If you make new year resolutions, you’re participating in a practice that is over 4,000 years old! According to National Geographic, the ancients celebrated solstice and the new year by thanking their gods for a successful harvest and offering sacrifices to ensure an equally successful one in the coming season. The Babylonians vowed to be better rulers, while the Romans focused on starting the new year with a clean slate.
Today, our new year resolutions tend to be more personal. But the new year break can be a useful time to pause and reflect on how the grass is growing at your place.
At Fertco, we don’t exactly make new year’s resolutions, but we do take time out to mull over recent happenings in the fertiliser world and prepare for any challenges that might be coming our way.
Industry pressure
It’s no secret that the fertiliser industry worldwide is facing increased pressure to manufacture products that are more sustainable; we must feed a growing human population while mitigating damage to the environment. At home here in New Zealand, the pressure to source better fertiliser and methods of applying it are coming from our overseas customers, our communities, and local authorities.
While we can’t control much of this, we can choose how we respond. Sometimes this means going against the norm and trying something new.
That is exactly what our founders did 25 years ago when they set up Fertco to manufacture a sustainable, high-analysis dicalcic phosphate fertiliser which they believed would improve soil, plant, and animal health.
Sustainable phosphates
Dicalcic phosphate fertiliser is a slow-release phosphate fertiliser with a liming affect when it is used regularly. It is not water-soluble like Super is. The nutrients are released more slowly in response to increased microbial activity in the soil which is triggered by the same soil conditions that stimulate plant growth. This makes it more efficient. Less is wasted so it is a sustainable option when phosphates are needed.
Nowadays, we’ve innovated further by granulating all of our dicalcic phosphate fertilisers (marketed as ‘KingPhos’, ‘SeaPhos’, and ‘RePlenish’). This makes them even more efficient because granules are safer and more accurately applied away from waterways and raceways. Again, less is wasted.
Sustainable nitrogen
Another innovative fertiliser that is sustainable is our polymer-coated urea (PCU), also known as a ‘smart’ fertiliser which we market as ‘NSmart’, ‘44 Magnum’ and ‘N-durance’. PCU is a controlled-release fertiliser because it has been manufactured to have a predictable pattern of nutrient release. The biodegradable coating protects the urea in the granule so that the nutrients are released gradually and only when there is sufficient moisture in the soil. Wastage is reduced so less is needed to get the same results.
Other products
Recently, we’ve sourced controlled-release sulphur fertiliser (‘Super S’), and organic fertilisers made from by-products of the leather industry (‘Protamin’) and the sugar cane industry (‘Phosta K’, ‘Phosta N’). We expect more products like these to become available in the very near future.
Innovation is our response
Innovation and trying new ways of doing things has always been the Fertco way. We see that it is our responsibility to source better fertiliser products and find better practices so that our farmers and growers can meet their obligations and remain profitable while producing the food we all need.
However, while innovation is a core value for Fertco, we won’t market products that aren’t backed by robust, peer-reviewed research and sound scientific knowledge.
This is our response to the challenges we face and the pressures faced by our farmers and growers. What will your response be?
This article was published in the Coast & Country News.
