All posts by LandWISE Admin

Conference, Membership, Projects, Uncategorized

Memberships 2019 – 2020

Leave a comment

Last week we sent out our annual print newsletter, along with membership renewal invoices to our LandWISE members. If you are a financial member but have not yet received this, please get in touch with us.

The annual newsletter this year includes:

LandWISE membership fees support our mission to promote sustainable production – your donations allow us to continue extending crucial research to New Zealand’s primary producers in Horticulture. We are proud to have been supporting growers to adopt sustainable practices for 20 years, thanks to our generous sponsors, and LandWISE members we hope to continue doing this work for many more years to come.

If you’re interested in becoming a member please fill out your details here, and we will send you and invoice ($100 + GST) for the year.

Nutrients, Orchard, Orcharding, Soil, Uncategorized, viticulture, Weeds

Sustainable Vineyard/Orchard Floor Management – FFC Bulletin

Leave a comment

The 4th version of the 2019 Future Farming Centre Bulletin is now available, and can be found here. The latest report by Charles Merfield focuses on sustainable vineyard floor management, which is described as the key space where sustainability issues in perennial cropping are all intertwined.

The booklet addresses the opportunities for a sustainable vineyard floor to:

  • Replacing herbicide strips / bare undervine soil for weed management / crop competition with a living mulch of growing plants;
  • Replace synthetic nitrogen fertilisers through legumes;
  • Improve soil health and minimise erosion
  • Sequester atmospheric carbon;
  • Increase biodiversity and;
  • Conservation biocontrol of vineyard pests & diseases.

“…many of the sustainability issues facing viticulture, and, indeed all perennial crops, e.g., pipfruit, stone fruit, nuts, vines, bush / cane fruit, come together in a nexus around management of the vineyard / orchard floor as all the issues are all interlinked / intertwined and meet on the vineyard floor. ” (Merfield, 2019).

The Future Farming Centre Bulletin is a free extension newsletter sent out quarterly, see past issues or find out more here  and subscribe here.

Referenced

Merfield, C. N. (2019). Vineyard floor management: A sustainability nexus with a focus on undervine weeding. Report number 04-2019. The BHU Future Farming Centre, Lincoln, New Zealand. 51.

http://www.bhu.org.nz/future-farming-centre/ffc/information/bulletin/2018-v4/vineyard-floor-management-a-sustainability-nexus-2019-merfield-ffc.pdf

Agronomy, Fertiliser, Nutrients, Projects, Soil, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Spring and Summer Trials

Leave a comment

Spring has been a busy season so far for LandWISE staff and our Growers. We have been actively working with 10 growers based in Levin and Gisborne as part of Future Proofing Vegetable Production to test a variety of alternative management practices – particularly around fertiliser planning and application(s).

In Levin, we have 4 trials on Spring Brassicas testing standard grower practice for fertiliser rate and application timings with “Good Practice” prescriptive fertiliser planning based on the Vegetable Guidelines by Morton and Reid (2019). As well as reducing total N rates these trials will also assist growers to use Quick Nitrate Test Strips, and develop their understanding of how Nitrate fluctuates in the soil profile and over the course of a crop growth cycle.

One grower will be hosting several trials on his potato crops in conjunction with a PhD student from Massey University. One of the trials will focus on using liquid dribble bar applicators fitted to a spray boom to apply nitrogen fertiliser as split side-dressings. Another trial will look into the potential for biological products to improve the mineral N supply from soil to the crop. The overall aim with this work is to reduce the risk of N leaching by minimising the amount of available N, particularly nitrate, that is in the soil profile at any one time, and at risk of loss.

Several trials are planned in sweetcorn, the first of which will investigate the potential for current rotations to provide adequate soil nitrogen with reduced rsates of N applied at side dressings. At present one of our Gisborne growers is growing sweetcorn following winter cover crops and peas in spring. They want to know if the sweetcorn crop yield could be maintained or improved with reduced fertiliser N additions due to the previous crops which already provide improved soil structure and organic matter.

Another sweetcorn trial in Gisborne will focus on Phosphate in starter fertilisers. At present most growers in the area are using P in their starter fert blend, despite having optimum or above optimum Olsen P values in the soil. This trial will test the impact of removing P from starter fertiliser, on a high fertility soil whilst maintaining other key inputs (e.g. sulfur, nitrogen).

Finally, in a tomatoes crop LandWISE will assist another grower to test their current starter fertiliser rate against reduced rates (which are more in line with recommended inputs). Several more trials are still being finalised, and we will keep you updated as we confirm their designs. It’s set to be a busy summer!

 

Whilst it might seem straightforward to many of you that vegetable growers should be applying the recommended rates, and creating a fertiliser plan that achieves optimum crop yield and minimises nutrient loss risk – there is often a huge amount of risk associated with these systems.

Many of the growers we work with cite crop quality, unpredictable weather events, and processing/retailer contracts as major constraints to adopting sustainable practices around minimising nutrient loss. Not to mention until February of this year, the most recent soil nutrition guidelines for vegetables in New Zealand were published in the 1980s.

A lot has changed since then, and environmental compliance is now a top priority for our growers to remain farming in their catchments. That is why LandWISE through FPVP is proud to support growers test and accurately measure the impacts of alternative management practices on a small scale through on-farm trials. We are passionate about helping growers achieve economic and environmental sustainability in their businesses.

If you are keen to learn more about any of these trials please contact Luke Posthuma (Precision Agronomist).

AgTech, events, Innovation, Research, Soil, Uncategorized

Biochar Field Day – 8th November, Manawatu

Leave a comment

On Friday the 8th of November all are welcome to attend a field day hosted by NZ Landcare Trust and Slow Farm Ltd about Biochar. The field day will include a demonstration of how Biochar is made, a presentation by Massey University on Biochar research, as well as a workshop to discuss the potential of Biochar in Manawatu.

The Field Day will be held at Tom Shannons farm in Aokautere, which is shown in the map below.

When: 10:30am – 2:00pm

Where: 1213 State Highway 57, Aokautere, 4471

Please RSVP by Wednesday 6th November to Alastair Cole, NZ Landcare Trust if you plan on attending.

 

AgTech, Drainage, events, Orchard, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Soil

Orchard Drainage Field Day – Hawke’s Bay 15th August

On Thursday 15th August, we visited Evenden and Red Barn orchards to view the Smart Tools for Orchard Drainage trial blocks.

A few months have now passed since the various drainage treatments were implemented in the trial areas – the soil has settled and the grass is beginning to establish in the interrows.

A group of growers arrived to see the different treatments which we will continue to track to monitor their effectiveness and longevity. One of the main tools we are using is the RutMeter we developed for the project.

The RutMeter automatically measures rut depth and records the location using SBAS GPS for accuracy

After several months, regrassing, pruning and mulching, inter-row 1-2 is looking pretty good. By minimising soil movement during levelling, there is only a small rise/drop between the inter-row and the undertree row ground level.

The inter-row between rows 1 and 2 several months after levelling. been regrassed, then after pruning the branches were mulched. A few weeks for regrowth and the surface should be looking green again

Very good discussion among the growers covered the different treatments, how they affected orchard operations (especially use of hydraladas) and what future remediation they thought would be needed.

Orchard managers are happy with results to date. They think there may need to be work later after wet periods, but the foundation for better surface drainage in in place.

Many thanks to T&G and Bostocks for hosting the trials and the field walks. And project funders, MPIU SFF and NZ Apples and Pears Inc.

events, Fertiliser, Nutrients, Soil

Soils Workshop Hawke’s Bay – 20th August

Do you want to learn more about managing our most precious resource for food production? Do you want to see why and how a soil sample should be taken?

LandWISE will be holding a FREE to attend soils workshop in Hastings on the 20th of August. All are welcome to join us for a presentation on the following topics:

  • Understanding soil tests – how to interpret values
  • Following trends in soil test values e.g. Olsen P, bringing values back to the ‘middle’/optimum
  • Using soil tests as the basis for a fertiliser plan
  • An introduction to N-Test Strips and VSA
  • Interpreting fertiliser recommendations from the new Nutrient Management for Vegetable Crops book (Reid and Morton, 2019) and current fertiliser guidelines for Pipfruit and Grapes.

This will be followed by a short field visit to demonstrate and discuss how to take a representative soil sample from a paddock, as well as using N-Test Strips to understand the amount of plant-available N in soil.

DETAILS

Hastings, HB

  • Tuesday 20th August 1:00pm, Green Shed, 21 Ruahapia Road

Please RSVP for catering purposes to info@landwise.org.nz

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

 

 

Soil Workshop Flyer (HB)

This event is presented as part of “Future Proofing Vegetable Production”, a Sustainable Farming Fund project supported by government, industry and farmers.

events, Nutrients, Soil

Soil Workshop 2 – Gisborne 22nd August

Leaderbrand, 390 Tucker Road
Hexton, Gisborne
1:00 – 3:00pm Thursday 22 August
Please RSVP to info@landwise.org.nz

This workshop follows Soils Workshop 1 that covered soil nutrient sampling, testing and determining nutrient needs.  Growers wanted to revisit soil quality assessment and to cover the Soil Nitrate Quick Test and that is precisely what we’ll do!

This is an outdoor workshop – digging, dropping, sieving and scoring! So stay in your boots and join us.

Visual Soil Assessment

The Visual Soil Assessment (VSA) method uses a series of simple visual checks that are strongly linked to scientific measurements of soil quality. A soil sample is cpompared to sets of three photos, scored and an overall VSA score  determined.

QuickTest for Nitrates

Growers are using the Nitrate Quick Test to determine soil nitrate availability and in many cases reduce side dressing rates, sometimes to nil. It uses a rootzone sample, an extract solution and dipsticks to measure soil solution nitrate concentration. This can be simply converted to kg/ha of available N.

Bring a friend to Hexton, and learn to assess your primary resource!

This event is presented as part of “Future Proofing Vegetable Production”, a Sustainable Farming Fund project supported by government, industry and farmers.

Agronomy, AgTech, Automation, Data Analytics, Fertiliser, Innovation, Irrigation, LandWISE People, Membership, MicroFarm, New Crops, Nutrients, Orchard, Plant Health, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Robotics, Sensing, Soil, Tillage, Vegetables, viticulture, Water, Weeds

Help Wanted

We’re not quite sure what to call the job: science manager, extensionist, project manager, consultant? We know it offers diverse activities and needs excellent communication skills and practical knowledge of horticulture and technology.

We are looking for someone to help identify and lead research projects and extension activities across a variety of issues and regions. For the right person, this is a role with considerable potential to grow.

This will be a Page Bloomer Associates appointment. They provide our science, management and support services while having addditional private consultancy activities.  Working closely together, we know they share our passion for sustainable land and water management.

Since the dawn of the new millennium we’ve been providing progressive, pragmatic and independent services through projects and consultancy. A key feature of our work is close collaboration with end users, researchers and developers. We talk about “linking thinking from the farm out”.

The role includes engaging with growers, industry and researchers to identify opportunities to review practices and integrate new technologies to create sustainable cropping systems. The appointee will develop and manage projects and support services that support economically and environmentally sustainable primary production.

If you know someone with passion for smarter farming who wants a key role in a small dedicated organisation, Page Bloomer Associates would like to chat with them!

More Info on TradeMe Jobs

LandWISE People, Membership

Inaugural Achievement Awards

LandWISE introduced two new awards at the 2019 Conference. They recognise outstanding achievement among our members.

The Board determined that neither would be awarded lightly or necessarily regularly. They are to be special and valued.

In 2019, the inaugural year, both Awards were presented to Hugh Ritchie of Drumpeel Farms.

LandWISE Manager Dan Bloomer presenting the Sustainability Award to inaugural recipient, Hugh Ritchie

The LandWISE Sustainability Award

The Sustainability Award represents a no-till tine, reflecting technology and our origins working towards minimising soil erosion and improving soil quality. The base is 100 year old native New Zealand Black Mairie recycled from a fireplace surround, representing sustainability and longevity.

The LandWISE Sustainability Award

Honorary Membership

The Board has created a new category, “Honorary Life Member” and awarded this the Hugh Ritchie.

A spage engraved and presented to Hugh Ritchie, our first Honorary Life Member

A Recipient of the LandWISE Honorary Life Membership will have shown extraordinary commitment including:

  • Active contribution to the management, direction and development of LandWISE
  • Active for 5 or more years as a LandWISE member/supporter/board member
  • Actively promoting and helping raise the profile of LandWISE

An Honorary Life Member will have been an active ambassador for LandWISE.

Hugh seemed happy with his award!

Hugh has been involved in LandWISE since its inception, joining with Dan Bloomer, Stuart MacIntyre and Moray Grant to investigate ways to avoid soil loss from wind erosion. This resulted in projects to refine strip-tillage and then into auto-steer and precision farming investigations. 

Following his Nuffield Scholarship, Hugh strongly promoted strip-tillage and the need for better irrigation management and system checks.

Hugh’s awareness of the need to check irrigation systems led to our project on Irrigation Performance which now forms the basis of Irrigation New Zealand’s Code of Practice for Piped Irrigation Performance Assessment and NZQA qualifications. The Bucket tests that are increasingly part of the farming scene are the direct result of this initiative.

Hugh was Chair of LandWISE for over ten years, and while no longer a Board member continues to provide practical and intellectual support. The foundation he helped establish has proved solid, and allows us to continue as we do today.

 

AgTech, Automation, Drainage, Orchard, Plant Health, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Research, Soil

Orchard Drainage Implementation

Leave a comment
Figure 1. Gene Williams’ levelling blade fitted with Trimble RTK-GPS and FMX with WM-Drain drainage software

Drainage treatments in trial blocks at T&G Global’s Evenden orchard and Bostock’s Red Barn orchard. The narrow window between finishing harvest and the soil becoming too wet to work was longer than anticipated this autumn making the task easier.  All earthworks were completed and pasture re-sown. Vehicle access was restricted to allow the pasture to establish and soil to settle.

A range of treatments was included and implemented to compare to the new land shaping approach including Crasborn’s harrow and planter (Figure 2) and Aqualine V-blade, slotting and ripping and rut filling (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Crasborn Orchard Inter-row RutFiller and Regrasser
Figure 3. Aqualine fill trailer with splitter to direct brought in fill to rutted wheel tracks
GPS Levelling

Land levelling is a proven technique more commonly used in cropping, where soil is moved around to create fall across a field and allow surface water to drain off. Growers use this approach to reduce water lying on the surface and saturating areas of crop which results in reduce yield. Software is used that is specifically designed to minimise and optimise movement of soil. The height of the blade or scoop used to cut and fill soil is controlled by software through the tractor hydraulics. The same principles are being applied to existing orchard rows to create fall along the inter-rows and drain surface water off the block.

The inter-rows were rotary hoed to create a suitable tilth, to allow small volumes of soil to be moved along the inter-row (Figure 4). The elevation profiles indicated that only light shaping would be required to create fall along the inter-rows, where 100mm would be the maximum change in height (cut/fill) necessary.

Figure 4. Orchard Inter-rows pre and post hoeing, prior to land shaping

Hugh Ritchie’s Trimble RTK-GPS base station was set up in the orchard. Patrick Nicolle’s Trimble FMX unit with WM-Drain software was mounted on the T&G and Bostock tractors. A GPS Control Systems Trimble GPS antenna was mounted above Gene Williams’ 2.5m wide levelling blade, see Figure 1. The tractor hydraulics were used to control the blade height.

WM-Drain was used to record the elevation of each section in the orchard. An accurate RTK-GPS elevation profile was recorded by driving along the inter-row and the WM-Drain software used to generate the optimal profile (Figure 5), within specified parameters, such as minimum slope.

Figure 5. Screenshot of WM-Drain software, the grey area the current ground surface and the green line generated as the optimal profile

Soil was shifted using the blade to cut and fill areas to achieve the optimal profile designed in WM-Drain. Because the tractor hydraulics were not suited to automation without major changes, the blade height was manually controlled using the tractor hydraulics and lowered or raised. Multiple passes (up to six) were required along each row to move soil to create the desired profile. The results of the land levelling are shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 6. Examples of inter-rows after land levelling has been completed

Figure 7. Inter-row profiles after cultivation and before land levelling (grey dotted line) and after land levelling (green line).

After earthworks the alleyways were re-sown in pasture. Vehicle access has been restricted to allow the pasture to establish and soil to settle. Timing is important to ensure orchardists can access blocks to continue their yearly programme in a timely manner, without damaging the newly formed alleyways.

The Crasborn machine cultivates and pulls soil from outside the wheel tracks using a set of angled discs. Harrows are used to break up and smooth the soil. A levelling bar with raised sections above the wheel tracks is used to further even out the soil. A compressed air seeder is used to sow pasture along the inter-row. Finally, a cambered roller creates a crowned inter-row and compacts the soil surface. The all in one implement (Figure 2) completes the final product (Figure 8) in one pass.

Figure 8. Inter-rows after Ricks Crasborn’s implement has been used to cultivate and fill wheel ruts