We have been delighted to have Bridgette Haldane working with us this summer, with support from Callaghan Innovation. A Hawke’s Bay local, Bridgette is studying agriculture at Massey University.
We have a major soil health and soil fertility programme this season. We are doing baseline measurements at the MicroFarm, and we have eight process crop paddocks with nitrate rate trials underway. Many of our soil samples are taken to 90 cm, so Bridgette’s enthusiasm for hard fieldwork is a real bonus!
While with us, Bridgette has been assisting with our Best Management of Nitrates in Process Cropping project, doing Nitrate Quick tests, VSA soil assessments, MicroFarm baseline testing and site maintenance, running a small greenhouse trial investigating the effects of two additives on sweetcorn germination and initial growth, trialling a new soil slaking test, helping make training videos and doing some work in our Nano-vineyard. We’ve also given her a couple of topics to research and summarise, a bonus on some of our wetter days!
