Direct and indirect effects of resilient pastures at farm scale

Abstract

I farm a 550-ha property at coastal Whangarei Heads, Northland, in partnership with my wife Helen. While some land has been in family ownership since the 1850s, our farm has grown over the years through land and farm acquisitions. The farm consists of a dairy platform of 220 ha and 330 ha of dairy beef and dairy support. The farm is kikuyu dominant and summer dry with rainfall varying between 650 and 1100 mm per annum. Summer cropping, in-shed meal feeding, sowing Italian ryegrass and kikuyu mulching are all practices used with the aim of running a sustainable system. Perennial ryegrass pastures have limited persistence and are no longer a focus as more resilient pasture species and varieties are sown.