http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz en-us Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:29:19 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136471/the-great-phosphate-deception-or-ignorance/ Every year kiwi farmers waste thousands of dollars on phosphate they don’t need. In my experience, some soils in New Zealand, like Taupo ash for example, have high phosphate availability. A dairy farmer I work with in Tokoroa currently has three times the optimum level of phosphate in his soil (Bray 2 test) and hasn’t applied any more for about six years. Plant tissue tests confirm phosphorus is still high in the pasture.In that six-year period the soil calcium and magnesium base saturation ... Tue, 31 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136471 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136480/a-better-way-of-doing-things/ Thirty years ago, a colleague said to me. “It doesn’t matter if you believe in man-made climate change or not; there is always a better way to do things.” For me, that was a turning point. There is absolutely a better way. What has changed over thirty years? Very little. The Government, Local Councils, Federated Farmers, Dairy NZ, fertiliser co-ops and others have not grasped the nettle, or if they have, it has been the non-stinging type. The banks were very anti-alternative/sustainab... Wed, 10 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136480 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136473/so-you-think-nitrogen-comes-out-of-a-bag/ Cells construct protein from nitrogen. Chlorophyll is created from protein and photosynthesis. Photosynthesis, the most important process on the planet, takes place in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll.  Nitrogen is critical to life itself, being the most abundant nutrient required for plant growth. It forms 16% of all plant proteins and is a vital component in chloroplasts - the factories that synthesize energy from sunlight. Nitrogen is 78% of the air we breathe. There are 74,000 t... Mon, 08 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136473 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136379/all-sides-of-the-triangle-have-to-perform/ Recently, Kiwi Fertiliser has added a crucial string to its bow, a biological stimulant and fertility enhancer called Terragen Great Land. Please check out the website, Terragen Biotech. It makes interesting reading with the product having been created and tested by the University of Queensland. Testing has included many properties in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. Farming enterprises include dairy, maize, sugar cane, lucerne, bananas, vineyard... Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136379 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136475/biology-needs-to-be-nurtured-not-destroyed/ The focus has recently been on increasing pasture growth and quality with minimal added nitrogen, without lessening production. This is nothing new; in 2008, a hilly dairy farm I was supervising, (250 ha of easy and 150ha of aerial,) averaged 10,867 kg/ha DM. In 2012 the average was 16,238, an increase of 49% in 5 years. Best flats went to 20,650. Hills were 9,200. Nitrogen input plummeted to 3 kg/ha.  We cut out superphosphate and potassium chloride, substituting Sechura RPR and potassium ... Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136475 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136478/nitrogen-research-was-a-waste-of-money/ About 8 years ago MAF, Fonterra, and the fertiliser co-ops started wasting $10m on nitrogen research. I don’t know how far they got, but if it needs mitigating, nothing has changed. This approach is attempting to preserve the status quo and as such is irresponsible. A quick look at urea history shows us why business as usual is important for those businesses. 1979, the first shipment of 16,000 t into NZ. 2016, 560,000 t were imported, and 260,000 tonnes were manufactured locally. That’s 820,... Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136478 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136479/kiwi-fertiliser-and-the-environment/ Kiwi Fertiliser prides itself on delivering fertility as close as nature intended as practicable. Certain commonly used products have been found wanting, leading to serious soil degradation, pollution, and eutrophication problems. Farmers have been led to believe urea is essential for high production. We contend that is not true. Nitrogen can be sourced from the air by plants if the correct conditions are met. Urea manufacturers obtain nitrogen from the air, convert it to urea, and then sell it ... Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136479 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136477/nitrogen-complexities/ To get free nitrogen from the air where there are 74,000 tonnes above every hectare, the soil must have correct calcium and magnesium; available phosphate and iron; cobalt and molybdenum. But it is more complicated than that. Besides other nutrients being involved, microbes rule the roost. Many farm practices are counterproductive when it comes to supporting soil biology.Bacteria and fungi produce organic acids. These acids react with insoluble carbohydrates, phosphates and silicates making them... Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136477 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136485/brainwashed/ Ministry for the Environment and statistics NZ recently released a damning report showing increasing nitrogen and phosphorus in a percentage of NZ rivers.Surprise surprise!The clean rivers plan, which is sweeping the country is to drastically reduce nitrogen applications on farm, based on historical data. For farmers hell bent on trying to mitigate too many changes in management in future will be looking at management now to alter that data.It doesnt take a rocket scientist to deduce that one su... Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136485 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/post/136487/change-needed-in-fertiliser-use/ WHAT do individuals, businesses, or governments do when they cometo the realisation that methods or regimes they have been followingfor 20, 30, or 40 years are wrong? The answer usually is bugger all.However, when change is necessary for the better and the weight of public opinion forces change there will always be some who are affected adversely.The larger the perceived harm from change, the greater the resistance. Self-preservation kicks in and the truth is given a hammering until it is barely... Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.kiwifertiliser.co.nz/blog/#post136487