This switch could save over £7/acre and give an extra £76.40/acre beef production or £68.36/acre in terms of lamb liveweight gain, he suggests.
“Things have changed considerably over the last few decades, we don’t need to apply as much P as previously because systems have intensified and soil P has built up with manure applications. So paying for nutrients when they are not required is just a false economy.”
Reductions in the amount of Sulphur falling on grassland following the industrial ‘clean-up’ of recent times is affecting both quantity and quality of grassland.
Not so many years ago each year would see around 30kg/acre of sulphate deposited from the sky but this has now fallen to little more than 2-3kg/acre which is just not enough for the plants’ needs.
Even on medium to heavy soils, using a Sulphur fertiliser should produce a significant response.
Therefore, a more cost-effective option than traditional 20.10.10 which also gives a better fit nutritionally would be a 24.8.8+8SO3 product like Heartland Sulphur, which, for every kg applied, increases the vital Nitrogen and Sulphur content whilst lowering the P and K, he says.
“Don’t just look at the price per bag, although more modern Heartland Sulphur is slightly more expensive, it is much more cost-effective in reality.
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Save Money & 18% increase in productivity
At February 2017 prices, a 20.10.10 compound will cost around £264/t whilst Heartland Sulphur (24.8.8 (8SO3) will cost £277/t, he explains.
“But using 4t/acre of FYM followed by 3.8 bags/acre of 20.10.10 to achieve 80 units of Nitrogen for first cut silage, will cost £50.16/acre whilst using the same amount of FYM followed by 3.1 bags/acre of Heartland Sulphur to give the same level of Nitrogen input will cost £42.94/acre.
“That’s a saving of £7.22/acre straight away, but you can also expect the addition of the Sulphur to give you an extra 1.5 bales/acre of silage – 10.0 bales rather than 8.5 bales – which is an 18% increase in productivity.
“However you look at it, using the more modern products gives you both cost savings and extra production from more effective use of home-grown feeds.”
Proven in on-farm trials
According to CF Fertilisers’ Hefin Llwyd, trials carried out by the company support these lifts in production but there are other advantages too.
“We’ve seen addition of Sulphur to optimum levels lifting yields by up to 2.0t dry matter/ha with a corresponding increase in forage crude proteins of 7%, so it is something all grassland farmers need to be aware of.
"The problem is a lot of producers tend to stick with what they’re familiar with but in this case it could be leading to significant reductions in quality and quantity of the most cost-efficient feed they can produce."
Hefin LLwyd
A compound product like Heartland Sulphur at £277 per tonne is more expensive than standard 20.10.10 compound fertiliser at £264 per tonne but it goes further and you actually end up using less per acre while getting better results, he says.
(Prices as at Feb 2017).
