Show Notes
A Canterbury guide, “Selecting native plants that attract beneficial insects”, has been developed to help farmers, growers and landowners establish native plantings that support pollination, natural pest control and resilient farming systems. In this episode of Cut the Crop, Abie Horrocks of FAR and Brad Howlett of BSI say arable crops particularly benefit. Find the guide here: https://www.bioeconomyscience.co.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/139225/plants-for-beneficial-insects_canterbury.pdf See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Cut the Crop!
Confronted with the unexpected end-of-life of the Seed Crop Isolation Distance (SCID) digital mapping platform used to prevent cross-pollination between high-value vegetable seed crops, the industry swung into gear. In this episode of Cut the Crop, Seed and Grain NZ chief executive Sarah Clark and John Foley of PGG Wrightson Seeds describe how the award-winning team delivered a new system under significant time pressure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Irrigation NZ principal technical advisor Stephen McNally has closely followed the development of the two new laws replacing the 35-year-old Resource Management Act. In this episode of Cut the Crop, he says that under the new law, food and fibre production is considered in balance and equal in priority to the environment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With fertiliser prices at high levels, some arable farmers are being encouraged by sales reps to try out biological alternatives such as seaweed extracts. In this episode of Cut the Crop, Ballance Agri-Nutrients science strategy manager Warwick Catto says a lack of replicated NZ data on these products means growers need to try them out for themselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The maize planting season is rapidly approaching and with a strong El Nino weather pattern forecast for this season, what actions can growers take to maintain yields despite the livelihood of hot, dry conditions? In this episode of Cut the Crop, FAR’s senior maize researcher Rene van Tilburg provides some advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2026 Arable Farmer of the Year John McCaw specialises in ryegrass and cocksfoot seed production as well as owning a seed dressing business at Methven. As a herbage seed industry leader he has been at the forefront of making growers and seed merchants aware of the full costs of growing grass crops and the impacts of a lack of profitability. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.