Summer cereal and maize discussion field day booklet

Farmers who save and replant legally protected cereal varieties can voluntarily declare their usage and pay a breeder royalty. The declaration system applies to all farm saved seed barley, and to farmer saved wheat if the resultant wheat crop does not pass through an end-point royalty collection agent. 

Maize is one of the easiest crops to mechanically weed and levels of weed control comparable to herbicides can be achieved. Find out more about the options available and how they work in this maize update.

Weed related yield losses ranging from 15% to 56% for silage and 15% to 61% for grain have been observed in New Zealand maize systems. In this maize update find out management strategies for a number of common annual and perennial weeds of maize.

Growers are reminded to report any grass weeds that appear unfamiliar or could resemble black-grass (Alopecurus myosuroides). Early reporting remains one of our strongest tools for protecting the industry.

Pre-emergence herbicides have been the mainstay of maize weed management. This Maize Update discusses factors affecting pre-emergence herbicide success including application timing, modes of action and soil interactions. 

Following a very wet winter, FAR has received a number of requests for information around managing yellow autumn sown crops. This Arable Extra outlines ways to distinguish between nitrogen and sulphur deficiencies and provides some information to support decision making around crop management.

Wet conditions throughout winter 2025 have created challenges for growers across Canterbury. This Arable Extra addresses issues around 1) autumn sown wheat paddocks with drowned out patches and 2) considerations around sowing autumn milling wheat seed in the spring.

This Arable Update summarises yield and profitability results from 47 FAR trials since 2013, comparing programmes with and without a T0, to help guide your decision-making.

Farmers face three levels of biosecurity risk; regional biosecurity incursion risk; border biosecurity, regional biosecurity and on-farm biosecurity. This Maize update discusses the importance of on-farm biosecurity, the one factor you have control over.

The AIMI survey of New Zealand cereal growers, as at 1 July, 2024 is now available online.