Rural News 20 May 2014

RURALNEWS TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

MAY 20, 2014: ISSUE 561

www.ruralnews.co.nz

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MANAGEMENT Management zones can help maximise returns while minimising inputs. PAGE 34

ANIMAL HEALTH Vaccination against two of the main causes of mastitis is now an option. PAGE 37

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PAGE 24

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

MAY 20, 2014: ISSUE 561

www.ruralnews.co.nz

Big farms blocking future? A N D R EW SWA LLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

AGGREGATION OF farms into large businesses is denying young people the opportunities today’s farmers had when they entered the industry, says a Federated Farmers provincial president, Ivon Hurst. A sign of the times perhaps, but without that prospect of farm ownership as a reward down the track, the industry’s

recruitment issues will be hard to solve, he warns. Hurst told the annual meeting of South Canterbury Federated Farmers that he would “fly a kite” which he invited delegates to “shoot down at your leisure.” The kite was the consolidation of farms into ever larger, corporate-style businesses. In some cases they were already corporate businesses, but many are simply successful family farms –

notably in the dairy sector – that have built businesses with multiple holdings. “If these are not sold off individually, how is anyone going to get in there and buy it? Basically we are depriving our young people of the same opportunity we had.” Hurst pointed to the sale of the Crafar Farms, Synlait Farms, and a block of eight farms in the Lees Valley as examples of businesses so big they were simply beyond the reach of New Zea-

land’s farmers, let alone young farmers. “We need to take a hard look at how we get young people onto the land. I believe the best way is to give them the opportunity of development on some land of their own.” As if to prove Hurst’s point about the trend to farm consolidation, a few days after his speech PGG Wrightson Real Estate announced the sale of a 202ha flat, drystock farm in Wairarapa for $5.61m – to the neighbour.

Photo: TONY HOPKINSON

ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW Tryphena Carter was one of two women competing in the Case IH Silver Plough class at the New Zealand Ploughing Championships, held in Marlborough, earlier this month. She has been ploughing since age 15 and lives at Riversdale, Southland, working as a valuer for Telfer Young in Gore. Carter has her first event for the new season in two weeks’ time, where she’ll attempt to qualify for next year’s finals which are being held at Palmerston North. For a profile on Tryphena Carter and more on the NZ ploughing champs, pages 41-42.

The ‘evil’ of averages P ET ER BUR K E peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE MEAT industry needs shorter feedback loops and must stop talking ‘averages’ if it’s to improve its efficiency, says Progressive Meats’ managing director Craig Hickson. Speaking at the Beef + Lamb NZ AgInnovation conference last week, Hickson described averages as “evil” because they mask the reality of many situations. For example, a farmer who says he’s getting 8000kgDM/ha, but in reality some paddocks are producing as little as 2000kg and others 12,000kg. Hickson says the meat industry aspires to have continuous improvement processes and the best way of achieving that is by having the shortest feedback loops possible. “It’s a bit like driving the car on the road. You know what the learners are like – they overcorrect and go from side to side, but the more experienced can track down a straight line. This is about your ability to make a judgment call early when you start to wander. “For the meat sector it is about feedback on supply quantities, pricing, attributes, specification, etc. The better and faster the flow of information, the more accurate we can be in plotting a steady course.” Hickson says sheep and beef farmers can make efficiency gains by doing what dairy farmers do. “What dairy has in the farm situation is a daily gauge of what they TO PAGE 6

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS 3 ISSUE 561

www.ruralnews.co.nz

100 small brands WTO complaint to disappear SU DES H KISSUN

NEWS ������������������������������ 1-19 MARKETS �������������������� 20-21 WORLD ������������������������������ 22 AGRIBUSINESS ����������� 23-25 HOUND, EDNA ������������������� 26 CONTACTS ������������������������� 26 OPINION ����������������������� 26-29 MANAGEMENT ����������� 30-35 ANIMAL HEALTH �������� 36-39 MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS ������������������ 40-45 RURAL TRADER ���������� 46-47 HEAD OFFICE Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Phone: 09-307 0399 Fax: 09-307 0122 POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 3855, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140 Published by: Rural News Group Printed by: PMP Print CONTACTS Editorial: editor@ruralnews.co.nz Advertising material: davef@ruralnews.co.nz Rural News online: www.ruralnews.co.nz Subscriptions: subsrndn@ruralnews.co.nz ABC audited circulation 81,232 as at 31.12.2013

GMP Dairy is one of the five manufacturers accredited by Chinese auditors to export infant formula to China.

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A CRACKDOWN on infant formula imports by Chinese authorities has forced over 100 New Zealand small brands out of business, inflicting $90 million in annual lost earnings. New Zealand Infant Formula Exporters Association president Michael Barnett says to put things into perspective, the loss is twice the size of the annual New Zealand wine exports to China. And it will get worse for small and medium exporters. Barnett expects more takeovers of local infant formula manufacturers by multinationals, shutting out more small and medium exporters from exporting. New rules that took effect May 1 require manufacturers of infant formula to get approval from China’s Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA). The rules require infant formula exporters to have control of the entire manufacturing process – meaning small and medium exporters getting their products made off-site must largely control how the formula is processed. But Barnett doesn’t expect multinationals like Danone, which owns the Nutricia brand of infant formula, to manufacture products for small brand owners. “So, the opening for some New Zea-

land brands will be reduced,” he told Rural News. “Small brands are shut out of the manufacturing process, and there is a change in ownership and control of the New Zealand market. And we’re hearing of discussions on closer relationship between brand holders and manufacturers.” Danone last month bought a spray dryer at Balclutha and the Sutton Group blending and canning operation in Auckland. Sutton was one of the five plants approved by CNCA; the others are Fonterra’s Canpac, Nutricia, GMP Dairy and Dairy Goat Co-op. Before the CNCA audit process, the five manufacturers were responsible for 90% of volume exports to China, making over 150 brands. Barnett says this has been reduced to 35 brands.

“Over 100 brands have been removed from the market. This means the volume that can now be exported from these factories will be about 50% of what was done previously. This represents a loss of up to $90 million to the industry on an annual basis; that is over twice the size of the annual wine exports from New Zealand to China.” Barnett says he knows of two other manufacturers, who did not receive CNCA accreditation, being eyed for takeover by foreign companies. He says local brand owners are still waiting for more information from MPI and Chinese authorities on how the brand owners and manufacturers could work together. The association last week made a proposal to MPI and Chinese border agencies.

Polytech puts primary on pole AORAKI POLYTECHNIC, Timaru, is making courses for primary industry its priority following a review of its operations. It will next month launch a Diploma in Agribusiness Management and will make available Lincoln University’s Diploma in Agriculture, and Canterbury Polytechnic’s Diploma in Horticulture, through its Timaru and Ashburton

campuses. “You will be able to get exactly the same quality of education but you don’t need to uproot and go to Lincoln for a year,” explained Aoraki’s primary industry portfolio manager Andrea Leslie to the annual meeting of South Canterbury Federated Farmers on May 9. Falling student numbers on Aoraki’s other courses, a new chief executive,

and the renewal of the lease on the polytechnic’s 60ha farm on the outskirts of Timaru seem to have prompted it to put more resources into the region’s biggest industry. It is looking at reintroducing onfarm cadet schemes and it will talk to secondary schools to encourage more students to consider agriculture as a career, said Leslie. – Andrew Swallow

NEW ZEALAND has made its second complaint in as many years to the World Trade Organisation about import restrictions in Indonesia that have led to an 80% crash in our exports of beef products. Indonesia is New Zealand’s ninthlargest export market. Our overall merchandise exports to Indonesia rose 17% to $961 million to the year ended March 31. However, NZ’s beef trade slumped in this period after Indonesia imposed volume-based quotas in 2011. But instead of Indonesia becoming self-sufficient as planned, New Zealand and Australian supplies dried up and beef prices in that country have soared. New Zealand exports of beef and beef offal slumped to 10,355 tonnes in 2011, well down on the 48,405 tonnes in 2010 as a result of the restrictions. This is the second complaint in as many years to the world trade body. Last year, New Zealand and the US took legal proceedings against Indonesia via the WTO in August. However, that complaint didn’t proceed beyond the consultation stage. In the new complaint, lodged earlier this month, New Zealand and the US cite Indonesia’s “unjustified and trade-restrictive” licensing requirements on imports, “unreasonable and discriminatory” pre-shipment rules and insufficient published details of how the restrictions work. “Indonesia does not appear to administer these quotas and restrictions in a uniform, impartial or reasonable manner as they are applied inconsistently and unpredictably,” New Zealand says in its ‘request for consultations’ with Indonesia, the first step in a complaint to the WTO. Under WTO rules, the parties have 60 days to agree on a solution, after which New Zealand and the US can request a WTO panel be established to hear the dispute. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

4 NEWS

Quad bike crackdown

Epic challenge for a bright future P E T E R BU R K E peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

YOUNGSTERS AGED 15 are offered the challenge to market primary-industry careers to their peers. The Enterprising Primary Industries Career Challenge (EPIC) is a competition designed to get school pupils to devise innovative marketing plans or promotional tools to highlight to their peers the career opportunities offered by the primary sector. The Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, told Rural News that by 2025 at least 50,000 employees will be needed “across the whole breadth” of the primary sector. “Half of those will need to have a level 4 or a tertiary education. We need to attract more highly trained, intelligent individuals into primary industries.

About half of those qualified individuals will be in such things as banking and accountancy but importantly some will be food scientists, engineers specialising in robotics, geneticists, marketers and other key jobs. Part of my role and that of MPI is to make sure we are attracting our youngest and brightest into primary industries.” Guy hopes young people challenged to devise promotional plans will produce something relevant and appealing to their peers as opposed to what the bureaucrats in Wellington may have in mind. The competition is open to individuals, groups or classes and the winner will be announced in November. The prize: publicity plus Massey University vouchers – but essentially bragging rights and the satisfaction that MPI will implement their plan.

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FARMERS APPEAR to be getting serious about the risks of quads, says WorkSafe New Zealand. But some keep taking risks – such as carrying children – despite being ‘spoken to’ by inspectors and being issued warning notices, says the general manager of health and safety operations, Ona de Rooy. Her comments follow a $15,000 fine imposed on a Marlborough herd manager for riding a quad without wearing a helmet and carrying a child not wearing a helmet. This despite several WorkSafe NZ warnings, over a long period, which the farmer did not heed. De Rooy says the $15,000 fine is forceful, but so is a child not going home to its family because of a quad crash. “Our quad safety campaign has gone on for

years and we have worked through a long process with the farming sector

we’re starting to address unsafe behaviour that’s not changing. We’re seeing

“We’re seeing indicators that the message is getting through.” [on quad] safety and what the rules are,” she told Rural News. “We’ve issued hundreds of notices and now

indicators that the message is getting through. “We’re having discussions fundamentally different from those we had a

couple of years ago. There is much better understanding of the risk, but one fatality is one too many.” De Rooy says WorkSafe NZ is helping farmers decide whether quads best suit their farm work and, if so, to take the necessary safety steps. Farm tour operators are also in their sights.

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BEEF + LAMB NZ has increased its pre-planning of field days where quads are to be used on farm tours. Richard Wakelin, who heads the farm team that runs extension events, says the red meat industry good organisation now may have two or three pre event visits to a property where a field day is being staged to sort out health and safety issues. He says they are well aware of the issues and have been working on a new policy for over a year. Wakelin points out that less than 30% of field days Beef+Lamb NZ run has a farm tour. The majority, he says, involve a discussion group meeting in a wool shed or other building.

He also points out that quad bikes are mainly used in the North Island. In the South Island, utes and other vehicles are the main form of transport. But Wakelin says if quad bikes are to be used there is a clear process. “Where there is going to be a farm tour we’ll go and look at the tracks and identify any hazards on the tracks,” he told Rural News. For example, if there is an open culvert we might mark it as a hazard on the map and mention that on the tour. We could go as far as actually placing somebody at that particular place so that as people go though they are aware of it. “We also identify what types

of vehicles are best suited that particular day. The big thing for us is making sure we have spent time with the farmer and have a really good understanding of their property and any hazards and give ourselves enough time to put together a pre-event plan,” he adds. Wakelin says the farmer, on whose property the event is being held, has the right to make it compulsory for anyone riding a quad bike to wear a helmet – but Beef+Lamb NZ can only encourage and advise people. Wakelin says the organisation has got a compulsory no helmet no ride policy for staff and all have been issued with a helmet.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

Ensure your production is no fluke

NEWS 5 Farmer does it for himself with own brand and butcheries peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

UNABLE TO buy good quality meat, South Australian farmer Richard Gunner set up his own chain of butcher shops and created a series of special brands. Gunner was a keynote speaker at Beef + Lamb NZ’s AgInnovation conference held in Feilding last week. His key message was about clearly understanding consumer needs and the value of brands. Gunner set up his first butcher shop in 2001 and supplied meat from his own farm. He now runs four shops and buys in most of the Angus beef sold in the shops – all to his specifications. He also sells online and has arrangements with butchers in other Australian states who sell his branded products, including beef and lamb. An initial challenge was finding ways of selling the whole carcase of an animal; the answer was ‘family value’ shops concentrating on selling cheaper cuts while the more expensive cuts were sold to restaurants. Gunner says farmers and others need to understand the difference between customers and consumers. For farmers, the meat works are the customer because they pay the money, but they aren’t the ultimate arbiters of value. “The ultimate arbiter of value is the person who puts the meat in their mouth – whether at home or a steakhouse. “Take the example of chefs who

South Australian farmer Richard Gunner has set up his own chain of butcher shops and a series of special brands.

now put lambshanks on the menu. If it wasn’t for them, lambshanks would still be the dog food they were 25 years ago. When I started selling them 14 years ago I got a dollar each; now I sell them for six dollars each.” Gunner says his company – Feast Fine Foods – benefits from having a direct interface with about 6000 customers a week. But it’s the chefs who give him true insight into future consumer trends. “Food is a bit like the clothes in a fashion design business, in that what the chef does today will be in your home kitchen in 10 years. If you see something hitting the top-end restaurants it gives you an insight into what the next level

down will be copying. “Foodie type people will copy these trends to impress their friends at dinner parties at home. Lambshanks are a good example of this. There is a definite pyramid in the food industry: what happens at the top end in fine dining restaurants often flows down.” Continuity of supply is also important, Gunner says. He runs 4000 black-faced Suffolk ewes and about 1000 Merino ewes, which enable him to have fresh product available throughout the year. This is especially for the restaurant trade. “We do the black-faced Suffolk as a seasonal product and we do a Merino, milk-fed Suffolk-cross

in the five months when we don’t have Suffolk lamb available. With the Merinos we do a six to eight week-old, 12-16kg milk-fed Suffolkcross that keeps us on the menus. “So instead of restaurant chefs going off and finding something else, we have this different but high quality product for the next five months, which means we retain our relationship with our customer.” All of Richard Gunner customers carry specific brands aligned to his Feast Fine Foods label. He’s a fan of brands and says if the product is good the consumer will come back for more. But if the customer has a bad experience with a brand – that may spell disaster for a company.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

6 NEWS Averages blur reality FROM PAGE 1

have in the vat. The equivalent in the sheep and beef sector would be having a daily gauge of the liveweight gain farmers are adding to their livestock. I am keen and supportive of the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP), sponsored by Beef + Lamb NZ, in which we are participating as a company. “That’s a project I am keen to see pursued, because this could be as big a step change as electric fencing or four wheel drive [quads] or aerial topdressing. [RMPP is for] real-time information to help with decision making around the farm.” Hickson says tools like this need to be simple and effective. “If it’s easy to do it’s more likely to be done and it has to be affordable and show rewards for effort or the capital invested. “Drones [are now being developed] that can take pictures of farms using infrared technology and can assess from a distance the growth and composition of pasture. That sort of technology will help the quality of decision making on farms.” An example of poor feedback and averaging is the price paid for pelts, Hickson says. The reason there are so many damaged pelts is that no premium is paid for undamaged ones. Farmers still get the ‘average’ payment which probably doesn’t reflect the state of their pelts. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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Aussie farmers spared as Hockey swings axe NOT ALL Australians are criticising the Abbot Government for the ‘slash and burn’ budget delivered last week. Australian farmers are happy, saying the Government has largely delivered on its election commitments to the agriculture sector. More money for critical infrastructure projects, keeping the fuel rebate for farms, ceasing water buybacks and retaining support for the rural R&D corporation model have pleased farmers. National Farmers’ Federation president Brent Finlay says in “a tough budget environment”, the Government has not swung the axe on the agriculture sector. “The NFF welcomes

the Government’s commitment to developing key infrastructure projects in regional Australia. Given that the money for infrastructure is resulting from a rise in the fuel excise, it is important that this is directed to projects most needed, and that regional Australia benefits. “In the lead up to the budget, we fought hard to ensure the rebate to farmers for fuel used off-road is in line with excise rises. The Government has listened and responded to industry concerns.” The NFF is also pleased to see that the Government has committed to the Murray Darling Basin Plan by investing in water savings and capping Com-

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey.

monwealth water buybacks at 1500 gigalitres. Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey says keeping the diesel fuel rebate is a win, scotching recent rumours the budget would cut the rebate by 10%. “But we saw the Federal government move instead to increase the excise and the rebate, in

line with inflation, twice a year. “It means farmers will retain the full rebate on the diesel fuel excise.” He also welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to developing key infrastructure projects in regional Australia. Horticulture growers and other users of spe-

cialty chemicals will gain $8 million to help get more of these to market. The budget, delivered last week by Treasurer Joe Hockey, ushers in A$80 billion cuts to health and education spending over ten years. “The age of entitlement is over… the days of borrow and spend must come to an end,” Hockey said.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS 7

Dairy award winners outstanding in their own field PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

THREE YEARS AGO the 2014 Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, Charlie and Jodie McCaig of Taranaki, aimed to become herd owners in 10 years; they achieved that in just three years. Charlie McCaig said the Dairy Industry Awards competition has been instrumental in their progression. They changed careers to go dairy farming just five years ago. “We can’t stress enough the value of the competition to the industry,” he told the awards night at Auckland’s SkyCity on May 9. “It opened so many doors to us and our business came on leaps and bounds.” Sharemilker/Equity Farmer head Judge Leo van den Beuken, a Canterbury farmer, said when he first judged the McCaigs three years ago

they planned to save $10,000 a year to become herd owners in 10 years. He said the high milksolids payout had helped them achieve their goal seven years early. “But people can see the vehicle and the pathway.” McCaigs are 21% sharemilking 500 cows on a property owned by the oil and gas industry and leased by the Taranaki Rugby Union. The couple, in their 30s, will be 50% sharemilking in the coming season. They won $55,500 in prizes. Van den Beuken says public perceptions and health and safety are top priorities on the farm. He says the couple’s strengths are in their attention to detail, high standards, teamwork and communication. They also have strong relationships with their staff, encouraging their progression and involving their families. The couple also won the DairyNZ Human Resources Award, the Fonterra Interview Award, and the Honda Farm

Safety and Health Award, the Meridian Energy Farm Environment Award and the Westpac Business Performance Award. Runners up in the Shareholder/ Equity Farmer of the Year, Kevin and Sara O’Neill, said they entered the awards to maximise their opportunities because they had been farming for only two years. The Waiau equity farm managers won $18,000 in prizes. “Kevin had dreamt of becoming an All Black, but realised farming was the future for them. They are goal orientated and focused and you can’t begrudge them their two years’ experience in the industry as they were operating at the highest level,” says van den Beuken. Third placed were Feilding couple Duncan and Kim Fraser of Manawatu. Kim says the first round of judging when they first entered the competition three

2014 NZ DIA winners (left to right): Nick Bertram, Charlie and Jodie McCaig and Ruth Hone.

years ago prompted them to relook at the whole way they were managing their business. The Frasers have lifted the performance of the Feilding farm they 22% sharemilk in a short time to make it a high performing farm, judges said. The couple took third place, winning $15,400 in prizes. Farm Manager of the Year Nick Bertram of Featherston said two years ago it was tough to find his first manager job. His current employers David and Lorraine Osborne were the only ones who would give him an interview and a job. Farm Manager judge and DairyNZ regional leader Phil Irvine said Bertram is doing the basics well and “has a good handle on finances and how his farm decisions were affecting the farm owners’ finances.” Bertram, aged 27,

won $30,500 in prizes. Ngatea contract milker Simon Player won second place and Oxford farm manager Phillip Colombus third. The first woman to win the Dairy Trainee of the Year title, Ruth Hone, said when she joined the dairy industry three years ago, she set her sights on becoming the first girl to win the title. Hone (24) won $18,400 in prizes. She works on a 250-cow farm for Michelle and Ross Davison near Taupo. Winton farm assistant Josh Lavender won second place and Galatea farm assistant Cameron Luxton third. Dairy trainee head judge and Taranaki farmer Paul Davidson says the study tour had exposed the trainees to what is possible, introducing them to successful farmers.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

8 NEWS

Chinese ice cream maker sets up shop in old dairy factory SU DES H K I SSU N sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

A CHINESE ice cream manufacturer is setting up shop in New Zealand’s dairy heartland. Allied Faxi Food Co has bought an old factory at Kerepehi, Hauraki District, and is spending $10 million to convert it into a milk processing and export-standard ice cream plant. The company will source fresh milk locally to make 10 tonnes of frozen cream and 5-10 tonnes of ice cream daily. All the products will be exported to China. Allied Faxi production manager Arthur Yan says the company will need 100 tonnes of milk per day.

Yan says the company has met Fonterra and Open Country Dairy to discuss milk supply but no decision has been made; it is also looking at buying milk from Fonterra under DIRA. “We haven’t approached local farmers at this stage,” he says. Hauraki District mayor John Tregidga believes Allied Faxi will use locally sourced milk. “It’s a commercial operation and Allied Faxi has not shared its milk supply arrangements with us; we are not privy to their final supplier list,” Tregidga told Rural News. Hauraki/Coromandel Federated Farmers president Kevin Robinson, a

Fonterra supplier, says he isn’t aware of a new milk processor in the area. But he says having another milk processor vying for farmgate milk is “good from a competition point of view”. Allied Faxi has three ice cream plants in China; the proposed Kerepehi plant is its first foray overseas. Tregidga says the council began talking with the company in July 2013 and had worked hard to “reel them in”. Allied Faxi was considering three sites at the time and the council, through its economic development manager David Fielden, who worked alongside Allied Faxi from day one, convinced them to choose

Kerepehi. Fielden says he found Allied Faxi officials sincere and honest during his discussions. “For them New Zealand’s clean green image was integral to their decision making. It’s been enjoyable doing business with them and we will keep rolling out the red carpet for them as long as they want to do business with us,” says Fielden. Tregidga says the Hauraki district had some “natural advantages” in food manufacturing and this also helped secure Allied Faxi’s investment. “It’s a good location, close enough to Auckland and Tauranga ports but far enough away to have lower

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Hauraki District mayor (left) John Tregidga and economic development manager David Fielden are happy to welcome Chinese investors.

operating expenses. Plus we have a skilled workforce on tap with proven food processing experience. That’s valuable for a start-up milk processing operation.” Tregidga recently visited Allied Faxi plants in Beijing and met with company executives; he was in China to visit Hauraki’s sister city, Jiading District Council, Shanghai. He says the company is backed by the Chinese Government and is under-

taking a huge expansion programme. “The interesting thing is that eight to ten years ago not many Chinese were eating a lot of ice cream; dairy wasn’t at the top of the food chain for them.” But with a growing middle class, ice cream consumption has taken off, especially among young Chinese; last year Faxi’s production grew 30%. “The Chinese want

high quality and high premium ice cream and Allied Faxi is here because of New Zealand’s reputation.” Tregidga expects the first ice cream to be produced for export in late 2015. Allied Faxi was established in 1994 and already supplies ice-cream products worldwide to Starbucks, Dairy Queen, KFC and Pizza Hut in China. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS 9

Irrigation offers environmental win-wins A NDR EW SWA L LOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

AUGMENTATION OF water courses in nutrient sensitive catchments can result in a win-win for environment and farming, Environment Canterbury commissioner Tom Lambie says. Speaking to the annual meeting of South Canterbury Federated Farmers earlier this month, the former Feds’ national president outlined the long road to producing the region’s Land and Water Regional Plan which is currently at the appeal stage. Areas with coastal lagoons such as Lake Ellesmere and, further south, the Wainono Lagoon, have particular nutrient issues, as do short-catchment coastal streams, notably off clay downs.

address problems. But SC Feds’ Grain chairman Colin Hurst, who also heads the Waimate branch of the Federation, bemoaned “the huge amount of time” farmers are having to commit to such groups and to working out their own situation. He also warned of the “very serious implications” of the plans. “I am concerned at the rush. This must be done right and if it can’t be done right, then it must be delayed.” Another local farmer, Jeremy Talbot, warned of the “very profound impact this is having on land values” and that “solicitors are already talking about it.” “What reserves do you have for legal battles?” Talbot asked.

Environment Canterbury Commissioner Tom Lambie urges farmers to know the impact of their operations on the environment.

effect of nutrients and other factors such as river flows and soil types, hence the augmentation argument. “There are a whole lot of solutions here if the community actually gets together to work out what the problems are.” That was echoed by Dermott O’Sullivan,

“It’s about local people finding local solutions. You need to look at water quality in your local catchment. I’ve had a look at the trends and it is not all good.” “The challenge is there’s not a lot of water in them at times…. If we want to look at improving water quality in these areas then we need to look at augmentation,” he said. Irrigation schemes such as Central Plains, or the proposed Hunter Downs scheme which would serve a 60,000ha coastal block between Waimate and Timaru, could provide that augmentation. “Hopefully we’ll be looking at a win-win where we have increasing intensification of farming in the area and are actually increasing the water quality.” Lambie stressed farmers needed to know the impact of their operations on the environment and work with the catchment groups and committees to

farmer and chair of the Orari, Opihi and Pareora catchment zone committee, aka the Oops zone. “It’s about local people finding local solutions. You need to look at water quality in your local catchment. I’ve had a look at the trends and it is not all good.” In some cases there

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Lambie’s suggestion of irrigation improving water quality was alarming given he’d rarely seen runoff through his farm until a neighbour installed irrigation. Others raised concerns at the region’s nutrient allocation zones, designated red for over-allocated, orange for in danger of over-allocation, and green showing room for intensification. “The green seems to be on some of the most leaching prone alluvial soils,” said David Moore, a former provincial president. “It’s a bit of a mystery to me… It seems the clearer the water in the river, the greater the opportunity to intensify.” Lambie responded that nutrient zoning is not just a nutrient issue, but the

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Baselines Canterbury’s Land and Water Regional Plan says farmers must use the nutrient management programme Overseer to calculate a ‘baseline’ nutrient loss for their property using data from 2009-2013. Unless zone catchment committees rule otherwise, those in red and orange zones – the vast majority – must apply for a consent to continue farming if their baseline loss is above 20kgN/ha. Red zone farmers have until 2017 to apply, orange zone farmers until 2016.

would be simple solutions, others more complex. In finding solutions, it was “important to take the community with you,” stressed O’Sullivan. “The community will decide what they want. Most want water they can swim in and water that they can drink. That’s the starting point.”

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

10 NEWS

Project looks into genetic sheep mapping GENETICIST HUGH Blair is also embarking on a project in the same province called ‘genetic diversity of sheep breeds in Xinjiang province’. He is working with scienChinese sheep in a winter barn.

tists at the Xinjiang Academy of Animal Sciences who are trying to unravel the genetic composition of 40 different sheep breeds in the Xinjiang province. Blair has seen some of the sheep and photos of others, noting a wide range of shapes and sizes. They range in weight from 45kg to 130kg, are different colours, some have fat tails, others thin, some with and some without horns. And they have different wool types. “The reason for the project is that there have been impor-

tations of temperate A Chinese sheep farmer overlooks his flock. breeds such as Dorper, Texel, Dorset, Suffolk and German Merino. So some traditional breeds are being pushed. The provincial government is saying ‘before we make any more decisions we’d first better measure what we have to see if anything genetically important is in danger of disappearing and what might need to be done to save those on this in New Zealand to breeds’.” In essence, Blair and his improve the milk production in Chinese colleagues are creat- the offspring of ewes. In China ing a genetic map of the sheep this project’s focus is on seeing breeds in the province. Only if they can make the wool finer nine breeds are being studied, in their Merino flock though foetal programming, “the idea though more could follow. Kenyon is also utilising his being that the environment in well-known expertise in foetal which the foetus grows during programming. He has worked pregnancy affects its develop-

ment which has a long term implication throughout its life. So I’m working with them to see if the correct feeding of a ewe in pregnancy can affect the follicle development in the growing foetus. The goal is to see – when the foetus becomes a lamb, then an adult – whether its wool is finer.”

Benefits of working together BLAIR AND Kenyon enjoy and are proud of the research they do in China. They don’t see it as selling out New Zealand knowledge to a potential competitor, but rather as an “international community of scientists” who regularly collaborate and gather data from each other at science conferences. Says Blair, “You bring it back to your country and modify it for the situation there. We go to China and say ‘here is how we do it in New Zealand; let’s see if we can modify that knowledge in some way to benefit your farming’.” He also points out that New Zealand benefits from collaborating on science projects because it gains access to funding and equipment not available in New Zealand. Blair and his Massey colleagues have skills complementary to their Chinese counterparts’.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS 11

Chinese sheep research project no sell out Two Massey University scientists are setting up pilot research projects which could help transform the sheep industry in China’s northwest province of Xinjiang, near the border with Kazakhstan. Peter Burke reports. XINJIANG, China’s largest province, and is a four-hour flight from the capital Beijing. Professors Hugh Blair and Paul Kenyon have just returned from setting up three projects, one to improve pasture and hopefully sheep production, another to map the genetics of the local sheep flock to ensure key breeds are protected, and a third to produce even finer Merino wool. The projects are being run jointly with Shihezi University, the Xinjiang Academy of Animal Sciences in Urumqi City – the capital of Xinjiang province – and the Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing. China is one of the largest sheep producing countries. Some estimate 90 million head, but the flocks are small, 200 being a large flock. China is also a large user of fertiliser – about 40% of the world total. But most of it goes on vegetables, grains and

cotton. Both scientists are involved in sheep management projects, one investigating the potential use of fertiliser. The small family flocks of Chinese sheep are grazed on communal land with virtually no fences but in Xinjiang province this has led to pasture being overgrazed and little to no fertiliser applied. “This has resulted in poor herbage production and a degradation of the composition of the sward to more weeds and unpalatable species,” says Kenyon. “The pasture is also becoming more prone to erosion. So we are looking to see if the addition of fertiliser can increase the productivity of the herbage and also hopefully animal production.” A few weeks ago, Kenyon and his colleagues at Shihezi began a pilot project to test whether initially the use of fertiliser can improve

the quantity of the herbage produced, and longer term to determine whether fertiliser use will improve sward composition and quality. If so this could raise local farmers’ animal production and the economy. The pilot project is on a commercial farm about an hour’s drive from Shihezi University. It’s a relatively small, medium-to-steep hill country farm grazed by about 3000 ewes, all in small flocks of 100 to 200. The sheep are grazed outside in spring, summer and autumn but housed in winter. The farm is well known to Massey University staff; some have visited since the 1980s. “This pilot project will hopefully be the start of greater project looking at the optimal use of fertilisers from an economic point of view for pastoral farming. And part of the project is also to ensure the use of

Massey University’s professors Hugh Blair (left) and Paul Kenyon have recently returned from China where they are carrying out research.

fertiliser does not have a negative effect on the environment. “We have had soil tests done at Massey and we are now applying the fertiliser. We have exclusion cages

set up to test the system we are trialing and we will be measuring herbage production. They are now in the spring when there is some rain and it is getting warmer and that’s

the period of the year when herbage production should be increasing. If you are going to get a response, this is the time you would expect it.” If the pilot project

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succeeds, other Massey University staff expert in soils science and agronomy will run other studies. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

12 NEWS

NZ has a five year jump on US dairy exports PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW Zealand has five years before the US catches up in dairy export

competitiveness, says Dave McCall, DairyNZ’s general manager, development and extension. “Maybe a bit longer but it will give us a five-year

start on where the US is at the moment,” McCall told the Farmers Forum at Mystery Creek. “They haven’t got all the infrastructure but

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sage is that for us to go head-to-head with the US with a US-type system would be foolish.” DairyNZ desk studies over the last two to three

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years have consistently shown the US is the biggest competitor to our number-one position. McCall took a US tour last November. Retaining competitiveness will need whole industry cooperation, he warned. “We may get by operating as individuals for five years Dave McCall but we certainly being a supplier of safe won’t last 10 years. food and our China free “An example is the trade agreement.” That carpet wool industry. gives us the five years, he New Zealand rode on says. the sheep’s back in the “We are unique in the 1950s and 1960s and into world with our grazed the 1970s. But now the pasture systems, and our most profitable strongstructures – our cooperwool producer would not ative structures and our make as much money as information sharing culthe least profitable dairy ture. We are also unique farmer.” in our grazed pasture sysHe says we get a very creditible 56% of the prof- tems, so the future lies in that. The grazed pasture its of trade dairy around product is a natural prodthe world and bring those uct; they are paying preback to our shores. We miums for grazed pasture have to maintain that. milk in Holland.” There are two parts to McCall says we must the US supply: the West take the same precision Coast including Califorapproach to our pasture nia, Idaho and Texas, and system that the American the desert states. “That mega dairies are taking is where the competition to their confinement is coming from. In the systems. “We’ve got last five years they have noticed China and decided to reduce waste in our pasture systems: every ‘we are not just exporting surplus American product; spring a lot of waste occurs on New Zealand we are actually going to create an industry’ export- dairy farms because ing to that big market New we don’t get our spring grazing management Zealand is getting to.” right. If you don’t get your ‘Mega’ dairies are grazing management right, bringing down the cost the pasture quality goes of production. There are off and the pasture grows about 60,000 suppliers in the US but 540 of those are less.” DairyNZ will emphamega dairies which prosise base skills and preduce the same amount of milk as all of New Zealand. cision – especially input A mega dairy is defined precision. We also need as at least 2000 cows in to breed more productive milk and as large as 12,000 pasture species and solve cows. McCall says US effi- our environmental issues ciency is increasing, costs appropriately. are reducing, a certain Using US solutions segment of the market is such as huge freestall clearly targeting the same barns will not work markets as New Zealand “because we’ve got to proand they are starting to tect the competitiveness think about producing of our industry which is milk powder. the very thing our custom“We are still in some ers like about us”. ways quite a way ahead of Japan went down the the US in working with track of US systems and customers – producing now imports 55% of its what they want, having a feed and the cost of proresponsive supply chain, duction is $13/kgMS.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS 13

Superstar bull calls it a day SU DES H K I SSU N sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

EVERY GOOD ‘man’ has to retire sometime; Firenze is no exception. But unlike most bulls, Firenze will not be heading to the works. The 12-yearold superstar will live his life out, in the occasional company of cows, at breeder Philip Wilson’s family farm in Otago. Firenze was officially retired last week by herd improvement company CRV Ambreed. On hand to farewell him were Holland-based CRV Holding chairman Kees Gorter and chief executive Roald van Noort. At CRV, Firenze leaves behind a wonderful legacy; he has generated about $8 million in revenue, producing 643,000 doses of semen sold in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Philippines,

Mexico, US, Malaysia, Fiji, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina, Coast Rica and Thailand. In New Zealand alone he is recorded as having 40,964 daughters in 3330 herds. Of his sons, 67 have been enrolled on the animal evaluation database for herd improvement. Wilson expects Firenze to arrive back on his farm on the Tairei Plains in September where star treatment is in store. He will be put out to pasture with a big smile while he looks after the dry cows and gets the chance to be a real bull, he says. “We feel he has contributed so much to the New Zealand dairy industry that he should live out his days with a smile on his face,” Wilson told Rural News. “We’ll build a wee shed for him and he’ll stay in a paddock by himself. My

son [Geoffery who now runs the farms] intends hand mating a few cows to him.” Wilson believes Firenze could be producing top quality cows until he is 18. “Even though he’s an older bull with now older genetics, what he offers is still a bit of a challenge to some of the new bulls. “It’s not uncommon for bulls to live up to 22 years so Firenze could still be around and still performing at 18.” CRV Ambreed’s genetic development strategist Phil Beatson and his colleague at the time Pennie Ormsby were the genetic analysts who selected Firenze for the company’s progeny testing programme in 2003. Beatson says in his 13 years with the company he has never seen a bull have as many strong sons and excellent daughters.

Top bull Firenze with Philip Wilson (left), CRV Holding CE Roald van Noort and chair Kees Gorter.

“Often bulls are good at producing either one or the other but not both. And it is this quality that has made Firenze’s progeny popular with New Zealand’s dairy farmers and breeders, and with other AI companies in New Zealand,” says Beatson. Dairy farmers in particular like Firenze because his daughters are consistently exceptional in production and temperament. “Firenze isn’t an overly

tall bull but he is certainly powerful through a combination of his open frame, strength and width throughout. He is also pretty quiet as far as bulls go and it is his temperament that really shines through in his daughters, which you can pick out a mile away in the herd.” Wilson says he had never doubted Firenze’s potential because his mother was an exceptional cow; Firenze was only her second calf.

“Her mother was very young; she had about a 110% protein-to-fat ratio and was an extremely high producer. And she came from a good cow family.” CRV Ambreed managing director Angus Haslett says it is hard to name another New Zealand bull who has been so strong in producing excellent daughters and sons in the way Firenze has. @rural_news

NZ leads world stage CRV HOLDING chairman Kees Gorter says innovation is one of its core values and one that aligns well with New Zealand’s culture of leading on the world stage. “New Zealand farmers are internationally renowned for inventing grazing systems, leading the international dairy industry and dominating world markets. Similarly, leading through innovation is at the heart of CRV,” he said last week during a visit to CRV Ambreed in Hamilton. “That’s why we want to make the connection with New Zealand farmers so we can provide them with world-leading genetics, data and service innovations.”

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

14 NEWS Dutch deal for marketing NZ venison A DUTCH company aims to make New Zealand farmed venison a year-round menu item on a continent where tradition dictates how and when game meats may be eaten. Hanos, the largest food service distributor in the Netherlands, has begun a two-month promotion that aims to separate NZ venison from those traditions. At the direction of Ben Veldcamp, the company’s head game buyer, NZ venison

has been renamed and presented in new barbecue-ready cuts. Instead of being called hertenvlees – a name chefs associate with wild venison – the meat is being called ‘Boerderijhert uit NieuwZeeland’, Dutch for ‘Farmed deer from New Zealand’. The cuts themselves have been given names that echo those of American beef grilling cuts. “We’re giving Hanos promotional support and exporters

are working with the company to assure them of year-round supply,” says Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) chief executive Dan Coup. “Our executive chef Graham Brown will be in the Netherlands shortly to do chef demonstrations.” DINZ and exporters also hosted Veldcamp in New Zealand in March, to give him a better understanding of the industry. For several years the industry

has strived to get NZ venison recognised in Europe as a year-round menu item, ideal for barbecues, stir fries and other modern meal presentations. Gerard Hickey, director of Firstlight Venison, says encouraging discussions had been held with Hanos for some years. But the trigger was disruption to the supply of ostrich and antelope from South Africa because of exotic disease outbreaks.

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Health claim goal marketing chance for Zespri PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

HEALTH, TASTE and quality stand as the top three things consumers consider when buying kiwifruit, says Zespri’s global marketing manager, Veronique Parmentier. Zespri has lodged the first self-substantiated health claim in New Zealand, under the Food Standards Australia-New Zealand (FSANZ) Standard for nutrition, health and related claims. It is understood to be the first time in the world that a self-substantiated health claim has been assigned to a fresh fruit product and to a European claim. The claim will be that Zespri Green Kiwifruit can contribute to normal bowel health. “It is important to us to get this health claim from FSANZ to move towards our longer-term strategy of getting a European health claim for Zespri Kiwifruit,” says Zespri general manager science and innovation, David Tanner. Parmentier told Rural News that in all Zespri’s main markets, increased knowledge of the health benefits of kiwifruit is directly correlated with increased consumption. “It is important that we can explain the health benefits directly to our consumers; having health claims makes this easier.” To get a European health claim, a company must seek an assessment from the European Food Safety Authority by submitting a dossier of relevant studies. Parmentier says Zespri is starting further human clinical trials in three different markets to complete the dossier for EFSA. She says the Zespri global health strategy has been reviewed recently, and is about boosting kiwifruit consumption by focusing on its digestive and other health benefits. “The strategy recognises that markets are at different levels of development and health messaging is adapted accordingly,” she says. “Our messages of vitality and health provide a positive health context for all consumers, while messages specifically about digestive health benefits offer the greatest overall traction in encouraging regular kiwifruit consumption. “Communication of digestive health benefits might be sensitive in some cultures and countries and so will differ by market. Our consumer research is helping us to understand which messaging is best suited to each market. “We promote the health messages of kiwifruit directly to consumers of kiwifruit (particularly in Spain and Taiwan where health is front-of-mind for consumers) as well as targeted sectors involved in health such as healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders who can help us share the information.” To back up its FSANZ claim, Zespri had a systematic review done by independent experts. This review took four months and included an in-depth literature review and an objective analysis of previous relevant studies. Seven human studies were reviewed, covering 10 years (2002-2014), from New Zealand, China, Taiwan, Japan, Belgium and Spain, says Parmentier. Many human clinical trials with fresh Zespri Green Kiwifruit gave consistently high (>75%) scores for frequency and comfort. Evidence for the effectiveness of kiwifruit in the normalisation of bowel habit was consistently strong. To make a ‘self-substantiated’ claim, within the FSANZ standard companies can do a systematic review (an objective review of the scientific evidence available which follows specific criteria) and if this shows evidence supporting the claim, then the company can file the health claim with FSANZ. Zespri has had the systematic review done by independent experts and based on the evidence they found and their recommendations, Zespri lodged the health claim with FSANZ. “If satisfied, FSANZ will publish the claim on its website as a notified health claim,” Parmentier says.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS 15

Last chance for farmer swaps claims PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

THE COMMERCE Commission says it is “possible” some farmers are worried about coming forward on interest swap deals because they fear a backlash from their banks. “It is certainly possible people are worried about jeopardising their ongoing banking relationships if they become a complainant,” MaryAnne Borrowdale, general counsel, Commerce Commission competitive branch, told Rural News. “But we are used to handling information that is confidential so we will do our very best to put measures in place to keep names and identities confidential. “But… if people want to be part of our action seeking compensation then it is very likely we will need to reveal who they are. “We have said all along we will do the

very best we can. Even if you come to us and say you want to keep it confidential that’s better than knowing you are out there and you have a grievance. But… if you want to be part of the compensation claim, it is likely we will need to say who you are.” As part of the dispute the banks are entitled to know who the customers are who want to claim against them. Borrowdale says farmers who have

concerns should come forward now. She said that farmers’ advocate Janette Walker had said in a previous statement that farmers shouldn’t necessarily take their own case; they should wait and see what comes out of the Commerce Commission’s case. “We are saying ‘don’t wait to let us know about your complaints because we may not be able to address them for you if we don’t know about them’.”
The

What are swaps? Interest rate swaps are a financial derivative product that allows a borrower to manage the interest rate exposure on their borrowing. They were typically provided to large corporate and institutional customers, but from 2005 were offered by various banks to rural customers throughout New Zealand.
 On December 17, 2013, the Commerce Commission announced that it had told ANZ, ASB and Westpac that it intended to issue legal proceedings over the way in which the banks had sold interest rate swap contracts to their rural customers.

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with relevant bank staff,” she says. “So we delayed in order to do that; we are now saying mid-year [for issuing proceedings] which is fast approaching.” She can’t say the commission definitely will issue proceedings but “that is our current intention”. The commission has received about 140 complaints so far. It wants all affected customers – of any of the three banks – to make contact before May 30. Customers may complete the questionnaire on the commission’s website, or call the contact centre on 0800 943 600.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

16 NEWS

How large are our agritech exports? P ET E R BU R K E peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

RESEARCH IS underway at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) to determine the value of the ‘agritech’ sector to our economy. NZTE’s Haylon Smith told Rural News agritech is not specifically measured, but is instead included in statistics on high value manufacturing and services, but as ‘agriculture’ statistics. “When you look at agritech – genetics, seeds, electronic equipment, general farm equipment – it’s a broad area and not a consistent category. NZTE often works with individual companies and now we want to get a good sense of

what is the overall size and dollar value of that agritech sector.” New market opportunities abound for the agritech sector in countries worldwide now increasing their agricultural production, says Smith. These include Colombia and Russia, and countries in Eastern Europe and South America. “You are going to see lot more of New Zealand’s key players in this sector exporting to what we are describing as ‘emerging markets’. On the other hand, you are going to see a lot more of the smaller companies starting to export to more of those developed markets. “Take South America: when a company first

exports to South America they often target Chile because we’ve got a long trading history with them. They’ll create a base in Chile and then they’ll move out into the likes of Colombia….Then they may look at entering Brazil where you have the higher tariff rates and you need a different business model.” An emerging trend is companies offering ‘integrated solutions’. For example, when a company is selling an electric fence, they also offer a genetic or seed option. “You have seen this for some time with New Zealand consultants operating in international markets, but you are now seeing a lot of agritech companies broadening their scope of

services and products they are exporting.” There are huge benefits to New Zealand if NZTE can get more companies into those markets, says Smith. New Zealand is competing against the Israelis, Irish and Americans, so the more profile New Zealand can create, the more beneficial it is to all the other companies exporting. While America might be an expert in ‘confinement’ systems (animal housing) which many countries now want there is no reason why New Zealand can’t get a share of that niche as well. “There is no reason why a lot of the equipment we have in our pasturebased systems couldn’t

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be adapted or applied to a confinement system. A lot of the world uses confinement systems and so that’s a big opportunity

for New Zealand if we can adapt what we do.” Some overseas farming systems are so far behind New Zealand that not all

our high-tech solutions may be applicable. But, in time, they will be. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

International students vital to carrying NZ’s torch AG TRAINING institutions, including universities, have a longer tarm role to play in expanding the agritech sector, says Haylon Smith. “You might get a student coming from China, South America or Europe, and they spend one or two years at our training institutes or universities. They go home trained not only in the way New Zealand does things; they also get trained in New Zealand products and services. “So they end up buying the product they used in New Zealand, creating a channel to market for our agritech companies.” Smith says New Zealand consultants have an excellent reputation and when countries seek to increase production the first people they turn to are our people. “Others are envious of what New

Zealand can do and they are keen to capture the knowledge and experience of our people.” People sometimes raise concerns about New Zealand selling its expertise overseas, but this doesn’t worry Smith. New Zealand is not the only player on this field; there is a lot of competition from other global players also trying to target a similar niche to us. “So if we are not part of the game, we are going to increasingly become irrelevant. The more we can sell internationally the more money comes back to New Zealand. “Some of our agritech companies earn a high percentage of their revenue from international sales and that profit and revenue is coming back into the New Zealand innovation engine, helping create new products.”

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

18 WORLD

Dairy sector should target India – Wheeler Reserve Bank governor Graham Wheeler believes NZ should target India instead of relying too much on China.

PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND should position itself for the dairy market in India, says Reserve Bank governor

Graham Wheeler. Speaking at Dairy NZ’s Farmer Forum, Wheeler signalled warnings about China’s growth and questioned whether we had

diversified our markets sufficiently. China is our largest export market for every agricultural commodity except beef, he said. China

buys a third of our dairy exports and if it keeps expanding that could trend higher for two or three decades. But if China maintains 7-8% annual growth over the long term it would make it an outlier among middle income countries. The labour force is starting to decline and it has an ageing population. It needs to rebalance towards stronger consumption and higher value exports, meet massive infrastructure demands and address large income inequalities in central and western regions.

The bureau predicts the global demand for dairy products to increase from US$7b in 2007 to US$85 billion dollars in 2050. By 2050 India’s import demand for dairy products is projected to be $48b – more than three times China’s $15b given the projected growth and China’s domestic production. World Bank projections suggest that by 2050 China and India could be the world’s largest and third-largest economies at that time. “A second risk is that a strong competitor enters the Chinese market and

India rather than China is forecast by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Sciences to be the major new market opportunity for dairy exports.

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The country has major issues of corruption and the environment. They face extremely ambitious reforms and need to manage the rapid build-up of local government and corporate debt. “While the long term dairy trade with China seems assured, there are risks of temporary disruption on the way,” he says. Wheeler says two particular issues are whether we have diversified our dairy export markets sufficiently and, secondly, could our market leadership in exports of whole milk powder be challenged? India rather than China is forecast by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Sciences to be the major new market opportunity for dairy exports.

threatens our market share,” he says. New Zealand supplied 70% of China’s dairy imports in 2013. “High market share reflects the high quality of our products and our marketing skills, but other countries also produce clean milk and these producers have seen the high returns and market share New Zealand enjoys in China. “Some like the US are investing in whole milk powder driers. Competitors will more aggressively target the Chinese market and position themselves for entry into the Indian markets.” He says this reinforces the need for further diversification in exports markets including positioning for opportunities in the Indian market.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS 19

Drier future for West Coast – research A LA N H A R M A N

THE WESTERN side of New Zealand is facing a drier future because of greenhouse gas emissions. Australian National University-led research examining such things as ice cores and tree rings has explained why Antarctica is not warming as much as other continents, and why southern Australia is recording more droughts. Lead researcher Nerilie Abram says rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are strengthening the stormy Southern Ocean winds which deliver rain to southern Australia, but pushing them further south towards Antarctica. Abram says the change is having the same effect on New Zealand. “New Zealand’s climate is strongly affected by the stormy winds that

circle around Antarctica,” she says in an email to Rural News. “Greenhouse warming is causing those winds to get stronger and pull in tighter around Antarc-

– particularly the central and southern Andes – face more droughts. “With greenhouse warming, Antarctica is stealing more of Australia’s rainfall,” she says.

“Greenhouse warming is causing those winds to get stronger and pull in tighter around Antarctica, and that means less rain gets chased up to the western side of New Zealand, particularly along the South Island.” tica, and that means less rain gets chased up to the western side of New Zealand, particularly along the South Island.” Abram, from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences, says her findings explain why Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America

“It’s not good news – as greenhouse gases continue to rise we’ll get fewer storms chased up into Australia. “As the westerly winds are getting tighter they’re trapping more of the cold air over Antarctica,” Abram said. “This is why Antarctica

has bucked the trend. Every other continent is warming, and the Arctic is warming fastest of anywhere on earth.” While most of Antarctica is remaining cold, rapid increases in summer ice melt, glacier retreat and ice shelf collapses are being observed in Antarctic Peninsula, where the stronger winds passing through Drake Passage are making the climate warm quickly. Until the ANU research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, Antarctic climate observations were available only from the middle of last century. By analysing ice cores from Antarctica, along with data from tree rings and lakes in South America, Abram and her colleagues were able to extend the history of the westerly winds back over

Researcher Nerilie Abram working on an ice core. PHOTO BY PAUL ROGERS

the last millennium. “The Southern Ocean winds are now stronger than at any other time in the past 1000 years,” Abram says. “The strengthening of these winds has been particularly prominent over the past 70 years, and by combining our observations with climate models we can clearly link this

to rising greenhouse gas levels.” Study co-authors Robert Mulvaney of the British Antarctic Survey and Matthew England of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales say the study answers key questions about climate change in Antarctica.

England says the new research suggests that climate models do a good job of capturing how the westerly winds respond to increasing greenhouse gases. “This isn’t good news for farmers reliant on winter rainfall over the southern part of Australia.” Or for New Zealand’s West Coast farmers.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

BEEF MARKET TRENDS

MARKET SNAPSHOT 







 

 

 

BEEF PRICES

 









































NI

Change

P2 Steer - 300kg

n/c

M2 Bull - 300kg

Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

4.45

4.45

4.15

4.60

n/c

4.60

4.18







 

5.86

4.76

n/c

5.88

5.88

4.78

3.70

3.70

3.35

PX - 19.0kg

n/c

5.90

5.90

4.80

3.60

3.25

PH - 22.0kg

n/c

5.91

5.91

4.81

Local Trade - 230kg

+10

4.80

4.70

4.20

Mutton

MX1 - 21kg

n/c

3.55

3.55

2.90

P2 Steer - 300kg

+5

4.10

4.05

3.78

SI Lamb

YM - 13.5kg

+3

5.56

5.53

4.56

M2 Bull - 300kg

n/c

4.00

4.00

3.73

PM - 16.0kg

+3

5.56

5.53

4.58

P2 Cow - 230kg

n/c

2.90

2.90

2.83

PX - 19.0kg

+3

5.56

5.53

4.60

M Cow - 200kg

n/c

2.85

2.85

2.63

PH - 22.0kg

+3

5.56

5.53

4.61

Local Trade - 230kg

n/c

4.20

4.20

3.87

n/c

3.13

3.13

2.50







5.86

PM - 16.0kg

3.60







n/c

Last Year

n/c





YM - 13.5kg

2 Wks Ago

n/c

        



NI Lamb

Last Week

M Cow - 200kg

Slaughter



Change

c/kgCWT

P2 Cow - 230kg

SI



 

LAMB PRICES

c/kgCWT



LAMB MARKET TRENDS

Mutton

MX1 - 21kg

Slaughter 





  

  

  









 

































 













 

























Export Market Demand   

Change

 











2 Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

+1

2.20

2.19

2.10

1.86

NZ$/kg

+1

5.61

5.60

5.51

5.51



Export Market Demand n/c

2.12

2.12

1.52

1.83

9.15

9.15

6.16

8.41

      











 





  

















2Wks Ago

Last Year

5yr Ave

% Returned NI

+1%

79.3%

78.6%

75.38%

70.9%

% Returned SI

+1%

71.3%

70.5%

67.2%

64.9%



Change

2Wks Ago

3 Wks Ago

% Returned NI

+0%

78.4%

78.2%

67.8%

69.0%

% Returned SI

+0%

72.5%

72.4%

64.3%

69.6%

Last Year 5yr Ave

   

 



 3 Wks Ago

Change





Procurement Indicator













Last Year 5yr Ave

n/c

Procurement Indicator





2 Wks Ago



NZ$/kg







Last Week



UK Leg £/lb









Last Week

95CL US$/lb







Change

 











 











 



 











 



















  





















  















Venison Prices

 









 





Change



 Beef  & venison prices are reported as gross (before normal levies & charges are deducted). Lamb & mutton prices are reported nett (after levies & charges are deducted).

Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year 5yr Ave

NI Stag - 60kg

n/c

6.15

6.15

6.25

7.17

SI Stag - 60kg

n/c

6.20

6.20

6.45

7.46



Stock as security who would have thought

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

NEWS

PRICE WATCH



WOOL PRICE WATCH

BEEF

Change

08-May

24-Apr

Coarse Xbred Indic.

+13

5.04

4.91

4.09

Fine Xbred Indicator

+10

5.28

5.18

4.89

Lamb Indicator

+10

5.19

5.09

4.87

-

-

-

8.13

NI farmgate prices firm

Indicators in NZ$

While NI processors are seeing flurries of cattle come forward as the cooler weather prompts farmers to tidy up numbers before winter, slaughter numbers remain inconsistent. Procurement competition is hot; export steer was at $4.60/kg last week, driven by local trade who paid up to $4.80/kg gross last week, and good demand from Asian markets. Export bull was $4.45/kg and cow anywhere between $3.50-$3.80/kg, up 35cpk on last year. SI cow kill numbers are climbing and schedules in the SI have remained largely steady, with a hint of upwards movement in pricing for export steer, driven by demand from local trade and Asia. Last week export cow was between $2.75-$2.90/kg, export bull at $4.00/kg and steer at $4.05/kg. SI local trade is $4.20/kg. 

Short term outlook for US market steady US imported prices were steady last week, and this was on the back of significant volumes of NZ product traded. There is little upside expected to these prices in the short term as end-users are waiting to see how Memorial Day weekend (end of May), traditionally the largest beef consumption weekend of the year, performs before re-entering the market. Beef prices traditionally get cheaper through June and July, and buyers will be unwilling to get caught with dearer stock over that time. It will be interesting to note how prices respond this year given the tightness of supply. Some industry commentators do not believe the usual pattern of downturn through June/July will eventuate, however the US market is reknowned for performing outside industry expectations, so a degree of uncertainty remains for those trading in the market.

Mid Micron Indic.



        











DAIRY WMP demand picks up on back of lower prices Dairy prices have continued their downwards trend in the last two weeks, but not as sharply as previous months. With milk production declining in NZ, production of whole milk powder and cheese is also declining. Buyer interest in whole milk powder has increased howeve as a result of the recent weeks price declines. At the latest GlobalDairyTrade event, dairy prices recorded their sixth consecutive decline with prices returning to year ago levels. Whole milk powder declined by 1.7% and skim milk powder by 1.7% from the previous event. Overall the GlobalDairyTrade index fell by 1.1%.

Whole Milk Powder Cheddar

Last 2 Wks

Prev. 2 Wks

Last Year

-14

4684

4698

5232

-116

4757

4872

5589

-189

4843

5032

6124

-248

5320

5568

5470



 

 













 









  

 





 

 

 







Overseas Price Indicators Indicators in US$/kg

08-May

24-Apr

+13

4.37

4.24

+10

4.57

4.47

4.05

+10

4.50

4.39

4.03

-

-

-

6.73

Fine Xbred Indicator

3.38

Indicators in US$/T





Last 2 Wks

Prev. 2 Wks

Last Year

-88

4113

4200

4700

-150

4188

4338

5150

-200

4600

4800

4600

Change n/c

Skim Milk Powder Whole Milk Powder Cheddar

4050

4050

4400







 







 













 



 

 



  











vs. NZ Dollar

Last Week 2 Wks Ago 4 Wks Ago Last Year





0.862

0.865

0.841

Euro

0.625

0.622

0.622

0.645

UK pound

0.511

0.511

0.515

0.544



Aus dollar

0.923

0.930

0.922

0.833

Japan yen

87.92

88.24

87.83

84.60

 







Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul



















US Dollar



0.865





 

 

US dollar

Euro

 



       

CURRENCY WATCH













Butter







Overseas Price Indicators Last Year

Change

Coarse Xbred Indicator







Demand for store lambs edged back last week in the NI. This was driven by a combination of cooler weather and the hint of frost tempering grass growth, and the fact that most operators filled up in the frenzy of late April. Paddock prices have come back about 10cpk with 30-32kg types making around $2.80/kg, irrespective of sex, and under 30kgs lines around the $2.90/kg mark. In paddock sales now appear to be meeting resistance at $3.00/kg. Store lamb prices in the SI seem to have reached a ceiling for now, although numbers are light and more upside is not ruled out. Most trades through the yards have been steady between $2.70 - $2.90/kg while quotes for paddock sales last week were between $2.65 – 2.80/kg for 28 – 34kg, irrespective of sex.

Skim Milk Powder



Lamb price a moving target in the NI

Demand eases for store lambs in NI

Butter





Change



Mid Micron Indicator

A shortage of slaughter numbers has kept lamb prices a moving target in the NI in recent weeks. Flexible premiums have kept actual payments significantly above printed schedules, as processors battle to secure stock. Pricing wise, many winter winter contracts have kicked in and in the NI these start around the $5.85/kg gross mark. The spot price has been driven along by the shortage and sits at $6.00/kg gross. Local trade operators paid up to $6.20/kg gross last week. In the SI lamb slaughter numbers are also down, and schedules begun to move upwards last week accordingly. Between $5.55-$5.60/kg gross is where the spot price is at, with contracts anywhere between $5.75-$6.00/kg gross.



Indicators in NZ$/T



Lamb Indicator

LAMB

DAIRY PRICE WATCH Last Year



       

 











UK Pound

 













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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

22 WORLD

Aussie supermarket chain accused of ‘strong arm’ tactics AUSTRALIA’S CONSUMER watchdog will take supermarket chain Coles to court over claims it tried to extract $16 million from 200 suppliers. In the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claims registered with the Federal Court, Coles’ target was to obtain $16m in “rebates” from smaller suppli-

ers through its Active Retail Collaboration (ARC) program. The ACCC says Coles engaged in unconscionable conduct under its ARC program and convened the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Coles has said it would “vigorously defend the allegations made against if by the ACCC”.

THE ACCC ALLEGES COLES ❱❱ Provided misleading information to suppliers about the savings and value to them from the changes Coles had made. ❱❱ Used undue influence and unfair tactics against suppliers to obtain payments of the “rebate”. ❱❱ Took advantage of its superior bargaining position by, amongst other things, seeking payments when it had no legitimate basis for seeking them. ❱❱ Required suppliers to agree to the ongoing “rebate” without providing them with sufficient time to assess the value to their business.

“The ... legal action concerns a detailed supply chain program implemented by Coles over two years ago as a part of its strategy to develop a more efficient and internationally competitive supply chain,” Coles said in a statement. “The project involved improvements to both supply chain collaboration and efficiencies in logistics. It was designed to deliver benefits to Coles, suppliers and customers through lowering costs and improving availability of stock in our stores.” The ACCC alleges that in 2011, Coles developed a strategy to improve its earnings by obtaining better trading terms from its suppliers. It is alleged that one of the ways Coles sought to improve its earnings was through the introduction of ongoing rebates to be paid by its suppliers in connection with the Coles ARC program, based on purported benefits to large and small suppliers that Coles asserted had resulted from changes

Coles had made to its supply chain. The ACCC says Coles was ultimately seeking an ongoing ARC rebate in the form of a percentage of the price it paid for the supplier’s grocery products. The ACCC alleges that in relation to 200 of its smaller suppliers, Coles required agreement by the supplier to the rebate within a matter of days. If these suppliers declined to agree to pay the rebate, Coles personnel were allegedly instructed to escalate the matter to more senior staff, and to threaten commercial consequences if the supplier did not agree. The ACCC alleges that, in a number of cases, threats were made when suppliers declined to agree to pay the rebate. “The ACCC alleges that Coles used undue pressure and unfair tactics in negotiating with suppliers, provided misleading information and took advantage of its superior bargaining position, so that its overall conduct was in all the circumstances unconscio-

Rod Sims

nable,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said. “The conduct of Coles alleged by the ACCC in these proceedings was capable of causing significant detriment to small suppliers’ businesses.” These proceedings arise from a broader investigation by the ACCC into allegations that supermarket suppliers were being treated inappropriately by the major supermarket chains. That broader investigation is continuing. The matter is listed for a directions hearing in Melbourne on June 6.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

AGRIBUSINESS 23

Growing dairy farmer debt concerns PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND dairy farmer debt has almost trebled to $32 billion over the past decade, says the Reserve Bank governor, Graham Wheeler. It is concentrated in a small group of highly leveraged farmers with 10% holding half the debt. Dairy production techniques are more intensive so the break-even payout has increased for individual farm profitability. “A significant decline in the milk payout could place some highly indebted farmers under financial strain particularly with the market for farmland being more liquid in times of stress,” he told those attending Dairy NZ’s recent Farmer Forum at

Mystery Creek, Hamilton. Wheeler says highly indebted farmers are also exposed to rising interest rates with 70% of dairy debt in floating rate mortgages. But some are “being cautious in the current cycle and many are using higher incomes to buy more property and do farm improvements without taking on debt.” In many cases they are also repaying debt. Farm building consents are rising steadily and dairy conversions are increasing. “This caution is encouraging to see given the vulnerability of the sector and its already high debt load.” Using the example of General Motors and how the US Government now had a 56% stake as part of a bail-out, he said “it

illustrates how even the most dynamic enterprises can lose competitiveness and suffer major losses in market share.” He said the dairy industry was strong and the future looks bright provided challenges

were met. A questioner asked what effect default by the 10% of highly indebted farmers could have on the whole New Zealand economy. Wheeler said it would not have a major

macro effect unless it reverberated in the banking sector. A large fall in dairy prices, something that comes out of China, a big change in dairy prices which affects land prices, could have a wider effect.

Reserve Bank governor Graham Wheeler.

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BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN help add value to the New Zealand economy, former Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson says. He told the NZBio conference in Auckland last month, that New Zealand cannot become a major boat builder or car maker due to its small size. But the country can tap into bioscience to add value to its agricultural exports. Williamson made the speech on behalf of Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce. The Government is helping bioscience R&D by providing funding. Callaghan Innovation was set up last year to accelerate growth and upskill staff. Callaghan administers $140m a year in business R&D funding to accelerate innovation by firms in New Zealand. Meanwhile, cancer diagnostic company Pacific Edge has been named New Zealand’s top bioscience company and Dr Paul Tan as the Janssen Distinguished Biotechnologist at the 2014 NZBIO Conference Awards. NZBio chief executive Dr George Slim says Dunedin-based Pacific Edge’s expansion into the US has been hugely successful. The company’s stock price has at least doubled and has lifted Pacific Edge into the NZX50. “The judges say as the supreme winner of the NZ Innovation Council Award last year, and with its high media profile, Pacific Edge is doing a tremendous amount to raise the profile and credibility of listed biotech companies in New Zealand,” Slim says. The top biotechnologist for 2014, Dr Paul Tan, now works as an independent consultant to several biotechnology companies in New Zealand. During the past 20 years he has worked in various roles in the sector. As chairman of NZBIO in 2013 he helped it to move from government backing to self-funding. – Sudesh Kissun

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

24 AGRIBUSINESS

Sheep sector uplift attracts big investors PA M T I PA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

CONFIDENCE IN the sheep sector has prompted MyFarm to buy five North Island sheep farms, mainly in the last 18 months, and it’s looking for more. Previously solely a dairy investment company, it says the potential production and profitability gains and good prospects for sheepmeat prices have prompted the expansion into sheep and beef investment. Grant Rowan, director of MyFarm Ltd, told an investment seminar in Auckland that its traditional expertise and experience has been in dairy investment. But it has now also moved into a joint venture with prominent Rangitikei sheep farming families, the Marshalls and the Duncans, offering investors options to invest in sheep farm syndicates. “The farm market is much less sophisticated [than dairy] – there’s more opportunity to find farms where you can add significant value by adding technology such as new pasture spe-

Sheep farmers move north SOUTH ISLAND sheep farmers, who have sold up for dairy conversion, are now buying up sheep farms in the North Island, says a real estate agent. Gary Scott of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Masterton, says South Island farmers are starting to make their mark in the southern North Island. “These are people who are committed to sheep and beef farming, who have sold farms for dairy conversion or dairy support in regions where dairying is becoming

cies, breed and more intensive management,” Rowan said. The Asian demand for sheepmeat is increasing with the boost in demand for protein in general. “You’ve seen a big upswing in demand for cuts like lamb flaps that you once basically couldn’t give away; they are now $8 a kilo.”

more prevalent, and who recognise the value proposition the Wairarapa and surrounding regions offers them,” Scott says. “Their activity in the market has generated demand and consolidated values.” He was commenting following the sale this month of a 202ha Wairarapa drystock farm for $5.61m, much more than its $4.8 million 2011 government valuation. While the buyer and second bidder were local, the wider influence was a factor in the price reached, Scott says.

David Marshall, one of the owners of MyFarm sheep and beef, told Rural News the first investment farm was established three years ago, with four following over the past 18 months. “There are a lot of properties with potential for cost effective increases in production and that requires capital.

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That capital can be used for things like better handling facilities, tracks, better access and easier-to-manage stock. We are also sowing reasonably large areas of the farms into plantain and clover.” MyFarm is “very positive about the sheep sector”, Marshall says. Most of the farms are hill country with an element of beef but predominantly sheep. “Certainly our costs of production have remained relatively low. I think we’ve learnt a lot from the dairy industry and have started thinking about it in terms of the sheep and beef sector. “We do a lot of work on cost of production in terms of dollars per kilo in meat and wool. That’s in the $2.40-

$2.60 range and while land values are lower than dairy, we still see good margins. It’s been a learning process but we are definitely starting to see some good results.” They have targeted the central and lower North Island initially because they’re familiar with the areas. But they see it as a New Zealand-wide opportunity and they are looking at expansion. “We have the demand to continue to grow sheep and beef farm investment.” Investment interest is coming from institutions and from wealthy investors who see opportunity in the sheep and beef sector and want to own agricultural land.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

AGRIBUSINESS 25 Nutricia buys own supplier INFANT FORMULA manufacturer Nutricia is buying the spray dryer of Gardians, located near Balclutha, and the blending, packing and can-forming activities of the Sutton Group in Auckland. Both are on the

approved list for infant formula export to China. “This transaction will provide Nutricia with a large milk drying capacity, along with a longterm fresh milk supply access,” the company

says. “It will also add an infant formula blending and packing facility to Nutricia’s existing operations. “With this investment, Nutricia not only pursues the development and

Local grain in short supply

diversification of its base powder sourcing, but also reinforces its New Zealand heritage. “While expanding activity in the country, Nutricia stands by its quality and safety commitments

to continuous industry standards improvement.” The deal is subject to Overseas Investment Office approval and is expected to be completed in the next few months.

Ensure your production is no fluke

HOMEGROWN GRAIN is in short supply judging by the latest Arable Industry Marketing Initiative survey of cereal areas and volumes. As of April 1, an estimated 65,000t of feed wheat, 45,000t of barley and 22,000t of milling wheat was unsold. At the same time last year 135,000t of feed wheat, 157,000t of feed barley and 49,500t of milling wheat was available. “In a nutshell, there is little free grain in the market as at April 1, 2014, as compared to the two previous seasons,” said the report released May 9. The figures do not include grain still to be harvested, with about 2% of feed wheat and 15% of feed barley still in the paddock as of April 1. Almost all the barley was in South Otago or Southland, where April weather would have allowed harvest, said the report. The report says the lack of available grain reflects 6% and 1% drops in harvest volumes of feed wheat and barley compared to 2013. Area of both crops was back 2% on 2013 and wheat yields eased to average 8.9t/ha compared to 2013’s exceptional 9.4t/ha. Barley averaged 7.6 t/ha in both harvests. Another factor not mentioned in the report is firm prices since harvest likely tempting growers to sell more of what was available. The report does note pre-harvest sales of wheat were slightly ahead at 188,000t compared to 183,000t in 2013 while barley volumes booked preharvest rose to 183,000t from 166,000t in 2013. Areas to be planted in autumn-winter wheat or barley, as at April 1, were down 10% overall on 2013, feed wheat area easing 5% but feed barley dropping 14%. Further drops in area planted were likely if wet ground conditions persist, the report said.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

26 OPINION EDITORIAL

EDNA

Celebrate success! NEW ZEALANDERS – especially farmers – are often reluctant to celebrate their successes. No one wants to be accused of ‘blowing their own trumpet’. That ugly side of the Kiwi psyche – the great knocking machine – is quick to cut down the so-called tall poppies. This is ridiculous. We should be applauding all our ‘tall poppies’, especially those driving the engine of New Zealand’s economy – our primary sector. A good example is the National Dairy Awards, now in its 25th year, the 2014 finals of which were held in Auckland earlier this month. Winners of the New Zealand Sharemilkers of the Year title Charlie and Jody McCaig of Taranaki epitomise the farming success story and have every right to celebrate their magnificent win. The McCaigs describe the award as a culmination of all they have worked toward throughout their five year journey in the industry. Charlie McCaig rightly described his fellow dairy award competitors as: “….all fantastic people, doing fantastic things.” A case in point was the runners-up in the Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year competition, the former All Black Kevin O’Neill and his wife Sara. They’ve been dairy farming for only two years, working on a family-run operation in Canterbury, but are already milking 1190 cows. “Entering the awards was one way of maximising the amazing opportunity we have been given,” Kevin O’Neill said. In the Farm Manager of the Year section, Featherston farmer Nick Bertram took the top spot. He says a trip to the National Award finals in 2013 was all the motivation he needed to enter this year’s competition. Bertram reckons the Dairy Industry Awards didn’t feel like a competition at all, instead “more like a celebration”. Meanwhile, Taupo dairy farmer Ruth Hone became the first woman to win the Dairy Trainee of the Year award. In her acceptance speech, Hone rightly proclaimed that she and her fellow finalists were “the future of the industry”. Many other contests celebrate the best in New Zealand farming including Young Farmer of the Year, Ahuwhenua Trophy, Ballance Farm Environmental Awards and South Island Farmer of the Year, to name a few. All these competitions share a common theme – putting one’s self up against the best in the industry and sharing knowledge and lessons for the benefit of others. The only way we can ever get better is by measuring ourselves against the best in the business and striving to achieve.

RURAL NEWS HEAD OFFICE POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 3855, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140 PUBLISHER: Brian Hight .............................................. Ph 09 307 0399 GENERAL MANAGER: Adam Fricker ........................................... Ph 09 913 9632 CONSULTING EDITOR: David Anderson .......................................Ph 09 307 0399 davida@ruralnews.co.nz

“We’ve got five ducks, three geese and a turkey so far Grandad - how are you doing?”

THE HOUND Strewth! THE HOUND hears that the Feds has appointed an Australian migrant as its new field officer covering its Manawatu-Rangitikei, Wairarapa and Tararua provinces. Feds outgoing boss Conor English opined, “We often hear of Kiwis going to Australia but in Kristy McGregor, we have an Australian who can see great opportunities offered by New Zealand’s primary industries.” Stone the crows! But your canine crusader sees no problem in a visitor from the ‘West Island’ working for Feds. In fact, this old mutt remembers that not long ago the farmer lobby was headed by an Aussie. Who could ever forget the colourful Tony ‘Toowoomba’ St Clair?

Want to share your opinion or gossip with the Hound? Send your emails to: hound@ruralnews.co.nz

Hypocrites?

They what?

Milky way!

Fair call!

YOUR OLD mate notes that the Greens and Labour have been throwing plenty of muck at the Government for its taking political donations and claiming it is selling policy to its rich mates. Yet when Labour deputy leader and economic spokesman David Parker released his party environmental policy recently – he admitted that Labour’s policy had been influenced by lobby group Pure Advantage. What Parker and the media forgot to mention is that Pure Advantage is headed by businessman Phillip Mills who has just given $65K to Labour and $60K to the Greens.

THIS OLD mutt is no fan of the officious types who tend to work in regulatory departments of local government. However, he reckons the food police at Christchurch City Council may take the cake – or in this case – the roast. Late last year, the Harlequin Public House had to pull its Sunday roast off the menu to keep the peace with a known-vegetarian neighbour who complained about the “charcoal smell”. The restaurant was served a notice by the Christchurch City Council after the neighbour complained about the “delicious charcoal smell” from the spit roast.

YOUR CANINE crusader reckons all those ardent critics of the dairy industry should instead acknowledge what dairy farmers are doing to help the community. This comes on the back of the news that the Fonterra Milk for Schools rollout across New Zealand has been completed. The numbers are impressive: 1450 schools and 170,000 Kiwi kids and their families have benefited. The dairy co-op says at least 14 million Anchor milk packs, the equivalent of almost three million litres of milk, have been delivered to schools the length and breadth of the country since the rollout began 12 months ago.

YOUR OLD mate had a giggle at the howls of outrage emanating from Fish & Game – better known in this column as Bitch & Complain – after Feds’ Waikato president James Houghton, recently penned an opinion piece questioning why the lobby should benefit financially from the duck shooting season. Houghton pointed out he was not against people paying for licenses, but objected – as a farmer – to this going to Bitch & Complain which then uses this funding to attack farming. “ The Hound reckons this is a good point indeed.

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ABC audited circulation 81,232 as at 31.12.2013 Rural News is published by Rural News Group Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of staff, management or directors of Rural News Group Ltd.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

OPINION 27

Farmer levy bodies are worth funding THREE LEVY body conferences were or are being held in May: DairyNZ’s Farmers’ Forum, Beef + Lamb NZ’s Aginnovation and the DeerNZ conference. From the programmes, all three events showcased top farmers, presented new research and focused on issues of immediate importance to the industry. Of importance is that the levy-body conferences enable engagement amongst farmers, researchers and industry personnel. They allow information to flow in all directions and foster more understanding of issues. For the dairy industry in particular, increased understanding is vital. Farmers struggling with drought, compliance and public perception are in need of policy support. DairyNZ spends 14% of its levy dollars (forecast to be $61 million for the 2013-14 season) on ‘industry advocacy and industry promotion’. Twice as much, 28%, is spent on ‘research and development to increase farm profit and productivity’ and 20% is spent on disease control (95% going straight to OSPRI for TB control). Other major spending is on consulting officers and demonstration farms (12%) and training, education and leadership (10%). This means about $25 million of levy money is spent directly on research, development and extension. This direct investment enables DairyNZ to leverage with the Government through, for instance, the Primary Growth Partnership. Showing commitment is vital for support from the Government and from society. Farmers are the biggest investors in research in New Zealand through levy funding, rates and taxes and also through retentions in their co-operatives – animal breeding, fertiliser, and dairy, for instance. This means they are doing their part – and that statement can be made to Government for ongoing support. In particular, sup-

be said for beef, sheep and deer industries. The top-performing farmers are paying the highest levies on production, and are reaping the

porting research enables the Government to understand how important it is. Although not all farmers see the value of all the activities of the levy bodies and want more focus on particular aspects, not having the levy at all would be worse (as indicated by the review of the wool levy which was lost in 2009). The way to improve the direction of activities in the future is to increase engagement with levy body staff and the boards, expressing concerns and giving praise where deserved. At the DairyNZ Farmers’ Forum, Dr Bruce Thorrold acknowledged that farmers have made their feelings known about pasture persistence and the forage value index. He also stated that research and refinements were ongoing. Of interest is the independent evaluation of DairyNZ’s investment portfolio by NimmoBell, which rates “research on genetic gain in herd and forage” second in value only to “research on farming with environmental limits”. Research on genetic gain was estimated to be worth $29/ha/yr to farmers, and farming with environmental limits was worth $96/ha/yr. Other research portfolios such as animal health and milk quality, and people productivity and training, added another $27 and $14/ha/ yr, respectively. The estimated aggregated return to farmers of all the research was $179/ha/yr. For an average farm (141ha effective), that means a potential return of at least $25,000 from a levy investment of about $5000. However, for a farm already performing highly, the returns were lower. Exactly the same can

lowest rewards. The Ministry for Primary Industries focus on getting the “lower performing farmers to improve” exacerbates the problem. In contrast,

developing rewards for high achievers encourages more people to join the group. The challenge in farming for the future is main-

taining profitability and improving understanding in government and society. Farmers can exert influence through their elected board members, but only

if the levy stays. Voting appropriately is paramount. • Jacqueline Rowarth is professor of agribusiness, The University of Waikato.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

28 OPINION

We need to take action or die P E T E R M C DO N A L D

‘LESS TALK, more action’, said Rural News (May 6) on its front page, quoting the new chairman of Beef + Lamb NZ, James Parsons. MIE shares Parsons’ opinion that these major industry issues “must

come to a head and be sorted out one way or another”. But before this can happen, farmers, shareholders and processors must be in a position to be openly discussing the issues holding our industry back. Parsons addressed the ‘elephant in the kitchen’

that we’ve been squeezing past for decades – industry structure. This may have served us well in the past, but it is failing us now. He goes on to say how “the negative focus is undermining confidence”. My answer to this is that consistent profitability breeds confidence.

I’m talking about profitabity for all involved, be it the processing industry or the farmers who need that consistency to plan for their family’s futures. The times when farmers and processors share a good year together seem to be few and far between; profitability for

one has always come at the expense of the other. This is unsustainable. MIE takes the positive view that there is a better future for us all. No one is going to hand it to us on a plate, we have to go out and grab it. Whereas we see the advocates of the status quo to be on

the negative side of the debate, their aspirations have already been met and are happy with the path we are on. The industry in its current form benefits a select and influential few. I urge all farmers – while they read industry opinion or listen to speakers at industry meetings – to ask this question: where does the self-interest lie? I’m up front in answering this: my self-interest centres on providing the same opportunity to my children that my parents put in front of me some years ago. Parsons also says “the sector has many great stories”. I go further by saying sheep farming is woven into the fabric of our society. We sell ourselves to

the world in this way. The All Blacks, green grass and sheep – this is the way we are perceived, therefore many in New Zealand want and need to see us succeed. We tend to get lost in the detail of industry reform and how this should proceed; indeed everyone I talk to seems to have their own industry reform plan. This dilutes the key focus, which is that the path our industry is on, and has been on for some time, is unsustainable. So either we as farmers change for our own benefit or someone else will make the changes on our behalf – on their terms. • Peter McDonald is a Southland farmer and executive member of the Meat Industry Excellence Group.

ag twits Rural News’ irreverent and hypothetical look at what’s happening in the farming world Top Bleats view all judycollinsminister: It is obvious that my visit to Oravida in China last year was pure coincidence and a most delightful surprise to learn that my husband is actually on the board of the company. #flyingpigs judycollinsminister: I’m astounded that those scumbag, muck-raking members opposite claim my innocent visit to the company my husband happens to be a director of is kind of dodgy. #whatistheworldcomingtoo judycollinsminister: Can I assure any scum-bag, muck-raking journalists asking me inappropriate questions about the Oravida visit that I do have photographs of them in compromising positions with innocent animals. #2canplaythat game johnkeypm: When I’ve got friends like @ judycollinsminister then I don’t really need too many enemies! #stfujudith #yellowcard davidjesuscunliffe: Now it is known that Oravida has donated $60K to the National Party it clearly means Judith Collins and the government are selling out to Chinese interests. #holierthanthou mmmmmattmcartten@davidjesuscunliffe: Dddddddon’t make tttttttooo much nnnnnnnoise about this as @johnkeypm mmmmight ask aaaaaabout Phillip Mills $65K ddddddddonation to Labour and us bbbbbbbacking his environmental policy group Ppppppure Advantage! #sssssssssshhhhhhhh davidjesuscunliffe@ mmmmmattmcartten: Good point Matthew. Next thing he’ll be claiming the hundreds of thousands the unions give to Labour means they get to choose our party leader…whoops. #mumstheword

Check out our websites www.ruralnews.co.nz www.dairynews.co.nz

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

OPINION 29 ACTUALLY KILLING POSSUMS DOES WORK! JOHN VEYSEY’S claim (Rural News May 6) that slaughtering 38,000 cattle for the Polybatics DIVA TB test trial would be cheaper than [killing] TB-infected possums can be disputed with raw data. Last year, New Zealand slaughtered 1294 cattle, compared with 15,600 in 1974-75 when possum [killing] first began. Ongoing possum [killing] has led to a significant decrease in infected herds since the mid-1990s. In comparison, 28,411 TB reactor cattle were slaughtered in England in 2012. However, they have not controlled the wild animal chiefly responsible

for spreading TB to livestock – badgers. Given an average compensation cost of NZ$1000, slaughtering 28,400 reactor cattle a year would equate to NZ$28.4 million, rather than the $1.5 million it cost New Zealand last year. This emphasises the importance and value of [killing] TB-infected wildlife. The Polybatics TB test trial has two important aspects. Firstly, there is a need to compare the Polybatics tuberculin with the current AsureQuality tuberculin to determine whether there is a difference in the number of cattle that react to these

tests. Cattle in TB-free herds will be tested to determine which tuberculin produces fewer false-positive results. The number of cattle depends upon getting sufficient testpositive animals to show a statistical difference between the tuberculins. Importantly, it will also need to compare the ability of the two tuberculins in identifying actual TB-infected cattle within infected herds. The trial will finish when at least 100 TB cattle are found. Dr Paul Livingstone QSO TB eradication and research manager TBfree New Zealand

ISN’T THERE A BETTER WAY? I MAKE this plea to the OSPRI/NAIT board: we are never going to have accurate and up-todate information in any tagging system if we rely on farmers to keep records and report movements to you. Face it, farmers are not wired that way. Ask their accountants about it. How many farmers get their closing stock number right for their annual accounts? Farmers are not accountants or detail people otherwise they would be inside doing a desk job like yours. For many, their repulsion at

the thought of that is why they are farming. Farmers are big picture, dynamic management people. The only way you are going to get accurate, up-to-date records in your NAIT system is not to beat farmers around the heads with treats of fines and legal action. Farmers aren’t bean counting, detail-type, people. We can chase 25,00030,000 farmers and small block holders or we can acknowledge that 99.5% of all animals are transferred by about 850 stock trucks. If you put a NAIT tag

that the Greens are dodgy and sanctimonious. Nothing is further from the truth. If you look at the track record of the Green Party you’ll find it is one of the few political parties in this country that lives up to its principles! Ans van Sabben-de Wolf Dargaville (Editor’s note: Ans van Sabben-de Wolf is both a Green Party activist and a paid-up supporter of OrganicNZ.)

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

30 MANAGEMENT

Hogget lambs key in hill country WHAT DRIVES your farm’s profit? For Wanganui hill country farmer and Focus Genetics ram breeder, Donald Polson, it’s number of lambs weaned. “Our main goal is to put as many lambs on the ground as we can in a challenging environment,” he told a field day on the farm earlier this year. “To achieve this we need to grow out good replacements and then we mate our ewe hoggets, which is efficient and more productive. We also run cropping systems which is another simple way to boost productivity.” Polson and wife Liz run 8000 ewes on Waipuna Station on the Para Paras, including 1000 Primera

ewes and 700 Elite Highlanders for ram production. The balance of the flock is Highlander, put to either Highlander or Primera rams. A key part of the operation are separate support properties: Te Tui on Fields Track which runs 4000 Highlander ewes to provide the bulk of Waipuna’s replacements, and Awarua at Raetihi where 3000 replacement hoggets are lambed. “The Raetihi property, though colder, is summer wet and that fits in well with hoggets lambing later in October and having plenty of grass in December which is important,” says Polson. Waipuna has used ram hoggets across its commercial ewe flock for the

past 35 years, which he says maximises genetic gain. Waipuna docked 143% even after a severe drought last year. Farm consultant, Rob Gollan, echoes Polson’s comments about high lambing percentage driving hill country profitability. “It is not necessarily about the weaning weight, the focus needs to be about getting plenty of lambs on the ground.” Polson says the Highlander ewes have excellent fertility and rearing ability and put to the Primera, produce high yielding lambs with superior growth rates. It’s a combination which works well on his steep hill country. He sells about 400

Donald Polson addresses the field day.

Highlander and Primera ram hoggets and twotooths each year for Focus Genetics.

Tough country: crops on flats are used for lamb finishing.

“Ram hoggets are the way forward for us. It’s a more efficient way to run our commercial operation. They are getting out and doing the business quicker, so we are getting the production gain and we aren’t holding onto them for an extra nine months. By getting better genetics into the flock earlier we are getting better meat and growth rates too.” Focus Genetics national sales manager Graham Morris says selected ram hoggets are sexually mature and fertile, which is proven by on farm scanning and lambing results nationwide on a large range of properties. “It’s been commercially

and scientifically proven that ram hoggets, selected and managed correctly, can have good libido and semen quality that translates into mating ability and fertility. They’re selected and specifically grown to be physically and commercially up to the job. ” Polson believes focusing on meat production, as he is, is essential if farmers want to survive on hill country and run a profitable farm . “In 1990 wool was $3.20 a kilo; in 2010 it was still $3.20. We used to make $20 a stock unit off wool and now we make $7. Our focus has to be on getting good lambing percentages and the way to

achieve this is through good genetics.” And while he’s focused on numbers of lambs, finishing isn’t forgotten: flat areas of the property are planted with crop such as plantain and turnips to fatten lambs more efficiently and all bar lambs destined to be replacements or breeding rams go to the works. “We cannot get good growth rates on hard country without alternative pasture. The average national growth rate for lambs is 80 grams a day. We need to be aiming higher than this if we want to make any money.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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32 MANAGEMENT

Private dam and irrigation underway i VI V I E N NE H A LDA N E

BUILDING A dam on Rangitapu Station has been a lengthy and frustrating process for Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmers, James Aitken and Caroline Robertson, but being able to irrigate forage crops, especially through

summer, will create a more profitable farming system. “The biggest prevailing risk for east coast farms is drought,” Aitken told farmers at a Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day at Omakere Hall earlier this year. While droughts can’t be controlled it is

important to not sit back and let nature dictate what happens on your farm, he says. “It’s no use having skinny ewes, cattle or underweight hoggets you’ve got to feed them or sell them. You can control what is within your boundary fences, as well as the condition scores across the ewes

and how heavy your ewe hoggets are at mating.” Irrigation will enable them to finish all lambs, including hogget lambs. “This may be one of the first years we’ve done it in a long time.” On the 1000ha station, the amount of flat land that can be irrigated is only 120ha. Currently they have 70ha

Clover and plantain pasture Plantain was planted at Rangitapu Station three years ago because of its hardiness and productivity. “Clover and plantain together is a remarkable sward of pasture,” Duncan Thomas, H & T Agronomics, told the field day. “It’s a crop you can plant autumn and spring. If planted in spring it will give fantastic liveweight gains of growing stock, particularly lambs, over summer.” Under irrigation, the 100ha of clover and plantain will grow 13tDM/ ha based on the 2012-2013 growing year and they can finish 50 lambs/ha. The irrigation means they’re also confident of ewe lamb weights of 42kgs at tupping, 55kgs at lambing and 65kgs at weaning. “We used to winter our hoggets at 55-58kgs thinking, we’ve just got to work on them to get them useful as two-tooths. If you put them on plantain they wean at 65kgs and have

James Aitken explains the details.

Result: clover and plantain pasture has helped boost stock growth.

udders like basketballs and the lambs on them are like piglets, they are just so fat. We never costed the benefit of having a two-tooth at 65kgs by Christmas time.” By the time of the field day in February the were well over 70kg so Aitken was looking forward to scanning. Target hogget lambing

rate is 120%, ewes 160%, with an average lamb weaning weight of 36kg. All ewes are EID tagged, singles or doubles identified at scanning, and grain fed pre-tup and pre-wean to achieve maximum weights. “We also want to grow our bull calves to 750kgs at a rate of 1kg /day.”

irrigated, plus 200ha of dryland plantain. In spite of having to jump through bureaucratic hoops and the irrigation project costing more than anticipated, they’re sure benefits will outweigh negatives and already they’re seeing results. “This year our twin hoggets grown on plantain weaned at 64.5kgs. We’ve never been able to do that before,” says Aitken. The process of applying for consents for the dam began five years ago. An existing

dam built in 1908 and enlarged in 1979 for stock water had to be inspected and passed by a registered dam engineer and an environment report completed. Aitken says the process shouldn’t be underestimated. “You need capital up front and it is time-consuming, and stressful… The planning process cost us $80100,000 to use a 100-year old dam that we owned completely. To build a wall on our dam to an engineer’s design, cost a further $100,000.

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“In the end though, it’s your water, your control and you know what’s in front of you. The running costs will be cheaper than the Ruataniwha Dam and if you eventually wish to sell, it’s a tangible asset.” The process included getting building and resource consents, very different concerns. “If you are in the Tuki Tuki catchment, it’s not easy because the catchment is already oversubscribed,” he notes. “If it rains in summer the Hawke’s Bay Regional

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MANAGEMENT 33

y in Hawke’s Bay Council (HBRC) require you to take water out of your dam and put it into the nearest waterway as part of your resource consent. This is to enhance the down stream waterway but as the catchment of the dam is less than .01 of 1%, the benefit cannot be measured. I have to

admit I was not happy about this. “You will also need the dam wall planning and consent to happen simultaneously as you can’t get one without the other.” The total consent process turned out to be over 35% of total costs and took much, much

longer than construction. [END That started in December 2013 and was finished in January 2014, though they had been irrigating out of the original dam since 2011. The new dam wall was required to be designed by an A Grade engineer and the plan signed off by Environment Waikato.

DAM DETAIL ❱❱ 23ha of water when full. ❱❱ Will likely take two years to fill. ❱❱ 10-11m deep, 984 megalitre capacity. ❱❱ Planned irrigation area 120ha. ❱❱ Hawkes Bay Plan Change 6 dictates surrounding 20ha must be fenced-off. ❱❱ Total cost for dam - $500,000, including $100,00 on consent process, $130,000 on dam wall and overflow, $19,000 on secondary wall, $40,000 on engineers, $40,000 on two hard-hose irrigators, and $2000 on electronic soil moisture monitoring – a consent requirement. ❱❱ End goal is five hardhose irrigators.

Dam discussion: field day visitors view the Rangitapu Station development.

“When the engineer gives you the finished drawing of the dam frame it [and] hang it on the wall because it is going to be the most expensive painting you’re ever going to buy,” quips Aitken. When applying for an irrigation consent, think hard about the maximum amount of

water needed and apply for it once, he adds. “You only want to put yourself through the process once, both mentally and financially.” Robertson advises those thinking of building a dam on their property to minute meetings attended, “so there are no nasty surprises.”

Asked how many years before Rangitapu Station will see any return on its investment, Aitken says conservatively they think there will be a 20% return on total investment by the end of 2014. “We think the whole thing will be paid off in about 5 years, based on 20% return and then it will be straight profit.

“We are confident we will be able to breed and finish an additional 1000 lambs, as well as buying and finishing extra lambs. If something else, for example process crops, are more profitable, then we will be looking at that.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

34 MANAGEMENT

Management tailored to zones Establishing management zones can help maximise returns while minimising inputs, as visitors to a Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day in Northland earlier this month saw. Gareth Gillatt reports. DOUGLAS AND Anne Conn run a 1595ha mixed stock property in Tangowahine, 30 minutes southwest of Whangarei.

The extensive property is made up of river flats at sea level, rolling country and steep hills rising to 420m in the

Mangaru range. The range of topography dictates a range of animal classes and a onesize-fits-all management

Catherine, Douglas, Anne and Geoffrey Conn.

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policy is not an option, 50 or so attendees at a Beef and Lamb NZ field day earlier this month heard. The solution has been to divide the farm into zones and run various classes of stock: bulls, dry cows, and sheep. They also have a dairy farm nearby. To get the best results out of the property the family divides the drystock operation into four separate zones: flat, gentle rolling, medium rolling and steep, with stocking rates and fertiliser applications adjusted accordingly. Flats and lower rolling country receive fertiliser where the operation sees the most return while the property’s steep sidlings may miss out. “As a general rule I don’t put fertiliser on where the fertiliser truck can’t drive,” he notes. The family applies 250300kg/ha/year of sulphur superphosphate in February with up to 500kg/ha of lime also applied if warranted from soil and herbage analysis. The soil tests are normally taken from the same locations of the farm biannually. Conn looks at trends more than he does individual results. The couple learnt the hard way that applying phosphate or lime is essential for a profitable season. In the late 1980s none went on for three seasons because times were so tight, the aim being to ‘mine’ fertiliser already there. But while soil pH remained stable, production and animal

The property rises from sea-level to 420m in the Mangaru range.

growth rates quickly dropped away reducing farm earnings. Besides the sulphur super and lime, these days Conn occasionally uses nitrogen as a short-term growth driver to make sure there is enough pasture for the property’s 1400 ewes at lambing. Mated to terminal sires lambing percentage is 130-140%. The sheep are grazed on a traditional round with lambs being weaned and sold at an average carcass weight of 17.7kg, with 60% gone by mid January. Ewes are priority fed while they have lambs but tidy up after other stock classes during the rest of the year. About 1000 bulls are on the farm at any one time. Some are reared from calves and some bought in. The aim is to take them through to a target carcass weight of 330-340kg but Conn is very wary of pugging and will trade out bulls at any time of year to cut stock impact on pasture. Bulls start in groups

of 25-30 across four to six paddocks in the steeper parts of the farm. Gradually they’re brought onto easier and better pasture, finishing on flat paddocks when approaching target weights. Besides using ewes to manage rough pasture, upto 200 dry cows are brought in during the autumn. They get about 200 round hay bales through winter so they’re in top condition for spring. Using a wide range of stock classes was always part of the farm’s strategy but adding a nearby dairy farm, which is playing an increasing part in the business, was something of a late addition. It was bought with a view to using it as a beef finishing unit but Conn decided to keep it running as a dairy unit as it came with Fonterra shares. Financially it did well and it has become an intergral part of the overall farm business, growing from a system two operation covering 120ha and producing 80,000kgMS to a system four operation cover-

ing 210ha with 120ha allocated to dairy support and producing 190,000kgMS a year. The family recently purchased 32ha of river flats and rolling hills near the dairy farm as extra finishing land. “The drystock operation was being pushed into the hills and I wanted to have some flats I could finish cattle on… The purchase has also provided an opportunity for the next generation to become involved in the business,” says Conn, alluding to daughter Catherine and son Geoffrey who are interested in the farm and have invested in the new property. The dry stock unit employs three labour units, including Catherine, and there’s a lower order sharemilker on the dairy farm. Conn jokes he has been demoted from managing drystock to developing a run-off. With much of the new block covered in rice grass, no water system and very few fences, there’s plenty to do.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

MANAGEMENT 35 Over 40 fert advisers certified

More to soil fertility than Olsen-P GA R E T H G I L LAT T

FARMERS CONSIDERING skipping a year with fertiliser and mining builtup phosphate reserves could be selling their production short according to Ravensdown soil scientist Ants Roberts. Roberts addressed 50 attendees at a Beef and Lamb NZ field day in Tangowahine, 30 minutes southwest of Whangarei at the start of the month. When things are tight financially phosphate and other fertilisers can be the first things to be cut, he noted, the belief being that as long as the soil’s Olsen P level stays high there isn’t a problem. Not so, says Roberts. It is possible for Olsen-P to remain high while fertility and grass growth drop dramatically. For example, studies in King Country found Olsen P stayed the same for up to three seasons without fertiliser but pasture output dropped 30-40% and animal production was back 10-20% over the same period. Roberts recommends a more strategic approach, working off an application level that will bring results at an affordable price. While maintaining Olsen P at 20-25 is optimal for pasture production and generates the best ongoing returns, it won’t always make economic sense for drystock farmers, especially if returns are low. When finances are tight he suggests a limited fertiliser budget is targeted by dividing the farm into different management units and physical aspects to prioritise fertiliser use. While crops, new pastures and finishing paddocks need to be top priority for the correct fertiliser and lime programme, steep hill pastures without clover and old pastures can have fertiliser reduced or with-

held when times are tough, he suggests. While phosphate tends to be the focus with fertiliser because of cost, a balance is needed between other nutrients including trace elements. Soil pH, sulphur and potassium need to be applied if they are limiting pasture and animal production. Carrying out regular and careful soil and herbage tests can help make sure you’re getting the most from a fertiliser programme, he adds. Soil samples are best done in spring and summer, but be aware samples taken within three months of fertiliser applications can appear highly fertile when they may not be, due to remnants of fertiliser particles being picked up in the samples. There are many laboratories running sometimes different testing protocols and it is important farmers get the most appropriate tests, and ones calibrated to New Zealand soils and pastures. Wherever possible, look at trends from test results rather than one-off figures. A sampler only needs to take a test from a urine or dung patch to get very different results, he notes. By taking tests year after year from the same places at the same point of the season farmers can build up a picture of how their farms are actually doing. To get an idea of the type of macro and micro nutrients available to stock Roberts recommends running herbage tests and liver/blood tests. Elements such as selenium, cobalt and sodium do nothing for pasture growth but they do keep animals healthy and producing. It’s not so much for the plant, more for cattle and us, he explains.

Jason Griffin, Ballance AgriNutrients’ key and corporate accounts manager for the lower North Island, says certification is “the icing on the cake” bringing together years of training and experience in nutrient management. Meanwhile Sue Quilter, Ravensdown’s key account

manager East Coast North Island says she found the certification process valuable even after 16 years in the field. “It gives me more confidence that what is being advised is indeed in line with the latest research and industry standards.” Annual continuous

professional development (CPD) requirements ensure advisers’ knowledge is kept up to date. FANZ was commissioned in 2012 by Dairy NZ to establish the programme as part of a Ministry for Primary Industries’ Primary Growth Partnership (PGP).

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SIX MONTHS since the Nutrient Management Adviser Certification Programme (NMACP) was launched there are more than 40 certified advisers in the field and another 60 in the pipeline, says the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand (FANZ).

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

36 ANIMAL HEALTH

Reasonable allowances a win-win IN MY last column I more or less stated that farm workers should be responsible for expenses related to their working dogs. A lot of readers will think that is grossly unfair but I have a limited space for these columns and there is only so much I can write. I will explain my solution now. When I was a girl there was a miserable ‘wet weather gear, horse, dog and saddlery allowance’. If workers get it now it is

probably still a pittance. I have calculated what I think is a fair allowance that should be paid to farm workers for such things

today. It is a starting point: by all means pay more, but less would be positively miserable. If divided by the number of pay days/year and included into wages it would be fair to both employer and employee. It should increase with inflation. Wet weather gear allowance. Each farm worker should receive $500. This would purchase a pair of gumboots, coat and leg-

Talk to your vet today about ELEMENTAL Glass Boluses. They give up to six months release of elemental selenium and cobalt (for vitamin B12) in addition to elemental copper to overcome thiomolybdate right where its formed, in the rumen. Thiomolybdate results when molybdenum and sulphur combine and it is the greatest cause of copper related problems in cattle. Iron in the diet just adds to the problem. Treating late autumn/early winter is the best time to ensure young stock are well covered during their development and the fertility of cows is not compromised in the coming breeding season. ELEMENTAL users come back year after year. Following a huge increase in usage last season, talk of the benefits is spreading quickly.

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gings of good quality each year. If workers want the best money can buy, they top it up themselves. Working dog allowance. Some workers may need one dog, others may need 10 to do their job, so it should be paid per working dog over the age of 12 months. The cost of a good dog ranges from $2000 to $5000 depending on age and ability. People have often remarked to me how hard it is for someone starting out. The initial outlay can be crippling but a reasonable dog allowance would, in time, pay for each dog, all going well. $1000 per dog per year would cover registration (you know what I think of this) vaccinations, worm tablets etc. I know it won’t go far to replace a dog killed in action or with major surgery but every dog doesn’t sustain a mortal or serious injury each year or two. If you look after your dogs and avoid dangerous situations it’s just plain old bad luck that sometimes happens and your allowance will add up to cover it. Employers must also provide good kennels and

What are they worth? Anna Holland suggests some rates.

enough quality food for each working dog that a worker needs. If a team of dogs is required then food and kennelling for a replacement pup or two should also be supplied. Horse and saddlery allowance. A lot of farm workers will never need this but for those that do $200 per year saddlery allowance would go a long way over time. If a shepherd needs to supply a saddle they’ll be able to buy a very good new one for about $3000. If cleaned and oiled often, stitching

repaired early, and used in country that is clear they will only need one, maybe two, in a lifetime. However, if they battle scrub and bush regularly they need to be prepared for higher expenses. Personally, I’d find another job! If they need to have their own horse it will cost anything up to $4000 for something suitable. Bought at four to six years old, looked after and free from injury or illness, they’ll be riding it for 10-plus years. An annual allowance of $500 per horse is a reasonable

amount and can be used for drenches, vaccinations, winter covers etc. The farm should supply shoeing, grass, hay and hard feed if it is needed. If workers get a fair and reasonable allowances as outlined above, and they look after ‘their tools of the trade’, they won’t be out of pocket paying for what they provide. • Anna Holland is teaching people dog training. For more information www. annaholland.co.nz or Ph 07) 217 0101 or annaholland@xtra.co.nz

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

ANIMAL HEALTH 37

Mastitis vaccine available in NZ A N D R EW SWA LLOW andrews@ruralnews.co.nz

VACCINATION AGAINST two of the main causes of mastitis is now an option in New Zealand but when and where the new product should be deployed is still being debated. Spanish firm Hipra earlier this year gained AVCM approval for its dualaction Startvac product and has been talking to veterinary clinics nationwide this month. The vaccine tackles coliform and staphylococcus aureas strains of the disease but not streptococcus uberis. The coliform part of the vaccine is a J5 product. “We know that traditionally J5 products are about reducing the severity of coliform mastitis, rather than the prevalence,” DairyNZ mastitis specialist Dr Jane LacyHulbert told Rural News. Prevalence of mastitis in general is markedly lower here than in countries such as the UK where vaccines have been available for some time, she points out. “There’s a scale difference in the amount of mastitis we have here. They would like to get down to 30 cases in 100 cows in the UK. Here our target is 15 in 100.” Many farms are already at that, and DairyNZ is considering dropping the target to 8 or 10 in 100, she adds. That lower incidence, plus the fact that strep uberis is the most prevalent form of the disease in New Zealand herds, is probably why no vaccine had been registered here previously, she speculates. British vet Andrew Biggs, who was in New Zealand with Hipra representative Danny Zalduendo earlier this month, believes the vaccine will be useful on many farms here but warns its introduction must be part of a managed approach to tackling the disease. “Talk to your vet,” he told Rural News’ sister paper Dairy News. “Find out how much mastitis you’ve got, what bugs you have and how good or bad you are in managing the disease.” Besides specialising

in dairy cattle care in the UK, Biggs runs a masters degree module on mastitis for Massey University so is familiar with the New Zealand industry. In the UK Startvac has produced some significant reductions in clinical cases and cell counts, and boosted production, though the latter shouldn’t be the driver for embarking on a vaccination pro-

dry. While those herds were known for Staph. aureas, they also had Strep. uberis incidence ranging from 15% to nearly 50%, notes Biggs. “So nearly half the infection in one herd was not covered by the vaccine

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TO PAGE 39

Dr Jane Lucy-Hulbert, DairyNZ

gramme. “That’s a bonus in the system,” says Biggs. “Really you should be looking at using it for disease control, and not just of clinical cases, but sub-clinical too. Within a herd there will always be some cows struggling with infections that no-one knows about. Bulk tank cell counts are a very crude measure of infection levels.” The vaccine is administered as a two-shot intra-muscular initial programme, the first 45 days prior to calving, the second 35 days later, ie 10 days before due date. A booster is recommended nine weeks later, but exactly how often boosters are warranted will depend on the herd and disease challenge, says Biggs. “Because herds are mostly seasonal calving in New Zealand you may not need to do the number of injections we do in Europe.” Biggs relayed how a study of three UK herds with known high Staph. aureus counts found vaccination followed by a booster every three months reduced Staph aureus infections from 8.5% to 3.0% and overall clinical cases fell from 52 per 100 cows to 24 per 100. There was also a reduction in problem cell counts, particularly after calving which could have been due to better dry period cures and/or fewer infections picked up when

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

38 ANIMAL HEALTH

Same old 1080 ‘fairy tales’ RO N E D DY

THE MYTH makers are still at it. The article ‘Poison drop planned for winter’ (Rural News, May 6) contains the same old TBFree NZ and Department of Conservation fairy tales that have been bandied around

for years. They say 1080 operations will benefit rare bird and plant species but don’t tell the New Zealand public about research that shows 1080 toxin also kills rare NZ birds and causes rat plagues. Take the North Island Kiwi, a resident of the

proposed Waipunga/ Whirinaki 1080 drop area: research by Pierce & Montgamery, 1992, unpublished but in a DOC internal report, showed North Island Brown Kiwi ate non-toxic cerealbased baits containing Rhodomine B that marked their faeces.

Our national icon, the Kiwi, eats cereal baits therefore, as well as eating 1080 affected invertebrates, the Kiwi is at high risk of death during 1080 operations. Why did DOC keep this research as an internal report and keep the NZ public in the

dark about it? Think about it. About 30 species or sub-species of native birds are recognised as being at risk of eating cereal-based poison baits and the Kaka, also mentioned as one to supposedly benefit from the Waipunga operation, is one of these.

TBFree and DOC spin doctors persist in trying to convince the NZ public that the carnivorous stoat eats cereal and/or carrot 1080 baits but fatalities are by-kill only from eating dying native birds and rats. The spin doctors, as in the May 6 article, never mention that though. It appears they don’t know the difference anyway. As for 1080 toxin operations killing off rat populations, that is another spin-doctored fallacy. The

killed most of the possums and ship rats in the operation area but not the mice. However, it took less than a year for the ship rat numbers to bounce back to densities they were previously (5/ha). In the next six months rat numbers doubled on the 1080 sites and remained at this level (12/ ha) for the duration of the study.” The report went on to say this situation “increased the potential threat of rat predation

The Kiwi is at high risk of death during 1080 operations. Why did DOC keep this research as an internal report and keep the NZ public in the dark about it? rat certainly gets knocked back initially but research has proven aerial 1080 toxin operations actually cause rat plagues – not just short seasonal ones such as an occasional Beech mast event – 1080 induced rat plagues last some years. An article in the Autumn 2010 issue of the NZ Biosecurity Magazine Protect explains this phenomenon well. Over four years a large Landcare Research team had studied four separate North Island forest areas, including the site of this proposed aerial1080 operation, Whirinaki Forest Park. Part of the report reads: “The 1080 poison

to susceptible birds and invertebrates.” So much for the native Whirinaki wildlife benefiting from this proposed 1080 operation. Why can’t Government, TBFree, DOC, Forest & Bird, Federated Farmers and other pro1080 identities tell the truth when promoting these aerial 1080 operations instead of telling fairy tales? Public money… the 1080 toxin industry gravy train has to keep chuffing along. • Ron Eddy is a retired butcher who lives at Wairau Saddle, in the Nelson Lakes region. His family background was farming and he is a keen hunter and fisherman.

DOC and TBFree respond

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RURAL NEWS put Eddy’s points to the Department of Conservation and TB Free New Zealand. They issued a joint response saying: • The Department and TB Free New Zealand do not directly target stoats as part of 1080 operations as was suggested. We do know that stoats die after 1080 operations as a result of secondary poisoning and there is a significant recovery in native bird populations after a knock-down of stoats. • Rat populations will always recover following pest control operations. Research shows that welltimed 1080 operations reduce rat numbers enough to allow nesting native birds to fledge chicks before the rats return. • Over 400 kiwi have been monitored through 1080 operations and no kiwi have been lost to 1080. In areas without pest control, 95% of North Island brown kiwi chicks don’t survive to breeding age.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

ANIMAL HEALTH 39 Granular mag overcomes palatability problems TWO MAGNESIUM feed supplements to be launched at Fieldays are “set to revolutionise magnesium use in the New Zealand agricultural industry,” says distributer BEC Feed Solutions. “The Bolifor products will transform the way dairy farmers administer magnesium to their cows, providing many additional benefits as well as marked labour saving efficiencies,” says Trina Parker, manager of BEC in New Zealand. The key to that is palatability. Bolifor MGP is a 24% magnesium formulation which, as the P suggests, also has a worthwhile phosphate content of 13.5%. It’s a granule made with magnesium hydrogen phosphate so avoids the bitter taste of traditional magnesium oxide based products. The higher magnesium content Bolifor MAG33 does contain some magnesium oxide but the granules are coated with sodium chloride giving them a slightly salty taste

BEC Feed Solutions’ Trina Parker and Jen McCarty.

which masks the bitterness of the magnesium oxide. BEC’s technical services officer in New Zealand, Jen McCarty, says that means MAG33 can be offered ad-lib in a trough in a laneway or other suitable spot. “You no longer have to dust pastures. The slightly salty taste means the cows are quite attracted to it,” she told Rural News. The MGP product is taste-neutral so is better suited to incorporation in a feed ration in a mixer wagon or poured on a row of silage as it’s fed out. The Bolifor products are also non-laxative, and, as they’re granulated, less dusty reducing irritation and making them easier to handle.

Despite being granular, they’re still highly soluble so offer an excellent biological availability of both magnesium and phosphorus, says BEC. Manufacturer Yara says In Vitro and In Vivo trials with Bolifor magnesium phosphates consistently show superior digestibility and consistency. Yara describes Mag33 as well suited to all diets where extra magnesium is needed. “It can be incorporated into any feeding system such as compound feed, mineral supplements or use for ad lib free access minerals.” It describes Bolifor MGP as “a preferred source of magnesium and phosphorus in concentrates, complete feed,

mineral supplements and other mineral feed applications to prevent magnesium and phosphorus deficiencies in cattle, pigs, poultry and all other animals.” Yara also points out the MGP formulation contains 2% sulphur hence is a source of sulphur for rumen microflora. BEC Feed Solutions says it is the first time the Bolifor magnesium product range has been available in New Zealand and the Fieldays launch is timed to coincide with the peak season for magnesium requirements in dairying: pre-calving, early lactation and throughout spring. Samples of both products will be on display on BEC’s stand, PD41, in the Mystery Creek Pavilion at Fieldays. Product experts will be available to offer technical advice and support, with talks about it on the stand scheduled for 10am and 2.30pm on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (10am only) of the event. – Andrew Swallow

NAIT changes now live THE NATIONAL Animal Identification and Traceability (NAIT) system has been updated to make it easier to distinguish movements requiring action. The new movement category “action required” went live May 9 to make it clearer to users where records need to be completed to meet legal NAIT obligations. An “incomplete” movement category remains showing movements that may require action from the user, or may simply be awaiting action by another Person In Charge of Animals – a so-called PICA in NAIT-speak.

Movements where both sending and receiving movements match show in a “complete” category and require no further action. A NAIT spokesperson told Rural News one of the drivers for the change, besides making it clearer where an update is legally required, is to allow senders of stock to see movements recorded by the receiver. Hence if the receiver has a scanner but the sender doesn’t, the receiver can record the movement and the sender can see the details online and confirm or deny the movements as appropriate.

NAIT’s approach is still to “educate” where records are not up to date with reminders in its E newsletter, adverts in rural media, reminders in livestock agent invoices and, in some cases, telephone calls. The spokesperson couldn’t say if and when it would start issuing infringement notices, or indicate the number of movements in the “action required” category. A programme to remind capital stock owners that all animals must be tagged and registered with the scheme by July 1, 2015, the end of NAIT’s three-year transition phase, will start soon.

Vaccine available in NZ FROM PAGE 37

but we still saw a similar reduction in cell count and clinical.” Zalduendo says a separate seven-farm trial found vaccination boosted milk by 231L/cow over 120 days, with a 7% increase in protein and 5% increase in fat content totalling an extra 12kg of milksolids. However, that was on cows producing between 8000L and 9500L/ lactation so response in the typically lower producing cows here

would likely be scaled back proportionally, says Biggs. Another argument for vaccination as part of a programme to reduce mastitis is less reliance on antibiotics, reducing the risk of drug resistant strains of disease developing. Lacy-Hulbert says that argument is valid. “Staph aureas can be one of the more difficult ones to cure and may attract repeat antibiotic treatments.”

As for coliform mastitis, there’s a need to revisit how that’s tackled too. Perhaps the key message is to find out more about what form of mastitis it is you’re dealing with. “We would like to see people try to find out what pathogens are causing problems onfarm… You can’t make wise choices about mastitis management until you have that information in hand,” says LacyHulbert.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

40 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

‘Intelligent’ spreading deals with odd corners AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT of spreading width and application rate – for example, when heading into a wedge-shaped field – underpin Vicon’s claim that its RotaFlow GeoSpread-controlled weighing spreader is “probably the most intelligent system for spreading with GPS in the market”. Kverneland Group’s Vicon products are distributed in New Zealand by Power Farming Group. Using the GeoSpread in combination with grid soil tests and GPS field maps can help conserve fertiliser, Vicon says:

knowing the needs of the soil and the target yield of the crop, the right quantity of fertiliser can be put in the right place.

adjustments to maintain the spreading pattern; easy working width adjustment without leaving the tractor, but instead by

“The GeoSpread’s flexible working width during a specific operation will minimise overlap, ultimately saving fertiliser and improving crop quality.” The advantages of GeoSpread, says the company, are fast and accurate reaction, because of direct actuator steering on the discharge point; stable disc speed in combination with discharge point

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means of the Isobus terminal. Actual spreading is executed within fixed working widths during operation, mostly based on tramline systems. “Because fields are not always rectangular, the optimal working width can vary,” the company says. “So spreading into, for example, an angled/wedge shaped field or curved field border without changing the working width causes under-dosing, over-dosing or even spreading outside the field boundary; the GeoSpread’s flexible working width during a specific operation will minimise overlap,

ultimately saving fertiliser and improving crop quality.” The RotaFlow has hopper capacities from 1500 to 3900L and spreading widths from 12 to 45m (this depending on fertiliser type). The system ensures the fertiliser granules are already rotating by the time they reach the spreading vanes. This prevents fragmentation of the granules and maintains the spreading characteristic of the material. The RotaFlow constantly releases the fertiliser at a precise point on the disc so a consistent spread pattern is achieved regardless of field slopes. Each spreading disc has eight vanes whose length determines the throw of material. The vanes contribute to the accuracy of the spread pattern across the whole throw width. Standard features include stainless steel front plates, fine application kit, two high capacity sieves, a lighting

The RotaFlow GeoSpread is probably the most intelligent system for spreading with GPS.

set, overload clutch and low speed agitator. This system uses the discharge point of the fertiliser on the spinners, and not the spinner speed, to change the working width. This ensures that the overall spreading accuracy is not compromised when changing the working width. The spreader can be even more accurate by using IsoMatch GeoControl with

GeoSpread, and GPS to adjust the working width. When driving into a wedge-shaped corner, for example, the machine will start decreasing the working width step by step. It not only changes the spreading width, it also adjusts the application rate (kg/min) automatically depending on changing circumstances. For example, if you are spreading at 24m you can have section control every 2.0m.

This unique combination of working width and application rate makes the system accurate without influencing the variation coefficient negatively, Vicon says. Kverneland offers the IM Calculator application free through Apple’s App store or the Google play store, allowing calculation of possible savings on a specific paddock. Tel. 07 902 2200 www.powerfarming. co.nz

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 41

Ploughing winners now eyeing Denmark TO N Y H O P K I NSO N

THE SUN shone down on the 59th New Zealand Ploughing Championships held at Blenheim on May 10-11. After a period of dryness and some recent heavy downpours there were days of sunshine and pleasant temperatures. Some contestants said that on the stubble ground the soil was in places wet beneath the surface. The grassland plots on the second day were in great condition. The contest was held on land owned by the Woolley and Campbell families. Results: Open Conventional Case IH Silver Plough 1 Ian Woolley Blenheim, 2 Kelvin Stokes Taupiri, 3 Mark Dillon Riversdale. Farmlands Fuel Reversible 1 Malcolm Taylor Putaruru, 2 Bob Mehrtens Timaru, 3 Paul Henson Palmerston North. Mainland Minerals Vintage 1 Eddie Dench Palmerston North, 2 Paul Houghton Hamilton, 3 Pearce Watson Ashburton. Rural News Horse Plough 1 Fred Pilling Hamilton, 2 Sean Leslie and Kaye

Walker Middlemarch, 3 Craig Plunkett and Jamie Hawkins Blenheim. The winners Ian Woolley and Malcolm Taylor will represent New Zealand at the 2015 World Championships to be held in Denmark. Ian Woolley was ploughing in a New Zealand final for the 14th time and this was his first win. He was ploughing on his own farm using a Kverneland plough and a Landini tractor. Woolley and his wife

Jenny report that following the championships the land will be contoured then cultivated and planted in grapes. “We already have 15ha of sauv blanc and the new land will be more of the same with 5ha to be planted in chardonnay all by the end of July.” Malcolm Taylor, winner of the reversible ploughing, has now won the section six times. He has a modified Kverneland plough with a McCormick tractor.

Eddie Dench has been ploughing for 25 years, the last 16 in the vintage class, and won this class ten years ago. He had a Reid & Gray two-furrow plough with a McCormick-Deering W.4 standard model. The winner of the horse ploughing class featured in Rural News last month saying that after being runner-up several times he had not won, so this year’s win was a special moment. “I feel proud, humble and thrilled; you are on

Ian Woolley

Malcolm Taylor

Fred Piling

your own out there with your horses.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

Eddie Dench

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

42 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS Euro-made water filtration suits homes and farms EUROPEAN-MADE DOMESTIC and industrial water treatment gear, 35 years in the market, is available in New Zealand. The range includes filtration, treatment and sterilization products, branded Cintropur. New Zealand distributor JdeR Ltd, Auckland, can engineer solutions to water quality issues on farms and in industrial situations. The firm carries a complete range of systems, optional accessories, spare parts and consumables. The products are made in Europe from top-quality synthetic materials ideal for use with food and drinking water. Pipeline sizes range from ¾ inch to 3 inch and flow rates from 1000-60,000L/h. Two-stage filtration is a commonplace. Firstly, the inlet flow is directly transformed into a centrifugal spin, forcing larger particles to the base of the bowl to enable purging. The second stage is achieved by a washable or disposable filter sleeve, available from 1 micron to 300 micron. Transparent bowls allow visual inspection of the sleeves’ condition and the level of deposits to be purged. The company says this method of filtration is simple and economical to maintain compared with expensive cartridges. The units also provide high flow rates with low

pressure loss. The maker’s ‘TE’ units offer water treatment solutions with activated carbon to improve taste, remove odor, ozone and micro-pollutants such as pesticides and other dissolved organic substances. Tel. 09 376 0463 www.jder-cintropur.co.nz

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Third generation behind the plough TO NY HOP K I N SON

ONE OF two women who competed in the Case IH Silver Plough class at the recent New Zealand Ploughing Championships, Tryphena Carter, has been ploughing since age 15. “I was brought up at Rakaia and my father was a conventional ploughman,” she told Rural News. “He has since changed to the vintage class and has ploughed in 13 New Zealand finals. As well, I had a granddad and an uncle who ploughed competitively.” Carter grew up with ploughing, seeing all the gear right there, so it was natural for her to try hand and get interested. She first contested the vintage class at a Canterbury Show and later succeeded in other vintage competitions. “Ploughing with vintage ploughs you really learnt the basics of ploughing with no hydraulics,” she says. After some years she changed to open class using hydraulic ploughs, feeling she had “outgrown” the vintage class. All ploughmen must qualify at various events nationwide under the auspices of the New Zealand Ploughing Association before the

finals at the end of the season. She qualified for her first Silver Plough final in 2008, in Wairarapa, and this years event was her fifth final. She has a Kverneland plough and a Ford 4110 tractor. Carter was schooled at Craighead, Timaru, then Lincoln University where she graduated B.Com Ag. She now lives at Riversdale, Southland, and works as a valuer in Gore for Telfer Young. “I am working towards full registration with another two years to completion,” she explains. “Ploughing can be an expensive hobby; you need a tractor, a plough and a truck to travel to events.” Carter has her first event for the new season in two weeks as she attempts to qualify for the next finals to be held at Palmerston next year. Ploughing is not something that can be dropped because if you miss two years there is a lot of catching up to do. In preparation for each event, she ensures her coulters and shears are sharpened, the mouldboards are shiny and that she has her “magic” notebook. This contains all the measurements she needs to help her make minor or major alterations to her plough.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 43 Front mower a new push in technology GA R E T H G I L LAT T

A FRONT mounting mower with a radically different hitch design will last longer and follow land contours better, says the manufacturer, Maxam Machinery, Palmerston North. Due for launching at Fieldays, the mower will be more durable than anything now available, says Maxam. The mower marks a big moment for the company, known for producing high performance hay/topping mowers capable of withstanding tough conditions. Adding a front mower to its range is seen as important because of the growing popularity and use of this type. Front mount mowers get a hard life, and are more easily wrecked than rear mowers because of the means by which they connect to a tractor, the company says. Most frontlinkage mowers have their main frame held in one position by the tractor linkage, with relatively long linkages between the main frame and the mower. While theory states that longer linkages offer more travel over undulating land and therefore better ground hugging abilities, Maxam says this can present problems on New Zealand terrain where there are more bumps and hol-

lows than in Europe, where most of the mowers sold here are developed. The Maxam research and development team spent a lot of time trying to resolve the ground-following and durability issues common to front mount mowers. Eventually one of the team suggested a ‘push’ mower rather than a ‘pull’ mower. “Getting the A-frame to push the mower was the brainwave of the whole project,” says Maxam marketing manager Nick Barnes. The Maxam FM2800 has a vertical A-frame mount subset into the mower body, eliminating the need for long linkages and minimising the impact on moving parts. They have also worked carefully on blade design and grass flow to make sure the rotors will deliver the cut grass into compact rows which can easily pass under the tractor. These tidy rows will be easily picked up by forage wagons or other tools used in cut-and-carry operations. This will make the mower popular with cutand-carry pasture systems used extensively on goat farms and other farming systems where stock are housed for long periods of time. Extensively testing by contractors and goat farmers on a wide range

of terrain over the past two years has proved the mower capable of standing up to knocks and able to follow contours remarkably well. “The more undulating the ground the better; it loves it,” says Barnes. Most tractors with a front-PTO connection should be able to handle the 2.8m front linkage

mower but it is most likely to suit tractors 120hp or more because such an operator is likely to be using it with a rear mower or forage wagon. “The cut-and-carry market is increasing in size,” Barnes says. “This mower will fit right in with that system.” Tel 06 356 8516 www.maxam.net.nz

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Top class awards for Claas gear GERMAN MANUFACTURER Claas has won a ‘gold’ iF Design Award (automotive category) for its Axion 800 tractor, Jaguar 800 forage harvester and Scorpion 9055-7044 telescopic loader. The Axion 800 had already won ‘Machine of the Year 2014’ and ‘Tractor of the Year 2014’ last year at Agritechnica, Hannover. The awards were handed out in February at BMW World in Munich as part of the iF Design Awards Night. A total of 1220 entries received an iF product design award. The iF Gold Award was presented to the 50 best competition entrants on behalf of all winners. Industrial designer Paul Budde has worked with Claas for 31 years. He listed several outstanding design features of the Axion 800 tractor: large air intake areas in the bonnet; optimal weight distribution, improving the performance and efficiency; and a larger, wider cab positioned further forward. The new Scorpion telescopic loader has a new frame concept that gives greater lifting capacity. The telescopic arm has a very low articulation point, giving good stability and improving visibility to the right, says Budde.

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

44 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS World-first rain-resistant combination pour-on LOCAL ANIMAL health company Alleva Animal Health is claiming a world-first for its rainresistant combination pour-on, launched last year. The product is called Boss Pour-on. This means it can be applied to wet animals

and resists the effect of rain falling soon after application. “Often it is just a fact people get caught out and they want to be know whether the pour-on they have applied will work or whether the rain will cause efficacy failure,”

says director Blair Loveridge. “Rain-resistant combination single active pour-ons are reasonably common. The small active ingredient concentration means it is relatively easy to formulate such a product in some type of oil

that can resist the influence of rain.” However, he says it is an entirely different matter when there are two active ingredients with fundamentally different formulation requirements. “The interesting

thing is that it is not only rain-resistance that is improved. Efficacy also seems to benefit from the fact that Boss Pour-on will not run-off to the same degree as some other combination pour-ons” Buy the product from veterinary practices.

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ROBERT WALTERS of Walters Contracting has won a trip for two to Fiji by buying a Lely Welger RPC 445 Tornado baler-wrapper on indent order from Frank Berkers of Giltrap Agrizone Otorohanga. To celebrate 30 years of selling Lely machinery, Giltrap Agrizone ran a competition with Lely. Every person who bought or placed an indent order on a piece of Lely machinery before March 31 entered a draw for a seven-night holiday for two at the Hideaway Resort & Spa in Fiji. Walters says he is thrilled with his prize and plans to take his holiday in June. Walters Contracting has worked for 20 years in southern Waikato and northern King Country. This wasn’t the firm’s first Lely purchase: it owns three other Lely Welger balers, two Hibiscus rakes and three Splendimo mowers. Walters says the decision to buy another Lely Welger was easy because of the “level of service and high quality machinery” Lely New Zealand stands for. He opted for the Welger RPC 445 Tornado because he already owns one and is familiar with it. “The RPC 445 is fantastic. It is flexible and easy to use. The bale density, bale diameter, tying material and cutting length can all be controlled from the baler handset in the tractor cab.” The Lely Welger RPC 445 has a variable chamber that easily makes bales of different diameters. With a variable chamber baler “you can always produce bales with optimum efficiency, or adapt to customers’ requirements.” To operate effectively as a combination machine, the same flexibility is required from the wrapping system, and here the Tornado wrapping system sets a high benchmark, Lely says. All bales are “perfectly” wrapped and the cost of film and wrapping times are “minimal”. Lely New Zealand reports the Welger RPC 445 Tornado as operating “amazingly fast and adjusting the entire wrapping process to the bale diameter. The machine’s quick bale transfer is a perfect example of optimum time saving. The Tornado is already wrapping before the tail gate is closed”. Walters says the staff at Giltrap Agrizone “go the extra mile and gave me a great deal by placing the Welger on indent order”.

RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 45

Control system gives operator all-round view of mower FELLA MOWER combinations have a new control system allowing a clear view of the machine parameters at all times. Distributor C B Norwood Ltd says the Isobus control system helps the mower combinations tackle the kind of demanding work done typically by large-scale farmers, agricultural contractors and

biogas producers. The system comes standard on both butterfly mowers, giving a driver a clear view – on the tractor terminal – of all important machine parameters. All mower functions, such as single lift, conveyor belt operation and slope function, can be operated using a terminal, and can be programmed, if

necessary, on the control lever or joystick. Switching from the working position to the transport position is also completely automated. Thanks to rotation speed monitoring by means of sensors, the driver can react to a possible overloading of the drive train in good time from his driver.

One notable feature is beMove – a hydraulic lateral movement system for belt conveyors. This is integrated into the deeper Fella belt conveyor (940 x 2700 cm) with stepless belt adjustment. Using this system, swath gathering can be adjusted variably to the forage consistency. Regardless of whether Swath gathering can be adjusted variably to the forage consistency.

The new control system provides the operator a clear view of the machine.

there is a large or small quantity of forage, beMove enables an operator to achieve optimum swath formation using the Isobus control system. From the tightest position of the belt conveyor, the belts can each be pushed outwards by 300mm using beMove, so that the passage for the forage is 600mm larger. Without having to use tools the driver can adapt the swath size to the harvesters following behind, or to pick-up widths. Regardless of whether a loader wagon, shredder or baler is used, with beMove, the driver can bring flexibility to the harvesting chain.

The maker’s SafetySwing collision protection device prevents damage in the event the mower runs into something. It swings away backwards and upwards around a transverse axis then gently falls back into the working position under its own weight. The Turbo Lift system, which hydro-pneumatically relieves the load on the cutter bar evenly across the entire working width, is fitted to both mower combinations as standard. The contact pressure can be steplessly adjusted using a pressure relief valve. Tel. 06 356 4920 www.fella.co.nz

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NEW 10ft Roller with Extension Drawbar & Screw Jack $6700 Vee Ring Roller Seeder Drill with Vee bottom seed box, hydraulic clutch, ext. drawbar, ...................... $18,500 Special rollers made to order, • All prices ex-Factory, Excl GST • Spare parts, Rings and Bearings. Competitive freight rates to the North Island 26"dia rings ................... $85.00 24"dia rings ................... $80.00 Ph: 0800-838 963 AUSTINS FOUNDRY LTD 131 King Street, Timaru www.austinsfoundry.co.nz

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RURAL NEWS // MAY 20, 2014

46 RURAL TRADER

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TIME EQUALS MONEY!

Long acting injection brings multiple benefits

Treating multiple bearing, lighter ewes with a long acting injection prior to lambing has been proven to deliver positive financial results. A field trial1 overseen by Oamaru veterinarian Dr Dave Robertson compared ewe and lamb weight, dag scores and worm faecal egg counts at tailing, under three different treatment regimes. Treatment comparisons were between pre-lamb treatment of ewes with Cydectin® Long Acting Injection for Sheep, versus the farms then current regime, of two short acting oral drenches administered at pre-lambing and tailing. A non treated control mob was also used for comparison.

Dave also points to other cost reducing benefits that accrue with the long acting treatment. The Cydectin Long Acting treated mob had 80% with no dags, whereas the short-acting group was only about 30% no dags, and the control approximately 10% dag free.

“THERE HAD BEEN VERY LITTLE WORK DONE IN NEW ZEALAND ON THE BENEFITS OF LONG ACTING INJECTABLE DRENCH - I WANTED TO SEE IF USING A LONG ACTING TREATMENT DID DELIVER FINANCIAL The weight results from the trial for both the BENEFITS.” ewes and lambs proved the benefit of the long acting injection. Treatment advantages were especially noticeable in multiple bearing, lighter condition ewes. • Significantly increased weight gains, for both ewe and lamb were noted. - Treated ewes were 4.3kg heavier than untreated ewes - Lambs born from treated ewes were 2.6kg heavier than lambs from untreated ewes. This equates to an extra return of $11.052 per ewe • Reduced parasite burdens and pasture contamination

There are several benefits from using the long acting injection. Reduced parasite burdens means better milk production in the first month of lactation for twin bearing ewes. Better growth in lambs sees them off the property earlier, freeing up more grass and opening up options for other stock classes. “People do like the convenience of treating with a one shot injection, and this trial has shown true benefits of this product when used in a commercial New Zealand farming situation on certain classes of stock, particularly twin bearing, lighter ewes.”

Injection for Sheep

SCAN HERE to view informative video clips discussing the best practice solutions for managing ewes pre-lamb, or for more information visit www.cydectin.co.nz

www.cydectin.co.nz

Targeting lighter ewes and replacement hoggets with a long acting injectable drench eases farm management, and boosts stock performance for Hawke’s Bay farmer Donald Strawbridge. Using Cydectin® Long Acting Injection, he has found the up to 100 day protection period easier on his stock, and it has freed him up to get more done. Three weeks after injecting his 500 mixed age lighter ewes with Cydectin LA injection he believes they had already caught up to the main mob in condition. “And we find we can get to 100 days Barber’s Pole protection no problem if conditions are right.” Cydectin LA also brings other animal health benefits. “We hardly crutch lambs anymore, and would only have a handful of dirty ones at weaning. We hardly have a dag problem.” Opting to use Cydectin LA enables him to keep the growth momentum up, keeping them stocked as distinct mobs, and being able to move them smoothly around the farm without having the stress of extra drenching. “I know as a treatment it is a bit dearer but you have to look at the whole picture. We do no crutching now. We have less dags, less flystrike and don’t get that growth rate check you can get with more regular yarding.” Donald has tried capsules in the past. He was not happy putting something that size and unwieldy down ewes’ throats. He appreciates the ease of application with Cydectin Long Acting Injectable and the animal comfort of a single injection. For Donald, Cydectin LA is firmly embedded in his treatment calendar, delivering management benefits alongside the obvious animal health improvements. “I am a one man band on 583ha, it saves me a lot of time and running around when there are always other things to do.”

THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DRENCH... When times are tough, when ewes are light and grass covers are low, ewes need all the help they can get. Use Cydectin Long Acting Injection pre-lamb, and get a hassle free drench that has extended persistent activity, leading to healthier ewes and improved lamb growth rates. Peace of mind you can trust. Cydectin Long Acting Injection - Ask for it by name.

G N O L IN T C E D Y C E S U I n “the reaso ? P E E H S R O F N IO T C E J IN ACTING

It’s bloody

E L P M I S mate!” Buy selected Zoetis pre-lamb products and

BE IN TO WIN A...

HANDY-

MAN’S

PACK

*

SCAN TO ENTER: see www.winwithcydectin.co.nz for terms and conditions and to enter.

Cydectin Long Acting Injection for Sheep controls worms for longer, and is a hassle free injection which means you spend less time in the yards. It’s no wonder farmers all over the country trust in the ORIGINAL, long-acting CYDECTIN formulation to kill worms for longer. One simple, easy to administer injection provides long-acting worm protection, but without the hassles of capsules.

THE ORIGINAL WITH PERSISTENT ACTIVITY FOR: 112 days control of Ostertagia circumcincta 91 days control of Barber’s Pole 42 days control of Trichostrongylus colubriformis

Zoetis New Zealand Limited. Level 3, 14 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024, New Zealand. Tel: 0800 963 847, Fax: 0800 628 629. CYDECTIN is a registered trademark of Zoetis Inc. or its subsidiaries. ACVM No A09926. *The DeWalt Handyman’s Pack prize draw competition runs from 1st May 2014 to 30th August 2014. For full terms and conditions visit www.winwithcydectin.co.nz. DeWalt is a registered trademark of Stanley Black and Decker Inc. 1. Robertson, D. Pre-lamb drench treatments, the long, the short, and the naught of it. NZVA Sheep & Beef Newsletter, No 39, 2011, 18-29. 2. $2.50/kg liveweight at 1.7 lambs/ewe

www.cydectin.co.nz

ZOE1151_R

If it doesn’t have CYDECTIN® on the box, it’s pretty much not CYDECTIN Long Acting Injection for Sheep.