Hill country sheep and beef farming systems cover much of the farmed area of New Zealand - probably around 8 million out of the 11.5 million hectares of grazing/arable land. That figure recognises that a hill country enterprise is usually an integrated system – predominantly breeding, perhaps with some deer, will often have forestry and increasingly, moving more to fattening at least a proportion of the surplus stock. Climate varies hugely across the hill country land use area with droughts and dry periods requiring adaptive systems to manage the risk of feed shortage. Products able to be generated from this land type include: meat, carbon, fibre, wood, energy and ecological services such as biodiversity and landscape values. In looking at the opportunities and challenges ahead, I am going to take a five to 10 year view rather than focus on the impacts likely to be experienced over the next year or so. If we confined ourselves to the short term, all the discussion would be about currency, cost of fertiliser, interest rates and predicted rainfall - none of which we could greatly influence! My focus is more on global trends and the nature of the land.
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(281 KB)
Accurate estimation of pasture mass is essential for managing farm systems for top performance. The C-DAX Rapid Pasturemeter has the potential to provide fast, accurate estimates of pasture mass. However, the Pasturemeter has been calibrated for ‘typical’ temperate dairy pastures and its suitability for use on kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinium)-based pastures in Northland, is unknown. This study determined the accuracy of the technology for estimation of pasture mass on kikuyu/ryegrass-based dairy pasture on the Northland Agricultural Research Farm at Dargaville, New Zealand. Keywords: pasture mass estimation, kikuyu, Northland, dairy, calibration
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(993 KB)I am the fifth generation on the family’s coastal farm at Whangarei Heads, east of Whangarei, where I have farmed for 25 years. It is predominantly a dairy farm with an associated dairy beef operation. The farm carries 560 Jersey dairy cows plus replacements and 250 Angus-Jersey cross cattle, sourced primarily from the dairy herd. The farm has a flat to rolling contour on three main soils: Rangiuru clay, Waipu clay and Waipu peaty loam, with some recently purchased sand country.
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(409 KB)The results of a study investigating the response of farmers to adverse weather events are outlined. The aim was to identify adaptive management activities that would increase on-farm resilience. This project focused on beef/sheep farmers, dairy farmers and horticulturalists in Northland. Participants were pragmatic about adverse weather events, particularly storms. Local knowledge, previous experiences, information and networks helped build resilience. Participants highlighted a range of tactical decisions to address immediate damage from storms. However, strategic planning and adaption varied amongst farmers and orchardists as assessment of the cost-benefit of strategic actions differed. This information can be used to help farmers and organisations that assist with recovery assess and build resilience to adverse weather events. Keywords: Northland, dairy, beef/sheep, orchardist, resilience
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(308 KB)Northland’s climate now could be what other regions climate will be like in the future. Northland also provides an example of how to respond to the need for research and information when institutional knowledge is lost.
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(750 KB)Pasture of low dry matter content (DM%) can occur in northern New Zealand. From 17 years of monthly pasture sampling on one farm at Kerikeri the DM% in regrowth was equal to or below 13% in more than half the samplings from April to June for ryegrass and ryegrass-kikuyu pastures. The DM% of pasture samples collected just before grazing were below that of regrowth samples (from cages) from April to September, but were higher than these from October to March. Keywords: pasture dry matter content, DM%,Northland, ryegrass, kikuyu grass, clover, plantain
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(371 KB)A monitoring programme for the tropical grass webworm (TGW) (Herpetogramma licarsisalis) has been operating in the Far North since 1999, when high densities of the larva resulted in severe defoliation of large areas of kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) pasture. Keywords: tropical grass webworm, kikuyu, pheromone, monitoring programme
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(421 KB)On a farm at Ruakaka, south of Whangarei, an intensive regrassing programme was begun in 2000 to remove kikuyu grass using glyphosate herbicide, replacing it with ryegrass. The programme reached a peak in 2003 and 2004 when up to 25% of the paddocks were in various stages of regrassing. The standard process was to spray kikuyu pastures with glyphosate in autumn, drill annual ryegrass, crop with turnips in summer and sow a permanent pasture mix in autumn - a three-spray programme. Keywords: kikuyu reinvasion, regrassing, ryegrass, glyphosate herbicide, kikuyu seed
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(296 KB)Yellow bristle grass (YBG) is a summer-active grass weed which is rapidly spreading in dairy pastures in the North Island. Different grazing attractants were applied to Waikato dairy pastures at the end of January and February. Cows responded to attractants containing molasses (foliar applied or pellets), but not to coarse agricultural salt or sugar. There was less pasture dry matter, less YBG cover and more bare ground in the pellets treatment. Keywords: Setaria pumila, yellow bristle grass, grazing attractants, molasses, salt, sugar
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(404 KB)Temperate species and tropical crop silage are the basis for forage production for the dairy industry in the Australian subtropics. Irrigation is the key resource needed for production, with little survival of temperate species under rain-grown conditions except for lucerne. Keywords: temperate grasses, clovers, lucerne, kikuyu,subtropics, irrigation
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(693 KB)Yellow bristle grass (Setaria pumila) is a summer growing annual grass with a C4 photosynthetic pathway. It is now becoming a serious weed in pasture where it is highly competitive with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)/white clover (Trifolium repens) and is avoided by stock when at the seed head stage. On severely infested farms, it is estimated to cause production losses in the order of $100 000/100 ha unit, mostly due to stock not grazing areas where the yellow bristle grass is seeding. Keywords: yellow bristle grass, Setaria pumila, pasture, grass weed
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(382 KB)
New Zealand’s farmers have always had to cope with a varying climate – warmer, cooler, wetter and drier than normal seasons are a fact of life. These changes place more demands on farm management in some parts of the country than in others. This paper first discusses some of the variations in climate to date, examines the question of whether they include some long-term trends, and considers likely causes. The paper then examines what is expected in the future, due to both natural factors and to projected changes of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of potential impacts on the pastoral sector, and of adaptation options.
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(282 KB)The Greenhouse Effect acts to slow the escape of infrared radiation to space, and hence warms the atmosphere. The oceans derive almost all of their thermal energy from the sun, and none from infrared radiation in the atmosphere. The thermal energy stored by the oceans is transported globally and released after a range of different time periods. The release of thermal energy from the oceans modifies the behaviour of atmospheric circulation, and hence varies climate. Based on ocean behaviour, New Zealand can expect weather patterns similar to those from 1890-1922 and another Little Ice Age may develop this century.
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(388 KB)Pastoral farming in New Zealand has always been a dynamic and uncertain business. Climatic conditions, market forces and the regulatory environment confronting pastoral farmers each have a long history of change, often rapidly and markedly. It is not surprising then that pastoral farmers are a resilient bunch. It is also not surprising that in respect of anthropogenic climate change some farmers are sceptical of what they see as another passing fashion in science, public policy and environmentalism – change to be weathered.
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(265 KB)
On 27 March 2008, my wife Emily and I purchased a 737 ha property adjoining Castlepoint Station, called Mockingbird Farm. The property is typical of Wairarapa hill country ranging from small amounts of rolling hill to steep hills with about 407 ha of reverting scrub, 200 ha of average pasture and 130 ha of pine trees. This paper covers the decision process we went through in deciding to purchase the property. A key component of that decision was the ability to sell carbon credits from the pine trees to meet the carrying costs of the purchase. The paper also outlines the process we have been through attempting to sell carbon credits, and the minefield of political whim which surrounds this. The end result is that over a year later we have yet to sell any carbon credits.
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(301 KB)There has been growing interest in including soil carbon (C) sequestration, as an offset to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, within New Zealand’s commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, even though national trends report soil C concentrations in many areas is declining. There are different schools of thought as to what drives changes in soil C (e.g. grazing management, fertiliser inputs, species) and so in our capacity to increase the rate of sequestration of C since 1990 to gain C credits.
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(462 KB)Globally methane emissions from ruminant livestock account for 5-6% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. In New Zealand, methane emissions from ruminants comprise 31.5% of our total emissions putting us in a unique position within the developed world. Reducing methane emissions from ruminant livestock is technically challenging and has to be achieved against a rising demand for animal products. Keywords: methane, mitigation, ruminants
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(305 KB)
Dairy industry strategies have demanded feeding systems with high productivity and high quality. A 45 t DM/ha annual target for feed production was addressed. Six crop sequence treatments were established in large plots (40 x 12 m) at Lincoln, Canterbury, in the first year of a 2-year experiment to determine practical upper limits for yield. Keywords: dairying, supplements, forage quality, nitrogen, water use
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(577 KB)‘Pasja’ (Brassica campestris x napus) was grown at Lincoln in 2008, with banded or broadcast phosphorus (P) fertiliser applied at 0, 20, 40 or 60 kg/ha at establishment on a Templeton silt loam soil of moderate fertility (Olsen P of 9-17 mg/ kg range for individual plots). Keywords: Brassica campestris, critical leaf area index, DM accumulation, leaf area index, leaf to stem ratio, solar radiation
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(479 KB)The feasibility of achieving the dairy industry’s target of producing 45 t DM/ha/yr of forage with an average metabolisable energy (ME) value of 11 MJ ME/kg DM was evaluated for the Waikato and Northland regions of New Zealand. Keywords: crop sequence, dairy cow, supplementary forages, maize, brassica, cereal crops, forage yield, nutritive value
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(550 KB)Dicyandiamide (DCD) is an effective mitigation option for decreasing nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) losses in drainage water from New Zealand pastures. This study determined the relative effect of DCD on decreasing NO3-N losses from simulated sheep or cattle urine patches applied to a winter forage crop. Lysimeters were collected from a site in North Otago (Mottled Fragic Pallic Timaru silt loam). Keywords: drainage, lysimeters, urine, nitrate, dicyandiamide, winter forage cropping
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(410 KB)Including forage cropping as part of the pasture renewal process can be beneficial; however, too often farmers achieve unsatisfactory results in terms of both crop yield and the re-establishment of new perennial pasture. To be successful with this approach the farmer needs to have a wide range of information on pest and weed control and cropping techniques. Keywords: pasture renewal, cropping, glyphosate, perennial weeds, endophyte, clover establishment
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(420 KB)
A pot trial with two sampling times was conducted to compare the non-target effects of Nil endophyte ryegrass with three endophyte/ryegrass combinations, two selected endophytes (AR1 and AR37) and a wild-type, in the same cultivar. Shoot dry weight, soil nematode and microbial abundance and community diversity were assessed at each sample time. Plants infected with wildtype endophyte produced significantly less shoot weight than all other treatments due to slow initial growth. Keywords: Neotyphodium, Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis, Enrichment Index, Structure Index, Nematode Channel Ratio
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(491 KB)Constraints to pasture renewal success have been identified by many farmers so this multi-disciplinary study was initiated to trial and monitor the establishment, persistence and production of key forage species. Eight farms in the Bay of Plenty are being monitored. On each farm, paddocks have been selected so that a wide range of contrasting previous management and current pasture performance is covered. Keywords: clover, grass, dry matter, black beetle, clover root weevil, grass grub, white fringed weevil, cyst nematode, root-knot nematode, earthworm, soil moisture
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(317 KB)A paddock-scale field trial comparing pastures of perennial ryegrass without endophyte (Nil) or infected with the selected endophytes AR1, AR37 or the standard endophyte (SE) sown with clover was monitored for insect pests over 3 years (2006–2008). Argentine stem weevil larval damage was reduced by all endophytes in each year.
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(435 KB)The effect of diploid and tetraploid ryegrass on clover establishment in new pasture following maize, turnips or grass was investigated in Northland and Waikato in autumn 2004. White clover seedling establishment at 4 weeks was 12-20% higher with tetraploid ryegrass compared to diploid ryegrass, and lowest clover seedling numbers were in the ex-grass paddocks. Production data from the Northland site showed that in December 2004, the ex-maize and exturnip paddocks, respectively, had 54% and 79% more pasture than ex-grass paddocks. Keywords: clover establishment, break crops, tetraploid ryegrass
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(360 KB)Loline alkaloids are non-toxic to livestock and protect endophyte-infected fescue against insects. They are not present in perennial ryegrass (PRG) infected with its natural endophyte. PRG has been artificially infected with the loline-producing endophyte AR525, sourced from tall fescue. Keywords: endophyte, ryegrass, lolines, host-symbiont interaction
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(310 KB)Over 10 years the health and production of sheep grazing ryegrass with AR37 fungal endophyte was compared to those grazing Standard and AR1 endophytes, and endophyte-free, under four different trial protocols, including short and long term grazing, cultivar effects and seasonal differences. Sheep developed some ryegrass staggers on AR37 treatments but it was less frequent and usually less severe than on Standard.
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(421 KB)Evidence from small plot and farm trials demonstrate that fungal endophyte infection plays a pivotal role in enhancing the persistence and yields of perennial, hybrid and Italian ryegrasses, tall and meadow fescues in Northland. In most situations these effects were evident within 2-3 years of sowing and were largely attributed to protection from insect attack that is conferred by endophyte infection. Keywords: fungal endophyte, Neotyphodium, perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne, tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea, meadow fescue, Festuca pratensis, African black beetle, Heteronychus arator
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(364 KB)
A field experiment evaluated the effect of plantain (Plantago lanceolata) on ewe and lamb liveweight changes and ewe faecal egg count (FEC) during lactation. Pregnant ewes were randomly allocated to either plantain or perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) pastures. Ewes remained on the treatments from one week before lambing until weaning. Keywords: lactating ewe, lamb, lactation, carrying capacity, internal parasites
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(314 KB)Perennial ryegrass cultivars with high levels of watersoluble carbohydrates (WSCs) have been proposed as a means to increase animal performance and nitrogen use efficiency in pasture-based animal production systems, with consequent environmental benefits. But this depends on a sufficient elevation of WSC in leaves. A gene x environment interaction (G x E) in the expression of the high sugar (HS) trait has been shown previously, with WSCs measured at a single stage in regrowth. Keywords: regrowth interval, defoliation, Lolium perenne, water soluble carbohydrates, plant composition
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(564 KB)Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is a useful alternative to ryegrass in New Zealand pasture but it is slow to establish. Naturally occurring beneficial bacteria in the rhizosphere can improve plant growth and health through a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms. Keywords: rhizosphere, endorhiza, auxin, siderophore, P-solubilisation
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(624 KB)In autumn of 3 consecutive years, tetraploid annual and diploid perennial ryegrasses were sown, and over 6 weeks in each spring the growth rates of 11 month old Romney cross lambs grazing the different ryegrasses were compared. Lamb liveweight gains on annual ryegrasses (364 g/day) were lower (P<0.05) than on perennial ryegrasses (407 g/day). However, because growth rates of annual ryegrasses were greater than for perennials, they supported a higher stocking rate and produced an extra 95 kg of liveweight/ha over the grazing period. Keywords: annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, maize supplementation, lamb growth rates
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(301 KB)High sugar grasses and novel endophytes are two new technologies promoted for pastoral farmers. While assessing their value for pastoral farming it is important to consider the interactive effects of these technologies on both pasture production and composition. Keywords: water soluble carbohydrates, Lolium perenne, Trifolium repens, Neotyphodium lolii, dry matter yield
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(419 KB)A set of 18 ryegrass cultivars and breeders’ lines, some selected for elevated concentrations of high molecular weight fructan, were compared for forage composition in mown row trials at two sites, in Canterbury and Manawatu. Cultivars varied significantly and consistently, with cultivars selected for elevated high molecular weight fructan showing consistently higher concentrations of these and total soluble carbohydrate, and lower concentrations of crude protein. Keywords: fructan, soluble carbohydrates, protein metabolism, forage quality, ryegrass breeding, cultivars
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(339 KB)Enhancing the concentration of water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) in ryegrass by management or breeding affects other chemical constituents, which may also contribute to the animal response. A large data set (n=220) of chemical composition of 3 ryegrasses was examined to determine the relationship between elevated WSC and other constituents. Keywords: water soluble carbohydrate, perennial ryegrasses, high sugar grasses, protein, neutral detergent fibre
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(494 KB)Over the last 10-15 years ‘Ceres Tonic’ plantain (Plantago lanceolata) has been added to many ryegrass/ white clover pastures in Northland. From 2001 to 2009, measurements were undertaken monthly in six locations throughout Northland to record the dry matter contribution of ‘Tonic’ plantain in mixes relative to perennial ryegrass-based pasture, using pasture cages in paired paddocks. Keywords: pasture mixes, dry matter production, seasonal distribution of dry matter, persistence
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(444 KB)
This study aimed to understand how farmers responded to field days and newsletters delivered in a Focus Farm project for deer farmers in Otago and Southland. In 2006, 30 deer farmers from Otago and Southland were interviewed on their environmental practices. Farmers were re-interviewed after 2 years to assess their involvement in the Focus Farm project and the value of that project to them. This project had a significant impact on both environmental and productivity improvements on the farms (averaging 2.2 and 1.1 changes per farm, respectively), both of farmers who attended the field days and those who only received newsletters (averaging total changes of 4.6 and 2.0 per farm, respectively). Keywords: deer farming, environmental, focus farms, field days, newsletters, productivity
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(465 KB)
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