Evaluation of Four Farm-scale Systems for the Treatment of Liquid Pig Manure

The critical success factor for the operation of the manure treatment installations turned out to be not of technical but of economical nature. The manure treatment costs, including variable and fixed cost, varied from 7 to 17 € t−1 (excluding value added tax). To be cost effective in comparison with the disposal of untreated manure, these costs must be balanced out by the sale or the lower disposal costs of the manure products. As market prospects and disposal costs for manure and its products differ from case to case, no generally preferred manure treatment technique can be pointed out from this study, as local market circumstances must be taken into account.