Golden flower cutting the cost of urea fertiliser for farmers

Farmers grappling with soaring fertilizer costs are exploring natural alternatives, with sunn hemp emerging as a promising solution. Sugarcane grower Neil Maitland has significantly cut his expenses by incorporating this legume into his crop rotation.

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I've reduced my whole fertiliser by about 25 per cent and that's just urea.

Maitland explained that planting sunn hemp as a cover crop has allowed him to reduce his urea fertilizer bill by over $400 per hectare, a saving of about 25%. He highlighted that the nitrogen is now sourced organically from atmospheric nitrogen converted by soil bacteria, rather than inorganic fertilizers.

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It's not that we're not using [nitrogen], it's just that it's coming from an organic [source] instead of an inorganic fertiliser.

The Department of Primary Industries is also investigating sunn hemp's potential. Trials suggest the crop can provide the equivalent of 220 to 320 kilograms of urea per hectare. This natural nitrogen fixation offers a sustainable and cost-effective approach for farmers, particularly those in industries like cotton and sugarcane, who are seeking to mitigate the impact of rising input costs.

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Some key advantages of sunn hemp that we've been finding are associated around its nitrogen or ability to fix nitrogen.

While sunn hemp has been used globally for years, it is a relatively new option for Australian growers, becoming locally available only about four years ago. Its ability to improve soil health and reduce reliance on expensive synthetic fertilizers makes it a valuable tool for sustainable agriculture.

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Essentially, what we're seeing in the tops of this legume is the equivalent of around 220 to 320 kilograms of urea, if you want to put it into fertiliser equivalents.