There is a way Dr Bert Quin, July 2011 We have pretty much done the easy bits – fencing streams for example, to prevent direct access by stock and preventing runoff of effluent into streams being the two big ones – but nutrients continue to enter waterways from our agricultural land, simply because … Read more
Introduction Over the past few decades, I have observed the development of increasingly divergent views of the roles of both calcium as a nutrient, and lime in itself, in New Zealand agriculture. Many of these newer views are lacking in scientific verification, but nevertheless are likely to be reflecting a great number of anecdotal observations, … Read more
Superphosphate New Zealand’s soils are by and large not naturally fertile, simply because of the low levels of some key nutrients – phosphorus (P) in particular – in the volcanic and sedimentary rocks they have been formed from. Single superphosphate (SSP), made by reacting finely ground phosphate rock with concentrated sulphuric acid, was first produced … Read more
13. An Open Letter to New Zealand Dairy Farmers An open letter to New Zealand dairy farmers: December 2018 ‘A farmer-lead way to sorting out the environmental circus’ Dr Bert Quin, Managing Director, Quin Environmentals (NZ) Ltd The background The dairy industry in New Zealand has grown much faster than anyone envisaged, and way … Read more
5. The effect of the sulphur form used on the ratio of S to P required Background Pasture plants need to take up 7 kg of sulphur (S) for every 10 kg of phosphorus (P). So, if both nutrients are being applied in reasonably efficient forms, a fertiliser containing 9% P should … Read more