Get in touch
Got a question, want to book a soil test or place an order? We’d love to hear from you - there’s nothing we love more than chatting about healthier soil, animals and farms. Call us on 0508 678 464 or drop us a note, and we’ll be in touch in two shakes.
Get in touch
Got a question, want to book a soil test or place an order? We’d love to hear from you - there’s nothing we love more than chatting about healthier soil, animals and farms. Call us on 0508 678 464 or drop us a note, and we’ll be in touch in two shakes.
Targeted fine-lime fertiliser designed for uniform root-zone response, rapid soil availability and total application control
Engineered for high performance soil
High performance soil demands high-performance inputs. Optimise takes pure, natural limestone micro-milled to an average of 70 microns and precision-compresses it into pellets for accurate application.
The pellets spread evenly – putting you in control of where the lime goes and making sure the nutrients land where your soil needs them most.
100t typically
covers 400ha
“Optimise is the easiest and most effective way for us to apply lime across our steep hill country. It integrates seamlessly into our fertiliser programme through oversow-top dressing. We’ve seen a noticeable lift in feed growth, with particularly strong clover performance. It's made a real difference to pasture quality and overall productivity.”
Andrew, Lake Taylor Station
Why pelletising changes everything
Uniform pellets break down rapidly on contact with soil moisture, delivering fast-acting fine-lime directly into the active root-zone.
Even spreading: Applies seamlessly through conventional equipment, ensuring an accurate, uniform distribution and consistent pH correction.
Rapid response: Pellets are the perfect delivery mechanism for high reactivity fine particle lime, putting targeted soil conditioning in your control.
More than lime: one-pass soil customisation
Modern farm operations don't run on blanket inputs – high performance soil requires balanced soil chemistry. Optimise pellets can be customised to include the exact minerals and trace elements your soil needs.
Quality nutrients are micronised and blended into stable, easy-to-spread pellets so you can address multiple soil targets and fix deficiencies simultaneously with one-pass application efficiency.
Popular blends include:
Optimise Calcium + Magnesium: Support photosynthesis and active plant energy transport.
Optimise Calcium + Sulphur: Improve soil structure, aeration, root penetration and legume performance.
Custom Trace Element Blends: Selenium, Boron, Cobalt, Copper, Zinc, and Humates formulated directly to your soil test requirements.
Take a soil test to discover precisely what your soil is missing.
“The ability to apply the right lime in the right place and its availability are its biggest strengths. We doubled up, combining sulphur with the lime to get the legumes really producing and set us up for spring.”
Charles, North Canterbury
Your schedule. Your equipment. Total control.
Optimise fits seamlessly into your standard fertiliser routine, giving you the flexibility to maintain target soil chemistry every season, every year.
- Universal compatibility: Spreads accurately and evenly through conventional ground spreaders, seed drills, farm tow-behinds and top-dressing.
- Spread the cost: Regular, fine-tuning applications help prevent pH drops and nutrient deficiencies while giving you flexibility to manage inputs and cash flow.
- Reduced soil compaction: Spread using lighter farm equipment on your own schedule – avoiding heavy machinery on soft, damp soils.
- Top-dressing advantage: Pellets provide exceptional accuracy and pilot safety for top dressing by drone, heli or plane.
Ready to get started? Let’s talk
I’m Annah – for a hassle-free quote or to book a soil test, give me a bell on 027 234 1031 or drop me an email at annah.ward@optimise.net.nz
Targeting soil deficiencies with precise applications
Soil is dynamic. Harvesting, grazing, leaching and nitrogen inputs can re-acidify your soil. Targeted applications of Optimise pellets can help buffer these shifts to keep your soil biology, chemistry and structure in balance. Because soil pH is logarithmic, seemingly small shifts represent significant changes in soil chemistry – a shift of just 0.5 points makes the soil over three times more acidic or alkaline.
Particle size is the key to your soil’s response rate – the finer the inputs, the greater the surface area, and the faster the results. The key is to apply the right nutrients in the right quantities for your soil’s needs. Heavy clay and soils high in organic matter have a higher buffering capacity, requiring up to 60% more lime to achieve the same pH shift compared to lighter, sandy soils.
Typical Application Rates
The typical rate for Optimise is 250 kg/ha, but soil conditions and needs vary. Here's an example of how application rates can be tailored based on soil type.
Target pH increase | Low CEC e.g. Sand/Silt | High CEC e.g. Clay/High Organic Matter |
|---|---|---|
pH Shift: +0.2 pH | 250 kg/ha | 400 kg/ha |
pH Shift: +0.4 pH | 500 kg/ha |
800 kg/ha |
Click here for our trial data.
Soil chemistry: The mechanics of high performance soil
Soil is a complex living eco-system and soil pH is more than a number – it’s the master switch that controls nutrient availability, soil structure, and microbial life.
- Calcium and soil structure: Essential for improving soil aeration, water infiltration, and root penetration. Healthy calcium balance gives active soil microbes the environment they need to cycle organic matter naturally.
- Unlocking NPK availability: In acidic soils, valuable macro-nutrients like Phosphorus become chemically bound, while Nitrogen efficiency and Potassium uptake drop. Maintaining your target pH range ensures you extract maximum financial value from every unit of fertiliser applied.
- Mitigating aluminium toxicity: In soils with a pH below 5.4, soluble Aluminium increases, stunting root development – especially in legumes. Fine-lime rapidly mitigates aluminium pressure so roots can tap deeper moisture and nutrients.
If you want to dive deeper into soil biology and chemistry, read our guide on soil pH management for paddock performance.
“We used Optimise with trace elements added and saw immediate and outstanding results. It’s also compatible and easy to use with both the direct drill and spreader.”
How to buy Optimise
Available for direct farm delivery, from merchant depots or local freight companies - we can arrange delivery via your preferred transport company.
Minimum order 500kg. Contact your local farm merchant for 25kg bags.
Frequently asked questions
While Spring and Autumn are standard, Optimise can be applied whenever ground conditions, weather, or spreading/pilot windows allow. And you don't have to wait for zero-wind conditions either.
Optimise works exceptionally well across sandy, silty, and high-clay soils. For low Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) soils (typically sandy soils that are prone to leaching), micro-dosing Optimise more frequently keeps the soil in top condition. On high CEC soils, where minerals are held longer, more lime is required to correct pH. Get to know your CECs with our guide.
Yes. In dry areas, Optimise pellets break down readily with minimal moisture (like morning dews) to start working fast in the root zone. In high rainfall zones, micro-dosing replenishes cations stripped by heavy rainfall without over-saturating the soil.
Getting started in six easy steps
01
Start with a soil test: Identify your soil’s deficiencies, current pH and cation needs.
02
Consult: Chat with our field reps about your target application and nutrient needs.
03
Precision blending: We'll micro-mill and blend your batch at our Scargill plant using high-quality ingredients.
04
Direct delivery: To your farm, depot, or preferred freight partner.
05
Simple application: Spread using your own gear, ground contractor, or top-dressing pilot on your schedule.
06
Monitor Growth: Test annually to maintain peak soil performance
Request a soil test
To find out exactly what your soil is asking for, simply fall out this form and we'll be in touch.
