OIL FERTILITY SERVICES LIMITED
Specialist Advice in Soil Fertility and Crop Nutrition
NEWSLETTER
Issue no. 48
Why You Never Need To Lime Again
L
ime quality around the country is extremely variable and
often of dubious quality. It is sold on it’s ability to
neutralise acidity in your soil and is NEVER measured in
terms of how much actual calcium is supplied.
The level of calcium in your soil is very important and when
this is correct, your pH will be correct. The problem with
poor quality lime is that it doesn’t supply ‘available’ calcium.
If you farm in the high rainfall areas, you know that you
cannot hold the lime in the top 2 - 4 inches of soil and yet
this is where it is needed by your plant roots; but more
importantly by the beneficial micro-organisms.
The other problem with liming is, it can swing the soil pH
too much too quickly.
SOIL PH AFFECTS GRASS DM,
YIELD AND THE £’S IN YOUR POCKET
7
6
BG
5
Lime
4
pH before
applications
Spring 2
pH comparisons between lime and BetterGrass
If you have an acid soil at say pH 5.0; you apply the
recommended rate of lime, often 2 tonnes per acre (or more),
the pH then shoots up to 7.5 on the surface, then it is washed
down into the soil causing massive disruption to your soil life
and resulting in excess uptake of potash, which may result in
hypomagnesaemia.
Then you get 50 - 60 inches of rain and where is your lime
then? Gone down and out of the all important top 2 - 4
inches and now your soil reverts to type ie. naturally acid.
So, what’s the answer? Use BetterGrass Xtra to correct the
calcium and pH in the top soil, together with the essential
trace minerals cobalt, selenium etc, and the sodium to
sweeten the grass. The result is high quality mineral-rich
grass, which means higher dry matter intake, healthier stock,
more milk production - at least 2 litres per cow per day, faster
growth in young stock and improved conception rates.
Soil pH
4.5 – 5.0
5.0 – 5.5
5.5 – 6.0
Loss of yield
12%
9%
4%
Average loss DM t/ha
1.2
0.9
0.4
Value £/ha
£300
£229
£100
Biologicals
We often underestimate the value of what we have to offer,
for example Humic SC and Humic SCG will improve
water infiltration, reduce ponding, improve soil oxygen levels
and replace the need for slow and expensive aeration.
In sugar beet and potatoes it stops the soil from sticking to
the roots, thereby reducing dirt tare. If you have soil that is
wet and sticky on top, but is relatively dry further down, then
you need to use Humic SC or if you have a wet grassland
farm, then Humic SCG will improve water percolation,
allowing air back into the soil. You will then be able to ‘get
on it’ - just like Geoff Woof, David Stebbings, Simon Cowell
and many others who have told us about their improvements.
How does it work? Water has an affinity with negative
charges on clay particles and will create ‘bound’ water. This
stops the natural infiltration and makes your top soil wet and
sticky. No air means no beneficial aerobic micro-organisms,
locked-up minerals and high disease pressure. Even higher
levels of Blackgrass infestation.
Humic SC pushes these clay particles apart allowing the
water to move down and the air and oxygen to move in. Soil
becomes more free-draining, less sticky and crops have better
rooting, less disease and higher nutrient availability.
Clay colloids have varying
amounts of negative
charge. These negative
charges attract to and hold
the positive charged ions
called Cations.
The water in the soil (H2O)
can also be attracted to the
colloid and a film can be formed around the clay particle.
This film may attract and pull other colloids creating a
‘bound water’ which will cause the soil to become anaerobic
(lacking oxygen). As the water moves out and oxygen goes.
in, the soil colloids
will move apart, so
creating pore space.
This porosity creates
conditions that allow
the micro-organisms
to build the humus
in the soil.
The future lies in
Bio-LOGICAL FARMING Solutions
News from around the Country
Over the last few decades’ maize silage has become a
major forage component in the dairy cow ration. The
nutritional value can be very variable and is mainly
caused by large differences in maturity at harvest.
Dry matter (DM) intake, milk yield and milk protein
levels will increase to an optimum level for silage David Chapman
ensiled at 30 – 35% DM.
On average, inclusion of maize silage in grass silage based diets,
improves forage DM intake by 2kg per day, milk yield by 1.9kg per
day and milk protein by 1.2g per kg. It is also rich in metabolisable
energy.
The ratio of grass/maize in the total mix ration (TMR), depends on
the quality of both silages which becomes particularly important
when taking in to consideration the low mineral levels found in the
maize silage.
We have been working to improve quality and yield of the maize
crops at Smeaton Hall in Cheshire, for the last three years in the
following ways:
 Soil improvement:Through applications of ‘Bio-Mulch Maize’ to supply
Mycorrhizal and Trichoderma fungi which promote root
development, trash breakdown and the subsequent increase in
nutrient availability and uptake, particularly phosphate, an
important maize nutrient.
 Applications of ‘Maize Foli-N’ to contend with the high
nitrogen demand of the plant which cannot be adequately
supplied purely by uptake from soil reserves.
These treatments can only be effective of course, when allied with
comprehensive soil and tissue analyses, all of which are included
within the Soil Fertility Services Nutrition Programme.
The analysis of this year’s maize silage is included in this article and
has been described by the farm’s cow nutritionist as “exceptional”.
Plus, independent trials under the supervision
of The Maize Society, showed that the
biological treatment out-performed the
conventional treatment.
David 07769 328333
Picture right: Untreated cob on left
Treated cob on right.
Aunt Aggie she say:
“Tha’s better you keep ya mouth shut & let
people think ya stupid than to open it an’
leave no doubt!”
Granfa he say:
“You got the gift of compressing the largest
amount of words into the smallest thought!”
The Sherlock Brexit
Seven years on, my time in the UK is coming to an
end… ...and it's not because of Brexit!
I'm moving my family to the sunny side, on the south
coast of Australia in New South Wales where I grew
up. There I will be working in pasture agronomy for Danny Sherlock
dairy, beef and sheep, with influences I have learned from Soil
Fertility Services.
The key points to take home
will be detailed soil analysis
with visual soil assessment,
balancing minerals in forage
and promoting beneficial
biology in the soil.
Balancing minerals in the
grass to improve livestock
health and performance as
we do in the Better Grass
Programme, will be a top goal of mine for Aussie grassland farmers.
It has been a great time and experience working with SFS customers
and I have seen fantastic benefits from improving your soil, crops and
livestock health. I wish you all a very productive 2017 and that you
continue to be at the forefront of UK agriculture.
Danny
07748 980234
The health of your animals has to be the most important
consideration on your farm. It effects all of your
outgoings, your profit, not to mention your animal’s
health that is directly affected by what it eats!
If your grass is full of antagonists like excess iron or
molybdenum and lacking in the important trace Jenna Ballantine
elements like cobalt, selenium and iodine, then they certainly won’t
thrive and you will get varying degrees of animal health issues
depending on how bad the deficiencies are.
One of the main issues I see a lot is iodine and selenium deficiency;
these problems can be seen as subtly as a calf that doesn’t want to get
up and suck, to late abortion and calves who have died on or shortly
after arrival.
No one wants to have to spend their time hand feeding a calf and I’m
sure none of you want to arrive at the shed to find what would have
been a perfectly good new born, lying dead for no apparent reason.
The answer lies in the thyroid gland - if this doesn’t function then
your calf has no chance of survival and stressful times such as the
birthing process or trying to get up and suck, will deplete the calf sometimes to the point of death. This problem is serious but its also
very easy to solve, you just need to get your trace elements balanced
and make sure you have adequate levels of selenium, iodine and
cobalt (vitamin B12).
The BetterGrass Program does this and it does it in a way whereby
your livestock can take it in through the grass and therefore be able to
digest it more effectively. If you think about it, animals were meant to
roam; before farming and fences, animals would travel around the
country searching for the trace elements and minerals from different
areas and different plant sources. Farming has meant they can no
longer do this but we can supply everything they need in the field or
shed they are kept through their grass and silage.
By making your animals and crops as healthy and nutrient dense as
you can, you will not only benefit from animals that thrive and don’t
get sick thus resulting in less vets bills and higher market prices for
your farm, you will also benefit from eating nutrient dense meat,
dairy and grain.
All human health issues are directly linked to the food we consume;
from mental health to cancer, the healthier our diet is the less likely
we are to suffer from any of these illnesses.
Jenna
07798 612867
There will be a fair number of you reading this
that have been involved with SFS over the years,
in regard to the BetterGrass but it maybe that
you didn't realise that the BetterGrass product is
actually part of a programme.
At Soil Fertility Services we always take an active Nick Thorp
role on the farms we work with. I have sat with
many a grassland farmer discussing reseeding techniques, N, P & K
products, application rates and stock management.
This is all part of the job. What's not so common is helping with
support for planning applications, analysing digestate and compost
along with herding escapee sheep & cows. I have even managed to
get involved in some ad hoc marriage guidance and medical care
(although thankfully not often and both successfully!).
The point is that just as we at SFS have to be adaptable to what our
clients need, so The BetterGrass Program can not only offer much
more than just the product itself but can also be adaptable for you.
Over the last few years we have introduced Slurry Pit Powder to
improve nutrient retention and reduce crusting in slurry storage,
Humic SCG to aid water infiltration, improving drainage and
reducing fluke burden where standing water is an issue, and not
forgetting the Bio-N !
The Bio-N is showing some incredible results (if you came to the
Royal Welsh Show this summer, you would have seen for yourself
and there will be more facts and figures to back this up in the spring).
All this is supported by the analysis that the team undertake each year
to make sure we are doing the right thing for your farm. You want
results and so do we.
A word from the new boys
It’s been an interesting couple of months for me; I have
learnt more now than in all the years I spent looking
out a of tractor window, seen some very nice farms all
over the country and played with more soil than I
thought I would do at 23!
But what I can see is there is more to farming than
pulling your soil about left right and centre and putting Freddy Coates
ridiculous amounts of fertiliser and chemicals down to force your
crops to grow. Its called biology and it is what has to be done before
it’s too late.
Along my journey of soil biology I have met one or two ‘nay-sayers’
but at the same time I have met some real pioneers of biological
farming. It has been a real eye opener for me as I hadn’t even heard of
biological farming until the day I saw the job advertised in my emails
and my mind was opened up to a whole new world that I think is
brilliant!
I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I think the most important thing I’ve
learned that I would pass on to my clients is go out and walk your
fields with a spade; dig into your soil, feel it, look at it, smell it, if it
looks bad, smells bad and feels bad, guess what - it is bad and likely
will not give your crops what they need.
We can do 3 types of jobs: a) Cheap b) Quick c) Good
You can have any 2 together but:A) A Good Quick job wont be Cheap!
B) A Cheap Good job wont be Quick!
C) A Quick job Cheap wont be Good!
How about a Good job at a Reasonable Price? Freddy
Muddy Boots!
Above: Trial Bio-N plot at RWS:Left side untreated - Right side treated with Bio-N.
Our programme always works best when we are covering as many
angles and variables as possible.
We can't control the weather but if between us, we control as much
else as possible we are far more likely to get the right result.
We work WITH our clients rather than just for them so if anything
you have read in this article or in the newsletter as a whole strikes a
note, just pick up the phone call the office or your area Soil Specialist
to see what more we could be doing for you.
Nick 07990 511990
2017 Exhibition dates:
LAMMA:
Grassland & Muck:
NSA North:
Cereals Event:
January 18-19th
May 24-25th
June 7th
June 14-15th
-
Hall 7 Stand no. 790
Stoneleigh Park
County Durham
Boothby Graffoe
Before I started with Soil Fertility Services I was
blissfully unaware of the complex eco system that lives
right beneath our feet, blindly thinking that soil was just
the dirt worms lived in and where plants grew - with a
Steve Holloway
little help from the sunshine, rain, N, P and K.
I quickly discovered how very little I really do know. Soil is in its
very basic form, the life blood of the crop. Get it right and in a
well-structured living, breathing, rich environment, chocked full of
the right balance of minerals, crops will thrive; yes I know there are
other factors to consider like the weather and pests but let's leave
those thoughts for another day. Needless to say, you give the plant the
best possible chance by getting the soil really healthy.
The whole myriad of fungi and bacteria combined with bugs and
worms are all working symbiotically with the plant’s root structure,
conditioning the soil, breaking down the nutrients, making them plant
available. And all this happens right under our feet!
I've seen it happening for myself and you can too, just take a spade
and have a dig down and look at the soil in your hedgerows. Your
trees and hedges don't get a good dose of nitrogen or a liberal
application of FYM and they do pretty well - why? It's all because
the biology is working. Usually, when it stops working, it's due to
something we have done to break the equilibrium.
I've been spending hours reading, watching videos, listening to
conference speakers, going out talking to some of you and of course
in the classroom being educated by our 2 substitute teachers George
and Danny.
All this has not only given me some really good words for playing
scrabble but also highlighted just how much more there is still to
learn.
At the moment, the one piece of learned knowledge I would happily
pass on to my customers is that a good spade - available at hand, is the
most important purchase you can make.
Exciting times ahead I can't wait to see what's next. Here’s to cleaning
up those muddy boots!
Steve
The perfect soil make-up consists of 45% mineral, 5%
organic matter, 25% air and 25% water. Air is 78%
nitrogen, so if your soil is well looked after and has a
good structure then actually you have 19.5 % nitrogen
(78% of 25%) in your soil already. However, it is not
in the right form for the plant to take up.
The soil biota then comes in to its own converting the George Hepburn
nitrogen for the plant to take up, that’s the theory anyway - if you
have the correct bacteria and fungi working for you in your soil.
For each cm
depth of
aerobic soil,
you have to
potential of
24kg of
nitrogen to
release, ie
10cm = 240kg
The diagram above shows that a well structured soil has large amounts
of nitrogen (approximately 1000kg/ha in the top 40cm).
The more depth of aerobic soil you can have, the greater the potential
release of nitrogen. 1cm : 24kg therefore 10cm : 240kg = 25cm
Our Bio-N product helps with this process, releasing 70 kg/ha of
nitrogen straight to the plant (NIAB TAG trials - details available,
for anyone that would like a copy just contact the office). Bio-N
contains 4 types of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, with essential trace
elements (cobalt – mothers milk for N-fixing bacteria) and a food
source. It’s lower cost, needs less storage space, and is better for your
soil. What more could you ask for? Oh - Its organic approved and
doesn’t count towards your NVZ restrictions!
It is not like bagged nitrogen, there are some rules to stick to for
getting the best results: Soil temperature needs to be 8°C at least,
apply to well-structured soil with a dribble bar or large droplet sizes ideally in or just before a rain. Our customers who stick to these rules
get the results!
We recently got the results from Future Bio-gas, who ran independent
1 year trials, applying Bio-N at the 4 leaf stage in some field scale
trials in a low yielding trial in a very challenging situation. Very high
pH low Mg and very little organic matter.
We got an excellent
and significant
response, with
a yield increase
of 3.46 t/ha over
the control plots,
which followed the
standard fertiliser
guidelines in
RB209.
This is a gross profit
of £120/ha and a net
profit of £90/ha
when the cost of the
Bio-N application
(£30) has been taken
Above: George in an amazing maize crop.
into account.
We are going to carry on with this trial and introduce Bio-Mulch
Maize and Foli-N Maize to the program next year, to see how far we
can push this responsive crop.
George
BGetterrass
07748 980233
As the Company Financial Director, it falls to me to
allocate the funds and to advise on all aspects of our
business as it affects sales and profitability.
The last two years have been very difficult for us all.
As your incomes have suffered so you have had to
make cut backs - rightly or wrongly and so have we. Suzie Grimshaw
I do believe we are now pulling out of this agricultural depression and
we can all look forward so thank you - each and every one of you for
your business over the last year and I wish you a very happy and
successful - biological 2017!
Suzie
News From The Man Shed
BREXIT - TRUMPIT - SODIT! The whole world is in
a state of flux and confusion? The people are fed-up
with the lies and bureaucracy of the ruling classes and
are demanding change. Is this a good thing or not?
Whatever it is, we can make it good if we have the
right people in place. I am talking about the potential Robert Plumb
for us all in 2 years time. Unfortunately, frying pans and fires come to
mind! Out of the Common Market and into some sort of trading deal
with South America - cheap crap Argie beef, Brazilian coffee, soya,
in exchange for our insurance services et al.
Come on Mrs ‘M’, stand up and be counted! Negotiate the deal to
stay in the market. Remember we have a Euro trade deficit which
means we buy more from them, okay. Well NO not okay! Let’s turn it
around; we can be more productive and we can sell at lower cost into
‘Euroland’; so they had better watch out with our lower pound!
April 1st is likely to be the date for triggering article 50 AND there is
a strong likelihood of another collapse of the pound, in fact between
now and then traders will be looking to sell pounds, which the Bank
of England will support in order to create some inflation.
I reckon the pound will be close to parity with the dollar. Okay,
we will pay more for imports, so let’s import less! Do we really need
Peruvian asparagus in November, or African green beans/flowers,
French cheese, or New Zealand lamb and could we swap a few of our
UK built cars for Italian Prosecco or French red wine?
What does Christmas really mean? Goodwill to
all men? That’s well and good; celebrating the birth, 2000
or so years ago, of Jesus? It’s great for children, but what
about honouring the old pagan tradition of Saturnalia celebrating the eve of the shortest night and the coming of the
sun, longer days and spring.
Saturnalia was a farmer’s festival and ran from December 17th to
December 23rd, to commemorate the God Saturn - the Roman God of
agriculture.
I do agree with the principles of the Christian way of life and if we
would all just have respect for each other and practice the golden
rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”, the world
would be a better place. We can all live together in peace, it is
the idiot fanatics that cause the problems. Unfortunately the general
populace are too scared to rise up against them; that is how the likes
of Hitler, Mugabe, Idi Amin and others gain control.
We all need to stand up to these idiot bullies and remember the
principle of free speech: “I may not agree with what you are saying,
but I defend your right to say it.”
I wish you ALL a happy holiday with celebrations the way you
choose and a fruitful beginning to 2017. Peace and goodwill to you,
Robert.
Soil Fertility Services Limited, Harvest House, New Road, Crimplesham, Norfolk PE33 9FH
Tel: (01366) 384899 Fax: (01366) 380205 E mail: [email protected] www.independentsoils.co.uk
UK CENTRE FOR BIOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE