Deal to bring cost relief for farmers
Listed milk processor Synlait is partnering with rural retailer Farmlands to deliver exclusive discounts to farmer suppliers, who have been battling high farm input costs for the past two years.
Nothing competes with grass when it comes to cost effective feed. But when grass supply is short, ProGibb SG is the next best thing, says Farmlands Manawatu field manager Mike McLean.
He says for no more than 16c/kgDM (including application costs), New Zealand’s first and most widely tested plant growth regulator for pasture presents a compelling financial argument this spring.
“Few inputs can offer the same return in the current economic climate, but for many farmers ProGibb SG has become part and parcel of cost-effective farming no matter what the budget looks like.”
McLean says the product is “proven to work, and there’s good trial data wrapped around it as well”.
He estimates at least 50% of his clients now routinely use ProGibb to boost DM production in spring and autumn by 30-60% within three weeks of applications.
One user is Himitangi dairy farmer Owen Greig, with 2400 cows on two milking platforms and a sizeable run-off. He started using ProGibb SG three-four years ago and now aims to apply it on both milking platforms several times a year, spraying up to 200ha a week at the busiest times and complementing it with solid urea.
His first goal was to shift his spring balance date and he says pasture supply now matches cow demand 7-10 days earlier than it used to. “Now we’re using it in early autumn too, to help build our covers back up after summer.”
Either way, he says, “it’s growing grass for the cheapest possible price at the time of the year when you need it most.”
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
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