fertiliser paves way for farm diversification

Nottinghamshire arable farmer Ross Joyce made the decision to switch from granular fertiliser to a liquid system in 2019. Three years on and he has seen output improve, better utilisation of farm equipment and has started a new contract spraying operation and holiday letting business.

Wheatcroft Farms near Retford is a 180ha family farming partnership that grows winter wheat and barley, winter linseed and spring beans, as well as some rotational and permanent grass for a beef enterprise. The medium-toheavy clay soils produce feed wheat yields that average 10t/ha.

Mr Joyce has had experience of liquids and Omex P:K suspension fertilisers, having worked at a nearby farm, Loates Bros. “Working for a very good neighbour prior to coming home to the farm, opened my eyes on how to manage fertiliser regimes and inputs,” he says. “On our farm we were spreading the cheapest granular fertiliser – urea and sulphur blends –through a 24m spreader. We would make sure the machine was calibrated correctly and serviced each season, but we still got stripes two weeks after application.

“We thought we had it right, but after seeing how our neighbour was managing their fertiliser regime, we decided to go back to the drawing board.”

Improve quality

Once back on the family farm, Mr

Joyce says that the rst stage was to improve the quality of the granular fertiliser being applied, but what followed was a price increase. The nal nail in the co n was having at crop between the tramlines and uneven crop on the edge of the eld.

“We had no GPS either, and our John Deere 24m trailed sprayer was not GPS compatible,” he explains. “At this point, we decided to go with liquid fertiliser for the rst time, so I contacted Omex for advice. In our rst season of using liquid fertiliser, which was 2019, we used a contractor, which happened to be Loates Bros, who used their 24m self-propelled Househam with GPS and section control.

“Interestingly, despite switching to liquid fertiliser, we initially got a yield variation; but this was because of the build up of nitrogen in the soil pro le. This really brought it home to me how inaccurate granular fertiliser systems are, and ultimately its impact on pro tability.”

Simpli ed operation

Mr Joyce explains that switching to liquid fertiliser has simpli ed the whole delivery and application operation, and is putting his money in the right place. The farm has since had two 30m3 bunded liquid fertiliser tanks installed, which are positioned at the main farm. The buildings vacated from storing bagged fertiliser have allowed the farm to further diversify having been converted into a holiday letting business.

“There’s no comparison between a granular spreader and liquid application, especially at wider boom widths,” he says. “There is an argument to say that a boom granular spreader can be as accurate as a liquid applicator, although I don’t believe the section control option is really there yet.

“I think a key point is in the nitrogen uptake, which is immediate with liquid, whereas without rain or moisture a granular prill will just stay on the surface. There is also the issue of volatilisation with granular fertilisers.”

Mr Joyce adds that with liquid fertiliser there are no bags or storage or waste disposal issues.

In the second year, Mr Joyce employed the farm’s own John Deere sprayer, which saved on the contractor costs and despite the sprayer only having four section control and manual shut o , it proved to be more accurate than the granular spreader.

“Last year we bought a 24m Bateman self-propelled to bene t from the section control, and increased capacity from 2,500-litres to 4,000-litres,” he says. “It means we have increased our output by 70%, which is due to needing fewer ll ups, and an increased forward speed. With our extra capacity, we have been able to start a whole farm sprayer contracting service and last year we sprayed 100ha for Loates Bros.”

Fertiliser application at Wheatcroft Farm is now a one-man operation. Switching to liquid means no forklift requirement and the larger capacity tank removes the need for a bowser.

From a product cost perspective, Mr Joyce says that he is able to purchase liquid fertiliser through Omex when the price is competitive.

“Chris Pacey at Omex is always following the market and he helps us make the right nancial purchasing decision before prices increase. He also nds ways to maximise nitrogen e ciencies by applying di erent products in the programme such as foliars and urease inhibitors.” FG