In a first for FAR, it has set up a seven-year future-focused arable demonstration site at Chertsey. In this episode of Cut the Crop, FAR researcher Owen Gibson says that the project will be a conversation starter for growers, showcasing some exciting new techniques and technologies as it progresses.

Mid Canterbury growers and great mates Angus McKenzie and Will Mackenzie are members of a Growers Leading Change group looking at the impacts of different crop establishment techniques and systems on soil quality and profitability. In this episode of Cut the Crop, they talk about what their group has been doing.

FAR’s biggest annual event of the year, ARIA, will be held at the Chertsey Arable Research Site on November 29. In this episode of Cut the Crop Anna Heslop of FAR explains that this year’s event is all about delivering information that growers can take home to manage their crops this season.

Mid Canterbury arable grower Simon Lochhead is a member of a Growers Leading Change group injecting liquid fertiliser and biological products into the soil. In this episode of Cut the Crop he tells Alison Stewart that it is a way of future-proofing his farm from the loss of conventional chemistry.

FAR is holding a series of grower field events in late November which will examine combine harvesters from the front to the back to ensure as much yield as possible goes into the silo and is not left on the ground. In this episode of Cut the Crop event speaker Peter Broley outlines what has been learnt about harvest losses in Australia and what is being done to remedy this.

In a Pathfinder project, Bulls grower Hew Dalrymple is using remote soil sensing and mapping technology to manage variation in soil types and crop yields. In this episode of Cut the Crop he explains what changes in fertiliser and nutrient applications he is making as a result.

Growers struggling to keep up to speed with the raft of environmental regulations coming onstream can tap into the expertise of FAR’s environment technical and policy advisor Hannah Ritchie. In this episode of Cut the Crop she tells Alison Stewart that arable growers can have an impact on what rules and limits come into effect.

Tony Fenton has been facilitator for the Southland and South Otago Growers Leading Change groups for the last three years. In this episode of Cut the Crop he outlines the issues for growers in these regions and what the groups have been doing to address these.

It’s been a roller-coaster year for Hawkes Bay farmer Hugh Ritchie. His farm was flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle and he won the 2023 Arable Farmer of the Year award. In this episode of Cut the Crop he tells Anna Heslop that management practices like strip till prevented even more top soil being lost during the flooding.

Fungicides are still effective in controlling Septoria tritici blotch in cereals, but small sensitivity shifts indicate a potential pathway to resistance. In this week’s Cut the Crop FAR senior cereals researcher Jo Drummond says that while it is tempting to keep using the same reliable products, growers need to act now to preserve chemistry.

With product prices down for all ag sectors this season, arable growers are reconsidering their budgets. In this episode of Cut the Crop, FAR researchers Jo Drummond and Richard Chynoweth say monitoring of crops and the soil beneath them is key to deciding whether inputs can be trimmed without sacrificing yield.

Visiting UK farmer Clive Blacker became a precision ag pioneer after looking to manage the variability in his soils. He tells Alison Stewart that having a sensor tool on his tractor cab, that enables him to apply variable rate nitrogen to his crops, is benefiting his farm and the environment.

FAR environment researcher Abie Horrocks has looked at the economic impact of implementing national freshwater policy on Otago’s arable farmers, as part of a wider report. In this episode of Cut the Crop she discusses the implications and potential costs.

Winner of the 2023 Arable Environmental and Sustainability Award, South Canterbury grower Andrew Darling is using technology such as a tractor-cab mounted N sensor to reduce crop inputs. He tells Alison Stewart that moving from standard blanket applications to variable rate in wheat saved 50kg/ha in nitrogen last season without any marked reduction in yield.

2023 Arable Researcher of the Year winner Richard Chynoweth attended the International Herbage Seed Conference in France. He shares insights into the advantages NZ growers have over their European counterparts.

Voting papers have arrived in growers’ mailboxes for the FAR referendum, which determines its future. In this episode of Cut the Crop, CEO Alison Stewart explains how FAR is able to leverage its relatively small budget to provide growers with crop research that drives yields and farm profitability while meeting new environmental requirements.

Climate changes mean the South Island could become a major growing region for maize, but different management to North Island standard practice may be needed. Researcher Owen Gibson told FAR’s conference that narrow row spacing, being trialled in Canterbury, could be a way of increasing maize yields in cooler climates.

Australia’s experience shows that herbicide resistance does not mean an end to arable farm profitability, Chris Preston, Professor of weed management at the University of Adelaide says. He told the FAR conference that as Australian farmers can no longer just rely on chemicals for weed control, they are instead adopting multiple tactics and taking a long-term approach.

In response to climate change, New Zealand has set a target of net zero carbon by 2050. At FAR’s 2023 conference, senior environment researcher Dirk Wallace urged farmers to know their emissions number. As most of an arable farmer’s cropping emissions are from nitrogen fertiliser use, they can then look at opportunities to reduce this.

Scottish farmer David Aglen runs the AHDB Strategic Cereal Farm, the equivalent of a FAR Growers Leading Change Pathfinder farm. He told the FAR conference that farmers are losing the battle with fungicides and herbicides in his part of the world and the six-year project aims to find alternative management options.

FAR’s technology manager Chris Smith has just returned from Cereals, the UK’s largest arable farming event. In this episode of Cut the Crop he tells Anna Heslop that environmental concerns, control of black-grass and resistance to agchem is leading to more use of strip till and direct drilling, targeted weeding and use of biological products.

Getting the general public to understand the benefits of irrigation is difficult when many link it with intensive dairy, says Irrigation NZ CEO Vanessa Winning. She tells Alison Stewart that this is holding back opportunities for community capture and storage of water, something which is becoming even more crucial as the climate changes.

FAR’s senior maize researcher David Densley is a big fan of ProductionWise, a farm management software tool available to arable farmers. In this episode of Cut the Crop, he tells Anna Heslop that it's a great way to benchmark one paddock against another, as well as comparing performance within a group of farmers.

A Lighter Touch is a $27 million, seven-year collaboration between the horticulture, arable and wine sectors to shift the focus from traditional crop protection. A Lighter Touch’s programme director Livia Esterhazy tells Alison Stewart that a lot of tools and technologies are being tested from biologicals and beneficials to AI, with a goal of being adopted by growers.

FAR’s biennial conference is being held at the Lincoln Event Centre on June 29-30. In this episode of Cut the Crop, FAR's Alison Stewart and Anna Heslop preview why it is a must for growers, with a line-up of leading national and international speakers covering topics such as nutrient use efficiency, future-focused research, keeping up with agrichemicals and their alternatives, and soil management.