A nutrient budget is a measure of the nutrient balance of a farming operation. It takes into account all the nutrient inputs on a farm and all those removed from the land. The most obvious source of nutrients in this situation is fertiliser, but this is only part of the picture. Other inputs come with rainfall, in supplements brought on to the farm and in effluent - either farm or dairy factory - spread on the land. In addition, nutrients can be moved around the farm - from an area used for growing silage to the area used to feed it out, from paddock to raceway, and within paddocks in dung and urine patches. Nutrients are removed from the farm in stock sold on, products (meat, milk, wool), crops sold or fed out off farm, and through processes such as nitrate leaching, volatilisation and phosphate run-off.
An accurate nutrient budget is an important tool for avoiding unnecessary applications of plant nutrients. It also allows for better management of farm blocks, for example, it can identify areas that are receiving too much of a particular nutrient from effluent applications, so allowing action to be taken to remedy the situation. Overall, nutrient budgets help ensure that farming practices are conducted in an environmentally sustainable manner. As such, they are increasingly being required by councils, producer bodies and international markets. An annual nutrient budget should be standard practice for any farmer in New Zealand who aims to run an efficient, economic operation.
Ballance technical sales representatives are all university-trained in the Overseer nutrient budgeting program and are happy to use this as part of their fertiliser recommendation. For more information on nutrient budgeting, contact your local Ballance technical sales representative.
