While nobody will be spreading fertiliser this week as ground conditions are very wet, it is likely that next week will see a lot of farmers out with spreaders topping up grassland paddocks, depending on the weather.

Farmers often ask at this time of the year how long have you to wait before spreading slurry, bag fertiliser or lime depending on what grassland paddocks have received recently.

While not many farmers spread lime in February, March or April, some will have spread in November and December. Farmers often ask if it’s OK to spread urea at this time of the year (early March) if lime was spread in November and December. The short answer is yes (see Table 1). At this stage, lime will have been well washed into the soil.

Lime in February

If you have spread lime in February, then you are better to wait before spreading urea and the sensible option would be to spread CAN (27% N).

In the same way, if you have already spread urea then it is better to wait a week before spreading lime. In spring, most farmers will wait until silage has been cut before spreading lime.

At this time of the year it is advised to get as much slurry spread as possible to maximise nitrogen in the slurry nutrient and to reduce losses to the atmosphere. If you have slurry spread then it is advised to wait a week before spreading any bag fertiliser.

Bag fertiliser

If you have spread an early application of bag fertiliser in early February, then it is advised to wait for a week before spreading any slurry (see summary in Table 1).

Other important notes

At this time of the year with big spreaders it is very important to have a calm dry day when spreading to allow for the bag nitrogen to reach its destination (ie to get an even spread behind the spreader). If it is very windy you should wait for winds to die down or you will end up with a very uneven spread.

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