Spring Newsletter.
Murray’s Message
A very happy spring to each and
every one of you. Definitely
spring is in the air. We know for
a fact that as sure as night follows day spring will follow winter. And once again we can see the signs of
life and regeneration before us.
The days are longer and are becoming warmer.
In
this issue of our newsletter we will deal with positive thoughts and ideas of
how to grow good forages and good pasture crops. We know for a fact that our animals do much better when we
have a variety of forages growing out in the field. You just simply donÕt want to grow pure alfalfa. In my way of thinking this is not a
good plan as it restricts our animals far too much in terms of the kind of
nutrients that grow solely in alfalfa.
In his book, Newman Turner writes very eloquently about the fact that you
need different grass types and different kinds of species of material growing
in a field. He further discusses
how critical each one of them is for bringing different minerals and different
nutrients to our animals, which actually helps to nourish them.
We know for a fact that we also have
a great deal to learn from our soils.
Each and every one of us should have soil samples from our grass fields
to know what is there and what is available to the plant and ultimately to our
animals. In his book ÒSoil, Grass and CancerÓ Andre Voisin talks very passionately about what happens when
we put liquid manure on our fields.
This leads to high, high levels of soluble potash. We see this in so many of the feed samples
that are sent to us. Many times
the potash is much higher than what it should be and so therefore will
literally induce milk fever or grass tetany-type symptoms into many of your
cows and mammals. We know for a
fact that if we are judicious in how we apply our manure it can be very
beneficial. However, if we apply
it too early or too late between cuttings we are going to reap the benefits of
our mismanagement.
There are several other things that can be
done in the spring to help our grass fields grow much better, productive yield
potential as well as an increased nutrient potential. One of those neat things that you can do
is take ½ lb. of either powdered or liquid seaweed and mix into 5
– 20 gallons (depends on sprayer nozzles and application rate) of water
per acre along with some sugar (approximately 1 – 2 lb. per acre). What this will do is it will increase
the sugar reading level of the plant.
This will drive weevil away.
If the weevil continues to eat at the plant then what will happen is
that they will become drunk with the high sugar readings of the plant because
the sugar will turn to alcohol in their system and will kill them. We have seen this used very
successfully over the last 5 to 10 years by many of our farmers that experience
some invasion of weevil at some point in time throughout the year. We also know that the nutrient value of
this crop of haylage, grass silage, baleage or dry hay is much higher.
LetÕs review some of the things that are really crucial here
to making great hay or forages.
It is extremely important to have good soil audits or soil
samples taken and reports on all of our different fields to know what kind of
fertilizers to
apply. There is
a definite correlation between the base saturation and the trace minerals. We know that living soil that is full
of earthworms as well as bacteria, mycorrhiza and fungi will get many of the
nutrients from the soil or subsoil into the root zone and from the root zone
into the plant. We also know that
this will help to increase the Brix or sugar readings quite dramatically. We know that the higher the sugar the
higher the minerals. Most farmers
are fortunate to have fortified Brix readings. Many farmers that have taken a very proactive approach to
treating their soil, as well as putting on the seaweed extract with the sugar,
are finding Brix readings of 10 and 12 on 1st cutting and 20 – 25 often
times on 2nd or subsequent cuttings. What this, in essence, means is that you will have much more
nutrient dense feed. This means
that your animals will need to eat less to get the same amount of nutritional
value and in the end what it will do is lessen the amount of mineral that you
need to feed your animals. Which
of course means savings for your pocket book. Remember, whether you pasture animals or whether you make
hay, haylage or baleage does not matter.
What is important is how you treat that soil. Remember that itÕs more than just dirt – we are an
extension of that soil. And as a
result what we do to the soil greatly determines the health of our nation.
In closing, I would like to draw your attention to something I just read
the other day in ÒSmall Farm CanadaÓ and this is really fascinating. ItÕs about Ò911Ó corn and itÕs all about researchers in Germany who
have identified a gene which produces a chemical Òcry for helpÓ that attracts
beneficial insects to damaged plants.
One of the plants that carry this gene is corn. Corn emits a mix of scents when
attacked by certain pests such as caterpillar known as the Egyptian Cottonleaf
Worm. Tarasetic wasps use these
plant scents to localize the caterpillar and deposit their eggs on it so that
the offspring can feed off the caterpillar. Soon after the caterpillar dies and the plant is relieved
from its attacker. Now these guys
in Germany have found at least 15 species of plants that are known to release
scent after insect damage thus attracting the enemies of the plantÕs
enemies. Scientists term this
mechanism ÓIn-Direct DefenseÓ.
IsnÕt this fascinating, and all this time we thought that God was
not in control or in charge. What
a fascinating find. It certainly
makes us wonder about how smart we are when we start messing with genetically
modified organisms -doing something about something we know absolutely nothing
about.
So for the time
being, all the best and hopefully the seeding and the cropping this year will
be one of the best years ever.
Maple
Madness
One tablespoon of pure maple syrup contains only 50
calories! ThatÕs nothing compared
to the good oleÕ down home feeling you get from eating it!
Maple syrup also contains trace elements of those important
things your body needs: sugars, calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium,
phosphorous and iron.
It doesnÕt end there!
It also contains the vitamins B2 (riboflavin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6
(pyridoxine), PP (Niacin, B1), Biotin and folic acid.
Maple Syrup also contains amino acids-the building blocks of
protein- in trace amounts.
|
Bio-Ag welcomes 2 new staff members this spring.
WeÕd like to introduce you to them: |
Becky Shaw
has joined the Bio-Ag team as a Marketing and Sales Consultant. BeckyÕs background includes work at
Parks and Recreation Ontario and Ontario Physical and Health Education
Association in their marketing departments. Projects included launching a provincial sales team and
partnering with provincial and national organizations.
Becky has a
Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo and a MasterÕs
degree in Sport Management with a focus on marketing from the University of
Windsor. Becky is originally from
a farm outside Dresden Ontario and now resides in Waterloo.
Bonnie Roth
was raised on a Holstein dairy farm by Highway 8 near New Hamburg. She has worked in a variety of office
settings and is currently working 3 days a week at Bio-Ag Consultants as an
Administrative Assistant.
Bonnie is
also involved in managing their family business – Ron Roth Construction.
She lives in Wellesley with her husband Ron and their 11-year-old daughter
Kayla. Bonnie enjoys being actively involved in local church and community
events.
|
We welcome Becky and Bonnie to the Bio-Ag team and hope that you will introduce yourself the next time that you call. |
For Sale
2nd cut big square bales
hay-treated with Bio-Lac/Kelp
Call Ohmer Jantzi 519-656-2176
Found
A pair of glasses were left behind
after our January Seminar.
If these might be yours, please
contact our office to retrieve them.
SALE! SALE! SALE!
Redmond Minerals have a new pressed
salt block and weÕre
Over Stocked!
This is a
50# pressed block that looks like conventional salt blocks. It has the same
content as the NTM random chunks, but has been shaped into a consistent block
size.
Several of our clients
have tried these and appreciate the consistent shape for their feeders. Redmond
has worked consistently to improve the quality of the pressed block and weÕre
happy to offer savings to you on these improved blocks.
Regular
pricing is $12.00/50# block. Sale pricing is $11.00/50# block. Act quickly while the special price
is in effect- just until May31.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Electric
Magnetic Field [EMF] Harmonization Chips
Some of you
might remember from our January Seminar reference to ÒCell Phone ChipsÓ. These
are small, circular, self-adhesive disks-about the size of a penny-that are
helpful in minimizing electro pollution on items that cannot be managed with
the Stetzer Filters.
These disks
will be useful on Cell Phones and also on cordless phones, laptop computers,
ÒPalm PilotsÓ, and vehicles.
We currently have 6-packs in
stock [six chips/package] for $211.00/package [+ taxes] which is a great
buy-share with family & friends.
The individual chips are
back-ordered and we hope to have these in a few weeks. The current cost on
these is $46.00/chip [+taxes].
Ask your dealer about these great devises that help to keep
us healthy.
Product Improvements
The
management, dealers and staff of Bio-Ag are happy to announce that we have
recently completed improvements to our Dairy Premix micro. This is the
Ópre-baseÓ formulated to balance the trace elements of our basic premixes.
These are the Òbehind the scenesÓ raw ingredients that we work with to provide
you, our valued customers, with a quality, finished product.
Our Animal
Nutritionist, Dr. Thevika Sebastian, has worked for several months to make
these changes. This requires many hours of calculations as different groups,
such as Lactating Cows vs. Far Off Dry Cows; goats vs. sheep, for example, have
differing requirements. Any changes are then subject to review and registration
by CFIA. We value ThevikaÕs continued efforts in improving our products. Please
see the light purple insert for more details on these changes.
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Stuff you didnÕt even know you
needed to know!
(Until now)
Trivia Time
The Chick and the PigÉ
Two contestants are lined up to run the race of the century:
a chicken and a pig. Although the
100 yd dash will indeed be a close one and you know that pigs are lazy, fat and
eat nothing but slop, who do you think will be the winner of this race?
