Liquid Fish Boosts Soil Fertility, Yields

2003 - Volume #27, Issue #5, Page #11

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Everything but the filet is what Kurt Dramm says he puts into his Liquid Fish Fertilizer. Plants don't seem to mind if they don't get the choice cuts. They love the stuff.
Customers report dramatic increases in soil nutrient availability, healthier plants and enhanced disease immunity. Even bugs appear less attracted to treated plants.
"We had a test garden behind our plant last year, and the grasshoppers were all over the path, but not in the garden," recalls Dramm. "Customers have told us that soybean aphids don't invade fields fed with liquid fish, but are all over the neighbor's fields."
Farmer running test plots have shown a 15 percent increase in protein levels in treated alfalfa and a 4-ton increase in sugar beets. Even more important to a sugar beet producer is a 1 percent increase in sugar content. A $10 to $12 per acre treatment increased the net by $200 per acre.
Dramm gets his fish parts from commercial fishermen on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Unlike fish emulsions, which are heat processed and often involve removal of oils and proteins for industrial uses, Dramm uses a cold process and removes nothing. The fish are ground, allowing the natural enzymes in the fish to digest the flesh and liquefy it. During 3 to 4 months of fermentation, the bones are also liquefied into a readily absorbable form of calcium.
Once fully fermented, the liquid fish is screened and prepared for shipping. Xanthan gum is added to keep the oils from separating. Phosphates are added to keep the bacteria from destabilizing it, and a color stabilizer is also added. Drammatic Liquid Fish Fertilizer is shipped in 5-gal. ($51.30) and 55-gal. ($234) amounts for small gardeners and greenhouses and in 250 and 5,000-gal. lots for larger growers. It is also available with liquid kelp for added micronutrients and soil conditioning.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kurt Dramm, Dramm Corporation, 2000 North 18th Street, Manitowoc, Wis. 54220 (ph 800 258-0848; fax 920 684-4499; email: fish@dramm.com; website: fishfertilizer. com).

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Liquid Fish Boosts Soil Fertility, Yields CROPS Miscellaneous 27-5-11 Everything but the filet is what Kurt Dramm says he puts into his Liquid Fish Fertilizer. Plants don't seem to mind if they don't get the choice cuts. They love the stuff. Customers report dramatic increases in soil nutrient availability, healthier plants and enhanced disease immunity. Even bugs appear less attracted to treated plants. "We had a test garden behind our plant last year, and the grasshoppers were all over the path, but not in the garden," recalls Dramm. "Customers have told us that soybean aphids don't invade fields fed with liquid fish, but are all over the neighbor's fields." Farmer running test plots have shown a 15 percent increase in protein levels in treated alfalfa and a 4-ton increase in sugar beets. Even more important to a sugar beet producer is a 1 percent increase in sugar content. A $10 to $12 per acre treatment increased the net by $200 per acre. Dramm gets his fish parts from commercial fishermen on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Unlike fish emulsions, which are heat processed and often involve removal of oils and proteins for industrial uses, Dramm uses a cold process and removes nothing. The fish are ground, allowing the natural enzymes in the fish to digest the flesh and liquefy it. During 3 to 4 months of fermentation, the bones are also liquefied into a readily absorbable form of calcium. Once fully fermented, the liquid fish is screened and prepared for shipping. Xanthan gum is added to keep the oils from separating. Phosphates are added to keep the bacteria from destabilizing it, and a color stabilizer is also added. Drammatic Liquid Fish Fertilizer is shipped in 5-gal. ($51.30) and 55-gal. ($234) amounts for small gardeners and greenhouses and in 250 and 5,000-gal. lots for larger growers. It is also available with liquid kelp for added micronutrients and soil conditioning. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kurt Dramm, Dramm Corporation, 2000 North 18th Street, Manitowoc, Wis. 54220 (ph 800 258-0848; fax 920 684-4499; email: fish@dramm.com; website: fishfertilizer. com).

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