How Do I Make More of My Fertiliser - Part 2 Precision

With fertiliser prices continuing to rise daily, it has begun to sharpen the mind of many as how to make the best use of the fertiliser available to you.

There is no single answer, and none of the following suggestions below are right or wrong but just focusing on Precision Techniques.

Calibrate your spreader:
This may sound obvious but when did you last calibrate your spreader?  If you can’t do it yourself then there are companies out there that will do it for you.

Stop Splash plating slurry!
Next time you sow a grass field put in tramlines to match your spreader width to ensure you are always spreading to the correct width of your spreader.

Use a GPS on your spreader:
Simple answer, add a GPS to your tractor to ensure precision spreading of your fertiliser.  I realise these are an expensive piece of kit, but they can be covered by different grants looking to get new technology on farm.  If you don’t want to invest in this why not use a contractor that already this facility?  There is a group member that I already know does this and they have said to me that they wouldn’t do it any other way now!

Map your entire farm:
The next step for this could be to map your entire farm for precision spreading of all the different fertilisers and nutrients available to you.  Again, an investment for the long term.  I know the programs have been geared towards arable producers but there may be opportunities to use this on a grassland farm.

For more information to look at reducing N use without reducing output, then please call FAR registered Dairy Nutritionist & CowSignals® Master Andrew Jones on 07717 44288 or email andrew@dblbuyinggroup.co.uk