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management program. Remember to include Epsom salts (magnesium MANAGEMENT BOTTOM LINE
sulfate) in your foliar program to help meet the annual needs for sulfur. You can’t let the soil put limits on the plants
Nitrogen and highly soluble salt fertilizers can stimulate a “big pile” by limiting the type, quality, or amount of for-
of low-nutrient feed, but we need to also consider energy and cow perfor- age grown; and you can’t let the cow put limits
mance on these kinds of feeds. What impact do these materials have on on the plant, either through improper grazing
soil life, root development and plant health? management or soil compaction.
You have to earn the right to reduce or eliminate nitrogen from your
fertilizer program. As a biological farmer, you can “grow” nitrogen. If Gary Zimmer heads Midwestern Bio-Ag Prod-
you set the conditions, then, in time, on most soils purchased nitrogen ucts & Services, a manufacturing and consulting
won’t be needed because the biology provides it. Healthy soil microbes company that operates on over 5,000 farms, in 15
are able to convert (fix) nitrogen from the air, which requires a microbe states with 80 consultants. He runs Otter Creek
food source such as tilled-in green manure crops, cover crops or green Organic Dairy Farm with his son and daughter
carbon. Microbiology also provides nitrogen via legume nitrogen-fixing in Wisconsin. He taught agriculture for many
nodules and legume digestion when incorporated into the soil. Healthy, years, holds a graduate degree in dairy nutri-
well-aerated soils with nutrient balance and diverse plant species naturally tion and lectures widely on the subject. He is the
have a good nitrogen-to-carbon balance. Keep in mind that calcium favors author of The Biological Farmer, and Advancing
legume production while nitrogen favors grasses. Biological Farming.

TILLAGE Rebecca Brown is a consultant in the Mid-
We believe that careful, properly timed, shallow tillage is vital. Im- Atlantic Region for Midwestern Bio-Ag. She grew
proper tillage can do severe damage to the soil structure and microbes. up on a farm, studied agriculture in college,
When major soil corrections with lime or minerals, or improvements in and has managed several grass-based livestock
soil structure are needed, how do you do that by pouring things on the direct-marketing farms. While working on dairy
surface? Sometimes you need to till to apply soil correctives and till to farms for a year in New Zealand, she realized she
re-establish pasture species. For our crop farming, we like to shallow till enjoyed sharing information with farmers. She
to incorporate nutrients and plants, and if needed, till the subsoil to loosen then spent nearly a year working and studying
compacted soils and allow deeper root growth. at Zimmer’s Otter Creek Farm before returning
Zone tillage, shallow incorporation of plants and residues, and deep to the East to become a consultant. She can be
ripping work well on many farms. We do believe that subsoiling with reached at (774) 521-6100 or brownsuffolk@
a Yeoman plow or ripper (along with deep-rooting annuals and a good hotmail.com.
fertility program) has a place on a grazing farm and does a lot to relieve
compaction, which often is a much bigger problem than realized.

WISE TRADITIONS 2010, MAKING IT ALL HAPPEN

Kathy Kramer, WAPF Office Manager, coordinated
continuing education units, and Cathy Raymond organized
food donations from dozens of farmers and artisan food
Tireless, dedicated conference coordinators producers. Cathy also organized the oatmeal bar for the
Paul and Misty Frank of PTF & Associates, Inc. Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.
68 Wise Traditions WINTER 2010 WINTER 2010 Wise Traditions

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