scholarly journals Improved forages to enhance hill country sheep production

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 225-231
Author(s):  
T.J. Fraser ◽  
D.R. Stevens ◽  
R.W. Scholfield ◽  
B.J. Nelson ◽  
A.J. Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Forage Quality ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Poor White ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Sheep Production ◽  
Farm Programme ◽  
On Farm

Recently, sheep and beef farms in New Zealand have been out-competed for prime land by dairy and horticulture farming. This means that industry targets to increase sheep and beef production have to be achieved on farms with constraints on pasture production. They are increasingly restricted to hilly and other locations with variable climates and soils, and landscape constraints on farming practices. These challenges lead to the formation of two on farm projects within the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Demonstration Farm programme to improve production from permanent pastures on sheep and beef farms. The first of these was a 4 year evaluation at Whangara Farms North of Gisborne looking at improving forage supply on both noncultivatable hill and flat to easy country through spraying out existing vegetation and oversowing or direct-drilling with white clover and plantain. The second project at Aria in the King Country concentrated on improving the forage quality and quantity at critical times of the year. Clovers and plantain were established through cultivation. Both projects showed that forage and animal production increased after the introduction of clovers and plantain. However, plantain at Whangara did not persist beyond the fourth year from sowing. Poor white clover establishment at Aria resulted in substituting red and white clover for plantain from the second year with improved forage and animal performance. At both sites the costs associated with introducing new forages was repaid within the first 2 years. Keywords: hill country development, forage species, forage quality, whole farm systems

scholarly journals ESTABLISHMENT OF OVERSOWN WHITE CLOVER ON UNIMPROVED NORTH AUCKLAND CLAY HILL COUNTRY

1967 ◽  
pp. 88-95
Author(s):  
G.J. Goold ◽  
T.E. Ludecke ◽  
J.N. Pari
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Acid Soil ◽  
Parent Material ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Available Phosphate

IN NORTH AUCKLAND, as is the case in all other areas of New Zealand, the key to pasture improvement lies in the introduction of legumes. Almost invariably poor pasture production is associated with poor clover growth. Contributing factors to poor clover establishment and growth are low amounts of available phosphate, potassium, molybdenum and sulphur, acid soil conditions and ineffective nodulation. This paper is concerned with the germination and establishment of white clover on unimproved North Auckland clay hill country. White clover establishment has been investigated on the soils of two northern yellow-brown earth soil suites, namely, the Marua suite from greywacke parent material and the Waiotira suite, from massive sandstone. These soils have been described by Taylor and Sutherland (1953) and are shown in their order of leaching in Tables 1 and 5, respectively.

scholarly journals Availability of seed for hill country adapted forage legumes

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 257-267
Author(s):  
S. Monk ◽  
D.J. Moot ◽  
B. Belgrave ◽  
M.P. Rolston ◽  
J.R. Caradus
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Forage Legumes ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Seed Supply ◽  
Farm Production ◽  
On Farm

New Zealand hill and high country are marginal environments for perennial ryegrass and white clover. Other pasture species, particularly legumes, provide more productive and persistent options for the range of soil climate and topography found in these environments. On cultivatable hill country, lucerne (alfalfa) has been successfully introduced to dryland areas with imported seed increasing five-fold to 210 t per annum over the last decade. This has led to the first release of a New Zealand selected cultivar in 20 years. For subterranean clover reliance on hardseeded Australian cultivars that frequently fail to meet New Zealand biosecurity standards means seed supply is inconsistent. The potential exists to create a niche seed market through selection of locally adapted material grown for seed in New Zealand. Lotus pedunculatus is available commercially but seed often fails to meet certification standards and is predominantly used in forestry. Lotus corniculatus requires agronomic research to overcome some management constraints and the re-establishment of seed supply before it would be a viable option for drier hill country. Seed production for perennial lupins in New Zealand is predominantly for an export ornamental market, with some direct relationships with growers allowing onfarm use. Caucasian clover seed production has ceased in New Zealand and the demand for seed particularly from high country farmers is no longer met. The smallseeded annual balansa clover is being integrated into farm systems and its prolific seeding has enabled some on-farm production of seed for personal use. For it and arrowleaf and Persian clovers, imported cultivars are available and a local market is unlikely to thrive until agronomic and hard seed issues are addressed. Seed supply of forage legumes to satisfy demand for hill country is problematic and will require development of different models including grower co-ops, regional seed retailers, and on-farm production for niche markets. Keywords: alfalfa, Lolium perenne, Lupinus polyphyllus, Medicago sativa, perennial ryegrass, Sitona lepidus, Trifolium ambiguum, Trifolium michelianum, Trifolium repens, Trifolium resupinatum, Trifolium subterraneum, Trifolium tumens, Trifolium vesiculosum, white clover

scholarly journals Comparison of phosphate fertilisers in a grazed hill country pasture

1990 ◽  
pp. 97-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.D. Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Phosphate Rock ◽  
Slow Release ◽  
First Year ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
Reactive Phosphate Rock ◽  
Small Plot ◽  
Second Year

A grazing trial evaluated the agronomic effectiveness of 3 different types of phosphate (P) fertilisers. The same fertilisers were also evaluated in a small-plot mowing trial located within the grazing trial. In the grazing trial, which covered 35 ha of summer moist hill country, the partially acidulated phosphate rock (PAPR) and reactive phosphate rock (RPR) were as effective as superphosphate in stimulating legume and pasture production in the first year. In the second year the two slow-release materials continued to perform as well as SSP. In contrast in the mowing trial, superphosphate was more effective than RPR in the first year. This trial technique clearly underestimates the initial effectiveness of PAPR and RPR in grazed hill country. The traditional small-plot mowing trial technique, and the role of PAPR and RPR fertilisers in hill country, both need re-evaluation. Keywords hill country, superphosphate, slow release fertilisers, mowing trials, grazed pasture

scholarly journals PERFORMANCE OF WHITE CLOVER LINES ON NEW ZEALAND HILL COUNTRY

1978 ◽  
pp. 162-169
Author(s):  
W.M. Williams ◽  
J.R. Caradus
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Production Potential ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
The Third ◽  
Infertile Soils ◽  
Better Than

Eighty-two white clover lines from overseas and 13 hill country collections from within New Zealand have been examined on a hill country site for their persistence and production potential under sheep grazing on infertile soils. By the third year of the trial only seven lines were equal to or better than Huia. These included only two overseas lines (one cultivar from France ('Crau') and a line from New Hampshire, U.S.A.) and five of the 13 collections from New Zealand hill country. This is considered to be a strong argument for the use of New Zealand material in breeding white clover for New Zealand hill country conditions.

scholarly journals Adoption of forage technologies

2013 ◽  
pp. 39-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Caradus ◽  
Simon Lovatt ◽  
Bruce Belgrave
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
White Clover ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Current Management ◽  
Farm Productivity ◽  
Farmer Management ◽  
On Farm

Pastoral farmers seek to continue to increase on-farm productivity, and to do this they need new forage options that they can adopt into their current management strategies. Four case studies show that New Zealand farmers have rapidly adopted new technologies that include forage herbs, white clovers with improved stolon growing point densities, and novel endophyte technologies. The less disruptive these technologies are to accepted farmer management strategies the greater the likelihood of adoption. Keywords: Forage technologies, adoption, chicory, white clover, endophytes

scholarly journals Moving from exploring on-farm opportunities with a single to a multi-year focus: Implications for decision making

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 57-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Rendel ◽  
A.D. Mackay ◽  
P.N. Smale ◽  
I. Vogeler
Keyword(s):  
Annual Variation ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Small Difference ◽  
Present Value ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Optimisation Model ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm System

In pastoral grazing farm systems there is growing awareness of the importance of including year to year variation in pasture grown when analysing and designing appropriate and more profitable systems. Few authors have clarified how an optimal farm system incorporates inter-temporal variability. This paper shows for a Whanganui hill country sheep and beef farm, that inclusion of inter-annual variation in pasture growth rate results in a more dynamic farm system than when only average pasture production data are used in a new, multi-year farm optimisation model. The variation in stock numbers, sale dates and pasture covers were quantified, as was the variation in farm profitability (measured as Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation, EBITDA). Interestingly, there was only a small difference in Net Present Value between the two approaches over 10 year's simulation. Keywords: farm systems, variability, INFORM, multiyear

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