VITA-GRASS DELIVERS NINE NUTRIENTS IN ONE APPLICATION FOR COMPREHENSIVE GRASSLAND NUTRITION

Origin Soil Nutrition has increased its range of Enhanced Efficiency Fertilisers (EEF) with the introduction of Vita-Grass prescription fertiliser, providing farmers with an alternative form of livestock nutrient supplementation.

Origin’s Vita-Grass has been specially formulated to supply several vital micronutrients for improved grassland performance and animal health benefits. The 24-3-3 + Mg, S, Ca, Co, I, and Se formulation, which contains polysulphate, offers the right combination of nutrients to improve forage quality and long-term soil nutrient levels. Abby Kellet, nutrition agronomist at Origin Soil Nutrition, explains why a Vita-Grass grade with polysulphate provides nine key nutrients at an equivalent price of a standard fertiliser.

“Vita-Grass packs more animal-essential nutrients into a bag of fertiliser at a similar price to a standard 25-5-5, which contains fewer nutrients. By choosing this more nutrient-dense grade, farmers can supplement livestock cost-effectively with no extra time, labour or animal handling, while also building soil nutrient reserves for the future.”

Vita-Grass contains selenium and cobalt – also present in Origin’s SweetGrass Plus product – along with a new nutrient for 2026, iodine. The inclusion of iodine means all three nutrients are now available in one fertiliser. Abby explains why this is important.

“Animals require iodine to produce thyroid hormones, which help to regulate metabolism, growth and foetal development. However, many soils and pastures are naturally low in iodine, so grazing animals often become deficient without supplementation. For example, most forages typically contain around 0.2mg per kg dry matter, whereas the optimum for grazing cattle and sheep at pregnancy and lactation is around 0.5mg per kg dry matter.”

Some Vita-Grass grades contain Polysulphate, a prolonged release, multi-nutrient fertiliser that’s mined in the UK. It features sulphur to improve nitrogen use efficiency; magnesium for energy, lactation and reproduction; and calcium for healthy teeth and bone formation. The low formulations of potassium and phosphorus in Vita-Grass make it suitable for grazing areas, as well as silage ground, where high quantities of manures are applied, and soil P and K levels are adequate.

“The package of essential micro-nutrients in Vita-Grass – selenium, cobalt and iodine – is also available in our Sweetgrass Plus range. These products also contain sodium which consistently improves forage palatability driving increases in dry matter intake, grass utilisation and animal performance. Changing from a standard grazing fertiliser to either Vita-Grass or Sweetgrass Plus is a highly cost-effective way of increasing both the nutrient density and intake of forage.” concludes Abby.