AFTER many years of continuous cropping, Naracoorte mixed farmer Josh McInnes went on a search for alternatives to revitalise his tired soil.
He thinks he has found the answer with TM Agricultural, formerly known as TM 21, applied twice during the growing season.
Josh says his soils – and in turn crops and irrigated pastures – are healthier despite using less fertiliser, fungicide and insecticides.
The mixed farming enterprise has cross-bred ewes, a Dorset stud, irrigation and various crops. Lambing takes place from March to August and they are sold between 48 kilograms and 60kg liveweight.
Three years ago, Josh trialled TM by spraying it on half of an irrigated pivot circle.
"The sheep were always grazing in that half of the circle so we thought it was a good reason to give more of it a go," he said.
The following year he used it on a 60-hectare paddock of beans which had been cropped continuously for the past 16 years in a canola, barley, beans and wheat rotation.
The paddock had a long-term history of annual rates of 80 kilograms/ha of MAP or DAP at sowing and then 50kg/ha to 200kg/ha of urea depending on the season, but was just not as productive as it had been in the past.
"That first year using the TM, I grew a bean crop higher than the fence and while it didn't yield any better it was certainly a healthy crop," Josh said.
He has noticed the soil quality improve each year, with more earthworms leading to better soil aeration, and has applied fewer sprays.
In 2012, he used it on all his cropping land – with success.
Josh says the liquid product is an additional expense but halved the rate of conventional fertiliser use – more than paying for it.
He is also impressed by its ease of use and the ability to incorporate it into his existing management without fuss.
He applies it in the same tank mix with his knockdown spray about a month before seeding, and completes another spray later in the season.
For the past two years, Josh has sprayed a 40-hectare centre pivot planted to lucerne for hay and finishing prime lambs. He has sprayed it three times during the season and says the snail population – a big problem on his alkaline soils – has reduced significantly.
Josh admits it is difficult to quantify crop yield increases or lucerne pasture growth but says his soil is visually healthier and growing better crops.
*Full report in Stock Journal, May 23 issue, 2013.
