Hamish & Annabel Craw are part of the Innovation Farm Programme run by Beef + Lamb NZ. Their project focusses on using legumes to increase the ME of their hill country pastures. This has driven pre-weaning lamb growth rates and increase their weaning draft.
Are your hill country pastures helping you realize the growth potential of your lamb crop?
Banks Peninsula farmers Hamish and Annabel Craw looked to agrichemicals and management to increase the legume content and quality of their hill country pastures. These high-quality pastures are used to drive lactation and pre-weaning growth rates.
The couple, who were B+LNZ Innovation Farmers, says the two main profit drivers in their business are their lambing percentage and the percentage of lambs weaned off mum.
They have been particularly focused on the period between lambing and weaning to maximise lamb growth rates and high ME legumes are essential for them to be able to do this.
Through the Innovation farm programme, the Craws sought to increase the legume content of their hill country pastures by encouraging resident clovers and introducing new clovers.
This short video summarises their Innovation Farm project and the key findings.