Muck, slurry and bags, each recorded differently
On a mixed farm, nutrients go on in several ways. The spinner puts on bagged fertiliser from a list the office wrote. The muck spreader goes out from the heap by the cattle shed, and whoever drives counts loads in their head. Slurry goes out by tanker or umbilical, maybe by a contractor. Digestate or bought-in material arrives with its own paperwork.
At the end of the season somebody has to say what went on each field. For bagged fertiliser, the spinner operator probably knows. For muck, the answer is 'about twelve loads on Middle Field, maybe fourteen'. For slurry done by a contractor, the answer is on their invoice, in their field names.
Why application records are hard to keep
The reason is that each kind of application produces information in a different form, and none of it is naturally per field.
- Bagged fertiliser is ordered in tonnes and spread by hectare, so the link between the delivery and the field is only in the operator's head.
- Muck is counted in loads of uncertain size, and the heap it came from matters for what it contains.
- Slurry is measured in tanker loads, cubic metres or hours of pumping, depending on the kit.
- Contractors use their own field names and send records only with the invoice.
- Analysis results for manures, where you have them, sit in a separate folder from the spreading records.
Rules about when and where organic manures can be spread, and what records are expected, are set by the authorities. We name them only in general terms and do not advise on them. Your adviser and your nutrient management plan are the place for that. The records problem is ours to solve: getting reliable per-field numbers written down at the time.
What loose records cost the farm
The most direct cost is time. Rebuilding a year of applications from invoices, diaries and memory is slow and leaves gaps. The less obvious cost is decisions made on weak information. If you do not know what went on a field last autumn, planning what goes on this spring relies on guesswork, and the agronomist or adviser working with you has the same problem.
There is money in it too. Bagged fertiliser is one of the biggest costs on an arable farm, and without a per-field record it is hard to see where it went, or to match stock in the yard to what has been spread.
A per-field application record, built for the yard
What we build is an application record that each operator fills in as they finish a field, with the office seeing totals by field without doing arithmetic.
- A product list covering what you actually spread: each bagged fertiliser, each manure heap or store, slurry from each lagoon, and bought-in material, with the analysis values you enter from your own results or supplier sheets.
- Each load type has a simple unit and a calibrated size that you set: tonnes per spreader load, cubic metres per tanker. The operator counts loads or enters tonnes, and the system does the arithmetic.
- On a phone, the operator picks the field from a map or list, the product, the loads or rate, and the date. A load counter button lets muck spreader drivers tap each load as they leave the heap, rather than counting in their heads.
- Contractor records come in from their invoices or worksheets and are mapped to your field names.
- Bagged fertiliser deliveries are added from delivery notes, and each application takes stock off, so the yard stock and the records stay in line.
- A per-field view shows every application this season and last, with totals by product and the nutrient values you have entered. Your adviser or nutrient planning software can use this as its input.
| Operation | What the operator records | What the system works out |
|---|---|---|
| Bagged fertiliser | Field, product, rate | Tonnes used, stock left |
| Farmyard manure | Field, heap, loads tapped | Tonnes applied from your load size |
| Slurry by tanker | Field, store, loads | Volume applied |
| Contractor spreading | Nothing, taken from their records | Mapped to your fields |
A season of applications with running totals
In February the first nitrogen goes on. The operator on the spinner records each field as he leaves it, and the office sees the bag stock go down. In March the muck spreader works through the heap by the cattle shed; the driver taps the load button each time he leaves the heap and picks the field when he starts. In April the slurry contractor's worksheet arrives and is matched to your fields.
At the end of the season the per-field view already holds the lot. When you and your adviser sit down to plan next year, you are working from what went on, not what you think went on.
Signs your application records need attention
- Muck and slurry loads are counted in someone's head.
- Bagged fertiliser stock in the yard does not match what the records say was spread.
- Contractor spreading arrives only as an invoice with their field names.
- Building the season's field totals takes days at the end of the year.
- Your adviser has to chase you for application details before each planning meeting.