News

When Kelley Hamilton, viticulturist and vineyard manager for Misha’s Vineyard in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago, needed a solution for persistent red fescue under their grape vines, she enlisted the assistance of her Fruitfed Supplies Technical Horticulture Representative Brent Anderson...

Subdued autumn and quiet winter foreshadow busy spring for rural property. Demand for rural property always balances several variables. How these weigh up determines what momentum the market will generate at any given time. Activity in the autumn market has been strong, right through into late May...

We're now well into bull selling season, lamb schedules are continuing to rise and the Karaka Autumn All Age Sale saw some great results. Read on to find our more of what's been happening around the country. South Island Bull sales have started strongly in Southland and Otago, with good clearances...

When it comes to weed control in lucerne, there’s really only one option says Central Otago Farmer, Barry Smith. And that’s to spray Gramoxone® 250 during winter months when the crop is dormant. Lucerne is a highly nutritious feed which supports excellent stock growth rates in spring and summer. It...

Having the ability to utilise dairy effluent as a source of nutrients for pasture growth effectively utilises on-farm resources. Dairy farm effluent is mainly comprised of dung, urine, udder wash water, milking plant wash water and milk spillages. It contains valuable nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus...

Centramax is a productivity tool for situations where an internal parasite challenge or mineral deficiencies of selenium and cobalt are limiting animal performance. Centramax is an intra-ruminal bolus containing 11 tablets, each with the anthelmintics abamectin and albendazole, mineralised with...

First-time users of Gusto V-Whey powder, Dairy Farmers, Bryan and Diana Te Awa were impressed with how easily it mixed, how the calves took to it and how calves quickly gained condition following a rough start last season. Diana was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Gusto V-Whey for three...

Image: Pathogens such as downy mildew require careful management of crop protection products to avoid the development of resistance [Photo credit: Howard F. Schwartz, Bugwood.org] Resistance management is a factor in crop protection that cannot be ignored. The overuse or misuse of a chemical control...

With three years of use in local apple and pear orchards throughout New Zealand’s major growing regions, Drape Net® is showing benefits to growers’ returns. The black Drape Net has a 25% shading factor due to the black impregnated polymer pigment, reducing the impact of sunlight on the apple skin...

Late last year PGG Wrightson initiated a new trainee programme for retail sales representatives, with four Rural Supplies and two Fruitfed Supplies trainees selected to start in 2018. Mentored by highly-experienced Technical Field or Horticultural Representatives, the trainees learn about the wider...

It’s been a busy month of calf sales across the country, the PGG Wrightson Standardbred Autumn Weanling Sales start May 29 th and we’re just weeks away from the PGG Wrightson Livestock National Video Sale (Stud Bull Sale) . North Island The past few weeks had seen large volumes of weaner calves sold...

PGW’s GM of Wool, Grant Edwards talks to Jamie McKay about the future of Strong Wool. There is increasing pressure from consumers and social media around the environmental impacts and health issues from synthetic fibres. Grant talks to Jamie about the long term upsides of wool - as a natural and...

Halfbred lamb sales are a rarity in Southland, so Nokomai Station’s on-farm sale on Wednesday 18 April attracted a strong gallery of buyers from Otago and Canterbury who were looking for some of the last of season’s lambs from the region. The on-farm sale offered 8,616 halfbred and 2,692 Texel X...

One thing all orchardists hate is waste and Bay of Plenty orchardists Geoff and Leny Leong are no exception. The Leongs experience constant damage by rats and possums on their 7.6 ha Paengaroa orchard, where they harvest 150 avocado, 105 macadamia and 130 walnut trees annually. Facing sizeable...

Autumn is a key time of the year to soil test paddocks. Soil testing is important because it provides a snapshot of soil properties and nutrient levels to identify any deficiencies, imbalances or excessive levels in the soil. By quantifying these nutrient levels and comparing those to optimum levels...

The PGG Wrightson Livestock business has continued to strengthen its performance over the last three years as lower stock numbers and sustained international demand for New Zealand’s high-quality protein have combined to push up livestock prices. Livestock is principally an agency business, with...

North Island Sheep & Beef Recent years have seen the Sheep and Beef sector dominated by the rise and rise in the value of Beef across all breeds, this has been great for the Beef sector and the growth in supply has mainly been at the detriment of the Sheep flock which has been in steady decline for...

Genetics 2 year old bull sales are just around the corner and it is time to discuss your breed objectives and requirements with your specialist team. We can help you achieve your breed objectives and reach your goals. PGW Genetics have a national video sale on the 14th May consisting of Angus...