Pat Montgomery is a suckler beef farmer who operates a grass-based farming system on his farm in Co. Clare.
Pat’s herd from 40-50 cows, and depending on the time of the year, there are usually 125 cattle on the farm in total.
Until 13 years ago, Pat managed his family’s dairy farm. However, due to expansion limitations, land restrictions, and a desire to pursue other business interests, Pat decided to make the switch to beef production.
However, when bull-beef prices significantly dropped two years ago, Pat decided to no longer finish his cattle but to sell all of his stock as weanlings. If market prices for bull-beef improve in the future, Pat will consider finishing his bulls again.
Cutting back on chemical fertiliser costs
As with all farmers, Pat is conscious of being economical and keeping costs to a minimum – especially following this year’s unprecedented fertiliser prices.
When fertiliser costs began rising, Pat decided to move away from using expensive chemical fertilisers so he began researching organic fertilisers.
After extensive research, Pat decided to contact Supersoil and enquire about their organic fertiliser. After much thought, Pat decided to purchase Supersoil’s product.
Supersoil is an organic fertiliser made from healthy soil microbes and organic plant matter made using a cutting-edge quantum compression technique.
Supersoil is made in Ireland and is 100% pure, natural and organic. It’s also fully approved by the Irish Organic Society and suitable for worldwide use.
“I was just going to buy one bag and spread it on 10ac, but with the way things were happening with fertiliser and the war, I said I may as well do the whole lot.
“I had a very open mind. The more I got into the microbiology of it, I could see how important microbes are in the soil,” said Pat.
Doing away with chemical fertiliser
After doing research into the impact of chemicals in the soil, Pat decided it was time to turn away from chemicals and towards a more natural system.
Discussing why he chose to make the change to a more natural system, Pat said: “I felt that all of our land in Ireland was gone to a point where chemical fertiliser was like a drug. Once you stopped using it, you had nothing.
“I can say now that I have a full farming year done without buying one bag of chemical fertiliser.”
Pat was surprised at how well Supersoil performed on his grazing platform, providing noticeable changes with a consistently thick sward cover.
“My grazing platform really surprised me. I was absolutely astonished how 23 days later, the grass had grown back again in all paddocks in rotation,” said Pat.
As with every farmer, there will always be certain times of the summer when prolonged period of dry, warm weather affected grass growth.
However, Pat was pleased that he didn’t have to spend more money on chemical fertilisers to make up this lost growth.
Discussing this, Pat said: “There were stages during the year where I heard of other farmers, who were applying chemical fertiliser, that were very tight in grass.
“That was during the dry periods in summer, and while I got slightly tight on grass during that time too, at least I wasn’t spreading chemical fertiliser.
“Once the rain came back, my grass just took off and it was perfect all over again. I had a constant grass cover, great rotation.”
Less fertiliser costs
Unprecedented fertiliser costs this year pushed Pat to explore alternative fertiliser options. While Pat was sceptical at first, he is now extremely grateful that he decided to make the change when he did.
Discussing how much changing to Supersoil had reduced his farm costs, Pat said: “Last year I applied about 16.5t of chemical fertiliser, and if I was buying that this year, most fertilisers were up at €1,000/t.
“So last year, give or take, that bill would’ve been around €7,000, but this year that bill would’ve been €16,500.
“I’ve got through, what has been a difficult year for a lot of farmers without buying one bag of chemical fertiliser.
“It’s the first year I don’t have to go up to my co-op and face a big bill.
“It’s like the old saying, Supersoil did what it said on the tin.”
Low costs, low emissions
When Pat made the change to organic fertiliser, learned about the soil’s microbiome and its impact on grass growth, Pat began looking at his grassland management differently.
“The whole thing has opened up my mind to microbes and things that I wouldn’t have thought about before.
“I’ve gone places that I’d never thought I’d go with regards to mixed species, the importance of clover, and looking at everything.
“I have clover scratched into all of my silage ground, and I’ve put white clover into my grazing ground. I reseeded two fields in September with a multispecies sward,” said Pat.
Pat is now approaching the current fertiliser crisis in a positive light as he searches for new ways to naturally add nitrogen to the soil.
“I’m constantly thinking of ways to pull in the nitrogen from the atmosphere into the ground and to compliment the microbes in the soil. I think my farm looks brilliant.
“I think Supersoil is a fantastic product and will encourage worms and life back into the earth,” mentioned Pat.
‘There is a future for suckler farming’
While Pat experienced difficulties with suckler-beef production in the past, he is now looking forward to the future as he has found a way to significantly reduce his costs.
Confirming this, Pat said: “I now feel that there is a future for suckling after all, if you can cut down on your inputs.”
Not only is Pat pleased about his reduced costs, he is also delighted that he is doing his bit for his land and the environment.
Pat said: “I’m delighted that I’m doing something for my land. I feel like I’m making my land more useable, more natural and more environmentally friendly.
“It just does something to you when you can see good grass growing naturally. It certainly paid off and I’m looking forward to next year already.”
To find our more information on Supersoil, click here.
