Potato & Sugar Beet Blends

For the last year we have been emphasising more and more the need to know what products are going into your bespoke blended fertilisers.

The overall spreadability, nutrient availability of each facet of the analysis and whether the products chemically can be stored well with each other are vital aspects to be considered when purchasing “blends”.

We have seen vast differences in price when certain products are used to match a nutrient requirement plan, usually in a bid to cut costs. I ask you the following question: If the price difference amounts to say £60/Ha for the fertiliser (which is approximately the cost of 3t of sugar beet or 225kg of potatoes), is it worth the risk of a possible yield penalty?

An analogy that can be attributed to this issue is:

There are four elements to a good quality coffee - freshly ground coffee, brown sugar, hot water and cream.

If you try and imitate the above with an ‘instant’, semi-skimmed milk and a sweetener, it tends to give a bitter, sickly, weak taste, despite still being a coffee.

If a barista was serving up the latter when the customer is expecting the former, I am not sure how satisfied the customer would be, and whether they would return for another.

We at AF know the fertiliser products our blenders use well, and our FACTS qualified advisors can advise and recommend products that could be used effectively to match the objectives set out for your crop performance.

For more information contact the team fertiliser@theafgroup.co.uk