Summit Quinphos

Fertiliser application on farmland

Why do farmers apply fertiliser?

• All living organisms require some basic chemical elements to function i.e. to build DNA , cells walls etc

• The major elements required are;– nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur,

calcium and magnesium

• If any one of these elements is deficient

– grass will not grow – or will not grow as well as it could

Why do farmers use fertiliser?

• To over come nutrient deficiencies

• To replace nutrients transferred:– off farm in production i.e. milk, meat,

wool,crops– to unproductive areas of the farm i.e. effluent

ponds, tracks

What are the environmental problems associated with fertiliser application?

• Phosphate runoff– Approximately 80% of the phosphate in our

waterways comes from agricultural runoff

• Nitrate leaching– A study in the late 80’s indicated that up to

20% of ground wells in Taranaki and Waikato had over 10mg/l nitrate

– The recommended maximum level is 11.3mg/1

These affect water quality

• By causing algal blooms and excessive weed growth which– stops us drinking it

– stops recreational activity

– stops us eating the fish

– and kills aquatic life

How do excess nutrients get into waterways?

• Direct application– animals depositing directly in waterways

– fertiliser spreaders applying too close to waterways

• Erosion– pugging & compaction

• Runoff– surface runoff

– sub-surface runoff

• Leaching

What does Summit Quinphos do to minimise the environmental effects

• Design a fertiliser plan for each farms specific needs.– This includes:

• Nutrient budgeting

• GPS Soil & Herbage testing

• Farm Environment Maps

• Summit Quinphos environmentally protective fertiliser

What is Nutrient Budgeting?

• It is a balance of nutrients onto and off the farm

• Works in a similar manner to a financial budget

• A fertiliser recommendation is using a simple form of nutrient budgeting

How do we do it?

• Use fertiliser recommendation models

• Or more advanced nutrient budgeting computer models e.g. Overseer

The information Overseer uses includes:

• Inputs• Stock & production information• Climate data• Topography• Soil type & fertility• Fertiliser

GPS Soil & Herbage Testing

• Soil & herbage tests done at least every 2 years • Soil tests show what nutrients levels are in the soil

and show trends over time• Herbage tests are needed to fine tune a fertiliser

programme in the short term– tests for trace elements

– checks on how well the grass is taking up the major elements in the soil.

GPS - Global Positioning Systems

• Uses satellites to accurately locate where soil & herbage tests have been taken:– Which increases reliability and accuracy of soil

& herbage testing so; – I can give farmers better advice.

Summit Quinphos Environmentally Protective Fertiliser

• RPR - Reactive Phosphate Rock

• Sustain

• Protect PAPR

What is Reactive Phosphate Rock (RPR)

• RPR’s are natural minerals formed on the ocean floor over thousands of years

• Over time dead sea organisms form layers• In certain areas these layers become enriched with

phosphate absorbed from sea water• And form a mineral which is part phosphate and

part calcium carbonate (lime)

How does RPR work?

• RPR’s chemical structure is very unstable – Because of the carbonate in the rock;

– Which means RPR can be dissolved by the weak organic acids in the soil.

• Superphosphate comes from hard phosphate rocks. – These rocks are very insoluble.

– To release the phosphate so plants can use it;

– The hard rock needs to be treated with a very strong acid (sulphuric acid).

PHOSPHATE SOURCES

HARD PHOSPHATE ROCK REACTIVE PHOSPAHTE ROCK

+

SULPHURIC ACID

=SUPERPHOSPHATE

+

PHOSPHORIC ACID

TRIPLE SUPERPHOSPHATE21 P 2 S

minus

CALCIUM

=

PLANT AVAILABLEPHOSPHATE

=

+AMMONIA

=

DI - AMMONIUM PHOSPHATE18 N 20 P 2 S

Key Factors Affecting RPR Availability

• Two key factors affect the ability of RPR to be dissolved

1 How acidic the soil is

2 How easily calcium can move away from the RPR particle i.e. rainfall

– These two factors mean that the breakdown of RPR is a gradual process (slow release)

• Approximately 80% of the phosphate in our waterways comes from agricultural runoff

• Research in NZ & Ireland shows that a significant, and often the major proportion of this runoff comes directly from recently applied water soluble phosphate fertiliser

– Superphosphate, Triple Superphosphate, DAP

Phosphate Runoff

Reactive Phosphate Rock (RPR)

• Research has proven that runoff from RPR is 25 times less than Superphosphate

• This is because:– is not water soluble– has a greater density than water soluble

phosphate

Nitrate Leaching

• Dairy cattle numbers have gone from 2.9 million to 4.1 million

• N fertiliser use has gone from 117,000 tonnes of N in 92/93 to 333,000 tonnes in 01/02

• A cows urine patch contains the equivalent of 500-1000 kg N/ha

Nitrate Leaching cont..

• At normal rates of application leaching losses from nitrogen fertilisers are typically 5-10% of nitrogen applied.

Sustain

• Sustain is urea that has been coated in Agrotain & Sulphur.– Sustain reduces leaching losses of nitrogen.– And also reduces ammonia volatilisation losses

to the atmosphere

Sustain

• Agrotain slows the breakdown of the urea.– Urea breaks down over 0-2 days– Sustain breaks down over 0-10 days

• Slowing the breakdown of urea gives the plant more opportunity to take up nitrogen therefore leaving less nitrogen available to be leached.

Protect PAPR

• PAPR - Partially Acidulated Phosphoric Rock

• RPR is reacted with phosphoric acid – in a similar process to superphosphate

• It combines both water soluble phosphate and slow release phosphate.

• Has less runoff than superphosphate

Farm Environment Maps

• The Farm Environment Maps include:

• information on soil type– this helps me decide where on a farm to soil test

• information of the risk of phosphate loss from:– water soluble phosphate– RPR phosphate

• The maps can help me decide what form of phosphate fertiliser to use on a particular farm

• Will include information on the risk of nitrate leaching

• And faecal bacteria runoff

In Conclusion

– The Farm Environment maps– GPS soil & herbage testing – Nutrient budgeting– Summit Quinphos fertilisers– And talking to the farmer All help me to produce a fertiliser plan that is

specific to a particular farms requirements and at the same time minimise the environmental risks of applying fertiliser.