Agraforum BioN Grew 10% More Pasture Than Urea.
Here’s How the Trial Was Measured.
Across Agraforum’s completed Mid Canterbury trial programme, Agraforum BioN produced approximately 10% more cumulative pasture than urea. That is a strong result. The trial ran over a whole season from calving until dry off, with the first cut in October 2025 and the final cut in April 2026. But the number only matters if the trial behind it was fair, repeatable, and measured properly.
The Agraforum BioN trial programme was not based on modelling, projections, visual assessment, or one good paddock. It was based on harvested pasture, measured dry matter, replicated plot design, independent laboratory analysis, and scientific oversight.
The question behind the programme was straightforward:
Can Agraforum BioN reduce the need for repeated urea rounds while still delivering strong cumulative pasture growth?
The completed data gives growers something useful to work with.
Not a product claim. Not a short-term spike.
A measured comparison between Agraforum BioN and urea under real New Zealand farming conditions.
Latest Cumulative Trial Results
Agraforum BioN: 17,173 kg DM/ha
Urea: 15,666 kg DM/ha
Difference: +1,508 kg DM/ha
Result: Approximately 10% more cumulative
dry matter with Agraforum BioN.
Why this Trial matters
Nitrogen planning is under pressure. Growers are managing input cost, timing, production targets, nitrogen limits, and seasonal variability, often all at once. Urea has been the standard nitrogen tool for a long time, and it still has a place in many systems. The issue is not whether urea works. It does.
The more useful question is whether growers can reduce reliance on repeated urea applications without giving up pasture production.
Agraforum BioN was tested against that question. Rather than applying synthetic nitrogen units directly, Agraforum BioN uses living soil biology to help fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into usable nutrition for pasture growth. The trial was designed to assess whether that biological nitrogen pathway could support strong cumulative pasture growth when compared with urea.
That distinction is important. A short-term response after application is only one part of nitrogen planning. What ultimately matters is how much feed is grown across the programme, how reliably that feed is produced, and how many applications are needed to get there.
A real New Zealand trial programme, not modelling
The trial results are based on real pasture grown and harvested across
four Mid Canterbury farms. Pasture was weighed wet at harvest, dried, and measured as dry matter in kg DM/ha. That gives a practical and comparable measure of feed grown.
There was no modelling or projection used to produce the headline result.
The data comes from pasture physically harvested from trial plots and analysed as dry matter.
This matters because visual growth, colour, or paddock impression can be misleading. Dry matter tells a clearer story because it measures actual usable feed.
The trial programme also ran across multiple cuts and growing periods, rather than relying on a single response window. That makes the result more useful for nitrogen planning because it reflects cumulative performance over time.
How the trial was designed to be fair
To ensure the comparison was fair, repeatable, and defensible, the Agraforum BioN trial programme followed a replicated plot design across the four Mid Canterbury trial farms.
The trials commenced in February 2024 and concluded with the final assessment cut on 30 April 2026. This was not a quick seasonal observation or a one-off paddock comparison. It was a multi-season trial programme designed to track performance across repeated pasture cuts.
Using randomly selected plots within the same paddock area helps reduce selection bias. Replication helps reduce the risk of a result being driven by one unusually strong or weak patch of pasture. Including untreated control plots helps account for background pasture growth and natural variation.
The result is a more balanced comparison between treatments, with Agraforum BioN and urea assessed under the same paddock conditions rather than across separate areas with different histories, soil characteristics, or management.
The trial design included:
• Four Mid Canterbury trial farms
• 30 randomly selected plots within the same
paddock area at each site
• 10 plots treated with BioN
• 10 plots treated with urea
• 10 untreated control plots
• Same-day cutting within each trial
• Independent dry matter analysis
• Results reported as kg DM/ha
• Scientific oversight from Dr Gordon Rajendram
How pasture growth was measured
Each trial followed a defined growth and harvest process. Plots were left to grow for a period matching the grazing round length for that time of year. All plots within each trial were then cut on the same day or just after, so htat BioN, urea, and control treatments could be compared fairly.
Fresh pasture from each plot was weighed as wet matter. Samples were then bagged and sent for independent laboratory dry matter analysis, with dry matter percentage analysed by Canterbury Feed Assessment Ltd. Results were expressed as kg DM/ha, allowing a direct comparison of actual feed grown between treatments.
The trial also accounted for nutrient return. After harvest, 70% of the harvested wet matter from each plot was spread back over the plot to mimic the nutrient return from cows through urine and faeces. That is a useful detail because it shows the trial was not trying to strip the system into an artificial lab-style environment. It was designed to reflect the kind of nutrient cycling that occurs in real grazing systems.
The treatment pattern was also clear. Urea plots received 18.4 units of nitrogen per hectare in the form of urea granules immediately following each cut. Agraforum BioN plots were treated every eight to nine weeks, approximately every third cut over the warmer months.
Why the data is defensible
The strength of this trial sits in the process. Replicated plots, untreated controls, same-day cutting, independent laboratory testing, and scientific oversight all help make the result more robust.
Replication matters because pasture growth is naturally variable. By using multiple plots within the same paddock area, the trial reduces the risk of one location skewing the result.
“Control plots matter because they provide a baseline.”
Pasture grows without applied treatment too, and untreated controls help show what background growth is occurring in the same paddock conditions.
Independent dry matter analysis matters because it provides a consistent measurement of actual feed grown. Without dry matter testing, differences in moisture can make pasture look heavier or lighter than it really is. Dry matter analysis helps separate true biomass production from water content.
Scientific oversight matters because trial methodology and interpretation need to stand up agronomically. The Agraforum BioN trial methodology and interpretation were overseen by Dr Gordon Rajendram, a respected New Zealand soil scientist, to help ensure the results were independent, agronomically sound, and statistically meaningful.
How real farm variables were handled
Real farm trials are valuable because they happen under real farming conditions. They also come with real farm variables. Weather, stock movement, soil moisture, day-to-day management, and paddock history all influence how pasture performs.
During the final assessment period, two trial sites experienced significant stock contamination events.
This created uneven nutrient loading across plots, with repeated cattle urination and dung deposition causing abnormal pasture responses.
Rather than include compromised data, those sites were excluded from the cumulative yield calculations for the final cut. That decision is important. It shows the trial process protected the fairness of the comparison rather than forcing messy data into the final result.
Excluding compromised data is not a weakness in the trial. It is part of good scientific discipline. If a treatment comparison has been affected by an outside variable, it should be treated carefully. In this case, removing those contaminated final-cut results helped maintain a fair and defensible comparison between Agraforum BioN and urea.
What the results
showed
When assessed cumulatively across the Mid Canterbury trial programme, Agraforum BioN delivered the strongest overall dry matter production.
Average cumulative dry matter yield per farm:
Agraforum BioN: 17,173 kg DM/ha
Urea: 15,666 kg DM/ha
Difference: +1,508 kg DM/ha
Result: Approximately 9.6% more cumulative dry matter with Agraforum BioN.
Put simply, Agraforum BioN grew approximately 10% more pasture than urea across the completed programme.
That result matters because it was measured across multiple cuts, rather than being based on one short response window. Across the individual cuts, Agraforum BioN consistently delivered higher dry matter yields, building a clear cumulative advantage over time.
For growers, this is the useful part. Nitrogen programmes are not judged by what happens in one week after application. They are judged by how much feed they help grow across the season and how well that feed supports the wider system.
Why cumulative dry matter is the right measure
A single pasture cut can show a response, but it does not tell the full story. Some nitrogen inputs can create a sharp lift, then drop away. Others may contribute more gradually. Looking only at one cut can overstate or understate the value of a programme depending on when the measurement is taken.
Cumulative dry matter gives a fuller view. It tracks total feed grown over multiple cuts, which is much closer to how growers actually make decisions. Feed supply needs to be managed across grazing rounds, not just immediately after a nitrogen application.
That is why the Agraforum BioN result is significant. The trial did not simply show that Agraforum BioN could create a visible response.
It showed that Agraforum BioN could produce more cumulative dry matter than urea across the completed programme.
For a grower reviewing nitrogen strategy, cumulative dry matter is one of the most practical measures available. It connects the science back to feed grown, pasture supply, and programme performance.
What this means
for growers
The completed trial data shows Agraforum BioN can reduce reliance on repeated urea applications while supporting strong cumulative pasture growth under suitable conditions.
That does not mean every farm should remove urea from its programme entirely. Synthetic nitrogen can still have a role, particularly when soil temperatures are too low for biological activity or when conditions are not suitable for Agraforum BioN performance.
The more practical message is that growers now have measured New Zealand data showing Agraforum BioN can carry a greater share of the nitrogen programme through the warmer growing periods. That gives growers another option when planning feed supply, input timing, and nitrogen use.
The key point is not that Agraforum BioN removes nitrogen from the system.
It changes where some of that nitrogen comes from.
Using Agraforum BioN allows growers to:
• Reduce reliance on repeated urea rounds under suitable conditions
• Maintain strong pasture growth through key growing periods
• Build a nitrogen strategy that depends less on short-term nitrogen spikes
• Keep synthetic nitrogen available for strategic use when conditions require it
• Support planning around nitrogen limits and the N Cap
• Use biological nitrogen fixation as part of a wider pasture production system
How Agraforum BioN works differently to urea
Urea applies synthetic nitrogen directly. Agraforum BioN works through biological nitrogen fixation.
Every paddock sits under a sky that is approximately 78% nitrogen, but pasture cannot use nitrogen gas on its own. Agraforum BioN introduces living bacteria into the soil that capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into plant-available forms such as ammonium, nitrates, and amino acids.
That is a different pathway from urea, and it needs to be understood on its own terms. Agraforum BioN should not be treated as urea in a different bag.
It is a biological system that relies on living soil activity, suitable temperature, and moisture.
Under the right conditions, the biology continues releasing nitrogen for at least eight to 10 weeks after application, depending on conditions. This helps explain why Agraforum BioN can support growth across a longer window rather than relying only on a short-term synthetic nitrogen response.
Agraforum BioN is simple to apply, but correct conditions are critical to performance. Because it works through living biology, timing and paddock conditions matter.
Recommended application:
Rate: 100 g/ha I Carrier: water
Water volume: high water volume is critical.
Timing: apply when soil temperatures are consistently above 12°C.
Moisture: best applied just before or during irrigation or rainfall.
This is why local advice matters. BioN should be planned into a nitrogen programme properly, rather than treated as a simple swap-in input.
Soil temperature, moisture, seasonal timing, and the wider farm system all affect where it will fit best.
The
practical
takeaway
The completed Mid Canterbury trial programme gives growers a stronger evidence base for reviewing nitrogen strategy.
Agraforum BioN grew approximately 10% more cumulative pasture than urea across the completed trial programme. The result was based on harvested pasture, replicated plots, independent dry matter analysis, and scientific oversight. Compromised final-cut data was excluded to protect the fairness of the comparison.
For growers, the message is clear. Reducing reliance on repeated urea applications does not have to mean accepting lower pasture production.
Under suitable conditions, Agraforum BioN offers a measured, biological nitrogen option that can support strong cumulative feed growth.
Want to see where Agraforum BioN could fit into your nitrogen programme?
Download the full Agraforum BioN trial report here.
to talk through the Data for your farm.
FAQs
Did Agraforum BioN outperform urea in the completed trial programme?
Yes. Across Agraforum’s completed Mid Canterbury trial programme, BioN averaged 17,173 kg DM/ha compared with urea at 15,666 kg DM/ha. That is an average lift of 1,508 kg DM/ha, or approximately 9.6% more cumulative dry matter.
Was the BioN trial measured scientifically?
Yes. The trial used replicated plots, untreated controls, same-day cutting within each trial, independent laboratory dry matter analysis, and scientific oversight from Dr Gordon Rajendram. Pasture was harvested, weighed, dried, and reported as kg DM/ha.
Was the result based on modelling?
No. The result was based on harvested pasture. Pasture from each plot was weighed wet, dried, and measured as dry matter. The final comparison reflects measured feed grown, not modelling or projection.
Why were control plots used?
Control plots help show background pasture growth under the same paddock conditions. This makes the treatment comparison stronger because BioN and urea can be assessed against a baseline, rather than being interpreted in isolation.
Why does cumulative dry matter matter?
Cumulative dry matter shows total feed grown across multiple cuts. A single cut can show a short-term response, but nitrogen programmes need to support feed supply across the season. Cumulative dry matter gives growers a clearer measure of programme performance over time.
Why were some sites excluded from the final cut calculation?
During the final assessment period, two sites experienced significant stock contamination, creating uneven nutrient loading across plots. Those sites were excluded from the cumulative yield calculations for the final cut to maintain a fair and defensible comparison between treatments.
Can BioN replace all urea?
BioN can reduce reliance on repeated urea rounds under suitable conditions, particularly when soil temperature and moisture support biological activity. Synthetic nitrogen may still have a place when conditions are not suitable, such as when soil temperatures fall below 12°C or when a strategic application is required.
When should BioN be applied?
BioN should be applied at 100 g/ha using water as the carrier and high water volume. It should be applied when soil temperatures are consistently above 12°C, ideally just before or during rainfall or irrigation.
Who should I contact about using BioN?
Call Allan or Mike at Agraforum on 0800 488 118, or visit agraforum.co.nz to download the full trial report and talk through where BioN could fit into your nitrogen programme.
