Owners: Jeff and Fiona Graham
Location: Maungatautari, near Te Awamutu, Waikato
Type of Operation: Dairy goats, and Pukeatua Peak Cheese
"In five years, milk production has increased from 28,000kgMS from 600 goats (2010) to 55,000kgMS from 450 goats (2014). That’s a 96% improvement in total production and an improvement of 162% per goat."
When Fiona’s late father entered the Graham’s 600 milking-goat farm into the Ballance Environmental Awards, it heralded the start of a new direction for the farm. The goat droppings were recognised as a resource for compost and a compost turner was purchased. The first application was 9t/ha applied by muck spreader.
A few years later, the Grahams, Ron McLean, and Craig Vincent began the company now known as Kiwi Fertiliser. Kiwi Fertiliser uses the services of Kinsey Agricultural Services, and Perry Agricultural Laboratories (PAL) in Missouri, USA to conduct rigorous soil testing, and from there to make recommendations. These three companies absolutely nail soil fertility issues, leading to increased pasture production, better drought performance and superior animal health over time. Following this system requires investment and commitment, so to begin with 5 hectares of Pukeatua Peak Goat Farm were brought up to excellent soil fertility each year. Jeff attended one of Neal Kinsey’s soil fertility courses and became convinced that this was the way of the future.
Jeff subsequently found that when the calcium and magnesium reached base saturation of 68% and 12% on a PAL soil audit, pasture production went from 12,000 kgs/ha to over 20,000kgs. (68% calcium and 12% magnesium on a PAL test is the correct percentage for this and most farms. Other farms on certain soils may vary to 60% Ca and 20% Mg.)
The Grahams average 23,000kgDM/Ha over their property (excluding sidlings). As Jeff often says, “You can’t grow 23 tonnes if you are fertilising for 12.” This year the signs are all there that that figure will be substantially increased.
Jeff initially criticised the cost to improve each paddock, but, at the end of the day, that cost amounted to “chicken feed” when measured against the improvements in productivity and profit. In five years, milk production has increased from 28,000kgMS from 600 goats (2010) to 55,000 from 450 goats (2014). That’s a 96% improvement in total production and an improvement of 162% per goat.
The goat industry currently pays $18.50/kgMS, and the price paid has increased steadily along with production. The average live weight of the goats has increased from 64kg to 89kg (+72%). At $18.50 per kg, in 2010, each goat produced $860 worth of milk. In 2014, that had increased to $2,260. Each goat was producing its body-weight in milk. Now it is 137% of body-weight with the top goats producing twice to three times their body-weight. This is well above industry average.
In contrast to improvements via soil fertility, genetic improvement amounts to $13/goat/yr. First kidders produce 155kg on average and the best mature goats between 180 and 200kgMS. Kidding has dramatically increased with the increased soil fertility. Quads and quins are now common-place. Progeny sales are an important part of the operation with sales now being worth $200-250,000 per annum.
The Dairy Goat Co-op has managed goat milk production in a very controlled fashion. As the Graham’s production increased, surplus milk above quota was paid for at lower rate. This opened the door for cheese making and Pukeatua Peak Cheese was born. In their first year, 2010, five Pukeatua cheeses won six medals; two bronze, two silver and two gold; one gold being for the Artisan Cheese of the Year.
All feed grown on the farm is cut and carried. The harvesting round is about 16-18 days to maximise protein. Each load of herbal ley weighs in at 405kgDM, rain hail or shine. It is nutritionally balanced with grain and baleage. If the mass exceeds 2,600kgDM, it is likely end up as baleage, and much does. In some instances, the growth has caught them by surprise and the mass has increased to 3,000kgDM/ha, in which case it has been added to the compost. Feed quality is of paramount importance. The amount grown is just a bonus.
While the Grahams have exited Kiwi Fertiliser Company, they have remained very loyal customers. Since Purchasing a Keenan mixer wagon, production has increased further. The Keenan nutritionists have told Jeff his pasture quality is in the top 2% in the world, and Keenan have 31,000 customers around the globe.
(To read the 2018 sequel to this presentation, click here)
1. Four school men friends had a reunion in their 40’s. Went to Fairweather’s because the bar staff were good looking. They met again in their 50’s because Fairweather’s had good lighting to see by. In their 60’s they went to Fairweather’s because they had wheel chair access. In their 70’s they went to Fairweather’s because they hadn’t been there before... more about this later.
2. I first discovered the balancing effect of soil nutrients over 20 years ago. I first met Neal Kinsey about then, at a seminar in Blenheim where he spoke for a couple of hours, without notes. Afterwards I showed him 2 soil tests, one where the Ca/Mg ratios were 68% and 12%, but P was low. The other test had Ca at 60% and Mg at 5%, but phosphate was high. He said most people would say the second test would yield a better barely crop, but in his opinion the first test was better. In the event he was right and we got a yield of 3 tonne of barley versus 1.5 tonne. It was then we started sending soil tests to America for analysis.
3. The first thing to show up was an acute copper deficiency to the extent where I was advised to take immediate steps to rectify this as the level was 0.03 parts per million (levels should be 2 to 4). We then injected our yearling bulls with copper and within 48 hours the results were unbelievable. They stopped riding each other, they stopped eating the dirt, they stopped scouring. In fact they started behaving normally, (ie eating, drinking chewing their cud and growing and putting on weight) all this from a proper soil test from a laboratory half way across the world.
4. The next thing on the agenda was to balance the cations, Mg, Ca, Na and K and also the trace minerals. We found as we progressed that thresholds are important. For example it is a waste of time putting 2kgs of copper on when it takes 5kgs to actually work.
5. Also the effects of calcium become much more obvious when we reached 60% of base saturation. This is the point where the pore space allows for the proper air and water movement and subsequent biological activity and consequently more plant and animal growth of better quality.
6. The balancing effect means hot or cold, wet or dry becomes less of an issue. Why? Because both air and water movement within the soil is enhanced. This encourages the right microbes to work to break down previous crop residue into humus and parent material into nutrients. Also legumes thrive giving the system the right amount of N.
7. We have found that it takes about 3-5 years to get our soil in balance, (i.e. Ca 60 – 70%, Mg 8-12%, K 3-5%, Na 1 – 3 %). Depending on how far out it was to start with. Funny things happen when the balance is right. Grass grub, cut worm and porina damage largely disappears, Bloat, milk fever, and hypo magnesium staggers also disappear. Others too disappear including backwards calves (iodine) retained placenta (selenium), and laminitis.
8. Weeds also tell us a story about what is right or wrong with the soil. Rhizome type weeds (e.g. couch yarrow California thistles, and morning glories) all tend to disappear. This is because under a balanced regime a fungus prevails which consumes Rhizomes and this is far more effective than any spray.
9. Broadleaf weeds denote wet sour ground, and wireweed means low calcium. Acid soil weeds include sorrel, docks, and hawk weed.
10. We grow red clover, and it disappears when there is a shortage of potassium. People say their pasture is run out! It’s not the pasture, it is the soil that is feeding it. Potassium is very often complexed and unavailable for plant to use when soils suddenly get dry. This is very important for both red clover and grapes. Hence the need for Foliar applications of K in grapes in the summer.
11. An interesting development has taken place in our vineyard. Monsanto has tried to register glysophate as an antibiotic (i.e. it kills bacteria). I believe that prolonged use of glysophate buggers the soil bacteria for long periods of the growing season to the extent that our vines are starved of nutrients. I have used an underwire mower instead of the sprayed strip this year with good results. The grapes matured earlier (before the rain) and tasted better, and we have good strong canes for next year, with no discernible disease spores. When we turned some sheep and cattle into the vineyard, they ate the clover under the vines first! By the way it seems also that under a balanced system that plants and animals provide more of their own protection against predator and insect attack.
Fertilizer:
12. We use suspension fertiliser (i.e. finely ground fertilizer mixed with water and applied in suspension to the foliage). The advantage is in the fineness of the material and the evenness of the spread, plants also absorb and translocate it to the root zone. This is very cost effective for maintenance fertilizer providing there are no drastic shortages with the exception of sulphur. Suspension of elemental sulphur is the only way of raising soil sulphur levels without leaching issues.
13. It is also very good with phosphate especially if the pH is low or out of balance. The phosphate does not lock up with Iron and/or aluminium as easily. Consequently much less is required. If however, you need large amounts of Ca or Mg we have found normal ground limestone or dolomite is required until levels approach thresholds. This applies also to all trace minerals.
Nitrogen:
14. It appears that the 15,000 odd dairy farms in New Zealand use 500,000 tonnes of urea on their grass every year according to Peter Burton (Marlborough Nelson Farming Magazine). That $350 million (or $25,000 per farm) could be used to balance soils and the subsequent clover will provide more than enough N in a form that doesn’t leach.
Effects of overuse of N:
• Elongation of the cell wall – longer grass with the same number of cells)
• Greater evapotranspiration – more water required
• Greater insect attack – insects can handle excessive N without ill effects (i.e. grass grub)
• Non-protein N – Bloat and nitrate poisoning
• Pollution – excess into the system means excess N out of the system.
• Calcium depletion – excess N departs as CaNo3, and this hardens the soil
• Crop lodging – elongation of the stem combined with copper shortages makes the straw weak in grain crops, which I have experienced with corn crops.
15. Do not put N on pastures after a dry spell. There is already an excess of N there waiting for rain – you wouldn’t give a drowning man more water!
Crop Rotations:
16. Grow corn or wheat after a clover crop. Very little N is required. The rule is 1kg of N to be applied to help break down 100kgs crop residue. Over sow in grass and clover after 2-3 years to restore the balance.
17. If you are able to irrigate, grow crops and grasses that can tolerate heat, e.g. fescue timothy in place of ryegrass, red clover in place of sub clover, sweet corn and maize. Grow plants and animals that suit your conditions and select genetically last, after all the balancing areas have been addressed. Most people get this the wrong way round and end up selecting for poor conditions when they should have changed those conditions. A good example of this is Friesian Bulls will adapt to spring or autumn flushes far quicker than beef bred animals because their mothers have been selected for these conditions.
18. Some production figures since balancing our soils are:
• Red clover 750kg/ha
• Lucerne seed 500kg/ha
• Sweet corn 20 – 25kg /ha
• Barley 7 – 8 Tonne/ha with 58lb bushel of weight
• Steers average 1.1kg/day throughout the year running 3-4/ha
• 150% lambing without selecting for lambing ability (in fact tail end ewe lambs were kept)
• Averaging 15 Tonne grapes with excellent brix and acid levels to taste.
19. Not everybody enjoys these levels of production.
Quality:
20. Currently crops are measured by weight, grass is measured by dry matter content, feed is measured by M.E. These measurements do not tell us the quality of our produce. We need to know more. In our grain crops the thousand grain weight or bushel weight is important.
21. Dry matter measurement doesn’t tell us the nutrient density or if the cell wall is elongated by excessive nitrogen use. M.E. doesn’t tell us the balance between protein and energy. This ratio is critical for proper production, i.e. 1 part protein for 3 parts energy. Boosted dairy pastures are 1 to 1. That is why cows supplemented with maize silage do so well. Because maize is high in energy. Barley straw will also do the job, especially if roughage is required. Half a round bale per 50 bulls every second day will double their growth rates and stop the laminitis during the Autumn flush. Contrary to what some experts may tell you (Marlborough Express 25/4/2014).
22. We have started under-mowing instead of spraying. One neighbour has been doing this for some years and he says the vineyard has become thatchy, however he is not balancing the soil and I don’t believe it will be a problem in our vines. I have been criticized for this development including by my wife (an avid and successful gardener), however I am unperturbed by this and I feel I am on the right track.
Risk:
23. Think of your fertilizer programme as an investment and the golden rule of investment is to diversify. We have a vineyard, and we grow sweet corn, peas, clover seed, Lucerne seed, beef, lambs, hay and baleage and we have a contracting business. We also have profit from investments, all made possible by soil balancing.
24. Dairy farmers should, where possible, grow their own supplements to avoid risk of supply. Run off farms need to be balanced so the cows can restore the calcium in their bones, otherwise they won’t produce well.
25. Remember that bones are 2:1 Ca to P. If the ratio in the feed is less than that (say 1:1) then the excess P has to be excreted leaving a shortage of both Ca and P for bone growth. The end result is lower productivity, milk fever and infertility. Perhaps this is why New Zealand dairy cows only boast 5 – 6 lactations instead of 10 – 12.
26. Vineyards are vulnerable to bad weather events as evidenced this year (hail, rain and frost)
27. We are all vulnerable to political interference and market fluctuations, hence some other industry investments.
Profitability:
28. So how does this translate into sustainable profits? Expenses are less – Pollution is less, sprays and remedies for pests and diseases are not required, except for extreme challenges (for example this year in the grapes, powdery mildew was a greater challenge than usual and in spite of our efforts to balance things we still used a fungicide to control it. However the quality of our wine was still up in the top 10% thanks to our balancing programme.
29. Crops mature on time which meant that this year we were able to harvest before the bad weather. Note excessive use of N will delay harvest.
30. Grow the right crops for your climate. Keep rotation right for the N availability, use livestock in conjunction with crops to make use of crop residues and to improve the symbiotic relationship between rumen microbes and soil microbes.
31. Plant crops on time and preferably in the right moon phase. This is quite important, although less so on properly balanced soils.
32. Trace minerals are just as important as major elements. A good example is Boron. If in short supply, pine trees get die back, corn crops don’t fill up properly and clover seed crops set less seed. Up to 20% more sweet corn can be produced with just 2kgs Solubor (Boron fertilizer). Don’t be afraid to foliar feed when things show up short. It is better to remedy the situation than lose production and quality.
33. Irrigation costs are less because of the build up of humus, water holding capacity and the capillary action. As the soil dries out droughts and winters seem less severe. Total dry matter production is up there with the top 10%, however costs are lower, including fertilizer as little N is required.
34. If the structure of the soil pH is correct (i.e. Ca 60 – 70%, 8 – 12% Mg, 3 – 5% K, 1 – 2% Na) then whatever crop you grow will be king. Weeds and insects will be less of an issue, production in tonnes will be more, quality by nutrient value will be better and best of all profits will be greater.
35. If your pastures are running out look to the soil. If you are having to resort to fungicides, insecticides and herbicides – look to the soil! Make sure you don’t pug the paddocks or cultivate them when wet as the legacy of that lasts for many years.
36. Remember the final measurement is your bank balance. If it’s not right – look at your soil!
37. So, I put it to you - are your corps and pastures nutrient dense? Does this transfer into poorer feed for our tables and is this an issue where our own health is concerned? I believe it is, and it’s up to us as farmers to get this balancing caper right, because our city cousins are depending on it for their health and well being.
38. Remember our four friends from the beginning of this talk, and how they couldn’t see very well, were in wheel chairs and didn’t remember things. Maybe they would be better off if their food was more nutrient rich and grown under a more balanced approach. I certainly know how it works for us and all of the plants and animals we grow
39. Thank you ladies and gentlemen for taking the time to listen to what I believe is a very important message, which is balance your soils and subsequently everything else will fall into place, including your bank balance.
4 years ago, I presented a paper relating to 20 years’ experience subscribing to the Albrecht-Kinsey model. (You can read that here). What have we found in those 4 years….
1. Copper
Most of this country is desperately short of copper. Under 1ppm in most cases initially. I made the mistake of not putting enough copper on to pass the threshold of 2ppm. This takes at least 5kg/ha preferably 10kg/ha per year. We may need to stop using copper for a while. A soil test will tell us.
2. Copper again
At a previous conference, Neal mentioned the fact that some crops require more copper than others. He said raspberries are one of those. They need 15ppm to prevent rust. Well he was right. I put 50kg/ha on my raspberries and the bad rust disappeared completely. We were eating raspberries from Dec to May this year.
3. Sulphur
Once again, sulphur is in short supply in Marlborough soils. We have used Neal Kinsey’s recommended rates on our soils, including the grapes. Sulphur and copper are the main drivers of taste. We won the prize for the best tasting grapes out of 75 co-op growers. Over 10000 tonnes collectively.
4. Cation balance
We have balanced our cations to the extent that we have 66-70% calcium, 10-12% magnesium, 3-6% potassium and 1-2% sodium which are shown in our soil tests. This has enabled us to withstand some pretty unusual weather events in the last 2 years. E.g. in Jan/Feb of this year we had 60% of our annual rainfall, when 20% is expected. The one thing we noticed that in spite of excessive rainfall, 70-90mm overnight, there were no puddles. There was no run-off. The neighbours paddocks were awash! How did this happen? The answer of course is because of the calcium/magnesium balance. The soil has the right pore space and the right amount of air and water at all times. (Except extreme events) This means proper in-soak, proper transfer of excess water to the subsoil. Very little, if any, runoff and proper capillary action as the soil dry’s out. This means: Less irrigation, no pollution, more production resulting in higher profits.
5. Soil microbes
Soil microbes break down crop and animal residues, creating more humus and more resilience against adverse events. Under a balanced system there is very little pollution of the waterways! This of course begs the question. Is fencing on our waterways the right pathway to less stream pollution, or should we be better off concentrating on enhancing the soils and the associated microbes to control runoff.
6. Government
There is a move from government circles to limit fertilizer use and cow numbers. How ridiculous! Even if you had only 1 cow and if she was feed the wrong feed she would pee almost straight ammonia and have laminitis and want to be in waterways for relief. The answer is in the mineral balance of the soil, then the microbes and then the feed. This applies to our health as well. You will not have good health by building hospitals. Spend the money on soils which transfers to soil health, microbe health, plant and animal health and human health. All over the world human health is deteriorating. Why is this? It is because we are not addressing the health of our soils.
7. Measurements
We have discovered that measuring before and after is most important. Proper soil test taken regularly…most important. Use only proven tests. E.g. do not use Olsen P on low pH soils. Otherwise you will overdo the application of phosphates with disastrous results. E.g. zinc deficiencies. It takes a long time to use up excess P in the soil. Don’t forget there is a phosphate ion in the middle of every cell. Cancer is rampant cell division. Is excessive P in our food a factor in increased human cancers? We need to measure our soils, our water, our lime and fertilizers for both nutrients and contaminants.
8. Fertilizer
We have followed the recommendations from Neal Ninsey and now our tests are coming in with:
• 66-70% calcium (Aim 68%)
• 10-12% magnesium (Aim 12%)
• 3-6% potassium (Aim 5% for pasture and 7.5% for vines)
• 1-2% for sodium (Aim > 0.5%)
• 3-5ppm for copper (Aim 5ppm)
• 12-18ppm zinc (Aim 16)
• 300-600kg/ha phosphates (Aim >500kg/ha)
• 12-16ppm sulphur (Aim >50ppm)
• 3-5% humus (Aim 5%)
• 50-80ppm manganese (Aim 100ppm)
• 200-300ppm iron (Aim 300ppm)
We use dolomite where necessary, lime, RPR plus trace minerals. We use 200kg/ha KSO4 (Potassium sulphate) plus 100kg/ha DAP on hay and baleage paddock after every cut. The only N applied is in the DAP. We are relying on the soil microbes to supply the rest, up-to 400kg/ha on most paddocks.
9. Fault line
Incidentally we have a fault line running through our property. It was heavy clay with a TEC (Total exchange capacity) of 22. The rest of our property has a TEC of 13-14. On the fault line this year we found 5902kg/ha of calcium which represented 60% of base saturation. On the vineyard the TEC was 14 and the calcium found was 4150kg/ha representing a base saturation of 65%. It has taken an extra 5 tonne of lime/ha to raise the calcium levels on the fault line. A bit more is still required. However, we are now getting good drainage on that area. The pH on the lighter soil is 6.2 but we are still under pH 6.0 for the heavier clay soil. Another year should bring this into line.
10. Foliar tests
We have found we cannot rely on foliar testing for soil amendments. We had good soil zinc levels but low leaf levels because of the high phosphate in the soil. A small foliar application (2kg) bought the levels up to where they should be. Be wary of soil amendments especially for magnesium if foliar tests show a shortage. Too much magnesium in the soil shows up as a shortage as does too little. Better to correct this by foliar feeding and rely on the next soil test for ground applications.
11. Pests
Imbalance in the soil minerals means poor microbial activity, which leads to pest and disease issues. A good example is grass grub. Plants have a symbiotic relationship with the soil microbes. The plants exude sugars in the root zone to encourage the microbes to supply them with the nutrients in exchange for sugars. A plant under stress will exude more sugars than usual. That plant will also give off signals that insects pick up and the brown grass grub will lay its eggs where the extra sugar is present. When we balanced our soils the grass grub damage disappeared. Other pests controlled include porina, Psa in kiwifruit, clover root weevil, facial eczema…and who knows, maybe this approach is the best way to control (but not eliminate) mycoplasma bovis.
12. Disease
We have largely eliminated fungal diseases in our grapes with minimal use of fungicide. However, we do use biological fungicides to back up our soil fertility programme. We have stopped spraying the under-vine and mow instead. Is this combination of soil and plant management helping to make the plant defence mechanisms more effective?
13. Bad aphids
Last year our area had bad aphids in Lucerne crops and my neighbour asked me what insecticide I used. Of course, we did not spray. We had some aphids but not enough to warrant a spray. At the next cut we had lots of ladybugs on the mower but no aphids. The Lucerne crop went onto make a record crop of seed of 900kg/ha which was up 400 kg or 40%.
Recently another neighbour told me he can’t grow brassica crops anymore because of club root. It turns out he hasn’t used any lime or trace minerals for 6 years. He just used phosphate and nitrogen. If he had balanced his soils and used trace minerals, he would not have had a problem.
14. Nitrogen
Did you know that the inhibitor put into urea inhibits the microbes, which convert the urea from a diamide of carbonic acid into NH3 (Ammonia gas), HN4 and NO3? This is the same family of microbes that fix N from the atmosphere into the soil! Well that’s a good way of selling more urea! In a pasture, if we balance our cations, the enhanced microbial activity will provide enough N for 20 t DM/ha. So, don’t put urea on pastures. It will cost you money and pollute our streams. If you feel the need to use N fertilizer, use an ammoniated form such as ammonium sulphate or DAP. This will be slower but more effective and will not pollute. Too much nitrogen causes less uptake of copper and zinc!
15. Restrictions
We are in danger of having restrictions put on us by politicians. We need to get our act together and use N responsibly otherwise we can’t grow a 14-tonne wheat crop.
16. Nitrogen use vs production
Last time I spoke, I made a list of the effects of too much N. 4 years ago NZ farmers used 500,000 tonnes of Urea annually. Now they are using 750,000 tonnes annually. Does this correspond to extra produce or is it causing pollution and distress?
17. Solving issues
The message is that balancing soil cations and addressing trace element issues is fundamental for solving most of the important issues, which effect our everyday living. Pollution, sustainability and health are all improved…but most of all, look at your bank balance. If it’s bad, then look at your soil.
18. Forestry
Neal tells me he advises on forestry with good results. I am about to embark on a forestry venture and I hope to make an impact on production by 40-50% by balancing the soil under the trees. We may be able to solve some issues with needle blight…. Watch this space.
19. 2014 address
The address I made in 2014 still applies. However, the risk of bad political decisions is higher now so therefore our investment in our soils is at risk from people who are in power. We need to educate these people to help them make the right decisions for the good of us all. We can only hope that good sense will prevail.
20. Balancing feeds
Cattle need balanced feed in terms of protein/energy ratios and they also need roughage in order to ruminate properly. In winter/spring grass is short with very little roughage and a protein/energy ration of 1:1. We add barley straw to balance things. Last week I shifted the break before feeding the straw. I didn’t feed the straw until the next day and the cattle had eaten twice as much grass than is usual. I can only conclude that they were eating more grass trying to find the roughage and energy that was lacking. Balancing feeds physically, chemically and by protein/energy ratios of 1-part protein to 3-parts energy is equally as important as balancing your soils. Production usually increases by about 20-30% with minimal cost. Under irrigation straw/hay is feed out for 9 months of the year.
In conclusion
Follow the programme. Look at it as an investment with a long-term return.
After a few short years you will see the difference in both production and lack of issues, regardless of what you grow. You will be able to transfer what you grow to your bank balance with minimal effect to the environment.
Good luck and thank you for listening.
Steve Mackenzie
June 2018
While other dairy farmers wait to supply Miraka to gain its lucrative 10c/kg milksolids (MS) premium over Fonterra’s milk price, Te Raparahi Lands Trust is intending to increase production within the next year.
Owners: Mike and Claire Belcik
Location: Torere, Bay of Plenty
Type of Operation: Garlic
Mike and Claire Belcik use organically certified products and advice supplied by Kiwi Fertiliser. The below is an article about the Belcik's by Elaine Fisher. This article appeared in Coast and Country Magazine in Feb 2015 and is used here with permission.
It’s just as well the sheds on Mike and Claire Belcik’s Torere market garden are well constructed – for from their rafters hangs one tonne of garlic.
The couple have been growing garlic for 24 years and such is their reputation for quality and taste that it’s sold throughout the country in gourmet and whole food stores, health food shops and supermarkets.
Claire also sells garlic, along with a wide range of other produce she grows, from her popular roadside stall in Opotiki each summer.
The latest crop of heirloom Takahui garlic was harvested just after Christmas with the help of WOOFers – a coin for Willing Workers on Organic Farms – as well as friends and a mechanical “lifter”.
“I don’t plant garlic on the shortest day of the year and harvest it on the longest, which a lot of people do,” says Claire.
“I plant according to the most favourable phases of the moon and keep a record on my calendars of when I plant and harvest all my crops.
“Before I plant a new crop, I get out all my old calendars and check back to see what I did in other years and what worked best,” says Claire.
“Last season I planted the garlic in late July and it grew really well.”
Claire amongst the Takahui garlic.
Planning when to pant is just one part of the preparation. Claire operates a five-year rotation system for the garlic and each new bed is at least two years in the making.
This includes growing an herbal ley to be grazed by the family house cow. Mustard is used as a ‘bio-fumigant’ to clean the soil followed by another cover crop.
As with planting by the moon, Claire also uses biodynamic principles to enhance soil fertility, including making biodynamic preparations, compost, seaweed and fish-based liquid fertilisers, and growing green manures which are dug back into the soil.
“For me it all begins with the soil. If we keep the soil healthy then we produce good food; and I want to grow good, nutritious food for people to eat.”
For the garlic, the soil is worked up into raised beds, carefully weeded and planted with the biggest and best of last year’s garlic cloves placed five rows to a bed.
The rows are 20cm apart and the garlic is spaced 15cm apart in the rows. Mulch is applied to retain moisture and supress weeds.
There are a variety of crops grown by the Belciks.
Harvesting is hard work and last year, with the help of friends and neighbours, Claire and Mike built a garlic lifter using different pieces of machinery cobbled together to create a new tractor-drawn tool which has made a huge difference to the work.
The device lifts the bulbs, making it easier for workers following behind to pick them up.
In the curing shed, the bulbs are cleaned by removing two of the outside leaves, graded and tied in bunches, still with their roots, to be hung up to cure.
“I think the garlic goes on growing a little after it’s harvested as it takes up nutrients from the leaves. We don’t wash our garlic or do anything other than let it dry.
“When it comes time to sell, we cut off the dead leaves and roots.”
The garlic will keep for up to nine months in the curing sheds.
While she’s experimented with a number of varieties, Claire prefers the Takahui garlic which was discovered growing in sand dunes near Dargaville many years ago.
“It was probably brought to New Zealand by Dalmatian gum diggers.”
She also grows elephant garlic, which is truly huge. Unlike common garlic, described as “soft necked” and most closely related to onions, elephant garlic is hard necked and related to leeks. To date only small quantities of the elephant garlic have been grown but Claire’s pleased with the latest harvest and will plant more next season.
Growing food and being a farmer was all Claire wanted to do when she was growing up at Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty.
At 21 she and a girlfriend bought round-the-world tickets and began their big OE. It was while in the USA that she met woodsman Mike.
In 1990 the couple bought 70 hectares of land at Torere, near Te Kaha.
“Our first child John had just been born and Mike had been seriously injured in a car accident, but we knew this was the property for us.”
Much of it was and still is, covered in native bush. The couple began clearing the land and as Mike recovered, he erected a tepee and lived on the farm while he built a home.
The family returned to the USA to spend time with Mike’s family and earn money to help pay off their mortgage – Claire working with landscape gardeners, Mike using his considerable building, joinery and timber milling skills.
They returned with a container filled with American hard wood they had milled and Mike’s portable sawmill.
Elephant garlic being processed.
The Belciks and their children, John, Dan and Ben, have made subsequent trips to the USA “so the boys can get to know their American cousins” and Mike’s family has visited Torere too.
Today market gardening and timber milling are the main focus for Claire and Mike. Apart from garlic their other commercial crop is 145 lime trees with the fruit in demand for juice as well as fresh fruit.
Their property also grows a wide variety of other trees, including citrus, avocado, macadamia nut, feijoa, persimmon, bananas, berries, peaches, pears, plums and exotic timber trees.
Always experimenting, new varieties of cucumber and melons are being trialled.
There’s asparagus, kale, and watermelons. The ‘kitchen garden’ grows an impressive variety of food, flowers and herbs including corn, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, onions, celery, carrots and potatoes.
Everything is grown on organic principles and the property is just six months away from gaining full organic certification.
The Belcik family is keen to share their knowledge of farming and gardening and are involved in gardening projects at the local school and marae.
They also like to share their home so there’s a steady stream of Woofers coming and going, including this summer Kaisa Schlarb from Washington who helped with the garlic harvest.
“Meeting Claire and coming to Torere has been very special. I have learnt so much and every day we have wonderful meals made from produce growing in the garden.”
Pinky Tafatu-Hipa, who Claire met while on holiday in Niue two years ago, has visited for the last two summers, helping with gardening and selling produce from the roadside stall.
“I just love it here, helping Claire and selling fruit and vegetables from the store,” says Pinky, who admits she had no idea where Torere was, but now thinks it’s a little piece of paradise –in many ways not unlike her own island home.
Pinky Tafatu-Hipa shows off the sunflowers.
For further information, contact Claire and Mike via email: belcikfamily@yahoo.com
What: Napa Valley Vineyard Tour, California
When: 2012
Author: Brett Petersen
Most people go on winery tours. We were unfortunate enough to go on a vineyard tour. Such is life! After the 3-Day International Wine Grape Growing Course conducted by Neal Kinsey, we set out to see the Albrecht-Kinsey fertility programme in action on grapes. The course was a great success; many of us had done Kinsey courses before. There were 61 ‘students’ - 34 from USA, 18 from NZ, 3 Canadians, 2 Puerto Ricans, 2 from Germany, and 1 each from Switzerland and Mexico. A dozen were involved with growing grapes; most others were not, representing other crops such as citrus, walnuts and plantain. It does not matter what crop you grow; what matters is the soil fertility. There were over 20 consultants, a dozen farmers and growers and three doctorates amongst the students.
Out on the vineyards, we were greeted by a barrage of soil figures, but the important thing is; are the soils and the crops improving? It certainly showed up in the figures and staff observations that they were. Such things as less soil cracking, more calcium, less magnesium, (in high Mg soils) better copper and better crops compared to a few years ago. The Napa soils are in the TEC 16-25 range, certainly more fertile than most of those we had seen so far. Land here costs $250,000/ha.
Debbie Ziggerbaum is the Robert Sinskey owned Amigo 2 vineyard manager. Here they produce 30,000 cases of Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir. They are organic and biodynamic and have been on the Kinsey programme for 17 years. The vineyard is in 600mm of topsoil on a marine clay hard pan. 10 years ago, soil used to stick to boots, but not anymore. Weed control is by ‘spading’, and sheep. However, some ‘butterfly’ and cupped younger leaves were evident, indicating potassium deficiency. The rachis was also curved, indicating a problem with zinc. It doesn’t matter if you farm organically or chemically. If you break the laws of nature, your crops or animals will tell you. Are you listening to them? Debbie was not a good listener.
Moving on to Las Amigas, also a Sinskey vineyard, the information became more ‘mechanical’. They had tried aluminium posts. These simply dissolved. Some effort went into ascertaining irrigation requirement involving tensiometers and leaf presses. Plant temperatures were measured, recording 9-10 degrees below ambient at times. The ppm of zinc was better, calcium on a par, but as for magnesium, in both cases it was still excessive. The last fertiliser recipe was 556kg/ha azomite rock dust, 39kg of sulphur, 556kg RPR, 1,176kg of lime, 11kg of copper sulphate, 504kg of potassium sulphate and 22kg of borax. They still spray for botrytis.
North of Napa, at Oakville, we visited a Beckstoffer owned, Dave Mitchell managed vineyard of 33.5ha. Beckstoffer vineyards have 87 clients (and another 50 on the waiting list), who buy their grapes by the row. Beckstoffer has 1,400ha under grapes, but this vineyard is the flagship, producing the highest quality and highest priced grapes. Dave ensures the yield is never below 5t/ha, as the per ha sale price is the equivalent of $86,450/ha, based on a minimum of 5t/ha. These buyers require just one cluster per shoot, about 1.5kg grapes/metre.
Many wineries work on the assumption that lower yields enhance flavours. When asked if he thought there was a correlation between the ‘grape score’ and yield, Dave replied, “In my opinion, no, there is not.” The Vineyard has achieved a grape score of 100 three times, and high 90’s on all other occasions while being with the Albrecht-Kinsey system for the last 8 years.
Costs/ha are $20,000-22,500, so this is one every profitable operation. However, the cultural practices have become more intense. The vines used to be handled on three occasions. Now it is 20, but that is the choice of buyers. The usual yield is 7.5-10t/ha, so the price of those grapes is under $19/kg. Minimum brix levels are 26. A quick check of the Zinc over copper found it in the right place and that was borne out by straight bunches. A seed count also confirmed this vineyard was superior.
The Albrecht-Kinsey system is practiced on 400ha in Napa Valley and rising, although progress is slow. Usually a portion of a vineyard is converted, with the whole vineyard taking several years, depending on the confidence of the operator.
This is the winery that produced a wine in 1976 that beat the French at their own game, winning the white wine section of an international competition. That event was the subject of the 2008 movie, ‘Bottle Shock’. The 100ha property was started by Alfred Tubbs, in 1886, just in time for prohibition in the 1880’s and 1890’s, then owned by Yort and Jeanie Frank, and is currently owned by Jim Barrett. Dave Vella is the manager and our host for our visit which took us through the winery, cellars, excavated under a cliff, and finally into the wine tasting area. Dave had just returned from overseas, so our visit was confined to the winery itself. We did not specifically visit or discuss the vineyards at all.
The vineyard was redeveloped with the first wines produced in 1972, mostly Riesling, then Cabernet Sauvignon in 1978, however, despite the 1976 success with a 1973 Chardonnay, the soils became unbalanced, as excessive manure was being used year after year. Finally in 1994, the decision was made to use the Albrecht-Kinsey system. The soil tests are conscientiously followed with the recommended fertiliser being added into compost before being applied to the vineyard.
Owner: Paul Mason
Location: Near Dubbo, NSW, Australia
Type of Operation: Wheat, Canola, Lucerne, Sheep, and Cattle
“Prior to changing to the Albrecht soil fertility system as taught by Neal Kinsey, Paul’s results were 350 kg carcasses in 15 months at a 54% yield. After changing, the results were 370kg carcasses in 12 months at a 57% yield, and still increasing. Besides the shorter fattening period, the extra return on those cattle at $3.80/kg is $76. With 650 cattle, that is an extra $49,400.”
The directions to Paul Mason’s 1,600 hectare farm an hour out of Dubbo, NSW, were; “Just follow the road until you get to the green farm.” It turned out to be very easy. All the other farms were grey, brown and black and dismal looking. Paul’s farm stood out like a beacon. Paul Mason has been following the Albrecht system of soil fertility for more than 20 years. His farm is a cropping, sheep and cattle operation. Annual rainfall is 600 mm. The rotation is four years of cropping and six in pasture. Crops include wheat, canola and lucerne.
Paul, a lovely older farmer, is one of the best known stock finishers in Australia. His Hereford stock are frequently sought by competing buyers. Some 20-plus years ago, he was in a local book shop and came across Neal Kinsey’s "Hands-On Agronomy." Being an astute man, he bought it. After reading it he phoned Neal and was soon on his way to Missouri, to attend his first introductory soil course, “Principles of Soil Fertility and Fertilisation".
After six years on the programme, Paul entered and won the local area wheat competition. That was the year he finally convinced himself to add trace elements. He had already found that adding lime to increase the base saturation calcium from 60% to 68%, on a Perry Lab test, raised his yields by 25%. That winning crop was 108 bushels per acre, or 5,786kg per hectare. (Good dryland wheat crops in Canterbury in 2013 will be in the 6-7,000 kg/ha bracket, provided they get rain to fill the heads.)
Paul has won the wheat competition many times. When he doesn't, the chances are it is won by his friend Rob Sutherland, who farms about an hour the other side of Dubbo. Rob also follows the Albrecht- Kinsey method of soil fertility.
Paul’s canola this year is almost two metres tall, and cleaned up all comers in his area. His neighbours withdrew their crops from competition as they were damaged by frost. Paul’s crop was not. It’s not a fluke; it is just good crop nutrition, and Paul’s crop yielded 3t/ha, despite the frost. On average Paul’s results are 25% better for canola and 40% better for wheat than the neighbours. The protein, once 11% is now 14.5%. He has left 64 ha of his farm out of the programme, “to remind me of what it looked like before.”
Paul’s steers are a sight for sore eyes. He buys in up to 650 steers and fattens them.
Paul is well over 6' tall.
Prior to changing to the Albrecht soil fertility system as taught by Neal Kinsey, Paul’s results were 350 kg carcasses in 15 months at a 54% yield. After changing, the results were 370kg carcasses in 12 months at a 57% yield, and still increasing. Besides the shorter fattening period, the extra return on those cattle at $3.80/kg is $76. With 650 cattle, that is an extra $49,400. The cattle are transported to Brisbane where Paul commands a higher price for his quality product. In addition, he now grazes 1000 wethers at $1/week for 24 weeks. That’s another $24,000.
Paul’s philosophy is to “Look from a distance, choose varieties carefully, make sure you have hay on hand for dry seasons to help you over the line when times are tough.” But more importantly, “Run with the winners, so your dreams become real. Your reward is the journey.”
I last spoke to Paul in July 2015. "I didn't win the competition this year." he said quietly, "My nephews did." "They have a very good teacher." was my reply.
What: USA Farm Tour
When: July 2012
Author: Brett Petersen
It’s late July 2012 and we’re on a farm study tour of the USA organised by Bruce Hore of Agriganics. 16 Kiwis determined to look, listen and learn from other farmers and growers that have been practicing the Albrecht-Kinsey method of soil fertilisation for longer than we at Kiwi Fertiliser have. In fact, Kiwi Fertiliser was started specifically to introduce this growing method to NZ farmers.
Our group, from Northland to Southland, was composed of farmers, consultants, soil fertility specialists, and fertiliser, lime and Dolomite mine owners.
The Albrecht-Kinsey system when properly employed, addresses NPK plus the soils’ base saturation needs and trace elements to improve quality and quantity of any crop or pasture known to man. The idea is to use certain fertiliser properties (the "chemical" aspects) to alter the soils' physical properties, to create a suitable environment for the microbes. It is a form of biological farming, involving proven specifications. There are at least four manuals of rules and examples involved. It works the best of any system I know of, and is used in over 70 countries around the world.
Below is the rundown of the first part of our tour. To read about the other farms we visited, follow these links:
Our first outing was under the care of soil consultant Paul Borges at Modesto, NW of San Francisco. He took us to Ratto Bros. who run about 10 vegetable ranches totaling 1,200 ha, where they grow 70 different crops including parsley, kale, silver beet, leeks, cabbage, watermelon and carrots for local supermarkets.
Being a Sunday, the Ratto Bros were not there, so we didn't get up close and personal. Most of their crops are in 0.2-0.4 ha lots. In the next valley, Salinas, they grow 12-16 ha per crop. The difference is the buyers, being national supermarkets, not local ones.
Lines of tractors, buses (each with loo in tow), and trucks greeted us on arrival, along with impressive buildings and cool stores. At Ratto Bros. crops can be picked, packaged and delivered locally within 6 hrs.
The area is also dotted with cattle feedlots, where P levels get up to 1,000-1,100 kg/ha (excessive) owing to the number of cattle held on limited areas. The manure generated being spread back on the land, overloading the P levels. Lucerne is used in rotation to mop up these excesses.
Compost is also applied in great quantities, making nutrients readily available for when the vegetable growers move in. However, regulations restrict manure applications within a certain time of being turned over to vegetable growers, as salmonella can be a problem.
With total exchange capacity (TEC) of less than 7, the soils are light. Such soils suit a base saturation percent of 60-65 calcium and 15-20 of magnesium. This is a relatively high amount of magnesium. Given the sandy nature of the soil, higher Mg is desirable, as the Mg molecule is smaller than calcium’s, giving the soil better water holding capacity.
Sandy soils can compact worse than heavy soils, so ripping is part and parcel of soil maintenance. In the case of sandy soils, sulphur, sodium and boron build up against the compacted layer, and ripping is used to prevent these nutrients from becoming excessive.
Compaction is caused by the constant use of tractors operating rain, hail or snow. Too bad if ground conditions are not suitable; the show must go on. The best time for harvest coincides with Mayday. Watermelon crops can yield 95t/ha. Net profit can be as high as $250,000/ha, but get it wrong and the losses can be well over $100,000/ha.
We next visited an impressive irrigated maize crop. It was not far off harvest, which will happen in August. Using a 12-row chopper, the trucks are filled in 1.5 minutes. Planting is up to and by May 15 for the better crops.
Using the Albrecht-Kinsey method of building soil fertility, yields of silage are 100-112 tonnes/ha (33%dm) in the truck at the weigh station. Feed lots holding thousands of cattle for fattening buy the silage for $55/t. This is an income of $5,000-$6,250/ha and a payment of about 17 c/kgdm. The soils are very light, around TEC 8-10. Under this particular crop, the soil could be completely turned over and still give the same fertility readings.
No starter was needed and N inputs totaled 250 units. Since the plant makes early “decisions”, ample N and foliar needs to be in place by the 4th leaf stage.
Maize from USA farm tour consistently 33-37t silage every year.
Across the road, water flows from the San Pedro Dam.
Water is not only needed to sustain crops, but also to keep sodium levels at bay. The Modesto Irrigation District sources its water from the Don Pedro Dam on the Tuolumne River, supplying enough water delivered through open canals to irrigate 23,500 ha. Since evaporation loses are high, booster bores are sited along the canals to replace lost water. It is now proposed to pipe and pressurise the water to reduce those losses.
Owner: Bill Brush
Location: California, USA
Type of Operation: Walnuts and Almonds
Year We Visited Bill: 2012, as part of a USA Farm Study Tour
USFDA declared walnuts a drug. That means growers etc. cannot claim they have health benefits. “Hey man, do you know where I can score an ounce of walnuts?”
Bill Brush’s 16 ha walnut ranch showed a big advantage for the Albrecht-Kinsey fertility system. The state average yield for walnuts is 5,600-6,700 kg/ha. Bill is consistently doing 17,900 kg/ha in his 12 yr crop.
Walnuts take 5 years to fruit and last for about 25 years, although better groves can go out to 40 years. The ranch we visited was deemed by the local university extension staff to be fit only for rice. Growers are paid $3.30/kg for the nuts, so the financial advantages of a high yield are considerable. Costs of bees is $750/ha, sprays, $500/ha, with total costs being $5,500.
Walnuts are grown on Black Walnut or Paradox root stocks, with Paradox proving better. Everything is irrigated as rainfall is only about 300 mm/annum, but the irrigation does have its drawbacks. One such problem is a trunk canker. One way of dealing with it is to soak a sack in a biological preparation, and wrap the sack around the canker. Insects move in and feed on the fungus, saving the tree. Another irritation is a husk fly that is dealt with by sprays.
Harvesting involves shaking, sweeping, picking up and washing, all completed in one day to avoid grading penalties. The hulls are high in Mn, B and K, so are recycled back to the orchard. Usually, grading and sale take a full 12 months. Upon removal of the crop, the wood is sold for firewood or chipped for ethanol production. Black Walnut trunks can be sold for $3-5,000 each for use as gun stocks.
Walnuts on the programme produce 3 x the Californian average crop.
Still on Bill’s land, but across the road, are almonds, almost ready for harvest. They are dearer to grow, with annual costs of $6,250/ha, and establishment costs of $12,500/ha. They take four years to fruit.
80% of the world’s almonds are produced in Central California where 283,000 ha are grown by 6,000 growers. California’s Central Valley mirrors that of a Mediterranean climate; cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers which are ideal for almond growth, provided the almond trees have access to water. Almonds are watered on a 14 day flood rotation, with the trees needing 270 litres per day, (walnuts use 450 l/day).
The blossoms of all California almond varieties are self-incompatible, requiring cross-pollination with other varieties to produce a crop. The single most important factor determining a good yield is pollination during the bloom period. More than a million colonies of honey bees are placed in Californian orchards (5 hives/ha) at the beginning of the bloom period to pollinate the crop.
The crop is harvested by shaking. The nuts are raked into windrows and allowed to dry, which can take from a few days up to two weeks. Pickup machines sweep the windrows into trailers for transportation to the huller. With the large crops of recent years, it has become more and more common for almonds to be stockpiled, either in the orchard or at the hullers. Hulled and shelled nuts are then transported to processing facilities, where they are stored pending further processing.
Bill Brush's almonds are also on the programme with similar results to the walnuts.
Owner: Aaron Woolard
Location: Missouri, USA
Type of Operation: Rice, soy beans, and corn
Year We Visited Aaron: 2012, as part of a USA Farm Study Tour
Aaron Woolard is a Kinsey consultant and farmer. He runs 105 ha of family land and leases 65, growing beans and rice. His beans yielded 4,300 kg/ha after the first Albrecht-Kinsey fertiliser application, an increase of 59%. Prior to that, in a good year, he had 2,700. His rice, almost ready for harvest, is flood irrigated. He is expecting 8,570 kg/ha, compared to the neighbours 7,050. In addition he will receive a milling margin of $600-$1,200/t for premium quality. His neighbour won’t. (2012 update: Aaron’s rice harvest is now complete. His best paddy did 11,090 kg/ha.)
Aaron's rice.
Aaron's soy beans.
Aaron is considering introducing a 78-day variety of maize in order to double-crop his land. The use of a superior fertiliser programme is critical to the success of that. The land here is really good quality with a TEC of 18-30; Aaron’s bean following a rice crop soil test showed low N, S, P, Ca, Mg, K, B & Zn. Mn & Cu were good.
As with the other growers, these soil deficiencies are corrected pre-planting as far as the budget will allow. Lime costs $85 /ha applied and sulphur $50. Calcium is important to stimulate the microbes and his beans nodulate in 10 days. Fertiliser for rice cost $1,100 /ha.
Aaron has been using the Albrecht-Kinsey system for 6 years, but on one part of the property at a time, which is normal practice whether in USA or NZ. (That is, a full programme compared with a budget-limited part-programme.)
Crop yields were “excellent” in year one, “phenomenal” in year two, last year was “best ever”, this year, “even better”. When Aaron first started, he was told corn wouldn't grow on that land, but he raised 8,500 kg/ha. They plant corn in April/May and harvest in September/October. (Aaron is going to try and double crop maize in one season.) He is paid an extra $220 /ha for his non-GMO beans that are exported to the Orient, and has not sprayed for two years.
“Americans don’t demand GE-free produce.” When asked why, he replied, “Because they’re stupid.” (Hopefully, an impending referendum in California on GM labelled food would prove Aaron wrong, but when the voting was over, it didn't - corporate spin prevailed.)
Owners: Keith Mayberry and Alan Below
Location: Missouri, USA
Type of Operation: Corn, beans, and cotton
Year We Visited Keith and Alan: 2012, as part of a USA Farm Study Tour
Cousins Keith Mayberry and Alan Below are third generation ‘croppers’, with some of their land being on the Albrecht-Kinsey programme for 30 years. Keith’s father and uncle signed on as Kinsey clients in the early 1980’s. Keith farms 1,330 ha and Alan 1,650. Keith grows corn, beans and cotton. Alan has an interest in a Cotton Gin, so cotton is his main crop. “We weren't making the kind of yields we are now until Neal Kinsey came along”.
When they started, a good corn yield was 11-11.3 /ha; they were making 8.5. In their first year with Neal, their yield went to 11.9. Now, it is consistently 13.6-17 t/ha. Last year was a flood year, resulting in planting 2-3 months late, but they still managed 9.0. This drought year will do at least 13.6 t/ha (Update: The harvest has now been completed, with the maize yielding 15,050-17,560 kg/ha, depending on the field.)
They don’t use any starter fertiliser. Compost is spread over 240 ha at 800 kg/ha each year, in rotation, the cost being $200/ha. DAP is used at 225-275 kg/ha, but since P is antagonistic to sulphur, S is applied when the phosphate reaches the upper limit.
A VERIS machine is used to find the strengths and weaknesses in each field. If K levels get too high, that can cost up to 4.4 t/ha in yield. Currently, the neighbour’s yield is behind by that amount. Keith’s current crop has had 12 mm of rain on it since planting, so irrigation is a must. Corn yields are measured in bushels, a volume measurement, and the standard weight being 56 lbs. Mayberry’s corn weighs 60-62 lbs/bushel.
The Mayberry's new fertiliser spreader.
Albrecht-Kinsey on the right, but not on the left.
Keith's current crop of corn.
When commenting on Albrecht-Kinsey fertility, Aaron Woolard had the last word. “It works every time. I haven’t seen it fail yet”.
Alan Below took on some new land. They called it “Disaster Farm” because it produced very little. Neal Kinsey was not happy, claiming the best he could do for them was 840 kg/ha of cotton lint, - “If you do what I say”. They made 835. The following year, they made 1,680 kg/ha of lint. The farm is now called “Miracle Farm”. Before Alan took over, that land was only producing 300 kg/ha.
Standard cotton yields are 1,120-1,230 kg/ha of lint. The Albrecht-Kinsey system produces 1,450-2,020kg.
Owner: Greg Hemphill
Location: Maine, USA
Type of Operation: Potatoes, Oats
Year We Visited Greg: 2012, as part of a USA Farm Study Tour
Greg Hemphill is a 5th generation operator running four farms. He owns 280 ha and leases 80, and grows potatoes for seed on the farm we visited; 80 ha of potatoes and 80 of oats. In the 1990’s he was producing 28 t/ha. Now it is 33.6-39.2 t/ha, a 20-40% increase. Greg has used the Albrecht-Kinsey system for six years and has noticed quality improvements as well. He spends between $4,000 and $5,000/ha on fertiliser, and reports his customers are very happy with the results they get.
Kinsey consultant Alan Perry gave us the low-down on seed potatoes.
Handling 20 rows at once, the potato harvester is faster than Greg.
In his first year, Greg divided a 10 ha field into three parts; one-the usual, two-Albrecht-Kinsey, and a third with a different brew. The best result was the Albrecht-Kinsey system as recommended by Alan. Some of the quality differences were better storage characteristics and elimination of hollow-heart.
Greg’s oats also showed marked improvement, increasing by 60% from 1,900 kg/ha to 3,050 kg/ha. The bushel weight for oats is 34 lbs, with worst weight being 12 lbs; Greg’s weigh 37 lbs and are sold to Quaker Oats to be used in flour, baking and porridge. Last year was a bad year with his neighbours’ yields suffering. Greg still harvested 3,050 kg/ha.
The soil has improved and is still improving; this year is a dry year, but it has still held its moisture. Yield is the sum of the number of plants/ha, the number of tubers/plant, and the size of each tuber. Potassium drives this equation, so the correct type of potassium and the correct amount of K to be applied according to the soil test is critical to success. Part of this success is mounding just once, at 40-50 days after planting.
One of Greg’s soil tests on a newly leased block looks similar to a NZ one, with the exception of high copper. The soil needs inputs of nitrogen, sulphur, calcium, magnesium, potassium, boron, manganese and zinc, but no phosphate. This field will be going into grain followed by potatoes.
Owners: Mike and his Uncle Don
Location: Maine, USA
Type of Operation: Barley, oats, alfalfa, and rape for seed
Year We Visited Mike and Don: 2012, as part of a USA Farm Study Tour
Mike has a 400 ha property with barley, oats, alfalfa and rape for seed. Rapeseed oil, aka Canola, usually yields 4.5 t/ha. Mike was doing half of that before his consultant Alan Perry introduced him to the Albrecht-Kinsey method. “The land has been farmed pretty hard over the last 50 years, with crop yields declining”. Under Alan’s guidance Mike tried the Albrecht-Kinsey way of fertilising the soil. The first thing he noticed was the weight, quality numbers and storage ability all improved. At a time when the number of potato buyers is decreasing and costs of growing are increasing, this was a welcome turnaround.
Mike's Canola crop is almost ready for harvest.
Mike’s uncle, Don was also experiencing declining yields and started on the Albrecht-Kinsey programme, getting an improvement in quality, quantity and a lower per unit cost, all adding up to a 30% profitability gain.
The TEC of the soils here is 5-11 and lime comes from Canada. With copper mine nearby, soils are naturally high in copper, and the best yields also have high manganese. The family have also noted an extra 2 t/ha gain in yield by using biological additives.
Don showed us a paddock of oats he was growing. “Best I have grown for a while. This is how we used to grow grain. The (other) grain in this county is junk”. Don’s field of 28 ha of oats was set to produce 2.7 t, with even better improvement to come next year.
Non Albrecht-Kinsey Oats.
Don's Albrecht-Kinsey Oats.