The future lies in

Bio-LOGICAL FARMING Solutions

Specialist Advice in Soil Fertility and Crop Nutrition OIL FERTILITY SERVICES LIMITED

NEWSLETTER Issue no.

50

Bio-LOGICAL FARMING - A Coming of Age?

Having been brought up in the standard NPK fertiliser world, it was a serious eye opener when I discovered the truth about soil fertility. Now 21 years down the road, it is still about unlocking the potential of our soils to grow strong healthy crops in a biologically active soil. Carbon sequestration is the key is which is just what your crops will do - IF you let them!

We need a strong UK agri production sector - we are less than 60% self-sufficient. The remaining 40% we cannot grow (tropicals, rice, peanuts), but we sure as heck can provide the staples: ie cereals, potatoes, vegetables, beef, lamb, pork, dairy.

The biological farming movement continues as we get more good results from improved soil fertility and less reliance on chemicals. We are all very excited about our new product Vitaplex-Sil-K . This is a unique product based on silica with potassium and humic/fulvic acids. This will strengthen the plants leaves making it near impossible for insects to penetrate. This stronger leaf will stand more erect catching higher levels of radiation, so creating more photosynthesis and therefore have higher yield potential.

Winter wheat is now past Flag leaf Stage. This is the most important leaf to keep green and healthy. Some of our farmers are applying Vitaplex Sil-K now and on the ear.

Other biological successes include the Mega-Fos range of products, based on Megabacters. These products are now used in vegetable production, where disease is reduced by over 70%. This means less waste and higher quality of produce, especially effective in carrots, parsnips, onions and leeks, but equally in cereals crops where it has improved health and vigour in all plants.

We are also using Mega-Fos on spring crops; these have generally had a tough start with very dry conditions, but are now growing very quickly with plenty of available nitrogen around. The Mega-Fos will help to get these crops roots

21 years at Cereals Event

1996 was the first time we took a stand at the cereals site which was in Lincoln but not on the same site it is now.

21 years on and the same basic concepts are still the key to growing healthy crops at lower cost. Back then we were just introducing the Albrecht idea for soil mineral balancing; Neil Kinsey came over to present the idea and we toured the country in 1997 with Neil Fuller digging pits and advising on what was needed to be done to improve soil fertility. We look forward to seeing you (stand 608) as we celebrate our 21st birthday - farming biologically towards 2020.

This year’s crop plots are showing response to nutrition with significant disease reduction and in some instances no fungicide. Currently they show that variety choice is crucial if you want to farm biologically. The more robust varieties are tending to work well with a biological system as they have a higher disease resistance in the first place, then seem to take up the nutrients from the foliar feeds more readily. Some older varieties are showing that even in a relatively low disease year, fungicides make a big difference.

Below: SFS Cereals plot June 2016

Now a marquee, a larger plot, but the same message and ethos - STILL promoting Biological Farming

Left:

SFS Cereals plot

June 1996

No marquee,

just trial plots,

information

and a few tables -

but a great belief.

80% of wheat yield comes from the top 3 leaves

going down and improve the fine hair rooting. This should stand the crop in good stead for the next drought period.

Bio-Mulch and Humic Range

Thinking ahead, the yields for wheat crops are set at about 30 days from germination which means it is essential for your crops to get off to the best start possible and that means a big root system is required.

If this is a second cereal then an application of Bio-Mulch will ensure your crops get off to a flying start. It is not a quick fix to break down straw and trash, but it will ensure your new crop gets all of the nutrition it needs to get the best start.

Bio-Mulch also contains the full rate of Humic SC; it is the ‘SC’ that will improve your soil structure, increase water infiltration and reduce the soil shear strength, making it easier for roots to penetrate deeper into your soil.

The humic and fulvic compounds together with the amino nitrogen and complexed sugars, ensure the beneficial micro-organisms included in this product can multiply from the several billions we are applying to the several trillions that are necessary to breakdown the straw and trash to provide the ‘locked-up’ minerals access to your crops.

Included in this smorgasbord of microbes are specific varieties to fix phosphate direct to your plant root system as well as some that will stifle the production of pathogens including plasmodiaphora that causes clubroot in OSR and other brassica crops.

Bio-Mulch is a true soil feeder that really improves the health of your soil - NO NEED for any other Autumn fertiliser! It is especially important if you use chemicals like ‘Roundup’ which cause significant damage to your soil’s eco system; it helps restore the life in your soil. The Megabacters will provide the phosphate your new crop requires as well as provide the root stimulants and nitrogen for rapid growth.

Above: OSR rooting system following application of Humic SC

If you don’t have straw & trash to deal with, then use Humic SC. It contains a powerful soil conditioner to improve water infiltration as well as provide the trace elements like zinc and manganese, necessary to get your crop off to a flying start.

Recent tissue tests have shown low levels of potassium and magnesium pretty much across the board, with some trace element deficiencies in zinc (often linked with dry weather) and boron. Whilst we have now had some rain, before that the crops were showing signs of stress; lots of tipped wheat and struggling spring crops. Here the foliar feeding has worked well by putting the required nutrients directly onto the leaf, bypassing the soil totally as it is not working symbiotically with the plant, due to the lack of moisture. Now after the rain, these crops are going to rocket through the growth stages.

With lots of soluble nitrogen available, moisture in the soil and radiant heat from the sun, we now need to make sure we keep the correct nutrient balance in the plant. If the plant is taking up too much nitrogen in comparison to the other nutrients then disease pressure will be higher. We need to make sure that we keep the magnesium (for chlorophyll production), potassium (for cell strength and grain weight), sulphur (for protein building) and boron (to allow these nutrients to move round the plant), all in balance.

Our Vitaplex Range can deliver these nutrients in the right form for the plant to take up, with humic/fulvic acids, seaweed, micro-organisms and a range of trace elements. These can be mixed with most fungicides and deliver crucial nutrition directly to the plant.

If you need foliar nitrogen, the Complex Foli-N Range will deliver 18% nitrogen with extra magnesium or sulphur to help build proteins. Applying 15 litres per hectare will give the equivalent of 10 kilos per hectare of nitrogen with no scorch. Because we are applying to the leaf in a complexed form we get 4 times the equivalent of soil applied AN and we are putting the other nutrients in to balance the nitrogen.

Foliar Feeding

Above: Clubroot in OSR - Roots regenerated following the use of Bio-Mulch. Above: Vitaplex application at IH McLaren in Northamptonshire.

Boron

Why is it so important for your stock and your crops?

Boron is one of the least understood of all the essential trace minerals and yet it is one of the most important elements, affecting all plants and animals - including homo sapiens!

When it comes to an application of boron, it is NOT one of the elements where little is good therefore more must be better. An excess of boron can kill - indeed it is actually used to stop woodworm. On the other hand, a deficiency will also allow disease to take hold and damaging pathogens will quickly take over often resulting in an ‘infertile’ plant.

Boron is considered to be the ‘steering wheel’ of many elements in a plant, in particular it improves the flow of minerals which is essential; for example calcium into the potato tubers or apples on a tree. Without adequate boron this essential cell building element simply does not get there. A lack of boron in potato tubers shows up as ‘Hollow Heart’ giving a dirty, black-coloured centre as the movement of calcium is restricted.

This isn’t restricted to apples and potatoes; boron is essential to all brassicas including OSR where a deficiency will mean substantial yield penalty from lower flower numbers, resulting in pod abortion. A deficiency of boron in wheat will cause a breakdown of growing tip tissue, retardation of new growth and death of younger leaves.

What about grass and livestock? We include boron in our BetterGrass products because of its importance to stock health. Not only does boron make calcium more available, it also acts directly in the body to direct calcium to the bones and joints, resulting in stronger bone density and reduced risk of Arthritis.

Dr Rex Harrison worked extensively on nutrition as the key to good health and found a direct link between a diet with low boron levels and Arthritis. When he supplemented the boron, the Arthritis reduced or eliminated. Boron is the oil that allows all of the other minerals to move around the body; Arthritis comes on when calcium doesn’t move and becomes solidified in the joints causing immense pain and stiffness.

If you suffer from Arthritis, try a boron supplement for couple of months and see if there is any difference. What have you got to lose? Nutrition is the key to good health, not only in your livestock but in us all.

Nitrogen-fixers are now being used on organic produce, as well as in mainstream farming where they are consistently fixing over 70 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare for the crop.

Recent on-farm trials on an organic dairy farm in Somerset, trialled Bio-N against an organic approved fertiliser that contained nitrogen as well as poultry manure, added to slurry and showed good results:

Field 1

Standard slurry application : slurry plus trial products

Field 2

Standard slurry application : slurry plus all 3 trial products

Field 3

Adding chicken manure to slurry : 2 trial products

Conclusions:

All three trial products produced increased yields over and above the standard slurry application, however, both the organic fertiliser and the poultry manure will go towards N-max totals and so will reduce standard slurry and FYM applications under NVZ restrictions; Bio-N does not.

Organic fertiliser cost per hectare is higher than the cost of Bio-N at £30 per hectare. Poultry manure has significant disease risk.

2600

2700

2800

2900

3000

3100

3200

3300

Slurry only Slurry + organic fert. Slurry + Bio-N

kg/DM

8%

increase 14%

increase

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Slurry only Slurry + all 3 trialproducts

kg/DM96%

increase

2600

2700

2800

2900

3000

3100

3200

3300

Slurry + poultrymanure

Bio-N only Organic fert. Only

kg/DM

14%

increase

14%

increase

If you’re following the SFS Nutrition Programme, then you should be well into your individual plans but with the next stages looming fast - T3 for your cereals, 3-6 leaves for maize and early flowering for your beans and peas.

Don’t forget your plant tissue testing needs to continue along with applications of Vitaplex, Complex Foli-N and Mega-Fos - whichever is on your plan.

Soil Fertility Services Limited, Harvest House, New Road, Crimplesham, Norfolk PE33 9FH

Tel: (01366) 384899 Fax: (01366) 380205 E mail: info@independentsoils.co.uk www.independentsoils.co.uk

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G B rass

U K C E N T R E F O R B I O L O G I C A L A G R I C U L T U R E

NEWS FROM THE MAN SHED

It has been a bit manic here lately as Martin - our Production Manager has been off for 3 weeks, So not much time in the shed. Some reflection: Another bloody election - She had to do it as the next few years are going to be tough and she needs to be able to get on with the dumping of these Eurocrats. 2 years is not enough time to come up with a deal that is any good for either party, there will be major delays from the 27 countries who will argue amongst themselves and the Autocrats in Brussels who just want to screw us for all they can get. It might be a case of ‘be prepared to walk away’ as Mrs May says: “No deal is better than a bad deal.” But don’t trust the yanks to come up with a trading lifeline; Trump is not in the least bit concerned with the UK Trade Partnership, in fact he simply wants to dump their crap beef on us to reduce the US/UK trade deficit. As for this so called ‘leaving fee’, Theresa had better tell them now “GET LOST!” Where in article 50 does it say anything about a leaving ransom? When reality sets in we will get a deal, but not yet. The effect for the UK could be quite severe as we do need to export to our closest neighbours, but then so do they and there are plenty of alternative wine, olive oil & motor cars available. Now if UK food were to be marketed as the high value product it is, then there are other markets such as Russia, China, India and African countries. Europe will wake up and will want to trade but it will not be for some time and they have to feel the pain first. Robert

Robert Plumb

Aunt Aggie she say:

“Politicians git roight up my nose -

All tha’ say is a load a squit.”

Granfa he say:

“You’re more loike a politician than a politician

wi’ the load a squit tha comes outta ya mouth!”

“This Biological way of farming is about to really take off…” or so I was told when I started last year. I’m not sure if it’s just landed and stuck at customs or has never properly left the departure lounge. Why is it that after years of this planet getting along just fine without our human interference it is still considered that we know what’s best. Plant and soil work naturally together when left alone, but us homo sapiens still continue to break this bond and mercilessly pummel old Mum nature to our educated will. I keep hearing “Those biologicals are just muck and magic! If it worked everyone would do it!” Well Hogwarts - as far as I know, had no input when the world was created, but you do not have to be a wizard to see what is being done to our once fertile land. There is always going to be something to learn and oh boy have I had a steep hill of education these past months. Now it just seems to be common sense - look after your soil. If you take a crop off, test your soil have the results analysed and re-balance it. The plants and biology have just spent the season trying to build a home to thrive in, why would you then want to spend hours in your air conditioned, soil compacting, diesel guzzling vehicle and smash all this hard work to smithereens? Better to feed your army of soil workers and let them do their job. Use a powerful soil conditioner to open up your soil, in turn this will increase water infiltration and improve the biological habitat; humic and fulvic acids provide the essentials to the living biology helping them to release locked up phosphate. Add to that seaweed and trace elements, zinc, manganese and boron and you have given your most valuable commodity a real fighting chance. Of course if you’ve got plenty of free time, the urge to use more fuel and a burning desire to move earth or maybe you just don’t like being at home, then why would you change the way you already farm, but I would challenge anyone who says this is the norm’ because it’s always been done that way, farmers are the ones who have changed the norm’ to include the additional hours on four wheels and to ignore what the land is telling us. Steve

Here at SFS we are always looking for new ways to help keep our clients informed, not only with interesting insights, but also with our approach to looking after different crops in varying conditions. With this in mind we are introducing our new 'SFS Biological Approach To...' series which will look at some of the technical aspects of growing individual crops and how the biological products and methods that we use can help achieve the best results. We will be starting with maize first (just because it's that time of year) and will go on to cover the major crops like wheat, OSR, potatoes and grass etc. However, if you would like to make a suggestion of a particular crop to cover, (especially if you have a specific problem or question about it) whether one of the mainstream ones or not, then please let us know and we will do our best to cover it in one of the upcoming publications. Nick

Nick Thorp

Steve Holloway

Extremes of weather in recent years have meant soils in the UK being subjected to exceptional water-logging, run-off and nutrient uptake. Most of these performance limiting conditions can be attributed to the same root cause - compaction. Where compaction can have a particularly serious impact on stock production is where water-logged conditions result in a proliferation of liver fluke - a major concern for cattle and sheep farmers and something we have talked to you about numerous times. Another disease this time particularly in horses is Mud fever, caused by a bacterial infection in the soil and due to constant exposure to wet conditions in fields, especially around gates. It weakens the skin’s defences making it easy for the bacteria to gain entry, and causing a dermatitis reaction, pain, swelling, and bleeding around the heel. We have now specifically engineered a tried and tested product to reduce water-logging in grassland and paddocks - Humic SCG to help with these problems. Results from around the country confirm the benefits of improving water infiltration.

The above quote from a happy customer came following an initial assessment in mid-March of this year. Alan was advised to apply Humic SCG to open up the soils, and follow with an application of Gypsum to address a high magnesium problem. The fields had been poorly farmed, the quality and growth of the grass left a lot to be desired. Being in a high magnesium soil area as most of the Vale of York land is, the soils had become hard and compacted. The Humic SCG was applied on 24th March and the field re-visited on 11th May - only 6 weeks later. David

“The problem fields have been totally transformed, where before I saw no response to fertiliser and manure applications, now after the SCG application the grass has gone through rapid growth and changed from pale to deep green. I am now going to be able to take a cut of silage which I was not expecting to happen so soon”. Alan Inman from Knaresborough.

David Chapman