Strong lineage continues to shine
If your farmers are trying to work out which pasture cultivars represent best value for sowing this season, it’s time to point them to the latest National Forage Variety Trial results.
That’s the advice from Barenbrug pasture specialist Graham Kerr, who says the NFVT system, which has been running for more than 30 years, and the cultivars it tests, represent the best of what proprietary plant breeding contributes to New Zealand agriculture.
“We’re not just talking about superior plant genetics being extensively tested prior to market release.
This is our way, and our industry’s way, of reducing the risk farmers take when they renew their pastures, so they can be confident of a good outcome.”
And with high quality pasture more important than ever for efficient, profitable milk and meat production, carefully considering ryegrass choices before sowing is time well spent, he says.
Barenbrug ryegrass genetics continue to live up to their long legacy of high performance in the latest results, with Maxsyn NEA12 unbeaten among perennials for total yield in the national NVFT rankings.
It’s not the only standout, however.
The company has bred three out of the top five perennials for total yield (Array NEA2 and Tyson NEA4); 4front remains the top tetraploid ryegrass tested, and Forge NEA is again unbeaten for total yield in the hybrid ryegrass trials, with Shogun NEA12 number two.
The results reinforce the company’s effort to develop ryegrasses that add value to today’s farm businesses, and are testament to the ongoing efforts of its breeding and development team, Kerr says.
They also highlight a strong family lineage in diploid perennial ryegrass that goes back decades. Maxsyn NEA12 is the latest release from these high performance genetics, built on predecessors which repeatedly set a high bar for performance, both on farm and in the NFVT.
“From Yatsyn 1 at the start, to Bronsyn, through to Trojan, just to name a few, it’s a track record we’re really proud of,” Kerr says.
“Our new company strapline ‘Grow with confidence’ sums up what we live by – giving farmers great genetics they can be confident will deliver.”