Happy 2024, I hope the Christmas New Year holiday saw you find some time to relax with family and catch up after a busy 2023.
I find that the New Year is always a great time to set intentions and start planning to ensure a successful year ahead. Your intentions can be used to guide you to stay motivated and focused to ensure your own personal well-being. Mindfulness and clear thinking always helps when planning, which is part of running a ‘well oiled’ enterprise.
WEATHER 2024 – The sixty-million-dollar question that not even the weather bureaus can get predict. The unseasonal wet summer was not predicted however as we all say, ‘any rain is good rain’. The 12-month Rainfall Forecast predicts reasonable rain with a dry May, August, September, & October. My thinking or trying to get my head around the weather is ‘always be prepared’, keep ground covered, monitor pasture availability, monitor livestock carrying capacity. Remember for every 1% increase in Organic Carbon, each hectare holds 160,000 litres of extra water. How critical it is that we build soil organic carbon to ensure productivity.
2024 ORDERS – Well done to all the early birds for getting their orders in before the Christmas break. We always endeavour to deliver orders on time however the list is growing long so it is imperative to do your ‘planning’ early to ensure timely delivery.
SUMMER WEEDS – With the extra pasture growth also comes weeds particularly if there are soil constraints. Attached is a table setting out Local Weeds and Conditions in which they grow. I am sure you will agree that paddocks that have low humus levels (Organic Carbon) are tighter and grow the tap rooted type weeds. Another calling card for weeds is bare ground, just have a look around the countryside and that is easy to pick. Keeping soils physically, chemically, and microbially balanced, will alleviate many of these pesty weeds.
Please click here for the Weed Indicator and Soil Conditions graph
MILGADARA SOIL CARBON PROJECT - It is now two years since we did the Base Line Soil Testing on Milgadara and what an incredible two years we have had.
Australian Soil Management are coming on January 23 and 24 to do some annual soil testing to 30 cm to see how our soil carbon levels are growing. Over the past two years we have adopted new (EMA’s) Eligible Management Activities.
We have also incorporated the use of more Multi-species Cover Cropping, Roller Crimping, Tow and Fert Liquid Applications on top of our Compost Mineral Blends, Germinate Plus and Extracted Humus Compost Tea.
As I mentioned in our Christmas Newsletter it is about Synergistic Stacking to achieve long term results.
AUSTRALIAN SOIL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION & FIELD DAY – Wednesday April 10 2024
Should I, shouldn’t I, what are the risks, are they a hoax, who should I sign up with, am I eligible, will I make money, will I own my project, is it all a farce😊 Are your thinking of signing up for a soil carbon projection on your farm but have 1001 questions that no one has been able to answer, I can understand. Pencil in Wednesday April 10 2024 for the ASM Information Day & Field Day at Cootamundra to get all your questions answered. More information will be sent closer to the date.
SOIL TESTING
With soils nice and soft now is the best time to be taking your soil tests to get them in before the rush. Please call the office to ensure you get the YLAD Living Soils Test Kit so you get free graphing up, the three pools of nutrients testing and free interpretation.
A beautiful testimonial from our Customer Deb Gray, ‘Upon seeking YLAD Living Soils’ assistance, my property languished in a state of lifelessness with soils that were underperforming. With the application of a Compost Mineral Blend and in-depth scientific knowledge of soils, Rhonda created a remarkable turnaround. Transitioning to a more lucrative environment only solidified my confidence in YLAD Living Soils and Rhonda’s ability to optimise the health of my property’.
With now 22 years of experience behind us, ensure you move forward with the best recommendations to ensure your success.
Wishing you a very fruitful, happy 2024, and we look forward to working with you to build healthy living soils.
Best wishes
Rhonda