Crop Protection Specialists Hutchinsons, have launched the 2016 Dry Matter Challenge Competition with the aim of encouraging growers to lift the biogas yield from crops grown for use in Anaerobic Digestion (AD).
Entries are invited from now and the competition will run through to August 2016 to allow for at least one crop to be harvested and clamped, and potentially two if for example a crop of winter rye is planted following maize.
The competition will have a single category based on farm scale crops (entries from small scale plots are not acceptable). Photographic records and verified samples will be analysed to measure output and dry matter content. The DMC trophy and prize will be awarded for total dry matter yield that is usable for AD at a bespoke awards evening.
Dominic Bovis of Hutchinsons, who is heading up the initiative believes that this competition will prove to be a valuable learning for all AD growers. “We intend to host a discussion meeting to share experience and best practice. All participants will become members of the Hutchinsons Dry Matter Challenge Club and receive topical updates and e-mail notes relevant to crop growth and AD feedstock production.
Entry forms and additional information on the challenge can be obtained via the Hutchinsons website here.
