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In New Zealand’s dynamic farming landscape, staying ahead means embracing innovative solutions, especially when it comes to perennial ryegrass.

Home-grown pasture is your best friend when times are good. But when budgets are stretched, it truly comes into its own as a high value, high return asset.

Summer forage crops are a useful feed source when pasture quality is poor and thanks to their high-quality feed profile, they deliver good results when used for finishing stock or for milk production.

Pasture renewal is a crucial practice for improving the productivity and profitability of a farm. By replacing underperforming pastures with new, high-yielding varieties, farmers can significantly enhance their pasture's performance.

The next three months is very important in getting it right with your agri-chemical applications to maximise your quality and yield in these crops. These crops are all at different growth stages or have yet to be planted so timing of agri-chemical applications is based on what growth stage the crop is at as well as what weed, and disease pressure is happening now and in the future.

This year the winter period has been a lot colder, and we have seen a lot more frosts this year compared to the last few years. It also has been a lot drier as well. This has impacted on the growth of both grass and arable crops.

Calving can be an exciting time of year, with lots of calves around and milk starting to flow into the vat, but it is a tiring time of year too. It’s worth spending a bit of time now thinking about how you will prioritise animal care and looking after your staff through this critical period. Some aspects you could focus on are preparing your heifers for milking quietly and fostering stock skills in your employees.

Getting off the grid and onto a power supply that can still meet his relatively high-power needs has long been a goal for Ashburton lifestyle block farmer and Ruralco member Basil Ivey.

Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) systems have added another tool to the toolbox in agricultural water management, offering precise control over water application to optimise crop yield and water use efficiency.

As South Island farmers head into winter grazing, supplementing dairy herds with the right minerals is critical because even bumper winter crops can still be nutritionally deficient, says a ruminant nutrition expert.