As we reflect on the spring season, one thing stands out clearly: farms that have built versatility into all aspects of their business have been able to adapt more successfully to the challenges presented.

We've discussed before how essential adaptability and resilience are, and the autumn of 2024 and spring of 2025 have really reinforced this, particularly when it comes to your crop nutrition strategy.

What does ‘versatility in crop nutrition’ actually mean?

Versatility in crop nutrition means being able to respond to seasonal variations, crop demand and logistical challenges with a system that supports flexibility, without compromising effectiveness or cost-efficiency. When visiting farms as part of strategic crop input reviews, I see a few common pitfalls that can limit this flexibility, especially in tough seasons.

While I fully appreciate every farm’s drive to reduce production costs, there’s a fine balance between low-cost and cost-effective, and this distinction is critical. For example, choosing nitrogen-sulphur compounds, such as 26N 37SO₃ or 21N 60SO₃, may appear to save money at first. However, in a season where early nitrogen was vital, these products left many growers puzzled, unsure how to apply both nutrients without over or under-applying either one.

A simple fix is to separate your nitrogen and sulphur strategies. Choose your nitrogen source based on quality, accuracy and nutrient efficiency, such as Nitram, and look to have sulphur supplied independently, using a product like Polysulphate.

Taking this approach gives you a more open nitrogen strategy in application terms, where you're free to apply nitrogen when and where it's needed, at the right rate to support crop demand for that season. At the same time, you can then be more considered with your sulphur applications: applying a slow-release sulphur source like Polysulphate in February means you’re in a better position to meet crop sulphur needs throughout the season while providing useful amounts of potassium, calcium and magnesium too.

Trial investment and first insights: the value of early nitrogen

This year’s farmer-led nitrogen rate and timing trial, designed to investigate interrupted planting timings and nitrogen applications, gave us some valuable insights. Throughout the spring, the strongest-looking plots had all received varying rates of nitrogen very early in the season.

These trials have now been harvested and we’ll feedback the results in the coming weeks once we have the full grain analysis for all the treatments. To be notified of this, you can subscribe to these articles by completing the form at the bottom of the page.

And on the topic of grain analysis, it’s worth mentioning how valuable this can be in evaluating the performance of your current nutrition strategy, determining how well nitrogen was utilised by the crops, whether product was under or over-applied and the crop’s P&K offtake.  It’s most accurate for grain samples taken from individual fields, but one or two samples from a grain store can give some initial insights.

Another area seeing consistent growth is the adoption of liquid fertiliser systems, with growers increasingly drawn to its accuracy and application flexibility.

With this in mind, one possible hybrid system might be:

• Liquid fertiliser early in the season: to even up crops to the field edge without occupying the sprayer during peak fungicide timings.

• Solid fertiliser later in the season: to maintain nutrient supply without interfering with other key operations.

This approach won’t suit every farm, but it’s a perfect example of how reviewing your system regularly allows you to move toward something more versatile.

Another advantage of separating nitrogen and sulphur applications is how much easier it becomes to adopt precision approaches such as variable rate nitrogen too. In a season where crop establishment and winter survival differed quite significantly, the value of variable rate nitrogen has been substantial.

Overall, this past season has highlighted the value of versatility like never before. Crop nutrition strategies that allow for flexibility in timing, rate, and product choice will not only be more resilient in challenging seasons, but often more efficient and productive as well.

Whether it’s splitting nutrients, trialling variable-rate applications, or integrating liquid and solid systems, the key message is simple: review your current strategy. The most effective systems are those that can evolve.

If you’d like support with your nutrition strategy, including advice on different solutions and how precision technology can support more optimised inputs, you can get in touch by emailing info@frontierag.co.uk or calling 0800 227445.