Farm Tech

PasturePlan

‘Gengyle Downs’, Ashley and Cathrine Peter

Location: Dovedale, near Nelson.

Farm size & type: 330 ha (effective).

Topography: Mostly rolling, easy hill country with some flats and steep parts. Has a 30 ha block of native bush and some pine trees.

Rainfall: 1,100 mm/yr.

Climate: Frosty winters and dry summers. Good spring growth.

Soil type: n/a.

Fertiliser regime: Ravensdown fertiliser protocol and 100 metre strips set out on paddocks that have been soil tested for the past five years. Phosphate levels are 32–38 on the flats and 21–23 on the hills. The farm gets maintenance plus fertiliser applications and got 600 tonne of lime this year.

Stock numbers: 2,000 su sheep, 2,000 su cattle.

Carrying capacity: n/a.

Plot descriptions: (a) Ryegrass. (b) Old ryegrass and cocksfoot.

Detailed description: n/a.

Farmer's comments: "I've been talking about doing monitoring for years. It's a good incentive to get the knowledge on-farm to know what's going on with pasture growth. The benefits of pasture monitoring are knowing how much grass we can grow at certain times of the year. That way you are able to maximise stock growth rates to turn that grass into dollars." (Ashley Peter)

Results published: Nelson/Marlborough Farming