As we are now into February, we are about just two months away from the magic day when grass growth equals grass demand.

Irish research going back over 35 years has consistently shown the benefits of early spring nitrogen in terms of extra grass growth.

The average response is 10kg of grass dry matter per hectare for every 1kg of nitrogen applied per hectare. This is from N applied in mid-January and grass growth is measured up to mid-March.

Soil temperatures are currently above 6°C in the southern half of the country but they are slightly lower in the northern half. Soil temperatures should be above 6°C for a few days in a row before nitrogen is spread and don’t spread before heavy rain is due.

There could be an opportunity for those on dry land and in the southern half of the country to get some nitrogen spread.

The rates applied should be low, at around 23 units/acre or 28kgN/ha. Urea is the product of choice as this is more stable in the soil compared to CAN and so has a much lower risk of leaching.

There is some confusion out there about protected urea. Farmers in a nitrates derogation are not obliged to use protected urea. It’s up to each individual farmer to decide if they want to use it or not.

There should be very low ammonia emissions from ordinary urea in early spring so the advantages of protected urea are much less in spring.

The prices of fertiliser is set to rise so if farmers have not done deals by now for fertiliser the advice is to do so soon to lock in at lower prices.

Make sure to calibrate fertiliser spreaders before applying any fertiliser to make sure the rate is correct. Many farmers are purchasing GPS guidance equipment to increase the accuracy of application.

Basic GPS units can be purchased for between €1,200 and €1,500. There is a TAMS grant available now for all farmers to part finance new fertiliser spreaders, but these are very expensive machines with weigh cells and auto-GPS.