OPTIONS FOR ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Manure fertiliser to maximise productivity in the changing environmental landscape

KEY QUESTION Can manure produce greater yields and increase the longevity of my farming operation? LOCATION Kookaburra FARMER Tony Pascoe REASON Fertiliser will become more expensive as we move towards a Carbon economy, and efforts to minimise nitrous oxide emissions will be encouraged to help mitigate agricultures contribution to green house gas emissions. One option to address increasing chemical fertiliser costs is the use of organic fertilisers (Manures). Tony is interested in investigating the use of manures on his grain and diary operation to see how the costs and benefits compare to chemical fertilisers to help make adaptive decisions to a changing climate and the future Carbon economy. METHODS Two adjoining paddocks with similar histories were chosen. One paddock was treated with organic fertiliser (cattle manure from a local feedlot) and the other with an inorganic fertiliser (Urea - anhydrous ammonium) prior to planting oats. The rates of application were: - Paddock 1: 37t/ha of manure (out of pens) added 2.5 yrs ago. - Paddock 2: 112 kg N/ha (Urea anhydrous ammonium) Oat biomass samples (cuts) were taken twice (17/06/2011) and (23/08/2011) to determine any production differences between treatments. Biomass cuts were randomly selected in each treatment and replicated ten times to remove variability. The samples were dried at 80 degrees and plant weights recorded.

RESULTS Biomass responses for oats with inorganic and organic fertiliser applied. Biomass Cuts 1st Cut (17/06/2011) 2nd Cut (23/08/2011) Total Urea (112 kgN/ha) 3914 kg/ha 2771 kg/ha 6685 kg/ha (6.68t/ha) Manure (37t/ha) 6568 kg/ha 5137 kg/ha 11705 kg/ha (11.70t/ha)

The cost to apply the Urea is $76 acre (i.e. $190/ha) compared to $300 acre (i.e. $750/ha) for the manure including the cost of spreading.

OPTIONS FOR ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Manure fertiliser to maximise productivity in the changing environmental landscape

RESULTS

Soil tests Plot 1 - Manure Coolibah Country 4 0.9 % 7 mg/kg 0.80 mg/kg 1.60 meq/100g 3.2 mg/kg 1.5 mg/kg 7.02 0.07 dS/m 113 mg/kg 146 mg/kg Plot 2 - Urea Coolibah Country 2 0.5 % 6 mg/kg 0.85 mg/kg 0.57 meq/100g 1.3 mg/kg 0.6 mg/kg 6.19 0.03 dS/m 41 mg/kg 55 mg/kg

Soil type Productivity Organic Carbon Nitrogen (Nitrate) Nitrogen (Ammonium) Potassium Nitric Acid Sulphur - KCl Zinc pH (1:5 water) Elec. conductivity Colwell/bicarb. phosphorus BSES acid phosphorus

CONCLUSION The manure treatment in this demonstration increased feed availability with 11.70t/ha dry matter compared to 6.68t/ha with the usual inorganic fertiliser option. Tony found the manure fertiliser also maintained feed for his cows up to the end of October, through the traditional feed gap later in the season. Helping to fill his traditional feed gap is an advantage of using manure compared the Urea in seasons where feed gaps are present. More work would be needed to see if this effect continued into following seasons for Tony. However, long-term fertiliser trials have often found that organic fertilisers are more efficient at improving soil nitrogen levels than inorganic fertilisers. Time will tell. The cost of manure is higher ($300/acre) than the inorganic fertiliser ($ 76/acre). However, the introduction of carbon pricing means the cost of traditional fertilisers with their high energy requirement is predicted to continue to increase. This could make manures more competitive in the future, especially with their longer term advantages. These results show that organic fertiliser (Manure) is a potential alternative to inorganic fertilisers to improve crop production, crop longevity and help fill feed gaps at important times. Currently the use of manures does not seem economical due to higher costs but this situation may change if the carbon economy pushes up the cost of traditional fertilisers like Urea.
Gong W, Yan X, Wang J, Hu T, Gong Y. 2011, Long-term applications of chemical and organic fertilizers plant-available nitrogen pools and nitrogen management index, Journal of Biology Fertiliser Soils, Vol. 47, Pg. 767-775.

This project is funded by GRDC and the Australian Governments Climate Change Research Program