15 November, 2017
Grain nutrition benchmarking
Thus far, grain analysis has been under-utilised on UK farms so, together with AHDB, Yara are sponsoring a FREE grain benchmarking survey, organised by ADAS, to explore the value of grain analysis for UK arable farms. This FREE survey is open to all farms who can provide field-specific samples of any cereal crop harvested in 2017, and (if we get insufficient samples) then from harvest 2018.
Why is grain benchmarking important ?
- Soil analysis tells you about soil availability of nutrients for your crops
- Leafanalysis tells you whether uptake of nutrients is sufficient at one point in time
- Grain analysis should tell you whether your crops got enough of each nutrient throughout the whole season (as well as nutrient offtakes)
Together these should all tell you about the success of your crop nutrition strategy, whether due to soil health, crop rooting, or whatever.
What do I need to do ?
- Work out how many samples you can provide; ideally two to six samples per farm, with a good contrast in growing conditions e.g. different soil, soil P index, or yield. However, single samples are OK, and multiple samples may be possible.
- Email yen@adas.co.uk, to tell ADAS the number of samples you can provide.
- Fill in a form (which ADAS will send) with farm & field details (e.g. soil indices and yield)
- Send grain samples to Yara, in the labelled bags which ADAS will send you.
What will I get ?
In spring 2018, you will get a one page report for each sample you enter, with the results for your sample compared with the other results from the survey for each nutrient:
We are most interested in grain P, but we will analyse for all essential nutrients (other than Molybdenum) i.e. N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Mn, Cu, Zn, Fe & B.
More Information
View or download the Grain Nutrient Benchmarking Flyer
For queries please contact yen@adas.co.uk or telephone Jane Stead at ADAS Gleadthorpe: 01623 848332
Cereal agronomy advice
