To improve soil health and nitrogen availability through soil amendments and deep ripping

The paddock has various amendments applied at depth, surface and incorporated, after visually not noticing any differences throughout the growing season in any year, soil tests were conducted to understand what was going on in the paddock. While the yield did not vary, the area that had Chicken Litter strip tilled was able to maintain a higher level of Nitrogen in the soil, this did not alter yield response though.

When choosing an area to ameliorate you need to be sure you are targeting low performing areas to see any financial return on the time and amendment costs. Some soils are achieving capacity through crop type, therefore focus on the areas within your farm that are under performing.

While there was no significant results within the 3 years of this project it remains an area of interest for our growers and we would like to understand the impact of irrigation on the Nitrogen Banking in cropping season.