The aim of the publication is to provide best management practices that will assist farmers to manage their rivers and wetlands in a manner that promotes biodiversity conservation.
What on earth is a green lacewing? This question might have been on many of the Trace & Save farmers’ minds in 2020 with the new biodiversity survey we’ve implemented. This article will answer the questions: what is a green lacewing and why is it relevant to a pasture-based dairy farm? We want to highlight green lacewings for the biocontrol species that they are, and even more importantly what their presence on a farm indicates – a healthy agro-ecosystem.
Irrigation should not be applied uniformly in fields because soil differs in structure and texture. Understanding water movement dynamics for individual fields are very important for irrigation scheduling.
I am challenging farmers to think differently about how their farm systems are set up, especially in terms of their reliance on concentrates and fertiliser inputs. There is an alternative approach to the current convention.
How low have farmers been able to come with nitrogen fertiliser rates, while still maintaining optimal pasture growth?
Agriculture is often pointed at as the source of high greenhouse gas emissions. How can dairy farmers reduce their carbon footprint?
Farmers do not gain economic advantages because they make use of the Trace & Save tools. Farmers improve because they manage their farms better – the tools help them to do this.
The take-away challenge is for farmers to assess whether their fertiliser costs are decreasing per pasture produced. Are you growing cheaper pastures?
I hope this case study encourages farmers who are in the process of adapting their management in order to achieve greater nitrogen fertiliser efficiency.
To encourage the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices amongst farmers one needs to understand what drives their decision-making processes.
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