High-quality chicory a pearler

Date: 2010-05-19 | Category: Sheep & Beef News

The tired pastures weren' t going to cut it so Gordon Martinovich put in some chicory.

The country surrounding Mt. Ruapehu provides a challenging environment for farmers to finish stock on. Soils are predominantly ash, it is isolated and the weather throws constant curve balls for farmers like Gordon and Kara Martinovich. The couple moved to the top of the Whangaehu Valley near Ohakune in 2007.

Although the backdrop is scenic, this country can be unforgiving

Gordon is the farm manager on 1095ha (effective) which is owned and leased by Whatarangi Murphy Peehi.

They could not have timed their arrival worse in terms of weather. Within months, the worst drought in years had gripped the country. It became clear to Gordon that the tired pastures previously used for finishing lambs were not going to cut it. He needed some different options.

After consulting the local seed representative and farm consultant, the decision was made to sow 30ha in a high-quality chicory and clover mix. The October sowing comprised 5kg/ha of Puna II Chicory, 5kg/ha of Sensation red
clover and 3kg/ha of Bounty white clover.

Puna II chicory is described as " a New Zealand-bred broadleaf perennial forage herb noted for its high nutritional quality, producing high yields from spring to late autumn" .

Lambs introduced to the crop showed growth rates of up to 400g/ day, more than double those on older pasture Gordon ran a mob of 1000 lambs on the crop in a rotation between the three available paddocks. The rotation was based on remaining crop and recovery, not a certain time period. As lambs met target weights they were drafted off and more introduced.

The 2000 lambs finished on the crop provided regular drafts of 18.5kg average lambs to be killed. Grass-based finishing had previously averaged 16.5kg lambs at much slower growth rates.

The 30ha sown had with it 20ha which could not be cultivated. Gordon believes this was crucial to the lambs' growth, as the roughage from the grass complimented the chicory mix to help digestion.

Another noticeable difference over pasture was the relative lack of internal parasites in the lambs. Once drenched on to the crop there was no need for additional treatments. In contrast, lambs on pasture required constant monitoring and drenching to keep worms at bay. He expects to get three years from the chicory crop for finishing stock before it expires. Management of the crop is crucial to success.

Published courtesy of Country-Wide November 2009

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