Fertiliser Prices Continue to Rise

Conventional phosphate fertiliser prices are set to remain high apparently (up to $1,000/tonne on farm) - which can only bode well for the alternatives, such as guano and various rock phosphates, whose prices have remained steady and are now much cheaper than typical DAPs and MAPs (and are also much more nurturing to soil life and more effective!). Also remembering that using tricks such as including 2kg of humate granules improves the uptake and efficiency of any starter fertiliser allowing you to reduce your planting rates significantly. I have had many reduce their conventional starter inputs rates from 70-100kg/ha down to 30-50kg/ha without ill effect and certainly less cost. Alternatively, you can unlock phosphorus in your soil by using products like VAM-Tech or Bio-P and other wonderful microbial mixes.

And in regards to nitrogen - why not get nature to do it all for you by using nitrogen-fixing bacteria such as Twin-N or Bio-N, or even a cheap urea + humic acid foliar spray? Contact me for more information on any of these strategies.

Efficient Herbiciding

As glyphosate prices increase it is also timely to point out some simple adjuvants that can be included in the spray to help reduce cost and increase efficacy. A well cited example in biological circles is the use of fulvic acid, and I have had some growers using up to 50% less herbicide this way! In addition, reducing the pH of the spray water can improve the efficiency of glyphosate, with citric acid being a very cost-effective choice. Then lastly a good wetter/sticker can also aid the uptake of the glyphosate. I am happy to walk you through some DIY recipes - contact me.

Alternatively there are products on the market that perform all three functions in one hit - Bionutrient Solutions have their remarkably successful Stingweed, and Nutri-Tech their Herbi-Safe. I can forward on more information and organise delivery of either anywhere in Australia.

BioChar Synergies

Like organic matter or humates, pot trials are demonstrating that combining biochar with nitrogen fertiliser has a synergistic effect on plant growth, but also a range of soil quality parameters.

GM Propaganda

Wow! This is an extraordinary story about falsified science being used to promote GM crops with the authors blatantly lying about their role in it. It has now resulted in 18 UK MPs standing up and voicing their concerns. It leaves you wondering about all the other bits of information being pushed out there doesn't it?

The idea of 'sterilising' trans-genes is under investigation by CSIRO - this time using the novel concepts of epigentics and post-transcriptional gene silencing. To me there seems to be a never ending need for further artificial manipulations to limit the, essentially admitted, problems of the first manipulation - is this really progressive thinking?

Although this article has a techno-fix overtone to it, it emphasises how little is known about DNA and its expression. The first page also gives an incredibly good description of epigenics.

The recent rejection of Bt corn by EU officials has sparked the inevitable debate about whether such decisions are science based or not - but the glaring omission in the whole debate is the consumer. Even the WTO seems to be designed to 'force' trade to occur using only scientific evidence without any consideration for market demand.

And back at home, WA seems to be reaping the benefits of not lifting their moratorium of GM canola with buyers dropping Vic and NSW in favour of WA growers, all at a premium!

Labeling is Important

Even the conventional pork industry can see the merit of labeling to provide consumers with informed choice - perhaps this labeling push should go all the way through to GM and other manipulated agricultural inputs - not just home grown identification.

Babies and Carbon Emissions

I was really taken with Prof Ian Lowe's example of the effects of government policies on environmental issues. He starts by imagining what you would do if you wanted an unsustainable society - among many brilliant ideas (which past governments seem to have embraced fully) you could encourage population growth, perhaps by paying people to have babies... this new article takes it up from there.

Soil Nutrition and Carbon Sequestration

There is increasing talk that trees and other plants reach a carbon sequestration saturation point as CO2 levels increase in the atmosphere, and according to this interesting article, that would certainly be correct on nutritionally poor soils (which most are today!). By building up the nutrient profile of soils, trees apparently can sequester more CO2, though I would argue that a full mineral profile would be more important than just nitrogen inputs alone as suggested here.

Land Ownership

In response to the 'Chop a Tree A Day' campaign earlier this year where land ownership rights were questioned, a subscriber was compelled to document the history of land title to point out that modern Australian freeholders have unprecedented freedom in their management and modification of land. 'When people speak of property rights in isolation, they have rarely grasped the history of land tenure or the nature of the responsibilities historically attached to various types of land tenure.' This is a wonderful expose of how far we have come, but points out that ultimate ownership still belongs to state or crown.

Cover Crop Benefits

Although seemingly obvious, the picture accompanying this article is great. It simply highlights the benefits of rolling down a cover crop to sow in the next crop - in this case rye is rolled down to sow in soybean.

Healthy Soils for Broadacre Cropping

This is a joint government series of three workshops to help you increase your soil's health by looking at the impacts current practices have on various soil functions in northern NSW grains region. The workshop cost will include morning teas, administration, 2 soils scanned by MIR for organic matter fractions and other soil properties, two crown rot assessments on recent cereal stubble and a soil biological activity test. Expression of interest are required to set up the workshops near you. Contact Sally Muir on 02 6763 1161 or contact me and I can email through the registration form.

Sofenica - Part 21

My immediate ideas on creating a cool cupboard was to 'pipe' cold air from below and blow out warm air above, but I soon discovered a wonderful array of feature enhancing techniques that could really make the cupboard effective.

David Holmgren, of permaculture repute, claims that his cool cupboard maintains a temperature of between 5oC - 10oC throughout the year. David's house plans are attached with his cool cupboard circled in red.

Cool air is drawn in from under the house and flows up and out a vent above the roof.

This effect can be enhanced by using terracotta pipes under the house, perhaps some of it buried in soil, so that air flows past 'slightly moist' sides. The venting pipe can be painted black to help heat and draw the rising warm air.

One subscriber is even investigating drawing air in from across a body of water for its cooling effect.

Of course the pipes would need to be gauzed at each end to prevent insects climbing in. And an exhaust fan or whirly gig could be included at the top of the vent to further enhance the draw of air through the cupboard.

All up a wonderfully passive system which is likely to minimise the need for any extensive refrigeration.

Health

Pharmaceutical Protection

This is bizarre and more like a sci-fi horror film - see what you think. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have long complained that the expense of defending injury claims has slowed research into new medications and driven up costs for patients. Because the US Congress granted the Food and Drug Administration the authority to determine whether products are safe and effective, manufacturers argue that state judges and juries should not be allowed to second-guess the FDA once a product is approved for use. I.e. if you are injured by a drug, you should have no legal recourse.

And this comes on the heels of a report that raises alarm bells about the competency of the FDA in the first place.

Gardasil

All the above becomes more alarming when the stories touch you personally. I received a phonecall a few days ago from a Queensland subscriber who's daughter recently received the Gardasil vaccination and went numb immediately, ended up in a wheelchair for a couple of days and then onto crutches. She ended up missing most of her Year 12 exams and now, weeks later, is still experiencing numbness and unable to get out of bed some days. He is devastated and contacted me because he had been skimming through this newsletter and remembered that Gardasil had been mentioned a few times. I suggested that this reaction be reported, but would like to also caution you all to please please do some homework before you consider this vaccine. Fortunately this time it didn't result in death as was the case last year in Melbourne.

Meanwhile New Jersey is preparing to mandate a further 3 vaccines which will make them the first US state to require influenza vaccine for daycare and pre-school and the first US state to require meningococcal vaccine for sixth graders if approved. This would bring the required number of vaccines necessary to attend school to 35 jabs of 13 mandated vaccines!

Honey Better than Medicine

A study has reconfirmed the benefits of honey, and in this case its effect on reducing coughing in children. Interestingly the article refers to 'natural' honey hinting that they may be referring to 'raw' honey, but it is not stated specificially, which is a shame.

Codex

I am enthralled at the debate going on to determine what 'foods' can be considered safe or functional - initially only clinical trials (using human intervention) were to be accepted, but there are cries to allow human observational or epidemiological studies; animal and in vitro studies, and traditional knowledge and experience of use. I rather like the idea of allowing traditional knowledge in....surely 1000's of years of use count for something, or is that outdated and unscientific?

Bisphenol A

Its seem to be everywhere, and worryingly Bisphenol A was recently detected in every brand of liquid baby formula tested. Even though the FDA was involved in the testing it has not banned Bisphenol A, leaving it open for a baby formula spokeswomen to state "If we ever thought it posed a risk, we would change our packaging." Yet the largest specialty outdoor-goods retailer in the US, says it has decided to pull most of its polycarbonate plastic from its shelves, citing concern over possible health risks due to Bisphenol A. And although it is not in the media yet, it appears that company shareholders are also actively forcing change on more and more companies, which has resulted in other products being pulled. People power (true market force) seems to be emerging.

Definition of a Fragrance

Apparently the term 'fragrance' on personal care products can include nearly any ingredient without having to actually list the chemical, and analysis has shown that many nasties have been detected under this guise, which really dont have any direct relationship to the dictionary meaning of 'fragrance'.

Events

For all December events

For all January events

Postscript

A lawyer and a blonde woman are sitting next to each other on a long flight. The lawyer asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde is tired and just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and tries to catch a few winks.

The lawyer persists, that the game is a lot of fun. "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5; you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500."

This catches the blonde's attention; and, to keep him quiet, she agrees to play the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?"

The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches in to her purse, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.

Now, it's the blonde's turn. She asks the lawyer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?"

The lawyer uses his laptop, searches all references. He uses the Air Phone; he searches the Net and even the Library of Congress. He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows, all to no avail.

After one hour of searching he finally gives up. He wakes up the blonde and hands her $500. The blonde takes the $500 and goes back to sleep.

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes her up and asks,"Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?"

The blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5 and goes back to sleep.