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Lime: How to
assess value for money?
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Generally, what you pay for is what you
get. i.e. the cheaper it is, generally the lower the quality. Before you buy any liming material, check these
details.
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Neutralising
value (NV) NV tells you the lime's capacity to neutralise soil acidity. Pure calcium
carbonate has NV of 100, which is the standard. Ideally, NV should be over 95. |
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Fineness
(Effective NV) The finer the particles of lime, the faster they react with soil. Lime
manufacturers have to specify the percentages of different-sized particles in their product. |
Then check out the value for money You can compare the value of different liming materials
by checking NV and Effective NV against the soil-applied cost.
(The following model does not apply to Gypsum because it is not intended to reduce soil acidity - the
degree of solubility of a gypsum is a primary measure of effective quality; the higher the solubility, the higher
the effective quality )
Calculation:
(Effective NV x NV)
÷ 100 =
Efficiency
(Spread cost x 100)
÷ Efficiency = Effective
cost
For example:
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Lime A
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Lime B
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Applied cost: $40/tonne (spread)
ENV: 39
NV: 78
Efficiency: (39 × 78) ÷ 100 = 30.4
Effective cost: ($40 × 100) ÷ 30.4 = $131.58/tonne
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Applied cost: $55/tonne (spread)
ENV: 100
NV: 104
Efficiency: (100 × 104) ÷ 100 = 104
Effective cost: ($55 × 100) ÷ 104 = $52.88/tonne
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Lime B, even though $15/tonne more to buy and apply, is comparatively much ‘cheaper’ because its far more efficient
at neutralising acidity than Lime A.
Lime A & B are
actual lime products available from quarries in South Australia. Even though Lime A is $15/tonne less to buy & apply,
Lime B is what we recommend. This is because the efficiency of Lime B is nearly 3.5 times better than Lime
A. We only offer products that
offer the best 'Effective Cost'....i.e. best value for money.
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