1) Lift Your Quality – Organics has a reputation for idealism, which can be good motivation but bad business. Consumers should get more than chemical-free when they buy organic. They should get forgotten flavours and extended shelf life to justify the premium, and this is all about nutrition. If you are deficient in zinc or boron, all of the compost in the world won’t correct that deficiency. You need soil and tissue tests and good advice to sponsor a quality-driven, precision nutrition approach that will bring the customer back for more. NTS are world leaders in soil and plant nutrition. (more…)

In this article we will look at practical implementation of biological farming principles focusing upon the strategies that are proven to deliver greater yield and quality while reducing the need for chemical intervention. The following summary can serve as a box ticking audit of your progress along the biological path.  (more…)

A major mineral is missing in many soils and most soil tests do not even monitor its presence. This mineral can increase stress resistance, boost photosynthesis and chlorophyll content, improve drought resistance, salt tolerance and soil fertility and prevent lodging. lt can also reduce insect pressure, frost damage and destructive disease while lowering irrigation rates, neutralising heavy metal toxicity and countering the negative effects of excess sodium. If I were to tell you that this same missing mineral can increase (more…)

What protective mineral fell free from the skies for many decades until legislation shut down supply? Ironically, this “pollutant” counters toxicity in humans and animals and helps to neutralise the negatives associated with excess nitrates in the food chain and environment. This pungent nutrient is also one of the best ways you can protect your pets from fleas! This often-neglected nutrient is sulfur and it is a keystone tool in biological farming. (more…)

Which often-neglected trace mineral can seriously reduce your fertiliser costs, decrease insect pressure and increase shelf-life of your produce (even though it is applied at just handfuls per hectare)? This same micronutrient, often ignored in soil tests, has also been shown to increase yield by as much as 600%! (more…)

If you have yet to discover the many benefits of kelp in agriculture, then do yourself a favour and experiment with foliar spays or soil applications of liquid seaweed in your particular crop. There are now no cost limitations upon the use of kelp because the introduction of Tri-Kelp™ Soluble Seaweed Powder from NTS has effectively re-written the rules relating to kelp usage. Where this plant growth promoter was once considered a costly but highly effective inclusion in intensive horticulture, it can now be used in every situation, including pasture and broadacre crops. (more…)

It is amazing the positive impact one group can have on an industry. Recently we have seen a flood of interest from the Tasmanian and Victorian dairy industries. In fact we have recently conducted two, well subscribed, four day Certificate Courses, specifically for the dairy industry and a third one is planned in the New Year. Why have these large-scale professionals suddenly recognised the potential of the biological approach in the face of an industry meltdown which is usually the least conducive environment for change. (more…)

American consultant, Gary Zimmer, coined the term “Calcium the trucker of all minerals and boron the steering wheel” and he correctly highlighted the critically important, synergistic relationship between these two minerals. It is a simple fact that you will be disappointed in your lime response if your soils are boron deficient because calcium does not provide its many benefits in the absence of boron. (more…)

The greatest pleasure I have found during my 16 year involvement with biological agriculture is to witness a re-awakening of a passion in growers who have embraced this approach. Our work comprises the biggest part of our allotted time on this planet and it is one of life’s essentials that we thoroughly enjoy our chosen profession. If you are not having fun in your work then find something that moves you, because life is simply too short to compromise! The “sparking” process, where growers are inspired to make a change, can happen at any stage in your life. The only limitation is a closed mind. In a world of rapid change the only thing certain is change and, in this flux, an open mind becomes a prerequisite to survive and thrive. (more…)

Mountains and land masses are born from the ocean in massive geological upheavals called diastrophism. Then, in nature’s typical cyclical fashion, the process of erosion through wind and rain ensures the gradual return of minerals and topsoil in a relentless flow back to the ocean. Many of the seventy (+) minerals that were present in the first cell that developed in the Precambrian Ocean, are no longer present in our soils. The ocean, however, retains this mineral motherlode and creatures and plant life which live within this elemental soup contain the broad-spectrum minerals so lacking on land! (more…)