From the Ground Up, Issue 101

Row spacing is an important management strategy in white clover (Trifolium repens) seed crops. Stolons grow outward from the crown of the plant into the space between rows. Nodes produced along the stolon bear either vegetative axillary growth (e.g. a branch) or a reproductive leaf-flower combination. The more nodes that are produced per stolon, and subsequently per unit area, the greater opportunity for flower production and thereby seed yield. In theory, wider row spacing should produce more flowers/m2 due to more space for stolon proliferation.

A FAR project is helping arable and dairy farmers understand more about the greenhouse gas emissions associated with growing and using feed wheat, feed barley, maize grain and maize silage.

The AIMI survey of New Zealand cereal growers, as at July 1, 2026 is now available online.

View the latest AIMI Survey of Cereal and Maize Areas and Volumes to 1 July 2026.

If you’re an East Coast maize grower interested in improving nitrogen use efficiency, profitability and environmental outcomes, read on! FAR is offering several opportunities for maize growers to learn, collaborate and help shape future nitrogen management recommendations.

Here you can find the booklet for the 2026 maize winter workshops.

FAR has received funding for a four-year Primary Sector Growth Fund project titled Integrated weed management in a world of herbicide resistance. As part of this project FAR are seeking growers interested in hosting a Long-Term Integrated Weed Management (IWM) monitor farm or trial site.

FAR, in partnership with the Oat Industry Group (OIG), is seeking growers in South Otago and Southland interested in hosting a monitor paddock as part of a new three-year project assessing the regional resilience of emerging milling oat cultivars.

This CPT book outlines trial-specific yields and individual cultivar disease ratings for spring sown wheat and barley cultivars included in the 2025-2026 CPT trials.

Plantain has become an increasingly important component of pasture seed mixes, driven in part by heightened environmental concerns regarding nitrate leaching from grazed pastoral systems. Nitrogen (N) fertiliser management is widely regarded as the principal agronomic lever for increasing plantain seed yield, especially in environments with low inherent soil fertility. This project aims to improve the agronomy of plantain seed production by identifying optimal biological and economic N application rates.