A review of fertiliser advice in Australia

Abstract

Fertiliser advice is provided in many ways in Australia today. There has been a move away from blanket recommendations to recommendations for particular paddock-crop-farmer combinations. Emphasis has been on phosphorus for pastures and on nitrogen and phosphorus for cereals because of the importance of these elements and production systems in Australian agriculture. Soil tests are a major tool used in formulating recommendations, but plant tissue testing and nutrient budgets are playing increasing roles both in addition, and as alternatives, to soil tests. Variability within our agricultural systems places limits on the capacity of any or all of these techniques to predict precise fertiliser needs. We know very little about farmer attitudes to fertiliser advice, both for the minority of farmers who use advisory services and, more so, for the majority who do not. Farmers have not been questioned enough about why they have, or have not, adopted available technology. If better fertiliser management is to be more widely practised, the needs of our clients must direct future research and extension in soil fertility more than they have in the past. Resources for research will be increasingly difficult to justify unless serious consideration is given to the application of that research in agriculture and its adoption by farmers.