News

High sugar grass to earn millions for largest NZ station

Friday, 7 May 2010

New Zealand’s biggest privately owned sheep and beef station is resowing pasture into AberHSG high sugar grass after its grazing trials showed livestock gains that could be worth an extra $1 million in annual revenue.

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High sugar grass boosts Maffra dairy farm production

Friday, 19 March 2010

Maffra dairy farmers Tom and Helen Paton predict high sugar grass will enable them to lift their Friesian herd’s milk production by close to 30 percent.

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High-sugar grass a hit

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

One of the best things about putting in high-sugar rye grass, was it held up really well under the drought conditions experienced in 2008, says Kiwitea dairy farmer David Scott.

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Opunake dairy herd ‘cleans out’ high sugar pasture

Thursday, 11 March 2010

An Opunake dairy partnership is using Aber high sugar grass for all pasture renewal after observing the performance of AberDart pasture over the past 18 months.

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High sugar grass chosen after farm trial

Friday, 5 March 2010

A leading South Australia dairy farm milking 2,300 cows has chosen an AberHSG high sugar grass for its pasture renewal following an on-farm growing trial and laboratory tests.

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Grass as clean as a whistle

Monday, 1 March 2010

A grass that can boost animal production and at the same time reduce nitrogen waste should be given credit for its environmental benefits, says an environment award winning farmer.

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High sugar grass offers better diet - AgResearch

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

New ryegrass cultivars with higher concentrations of sugar in their leaves are offering a more desirable pasture diet, according to research in New Zealand.

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High-sugar grass ‘helps in hills’

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

The challenge of finishing cattle and sheep on steep hill country has been taken up by a South Canterbury farmer where the ground freezes in winter and the hills rise 600-1000m above sea level.

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Scientists: sugar grass linked to increased grazing

Friday, 27 November 2009

Higher sugar content in ryegrass cultivars is related to less fibre and protein and would likely encourage more grazing, according to research by AgResearch and Massey University.

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Queen’s Prize for high sugar grass team

Friday, 20 November 2009

The Welsh scientists who developed high sugar grass, which is widely sown in New Zealand, have received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.

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New HSG varieties ‘in the pipeline’

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

High-sugar grass varieties growing in New Zealand are just the beginning of an ongoing advance in pasture quality, the head of seed sales at CRT Co-operative says.

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Better grazing on high sugar pastures

Friday, 2 October 2009

Pasture on twenty farms owned by an Otago company will eventually all be resown with Aber high sugar grass (AberHSG) cultivars following positive feedback from farmers.

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Find what works - and stick to it

Thursday, 1 October 2009

Previously running sheep until its conversion to dairy was begun 12 years ago, the 378 hectare farm sharemilked by John and Nicki Den Baars at Wharetoa, in Otago, is today running 1,100 cows.

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Ryegrasses sweeten pasture renewal

Monday, 14 September 2009

Growing high sugar grass has the potential to earn a Southland station an extra $1 million a year in revenue, its management team says.

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High sugar grass boosts milk flow in Australia

Monday, 20 July 2009

Farmer enthusiasm for high sugar grass is now spreading across the Tasman.

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High sugar grass grazing paying off

Wednesday, 25 March 2009

A Cambridge dairy farmer has calculated that his herd was earning him an extra $110 a day when grazing high sugar grass this summer.

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High sugar grass helps in kikuyu battle

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

A Dargaville farmer has found high sugar ryegrass offers an advantage in battling the persistent regrowth of kikuyu grass.

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A dry Otago dairy farm's road to recovery

Monday, 2 March 2009

Recent rain is a welcome relief for parched farms in North Otago where there’s now a green tinge to spent pastures, but more rain is needed.

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High sugar grass wins strong farmer support

Saturday, 28 February 2009

The acreage sown in high sugar grass (HSG) has doubled year on year as more farmers have seen its benefit as a pasture feed and its reliability In tough conditions.

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Hopes pinned on ‘buckets of rain’

Saturday, 21 February 2009

Still in the grip of a third consecutive drought on the East Coast, Waikura Station manager Barry Griffin is hoping rain forecast for this weekend will start creeks flowing and the grass growing.

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Cows run high on sugar grass

Thursday, 12 February 2009

High sugar grass has proved a real sweetener for Jorge Hobi.

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Enjoying challenge of being a farmer

Saturday, 24 January 2009

Becoming a dairy farmer has been a learning curve for Waimata Cheese director Rick Thorpe who bought a dairy farm a year ago to secure milk supply.

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High sugar grass offers protection from stem weevil

Monday, 1 December 2008

A two-year study to test a high sugar grass for its resistance to a major insect pest indicates it was less susceptible than other ryegrasses in the field trial. 

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Science leader considers need for independent grass tests

Tuesday, 21 October 2008

The independent testing of grass cultivars is a reasonable option if it will help farmers, the New Zealand Grassland Association conference was told at Blenheim (Oct 14-16).

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All resowing to be with high sugar grass

Friday, 10 October 2008

A Balclutha dairy farmer's trial planting of high sugar grass four years ago has led to his decision to regrass all winter crop areas with AberDart from now on.

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A new pasture option for deer

Wednesday, 1 October 2008

High sugar grass, a perennial ryegrass with higher water soluble carbohydrate levels, is finding favour among deer farmers – and their deer.

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Grass impresses

Monday, 1 September 2008

There’s no free lunch in farming but James Aitken honestly thinks high sugar grasses are the closest thing to it.

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High sugar grass tops farms' conversion test

Thursday, 31 July 2008

A Southland dairy farmer steadily resowing all paddocks on both his dairy farm conversions says independent grass test results would make the gains a lot more certain.

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Grass may give drive to animals and cars

Thursday, 17 July 2008

A new grass that gives animals more energy while at the same time reducing their nitrogen emissions could have a further use providing ethanol for transport fuel.

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'Pretenders outed in grass trials'

Tuesday, 3 June 2008

New Zealand farmers will benefit from independent grass trials that rank grass cultivars in order of feed value as well as yield, said Germinal Seeds NZ Ltd general manager David Kerr today.

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Dry shows value of high sugar ryegrass

Thursday, 15 May 2008

The drought that has cost dairy farmers about $500 million in potential milk earnings did have an upside in showing farmers which grass cultivars can persist through tough conditions.

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More choices with new pasture

Wednesday, 30 April 2008

The recent drought and slide in sheep prices has put pressure on sheep farmers throughout the South Island but those already underway with pasture renewal were better prepared for a testing time.

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Seeding surge of new pasture

Tuesday, 1 April 2008

Strong inquiry from Canterbury and North Otago farmers for seed points to a surge of pasture renewal when adequate rain arrives, some of the region's Germinal seed merchants are reported as saying.

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Recovery plans for drought

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

More farmers are considering the ability of pasture to withstand hard grazing in dry conditions, according to a Timaru seed merchant.

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Global demand exceeds supply of ‘high sugar grass’ seed

Thursday, 31 January 2008

Farmers can expect more purpose-bred, higher performing grasses such as high sugar grass, says a director of one of Britain’s big four grass seed companies.

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Farmer swears by ryegrass

Thursday, 10 January 2008

Auroa dairy farmer Brian Hiestand is not afraid of trying new things on his farm on the southern side of Mt Taranaki.

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Sweet on the environment

Friday, 7 December 2007

New Zealand farmers are picking up on the environmental advantages of high-sugar grass, says William Gilbert, head of a nine-generation family seed business in Britain.

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NZ scientists see environmental benefits in ‘high sugar grass’

Tuesday, 4 December 2007

The potential of high sugar grass to intensify farming while reducing environmental impact was of key interest at the NZ Grassland Association 2007 conference at Wairakei in November (13-15).

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Blackdale Stud's lambs gain more weight on AberDart

Monday, 8 October 2007

Blackdale Stud in Southland is among the country’s leaders in the progeny testing of rams and partner Peter Black takes a similarly methodical approach to evaluating new pasture varieties.

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High Sugar Grass delivers benefits for farmers and environment

Monday, 24 September 2007

High sugar grass is a new type of ryegrass earning praise from farmers because it offers a double benefit in being good for the environment as well as for livestock.

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Lambs had to be chased out of High Sugar Grass paddock

Friday, 7 September 2007

Greenfield farmer Max Miller was impressed when his lambs refused to exit from a paddock of high sugar ryegrass – he had to send in a sheepdog to move them on.

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Clinton lambs prefer high sugar ryegrass over clover

Friday, 24 August 2007

Clinton sheep and cattle farmer Scott McKenzie knows the value of good pasture.

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Hillcrest lambs gain extra weight on High Sugar Grass

Friday, 24 August 2007

The Hillcrest perendale and cheviot stud at Clinton attributes the strong weight gain of their lambs to high sugar ryegrass pasture that was tried for the first time last year.

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AgResearch: HSG yields 10% more milksolids in autumn

Tuesday, 31 July 2007

A Dairy Insight report on high sugar grass trial results from AgResearch highlights a 10 percent increase in milksolids during autumn 2007 from cows fed AberDart (a high sugar ryegrass) compared to cows fed a standard ryegrass.

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AgResearch leader endorses High Sugar Grass

Thursday, 19 July 2007

An AgResearch leader’s recent endorsement of high sugar grasses as a way to increase farm production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a positive message for farmers, said Germinal Seeds (NZ) Ltd General Manager David Kerr today.

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High Sugar Grass offers potential for nitrogen credits at Taupo

Thursday, 19 July 2007

Farmers in the Taupo catchment are waiting needlessly for nitrogen credits that should be available to them when grazing stock on high sugar grass that’s proven to reduce nitrogen emissions from livestock, said Germinal Seeds (NZ) Ltd General Manager David Kerr today.

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AberDart reason for milk increase on Gore dairy farm

Friday, 29 June 2007

Dairy farmer Stuart Roy says AberDart High Sugar Grass is money in his pocket.

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Roles of High Sugar Grasses

Wednesday, 21 March 2007

Roles of High Sugar Grasses - NZ Large Herds Conference presentation (pdf).

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High sugar grass performing well

Monday, 12 February 2007

A little warm weather and a new ryegrass variety have gone a long way on Mark and Robyn Copland’s 670ha sheep and beef farm.

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Cows prefer AberDart than "knee-deep in something else"

Monday, 8 January 2007

Sward quality is the key to cost-effective and simple grass-based dairy systems say Mid Canterbury farmers Wayne and Greg Meadows.

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Mid-Canterbury dairy herd "loves AberAvon"

Wednesday, 22 November 2006

Cust (Mid-Canterbury) dairy farmer Geoff Spark has had AberAvon High Sugar Grass (HSG) for eight months only but says it is already a clear favourite with his herd.

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'More milk just 12 hours after grazing AberAvon'

Thursday, 17 August 2006

Former Taranaki dairy consultant Duncan Barr is someone who looks for explanations before drawing any conclusions.

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