Grasslanz Technology Ltd welcomes its newest staff member. Clint Bell has recently joined the Seed Production Team based at Lincoln. Clint was awarded a Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) Postgraduate Scholarship in 2011.

Article below sourced from FAR Newsletter No 68, page 13

Earlier last year I was fortunate enough to be awarded the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) Postgraduate Scholarship. I would like to take this opportunity to thank FAR and the arable growers throughout the country for the generous funding I received. The scholarship was a tremendous help in my final year at Lincoln both financially and from the personal advice and assistance I received from the FAR team. I had the opportunity to meet and work alongside many experienced people within the arable industry. This has opened many doors that will be of benefit in the coming years.

My final year consisted of taking five different courses relating to arable/pastoral agronomy, crop science and pest management. There was also a research project/dissertation that I worked on throughout the year. The main aim of this was to investigate whether applications of the plant growth regulator (Moddus) could be used to increase red clover seed yield and seed yield components. While Moddus was found to be successful at increasing red clover seed yield through an increase in the number of inflorescences produced, it was found that red clover seed yields could be significantly increased simply by improving harvest methodology to reduce harvest losses. The scholarship gave me time to focus on my studies throughout the entire year helping to achieve an A average overall. It gave me time to address another important aspect in regard to seed quality. Moddus application was found to have no negative effect on red clover germination and seed vigour percentages compared to untreated crops.

Now that my time at University is through I am looking towards a career path as an arable agronomist or somewhere in the seed industry. I understand that there is a lot to learn and that a University degree only gets you so far. However, I am looking forward to taking my next step into the arable industry and would encourage anyone out there who is interested in this profession to give it a crack. I wish FAR and all the arable growers all the best for the rest of the season and once again thanks for all of your support. I look forward to crossing paths with many of you in the coming years and if you are wanting to know more about the assistance FAR has provided, the red clover project or my time at Lincoln University don’t be afraid to contact me.