Correct your Calcium Magnesium

Dryland cropping farmer Tom Rudge farms on the fertile mid-Canterbury plains between Rakaia and Methven. There are two predominant soil types on the property, a well-draining deep Templeton silt loam and a Lismore shallow silt loam. Nestled between the foothills of Mount Hutt and the coast, the annual temperature is 9.2 degrees with an annual rainfall of 967mm. The area experiences dramatic extremities with short, cold winters and occasional snowfall, switching to drought-prone conditions in the early summer months. 

Tom specialises in an intensive crop rotation that consists of consecutive cereal crops, wheat, and barley, followed by a grass fallow period before returning to the cereal rotation, a cycle that is reliant on high nutrient inputs. Seven years ago, Tom become frustrated with their traditional NPKS approach as they were seeing the same issues paired with underperforming crop yields year-on-year. 

The turning point came after Tom attended Neal Kinsey’s introductory soils course, summarising American scientist William Albrecht’s work. This was revolutionary as it not only focused on the volume of different elements present in the soil profile but the relationship between them. The research resonated with Tom’s willingness to try an alternative soil science, and they haven’t looked back. Over the seven years since switching approaches, they have observed: