13 May 2008 Lincoln lucerne research provides farming turnaround in drought-hit Marlborough

 

He’s been called the “lucerne revolutionary” -  Lincoln University’s Professor of Plant Science Derrick Moot - but he’s the first to admit that any results achieved through his lucerne crusade owe more to a long tradition of careful scientific work at Lincoln, and willing implementation by farmers, than to any “quick fix” formula that popular opinion might see in his research.

On Wednesday 14 May farmers and members of the public will be able to assess some of that combined researcher-farmer work for themselves at a national Field Day on “Bonavaree” Farm, at Seddon, south-east of Blenheim.

Professor Moot and farmer Doug Avery will be describing the “lucerne revolution” responsible for turning around the once flagging fortunes of “Bonavaree”, a 1100-hectare property in Marlborough’s driest, drought-prone heartland.

The field day, with the theme “Beyond Reasonable Drought  -  adapting dryland farming to climate change”, wraps up a three-year soil conservation project on properties in the district. Professor Moot’s involvement has run parallel with this, specifically on the Bonavaree property, and it will continue into the future.

For Doug Avery it’s been a lifesaver. Eight years of drought pushed the viability of his farm to the wire.

Professor Moot recalls that around 10 years ago he was doing a “lucerne talk” tour around the South Island and spoke at Waipara. One of those in the audience was Doug Avery from Seddon. Some time later he met up with Doug and learnt that he had returned home from that meeting with a sudden flash of insight about where he had been going wrong with his use of lucerne and he subsequently went on to implement many of Professor Moot’s ideas.

Essentially Professor Moot had advised using lucerne for grazing, and Doug quickly realised that he had been utilising the plant wrongly  -  cropping it for hay and silage and building a mountain of feed for stock he would be better off selling.

The turnaround - which will be described at the field day - has been dramatic. Through changed management of lucerne, lambs are now grazed on lucerne pre and post-weaning and finishing at 17 to 17.5 kg  carcass weights in nine to 13 weeks, with average growth rates of 390g/day.

Lincoln University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Dr Chris Kirk, who has responsibility for the University’s research activities among his portfolios, says Professor Moot’s lucerne work in Marlborough is a first-class example of university research directly benefitting  regional productivity and delivering solutions to local problems.

“The University’s role in the viticultural and winemaking activities of  the Marlborough region is already well-known. We are delighted that we have been able to help address the regional difficulties of livestock farmers associated with drought.

“The applied nature of Lincoln University research is very clearly seen in Professor Moot’s lucerne work,”  says Dr Kirk

The Field Day at Bonavaree opens at 9.00am  in the Woolshed at 309 Grassmere Road, Seddon, Marlborough, with the first session starting at 9.30am. The day will include farm tours and Professor Moot will be speaking at the session which runs from 1.00 – 3.30pm. The day concludes at 3.45pm. Telephone contacts for the Field Day are (03) 572 8876 or 0508 526322.

 

Ian Collins, Communications Group, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.