16 | Some of the best soils in Mid Canterbury Harvest time at Rangitata. Sue Russell Eric Watson has always been keen on growing crops, recognising that his skills and interests didn’t lie in tending stock, so when the opportunity to buy a cropping farm on some of the best soils in Mid Canterbury he sold the family mixed sheep and crop farm at Ealing in 1992 and moved to Wakanui, east of Ashburton. Extending over 490ha of flat cropping country, noted for its heavy soils that promote plant growth through retention of moisture, Eric has grown a wide range of crops, mainly for seed production. Helping Eric and Maxine on the farm is a young man who trained for a very different career, which has all but evaporated due to Covid-19. He is a great asset, very obliging and will turn his hand to almost anything – he’s great at repairing machinery too. Primarily the land produces, in equal measure, crops of wheat, assorted grass crops such as ryegrass, cocksfoot and Timothy for seed, alternative pasture species like chicory, plantain and red clover, and vegetable seed crops spinach and radish along with hybrid canola. “It really depends on the prices overseas. Everything we grow, apart from wheat is grown under contract. We’re very much part of the global seed producers’ network,” Eric says. The main tractor is a Case Quadtrac with autosteer to 2.5cm accuracy. We have our own base station for GPS correction. The sprayer is an Agrifac Enduro with 48m boom and 8000litre tank, which has auto-steer and automatic shut-down to 1.5m. It is also used for spreading liquid nitrogen, applied through Yarra’ s Chafer streambars, giving great accuracy, and evenness of spread even in windier conditions. Liquid nitrogen mix is supplied by Malloys Agriculture and the header is a Case 9250, ARABLE » Rangitata Holdings again with auto-steer. Asked how any weather-pattern changes have impacted on the cycle of activity on the land Eric says rain seems to be coming in heavier/shorter dollops. “We actually had an awful harvest last year and then, just like that, it got very dry from late February through to the beginning of June and then it got extremely wet through winter and now we’re back to dry again. Our soils mostly have very good water-holding capacity and we can grow crops where other areas might struggle - for instance, the vegetable seed crops we produce could not be grown without irrigation.” Fertiliser application is governed by individual crop requirements, knowing a certain amount of nitrogen per tonne of grain yield, and similarly for grass seed. Every August deep-soil nitrogen testing takes place to assess the available nitrogen in the soil, which is analysed by Hill Laboratories. To assess just what plants are lacking in terms of nutrients, samples are taken every two weeks or so and sent to Hill Laboratory for analysis. “We get really comprehensive information from Hill’s. Depending on the results we may add trace elements, such as boron, manganese and zinc. For the last 12 years we’ve been variable rate spreading magnesium, phosphorous, potash and lime which targets quantities to specific soil analysis. This is done by Jackson Spreading and has done much to even up soil fertility across a paddock.” • to page 18 Visit our website at: www.sgs.com : Business Manager Kathryn Greenslade 027 278 0105 Central / Lower South Island: Fay Trezise 027 706 4447 Upper South Island: Sue Young 027 541 4475 r SGS is p oud to be associated with: Rangitata Holdings SGS o ers a wide range of services to producers, manufacturers, importers and exporters • MPI Independent Veri cation agency • Statutory services for plant export certification • Field surveys for pests & disease • Horticulture industry quality management • GlobalGAP compliance certification • GRASP compliance audits • NZ GAP Compliance certification • COSTCO Compliance certification • BRC Compliance certification • Food safety auditing & compliance • Certification of quality - export/import • Certification of quantity, weight & packaging Proud to support Rangitata Holdings Office: 03 302 8098 Book online: www.molloyag.co.nz David Molloy: 0274 362 441 Henry Ross: 0275 652 661 David Mangin: 0274 802 216 Gregor Robertson: 0274 362 438 Gary McCann: 0274 362 442 Colin Woosley: 0274 362 448 Aaron McQueen: 0274 532 413 Professionals in Our Fields Since 1985 Ashburton 233 Alford Forest Road 03 307 7153 Simon Jackson 027 512 7205 Nigel Douglas 027 263 9185 Tom Wells 027 706 4147 Proudly Supporting Rangitata Holdings
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