Economics of a variable rate fertiliser strategy on a Whanganui hill country station

Authors

  • M.D. White
  • A.K. Metherell
  • A.H.C. Roberts
  • R.E. Meyer
  • T.A. Cushnahan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2017.79.566

Abstract

Abstract Automated flow control coupled to differential GPS guidance systems in aerial topdressing aircraft will allow variable rate (VR) fertiliser strategies to be applied on hill country farms. The effectiveness of these strategies will be enhanced with the use of remotely sensed hyperspectral data to categorise and quantify the farm landscape in greater detail. The economic benefit of a variable rate fertiliser strategy in comparison to a single rate (blanket) strategy was evaluated for a case study Whanganui hill country station. The analysis illustrates the robustness of a VR strategy in the face of volatile returns in that it produced a higher 10 year cumulative net present value (NPV) and remained at a positive advantage at three different stock gross margins, in comparison to a blanket approach. The effectiveness of hyperspectral imagery for defining effective pasture areas to assist development of more precise variable rate fertiliser applications, compared to the current visual classification from farm photography is discussed. Keywords: economic benefit, variable rate fertiliser, hyperspectral data

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Published

2017-01-01

How to Cite

White, M., Metherell, A., Roberts, A., Meyer, R., & Cushnahan, T. (2017). Economics of a variable rate fertiliser strategy on a Whanganui hill country station. Journal of New Zealand Grasslands, 79, 125–129. https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2017.79.566

Issue

Volume 79, 2017, Whanganui

Section

Past volumes

License

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Rights granted to the New Zealand Grassland Association through this agreement are non-exclusive. You are free to publish the work(s) elsewhere and no ownership is assumed by the NZGA when storing or curating an electronic version of the work(s). The author(s) will receive no monetary return from the Association for the use of material contained in the manuscript. If I am one of several co-authors, I hereby confirm that I am authorized by my co-authors to grant this Licence as their agent on their behalf. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the rights to supply the article in electronic and online forms and systems.