Between the three strains of GLAS, to date there are almost 40,000 farmers who have completed a nutrient management plan (NMP).

These give a detailed description of what fertilisers you should be using to improve soil fertility and, in turn, grass growth on the farm.

Once all GLAS III farmers complete their NMP by the 31 March 2018 deadline, there will be just shy of 50,000 farmers with an NMP completed within the last three years.

This is the first time that there is such a raft of information available to so many farmers.

Farmers have had to pay substantial amounts to get these NMPs completed, so it is vital to ensure that this investment does not go to waste.

One issue that emerged when farmers were getting their NMP completed was that there may not have been time to go through it in-depth with advisers. This was due to the sheer volume of NMPs they were trying to complete at the time.

“The critical thing is to spend time with your adviser to ensure you understand the plan,” according to Teagasc drystock adviser in Ballinasloe Noel Meehan. “If you take the plan out and you are unsure, then don’t be afraid to go back, talk through the plan and see what fertiliser needs to go where and when.”

The NMP is made up of a number of different sections. The main fertiliser plan for the farm will go individually through each field, its size, what the field is used for, be it silage or grazing, or if it is involved in low input permanent pasture (LIPP) through GLAS.

It will also look at what index the soil is and the recommended applications of fertiliser. However, these are not very farmer-friendly when it comes to reading them.

The most user-friendly aspect of the NMP is the maps. These can give a farmer a quick assessment of what their soils are lacking in.

“The first thing that farmers should rectify is lime,” according to Noel. “It’s the cornerstone of grass growth. Not having the correct pH is like having an upset stomach; it’s there the whole time and it’s dragging you back, you can’t function right when the pH isn’t right.

“I would recommend any farmer to go out with lime. The one issue with lime is trying to get it out. It can go out any time of the year and a suggestion would be to lime grazing ground in spring and silage ground in autumn at 2t to 3t/acre.

“Ground conditions will have a major effect and farmers can barely get out on land with a tractor now, so lime isn’t realistic at the minute, but maybe conditions will improve later in the spring.”

So if we cannot address our lime, then what can we do? “If lime isn’t possible at this stage then if you are low for phosphorus (P) or potassium (K), try to address these instead,” Noel suggested.

If we look at P, the pink colour (see maps above) on the NMP indicates index one soil, meaning the soil is very low for P; index two is blue, index three is light green – optimum for P – and index four is dark green (see maps above).

Similarly, pH will be displayed on the maps with grey highlighting a very low pH of <5.5; 5.6 to 5.9 in light blue; 5.9 to 6.2 in darker blue; 6.2 to 6.5 in light green – optimum pH for grass – and >6.5 in dark green.

Addressing soil fertility can be a slow process, but there is plenty that can be done this spring to start you on the right track.

“For farmers who have low index one or index two soils for P or K and who want to build up their fertility and get a good yield of silage, I would be looking towards using 18:6:12 or 10:10:20. I would really be pushing lads towards using compounds where the fertility is on the floor,” said Noel.

On silage fields, frontload P and on grazing fields drip-feed P, but at least 15 units/acre on grazing land are needed to kickstart growth.

Be ready with 20 to 30 units N, 15 P and 40 K in low-P and -K fields on lowly stocked farms for the first warm days of spring.

Be careful when spreading high levels of K on fields that cows will graze, as it can lead to a lock up of magnesium which may lead to tetany.

The maps of the fertiliser plans will show how much fertiliser can be used on the field throughout the year and it will outline what type of fertilisers to use. It is important to note that this is the total fertiliser that should be used on the field over the whole growing season, so ensure that it is spread out across grazing and silage cuts.

“For some farmers, this may mean moving more towards compound fertilisers and away from urea or CAN for a few years until P and K levels can be raised. If you can get your P, K and pH under control, then you could go out next year with urea, for example, and get a much better response from it,” according to Noel.

“If you are talking about someone who will get two or three applications out between 1 February and 1 May, then in the first or the second round you want to be getting out with a good bit of P and K.

“Overall, by the first week of June, you want to have 50% to 60% of your P allowance out,” said Noel.

“For farmers who may be short on fodder come March/April, then we would encourage them to get out with fertiliser as quick as possible because too often farmers are afraid to go out with them. We understand that spreading will be dictated by weather, but if you can get some fertiliser, some slurry, anything out now to get grass growing it might take off the pressure,” said Noel. “There is no point putting out fertiliser today and expecting results tomorrow; you will need to have it out for four to six weeks in advance to have a bit of grass.

“If, for example, you were to go with half of bag of urea/acre, then you will cover 40 acres for about €360. Otherwise, this will get you eight or nine bales of silage in April; which is the better investment?”