Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms

The lastest HSSF newsletter is out and covers projects from all over Australia - including Grain & Graze projects and a range of soil health tools such as a ute style booklet, a soil constraint decision tree and nitrogen calculators. This following snippet from a GRDC report summary caught my attention as it reinforces the myth about bare fallow, water conservation and the role of soil biology:

On the matter of soil biota and moisture availability impacts on crop productivity, management strategies that seek to minimise cropping risk by maximising profile moisture storage (eg. long fallows) or controlling the rate of exploitation of stored soil water (eg. wide row spacings, skip row planting) have clearly detrimental impacts on soil biota.

Conversely, management strategies that enhance soil biological activity at the expense of some stored soil water (eg. short duration millet crops grown as green manures or for grain during a long bare fallow) have been shown to increase subsequent wheat yields by up to 25%. This is despite maintaining populations of key pathogens like lesion nematodes, and suggests beneficial impacts of improved background biology on crop growth and pathogen multiplication. There is a clear need to explore the interactions between moisture availability and biological activity on crop yields in these environments.

Yes indeed!

And another snippet, originally in The Australian newspaper:

A chance observation by Bristol University's Dr Chris Lowry has found that common soil-borne bacteria can lift your spirits. Tests on mice showed that the immune response to Mycobacterium vaccae induces the brain to produce serotonin. Low serotonin levels is a recognised symptom of depression.

The finding raises the prospect that when humans live in an ultra-hygienic environment they are suppressing seratonin levels which, for some people, might be at least a partial explanation for developing depression.

And perhaps explains the joy we experience playing with soil.

Biological Glues

Which leads into this interesting article about the use of a Clostridium bacteria to produce ethanol more efficiently, while also producing a super wood glue by-product that may have non-toxic applications in the plywood industry.

Fertilisers

The following spreadsheet suggests that conventional fertilisers tend to have a negative nutrient $ value relative to the more natural versions. Interestingly, natural fertilisers also provide much more than NPKS & Ca which have not even been valued in. Though to be fair, the conventional fertilisers also have add-ons too that have not been included - cadmium, lead, arsenic etc etc! What fertilisers are you choosing this season? Fertiliser Comparisons April 2007 17/04/2007,14:39 34.00 Kb

GM Crops

Oh, the arrogance. The recent independent French report indicating physiological changes in rats fed GM corn has Monsanto defending itself pathetically with statements claiming all is fine because expert authorities have already accepted it as safe (yes, maybe, but based solely on Monsanto's submission at the time and before this report come to light!), and it is already grown commercially in many countries....gosh, does really prove its safe for consumption?

Then we have little alarm bells ringing about the impact GM crops may be having on honey bees.

And now we learn about human genes going into rice - with the first unfortunate side-effect emerging with the recent unexplainable discovery of unapproved genetically engineered traits in the supposedly conventional rice Clearfield CL131. Whoops!

It all reminds me of a story apparently on SBS recently - where a supposedly very clever man designed a machine that looks rather like a tree and peforms many of its functions..... Goodness, what was wrong with the real thing! Why are we so hell bent on replicating things that are already found in nature? Its already here, free for all - or is that the problem?

Weather

The following was forwarded on indicating rainfall for northern NSW between 24th April - 1st May - in the shape of a heart - perhaps someone really does care! Apparently this forecast model is updated once or twice a day on the Agnet weather website. Agnet 17/04/2007,10:34 35.01 Kb

Health

Sunburn & Sunscreens

Conventional science is catching up again - firstly, they are proving that sun exposure is extremely important for your health and fitness, and in fact the 'slip, slop, slap' overplay is starting to be reviewed. Secondly, more evidence is coming in that sunburn, while not a desired outcome, is simply a case of free radical damage, and antioxidants, preferrably via fresh vegetables, helps alleviate the problem. As for its links to cancer....well even that is being challenged. Perhaps the extra free radicals in a nutritionally challenged sunburnt body is really the culprit! Or perhaps, as the evidence continues to mount - the very sunscreens themselves are linked to increased cancer incidences. My advice? Go natural, in moderation, and eat fresh antioxidant-rich foods.

Cancer

It is amazing how fear can be alleviated with a bit of knowledge and understanding. One book that manages to do that magnificently is 'Outsmart your Cancer ' by Tanya Harter Pierce. It overviews many alternative non-toxic treatments - which are truely eye-openers, but more importantly, through the work of many reputable scientists, including a number of Nobel Prize nominees, the workings of the cancer cell are exposed from many angles. You come out of the book knowing that you really are in full control, both in triggering the cancer via chemicals, sugars, lifestyle etc, and in removing it. I have the book for sale at $50inc + postage.

This hoax email is doing the rounds, but interestingly does seem to highlight some of the triggers outlined over and over again in alternative circles, and recently night lights have also be implicated as a trigger. The gulf between conventional and alternative treatments continues (the history of the conventional health industry is rather insightful as to why this is so) - but statistically I would place all my bets on survival with the alternatives, and while doing so, being assured in the knowledge that the process is at least 'non-toxic'. If you are one to hedge your bets, the beauty of many of these alternatives is that they can be used in combination with conventional treatments which many mainstream doctors now admit can hasten recovery and minimise pain (not from the cancer, but from the treatment that is!).

This film, which unfortunately stops just as the real story unfolds, highlights the absurb reasoning for banning alternative treatments and taking away individuals right to choice. And in our own backyard, the story of Perth-based Dr Holt continues.

Events

For events in April 2007

For events in May 2007

Soil Health Workshop - Western Downs Qld 26th April 2007.

Understanding Farm Financial Statements and Financing the Farm free workshop - Moree NSW 1st May 2007. Financial Skills Moree & Narrabri 17/04/2007,16:41 48.54 Kb

Understanding Farm Financial Statements free workshop - Narrabri NSW 2nd May 2007.

Ready, Set, GROW...Positioning CQ Grain Farming Systems for the Future - Emerald Qld 24th - 25th July 2007.

Postscript

A story from a secretary....

A co-worker got a pen stuck inside our printer. He started to try and remove the pen, but I told him we don't have time for that now, just put a note on the printer telling people not to use it and then report it to the Help Desk. So he grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled on it. I left before he finished the note. About 20 minutes later, one of my colleagues comes in laughing and says she was just in the lobby, saw a piece of paper on a printer and went to investigate. Attached is what she found. Sometimes things don't always come out the way you want them to! Note on printer 17/04/2007,16:57 33.83 Kb