Reduce your fertiliser costs

Reducing Your Fertiliser Cost

Introduction

For most farmers in the southeastern parts of Australia, not only were crops planted late due to a lack of rainfall, but they have also had an extremely slow start due to cold weather once rain arrived. For many, the late July rain event came just in time. Seasonal conditions play a crucial role to input decisions, which are just around the corner.

Even if you were in a region experiencing a better start to the season, saving money on fertiliser bills to supply crops or pastures with nutrition is at the front of every farmer’s budget.

Where does fertiliser come from?

In separate reports released this year, Australia relies on imported fertiliser,  sourcing –

• 79% of urea imports came from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia and Oman.¹
• About 70% of our phosphorus consumption is imported from China, Saudi Arabia, the US and Morocco.²

Whether you are using urea, MAP or DAP it will most likely be sourced from overseas. Although Australia is not a major global consumer of synthetic fertilisers, our low import volumes leave us vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.

Changes in sourcing where our fertiliser is imported from affect shipping times and directly impact availability, meaning fertiliser may not be available when you need it.

Elevated cost of fertiliser

Global events, changes in trade policies (either Australia’s or other countries), the Australian dollar and shipping all have a big impact on fertiliser (particularly urea and phosphates) prices, which have remained high.

Fertiliser expenses are one of the biggest costs to farming systems, and finding opportunities to minimise exposure to price and supply fluctuations is key to maintaining farm profitability.

Can I cut fertiliser out altogether?

NutriSoil advises against going “cold turkey” when looking to reduce your reliance on fertilisers. In cropping systems, nutrients will always play a role in profitability, while systems with effective grazing management practices may reach a point where they only need biology and plant diversity to ensure that productivity is maintained.

In a risk adverse transition, farmers have been able to reduce their synthetic fertiliser needs by 10% each year as they incorporate more biology in the system and improve soil health.

As a byproduct of increased soil biology, plant health will improve, enhancing resilience to pests and disease, reducing the need for chemical control and synthetic fertiliser.

Reducing fertiliser usage

Whether you are growing pasture for grazing, cereal cropping, producing fruit or vegetables or fodder, you need nutrients for healthy production. The key to reducing the dependence on high volumes of synthetic inputs is soil biology, as they are drivers of delivering plant-available nutrients to plants, which may previously have been locked up in the soil.

Plants with bigger root systems can access more soil, increase organic matter and feed soil microbes that feed your plants. Conventional farmers who incorporate biology into their system can safely reduce their synthetic inputs by 10% annually, depending on other holistic practices that are incorporated.

To increase the uptake and efficiency of your most expensive input (nutrients), NutriSoil recommends the following steps –

• Step One – inoculate seeds with biology at sowing (5L of NutriSoil Biological Solution per tonne of seed), this will –
  • Provide the right balance of biological compounds and microbes.
  • Establish a bigger root system.
  • Increase root soil surface area contact and access to nutrients.

• Step Two – apply nutrients as a foliar application to the growing plants, some suggestions include –
  • Dissolve urea (10-20kg urea / Ha) and apply as a foliar application – see YouTube video.
  • Use a mixture of broadcast nutrients and foliar applications to reduce risk of nutrient loss.
  • Apply nutrients in two smaller applications, which is a more efficient way to deliver nutrients.
  • Add biology (such as 5L / Ha of NutriSoil Biological Solution), to further enhance the efficiency of uptake.
  • When adding biology to nutrients, apply within 16 hours of tank mixing

Summary

Incorporating biology into your fertiliser strategy isn’t just about cost, it’s about building long-term soil health and resilience. Whether you’re easing into change or already on the journey, NutriSoil’s biological support can help you drive productivity with confidence this season.

The NutriSoil team provides a Hub Support program to customers who purchase 1000L or more in a 12-month period to ensure a safe transition to a lower synthetic input system.

Whether you have had a good or slow start to the season, you will be thinking about crop nutrition. Adding NutriSoil Biological Solution as a stand-alone foliar application or combined application will ensure you maximise your crop’s potential this season.

References

1. https://www.rabobank.com.au/media-releases/2025/supply-fragility-creating-volatility-in-urea-market-rabobank-report
2. National Food Security Preparedness Green Paper