August 2021

NEWSLETTER

Update from the team at Converte 

Optimism abounds in agriculture across Australia.  2021 is certainly a challenging time for many, but our farmers are increasingly confident of a great winter cropping season.  There are shortages of critical inputs to the Ag supply chain and urea if you can get it is over $700 a tonne.   At a national and local farm level thoughts are focused on building resilience, both to protecting assets from extreme weather events and resilience of the input supply chain.   Biological inputs can play a huge role in building this resilience by improving soil structures and soil water retention, and by enhancing the conversion of applied NPK inputs into plant available forms.   This added efficiency in nutrient conversion can both protect critical supply chains for nitrogen and phosphorus in particular and increase the profitability of the farmers operation. 

Converte have completed the Manufacturing Modernisation grant project with the Federal Government and now installed a production line for our Bio-Restore slow release pellets.  These will be availabe before the end of 2021 and bring something unique to the field of soil restoration  / soil function with an in soil re-charge capability.  

It looks like Dowerin Field Days will go ahead this month in WA and we are pleased to participate in this event for the fifth year running.  In NSW we wait to see if Henty Field days are approved to go ahead on the 21-23 September.    Later in the year we hope to head for Orange, Gunnedah and Mudgee for scheduled field days, but let's see!!

Despite the lockdowns Converte is ready to expand and we are offering employment opportunities in this growing area of biological inputs for agriculture.  We are currently looking to fill three positions in Griffith NSW, see details below.

Best Wishes to all & Stay Safe
from the team at Converte

Converte Complete NSW Government Export Program - Going Global India    

We are proud to have participated in the 2020-21 NSW Going Global Export Program, a NSW Government funded export assistance package. The package is designed to help NSW exporters recover and build sustainable international business following the impacts of COVID-19, the bushfires and drought. The NSW Going Global Export Program initiative allowed us to deepen our business export opportunities and connect to international distributors and consumers.  

John Ridley our MD said " This program is one of the best I have attended, really tailored to meeing our business needs, with practical content and a focus on meeting potential partners.  The program greatly exceeded our expectations".

Thanks to Investment NSW for the opportunity – we look forward to continuing our collaboration.

For further information:  https://www.facebook.com/investmentnsw

Building Resilience for the NPK Supply Chain

Combing Converte Seed Primer and Plantfood in cereal crops was shown to increase the enzyme Phosphatase activity in soil by 21% in the 0-10cm depth and 60% in the 10-20cm depth. The increased Phosphatase in the soil means that more of the applied Phosphorus becomes plant available, farmers can apply less and pressure is taken off this critical supply chain. This can translate to the farmer as a reduction in MAP or DAP from 120kg / ha to 50-60kg / ha per crop cycle with no loss in productivity. This is the future using the power of biology to drive the performance of chemistry. 

Nitrogen is also in short supply and experiencing rising prices, over $700 per tonne of urea.   Efficient conversion of applied nitrogen can save the farmer significant dollars and again also contribute to shoring up the supply chain for critical Ag inputs.  Overuse of nitrogen can result in nutrient leaching and contribute to reduction in abundance and activity of soil microorganisms.  This impacts nutrient availability and cycling,  impacts soil function in terms of water holding capacity and ultimately leads to a reduction in plant quality and crop yield.   

Our latest research shows strong evidence that the both our Plantfood and Seed Primer significantly increase enzymes that are associated with Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus cycling in soils.   So combined applications at low rates (250ml / ha for Plantfood Super Concentrate) can greatly improve the efficiency of applied NPK inputs.

CONVERTE Cotton Trial Harvest - Boggabri NSW

Our first cotton trial was harvested in May this year in Boggabri NSW.    Four replicated treatment rows were studied, each row being 850m long, 12 m wide and four hectares in area.  Each replicate comprised a control area, a single dose of Plantfood at 250ml / ha and a double dose of 500ml/ha.  

The addition of Converte Plantfood resulted in:

• Increased yield in single Plantfood doses (13.38 t/ha) and double doses (13.29 t/ha) compared with the control (13.12 t/ha)
• Net economic benefit ranging from $47 to $106 per hectare; 
• 12.6%  improvement in soil biological function.

Great result, there is potential to achieve further profitability on cotton by reducing NPK inputs and further supporting soil biological function. The trial did confirm that the Converte Plantfood rate of 250ml to the ha (at a cost of $15.0) is the ideal broad acre rate.   The double dose further increased soil biological activity and processes, but this would have to be carefully timed to transfer to crop yield.  

2021 looks like another good year winter cropping and we hope to gather data from our on farm trials across the country.   We are always on the look out for farmers willing to help set up field trials and monitor crop health and yield.  We have several trials in place including a Canola trial in Urana NSW which is looking at Seed Primer and Plantfood combinations and three separate wheat trials across NSW.   In WA we have a whole of farm trial in its first year and will be bringing regular updates from the west.   It's a little wet down in Victoria so we hope that spring is drier and we can see our trial progress in Victoria in our next newsletter.  Here are some recent pictures from Urana NSW with Canola, Lupins and Wheat all going well.  

New Drum Sizing's Available in Super Concentrated Product Lines - 110 Litres

Visit Converte at These Upcoming Events

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Your Converte Support Network

Julie  Vereker – Griffith, 1800 108 940, julie.vereker@converte.com.au 
Mark Vereker - Griffith 0412 420 103  Product Enquiries and Orders NSW
Grahame Routley – Narrandera / Lockhart 0428 271 550
Luke Peacock – Perth WA 0428 542 776, luke.peacock@converte.com.au

Mal Paterson - Queensland 0477 783 734

Stuart Davidson - Wagga Wagga NSW 0400 539 153

John Ridley – general business enquiries, investors and international, 0419 120 447,  john.ridley@converte.com.au

*Don't forget to follow Converte on Social Media by clicking the links below and please forward this newsletter to interested friends and family.

Employment Opportunities  Call 1800 108 940 or email info@converte.com.au for further details.

Distributors:

For those in the Central West you can buy your Converte Products at:

AgriWest Parkes 20 Clarinda Street, Parkes NSW 2870
Tel. (02) 6862 1066

Agwise Rural Supplies, 2 Naylor St, Cudal NSW 2864 Tel.  (02) 6364 2240