Coolmore Ireland Brochure 2024

Compost is very important as a natural fertiliser on the land and it is also a way of using the large volumes of stable manure accumulated over the year. Stables are mucked out daily and the used straw is then recycled as bedding for our cattle which are housed indoors during the winter months. The resulting farm yard manure is an ideal raw material for making compost, a more stable form of nitrogen and other nutrients, and is stored until it can be spread on the land the following autumn. Compost increases the diversity and population of soil microbial communities and increases soil humus content. Its naturally high phosphorus and potash content enriches the land and reduces our reliance on chemical fertilisers. In the spring cattle are let out to pasture and a system has been developed to manage stable manure during the summer months. Dirty straw is stockpiled on a large custom made covered concrete apron where cattle slurry is added. A purpose-built machine then turns the straw, agitating it and adding air, which when mixed with moisture will speed up the decomposition process.