Pasture management is key to producing quality pastures for Gippsland cattle trading operation, which turns over roughly 1000 head a year.
David and Ruth Read, together with Jen and Pete Ribolli manage Woodcote Pty Ltd. Along with a finely-tuned grazing management program, the managers have unlocked several other tools to improve pasture quality and quantity on their properties totaling 2000 acres east of Stratford.
The team understands minerals, a carbon source and microbes are essential ingredients for effective foliar applications on their pastures.
Mr Read said multispecies cropping has been added to the pasture program. At sowing seeds are inoculated with microbes and minerals. A liquid inject system is also used to deliver microbes, minerals and a carbon source, giving the plants a kick start.
“We use NutriSoil as our microbial source, it has proven to be consistent and reliable, providing the diversity of microbes we are after.
“NutriSoil’s worm castings are used to make our own vermicast extract, providing carbon and additional microbes,” he said.
The team have just started making their own bio ferments for plant available foliar nutrition. This will be mixed with the vermicast extract to apply to the pasture.
