Is bagged fert a waste of time................... AND MONEY?
- Thread starter Pasty
- Start date
- Location
- North Antrim
it made me chuckle when I read it, I couldn't resist a bit of Mickey taking.
johnflimston
Member
- Location
- Glamorgan, Wales
Why not try fertilising some and leaving some as a control, put mesh cages out or squares made out of hurdles and measure the yield of grass dry matter.
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
- Location
- South Molton
We did similar last spring to assess rabbit damage on PP.........
Well you did burn all the fuzz they were eating
what time of year did you do it and what did you put round the patchesWe did similar last spring to assess rabbit damage on PP.........
grass will grow better with something to shelter it in the early part of the year regardless to if something eats what is not sheltered
- Location
- South Molton
Look under any machine parked in a field.
How much chicken muck do you need to replace the bagged N on a field?
For arguments sake 600kg bag of 34% for a 5 acre field is the same as ..................tonne of chicken muck per acre.
I was trying to work this out the other day with neighbour but got confused
For arguments sake 600kg bag of 34% for a 5 acre field is the same as ..................tonne of chicken muck per acre.
I was trying to work this out the other day with neighbour but got confused
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
Weld mesh cages well out from the fence lines, in may.
We're talking places you could park up and shot 40 rabbits in a couple hours.
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
Well you did burn all the fuzz they were eating
If they eat gorse, we wouldn't have any problems with Gorse what with the amount of rabbits back last spring
The only bit they eat (like sheep) is the flower. Maybe the growing tip but that's nearly always to high up
Gorse is actually a major part of the problem, it creates a sheltered place where they will dig warrens, clear a gorse bush and there's often a burrow under it.
Also rabbits only travel a certain distance from their warrens, I believe it's about 400m max, usually far less, so if there's gorse in the middle of a area, a 400m circle round that is huge.
If the only shelter for warrens is a hedge on a field edge, the area they will stray over is much reduced. Obviously small fields ringed in hedges are going to be easy pickings for rabbits.
Any way, no gorse where the cages were, down in the valley, just old exmoor style tall hedge banks, perfect for burrowing.
Getting netted soon as lambing is over.
Bit of my land which is all old grass is performing significantly better now having pushed P from index 1 to 2 and K from 2 to 3. Quantity and quality improvement. Grass fed adequately with P and K is also much better prepared to recover after spraying if you need to do that to suppress docks or other weed grasses.
Soil testing is one of the best ways you can spend money in farming assuming of course that you react according to the results.
Don't forget slurry from animals fed with fodder taken off land low in P and K is in turn low in P and K. Vicious circle.
Soil testing is one of the best ways you can spend money in farming assuming of course that you react according to the results.
Don't forget slurry from animals fed with fodder taken off land low in P and K is in turn low in P and K. Vicious circle.
I'd say the answer to the OP question is yes. With a change in grazing management we're finding that we are getting more production from our old permanent pastures with more and healthier cattle being carried. So in addition to selling more beasts, we're spending diddly squat, beyond moving electric fences. No sprays needed, no fertiliser, no wormers.
If you let the animals only eat 50% or less of the available forage, then you are not checking the grasses growth, eating 70% or more has a drastic effect on the root system (which might not be such a problem if you're spoon feeding them with fertilisers, but that is an unnecessary cost). N fertilisers will inhibit the natural free-living bacteria in the soil which can fix atmospheric N and turn it into plant available fertiliser; grasslands work best when subjected to intense pulses of grazing followed by long rest periods. The cattle will eat for preference the top leaves, which contain the most palatable and nutritious bit of the plant.
It goes against everything we've been taught but it works. You'll make much more money if you don't apply fertiliser, as long as you take your grazing seriously.
If you let the animals only eat 50% or less of the available forage, then you are not checking the grasses growth, eating 70% or more has a drastic effect on the root system (which might not be such a problem if you're spoon feeding them with fertilisers, but that is an unnecessary cost). N fertilisers will inhibit the natural free-living bacteria in the soil which can fix atmospheric N and turn it into plant available fertiliser; grasslands work best when subjected to intense pulses of grazing followed by long rest periods. The cattle will eat for preference the top leaves, which contain the most palatable and nutritious bit of the plant.
It goes against everything we've been taught but it works. You'll make much more money if you don't apply fertiliser, as long as you take your grazing seriously.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
That 'might' be true with cattle, but the OP doesn't have cattle. Just taking the top off and leaving long stalks just doesn't work with sheep IME.
I agree on management changing grassland quality and species though. I have a 60ac off-lying block of pp that is split into 16 fields (& now refenced as such). I have been rotationally grazing it, correcting the pH and applying P&K fert at maintenance levels. 2 of the fields have so far been cycled through winter grazed roots and reseeded, with plans to move round most of it in time. I put very little N on, usually just 30kg N/ha in the Autumn to build a wedge.
I had a soils guy in doing soil testing in early December, who hasn't seen it since he last tested it all, two years ago. He couldn't believe the difference in that time, and insisted my Swardlifter had done a great job (I've only done the reseeded fields, as there was no compaction in the others when I got a spade out), then that the reseeding had made a difference (just the 2 fields done though). All I have done is grazed it rotationally, limed it where needed and broadcast a bit of clover seed when there's been an opportunity. Existing ryegrass has come stronger, clover is getting a foothold and the whole lot is generally in better heart.
The reassess on the same ground are still showing up the older grasses though.