Anna Mills 
Every now and then we hear about animals performing poorly on lucerne compared to grass pastures – yes it can happen and for several reasons (ill thift, lack of time to acclimatise to a new feed source, lack of access to fibre and salt …) – but, when it comes down to facts, mean daily … Read more
Here are some photos of sub clover taken by Doug Avery on ‘Bonavaree’ Farm in Marlborough. Legume–dominant pasture in spring 2016 The photo below shows Fraser Avery standing in high quality legume dominant pasture last spring (1 October 2016). This is ‘Antas’ sub clover which has been allowed to set seed in its first year and … Read more
Want sub clover for your lactating ewes in spring? Plan for it now. For those of you wanting to sow sub clover this autumn, here is some advice to get you started. Why sub clover? Sub clover seed costs about $120-$150/ha plus drilling costs. The sub clover may provide 2-4 t DM/ha in a mixed pasture during spring … Read more
Dryland Pastures Research Team (coordinated by Prof. D. Moot), Lincoln University Carmen Teixeira, Dick Lucas and Annamaria Mills. It is summer time New Zealand and the sub clover plants sown in last autumn have died. Few sub clover flowers are visible compared to November (see our previous post “What’s up with the Subs 4 Spring”). … Read more
Posted on behalf of Prof Derrick Moot. In all of my life, 26 years with my wife, I don’t think that there has been A year to remember, from Jan to December, as tumultuous as twenty sixteen Post truth we are now, but we got here how? An unfathomable political season For Brexit we know, … Read more
Professor Derrick Moot was on a dairy farm in the North Island last week where he took these images of dairy cows enjoying a pure lucerne stand prior to their afternoon milking. The farmer uses the lucerne from about 11.00am and then collects the cows after lunch for milking. Prof Moot advised the entry height of … Read more
An update of sub clover cultivars reproductive development – November 24, 2016. Prepared by Carmen Teixeira, (PhD student Dryland Pastures Research Team) & Derrick Moot with the Dryland Pastures Research Team, Lincoln University It is late spring and the sub clovers plants have already flowered! This year, in Canterbury the late rains in mid-November have extended the … Read more
The 1st Edition of the “Guide for subterranean clover identification and use in New Zealand” is now available to view and download – for free – on the Sub 4 Spring Research Project page of the Dryland Pastures website (just scroll to the publications at the bottom of the page).
When: Wednesday 12 October 2016 Time: 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm Where: Ashley Dene Farm, Canterbury Departing from the woolshed on the corner of Bethels and Ashley Dene Rds. The event will be signposted from the intersection of Ellesmere Junction Rd and Brookside Rd. GPS co-ordinates for the woolshep are: 43°39’15.18″S; 172°19’51.97″E Topics to be covered include: Liveweight gain … Read more
In these three short videos, taken on 3 August 2016, Derrick talks about the current soil moisture status of a shallow and a deep soil as we prepare for the spring growth season in our dryland systems. In the first clip we see a lucerne stand on a deep Templeton silt loam soil at Lincoln … Read more