Better soils with Brett Petersen Kiwi Fertiliser & Golden Bay Dolomite

I had the privilege last month to travel to St Louis, Missouri, in the United States, for more study under Neal Kinsey.

This course and the one the previous week were represented by attendees from 11 countries. One of the items on the agenda was the comparison of split soil samples sent to Perry Agricultural Laboratory and various other laboratories.

The object of the exercise was to compare the recommendations that would apply to the two tests of the same soil. The first soil had excess magnesium, which can be removed by applying calcium carbonate if calcium is deficient. The PAL test showed it was deficient and subsequent calculations showed 1700kg/ha of CaCO3 be applied while the other test showed it was in excess. Consequently, none would be recommended or applied, and crop and animal health would be compromised.

Neither test showed the need for magnesium. However, phosphate, as measured as P2O5 by both labs, showed 1344kg/ha on the PAL when 270-560 was excellent. So Phosphate was extremely excessive. Corresponding figures from the other were 31kg/ha P2O5 when the range was 22-56. Phosphate was still needed. This is typical of circumstances in New Zealand where phosphate has been over-applied.

Alternative results in total showed CEC, pH, organic matter, P, Ca, Mg, potassium and zinc. The PAL test was more comprehensive; adding nitrogen, sulphate, boron, iron, manganese, and copper. It also showed TEC, not CEC.

In a second split sample sent to another lab, the only nutrients not replicated by that lab were nitrogen and sodium. However, the maths used to create a recommendation spelled out other differences: 730kg/ha of CaCO3 and 170kg/ha of sulphur were required to correct calcium and magnesium and therefore soil structure, microbe habitat, water holding ability and drainage characteristics of the soil when using the PAL test.

With the comparison, 150kg/ha CaCO3 and 400kg/ha of sulphur should be recommended but weren’t. Even if they had been, they would have been out of kilter by 580kg/ha CaCO3 and 230kg/ha sulphur. The actual recommendation was N-85, P-55, K-55, S-10 with 0.5kg/ha zinc and 0.6kg/ha copper. This would not produce superior yield or quality results, nor would there be any improvement to soil structure, or carry-over for the next crop other than excess phosphate.

Using a third example, PAL results showed 900kg/ha CaCO3 was needed. None was recommended by the other lab. When crops of soybeans were grown, the other lab’s side harvested 55 bushels while the PAL side yielded 85 bushels/acre. That is an increase of 54%. Some benefits of the recommendations based on the PAL test will continue for up to three years.

From the above, it is easy to claim the Albrecht method does not work. All you need to do is send your soil samples to the wrong consultant, fertiliser company or lab; but more commonly, all three.

The week prior to the advanced fertiliser course, we attended an agricultural conference at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in the Monsanto Room.

It doesn’t take a lot of thought to work out who is funding whom, does it? This is the way of the modern world. Meanwhile, in California, on August 10, a Jury ordered Monsanto to pay US$39.2 million in compensation and US$250 million in punitive damages to a non-Hodgkin lymphoma sufferer, Dewayne Johnson, who had used Roundup while working as a school caretaker.

Brent Wisner, Johnson’s lawyer, said: “We were finally able to show the jury the secret, internal Monsanto documents proving that Monsanto has known for decades that glyphosate and specifically Roundup could cause cancer. Despite the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to require labeling, we are proud that an independent jury followed the evidence and used its voice to send a message to Monsanto that its years of deception regarding Roundup is over and that they should put consumer safety first over profits”. One down – and at least 4000 more cases to go.

The moral of the stories is it is too easy to prove something does or does not work by using trials. The proof of any system lies in the actual farming results.