Posts

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Green lacewings

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What on earth is a green lacewing? This question might have been on many of the Trace & Save farmers’ minds in 2020 with the new biodiversity survey we’ve implemented. This article will answer the questions: what is a green lacewing and why is it relevant to a pasture-based dairy farm? We want to highlight green lacewings for the biocontrol species that they are, and even more importantly what their presence on a farm indicates – a healthy agro-ecosystem.

Tractor spraying herbicides

Are herbicides really helping you?

Reading Time: 6 minutes

There has been a lot of research conducted about the impact of applying herbicides. The problem is that there is a full spectrum of findings showing positive, negative and negligible effects on soil biology. This can be very confusing.

Pasture soil

Black maize beetles on dairy pastures

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The black maize beetle is a pest to many of the pasture grasses planted on Eastern Cape dairy farms. Two of the most prominent grasses which are favoured by these beetles are ryegrass and kikuyu.