CSBP: Gauge nutrient uptake with plant sampling

By Bridget Watkins, CSBP Agricultural Officer

With some good rain finally making an appearance across the growing region, crops are coming up, and pastures are recovering. This brings the opportunity to carry out CSBP NUlogic Plant Analysis to assess crop and pasture health by analysing the current concentration of nutrients in the plants.

Benefits of plant testing

Plant tissue testing has multiple benefits. It allows growers to assess the status of critical nutrients and address deficiencies before they impact production and yield. Years of field trials have shown that marginal nutrient levels can restrict final yield to 60-80% of the target.

Plant sampling versus soil sampling

Plant sampling is typically more reliable than soil sampling, providing detailed information across a broader range of nutrients and assessing the actual plant status of trace elements. Results from plant sampling provide a real-time gauge of nutrient uptake and can indicate the presence of nutrient deficiencies before visual symptoms appear.

The majority of limiting macronutrients, including nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and sulfur (S), can be addressed in-season if discovered early enough. However, nutrients such as phosphorus (P) need to be supplied sufficiently before germination.

Timing is important. Plant sampling early, such as at early tillering in cereals and 4 – 6 leaf in canola, is the ideal timing as this allows time for nutritional deficiencies to be rectified in-season. However, sampling later than this can still provide valuable insight and should not be disregarded.

Sampling wheat near Wyalkatchem to assess potassium deficiency.
What can be sampled?

Plant sampling is not limited to cereals; lupins, pulses and pastures can be tested to assess nutrient uptake. Stem samples of lupins are often analysed to provide insight into manganese (Mn) status in season, as Mn deficiency can result in split seed. Assessing pasture nutrition and composition determines the quality of feed on offer to livestock, as volume alone is not sufficient.

When diagnosing potential nutrient deficiencies once symptoms appear, collect paired samples (both affected plants and healthy-looking plants). Comparing these samples provides a clearer understanding of the specific nutrient limitations in the unhealthy plants.

It is also worth considering nutrient interactions: if one nutrient is limiting, it is likely preventing the plant from effectively utilising the remaining nutrition available. For example, K deficiency can limit the crop’s response to additional N applications. Ensuring balanced nutrition is critical for promoting healthy crops and pastures.

If growers have altered their seeding fertiliser application placement and/or rate from previously used practices, then plant sampling can be utilised to assess crop nutrition. Growers can then adjust their remaining fertiliser application program based on the in-season nutrient status.

For example, if P was banded at seeding rather than top-dressed as in previous seasons, the uptake of P by the crop is likely to be more efficient and plant sampling can help to confirm the benefits of banding.

Given the limited 2024 summer rainfall across the growing region, it is likely that soil testing conducted before seeding was not able to provide a full insight into nitrate levels as mineralised N was limited. Tissue testing in season allows growers to see how the crops are performing and if N or other nutrients are limiting. Marginal or reduced uptake of certain nutrients can help determine which fertiliser products best suit the crop and pasture requirements for the remainder of the season.

Finally, fertiliser strategies can be refined to match crop requirements. For example, if plant sample results show that S levels in a canola crop are sufficient, a high-S product may not be needed. The fertiliser budget can then be redirected to other nutrients that better meet the crop’s needs for the season.

Plan your sampling today

Plant samples can be sent to the CSBP Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory in Bibra Lake, where the skilled lab team will perform a comprehensive suite of analytes with flexible testing options to target specific nutrients if required.

CSBP Account Managers will assess the results for the relevant crop or pasture, and use DecipherAg to map out deficient areas or prepare variable rate application, optimising fertiliser use. They can also advise on the best products to meet current and future crop and pasture requirements.

We recommend getting in touch with your local CSBP account manager to organise your plant sampling and get you the results you need to ensure your crops and pastures are getting the nutrition they require.

Getting more time & enjoyment back in farming

By Nathan Craig, WMG Chief Executive Officer

We all know the feeling of being stretched thin in life, having to do increasingly more for everyone and in managing our farm businesses, with time always being at a premium. This article explores how the West Midlands Group (WMG) have been deconstructing the ‘lack of time’ issue, my experience in farming, and offers a pathway forward to reduce stress and risk associated with managing a farm business.

WMG’s interest in this topic comes from our own internal quest to improve the way we guide our farming members in exploring new farming practices and technologies. Through the RiskWi$e project, a GRDC investment, the WMG Team are taking a close look at how our everyday decisions to manage risk in the farm business contribute to the stress of being time poor.

Nathan presents on WMG’s key learnings across the first year of the GRDC RiskWi$e Project at the national conference held in June.

Our observations of farm business managers over the past 12 months have been that many farmers across our region are now operating, if not in title – then certainly in role, as a CEO of a farm family ‘corporate’ farm. Farmers are now managers of very large businesses, with current Planfarm benchmarking data highlighting that the average farm size is worth $16M in WA; farming is not a small business!

We also see many of the characteristics of a ‘corporate-type’ business: a WMG survey last year highlighted that 98% of farmers see themselves as making the final decision in all aspects of management, just like a CEO. They also have a group of people around them that help to curate information they receive and help to make the final decision, just like a CEO, including agronomic consultants, financial advisers, grain marketers, family business members, partners, and employees.

In considering this ‘family corporate’ model that we have arrived at, many farm business owners and managers have been thrust into this situation without knowing it, and it is no wonder that many farmers feel the pressure of decision making, having less time, and feeling forced into the less palatable office work instead of being out on the farm doing practical work. This is reinforced by comments we often hear from farmers lamenting “we don’t care about all this crap; we just want to farm.”

Farmers are farmers for one reason, they like the practical side of farming and not sitting inside the office so much. In reflecting, that is definitely what attracted myself to farming over 20 years ago, even though I didn’t really think I would be, or appreciate being, locked in the office a lot of the time.

I remember my first year on the farm in 2002 being an absolute chaotic disaster. At the end of the year, my mother passed the comment “this isn’t what you thought it would be, is it?”  I lied through my teeth and said, “no, it’s all fine,” but in reality it did knock the wind out of my sails and left me wondering if I should really be a farmer after all.

The stress of the first year led me to develop a ‘Critical Control Point Planner’ for our business. This outlined all the key steps we needed to complete each year in order to achieve our goals. It optimised and prioritised our operations, reduced overlap of key tasks, and made sure we focused on the important tasks each week of the month. This enabled us to run up to 12,000 sheep and 1000ha of crop with only 2.4 labour units, and to maximise the productive potential of our business.

This planner was supported by the use of scenario planning, so that we always had a plan to achieve our plan, no matter the season. We also had a business plan, so we knew where our North Star was; what success looked like at the end. This approach, in identifying the 1%ers and being 1%ers themselves, is something that other farm businesses can adopt to take the stress and ‘randomness’ out of farming.

The RiskWi$e Project is all about helping farmers to address the 1%ers in their business, the small things that can add up to a big shift in the mentality of making decisions. By putting in place a continual improvement process and finding the small gains in your farm business, it can give more control over your time and enjoyment and allow farm managers to get on with the practical, fun part of farming.

Keep your eye out for the upcoming WMG RiskWi$e farmer discussion group meetings happening across our region, where you can learn more about how identifying the 1%ers in your business can lead to big increases in your available time and profitability.

Stacking soil amendments and amelioration to increase yield & improve soil health

By Kate Parker & Simon Kruger, WMG Projects Team

The Future Carbon Project site in Wathingarra, supported by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the Soil CRC, is one of four large-scale field trials across the WA Wheatbelt and Northern Ag regions looking into soil management and amelioration strategies to improve soil health and subsequently build soil carbon.

Sandy soils in the West Midlands region often present multiple challenges such as poor holding capacity of nutrients and moisture and limited production by nutrient leaching, soil water repellence, low nutrient levels, and compaction. While this is one of our more complex sites, as it has been built up over 3 years, including the amalgamation of 2 projects with similar scope, this project is working on ways of addressing these multiple constraints, while increasing soil health and profitability from a local perspective.

The Wathingarra site contains 282 individual plots with 54 different replicated treatments consisting of multiple soil amendments and amelioration strategies stacked together. These include amelioration treatments such as rotary spading and mould board ploughing, and the addition of amendments such as manure, gypsum, clay, biochar and frass. The aim of this ‘stacked’ approach is to get a more comprehensive view of how these different strategies can work together.

After establishment and double cereal phase in 2021 & 2022, the site was sown to Frano serradella in 2023 looking to a break crop phase allowing for weed control, setting a legume seed base for following seasons, creating biomass and green manuring and to fix nitrogen. In 2024, the site has been allowed to regenerate from set seed, being ‘worked-in’ in April, fertilised in May and with further weed cleanup through June/July.

Despite a dry start to the season, plant establishment has been very successful across all plots, with rotary spaded plots generally performing best, followed by mould boarded, and finally control (untreated) plots. While most plants are currently at the 2-4 leaf stage, those that got off to an earlier start following the first rainfall in late May have begun nodulation. Those plots with more protective stubble from the previous seasons also appear to have increased plant establishment, however there is little difference between plots treated with biochar and frass and those without.

WMG will monitor the progress of this site over the season, continuing to investigate the long term impact of stacking soil amendments on crop growth, grain yield, organic carbon levels and soil health. Be sure to check out the Future Carbon Project page for more information and keep an eye out for a field walk at the Wathingarra site in the coming months.

Legumes in agricultural systems: A background

By Kate Parker, WMG Project Officer

What are legumes?

Legumes are a broad leaf plant and members of the bean family. Some of the main legumes seen in WAs agricultural systems include lentils, faba beans, mungbeans, field peas, chickpeas and lupins. Legumes are most know for their ability to ‘fix’ nitrogen from the atmosphere into root nodules, leading to more fertile soils and high protein plants.

Role in agriculture

In the right environment and production system, incorporating legumes can significantly boost productivity and provide drought resilience and environmental benefits. Legumes are seen as a multipurpose crop, they can be used as a profitable break crop, a source of high protein animal feed, a fertility booster (along with nitrogen fixation), an enhancement to resilience and a contributor to carbon capture and storage along with reducing emissions. The organic nitrogen fixation provided from legumes is an environmentally conscious way of delivering large amounts of nitrogen into an agricultural system leading to high-yielding crops and increased protein content.

Nitrogen fixation

Legumes are able to acquire Nitrogen from the atmosphere through a soil bacteria called Rhizobia. This bacteria reside in nodules on the root systems and turn the unusable Nitrogen gas (N2) from the atmosphere into ammonia (NH3) that can be used by plants and organisms.

  • Crop legumes fixed roughly 167,000 tonnes of N with a predicted value of $270 million in 2012 (GRDC).
  • The estimated annual cost for Australian farmers to replace the N fixed by legumes with fertiliser is $3.5 billion (GRDC).
  • On average, (at the paddock scale) legumes fix about 70 kilograms of N per hectare annually. This can vary with a range from close to zero to almost 600kg N/ha (GRDC).
  • When harvested, 30-40% of the N in legume crops will be taken off the property via the grain however the remaining parts of the plant break down into the soil and contribute to N reserves (up to 100kg N/ha) (Soil Quality).
Source: GRDC
Inoculation

The major factor in a legumes ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen is the availability of the rhizobia bacteria to the plant. In situations where this bacteria is in low amounts or not already present in the soil, inoculation of the legume seeds is vital. Inoculation involves coating the seed in a live bacteria (rhizobia) specific to each legume type pre-sowing. There are different types of inoculant relevant to different legumes and 5 different forms of inoculant commercially available (peat, freeze dried, granular, liquid and pre-inoculated seed). For cropping legumes, the most popular form is peat followed by granular, freeze-dried and liquid.

Fun fact:

It has been ~100yrs since scientists first began understanding the link between legumes and rhizobia and how that link encouraged growth and nitrogen fixation. In the early days of this discovery farmers were recommended to inoculate sown legume seeds with soils collected from a paddock in which that same type of legume was already grown with successful nodules. The soil was sieved and mixed with glue to then apply to the seeds, much the same principle as inoculants work today. Todays inoculants however are far more efficient and effective at delivering the largest amount possible of rhizobia bacteria to the roots of the seedlings.

Source: GRDC
Source: GRDC
Stats

According to ABARES, Australia produces between 2 and 4.7 million tonnes of pulses every year.

Exports

In 2022, Australia was the world’s:

  • largest exporter of chickpeas ($515m).
  • largest exporter of broad beans ($359m).
  • second largest exporter of lentils ($1.1b), after Canada.
  • fourth largest exporter of mung beans ($141m).
  • fifth largest exporter of peas ($124m).
Production

In 2020–21, Australia was the:

  • largest producer of lupins (866 000t).
  • second largest producer of chickpeas (876 000t) after India.
  • third largest producer of lentils (854 000t) after Canada and India.
  • fourth largest producer of broad beans (510 000t).
  • seventh largest producer of peas (339 000t).

Western Australia is the largest producer of lupins accounting for 84% of the countries production in 2022–23 (ABARES 2023).

Australia’s pulse production has increased in the past three years in accordance with high rainfall and decent conditions(ABARES 2023).

It has been predicted that chickpea planting area will increase by 20% over the coming years as growers look into more drought-resistant crops to combat an increasingly variable climate.

This is the first article in a series being produced by WMG as part of the GRDC and GGA funded Grain Legumes Project.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more ‘background’ and collated technical information articles, please let us know!

Early results from the K Extension Project trial site

By Kate Parker & Simon Kruger, WMG Projects Team

Growers in the West Midlands region have identified potassium (K) deficiency as an ongoing constraint limiting yield potential in sandy soils. Whilst growers agree that replacement potassium was likely being underapplied over the years, the majority also thought potassium needed further research, mainly around response by soil types, application rates and the ability of some plants to recycle K from depth.

2023 findings in the GRDC funded WMG K Extension Project showed significant amounts of potassium in the subsoil of more than 10 sites across the region, highlighting an untapped resource that could support alternative fertiliser management strategies. This subsoil potassium presents an opportunity for growers to utilise deeper soil layers to meet their crops’ K requirements.

The early post emergent ripping side of the K Extension Project trial site in Yathroo.

This year, the K Extension Project is investigating further into the regions potassium needs and looking at different crops and their ability to bring up subsoil K in both ripped and unripped soils. We will be looking at 5 different crops; canola, lupin, serradella*, short season wheat and medium season wheat; with randomised six plots per crop and half of the treatments deep ripped 3 days post sowing.

*In project farmer discussion meetings, serradella was identified as a crop with the potential to bring potassium up from deep soil levels, although having limited suitability in cropping only systems.

Early Results:

As shown in the below table, rainfall in the January to June period for the site has been below the long-term average with the break of the season occurring in the last couple of days in May.

JanFebMarAprMayJun
20240.00.09.67.444.693.6
LTA (1971-2024)11.813.717.426.976.296.8
Table 1. Rainfall at the Yathroo site for the first half of the year versus the long-term average (1971-2024).
Figure 1. Plant establishment for a range of crop species at the Yathroo trial site for 2024. The site was duplicated and one site ripped 3 days after seeding using a low inversion deep ripper to a depth of 60cm. Error bars denote the standard error of the treatment mean.

Figure 1 shows the plant establishment counts for each of the treatments. Early post-emergent (EPE) deep ripping is known to reduce crop emergence. EPE deep ripping was recently covered in an article last month. The site was ripped perpendicular to the direction of sowing resulting in an increased difficulty during sampling due to rows shifting. Canola and Lupin show lower plant numbers due to a lower seeding rate. We predicted the greatest impact from deep ripping would be on serradella, then canola -> wheat -> lupin, due to the size of the seeds, however found that serradella and wheat were instead most affected with lupin and canola relatively insignificant difference as noted by the overlapping error bars.

These are very early days in the trial and monitoring of the site will continue across the season. Keep an eye out for project updates and crop walks in the coming months as we explore further into the potassium requirements for the region.

Soil amelioration & water repellence: Investigating the next generation of strategies

By Kate Parker & Simon Kruger, WMG Projects Team

Farmers across the Northern Ag region of WA are faced with the significant, ongoing challenge of managing soil water repellence. The regions sandy soils are low in clay content and as a result, have a low surface area. Waxy substances that originate from plant organic matter when they decompose are left in the soil to coat sand particles and over time this process causes the soil to have reduced infiltration of rainfall. This leads to patchy crop emergence and lowers grain yield whilst also causing issues with weed management and fertiliser use efficiency. Farmers across the region have successfully implemented a range of soil amelioration strategies for deep sandy soils where there are few physical obstructions to the use of deep tillage equipment like mouldboard ploughs, rotary spaders, and deep rippers; often leading to a consistent increase in grain yield and increased profitability.

While this approach has been successful on the deep sandy soils, farmers are seeking more information on tackling some of the other soil types in the region. Many growers experience the presence of multiple soil types in one paddock; from rock to gravel to coloured and white sand. Each soil type has its challenges with differing responses to applying the same soil amelioration practices inclusive of different returns on investment. Unfortunately, there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach in paddocks where there are many soil types, with farmers requiring the skills to identify the soil constraints in their paddock, understand which practice is likely to be effective in each soil type, and gain confidence to apply this knowledge and implement the practices across their farm.

The West Midlands Group (WMG) have been working in the area of soil amelioration for nearly 15 years, having first starting helping farmers address soil water repellency in the region after 2009. Our current focus in soil amelioration is on developing the next generation of strategies that build on the first generation of soil amelioration to improve long-term soil health. This is primarily in the field of stacking soil amendments and amelioration strategies, identifying soil amelioration options for paddocks with variable soil types, and in tackling the issue of re-emergence and/or prevention of re-emergence of soil water repellence in the region.

The GRDC funded Soil Amelioration Project aims to explore key aspects of soil amelioration on variable soil types including:

  • Diagnosing paddock scale soil constraints.
  • Identifying the most appropriate amelioration method(s) for the constraints.
  • Determining the economic advantage (ROI for the paddock) behind these methods.

Over the next three years, WMG will establish a network of Participatory Action Research (PAR) groups and demonstration sites across the Geraldton and Kwinana West port zones. Each year, 1-2 sites will be established with local PAR groups that build on the learnings from previous years to increase and develop the farmer knowledge base on successful soil amelioration strategies.

This years first site, located on the Creagh’s property in Dandaragan, is looking at amelioration methods on a gravel soil type with non-wetting issues. The site was ameliorated at the beginning of June with the following 4 methods:

  • Plozza Plow
  • Fanger Plow (Deep rip)
  • Nufab Rip/Delve
  • Nufab Rip/Delve – Double pass

Sown to oats in the week following amelioration, the site will now be monitored throughout the growing season to assess each treatment. There will be a crop walk at the site in the coming weeks for growers to have a good look across the trial, with more details to follow. In the meantime, enjoy this short clip of some of the amelioration tools in action and be sure to join an amelioration discussion group via the link below!

Farewell from Melanie Dixon

By Melanie Dixon, WMG Mixed Farming Systems Officer

After three years with the West Midlands Group (WMG), it’s time for me to say goodbye. I began my journey here as a Graduate Project Officer, and later moved into the role of Mixed Farming Systems Officer. I will be finishing up as I am just weeks away from completing my Master’s in Data Science, and I am excited to pursue new opportunities.

I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with such dedicated colleagues, from whom I have learned so much. The farmers and industry professionals have been exceptionally welcoming to me — a Mandurah girl with a lot of questions. Their willingness to share their knowledge has been invaluable and I have learnt so much. Of course, as a fresh-faced graduate, I was on a steep learning curve in the beginning. There is so much happening in the region and in the industry! Every day quite literally brought new lessons and experiences, thanks to the many farmers and community members who supported me.

One of my proudest achievements here was creating events that resonated with the community. Erin and I started the Pasture Drive Series, which has now grown to nine events. These small, relaxed discussions were initially daunting but quickly became a highlight. They provided a space for us to come together, celebrate our successes, and discuss the challenges of farming.

I also have fond memories of the Student Crop Walk events. Over the past three years, I designed, planned, and ran these events with the support of the WMG team. These days were dedicated to university students, giving them a chance to learn about farming in the West Midlands, meet their peers, and discuss career opportunities with industry professionals. My goal was to show students that agriculture isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about a willingness to learn and try new ideas.

Overall, my time at WMG has been wonderful, and it is bittersweet to say goodbye. However, I am excited to be making way for my replacement, Kate Parker. She is finishing up at Murdoch University and has an impressive amount of work experience under her belt already. I’m confident she will do a fantastic job and continue the good work we’ve started.

I want to sincerely thank everyone in the WMG and local community again for making my time here so memorable.

CSBP: Urea Sustain boosts yields and improves NUE

By Peter Rees, CSBP Senior Agronomist

Nitrogen (N) losses from ammonia (NH3) volatilisation, denitrification and leaching have become an area of concern as growers look to decrease environmental impacts and improve profitability.

Increasing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) through field research, product development and agronomic recommendations is a key focus for CSBP as it helps growers maximise yield and economic returns, while decreasing N losses.

Nitrogen fertiliser losses

Nitrogen fertiliser losses from volatilisation have been reported at up to 30% of applied N in field trials in WA1. Losses are dependent on fertiliser type, environmental conditions (temperature, rainfall, wind speed) and soil properties (clay content, CEC and pH)2. Losses can be high two to six days after application if there is insufficient rainfall to wash urea into the soil profile.

Leaching losses occur when N dissolved in water moves through the soil profile, draining below the root zone. Rates of loss are highly dependent on soil type, N application rate and rainfall.

Any applied fertiliser not converted to grain represents an economic loss as well as a potential environmental impact. With current NUE for N applications estimated at 30 – 60% it makes sense to investigate technologies and products that help crops take up more fertiliser N.

Urea Sustain trials and results

In 2023 CSBP introduced a new product to market, Urea Sustain, which is urea coated with NBPT (a urease inhibitor shown to reduce volatilisation) and DMPP (a nitrification inhibitor shown to reduce leaching). We also ran seven replicated field trials and three small microplot experiments in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the results of which are summarised below.

Table 1. Locations, soil and seasonal details for field trials used in this study.

When all trials and N rates were aggregated and analysed, Urea Sustain boosted yields by an average of 5.6% over urea at the same rate (Figure 1). This higher yield was accompanied by slightly higher protein (average of 0.3% higher for Urea Sustain, results not shown).

This meant, on average, spending an extra $8/ha on Urea Sustain led to an extra $45/ha worth of grain (net return improved by $37/ha).

Figure 1. Relative yield benefits from Urea Sustain compared to urea when top-dressed at Z11–13. Coloured dots are means of three field replicates comparing equal N rates. Boxplots show the interquartile range and medians (vertical lines).

Where follow-up rainfall was received, urea and Urea Sustain behaved similarly, and the largest differences were found at medium to high N rates at sites with little or no rainfall in the week after application.

A great example of this was our trial at Cascade, which was previously featured in our November 2023 edition of Ag Insights. At this site, N rates ranged from 0 – 126 kg/ha and only minor rainfall events were received in the three weeks after topdressing. Across all rates of N, Urea Sustain yielded an average of 300 kg/ha more than urea, and protein increased by up to 2% (Figure 2).

In addition, post-harvest soil sampling showed that there was significantly higher soil residual N where Urea Sustain was used (Figure 3). This shows that not only did more N make it into the plant and the grain, generating more income, but more of the excess N that was applied could be found in the soil, indicating lower losses where Urea Sustain was applied.

Figure 2. Wheat yield (t/ha) and grain protein (%) responses to N rates supplied as Urea Sustain or urea top-dressed at Z11–13 in Cascade in 2023. Each dot represents the mean of three replicates.
Figure 3. Soil mineral N (mg/kg) (sum of NO3– N and NH4+ N in 0–10cm) at Cascade with increasing rates of applied N as urea and Urea Sustain in soil samples taken after harvest (left) and a comparison of the N sources across all rates of applied N for residual mineral N (right).

To better understand how Urea Sustain was performing in the field, the CSBP Agronomy Team used a special form of urea, labelled with a nitrogen isotope known as 15N, which contains an additional proton than standard nitrogen (14N). By analysing grain, above and below ground plant material and soil cores taken from the sites, the 15N allowed us to better trace where our fertiliser ended up.

At a site west of Mingenew, the equivalent of 42kg N/ha was applied either as 15N urea or 15N Urea Sustain at two different timings. After the first application, there was 11mm of rain, while after the second application, there was no significant rain in the subsequent six days.

When rainfall was received (Figure 4a, Mingenew 1), there was no difference in the amount of N recovered in the grain, above ground biomass, plant roots or the soil. For the later application of 15N (Figure 4b, Mingenew 2), where no follow-up rain was received for six days after application there was a significant increase in 15N recovery in the Urea Sustain plots compared to urea, with most of the difference being found in higher grain N recovery (10 vs 15kg N/ha) and soil recovery (8 vs 11kg N/ha). This improvement in grain N recovery represents a 50% improvement in N use efficiency under adverse conditions.

Figure 4. Nitrogen recovery (kg N/ha) in soil, plant, roots and grain material with two fertiliser application timings at Mingenew. Results are a mean of three replicates for the first application timing and two replicates for the second application timing. Vertical bars represent standard errors for total N recovery.
Trial findings and results

Our results show the use of inhibitors can boost grower returns and improve NUE. While our yield improvements averaged lower than the 10% reported in international reviews of NBPT efficiency3, six out of our seven trials were conducted in 2023, which was a drier season in WA and sites were less N responsive than in average years.

With rainfall becoming less predictable and farming operations generally growing in scale, inhibitors may also offer logistical advantages, allowing growers more certainty when topdressing crops ahead of forecast rains.

CSBP intends to continue research in the field of enhancing fertiliser efficiency. This work will include comparing inhibitor products and rates, and alternative uses and timings to help drive improved returns and better environmental outcomes for growers across Western Australia.

Urea Sustain is available at CSBP Albany, Esperance, Geraldton and Kwinana.

Talk to your local CSBP account manager to find out more and secure your Urea Sustain today.

References

1Fillery, I., and Khimashia, N. (2016). Soil Research, 54, 1-10. Doi: 10.1071/SR14073

2Sommer, S.G. & Schjoerring, Jan & Denmead, O. (2004). Advances in Agronomy, 82. 557-622. 10.1016/S0065-2113(03)82008-4.

3Cantarella, H., et.al. (2018). Journal of Advanced Research, 13, 19-27. Doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2018.05.008

Summit Fertilizers: Your Crop Starts with MAPSZC

MAPSZC and DAPSZC products are Summit Fertilizers premium range for growers. Both are Summit’s highest quality full compound fertilizers available. Every individual granule contains the following nutrients; N, P, S, Cu and Zn, ratios for each as listed in table below. They have superb handling characteristics, minimal dust and are unique to Summit Fertilizers.

Watch this short video on MAPSZC for more or visit www.summitfertilizers.com.au.

RSM: Federal Budget offers temporary support but lacks long-term structural solutions

By Keiran Sullivan, Director, RSM Australia

The business landscape has been marked by instability and hardship for many in recent years, leading to a growing number of businesses being liquidated voluntarily or involuntarily. It was disappointing then that the latest Federal Budget did not offer any substantial changes or reforms to the Australian tax system.

Ahead of the Budget, an RSM survey of mid-sized businesses across Australia revealed that 67% had struggled with the ‘cost of business’ to a great extent. It was hoped that the Budget would support the long-term viability of Australia’s small business sector by introducing much-needed tax reforms in areas such as employment taxes, intergenerational business transfers and GST.

The Government has recognised SMEs as vital to Australia’s prosperity, contributing more than $500 billion annually and employing over 5.2 million people. But tangible changes for SMEs are limited in this year’s Budget, with the bulk of spending focused on bolstering Government support and administration systems.

Direct benefits for SMEs really only centre around the $325 electricity bill deduction and an extension to the Instant Asset Write Off (IAWO) provisions.

With RSM’s Pre-Budget business survey respondents suggesting energy had been the single biggest cost eating into business revenue this year, many will welcome the Budget-headlining measure of electricity bill refunds, with eligible SMEs receiving $325 in the 2024-25 financial year to be paid in quarterly instalments as a rebate against eligible electricity bills.

The IAWO measure is currently stalled in Parliament for the year ending 30 June 2024, with an opposition proposal that SMEs with turnover up to $50m should be eligible to write off assets costing up to $30,000.

This year’s Budget ignores the changes before the Senate and proposes that eligible SMEs with turnover up to $10m will be able to write off assets up to $20,000 for the 2024-25 financial year. Usually, the rules allow SMEs with turnover up to $10m to immediately write off assets costing up to $1,000.

Key points are as follows:

  • Temporary increase to the IAWO threshold to $20,000 has been extended for the year ending 30 June 2024.
  • The IAWO threshold increase applies to SMEs with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10m.
  • Eligible assets must be first used, or installed ready for use, between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025.
  • The IAWO applies on a per asset basis.
  • Assets valued at $20,000 or more cannot be immediately deducted. These may continue to be placed into the small business simplified depreciation pool, and depreciated subject to the small business capital allowance rules.
  • Provisions which prevent SMEs that have opted out of simplified depreciation measures from using the IAWO continue to be suspended to 30 June 2025.

These measures may offer some temporary support for small businesses, but they do not address the broader economic challenges, such as increasing costs, disrupted supply chains, staff shortages, declining consumer spending, or long-term issues like the ageing of business owners.

Keiran Sullivan is a Director of Business Advisory at accounting and advisory firm RSM Australia. He works closely with small businesses on tax and business structuring, business strategy, profit improvement, succession planning and asset protection. For further information, he can be contacted at keiran.sullivan@rsm.com.au