And the bad news ...

The bad news is that, as we now start to tackle the 'soil & water & forage cropping & fertiliser' issues at the Gisborne farm, we are getting patchy results, nothwithstanding significant (and expensive) fertiliser inputs. It is becoming clearer day by day that some paddocks - ironically the ones that have been irrigated the most by the previous tenant, have salinity issues. Worse than we had anticipated. It now appears that the more salt tolerant crops such as oats, sorghum and barley, and probably rye grass, are progressing well, whereas our brassicas, lucerne and pasture grasses are struggling. We may have to initiate a programme of resting and rehabilitating some paddocks, to restore the salt balance, which will significantly reduce our carrying capacity. We shall monitor all crops over the next few months, coupled with soil testing and paddock mapping, to see how things evolve.