Following an initial enquiry, a face to face meeting on the farm or orchard will be arranged by one of our Fertiliser Consultants.
The purpose of the visit is to get to know each other a bit and gain an understanding of your operation and the soil types you have. A review of your existing fertiliser programme and any recent soil tests can also be a useful starting point.
If timing is suitable, a soil sample can be taken on this first visit. Recent fertiliser application and the condition of the soil at the time can all influence soil test results so it is important to make sure that any soil samples are taken at the right time. Our Fertiliser Consultant will be able to advise you on when best to sample and the number of samples required.
We recommend that soil samples are taken by our consultant as they have been trained to carry out the sampling and it also helps give them a better appreciation of your land and farming operation.
If not taken on the first site visit, another visit will need to be arranged to carry out the soil sampling. Soil samples are packaged and sent away to either Eurofins Laboratories in Hamilton, NZ or Perry Ag Lab in USA.
Avoca’s own Soil Scientist takes the lab results and using William Albrecht’s formulas’, converts the lab report into specific NZ orientated fertiliser recommendations that identify priorities and takes into consideration information gained from the initial farm visit.
An Avoca fertiliser recommendation is then completed and a visit to go over the soil test result and the fertiliser recommendation is then arranged with the client. This is where final adjustments and changes are made to the recommendation. The order is confirmed at this point and final decisions on when to apply are made.
The order confirmation is sent to our Rarewa Fertiliser store. At least two days prior to the fertiliser being uplifted from Avoca, the client will need to advise the store or the fertiliser consultant about when the order will be picked up and who the carrier and spreader will be.