The development of a new breed of artificial intelligence (AI) weeders has the potential to disrupt the $100 billion pesticides industry by significantly reducing the need for universal herbicides. According to an article in The Express Tribune, the development of machines such as one produced by Swiss start-up ecoRobotix, have the ability to scan crop […]
Luisetti Seeds has been trialling new bean cultivars that may have an advantage over the cultivars currently used in the New Zealand frozen vegetable industry. The trials, which were located at Leeston in a paddock of green beans, were harvested for the Heinz Wattie factory at Hornby. The green and yellow cultivars were assessed in […]
Addressing weed and nutrient issues in lucerne stands now will ensure a clean, healthy, high-quality forage crop in spring. Andrew Johnston from Luisetti Seeds says stands should be grazed hard in May (he suggests using high body condition score ewes or dry hoggets), removing all green plant material and as much dead organic matter at […]
After four years managing the Luisetti Seeds Ashburton store, Jack Harnett has hit the road and is servicing clients in the Mid Canterbury region. Jack will be a familiar face to many of our farmers as he has lived and worked in the region all his life. He brings to his new role 18 years […]
High yielding and palatable, fodder beet crops give farmers the ability to winter a large number of stock within a small area and free up pasture on other parts of the farm. This benefits the whole farm system. There are a number of varieties of fodder beet available and farmers should be selecting the varieties […]
Our aptly-named Fortitude barley is proving to be a solid performer with growers valuing its ability to resist scald and produce good test weights and bushel weights. This was reinforced in Fortitude’s results in the latest Foundation for Arable Research’s Cultivar Performance Trials where the barley’s yield across two Canterbury sites (Rakaia under irrigation and […]
The Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is an entrenched and sacred part of Australian life. This iconic test match attracts a viewing audience of millions, many likely to be recovering from the previous day’s excesses. The pitch and field have to be perfect, so it only seems natural that the Turf ryegrass […]
Attention to the management of forage legumes now will pay dividends in spring when high-quality feed is required to realise the potential of next season’s lamb crop. Professor Derrick Moot from Lincoln University says autumn rains may have germinated subterranean (sub) clover seedlings in dryland pastures along the east coast, but management of these seedlings […]
Capturing the nitrogen accumulated in the soil in the wake of winter grazing, and using it to grow high-quality feed in spring, is good for business and the environment. Early results from the first year of a Ministry of Primary Industries Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) project, which is looking at using catch crops to mitigate […]
Our new premium two milling wheat, “Catherine”, was the stand-out performer in the Foundation for Arable Research’s (FAR) May-sown milling wheat Cultivar Performance Trials (CPT). The annual FAR CPT trials are a truly independent test of cereal cultivars. Grown under commercial conditions at different sites across Canterbury, the cereals are therefore tested in a range […]
Brendan Morahan joined Luisetti Seeds last month, bringing with him 25 years of experience working in the rural sector, with particular expertise in agri-chemicals. He started his career working for Greenfields in Waimate and over the years has gradually moved north, holding roles with CRT/ Farmlands and more recently a foliar fertiliser company where he […]
The combination of sheep genetics and legumes such as lucerne and subterranean clover are the key drivers behind the Zino family’s high-performance sheep operation. Based on 983ha effective flat land near Hawarden in North Canterbury, the Zino’s 3250 ewes are lambing an average of 148% and weaning 36-38kg lambs, with over 55% gone before or […]