A ‘just in time’ attitude to sending market signals to New Zealand’s arable growers won’t cut the mustard in the current climate, Federated Farmers Arable Chair Colin Hurst says. “Harvest only happens once a year so really it’s a case of ‘get your orders in early’.” The 1 July AIMI (Arable Industry Marketing Initiative) survey […]
Arable, Grains & Seeds
Federated Farmers Easy Guide to Arable
Facts to Learn Arable production in New Zealand includes everything that is grown as a crop and harvested by a combine harvester. This includes crops such as cereals for human and animal feed, maize for grain and silage, grass and legume seeds for pasture and amenity, and high value vegetable seeds. Other farming systems use […]
Grain size discovery boosts sorghum potential
Researchers at The University of Queensland are optimistic the value and versatility of one of the world’s top crops will be improved following the discovery of genes which could increase the grain size of sorghum. Use of the drought-resilient summer crop has been constrained by the small size of sorghum grains, but Professor David Jordan […]
Safe use of agrichemicals manual updated
Disease and pest free animals and crops rely on agrichemical use. Pesticides, detergents and sanitisers are a critical component of New Zealand’s $48 billion agricultural sector. The recently released and updated ‘NZS 8409:2021 Management of agrichemicals’ provides guidance for spray operators, farmers, growers and other users to manage a range of chemicals safely, responsibly and […]
Managing pesticide resistance threat
Pesticide resistance is a serious challenge for the farming sector – decreasing its ability to manage pests and diseases such as Blackspot (apples), powdery mildew (a fungal disease affecting a wide range of plants), diamond back moth and weeds affecting ryegrass. Farmers, industry and government all have a part to play to manage it. Farmers […]
Embracing arable on and off-farm
By Anna Heslop, of FAR Tash White’s first memories of farming are hand rouging wild oats. Despite this she wasn’t deterred from a career in the arable sector and her children are now doing the same job. Tash is a third-generation farmer at ‘Willowbank’ farm, just south of Ashburton, Canterbury. The farm has been in […]
Herbicide resistance greater than expected; growing concern
Herbicide resistance is emerging as a serious and growing threat to New Zealand’s food production, with recent surveys by scientists finding half or more of arable farms and vineyards in some regions have weeds resistant to commonly used herbicides. AgResearch scientists, who are carrying out the first systematic approach to surveying for herbicide-resistant weeds in […]
Competition concerns spook bread wheat growers
Uncertainty over restrictive new buying practices and competition from the feed wheat industry has seen the nation’s arable growers cut back on sowing milling wheat – the wheat used for bread. “It’s worrying that buying practices we believe may be anti-competitive, coming at a time where growers are able to receive better prices for animal […]
Craig Muckle named Wheat Grower of the Year
The champion wheat grower for 2021 is Craig Muckle. Craig, who farms at Dorie in mid-Canterbury, was presented with the Champion Cup at the awards ceremony in Christchurch for winning the premium milling wheat award and also won the United Wheat Growers Bayer wheat grower of the year award with his wheat entry ‘Reliance’. The […]
David Grant is Federated Farmers Arable Farmer of the Year
Mid Canterbury Arable Farmer David Grant was awarded the “Federated Farmers Arable Farmer of the Year Award 2021” at the arable industry awards in Christchurch on Wednesday night. David’s contribution to the industry through is work with the Foundation for Arable Research, and in innovation and information sharing, made him an outstanding candidate for this […]