While the industry undertakes formal investigations, we suggest some immediate steps growers can take to improve fruit quality and vine health, increase fruit value and reduce production costs.

"I have begun using Biozest this season, and my contract milker and I have been impressed with how our pasture base has thickened, and the plants retained palatability for longer during seed head emergence," he told Dairy News.

"We have seen a 3% increase in MS production this season compared to last year which was a record for us.

John and Michelle Cameron run Red Devon beef cattle on very hilly country in Northland and say the main things they’ve noticed using Biozest is their stock are in better condition, which they’ve held right through the season, and are very content. “The calves have grown rapidly with their mothers’ milk appearing to have a thicker consistency which would seem to be giving better nutritional value. Our pasture appears denser with better nutritional value as well.”

Stuart Aspin had been using Biozest for two years to see if it could help him reduce farm emissions without affecting profitability or milk production. In combination with a good spring, the spray helped to produce an extra 60 tonnes of silage, he said. It also had animal health benefits because the cows were extracting more from what they were eating.

“We will tell the select committee in Auckland tomorrow that it’s time to get behind solutions to the issue. We have the technology to reduce emissions from agriculture, without reducing herd numbers or financially crippling the industry and it can be done now.

A unique pasture spray might hold the key to reducing on-farm environmental impacts while increasing production.

“Compared to the years we haven’t used Biozest, I’ve noticed this year our pasture had more resilience to dry periods, and I don’t think we’d be in as good a place now if we had not used it”