s, regional councils across the country will be implementing requirements to reduce nitrogen leached27 Jul 2021 19:55
CropX - Nitrogen New Zealand
Now, the company has innovated even further, using their existing soil sensors to develop a new method of tracking insights around nitrogen movement through the soil profile.
This new solution provides the ability for farmers and growers to immediately understand the impact their on-farm decisions such as fertiliser application, irrigation and pasture species choices have on nitrogen movement through the soil.
"Providing actual data to farmers is now more crucial than ever, with new regulations around nitrogen usage being introduced around the country", says Eitan Dan, CropX’s New Zealand General Manager.
Over the next five years, regional councils across the country will be implementing requirements to reduce nitrogen leached from farms into the future. Therefore, it is vital that farmers have access to the right information today, so they can start implementing any required step-changes tomorrow.
"Our new technology provides farmers with real-time information and data, allowing them to link the changes in soil water nitrogen concentrations to the activities they are undertaking. From there they can fine tune their systems to achieve better environmental outcomes".
Extensive research was undertaken by CropX to develop the new solution, which assesses the levels of key nutrients in the soil. These nutrients are available for either plant growth or potentially at risk of leaching from the soil.
"Farmers are always trying to ensure their pasture has the right amount of water and nutrients available as they grow through to maturity. We know that if too much fertiliser is put on before the plant needs it, the excess dissolves and is leached, if we don’t put fertiliser on soon enough then crop growth is stalled from limited nutrients, and if we don’t put enough water on, even if there are adequate nutrients, crop growth is limited".
The solution provides insights for farmers to make proactive management decisions about their crops' optimal growth at the right time, without risking leaching. While modelling systems to understand the impact farming systems and on-farm practices have on nitrogen moving through the soil have been in place for some time, the ability to measure actual data, in real-time, is new for New Zealand farmers.
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