Carbon Positive Farming with Peter Burton Functional Fertiliser Ltd

Procrastination – the thief of time. It’s not original, having been used in a long-running television ad some years back, however it seems appropriate given many farmers’ attitude to required changes in practice soon to be mandated.

Environmental policy developed by central government, is coming and will, in some instances, bite deeply.

Fonterra are planning for decreased milk intake with the thinking that cow numbers will reduce, and more land retired for tree planting to balance carbon losses from the milking platform.

There are many good news stories of farmers reducing animal numbers, with often a lift in production, and planting natural wetlands, drains and waterways.

As positive as that is, the fact that it is under permanent grazed pasture that carbon is most rapidly sequestered is not yet widely accepted.

Many farmers are confused and simply waiting for legislation to be enacted and enforced by council.  There are many excuses made for their inaction with the latest I’ve heard being that it’s not possible for all farmers to be prosecuted and incarcerated.

Making changes

Inherent in this thinking is that current farm policy primarily determined by animal numbers with frequent applications of synthetic N being applied to fill the feed gaps remains the best.

Where animals remain underfed, palm kernel extract is often the next addition as it is the lowest cost feed option based on cost per kilogram of dry matter.

Animal health costs rise as pasture production dwindles with the inevitable increase in pest and disease pressure and the requirement for greater areas to be resown each year.

Profitability steadily declines with farmers becoming increasingly disillusioned with their industry and leaders.

Yet there are farmers bucking the trend and taking control of their own destiny. They have made or are in in the process of making fundamental changes to their farming practices.

Removing animal numbers as the priority is step one.  Stock units, calculated using animal numbers, liveweight, and production used to be the measure of stocking rate.

Restoring that highlights the fact that farm production per hectare has been on a steady decline in many instances, for the last thirty years.

Lifting performance

By eliminating the reliance on synthetic N applications as well as creating the conditions that favour clover growth, a steady lift in animal performance takes place.

Soil on properties with a long history of permanent pasture contain kilograms of clover seed per hectare that when encouraged to grow is almost unstoppable.

Clover fixes the nitrogen necessary for 18 tonne of dry matter per hectare with the additional features of higher energy and more rapid digestibility.

Farmers fattening lambs appreciate that clover dense pastures provide the most rapid weight gains, and dairy farmers can measure the increase in both fat and protein production each day.

As well as eliminating synthetic N a lift in plant available calcium is required and this is provided by the addition of ag.lime, the cheapest major nutrient available.

Where magnesium is necessary Golden Bay dolomite also provides calcium and a lift in soil pH.

Clovers contain up to four times the calcium of grasses and calcium is the base of milk production and bone formation.

The research by Stockdill and others showed that earthworms were more numerous and industrious following lime applications.

Where earthworms thrive other beneficial macrobes and microbes also proliferate with a steady improvement in physical soil structures.

Plants root more deeply accessing both nutrient and moisture from further down with strong root often found as far down as 500mm.

Find support

Changing the intervals between grazing to allow for total recovery of pastures after grazing provides another step forward.

There are companies and individuals available to support farmers through this process, however because many years of experience are required to be proficient, they are increasingly in demand.

Capable people with the resources available will have a proven track record backed by years of verifiable measures and it’s essential farmers ask for their credentials. 

For more information call Peter on 0800 843 809.

Checking progress.