Fertiliser Plan

It’s coming to that time of year when thoughts turn to fertiliser purchases again. Prices have eased a little since last year, but are still very high in relation to margins in beef enterprises.

Many farmers reduced fertiliser applications in 2022 and given the good grass growing year that it was, most saw no ill effects.

I’ve spoken to farmers who reckon that they probably spread too much anyway, and that the reduced application was a better use of funds in 2022. This is a risky strategy, especially if you were cutting back on P and K.

Decreasing soil fertility on a long term basis will have an impact on yields, and you won’t be getting the full value out of any nitrogen spread. Draw up a plan about how you are going to navigate another year of high fertiliser prices.

Silage fertiliser is the biggest volume requirement on drystock farms and it’s important that sufficient silage is made in 2023 to avoid any problems in spring 2024.

If you haven’t taken soil samples in the last 2 years, arrange to have some taken from your farm before any slurry is spread in the next few weeks. Soil sampling is really good value for money and will highlight the areas of the farm which you need to improve.

Target early nitrogen applications to the fields with the highest soil fertility. Liming of soils increased in 2022 on drystock farms and needs to increase more in 2023.

Increasing soil pH above 6.3 will help increase soil nitrogen release and reduce fertiliser requirements, as well as helping to improve the efficiency of any fertiliser spread.

It will also help increase the amount of P that is utilised from any slurry applications. Using slurry as a source of P and K and indeed nitrogen can reap big savings on drystock farms, and plans should be put in place to get the best value from slurry in 2023.

This will mean targeting spring application to get the most out of the nitrogen in the slurry. Targeting slurry for silage ground is a good way of getting value from it.

Tullamore Farm

Preparations are in full swing in advance of calving 2023. Early calving cows have received their scour vaccine. The first 30 cows have been moved to a loose shed beside calving pens.

Calving pens have been washed and disinfected and calving supplies have been stocked up on, new ropes, calving lube, chlorohexidine/iodine, colostrum, red lamp, calf jackets for sick calves washed, list of due dates printed, tags at the ready and calving jack checked.

First cow is due in the last week of January. We will cover preparations ahead of calving in detail in this week’s Tullamore Farm update on farmersjournal.ie.

Nitrates Meeting

While new nitrates rules are predominantly affecting dairy farmers, they will also have an effect on beef farms that are in derogation. Many drystock farmers who would have imported pig slurry or dairy slurry in previous years will find themselves unable to do this from 2023 onward.

This will have implications for all farmers. The Irish Farmers Journal are holding a Nitrates meeting to discuss the proposed changes on Tuesday 24 January in the Hotel Kilmore in Cavan at 8pm. You can register your attendance at www.ifj.ie/nitrates