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Vol 19 No 7, February 24, 2020

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Virus bites into jobs Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

ORE than 1000 logging contractors, a number industry leaders say could double, have been laid off in recent weeks as the economic impact of China’s battle to contain coronavirus begins to bite. Meat companies and market analysts report increased activity at ports and distribution of perishable products such as food as business in parts of China returns to normal. But disrupted shipping schedules are creating a fresh set of challenges for exporters. Forestry contractors want the Government to help as forest owners stop harvesting because the twin impacts of the Chinese government-ordered extension to the New Year holiday to contain the spread of the virus and an oversupply of logs. Forestry Industry Contractor’s Association chief executive Prue Younger said a survey of members reveals a third of loggers have shut down their business, a third are working short weeks and a third are working normally. “I’d estimate more than 1000 people are out of work,” she says. The survey has been repeated in the trucking industry and a reading of the initial 100 replies is looking equally as bleak. “I’d say they’re doing it as tough as we are.” Forest Owners Association chairman Peter Weir says coronavirus has exacerbated an

already difficult Chinese market saturated with European logs he fears could take three to six months to recover. China takes 80% of NZ logs and Weir says large forest owners who have chartered ships are still logging to fill the vessels while the domestic market is holding up. But he warns that could change. “All the ports in China are full so there is not much optimism in the short to medium term.” Younger is seeking Government help for contractors to manage their financial obligations and shorter stand-down periods for laid-off workers to get the dole. The industry fears the impact on the industry from the loss of highly skilled staff when it recovers. “It’s not just going to last a month,” she says. Hardest hit are contractors in Otago, Southland, East Coast and Northland. Contractors president Ross Davies says the industry has responded to heightened health and safety demands by investing in expensive and complex machinery but that means contractors have high debt which has to be serviced. Silver Fern Farms chief executive Simon Limmer says port congestion and supply chains in China are starting to clear but shipping companies are not confident their ships will be unloaded. “This is causing shipments to fall out of schedule, shipping lines to drop containers at other Asian ports and in some cases to cancel sailings to China. “This is pushing the bottleneck back onto NZ ports and exporters.” Chinese are shopping again but are cooking at home and Limmer

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UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Dunedin logging contractor Steven Jones is working week to week due to uncertainty with the export log trade. Photo: Neal Wallace

I’d estimate more than 1000 people are out of work. Prue Younger Forestry Industry Contractors Assn says the restaurant and food service sectors will take a while to recover. Stock volumes handled at SFF’s

North Island beef and lamb plants are ahead of the corresponding time last year and staff have been working overtime since early December while SFF ramped up to higher kill levels four weeks earlier than usual because of dry weather. AgriHQ analyst Nicola Dennis says port congestion in China’s north, which predominantly handles sheep meat, is less severe than further south and lamb is being distributed relatively easily. “Orders from customers in the hotel and restaurant trade are still scarce because of a slowdown in

the Chinese food service industry.” A spokesman for Forestry Minister Shane Jones says a series of options for assistance to industries was presented to a Cabinet committee last week. They will be part of a broader discussion about how the Government aids key parts of the economy and will recognise the impact could be felt through other sectors. The Forestry Ministry is speaking daily to forestry sector leaders and organisations about the impact on business and how workers can be supported.

NEWS

WEATHER OVERVIEW We had a cold front over the weekend that made for cooler-than-average temperatures in the lower South Island and average temperatures for most others though from Auckland northwards and the north eastern North Island the colder change is barely being noticed, other than helping reduce humidity early this week. The week ahead is dominated by high pressure across the country with hotter weather later in the week as sub-tropical airflows return and boost humidity. February ends drier than average for most regions with March kicking off in a similar way though there are more showers forming around the New Zealand area as we head through March.

NZX PASTURE GROWTH INDEX – Next 15 days

Pasture Growth Index Above normal Near normal Below normal

7-DAY TRENDS

7 Dairy farmers must increase risk Dairy farmers have to learn to take more risk because staying put is no longer risk-free, independent Cameron Bagrie says.

Rain

Wind

The next seven days are drier than normal everywhere except the lower West Coast. A few isolated showers are possible around the country this week but nothing widespread.

Temperature The heat slowly increases this week after some had a reset over the weekend. Humidity levels also increase mid to late week. Southland and the West Coast might have some cooler weather in coastal areas at times.

10 Lim: Real food is here to stay

High pressure rolls in this week meaning light winds and sea breezes but perhaps a slight easterly in northern and eastern NZ and a slight westerly in southern NZ.

Highlights/ Extremes It is drier than normal for most of the country for the next seven days. High pressure dominates NZ all next week.

14-DAY OUTLOOK

Eating fads come and go but real food will never go out of fashion, chef Nadia Lim says.

The next seven days are drier than normal in most regions. We don’t expect grass growth to occur for many or for it to be minimal. Depending on weekend rain totals there might be some localised bursts of pasture growth in Waikato and other western and northern areas and following isolated downpours this past week there might be some very local pasture spikes. Otherwise not a good week for growth because of high pressure and evaporation.

SOIL MOISTURE INDEX – 20/02/2020

Newsmaker ��22 New Thinking ��23 Opinion ��24

REGULARS Real Estate ��29-38 Employment ��39 Classifieds ��39-40 Livestock ��41-43 Markets ��44-48 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of all advertising revenue in Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer to farmer health and well-being initiatives. Thank you for your prompt payment.

Source: WeatherWatch.co.nz

This product is powered by NIWA Data

For more weather information go to farmersweekly.co.nz/weather

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

TB control zone extended Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz MORE than 570 northern Hawke’s Bay herds – the largest-ever control zone in the region’s history – will be under stock movement restrictions from March 1 as Ospri tries to restrict the spread of a bovine tuberculosis outbreak. The 572 herds, which are 88% beef, 6% dairy and 6% deer, are part of an extended movement control area, which, as well as including 48 farms in the existing Waitara Valley buffer zone, will extend to the coast from between the Mohaka River near Wairoa in the north to the Tutaekuri River south of Napier. The wider zone was imposed just weeks out from the region’s first weaner fair of the season, sparking fears farmers might struggle to have stock tested in time to get it to the sales. Redshaw Livestock agent Dean Freeman says the timing is difficult for farmers and questioned why the decision to put the zone in place has come so close to the fairs. “It’s a big area and a big call to make to extend it now. You’ve got to ask why they made that judgment now. “The question will be asked ‘did they take their foot off the throat

SORRY BUT: Big movement restriction area for Hawke’s Bay cattle and deer is regrettable fut necessary, Ospri chief executive Steve Stuart says.

(in terms of possum poisoning) too soon?’ “There will be some people thinking we’re not reaping the benefits of the work done earlier.” Despite the wider zone, Freeman says as long as farmers are organised the testing requirements shouldn’t be too onerous. Farmers in the zone who want to move stock off their properties,

except for those headed for the works, need to test clear of TB at least 60 days before moving them. “It’s more of an inconvenience than anything,” Freeman says. “What it does mean is farmers won’t be able to make snap decisions like they might have done in the past. “There’s going to be a lot more forward thinking needed.” But the lack of feed across

the North Island rather than the weaner sales will be of most concern to farmers considering stock movements. Ospri chief executive Steve Stuart acknowledges the wider control area will affect a much larger number of farmers wanting to move stock, describing it as regrettable but necessary. The extended zone is a precaution and the plan is to move it back from there, he says. Stuart is confident AsureQuality, which is reasonable for herd testing, will have enough testers to ensure farmers will not come under unnecessary hardship. AsureQuality will bring in more staff and train others to deal with the expected increase so farmers planning to send cattle to weaner fairs should be able to get testing done in time, particularly those targeting the fair at the beginning of April. However, he understands the extra pressure the new zone will put on some farmers who already have plenty on their plate with dry conditions restricting feed supplies and works at capacity. Ospri phoned all farmers in the zone to explain the situation and got through to most of them. Reaction was varied, Stuart says. Some farmers were thankful for the steps being taken while

others are concerned, frustrated and worried about the impact the response to the outbreak could have on their farming systems and, ultimately, their cashflow. He encouraged farmers in northern Hawke’s Bay to attend one of the three information sessions scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, which will be onestop-shops to address individual farmers’ specific circumstances. He admits there have been problems getting information to farmers. “We do need to do better with our communication with farmers. “We have to rise to the challenge. We’re here to listen and take on feedback.” Better communication will be welcomed by farmers feeling increasingly frustrated, Freeman says. “I’ve been involved for about 40 years and the levels of frustration are as high as I’ve ever seen.”

How many? • 43,202 animals tested as part of the Hawke’s Bay response between November 1 and February 18 • 8 herds infected • 1 herd cleared of infection • 14 herds being investigated

More help for flooded southern farmers Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz FLOOD recovery work is ramping up in Southland and south Otago with about 60 farms so far indicating they still need help. The Government has agreed to fund extra Taskforce Green workers and a seed merchant is discounting prices on quick-

growing ryegrass to help fill a potential winter feed shortage. Persistent, wet and cold weather since the start of spring means many southern farmers were already cutting it fine to have adequate crops for winter before up to 200mm of rain fell in two and a half days earlier this month, flooding 1100 farms. Barenbrug Agriseeds has

reduced the price of Shogun ryegrass seed to help farmers get pastures growing again. “In most cases pastures under water for less than a week or under 2cm to 3cm of silt will grow through and recover,” pasture systems manager Blair Cotching said. Farmers might need to test siltcovered paddocks before sowing

new grass because in most cases it has little to no organic matter, is low in nitrogen and might be low in phosphorus and sulphur. The Government has made a further $500,000 available through the Enhanced Taskforce Green scheme to help with the clean-up in Southland and the Clutha district in south Otago. That follows grants totalling

$200,000 made this month to the Southland Mayoral Relief Fund and the Rural Support. Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni says the fresh funding will pay for the employment of job-seekers to help clear debris from fences and buildings. That follows recent clean-up efforts by 100 volunteers as part of the Farmy Army.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Wool future report will be ready shortly Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz FARMERS are not selling at low prices as they eagerly await the release of the Wool Working Group report expected to set a direction that will lift the wool industry from the doldrums. The group was set up by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor in July 2018 to create a sustainable and profitable wool industry action plan to revitalise the languishing sector. But it’s not happening quickly enough and wool growers are raising their brooms as the shearing bill now outstrips the wool cheque. Increased market uncertainty, exacerbated by coronavirus, resulted in almost half the Christchurch offering going home last week. PGG Wrightson South Island wool sales manager Dave Burridge said the downward direction that has characterised the ongoing crossbred wool market has fallen to an unprecedented low. “At $2.64 a kilo (clean) farmers are taking their stand at this level and taking their wool back home. “We had a 44% pass-in rate

on bales not meeting growers’ reserves.” Continued market erosion and lack of confidence mean buyers are covering only existing, limited orders and there is little business in the open marketplace. Lambs’ wool is also erratic. It took a 40c a kilogram dive with buyers favouring only that showing the lowest vegetable matter readings. PGW North Island wool manager Alan Jones said while the top of the lambs’ wool sold not too badly it was very hard to move lesser quality fleece. “We hope things settle down and we see some improvement soon,” Jones said. With the group’s report long overdue from its flagged date of September 2019, Federated Farmers meat and wool chairman Miles Anderson said there’s grave concern it’s going to come all too late. “The fear is momentum has been lost. “It’s shocking at the moment. “We didn’t think it could get any worse but, shit, how wrong can you be.” Anderson understands the report is under embargo until

DON’T RUSH IT: Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has told the Wool Working Group to take the time it needs to get its report on wool’s future right.

O’Connor sets its launch date. “This uncertainty in the industry is having a major impact on farm businesses and when it’s costing to take the wool off there’s a very real reluctance to do the sixmonth shearing, which is about animal welfare. “Farmers are re-evaluating and the uncertainty hasn’t buoyed any confidence whatsoever on crossbred wool producers. “If this isn’t signaling the industry is desperately in need of change then nothing will,” Anderson said. “This report will be really important for farmers and the big issues the industry as a whole needs to address. We’ll hopefully see it very soon.” Group chairman John Rodwell said it has been through the draft

report and is working on the recommendations. “There are a lot of steps in the process to work through. If it was an easy fix it would have been done. It’s not easy. “This will be a new way of thinking for the industry in the future,” Rodwell said. He expects it could be three to four weeks before the report is released. O’Connor said while it’s taken longer than expected it’s important to get it right. “It has got to connect with farmers and if they can’t see that this will deliver a better future for wool then it’s been a waste of time. “I have kept the pressure on the group. “I’ve said you take longer if you need to but make sure you deliver

The fear is momentum has been lost. It’s shocking at the moment. We didn’t think it could get any worse but, shit, how wrong can you be. Miles Anderson Federated Farmers something that is actually going to inspire farmers and provide a better future.” He makes no apology for taking longer to try to get it right. “Because if we don’t it’s all going to fail,” O’Connor said.

Effects on dairy modest despite coronavirus uncertainty Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz GLOBAL Dairy Trade prices have fallen about 7.5% since the beginning of the year, shaken by coronavirus uncertainties but not collapsing. The GDT price index fell 2.9% after the second fortnightly February auction, following a

4.7% fall earlier in the month. Milk powders fell by 2.6% and fat products by 4-5%. “Given what’s going on around the globe a GDT fall of 2.9% is hellishly good news,” independent economist Cameron Bagrie said at the second DairyNZ Farmers’ Forum in Hamilton. Dairy analysts trimmed 10c

and 20c off their farmgate milk price predictions but expressed confidence in $7-plus levels for this season and next. Westpac now has a $7.20/kg milk price prediction, down 20c, and ASB has gone down 10c to $7.40. Both banks said their next season predictions remain at $7.30 and $7.50 respectively.

Following the dairy futures market reaction to the latest GDT, NZX trimmed 3c from its milk price forecast, now $7.15. ASB’s Nathan Penny said the fall in whole milk powder prices this month is relatively modest and doesn’t make the top 30 list of WMP monthly price movements. “Moreover, Chinese buyers

remain active, albeit cautious, consistent with the view that the virus impact will prove shortlived.” Penny said the developing drought in New Zealand could provide a boost to dairy prices as early as March. He has revised his seasonal production estimate to a 0.5% reduction on 2018-19.

Nationwide Numbers

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Southerners snap up NI lambs Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz STORE lambs are making their way to greener pastures in the South Island as the dry in the north puts pressure on the market. It’s a grim story in the north, Brian Martin of Hawke’s Bay-based BRM Livestock said. “It’s extra dry North Island wide and it’s extending. “Tight feed supply, long waits for slaughter, uncertainty in the markets – it’s time to make a plan,” Martin said. Farmers have just got to move lambs and that’s significantly affected the store lamb market, so much so there’s a steady flow of store lambs crossing Cook Strait to greener pastures in the south. “They are struggling up here and there’s opportunity to sell to the South Island.” Martin and several other agents are buying for South Island lamb finishers, mainly in Canterbury and to Southland. Feedback from the South Island is the real demand is yet to kick in and the price differential at almost $1 a kilogram live weight makes it a good deal for buyers and a saving grace for desperate northern vendors. Pockets of optimistic buyers are taking on the cheap lambs but Martin expects that could change once the numbers coming out in the north because of the prolonged dry are soaked up and the South Island store season ramps up. It’s not just the dry in the north that is stressing farmers, a water shortage is compounding the situation. “It’s gone from a feed crisis to a water crisis and that’s resulting in some lesser quality store lambs coming in for sale and that’s

also being reflected in the pricing,” Martin said. Prime lamb space is very tight at processing plants. Farmers can’t get lambs killed and there’s a four to six-week wait to get cattle in. “It’s a grim story from the North Island. “And while our phones are telling us we are going to get rain – it’s not happening. “The South Island has been a godsend. I don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have the South Island to offload to,” Martin said.

The South Island has been a godsend. I don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have the South Island to offload to. Brian Martin BRM Livestock While store lamb prices have remained steady at $3-$3.50/kg in the South Island, up on North Island prices of $2.20-$2.60/kg, PGW livestock manager Joe Higgins said the Tekapo and Omarama Merino and halfbred store lamb sales on Thursday were some of the toughest selling he’s experienced. “They were very difficult sales due to the lack of buying power and, of course, these breeds do have a limited market anyway given the regions they are suited to. “The schedule sliding every week has also knocked confidence.” Merinos usually fetch a premium over halfbreds because of the wool factor but that didn’t happen.

“It was just slow bidding, only one bid on a number of pens.” Of the 10,000 lambs offered at Tekapo about a third were passed in but a lot were negotiated and sold after. “Not that many would have gone back home but it was hard work, the hardest selling I’ve experienced almost forever,” Higgins said. Most vendors’ lambs sold at auction $20-$30 a head back on last year’s sales. The tops of the Merinos at Tekapo sold from $100$120 with an exceptional couple of pens making $133, medium types sold from $80-$100 and lighter lambs $50-$75. In the halfbreds at Omarama the tops ranged from $3-$3.30/kg, mediums $3.20-$3.50/kg and lighter lambs $2.70-$3/kg. Higgins said crossbred store lamb prices remained steady despite the influence of lower priced lambs from the North Island crossing the Strait. Demand for good-quality lambs is still there with confidence in the winter trade if buying now and selling in spring. “It’s been a very successful and profitable option for the past two seasons. It’s worked so people are keen to continue,” Higgins said. He doesn’t expect store lamb values to change a lot now. “They are not going to get a lot cheaper. Prices will hold firm now unless we get a good rain.” Meantime the 25th annual Rollesby Valley on-farm sale continued to be popular with prices averaging about $3.50/kg for crossbred types. Demand was strong from Mid Canterbury cropping farmers, who accounted for about 85-90% of the lambs bought.

TALK TURKEY: Of the 10,000 lambs offered at Tekapo about a third were passed in but a lot were negotiated and sold after.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Dairy farmers must increase risk Government and Reserve Bank at the time. “That is why the Reserve Bank is imposing on the banking sector additional capital requirements. “The Reserve Bank is being smart and sensible in trying to shore up the resilience of the NZ banking system. “But it is like taking out an insurance policy – someone is going to pay.”

Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz DAIRY farmers have to learn to take more risk because staying put is no longer risk-free, independent Cameron Bagrie says. The pace of change will accelerate not slow and farmers face three to five more years of this grumpy growth, which stems from rising costs and more regulations, he told a DairyNZ farmers forum. “Stop being so polite and drive the key changes in the things that you can control.” He includes the adoption of new technology, making use of industry data and taking a risk on hiring an upstart young person. “You have to innovate faster than the disruptors build up distribution capability,” he said. Capitalism is being disrupted and shareholders are no longer at the head of the priority order – the focus has now gone on to staff, customers, the environment, communities and delivery on a social licence to operate. This is more of a long-term value creation model and it should resonate with rural sector stewardship but it costs money to implement. Bagrie suggested keeping an eye on what he calls the big fights under way – corporate versus workers, young versus old, especially around housing affordability, rural versus urban and the environment and climate change. The biggest risk is global economic shock such as the coronavirus outbreak in China. He predicts the Chinese government will announce a stimulus package within a month and hopes it will target consumption not investment. China needs to grow consumption and that will be good news for NZ primary sector exports. The fundamentals of dairying

You have come a long way and other countries are just starting. Cameron Bagrie Economist

BE QUICK: Kiwi dairy farmers have to innovate faster than the disruptors can build distribution, Cameron Bagrie says.

look good, including modest milk supply growth, environmental constraints on herd sizes, the uncertainty of drought and good world product prices. “The world is going to have two billion more people in 30 years and we are going to need the disruptors to help feed them.”

NZ does not face the environmental pressures weighing on Australia. “You have come a long way and other countries are just starting,” he said. He urged farmers to get behind Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr, who is export friendly.

The bank is acting early rather than late and the NZ dollar is falling and buffering some of the uncertainties over exports. A false picture has been painted of the NZ trading banks sailing through the global financial crisis unaided but they needed a lot of help from the

The adverse impact will be something in the range of 30 to 60 basis points higher interest rates, lending will be curtailed and rural loans will have larger margins. Trading banks will target more residential lending rather than to business and agriculture and some might choose to stop farm lending or exit NZ. However, the historical pretax return on equity across the banking sector in NZ is 20%. “That tells me the NZ financial market is a very attractive one for newcomers and I believe that new players will come in.” Agricultural debt is 14% of total lending and about one in three dairy farms are characterised as having high debt. Bagrie said 60% of dairy debt is still interest-only and that is alarming but the good news is it used to be in excess of 70%. “The dairy industry needs to deleverage and that is what we are seeing at present.” The adjustment in dairying will bring in new buyers at the right price, he concluded.

Race this colt with Chris Waller in Sydney He can win the VRC Derby, just like his dad Your Opportunity TARZINO was the champion 3YO in Australia and this colt is built in his mould; we loved him both on pedigree and type. He is out of an ENCOSTA DE LAGO mare, who is a champion broodmare sire. She has had just one foal to race, The Golden Hind, who is a multiple winner in Australia. He is from one of our great New Zealand families, with his second dam the Gr 2 winner LOVETRISTA, who is a three-quarter sister to Gr 1 winner and sire VIKING RULER, KEMPINSKY and DIAMOND LIKE. His 3rd dam is the great TRISTALOVE, who was a Gr 1 winner in Australia as a 2YO and 3YO. More recently, it is the family of multiple Group winner QUEEN OF DIAMONDS and MONGOLIAN MARSHAL. He is a good size, loose-walking colt that could well be a Guineas horse as a spring 3YO, followed

by the Derby. He is an ideal colt for Australia and will race for huge prizemoney of A$125,000 minimum on a Saturday in Sydney.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Mycoplasma eradication still realistic Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz ERADICATING Mycoplasma bovis is proving realistic, M Bovis Programme communications manager Joe Stockman says. But it is highly unlikely how it got here will ever be known. Addressing a large gathering of farmers, rural professionals and community leaders in Oamaru on Wednesday Stockman said there’s confidence in a successful eradication. M bovis is not right across New Zealand, making eradication feasible. “The current spread is very limited to the movement of infected animals. “We are confident this disease is not moving out of infection by movement of animals or milk. “We know conclusively it’s not all over the country and all the evidence we have got suggests it’s a single-source strain,” Stockman said. “We will probably never find the smoking gun on how M bovis made it to NZ.” But when challenged by farmers Stockman said that is not a stumbling block to eradication. “The key thing is we do not need to know the pathway to achieve eradication.” Questioned for assurance it will never happen again Stockman said it could but it’s a very low risk. “Yes, we have systems in place locking down all known risk, yes it’s come in once but to lock down

total risk we would lose a lot of money.” The rest of the world has the disease so there’s no check list. “But you can be assured the Ministry for Primary Industries is doing all it can to keep out all things that can be of risk.” Even with a successful eradication M bovis testing will become the norm. “We will have M bovis testing forever in NZ now as that will allow us to lock down any re-entry very quickly.”

The key thing is we do not need to know the pathway to achieve eradication. Joe Stockman M bovis Programme So why eradication? With an estimated $1.3 billion of lost productivity in the first 10 years it was deemed, at a cost of $870 million, eradication was probably worthwhile, Stockman said. “If we allow M bovis to stay here we would be seriously challenging our farm systems.” He acknowledged compensation has not been good to date but has improved in recent months. “We are getting money into people’s pockets much more quickly with claims today

WILL IT WORK: Farmers challenged Mycoplasma bovis programme presenters at an Oamaru meeting for assurance successful eradication of the disease will mean no chance of a likely re-entry. Photo: Annette Scott

generally taking no more than 30 days.” M bovis was confirmed in NZ in July 2017. “Now it’s how we will prove we will manage eradication,” Stockman said. Work is under way to determine how much extra spread occurred because of the delay that prompted the tracing surge in April last year. “We are working on data on that now. “We have learned we need to push the decision-making down into the regions to get decisions made much quicker, with more vets, more technical support and more people in regions to achieve this.” Bulk milk testing has proved to be a valuable tool with not much infection being found now – about nine farms a month of which just 7% convert to a notice of direction (NoD). The year ahead will continue to be intense. “We will be at high operational pace for at least another year. “There are more infected farms to find, hopefully not too many, but they are out there and we will find them,” Stockman said. One of the key challenges is still Nait recording.

“Farmers are not actually completing the process and there are a lot of unhappy farmers finding a $2000 fine in their mailbox.” That riled up farmers who were quick to point out that Nait still has flaws. “If we are crossing the ts and dotting the is then Nait has to do the same – this is a two-way street,” South Canterbury beef farmer Bill Wright said. “Nait is failing us and MPI is failing us but I’m not blaming MPI or blaming Nait – just pointing out that we self-reported threemonths before we were contacted through tracing. “We knew we had infected animals and it was 12 months from start to finish. That’s still happening and it’s very frustrating,” Wright said. Stockman agreed. “That’s not good enough. Selfreporting, we should have been there that week. I apologise for that. “Nait has improved but it needs to improve more,” Stockman said. It appeared there’s misunderstanding. The tags when bought are registered to a property but farmers must then register each tag as it’s allocated to an animal.

DELAYED: South Canterbury farmer Bill Wright knew he had infected animals and reported them yet it still took three months before he was followed up.

On the education side of the Nait programme Ospri representative Nikki Penno said there’s still a lot of work going on to make Nait work better with the big issue being tagging and registering. “Every animal needs to be tagged within six months of birth. You can’t leave them untagged until you load them on the truck. “The tags when purchased are assigned to your property but not registered to an animal. You must register each tag you put on an animal,” Penno said.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

World-first win over weevils Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz FOUR years under threat of the pea weevil have finally yielded good news for New Zealand’s $130 million pea industry. In an industry-wide attack the noxious pea weevil pest has been wiped out in what is believed to be a world first. Federated Farmers arable sector chairwoman and Wairarapa cropping farmer Karen Williams said the four years have proved well worth the effort. “There were some dark days early on and a few testy conversations but I’m proud of the way the farming community and the public responded to this crisis,” Williams said. “It is fantastic to be able to celebrate a win like this one.” The complete eradication of the pea weevil from Wairarapa required a four-year ban on growing of peas, not just for commercial growers but for all gardeners. Williams said Federated Farmers has been involved in helping growers work through the processes around the biosecurity response and eradication since the beginning of the response. The pea weevil was found in a Masterton vegetable seeds’ store early in 2016. In a leap of faith the industry, Wairarapa community and government put a growing ban on and started the hard yards towards eradication of the pest. The first two years of nationwide surveillance determined the weevil was contained in Wairarapa. The weevil grows on the pea flower so Williams said the message was simple to growers and home gardeners – no peas no weevil, starve them out. With a two-year extension to the ban yielding zero weevils the battle was won.

BATTLE WON: Karen Williams, a Carterton pea grower and Pea Weevil Governance Group member, speaks to Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor on her arable farm in Wairarapa.

There were some dark days early on and a few testy conversations. Karen Williams Federated Farmers Williams said the pea industry is worth $130 million to NZ and the weevil threatened to put a major dent in that. “Wairarapa growers and farmers were initially aghast at talk of a ban on growing but we realised we needed to pull together and we’d need the support of the government and the support of

the wider community, which we got. “It’s been a long four years with ups and downs but we have achieved the ultimate result. “The decision to eradicate was hard on local pea growers so it is extremely pleasing to see their efforts rewarded,” Williams said. In that four years the industry and government worked with Wairarapa growers on alternative crop options to assure growers of financial sustainability during the ban. That extended to an industry commitment to homegrown grains that fitted for some growers in the area while some also opted to grow more barley and ryegrass seed. The next step for the industry is to work with seed companies to

bring back pea contracts, Williams said. Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor said after two complete seasons of no new finds Biosecurity NZ is confident there are no pea weevils remaining in Wairarapa or NZ. “To our knowledge this is the first time a pea weevil population has been successfully eradicated anywhere in the world. “This just goes to show what can be achieved when government, industry and communities work together,” O’Connor said. “It also shows that eradications can be achieved. “This Government is committed to attempting eradications wherever possible and in this situation we had a good shot at it because the destructive little

insect was detected early and in a region with mountain ranges providing some natural borders.” More importantly, there was an outstanding level of awareness and support in the community for the approach to ban the growing of pea plants and pea straw. “In doing this we removed the pea weevil’s only food source, which caused the population to die out. It was straightforward and effective,” O’Connor said. Biosecurity NZ has been working with Wairarapa farmers since March 2016 to contain the weevil. A network of trap crops was set up to flush out the pest so it could be destroyed before it completed its life cycle. Its last detection was in late 2017.

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10 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Lim: Real food is here to stay Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz

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a place on the food plate, Lim told the DairyNZ Farmers Forum in Waikato. The dietitian, author, Masterchef winner and My Food Bag founder said the trend to veganism and plant-based alternative meat and dairy will be temporary once consumers understood what is in these products. “The veganism craze will even out. I can see that happening within a year or so and most people trying to eat entirely plant-based will probably revert back to eating some meat and dairy.” Lim shared her nude-food philosophy. It is based on ignoring the hype around fads and diets, sticking to minimally processed, naturally grown food not from factories. She urges people to trust their instincts when it comes to food. “There’s two key facts that we can’t ignore. The first one is that everybody has to eat. The second one being that real food, which I like to describe as food that comes from the ground, the sea and the sky ... will never go out of fashion.” Those principles will stick around regardless of food trends. She believes the trend to eat more vegetables is here to stay. The fad for eating more vegetables made her most recent book on vegetarian recipes become New Zealand’s top selling book last year. From a nutritional perspective, a wholly plantbased diet is not sustainable. Some people can maintain it but the vast majority cannot do it long term because it lacks too many important nutrients. The increased interest and scrutiny in farming is positive for farmers because it lifts the profile of where all foods including synthetics come from. Advocating farming as a creator of real food is a better way of promoting the industry, she said. “I think we have to start a real food campaign, a movement that educates people on what it really takes to produce food.” She also backs the Open Farms initiative that aims to reconnect people with where food comes from by running an open day on March 1. “What they are trying to do there is welcome people with open arms to give them a taste of what really goes on behind the scenes. “If you want to eat real food you have to know about it.” Lim and husband Carlos Bagrie moved to Otago in January to run a farm growing sheep, wine and barley. Seeing first hand the responsibility the industry carries gave her a deeper respect for food producers, she said. “I’ve always felt that’s all very well telling people what they should be eating and giving them recipes but I’ve always felt a real responsibility to step back behind what’s on our plate and follow the journey with what’s involved in getting it to your plate as well and that’s the reason why we decided we’re going to take on this farming adventure because it’s all part of it. It’s the full circle.” Lim believes more engagement is needed about how food is produced, particularly for those with a limited understanding of farming. Food production is something not taught in schools, which Lim called crazy. Proper food education, including how to grow your own food, could help lift people out of poverty. “The skill of how to feed yourself is something I don’t think anyone could debate or argue that is probably one of the most important skills you could ever teach your child.”

Have your say on this issue: farmersweekly.co.nz

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Kiwis hit home at agritech expo Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz ONE of the agritech sector’s international leading lights in venture financing has given New Zealand an unequivocal thumbsup for its ability to punch above its weight in the competitive global scene. Addressing delegates at the EvokeAg agritech expo in Melbourne, Silicon Valley investment and tech firm SVG Ventures founder John Harnett said he is seeing more NZ agritech start-ups meeting farmers on the ground and integrating well with them to find solutions to their problems. He also urged Australian counterparts to move further afield in the way NZ, Israel and Irish agritech entrepreneurs have done. “None of them are large countries and know they have to go offshore.” More than 60 NZ innovators and start-ups attended the second EvokeAg expo, a venue for new

PUNCHING: Agritech guru John Harnett ranks New Zealand’s efforts on the global stage. companies seeking investors to meet up, pitch and hopefully finance their businesses to commercialise or to grow in scale. NZ’s start-up industry has been ranked in the top 10 globally and has its sights set on becoming worth more than $1.4 billion by 2025. Harnett’s firm works with Fortune 500 companies and he is the founder of Thrive, an agrifood innovation group comprising investors, universities,

PARTNERSHIP: Gallagher’s Mark Harris, left, and Agersens’ Ian Reilly, developer of the eShepherd remote collar.

corporates and researchers. More corporates are looking outside their own sphere for innovation investment and while accelerator investment funds are good, start-ups usually need a corporate partner to achieve full scale. He pointed to Bay of Plenty firm Robotics Plus receiving $10 million investment from Yamaha to expand its operations. The NZ contingent at EvokeAg represented the spectrum of

investment scale across the entire agritech sector, including disease diagnosis, virtual fencing and robotics. The event includes the chance to pitch to potential investors. Dunedin innovator Olaf Bork was successful in his efforts to seek investment to expand his Mastaplex mastitis diagnostic tool. The expo was also the platform to showcase Gallagher’s partnership with virtual fencing company Agersens whose

eShepherd collar has made virtual fencing a possibility using remote GPS systems to control stock. Gallagher global marketing manager Mark Harris said the system is due for launch into Queensland later this year, followed by Tasmania then NZ. Developer Ian Reilly said the collar has revolutionised data processing with its ability to manage much of the data in its own capacity, reducing the need for major data uploads on constricted network links. “The expectation from the farming community is that virtual fencing will be part of farming with the primary value proposition being to lower labour costs. Remote sensing of livestock is the additional benefit on top.” Trade and Enterprise technology general manager David Downs said NZ has proved itself as a quality innovator but needs to get better at commercialising that research. It is a trait that appears to be shared with Australian innovators.

Dunedin firm scores at EvokeAg Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz DUNEDIN developer Olaf Bork hit pay dirt at this year’s EvokeAg agritech expo when his presentation to a potential investor earned him the nod for financing. Bork’s company Mastaplex was one of only five start-ups whittled down from 90 candidates to present to investors at the international event and the only New Zealand company. Bork was seeking about $2 million to kick-start his mastitis diagnostic equipment’s entry into the lucrative European Union market, having already gained a good foothold in the Australian and NZ dairy industries. The diagnostic machine can analyse milk infected with mastitis, determine

the type of bacteria and what antibiotic should be used to cure it, all in under 24 hours. Over 40% of NZ dairy vet clinics already have the device and farmers are finding the $1000 price tag worth it. “So what getting the investor on board means is we will have access to the 23 million cows in the EU needing effective diagnostic equipment, particularly given the EU’s focus on reducing antibiotic resistance with 70% of total antibiotics used being for animal treatment.” His company also has the support of one of Europe’s top 10 animal health distribution companies for getting the machine into the market. “NZ proved to be the ideal test country to validate what we were doing with the machine, with good herd sizes, a good vet

infrastructure and contact with end users, the farmers.” The machine is proving invaluable in determining not only the type of mastitis infection but sometimes even whether mastitis is the problem. “For 20% of the time it may not be mastitis bacteria causing the infection. This test helps ensure a more informed decision is made.” It has internet connectivity to ensure both the farmer and vet are alerted when the test results are known. Bork, a German-trained process engineer, said the main intellectual property for the device is in the unique assay cartridge that holds the milk sample. It is a key reason why the company wants to keep its production based close to home in Dunedin, he said.

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BACKED UP: Olaf Bork’s Dunedin company is now cashed up to enter the European Union dairy diagnostic market.

News

12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Milk fat still tops in value Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz MILK fat will continue to be more valuable for dairy farmers than milk protein but not to an extreme, LIC’s New Zealand markets general manager Malcolm Ellis believes. The latest economic values for different traits in milk and dairy livestock indicate a settling down of the value component ratio (VCR) in the range of 1 to 1.2, he said. A new VCR of 1.16, published by NZ Animal Evaluation and Dairy NZ to take effect from February 21 means milk fat is 16% more valuable than milk protein. The new actual economic values are $4.25/kg for milk fat, up 22% from 2019, and $4.26 for protein, down 3%. The VCR incorporates those EVs and reflects the fact all breeds and crossbreeds of dairy cows produce more fat by volume of milk than protein, hence the 1.16 ratio and not parity as the EVs would indicate. Ellis said the movement of VCRs over the past decade has been steady and reflects the rehabilitation of fat in western diets. For decades previously protein was two and even three times more valuable than fat and Holstein Friesians had come to dominate the national herd because they offer higher protein

and greater milk volumes. Then six years ago fat started its relative rise in value and for the past two seasons the Fonterra VCR showed fat as more valuable than protein. “We have watched with interest the shift to parity and then beyond,” Ellis said. “That trend has positively impacted Jersey and Jersey-cross genetics, such that 26 of the top 30 on the ranking of active sires list are now Jersey bulls. “We had envisaged such movement, by watching international demands, and have been operating our internal indexes in breeding schemes with a VCR of 1 to 1.2 for two years now. “We hold the view that the new normal is now parity to 1.2.” Ellis said dairy cattle breeders asked him whether the retreat from the peak as indicated by the latest EVs by Animal Evaluation would continue till protein is again considerably more valuable than fat. He said either sugar or fat is required to add taste to a food product and the reputation of fat has completely changed from a dietary perspective. “I think a VCR of parity to 1.2 will be the long-term relationship and we should be breeding our dairy cattle to reflect that.” Ellis said LIC has to use foresight when managing its breeding schemes and it believes high VCRs in recent years were an

overshoot that has now corrected. The Animal Evaluation calculations of economic values account for milk production, historical, current and forecast milk prices, income from culls, surplus cows and bobbies, the cost of generating replacements and general dairy farm expenses. They are combined with breeding values to calculate an animal’s Breeding Worth. Milk fat will make up 24% of the Breeding Worth index, being the largest component, while protein is 17% and milk volume is 13%. On average, BW for AE-enrolled bulls will increase by $7 in 2020, with minimal changes in relativity between breeds and crossbreds. The Animal Evaluation VCR is an average of five years – three historical, the current year and one year forecast. Fonterra also calculates its own VCR, updated before the start of a new season, using a moving average of product prices over the past three years. It signals to farmer-suppliers what the differential payments for fat and protein will be at the margin. Typically, differences in milk composition move the final milk payout by only 10c/kg either way, rewarding high fat or high protein. Animal Evaluation was poised to introduce an enhanced genetic evaluations system from February 21, underpinning the national

DIFFERENCE: Latest trends show milk fat will continue to be slightly more valuable than protein, LIC New Zealand markets general manager Malcolm Ellis says.

breeding objective and informing the decisions farmers make on breeding. The objective is the breeding of cows that are more efficient in converting feed in into milk and profit, Animal Evaluation manager Brian Wickham said. Breeding companies LIC and CRV are collaborating on the project, which will replace genetic evaluation software with a nationally consistent, independent genetic evaluation system for dairy cattle. The software will be called NZAEL 2.0. Two of the changes are better recognition of trait differences between breeds, in particular for fertility, and the removal of the effect of inbreeding on breeding values. Wickham said the update is

the biggest change since the introduction of Breeding Worth in 1996. The new system incorporates LIC’s latest software and models and the Animal Evaluation research work. A scientific advisory committee with animal genetics experts from NZ, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands has peer reviewed and endorsed the upgraded system, which has been rigorously tested. Ellis said LIC has software that can compute larger quantities of data and give greater insights into animal performance. More accurate predictions of genetic merit are the foundation of the breeding of bulls for NZ conditions, CRV Ambreed sales and marketing manager Jon Lee said.

LIC proposes big offshore acquisition Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz LIC’s 10,000 shareholders, mainly dairy farmers, are to be asked to approve a $108.7 million purchase of half of leading Israeli agritech company, Afimilk. It is a large acquisition for the size of LIC and is the first time the New Zealand dairy breeding and information technology cooperative has ventured offshore on such a scale. LIC has already signed a conditional agreement to buy and must ratify that intention with a simple majority of 50% of shareholders who vote. Shareholders can vote electronically or by post in the lead-up to a special meeting on Tuesday, April 7, where they can also cast a vote if they have not previously done so. Afimilk is profitable, has no debt and has consistently paid dividends to its shareholders. LIC intends to fund the purchase by debt through existing

banking facilities and cash reserves. The borrowing will change the equity to assets ratio from 77% in May 2019 to an estimate of 62%. LIC chairman Murray King said the anticipated dividends from Afimilk will meet all interest costs and likely fund a portion of principal repayment. “Therefore, the proposed investment is not expected to negatively affect future dividends to LIC shareholders.” LIC has a patchy recent history of dividends – 6.4c a share in 2017, 1.7c in 2018 and 10.8c in 2019. Shares are trading at 80c and were as high as $1 last April and July for brief periods. Its total equity was $302m at November 30 and total assets $425m. King said the Afimilk investment is a strong strategic proposition because the Israeli company is a leader in its field and has been on LIC’s radar for a number of years. “Afimilk is looking for a longterm strategic investor with a

TECHNOLOGY: Afimilk specialises in in-line milk meters.

shared mission to improve the profitability and performance of dairy farmers through its innovation and technology – so LIC is the right fit. “We also have shared values being two agricultural cooperatives.”

He mentioned advanced technology such as cow wearables and on-farm management systems. Afimilk’s revenue in 2019 was $89m and earnings before interest, taxation and depreciation $22m.

It makes sales in 50 countries with 32% of revenue from Europe and 25% from North America and Mexico. The owners are Kibbutz Afikim and Fortissimo, an Israeli private equity firm, which will sell out to LIC.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Fresh producers must yell loudly Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz FRESH fruit and produce companies around the world risk having their long-held and proven health claims stolen by the new arrivals on supermarket shelves, plant-based food products. One of the biggest emerging trends in consumer behaviour in six regions surveyed globally is healthy living, Cathy Burns, chief executive of giant United States trade organisation Produce Marketing Association, told Zespri’s Momentum conference. “This includes a desire to shed things from the diet that are not good for me and it has become a proxy term for intelligence and social acceptance. To eat healthily people are choosing organics and plantbased foods. “For the first time we have seen the United States organics market break the US$50 billion mark for sales in 2018 and we do not see that slowing down at all.” Organic produce accounts for 36% of total organic spend in the United States with dairy products next and accounting for 18% in a sector that has enjoyed almost 10% a year growth for a decade. “But it is the area of plant-based foods that are frustrating for people like me. “We are the original plant based food and someone else is going out and talking our story.” So the produce sector needs to more firmly insert itself as being relevant. “And I do not see the plantbased food sector slowing down.” The growth in the sector has been phenomenal, now at US$19b and expected to be valued at US$85b by 2030. And that is in an increasingly unhealthy population research has shown could benefit from greater fresh produce consumption. “The US spends $3.3 trillion a

But it is the area of plant-based foods that are frustrating for people like me. We are the original plant-based food and someone else is going out and talking our story. Cathy Burns Produce Marketing Association

BURNT: Fresh produce growers risk having their lunch stolen by plant-based food companies, Produce Marketing Association chief executive Cathy Burns says.

year on health care yet six of out 10 adults in the US have a chronic disease and four out of 10 have at least two.” Predictions are the youngest generation of Americans is destined to live shorter lifespans than their parents, who, in turn, are already facing lifespans four years shorter than the generation before them. “We have the answer to that.” She pointed to fresh produce advocates like Dr William Li who has researched the value of produce consumption and, in particular, the value of eating one kiwifruit a day. “It is not enough to simply tell people that they should eat fruit

and vegetables because they are healthy.” Some health practitioners in the US are prescribing fruit and vegetables in their recommendations to ill patients and consumption has also been proven to reduce levels of depression, one of the west’s greatest mental health issues. She also pointed out a need to change behaviours in produce consumption, for example, convincing Chinese to eat kiwifruit at times other than just after dinner, a traditional behaviour. Linking behaviour and consumption changes to growers and consumers inevitably

involves social media and even in the past 18 months the dynamics have shifted. “We now have 89% of Instagram users under 35 and it has eclipsed SnapChat there. Globally people are spending 84 minutes a day watching video online and 50% of video watched online is on a mobile device with 90% shared with friends.” For 2020 videos are estimated to form 80% of all internet traffic globally. “And in this area it is something you at Zespri are doing well.” Efforts to create videos linking growers with consumers also meet a growing expectation among consumers for transparency,

May Brothers Contracting The May brothers have come a long way since they bought their first header as teenagers. Now they’ve got no issues keeping busy with up to 35 machines running at a time. Wiggy heads down to Methven to catch up with Phil May and some of his staff at May Brothers Contracting to have a chat about what it takes to succeed in such a competitive market.

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connecting with the people who grow the products they eat. “I cannot think of a better time to capitalise on what you are already doing.” Substance behind sustainability claims is critical, with 72% of US consumers expecting sustainability policies from their grocers and 62% from their restaurant/food outlets. “And this is especially around plastic.” More countries are banning single use plastics and Zespri has promised to make all packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable in the next five years. Latest research on food waste has also highlighted how much (almost half ) is contributed by consumers not caring for food or finishing it. With that has come apps that can notify concerned consumers about food on shelves in supermarkets that is due to expire, alerting them to the deal that might go with that. Swedish fin-tech company Doconomy has developed a carbon-credit credit card that tracks the carbon content of purchases and once an individual’s carbon footprint limit is reached denies any further purchases.

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16 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Hort leaders learn from Europe

THROWING LIGHT ON THE ISSUE: The horticultural tourists visited Wageningen University, which is using light spectrum to improve the growth, health, resistance and architecture of plants.

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A GROUP of rural executives from New Zealand has just finished a two-week horticultural mission to west Europe. The NZ Executive International Horticultural Immersion Programme was run by NZ Apples and Pears and Massey University to give rural executives a comparative immersion in international markets, horticultural value chains and associated innovation systems. Apples and Pears capability development manager and programme founder Erin Simpson said “We tried to encourage the future horticultural leaders to go outside their comfort zone and try something new. “They are not always in a position, either due to cost or a focus on local markets, to gain overseas exposure so we partner with industry funders such as Agmardt.” The pilot programme followed a similar initiative in Europe and Asia last year attended by Massey and Lincoln University students and recent graduates working in the industry. The delegation included growers, government staff, scientists and researchers from Zespri, Plant and Food Research, the Primary Industries Ministry, T&G Global, Primary ITO, Horticulture NZ, Young Farmers, Kiwifruit Growers Inc, Seeka, Massey University and NZ Apples and Pears. “The participants were from across industry and possessed high leadership potential to individually and collectively drive collaborative innovation, capacity-building and transformational change across the horticultural sector and provide recommendations to NZ industry and Government,” Simpson said. The trip also gave companies and agencies the chance to showcase their abilities and technology. “During the trip there was a lot of talk about collaboration between Europe and NZ,” he said. “There is potential for us and Europe to work more closely in the future, which is very exciting.” The delegation made stops in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. In the Netherlands the group visited organisations like WorldHortiCentre, Wageningen University and Research, Foodvalley and Unilever’s innovation centre, Hive. It also learned about automated greenhouse horticulture, including a visit to large-scale greenhouse business park Agriport, which is driving geothermal development. “There were discussions on Brexit and what it could mean for NZ’s primary industries and a lot of positive talk about the outlook for horticulture in NZ.” The trip ended at the world’s leading fresh produce exhibition, the Berlin Fruit Logistica. “We got the group to spend a good couple of days at Berlin Fruit Logistica to be fully immersed in the German value chain,” Simpson said.

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18 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Dinz gets a farm performance man Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz

NEW JOB: At home in a QEII National Trust open space wetland near Mossburn in Southland, Phil McKenzie looks forward to working with deer farmers in his new role.

DEER Industry New Zealand has beefed-up its on on-farm services with the appointment of a farm performance manager. Phil McKenzie has been appointed to the new position following the appointment late last year of former Primary Growth Partnership programme manager Innes Moffat to chief executive.

McKenzie will now manage the on-farm components of the industry’s Passion2Profit (P2P) programme as well as the development of Dinz’s farm-facing services. In those roles he will work closely with Dinz producer manager Tony Pearse and environmental stewardship manager Lindsay Fung. Over the past year McKenzie has worked parttime for DINZ as the P2P environment project manager. “We are increasingly focusing the on-farm side of the P2P programme on helping our farmers improve water quality and biodiversity and to meet climate change obligations,” Moffat said. “Meeting market and social expectations for animal and environmental management will enhance the value of the industry.” Deer farmers have long been leaders in good environmental practice, Moffat said. “The challenge is to fit that good practice into a framework that complies with district plans and new and proposed legislation.” McKenzie has been helping farmers complete their farm environment plans and that work will continue. “Our formula of bringing together groups of deer farmers where they can learn from each other with the support of skilled consultants is working well,” McKenzie said. “I’ve been impressed by the spirit of innovation among deer farmers, their ambition to excel and their willingness to collaborate. “There is, of course, much still to be done, which is what excites me about this new role – working with others to design practical on-farm solutions that work.” McKenzie, originally from a Southland farm, has worked in many regions in NZ and overseas. He has deep farm systems knowledge and extensive agribusiness experience, including valuable experience with Pamu, where his most senior role was general manager for environment.

Workshops to build strong workplaces Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz FREE workshops on building great workplaces are rolling out around the country this week. The workshops, facilitated by the Dairy Women’s Network, are structured to help build great workplaces on dairy farms. Chief executive Jules Benton said the interactive workshops understand how valuable it is for dairy farmers, their teams and their communities to flourish in a positive, supportive environment. “Having great workplaces and talented people is fundamental to the success of any business so these workshops will focus on understanding why a culture of wellbeing is important, getting familiar with your own values and what really motivates you, understanding the wellbeing bank account model and being aware of how to optimise team performance.” The events, funded by DairyNZ, are free to participants. The first is in Kaipara at the Dargaville Town Hall tomorrow. Other workshops are being held throughout March, starting in Greymouth before moving on to Huntly, Putaruru, Taupo, Winton, Oamaru, Levin, Waipara and finishing in Hinds, Mid Canterbury. “It’s so vital that we do what we can to assist dairy farming businesses to adopt good workplace and people management practices that help them build leadership and capability” Benton said.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Net zero goal needs new tech Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz AGRICULTURE and land use systems will have to be transformed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, Scottish academic Professor Bob Rees says. While all sectors of the economy will have to play their part cutting emissions, the likely consequences for agriculture are stark, the keynote speaker at the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre workshop said. Rees, an agriculture and climate change expert at Scotland Rural College, said emissions from the sector urgently need to be reduced but costs and inertia are significant barriers. British economists have been looking at the cost effectiveness of different farm management strategies to help prioritise them. Approaches that will save farmers’ money, including improved nitrogen-use efficiency, precision farming for crops, improving cattle and sheep health and loosening compacted soils and preventing soil compaction, will be among those most likely to be taken up by farmers but they won’t be enough to achieve net zero. Afforestation is in the middle of the abatement cost curve developed to help prioritise measures. To achieve net zero by 2050 many new technologies will need to come into play. They include soil carbon sequestration, bio-energy carbon and storage and biochar. “We’re going to have to use a range of new

Solutions might have some negative effect ENVIRONMENTAL solutions sought in New Zealand could have unintended global consequences, according to research presented at the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre workshop. Ravensdown innovation and strategy general manager Mike Manning says there is debate over whether the environmental effects of food production should be calculated by hectare or by unit of food produced. “If globally we want to continue to feed the world with the least impact environmentally then it is important to have the lowest footprint per unit of food and to maintain the investment in technology to reduce this footprint. To do otherwise simply has a worse global environmental outcome.” In their research Manning, Jacqueline Rowarth and Ants Roberts looked at the production and environmental aspects of organic and conventional systems, taking into account economic aspects such as government subsidies. “We’ve used the data available to compare yields to nutrient losses and greenhouse gases, both per kilogram of production and per hectare. “Focussing on NZ’s environmental impact of milk production per hectare of land and per kg of milk solid (MS) we compared the results with data from Sweden and Germany. The NZ system had three-fold lower eutrophication potential and acidification potential per kg of milk, twofold lower energy use and land use, and 50% to 80% lower global warming potential. “Even compared to Swedish and German organic farm systems, NZ milk production potential impacts per kg of milk were similar or most often lower, than those from Sweden and Germany.” Manning says NZ produces high quality food with the least environmental impact per unit of food produced and to do otherwise risks both the global environment and global farmer profitability.

technologies. We need new mitigation measures but there’s still lots of uncertainty.” British farmers say not enough notice is taken of carbon stored in soils but Rees says it is difficult to increase carbon stocks in soils that are part of stable land use systems. “Once you get to an equilibrium it is difficult to achieve an increase.” Demand side approaches also need to be considered, he says. “It’s pointless to provide whatever the consumer wants regardless of the carbon cost.” Reduced consumption of beef, lamb and dairy products and a corresponding cut in production might be part of the answer because they could cut emissions and increase carbon uptake.

DO LESS: Cutting production might be part of the answer for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions Scottish academic Professor Bob Rees says.

News

20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Food producers in pressure cooker This is the fourth in a series of articles by the latest crop of Nuffield Scholars. This week farmer Corrigan Sowman talks about pressure and how farmers think affect their mental health. WE ARE not alone as New Zealand farmers feeling the weight of change bearing down on us. It is a global trend. It has many different, complex drivers but two stand out – consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainability and farmers ability to capture it. The resulting pressure is evident a recent survey of Canadian farmers that found 45% have high levels of perceived stress, 58% met the criteria for anxiety classification and 35% met the criteria for depression. A United States survey found 30% of farmers say mental health is a major problem for them, 48% of rural residents have more mental health challenges than a year ago, younger people are the most vulnerable and 91% of farmers/farm staff say financial issues and fear of losing their farms affect their mental health. Recently in NZ a Ministry of Health Report presented to MPs showed suicide is up 20% in rural areas. Across the world this year while doing my Nuffield Scholarship I have seen incredible technical mastery in agriculture with yield increases, novel genetics, automation and precision and regenerative soil practices on a massive scale. But the stats don’t lie. Farmers are under increasing pressure like never before. To understand pressure I think there is no better place to start than with excellent Kiwi author and psychologist Dr Ceri Evans. In Evans’ book, Perform Under Pressure, he talks about pressure as high stakes, uncertainty, small margins, fast changes and judgment. And after my travels I’ve added

a sixth, losing one’s identity. I would like to highlight the last three because I think that is what is different right now and not just in NZ. Farmers are feeling overwhelmed by the pace of expected change and we are feeling judged like never before. It all contributes to questioning our identity as farmers. Evans talks about the red and blue parts of our mind in his book. He describes our red mind as the emotions side that helps us make quick decisions in the blink of an eye, the fight, flight or freeze skills we are conditioned with from birth. Our blue mind is the logical, systematic slower-thinking part. It helps us solve complex problems and communicate them to others. The problem with pressure, like the situations we now face with freshwater and climate regulations is we feel the weight of expectations, scrutiny and consequences building up and it triggers our red brain. We want to fight, we want to get out or just stop because we can’t see a future any more. However, the focus needs to be on what we can control, not what we can’t. As farmers we are well versed in managing around aspects we can’t control like the weather, trade distortions and currency and we have built robust systems to help influence the outcomes of this uncertainty the best we can. How we think, however, is something psychologists agree we can control. Twelve years ago New Zealand rugby realised it didn’t understand pressure either. Today, I suggest, our primary sector could take a lead from our ABs. We might have lost in the semi but even South African coach

WHO AM I? One of the biggest pressures farmers have is fear of losing their identity, Nuffield Scholar Corrigan Sowman says.

Rassie Erasmus recognises the All Blacks’ consistency makes them the team to benchmark off. Why? They have learned how they think is as important as their technical efficiency. Our challenge individually and as a sector is to build on the great work started by FarmStrong and endorsed by the examples in Evans’ book. Can we build our ability to be more comfortable with the uncomfortable?

We have trained our All Blacks to become masters of better decision-making under pressure. Can we train ourselves? The regulation coming at agriculture is the gap we must overcome. Considering the information I have heard presented during my travels it’s not unrealistic given the demands of our customers and certainly tomorrow’s customers. A good place to start and

The focus needs on what we can control, not what we can’t.

something every one of us can control is how we think under pressure. If you haven’t visited FarmStrong or seen Evans’ book, I recommend them.

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production is not jeopardised. “We need food Neal Wallace so other sectors need to do better. neal.wallace@globalhq .co.nz “This is a breath of someone to finally fresh air for HE red meat industry say Rankin says while that.” hopes to ramp up its reports have been previous Taste Pure Nature scathing of farming, this one brand campaign is less so. on “I felt like this the back of the report has helped latest international climate us turn a corner, that change report. affected by climate farmers are change but we The Intergovernmental also really need them.” Panel on Climate Change The report found (IPCC) report global food is being welcomed systems account by New for a quarter of Zealand farming greenhouse gas leaders as an emissions and endorsement of agricultural emissions our low impact of nitrous systems and the oxide and methane importance of are increasing. maintaining food But land also has a role production. as a The IPCC says carbon sink, absorbing land on which 30% of the we rely for food, planet’s greenhou water, se gas emissions health and wellbeing energy, between 2008 and 2017. is already under pressure Crop productio and climate n is being change will exacerbat affected by higher temperatures, through desertifica e that changing rain patterns tion degradation potentiall and land frequency of extreme and greater y affecting events. food security. The report warns consump tion The report’s advocacy patterns, land management and balanced diet including of a population growth will determine animal protein sourced the planet’s future from resilient, in a changing sustainable, low climate. greenhou systems is an endorsem se gas “Pathways with higher demand ent for NZ, for Beef + Lamb chief food, feed, and insight officer water, more ON-FARM training Jeremy Baker says. resource-intensive courses have an consumption important role to “This is the NZ She said there should and productio play n and more limited red always future, Feilding High in agriculture’s be an opportunity production system. meat technological improvem Reesby said the to role that form Meaghan Reesby School student ents training because do practical of training plays “It is definitely in agriculture yields, says. trained staff have in increasing the not saying that The year 13 pupil result in a better understand skills of people in we all need to higher risks from ing of how their agriculture should become vegetarian agri-commerce at plans study water scarcity workplaces, such not be overlooked Massey University or vegan.” in drylands, land as farms, function, and any future next year but said degradation and which is good for changes in how not everyone employers and It is an opportun food insecurity training course are interested in agriculture employees. .” ity to ramp delivered needs wants to go up promotion to remember that. Report contribut to university. of the Taste Pure Feilding High School The daughter of or Associate Himatangi dairy Nature brand, Professor Anita Some people prefer can build their practicalpupils farmers, Meaghan’s to tell Wreford, of farming brother global meat eaters 40 million on approach, whether a more handsLincoln University works experience while on the family farm, about NZ’s low’s Agribusiness that is through at school by complementing a cadetship or beginning carbon footprint, and Economic taking courses offered what he learns at he says. Research Unit, work with building their knowledge a job and Gateway, a programme through DairyNZ climate says it shows the practical courses, through change importance of for young while her sister courses offered people in their last ambassador Trish also is also full time not implemen by workplace year of school ting contradictory Rankin is training providers that allows them fitting her Massey on the farm, heartened the policies. such as Primary to report says some course work ITO. training made up complete around that. sectors need to “The report is of theory and reduce their highly practical unit standards. emissions faster for NZ as we grapple relevant to ensure food MORE: trade-offs involved with the greenhouse gas P3 emissions, with reducing adapting to the change, managing impacts of climate the we value and maintainiareas supporting our communities and ng and societies in this process.

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Newsmaker

22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Translating science into farm action As part of a commitment to improve its software for farmers and growers Overseer has appointed Dr Jacquie Harper as its first chief scientist. Colin Williscroft reports.

agrievents Tuesday 03/03/2020 - Thursday 12/03/2020 DairyNZ Farmers’ Forums, Southland, Taranaki and Canterbury Hear about the latest changes on and off-farm. Research updates will cover: wintering practices (Southland), autumn calving (Taranaki) and variable milking intervals (Canterbury). Register at: dairynz.co.nz/farmersforum. Wednesday 18/03/2020 Whangarei Agricultural Pastoral Society Karen Williams - National Board Member and Arable Industry Group Chairperson Federated Farmers of New Zealand Insights into the NZ Arable Industry. Venue: Barge Showgrounds Events Centre, Whangarei Time: 5.30-7.30pm Contact: business@wap.org.nz for more info. AWDT Understanding Your Farming Business & Wahine Maia, Wahine Whenua 3 full-day workshops and an evening graduation ceremony run over four months. Equips and supports women involved in sheep and beef farming to lift business performance. Delivered in over 30 locations around NZ. Registrations for 2020 programmes are now open, visit the website for more information and to register. Locations and dates (3 modules & graduation): • Kurow: 26 Feb, 25 Mar, 22 Apr & 20 May • Timaru: 27 Feb, 26 Mar, 23 Apr & 21 May • Onewhero: 26 Feb, 25 Mar, 22 Apr & 20 May • Other locations available from 29th April (refer to website) Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info AWDT Future Focus Programme designed for red meat farming partnerships to plan their business together. 2 full-day workshop delivered over two months. Delivered in over 20 locations around NZ. Registrations for 2020 programmes are now open. Visit the website for more information and to register Locations and dates (2 modules): • Alexandra: 3 Mar & 31 Mar • Gore: 4 Mar & 1 Apr • Rotorua: 10 Mar & 7 Apr • Taumarunui: 11 Mar & 8 Apr • Other locations available from 29th April (refer to website) Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info Red Meat Profit Partnership - Farm Business Transition and Succession workshop series Designed to take farm businesses through transition and succession, the series includes three half day workshops spread over a three-four-month period followed by a one-onone clinic. Workshops begin March 2020 in 20 locations across New Zealand, fully funded for sheep or beef farmers. For more information and to register go to www.rmpp.co.nz. Red Meat Profit Partnership- Aspiring to Farm Business Management and Ownership workshop A one-day workshop developed for individuals or couples wishing to manage or own a sheep or beef farm business. Available in 10 locations across New Zealand from March-June 2020, the workshop is fully funded by RMPP. For more information and to register go to www.rmpp.co.nz. AWDT It’s all about YOU programme It’s all about YOU is a two-day personal development programme for women involved in the primary sector or rural communities. You’ll discover your true value, refocus on what is important, explore possibilities and create new networks. Locations and dates: • Masterton: 24 & 25 Feb • Milton 26 & 27 March • Hastings: 27 & 28 Feb • Whangarei 28 & 29 May • Cromwell: 18 &19 March • Matamata 18 & 19 June Visit the website for more information and to register www. awdt.org.nz/programmes or call Tess on 06 375 8180 for more info.

Should your important event be listed here? Phone 0800 85 25 80 or email adcopy@globalhq.co.nz

VERSEER’S first chief scientist Jacquie Harper likes turning science into effective action so her new role suits her down to the ground. Harper will lead Overseer’s science strategy and will focus on embedding a robust, evidence-based science framework that integrates agricultural and environmental science along with innovation into OverseerFM. She will look to strengthen engagement between science and the industry so Overseer is the best possible modelling tool for New Zealand’s primary sector. Chief executive Caroline Read says Harper’s appointment reflects Overseer’s commitment to transparent and scientifically robust development of the tool. “We want to work across the science sector to ensure credibility of the science behind OverseerFM and to support ongoing capture of new science innovation into the software. “It is important that we strike the right balance between ensuring scientific rigour and incorporating new innovation to support NZ farmers to achieve the environmental outcomes asked of them.” Harper, who has been at Overseer for about four months, has extensive experience in science strategy, evaluation and how it translates to industry. She has led science and science evaluation projects across a range of disciplines including biomedicine, chemistry and engineering and is a member of the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee. A large chunk of her 18 years’ involvement with the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research – 15 years as an employee and the final three as a contractor – involved working on a range of multidisciplinary projects. That allowed her to develop expertise across a variety of industries and skill sets. A lot of the work was based around how science can add value to industry, delivering

TAKING ACTION: Jacquie Harper is committed to helping farmers deliver on new environmental expectations.

science that’s useful and fit for purpose. Harper’s no stranger to the primary sector having been involved with mastitis studies for AgResearch, identifying potential markets for what were once considered beef and lamb waste products and examining the antiinflammatory properties of Comvita products. She also spent time at Plant and Food Research, where she investigated the health and wellbeing qualities of berryfruit and how they could be translated into new income streams. In her latest role Harper says proactive, two-way science and industry engagement are vital to ensure the agricultural and environmental sectors can have confidence in OverseerFM. Initially, her focus will be on a strategy to foster codevelopment of necessary science, concentrating on engagement, science uptake and evaluation to deliver the right balance. “We will also be establishing a regular review process that will provide independent science oversight to support the robust development of the science model that underpins OverseerFM.” Harper has always leaned towards jobs that involve turning science into action so the Overseer position is exactly the sort of role she was looking for. “It’s a way of taking science and delivering it nationally to help people make a real difference so that it’s good

for farmers and good for the environment. “I really enjoy seeing science translate into action, to making a difference at a national level. “It’s nice to know that industry is going to pick it up.” She’s recently been talking to scientists who are doing the work on the ground, like those at Crown research institutes, to make sure Overseer has a visible science focus and is open for science collaboration. That’s included attending the recent Farmed Landscapes Research Centre workshop in Palmerston North, which was a good chance to present the strategy to those at the research coalface. A key function of her role is ensuring science is part of discussions Overseer has with the industry, bringing scientists closer to industry partners. That includes working out how to manage expectations of industry and scientists, such as how and when the science is delivered, which will help provide clarity across the board, not only asking farmers if it is what they want but also explaining why changes have been made. Critical to that is identifying an industry need then talking to the scientific community about how to fill those gaps in information. It could also involve going back to the industry for comment around proposals to ensure the science can be translated into usable practice.

She says Overseer already has a focus on engagement but she wants to ensure there are processes in place around what science is done and what is delivered in practice. For that to happen it’s fundamental farmers see value in Overseer, what it can bring to the farm and how it can help their decisionmaking. Harper says she has huge respect for the rural sector and it’s important farmers have confidence in what Overseer can do for them and that it’s underpinned by good science. Part of the job involves managing people’s expectations so everyone involved understands not only the needs around what’s driving the work but also setting realistic time frames because though something might be wanted tomorrow, that’s not always possible. On the flip side scientists need to understand they can’t always just do what they want so they need to respond to industry demand. For the next couple of years Harper plans to build on open collaboration between the industry and science as a way of delivering positive impacts in intended areas. “We want to bring through the best tool we can to help farmers make decisions and to make sure people can see there is strong science coming through to support that. “It’s about helping farmers make positive changes on their farms.”

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Households lead on food waste Consumers create waste and boost greenhouse gas emissions by not using all the food they buy while agriculture is playing its part by upcycling its waste into high-value protein. Richard Rennie reports.

ONSUMERS need to front up to the amount of food they waste at home as a new report tips past estimates of food waste on its head. Wageningen University in the Netherlands says food heading to landfills might be double what was originally thought and comes from households rather than just supply chains. The standard estimate for global food waste has been based on a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimate in 2005. It said about a third of all food available for human consumption is wasted – about 1.25 billion tonnes a year produced off 1b hectares of land. But the Dutch research found the FAO work was based only on supply line losses. It failed to account for consumer behaviour and growing affluence increasing waste and accompanying carbon emissions. Globally the FAO figures were already eye-wateringly significant, with waste’s greenhouse gas emissions of 3.5 billion tonnes of carbon making it the third biggest source, behind the United States but ahead of India. If that figure is doubled, waste comes just behind China, which

NZ’s top 5 wasted foods • Bread 10% • Leftover meals 8% • Oranges/mandarins 4% • Apples 3% • Potatoes 3% Source: WasteMINZ survey, 2013

produced 9.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018. Federated Farmers environment spokesman Andrew Hoggard said the new report puts the focus firmly on consumer behaviour as the farming sector grapples with carbon emissions and waste issues. “When you look at companies like Watties and Talleys, the waste at that level is minimal, and often fed to stock. “Agriculture is playing its part in minimising food waste loss with a lot of plant-based waste material being up-cycled into high-value protein. “As farmers we probably don’t think a lot about the role we have already played in reducing food waste.” Combining data from FAO, the World Bank and World Health Organisation the researchers found once consumers’ wealth hits a spending threshold of $6.70 a person a day, consumer food waste rises. The rise is rapid at first then slows significantly at higher levels of affluence. Matching data with human metabolism figures, the researchers found estimated waste was 527kCal a person a day for 2015, almost double the FAO estimate. In New Zealand consumers are estimated to waste 157,000t of food a year, based on the FAO estimates. That is equivalent of 271 fully laden 747s and worth about $1.17b a year. Over-catering and improper storage are the main reasons for the waste. In 2018 the average NZ household wasted $644 or about 86kg of food.

DOUBLE: Food waste is now calculated to be twice as much as previous estimates.

A surprising amount of the food wasted was in the home as fruit and vegetables. Katherine Rich Food and Grocery Council The waste category for NZ’s carbon emissions accounts for 5% of NZ’s green house gas emissions but does not break out food separately. However, a portion of agricultural emissions will by default also form part of that as protein and plant products grown and processed are wasted, rather than being consumed.

Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich said a surprising amount of the food wasted is in the home as fruit and vegetables. “There’s a case for more education because we are all concerned about how the world feeds nearly 10b people by 2050 and reducing food waste will be big part of that. “Food waste is a key focus for all food and beverage manufacturers and suppliers because waste equals lost money. “Many food manufacturers and supermarkets have close working relationships with community groups such as Food Rescue, Kibosh, Kiwi Harvest and others who pass it on to those less advantaged.” A good example of trying to reduce waste is through very simple strategies such as the Ugly Fruit movement, where there is

a section in some supermarkets where perfectly edible but not as attractive fruit is sold at a lower price. Supermarkets are already onto waste with in-house programmes supplying charities and organisations. A Countdown spokeswoman said the chain has been donating food to charities since 2011 and all stores have a food diversion programme in place, with the Salvation Army being its biggest outlet. “We have publicly stated our goal towards zero food waste to landfill and report this activity annually in our sustainability report.” The research authors said having a threshold for consumer wealth provides a target from which to launch earlier intervention policies to prevent food waste becoming a problem.

March 2020

Breeding & Gen etics n

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Living the

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Central Platea knew from an u herd manager early age he to go farming wanted

Our OnFarmStory this month features Central Plateau herd manager Mihaka Beckham who talks about his love of dairying. Breeding and genetics Mating decisions are being made. We talk to farmers about what they are doing and highlight some of the options. Effluent Plan ahead to ensure compliance over the wet winter months when effluent management can be a bit trickier.

Get the full story at farmersweekly.co.nz

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Whirlwind pro gression to 5050 sharemilking Synlait boss kep t busy Surviving volatil ity in the dairy business

Opinion

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

EDITORIAL Disease brings new challenges

ELL that escalated quickly. Ten days ago Ospri told Farmers Weekly the Hawke’s Bay bovine Tuberculosis outbreak was limited to a small cluster of properties on the NapierTaupo road. Now, in an effort to stop it spreading further, 572 farms have been basically put on lockdown. Those properties stretch down to the edge of Hastings. It’s enough to make you wonder just what’s going on with those entrusted to keep us safe from disease. Farmers spoken to by Farmers Weekly say possum trapping in the infected area has dropped off in recent years. One who’s lived in several regional council zones said that possum control programmes were not the same from region to region. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. Weaner fairs are coming up in a few weeks and with the dry summer farmers are looking to move stock off farm to free up some feed. With the need for testing and a stand down period things could grind to a halt. That’s a headache farmers don’t need as they budget feed supplies and look to maximise returns in a falling market. The Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme is ongoing. Despite more than 100,000 animals killed there is still a rising number of infected properties. Farmer confidence in the ability of regulators, councils and ministries to take care of our borders and farms is eroding pretty quickly. This latest TB outbreak just adds to the uncertainty. Just last week the Government was trumpeting the eradication of pea weevils from Wairarapa. That’s great for arable farmers there who can add another lucrative crop to the rotation. But beef is our bread and butter in New Zealand and keeping stock flowing around the yards and around the country is vital. Without transparency and the certainty information brings, farmers can’t function.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Will we get truth on TB spread? ONCE again those affected in this “small cluster” of nine TB infected farms are blaming the possum as the infecting vector. They, along with Ospri’s spin doctors, ignore the fact herd movement is the major vector of new TB infection in cattle and deer herds. Since August 3 2009 I have collated information supplied by the Animal Health Board, Ospri, TB-Free and other relevant agencies. The total number of herds infected by herd movement now stands at 43. The total number of herds infected with TB by possums is zero but ferrets have been blamed as the vector for three Southland herd infections. The possum has been blamed at times but under further questioning of the

SCAPEGOAT: Possums, rather than cattle movements, are again blamed for TB.

agency making the claim those claims have been dropped and usually replaced by herd movement as the vector. Similarly, reported clusters, such as the recently reported nine herds, have occurred in Taranaki in August 2009, Mid Canterbury, 2011, Taranaki, May 2013, Rangitata, October 2013, Northland, February 2014, Waikato, April 2014, Southland, July 2014. There are other single herds where herd movement caused new infections.

The failure of the always deeply flawed Nait scheme, controlled by the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ospri, to keep track of herd movements means TB will forever be a problem in New Zealand. Ultimately, it also contributed to the rapid spread of Mycoplasma bovis in dairy herds. In July 2016 the Advertising Standards Authority decided Ospri’s advertised claim possums were responsible for

half of new TB infections in cattle and deer herds was not supported by the evidence. The authority ruled the Ospri advert breached the industry code of ethics requiring truthful presentation and social responsibility. Will Ospri give us verifiable, factual evidence relating to the real, not speculative, cause behind this new cluster of TB infections? I doubt it. Ron Eddy Nelson

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Keeping the pressure on M bovis Damien O’Connor

TTEMPTING eradication of Mycoplasma bovis was a bold decision with no country having tried it before. However, the estimated economic impact of allowing the disease to spread was $1.3 billion in lost productivity in the cattle industries in just the first 10 years. And on top of that are increased antibiotic use, animal welfare issues and having to make fundamental changes to how freely we can move cattle to grass, limiting our potential industry growth. It has not been an easy fight but it’s one we are winning. The independent Technical Advisory Group says eradication is feasible. We are testing more farms and finding fewer cases. More than 93% of farms put under restrictions because of a risk of infection are found to be clear of disease. On average it is taking fewer than five days to put farms under restrictions when risk is identified. The Bulk Tank Milk Surveillance programme shows us the disease is not widespread and we are finding infected farms. On average only nine farms a month are now having a detect result on this screening test and 97% are found to not be infected after on-farm testing. We have also begun testing a random selection of beef farms, alongside Tb testing, to assure us the disease is not established in the beef breeding herd. The compensation process, which was taking too long in some cases, has been greatly improved. It’s more agile, has more expert advice from industry and is getting payments done quicker. More than $127 million has now been paid out in compensation and 90% of claims lodged have been processed.

The

Pulpit

Part of the reason the programme is starting to see success has been the partnership between the Ministry for Primary Industries and its industry partners DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb. They have developed meaningful ways to work together in the field and to govern and lead the programme from the boardroom.

It has not been an easy fight but it’s one we are winning.

Farmers are contributing 32% of the total cost of the eradication effort, including compensation, and the industry groups have made substantial contributions in time and resources to the programme’s operations. Having the industry and farmers at the table has fundamentally improved the effort and has shown us the way forward for future biosecurity incursions. While we are still working to

NO EXCUSES: Every farmer is responsible for meeting Nait obligations, Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says.

halt the spread of the disease and cannot ease our efforts now we are also making sure we can reach the next phase, which is running a long-term surveillance programme to give us confidence we have achieved freedom from disease. That is likely to involve ongoing bulk tank milk testing and testing at slaughter and on-farm testing of beef stock. With weaner sales starting and Moving Day not far away all cattle farmers need to focus on making sure they are completely Nait compliant. Accurate Nait records are our greatest weapon against the spread of M bovis and we are still seeing far too many farmers failing to comply.

The dedicated Nait compliance team at MPI is cracking down and issuing infringements and taking prosecutions against the most serious offenders. It is your responsibility to make sure you meet your Nait obligations – tag every animal, register the tag against it in the system and record every movement – no excuses. The impact on the farmers affected by M bovis and the steps required to eradicate it cannot be understated. We will continue to do everything we can to support them – to get decisions made quickly and on the ground, to get compensation paid quickly and to get farms and farmers back to farming free from this disease.

I want to thank every farmer who has worked through the hardship of M bovis for their efforts to get through such a challenging period and get back for farming.

Who am I? Damien O’Connor is Biosecurity, Food Safety, Rural Communities and Agriculture Minister and Minister of State for Export Trade and Growth.

Your View Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across? The Pulpit offers readers the chance to have their say. farmers.weekly@globalhq.co.nz Phone 06 323 1519

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Opinion

26 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Water issues bring people together Alternative View

Alan Emerson

EVERY now and then an event happens that restores my faith in human nature. It is happening in Wairarapa on the subject of water storage. God knows, we need it but in the past it seems that we had an army of antis. Now it appears most, certainly the important people, are very much prepared to discuss the issue in a calm and unemotive manner. It is good to see. In Wairarapa we have three MPs. National’s Alastair Scott is the electorate MP, Ron Mark is a NZ First list MP based in Carterton and Kieran McAnulty is a Labour list MP based in Masterton. They all support water storage as do the area’s mayors, local iwi and farming and business leaders. Everyone seems willing to consider the project. That’s a rare occurrence in New Zealand today and a credit to the broader Wairarapa community and it’s leadership. The initiative comes after retired cabinet minister Steve

Maharey developed a Wairarapa Growth Strategy. It is a document I totally support. At the launch Maharey said the area’s economy is based on agriculture but there is enormous interest in adding value to the agricultural commodities and exporting to the world. Water storage is a major feature of that. From a farming perspective the use of that water is not for dairying but crops. There is a push to develop new cropping options but that won’t happen without water. In addition, local industries need a solid, reliable water supply. Timber company Juken Nisho contributes $300 million to the local economy and directly employs 200 people. It needs 300,000 to 350,000 litres of water a day to operate. NZ’s largest ham and bacon supplier needs 51,000 cubic metres daily. It directly employs almost 300. If companies can’t get regular, reliable and cost-effective water they will inevitably move elsewhere, taking their jobs with them. Wairarapa is additionally fortunate in having Dame Margaret Bazley as Growth Strategy chairwoman. She is committed to the area and legendary in her ability to get things done.

Her aim is to improve the standard of living and keep our young people here. So far the water initiative has been largely funded by local and regional government. A fortnight ago we received a huge boost with the announcement by Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau of a $7.1m investment from the Provincial Growth Fund. Announcing the investment Tabuteau said the money is designed to unlock environmentally sustainable economic growth opportunities in Wairarapa. How can you argue with that? The money will go to the preconstruction development of the storage infrastructure as well as the development of a water resilience strategy. It is a massive boost for the region. As they say, there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before the scheme is up and running but its completion is vital for Wairarapa’s future wellbeing. After all, the proposed scheme ticks all the boxes. Climate change is making the province a lot drier. Not trying to mitigate that would be criminal negligence. There are domestic water restrictions across the area. Having

CROP THAT: Irrigated water is about new cropping options, not dairy farms.

a storage facility would prevent that. The Wairarapa Water Resilience Committee is also chaired by Bazley. She is passionate about having a resilient province. “We’ll get there and to get there we’ll have to work together. It’s about everyone pulling together to get a strategy which should have been done years ago,” she said. Local Feds president William Beetham is also on the Water Resilience Group. “It’s crucial to the future of our communities that we have water resilience. It shows there is a much better alignment between the urban and rural communities than people give us credit for.” he said. While Wairarapa is getting on top of its climate change issues it seems other parts of the country aren’t so lucky. Hawke’s Bay has a major problem with river flows. You probably won’t see many opponents of the condemned Ruataniwha Dam today. Tasman has a major issue and remember the shrill opposition to the Waimea storage scheme.

Northland is in crisis. Auckland has major issues with water. The council is pleading with people to limit showers, among other things. That will surely create more of a stink than normal in the Queen’s City. Maybe they could move to Wairarapa, the intelligent ones anyway. I said the community has supported the Wairarapa growth strategy and the water storage investigation. As with all things there is always one. Local Fish and Game supremo Phil Teal told us the water strategy provides a short-sighted focus on economic issues. So, F&G will ignore the prosperity of the entire province so someone can kill a fish. Rocks are made for crawling under.

Your View Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath-emerson@wizbiz.net.nz

Dry weather turns tricky into serious From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

THINGS have gone from tricky to serious in much of the North Island. The area from northern Waikato through Auckland and into Northland has definitely been in a drought for some time. Here in Hawke’s Bay and at other parts of the east coast we have been saying this is a decent period of dry weather but I think you’d have to call it a drought now. It is being compounded by a number of factors – the covid-19 virus and its impact on tight killing space at a time farmers are desperate to shift stock, ongoing Mycoplasma bovis issues and now a very large bovine tuberculosis movement control area in northern Hawke’s Bay, which is affecting more than 500 farms, are combining to turn this into a perfect storm. The worst affected areas are farmers in the western foothills of the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges.

They would normally expect spillover rain from the west. But that hasn’t been forthcoming and they didn’t have a great spring leading into this. Their soils are lighter, they lamb and calve later so are more stocked up and these are the months when they would normally expect to make their money but are really struggling. Creeks and streams used for extracting stock water have never dried up before but have now for the first time. Lack of stock water is an unpleasant novelty for what is usually our rain belt. Farmers towards the coast where they have no running water but rely on dams are also running into limited stock water as the dams run out, even some of the well-maintained dams. The old adage that you cannot farm without water has never been truer. An agent did say to me the other day it is the same folk who complain about the difficulties with stock water every time it’s dry. It made me think about that. I used to have similar difficulties though I’m fortunate to have spring-fed creeks running through both properties. Over successive droughts from the mid 1980s onwards I have added pumps, several tanks and

THIRSTY: Even well maintained dams on the North Island’s east coast are drying up.

more than doubled my troughs from 60 to 130 and, of course, laid a fair bit of alkathene. Added up, it will have been a decent cost but it has been done incrementally. Now my water systems are pretty good but certainly require regular attention in case anything goes wrong. I recommend farmers go to the Ministry for Primary Industries website and search for the document about the economics of stock water systems on hill country, which was a study done

in 2017 and showed an average rate of return of 50% and an average payback period of three years. That is as good a return as you can get anywhere. I guess the lesson from this episode is to understand and identify where the stresses and limitations are in your water supply systems and do something about them so it doesn’t happen next time we are dealing with this. And it will come again. We have recently had several fires in Central Hawke’s Bay and

our volunteer firefighters and those who came in to support them have done fantastic work at great personal expense. But lack of water has been a constraint. If we had a major earthquake now Napier and Hastings wouldn’t collapse as badly as in 1931 because of the improved building codes but they would certainly be razed by fires that couldn’t be put out because of the water shortage. I was a long-time advocate of the Ruataniwha Dam and had many battles with the greenies and conservationists and pointed out they would be the first ones clamouring for water if their house was burning down. If that dam was in now there wouldn’t be irrigation bans, bores for farm and house water wouldn’t be drying up, the local town water supplies wouldn’t be under extreme pressure, the Tukituki River wouldn’t be 29C, the trout wouldn’t be giving up the ghost, the native fish would be happy and the aquifer would be able to be recharged. But there is no dam. Damn it.

Your View Steve Wyn-Harris is a Central Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer. swyn@xtra.co.nz

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Black swan casts long shadow The Braided Trail

Keith Woodford

KEEP IT TIGHT: If quarantine and travel restrictions are relaxed before eradication the virus will fan out explosively as in Wuhan.

200 times greater than mortality rates for common influenza. This is serious stuff. The epidemiology I follow closely is for Singapore, Japan and the specific situation of the Diamond Princess cruise ship. After that I follow Chinese provinces such as Zhejiang and Guangdong which are telling their own stories. In relation to Wuhan and Hubei, I largely ignore them in terms of understanding the epidemiology, beyond recognising there is a huge epidemic and the authorities are overwhelmed. They have now acknowledged they don’t know the true level of infection. As I write this Singapore has 67 confirmed infections, nearly all in clusters. The Singapore health authorities release detailed information daily for all relevant cases including age, gender and the specific location in Singapore where they believe the person was infected together with consequent high-risk contact situations. Very few other countries will be able to match this level of precision and transparency but the confirmed cases are still growing each day. So far there have been no deaths in Singapore but 12% of the cases are in a critical condition. Other cases have not yet had time to get to that situation. The virus appears to have got less of a head-start in Japan than in Singapore. That increases the chance Japan can close it down through strict quarantine. In contrast, the situation on the Diamond Princess at Yokohama demonstrates how in a confined environment the virus runs rampant. It is all very well to restrict passengers to their cabins but the disease is circulating in the crew and not all crew can be confined. I could write a lot more about

the epidemiology but the key message is the virus is unlikely to be shut down without very high levels of quarantine. Also, the delay between infection and symptoms combined with infectiousness during this period mean shutting the disease down will be a slow process with ongoing breakouts. If quarantine and travel restrictions are relaxed before eradication the virus will fan out explosively as in Wuhan. However, I do have modest confidence a vaccine will become available in less than the oftquoted minimum of a year. I think China will short-circuit the stage 1 trials and there will be no shortage of volunteers. The key impact of a vaccine, given to high-risk people not already infected, will be to complement community-wide quarantining to reduce infection. It is unlikely to benefit those already infected. So, what does all this mean in terms of implications for economic activity? My assessment is global tourism is going to be greatly affected. For New Zealand it will mean not only from China and elsewhere in Asia but from Europe, with most of those tourists typically transiting through Asia. The cruise industry will grind to a halt. I cannot see a rebound in less than a year. Similarly, the international education market will take a full year to recover. I expect the forestry sector to suffer a major downturn but the rebound will come faster than for tourism. It will come when China can get its infrastructure development programme running again. However, infrastructure development will be only a second-level priority for China. China’s food production industries will be given priority

and I am hearing from Chinese sources that this is already occurring. However, it is almost inevitable that there will be supply delays, with crop farmers struggling to get chemicals and animal farmers struggling to buy feed. For example, nearly all the big dairy farms buy their feed, including imports, elsewhere. Almost certainly China will give port priority to food imports. As one related example, I am advised China has given highlevel guarantees that NZ cattle shipments on the water will be given absolute priority on arrival. Similarly, I expect milk-powder imports will be given high priority. However, the meat logistics are more complex. At least in the short term a lot might depend on the status of Dalian Port and the convoluted internal meatprocessing supply chain. Fingers crossed on that one. Another reason why agricultural export returns will be buffered over time is that I expect to see the NZ foreign exchange rate decline because, as an export and import focused economy, we will be affected more than Europe and the United States. We will earn more NZ dollars for our exports but imports will become more expensive. That will affect inflation. One of the remarkable features of the global covid-19 black swan event to date is that global stock markets have been barely affected. I think that is because those markets have been unable to price the risk. It might also reflect the lack of alternatives investors face. Trying to predict share markets is an art well beyond my capabilities but I do express some surprise at the resilience of those markets. The combined effects economywide of tourism, forestry

and international-education downturns seem particularly relevant for NZ. Substantial loss of jobs seems inevitable.

Your View Keith Woodford was Professor of farm management and agribusiness at Lincoln University for 15 years to 2015. He is now principal consultant at AgriFood Systems. He can be contacted at kbwoodford@gmail.com

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COVID-19 is the black swan event no-one saw coming. There is no precedent and so historical models tell us very little about the global health and economic implications. Much of the commentary is both facile and fallacious, often tailored to fit prior perspectives and in other cases based on fundamental ignorance. My own take on events is the global outcomes are going to be major and covid-19 is going to be with us as a global black swan all this year. But export-focused agri-food will be less affected than most sectors. For those not familiar with the term black swan, it is a random event unable to be given a risk probability in advance that changes many things. The associated hypothesis is that most of the mega-events that truly change the world are black swans. The original black-swan notion goes back to a belief some 2000 years ago in Rome that black swans were birds that did not exist – in those days no-one apart from Australian Aborigines knew there really were black swans living in Australia. They have now been released and established in many places. However, black-swan thinking has now developed to being about low-probability, unpredictable events, both good and bad, that change the world and are then rationalised with hindsight. If we want to understand something about the covid-19 black swan then the starting point has to be the emerging epidemiology. From what we already know this is a virus that behaves with fundamental differences to common influenza, with common influenza traversing the globe each year with mutating forms, low death rates and infection following the path of winter seasonality. Covid-19 is also fundamentally different in its epidemiology to Sars, despite belonging to the same broad category of corona viruses. The key features of covid-19 are that it is highly infectious and transmission can occur before symptoms are evident. This early transmission is the reason why control is much more difficult than was the situation with Sars, for example. At this stage it is difficult to estimate the true mortality rate for covid-19 because deaths typically do not occur until at least two weeks after symptoms are evident. However, there is an emerging consensus it could end up about 2%, perhaps more. That is about

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Opinion

28 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Meat exports hold up despite covid-19 Meaty Matters

Allan Barber

AGAINST a very uncertain economic background caused directly by the outbreak of covid-19 coronavirus one thing remains certain – the Chinese population must still have food to eat and their government has to make sure they can get it, though the purchase channels might have changed. Consequently, it appears some importers are prepared to place large orders for prompt delivery though port congestion, particularly at the larger ports like Shanghai and Tianjin, poses real problems for shipping schedules. Logistics problems have resulted in shipping companies applying a surcharge to China shipments while insurers are not prepared to cover non-arrival of consignments. These factors must reflect in schedules. Exporters are cautiously optimistic business is gradually returning to normal after the extended Chinese New Year though their optimism is clearly tempered by a lack of knowledge about the time before the virus threat can be considered under control. Affco chief executive Nigel Stevens says the company is taking a measured approach and, in the short term, some product has had to be diverted to alternative

markets at a lower price than previously paid by China or has incurred further processing or storage costs. But the underlying protein shortage in China underpins consumer demand and prices have stabilised somewhat after the sizable pre-Christmas fall. Alliance chairman Murray Taggart says there has been a significant decline in sales through food service offset by a lift in retail and e-commerce but product is moving and being paid for. With its Chinese partner Grand Farms, Alliance decided late last year to divert shipments to smaller, less congested ports with the positive result no delays have been experienced. Apart from the impact of floods on its Southland supplier base the co-operative’s China situation means Taggart is, in his own words, feeling pretty good about life. Silver Fern Farms and Anzco each report a similar pattern. Both companies see continuing strong demand for product but an inevitable delay before trade returns to normal. None of these four major exporters has any concern about the longer-term effect on beef and sheep meat prices, which have settled at a sustainable level still considerably better than the historical average. Since the early December peak prime beef has dropped from about $6.30/kg to a still acceptable $4.90 while lamb has fallen from the stratospheric heights of $9 to a more realistic $7.10. Schedules reflect many different factors including exchange rates, product destinations, carcase cuts, processing and distribution costs and seasonal livestock flows.

APPLAUD: Farmers should give meat companies credit for working very hard and successfully to process high livestock volumes and find a willing market for the product at acceptable prices.

Meat processors, not surprisingly, take the opportunity to reduce livestock premiums when plants are full. Exporters spoken to say their plants are running at full speed with overtime and Saturday shifts to handle suppliers’ need for space so in time schedules are likely to respond positively to a slowdown in throughput, market demand and exchange rate movements. This particular combination of factors – Chinese New Year, covid-19, drought in much of the country, floods in the far south and seasonal peak kills coming early – has put a lot of pressure on meat processors’ operational and logistics planning. SFF has worked hard to manage its market mix, storage and operations to achieve optimal production flows so it can handle its suppliers’ processing demands. At this point its North Island beef and sheep meat plants are running

ahead of last year’s volumes while SFF’s South Island beef plants have been working overtime since September. Frozen storage capacity is an issue for all processors because of higher numbers and the Chinese congestion. Stevens cites the shortage of external, third-party storage capacity licensed for product destined for China as a problem needing careful management. It underlines the importance of keeping product forms flexible and able to be moved to alternative markets, even at lower prices, if product intended for China cannot be shipped as planned. The prime beef and lamb kills are likely to have hit an earlier peak, which will see the pressure on processing and storage reduce sooner than normal. An early cow cull because of drought in the north will have less impact on shipments to China though

exporters will be hoping for some competitive tension when negotiating with United States grinding beef buyers. The price for manufacturing beef has fallen sharply since early December with US price offers dropping by a third from unsustainable levels though still above the five-year average. It is, as yet, impossible to predict the course of the covid-19 outbreak with no certainty it will be contained largely to Hubei province. NZ’s dependence on China for trade and tourism means our economy is under greater immediate threat than most. Amid the uncertainty NZ meat exporters appear to be coping well, possibly better than might have been hoped, but there are many potential twists and turns before the situation becomes clearer. At least the US-China trade dispute has been temporarily put on the back burner and no longer appears to be another reason for immediate concern. Meat processors and marketers don’t usually get a huge number of compliments because they are generally, if incorrectly, considered to be guilty of driving livestock prices down or underselling in the market. At times like these farmers should give them credit for working very hard and successfully to process high livestock volumes and find a willing market for the product at acceptable prices.

Your View Allan Barber is a meat industry commentator: allan@barberstrategic. co.nz, http://allanbarber.wordpress. com

Isolation sometimes has its advantages Off the Cuff

Andrew Stewart

I USED to like Corona. Many great things have come out of Mexico including tequila, that spirited drink associated with shots, boozy nights and crippling hangovers. Carlos Santana, one of the most gifted guitarists the world has ever seen is Mexican. The Mexican Wave, the iconic stadium crowd experience that brings boring spectacles to life is too. And Corona beer. Once a boutique beverage thought to be reserved for the posh Corona is now a mainstream beer throughout the world and a great summer thirst quencher. How such an iconic beer name came to be linked with the latest deadly virus has escaped me but the coronavirus ravaging China is

a global crisis in both health and trade. China has recorded its first day of triple digit deaths from the virus. More than 100 people died from it in 24 hours. There are those who argue that in the context of China’s huge population and other diseases we need to keep perspective about how big a problem this is. To give the coronavirus some perspective there are a number of other disease outbreaks the World Health Organisation monitors. According to its official figures the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed 2251 lives since April 2018. The truly frightening aspect of this disease is the mortality rate – 66% of those who catch it will die. In comparison the coronavirus has a mortality rate of 2.5%. Our own former New Zealander of the year Dr Lance O’Sullivan recently urged caution regarding the implications of coronavirus. “In 2003, 700 people in the world died from Sars. Sars is massive. It’s probably in the dictionary now because of the

fact it was so over-hyped. Seven hundred people died globally, about $80 billion was spent, it cost the world $80 billion. In that same year five million children under the age of five died globally. It’s crazy,” he said.

Farmers unable to sell before Christmas now have to watch their 2020 income decline at a sickening rate.

But I don’t think there can be any argument about how large an impact coronavirus is having on global trade. In NZ we have heard various commentary about a perfect storm of conditions that is stalling many parts of the economy. Dry conditions throughout the country coupled with China closing its borders to outside commerce have seen the value of many of our primary industries take a massive nosedive. In our sheep and beef farming sector I would describe the

situation as a metaphorical kick in the nuts. Lambs and ewes that were selling for record prices in the lead-up to Christmas have seen the values halved in some cases. Farmers unable to sell before Christmas now have to watch their 2020 income decline at a sickening rate. There is no question these outside factors have a massive impact on our industry. But we need to get much better at our forward thinking and planning to minimise our exposure to such events. Our society has become so heavily reliant on all things China over the past decade that we now rely on it to keep our economy afloat. And when something like coronavirus strikes we are left frighteningly exposed as our main trade destination simply puts up a closed sign. Our heavy reliance on one huge market was always going to be high-risk because China simply makes its own rules up as it goes along and the rest of the world just has to comply. But our meat processing companies, levy-payer

organisations and government departments all need to be far more proactive in spreading the risk for us farmers. Reliance on one single market might mean short-term price hikes but I for one would love to see more stability with our prices over a longer period. And if that means slightly less money when times are good, then so be it. Despite all this turmoil in our markets we need to remember there is a human element to all this. People are dying, others are gravely ill and many are living in fear of the unknown. We do all live in a very global society in 2020 and China’s problems very quickly become the rest of the world’s problems. So, despite the severe dry and tumbling prices, let’s be thankful we live in an isolated little country at the bottom of the world. As they say, as long as you have got your health.

Your View Andrew Stewart is a sheep and beef farmer and tourism operator in Rangitikei.

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Whakamarama 50 Goodall Road

Milk these big views!

Totalling 84.63ha over two titles, this great located dairy unit requires new ownership. Currently milking approx. 240 cows with additional lease land this farm has a best production of 102,000ms. The property is well equipped with a 300 cow capacity herd home, six bay calf rearing shed, five bay implement/workshop and a 30 aside herringbone shed. Given the location and appeal of the area it could be justifiable to discontinue dairying. The rolling contour and good racing system would make this a top-quality beef or cropping unit given its northeasterly lye. The family home which consists of seven bedrooms, three living areas and a swimming pool has attractive views overlooking the coastline. A second dwelling consists of three bedrooms providing great options for either accommodation for staff or a family operation, with local schooling only minutes away.

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Fri 20 Mar 2020 247 Cameron Road, Tauranga View 12-1pm Tue 25 Feb Ben Hickson 021 433 283 ben.hickson@bayleys.co.nz

SUCCESS REALTY LIMITED, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/2450325

FINAL NOTICE

Wairoa Country 1167 State Highway 2

172 hectares of clean, healthy hill country Located less than 10 minutes south of Wairoa and offering an attractive mix of contour, this farm was previously part of a larger operation, and is now being offered in its entirety as a standalone title. Consisting of mostly easy to medium healthy hill country, 3 hectares of northern road flats provide significant hay production. The western boundary stretches 1.2 kilometres alongside extensive railway reserve and State Highway 2. Water is sourced from man-made dams, and a stream which spans the front boundary of the farm, through easy contoured land. This is a rare opportunity to secure a parcel of this size, to either add to an existing operation, or establish as a standalone block, adding the desired infrastructure. Wairoa provides an exceptional farming climate, with a favourable spread of annual rainfall, and a great farming community.

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 12pm, Mon 9 Mar 2020 10 Reads Quay, Gisborne Stephen Thomson 027 450 6531 stephen.thomson@bayleys.co.nz Simon Bousfield 027 665 8778 simon.bousfield@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/2751627

MACPHERSON MORICE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY â€“ February 24, 2020

Tauranga 1932 Pyes Pa Road, Pyes Pa Deceased estate requires sale

Ahaura, West Coast 3564 State Highway 7 5

This 402 hectare grazing property is well located on SH36, being only 27km from Tauranga CBD and 36km from Rotorua. An easy commute to Tauranga City, this farm offers size and scale in a prime location that is seldom found. Varying contour throughout the property, approximately 170 hectares is made up of flat to undulating, 124 hectares in steeper hill country, 97 hectares in bush which is spread over the property with the balance being in a mature pine block. With two homes, a five stand woolshed and various shedding, the infrastructure is well set up to accommodate the different stock classes. Held in six titles with further subdivision a definite possibility. An opportunity for astute buyers looking for a first class rural investment.

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Thu 12 Mar 2020 247 Cameron Road, Tauranga View by appointment Ike Unsworth 027 429 6106 ike.unsworth@bayleys.co.nz SUCCESS REALTY LIMITED, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

To be sold! This Grey Valley gem is to be sold under the hammer in March no messing around. Being located in the sought after Grey Valley gives you the best of everything, schooling options, proximity to town being 25 minutes and great farming for man and beast alike. This property will be approximately 246 hectares once a small boundary adjustment has been completed. You have a 50 bail rotary shed with pellet and molasses feeding ability at the heart of this property and an underpass for ease of management. The soil type allows for the ability to grow a variety of summer and winter crops giving you flexible farming options. Two good homes plus a singlemans unit cover all your accommodation requirements.

Auction (unless sold prior) 1pm, Thu 26 Mar 2020 3 Deans Avenue, Christchurch View by appointment Austen Russell 027 441 7055 austen.russell@bayleys.co.nz Shari Ferguson 027 266 6850 shari.ferguson@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/5511694

bayleys.co.nz/2500971

RURAL 22 Weld Street Hokitika hokitika@pb.co.nz Office 03 755 8138

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Coastal dairying

Complete first farm package

DEADLINE SALE

WEB ID HKR74606 AWATUNA 759 Kumara Junction Highway Quality improvements and great location combined with a sustainable farming system are just some of the outstanding features of this prime coastal dairy farm located only minutes from the thriving town of Hokitika. 108 hectares freehold, 13.8 hectares DOC lease and approximately 8 hectares of crown land providing effective area of 120 hectares, milking 200 cows on a genuine low cost pasture based system. Modern 20 aside herringbone shed plus a full range of outbuildings. Complemented by the fully renovated four-bedroom homestead.

pb.co.nz

DEADLINE SALE View By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Tuesday 7th April, 2020 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior), at Property Brokers Hokitika, 22 Weld Street Hokitika

Gareth Cox

Mobile 021 250 9714 Office 03 975 4506 gareth@pb.co.nz

WEB ID HKR74637 KOWHITIRANGI 19 Cropp Road View By Appointment Our retiring vendors are committed to moving on, and willing to support the transfer of ownership of this property. On offer is a 114 hectare dairy platform situated in the Kokatahi / Kowhitirangi Valley, 20 minutes from Hokitika. Milk production averages 62,000 kgMS from 230 cows. Improvements include a 19 aside herringbone shed, 220 cow wintering herd home, and two homes. To complete the package our vendors offer Gareth Cox their 20 hectare effective runoff for sale by negotiation. Mobile 021 250 9714 Stock and plant available at valuation.

$2,050,000 + GST (IF ANY)

Office 03 975 4506 gareth@pb.co.nz

3 1 2

RURAL 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Lifestyle with many options

OPEN DAY WEB ID WHR74289

WELLSFORD 23 Biddle Road Take the short drive from Wellsford township to view this well presented lifestyle block of approximately 40 hectares. A wide array of improvements including a sunny and spacious bungalow of three-plus bedrooms, and separate garage with attached games room or office. Close to the farm house is a large implement shed (20m x 8m approx), a calf rearing shed close to the old 13-aside herringbone milking shed, a large workshop

with three phase power (ex-woolshed), and two haybarns.

TENDER

VIEW 1 & 8 Mar 1.00 - 2.00pm

TENDER closes Thursday 12th March, 2020 at The farm is set up on gently rolling pasture divided into 3.00pm, (unless sold prior) 24 main paddocks and four smaller ones connected by a limestone race. Two dams for stock water fed by a spring and farm runoff, plenty of mature shelter trees, and well maintained fences.

3 2

Catherine-Anne Wilson

Mobile 027 271 8551 Office 0800 367 5263 catherinew@pb.co.nz

Central Waikato - Prime location

OPEN DAY WEB ID TWR02606

OHAUPO 111 Mill Road A first-class 30.5 ha dairy support / beef finishing unit supported by a very good standard of improvements situated in an excellent central location between Te Awamutu, Cambridge & Hamilton

• Quality low maintenance 6 brm brick homestead on an VIEW 27 Feb & 5 Mar 1.00 - 3.00pm elevated site with panoramic views featuring spacious AUCTION 1.00pm, Thu 19th Mar, 2020, Te kitchen / dining, separate lounge, attached double Awamutu Golf Club, Kihikihi Road, Te Awamutu garage

• Flat to gentle rolling contour; silt loam & peat loam soils; Pukerimu District Water Scheme • Land use options include dairy, dairy support, beef finishing & maize growing • Farm amenities include a 6-bay implement shed / workshop & cattleyards

Genuine retiring vendors offer an outstanding opportunity to acquire a first-class unit with versatile land use.

pb.co.nz

On-Farm biosecurity protocols apply-vehicles/footwear to be cleaned prior to arrival

AUCTION

6 2 Brian Peacocke brianp@pb.co.nz

Mobile 021 373 113

RURAL 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Hill country living

Beautiful bareland - 98 ha

OPEN DAY

TENDER

WEB ID TUR74551 OHURA 592 Waitewhena Road VIEW 27 Feb & 5 Mar 10.00 - 12.00pm DEADLINE SALE closes Thursday 26th March, 2020 at This property is set in a very warm sheltered valley with 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) good soil types. The majority of the farm faces north with some south facing hills. 301 ha total area with approximately 250 ha effective grazing land, which is very typical for the area. There is approximately 15 ha of hay flats and they are easily accessed via a main track that is well maintained. The balance is medium to steeper hill country. This is complemented with a reliable and extensive water reticulation system with good water Katie Walker storage capacity out to concrete troughs. Regular Mobile 027 757 7477 fertiliser history. Office 07 895 7123

DEADLINE SALE

Home 07 895 7112 katiew@pb.co.nz

WEB ID FR74012 FEILDING Te Rakehou Road View By Appointment TENDER closes Wednesday 4th March, 2020 at 11.00am, Located 5 minutes from Feilding is this picturesque 98.4718 ha (subject to survey) drystock property, which Property Brokers Ltd, 54 Kimbolton Road, Feilding has been meticulously developed by the current owners over the past 30 years. Featuring an easy rolling contour with some medium sidlings and versatile soils, Stuart Sutherland approximately 15 hectares have been planted in a variety Mobile 027 452 1155 of timber and amenity trees. Excellent fencing, access Home 06 323 7193 and multiple water supplies along with quality farm stuarts@pb.co.nz improvements ensure ease of stock management. There is an option to purchase one or two dwellings in addition to the land. Blair Cottrill

TENDER

Mobile 027 354 5419 blair@pb.co.nz

Private valley living

TENDER WEB ID WGR74653

OKOIA 345 Kaukatea Valley Road Enjoy the quiet ambience of the Whanganui countryside on this 77.42ha (more or less) lifestyle block. Situated down a no-exit road and only a leisurely 15 minute drive from the heart of Whanganui. The six bedroom character homestead sits nestled amongst established trees with a private northerly aspect, taking advantage of the sun and stunning rural views. Land comprises of a mixture of flat to steep contour, with 25 effective hectares of grazing and 17 hectares of forest made up of a mix of tree species at a variety of ages, with the balance being non-effective land. Farm infrastructure is

pb.co.nz

well catered for with a three bay implement shed, three stand wool shed with yards and adjoining nightpen, cattle yards, grain silo and various other shedding. If you want to take advantage of the many business opportunities and recreational purposes this fantastic property provides while enjoying quiet country living, then your inspection is invited. Tender offer to include "plus GST (if any)".

TENDER

VIEW By Appointment TENDER closes Friday 20th March, 2020 at 2.00pm, Property Brokers 51 Taupo Quay Whanganui

6 Richard White

Mobile 027 442 6171 richardw@pb.co.nz

RURAL 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Dannevirke dairy unit - 132 ha

Ngawapurua Farm - 188 ha

TENDER

WEB ID PR73450 DANNEVIRKE 1550 Top Grass Road This picturesque dairy unit certainly presents options; being located only 15 km from Dannevirke and under 45 minutes drive to Palmerston North. Extremely well catered for, with a centrally located 36 bail rotary featuring in-shed feed system which is serviced by a compliant effluent system. The low cost farming system is milking 350 cows on the effective area of 124 ha of which almost all is flat and is in modern pastures. Four well kept family homes set in mature grounds completes an appealing and well presented package and provides sell down options for the incoming purchasers.

TENDER

TENDER View By Appointment TENDER closes Tuesday 10th March, 2020 at 2.00pm, at Property Brokers, 129 Main Street, Pahiatua

Jared Brock

Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823

John Arends

Mobile 027 444 7380 Office 06 376 4364

Jim Crispin

Mobile 027 717 8862 Office 06 374 8102

WEB ID PR74485 PAHIATUA 80922 State Highway 2 View By Appointment TENDER closes Tuesday 24th March, 2020 at 2.00pm, at Ngawapurua farm is well located being 6 km south of Property Brokers, 129 Main Street, Pahiatua Woodville and under 30 minutes drive to Palmerston North. Compromising 160 ha of flat superior soil types utilised as milking platform has resulted in excellent production history of a 5 year average around 162,000 Jared Brock kgMS peak milking 430 cows. The 30 ha easy hill Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823 country support unit adds an excellent complement to Home 06 376 6341 the dairy business which is utilised as young stock jared@pb.co.nz grazing. Infrastructure includes a 40 bail rotary shed, numerous shedding, excellent access and water supply. John Arends Ngawapurua features 2 homes with the main home Mobile 027 444 7380 featuring 4 bedrooms. Office 06 376 4364

TENDER

johna@pb.co.nz

Hokio - 129 ha

Glenron - 401 ha

TENDER

NEW LISTING

WEB ID PR74541 PONGAROA 4162 Pahiatua Pongaroa Road View By Appointment Situated in the Pongaroa District, this exceptionally well TENDER closes Friday 6th March, 2020 at 2.00pm, at Property Brokers, 129 Main Street, Pahiatua presented and high producing sheep and beef unit presents an affordable first farm opportunity. Featuring 17 ha of flats with substantial re-fencing, fertiliser and pasture renovation, this turn-key low input operation Jared Brock lends itself to free up the new owners for off farm Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823 income. A spacious 4 bedroom home has been recently Home 06 376 6341 renovated is well set in mature grounds and has views jared@pb.co.nz over the front flats and beyond. Farming infrastructure includes a 4 stand woolshed with 500 NP, 4 bay John Arends implement sheds plus comprehensive stock handling Mobile 027 444 7380 facilities. Office 06 376 4364

TENDER

johna@pb.co.nz

pb.co.nz

WEB ID TMR74668 CAVE 49 Robinson Road View By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Thursday 19th March, 2020 at A quality arable property of 401 ha in Sutherlands.

DEADLINE SALE

2.00pm, (unless sold prior)

Currently 250 ha cereal with excellent infrastructure in silo sheds, grain dryer etc. In addition to this, 150 ha of pasture and running 250 bulls, mixture of R1 & R2 through to finishing. Two comfortable homes and 2 x 3 stand shearing sheds, 140 head Te Pari cattle yard. A quality farm and available to be taken over 1st April, can be purchased as going concern. Price plus GST (if any)

Michael Richardson

Mobile 027 228 7027 Office 03 687 7145 Home 027 228 7027 michael@pb.co.nz

6 1

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 24, 2020

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Accelerating success.

Reach more people - better results faster.

colliers.co.nz

Accelerating success.

Reach more people - better results faster.

LIFESTYLE HOKITIKA

Approx 60ha effective, ﬂat fertile river silts. Small amount of DOC and Council lease. 3 bedroom Lockwood home, ensuite, neat and tidy. Good complement farm buildings and stock yards. Historically run 60 breeding cows and ﬁnished progeny. Excellent location approximately 15km Hokitika Retiring vendors ready to move on. For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty (unless sold prior) Closing 20th March 2020 www.gregdalyrealestate.co.nz Greg Daly AREINZ 027 478 3594

Web Ref GDR3334008

LK0101361©

KOKATAHI 52.60 HECTARES

Mike Curragh AREINZ 027 959 1267 Real Estate Agent REAA 2008

“60 YEARS SERVICE TO FARMERS ON THE WEST COAST”

colliers.co.nz

END OF AN ERA 212 Quarry Road, Tiriraukawa, Taihape For the first time in 125 years is the opportunity to secure a very attractive 4000 su property. This is your chance to acquire a high calibre farm with a reputation for producing quality, healthy livestock with a long history of fertiliser applications. A great mix of cultivatable, undulating contour ideal for winter and summer cropping, to support the balance of medium hills. Held in five titles with 31 paddocks, all fenced by conventional or electric, good reliable stock water by a gravity feed to troughs or dams. Located 23kms to Taihape must make this a worthy option to increase your existing operation.

THE MIGHTY HILLS OF MANGAWEKA 648 Manui Road, Mangaweka A chance to secure a traditional hill country sheep and beef operation. Comprising of 394 ha, (342 ha effective) held in two titles, located a short 12 mintues or 6.5 kms off State Highway 1. Historically wintering approximately 2500 su which consists of 1500 MA ewes, 90 cows plus all replacements stock, as a forward store operation. Subdivided into 20 main paddocks with a good network of 4x4 bike tracking. Infrastructure includes a three bedroom home and a three stand woolshed.

352 hectares Tender

nzr.nz/RX2090375 Tender Closes 11am, Thu 12 Mar 2020, NZR, 1 Goldfinch St, Ohakune. Jamie Proude AREINZ 027 448 5162 | 06 385 4466 jamie@nzr.nz NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

394 Hectares Deadline Sale

nzr.nz/RX2109813 Deadline Sale Closes 11am, Thu 19 Mar 2020, NZR. 1 Goldfinch St, Ohakune. Jamie Proude AREINZ 06 385 4466 | 027 448 5162 jamie@nzr.nz NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

PUTAKI - WHEN SIZE MATTERS 291 Mahoe Road, Waitomo Putaki presents the opportunity to secure a large scale sheep and beef operation on easy to steep hill country in an area that is historically regarded for its consistent summer rainfall and favorable soils renowned for quality livestock production. A total of 1274 ha with 1000 ha being classed effective. Sheep and cattle breeding station with lambs sold as forward stores or killed. Full property report available .... potential here.

1274 hectares Deadline Treaty Sale

nzr.nz/RX2168360

Gary Scott 027 484 4933 | gary@nzr.nz Alan Blackburn 027 203 9112 | alan@nzr.nz NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

Deadline Private Treaty, 11am, Thu 19 Mar 2020, NZR, 1 Goldfinch St, Ohakune

OFTEN SOUGHT BUT RARELY FOUND Corner Ruatiti Road & Middle Road, Ohakune A prime flat contoured 19.83 hectare bare land title, situated only a short drive from both Ohakune and Raetihi townships and only 2 km from State Highway 4. With itâ€™s two long tar sealed road frontages giving excellent access to the entire property and the potential to further subdivide, coupled with top Ohakune silt loam soils and reliable quality water supply make this property ideally suited as a fattening unit, market gardening, horticultural cropping unit or simply create your lifestyle dream from this blank canvas with its numerous mountain views and building sites.

19.83 hectares Tender

nzr.nz/RX2219535 Tender Closes 11am, Thu 26 Mar 2020, NZR, 1 Goldfinch St, Ohakune. Jamie Proude AREINZ 06 385 4466 | 027 448 5162 jamie@nzr.nz NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 24, 2020

Real Estate

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

TENDER

THE DESTINATION FOR RURAL REAL ESTATE

Land is the biggest asset to any farming business so it pays to stay up to date with the market. Connect with the right audience at

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

Hikurangi 859 Russell Road Goats- Glorious Goats

This exciting offering is the second largest share holder supplier to the dairy goat co-operative with over 170,000kgMS supplied annually with a $20.20kgMS pay-out last season. Options exist for purchase ranging from a full going concern to parts thereof including; • 390ha approx in multiple titles including buildings • 170,000 D.G.C shares • 2000 head of goats • Extensive range of machinery For further information please refer to the website then contact me for a property information memorandum.

Tender Friday 27 March 12noon (unless sold prior) View: By appointment only harcourts.co.nz/ML4229

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

EXCLUSIVE

FINAL NOTICE

ONEWHERO, WAIKATO 216 Nolan Road Scale, Balance and Character Wairamarama Valley is around one hour south-west of Auckland. Highgate Hill Farm has two homes on 880 hectares. Currently leased. Prior to the lease the property was farming a mixture of bull grazing, finishing and breeding, running 70% cattle and the balance in sheep. Well fenced to 95 paddocks. The property has two reticulated water systems supplying water to over half of the farm with natural water accessible to all of the balance. Well-formed tracking provides ease of stock movement to three sets of cattle and sheep yards. Highgate Hill Farm, provides that great investment opportunity.

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

Plus GST (if any) GV $6,210,000 (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 4.00pm, Thursday 12 March

VIEW By Appointment Only

TE PUKE, BOP • • • • • •

Adrian van Mil M 027 473 3632 E avanmil@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/PUK31808

•

9.3852 hectares total area 5.2 canopy hectares of both G3 Sungold and Hayward kiwifruit Impressive approximately 290m² superior home In-ground pool and spa, entertaining areas Numerous orchard buildings and implement shed Staff accommodation catering for seasonal staff on a large scale A very unique property in a fantastic location

Phone or email for the full information pack.

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

$5,150,000 Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 4.00pm, Thursday 27 February

VIEW By Appointment Only David McLaren M 027 223 3366 E dmclaren@pggwrightson.co.nz Karen McLaren M 027 555 0421 E karen.mclaren@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/TEP31846

EXCLUSIVE

TENDER

COLYTON, MANAWATU 32 Hectares - Realistic Vendors A farm to suit your needs - large lifestyle, dairy support, stepping stone, retirement block, bull beef, livestock trading. Popular farming and lifestyle location an easy commute to Feilding or Palmerston North. Spacious family home with garage attached, set in extensive, sheltered, landscaped gardens. Twostand wool shed, implement/storage shed, sheep and cattle yards, well fenced, good water from a large fenced and planted dam. Appealing contour being mainly flat to rolling with some steeper sidlings. Approximately 20ha effective grazing with 12ha of mature pines currently being harvested.

$1.15M

Plus GST (if any) RV $1.24M (2019)

VIEW By Appointment Only

SANSON, MANAWATU 2472 SH 3

Ian Ross M 027 235 4676 E iross@pggwrightson.co.nz

One, Two or Both • • • • • •

pggwre.co.nz/FDG31416

124 hectares in two titles (more or less) 84ha Home and Buildings 40ha Bare Land Beautifully presented home in well established grounds Good quality water, cattle yards and shedding Possible future subdivision potential

Great location with Sanson on the doorstep and full rural service town, Feilding only 13km away. Genuine sale from retiring vendors.

TENDER

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 2.00pm, Wednesday 11 March

VIEW By Appointment

Wayne Brooks M 027 431 6306 E wayne.brooks@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/FDG31789

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

For more great rural listings, visit www.pggwre.co.nz www.pggwre.co.nz

Kiwifruit and Home - Ticks all the Boxes

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under the REAA 2008

Helping grow the country

NZ’s leading rural real estate company

Helping grow the country

Agri Job Board

Northland Field Days

EXCITING LARGE SCALE FARM MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES Canterbury Grasslands Ltd is an internationally owned business with 15 farms in the South Island plus a large-scale dairy business operation in Missouri and Oregon, USA. We are seeking a 2IC to join our dry stock team in Mossburn, Southland. The team supports our six farms in Southland and our nine dairy farms in Canterbury.

19-21 March 2020

Are you an exhibitor at the Central Districts Field Days? Let your customers and potential customers know you are attending.

With nine dairy farms and a number of dairy support blocks, BEL Group is the pride of Central Hawke’s Bay dairying, providing employment for over 65 people and supporting thriving rural communities.

Central Districts Field Days feature running in Farmers Weekly issues March 9 & 16. Booking and material deadline due by Wednesday March 4 at 12 noon.

To find out more about these two roles, go to www.no8hr.co.nz (Ref#s 8HR1261 and 8HR1262).

Farmers Weekly reaching every farmer on every farm. Let us help your business reach the people that matter to you. 78,039 copies every week. LK0101489©

BEL Group offers excellent career and training opportunities, and each year excellence is recognised at their annual awards.

QUESTIONS? BOOKING? GET IN TOUCH Debbie 06 323 0765 • classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

www.no8hr.co.nz | ph: 07-870-4901

OPERATIONS MANAGER

With ten farms ranging from 200 to 1300 cows this role is the opportunity to be the 2IC to a smart, experienced and pragmatic Chief Executive who knows what it takes to make a business, and a person, successful

See us at Northland Field Days – Site 3

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

JOBS BOARD

Come learn from the best and build your experience, skills and confidence to continue growing your career. Go to www.no8hr.co.nz (Ref#8HR1269) or give Toni Trusler a call on 0275 998 909 today to get more information about this opportunity!

LK0101476©

You’ll have ‘been there, done that’ in your own on-farm dairy career and likely be looking for a step towards an Operations Manager role.

www.no8hr.co.nz | ph: 07-870-4901

2IC

Another tool to use for the health of all your farming livestock

TALK DIRECTLY TO THE EXPERTS NORTHERN FIELD DAYS SITE NO. 624 HOMEOPATHIC FARM SERVICES

LK0101485©

Pouarua Farms has a great story to tell…it’s about people and the community coming together, it’s about nurturing and working with the land and it’s about everyone thriving.

Needless to say, to make a success of this requires intimate ‘cows and grass’ knowledge and the interpersonal skills to advise, support and mentor our experienced Farm Managers.

Please contact the NZ HR Manager via email: kathryn@grasslands.org.nz

HOMEOPATHY

Heavy duty Long lasting

Reporting to the Chief Executive with a broad scope of responsibility across the whole dairy platform of c5,000 cows, this is a new role where leadership, support and technical skill will be the cornerstones of success. The right applicant will come in and ‘own’ their responsibilities and earn the career opportunities to match.

LK0101422©

Applicants for this position should have NZ residency or a valid NZ work visa.

• Two roles • Sunny Central Hawke’s Bay location • 1300 cows and 2300 cows

They are now looking for two progressive, experienced operators to lead two of their flagship farms. You will need to have at least five years’ dairy management experience and the skills and mana to lead large teams.

Our dream candidate would be: • Honest, reliable, hardworking and physically fit • Experience with dry stock and or previously worked on a dairy farm at 2IC level • Passionate about turning out excellent stock • Competence operating a tractor and other farm vehicles • General maintenance skills, races, fences In return we will offer you: • An opportunity to work alongside a fantastic team and supportive Manager • Comprehensive training including enrolment with the Primary ITO • Career advancement within a growing organisation • Excellent working conditions with regular rostered time off • Competitive remuneration plus accommodation • No more early mornings

CENTRAL DISTRICTS FIELD DAYS

info@farmservices.nz 07 858 4233

Phone 021 047 9299

farmservices.nz

Bull Farmer

BULL FARMER

Farm Manager Fencer General Large Scale Farm Management Opportunities

Five-O Farms is a 650ha effective bull beef farm situated between Dargaville and Whangarei that is passionate about sustainable, profitable farming. We are looking for someone to fit in with our family’s goals and values.

Operations Manager Shepherd Stock Manager Tractor/Truck/Machinery Operator Whanganui Sheep and Beef

This is an opportunity for you to be an integral part of our development plan to improve permanent subdivision and infrastructure and make running the farm efficient and enjoyable.

“ Advertising with the Farmers Weekly gave us confidence that we had covered as many bases as possible, cast the net as

“

widely as we could.

Sara, Mt Cass Station (Advertised for a Block Manager)

LK0100828©

*conditions apply

Completed works include: • Two sets of TePari Cattle yards for safe and efficient animal handling • 400ha of cell and Technosystems with waterways and native bush fenced for stock exclusion • New laneways for access and ease of stock movements • Large permanent water reticulation system with tank monitors for ease of management

Safe Strong Auto Catch Auto Reset Easy for one person

The role includes all aspects of the day-to-day running of the farming operation along with developmental work. There is a combination of team and sole charge work with responsibilities set to achieve your potential. You will need at least one good working dog.

Significant discounts available on all product on site. Get in quick!

Site 175 @ Northland

We offer a package that will match your skills and enthusiasm and includes regular time off. Come home each day to a recently renovated 3-bedroom home in a quiet location on the farm. The school bus run is nearby for both primary and secondary schools. Short distance to boat ramps and west coast beaches.

The original Combi Clamp. Still versatile. Still reliable.

A valid work permit is required. References are essential.

To apply or request further information please contact: Chris and Kim Leigh-Mackenzie - fiveofarmsltd@gmail.com Phone 022 044 5062 evenings All Applications are treated in strictest confidence

LK0101487©

*FREE upload to Farmers Weekly jobs: farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

We got noticed!

A full range with many features as standard.

This position is aimed at achieving a strong work/life balance for both employee and employer.

Weigh Crate Operator

Contact Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

LK0101486©

2IC

™

0800 227 228 www.combiclamp.co.nz

South Island - Stuart 027 435 3062

Still to come: Central Districts and Mystery Creek Field Days

NZ’s finest BioGro certified Mg fertiliser For a delivered price call ....

0800 436 566

Country Lady Looking For Love!

LK0101424©

At 5’4, silky blonde hair and hazel eyes with a slim build, this lady loves the country life and the challenge it throws at her. She enjoys horse riding, camping, fishing, country music, cooking and a good conversation. She is looking for a likeminded country man. To meet, please call 0800 446 332 www.countrycompanionship.co.nz

ATTENTION FARMERS

DOGS FOR SALE

FLY OR LICE problem? Electrodip - The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides. Incredible chemical and time savings with proven effectiveness. Phone 07 573 8512 w w w. e l e c t r o d i p . c o m

DAGS .25c PER KG. Replacement woolpacks. PV Weber Wools. Kawakawa Road, Feilding. Phone 06 323 9550.

ONE YOUNG HEADING dog ready to start. ONE YOUNG Huntaway, working. Phone 06 388 0212 or 027 243 8541. SELLING AND BUYING dogs NZ wide since 2012. Deliver, trial, guaranteed. www.youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07-315-5553

CRAIGCO SHEEP JETTERS. Sensor Jet. Deal to fly and Lice now. Guaranteed performance. Unbeatable pricing. Phone 06 835 6863. www.craigcojetters.com

ATTENTION FARMERS FAST GRASS www.gibb-gro.co.nz GROWTH PROMOTANT Only $6.00 per hectare + GST delivered Brian Mace 0274 389 822 brianmace@xtra.co.nz

CONTRACTORS GORSE SPRAYING SCRUB CUTTING. 30 years experience. Blowers, gun and hose. No job too big. Camp out teams. Travel anywhere if job big enough. Phone Dave 06 375 8032.

DOGS WANTED 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195.

SEEKING OPPORTUNITY Progressive smart tidy operator seeks opportunity to improve your farming asset. Development lease, standard lease, lease to buy. Equity manager, sharefarming or other options. • 5000-20,000su • Sheep, beef and deer, breeding and fattening and cropping • Great stockmanship, machinery and development experience • North Island preferred • Good references available

Nick 0274 763 658 or nick.aam@xtra.co.nz

High Country Cabins & Construction

FARM MAPPING

FORESTRY WANTED

NATIVE FOREST FOR MILLING also Macrocarpa and Red Gum, New Zealand wide. We can arrange permits and plans. Also after milled timber to purchase. NEW ZEALAND NATIVE TIMBER SUPPLIERS (WGTN) LIMITED 04 293 2097 Richard.

GOATS WANTED

FERAL GOATS WANTED. All head counted, payment on pick-up, pick-up within 24 hours. Prices based on works schedule. Experienced musterers available. Phone Bill and Vicky Le Feuvre 07 893 8916.

AGRICULTURAL ASSET MANAGEMENT

www.highcountrycabinsandconstruction.com

GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds. Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten. Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis. NAKI GOATS. Trucking goats to the works every week throughout the NI. Phone Michael and Clarice. 027 643 0403. FOR ONLY $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds. Phone Debbie 0800 85 25 80 to book in.

LK0101429©

• Farm accommodation • Horse stables • Small buildings

SIMPLE AND CLEAR farm maps with paddock sizes will help you achieve your daily goals. Get a free quote from farmmapping. co.nz

Available in kitset & fully build packages. Available NZ wide. Further information phone 027 963 5390 Highcountrycabins66@gmail.com

HORTICULTURE ATTRACTIVE KING COUNTRY LEASE OPPORTUNITY

Detailed information pack with basic terms and conditions and proposal requirements available from:

Strategically located established apiary business with potential to expand: • 550 full depth hives, branded, v.g. condition • Site agreements, summer and winter • Productive manuka sites • Hive management app Signiﬁcant equipment included: Truck with crane and winch, ute, syrup tanks/ feeders, sprayer, drip pallets, bases, extra honey boxes, excluders, hive mats, feeders, nucs etc. Experienced staff may be willing to stay on. Asking price $975,000 (plus GST if any)

Geoff Burton Farm Business Management, Taumarunui Phone 07 895 8052 • gtb@xtra.co.nz

WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556. RAMS. HILL COUNTRY Perendales. Easy care with good size and quality wool. $250-$550. Phone 06 376 4751 or 021 133 7533.

WILTSHIRE & SHIRE® Meat rams. Low input. www.wiltshire-rams.co.nz 03 225 5283. BOOK AN AD. For only $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone Debbie Brown on 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

RAMS. TERMINAL SIRES Southdowns and Suffolk/ Southdown X for heavy fast growing lambs. Suitable for Hogget mating. $250$550. Phone 06 357 7727 or 021 133 7533.

PUMPS HIGH PRESSURE WATER PUMPS, suitable on high headlifts. Low energy usage for single/3-phase motors, waterwheel and turbine drives. Low maintenance costs and easy to service. Enquiries phone 04 526 4415, email sales@hydra-cell.co.nz

For more info contact Mike Bryce 021 771 711 Or visit www.barkerbusiness.co.nz/BBS2583

ING ORKAPA W R IRA NOW WA

SOLID – PRACTICAL

$2.10 + GST per word - Please print clearly

Address: Email: Heading:

LK0099530©

WEBSITE

PHONE

(06) 357 1644

FROM THIS

Advertise in the Farmers Weekly

Our homes are built using the same materials & quality as an onsite build. Easily transported to almost anywhere in the North Island. Plans range from one bedroom to four bedroom First Home – Farm House Investment – Beach Bach

enquiries@crmcphail.co.nz

EARMARKERS

TO THAT

REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY

HOOF TRIMMER

NOTICEBOARD

Next Stop BRAZIL

www.crmcphail.co.nz

DE HORNER

Phone: +64 6 357 2454

New Zealand’s Number 1 service provider for under woolshed and covered yard cleaning since 2004

WELL INSULATED – AFFORDABLE

Call or email us for your free copy of our plans Email: info@ezylinehomes.co.nz Phone: 07 572 0230 Web: www.ezylinehomes.co.nz

electro-tek@xtra.co.nz

Phone Scott Newman Freephone 0800 2SCOTTY (0800 27 26 88) Mobile 027 26 26 27 2

3 R 31 MA TUES

FRI 1

ZON BIRDSCARER

Nominate a school on booking and we’ll donate $100 on payment of your account.

FOR FARMERS NEW HOMES

STOP BIRDS NOW!

P.O. Box 30, Palmerston North 4440, NZ

We also clean out and remetal cattle yards – Call Us!

HOLIDAYS

20M2A0R

w w w. e l e c t r o t e k . c o . n z

SCOTTY’S CONTRACTORS

Advert to read:

TH INK P R EB UILT

STOCK FEED HAY 12 EQUIVALENT squares $70; BALEAGE rounds $80; STRAW 12 equivalent $50; HAY rounds. All orders supplied in unit loads. Phone 021 455 787. MOISTURE METERS Hay, Silage dry matter, grain. www.moisturemeters.co.nz 0800 213 343.

Under Woolshed/Covered Yards Cleaning Specialist www.underthewoolshed.kiwi

Name: LK0101410©

To inspect please contact Stuart Mackenzie 027 289 1115

Bee Business for Sale – Central Location

LK0101135©

• 10,000 plus su. Approx 1100 eff ha. Summer safe • 3+3 years from 1 July 2020 with first right of refusal offering compatible tenants a longer term relationship on this 3rd generation family property • Suited to sheep and cattle breeding and finishing • Well maintained infrastructure including two dwellings

RAMS FOR SALE

✁

Colin Mackenzie Trust 1221 Waitewhena Road, Ohura

NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp. The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE

LK0101431©

DOLOMITE

ANIMAL HANDLING

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 24, 2020

✁

ANIMAL HEALTH www.drench.co.nz farmer owned, very competitive prices. Phone 0800 4 DRENCH (437 362).

Noticeboard

Return this form either by fax to 06 323 7101 attention Debbie Brown Post to Farmers Weekly Classifieds, PO Box 529, Feilding 4740 - by 12pm Wednesday or Freephone 0800 85 25 80

Phone:

LK0101448©

classifieds@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

LK0101488©

Livestock Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 24, 2020

WILTSHIRE RAMS LK0101490©

Due to cancelled order, 6 rams available at Taihape.

Ph Greg or Charles 06 388 7555

STOCK FOR SALE ANGUS 2.5YR STEERS 520kg 230 HEREFORD BULLS 420kg

Ph 06 327 7843 or 027 416 8188

Owner/Station Bred

STOCK REQUIRED

16MTH BEEF BRED HEIFERS 350-400kg

2YR BEEF or FRSN BULLS 460kg+

tex X ram lam x and Bel bs Belte

Friday 6 March 2020

• No shearing • All born twins Phone Dave on

Beltex

For Sale Pinnacles Wiltshire Rams

Viewing from 11am, Sale starts 1.30pm ‘Rangiatea’, 571 Upper Downs Rd, Mt Somers, Mid Canterbury LK0101500©

Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

Purebreds (36) Suffolk Cross (58) Texel Cross (34) Perendale Cross (28) Cheviot Cross (8) Poll Dorset Cross (6)

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

CULL BEEF COWS

Are you looking in the right direction? To advertise

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Phone HANNAH GUDSELL 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Ross Dyer 0274 333 381 A Financing Solution For Your Farm E info@rdlfinance.co.nz

Blair Gallagher 021 022 31522

John Tavendale 027 432 1296

Callum Dunnett 027 587 0131

farmersweekly.co.nz

Hamish Gallagher 027 550 7906 Simon Eddington 0275 908 612

Glenrobin Stud

Beltex X Ram Lamb Sale Sale Day: Tuesday 10 March 2020 AUCTION at Gore Showgrounds Viewing from 12pm – Sale starts 2pm

LK0101475©

Sired by top pure Beltex Rams:

• 43 Beltex X Texel Ram Lambs Robinson Family • 16 Beltex X Poll Dorset Ram Lambs Robinson Family • 30 Beltex X Suffolk Ram Lambs Robinson Family & Symon Howard (Taronga) • 30 Beltex X South Suffolk Ram Lambs Robinson Family & Doug Irwin (Parmount) All Ram Lambs are showing the unique double muscling and the higher yielding density characteristics of the Beltex breed.

Callum McDonald PGGW 027 433 6443 Brent Robinson 03 206 4958 or 027 206 4958 Michael Robinson 027 210 5977

farmers weekly hits 78,039 Rural letterboxes

STAY OUT FRONT

OF THE MOB

Have ewe heard the most successful place to advertise your livestock is in Farmers Weekly?

Farmers choose us first for news, opinion, analysis, market updates and even their own livestock advertising.

For more contact: Hannah Gudsell 06 323 0761 or 027 602 4925 livestock@globalhq.co.nz

To advertise Phone HANNAH GUDSELL 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

farmersweekly.co.nz/advertising

2537FW BULL SALES

with Farmers Weekly

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

Livestock Noticeboard

WAIRARAPA TEXEL DEVELOPMENTS

250 2th Ewes

Contact your local NZFL Agent or for more details phone Gareth Price 027 477 7310

HAVE A SALE COMING UP?

Stewart Cowan – 06 372 2770 texels4u@gmail.com Andy Phillips – 027 238 4961 halfy490@gmail.com

Weaner Heifers 300 x Angus 300 x Charolais x 150 x Simmental x 20 x Santa x

0800 85 25 80 livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Friday 28th February

COLVILLE WEANER & CATTLE FAIR

Weaner Steers 310 x Angus 330 x Charolais x 20 Santa x

WEDNESDAY MARCH 4TH 2020 NZ Farmers Livestock Ltd have pleasure in offering on behalf of clients the following:

Enquiries David Anderson 0274 981 201

Peninsula Pastoral

35 Autumn Calving VIC Hereford Cows 40 Spring Calving VIC Hereford Cows Due to the loss of a lease, this is a complete dispersal. Bred for low birth weight and good temperament.

DAIRY HERDS FOR SALE

50 Weaner Hereford Bulls

60 Jsy/JsyX content BW104 PW136 RA96 DTC 31/7, herd 330 cows, 386ms, $1450 Sheldon Keech 027 222 7920 Ref: DH709 116 Fsn/FsnX/Jsy herd BW76 PW106 RA91 DTC 1/8, A2A2 content from 2 herds $1875 Ben Deroles 027 702 4194 Ref: DH1415 135 Xbred herd BW114 PW140 RA99 DTC 15/7, top herd 100% AB mated 481ms, best you can buy, $1850 Kelly Higgins 027 600 2374 Ref: DH1409 280 Xbred herd BW88 PW130 RA100 DTC 21/7 100% mated LIC, 440ms, will shift, $1800 Kelly Higgins 027 600 2374 Ref: DR1222 140 Xbred Autm calv herd BW47 PW90 RA90 DTC 10/3 to AB, Outstanding genuine herd, $1650 John Price 027 594 2544 Ref: DH956

TAWHAI SUFFOLK STUD Mt Greba 36 Christians Road Hawarden North Canterbury

530 Xbred herd BW83 PW126 DTC 2/8 347ms, great shifting herd, tough farm Very young herd, 7 weeks AB, $1700 Scott Gibson-Smith 027 255 8501 Ref: DH1392

SUFFOLK FEMALE SALE 5th March 2020 1:30pm start 11:00am viewing on farm

Go to our Website for the best selection available.

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

Approx Tallies: 40 1 shr Ewes 160 Ewe Lambs

CONTACT: Carrfields – Callum Dunnett 027 587 0131 PGW – Simon Eddington 027 590 8612 Vendor – Penni Loffhagen 03 314 4551 or 021 149 4413

LK0101421©

LK0101423©

This is a great opportunity to buy from large Suffolk flock run under commercial conditions.

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

LK0101397©

For further information Contact: Rod Harper 0274 515 321

85 x top A2/A2 Friesian/Xbred cows. Client will pay a premium price for the right A2A2-tested article. Contact Bryan Sweeney 027 869 2620

Live export opportunities also available. Contact John Watson 027 494 1975 for details or talk to your local NZFL agent

DAIRIES FOR SALE

L & S Ward

6 Ylg WF Steers 12 Weaner Angus Steers 15 Weaner Angus & WF Heifers

DAIRY HERDS WANTED

Grazing wanted for various lines of R1 & R2 heifers in Waikato and Manawatu

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

Peninsula Pastoral/John Ward

450 KiwiX and some Jersey cows off irrigated Far North country. DTC 1/8/20 (3 wks AI KiwiX semen & tailed with Hereford & Angus bulls) BW93 PW135. NOR79673 Noel Baker 027 455 5828 350 KiwiX R2 genuine replacement heifers, BW124; PW146. DTC 23/07/2020 Will sell immediate or May delivery, in smaller lines if required. NOR79642 Noel Baker 027 455 5828 270 Friesian cows, Ambreed based with Samen used last 3 years. Bold capacious cows, producing over 1700ms/ha. 70% are 2 to 4 year olds. 36 years of breeding. Later delivery date available. WAI79738 Sam Cowley 027 451 5317 200 smaller framed Friesians from closed herd farmed by same family & LIC for 65 years. BW78/45; PW91/61; RA95%. Over half are 4 year olds & younger. WAI79610 Glenn Tasker 027 477 7345 127 Xbd cows with over 50 years breeding behind them. BW118; PW160; RA100%. DTC 25/07/2020 $1800. TAR79587 Daniel Hornby 027 552 3514 200 (approx.) Xbd cows, genuine complete A2A2 content as tested. BW108; PW138; RA95%. DTC 17/07/2020. $1950. WAI79186. Bryan Sweeney 027 869 2620 150 FrXbd cows, with 80% being 2 to 4 year olds. BW84; PW112; RA99%. DTC 20/07/2020. $1750 WAI78892 Steve Morton 027 246 5165 80 Xbd capacious 3-digit cows, BW85/43; PW106/54; RA96%. DTC 19/7. $1800 ono. MAN79020 Emmet McConnell 027 443 7671 450 XbdJsyFrs cows BW120/45; PW163/64; RA94%. DTC 24/7. Can purchase in breed lines. Nice udders & capacity. 75% under 5 years. $1850. NOR78805 Blair Sidwell 021 325 325 200 FrsXbd spring content herd with high production. DTC 1/8. $1750 NI76309 Blair Sidwell 021 325 325

175% scanning Very FE tolerant

Phone Stu 06 862 7534

SALE TALK

Thursday 27th February

Call HANNAH

150 FrFrX June calving cows for Northland area. Mike Peele 027 520 1771

TUAKAU ANNUAL WEANER FAIR

LK0101432©

LK0101267©

Within the lower 1/2 of North Island, for lines of 5 or greater purchased

Full moutling

Excellent feet

LK0101433©

• Free transport offered

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

16 2th Rams

LK0101427©

250 Hereford Wnr Bulls 200 Hfd, Ang. & Exotic X Wnr Steers 150 Hfd, Ang. & Exotic X Wnr Heifers

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

• Terminal and Maternal sires available

“Muscling up and meating the market”

East Friesian 2-tooth rams for sale. Dams milking records available. Contact: Callum Dunnett 027 587 0131

280 CFA LK0101292©

Monday 2nd March 2020 A/c Clients

Fully performance recorded and ranked from one of New Zealand’s largest registered studs.

• Wairarapa Texel Developments Partnership

STRATHCLYDE SHEEP STUD DARFIELD

FRANKTON WEANER BEEF FAIR

Flock10 / SIL No. 2960 • For sale 2th Texel Rams

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 24, 2020

WILTSHIRE

LK0101499©

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING Advertise your ram sale in Farmers Weekly Call HANNAH GUDSELL 0800 85 25 80

livestock@globalhq.co.nz

A very distraught farmer went to his local police station in Sanson and asked to speak with the constable on duty. “What can we do for you?” inquired constable Wiliamson. “My name is Wayne and my wife is missing! “Stammered the very upset farmer, “ She hasn’t come home this afternoon and I don’t know what to do!” “ Calm down Wayne” said constable Williamson, “ I am sure she will turn up. Can we please have some details about your wife?” Wayne replied, “Her name is Andrea and she likes cats” he replied. “Can I please have a physical description of her? asked the constable. “ She is around 5 foot 5, I think, and has green or blue eyes and darkish brown hair.” “What was she wearing?” Asked the constable. “ I think Andrea had on jeans and swanndri or maybe some overalls, sorry I can’t be more specific.” The constable asked, “Any distinguishing features at all?” “Not that I can think of at the moment, oh wait, she wears glasses. “ “Well, what about her mode of transport?” Asked the clearly exasperated constable. At that point Wayne burst into tears and sobbed, “she left this morning in my tractor!” “ Perhaps you can give me a description of that vehicle? “ asked the hopeful constable. Wayne immediately replied, “It was a green 5093 John Deere, 1320 hours, 93 engine horsepower, 85 pto horsepower with 32/32 forward/reverse gears, clutch less range change with shuttle and 40 kph option. It had a self leveling genuine factory loader with 380/70/28 front tyres and 520/70/34 rears. It was tier 4 optioned with torque boost and common rail turbo intercooled with aircon, Bluetooth head unit and 7-way adjustable air suspension plus 3 cupholders and auxiliary usb power supply.” With that, the kindly constable said “sir, we will try as hard as possible to get your tractor back, and your wife too!”

Follow our journey As we hit the road for the final day of the Young Breeders Competition on March 13, followed by the World Hereford Conference Post Tour March 14 - 18, 2020.

Livestock Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – February 24, 2020

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

Trade livestock like never before WEEKLY AUCTIONS Wednesday night – North Island Thursday night – South Island

FEATURE AUCTIONS Elite Charollais Major Flock Reduction Sale Thursday, 27 February 2020 at 1.00 pm South Island Store Lamb Sale Thursday, 12 March 2020 at 7.00 pm

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard

For further information go to bidr.co.nz or contact the team on 0800 TO BIDR

ELITE CHAROLLAIS MAJOR FLOCK REDUCTION SALE

27th February - 1:00PM on Bidr OFFERING

PMS – PMS 173 C RGB – 241, 90, 41

PMS – PMS 445 C

PMS – n/a

RGB – 60, 76, 64

RGB – 255, 255, 255

CMYK – 0, 80, 95, 0

CMYK – 50, 28, 24, 65

CMYK – 0, 0, 0, 0

HTML – f15a29

HTML – 3c4c54

9 x Lots of 2018 Born Ewes (96 ewes in batched lots) 10 x Lots of Mixed Aged Ewes (113 Ewes in batched lots) 5 x Lots of 2019 Born Ewes (60 Ewes in batched lots)

Open Day 27th February 10:00am – 12:30pm Feilding Sale yards

STAY OUT FRONT OF THE MOB

For further information contact Ian McDougall: +61 427 172 498, Scott Linklater: 0275 483 578 Tony Gallen: 0275 901 711

Advertise your ram sales in Farmers Weekly Phone HANNAH GUDSELL 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Find us on Facebook

Key: Dairy

elitecharollais

Beef

Sheep

Other

ELITE CHAROLLAIS MAJOR FLOCK REDUCTION

NORTH ISLAND HERDS & IN-CALF HEIFERS FOR SALE

DAIRY HERDS & IN-CALF HEIFERS FOR SALE

370 Frsn/Frsn X Cows BW 81

PW 98

290 XBred Cows

$1,850+GST

BW 83

•

RA 99% Calving 24th July, young herd, 35yr one owner, closed herd & DNA profiled. Chris Ryan – 027 243 1078

Agonline ref: 5981

PGG Wrightson Dairy representatives are specialists at marketing and selling dairy herds. Benefit from the nationwide team that is dedicated to matching herds with the right buyers and achieving an optimal outcome for your business.

NATIONAL TEAM. LOCAL KNOWLEDGE.

PW 117

$1,750+GST

•

Agonline ref: 5514

336 MA Capital Stock Jersey/ Jersey X Cows PW 132

Agonline ref: 6256

$1,700+GST

•

RA 99% Farm Sold - Vendors Retiring. Has been in the family for 40 years. Hard working Spring Calving Once A Day Jersey & Jersey X Herd farmed in a wet climate (this district is not drought affected). The bulk of the herd is DNA’D. Tim Pickering – 027 446 9963 Agonline ref: 6321

$1,825+GST

•

RA 93% Calving 19th July, ave 360 m/s, great age breakdown. Dean Evans – 0272 431 092 Agonline ref: 6311

273 Capital Stock Friesian & Friesian X Herd BW 61

PW 65

• 60 Ewe Lambs • 100 2th Ewes • 115 MA Ewes An opportunity to purchase New Zealand’s biggest diversity of Charollais Genetics. 27th Feb 2020 10am - 12.30pm Feilding Saleyards Contact: Tony Gallen 0275 901 711 Caitlin Rokela 0274 056 156 Ryan Shannon 0275 650 979

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard

A bidr® sale, hosted at www.bidr.co.nz

$1,800+GST

•

RA 98% Long established, hardworking herd farmed in a difficult climate. Vendor exiting industry and farm is sold. Very low cell count. Herd tested and milked on System 2. Tim Pickering – 027 446 9963 Agonline ref: 6157

List Your Dairy Herd Now Freephone 0800 10 22 76 | www.pggwrightson.co.nz

PW 120

bidr Online Auction, 27th Feb 1pm Start We will be Offering Approximately:

•

RA 95% Calving 20th July, ave 411 m/s, system 3 Kent Stove - 027 529 7748

BW 88

RA 99% Calving 10th July, 50yr one owner, owner retiring Kent Stove - 027 529 7748

BW 96

$1,750+GST

145 XBred Cows

145 Frsn/FrsnX/Jsy Cows BW 79

PW 127

Genuine Ewe Flock Reduction

pggwrightson.co.nz/dairyherdsales

MATAWHERO CATTLE SALE Tuesday, 3rd March 2020, 11.00am On A/c Morunga Station Comprising 800 2.5yr Steers • 500 Ang/Ang HfdX • 300 Exotics These cattle are farmed on steep hill country and renowned for their shifting ability. Contacts: Steve Hickey 0274 469 969 Jamie Hayward 0274 434 7586

Helping grow the country

LK0101463©

Online eBook direct link – https://www.pivotdesign.co.nz/ebooks/2020/ elite-charollais/elite-charollais-ebook.pdf

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Market Snapshot brought to you by the AgriHQ analysts.

Suz Bremner

Mel Croad

Nicola Dennis

Cattle

Reece Brick

Graham Johnson

Caitlin Pemberton

Sheep

BEEF

William Hickson

Deer

SHEEP MEAT

VENISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

4.80

5.00

5.25

NI lamb (17kg)

7.00

7.10

NI Stag (60kg)

8.00

8.10

9.65

NI Bull (300kg)

4.80

5.00

NI mutton (20kg)

4.55

4.75

5.00

SI Stag (60kg)

8.00

8.10

9.65

NI Cow (200kg)

3.35

3.60

3.70

SI lamb (17kg)

6.95

7.10

6.80

SI Steer (300kg)

4.60

4.80

5.10

SI mutton (20kg)

4.40

4.85

SI Bull (300kg)

4.75

4.90

4.95

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

3.65

3.70

UK CKT lamb leg

11.14

11.09

8.72

US imported 95CL bull

7.46

7.62

7.04

10.0

US domestic 90CL cow

8.25

8.00

6.80

9.0

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

North Island steer slaughter price 6.5

7.0

South Island lamb slaughter price

$/kg CW

Dairy

Jun

Aug 2019-20

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb

Apr 2018-19

Jun

Last week

Prior week

Last year

2.87

Nov-19 Sept. 2020

Urea

567

650

314

321

787

843

30 micron lamb

3.78

DAP

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

400 360 320

Jan-19

Mar-19

May-19

Jul-19

Sep-19

Nov-19

Jan-20

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY Prior week

Last year

Jan-20

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T) Last price*

Aug 2019-20

Prior week

2.58

$/tonne

6.25

Nearby contract

Jun

Last week

7.25 6.75

NZ average (NZ$/t)

37 micron ewe

440

Sep-19

Apr 2018-19

FERTILISER

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

May-19 Jul-19 Sept. 2019

Feb

Fertiliser

Aug 2019-20

Super

7.75

Mar-19

Dec

7.0

Grain

Data provided by

MILK PRICE FUTURES

5.75

Oct

5-yr ave

Coarse xbred ind.

2018-19

8.5

6.5

8.0

(NZ$/kg)

5.0

5-yr ave

9.5

7.5

WOOL

Apr

South Island stag slaughter price

10.5

5.0

5.5

Feb

8.5

11.5

6.0

Dec

9.5

6.0

South Island steer slaughter price

Oct

10.5

6.5

9.0

4.5

Last year

North Island stag slaughter price

11.5

8.0

10.0

6.5

Last week Prior week

7.5

5.5

4.5

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

North Island lamb slaughter price

5.0

$/kg CW

Last year

6.0

$/kg MS

Last week Prior week

$/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Ingrid Usherwood

vs 4 weeks ago

440

YTD High

YTD Low

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

25.2

25.28

21.2

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

5.645

5.8

4.9

The a2 Milk Company Limited

16.58

16.69

14.2

Auckland International Airport Limited

8.6

9.21

8.2

Spark New Zealand Limited

4.84

4.88

4.33 15.75

Ryman Healthcare Limited

16.94

17.18

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

5.46

5.62

4.93

Contact Energy Limited

7.6

7.74

7.09

Port of Tauranga Limited

7.17

8.08

7.12

Fletcher Building Limited

5.59

5.7

5.07

Listed Agri Shares

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

16.58

16.69

14.2

Comvita Limited

2.65

3.25

2.61

Delegat Group Limited

10.57

12.1

10.46 3.85

2950

2980

3250

420

SMP

3060

3070

2970

400

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

3.95

4.06

1.8

1.91

1.8

AMF

4750

5175

380

Foley Wines Limited Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

0.8

0.82

0.75

Butter

4000

4150

Milk Price

7.21

7.40

$/tonne

WMP

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

0.194

0.197

0.193

340

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

2.24

2.3

2.06

PGG Wrightson Limited

2.31

2.47

2.3

Sanford Limited (NS)

7.72

8.2

7.51

320

* price as at close of business on Thursday

Jan-19

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Mar-19

May-19

Jul-19

Sep-19

Nov-19

Jan-20

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL

Scales Corporation Limited

4.37

5.17

4.36

SeaDragon Limited

0.002

0.003

0.002

Seeka Limited

4.5

4.74

4.25

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

6.81

9.1

6.38

3400

300

2.85

2.93

2.75

3200

280

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity Index

15786

16941

15676

S&P/NZX 50 Index

12065

11511

3000

260

S&P/NZX 10 Index

12088

11233

$/tonne

US$/t

360

2800 2600

T&G Global Limited

240 220

Feb

Mar Apr Latest price

May

Jun 4 weeks ago

Jul

200

Jan-19

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Mar-19

May-19

Jul-19

Sep-19

Nov-19

Jan-20

15786

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

12065

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

12088

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

3.35

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB ( $/KG)

6.95

SI SLAUGHTER BULL ( $/KG)

4.75

STORE LAMB AVERAGE AT FEILDING ( $/KG LW)

All eyes are on the sky NORTH ISLAND

ORTHLAND’S kumara growers prefer hot, dry conditions any day to wet cold ones. Having said that, it’s been nearly two months without rain and enough’s enough. It’s expected the yield will be down by 15% if not more. Kumara size will be down too – they haven’t had the rain to fill out. On a good year a plant might grow six kumara and half will be a decent size but that won’t be the case this year. The main harvest runs from the last week in February until early May so if rain comes now there is a chance later kumaras will size up. On Northland farms it’s still far too dry. Around Pukekohe warm, dry days have continued and growers have maintained the costly task of irrigating outdoor crops. Some rain was forecast for Saturday so it’s hoped it’ll be significant because there’s more fine weather to follow. Waikato had 0.6mm of rain on Wednesday, which was a complete waste of time. It’s still incredibly dry and farmers are feeding out a lot of supplement. They’re moving to once-a-day milking and production is dropping. By the end of next week some tough decisions will need to be made about when to dry off. Farmers need to make sure there’s enough supplement in the bag to get them through the next few months and while they might be tempted to keep on milking, the productive cows eat a lot more than dry ones. Maize cobs aren’t filling out in the dry so the yield and nutritional value will be down. Some farmers might decide to harvest early to salvage what they can. Parts of Bay of Plenty had 6.5mm of rain last week and everyone’s looking skyward in the hope forecast rain does arrive. Pasture in the hills will grow if rain comes soon. Dairy farmers are pregnancy testing and want to get empty cows off to the works to preserve any feed they have but meat companies are still rationing space. In Taranaki even summer-safe farms at higher altitudes and in the centre of the region are dry. Farmers are scanning a critical eye over their feed reserves trying to work out how much they need to set aside for winter. Gisborne’s been hot. The grape harvest is under way. There’s been a lot of heat units for grapes and few problems with fungi. Sweetcorn and squash are also being harvested. Stock are in great order. Farmers seem to be able to find space at the works for lambs and bulls but not for ewes and prime cattle. Hawke’s Bay has moved beyond its normal dry. It’s even dry in the foothills. Stock water is getting short in places. Some stream flows have dried up and some dams are low on water. The farmer we rang in Rangitikei says the rain will come and even though it’s hard to get animals into the works the Chinese market will open up again. He managed to get 1000 lambs away. They were a kilo and a half back on where he would have liked and worth $1.50 less per kilo than they were in January. He’s made the decision to feed lucerne to heifers

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ALL ABOARD: Eighteen thousand fine wool lambs were up for sale at Omarama this week.

with calves – it was set aside for the winter but with the price of palm kernel he’ll look at buying in feed later on when, hopefully, it’ll be cheaper. A Wairarapa farmer says the area’s edging towards a drought. Everyone he’s spoken to is feeding out on both dairy and sheep properties. Sheep need to be kept in good order for tupping. Store prices have collapsed a bit but there’s been rain in Kapiti and a little in Manawatu so Wairarapa farmers are hoping there’s market over the hill for their animals. SOUTH ISLAND Nelson wine growers are happy with their lot. They and the grapes have been enjoying long, sunny days. Nets are out on early ripening varieties pinot noir and pinot gris. Nelson’s the fourth largest growing region in New Zealand and there’s hope it’ll produce 12,000 to 13,000 tonnes of grapes this season. The grower we called says Nelson draws some great pickers from overseas – friends and family who have already been here spread the word about the beauty of the area, the weather, the reception they get from locals and the three national parks in the vicinity, Kahurangi, Nelson Lakes and Able Tasman. On pastoral farms north of Motueka things are greening up a bit after 18mm of rain on February 18. Marlborough’s high country has had very hot, dry conditions. The farmer we spoke to farms southwest of Blenheim and his farm ranges from 450 metres above sea level to 1500. He says the pasture’s gone off and rain’s sorely needed. Animals are faring okay as long as they have access to water. He’ll be weaning his Merino flock next week – later than most. He says everyone has their turn and this year it’s the grape growers. They are gearing up for harvest. The season’s been ideal – dry at the right time

and plenty of rain early in the season. The West Coast’s been quite pleasant. Our contact says there have been a couple of days where it’s been hot and humid and he’s wanted to sit in the shade but otherwise the temperatures have been in the early 20s. He farms in the tropical north near Karamea and last week welcomed 35mm of rain. He says the free irrigation has come a bit late but he’ll take it. Further south farms have had more rain than they’ve needed but that hasn’t been a disaster. The Grey valley has been as dry as a chip. It doesn’t get as much rain as elsewhere on the coast because it’s inland and sheltered. If they’re getting plenty of feed cows are milking well. Our farmer’s cows are having their diet topped up with distillers grain and palm kernel. Harvest is progressing well in Canterbury but, despite the dry weather, it has been quite slow because of overcast, cooler conditions. Dryland areas are really battling and the ability for farmers to move stock to processing is extremely difficult. In inland North Otago things are looking good following 50mm of rain two or three weeks ago. There’s plenty of feed. Towards the coast it’s tighter. On down country farms people have been busy harvesting grains and cereals. Eighteen thousand fine wool lambs were up for sale at Omarama last week. Merino wethers fetched $120 to $130, which is back about $20 on last year. We’re told the rural service industry is doing it really hard. There’s low morale among farmers and so much uncertainty about looming regulations and compliance costs that people aren’t spending. Southland’s the envy of the rest of NZ. It hasn’t been too hot and is looking reasonably lush. Recent floods created a headache around Mataura but for a larger part of the region the rain was welcomed. Milk production’s even lifting.

Courtesy of Radio New Zealand Country Life You can listen to Country Life on RNZ at 9pm every Friday and 7am on Saturday or on podcast at rnz.co.nz/countrylife

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NI SLAUGHTER COW ( $/KG)

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Store cattle numbers well down this year Just over 1000 store cattle were traded at yards followed by AgriHQ’s LivestockEye reports last week. That yarding equates to just 30% of the total for the corresponding period last year. The worsening dry conditions are doing little to entice cattle out into a very quiet marketplace with most farmers able to hang on. Paddock trading is also very quiet. Finished cattle are trickling into the processors but delays mean a common theme has been fewer offloaded at one time. The downwards spiral for cull ewes in the North Island seems to have plateaued with most yards reporting at least steady markets last week. NORTHLAND Wellsford store cattle • R3 Hereford-Friesian steers, 344-416kg, were consistent at $2.56/ kg • R3 Angus bulls, 461kg, returned $2.08/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 336kg, improved to $2.72/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 368kg, earned $2.39/kg • Seven mixed age Hereford-Friesian cows with calves-at-foot earned $845 per unit A reduced yarding of just under 120 cattle were penned at WELLSFORD last Monday. R3 Hereford-dairy steers, 421463kg, traded at $2.20/kg to $2.33/kg. A clear preference for the few larger lines on offer meant that 12 R2 HerefordFriesian steers, 360kg, maintained levels of $2.53/kg, while the balance, 326-373kg, softened to $2.35-$2.45/kg. Weaner Angus-cross steers, 183kg, returned $550. Kaikohe cattle • Top R3 beef and exotic steers earned $2.25/kg to $2.42/kg • R3 beef-cross and exotic-cross heifers traded at $2.20/kg • R2 beef-cross and dairy-beef steers sold over a range of $2.20/kg to $2.40/kg • Good weaner Hereford bulls fetched $555 • Good weaner Charolais heifers realised $525 A small yarding of 150 head were penned at KAIKOHE last Wednesday, with the sale tough going for most, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. R3 Friesiancross steers traded at $1.80-$1.88/kg, with heifers of the same consistent at $1.80/kg. Weaner beef bulls fetched $450-$540, and beef heifers, $300-$360.

Hauhora cattle • 15-month Charolais heifers, 270kg, returned $650 • 15-month Charolais-cross steers, 350kg, earned $800 • Weaner Exotic steers, 260-270kg, managed $700-$740 • Weaner Simmental-cross heifers, 260kg, fetched $650 The calendared weaner fair was combined with older 15-month cattle, as low numbers continue throughout Northland. Just 100 head were penned at HAUHORA last Thursday, and sold to a limited buying bench.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Hereford-Friesian steers, 420-431kg, fetched $2.65-$2.70/kg • Prime steers, 650kg, made $2.35/kg • Well-conditioned Friesian cows lifted to $1.30-$1.45/kg • Good prime lambs fetched up to $136 • Store lambs traded at $50-$80 With dry weather continuing, TUAKAU drew a very small yarding of store cattle last week, PGG Wrightson agent Chris Elliott reported. Red-bodied whiteface steers, 560kg, made $2.40/kg. All 425-440kg heifers earned $2.42-$2.43/ kg. Weaner heifers, 130-135kg, made $420-$440. Boner prices lifted by around 20c/kg on Wednesday, with top cows making $1.30-$1.45/kg and good-medium, $1.15-$1.30/kg. Prime steers ranged from $2.20/kg to $2.35/kg and most heifers traded at $2.20-$2.44/kg. About 700 ewes and lambs were yarded on Monday. Medium prime lambs made $110-$120 and lighter primes sold down to $90. Top prime ewes fetched $125, medium $80-$90, and light $40-$50.

WAIKATO Frankton cattle • R3 Hereford-Friesian steers, 465kg, lifted 4c/kg to $2.41/kg • R2 beef-dairy steers, 351-396kg, improved to $2.63-$2.65/kg • Quality autumn-born R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 405-418kg, strengthened to $2.54-$2.57/kg • Weaner Hereford-Friesian steers, 139-189kg, improved to $480$660 • A line of 20 weaner Friesian-cross bulls, 143kg, traded at $360 Store cattle throughput increased to 167 at FRANKTON last Wednesday, and a few new faces on the benches lifted returns for some. R3 Angus-Friesian heifers, 420kg, topped their section at $2.38/kg, while the balance, 405-438kg, earned $2.00-$2.05/kg. R2 heifers were consistent and all 356kg-368kg traded at $2.32-$2.34/kg. Weaner beefdairy heifers, 109-196kg, fetched $370-$480. Prime cattle numbers dropped to 57 head. Beef-dairy steers, 610-748kg, held value at $2.44-$2.49/kg. Nine Angus cows, 453-549kg, earned $1.43-$1.53/kg. Boner Friesian and Friesian-cross cows, 536-600kg, lifted to $1.22-$1.30/kg, while 456-521kg softened to $1.03-$1.12/kg.

BAY OF PLENTY Rangiuru cattle and sheep • Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 616-680kg, earned $2.50-$2.51/kg • R2 Red Devon bulls, 470kg, made $2.52/kg • Boner Friesian-Jersey cows, 353-474kg, improved to $1.18-$1.22/ kg • Prime lambs earned $108-$119 The smallest yarding for at least ten years was penned at RANGIURU last Tuesday. Most of the prime section was a mixed collection of boner cattle, that all sold $1.15/ kg to $1.27/kg, which for Jersey types was a significant improvement from last week. Most stores were R2 dairy heifers, with half in one pen of 15 Friesian, 342kg, that fetched $2.15/kg. The balance were generally smaller and selectively bought in the range of $1.29/kg to $1.93/kg.

POVERTY BAY Matawhero sheep sale • Mixed-age Romney ewes sold in a range of $41-$60 • Prime 6 th wethers made $115 There was just a small offering of sheep last Friday at MATAWHERO. The store market performed mostly as expected, and ewe lambs fetched $58 with shorn mixed-sex lambs at $71. Prime lambs sold on a similar market this week, with the bottom end earning $84-$92, and the top end at $110-$113.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle sale • R3 Shorthorn-cross heifers, 338kg, sold for $2.29/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 306kg, made $2.46/kg • R2 Friesian and Friesian-cross heifers typically fetched $2.02$2.04/kg Rainfall helped slow the downwards trend of recent weeks at last Wednesday’s TARANAKI cattle sale, with the small offering met by a little more enthusiasm. R3 steers held, with heavier Friesian-cross and Hereford-dairy, 427527kg, at $2.27-$2.35/kg, and 365kg $2.48/kg. The lift in optimism helped the R2 heifer market, despite some lighter weights, with the top-end able to reach $2.40-$2.49/kg. Competition for boner cows lifted with top cuts up to $1.40$1.50/kg, and another large portion at $1.30-$1.40/kg. Taranaki dairy-beef weaner fair • Weaner Friesian bulls, 174-178kg, fetched $500-$515 • Weaner Speckle Park-cross steers, 168kg, traded at $580 There was a bit more competition last Thursday at the TARANAKI dairy-beef weaner fair. Over half of the yarding was made up of Friesian bulls and heavier weights helped the average price lift to $430. Heifers also had more interest, and most were Hereford-Friesian, 130-150kg, which held at $430-$465. The steer section featured some nice lines and good quality Angus-Friesian, 130kg, strengthened to $510. Bidding was more subdued for Hereford-Friesian steers and the bulk of these sold in a range of $440-$525, with one line able to hold at $550.

HAWKE’S BAY

NO WOOL: These Wiltshire sheep sold well at the McMillan shedding sheep third annual sale at Te Kuiti last week.

Stortford Lodge prime cattle and sheep • Heavy mixed-sex lambs held for most at $126.50-$140.50 • Good mixed-sex lambs held at $100.50-$112 • Heavy ewes held at $90-$90.50 • Very-good ewes returned $75-$79.50 • Most medium ewes improved to $60 Ewe throughput lifted to just over 600 at STORTFORD LODGE last Monday, while lambs held at close to 150. Six heavy male lambs topped their section at $129, with heavy ram lambs $120. Ewe lambs of the same class

SALE YARD WRAP

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020

Coalgate cattle and sheep • Prime Shorthorn bulls, 595kg, topped the section at $2.48/kg • Weaner Hereford-Friesian bulls made $280-$370 • Weaner Hereford-Friesian heifers earned $310-$330 • Most prime lambs sold for $110-$158, with a few to $163-$170 Just under 5000 sheep were penned at COALGATE last Thursday, with three times the usual number of store lambs. The top end was back with male pens coming out on top at $105-$110. A quarter of the yarding earned $100$104, with the bulk $60-$88. Ewe throughput was low, and most earned $90-$124, while top cuts made $135-$160. A yarding of 41 prime cattle was a big improvement on the three penned the previous week. Angus heifers, 545570kg, made $2.30-$2.35/kg while Friesian heifers, 495590kg, fetched $2.10-$2.18/kg. Omarama and Tekapo on-farm lamb sales • 28,000 lambs were offered on-farm with most Merino, terminalMerino or Halfbred • Prices on average came back $20-$30 on 2019 levels • Top Merino lambs made $100-$120, with a few lines to $133 Limited buying power for Merino meant that auctioneers were set a challenging task at the OMARAMA and TEKAPO on-farm lamb sales, which featured lambs from 25 vendors. Halfbred lambs made a premium over Merino, which is unusual, and medium Merino returned $80-$100 and light, $50-$75.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY Temuka prime cattle and sheep • Hereford bulls, 605-770, eased to $2.50-$2.58/kg • Steers were generally $2.30/kg to $2.46/kg regardless of breed • Boner Friesian cows, 475-500kg, dropped 38c/kg to $1.07/kg • Most prime lambs made $110-$148, with the top cut improving to $150-$170 The cattle section at TEMUKA last Monday was very sticky. Many boner cattle showed the effects of the dry and quarter of the yarding earned $1/kg or less. Dairy bull prices fell significantly, with the top cuts at $2.20-$2.25/kg but most below $2/kg. In contrast, the lamb sections both lifted slightly. Fine wool store lambs were in demand and heavy lines improved to $96-$125 with mid-range types $70-$92. The top prime ewes made $159-$173, but most others traded at $100-$156, with lighter types at $50-$97. TOUGH GOING: Stock was hard to shift at the Tekapo and Omarama sales last week.

OTAGO sold well at $127. Six two-tooth ewes fetched $117 and most very-heavy ewes earned $100-$105.50. Good ewes improved to $70-$75, with the balance of medium types steady at $41-$51. Light to light-medium returned $25$37.50. Nine quality Hereford-Friesian steers, 568kg, were very good buying at $2.31/kg. Stortford Lodge store sheep sale • Store lamb market came back $14 on average • Top male lambs varied from $79 to $93.50 for most • Medium ewe lambs made $54-$70 • Light ewe lambs traded at $36-$45 • Capital stock 6-tooth Perendale ewes returned $130-$137.50 Store lamb volume grew to 5500 at STORTFORD LODGE last Wednesday, as farmers offload due to extreme dry conditions and the need to look after ewe flocks. A small but widespread buying bench was in place, but sellers had to meet a reduced market. Just two lines exceeded $100; 140 ewe lambs at $106 and 53 cryptorchid at $116. A small mixed-sex section varied from $30 up to $70. No store cattle were yarded.

MANAWATU Feilding prime cattle and sheep • Hereford bulls, 615-628kg, fetched $2.43-$2.47/kg • Jersey bulls, 640kg, made $2.36/kg • Friesian cows, 495-565kg, dropped to $1.21/kg • Prime lambs were steady, with tops at $147-$159, and the balance mostly $116-$140 A large dairy offering at FEILDING last Monday was limited in quality, though a single pen of very-good Friesian cows, 578kg, outperformed the bunch at $1.65/kg. A small top cut, 493-635kg, earned $1.34-$1.42/kg, but most others looked light due to the dry and two thirds earned $1.10$1.20/kg. Ewe volume was low again with only eight pens yarded. The top pen managed $97, with the rest selectively purchased in the $50-$86 range. Feilding store sale • VIC traditional cows with calves at foot maxed out at $1210 • R2 Angus steers, 395-505kg, were $2.55-$2.63/kg • R2 traditional heifers, 435-465kg, were $2.36-$2.51/kg • Good male lambs were $95-$115 • Medium and good ewe lambs were mainly $75-$90 A yarding of 450 cattle mainly eased another step, though quality was mixed at times. Very forward traditional R3

steers, 570-675kg, went for $2.56-$2.64/kg, with R2 Angus steers at a similar level. Mixed dairy-cross type steers, 305415kg, were mainly $2.20-$2.38/kg. One small line of 420kg Hereford bulls made $3.13/kg, $1320. Heifers prices were low but mainly reflected the offering – 340-350kg Friesian heifers were $560-$600 and 275-330kg autumn-born traditional heifers made $545-$730 or $1.98-$2.21/kg. Eight thousand store lambs mainly sold on a firming market. The bulk of the male lambs were sold in two cuts, the better types mainly $95-$105 and the rest rarely going below $85. The lightest ewe lambs began at $60 and rose from there, with only two good cuts above $90. Medium mixed sex lines were $75-$90, whereas a few light pens were $50-$60. Rongotea cattle • R3 Hereford-Friesian steers, 446-472kg, improved to $2.42-$2.45/ kg • R3 Dexter bulls, 425kg, earned $1.91/kg • R3 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 310-490kg, traded from $1.82/kg to $2.03/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 345kg, fetched $2.34/kg • Weaner Hereford-Friesian heifers, 95kg, returned $390 Forecast rain kept numbers low at RONGOTEA last Wednesday, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. R3 Friesian heifers, 260-385kg, traded from $1.36/kg to $1.95/kg, with Dexter, 365kg, at $1.30/kg. Boner Friesian cows, 520kg, held at $1.21/kg.

CANTERBURY Canterbury Park prime cattle and sheep • Prime steers, 600-696kg, mostly made $2.41-$2.51/kg • R2 Angus-Friesian steers, 391kg, contributed the best stores at $2.34/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 348-366kg, earned $2.20-$2.23/kg • Heavy ewes earned $155-$164, with the bulk $99-$146 Only the very first sale of the year contributed fewer store lambs than last Tuesday’s sale at CANTERBURY PARK. A better selection of mostly finer wool types lifted prices with very heavy earning $93-$120, and mid to lower end lines $65-$90. Prime lambs were sound with heavy pens $163$181, and very-good lines $141-$160. Cattle throughput dropped to just 144 head, split evenly between primes and stores. Prime heifers sold well in small lots, with one Piedmontese, 570kg, coming out on top at $2.66/kg, while most others were beef-cross that made $2.21/kg to $2.50/ kg.

Balclutha sheep • Heavy prime lambs held at $140-$160 • Heavy prime ewes softened $5 for the top end to $100-$115 • Heavy prime rams held at $100 • Top store lambs were steady at $90-$100 A small prime lamb offering held at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday, and medium lambs returned $110-$130. Medium prime ewes traded at $80, and lighter types $50. A handful of store lambs traded at steady levels and medium types earned $60-$80.

SOUTHLAND Lorneville cattle and sheep sale • Heavy prime lambs eased $3-$5 to $129-$136 • Heavy ewes improved to $120-$140 • Two-tooth ewes fetched $190-$200 • Prime heifers, 510-685kg, eased to $2.20/kg • R2 beef bulls, 450-470kg, returned $2.33-$2.34/kg A moderate sheep yarding was penned at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday. Ewes improved $17-$30 on last sale, as medium types returned $110-$118, and light $70-$100. Medium prime lambs eased to $120-$128, whilst lighter lambs improved for the top end, up to $110-$119. Heavy store lambs lifted $10 for the top end to $90-$110, with medium mostly steady at $70-$85, while light softened to $55-$65. Good to very good prime cows earned $1.40/kg to $1.62/kg, and medium softened to $1.20-$1.25/kg. Weaner Friesian bulls, 138kg, held at $280, while Hereford-cross, 130kg, improved to $400-$450. Top Hereford-cross heifers, 156kg, eased to $350. Charlton sheep • Heavy prime lambs lifted $10 to $150 • Medium to good two-tooth ewes returned $110-$120 • Heavy prime ewes improved $10 to $130 • Medium to heavy rams strengthened to $80-$90 • Top store lambs held at $110 A small yarding traded at mostly steady to lifting levels at CHARLTON last Thursday, PGG Wrightson agent David Morrison reported. The small volume worked in vendors favor in the prime lamb and ewe sections, and medium lambs held at $120130, while lighter types lifted $5 to $110-$115. Medium prime ewes held at $85-$100, as did light at $50-$75. Store lambs sold to good demand and medium types lifted $5 for the top end to $85-$100.

Markets

48 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 24, 2020 NI SLAUGHTER LAMB

NI SLAUGHTER STEER

SI SLAUGHTER COW

($/KG)

GOOD MIXED-SEX LAMBS AT TEMUKA

($/KG)

($/HD LW)

4.80

7.00

3.65

115

high $100-$133 lights Top Merino lambs at

Omarama & Tekapo onfarm sales

$267 Top ewe lambs at McMillan Shedding Sheep Sale

No wool sheep mean no worries ACROSS THE RAILS

Suz Bremner suz.bremner@globalhq.co.nz

ILTSHIRE sheep have recently come under the spotlight as the labour required and shearing costs associated with the more traditional breeds start to outweigh a dwindling wool cheque for crossbred wool. The Wiltshire animals have a relatively young history in New Zealand compared to some sheep breeds but it is a breed that has been nurtured for at least 40 years. For some the idea of farming ewes that shed or, at the very least, do not grow wool over their belly and crutch is a too good a chance to pass up and therein lie the bones of an increase in interest for Wiltshires. Ironically, their growth in popularity started at small block level but has spread to larger operations over the years. Recent ewe fairs have emphasised that increase in popularity. Grant and Sandra McMillan from Ongarue were early adopters of Wiltshires. They have been breeding them for 15 years and their motto “no wool, no worries” captures the essence of the breed and their 100% self-shedding flock on their 365-hectare King Country farm. Their desire for a less labourintensive farming operation led them down the Wiltshire path previously occupied by a Coopworth flock and over the years they have fine-tuned the breed to their own style of Wiltshire. The McMillans run 1700 breeding ewes and 750 ewe lambs

with 300 ram lambs also held over each year. It has taken the last seven years of selective breeding, with the main focus on shedding attributes but also feet and facial eczema tolerance, to produce progeny that are now 100% shedders. Grant McMillan says they are an interesting breed to observe. “While our flock are full shedders, the rate at which that occurs is variable due to the season. “Feeding seems to accelerate it but lactating suppresses it. Lambing occurs here from August 1 and the ewes generally get a wool break in September and by October-November most are fully shed.

SELF-SHEARING: Sandy and Grant McMillan and granddaughter Harper with a line of their Wiltshire Sheep offered at the Te Kuiti sale yards on Thursday.

While our flock are full shedders, the rate at which that occurs is variable due to the season. Grant McMillan Farmer “The lambs start in November of their first year of birth.” Common concerns voiced about the Wiltshire breed are that the shed wool leaves messy paddocks and they tend to have feet issues. McMillan quickly puts those to rest. “Crossbred ewes grow longer wool and therefore shed longer lengths. Pure Wiltshires grow up to a maximum of only 30-40mm before they shed it, which is barely noticeable in the paddock if it sticks around.” They have also bred out any feet issues. For the past two years the McMillans have held their own

ram and ewe fairs at the Te Kuiti sale yards in conjunction with PGG Wrightson. They are proving to be a popular stop on the calendar for many. This year earlier results for Wiltshire ewes have been a talking point with $340-$350 achieved for two-tooths at a special sale at Stortford Lodge while ewe lambs at the Glenbrae on-farm sale at Porangahau sold for $220-$292. The third annual McMillan

Shedding Sheep Sale was held on Thursday and McMillan admitted he was more concerned about this sale than the first one they held three years ago, given the market environment. But that worry proved unfounded with strong buying support from loyal local buyers as well as others from Wairoa, Taranaki and Tuakau. In all, 287 two-tooth ewes sold to $350 and averaged $314 while the top ewe lambs in a 308-head

offering sold up to $267 and averaged $213. Twelve two-tooth rams sold up to $800 and averaged $604 while 29 ram lambs reached $675 and averaged $604. The sale followed a two-tooth ram fair in November where the top rams reached $3000 and averaged $1704.

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Ten Basic Fertiliser Facts You Must Know and Adopt to Meet 2025 Water Quality Limits: Dr Bert Quin

Fact 1. The overuse of soluble P fertiliser is by far the largest cause of P run-off and leaching, and therefore of the decline in the quality of Kiwi waterways. Fact 2. Once you have Olsen P levels that are more than a third of the P retention (ASC), application of additional soluble P is very prone to loss to the environment. Fact 3. If you want to build up your soil P in an environmentally-protective way, simply apply RPR. It does not get leached or lost directly in run-off, but releases P in a sustained fashion for plants. Fact 4. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. RPR-based fertilisers are even cheaper than super-based products as well! Added sulphur bentonite (sulphur 90) is far more efficient than the excess sulphate in super. Fact 5. Following 1-4 above will greatly reduce P run-off and leaching. This should be done before anything else, and the situation reassessed before spending huge amounts of money! Fact 6. It is nonsensical to give in to pressure to install expensive mitigations riparian strips, excessively large wetlands and ‘phosphorus walls’ when you have no idea of their long-term effectiveness and maintenance costs, and before you have established whether changing to sustained-release RPR is all you need to do! Fact 7. in any case simple fenced-off 3-metre wide grass riparian strips are essentially as effective and vastly cheaper than more complex strips. Both reduce bacterial and sediment losses. Neither will have any significant long-term beneficial effect (on a whole -farm basis) on soluble P and nitrate-N loss. But grass strips can be harvested in summer to be fed out, to improve P and N cycling. Fact 8. In a nutshell, for maintenance of P levels any genuine RPR (not an RPR/Boucraa mix please!) can be used. Just check the Cd content. For low fertility situations or low rainfall, use a blend of RPR and high-analysis soluble P. Fact 9. For N, rather than granular urea, use prilled urea, sprayed immediately prior to, or during, the spreading with urease inhibitor. Use of N can be literally cut in half with big savings. Fact 10. Potash is more efficient, and must less likely to cause metabolic problems, if applied in small doses 4 times a year, adding up to 50-60% of the total annual amount you are using now. Easy to mix with your prilled urea. Leaching of anions like nitrate will be minimised as well. For more info, email Bert Quin on bert.quin@quinfert.co.nz, or phone 021 427 572, or visit www.quinfert.co.nz