News

Newly-appointed Fruitfed Supplies Area Sales Manager Jeremy Darby heads up a new team in the region with new faces representing PGG Wrightson in both the horticulture and Rural Supplies teams. Having started with the company in 2015 as a Technical Field Representative in Gisborne, Jeremy drew on his...

Brassica crops for grazing are valuable and used for many reasons, from a development tool to a rotation option for filling a feed gap at key times of the year. Choosing the right brassica crop for your farm is important to achieve a profitable outcome. Brassica crop options range from bulb turnips...

In long hot dry summers, perennial ryegrass growth either stops or considerably slows down, restricting grazing options at the time when fattening lambs or feeding other livestock is the goal. Ryegrass has a shallow rooting system which leaves the plants susceptible to drought and damage from pests...

Canterbury Farmers Rod and Adrienne May have enjoyed the benefits of growing Sovereign kale for the past 10 years. Located just outside of Darfield on their arable and dairy support property, the Mays need a kale that can produce large yields to be sold standing for dairy support as well as holding...

Since 2016, Neil and Stacie Fagan have utilised spring sown Cleancrop™ brassicas as part of a programme to control pasture weeds before establishing new pastures in autumn. Cleancrop rape was initially used as a summer feed on their sheep and dairy support block in Te Kuiti, but more recently they...

This month's reflection on the wool market has seen a strong growth in terms of sales and as Grant Edwards, PGG Wrightson's GM for wool, explains there is definitely an upwards trend for wool since June-July of this year. The Country's Jamie Mackay spoke with Grant Edwards about the exceptional...

Starch-based calf feed is recognised as beneficial to support rumen development pre-weaning, but is arguably equally important for the four to six weeks post-weaning off milk. A good indicator that calves can be weaned off milk is when hard feed consumption is 1.0 to 1.5 kilograms per head per day...

New pastures are an opportunity to lift farm production and match pasture growth to the stock class you are producing. Taking time to do it well pays off in the long-term. Here are some key things to focus on: The spray-out Good soil moisture is key to strike seed and get any pasture off to a great...

Soil testing is an important tool in your cropping calendar. It can be utilised to assist in selecting the correct paddocks to use for high value crops, like fodder beet, and for selecting which paddocks can be planted with a lower value crop in order to start the process of increasing soil...

Time spent now selecting and preparing your brassica crop paddock may pay off later. Paddock history, location and soil fertility are just three of the considerations that should be kept in mind when deciding where to grow your next brassica crop. “Be mindful of paddock history with brassicas,” says...

You only get one chance to get a crop in the ground at the right time, and that is the first day you do it. If you have to come back and re-sow, you have lost weeks of productivity and yield. Planning is critical for success. Crop type and time of planting are key, but ask yourself, why do you want...

In a recent interview on Country TV Rob Cochrane discusses the current wool market with Mark Leishman on the Daily Report. Video supplied by countrytv.co.nz.

PGG Wrightson GM of Wool, Grant Edwards talks to Jamie McKay about wool and the wool industry.

Our Technical Team share their top tips to consider when sowing new pasture this season. PADDOCK SELECTION Identify the damaged and poor performing paddocks on your farm for spring cropping. Check paddocks you are targeting for spraying out and, if there are specific weed issues, consider a spike to...

Get prepared for spring and the danger of frosts by making sure your wind machines have been serviced during the off-season and are ready to protect your crop, says Les Rackley, Fruitfed Supplies Machinery Product Manager. “We don’t like hearing reports of last minute service agent call outs...

Target lemon tree borer by pruning out infested material before the end of the month, after which adult borer start to emerge and lay their eggs in new plant material. Continue to apply fungicides through August to ensure good fruit quality come harvest. Suitable products include Folpan™, Kocide...

The Ohakune region, famed for its quality vegetables, features a number of multi-generational market gardening operations. We talk with some of the producers to find out why. The Greenwood family started their Ohakune enterprise with Bob and Frances in the 1930s who ran sheep and cattle, then moved...

A key component to achieve your target ewe survival, lamb survival and lamb growth rates over lambing is feeding ewes to maintain a Body Condition Score (BCS) of three. Lamb survival decreases five percent and lamb weaning weight decreases six percent for every half of BCS below BCS of three at...