Plantain varieties have been identified as having positive effects on production and reducing nitrate leaching risk. These include increases in milk production, diuretic effects on the animals and the effects of bioactive compounds on soil processes.
OverseerFM reflects the current knowledge of the effects of Ceres Tonic’s plant composition on urine nitrogen excretion, as found in extensive research with this variety: a lower apportioning of the excreted nitrogen to urine and a lower nitrogen load per urine patch due to a greater urine volume per animal per day.
Any effects relating to greater milk production would be reflected by user input of milk volume.
At present, OverseerFM does not reflect the potential effects of plantain’s bioactive compounds on soil processes.
Further research is planned to better understand these effects on nitrogen processes in the soil, such as nitrification. Results from this research will inform potential further updates of OverseerFM. Additionally, DairyNZ have confirmed that this research will aim to provide a framework to assess the chemical profiles of other plant varieties to verify that they possess the attributes that result in N leaching reductions.
More infromation about the implementation of Plantain in OverseerFm can be found HERE
More information about the environmentally beneficial effects of Plantain, and the ongoing research can be found HERE on the DairyNZ website