It seems as if your claims for your BD substances are being given short shrift by most of the list members. I guess that one of the things that you have forgotten is that many purchases that people make have an emotional component and on that score you have missed out.
You are never going to convince anyone of the merits of your system if you don't move them along the path that what you offer is better than what they are doing now. They also need to have a measure of empathy with the person trying the sales pitch.
It seems that somehow you have missed out on communicating why your deal is better.
You may get away with it in California but from Australia it sounds like another yank salesman pitch.
No one can doubt your logic with the problems deriving from frustrations in trying to get BD preps out on the land. I agree with you wholeheartedly that BD can be difficult, but those problems seem minor compared to the problems that you are digging yourself into with the claims that everybody else is wrong except for you. You obviously don't see any pluses with BD unless it is done your way. It does not really matter what others in the industry do, it is what you do that counts.
Provide the positive proof without needing to show that your ego is bigger than everybody else's and I am certain that you will get a good hearing.
I can understand your frustrations when you have slapped your opponents all over the paddock, and you have given it your best shot and it is not working and you are losing the game.. When something is not working for you it is time to review strategies..
I am not saying that your methods don't work. It is just that the method of selling it is obviously wrong. Ten years down the track and $700,000 blown and all you have is a few allies and sickness from obviously trying to go in the wrong direction. Not a pretty picture.
A little bit of empathy with others can go a long way. just try it, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Good luck
James
Hamilton Willis wrote:
Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays are neither "short-lived"
nor "overpriced" as you implied in a previous email. They have a shelf life of at least 7 years and are
less expensive to use than BD Preps.
Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays are long-lived and are inexpensive by any standard or measure.
The basic problem with BD Preps (Biodynamic Preparations) is that when the whole product and process are considered, THEY are expensive and short-lived. When carefully analyzed BD Preps, considering what you get, what you can and have to do with them to make them work, and the results that you get in terms of yield, quality and disease/insect control, they are no bargain.
The simple fact that the agriculture business in general has failed to embrace the use of BD Preps is proof that they are a total failure in the market place.
Why is this so? Here's the list of the problems, deficiencies and limitations with BD Preps:
1) To work best, BD Preps should be stirred by hand for one hour which takes time and money. 2) If stirred by machine or flow forms, they can lose up to 90% of their effectiveness. 3) Stirring machines or flow forms can cost up to $3,000. 4) After stirring, BD Preps must be applied within 3 hours for horn manure, 6 hours for horn silica. 5) After stirring, BD Preps must be filtered before they can go through the sprayer tips, a time consuming process. 6) Only enough of either prep that can be sprayed in 3 or 6 hours can be stirred at any one time limiting the amount of acreage that can be sprayed on any given day. 7) Traditional application of BD Preps requires two trips on two different days. Horn manure is sprayed in the afternoon on the first day, horn silica is sprayed on the morning of the second day. 8) Horn manure and horn silica have very specific storage requirements. 9) The shelf life of horn manure and horn silica are 1 to 5 years, if stored properly, which is difficult. 10) When applied to a field, horn manure and horn silica can radiate their effects up to 1/4 of a mile from the application site rendering side by side field trials impossible. 11) The BD Prep "kit" does not include Horn Clay which makes horn manure and horn silica work as they should and can. 12) There is no scientific evidence or record of field trials that prove that the application of BD Preps actually do ANYTHING.
Let's calculate a more accurate cost of stirring and
preparing BD Preps. Let's assume that we have a 30
acre operation and we spray horn manure at 5 gallons
per acre. You need to prepare at least 150 gallons. (Horn silica could be applied at 3 gallons per acre.) Let's assume this is performed mechanically, not
manually.
In a normal farm operation, taking everything into
consideration, the hourly labor cost is between $20
and $40, depending on who oversees the stirring. The
cost of stirring machines or flow forms, which can be
as high as $3000. They are only used one, two or
three times a year. If the life expectancy of the
mechanical stirring equipment is 10 years, that would
be a straight amortization of $300 per year or $50 per
use (if used twice each of three times a year). Electricity is not included.
Total preparation time for BD Preps is about 2 hours per stirring. The maximum amount of acres one can stir BD Preps for, at 5 gallons per acre for horn manure, is 5 or 6 acres which is 50 to 60 gallons.
Amortization cost of a tractor or ATV should be between $5 and $10 per hour. The maintenance cost should be about the same. So let's say, for the sake of argument, including gas, that it costs about $20 per hour to operate a sprayer.
The cost of BD Preps for a 30 acre farm is $218.
Then, since the life expectancy of stirred BD Preps is only 3 hours, if you have one tractor or one ATV, you would have to apply it to 10 acres per hour or at a rate of 6 minutes per acre. Even with an ATV, a difficult task at best. Tractors take much more water and about 30 to 45 minutes per acre.
Then there's clean-up time which adds another hour, a total of 3 hours for stirring, preparation and clean-up. Plus a minimum of 3 hours of spray time for a total of 6 hours, a good morning's work.
So, spraying BD Preps on 30 acres one time (two sprays - horn manure and horn silica) with an ATV for the fastest application, actually costs as follows:
BD Preps = $218 Labor - ($20 x 6) = $120 (x2 applications) = $240 Stirring Equipment = $100 Spray Equipment Cost = (6 hours x $20) = $120 (x2 applications) = $240 Sub Total = $798 Plus Overhead at 25% = 200 Total Cost for 30 acres using BD Preps = $998
Let's compare them to Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays.
Agri-Synthesis® Steiner/Willis Homeopathic Field
Sprays require no stirring, filtering, preparation
time, clean-up or exotic storage facilities saving two
hours per application. Shelf life is in "forever". The cost for 30 acres, with the distributor discount,
purchased in volume is as little as $450.
Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays are just "pour and spray".
Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays = $450 Labor - ($20 x 4) = $80 (x2 applications) = $160 Stirring Equipment = $0 Spray Equipment Cost = (4 hours x $20) = $80 (x2 applications) = $160 Sub Total = $770 Plus Overhead at 25% = $193 Total Cost for 30 acres using Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays = $963
Proving that the Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays are less expensive to use than BD Preps. As the size of the operation increases, the costs go down.
However, unlike BD Preps, Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays, use with our field management program, have proven to reduce the incidence of disease and insect problems, all but eliminating the cost of poisons and pesticides. Over the past 10 years, they have proven to increase yields and quality. When these factors are taken into account, the cost of operation on any vineyard, orchard or farm drops precipitously. We can now operate a vineyard at about $500 per acre per year, compared to the industry average of between $1500 and $3000 per acre per year.
Plus, Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays incorporate Horn Clay which has been proven, through independent testing, to make our Field Sprays work the way Steiner intended to increase yield, quality and profit while eliminating disease and insect problems.
Agri-Synthesis® Homeopathic Steiner/Willis Field Sprays have none of the deficiencies or weaknesses of BD Preps.
Agri-Synthesis® Field Sprays are your best bargain by any measure or standard.
Greg Willis Agri-Synthesis®, U.S.A. Napa, CA
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