Newsletter - May 2007

May 2007

At the time of writing, warm rain is falling, soil temperatures are close to 16°C and strong autumn pasture growth continues.

Pasture production on monitored properties, this season compared to last season, range from 4.4% down to 12.7% up. Animal production has followed a similar pattern.

October was the month in which growth was furthest from normal, with cuts providing less growth than September. Since then the summer has been reasonably kind with exceptional growth of
89 kg DM/ha/day in January on our monitored Edgecumbe property.

If there is a lesson to be learnt it is that slower growth and resultant production in October has been difficult to retrieve. Where supplement was introduced early to counter slower pasture growth, production and mating performance have been satisfactory.

We have been asked by several customers for an easy to understand outline of why and how DoloZest and CalciZest produce the increase in pasture production and improvement in animal health and performance that they do.

There is no single cure-all wonder product. DoloZest and CalciZest are Soil Improvers, for inclusion in nutrient programmes that contain the other essential major and minor elements.

Without biological activity soils simply do not exist. More beneficial biology results in more rapid humus formation, which in turn provides more total growth with a better balance of nutrients. More rapid cycling ensures greater efficiency and effectiveness of applied nutrients.

The key to initially enhancing soil biological activity is the addition of calcium. There is much data to show the increase in beneficial earthworm population with the addition of calcium in the form of lime. Where earthworm populations are increased so too are many other beneficial soil organisms, earthworms being the most visible and easily counted.

As much of our intensively farmed pastoral land is magnesium deficient dolomite is ideal for autumn application. Dolomite is marble and very hard, hence the need for fine grinding. It is the action of soil acidity and biological activity that releases calcium and magnesium for plant growth.

DoloZest contains beneficial soil organisms that have been cultured onto high carbon content material that is then mixed with dolomite. These beneficial microbes work as probiotics in much the same way as acidophilus introduced into the human gut after a course of antibiotics.

The effect is often a rapid increase in grass growth, seen soon after application when soil temperature and moisture are near ideal. The grass grown is highly palatable, stock tend to graze more uniformly and the resultant dung is incorporated rapidly back in to the soil.

Soils are the key to successful growing, of anything! Soil health, plant health, animal health, and human health are interconnected and more directly so than many might care to acknowledge. The best performing pastures nearly always have the best physical soil structures.

Ideally grass roots will go approx. 23 cm (9 inches). The heavy feet of grazing animals over time compact soils and unless there is sufficient beneficial biological activity soils become increasingly compacted with reduced space in which both air and moisture can percolate.

Ideally soils are 50% air and moisture,25% of each.Beneficial soil organisms are oxygen breathing so when soils become overly compacted air and water movement is restricted, soil biology decreases, grass growth declines, and animal health problems become more apparent. Animal health and physical soil structures are therefore closely linked. Check out the physical soil structures in any paddocks where animals have suffered bloat, the result may surprise.

It is possible to maximise stock performance without the regular need for costly animal health remedies and supplements. The use of free access minerals for animals is an excellent means of identifying mineral deficiencies and starting the process of correction.

A portion of any minerals ingested by an animal finds its way into the soil via dung and urine. Where soils are well structured and biologically active little of these minerals is lost out the bottom, simply recycled and in time the need for mineral supplementation to stock declines.

The application of CalciZest after calving as a replacement for any planned nitrogen application is an option. CalciZest using high quality lime, and the same soil inoculants as DoloZest, further promotes soil biology enhancing the availability of all soil nutrients including nitrogen. The effect may not be as rapid as that from urea however it will be longer lasting and the resultant feed will be highly nutritious. The use of CalciZest enhances humus formation.

The use of a refractometer to measure brix levels in pasture has prompted much discussion and calls for guidelines on their use. Just as with soil nutrient levels, brix levels as measured by refractometer are not static and will vary from one sample to the next, from hour to hour, and day to day. We are working with a dynamic, ever changing system, and in order to develop a feel for this work, the more samples taken the better the appreciation.

Sometimes a great deal of pressure is required to obtain the two or three drops of juice required. Gently rolling a sample between the palms of the hand will reduce the squeezing pressure on the crusher.

Sampling the same areas morning and afternoon is fascinating and skilled and observant farmers have long appreciated the formation of sugars in pasture evidenced by the adage that the best time to cut hay is in the afternoon of a bright sunny day.

The following is from “The Anatomy of Life & Energy in Agriculture” by Dr Arden B. Andersen.
“Within a given species of plant, the crop with the higher refractive index will have a higher sugar content, and a greater specific gravity or density. This adds up to a sweeter tasting, more minerally nutritious food with a lower nitrate and water content and better storage characteristics. It will produce more alcohol from fermented sugars and be more resistant to insects, thus resulting in a decreased insecticide usage. Crops with a high sugar content will have a lower freezing point, and therefore be less prone to frost damage. Soil fertility needs may also be ascertained from this reading.”

We have work underway this week, using foliar applications to further lift the brix level in our pasture. More detailed information will be available in the next Newsletter.