Farm Nutrient Advisory Ltd.

05/09/2025

📊 Data in any industry is everything. So long as you know what it means that is!

In the fertiliser game it's common practice to collect soil data but how many actually look at it & truly understand its meaning? Further still, how many then apply that to what's done next rather than carry on with the status quo?

Most (reps) collect the data but regardless of the results, apply the same product & rate ignoring any change that may, or may not have been seen in the soil analysis.

❔So why test?

Collecting data for the sake of just having the numbers is a completely pointless, expensive exercise when that data is not interpreted correctly or is not applied.

I would argue that the majority of the soil testing that occurs is to simply tick a box ☑️ (both at sales rep & farmer level) & superficially give the impression nutrient inputs are justified by the data.

But are they really? Typically not.

Some of the major soil parameters that are poorly understood & misinterpreted include pH, phosphorus & sulphur:

👩‍🔬Soil pH

In basic terms, it's the level of free acidity in solution. Is looking at the pH & determining if your soil is or isn't the 'ideal' pH as straight forward as it sounds? A definitive no 🚫

❔Why?
pH can be influenced significantly by a number of factors:
💧Moisture
🌡️Temperature
🧪Cation status
🔬Lab margin of error (+\- 0.2 think about that for a minute!)

The most common misconception is that an 'optimal' pH therefore means you have optimum calcium which is a rookie mistake because there can be a level of elevation (sometimes large) when soil potassium, magnesium or sodium are high - a common misinterpretation often, ignoring a clear calcium deficiency which is then never rectified at the plant's, the animal's & farm's long-term expense 💸

👩‍🔬Soil phosphorus

Most apply the archaic Olsen P which was scientifically concluded as a poor predictor of production.

❔Why?
Largely due to it being tested at a pH 8.5 where the soil chemistry behaves the complete opposite to what occurs in an acidic (

03/09/2025

Today brings a new example of New Zealand’s agricultural industry wasting energy & money to silence anyone who makes noise about the unforgivable level of pollution in our waterways. There are some very big, powerful head honchos that only have making themselves rich as the key objective but at the expense of long-term human health. Anyone who points that out however has a target on their back 🎯

Enter Federated Farmers who want to go to war over one LinkedIn post that called for CEOs to be held accountable....do they not have anything better to do?

Reality is EVERYONE knew you Mike was not seriously suggesting a hanging fest, just very clearly stating there needs to be accountability against those who deliberately put public health at risk.

Everyone who has jumped on the 'out for blood band wagon' (how ironic) either had no capability to simply see what was stated as being needed (accountability not hanging) &/or didn't care because they are the ones needing to be held accountable & saw opportunity to claim they are on the moral high ground (which they certainly are not).

The majority opinion I hear regarding Federated Farmers is that they’re a "waste of time" & is it any wonder, look at what they’re putting all their resources (farmer’s well earnt money) into this week; vilifying an academic because he is being brutally honest about the state of our water & believes those at the root of the problem, those who are making millions off deliberately increasing pollution levels & increasing incidence of cancer, should be held accountable. Well I never, what an idea💡Throw in drunk drivers while we're at it.

Granted the wording was very strong (got attention didn’t it?! 👏), referring to capital punishment that was once used to remove evil yet the whole point of the conversation has been completely ignored – there needs to be meaningful accountability & it needs to start at the top.

So despite the cumulative, overwhelming evidence that our water nitrate levels are too high 📈, not acknowledging the increased colorectal cancer risk at current limits or last year’s GNS Science trial that identified over 30 areas which exceeded current WHO limits (which are damn high & damn hard to exceed!), no action is taken & the current daft government along with the CEO money grabbers are all pushing for double production, much to the delight of the fertiliser industry🫰.

Stupidity right?

Yet when there is a very obvious tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the tables are turned from the innocent human suffering to suggestion to those who are happily allowing it to happen (eye for an eye), the ‘feds’ refer the comments as “extreme, violent and dangerous views” & “totally unacceptable” - "dangerous"?! Seems the other way round to me.

There's no emoji that represents that level of idiocracy.

Fed Farmers claim “we care deeply about the future of rural New Zealand and we want our members to have a bright future. Above all, we want to benefit rural New Zealand and empower farmers to continue”. How is trapping our farmers into thinking the only way to farm is by doubling production & pouring on unnecessary amounts of nitrogen "empowering" or “a bright future” for anyone?

It’s a bit like that Polish CEO dick who stole the cap from the kid at the tennis but then denies all foul play despite evidence being clear as day. I would argue the world would be a heck of a lot better off without those sorts of individuals too ❌

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01/09/2025

A bit belated but last week’s farm work was in Wairoa after being rained out week before last & too muddy to get around.

Six farms, two 14-hour days & still a lot of mud but at least sunshine & warmth!

Jazz was my little four-legged supervisor on the last day making sure I did a good job. I chose however not to go down the hills quite as she preferred – head first & on the back (although nearly on a couple of occasions). I did finish the day just as grubby though!

Thanks to everyone who got me around the farms safely despite a bit of slip n slide as we went.

31/08/2025

This is a LinkedIn post of mine which I’ve censored a bit for Facebook purposes 🤐

Are we really leading the world?

It’s said time & time again, Kiwi farmers are the “best in the world”, “the most efficient”, “the lowest emissions”, “the best animal welfare” the accolades go on.

But who says this? We do, the Kiwis. Self-proclaimed pats on the backs with little justification outside our own island bubble. If we were to take a closer look at the progress the rest of the world is making in terms of science, regulation & environmental efforts, we’re left for dust. Instead, our industry bodies use the excuse “our systems are different”, “that’s not applicable here”, "our cows are different" to phoo phoo the idea of taking a harder look inside what we do & how we can improve.

Truth be told, if we were to actually be the best in the world, these industry organisation’s CEOs will not have as big of a paycheck that they currently get away with. It's not about the farmers, it's about the sales & the big wigs' salaries.

Soil health, pasture management, environmental outcomes, animal health, nutrition & welfare…all areas that for the most part are not done well here with the very simple basics forgotten & sadly an industry infiltrated by organisations & poorly educated (if educated at all) consultants that have tunnel vision.

Look at how much winter nitrogen is being applied across the country currently. While there are a few one-off scenarios that are forgivable, winter nitrogen applications are NOT OK regardless of the farming system.

Winter nitrogen or DAP reliance is a symptom of, not just a wealthy sales rep but a broken system or an overstocked one that cannot maintain its level of production sustainably. Often very poor soil health at the root of it all yet left undiagnosed because the wrong metrics are being used.

We continue to use ‘old science’, science that was new 50 years ago & once applicable when we knew no better to promote the use of high input, soluble fertilisers like nitrogen even during the middle of winter. Lets not kid ourselves with “spring starts on the 1st September” – it doesn’t, either officially or climatically. Most don’t lamb in spring (NI especially), we lamb in the middle of winter when the feed supply is at an all-time low & the demand at its highest consequently with unnecessary losses & slower growth.

Similarly, dairy calving is in the middle of winter yet advisors insist the most ‘efficient’ feed is the pasture. But we don’t have enough to grass to feed the stock so lets throw the nitrogen on in the middle of winter & then follow the cows thereafter. The ‘bury our heads’ & ‘she’ll be right’ attitude.

When the going gets tough, the nitrogen gets going.

It’s not “strategic N”, it’s reliance on N that’s the problem.

As an industry, we can’t claim we’re leading the world when we rely on using winter nitrogen to ignore a broken system.
Farm consultants & sales reps have a lot to answer for as they convince farmers nitrogen is the only way their farm isn't going bust. Your average-Joe Lincoln or Massey trained aka Ballance/Ravensdown funded farm consultant doesn’t actually know any better & only has one tool in their toolbox...nitrogen & if that doesn’t work, a higher rate of nitrogen.

If your consultant or sales rep is telling you you need winter N, look into why because it's not only an expensive process in terms of product cost but is not conducive to good animal health or a sustainable system.

23/08/2025

I’ve seen advertised recently a company (& to be fair, plenty of others before them) promoting ‘independent advice’ as a key factor in their farmer successes. There are always two questions I apply to such claims:

1️⃣ What is the actual validity of these ‘successes’, the ‘improvements’ claimed to have occurred as a direct result of the advice? It’s bloody difficult to attribute improvements to one given factor, especially with the extreme seasonality we experience. If the data being used for promotion is a continuous upwards trend in improvement over multiple years since the change in question has been implemented, then sure, that’s a promising result but if it’s only a year or two, then it’s not so convincing (yet at least).

2️⃣ Is there true independence? Usually, not at all & the story is a form of trickery. If you’re not sure how to tell if they’re fully independent, a good start will be knowing where their payment is coming from because if you’re not paying them, then who is?

Thanks to a bit of AI (& lack of time), here are a few characteristics of an independent advisor:

❗Unbiased Advice:

Free from corporate affiliations and have no allegiance to specific financial institutions, ensuring recommendations are based solely on your needs.

‼️Wider Market Access:

Independent advisors can search the entire market for the most suitable products and services, rather than being limited to a select few.

❗Client-Focused Approach:

Their primary goal is to serve your interests, not an employer's or sales target, leading to more tailored, client-focused planning.

‼️Objectivity and Professional Standards:

Independent advisors often operate under regulations and professional codes of conduct to maintain high standards of service and ensure they act in your best interest.

Unfortunately no such regulation exists in NZ for the agricultural industry (& many others) so it is up to you to do due diligence.

❗Fiduciary Duty:

Many independent advisors uphold a fiduciary duty, meaning they have a legal obligation to act in their clients' best financial interests.

Interestingly, this would apply to the obligation cooperatives have to their shareholders however I can think of some really good working examples both in NZ & AUS where this is not upheld ❌

A good quote I’ve used from EBAdvisors given its applicability here is that “you can’t truly provide independent advice when you have a vested interest in one option being more profitable than another”. Damn right ✔️

…In short, if your ‘independent advisor’ happens to also sell the products he/she wants you to use or has an agreement with specific companies & therefore does not have the entire market choice, then they are NOT independent.

Independent & self employed are two very different terms that ‘advisors’ tend to apply interchangeably as a method of deception. If you are not paying your advisor directly (an hourly rate), then they are getting paid from someone else which will likely be at your expense.

(P.S. not my face, borrowed for impact 😆).

22/08/2025

Week of the 24th September I will be working between mid-Canterbury, heading up to beautiful Marlborough. Anyone interested in a farm meeting, flick me a message as I will be confirming my flights & schedule in coming days.

For those who are unfamiliar, I offer FULLY independent fertiliser & ruminant nutrition advice for all farm systems to increase farm sustainability, efficiency & profitability. Farm profits are only as healthy as the stock & it all starts from the ground up with a 'whole farm's systems' approach to soil, plant & animal health.

Looking further ahead, my following trip across the Cook Straight will be somewhere around the end of October/November.
...Christmas is scaringly fast approaching! 😬

18/08/2025

Tentatively looking at booking my next Waikato - South Auckland trip first week of September. Anyone interested in a meeting please get in touch ASAP.

01/08/2025

I was lucky enough to be one of the 80 or so invited this week to Rissington Cattle Company & partners cattle seminar in Canterbury. Lee Leachman, who I suspect is a formidable force in the US bovine genetics world delivered two awe inspiring presentations, a natural at public speaking with a great sense of humour, it was an event impossible not to enjoy.
There was a lot to take out of the day, much of it covered in this article but I’ve noted a few extra take home notes:

🐄“The Profit Maker/Stabilizers are a philosophy more so than a breed”;
Breeding responsibly so the 1.8 million dairy calf surplus in NZ can be seen as an opportunity for reducing carbon footprint, improving nutrient density & animal welfare.

🥩The tradename beef is not constrained by breed, genetics are driven by index values for proven performance so despite hybrid vigour only a phenomenon in the first two-way cross, further cross breeding still results in continuous improved genetic selection.
“Bred to maximise profits, index & (monetary) trait driven, not breed driven”.
Optimising production per hectare, minimising footprint.

👁️Historically genetics are based on phenotypic selection i.e. what the animal looks like at a given point in time rather than genotypic selection. This leads to subjective decision making & little long-term progress (this is also what I’d consider an issue/massive opportunity cost in our sheep industry).
🤔Would you prefer to sell off phenotype & along with it uncertainty, or genotype with known potential?

🧬💵Measure genotype to profits, what’s the trend? Genotype & profit indices are more reliable than phenotypic indices.

📊To produce “happy, healthy & fast-growing animals, needs data”.
“Big data” allows for profitable improvements to be made quicker.
The same story really which is applicable to everything…you can’t analyse what you don’t measure. (Eyeometers don’t count).

📈Measured traits, do you want to breed for high intake or high efficiency?!
“Growth rate is sexy but what’s the feed conversion efficiency?”.

It’s a no brainer to breed for higher growth rates on lower intakes, more LWG for every Kg put into the system. (On that, regardless of genetics, for maximum feed conversion efficiency you still need to feed the animal well & balance the diet as best possible).

🤤Beef demand in the US is at a record high, the purpose of beef over dairy genetics is to produce for the consumer “exceptional, not just ho hum beef”.

🥇The concepts behind what is being achieved here are applicable to anyone in the breeding or finishing game with maximising profits a common goal for every business. Data collection & action on it is vital in all areas to determine baselines, benchmarks & monitor progression.

Big players are building beef as a coproduct rather than a byproduct of dairying.

08/07/2025

This is a common issue, winter shearing, (often to try increase lamb birth weights) when there is already a significant feed deficit which will then further reduce immunity, limit the ewe’s lactation potential & slow production & recovery later in the season.

Remember, shearing increases the feed requirement of ewes by 10–30% for two to four weeks after shearing, depending on temperature, wind, and rain, as they need extra energy to maintain body heat. Ensure you have included this in your budget and can increase their feed for a minimum of two weeks after shearing – otherwise, they will be losing condition.

06/07/2025

It's good to see NZ to some degree catching up (or rather finally catching on) to what the rest of the world already knows - improving nutritional balance will increase rumen efficiency, which lo & behold, reduces methane; a waste byproduct of enteric (rumen) fermentation i.e. the more efficient the digestion process the less CH₄ produced & the less efficient the digestion process, the more CH₄ produced. 🚀 science right there.

It will be interesting to see if the fact that these findings are now 'NZ science', if the likes of those self-proclaimed industry 'leaders' & ignorant consultants who promote 'grass is the cheapest source of feed' & discourage supplement feeding will review what they preach.

Reality is, growing grass to feed stock all year round for maximum production, most likely in an overstocked situation through pouring on unnecessary levels of nitrogen & pushing up the dietary protein beyond rumen capacity does NOT lead to efficient digestion & yes unnecessarily increases not only CH₄, but nitrate leaching.

It is not coincidence there is a positive correlation with increasing dietary protein & animal health issues such as increased somatic cell counts, mastitis, lameness, poor reproductive performance, SARA (yes, from too much soluble protein not carbohydrate) yet in NZ there seems to remain very poor understanding of this even amongst 'nutrition experts'.

Despite my personal opinion that focusing on ruminant methane is barking up the wrong tree & avoiding tackling the more sinister pollutants, here's some very basic concepts in reducing enteric emissions:

1️⃣A RUMEN NEEDS TO RUMINATE - that 🚀 science again;
2️⃣EFFECTIVE FIBRE is essential to promote rumination (not the highly degradable fibre in lush pasture - this is NOT the same, that is an industry 'leader' myth) for 480-540 minutes/day;
3️⃣HIGHER RUMINATION is shown to reduce CH₄ (therefore effective fibre e.g. straw plays a role in reducing emissions);
4️⃣EXCESS DIETARY PROTEIN reduces rumen efficiency & increases CH₄;
5️⃣ME demand & therefore dry matter intake is quite literally increased to make up for the wasted energy (effectively reducing dietary ME) detoxifying the excess nitrogen;
6️⃣CARBOHYRDATES, more specifically in our country STARCH increases dietary efficiency & protein utilisation hence decreasing CH₄ production;
7️⃣ADDING MORE PROTEIN with PKE or DDG etc. when the total diet is already excess in protein is a costly decision in more ways than one.

It's really unfortunate that within our ag industry, there is an ignorant belief that science is not 'science' or 'relevant' if it's not researched or published by local scientists, most of whom have a financial obligation to achieve a given outcome before the research even begins.

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27/06/2025

Part two, homeward bound…
Over the last few years I have always been so lucky with the weather when touring clients in the South, this week no different with 4/5 beautiful sunny days (today the odd one out being a tad overcast) & barmy double digit temperatures (17 degrees C at 8pm in Cromwell Wednesday 🌴☀️) before what appears another winter blast heading their way this weekend.

Made good friends with an exhausted bumble bee while digging some holes, poor thing appeared to literally fall asleep. 15 minutes later I finally managed to encourage/gently force him to reside under a tree. We need to look after the little creatures as much as the big ones 🐝

The trip home was a nerve wracking one with a delay out of Queenstown making what appeared to be a fine cut to catch my connecting flight out of Auckland which turned out to be delayed in itself. A nice bit of turbulence always tests my big girl trousers 👖 (for those who know me, know I’m not the bravest of flyers & two years ago had a very real phobia, avoiding flying at all costs). The privilege of working for those who live far & wide however trumps irrational (arguable) fear. Once in the air it was a welcome surprise to find out wine was on the menu & despite not typically being a drinker (lightweight!), was very happy to help calm the nerves along with a very generous couple of slices of cheese & crackers🍷 🧀 while I caught up on a few emails.

Other than my time working on the trial, this week was to also catch up with farmers to finalise feed plans for the upcoming season.

Despite the South being a major contributor to our dairy industry, it frustrates me how little choice there is in way of carbohydrate feed source to balance out what is typically excessive protein intake. I’m yet to understand why ‘nutritionists’ recommend piling more protein on top of what’s naturally an excessive protein diet (time of year/pasture composition & intake dependent if course) with no consideration as to what the total diet consists of, milk urea’s or rumination are doing despite massive red flags for long-term health & production. MU, that is another beef for another (soon to come) day with vets & DairyNZ alike telling farmers MU above 30 is no concern 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

But to sum up on the feed front, transition & early lactation feed including mineral supplementation is not an area to skimp on despite the harsh economic environment as getting these stages wrong will be far more costly in the long run.

26/06/2025

Part one of this week’s Canterbury/Otago/Southland trip. As always, too many photos, none of which captures the true natural beauty of our country.

📊 This week’s travel, in between finalising dairy feed plans, is to physically implement the compost trial that I’ve been asked to design & run over the course of three seasons.

🧪 🪱 🧬 Physical, chemical & biological parameters will be measured including earthworm DNA which will be very interesting to follow across the seasons & treatment groups. A test that I haven’t had a lot of experience with due to it only recently being available but will hopefully be a useful tool to monitor biological health across all farm systems.

🐷 I always enjoy driving past the free range piggeries on the way to Fairlie where it’s clear from the housing & bedding set up, that it’s not only the welfare, but the wellbeing of the pigs clearly a priority for the farmers & why I’m always happy to pay extra for free range.

🐑 🏔️The barrenness of McKenzie country doesn’t have ‘pretty’ beauty but is pretty impressive nonetheless as are the merinos that call it home.

Tomorrow I head further south to the bottom of the island to visit another dairy farm before heading to Queenstown & hopefully make it home in time for the weekend. 🤞 those 250km winds have gone by then!

Very grateful to be asked to run this trial & to those who put their hands up to participate 🙏