There are a number of certainties we all live by and right now the two that spring to mind are: future weather patterns cannot accurately be predicted, and dry spells are eventually followed by significant rain.
A philosophy that we adopted years ago and is the basis of all sound long-term wealth building programmes is that buying quality results in a much better long term outcome than buying the cheapest.
When money is scarce the cheapest might look like a great option however those that have paid more for higher quality inevitably receive a better result, even when they have bought less.
Is the philosophy of the conventional fertiliser providers that the only criterion for nutrient purchase is cost per kilogram of nutrient starting to unravel? Can we be certain that the response by soils to the cheapest fertiliser products is the same as that to higher quality nutrient inputs?
Could recent revelations about the levels of cadmium in our soils as a result of years of applying phosphorus with high cadmium content, and the removal of DCD’s from the market place, be just the start of the conventional system starting to crumble?
Although we have been told that AgResearch, after the removal of DCDs, still has seven tools in its toolbox capable of solving the nitrate nitrogen leaching problem, urea is still being recommended, with what appears scant regard for the steady increase in nitrate nitrogen levels in water ways in districts where dairying is strong.
This advice would be a little more understandable if the only options currently available resulted in lower farm production and a loss of farmer’s livelihoods.
The dismissal of anything other than lowest cost water soluble nutrient products followed by increasingly large dollops of nitrogen as “organic” resulting in half as much growth is demeaning to both those peddling the message and farmers at large.
Farmers are a savvy bunch of people and though they might not wish to publicly admit it they are environmentalists at heart. It’s perhaps the advice they have received from those they trust that has resulted in confusion, misunderstanding, and poor buying decisions.
The Berryman property at Otakiri near Edgecumbe will have grown in the twelve months to the end of April close to 14 tonne of dry matter per hectare, down from 18.4 tonne last year.
The district average last season was 14.8 tonne so this season provides us with a better understanding of the frustration by farmers in the district, even when weather is favourable. Independent analyses from the last two seasons showed the Berryman property to be growing 30% more feed than district average.
The Berryman property uses a DoloZest/CalciZest based nutrient programme, that also includes phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur, but little nitrogen fertiliser, and this season none at all, as moisture not nitrogen has been the limiting factor for the last six months.
Now in the ninth year of the programme the requirement for fertiliser N has steadily reduced and the Nitrate N levels in groundwater from the property are less than 5.65ppm, the level rated “good” by the Ministry for the Environment.
With 9,400kg/ha of nitrogen in the top 30cm of the soil and around 200kgN/ha plant available at any one time there is no requirement for fertiliser N, either now or at any time in the near future.
With Nitrate N levels being a good indicator of the levels of other nutrient being leached the on-going requirement for other major growth nutrients also steadily decreases. This autumn’s nutrient input contains calcium, magnesium, live fungi and bacteria along with boron to also ensure maximum energy in every mouthful of feed during winter. For more information, please call Peter on 0800 436 566