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Banffshire Soil & Nutrient Network – Save money with effective nutrient budgeting – event summary

19 February 2019

This was the second meeting of the Banffshire Soil & Nutrient Network and the focus was to look at the value of nutrients supplied from various different sources.

Most livestock farmers have a readily available fertiliser already produced on farm with no purchase price – however, the true value of home-produced manure and fertiliser is often overlooked.  At this meeting, we looked at the benefits of ‘knowing what you’ve got’ by sampling slurry and manures prior to use so that their nutrient values can be accurately accounted for in a farm nutrient budget.  Any imported composts or digestates should also have their nutrient values tested too.

Having a dynamic farm nutrient budget is of most use when regularly referred to and updated.  Knowing crop requirements during the growing season will allow for effective nutrient application.  Targeting the use of slurries and manures to co-incide with these growth requirements can help reduce the farm’s reliance on bought in fertilisers, helping to increase profitability whilst also reducing the carbon footprint.  It can also prevent over applying nutrients which might otherwise be wasted – a loss of resources and money, but also a diffuse pollution risk to the environment.Chart showing the availability of different soil nutrients at varying pH

Whilst having all the calculations and application timings worked out, key to optimum growth from any nutrient input will be the soil pH status.  Plants cannot fully access the nutrients within the soil or applied if the pH is not optimal (as highlighted on the graph).

Having applied the nutrients to a growing crop, for planning later in the year, the levels of crop offtake need to be taken into consideration also.  This can help identify nutrient offtake which can sometimes be overlooked when calculating nutrient requirements of the next crop in the rotation.

Further information can be found in the list of downloads at the bottom of this page.

 

Related Downloads
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Practical Guide: Nutrient budgeting I – The benefits to your business
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muck spreader in action in grassland field with trees in the background

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