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Land management
Soil erosion, soil acidity, nutrient depletion and salinity are major environmental challenges with serious economic and agriculture consequences for Australia. As a result, restoring, maintaining and increasing soil fertility are major agricultural priorities.
Inappropriate soil fertility management, combined with unbalanced nutrient management practices, are a serious threat to agricultural production and sustainability. They also contribute to environmental degradation such as erosion, dry-land salinity and soil acidity.
Conscious of the need to address this problem, while meeting customers’ needs and maintaining a viable business, Hi Fert has been at the forefront in tackling this challenge.
- Hi Fert has continued to provide nutrient-efficient fertilizer via it's coating technology. Products such as Gold'N (sulphur coated urea) and maximiZ (zinc coated MAP, DAP and urea) continue to lead the market in environmentally friendly nutrient programs. Balanced, timely and targeted fertilization - used in conjunction with other management practices like conservation tillage, plant varieties and soil amendments to stimulate maximum up take of plant nutrients by crop or pasture - contribute significantly to controlling erosion, acidity and salinity. Good management of plant nutrients can avoid negative impacts from under use or over use of fertilizer and limits losses to the environment through run-off, leaching and volatility.
- Corporate support of Fertilizer Industry Federation of Australia environmental and land sustainability initiatives, including the Fertcare training program and the Eco Efficiency Agreement.
- Support for the Australian Fertilizer Services Association accreditation program for fertilizer spreaders, improving efficiency of nutrient distribution, storage and training for members in nutrient management.
- Support for a scholarship program, promoting ‘best practice’ in land use.
- Support for regional Landcare programs.
Environmental Performance
Hi Fert has continued to focus on environmental performance at all its plants. Initiatives include:
- the application of sand on floors, placement of ‘shaker’ grids at entrances, and the extensive use of sweepers to address fertilizer tracking issues
- improvement of the visual amenity of plants through significant landscaping projects
- reduction of air borne dust levels through installation de-humidifiers
- implementation of a new environmental monitoring program based on a comprehensive review of potential environmental risks.
Resource use
Initiatives by Hi Fert in this area include:
- an ongoing program to develop nutrient-efficient fertilizer through coating technology
- field trials to test new products and provide information on nutrient management ‘best practice’ to optimize productivity and profitability while achieving environmental sustainability
- ongoing research and development to ensure more efficient fertilizers (such as controlled nutrient-release products) are developed.
- increased utilization of rainwater for landscape irrigation and for fertilizer plant use
- fuel use reduction through replacement of the LPG fired air exclusion system at the Portland sulphur milling plant with a nitrogen based system.
Waste management
Hi Fert has developed a new waste management procedure following a comprehensive identification of waste streams and assessment of opportunities for reduction, minimization, reuse and recycling. Some of the resulting strategies are:
- utilizing multi trip fertilizer bags where practicable to reduce used bag waste volumes and compression of waste bags to reduce landfill volume
- segregation of wastes to facilitate re-cycling, including paper and scrap steel
- dilution of wash and other water containing fertilizer for use in on-site irrigation of plant landscaping.
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