More than 200 delegates from the New Zealand Grassland Association’s 85th conference visited Mt Pleasant sheep and beef farm in Maraeweka last week.
A stop on the tour included a talk by managers Kate Macgregor and Paul Murcott about the development and operation of the 882ha property.
Field trip co-facilitator Richard Green, of Christchurch, asked delegates to "be bold and ambitious" and provide possible land-use changes for the farm to "produce a more resilient system which does not rely on meat and wool" in 50 years.
Farm systems scientist Tom Fraser said delegates must make the dry summer conditions on rolling hill country in North Otago a major consideration in any of their suggestions.
Farms were looking much better now than what they usually did at this time of year.
"You can come back here for the next 50 years and you’ll never see North Otago looking as good as it is at the moment."
Niwa data shows Oamaru had its wettest October on record: 424% of its normal rainfall for the month.
He urged anyone considering making changes to their farm to get good advice and do it at a small scale initially to see how they pan out in the environment, including with the people working with it.
"Take it quietly. I’ve seen so many people go into something like a bull at a gate and they charge in and it falls over."
Farm system scientist David Chapman said a limiting factor at farms similar to Mt Pleasant was access to water.
A stronger focus was needed on extracting the maximum efficiency out of the available water.
Land-use change ideas for Mt Pleasant to realise in the next 50 years included installing wind turbines and solar panels and growing grapes.
North Otago sheep and beef farmer Jane Smith was on the tour and asked why the question needed to be asked, as there was nothing wrong with growing grass.
"Aren’t we at a Grasslands conference? I’m not saying don’t look into the future but if we are here saying solar panels and wind farms, well we may as well all go home. Why don’t we just do what we are really good at?"
The altitude of the farm ranges from 130m to 520m above sea level, offering a range of growing conditions, such as the top block getting more rain and longer and colder winters than the lower irrigated dryland.
"A strength of the property is the range in altitude and climate, which means there is a mix of earlier and later country in terms of grass growth. The higher rainfall at the top block also provides some certainty for summer pasture production."
The main soil type over the irrigated area was Claremont, which was "poorly drained with high structural vulnerability".
Other soils to feature included Tengawai and Kakahu, which both had a moderate structural vulnerability and were moderate to well-draining.
Soil fertility targets on the farm include a pH level of 6.0 in cultivatable areas.
Crop paddocks were soil tested at least 12 months before they were sown into crop.
The fertiliser programme was based on soil tests and included applying a blend of superphosphate and potassium chloride on irrigated areas in spring and applying two tons of lime per hectare to all crop paddocks before they were sown into fodder beet.
Nitrogen was used when required.
By the end of spring next year, all of the 500ha cultivatable land would have been through a pasture renewal programme since the farm was bought by Rogan and Michelle Borrie in 2017.
The planned crop rotation was a summer or autumn sown annual then into fodder beet in spring, swedes the following year and then back into permanent pasture.
Usually up to 20ha of leafy turnip was sown on irrigated areas for summer feed to finish lambs.
However, this year the turnip crop had not been planted as the kale would be used for summer feed.
The utilisation of summer crops was key to finishing lambs and providing summer feed during the dry periods.
Tussock gullies provided shelter for sheep during lambing and after shearing.
About 25ha of pine trees had been planted on steeper slopes and entered in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.
The biggest risk at Mt Pleasant was a lack of rain as 86% of the farm was dryland, Ms Macgregor said.
"This makes the top block and irrigated area critical during these periods, and is also the reason the irrigated block is sown back into permanent pasture as soon as possible post leafy turnip."
