Farm Tech

PasturePlan

‘Glenforsa Farm’ and ‘Oakbourne Farm’, Brownrigg Agriculture

Location: Wallingford (Glenforsa), near Te Aute, and Porangahau (Oakbourne), near Hastings.

Farm size & type: Glenforsa – 404 ha. Oakbourne – 411 ha. Both farms are predominantly lamb and cattle finishing operations.

Topography: Typical east coast medium hill country.

Rainfall: Glenforsa – 750 mm/yr. Oakbourne – 1,000 mm/yr.

Climate: Dry in summer.

Soil type: n/a.

Fertiliser regime: Fertiliser applications depend on annual soil tests. Glenforsa got 150 kg/ha of sulphur super 19 in mid winter this year. In May 100 kg/ha of urea was applied to Oakbourne to push further growth into the winter. When ground conditions permit it will receive 250 kg/ha of DAP155.

Stock numbers: n/a.

Carrying capacity: Both farms average 12 su/ha.

Plot descriptions: Wallingford – (a) Old rye, cocksfoot & clover, rolling to flat. (b) 2-yr rye & clovers, rolling to flat. Pukehou – (c) 2-yr rye & clovers, west-facing hill. (d) Old ratstail, bromes & clover, hill.

Detailed description: The two sets of cage cutting areas are on similar aspects and slopes on the farms, and were chosen to compare old and two-year old permanent pastures.

Farmer's comments: "Knowing a farm's fertility and history is an important starting step in maximising growth, especially with new pastures. The growth rate project will back up data we use in our present feed planning programme, which we have been running for seven years now with pleasing results. More importantly, though, it will allow farmers in these districts to have more confidence when it comes to their own feed planning strategies." (Guy Hamilton, Brownrigg Agriculture's agronomist)

Results published: Hawkes Bay Today.