68 | Intensively trained & experienced team Mainland Minerals use of fine particle fertiliser to apply nutrients simultaneously treats other limiting biological & physical soil issues. Virginia Wright RURAL SERVICES » Mainland Minerals - Southern Mainland Minerals Southern supply custommade fertiliser to farmers throughout Otago & Southland, south of the Waitaki River. Co-owner of the family owned and operated business, based in Gore, Murray Cockburn understands things aren’t easy for farmers right now, and that when things get tough fertiliser use can go on hold to reduce short-term outlay, but it’s the longer term which worries him. Over time he sees key drivers essential for recovery go down such as animal fertility, pastures yield, weaning weights and crop yields. For others he believes sticking to their normal regime may not be the best use of their fertiliser dollar which is where his intensively trained and experienced team can make a big difference. He’s heard the same story more than once even when soil testing has been done. “Let’s say they’ve put the fert on, Dad’s put the fert on, Granddad’s put the fert on, so phosphorus is sharp right across the farm why would you then go and put more on when it’s just to get the sulphur on? What a lot of our clients say is ‘I get different soil tests from different areas of my farm but I always just get recommended superphosphate at 250kgs a hectare and if the budget needs to go down they put it down to 200 or 150 kgs. I could write a sample recommendation right now for 90% of dairy farms and it would be exactly what they’ve been given, but the soil tests often tell a different story.” First, Mainland Minerals understand which major limiting nutrients are low, whether it’s sulphur, phosphorus, potassium, calcium or another. Then if it’s a major nutrient they put on a granular fertiliser, not a “fancy biological snake-oil substitution” as they hear others accuse them of. “We make sure that we put the right nutrients on, based on world-class soil science,” says Murray. Mainland Minerals use of fine particle fertiliser to apply nutrients simultaneously treats other limiting biological & physical soil issues, especially prevalent where heavy animals graze, to improve soil aeration. Dairy farms ‘often only need a touch up’ of nutrients but have a big issue with soil compaction negatively impacting the transfer of nutrients from the soil through the plant to the animals. “We grind ag lime down to a really fine powder, so it works differently. We mix it into a thick cementlike slurry with a little water then spraypaint nutrient over pasture with truck, plane or helicopter. Some nutrients are absorbed directly through the leaf, then the remaining nutrients travel down the plant stem to the root zone where it saturates the buffer zone around the plant’s root with all this calcium carbonate (ag lime) which lifts the soil pH up very quickly. Microbes love high pH, so it’s party time for them, and they explode in population & start breaking down all the locked up organic matter, releasing stored nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and trace minerals, and aerating the soil keeping it healthy long term,” explains Murray. Murray’s clear that dollar-for-dollar per kg of Proudly supporting Mainland Minerals - Southern Mainland Minerals www.forkliftsnz.co.nz Phone 0800 LIFTER Forklifts NZ Limited - Sales, Servicing, and Leasing 8 Kinloch Street, Invercargill Contact Tony Thomson 021 606 147 or sales@forkliftsnz.co.nz The team at Forkli s NZ have a proud business partnership with Mainland Minerals. nutrient they can be slightly more expensive than the co-op’s but says if you’re putting it in the wrong area, it’s irrelevant. “Putting it in the right place for those limiting nutrient areas is what pays off when you need tons of quality dry matter to feed your animals.” Mainland Minerals Southern work to their clients’ budget to do the best they can within it, and if you happen to have your head in the sand their message to you is that it’s time to make some good decisions around fertiliser with experts that can optimize your outcomes, for your farm productivity, environment & long-term profitability!
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