Summit newsletter Spring 2026

SPREADING THE NEWS SPRING 2026

SEASONAL UPDATE FOR SOUTH WEST FARMERS

Fertilizer lift sends yields soaring

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ADDING COST ADDS REAL VALUE AT BLACKROCK ANGUS

HEN Blackrock Angus stud principal Ken MacLeay was heading to a paddock on the family’s property several years ago to meet with his farm manager and recently appointed agronomy consultant, he was anticipating a conversation that would add cost.

It did, in the form of increased fertilizer application rates, but pasture production has soared ever since, achieving the highest ever hay and silage yields by some margin.

Like almost every producer would, Ken said he had to put forward a straight question: “Do you think this is the right thing to do?” And, looking back, he said: “It was”.

Dry matter (DM) hay and silage yields have lifted substantially on the property, with some paddock yields as high as 6t/ha.

“One of our paddocks has gone from around 100 bales to recording 220, 160, 160 and 220 bales over the past few years,” Ken said.

Cont. page 2

David (left) and Ken MacLeay (right) have formed a productive and profitable relationship with agronomy consultant Graham Mussell, TopSoil Agriculture, and Summit Fertilizers Area Manager Ralph Papalia for their Blackrock Angus property near Vasse.

Economics add up for spring fertilizer applications

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HE higher cost of urea and hay fertilizer products this season can prompt producers to query their spring application rates, however the economics suggest it is still well worthwhile, while there are also other factors suggesting it could be vital to

put more of your own feed in the shed this year.

Hay supplies from the wheatbelt are shaping up to be down on last season, while local production has been impacted by higher input costs.

Cont. page 2

summitfertz.com.au

Graham Mussell, Ralph Papalia and David and Liz MacLeay overlook some of the healthy pastures and herd at Blackrock Angus. Pasture production at the property has increased significantly, driven by the strategic use of fertilizers.

Fertilizer lift sends yields soaring

Cont. from page 1

“Our total bales have gone from 10001300 up to 1800 now, and it is fertilizer and nutrient-driven.”

Blackrock Angus is set over 405ha of duplex, sand over clay soils on the Swan Coastal Plain near Vasse, plus leased blocks comprising about 200ha, and has a fully registered Angus herd including about 500 females.

With a breeding program that also uses semen imported from most parts of Australia, as well as New Zealand, the US and Canada, the stud offered 90 bulls at Boyanup Saleyards this year and its sale will be held in February again in 2027.

Pastures are a clover/annual ryegrass base, with significant reseeding undertaken every year, while fodder crops also can include some oats with the pasture.

“Some pasture varieties can get a bit rundown, so we like to reseed quality varieties and we are in a good Mediterranean climate that delivers about 600-700 millimetres of rainfall annually,” Ken said.

Paddock renovation, pasture composition and nutritional strategy is now managed by Ken’s younger son,

David, in conjunction with South West agronomy consultant Graham Mussell, TopSoil Agriculture, while the MacLeays also have worked side-by-side with Summit Fertilizers Area Manager, Ralph Papalia, for many years.

“We come together and take advice and fertilizer recommendations from Graham and Ralph, and we also work with GeoCatch to ensure targeted soil testing and fertilizer applications,” Ken said.

“We have relied on Ralph for a long time.

He has such a broad knowledge base, including in agronomy. There are so many issues we can run into, and he is sought-after.”

He said soil testing was carried out at the end of the year and they also took advantage of the free tissue testing service with GeoCatch.

Summit Fertilizers products are used during autumn and sometimes over winter, while a range of the company’s NKS hay fertilizers, plus Urea, are used in spring.

“Our spring fertilizer application rates are generally 150-200 kilograms per hectare and we have undertaken strategic split applications,” Ken said.

He said the science of nutrition for optimum pasture production was significant and not something he had considered regularly, hence the appointment of Graham, who provides advice on their spraying, pasture renovation and fertilizer programs.

Applying an extra 50 kilograms per hectare of a commonly used hay fertilizer, like NKS32, to go from 150kg/ha to 200kg/ha, for example, which is an average application rate in the South West, costs about an extra $40/ha, however this is easily covered by the dry matter (DM) pasture produced. The equation also is the same if the application rate increases from 200kg/ha to 250kg/ha.

At current values of around $200 per tonne for good hay, only 200kg/ha extra dry matter pasture would need to be produced to cover the additional 50kg/ha investment in fertilizer.

We have seen good pasture and hay managers regularly produce dry matter yield gains of 0.5t/ha and up to 8t/ha,

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“The increase in production has been

FIND OUT amazing andMORE it’s all been done through the NKS hay fertilizers GeoCatch-approved regime.

which means an expected return on investment of at least 300kg/ha is heading into sheds.

Splitting hay fertilizer applications, for example as 150kg/ha and then topping-up with another 100-150kg/ha application if the season continues, is another strategy that has resulted in excellent crop yields. Numerous producers also have applied a good rate of a hay fertilizer and then topped-up with nitrogen previously. These strategies depend upon the season, location, soil type, fertilizer history and rainfall.

Talk to your Summit Fertilizers Area Manager for the best strategy for this season.

Blackrock Angus stud principal Ken MacLeay

FIND OUT MORE

“This is why we decided to get professional help and it has resulted

Spring fertilizer applications Cont. from page 1

Our total bales have gone from 1000-1300 up to 1800 now, and it is fertilizer and nutrient-driven.

The increase in production has been amazing and it’s all been done through the GeoCatch-approved regime.

in significantly production, and FINDincreased OUT MORE it has beenNKS driven byfertilizers the strategic use of hay fertilizers.”

Hay fertilizers

Product

Nutrient content (%) S

t/m3

MAXam

21.0

N

K

24.0

1.03

MAXamFLO

22.0

6.2

1.26

NitroPlus

32.5

13.0

0.89

UreaPlus

36.8

8.9

0.85

UreaS

40.0

5.8

0.81

NKS21

28.8

12.5

5.7

0.88

NKS32

25.6

16.5

5.3

0.91

NKS Spring

22.0

14.0

10.7

0.94

UAN

32.0

1.32

Urea

46.0

0.75

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Custom fertilizer blends, flexibility boosts potatoes, and the bottomline

IGHT returns for potato producers has put a focus on the use of cost-effective, custom fertilizer blends for South West grower Daniel Taylor, as well as flexible terms for the specialist products when needed.

The properties have high phosphorusfixing (Phosphorus Buffering Index PBI) soils and Daniel said the family had worked closely with Summit Fertilizers Area Manager Ralph Papalia over two decades to consistently test them, while petiole testing also was carried out.

Daniel is a third generation potato grower at Kaloorup, near Vasse, producing fresh market potatoes across multiple sandy loam properties that find a home on supermarket shelves within 24 hours, and with some also heading to export markets.

“Ralph has tremendous experience and he manages the testing and we get results within a week,” Daniel said.

Crops are grown year-round over 85-135 days according to season timing, and the use of more cost-effective fertilizer blends from Summit Fertilizers has certainly not impacted potato yields or quality. In fact, the family is averaging 57-60 tonnes per hectare across 10 months of production, with most graded “Class 1” and only 10 per cent falling to waste.

The difficulty for producers, in the face of rising costs over the last 10-15 years, has been that returns are similar to the highest prices they received back in 2009, and this is the reason the Taylors have reduced their total production from 5000t to 2000t.

He said due to their soil types, there had been a push for triple superphosphate fertilizer applications earlier to boost soil phosphorus levels, however following increases in these levels and with their high PBI soils, they had since drifted away from those applications.

“We have gone to more mono superphosphate fertilizers and we have benefitted from the increased calcium content, which is important to have around tubers.”

A specially-designed phosphorus and potassium fertilizer blend is broadcast at 1t/ha and cultivated through soils prior to planting, before a basal blend comprising high phosphorus

and potassium content, plus some nitrogen, is applied either side of the seeding implement.

A custom topdressed blend of nitrogen, sulphur, potassium and magnesium is then banded on the surface prior to row closure, and then similar blends are either banded or fertigated weekly according to rainfall events.

“We start with blends that are higher in N and lower in K and after six weeks it switches to higher K and lower N,” Daniel said.

“Ultimately, we can get a bulk stock standard fertilizer or a blend and tweak it to be specific.”

He said Summit Fertilizers also offered plenty of products for their fertigations and the flexible trading terms were well appreciated.

“The fertilizer blends are so much more economical and Summit (Fertilizers) offers the flexibility to help you through the cycles of farming. We recently leant on this because we had softer returns after the summer harvest we MORE were able adjust FINDand OUT our payments. ” NKS hay fertilizers “We also don’t use liquid (fertilizers) because you are buying 50-90 per cent water OUT – you may as well buy soluble FIND MORE (fertilizers), ” Daniel said.

NKS hay fertilizers

The fertilizer blends are so much more economical and Summit (Fertilizers) offers the flexibility to help you through the cycles of farming. We recently leant on this because we had softer returns after the summer harvest and we were able adjust our payments.

FIND OUT MORE

Kaloorup potato grower Daniel Taylor

Custom formulations

“Ralph has tweaked the blends over time as other products have become available, or if the soils or other varieties grown require a different approach.

“He has added trace elements like boron, manganese, zinc or molybdenum at different times. He will tweak anything we want and arrange it. We also use potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate.

Kaloorup potato grower Daniel Taylor samples some of the family’s potatoes with Summit Fertilizers Area Manager Ralph Papalia. Daniel says Ralph designs specific fertilizer blends for the property that are much more economical than using specialist fertilizers.

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Pasture nutrition science reveals trace element opportunity

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S the growing science behind pasture productivity and fertilizer programs continues to advance, trace element nutrition is emerging as a vital window into overall livestock health.

For South West producers, it offers an opportunity to identify any issues early and to fine-tune their operations so herds can reach their full potential.

Local veterinarian Dr Ian Bradshaw, Cattle Veterinary Services, has spent decades working with cattle producers across the region and said while clinical trace element disease was rare, there was a bigger, subclinical cost.

“Trace elements rarely cause clinical problems, but they are the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot of subclinical problems and production loss that are the low hanging fruit,” Dr Bradshaw said.

“The trouble with subclinical disease is it’s not visibly apparent what the impacts are. Often there isn’t enough measurement of performance to know what the differences are between deficient animals and animals that have adequate nutrition.”

“It might be a 1-2 per cent reduction in pregnancy rates or 2-5pc reduction in growth rate. You’re not necessarily going to be able to measure it at an individual enterprise level.”

He said testing varied significantly in the data provided, but he believed plant tissue testing provided “the best picture” of how animals were tracking.

“It’s relatively inexpensive and reliable to test a sample of animals for selenium status, but copper and cobalt is much more challenging. Generally, you need liver biopsies, which is an invasive veterinary procedure in live animals and is relatively expensive.”

“There’s a great opportunity, I believe, for us to make better use of pasture tissue sampling to get an idea of whether our animals are at risk. A standard Summit Fertilizers test will include copper and molybdenum, but you need to request a comprehensive test to also measure cobalt and selenium.

“Keeping good records on when trace elements were applied, including the amount applied, also is a great step.

“There needs to be more cooperation between agronomy advice and veterinary advice to make sure we make the best use of what we’re doing agronomically, not just for plant nutrition, but also for the animals we are grazing.”

Dr Bradshaw said certain fertiliser practices and production targets had impacted the rise of key minerals.

“Surface liming, without vigorous incorporation, can cause trace element issues. There’s an interaction between liming and molybdenum availability, with increasing molybdenum levels an emerging problem, contributing to copper deficiency.”

“While molybdenum is important agronomically, especially for nitrogen-fixing plants, it also forms thiomolybdates that binds copper in the soil at the plant level, and within the digestive tract of animals. Getting the balance right between molybdenum and copper is especially important.

“It’s quite common after a lime application to have molybdenum levels rise sharply and reduce the availability of copper.

“Some farms pushing the kilograms of beef produced per hectare are more at risk of running into trace element problems because they’re pushing their system harder and trying to grow more grass per hectare.”

Correction of any issues can be either agronomic or via supplementation, but Dr Bradshaw warned supplementation can be costly.

“You can try to address the problem agronomically by keeping a lid on how much molybdenum is applied and address how much copper is applied. If you don’t want to go down that route, then there’s a range of supplementation options, from rumen boluses to annual injections, strategic short-acting injections at certain times of year, potentially lick blocks and so on.”

He said trace element loss was about the lowest hanging fruit producers could get and the tools to identify it already were in most farmers’ hands.

“The only thing missing is the habit of looking. If you are pasture tissue testing already for agronomy purposes, it’s a no-brainer to include molybdenum levels and possibly cobalt and selenium, and discuss these results with your veterinarian as well,” Dr Bradshaw said.

“However, supplementation programs are generally not inexpensive – you’re often spending $20-30 per head. It may well be more efficient to correct this at a pasture level.”

Addressing these levels early and monitoring them can help avoid problems escalating into much larger clinical issues, something Dr Bradshaw has first-hand experience of.

“We don’t see clinical problems very often, but we have seen a number of sudden deaths in weaner-aged cattle on a property that recently had lime applied right across it. The problem was clinical copper deficiency.”

“In a similar situation with a heavily-limed paddock, cattle developed copper deficiency primarily because the molybdenum levels rose sharply. They lost a number of animals with spontaneous fractures of their legs.”

Dr Bradshaw also said looking for early warning signs could be difficult, as symptoms can easily be mistaken for other causes “Trace element deficiencies are often just a contributor to a range of other problems. Often the cattle are rough-coated, you might suspect they’ve got worms, slight reductions in fertility, poorer growth and increased disease susceptibility.

These will all contribute to ill-thrift in some way, but the symptoms you see might be slightly different.”

“We might see more scours in calves or more respiratory disease in cattle going into feedlots, if they have marginal mineral status.”

While molybdenum is important agronomically, especially for nitrogen-fixing plants, it also forms thiomolybdates that binds copper in the soil at the plant level, and within the digestive tract of animals. Getting the balance right between molybdenum and copper is especially important.

Dr Ian Bradshaw, Cattle Veterinary Services

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Implementation

Back to basics for farm productivity benefit

So, as they say, stick to the basics!

Soil pH is the first focus. Very acidic or alkaline soils can have profound influences on the availability and uptake of essential nutrients by plants.

You’ll often hear or read that an ideal soil pH is around 5.5 (calcium chloride reading). At this pH, it is purported that most nutrients are at maximum availability for uptake by pasture plant roots.

At very low pH, aluminium toxicity can be a real problem, especially in soils that have some gravel as a percentage of their composition.

High aluminium concentrations in the soil can reduce plants’ ability to take up nutrients and water. At low pH, macronutrient uptake (phosphorus and nitrogen in particular) can be severely impeded. Also, trace element availability (copper, zinc and molybdenum) will be reduced.

With Ralph Papalia, Bunbury Area Manager THE rising cost of farmland in the South West and potential returns from livestock sales (mainly those breeding their own animals) has resulted in an increase in landholders wanting to improve the productivity of their land.

Productivity improvement can be achieved from knowing the nutritional requirements of the land and improving pasture composition, both of which can have a positive influence on animal production.

Monitoring Soil testing is still the best method to determine nutrient requirements for soils and plants, and the popularity of testing has grown as farmers chase higher returns from their capital investments.

Plant testing also can be useful, but it can be a bit more tedious than soil testing and requires careful consideration.

Plants must be actively growing (not constrained by wet, cold or dry soils). Samples should be collected from mainly average plants in paddocks, including where growth has not been influenced by dung or urine.

Soil testing is offered by Summit Fertilizers and government agencies and allows farmers to determine what major constraints may be limiting improved pasture productivity.

The main focus is on macro elements like phosphorus, potassium and sulphur, as well as soil pH Soil testing for micro elements and biology is a much more inexact science than for macro elements and the results obtained and the interpretations from them cannot often be well correlated to an economic benefit.

At high soil pH, the uptake of micro elements like zinc, manganese and iron can be reduced significantly. Over-liming can result in reduced uptake of these nutrients.

Poor pasture composition is a telltale sign of less-than-ideal soil pH. Weeds tend to dominate the sward, there is low clover percentage and any clover plants that are in the sward usually have poor nodulation, so they won’t be fixing a lot of nitrogen.

Guilford grass (onion grass as it is commonly known) can dominate the pasture if soil pH is low or soil phosphorus is low, or both. There is very little nutritional value in this plant.

Pictured shows an area of pasture dominated by Guildford grass, the result of low soil pH or low phosphorus levels – or both.

So, check your soil pH, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur FIND OUT MORE levels to determine your NKSsoil hayneeds. fertilizers Plant test for microelements. This test also can give you an indication of what nutrients are available for animals (calcium, FIND OUTand MORE magnesium, copper zinc in particular).

inSITE

NKS hay fertilizers

FIND OUT MORE Soil & plant analysis

Soil test with Summit Fertilizers inSITE, the industry leading soil analysis program.

Benefits include: • Independent laboratory.

• Fast turnaround times.

• Wide range of analytes measured.

• Recommendations based on extensive database modeling and area manager experience.

• Support from your experienced local Summit Fertilizers Area Manager.

• View results on SummitConnect.

• Customers own their data.

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Bunbury depot upgrades

PASTURES & HORTICULTURE

BOOST YOUR RETURNS WITH BETTER BLENDS!

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HE SUMMIT Fertilizers Bunbury facility has undergone a number of upgrades. A new bagging dome has been erected to increase storage flexibility at the site.

A new, larger bagging hopper disconnected from the facility’s blending plant will be installed to allow loading from the blending plant to occur whilst bags are being prepared, and it will also aid in prevention of plant failure by avoiding operation interruptions.

A third hopper also has been installed at the facility’s blending plant to help reduce loading times for straight products.

FIND OUT MORE NKS hay fertilizers

FIND OUT MORE NKS hay fertilizers

Cost-effective custom fertilizer blends Summit Fertilizers’ advanced blending facilities design custom fertilizer formulations tailored precisely to soil and nutrient requirements of individual paddocks.

FIND OUT MORE Custom formulations

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cturner@summitfertz.com.au

“It is now more streamlined and consistent, and we can keep speeds up by avoiding quality issues and hold-ups,” Phil said.

UAN liquid fertilizer ready to go at Bunbury

For farmers who may have challenges with on-farm infrastructure and storage capability, this is the ideal and easy solution.

Talk to your local Summit Fertilizers area manager to design your own, economical fertilizer blends.

Chloe Turner 0447 469 245

At Bunbury with collections, Summit Fertilizers has removed the closed toter system and replaced it with a new open

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Blending recommendations can be supported by soil testing and plant tissue analysis services in order to create formulations with ideal nutrient ratios.

rpapalia@summitfertz.com.au

All hoppers also now feature improved conditioning to help remove product lumps.

conveyor system to allow more consistent cleaning. It also provides for a better chemical application system and relocation of controls to a dedicated clean electrical facility, which has improved the plant’s operating ability.

PPLICATION of UAN liquid fertilizer has been growing in the South West and Summit Fertilizers has made it easy, with 1000-litre (1.32-tonne) IBC shuttles ready and waiting for collection at the company’s Bunbury depot.

Whether it’s pasture, fodder or horticulture crops, we have a wide range of high quality fertilizers and trace elements that can be formulated into specific blends.

Ralph Papalia 0427 766 535

“It feeds straight onto the transfer conveyor, so single products will be able to bypass the blending drums and go straight to the screen and

into trucks, so it takes a stage out of the operation,” said Phil Hargreaves, Executive Manager Engineering and Maintenance with Summit Fertilizers.

Mark Ladny 0498 223 421 mladny@summitfertz.com.au

More and more growers are looking to take advantage of the immediate nitrogen benefits of liquid UAN for their pastures, and particularly to help renovate and establish new pastures, and its now readily available at the Bunbury depot.

For further information and to secure UAN from the depot, contact Area Manager Ralph Papalia on 0427 766 535.

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Summit Fertilizers product range

FIND OUT MORE Summit’s product range Nutrient content (%)

Pasture & Horticulture

N

P

K

S

Irrigation

29.7

4.0

5.0

6.3

Pasture

7.3

17.9

Pasture Potash 1 1

2.5

6.2

Pasture Potash 2 1

3.6

9.0

Pasture Potash 3 1

4.4

Pasture Potash 3 2

Ca

Mg

Cu

Zn

Mo

Mn

Bulk Density (t/m3) 0.88

5.3

7.0

1.03

32.5

2.4

2.6

1.08

25.0

3.0

3.5

1.06

10.8

20.0

3.4

4.2

1.06

3.1

7.7

28.5

2.7

3.0

1.07

Pasture Potash 4 1

4.9

12.1

16.5

3.7

4.6

1.05

Pasture Potash 5 1

5.3

12.9

14.0

4.0

5.0

1.05

Summit Hort

12.1

4.7

10.5

15.5

1.2

0.04

0.08

0.30

1.09

Super Copper Zinc

8.8

11.2

19.5

0.60

0.30

1.17

Super Copper Zinc Moly

8.8

11.2

19.4

0.60

0.30

8.4

13.5

1.10

0.06

1.17

SuperPasture

3.6

13.4

Super Pasture Potash 1 1

1.4

5.3

30.0

3.8

5.5

1.10

Super Pasture Potash 2 1

2.1

7.8

21.0

5.1

7.8

1.10

SuperPasture Potash 3 1

2.3

8.6

18.0

5.6

8.6

1.10

SuperPasture Potash 3 2

1.8

6.7

25.0

4.5

6.7

1.10

SuperPasture Potash 4 1

2.8

10.0

13.5

6.2

9.6

1.10

SuperPasture Potash 5 1

2.9

10.4

12.0

6.4

10.0

1.10

11.5

20.0

1.17

SuperPhosphate

8.9

Super Potash 1 1

4.5

25.0

6.1

10.0

1.14

Super Potash 2 1

6.0

16.5

7.9

13.4

1.15

Super Potash 3 1

6.7

12.5

8.8

15.0

1.15

Super Potash 3 2

5.3

20.0

7.9

12.0

1.14

Super Potash 4 1

7.1

10.0

9.3

16.0

1.16

Super Potash 5 1

7.4

8.5

9.7

16.6

1.16

Nutrient content (%)

Bulk Density (t/m3)

Fodder range

N

P

K

S

Dairy

14.5

8.0

12.5

9.2

1.0

Dairy N

22.1

6.0

10.0

6.6

0.94

Dairy S

15.9

6.0

10.0

12.6

0.94

Dairy TE

11.7

8.1

12.5

9.9

Fodder Max

30.3

7.5

8.5

0.87

Graze Extra

26.2

8.5

6.2

0.89

Grass Boost

13.8

17.0

16.0

1.00

Hay

13.4

3.2

16.5

12.7

0.02

0.03

1.01

Hay Special

18.5

3.2

16.5

12.7

0.02

0.03

1.01

NKS Spring

22.0

14.0

10.8

3.9

Ca

Mg

Cu

0.06

Zn

Mo

Mn

0.11

0.94

Contact your Summit Fertilizers pasture specialists Ralph Papalia 0427 766 535

Chloe Turner 0447 469 245

Mark Ladny 0498 223 421

Harvey, Capel, Dardanup, Busselton, Bunbury, Collie, Augusta-Margaret River, Bridgetown, Manjimup, Donnybrook, Nannup, Pinjarra, Waroona

Boyup Brook, Katanning, Kojonup, Wagin, Woodanilling

Albany (West), Denmark, Tambellup, Cranbrook, Plantagenet, Broomehill

rpapalia@summitfertz.com.au

cturner@summitfertz.com.au

1.01

mladny@summitfertz.com.au