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Over 10,0000 ago, ancient men began their transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to a more self-sustainable, settled society by domesticating plants and animals; this led to the development of larger community groups and settlements followed by increased demand for its commodities. Thus, farming productivity has had to develop over time to support its growing communities' demand, and for years to come, if you wanted more food to help more people, then you simply farmed more land. But as Mark Twain once joked, "the thing about land is that they are not making it anymore."
Skip forward to the early 19th century and the development of the Haber-Bosch process, a way to transform nitrogen in the air into fertiliser. Problem solved…! Farmers simply needed more fertiliser and not more land! Didn't you?
As farmers today, you are not too dissimilar to that early man/ woman, but don't be fooled into thinking that we are anything other than citizens of the land with a temporary custodianship; mother nature does have its limits. Remember Newton's third law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Well, everything, yes, everything you do affects your phytobiome, which involves the plants, their environment, and their connected populations.
An action or element may at first appear to be the 'silver bullet' that solves your problem, but, just like when a stone is dropped into a pond of water, the ripples spread far and wide, upsetting the natural balance of things and something else is then forced to happen. As custodians, you are responsible for measuring, managing and understanding your influence.
Regen farming, or as we like to call it, biological agriculture, aims to re-balance the ecosystem in perpetuum; this evolutionary approach must consider all inputs and outputs and their influence; early man still contended with the weather he discovered that returning inputs to the soil sometimes yielded a difference and they often made mistakes, the trick is to learn from them and work with the system rather than continue to force your will.
Our Bio N is one approach of working with, as opposed to against, the eco-logic; your crops have a single goal: survival, thriving, and reproduction. To do this, they will use any resources at their disposal; they convert the sun's solar energy into sugary carbons, pumping out surpluses as exudates into the soil. The cycle doesn't stop there … these sugars promote nutrient exchange and stimulate soil life; if you ever fancy some technical readings on the ins and outs of plant roots and microbes, have a search on Google for the 'rhizophagy cycle'. Our Bio N product uses living Nitrogen-fixing bacteria to convert atmospheric N into a plant-available form; there is plenty of info on the mechanics and benefits associated with Azotobacter and other N-fixing microbes.
The Bio N is a straightforward step you can easily make; I've done it and seen the results; those microbes will work their socks off in the soil because it benefits them, and in turn, they help the plant. Ergo, you gain. With rising fertiliser prices, there has never been a better time to look again at your conventional fertiliser inputs.
After speaking with so many of you over the past month or two, clarifying a few things about Bio N might be helpful.
We are still advising that you apply for your initial starter N. Why? Soil temperatures will be too low for soil biology to be working optimally.
Once average soil temps stay above 8 degrees, we can use the Bio N for most areas and crops at some point in April (ideally as a stand-alone application.) However, Bio N could happily tank mix with your T sprays if the timings work out conveniently (always do a jar test beforehand to check compatibility).
On the grassland, many of you who are already using the Better Grass liquid product may find it helpful to add in the Bio N and save doing another pass-through later. Nozzle choice can be run-of-the-mill standard. Just avoid the higher-pressure ones. Water rates can be whatever it takes to get your sprayer up to the pressure that is usually 150/200 litres of water; if you're using a quad bike sprayer, that litres per ha of water wouldn't be an option, but you can still apply the product (adjust travel speed ect accordingly)
I remain realistic regarding what Bio N can do for your crop and suggest as a guide that you could account for around 50 units of fixed N from a ten-litre application.
Will it fix more? Possibly/probably.
As with any Biological system, progress must be monitored, which means visually inspecting the crop, testing plant tissue, and being prepared and reacting accordingly.
I started by saying that Mother Nature knows best. What do you think?
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