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Summit Quinphos

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.

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Summit Quinphos

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  1. Summit Quinphos Fertiliser application on farmland

  2. 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

  3. If any one of these elements is deficient • grass will not grow • or will not grow as well as it could

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. How do we do it? • Use fertiliser recommendation models • Or more advanced nutrient budgeting computer models e.g. Overseer

  11. The information Overseer uses includes: • Inputs • Stock & production information • Climate data • Topography • Soil type & fertility • Fertiliser

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. Summit Quinphos Environmentally Protective Fertiliser • RPR - Reactive Phosphate Rock • Sustain • Protect PAPR

  15. 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)

  16. 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).

  17. Key Factors Affecting RPR Availability • Two key factors affect the ability of RPR to be dissolved • How acidic the soil is • 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)

  18. PhosphateRunoff • 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

  19. 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

  20. 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

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

  22. 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

  23. 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.

  24. 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

  25. 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

  26. 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

  27. 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.

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