Italian ryegrass is used as a break between the legume mixes. Like Beetham Pastural, often they use broadcast establishment from truck or helicopter in spring, but “almost always direct drill in autumn”.
Over the past five years, 270ha of the 615ha effective property has gone into high-quality forage primarily for lamb and cattle finishing.
Lambs from a 2500-ewe flying flock – see sidebar below – are weaned at 55-75 days with the ewes culled late in November.
Their 3750-odd lambs are finished along with 3000-4000 summer trade lambs and 3000-6000 autumn trade lambs, half of which are wintered.
With the help of an auto drafter, lighter lambs start on hill country at the back of the property, move on to plantain and clover and finish on the red clover.
“The red clover is a step above in terms of its ability to put weight on stock. It’s 20% over plantain and clover – if we’re doing 270g a day on plantain and clover, the red clover will be at 320g a day and there are phases where it genuinely does 400g-plus a day.”
While it can be “touchy to establish” and requires “a bit of faith, particularly in the first winter”, they’ve also found it’s lasting longer than anticipated.
“We went into it thinking it would be a one-year crop, then it rolled into a two-year and our oldest paddock is four years now.
Ngahere Agriculture managing director Andrew Freeman in red and annual clover.
