The importance of mycorrhizal fungi, October 2010

With fundamental changes now taking place in the way in which soil fertility is viewed there is an increasing demand for nutrient programmes that deliver at least as much pasture production without the need for regular applications of fertiliser nitrogen. These...

Positive news from Golden Bay, Sept 2010

There are some very positive things happening in the soil nutrient industry that those of us, who have been involved for over twenty years, find genuinely exciting. There is an increasing ground swell of opinion amongst farmers and growers that a fundamental change in...

Enhancing spring performance with dolomite, July 2010

The last article focused on information from a letter written by the late Les Hawill to a farmer client in the Waikato.  He claimed that with increased use of dolomite “the economy could bloom like never before.” That claim may at first seem somewhat extravagant,...

Dolomite, an historical perspective. June 2010

One of the challenges of writing a monthly article related to dolomite is isolating a single aspect of the effect of dolomite on pasture when its influence is so far reaching. Ultimately it is the most effective magnesium fertiliser available although not always the...

The trace mineral content of dolomite, May 2010

Fish and seaweed are used as the basis of healthy growth promoting foliar fertilisers that used in the right place, at the right time, and at the right rate, provide pleasing results. Much of the credit for the improvement in plant quality and palatability resulting...

Dolomite – too dear? April 2010

Dolomite has never been called ineffective.  My introduction to dolomite was during the first spring of my dairy farming career when helping with another cow down at calving the owner muttered, “we never had these problems when we used dolomite”. The questions were,...