Poncho Promotion for Schools 2021
The promotion has just finished for the 2020/21 season. As a result the following schools have benefited by way of sponsorship back to their schools for the following amounts.
Waitaki Valley $1078.50
Duntroon $1998.50
Papakaio $610.50
Five Forks $510.00
Glenavy $778.00
Omarama $877.50
Weston $427.50
St Josephs $280.00
Maheno $242.50
Total $6,803.00
A grand total of $19,661.60 has been donated back to local schools over the past 4 years, many thanks for your support and we look forward to next season.
Looking ahead; changing face of pasture and crop production
Even with recent warm weather Autumn has well and truly closed in, wrapping up a season which will be remembered by most for giving near average annual rainfall in only 3 days. It has been difficult, managing crop establishment on dryland and irrigated ground in the face of record low monthly rainfalls combined with sapping periods of intense wind has led me to congratulate many clients on just how well they fought through to achieve what results we got to.
During the year on top of the climate we kept discussing; regenerative agriculture, future parameters of potential resource consent requirements, the Nitrogen cap, implications of the future ban of live exports and generally how markets will unfold during/following the pandemic. From my point of view, it feels like potentially now more than for a long time we are going to see a shift in the pastures and crops that we are growing in response to these issues.
Implementing pasture mixes which can produce in a drier/more variable climate, maintaining (or improving!) yields with reduced Nitrogen inputs, altering winter crop programmes to achieve resource targets, including more plant diversity, changing feed curves due to differing stocking rate requirements; are issues which are likely to require most farming systems to need to look at sowing “new to them” species/varieties, potentially even “new to the area” species/varieties. Changing things up create opportunities and hurdles, and almost always significant alterations in management practices.
The team of Agronomists at North Otago Pastoral Services are extremely well placed to work alongside your farming system to achieve changes with positive results and avoid problems and losses from options/situations which aren’t. We have a depth of knowledge of key drivers of your current systems, but also spend a huge amount of time thinking about and working with; mixed pastures, high legume pastures, Maize, Swedes, conserved pasture for winter grazing, seed bank farming, etc., etc. and all the parameters which interact with these along the way. So, if your thinking – can I? should I? could I? give us a call
Matthew Paton
Environmental Planning Advantage
North Otago Pastoral in conjunction with Land IQ Insights have developed a series of farm plans that can help those on the land should they need to create an Environmental Grazing plan. The package includes General location, 1km Buffer around your farm boundary, showing water catchment and how water flows in relation to your farm and surrounding areas, Steepness, currently the ruling around this if a paddock has more than 10% greater area that is steeper than the mean slope of 10 degrees then a grazing permit is required.
The farm map package is available through North Otago Pastoral, for more information please contact your local field agronomist or Neill Glover at Land IQ Insights.
As this season draws to a close and winter approaches it is time to start planning for the next season ahead. The idea of growing maize as an option for silage has been a point of discussion lately and is a good way to grow and conserve a bulk of quality feed to be utilised when required at other times throughout the year.
Corson Maize is again running an Early Order Offer with the following benefits for those who order their maize seed before July 31st, 2021.
Benefits: Chuffed Gifts giveaway (60 chances to win)
Deferred payment options (ask your retailer)
100% replant policy
Preferred hybrid choice
Contact one of our field team for a paddock inspection and recommendation
