Ricky Taylor
Canterbury, New Zealand
Ricky Taylor, Tow and Fert Contractor, Fert Solutions Partnership breeds success – Align Farms and Fert Solutions team up to test the Tow and Fert System.
Just over a year ago, Ricky Taylor and his wife Rebecca had made the decision that they wanted to get into contracting fertiliser application in the liquid fertiliser space. They could clearly see that change was coming and they wanted to be a part of that change leading the way on a contracting front.
Owning 50 hectares of semi-arable land in mid-Canterbury and managing a grazing operation, Ricky and Rebecca looked into the machinery market for the application of liquid fertiliser. They were clear with what they wanted, “we wanted a machine that could dilute or dissolve products properly and handle solid fine particle fertilisers by holding them in suspension.”
In Canterbury there is now liquid nitrogen available however, this is dissolved offsite and then the liquid N is transported to individual farms where it is applied through a traditional boom sprayer. This method of application is expensive. Ricky says,
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“We eventually found the Tow and Fert system and
immediately could see the benefits. Farmers can cart in
their dry product, dilute it down and away we go.”
This meant that clients of Fert Solutions were only paying the same rates for their dry product and with the reduction in fertiliser required, would end up making significant savings in their own businesses on a financial front as well as in reducing their fertiliser use.
Versatility, ease of use and greater production:
Liquid application of fertiliser delivers the goods.
During his search for a machine that could provide Fert Solutions with their required outcomes, Ricky had been talking with Rhys from Align Farms. They had talked about the potential for a partnership and so with a contract signed, Ricky was able to move forward with the Tow and Fert and begin work with Align Farms as a foundation client.
Align Farms came from a solely granular system, but the decision was made to go quite hard in the first year with the liquid foliar application. Ricky says “Align were applying phosphates, urea etc. in solid form. Then we came in and put everything on through the season using a Tow and Fert. They grew more grass and had more production. They were pretty happy at the end of the day.”
Contracting Fert Solutions:
Growth and change, two constants for Ricky and Rebecca.
The uptake for Fert Solutions has been steady. The biggest hurdle has been in changing people’s mindsets on how to apply fertiliser and still get the results farmers expect. With granular fertiliser being the only option for decades, farmers have had it drummed into them that that was the only way to apply fertiliser. Ricky says, “changing people’s mindsets has been the hardest thing.”
On the positive side, Ricky says he is starting to see a change, “Farmers are getting there now as younger farmers come through and they know they have to change. The new freshwater policy has meant that many farmers are keen to give the Tow and Fert foliar system a crack.”
