I haven’t met a farmer yet who doesn’t want to improve disease and pest resistance in their crops and/or stock. Nor have I met a farmer who doesn’t want to lower their fertiliser rates or increase carbon in their soil and I haven’t met a farmer who doesn’t want to have healthy growing pastures or other crops.
Many farmers are starting to understand the importance of biology in improving soil health and the role soil biology plays in achieving the desired outcomes mentioned above. However, many of us are yet to fully unleash the power of IMOs – Indigenous MicroOrganisms, as the name suggests, microorganisms native to your local area.
Using a manufactured biological stimulant is one great way to increase soil biology and improve soil, plant, and animal health, but encouraging IMOs into your farming system is a long-term solution in allowing biology to do the hard yards in improving the overall health of your farming system.
Native microorganisms can outperform and outlast manufactured biological additives. IMOs are the true heavy lifters in the agricultural environment, and there are several simple DIY ways to kick start IMOs in your farming system which don’t need to cost the earth (pardon the pun!). Some of these include:
- Plant a multispecies cover crop whenever possible – look for windows of opportunity to sneak in a multispecies cover crop. Diversity is one of the best ways to feed the different microorganisms in the soil, such as bacteria, fungi, and other soil biology
- Good grazing management – keeps plants in an active growth phase which keeps plant roots releasing exudates into the soil and feeding soil biology
- Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) – brew your own native biology using rice, water, and milk to capture the native bacteria in your surroundings. Make sure you choose an area on your farm which is naturally productive and as free from human intervention as possible, ie hasn’t had fertilizer or chemical application
- IMO(1 &2) – Collect native bacteria, fungi, yeast, and other microbes from a productive area of your farm free from fungicides, pesticides, insecticides and fertilizer using boiled rice (IMO 1). Mix IMO 1 with sugar and store in a cool dark place (indefinitely), this can be used as the basis for IMO (3,4 and 5). Brew the IMO(2) with a good quality worm juice, humic acid, fish emulsion, or other biological food source and spray out a couple of times a year to increase microbiology numbers
- Liquid vermiwash – either produce your own in a worm composting system or a high-quality worm liquid can be purchased ready to apply. NutriSoil is a trusted vermiwash that contains plant-available nutrition, microbes, and plant growth-promoting properties.
- Bio-stimulants – TM Ag is one of the easiest and simplest ways to increase and stimulate native biology in the soil
Stimulating native biology is the most important thing we can do in our agricultural systems. Biology and microorganisms are the heavy lifters in improving soil health, plant health, and animal health. For more information on how you can improve your native biology please feel free to drop me a line either by email at luke@re-genfarming.com.au or call 0427138100.
Stay tuned to the Re-Gen Farming website for more videos and blogs outlining the steps to make your LAB and IMO 1&2.
