Farmer comment

February 2019 This seasons wet spring and early summer played havoc with grass production on the Bradshaw family farm. Farm owner Julie Bradshaw says that this has been one of their hardest years as a result. “The wet was very hard to manage, production really suffered,” says Julie. “Our heavier soils meant that water stayed in the soil when it should have been growing grass ...

“It has been a good spring so far,” says Ben Abernethy.  “Cold nights have been a feature until now, so pasture growth only really got going recently. We have had manageable rainfall amounts and our feed utilization has been going well.” He says that the new weather forecast portal provided by NIWA to the research farmers has been fantastic. “We are starting to make some sen ...