The spring-like conditions were welcomed, especially by farmers doing the maths and realising they didn’t have enough grass or feed crop to get through the winter. Farms visited by Country-Wide writers had just about every blade of grass eaten.
Farmers with good management skills have done a good job of stretching the feed. Others engaged in dairy support were pleasantly surprised to see surplus feed after the cows had returned home. It is testimony to the growth which had taken place since the crop assessment was made.
This issue of Heartland Agronomy is all about making lemonade from lemons like adverse weather or product prices without getting squirted in the eye.
Finding the right cultivars for your farm and maximising their use is covered in our sections on analysis and pastures. In a survey we asked our readers what forage cultivars worked and didn’t work. Their feedback is on pages 10 and 11. In the pasture diary section (p22) farmers update us on how the paddocks have fared since last year. See also our pasture section (p44) and cultivar guide (p97) on what the options are for sowing down permanent pastures this spring or next autumn.
A great skill to have is being able to feed budget. This year we created a budgeting section which covers pasture and cropping. Read how to measure a feed crop and allocate it. There is advice on feed budgeting and a new online product which is described as the ultimate farm diary and benchmarking tool (p78).
The Beef Returns Improvement Group farmers in the Rangitikei region faced record drought and snowfall this year. Find out what strategies they used to help them survive the winter and to set the farm up for the spring (p82). Also in the utilisation section read how shifting ewes every four days has been shown to improve pasture regrowth rates and reduce pugging (p83).
Irrigation is attracting widespread interest and we look at opportunities in both islands. It is not cheap but farmer Hugh Ritchie says having irrigation gives him access to contracts for high-value crops which result in a greater per hectare return.
Heartland Agronomy would not be possible without the support of Beef +Lamb New Zealand, the Foundation for Arable Research, and Rural Contractors NZ. The Country-Wide, Dairy Exporter and NZX Agri teams have done a great job of putting this together and I’m sure you will enjoy the read.
