Below are monthly articles and small excerpts, to read the full article please click on the blue heading.
Timing is Everything - December 2011
Soon after purchasing our first farm a neighbour informed us that we should be wary of working in with the neighbour on the other side when it came to hay making as he nearly always managed to get his hay wet. It had happened so frequently that it had become part of the local folk lore.
Our observation was that he always planned to cut at the start of a forecasted period of fine weather, but because his gear was stored under old macrocapa trees and had not been serviced since last used it inevitably took two or three days to drag it out and get it functioning again. By then the next spell of wet weather was closing in and invariably rain arrived before baling.
Quality and Quantity in the Same Basket - 21st November 2011 - Peter Burton
Farmers often dismiss the option of changes to their soil fertility programmes on the basis that they would very much like to grow better quality feed and produce higher quality milk, meat, or whatever else it is that they are growing, but they can’t make changes as they cannot afford to grow less.
One of the principles of any soil based growing system is that quality and quantity come in the same basket, a principle that every pastoral farmer observes the evidence of on a daily basis.
Summer Pests and Soil Conditions - 19th October 2011 - Peter Burton
An important concept to grasp is that clover flea and weevil, along with grass grub and beetles of various colour arrive in abundance because conditions favour them. These conditions typically come with warmer late spring and early summer temperatures.
Every season the pest pressure varies with some seasons bringing more of one and less of another. This is because each year our climatic conditions differ from previous.
More for Less - 9th September 2011 - Peter Burton
Is each individual farm’s financial viability becoming increasingly delicate with the demand for ever- increasing farm production?
We have a client, previously a farm banker who states that the farm clients with the greatest financial surplus each year were those that best controlled their costs. He also claims that almost without exception these farms were geographically the most isolated, which is another study all of its own.
Making Use of Farm Information - 17th August 2011 - Peter Burton
A farmer recently provided a set of test results of soil taken from his property. The Olsen P figures, the only measure of phosphorus reported, ranged from 35 – 70 with the median being 44.
With the Confidence Interval of 5 ± 2 for the Olsen test, the area with a test figure of 35 may contain no less phosphorus than that the area with test figure of 70.
If we add to that information the fact that all areas had received much the same amount of phosphorus over the last twenty years, then the median result of 44 may be a more relevant figure. Historic soil test results and accurate phosphorus input during the time between the tests also helps make sense of test results.
Enhancing Natural Systems - 6th July 2011 - Peter Burton
A genuine question by a dairy farmer client was recently asked. “ If hundreds of kilograms of nitrogen per hectare are required to grow our pasture each year and we are only applying 20kg/ha as fertiliser where does the rest come from?”
The Future of Soil Fertility - 15th June 2011 - Peter Burton
One of the great advantages of working with family owned and operated farming enterprises is the historical perspective they are able to provide and of late there has been an increased discussion regarding pasture production now compared to the late 70’s and early 80’s.
Those of us that have had the privilege of being involved in pastoral farming for that period of time or longer are aware that although total farm production, particularly milk solid production from dairy farms, has increased significantly since 1980 this does not necessarily reflect a similar increase in pasture production.
An Hour in the Paddock - 19th May 2011 - Peter Burton
At 3.15 in the afternoon a high producing, and still milking, herd of dairy cows were contentedly grazing a fresh break of pasture. Content because most were simply standing and grazing with jaws working at single speed, close to 50 bites per minute. Overhead conditions were cloudy, with brief chilly showers, and just the odd patch of direct autumn sunlight.
A high fibre high-energy supplement had been fed out yet pasture was preferred. Admittedly the haylage was not the best quality this herd has dined on but certainly good quality filler.
Change is Challenging - 18th April 2011 - Peter Burton
With a reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus leaching required, and regulation imminent, many in the rural community have concerns. Fundamental change in any system when forced by regulation is at best messy.
An acceptance that change is necessary, the resources necessary for seamless change, and a reasonable time frame in which to implement, are prerequisites for fundamental change in our farming systems to occur.
Dolomite - Providing a Foundation - 10th March 2011 - Peter Burton
Dolomite because it typically contains 24% calcium and 11.5% magnesium, both in the carbonate form, has a liming (pH modifying) effect when applied to soil.
As a result beneficial soil life is stimulated. It is very difficult to measure beneficial soil microbes as we don’t know a great deal about what is there or what ought to be there and by the time the counting process is underway populations will have changed.
Reducing Nitrate Leaching - 17th February 2011 - Peter Burton
The water we presently have is the only water there is. Water can be treated and filtered in all manner of ways however as clean fresh drinking water is crucial to our long-term enjoyment of life, good health, and ultimate survival, maintaining the quality of it is the best option.
There is genuine and well founded concern by some farming leaders regarding the survival of intensive dairying in the sensitive lake water catchment areas of the Bay of Plenty. The nitrate leaching levels that will need to be met will be markedly less than present.
Decision Making Simplified - 14th January 2011 - Peter Burton
The rule is simple, feed magnesium to cows prior to calving and calcium after, or is it? We grew up with the knowledge that feeding magnesium prior to calving helped with the release of calcium from the animals own reserves.
As cows got older and bones hardened calcium availability declined and the likelihood of metabolic disorders increased.
Hay and Silage Paddock Fertiliser - 7th December 2010 - Peter Burton
We receive calls and emails from customers asking what they should apply to hay and silage paddocks after harvesting. There are a number of factors to consider before reaching an answer.
The potassium content of pasture is typically around 4%, with phosphorus around 0.4% or one tenth that of potassium. Potassium is the element removed in the greatest quantity and therefore the nutrient most commonly replaced.
Applying Simple Logic Can Provide Answers - 7th November 2010 - Peter Burton
The logic is sound but could the premise be wrong? Nitrogen is an essential growth element as are calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, and a number of other elements.
The absence of one or more will limit growth, however does simply applying more of any single element necessarily increase total growth over a twelve-month period?
The Importance of Mycchorizal Fungi - 13th October 2010 - Peter Burton
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 programmes already exist and are practised widely throughout New Zealand. They are based on information and experience gathered over decades of work here and overseas.
Clover the Best Option for Summer - 20th September 2010 - Peter Burton
Pasture provides the lowest cost feed and thirty years ago we were told that it was a total feed, nothing else was required.
It became apparent, particularly during spring when wet and cold dominated and each minute of direct sunlight was savoured, that increased energy made available to stock was rapidly devoured and often resulted in improved performance.
At that time there was no easy measure of plant energy nor were there any well-publicised techniques for increasing the amount of energy able to be converted by plants. Pasture can vary markedly in energy from one property to another depending on nutrient inputs and management.
Improving Soil Drainage Naturally - 20th August 2010, Peter Burton
Drainage is the topic uppermost in many farmers and growers minds right now. The rainfall during the last few weeks has exceeded the ability of a number of drainage systems.
The rain has been relatively warm, sparking quite strong growth, with soil temperatures even in the coldest areas of the Bay of Plenty regularly exceeding 10°C.
An average daily soil temperature of 10°C is the temperature required for nutrient availability high enough to provide increased pasture growth.
Easing the Pressure at Home - 11th July 2010, Peter Burton
One of the most notable benefits from the DoloZest and CalciZest based soil nutrient programmes is the reduction in mud and pasture damage during winter.
The ability to stand heavy animals on pasture during periods of heavy rain with little soil damage is due to steadily improving physical soil structures resulting from regular applications.
Enhancing Natural Soil Systems - 19th June 2010, Peter Burton
The concept that natural systems tend to wellness is for some difficult to understand and comprehend when so much of our work in any farming system is based on preventing illness and dealing with unwanted pest and disease.
Fear is a very strong emotion that drives much activity. It seems that taking action to prevent something undesirable that may or may not occur is a stronger motivator than taking action to enhance desirable outcomes.
The Importance of Soil Humus - 13th May 2010, Peter Burton
Humus The more or less stable fraction of the soil organic matter remaining after the major portions of added plant and animal residues have decomposed. Usually it is dark in colour.
The Nature and Properties of Soils 13th edition Brady Weil
A simple field test comparing the colour of the topsoil under a long-term existing fence line with the same depth of soil from a representative sample of a grazed area indicates whether a soil is gaining or losing humus/carbon, or relatively neutral.
Enhancing the Performance of Dolomite - 13th April 2010, Peter Burton
Dolomite mined at Mt Burnett near Collingwood comes to the North Island via a number of routes. In the 1950’s dolomite was transported from Tarakohe to Wanganui using a scow. Scows are relatively small flat-bottomed vessels capable of being grounded on the beach, loaded, and floated off at the next high tide.
More recently most of the dolomite has been trucked the 40km from the mine near Collingwood to Tarakohe where it was loaded into barges and towed to the Port of Wanganui.
With the almost inevitable increase in the price of conventional fertilisers, many long-term pastoral farmers and horticulturists are attempting to evaluate the claims of companies offering more eco-friendly, sustainable, and cost-effective products.
There is likely to be an element of truth in the claims made by all sellers of ‘fertiliser’, however as there is no single product that meets all nutrient requirements there are two questions that can be asked.
Experience provides a unique perspective. Regular nitrogen fertiliser use and the feeding of high-energy supplements are recent developments in dairy farming, little contemplated or used prior to 1990.
Prior to 1990, the key management consideration was matching cow numbers, calving dates, and feeding levels, with natural grass growth patterns. Financial success was largely dependant on the ability to get that equation finely balanced.
Dolomite, Unique and Dependable Performance - 10th January 2010, Peter Burton.
With the growing awareness that soil fertility is primarily driven by calcium, as well as the importance of magnesium for robust animal health, dolomite from Golden Bay is once again becoming the preferred autumn magnesium fertiliser for many farmers nationwide.
During the 1960s and 70s when there appeared a greater appreciation of the importance of the farming to the financial well-being of the nation the cost of the cartage component of dolomite to farm was subsidised.
The three properties that Eco-Logic Soil Improvement monitors have produced fascinating results for the month of November.
Galatea (irrigated) 88kgDM/ha/day (79% increase over November ’08)
Reporoa 79kgDM/ha/day (20% increase over November ’08)
Edgecumbe 76kgDM/ha/day (22% increase over November ’08)
It's OK to Look! - 17th November 2009, Peter Burton
Farmers that increased cow numbers this season are now lamenting the fact that this was not the season to have done so, and they are right.
Spring growth has been markedly less than usual and there is insufficient time in November to make up the shortfall.
Why is it that some farms have throughout the last three months had plentiful pasture to feed their herds whilst neighbouring farms have applied nitrogen, and bought in feed?
The answer is obviously not climatic. Management is the correct answer.
Reducing Dependence on Nitrogen Fertiliser - 24th September 2009, Peter Burton
Uncertainty still surrounds farm incomes over the next twelve months however all the signs are presently positive, so the worst possible scenarios of 6 months ago appear to be dissipating.
Fertiliser is expenditure able to be reduced or eliminated, with many farmers taking one of the options in autumn. Farms with a good history of nutrient inputs are able to withstand periods of no nutrient input without markedly jeopardising pasture production. How long depends on the factors of soil storage capacity, total soil nutrient, soil condition, and production demands.
The level of energy in pasture plants during spring has a marked influence on the total season’s production.
Cows that do not lose weight after calving are able to produce more during the coming season. It is simply more efficient to maintain or gain weight during lactation than losing it in spring and attempting to gain it again at some other time.
On an increasing number of farms during the last six seasons fertiliser nitrogen has been reduced or completely removed without any loss in pasture production and with an impressive range of benefits.
Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and when any growing system has become dependent on regular applications of fertiliser nitrogen, the rapid removal of part or all will result in less growth.
It has often been said that what grows above the ground is the visual manifestation of what grows below.
The most productive soils are those with the best physical structures and the greatest amount of humus.
DoloZest, the unique soil improver form Eco-Logic Soil Improvement, speeds the breakdown of litter on the soil surface, improves physical soil structures and increases humus formation.
Stimulating Growth with DoloZest - 24th April 2009, Peter Burton
All of the intensive dairy farm feed budgets viewed recently indicate pasture covers to be lower than desired for this time of the year. This is not surprising because until very recently in most areas there has been insufficient rain for optimum autumn growth.
With soil temperatures still around 15°C there is still the possibility of strong growth before the end of May. Much will depend on how quickly cold southerlies follow warm northerly rain.
The current price of imported phosphorus and potassium are such that for many farmers they are unaffordable, at least at the traditional autumn application rate.
The advice being given by some advisers, and obviously taken seriously by many farmers, is to not apply this autumn and wait until prices drop in spring.
The vast majority of farmers appreciate the privileges of land ownership are balanced equally with the responsibility to nurture that fragile resource, and manage their farms accordingly.
Eco-Logic Soil Improvement have developed products and systems that enable farmers to enhance the effectiveness of applied nutrient, reduce leaching losses, and sequester carbon, while steadily increasing pasture and animal production.
December growth rates on our monitor properties were back to normal or better after slightly lower than usual spring growth.
With cages yet to be cut it is anticipated that January growth will be modest due to rainfall providing less moisture than that lost through evaporation.
Spring and early summer growth this season has been less than normal, feed quality lower, and unless there is substantial rain soon summer will again be drier than ideal.
There are lessons to be taken and the first lesson is that we have no control over climatic conditions, and each season provides us with a unique mix.
The question voiced by some and probably thought by a great many more is “why add extra bugs to the soil when it is already teeming with uncountable numbers?”
The answer is that, provided the ones being applied are beneficial and supported by sufficient food and minerals for their establishment, as is the case with those incorporated in CalciZest and DoloZest, the results are always positive.
Normal Spring Growth? - 25th October 2008, Peter Burton
Pasture growth during the second half of October appears to have been slower than hoped for, however until we have cages cut, grass weighed and growth rates calculated we won’t know by how much.
Fertility patches both dung and urine have been quite marked and clover samples taken recently may provide us with some useful information.
A Change in Focus - 20th August 2008, Peter Burton
With the cost of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur about double that of last year the need to change focus may well pay dividends.
Often the number of animals on a property is a figure arbitrarily decided on with little regard to the ability to feed those animals particularly during winter and early spring.
With recent massive price increases in traditional fertiliser products containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur, there are now two words that should be foremost in the mind when deciding on any fertiliser product, effectiveness and efficiency.
We’ve walked through dairy cows in late afternoon two weeks prior to calving and received no special attention. Most have remained sitting and ruminating, with a small number finishing the last few blades of grass available, and not a sound apart from the steady breathing of content heavily pregnant animals.
EDGECUMBE share-milker David Law has increased his grass output by 26 per cent in five years– by walking away from urea.
“We started off using urea and growing 14 tonnes of dry matter per hectare – we’re now growing 17.7 tonnes,” he said.
“I’m growing more grass than I ever have.”
Misconceptions can be sometimes be difficult to change particularly when they have originated from organisations or people who we regard as authorities.
The misconception that is of greatest concern at present is that pastoral farming is a net polluter and farmers will therefore need to purchase carbon credits at some point.
Monitoring over a period of years indicates that properties where DoloZest has been applied regularly are benefiting from steadily increasing total pasture and animal production.
The application of the essential elements phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium, and magnesium are essential for maximising pasture production and hence the profitability of pastoral farmers.
At the time of writing most areas have received substantial rain during the last month and the lighter ash soils in the Whakatane, Rotorua, and Taupo regions are now sufficiently moist for strong grass growth.
A recent newspaper article stated “New measurements by Landcare Research show that some soils have lost up to 21 tonnes of carbon/ha, and up to 1.8t of nitrogen.”
The same article also contained the following paragraph, “Roger Parfitt, Landcare Research, says scientists are astounded at the size of the losses in carbon and nitrogen when they sampled the old Soil Bureau sites in 2002 to 2004, but don’t know whether it happened in the last 10 to 20 years or whether it’s a continuing change.”
Application of DoloZest with autumn fertiliser will boost overall production. Cage cuts from the monitored dairy farm at Edgecumbe showed total growth for the twelve months to the end of August ’07 to be 17,668 kg DM/ha.
That’s a 26% increase over the 14,000 kg DM/ha grown on the property the year previous to our involvement 4 years ago. The 14,000 kg DM/ha figure was achieved with the use of 100 kg N/ha.
The quantity of feed grown in autumn and early winter will largely be dictated by three factors; soil moisture, temperature, and biological activity.
Soil moisture, unless irrigating, and soil temperature are largely outside our control, however soil biology and physical soil structures can be positively influenced.
