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Regenerative Agriculture
Respond® + Multispecies Pasture Trials
Summary (further details below)
Field trials extending over five years on the Fonterra Pahiatua effluent irrigation farms have shown dramatic increases in dry matter production using the Respond®+ Multispecies pasture system. Consistent yields of 16-20 T DM/ha/yr have been achieved with no artificial fertiliser inputs. Laboratory testing for pasture quality shows that the annual metabolizable energy yield in GJ/ha/year was double that of the control pastures (Table 1). Cows enjoy grazing the multispecies sward and produce more milk. Improvements in soil health are also noted, in particular greater earthworm abundance and improved infiltration/drainage.
The Details
This long-term project involves trialling multispecies pastures and active soil biological additives to improve pasture yields, soil health and resilience, while at the same time reducing fertiliser use, soil compaction from multiple tractor passes and overall input costs per hectare.
The North Island sites include a Turangi beef finishing block, several Pahiatua dairy farms and another dairy farm near Tikokino in central Hawkes Bay. The trials are in collaboration with Dugald Hamilton of RespondBio (www.respondbio.com) and are now in the fifth year of field testing.
New trials are also currently being planned in conjunction with central Hawkes Bay deer farmers to see how the Respond® + Multispecies system can boost venison weight gain and velvet production.
The active Respond® biologicals are a mixture of beneficial nitrogen fixing soil bacteria and specialised mycorrhizal fungi. The bacteria fix nitrogen from the air and the fungi transport this and other nutrients directly into the roots of the growing plants. The multispecies pastures include a wide variety of traditional grasses, including ryegrass, cocksfoot and timothy, plus white, crimson, and strawberry clovers. Added to these a variety of herbs, in particular plantain and chicory, whose deep roots provide sustained production during dry periods. Specialist annuals, such a radish and sunflower, help to break up soil hard-pans and attract beneficial insects.
The Respond®+ Multispecies pasture system is direct drilled into the soil after a fodder or maize crop or into existing pasture after a hard grazing or cut for silage/hay. No additional spray-out or cultivation is needed, thereby reducing soil disturbance, compaction and retaining precious soil organic matter. The specialised cross-slot seed drill applies both the active Respond® biologics plus the seed in the same location to enhance germination, emergence and rapid dry matter production.
Key results from the longest running Pahiatua dairy effluent block trials over three farms were:
⦁ Multispecies pasture was ready within 6-8 weeks from planting, yielding 2.53 tonnes dry matter/ha for this first graze or cut
⦁ Annual dry matter yields of 16-20 tonnes dry matter/ha/yr with no fertiliser and <100 kgN/ha/yr from effluent
⦁ High yields continued well into the 2nd and 3rd seasons
⦁ Cows grazed well on the multispecies pastures and milk yields were good
⦁ Measured metabolisable energy (ME) was equal to that of the traditional ryegrass/clover controls
⦁ Due to the much higher DM production, annualised metabolizable energy yield was 160 GJ/ha/yr for Respond® + Multispecies versus 83 GJ/ha/yr for the ryegrass/clover controls.
Please email or call to discuss how this could be used to aid your farm system.
