Plan now and don’t leave liming to chance
LIME is available to all farmers for summer liming from British Sugar’s factory sites, says the company.
Lime applications in grassland and arable farming systems remain significantly lower than a decade ago, says Richard Cogman, British Sugar’s LimeX manager. Yet the correct pH range is essential to optimise crop yields and quality.
“The decision to lime or not, needs to be determined by pH testing,” says Mr Cogman. “Compared to other variable inputs, liming is low-cost; yet the yield losses from sub-optimal pH can be catastrophic.”
LimeX soil sampling services include detailed field mapping with by FACTS qualified advisors. Flexible delivery and application packages are delivered directly to customers or by a network of LimeX distributors.
A maintenance application of LimeX70 at 5/tha (2t/ac) provides a minimum of 50kg/ha P2O5, 35kg/ha MgO and 45kg/ha SO3. This package is worth about £50/ha, says Mr Cogman.
One of the region’s leading liming suppliers, Needham Agriculture, says it is well equipped for the challenge as the busiest time for applications draws near. The company operates a network of 31 spreaders with chalk being sourced from seven quarries across East Anglia.
To supply growers with the best on-farm service, the company has now expanded its FACTS qualified field sales force to eight people covering Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex right across to East Oxfordshire.
Another supplier, Keith Mount Liming, delivers liming materials from 14 separate sources throughout the region, based on the product required and distance from farm.
It offers standard grid pH sampling as well as a Phieldtek GPS mapping service which provides intensive analysis for P, K, Mg & pH using variable rate application for fertiliser and lime.
At peak times the company delivers up to 75 lorry loads of lime per day. The haulage operation has to be carefully organised to supply between 25 and 30 spreading contractors, taking into account unsettled weather conditions and the cultivation priorities on different farms.
In addition to the lime, KML are agents for Fibrophos PK fertiliser which is delivered and spread using the same machines. This year grades include 0:12:12, 0:24:6, 0:5:15 and 0:9:18. Composted green waste is also available to growers who are looking to improve soil structure and build organic matter.