Spreading nitrogen and sulphur at the same time means more grass
Applying fertilisers containing nitrogen and sulphur means the grass uses nitrogen more effectively, you get more kgs of dry matter per kg of nitrogen that you apply
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Impact of dry weather on soil N reserves
Dry conditions prevail over large parts of the country and many livestock farmers are in desperate need of rain to relieve grass shortages. The recovery time of swards following rain will depend on the severity of drought - the longer the drought, the longer the recovery.
Farmers will be looking to fertilise swards to maximise growth when the rain arrives, to feed grazing livestock and build silage reserves which are worryingly low on many farms. Don’t be tempted to spread fertiliser before forecasted rain. Heavy rain combined with dry and hard field surfaces is ideal for fertiliser run-off. Best to leave applications until after the initial rain.
If nitrogen (N) fertiliser has been applied over the last couple of weeks when grass growth has been well below average, then a portion of this N will still be present for the grass to utilise when a decent amount of rain arrives. How much, depends on when it was applied and the level of grass growth in the meantime. Rapid mineralisation of organic matter by soil microbes will also add to the plant available N pool following a rewetting of the soil.
When the rain arrives, reduce the target N rate for fertilising silage crops where a very light crop of grass has been harvested, by 30% to take account of N carryover from the previous fertilisation. If silage crops were fertilised within the last three weeks, then there is no requirement to reapply N. Typical fertiliser application rates of 230 – 320 kg/ha of YaraMila Sulphur Cut will be required for silage swards once soil moisture levels rise.
Grassland agronomy advice
The latest grassland fertiliser and nutrition advice from the Yara agronomists.
Recent grassland webinars
Advice on managing fertiliser inputs on first cut silage crops this spring
Philip Cosgrave, Yara's Grassland Agronomist is joined by Nicola Ingram and Nigel Mills, Yara Area Managers for UK and Ireland, to discuss a range of topics to help inform farmers on how best to manage fertiliser applications this spring on silage crops.
Yara and CAFRE Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) - Update for fertiliser distributors
In this webinar Philip Cosgrave, Yara Grassland Agronomist and Aveen McMullan, Senior Agricultural Technologist at CAFRE provide an update on the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) regulations relating to the use and application of inorganic fertilisers and an explanation of the requirement for fertilisation plans.
How to get healthy grass and happy cows
In this webinar, Philip Cosgrave is joined by Conrad Ferris from AFBI to talk about the planning behind a successful spring grassland nutrition strategy.
How to manage lime and fertiliser on a livestock farm
In this webinar, Philip Cosgrave of Yara and Kevin Havekes of Kilwaughter Lime collaborate to give an insight into how lime and fertiliser work hand in hand.
Grass, milk and robots - webinar
Our grassland agronomy expert Philip Cosgrave joins Cormac Garvey from Lely for this webinar to discuss grazing systems for robotic milking, grassland management and grassland nutrition management.
How manage grassland fertilisation in simple steps
In this webinar, Jon Telfer, Philip Cosgrave and Nigel Hester talk through the steps needed for successful grassland fertilisation.
Listen to the latest grassland podcasts
If you are short of time why not check out our bite-size podcasts for the latest thoughts on grassland nutrition.
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