New Zealand Fertiliser Blog

Soil is very much a living substance –it’s either breaking up or building up. Millions of micro-organisms and other life-forms that live in or on the soil are the main agents of this continuous change. Without these micro-organisms – many of which are microscopic and beyond the vision of the naked eye – dead organic matter would pile high on Earth’s surface, and the soil would suffocate. Continue Reading »

Think of the soil in commercial terms for a minute. It’s not as out there as you might think. Cation nutrients are the currency in which soil deals, and soil colloids are the traders. As a couple of American researchers put it, "the first order of business for soil colloid is to hold nutrients – nutrients that can be traded off as the roots of a plant demand them". Continue Reading »

MAGNESIUM is an extremely important element for all stock. It is defined as a macro element, which means it is required in large quantities. Magnesium is vital for a number of different functions in the body; including relaxation of muscles and nerves, utilisation of calcium and converting sugars to energy. Magnesium is not stored well as a reserve in the body, therefore stock need their daily requirement from feed intake. Continue Reading »

Where soil Organic Matter is 10% in the top 7.5 cm, that soil is about 5.8% carbon. The bulk density of soil in the field is generally greater than one, if we use a bulk density of 1, this is 43,500 kg C in the top 7.5 cm, which is quite a large amount. There will be some C further down the profile so it is quite possible in summer moist districts that the C in the top 30cm of soil could easily be 100,000 kg/ha (100 t/ha). Continue Reading »

There’s no denying the considerable contribution vaccines and anti-biotics make to animal and human health. But wouldn’t it be even better if we did not need to use them so much, if we could avoid the conditions that force us to use them.
Think for a minute: How successful have vaccines been in preventing colds and flu’s in humans? How many times can we rely on anti-biotics to bring us right? How often have we heard the medics mourn that we need to modify a vaccine because Virus A, which had become Virus C, has now become Virus E? How often have we heard them lament that viruses have become immune to the present strain of anti-biotics? Continue Reading »

When we, at Fertilizer New Zealand, talk about the urgency of managing nitrogen-fertiliser use, we know we are in good company.

Nitrate losses to the environment were identified as “a key challenge for farming” in the 2004 findings presented by the Parliamentary commissioner for the environment, Morgan Williams, in his report, ‘Growing for Good: Intensive farming, sustainability and the New Zealand environment’. Williams drew on the words of Australian CSIRO researcher Barney Foran to an international grasslands conference in Palmerston North more than a decade previously:
“The biggest challenge at the moment is to produce a vision of why we produce products from grasslands. If we are worried by the energy consumption of our developed economies, then we must develop low-energy, integrated pasture systems that give high-quality products with no downstream pollution effects – a “cradle-to-grave” concept. Continue Reading »

It’s a small – and entirely logical – step from the realisation that “the soil makes the grass” to “the soil makes the animal”.
The better the quality and balance of the soil, the better the protein of the grass and crops, and the better the quality of the animal – always with the rider that the animals have the benefit of a balanced feeding regime.
Given this framework, you can expect animals to gain weight faster and for longer, to thrive and to be healthier, and to look better.
In other words, healthy soil will produce healthy plants and crops, which, in turn, will produce healthy animals. Simple. Isn’t it?
But the chain does not stop with animals. It extends to the people who eat the crops, animal products, and animals. In other words, healthy soil, healthy grass and crops, and healthy animals also produce healthy people. Continue Reading »

Mankind has long understood the words of Ash Wednesday: “Remember that you are dust and that you will return to dust.”

Our ancestors were well aware that this “dust” of the soil is what determines vigour and health. Well before metabolism and enzymatic functions were known about, our forebears looked at what they saw around them, and declared that “the animal is a product of the soil”.Scientific discovery now allows us to put this belief in more modern terms which are, however, no more than a copy of the olden words – “The living organism (animal or human) is the biochemical photograph of the environment in which it lives, particularly of the soil which manufactured the nutrients for it.” Continue Reading »

Most people misunderstand or know little about the movement of water in soils.

The average person will assume that water simply moves downwards. But, in fact, if water is applied to soil at a single point, it defies the law of gravity and moves sideways just as fast as it goes down. The result – it soaks into the soil in a spherical pattern. Continue Reading »

Flower buds and flowers are prerequisites to the production of seeds or fruit by plants.

Tiny flower buds are actually formed long before they become obvious. In corn, for example, the cob and tassel buds form when the plant is only about knee high. In apple trees, the buds that will produce next year are formed this year. Continue Reading »