Food for Livestock Pastures: Do farmers feed the grass?

[alexplatt]

Hi there,

I'm interested to know if farmers feed the grass with any soil or plant nutrients that are grazed by their livestock?

I've read that animals that eat grass that has grown in microbial rich soil tend to be healthier which converts into a better quality of meat or provides better/more milk?

Do farmers fertilizer the pastures that their livestock graze?

 

[Global ovine]

Pastoral farmers are FARMERS, not miners.

Miners extract, farmers maintain nutrient cycling using soil moisture to make those nutrients available which is all energised by the sun. Where nutrients become depleted, they are added to maintain the simple system.

Incidentally, where have you been hiding not to understand farming? It has been around for thousands of years.

 

[alexplatt]

Pastoral farmers are FARMERS, not miners.

Miners extract, farmers maintain nutrient cycling using soil moisture to make those nutrients available which is all energised by the sun. Where nutrients become depleted, they are added to maintain the simple system.

Incidentally, where have you been hiding not to understand farming? It has been around for thousands of years.

I'm not sure if I've offended you by my question and if I have, I'm not sure how.

I am not a farmer. The family business I have just joined sells biological soil nutrients. https://www.zylemsa.co.za/products-distributors-list/

I was trying to understand whether pastoral farmers would use a product like ours on their pastures to increase the microbial activity in the soils which results in healthier plants being eaten by their livestock resulting in healthier livestock. As you say, nutrients become depleted, this is where I see the possible opportunity.

Thanks for your condescending response.

 

[Dry Rot]

I suspect GO, like a lot of us here, are amazed that anyone claiming to be in the "biological soil nutrient" business doesn't seem to understand how soils and plant growth "work".

 

[alexplatt]

I suspect GO, like a lot of us here, are amazed that anyone claiming to be in the "biological soil nutrient" business doesn't seem to understand how soils and plant growth "work".

Thanks "Dry Rot". I see this is not a great place to get constructive responses or generate helpful answers.

You don't know anything about me or our business so I don't think your comment is fair. I also don't know where you got the impression that we don't understand how soils and plant growth "work".

 

[Fat Lamb]

Thanks "Dry Rot". I see this is not a great place to get constructive responses or generate helpful answers.

You don't know anything about me or our business so I don't think your comment is fair. I also don't know where you got the impression that we don't understand how soils and plant growth "work".

Nothing wrong with the 2 responses you've had so far, your the one throwing the toys out of the pram instead of trying to engage with people and expand a discussion.
And on that basis "I'm out"!

 

[alexplatt]

Nothing wrong with the 2 responses you've had so far, your the one throwing the toys out of the pram instead of trying to engage with people and expand a discussion.
And on that basis "I'm out"!

Fantastic

 

[Global ovine]

I'm not sure if I've offended you by my question and if I have, I'm not sure how.

I am not a farmer. The family business I have just joined sells biological soil nutrients. https://www.zylemsa.co.za/products-distributors-list/

I was trying to understand whether pastoral farmers would use a product like ours on their pastures to increase the microbial activity in the soils which results in healthier plants being eaten by their livestock resulting in healthier livestock. As you say, nutrients become depleted, this is where I see the possible opportunity.

Thanks for your condescending response.

A word of advice when using a forum to seek user opinions; if you have a reason to ask a question, then couch it in more specific language. Your explanation above comes across very differently to your original post.

 

[Longlowdog]

@alexplatt once we figure you aren't a troll you'll get a mountain of advice and information but we as a group can be fairly hard on the bampots trying to elicit 'sound bites' to edit to death to show us in a bad light. Sorry your initial experience was less than warm and welcoming.
That said we are also really, really hard on vendors of snake oil. Make sure, really sure you understand the science and have verified performance figures for anything that you may propose, advertise or otherwise attempt to punt here. Otherwise have a nice time and perhaps you can contribute as much knowledge as you take from this particularly knowledgeable forum.
So, I'll bite. What do you sell?

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Hi there,

I'm interested to know if farmers feed the grass with any soil or plant nutrients that are grazed by their livestock?

I've read that animals that eat grass that has grown in microbial rich soil tend to be healthier which converts into a better quality of meat or provides better/more milk?

Do farmers fertilizer the pastures that their livestock graze?

If you farm it properly, well limed and spread plenty of FYM on it you get a rich diverse soil in which you can grow rich grasses too feed your livestock. Without the need for expensive products?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Not really "fertiliser" as such, as there is nothing mainstream that I would want to put on our land, we worked backwards from that and went away from commodities and overproduction to see what else was out there in the world of grass and grazing

We did make quite an effort to buy in feed and house cattle and make compost etc but I don't see doing the same thing over and over is really worthwhile in the bigger picture - just get out of the extract+replace game and let all the world's experts go farm against each other

 

[Jackov Altraids]

@alexplatt once we figure you aren't a troll you'll get a mountain of advice and information but we as a group can be fairly hard on the bampots trying to elicit 'sound bites' to edit to death to show us in a bad light. Sorry your initial experience was less than warm and welcoming.
That said we are also really, really hard on vendors of snake oil. Make sure, really sure you understand the science and have verified performance figures for anything that you may propose, advertise or otherwise attempt to punt here. Otherwise have a nice time and perhaps you can contribute as much knowledge as you take from this particularly knowledgeable forum.
So, I'll bite. What do you sell?

I'll answer that for you;

Hi, I'm

Alex Platt​

Business Development
Alex joins the company with marketing and business development experience from previous roles in the tech industry. Alex will focus on enhancing the current marketing activities to increase sales of Zylem's product range as well creating new markets that Zylem can add value to. Alex’s B-Comm Management Sciences degree from the University of Stellenbosch, Marketing and Communications Diploma from Red & Yellow, together with a Sales Management Certificate from UCT stand him in excellent stead for this role.

Maximise Photosynthesis With Sea Brixº™ - Zylem SA

Sea Brixº™ is formulated to maximise photosynthesis – the process that ultimately results in high brix levels of the plant.

www.zylemsa.co.za

 

[Muddyroads]

I'll answer that for you;

Hi, I'm

Alex Platt​

Business Development
Alex joins the company with marketing and business development experience from previous roles in the tech industry. Alex will focus on enhancing the current marketing activities to increase sales of Zylem's product range as well creating new markets that Zylem can add value to. Alex’s B-Comm Management Sciences degree from the University of Stellenbosch, Marketing and Communications Diploma from Red & Yellow, together with a Sales Management Certificate from UCT stand him in excellent stead for this role.

Maximise Photosynthesis With Sea Brixº™ - Zylem SA

Sea Brixº™ is formulated to maximise photosynthesis – the process that ultimately results in high brix levels of the plant.

www.zylemsa.co.za

Good spot. That will be this Alex Platt then:

https://za.linkedin.com/in/alex-platt-575815a0

 

[upnortheast]

Missing from the CV. The masters in how to get on with farmers. Ultimate test. Do you get a comfy seat in the farm office or do you find yourself standing under a dripping spout.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

Thanks "Dry Rot". I see this is not a great place to get constructive responses or generate helpful answers.

You don't know anything about me or our business so I don't think your comment is fair. I also don't know where you got the impression that we don't understand how soils and plant growth "work".

The impression came from yourself in your original post !

 

[alexplatt]

A word of advice when using a forum to seek user opinions; if you have a reason to ask a question, then couch it in more specific language. Your explanation above comes across very differently to your original post.

Thank you - I see my original question may not have been descriptive enough. I was simply trying to understand if pastoral farmers feed the grass that their livestock grazes and if they do, with what.

The reason I ask the question:
We have organic raw materials which stimulate microbial activity (kelp, fish hydrolysate, molasses by-product) and our products are mainly used for food crops that are seasonal so I'm trying to see how we can flatten the seasonal demand of our products by exploring the livestock farming market which I know little about.

 

[alexplatt]

@alexplatt once we figure you aren't a troll you'll get a mountain of advice and information but we as a group can be fairly hard on the bampots trying to elicit 'sound bites' to edit to death to show us in a bad light. Sorry your initial experience was less than warm and welcoming.
That said we are also really, really hard on vendors of snake oil. Make sure, really sure you understand the science and have verified performance figures for anything that you may propose, advertise or otherwise attempt to punt here. Otherwise have a nice time and perhaps you can contribute as much knowledge as you take from this particularly knowledgeable forum.
So, I'll bite. What do you sell?

Thanks, @Longlowdog - I appreciate the straightforward words.

I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about farming or a lot about farming products. I joined our family business around 4 months ago which my father started 20+ years ago. So I'm still learning about the industry and what the general trends are amongst farming groups.

What I do know is that our products help farmers transition from the traditional snake oil to a more sustainable and regenerative way of farming that puts the nutrients back into the soil. We have tech sheets of our products which I'd be happy to share with you if you are interested.

The main reason I posted this thread is to get a better understanding of the livestock farming market and what farmers use to feed the pastures. We are exploring export markets as with our exchange (ZAR<>GBP) rate we see it being valuable for the UK market. As well as the current fertilizer crisis happening around the world, we are seeing whether our organic raw materials would be desirable in the UK.

I hope to learn a lot from this platform and will certainly chime in where I see the potential for me to add value.

 

[Yale]

@alexplatt

These machines are gathering interest in the UK having been developed in New Zealand.

They are quite versatile in what they can apply to grazing land.

Maybe find some farmers who have this type machine and do some field trials with grass.The growing season is upon the Southern hemisphere so don’t let the grass grow under your feet.

 

[Treg]

If you farm it properly, well limed and spread plenty of FYM on it you get a rich diverse soil in which you can grow rich grasses too feed your livestock. Without the need for expensive products?

I think that was the answer he was after.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

Thanks, @Longlowdog - I appreciate the straightforward words.

I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about farming or a lot about farming products. I joined our family business around 4 months ago which my father started 20+ years ago. So I'm still learning about the industry and what the general trends are amongst farming groups.

What I do know is that our products help farmers transition from the traditional snake oil to a more sustainable and regenerative way of farming that puts the nutrients back into the soil. We have tech sheets of our products which I'd be happy to share with you if you are interested.

The main reason I posted this thread is to get a better understanding of the livestock farming market and what farmers use to feed the pastures. We are exploring export markets as with our exchange (ZAR<>GBP) rate we see it being valuable for the UK market. As well as the current fertilizer crisis happening around the world, we are seeing whether our organic raw materials would be desirable in the UK.

I hope to learn a lot from this platform and will certainly chime in where I see the potential for me to add value.

That's better !!