EASY Experiences

Geoff Rethus, EASY N Broadacre, Horsham

Flexibility of EASY N proves valuable for topdress needs

Geoff Rethus, farming near Horsham in Victoria, has tipped the balance towards topdressing nitrogen in his grain and canola crops.

A good start to the 2007 season allowed him to start sowing before the middle of May and finish most of it by mid-June, with only a few breaks to wait for the ground to dry out.

He is growing oats for hay, canola, barley, wheat, lentils, beans and chickpeas, to spread the risk among a wide range of crops.

“I was planning to pre-drill urea on wheat, barley, canola and oaten hay, but when the break came in April and I had to wait for the soil to dry out before sowing, I realised I didn’t have the luxury of time to pre-drill urea,” he said.

“So I abandoned that idea and instead I’ll use liquid nitrogen applications post-emergence to manage crop growth through the season.”

Geoff sowed most crops with SuPreme Z 25, a Granulock^® SuPreme Z and urea blend containing 25% nitrogen, 13% phosphorus, 3% sulfur and 0.6% zinc.

He achieved a good early knockdown of weeds in April, so expects weed pressure to be minimal post-emergence, and there have been none of the bad frosts experienced last winter.

“There’s a feeling of buoyancy and confidence around now among farmers,” he said.

“The old adage is ‘easy cropping, easy stripping’ so I’m hoping that doesn’t hold true this year.”

Managing crop growth

Geoff will be managing canopy growth through the season by making several nitrogen fertiliser applications for a more constant supply of the nutrient, even growth and better results.

“A big dose of nitrogen prior to sowing is too much of a hit for the crop,” he explained. “It gets a real jolt and grows like crazy too early.”

That’s one of the reasons why he prefers using EASY N^® liquid nitrogen fertiliser for in-crop nitrogen applications.

EASY N can be applied with the boomspray at any time, but Geoff needs to use a contractor to topdress urea.

“With a contractor, I would probably go for one higher rate to limit the spreading cost, but I’m prepared to make a number of smaller applications with EASY N to more accurately supply the nitrogen needed by the crop,” he said.

“Also, when it comes time to topdress urea and there’s a good rain front coming, everyone wants to get urea spread and the contractors can’t keep up.”

That’s not a problem when he can apply EASY N with his own equipment, in his own time.

“I think rainfall straight after application is less critical with EASY N too, as long as the crop has a good canopy, because some is taken up by the leaf and volatilisation is minimised because of the form of nitrogen in the fertiliser,” he said.

Geoff added that EASY N allowed him to apply nitrogen very evenly across the paddock, and stick to the same wheel tracks used in chemical spraying, minimising crop damage.

Topdress monitoring

Topdress monitoring begins for Geoff about six to eight weeks after sowing, with crop monitoring and leaf tissue testing.

“Paddock and crop history, and fertiliser use history will also be important this year,” he said.

Geoff added that advice from Trevor Howie, Agritech Rural, and Incitec Pivot Fertilisers’ agronomists helped in his decision making.

“It’s not just a matter of how much nitrogen the crop needs either,” he said.

“I also monitor rainfall and soil moisture.  Unless the crop has the moisture needed to fill the grain, more nitrogen can do more harm than good.”

No EASY N was used in topdressing last year, for this very reason, with drought conditions cutting the season off. However, Geoff used about 70,000 litres of EASY N in 2005 and found it gave good results.

On-farm storage

Geoff has installed two tanks for storing a total of 44,000 litres of EASY N on-farm, more than enough to take a B-double tanker load at a time.

“The beauty of EASY N is it keeps well, so you can carry a bit over from season to season,” he said.

He said it was important to flush application equipment after use to avoid corrosion when using EASY N, but on the whole it was a good product to handle and gave him added flexibility in his cropping system.

Geoff is now considering how EASY N can be incorporated into his sowing equipment, so that he can enjoy the convenience of liquid nitrogen at any time.

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