Dairy News 28 March 2017

Fonterra farmer loans to incur interest. PAGE 3 BRAND LOYALTY

EMPTY BAG, FULL MARKS Opened with ease PAGE 22

New Holland flag bearer PAGE 24

MARCH 28, 2017 ISSUE 375 // www.dairynews.co.nz

‘FIFTY-FIFTY’ – A WINNING COMBO Albert Alferink, Mercer Cheese and cheesemaker Thomas Frederickson blend cow and sheep milk to claim top artisan cheese title . PAGE 5

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

NEWS  // 3

More cash on farms will ease burden SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

CASHFLOWS ON dairy farms DIRA changes. PG.06

UHT milk flows overseas. PG.14

Calf loader saves backs. PG.22

will be stronger this winter and spring, says Fonterra chairman John Wilson. The co-op is paying out 81% of its $6/kgMS forecast milk price for 2016-17 season, or about $4.85/ kgMS, as an advance rate to farmers to ease cashflow issues on farm. Wilson says a strong balance sheet is allowing the co-op to pay a higher advance rate. The 2016-17 season ends May 31; Fonterra will announce its forecast payout for next season in early May. Wilson says farmers will continue to receive a higher advance rate through the winter months. “We have brought forward what we would normally pay to assist our farmers with their cashflow because clearly our balance sheet is strong,” he says. “We normally always have a lot of

Fonterra chairman John Wilson says more cash will ease winter burden on farms.

deferred to pay July, August and September; the way we have shaped it will allow those normal, strong payments through winter.” “The last two winters have been

tough on farms but cashflows will be stronger this winter and spring.” Wilson says the low payouts over the past two seasons also affected local contractors and suppliers but

NOW TO PAY IT BACK WITH INTEREST

NEWS ����������������������������������������������������� 3-10 OPINION �����������������������������������������������12-13 AGRIBUSINESS ������������������������������������ 14 MANAGEMENT ��������������������������������������18 ANIMAL HEALTH ���������������������������������20 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS ��������������������������������������������� 22 TRACTORS &   MACHINERY ������������������������������������ 24-26

FONTERRA FARMERS who borrowed money from the co-op during the last two seasons will soon learn how much interest will be charged from June 1. The co-op still has $370 million in loans outstanding. Chairman John Wilson says farmers were told they would

have to start paying back the loan once the payout exceeded $6/kgMS; interest will be charged from June 1. He says the co-op will tell them the rate in the coming weeks. “We will use the strength of the co-op to ensure the interest rate is appropriate.”

Wilson believes the loans were a “good fill-up at the time” for cash-strapped farmers. Meanwhile directors and management will hold 36 meetings with shareholders this week, to brief farmers on the co-op’s half-year results and the global dairy outlook.

things have started to ease for everyone with the higher advance rates. He says the half-year results announced by Fonterra last week were outstanding, and the strength across the co-op, from employees to farmers, was special. “We have put more milk volume into high value products and have seen our farmers doing remarkable effort in adapting their businesses to the tough environment. “For us, to see the strength improving across the co-op – whether it’s us or our farmers – is critical…. But of course there’s some distance to travel yet because farmers endured two low payouts and that takes a bit to bounce back from.” Fonterra’s board confirmed the forecast payout of $6/kgMS and a target full year dividend of 40 cents/ share. Wilson says the forecast continues to reflect global dairy markets’ steady demand and relatively stable prices. “World dairy prices have continued to show signs of volatility, but we believe the fundamentals are sound and expect pricing over the balance of the season to remain stable.” But he urged farmers to budget cautiously. “The fundamentals of dairy are strong but there will be ongoing volatility in our global markets. “Our strategy to grow volume and value will continue to underpin our performance in the second half of the financial year,” Wilson says.

DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

4 //  NEWS

Co-op’s financial strength backing hefty global punch SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA CHIEF

executive Theo Spierings says a good net profit and a strong balance sheet are crucial for the co-op’s future. As Fonterra exports 95% of its products it must remain strong to take on global challenges, he said, while announcing the co-op’s half-year results in Auckland last week. Revenue for the six

months ending January 31, 2017 was higher at $9.2 billion and normalised EBIT was over $600 million with net profit after tax of $418m. The results were consistent and in line with the co-op’s strategy, Spierings says. On a global scale, dairy’s future remains strong as a demand-led industry, he says. Despite the recent slip in global dairy prices, overall the future remains very strong. “However, geopolitical

concerns remain because of some new leaders and statements being made here and there,” he says. “As we export 95% of our dairy products we have to understand what’s happening out there.” Spierings notes that Fonterra has no influence on geopolitical events and cannot change them. However, it can influence value creation within the co-op with its strategy. “But also important next to value cre-

ation is net profit and the strength of the balance sheet; we are in an extremely good position to go forward. “A lot is going to happen in the global context, a lot is going to change, but a strong performance and a strong balance sheet are crucial now.” Fonterra’s total volume of milk processed during the six months fell by 7% to 11.7b liquid milk equivalents (LME, quan-

Result highlights ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■

Revenue $9.2 billion, up 5% Normalised EBIT $607 million, down 9% Net profit after tax (NPAT) $418m, up 2% Revised forecast earnings per share 45-55 cents Interim dividend of 20 cents per share, to be paid in April Forecast payout $6.45 - $6.55 Ingredients normalised EBIT $510m, down 17% Consumer and foodservice normalised EBIT $313m, up 30% Moved an additional 227million LME of milk into consumer and foodservice products.

Fonterra is putting more milk into higher value consumer and food service products.

tity of milk used in processed dairy product). The co-op attributes this to lower opening inventory and a cooler spring which affected milk production in New Zealand. Despite lower milk volumes, revenue rose 5% to $9.2b because of higher milk prices. Operating expenses dropped 6%. Spierings expressed pride in the co-op’s efforts to reduce operating costs, which “went down again by 6%, so year-on-year over the last four years we have seen a stronger company but with lower operating expenses.” Fonterra also shaved

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off $800m from its net debt, dropping 11% to $6.1b at the end of half year. The ingredients business suffered an 11% drop in profit margins; higher milk prices affected margins. Its consumer and food service business was the star performer: volumes rose to 2.7b LME, gross margin rose 30% and normalised earnings before tax reached $313m. Spierings says the first half result shows Fonterra’s strategy of moving more volume into higher value products is working. “Our ingredients business maintained good margins. We made the

most of our manufacturing capacity and the flexibility it provides to match production to demand and secure the best returns for farmers’ milk. “By the end of the first half we shifted an additional 227m LME into higher value products in our consumer and foodservice business, contributing to a 30% increase in normalised EBIT. We are well on track to achieve our target of an additional 400m LME into higher value products by year end. “This shows us doing what we said we would, continue delivering value even in a volatile environment,” says Spierings.

NO COMPROMISE FONTERRA HAS not compromised its investment despite two seasons of lower milk prices, says Theo Spierings. He says the co-op has undergone huge transformation in its business. “We have been adapting to the harsh environment of the lower milk price but we have never compromised our investment in our communities,” for example Milk for Schools and Living Water.

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

NEWS  // 5

Fifty Fifty cheese a winning combo SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

CHEESEMAKER ALBERT Alferink says

he’s a man of few words. “I put everything into my cheese and let the cheese do the talking,” he told Dairy News. And his Fifty-Fifty cheese is the talk of the town after scooping the Puhoi Valley champion of champions award for local artisan cheese at the NZ Specialty Cheese awards this month. Alferink’s Fifty Fifty cheese is made from a blend of cow and sheep milk, the first of its kind in NZ; the cheese is made at Mercer Cheese, Onewhero, Waikato. The master judge, the Australian cheese guru Russell Smith, was impressed with Fifty Fifty by Mercer Cheese,

Albert Alferink and cheesemaker Thomas Frederickson with the winning Fifty Fifty cheese.

describing it as “a beautifully aged gouda, with complex sweet and savoury flavours coming from the combination of cow and sheep milk”. Mercer Cheese gets it

sheep milk from Spring Sheep on the Central Plateau, buying about 15,000L a year. Its cow milk (150,000L/year) comes from a neighbouring farm;

BLUE PREVAILS FONTERRA’S KAPITI Kikorangi blue cheese also won several awards: the Ecolab Champion Blue Cheese Award, the Renco NZ Export Cheese Award and the Fonterra Champion Original Cheese Award. Officially the most decorated blue cheese in awards history, Kapiti Kikorangi was described by judges as a truly exceptional and distinctive cheese. “The seductive creamy texture of this cheese is combined with sweet,

spicy blue flavours,” master judge Russell Smith says. Another Kapiti blue again won the public vote, to win the New World Champion Favourite Cheese Award, in which New World shoppers choose their personal favourite. The Kapiti Kahurangi Creamy Blue from Fonterra Brands NZ won for the second year running in the public vote, for its smooth texture, blue veining and mild savoury flavour.

the farmer supplies 20% of his milk to Mercer and the rest goes to Fonterra. Alferink says he first tried a cow/sheep milk cheese three years ago. Then after securing a deal with Spring Sheep for regular supply of sheep milk he made his first commercial batch of Fifty Fifty cheese in November 2015. He points out that despite the name Fifty Fifty the cheese is made up of two-thirds cow milk and one-third sheep milk; sheep milk has double the protein of cow milk. “To make it easy for consumers we have named it Fifty Fifty; a lot of them ask about the name,” he says. Fifty Fifty cheese is sold at the Mercer Cheese store, Mercer and at Farro Fresh outlets nationwide. Alferink says people are interested in sheep milk cheese, “a nice and sweet cheese, pleasant to eat. Sheep milk also matures well,” he adds. Alferink is not a newcomer to the specialty cheese wining circle. He won his first champion of champions award in 2009 with Mercer Extra Mature with Cumin cow cheese, and two years later won with his 50/50 Gouda cheese. In 2015, he won the Champion Artisan Cheese Award for Mercer Mature Cumin and last year for the Extra Mature

Gouda. Alferink doesn’t quite remember how many times he has won the champion cheese awards. “It’s not on my mind; for me it’s all about making the best cheese. I told the awards function that I don’t say much… I put everything into my cheese, even my words. Cheese has to speak for itself; it needs to have a character.” At age 65 Alferink is semi-retired and attributes the success of his Fifty Fifty sheep/ cow milk cheese to cheesemaker Thomas Fredrickson, “a fantastic cheesemaker with a dairy background and an eye for detail”. Fredrickson, from Kaipo Flats, spent 10 years milking cows and also had a stint as an AB technician; he has been making cheese for about eight months under the guidance of Alferink. They are looking at new products -- ricotta and halumi. Alferink says they made 32kg of ricotta from 600L of whey, a by-product from cheese making that’s usually sprayed on paddocks. “We are keen to sell ricotta in bulk to restaurants, rather than marketing it,” he says. Mercer Cheese also makes Truffle Cheese, which won a gold medal at this month’s awards.

IN BRIEF Ice cream search THE SEARCH is on for the best ice cream in the country. Judging will take place at The FoodBowl, Auckland in early May. The ’Kids’ Choice’ cate­ gory will again be judged by local school children. The closing date for entry forms is Thursday, April 13. Products samples must be delivered to The FoodBowl for judging by Thursday, 27 April. Last year the Supreme Award for a Large Manufacturer went to Tip Top Ice Cream for their Hokey Pokey Ice Cream.

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

6 //  NEWS

Change, growth good if managed well – Feds PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

FEDERATED FARMERS dairy spokesman

Andrew Hoggard says all the farmers he has talked

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if passed, will allow Fonterra discretion to accept applications to become shareholders from owners of new dairy conversions from 2018-19. Hoggard says this doesn’t mean Fonterra has to refuse new conversions. But in Canterbury a decade ago many conversions came on stream quickly and the co-op had to play catch-up building factories. “If they had been able to manage that, it probably would have been a lot easier to handle,” he says. “But there probably will not be many more conversions anyway. Most conversions that would have happened, have happened. There is probably still land out there that can be converted but at least this way, if there is someone wanting to convert and there is spare capacity and Fonterra is able to do it, then they can agree they can join. “Or they could say ‘in this area our factories are at full capacity; we are planning to upgrade so you can join in two years when the upgrade is done’. “My personal view and the view of most farmers I have talked to is that change is beneficial.” Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says about 100 submissions were received on the Government’s proposals to amend DIRA, split between those who want further deregulation of Fonterra and those who say Fonterra is still in a dominant position. “Having considered these submissions, the bill will introduce a number of changes to the DIRA regulatory regime,” Guy says. The changes: ■■ Retain the DIRA regime for the time being, by preventing it from expiring ■■ Require a review of the need for the DIRA legislation during 2020-21 ■■ Allow Fonterra discre-

tion to accept applications to become shareholders from new dairy conversions from 2018-19 ■■ Make other technical changes unrelated to the review of the state of competition. The government also agreed to alter eligibility to buy regulated milk from Fonterra, and the terms on which Fonterra has to supply it. This means Fonterra will no longer be required to sell regulated milk to large, export-focused processors from the start of the 201920 season. All processors buying regulated milk will also have reduced flexibility in forecasting the volume of regulated milk they intend to buy from Fonterra from the start of the 201819 season. “These changes are to regulations which will be amended through the standard process, in parallel with the bill going through parliament. I expect a range of views will be expressed during the select committee process,” says Guy. “The consultative process provided new information about risks of some of the originally proposed changes to regulated milk, particularly for downstream markets and consumers. “The government is therefore deferring the consideration of those potential changes to regulated milk for Goodman Fielder and small or domestically focused processors. “Officials have started work to understand the complexities in this area and any outcomes will inform the next review. “The next review will commence in the 202021 season -- 20 years since DIRA was created. The scope of this review will be wider than just competition policy, to take into account impacts from the work on downstream milk markets.”

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

8 //  NEWS

Calamity on the Coast PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

A GHASTLY period: that’s how

DairyNZ West Coast consulting officer Ross Bishop describes the situation facing the region’s dairy farmers. They are deeply frustrated and struggling to maintain faith in their dairy company Westland Milk Products, he says. The company is in a financial mess and chief executive Toni Brendish has the unenviable task of trying to return it to a reasonable financial footing. Already she has made clear there will be a lower payout for farmers and job losses at its factories. This is hard on farmers, Bishop

says. “If we had a bad season by itself or a poor payout season by itself we’d have been able to manage, but the two combined is more than the effect of two. It will be difficult for them to transition their way through this,” he says. Bishop says until a month ago there has been incessant moisture on the Coast and when it wasn’t raining there were poor drying conditions. “The ground has never really dried out enough to get fertiliser on in time, to get tractors on for topping or making supplement. And because we are looking after our pastures we were grazing higher than normal to avoid treading damage so we didn’t accumulate a lot of feed surpluses. It was difficult to get in winter crops so

they are either delayed or if they were sown there was a very low strike.” Coming into summer, farmers were down on supplements they’d normally have for the winter and they are also down on winter crops. Farmers are also facing pasture damage caused by treading. Bishop says in the last month things have changed for the better with warm dry weather and they have been able to catch up on some work on their paddocks. “But now it’s generally too late to get crops in, or they will have had to select crops that won’t yield quite as much. There’s been a bit of supplement made but nowhere near what people would be expecting to make. People are now going to have to make

strategic decisions about their farms as we move into the autumn proper.” He says farmers must decide soon whether to buy in extra feed to keep the cows milking or instead to quit dry cows to reduce feed demand. Milk production is on average down by 5-7% on the West Coast, but Bishop is unsure whether this is due entirely to the wet season or partly to farmers reconfiguring their businesses in the light of previous poor seasons. The weather and the financial woes of WMP are also a blow to the region. “The Coast has had the coal slump and the dairy slump and there just isn’t the same amount of money circulating in the local economy. It’s not

Ross Bishop, DairyNZ.

stagnant but it’s not buoyant. I think the dairy farming business here is still profitable but work is still to be done on what those businesses need to look like,” Bishop says. While the Coasters are renowned for getting through tough times, Bishop says someone needs to find a replacement word for ‘resilience’.

Digging into low productive results FAILURE TO meet its own goals for reproductive performance (industry targets) has been much talked about at Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF). Farmers at a February 23 focus day debated the analysis presented and anecdotal comparisons with other farms in the region. Taking a long term view, particularly if the current season is excluded, reproductive performance has

improved on the farm over the past 13 years. But drilling into the detail reveals the farm only once met the industry target of 78% six-week in-calf rate (2013 mating period). Since then the trend in six-week in-calf rates has declined, raising many questions about what is limiting performance. One bright spot for the farm was an increase in the overall number of yearling heifers in-calf. Last year the not-in-calf

rate in the yearling heifers was 14% but this year it dropped back to 9%, or 6% after accounting for five free-martins. Amongst other changes possibly having influenced the yearling results was a return to AI, followed by bulls, and an increased

focus on mineral management. This year’s 63% sixweek in-calf rate and 15% not-in-calf rate compares to 69% six-week in-calf and 13% not-in-calf rate last year. While the notin-calf rate has been reasonably static at 12-13%

from 10 weeks mating for a number of years, the six-week performance has decreased annually since 2013. Detailed analysis of the herd’s reproductive performance, done for the farm by LIC, showed little influence from age,

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milk production, BCS at calving or animal health. As in past years, earlier calved cows were more likely to get back in calf than mid or late calving cows. But this becomes increasingly difficult each year as the declining sixweek in-calf rate contributes more later-calving cows next season. Adding to this, a conservative replacement rate (in part to reduce grazing expenses) and a desire to identify and cull cows with Johnes disease has in recent years given the farm little selection pressure and therefore no ability to remove latercalving cows. Aware of high return rates in weeks four-six of mating, and uncertain of the effect of the viral disease Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), LUDF increased its number of bulls and, rather than rotate these as is normal practice, kept all bulls out with the herds for weeks six-nine. Past years have shown little gain in overall reproductive performance from bull matings, suggesting heat detection and conception rate was good in the AI period, and cows not mated at this time were less likely to get in calf. This year, with fewer cows in calf at the end of the AI period, four weeks of bull mating resulted in the number of cows in calf lifting from 63% to 85%. It’s also likely that cows impacted by the

above viral disease may have recovered by this phase in the mating cycle. Early indications from this seasons Johnes testing suggest the farm may not have many Johnes cows to cull, providing some opportunity to cull a small numbers of cows which could include latercalving animals. Some short gestation semen was used in the herd, and this, coupled with the planned earlier calving of the heifers, looks as though the overall calving pattern will not be as poorly impacted as the six-week in-calf rate implies. It does however keep the pressure on the one most certain factor likely to impact next year’s mating performance – the time between calving and mating. For the season ahead, LUDF must keep looking for options to tighten the calving pattern and lessen the number of empty cows, and cows not in calf at the end of six weeks mating. This will include anything learned from DairyNZ subclinical ketosis research, potentially increased use of short gestation semen, continued use of regular body condition scoring and proactive management of non-cycling cows. • There is much discussion on the possible impact of fodder beet on animal perfomance. The LUDF herd has not been wintered on in recent years or fed fodder beet during lactation.

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

10 //  NEWS

Consent deadline looms for 900 farmers NIGEL MALTHUS

FARMERS IN Environment Canterbury’s Selwyn-Te Waihora zone are being urged to get a move on with their farming consents.

About 900 farmers in the catchment will need a land use consent to farm.

An estimated 900 farmers in the catchment, which runs from the foothills to the coastal region around Lake Ellesmere (Waihora) will by this July need a land use consent to farm. The requirement is laid

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out in the Selwyn Te Waihora section (Plan Change 1) of the Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan, which specified new nutrient management limits and became operative in 2016. Farmers in the zone must have a land use consent if they farm more than 10ha, and either: ■■ Have nitrogen losses of more than 15kg/ha/year ■■ Are located in designated phosphorus sediment risk areas (primarily heavier soils in two broad swathes, near the foothills and in the Lincoln and Leeston area) ■■ Or are located in designated cultural landscape/values management areas (primarily around the lake). Zone committee facilitator Ian Whitehouse says ECan sent out about 2000 letters in February to rural property owners warning them they may need a consent. At the same time, ECan also announced a new nitrogen assessment tool, NCheck, approved for use only in the Selwyn Te Waihora catchment. Whitehouse says NCheck is an effective and valuable tool enabling people to estimate whether their nitrogen losses are more or less than 15kg/ha/year. ECan regards Selwyn Te Waihora as one of the more challenging catchments in the country, with low flows in the Selwyn River and the lake at the bottom of the catchment acting as a sink for nutrient runoff. Whitehouse says that as a wide shallow lake in which sediment is easily stirred up in windy conditions, there is always a lot of nutrients. “The lake grows algae very well.” However, the total package is not just about what is required of farmers, but also other management issues, i.e. the lake margins, wetlands and the lake level. Whitehouse says the basis for the consent

application would be a farm environment plan (FEP), which various industry bodies will help farmers to draw up. Speaking at the recent Lincoln University Dairy Farm focus day, Ravensdown environmental principal consultant Arron Hutton said the consenting process is very complex because a number of different rules are in play but the nitrogen limit of 15kg/ha/year will impact many. “In most cases if you know you’re an intensive farmer, a dairy farmer, it’s almost a given that you are going to have to take some sort of action.” Hutton said farmers first need to realise what zone they are in by consulting ECan’s www. canterburywater.farm website, then decide whether they think they need to take action. “Phosphorus is an issue for the guys in Selwyn primarily on the heavier soils, and nitrogen is the issue for the guys in Selwyn primarily on the lighter soils, both of which potentially can accumulate in the environment to negative effect,” says Hutton. The best approach for most farmers will be to contact a consultant. Although many will not have time to get their consent in place by July, ECan is allowing Ravensdown Environmental to run a waiting list. “It is expected of farmers that they will already have had a FEP in place before they go on the waiting list. And they are expected to have started to undertake the good management practices described in the FEP regardless of whether they are having to get a consent or not,” said Hutton. “First get in touch with someone who understands your farm system and knows what the rules are, and they will be able to advise you what your best course is,” he says. “But not getting on a waiting list will not be an excuse at ECan’s end.”

Check out the latest news and information at www.dairynews.co.nz

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

12 //  OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Will change work at Westland?

MILKING IT... All at sea

A SHIP carrying palm kernel expeller (PKE), ordered out of Tauranga port because of an infested hull, still has not returned to unload its cargo. The DL Marigold is in the South Pacific Ocean, according to the ship tracking website Marinetraffic.com. MPI ordered the bulk carrier to leave New Zealand waters two weeks ago following the discovery of a dense fouling of barnacles and tube worms on the hull and other underwater surfaces by divers. Milking It understands the PKE shipment belongs to the global feed supplier ADM.

Milking record

A RANGITIKEI dairy farmer has set a world record by milking 5000 cows in 12 hours non-stop. Bulls farmer Isaac Cook (37) was covered in cow dung, sweat and milk by the end of his 12 hour shift. But the smile on his face said it all. His friends and family counted down, clapped and cheered for Cook as he pulled the the last cup off the udder of cow number 5065. Cook’s challenge to set a world milking record stemmed from a Fit4Farming programme, which encouraged the farmer to keep fit, train and eat nutritiously. On an average day Cook might milk about 500 cows. Before the challenge, the most cows he had milked in one day was 2000, but with a break.

Skim milk is skim

A SMALL US, all-natural dairy isn’t being deceptive when it calls its skim milk ‘skim milk’. A US federal appeals court has ruled a victory for a Florida creamery that fought the state’s demand to label the product ‘imitation’ because vitamins aren’t added to it. The ruling overturns a decision last March when a federal judge sided with the Florida Department of Agriculture, which said the Ocheesee Creamery couldn’t label its skim milk ‘skim milk’ because the state defines the product as skim milk with vitamin A added. The state instead said that if the creamery wanted to sell the product, it should label it as ‘imitation’ skim milk. That didn’t sit well with the dairy whose philosophy is not to add ingredients to natural products. So instead of complying, the creamery has dumped thousands of gallons of skim milk rather than label it as an imitation. The state was unable to show that forbidding the creamery from using the term ‘skim milk’ was reasonable, said judges.

Soy, almond, not real say Aussies AUSTRALIAN DAIRY farmers are calling for a “truthin-labelling crackdown” on the use of the word ‘milk’ by makers of plant-based milk-replacement products. Dairy Connect, lobbycing for NSW dairy farmers, says ‘milk’ is defined by food standards as the mammary secretion of milking animals, so consumers are confused by seeing the word on soy and almond liquid products. “[We want ] appropriate labelling so that whether it’s milk from a mammal or a product from a plant, people can make an informed decision,” says its chief executive Shaughn Morgan. “They can use other titles... water, juice or another name.” In the US, a two-party group of 32 congressmen have urged the Food and Drug Administration to investigate and take action against makers of “fake milk” that doesn’t come from cows. They say the word ‘milk’ on soy, almond and other types of plant-based products is misleading, deceptive and harmful to the dairy industry.

MENTION THE words Westland Milk Products and eyebrows are raised and furrows appear on the face. Some say it’s a basket case, others in the know believe it is quite fixable. Time will tell. Toni Brendish, the new chief executive, has the massive task of sorting out the basket and making this proud and fiercely independent co-op viable again. If she does that she will deserve the same accolades Lain Jager received for getting kiwifruit out of the Psa mess. But there is a difference between Psa and the problems Westland faces. Arguably, WMP’s problems are manmade, arising from a plausible strategy badly executed. While the now-departed chief executive has to carry the can for much of this, the board of WMP collectively should not be exempt blame. They were elected or appointed to make sure the strategy worked and to intervene if necessary. We don’t know the inside story and so cannot apportion blame. But now with Peter Morrison (chairman) and Katie Milne (deputy chairman) at the helm of WMP what difference will they make? Clearly they will have to make a big difference and show outstanding leadership in nursing their farmer shareholders and staff through challenging financial times. They will have to communicate and build confidence as never before. Not by silly public relations (read ‘spin’), but by genuine honest factual information from now on, throughout the next season and beyond. They may have to do special things for the farmers who now face disaster, and not over-promise when they don’t really know what’s in store. Farmers appreciate certainty, even if it is bad. They don’t like surprises, especially nasty ones. The whole of the West Coast has to get behind Westland Milk and Morrison and Milne must mobilise that support and walk the talk. The board must support and advise the chief executive, not play politics. They need to make hard decisions but at the same time cushion the landings of those who may fall by the wayside so that WMP can survive. The task of Morrison, Milne and the management team is not just to save WMP, but to save the whole West Coast economy from collapse.

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

OPINION  // 13

Managing autumn feed crops on 0800 PIONEER (0800 746 633). • Ian Williams is a Pioneer forage specialist. Contact iwilliams@genetic.co.nc

among the most difficult for cropping I have ever experienced. Planting was delayed throughout the North Island due to ongoing rain. Northland went from floods to drought in a few short weeks. Heat unit accumulation was slow in most regions in early summer. Many maize silage crops in both the North and South Islands are now two-four weeks behind last year. This article provides a few autumn management tips. Regrassing. If your maize crop is running late, consider planting an annual or Italian ryegrass rather than permanent pasture. Annual or Italian ryegrasses have better cool season activity, a shorter time to first grazing and will produce more winter feed than a perennial ryegrass pasture. They will provide valuable winter feed and any surplus can be used to make high quality pasture silage. Work towards planting a shorter maturity maize hybrid in the late spring – once you have a pasture surplus – and then go back into permanent pasture in 2018. Test your maize silage. It is always a good idea to test your maize silage to determine the drymatter content and feed value. It’s even more important this year as it has been a far-from-normal growing season and crop drymatter levels are more difficult to estimate using milk-line score. Knowing maize silage drymatter content and nutritive value will enable you to feed budget and plan feed-out rates more effectively. The best way to sample is to take handfuls from across an open stack face. Alternatively a closed stack can be cored, but make sure you plug the holes with salt and seal the cover. Samples should be submitted to the laboratory as soon after collection as possible. Put them in a plastic bag, burp the air out and

store them in a cool place. Avoid couriering samples at the end of the week. Watch maize silage wastage. Good feed-out management is important. Keep the silage face tight and remove all loose silage every day. If you have used Pioneer brand 11C33 or 11CFT and your maize silage has fermented for a minimum of 30 days, you can feed out maize silage up to one day in advance. In all other situations feed out as close as possible to when the cows will eat the silage. Remember there is a feed energy loss associated with silage heating. Watch calcium intake, especially if you are milking or wintering cows which are in the early dry period on lower calcium feedstuffs such as palm kernel, maize silage, grains or straws. Calcium is the major mineral in the body: 98% of it is contained in the bones and teeth. It is essential for muscle activity, blood clotting, nerve transmission and enzyme function. Low calcium status increases the incidence of milk fever and calving difficulties. Ideally the diet should contain 0.6% calcium. If your diet contains less, consider supplementing with limestone (calcium carbonate). Your veterinarian, nutritionist or local Pioneer brand products representative can help determine appropriate feeding rates. Limestone supplementation in the late dry period is not generally recommended. Our company is focused on helping farmers get the most out of their spending on maize silage. If you need help in balancing rations or determining what supplement to feed when, contact us

Watch calcium intake in cows this autumn as low calcium status can increase milk fever incidences.

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

14 //  AGRIBUSINESS

Westland UHT milk heads to China, Fiji While Westland Milk Products suppliers and staff struggle through a tough season, milk processing goes on. While most of this is done at the company’s main plant at Hokitika, its UHT plant at Rolleston, near Christchurch, produces milk for China and other markets. Reporter Peter Burke visited recently. WESTLAND MILK’S

plant at Rolleston is ideally located for a company that collects milk in two distinct regions – West Coast and Canterbury. For a start the railway line runs right beside it and there is an inland port. The milk from farms in Canterbury comes into a ‘reception area’ -- your typical factory collection area with three 250,000L silos where the milk is first stored. UHT manufacturing manager David Reid says once the milk is tested some is kept for processing into UHT, while the remainder gets reverse osmosis treatment whereby about half

the water in the milk is removed, concentrating the milk solids and so reducing the cost of moving them by road or rail to Hokitika for processing mainly into powders. The water extracted from the milk is then processed for re-use at the factory; it does not go down a drain. The amount of milk handled by Rolleston varies from season to season; in better seasons the plant can handle at least one million litres. After processing, this milk and all the products made at Hokitika come back to Rolleston; powders

are warehoused, butter and other products go into a cool store. According to Reid, the UHT plant at Rolleston is not large and is very much in its infancy. “We produce 1L and 250ml cartons, and we

can also do a bag-and-box -- a large bag of capacity 20L to 1000L. These large packs are mainly for the food service or manufacturing sector.” The UHT process at WMP Rolleston is the

Westland Milk UHT manufacturing manager David Reid. Below left: Westgold UHT milk bound for China.

same as other plants: the milk comes in, is standardised, then heated to 140oC for four seconds, cooled to 20oC and then it’s ready for packing in standard Tetrapak cartons. “We pack it antiseptically which ensures the product is free of bacteria that could cause spoilage or food safety issues. In the case of UHT milk, this gives it a shelf life of nine-twelve months. We sample throughout the run for batch uniformity and sterility – the latter is critical. We can also trace all our products from the farm to the time they come off the production line.”

Not only is the milk sterilised, so are the Tetrapaks. These come off a belt and are opened up to form a tube into which the milk is fed. An unusual feature of the 1L packs produced at WMP is their screw top. “We are one of the few installations in NZ -- maybe the only one -- that runs the Tetrapak heli cap. During the manufacturing process we get a cap glued into the top of the pack and as you open the pack the action of opening it forces a cutter to go down into the pack and cuts it open. Until then the pack is completely sealed which is great for quality and

safety and security.” Whipping cream is also made at the plant and this has a shelf life of about seven months. All the product made at Rolleston is made to order, much of it for China, Fiji and Malaysia, and mostly exported because the NZ market for UHT milk is small. The site at Rolleston is set to expand: work is due to start soon on a standalone infant formula blending and canning factory, a joint venture with the Chinese paediatric milk formula company Ausnutria; WMP will have a 40% stake in the company, to be called Pure Nutrition Ltd.

$1.7m study aimed at teat sanitisers RESEARCH AT the universities of Otago and Auckland is aimed at developing and field testing new teat sanitising products within two-three years, to control bovine mastitis. The $1.7 million Ministry of Business, Industry and Enterprise-funded study, which also involves animal health company Deosan, will use microbiology and medicinal chemistry to advance new anti-mastitis mole-

cules. The result will be “entirely new” teat care formulations. Mastitis costs the NZ dairy industry at least $280m per year in treatment and discarded milk. The dairy industry now relies on just two antimicrobial sanitisers to control mastitis, administered through teat sprays, the universities’ research teams say. Both formulations contain bio-

active ingredients (chlorhexidine or iodine) also used to control infection in hospitals. But because of the mounting threat of antimicrobial resistance in clinical environments and lower acceptance of chemical residues in consumer products, there is a call for new types of products for the dairy industry. Previous research, supported by Agmardt, uncovered a new class of

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molecules with potent antimicrobial activity against mastitis-causing microorganisms; these have the potential to work with current treatments, and they are not harmful to mammal’s cells. Deosan chief executive Kip Bodle says this project can help support NZ’s global leadership in producing quality milk. “Our success in commercialising

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

16 //  MARKETS

Argentians smooth the way for GDT price rise PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

LATIN AMERICA may

have been the unexpected cause of the GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) overall price index rising 1.7% last week against expectations, says ASB senior rural economist Nathan Penny. The futures prices just prior to the auction were weak and indicating a fall in the 5% range, Penny told Dairy News. “The futures market doesn’t cover everybody; not all milk buyers are in that market. As we have seen, perhaps some of

those who were not in that market came into the dairy auctions. “We suspect it may be Latin American buyers looking to get hold of products from New Zea-

land because they can’t now get it from Argentina. That appears to have supported prices which in the end was a pleasant surprise.” Argentina is a major

whole milk powder exporter but production is limited due to floods. However Penny expects prices to remain static for the rest of the season, but pick up in the

PAYOUT INTACT FONTERRA KEEPING the 2016/17 forecast milk price at $6/kgMS was expected although there was a small risk they would change, says Nathan Penny. However the earlier earnings per share forecast of 50-65c has dropped down to 45-55c. “That indicates profits aren’t as strong as they thought it would be,” says Penny. “But the way they have offset it, they appear to be looking to pay a

larger share of that to farmers. So they are looking to pay 40c as the cash dividend which in a way negates the slightly lower earnings per share for farmers. “Fonterra is going to take that little big extra out of its own balance sheet and give it to farmers.” Overall, he says, the results are not much change from what we knew – although slightly behind earlier indications.

Nathan Penny, ASB Bank.

new season. “We’ve got a bit of a correction this year so far based on good production: we’ve had a good summer and now a good autumn, so there’s a bit of extra milk hence prices have come down to reflect that. “But looking over the rest of the season and even into next season we can see prices lifting gradually over the year.” European production was falling heavily, but over the last two-three months that fall appears to have stopped. “The fact it is not fall-

ing at a rate of knots is enough to make a difference. “US production is strong – looking at 2.5% which is quite high for them in terms of annual growth.” The ASB is holding its farmgate milk price forecast at $6/kgMS for 201617 increasing to $6.75/ kgMS. At last week’s auction whole milk powder (WMP) was up 2.9% to an average price of US$2855/t. Skim milk powder (SMP) was down 10.1% to US$1948. Anhydrous milk fat (AMF)

was up 3% to US$5799 and butter was up 4.9% to US$4910. Overall the GDT price index has risen 54.7% over the last year. Westpac senior market strategist Imre Speizer also says the GDT was stronger than the futures market had predicted. While demand from China dipped a bit lower, overall demand was sufficient to absorb the 10% rise in WMP on offer. “However with supply trends in both NZ and Europe improving, the market will continue to be challenged by rising supply.”

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

18 //  MANAGEMENT

Cluster weights take toll PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

SOME MILKERS in New Zealand could be lifting 1500-1800kg during each milking, and so doing a lot of work, says Josh Wheeler, a milk quality consultant. Our lightest cluster

set-up in NZ weighs about 1.7kg, and the heaviest is close to 4kg, he told a recent Efficient Milking workshop. So a person milking 580 cows in a rotary with a 3kg cluster is lifting about 1500-1800kg every milking, he says. Wheeler told herringbone milkers, if someone

told you to shift a tonne of urea with a 2.5kg shovel you would tell him to “get stuffed”. “But the reality is you are probably doing that every milking. You need to think about how we are doing in respect of repetitive use syndrome… what we are doing and how we are cupping and the tech-

nique you use to make you efficient.” There is a big time difference between a good cupping technique and a poor cupping technique, he says. In a rotary with a six-seven minute round, typically the milker has about eight seconds for the cupping procedure so should have a cupping

technique of about four seconds. But a lot of our cupping techniques are about eight-nine seconds. The hardest cup to put on is the one you have to reach for, he says. “The first method anyone is taught is the round-the-circle method typically designed for herringbones. When you are

DairyNZ’s Josh Wheeler says some milkers could be lifting over 1.5 tonnes during each milking.

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taking the cup from one side to another you are turning your hand and grabbing the hardest cup first, attaching, then going around the circle. “So normally you are trying to change hands as you change sides of the pit in the herringbone. “In a herringbone, if I am on the right side of the pit I should be holding the cups in my left hand and trying to cup with my right hand because then I’m not stretching.” In a rotary, typically you start off doing the round-the-circle method but to change hands you need to use another method. The other way to change hands is two at a time -- trying to attach both cups at the same time, he says. This can be done in herringbones as well. Put on two front cups more or less at once, then the back right, then the back left with the other hand. See www.dairynz.co.nz/ milking for detail With clusters, most of the weight is in the shell, he says. As we have changed technology we have never really designed a cluster for the milker. A milker needs something small, light and easy to handle. Sometimes the size of the shell can make a big difference. “You look at a lot of people milking these days: many haven’t got huge hands. One of the struggles on rotaries is the ability to hold two at a time. You will notice that when you get a shell 5mm smaller it is a lot easier to do two at a time. “If you have a cluster that is different, for instance a 3.5kg set-up, the easiest way is to just

change the shell.” In a rotary you should match the speed of rotation to the speed of the efficient comfortable cupping technique of the cups-on person. You base your speed of rotation on that, regardless of how many cows go around twice. The principle of milking in a herringbone is trying to get to the point at which we can open the exit gate as quickly as possible. If you have two people milking in a herringbone, you want them to work as close together as they can, so they can open the exit gate as quickly as possible. If you are one person in a herringbone, you aim to do everything as you go. The first thing to observe in an efficient herringbone is “as soon as cow number one is in position you should be cupping her in 30 seconds”. “As soon as there are four cows in front of me I should start teat spraying; every minute I lose at the beginning I will never regain.” Bunny-hopping two staff members – starting about five cows apart -- in a 40-aside is worth three minutes more, rather than one milker at cow one and one at cow 20. Three minutes per row can save 20-30 minutes per milking – or an hour over two milkings a day. Wheeler says DairyNZ has built a module on how to work efficiently in a herringbone and in a rotary. Experienced milkers who learn the base method know they can change it to make it faster. But they are giving farmers the tools to give staff members.

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

20 //  ANIMAL HEALTH

Costly disease targeted in research funding round PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

THE FUNDING of research into facial

eczema (FE) and bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD), and better use of antimicrobials and disease management on dairy farms, has been boosted in the latest Sustainable Farming Fund round. The Facial Eczema action group was granted $395,620 for improved FE management on dairy farms. The project aims to more effectively prevent FE by providing evidence of the production cost and welfare implications of this disease when it is subclinical, and so making the necessary value proposition for change. The aim is better management of FE, to raise welfare, productivity and sustainability on all farms. In another project, the BVD Free

New Zealand group was granted $584,540 to build its capacity to eradicate the disease. BVD costs the NZ beef and dairy industries at least $150 million annually. This project will collect field data on the epidemiology and economics of BVD in beef herds. This data will be used to build a national BVD simulation model capable of tracking the disease status of individual animals and herds over time to compare the costeffectiveness of the current voluntary approach to BVD control against coordinated national eradication programmes. The Sustainable Health Group development project was granted $485,580. This project is intended to develop farmer-led groups to initiate and promote change in antimicrobial use and improve disease management on farms

-- to reduce and refine antimicrobial use, and help prevent, detect and treat the disease. Four farmer-led sustainable health groups will be set up in Southland and Otago, chiefly to reduce and rationalise the use of antimicrobials in all farming sectors. If they succeed, antimicrobial use will drop on enrolled farms, and the hope is that this could be a model for other regions. Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says he is pleased to see BVD and FE being tackled in dairy. “FE is a nasty disease. When cattle ingest the fungus that causes it, it damages their liver and causes chronic wasting and death. Badly damaged liver tissue never regenerates. There is no cure so prevention is the only way of protecting animals. “This project will… encourage farm-

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

ers to address the problem before it gets to clinical level and help farmers to know how and when to treat their cattle, ultimately leading to improved animal welfare, productivity and sustainability.” The project will be led by the Facial Eczema Action group with representation from vets, farmers, researchers and DairyNZ. The project will receive $395,000 over three years and begin in July 2017. The second project looks at BVD, which about 80% of NZ’s dairy and beef herds have been exposed to. Infection can cause reproductive losses, an increase in general disease, reduced

growth rates and lower milk production. Estimates put the annual losses for dairy farmers at over $100 million. “This project will include identification of key transmission pathways, development of a business case for coordinated national BVD control and the building of a national model to track BVD status of individual animals and herds over time,” says Guy. This is the first time a BVD project has been funded by the Sustainable Farming Fund. A total of $585,000 will be provided over three years and the project will be led by BVD Free NZ and will begin in July 2017.

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DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

22 //  MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Calf loader saves backs MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW PROPOSALS pending, from August 1, for safe handling of bobby calves, pose fresh challenges for stock handlers. Animals must have shelter before and during transport, and during loading and unloading should be able to walk on or off the truck. This latter point will be well received by truck drivers, who risk back and other injuries from

Empty Bag makes opening fertiliser bags easier and safer.

repetitive hefting of calves from ground level to truck. So a product seen at the recent Central Districts Field Days offers benefits for stock handlers and animals. The Oroua Bobby Loader is made from H4 tanalised timber to NZ building specifications and meets with MPI approval. It can be delivered onsite fully assembled and go straight to work. The loader, with a 2.4 x 3m footprint and 3m height, is designed to hold 17-25 calves, depending on

breed/size. It has a wooden nonslip deck that drains, and a Colorsteel roof and side cladding to keep wind and rain at bay. Attention to detail sees screw fasteners and bolts throughout, so there’s no risk of injury to livestock or people. Twin swinging gates, made from tubular steel, are favoured over a slide-action gate, so there’s no jamming caused by tracks filling with debris. With the livestock handlers in mind, a standout point is the OSH

approved access ladder with handrail, and an inspection platform that gives easy access to the pen, particularly on wet days. Manufacturer and supplier Ivan Wildbore says the units can be tweaked to suit buyer’s requirements such as loading height, which might vary from 11001200mm. Accessories include an extended loading ramp, water troughs and teat feeders. The Oroua Bobby loader.

Bag opener regulates flow THE SIMPLEST devices can sometimes

give the best results. For example, the arrival of big bags for handling fertiliser did away with back-breaking handling of awkward 25kg bags, thanks to mechanical handling. But there were challenges: suspending a bag over the fertiliser spreader hopper and reaching under to cut an opening. Many can tell a tale about using, and sometimes losing, a knife

section on a stick, or a favourite penknife, during the task. And who hasn’t muttered “it won’t all fit in the hopper; how do I stop the flow?” So a neat device from TechniPharm, aptly named Empty-Bag, can make the job easier and safer, at a cost of no more than $400. Made from high-grade polyethylene, the device comprises a pointed tower to pierce the bag, and four radial serrated blades which enlarge the opening. With the unit placed on the floor, the big bag is lowered over the point until four barbs -- not dissimilar to those on a fishing hook -- have punctured the outer skin of the bag, ensuring the device can’t drop out. The bag is then lifted over the spreader hopper, from where the operator has access to a guillotinestyle shutter mechanism that can be used to open, regulate or stop the flow at any time, importantly without the operator having to be in a dangerous position under the bag. – Mark Daniel

Mark Bell-Booth, Saflex Ltd.

Correct teat spray mixed fast, easily A 2011 study of teat spray use on 300 New Zealand

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farms discovered that 60% of dairy farmers were either mixing or using the products incorrectly. Much of the poor practice centred on incorrect dilution rates and storage of mixed product. Both problems are now addressed by a new device seen at the ASB Innovation Centre at Central Districts Field Days -- the Saflex MixMaker sold exclusively by Ecolab. Spokesman Mark Bell-Booth says the device “requires only four minutes to get properly diluted teat spray onto the cow, direct from the drum, fully mixed and diluted to the correct concentration”. An easy-to-use control panel allows the ratio of teatspray and emollient to be adjusted on the job between 5% and 30%, to allow for changes in environmental conditions. The changes can be made immediately before or during milking. Field testing in Canterbury, on herds from 300 to 1400 cows, indicated that hot, drying winds can completely change the condition of a teat between morning and afternoon milking, and necessitate changes to the teat spray ratios. Managers at the trial sites said they found it much easier to tweak the MixMaker to adjust the percentage of emollient in the spray mix to counter possible teat damage during milking; changes to the texture of the product were seen just minutes later. The system can be retro-fitted to the inlet tube of an existing vacuum or electric teat spray system, or added to an automatic or walk-over system. – Mark Daniel

DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

24 //  TRACTORS & MACHINERY

Brand’s tech features, service keep contractor rolling MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

MIKE SILSON and his wife Claire operate Riverlea Contractors from their home in Hawera, south of Mount Taranaki. They offer a full range of agricultural services including cultivation, harvesting and baling. For the last 20-plus years they have chosen New Holland tractors and machinery, based on the brand and the service from Norwood Farm Machinery (NFM) in their home town. Now they run 16 New Holland tractors – a diverse range from a TS 115 through to a T7.270 and most models in between, plus round and square balers.

Having looked at other tractor brands over the years, Silson has continually chosen New Holland because of the features they bring to his operation. Tractors are selected with specific jobs in mind. For example, the T7270 with Auto Command transmission was bought for doing silage stacks. Says Silson, “I believe the Auto Command is the strongest transmission out there, which is why we chose them to do the hard work”. Riverlea Contractors also has three New Holland BR750A round balers, a BR760 round baler, two BB940 large square balers and a BB1270 large-square baler. Both the round and square balers make a dense bale, are reliable and easy

to operate, Silson says. “The square balers in particular are high-density machines, and the BB1270 provides high productivity on a daily

and seasonal basis.” The support of Norwood Farm Machinery in Hawera keeps the Silsons coming back. The sales department helps custom build units for out-of-season delivery on indent; and they get a quick response in the event of a breakdown or an emergency. NFM knows about the pressures contractors face, and the urgency

required in getting machines running again. Silson uses genuine New Holland parts and lubricants in the tractor fleet to help extend service intervals to 600 hours, which saves time and money and has a direct effect on the business profits. www.newholland. co.nz

Mike Silson is sticking with New Holland tractors.

New Valtra piggybacks on sister series THE NEW, fourth generation Valtra A series tractor appears to have piggybacked on sister company Massey Ferguson’s 4700, 5700 and 6700 series. Whilst MF tractors for European distribution are made at Beauvais in France, the Valtra are built in Suolahti, Finland or Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil. The global nature of the product sees chassis designated S, M or L with wheelbases of 2250mm, 2430mm or 2500mm and tare weights of 3500, 4000 or 4500kg respectively. S versions get the AGCO Power

Valtra A series.

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optional creep set than can get minimum speeds right down to 90m/hour at 1400rpm. At the business end, lift capacities are 3000, 4300 and 5200kg respectively for the S, M and L variants, with open centre gear pumps delivering 65L/min on the S, and 98L/min on the M and L versions. Tractors can be specified with up to three sets of rear remote valves The operator gets a six-post cabin with a sweeping A-post pillar and sloping hood to give good forward visibility, and the option of a hi-viz roof for loading operations.

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SEE US SOUTH HEAVY DUTY AUTO ISLAND RESET FIELD DAYS 577

Don’t put good fertiliser on compacted soil which can’t absorb it. If your soil can’t support 15cm root growth and good worm population check for compaction. You could need aeration. In dollar terms, what would 20% production increase mean to your yearly turnover?

3.3L 3-cylinder engine in a choice of 75, 85 or 95hp; M uses the 4.0L, 4-cylinder producing 100 or 110hp; and the L tops out at 120 or 130hp. Models over 100hp are Tier 4 emission compliant with an SCRonly solution to keep things clean and green. All ranges get a 40km/h, 12 forward/12 reverse speed transmission, delivered by six main speeds and two ranges, with no power shifts at this stage, but likely to appear in the future. A choice of mechanical or power shuttle is complemented by an

CLAIMED TO be the World’s largest mixer wagon and blower combo, a Trioliet 40 cubic metre capacity unit has been delivered to a Danish dairy farm. The Solomix P3 4000L ZKX-TR became part of the equation after dairy farmer Henrik Terkelsen built a new barn and increased his herd to 770 cows. Used to deliver two loads to the dairy cows and another to dry stock at the main site, the wagon then visits two other locations to feed young stock and spread straw in housing stalls. This can result in the machine spending up to an hour on the road each day, but gets the job done of feeding and bedding all the stock in around three hours. The addition of the mechanically driven and electronically controlled blower system allows straw to be blown up to 25 metres and

Trioliet mixer wagon.

saves the cost of another tractor being required to move between locations. The triple-axle unit incorporates forced steering on the front and rear axles to improve manoeuvrability, and utilises the Dutch manufacturers Shifttronic threespeed reduction gearbox. This automatically adjusts the auger speeds

during mixing and discharging, based on weight within the tub, and allows a relatively small tractor being required to power the unit. Also fitted to the machine is a wireless data transfer system which relays details of the ration being fed to the farm’s central computer to aid feed management planning - Mark Daniel

DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

TRACTORS & MACHINERY  // 25

Keenan wagon goes self-propelled WITH KEENAN tying up Italian

mixer wagon specialist Storti, it was always going to be when, not if, they would introduce a self-propelled feeder. The MechFiber 345SP showed its colours at the recent SIMA exhibition in Paris; it combined a Storti-

built chassis, front loading elevator and four-cylinder 170hp Iveco engine with a largely standard MechFiber wagon on the rear. Using six paddles to mix the ration, the 16m3 machine is said to be suitable for feeding 95 cows. Once mixed the load is discharged

via a front mounted cross conveyor that operates to the left or right, while the driver can monitor the mix from the seat and observe the contents of the tub with an onboard camera. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

The MechFiber selfpropelled feeder.

INTRODUCING THE

ALL Lely set to offload forage unit

NEW POWERHOUSE

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

IN ONE of the farm machinery industry’s worst-kept

secrets, global manufacturer AGCO says it expects to buy the forage division of the Lely Group. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal will be completed by the end of the fourth quarter in 2017. This will allow AGCO to strengthen its product offering, particularly in balers and loader wagons, and allow Lely to concentrate on the dairy automation sector, a growth area of its business in the last few years. Commenting on the sale, Lely chief executive Alexander van der Lely says the company “intends to focus as a leader in dairy robot technology, and on data and sensor systems used on dairy farms”. “Over the past 15 years these areas have been a major source of growth for this company, and they offer us great potential.” Production of dairy equipment will continue at the Maassluis, Netherlands HQ and at plants in Pella, US and Leer, Germany. Production of grassland machinery such as mowers, rakes and tedders, now made at Maassluis, will be moved to other AGCO plants, with production ceasing by March 2018. The Wolfenbuttel and Waldstetten factories in Germany, where balers and loader wagons are produced, respectively, will be acquired by AGCO. Lely staff numbers are likely to drop by up to 200; some say 100 people will depart the Lely HQ. AGCO New Zealand manager Peter Scott says “the acquisition broadens our product offering and gives our dealers and their customers more choice, while also offering the parts and service support they have come to expect for AGCO brands”. Work will now start to integrate the Lely products into the AGCO line-up and decide whether there is room for both those and the Fella brands.

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MASSEY FERGUSON®, MF®, the triple-triangle logo® is a worldwide brand of AGCO. © 2017

DAIRY NEWS MARCH 28, 2017

26 //  TRACTORS & MACHINERY Quad bike safety is under review in Australia following a spate of fatal crashes.

Debate rages over quad use ‘culture’ MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

NOT MANY weeks pass

when quad crashes don’t make the news here or in Australia; for example, the

first weekend in March saw two fatalities and a serious injury in NSW. In a move to limit these, Queensland last week made helmets compulsory; and in Victoria and NSW rebate

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incentives are offered to encourage farmers to fit roll-over protection devices. Farmsafe AU spokeswoman Sarah McKinnon says a big change is needed in quad use ‘culture’ to raise safety, and she suggests manufacturers find ways to design for greater safety. In response, the Australian quad industry is urging state and regional governments to immediately ban riders younger than 16 from operating adult-size machines. The Federal Chamber of Automobile Industries (FCAI) also wants state governments to mandate continuous adult supervision of riders under 16 when they are operating “age-appropriate” quads. The industry insists that full-size quads were never designed to be

ridden by children, yet they keep doing it despite warning notices on machines and freely available safety and training materials. In New Zealand, the Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford reiterates the long-held industry viewpoint that only vehicles that comply with the ANSI standards on power and speed for agerelated quads or side-byside machines should be sold in NZ. The MIA is also urging the government to prohibit the importing of machines that do not meet this standard. And it urges parents to prohibit children younger than six from riding any size quads or side-by-sides, and youngsters under 16 from riding adult-size machines.

The police tractor at Northern field days.

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THE NEW Holland police tractor hit the roads in 2015, the brainchild of then New Holland operations manager Kyle Baxter (now C B Norwood brand manager) and police inspector Paul Carpenter. They saw it as a good way to generate public interest and get the police talking to people in rural communities. Senior-sergeant Alasdair Macmillan says, “the New Holland tractor has exceeded our expectations, allowing us to play a larger part in local field days and giving us new opportunities to engage with the public”. “Formerly at field days our site used to struggle to attract an audience, but now the public are intrigued and stop to ask us what the tractor is used for, which is exactly what we want. “Many conversations end up in us getting information on criminal activity, which gives us a lot of useful insight into issues facing each community.” So far in 2017 the tractor has traveled the South Island, attending eight events since January and visiting many towns from Queenstown to Oamaru. www.police.govt.nz/rural

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