Brownrigg Agriculture established 40 ha of Tonic Plantain along with Balansa, Persian, White and Red clovers at Te Mahanga Station in April 2013. Balansa and Persian annual clovers were chosen because they were the stand-out performers at the demonstration site in this paddock in 2012. The aim is to produce high quality feed for lamb finishing in late winter/spring. Te Mahanga is summer dry with an annual rainfall of 750 mm. The soils are Matapiro silt loam and are underlain with a hard pan which reduces drainage in the winter months. Dry matter production and animal performance are being measured during 2013.
Further details and results to date are available in the Hub Group notes.