Dairy News 23 January 2018

Drought helping push prices up. PAGE 4 40 YEARS STRONG

Balers get facelift PAGE 24

JANUARY 23, 2018 ISSUE 393

ROBOTICS PIONEER More time for family PAGE 22

www.dairynews.co.nz

M. BOVIS: A WAKEUP CALL “We’ve got to do a much better job of recordkeeping ”. – Tim Mackle, DairyNZ PAGE 3

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

NEWS  // 3

‘Big wake-up call’ NIGEL MALTHUS

THE MYCOPLASMA bovis out-

The intuitive farmer. PG.06

Growing NZ pride. PG.13

Wireless operator. PG.26

NEWS ����������������������������������������������������� 3-10 OPINION �����������������������������������������������12-13 AGRIBUSINESS ������������������������������ 14-15 MANAGEMENT ��������������������������������16-18 ANIMAL HEALTH ���������������������������������� 19 FARM DAIRIES ������������������������������� 20-23 MACHINERY &   PRODUCTS �������������������������������������� 24-26

break is a big wake-up call for the industry, says DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. Mackle’s comment followed a public meeting in Ashburton earlier this month, one of two in the district where sampling packs were distributed to farmers as MPI’s milk-testing goes nationwide. The meeting emphasised that MPI’s tracing teams, trying to track animal movements on and off infected farms, have not been helped by poor record-keeping under the NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) scheme. Mackle said the immediate focus is still on getting on top of the disease but at some point there will be reviews about how it got here and how it was handled, on everyone’s part. “Clearly” NAIT records will be among the matters reviewed, he said. “You’ve heard a lot of comment from the experts that one of the things that has not helped the response team progress as quickly as they could have is incomplete record-keeping -- not across the board but in several situations that mattered. “MPI is saying this slowed them down a lot, and that could have added time to this disease. So... we’ve got to do a much better job of record-keeping and staying on top of that stuff, so when something like this happens they can move quicker and get on top of it.” The NAIT system is mandatory but lacks hard enforcement such

as automatic fines for non-compliance. As DairyNZ head, Mackle will this year contribute to recommendations on how to make NAIT more usable for farmers, to increase compliance and adherence and make it more effective overall. “Clearly questions must be asked about it, and why it’s not being used as much as it should,” said Mackle. “We all know this is going to be a big wake-up call for us. “As tough as it is for those affected right now, the flip-side is it’s not foot-and-mouth disease, and this kind of thing gives us a chance to look at ourselves and ask ‘where do we need to lift our game?’ Clearly record-keeping in NAIT is one factor,” he said. MPI vet Lindsay Burton also called the M. bovis event a wake-up call for NZ’s system of widespread animal movement. But questioned from the floor he declined to put a

Mid-Canterbury farmers collect their milk sampling pack.

percentage figure on the degree of compliance with NAIT encountered

by the tracing teams. • More on pages 8-9

OPEN FARMING HELPING DISEASE SPREAD DAIRYNZ BIOSECURITY manager Chris Morley, a vet with long experience with Mycoplasma bovis in Canada and his native UK, told the Ashburton meeting that NZ is unusual in its “open” farming systems. Common practices here are off-grazing, lease bulls and the sharemilking system. Farmers form herds at the changeover time of year, perhaps leasing 100 cows and buying another 50 to get the numbers up, he said. “We move animals around very freely and that’s been convenient and it’s a profit-

able model. Unfortunately that model is not a good model if [it contributes to M. bovis staying here],” said Morley. “And that’s why MPI is up at the plate at the moment with industry trying to stop it. “Because we don’t want it to mess with our model, but that’s the reality: if you’re moving animals around that’s how it spreads.” Mackle said he had cleared his desk to make it to the Methven and Ashburton meetings, which followed the first confirmed M. bovis infection in the Ashburton district.

Although DairyNZ is closely involved in the disease response, the Ashburton meeting was the first he had been able to attend in districts known to have the disease. He applauded farmers’ turnout and willingness to move against the disease, finding out what they could do together and individually. “A good response effort is going on right now but fundamentally – and this is why bulk milk testing is so critical – we still don’t know with absolute confidence where this disease is and where it’s not,” he said.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

4 //  NEWS

Dry squeezes prices higher PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

DRY CONDITIONS in the early part

of summer are suppressing milk production and squeezing dairy prices higher, says BNZ senior economist research Doug Steel. A weaker US dollar is generally supporting all USD denominated commodity prices with dairy no exception, he told Dairy News. “The GDT price index rose 4.9% in the second auction of the year, following the 2.1% lift at the previous event,” he says. “All product prices rose, with whole milk powder prices up 5.5% to just over US$3000/tonne. “The price gains unwind some of the decline late last year. Prices could squeeze higher in the near term if New Zealand production continues to suffer from poor grass growing conditions, although we expect softer prices to resume later in the year on strong global milk supply (particularly from the EU) supported by low grain prices. “Still large EU stockpiles of skim

Fonterra’s milk intake is down following a dry start to summer.

milk powder (SMP) and possible changes to the EU’s intervention programme provide for some potential price weakness.” SMP prices rose 6.5% at the latest auction, but at US$1818/t they are still at very low levels. “Some recent rain in NZ will help production at the margin, but more is needed. Fonterra has reported its milk collections in December were 6% lower

than a year ago. “We think total NZ milk production for the 2017-18 season will be down by about 2% on the previous season, which includes the second half of the season being down about 5% on a year ago. “This will dent NZ GDP growth and is one reason we are a little cautious on such in the near term. “The 7% price gain this year con-

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verts to a smaller 3% gain when expressed in NZ dollars, given that the NZD/USD is now about 0.73 rather than sub 0.70 as it was late last year. “Nevertheless, the first two GDT results of the year help reduce the downside risk to milk price forecasts that we were highlighting toward the end of last year. Our milk price forecast for the 2017-18 season remains at $6.30/kgMS (Fonterra’s latest view is

$6.40/kgMS).” Rabobank dairy analyst Mike Harvey says all prices rose at the latest auction and whole milk powder (WMP) made a healthy jump (up 5.1%, average price US$3010/t). “The result is not surprising given the news prior to the event: Fonterra’s milk intake for December dropped 6% for the month. This is a big drop and concrete evidence of how impactful the dry conditions have been. “While some regions have had much needed rain since the start of 2018, for many it is not near enough.” Fonterra is expecting a 3% decline in milk volume for the season (vs last season) as announced prior to Christmas, says Harvey. Hence Fonterra is managing volumes on the GDT. “This will help restore some balance to the global market in the first half of 2018 when we expect to see pressure on global prices continue. “Growth elsewhere across the dairy export regions is still tracking higher but at different rates; and growth in Europe will still be key to the price direction in the first half of the year.”

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

NEWS  // 5

Speed up response, farmers tell Govt AGRICULTURE AND

Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says farmers have spoken up about the slowness of the response to the disease Mycoplasma bovis. O’Connor says he visited affected farmers at Winton earlier this month; he had visited affected South Canterbury properties before Christmas. “Farmers have shared their concerns about the [slowness] of the response, started under the National Government in July, and how we can contain the spread of the

disease,” O’Connor says. “I have great sympathy for farmers caught in the outbreak, who face tough decisions to protect their livelihoods. “There is a willingness out there to do whatever it takes to eradicate M. bovis. This remains our focus.’’ He reiterated that M. bovis is not a food safety risk; it affects animal welfare and production. Last week he also announced a new testing and tracing regime with the aim of providing a clearer indication of the spread of M. bovis and

■■

Damien O’Connor

potential action for eradication by the end of February. Ministry for Primary Industries officials met last week to confirm three lines of work : ■■ a national M. bovis

milk surveillance programme: MPI will test three samples of milk from every dairy farm starting on February 1. Results are expected in February and March. tracing animals moved from properties under Restricted Place notices: investigators have followed up almost 1000 contacts for possible links to infected properties; 39 are under Restricted Place notices as testing continues and 17 properties are confirmed infected. Tracing and confirming

■■

animal movements from the infected properties takes several days for each property and involves using records from NAIT, Animal Status Declarations, trucking dockets and interviews with farmers. genome sequencing: the tool used to work out whether the strain of M. bovis is the same on all infected farms. It takes several months as it involves growing the bacterium from samples. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

PW getting an update THE EQUIVALENT of ‘cur-

rency’ for cows will be updated next month to better reflect the industry’s focus on efficient, high quality milk production, says LIC. Production worth (PW) is an economic index calculated for all New Zealand dairy cows as an estimate of their lifetime production ability. It helps farmers identify the top performers in their herd, to decide which cows to keep or

cull, and to help figure a value for buying or selling. Four traits figure in the PW calculation: milk volume, milk fat, protein and liveweight. A fifth trait will be added in February -somatic cell. Somatic cells are produced by a cow’s immune system to fight an inflammation in the mammary gland (mastitis). Some cows are more prone to it than others and

it can curb their ability to produce milk, even when the infection is cured. The update will make PW more relevant for today’s farmers, says Malcolm Ellis, dairy farmer and LIC’s general manager NZ markets. “Somatic cell can hit a cow’s health, production and reproduction. On our farm PW is a tool to lead culling decisions, to identify

and retain the most valuable cows in the herd; but like many other farms we also review somatic cell data to help inform those decisions. “We want to make that secondary consideration seamless, with all that information in PW.” It will be the first update of PW since it was introduced in 1996 by the forerunner to LIC. Somatic cell was added into BW in 2005.

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FONTERRA GOES FRESH DAILY INTO CHINA FONTERRA IS entering the fresh milk market in

China The co-op has launched Daily Fresh milk in 14 stores in two major cities – Shanghai and Suzhou. The milk, sold in 750mL bottles, is sourced directly from Fonterra’s farm hub in Hebei province. The bottles carry labels matching each day of the week to emphasise freshness, with stock being replenished overnight ready for each new day. Initial volumes are about three tonnes daily, with plans to scale-up over time and expand with the retailer as it rapidly expends store numbers across China. Fonterra has partnered with Hema Fresh, Alibaba’s new retail concept which combines bricks-andmortar and digital shopping. The president of Fonterra Greater China, Christina Zhu, said the new product meets growing domestic demand for higher-quality fresh products, as part of the ‘premiumisation’ of China’s consumer categories. “Shoppers here in China are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tastes and preferences, driven by rising household incomes,” said Zhu.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

6 //  NEWS

How are we going to do this...?

‘VARIABLE’ IS THE ONLY CONSTANT PAM TIPA

NIGEL MALTHUS

University researcher investigating the role of intuition in farmers’ decisionmaking has had his work published in a scientific journal and as a novel. Dr Peter Nuthall and Dr Kevin Old, from the department of land management and systems, have been examining how farmers make their decisions, the role intuition plays and how it can be improved. Their analysis of farmers’ intuitive decisionmaking is published in Journal of Rural Studies (‘Intuition, the farmers’ primary decision method. A review and analysis’)https://www.sciencedirect.com), and Nuthall has published a novel on the same theme. His novel, The Intuitive LINCOLN

what to do. “Sometimes a decision is instantaneous, but in others a range of thought levels are brought to bear before acting. Good decision intuition is not a mysterious process,” said Nuthall. “Profit and other assessments show some farmers are good intuitive decisionmakers, others not so good.” Farmers with little experience, whether or not they are naturally intuitive, found it difficult to make good decisions. Nuthall said the intuition process often uses ‘pattern matching’, in which the brain uses experience to match past events with a current problem requiring a decision. “The farmer [then intuitively]

pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

A WEATHER snapshot across the country shows ‘vari-

comes up with what the brain believes to be the correct action.” However, intuition was more than just pattern matching. “Intuition develops with a farmer’s thought process, selfcriticism and review.” The new research showed how farmers can improve their intuition, he says.

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Farmer: Inspiring Management Success, tells of a group of farmers who meet to discuss management challenges and skills associated with intuition. Guided by meeting facilitators, the farmers sort out each other’s decision problems, learning and taking on board the lessons. And a new novel will guide farmers through the process of modifying their management style. The book is available through most international online book sellers, including its publisher 5M. Nuthall and Old gathered data from at least 700 farmers. “Farmer intuition has never been analysed to this extent before,” said Nuthall. The research showed that farmers base most decisions on their intuition. They do not formally analyse each decision but use their mental powers to decide

able’ as the only word to describe weather and pasture conditions, says Andrew Reid, DairyNZ general manager extension. This applies within each region and across all the regions. “The only constant is the pockets of the country that are actually getting through the summer quite well, but others are suffering through the dry,” he told Dairy News. “And even within territories, isolated heavy downpours can completely bypass some areas that need it as well.” Reports from Southland, which enjoyed a good spring, show some regions and areas have had good rainfall. “But other regions are very dry and in a dire situation; that trend has been around the country,” says Reid. “Taranaki and lower North Island, where drought was declared before Christmas – Andrew Reid parts of those regions have had rainfall and others haven’t and they have had to rely on imported feed to get the cows through this January period.” ‘Variable’ would be the best description of pasture in Waikato and Bay of Plenty as well. “With the variable spring conditions it has been quite wet in some areas through spring and that impacted on supplementary feed reserves; and it has turned dry earlier so farmers have broken into those reserves earlier than expected. They are having to rely on palm kernel to get them through.” Northland was looking dry but good rain has fallen over the past couple of weeks. It is probably a typical summer period for Northland but overall the region is looking alright. Canterbury, with its access to irrigation, is having a pretty typical season. The West Coast also shows a variable pattern -- a drought declaration followed by heavy rain. “It is whether you are fortunate enough to be in the area which gets the rain or not. But in general West Coast is looking down the barrel of an unusually dry summer.” Overall effects will depend on how prepared farmers are for getting through the adverse weather – whether too dry or too wet. “The lessons out of this are if you plan for the worst and have an action plan you are prepared to implement, and you know what triggers are required to implement that plan then you would be better off than just sort of winging it and hoping for the best. “That is a test of farming, and the risk of farming – being dependent on weather.”

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

8 //  MYCOPLASMA BOVIS TESTING

Eradication is the k NIGEL MALTHUS

Mid-Canterbury farmers collect their individualised milk sampling packs at the Ashburton meeting.

TABLES LADEN with individually labelled sampling packs and stacks of small chilly-bins have marked the start of a new front in the fight against the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.

MPI announced on January 11 it had extended the milk testing already underway in Canterbury, Otago and Southland into a national milk surveillance programme. The new regime effectively started the day before the official announcement, with sampling packs dis-

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tributed to Mid-Canterbury farmers attending two public meetings in Methven and Ashburton. MPI says it will test three milk samples from every dairy farm in the country. One sample will be taken from bulk milk as part of the regular sampling process at milk collection. Farmers will then provide two samples, a fortnight apart, of discarded milk from cows with mastitis or other suspicious symptoms. MPI said M. bovis is more easily identified in milk taken from already sick animals, which makes testing of discarded milk a valuable surveillance tool. In Mid-Canterbury, the bulk milk sampling from tankers had taken place a week earlier but results

were not yet available. For the second and third phases, each of the 412 dairy farms between the Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers was given its own individually labelled sampling pack consisting of a small chilly-bin, cooling pad, collection jug and sample vials. The milk companies Fonterra/MyMilk, Synlait and Westland were to distribute the packs to farmers who did not get to either of the two wellattended meetings. Farmers were to collect milk from every quarter of every cow that appeared to be off-colour for any reason, on January 17, and place a vial of the sampled milk in the chilly-bin for collection by their tanker drivers. They

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work the land. And treat your farm as a biosecurity fortress, with its defences tightened to shut out pest and disease threats. Confirmation this month that the bacterial cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis is present on a farm in the Ashburton area – bringing the number of infected properties to 14 – is the latest wake-up call. All farms are at risk from pests and diseases. Regarding M. bovis, movement of infected animals is the main risk, then animal-to-animal contact and transmission through milk and semen; but the disease can also be transferred directly on equipment such as calving and AI gear. MPI staff work hard to knock out biosecurity threats at our airports and ports but they’re only the first line of defence. You’re the fullback. You need a game plan to repel weeds, bacteria and other harmful substances that would hurt your livelihood. Now for those resolutions. First, are your NAIT records up to date? Federated Farmers will be lobbying hard for early adoption of recommendations to simplify NAIT compliance as a conclusion of a review of the National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme. Every livestock farmer’s role is to accurately and entirely record stock numbers and movements on and off their property. The M. bovis outbreak is showing us that strong NAIT compliance is crucial to the efficiency of the biosecurity response. Next, have an onfarm biosecurity plan and make sure your staff are on board with it. The concept of your farm as a ‘separate country’ with virtual borders is not over the top. For example, if family members or farm visitors are recently returned from overseas, consider the risk of them carrying an unwanted substance on footwear or in a suitcase. Limit unnecessary movement of people, pets and vehicles onto your property, especially in areas where animals are kept. • Katie Milne is the president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

// 9

e key – MPI PCR testing, a method of fingerprinting DNA from extremely tiny samples. MPI response coordinator David Yard assured farmers that the ministry had not been sitting on its hands. Since the first detection of M. bovis on a Van Leeuwen Dairy Group farm near Oamaru in July, MPI has had nearly 200 staff “working flat out”. MPI and commercial labs had done 65,000 tests and the nationwide scheme would produce another 36,000. It is vital to know all animals’ movements, both on and off infected farms, said Yard. “To date we have looked at more than 400 trace properties. I describe this as a spider web because for every positive property we get, there’s probably 30 or 40 trace properties that have either been supplied with or given animals away. So one farm becomes 40 and those 40, if you multiply it, becomes a huge number.” Yard said further positive results were expected

would repeat it two weeks later, on January 31. Asked if the programme was voluntary or mandatory, Fonterra’s general manager of veterinary, technical and risk management, Dr Lindsay Burton, told the Ashburton meeting “I don’t do voluntary”. District by district, the whole exercise will roll out across the country in the next couple of months. Burton told the meeting that it is important to know the status of every herd in the country to identify all possible clusters of the disease. He reminded farmers that only New Zealand and Norway, of all developed milk industry countries, do not have M. bovis established. Everyone else had “given up” testing for it, which meant NZ had to develop its own testing regimes. Burton said antibody testing had proved “not useful” because of false positives from other, unimportant, mycoplasmas. The national testing programme will use

but it was wrong to say the disease was getting away. MPI believed the disease was not long established. “I give you my word... the aim at the moment is eradication,” he said. Another MPI Vet, Dr Kelly Buckle, said that when the disease was found MPI could not immediately do bulk milk testing but instead did “syndromic surveillance”, asking vets throughout the country to phone in instances of unusual arthritis or mastitis. That resulted in hundreds of reports but all except one – a farm that was also a trace property – proved negative. They also paid special attention to large herds, where the disease spread most easily, again with negative results. “So we really would be surprised – we would be enormously surprised, I think – if we found this thing was widespread. But we owe it to everybody to find out what the real state of play is before we continue on this,” said Buckle.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

10 //  WORLD

Outdoor grazing rising in Europe SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

MORE EUROPEAN

dairy farmers are warming to the idea of grazing

European dairy processors are encouraging farmers to graze more cows.

cows outdoors. European dairy co-op FrieslandCampina reports that the number of its member dairy farmers putting their cows out onto paddocks has

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increased for the second year in a row. Last year, 79.4% of FrieslandCampina farms took up some form of outdoor grazing, 1.2% more than in the previous year. Thanks to active acquisition and guidance, 314 dairy farms decided to start outdoor grazing this year, the co-op says. Chairman Frans Keurntjes says the rise in the number of farms using outdoor grazing is a positive development. “The sight of the cows contributes to social acceptance and the image of dairy farming. We are happy with these increases and thank all outdoor grazers.” By promoting outdoor grazing FrieslandCampina hopes that in 2020 it will have the same percentage of farms (81%) using outdoor grazing as in 2012. Some dairy farmers are

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EUROPEAN DAIRY co-op Arla Foods has joined forces with a leading Indonesian dairy firm in a bid to strengthen its business in Southeast Asia. The joint venture with CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk (ICBP) will be called Arla Indofood Sukses Makmur; the co-op will hold “50% plus one share”. It will handle sales, distribution and production of dairy products; details about product offerings, production and launch dates are not yet public. Arla says Southeast Asia is a key growth region in its strategy Good Growth 2020. The new joint venture with ICBP is set to expand Arla Foods’ presence in the Indonesian market. “We are pleased to enter into a partnership with ICBP which has strong experience in dairy and has an extensive distribution network in Indonesia with access and relationships to all key retailers,” says executive vice president of Arla Foods’ international business, Tim Orting Jorgensen. “Teaming up with ICBP will allow us to offer our products to more Indonesian consumers.”

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

12 //  OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

NAIT tightening needed

MILKING IT... Impatient with cancer

Not bubbling over

Alright for some French hit recall button A SWISS organic farmer

AN ENGLISH businessman who criticised New Zealand’s dirty rivers has been invited to come here for a swim. Dairy NZ wants Sir Tim Smit, an environmentalist, to visit for a dip in a river because he said last month at a London conference that NZ is like “a beautiful person with cancer”. Sir Tim co-founded The Eden Project, an eco-tourism and educational charity that opened in Cornwall in 2000. He told the Country Land & Business Association’s ‘Redefining Farming’ conference the NZ brand is so pure the people of Christchurch won’t swim in the River Avon. “It is like a beautiful person with cancer. Why? Because there was no strategy except to satisfy consumers in China with dairy product, which is ironic for a lactose intolerant people.” DairyNZ strategy leader Bruce Thorrold says it is “extremely disappointed” at the comments.

THE EFFECTS of the drought are spreading beyond the farm, even affecting a Palmerston North cafe’s lattes. Cafe Royale, on The Square, was left with bubbly milk after its organic supply was altered due to dry weather. Owner Robert Winters said Anchor told him the milk was different because farms have to give cows a different type of feed. In mid-January he was left with milk that was bubbly when it should have been smooth when frothed, he said. The coffee dilemma brought home the effects of the drought, Winters said. He also couldn’t get organic trim milk for about two weeks, disappointing some customers. Winters had to warn customers that their usually silky coffees would have more air bubbles than normal.

says the high quality of his cheese results from machine-massages his cows enjoy. Fadri Riatsch says fit, healthy cows “live all summer in high alpine meadows above 2000m, grazing on grass and wild flowers... and I give them massages”. “Here in Engadin Scuol we have spas for cows as well as people.” The animals are housed inside in winter but have access to a terrace where they enjoy winter sun, fresh air and breathtaking views of the Lower Engadin Dolomites and the Swiss National Park. They eat straw and hay made from grass and wild flowers with no added hormones.

FRENCH DAIRY giant Lactalis is under political pressure after a salmonella contamination forced a global recall of piles of its baby food products. Lactalis, a world-giant dairy producer, in December recalled products made at Craon, northwest France, after discovering salmonella bacteria on site. France’s consumer protection agency ordered a halt to sales of products from the site, but some products still got to supermarket shelves. French President Emmanuel Macron labelled Lactalis’ practices unacceptable, adding that “food security of all French and European citizens is a priority that must be guaranteed at the highest levels”.

THERE SEEMS no end in sight to the Mycloplasma bovis disease that is rattling the dairy industry. With the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and its dairy industry partners extending the Mycoplasma bovis milk testing nationwide from next month, no one should be surprised if more positive test results emerge. But when the dust settles, if ever, there has to be a serious review of when and how the disease arrived here, and the way in which MPI and other stakeholders handled the outbreak. This is not the time to point fingers; today everyone must put their shoulder to the wheel to help farmers with affected herds. The industry must also be on standby to help farmers whose stock will soon test positive. Mycoplasma bovis is commonly found in cattle globally, including Australia. It does not infect humans and presents no food safety risk, but can have serious effects on cattle, including mastitis, pneumonia, arthritis and late-term abortions. In July MPI said the disease had been detected in a dairy herd in South Canterbury, the first known outbreak in New Zealand, on two of 16 farms belonging to Van Leeuwen Dairy Group. About 4000 cows have been culled and thousands of tests done. Earlier this week it was found on a farm in the Ashburton region, taking the total number of affected farms to 14. Agribusiness commentator Keith Woodford wrote in an opinion column that it now seems likely Mycoplasma bovis is in NZ to stay. “Just like the rest of the world, we must learn how to live with it. We do not yet have to give up totally on the hope of eradication, but eradication is looking more and more unlikely,” he said. If the disease is here to stay, we must tighten up the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) regime. This may be too late for some farmers but for the sake of the rest of the industry officialdom must take a tougher line on non-compliance under NAIT. MPI acknowledges that farmers have a poor record of compliance with the scheme, causing a lengthy search for the disease on other properties. It’s proving extremely challenging for MPI to identify where all the animal movements are being made; it has to interview every farmer in detail to see if they can recall who they sold animals to and whose they received. That’s not how things should work. NAIT was introduced to make animal movements transparent and easier to trace. The Mycoplasma bovis outbreak shows that animal traceability in NZ is flawed. That must change.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

OPINION  // 13

Growing NZ pride in dairy COLIN GLASS

IT’S AN exciting time in the dairy sector. There is so much change happening: we have a new strategy, ‘Dairy Tomorrow’, and changes to the DairyNZ board, to name a few. I’ve seen a marked change in dairy farmers over the past year too. People outside the sector may think I’m

We need to continue opening people’s eyes to what the sector is doing and what’s really happening onfarm. Helping change the public’s perception of dairy farming is among the things that motivated me to put my name forward to become a director of DairyNZ. I want New Zealanders to be proud of dairy, as I am, as you are and as our ancestors were.

and we’re all trying to make a difference to leave it better than when we found it. I’m excited to be a part of this new stage in our

progress, and to help NZ dairy go from strength to strength. • Colin Glass was recently elected a director of DairyNZ.

DairyNZ director Colin Glass.

I want New Zealanders to be proud of dairy, as I am, as you are and as our ancestors were. referring to the extensive work farmers are doing to make their farms more environmentally sustainable. But as you all know, this isn’t new; farmers have been doing this for a long time. The change is that farmers are stepping up and telling their story. This has been a challenge for many who are naturally humble and have struggled to accept that they need to engage more with their communities and take them on their journey. Dairy farmers, I believe your efforts are paying off: how the public feels about dairy is changing. I hope you are all starting to see that. The public are starting to see your hard work and investment in looking after the environment. Many Kiwis now realise that dairy farmers care about the land, the waterways and their cows.

Globally, New Zealand dairy is highly regarded. Wouldn’t it be nice if NZers felt the same way? I believe if we keep doing what we’re doing this will be achieved. My father used to say that when you get up in the morning, if you haven’t got a couple of problems to solve to give you passion or drive in your day, then you need to find some promptly. I’ve always embraced this motto and believe the last few years show farmers do too. We’ve faced our fair share of challenges but we’ve stood up and taken responsibility to address them. I’ve never known anyone on a farm, or in the industry, who doesn’t wake up not wanting to do the best they can. For many of us, dairy isn’t just a job, it’s our home, it’s what we live and breathe,

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COLIN GLASS owns and runs a 650-cow dairy farm and two irrigated properties that rear and finish bull beef at Methven, Mid Canterbury, with his wife Paula and their two daughters. He is a chartered accountant and has a commerce degree in farm management and a post-graduate Diploma in Accountancy and Finance from Lincoln University. He is chief executive of Dairy Holdings Ltd which has extensive operations in the South Island. He is a director of several agribusiness companies and chair of Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Ltd.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

14 //  AGRIBUSINESS Zelda de Villiers

Womens network chief stepping down DAIRY WOMENS Network chief executive Zelda de Villiers will step down from her role in May. The network will look to recruit a new chief executive in February.

De Villiers is leaving to focus on a new business venture in Northland. The chair of Dairy Women’s Network, Cathy Brown, says de Villiers’ commercial and financial expertise has led the

not-for-profit organisation into a strong position. “On behalf of the Dairy Women’s Network board I’d like to thank Zelda for her leadership over the past four years, and we wish her every success,”

THE WORKHORSE THAT GOES AND GOES.

Brown says. “Under her direction, the organisation has solidified its systems, structures and reputation in the industry. We’ve also grown our membership significantly during her tenure. “Most importantly, Zelda has recruited and developed a strong team of staff and volunteers who will continue to provide the high level of support our members have come to expect from us.” Brown says it’s also a sensible time to reflect on the network’s success and think about what’s needed in the future. De Villiers was appointed chief executive in 2014 having spent 20 years in various roles in the agricultural industry, including managing director of DeLaval NZ Ltd and several rural banking and finance roles in South Africa. De Villiers says her journey as chief executive has been inspiring and humbling, and she

expects the network to attract many worthy candidates for the chief executive role. “It has been a humbling and inspiring journey to lead an organisation that recognises and supports the contribution women make every day to the businesses they work in and rural communities nationwide.” She says highlights during her leadership of DWN include partnerships with agribusinesses and national farming body DairyNZ, and overseeing the growth in membership from 5000 to more than 10,000. The network’s 90 volunteer regional leaders have also helped increase DWN’s professionalism and relevance in the industry, she says. “I’ve enjoyed seeing dairy farmers, volunteer groups and rural communities benefit from DWN’s various partnerships with industry. These have strengthened DWN’s core capabilities.”

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Dairy Woman of the Year award close on Friday, February 9. This is the seventh year for the prestigious award which celebrates the outstanding leadership of women in the business of dairy. Jessie Chan-Dorman won the title in 2017 for her wide-ranging contributions to dairy at governance level. She is a Fonterra shareholders councillor, director of the Ashburton Trading Society and a member of the Institute of Directors and New Zealand Asian Leaders. The 2018 Dairy Woman of the Year will be in good company with the five other previous winners: Rebecca Keoghan, Katie Milne, Charmaine O’Shea, Justine Kidd and Barbara Kuriger. Keoghan is business manager at Landcorp Farming, Milne is the first female president of Federated Farmers, O’Shea is chair of the Agri-Women’s Development Trust, Kidd is chief executive agribusiness for Milk New Zealand, and Kuriger is National MP for Taranaki-King Country. Dairy Woman of the Year has been sponsored by Fonterra since it began, with awardees receiving a scholarship prize of up to $20,000 to undertake a professional/business development programme. Three finalists for the awards will be selected by a judging panel from Dairy Women’s Network, Fonterra, Global Women, Ballance Agri-Nutrients and a previous winner. The title will be announced at Dairy Women’s Networks conference in March. Visit dwn.co.nz/dwoty to find out more about the awards or to make a nomination. – Pam Tipa

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

AGRIBUSINESS  // 15

Gong for innovation HOME-GROWN ANIMAL health

company Farm Medix Ltd has again had the nod for its innovative products. Farm Medix late last year won two innovation awards: the Kudos Hamilton Science Excellence Award in the contest’s innovation and entrepreneur category for its Herd Screen contagious mastitis and selective dry cow tool; and the Westpac Auckland South Business Awards Excellence in Innovation Award. Director Natasha Maguire says they were chuffed to be recognised amongst tough competition. “We have piled effort into R&D and focused on making improve-

ments [to enable] dairying to provide sustainable gains and maximise efficiencies.” Innovation is developing things that are truly unique, says director Leon Spurrell. “That is a challenge we enjoy; we want to make things easier for farmers.” The company’s products include the Check-Up mastitis diagnostic tool, Farm-Chlor water chlorinator, Dermashield leg band, Herd Screen contagious mastitis test and the new Snapshot milk quality forensic tool for trouble-shooting bulk tank milk. Spurrell says farmers and the industry as a whole have been very

supportive, “and we are thankful for everyone’s input as part of winning these awards”. “We are proud now to be exporting to many countries, even Russia. So long as farmers have problems we will be working on something for them. The industry needs to be efficient so that farmers can maximise profitability in a competitive market.” Farm Medix has recently expanded into new premises at Waikato Innovation Park. “These premises will provide an environment amongst like-minded people and more space for our herdscreening service” says Maguire. www.farmmedix.com

Natasha Maguire (left) receives her award for innovation.

GROWTH IN FARM TRAINEE NUMBERS AGRICULTURAL

TRAINING

provider Taratahi says its efforts to attract new students are paying off with solid enrolments for 2018. Chief executive Arthur Graves says Taratahi, in common with the wider primary industry, has been promoting the job-rich farming scene with its attractive career pathways; now those campaigns are yielding good results. The school is also adapting its

farming systems in response to consumer demand for greater visibility of the provenance of their food, Graves says. “For instance, this year Taratahi is introducing ‘sexed’ bull semen that almost solely produces female calves, negating the need for the bobby calf trade which is becoming less acceptable to the public. “Our aim is to... have zero bobby

calves on our dairy farms. “It also means our students are exposed to some of the latest onfarm methods and are educated about the bigger picture of where farming is heading with lower-input, more animal-welfare friendly and environmentally friendly, traceable, natural food. “We have also worked hard to attract prospective students from the city, by showing them a range of inter-

esting career options.” Hence a strong demand for Taratahi’s 2018 courses. Already more students are enrolled in courses at Taratahi’s nine campuses than at this time last year. Students are keen for a new experience in a different region, so many Telford and Wairarapa residential campus students are coming from all over NZ.

“We see increasing demand from agricultural service organisations seeking practical on-farm experiences for their staff and we anticipate this market will keep growing.” Farm insurance companies, farm advisors and government departments that deal with primary sector and health and safety issues are among the new customers, Graves says.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

16 //  MANAGEMENT

It’s all about p He aha te mea nui? He tangata He tangata He tangata. What is the greatest thing? It is people It is people It is people.

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NOELLE FOX

THIS MAORI saying is important to us all in the dairy industry: we will not succeed without our people. Do you know or understand the costs to your business when people don’t perform as you need them to? We know it costs time, money, energy and effort, and results in frustration and stress. Think about the potential financial and environmental effects of the following: ■■ An effluent irrigator not operating correctly ■■ Animal health issues like lameness or mastitis not identified or treated in a timely manner, resulting in increased treatments and longer recovery times ■■ Feed budgeting or allocation not monitored, resulting in greater need for imported supplement usage ■■ Onfarm maintenance not done regularly or at all, resulting in continuous breakdowns on farm. The consequences of poor planning and execution are reflected in a farm’s physical performance and directly impact the financial performance of the business. Employers and mangers are often spending large amounts of time on a daily, weekly and monthly basis seeking to mitigate the actions of others onfarm. Fixing mistakes, solving problems and stepping in to

do jobs others have not performed are part of the daily routine on most farms where staff are employed. But why is this situation so common and repeated again and again on many farms on a daily basis? Nationally the average herd size has almost

Noelle Fox

tripled in the last 30 seasons, and has increased by almost 200 cows in the last 20 seasons, while milk solids production in 201617 was 41% higher than in 2006-07. The increase in the scale of farms has been accompanied by the need for extra staff. Traditionally smaller farms of under 300 cows were family-run or soleoperator farms. The most important decisions on budgets, cows and feed were made to ensure milk is produced as economically as possible. Issues were addressed as they arose with little or no requirement for consultation. As the farm size and cow numbers increase, the business can no longer be operated by one person, and extra staff are required, to ensure the farm can function long-term at a sustain-

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

MANAGEMENT  // 17

t people able level, and it is at this stage that staff management and people become as important as budgets, cows and grass. As the number of staff you employ increases, your ability to lead, delegate, coach and mentor becomes increasingly important. So how do we set ourselves, our farms and our teams up for success? Boosting productivity, finding more time to focus on the business and removing the activities onfarm that don’t add value to the business enable us to focus on the things we can control and establish how to best support each team member to perform to their potential every day. Establishing and understanding the difference between ‘can’t do’ and ‘won’t do’ is a gamechanger in people management. Often when there is a problem we blame the person for not following instructions, for lack of common sense or assuming they should know how to complete a task. However before concluding the individual is at fault it is critical to ask the following five questions: Did the person have the: ■■ knowledge to do the job? ■■ skill to do the job? ■■ correct method to do the job? ■■ right tools to do the job? ■■ enough resources to do the job?

If the answer is ‘no’ then it is a ‘can’t do’ situation. If it is ‘can’t do’, the solution requires creating and continually improving our processes to help our teams succeed. The farm manager needs to provide training, have an agreed standard operating procedure, provide the right tools and have enough manpower or resources to make the workload doable. We are focused on improving the skills, attitudes and knowledge of our team. The more skills they have the more they can contribute and increase our value-adding activity. However if the answer is ‘yes’ to the above questions then it is a ‘won’t do’ situation. It is now about employee behaviour, accountability and increasing awareness of consequences. When looking for the root cause of a behaviour it is critical to establish if it’s a ‘can’t do’ or a ‘won’t do’. Often onfarm it is presumed 90% of the time it is a ‘won’t do’; in fact it is more likely to be a ‘can’t do’. We can’t hold people accountable to our standards if we haven’t set them up for success. So when things go wrong we need to review what happened and why and establish the root cause of the problem. If the outcome is a ‘won’t do’, this needs to be addressed by holding people accountable and increasing aware-

ness. Often when people don’t do what we want them to onfarm we say nothing. We think, “they’ll know they did it wrong. They know how I want it. They’ll know next time”. But actually sometimes people might have all the resources for ‘can do’ but they don’t understand why things are important. If we don’t give them feedback when they get it wrong, what are we saying? It isn’t important? It is ok not to do it? We shift the boundaries of expectation. If we give feedback we raise awareness of what is acceptable, what we expect. HR is no longer about just meeting legal requirements such as ACC, and ensuring hourly minimum wage rates and holiday pay are calculated correctly. Good, basic staff management involves setting up a quality work environment, from recruiting the right people to establishing simple repeatable procedures onfarm that are easy to implement where a team understands the business’s long-term vision and everyone is working towards the same outcome. The most productive, profitable farm businesses don’t just have a great leader; they have a great team which is set up for success. • Noelle Fox is a FarmWise consultant in Canterbury. This article first appeared in Getting the Basics Right 2018 issue.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

18 //  MANAGEMENT

Pay your workers right or pay for it Potential circulation

VERONICA BRIGGS

NOTABLE CASES of employment

breaches by large companies have cropped up recently, some appearing to be unintended short-changing of employees. These are good reminders for employers to view their employment practices through the eyes of a labour inspector, to see if they would stack up. The dairy sector is not immune. Landcorp, which owns about 140 farms, were recently shown to owe 1400 employees a total of $2.4million. The company had to pay this to former staff, having breached the Minimum Wages Act 1986 and the Holidays Act 2003. One Landcorp breach was mis-payment of the minimum wage to salaried employees for long hours of work. In recent years it has become clear that the practice of averaging pay over

Veronica Briggs

Sick leave, bereavement leave and alternative holidays

Relevant daily pay or if that is not possible or practicable average daily pay

Annual leave/holidays and public holidays

The higher amount of ordinary weekly earnings and average weekly earnings.

a season or year is not acceptable. Instead, it’s important to ensure that an employee is paid the minimum wage for every hour worked. If an employee is expected to work extra hours during busy times and their weekly pay falls below the minimum wage, the easiest solution is to make a top-up payment that week. Needless to say, timesheets are crucial to understand the hours employees are working. The other issue highlighted was the exclusion of accommodation allowances from employees’ gross earnings when calculating entitlements to leave

for illness, bereavement and annual leave, and public holidays. Gross earnings should include all payments the employer is required to make to the employee under their employment agreement for the period during which the earnings are being assessed. Then decide what’s the most appropriate calculation to reimburse the employee. This will depend on the type of leave or public holiday, their work patterns and their past earnings. The table above shows what calculation could be used when. You can find more information on

calculations at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) website www.mbie.govt.nz Various tools are available to help employers keep track of hours and calculate pay; if in doubt check the rules on MBIE’s website. The Landcorp case study presents

good lessons. As we start a new year it’s a timely reminder for employers to check they know the employment rules. • Veronica Briggs is a DairyNZ people management specialist @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

ANIMAL HEALTH  // 19

Breeding for heat tolerance AUSTRALIAN DAIRY

farmers can now add breeding to their ways of helping cows handle the heat. DataGene, Australia’s independent and industry-owned organisation responsible for developing the means of increasing genetic gain and herd improvement, has released a world-first -Heat Tolerance Australian Breeding Values (ABV).

to allow for the lower reliability. The reliability of the Heat Tolerance ABV is 38% which is in line with the newer generation of genomic-only traits. Like all new ABVs, reliability is expected to improve with time, as more data becomes available. Heat tolerance is favourably linked with fertility and unfavourably with production; this

“While not all dairy farmers will want to include heat tolerance in their breeding priorities, some are keen to get started.” Dr Matt Shaffer, DataGene chief executive, says that although environment and management conditions have a big impact on a cow’s response to heat, genetics also play a role. “Advances in genomics allowed our Dairy Bio team to identify gene markers for heat tolerance. “The Heat Tolerance ABV allows farmers to identify animals with greater ability to tolerate hot weather with less impact on production,” he says. Dairy Bio is a joint initiative between the Victorian Government and Dairy Australia. Dairy Australia’s advice is that to breed for improved heat tolerance, look for bulls with a high balanced performance index (BPI) and a Heat Tolerance ABV greater than 100; use several bulls

means a strong focus on heat tolerance bulls may improve fertility but compromise production. “If breeding for heat tolerance, look for the exceptional animals that are strong for both BPI and heat tolerance,” Shaffer says. While not all dairy farmers will want to include heat tolerance in their breeding priorities, some are keen to get started. Farmer Trevor Parrish, Kangaroo Valley, NSW says he will be looking for bulls that increase heat tolerance. “Now when I get a list of bulls I’m going to be looking for bulls which combine increased production and increased heat tolerance; they will be the ones that buck the trend,” Parrish said. Parrish’s family milks 160-240 cows year round

HOT CONDITIONS AFFECT YIELD

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COWS GENERATE heat internally as a result of eating and digesting feed. According to Dairy Australia, like most mammals, the dairy cow needs to maintain its core body temperature within a narrow range about 39 degrees C. The cycle of gaining and losing heat absorbed from the environment is ongoing and always operates in the context of the metabolic heat a cow is carrying at any given time. Hot conditions can affect milk production, protein and fat tests, in-calf rates and liveweight. It can also lead to higher somatic cell counts, more clinical mastitis cases and other cow health problems.

and sells bulls to semen companies and other dairy farmers. Farmer Ray Kitchen of Carenda Holsteins, Boyanup, WA says having a

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

20 //  FARM DAIRIES

Robotics and automation advancements are huge worldwide.

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YOUNGER GENERATIONS are

growing up surrounded by technology and the advancement of these technologies is ferocious. Along with being frightening and daunting to most of us, it is also exciting, challenging and now more than ever necessary. The biggest hurdle will not be the appetite for young farmers and supporting industries to do the job, it will be capital and viability. As the world population continues to increase, so does the demand for food. The issue is that 80% of available land is already being cultivated and due to water shortage, crop diseases, labour shortage and climate change, productivity is falling worldwide. The only way forward is more technology -- more precision farming and more precision planning. Robotics Right now in this country you can install a fully automated rotary cow shed capable of milking 800 cows per day. While the robotic arms milk your cows they also gather screeds of data to help with accurate and informed planning. The future is here and being adopted already. Robotics and automation advancements are huge worldwide. Fully automated and driverless fleets of tractors are in use, and robots armed with highly advanced lasers are able to select and pick fruit, spray crops precisely and measure nutrients and yields. It would be great to see more innovation and/or adaptation of these advancements used in New Zealand. Look at robotics and agriculture on YouTube and you will be shocked and inspired. What an exciting opportunity for our aspiring robotic engineers. Effluent and nutrients What if the problem of nutrient loss was turned into an opportunity? At least in part this is being done in

various countries and is now being developed and attempted in NZ. Digesters are being used in the US and Europe on dairy farms, among other industries and, connected to an effluent system they can provide fertilisers and power. In NZ they sit alongside a newer technology -- a bioreactor growing algae. This is potentially capable of producing stock feed, fuel and pharmaceuticals, and it finishes the process by releasing clean water. Using this could quickly turn around a dairy farm’s environmental impact while producing useable resources for a farm. Crops Let’s say a farm is growing 15t DM/ ha/year now; how can this get to 30t DM/ha/year by 2050? New grasses are impressive, but I doubt grass alone will get us there; I suggest part of the solution is to be found in cropping. Already many farms have come a long way and farmers, consultants and scientists are figuring out how to adapt these crops and practices for more profitable farming. It’s not as straightforward or as easy as traditional grass farming but many farmers already understand the benefits of cropping and a lot of work is underway to produce more from the land for a profitable outcome. The newly unified research farms under Dairy Trust Taranaki are researching a control system alongside a research system in a commercial environment. Lincoln’s research on beet is bringing an opportunity to lift DM production on farms significantly, as maize has done and continues to do. Along with advancements in other crops we have a pool of highly talented and motivated young agronomists supporting these new crops. The more this is done the better we’ll get at doing it; as long as it is based on profit the future of cropping is bright. Feed budgeting and farm modelling Many feed budgeting tools are available now and are widely used;

if regularly referred to and updated these are a powerful tool on a farm. A feed budget is critical to working out profitability onfarm and although it is only a budget it gives guidance and a reference point for farmers to work from. There are also new programs brilliantly written to model farms and compare changes in systems and payout. These programs are accurate enough to base big decisions on. FarmWise has this tool developed over many years called Optimiser, and with accurate information entered into it this creates a clear view of what is profitable or at least what it would take to be profitable. For example, if you wanted to know how going OAD early in a low-payout season would compare with your current system, instead of guessing you can model it to see if it will actually work. All the variables – labour, power, feed cost and cow condition – are taken into account to give clear direction. Every farm is different and these tools can help you plan to get what you want from your farm while helping relieve the stress of the unknown. Record keeping In NZ we have for decades been keeping records on our herds. This practice alone is a huge asset to farmers and should not be taken for granted. At our fingertips we can access screeds of current and historical data on our cows and their production. Generation after generation has built on the work of the previous generation. Now with the power of apps you can record most data inputs on your phone. Minda Live is a powerful web based tool that helps you make informed decisions and communicate this information among all involved in your business in real time if necessary. • Grant Leigh is a FarmWise consultant in Taranaki. This article first appeared in Getting the Basics Right 2018 isssue.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

FARM DAIRIES  // 21

NZ dairy goat rotary in demand NEW ZEALAND exper-

tise in designing and manufacturing dairy goat rotary platforms is in demand in China. Just back from speaking at an international dairy goat conference in China, Waikato Milking Systems’ China sales manager David Morris says the industry is experiencing a growth spiral comparable to that of dairying a few years ago. “Traditionally, Chinese farmers have milked a small number of goats -about 20 to 40 – but the demand for infant goat formula has skyrocketed and, with it, demand for a home-grown product. “Chinese consumers have an almost insatiable demand for goat milk because of its protein levels and digestibility; this demand is of course enhanced by there having been no food safety scares associated with it.” Morris said the conference, in Shaanxi Province, coincided with the opening of a new goat processing facility, attracting 2000 people -- farmers, processors, veterinarians and support industries. “There is already a huge processing capacity in China: factories can process milk from 200,000 goats per day, and more factories are being built.” WMS was one of four keynote presenters at the conference, the other three focusing on managing, feeding and housing dairy goats, and genetics. “The transition from a few to hundreds of thou-

sands of goats marks a significant change for farmers, whether they are small family operations or large corporates. My presentation was on how, regardless of numbers, WMS’s dairy goat rotary platform provides the optimum environment to easily and efficiently milk large numbers of goats.” Morris said the com-

China’s dairy goat industry is booming.

David Morris, Waikato Milking Systems.

pany’s goat rotaries are available in a range of sizes from 50 to 100+ bails. “With support from our China dealer, we provide a complete turnkey service to farmers wanting to make the transition to large scale commercial supply with design of all operational aspects of the farm. “We have a long, growing list of Chinese farmers who want to utilise this service, the average aiming to milk 2000 to 3000 goats through an 80 bail WMS platform. “Each rotary is manufactured in New Zealand to ensure consistently high standards, and then shipped to China in kitset form. The milking system is modular and automated, with full herd records and it is fully operational within weeks,” Morris said.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

22 //  FARM DAIRIES

No regrets after going robotics MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

WHILE ROBOTIC (voluntary) milking systems appear to be gaining in popularity, the Fisher Farm, between Cambridge and Te Awamutu, has a

Cambridge farmer John Fisher.

head start on today’s converts. Now well into its sixth season, the operation milks 300 cows over 80ha, and lays claim to the title of being the first farm in Waikato to install a De Laval VMS. When owner John

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Fisher first looked at the concept, the farm had a traditional herringbone milking shed without a feed pad, and was operated by two full-time staff and a relief milker. A visit to the Greenfield Farm at Ruakura set the seed for Fisher to automate and he soon began planning to convert. Four De Laval VMS units are housed in a light, airy open-span shed at the heart of the system, complemented by a feed pad, automated drafting gates and cow rotary back-scratchers, reducing labour demand to just 1.5 units. Today his cows produce about 480kgMS each, and they are said to be calmer and more relaxed, a trait found running through to the owner and the herd manager Brian Wilson. He suggests that because the cows are not being pushed as a mob down the races to the milking shed they suffer less lameness; each cow can pick her own route in her own time. The conversion entailed a fresh look at farm layout, resulting in a three-way grazing layout that lets animals onto fresh pasture every eight hours. The cows decide when they wish to be milked, so stroll into the complex where the system decides -- based on yield over the previous 12 hours --

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Cows decide when they wished to be milked.

whether milking would be appropriate. This might result in a cycle time as low as six hours or as high as 15 hours before animals move to fresh pasture. Each cow is treated as an individual, with its own transponder which allows the system to draft cows for breeding or vet inspection, or to direct those that have poor condition to the feed pad for buffer feeding. “The ability to treat cows as individuals within the mob appears to lengthen their productive life by up to two seasons,” Fisher says. “Cows appear at the shed at their own pace and are noticeably cleaner, as the competitive nature of a typical milking system has been removed.” He notes that the regime improves the lives of staff by allowing more flexibility about when they need to be on the farm; and when they are it allows them to complete tasks without having to return to the shed at set milking times. This is important for their family life: they get to attend their children’s school or social events without being “tied to the milking shed”. Are there any negatives? Fisher says it takes a bit of time to train firsttime heifers to come into the complex, enter the VMS system and stand to be milked.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

FARM DAIRIES  // 23

Sorting good effluent from bad IS YOUR farm effluent

‘good’ or ‘bad’, and what makes it so in the first place? asks David Law, Forward Farming Biological Consultancy. What is good effluent and what does it look like? he asks. A healthy effluent pond is clear and free from crust. When irrigated to pasture, the effluent is light-to-clear in colour and has very little odour. In contrast, an effluent pond with any form of crust on top shows that the effluent within is tending towards ‘poor’. Underneath the crust is a section of ‘dead water’ and at the bottom of the pond a sludgy build-up. Poor effluent, which contains elevated levels of methane and nitric oxide as unprocessed solids, is dark and strong smelling when irrigated to pasture. A pond sitting at rest with no stirring displays the true physical characteristics of the effluent. But it may be difficult to ‘read’ an effluent pond that uses a solids separator or a weeping wall system; in these cases, a

pH test will show whether your pond is dominated by aerobic (good) or anaerobic (bad) bacteria. Why is a healthy effluent pond free from crust and sludge? The physical condition of the pond is dictated by the biological condition of the pond. The crust on a pond is feed that has not been digested by the cows. In a healthy pond, aerobic bacteria thrive. They naturally digest these solids, or undigested feed, creating clear processed effluent that is ready for soil to absorb. Raw (anaerobic) effluent contains solids which

still need to break down before the effluent can be utilised by the soil, using valuable energy from the soil to break it down. What conditions determine the health of the pond? This is determined by its pH levels, and which bacteria are thriving under those conditions; a pond with a pH of 7.4 is ideal, creating a crust-free pond dominated by aerobic bacteria. In these ideal conditions, the aerobic bacteria digest the undigested feed presenting as crust and sludge. “Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria have competitive exclusion: the further

the pH drops below the equilibrium of pH 7, the thicker the crust and the higher the percentage of anaerobic bacteria,” Law says. “In fact, you can calculate the pH of the pond by measuring the thickness of the crust.” Law says contrary to popular belief stirring does not change the bio-

David Law near the pond with a 1m-thick crust. The image, left, shows the same pond clear and crust-free after Law increased the pH and introduced aerobic bacteria.

logical makeup of a pond; it only temporarily breaks up the crust. “If your pond is anaer-

obic, aerating it is a waste of effort as there is no aerobic bacteria present to breathe the air,” he

says. “Stirring a pond, even for eight hours a day, will not change the pond from an anaerobic state to an aerobic state; it simply disrupts the job of the aerobic bacteria, which is to eat the crust and later the sludge. “If the aerobic bugs are not present, in the case of a very low pH, you must change the pH to support the introduction of them in the short term, and follow up with a review of farm biology and systems. “Research at Lancaster University has shown that an aerobic, crust-free pond produces 67% less greenhouse gas than a crusted pond; with this information available, farmers have to start thinking biologically.” david@forwardfarming. co.nz

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

24 //  MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Malone makes a move in NZ MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

OVER THE years, Irish farm machinery makers had made a serious impact on the New Zealand agricultural scene. The 2017 Fieldays had 22 such exhibitors, including the distinctly Irish-named McHale, Tanco and Abbey. Another one, Malone, is about to enter the fray, having appointed Giltrap AgriZone, Cambridge, to distribute in NZ. Based in County Mayo, to the west of the Emerald Isle, Malone was founded in 1999 and remains a family business making loader wagons, toppers, post drivers, wood splitters and an expanding range of grassland machinery. Looking at those grassland products, the Malone philosophy is ‘build it tough, build it once’. This is particularly noticeable in the headstocks and main frames that are impressively dimensioned in steel and look well up to the job. The disc mower range comprises two models: the 2.4m, sixdisc ProCut 800, and the 2.9m, seven-disc 900 model. Using a cutter bar supplied by industry specialist Comer, the bed carries oval-shaped discs fitted with bolted-up blades, although

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Malone machinery from Ireland is coming to NZ.

a quick fit system is said to be in the wings. Each disc assembly is protected by a drive shaft machined with a groove designed to break under heavy impact. This protects the integrity of the main cutter bar, and sees cutting units being easily exchanged by removing four bolts. From the heavy-duty headstock the mower is lifted hydraulically for transport, fitting within the extremity of the tractor fender for safety. Suspension is a heavy-duty coil spring set-up that offers ground adaptability in all situations, complemented by an easy-to-use pictorial indicator to show that the mower is being used in the ideal position.

The drive is equally over-engineered with a four-V-section powerband for an extended service life. Equally impressive is that all machines are supplied with additional 40mm topping skids to extend the machines’ working season. Also of interest to Kiwi farmers and contractors is the heavy-duty, no-frills Tedd-Air range – 570m and 840m tedders with working widths of 5.7 and 8.4m, delivered by four- and six-rotor layouts. Each rotor carries seven tine arms each with double hook tine assemblies. The hook format is said to gently flick material off the ground, minimising leaf loss, and it settings higher off the ground to reduce soil contamination.

A heavy-duty headstock attaches the machine to the tractor, the drive to each of the rotors is by shaft, and a clever hydraulic damping system ensures the machine tracks the tractor accurately in all conditions. Oversized wheel equipment offers excellent ground contouring, and a neat touch sees a spare wheel and tyre assembly carried on the main frame. For transition from transport to work, a simple latch system unlocks the machine, while hydraulic shock absorbers take the strain when lowering the outer rotors. Headland tedding is by a simple, central, offset adjustment of the wheel equipment.

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Krone is celebrating 40 years of baler production, with its Comprima range balers getting upgrades. A redesign of body panels is complemented by an upgrade to the lighting system that now includes LED work lights. And there is a choice of single or tandem axles, optional brakes and tyre equipment, and ISOBUS compatibility with all models. New models retain well-proven features such as the EasyFlow-W camless pick up, with 2150mm working width and five tine bars. The staggered-W- arrangement is said to promote even crop feed into the bale chamber, which in turn results in denser, more uniform bales. Also of note, the NovoGrip belt and slat system helps produce well-shaped, dense bales in all crops and conditions, with the metal slats ensuring bale rotation always and the rubber belts guaranteeing quiet operation. All models can be specified with peripheral film wrap in place of the more traditional net system. This is said to help silage quality by instantly eliminating air pockets after bale formation, so reducing mould and giving a much better bale shape. There are also advantages in only having to deal with one type of waste material for recycling. The Comprima range comprises seven models including fixed (F), semi-variable(F), and variable (V) chambers, with or without wrappers (CF/CV), diameters of 1.25 to 2.05 metres and chopping systems with 17 or 26 knives (XC). Krone is reporting increased sales in 2017 at Euro 1.9 billion, with about Euro 1.4 million derived from exports. About 31% of sales are of ag machinery and 69% commercial arena, in domestic and overseas markets. Employees numbered 4500 in 2017, and the company made capital investments of Euro76 million, mainly on a new paint facility and a centralised spare parts logistics centre. – Mark Daniel

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS  // 25

No feeding hassles with Hustler X markd@ruralnews.co.nz

FEEDER MANUFACTURER Hustler is

marketing two new selfloading bale feeders said to be more versatile and easier to use by livestock farmers. The Chainless X 2000 and X 2400 machines embody the maker’s 17 years experience, both using a new X Series bale chamber that can feed bales of any format, any size, variable density, and chopped or un-chopped, without clogging, plugging or importantly without leaf loss. The X2000 is a relatively inexpensive three-point

linkage unit; the X2400 is designed for threepoint or loader mounting, increasing its versatility. Compact design allows a 50% higher discharge clearance, and 38% greater discharge reach. This allows easy use in the paddock or barn, and it can feed over fences and into bunkers or feed troughs. In operation, variable speed rollers allow the user to control the whole unrolling operation which in practice sees the top rotor -- which spins three times faster than the lower rotor -- tease out and fluff up the material, before the lower assembly centralises and discharges the crop. Meanwhile, the

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advanced optic drive technology’ to produce 2400 Lumens and 1 Lux of light at 269m. Advanced optics in the Explora use a reflector profile that more efficiently captures the light from the unit’s 12 x 3W LEDs (producing 6000°K) and focuses this further down the road. The technology is said to minimise wasted light, instead focusing the beam where it’s most needed. The unit is built for tough weather and rough onand-off-road use; it has a durable one-piece diecast aluminium housing without end-caps for heat dissipation and protection against moisture. A virtually unbreakable polycarbonate lens combines with the housing -- fully sealed to IP68 and submersible to IP69K levels. Slim design especially suits vehicles without a bull bar or nudge bar fitted. Mounting hardware includes stainless steel brackets and a pre-wired weatherproof Deutsch® connector. An optional number plate bracket is aluminium with a powder finish. The light’s low current draw despite its high output is suitable for 12 and 24V vehicles. A 5-year LED warranty applies.

feeder itself, with both elements being uncoupled from the tractor seat. In the case of the X2400, the Snaplock automatic connection removes the need to pull a rope to complete this task.

hydraulic bale platform pressures the bale to pull it apart. The self-loader element of the feeders comprises a set of bale forks mounted on the headstock and the bale cradle/

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2018

26 //  MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Wireless fert spreader keeps farmer on track MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

A WEST Coast dairy farmer believes his new Bogballe M2W spreader will help him do two things all farmers want to do – save money and protect the environment.

Murray Coates and his four employees milk 800 cows on 320ha of grazing blocks and 200ha of runoffs in the isolated Haupiri Valley. His constant striving to improve efficiency has technology playing a part, notably a new Bogballe M2W fertiliser spreader.

Complementing a 6-tonne trailed machine already at the property, the Bogballe M2W threepoint linkage spreader has a 3000L hopper, weigh scales and an iZurf GPS controller with dynamic section control. Coates says they have always used GPS.

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“The property has a lot of waterways that we want to look after, alongside lots of irregular shaped fields that we need to cover. The new machine with dynamic section control with auto shut-off allows us to improve accuracy and avoid overlaps”. Slightly more expensive than a standard spreader, the M2W is expected to help reduce fertiliser costs by about 6% a year, so it should pay for itself within two years. Time is of the essence on the West Coast, so the machine’s ability to spread at 32m, rather than the current machine’s 18m, gets the job done

faster. The machine has its own GPS system for automatic headland management and section control; the iZurf module puts a wi-fi zone around the spreader allowing any Android device loaded with the Bogballe GPS app to access the spreader’s control system and monitor operation. On Coates’ machine this is a Samsung tablet mounted on the windscreen, allowing control from the tractor seat or it can be taken outside when loading. The M2W’s ability to provide application records also fits well with how the farm is run, given that cows are weighed after milking and fed indi-

vidually according to their production. The iZurf system can record which blocks have been covered, the amount applied and the date and time, which in due course can be expanded into application and proof-ofplacement documents for the dairy company and the regional council. This data can be distributed to relevant users by way of an i-Cloud connection. Coates expects the machine’s ability to interpret Google Maps that highlight waterways and sensitive areas, and create no-go zones where fertiliser will not be applied, will hugely benefit the environment.

OIL DEAL THE AMERICAN oil company Lucas Oil Products has appointed New Zealand company Logan Distribution to distribute its products in Australia. Logan already distrubutes Lucas in NZ. The deal will lead to better customer service and support, says Rolf Wilson, general manager of Logan Distribution. “In 2018 we will be building a platform to take Lucas Oil Products and its road and race products to the next level in Australia, and will continue developing the market in NZ.” The company will streamline its logistics and warehousing across the two markets to improve the flow of products. Logan Distribution, based in Palmerston North, will have a major distribution centre in Auckland and facilities for the South Island. In Australia it will distribute from Melbourne, using a new logistics firm to upgrade shipping nationwide. Founded in 1989, Lucas Oil Products makes high performance lubricants and additives: engine oils, greases, gear lubes and car-care products. It sells 270 formulations in 40 countries. Lucas Oil has two major plants: at its headquarters in Corona, California, and an oil production facility in Corydon, Indiana. Products have been sold in Australia for 20 years and were introduced to New Zealand in 2002. – Mark Daniel

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