January 2013
VIEWPOINT
with John Barnes, Managing Director – January 2013
Welcome to the first Fertilizer New Zealand Newsletter.
In the past we have had great intentions at putting out regular printed newsletters but often these intentions were just that. By using e-mail we will reach more of our clients and interested people quicker and hopefully more often. Please feel free to pass this on to your friends and others whom you believe might be interested.
The fertiliser industry has changed dramatically over the past ten years. The decision of the Environment Court against the sustained use of Nitrogen and the subsequent shifting of positions so that nothing changes is a timely reminder of how delicate the positions are. Out of all this have emerged two extremes – the superphosphate group and the many others who believe that someone from overseas will save the planet. Often these groups have a selection of products they wish to sell at great expense to the farmer. Others sell very little. We at Fertilizer New Zealand are not in either camp. We believe that the superphosphate group can teach us a lot – no doubt about that.
Super made New Zealand what it is today but times have changed as they always do, and now is a time to change to more friendly product. Bert Quinn had a go at doing this but sadly he was bought out by one of the Super group and now no longer exists. It is time for us to step up as an industry and look for sustainable products, which we have and intend to promote. We also believe that the ‘save the planet’ people have something to offer. Many of their ideas are sound and worthy of note, but there again taken in isolation these will not work out well. At Fertilizer New Zealand we have positioned ourselves at centre left. We know the farmers need a variety of bulk fertiliser, but also need to get the balance right for both the soil, plant and the stock.
Over the next months and years we explore a range of aspects and how we can keep farming profitable while keeping New Zealand green.
YES, YOU CAN FARM WITHOUT CLOVER
Rye grass pasture will eliminate bloat and will allow you (the farmer) to supplement Calcium through artificial means, usually through dusting, drenching and injection. Usually farmers are told that clover will not grow because of the ‘root weevil’ which of course is true if you are a chemical farmer (There are two types of farmers in New Zealand; chemical farmers and biological farmers). The reason clovers do not grow well on most farms is because of the lack of soil biology. Soils need 50% beneficial microbes to compete with the less desirable ones like grass grub and weevil, so how will clover benefit the New Zealand farmer? Here again we will find many answers from overseas studies as there is little funding for anything outside the two major fertiliser companies. Clover will create Nitrogen – 20% clover pasture will give a farmer 60 kilograms of Nitrogen per year for free. It will give more Calcium than rye grass. Remember Calcium is milk and Calcium is bone so whether you are a sheep and beef farmer or a dairy farmer, Calcium is important to you. Remember Calcium is King. Yes, you can successfully farm without clover. Many farmers do. It is just that their inputs are higher. Most don’t mind spending more money.
DIRTY DAIRYING
This statement causes all of us to react, but for a wide range of reasons. How is it that we have even got to this point? New Zealand has a reputation for being clean and green. Growing up in rural New Zealand in the 1950-1960s, I remember being able to swim in any stream and drink water wherever I wished. We never carried water bottles. What was the point? Any stream was satisfactory. Pick up any paper and you find something about pollution or the like. The recent Ruling regarding Nitrogen use will send shivers down most farmers’ spines. How will they grow grass without the use of the white stuff (Urea)? I know of many farmers who for quite some time have used very little synthetic Nitrogen and in some cases no Nitrogen at all and have got well above average results be it dairying or cropping. So how does this happen? Simply put, they create a Nitrogen cycle within their farming system. By this we mean they take stock of their soils and see it as an eco-system – everything is related to everything else. If Nitrogen is lacking in the soil there has to be a reason for it, and taking Nitrogen as an example it is because:
There is a lack of earthworms. These wonderful little creatures would (or could) provide five tonne of Nitrogen per hectare per year, growing an optimum amount of pasture on a typical dairy farm which needs 400kg per year.
There is rye grass only pasture. Now many farmers have gone away from having a serious amount of clover in their pasture for a number of reasons and yet 10% of clover in pasture will give even more kilograms of Nitrogen.
By using these natural methods, farmers could add many thousands of dollars to their profit margin. Does this mean no Nitrogen is needed? No, at some times of the year Nitrogen will be needed and, from my point of view, encouraged. Right now farmers are at a cross road. Either they are part of the solution or part of the problem. If you are part of the solution, that’s great. If you are not in this camp yet, maybe you should be talking to us before legislation will force you to do something about change because sooner or later you will have to change. By using synthetic Nitrogen strategically, we will all win.
We will start to reverse pollution.
There will be added value to your profit margin.
For more information on how we can get your Nitrogen cycle working for you call us on 0800 337 869
OPENING A CAN OF WORMS
Yes they are imports.
They arrived with us back in the 1800s. And yes, you can farm without them. It will mean you need to irrigate more because water will not be efficiently used. Your pasture will burn off quicker in summer, faster than your biological neighbour. It will mean you will have to use aeration methods – this is great if you love big machinery and do not mind spending money. You will use even more Nitrogen because your soils cannot utilise it as well as it did in the past. All this will lift productivity for the rural service sector.
OR You could farm with earthworms. They would aerate your soils and over a period of years completely turn over your soils while still growing grass. Now that is a plus. The earthworm burrows will allow more efficient use of water, allowing water to penetrate the soil quicker; less water – more utilisation.
Earthworms will give you Nitrogen for free. Overseas studies (no money in New Zealand to do trials like this) show for every 20 earthworms in a 200cm cube, the worm casts produce 33kg of Nitrogen per day or 12 tonne of Nitrogen per hectare per year for free.
So let us quantify all of this. If you wish to farm alongside earthworms they will plough your farm for free. They will continually aerate your soils – annual aerate costs $120/ha. They will provide Nitrogen for a good part of the year, cutting your Nitrogen bill by at least 50% – $80/ha. Irrigation will be more efficient, resulting in less water needing to be applied. Some estimate from experience that 30% less water needs to be applied.
If you are part of the Fertilizer New Zealand way of farming then you will have already worked this out for yourself. For the chemical farmers still working on the “more on” theory, then maybe it is time to rework the cost of farming.