Surviving winter to enjoy spring, May 2012

The following information will provide farmers with the ability to grow more feed in spring.  For those who don’t enjoy winter, there’s the added benefit of getting to spring in a better frame of mind. Our first few years of pastoral farming were spent close to the...

Improved pasture persistence, March 2012

It’s fascinating to watch companies with the miracle product suddenly develop a new product that will cure all ills.   Could it be that the original product did not perform as claimed or is it a case of trying to chase the market as it changes? One of the many...

Soils need to breathe February 2012

Soil is a living breathing organism, and as with any other oxygen dependent organism potential performance increases with improved ability to suck air in and breathe out gases.  Conversely when unable to breathe soil dies and what remains is no longer soil. In an...

Maximising summer and early autumn production, January 2012

The marked reduction in the incidence of calcium/magnesium related metabolic disorders, particularly in dairy cows, as a result of a single annual application of Golden Bay Dolomite is well known and easily monitored. The overall improvement in animal health and...

Determining the value of nutrient inputs, Dec 2011

Much of the conventional fertiliser model is based on the premise that the cheapest input is the best.  This ignores the performance aspect of products and there are many examples where the cheapest products available simply do not perform as well or provide the range...

The importance of structure over summer, November 2011

The structure of soil has a strong influence on the quantity of pasture grown from now until rain arrives in autumn. After a wet winter, in areas where treading damage has been unavoidable, the soil may have become a little compacted with the bulk of permanent pasture...