In-Field Monitoring
At Summit Fertilizers, we go further to really understand your soil and work together as your partner providing relevant, useful and impartial recommendations.
To help your farm thrive, we offer a number of services, including soil and plant analysis, and in-paddock fuel gauges. As these services are carried out, your local Summit Area Manager will meet with you regularly to help develop a long term fertilizer strategy, designed to build the value of your farm.
inSITE is our industry leading soil and plant analysis program delivered by our team of Experienced Area Managers.
With inSITE, customers receive a full breakdown of test results for individual paddocks, alongside recommendation reports prepared by their Area Manager. Our recommendation reports outline specific product selection advice to deliver the nutrients required to achieve target yields and are based on our Field Research program and our Area Manager experience of local conditions.
A fuel gauge is a strip placed in the paddock (typically 2m x 100m) containing a non-limiting rate of a specific nutrient. They can be carried out across a wide range of crops as a way to monitor in-season nutrients. They also allow Area Managers to measure nutrient response against farmer practice.
How do they work?
A strip of non-limiting nitrogen has been applied in-season, to measure the potential benefit to the crop.
Once the nutrient rich strip has been applied, they are read throughout the growing season with a GreenSeeker®. NDVI readings are taken on and off the strip and and inputted into the nitrogen calculator, along with other information such as the paddock sowing date. The software then predicts the response to nitrogen and calculates the rate required to achive optimum yield and returns.
Summit has carried out extensive field research trials under Western Austrialan conditions to test the validity and accuracy of fuel gauge recommendations.
Types of fuel gauges
The majority of fuel gauges are nitrogen, as remedial action can be carried out within the season. Potassium, phosphorus and other nutrient fuel gauges can also be carried out, with responses actioned for the following season.
SaT Gauges
SaT Gauges are large, farmer scale nitrogen strips in the paddock that can cross a number of different production zones. They combine satellite NDVI with Summit’s in-season N Calculator, to guide more informed N management decisions. When harvest comes around, farmers are able to view the data on their harvest yield maps.
If you’re interested in setting up a fuel gauge on your farm, or would like to learn more, get in contact with your local Area Manager.
CropX integrates soil sensor technology with digital platforms to help growers better understand and utilize available soil moisture.
The hardware includes, soil sensors, digital rain gauges and a Telemetry Device, capable of connecting to a wide range of third party sensors and other devices. Data can then be viewed by growers via desktop or App, helping make smarter decisions.