A common theme in this symptom-centred, pseudo science is profit taking at the expense of sustainability and, in many instances the “takers” have ignored or abused biology. There are agricultural scientists who have never considered soil biology, veterinarians who have eschewed gut biology and physicians who have ignored the collateral damage caused by their chief tools in trade. In all cases, we have payed the price for this oversight. Farming practices and farm chemicals have decimated beneficial soil biology, reducing disease suppression and increasing the need for chemical intervention. Veterinarians have shortened the average life of a dog from 18 years in 1900 down to just 8 years (Dr Tom Lonsdale, “Raw Meaty Bones”), a century later. Doctors have misused the chemical “solution” to the point that prescription medicine is now our 4th largest killer.

The essence of working with nature, rather than against her, involves nurturing biology on all fronts. Nowhere is this more important than in relation to immune-supporting nutrition because biology and nutrient uptake are intimately intertwined.

Supporting the Synergy

Mineral supplementation of the soil or animal should ideally involve the inclusion of biology to boost mineral performance. It has been recently discovered that combining a probiotic with a mineral supplement increases the uptake of the mineral by up to 45%. Similarly, the inclusion of compost with fertilisers can promote a comparable improvement. It is always a wasted opportunity to apply a compost tea or liquid fertiliser without adding some microbial inoculum because you will always require much less fertiliser when you stimulate uptake with biology. The synergy works on several levels. In the gut, the probiotic organisms aid in the digestion of food and supplements, and the transfer of nutrition from the gut into the blood. In the soil, the beneficial organisms are literally the stomach for the plant. The plant shares over 30% of its glucose production with these creatures to ensure that digestion and recycling is maximised. The biology that crowds the leaf surface to access the carbon exudates produced by the plant, produces biochemicals to boost foliar uptake of nutrients. These leaf dwelling organisms also assist their host by releasing CO₂, which stimulates stomatal opening and further enhances the uptake of foliar nutrition.

The aim of the biological farmer, if he or she chooses to use acid/salt fertilisers, is to reduce the impact and the dose rates of these costly inputs by carbon buffering and boosting fertiliser efficiency with biology. It is a combination of minerals and microbes that determine both productivity and crop resilience. This is where composted fertilisers really come into their own.

Nutri-Store Gold™ – An All-inclusive Living Fertiliser

 Growers can put the microbes behind the minerals by always applying crop nutrition with a compost or they can purchase a well formulated composted fertiliser that will supply minerals and biology together. Nutri-Store Gold™ is an unsung hero in the large NTS range. It has never been advertised and yet sales have steadily grown since it was first introduced to the market some 15 years ago. This is a “champagne” biological blend that features the good guys and everything that supports them, together in one potent mix. This living fertiliser was originally designed for farmers who had not had the prerequisite soil test that could be used to design a personalised prescription blend. This “complete” fertiliser was seen as a viable alternative to this level of precision because it could offer coverage of all key minerals to ensure success. However, it is now also widely used in the home garden arena as few gardeners can justify the luxury of a soil test. Many gardeners now recognise that the quality of their home-produced food will depend upon the mineralisation of their soils and the presence of beneficial soil life.

Nutri-Store Gold™ contains soil conditioners, soil-life promotants and all of the key minerals required for healthy, resilient plant growth. Most importantly, these components are combined with a high-carbon compost containing billions of beneficial microorganisms.

The inputs included to improve soil structure in this unique formulation include lime, gypsum and  magnesium carbonate. The soil-life boosters include humic acid, fulvic acid and kelp. The remineralising component involves good levels of major minerals in both available and slow release form. All seven trace minerals are present at luxury levels including cobalt and molybdenum and there is also a healthy dose of silica involved. This composted fertiliser is in powder form, as granulation involves heat that compromises the biology.

I have used Nutri-Store Gold™ as my base fertiliser in my three acres of gardens at Noosa Valley and at my farm on Norfolk Island. In the case of Norfolk Island we tweaked the formula to address the five minerals that are commonly lacking in Norfolk’s humus-rich volcanic soils.

Six Synergy Secrets

1) Fertiliser requirements can be seriously reduced when you put the minerals behind the microbes. For example, you can apply just 10% of soil test recommendations and still achieve a good result when those minerals are combined with compost.

2)  A typical foliar application of chelated zinc might require around 5 litres per hectare. If the zinc is combined with a compost tea you may be pleased at the response achieved using just one litre per hectare.

3) It is always a good idea to send your new workforce to work with a lunch box. This will improve both performance and colonisation. The favourite “lunch” treats include the three most important inputs in biological agriculture, humates, fish and kelp.

4) Be careful when including copper with compost teas, inoculums or composts  as it is a biocide which kills both fungi and bacteria. The rule of thumb is to limit copper inputs to just 1kg per tonne of compost or 100 grams per 100 litres of compost tea.

5) The very best result is achieved when the fertiliser inputs are combined at the completion of the heating phase (thermophyllic stage) of the composting, which is usually completed after two weeks. You must be careful with the inclusion of lime as it can change the pH of the composting material and slow the biodegradation accordingly. Here the rule of thumb is not to exceed 100 kgs of lime per tonne. However, if needed you can include more lime with the end product just before application.

6) Brown coal (Nutri-Mate Organic Humates™) is a wonderful ingredient for your compost as it helps to stabilse, magnify and retain nutrients while also providing the highly desirable “lunchbox” effect. The ideal rate here is 100 kg per tonne of compost and this is sufficient to chelate the mineral component once the humic and fulvic acid (powerful natural chelating agents) have been released from the coal via the decomposing organisms.

In Conclusion

We have practised extractive agriculture for much of the past century, plugging the increasing number of leaks with increasingly costly farm chemicals. It is past time that we returned to a genuine agricultural science and that involves working more closely with both minerals and microbes. Putting the microbes behind the minerals is real science that serves food producers on many levels. It does not, however, spell profits for the chemical salespeople, so you will need to experiment and discover the potential for yourself. I wish you every success.

On the other hand, in some instances it is not possible to completely supply the calculated requirement due to rate restraints. For example, a soil shows very low zinc levels (e.g., 0.1 ppm); our maximum recommended annual application of zinc sulfate monohydrate is 25 kg/ha (to avoid plant toxicity and damage to soil biology). This input provides 3.8 ppm of zinc. The application will therefore not be sufficient to reach the ideal minimum level for zinc (5 ppm), although it is certainly a good step in the right direction. The same can be applicable for any element. Subsequently, it would be ideal to evaluate soil levels of these elements 10 months after the initial blend to ascertain if further inputs would be beneficial.

As a side note, in areas with high rainfall or very light soils with low nutrient holding capacity, we suggest splitting the recommended soil amendment into two (or more) applications to reduce loss through leaching/runoff.

We are also often asked how long it will take until chemical NPK and pesticide inputs can be reduced. This largely depends on the time taken to fully balance and incorporate sufficient amendments into the soil (i.e., slow acting humates, phosphates and basalt rock minerals). This can take quite a period of time (e.g., two or more prescription blend treatments) for growers who have a history of heavy chemical usage, as their soils are often unbalanced with low carbon and poor microbial activity.  Conversely, providing you are starting with a high organic matter, soil reliance on NPK and pesticides inputs can be significantly reduced within one season. Organic matter is one of the hardest, and most important, soil properties to build as it governs overall soil fertility. Organic matter is responsible for the structural integrity of fine textured soils, and it is the home base for beneficial soil biology. As such, it is responsible for recycling and solubilising soil nutrients, and for fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Building soil organic matter is really the key to reducing dependence on synthetic NPK forms and stop-gap pesticide use. So, in that regard, if you have good organic matter levels you are one big step in front of growers with low carbon.

Biological systems are dependent on so many different interlacing factors, and actual requirements will vary from season to season. For this reason we monitor plant nutrient levels throughout the season with regular laboratory leaf analyses. We want to catch any problems early before they can seriously impact yield and profitability.

Nutrition Farming® (soil mineral balancing, microbial/biology balancing and precision nutrition throughout the season) has the potential to be more economically viable than conventional farming. Again, this will obviously depend on the soil’s starting point and current fertilising/farming practices. We work with numerous growers who, after applying prescription blends, have not needed to add soil amendments for the last few years and have significantly reduced pesticide requirements. Their input costs have reduced and the quality of their produce is achieving premiums that they previously thought weren’t possible. An example of this is our local strawberry growers who have been applying Prescription Blends. Balancing the soil has improved plant availability of the full-spectrum of  nutrients; plant growth last season was so good that the fertigation program needed to be cut back to avoid over-vigorating the plants. Ultimately, our approach gives growers more long-term financial security; it is not possible to predict future inputs costs but we do know in which direction they will be trending.

Elise Wenden

Graeme:  Congratulations on making the finals of this award. What would you to do with the $10,000 that is allocated to sponsor a project of the winner’s choice?

Elise:  I would use it to develop a handbook for biological farming with an emphasis upon soil microbes and the strategies needed to nurture them.

Graeme:  It is an interesting chicken and egg debate about which is more important, minerals or microbes. There are microbiologists out there suggesting that all we need to do is re-instate soil biology and the job is done. In actual fact, decades of extractive agriculture has compromised more than the biology. You can’t take off seventy minerals with each crop, replace three of them and not expect a consequence. What is your position in the minerals vs. microbes debate?

Elise:  I always suggest that my clients start with a soil test as this is science to which they can readily relate.  However, fertility is a two way street and we can’t ignore either. I love soil microbes and have been working with Dr Mary Cole who specialises in beneficial fungi.

Graeme:  Has it been challenging to be trying to promote a new approach to older male farmers who are set in their ways when you are both young and female?

Elise:  I can’t deny that it has been a difficult challenge with that double hurdle but I have found a hunger out there for honest, independent opinion. They soon pick up on my passion and my commitment to the industry but they often check my credibility and I have to jump through more hoops than most.

Graeme: It is heartening for me to see the huge upswing in interest in the biological approach in recent years. 18 years ago we would attend Ag shows and there would only ever be a couple of us flying the flag. Now there are more bio ag companies than chemical companies at these events. Have you found it difficult operating amongst all of this competition?

Elise:  I am more concerned for the farmers than myself because there is sometimes a negative side to the increased competition. They go to a field day and constantly hear different stories. It is so confusing for them. For some reason many in the industry have reverted to bagging their competitors and this kind of negativity invariably backfires and reflects negatively on the entire industry.

Graeme:  I couldn’t agree more. There is really only one story, although there may be different roads to Rome. It is critically important that the industry band together and present a united front without petty rivalry. The message is too important and the clock is ticking.  I think growers soon come to realise if you are more concerned about your own profits than their welfare. If you are genuine in achieving the best possible outcome for your client they will soon realise where you are coming from. How do you break the ice when visiting a new grower?

Elise:  We check their soil test and associated soil structure and then we look at where they are now and where they want to be. It is important to evaluate their expectations and to be realistic about goals, but establishing a baseline is the best starting point.

Graeme:  There are simple, inexpensive strategies using humates and microbes that can rapidly improve profitability but balancing soil minerals is often a long term proposition, particularly when there are budgetary restrictions.

Elise:  Yes, you need short term and long term goals. We need to always be up front about time frames.

Graeme: I understand that your attendance at the four day Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture course was a turning point in your career. It is amazing how often this course has had this kind of life changing impact on growers and consultants around the globe. It is such a rewarding thing to be part of.

Elise:  Yes. I started to conceptualise a new path during the four day course but after completing the Master Class I was really inspired to turn a dream into reality. I was impressed with the backup support NTS offers with the entire organisation and this helped with my confidence.

Graeme:  What is the major challenge facing farmers in your region?

Elise:  Flood recovery has been the main issue this past year. It’s been all about correcting anaerobic soils and leached nutrition.

Graeme: It has been similar issues in Queensland although loss of top soil has also compounded problems here. Humus rich soils invariably do best in terms of nutrient retention and they rebound much more rapidly, but the torrent was so intense in some areas of Queensland that it took all before it, including some of the best top soil in the world. One of our lucky growers actually gained forty feet of top soil in one valley, but most of it ended up in the ocean.   Anyway back to my questions. A well founded, fear of recession that has been impacting all industries. Have you seen much impact in agriculture?

Elise: Most definitely. There is so much caution out there. Some see a move into biological agriculture as having an element of risk and there is no appetite for risk at all at present.

Graeme:  It is understandable that you would choose to stick with what you know in times of uncertainty but, in actual fact, this is when it is critical to investigate new tools to improve your growing skills and bottom line. When the going gets tough ……. in my opinion simple little tricks like seed treatment, inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi and inclusion of soluble humate granules with fertilisers become no-brainers in tough times. The whole package can cost less than $10 per hectare and it is a big return for a small investment.

Elise:  How could a broadacre grower use those three inputs for just $10 a hectare?

Graeme: We had wonderful results last season inoculating our Platform™ product (mycorrhizal fungi) into wheat crops at planting , at a cost of just $5 per hectare. Soluble humates magnify fertiliser response so reliably, that we have found it safe to suggest that fertiliser use can be slightly reduced to account for the cost of the soluble humates. For example, 5 kg of NTS Soluble Humate Granules™ per hectare is very productive. This costs around $13 per hectare, so you use $13 less fertiliser to cover the cost.  The humates essentially become a cost-free exercise. I have never seen anyone who did not do better with the humate additive. Our Seed Start™ seed treatment costs between $2 and $4 per hectare depending on the seed involved but essentially this gives you a simple three pronged strategy for just $8 or $9 per hectare.

Elise:  You’ve sold me!

Graeme:  Sorry about that, I can’t help myself. Small changes can be so cheap and yet so productive. We all wish you every success in the Rural Women’s Award. Keep up your great work. Thanks for the talk.

Elise: Thank you.

The King Of Fruits

Nutrient density is directly related to taste and shelf life and of course it is hugely important when it comes to the medicinal value of food. James Duke, the remarkable USDA scientist who has spent his life quantifying the relative phytonutrient content of food crops, has this to say about blueberries and their therapeutic potential: “blueberries are analgesic, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, anti-sunburn, anti-ulcer and immuno stimulants”. The thing to understand here is that the potency of these purple powerpacks is directly related to how they are grown and, in this context, brix levels are a measure of the health potential of any fresh food. The higher the brix level of the plant leaf, the greater the phytonutrient content of the fruit and the higher the medicinal value of that food.

Forgotten Flavours

The taste of Dean Bryant’s berries was sensational. In fact, my young son who had never before liked the taste of blueberries became an overnight convert when he sampled their true potential. I purchased eight punnets of this super fruit for myself during the field day but three containers remained uneaten in my fridge when I departed for an International speaking tour the following week. Conventional blueberries turn mouldy or begin to degrade after a few days in the fridge. When I returned from over three weeks abroad the blueberries were still edible and delicious. In fact there were only a couple of discards needed from each punnet. It amazes me that the supermarket chains have not recognised the marketing potential of biologically grown food. If you can deliver a product with forgotten flavours, extended shelf life and greater medicinal value, this must surely give you an edge over your competitors. The increase in shelf life alone should have driven the big players in this direction as it has the potential to seriously reduce losses due to a short shelf life. To this point, it is only Woolworths in South Africa that have realised this potential. This innovative company have launched their “Farming for the Future” initiative where the majority of their fresh produce is now grown using biological principles and everyone wins!

My Return to Brymac Industries

Recently I revisited Dean and Helen’s enterprise to see if they would be part of a proposed prime time TV special on the benefits of biological food. Dean had recently returned from the National Blueberry Conference where he discovered that he is receiving at least double the premium for his produce in comparison to other growers. People are obviously prepared to pay for quality and Dean struggles to keep up with the demand for his fruit. He is constantly propagating new plants to expand his operation.

Dean combines a full NTS program with a biodynamic approach. He uses NTS Prescription Blends based on soil tests each year. He leaf tests regularly and makes the required corrections with foliar sprays involving chelated minerals including The NTS Shuttle™ Range. He stimulates soil life with kelp, fish and humates and he brews up Nutri-Life 4/20™ to boost soil life. He also applies the BD preps on schedule. We have repeatedly seen exceptional results when our biological programs are combined with Biodynamic principles, particularly in viticulture.

Fashion Guru Feasts on Flavour

The demand for Dean’s vastly superior produce is not limited to his local fans. During his recent stay in Noosa, Giorgio Armani tasted some of Dean’s berries in a local restaurant. He was so impressed that he ordered an entire tray of twelve punnets for his own consumption during his stay. There is a worldwide move toward fantastic flavour and it is great that increased shelf life and therapeutic value are so closely linked to taste.

1) Soil Health is Financial Health

The biggest mindset change in the move toward a more sustainable agricultural future is the recognition that you are dealing with a living system and that everything you do will impact that system. Your goal is to make that impact positive. However, a second paradigm shift involves an understanding that risk reduction, recession proofing and financial reward are intimately linked to the health of your soil life. It amazes me that research is still required to prove this point. Disease is the biggest risk factor limiting financial success in cropping and there is no disease that is not naturally controlled by a fully functioning soil foodweb. There are hundreds of papers linking specific disease protection to particular beneficial soil organisms. There are older farmers the world over who lament the loss of earthworms, soil structure and resilience, linked to the rise and rise of extractive agriculture. There are younger farmers, of course, who have never seen an earthworm on their properties and perhaps they are the audience for the latest “findings”. Enviroveg, for example, is a research initiative by Ausveg, the industry body for vegetable growers. The 2011 Enviroveg studies conclusively confirmed that soil health determined the need for chemical intervention, particularly in relation to fungicides. The irony here though, is that chemicals beget chemicals, and the collateral damage from this viscous cycle is to the soil life that actually reduces the need for chemicals.

So, how do we escape the treadmill, how do we improve the life in our soils and reduce the need for chemicals? The answer involves a three-way approach including the protection, repopulation and stimulation of this silent workforce. Protection involves soil management decisions like the reduction of tillage (a proven humus depletor), the use of detox agents, like fulvic acid, to minimise the damage potential of the chemicals and the utilisation of compost and humates to boost humus levels. Humus (organic carbon) tends to buffer some of the damage associated with farm chemicals. Repopulation involves brewing and applying inexpensive specialist inoculums and compost teas along with the use of actual compost (which is, essentially, a broad spectrum inoculum). Stimulation requires the regular use of proven bio-stimulants like kelp, fish, humates and sugar.

2) Become Carbon Wise

Agriculture is the biggest single green house gas polluter accounting for 25% of CO₂ emissions, 60% of methane emissions and a whopping 85% of the nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere every year. It is only due to the importance of food production and food security that farmers have yet to be penalised for their premier role in Global warming. I am not suggesting that this will change in 2012. In fact, the industry is set to be rewarded for reclaiming some of the CO₂ it has contributed (via carbon credits). The loss of 70% of our soil humus over the past 150 years has contributed 470 gigatonnes of CO₂ to the atmosphere. All of mankind’s other enterprises, including industry and transport, have contributed 270 gigatonnes of CO₂. Agriculture has been the big culprit and it will also prove to be the savior as no one else can save the day in time. Humus is built from CO₂ that would otherwise be in the atmosphere. If we increase soil organic matter levels by 1% in US croplands, for example, we capture 4.5 billion of the 8 billion tonnes of CO₂ that the American’s release each year. This is the only strategy, at this stage that is capable of halting or reversing climate change! So, how do we convert atmospheric carbon into soil carbon and how do we minimise the release of the other two offending greenhouse gases from our farms to reduce our overall footprint (before the regulators do it for us)?

Here are some suggestions:

Nitrogen should always be stabilised with soluble humates or compost to reduce losses to the atmosphere. We should also enhance nitrogen efficiency and increase our access to atmospheric nitrogen. Urea can be applied as a foliar at rates of 10 kg to 20kg per hectare (with 1 kg of NTS Soluble Humate Granules™) and this form of direct entry can be three to four times more efficient than ground-applied nitrogen. Molybdenum and cobalt are required in the soil to fuel nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere and it is also important that oxygen delivery is maximised through optimising the calcium to magnesium ratio (this ratio determines a soil’s capacity to breathe, and nitrogen fixing organisms are particularly reliant upon good levels of oxygen).

Grain-fed beef fart and burp much more methane than grass-fed animals and perhaps it is time to question this production technology. The rationale for feeding grain to beef cattle has always related to the superiority of the grain-fed product but this is simply not true. It is time that we recognised that there is no comparison between the end product in these two contrasting production methods. Contrary to the marketing story, grass fed beef is a vastly superior food, containing just 20% of the saturated fat of the grain-fed animal. It also contains good levels of omega 3 fatty acids and the highly protective fat, CLA, which is not found in grain-fed beef.

Studies of the carbon sequestering potential of different systems have revealed three very effective humus-building strategies, all of which are linked to grazing. Rotational or cell grazing is a proven carbon builder. The principle here is basically common sense. The higher the above and below ground biomass, the greater the potential for humus production (because there is more raw material present). The below ground biomass (the roots) directly mirrors the above ground biomass (the foliage). If you graze down to a bowling green, the plant roots will correspondingly reduce in size and so will your potential to build carbon. Buffaloes grazing the Great Plains did so en-masse for short periods and then moved on. This was the natural equivalent of cell grazing. These soils were some of the most consistently productive soils in the history of the planet until man intervened. As is so often the case, our management strategies have not proved the equal of Nature and the Great Plains has consistently lost their productive potential since the advent of extractive agriculture.

Pasture cropping is a relatively new phenomenon that appears to have considerable promise as both a carbon builder and an income stream. Here, cereals and other crops are interplanted with the pasture. They are grazed off twice before they are left to go to head and harvested. It seems that the biodiversity and added photosynthesis potential linked to greater plant density may be playing a role in sequestering more carbon into these soils.

The third of these strategies has been well researched over the past twenty years by the Rodale Foundation in the US. They have shown that no-till and minimum-till farming significantly increases the carbon-building potential. Tillage exposes humus to oxygen and there is always some loss through oxidation. This loss is magnified greatly if the soil is too moist when worked. No-till has disadvantages due to the compromising effect of the herbicides required, but minimum-till farming, with well-timed use of mechanical weed management tools, seems to be the most sustainable and productive option.

Perhaps, the single most effective carbon building strategy is to reintroduce mycorrhizal fungi back into our soils. It is now estimated that these remarkable creatures are responsible for over one third of the stable soil carbon on the planet and their decline, due to modern agriculture, directly parallels our loss of soil carbon. It is estimated that up to 90% of the mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have now been lost in the cultivated, food producing soils on the planet. Increases in the efficiency of spore harvesting have now enabled the remarkably cost effective inoculation of AMF. Other free living cellulose digesting fungi can also be inexpensively reintroduced, to maximise the carbon building potential of crop residues like stubble.

3) Diversify or Get Out!

This sounds a little extreme but only because it is intended to contrast “get bigger or get out!”, the prevailing maxim in agriculture in recent years. There are several factors linked to this change in perspective, including the following:

• The average age of farmers is increasing (now over 60 years of age) and we desperately need to entice a younger generation into farming. The idea of monoculture involving commodities governed in price by the value of the Australian dollar and the whimsys of world investors has lost its appeal to many. A younger generation spawned on the promise of diverse, exciting, often digitally driven career options, is not flocking home to the farm. Entrepreneur farmers like American, Joel Salatin have recognised the need for change. Diverse, multi dimensional, interrelated enterprises have much greater appeal to youth.
• As peak oil and global warming issues begin to bite there will be more drivers to buy local, seasonal food. In fact, we eventually may not have a choice.
• The massive increase in farmers markets around the globe reflects a trend toward shopping locally and a desire to put a face to our food. These markets have proven lucrative opportunities to cut out the middlemen and the growers who have prospered most are those with the greatest variety on offer.
• The farmers markets also allow a cash injection, which is immune from bank interference. Many of the larger dairy farmers, for example, in both Australia and New Zealand, have borrowed heavily to “get bigger” and now, when they finally get some good milk prices, the bank is demanding a big slice of the action to repay some principle. The milk cheques are being severely pruned as a result and the farmers are given their meager monthly living allowance.
• Polyculture is invariable less pest intensive because biodiversity tends to reduce pest pressure, particularly if companion planting is practiced. The Farmers Markets reflect increasing consumer demand for chemical-free food. Farm chemicals will dramatically increase in price with peak oil and so there is a dual motivation to reduce your reliance upon them.

4) Become a Price Maker

You can produce record crops of high quality fruit and vegetables and leave them unharvested because the market falls in a heap. You need to become a price maker rather than a price taker. Marketing your produce is as important as growing it, but it is often the neglected skill in the armada of talents involved in modern food production. Sending your hard won produce to distant markets to be sold by strangers is a risky practice rarely mirrored in other industries. A writer, for example, does not market his work as an anonymous wordsmith at the mercy of all comers and the winemaker is similarly discerning regarding the outcome of his labours. There are some simple tricks that can increase the odds of success if you are sending food to the large markets. It’s not just enough to develop a reputation for quality, although it definitely helps. Branding is important. Create your own catchy colours, logo and product name on your box and make sure that labelling reflects your key selling points. If you are growing biologically, then include a reference to “biologically grown with forgotten flavours and extended shelf life” on your box, or you have sold yourself seriously short!

Consider developing your own export market for your produce. It can be as simple as visiting some South East Asian markets and identifying an agent with whom you would like to work. An export agent will take care of the bookwork and you can simply ship on demand. There may be some initial hiccups but then you have a system in place that can ensure a much better return.

You will need to develop some basic retail skills if you want to succeed in direct selling at the farmers markets. Print out your prices and specials with your computer and keep the site mess-free and creatively appealing to consumers. One simple trick is to keep the shelves full. As soon as you slip up and fail to refill your display area you will notice an immediate reduction in sales. For some reason people are drawn to abundance. A friendly, positive attitude will attract return custom so even if you may be struggling with crowds because you spend all day alone in the paddock I suggest that you may need to fake it or forget it! I am amazed that anyone ever returns to some of the grumpy, unhelpful characters that sometimes appear to sell their produce at the markets.

5) Consider Organic Certification

I have argued long and hard for the flexibility of the biological approach over organics. I have suggested that organics is largely about what you can’t do, while biological farming is all about what you should be doing to achieve nutrient dense, flavoursome food. However, it is a simple fact that depending upon your marketing skills, the organic produce will usually return a higher premium. It is often worth jumping through some extra hoops to access this premium. There is also the issue that organic certification offers the only ironclad certainty that the food you are buying is completely free from chemicals. Recent research published in this month’s issue of “The Townsend Letter For Doctors”, a highly reputed industry journal, adds extra impetus to the need to be chemical free. This research covers the effects of farm pesticides on the intellectual development of children. There is now compelling evidence linking exposure to organophosphate pesticides to significantly lower IQ in children and this also applies to low level prenatal exposure. This exposure can lead to lasting metabolic disruption in children. In newborns this exposure is related to an increased number of abnormal reflexes but in adolescents the effects manifest as emotional and mental problems.

In 2002, The US National Centre for Health Statistics reported a 50% increase in the number of women reporting impaired fecundity in the 14 years since they had initiated these studies (4.9 million women in 1988, increasing to 7.3 million women reporting problems in 2002). In 2005, a group of 40 experts compiled by Stanford University, noted that there were significant concerns about the effects of organophosphate pesticides on fertility. The cynics amongst us may suggest that this is one way of addressing the problems associated with overpopulation but this is not a view which will be shared by the countless, confused newly weds struggling to conceive. The consumption of organic food is now a proven strategy to increase sperm counts and reduce problems with fecundity.

6) Feed what you need when you need it.

Most growers now understand the necessity for soil testing to avoid driving blind. This information is essential when designing crop nutrition programs, but you do need to understand the figures to make productive decisions. All minerals affect other minerals and that influence may be negative or positive. If you follow the common NPK prescriptions favoured by many of the fertiliser companies, they usually remain the same year after year regardless of the soil test results. How can this be possible you may well ask? A crop removes a whole range of minerals and they need to be replaced. There is obviously more than NPK involved here but even the simplistic, NPK prescriptions, repeated year after year, do not gel from a soil science perspective. The amount of each of these three key minerals required each season will vary based upon many environmental and biological factors. Nitrogen requirements, for example, will vary based upon the supply of free atmospheric nitrogen and environmental factors that influence the supply of this form of nitrogen. Phosphorus requirements will also vary, based upon release of “locked up” phosphorus and this in turn can be influenced by soil aeration, suitable soil life, P releasing legumes and the presence of beneficial fungi which release phosphorus. Potassium is, perhaps, the most mismanaged of this trio, when it is included every season with the NPK blend, whether needed or not. We encounter many occasions in intensive horticulture where the soil contains way too much potassium and yet more is added every feeding time. In this instance, the grower is not only wasting hard earned money on the most expensive of all fertilisers, but the excess is creating other problems. Excess potash negatively influences the uptake of boron, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. We call these minerals “the Big Four” because they have such an impact on both yield and quality. The absence of “the Big Four” can produce a compromised plant that will require more chemical intervention. Understanding mineral relationships can have a huge impact upon your fertiliser bill and your profitability. Attend one of our courses or educate yourself on the NTS website and put yourself back into the driver’s seat for 2012.

7) Discover the benefits of tissue testing

While most growers understand the need for soil testing, many have yet to understand the benefits of tissue testing. Testing the leaf during the crop cycle offers an invaluable insight into exactly what the crop is accessing at any point in time. On many occasions the presence of a mineral in the soil (according to soil test results) does not ensure the presence of that mineral within the plant. This can relate to antagonism from other minerals that are in excess, the destruction of biology responsible for the delivery of that mineral or a dilution of minerals within the plant due to an oversupply of nitrate nitrogen (a mineral that is always taken up with water, which dilutes other nutrients). Whatever the cause of the mineral imbalance, a tissue test allows rapid correction. This correction is best addressed as a foliar spray as this has proven to be the most efficient way to deliver minerals and it means that soil lockups can be bypassed through delivery of the required minerals directly into the leaf. I am of the opinion that, in many circumstances, tissue testing can be of more value that soil testing because it facilitates yield building, precision nutrition.

8) Rid yourself of herbicide residues

The recent research efforts of a single scientist have questioned the ongoing viability and sustainability of the largest selling herbicide on the planet. Who says one man cannot change the world? In fact, multi-national giants are quaking in their boots at the potential losses associated with these findings. Professor Don Huber, from Purdue University in the US, has released a series of damning research papers that confirm beyond any doubt that glyphosate is not the benign, biodegradable weed killer that the marketers would have us believe. Don’s research has revealed the following:

• Glyphosate kills the soil creatures responsible for delivery of iron and manganese to the crop with obvious implications for chlorophyll density and associated photosynthesis potential.
• Glyphosate has been linked to an increase in the prevalence of over 40 soil diseases because it compromises both the plant defense systems and the beneficial soil life that would otherwise protect against these pathogens.
• Glyphosate increases the growth and virulence of several fungal pathogens, including fusarium, pythium, rhizoctonia and phthora.
• Glyphosate immobilises the nutrients responsible for mobilising a plant’s defense system. This is actually how the chemical operates. It weakens the plant so the pathogens can then kill it. This raises huge issues for the genetically modified, Roundup Ready crops because the food crop is drenched in this chemical and can be compromised accordingly.
• Glyphosate compromises the nutritional value of food crops because a robust defense system is directly linked to the presence of medicinal phyto-chemicals in the food. In fact, in many cases, the very same biochemicals are involved.
• Glyphosate increases the likelihood of dangerous mycotoxins entering the food chain and there are also issues with the chemical itself in stock food. In fact, the toxin levels in straw can be high enough to make cattle and pigs infertile.
• There are many reports of allergic reactions in both humans and livestock following consumption of Roundup Ready crops.
• The chelating capacity of glyphosate can lead to a reduction in the plant availability of key micronutrients, including zinc, and this is having a negative effect upon human health. We now know that our food contains less nutrition when it is grown in soils that contain glyphosate residues or when we consume GM food that has been directly treated with glyphosate.

So how do we reduce the collateral damage associated with the world’s largest selling farm chemical? Unfortunately, the increasing popularity of no-till farming has increased the use of this chemical and resistance is becoming a major issue. It is now known that the biodegradability of glyphosate reduces over time as the organisms responsible for the degradation are compromised by the chemical. One productive strategy involves the use of specific biostimulants that accelerate the breakdown of the chemical in the soil. It is important that the glyphosate is rapidly degraded because if it remains in the field, it also continues to kill algae in the soil. These plant-like creatures are a major food source for the key workers in your soil (bacteria and fungi), so their demise signals a negative effect upon the entire, interrelated soil life community. If you are locked into a glyphosate regime (as many farmers are), then make sure that you combine a suitable soil detox agent with your glyphosate. NTS has pioneered the development of this type of product. Herbi-Safe™ is an inexpensive, essential additive if you are seeking to increase the sustainability of glyphosate and other contact herbicides. If you can remove the residues from the soil as rapidly as possible, then the long list of potential negatives can be seriously reduced.

9) Discover the multiple benefits of AM Fungi

Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are the single most important creatures on our planet at this point in time. They are single handedly responsible for producing over one third of the stable humus in our soils. Stable humus holds CO₂ in the soil for up to 35 years and prevents it from returning to the atmosphere, as part of the carbon cycle. The storage of carbon in the soil as humus is the only viable way that we can change the CO₂ equation fast enough to avert a climate change catastrophe. Unfortunately, we have lost over 80% of these creatures during a few short decades of extractive agriculture. It is past time that we put them back and the NTS product, Platform™, offers an inexpensive, repopulating solution. Platform™ has proven to be the most exciting NTS product addition in the last decade and the unanimously positive feedback flows in from all corners of the globe.  The reason for this widespread enthusiasm is not just related to carbon sequestration. AMF fungi offer a spectacular range of other benefits that play a major role in ultimate profitability. They are the key to achieving optimal soil health, so the soil no longer supports disease causing organisms and this alone can herald big savings in farm chemicals.  They are specifically equipped to release locked-up phosphorus in the soil and access to this huge frozen reserve can reduce fertilising costs (the CSIRO estimates that there is ten billion dollars of phosphate locked within Australian farming soils). They are synergists for highly efficient nitrogen fixation, as they supply key nutrients for the nitrogen-fixing organisms to thrive (which, again reduces fertiliser costs). They also help release potassium that is locked within clay platelets so, in effect, they offer a biological source of NPK. However, it does not end there. AMF help retain moisture with their massive network of pipe-like filaments. They mine zinc and increase the bioavailability of several other trace minerals, and they are perhaps the most important key to keeping calcium bio-available in the soil. Calcium is the hardest nut to crack for most growers and consultants, as it is extremely difficult to maintain the desired levels of calcium in the plant tissue throughout the crop cycle. If your soil contains good levels of AMF then these creatures will be constantly breaking the bond between calcium and phosphate (making both minerals available to the plant).

Platform™ can be applied with the seed in broadacre crops for an investment of just $5 per hectare. This supplies over 100,000 spores and propagules per hectare, which can populate the entire crop during the season. An investment of $20 per hectare is recommended in horticulture, field crops and pasture situations. However, if, as is often the case in pasture, you are not constantly killing off the new workforce with chemicals, then you may need only a single application to be back in the game and enjoying the multiple benefits of AMF.

10) Learn to relax through the hard times

Wherever I travel throughout the world, I ask participants at my seminars about their stress levels. There are usually less than 2% of these patrons who do not feel anxiety on a regular basis. We have created a stress-laden world often based upon rampant consumerism. We “need” all these “things” and the effort to acquire and maintain them is slowly killing us. Farmers do not usually fit into the mindless consumer mould but they actually have more real reason for stress than any other profession. You are dealing with climate extremes, greedy supermarket chains, declining soil fertility, inconsiderate banks, fickle commodity prices and a high Australian dollar. This is one of the few professions where effort does not necessarily equate to reward. This is the most important profession of them all and we need to look after the people who produce our food. In this instance, I will endeavour to help you look after yourselves with a dozen stress busting tips:

• Breathing is the simplest and most effective way to soften stress. The first step is to make sure that you are a stomach breather rather than a chest breather. Simply place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest and breathe normally. If you are a stomach breather, the hand on your stomach (below the naval) should rise up more obviously than the hand placed on your chest. You will need to practice for several weeks, every time you think of it, to change a shallow, chest breathing habit, but it will prove tremendously rewarding if you persist. A long, deep, conscious breath, several times a day, can serve as a roundabout to slow the frantic traffic of thoughts in your mind. It has been estimated that we think over 30,000 thoughts each day, most of which are mindless babble and many of which are negative. A few deep breaths each day breaks the flow and allows a few seconds of contemplation which can lower blood pressure and heart rate and make life a little more pleasant.
• 4-7-7 Breathing – This is a tool favoured by Buddhist monks, which can be a highly effective stress-relieving strategy. It simply involves breathing in as deeply as you can for a period of four seconds and then holding the air you have inhaled for a period of seven seconds. After this period you expel the air from your lungs with your tongue tucked in behind your front teeth. The expulsion, which should remove every gasp of air from deep within your lungs, should also take seven seconds. Hence the 4-7-7 tag. Suck in for 4 seconds, hold for seven seconds and exhale for seven seconds (with the tongue in place). This pattern is always repeated in groups of seven. A single group may be sufficient for you to chill down but, if not, then try 14 or 21 cycles of the pattern (always sticking to the groups of seven cycles at a time).
• Meditation  is a well-researched technique that has been shown to lower blood pressure and heartbeat while mimimising anxiety and reducing the likelihood of heart attack and stroke (our two largest killers). There are many millions of people who meditate daily so don’t think that it is the preserve of tree hugging hippies. There are hundreds of research papers demonstrating the multiple benefits of meditation and we should, perhaps, all be considering learning this technique in the face of uncertain times and a growing need to look within for answers. Meditation offers the problem solving insight that so many are seeking. There are a few rules when you are learning the technique. For a start, it is much more effective to sit comfortably, rather than lying down, to meditate. You simply try to clear the avalanche of thoughts roaring through your mind and focus upon your breathing. If you are thinking about each long, deep breath, it is difficult to think of everything else (although I am sure that some of you multi-taskers might manage). Often a mantra (or repetitive phrase) is used to further distract the avalanche. The most popular mantra involves the slow, drawn out repetition of the word “Om” that is linked to the exhaled breath. The reverberation of the exhaled Ommmmmms has a relaxing, resonating effect. This word simply means “God” in Sanskrit and that is pretty much who will be helping you relax when you are successfully meditating.
• Essential Oils – I used to be skeptical of the claims made for these plant extracts until I was chatting with the brilliant late American researcher, Bruce Tainio during his visit to Australia. He had measured the energetic qualities of a wide variety of materials and nothing came close to essential oils in terms of pure botanical healing power. The formulas and oils developed by Gary Young of Young Living Oils proved to be the most potent of the oils Bruce tested. I guess it makes sense that the plant usually concentrates everything it has into its fatty acids, so if we extract an oil concentrate from the root, leaves, bark or flowers, it is destined to be the best that nature can offer. There are a variety of oils that ease anxiety but the most cost-effective is probably lavender. You can purchase an oil diffuser for around $20 from the larger appliance retailers and you just need to put a few drops into the well and the sweet smelling lavender molecules are dispersed throughout your office or bedroom. Always use a diffuser rather than an oil burner as the burning approach has now been found to be a source of destructive free radicals. Ylang ylang, rose, sandlewood, geranium and neroli are other stress reducing oils you can source at most health shops and chemists.
• Foot Reflexology – It is hard to find a single city block in China that does not support at least one foot reflexologist. Patrons lie back with looks varying from agony to ecstasy depending upon the sadistic tendencies of the practitioner. I once entered one of these establishments with extreme nausea and screamed my way through a thirty minute session of absolute agony. He wouldn’t let up no matter how much I yelled but I walked from his booth completely free of nausea. This ancient art involves pressure to certain points on the feet that correspond to organs and body systems. Points relative to the nervous system and adrenals are those most relevant to stress reduction. Anyone can download these points from the internet and practice the application of foot reflexology. Partners can lie on the couch massaging each other’s feet with a focus on these key points and the pressure will melt away. You can probably achieve the same effect with a nice bottle of wine but this is cheaper, cozier and much less damaging to the liver.
• Other stress busters – Turn off the news, turn on your favourite music and turn down the lights. These are pretty obvious and acknowledged tricks to lighten up and relax but how many of us remember to make them a regular part of our lives? A daily walk has recently been shown to be more effective than anti-depressants to lift the spirits and reduce anxiety. You might argue that you are walking all day on the farm when working, but this is not equivalent. When you put aside 40 minutes for exercise, the placebo effect must kick in and the outcome has been shown to be more profound than forty minutes of walking while working. Finally, if you can’t sort your issues yourself and you are feeling depressed then please see someone. There are many trained people out there and you may be surprised to discover that your problems are not unique and others can be helpful. It is important to understand that depression forges its own pathways in the brain and the longer you leave it untreated, the more difficult it becomes to erase those pathways.

In Conclusion

This represents a belated set of offerings for 2012 as we are already in February but I trust you will find something of value amongst my meanderings. I wish you all a memorable, relaxing and productive time for the remaining 10 months.

It is not just about reclaiming tired soils, releasing locked up phosphorus, fixing nitrogen or creating a disease resistant soil. Soil structure, water management, plant health and productivity are all part of the potential gift package when you refurbish your biological workforce.

The Seven Essentials

1) Hygeine is essential if you want to avoid contamination of your brew. Microbes are everywhere but they accumulate wherever there is a food source. Any residual liquid from your last brew, left in the bottom of the tank or within the pipes attached to the pump, is food for other organisms. It consists of microbe food and huge numbers of the bodies of those creatures you last brewed. Pathogens can breed up in these residues and some of them can be inadvertently brewed up, along with the good guys during multiplication. To avoid the introduction of undesirables, your brewing system should be cleaned and sanitised immediately after each brew and before beginning a new brew. NTS has developed a high-powered agricultural disinfectant, Path-X™, which is an ideal tool to sanitise the system before and after brewing. It simply involves the addition of 20 to 50 litres of water containing ten mL of Path-X™ per litre (a dilution of 1:100). Alternatively, you can just use household bleach or hydrogen peroxide as a sanitiser but make sure that the disinfectant has been completely flushed from the system or you may kill or compromise the beneficial workforce you are trying to multiply.

2) The microbe food source must be sterile. Microbes need the same things that we do. They require, protein, carbohydrates and fatty acids and these could theoretically be sourced from something as simple as dog food or, perhaps, soya bean meal. The problem is that these potential foods are invariably contaminated with a multitude of organisms, many of which can multiply during the brewing process. It is much better to start with a food that is completely sterile. You may be concerned that if a biocide was used to sanitise the food source then it may have a negative effect on the beneficial microbes in the brew, but this is not the case. Concentrated liquid food sources are generally used at one litre per 100 litres and this level of dilution ensures that the biocide has no ongoing negative effect. NTS has developed an exceptional liquid food concentrate for brewing microbes, LMF™ (Liquid Microbe Food). This food contains a wide range of nutrients to nurture the multiplying organisms and to ensure good microbe counts in the end brew.

3) Contaminated brewing water can be an issue if the only available water for brewing comes from a dubious farm dam. In this case the water can be easily sterilised with pool chlorine but the chlorine should be gassed off before adding the microbes. This process is simple to monitor. Just bubble the treated water with your aerator until there are no further emissions of chlorine gas (this process usually takes around 60 minutes) and then add the food and microbes.

4) Use your nose to monitor your progress. If the end brew has an unpleasant smell, then it may be contaminated and not safe to apply to your crop. I have seen anaerobic brews that have actually done crop damage, so this is an important consideration. An unpleasant smell usually heralds either contamination or poor aeration. Poor aeration can sometimes be linked to overheating during the brewing process. Heat is generated during the free-for-all, breeding party that unfolds during microbe brewing. The heat should be monitored throughout the brewing process and ideally should not exceed 30 degrees centigrade. You will need to throw cold water on the proceedings if overheating occurs.

5) Choose a brewing inoculum that best suits your requirements. For example, if you have used a multitude of chemicals in your farming operation over the years, it is a safe bet to assume that you will benefit from building biodiversity. The best choice here is compost tea, as you are multiplying many thousands of different species and re-introducing this diverse workforce to your soils. If your farm has a history of applied phosphate and you are seeking to access the locked up reserves that are part and parcel of the use of acid phosphate (up to 70% of everything you have applied in the past), then you will get a more pronounced response if you select a task-specific inoculum to release this frozen reserve. We have had tremendous results for the past 15 years in over forty countries with our task-specific inoculum, Nutri-Life 4/20™. Unlike compost tea, this blend contains huge numbers of a couple of dozen specialist species that excel in the release of locked-up phosphate and the fixing of nitrogen from the atmosphere. You will always see a more pronounced and obvious response with a task specific inoculum, like 4/20™, due to the nitrogen and phosphate response, but this should not detract from the importance of building biodiversity with compost tea. There are also cellulose digesting fungi in the 4/20™ blend and it is now possible to select for either bacterial or fungal dominance when brewing.

6) Use molasses or sugar sparingly as bio-stimulants during microbe brewing. These simple sugars tend to select for a limited number of bacterial species and these species then completely dominate during the brewing process. The end result is less biodiversity and an increased likelihood of brewing undesirable organisms. For example, E-coli runs rampant in the presence of these simple sugars during brewing. It is a far better option to use fulvic acid to encourage bacteria. This natural acid boosts the full spectrum of bacteria.

7) Create your compost tea inoculum from several different compost sources for maximum response. There are quite different mixes of species in different compost sources. A compost made from cow manure contains different organisms to a compost made from chook manure, pig manure or no manure. The ideal inoculum would involve  a little of each. The compost should be stored separately before use rather than blending the mix in advance to avoid a likely loss of biodiversity that can occur over time in the warfare world of the soil foodweb. Seek the very best sources of these different composts and the cost is immaterial. Even if you pay an exorbitant price for a great compost, shipped from thousands of kilometres away it does not matter. There are only very small amounts of actual compost required to make compost tea. For example, one kilogram of compost makes one hundred litres of compost tea and that amount is applied to a hectare. If the compost costs as much as $400 per tonne, this still only equates to 40 cents per hectare, so you might as well source the very best inoculum.

If you have not yet discovered the multiple benefits of microbe brewing then it is time for a pleasant surprise. It may sound like some strange, foreign process but it is really quite simple and incredibly cost effective. You can source a 1000 litre shuttle for around $300 or a 200 litre drum for $50 and these serve as microbe brewing tanks (depending upon the scale of your operation). A small submersible pump can be used in the 200 litre drum or a spa pump can be utilised in the shuttle. You can make your own venturis to deliver oxygen or you can source venturi kits from NTS. We will offer advice to help a D.I.Y setup or we can supply a range of accessories for microbe brewing. The bottom line is that many soils have been biologically compromised with extractive agriculture and microbe brewing offers a unique opportunity to re-charge soil life at minimal cost.

The Eighth Essential

We’ve discussed the seven essentials for successful microbe brewing but there is an additional requirement that is at least as important. This eighth essential relates to your capacity to control the microbe brewing process to achieve a desired species mix. Herein lies a major problem experienced by most people who have embraced bug brewing. It is really difficult to achieve fungal domination when brewing microorganisms. This is a constant frustration because it is beneficial fungi that are the creatures most lacking in most soils, when a soil life count is conducted. Bacteria subdivide at a much more rapid rate than fungi, so, in a brewing situation, it is inevitable that the bacteria take command and unfortunately this creates undesirable conditions for fungal proliferation. Bacteria release alkaline exudates but fungi prefer acidic conditions so this simple biochemical ploy magnifies the bacterial dominance. You can start a compost tea with a compost, rich in visible fungi, but the bacteria that are still present exert their dominance within hours. One trick that helps slow down the bacteria is to add an acid material to the brewing tank. The pH of the brewing solution must be maintained below 5 throughout the process to encourage fungal domination. Vinegar or citric acid are popular choices but unfortunately it is not as simple as it sounds. The bacteria don’t give up without a fight. They continue to release their alkaline exudates knowing that if they can spike pH above 5 then they can resume control. The pH of the brew solution must be monitored throughout the 24 hour brewing process and more acid material is often required. This does not bode well for those who like their sleep!

It was an important step forward in brewing technology and user friendliness when NTS developed Dominate™ (fungi), a liquid that can maintain the ideal pH for fungi, throughout the brewing process, with the simple addition of just one litre per 100 litres of brew.  Dominate is the eighth essential and it is not just limited to success when brewing fungi. There is also a Dominate™ product that ensures huge numbers of bacteria.

Dominate™ (bacteria) sponsors a brew that is jam-packed with beneficial bacteria to the extent that it has often reached saturation point. Typically, a microbial brew needs to be applied the moment that it is completed – after the aeration ceases beneficial (aerobic) bacterial cells and fungal hyphae quickly decline. However with the use of Dominate™ Bacteria or Dominate™ Fungi the conditions of the brew encourage the formation of either fungal or bacterial spores. These spores are bacteria and fungi in their protected state – they are far more robust and stable than vegetative cells. This gives the final brew additional shelf life. This is a tremendous move forward in terms of user friendliness! If it rains when the brew is due it no longer matters. Microbes can now be brewed at a central location and transported to where they are required without the normal loss of efficacy. Applying a microbes in spore form also means they have a higher chance of surviving the application process.

Nutri-Life 4/20™ and Dominate™ – Perfect Partners

Most of the developmental work with Dominate™ involved working with the popular NTS microbe inoculum, Nutri-Life 4/20™. This freeze-dried blend involves both fungi and bacteria. Dominate™ (fungi) allowed us to produce a large numbers of beneficial fungi, when brewing 4/20™, the most abundant of which is a remarkable species called Trichoderma. Trichoderma is a multifunction species that can improve fertiliser efficiency and contribute to the creation of a disease suppressive soil but it is also a voracious cellulose digester that can build humus very effectively. A tank full ofTrichoderma could now be produced for a very low cost and we were justifiably excited.

If, however, the goal is to access free nitrogen from the atmosphere or to unlock some of your frozen phosphate reserves then you may prefer to use Dominate™ (bacteria) in conjunction with Nutri-Life 4/20™. With this inexpensive addition, you can now achieve huge numbers of desired species in a stable brew that will last for up to two weeks.

The Top Five Reasons to Brew

1) To boost humus building capacity – when carbon is stored in the soil as humus it is not creating havoc in terms of greenhouse gases and global heating. The key creatures (cellulose digesting fungi) required to build stable soil humus have been decimated in most conventionally farmed soils. Brewing offers an inexpensive option to get back in the game by replenishing these missing workers.

2) To reclaim your phosphate investments – soluble phosphate turns out to be a pretty ordinary investment as it is openly acknowledged that you lose on average 73% of applied phosphate to lockups in the soil. This raw deal is destined to get worse as Peak Phosphate arrives. When the first half of a non-renewable resource has been used, the second half rises and rises in price, until supplies are eventually exhausted. There has never been an exception to this trend in the history of economics. Many commentators now believe that the planet reached Peak Phosphate in 2001 and, if so, the price will continue upward. There is a massive frozen reserve of phosphate in Australian agricultural soils (in areas with a history of phosphate fertilising) and it is a great strategy to reclaim this frozen reserve by brewing and applying phosphate solubilising organisms.

3) To reduce nitrogen expenditure – the atmosphere contains the equivalent of 5000 truckloads of urea (as nitrogen gas) per hectare, and that is where we were supposed to access much of our nitrogen. Free-living nitrogen fixing organisms can be easily brewed and for minimal cost you can receive a significant percentage of your crop’s nitrogen requirements from the atmosphere.

4) To build a disease-suppressive soil – a fungal disease does not reflect a lack of a fungicide, it heralds a soil food web imbalance, where the creatures who would normally feed upon the pathogen, are no longer present in your soil. The chemical sledgehammer is often not the best solution. In this era of greater soil life awareness and research we now know that chemical control creates collateral damage. The chemicals can affect species other than the intended pathogen, and that can create a whole new range of problems. If you can build your biodiversity with compost tea and specialist inoculums you can reclaim both soil-life balance and your peace of mind.

5) To reduce the crop’s water requirements – humus can hold almost its own weight in water but there is another way in which introduced biology can minimise water usage. Bacteria release a sticky, gel-like substance that serves as a protective bio-film to slow down their predators. A single protozoa, for example, consumes 10,000 bacteria each day so it is a handy survival mechanism to become  like “the boy in the bubble”, to escape their ravenous attention. The good news about this sticky jelly is that it works almost like water crystals in terms of moisture retention in the root zone. It is common for growers to report significant reductions in irrigation requirements following the introduction of a regular brewing program.

To speak with an NTS Agronomist about the use of the Dominate options please phone +61 7 5472 9900.

Disclaimer: Prices quoted are estimates only and may vary without notice. Prices quoted are in Australian dollars.

The Beauty of Compost

Water is rapidly becoming our most precious resource. Countries will wage war to secure supply (if that is not already happening). The use of compost is a premium water saving strategy. It contains around 25% humus and it also promotes the humus-building organisms in the soil (many of whom are desperately in need of some help). Humus can store more than its weight in water (Podolinski (1985) and Kay (1997)) and the building of organic matter levels on your farm, or even in your garden, can make a tremendous difference to your soil’s utilisation of irrigation water or a rainfall event. In fact, the difference is staggering! If you can build your soil humus levels by just 1% then your soil can store 170,000 litres per hectare that it could not previously store. That equates to 17 litres per square meter! Remember that this is water that the plant can access at will. There is no energy required to deliver that water and there is no evaporation factor involved (like dam storage). It really is the ultimate in water storage and efficient water delivery system.  In addition, any carbon that we store in the soil, as humus, is not returned to the atmosphere (as part of the carbon cycle), where it is causing so many problems. Building 1% humus in the soil actually binds up 50 tonnes of CO₂ per hectare that would otherwise be thickening the greenhouse blanket. Growers will soon be paid for this stored carbon and this will prove a remarkable win/win situation. In fact, there are so many benefits associated with humus building, it is a shining example of a bountiful universe that responds in kind – it is a thing of true beauty.

The Compost Bounty

Humus does not just store moisture more efficiently than any other technology; it is also the best tool to retain nutrients in your soil and to deliver those nutrients to the plant. Humus is the only soil colloid that is equipped with sites to store both negatively charged minerals (anions) and positively charged minerals (cations). This is particularly important in relation to the storage of highly leachable anions like nitrate nitrogen, sulfates and boron, because the humus colloid is the only storage mechanism in the soil for these minerals. Notoriously unstable minerals like phosphorus, which lock up in the soil at an astounding rate (an estimated 73% of your soluble phosphate fertiliser investment becomes insoluble) can be stabilised with the formation of a phosphate/ humus bond.

The delivery of minerals to the plant is largely a biological process and the higher your humus levels, the more active your soil biology and the more nutrient-dense your produce. Food can become a feast of forgotten flavours and these flavours are directly related to the medicinal value of the food.

Improved soil structure is a well-researched benefit of compost application. Soil aeration, porosity and crumb structure are all enhanced. Compost is food for soil life. Earthworms return to composted soils, as do the less visible creatures. I recently applied a healthy dose of compost to just one half of a large flowerbed at my home acreage. Six months later the difference is outstanding. Plant growth is more vibrant, the soil is more friable and there is double the number of earthworms in the treated half!

Microbes and Minerals from Compost

Compost also serves as a microbial inoculum to restore your workforce. A teaspoon of good compost can contain as many as 5 billion organisms and thousands of different species. These beneficial microbes restore biodiversity and the balance that comes with it. This balance can create a disease-suppressive soil. These beneficials neutralise pathogens through competition for nutrients and space, the consumption of competitors, the production of inhibitory compounds and induced disease resistance (via a plant immune boosting phenomenon called systemic acquired resistance). Compost has also been shown to promote the development of mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).

Minerals complexed with humus in compost will not leach like water-soluble fertilisers. African research has demonstrated that when minerals are included with compost they were much more efficient than the uncomposted fertiliser (up to ten times more efficient). Microbe exudates can also prompt the plant to uptake minerals. There is an additional benefit when combining compost with fertilisers. The stable, slow release minerals in compost can help to avoid the plant overloads that sponsor pest pressure (nitrate-packed, low brix plants are a good example).

Raw Materials – What To Embrace

The recipe for successful composting always involves one critical factor. The balance between carbon and nitrogen (the carbon to nitrogen ratio) determines the speed and efficiency of the composting process. The best form of nitrogen is animal manure as it also offers a rich microbial inoculum. Each form of animal manure offers a different range of organisms but it is generally considered that cow manure is the best. The rumen is something of a biological masterpiece in itself and the poo contains a comprehensive representation of this remarkable internal workforce. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of biodynamic agriculture, believed that a farm was not a farm without the presence of cattle. The most famous of the biodynamic preparations involves cow manure deposited in a cow’s horn and buried until it is composted (and infused with other energies).

The carbon component of the compost recipe can be sourced from whatever is closest to hand and least expensive. This may involve spoiled hay, orchard litter, feathers, stable straw, sawdust, municipal mulch or spoiled fruit and vegetables.

There are two other components that have proven particularly productive if they can be readily sourced. Soft rock adds calcium, phosphorus, silica and clay. The clay component greatly extends the life of the compost. Basalt crusher dust can contribute broad-spectrum minerals, if it is finely crushed, but more importantly it supplies paramagnetic stimulation to the compost.

What is Paramagnetism?

Professor Phil Callahan is a highly accomplished scientist and writer responsible for multiple published papers and books covering diverse subject matter. He was able to identify paramagnetism as the reason that volcanic soils always outperform non-volcanic soils. These soils can attract store and convert atmospheric energy (Extra Long Frequency (ELF) radio waves originally created from lightning) into tiny light particles called photons. Photons effectively deliver a light source to the roots and the creatures living around the roots (the rhizosphere). Paramagnetic stimulation can treble the activity of beneficial microbes (hence the enhanced performance of volcanic soils). There is a proven synergy between compost and paramagnetic crusher dust. During my original interview with Prof. Callahan in ‘Nutrition Rules!”, he cited a visit to the German laboratories of Professor Fritz Popp, a leader in the field of light energy research. He arrived from the US with a sample of basalt and asked that it be tested using the cutting-edge equipment available at the lab. To the amazement of Prof. Popp the sample had a reading of 4000, demonstrating that the rock was steadily releasing light particles. However, the next day Prof. Callahan returned to the lab with a sample that involved a combination of the same crushed rock combined with compost. The photon reading had increased 100 fold to 400,000! You can really get your compost cooking and increase the efficacy of the end product with the simple addition of crusher dust and it need not involve a great expense. You will need between 6% and 10% crusher dust in the mix for optimal results and this can be sourced locally, if the paramagnetic reading is high enough. NTS offers a free service where you can send us a 100 gram sample of your local crusher dust and we can test it using a PCSM meter designed by Professor Callahan. The dust should have a minimum reading of 1600 CGS to justify its use. There is a trap for young players here. The PCSM meter can not differentiate between ferro-magnetism and paramagnetism and this means that if your local crusher dust features a particularly high iron content, then you have no way of knowing if the sample is actually paramagnetic. The solution here is to take a couple of buckets of the dust home and apply it to a section of your home garden. You will see an obvious response if it is truly paramagnetic but there will be very little response if the iron content was confusing the reading.

Raw Materials – What to Avoid

There are several raw ingredients that can reduce compost quality and/or contaminate the end product. Chemically treated wood products cannot be used, as the arsenic involved can be a serious pollutant. Meat, bones and fatty foods tend to attract pests (like rats) and they can also stink during their breakdown. Weeds should be avoided. The seeds can be killed with the heat of composting but it is not worth taking the risk. Similarly, it is not a good idea to try to compost diseased plants in case some of the disease organisms escape sterilisation during the heating phase. Cooch and nut grass should be avoided, as the rhizomes will often survive the composting process. Pet litter can harbour human parasites and disease (particularly used kitty litter) and large quantities of pine needles can have an inhibitory effect due to the extreme acidity of this material.

Composting Techniques – What works Best?

There are several popular composting strategies and each of them has merits. Your choice will depend upon your access to raw materials and the maturation speed you are seeking. The level of management involved is a key differentiation between approaches. The maturation time can vary from eight weeks to two years depending on how much time you choose to invest. Here is a brief overview of the most popular composting techniques:

Static Pile Composting

This technique, popularised by US compost guru, Malcolm Beck (The Secret Life of Compost), takes twice the time to produce (compared to windrowing) but there are several pronounced benefits. Here, the all-important aeration comes from air spaces in the mixture determined by particle size. This technique will not be an option for you if you only have access to cow manure as a standalone input because there will be no air spaces and undesirable anaerobic conditions will prevail. However, if you also had access to orchard prunings or Council green waste you would have the perfect material to layer the manure with, producing a well functioning static pile. These large, three-meter high piles are only disturbed three or four times during the 6 month composting process and this non-disruptive approach has several advantages. There are much lower energy, machinery and fuel costs involved and there is also less labour required. One wonders whether more actively managed piles actually result in a net carbon gain, when so much energy is involved in their production. Static pile composting can produce excellent compost with more humus, more nutritional value and higher counts of beneficial fungi. This quality improvement is related to reduced fungal disruption and a lower loss of CO₂ (from turning). There is also less leaching of minerals (due to a lower water requirement).

There is still an option for you to use the static pile technique if you have a mountain of cow manure and no material available to produce air spaces. Static piles can be aerated by either blowing or sucking air through the stack. It has been found that alternating air movement can promote a similar temperature and moisture throughout the pile. A caged blower fan can be used to push air through a perforated, 4 inch, plastic drain pipe. The pile height should always be less than three meters to maintain uniform aeration.

Small-Scale Static Piles for the Home Gardener

The compost experts often sell the concept that there is no likelihood of producing a good compost unless some level of active management is involved. This is not the case. Non-energetic home gardeners can pile up their lawn clippings and fallen leaves and recycle these organics without the effort of regular turning. The key here is to avoid the addition of a nitrogen-based accelerant. The materials can sit undisturbed and decompose for up to two years and can still result in an acceptable compost. The piles should be covered by black plastic, sacking, or an old carpet and they may still need watering if they begin to dry out.

Actively Managed Compost

This technique involves commitment and considerable energy to achieve a high quality compost. For example, the pile may require turning every day, during the first ten to fourteen days. The pre-sourced green and brown materials are usually pre-shredded and added in layers to form long narrow windrows between 1 to 2 meters high and 2 to 3 meters wide. Large, compost-turning machines are typically used in windrow composting. CO₂ is the gas released as the microbes breathe, so it is a good strategy to monitor this gas with a meter as an indication of microbial activity. These windrows are bacterial dominated because the fungi are repeatedly sliced and diced during the turning process. Moisture must also be monitored and there is much more applied water involved due to the reduced insulation in smaller piles. The compost is produced in just 10 to 12 weeks and this has become the favoured approach amongst commercial compost producers looking for rapid turnaround.

Vermi-Composting – Worms Do the Work

The worms involved in vermi-composting are not the same earthworms found on your farm. They are special, purpose-bred composting worms. Here, the worms do the turning and the aerating and the worm poo is loaded with minerals and unique micro-organisms that make this a truly champagne compost. There is always a downside, however, and here it relates to the lack of a heating stage during composting. Weed seeds and stable pathogenic spores can become an issue depending upon the feedstock that is utilised. Raw feedstock can be pre-composted to overcome this problem, if it cannot be eliminated with the choice of raw materials. The “worm juice” (residual liquid from watering the pile) can be collected and used as a potent liquid fertiliser/bio-inoculum.

Vermi compost is the most effective compost available. It can be highly productive at just two tonnes per hectare. In fact, comparative research at the now defunct, Gatton Field Days, revealed that vermi-compost was around twenty times more potent than composted cow manure (one tonne of vermi-compost was equivalent in performance to twenty tonnes of composted cow manure). Part of this enhanced performance is linked to the inoculum effect when using this product. The micro-organisms incubated in the worms gut are unique to these creatures and they offer an invaluable contribution to a soil lacking earthworms (most conventionally farmed soils).

If you can’t access vermicast or it is not a cost-effective alternative, it is always beneficial to build the number of native earthworms on your farm and there is a good strategy to achieve this goal.

Expanding Earthworms on Your Farm

Earthworms are little fertiliser machines that also aerate and improve soil structure. Earthworm counts in your soil are intimately linked to productivity and profitability and so there is great benefit in building their numbers. A great on-farm strategy involves allocating a paddock to earthworm production. This area should ideally contain a combination of legumes, grasses and cereals that should be slashed regularly to feed the worms. Ideally it should be irrigated and treated with humates and fish on a regular basis along with protozoa tea made from lucerne (protozoa are a favourite food for earthworms and Lucerne is jam-packed with these creatures). Earthworms can be easily transported from this haven to any areas on your farm that need rehabilitation.

The Work of the Masters

Beyond the broad definition of “active” and “passive”, there are several popular and proven composting techniques that warrant mention. Each of them originates from the work of some of the founding fathers of biological agriculture and they include:

1. CMC composting – Controlled Microbial Composting is based upon Ehrenfried Pfeiffer’s work but was developed by Austrian, Ziegfried Luebke.
2. Biodynamic composting – based upon Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy.
3. Howard/Higgins composting – based on Sir Albert Howard’s work last century, which has recently been re-invented by UK consultant, Richard Higgins.

Guided Decomposition – CMC Success

Controlled Microbial Composting has become the industry standard for windrow composting in Europe and much of the US. This compost is heavily managed and monitored throughout the eight-week decomposition process and it has some unique features including the following:

• Clay or a clay-based soil is added at 5% to 10% to encourage the formation of a clay/humus crumb during the composting process. This is one of Luebke’s greatest contributions to the art and science of compost making, as it generates humus with a much greater longevity. A clay/humus crumb has a potential life of more than thirty years in the soil.

• The compost is inoculated with a special microbe blend on the second day and a previous compost is used as a starter, at a rate of 10%.

• Daily monitoring of moisture, temperature and CO₂ is involved.

• When temperature is higher than 65 degrees celsius or CO₂ exceeds 10%, the compost is turned to reduce both temperature and CO₂.

• A moisture level of 50% to 55% is maintained throughout.

Steiner’s Master Work

Biodynamic composting is a centerpiece of the BD approach and, as with most of Steiner’s concepts, it has several unique features. The most unusual of these is the required shape of the heap. The pile must be trapezoidal when constructed, which means it should have four unequal sides. The compost is activated with special biodynamic presentations made from herbs, including chamomile, stinging nettle, yarrow, dandelion and horsetail. Dung slurry is watered onto the carbon layer (the brown material) during the layering process. Hydrated lime is dusted on each protein layer (the layer of green vegetation).

The Howard/Higgins System

Sir Albert Howard is widely regarded as the father of organic agriculture. While working in India early last century he developed the Indore approach. This approach, which is also appears to have inspired Steiner’s BD compost, involves a five foot (1.6 meter) layered stack, alternating greens, browns and animal manure. Soil and lime were sprinkled between each layer. Sometimes the pile was started inside a one-meter deep pit. The compost was only turned twice.

U.K consultant, Richard Higgins, is popularising the addition of wood ash, urine soil and clay to the original Howard recipe. Wood ash is a great source of potassium and the composting process stabilises this highly leachable nutrient. Potassium is so easily leached that a single rainfall event can remove the potassium from bonfire ash and return it to the soil. The key here is to keep your ash covered until it is added to the compost heap.

Urine soil involves adding urine to a pile of soil beside the compost heap and adding that to the compost. Urine contains more nitrogen than poo and it would be a great resource for dairy farmers if they could utilise it in composting.

The All-Important Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio

The single most important factor in the composting process is to try to achieve the ideal balance between carbon and nitrogen within the pile. If this balance is not addressed, decomposition will be compromised because the organisms involved require a certain, minimum amount of nitrogen to enable the breakdown of carbon. The ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio for your compost heap is 30:1 and a nitrogen source may often be required to achieve this goal. A very simple starting point is to try to achieve two parts brown (carbon) to one part green (nitrogen). The raw ingredients you can source will determine your need for extra nitrogen. For example, sawdust has a C: N ratio of 500:1, so considerable nitrogen will be required to compost this material. Easy to use C: N calculators are available on the web to simplify your decision making. Grass clippings and animal manure have a similar C: N ratio of around 20:1, so they will help in the decomposition of inputs higher in carbon.

The Two Heat Stages and Getting Them Right

The first stage of composting (the first one to two weeks) is called the thermophilic stage. This is where high temperatures are reached and organic matter is broken down by heat loving organisms producing gums, waxes, lignins, sugars and amino acids. Temperature should be monitored during this stage to ensure best results. The temperature must exceed 57 degrees C for at least three days to kill weed seeds and pathogens. The temperature should not, however, rise beyond 65 degrees C as carbon can be ashed and beneficial microbes will die.

The second phase is called the mesophilic stage and here we see temperatures reduce and oxygen increase. New groups of micro-organisms now move in and colonise the compost and bind the lignins, sugars and aminos into stable humic substances.

Bacterial or Fungal Dominance

Some crops are fungal dominated and they will prefer a fungi-dense compost. Orchards, vines and timber plantations are examples of these fungi-loving crops, and berries (including strawberries) also fall into this category. A simple recipe for a fungal compost involves 5% manure, 50% green and 45% brown.

Pastures, vegetables and most other crops prefer bacterial domination. This involves 25% manure, 50% green and 25% brown. If you compare these recipes you will recognise the fact that bacteria love nitrogen. This is because their bodies have the lowest C: N ratios of any creature on the planet. Bacteria have a C: N ratio of just 5:1 (their bodies comprise 17% N) while fungi have a C: N ratio of 20:1.

Moisture Content

Moisture content is critical to microbial action. Moisture can be added when the pile or windrow is being built or during turning. It is essential to monitor moisture levels. Ensure that handfuls are taken from around and within the piles to identify and avoid wet or dry spots. A lack of consistent moisture throughout the heap can often be related to how the water was applied and how well the compost was mixed. The goal is to achieve a mix that, when squeezed, will only drip a couple of drops (like a wrung sponge). This represents less than 60% moisture. It is a good strategy to test the moisture content of any compost product before purchase to avoid the additional transport charges involved in carting wet compost.

Enriching Your Compost

There are several ingredients that will boost the fertilising and supportive power of your compost and they include the following:

• Zeolite – This natural mineral has a remarkable honeycomb structure which can serve to store minerals and moisture while housing beneficial microbes. It lasts indefinitely in your soil and effectively provides a third storage system (beyond humus and clay). Zeolite is typically added to compost at a rate of 6%.

• Raw humates – Brown coal is a tremendous compost additive as the composting process can release the humic and fulvic acids so densely present within this natural material. Do not exceed 20% brown coal or you may encounter problems with achieving the ideal C: N ratio in your compost (brown coal can contain as much as 60% organic carbon).

• Soft rock – If P is required in your soils this can be a good option. Some of the phosphate, calcium and silica in this product can be released during composting and the clay component of this material is ideal to encourage the complexing of clay with humus. This complex greatly extends the longevity of the compost.

• Seaweed – This sea plant is brilliant if you can access the material, as it provides a wealth of trace minerals and some powerful growth promoters.

• Bone meal and cottonseed meal – These materials can be a good source of nitrogen to balance out your C: N ratio.

• Wood ash – This is a good source of potassium but, as mentioned earlier, it must be collected and stored (or covered) to prevent K losses through leaching.

Problems of Poor Compost

If you get it wrong or buy product from someone who got it wrong, there is a risk of introducing a number of problems onto your property. For example, if pathogens or weed seeds were not effectively killed off during the thermophilic stage, you may be introducing some unwanted intruders. If the C: N ratio of the end product is unbalanced, then there is a risk of nutrient tie-ups or drawdowns. Nitrogen drawdown can be an expensive oversight. Depending upon the choice of raw materials and the efficiency of the composting there may also be issues with nuisance odours, toxic leachates and heavy metal contamination. These are not common problems and they are all overcome with good management. However, it is a good idea to ask for a full analysis of any compost product you are considering to ensure that heavy metals, antibiotics and herbicides are not present. This is sometimes a problem with composts made from municipal waste. There are also some simple tools you can use to help determine compost quality.

Compost Quality

Your nose and eyes are handy tools when deciding if a pile is fully mature. Financial considerations can sometimes drive commercial producers to market compost that is not fully completed. If you are producing your own compost there are no hard fast rules for maturation time. The length of composting can vary based on water, microbes, oxygen, temperature and composition. Here is what you can do to help you decide if your compost is ready:

• Take a sample from deep within the pile with one hand only.

• The material should be dark brown in colour rather than black (a black colour can suggest that the compost was overcooked).

• If the compost stinks, it is not ready and may require turning or you may need to modify your recipe for improved aeration.

• A slight ammonia smell may still be evident in finished compost but this may also indicate the need for more browns (carbon). It is always a good idea to check the temperature as a final guide if there is still a question mark concerning completion.

• The compost is ready when temperatures inside the pile are steadily dropping (less than 40 degrees C) and plant matter is mostly humified (amorphous). The compost should exude a strong, earthy, forest floor smell.

How Much Is Enough?

500 kg to 5 tonnes of compost per hectare serves as a powerful inoculum and promotant, but you can apply as much as 30 tonnes of compost if it is cost-effective to use it for nutrient replacement and fertilising.  If possible, the compost should be banded to maximise the response in the root zone and cost effectiveness.

Compost tea is one way to get maximum bang for your buck but this only supplies microbes rather than stable nutrients and humus.

In Conclusion

Composting, and the associated building of humus, is arguably the most important thing that any of us can do to help reverse climate change. Storing carbon in the soil is simply the most effective way to keep CO₂ out of the atmosphere. Building humus levels with compost is also the single, most effective way to build fertility and profitability and farmers may soon be paid to provide this service (via carbon credits). This is the ultimate win/win situation and I believe that we may be at the dawn of a golden era of agriculture.

Liquid fertilisers, injected directly into the root zone, have proven to offer the best value in cereals, legumes and cotton crops in recent years. However, their salt/acid base is harsh and their N and P component too overwhelming to be supportive to mycorrhizal fungi struggling to gain a foothold on the growing root. Liquid organic fertilisers are a softer, more supportive option to kick-start this fledgling relationship, but they have proven too expensive to be viable in large scale crop production.

NTS has spent a year developing a new fusion fertiliser, Springboard™, that cost-effectively solves this problem by boosting fungi, soil fertility and crop production. We are very excited with the results achieved with this new product.

Why Are AMF So Important?

Earlier this year we launched Platform™, a hardy mycorrhizal inoculum with massive spore counts and a Trichoderma tag-on. Platform™ contains so many organisms it can be used to successfully colonise cereal crops for as little as $5 /ha and pastures for just $10/ha.

AMF are the planet’s most powerful humus builders and it is this sequestered carbon that will become a farmer’s second income stream in the very near future. Glomalin, the sticky substance they produce, is recognised as the platform building block for over 30% of the world’s soil carbon. The decline in humus in our agricultural soils directly parallels the loss of AMF through extractive agriculture and there is an urgency to replenish our soils with these remarkably productive creatures.

Carbon building is just one of the many functions of AMF. They effectively increase the root surface area by 1000% when they colonise a plant. This gives the plant much greater access to moisture and nutrients.  AMF produce natural acids that release locked up phosphorus in the soil, (usually in the form of insoluble tri-calcium phosphate) providing a constant trickle feed of plant-available phosphorus and all-important calcium, directly to the roots. These root extensions also access immobile minerals like zinc and deliver them to the plant. Potassium often becomes trapped within clay platelets in the soil and these fine fungal strands can mine this trapped mineral.

There is also a powerful link between nitrogen-fixing organisms and AMF fungi. Research has revealed a potent synergy between these organisms. The AMF solubilise phosphate, a mineral that is required to fuel the enzymic process that fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil. In return, the nitrogen-fixers provide a constant source of nitrogen that builds the protein needed to sustain this massive fungal root extension.

These creatures are like little fertiliser machines and they can make a tremendous difference to the bottom line of any crop. Some of NTS’s large strawberry growers have just enjoyed their most problem-free season ever, following inoculation with Platform™ at planting.

Why Do AMF Need Their Own Fertiliser?

There is an intimate relationship between soil organisms and plants and it is important to understand this relationship to avoid the traps that can sometimes be a part of embracing biological principles. The plant feeds the organisms around its roots according to its nutrient requirements. If the plant needs nitrogen and phosphorus, then it will lace its sugar exudates with specific nutrients to encourage the creatures that will supply these minerals. If the crop has been supplied with an abundant source of water-soluble N and P at planting, there is no motivation to sacrifice glucose building blocks to feed the N-fixers and P-solubilisers. In this same manner, root colonisation of AMF can be compromised in the presence of water soluble P and N. This is why there has been a drastic need for a cost-effective liquid fertiliser that can, whilst feeding the plant, ensure production and also nurture AMF colonisation. We realised that we needed such a fertiliser to maximise the performance of our AMF inoculum, Platform™. Springboard™ is our solution. It costs less than $3 per litre and it is effective at just 8 litres per hectare.

The Springboard™ Secret

Springboard™ delivers a broad spectrum of nutrition that includes a healthy dose of NPK and a heavy trace element loading. We also placed special emphasis on calcium (over 9%) and forgotten minerals like silica, sulfur and molybdenum. The phosphorus (3.8%) in Springboard™ is available, but not water soluble, and this is part of the key to promoting rather than shutting down AMF. Similarly, the calcium is not based on calcium nitrate so the plant does not feel swamped in soluble calcium and it continues to support the creatures that will ensure calcium delivery throughout the season.

AMF benefit from trace minerals just as plants do. Springboard™ is loaded with trace minerals. Zinc, for example, is present at 3100 ppm, copper at 2200 ppm and boron at 1500ppm. Manganese, the mineral most required for germination and to kick-start seedlings, is well supplied at 4400 ppm. There is also 200ppm of molybdenum in the formula to ensure that nitrogen-fixing organisms can make the molybdenum-based, nitrogen-fixing enzyme, nitrogenase. Silicon is present in a plant-available form at 3.9% and Springboard™ also contains 1.65% sulfur.

For further information on Springboard™ and Platform™ or any other NTS product contact us on +61 7 5472 9900 or info@nutri-tech.com.au.

Disclaimer: Prices quoted are as at 24-10-11 and are in Australian dollars.  Prices may change without notice.  Prices exclude GST and delivery charges.

How is Soil Health Linked to Human Health?

We are what we eat and what we eat comes from the soil. If our food producing soils are minerally depleted, biologically inactive and chemically contaminated, then so is our food! Unfortunately the tale of extractive agriculture over the past few decades involves all three of these limiting factors and our food has suffered as a result. There have been several studies that have highlighted this decline. In fact, there are nutritionists now claiming that the food we currently consume has just thirty percent of the nutrition found in the food consumed by our Grandparents when they were children, This dramatic decline is not solely related to a decline in soil fertility, It is also linked to food processing, preparation and transport, but the soil is a major player.

How Has Our Food Been Affected By Conventional Farming?

Conventional, acid, salt fertilisers seemed like a good idea at the time. There seemed no longer a need for the high maintenance, soil restorative practices of the past, when you could just throw on some nutrition from a bag each season. However, “easy”, is not necessarily best, and in this case the new approach proved unsustainable. The acid salt fertilisers decimated some of the key creatures in the soil, responsible for soil rebuilding and nutrient delivery. The most visible of these creatures is the humble earthworm which has disappeared from many conventionally farmed soils. However, the fungal organisms that build humus were similarly affected. Humus is the storehouse for all minerals and the home base for the soil organisms that deliver these minerals to the plant. Humus levels have declined by 70% during the decades of extractive agriculture and we are all paying the price. Nutrient deficient plants always require more chemical intervention. The use of farm chemicals is now astronomical and our food, our children and our planet are suffering from this toxic deluge!

How Does Soil Health Improvement Affect Our Fruit, Vegetables and Meat?

When we remineralise our soils and invigorate the soil biology, we reclaim, forgotten flavours, nutrient density and medicinal qualities in our food.

Animals grown on nutrient dense pasture supply meat, rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA – a powerful anti-cancer compound) and that meat features much lower levels of saturated fat than meat from grain-fed animals (5 times less!)

Vegetables grown in these soils contain much higher levels of antioxidants. We now know that compounds like lycopene and sulphurafane are incredibly protective but the levels of these compounds in vegetables depends upon soil life activity and the mineralisation of the soil.

Fruit quality is similarly dependant upon soil fertility. Several years ago in the UK researchers found conventionally grown oranges that contained zero vitamin C. It appears that if you ignore the nutrient delivery mechanisms in the soil (biology and mineral balance) for long enough you produce substandard food. This compromised produce is invariably chemically contaminated because nutrient density and inherent pest and disease protection are directly linked.

How Do I Take the first Steps To Change The Way I Farm?

The first thing to realise is that there is no sacrifice required to become more sustainable in your farming operation. In our popular, four day, Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture Course, you will learn that this change can be the best thing that ever happened in your farming operation. You will see that what is best for the environment is actually best for you!  Your productivity and profitability is expected to improve from the first season, not five years down the track!

Attendance at an NTS course is a good starting point but you may simply choose to call an NTS Agronomist for free advice on any problem you are experiencing at any time. You may decide to soil test your property or leaf test your crop, to improve nutrition precision. You may also opt to trial some of our breakthrough products. Platform™, for example, is a unique mycorrhizal fungi inoculum that can be remarkably productive from just $5 (AUS) per hectare.