Dec 19, 2021 | Articles
The cost of imported fertiliser products, particularly those containing soluble phosphorus and potassium have lifted sharply in price in the last six months and there is a strong likelihood they will again be more expensive in autumn. After debt servicing fertiliser...
Nov 19, 2021 | Articles
The parallel between the farming situation now and the late 1970’s is eerily similar and comes with a cautionary message. Meat, milk, and wool prices are steadily climbing, however if the pattern follows farmers may still struggle to generate a worthwhile surplus at...
Oct 27, 2021 | News
With supply of fertiliser inputs from overseas becoming increasingly expensive and erratic, it’s worth focusing on our own resources. Magnesium is an essential input on virtually all intensive dairy farms and there is no guarantee that magnesium oxide products, all of...
Aug 4, 2021 | Articles
Every day there are new reports proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the world is warming at a faster rate than ever before, and although reversible we are getting close to the point of no return. The only way we’re told that the warming process can be reversed is...
Jun 10, 2021 | Articles
Jargon is a mode of speech familiar only to a group or profession. Its widely used by the scientific fraternity, particularly with respect to agriculture, and its effect, whether deliberate or otherwise, has been to limit open discussion. When you are unsure of the...
Apr 3, 2021 | Articles
What should be bothering you most, methane, nitrous oxide, nitrate-nitrogen levels in ground water, carbon sequestration, or the politics of it all? Making sense of any complex situation requires a clear vision of the big picture. With that in place the detail can be...
Mar 10, 2021 | Articles
Below is a recently taken photograph of a Functional Fertiliser client’s property from 2,500ft. The move to organic certification was made in March 2013 with all required nutrients applied annually. Without accurate rainfall data it’s not possible to know whether it’s...
Feb 8, 2021 | Articles
The last article was written prior to the release of the Climate Change Commission’s draft plan for slashing New Zealand’s emissions. From the article ominously titled, The Government will not hold back, there is a call for a 15% reduction in animal numbers, less...
Jan 14, 2021 | Articles
In the last 60 years walk through cowsheds have been replaced by step-ups, then herringbones, and now rotaries. And robots! Fifty dairy cows used to be an economic family farm in the 1960’s, and in the 1970’s a 150-cow unit was regarded as the maximum that could be...
Dec 2, 2020 | Articles
As a sharemilker, coming from an education background with only school and university holiday experience on dairy farms and hungry for information, I collected and stashed any interesting and potentially useful information. It’s been kept in boxes and added to over...
