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Nitrogen Know How

Many dairy farmers use nitrogen (N) to grow more pasture and will continue to benefit from its use while soil moisture from irrigation or rainfall continues.

By Department of Primary Industries - 2nd November 2007 - Back to News

However, dry seasons and high supplement prices have highlighted the importance of growing and utilising as much pasture as possible whilst that moisture is still available.

So how does the cost of nitrogen currently compare to other feed options and how do you maximise the return for your investment?

Pasture response

Pasture responses for November in Gippsland vary from about 8 to 16 kg DM/kg N. An 8 kg response is for pastures with less than 30 per cent ryegrass and low soil fertility and a 16 kg response is for pastures with greater than 60 per cent ryegrass and good fertility. Pasture response times vary from 14 to 28 days, depending on soil moisture and temperature.

What does it cost?

• Current prices for urea (46 per cent N) delivered and spread, are around $700/t.
• This equates to a cost of about $1522/t of nitrogen.

If you get an expected November response of say 15:1 for extra pasture dry matter produced from nitrogen, then a tonne of nitrogen will produce:

• 15 tonnes extra DM at a cost of $101/tonne DM (ie $1522 ÷ 15).

If you achieve 80 per cent utilisation of this extra pasture then the cost would be around $126/tonne DM.

What if you only get a poor response of say 8:1? At this response rate a tonne of nitrogen would grow 8 tonnes of feed at a cost of $190/tonne DM, or $238/tonne DM at 80 per cent utilisation.

Which response would you expect? How does the cost compare with the price you would currently pay for similar quality DM feed taking wastage of the purchased supplement into account? Remember also that hay will most likely not be as high in quality as the pasture you grow and grain can only be a part of a well balanced diet.

As an example, 85 per cent DM hay at $250/tonne wet weight on a grower’s farm and 85 per cent utilised when fed out, actually costs $346/tonne DM utilised. It also needs to be carted adding additional cost. If the hay was 9.5 ME and the home grown feed 11 ME, then you will be buying 86 per cent of the energy. The $238/tonne DM for nitrogen boosted home-grown feed compares very favourably, even if it needs to be conserved.

Nitrogen management reminders

• Only apply Nitrogen when pasture is actively growing and can utilise the N.
• Apply as soon as practical after grazing but do not apply to wet soils.
• Apply 30 to 50 kg N/ha (65 to 110 kg of urea) in any single application and allow about 21 days for the pasture response before grazing or conserving.
• Target paddocks that are ryegrass dominant and have adequate soil moisture and fertility levels. Where surplus growth is made into silage or hay, the conservation costs also need to be factored in.
• To avoid nitrogen losses from repeat spring applications, do not apply N closer than 21 (30 kg N/ha) to 28 (50 kg N/ha) days apart
• Where annual N application rates exceed 250 kg N/ha per year, a proactive strategy of soil testing and liming may be required to prevent soil acidification. Usually 2.5 tonnes of lime per hectare will be required every 2 to 3 years.

For more details on using nitrogen visit http://www.nitrogen.unimelb.edu.au

or contact your local dairy extension officer at Maffra on 5147 0800, Ellinbank on 5624 2222 or Leongatha on 5662 9900.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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