Pasture management is one of the pillars of farming. If the stock will not voluntary graze all the pasture, including the rank grasses, then extra efforts have to be made to encourage them. These can include more fencing, hot wires, regrassing, supplementary feed; generally more work and more expense, especially if the farmer has to resort to purchasing machinery for topping. This also results in hidden stress on the animal, which can relate to inadequate stock performance and health problems.
For all the thousands of fertiliser-based pastural trials done in New Zealand, palatability has never been tested for. But perhaps it does not need to be. After all, if there is one major comment made by thousands of first time and established users of Hatuma dicalcic, it would be how it renders the grass palatable to the stock. South facing paddocks, shady faces, browntop, rushes, ratstail, steep hill country, in-seed grasses, cocksfoot, cow manure pastures . . . they are all examples of what farmers have experienced their stock eating without protest; pastures they traditionally could not get them to touch. Now they are happy to report their paddocks are cleaned up, allowing better quality pasture to grow underneath, with stock that are content. And it was something they say was quick and inexpensive to achieve, and all the while preserving the environment.
There are many reasons for this turnaround, but ultimately it comes down to balance – in the pasture and the soil. Traditionally we see the virtues of palatability through the grazing of pasture, but it is also the palatability underneath it that is just as important. Soil microbes need a balanced environment before they will recycle the waste left by the stock; excess nutrients, such as an abundance of nitrates, will not be favourable to the individuals that do the work. This can result in such problems as urine spots that will not become assimilated into the soil, therefore they are left by the grazing animal, which limits pasture utilisation. The soil life needs a balanced source of waste before it will recycle at full efficiency and eliminate tainted pasture. |
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Likewise, the stock relies on pasture that is balanced in all minerals. Many aspects can affect this, such as the soil pH being either too acid or too alkaline, an excess of certain nutrients, or the level of carbohydrate/sugar content. An animal lacking in certain minerals will not necessarily eat the pasture either if it knows it will not be replenished by it (have you ever eaten a meal and felt bloated, yet still hungry?). Some grasses even rely on certain growing aspects being available before flourishing. For example rank browntop, perceived as a nuisance plant because it is unpalatable to the stock, enjoys an acidic environment. However, Hatuma clients have found when they apply non-acidic dicalcic phosphate the stock graze it off, and continue to do so until the pH is neutralised allowing the clover to eventually dominate. Some users even say the stock get plenty of nourishment from it!
By providing a balanced environment in both the pasture and the soil, the plant becomes more desirable to the stock. Even an abundance of beautiful looking pasture, grown with traditional NPK fertilisers, can result in the stock turning their noses up – they know what they want. In fact, Hatuma clients often talk of fattening lambs on pasture that appears very short. Perhaps this is why neighbours of dicalcic users comment there does not appear to be much grass growth next door, yet it is all evenly grazed and the stock are magnificent - this is exactly what happens when the stock find the pasture palatable. |