A Central West farmer says he is saving about $17,545 in nitrogen costs on his 55-hectare sweet corn crop, and achieving three tonnes a hectare more in yields, by using non-traditional growing methods.
David Slack-Smith, who has been growing corn for 20 years on his 550-hectare Dubbo farm, “Lucernevale”, five years ago moved to focus on biological farming and biochemical sequence, which he says involves balancing soil nutrition and working with nature to get microbes to do most of the work.
“We now pay a lot of attention to trace elements and getting their ratios right,” said Mr Slack-Smith, who runs the property for his father, Bob.
“We have truckloads of lady beetles, and everybody notices it when they come on the place.”
However, it’s what’s being achieved with a system known as radionics that Mr Slack-Smith is also enthusiastic about.
He describes radionics as similar to the frequency for radio, television or mobile phones – something you can’t see, but which exists nevertheless.
Full story in The Land.
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