Lincoln Agritech has been awarded two Ministry of Primary Industries three-year Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) contracts to: 1) investigate the use of catch crops to reduce nitrate leaching; and 2) assess the feasibility of using optical sensors for nitrogen fertilised dairy pastures.

Catch crops for reduced nitrate leaching is a project that continues Dr Peter Carey’s PhD studies at Lincoln University where he studied the use of catch crops to mitigate nitrate leaching under winter forage grazing. In autumn and winter, non-lactating dairy cows are eating large quantities of feed over a relatively short period of time to build up body condition and depositing large volumes of urine onto bare soil at a time when there is minimal plant growth. The conversion of the nitrogen (N) present in urine to soil mineral forms, such as nitrate, can lead to large N leaching losses (80-120 kg N/ha) through field drainage. Sowing a crop immediately following winter forage grazing, however, can be problematic, but hardy cereals (such as oats) can still establish in these cool conditions and once the soil warms, can rapidly mop up some of this soil-N, reducing the amount available for leaching. A number of lysimeter and field trials have shown that sowing a catch crop can reduce nitrate leaching losses by as much as 40%, as well as improving N-use efficiency and farmers’ profitability. The aim of the project is to upscale this applied research into working winter crop rotations in Canterbury and Southland and adapt it to the various soil and climatic conditions.

The catch crops SFF programme is supported by industry and leading dairy farm companies including: Plant and Food Research, Craigmore Farms, Dairy Holdings, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Ravensdown, Agricom, Luisetti Seeds, DairyNZ, Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), South Island Dairy Development Centre (SIDDC), Irrigo Centre Ltd, and Lincoln University’s Centre for Soil and Environmental Research. Ultimately, success will be measured by establishing the practice of sowing winter catch crops as a normal part of winter forage management and demonstrating effective alternatives to farmers that lower nitrate leaching losses after winter forage grazing.

The second project, Optical sensors for N-fertilising dairy pastures, will assess using optical sensors for variable rate application (VRA) of N-fertilisers on dairy grazed pastures. New Zealand intensive dairy farming systems rely heavily on N-fertiliser to maintain pasture production. These fertilisers are often applied uniformly over the paddock - irrespective of the variability that might exist in the paddock. This results in poor use of N-fertilisers, with under or over application in some areas of the paddock, causing unfavourable economic and environment consequences, such as lost yield and nitrate leaching to the groundwater. 

Optical sensing technologies are commonly used for assessing biomass and N-status in arable crops; however, these technologies are not used for monitoring pastures. Previous Lincoln Agritech research has demonstrated that using optical sensors for pasture systems can reduce N-fertiliser amount by up to 30% and nitrate leaching by up to 13%, whilst maintaining the same  pasture yields. This project will assess and adapt current commercial sensor systems for VRA of N-fertiliser in pasture systems. 

This research programme is supported by Stratford Farms in Temuka, Irrigo Centre Ltd, MHV Water, North Otago Irrigation Company, Advanced GPS Ag, Topcon, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, DairyNZ, AgResearch, and Plant and Food Research.

Pest surveillance and reporting will become more efficient when a new monitoring tool hits the ground. The Department of Conservation (DOC) has signed a contract with Lincoln Agritech Ltd to develop an automated sensor known as the ‘PAWS™ pest identification sensor pad’ that will detect and identify pests reinvading islands and mainland sanctuaries where possums, stoats and rats have previously been eradicated.
 
Achieving New Zealand’s goal of being ‘Predator Free by 2050’ requires cost-effective and efficient predator control tools in order to scale up sustainable predator control activity across the country. The Government has allocated $2.8 million over four years to DOC to fund the research and development of new and innovative solutions. Recipients of this funding include Lincoln Agritech and their collaborators, Boffa Miskell Ltd and Red Fern Solutions Ltd. 
 
The automated PAWS™ device is able to identify pests such as mice, rats, mustelids and possums, and differentiate these from native species. The results are transmitted (via wifi, telemetry or other means) to a DOC office enabling managers to rapidly respond.
 
Andrew Baucke (DOC Operations Manager, Auckland) says, “The PAWS™ pest identification sensor pad will reduce our surveillance workload significantly and give us a far quicker response time for detecting reinvasion by pests. Traditionally, a lot of labour goes into regularly checking traps and tracking tunnels on islands to detect pest invasions and some of our pest-free islands are not visited as often as we would like. PAWS™ has the potential to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of surveillance and decrease our response times. That’s going to increase our confidence, save time and effort and has to be a great investment in island biosecurity.”
 
Dr Clive Marsh, Lincoln Agritech Principal Scientist continues, “The focus for 2018 will be on making sure we get the development fine-tuned before we build the prototypes. In early 2019, pen trials and small-scale field trials will be carried out, followed by two large-scale field trials in 2020. Our intention is for pre-production units to be tested by DOC in early 2021 before launching commercially.” 

Dr Helen Blackie at Boffa Miskell Ltd is leading the PAWS™ trials. Helen has been involved in the PAWS™ concept since its inception, having recognised the need for improved forms of animal surveillance and reporting. The PAWS™ unit represents a new generation of technologies for wildlife management, and allows people to monitor species in real-time in natural habitats.  Future enhancements of the technology are envisaged, such as building units with trapping functions that trigger the trap when specific species are detected. 
 
For conservation managers, having a variety of detection devices under development eliminates their reliance on only one approach. As the Predator Free strategy gains traction the automated pest detection features encapsulated by PAWS™ will be part of the solution to removing unwanted pest species from New Zealand.