Graeme Sait is CEO and co-founder of Nutri-Tech Solutions (NTS), a world leader in sustainable agriculture. He created the internationally acclaimed NTS Certificate in Nutrition Farming®. This course has now extended the understanding of over 40,000 farmers, on four continents.
The Great Reset for Australian Agriculture
Graeme Sait
Rising input costs and increasing climate extremes can be a wake up call for Australian farmers.
It has arguably never been harder to grow food in Australia. We have the increasing challenge of climate extremes coupled with unparalleled price increases in all inputs. The cost of fertilisers, farm chemicals, diesel, power, packaging, and freight has exploded, and we have not yet seen food price increases, sufficient to counter that tsunami. Economic viability has taken a major hit, to the point that it will soon be decision time for many farmers.
However, there is a silver lining here and it essentially involves a recognition that something is awry in a system that requires more chemical intervention every year, while global pest and disease issues constantly increase. It’s actually the definition of “unsustainable”, to apply more and more, for less and less response. There is a direct parallel in human health management, where we have adopted a similar symptom-treating strategy. In fact, prescription medicine recently became our third largest killer.
The silver lining relates to a shining opportunity amidst the mayhem.
What if there were a better way to progress food production that didn’t involve this hamster wheel scenario? Einstein suggested that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. We have clearly demonstrated that phenomenon in chemical, extractive agriculture, and now these added challenges have added impetus to the need for change.
It’s clearly time to address root causes rather than treating symptoms, but those with vested interests are very keen to cling to the status quo. That’s why we have reached a point in our farming evolution where we must reclaim responsibility for our own farming future.
The good news is that the regenerative approach has a hard-science basis, and that science has evolved to the point that there is now no sacrifice in becoming more sustainable. In fact, it is demonstrably more profitable to work with Nature rather than against her.
There are a host of productive strategies that can reduce costs and build profitability, while ensuring more stress-free, farming fun. Nitrogen, for example, is the most misused and abused of all mineral inputs. Perhaps we thought we could accept that mismanagement when urea was 50 cents per kilogram. Now that it is approaching $2 per kilogram, perhaps it’s time for a major rethink.
Agriculture is responsible for 80 per cent of the nitrous oxide emissions thickening the greenhouse blanket, that traps the heat and changes our world. Nitrous oxide is 310 times more thickening of that blanket than carbon dioxide, so this misuse is increasingly costly on multiple levels.
Nitrogen is the most abundant mineral found within the plant, so it should never be neglected. The question becomes, how can we increase nitrogen efficiency, reduce greenhouse emissions, and increase yield and profitability? There is now the wherewithal to achieve all of those goals and more. Nitrogen mismanagement is also directly linked to pest pressure, so better management equates to a reduced requirement for chemical intervention. It is a classic win-win, and we need more of these victories to survive what is emerging as the perfect storm.
Nutrition farming strategies for nitrogen management include stabilizing and magnifying all N inputs, foliar spraying urea, growing your own nitrogen, inoculating nitrogen fixing organisms and improving nitrogen cycling.
NEWS
Prodoz, a Proudly Australian and family-owned agribusiness, based in Melbourne, is strengthening its positions as national/international leader in advanced crop – science solutions through a growing portfolio of global innovation partners and a distribution footprint supported by all major distributors - includes Nutrien Ag, Elders, Lindsay Rural and Independent Rural stores.
Australia’s climate is tougher than ever. Heat spikes, dry periods, salinity, waterlogging and sudden frost events are becoming an everyday part of farmers lives.
Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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