Nutrition on the Menu

Recent years have seen the cost of growing crops increase dramatically as the price of inputs escalates. Luckily, in the last two years, the price of grain has also risen to provide some balance. However, the volatility of world markets means that favourable prices can not be relied upon to provide acceptable margins in years to come.

Prudent management of crops calls for forward planning, particularly in the area of nutrition. Field selection, crop rotation and soil sampling all play their part in ensuring that crops get off to a good start.  The more information you have at hand relating to cropping history of the ground and the requirements of the crop to be planted the more accurate your planning can become.

To this end, the Arable Crops Team at Cafre, Greenmount Campus and AFBI, Crossnacreevy are currently working on methods to provide more accurate information to growers on Nitrogen management in Winter Wheat crops an on-farm nutrient testing of slurry and manure.

To date 50  growers have provided Winter Wheat samples to their Crops Development Adviser for testing of grain Nitrogen by AFBI . This has shown that while many growers are very near the optimum level of applied Nitrogen, there is significant scope for others to gain financially from closer monitoring of grain Nitrogen and subsequent adjustment of Nitrogen rates.

Sources of nutrition also have to be looked at carefully. It is no longer the case that slurry and manure can be treated as waste products, from a compliance or a financial point of view. Kits for the on-farm rapid analysis of slurry are currently being evaluated at Cafre, Greenmount Campus. These kits can allow farmers to have the same information about the nutrient content of their slurries and manures as they do about their fertiliser, allowing accurate application and more efficient utilisation of what has become a valuable nutrient resource.

Issues around soil fertility will form part of a one day conference to be held at Greenmount Campus on 17 January 2012. Organised jointly by Cafre and the UFU, and drawing speakers from Cafre, HGCA, AFBI, Teagasc and the Irish Farmers Journal, the conference aims to provide cereal growers with an update on current agronomy and business management issues.

If you would like more information on the projects mentioned above, please contact Iain Johnston, Crops Technologist, Greenmount Campus, Cafre. Tel:028 9442 6766

To register to attend the Cereals Conference, please contact Angela Scott, Ulster Farmers Union, Tel: 028 9037 0222

Additionally, the Ulster Arable Society will have a complementary event on 17 February 2012 that will focus on marketing.

CAFRE Greenmount Campus staff and students promote the Conference for Cereal Growers that will be held at Greenmount Campus on 17 January 2012. (L-R) – David Johnston (HND3 Agriculture student), Steven Spence (HND3 Agriculture student), Adrian Quinn (CAFRE Lecturer), Simon Brown (HND3 Agriculture student), Iain Johnston (Crop Technologist, CAFRE) and Alistair Craig (Foundation Degree in Agriculture & Rural Studies student)