Annual spraying of Clovertone is helping raise the release of soil nutrients, boosting grass and clover growth on a simple but highly "tuned" south Waikato beef-finishing farm.
Bob Bedford, president of the New Zealand Cutting Horse Association, who enjoys working cattle on horseback, resulting in them “staying calmer and doing better”, manages Ray Thompson's farm at Ngaroma, 50km south-east of Te Awamutu.
The farm’s 240ha (effective), with 15ha of native reserve and 15ha of pines - the highest at 560m altitude - gets heavy frosts and the odd whiff of snow.
Management is eased by subdivision into 175 paddocks 0.4-11ha centrally raced, with three sets of strategically placed yards. “The race and yards make the farm easy to manage; you can shift stock any time, anywhere,” says Bedford.
Soon the farm will be 100% beef finishing, breeding and dairy grazers, with the sale of the last of 200 ewes. “There’s no money to be made out of sheep after shearing and other costs, and they need more input than beef.”
This season 250 Friesian-cross Herefords and Angus-cross Hereford maiden heifers were calved, mated to Angus and Hereford bulls, the calves heading for finishing and replacements. Thompson now seeks another farm to breed stock for finishing at Ngaroma.
The farm also calves 60 heifers in autumn to supply stock year-round. “Our long-term aim is 250 head calving in spring and 250 in autumn.”
They buy in steers as grass becomes available and have another 60 yearlings for finishing. They graze 250 dairy replacements from May to May, with some “doubling up” with 250 weaner dairy calves coming in December.
Hay amounts to 400-500 conventional bales, “much easier to feed out”, and 60 round bales from a genuine feed surplus. There is no break-feeding and the farm system is all grass. Stock are shifted regularly and are sold if a feed shortage develops.
The farm has a 12-year history of using organic products from Clovertone Ltd, Kihikihi. Says Bedford, “I used Reaction four years on other farms I managed. And Clovertone is even more effective at growing grass and clovers and most importantly more meat.”
Clovertone is not a fertiliser but acts on fungi in the soil, helping in the release of nutrients. The company claims pasture treated with Clovertone comprise 50-60% clover compared with 15-20% average clover content.
Bedford applies Clovertone by helicopter at the rate of 20litres/ha annually with herbicide, the use of which is cut 33%. The only other topdressing is one tonne/ha of lime every two years.
“I’ve noticed even with severe frost damage the grass recovers much quicker from pugging, because of the beneficial effect of Clovertone.”
Bedford says because the animals like the grass he always gets total clean-up without pushing them. Bedford also uses CLovertone's product Maximate, drenched or supplied to stock through Dosatron meters.
