A more natural way

New Zealand sourced Golden Bay Dolomite provides a reliable product supply

Sourced locally GBD is not as susceptible to price fluctuations as imported products

The GBD quarry at Mt Burnett near Collingwood is New Zealand’s only commercial source of high-quality Dolomite.
In its raw form Dolomite is a very dense rock containing 39% Magnesium carbonate and 59% calcium carbonate. GBD infrastructure allows the rock to be ground to fertiliser for horticulture, cropping, pastoral farming and animal health grades. GBD is committed to restoring the area and has undertaken significant reclamation work replanting native plants unique to the region.

Golden Bay Dolomite has the power to enrich soils

GBD is a smarter product option for magnesium and calcium

GBD is predominantly a mixture of calcium and magnesium carbonates, both of which are critical inputs for soil, plant, and animal health complementing your existing fertiliser programme whatever your production type. When acting on soils calcium loosens soil by bringing (flocculating) soil particles together increasing the air space in soils while magnesium decreases particle size causing less air space. The key is achieving the right balance between the two allowing for water, air, and nutrient movement while minimising their loss. GBD contains an excellent percentage of calcium to magnesium.

Good soil structure empowers your soils - build a house for your biology

Good soil structure that provides aeration and prevents water logging is critical for beneficial soil microbes

The positive effect of GBD on soil structure helps to provide a home for soil microbes to thrive. There are trillions of beneficial organisms that live within your soil: bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, and earthworms - it’s often said that there is as much biomass under the soil as there is above.  Beneficial microorganisms play many roles in supporting healthy production systems. The number of earthworms in the soil is an excellent visual sign of healthy soil, a good measure is having 20 worms per spade square, which equates to a rich source of worm casts and nutrients. 

Golden Bay Dolomite can help improve plant nutrient availability

Soil microbes are key in converting nutrients into plant-available forms, improving the nutrient quality of plant material and benefiting animal health

Balancing ‘good’ and ‘bad’ soil microbes

• The presence of ‘good’ beneficial soil microbes helps plant and animal health by keeping disease-causing pathogens (‘bad’ bacteria, fungi etc,) in check within the soil.

• ‘Bad’ organisms that cause ill-health in farming systems thrive in acidic and anaerobic conditions – generally the complete opposite of beneficial ones.

Golden Bay Dolomite helps build soil organic matter naturally

Feeding soil microbes have a flow-on benefit of improving the effectiveness of your applied fertiliser programme

Maintaining soil organic matter could be a significant overlooked factor determining profit. Higher organic matter can increase the nutrient and moisture-holding capacity of your soil. Excess nitrogen consumes soil carbon, causing organic matter levels to slowly but surely decline. Consequently, this lessens nutrients and moisture-holding capacity, expanding drought-prone areas which trigger a reliance on applied artificial nitrogen.

Comparatively, a more natural farming approach that builds organic matter has the potential to substantially drought-proof the soil for all production types.