AGRONOMY

Associate Minister of Agriculture Mike Butterick says the sector is too often taken for granted.

The sector is calling for stronger recognition of its $340 million export role in government policy.

Strong El Niño weather patterns are expected this summer, Beef + Lamb New Zealand is encouraging farmers to consider the tools they have available to them to deal with hot, dry conditions. Summer forage crops allow farmers to make use of soil moisture in spring to grow feed that will be available over summer. Words Sandra Taylor.

Two Massey University PhD scholars, supported by the T.R. Ellett Agricultural Research Trust, are building a fuller picture of how New Zealand pasture systems work – one measuring what happens above the ground, the other what happens beneath it.Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.

If you are wanting feed quality where it counts and an early maturity ahead of a dry summer, a new summer forage rape, bred for lamb and cattle finishing, could be the answer that lines up with your weaning schedule. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp

Always wondered what the secret is behind a record-breaking maize crop? Waikato brothers Donald and Craig Stobie, who broke the national Pioneer maize grain yield record in 2025, say that big yields come from doing the little things right, following good advice and planting the right hybrid. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.

Mulligan grew up on a cropping farm and studied a BCom Ag at Lincoln University before a family connection drew him into agronomy.

Seed variety selection, backed by the right endophyte and seed treatment, does more to protect a pasture's productivity and persistence.

The standard follows a 2022 report identifying a data gap on imported treated seed, after two years of stakeholder work with the EPA.

New funding for control efforts are gaining ground for wilding conifers that already cover two million ha and threaten another 7.5 million.