Latest News

One Taranaki family has managed to step aside from the whirlwind impact of manuka honey goldrush, keeping firm to their values of sustainable, healthy hives and good relations with landowners.

A family legacy of forward-thinking coupled with careful planning, world-class breeding and a proud agricultural heritage, will ensure the McKerchar family’s Shrimpton’s Hill in Cave, South Canterbury, remains at the forefront for generations to come.

Grass grub larvae may be small, but as many farmers found in autumn 2021, they’re capable of causing major problems.

Crop residues are a useful resource for returning nutrients and building carbon and organic matter into the soil.

Following tough summer conditions, forage oats for fast grazing can be a get out of jail card for most farmers looking for quick feed in late autumn, while May and June sown oats provide valuable winter ground cover and an early spring silage opportunity. Oats also have a special power when it comes to catch cropping, being able to soak up excess nitrogen which can present a risk of leaching in fallow soil after the grazing of a winter crop such as kale or fodder beet.

For the next three months we will look at the following: fodder crops, pre-emergence sprays on autumn sown crops, grass grub control in pasture, and use of gibberellic acid to increase pasture growth.

Autumn is on its way following a summer that had everything from extreme temperatures to deluges of wet weather and higher than normal humidity levels.

With a significant growth over the last year as well as continually acting in the spirit of the Ruralco relationship, FMG was the 2021 Supreme Supplier Award winner.

Major ports around the globe are clogged with containers, while dozens of container ships await at anchor to be unloaded.

Elected as the first ever female Director, and certainly as a younger voice, Gabrielle has witnessed much change within the Board. However, change she talks about isn’t gender or age, it’s about knowledge and perspective. “The Board has rotated nicely to achieve great diversity, attracting people with different farming backgrounds”.