Gippsland - How Now Gippy Now - April 2010 Edition
Six top tips for farm fertiliser needs
Getting the best value for your money at any time it is important. As one of the big expenses within any farm budget, assessing your farm’s fertiliser or nutrient needs is clearly important.
- Refer to recent soil test results from an accredited soil testing laboratory to see what your current soil fertility status is and what nutrients if any are deficient. If you don’t have any recent soil test results to refer to, then get some done now. While not an ideal time to do them - spring is best - it will be better than not having any! Keep records of your past fertiliser use and note what nutrients you have applied to which areas of the farm.
- Compare what you have applied to the soil test results to see if a change in mix or rate is required.
- Look at your pasture! Have some areas performed better than others? Match this with what you have found with your soil test results and what nutrients you have applied.
- Refer to your milk statements to see what production has done for the year and compare this with the amounts of brought in feed. Then do a fertiliser budget.
- Determine the nutrient level of your dairy shed effluent by testing your effluent. Tests can be obtained by contacting the Water Studies Centre at Monash University on (03) 9905 4096. There is a charge to for this service.
- Know what you are buying. There are some new products out there, so ask questions. What nutrients do they contain? Is there research to back up what’s being promoted? What is the cost relative to other options? Then if you are interested in using the product, do a trial on a small part of the farm and assess before using on a larger scale.
Within a sustainable pasture production system, fertiliser applied on farm where it’s really needed means you’ll save money and avoid excessive quantities of nutrients leaching into streams and ground water.
For more information, contact your local fertiliser company agronomist or DPI dairy extension staff at Ellinbank, Leongatha and Maffra or a consultant agronomist.
Alternatively, you can visit the Dairy Extension Centre website at www.dairyextension.com.au and click on ‘Fertilising Dairy Pastures’.
