Beyond Agronomy News: March 26th, 2008
Gibberellic Acid - A New Idea in Pasture Production
In my travels through Australia I discovered a product called gibberellic acid, which is used to promote grass yield in pastures during cold weather. I've investigated the product and see that it might have a fit in our pasture and hay systems by promoting grass growth in early spring. It may not be a registered product in Canada but it will certainly be on my list to check out when I get home. This product may get our cattle on to pasture faster and help reduce spring feeding costs.
What is gibberellic acid?
Gibberellic acid (GA) is a naturally occurring plant growth hormone that promotes early season growth of pastures. It is also used in Alberta Seed labs like 20/20 to help break seed dormancy. It is water soluble and comes in the form of a granule. You can apply it through a sprayer and is taken up by plants through leaf absorption. It has wider applications in horticultural crop production and appears to have no harmful effects on animal or human health.
How does it work?
In short, GA increases plant growth. More specifically, it encourages cell expansion which leads to stem and leaf elongation.
What does it do?
Research has established that GA increases pasture growth but it has different effects in different situations. There are some points of clarification which need to be made here as GA is not a blanket cure-all. The increase in growth response from a GA application depends on a number of factors:
1) Pasture health
2) Application rate
3) Time of application
4) Grazing management
Bearing in mind that such factors are at play, estimates of increased dry matter production in trial results from the Eastern States of Australia on phalaris and sub-clover pastures ranged from 100 to 500% over a 3 - 5 week period (Holmes, Sackett & Associates, 2006a).
What is the cost?
One brand of GA called ProGibb costs $4.00 acre for the 10g rate (recommended for phalaris pastures) and $8.00 acre for the 20g rate (recommended for ryegrass pastures). Clover has also been observed to respond very well to this product. Depending on the duration of the winter feed gap, ProGibb may be applied more than once per season.
Conclusions
The information on using GA is very limited. There are some uncertainties about the product and its use. It does appear to increase pasture production. This effect is greatest when day-time temperatures are low and pasture growth is slow. The application of GA when temperatures are high can actually decrease forage production. GA is more effective on perennial, grass dominant pastures than annual grasses or clovers. It is best utilized within a rotational grazing system. In energy terms, the cost of using GA to produce extra feed is less than using nitrogen or feeding grain. Finally, I haven't concluded if this product is registered on pastures in Alberta so this is not a recommendation to start applying GA, only an inquiry.
Source: Adapted from Agrom Management & Landmark
Phosphorus Reductions Possible in a Pinch
If you haven't booked your phosphorus fertilizer yet, you may want to look at using JumpStart this spring if you can't get your hands on phosphate fertilizer. Philom Bios has conducted 59 split field trials in wheat and canola where the farmer has used 15 lbs/ac actual less phosphorus on the JumpStart side and still realized a 1.8 bu/ac average yield increase. Darren Smith of Philom Bios is comfortable recommending 10 lbs/ac less phosphorus than the soil tests call for with JumpStart. I suggest you phone your local crop input retailer, talk to your agronomist and see if this makes sense on your farm. The cost of JumpStart works out to $6.00 an acre and is $0.80 cents less than 10 lbs of P in 11-52-0-0.
JumpStart Info: http://www.philombios.ca/canada/jumpstart/jumpstart-apply.html
John Diener - An Innovative Farmer to the Core
It's always a pleasure to watch creative minds turn ideas into realities. John Diener farms 6000 acres of irrigated vegetables, oilseeds and cereals in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Someone told me that if you've ever thought of an idea, call John and see if he's already tried it. Today we discussed the issues surrounding production on John's farm. One of the biggest issues he faces is soil salinization. The water in the aquifer is naturally saline and the runoff from over irrigation is an environmental hazard.
Producers in this area frequently over irrigate their land in order to move salts below the root zone. John wondered what he could do with all that salty water. His idea was to raise brine shrimp. The brine shrimp are raised in the salty catchment water off the drainage ditches. The water starts out at 300 ppb of salt and then the brine shrimp take the levels down to 3 ppb throughout their development. The shrimp are harvested and sold by the pound to pet food processers who use the shrimp as a protein source for food. The refuse water after the shrimp harvest is completed is moved through and filtration system that includes a reverse osmosis system that separates select types of salts like calcium sulphate, ammonium sulphate right down to sulphuric acid. The ammonium sulphate is put back through the pivots as fertilizer and the calcium sulphate is sold to local construction companies to use as road dust prevention.
John is a very switched on individual and it was a pleasure to hear his enthusiasm for the projects he was working on. I would encourage us all to think a little more like the John Diener's of the world. Identifying problems is one thing but taking the next step and creating something is as satisfying as it gets.
Market News
US Wheat Producers Not Optimistic on This Year's Crop
After reading AgWeb.com's producer comments on winter wheat conditions I'm not so sure the US winter wheat crop is off to a promising start. Producers from Kansas to North Dakota have commented on their soils being anything from waterlogged to winterkilled, coupled with thin stands from poor germinations and heavy populations of volunteers. This may be a little premature but we all know the world cannot afford a wreck in 2008's wheat crop. The market hasn't taken notice of this yet and the USDA's first winter wheat crop ratings report will be the one to look out for. Bottom line, the bull-run may not be over yet. Long hedge funds just need to lick their wounds for a while and allow greed to creep back before they push these markets higher once again.
Odds Are Plummeting For Early US Corn & Soybean Plantings
Saturated conditions in the southern and eastern US corn and bean belt has reduced the odds that producers will get out to prepare fields early this year. Here's a scenario for you. A late corn planting in the US coupled with an ongoing La Nina causing drought conditions. Not a pretty picture at all, yet it makes me rethink increasing barley acres in the next month.
Look for the Opportunities in Down Markets
The annoying optimist in me has me thinking that basis levels in the nearby and this fall must have improved over the last two weeks. The temporary downturn in the markets recently may have provided an opportunity for improved basis levels. Instead of sitting in shock watching canola drop $200 a tonne, perhaps we should be looking for the angles. Always look for the opportunities during times of crisis.
Higher Grain Prices Sustainable
Continuing high crude-oil prices and new bio-energy mandates, such as the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, are expected to sustain prices at historic highs across all agricultural commodities over the next decade. That's according to a briefing given to Congress earlier this month from analysts at the Food and Agricultural Policy Institute.
Full story 
Dangerous wheat stem rust strain is on the move
With historically tight supplies and volatile prices, the wheat market doesn't need anything else to worry about. But now it has something. A new and potentially devastating strain of wheat stem rust -- first found nearly a decade ago in Africa -- is on the move and may be poised to cause a calamity in world wheat production.
Full story |
