Use stock feed but stop the spread of wild kiwifruit

The time of year is approaching where there is a surplus of kiwifruit that can be used as stock feed.

Kiwifruit is a good quality feed commonly used as dry cow feed. KVH is supportive of reject fruit being used as stock feed (although processing is our first preference), but it must be managed using best practice:

• Ensure piles of reject fruit are covered to prevent birds mass feeding on any softened fruit.
• Material such as Sarlon wind mesh (image above) is ideal as it allows the pile to breathe but excludes the birds.

The reason for excluding birds is to reduce the amount of wild kiwifruit establishing, through the spread of bird-borne seed. It’s mostly waxeyes, sparrows and black birds that feed on softened fruit.

Destroying wild kiwifruit vines is now one of New Zealand’s biggest weed control programmes. Read more about the programme, and how to prevent wild kiwifruit establishing, on the KVH website here.