If you find
Input costs cut into profits before the crop is harvested
OR
You have an increased energy input in the form of fertilizers and fuels
OR
The cost of inputs is rising
Then,
Legumes can help you cut costs as well as improve your profitability.
This is because there are four major elements available for free. Every plant and every animal needs:
- Carbon — from the air for plants or from food for animals
- Hydrogen — from the water
- Oxygen — from the air and the water and
- Nitrogen — from the air but only available through Nitrogen fixation through Rhizobia which fixes it in legume roots so the legume can get at it and from where it eventually makes its way into the soil.
As great plants in their own right plus being the suppliers of the fourth major element, legumes deserve special management.
If managed well, not only can legumes get ahead, they can get you ahead because they provide you with the key factors in your pasture management, livestock management and in money management.