An imported $1 million machine is unlocking the power of pig manure by pumping it into the soil.

“There’s really not a lot of downside to putting your pig manure into the ground,” owner Mark Young said.

It is a simple enough principle, but the technology involved is far from basic and is helping this farmer improve his soil and reduce his use of synthetic fertilisers.

Mr Young owns an 8,000-head piggery and swathes of irrigation land near the Queensland town of Kingaroy, 220 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.

For years, he has been trying to find a way to profit from his pigs’ poo.

Ms Young said the tanker offered a “win-win” to both the piggery and the farm’s irrigated crop production.

“Rather than it just sitting in a pond evaporating, instead of a line on my cash flow [that reads] ‘fertiliser’, that line will significantly drop, so there will be massive savings, especially if the cost of fertiliser goes up,” said piggery manager Sharon Young.

Closing the nutrient loop

Slurry tankers, as they are known, are not new in Australia, but few can efficiently inject effluent into the soil at scale.

The Italian-made tanker has a capacity of 30,000 litres and a vacuum pump that can fill it to the brim in a matter of minutes.

Implements towed behind it inject effluent 20-30 centimetres into the soil.

The whole set-up, including the tractor and importation, cost Mr Young about $1 million.

He said it would quickly earn its money back.