Diverse pastures put to the test

Take one expert team of animal and plant scientists. Add a long-running research farm in dryland Hawke’s Bay. Combine with more forage species than you’ve ever imagined, and simmer carefully on 4.5 years of private and public funding.

 

What do you get?

 

In this case, the first replicated field experiment of its type in New Zealand, measuring exactly what happens – to the pasture, and the soils below it – when you sow four, six, seven, 11 or 31 different plants in one mix.

 

Curious? We were too, which is why we got involved. Three years down the track, one thing seems clear. Sowing large numbers of seed types does not achieve pasture diversity.

 

Want to read more? Click to read the full article here.