"One of the things we've seen with ProGibb in autumn is that a lot of farmers start too late,” says Nufarm technical specialist Cynthia Christie. "The ones who have sorted this out now apply it a round before they originally thought they needed to.
"It's a bit of a challenge because you actually have to think in reverse from spring. At that time of the year pasture growth is getting faster and faster, but in autumn it's slowing down and that needs to be factored into the planning process.”
Applying ProGibb in April, for example, can mean farmers in cooler regions miss out on the opportunity to convert the resultant extra DM into increased MS production, because they tend to dry off before the extra pasture is fully utilised.
"For the first time user, the key question is when does the feed pinch typically affect their production? If that happens in the last
week of April, ProGibb needs to go on mid March.”
And for the whole process to run smoothly, southern retailers should be liaising with their farmers about applications from mid February onwards, she advises.
In the North Island, the seasonal decline in grass growth rates is not as great as in the South Island, but if farmers want to build
body condition score on their cows ahead of winter, they also need to think a bit further ahead than they might expect.
"Adding half a condition score to a cow before dry off doesn't happen instantly! It takes time, so these farmers also need to think ahead to make sure they have the extra feed available when it can actually be turned into liveweight gain.”
With a significant surge in use last season, Christie says it's clear farmers have got the message about ProGibb's potential and retailers have an important role helping customers benefit from what is a proven productivity tool.
"Check with those who used it last autumn; find out how it worked and make sure they have their ducks in a row for this season. For new users, or those who have only used it in spring, put some resources into making sure they know how to get maximum benefit from that extra growth.
"If they don't have a plan in advance, they will have a lot more DM in treated paddocks than they know what to do with. They need
to be prepared to modify their grazing rotation if need be, and it's important they know what they're actually growing because every pasture is different.
"Adding a response of 30-60 per cent to a paddock which normally produces 50 kg DM per ha per day, at the very least I would expect to end up with 75 kg DM per ha per day and that's quite a large difference...”
Another tactic that has proven successful with autumn ProGibb applications is combining it with liquid nitrogen.
"A lot of pasture is more deficient in N particularly in autumn, and even a small amount of N often makes a big difference. They're
going over the paddock with a spray truck anyway, so they might as well apply foliar N instead of just water. It helps lower application costs too."