Issue 37 / Summer / March 2013

Hi #subname#

Welcome to the March edition of the Specialty Seed SeedData Newsletter.

We are still waiting for rain to occur over most of the country as I write this introduction. Recently I travelled to Australia to attend the Sun Gold Field days in Warrnambool (see photo below) helping our sister company Specialty Seeds Australia. They too are very dry and looking around there is much of the Southern Victorian region with a lot of dry "tag" on the paddocks. This coupled with thunder storms makes for nervous farming folk.

It has been good to receive and process orders for our clients despite the dry, we would urge you if you do have a rough idea of how much you are planning to sow to make contact with us so we can get it to you. Once it does rain the people with their seed sitting in the shed will be in a good position to get it in.

In this month's edition we look forward to the South Island Agricultural field days (see pop up), provide management tips on how to bring your pastures out of the current drought conditions, give you a chance to have a look at a new perennial ryegrass from PGG Wrightsons talk about the new Chicory from Agriseeds and have a look at how you can protect your eyes while at work on the farm.

How to manage pastures during a Drought
New Pasture Products - Perennial Ryegrass and Chicory
How you can protect your eyes while on the Farm

Sun Gold Field Days - Warrnambool, Australia

How to manage pastures during a drought

Once the current drought conditions pass (and they will) management of the recovering pastures will be very important.

The New Zealand Grasslands society recently published a newsletter (click to download it by selecting the image on the right) with some extensive pasture management information which will help farmers bring their pastures back up to speed in a manner that won't create long term damage to them.

The newsletter includes the articles below:

Managing for the dry by David Stevens, AgResearch, Invermay
Brown paddock recovery plan 'growing grass after the dry' by Graham Kerr, Agriseeds
How to repair drought-damaged pastures by Graham Kerr, Agriseeds

Newsletter Link: View the Grasslands March 2013 Newsletter.
Contact Link: If you have any questions please contact Specialty Seeds.

New Pasture Products - Perennial Ryegrass and Chicory

Excess Diploid Perennial Ryegrass

Specialty Seeds have been allocated a small amount of PGG Wrightson's new perennial ryegrass called Excess.
Excess is a mid-flowering diploid (+7 days) perennial that is showing some good yield advantage over Extreme and would suit good dairy country or intensive sheep and beef. It is currently only available in AR37. At this stage PGG Wrightsons are not promoting EXCESS as it is very limited in supply, but watch this space. If you are keen to have an early look at how it is going to perform in the field please contact Specialty Seeds.

501 Chicory

Agriseeds are pleased to announce the release of their new chicory 501. 501 is a new chicory cultivar which has shown excellent dry matter yield. It was selected for an erect growth habit providing high utilisation. 501 chicory has been bred for a low crown position reducing susceptibility to treading damage and Sclerotinia fungus (or root rot) infection. However, like all chicory cultivars, it is recommended to avoid grazing in wet conditions to reduce the chance of damage to plant crowns. 501 has shown good persistence in the Waikato trials will be available and in limited quantities this season.

Contact Link: For more information on the exciting new products above contact Specialty Seeds.

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How you can protect your eyes while on the Farm

Your eyes are precious. And, depending on the type of work you do, they may also be at risk. Every year many New Zealanders suffer an eye injury at work, necessitating time off work. Many are left with impaired vision and some are blinded. Most of these injuries are preventable. Everyone at risk should know:

How to avoid being harmed; and
What to do if an eye injury occurs.

For more information on how to protect your eyes at work please download the Protect your eyes at work safety brochure

Download Link: Download the Protect your eyes at work brochure.
Contact Link: For more information on this exciting new range contact Specialty Seeds.

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As always, we hope this issue has been of some value to you. If you have a comment on this newsletter or anything on our website, please give us a call on our Freephone: 0800 727 8873, send us an email at: mail@specseed.co.nz.

Kind Regards

Stephen Finch / David Percival

Stephen Finch & David Percival
Specialty Seeds - New Zealand



This was another informative "SeedData Newsletter" - brought to you by Specialty Seeds NZ
Website: www.specseed.co.nz \| Email: mail@specseed.co.nz \| Phone: 0800 727 8873 \| Fax: 0800 365 6663

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