106 | nzdairy DAIRY SERVICES » Northland Seed & Supplies Research and development a strong focus for company • from page 102 The Northland Seed and Supplies’ team. Daniel says con dence in the agriculture sector locally is currently strong, with a good dairy pay out and strong sheep and beef prices that are holding well. “But costs are also rising, and in the back of their minds is the fact that last time we had record high pay outs and prices, they crashed pretty quickly afterwards. That was at GFC time but now indicators are a bit different, so in the medium term there is still positivity in the markets.” The effects of rising costs have more Northland dairy farmers looking to maize silage as a good economical feed, and they are looking to grow as much as they possibly can, rather than having to rely on imported feed. Northland Seed and Supplies has a great deal of help to offer in this space, starting with selecting the right hybrid for the right paddock, and continuing with a consistent crop monitoring scheme that the company is pretty proud of. “If something like weeds gets missed, yields can really be affected. With close monitoring, we can pick up any weeds that come through and provide the best spray at the best time for the best result.” Northland Seed and Supplies has always been active in the research and development space, running its own trials with grass and maize cultivars, and is heavily involved in local research groups that are looking into different products and systems like the Northland Diversi ed Forages Group and the Northland Winter Legume Group. With very limited e ective treatments or cures for the crop damaging fall armyworm, best practice crop husbandry services as o ered by Northland Seed and Supplies is still the best defence against the pest which has now been detected in Northland. New Zealand owned and operated provider of agrichemical and pest control solutions Key Industries plays a leading research and development role in the professional pest control industry and partners with Northland Seed and Supplies to provide a range of products which protect people, crops, and native species. Consequently Key Industries is leading the charge in the ight against fall armyworm. Key Industries North Island technical sales representative Warren Wright says fall armyworm can cause widespread damage to crops, particularly corn and maize crops, as it feeds through the six larval or caterpillar stages of its lifecycle. “The crops that are most at risk aren’t usually the best ones, they are the ones where the guys have cut a few corners,” Warren says. “They haven’t got their ground prep right, they haven’t got their weed control right, and all of these things factor into a weaker crop, and these are the ones an insect is likely to be attracted to. This is where Dan and Mark and Northland Seed and Supplies specialise in crop husbandry and how to best grow your crop. Their customers trust them to give themon-farm advice on how to best grow Leading the change their crop, then they react accordingly.” With the bad news of limited e ective treatments or cures comes some good news. Key Industries is providing a pheromone insect lure to trap the fall armyworm, monitor its migration, and crucially, whether it has over-wintered. The moth thrives in very warm climates and is unlikely to successfully hibernate in colder climates, so apart from in the far North, they are likely to die out during winter. Warren says the last fall armyworms were captured in May, so September and October are critical times to identify any surviving populations. “This is a noti iable pest and MPI is working on a national response plan. We need to be supporting best practices, using the skills of the likes of Mark and Dan, andmonitoring. Your best option to spray or do anything is very early on.” Meanwhile, as pests and diseases get harder to deal with, and the chemistry options become fewer and fewer due to compliance, Key Industries is providing adjuvant products which work to improve and prolong the e icacy of pesticides, pre-emergent herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. “You can’t half kill something, you have to fully kill it,” Warren says. “We have to do that in a fashion that’s e ective and controlled, and Key Industries specialises in that sort of technology.” To access fall armywormmonitoring kits and to discuss the wider Key Industries range of products, contact Mark and Dan at Northland Seed and Supplies. 0800 539 463 www.keyindustries.co.nz Key Industries are dedicated to 'Protecting people, crops and native species' by providing agrichemicals and pest control products that have been proven to work in New Zealand. We focus on human safety, and minimising environmental impact, through the use of high efficacy products and smart application strategies. We provide a broad range of fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, foliar nutrients and adjuvants for agricultural and horticultural customers as well as a full range of urban and industrial pest control products for pest control companies nationwide. RainGard® is a STICKER-SPREADER adjuvant designed to control the life of pesticides on the plant. it is compatible in the spray tank with insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and soluble fertilisers. Raingard is a water emulsifiable biodegradable product for use on food crops and other plants. It offers protection from wash off due to rainfall and irrigation and from heat and UV light which are major factors in pesticide breakdown. RainGard offers protection under the toughest environmental conditions allowing you to achieve maximum benefit and performance from your spray applications.
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