Milk and fish oil as fertilizer for pastures

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Jacob

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I know this is way out in left field but has anyone used raw milk or fish oil as a fertilizer? If so what has been the result? I'm looking at doing a test plot just to see what happens. Everything I'm reading shows it might be worth a try. I am wanting to get more dung beetles on the farm because my research is they can do amazing things when it comes to healthy pastures.
 
umm.. call me old school but I will stick to manure or regular fertilizer. Just out of curiosity where would you get enough fish oil and milk to really spray a large area? How would you apply that mess ? I personally wouldn't stick that stuff in any sprayer of mine.
 
Drink the milk and take the fish oil. What ever you do don't waste the milk. Never heard of using it for fertilizer. Seems expensive to use that way.
 
I had the same reaction. What I am seeing is 2 gallons of raw milk which is $12.00 with 18 gallons of water so you would spray just like any other chemical. I am still researching the fish oil.
 
It would be intersting to know how much N, P and Kthere is in 2 gallons of milk
 
I am not so sure it will work either that is the reason I asked the question and the reason I am going to do a test plot first. If it works it could be cheap fertilizer
 
Raw milk is 6 bucks/gal?

It would be cheaper to buy the watered down version at a store and just spray it--not that I think it would work. Ants and flies will love it tho once it curdles in the sun.
 
greybeard":9qyvykyi said:
Raw milk is 6 bucks/gal?

It would be cheaper to buy the watered down version at a store and just spray it--not that I think it would work. Ants and flies will love it tho once it curdles in the sun.
Click to expand...

21 BUCKS per hundred pounds. Gal I work with has a dairy.

By the way, I've never found a way to increase my dung beetle activity. I'm not even sure I HAVE any dung beetles.
 
I don't think it should be called a fertiliser. I think it would work more as a biostimulant, feeding micro organisms in the soil. Molasses sprayed onto pasture works in a similar way.
Ken
 
My husband has been spraying our extra milk on one pasture. We've been dragging a flexible harrow monthly to scatter the mature. We can see a difference in the areas that he has sprayed. It is not a fertilizer but is a biostimulate like wbvs28 mentioned. We have a friend who has a sustainable truck farm (sells at the Farmer's Markets in Houston). He sprays molasses and uses compost and manure as fertilizer. It really makes a difference in how the manure breaks down and how the plants can utilize it.

The milk is diluted so that it is absorbed into the soil. There isn't anything to curdle and it does not attract flies.

Milk sold at the grocery stores is not watered down. After it has been delivered to the processor and tested, it undergoes pasteurization, homogenization, separation and further processing. For "whole milk," the cream is added until the fat content reaches 3.25%, "low fat milk," the fat content is 1% , "skim milk" (nonfat milk) the fat content is 1/2 %. That is why it looks watered down. It doesn't have hardly any cream in it.
 
Talked to a person about 5 years ago that had a dairy near a cheese making facility. They got the whey which was what is left after the cheese was made and put it on their fields. They said you would not believe the worms they had in their soil, said it was the best thing you could put on to make grass grow. I do not know how much they put on. It's great that you try new things, that's how we learn. Please keep us posted on the rates you put on and the grass growth rate, worm count etc. compared to an untreated plot.
 
Chippie,

How long have yall been doing this? And yes I guess its not as much fertilizing as feeding the micobes in the soil which is what is so intresting to me. Based from my research its best to use Raw milk becuase it has not went throught the pasteurization, homogenization process which brakes down some microbes. The plan is to build up the soils organic matter which will enhance the dung beetle and earth worm population which in turn helps the overall pasture. They only way I see this working is you must do intensive rotational grazing or even Mob grazing to help evenly spread the manure across each field.

Check out this article

http://wordinfo.info/unit/3575

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news...cle_a0b2ab6b-5e62-59d8-b771-00128889af1a.html
 
We started this earlier this year and saw a difference in a month. We have a milk cow so the milk is raw. We used to run it out in a pasture in one spot. Good grief, the Jiggs in the area where the milk drained took off. It is tall, dark green and lush. That is when we decided to save it to spray on the pastures. I want to start spraying our garden with it soon. I have some raised beds that it will help.

We have dung beetles in our pastures too. I like them : )
 
chippie":frdzzlt3 said:
Milk sold at the grocery stores is not watered down. After it has been delivered to the processor and tested, it undergoes pasteurization, homogenization, separation and further processing. For "whole milk," the cream is added until the fat content reaches 3.25%, "low fat milk," the fat content is 1% , "skim milk" (nonfat milk) the fat content is 1/2 %. That is why it looks watered down. It doesn't have hardly any cream in it.
Click to expand...

Always amazed me that the dairyman pays a penalty if his milk does not have 3.5% butterfat, yet the retailed consider 3.25% as "whole milk". Ridiculous.......Our fat often was over 4% and yes it is sucked off and sold as cream and butter at much higher prices. Processed milk has zero taste, no texture and I would argue that skim milk is basically little more than colored water. BTW milk does contain protein which is nitrogen.
 
Texasbred, I agree. But the retailer wants that cream to sell for other things. I do not like skim milk at all. I like cream : )
 
There are of course many ways to feed the soil microbes, my favourite way is manure. One does not have to add manure, it is also possible to add nitrogen to boost grass growth, then have cattle graze it. They will put the manure where it belongs, thus improving the soil.
Only way to feed dung beetles is with more dung. (stating the obvious)
 

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