Dankalk & agriculture belong together
Many years ago, when Danish agriculture started marling fields to reduce their acidity and make better use of soil nutrients, lime was largely synonymous with calcareous clay. Today, the situation is different. Increased knowledge of plant growth factors, along with specialty crops and intensive cultivation, has placed new demands on lime application. Learn more about agricultural lime, environmental lime, hydrated lime and much more here.
Lime for agricultural soil
Lime is a multifunctional nutrient.
Agricultural soils need to be limed regularly to ensure yield, quality and soil structure, as cultivation continually degrades the soil.
The acidity/lime status of the soil can be determined in soil samples and is expressed by the reaction number (Rt). A reaction rate that is too low for the soil type will not give an optimal yield.
Agricultural lime 0-20mm
Agricultural lime with high reactivity
The lime mined by Dankalk has a high reactivity. This means quick adjustment of the reactivity number in the soil and good utilization rates. The chalk layer in the soil at Dankalk is made up of billions and billions of microscopic limestone shells from tiny organisms called cocolites that lived in the sea millions of years ago. Despite this, it is a relatively young limestone type.
Read more about the origin of lime
Optimal soil conditions for higher yields
When the reaction rate is maintained with regular lime treatments, plants are given the optimal conditions for growth. Growth is improved as the reaction rate affects the plants’ root formation and uptake of essential nutrients. In addition, soil lime itself is also an important nutrient for plants.
Get the right advice
We train our staff to provide our customers with the best possible advice in the specific areas where the products and jordburg lime are used. Click the link below or visit the Advice tab to find a competent advisor in your field.
About our lime kilns
In addition to the lime areas at Aggersund of approx. 300 ha, Dankalk K/S also has a further limestone quarry located in Mjels.
Magnesium lime 2.5% & 5%
CaCo3/MgCo3 for Agriculture
Cost-effective delivery of essential nutrient
Magnesium is an essential nutrient for plant growth. Magnesium deposits in the soil are depleted over time as fields are cultivated. To replenish these stores, magnesium needs to be continuously replenished. Magnesium lime is advantageous because it combines liming and magnesium addition in one process, so the cost is lower than adding magnesium by hand. commercial fertilizer.
Magnesium lime 2.5% and 5% from Dankalk contains a mixture of agricultural lime and the magnesium-rich dolomite lime.
Magnesium Lime 2.5% from Aggersund contains 25 Kg. magnesium per ton. You need 25 Kg. magnesium per hectare. to raise magnesium levels one unit.
Multigro
Combined lime and mineral mix
Multigro is a lime product containing potassium, sulphur and magnesium.
Suitable for organic farming
Calciprill®.
Granulated lime perfect for quick pH adjustment and easy to use in a regular fertilizer spreader
A much higher pH adjustment is achieved by using Calciprill® granulated lime. This is due to a higher reactivity of the ultrafine particles used in the production of Calciprill® granulated lime.
Calciprill® granulated lime is ideal for spot liming of fields, parks and golf courses.
Fast-acting granulated lime for problem areas.
Benefits of Calciprill®
- Can be applied using a standard fertilizer spreader at a time that fits in with other field work.
- This eliminates the use of external suppliers and makes distribution less dependent on weather conditions.
- Calciprill® is made of micronized powder that is granulated to make it easy to apply to the crop without producing clouds of dust.
- Instant pH improvement is achieved with a quick response from the crop.
- Correct and fast pH adjustment ensures maximum utilization of expensive fertilizers.
- Calciprill® is an excellent source of calcium – an essential nutrient.
How to use
Correction factors are calculated according to soil type. It will usually be in the range of 150-300 kg per hectare.
For maintenance, use 2 kg Calciprill® per 1 kg. ammonium nitrate.
When the calcium in the soil is limited, the yield is also limited!
Lime is an essential nutrient for plant growth. Plants use calcium directly in their structure and as a buffer for other elements that are absorbed. In addition, plants can better utilize more of the other nutrients in the soil when they receive lime in an immediately available form.
Accessibility is key to results.
Dolomitic limestone
CaCo3/MgCo3 – Agriculture
The product is a stone lime that is crushed and finely ground. The fine grinding makes spreading extremely difficult, therefore mechanical mixing with chalk is done to improve spreading properties.
Dolomite limestone is used as a magnesium source for plants.
Dolomitic lime is the cheapest source of magnesium for agriculture.
dankalk’s products for agriculture:
- Alpine Fin, Agricultural lime
- Magnesium lime, Dolomite lime
- Garden lime, Fodder chalk
- Floating danchalk
- Mineral chalk F-12, Mineral chalk F-10
- Alpine Fin, Hydrated lime
Animal welfare and sanitization
Dankalk also produces a range of products for stables and slurry tanks. Environmental lime for bedding stalls improves animal welfare among cloven-hoofed animals, while hydrated lime and quicklime are used to sanitize manure.
Environmental lime for cubicles
CaCO3 – Environmental lime for agriculture
Can’t control the cell count in your milk?
This can be remedied with environmental lime, as you can halve the cell count by using environmental lime in the cubicles.
Environmental lime provides a good barn environment. This has been proven when the hoof trimmer has visited. He doesn’t apply any dressings and there are no swollen hamstrings.
Environmental lime results in drier and less slippery floors, good hooves, fewer diseases and noticeably lower cell counts. As a side benefit, the slurry contains more calcium and is said to be easier to work with.
Hydrated lime
Ca(OH)2 – Agriculture – Hygienization with hydrated lime
-Reduce the bacterial flora in the pigsty (recommended by Danish veterinarians)
Hydrated lime is a well-known product that has been used for disinfection for centuries. Hydrated lime, for example, was used to combat the great cholera epidemic of 1853. Today, hydrated lime is also used in connection with disinfection after decontamination for DT 104.
Hydrated lime effectively removes pathogens such as salmonella, viruses and some parasites such as tapeworms (Taenia).
It is therefore recommended to use hydrated lime for sanitizing in the barn after thorough cleaning. Copious amounts of hydrated lime are sprayed down between the slits to briefly raise the pH to 11-13 in the remaining slurry. Walls and fixtures are also sprayed and then rinsed with water.
Before mixing, the safety data sheet for Hydrated Lime MUST be read carefully.
It is recommended to use approx. 30-50 kg of hydrated lime mixed in 200 l of water per m3 of slurry.
Mixing in water is always recommended before use in the barn. It is necessary to have good ventilation. When sanitizing, the section of the barn being treated must be empty and NEVER spray directly on animals.
dankalk’s products for agriculture:
- Alpine Fin
- Agricultural lime
- Magnesium lime
- Dolomitic limestone
- Garden lime
- Fodder chalk
- Floating danchalk
- Mineral chalk F-12
- Mineral chalk F-10
- Alpine Fin
- Hydrated lime
Hygienization of slurry in slurry tank on Mink farms with hydrated lime
Hydrated lime – the perfect product for sanitizing
Hygienization of slurry
Slurry can be sanitized by raising the pH to 12. For “standard slurry”, i.e. slurry with a dry matter content of 4%, add hydrated lime approx. 24 kg. per ton (1 ton = 1 cubic meter) to bring the pH up to 12. Before adding base (hydrated lime) to sanitize the slurry, make sure that pumps etc. can withstand the high pH.
Hygienization of slurry by increasing pH
The amount of hydrated lime needed to bring the pH of the slurry to 12 depends on the dry matter content of the slurry. As a rule of thumb, use approx. 24 kg of hydrated lime per ton/cubic meter of slurry.
In practical terms, the required amount of hydrated lime can be determined as follows:
- Weigh approximately 300 grams of Hydrated Lime in a plastic container – determine the weight of container + Hydrated Lime to the nearest gram.
- Stir the slurry thoroughly in the slurry tank.
- Transfer 10 liters of the stirred slurry to a bucket.
- Pour about half of the weighed amount of hydrated lime into the bucket.
- Stir the slurry thoroughly to achieve a uniform mixture.
- Check the pH of the mixture using indicator paper.
- If the color of the indicator paper does not match pH 12, add a small amount of Hydrated Lime to the mixture. Then stir thoroughly and check the pH of the mixture again.
- Continue as indicated in point 7 until the pH of the mixture reaches 12.
- Weigh the container including the unused amount of Hydrated Lime to the nearest gram and subtract the final weight of the container from the initial weight.
- Divide the result by 10 – this gives the amount of hydrated lime (kg) to be used per cubic meter.
The total amount of hydrated lime needed to sanitize the contents of the slurry tank is determined as follows:
- Measure the inside diameter of the slurry tank. Enter the result in meters.
- Measure the depth/thickness of the slurry layer. Enter the result in meters.
- Calculate the amount of slurry (cubic meters) as: (slurry tank diameter) x (slurry tank diameter) x (slurry layer depth) x 0.79Calculate the required amount of hydrated lime (kg).
Example
Achieving pH 12 in 10 liters of slurry requires approx. 224 grams of hydrated lime
The diameter of the slurry tank is 16 meters.
The depth of the slurry layer is 3 meters
Amount of slurry = 16 x 16 x 3 x 0.79 = 606.72 cubic meters
The required amount of hydrated lime = 606.72 x 22.4 = 13,590.53 ~ 13,600 kg
Before sanitization takes place:
It is important that the slurry tank has been stirred for at least 2 hours with an agitator
If there has been infectious disease and thus bacteria in the slurry, the best way to sanitize the slurry is to use hydrated lime.
It is possible to break the chain of infection because hydrated lime kills viruses and bacteria when the slurry pH is raised to around 12.
Hydrated lime is blown directly, from a special pipe that the slurry lime brings with it, below the surface of the slurry. This means that there will be limited dust generation during the process. Download hygiene management leaflet: Here
Stamped Lime
Ca(OH)2 – Agriculture
Stamped Lime is used among other things. for whitewashing the interior and exterior of buildings. It is highly alkaline and therefore has a disinfecting effect.
Quicklime Must be stored frost-free and in original packaging.
dankalk’s products for agriculture:
- Agricultural lime, Magnesium lime
- Dolomite lime, Garden lime
- Feed chalk, Liquid danchalk®
- Mineral chalk F-12, Mineral chalk F-10
- Alpine Fine, Burnt lime
- Hydrated lime, Danchalk
How much lime do I need to add?
The average consumption of lime on agricultural land is 600-1200 kg per hectare. pr. years.
Where Rt is in the right range, apply 2 tons of agricultural lime every 4-6 years for maintenance.
Where Rt is below the target level, the soil must be limed. A rule of thumb is to add between 0.5-1.0 tons of quicklime to increase the reaction rate by 0.1 unit. Largest amount on clay and humus soils.
When can you lime?
Lime can be applied all year round. Lime does not harm growing crops. However, it is optimal and most practical to apply lime after harvest in the fall or early spring before crop establishment.
Apply lime 2 years before the most sensitive crop in the rotation
Agricultural lime, environmental lime and hydrated lime – Specialty products for home & abroad
Today, Dankalk K/S offers a wide range of specialty products within agricultural lime, environmental lime and hydrated lime; not only for agriculture, but also for golf courses and lawns. The Danish quality is well known, and Dankalk is increasingly exporting, among other things, highly reactive agricultural lime.
Dankalk K/S has its own chalk, which is used for agricultural lime, and via the private port in Aggersund, dolomite lime is imported, which is refined into magnesium lime.
