Spikey®
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Urine patches cover around 10% of grazed pasture at any time. The nitrogen load far exceeds what pasture can use, and once it converts to nitrate it leaches into waterways - making urine patches the single biggest source of N loss on NZ dairy farms.
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Because Spikey® only treats the urine-affected area, you get effective mitigation at a fraction of the cost of whole-paddock applications. Only 10% of the paddock needs treating - making it practical and commercially viable.
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Independent trials published in peer-reviewed NZ journals show NitroStop™ reduces nitrate leaching by 22-35% and increases pasture dry matter by up to 28% at paddock scale. The science is solid across multiple soil types and regions.
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Trials have been conducted across Canterbury, Manawatu, Waikato and Taranaki across a range of soil types and rainfall environments. Whether you're farming on free-draining stony soils or pumice country, the research consistently shows meaningful reductions in nitrogen loss and real gains in pasture production.
Dairy cow urine patches deposit up to 600 kg N/ha - far more than pasture can absorb. Spikey® detects those patches within 48 hours of grazing and treats only the affected area with NitroStop™, reducing nitrogen losses and boosting pasture production across your whole farm.
Dairy cow urine patches deposit up to 600 kg N/ha - far more than pasture can absorb. Spikey® detects those patches within 48 hours of grazing and treats only the affected area with NitroStop™, reducing nitrogen losses and boosting pasture production across your whole farm.
The Problem: Why Urine Patches Matter
Urine patches cover around 10% of grazed pasture at any time. The nitrogen load far exceeds what pasture can use, and once it converts to nitrate it leaches into waterways - making urine patches the single biggest source of N loss on NZ dairy farms.
Research-Backed Results
Independent trials published in peer-reviewed NZ journals show NitroStop™ reduces nitrate leaching by 22-35% and increases pasture dry matter by up to 28% at paddock scale. The science is solid across multiple soil types and regions.
Targeted, Not Blanket Treatment
Because Spikey® only treats the urine-affected area, you get effective mitigation at a fraction of the cost of whole-paddock applications. Only 10% of the paddock needs treating - making it practical and commercially viable.
Proven Across New Zealand
Trials have been conducted across Canterbury, Manawatu, Waikato and Taranaki across a range of soil types and rainfall environments. No matter your soil type, the research consistently shows meaningful reductions in nitrogen loss and real gains in pasture production.
Watch Spikey® analyse the land with precision to simultaneously target urine patches with NitroStop and fertilise where needed
How We Came to Spikey®
It started with a newspaper clipping. In December 2020, Jon's wife's 95-year-old grandmother spotted an article about a new technology being developed by Pastoral Robotics Limited to reduce nitrogen leaching from dairy urine patches. She cut it out and passed it on, knowing it would spark their interest. It did. The following month, Jon flew to Rotorua to see Spikey® in action and bought a machine.
Adapting it for the demands of commercial contracting wasn't straightforward. As Jon puts it: "The machine itself failed, but the technology didn't fail. It did a great job and grew lots of grass. We worked with them and built a machine that could do it."
What followed was years of development and multiple prototypes to get the machine tough enough for commercial contracting. The latest version uses spikes made from the strongest available steel, carries four tonnes of fertiliser and 2,000 litres of water, and covers around 14,000 ha a year. Jon is now an ambassador for the technology, recognised with the New Zealand Groundspread Fertiliser Association's Innovation Award for his contribution to developing Spikey® for the contracting industry.