Farmlands Plan 365 May 2015

RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE NUTRITION FORAGE AND ARABLE HORTICULTURE ANIMAL MANAGEMENT DAIRY MANAGEMENT

Plan 365 is a technical guide aimed at helping shareholders learn about best practice and the latest advancements in rural technology.

Which treatment is best for my ewes pre-lamb?

There are a lot of different products on the market for pre-lamb treatment, so how do you go about choosing the right product for your operation?

Not one particular product is going to suit all your needs. By scanning your ewes, you can divide them up into groups with different needs.

Normally you would have two groups, singles or multiple bearing ewes. These can be divided further based on condition score, into good condition ewes and poor condition ewes. So you will have single bearing ewes that are in good condition. These ewes don’t need any treatment at all really. They can get away with a 5in1 vaccine only. It is good not to treat some ewes on your farm, as this will give the opportunity to slow down the development of resistance to anthelmintics.

The second group of ewes will be your single ewes that are in poor condition, which could be set stocked heavier. These ewes will need some help to get them over that feed pinch, so you could either use a very short acting treatment at docking or give them a persistent acting product such as Eweguard ®, a 6in1 vaccine and persistent acting wormer, to help get them through the lambing period. With the multiple ewes, you will have poor conditioned twin ewes. They are going to be the group on the farm that will get the maximum benefit from

treating pre-lamb. These ewes have twins in them so by using a long acting product like Cydectin® Long Acting Injection for Sheep, to give maximum parasite protection, you’ll get also the most cost effective return.

The final group of ewes is your twin ewes that are in good condition. They are a difficult mob to decide what to treat with and that decision will probably depend on other factors, for example withholding time. If you have a terminal mob of ewes, which you’re going to have to wean and get straight to the works, you don’t want a long withholding time on those ewes, so you may choose a shorter acting product. The other factors to consider would be how much time you’ve got, how much labour you’ve got and what your facilities are like. If time and labour are limited then you’re probably better going with an injectable product like

Cydectin® Long Acting Injection for Sheep rather than a capsule. In summary, one particular product is not ideal for all your ewes. We need to break the ewes down into groups — ideally if you’re scanning into singles and twins — and then break them down again by condition score into poor and good conditioned ewes. From there, use the most effective treatment that will meet the requirements for those particular groups.

Medium acting drenches include: Cydectin® Oral Drench for Sheep, Eweguard ®, or Cydectin® Injection for Cattle and Sheep.

Long acting drenches include: Cydectin® Long Acting Injection for Sheep.

For further information, talk to one of the friendly staff at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Zoetis.

NAIT and EID — what’s in it for me?

NAIT compliance for cattle and deer can be achieved extremely easily. Many farmers are now taking the next step and using Electronic Identification (EID) tags for improved farm management and bottom line.

NAIT basics

All cattle and deer are required to be tagged with NAIT approved EID ear tags before 6 months of age and before leaving the property where they were born. Animals are required to be registered with NAIT within 1 week of tagging. Any movements off-farm also need to be recorded.

Simple transfer of animal movement records

While movements through saleyards and abattoirs are being recorded for farmers by the companies concerned, with the right reader and an Android smartphone, compliance can also be very simply achieved for private sales, grazers and lease bulls. All Gallagher EID tag reader models are compatible with Gallagher’s free Animal Data Transfer Android smartphone app, enabling animal registration and movement recording from right there in the yard.

Collect more than just numbers

With its large colour screen and alpha numeric keypad, Gallagher’s flagship HR5 Hand Held EID Tag Reader is an incredibly powerful, portable data collection and editing platform, providing flexibility right there in the

yard. Farmers can record sex, breed, treatment events and mob details, as well as animal notes and observations that reappear automatically the next time the animal is scanned. The recorded information can also be easily shared with the farmer’s weigh scale, so the same information is available during weighing sessions.

Add weighing for increased profitability

Add weighing to EID and farmers can evaluate farm management decisions right down to an individual animal level with significant profitability benefits. Some of the activities being managed using weighing and EID technology include:

• Optimising target weights and timing for sale/slaughter for best financial return.

• Determining what animal breeds/ suppliers perform the best.

• Identifying what crops provide the best weight gain and return on investment.

• Managing culling decisions for breeding herds.

• Managing dairy and beef replacement heifer growth rates for breeding performance.

The Gallagher TSi 2 Livestock Manager is the world’s leading weigh scale for data collection and analysis. The only full colour touchscreen scale on the market, it enables animals to be drafted by EID number or weight. It also shows on the fly weight gain history as well as immediate access to all individual animal records, whether it be in the yard or in the office using Gallagher’s market leading Animal Performance Software.

For more information on NAIT, please visit the NAIT website www.nait.co.nz and speak with someone at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Gallagher.

Winter lice treatment – do it once, do it right

You may think lice look harmless but don’t be fooled. Clinical infestations of lice will significantly reduce wool yield and quality from rubbing, plus pelts can be damaged from cockle, a hypersensitivity reaction to lice.

Insecticides have been front and centre in the effort to control lice infestations. However, many chemicals have come and gone as lice have become resistant to these actives or the method of application has become tedious and costly. This is especially true with many of the run through systems, which give good cover over the back where flies strike but limited cover to the underside of sheep, where lice are quite happy to hide until chemical levels subside. Pouron formulations give more accurate dosing and are easy to apply with no costly equipment. More importantly, combination pour-on formulations with accurate dosage and effective application will slow the development of lice resistance where other single actives have become obsolete.

Today we still have a combination pour-on product containing triflumuron and imidacloprid, two highly specific lice actives with different modes of activity. Imidacloprid has a rapid knockdown by killing on contact all stages of the lice lifecycle, except the eggs (see figure 1). Triflumuron kills at the three moulting stages plus has a residual action like all insect growth regulators (IGR), which prevents reinfection and the normal winter population build-up. Together this combination provides long-term protection, with excellent knockdown.

Figure 1. Lice Lifecycle

Treatment times need to factor in many variables, including stock class, length of wool, equipment and labour required, weather and withholding periods. Make sure you treat sheep as per label instructions, always basing your dose rate on the heaviest sheep in the mob. Frequently check your applicator dose, to make sure you are applying the correct quantity. It is also good to use a product that contains a scourable dye, allowing you to easily identify those treated in the mob, retreating any you think you may have missed.

You should also employ key practices to assist in controlling lice. Ensure you have a clean muster, treating all stock at the same time. If you are not then make sure treated and untreated mobs are kept separate for at least 4 weeks following treatment.

Using these techniques and an effective combination product with triflumuron and imidacloprid means you can do the job once and know you have done it right.

Article supplied by Bayer.

Options increasing for sheep farmers

Innovations and technology are increasing the options for both lifestyle and commercial sheep farmers, to help counter the uncertainty of the seasons and maximise the profitability from the genetic potential of stock.

If you have pursued other options –including re-seeded and fertilising, growing alternative forage crops and intensive drenching for parasites – you may wish to consider supplementary feeding to close the apparently widening gap between scanning percentages and the number of lambs tailed. The greatest pre-weaning lamb weights come from ewes that start lactation in the greatest body condition score and lose the most BCS. This suggests that good nutrition for ewes with a genetic predisposition to divert nutrients into milk production can increase the weight and/or earliness of finished lambs. Early finished lambs typically receive a price premium in November but more importantly reduce feed requirements if conditions turn dry, or may even allow the buying-in of additional lambs or provide dairy support if pasture growth is better than expected. With an increasing array of supplements, from free access mineralised feed blocks through to grain, straights and compound feeds available, the options have never been as good. The rewards are greatest if targeted at the animals that need it most – thin or triplet bearing ewes, whilst avoiding over-feeding ewes with single lambs, which can become overweight.

Pre-lambing feeding has a major impact on lamb birth weights, lamb survival, lamb growth rates, the ewe’s mothering ability and even immunity to parasites and resistance to diseases including sleepy sickness and milk fever. The conceptus (embryo) takes up a lot of abdominal space, which compresses the rumen and therefore reduces the feed intake. This is especially true for bulky, slower digesting feeds like baleage, silage and hay, or feeds with a low dry matter content (e.g. below 15 percent). Pelleted feed provides energy and protein, without being bulky and limiting intake. Grains and straights can be considered but lack some essential minerals, trace elements and vitamins, or in the case of palm kernel expeller contain too much copper, which limits how much can be fed and for how long. Products in the Reliance Sheep Range contain nutritional levels of a wide range of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. For high performing ewes

with triplets or twins, the Reliance Triplet Nut has been developed in the past in co-operation with the researchers at Invermay. In addition to readily available energy minerals and vitamins, Triplet Nuts contains a high level of quality protein, which supports the unborn lamb and its mother and also results in more colostrum early on, which is crucial for the survival of triplet and twin lambs. Pellet feeding in troughs or as nuts on the ground has always been easier for lifestyle farmers or those with smaller commercial flocks, because mismothering has always been a problem when supplementary feeding large flocks at lambing. The increasing use of controlled delivery, free access feeders offers the potential to continue feeding post-lambing, even with large flocks, as recently lambed ewes are not distracted by daily feeding.

Article supplied by Dr. Rob Derrick, Nutritionist, Farmlands Nutrition.

More dairy farmers than ever turning to phosphorus

Once considered the forgotten mineral in New Zealand livestock nutrition, the increasing use of fodder beet (and to a lesser extent wholecrop silages) is encouraging dairy farmers to consider supplementing diets with phosphorus (P).

P makes up about 29 percent of the total minerals in the body and whilst being essential for the formation of bones, it is especially concentrated in red blood cells, muscle and nerve tissues. A P deficiency can cause poor appetite, reproductive failure and severe deficiency can lead to rickets (in young animals) or osteomalacia (in older animals). Metabolic issues are increasingly being reported in early lactation, with alert downer cows that respond poorly to normal calcium and magnesium treatment – a condition called post parturient haemoglobinuria. It is thought that cows deficient in P develop a craving for it, which can appear as a depraved appetite (chewing of wood and rocks). The P content in forages is largely determined

by the P and pH status of the soil, stage of maturity of the plant (P declines as crops mature and is lower in cereal wholecrop, maize silage and hay than young pasture) and crop management. Grains and oilseed by-products (such as soyabean meal) are generally a rich source of P, whilst fodder beet (especially the bulb) is a poor source of P.

Typical* P levels g/kg DM

*Actual levels may vary widely

P rich supplements are derived from rock phosphate, which is processed to give increasingly purified and more available forms of P. Low grade phosphates are relatively insoluble, so it is important to know what you

are buying. Dicalcium phosphate (DCP) is the most common form of supplementary P for ruminants. If applying to grazed forage crops, fine mesh material that sticks to dewy leaves will be better retained on the crop than coarser grade material, which bounces off and is better suited for use in mixer wagons.

The National Research Council puts lactating dairy cow P requirements at 3.5-4.2g/kg DM. P deficiency in New Zealand is generally considered unlikely if cows are grazing well managed vegetative pasture, unless prolonged feeding of low quality forages or root crops. Typically 25 percent of the dry matter of fodder beet is in the tops, so we can assume that cows grazing fodder beet will be getting only about 1.4g P/kg DM from the fodder beet. Supplementing dry cows eating a typical 7kg fodder beet per day with the DairyNZ recommended 50g DCP would lift the P content of the fodder beet/DCP combo to 2.75g/kg DM – seemingly enough when some pasture or grass silage is also being fed. Thin cows in the spring may also respond to additional P post-calving, especially if they have come through a drought with low pasture intakes the previous summer. Demand for DCP is rising each year, so giving an early forward commitment may be worthwhile to ensure supply.

Article supplied by Dr. Rob Derrick, Nutritionist, Farmlands Nutrition.

Humes underpass ups productivity on Bay of Plenty farm

Mark and Tania Gargan’s dream to buy their own dairy farm finally came to fruition in 2014 when they took possession of a farm at Ngakuru. After 12 years of sharemilking the Gargan’s had a number of plans for their farm, including a new cowshed and eventually, a stock underpass. Or so they thought.

“When we worked on the budget, we knew all along that the first thing we would do was build a cowshed, as the cow flow was terrible,” Mark explains.

“But what we hadn’t planned on dealing with straight away was the herd having to cross Waikaukau Road daily to access about 40 hectares of the farm.

“The cows were standing on the race for at least 2 hours, waiting for me to finish milking so I could cross them over the road. This cuts into their grazing time and added to that was up to 30 minutes of my time to man the crossing.”

After phoning suppliers of underpasses, Mark got hold of Dave Casey from Humes. “The Humes price was one of

the cheapest and was a metre wider. So we decided to go with Humes, who use Corboy Earthmovers to install.”

Although the Gargans are still months away from finishing their upgrade, they are very happy with the progress and can’t wait to see their herd cross through the new underpass. “Dave from Humes has been great assisting with the organisation of the underpass installation and supply of water troughs, water line and about 30 culvert pipes too.”

TOUGH

AND LATERAL CONNECTIONS Keeping it tight

An important component in a well designed and constructed stock water system is the connection from the system mainline to the trough. This article deals with the “do's and don’ts”, outlines the various ways these connections can be achieved and their relative benefits.

The most practical and cost effective method of installing a stock water scheme is to trench or mole-plough in the mainline first, cutting in the lateral connections to the troughs afterwards. Most mainlines are flexible metric diameter polyethylene (PE) pressure pipe. Even given this pipe's flexibility, making a lateral connection using a tee fitting is difficult, requiring a large hole to be dug and enough pipe exposed, so it can be cut and bent into the fitting’s socket.

Using a saddle is a quicker, simpler and more cost effective method, not requiring excessive excavation. Saddles encircle the pipe, forming a water-tight seal by means of a large O-ring on the inside of the fitting. Using a hole-saw, a round section of the pipe wall is cut out through the saddle's threaded outlet. A threaded adapter fitting is then screwed into the

saddle and the pipe taken to the trough. As most laterals are a smaller outside diameter (OD) pipe than the mainline, reduction in pipe OD occurs at this point.

Another lateral connection method, almost as quick and with the benefit of not requiring a threaded joint, uses a slip tee and reducing set. A slip tee doesn’t have a stop at the bottom of the socket, so it can be fully pushed onto the pipe. A small section of pipe is then cut out of the mainline, the fitting slipped onto one side of the line, the other side then brought back into alignment and the slip tee pulled back over this pipe. A reducing set can then be used within the fitting’s offtake socket to reduce the pipe diameter to the required size.

Other methods for making lateral connections use equal tees and reducing couplings, female tees with male threaded adapters or reducing tees. These are all relatively time consuming, requiring moving lots of dirt and wrestling the PE pipe into the final socket. System integrity also relies on the sound connection of the lateral pipe to the trough. Always use an elbow to take the lateral pipe up to the trough. Bending the pipe to do this may crease it, causing

point restriction in the pipe and reduced flow or even blockage. The relatively minor expense of using elbows ensures long-term performance.

Typically troughs have 20mm or 25mm threaded BSP female connections. Reduction to this size from the lateral pipe diameter is always necessary in dairy stock water systems. This is successfully achieved using a variety of threaded fittings and the correct application of thread tape.

Male threaded adapters are used to connect to bottom entry troughs. Side entry troughs require the use of threaded elbows. Male threaded elbows aren’t ideal, as when being screwed in, the fitting’s backing nut can scrape against the trough wall, causing potential leaks as well as skinned knuckles. Using a female

threaded elbow and threaded nipple overcomes these issues.

For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Iplex.

Introducing Quantum Clear, the new ‘no residue risk’ detergent

As standards within the dairy industry tighten, residues in milk have come more to the fore. GEA / FIL have reacted positively to this, reformulating their acid detergent range and introducing new formulations with increased efficiency as well as reduced risk of residue, thereby helping farmers to improve milk quality.

A specialised product

Quantum Clear is a highly specialised low foam product, recommended for use in a high turbulence plant and can only be used in hot water that is compliant. If used correctly, Quantum Clear is guaranteed to present no residue risk.

Water and wash time savings

You will use up to 27 percent less water¹ in your cleaning programme with Quantum Clear. Due to the natural formulation of the product, the amount of water used to rinse the plant at the end of the wash cycle will be reduced to 2L per cluster (down from 5L).

Using less water during the wash cycle also means you’ll save time waiting for the final rinse. These savings when monitored over a season can be considerable.

Organic approval

If you’re an organic farmer, the good news is that Quantum Clear has been approved by Biogro. It is more environmentally friendly than traditional acids. Apart from reducing the amount of water used in the wash, it’s formulated from citric acid, making it a natural product that will leave no detectable cleaning residues in milk.

Is Quantum Clear right for your dairy plant?

Because Quantum Clear is a highly specialised product, it isn’t suitable for all dairy plants. It’s important to understand the product and how it differs to more traditional acid detergent. Therefore, you should have a plant assessment carried out by your local FIL Area Manager prior to using this product.

Having this assessment done will only bring positive results – because having the cleanest possible dairy plant is critical to producing quality milk. The FIL team is well trained, know the products and is there to help. You will get a wash programme designed specifically to your plant, farm, water type and situation.

Other acid detergents in the FIL range are Quantum Red, Quantum One and Impact Red Acid. For more information

on the right acid detergent and wash programme for your dairy plant system, please call your local FIL Area Manager on 0508 434 569.

Article supplied by GEA | FIL.

Reference: 1. Figure is based on a calculation by a FIL Product Development Specialist based on 300 days in milk, 50 clusters and twice a day milking.

Parasite management during drying-off

Drying-off is an important period in the management of a dairy herd. Decisions need to be made about body condition and feeding, disease prevention, animal movement and culling — but it’s equally important to control parasites.

Control of parasites can have a significant benefit to overall cow health and condition through stress reduction and optimising feed conversion efficiency. This is important particularly at a time of year when pasture growth is slowing down, or negligible due to this year’s drought conditions affecting some regions. Eliminating worms now will help set cows up for winter and reduce the impact of an early worm burden come spring time.

During the lactation period, worm burdens in the cows will have built up. Worms impact the ability to utilise nutrients from feed in two ways. Firstly, they have been shown to decrease appetite as well as affect grazing behaviours. Cows with worms tend to be more “fussy”, which could be compounded as grass quality declines. Secondly, the presence of worms causes inflammation in the gut, which has a negative impact on digestion and nutrient uptake from feed. As a result, feed is wasted through poor conversion and body condition suffers.

Worm treatment should be aimed at achieving the highest worm kill possible. The type of active selected depends on whether you are still milking and the resistance status on your farm. If you’re still milking, use eprinomectin (Eon) or moxidectin (Cydectin), as these are both powerful ML that will give excellent results and have a nil milk withhold. Similarly, abamectin based

pour-on’s (Proabamec and Abapor) have a nil milk withhold but have the added advantage of controlling lice too. Alternatively, if you have Cooperia spp. resistant to eprinomectin or doramectin, use an abamectin and levamisole combination like Saturn® Pour-on (so long as cows are not being milked).

In some cases, you may decide not to treat the whole herd, though it is very likely they will all be carrying worms. If this is the case, consider treating lower condition cows and those coming out of their first lactation. Also, if you have enough feed to carry cull cows for a while, a worm treatment has the potential to increase body condition before sending them off to the works. For more information, talk to the friendly team at your local Farmlands store today.

The quirks of composting

For years, this has been nature’s perfect recycling system. By taking waste materials from your home and garden and combining them in the correct quantities, under the right conditions, you can turn your waste into a valuable source of nutrients and goodness for your garden.

Using similar composting concepts as those used by home gardeners, there are now a wide range of commercial composting businesses throughout New Zealand, supplying bulk compost into a number of horticultural and agricultural businesses.

Farmlands will assist you with collecting your yearly soil sample and its interpretation. The resulting recommendation may include an application of compost in conjunction with some specific nutrients. Farmlands is currently supplying compost to market gardens, broad acre cropping, kiwifruit, viticulture, avocados, pipfruit, pastoral farming and many more sectors.

Compost is a valuable input into any system as it provides slow release nutrients and in the long-term it can aid in such functions as better soil structure, water retention, increased soil biological activity and increased soil carbon.

Like creating the perfect meal, your compost is only as good as your ingredients and your recipe. Many compost manufacturers follow a tried and true formulation to produce a consistent result, waiting only until they have the correct ingredients in the correct proportions to reproduce their quality product.

The recipe definitely includes such components as moisture, temperature and aeration. Compost simply doesn’t sit in a heap and invent itself, it needs to be turned and aerated as the biology goes to work to produce the final product. Unfortunately, there are some products in the marketplace that may not be suitable for your needs, due to the very different raw materials, recipes, production method and final product analysis. It’s crucial to discuss your commercial compost requirements with

your Farmlands representative so that we can connect you with what is needed specifically for your property based on the soil test analysis.

You may already have an abundance of organic matter present but it may not be as available as it should be. This may indicate the need for a soil biology activator.

Please talk to your local Farmlands Technical Advisor, Technical Field Officer or retail team at your local store to see if the addition of compost is right for your operation.

Article supplied by Gaz Ingram, Organic and Biological Manager, Farmlands Horticulture.

Post-harvest nitrogen application in perennial crops

In spring, when soil temperatures are low, perennial horticultural crops only take up small amounts of nutrients from the soil. The trees are mostly relying on nutrients and carbohydrates that were laid down in late summer/autumn of the previous year. Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for life, being a building block for proteins that all organisms need. However, in agriculture it often has a bad image, because of leaching or excessive unwanted vigour that may occur. Both of these negatives can be avoided if simple guidelines are followed and it is also important to understand what is being achieved from your application.

Leaching: This is all about understanding the amounts being applied (kilograms of N per hectare) and what and where it is being applied. The amount applied in a soil application should vary depending on the crop and the soil type involved and this is where Farmlands Technical Advisors are trained to assist you in this decision making. With foliar applications, often much lower kg/ ha are being applied and it is a much more direct path to the crop.

Vigour: If you believe that nitrogen is causing excessive vigour, this can be verified through a leaf test. You can then discuss the results and your options with your Farmlands Technical Advisor. The time of year that N is applied also impacts on the vigour response. Trials have shown that when N is applied in the spring/

summer period, there is a direct plant growth response. Applications in the post-harvest/autumn period promoted stronger, more fertile blossoms, fruit set, fruit growth and quality in the following season, without causing a direct growth response. From these trials it is now accepted that the post-harvest/autumn period is the optimal time to apply N for perennial horticultural crops. This N is stored during the winter, predominantly as protein in the bark and remobilised in the spring when the buds break.

Soil or foliar: N moves easily through the plant, from roots to leaves and back the other way. The overriding consideration is the amount of N per hectare being applied and whether it is an effective method of getting N into the plant.

Growers are often applying other foliar applications such as boron in this postharvest period and usually it is easy just to add N into this application.

What to apply post-harvest: A whole range of different forms of N are used. For soil applications CAN, urea, or ammonium sulphate are used. For foliar applications, there is the option to use liquid formulations based on amino acid or UAN products. Due to the unit cost of N per hectare, crystal forms of either technical grade urea or standard field grade urea are predominantly used. The best form of crystal urea to use will depend on the crop grown and its sensitivity to biuret.

Post-harvest urea: The important question when purchasing urea for foliar applications is to find out the biuret content. Biuret is a contaminant in urea that forms during the final stages of the manufacturing process. All urea contains biuret and each manufacturer will have a different biuret level. Technical grade urea has a lower biuret level than field grade urea. If the biuret content of the urea is below 0.25 percent it is considered suitable as a foliar spray for horticultural crops. The concentration of urea in a spray mix is also important. When urea is applied at a concentration greater than 5 percent, it can cause phytotoxicity to leaves and soft wood tissue.

For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Advisor or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Chris Herries, Technical Manager, Farmlands Horticulture.

Bagged fertiliser makes it easy

Whatever the size of your block or garden, keeping it well fed will make sure you get the best from it. Bagged fertiliser is ideal for gardens and small blocks, as it’s easy to transport and store. Farmlands stocks a range of bagged fertiliser from Ballance Agri-Nutrients, just for this purpose.

The fertiliser that you need will depend on a variety of factors, including your soil type and what you are doing with your land.

In their natural, undeveloped state, most New Zealand soils require phosphorus and sulphur to make them productive. How much they need depends in part on the soil type and in part on the use. For instance, if you are removing stock, say for the freezer, or if you cut supplements or grow crops that are taken off your block

then you are also removing nutrients and these will need replacing each year. The same goes for home gardens — growing your own vegetables or mowing lawns (without mulching the clippings back in) removes nutrients from the soil.

Soil and herbage tests are the best way to find out what nutrients your soil needs. Farmlands supplies kits you can use to collect samples and staff can give you advice on how to carry out the tests.

If you have a small block, you could consider Nutrigro or Nutrigro 13K. Both products contain nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur, which are typically needed on small blocks. Nutrigro 13K also contains potassium. Nutrigro products also supply the trace

elements cobalt and selenium, which are essential for animal health.

If you just want to use nitrogen to promote pasture or crop growth, then SustaiN fits the bill. SustaiN is designed to decrease losses of nitrogen to the atmosphere, so that more of the nitrogen you apply stays in the soil, where your plants need it. We don’t recommend you use this on your lawn – unless you really like mowing! YaraMila Complex is a great product for gardens. It is a compound fertiliser that contains six major nutrients plus the trace elements boron, iron, manganese and zinc. It is multi-purpose, so you can use it for ornamentals, fruit trees or to grow vegetables. Lawn Mix is a good option for your lawn. As well as the major nutrients it also includes iron sulphate, which will help to control moss.

When you apply fertiliser to gardens and lawns, ensure that the fertiliser is well watered in, so plant roots can access the nutrients. If you are running livestock, apply your fertiliser to sections of your land 1 or 2 days after the area has been grazed.

For further information, talk to one of the friendly staff at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Ballance Agri-Nutrients.

Farmlands Grain and Seed update

As a result of the growing success of our vertically integrated model of growing seeds to sell and retail and growing grain to supply to our feed mills for processing and retail, Farmlands Grain and Seed is investing further in technical assistance in the field for our shareholders.

Joining Forage and Arable Agronomist Rachael Robinson (currently on maternity leave) is Dave Schrader (Timaru) and Phil Johnston (Christchurch) in specialist forage and arable agronomy roles. They will be assisting TFOs in Canterbury and North Otago with technical grain and seed enquiries. They can offer independent advice on arable cropping options and management, pasture seed species and forage systems, agchem and fertiliser requirements.

Sophie Lilley has recently been appointed as a Grain and Seed Rep based at Methven. This is a trainee TFO / Agronomist role and she will work closely with Dave and Phil to develop her agronomic knowledge, as she assists local shareholders with their grain and seed requirements.

Sam Lucas (Rangiora) starts as a Forage and Arable Agronomist in July and will be working with staff in the Marlborough, Tasman and West Coast areas.

Sophie Lilley — 027 801 7769

Phil Johnston — 027 801 1316

Dave Schrader — 027 454 0188

Retail seed update

Rain has fallen in most areas in the past few weeks and the countryside has greened up, with some substance starting to appear in grass paddocks and winter feed crops. As a result of drier than usual conditions, there has been very strong retail demand for annual type seeds like Italian ryegrasses, greenfeed oats and triticale this autumn. This, combined with a large increase in the area sown in fodder beet, will result in a busy spring when these paddocks are resown.

Market indications are that the availability of some seed varieties will be limited in the spring, so please contact your TFO or store soon to discuss your seed requirements.

A real positive over the summer was the way that fodder beet crops have generally stood up to the dry conditions and insect pressure, with reasonable amounts of dry matter being recorded in March while the crops were still growing.

Grain market report

The South Island harvest has well and truly finished with overall yields being above average and quality generally being very good. The North Island maize harvest has started, with initial reports indicating good yields. Endusers continue to be very inactive in the market with consumption falling sharply, in-line with Fonterra’s low dairy pay-out estimates for both old and new season. After a short rally in the beginning of the year, GDT WMP/SMP (which together constitute about 85 percent of the

Fonterra dairy pay-out) auction results appear to be in a steady rate of decline. The NZX WMP/SMP futures market suggests that new season pricing is higher than spot levels but is at levels that are below where they need to be, to generate what our dairy farmers consider to be a good return. The WMP pricing curve also indicates that the market is well supplied. That being said, whilst the outlook remains decidedly pessimistic, markets have a way of surprising everyone.

Low international grain prices have encouraged consumption but at the same time discouraged farmers from planting, particularly US corn farmers (biggest feed grain crop in the world 350mmt+) who struggled to make a positive return last season. This remains true also for dairy markets. Surely at these levels, consumption is being encouraged?

There is little available storage space in the North Island for maize grain, with large carry over stock from the previous year. On a positive note, we have been able to instigate a number of maize grain deals in the North Island and offer attractive payment terms to our dairy farmers, whilst also being able to help our maize growers with storage issues at harvest.

Please contact us to buy or sell your grain.

Mark Elliotte General Manager Grain and Seed

SF Brigadier fodder beet a success in south

Lynnore Templeton was so thrilled with the performance of Seed Force’s Brigadier fodder beet last season that she planted more and will winter a further 200 dairy cows this year.

Lynnore and her husband Andrew run a 3,100 hectare mixed sheep and beef operation at Middlemarch, with dairy grazing in winter. While the majority of the farm is dry land, there is about 160ha under irrigation with centre pivots and K-line.

On the dairy grazing side of the operation Lynnore was originally a fodder beet sceptic but she has been converted after great success with the product.

“We got such good utilisation and the Brigadier was so easily digestible, it seems to work really well for us,” Lynnore says.

“Previously we have used kale or turnips and grass but we did 15ha of fodder beet last year and we’re just stoked with it.”

With last year’s crop they put the beet in under a new irrigation scheme but the scheme was late coming online and the crop was essentially a dry land one to start with. Despite this, the Templetons still did 23.5 tonnes — costing 9 cents per kg of dry matter to grow — which Lynnore describes as a brilliant result.

“We had 600 cows on that 15ha and there was still 1.5ha left to put our own 90 heifers on, which was handy. The cows that came had already been on fodder beet so it was an easy transition.

“We found it was so simple to move and the cows did really well on it. We did have

a dry winter and no mud but the cows really blossomed, they were happy and contented. The breaks were easy to shift and it made taking on the dairy cows much simpler than in previous years.

“The farmer was exceptionally happy with the condition of the cows when they went back – they seemed to really thrive on the fodder beet.”

The beet was such a success that the Templetons planted another 29ha of SF Brigadier and are taking on 800 cows, with the expectation there will be enough left over for their own yearling cattle as well.

Lynnore says the most important thing for her is that Seed Force has been available if they have any questions or need to talk to someone.

"We work very closely with our Farmlands rep, Richard Doherty, who has been brilliant at putting the plan in place and ensuring it happens – we just follow the recipe.

“It’s an expensive crop to put in the ground, so it gives you a lot of confidence that you will have success if you have the right people to help monitor the progress of the crop. It takes risk out and helps ensure a good result in terms of low cents per kg of dry matter grown.”

For further information, talk to one of the friendly staff at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Seed Force.