Many sheep and beef farms don’t need much potassium on their hill country pastures and focus on phosphate for their general fertiliser needs, but silage paddocks should have additional potassium applied to them, and again prior to harvest is best. It’s much better for the soil and bank balance to harvest effluent paddocks than non-effluent paddocks. Generally, effluent paddocks are close to the cowshed so many farmers prefer grazing these as they’re convenient for the milking herd and instead shut up paddocks at the back of the farm to harvest, which is really the wrong way around. This also saves money in not having to apply extra fertiliser to these before or post-harvest. If phosphorus levels are good, then applying 150kg/ha of Muriate of Potash and 60kg/ha of Urea is an option.Ĭowshed effluent is also an ideal replacement nutrient source, and I try to encourage dairy farmers to try and use effluent paddocks for hay/silage because the extra fertility on these paddocks can then be redistributed around the farm when fed out. A hay paddock should have 500kg/ha of the same fertiliser applied to it. For a silage crop, applying something like 400kg/ha Pasture Mag 15K when shutting up will provide a nitrogen boost as well as the nutrients being taken out. As a leachable element, applying it in the autumn, post-harvest, can result in some of it being lost from the root zone and never utilised. Any excess potassium applied pre-harvest will still be there after-harvest for pasture regrowth. ![]() Plants will luxury feed on potassium, which is essential for tensile strength and stem development and also for seed and flower production. Many farmers apply replacement fertilisers after being harvested but I’m more in favour of paying it forward and applying it as paddocks are locked up with some nitrogen to increase the yield. The biggest nutrient lost from hay/silage crops is potassium. And a four tonne/ha hay crop will take out 20-30 per cent more than this. But as a source for replacing nutrients in the soil, it falls well short.Ī three tonne/ha silage crop will remove approximately 60kg/ha potassium, 11kg/ha phosphorus, 9kg/ha sulphur and 6kg/ha magnesium. It may however have a tonic value as it is reported to reduce the effect of some fungal toxins, and some research has indicated feeding certain seaweeds direct to livestock can reduce greenhouse gas losses. Seaweed, like most plant-based products contains some natural plant hormones like cytokinins, auxins and gibberellins – but not in sufficient quantities to make much difference unless again it has been fortified with extra hormones. Seaweed naturally has around three per cent potassium, but not much else in terms of nutrients – although companies will often fortify liquid products with things like ammonium nitrate, mono ammonium phosphate and potassium nitrate and additional trace elements.īut even fortified products – which may be something like a 8-5-5 NPK rating when applied at 20 litres/ha – only provides 1.6 kg/ha N, and 1 kg/ha of both P and K. I informed the owner that spraying on liquid seaweed at 20 litres/ha was only providing a tiny fraction of the nutrients being harvested, and that the fertility of the property was effectively being mined. The owner was concerned the pastures appeared to be getting poorer and more and more weed-dominant over time. It also allows the alert settings to be customized so the information is sent to whomever needs it the most.Recently, I was asked to take some soil tests on a property that had been leased for a few years where the leasee was continually harvesting hay/silage crops and taking it away and spraying on seaweed to return nutrients to the soil. Moreover, the increasingly accurate insemination rates will quickly offer a return on investment.īouMatic RealTime is fully customizable for a range of alerts and sensitivities. ![]() ![]() He will be able to catch cows with health problems sooner and treat them accordingly. These details are needed to achieve optimal overall herd performance.Ĭoupled with the BouMatic HerdMetrix™ phone app, the data are accessible anywhere so that the farm manager has a constant stream of data. The dairy farmer is able to have individual data on each animal at any time - in real time. The BouMatic neck tag provides extremely accurate heat detection with health monitoring. With the eating time and rumination functionality the dairy farmer is able to give his cows the individual attention they deserve. The farmer will now know at all times where his cows are located. With BouMatic RealTime Activity, you have a powerful device at hand to locate and monitor your cows in real time.
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