A survey of farmer knowledge and use of pasture cultivars in New Zealand

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Abstract
A New Zealand-wide postal survey of farmers was undertaken in the winter months of 1985 seeking information on farmer knowledge and use of pasture cultivars commercially available in New Zealand, their sources and adequacy of information on these cultivars, pasture problems, and amount of pasture renewal carried out. Of the 1700 questionnaires sent out, 943 (55.5%) valid returns were received. Perennial ryegrass and white clover cultivars had the highest level of knowledge and use. Farmers tended to have better knowledge and higher use of older cultivars, with only the new perennial ryegrass cultivars ‘Grasslands Nui’ and Ellett among all farmers and ‘Grasslands Pitau’ among dairy fanners being higher than older cultivars. New cultivars of other grass and legume species were less used than older cultivars. In regions where major research was carried out on a specific cultivar, its level of use by fanners in the region appears to have been influenced. Farmers revealed strong use of agricultural journals (e.g., Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association), their district farming paper, and the daily newspaper's farming page for seeking information on new cultivars, and grain and seed merchant representatives were the most popular personal sources of information. Though 60% of the farmers indicated satisfaction with information received on seed mixtures, 76% considered that district paddock-size demonstration areas of new cultivars would be the most appropriate way of promoting the new cultivars. 62% of the sample listed pasture problems they wished to see researched for their district.

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