Introduction
Highland Natural, a cattle farming operation in the Southern Highlands, has transformed its soil health and livestock performance through a regenerative agriculture program featuring Worms Downunder's Worm Brew. Farmer Jimmy implemented a tailored nutrient application strategy, leveraging Worm Brew alongside complementary techniques, to achieve remarkable improvements in soil vitality, pasture quality, and cattle weight gain. This case study highlights the outcomes of Jimmy’s approach, showcasing the power of incorporating microbes with your nutrition.
Background
Jimmy aimed to enhance the productivity and sustainability of Highland Natural’s pastures. Facing challenges such as slower paddock recovery times and moderate livestock weight gains, Jimmy adopted a soil regeneration program. The microbial component of the soil recipes was Worms Downunder’s Worm Brew, a worm cast liquid concentrate rich in beneficial fungi, bacteria, protozoa, enzymes, hormones, and plant growth promoters (PGPs).
Approach
Jimmy applied two distinct Worm Brew-based recipes, applied using a 2400-liter fire tank sprayer across 4 hectares. The recipes included:
Recipe 1
- 125 L Worm Brew: Provided beneficial microbes and PGPs (Worms Downunder).
- 10 L SeaChange Liquid Kelp: Supplied minerals, amino acids, and complex sugars to feed microbes (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 10 L Aloe-Tech: Boosted fungal activity in soil and Worm Brew (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 5 L TripleTen: Delivered NPK, chelated trace elements, and PGPs (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 10 L Trio (CMB): Supplied calcium, magnesium, boron, and natural complexing agents (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
Recipe 2
- 125 L Worm Brew: Core microbial and PGP input (Worms Downunder).
- 10 L SeaChange Liquid Kelp: Enhanced microbial food source (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 10 L Aloe-Tech: Supported fungal proliferation (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 5 L K-Rich: Provided buffered potassium citrate (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 5 L Multi-Min: Supplied chelated trace elements and bio-stimulants (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 10 L Nutri-Carb-N: Added organic humates and nitrogen (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
- 5 L Shuttle Seven: Delivered seven micronutrients, saponins, and fulvic acid (Nutri-Tech Solutions).
Complementary Techniques
- Multi-species cover crops: Sourced from Downunder Covers to enhance soil structure and biodiversity.
- Topping: Cutting pasture when seed heads appeared to prevent lignification and maintain pasture quality.
Results
Jimmy’s program yielded significant improvements across multiple metrics:
Pasture Quality (Brix Levels):
- Before: Brix levels ranged from 8–10, indicating moderate sugar content in grass.
- After 4 Weeks: Brix levels averaged 21, reflecting a substantial increase in pasture nutrient density and palatability.
Paddock Recovery Times:
- Summer: Reduced from unspecified longer periods to just 35 days.
- Winter: Improved to 65–80 days, enabling more frequent grazing cycles.
Livestock Weight Gain:
- Before:
- Dry winter (5 inches of grass): 0.7–1.0 kg/day
- Summer: 1.0–1.2 kg/day.
- After:
- Summer: Averaged 1.8–2.2 kg/day, with a record gain of 2.2 kg/day.
- Achieved 750 kg (dressed) cattle finished on grass, with exceptional marbling and meat quality.
Soil Health:
- Soil testing via Nutri-Tech identified and addressed paddock-specific deficiencies, tailoring inputs for optimal results.
- Enhanced microbial activity from Worm Brew improved overall soil vitality.
Highland Natural’s experience demonstrates the importance of combining microbes with your nutrition. By integrating Worm Brew with targeted inputs and complementary practices, Jimmy achieved enhanced pasture quality, faster paddock recovery, and superior livestock performance. He reports that Worm Brew has been a big part of improving the heath of the livestock.
