FAR Weekly: 24 September 2017

Between 2005 and 2020 FAR conducted 38 trials investigating tillage establishment methods for maize production. Most were analysed at the individual site/trial level. Maize update 93 discusses insights gained from aggregating all of this trial data. It includes information on the effects of crop establishment methods on established plant populations, maize yields and, where available, associated gross margins.

This report discusses the effects of maize establishment methods on established plant populations, maize yields, and associated gross margins. It is based on the findings of 38 FAR maize tillage and establishment trials between 2005 and 2020.

Harvest Snippets provides a harvest season summary of the Cultivar Performance Trials. Find all the 2025/2026 season harvest snippets here.

A number of arable farmers are partnering in a Government project exploring the use of solar and batteries on New Zealand farms.

A single male brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) has been detected in a surveillance trap in Ōrākei, Auckland. The find was made on Tuesday 3 February, during routine monitoring.

Start checking maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when you think you’ll be starting your silage harvest. Good quality maize silage is best made when whole plant dry matter is between 30-40%

Crop Action keeps you up to date with arable crop development and actions right across New Zealand.

This is the handout from a field day hosted by the Stobie family, Gordonton, Waikato on 4 February 2026.

The moisture probe trial is back for 2025-26 season. We have moisture probes from different providers installed at our Chertsey research site. View the different companies dashboards here.

Crop Action keeps you up to date with arable crop development and actions right across New Zealand.