FAR call on arable farmers

Farmers know what’s in their soil, but how much fertiliser goodness do our crops actually absorb?
That’s the question the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) has posed to Mid Canterbury’s arable sector as they embark on a nationwide research project.
The project investigates “nutrient outputs” - The concentration of things like nitrogen and phosphorus in a crop – with the long term goal of saving farmers time and money.
It's common practice to check soil nutrient levels, but once a crop is harvested, there’s no knowing how much of those nutrients were absorbed, regional facilitator Donna Lill says.
“We’re testing what you’ve harvested off that paddock - the actual wheat, the barley, or the linseed.
“This looks at the final result of all the decisions you’ve made while growing your crop.”
To participate, all growers need is a handful of grain and seed samples from their harvest - specifically cereals, oilseed rape, linseed and peas.
Those get sent away to be analysed for 12 different nutrients, from the obvious nitrogen to boron and magnesium.
Data gets sent back to the farmer in two different reports.
“The first report they get back is called a nutrient offtake report.”
The individualised report identifies the total nutrients removed from a paddock by crops, and Lill said that data is processed quick enough for farmers to make use of it during the season.
“They may want to change their base fertiliser before the harvest finishes.
“So the sooner they send in their samples, the sooner they get that information back.”
The second piece is a comparative benchmarking report, which will be released to everyone in April.
“It compares a grower’s grain samples to others that are harvested from this season.”
It’s this reporting which will help inform better fertiliser practice across the country, she said, but only if enough farmers send in samples.
“The larger that sample size, the more comparisons we get.
“And it gives us an idea, across New Zealand, of how people are going with their nutrient management.”
FAR ran a pilot programme last year after a Methven-based group of growers pitched the idea.
“They were really interested in better understanding their nutrient management, especially micronutrients.”
And the project is a collaboration with an agricultural initiative from the United Kingdom, the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN), who process the data.
126 samples were processed during last year’s pilot - a good start, but Lill is hoping this year’s crowd will be larger.
“It’s $100 a sample, that covers the lab analysis.
“FAR and the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand cover the cost of the reporting and data analysis.”
The programme will run until autumn.
“We’re just encouraging people to get in touch.”
If you want to participate in the project, email [email protected].
By Anisha Satya