One response to tight economic circumstances for many dairy farmers is to look at reducing the amount of feed they buy in for their cows, says fertiliser co-op Ravensdown.

The North Island does not have enough groundwater to irrigate, as does the South Island. Even if it did, given the dairy payout, irrigation is unaffordable.

Chicory and its contribution to a $37,000 reduction in feed costs was a highlight in a tough year with the payout drop for the P3 Hauraki Focus Farm at Ngatea.

DURING LAST year’s drought, when conventional pasture was parched and brown across Waikato, paddocks of chicory stood out like oases.