With just six to eight weeks until the first silage cut, Carrs Billington Technical Manager, Jim McRobert, urges dairy farmers to enhance the use of nutrients already on-farm by inoculating their slurry.
As fertiliser prices soar and supplies come under threat, there is growing concern about supplying this year’s grass with the nutrients it needs for quality and yield. Meanwhile many slurry stores are nearly full and have significant nutrient value, if managed effectively.
“Spreading some slurry now, to prevent overflowing, and inoculating the remainder ahead of post first cut applications, is likely to be a good strategy to help mitigate some of the risks associated with fertiliser supplies this season,” he says.
At application Jim encourages farmers to consider rates carefully, ensure timely applications and prioritise fields with the lowest potash indices.
“These are usually the trickiest to get to when time is short, but also the fields most likely to give the biggest response,” he says.
Increasing efficiency at application is one of the areas where Jim says a slurry inoculant helps.
“At this time of year, there’s much to do on-farm. SlurryForSoil homogenises slurry, meaning it takes less time, and fuel, to stir. It makes applications easier and quicker too, with fewer blockages,” he says.
“I’ve seen slurry starting to bubble within two weeks of inoculation, so there is just enough time to put the microbes to work, ready for those applications after first cut.”
Jim believes that, with new microbial technology like SlurryForSoil in the toolkit, the industry undervalues slurry’s potential to enhance grass yields and quality.
“SlurryForSoil’s microbes improve slurry, capturing the nutrients and making them more available to grass. When applied to grassland, they are working both with the soil’s own biology, and with the plants’ to enhance growth and productivity.
“Fundamentally it turns slurry from a waste product into something that can save the farm hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds by reducing the need for fertiliser,” he says.
Jim is increasingly looking to soil and its biology for gains in productivity on dairy farms.
“Soil biology and health is vitally important, yet we don’t always invest the energy needed to understand it. In part, that is because grass always grows, even on the toughest land, but there is untapped potential down there.
“Enhancing soil performance doesn’t need to be complicated,” Jim continues.
“Too often we accept that a field is a ‘low performer’ without taking the time to find out why. Usually it doesn’t take much – bringing out a spade and checking for compaction, doing the soil samples and seeing if there is a mineral imbalance, for example can make a difference.”
SlurryForSoil contains 18 soil-born plant growth promoting fungi and bacteria, selected for their abilities to enhance soil structure, transport nutrients and water, and enhance nutrient cycles.
“Increasingly I’m coming to understand the importance of increasing diversity. Of all the slurry additives, SlurryForSoil has the greatest number of different microbes, and they do more than improve the slurry; they are improving the soil too.”
While SlurryForSoil is usually applied from the beginning of autumn, with a booster dose 10-12 weeks after the initial treatment, adding the inoculant now will still have benefits.
“And why wouldn’t you? It is relatively inexpensive, and with the pressures on fertiliser currently, SlurryForSoil could be the difference between having just enough forage for next winter or running out.”
