Oct 30, 2016
There’s a school of thought seemingly prevalent among the science and farming communities in NZ that, although changes are required to soil fertility systems in order to stem further environmental damage, they can be made by tweaking the existing urea fuelled...
Aug 30, 2016
The collapsed dairy milk price and the downturn in sheepmeat export prices has caused a sudden flurry of promotion for good management of permanent pasture. The advice has emanated from all levels and related organisations, many of which had formerly been passive...
May 30, 2016
The last dolomite article contained the quote by the late Tom Walker, a past Emeritus Professor of Soil Science at Lincoln University, “It makes good sense to me to correct animal deficiencies through the soil and the plant.” When animal deficiencies are corrected in...
Feb 28, 2016
Some things change over time, and others don’t, with one certainty being the daily demand for magnesium by dairy cows, particularly prior to calving. Without adequate daily intake of magnesium a wide range of health problems occur – at one end of the scale lower...
Sep 30, 2015
In years of low income, nitrogen sales rise relative to phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur inputs on the basis that nitrogen produces the cheapest supplementary feed. There’s an attitude that soil nutrients can be mined for a period of time and replenished at a later...
Jul 30, 2015
“We can no longer afford to think in terms of N P and K; we must include S and Mg.” This statement is from an article titled, Magnesium – Cinderella of NZ Agriculture, written 50 years ago by M.R.J. Toxopeus a scientist at the Ruakura Research Centre. The continued...
