Let me start with the good news about today’s dairy markets: It’s time to evaluate. That is exactly what my family is doing on our own farm. What expenses can we eliminate or reduce? On most dairy farms, there are things one can do that won’t negatively affect today’s production (or future production) and cow health. But there are also areas where you can’t skimp.
What are the key things we must do to maintain our farms in the future?
It’s a nice sunny March day today. Spring must be right around the corner. Are you ready?
I have spent my career working on soil health, nutrient delivery and quality feeds and foods. Yield is minerals, sunshine and water mixed in a carbon biological base. It’s not about how cheap the nutrient is or how much I add, it’s about uptake, availability, and exchangeability. When this company first started, it was about the source of nutrients and how we delivered them.
As more consumers care about clean air, clean water and clean food and want to buy organic foods more land is being transitioned to organic. Many organic farmers also talk about “regenerative farming”, but what does this mean? Regenerative farming is a system of farming that focuses on healthy, mineral-rich, biologically-diverse soils that grow healthy, mineral-rich food while also improving soils, crops, and the livelihoods of the farmers. A farm can be certified organic just by avoiding prohibited chemical substances, but regenerative organic farmers also do …
Read any agricultural publication and you will see several articles or advertisements about “soil health” or “nutrient use efficiency” (NUE). Midwestern BioAg has been practicing soil health and nutrient use efficiency for over 30 years and is truly the leader within the Ag Industry. So why are “soil health” or “NUE” just now becoming buzz words? Industry experts and growers are starting to understand that there is no silver bullet, no one product or practice to get to soil health or improved NUE.
Nutrient use efficiency means maximizing the amount of yield produced with the amount of nutrients that are applied. Enhancing soil biology is one of the best ways to get the most from your fertilizers. Here are a few practical tips on how to build soil biology:
Feed your biology all year.
Soil biology is the living organisms in your soil. This includes things like earthworms, bacteria, fungi and even protozoa, actinomycetes, and beneficial nematodes. All of these organisms need to eat, and by keeping living roots …
In the current agricultural climate of low commodity prices and increased fertilizer costs, we keep hearing about nutrient use efficiency (NUE) as a key component of farming success. NUE is commonly defined as the yield per unit of input. But why is it important? To illustrate this, let’s use the analogy of two pick-up trucks. NUE is the difference between one truck getting 20 MPG compared to a different truck of the same make and model getting 35 MPG by using a higher-quality fuel source.
