viewpoint
January 2016
with John Barnes – Managing Director
Welcome to TWENTY sixteen
The weather pattern seems to have changed, which is good news for farmers around the country. The severe dry spell we had late last year meant the pasture slowed down or in some cases stopped growing, but that didn’t stop the soils continuing to produce and store nitrogen. Because of the low pasture growth, excess nitrogen became stored in the soils waiting for the weather conditions to improve and pasture growth to begin again. When this happened, as it has during the past two weeks, there will be a spike in growth. During this stage of growth there will be absolutely no need to apply any sort of nitrogen as there is plenty of residual N in the soil system. A herbage test would reveal high nitrogen levels in the pasture. In an article written by John Turner he said:
Early grazing of post drought pasture growth will significantly increase the risk of Nitrate-N toxicity, and excessively high protein and potassium in addition to low calcium will increase the risk of metabolic stress. Where there is no alternative to early grazing of recovering pasture, feeding of supplements that have a high carbohydrate and/or fibre content will improve feed conversion efficiency and reduce the risk of metabolic stress to stock.
A herbage test which includes a Nitrate-N test will provide good information for livestock grazing management in addition to indicating when pasture may become responsive to nitrogen fertilisers.
Autumn is the traditional time for applying magnesium fertilisers. Consideration should be for the highest percentage of magnesium per tonne which will be the most cost effective for your farming operation. Care should be taken not to use more than necessary as too much magnesium can tighten the soil causing a lack of soil fertility.
It’s still a little-known fact that the calcium to magnesium ratio determines how tight or loose a soil is. The more calcium a soil has, the looser it is; the more magnesium, the tighter it is, up to a point. Other things being equal, a high calcium soil will have more oxygen, drain more freely, and support more aerobic breakdown of organic matter, while a high magnesium soil will have less oxygen, tend to drain slowly, and organic matter will break down poorly if at all. In a soil with magnesium higher than calcium, organic matter may ferment and produce alcohol and even formaldehyde, both of which are preservatives. If you till up last year’s corn stalks and they are still shiny and green, you may have a soil with an inverted calcium/magnesium ratio. On the other hand, if you get the calcium level too high, the soil will lose all its beneficial granulation and structure and the excessive calcium will interfere with the availability of other nutrients. If you get them just right for your particular soil, you can drive over the garden and not have a problem with soil compaction.
From the book “The Ideal Soil” by M Astera.
Overseer Limited
This is the name of the new company that has been formed to manage the Overseer programme. After many changes over the last number of years Overseer Ltd is keen to tidy up a somewhat tarnished image and work hard to encourage wider usage and integrate the programme into farmers’ nutrient management plans along with other tools supplied by established companies.
At the company launch the General Manager Dr Caroline Read said that they would look at various ways to make the company self-sustaining and to me that means user pays. I am not opposed to this because one of my problems with the Overseer programme from its inception has been the lack of accountability. Nobody seemed willing to take responsibility for anything and it was very much like dealing with a Government committee; they would listen and make soothing noises and do precisely nothing.
I am hopeful that a more commercial focus to the whole business will bring about some long overdue customer recognition and be a bit more responsive to the needs of its users. I also look forward to some private enterprise disciplines like requiring a product to be fit for purpose and if it is not, a customer can seek a remedy through established channels. Time will tell!!!!
John Barnes.