It’s the second week of September, and ewes are sorted, ready for getting to their blocks for lambing. Winter Spray Effects In our last blog, winter spraying of the lucerne paddocks was discussed, and we thought it appropriate to follow up with the spray effects. It has been about 9 weeks since the first paddocks were … Read more
Posted on behalf of Prof. Derrick Moot Recent trips from South Canterbury to Marlborough highlight several emerging issues for lucerne in this early spring. The particularly high (>200 mm) rainfall in June and subsequently warm winter temperatures have combined to create unusual circumstances. Here, Derrick outlines some of the problems and solutions to consider over … Read more
The last couple of months have been an episode of extremes at Bonavaree; record weather highs and lows, destructive gales, and to top it off several major earthquakes! Firstly…the weather: June was cold, wet and cloudy (it broke several records according to NIWA – see summary table below) and then July was completely opposite in … Read more
This is a bit late, but we thought we’d still write a blog on the subject – if only for next season’s reference!! Winter spraying of our lucerne ended up being quite the headache this year. Between: Figuring out what products to apply to suit all the different weeds Getting someone to come on-farm and … Read more
The countdown to lambing is on at Bonavaree when I visited in late May. Doug and Fraser have had a really successful year with Jeffries Front Flat, and it is still looking like a productive paddock that is geared to produce well again this spring. Seed Harvest The lucerne seed harvest from this paddock was … Read more
The role of Bumble bees at Bonavaree is an important one. Short tongued bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) are the principle pollinator of Lucerne. There are other bee and insect species capable of pollinating the lucerne flower, but bumble bees are the most successful. The lucerne flower produces a tripping mechanism when an insect is pollinating … Read more
Derrick contacted me following the previous blog – asking that we quantify our statements regarding our changes in fertiliser applications, especially since we are now spending less! We have historically run a cut and carry operation with the lucerne (if the season allowed it), and so we applied fertiliser taking this into account. Given we … Read more
Well its been a while since the last blog – between farming commitments, a field day and children, days morph into weeks, which morph in months, and before you know it, there’s snow on the hills and the shorts have been pushed to the back of the drawers until next summer! We’ve just had a … Read more
The dry matter production from this Bonavaree mixed species paddock has inevitably slowed down due to the dry. Although, the soil moisture has potentially been “topped up” somewhat by the rains that occurred recently in mid-January (2 inches) and then a very well timed 20mm in the first week of February. This has no doubt … Read more
Things are tracking along nicely for a good seed harvest at Jeffries Front Flat. The growth in this paddock is very impressive since my last visit in December. Please compare the pasture height photos below of the December visit (top) and the February visit (bottom). The time span between these 2 visits is 56 days, … Read more