From

Location

Message

Date Posted

bliss,n.y.- heart of Wyoming County

"I came from a background that has nothing to do with farming," Wetzel said. "So I don't know the do's and don'ts. I don't have any relatives that would say, 'You can't do that.' So I just kind of did what felt right."



One day, he noticed that his cows favored that patch of field. The grass felt more supple and looked healthier and more dense in that area.

He eventually contacted Terry Gompert, a University of Nebraska Extension educator who specializes in holistic land management. Gompert arranged to have researchers test the milk hypothesis.

After 45 days, they found that the plots treated with milk grew about 1,100 more pounds of grass per acre than untreated plots, a 26 percent increase in yield. Also, the soil had a greater "porosity" or ability to absorb water and air.


Gompert stressed that much more research needs to be done. He said the findings make sense because milk is food for the bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes in healthy soil.

"Our unfair advantage is getting the microbes to work for us," Gompert said. The milk "is just feeding the workers."

Many of the participants at the conference on Thursday and Friday said they may give milk a try.

"When you start spraying milk on your fields, you're going to be thought of as a fool," said Larry Sansom, a cattle farmer from Kentucky who drove six hours to learn about the method. "But I guess you've got to hold your nose and jump."

1/3/2011 3:10:59 PM

Dorval,Quebec

I won't be so annoyed when it rains and washes off my 10%milk solution for PM,lol...

1/3/2011 3:57:54 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

perhaps the milk was helping with disease pressure and the cattle can detect the taste or nutritional diffence between the regular and more healthy grasses. not surprising that increased resistance to things like pm would increase overall yield.

1/3/2011 4:52:33 PM

Adams County

maybe just the added moisture made the grass grow better ? milk is water to a point.

1/3/2011 7:41:05 PM

Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia

"Our unfair advantage is getting the microbes to work for us," Gompert said. The milk "is just feeding the workers."

Thats the secret nothing more and nothing less.

1/3/2011 8:49:03 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

They do this in wisconsin all the time...the sodium content builds up quickly from the whey

1/4/2011 8:45:54 AM