PhosAgro has found an interesting niche for phosphogypsum

PhosAgro has introduced a new product, phosphogypsum for animal breeding, used as a bedding in farms and poultry houses.

“In poultry houses, bedding is brought each cycle. In case of growing broilers, it’s once in 40 days. In cattle breeding, bedding is laid every six months and then every 3-4 weeks it’s simply added and updated. After use, it is composted. Moreover, the presence of phosphogypsum speeds up the process by 10-15%, and again, due to the sulfur content, the nitrogen content in the compost increases by 11% and the ammonia content in the poultry house air decreases by 8%,” said the head of the Apatit phosphogypsum sales department (part of PhosAgro) Lidia Kholomieva.

The study of phosphogypsum as a component of the bedding was carried out on the basis of the All-Russian Research and Technological Institute of Poultry. Experiments have revealed that bedding based on phosphogypsum, sawdust and straw better protects animals from the cold and is less eliminated of the beds. For example, as the experience of the agricultural company “Bunyatino” showed, the addition of phosphogypsum in the amount of 10% reduces the consumption of bedding by 25%.

“Our practice has shown that it’s enough to add 10-30% of phosphogypsum to the bedding made of straw or sawdust to provide comfortable conditions for animals. By the way, in the case of cows, there is another advantage: the udder gets dirty much less and does not get cold, which directly affects the health of animals and their productivity,” said Polina Golitsyna, chief livestock specialist of the Bunyatino agricultural company.

Phosphogypsum is currently actively used as an ameliorant and a component in modern systems of plant mineral nutrition. Phosphogypsum contains phosphorus, calcium, sulfur and other trace elements useful for plants. Numerous studies have confirmed its soil-improving and fertilizing properties and environmental safety. The soil-improving and ameliorative effects of phosphogypsum last five or more years.