Ashley and Warwick
Aylesbury Central Canterbury
Ashely and Warwick’s farm at Aylesbury Central Canterbury, spans 760 hectares, with 500 hectares of crops, alongside lamb fattening and some breeding ewes. After switching to Mainfert as their lead Nutrient Advisor and fertiliser supplier they’ve seen some great benefits across their farm.
“Working with Mainfert has been a game-changer for our operation since we switched to them in 2019. The fertiliser products are not only better for the environment but also stay in the soil longer rather than leaching away. It’s clear that the products we’re putting on now are actually staying in the soil, not getting washed out in the first shower of rain.” Alongside this, with Mainfert we are putting less kg’s per hectare of fertiliser but still seeing the same if not better results.
Mainfert’s tailored approach really stands out. Initially a recommended soil scientist came and suggested we soil test every paddock, from there Nutrient Advisor Micheal provides a targeted recommendation specific to our farm, rather than a “one size fits all” approach. It’s become clear that previously we were putting on products that weren’t needed or right for our soil. This attention to detail has improved the health of our pasture, with healthier darker green grass, long-lasting growth and better clover across the board. The soil health has clearly improved too as when we cultivate some of the paddocks, we see more worms and natural activity in there as well.
It’s also been great working with the same nutrient advisor as “they learn how your whole farm operates and understands the specific needs of our farm”, rather than talking to multiple people. This continuity has made the whole process seamless and efficient. We’re also confident we’re future proofing our farm and know we are staying well ahead of the nitrogen caps and regulatory changes while ensuring the land remains productive for years to come
James Procter
Seafield, Ashburton
James’ dairy farm near Seafield, Ashburton spans 235 effective hectares, currently milking around 770 mainly Friesian cows. On average, they achieve 430-450 kilograms of milk solids per cow annually and since partnering with Mainfert in 2015, they’ve seen tangible improvements in pasture quality and overall farm health.
“I got in touch with Mainfert after my liquid nitrogen spraying contractor recommended Mainfert’s fine particle fertiliser as it allowed us to add more minerals and calcium directly into the mix.” Previously, we were using both solid and liquid fertiliser, but Mainfert’s better and more even liquid application approach was good, so we have stuck with them going forward.
We’ve seen an increase in even, high quality grass and good clover productions. This has directly contributed to better animal health, even among the young stock that remain on the farm. They offer great products, some which are different to other fertiliser companies, and you have also the advantage of doing fine particle fertiliser with extra minerals and solids.
The experience working with Mainfert has been excellent. Guy and Dean, my advisors, have worked closely with me for years. “Guy knows the farm well now and having him on-site for five or six years means he understands the farm and what I’m trying to achieve,“. This continuity and ability to have good discussions on plans has made an impact on the farm and I enjoy working with them.
Tim McNae
Darfield - Dairy
Contract Milker / Farm Manager Tim McNae and wife Chloe manage Toropuke a 470Ha dairy farm near Darfield.
Toropuke is part of the Thomas Farms group which collectively runs over 3000 cows. Thomas Farms have a philosophy of ongoing improvement – “perfection is seldom achieved but it’s a great direction to try for” says Tim. “I think the important factors in our operation are common amongst dairy farmers, they are: profitability, sustainability, animal health and contentment, staff well-being, environmental nurturing and producing top quality milk.
Here at Toropuke we run 1500 milking cows with approximately 50% being wintered on farm. At about 480kg milk solids per animal, annual production falls north of 700,000kg.
Chloe is an inspiration, hand rearing around 400 replacement heifers and running a busy home with two school age children Riley and Saige. Tim is a hands on Manager and enjoys sharing milking duties on the morning shift.
We decided to go with Mainland Minerals (recently renamed Mainfert) 7 years ago and I’m very glad we did. Our dependency on Nitrogen had grown to 420 units per annum and while the grass looked okay we weren’t seeing content animals.
Mainfert’s Nutrient Advisors were intensely interested in the health of our soil and, even though there was some transitional pain, once our Nutrient Management was on the right track we could see the results we wanted. Milk production up, expensive nutrient wastage to environment eliminated, stronger healthier pasture and content animals that were grazing fast and clean and then laying down much earlier. Our N usage now is below 170kg per annum.
Mainfert take care of our total fertiliser program and this includes a range of products including stabilised Nitrogen, traditional granular products and fine particle fertiliser inclusive of minerals and trace elements.
We are happy customers and glad to see Mainfert going from strength to strength. They deserve to do well because they genuinely care about the links between healthy soil, nourishing pasture, animal health and performance and the farmers back pocket.”
