State of spring sown lucerne during the establishment phase prior to the first graze

These videos, taken on 25 Jan, we look at the state of a newly established – spring sown – dryland lucerne stand. In the first video Derrick discusses the state of the young lucerne at about 80-90 days after sowing as we prepare for the first graze/cut now flower buds are visible. There is also … Read more

Lucerne root growth and access to soil moisture

In this video Prof Derrick Moot discusses the differences between established and establishing lucerne stands in relation to the rate at which the roots explore and exploit water stored in the soil. Known as the extraction front velocity (EFV) this is a measure in millimeters of soil per day that the plant roots access to … Read more

Preliminary spring production data from lucerne

A dry spring in Canterbury has resulted in our dryland pastures at Ashley Dene being destocked on 25 Nov. Spring rainfall of 78 mm is only about half that expected in an average year and pasture growth has now ceased. In this video Derrick Moot discusses grazing mangement of lucerne in the spring period and … Read more

How to avoid reducing the life of your lucerne stand when set stocking

In this video, taken on 9 October at Ashley Dene, Derrick Moot describes in more detail the management we applied to the spring set stocked lucerne treatment for research purposes in order to develop appropriate on-farm guidelines. Weed control and the invasion of the problematic perennial tap-rooted and rhizomatous weeds which indicate the stand is … Read more

How to reduce the lifespan of your lucerne by set stocking

As a follow up to our last blog post on how to successfully implement a set stocking phase in you lucerne grazing system we thought we should show you what will happens if the stand is set stocked with either too many stock and/or for too long in spring. Basically, for research purposes, we’ve halved … Read more

How to successfully set stock lucerne during the spring lactation phase

In this blog post, filmed at Ashley Dene on 9 Oct 2015, Derrick Moot outlines the grazing management required to successfully set stock lucerne during early lactation. Using this method the persistence of the lucerne stand in the long term should not be detrimentally affected. Also a copy of the Derricks presentation at the New … Read more

Field Day at Ashley Dene on Friday 30 October

The Lincoln University Dryland Pastures Research Team and Beef + Lamb New Zealand would like to invite you to attend the Pastoral 21 Dryland Pastures Spring Field Day. Where: Ashley Dene Research Farm When: Friday 30 October 2015 Time: 1–4 pm Meet at the Ashley Dene Research Farm woolshed, corner of Bethels & Ashley Dene … Read more