Scientists are uncovering surprising results in a quest to reduce nitrate leaching from winter grazing into our waterways.
The annual farming practice is vital for farmers, particularly in the South Island, as the grass barely grows to feed stock.
Fodder beet or swedes are grown to keep livestock with food in the colder months, but it's what can happen to the land during and after grazing that can be difficult.
Paddocks are usually left for months to dry out before they can be used again.
However, eight years of research and four years of trials through a $2 million Catch Crops for Cleaner Freshwater programme hopes to change that. The programme was funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
It has been run by Plant & Food Research in conjunction with AgResearch.
P&F Research team leader Brendon Malcolm told 1News: "What we are trying to do here is demonstrate that we can sow catch crops in the middle of winter to reduce the amount of nitrogen that can leach from winter grazed forages."
The project found if a short term crop is sown shortly after grazing, in some cases, nitrate leaching to waterways is reduced by up to 50%.
"Winter grazing is really important," Malcolm said.
"We need to feed animals well during the winter time so they can put on enough condition before they go into calving or lambing, so the forage crops that we graze they are really high in energy and are high yielding, to provide enough feed for the animals.
"But they do come at a cost in some degree."
Intensive winter grazing, if done badly, can negatively impact the welfare of livestock and the environment.
The trial has proved there may be another way to mitigate that, which has involved a series of on-farm trials across Southland, Canterbury and the West Coast.
The team have used specially designed tractor equipment to spade and drill the muddy soil in one pass and plant oats or rye-grass, or a combination of both.
Some, including the researchers themselves, said the project has produced surprising results -- Wreys Bush farmer, Bradley Stewart is one of them who was initially sceptical.
"When I was first approached three years ago I was like, yeah, you can try, it's Southland in late winter, nothing's going to grow."
Scientists have been using his farm for three years for tests and to trial different combinations of plants, including both oats and rye-grass, with differing amounts in each test strip.
"Certainly amazes us that we're going from such a wet environment like that to a soil that kind of looks like semi-respectable," said Malcolm.
"[I was] keen to see but yeah over the time it's proved that it actually does work," Stewart said.
It's not seen as a silver bullet to solve winter grazing issues, but it could be another tool for farmers to reduce their environmental footprint while also growing more feed.
Not all soil is the same, so finding the right plant for the right farm across the New Zealand is critical for anyone who needs to winter graze.
There is hope more farmers will now explore the option.
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