The Hedgehope Makarewa Catchment Group, in association with the Southern Dairy Hub and Thriving Southland, is hoping to attract as many southern farmers as possible to the study.
Southland had about 500 different types of soil in the five major catchment areas, each with differing topography, catchment member and dairy farmer Suzanne Hanning said.
The group wanted to compare cultivation techniques, as well as stock classes and crop types to determine their effect on yield, animal welfare, stock preferences and the environment.
"We want to make sure we do what we need to do to tick a whole bunch of boxes.
"The more farmers we can get the better data we will be able to collect," Mrs Hanning said.
The data would eventually be used to find practical solutions to address changes in wintering practices.
"We don’t know what we don’t know, and as it is unknown territory, we want to see what works," she said.
Although the project was voluntary at this stage, funding was being sought to employ someone to set up monitoring systems and take measurements and samples on participating farmers’ properties.
Farmers would be encouraged to use different sowing techniques on the same paddock and then graze those paddocks for about 30 to 40 days to enable comparisons.
