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Fertco at the 2022 Fieldays®

Started in 2000 by a group of Te Awamutu farmers looking for a locally manufactured Dicalcic phosphate, Fertco has grown from strength to strength to an organisation employing over 40 people and operating two manufacturing sites. Initially opened and operating from Aviation Avenue Mt. Maunganui to be near the port of Tauranga, the Bay of Plenty (BOP) base has expanded threefold to include large storage facilities for the range of imported and locally manufactured products. The initial market wa...

The more clover the better, selective grazing of white clover

White clover is fundamentally important in a mixed pasture sward to both fix atmospheric nitrogen and to boost all aspects of animal production. Increasing the proportion of white clover in pasture by following a fertiliser regime based on the CloverZone® programme will ensure the maximum fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and increase the nutritive value of pastures. Fertco’s CloverZone® programme is a soil, plant testing and reporting tool that combines a soil management plan and fertiliser...

Restoring a wetland, one tree at a time

It is a fine afternoon in a fortnight of rain and every shade of green is shining in the sun. Ohauiti farmer Andrew Karl, arm outstretched, is detailing the lay of the land. Ducks slowly glide across the wetland area in front of him and swallows dart back and forth above, occasionally swooping down to skim across the surface. Cattle grazing off in the distance are reflected in the water, which is a perfect mirror to the landscape Andrew is standing in. A landscape transformed. He and his wife Le...

Reducing plastic waste at our factory

When trying to tackle an issue as pressing and far-flung as plastic waste, you have to start somewhere. And often, that somewhere is your own home. For Fertco, it’s no different. It all starts on the factory floor. “Sustainability has always been really important to Fertco,” our commercial manager Chris Lees says. “We've got a reputation for a wide range of organic fertiliser products, as well as slow-release conventional products, so our customers expect us to behave in a susta...

Returning Marginal Farmland to Nature

On a family sheep and beef farm near Te Puke, marginal agricultural land is being given back to nature. One tree at a time. Henry Whyte, a raised-on-the-farm ecologist, is leading this ambitious project and on a recent crisp autumn morning, he took Fertco on a tour of the farm to see regenerative agriculture in action. Henry’s company EcoResto works with farmers and landowners in the Bay of Plenty to identify sections of land that are degraded, unproductive, or expensive to manage, and tran...

Wish4Fish One Base Tournament Trip

The 18-metre catamaran set sail at dawn, casting off from Tauranga Bridge Marina in search of what those at the helm like to call “Magic Moments”.  It was the second day of the 2022 Stoney Creek One Base Tournament and, as the $2.5m boat named Wish4Fish cruised towards Mauao and out of the harbour, there was only one thing on the minds of the men on board. Or one fish, rather. Keen angler Tony Christiansen took the wheelchair access lift to the fly bridge and joined the others in assess...

Fertco + TerraCare Announcement

New era for Fertco and TerraCare fertiliser companies.When Fertco was looking to extend its customer base into new areas, and Te Awamutu-based fertiliser company TerraCare was seeking a buyer, the purchase seemed like the obvious solution for both companies. Fertco, a Bay of Plenty company based near the Port of Tauranga currently services the Bay, Waikato, and King Country regions, while TerraCare, with a factory in Te Awamutu, has a customer base in the Waikato, King Country, Manawatu, and low...

Dicalcic Phosphate: Is it a Water-Safe Fertiliser Option?

Dicalcic phosphate has been around a long time, it is otherwise known as lime reverted super or DCP. Most commonly (and traditionally) to manufacture Dicalcic phosphate limestone is mixed with Superphosphate to de-acidify and change its chemical structure from monocalcium phosphate to dicalcium phosphate. This chemical process turns the phosphate from a water-soluble form to a citric-soluble form. Citric-soluble phosphate is plant available but controlled in its release to the soil environment. ...

Boosting Hill Country Pastures

As more sheep and beef are being finished on hill country today, it’s become more vital to improve hill country pastures to get better results. Better feed quality, and an extended seasonal pattern of feed supply from pasture, are two of the critical requirements to achieve the additional 10kg meat sold per breeding ewe (or equivalent) considered necessary for hill farm viability over the next 15 years (Fennessy et al. 2016). Nitrogen (N) is the nutrient most strongly limiting pasture growth i...

Managing Clover – Part 1

It is well understood that clover plays the key role in New Zealand’s competitive advantage over our European counterparts allowing our farmers to produce lower input cost meat, milk and fibre products for export.  Managing the grass-clover sward to maximise this advantage has been the focus of many studies. The benefits of increasing nitrogen (N) supply via atmospheric fixation of N by rhizobia bacteria in clover root nodules are also well understood. The effect of grazing management and...