Nitrogen reporting

 

A reminder of the key nitrogen reporting requirements:

When is the report due?
New regulations require submission by 31 July every year.

Who does it apply to?
All dairy farmers with farms 20ha or larger and have any grazed land, whether it's permanent pasture or annual crops.

What does it apply to?
All nitrogen fertiliser use for the period 1 July to 30 June, each year. The 190kg/N/ha cap applies to each individual hectare of grazed pasture. All grazed land, including grazed forage crops and harvest crops, must also average 190kg/ha/N for each property.

Understanding what you need for nitrogen reporting

We understand that every farm is run differently, and your nitrogen data may not all be in one place, which is why we’ve made it as simple as possible to generate your council ready nitrogen report.

There are a few ways to submit your nitrogen report:

If you have a farm map already in MyBallance you can submit your report by following the four simple steps below.
 

If you have a digital farm map that isn’t in your MyBallance account, you can email your property name, customer name, address and your property ID (If you know this) to gis.support@ballance.co.nz, then follow the four simple steps below.

If you don’t have a digital farm map and don’t want to generate your report through MyBallance, you can input data from your annual nutrient summary into the council reporting spreadsheet.

If you want to submit your nitrogen report through your MyBallance account, here’s what you need to know:

1. Upload a map

To create a nitrogen report in MyBallance, the first thing you need is a digital farm map.

  • If your digital farm map is already in your MyBallance account, go to step two.
  • If you already have a digital farm map that isn’t in your MyBallance account, you can email your property name, customer name, address and your property ID (If you know this) to digimap@ballance.co.nz.
  • If you want to create a digital farm map, you can draw this yourself in MyBallance ‘My Property’. We suggest using Google Chrome for optimum mapping performance.
  • If you don’t want to draw a map you can purchase one from a professional map service and go through the first step

Create your map in MyBallance now

2. Specify land use

Nitrogen limits vary depending on where the nitrogen was applied . Once your map is uploaded, you will then need to define land use across your farm (pasture, grazed crops, harvested crops, and non-productive area).

In your MyBallance account, click into the Nitrogen Limit management feature, and click ‘View settings’ at the top right of the page to specify your farm’s land-uses. To learn more about what the nitrogen limits mean for different farms click here.

Learn how to specify your land use in MyBallance

3. Record proof of application data

Once your digital farm map is in your MyBallance account and you have specified your land use, you’ll need to record your proof of application (POA) data for all nitrogen you have applied. Proof of application data includes automatic data from supported tracking software OR data that you have manually inputted by paddock to show where you have applied nitrogen. There are two ways to record your POA data in your MyBallance account:

  • Automatic
    If you have a Tracmap or Precision Farming subscription your data should automatically upload to your account for all spread requests generated using your map. If it’s not there, contact TracMap or Precision Farming (or your spreader) to allow your POA data transfer to MyBallance. Tracmap contractors have to opt-in to sharing data and mark the job as complete in order for it to be available.
  • Manual
    If you have data that isn’t digitally recorded, you will need to input this using the manual POA function in your MyBallance account. Learn how to record a manual POA through our how to video, or cheat sheet.

Create manual Proof of Application in MyBallance now

4. Generate your report

You are now ready to generate your nitrogen report. In your MyBallance account, click into the Nitrogen Limit Management feature and click 'Generate report' at the top right-hand side of the page to generate your report.

There are two ways to submit your report:

  • Automatic
    Follow the submission instructions on the home page of your MyBallance account.
  • Manual
    Choose to download your report as a PDF which you can then use to complete the manual council submission process.

Learn how to submit your nitrogen report in MyBallance