Edith and James Duff are beef and sheep farmers from Ballymena, Co. Antrim. Their herd consists of 100 ewes and 30 suckler beef cattle.
The farm is 80ac in size, and the Duffs also rent extra acreage close by.
In addition to the animals, James also does contract work including fencing, silage production, and baling.
Keeping costs to a minimum and increasing animal performance is essential for successful livestock production systems.
When fertiliser prices began to soar, the Duff farmers decided to try out organic fertilisers as they are cheaper than chemical fertilisers.
However, it was important to the farmers that they picked the right product to promote grass growth which is needed to support their herd.
Supersoil organic fertiliser
James heard about Supersoil through his son-in-law and was advised to try out the organic fertiliser on his farm as it performed very well.
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.
By the time James had rang the Supersoil team and made his purchase, the bag had arrived at his door within three days.
“We received it with no problem. It was very, very quick to arrive. Far handier work too,” said James.
The Duff farmers decided to take a risk with Supersoil and spread it on all of their land, including their grazing and cutting ground.
“It was the start of May before we started spraying. We sprayed it on with an ordinary sprayer, with an ordinary nozzle. It was very easy to apply.
“There was a cold spell, so we didn’t cut our first cut until the end of June. By then we were making up to 12 bales/ac.
“This was the same results I would’ve gotten with chemical fertiliser,” he added.
“The second cut, we had only let grow about four weeks and we were making five bales/ac.”
Benefits for farmers
James also noted that there is a notable difference in both the silage quality and sward productivity in comparison to previous years.
“The quality of silage was really good, both the first cut and second cut. From using Supersoil we noticed that the grass is a lot greener, there’s a thicker sward of grass.
“After the grass is grazed, the grass seems to be thicker with better bulking in it. Sometimes it looked as if you’d sown new grass seed in it.
“Our ground is definitely in better condition, even in November, the land is still looking well,” discussed James.
As Supersoil is completely organic, there are no restrictions as to when you can spread it.
Commenting on this, James said: “We had a couple of bags left and we thought about spreading them towards the end of the year, but we plan to spread it a lot earlier in the spring time instead.”
There was also a notable change in the temperament and performance of their livestock. The Duff’s also said that their lambs finished earlier and heavier than previous years.
“The cattle have been more content whenever they’re grazing and our lambs are finishing earlier than usual.
“The cattle are looking every bit as well too,” James mentioned.
The biggest impact of Supersoil for the Duffs was their cost savings in comparison to previous years.
The Duffs told Agriland that they made remarkable savings of over £4,000 (approximately €,4664.68) from making a simple switch to Supersoil.
“Last year we spent thousands on chemical fertilisers. This year we did 100ac with Supersoil and it more than halved the cost of our fertiliser spend.
“This year on our fertiliser bill, we would’ve saved £4,000 easy, so we’re really happy with the product,” James said.
Highly recommended
The Duffs are extremely happy with Supersoil’s performance and the help provided by the Supersoil team and are looking forward to putting in their Supersoil order for next year.
“We’d recommend Supersoil to anybody. I have recommended it to neighbours as it’s done really well for us.
“We’ll definitely be using it again,” confirmed James.
For more information on Supersoil, click here.
