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Recent research from the US showed non-detectable residue levels of a nitrogen stabiliser when cows were dosed with the product for 28 days.
Fourteen cows were dosed for 28 days with very high levels of NBPT – an active ingredient in nitrogen stabiliser (urease inhibitor).
Different levels of the NBPT were fed to the cows but results showed no NBPT residue at any dose level in subsequent milk and fat sampling. Teagasc fertiliser advice is moving very fast towards the protected urea product (which includes NBPT) rather the current mix of urea in the spring and CAN for summer fertilisation.
Urea concerns remain
Protected urea (46% N) is now firmly part of Teagasc best practice for spring nitrogen and it suggests that it solves greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions when compared to normal urea (46% N) or CAN (27% N).
There are still some questions around the impact on emissions on heavy versus well-drained soils, how to use sulphur with nitrogen, long-term usage and effects on soil health, and if CAN is banned what impact that will have on price competition.
Speaking at the Teagasc conference last week, Yara’s Philip Cosgrave made the point that what farmers are currently doing is using urea in the spring and then changing over to CAN for the summer, and maybe that should have been part of any research trial.
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