The 4 R's of Fertiliser
Choosing the Right Rate
In our series of discussions covering the international 4R’s fertiliser stewardship programme we looked at how LiquaForce BigShot
liquid fertiliser products meet the highest criteria for selecting the Right Product to use on your cane crop.
To quickly recap the 4R’s stand for,
- The Right product
- The Right rate
- The Right timing
- The Right placement.
Today we will discuss the Right
Rate.
As with making sure we test soil and plant tissues prior to applying fertilisers to ensure we are using the Right Product, we also use those
test results to tell us how much of that fertiliser to use.
Applying excess is a waste of money and insufficient amounts will jeopardise crop yield results.
Since 2018 LiquaForce Australia has been and continues implementing the strongest possible fertiliser manufacturing, marketing and on farm
use stewardship programmes available.
The company's in house agronomy services have been enhanced and now includes as standard practice the methodologies of the national Fertcare
programme with all relevant staff now Fertcare accredited.
LiquaForce has also adopted the SRA Six Easy Steps nutrient guides and is now able to produce fully regulation compliant Farm Nutrient
Management Plans for their clients.
In 2020 LiquaForce, finalised the pilot phase of the Local Area Nutrient Datahub or L.A.N.D. which is the integrated digital nutrient
management tool which takes their grower clients through every stage of careful Farm Nutrient Management decision making from soil testing
to nutrient budgeting. L.A.N.D. also provides all of the capacity to keep highly accurate fertiliser use records and to use value add data
such as yield and crop cycle data to develop easy to use outputs which show real time nutrient use efficiency outcomes and the relationships
between variety, crop cycle, other cultural practices, yield and costs to provide an unprecedented management tool for maximising crop
efficiency, optimising yield, achieving consistent profit and meeting the most stringent BMP and regulatory requirements.
L.A.N.D. also integrates the collection and use of the latest Ag Tech data from soil mapping, soil sampling, remote sensing, and crop health
imaging. This data allows the platform to produce highly targeted soil sampling maps and the consequent production of highly targeted
spatially generated fertiliser application maps. These maps when uploaded to our specialised GPS and flow rate controlled liquid applicators
deliver the highest industry standard for variable rate fertiliser application. This technology and equipment allow for variable rate
application of nitrogen and phosphorus and we believe this is a first in Australia for liquid fertilisers.
In summary then, as a LiquaForce client you will have access to the latest and most advanced AG-Tech tools and services as an over the
counter service. Through subscription to L.A.N.D. you will have all of the tools to meet and exceed your planning and regulatory needs for
fertiliser use and be fully supported by professional agronomy services and enjoy the benefits of optimised cropping and profit generation
from your farm business.