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Ground-Effect-Iii.Pdf INSIGHT AND ACTION FOR AGRICULTURAL SUCCESS SPRING 2016 EFFECT EDITION 3 “We love pushing the limits.” Mary Andrews, Matariki Partnership, Waiomatatini Valley More for the beer: Hops and their explosive growth Fertilising on a budget Dr Ants Roberts WELCOME TO THE THIRD EDITION OF GROUND EFFECTTM FROM RAVENSDOWN So here we are with another spring edition of Ground Effect packed with insights and tips that can help boost the performance of the agri-sector for the benefit of New Zealand. First cab off the rank is popular radio host and former All Black Richard Loe reflecting on the importance health and safety holds for him. As we leave winter behind, Tim Lissaman, one of our Farm Environmental Consultants points out how changing to wintering dairy herds on farm can be a false economy when N-loss and nutrient budget impacts are included. Next winter may seem like a long way off, but if you’re considering starting to winter cows on farm, it is well worth planning ahead. managing information. A track record of soil tests and fertiliser maps can show what’s been effective in the past. This historical On page 6, shareholder Grant McKenzie talks about how the evidence can now be combined with future-facing data such as environmental consultancy helped him with a land use change. weather forecasts, soil temperatures and other environmental This dedicated team within Ravensdown continues to be conditions. extremely busy which demonstrates how many shareholders are taking their environmental performance seriously. Meanwhile The ballistics model underpinning our IntelliSpread precision aerial fellow shareholders Rob and Mary Andrews describe the ideas at spreading service also deals with predictions based on complex the heart of their improvement philosophy on page 12. calculations cross-checked against actual results. This helps pilots and farmers by predicting where fertiliser will land given the speed Our field-based team are out there talking to farmers facing a of the plane and the wind. The computer-controlled doors then huge variety of challenges. Dr Ants Roberts looks at getting bangs adjust automatically so that the fertiliser lands where it’s intended. for buck from fertiliser investment and how to avoid throwing out the belt-tightened baby with budget-cut bathwater. Agri Manager If this edition triggers any ideas, thoughts or questions I’d be James Bryan outlines the benefit of controlled release urea while happy to hear of them at the email address below. After all, Agri Manager Marty O’Connor discusses the spring ‘pinch-point’ combining our thinking is how New Zealand can move forward. for pasture production. Best Regards Our tried and tested pasture-first philosophy seems timely in Greg Campbell tighter times and has always played to New Zealand’s competitive Ravensdown Chief Executive advantage. Innovation Development Manager Dr Rob Murray tells us about how recent innovations to our Smart Maps technology [email protected] can future-proof your business with good decision-making from Ravensdown Ground Effect 1 Ground EffectTM Spring 2016 Thought 10 This leaders Fertilising on a budget Dr Ants Roberts, edition 4 Chief Scientific Officer Richard Loe Championing health and safety. 17 Growing great lambs Paul McKee, Ravensdown Animal Health Technical Manager 18 26 Controlled N Dr Rachel Bryant — the advantage of a Making sense of gibberellic acid. polymer coating James Bryan, Pushing the limits Ravensdown Agri Manager 12 in Ruatoria 20 Farming in one of the most remote areas in the North Island. Spring pasture — bang for your buck 28 Marty O’Connor, Ravensdown Agri Manager Smart Maps, your nutrient Dr Rob Murray 31 nerve centre Unpredictable times call for Kimberley Bray, Ravensdown National predictive measures. 22 Services Manager Short supply of cobalt and copper Dr Hendrik Venter Ravensdown Primary Growth Analytical Research Laboratory 32 Partnership (ARL) Technical Director - Feature story: Pilot perspective Science and - The science behind Placement Verification 24 Technology advice Soil fertility and the 6 snake oil merchants The science behind Rob Carter, farmer and 36 spreadable Environmental Ravensdown shareholder case study superphosphate Getting it done once and getting 41 Mathew Ellen, Ravensdown Works Chemist it done right. Four things you need to know about lime More for the beer: 8 Dr Hendrik Venter Ravensdown 38 Hops' explosive growth. Dairy downturn Analytical Research Laboratory — the unintended (ARL) Technical Director consequences Source code Tim Lissaman, Ravensdown COVER IMAGE: MARY ANDREWS 42 Cited articles and sources for this edition Farm Environmental Consultant 2 Spring 2016 BEHIND Maps to target nutrient losses THE SCENES Ravensdown continues its collaboration with Victoria University introducing a bespoke version of a Land Utilisation & Ravensdown is collaborating for Capability Indicator (LUCI) that features improved spatially-explicit detail of a sustainable future nutrient transfer across farm and provides guidance on appropriate targeted mitigations where needed. Encouraging Appreciation nutrient research shown for precision studies approach Senior Agri Manager Bec Meyer Ravensdown shareholder Craige congratulates Grace Chibuike of Massey Mackenzie was recognised as the Measuring actual University who recently received a $5000 International Precision Agriculture Farmer Ravensdown Agricultural Research of the Year by the International Society nutrient losses Scholarship towards her PhD at Massey of Precision Agriculture. Craige also chairs “Investigating and enhancing nutrient the Precision Agriculture Association of The 120 devices loaned by Ravensdown, attenuation capacity and pathways in New Zealand on the organising committee that study the extent of nitrate leaching pastoral hill country landscapes”. with Mike Manning Ravensdown General in a variety of cropping situations, Manager Innovation and Strategy. continue to generate data that helps to inform the OVERSEERTM modelling tool. Ravensdown was instrumental in setting Precision Agriculture Association New Zealand up the monitoring project being led by the : +).4525-?,589;9:'/4'(2+-85=:. Foundation for Arable Research, which measures how closely reality is matching predictions in several regions. Analytical Research Laboratories (ARL) have been testing the water samples captured under different crops and soils. Ravensdown Ground Effect 3 Point of View // Richard Loe WALKING THE WALK Championing farm health and safety Farmer, former All Black and Ravensdown shareholder, Richard Loe, has never been backward about coming forward, whether on the rugby field or as a “I’m the first to admit that commentator on farming and sporting issues. Now he’s bringing that plain-speaking to bear as ambassador for in my younger days I WorkSafe’s Safer Farms programme, working with farmers to tackle the high number of deaths and didn’t give much thought serious injuries on farms. to health and safety.” I grew up on a farm. After school and during school holidays, we’d grab a horse, without a saddle or bridle, and head off to work. For Ravensdown shareholders, most of it will be stuff you are I’m the first to admit that in my younger days I didn’t give much already doing to meet the requirements of your meat or milk thought to health and safety, nor for that matter, in my early days processors. You can go through and tick off what you are doing of farming. now and if there are any areas you need to brush up on, then look But then three years ago, I was asked to co-present a health and it up on the Safer Farms website www.saferfarms.org.nz. Often all safety training video for Landcorp staff. I heard from Landcorp that’s needed is a few simple steps. workers about what they were doing and how they had learnt Or ask someone. We can all learn from one another. Look over from others. It made me think “I need to be walking the walk”. your neighbours’ fences and ask them what they’ve got on their After all, in 2015 alone, there were 19 deaths on New Zealand hazard register. farms and thousands more injuries. This resulted in millions Learn from your agricultural contractors. My hay baler employs of dollars in ACC payouts, alongside a significant impact on 20 people and he’s up to speed on all this stuff so I learn from him. farm productivity. Let’s make spreading good health and safety practice in farming a I took a fresh look at what I was doing at my own place – a run of two-way street. For instance, if you’ve got a contractor coming in the mill farm, with a Donnie Merino stud operation and some to spread fertiliser, think about what you need to tell them about beef, overlooking the Waimakariri Gorge in Canterbury. – the stroppy bull in a paddock, the flooded field or any ruts and I’ve found out for myself that creating a hazard register and ditches they should look out for. managing risk is straightforward. It doesn’t mean a lot of Before tackling a job, think about what’s the best equipment to paperwork. You just need to be aware of the risks on your farm use. You wouldn’t take a hand fork to dig the paddock, so why and communicate that to the people who need to know. take a quad up a steep pasture or to tow heavy spraying Some farmers may think the new Health and Safety in Work Act equipment? is too daunting. I thought it would be too, but when you look at Check your vehicle and tyre pressure before you go out and WorkSafe’s ‘Keep Safe, Keep Farming’ tool-kit, you realise that it’s think ahead about the terrain and any hazards that change the just about being a good farmer. game, like slippery slopes after rain. 4 Spring 2016 FEATURE RICHARD LOE IS FRONT-FOOTING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON HIS CANTERBURY FARM. For too long, we as farmers have been saying we learn by our mistakes.
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