Salt on grassland?

[Macsky]

If you were to be applying gypsum, what kind of rates would you be looking at on very high mg/low ca soils?

 

[Old apprentice]

A product I use once before they stoped it being brought ashore was calcified seaweed it made grass sweter.

 

[neilo]

The way I was taught. Gypsum is basically calcium sulphate which reacts in a substitution reaction with the magnesium in the soil to form highly soluble magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts), which then is rinsed out of the soil when it rains. Soil characterised by adequate or higher levels of calcium are flocculated ie they are more open whereas soils with higher levels of magnesium are more sticky and suffer from compaction. It should be noted that whether a soil is compacted or not isn't always down to the mineral content, but can also be caused by bacterial dominated soils however they can go hand in hand. You need the right balance of minerals for soil health and subsequently animal health.

I’ve never heard of the ‘Epsom salts’ idea, just that raising Ca levels increases flocculation. Ca can be applied in many ways, but gypsum would apply sulphur as well of course.

The main cause of compaction is traffic from machinery or livestock of course, regardless of how much Mag or Ca is there. That’s the first thing t9 address in most places imo.

None of this has anything to do with the thread regarding salt on grassland of course.

 

[Wellpark]

Laws Fertiliser supply Ag salt or Salt blend. i tried it for a couple of years and cant help thinking it was just solid snake oil in 600 kg bags

I put on salt from Laws last year and had a huge first cut of silage . There was a problem previously with cows drinking other cows pee which has reduced considerably
I thought it was the salt that helped that

 

[ringi]

I put on salt from Laws last year and had a huge first cut of silage . There was a problem previously with cows drinking other cows pee which has reduced considerably
I thought it was the salt that helped that

In past years did the cows have easy access to salt blocks?

 

[Wellpark]

In past years did the cows have easy access to salt blocks?

Rock salt available , Also a bigger crop of grass I think

 

[Will 1594]

Laws Fertiliser supply Ag salt or Salt blend. i tried it for a couple of years and cant help thinking it was just solid snake oil in 600 kg bags

Might be sand in it too