EEF stands for Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers. It’s an all-encompassing term referring to products that help optimise nutrient uptake or prevent nutrient loss by controlling such things as the speed of release or altering soil fertilizer reactions.
Summit has a keen interest in these emerging technologies providing they stand up to local testing. Any products that can prove they deliver performance and economic advantages will have a potential fit.

An Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer trial at Mingenew in 2024 aimed to identify the efficacy of three N-Shield products, which included two granular:
● Urea N-Shield NBPT; and,
● Urea N-Shield DUAL;
● and a liquid product – N-Shield UAN Guard.

Key Mingenew Trial Findings

• Growing season rainfall of 210mm above average provided ideal conditions to demonstrate EEF performance.
• N-Shield NBPT applied post yielded significantly higher than urea and N-Shield DUAL had a notable yield increase.
• N-Shield NBPT had the highest indicative gross margin.

The trial at Erregulla Plains was on wheat sown on sandy soil with low silt and clay content and 481mm of growing season rainfall (decile 10) . Providing the perfect environment for nitrogen loss, the in-season application occurred on damp soil,
sitting for a week before rain with warmer temperature and windy conditions. Wheat yield across the trial averaged 3t/ha, with a significant difference identified between urea and N-Shield NBPT as post-emergent products (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Harvest yield (bars) and grain protein (markers) from the EEF trial at Mingenew in 2024.

Both N-Shield NBPT and N-Shield DUAL had notably higher yields than other treatments, although only NBPT was statistically significant. Protein was also higher in both N-Shield granular treatments (10.5%), compared to other treatments.
Indicative gross margins showed improvement for all EEF products (excluding UAN Guard) over the other treatments (Figure 2).N-Shield NBPT had the highest indicative gross margin at $1050/ha, compared to $730/ha for urea.

Figure 2. Indicative Gross Margins based on fertilizer cost and 2024 grain values from the EEF trial at Mingenew in 2024.

Growers can discuss the results with their local Summit Area Manager.