Regular autumn rainfall made for ideal conditions for clover seeds to strike on Hamish and Annabel Craw’s 422ha Banks Peninsula farm.
Timely rain combined with careful grazing management has allowed for good seed-set in both subterranean and white clovers on Hamish and Annabel Craw’s Banks Peninsula farm this summer.
As their tenure as B+LNZ Innovation Farmers comes to an end, the Craws believe their hill country has more productive potential than they ever thought possible.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand Innovation farmers Hamish and Annabel Craw have been trialling the use of chemicals to increase the quality and quantity of pastures on uncultivable parts of their Banks Peninsula farm.
Through B+LNZ’s Innovation Farm programme, Hamish and Annabel Craw have been trialling the use of chemicals to allow clovers to flourish on the uncultivable areas of their Banks Peninsula hill country farm.
The final of a three-part series on subterranean clover looks at the management challenges associated with growing this early-season clover.
The second story in our subterranean clover series focuses on the specific management requirements of this early season clover.
B+LNZ investigates how sub clover can be managed to enhance productivity and profitability on dryland sheep and beef farms.
With the correct management, annual clovers can be some of the most valuable forages in a dryland forage system, says Dick Lucas from Lincoln University.
Changes to grazing management has allowed resident subterranean clover to flourish on Wairoa’s Waiau Station. The challenge now for owners Dave Read and Judy Bogaard is to increase clover coverage and to use this clover to drive stock performance.
A chemical regime is showing promise in allowing existing clover to flourish on uncultivated hill country in Canterbury. The spray regime is being trialled as part of a B+LNZ Innovation Farm programme that aims to improve the quantity and quality of legumes grown on hill country.
Using legumes to realise the productive potential of uncultivable East Coast hill country will be the focus of a B+LNZ Demonstration Farm programme.
