Posted on behalf of Prof Derrick Moot The recent rain has done little to top up the soils on dryland farms in the Canterbury region or fill the hydro Lakes. To understand the situation I asked Dr Black to send me the latest soil water data from the RADE. This is a typical soil (Templeton) … Read more
Prof Moot visited sheep and beef properties in Nth Canterbury on Tuesday. Questions focused on how to deal with the lack of feed. The options are largely unpalatable. However, there is a need to be proactive to ensure there is feed for spring lambs due to the mismatch between feed supply and feed demand. This … Read more
While at Bonavaree last week, Prof Moot took the opportunity to question Fraser about his current grazing management of lucerne. Fraser highlighted that they missed most of the rain the rest of the country has experienced in the last month so the land is drying out quickly. He is hopeful that he can get through … Read more
Prof Moot visited Marlborough again last week to catch-up with Fraser Avery. They checked out the new lucerne which will be a key part of summer management for Bonavaree when things turn dry. Fraser has some new lucerne each year to provide mid-summer feed when the pastures and older lucerne have used up their water. … Read more
Prof Moot was out on farms in North Canterbury this week. He was impressed with the contribution of sub clover to many pastures with the white flowers just starting to show. The combination of sub and cocksfoot was a revelation on Mt Benger, with a high legume component and few weeds 6 years after establishment. … Read more
This week we really welcome El Niño – strong westerlies and warm temperatures. Prof Moot spent the weekend in Marlborough and visited ‘Bonavaree’ (Fraser Avery’s farm). There the ewes and lambs are happy munching on lucerne and the tagasaste, which can provide emergency feed during a drought, was in full flower. The Wither Hills have … Read more
Posted on behalf of Prof Derrick Moot. The photos below are from a sub clover drilling of a 400 ha area in Middlemarch in March 2022. A lack of autumn rain meant the germination did not occur until May. Fortunately, sub clover seeds are capable of sitting in the ground and waiting for rain if … Read more
02/11/2021 Mt Benger, North Canterbury The Luisetti-sponsored ‘Spotlight on legumes’ field day drew a crowd of ~70 people from the farming community, industry and Lincoln University to Mt Benger, North Canterbury, which is managed by Stuart Fraser. The field trip started in the hill country with the sub clover/cocksfoot pasture in Alice’s Block. This ‘Woogenellup’ … Read more
Rule 1: Never set stock on lucerne Rule 2: If you want to set stock on lucerne – read Rule 1. Rule 3: If you have a large area of lucerne (more than 15% of your farm) and are running out of lambing area you may need to set stock for a short period (up … Read more
Prof Moot was at Bonavaree farm in Marlborough over the weekend where lambing is in full swing. The mild weather is making ideal conditions for lambing and Fraser is confident he has sufficient cover across all paddocks to get him through his major pinch period of mid August. He is is smiling here as he … Read more