|
Newsletter
- Spring 1998 March
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that winter has hopefully had its last blast, we look forward
to spring and all the changes that it will bring.
We at Bio-Ag are pleased to introduce three new products. If you
attended our seminar held in January, you were given an introduction
to two of them.
With the onset of spring, liquid manure lagoons will need some
attention. Septi-Sol? pit and lagoon treatment is ecologically
and environmentally safe plus very cost effective. When applied
directly to the lagoon, it helps to reduce solids, eliminates
noxious odours and ammonia and enhances biological activity.
The Septi-Sol? manure waste management program is truly unique.
Experts agree that oxygen is a key component in increasing the
microbial activity which speeds up the natural digestion process
of solids and gases that cause odour.
This multi-use product also helps in the composition of dry and
wet manure. By spraying livestock pens with Septi-Sol?, some farmers
have reported an elimination of flies, mosquitoes and their larvae
in addition to reducing odours and ammonia. One farmer who treated
his chicken manure, reported that after cleaning out the pens,
the manure starting composting much earlier than what had been
his experience in the past.
A suggested program using Culbac, Hydrogen Peroxide and Septi-sol
is included with this newsletter.
The second product now available at Bio-Ag is the Grander Living
Water System. The Living Water unit revitalizes water by putting
nature's own energy back into water. As untreated water passes
through the unit, its molecular structure changes. Revitalized
water can restore the natural properties to your water.
The benefits of energized water have long been known. Energized
water increases the ability of your water to absorb oxygen which
causes aerobic bacteria to flourish. This aerobic bacteria is
necessary in our digestive tracts and in soil, lakes, streams,
etc. Grander water will also clean out rust and mineral deposits
in pipes, dissolve calcium from your hot water tank and cleans
naturally thereby requiring less chemicals. This is achieved by
simply installing a unit on your water line!
Grander Living Water Units are available for household, industrial
and agricultural purposes. Initial reports from our clients have
indicated that their livestock are consuming more water, the water
"tastes" better and feels softer and less detergent
is needed. House-hold use in a chlorinated area has significantly
reduced the chlorine smell. If you are interested in these water
treatment products we have a book and video entitled "On
the Track of Water's Secret" that we can loan to you as well
as a literature package.
A product that we have sold in the past but discontinued because
it was not available can once again be purchased. Greensand contains
natural marine potash and other essential minerals and trace elements
that are so crucial for vigorous plant growth and higher yields.
Greensand breaks down and becomes a part of the soil and can be
used for field crops, gardens, lawns and fruit trees.
Call the office to discuss these exciting new products further.
CORN BORER MIX - A combination of kelp meal, lignite and sugar
has proved helpful in controlling corn bore. This mixture is applied
through the insecticide hopper on the corn planter. Total cost
is approximately $7.00 per acre for this treatment. Call the office
for more details.
From the Staff at Bio-Ag:
Murray, Florence, Ted, Bill, Mary Lou, Susan, Mel, Marianne &
Carl
R. R. 3
Wellesley, Ontario
N0B 2T0
(519) 656-2460/2481
1-800-363-5278
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ FOR SALE $
Certified Organic Pork
Larry Bender, Tavistock
(519) 655-2082.
Hay & Straw, small square bales, Earl Erb,
Wellesley (519) 656-2546.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOC'S SPOT No matter what sort of a problem I face, I have found
a remarkably powerful plan to enable me to make the correct choice.
It is based on this simple little poem:
I had six honest serving men,
They taught me all I knew.
Their names were, What and Where and When and How and Why and
Who.
Regardless of what your problem is, these same six guys will work
for you. Part of my excitement in working with Murray Bast and
his team is the fact that if I can teach the methods we use to
find the correct answers, we can take that same set of questions
to other problems we face.
The question about spending money on silage additive is a wonderful
illustration of how you can use this system to arrive at good
answers for anything you do.
WHAT is a silage additive? Silage additives are usually a combination
of bacterial inoculants and enzymes designed to accelerate the
fermentation that naturally occurs in the silo. While most bacteria
cannot survive in an acid environment, Culbac is a fermented Lactobacillus
product that can withstand the pH change to an acid form.
Forage treated with a lactic acid fermentation in our diets and
rations has changed the ability of our animals to be able to produce
more. Most of our animals have the genetic capability to produce
far more than we are getting with our current feeding practices.
The limiting factor in most animal husbandry businesses is the
simple fact that we don't get the best diets for optimum production
into our animals. The history of milk production is a good illustration.
We have been artificially inseminating our best cows for over
50 years. We have the genetic capability to produce over four
times as much milk from a single cow as we could 50 years ago.
And yet if we take that superior animal and don't give her the
balanced diet she needs, we will go right back to producing 1/4
of her real potential.
The real value is the recipe or the correct combination of the
ingredients put into the silage additive. Culbac has spent many
years constantly improving the recipe.
WHERE - The "where" in this case is right in the back
yards of the customers of Culbac users. When this product is used
across North America, the feedback you give to us is utilized
to ensure optimum performance. We pay attention to what our customers
tell us.
WHEN - Right after we kill the plant by cutting it down or grazing
it off, it begins to deteriorate or rot. If it is grazed off,
it doesn't get a chance to rot because the animal begins digesting
it as soon as it is chewed. Because we live in an area where we
cannot graze every day, we have two choices with our forage. We
can dehydrate the forage and make hay which will keep because
it cannot rot, or we can ensile the crop to preserve it. The answer
to "When" is we need to put the Culbac into the crop
as it goes into the silo or the plastic wrapped bale.
WHY - Of all the six serving men, "Why" is probably
one of the most important. If the forage rots or is used by the
rotting bacteria, we lose food value. Remember the rotting bacteria
are everywhere and they go to work immediately. It is a good thing
they do, if they didn't act immediately the corn stalks and straw
we raise could never be rotted and turned into humus in our soils.
The rotting bacteria enable us to improve our soils and utilize
the straw stubble to make our farms more productive.
Our goal then in adding Culbac is to prevent the rotting bacteria
from robbing the food value of our silage. The only reason silage
making works is the fact that the "friendly bacteria"
begin to eat the silage immediately. When they do this, their
waste product is lactic acid. Lactic acid is a food product our
cows use to make butterfat. Lactic acid in silage changes the
pH. The pH is a term by scientists to explain the acid content
of a liquid substance.
More lactic acid in a silage will make it more acid or sour. If
we make the silage acid, we destroy the ability of the rotting
bacteria to do their thing so the forage is preserved. We simply
keep more! The quicker we can make the silage acid enough so the
rotting bacteria can't grow, the more of our nutrients we save
for our animals. We can stop spoilage loss and retain more of
what we raised.
The answer to our "Why" question is we save more of
our crop for our animals.
HOW - How does Culbac save our forage? When we encourage the growth
of "friendly bacteria" which can make the silage more
acid, we accelerate the ensiling process. This ensiling process
is simple. Acidity makes it impossible for the rotting bacteria
to destroy our forage. It works best if we exclude additional
oxygen.
* Make sure the silo doesn't leak or have holes in it.
* Ensure the crop has a uniform chop and is completely mixed.
* Be careful to pack the silage properly as it is put in the trench,
forage bag or upright silo.
These are things good farmers do anyway but it doesn't hurt to
check to see if we are making an error in our method and to be
careful we do it right. There is no substitute for excellence!
WHO decides how to make the best forage our modern equipment and
additives will allow us to make? If you investigate the capabilities,
using Culbac can give you a greater return per acre of your farm.
When you run the crop through your animals, there is no question
that Culbac is a good investment. If we can prevent 1/3 of the
waste that can occur in poor ensiling processes, we have in fact
made your farm's produce-t capability greater. Up to 1/3 more
feed or Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) in one year's harvest
is realized. One dollar spent on Culbac can return three dollars
in saved forage. That's not a bad deal no matter how you look
at it. It is still your decision.
If you need further information, please call the office at 1-800-363-5278
or local (519) 656-2460.
Doc Bob
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAIRY BUS TOUR
What a Great Tour! Our March 11 Dairy Tour showed once again that
small dairy farms that grow much of their own feed and pay attention
to detail can have a competent, economical, and viable operation.
Our first stop was at Kenneth & Bernita Jantzi's operation
at Wellesley. This is a family affair where the whole family involved
with 35-40 Holsteins and 40 sows. They recently renovated their
dairy barn and it certainly is a spacious well planned facility--feed
facilities, manure handling, yard space, etc. Needless to say
the barn sparkled and the cows shone. Kenneth has used Bio-Ag
products for many years.
Thank you Ken and Bernita and family!
Our second stop was at a set of newcomers to the Bio-Ag family,
Henry & Janet Boot. They have used Bio-Ag products on their
Jersey farm for about 1 1/2 years. While many of us were chatting
and admiring the difference in size between Holsteins and Jerseys,
Henry was constantly surrounded by question and answer seekers.
Henry & Janet have been dairying for 5 years and do lots of
intensive pasture rotation in the summer. Again a very neat, tidy
operation that I believe shows that big numbers are not the answer
to profitability. Thank you Henry & Janet for your hospitality!
Thank you to all of you that participated. We at Bio-Ag hope you
enjoyed the day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors Announce
A 3 - Way Answer to Livestock Odour
Many experts agree that just one approach to controlling odours
from livestock waste may not be enough. It could take a combination
of products and management techniques to be really effective at
eliminating or drastically reducing odours from livestock waste.
Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors recommends a 3 - Way approach:
1. Treat the pit or lagoon with Septi-Sol.
Septi-Sol improves the environment of the manure by adding trace
minerals and oxygen to speed up the aerobic bacteria activity.
That allows the breakdown of solids, plus reduces ammonia and
odour. Septi-Sol is one of the most economical products on the
market plus it comes with a performance guarantee.
2. Use Culbac in the feed. Culbac is a feed additive that helps
breakdown more of the feed so there is less undigested feed to
cause odour. Culbac will pay for itself from better feed conversion,
less days to market, better overall health or better grade and
yield values. The reduced odour is just a side benefit that will
end up costing nothing.
3. Disinfect premises with Hydrogen Peroxide. The use of household
hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting purposes has been known for
years. Now an industrial strength hydrogen peroxide is available
for disinfecting livestock premises that not only kills pathogens
on the surface, but it continues to release oxygen that stimulates
the growth of the non-pathogenic aerobic bacteria. The aerobic
bacteria digest the gases that cause odour. Hydrogen peroxide
is priced at a fraction of the cost of traditional disinfectants.
For the Triple Effect of Controlling Odour,
Contact:
Bio-Ag Consultants & Distributors
RR 3 Wellesley, ON N0B 2T0
(519) 656-2460/2481
1-800-363-5278
Fax: (519) 656-2534
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tips for High Quality Silage
1. Start with high quality feedstuffs! Bio-Ag
standards may differ from other sources regarding the definition
of quality.
a. Proper maturity - alfalfa 25 -50% bloom
Corn silage - when milk line is 2/3 of the way down the kernel.
It is best to harvest before a severe frost.
b. Moisture content of 55 - 75% depending on type of silo.
c. Mold free or at least minimum contamination. Most forages have
some molds present. This could be due to fertilization, weather
and croping practices.
2. Use a good silage additive such as CULBAC
FORAGE ADDITIVE. Culbac can help reduce dry matter loss at the
critical fermentation stage, by reducing the duration and temperature
of the initial heating stage. A silage additive or inoculant will
not kill mold, but will help discourage mold growth through limiting
heating, and speeding up fermentation.
3. Fill silo quickly forcing out as much air as possible. Oxygen
promotes mold growth, heating and loss of dry matter.
If you plan on refilling silo, (or at the end of filling,) add
2 pounds of HALT per tonne of silage for last 5 - 10 loads. On
refilling add HALT to first 5 - 10 loads. This helps to prevent
mold growth between layers of silage.
4. To kill mold that may be growing in your
silo, use 1 bag of HALT with 2 bags of REDMOND CONDITIONER. Run
blower at normal speed for filling, dump in product, and the inside
of your silo will be covered with powdered mold killer.
**CAUTION**
Wear a dust mask ! This mixture can damage your lungs!
5. Proper silo maintenance (for cement poured or stave silos )
a. Have silo inspected every few years.
b. Use acid resistant sealing agent to seal new silos.
This should be repeated every 5 -10 years as required.
c. If your silo has been neglected to the point where the walls
are pitted and the plaster is coming off the walls, the solution
is to have the walls covered with a cement type coating. This
coating should be trowel finished for smoothness and coated with
an acid resistant liquid coating or reaplyed frequently.
A pitted silo allows feed to stick which makes a perfect growing
medium for molds and fungus which can reinoculate your silage
year after year.
More information on proper silo maintenance
is available from:
Kitchener Silo Co (1975) Ltd. (519) 634-5152
or
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs
Ask for Factsheets # 90-235 and # 90-236
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WANTED FARM PHOTOS!!!
We are in the process of designing our 1999 BIO-AG CALENDAR!
Last year's calendar was well received and we are now beginning
to plan for the 1999 Bio-Ag Calendar!
A picture of your farm could appear in this calendar! Submit your
photo(s) to our office and if your picture is chosen, we will
give you a $25 Voucher for future Bio-Ag purchases as well as
recognition in the calendar. All photographs will be returned.
Photos should be a minimum of 4" x 6" and can depict
any number of seasonal farm scenes, i.e. buildings, field work,
feeding/handling livestock, milking cows, etc. excluding aerial
shots please.
Only six photos will be selected so send in your photo(s) without
delay or call the office for more information (519) 656-2460/2481
or 1-800-363-5278.
BACK TO TOP OF PAGE
|
