For those wanting a unique fertiliser that provides significantly better animal health, improved physical soil structures, and greater total production, at a price little changed in the last fifteen years read on….
Dolomite provides a wide range of benefits and now owned and mined by Solly’s at Golden Bay the value is simply unbeatable.
Dolomite has a magnesium content of 11.5% and a calcium content of 24%. For those properties requiring magnesium, and virtually all intensive dairy properties do, Golden Bay Dolomite provides the following benefits.
- Less calcium/magnesium related metabolic disorders in spring
- Improved drainage during periods of wet weather
- Stronger pasture growth during dry periods.
The typical annual application rate is 220 – 250kg/ha (25 – 29kg/ha Mg).
500kg/ha can be applied every second year however an annual application provides the greatest effectiveness.
It has long been established that magnesium increases the efficiency of phosphorus in the soil. With phosphate fertiliser no longer a commodity product money can be saved by ensuring magnesium is applied at a rate determined by a recent soil test.
An annual application of dolomite will also indirectly help with nitrogen fixation. Ideally soil should be 50% air and for rapid fixation of nitrogen by clovers and directly from the atmosphere a friable top soil is essential.
Dolomite has a unique soil conditioning effect. Dolomite applied at the rate required for correct magnesium input will create a more friable topsoil with a more rapid interchange of air and carbon dioxide.
Any magnesium fertiliser applied at very heavy rates will detrimentally affect soil structures. Dolomite applied as a liming material will have the effect of reducing pore space and the soil will become increasingly sticky; always apply at the rate necessary for magnesium.
As soils become more friable and less compact as a result of regular dolomite and reduced nitrogen fertiliser applications, plant roots will develop further into the soil harvesting nutrient including nitrogen, and water from lower levels.
In a well-structured soil moisture moves both upward and downward even in the driest of conditions. And it is a common observation that soils to which dolomite has been regularly applied grow longer into a dry spell and recover more rapidly when rain arrives.
Well-aerated biologically activated soils build humus as a result of increased carbon sequestration. Humus works like a sponge soaking up water and nutrients and releasing, as plants require.
Improving stock performance and reducing the reliance on phosphorus and nitrogen begins with an autumn application of Golden Bay Dolomite.