Farmer oriented field trips on offer at Grassland conference

Registrations for three field trips being held as part of the New Zealand Grassland Association’s 69th annual conference in Taupo next month are being called for.



The theme of this year’s conference, held at Bayview Wairakei Resort in Taupo from November 13-15, is Future Proofing – Profitable Farming.



The first field trip, on November 13, is to Lochinver Station, a large scale 13,744-hectare sheep and beef farm on mostly flat and gently rolling land. An aggressive pasture renovation programme commenced on the station in 2005 to address problems with browntop.


The second, also on November 13, is to Rangitaiki Station, a progressive large scale sheep, beef and deer enterprise owned by Landcorp Farming Ltd. The property was developed from lichen moss, heavy tussock, manuka and kanuka in 1967, with the first animals arriving in 1970. Farm policy revolves around maximising both production and sustainability by capturing economies of scale.


The third field trip on November 14 will visit Wairakei Estate, where attendees can see firsthand how a conversion from forestry to pastoral farming is being carried out. The two parties involved in the conversion, Wairakei Pastoral Ltd and Landcorp Developments Ltd, are committed to demonstrating best practice methods of converting established forest to pasture.


It is possible to register for the entire conference or for single days and/or field trips only.



Registration is compulsory and no private vehicles will be permitted on the field trips.



For more information please contact Mark Cunningham on (07) 378 6281 or Bala Tikkisetty on (07) 859 0543. Further details are also available on the New Zealand Grassland Association website, www.grassland.org.nz.