Protected Urea is the nitrogen fertiliser most widely used by Irish farmers, helping them to meet their environmental requirements in terms of reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions.
“From Target Fertilisers’ perspective, Protected Urea remains incredibly important,” said Walter Furlong Jnr, General Manager of Target Fertilisers. “And between now and 2030, it will play a significant role in helping us to achieve our environmental goals.”
He continued: “Urea use presents several challenges as it’s a difficult product to purchase, handle, blend and store. It’s also the hardest raw material to source. Spreadability was the biggest challenge many farmers faced last season – and spreader settings can prove difficult to get right once you start blending Urea with other products. Urea is also a harder product to spread than CAN, ASN or other similar products so it requires a great deal of consideration and care prior to spreading.”
With a 71% reduction in nitrous oxide emissions compared to CAN, as shown in Teagasc trials (2019), Protected Urea is set to play a crucial role in sustainable farming. But what does that mean for farmers right now?
“Target Fertilisers’ strategy is likely to see us remain focused on more streamlined Protected Urea products that are 46% Nitrogen protected (UreaMAX) or 38% Nitrogen plus 7% Sulphur, (UreaMAX + S)” said Walter Furlong Jnr.
We believe farmers should continue using CAN and ASN-based compounds, as they offer a more straightforward solution. These options help bypass some of the practical challenges that Protected Urea can present for producers, farmers, and machinery alike.
“When you start blending Phosphorus and Potash with urea based Nitrogen, quality and spreadability declines. So that’s why we recommend using more CAN and ASN-based compounds while topping up your Nitrogen as much as you can with 46% N protected or 38% N + 7% S protected. From a long-term perspective, you’ll probably increase your tonnage of Protected Urea. And from a streamlining point of view, we feel that this is the way to go.”
Casting an eye towards the long-term future, Walter Furlong Jnr stated: “I believe it’ll be more important to focus on the straight, Protected Urea (UreaMAX) and the 38% N + 7% S (UreaMAX + S). When you start blending Urea with Potash, Phosphorus and other types of raw materials like that, it becomes more challenging.
“The environmental obligations we have to meet are significant and cannot be underestimated. Protected Urea is helping us when it comes to reduced emissions while our alternative, Terra Range, is taking Nitrogen units directly off- farm. We have to realise and abide by these measures in order to hold on to the derogation. We’re all working towards this goal and trying to find new and innovative ways of meeting that challenge.”
Meanwhile, Target Fertilisers remains committed to looking out for new and different types of raw materials that can improve product performance on farm, be it trace elements, better types of Phosphorus or higher Sulphur-type products.
“We’re always on the market looking for new and different ways of blending products because the beauty of having a blending facility like ours at our Belview Depot is that you can tailor-make anything you like for whatever the farm needs,” Walter Furlong Jnr stated.
“So if you’re buying in the raw materials straight or as a complex compound fertiliser (CCF), you can be restricted in terms of what the farm actually needs; after all, a farmer is always keen to avoid using the wrong type of fertiliser.
“From our perspective, we can formulate any blend, any type of Sulphur in a multitude of ways to suit each individual farmer. In terms of innovation, given how environmental regulations have changed in recent times, our ears are always open in terms of what’s new and what can be added to our product range to help farmers achieve their goals.
“To that end, we’re producing a lot of Protected Urea products and we’ve been doing a lot of work with Brandon Bioscience in Kerry in terms of developing PSI®362, which is a biostimulant that helps the efficiency of Nitrogen uptake with crops and grass. Of course, it’s a constant challenge but we’re always on the lookout for new and innovative products and production methods.”
For further information, visit Leading Wholesaler Of Quality Grass & Tillage Fertilisers- Target Fertilisers or contact a member of the Target Fertilisers team here.