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Product Case Studies
AgriSeawww.agrisea.co.nz
Based in Paeroa, they produce, Animal, Soil, & Foliar Nutrition concentrates from NZ native seaweed. Here is a typical analysis of their products:
Minerals & trace elements
Boron 3.7ppm
Iron 6ppm
Calcium 80ppm
Phosphorous 35ppm
Magnesium 70ppm
Potassium 98ppm
Manganese 0.58ppm
Selenium 0.09ppm
Cobalt 12ppm
Sodium 350ppm
Copper 26ppm
Sulphur as Sulphate 175ppm
Iodine 108ppm
Zinc 31ppm
Nitrogen 0.04ppm
Alginates 625 gm/kg
Vitamins
Vitamin A: B1: B2: B3: B5: C: E: Carotene, Choline: Pantoene
Testimonials
I have been using Agrisea Animal Health Tonic for 8 months and have noted that my cell count is 50,000 lower than usual: mastitis is lower by two thirds. No cases of lameness, the cows are shiny and my empty rate has gone down from 10% to %5
- Richard Purdie, Gordonton
We’ve been using the Animal Health Tonic at 10mls/cow/day for the last six months. We’ve experienced a marked improvement in the cow’s feet, we haven’t had to pull any up to trim, and the cows are noticeably more mobile.
I have been feeding Agrisea seaweed tonic at 2mls per calf per day in the milk and they are the best calves I have reared for years – no scours, no sick calves- it is a pleasure to go in to the calf shed and look at them
- Wally Kite, Ayrshire Breeder, Ohaupo
We purchased both Pasture Concentration and Soil Concentration and applied this by helicopter, as our property is rolling with a few wet spots. This spring we have cut two paddocks of round silage bales, we estimated 40 round bales as per last year. This season we got 52 from one paddock and 55 from the other. The clover content of the pasture is probably twice as thick as the previous season.
- John Lozell, Rangariri
Liquid seaweed was applied on the 20th November 2004 to my paddocks. Silage was out on the 14th December 2004, hay was cut on the 20th January 2005. Crop was very heavy and bailed out in conventional bales at about 125-130 bales per acre, Re-growth had abundant clover flower. The pastures responded extremely well considering the dry conditions.
- Cyril Boot, Patetonga
We have been using Agrisea Products for 3 seasons and swear by the contribution they have made to our dairy farming operation. The cows are shiny and healthy, the cell count is steady at 100,000, they are recovering after calving a lot quicker and besides all this “they” love the stuff! With the dry stock we simply walk into the paddock where they attack us to get to the animal tonic. Ultimately we put the tonic in their water troughs but if one is not looking too good we give it to them orally. The same with the milking herd. It goes in the dosatron at 5-10mls/cow/day. We use the soil & pasture concentrates twice a year, and are amazed at the improved drainage we have accomplished, pasture roots are deeper and the worm activity has increased.
- Carla Perrett, Hamilton
Homoeopathy
Homeopathy plays a big role in farming without drugs and chemicals.
www.naturalnews.com
Testimonials
I have had great success with using Herbal AB for animals this autumn in conjunction with a homeopathy programme. We have treated 30 cases of clinical mastitis during the dry period two of which have come back a second time. These cows also cleared up giving us to date 100% success rate with using this treatment programme.
Kind regards,
Waikato farmer
We have used Homeopathics on our dairy farm for several years now. Having had success with remedies to improve our own health why shouldn’t it work with the cows?
My father meet a homeopath at the field days in Hamilton one year, attended an introductory course, and we have been using Homeopathics ever since. Sometimes with success, sometimes not, but I put that down to incorrect diagnosis more than anything else.
As my father pulled back from the day to day running of the farm, the weekly trough treatment was down to me, initially finding it a real chore. It has taken time to get onto the routine and to simplify it was to go down to MINERALS and ALFAFA all year round, and also CAL/MAG for those in milk. Also keeping away from weekends as there was more chance that I would be away then.
Over the years I have been searching for anything that would improve our cows health and resulting in higher production. Homeopathics fitted that picture and there is a place for it alongside other good farming practices. We have had success with individual treatments, but I prefer the “whole herd” approach as much as possible.
- Morrinsville farmer.
On the first of November 2007, we did our lamb tailing (docking) with the gang. Our first year in conversion to organics with BioGro, I wanted to try to eliminate the stress. We knew that using Ignatia and Arnica worked well last year dehorning our Simmetel(beef) yearlings.
We weren’t sure how to apply the Ignatia, but after a suggestion from someone else we gave it a go. Using a 5L sprayer with water in it we added a capful of Ignatia. Once the lambs were drafted off, we sprayed with a mist nozzle over the lambs. One half of the farm lambs only required one spray, we think because of the breed they weren’t stressed. The others were very stressed and we sprayed them three times at 5-10 minute intervals. By the end of the third spray the y were noticeably more relaxed and much the same as the first half of the farm.
As each lamb was tailed/docked we gave them one spay in the nose or mouth of the undiluted Arnica remedy. We thought there was far less blood ie no one’s face had blood on it from the ear marking. We haven’t lost any lambs due to bleeding out and they don’t look as “tucked up” in the rear end as they normally would.
Also we averaged 1000 lambs per 100ml of Arnica, so only used three & a half bottles for 3600 lambs. Really pleased, but more so with the “health” of the lambs. Even the guys tailing “thought” it had worked, so that was amazing (as no one else is doing that “wacky” stuff).Also we used one bottle of Ignatia too.
The tailing gang also commented that the neighbours lambs could do with some as they stressed so much, and his ewes had been shorn at lambing where as ours hadn’t.
- Tokanui Sheep & Beef farmers
Success Stories
Janette PerrettOur Experiences in Biological Farming.
What made us change our farming methods?
1 Cows immune to penicillin - No 5 had mastitis and no matter what brand of penicillin we gave her, nothing would cure it. The Vets sample came back as ‘sorry, there is no cure’. We continued milking her OAD until the quarantine period was over. This was a further six weeks. No 5 cured her self in that time. She grew shiny and healthy and was eventually culled two seasons later with no further outbreaks. We had two other animals like her.
2 Poor pasture - Paddock No 6 had been limed (5ton/ha) last spring but the grass was still pulling as the animals grazed. Dr Greg Tate took one look and said lack of calcium.
The Hills test had shown all was well BUT the Reams test was completely the opposite. There was very little calcium available to the plant.
3 Unhappy cows - The herd would walk around a full paddock of grass and start mooing! It looked Okay to us, but the cows were telling us differently. We counted 7 paddocks in which this was happening.
4 Drenching - The drench I was administering in the spring was growing black hairs on the outer part of my drenching arm! It was such a dark line that my first conclusion was it was dirt I had forgotten to scrub off.
Drenching the young stock had also become a doubtful solution as more animals were not responding to the pour-ons.
5 A Healthier Product in the Vat - We wanted milk that we could safely feed to the grandchildren. No chemicals, artificial supplements, ivomectins, anti-biotics, synthetic fertilisers, nitrogen, pesticides, herbicides, nor drugs of any kind should influence what goes near the cow supplying produce to fed people. There is no greater feeling than to hand our grandchildren home made butter or ice-cream that is pure nutrition.
6 Diarrhoea - Our cows had it all year. Now they make cow-pats that look like ‘mud pies’! A lot more fibre in them and the colour is a deeper green, especially after grazing a freshly fertilised pasture .All the animals love the fert we give the pasture, even the dogs have a feast!
7 Warts on Cows teats - We had several animals with warts that were consistently developing mastitis in those quarters. By using EM as the teat spray and doing away with the common brands, these have been completely eradicated.
8 Pesticides, Insecticides, & Herbicides - There are chemicals for everything and some are becoming ineffective as nature fights back with a new strain or plant variety.
No scientist has studied the effects a combination of chemicals has on us and the soil they are only investigated as individual applications.
9 Penicillin - A lot of extra time was going into the treatment of sick animals. The milk with holding, for example, would keep an animal out of the herd for quite a length of time. With the use of homoeopathy the risk of contaminating the vat disappears.
We are nearing the end of our second year of conversion. Our overall opinion is the cows are healthier and more contented, with a huge decrease in animal health problems. Two years ago I was drenching casmag twice a day in the spring. This season I have it down to once a day with a smaller dose. Calving has gone smoothly even though the herds overall body score is lower than we would like. We calved down 35 hiefers and 120 cows, beginning 23rd July.
At present they are producing 1.8MS/cow, and with the help of sepia, folliculum & silica, (homoeopathy) we are seeing a reasonable number of them cycling. They have done well, coming thru winter without supplements and seeing two surface floods on the 20ha, which has been a challenge.
We are adding AgriSea Animal Tonic to the dosatron @ 10mls/cow/day. The calves are looking fat & healthy. They are getting approx 8litres/day. This will be reduced gradually to 2litres/day at the 8-9 week stage, continuing this until they are twelve weeks old before weaning. They are not offered additives such as meal, only grass and good hay. I imagine their stomachs are no different to a baby’s, and the advice for humans is not to introduce solids until 6 months old, so are calves any different? Grains will alter the acidity of an animal’s stomach so are they detrimental to a young calf’s digestive system?
Animal health bill
2006 $53/cow –conventional farming/ used CIDRs |
We didn’t see any eczema or bloat in 2007. Mastitis this spring (2008) has been the least I have seen yet. The older cows do not ‘heal’ as quickly as the younger ones, but we were having similar results with antibiotics.
Somatic Cell counts
2006 139,000 av |
High somatic cell counts are indicative of poor soil health. Fulvic Acid in our fertiliser will kill the spores that cause mastitis and E-Coli.
Empty rate
2006 30 |
As we went under the organic ‘umbrella’ on November 30th 2006, after AI, we used CIDRs during that season. Natural mating was terminated January 5th. As you can see we still had 30 empty cows. October 14th 2007, we began mating to calf on the 23rd July and the Hereford bulls were taken out Christmas Day. No CIDRs allowed and we accomplished a better conception rate.
Fertilizer costs
2006 $25,795 |
With the organic Fertilizers going on we are seeing less pasture pulling and a big difference in the cow pats. They are firmer and have more fibre in them. Our girls are not getting a substantial amount of grass, but they are surprisingly content and happy.
Products used:
| 40 tonnes Environmental Fertiliser (solid mix) autumn 31 tonnes Environmental Fertiliser (solid mix) spring 2,100 L EF Bio- cal & EF fish 400 L AgriSea Soil Nutrition 500 L Fresh Sea water |
The solid fert is applied twice yearly in accordance with the reams soil test. The AgriSea Soil Nutrition is applied @ 5 litres/ha on the young stock blocks, twice a year. We are noticing better drainage as the water is not sitting on the surface as long. One of the dry stock leases is behind in fertiliser applications and over winter there was a definite difference in the water absorption.
Production comparisons: With the drought last year this is difficult to get figures for.
| 06/07 60,943 MS | 160 cows | |
| 07/08 42,981 MS | 160 cows | |
| 08/09 (to be determined) | 150 cows |
Weeds & pests: Our favourite tool is the ‘chipper’ and we top any weed while the cows are walking home. They are not a problem as we don’t let them seed. Many times I used to swear I had sprayed that same thistle or ragwort the season before, and they had obviously not died. Simply chipping the weed at the soils surface seems to stop their growth.
Crops for summer supplements: 2ha turnips plus chicory and sunflowers are sown together to be fed off 15th January This year there will be 4ha of the same mix. We found these plants compliment each other. The tall sunflower provides shade as well as drawing up the nutrients for the turnip. The chicory also draws nutrients from a deeper level.We only turn the soil once so the chicory is still there when the grass seed is under sown in the autumn.
200 bales of silage are harvested from our organic runoffs.
Conclusion: We are enjoying our new challenge which we know is beneficial to us as well as you.
Milk is a very important ingredient in our food chain and our ‘cows’ should not be under-estimated for their role on our planet. We all originated from the same star-dust so isn’t it conceivable that we all require the same nutrition?
Gavin and Sheryn Fisher – Mountain View Organics
The National Bank Country Calendar - April 14, 2007.
The Grass is Greener
In the early 1990s Te Aroha sharemilkers Gavin and Sheryn Fisher were looking for a way to secure their future in the industry.
At the time, many other would-be diary farmers were being lured south by the cheaper and greener pastures of Southland. For a fraction of the cost of Waikato farmland, they were snapping up sheep farms and converting them to dairy units. But the Fishers opted to stay in their home district. Their decision was partly social - with plans to start a family, the couple weren't keen to be too far away from friends and family networks.
The higher land prices in Waikato meant they had to continue sharemilking - and to make it work financially, they also had to keep costs down. That meant running a modest number of cows and cutting back their inputs of fertiliser and animal health remedies. As they struggled to come up with a workable plan, they found themselves constantly returning to one radical idea. "We did some research and we kept coming up with organics," says Gavin. "It just felt right."
The National Bank Country Calendar visited the Fishers' farm, Mountain View Organics. It's one of only 70 certified organic dairy farms currently supplying milk to Fonterra, the major dairy company in New Zealand.
World-wide, the organic dairy market is worth around $8 billion a year and dairy exporter Fonterra offers incentives to dairy farmers prepared to embark on the three year conversion to organic. The company says it would like to treble its number of organic suppliers.
Under the Fonterra organic scheme, Gavin and Sheryn are getting paid 20% more than conventional farmers for their milk. But for the Fishers, the extra cash is just a bonus. Gavin Fisher says economics of his farm system stacks up without the premium. In fact he chased formal organic certification only after the Fonterra scheme was introduced. Gavin believes that although attitudes to organic farming are changing in the wider community, there's still a stigma attached to it among many in the dairy sector. "We're not purists, radicals or greenies," he says. "We're not out to save the planet. But we do realise that our system has lots of positives for the environment."
Mike Chapman
One News - June 7, 2006
Farmers reaping benefits of organics
More and more New Zealand farmers are going organic. It seems clean, green agriculture is good for farmers, consumers and the environment and is a good income earner as well.
Mike Chapman is one farmer who has made the switch to organic and he is loving it. He became an organic dairy farmer almost two years ago. His cows used to feed on artificially fertilised grass, but now he uses natural fertilisers and shuns antibiotics or man-made medicines to keep his herd healthy. Chapman is milking a premium from Fonterra for his organic supply. "In simple terms for the milk that I'm supplying over winter under quota I'm getting $8 a kilo where as the conventional system the payout this year was $4.07," says Chapman.
While the business of organics is growing in New Zealand it hasn't always been that way. Commonsense Organics supermarket owner Jim Kebbell thinks it is more respectable these days than it used to be. "I remember when we started farming in 1975... just doing vegetables we were sort of thought to be rather mad hippies."
Kebbell is opening his fourth store next month. Fonterra is trying to build its organic supplies. In 2000 they had just seven farms supplying organic milk, now they have 60 and the target is more than 200.
Fonterra organics Marketing Manager Rick Carmont says the industry is currently in its infancy. "It does require some support but we're building some good success stories. "The demand is around six times our capability to deliver over the next few years," says Carmont.
Organics is one of the fastest growing markets, within the food industry, in the world. With premiums of around 100%, farmers say it is worthwhile, because it is good for the pocket. In addition, trials at Massey University prove it is good for the land and the cows.
Organic farmer Mike Moss has reduced stocking rates and his milk production has fallen by 10% but that that doesn’t bother him.
He says those slides are offset by a 10% premium paid for organic milk and the fact he is farming in harmony.
MIKE MOSS - Raglan
Natural Progression – Farming in Harmony
The conversion to an organic farming system was started four years ago. What brought about this change in thinking? I had started increasing the level of inputs such as urea and maize silage in order to maintain a higher stocking rate and boost profitability. After a couple of years it became apparent that this was not working well for me.
The physical aspects of the farm (combination of hill country and flood plane) simply did not suit the high stocking rate and I was not generating a viable return from the extra inputs. We were working harder and it seemed to me that man, beast and farm were constantly under pressure. Imbalances were being created and money was continually being spent to try to correct these.
We were boosting grass growth with urea and then having to turn around and spend money on magnesium supplementation to keep the animals on their feet. We were spending more and more on mating problems, and yet still inducing cows in the spring. Fertiliser bills were increasing, as was the use of lime to counter the acidifying effects of this fertiliser. Metabolic problems were common as was bloat and facial eczema.
In keeping with a sustainable view on life, I started looking at how to get more balance in the system, reduce stress and increase profitability. The more I looked at biological farming the more it seemed a viable option to pursue, especially given the increasing demand from the consumer for organic products.
Some of the concerns I had on starting the conversion process were weed control, animal health, mating performance, reduced stock numbers and production levels. Developing the knowledge base required for certification was a huge concern. I was nervous about loss of profitability during this time.
The biggest thing I've learnt in the last four years is that everything starts with the soil. If the soil biology is working well, and there is optimal soil health, then we will have healthy grass, healthy stock and produce a healthy product. The philosophical aspect of organics has become very important to me - the greater my understanding of biological production, the more disturbed I have become about the way modern society produces it's food.
Modern agricultural practices are often producing food that is lacking many essential minerals and vitamins, which I believe compromises our health and immune systems, and maybe contributing to a decline in overall health of our population. Instead of just treating the 'problem', we literally go back to 'grass roots' and address why the problem is there, and what imbalance may exist.
As we have improved the health of the soil, most of the issues that I was concerned about have progressively gone away or been substantially reduced. In the first years of conversion, we were largely substituting chemical remedies e.g. worm drenches for natural remedies. As we have progressed down the organic track, we have found that we have moved more from substitution to elimination.
Overall animal health has improved. Bloat, metabolic problems and facial eczema are no longer an issue. Mastitis although greatly reduced is still a challenge. For this I use homeopathy and herbal remedies with mixed success. Mating performance has improved in the years that the cows have been well fed in spring. Grubbing and pulling successfully control ragwort and thistles, and there appears to be less each year. Gorse and blackberry however are proving very difficult to control without chemicals.
I have reduced cow numbers progressively from 180 to 150 and this has worked well. Although production is lower than under my old system the extra premium and reduced costs outweigh this. Developing the skills required to farm biologically has not been easy and is an ongoing process. There is still an incredible amount to learn but I find this a particularly rewarding challenge. My main source of knowledge has been other farmers in the Organic Dairy Producers Group, reading and experimentation. The recently formed Organic Dairy Extension Service (ODES) is proving to be an excellent facilitator of discussion groups and field days (It is made up of Dexcel, Massey University, Fonterra and Organic Dairy Producers Group). There is much more knowledge and information for people coming on board now. There are some excellent workshops available, effective discussion groups to be attended, and most fertilizer companies offer a range of organic fertilizers and advice.
There is clearly a strong demand for organic produce from NZ and we need to substantially increase the level of production in order to take full advantage of the high value opportunities available. Some farmers will farm organically on the strength of their personal ideals alone. It is more likely to be a combination of a number of factors. Although many organic farms are performing more profitably than they were under the conventional system, if the industry is to achieve its goal of 240 organic suppliers in the foreseeable future, then most will only convert on the strength of adequate financial incentive and good support services.
We potentially face the threat of "polluter pays" policies and market access issues; the incentives to farm in a more sustainable manner will increase.
I don't believe large numbers of farmers will convert on the strength of current premiums alone, but they may entice those that want to make changes to start the certification process. Organic farming is certainly working for me and I am excited about the potential that exists to further increase profitability on both sides of the farm gate. By taking what many of my neighbours must have viewed as a great "step backwards' I have in fact gone forward in leaps and bounds. I have a great lifestyle on a beautiful farm that has regained its profitability. I have a truly sustainable and enjoyable farming operation that can take advantage of meeting the highest possible consumer and regulatory demands.
It has taken a while but I am finally ' farming in harmony'.
Visit the following links to view the full story.
"Natural Progression" Farming In Harmony | Organic premium covers production drop
Basic Expense Comparison
Coming soon.
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