Other Tools and Resources

FAR have been involved in the development of a number of tools and guidance documents to help you double check you are on the right track with decision making.

Tools and guidelines are an important way to support evidence-based decision-making to improve productivity and environmental outputs. They can lead you through clear steps and suggest optimal decision paths or may act more as information sources to improve the evidence base for decisions. Whether it is to help determine how much nitrogen fertiliser should be applied to crops to achieve potential yield within environmental limits or a good management tool for irrigation scheduling.

Tools

AmaizeN Lite AmaizeN Lite is an online calculator that helps you enhance the economic and environmental sustainability of maize silage and grain production. Find out more

Economic Cost of Nutrient Loss A spreadsheet which can calculate the economic value of nutrients lost via straw removal from your farm. Find it here

Mini-VSA: Visual Soil Assessment Guide Soil changes over the rotation are important indicators of how management decisions are impacting soil quality. This mini-VSA is a DIY assessment that can be done in any paddock at any time. Find out more

Nitrogen Quick-Test Mass Balance Tool and Guide The QTMB Tool and User Guide show you how to: Measure the soil nitrogen supply with nitrate quick test strips and Use the test-strip result to make an informed fertiliser decision for the crop. Find out more

Soil Water Budget Tool and Guide A soil moisture budget can be used as an alternative to soil moisture monitoring and is acceptable in your farm environment plan and with a number of irrigation schemes. Find out more

Winter Grazing Risk Assessment Tool FAR, alongside four other industry-good organisations, has put together a winter grazing checklist to help farmers literally tick all the boxes of good management practice. Read it here

Resources

Catch Crop Guidelines – Forages for reduced nitrate leaching This guide focuses on the use of catch crops after forage crop grazing to take up nitrogen (N) during the coolest months of the year. Read it here

FAR Focus 14, Nitrogen: The Confidence to Cut Back FAR Focus 14, has been written to help growers make nitrogen decisions that will pay off financially and environmentally. Read it here