Northern Waikato sheep and beef farmer Brendon Rudman says he consistently achieves 'pasture four to six weeks ahead' of his neighbours after the family began using AgriSea's Pasture Nutrition product as part of a holistic approach to increasing farm productivity and soil resilience.

Brendon says the family were looking for solutions to their fragile pumice soils after the 2013 drought knocked them backwards.

"We got so dry that we lost about 40 percent of production and took us about three years to get back to where we were prior," says Brendon.

"From that point onwards, we changed our whole outlook on farming. We're focusing more on the soil health now, and doing things we weren't doing before like biological fertiliser applications and we've put AgriSea into that as the backbone."

Brendon's pasture management strategy sees pasture sown twice annually as the soils at Tahuna, near Te Kauwhata, are left 'shocked' by dry summers and harsh winters.

After the drought recovery Brendon aimed to increase organic matter from 4.5 to 7 percent — tracking progress for three years through soil and grass testing — as part of a 'soil food web' program to rebuild soil biology and reduce the impacts of mineral fertiliser.

Brendon's results now show soil levels are up to 7.5 percent. He's now questioning just how high he can push the carbon content. "We're on our journey."

Brendon says achieving consistent productivity growth, especially in dry years, is dependent on good grass. AgriSea has helped.

"AgriSea application to the grass boosts growth quickly, especially after grazing. We can see the difference within a week. That's huge for us."

"We're getting better grass for a longer period each year. Our pastures are four to six weeks ahead of most of our neighbours, especially in spring."

Brendon applies 40 litres per hectare of Pasture Nutrition 2-3 times a year, depending on the season.

"The results are there. Especially in a wet year and especially in a dry year."