increase font size
Ballance science manager Aaron Stafford
With cashflows tight on dairy farms, pasture comes out on top as the cheapest feed source, says fertiliser co-op Ballance Agri-Nutrients.
Ballance science manager, Aaron Stafford, says getting the best grass for the least cost can be achieved with a hand from science.
The “grow your own” approach of using nitrogen fertiliser to boost pasture growth provides the most cost-effective supplementary feed, but with cash-strapped farmers working within very tight budgets, they want to be confident of a good pasture response to money spent on nitrogen.
“There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a poor or variable pasture response nitrogen fertiliser to boost feed availability, says Stafford.
“We can help farmers get the best results by enabling them to tailor application rates to areas which are likely to produce the highest pasture response.”
Application rates can be tailored using Ballance’s N-Guru, a software tool developed with AgResearch through Ballance Agri-Nutrients Clearview Innovations Primary Growth Partnership programme. Based on a soil ‘total N’ test that has been calibrated with pasture nitrogen response, N-Guru can help to improve efficiency of nitrogen fertiliser use, by linking data from the farm with a nitrogen response database. This allows N-Guru to forecast which parts of the farm are likely to be more responsive to nitrogen fertiliser. It is most valuable when soil testing shows variation in total nitrogen levels across a property, although it can also be useful to look at the seasonality of nitrogen responses. Five years’ worth of research across sites throughout New Zealand has shown good results.
Stafford says the tool is best used strategically to guide how to allocate the nitrogen budget for a season. For example, across a year a dairy farm could apply 100 kg N/ha uniformly across the entire farm.
“With that amount of nitrogen applied across a season, you might expect to achieve an average 10:1 response and an extra 1000 kg of dry matter per hectare. Depending on the soil test variability, N-Guru could tell us that in low soil nitrogen areas, the typical nitrogen response will be higher (e.g. 13 kg of DM per kg of N applied), whereas in high soil nitrogen areas the nitrogen response could be down to 7 kg of DM per kg of N applied. Where we can help is to ensure the investment in fertiliser delivers the best response rate by putting the nitrogen where it will make the most difference.”
Allocating more of the season’s nitrogen to the low testing areas and less to the high testing areas would make sense to improve nitrogen response efficiency and return on your fertiliser investment. N-Guru can assist with determining what the likely benefit would be from varying nitrogen inputs.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
New Zealand farmers know that pastoral fortunes can shift rapidly once summer’s extreme dryness gives way to cooler, wetter autumn conditions.
OPINION: Few things are more stressful for dairy farmers than running out of feed when cows need it most.
Now is not the time to stop incorporating plantain into dairy pasture systems to reduce nitrogen (N) loss, says Agricom Australasia brand manager Mark Brown.
Waikato dairy farmers are well-placed heading into the peak of summer, thanks to favourable growing conditions late last year that resulted in abundant onfarm feed reserves.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
OPINION: The world is bracing for a trade war between the two biggest economies.
OPINION: Should Greenpeace be stripped of their charitable status? Farmers say yes.
OPINION: After years of financial turmoil, Canterbury milk processor Synlait is now back in business.
