Regenerative Farming Conference
Neal Kinsey’s 10th Anniversary Tour of NZ.
“A new Paradigm for a Profitable, Healthy Future & how to profit under environmental compliances”
Sponsored by: Kiwi Fertiliser Company Limited, Golden Bay Dolomite & Top Soils.
June 24th 25th 26th Hamilton Airport Hotel 201 Airport Road Hamilton.
Day 1:
Neal Kinsey Ca, Mg, K & Na balancing the major cations and the relevance of pH to soil health.
Day 2:
Neal Kinsey Phosphate, focusing on the Myth of the Olsen P test compared to Bray II that the Perry Lab uses to determine P Levels.
Tim Williams (Australia) Fully feeding ruminant animals on the Albrecht Kinsey soils program for supreme health, re-production and quality. 9.00 a.m. > 2 .00 pm.
Molly Haviland (US) Understanding the Soil Food web 2.00 p.m. > 4.30 p.m.
Panel Discussion Q & A 4.30 p.m. > 5.30 p.m. Neal Kinsey, Tim Williams and Molly Haviland.
Day 3:
Gavin Clements: Selecting pasture species for diverse pastures that work well with the Albrecht / Kinsey soils program. 8.00 a.m. > 9.00 a.m.
Steve McKenzie: Marlborough Wine grape, Lucerne and beef farmer with over twenty years history on the Albrecht / Kinsey program. 9.00 a.m. > 10.00 a.m.
David Law: The effect of Soil pH on effluent crusting in ponds and the effects of balancing Ca – Mg – K – Na Cations to improve animal health issues. 10.30 a.m. > 11.30 p.m.
Jeremy Casey: Back Track Dairies, Methven Trial; Whakapono Albrecht Kinsey program - Waiora Lincoln University Best Practice NPK program. 11.30 a.m. > 12.30 p.m.
Evan Smeath: Dairy farming in Northland, Jersey cow breeder, The benefits of investing in and growing great crops, the effects of farming with flooding and droughts. 1.30 p.m. > 2.30 p.m.
Leanna Birch: Regenerate NZ. Comprehensive Farm Environmental Planning 2.30 p.m. > 3.30 p.m Panel Discussions
Q & A with all speakers 4.00 p.m. > 5.30 p.m.
For more info or to book, contact Ron McLean on 0800 549 433
Registration Individual $750.00 + GST Couples $1400.00 + GST, Single Day $300.00 + GST
Having started my career at the end of the food chain as a qualified butcher, followed by managing large dairy herds for 14 years around the North Island I developed an interest in soil biology and how best to profit from it.
This led to a career change, becoming a soil consultant. And the choice to work for Kiwi Fertiliser was an easy one as I believe in their principals and systems.
With a soil Audit we can determine exactly what your soil needs and work with you to achieve your desired goals.
Ministry for the Environment and statistics NZ recently released a damning report showing increasing nitrogen and phosphorus in a percentage of NZ rivers.
Surprise surprise!
The clean rivers plan, which is sweeping the country is to drastically reduce nitrogen applications on farm, based on historical data. For farmers hell bent on trying to mitigate too many changes in management in future will be looking at management now to alter that data.
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to deduct that one such tool would be to drastically increase nitrogen use now therefore boosting historical data which will be used to determine their future allocation.
This whole scandal has arisen because farmers have been brainwashed into thinking that Urea grows grass and that profitability will drop correspondingly as that nitrogen is reduced.
This new Environmental Report is calling for a drastic reduction in cow numbers which would be akin to the idea of drastically reducing cars to cut the road toll!
Some common sense is needed here and I would hate to see people with this line of thinking being able to determine the direction of our farming future.
It sickens me to see that the culprits of this whole probem of excess nitrates and phosphorus in our rivers have never been called to account.
I am not talking about farmers here although they are the ones copping the flak.
I am talking about the major NPK fertiliser companies who sell 90% of the phosphorus and nitrogen in NZ and have been for the past 40 plus years.
NZ farmers have been brainwashed into thinking that all this Phosphate and Nitrogen is needed to be profitable.
Have these Environmental alarmists ever stopped to think that these major fertiliser companies have become billion dollar industries from propoganda to push the sales of the very products these guys make.
They have assumed the responsibility to educate students attending NZ educational intitutions into the NPK propoganda machine who then go out and advise farmers to push it on.
The sooner the proponents of environmental improvement refocus on the cause, the faster these challenges will be achieved.
There are great changes beginning where farmers are utilising real science rather than following the NPK accepted principals which grow grass but dont strictly follow scientific principals.
There is accurate data and case studies demonstrating amazing results including better animal health, higher production and higher profit with as little as 80 kg/ha of N applied which is the sort of targets we should be seeking. General farmer usage would be around 200 to 250 kg/ha N.
Education is the best way forward rather than the threat of enforcement of more rules and reduction of our great farming future.
This education has got to start with the consultants who are talking to farmers and giving them the advice.
Consultants are the very people who can affect farmers change because they are who farmers trust and seek advise from. Currently, this radical change to drastically reduce nitrogen and phosphate use unnecessarily is coming from farmers who are entrepenuers and can think outside the square. These very farmers have gone out of their way to re educate themselves and have found a better path.
The biggest challenge to this change is coming from their trusty consultants who put doubt into this new path.
If farmers and consultants feel challenged to act, please contact me.
David Law
Forward Farming
0274 909896
Many of the messages received from overseas emphasise the desire for the food chain to be cleaned up. Urban populations are struggling to find healthy and wholesome food.
In the northern hemisphere, threats to individuals and collective health include lifestyle, lack of sun, (North of the 33rd parallel no UVB rays penetrate for most of the time.) pesticides, toxins, factory farms, decomposing waste, over farming, severe mineral depletion, GMO food, and more; all of which increase inflammation in consumers.
The opportunity to supply chemical free and superior food to the northern hemisphere would be welcomed by those consumers. But we continue to ignore the signals and we line up in the queue dispensing pesticides, toxins, PKE and GMO technology and much more.
The NZ Dairy Goat Co-op has the highest ranking of all infant formulas in the world, and they banned PKE in 2008, so why does Fonterra insist on importing it and allowing it to be fed? Clearly they are not interested in high quality milk. This fact is also physically demonstrated as they do not pay incentives for quality. They do however; choose quality milk to make high quality products. Guess who produces that milk?
Kiwi Fertiliser follows the Albrecht system of soil fertility as refined by Neal Kinsey. This is the system in place at the Whakapono farm of Backtrack Farms, while the other farm in the trial, Waiora is under the influence of Ballance. So far the Albrecht system has come out on top.
That is not news to those that understand how it works, but the sceptics and knockers outnumber the believers even although they have no scientific evidence to back them up. They do have scientists that will back them up; in fact J. Rowarth is now chief scientist at NZ’s Environmental Protection Agency. She does not believe in a system that ultimately uses less fertiliser, produces more and pollutes less. What a disgrace. What is more animal health improves, quality of produce improves and the use of toxic chemicals decreases.
Before Backtrack Farms, DairyNZ hierarchy refused to consider funding for “biological” versus chemical fertiliser trials. To rub salt into our severely wounded environment, Luxton gets acknowledged for his contribution to NZ agriculture. What a disgrace. Federated farmers are no better; being led by an avid supporter of GMO’s.
We haven’t maximised the resources we have at our disposal by a country mile, but some scientists and politicians are hell bent on taking short cuts before they are proven safe. In fact, experiments have proven the opposite is true. Even banks have been reluctant or have refused to lend for say, magnesium. They have insisted on phosphate when the farms in question have twice the phosphate they need, but were starved for magnesium, or calcium for that matter.
Taking into account the increased production (so far) at Whakapono, it amounts to $500/ha. The average dairy farm is 147 ha, so the annual difference is $73,000. But, this is just the beginning. What if the ultimate increase is three times more than it is now? That’s our expectation.
The Albrecht system takes time to express itself, but a big part of that is patching up deficiencies caused by inadequate soil fertility advice that has been rife for decades.
The present system is broken and corrupted. It is past the time to fix it. The cooperatives are in a unique position to change their stance, but they will be rooted in their bad habits of the past. They will keep on manufacturing polluting materials such as superphosphate and urea. Overseer will keep on with its one size fits all approach. Do the Overseer scientists really believe that RPR is washed into waterways the same as SSP is? It discharges phosphorus at a rate suitable for plant uptake which is far more than can be said for SSP.
Meanwhile, at least some regional councils are quietly encouraging the use of RPR.
For more on the Backtrack Farms trial, visit the website at
http://www.siddc.org.nz/research/soil-nutrition-management-project/
Author: Brett Petersen
Phone: 0800 549 442
Email: brettp@kiwifertiliser.co.nz