Urea vs Nitram

[cotswoldcs]

Have usually purchased only blue bags from CF but this year am considering Urea instead of Nitram. Have been quoted £219/t for Urea and £195/t for Nitram (June/July delivery). Nitram is a good price but Urea is so much better value. Looking for opinions on whether I'm right to save some money or whether I'm best to stick with Nitram. Mixed sheep/arable farm spreading @ 24m with Amazone spreader.

 

[Brisel]

£219/t for urea is 47.6 pence/kg of N. 219/460.
AN is 56.5 pence/kg of N.

Urea is 19% cheaper. The only time urea might be less suitable is if you are growing lots of summer crops where you're applying high rates of top dressing on bare & dry high pH soils. For grass & cereals any losses are minimal. Urea has a lower bulk density but in reality you'll have the same amount of N in the hopper as it's more concentrated. AN is more dense which can mean it will throw better but it depends on the quality of the product. 24m should be fine & there are many growers spreading urea wider than that. Do make sure you get granules not prills though. The price difference will pay for many tray tests!

 

[Gong Farmer]

£219/t for urea is 47.6 pence/kg of N. 219/460.
AN is 56.5 pence/kg of N.

Urea is 19% cheaper. The only time urea might be less suitable is if you are growing lots of summer crops where you're applying high rates of top dressing on bare & dry high pH soils. For grass & cereals any losses are minimal. Urea has a lower bulk density but in reality you'll have the same amount of N in the hopper as it's more concentrated. AN is more dense which can mean it will throw better but it depends on the quality of the product. 24m should be fine & there are many growers spreading urea wider than that. Do make sure you get granules not prills though. The price difference will pay for many tray tests!

And don't believe any quoted figures of '50% losses through volatilisation' for urea.

 

[Brisel]

And don't believe any quoted figures of '50% losses through volatilisation' for urea.

The ones touted by sellers of expensively priced ammonium nitrate? IIRC they needed white chalk soil with 0% moisture in a closed greenhouse to get the losses that high!

 

[teslacoils]

I'm tending to shy away from the urea a bit. We get better early grass growth from the an. Our soils are cold and wet, and when using urea either really wants a big dollop early on - or all in the seedbed for spring crops. Infact I'd go at least 1/3 total n in march.

I'd still take lithan or pulan over nitram though.

 

[Gong Farmer]

The ones touted by sellers of expensively priced ammonium nitrate? IIRC they needed white chalk soil with 0% moisture in a closed greenhouse to get the losses that high!

The trials that did it (ADAS) put all the N on as urea in a single dose in May, under plastic in order to capture the released gases. Hardly typical of urea use in the big wide world.

 

[NeilT123]

Don't forget your Sulphur. If you are just using straight N either as Nitram or Urea then Polysulphate would work well

 

[Brisel]

The trials that did it (ADAS) put all the N on as urea in a single dose in May, under plastic in order to capture the released gases. Hardly typical of urea use in the big wide world.

What was it applied to? Bare soil? Nice little hotbox under the plastic.

 

[yellow belly]

apply urea early and the total losses are less than for an especially in a wet time
where leaching losses from an are much higher than with urea when the temperature never gets above 20 c

 

[Farma Parma]

Urea Bags are taller & a pain to stack in the lower shed i can put Nitram in 2 high no bother...
in fact there narrower also ? why is this, make a fatter bag then ???
Litfert & pulan do have issues at 24m so iam told ?
Poss looking at a move to 30m Trams one day & Nitram wins over all the imported AN
Last Edit... at-least its Make in the UK no other is ?? i think

 

[T Hectares]

1 - Get granular if spreading over 24m
2 - Apply a bit earlier than AN
3 - Maybe buy AN for last dose on WW
4 - Put in the seedbed for SB
5 - Count the cash you have saved
6 - Admire your crops that yield just the same

You might also be able to shave £6- 7 / t off that Urea price too ?

 

[charlie81]

I get roughly half urea, half AN - best of both worlds and can exploit their different traits depending on the conditions at the time.

 

[benny6910]

Urea Bags are taller & a pain to stack in the lower shed i can put Nitram in 2 high no bother...
in fact there narrower also ? why is this, make a fatter bag then ???
Litfert & pulan do have issues at 24m so iam told ?
Poss looking at a move to 30m Trams one day & Nitram wins over all the imported AN
Last Edit... at-least its Make in the UK no other is ?? i think

I’ve used pullan and Lithan and not had any issues at spreading it 24m, half the trouble is people don’t try test and wonder why the settings they used 3 years ago haven’t worked properly.

 

[Farma Parma]

I’ve used pullan and Lithan and not had any issues at spreading it 24m, half the trouble is people don’t try test and wonder why the settings they used 3 years ago haven’t worked properly.

I havnt used either myself just what i hear from others. I prefer the safe game with Nitram & also good right height bags. poxy urea stuff it, tried the coated stuff once to be safe & no difference, cant remember now to be honest, the bag hassle put me off it all

 

[bobk]

I havnt used either myself just what i hear from others. I prefer the safe game with Nitram & also good right height bags. poxy urea stuff it, tried the coated stuff once to be safe & no difference, cant remember now to be honest, the bag hassle put me off it all

The only issue I have with pulan / lithan is the bags , tissue paper , nothing wrong with the gear .

 

[ajd132]

It’s funny how certain companies love to slag urea despite making it.
I’m actually moving from AN based liquid to a urea sulphur product 38-0-0-19 from yara as making big changes to our nutrition regime, it seems a great product despite them always being negative on urea in the U.K.! Sulphur in liquid form is either disgustingly expensive or a huge ballache logistically and labour wise.

 

[robs1]

Used urea only for the last few years, just get it on earlier, another bonus is it doesnt rot machinery .

 

[neilo]

Are the urea + S products any good, spreading to 24m?

Otherwise I will be looking to get straight urea this time, having used AN for the last 3 years. No problem here with Pulan or Lithan to 24m, just more unstable to stack than Nitram.

 

[benny6910]

I havnt used either myself just what i hear from others. I prefer the safe game with Nitram & also good right height bags. poxy urea stuff it, tried the coated stuff once to be safe & no difference, cant remember now to be honest, the bag hassle put me off it all

That is the one thing with pullan it runs like water, care needs to be taken when stacking but I can put up with that for the price difference to nitram

 

[wellingtonfarmer]

It’s funny how certain companies love to slag urea despite making it.
I’m actually moving from AN based liquid to a urea sulphur product 38-0-0-19 from yara as making big changes to our nutrition regime, it seems a great product despite them always being negative on urea in the U.K.! Sulphur in liquid form is either disgustingly expensive or a huge ballache logistically and labour wise.

Is it a yara liquid product the 38-0-0-19??