Talking Dairy

Getting the most from your fert spend | Ep. 59

August 16, 2023 DairyNZ
Getting the most from your fert spend | Ep. 59
Talking Dairy
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Talking Dairy
Getting the most from your fert spend | Ep. 59
Aug 16, 2023
DairyNZ

With farm business viability top of mind and soils still very wet around the country, what are some steps you can take to make sure you’re spending your fertiliser dollar wisely? In this episode, hear solid advice from two legends of the fert industry: Dr Ants Roberts, chief scientist at Ravensdown, and Warwick Catto, science strategy manager at Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd. They discuss trends in fertiliser use, whether you can afford to skip soil testing, the best time to apply nitrogen fertiliser and in what quantity, herbage tests, sulphur and lime use, placement tools, effluent spreading, specific strategies for wet soils, and much more.

Notes

Booklets (fertiliser.org.nz)
Managing nitrogen fertiliser - DairyNZ
Soil Fertility for Pasture - DairyNZ

Show Notes Chapter Markers

With farm business viability top of mind and soils still very wet around the country, what are some steps you can take to make sure you’re spending your fertiliser dollar wisely? In this episode, hear solid advice from two legends of the fert industry: Dr Ants Roberts, chief scientist at Ravensdown, and Warwick Catto, science strategy manager at Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd. They discuss trends in fertiliser use, whether you can afford to skip soil testing, the best time to apply nitrogen fertiliser and in what quantity, herbage tests, sulphur and lime use, placement tools, effluent spreading, specific strategies for wet soils, and much more.

Notes

Booklets (fertiliser.org.nz)
Managing nitrogen fertiliser - DairyNZ
Soil Fertility for Pasture - DairyNZ

Trends in fertiliser use
Strategies for spending your fert dollar wisely
Can you afford to skip soil testing?
Benefits of whole-farm soil testing
Herbage testing – a fine-tuning tool
Soil testing crop paddocks
Can I just put on lime in tight times?
Applying fert – dos and don’ts; accurate placement tools
Smart effluent use
Using N tactically
Applying N when it’s wet
Sulphur – “if in doubt, put it on this year”
Leaching and its effect on soils right now
Is it worth getting a fert rep out?
Biggest bang for buck, plus trace elements