazen999]

Yup, we've had threads trying to get people to sign the petition....

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ned_37123.html

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...lid_36969.html

[realfood]

Recognizing and testing for Aminopyralid contamination of manure.

On my website, I have recently updated the information available on aminopyralid manure contamination. In addition, there are photos to show the typical signs to look out for, that indicate aminopyralid contamination.
New photos and instructions have been added to show how to test manure for aminopyralid contamination. Although the test will take a few weeks to carry out at this time of the year, it is advisable to carry out the test before spreading new supplies of manure over your plot. As there must be thousands of tons of contaminated manure stockpiled on farms and stables, let the buyer beware!!
See this page for information and photos:-
manure_contamination

[glallotments]

Advice on obtaining manure

What is Aminopyralid?

Aminopyralid is the active ingredient in a range of herbicides including ForeFront and Mileaway (originally known as Runway). Aminopyralid is a particularly persistent chemical which does not affect grass plants. This means that when grass is eaten by animals the chemical passes through the animals gut and remains active in any manure produced. Stacking manure for a long period does not remove the problem.

It is only when the manure is subjected to soil microbes and all plant material is completely broken down that the residue is released and rendered harmless.

What does Aminopyralid do?

Aminopyralid affects plant hormones. Affected plants display distorted growth typically cupping or excessive bubbling of the leaves and fern like shoots. The leaves may be leathery and have strongly defined parallel veining.

Although plants such as potatoes, tomatoes, bean, peas, raspberries, dahlias and some roses are particularly susceptible other plants may be affected depending on the concentration of residue.

Some images and video of affected plants are available here

How can I avoid obtaining contaminated manure?

Ensure that you only acquire manure from suppliers that can guarantee no herbicide containing aminopyralid has entered the supply chain.

A list on questions to ask is available here

If your supplier cannot give any guarantees then don’t use the manure.

What if I have manure that I suspect is contaminated?

You can try to carry out a bean test instructions here:

The bean test can only prove that aminopyralid contamination is actively present it cannot prove that the manure is aminopyralid free.
If you have reason to suspect that manure is affected then:

• - Remove as much manure as possible.
• - Rotavate or dig the soil as often as you can to speed up decomposition.
• - Don't cover the soil as this will prevent air getting to the soil.
• - Grow crops that are less likely to be affected such as courgettes, squashes and sweetcorn.
• - Don't compost any affected plant material
• - Don't burn any affected plant material - this could be illegal
• - If your polytunnel or greenhouse is affected then keep turning the soil and keep the soil moist. Moisture and air are needed to aid plant decomposition.
• - Contact the Chemical Regulation Directorate pesticides@hse.gsi.gov.uk DOW agrochemicals UKHotline@dow.com

Other information can be accessed following the links below:

The Chemical Regulations Directorate

Links from this web page

By entering Aminopyralid in the search box of this forum you can access the many threads which have mentioned the problem.

[glallotments]

Has anyone managed to have their manure removed yet?

[Nicos]

only just seen this thread!

Free?...hmm...but now out of date.....although I'm leaving my lottie and a complete trailer load of affected manure- I think it'd be good to pass on this info!
...maybe now they'll do a reduced collection???
Thanks for that realfood!

[bigshod]

Having been told by Dow in September that they would be contacting me after the 16th Oct to arrange removal of 3 tons of contaminated manure from our site(some of which is seeping more contaminate into my greenhouse daily) I was forced to contact them again on the 23rd Nov. I received this reply (interested parties please note and use the name, address and phone no)

"Thank you for your email.
We are in the process of contacting a local farmer to see if it is possible for him to pick up the manure and hope to update you soon. Regards, Sarah Hurry, Technical Services Specialist, Dow AgroSciences Limited
Technical Hotline Telephone: 0800 689 8899"

It is now well on the way to Xmas. Sarah Hurry, live up to your name!

[SunnyU]

It is all a bit worrying really. We just had a load of manure delivered to the site and although the stables have confirmed that they don't use this weed killer, they do buy their hay and stuff from somewhere else and therefore couldn't confirm that it was definately free of aminopyralid.

I've read about the test with the broad beans - to grow them in soil mixed with the manure and another without the manure as a control. Would that work outside at this time of the year or do I need to have this in a greenhouse by now??

I've been informed that it is "assumed" that the manure is free of the weed killer but I don't really fancy taking chances with this...

[glallotments]

It is all a bit worrying really. We just had a load of manure delivered to the site and although the stables have confirmed that they don't use this weed killer, they do buy their hay and stuff from somewhere else and therefore couldn't confirm that it was definately free of aminopyralid.

I've read about the test with the broad beans - to grow them in soil mixed with the manure and another without the manure as a control. Would that work outside at this time of the year or do I need to have this in a greenhouse by now??

I've been informed that it is "assumed" that the manure is free of the weed killer but I don't really fancy taking chances with this...

Remember that the broad bean test is not conclusive - it can't prove that the manure is safe only that the manure DOES contain AP.

By the way the stewardship email is no longer valid to arrange for removal you now need to email UKHotline@dow.com

[glallotments]

I've just had an email from someone who has actually had his contaminated manure removed. With his permission I can share his concern at the apparent ignorance about the issue shown by the people doing the collection. He tried to explain some points to them.

The farmer who collected the manure had been given a load of paperwork telling them what they could do with the manure, and what they couldn't, but hadn't read it as it was quite a big list.

The farmer was going to spread the manure on barley. He appeared to know very little about why he was collecting the manure or what the problem was but had been paid what he called a substantial amount to collect it. He thought that people having been affected by the problem must have been given quite a large amount of compensation and that people must have kicked up quite a stink to get the stuff collected at all.

It would be interesting to compare what other farmers collecting manure have to say.

[glallotments]

Just as a postscript:
In the March addition of GYO mag it advised that a precaution that could be taken to avoid aminopyralid contamination is to stack manure for at least a year to allow any harmful chemicals to break down.

Whilst this will work in most cases of chemical contamination it will not remove aminopyralid from the manure. In order to break down, aminopyralid must come into contact with soil organisms and so will remain in stacked manure for what could amount to several years.

Also whilst in the future it should be safer to use stable manure it should be noted that many reports of problems last year related to manure obtained from stables. This could have been stacked in a stable prior to the withdrawal but it could also remain a problem until the new stewardship becomes well established.

The best advice is to ask your supplier the questions mentioned in the last post.