Issuu

Chair-elect humbled by board support. PAGE 3

MEASURE MOISTURE

Monitoring maize PAGE 33

CALVING TIME Be a good boss PAGE 28

JULY 7, 2020

ISSUE 450

// www.dairynews.co.nz

BECOME MONEY SAVVY Sharemilkers need better skills to deal with the banks – Feds sharemilker chair Aaron Passey PAGE 5

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

NEWS // 3

Chair-elect humbled by board support SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

Co-op tries hemp cultivation. PG.14

The General reigns. PG.24

Stallion proud to be Kiwi. PG.32

NEWS �� 3-10 OPINION ��12-13 AGRIBUSINESS �� 14 MANAGEMENT ��15-17 ANIMAL HEALTH �� 20-21 CALVING ��22-31 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS �� 32-34

FONTERRA’S CHAIRMANELECT Peter McBride says he

wasn’t eyeing the chairmanship when he stood for board elections in 2018. He joined the board “just to make a contribution to the dairy industry”. “I joined the board in 2018 to serve as a director although they may have been other expectations of me,” he told Dairy News. McBride, who runs a 950-cow farm in South Waikato with wife Linda, was chosen by the board last month to take over from chairman John Monaghan when he retires at the co-op’s annual meeting in November. At the time of his election to the Fonterra board, McBride was touted as the next chairman. The chairman is elected by the 11-member board and must be a farmer-elected director. The former Zespri chairman says he is humbled to be selected by his fellow directors and is looking forward to leading the co-operative on behalf of its 10,000 farming families. McBride will take the helm of the co-op in challenging times. The co-op suffered two consecutive years of losses and a global recession looms as a result of Covid-19. He says Fonterra is in a much better position than it was 18 months ago. “There has been a big turnaround

and the management has done a great job,” he says. On Covid-19, McBride says, from a New Zealand perspective, it has highlighted dairy’s importance to our country. “It’s such a critical part of GDP going forward.” But McBride says the industry must get the balance right and work to further improve sustainability. He believes NZ is in a competitive position with one of the lowest carbon emissions per kgMS in the world. McBride will work with Monaghan over the next few months before “leading our co-op into its next phase and creating value for the benefit of our farmer owners and unit holders”. “When John retires from the board in November it will mark almost two decades of service to our co-op, the last 12 years as a director. He will leave behind a board culture of shared responsibility, which is something I will look to build on as the new chairman,” says McBride. He grew up on a dairy farm near Te Aroha before his father sold the farm and moved into kiwifruit horticulture in Te Puke. He holds a Bachelor of Horticulture from Massey University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Commerce from Lincoln University. McBride and his family are based near Tauranga on an avocado orchard. He’s an experienced primary producer and agricultural businessman

– specialising in two of New Zea- McBride was awarded Horticulture NZ’s Bledisloe Cup land’s iconic industries – dairy for leadership, and and kiwifruit. Deloitte NZ ChairA Fonterra statement person of the year. says his corporate agriculHe was praised tural experience has proby the Deloitte vided him with exposure judges as chairing in a number of internaa united and contional markets, in parstructive board. ticular the Asia Pacific Region, Middle East and Latin America. “Peter has leadership experience in the New Zealand rural sector through his work with Zespri, particularly in his command of the PSA crisis, which had the potential to decimate the New Zealand kiwifruit industry,” the statement says. He was previously a director of the New Zealand International Business Forum and a member of the executive board of the New Zealand China Peter McBride Council. In 2018,

DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

4 // NEWS

Come and work on farm PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE DAIRY industry

wants you! That is essentially the message of a $3.5 million campaign being run by DairyNZ to try and get 1000 New Zealanders to fill farm jobs in the industry. This has become more urgent with the New Zealand border being closed to the many overseas workers who traditionally come to the country for the peak of the season. The GoDairy campaign is targeting NZ residents or citizens of all ages who have either lost their jobs due to Covid-19 or think they might or are looking for a new career path. According to DairyNZ people team leader, Jane Muir, the programme is designed to give those interested an insight into what a dairy farm job might look like and if they like the idea, some basic training is offered to make them ‘farm ready’. People are invited to register and complete a 10 hour online course over

a week. If they are still interested they can then do a two week practical course to give them the necessary skills to apply for a farm assistant job on a dairy farm. Muir says, as of last week, 300 people had expressed interest, 99 have registered to begin training and 65 were actually being trained. “At the end of that first week we ask people if they are still interested and if the dairy industry still excites them. If the answer is ‘yes’, then they do the practical skills course, which includes animal handling and the use of farm bikes and tractors, as well as giving them some insights into the industry as a whole,” she says. Muir says the practical training is done by Dairy Training Limited, a subsidiary of DairyNZ as well as other accredited training organisations. The onfarm modules take place at training institutes such as Telford and Taratahi but also on actual dairy farms which the owners have offered to support

Last week Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor met with a group who were in the final week of the GoDairy programme.

the campaign. “The campaign is called ‘farm ready’ because we think it means that during that process people will find out if dairying is right for them. We think that if people commit to the three weeks they probably have decided, but the first week is the one we’d expect the biggest drop off. Our belief is that after three weeks training these people are ready to step into the entry level role of farm assistant,” she says. While they will obvi-

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ously still have a huge amount to learn, Muir says the trainees will have a basic understanding of what’s required and an understanding of what

drives dairy at farm level. She says they will also likely have the confidence to ask questions and to become effective in their roles more quickly.

So far those showing an interest in the programme come from all ages, (17 to 50+), all sexes and from a wide of occupations. These include baristas, property managers, drivers, mechanics and people who have been working in the tourism sector. Muir says most of the people have transferable skills and as they progress in their careers in the dairy sector these skills will aid their progression. She points to the example of a mechanic who might quickly take on the role of maintaining machines and vehicles on farm. She says during the first week of the training programme, the issue of

living in a rural community is carefully explained to make sure people understand just what life is like. She says the issue of ‘isolation’ has hardly arisen as she points out that many people living in larger cities often have long commutes or travel some distance to see friends. The selection focus is to recruit people who have a positive attitude, are reliable and are willing to learn. “Our other big focus is getting people who will be in the industry for the long term. We are not looking for people who come in for a short time and then go back to the jobs they came from,” she says.

AG KEY TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY – GOVT AGRICULTURE

MINISTER

Damien O’Connor says the agriculture sector will be the key to economic recovery post-Covid-19. He made the comment while launching the 2020 GoDairy campaign last week. DairyNZ, in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Ministry for Social Development (MSD), and with support from Federated Farmers, is running the campaign. “We know that people have lost their jobs because of Covid-19, and we know there is significant and urgent demand for trained workers in the dairy sector,” says O’Connor. “We want to continue to connect people with jobs in dairy, and more broadly in the primary industries because we know these sec-

tors will be key to our economic recovery. “GoDairy has a crucial role to play. The programme has a history of successfully recruiting and supporting people into dairy careers, over the past 15 years. The Government and the sector are giving it a welcome boost to encourage new-found farmers, by investing $3.5 million to expand this crucial work during our economic recovery,” O’Connor said. DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle said that although the new campaign is still in its early days, there is good interest from people wanting to pursue a dairy farming career. The Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni says MSD is

focused on getting New Zealanders into jobs and this is an important partnership to support people who want to refocus their skill sets. “We have direct access to the largest pool of available talent in New Zealand and can help the dairy sector fill jobs while supporting New Zealanders into an important career pathway,” she said. GoDairy’s training module will be available to other primary industry sectors – outside of dairy – to adapt, such as beef, lamb, and horticulture. The campaign complements the Government’s work to place 10,000 New Zealanders in primary sector jobs in the immediate term by rapidly retraining and absorbing workers displaced from other sectors.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

NEWS // 5

Sharemilkers need to hone in business skills PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

SHAREMILKERS NEED to have good busi-

ness acumen if they are to succeed in the dairy industry. That’s the view of Aaron Passey, who has just taken over as the new chairperson of Federated Farmers sharemilkers section. He told Dairy News this is a skill that is sometimes lacking among sharemilkers and one that needs to improve.

New Feds sharemilkers section chair Aaron Passey says business acumen is an area where many new sharemilkers come unstuck.

ABOUT THE MAN AARON PASSEY and his wife Jo are currently sharemilking on a 130ha property just north west of Dannevirke in the Tararua district. They peak milk about 300 cows and the farm is over 300 metres above sea level. It is situated in a valley and the Ruahine Ranges, snow covered in winter, form a stunning back-drop. Passey grew up in Upper Hutt near Wellington, but always had a desire to be a farmer. “While at school I frequently visited my relations in the Manawatu who had sheep and beef farms, so it was no surprise that when I left school I went to Massey University and completed a bachelor of applied science in agriculture. After a few months driving tractors, I began my career in the dairy industry,” he says. He initially got a job as a herd

manager then managed a small dairy farm in Taranaki before coming to the Tararua district where he’s been for the past thirteen years. It was here that he was urged by a former Feds sharemilker president, Neil Filer, to become involved in the federation and over the years he has worked his way up the ranks. He says his new role will involve lobbying and advocating to ensure that sharemilking remains a sustainable and profitable business. “I also want to promote and create an environment that encourages more people to take up sharemilking and enter the industry,” he says. While Passey admits that it can be challenging moving from sharemilking to farm ownership, he wants to uncover new and creative ways of making this possible.

Passey says business acumen is an area where many new sharemilkers come unstuck. They have jumped at the opportunity of entering the industry, but haven’t necessarily done background budgets. He says, if they did this, it would be clear whether they would be financially better off staying as a herd manager for a few more years rather than becoming a sharemilker. “A lot of this is about having the skills to deal with the banks. There is a need to educate sharemilkers about the information they need to provide the banks and how to develop a good working relationship with them.

“You give yourself a better chance of success in obtaining a loan if you have good budgets and information about what security you have. But if you have a good relationship with the bank you enhance the chances of getting a proposal across the line. “They need to do their sums and know what their profitability levels will be in different scenarios such as an adverse event or a drop in payout,” he says. Passey says Feds, DairyNZ and the Primary ITO are all involved in various initiatives to help educate sharemilkers. He says while many people do the various Primary ITO courses, some of the information that sharemilkers need at an early stage comes in during the more advanced courses. He says that business training is needed much earlier. According to Passey, skill levels required in the industry vary from farm to farm. He says on smaller farms the emphasis will be on cows and grass, while on larger units, such as those in Canterbury, business management skills are more important. @dairy_news

Court case dilemma THE RECENT court case involving sharemilker Tony Kuriger, the son of a National MP, has created “a concerning precedent”, says former Federated Farmers sharemilkers section chairman Richard McIntyre. Kuriger was convicted and fined by Palmerston North District Court for the ill-treatment of cows on a farm at Hukanui, Wairarapa. McIntyre says there are now questions around animal welfare obligations in a sharemilking relationship. “It was determined that if the condition of the cow races is causing lameness and the farm owner is not prepared to fix them, then it is up to the sharemilker to repair them and attempt to recover the cost from the farm owner. “If the farm owner has already refused to repair them, it is unlikely this will be an easy or fast process. “Given the considerable amount of money involved, there would be very few sharemilkers with the ability to cashflow such an undertaking. “This places an even greater obligation on the sharemilker in terms of due diligence and also considerably increases the level of risk that they take on.” McIntyre stepped down after four years in the role. He says the Feds sharemilkers section is in safe hands with Aaron Passey as chairman. McIntyre believes sharemilking still remains an attractive option for those who want to be their own boss in the industry. Sharemilkers can choose their own staff, own herds and make decisions around animal breeding. However, he says the dairy industry is evolving and sharemilkers must continue to evolve. “There is still a lot to be done...the Zero Carbon Bill and the National Policy Statement (NPS) on Freshwater will change many farm systems and the terms of many sharemilking agreements will need to be renegotiated in order for them to remain viable. “This will be a challenge particularly in areas where the change required dramatically affects the farm’s profitability and therefore the farm owner’s ability to absorb the increased cost.” Staffing issues remain a worry on farms but Covid19 has presented the sector an opportunity to improve its talent pool. “There will be many displaced workers who aspire to enter a new industry and work their way up.”

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6 // NEWS

New Feds boss promises a proactive approach PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

A MORE proactive

approach to key farming issues and delivered in an authentic farmer’s voice. These are some of the changes that the Federated Farmers president and Manawatu dairy farmer, Andrew Hoggard, is hoping to bring during his three year tenure. Hoggard was elected unopposed as president at a virtual AGM last month. He says being president of the farmer lobby group is the final phase of a long journey which has seen him progressively move up the ranks of the organisation over many years. Hoggard says over the next three years Feds will focus on some key

policy areas and he says there are no surprises as to what they are. “Water, RMA, biodiversity, climate change, biosecurity – those are fairly highly ranked. In the next tranche there is the economy and commerce and trade and that one might even move up the rankings,” he told Dairy News. “There is pretty tough sailing going forward, economic wise, for the country and so what’s that going to mean for agriculture? You have got quite a lot of people talking protectionist stuff so it’s going to be defending that free trade position, that thankfully has been quite bipartisan for NZ, and making sure that sticks and that we don’t move back on that,” he says. Hoggard says policy

Andrew Hoggard has taken over as Feds president.

staff at Feds are going to devote their time and effort to these areas. He says board members will obviously be speaking to these issues and responding to questions and queries. But rather than just reacting all the time, Hoggard says he’d like to see the federation be more

proactive and have a better thought process on the issues. According to Hoggard, there is a lot of talk these days about the need to add value to the basic product produced on farm, but he says there is also a need to make sure that such a philosophy is

not adding more unnecessary costs. He says some of the things that farmers are being asked to do are things they do already and he says there is ‘tick the box’ mentality creeping in, which is not always fit for purpose. “We are just being asked to tick boxes to, in

effect, prove what we are doing and sometimes the boxes we are expected to tick aren’t that easy to tick because they don’t quite fit in with how we are achieving the outcomes that are desired on farm. “I personally got caught out because, although I was doing more than was asked of me, I didn’t tick a particular box, which is just stupid. I’d like us to see us spend more time talking about those issues and making sure the debate is centred around what is realistic and putting an authentic farmer voice to it,” he says. With this in mind, Hoggard says he wants to see an improvement in connectivity in rural areas and greater use of

technology to minimise compliance. He says at present much of the cost of compliance is not so much making the changes on farm, but proving that this has been done. “To me ticking boxes sucks the fun out of farming. I think that so many people get worn down by the feeling of compliance and not just doing but proving it by having to fill in all the forms. We went farming because we like being outside, fixing fences and moving stock, the fresh air and just feeling the peace and solitude – not to sit in an office and type out something for the 20th time to please some bloody clipboard carrier. To put it succinctly, I want to put the fun back into farming,” he says.

NO GENDER BIAS IN FARMING – MILNE country by having men and women – all worksudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz ing farmers – speaking for the organisation FORMER FEDERATED Farmers that those old newspresident Katie Milne says having reels of men out on women in the farmer lobby leadership the land on machinteam is a reminder that New Zealand ery and women conagriculture is about couples working fined to baking scones for the shearers is pre- Katie Milne together. Milne, the first woman president of war history, and even Feds, stepped down last month after then it was a stereotype rather than the truth,” she said. serving her three year term. When the West Coast farmer was In her final speech at the Feds’ annual meeting, Milne said men and elected president three years ago, women bring their own perspectives there was immense media attention. However, Milne revealed that she and strengths to farming, neither being more important than the other. wasn’t comfortable with the focus “It’s useful to remind the rest of the that the media took. SUDESH KISSUN

“I went with it, because it was an angle that won us air time and newspaper column centimetres, but I – and I know it’s the same with you all – have always believed that in Federated Farmers leadership, the right question is ‘what can you offer the organisation?’, not ‘what’s your gender?’. “Nevertheless, I like to think I’ve brought my own stamp and personality to the role. “Upon wider reflection, lately I have realised that being a woman in the role has helped other women think about stepping into leadership roles as it has proven that where in

NZ you live isn’t a barrier and nor is gender.” Milne said she received a lot of help from the public, the media and farming colleagues. “The farmers who have picked up the phone to discuss an issue and those who have told me I’m right or wrong; the media who treated me kindly and gave me plenty of airtime to try and get key points about issues across.” Milne believes there has been “excellent progress” bringing town and country to a better understanding of each other. “We’ve used that phrase ‘we’re all in this together’ so well, and so often, as we’ve debated everything from

global warming and water quality to biodiversity and job security that people have recognised the truth of it. “Even town folk who no longer have any direct family connection to a farm have a better appreciation of what farmers are up against to make a living when they’re hammered by weather events, pest and disease incursions, and roller-coaster returns from an increasingly protectionist international marketplace. “Hopefully the message that we are producing some of the world’s best and safest food, to the best of our ability while looking after the environment, given the current tools, knowledge and resources we have available, is finally getting through.”

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

8 // NEWS

Corporate farmer lures Canadian investor SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

IT’S BUSINESS as usual at the country’s largest dairy farming business after the official announcement of a shareholder revamp. Dairy Holdings Limited, which operates 59 dairy farms in the South Island, is now 25% owned by Canadian investment company Sooke Investment.

Dairy Holdings majority shareholder Colin Armer told Dairy News that Sooke bought the stake from Jagwei Ltd, a holding company for JD and RD Wallace, about a year ago. He says the transaction became public when Dairy Holdings filed its annual returns with the Companies Office last week. Armer says the transaction involved “a large lump of money”. With not a lot of inves-

Colin Armer

tor capital available in New Zealand, the com-

pany accepted Quebecbased Sooke’s offer.

“There is no change to the way Dairy Holdings

operates, it’s business as usual,” he says. Dairy Holdings is now 42% owned by Armer and his wife Dale, 33% by the Turley family and 25% by Sooke. The Canadian company is expected to appoint a board member soon. Dairy Holdings board is chaired by former Fonterra director Greg Gent. Armer, who also served as a Fonterra director, sits on the board with his wife

Dale. Murray and Margaret Turley are also board members. According to Dairy Holdings’ website, its farms produce 17 million kgMS from 50,000 milking cows. The operations are self-contained and include 15 support farms that provide for the rearing and supply of 10,000 in-calf heifers per annum to the dairy farms and grazing of all non-lactating cows over the winter months.

TO ALL FARMERS. FOR ALL FARMERS. www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz

Sunil Sethi has resigned from Fonterra.

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FONTERRA’S HEAD of its Sri Lankan and Indian subcontinent business, Sunil Sethi, has left the co-op. A Fonterra statement says Sethi left in April, after four years in the role, to be with his family in India. Sethi helped set up Fonterra’s joint venture Fonterra Future Dairy in India with the Future Group. He also chaired Fonterra Future Dairy for 12 months. The chairmanship under rotation is now held by Future Group. Sethi will continue to serve on Fonterra Future Dairy board.

The JV produces the ‘Dreamery’ brand of flavoured milk, yoghurt and cheese for the Indian market. Fonterra’s chief executive Asia Pacific Judith Swales says Sethi has done an exceptional job in energising and creating a highly engaged future-ready organisation in Sri Lanka. She says Fonterra has invested in developing talent and knowledge in Sri Lanka and also has earned the trust of Sri Lankan families for generations through its highest standards in quality and dairy nutrition. “We are firmly committed to Sri

Lanka and contributing to a healthy, happy nation through initiatives like our Abiman Varam community programme, developing our local dairy farmers and meeting the nutritional needs of consumers across all life stages,” she said. Meanwhile the co-op has appointed Vidya Sivaraja as Sethi’s replacement. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Vidya has been with Fonterra for 15 years, most recently as the managing director for Malaysia and Singapore businesses, and is the first Sri Lankan to head the market.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

NEWS // 9

Biosecurity remains top concern SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

A SURVEY of agribusi-

ness leaders has again found biosecurity as the major issue of concern. The 2020 KPMG Agribusiness Agenda, released last week, saw biosecurity getting the top priority score among leaders who responded to the survey. Other top issues include high quality trade deals, creating NZ provenance brands and securing high quality rural broadband. The survey asked contributors to rank a range

of priority items on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being an item they considered to be of no priority for the industry and 10 requiring immediate attention and action. KPMG received over 90 responses. The priority score for biosecurity increased 1.9% to 9.26 although this remains below its peak in 2018 at the height of the Mycoplasma bovis crisis. KPMG global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot says the impact that Covid-19 has had and will continue to have on people’s lives and the economy has highlighted how

Biosecurity is a top concern among agribusiness leaders.

exposed we are as a country to an incursion. He says the point was made by a number of contributors that it is critical that we learn from

the response to Covid-19 and incorporate what is learned into biosecurity incursion readiness plans. “While the year has passed without an incur-

CLEAR MESSAGING VITAL FOR MIGRANT WORKERS A WARNING to farmers employing migrant workers to whom English is a second language – make sure these people clearly understand health and safety risks and the measures in place to control them. The warning comes from WorkSafe following the prosecution of Sidogg Investments Ltd, an Ashburton-based dairy farming company. The company has been fined $281,250 in the Ashburton District Court after a worker was crushed by a trailer. Worksafe says in the September 2018 incident, the worker was standing on the draw bar of a trailer being towed by an SUV. The worker slipped from the draw bar and was

drawn underneath the trailer and run over by the moving wheels. The victim was left with spinal injuries, pelvic and rib fractures and his life has changed immeasurably as a result of the incident. WorkSafe’s chief inspector Steve Kelly said the victim, a migrant worker with English as his second language, was not aware that standing on the drawbar of the trailer was a hazard. “WorkSafe’s investigation found it was common practice for calf collection workers to stand on the drawbar, but this absolutely should not have been allowed,” he says. Kelly says at the time of the incident a number of those employed by Sidogg Investments Limited

were migrant workers and because of this, the company should have been taking extra precautions to ensure they understood health and safety risks clearly. “At any farm where workers are employed and for whom English might be a second language, employers need to take extra precautions to ensure health and safety responsibilities are being met and understood by workers,” he says. Kelly says it is the responsibility of employers to make sure they find ways to clearly communicate risks. He says employers should not allow any work to be carried out until they are completely satisfied workers understand safe practice.

to the market access we rely on to create wealth as an exporter of food and fibre products. Proudfoot says problems faced by the Australian red meat and barley sectors in relation to market access into China highlights how quickly political differences can become trade issues with massive financial consequences in the tense environment we currently live in. (Barley growers estimate the tariff imposed on their sector could cost AU$1b this year). “Many contributors focused on the critical role the Government plays in maintaining our market access and called for more resource to be directed towards both negotiating new access and ensuring issues arising with existing access are resolved quickly. “However, it was also recognised that successful trade requires more than market access, it requires those involved to work with their in-market partners in a way that delivers some of the benefits of trading with New Zealand.”

start to reopen our border and work on designing these should be underway now. “While minister after minister has declared biosecurity to be their top priority, the approach to biosecurity policy shifts with each new minister. “In light of Covid-19, the suggestion was made that biosecurity policy should be lifted out of the political arena and made an area where decisions are progressed on crossparty consensus. “This would mean we can make long-term plans to ensure our border protection is world class, and our pre-incursion threat identification and planning is funded to minimise the risk of another major hit to the economy as we start to recover from the pandemic.” The report says the seeds of a shift away from multilateral trade towards increased protectionism and nationalism having been planted over the last two years and given a major boost by Covid-19; there is palpable concern among many contributors about what might happen

sion on the scale of M. bovis, it does not mean the year has been incursion free. “There are known threats that have tested our border controls during the year.” Some of which, like the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug, have the potential to create significant environmental and economic damage if we drop our guard, something we can ill afford given the cost of the Covid-19 response. There was greater concern about the “porous nature” of the border this year. “The point was made that we have opportunity to build back better border controls when we

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

10 // NEWS

Slight dip in 201920 milk collection SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA’S MILK

collection last season was slightly down as North Island farmers faced a

crippling drought. However, the 2.1% dip in North Island milk was offset by the South Island where full season collection was up 2.1%. The cooperative’s total milk production in 2019-

20 reached 1,517 million kgMS, down 0.4% on the previous season. Full season collection for the North Island was 874.6 million kgMS and for the South Island, 642.5 million kgMS.

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In its May global dairy update, Fonterra says milk production improved across the North Island in the last month of the season. Fonterra’s collection in May was 69.9 million kgMS, up 2.1% on the same month last season thanks to heavy rain in some drought-stricken areas. “May brought rain across the country, with some of the heavier falls across northern areas where it was very dry,” it says. “North Island milk collection partially recovered in May relative to past months as weather conditions became more favourable and drought conditions eased, ending at 30 million kgMS, down 3.5% on last May. “Following months of drought and lower milk production, May production improved on the back of more favourable weather conditions.” South Island milk collection in May was 39.9 million kgMS, up 6.9% on last May, with good conditions through much of the month. Forecast is forecasting 2020-21 milk collection to be around 1,525 million kgMS. Milk production is also improving in Australia, jumping 6.4% in April. Better seasonal conditions and improved farmer confidence con-

tributed to the continuing production recovery in the second part of the season, especially in Victoria and Tasmania, Fonterra says. Production for the 12 months to April was down 2.3% on the previous 12 months. However, Dairy Australia has moderated its outlook for 2019–20 production upwards, to a drop of just 1.3%. But Fonterra is still struggling with milk supply in Australia. Fonterra’s Australia collection in May was 7.7 million kgMS, a 5.3% decrease on May last year. For the month, farm milk collection was up on last year, while third-party milk was down. Season-to-date collection reached 100.9 million kgMS, down 12.4% on the same period last season. Fonterra says its milk collections have been impacted by the highly competitive milk supply market which has seen losses, primarily to milk brokers. Fonterra Australia has also made a conscious decision to purchase less third-party milk to focus on a value-add product mix, the co-op says.

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LIC HAS strengthened its support for growing the next generation of primary sector leaders with the signing of a three-year agreement with Rural Leaders. Rural Leaders runs the highly-respected Nuffield Farming Scholarship and Kellogg Rural Leadership programmes. LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says the co-op is committed to further enabling rural business professionals and farmers to flourish at a time when career opportunities on and around farms are strong. “We’re proud to have strengthened our partnership with Rural Leaders having previously had an association for five years,” he says. “We’re excited to further cement our support for the future leaders our sector needs to retain and grow if we are to maintain global status as a world-class provider of agritech, food and products.”

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

12 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Let’s go dairying!

MILKING IT... Out to sea

Please explain

THE POLITICKING around the issue of piping more water from the Waikato up to Auckland highlights a couple of key points about water in NZ. Point one: who owns water? ACT leader David Seymour asked this very question last week: “The Waikato River Authority needs to ask itself ‘whose water is it anyway?’” Point two: this country lets most of the water that falls from the sky, run out to sea. The Waikato River is just one example. Right now, there are 416,000 litres of water flowing past Mercer every second, according to Seymour. Auckland’s request of 25 million litres per day amounts to 289 litres per second. Auckland is asking for 0.7 per cent of what flows into the sea. While it’s important to leave enough water in the rivers to keep them healthy, faced with ongoing drought in key farming areas – Hawkes Bay, for example – we can no longer ignore the reality that to let so much freshwater flow out to sea is to squander a massive economic opportunity.

DOES ANYONE in the Government understand the essential role St John Ambulance has in our society? There has been a lot of Government support during the Covid-19 crisis for struggling businesses, even $10million for a bungee jumping outfit and $72 million to the racing industry, not to mention a $3 million loan to Team NZ, much of which they promptly handed over to a Hungarian scammer, if reports are to be believed. Yet everyone is happy to stand and watch St John cut 100 jobs in a bid to save $30 million. Its financial issues haves worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. Surely, someone in government thinks St John plays an essential role and should be thrown a $30m lifeline.

A ticking timebomb? THERE COULD be another dairy health scare brewing in China and this one starts in our backyard. Milk powder products made in New Zealand to general food standards are, according to some reports, being misleadingly marketed as an appropriate food for Chinese babies, one researcher says. Media reports says products made in New Zealand as general foods were being exported in that manner, but then packaged in China in a way that targeted infants and children, including feeding guides for children aged under one. We have already been stung by the Chinese. Remember San Lu and melamine? New Zealand dairy has regained the trust of Chinese consumers. We must not lose it again.

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Unpopular tax

ISSN 1175-463X

THE GREENS recently announced its major tax policy for the election. The centrepiece was a tax of 1% on wealth over $1 million and 2% over $2 million. What does this mean for small farmers? Many might sit on the cusp of the $1m and $2m thresholds. We say the policy would likely run into the same issues as Labour’s now jettisoned capital gains tax: it’s unrealistic and unpopular. Just ask Winston Peters. He recently quoted Winston Churchill….”for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

ON THE GoDairy website there’s a story about Northland man, Sam Moscrip, who wanted to be a dairy farmer for as long as he can remember. “As a kid you have got a 500-acre playground really... it’s being outside in open spaces, watching the land change through the seasons from calving to summertime to crops getting harvested. Growing up on the farm you learn good work ethics,” he says. Last year, Sam was named Northland Dairy Manager of the Year. The 22-year-old is herd manager on his parents’ 160ha dairy farm at Hukerenui, where the close-knit community means there is no shortage of advice when needed. “It is the same across the country, where you form close connections with your fellow farmers, but also those within the community who are not farmers,’ he says. “It is about appreciating those who helped me get to where I am and giving back to them now.” It’s with such positive stories that DairyNZ is hoping to rope in 1000 new workers on farms through its GoDairy campaign. For many people, Covid-19 brought an abrupt end to their careers. For these people, dairy farming offers a diverse range of roles and great pathways for career progression. With around 12,000 farm businesses employing over 34,000 people on farm there is plenty of opportunity to grow a career. So the message from DairyNZ is, ‘come and join us!’ Although the new campaign is still in its early days, DairyNZ is reporting good interest from people wanting to pursue a dairy farming career. Like all successful businesses, dairy farming needs good talent. Currently there are 1000 job vacancies on dairy farms nationwide. The industry needs people to do everything from doing the books, to working with machinery, caring for animals, and managing staff. Technology plays a major part in the business too. GoDairy is garnering interest from people across a range of career backgrounds – from tourism and hospitality to engineering, finance, and truck drivers. While many people might not be familiar with the day-today of dairy farming, most have work and life skills that are readily transferrable. GoDairy has a crucial role to play. The Government and the sector are giving it a welcome boost to encourage new-found farmers by investing $3.5 million to expand this crucial work during NZ’s economic recovery. GoDairy is just another example of the NZ agri sector spearheading the country’s journey through the turmoil caused by Covid-19.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

OPINION // 13

N cap rules – an unbalanced approach JIM VAN DER POEL

THE ESSENTIAL Freshwater policy’s

new nitrogen cap has a barb in the tail for dairy farmers and particularly those in Canterbury. While the overall package announced last month was an improvement on the earlier version, it surprised many that the nitrogen cap of 190kg per hectare per year would be applied

so quickly and only to pastoral farmers. The cap begins in July 2021, and only dairy farmers must report fertiliser use to their regional council. When it comes to achieving healthy waterways, we all have a role to play. Dairy farmers have been doing a lot of good work over the past decade and recognise that we are part of the solution. But rules must be applied equitably, not only between farmers, but also between rural and urban communities. The cap for just pastoral farmers

is not equitable and it’s out of step with the Government’s own Essential Freshwater principles. Dairy farmers have already done a lot of good work, but want to know that every farmer or grower applying nitrogen must adhere to the same rules, to achieve the same outcome. Decisions on farm systems and what to plant are made many months in advance and the timelines for the new rules present significant upheaval. There are real solutions to be found

and DairyNZ is working hard to explore these. But good science to inform on-farm practice takes time. Farmers are already innovative in reducing N losses and will continue to be. In Canterbury, farmers are investing thousands of dollars to upgrade irrigation systems. The precision irrigation technologies are very effective at reducing nitrogen leaching, while also improving water use efficiency.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Levy vote turnout IN RESPONSE to Jeremy Talbot’s recent letter (published Dairy News June 23), where he questioned the voter turnout in DairyNZ’s recent levy vote. The one in six-year milksolids levy vote closed on May 30, with provisional results showing 57% of the 11,747 levy paying dairy farmers voted – and of those who voted, 69% voted ‘yes’ to continuing the levy. Like all levy organisations, we are always keen to see high engagement on any vote involving our farmers. DairyNZ is pleased with the turnout. Other similar industry groups often fall short of this level, with turnouts for likeminded votes averaging 39%. For the four levy votes since 2002, DairyNZ has attracted an average voter turnout of 57%. The average ‘yes’ vote is 69.7%. By volume, two-thirds of the country’s milksolids were represented in this year’s vote and three-quarters was a ‘yes’ vote. While this year’s result is consistent with previous levy votes, we at DairyNZ are always striving for more. Can we do better? Absolutely. Farmers have told us during the levy that we need to increase our connection and relevance to their business, and that’s one of our priorities informing our strategic plan for the next five years. Mr Talbot also raised the farm systems debate and a pasture first focus vs. supplementary feed. DairyNZ are advocates for pasture first (but not pasture only). Each and every farm in New Zealand utilises pasture and it drives more than 85% of profit for most farms, at a $7/kgMS milk price. That profit margin only improves as milk price drops – at $4/kgMS, pasture drives 98% of profit. Every farm benefits from being better pasture managers, which is a key driver for our focus in this area. But we also know that supplementary feeds play a crucial part in many New Zealand farms, as well as providing vital feed during adverse events such as drought or other periods of feed shortage. DairyNZ supports profitable, sustainable farm systems which enable our business owners to operate successful dairy farms, for the long-term. We understand Mr Talbot has interests in arable farming in Canterbury, which was not declared in his letter. This may influence his views on the importance of pasture and PKE in our dairy sector. We are always keen to hear from our dairy farmers. DairyNZ is your industry organisation, we represent each and every dairy farmer. Our job is to show you value every day. Jim van der Poel, DairyNZ chair

CLEAN UP THIS SEASON. More than ever, New Zealand needs its dairy farmers to keep great quality milk flowing. When you win, we all win. To get you ready for success this season, we’re here to help get your shed hygiene basics sorted. Reduce the chance of elevated SCC levels and improve hygiene performance with the best advice on rubberware, teat sprays, and more. Visit nzfarmsource.co.nz/milkquality for a range of shed hygiene tips and supplies, or call your TSR to discuss your specific requirements.

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Over 10,000 nutrient budgets are in use on dairy farms to look at the farm’s soils, rainfall, crop and pasture, stock, supplementary feed and irrigation. These budgets inform accurate fertiliser application. We look forward to working together with government to ensure these policies are translated into pragmatic and balanced rules for all farmers and to achieving our shared goals for healthy waterways. • Jim van der Poel is DairyNZ chairman

DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

14 // AGRIBUSINESS

Hopes high after co-op’s hemp trial SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FONTERRA IS trying its hand on growing hemp and results are encouraging. The team planted 10ha of hemp, the equivalent of 10 rugby fields, at its 850ha Darfield Farm in Canterbury, next to its Darfield processing plant. The unique, cutting-edge trial to see how hemp grows under dairy wastewater irrigation is the first of its kind in New Zealand and likely a world first too. It turns out that it grows very well and the pilot has been a huge success. The hemp

Fonterra’s hemp plantation near its Darfield factory in Canterbury.

improved profitability and productivity, while reducing the coop’s environmental footprint. Fonterra’s regional farm operations manager, Steve Veix, says the dry, hot Canterbury summers make it challenging to find the ideal crop to grow onfarm, which traditionally grows pasture. “We were approached by the local Carrfields Limited team to trial planting hemp and after some research of our own, we went for it. “From there we took advice from the team at Carrfields, given the newness of the crop in New Zealand.” Whilst hemp looks like cannabis, it does not contain high levels of THC, the psychoactive

substance found in marijuana. Fonterra says its team found that hemp crop has many benefits: it is quick to establish, grows well, requires minimal fertiliser, is water efficient and soaks up nutrients so reduces potential leaching. The fibre, grain and seed harvested from the hemp crop will now go on to be used in products such as flour and oil. Veix says the success of the trial means the team at the farm are now considering increased areas across a couple of South Island farms for the coming season. “This trial is just one of the many innovations Fonterra is doing as we try to be a more sustainable dairy producer.”

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Auckland shopper Jenny Bramley was one of those who called for milk dispensers and refillable glass bottles.

GLASS BOTTLES BACK ON PUBLIC DEMAND BOUTIQUE MILK maker Lewis Road Creamery is launching a nationwide plan to put fresh milk dispensers and reusable glass bottles into grocery stores. The company says it has received many requests from shoppers asking for a return to glass and for milk brands to ditch plastic bottles. The milk dispensers have been at three Farro stores in Auckland – Grey Lynn, Constellation Drive and Epsom. More stores will get milk refillery stations in coming months. The reusable glass one-litre bottles cost a one-off $4 and each milk refill of Lewis Road Creamery organic homogenised milk is $4/litre. “The plastic problem really worries our customers,” says Lewis Road Creamery founder and chief executive Peter Cullinane. “Two years ago we switched to 100% recycled plastic bottles but

we’ve always wanted to do more, so this is another step in the right direction.” Auckland shopper Jenny Bramley says taking a glass bottle to fill at the grocery store is no different to taking a reusable bag. “I got in touch with Lewis Road earlier this year letting them know my dream of being able to get milk in glass bottles. “I’ve gone to a lot of effort in the past to buy milk in glass, including taking my own bottle to the farmgate. “So it’s great that finally there is a much more convenient option and to know I won’t be adding to the plastic mountain,” says Bramley. Cullinane says refill stations work brilliantly at small farmers markets around the country. “We really want to see that same responsible approach at a more mass market, urban level,” said Cullinane.

With around 23,000 tonnes of plastic milk bottles entering New Zealand’s waste stream annually, Lewis Road says that anything that can be done to reduce this amount of plastic waste is a positive thing. The milk dispensers are supplied by New Zealand business Glass Bottle Milk & Co. Customers buy a one-litre screw top glass bottle for filling from the dispenser located in-store. “We are always looking for new ways to offer shoppers more sustainable shopping solutions and, like our friends at Lewis Road, we have received many requests from our customers for milk refill stations like these,” says Farro chief executive Bryce Howard. “A trial of the milk dispenser in our Grey Lynn store has been really well received by our customers so we are looking forward to having more dispensers in more stores for more of our customers to access.”

DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

MANAGEMENT // 15

Reduce the risks while buying stock PROTECTING YOUR HERD

How can you minimise the risks of introducing new diseases or parasites when bringing stock into your farm ‘bubble’ from another farm ‘bubble’? DairyNZ technical policy advisor Nita Harding explains. YOU CAN reduce this risk by reducing the number of animals that you bring in, reducing the number of times that you move new stock onto the farm, and most importantly, assessing the health and NAIT status of incoming stock. If you don’t know – ask. Taking a bit of time to ask a few questions before confirming a purchase or lease agreement could save you a lot of time and money later on. The key pieces of information you need to ask about are:

the movement history of the animals. ■■ what vaccinations and other treatments the animals have had. ■■ their incidence of any diseases or conditions such as lameness. Be prepared Where you already have a management plan in place for a particular disease – for example, bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) or leptospirosis – find out if the new animals are of equivalent health status to your own animals. If not, and you still ■■

want to bring the animals on-farm, then plan for treatments, testing or vaccinations for the new animals, before mixing them with the herd. Questions checklist The questions to ask a vendor will depend on the age and class of stock, and what you intend to do with the animals. To help with this process, please have a look at the pre-purchase checklist we recently developed (see sidebar). On the move Also remember that it’s important to check

BIOSECURITY IS about reducing the risk of diseases, weeds or pests entering, spreading or leaving your farm. Below are simple steps you can take to help protect your farm, business and animals. New stock ■■ Disease status of new stock is considered carefully before animals are bought or moved. ■■

Ask questions about animal health, TB status, vaccinations, disease and treatment history.

Visitors Visitors arrive with clean equipment, clothing and footwear and disinfect upon arrival.

■■

Nita Harding

■■

the animals are fit to be transported to the farm. If they’re travelling a long way, they need to be prepared for the journey. Find out more about transporting stock. When the animals

arrive on-farm, keep them separate from other stock for seven days, and keep a close eye on them for signs of illness. If you have any concerns about their health, call your veterinarian.

Provide a scrubbing brush and water and a disinfectant spray or footbath for visitors.

Fencing Boundary fences are secure and prevent noseto-nose contact with neighbouring stock.

■■

Avoid grazing boundary paddocks when neighbour’s cows are grazing the adjacent paddock, or create double fencing or outrigger fences.

Calves Young calves are given special protection.

■■ ■■

Only allow essential people into the calf shed. Have a separate set of farm clothing and boots to use around calves. Clean these regularly.

Weeds Potential weeds and pasture pests are identified and prevented.

■■

Check with your regional council and the agpest website for advice and information. Check that feed sourced from off-farm doesn’t contain seeds of weeds new to your farm.

Pests Animal pests are controlled.

■■ ■■

Keep areas around buildings free from clutter and long grass.

■■

Store feed securely.

Signage ■■ Biosecurity signs are clearly visible and easy to follow. ■■

Include the name and contact phone number of the farm owner/manager to make it easy for visitors to contact the right person.

Remember that it’s important to check the animals are fit to be transported to the farm.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

16 // MANAGEMENT

Sustainability stars pick up awards TEN KIWI dairy farmers who have shown exceptional care for the environment were recently recognised with a DairyNZ sustainability and stewardship award as part of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards. “The dairy sector has made a commitment under the Dairy Tomorrow strategy to protect and nurture the environment for future generations,” says Dr David Burger, DairyNZ strategy and investment leader – responsible dairy. “The award recipients are fantastic examples of this commitment in action on farms.”

Chris and Desiree Giles of Waimumu Downs equity partnership near Gore were the Southland DairyNZ award recipients. Their 550 cow farm is the hub of a community environmental project. “As part of the Waimumu Downs Project we’re working with local Enviroschools, our catchment community and local iwi to start a community nursery which can nurture locally sourced seedlings from our farm and local area,” Chris explains. The plan includes seeds from the local area being propagated by Eastern Southland Envi-

roschools in glass houses on the farm. School children have been carrying out stream studies of water on the farm, raising plants and looking at biodiversity and pest control on the property. The Giles’ have also developed four wetlands that farm drains flow into, and planted farm waterways. “We would like to develop a native plant corridor from the Mataura River to the Hokonui Hills and get other neighbouring farms on board with this project,” Chris says. Together with Environment Southland, the Giles’ have been trial-

Planting on the Bourke/Smith family farm in Taranaki.

ling using straw bales and Douglas Fir woodchips to help filter sediment and nutrients going into the wetlands. Testing has shown this has resulted in a 47 percent average reduction in total nutrients leaving the wetlands. In Taranaki, the Bourke/ Smith family received the DairyNZ Desiree and Chris Giles.

Sustainability and Stewardship Award for their work to enhance a property which has been in the family for nearly 150 years, with judges also commending their animal care standards. Fern Flats is a 73ha, 180 cow farm owned by Robert and Verna Bourke. Their daughter Conna and son-in-law Nick Smith are 50:50 sharemilkers there. The farm was bought in 1873 by Robert Bourke’s great grandfather, with what were believed to be profits from striking gold in the Otago goldrush. “We have a gully area

in the middle of the farm which used to be grazed by heifers but it wasn’t a very productive area,” Robert explains. “After attending some farm forestry field days, I saw how planting trees could be a good use for areas that were hard to manage and also help beautify the farm.” Extensive planting in the gully has created a 12 hectare forest of pines. Another 4-5 hectares of riparian margins have been planted with native species and a farm wetland provides a habitat for pukeko.

Testing shows that water from two springs on the farm is good enough for the family to drink. Robert says there’s plenty of advice on offer for other farmers who want to improve their farm environment – including from regional councils and farm forestry field days. DairyNZ also hosted a discussion group on the farm where an expert assessed the farm effluent requirements - providing valuable information on improving the effluent system.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

MANAGEMENT // 17

Surviving, thriving this spring DARREN SUTTON

WINTER MAY have just

begun but most farmers are already looking ahead to the next season and the one beyond that. Top of mind is calving, with around four million calves born each year across New Zealand farms. Also high on many farmers’ mind will be feed after months of drought for several regions including the Waikato. If farmers are worried about how their farm is positioned feed-wise for winter and the coming spring, then it’s time to seek professional help. Having a plan in place can lift the burden and help farmers clearly navigate the next few months and challenges on farm. Another important focus area is staff. After COVID-19 many of us are

Seek professional help if you are concerned about how your farm is positioned feed-wise for winter. Inset Darren Sutton.

out of our usual routines, but the business of farming keeps going regardless of pandemics, given most farmers self-isolate most days. Where possible, try to keep to your daily routine. This helps keep you and staff efficient and focused on the tasks at hand. If you and staff know the processes of each task,

each day, this will lift efficiency and generate more time for planning ahead. If you have staff, make sure you delegate out jobs wherever possible. If a job can be done by a single person, and they do that each day in the same routine, efficiencies are created. It also frees farmers up to address big picture needs.

The pandemic has bought with it increased anxiety for many people so do a check-in with your staff once a week, and ask how they are doing. Are they struggling with anything? Do they need any support or can they think of a better way to complete any tasks on farm. Asking them for ideas builds teamwork and

keeps people motivated and engaged. Be mindful too that your staff may have personal concerns on their mind which could impact productivity. A job done 90% right by someone other than you is good enough!

Keep a watch too on time sheets. Are staffs hours staying within their parameters? Adjust rosters if people need a break, or hours are drifting off-course. And if you can, stock the cowshed office with muesli bars or fruit to keep everyone going in busy periods. One farm I know pulls out a deep frozen Christmas cake for calving for the staff office. Maybe you’ll find something similar to share or dust off your slow cooker for meals. It’s a great way to make meals in advance that can last for two days or think about freezing some food for the coming few weeks.

Before it gets really busy, pre-book relief staff to allow for some weekends off for staff especially as we move into level one. And make time for you and your family to also have some downtime and get off farm - or connect up with others for a re-set break. Taking your mind off the farm for even one hour for family or friends helps immensely. If things are starting to get serious, and you’re struggling or not sleeping, reach out to your Rural Support Trust or other support networks. There are plenty of people willing to support you when the going gets tough and help you get through winter and the seasons beyond with a healthy mind and farm. • Darren Sutton is LIC FarmWise consultant, Waikato

SPECIAL REPORT

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20 // ANIMAL HEALTH

BVD stealing profit, hitting herd health MYCOPLASMA BOVIS and Covid-19 may

be competing for farmers’ attention this winter, but another equally infectious disease that has lurked in the background for years poses at least as big a threat to farm profitability and livestock health. Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is estimated to be costing the New Zealand dairy industry at least $150 million a year in animal health costs and lost production, yet experts agree, with a focused campaign it could potentially be eliminated in a matter of months, not years. Greg Chambers, Zoetis veterinary operations manager, has been working closely with vets and farmers this year to help raise the profile and understanding of BVD. He says despite what farmers may think, BVD is both contagious and common among dairy

herds. “It is far from being random or rare. But often BVD is mainly a subclinical disease, and its symptoms get lost amid the usual health outcomes farmers see quite regularly within their herd. “These can include immune suppression causing more infectious disease, early embryonic death, abortion, elevated somatic cell counts, birth defects – all can appear random, but can actually all be tied back to BVD, such is the wide range of conditions it can create.” Despite being such an insidious background disease, BVD can be controlled with a few steps revolving around testing, culling, vaccination and farm biosecurity. Testing for BVD is a well-established practice in New Zealand dairy herds. Bulk milk sampling provides a good pathway for vets and farmers to

determine its presence, then commence identifying and culling individual infected herd members. “Testing and culling to get a clear result is good. But often no further action is taken once that is achieved, and only when the next BVD-infected animal is detected is the disease addressed again. “It is a bit like using your smoke detector to tell you your house is on fire- by the time that alarm has gone off the fire has got hold and the damage is already done.” He has been focusing on reinforcing the need for farmers to build biosecurity and vaccination into their animal health plans to prevent the test going positive. “As a farmer, you really need to use the twin tools of vaccination and good farm biosecurity to keep BVD out, otherwise your efforts are going to

Greg Chambers, Zoetis veterinary operations manager.

be constantly eroded with it returning- it’s like trying to build a sandcastle when the tide is coming in.” Vaccination wraps a layer of insurance around the herd’s health. “It’s really like investing to fireproof the building, to stop fire taking hold again and the alarm going off again.” Research looking over the past decade at BVD infections indicates over time more and more herds that may have contracted BVD and been cleared become naïve to the disease, and once again are susceptible.

“We have had infected herds drop from about 15% to 5% in only a few years, which is good. But it also means without vaccination those herds are sitting ducks for becoming susceptible again.” Amid heightened concerns over M. bovis, more farmers have been careful about where they send young stock, and many also vaccinate that stock against BVD. “But while protecting your young stock is worthwhile, focusing on your breeding herd is probably even more important.

“It is from them you get your Persistently Infected (PI) calves, from where it can spread quickly.” Timely BVD vaccination of cows prior to mating will ensure no PI calves are born that spring, helping break a cycle of infection. Both the symptoms and the $150 million cost to the dairy sector of BVD are difficult for affected farmers to identify. “The cost of at least $150 million is an average of $32 a cow a year, but it can seem to be a zerocost disease if you are just

interpreting the many different symptoms as unrelated health issues in the herd.” The per head cost of BVD far outstrips the cost to vaccinate, and Chambers says vaccination could play an invaluable role in helping New Zealand eradicate the disease. “If as a country we can deal to Covid-19, and as an industry deal to both M. bovis and BVD, it will do much for New Zealand’s biosecurity standing and enhance the dairy sector’s profitability.” @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

‘ONE-STOP-SHOP’ FOR HERD MANAGEMENT A NEW herd recording tool

has been launched by CRV Ambreed. myHERD is the result of CRV’s partnership with farm software provider, FarmIQ, to develop the new herd recording and farm management

application, which replaces CRV Insight. With myHERD, farmers can now manage all their herd records and data from multiple farming operations using just one tool. CRV Ambreed information

and IT manager Andrew Singers says myHERD has been developed in New Zealand for Kiwi farmers. “The development of myHERD reflects CRV’s desire to offer farmers a futurefocused herd management

platform. “Using data captured on farm, myHERD will provide farmers with practical, accessible information so they can make better decisions across their entire farming business. “FarmIQ’s Enterprise Dairy

product can be integrated with myHERD, allowing farmers to incorporate data from a range of sources and link it all together – from interactive farm maps, environmental plans and health and safety to off-farm grazing and pasture

forecasting.” Using the additional FarmIQ Enterprise Dairy programme, myHERD can also be used by farmers with a diverse portfolio, from dairy to sheep and beef blocks, and run-offs, says Singers.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

ANIMAL HEALTH // 21

The figures tell the story US GENETICS company World Wide Sires says the challenge for Kiwi farmers to reduce herd size while maintaining or building production is generating an increase in demand for overseas genetics. World Wide Sires (WWS) NZ’s manager of sales and marketing, Craig Robertson, said the use of high performance genetics – cows capable of averaging more than 700kgMS per year over multiple lactations – is one of the fastest pathways to achieving the industry goal. “The leap, from the NZ per cow average of 381kgMS (New Zealand Dairy Statistics 20182019) can’t be achieved in one season, but a growing number of farmers are setting their sights on transforming their herds, and profit margins, over the next decade. “Increasing the production of the average New Zealand herd of 435 cows from today’s average of 381kgMS to a modest (by overseas standards) 500kgMS equates to a per cow increase of 119kgMS. At a payout of $6.50 this equates to an additional $336,472 of income. And that’s just the beginning.” Robertson said, in the last 26 years, average per cow production in New Zealand has increased by just 122kgMS/cow. “Thanks to genomics, that level of gain is

tistically reliable and consistently very high.” Moving away from generations of commitment to Breeding Worth isn’t done overnight, said Rob-

ertson, but faced with the inevitability of a future with fewer, more productive animals, farmers are realising there is an alternative.

Craig Robertson

increasing, but too slowly, because of the small database, to achieve the industry aim. To fast-track genetic gain and achieve the consequent profitability and sustainability, farmers need to look overseas to larger and more diverse populations of dairy genetics. “[WWS] was one of the first companies in the world to launch a successful commercial genomic product and today our active line-up comprises 669 genomic and 347 proven bulls across all breeds. “The success of our genomic offering – and farmer confidence – comes down to a predictor group database which includes more than 60,540 proven bulls and 2,063,622 cows across all breeds. There is no larger database in the world that can match that, or the reliability it enables. The correlation between the genomic prediction and what the daughter actually produces is sta-

NAIT ready for calving? Help build lifetime animal traceability Make sure you can tick off the following: Selling calves: All my calves are NAIT tagged correctly I have registered the calves in my NAIT account – after tagging them first I have recorded a movement in NAIT for the calves I sold – within 48 hours of them leaving. Note: This is not required when selling to a saleyard. I’ve filled out an ASD form and have a Declaration to Livestock Transporter (DLT) form ready – if required

Buying calves: I’ve checked the calves I bought are tagged and NAIT registered I received an Animal Status Declaration (ASD) form from the seller I have recorded a movement in NAIT for the calves I bought – within 48 hours of them arriving I’ve updated the calves’ production type to beef – if brought in from a dairy farm.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

22 // CALVING

Prime conditions for mating YOU’VE WORKED

hard to get your cows in great condition for calving. Next it’s time to make sure they stay on track for mating, says DairyNZ animal developer Samantha Tennent. Cows that lose more than a full body condition score (BCS) in early lactation take longer to get back in calf and are more likely to be empty. Cows at BCS target of 4.0 (4.5 for two and three year olds) at planned start of mating have a four to five percent higher 6-week in-calf rate than cows at BCS 3.0. Put simply, cows below target BCS at mating have lower pregnancy rates. What happens after calving? After calving, a cow’s energy demands for lactation, maintenance and activity are greater than

her energy intake. To fill this energy deficit, she mobilises body tissue (fat and muscle) and uses this to generate energy. When a cow is in this state, she’s said to be in negative energy balance and will lose body condition. All cows enter a state of negative energy balance for six to eight weeks after they’ve calved, but it’s important they’ve stopped losing condition and are in positive energy balance before mating starts. There’s little that can be done in the first four to five weeks after calving to prevent BCS loss, and the biggest driver of BCS loss after calving is BCS and feed management precalving. Keeping control The key is to maintain adequate intakes of good-quality feed through early lactation. Cows graz-

It’s important to hit BCS targets at calving and minimise BCS loss before mating. Inset: Samantha Tennent.

ing high-quality pasture during the period from calving to balance date and achieving residuals of 1500 to 1600 kilograms of dry matter per hectare, or 3.5 to 4.0 centimetres compressed height, should meet BCS targets. It’s important to iden-

tify cows or heifers below target BCS before mating starts and implement management strategies to help them meet targets. It’s difficult to lift BCS in an early-lactating cow, but milking once daily for several weeks, while meeting energy demands, will help

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to improve energy balance and can lift BCS. Even if you keep milking twice daily, separate younger, thinner cows from the herd and feed them high-quality pasture and supplements, if necessary. This eliminates competition from more

dominant cows and improves the skinnier cows’ energy status and BCS. Using supplements If cow BCS and pasture residuals are on

target, adding supplements to the diet won’t improve reproduction. However, if you need supplements, use good-quality supplements that are free from spoilage. There’s no reproductive benefit of feeding high-starch supplements, such as grains, compared with high-fibre feeds (e.g. palm kernel expeller or pasture silage; see our article in last month’s Inside Dairy). Therefore, your decisions on supplement type should be based on the cost/benefit of the predicted milksolids response. • Learn more at dairynz. co.nz/reproduction @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

CALVING // 23

Buying or selling calves this month? THE MANAGEMENT

and movement of calves are critical for disease management, with an estimated 1.5 million calves reared annually in New Zealand, says Ospri. To ensure lifetime animal traceability and to support disease management, all newborn animals (calves) must be tagged and registered in NAIT within 180 days or before their first off-farm movement. Failure to comply with your NAIT obligations may result in fines or prosecution issued by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Ospri advises that when selling calves, they must be tagged correctly, for a higher retention rate. It also wants

farmers to register their calves online. “Tell us which tags you have used in your NAIT account. This must be done before sending animals off-farm. “Record a sending movement within 48 hours after you have sold calves or moved off-farm for rearing – except when sending to a saleyard.” When buying calves, confirm with the seller that the calves have been correctly tagged and are registered in the NAIT online system, Ospri says. “Ask the seller for an Animal Status Declaration form (ASD). This form should be exchanged with the animals at the point of sale. “When the calves arrive, read

their NAIT tag numbers visually or electronically with a scanner. “You will need this information to record or confirm a movement in your NAIT account. Record a receiving movement.” Bobby calves moved

direct to slaughter are exempt from all NAIT requirements. Ospri urges farmers to check with their meat processor about their requirements for accepting bobby calves. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

Bobby calves moved direct to slaughter are exempt from NAIT.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

24 // CALVING

‘The General’ stamps her authority A 13-YEAR-OLD Holstein Friesian dairy cow from Otago has been named the 2020 Valden Cow of the Year. Raymac Justice Esonny EX took out the prestigious national title last month beating five other finalists. She was bred by Balclutha dairy farmers Stephen and Judith Ray whose stud Raymac Holsteins milks 460 cows. “Winning this award is probably the highlight of our career breeding Holstein Friesians. We are quietly glowing,” said Judith. Four of the six cows in this year’s final were bred by the Rays. The coveted competition, which began in 2000, is run by Holstein Friesian NZ. It aims to identify cows that have contributed to the breed on a continual basis. “We were surprised, but thrilled, to have so many cows in the final. Last year was the first time two of our cows made the top six,” said Judith. Esonny is the matriarch of the Ray’s high-performing ‘E’ family. She had 20 direct daughters in-milk in the 2019-20 season. One of her daugh-

Stephen and Judith Ray on their farm.

ters Raymac ME Expresso VG87, was one of this year’s Valden Cow of the Year finalists. “At the start of last season 86 cows, almost 20% of the herd, were Esonny’s descendants,” said Judith. “We affectionately call her ‘The General’ because of her no-nonsense attitude, but not in a bad way. “She just eats and gets on with it.” Three of Esonny’s descendants have been part of a project between Holstein Friesian NZ and

genetics company LIC, which is developing top cow families and breeding bulls for use in artificial insemination. She’s the granddam of Raymac Hot Espen S3F. The bull made the 2018 team of Holstein Friesian NZ’s joint sire proving programme with CRV Ambreed. “Esonny has been around for a long time. She has always been an exceptional brood cow and has produced a lot of very good daughters,” said Judith. Esonny is also the

granddam of the 2018 and 2019 Broomfield Heifer

Competition winners. She received a 19

Star Brood Cow Award in 2019. The award is for cows whose progeny gain points based on their daughters’ classification and production, or their sons’ breeding worth (BW) and conformation traits. Several of Esonny’s progeny have reached the national final of the prestigious HFNZ Semex On Farm Competition. Esonny has had 12 calves naturally, which included three sets of twins. Her other daughters were born as the result of embryo transfers. The Ray dairy farm is 175ha eff, producing 233,300 kgMS in the 201920 season. They strive to

breed a 570kg Holstein Friesian cow which does at least its liveweight in milksolids. “We try to breed wellproportioned, capacious cows with sound udders. We find they tend to have better longevity,” said Judith. One of Raymac Holsteins’ other finalists, Raymac Oman Tansy EX2, was named top individual cow in the annual progeny competition run by the HFNZ Otago Branch in 2018. Another finalist Raymac ME Orace VG87 had a son, Raymac MFM Oracle S3F, proven through Liberty Genetics. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

26 // CALVING

Protein deficiency in cows common in early lactation WE HAVE always been

led to believe that cows in a New Zealand pasturebased system are flooded with protein throughout early lactation and up until the summer dry spell. However, often in early lactation the opposite is true and many cows are forced to strip weight in an attempt to ‘mine’ their own protein reserves. This common perception of protein being in abundance arises from the fact that in pastoral based systems such as ours, where protein rich ryegrass makes up the majority of a cow’s diet, protein is always sufficient. In most cases this is true providing cows are fully fed and high quality ryegrass makes up the majority of feed on offer. But here lies the problem. As we all know, there are a number of situations where cows are not fully fed. Early spring is one such time as farmers carefully monitor covers and set round length to match pasture growth rates. In these situations, it is not uncommon to find milking cows being

offered 60 - 80 square meters per day (stocked at 125 – 170 cows/ha). Even assuming an optimistic pasture harvest of 1500 kgDM/ha, pasture intake at this stocking rate equates to a meagre 9.0 – 12.0 kgDM pasture! At this level of feeding most farmers would agree a definite need to provide additional supplementary feed to avoid the wheels falling off. The real question is, what feed is best suited? Running this type of scenario through ration evaluation software helps answer this question. Modelling predicts a cow’s diet in this situation is lacking in excess of 1000g of protein, meaning in order to maintain and ramp up production she will need to make up the shortfall from her own protein reserves. Many cows

“Farmers that attempt to meet dry matter requirements as well as addressing specific nutrient deficiencies like protein generally reap the rewards overall.” unfortunately do exactly this to the detriment of body condition,

milk production and reproduction. For this reason,

protein rich feeds such as DDG, canola and soy meal become very useful when grazing areas are restricted to milking cows in early lactation and while these feeds may be perceived as expensive, a little tends to go a very long way. So if you are still contemplating your cows’ dietary requirements and

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

CALVING // 27

Don’t forget your NAIT obligations SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

TARARUA FARM manager Nick Bertram is gearing up for a busy calving season and animal traceability obligations will a priority. Bertram is a 50/50 herd-owning farm manager looking after 460 animals on a 200ha property. The main farm and a runoff block 2km away both have the same National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) number. This season, the heifers are due to calf around July 18 with the cows expected later this month. All going well, about 450 calves are expected on the farm in the coming weeks. “We’ll hold on to around 300 for selling or rearing and off-load the others as bobby calves,” he says. Bertram gets his NAIT tags through LIC and uses birth tags along with NAIT tags for his calves. As the person in charge of animals (PICA) Bertram has three other staff helping tag new born calves. “They text me as soon as they’ve tagged a newborn, I’ll then update this in LIC’s MINDA Live app. I’m also responsible for recording future calf movements in NAIT,” he says. “For calves that have a pre-assigned NAIT tag with their birth ID, it is simple. “For calves that don’t have pre-assigned NAIT tags, to ensure the tags match in both systems, I make the last four digits on the NAIT tag the birth

ID. This helps too if you must quickly update information about a dead animal or movement.” Bertram doesn’t use a livestock scanner. Instead a Protrack drafting gate is used at the main shed. It captures all the animals coming in for milking and helps identify missing tags in the herd. Bertram has 100 Wagyu calves on contract but sells most of his calves on Trademe. “Occasionally, I’ll go through saleyards. If you are buying calves online, ask the seller for their NAIT number,” he says. Bertram says NAIT is improving. “The functionality and connectivity with MINDA have improved and it is more accurate and faster, with notifications now confirming your animals and movements are in NAIT. “Also, compared to other countries’ traceability systems, we have cutting edge technology. I recall working in the UK and they had a clunky and laborious passport system for every individual animal.” But Bertram wants the industry to move away from a paper-based system for Animal Status Declaration (ASD) forms, and be able to link a NAIT tag with a birth tag or primary ID tag online in both systems. His advice for farmers this calving season is not to forget to give the ASD form to the animal transporter. “I’ve usually got one handy in the shed or the ute. There is also a new section now on the form for you to declare all your animals are tagged and

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registered before sending off-farm. If you’re still using an old ASD book or waiting on a new one, you can download the livestock transporter declaration form from the

OSPRI website. “When sending your calves off-farm, remember to do your NAIT or herd movements within 48 hours. This helps traceability and disease management.”

Nick Bertram

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

28 // CALVING

Being a good boss during calving WE ALL know calving is an incredibly busy time but being a good boss during calving is absolutely achievable – just approach it one step at a time, says DairyNZ’s People Team leader Jane Muir. Here are some tips to help you be a supportive boss and get the best out of your staff. Communication According to DairyNZ’s recent survey, communication from the boss is the number-one thing that matters to employees. So make sure everyone in your team knows what tasks need to be done, what’s expected of them and what they’re responsible for. Regular catch-ups are more important than ever and will result in everyone knowing what the priorities are, which actually saves time. This could be

Communication from the boss is the number-one thing that matters to employees.

as simple as catching up over breakfast or having a 10-minute meeting in the smoko room after morning milking. Plan your roster for calving Ensure you and the team are prepared, com-

petent and enthusiastic – at the beginning, in the middle and right through to the end of calving. That means everyone needs to work realistic hours and enjoy regular days offfarm. This season, there’s

a chance you’re going into calving with reduced team numbers. If so, it’s even more important to plan your roster. Consider employing someone to help with calving on a fixed-term employment agreement. That extra

For the optimum health of your herd, give them the best start in life

person can make a big difference in reducing workload stress for everyone and improving outcomes. Also think about how you could improve rosters and hours of work, and how you allocate tasks. Are some staff having to get up early all the time? Are people getting enough breaks and time off to recharge? Wellbeing Team members may be feeling more stressed or anxious than usual. What extra support can you provide during the busy period? Tea and coffee, bottled water, and nutri-

DairyNZ people team leader Jane Muir.

tious energy-boosting snacks like fruit, muesli bars and protein drinks, can go a long way. Talk with your team about important on-farm health and safety issues for this time of year. Accidents are more likely when people are tired and busy, so try to reduce risks but also ensure staff know that safety is the most important thing – a strong safety culture will give the best and safest outcomes for your business. Make the most of

every opportunity to upskill your team members – it’s a big factor in keeping people motivated and satisfied in their job. Remember to take time to celebrate a few milestones during the busy period. A simple fish and chips night, or cake and coffee at morning tea, can be a real moralebooster. It doesn’t take much but it’ll mean a lot to your staff. For more tips and resources for being a good boss, visit dairynz.co.nz/goodboss

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

CALVING // 29

A mate to protect stock this calving CALVING IS stressful and tiring for farmers and sick cows are the last thing anyone would want, says Southern Humates. It believes StockMate, a 100% natural product sourced from its organic humate mine in Southland, can help stock fight disease. The company says difficulties during calving come in a myriad of different ways – from calving troubles to downer cows and milk fever to mastitis and machinery break downs. “To top it all off, the weather doesn’t always make it any easier. Amongst all this, the last thing you want is sickness going through your calf pens and compromising your future milkers.” Humate deposits are high in carbon, natural minerals and trace elements, and are referred to as humic substances. They also contain two bioactive substances, humic and fulvic acid. The company says its product StockMate is high in carbon and humic acid, which it says helps to boost the immune system of growing calves and assist them fighting disease. It is a loose lick which is left as a free choice sup-

plement in calf pens. The company says the product forms a protective film on the mucous lining of the gastrointestinal tract which helps to prevent excessive losses of water via the intestine and therefore helps prevent dehydration. As a detoxification agent, humates bind the toxins released by infectious microbes, reducing toxicity. It says StockMate has been making life easier for calf rearers for some time now, helping to keep sickness out of calf sheds. They quote North Otago farmers, Johan and Michelle Roos, two dairy farmers using the product. Michelle, who looks after the calves, says she leaves StockMate in each pen to enable ad lib feeding, which they do happily. “I add it on top of their water supply and they get into drinking water the same day,” she says. “I am a solo calf rearer for two farms (350-400 heifers) and have no trouble with rotavirus or any other gut related diseases, on a property with a history of seasonal outbreaks. I have seen it detox, hydrate, break fever, perk up, encourage water intake and keep calves’ tummies firm.”

Johan says the product helps cows as well. “I use it during spring calving when the somatic cell count is high. “I top the palm kernel trailer with a bag of it

every day for about three weeks. The StockMate brings the cell count right down and keeps it down every time. I have no troubles getting the cows to eat it.”

IT’S GAME TIME. All geared up for calving? Your time is precious during calving season, so our team is geared up to help you get what you need, when you need it, fast. We’re just a call or click away.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

30 // CALVING

Trial shows value of probiotics CALVES GAIN more weight in less time with probiotics included in their diet, a trial conducted by Agrifert has found. Mobs of 50 calves, primarily Friesian bull calves, were organised randomly into a control group and a trial group on a Pyle Farms property at Mangatainoka to provide comparative data on the benefits of feeding the calves with AgriBio probiotics Fixine and Fi:d Up. Agrifert says probiotics have become an accepted boost to human health, but farm use is relatively recent. Consumption of probiotics by farm animals boosts the natural micro-organism population in the rumen or gut, with resulting benefits to health and performance. The control group calves were fed a conventional diet of milk powder complemented gradually by meal over the eight-week trial period. The trial group animals received Fi:d Up freeze-dried probiotics and vitamins with their milkpowder liquid and Fixine fresh live probiotics as a complement to their meal. This trial was the first field demonstration of the effectiveness of these products, says Agrifert general manager Josh Bollen.

Agrifert says the weight gain among the trial group calves was particularly impressive.

Positive results were expected, Bollen says, but the weight gain among

the trial group calves was particularly impressive.

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At the end of the eight weeks, the trial calves weighed an average of

90.9kg compared to the average 74.7kg of the control group, he says. Among the control group calves, the average daily gain in weight was 720 grams; the trial calves gained weight by an average 840 grams per day. Half of the trial calves ended up weighing 90kg or more with the other half tipping the scales between 70kg and 90kg. Among the control calves, 26% weighed less than 70kg, 71% were between 70kg and 90kg, and just 3% weighed 90kg or more. That rapid increase towards sale weight meant half the trial calves could be weaned and sold-on about two weeks ahead of almost all the control group animals - making a significant saving in feed costs and animal care and a more efficient farm operation, Bollen says. Kyle Goodwin, Pyle Farms, was impressed with the trial results. “Prior to the trial, I was quite sceptical of probiotics. Mid-way through, my mind was already changed; I could easily tell the difference between the control and trial mobs. The money saved just in being able to wean earlier made it worthwhile.”

“IT’S THE CONSISTENT “ QUALITY OF ANCALF THAT GIVES US CONFIDENCE.” JAMES EMMETT, J&C DAIRY PARTNERSHIP, GERALDINE.

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James feeds his calves Ancalf to start with because of the coccidiostat and the nutrients and once they get up to proper weight, close to weaning time, he puts them on Ancalf Finisher. Any weaker calves quickly flourish and James reckons his calves put on around 10 kilos at every weigh in and manages a 10-12 week rearing stage.

“When our calves go out onto pasture, they’re still being fed CMR. The vitamins, minerals and proteins in Ancalf helps their development and well-being which in the long run ensures they reach their full potential as a heifer and cow.” Low fertility in South Canterbury and the wider Canterbury area seems to be an issue and according to James, one theory is that it could be a result of poor calf rearing systems in the past. Producing healthy replacements, giving calves the best start in life with a premium CMR is vital so they can become contributing and productive animals in the herd.

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“Our whole farming system is based around using quality products for quality results and you can cheat yourself on one area and cost yourself and another, so it’s not really worth compromising to be honest.”

He knows Ancalf is not just good quality protein, but provides milk fat a good source of Butyrate for rumen development.

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When you’re rearing calves to boost your bottom line, getting good quality protein from every bag is number one. James Emmett doesn’t compromise on quality and knows Ancalf will get his calves up to weight faster.

DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

32 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Making feeding a breeze on farm Made in New Zealand is a feature that looks at the wealth of design and manufacturing ability we have in New Zealand, producing productive and cost-effective products for the agricultural sector. This week Mark Daniel takes a closer look at Stallion Limited from Palmerston North, talking with CEO, Grant Allen. Q- When was the company founded, by whom and why (was it to solve a problem or market a product)? Stallion Plastics was founded in 1984 to make plastic horse toys, hence the company name. Q- Where are you located - is it single or multiple sites and how many people are employed? We are in Palmerston North on a single site with 30 employees across the factory and office. Q- What are your key products and which markets do they serve? Our uniquely designed feeders and water products are sold in the New

Zealand market and distributed to over 20 countries. We also contract-build products for other manufacturers in the New Zealand market. Q- Are your products unique? If so, what are the four key benefits, if not unique what are the four unique selling points? We have caps to feed calves, lambs and goats that are interchangeable, and we create products like the MTF mobile feeder, the Mixer Tanker Feeder, that mixes, feeds out and cleans. Q- Looking at an ever-evolving market, what changes have you made over the last

few years, or what will you have to do in future (this might have required design or manufacturing changes, or reworks to enter new sectors or the incorporation of electronics)? We have invested heavily in a new building, equipment from overseas for better production, robotics for production, alongside designing and manufacturing new products like the new OTM feeder. Q- What has been the company’s greatest success since its formation? Creating the MTF mobile feeder helps users save time, money, and

labour. We are also very proud of our export successes in what is a very large and competitive market. Q- In contrast, what has been the biggest “Oh Bugger” moment or the steepBusinesses est learning MADE IN NZ curve? A LOOK AT When we HOME-GROWN COMPANIES bought our new oven a business, what there was would be your not enough three key pieces of pressure in the advice? mains. We had to Research and underboost the network on this side of Palmerston North. stand your market, stick to your knitting and what Q- If you were approached you do well, be prepared by someone looking to start

to adapt and make change. Q- Where do you see the company in the next three, five and ten years. What changes do you foresee to keep relevant and grow your business? Over the next three to

five years, we will increase our capacity with the addition of two or three robots, which in turn will allow us to grow our export markets. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

BAYER TO SETTLE US-BASED LAWSUITS WHILE COURTS around the world argue their way through claims the herbicide Roundup is carcinogenic, owner of the brand, Bayer, has agreed to pay out US$10.9 billion to settle US-based lawsuits. The German company suggests this will bring closure to around 75% of the litigations, said to number in excess of 125,000 claims. However, Bayer chief executive Werner Baumann said in a statement that, based on the extensive body of science, the company does not accept that the glyphosate-based weed killer causes cancer. “First and foremost, the Roundup settlement is the right action at the right time for Bayer to bring a long period of uncertainty to an end,” says Baumann. The company says the settlements “contain no admission of liability or wrongdoing”. Roundup was originally manufactured by US chemical giant Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in June 2018 at a price of US$63

billion. Around the world, Bayer’s denial of a causal link to cancer is backed by several chemical regulatory authorities, including the US Environmental Protection Agency. Plaintiffs claim that prolonged use of the weed killer has caused non-Hodgkin’s’ lymphoma and other cancers, but as recently as two weeks ago, a federal judge in California ruled that extensive scientific evidence does not support a cancer warning on the product. Separately, Bayer will also pay out US$820 million to settle a case related to water pollution caused by its now banned, toxic chemical compound, polychlorinated bi-phenyl (PCB), and a further US$400 million to settle allegations that its dicamba-based herbicides caused crop damage through spray drift. Said to be an effective herbicide for the control of broad-leaved weeds, Dicamba is now banned for use in the United States. – Mark Daniel

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MACHINERY & PRODUCTSâ€‚ // 33

Dutch drill makes it easier to grow grass under maize MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

GAINING MOMENTUM in the UK

and likely to find favour with forward thinking growers in New Zealand, a Dutch-built drill for establishing catch crops is said to offer a quicker and more effective method of establishing grass under maize. The Zocon Greenseeder was released following the introduction of regulations in the Netherlands that makes it mandatory to establish a green cover crop by October 1st and forbids leaving harvested maize

ground bare over the winter period. In the UK, water authorities are taking notice of the environmental impact of growing maize, for either forage or feeding anaerobic digestion plants, particularly in nitrate leaching. Several are now offering financial support to reduce problems, while some dairy companies are beginning to stipulate green cover as part of their farm assurance schemes. The GreenSeeder features a linkage mounted, galvanised steel frame that offers 850mm of ground clearance, meaning grass can be sown later in the season, so extending the working window. A rigid main beam is fitted with

MAIZE MOISTURE IN A MOMENT WITH FORAGE maize playing such an important part of the New Zealand fodder supply chain, a useful handheld moisture measuring device might prove useful for making good management decisions. Using an integral near-infrared (NIR) sensor, the device is said to deliver a result in seconds via an app on a mobile device, thereby by-passing the need for laboratory analysis. SCiO for Corn has been developed by Israeli tech company Consumer Physics, miniaturising a traditional NIR spectrometer in a pocket-sized device that connects to cloud-based algorithms. The raw data and results are displayed on the smart device and accompanied by a trend

chart showing how the crop is developing. In the paddock, non-destructive testing is carried out by sampling five or six corn cobs, then tapping the mobile app. The result is delivered within a few seconds and the company says precision and accuracy is on par with a traditional lab analysis. The device can measure moisture between 8 and 80%. The higher values might be of interest to maize grain growers or seed producers, the latter looking to collect maturity data for the development of future varieties. www.consumerphysics.com

hinged arms that in turn carry the soil engaging elements. At the headland, a

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machine in taller crops, with operating speeds of up to 12 km/h. Working height is controlled by four support wheels, while the seed is distributed through feeder pipes onto spreader plates that offer a full spread up to the base of the maize plants. Harrow tines measuring 10mm, with five pressure settings, ensure good seed to soil contact. www.agattachments.

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DAIRY NEWS JULY 7, 2020

34 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

SensoSafe undergoes working trials FIRST REVEALED in 2017, when it took a Silver Medal at that year’s Agritechnica Event, Pottinger’s SensoSafe detection system is now undergoing working trials on farms in Europe. Designed to detect and save the lives of animals hiding in crops, particularly in heavy first cuts, the optical sensor mounted on the company’s front mowers works by converting differing light wavelengths to an electrical signal. When a deer fawn or other small animal is detected in the crop, the hydraulic system automatically lifts the mower to protect the animal, while at the same time sending an audible alert to the driver, allowing them to bring the tractor to a stop. Said to work in direct sunlight, the system can differentiate between fawns, other animals and even molehills. Currently, a second system is being tested for rear-mounted mower setups, covering the whole working width of the machine, mounted on an intermediate frame between the tractor and the mower. When an animal is detected, the operator can lift the rear mower, leaving an uncut area to protect the animal, or stop and move the animal out of the danger zone.

WE MISSED THESE ROLLS

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NOT THESE ROLLS

STAY HEALTHY AND SAFE AT WORK. WFS0078 Rural News 200x265.indd 1

25/06/20 3:48 PM

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GOOD CALL. At FMG, we know that more than 10% of our milk claims are as a result of power loss. Itâ€™s this kind of specialised rural knowledge that allows us to pass on valuable advice to farmers to help manage risks. Like making sure you always have a back-up generator on a dairy farm. At the end of the day, if we can help you avoid loss, it reduces stress, lost production and downtime. So why not get in touch with FMG to see how we can help you make some good calls on your farm. Call us on 0800 366 466, or go to fmg.co.nz

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