How to keep improving your soil fertility

Dairygold Joint Programme Group Facilitator, William Burchill, joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss further work that can be done to improve soil fertility even though the date has passed for the spreading of chemical nitrogen and Phosphorus.

William outlines the offtakes of Potassium (K) associated with grazing and the impact that even one cut of bales can have on a paddock in terms of K required to maintain the correct index from one year to the next as well as the significant impact of multiple cut silage systems on soil K levels. 

William also talks about analysing slurry to know the nutrient content of it and how it can vary depending on the method of storage employed. Knowing the nutrient content will allow for more accurate fertilisation strategies to be implemented.

Finally, William talks about chemical fertiliser options available to people to address K and Sulphur requirements on their farms and given that some fertiliser is currently being purchased now for 2023, he advises that people ensure they purchase the right products for their farm especially K which is not subject to limits like N and P.

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