#7 5 Steps to Stop Spending on Synthetic Fertilizers

Transcript 

Hello, I am Jim Elizondo, and this is your Fat cows, Fat wallet Podcast where we bring you the information to help you get the best results.

Today’s podcast is 5 steps to stop spending on synthetic fertilizers.

In this podcast I am going to tell you how to gradually wean your land from the high cost of synthetic fertilizers without losing your shirt in the process. I will give you some success stories that you may relate to and tell you my own process and success.

As you will see, avoiding synthetic fertilizers use is important for the health of your soil, the health of your livestock and for your profits. It is not only saving money by not using them, but it is also your future productivity that will increase as the humus in your soil increases by using low-cost biological methods instead of chemical methods!

When I bought my first farm, having graduated as an Agronomy Engineer, I immediately started to apply synthetic fertilizers to have higher productivity immediately. But after two years, it became clear that the soil was being degraded. 

I started reading Andre Voisin book “Grass Productivity” and learned my first glimpses of how soil-microorganisms-plants-humus really functioned, they work together in a symbiosis. This led me to stop the application of synthetic fertilizers, in particular synthetic nitrogen, and to start doing what I had learned as a teenager in my own vegetable garden. Low-cost biological methods where livestock are used to improve soil humus content, which is the true fertility of our soils. 

Voisin wrote about the hunger years phase our soils will go through when weaned off synthetic fertilizers, in those hunger years forage production would be diminished, and grass would turn pale green or with a yellowish tinge. This would be due to deprivation of natural nitrogen as the synthetic nitrogen previously used was creating higher production by burning or consuming organic matter.

We need to remember that each one percent of organic matter in our soil holds 25,000 gallons of water per acre and releases 40 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year! So that is why everything turned yellow!

Back to my own ranch. I suffered from low production and low-quality forage for 2 years before my soil healed to where it could function naturally and provide its own fertility with the use of cattle to enhance photosynthesis for the humus content to increase every year

You do not need to suffer what I suffered. I have learned these simple steps in my experience and consulting in many different environments that help maintain productivity and forage quality when weaning our soils of synthetic fertilizers

Each one percent of organic matter we can increase is the equivalent of $760 dollars in synthetic fertilizers! Is this important for our profits? You bet! As it will improve over time instead of degrading like when we depend on synthetic nitrogen. In this podcast we will learn the importance of increasing organic matter in your soils.

Why buy synthetic nitrogen when air contains around 78% nitrogen?

Why use acidified phosphorus and potassium which is soluble and turns off mycorrhiza which would make those and many other unavailable elements in your soil available if allowed to live and thrive?

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In this podcast I will show you the 5 steps to eliminate synthetic fertilizers from your farm without the negative effects that would come if you stopped using them at once.

Photosynthesis creates energy in the green leaves and stems consume energy by respiring. The difference between energy created and energy consumed is the energy that is left for production and to feed the soil life which will make the unavailable nutrients in your soil available to your plants. It is a form of symbiosis where plants feed through root exudates the microorganisms in the soil so that they thrive and in turn make the nutrients available to the plants! A virtuous cycle!

So here are my 5 steps to stop spending on synthetic fertilizers on your farm.

Step number 1.- Reduce synthetic fertilizers gradually

We know that synthetic fertilizers lower the ability of your soil microorganisms to work efficiently, and many times shuts them down. So,

First year reduce your synthetic fertilizers by half

Second year to one fourth

Third year, if everything goes well and Total grazing is done correctly, you can decide to pull the plug or wait another year.

Step number 2.- Start Total grazing from the very beginning. This is of the utmost importance as the hooves effect from high animal densities required to do total grazing not only yields more cow days per acre/hectare but also help gas interchange in our soils to where growth and color of forages look like if synthetic fertilizer was applied. Here, I would like to mention that my Total grazing students are having success doing this in many different environments.

Step number 3.- As we know, chemicals in the dung and urine of our animals can stay for a long time in our soils, killing and reducing the populations of beneficial insects like dung beetles and earthworms which are essential for higher productivity. You can also monitor your spider webs to know if the insect population in your farm is free of insecticide as the insects are the food for the spiders which will be killed if they eat insecticide laden insects.

So, gradually reduce the use of insecticides, fungicides, in your fields and in your cattle gradually reduce the use of de-wormers until your herd is totally weaned of them. 

 Do not do blanket treatment to your herd, treat only those animals that need it. Why? We need to remember that the immune system in our cattle requires a constant challenge to be effective. If we kill all the parasites the immune system shuts down and any challenge will create havoc in their health. We want parasite resistant livestock and not poison resistant parasites! Myself and my total grazing students are having success doing it in their own properties.

Step number 4.- Stop using herbicide from the start, mow instead when needed. Be creative. Herbicides reduce or harm soil life, we want more soil life not less! We want soil life to make the nutrients already in your soils available to your plants so killing them is not a clever idea.

Many times, we have cockleburs, thistles, and other weeds in our pastures, but they are a sign of overgrazing or compacted soils. When we manage for what we want: Higher humus in your soils, better grass species, soft soil, better desirable species composition your problems will start to fade away and again, my total grazing students are experiencing just that.

Step number 5.- To increase profitability and total production, start using correct selection guidelines and use adapted genetics Bulls so as your soil improves your herd improves to where they are more efficient in converting the extra forage while continuing to improve your soil with their hooves and mouths. It is important that while you improve your soil and pastures with correct grazing management your livestock also is improved by applying selection guidelines that go with nature. So to all my Total Grazing students, you are achieving just that. This allows you to further improve their land by doing better grazing at higher stocking rates.

Now, I will share a success story.

In north central Florida we started with very degraded sandy soil and by applying these principles we were able to increase organic matter from 1% to 3.18% in 6 years. Not easy in the subtropics due to the elevated temperatures, this allowed stocking rate to be tripled thanks to the much higher grass productivity. All of this without chemical fertilizers by applying Total grazing and adapted genetics/selection.

These are the type of results that you can get by taking synthetic fertilizers off your farm. It is doable and will create more prosperity for you as time passes and your land improves even more with time.

Okay, in conclusion, we know that we can wean our soils and pastures from synthetic fertilizers. And we know that it is much better to do it gradually so that we give the soil life a chance to recover from the addiction and to become healthy again.

First half your synthetic fertilizer usage, next year halve it again, and the third year you can stop using them or keep using them at 25% of the original quantity you were using, on the fourth year I would recommend stopping their use.

It is important to start doing Total grazing from the start to get the important hoof action, manure, and urine in your soils. But, even more important, is the action of taking all; leaves and stems, so that your plants can grow strong and fat roots by the longer rest periods that total grazing gives. Then reduce the use of insecticides, fungicides and de-wormers in your cattle as we want to select for parasites resistant genetics and not poison resistant parasites. I recommend stopping the use of herbicide from the start and find alternative methods to control weeds and shrubs.

And while you are changing your land by the appropriate grazing it is important to start selecting your Bulls differently so that as your soil improves your herd also improves and become more efficient. We need to remember that just as the plant feeds the microorganisms in the soil so that they, in turn, feed the plant. Adapted cattle will create better soil, more and leafier forage by applying the total grazing program. 

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