Savvy growers want to know how they can get more out of their soil and biomass post harvest, and reduce input costs.
The plant and soil experts at Brookside Agra have developed a unique Digester Program that utilizes its natural products H2OExcel and Advanced Bio Pro to return 20-30% of valuable biomass nutrients back into the soil, therefore reducing the amount of nutrients growers would need to apply in the spring.
When using Brookside Agra's Digester Program that contains a biological combined with the components that support beneficial microbes and bacteria in the soil, growers should see a fairly quick response, said Ben Elliott, Soil and Plant Nutrition Specialist with Insight Bio Ag, LLC. The goal is to break down the biomass to make it easier to handle the following spring, and return as much of its stored nutrients back into the soil in the forms that are stable and can be utilized for the next crop.
"In the fields that I monitor, if we just let the biomass lay, there is only about 2% of the measured nutrients that can be returned to the soil. Where nitrogen is added, that number only goes up to about 6%," said Elliott. "The value of the nutrients released compared to the cost of the nitrogen and the labor generally does not pay anything back."
If using a biological alone, the process can still be slow and of little effect, said Elliott. It is important to remember that biologicals function according to environmental factors like temperature and moisture. If a biological is applied alone, it may only have species that respond to those environmental factors present in the soil when they are applied. The key to a successful digester program is getting as many biologicals in the sprayer as possible and giving them the food they need to multiply rapidly.
Initiating practices like Brookside Agra's Digester Program and using products like H2OExcel is a great way to actively start adapting soil health methods and working toward a better understanding of soil, inputs and yields, said Elliott.
For more information about starting a fall Digester Program and our customizable Digester ROI Calculator, contact Tony Arro, Brookside Agra Director of Sales - Specialty Products, at 618-628-8300 ext. 24 or tony.arro@brookside-agra.com.