Thursday 31st January 2008, FAR Waikato Arable Research Site, 82 Oaklea Lane, Tamahere, Hamilton
On Thursday 31st January, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) will reveal the latest in maize research at a Major Field day in Hamilton.
This event will be held annually at the newly established FAR Waikato Arable Research Site and will give New Zealand maize growers an opportunity to see the latest developments in maize research which they can take away and implement in their own farming businesses.
“We have allowed for a broad range of current topics to be covered, from getting the best out of your herbicides and soil management and strip tillage through to nitrogen management and fungicides and disease management”, says Andrea Pearson, FAR Maize Research Coordinator. “In-field presentations will provide more opportunity for open discussion, and will also allow growers and industry personnel to visualise differences in our research trials first hand. We are confident that New Zealand growers will leave the day with some very valuable information which will assist them in improving the economic and environmental performance of their current maize production systems.”
FAR is fortunate to have secured various speakers whom are all experts in their field of work.
Trevor James is a weed scientist for AgResearch. With more than 30 years experience, Trevor has conducted much of the research for weed management or the maize industry and has played an active role in extension to farmers. Trevor was recently presented with the ‘FAR Researcher of the Year Award’ in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the arable industry. Trevor will be advising growers on getting the best out of their herbicides and growers will have the chance to view various weed control options first hand.
Wayne Hosking of LandWISE and John Austin of John Austin Ltd will both speak on the subject of soil management and strip tillage. Wayne has been helping farmers develop cultivation practices to reduce costs and improve soil for the past four years. John Austin, a major contractor in the Waikato who has been at the forefront of much of this work, will be sharing his experiences.
Peter Wright, a plant pathologist for Crop & Food Research for more than 20 years, is an expert on plant diseases and will be presenting alongside FAR’s Mike Parker on the latest results from fungicide trials conducted on maize crops in Pukekohe and Waikato.
Finally, FAR Maize Research Coordinator, Andrea Pearson will focus on Nitrogen Management and will be introducing AmaizeN, a recently developed crop calculator which assists growers in the management of their Nitrogen inputs.
Guest speaker Richard Grigor from ABB Grain has been invited to address attendees on the drivers and trends in global grain and feed prices. ABB Grain is a multifaceted Australian agribusiness trading across the entire supply chain from supplying rural services to grain marketing. Richard is based in their Christchurch office and is focused on the trading and distribution of grains and proteins.
Sponsors of the FAR Waikato Arable Research Site include: New Holland, Ravensdown and RD1 Limited. Nick Pyke, FAR’s Chief Executive said “On behalf of FAR I’d like to extend my thanks to all our sponsors for their support. This is extremely important in the running of the FAR Waikato Arable Research Site and as such, has allowed us to create a very valuable and motivating field day for New Zealand maize silage and grain growers.
For anyone interested in hearing more about the sponsorship packages available, please contact Rachel Greenwood at the FAR office on 03 325 6353 or emailgreenwoodr@far.org.nz. For more details on the FAR Waikato Arable Research Site, please phone FAR on 03 325 6353.