Gongs for best field days site
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
With ever-dryer summers becoming a reality in many parts of New Zealand, there’s a growing need for frugal plants that require less water and fertiliser input, according to PGG Wrightson Seeds.
The company points to Pallaton Raphno, a kale-radish hybrid, which is the first new species of its kind in New Zealand since the 1980s.
The company says its drought tolerance is where this plant really stands out, performing well in some of the harshest conditions and helping maintain production in systems that would otherwise struggle in the dryer months.
PGG Wrightson Seeds annual crops breeding manager Andy Dumbleton says its water use efficiency allows it “to grow a hell of a lot with not much”.
Pallaton Raphno began life in the early 2000s when Dumbleton was an agronomist, with the development being a bit of a side project.
“I was thinking, yeah, I could probably keep going and make a plant that does x, y and z,” he says.
It took 16 years to bring it from a side project to a commercially available crop, which has proven itself over the last 4 years with its excellent performance in drought conditions, particularly in Waikato and the east coast of the North Island.
Part of its advantage is in the first 40 days after sowing (DAS), where the plant puts most of its energy into sending the taproot deep into the ground.
Dumbleton says this focus underground can mean that often it doesn’t look like it’s doing much growing, but really it’s pulling all its energy down, then all of a sudden, at about 35 to 40 DAS it switches over from growing a root to growing canopy.
PGG Wrightson Seeds sales agronomist, Paul Greenbank, says its drought tolerance allows feed to be carried through into the dryer months, continuing to grow well.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…