Use these pages to get OVERSEER® and find out more about how OVERSEER® works
Overview
OVERSEER® is a Decision Support System farm model for farmers, advisors and policy and is widely used throughout New Zealand. It allows nutrient budgets to be constructed for many enterprises:
Dairy, sheep, beef, deer; fruit; vegetables and arable crops
It calculates budgets for a wide range of nutrients:
N, P, K, S, and Ca, Mg, Na and H+ (acidity)
OVERSEER® has the ability to do "what if" scenarios, and its use can enable flexibility in achieving a nutrient 'target' or 'cap'.
Outputs
Calculates maintenance fertiliser nutrient and lime requirements
Estimates losses to the environment:
Covers a wide range of management options and mitigation practices
Maintaining applicability for NZ farming systems
The aim of the model has been to use input data that are reasonably easily obtainable by farmers or consultants. Default values are built into the model.
It is based on summaries of NZ (& overseas) research: OVERSEER® relies on sound science generated from research programmes funded by e.g. FoRST, SFF and Industry.
It has strong development support (MAF, AgResearch, FertResearch) for regular updates. Model development started in the 1990s and has continued since, with regular additions/improvements to the model since then.
Use the menu on the right to find out more about the model.
Overview of the model (PDF reader required).