GrainCheck blog #1: how grain testing can help build sustainable productivity and protect our soils
Managing production costs during the ever-changing growing seasons can be challenging. This is particularly difficult as agronomic decisions made in one season are known to impact the next. Early recognition of how previous decisions might influence how you grow next season’s crop is crucial so that future approaches can be agronomically and environmentally sustainable.
The adage “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”, or “what you don’t measure, you can’t manage”, and its many variations are probably overused by industry, but there is truth behind the sentiment. Understanding why a crop has or hasn’t performed often confirms what you suspect, and measurement data gives you the confidence to tweak or thoroughly review how you intend to grow future crops.
Grain testing: a postmortem review
As the weather continues to improve, the combines will shortly start rolling out. Analysing the grain's nutrient content as the crop is harvested is a grower’s last chance to assess how well the crop captured all the resources that were made available to it. GrainCheck, NRM’s grain analysis service, is a simple but effective tool that gives you all the data you need to either stick with a proven effective nutrient management system, or to begin to change it.
Many farmers are managing their soils more sustainably by either cultivating less, by trying inputs that claim to make nutrients available for longer, or by using inputs that claim to support/stimulate the biological activity in the soil. Grain analysis can confirm the previous success of a management change or support a change in approach for the future by giving you the knowledge and confidence that a system is worth pursuing.
As evident from the 2023/24 season, the weather challenges have been immense from the get-go. Many autumn crops weren’t drilled, and establishment was patchy for those that were drilled. The spring brought even more wet weather and colder temperatures, working against healthy growth for both autumn and spring-sown crops. Some of these crops will have been managed differently due to the seasonal conditions.
Using GrainCheck can also be helpful under these circumstances. Understanding how seasonal conditions have impacted crop growth indicates how resilient the nutrient strategy has been under challenging growing conditions.
Grain testing: crop nutrient removal
The next step in evaluating the effectiveness of the nutrient supply strategy is linking grain nutrient concentration to grain nutrient removal. We can do this by quantifying how many kilograms/ha have been removed from the system by the crop.
By making use of GrainCheck, you have the data to work out the crop nutrient off-take. You can quickly work this out by accessing NRM’s GrainCheck calculator. This is a simple way of instantly making use of your GrainCheck results. But how does it work?
You must provide your nutrient results for:
Recommended by LinkedIn
The tool then gives an output which describes the amount of nutrients removed.
Knowing this information is critical to ensure that the balance of inputs match. The nutrient input/supply should equal the offtake, and to maintain the soil indices (2P, 2-K, 2Mg), your nutrient plan should result in a zero nutrient balance. Where soil indices are less than maintenance index (0 or 1 for P, K, Mg), then a positive balance is acceptable, the excess helping to build the soil analysis for future crops. Where soil indices are already in excess (3 and above for P, K, Mg), then it is important to create a deficit in the balance where the crop is removing more than supplied by the soil or applied inputs.
Balancing P and K inputs in this way is a practical approach to managing them, especially P. In excess, P has damaging effects on the environment, and unnecessary inputs come at a cost. Getting into the seasonal habit of checking if your nutrient strategy has supplied the right amount of nutrients to deliver optimal yield helps you keep on top of your costs and reduce environmental risk.
Grain testing: taking the best grain samples
Collecting the best samples is essential because your results are only as good as the grain samples sent for analysis.
Follow these easy steps to ensure good sample quality:
How NRM can help
For more information about how you can benefit from the GrainCheck service, contact us or discuss with your agronomist.