Farmers Advised To Read The Small Print

Farmers Advised To Read The Small Print

New Zealand farmers and growers are being encouraged to read the fine print, and look for robust local trial data, before choosing their pasture and crop seed this spring.

In doing so, they will maximise their opportunities for gain, and minimise their risk, according to the New Zealand Plant Breeding and Research Association (NZPBRA).

Increasing numbers of plant varieties from overseas are now available to NZ producers.

Just because they do well in other countries does not mean they will do well here, points out NZPBRA spokesman Graham Kerr.

“Our agricultural and climatic conditions are unique. Product performance claims based on solely overseas evaluation are not a reliable indicator of performance in NZ.”

He says farmers should be wary of product claims based on limited or no local data, or comparisons which show no statistical significance.

“Let’s face it, a comprehensive seed evaluation regime is expensive, and takes years to set up. In fact, in many cases, local testing takes up the lion’s share of the cost of developing new varieties in NZ. 

“But without it we cannot provide the pastures and crops that NZ producers need to stay ahead of their competition, and to remain profitable. Seed is an integral part of farming. We can’t afford not to test it in our conditions.”

Proper local evaluation is no different to progeny testing, Kerr says.   

“I don’t know many farmers who would invest in new livestock genetics on the basis of one season’s results, or results from a different country altogether.”

So what should farmers look for in picking their seed this season?

NZ performance data, for a start, replicated over different sites and different years.

“Results from one trial are not enough,” Kerr says.

Farmers also need to make sure they’re measuring apples against apples. 

“To make a fair and appropriate comparison, they must only consider relative performance against other products of the same or very similar maturity and type.”

ENDS

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