Spring Growth for Organic Farmers with Stephen Briggs
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Spring Growth for Organic Farmers with Stephen Briggs
Stephen Briggs is a consultant with organic farming advisers AbacusAgri. Though UK-based, Stephen has been in Ireland on numerous occasions, both to speak at events and to work with specific organic farmers to help them optimise their farm's performance. We spoke about Spring growth on organic systems.
Oliver Moore: This time of year, conventional farmers get a great boost from mineral fertilizers. What do organic farmers has as an alternative?
Stephen Briggs: When planting Spring cereals, any cereals in fact, its important to match the release of Nitrogen (N) from green manures such as clover with crop uptake. Typically ploughing in clover will release N at 4 degrees; so if its winter or spring, N won't release until its warm enough.
Conventional farmers can just throw on a bag, but a key message for organic is don't plant tillage into cold wet soil, later planting may be needed. Then N release from green manures and clovers will come.
OM: So soil temperature is key?
SB: yes, absolutely. Grass starts to grow when its about 5 to 6 degrees. Obviously farm yard manure, slurry and composts can give that N kick. They can be very useful, but make sure the soil is warm enough for the mineralisation to take place.
Clover's carbon to N ratio is about 7:1. When you incorporate clover with tillage, the N is fairly rapidly available. Using low lignum green manures, bringing sugars and starches into soil to feed it, makes sense. With more ligneous materials, some of that N would be immobilised, and the N would be available later in the season.
OM: So its not all about Spring growth then?
SB: Well, it depends on what time of year do you want an N release. Is it at plant establishment or quality?
Its about using the right green manures to fix on the right crops at right time. Fundamentally, its about biology and microbial mineralisation. Good drainage, plenty of oxygen, encouraging biological activity, these all help.
OM: Have there been advancements in biological understanding to give organic farmers and growers any new opportunities?
SB: Certainly the ability to measure and monitor soil biology through lab testing has really come on – if you don't measure you can't manage. Labs tests can be done for soil microbes, for fungi and bacteria.
There are new products coming to market too - usually called biologicals. But you have to have the set up to take them. Its like having sheds for livestock, with biologicals, you need the organic matter that's going to feed the microbes in the first place. They won't work unless you set the system up first. So measure, work it out, and these inoculants can help the system. We're trialling a compost tea at the moment. But its still all about biology and releasing nutrients at the right time.
OM: Do organic farm yields suffer with this lack of Springtime mineral fertilizer?
SB: for grassland systems, most farmers should be able to get as much if not more grass in organic as conventional. There should be no difference in yield, just in timing. So the yield comes on slightly later in spring and autumn, based on soil temperature and biology.
There tends to be a different profile also in the protein content of the grass. Conventional tends to have high protein at the first cut, lower for the second, and very low after that. With organic, the protein levels get higher as the soil warms up.
Brassicas are good for deep rooting organic matter and drainage, but, unlike many other plants, not for microbial activity. There has been talk of a yield plateau in recent times. This could be due to the extra oil seed rape in rotations these days. It limits what microbes can do.
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Oliver Moore: This time of year, conventional farmers get a great boost from mineral fertilizers. What do organic farmers has as an alternative?
Stephen Briggs: When planting Spring cereals, any cereals in fact, its important to match the release of Nitrogen (N) from green manures such as clover with crop uptake. Typically ploughing in clover will release N at 4 degrees; so if its winter or spring, N won't release until its warm enough.
Conventional farmers can just throw on a bag, but a key message for organic is don't plant tillage into cold wet soil, later planting may be needed. Then N release from green manures and clovers will come.
OM: So soil temperature is key?
SB: yes, absolutely. Grass starts to grow when its about 5 to 6 degrees. Obviously farm yard manure, slurry and composts can give that N kick. They can be very useful, but make sure the soil is warm enough for the mineralisation to take place.
Clover's carbon to N ratio is about 7:1. When you incorporate clover with tillage, the N is fairly rapidly available. Using low lignum green manures, bringing sugars and starches into soil to feed it, makes sense. With more ligneous materials, some of that N would be immobilised, and the N would be available later in the season.
OM: So its not all about Spring growth then?
SB: Well, it depends on what time of year do you want an N release. Is it at plant establishment or quality?
Its about using the right green manures to fix on the right crops at right time. Fundamentally, its about biology and microbial mineralisation. Good drainage, plenty of oxygen, encouraging biological activity, these all help.
OM: Have there been advancements in biological understanding to give organic farmers and growers any new opportunities?
SB: Certainly the ability to measure and monitor soil biology through lab testing has really come on – if you don't measure you can't manage. Labs tests can be done for soil microbes, for fungi and bacteria.
There are new products coming to market too - usually called biologicals. But you have to have the set up to take them. Its like having sheds for livestock, with biologicals, you need the organic matter that's going to feed the microbes in the first place. They won't work unless you set the system up first. So measure, work it out, and these inoculants can help the system. We're trialling a compost tea at the moment. But its still all about biology and releasing nutrients at the right time.
OM: Do organic farm yields suffer with this lack of Springtime mineral fertilizer?
SB: for grassland systems, most farmers should be able to get as much if not more grass in organic as conventional. There should be no difference in yield, just in timing. So the yield comes on slightly later in spring and autumn, based on soil temperature and biology.
There tends to be a different profile also in the protein content of the grass. Conventional tends to have high protein at the first cut, lower for the second, and very low after that. With organic, the protein levels get higher as the soil warms up.
Brassicas are good for deep rooting organic matter and drainage, but, unlike many other plants, not for microbial activity. There has been talk of a yield plateau in recent times. This could be due to the extra oil seed rape in rotations these days. It limits what microbes can do.
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