Supplementation of natural fertility, based on soil tests, balances the soil's mineral composition, resulting in better plant and animal growth and increased soil health.
Farmers use fertilizers as a way of supplementing the nutrients already present in their soils. Fertilizers represent a substantial annual expenditure for farmers, so applying the optimal fertilizer rate at the optimal time is critical in order to maintain profitable farming. If farmers reduce their fertilizer applications as a cost saving measure this can lead to a reduction in productivity and overall farm profitability.
Using too much fertilizer is costly, wasteful and can have detrimental environmental effects. Using too little fertilizer makes the farm less productive, less profitable and potentially unable to replenish the soil's natural resources through proper maintenance.
Farmers are responsible for managing a complicated system. Paddock design and stocking density can affect the efficiency of nutrient cycling in a pasture system. As a result, the productive capacity of the soils and individual paddocks on farms can vary widely. There is no one solution that can be applied across all farms, or even all paddocks. In order to manage this complicated system, farmers need to make use of some or all the diagnostic tools that are available, including:
