Issue 35 / Summer / January 2013

Hi #subname#

Welcome to the January edition of the Specialty Seed SeedData Newsletter.

Zoom, there goes another Christmas and New Year and before we know it we are half way through January!

It certainly was a tumultuous New Year period for many of our client's weather wise. This caused a lot of grief for farmers throughout New Zealand the West Coast of the South Island in particular.

By the time you receive this, things will have got back to normal, we hope. We are also hopeful that our arable farmers have a more settled harvest for this coming season, last year we had some issues the harvesting of the later flowering types which lead to delays getting these onto the market fingers crossed for this season.

This month's newsletter will showcase some really useful weather web pages, update you on the new GrubOut endophyte, and provide you with some information on farm safety.

Weather websites
GrubOut news update
Farm Safety

Weather websites

All this talk of wild weather reminded me of a presentation made to members of the recently held New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade conference.

Dr Andrew Tait is a principal scientist with NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) in simple terms Andrew analyses and interprets climate data and puts it into a form we all understand.

During the presentation Dr Tait showed us two of NIWAs web pages that I think will be of great interest to all involved with farming.

Go and have a look. I'm sure you will find them helpful in planning your farming operation.

Daily Climate Maps: This webpage has individual maps that display soil moisture, rain, sunshine and temperature information
Seasonal Climate Outlook: This webpage provides information on the seasonal weather outlook in 3 monthly blocks. The latest being January until March 2013

Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you require any help with these maps.

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GrubOut news update

In our October newsletter we introduced you to the new "GrubOut®" endophyte released from Crop Mark Seeds Ltd.

To refresh your memory this new endophyte gives you protection from not only above the ground pests but very importantly also protects you from a wide range of below the ground insects.

At the time we promised to keep you informed on how this exciting new endophyte will be released onto the market, so here we go:

The first product you will be able to obtain GrubOut endophyte in is called 'Barrier Combo™'.

Barrier Combo™ is a ready - to - sow mix of Festulolium grasses (inter-species crosses of meadow fescue x perennial ryegrass), along with medium and large leafed white clovers.

Barrier Combo™ contains the GrubOut® U2 endophyte which provides above and below ground protection against insect pests including grass grub larvae, black beetle adults and larvae, Argentine stem weevil and porina caterpillar. It is safe to sheep, cattle and deer and won't cause grass staggers or heat stress. Barrier Combo™ is only available initially Cropcote Plus™ treated seed.

Contact Link: To register your interest in Barrier Combo please contact Specialty Seeds, whether it be by phone, email, or through our website contact form.

Improving on Farm Safety

Every month I get a publication that outlines farming news in brief, in one of the latest I read that every day ACC receives, on average, 75 claims for farming related injuries, I was staggered. If you work it out that's over 27,000 claims per year on average from a relatively small group of people.

"Injuries on the farm can be avoided - safety often comes down to making the right choices, rather than luck. It is true that farm work carries more risks than many other occupations."

Also the recent death of an, experienced, well liked and respected local farmer, that at this early stage of the investigation, could be related to a quad bike incident, brought home to me just how dangerous farm work can be even for the most experienced of you.

Therefore I plan to devote a section of every 2013 newsletter to this issue, every month we will provide you with access to information and tips on how to improve safety around the farm. Please take the time to read this and I would welcome any comments you may have on the subject.

The first of these is a very useful guide from ACC on Quad Bike Safety.

Download Link: ACC Quad Bike Safety PDF download

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As always, we hope this issue has been of some value to you. If you have a comment on this newsletter or anything on our website, please give us a call on our Freephone: 0800 727 8873, send us an email at: mail@specseed.co.nz.

Kind Regards

Stephen Finch / David Percival

Stephen Finch & David Percival
Specialty Seeds - New Zealand



This was another informative "SeedData Newsletter" - brought to you by Specialty Seeds NZ
Website: www.specseed.co.nz \| Email: mail@specseed.co.nz \| Phone: 0800 727 8873 \| Fax: 0800 365 6663

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