In this second video blog taken on 7th May 2015, Lincoln University Dryland Pasture Research team member Dick Lucas discusses the status of the cocksfoot/sub clover/balansa clover dryland pasture mix. The pasture was initially established in autumn 2013 at Ashley Dene, Canterbury. The initial species and sowing rates for this pasture mix were:2 kg/ha ‘Greenly’ … Read more
Dick Lucas ventures into our MaxAnnuals experimental area at Ashley Dene in the first of this series of video blogs taken on 7 May. In this video Dick discusses the general state of the cocksfoot or hybrid ryegrass pastures this autumn with a bit of a recap on what he has observed at the site … Read more
Monthly rainfalls have been below average here at Lincoln since April. Pasture growth rates have slowed as water stress conditions have developed and all our dryland experiments at Ashley Dene have been de-stocked earlier than usual. On Monday we released Dick Lucas, our resident annual clover guru, at Ashley Dene to talk about soils, their … Read more
Posted on behalf of Dick Lucas The recent early autumn, record rain in North Canterbury and other east coast areas will give perfect conditions for an early flush of sub clover seedlings in dryland pastures. In milder coastal areas and north hill faces, if sub clover/grass pastures have an average of 10 sub seedlings per … Read more
Posted on behalf of Dr Derrick Moot (Professor of Plant Science, Lincoln University) The summer of 2012/2013 is one of the driest on record for North Island farmers and many in the South Island. Recent rain in some places makes decisions on what to graze, and when, crucial. The ideal grazing response will depend on the … Read more
For more information on the use of sub clover on hill country listen to Radio New Zealand National’s Country life programme tonight (Friday 1st March) between 9 & 10pm, and then repeated on Saturday 2nd March between 7 & 8am. The feature story this week is focused on Tempello, with commentary from David and Jo … Read more
DRY, DRY, DRY! Marlborough has entered its drought season well and truly, but this is the norm for Marlborough, and we have had some lenient moist summers for the last couple of years. It is in a year like this that the use of drought tolerant grasses, legumes and herbs really pays dividend. Warwick has … Read more
Warwick estimated that the carrying capacity of this paddock has been increased by 200%. By renovating the areas that were able to be drilled by tractor (approximately 12ha, 55% of the total paddock area), the quantity of pasture on offer within this block has been greatly improved. The increase in pasture quality is also a … Read more
I visited the Tempello site (Bottom Tomlinsons) again on the 24th October. David and Jo had just put some trading cattle on the block to graze. They were hoping to be able to shut this block up and allow it to set seed, and replenish the sub clover seedbank. This was the plan early on … Read more
David and Jo Grigg own Tempello Farm which is situated in the Brancott Valley, Marlborough. Tempello is 4,800 ha (2,600 ha effective) and lies between the Awatere and Wairau Valleys. Tempello could be characterised as a “warm” farm with a late-August start to spring pasture growth, and often growth through winter. The pasture growth curve … Read more