Its easy to get tied up with the day to day chores of a farm and it seems to be inevitable more so if you’re running a dairy farm! But sometimes its good to take a walk out on the farm without any particular job in mind just to see how things are going. This…
Tag: soil organic matter test
How to sow new pasture and forage crops
In our quest to become dairy farmers we have leased a few acres in Gembrook to grow pasture and forage crops for our small herd. The land is run down pasture and I have outlined soil test results in the last few entries. To get this pasture productive again we need to raise the pH,…
Organic matter in dairy farm pasture
The benefits of organic matter in soil are well known. Organic matter improves factors including water holding capacity, nutrient holding capacity and structure. But organic matter can be made up of more longer lasting humus through partially broken down material to fresh material from plants and animals that has recently entered the soil. This fresh…
A simple test for reactive soil organic matter.
Of all the factors that can be measured in soil, fresh, reactive or labile organic matter is one of the more important. Its a tool that can be used to monitor seasonal changes that depend on strategies like cover crops, composting and residue retention. This test can be valuable for home gardens, horticulture, pastures or…
How much organic matter is in your soil?
Of all the factors that can be measured in soils, organic matter (OM) is probably the most useful and critical. This test measures the fresh or labile organic matter in soil. This organic matter supplies nutrients to plants because it is the food for microorganisms which in turn release nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen. Some…