Massey University Showcases Practical Solutions for Soil Health, Nutrient Retention and Kikuyu Grass Management at Fieldays

These were just some of the conversations that Massey University initiated at its site at Fieldays recently.

Danny Donaghy, Professor of Dairy Production Systems and joint Deputy Head of the School of Agriculture and the Environment at Massey, says their Fieldays site and also the Science in Farming site where they had a presence was designed to bring farmers' attention to simple practical solutions to some significant issues they face.

Capturing Nitrogen Before It Reaches Waterways

Donaghy says Massey University and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) made various models which they had on the sites which demonstrate how nitrogen can be captured on farm using a woodchip bioreactor - one of which is already in use at a farm in the Manawatu.

He says another model showed the value of a detainment bund at the bottom of a slope which can capture phosphorus and also soil.

"One cropping farmer from the South Island told me that he installed a detainment bund and when there was a heavy rainstorm, two hectares of his crop and soil was washed down the hill, but it was stopped from going into the stream by the bund," he told Dairy News.

"As a result of this... when the soil dried out, he was able to recover about a dozen truckloads of it and restore the hillside. He says he never realised how much soil could be wasted by such an event," he says.

Donaghy says this is just one of the many simple solutions that are now available and are becoming more necessary as the frequency of adverse weather events increases.

Pasture Mixes Designed for Climate Resilience

Another issue for farmers who are having to cope with climate change and unpredictable adverse weather events - be they floods or droughts - is getting pasture mixes that can help mitigate some of the impacts.

Donaghy has various cocktails of pasture mixes that could make a difference.

He says for summer dry, ryegrass with chicory and red clover and also tall fescue, red clover and lucerne. Then for areas that get waterlogged, species such as tall fescue with timothy and strawberry clover.

Learning to Live With Kikuyu Grass

"Another issue that has created a lot of interest is how to deal with kikuyu grass which is dominant in Northland but has now spread south into the Waikato and down the coast to the Manawatu. For years people have been asking how to deal with it and it's come to a stage when we just have to live with it and find ways of better dealing with it," he says.

Donaghy says he's been looking at a range of options to mix with kikuyu and these include prairie and brome grass, lotus and white clover.

He says all these species were on show at the Fieldays and the aim has been to provide options and to get farmers and their advisors to see which species of pasture best suit their environment and specific production requirements.