L.PDS.1902 - PDS Is fertilising pastures economically worthwhile?

Summary

This Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) demonstrated that average pasture yield in the fertilised paddocks may be double that of unfertilised paddocks and have better diet quality regardless of season. This PDS demonstrated that fertilising was an economically worthwhile investment with a benefit to cost ratio of 2.2:1 using 2018-2021 input costs.

Objectives

By May 2022, using paired paddock comparisons across four properties:
Demonstrate how strategic fertilising can improve long-term pasture productivity via increased growing season pasture yield and improved diet quality.

Conduct a benefit-cost analysis to clearly demonstrate the economic value of fertilising existing sown pastures to red meat producers compared to doing nothing (good grazing management alone).
Increase competency of producers how to initiate and manage a successful pasture fertilising program.

Communicate the results of this project to red meat producers and agronomists in similar environments.

Key findings

• Fertiliser application gave a significant increase in quantity and quality of plant biomass produced. Average pasture yield in the fertilised paddocks was consistently double that of the unfertilised paddocks and the diet quality was also consistently better, regardless of season. The soil’s output in terms of nutrient removal as a response of the dry matter production have removed from 1.8 to 3 times more nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) than the control areas.
• Sown pasture fertilising appears to be economically worthwhile in the western Darling Downs, particularly when applied to pastures on deep, high water holding capacity soils exhibiting symptoms of nutrient rundown, depending on fertiliser prices.
• Good grazing management, timeliness of fertiliser application and following the full fertilising program underpinned the success of the investment.

Benefits to industry

Much of the southern Brigalow Belt covers is now exhibiting nutrient “rundown” symptoms offering potential to increase business productivity by addressing soil fertility problems. Strategic fertilising of existing sown pastures provides a mechanism to do this without taking paddocks out of production for extended periods of time and leaving soil bare to plant new pasture.
The economic analysis of this demonstration has shown that there are clear economic and soil health benefits to graziers with rundown sown pastures in this region to invest in a soil testing and fertilising program.
Potential benefits include:
• The ability to improve scale of operation by increasing the pasture yield and therefore carrying capacity of existing paddocks without the need to buy more land
• Improved liveweight gain and reduce turnoff age by improving diet quality
• Better pasture composition, land condition and long-term carrying capacity
• Increased scale of operation without the need to buy more land
Fertilised perennial tropical pastures provide a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to summer forage crops because they can produce similar yields and diet quality when provided with the same nutrients, but with lower input costs (seed, herbicide, diesel, etc.). In dry years they provide ground cover and feed where fodder crop paddocks may be left bare.

MLA action

MLA continues to deliver the Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) program, supporting livestock producers working in peer-to-peer groups to pursue new skills, knowledge and management practices applicable to their own commercial livestock production system

Future research