'Making Better Fertiliser Decisions for Grazed Pastures in Australia' is a new 17-page booklet produced to help farmers and advisers choose appropriate soil fertility levels and management practices to improve profitability and environmental outcomes.
The Better Fertiliser Decisions (BFD) project, supported by funding by a number of providers, including Dairy Australia and the Tasmanian Government, was conducted from 2003-2007 to provide comprehensive information to improve fertiliser decisions for grazing industries.
A national network of nutrient management researchers, extension specialists and fertiliser industry representatives compiled and interpreted results from pasture-fertiliser experiments and information on nutrient loss processes from all pastoral regions in Australia. As a result, it has equipped the Australian grazing and fertiliser industries with refined recommendations about appropriate soil test levels for P, K and S. The project also developed a national nutrient-loss decision support tool that enables users to assess the risks of P and N loss at the paddock and farm scale.
The booklet and nutrient-loss tool can be downloaded from www.asris.csiro.au. Copies of the booklet can also be obtained from Dr Cameron Gourley, DPI Victoria, 1301 Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, Vic 3821.
