: Medium to Long term Soil Fertility Improvement Program
Our SOILWISE program is based on applying our integrated approach to soil fertility management using the principles of the biological farming system (read more about our approach) and will include recommendations on the how best to achieve the following on your farm:
- achieving optimum soil calcium levels
- building up soil phosphate
- balancing calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium
- supplying optimum levels of essential micronutrients
- improving soil biological activity
- growing your own nitrogen with legume rotation crops
- use of compost and manures
- breaking soil disease cycles with good rotations
- increasing soil water holding capacity
- cultivations and managing compaction
Our objective is to re-mineralize your soils and build up and activate your soil biology. As these objectives are achieved your dependence on high rates of chemicals and fertilizers will decline, and this will start to happen within 2 – 3 years if the program is adopted with full intensity.
As a initial step in our SOILWISE programs we will require the following information for each field:
- recent soil test results (last 3 months)
- crop feeding program for past 3 years
- any lime / gypsum application in past 3 years
- yield averages for past 3 years
- water quality data if irrigated
- information on most economically important pests, diseases and weeds
- current rotations
- tillage system
With this information available, a farm visit will then be necessary for a detailed physical / visual examination of the soils and crops (if planted).
Using the background information in combination with the farm visit, a report will be compiled detailing our design for a medium to long term soil fertility improvement plan on your farm.
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