Quality of nutrient advice can vary

Currently there are no legal or registration requirements to qualify an individual to provide soil management, plant nutrition or fertilizer recommendations. Anyone can call themselves an agronomist and start providing nutrient advice to farmers either as part of a service package associated with the supply of fertilizer products or as an independent advisory business. 

The quality of advice farmers receive from both fertilizer supply companies and independent advisory businesses can vary widely. Advice to farmers may not always adequately address matters such as, crop yield/quality, profitability, nutrient use efficiency, environment or food safety.

The video clip below is produced by NRM North and highlights the importance of getting good quality farm nutrient advice and ways farmers can identify if they're getting it.

For a more comprehensive discussion on the quality of farm nutrient advice, view a recording of “Standards in Fertilizer Advice” (part of the NSW DPI’s, SNOK Webinar series). 

 

What is the purpose of the Fertcare Accredited Advisor Program?

The Fertcare Accredited Advisor program provides farmers and other stakeholders with confidence that farm managers are receiving soil management and fertilizer advice based on soil and or plant testing of a high standard and that matters such as the process of making recommendations, the underlying supporting data, sampling methodology and laboratory competence are based on good practice and accepted science in Australia. Fertcare has been accepted by many policy makers and natural resource managers as a means to move toward improved outcomes for farmers, the environment and consumers. It has been independently reviewed, constantly updated and won a Business and Higher Education Round Table (B-HERT) award in 2012. Current Fertcare Accredited Advisors: The file below contains a list of the current Fertcare Accredited Advisors both alphabetically and by location.