Organic fertilizer in the form of cow manure builds soil health, cuts inputs at dairy farm
Having an 800-tonne stockpile of manure couldn't have come at a better time for a dairy duo on the Darling Downs.
Brenden and Kait Ballon at Hillcrest, Maclagan, decided to start building the pile of composted cow poo a year ago to improve soil health, but with some synthetic fertilisers reaching $1600 a tonne, it's a welcome coincidence.
"The main reason was to try to get a bit of carbon in the soil and a bit more fertility, but it will definitely save on our fertiliser costs for sure," Mr Ballon said.
While it won't provide the same high concentration of nutrients offered by inorganic options, the farmers said it would be ideal for their upcoming winter plant.
"I want to get this out into paddocks before we plant winter multi species forage crops," Mr Ballon said.
"I'll probably deep rip the soil, spread the solids with a manure spreader at about 20t/ha, and incorporate it with a disc."
Kait and Brenden Ballon are on a mission to improve soil health at their dairy farm.
The pair run 150 Holstein and Jersey cows and 100 Speckle Park cross Angus steers and heifers which feed on grass, forage crops and hay. Cash crops like sorghum and sunflower are also part of the business.
Traditionally, the farmers would collect the excrement from the feed pad, dairy, laneways and pens, scoop it into piles with a tractor, and spread it on their pasture.
However, moving to a bigger scale has allowed the waste to break down and become more biologically available.
"This is our first go at it. The only reason I haven't done it before is because I didn't have a big front end loader," Mr Ballon said.
"I started growing out straw and green hay that got a bit funky, 'lasange-d' it, as such, and as I was doing that, I made a brew of liquid soil microbe booster in a 1000L shuttle and sprayed it to get that stimulation going."
He also used the manure and urine wash out from the dairy as a biological stimulant.
Some parts of the pile are very decomposed and others are quite fresh, so blending it up is ideal.
Mr Ballon said they tried to limit buying inputs by recycling what they had on-farm, but they did use urea from time to time.
"We try to use as much non-synthetic fertiliser as we can, but there are some circumstances where I will use urea post-plant to spread on top," he said.
"I did a bit last year and I might even do a little bit this year, but if the prices are too stupid then I won't worry about it."
They also had 1000t of feedlot manure delivered to their second block last year, setting them up for months to come.
In the broadacre cropping market, Terra Firma Fertilisers agronomist Ruby Earsman, Beaudesert, said enquiries into their organic poultry manure fertilisers had increased significantly.
"We started seeing a big increase in interest last year due to the rising price of synthetics," Ms Earsman said.
"It's all pre-planting for winter cropping at the moment. You've got broadacre grain growers, and then, because there's money in beef as well, a lot of pasture growers who are applying it to their pastures."
Ms Earsman said many growers were interested in custom blends.
"We work with growers to create custom blends that deliver key essential and trace elements in a stable form," she said.
"We can put a bit of synthetic fertiliser in with our poultry manure base so you're getting certain nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus and then trace elements like zinc."
After receiving market feedback, the company has also introduced shorter pellets which suit airseeder applications.
"These biologically active pellets provide a more holistic approach to conventional farming as they replenish soil carbon, soil biology, and essential nutrients," Ms Earsman said.
Even major resellers are getting in on the manure action, with Nutrien Ag Solutions Goondiwindi buying 9000 tonnes of chicken manure from a Darling Downs poultry farm to meet customer demand.
It has already sold 5000 tonnes to a client keen to build up their soil carbon.