Herald 20220906

HIGH COUNTRY
FARMING
Nitrogen – An essential nutrient for life
Like carbon, water,
and numerous other
‘elements’, nitrogen
cycles throughout the
environment, converting
from one chemical
form to another via
physical and biological
processes.
The largest pool of
nitrogen is in the atmosphere,
which is 78
per cent N 2 a dinitrogen
gas.
For living things
such as plants to be
able to use atmospheric
N it needs to be ‘fixed’
(converted to a different non-legume
chemical form).
The production of
urea fertiliser is an example
of an industrial
process of fixation
which combines hydrogen
(from a petroleum
or natural gas source)
with nitrogen by using
Ravensbourne district field day
WEED MANAGEMENT
Control of lantana and other weed
infestations.
Equipment and techniques
Saturday 17th September
2.00pm - 4.30pm
Corner of Perseverance Hall Rd,
Palmtree Road, Palmtree.
– Follow signs –
Then discussion and refreshments at
Perseverance Hall
Ravensbourne
and District
Landcare
TOOWOOMBA CATTLE & PIG MARKET
Harristown Saleyards, Monday, August 29, 2022
Restocker steer calves sold to strong
competition, with trade weight feeders
also selling to strong demand.
• Bulls reached $2358
• Small yarding cows sold to $2097
• Trade weight heifers A/c R & C Sharp sold for
$1919
• Trade weight steers A/c CM Wells sold for
$2299
• A line of Angus X heifers A/c Des Childs,
Nanango sold to $2174
Booking for next week includes 90 mixed sex
Droughtmaster x weaners.
DESCRIPTION
Heavy Steers
Cows
Heavy Heifers
Bulls
Feeder Steers
Restocker Steers
Restocker Heifers
Yarding: 180 Change: -22
Weight
500-700kgs
520+kgs
>400kgs
>600kgs
400-500kgs
200-280kgs
200-280kgs
Range
c/kg
302
280-306
422-454
250-290
402-554
496-558
418-448
Bobby Calves
Average
c/kg
302
296
437
270
485
528
433
Change
c/kg
-10
+6
-27
-8
+39
-49
+16
Grass Eaters $440-$760 Beef x Dairy $360-400 Dairy $65-$200
Prime Pork
Prime Bacon
Sows
Group
NIL
NIL
$200
Weaners $138
Pigs
high pressure and high
temperatures.
This is therefore a
high energy use process.
Biological processes
that fix nitrogen are:
lightning strikes and the
activity of diazotrophs
– symbiotic or free-living
bacteria.
Rhizobia are a generally
well known example
of a symbiotic
bacteria.
These bacteria form
a relationship with
legumes and a few
plants
whereby they produce
ammonia, and the plant
provides carbohydrates
for the bacteria, usually
within a root nodule.
Gently dig up a clover
plant, shake off excess
soil and look for
nodules on the roots.
Registration: Don Groves
0437 978 035 or
rdlandcare@gmail.com
Prime Light Bacon
Boars
Forward Stores
Suckers
NIL
NIL
$202
$100
Livestock, 429 South St, Toowoomba 07 4690 7777
Darren Hartwig - All enquiries 0428 736 470
Mick O’Keefe - Cattle 0409 621 019
Mark Gersekowski - Pigs/Calf/Cattle 0427 761 099
John Padman - Dairy Specialist 0417 802 543
Travis Bulmer - Cattle 0436 397 013
Rural Products, 397 South St, Tmba 07 4636 8888
If they are a pink colour
they are alive and
functioning.
This is a much cheaper
and more efficient
way to add nitrogen to
your soil; all you need
to do is observe!
The role free-living
micro-organisms play
in fixing nitrogen is
less-well known.
Dig up a non-legume
plant such as a milk
thistle or rye grass,
gently shake off excess
soil, and look at the root
system.
Do the roots remind
you of dreadlocks?
If so, the rhizosphere
is healthy and functioning
as nature intended.
If the roots are bare
and clean with little soil
surrounding them, the
soil needs you to help
create a healthy ecosystem.
Azotobacter is an example
of a free-living
(outside of a plant) organism
which naturally
converts atmospheric
nitrogen to ammonium,
I took this photo
some weeks ago, a few
months after some big
summer rainstorms. By
my judgement, this is
pretty handy soil. Great
soil for growing crops
in, to basically help
feed the world.
Marcia Smith
BAppSc (Agronomy)
Stubble is a key to zero or minimal till
NEXT SALE
Saturday
September 17 – 10am
Rocky Dip Yards, CROWS NEST
Early Bookings:
15 Charbray steers 12-15mths
10 Angus steers 12-15mths
10 Santa x steers 12mths
15 Angus steers 8-12mths
15 Angus heifers 8-12mths
5 Angus x heifers in calf to
Droughtmaster bull
10 Mixed steers and cows
For more info, Ph Rick 0428 879 531
Don’t forget we sell at Dalby
every Wednesday with
Fitzgerald Livestock
For updates, watch for our email Thursday
night. If not on our email list, let us know.
If you have cattle, book early for advertising
WANTED TO LEASE
Country to run 100+ steers
BUYING ALL TYPES OF CATTLE
Mobile: 0428 879 531
Fax: 4698 2580
E: rick@zlp.net.au
then releases it into the
soil where plants are
able to make use of it.
Like symbiotic bacteria,
free-living nitrogen
fixing bacteria are
supplied by nature at
no charge.
All they require is a
healthy soil and functioning
ecosystem.
A healthy soil is one
that provides the same
basic things you require
as a human to be
healthy.
By PAUL McINTOSH
Industry Development Agronomist - Northern region
For Pulse Australia and the Australian Herbicide
Resistance Initiative
Invariably, when I do
my Weedsmart talks, I
usually recall the early
adoption days of zero
or minimal tillage for
important reasons like
increased moisture infiltration
rates, improving
soil structure and
Your local agent
Shelter (structures
and infrastructure),
food (energy and nutrition),
water (not too
much or too little), and
air (oxygen, carbon, nitrogen).
This article is a brief
overview of part of the
invariably I mention
retaining the topsoil on
our farming paddocks,
particularly the sloping
ones.
Retaining those previous
crops stubble or
stalks/leaves/roots is a
key part of our zero till
or minimal till practices.
All these intentions
and information
is probably old hat to
many of us in the agronomy
and farming game.
However, what is not
really acknowledged is
how much topsoil can
be lost in the years of
these heavy storm rainfall
patterns.
Researchers have
calculated over many
years of a local South
Queensland paddock
trials, that in these bare
or non-stubble retained
The nitrogen cycle, combining natural and industrial processes.
entire cycle.
There is much still
to understand about the
micro-organism world
and the critical functions
they play in the
wellbeing of our environment
and agricultural
systems.
cultivation blocks, that
an average of 60 tonnes
per ha per year can be
lost down the hill in
the gullies, streams and
creeks that transverse
our landscape.
Consider these facts,
that you can approximately
assume nearly
2000 tonnes in soil
weight over one hectare
(10,000 sq metres)
down to a depth of 10
cms (4 inches).
So, losing only 60
tonnes per ha per year
is not real big deal you
say??
Apologies, as I do
not agree with “it is not
a big deal” sentiment
possibly considered by
some.
With nearly 8 billion
people in the world, this
one metre (3 feet or so)
of good arable topsoil
spread over some various
productive parts of
earth, needs to be capable
now, and into the
future, for sustainable
food production. And
reporting on Toowoomba Cattle Sale
Sale Date: August 29, 2022 – 181 yarded
Numbers remained close to last weeks yarding.
Feeder types and weaner cattle made up of the
majority of the yarding only a handful of Export
lines were yarded. The market remained fully firm
from previous sale. Overall quality improved which
reflected in sale results. Export results remained close
to last week’s Toowoomba sale. A fair panel of buyers
were in attendance with a good supply of restockers.
reporting on Dalby Cattle Sale
Sale Date: August 31, 2022 – 5202 yarded
Numbers increased slightly this week to a yarding
containing larger western consignments. The market
remained fully firm with last week’s improved results.
Export prices varied at times depending on breed and
condition. A larger line up of bullocks were on offer
this week selling to 440.2ckg. Trade feeder steers
sold to slightly better rates with strong competition
from feeder operators. Weaner cattle held strong with
restocker strength in both the steer & heifer drafts.
Heavy Cows -- 398.2ckg – Heavy Bulls -- 368.2ckg –
Bullocks – 440.2ckg – Heavy feeder Steers – 534.2ckg
-- Trade Feeder steers – 640.2ckg – Weaner Steers
750.2ckg – Trade Feeder Heifers – 534.2ckg.
AUCTIONS PLUS – RURAL REAL ESTATE– CLEARING SALES
David O’Sullivan 0412 501 116
Paul O’Sullivan .... 0400 910 088
osullivanauctions@bigpond.com.au
Based on my experience
and basic knowledge,
when it comes
to the nitrogen cycle,
I have no doubt the
Erosion scene after a 2022 heavy rain event
the topsoil is invariably
the best.
Now this photo
attached shows some
terrible erosion of this
high quality Darling
Downs soil to give you
an idea of soil loss from
one large rainfall event.
Weed control used
to be fairly simple with
our mechanical implements.
However, as you
can see by this photo,
using mechanical implements
can lead to
lots of soil loss at critical
times.
So, our Australian
farmers and agronomists
turned to this zero
or minimal till farming
system in the early
1980s, retaining stubble
or plant material above
ground, to be just like
our pasture or grass
paddocks and nearly
eliminate this soil loss
occurrence.
Now, not one ounce
of blame attached here
to this farm for using
steel tynes or discs on
this occasion.
However, it was a
great photo opportunity
for myself, to bring
facts, figures and visual
impacts into why our
zero or minimal tillage
farming systems, using
herbicides like Glyphosate
is so very important.
If we could predict
the weather systems
natural biogeochemical
cycle with bacteria
and living plants as the
factory is the most efficient,
best value, and
least costly (especially
to the environment).
I also believe we can
produce enough food
with much less industrial
produced nitrogen
being applied to the
soil.
much more accurately,
then farming would be
productive and much
easier, I believe.
Moving along from
these important dates
and facts of using more
herbicides over the last
4 decades to control
weeds or plants out of
place, is that we now
have what our farming
fraternity calls herbicide
resistance.
No one’s direct fault,
however these annoying
weeds are developing
a resistance (non
control in other words)
level to all manner of
herbicides or modes of
action. So your world
class Aussie farming
fraternity is changing
and inventing new
weed control practices
again, to obtain successful
weed control on
and around their farms,
without losing precious
top soil down the water
courses.
To summarise this
farming system story, is
that Glyphosate is still
a very important herbicide
for world food
production and soil retention.
We just need to implement
tips and tactics
promoted by myself
and the WeedSmart
Big 6 team to control
non-productive plants
out of place, that we call
weeds.
14 - HIGH COUNTRY HERALD - SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 To advertise phone 4615 4416 or email herald@highcountrynews.net.au