Nitrogen fertiliser use within our dairy systems has come into sharp focus of late. The rapid price increase in the last 12 to 18 months has left many farmers questioning how profitable nitrogen is. Add to this the fact the countries such as New Zealand have brought in caps on the amount of nitrogen that can be used annually on farm and farmers here in Australia are rightly concerned about how our dairy systems can still produce high amounts of home grown forage and remain profitable while reducing the amount of nitrogen inputs.
In this DairyPod episode, Dairy Australia’s Project Co-ordinator, Major Innovations, Liz Mann discusses with Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Research Fellow Adam Langworthy, some of the considerations to make the most of the nitrogen fertiliser that you use now as well as new nitrogen research that is about to commence as part of the DairyHIGH2 research program at the TIA Smartfarm in Elliot Tasmania.