Case Studies
Soil and fertiliser management practices are constantly evolving and improving. Often farmers are the innovators of new practices or technology. Case studies are a good way of farmers sharing their experiences with other farmers. The following case studies and fact sheets have been prepared for Tasmanian farms:
- New ideas and different approaches – Smithton, Tasmania
- Soil and Nutrient Management – Cradle Coast, Tasmania
- Improving nutrient management on Circular Head dairy farms – Tasmania
- Phosphorus – Fact Sheet, Tasmania
- Potassium – Fact Sheet, Tasmania
- Soil nutrient mapping and nutrient budgets for pasture management – Report, Tasmania
- Soil Acidity – Fact Sheet, Tasmania
- High production and pasture utilisation – Deloraine, Tasmania
- Managing nutrients to improve dairy farm sustainability in Northern Tasmania
For further information: DairyTas NRM
Soil Fertility Guidelines
The soil fertility guidelines are used to interpret your soil test results, and to calculate fertiliser requirements for a dairy pasture. The soil fertility guidelines help to identify if soil nutrient levels are low, adequate or high in relation to the levels required for optimum pasture production. The optimum soil fertility level for a dairy pasture system is reached when the yield is between 95% and 98% of the maximum potential yield. Beyond this point further application of fertilisers is generally uneconomical. Numerous trials and research results have been used to calibrate soil test values against yield responses and to produce the soil fertility guidelines.
For detailed information on interpreting soil and tissue tests refer to the Dairy Soils and Fertiliser Manual, Chapter 9.
Research & Trials
There are many research projects, trials and demonstrations currently underway throughout Australia to investigate better ways to manage soils, nutrients and fertilisers on dairy farms. The following projects are specific to Tasmanian dairy farms:
- Exploring smart N management on Australian dairy farms
- Understanding Nitrogen Fertiliser Use in Pasture Base Dairy Systems
- Soils Alive! Understanding and Managing Soil Biology on Tasmanian Farms
- Managing nutrients to improve dairy farm sustainability in Northern Tasmania
- Environmental influences on optimum nitrogen fertiliser rates for temperate dairy pastures
For further information: DairyTas NRM
Regional Soils Information
It is essential to know the locations and characteristics of specific soil types on a dairy farm in order to make sound soil and fertiliser management decisions. Soil properties such as soil structure, depth, texture, salinity, acidity, waterlogging or compaction can limit crop and pasture growth even when the soil has adequate nutrients. Tasmania has a wide variety of soil types that reflect differences in soil forming processes dictated by factors such as geology, landform, stream activity, vegetation, climate and age (i.e. degree of weathering). Follow these links to find out more about the properties of your soils:
The Tasmanian Land Management & Soils website presents a wide range of soil information including information on land use planning, decision making, and sustainable management of these resources. Soil maps, land capability, and soil condition information are available on this link:
Australian Soil Resource Information System (ASRIS) provides online access to the best publicly available information on soil and land resources in a consistent format across Australia:
SoilMapp taps into the best available soil information from Australia’s national soil databases and allows you to find out about the likely soil types in your area:
For more information about soil properties refer to the Dairy Soils and Fertiliser Manual, Chapter 4.