Really Important - Don't use Manure at the moment! - Forum

Just wanted to bring this to the attention of anyone who hasn't caught the news stories in the last couple of weeks. People growing vegetables up and down the country (and particularly on allotments) have had crops of potatoes, tomatoes, beans, peas and lettuce wreked by manure contaminated by traces of the weedkiller aminopyralid (trade name Milestone or Forefront) which is often sprayed on pasture land (particularly since the withdrawal of many common herbicides last year.) The hay or straw is then fed to animals or used as bedding and ends up in the manure, causing long term contamination of vegetable beds.The following articles are really useful if you are concerned:News as broken by the Guardian:http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/29/food.agricultureA good discussion is at:http://www.allotment.org.uk/garden-diary/257/aminopyralid-herbicide-residue-in-manure-killing-crops/And the effects are well documented at:http://www.glallotments.btik.com/p_Contaminated_Manure.ikmlMy own blog article, summarising the problem is at:http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=42I'm particularly concerned that this herbicide may end up in municipal waste schemes, not just manure which will have a devistating effect on those growing fruit and vegetables. If anyone knows of any such contamination, please let me know as I'd like to raise the issue on my website.

Yes, I've since come across this article:
http://www.compost.org.uk/content/view/923/1
which also names clopyralid which is apparently in 43 UK herbicides.
The article concludes with: 'Each biowaste processor should, as far as practicable, check with each supplier of plant, manure or stable waste whether any product that contains clopyralid or aminopyralid has been applied to the material...Clearly this recommendation is not feasible for biowastes collected from households but local authorities can help to minimise risks by reminding householders to read herbicide product labels carefully before deciding whether to purchase a product, using it and deciding what to do with any garden plant wastes treated with the herbicide'

Yeah... like that's ever going to happen! Sounds like local authority recycling schemes are high risk for this kind of contamination.

Replies

Classic Gardens July 13, 2008 at 11:03am

Many of the busy lizzies for the last few years round our area inc council planting have all failed for no apparent reason and all sourced from different growers.

Could this be a possible reason?
PRO

Phil Voice July 13, 2008 at 11:13am

Jeremy

Thank you for keeping this in the public eye.

A couple of threads where this has been mentioned on Landscape Juice and this network as well.

Really worrying for organic gardeners isn't it?

* Warning issued on the dangers of contaminated manure

* Weedkiller in manure damages food crops
Jeremy Dore July 13, 2008 at 11:48am

Philip,
Sorry - had missed that you'd alredy covered this. I think it does really call into question the whole organic standards area, since manure has long been a standard input to organic farming. That's why I'm very interested in the new Stockfree Organic certification which is organic but without any animal inputs (they use a clever system of green manures and composting to provide all the soil fertility requred and it has been proved to work for > 10 years now with improvements in soil condition)
Jeremy
Nick Steele July 13, 2008 at 9:04pm

My understanding is that although the current complaints all seem to relate to aminopyralid, there are maybe 10 other similar hormone type weedkillers, some of which are used in retail grass "weed and feed" products. Some of those are surely already in the municipal waste stream....
Jeremy Dore July 13, 2008 at 9:59pm

Yes, I've since come across this article:
http://www.compost.org.uk/content/view/923/1
which also names clopyralid which is apparently in 43 UK herbicides.
The article concludes with: 'Each biowaste processor should, as far as practicable, check with each supplier of plant, manure or stable waste whether any product that contains clopyralid or aminopyralid has been applied to the material...Clearly this recommendation is not feasible for biowastes collected from households but local authorities can help to minimise risks by reminding householders to read herbicide product labels carefully before deciding whether to purchase a product, using it and deciding what to do with any garden plant wastes treated with the herbicide'

Yeah... like that's ever going to happen! Sounds like local authority recycling schemes are high risk for this kind of contamination.
PRO

Phil Voice August 2, 2008 at 8:35am

The Pesticide Safety Directorate has suspended for sale the use of any product that has Aminopyralid as an active ingredient - source Landscape Juice.
Jeremy Dore August 2, 2008 at 8:50am

The problem is still going to be around for a long time though, as supplies of manure which have aminopyralid continue to be available. More worrying is that ths suspension by the PSD was actually asked for by Dow Agrosciences as a temporary measure while they revise the usage advice, meaning that they are in control of when they reintroduce it to the market (perhaps when the media outcry has passed?)
PRO

Phil Voice August 2, 2008 at 8:55am

"perhaps when the media outcry has passed?"

Judging by the feeling and anger on the gardening and vegetable growing blogs, I suspect that they will not get away with being unnoticed and I suspect that scrutiny will never be that far away.