Sulphur wins Grass Prix for Scottish farmers

Drew and Margaret Wilson from Greenhead Farm, Forfar, Angus claimed the winning title for the 2016 Yara Grass Prix after a very closely fought competition. 

Mr and Mrs Wilson achieved a record cumulative result in terms of both yield and quality, not only setting the standard for the 2016 competition throughout, but smashing all previous records. Over two cuts the yield was 21 T DM /ha with a cumulative energy yield of 218,699 MJ/ha and a protein yield of 3,385 kg/ha, together worth £2,295/ha - compared to standard concentrate feeds.

This is the second year Mr and Mrs Wilson have taken part in the Grass Prix, coming sixth in 2015 with a respectable yield of 13.4 T DM/ha, for 2016 they raised this by 7.6T DM/ha. 

So, what did they do different this year?

Looking at the results of the nutrient analysis conducted on the grass the answer could very well be sulphur. The grass samples taken from Greenhead farm in 2015 had an average N content of 2.8% and an S content of only 0.18% giving an N:S ratio of 16:1 which indicated a sulphur deficiency.

This year, Mr Wilson applied a total of 100kg SO₃ split over two applications, whereas in 2015 only 40kg SO₃ was applied over the whole season. Samples taken this year had similar average levels of N at 2.6% but double the S content of 0.36% giving an N:S ratio of 7:1.

In addition to the sulphur, the other noticeable difference is that this year slightly more nitrogen was applied for the second cut to bring it closer to the optimum. 

Securing a good return on investment 

As a result, reprioritising fertilizer spend to focus on sulphur and to apply the optimum nitrogen for the second cut cost an additional £30/ha over 2015, but this achieved an extra 7.6 T DM/ha over the two cuts, worth an extra £830. These fantastic results are further evidence that taking a measured approach to growing grass can really pay off.

Sulphur is essential for nitrogen to be used efficiently and if this is deficient will be reducing both yield and quality of all crops. Yara recommends you apply a minimum of 40 kg SO₃/ha with each cut and supply a complete range of YaraBela NS and YaraMila NPKS fertilizers specifically for grassland.