Extend your pasture productivity with a strategic nitrogen application.

• Have well fed livestock
• Reduce the need to buy in expensive grain and hay
• Help animals reach live weight targets earlier
• Buy in trading stock earlier
• Optimise hay and silage production.

"With a 15 kg DM/kg N response and nitrogen at 120 cents/kg,
you can grow feed for $80/t. It's the cheapest feed around!"

Plan for plentiful feed
Now is the time to start planning for plentiful feed through late spring and into summer, for cattle, sheep and prime lambs.
Allan Fletcher, Market Development Agronomist with Incitec Pivot Limited, said pastures would be at their most responsive to applied nitrogen in the next few weeks.
"If the pasture is green and actively growing, nitrogen fertilisers can further accelerate that growth," he said.
"The best responses will be in pastures that have a good improved perennial/annual grass content and are not limited by other nutrients or weeds."
Allan suggested 40 to 50 kg/ha of nitrogen was an effective rate to apply to well-grazed, short pastures (2 to 4 cm high) in late winter and early spring.
He advised graziers to maximise the nitrogen's efficiency and avoid stocking paddocks where nitrogen fertilisers had been applied for at least three weeks. The pastures should reach 10 to 15 cm in height, or in ryegrass pastures, the tillers should have two and a half to three leaves.
"This gives the pasture time to respond to the application and minimises the risks of nitrate toxicity in stock," he said.
Allan added that there were ongoing benefits to topdressing with nitrogen, such as better survival rates for ryegrass tillers, resulting in stronger pastures for future seasons.
Where hay or silage is to be cut, he said a balance of nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium may be needed to improve the quantity and quality of forage produced. Soil or tissue testing through Incitec Pivot's Nutrient Advantage® service is a good way to assess the need for a range of nutrients.
"Use 'boosta' fertilisers in low fertility paddocks for better results," he said.
Allan advised against harvesting fodder crops for six to eight weeks.
"Time of cutting is the most important factor in conserving high quality hay or silage," he said.
"The longer paddocks are locked up the more dry matter is produced, but at a poorer quality."
He encouraged graziers to consider the opportunities for generating and utilising more winter and spring feed on farm using nitrogen.
"With plenty of quality pasture feed, graziers are better positioned to help their animals reach liveweight targets earlier or consider buying in trading stock for extra income," he said.
"It also gives graziers the chance to optimise hay and silage production."
Call CRT Kyneton to discuss nitrogen topdressing today.
Keep an eye on nutrient removal
All the nutrients in the plant material are removed when cutting hay or silage.
Unless these nutrients are in excess availability in the soil, they will need to be replaced after harvest to maintain healthy pasture growth rates.
Better paddocks = better responses
To maximise responses to applied nitrogen, graziers need good soil fertility. This is illustrated in results from the long-term phosphate experiment at Hamilton, managed by the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria.
Nitrogen test strips were used at different soil P levels and the outcomes measured. Where Olsen P was above 20 mg/kg, each kg of N/ha applied resulted in an extra 13 kg/ha of pasture. Where Olsen P was 10 - 14, only 6 kg/ha of additional pasture was grown for every kg N/ha.
Source: DPI Hamilton

Topdress for cheaper feed
Growing grass on the farm with the help of nitrogen is still a lot cheaper than buying in fodder for cattle or sheep.
Taking current nitrogen and feed prices into account, graziers could expect to pay three to four times more for bought-in fodder with similar dry matter levels as pasture topdressed with nitrogen.
How much will grow?
Pasture responses to nitrogen surge during spring, with up to 20 kg DM produced for every kg of nitrogen applied. This table below shows pasture responses to nitrogen.

Calculate the expected cost of extra pasture feed (cents/kg DM)

Average pasture responses to nitrogen

Source: http://www.nitrogen.unimelb.edu.au/Best management practice for nitrogen in dairy. Authorised and maintained by Richard Eckard. *Urea based on current ex.Geelong price plus delivery and spreading, $525/t.

Get there sooner with nitrogen