REGENERATIVE FARMING

Thanks go to David Cunningham of Dods of Haddington Ltd for the following information.

In order for plants to grow well and photosynthesize to their potential, there are a few basic requirements:

• Soil gas exchange management
• Soil water management
• Organic matter decomposition *
• Balanced Soil nutrition

Beneficial Anaerobic Microbes is a collective of bacteria and yeasts that allows good soil digestion (decomposition) of old and new organic matter, recycling the nutrients and minerals contained within this organic biomass into a form that is energy efficient for the next generation of crop. Plants can absorb rather large molecules through their roots which is more efficient than building their proteins from individual minerals. Imagine building a kit house as opposed to building it from Lego. The attached articles will give you an idea of how BAM works

When added to dung in Iain’s (Killochries) cattle courts, it feeds on the volatile Anaerobic gases (smells) before they escape, capturing more nutrition in the dung. This also means there is a greater tonnage of dung when the courts are emptied so there far less nutritional loss from his system. Loss of nutrition is another form of pollution, so Iain is using this prevention method to his crop’s advantage.

By spring, the dung is completely composted, meaning the straw is broken down or so fragile it almost shatters, requiring no further aging in middens in a field (and subsequent nutrient loss to the atmosphere) and can be used that season. The dung will have acted as a medium to increase these bacterial numbers so the dung inoculates the soil, helping to recycle old material for plant growth.

In short, you get:

• a lot more dung with little smell,
• with a far higher nutrient density,
• that can be more evenly spread in the first year of turnout
• earlier crop growth

Some BAM microbes in the soil will be eaten by larger soil biota, which will in turn be eaten by larger predators yet; as that process continues, natural predators of insect pests, beneficial bacterial and fungal antagonists of known diseases and insect pests are cultured, resulting in a reduced reliance on pesticides, particularly insecticides and fungicides. Iain has also paid particular attention to  balancing his soil nutrition and ensuring the necessary minerals used by plants and microbes for facilitating enzyme reactions are present in the desired ratios to allow as many natural processes to materialize without limiting factors.

BAM in particular is a good and easy starting position to allow natural processes to happen. As this continues and the soil food web recovers, Killochries will introduce other nitrogen fixing techniques further to that which their clovers are already doing.

Links to the aforementioned articles of interest

https://blog.nutri-tech.com.au/the-benefits-of-bam-gifts-from-the-anaerobes/

https://blog.nutri-tech.com.au/nutri-life-bam/

Take a clean IBC and ensure all chlorine or detergent is flushed. Lift up on 3-4 pallets for easy access to low tap. Fill with 800L water
If using mains water, you will need to bubble air through it for 4 hours using a pond pump and air stones
(you can buy at Dobies for around £100. If using bore or rain water, no need for this process)
Add 100L BAM and 75L molasses to the clean water. Stir and leave for around 2 weeks. Drill a 12mm hole in the top of the lid, insert same size hose and lead to a half filled water bottle on the side of the IBC cage to see the rate of CO2 discharge. When the bubbling stops the brew is ready and the pH will have reached 3.5- 4.5. It should not be aerated during this stage so the anaerobes can proliferate.

Once brewed:

·        Add 1L per ton dung in the cattle courts, a day before rebedding. Hooves will mix it through. Use a knapsack with a 1.5m T boom or spray bike but keep the pressure below 2.5 Bar to not burst the bacteria. Increase nozzle size if needed. Will keep smell down as the volatile gases are being used to make a microbial population.

·        Addition to organic matter left on the surface such as topped cover crops is a good way to encourage worms to take it to depth.

·        For straight straw, you will need to employ other fungi but this can be discussed at a later date

With regard to the discussion on humates (soluble carbon source comprised of Humic Acid, Fulvic Acid and a Humin fraction) for increased efficiency on nitrogen use, I will again summarize. This article might be useful too  https://blog.nutri-tech.com.au/seven-reasons-why-every-grower-needs-humates/

When early spring N is applied, the crop is needing between 200g- 500g/ ha/day. The remainder of the application does not just sit there waiting for the plant to use it; most of it is salt so at even slightly elevated concentration, will disrupt root/ liquid uptake and exudate balance, due to osmosis. Bacteria will consume the remainder but also consume soil carbon from humus to maintain their 5:1 Carbon:Nitrogen ratio. If a carbon source was included with the N application the humus would remain intact as the bacterial population grows. As a result of the humus remaining, there is a far higher population and spectrum of predators to consume this increasing bacterial presence. With bacterial consumption, the population is controlled, non consumed N will last longer and the N is excreted/ cycled through the predators for the plant use as a non salt in an organic complex that is more efficiently used to make a protein.

Usually 5% of the total fertilizer application is used per ha when using dry fert.

At £650/T, 80kg/ha reduced by 30% to 56kg, adding 4kg humate @ £4/ kg,      makes it about a cost neutral exercise.   You are just not feeding the unnecessary increased bacterial population.

The humate will also chelate and stabilize the nitrogen of any other form of nutrition in it’s presence to make it last longer. This is also relevant to applied P which will last longer as a soluble form before it is adhered to the soil and lost to the system as far as plant roots alone can access.