Stop and seek advice before establishing pastures

WHEN establishing pastures there are many aspects that need to be covered, from correct pH levels to the amount of weeds present.

Before making a quick decision about pastures on-farm, seeking advice is always the best course of action.

NSW and Queensland distributor for TNN Industries, Bill Munton, said as the state had recently undergone a lot of rain with floods, most people will probably find their paddocks lacking in calcium, potassium and nitrogen. 

“People using conventional phosphorus fertilisers will have found they leaked away, meaning the soils would be deficient,” Mr Munton said.

“If you have problems, have a good soil test done, that’s where they should start.”  

He said weeds are a sign there’s an imbalance in the soil. 

“Good grasses will appear naturally if the soil is good,” he said. 

“Look at using fertilisers that don’t lock up and don’t contain heavy metals, such as TNN’s products, which won’t leach even after a flood or in drought, its still able to work.”

 Mr Munton said 80 per cent of health problems are caused by the lack on nutrition in the soil.

“TNN treats a wide range of problems to address all deficiencies an animal can face,” he said. 

“For example, oats grown with TNN have 105 per cent more digestable protein, as the stems are solid, not higher, and the animals are able to eat less of highly nutritious food than more less nutritional feed.

“Although some crops look good, they aren't high enough in nutrition.”

Agronomist Christ Haugton, Crookwell, said people looking to establish their pastures should have started 12 months ago to combat their weed problems.

“Understanding how a pasture is going to be used needs to be carefully thought out,” Mr Haugton said.

“It makes addressing deficiencies difficult, as it might need liming done a few months before sowing.” 

 Mr Haughton said because every farm is unique, people need to think holistically and get the right pasture mixes for each property, which involves a lot more planning.

“Seeking an agronomists advice is big investment and the most expensive part is having a failure, if they haven't done the prep,” he said.

“It will also minimise the risk, as there’s no guarantee it will rain at the right time – if you get good advice it’ll maximise the success rate.”  

Sales director at Life Sciences  – Omya Australia, Eric Barry, said prior to working with any soils a pH test is usually needed to determine what the soil is lacking.

“Doing a full soil test is one of the first things you need to do, if you want to put in native pastures of other types,” Mr Barry said.

“If the pH is low, you can adjust it with lime, it’s just a matter of sowing.” 

Mr Barry said people need to be informed to be able to make the right decision when it comes to their pastures. 

“With a soil analysis you need to look at the macro and micro nutrients needed and establish the type of pasture needed after that,” he said. 

“You really want the pH level to be above six to get the best results and pray for rain.”

Bob Fazzari of Soilutions, Cowra, said he leans towards all natural products when it comes to establishing pastures. 

“We lean towards all natural products like rock phosphate, gypsum and we mill magnesium to keep the levels up in the soil for stock health problems,” Mr Fazzari said. 

“At Soilutions we use an independant labratory and incorporate trace elements if ithe soil is lacking to overcome any stock health problems.”

He said the main thing is to keep the minerals up in the soil, as it will take care of animals and their doing ability, which all works in together for a greater productivity.

“Graziers are in the hot seat position to cash in on high stock prices, but the main thing is to get their soils right,” he said. 

“Stock do so much better when the soil is good and it’s a matter of growing more quality feed.”