Written by Ben Jones, Allerton Farm Manager
Using Farm Yard Manure (FYM) and a cab mounted Nitrogen (N) sensor to reduce synthetic fertiliser use
Farm Yard Manure
As part of our long-term sustainable farming systems trial, we have been able to significantly reduce the use of synthetic nitrogen. After oil seed rape was harvested in July last year, FYM was applied to a specific part of a field at 25 tons per hectare. Hybrid winter wheat was drilled on 1 October. There has since been a significant response from that crop in the FYM area. It has much more vigour and has developed greater biomass. We source our FYM from a neighbouring beef farmer. Though it costs around £300 per hectare when transportation and application are factored in, the locked carbon in the soil provides organic matter and increases soil microbiology diversity. It’s therefore much better for the long-term health and productivity of the soil than synthetic fertiliser.
Tractor mounted Nitrogen Sensor
As part of the same sustainable farming trial we have an N sensor fitted to the cab of the tractor which is able to identify N uptake within the crop and vary the application rate of synthetic N accordingly. With the second of three applications recently completed, the FYM plot received 30kg/ha less synthetic N than the remainder of the field. We forward bought our N so we do not have to contend with the current 30% price increase since the Iran conflict, but the cost of fertiliser looks set to rise indefinitely so the sensor is likely to have financial as well as environmental benefits in the long term.