Effective Soil Aeration:
The purpose of soil aeration is to overcome soil compaction and its effects. Soil Compaction is created from heavy machinery and livestock hooves. Heavy machinery can cause compaction below the surface while soil compaction from livestock can be nearer the surface.
Water ponding: A sure sign of soil compaction.
Do you have water ponding like this after break grazing cattle? This will be a difficult area of the paddock to work with…
Topics: Cultivation, Tips, Hacks & How To's, Pasture & Crop Management, Soil Aeration & Drainage
How much more production from this spot?
You can be rest assured this farmer will be aerating the rest of his paddock in due course.
When the amount of required oxygen is lacking in the soil due to excess moisture or compaction the plant growth either slows down or stops completely, as the accumulated carbon dioxide hampers the growth of the plant roots.
“You know the feeling when you open your favourite cookies”?
I haven’t found out if sheep are colour blind or not, but one thing for sure is they have taste buds and a sense of smell and some things are obviously just plain mouth-watering to them. The owner of these sheep said that every time he lets the sheep into this paddock, that had a couple of strips soil aerated with his Rata Subsoil Aerator, the sheep head straight for their favourite spot!
Topics: Cultivation, Pasture & Crop Management, Soil Aeration & Drainage
Why should the spread rate be correct?
Why won't my spreader spread the correct rate?
Your new fertiliser spreader will come with an owners manual, that should show you the settings to adjust the aperture or flow shutter to achieve the desired rate of fertilizer application. The problem that can cause variation is that fertiliser consistency can vary between countries it's produced in and batches due to the different characteristics in each geographic area. Also often depending on how many times the fertilizer has been handled before it gets to the end user too.
How important is it to do this right?
Very important: A high-quality crop, good quality bale wrap, and top notch wrapping system will have been wasted if the bales are not stacked and stored correctly or left in an unsuitable environment.
Check out the video to see why Stratford Farms in South Canterbury use Rata Wrapped Bale Grabs to handle the 4,000 silage bales they produce every year:
Topics: Bale Handling & Storage
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