With drought conditions developing along the east coast we thought maybe we would throw some numbers out to put a price on how lucerne can transform dryland farming systems. Here, at Lincoln, the 2014/15 rainfall for the Jul-Dec period is about 170 mm – or about half what is expected over the same period in … Read more
It’s been a successful spring at Bonavaree! Early spring had been fairly wet and so early spring growth was relatively slow. Although soil conditions are now perfection for Lucerne, and Fraser had seen a notable shift in gear in the lucerne stands, with a flush of feed evident. See photos below of Jeffries Front Flat … 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
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
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
North face is still going strong, and had been grazed off with Lambs in mid January, followed by a quick 24 hour clean-up graze with cows. The rains that occurred in January meant that this paddock was able to be grazed, otherwise it was going to be shut up for another month. The following clean-up … Read more
Establishment of North Face with the Bonavaree mix had been slow, and the season at Bonavaree had been one of the most problematic years to establish Lucerne and Lucerne mixes. This paddock is now coming into it’s own, and is looking good following a bit of careful management. The main issues this year were: Cold … Read more
Jeffries Front Flat was being grazed by the replacement ewe lambs at my visit just prior to Xmas. The ewe lambs had removed the bulk of the leaf and green vegetation, leaving a small amount of stalk as residual (see photos at left of lamb residual). The mob of 950 ewe lambs were due to … Read more