Special Reports
Forecasting global movements
The fertiliser supply chain has a complex array of supply and demand dynamics. Where are they at now and what could it mean for price?
Words Anne Lee
A strategic approach
Variable rate fertiliser application is a key component to reducing overall fertiliser volume and reducing overall spend.
Words Sheryl Haitana
Data drives decisions
Optimising soil fertility to support pasture growth is a first principles approach for Kieran and Leonie Guiney. They are managing fertiliser cost while meeting return expectations for themselves and their sharemilking partners.
Words Anne Lee
Green gold – make it count
An effluent system upgrade at the Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF) is helping to make more effective use of the $13,000- $14,000 worth of nutrients cows deposit on the yard and farm dairy each year.
Words Anne Lee
Growing knowledge
A joint research programme between New Zealand and Ireland that started in February 2024 aims to better understand methane emissions from pasture-based systems.
Words Jane Kay
Building a picture
AgResearch is looking at how concentrates alter methane emissions.
Words Anne Lee
Soil fertility a capital asset
When times are tough on the farm, fertiliser may be one of the items left off the shopping list.
Words Kerry Dwyer
Is Breeding the Answer?
Finding a marker or proxy in a dairy cow that correlates with low or high methane is the big prize.
Words Delwyn Dickey
Keep the finisher in mind
Dairy farmers wishing to phase out bobby calves will need to raise animals that will compete with other land uses. Sheryl Haitana reports.
Price Pressures Flatten
While some fertiliser costs are softening, global volatility is not going away and neither are the inbuilt costs for the industry to improve its environmental footprint. Words by Sheryl Haitana.