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
We have just completed our second season of lambing on lucerne, and as Derrick said “things just keep getting better and better”… We realised after our our first experience last year that the length of time the ewes were set stocked for lambing was compromising the management of the lucerne, so this year we scanned … Read more
We thought you might like to know a little bit about some of our other research projects. As a result we have decided to give video blogging a go in our Merino NZ funded High Country Forage Improvement Projects. The Objective: “Survive, thrive and make money from…..” This project has seen the Dryland Pastures Team … Read more
Posted on behalf of Prof. Derrick Moot After mild winters, aphid numbers can build rapidly so check stands regularly. There are at least three species of aphids that can cause problems in different weather conditions so be vigilant. Check the top of plants where the leaves are compact and emerging. If none are present sweep … Read more
Fraser and Doug have got the cull ewes and their lambs grazing on Glen Erin at the moment, plus a handful of Friesian bulls. The paddock is currently split into two with an electrified break-fence. The Avery’s are developing their stock water system to increase trough numbers, so that they can subdivide paddocks by break … Read more
On Friday (7 Sept) lucerne on the Home Block at Ashley Dene was about 22 cm high which we estimate as being about 2200 kg DM/ha of standing dry matter (DM). This is based on calibrations we developed previously. At this time of year we expect every centimetre of lucerne height to translate to about … Read more
Lambing in Jeffries Front Flat has now finished. It is certainly not a normal season at Bonavaree. Having had the total annual rainfall in only 8 months (200 mm since lambing started) has delayed a few things. The lightly set stocked ewes on this paddock, and many others, would usually be mobbed up into larger mobs … Read more
This season has been incredibly wet at Bonavaree, the total average rainfall has been reached already, and there are still 4 months to go! The ewes and lambs have shown remarkable resilience to this wet, with very high lamb survival rates, even when the weather was at its worse. The ewes have lambed in very … Read more
Omaka Barley is a great crop to use at Bonavaree. Barley is used here because it really fits in well with the Avery’s system. The Omaka variety has been bred locally, and is very suitable for reliable dry matter production in a Marlborough dryland environment. It is a multipurpose crop at Bonavaree, in that it … Read more
This paddock of Torlesse is currently grazed by twin lambing ewes. Lucerne/Prairie Grass/Plantain, and Annual Ryegrass paddocks are also used for multiple bearing ewes to provide maximum nutrition in late pregnancy and lambing. Single bearing ewes are not grazed on lucerne, as this is better utilised for multiple lamb production. Fraser uses lucerne paddocks to … Read more