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Purchase any of the PGG Wrightson Seeds tetraploid ryegrasses from participating retailers between 1st September 2010 and 30th April 2011 and go into the draw to WIN a brand new Ford XR6 Ute. The full terms and conditions that apply to this competition can be found by clicking on the 'Win me' icon in the menu above.
Bill, who farms the family farm 'Blink Bonnie' at Fordell near Wanganui had heard good things about chicory for finishing lambs, so set up a programme in 2007 to sow Puna II in 2008. Bill had phenominal growth following sowing, with lambs grazing in 48 days.
In January this year Bill weighed the lambs on and off his best clover flush pastures and his 20ha Puna II chicory block. The lambs gained 355gms LW per day on the pasture block and 310gms LW per day on the chicory. The difference was the stocking rate on the Puna II block which was 3 times the rate which could be fed on the pasture.
"We recognised there is some maintenance required to keep a stand of Puna II & clover in good order, but we are now well set up to go into our third season later this year. Kilos of quality lamb out the gate is the real advantage we can see for chicory, the results speak for themselves."
Mark farms at Elsthorpe in Hawkes Bay. The inclusion of summer crop in the farm plan is an important component, both for lamb finishing and for the ongoing pasture improvement programme.
Mark plans to sow Pasja in early November for the first grazing with 24/25kg lambs brought in 6-8 weeks later, after having been weaned onto grass first. Mark has subdivided his lamb finishing paddocks into 2-3 hectare blocks which allows for grazing on a rotational system, providing the best quality Pasja with the best recovery. In January we are normally drafting every 10 days at our 45kg LW target weight with 99% of our lambs finished before the end of March.
Apart from the excellent finishing results Mark gets with Pasja, it really suits his farm due to the ease with which he can return paddocks to new grass without the stalk or stem sometimes associated with other summer crops.
"We just love Pasja, and have done for 20 years now" says Mark. "We've tried one or two other cultivars and crops but have had the best experiences and confidence with Pasja."
Congratulations to John & Bee Blundell, winners of the 2010 Mystery Weekend Competition. John and Bee farm a 680ha sheep and cattle finishing property in the Ponatahi Valley near Martinborough in the Wairarapa. They have won accomodation, airport transfers and flights to a mystery destination in New Zealand for two people!
PGG Wrightson Seeds are now on the Country Channel (Sky Tv), if you missed our 'Seed Bytes' segments then view the videos on this website.
To view the videos click on the links below or view on the relevant pages throughout this site:
Congratulations to Grey and Robin Pannett, winners of the 2009 Mystery Weekend Competition. By entering the draw and correctly naming the PGG Wrightson Seeds new perennial ryegrass, Expo, Grey and Robin will soon be spending a weekend away in Wellington.
PGG Wrightson Seeds is part of PGG Wrightson Limited, which is one of New Zealand's largest agribusinesses, with over 160 years involvement in New Zealand agriculture. Seeds have played an important role in the company since its founders imported English ryegrass into New Zealand in the 1800's to develop a seeds business.
PGG Wrightson Seeds is a proprietary seed business that was formed in 2005 as a result of the merger of Wrightson Limited and Pyne Gould Guinness Limited.
PGG Wrightson Seeds changed its name from Wrightson Seeds in 2009.
Our objective is to enhance the profitability of farmers and growers by providing them with proprietary grass and forage seeds that provide high quality feed for improved animal performance.
PGG Wrightson Seeds has a strong emphasis on research and development and extensive experience in plant breeding. Our research ensures that any cultivars introduced into the market will perform under temperate farming systems with the goal of increasing on-farm productivity and profitability. To achieve our goals, PGG Wrightson Seeds has developed relationships with three primary research partners; AgResearch and Crop and Food Research in New Zealand, and the Molecular Plant Breeding CRC in Australia.
PGG Wrightson Seeds are world leaders in delivering forage innovations to our customers. Development of novel endophytes for ryegrass and tall fescue, in conjunction with AgResearch, has been a major technological breakthrough for the pastoral industry.
The primary base for PGG Wrightson Seeds Research is the Kimihia Research Centre, Lincoln. From Kimihia, most of the NZ Research and Development work is coordinated. This is a summer dry area and is located within the main seed production areas of NZ.
Kimihia, Lincoln
