Issue 49 / Autumn / March 2014

Hi #subname#

Welcome to the March edition of Specialty Seed's SeedData Newsletter.

I can safely say the drought in Christchurch is well and truly over following the recent heavy rains.

I live in the lower Cashmere hills area and we appeared to cop more rain than other areas of Christchurch and the outlying areas.

Over the 24 hours I measured 180 mm of rain, the official recorded rainfall (at the Christchurch airport, 15 kilometres away) for Christchurch 84mm.

A big difference between the two locations, however even on my trips over to the West Coast of the South Island I don't think I've experienced wind and rain like it.

In this month's SeedData newsletter we will look at a very good Tall fescue that has now been inoculated with a new protective endophyte, update you with the latest news on Barrier Combo, and introduce my app of the month and the new Coronet oats.

Tower Tall fescue
Barrier Combo update
Coronet Oats
Smartphone App of the month

Tower Tall fescue

Over the last couple of seasons we have supplied our clients with a new Tall Fescue from DLF seeds called Tower.

DLF Seeds have been committed to improving grass species that can offer better persistence and production than ryegrass.

Tower tall fescue has very good year around growth particularly from spring until autumn.

DLF are pleased to announce Tower now comes with a new protective endophyte called Protek.

Please click on the link below or the image for more information.

Download Link: Download the Tower Tall Fescue flyer.
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you have any questions.

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Barrier Combo update

Bariier Combo was released in Autumn 2013. I have endeavoured to keep up updated with progress on Cropmark seeds new grass/clover mix called Barrier Combo.

I am quite a fan of the product as it's the only pastoral product on the market that offers our clients protection against most of New Zealand's major pastoral pests, both above and below the ground.

Following more recent work another significant pastoral pest has been added to the list, Black field crickets.

Black field crickets are a significant problem in many parts of Northern New Zealand at certain times of the year, so to have them added to the long list is very significant.

Please click on the link below or the image for more information.

Download Link: Download the Media release.
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you have any questions.

Coronet Oats

As mentioned in the February newsletter Ryecorn supplies are in a very short supply situation.

Coronet Oats which replaced Hokonui oats will make a very suitable substitute for Ryecorn. Coronets are suitable for grazing or silage and has very good winter growth and hardiness.

We recommend they should be sown at either 100 kgs alone or 70 to 80 kgs per hectare with 20 - 25 kgs of Kano Italian or Devour annual ryegrass per hectare.

For best results we suggest you should sow the oats first then either broadcast / drill the grass separately.

For more information on Coronets, Kano and Devour please follow the links below.

Download Link: Download the Coronet Oats Agrinote.
Download Link: Download the Devour Poster.
Download Link: Download the Kano Poster.
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds for any of your sow down enquiries.

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Smartphone App of the month

I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to my smart phone, in my case an iPhone 5s.

It is my constant companion and I simply cannot imagine doing business without it. When it died on me at Christmas I was given a replacement while waiting for mine to be fixed. All it could do was make phone calls! I felt I'd lost an arm!

I like to check out the new apps from time to time and came across this one which I think would be of great use to not only dairy farmers but any pastoral farmer really. Check it out by selecting one of the Android or Apple links below.

Next month I'll hopefully be able to show you the new one from Bayer crop science that is also a really helpful tool.

Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you have any questions or want any further information.

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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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