reducing costs by getting soil fertility...
TRANSCRIPT
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Reducing costs by getting
soil fertility right!
IFA Smart Farming Seminar
10th April
David P. WallTeagasc, Johnstown Castle
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Outline
Soil fertility & fertiliser trends
Balancing Lime, P and K fertiliser applications
Building Soil fertility?
Soil fertility management targets
Wall, D.P, Teagasc , Johnstown Castle 2018
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0
25000
50000
75000
100000
125000
150000
175000Nitrogen (N)
Phosphorus (P)
Potassium (K)
175000
225000
275000
325000
375000
425000
475000
175000
N, P & K Fertilizer use 1990 - 2016N
ati
on
al F
ert
iliz
er
Us
e (
ton
ne
s)
Source: DAFM
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Teagasc Presentation Footer
4
Fert
iliz
er
Pri
ce (
€/ to
nn
e)
Fertilizer €ost
Wall, D.P, Teagasc , Johnstown Castle 2018
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-0.04
0.01
0.06
0.11
0.16
0.21
0.26
0.31
0.36
0.41
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
Milk
pri
ce (€
/l)
Litr
es
Milk
to
pay
fo
r kg
of
N, P
or
K
P (litres/kg) K (litres/kg) N (litres/kg) Milk Price (€/l)
Impact of Farm prices: Milk
Source: CSO
Wall, D.P, Teagasc , Johnstown Castle 2018
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National Soil Fertility - 2016
11.6%
88.4%
Soil fertility meeting cropproduction targets
Deficient soil fertility
Soils with Optimum Fertility
(pH ≥ 6.3, P & K Index ≥ 3) Soil Fertility 2016
199,545 samples
• 55% low in P
• 50% low in K
• 66% low pH (<6.3)
Source: DAFM / Teagasc
Wall, D.P, Teagasc , Johnstown Castle 2018
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Lime: How Much Extra Grass Produced?
€180 ROI
€7:1
Return on investment of €4 -7 in extra grass
for every €1 in lime!
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Mean dry matter yield response to soil and fertilizer P
(Schulte & Herlihy, 2007)
9.00
9.50
10.00
10.50
11.00
11.50
12.00
12.50
13.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Soil P (mg/l)
DM
Y (
t/h
a) 45 kg/ha
30 kg/ha
15 kg/ha
0 kg/ha
Why Build Soil P & K Fertility?
Index 4
Soil supply sufficient to meet
demands
Index 3
Low response
to fertilizer
Index 1 & 2
Yield response to increased soil P levels
~ 1.5 t/ha (worth €270/yr)Large variation between
soil types!
K – Similar response in silage (1-3 t/ha/yr)
Grass Yield response to Soil and Fertilizer P
Herlihy et al. 2007
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Soil Fertility: to Build or not to Build ???
Is it cost effective to build soil P (or K) ?
Soil fertility build-up: Increased P build-up option
• ~ 50 kg/ha of P Fertilizer to raise soil P by 1 mg/L (Cost: €50/ha/yr)
• ~ 125 kg/ha P Fertilizer to raise by 1 Index
• €250 /ha to raise by 1 P Index (€500/ha to go from Index 1 3)
Need to be sure you’ll use the extra grass!!
• Silage – Yes – harvest costs, etc
• Grazing – Index 1 vs. Index 3 for P ~ 1.5 t/ha of DM
» Need to be set up to utilise this grass
» Equivalent to winter feed for 1 LU !!!!!!!
• Stocking rate increase and/or reduced feed costs needed to justify costs!!
Irish studies showing the soil test P response to build-up P applications
Reference Studies Conducted
across a range of soils
Land Use type P build-up required to achieve
1mg/L STP
Culleton et al. 2001 Long term
Cowlands, Johnstown Castle
Grassland
(grazing – beef)
59 kg/ha P for Index 1
Sheil et al., 2016, Long term P
fertiliser study
Grassland
(simulated grazing)
56kg/ha P for Index 1
40 kg/ha for Index 2
Wall et al., 2017, Heavy soils
study (5 dairy farms )
Grassland
(grazing – dairy)
76 kg/ha at P Index 1
50 kg /ha at P Index 2
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Cost of lost production in Index 1 & 2 Same Example
• Dairy – 2 cows / ha
• Index 3 Fertilizer advice (grazing) = 13 kg/ha P & 35 kg/ha K
• Cost of maintenance P & K = €60 /ha/yr
Production loss in Index 1 vs. Index 3 for P &K
• Approx. 3.0 t/ha/yr of additional grass DM produced
• Increased grass production = €540/ha/yr
Additional P & K for build up = 50 kg/ha P & 60 kg/ha K
• Additional Fertilizer Cost = €160/ha/yr until soil P / K increases
• Long-term investment – benefits of increasing to Index 3
Soil pH needs to be
right as well !
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Steps to Soil Fertility Management
Index Description
1 Very Low
2 Low
3 Target
4 High
Information Interpretation
Action
Wall, D.P, Teagasc , Johnstown Castle 2018
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Use tools/ technologies to
improve decision making
Opportunity!
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Fertiliser Planning
https://www.teagasc.ie/environment/soil/nmp/
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Calculating Offtake http://fertilizer-assoc.ie/fertilizer-calculator/calculator.php
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Teagasc Presentation Footer17
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Soil Fertility Management Targets
Have soil analysis for whole farm
Soil pH between 6 and 6.5 in all fields
P and K Index 3 in all fields
• Index 4 is a resource Exploit it
• Index 1 & 2 identify and nourish
Optimise slurry first – then top up with fertilizer
as required
Nutrient inputs in proper balance
• Fertilizer planning is key!
Soil fertility & fertiliser is a key investment to
maintain a viable farming business!
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/soil--soil-fertility/