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Fire every gun you have on fungicide resistance. PAGE 27

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RURALNEWS

PAGE 33-62

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

JUNE 7, 2016: ISSUE 608

www.ruralnews.co.nz

No more double Dutch? SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

THE APPOINTMENT of Mike Cronin as Fonterra’s managing director corporate affairs has been welcomed as “a good Kiwi voice” in the co-op’s management team. One dairy insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, says Cronin is “a very sound man” with legal background. Cronin will lead a team responsible for enhancing and protecting Fonterra’s brand and reputation – including governance and legal, health and safety, food safety and quality, brand, social responsibility and communications, and stakeholder affairs. His appointment comes amid media speculation on the future of chief executive Theo Spierings. The co-op has denied reports Spierings is preparing to step down, to be replaced by Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon. The dairy insider says “communication faux pas” have been made on Spierings’ watch, notably the move to curb PKE use on farm and how this was communicated to farmers. Farmers are facing their third season of below average payout; and some are not happy with the way they have been treated by Fonterra. Having executive management team members who don’t speak English as their first language has also been a communication challenge to shareholders. Announcing Cronin’s appointment, Spierings says his connection with the business and its risk and reputation

drivers, make him the natural choice for the role. “Mike has extensive experience in corporate risk and reputation management, and providing trusted strategic counsel to the cooperative. He has indepth understanding of New Zealand and the cooperative, and the internal and external dynamics of our business. The co-op has also appointed

UP SHE GOES THE FIRST GDT auction for the season saw a 3.4% rise in the price index. However, the flagship whole milk powder price dropped 1.7% to US2200/ tonne. Skim milk powder was a big winner, rising 12% to US$1867/tonne. Cheddar prices rose 7.8% to US$2669/t.

Joanne Fair, currently Fonterra’s regional director ingredients SE Asia,

Spierings says Fair is ideally placed to lead the cooperative’s people and culture team. She has a strong background and expertise in human resources and has held global and regional commercial leadership roles, having worked with Fonterra in NZ, Latin America, Europe and South East Asia.

as managing director people and culture, effective July 1, 2016.

@rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

The New Zealand wool industry has been accused of being at death’s door for years, but importer Polly McGuckin is up to the challenge and is serious about the business of selling NZ wool products. McGuckin and her husband Ross operate Yaldhurst Wools and have developed a close relationship with the long-established West Yorkshire mill of AW Hainsworth & Sons, which manufactures a range of products including Natural Legacy coffins, John Atkinson wool blankets and furnishings such as wool-filled wool cushions and pet pillows. All use 100% NZ wool. Each coffin contains the equivalent of three fleeces. There is also some structural cardboard, natural jute reinforcing and organic cotton lining. Regulations also mandate a waterproof undersheet and that too is biodegradable. McGuckin says a lot of effort has also gone into making the caskets environmentally friendly for Ecoburials, with low emissions when used for cremation. For that there is also a matching woollen urn available for ashes, in the same colours as the caskets. – See more page 14

PHOTO: NIGEL MALTHUS

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Helping grow the country

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NEWS 3 ISSUE 608

www.ruralnews.co.nz

Farmers force ECan apology NIGEL MALTHUS

NEWS �� 1-17 MARKETS �� 18-19 WORLD �� 20 AGRIBUSINESS �� 20-21 HOUND, EDNA �� 22 CONTACTS �� 22 OPINION ��22-24 MANAGEMENT �� 26-29 FIELDAYS �� 33-62 MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS �� 63-66 RURAL TRADER �� 66-67

HEAD OFFICE Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Phone: 09-307 0399 Fax: 09-307 0122 POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 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 81,004 as at 30.06.2015

ENVIRONMENT CANTERBURY has apologised and withdrawn some evidence after being accused of blatant misrepresentation of photos presented to a hearing into the Hurunui District Plan review. Greta Valley landowner Fran Perriam is chair of the Hurunui SNA (significant natural areas) group, which is engaged in a long-running battle with ECan and DoC over what the group claims is heavy-handed and punitive environmental regulation and enforcement. In the latest spat, Perriam says ECan and DoC gave evidence at hearings into the Hurunui District Plan review, referring to tabled photos purporting to show environmental damage caused by landowners. Perriam said the tenor of their evidence was that farmers were “in effect, vandals,” and more regulation was needed. However, the misrepresentation of the photos was “so blatant it’s appalling”. Her group had been able to identify the land pictured in four photos

and discovered that in two cases the activities being effectively condemned by ECan had actually been carried out under Ecan’s direction and approval. Another showed the transient effects of a leaking irrigation pipe that had since been rectified; and one was of a wetland for which the claim that it was being degraded was simply untrue, she said. “If it’s not malice, it’s certainly very sloppy work. And it’s painting landowners as vandals. We’ve had enough of it.” However, ECan has since conceded that the use of the photos was “in hindsight, not a good choice”. ECan regional planning manager Brett Aldridge said an ECan ecologist, Jean Jack, had been providing expert evidence on the loss and protection of biodiversity in the district, in a general sense. The photographic evidence was not intended to imply any illegality. “We’ve apologised to the hearing panel,” said Aldridge. “The expert [Jack] has apologised and withdrawn those photos from her evidence – the photos where she was not on site herself. And the panel has accepted that.” Aldridge said ECan also apologised to others who had written in with con-

cerns, and had contacted all the landowners whose land had featured in the photos. However, he said ECan stood by its written evidence to the hearing. “That was showing there is some good stuff going on, and there is equally some bad stuff going on. There is a need to protect and enhance biodiversity.” Referring to the Hurunui SNA Group’s longstanding gripe of heavy-handed regulation, Aldridge said ECan had not gone to the district plan review seeking more regulation. “What we have been doing over the last year-and-a-half is working very closely with a number of landowners and DoC on this biodiversity issue, seeking ways for protection and enhancement to happen outside the regulatory framework.” Ecan required some rules, but aimed for a balanced approach, he said. Fran Perriam

Landcorp eyes lift in returns SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

STATE FARMER Landcorp says it has a strategy to lift its profitability and return to shareholders. Landcorp chief executive Steven Carden says it is increasingly shifting away from commodity supply to premium niche products. “Essentially we want to capture the value in how we farm and what we produce and we’re diversifying to make the best use of our capital, land and expertise,” he told Rural News. “This involves continually reshaping our business and investing in var-

ious parts of it, from current farms and operations through to new enterprises like the Spring Sheep milk joint venture. “We regularly update our shareholding ministers on our strategy and plans.” His comments were in response to the Government saying the SOE will not get any new capital to spend on its farms -- part of a more rigorous process for new investment. Finance Minister Bill English told the DairyNZ Farmers Forum in Hamilton that Landcorp, a poor investment, was facing the same problem as other dairy farmers – low milk payout.

“It is dealing with a significant ernment was underequipped to drop in earnings against a base of debt understand the risks, but now has which will be a stretch to manage,” a “corporate treasurer” set of disciplines across the whole balance sheet. English told 800 farmers. “We now have a much more test“It’s a low returning investment; we have a billion dollars tied up in ing process for new investment, so that organisation and it pays taxpay- Landcorp, for instance, will not get ers very little, in some years nothing, new capital. “They wouldn’t be able to put a so it’s a poor investment.” Landcorp is bracing for an $8-$12 proposal to meet our hurdle rate…. million loss this year, largely reflect- there aren’t too many SOEs that can; ing recent downward revisions to it’s all getting tighter. “From here on Landcorp will be forecast milk payments. Despite the loss the Government is committed to managed in normal farming style -what you are used to.” retaining Landcorp, part of itsSAVE $270UP TO billion balance sheet. @rural_news English says in the past the Govfacebook.com/ruralnews WITH QUALIFYING TRADE

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

4 NEWS

Brexit means issues PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

KPMG’S GLOBAL head of agribusiness is warning New Zealand companies exporting to Europe to be aware of what could happen if Britain decided to quit the European Union (EU). Ian Proudfoot, just home from a visit to Ireland, says there was much discussion there about Britain exiting the EU (Brexit). A vote on this is due on June 25 and Proudfoot says the polls are evenly poised -- the vote could go either way. Other polls show 60% of British farmers want out of the EU, but 88% of economists polled are strongly in favour of Britain staying in. Proudfoot says even if

Ian Proudfoot

Britain votes to stay in the EU, its relationship with the other 27 member countries will never be the same. If Britain decides to go it alone there are

implications for NZ. “The message for me was that companies doing business with Europe should start thinking about the implications of Brexit,”

Proudfoot told Rural News. “The European market is highly volatile and the risk of that volatility getting greater hasn’t gone away yet. If NZ companies have their trading base in Britain, as most do, that could be a significant challenge for them if the UK was no longer part of a free common market.” Proudfoot says if Britain decides to exit the EU it would probably create an opportunity for NZ. Britain would probably look to its old Commonwealth allies such as Canada, Australia and NZ to get a special trading agreement in place. But he believes if Britain exits, NZ would lose the leverage it has with Europe by virtue of its special relationship with Britain.

IRISH NOT KEEN ON UK QUITTING EU PROUDFOOT SAYS the Irish are very concerned about Brexit. The Irish government and businesses there are mounting “an aggressive campaign” to persuade Britain to stay in the EU. “It’s important to realise that close to 50% of Irish food exports and general trade is with the UK and, of course, they share a border,” Proudfoot explains. “If Britain does leave the EU, Ireland and the rest of the 27 EU countries have just a two year window to do a trade agreement with the UK, which is challenging, especially given that it took eight years to get the TPP together. This represents a huge risk to

the Irish economy. “Equally the devaluation of sterling that would follow should Brexit occur would be a real problem to them because sales would be worth less and the profitability and viability of Irish industry would come into question as well,” he says. Proudfoot explains that when Britain joined the EEC (so called in 1973) NZ was free to make its own policy changes in trade. However, the Irish can’t do a direct deal with the UK because of EU regulations. This has Ireland very worried. When the EEC was formed in 1957 there were just six members; Ireland

and Britain joined in 1973 bringing it to eight. Today there are 28 members, some with dysfunctional economies and variable political systems, all combining to make quality decisionmaking close to impossible. Proudfoot says there is a compelling argument being mounted in Britain in favour of it exiting the EU based on the problems cheap labour from Eastern European nations is causing the UK economy. This cheap labour is keeping the minimum wage low and is supressing the economy. He says Britain wants greater control over immigration and that is one of the key arguments in favour of Brexit.

SOUTH ISLAND TRIUMPHS IN AWARDS PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

FOR THE first time in its 83 year history, a South Island dairy farm has won the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy for Maori dairy farming. Minister for Maori Development Te Ururoa Flavell announced the win at a function last month in Hamilton attended by 850 people including Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and other dignitaries, politicians and leading agribusiness people. Rakaia Incorporation, Canterbury, was chosen ahead of two other finalists, Ngai Tahu Farming Ltd, Canterbury and Tewi Trust, South Waikato. The chair of Rakaia Inc, James Russell, says they were very proud to win the trophy and he put it down to the culmination of a lot of hard work by a diligent team. He says it’s often said that a first time competitor never wins the cup. “I think we have shown that first time entrants can win and I am very proud for Ngai Tahu as a whole,” he says. Russell says despite the low payout Rakaia is running profitably and has plans to buy another farm soon. Rakaia Inc’s 216ha farm, Tahu a Tao, near Ashburton, runs around 830 Kiwi-cross cows and is managed by 50/50 sharemilkers Peter and Julie Cressey. Kingi Smiler, Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee chair, says it was great to see

the South Island win the dairy competition for the first time. The performance of Rakiaia over the last 10-12 years has been outstanding, Smiler says. Its leadership has been strong and it has a great farm team. Rakaia Inc won prizes to the value of $40,000; the other finalists won prizes to the value of $20,000. Meanwhile, Jack Raharihi (24), who manages Landcorp’s Bassset’s farm at Westport, won the Young Maori Dairy Farmer of the Year award. The other two finalists were Harepaora Ngaheu, Te Teko, Bay of Plenty, and Ash-Leigh Campbell, Canterbury. Raharihi’s boss Rebecca Keoghan – recently named Dairy Industry Woman of the Year and in charge of all Landcorp’s dairy farms in the Westport area – says she’s proud of Raharihi’s achievement. “I am over the moon and really stoked for Jack. What sets him apart is his innate leadership style and passion for his staff and his own development. It’s great for Landcorp and two West Coasters to win major awards which shows our region punches above its weight,” she says. The head of Landcorp’s dairy farming operations throughout NZ, Mark Julian, described Raharihi as a fantastic individual who thoroughly deserves the award. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NEWS 5

Changes don’t go far enough – Fonterra FONTERRA SAYS proposed changes to dairy industry regulations don’t go far enough. The co-op is happy with some amendments proposed to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 (DIRA) and its regulations. But it says the Ministry of Primary Industries is not taking the opportunity to make broader changes to the regulations. Fonterra welcomes MPI’s recommendation to amend the open entry provisions so that the co-op need no longer collect milk from new dairy conversions. But the group director cooperative affairs, Miles Hurrell, says this doesn’t address the full issue. “The requirement to accept all milk acts as a disincentive to Fonterra to invest in the right kind

of assets and undermines the industry’s ability to grow value add business and maximise returns to New Zealand farmers, as we are all committed to do,” Hurrell says. The Government is proposing only that Fonterra no longer has to collect milk from new dairy conversions. “This is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t address the full issue of being required to take milk from all comers, even when it doesn’t make commercial sense to do so,“ says Hurrell. “We will engage with MPI and the Government on these important issues over the next few weeks.” MPI released its discussion document on DIRA regulations in response to the Commerce Commission’s report on the NZ dairy

industry. During the review process so far, Fonterra has indicated that the dairy industry has changed significantly since DIRA was introduced in 2001, with many new competitors, much more competition and a robust and transparent milk price regime. Fonterra says DIRA needs to evolve so the industry and the co-op can create more value for

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Amending the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (Raw Milk) Regulations 2012 so that Fonterra no longer needs to sell milk at a regulated price to large, export-focused processors, and the volumes of regulated milk available to all other processors are gradually reduced. Amending the open entry provisions so that Fonterra no longer has to collect milk from new dairy conversions. Amending the sunset provisions so that the next competition review occurs in five years or if independent processors achieve a 25% market share in the North or South Island.

NZ and its dairy farmers. Fonterra sees positive aspects in the discussion document, says Hurrell.

As a result, five large independent processors became ineligible for DIRA milk from June this year. Guy says Fonterra farmers can continue to sell 20% of their milk to other processors such as artisan cheese makers. Submissions close June 30. Guy is encouraging all interested parties to have their say on the legislation. Public meetings will be held this month.

the legislation.” MPI minister Nathan Guy says as the industry progresses towards deregulation the review progressively builds on changes made in 2012. From that time Fonterra has no longer been required to sell milk at a regulated price to large, export-focused processors, and the volumes of regulated milk available to all other processors have been gradually reduced.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

6 NEWS

Excellent, but can do better PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

DESPITE A record breaking 2015-16 season for kiwifruit, there is room for improvement and greater growth, says Zespri chairman Peter McBride. Total sales for the season were up 21% on the previous season to $1.9 billion, resulting in a return per hectare of a record $60,758. Zespri sold 131.6 million trays, 117m grown in NZ – nearly 22m more trays than in the previous season. McBride says SunGold’s performance in the market was very positive, resulting in an average payout to growers of $8.21. And there was a record crop per hectare of green kiwifruit, though this caused a slight drop in the per tray price to orchardists. Overall, McBride says, the result is positive, stemming from a combination of market development and market improvement.

“But we still require some on-orchard improvement to the taste of green kiwifruit and we need to review the programme and payments again this year,” McBride told Rural News. “There is a slight misalignment in what is being produced and what the market wants.” Several factors are seen as the cause: one is that big yields of green kiwifruit cause the

taste to go down a bit; another factor is location – the regions and even orchards within regions. “Part of it is just attention to detail such as thinning and pruning regimes, canopy management and artificial pollination. There are many factors.” A challenge caused by the industry’s expansion is the need for more infrastructure – more coolstores at ports,

more transport and more reliable workers. With more kiwifruit coming in the next few years, McBride says the industry, like the apple and wine industries, have come to rely heavily reliant on the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme under which workers from overseas – in particular the Pacific islands – harvest and package the crop. The industry could not grow

LICENSEING CONTROVERSY IN THE next four years Zespri expects to issue licences for 1600ha of SunGold kiwifruit. This year, 400ha will be allocated. In the past, Zespri set a fixed price per hectare for the licences, but this time they are tendering these out, drawing some criticism which Peter McBride says is not justified. “Previously when we had the Psa problems the licences were $8000/ha and they were quite cheap. But at that stage the risk was high and they were not worth a lot

more than that, to be blunt,” he explains. “Now the business context has changed. Back then a gold orchard was worth $100,000/ha now it’s worth $600,000 and it’s a completely different environment. The [potential] has gone from being unproven to being proven and people don’t seem to have picked up on that which is why we are tendering the licences now.” McBride says with a high value product it’s better for the market, rather than Zespri, to set the value.

Peter McBride

without these workers. “We also work with WINZ to help NZ folk find employment in our industry, but this is challenging because so many of the people we get are unreliable. One orchard I manage employed 72 people through WINZ, but only three made it,” he says. “A lot of plant and fuel got stolen. We tried really hard but... these people don’t really want to work.” @rural_news

ENGAGING WITH MAORI PETER MCBRIDE says Maori are a significant player in the kiwifruit industry and their participation will increase. About 10% of the total kiwifruit crop is now produced on Maori land. Maori now have a special seat on the Kiwifruit Grower Forum and they are forming their own NZ wide kiwifruit council. “We are seeing a lot more engagement by Maori,” McBride told Rural News. “I am engaged with them at a regional level and there is a lot of interest from Wi Pere Trust in Gisborne and Te Kaha in Northland. “My take is that some of the best horticultural land in the Bay of Plenty -- still under-utilised -is Maori land. [Now] how do we unlock that potential and how do we partner with them?” McBride says Maori are a cornerstone Zespri stakeholder and he has huge respect for the way they operate, including their cultural values and their long term view of the industry.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NEWS 7

LIC eyes partial float However, a 75% ‘yes’ vote will be required to make constitutional sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz changes to allow new shareholders FARMER COOPERATIVE LIC is into the agritech company. King says another roadshow likely to seperate into two entities will be held next year before sharebefore the end of this year. A proposal from the LIC board holders vote for changes to the LIC constitution. and management is LIC’s board and being put to shareshareholders have holders this week: been talking about to split LIC into a capital structure genetics company changes for two years. and an agritech comA diversified sharepany by December 1. holder base of farm The genetics comowners, sharemilkers pany will remain a and farm equity part100% farmer-owned ners has given rise to co-op; the agritech tension within the company may call LIC chair Murray King. on key investors to raise capital co-op. “The ambiguity of the existing next year, subject to shareholder capital structure creates tension approval. LIC chairman Murray King between the interests of classes of told Rural News no shareholder shareholders and farmer customvote will be required to split the ers; this was a hindrance to the company into two; LIC’s technol- delivery of strategy,” says King. During a shareholder roadshow ogy and animal husbandry business units will be offloaded to LIC last year a wide range of expectaAutomation, already operating as tions was discovered among shareholders: some wanted returns via a subsidiary. SUDESH KISSUN

LIC CAPITAL STRUCTURE SHAKE-UP ■■ ■■

■■ ■■ ■■

A herd improvement co-op 100% owned by farmers An agritech company that will allow outside shareholders and capital subject to shareholder approval Separate businesses to operate by December 1, 2016 Shareholder roadshows to discuss board proposal Board will give update at the annual meeting in October.

dividends, others preferred growth in share value, most wanted new and innovative products and services. King says it was clear all shareholders wanted “cows in calf to quality genetics, and information to manage herd and farm. And some wanted us to stick to our core business of genetics and not to go into non-mainstream businesses like technology.” LIC sees great opportunity for the intellectual property it has developed, but funding is needed to develop and grow the automation and sensing business. King says a lot of global com-

panies have expressed interest in working with LIC on the agritech company. “We know, given the current environment, there is little appetite among shareholders for investing in agritech. But every business needs to grow; if we don’t keep moving we will get behind.” King says while LIC has a small international business, it has mostly relied on the 11,000 farmers in New Zealand to make money. The agritech company will allow it to tap into the strong market opportunity offshore without exposing farmer shareholders to direct risk.

GROW UP AUCKLAND – MP AUCKLAND NEEDS to grow up, not out. That’s the view of Damien O’Connor who says highquality, productive land should not be used for urban development for a short-term political cure for Auckland’s housing crisis. The Labour MP believes Auckland has to expand upwards to enable the efficient development of public transport and infrastructure. O’Connor says Auckland has been a disastrous example of urban planning and development. O’Connor says just allowing the development and subdividing for half-acre sections on some of NZ’s best rural land is bad news for all the NZ economy. He says the highly productive land south of Auckland must be protected if NZ is to add value to its food exports, in particular horticultural exports. “Putting houses on the land around Pukekohe is absolutely ridiculous.” O’Connor says if this is done, vegetables will have to be imported from overseas to make up for the loss of production. He says there is also the risk that by putting houses in Pukekohe, commercial growers will be forced out onto less productive land which is less fertile and more costly to farm. “In my view the development has to occur in the inner parts of Auckland. We should perhaps put limits on immigration into that city and encourage people into the regions. I know this could be seen as social engineering, but in the end it may be a better policy than expanding housing into highly productive rural areas.” – Peter Burke

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NEWS 9

FMA rejects SFF complaints SILVER FERN Farms’ board has called on a have been provided with sufficient evidence group of minority shareholders to withdraw to substantiate the relevant information. We their call for a special meeting to vote afresh do not have any reason to believe the [notice on the company’s decision to enter a 50-50 of meeting and shareholder] information pack was misleading or decepjoint venture with Chinese tive.” company Shanghai Maling. SFF says it is pleased the This follows the Financial company’s position had been Markets Authority (FMA) vindicated; it never accepted ruling out any wrongdoing the allegation and regards it as by SFF in material given to “now put to rest”. shareholders prior to the 82% “The board again calls on vote in favour of the Shanghai the requisitioning shareholders Maling deal last year. to withdraw their call for a In late May, the FMA special meeting and the board announced it had completed reiterates its support for the considering complaints made Winston Peters’ complaint Shanghai Maling transaction to it about aspects of SFF’s to the FMA about the SFF/ as being in the best interests transaction with Shanghai Shanghai Maling JV has been dismissed. of the company and its Maling Aquarius Ltd and the shareholders.” notice of meeting and shareAs revealed in the May 24 issue of Rural holder information provided to SFF shareholders ahead of the special meeting held on News, a grouping of political, industry and business interests are seeking to overturn the October 16, 2015. “The FMA engaged with the directors and Shanghai Maling deal. This group includes senior management of SFF to verify whether the so-called co-leaders of the 80 shareholder relevant information in the [notice of meet- group, namely the ex-pat British merchant ing and shareholder] information pack could banker John Shrimpton, a Canterbury farmer be substantiated. We are satisfied that we Blair Gallagher (former and current member

of the failed meat sector lobby Meat Industry Excellence), and NZ First leader Winston Peters. In fact it was Peters – who is neither a SFF shareholder nor a farmer – who lodged the complaints with the FMA and the Companies Office registries integrity and enforcement team relating to the proposed joint venture between SFF and Shanghai Maling. Peters, unsurprisingly, dismissed the FMA ruling as “not being worth the paper it is written on”. He then bombastically threatened the future of the body. “New Zealand First does not intend to let highly paid public officers get away with less than competent performance of their statutory duties. They should be warned.” However, despite Rural News asking questions of both Peters and NZ First in May about its involvement with MIE, Shrimpton and SFF, the party and its leader have not fronted, steadfastly refusing to answer any of these questions. Despite Peters’ supposed concerns and criticism of the deal – and of SFF’s board and management – neither he nor any NZ First representative has ever met with the company to outline his party’s apparent concerns.

us k, See y Cree 14 C er yst 3 & P M at B1 P s Site

A DATE for the special meeting has now been set for Monday, July 11, but there is already disagreement between SFF and meeting requisitioners over what will actually be voted on. In a statement announcing the meeting date SFF said: “The board has received a statement from two of the 80 requisitioners (John Shrimpton and Blair Gallagher) and notes that the original 80 requisitioners sought a meeting of shareholders to consider: “That the shareholders of Silver Fern Farms Limited (the company) hereby approve the proposed partnership of the company with Shanghai Maling and the restructure described in the notice of meeting and shareholder information pack dated September 28, 2015 by way of this special resolution of shareholders”. It says rather than seeking “approval” of the transaction – which the SFF believes has already been properly approved – Shrimpton and Gallagher are now seeking to “stop” the transaction. The meeting will be held at Silver Fern Farms’ offices in Dunedin. The company says the notice of meeting (and a voting pack for eligible shareholders) will be mailed to shareholders at least 10 business days prior to the meeting date. It adds that the voting pack will include the process for internet, postal and facsimile voting prior to the special meeting and for voting by proxy/corporate representative or in person at the special meeting. Meanwhile SFF says it is not, and will not, be bound by the result of the resolution at the special meeting and will proceed with the Shanghai Maling deal as it is “contractually bound” to do.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NEWS 11

More Maori needed in dairying PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

DAIRYNZ’S MAORI development manager Tony Finch says the industry needs to help cause a paradigm shift in the attitude schools hold towards agriculture, to encourage teachers to promote it as a great career choice – especially by young Maori. Research funded by Primary Growth Partnership shows that 9% of the dairy workforce is Maori, and 25% of workers who leave the industry every year are Maori, versus 15% who are non-Maori. Finch believes that overall Maori are quite well represented in the dairy industry, but says as Maori aspire to make more use of their land, more young Maori will be needed.

The reasons for Maori not taking up careers in dairying are no different from those of non-Maori, he says. “I don’t think it’s any different from the local population’s view of dairying. It is not a great perspective; it’s generally thought to be an isolated job away from the urban areas and this generation doesn’t like that much,” Finch told Rural News. “There is a perception of long hours and dirty work and for all those reasons dairying doesn’t come across as the most attractive career option.” Finch says when he was at school agriculture was seen as the career choice for ‘dummies’ and says there are now many initiatives to change the perception school teachers have of agriculture. Teachers are still as influential

SHAREMILKERS BEEN SQUEEZED OUT – MP LABOUR’S SPOKESMAN for Primary Industries, Damien O’Connor, says the massive change taking place in the dairy industry has the potential to prevent ambitious young people making a career in the sector. O’Connor says reports of a huge drop in the number of 50/50 share milkers who have given up hope of one day owning their own farm is concerning. He says the rise of corporate and multi-farm operations means there is no place in these operations for 50/50 sharemilkers. “This raises the question ‘how do we keep on attracting ambitious people into the industry who believe they can purchase their own farm?’ Some will now have to have other aspirations.” O’Connor believes the opening farmgate price for milk set by Fonterra at $4.25/kgMS for the 2016-17 season, will again mean a majority of NZ dairy farmers will not make a profit next year -- a huge challenge for the dairy industry. He hopes the price set by Fonterra is “realistic” and not like the past, when the stated price was seemingly based on what might happen in better times. “What is needed is a very cautious approach. There are people indicating there might be higher prices and that is giving others false hope. In any event, farmers should be focusing on keeping costs down, especially while the payout is still below the cost of production.” “We are no longer the lowest cost producers of milk. We have to get back or close to that. This crisis will hopefully drive down the cost of production so that dairy farmers can survive tough times.” The Labour MP warns farmers to carefully study the governance proposals being put out by the Fonterra board. He says farmers need to be thinking very carefully about what’s being put before them and make sure it is in their long term interests. – Peter Burke

in forming young people’s career choices as they were in his schooldays. “They need to understand that agriculture is not just hands-on physical work, but covers sciences, finance and a raft of great, exciting and rewarding careers,” Finch adds. “Dairying is quite a dif-

ferent beast these days with technology and the way sheds are designed and the land farmed. There’s a need to improve the perception and make people aware of what is happening in the industry.” Finch says for young Maori there are lots of

opportunities as Maori set about pooling resources and creating larger, more economic farming units. “There is a lot of land sitting idle which can be developed and improved and dairy is an opportunity in waiting. As well, there is still a huge amount of productive

capability sitting in the industry. “While there are many great Maori farms, a large number still operate below the industry average productive capability. That often comes down to people capability, so there is a need to get people with the right skills to run

a business.” Finch says part of the solution is promoting leadership within Maori youth. He says the Young Maori Farmer of the year competition, run in conjunction with the Ahuwhenua Awards, is one such successful mechanism.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

12 NEWS

Beef + Lamb to change marketing tack exit marketing altogether. “However, that left the question as pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz to whether the industry would pick it up and do the promotion – and do it as BEEF + Lamb NZ is proposing to required.” stay in market development but do it Parsons says $5m per annum completely differently. to promote a $9 billion (including Chairman James Parsons says it by-products) industry is not a lot. plans to move away from marketing “There are meat companies that activities already done by the meat invest in promotions as well, but put companies and move into new territory that in context: Zespri with about $1.6b – literally and figuratively. [annual turnover] invests over $100m He says market development is promoting kiwifruit. They have been a core investment area for BLNZ of successful at it; look what they about $5 million a year. A review have done.” has looked at various scenarios A big change would be to In August last year, BLNZ from exiting to examining what move into new markets and committed to a review, a new role would look like. retaining Deloitte and “What has come through new opportunities, getting ThinkPlace to do it. There in this review – from farmers away from established were interviews, focus and industry – is that there is a markets with short term groups and workshops with role for BLNZ in marketing, but industry stakeholders across it’s different,” he told a mini- horizons. The overwhelming the value chain. Key themes conference in Tuakau. “It is a view was that BLNZ should that emerged were integrity, theme [based on] telling the operate in new markets or quality, market innovation, story. market education and issues “We [currently] promote exploit new opportunities management – crisis response. our products on functional BLNZ can now start talking attributes – taste, tenderness, within new markets, and with farmers in detail. health and things like that which leave the existing markets to “The NZ story taps into are important but a hard sell. the processors. our values, our whole psyche “The theme that has been and philosophy as a country,” coming through is the New Zealand ‘story’, [seen in how] the opportunities; when they grow there Parsons says. “You take that idea way the wine industry promotes its is a natural point at which they are and put in a NZ story about what we handed on to the meat companies,” produce. Think about our farming products.” values and the philosophy we have on A video presentation by Nicky Beeby says. They now have a framework agreed our production systems and what we Beeby, general manager of market development, to the mini-conference with the wider sector on a future market do – create a ‘social licence’.” A big change would be to move into said a review resulted in a proposal to development programme. In July and August they will talk to farmers more new markets and new opportunities, spend in three specific areas: getting away from established markets 1) Brand layering: creating a NZ red about this in a consultation process. Parsons says there was strong with short term horizons. The meat story -- the story of NZ farming and processing. “It is recognising that argument on whether BLNZ should overwhelming view was that BLNZ PAM TIPA

our business-as-usual is considered exceptional by worldwide standards,” says Beeby. 2) A much longer horizon on investment: the meat companies are focusing on the short term but no one in the industry is taking care of longer term investment. 3) Creating and identifying new market opportunities: that could be a new opportunity in an existing market or it could be a total ‘greenfield’ market. “We want to invest in those

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Beef + Lamb NZ chair James Parsons.

should operate in new markets or exploit new opportunities within new markets, and leave the existing markets to the processors. Those existing markets are competitive and it is hard to get collaboration with the processors. “But they are quite happy to go into a greenfield market and work together…. “Where is the next slice of cheese? That’s where we are probably looking as an organisation… This is still to be validated but it seems to be heading in that direction quite quickly.” Parsons says they have been trying to get collaboration with the processors. “You imagine trying to promote UK lamb together: really hard work, because you have deep entrenched investment by our processor exporters

in those markets. It is a competitive space.” If BLNZ moved into greenfields areas, after a time the spending would scale down as that market became more mainstream and the processors started picking it up. BLNZ is also looking at developing a long term strategy, critical to developing a leadership role in the sector, Parsons says. “When we interview people in the market they say ‘you’ve got this great story but you’re not telling it’. “A Singaporean chef asked, ‘where is your signature?’ That is probably where the thinking is going: how do we develop a signature? We have the GM-free thing, we have the no-antibiotic thing, but we’re not telling the story.”

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NEWS 13 Winsome Winston gets flustered SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND First leader Winston Peters got more than he bargained for at a recent Waikato Federated Farmers annual meeting. After delivering a trademark speech, criticising everyone from immigrants to the National Party, Peters faced questions from Waikato Feds members. One farmer asked whether a vote for NZ First was a vote for the left, pointing out that getting RMA reforms would

be difficult with Greens. Peters claimed his party has kept the Greens out of governments in recent years. “Why would you ask me a question like that? Now be fair.” He reminded farmers of his party’s deal with Labour after the 2005 election. “We said to the Labour Party, ‘you have a mix over here which looks like an absolute circus. Or you have us over here’.” But the farmer continued to corner Peters, saying he would be better off voting for the right.

Winston Peters chats with Waikato Federated Farmers life member Sydney Fraser-Jones.

Peters replied that he would be worse off either way. “On one side they don’t understand the limitation of taxpayers’ pockets,” he

said. “And on the other side the National Party doesn’t understand that growing the wealth of this country is the paramount interest of Government.”

In his speech, Peters blasted National’s handling of the RMA. Resource management and planning, just like our judicial system, should be colourblind, he says. “That has always been NZ First’s policy. And National went into the 2005 and 2008 elections belatedly claiming to be the same. The truth is different.” Back in 1989, NZers were told the RMA would reduce government expenditure, curb the increasing cost of housing in Auckland and Christchurch and reflect market-driven economics. “That was the promise, but things haven’t worked out too well, have they?”

FEDS APPOINT OLD/NEW POLICY MANAGER

WINSTON PETERS is keen on shutting the door to immigrants of all kinds -- human and otherwise. He also proposes a new approach to biosecurity. He cited recent biosecurity scares including discovery of velvetleaf, fruit fly, tau fly and a snake in a Nissan Leaf car. Peters wants to stop the importation of high risk items from high risk countries; Government Industry Agreements must be with an importer because that is where 100% of the risk lies. When something gets past the border it must be independently investigated, he says. The government must come to the party on velvetleaf and pay compensation to farmers equal to the cost of annual control, he says. “MPI should also face the courts here because it is not above the law and its processes have let farmers down badly.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

14 NEWS Polly McGuckin is serious about promoting NZ wool – her range of products includes woollen caskets containing around three fleeces of New Zealand wool.

SHAREMILKERS ARE STAYING PUT PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE NOTION that 50/50 sharemilkers will one day own their farm seems to be disappearing. AgFirst consultant James Allen says a research project he’s just carried out shows that only 50% of sharemilkers see farm ownership as their ultimate goal – down from 70% two decades ago. He says the goals and aspirations of herd-owning 50/50 sharemilkers is changing: the goal of farm ownership may now be seen as unattainable because of the volatile state of the dairy industry. “But the flip side is that some people out there are quite happy with their position as sharemilkers, building up equity,” Allen told Rural News. “Take the variable order sharemilker milking 1500 cows: most are making a good cash return. Do they want to slip to owning a 300 cow farm and being back in the shed fulltime -- probably with an older shed and on a farm not as well set up as the one they are on now? They are making a career choice to stay where they are.” Allen’s research shows the number of sharemilkers on New Zealand dairy farms hasn’t changed much over the years. He says 32% of farms are run by a sharemilker of some description, but the number of 50/50 sharemilkers is declining. “As of 2015 there were 2050 50/50 sharemilkers out of a total of 3879. If we go to 2010 there were 2300 50/50 sharemilkers and in 2005 there were 2700 herd owning sharemilkers.” Allen says the reason for the decline in 50/50 sharemilkers is because on many farms the debt levels are too high and with the increase in corporate farming there are fewer opportunities for sharemilkers in these operations. This is particularly so in the South Island where just 13% of farms are run by sharemilkers versus 18% in the North Island. “Despite this there is still a lot of industry support for herd owning sharemilkers, based on the tradition that sharemilking is a pathway to farm ownership. A lot of people want to support that. The industry has great potential for young people looking for careers.” Allen says traditionally there is stronger support for sharemilkers in Taranaki and Waikato provinces. His research revealed huge variation in sharemilking agreements. The volatility of milk prices season by season, and even within seasons, needs to be taken account of when drafting sharemilking agreements to ensure sharemilkers don’t get short-changed. He says the present agreements are not broken, they just need to be modified to meet the changing times.

A woolly resting place NIGEL MALTHUS

“OH, YOU’D be warm,” grinned one not-so-young visitor to the recent Golden Fleece Exhibition at Oxford, as he viewed a display of a couple of woollen funeral caskets. While it is easy to be flippant about the idea of being buried in a cosy woollen container, importer Polly McGuckin is serious about the business of selling New Zealand wool products. She and her husband Ross McGuckin operate the family business Yaldhurst Wools, founded by her father 28 years ago on the western outskirts of Christchurch. Ross does the wool buying, sourcing fleece from most of the South Island and exporting to the world. Polly, meanwhile, has developed a close relationship with the long-established West Yorkshire mill of AW Hainsworth & Sons, which manufactures a

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range of products including Natural Legacy coffins, John Atkinson wool blankets, and furnishings such as wool-filled wool cushions and pet pillows. All use 100% NZ wool. “I’m asked all the time why they’re not made here in NZ,” she says. “But the bigger picture is, if we relied on our own little industry here to sell wool, there would be no woollen industry to support the farmer. And that mill has supported our woollen industry for years.” Each coffin, as the manufacturers call them – ‘casket’ is the preferred term in NZ, says McGuckin – contains the equivalent of three fleeces. There is also some structural cardboard, natural jute reinforcing and organic cotton lining. Regulations also mandate a waterproof undersheet, and that too is biodegradable. McGuckin says a lot of effort has also gone into making

the caskets environmentally friendly for Eco-burials, with low emissions when used for cremation. For that there is also a matching woollen urn available for ashes, in the same colours as the caskets. Her line includes a Christchurch-made range of heavy wool jerseys. McGuckin says woollen blankets are enjoying a comeback against the ubiquitous duvet, especially in high-end hotels and lodges. “We’re trying to promote wool [for uses besides apparel]. There are other avenues for wool that people are thinking about.” A recent addition to her range is the distinctively striped Magdalene De Lancey throw, also made from 100% NZ wool. Hainsworth, which made British army uniforms during the Napoleonic Wars, introduced the item to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle

of Waterloo. Echoing the colours of British uniforms of the time, it is named after Lady De Lancey, the recent bride of a British officer, who rushed to his side as he lay dying of wounds and whose memoir of the events later became a popular book. McGuckin says the woollen caskets are available through funeral directors. She is unwilling to reveal sales figures, but says she has recently received her fifth shipment. Compared with traditional caskets they are priced mid-range, she says. Funeral directors have told her of positive feedback from families when woollen caskets have been used. Family members who may be reluctant to approach a traditional casket often walk up to caress it. For the rest of her range, McGuckin is direct-marketing online, through social media and her website www.exquisiteblankets.co.nz

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

16 NEWS

Rural MP aims to build bridges in the House PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

Barbara Kuriger

PARLIAMENT CAN be as nasty – or not – as you want to make it, says first-time MP and dairy farmer Barbara Kuriger.

The National MP for Taranaki says question time can get nasty. “But if you want to build bridges – most of the time in select committee we get on extremely well. In the

primary production and health [committee] we hardly ever have a cross word. It is really good to know we are working in the same direction.” Speaking at the Dairy Women’s Network

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conference on behalf of Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy, Kuriger says she learnt about building bridges at the Global Women Breakthrough Leadership Programme she won as the first-ever Dairy Woman of the Year in 2012. At the course were 20 women from Auckland, four from Wellington and her. Then she realised they were from industries such as electricity, finance, insurance and telecommunications, all connected to the dairy industry. “That told me we don’t have a problem, we only have communication issues. If we talk to everybody – most people don’t gang up on us as we think they do.” We hear noise out there in the media and we react to it, she says. But actually most people are just like us and we have things in common. Kuriger says she had a lot of support in becoming an MP, but serving on the Fonterra Shareholders Council and chairing the LIC council gave her a good grounding. “You have a whole lot of elected people who are put in the same room; you just have to learn the skills on how to get on.” She entered Parliament fresh from the Global Women programme and said “by the year 2020 I don’t want to be talking about the rural-urban divide”. “My objective is to be closing that up,” she says. “We are good at reinventing our wheels,

but if we join forces there is much more we can do.” When she went into Parliament people asked her what one person in 120 could do. Kuriger said she would find the other people who wanted the same things and collaborate. “The biggest thrill I have had in my first year as an MP is to build a brand within our party called Provincial Priorities.” This involves visits by the agricultural caucus to rural electorates across New Zealand to find out what’s important to people in the countryside. Meeting the Rural Health Alliance and opening the Rural Nurses Conference were some initiatives off the back of that. “That whole rural thing is right in vogue at the moment… the connections between urban and rural in my world are getting much, much closer and with your support we can really make a difference.” She told the DWN conference dinner that the only things preventing dairy women from taking their next step are courage and confidence. “You will have the skills, you are all out there running multimillion dollar businesses, you are all the directors of finance, HR and communications and all the other things you are doing in your life every day. [Now exercise] the confidence and courage to step up and say ‘yes I can do it’.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NEWS 17

Health and safety compliance ‘not rocket science’

NOTHING TO FEAR BEEF + Lamb NZ chairman James Parsons says some farmers have gone into health and safety workshops with their hackles up and a bit fearful of what they were in the gun for. “But the overwhelming feedback is that by the time they get to the end of the workshop they go away a lot more relaxed, knowing there are practical things they can put in place.” He says there is no question that as an industry farming needs to look at health and safety because of the number of injuries and, unfortunately, quite a few deaths. Quads are a case in point. They have transformed NZ farmers’ efficiency and productivity. However, a recent spate of deaths has raised real concern among farmers, industry bodies and WorkSafe. “We’re working with WorkSafe, Feds and DairyNZ on guidelines which prompt farmers to more closely consider the risks of any job they’re doing with a quad, especially when passengers are involved. The aim is to have the farmers and their workers ‘home safe every day’,” Parsons adds. “Part of this is by better understanding the risks and the common factors involved in accidents. So we’re gathering data from ACC, WorkSafe and farmers themselves to better pinpoint awareness and training.”

PAM TIPA pamelat?@ruralnews.co.nz

COMPLYING WITH the new workplace health and safety requirements is not rocket science and “there is nothing you need to be afraid of”, a recent workshop heard. Some ‘consultants’ are charging farmers thousands of dollars to write farm safety plans for them and it is not necessary. Kevin Johnstone, of the safety and risk management company QSI International, told a Beef + Lamb NZ farm safety workshop at Helensville last month that farmers can easily formulate their own plans. Johnstone, a former military man and senior roading project manager, says his experience was similar to farmers in that they needed to achieve the aim of bringing everyone home safely after work. BLNZ has contracted QSI NZ to develop a safety management system specifically for NZ sheep and beef farmers. Speaking on the comprehensive folders given to farmers attending the BLNZ nationwide workshops with WorkSafe, he says there is nothing in those systems that is rocket science and nothing farmers need be afraid of. A perception that WorkSafe is

Kevin Johnstone

out to make an example of people is not true, Johnstone says. “They are here to help…. The emphasis of this new legislation is on sending people home at the end of the day.” WorkSafe will only prosecute in extreme cases. “You are statistically more likely in NZ to suffer death by rolling over on a quad than you are to be prosecuted by WorkSafe NZ. “They prosecute only when they absolutely have to, when people are flouting the law and putting other people’s lives in danger.” Johnstone says people are charging farmers and businesses exorbitant sums of money for paperwork they don’t need; and myths and rumours are being propagated.

“I heard on the radio… new health and safety act has come in – children can’t climb trees at school. That is complete tripe… it does not prescribe that, it does not say that. There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation.” He says the new system is selfmanaged and the lawmakers are trying to engender a safety culture in farming. “What we are talking about with a safety culture is a state of mind, being safety conscious, thinking about it and being aware of it at all levels. “There is a safety culture already in the mining industry … certainly in Australia, and it is on its way in here. There certainly is in the construction industry, but for many years the farming industry,

to a certain extent, has been left alone.” Johnstone says they are now trying to help grow a safety culture. “It boils down to leadership by example: if for example I am in construction – if I walk on the roads and I don’t wear boots, a hi-vis vest and a hat, can I really expect my workers to do the same? “You’re farming so it’s slightly different, but the fact is if you don’t set the example in these areas, you can’t expect others to follow you. That’s really all it’s talking about in terms of engendering a safety culture. “I’m not criticising the farming industry at all – it will grow and develop over the next couple of years and decades with your assistance.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

18 MARKETS & TRENDS MARKET SNAPSHOT Me at

BEEF MARKET TRENDS

No rth Is lan d

S o u th Is lan d

C h an g e c /kg

L as t We e k

C h an g e c /kg

L as t We e k

L amb - PM 16.0kg

5 .1 8

5 .0 3

S te e r - P2 300kg

n/c

5 .4 0

n/c

5 .2 0

B u ll - M2 300kg

n/c

5 .4 0

n/c

4 .9 0

c /kgCWT

Ve n is o n - AP 60kg

+10

7 .7 0

+10

7 .6 0

5yr Av e

Last Year

LAMB PRICES

BEEF PRICES Change

c/kgCWT NI

P 2 Steer - 300kg

2 Wks A go

Last Year

n/c

5.40

n/c

5.40

P 2 Co w - 230kg

n/c

4.50

4.40

M Co w - 200kg

n/c

4.40

4.30

Lo cal Trade - 230kg

n/c

5.30

5.40

n/c

5.20

5.10

M 2 B ull - 300kg

n/c

4.90

5.00

P 2 Co w - 230kg

n/c

3.80

M Co w - 200kg

n/c

3.70

Lo cal Trade - 230kg

n/c

5.25

5.20

P 2 Steer - 300kg

This Year

Last Week

M 2 B ull - 300kg

No rth Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price $6.5

LAMB MARKET TRENDS

$5.5

40k 27-Mar

27-Apr

27-May

27-Jun

k 27-Feb 27-Mar

5yr Ave

$4 .0 27 -Feb

27 -Mar

Last Year

27 -Apr

27 -May

This Year

27 -Jun

27 -Jul

Last Year

27-Apr

This Year

27-May

27-Jun

5.11

5.18

5.13

P X - 19.0kg

5.20

5.15

P H - 22.0kg

5.21

5.16

M X1 - 21kg

n/c

2.50

3.15

YM - 13.5kg

5.03

4.98

4.71

P M - 16.0kg

5.03

4.98

4.73

P X - 19.0kg

5.03

4.98

4.75

P H - 22.0kg

5.03

4.98

4.76

n/c

2.38

2.60

M X1- 21kg

N ort h Island Weekly Lamb Kill

Feb

Mar

27-Jul

Last Year

Apr

This Y ear

May

Jun

Jul

No rth Island 300kg Bull Price

200k

30k

100k

20k

5yr Ave

k 27-Feb 27-Mar

Last Year

27-Apr 27-May

This Year

27-Jun

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Export Market Demand

27-Jul

Change

Last Week

2 Wks A go

Last Year

5yr A ve

UK Leg £/lb

1.70

1.65

1.75

1.98

NZ$ /kg

7.55

7.50

7.99

8.11

$5 .5

Export Market Demand

$5 .0 5yr Ave

$4 .5

Last Year This Y ear

$4 .0 27 -Feb

$6 .0

27 -Mar

27 -Apr

27 -May

27 -Jun

27 -Jul

S outh Island 300kg Steer Price

95CL US$ /lb NZ$ /kg

$5 .5

Change

Last Week

2 Wks A go

Last Year

5yr A ve

n/c

2.12

2.35

2.13

6.93

6.91

7.02

5.89

D e mand Indicator - US 95CL B eef

$3.00

D e mand Indicator - UK Leg Price

£2.50 £2.00 Last Year

£1.50 £1.00 27-Feb 27-Mar

$2.50

This Year

27-Apr 27-May

27-Jun

27-Jul

$5 .0

$2.00

$4 .5

5yr Ave

$4 .0

Last Year

$3 .5 27 -Feb

This Y ear

27 -Mar

27 -Apr

27 -May

27 -Jun

Last Year

Procurement Indicator

This Year

$1.50 27-Feb 27-Mar

27-Apr

27-May

27-Jun

27 -Jul

5yr Av e Last Year

$7 .5

This Year

$7 .0

$8 .0

2Wks A go

% Returned NI

-0%

% Returned SI

-0%

85%

3 Wks A go

Last Year

77.9%

78.1%

76.90%

76.6%

70.7%

70.9%

71.2%

70.3%

27 -Apr

27 -May

27 -Jun

S outh Island 60kg Stag Price

27 -Jul 5yr Ave

$7 .5

80% $7 .0

$6 .0 27 -Feb

% Returned NI

0 .4 %

68.7%

68.3%

65.7%

71.1%

% Returned SI

0 .4 %

66.0%

65.6%

61.3%

68.2%

6-Apr

6-May

6-Jun

6-Jul

6-Aug

P rocu rement Indicator - North I. 80% 70% Last Year

50% 27-Feb 27-Mar

27 -May

27 -Jun

27 -Jul

60% 6-Mar

27-Jun

27-Jul

60% Last Year

Last Year

50% 27-Feb 27-Mar

This Year

27-Apr 27-May

27-Jun

27-Jul

This Year

Venison Prices Change

Last Week

2 Wks A go

Last Year

5yr A ve

NI Stag - 60kg

+10

7.70

7.60

6.50

6.79

SI Stag - 60kg

+10

7.60

7.50

6.25

6.82

65% 27 -Apr

This Year

27-Apr 27-May

P rocu rement Indicator - South I.

70% 27 -Mar

5yr A ve

P rocu rement Indicator - South I.

75%

$6 .5

Last Year

70%

Last Year This Year

3 Wks A go

This Y ear

70% 65% 6-Mar

2Wks A go

60% Last Year

75% 27 -Mar

5yr A ve

P rocu rement Indicator - North I.

80%

$6 .5 $6 .0 27 -Feb

Change

No rth Island 60kg S tag Price

Change

27-Jul

Procurement Indicator $8 .0

6-Apr

6-May

6-Jun

6-Jul

b a w p q a e s T W o o i t h e s p N s t

300k

10k $6 .0

S outh Island Weekly Lamb Kill 400k

S outh Island Weekly Cattle Kill

40k

$4 .5

5.16

5yr Ave

$6 .0

$5 .0

100k

20k

$5 .5

Last Year

200k

27-Jul

S outh Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price

M utto n

2 Wks A go

300k

$5.0

27-Feb

SI Lamb

Last Week

P M - 16.0kg

400k

N ort h Island Weekly Cattle Kill

60k

$4.5

M utto n

Change

Slaughter

$6.0

c/kgCWT NI Lamb YM - 13.5kg

6-Aug

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

b s s c m N n w t n o d

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

MARKETS & TRENDS 19 NEWS

PRICE WATCH

BEEF: The peak of the cow kill is now

behind us and schedules are reacting accordingly, slowing lifting in recent weeks. As such processors are chasing prime stock to a greater extent. Good quality Angus stock in the North Island are well sought after, with the right lines earning up to 20c/kg above the standard rate prime slaughter prices. Those in the Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa have kept plants ticking over, as some start to offload because of the dry. Prime exports cattle numbers in the South Island have little depth to them and the recent rainfall hasn’t helped to draw any decent numbers out either. Shorter-term store stock are well sought after in the South Island, with prices firming across the board recently. North Island store markets are also in a strong position, with demand appearing to outweigh supply for the time being.

INTERNATIONAL BEEF: The US

beef market remains stuck in a constant state. Exporters report that activity is subdued among importers, who remain cautious around the direction of the market following larger offerings from NZ exporters in recent weeks. There is not a large degree of concern from within NZ however, as kill rates are set to decline, which should counter some negative factors in the market. The outlook over the coming weeks will be dependent on how successful retail

sales over the Memorial Day period were. Trading into China has been positive. While South American beef is limiting returns on lower value cuts, higher value products are being met with solid interest.

SHEEP: Slaughter numbers are on

the decline, and with it procurement competition among processors is on the rise. As such slaughter prices have risen over the past few weeks. Winter contracts released to date have been conservative, which hasn’t sparked much confidence among sheep farmers. Store markets are in a reasonable position for those looking to sell lambs in the North Island. There’s been enough rain through most areas to keep farmers happy, with the exceptions being the Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa. Store lambs in the South Island are a little weaker, though much of this was brought about by the dry which has now broken in most affected areas. Parts of North Canterbury are still struggling however.

INTERNATIONAL

SHEEP:

International lamb markets are in a positive state relative to their performance so far this season. Buyers are aware that the availability of lamb in the coming months should be low given the expectation of falling

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WOOL PRICE WATCH Indicators in NZ$

Overseas Wool Price Indicators

Change

26-May

19-May

Last Year

Indicators in US$/kg

-5

5.74

5.79

4.78

Coarse Xbred

Coarse Xbred Fine Xbred

-2

5.80

5.82

5.26

Fine Xbred

Lamb

-13

6.09

6.22

6.25

Lamb

Mid Micron

Wool Indicator Trends

850 CXI

FXI

Mid Micron

Last Year

-5

3.86

3.91

4.05

-3

3.90

3.93

4.61

-11

4.09

4.20

5.08

CXI

550

750

19-May

Wool Indicator Trends

600

26-May

Change

FXI

500

650

450

550

400

450 May

Jul

Sep

Nov

Jan

Mar

Jul

Sep

Nov

Jan

Mar

Coarse Xbred Indictor in US$

Coarse Xbred Indicator

650

350 May

450

600

400

550 Last Year This Year

500 450

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

Aug

lamb slaughter rates. This has been particularly noticeable through China, where prices have been buoyed by moderate inventory levels. Importers from the Middle East are also slowly coming out of the woodwork, though this is

350 300

Last Year This Year

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

Aug

primarily a product of falling inventory levels rather than the state of the NZ lamb slaughter. However buyers are taking a more cautious approach to purchasing than usual. The US and EU are in a stable state and are unlikely to weaken.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

20 AGRIBUSINESS/WORLD

Aussie taxpayer funding struggling dairy farmers

BANKS STAND FIRM AUSTRALIAN BANKS have thrown their support behind dairy farmers hit by the low milk prices. The Australian Bankers’ Association

SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

AUSTRALIAN DAIRY farmers are welcoming $600 million taxpayer money to help them endure the slump in farmgate prices. The federal government will provide $58m immediately as recovery loans to suppliers of Murray Goulburn and Fonterra. Both processors recently slashed their farmgate milk prices. Another $530m in concessionary loans will be paid over the next two seasons; the recovery loans will be for terms of 10 years. The lending will be funded by expanding the drought loan scheme to include dairy-specific criteria. Both Murray Goulburn and Fonterra are major players in the Victorian dairy industry. United Dairyfarmers of Victoria has praised the aid package, announced last month by Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce.

“This is a good solid package that gives suppliers greater flexibility in managing their debt during this difficult time,” UDV president Adam Jenkins says. “We want to support farmers during the current crisis and this federal package goes a long way to helping.” Joyce says the coalition will immediately help dairy farmers in hardship, to enable them to endure these difficult times and return to profit. The Australian dairy industry suffered a jolt when the country’s largest dairy co-op Murray Goulburn slashed its farmgate milk price to A$5.47/

kgMS, down from the original forecast of A$6.05/kgMS. Fonterra suppliers were next to reel in shock when the company reduced its payout from A$5.60 to A$5kg/MS. Australians go to the polls on July 2. Joyce says the coalition is helping farmers now under the Caretaker Conventions, not waiting until after the election. The government has also announced $21m to fast-track the upgrade of the Macalister irrigation district in Gippsland. And it will supply cash for rural financial counsellors and a ‘tactics

for tough times’ scheme. Joyce says to help ensure the domestic dairy industry avoids a situation where processors unexpectedly reduce farmgate milk prices late in the season, a re-elected coalition government will work with the dairy industry to establish a commodity milk price index. “The index would introduce greater transparency and market signals in domestic and global milk prices. The coalition will consult with the industry on the design of the index that would provide dairy farmers with valuable information for use in supply negotiations with processors and to assist in following international price trends,” Joyce says. Murray Golburn, Australia’s largest dairy co-op, has been in turmoil since slashing the milk price; farmer backlash has been severe. The co-op has seen the resignation of managing director Gary Helou, chief financial officer Brad Hingle and three farmerelected directors.

says the changes to farmgate prices coincide with many dairy farmers facing drought and higher business costs. ABA executive director retail policy Diane Tate says this mix of problems strains incomes and cashflows. “We urge dairy farmers worried about their financial situation to contact their bank, the earlier the better, to see what help is available,” she said. “Banks understand the agriculture industry is heavily impacted by seasonal factors and price fluctuations. That’s why banks take a longer-term view in agricultural lending. They work with farmers who may be experiencing financial difficulties and can put in place special loan arrangements.” Assistance offered may include: ■■

Deferral of scheduled loan repayments

■■

Waiving fees and charges

■■

Interest free periods or no interest rate increases

■■

Debt consolidation to help make repayments more manageable.

Close watch on Brexit for NZ meat quota PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

BEEF + Lamb NZ is closely watching the Brexit situation – the UK referendum on June 23 on exiting the European Union, says chairman James Parsons. A recent poll there was marginally in favour of Britain staying in, Par-

sons told a BLNZ mini conference in Tuakau recently. “We will have to see how this rolls out next month with the referendum in the UK,” he says. He says Brexit has implications for New Zealand because of our large quota of sheepmeat into the EU. “If Britain was to exit the EU, the question would be ‘who will get the

quota?’ Is it Britain or is it EU? This is unprecedented: there has never been anyone exit the EU.” BLNZ has been looking at scenarios on how this could play out. “The key thing is that both the UK and the EU have agreements with the World Trade Organisation… They have to honour those agreements so if Britain does exit, they would have to work

out how that fits. “We are watching this closely and talking to MFAT about it and ensuring they are well aware of our sector. It affects the dairy sector as well.” With the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, all the 11 participant countries have agreed, but it needs to be ratified by the individual governments.

EVERYONE IS HEADING TO THE IRELAND NATIONAL STAND…

“We are all watching what is happening in the States with the fascinating run-off between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump,” Parsons says. “The TPP is a big deal for us. We pay about $10 million in tariffs on beef into the US; and into Japan, for example, $70m in tariffs. If we look at cents per kilo, that’s over 40c/kg on beef that we pay in all the markets.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

AGRIBUSINESS 21

Being part of customer sounding board How long have you been involved with the client council and what is the role of the council? I have been involved with the client council since it was first developed here in late 2012. The client council concept essentially stems from the core values of Rabobank in the Netherlands, centred on the empowerment of farming communities. Each council has about 10 clients and two bank representatives. There are now six client councils throughout New Zealand. What are the key topics that regularly come up in discussion at client council meetings? Part of the objective of the council is to be a sounding board for the bank, so we will discuss the bank’s strategies and yearly results and give feedback on performance and bringing ideas to the table. The other part of the objective is to contribute to the industry and local communities. To achieve that we actively discuss pressing issues

and needs within our rural industry and look for ways to pursue projects that could contribute to a solution and build better communities. The Southland client council was the driving force behind the Ag Pathways programme that kicked off last year. What was the objective of this initiative and what was involved for those who took part? In our discussions to identify farming issues, the one that most stood out for us was the challenge of retaining young people in our industry. We talked to rural professionals and looked at what programmes are available. Initially we were thinking of a mentoring programme, but we were keen to learn from our younger colleagues as well. As a result, a pilot knowledge sharing initiative was developed with the main aim of sharing knowledge and giving encouragement towards career development. For the programme we identified ten young dairy, sheep and beef farmers with long term ambitions in the farming industry and invited them to participate along with more experienced and established farmers. This group

met once a month for six months at Rabobank Invercargill. These meetings included guest speakers who presented on topical industry subjects and engaged the participants and members in a discussion and networking activities. Sessions included workshops on succession business planning, work-life balance strategies, human resource management, a Myers Briggs personality profiling test, and environmental compliance.

What were the key lessons the younger farmers and the client council members took away from this programme? As each session was thought provoking, there were many take home

messages including the importance of goal setting and of being goal oriented, to the importance of a person’s ‘soft assets’ such as their industry knowledge, relationship skills and work ethic. We also ran a session which allowed participants to identify their own, and others’, personality type and this session gave participants some insight into how different personality types can be managed to help build stronger teams. For many, the highlight was hearing from three farming

couples who shared their journey to farm ownership. These stories increased awareness that there are different opportunities for getting to farm ownership and that “hard work” was a common thread. Looking towards the future, are there any further initiatives the client council is looking to run? Absolutely. While we will continue running our Ag Pathways programme, we have already gone back to the drawing board with another

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

22 OPINION EDITORIAL

EDNA

Vanilla changes don’t inspire FONTERRA FARMER shareholders will vote this week on changes to the co-op’s governance. Two big changes are proposed: to reduce the board to 11 directors from 13, and to have a new selection panel ratify the appointment of preselected director candidates instead of having farmers vote directly for candidates. A special meeting in Hamilton this Friday (June 10) will consider the changes, but indications are that farmers are not overly enthused by the proposals. At last year’s annual meeting Fonterra was rocked when the Gent/Armer motion calling for a cut to the board from 13 to 9 directors won 54% of shareholder support. The proposal fell short of the 75% needed to force constitutional changes, but it set in motion the proposals for change on which farmers will vote this week. The problem for Fonterra – as with the Gent/ Armer proposal – is that the 75% threshold needed to implement the changes is a big mountain to climb, especially when farmer shareholders have indicated they are less than excited about the proposals. Critics suggest Fonterra should have been “much bolder” in cutting the number of directors and, to be fair, the proposals are pretty vanilla and uninspiring. Shareholders will now be asked to support a move to a board of seven farmer-directors and four independents, instead of six farmer-directors as proposed last month. It also brings forward a formal review of the farmer council to this year from next, and strengthens the scope of this review. It further proposes that a second farmer council observer be added to a director-nomination committee, but the board/council review group is sticking with its earlier recommendation that farmers choose director candidates nominated by a selection process which would replace the current single transferable vote system for farmer directors. As Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says, the biggest issue for farmers is the proposed change from directly voting for candidates to having pre-selected candidates ratified by a committee. “It’s gone from a vote in the traditional sense to a ratification vote, so that is what has got people upset.” It won’t be a surprise if the proposed changes fail to gain the needed 75% support, and that will send Fonterra back to the drawingboard.

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“Well – can I just go and look over the fence?”

THE HOUND Transparency IT SEEMS the Hound item last issue about MIE not paying its bills set off even more calls to the kennel tip line about the lack of financial rigour by the meat industry ginger group. One concerned tipster rang to alert your old mate to the fact that, according to the Companies Office register (under Societies and Trusts), MIE has not filed an annual return – as they’re legally required to do – since 2013. A quick scan of the Companies Office website by yours truly confirms this, with 2013 being the last time MIE filed an annual return and 2014 an annual report. However, MIE has received around $300,000 of Beef + Lamb NZ funds since then, which should have been included in an annual return had it been filed since the funds were received. But, as yet, no return has been filed.

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

P#ss and wind SPEAKING OF MIE and it’s interesting array of ‘associates’, the Hound notes that NZ First leader Winston Peters is unhappy with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) for declaring no issues with the SFF/Shanghai Maling deal. Your old mate understands silly old Winny lodged his complaint with the FMA at the behest of the MIE-aligned associates who are anti the SFF/Shanghai Maling deal. However, the stunt achieved nothing. Not to be deterred, the old political warhorse is now threatening the very existence of the FMA for daring not to come up with the outcome he wanted. As a mate of the canine crusader opined, perhaps Peters should be now known as the member for North Korea rather than Northland for making veiled threats against organisations that don’t meet his political objectives.

Bad PR

WHO?

THE HOUND hears that a recent off-farm event organised by good farming folk in South Canterbury was a real hit – with 400 farmers gathering in Timaru for free beers and a bit of fun. By all accounts The ‘Farm Break’ do was excellent with a huge number of sponsors from the rural community getting in behind to pay for food and drinks, fire up barbecues, shout buses to get people there and home all over the region, and generally help out. And there was entertainment by comedian Te Radar. However, your old mate understands not all rural businesses were so keen. Apparently, PGG Wrightson staff were told – from on high – not to attend the event as the company did not support it. Your canine crusader reckons that is a major own goal by PGW.

YOUR OLD mate reckons the world is going seriously wrong when you have international do-gooder organisations out there telling us what is good for us and what is not. Apparently health ministers in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 169 countries are tossing up whether an existing ban on the promotion of breast-milk substitutes for children under six months should be extended to include products marketed for kids up to three years. The proposed guidance defines substitutes as including “any milk products… in either liquid or powdered form”. The Hound reckons the last thing the dairy industry needs, at the moment, is more challenges – this time over marketing its products for young children. This follows on from WHO’s strange utterence last year about curtailing red meat consumption.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

OPINION 23

Biosecurity risks a handbrake on sector’s potential growth UPS AND downs in income are a tough issue for businesses in the primary sector. Dairy industry highs and lows are a prime example of a problem with many causes; for primary industry exporters the main influence is offshore market conditions beyond the control of farmers and growers. But for growers the whopper is biosecurity, the risk that looms large every week as new threats to our $5 billion business are found. High profile horticultural biosecurity incursions threaten kiwifruit – look at the Psa disaster. Also threatened are tomatoes, capsicum, potatoes and tamarillos with the tomato potato psyllid, and of course fruit and Tau flies. Growers face many more threats but they are left do the best they can. When a biosecurity incursion strikes – such as finding a fruit fly in Auckland – there are two options. The best is eradication. It may cost a lot but it returns the industry to where it was before the incursion. Eradication is not often practicable. Managing the pest is the usual practice and that falls to the

Spraying is the first reaction, but it is neither an environmentally or financially sustainable solution. Innovative, research based and sustainable solutions are

growers. Every biosecurity challenge imposes enormous cost on growers and taxpayers. For example, during the Queensland fruit fly responses the taxpayer footed enormous oneoff costs. In Grey Lynn it cost at least $1 million to eradicate each fruit fly. But for growers the cost continues for as long as the pest or pathogen remains in NZ. Psa is a good example of this: the average cost per canopy hectare to manage Psa is $3000. That’s an extra cost growers must pay from profits. Then there will be the sneaky biosecurity incursion found one day in a paddock or orchard. No one knows where it came from, but there it is – a major problem. Growers and farmers have to mobilise to deal with such an incursion. A good example of this is velvetleaf.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR STRANGE BEDFELLOWS I THOUGHT your articles on the attempts to overturn what was a stunning shareholder vote for the Shanghai Maling/SFF JV – Rural News May 24 – were excellent journalism. It is a pity other rural and general media have not exposed the array of strange political and industry bedfellows who are lining up against this majority shareholder supported deal. It is refreshing to see the fourth estate exposing the kind of gerrymandering being carried out by this group of minority, disaffected shareholders and political stirrers. This is a quantum leap ahead of anything else written on the same topic. Keep up the good work. Rob Samuelson Christchurch

required. At the time of writing the horticulture industry is waiting to find out whether the Environmental Protection Authority will approve the

use of a biological control – a tiny wasp called Tamarixia – to fight the tomato potato psyllid. We are hoping the EPA will allow the industry to use this natural pest control

method. The more we can do to reduce this risk, the stronger our growth can be. Join the conversation with us about biosecurity,

or any other issue, via our Twitter account: @HorticultureNZ or directly to me @ MikeChapmanHort. • Mike Chapman is chief executive of HortNZ

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

24 OPINION

Wine the perfect example of the ‘NZ story’ TERRY DUNLEAVY

THERE IS an obvious candidate for the lead role in the “coherent New Zealand story” called for in the Rural News May 24 editorial, and by Mike Peterson, our special agricultural trade envoy, to help sell our products to the world. That candidate is NZ wine, described in the 1980s by the then Trade Development Board (TradeNZ) as our country’s “flagship product.” Why flagship? Because when all our other primary products come to the table, plated and ready to eat, only the bottle of NZ wine arrives – as in about 80 other countries – bearing a label telling of its NZ origin and the production region. This reminds the consumer that the wine is the product of a clean green land now among the world’s foremost creators of quality wine. (One exception might be a small pat of Anchor butter, but often it will not have originated in NZ.) Why “wine”? Two stories from our earlier export history: in 1988, as a founding board member of the NZ Food & Beverage Exporters Council, I persuaded Air New Zealand to sponsor, at ANUGA (biennial food and beverage fair at Cologne) a small café on the pavilion. Upshot: I ended up for 11 days as maître d/wine sommelier of this café which served Kiwi cuisine by Annabel Langbein. One day, Apple & Pear Board manager Joe Pope brought in for lunch the senior buyer in a large German supermarket chain. I offered them wine. “Neuseeland makes wine?” asked the buyer. “Ja”, I assured him. He smelled and tasted. “But it’s gût,” he said, and I nodded, “Of course”. Then he said, “A country that can make wine of this quality must do everything well.” I later watched him tour the whole NZ pavilion. In 2005, NZ’s High Commissioner in London, Russell Marshall, ran into the Wine Institute’s chief executive Philip Gregan at NZ House. Said Marshall, “Your wines have changed the way people in Britain think about NZ”.

From a virtual standing start in the 1970s, wine has rocketed up NZ’s export catalogue to be now at $1.58 billion, our largest horticultural export and sixth-largest export overall.

NZ wines are more price-makers than price-takers. For the last nine years, in the UK – long regarded as the world’s most competitive and influential wine market because of its proximity to the vineyards of Europe and its role in developing their exports – NZ wines have enjoyed the highest average price per bottle of all wines imported into that market. From a virtual standing start in the 1970s, wine has rocketed up NZ’s

export catalogue to be now at $1.58 billion, our largest horticultural export and sixth-largest export overall. It invites excitement and comment. In Britain, NZ wine is reckoned to get more newspaper column cm than anything else about our country, All Blacks included. As the world’s thirst for quality wine increases, especially in North America, Asia, China and India, NZ’s standing as a wine producer will grow markedly.

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The resulting growth will bring challenges – chiefly the protection of the overall quality and unique flavour characteristics that have brought us this far. Regulations pending under the Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act 2006 have the potential to become as important a tool in this regard as they already are for long-established wine countries like France, Germany, Spain and Italy. While the independent and innovative

NZ wine producers will not accept the often overly bureaucratic detail of their older European counterparts, there are underlying principles, some at odds with pure free market thinking, that we could adopt to ensure that the use of geographical names of regions and districts smaller than NZ relate to the preservation of qualities and characters unique to the area stated on the label. That should be an urgent discussion for wine industry, and the agreed regulatory outcomes need to be understood and recognised by the Government and its agencies responsible for their oversight. • Terry Dunleavy MBE was inaugural chief executive of the Wine Institute (1976-1991) and editor of the industry journal NZ Winegrower 1997-2013.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

26 MANAGEMENT

Software helps farmer manage drought A farmer hit for two years by drought says farm management software from Farm IQ is helping him make timely decisions and get better results. ROB LAWSON farms with his brother Willie and father Jim on the 2300ha family farm Moana, just north of Dunedin. While many parts of the East Coast did not see El Nino weather, Lawson says drought has been “very typical” in their area for two years. In fact, less rain has fallen this year than during the worst drought his father has experienced – 1998 and 1999. “That’s East Coast farming, and that’s what we have to contend with,” he says. Despite the severity of the drought, so far they have not lowered their capital stock numbers. Lawson puts that down to close monitoring of stock. The big focus on Moana in recent years has been maximising maternal performance, using farm management software for recording and analysis. They aim to tail 10,000 lambs. To help with this they have set a series of targets for their ewe replacements to grow them from lambs into productive two-tooths. They have a

calendar of measures they take to check how it’s going. They record them in the software, replacing spreadsheets or paper notebooks. “During favourable seasons, with our measurements you feel like you are grabbing the business by the scruff of the neck and shaking every last dollar out of it,” Lawson told farmers at a recent field day. But now these regular checks are also helping them manage fairly effectively through the current drought. “In these challenging years [we rely on] measurements to make good strategic decisions. That will hopefully allow us to bounce back quickly when more productive periods come our way again. The software has helped us to make sure we’re aligning feed supply and demand.” After weighing the ewe hoggets in September 2015 they could see these animals were a bit behind where they needed to be – and keeping them all onfarm probably wasn’t going to help. So Lawson decided to send half of them

Otago farm Rob Lawson says the Farm IQ System is proving an excellent tool for good and tough times.

to South Otago for three months – only the second time in the family’s farming history that they have grazed off. Those hoggets came back 4kg heavier than the ones on Moana, at 60.5kg. With the software, they will be able to keep comparing the performance of those that went off and those that stayed. After that, the next target was to get 1500 lambs away before Christmas. In fact, they got 2345 away, 300 of them as stores. They killed at a lighter weight

than previous years – 16kg average compared to 19kg, which has Lawson reflecting on having to lower the sights in tough conditions. In late December they weaned 1800 lambs early off the hill. “That was good for the ewes, but then we had lighter lambs that we had to do something with and that created its own issue.” And they sent off a mob of older ewes before Christmas rather than waiting for the annual draft in February. They are now feeding nuts to 1800 older ewes and the ewe lambs are on crop. The good news was that the first weight for this year’s ewe lambs, in February, showed them averaging close to 30kg. “That’s not too bad considering,” Lawson says. “If we had a better autumn a big chunk of them could have gone to the ram. The next key weight for them is September. At that time we will have to be able to do something with the ones not at the target weight

of 42kg.” On the cattle side, they weaned calves earlier than usual – in mid-March and now all bar replacements and a few light ones have left the property. The next call is about whether to send hoggets off again for grazing. May 2016 has brought welcome rain – 20ml in about a week – so Lawson is wondering if they might sneak through with all animals on the farm. Overall they are close to 3000 stock units lower than where they would usually be. Lawson has calculated that the cost of sending stock off for grazing and also the bought-in feed adds up to about $70,000 of direct costs for the year. On the bright side, he notes that livestock trading has been pretty good this year. “Beef has been exceptional to get out of stock, and store lambs have been easy to move, which is unusual. Normally you take a hiding on everything. And the price of wool is not too bad. So it’s not a complete disaster.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

MANAGEMENT 27

Fire every gun you have on fungicide resistance – expert PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

A KEY message to all growers or farmers using fungicides is to use all available modes of action in different products and not rely on a single fungicide action group. The message is based on the latest research in Europe on managing disease resistance to fungicides. Dr Andreas Mehl, a world expert in disease resistance in horticulture and arable crops, was in New Zealand recently to communicate the latest research to our researchers, growers and advisers. Mehl is a senior scientist at Bayer’s Research Institute for Disease Control, Germany, specialising in investigating disease resistance to fungicides. “We should not endanger a certain class of fungicides in regard to resistance,” Mehl told Rural News. “We should alternate different fungicide modes of action by mixing products. Sometimes growers stop using a certain group and overuse the other one. “Over a long term this is not sustainable. To understand this is crucial for NZ and all parts of the world where crops are grown.” He says the message

is to keep on using all the tools you have to control all these diseases. “Do not be too quick to skip a mode of action just because a new mode of action is available and performing better at the moment,” he says. “This is human behaviour of course: if something is new you tend to use the new stuff. But if you exclusively use the new stuff there is a risk of resistance developing much quicker.” Mixing an old multisite product with a new product may slow further development of resistance to the old product and prevent resistance developing to the new product. “Every decent mode of action can help the other survive longer or as long as possible.” Mehl says his visit to NZ was to bring the latest findings on resistance in key crops such as grapes, apples and cereals – but resistance advice applies to all crops. He was representing Bayer and the international Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC). Economically important diseases in NZ that are rated as high risk for resistance development are grey mould and powdery mildew in grapevines, Ramularia leaf spot (barley) and black spot

International expert on disease resistance in hoticultural and arable crops Dr Andreas Mehl (centre) inspects a crop at Lincoln.

(apples). Grey mould is among the worst diseases on the planet for grapes, apples and many other crops, says Mehl. The pathogen has been reported by many researchers in Europe and the US as showing multiple resistances to all available fungicidal classes. “Growers may be confused about how to control the disease. But it has been figured in latest research and control programmes that full alternation of all the mode of action – even if they previously have been described as causing resistance – still provides sufficient

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control. “In a laboratory you test only a single component in a single test system and researchers then publish something about resistance,” he says. “In the field it is different: the plant gives a defence towards a pathogen. Strains reported to be resistant in the lab are still controlled in the field if the products are used in the right way.” There are different disease control and resistance management strategies depending on the crop and the most relevant pathogen(s). Bayer studies at least 40-50 different systems in regard

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to pathogens and fungicide groups. Increasingly results show that tools involving mixing products are generally applicable. “So mixtures and alternation are becoming more and more relevant. In the past it was mostly convenient for the grower just to buy a product with a single fungicidal component inside and it was convenient to buy one big package and use it all season.” He says university research based on laboratory science is valuable scientific information but is not automatically transferable to the practice. “If somebody in the

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world writes a paper about detection of resistance it does not necessarily mean that a farmer should directly stop using it just because somebody reported about resistance. “This needs to be clarified because some farmers just tend to stop using a product because they heard about appearance of resistance and then interpreted the findings to stop using the product.” Bayer does considerable field work and tests different spray schedules for all sorts of crops. “Firstly we do this to improve and optimise field efficacy but also to develop sound resistance

management strategies. “We develop a lot of spray programmes for farmers; we are convinced the spray programmes are sound and designed to get high yields. At the same time resistance is taken into account.” Farmers should discuss spray programmes with advisers or manufacturers. “Communication is the key to optimise spray programmes in both directions – the direction to good disease control, high yield and quality of the produce, and on the other hand to prevent resistance development as much as possible. “We give the information out to the adviser and the officials and they have the chance to transfer this information to the grower. “We need to learn from the grower and the advisers but our objective is also to inform them about our findings because we are all in one boat. “If we develop a product which is not useful to the farmer then it is a waste of money. If the farmer uses a product which is not working any more he is losing money and we are all interested, of course, in a good yield and harvest. The key is communication.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

28 MANAGEMENT

Cows need to bear and rear o Heifers and cows which fail to bear and rear a calf at the Bay of Islands property that breeds Waitangi Angus don’t get second chances. Pam Tipa reports. “Heifers and any cow all the way through and later on in life – if they don’t have a calf they are culled,” says John Bayly. “ That’s the way it is, no

question. Just make a policy: no calf and they don’t stay.” The Waitangi Angus brand was established in 2005 by combining two

long-established successful herds of Angus cattle. Today the Waitangi herd comprises 400 performance recorded breeding females and the brand

is known for high quality pedigree bulls, heifers and cows. The spectacular coastal property with about 800ha effective adjoining the Treaty grounds and Waitangi Golf Course, was originally bought off Maori in about 1837. Joss’s grandfather

bought the property in an undeveloped state in 1929. John told a farm tour, after the Beef + Lamb NZ annual meeting, that they have two sales a year – a rising 2-year-old bull sale in June and another for the yearling bulls at the end of September. He likes to wean the

calves, born in August, in early February. “We feel they settle down, get on with the job and start growing.” “We select the heifers as we go through,” he says. “We cull the heifers we don’t like the look of, then we take another cut on EVBs that are not good enough and then one of the final selections is done on carcase data. Anything that doesn’t stand well, dry muscle…. that kind

tion. “Selling in the paddock can be a little difficult and awkward and takes a long time. An auction system gives everybody a crack.” With bull sales at the same time every year, people know when they are coming up and can make arrangements. Many come from south of Northland and stay at the nearby Waitangi Hotel. In the 2-year-old sales half the bulls are sold in

John and Joss Bayly.

of thing... gets culled. We drop another 20 out at that time on carcase.” They end up with about 120 heifers which are put to bull and given a round of AI. “We give them seveneight weeks, after that we take the bull out and if they are not pregnant after that I am happy to cull them. “We cull all the way through -- any calf that is not up to it; we have a good look at the cow and if there is a very good reason she is probably down the road too.” He believes they run their cows more commercially than many others do. All the cattle on farm are registered apart from about 150 steers. The calves are weighed when born then at 200, 400 and 600 days. “We have also been scanning our cattle for a number of years – the bulls and the heifer calves. The bulls need to be scanned to generate information for our cattle sales. They are scanned in August.” He says they have bull sales because it is easier to do it all on one day and it focuses people’s atten-

Northland and half go south of Auckland. More and more yearlings are going south every year but most are probably sold in Northland. Traditionally they held only 2-year-old sales but demand for yearlings kept increasing. “We are confident the bulls we are breeding can pretty much go anywhere, be used anywhere to go over either dairy or beef heifers. We are getting very good feedback.” They sell to dairy farmers but mainly farmers who are using all their bulls and then they market their beef cross calves as being by Waitangi Angus bulls. A couple of farmers up north have been doing this successfully and they get a top premium. On the sheep side in the last five years they have run about 2200 breeding ewes and of that 300-400 are new hoggets. They used to lamb all ewes in May and it worked pretty well for four or five years. But one year he telephoned on October 1 to say they were ready for their big first draft of the season and was told to hang on because the processor was still killing old

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

ANIMAL HEALTH 29

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The Waitangi Angus herd comprises of 400 performance-recorded breeding females.

season lambs. “So we decided that since the margins for producing these early lambs had dropped off we would go back to traditional timing,” he says. They start lambing about mid-August. They are now comfortably getting 150% plus in their ewes. In their hoggets they are getting 90-100%. They are mating the hoggets at the same time as the ewes. Joss’ father planted kikuyu grass years ago and it worked well, but changing climate has created problems. “Traditionally this place is always brown at Christmas – you knew that would happen every year,” he says. “Probably about 15 years ago our

weather patterns started to change and we started to get wet winters. All the fingers on the hills started to join hands and we are a kikuyu farm now. I have accepted that. “We used to try regrassing the hills but I came to the conclusion I was wasting a lot of time, spending a lot of money going round in circles. The new grasses didn’t survive and the kikuyu came back fully in three years.” The cows are very valuable in controlling it. This year was exceptional for kikuyu growth. They usually run into feed shortages in August and September, even if it looks okay in June and July.

“The cows come out after calving, they have a reasonable amount of body condition and then they lose weight for the next month or so.” They grow some chicory crops for the lambs. He says the sheep will die on kikuyu because they can’t get enough good quality feed each day to keep themselves going. “If you have mob stocking of ewes and you put them in a paddock of kikuyu you find some of them drop off and become anaemic. Whereas we can put the cows into a paddock of kikuyu and they are quite happy. If you give them shade and water they will stay there for a long time.” The heifers are sched-

uled to start calving on August 1 but with the shorter gestation some are calving up to 10 days to two weeks early. Shortening the gestation in their breeding programme is one of their objectives. They have brought their cows ahead this year by a couple of weeks and they will also calve August 1. The ewes start lambing at about the same time. Joss’ father applied a lot of fertiliser and they kept it going initially but found they were getting huge fertiliser bills every year. With the rain they applied superphosphate every year but it wasn’t causing a major uplift in fertility levels. John says they now

take a more holistic approach. They now use more targeted product and put it on as needed with tractor and trailer. Joss breeds horses for eventing, dressage and show jumping, often using international AI semen, then sells them on. “Sometimes they are more valuable than other things on the farm,” John laughs. The farm borders the beach where British troops landed to cross the country and attack Maori at Ohaeawai in 1845. He hosted some international visitors from Five Nations beef at the beach and he says every representative said to him “this is how you should be selling New Zealand”.

More FE research needed EDWARD DINGER

PETER BURKE’S article ‘Facial eczema hitting lambing percentages’ (May 24) was disturbing because, unfortunately, he will be right. But it should and could have been quite unnecessary. FE tolerance breeding has been possible for 32 years and has had a strong dampening effect on the noxious curse that is FE. It has been a remarkable success story in the participating ram breeding flocks and their clients. As a member of Ramguard, I am not surprised that in the article the failure of so-called ‘FE tolerant rams’ was mentioned. The emphasis should possibly have been on ‘so-called’ because

a lot of ram breeders claim FE tolerance or imply FE tolerance when they have no right to do so. To counter so-called FE tolerance, the FE Gold group was formed by Ramguard members four years ago. These ram breeders have tested their rams for at least 10 years with sporidesmin (FE causing toxin) at 0.6mg/kg bodyweight. The group is trying to educate farmers on FE and counter unjustified claims by non-registered breeders. My FE testing of breeding flocks reversed its pass rate from 92% fail to at least 90% pass, whilst increasing the sporidesmin dose rate from 0.1 to 0.6mg over a period of 16 years. Ruakura then stopped at that rate because it was deemed sufficient for most years and there is only so much you can

do genetically. Also sporidesmin is very expensive to manufacture. The science behind FE tolerance breeding does work and the progress made suggests success. But that does not mean the end of all problems regarding FE. It was discovered that sporidesmin, a mycotoxin, not only has a genetic component, but that immune and metabolic systems are also involved in a very complicated chemical process. The testing on the male side only is also having an effect on the progress of FE tolerance; hence after years of testing for FE there are still questions. However, buying FE tolerant rams from a Ramguard registered flock will definitely restrict losses. A bad FE year occurs infrequently – every 10 years or so.

But farmers tend to believe that lightning does not strike twice, so they forget that it happens almost every year in the sub-clinical form and that it suppresses their sheep production unnoticed and unseen. With climate change, these bad FE years could become more frequent. MAF (now AgResearch) decided more than a decade ago that further research was not necessary and no money was made available, hence the problems with FE are still in limbo. It is time AgResearch returned to do serious research on FE. • Edward Dinger is a retired ram breeder, member of FE Gold and editor of the Sheep Council publication ‘Facing up to Facial Eczema’.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

30 ANIMAL HEALTH

Livestock lepto vaccinations vital FARMER ARE being urged to keep vaccinating livestock against leptospirosis to prevent human infection. Leptospirosis is a highly infectious disease that can cross from animals to humans and prove fatal. There is no vaccine to prevent humans from contracting the disease.

The New Zealand Veterinary Association, DairyNZ, Federated Farmers and Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa NZ recently called jointly for the continuation of leptospirosis prevention programmes, despite the hard financial times. “While dairy prices remain low and farmers

look to cut costs it is vital to see leptospirosis programmes as an investment in the health of families and farms,” says Chris Leach, of DairyNZ. “Leptospirosis can be very costly as people may be unable to work for months, or even do the work required to run a farm.”

The president of the NZVA’s dairy cattle vet branch, Jenny Weston, warns that missing just one year of livestock vaccination puts a herd back at ‘square one’. “If some cattle become infected during a lapsed vaccination period they will continue to present a risk of infecting people

even after vaccination has resumed. It’s important to remember that vaccination for leptospirosis is a prevention, not a treatment.” Federated Farmers animal welfare spokesperson Andrew Hoggard says farmers must consider the health and safety implications of deciding to delay

OPS0025

Rural Health Alliance chair Dr Jo Scott-Jones is part of a group of rural health experts urging farmers to continue vaccinations against leptospirosis.

or not vaccinate. “We have a responsibility to our workers and everyone involved in the food production cycle,” he says. The chair of Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa NZ, Dr Jo Scott-Jones, says the rural community is deeply concerned about reports that some farmers are delaying or not vaccinating herds to prevent leptospirosis. “NZ is amongst the countries with the highest incidence of leptospirosis in the world,” he says.

Although leptospirosis in humans can be a mild and self-limiting illness, it can also take a very severe course resulting in jaundice and multiple organ failure, Scott-Jones says. “Prevention is clearly the best policy, by the use of protective clothing, hygiene and immunisation of animals. I strongly urge people who may be at risk -- who get flu-like symptoms -- to seek medical attention to obtain the correct diagnosis and treatment.”

BUDGET BOOST FOR TB GOVERNMENT FUNDING for the ongoing plan to eradicate bovine tuberculosis, announced in last month’s Budget, has been welcomed by OSPRI NZ. As part of an industry and Government partnership the Crown has committed $69.8 million over the next four years (on top of $30.2m already contributed). The remaining funding for the TB Plan -- $150m over the same period -- will come from the beef, dairy, deer and livestock export industries. “The confirmation of funding for the TBfree programme means we can fulfil our mandate and continue the excellent work done to date,” OSPRI chairman Jeff Grant says. “Bovine TB has been effectively managed in NZ over the past 20 years to the point where the number of cattle and deer herds showing infection has been reduced below 40.” OSPRI chief executive Michelle Edge says the goal of the new TB Plan is to eradicate bovine TB by 2055 -- freeing livestock from the disease by 2026 and wildlife by 2040. “With funding now confirmed, OSPRI can begin planning operations in accordance with the new TB Plan,” she says. The plan will introduce risk-based testing and riskbased animal pest killing.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

ANIMAL HEALTH 31 Water-based MAGNUM® Nil meat witholding. Nil Lice. Nil worries. Guy Oakley of Coastal Vets, Taranaki (centre) with farmers Megan and Brendan Forsyth; a successful collaboration helped them overcome rotavirus scours.

Vets and farmers combine to tackle rotavirus PHIL STEWART

NEONATAL SCOURS can badly affect dairy calves and make it difficult for herd owners to raise enough healthy replacements. Guy Oakley and Sarah Procter, Coastal Vets, Taranaki, worked with Pauline Calvert and Robyn Hirst of MSD Animal Health to help a farming couple identify and manage the risks involved in problems with scours caused by rotavirus. An outbreak of neonatal calf scours can be challenging and labour intensive, and requires a rapid response from the farmer and vet. In a severe outbreak, calves’ response to treatment can be poor and many die; those that recover may have lower productivity because of permanent damage to their gut lining. Brendan and Megan Forsyth run a family-owned milking herd of 270 crossbred cows on 80ha at Awatuna, Taranaki. They also have a 26ha runoff nearby. For several years scours have recurred sporadically among their calves, consistently caused by rotavirus. With their vet they elected in 2014 to begin vaccinating. Before calving, the milking herd -- not including the heifers -- were vaccinated with Rotavec Corona. (It is not unusual for heifers to miss rotavirus vaccination, as they are often being grazed away from the farm at the time; and they are

naturally mated, their calves not being required as replacements.) Vaccination boosts the dam’s lactogenic immunity. This and good colostrum management and neonatal care is critical to managing this common pathogen. Rotavirus did not appear during the first four–six weeks of calving in 2014, but cases then started to appear and became particularly severe. About ten calves died and the Forsyths struggled to raise enough replacements that season. MSD Animal Health and Coastal Vets, with the Forsyths, investigated the cause of the outbreak, which occurred despite vaccination. They concluded that overall farm and herd management were good, the owner–operator enterprise being managed efficiently by a husband-and-wife team. Faecal screens from severely scouring calves confirmed rotavirus as the cause. Despite evidence confirming adequate passive transfer (based on GGT concentrations in tested calves), the outbreak was severe and affected many groups of calves. During the dry period, the farmers, vets and the MSD Animal Health technical team reviewed all the farm practices and facilities that could affect the prevalence of neonatal diarrhoea, looking to make realistic onfarm changes in 2015. They saw several possibilities for improvement:

1. Calf pens and group management Simple, practical changes to the calf pens were recommended. These included use of solid partitions and an all in/all out policy, with calves remaining in set groups of similar age during their first three weeks of life. Once old enough, the calves from each pen were shifted across the road to a larger facility for the remainder of their rearing. 2. Hygiene Bedding in the calf pens was replaced with clean wood shavings, a disinfection regime was established for the upcoming season and the disinfectant used was changed to a broad-spectrum product with antiviral properties. 3. Colostrum Colostrum storage and utilisation were reviewed. First-milking colostrum was kept separate and used only for new-born calves for their first two feeds. The transitional milk from milkings twoeight was used for subsequent feeding of the calves. Tubing all neonates to ensure they got at least one colostrum feed, while still able to absorb crucial antibodies, became standard practice. 4. Calving pickups Ideally pickups are done twice daily, but with no extra help over the busy calving period it was impossible on this farm. This placed calves at risk of not receiving the high-value colostrum from vaccinated dams

shortly after birth. Once-a-day pick up remained for most calves during peak calving – but tubing calves with colostrum (taken from vaccinated cows’ first milking) in the paddock was adopted when pickup was not possible within 12 hours of calving. This provided the extra security that new-born calves could maximise their absorption of protective colostral antibodies shortly after birth. Stored transition milk continued to be fed to calves in their first three weeks of life to maximise the protective properties of the antibodies. 5. Vaccination protocols Split vaccination to cover the entire nine-week calving period was recommended to continue. The whole herd – including heifers, kept on the runoff – were vaccinated in 2015 with Rotavec Corona. This was to ensure that as cows came into the milking herd all colostrum collected and fed to calves contained boosted antibody concentrations against the neonatal scour pathogens. This reduced the likelihood that poorly protected calves entering the calf pens would increase the risk of disease challenge to the other calves. Following the interventions described above, the Forsyths had a much better calving season in 2015. Only two cases of calf scours were found, and neither was caused by rotavirus.

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ACVM No:A7704 ®Registered trademark. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.coopersonline.co.nz NZ/MAG/0415/0003C

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

32 ANIMAL HEALTH

Sheep a bigger challenge to read than Tolkein IN THE Rural News April 5 column I wrote about ‘reading sheep’ when working them with a dog;

here’s how to read sheep and use their subtle movements to your advantage. Imagine four sheep

Are you prepared to take a hit?

One shot could save a hiding Scours can knock you sideways – hurting your calves, your family and your income. And it can strike on any farm. With Rotavec® Corona, a single shot before calving helps protect your calves against three of the most common causes of infectious scours – rotavirus, coronavirus and E. coli. coli Talk to your vet today about Rotavec Corona – the easy, one shot way to help your calves stand up to scours.

AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ACVM No: A8132. ®Registered trademark. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz NZ/ROT/0315/002(1)

N UT TIO BC EC VED SU NJ RO

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The sheep on the left is about to leave, the one in the middle with one ear facing the dog and one ear back is thinking about it.

have poked through the fence and you want to put them back where they belong. Usually when you try to do this they end up running in the opposite direction. Perhaps you manage to get three out but the other is sulking in a gully, or maybe you put the whole performance in the too-hard basket and they stay where they are until picked up with a mob one day. If your dog is under reasonable command, has a good stop, will walk towards sheep calmly and you ‘read the sheep’, there is no reason why you can’t have a near perfect retrieve rate. Try practising in a small holding paddock or big yard with three or four sheep in order to get your eye in and work as one with your dog. Unlike the lovely biddable Romney from years ago, today’s modern sheep tend to confront and challenge dogs and small numbers can be difficult to deal with; if you read them correctly and give them time and space you’ll find the rogues easier to handle. Begin by keeping your dog some distance from the sheep and watch their heads carefully as your dog gets closer. Don’t worry about their eyes that are beginning to bulge, watch the ears and where their heads are turned. They will probably be facing the dog, with ears pricked in his direction; very slowly, sneak your dog towards the sheep, stopping often. Do not take your eyes off the sheep’s ears. When they start to get uncomfortable at his closeness one or more sheep will either turn their head ever so slightly away from the dog, or they will flick one ear back; this is a tell-tale sign they are looking for an escape route. They may still be looking at the dog but these subtle movements are your indication to ‘stop’

the pressure from your dog immediately. Stop him right there and take a breather. If you both did it correctly, in a moment or two, the sheep (who flicked back her ear or slightly turned her head away) will turn, calmly walking away from the dog, taking the others with it. IMPORTANT: keep your dog stationary! If it instantly starts following, the sheep will either turn and face it again or bolt, and you are back to square one or worse. But if the sheep quietly walk off and the dog remains motionless, their ears will flick back towards the dog or their head will turn slightly as they observe his whereabouts. If he stays put they feel unthreatened and think they are getting away and everything will remain calm. Once they have some distance from your dog he can start guiding them in the desired direction, but it is really important to keep him back; get too close and things will turn pear-shaped again. I can hear most of you saying ‘stop pussyfooting around and sool your dog into them’. You could, but there’s a strong chance everything will go horribly wrong. Remember, keep your dog back, read the sheep, give them the opportunity to calmly look for a way out, and allow them to think they are getting away from a dog who is no longer interested in them; then quietly guide the sheep from some distance back. You will be amazed how easy and successful this is. • Anna Holland is teaching people dog training. For more information www. annaholland.co.nz or Ph. 06) 212 4848 or annaholland@xtra.co.nz

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A56

C56

D55

Field

A58

C60

C63

A53

C66

R115

B59

14 A55

UL RP TO A AC RE TR A

C68

A60

B61

C61

A63 A61 A59 A5 7

7 L 11 B63 L7 L5 L3 C6 5 C63 L1

A65

R113

L10 L8

SEE US AT SITE C13

R117

17 L17 L15 A 64 L13

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L33

R116

L23 A73 L21 A6 A 9 71 A67

L12

L39

L31

R119

L16 L14

FC-L

L25

R118

L20

46 L 18

CO FENC MP IN ETI G TIO NS

L37

L38

R121

L22

R120

L24

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R33

R13

R32

LIFE

R31

STY

LE M

R10 4 R 103 R10 2

R86

R87

R88

R14

R15

R30

R29

R16

R28

R17

R27

ARQ

UEE

R10 1R 100 R89

R90

R99 R98

R91

R26

20 R18

R25 R24

R96 R95 R94 R93

R19

SEE US AT SITE E23

R20

R21 R22 R23

GATE 4

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R92

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SEE US AT SITES C71,C73,C75, L2,L4

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*Offer ends 30 June 2016. For full terms and conditions visit our website, www.toyota.co.nz 19/05/2016 12:14 pm

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19/05/2016 12:15 pm

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS 37

$8m makeover creates more space EVER-RISING DEMAND for Fieldays sites helped spur the organisers last year to spend $8 million filling in the lake and creating 174 new sites. Chief executive Peter Nation says 95% of sites at Mystery Creek were pre-sold by November last year, and the society has, as usual, a waiting list of businesses keen to exhibit. He says the long-time exhibitors have mostly turned up every year since the event began 48 years ago. “They take the long term view; we all see downturns,” he told Rural News. “They come here to to realign themselves with existing customers, and they come to show off their brands and show all their new innovation and products. “We have 300-400 media people attending,

so the exhibitors get great exposure. “Our exhibitors also come to entertain their guests, inviting them to their marquees to entertain them and thank them for their business. “There is a whole lot of stuff going on here that is not visible; it’s not just people standing a stand and doing a brand.” To meet the growing demand from exhibitors, the National Fieldays Society spent $8 million last year, Nation says the Fieldays remains a melting pot for urban and rural dwellers – the objective of its founders. “We are focussed on keeping it real to its roots. When six people founded this organisation 48 years ago the founding objective was to bring town and coun-

try together and advance agriculture. We are careful to maintain focus on that.” Nation took over as chief executive this year, after 11 years as a board member. One of his first official tasks was to launch the Fieldays at a breakfast in April. “For the last 47 years we have reached June and

opened the gates after sending out a few media releases. This year we decided on a launch, to get people talking about it.”

About 100 Waikato agribusiness leaders attended a breakfast with Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy. The four-day event

opens on June 15. Nation expects 120,000-140,000 visitors through the gates, including about 3000 overseas visitors.

Mystery Creek will be transformed into “a little city” for four days, he says. About 10,000 staff will work at exhibition sites and the venue.

TALE OF THE TAPE ■■

1100 exhibition sites, 95% sold by November last year

■■

The four-day event pumps $370 million into the national economy and $140m into Waikato

■■

3000 international visitors

■■

120,000-140,000 visitors expected

■■

10,000 exhibitor staff

■■

300 media registrations expected

■■

During the event Mystery Creek’s daily power usage is the same as Te Awamutu’s

■■

Mystery Creek also hosts Equidays, conferences, weddings and scout jamborees.

Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

38 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Southern Romeo’s short on ground Aussies have two finalists. From Rakaia comes Gus Thomas, and from Ahaura, West Coast comes Jamie Havill. All the rest are ‘northies’ or blokes from the ‘west island’.

MAINLANDER BACHELORS seem destined to stay single, going by their low finalist numbers in the Fieldays Rural Bachelor contest: two out of eight. Strewth, even the

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and Peter Damen (Kindred, Tasmania). During a whirlwind week they will leave their comfort zone and challenge themselves, says Lee Picken, Fieldays head of events. “We have a lot of talent in the young agri sector in New Zealand and Australia and this is an opportunity to showcase the future of the industry. These guys are passionate self-starters looking to upskill and progress their careers in an industry they’re extremely proud of.” The competition starts with a road trip on June 13-14 from Auckland to Fieldays, completing challenges by NZ Young Farmers and Rural Women NZ and spending

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the night on a farm with a difference at Lavalla Estate in rural Tuakau. Arriving at Fieldays, the Bachelors will have their skills, attitude and all-round charisma tested in competitive challenges such as speed fencing, blind dating, log splitting and building. A few fun twists will test the character of these rural men. From Wednesday to Friday there will be four challenges a day, and a winner announced at the official prize giving on the Village Green on Saturday at 12pm. Two titles are in contest: Rural Bachelor of the Year and People’s Choice, and a prize pool of $20,000.

CAREERS FOR young people in horticulture are sizzling, say the organisers of the Fieldays careers and education hub. Fieldays, supported by its chief partner The University of Waikato, plus GrowingNZ, NZ Young Farmers and St Paul’s Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Science and Business, will “provide an interactive space dedicated to education,” says Lee Picken, Fieldays head of events. And it’s not all livestock farming. For example, GrowingNZ will show the many pathways for young people to get into horticulture. Says GrowingNZ spokesman Andy Somerville: “Many opportunities exist for young people to be part of growing in NZ – developing our technologies, markets, earnings and our sustainable future. “Students get a chance to find out what is possible. We will be in the hub to meet would-be students, teachers and parents.” He and other experts and industry ‘champions’ in growing, livestock farming, forestry, etc will be on hand to tell youngsters about careers and education in primary sector industries. Stories, panel discussions and debates about working in these industries will show the many opportunities that exist. NZ Young Farmers chief executive Terry Copeland says the hub is a great opportunity to showcase the “clear pathways for young people to make rewarding and successful careers in agriculture and agribusiness. “NZ Young Farmers is delighted Fieldays is committed to promoting education as a major pillar to their event.”

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Site D86 and D88, D Street, near the Mystery Creek Pavilion. 15-18 June.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

40 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS SPECIAL PRICE

$ 13,750+GST

RRP $15,325 +GST

RANCHER DELUXE ON TERMINATOR BASE INCLUDES

• Terminator Base 900mm Side Shift • Top Link Ram & Angle Adjustment • 4m 180UB Mast • 4 Bank Valve • 227kg Hammer • Adjustable Legs

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A volunteer driving visitors around with a vintage Massey Ferguson tractor.

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Your ag story matters

RRP $27,540 +GST

THE STORY of your family and farm matters in the big scheme of things; tell it while you can. That’s the message from Fieldays Ag Heritage Village co-ordinator Alan Reilly. “The land we live, work and farm on holds the stories of our history, and these shape who we are today, whether we realise it or not. Opening our heritage buildings during Fieldays will help us to share some of these stories with our community,” says Reilly. Visitors to the village can travel back in time on an interactive scavenger hunt and see views of farming life as it was for the pioneering families of New Zealand. Educating youth about their agricultural

$ 23,850+GST Terminator Beam TT Terminator Base INCLUDES • Terminator Base 900mm Side Shift • 4.25m (150UC) Beam • 270kg Hammer • 6 Bank Valve • Hydraulic Hinge • 250mm Mast Shift

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A42

0800 476 868 sales@fairbrother.co.nz www.kinghitter.com

heritage is the focus of the village, emphasised by the recently refurbished barn; heritage coordinator Alan Reilly is putting together pieces of the past for younger generations. He wants to tell the stories in a way that will educate and encourage children to look closer at everyday items and think more about their history. “All these stories will soon be lost, which is why it’s important to share and record them. “During Fieldays we’ll have hands-on challenges, puzzles and ag heritage activities in all our heritage buildings.” This year the vintage tractor parade has had a revamp and will be bigger and louder than ever.

Tractors from the Waikato Village Tractor and Machinery Club will park around the heritage village lake and complete a vintage tractor parade twice daily at 10am and 2pm. Signalling the Fieldays society’s commitment to the heritage village, the barn got a facelift earlier this year and now houses a collection of items that illuminate Waikato’s rural past. The next village project will be to create a space where people can record and share their own stories about the artefacts on display, eventually integrating these stories into the education experiences on offer. For more info, Waikato Village Tractor and Machinery Club tel. 07 883 1103.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

42 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Ag workhorse gets better MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

UTVS HAVE become the Swiss army knife to farmers for a multitude of tasks. While there are many brands, the Mule manufactured by Kawasaki has cornered the generic name for this type of vehicle. First launched in 1988, the Mule 1000 had a 454cc petrol engine and 2WD, rapidly established itself as a must-have and evolved over the years with bigger engines, 4WD, hi-low transmissions and CVT technology. The Mule of today has similar layout to the first examples but that is where the similarities end. Ideally suited to agriculture and industrial use, the Pro series machines of today are available in DX or FX variants, signifying diesel or petrol engines, the former suited to work where a high torque engine delivers performance and the convenience of

on-site fuel compatibility, particularly on farms. A ladder construction, wide body chassis combines with a 2345mm wheelbase to offer stability and operator comfort, as well as manoeuvrability with a tight 4.8m turning radius. Ground clearance at 265mm, combined with 26 inch diameter wheels and fully independent suspension with double wishbones front and rear soak up imperfections and allow steady progress. When the going gets seriously tough 2 or 4WD can be engaged on the fly and combines with a fully locking rear differential to maximise traction. For sensitive areas the diff can be unlocked to minimise ground damage such as in parks and gardens, while the front runs a limited slip set-up. The Pro-DX has an all-new 3-cylinder, inline engine supplied by Yanmar, with liquid cooling, just shy of 1L capacity, a power output of 18kW

and 52Nm torque and meets current Tier 4 emission regulations. With high torque at low rpm, the engine responds quickly to changing loads and combines well with the CVT to get up and go and quickly achieve the top speed of 55km/h, compared to the 40km/h of the old model. A choice of high or low ratio is selected by the dash mounted shift lever, and the transmission has an engine braking system that keeps things under control on downhill sections. Bringing things to a stop is the job of the hydraulic

disc set-ups in each corner. Of course the most important feature of a UTV is the ability to carry and tow, and operators will not find the Mule Pro lacking in this respect. Offering the largest cargo bed in its class at 1375 x 1355mm, carrying capacity is quoted at 453kg. Practicalities are taken care of with a full sized checker plate floor, gas strut assisted tipping provision for cargo dividers and a useful 1 inch square tie-down rail around the upper edge to allow bungees or tie-down strops to

be used to keep the load in place. Down below a 50mm ball receiver hitch is rated at 907kg. Operator comfort is provided by a full width, bench style seat for three adults, each provided with seatbelts and handgrips on the ROPS protective frame. Standard specification sees half doors offering mud protection, easy mount and dismount, while bullbars protect bodywork from the rough and tumble often experienced. Controls are laid out logically, with drive functions, hi/lo/reverse selection and digital readouts to the right of the steering wheel and park brake with audible warning situated to the left. Direction is controlled by a speed sensitive power steering system that offers more assistance at slow speeds or while stationary, and less as speeds increase. Throughout the passenger area lots of storage is available with three

VETMARKER

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recesses forward, a glovebox to the right, two drink holders and the ability to fit an optional large capacity bin under the bench seat arrangement. For those looking for a more spirited ride, the PRO-FX variant has a 812cc, 3-cylinder petrol

engine with four valves per cylinder and figures of 35kW and 65Nm torque. The fuel injected unit is highly responsive, and quickly takes the machine to a maximum speed of 75km/h, while still offering all the key attributes of the DX model.

STILL BIT OF FUN WHILE THE Mule is undoubtedly a workhorse, for those looking for a little bit more recreation and a vehicle for taking on the toughest terrain, it would be difficult to go past the Kawasaki Teryx 800 EPS. Power comes from a 90 degree V twin, 800cc motor pushing out 58hp, and coupled to a variable transmission with hi-lo ratios; the engine sits midmount offering near 50:50 weight distribution, said to be a pre-requisite for sport riding. Acceleration is brisk to say the least, but very fluid and smooth. Braking is via external discs with twin-pot callipers to the front and an internal disc next to the fixed differential at the rear. Operator comfort takes the form of seating for two in brightly upholstered rally-style bucket seats which are very supportive and combine with the three point seatbelts to keep the driver in place over the rough stuff. Safety is taken care of with the full ROPS cage and half doors to keep legs in and mud out. While it has a smaller tray than the Mule, carrying capacity is rated 272kg; the tow-ball is rated 600kg and the cabin layout sees two deep storage bins located behind the seats. Construction can be described as oversized: large dimensioned A-arms; large diameter drive shafts; heavy duty, long travel FOX suspension; and 26 inch diameter wheels.

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Also available, a Vetmarker for weighing lambs at docking time.

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Ph 06 370 1329 | Stuart 0274 387 528 124 Lincoln Road | Masterton E: daytech@wise.net.nz | www.daytech.co.nz LEADERS IN FARM MACHINERY DESIGN

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS 43 MADE FOR MOVING BIG LOTS

Light in your darkness THE NEW Aeromax is the latest in emergency lighting range from Narva to match 21st century vehicles and their users. The boxes are available in 12/24V with performance that exceeds SAE Class 1 requirements, making them ideal for emergency work such as roadside servicing, council vehicles and commercial construction vehicles. Produced in two sizes (200 and 365mm) and with a height of only 47mm, the compact design has a sleek and modern appearance, and the lights are less likely to be damaged in low clearance areas. The new light boxes can even be used in pairs to replace traditional rotating beacons or to deliver a mini light bar set-up. All lights have eight selectable flash patterns: single (constantly on), double (all flashing), ultra (alternate flashing), ultra (cross flashing), quint rotating, rotating, ultra (alt/alt flash) and ultra-double (all flashing). Customers can opt for a clear or amber lens, both using amber LED bulbs. All lenses are made from tough polycarbonate; the LEDs carry a 5-year warranty. Mounting the light boxes is simple, with two options provided. For permanent mounting and hardwiring, selected models come complete with a flange base with low profile mounting brackets. Alternatively, some variants have ceramic disc magnets with rubber protective covers to prevent damage to the vehicle. These models are provided with a 3m lead and cigarette lighter plug with integrated off/on and flash pattern selector switch.

AIMED AT contractors or large scale operators using industrial style loading shovels, the Prodig folding grass fork imported by Giltrap Agrizone looks up to the task. Available in widths 3.6, 3.9, 4.2 and 4.8m, units carry 14, 16 or 18 Hardox steel tines that are 40mm wide and 1525mm long, set in a heavy box-steel bottom beam with a full length hardened cutting edge.

Folding to a transport width of 2.56m in the case of the three

smaller units and 2.89m for the largest is by twin 90mm double

acting hydraulic cylinders. A hydraulic accumulator and buffer pads relieve shock loads and a locking mechanism ensures safe road transport. The folding pivot points are 60mm diameter and have replaceable phosphor bronze bushes. The construction of the rest of the frames is from heavy-duty high grade steel box sections with plating at key stress points. Weight: 1230-1450kg.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

46 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Safer yards a must CATTLEYARDS RANK second on ACC’s list of dangerous places on farms. So says Te Pari Products, whose staff have found hundreds of yards that were not entirely safe and had the potential to cause serious injury or even kill. So the company is moving to make operators aware and able to identify problems like pinch points, protrusions or poorly locking gates. It has developed a website to help famers assess the safety of their yards via an easy-to-do online questionnaire that asks 15 thought provoking questions and helps the user identify

dangerous areas in their yards; upon completion the site emails the respondent a single page report that prioritises

the issues that need addressing. The site is free to use and also contains useful links to H&S information

provided by the government and other industry providers. Take the test now at www.yardsafe.co.nz

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Farmer and former All Black Richard Loe will be talking farm safety at Fieldays.

TEAM TO TACKLE FARM INJURY TOLL FARMERS KEEN to know more about simple steps for farming safely are encouraged to see the WorkSafe team at Fieldays. Free ‘Keep Safe, Keep Farming’ info kits will be available, including information on reducing the risk of machinery accidents. Al McCone, WorkSafe’s programme manager for agriculture, says many farm machinery accidents are avoidable. “There are a wide range of causes for machinery accidents,” he says. “It can be operator error, misjudgement or inexperience, inadequate maintenance or absence of basic safety guards.” McCone says it’s a good idea to keep three points of contact while mounting or dismounting machinery. “Avoid blockages and ensure machinery has stopped before attempting to clear blockages by hand. Guards and shields should always be in place and remember to keep machinery regularly maintained and cleaned. “Easily seen and used emergency stop equipment is vital in large machin-

ery, while good design in machines like log-splitters will mean the operator is well away from the impact points,” he adds. “Accidents on the farm don’t just mean a trip to the doctor. Injuries hit productivity and your bottom line. Problems can be there before the machinery even gets through the farm gate. Manufacturers and retailers need to be aware of the safety and usability of the product they are designing or selling. We have seen examples of machinery delivered in a dangerous state – including a PTO driven spray unit with unguarded connection point and silos without adequate access for users.” Farmer and former All Black Richard Loe – an advocate of good health and safety onfarm – will join the WorkSafe team at Mystery Creek. “If you’d like to know more, come and talk to me there,” Loe says. “I know how busy farmers are but the kit is a great help; it cuts to the chase and tells you what you need to know in plain language.”

tunnel houses Pre-Rippers

SEE US THE MYSTERY CREEK FIELDAYS – SITE K42

Moleplough

DON’T PUT GOOD FERTILISERS ON COMPACTED SOIL WHICH CAN’T ABSORB IT If your soil can’t support 15cm root growth and good worm population check for compaction, you could need aeration. In dollar terms, what would 20% production increase mean to your yearly turnover? YOUR GREATEST ASSET IS THE SOIL YOU FARM - DON’T DESTROY IT!

BALEAGE TIPPER

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Transports and stands wrapped round bales on end for storage Now available as a single or dual unit • Suitable for medium HP tractors • 3PL mounted (no front axle stress) • Bale tipped in one easy movement • No need to reposition bale before tipping

For ripping deep pans and laying alkathene pipe up to 50mm • Optional chute • Standard & heavy models SEE US OUR NEW SITE AT THE NATIONAL FIELDAYS SITE K15

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• Ideal addition to your block • Grow vegetables all year round and reduce your grocery bill • Very affordable and easy to install • Totally NZ made by family business making tunnelhouses for 30 years • Range of models from 2m to 8m long T/F 03 214 4262 E morrifield@clear.net.nz

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS 47

Latest and greatest from Europe on show THE LATEST offerings from leading European farm machinery manufacturers Claas, JCB, Amazone, Fliegl, Grégoire Besson, Grimme and Trioliet, will be on show at the Claas Harvest Centre site. Several machines will make their debut, notably the JCB 516-40 Loadall, a compact telehandler with high performance, efficiency, manoeuvrability and comfort in confined spaces. It has features normally only found on larger models – four-wheel drive, all wheel steering and variable transmission, in a compact package measuring 1.8m high and 1.56m wide. The machine can lift 1600kg to a height of 4m, and has 1000kg capacity at a forward reach of 2m. Also making its debut will be the new range of Amazone ZA-V linkagemounted fertiliser spreaders, available in sizes and configurations from 1700 to 4200L and with the precision and innovation – including automatic calibration – found in larger Amazone spreaders. The machine has a working width of 36m, speed of 30km/h and offers highend performance for midsized operations. Fodder beet growers will get to see the mas-

sive Grimme Rootster 604 trailed rower, which allows one-pass lifting and cleaning of beet. “There is huge potential for more beet to be grown in the North Island, where the growing season will allow even higher dry matter yields,” Roger Nehoff , general manager NZ retail, says. “Some believe beet has the capacity to replace maize silage as it is higher yielding, cheaper to grow, easier to store and better utilised by livestock.” Agricultural trailers from leading German manufacturer Fliegl, including three-way tipping and ‘push-off’ trailers, will also be on display. They offer a useful combination of Claas fodder harvesting technology -- high capacity with rapid unloading of silage, and the ability to be used as chaser bins, compost spreaders or for transporting bulk materials. Feeding technology is seen in the Trioliet Solomix ZK1-1400 mixer wagon; it has a single vertical auger and a capacity of about 14 cu m, and can incorporate all feed ingredients into a single ration so there is less wastage and less opportunity for cows to separate and reject

ingredients. “A mixer wagon is not just a machine; it represents a fundamental shift in overall farm management,” Nehoff says. As usual, the Claas Harvest Centre site will

show a complete lineup of forage harvesting technology from Claas, including a top-of-theline Jaguar 980 forage harvester, Disco mowers and mower-conditioners, Volto tedders, Liner rakes

and Cargos compact dualpurpose loader/transport wagons. And there will be a comprehensive line-up of advanced Claas tractors from the Axion, Arion and Axos series.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

48 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Kubota ups the ante WITH THREE new models offering 130, 150 and 170hp (M7131, M7151 and M7171 respectively), a choice of standard, premium or premium KVT specification is offered. The tractors use the Kubota 4-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled V6108 engine with 6.1L capacity. Fuel injection is electronically controlled, using a high pressure common rail layout for instantaneous injection at the precise moment, creating optimal combustion and the associated benefits of better efficiency, good consumption and reduced engine noise. The addition of selective catalytic reduction (SCR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) ensures the tractor exceeds Tier 4 emission regulations. Moving down the drive-line, the tractors will have a 24 x 24 speed semipowershift transmission or the Kubota variable transmission (KVT) that virtually provides an infinite number of forward and reverse speeds, allowing operators to work at the optimal speed for a wide variety of jobs. Highly responsive and reliable, the KVT transmission has dynamic braking,

or engine-assisted deceleration, to help maintain control and a constant travel speed while on descending slopes. At the rear end Kubotaâ€™s 4-speed liveindependent PTO, ranging from 102 to 142hp, can be engaged and disengaged without stopping the tractor, using a single control switch with automatic modulation for smooth engagement. The M7 also offers optional front PTO

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for even greater versatility and productivity. Rear lift capacity is an impressive 9000kg, and hydraulic flow is either 80L/min open centre or 110L/min closed centre load sensing, dependant on model. Loading is handled by the LM2605 mechanical self-levelling frontloader. This has a Kubota-first -- the Z-Bar self-

levelling linkage to ensure a clear view over the top of the loader boom. A standard third-function valve allows the use of hydraulically controlled attachments, controlled by a single switch conveniently located on the joystick grip. The M7-1 series has a wide four-post cab with excellent visibility, designed to keep operators comfortable and working efficiently during long days. The cab is available with a choice of mechanical or air-ride suspension systems, taking the bumps out. The all-in-one terminals on the Premium and Premium KVT models display functions on a single large touch screen, and an optional, built-in, autoguidance system gives the machine the ability to track its own movements, displaying maps and information on the terminal so operators are fully aware and in control of their work. ISOBUS compatibility allows plug-play of suitably equipped implements through the single screen. A choice of options such as front suspension, front PTO and, for the first time, bar axle, will ensure the tractor is attractive across a broad spectrum.

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*Mahindra offers consist of either 0% finance over 3 years (36 Months) or $3000 cash back, paid by way of Visa prezzy card, when you purchase any brand new Mahindra Pik Up or Genio variant. Both offers are based on our recommended retail price. The 0% finance offer is to approved applicants of Auto Finance Direct Limited only. On road costs of $950 applies to both offers. Establishment fee of $450, PPSR fee of $13 and a $10 monthly account fee applies to 0% finance offer. These offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or discounts and must end at midnight on 30 July 2016 or while stocks last. MD Distributors Limited reserves the right to vary, withdraw or extend either of these offers. Terms and conditions apply.

LIVE WIRES NOW IN its third year, Taragateâ€™s Fieldays fencing demonstrations will this year be on a bigger site. The idea of the fencing demonstration is to offer free and interactive fencing advice for all. Visitors are welcomed onto the site from 10am until 3.30pm each day. Programmes of live and interactive demonstrations are run continuously by three top professional fencers and fencing instructors. Here the public can get right up close to the fence line and demonstrator in a relaxed interactive environment to watch and learn. A solution to every fencing requirement will be demonstrated. Also displayed will be fences built using tractor driven post drivers from Fairbrother Industries and Fence Pro, a fencing suppliers Farmlands, Eurocorp and Permapine will take part. Visitors to the site can enter a draw to win a Husqvarna Chainsaw (value $800) by answering three simple fencing questions.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

50 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Tyres carry more, but with less damage

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productivity in the field, boosting crop yields. On show will be the Michelin XeoBib and Yieldbib tyres which are integrated with Michelin’s Ultraflex technology, making it possible to carry heavier loads at low pressure (less than 1 bar); the Yieldbib offers benefits to the cropping industry and the SprayBib offers 40% more load capacity with 43% less pressure than a conventional tyre. “Increasingly farmers find themselves under increasing pressure to be more efficient; they are well aware of soil compaction and the negative effect it has on their productivity. This is where modern tyre technol-

WITH LARGER and more powerful machinery comes increased weight and the potential for greater damage to soil. Increasing load per axle means greater pressure on the ground, which compacts the soil, reducing soil aeration and water absorption. Compaction disrupts crop growth, thus reducing yield. Michelin Ultraflex technology supports developments in farm machinery, enhancing productivity while also preserving the soil. Capable of operating at low pressure while supporting more load and more speed, they also offer better traction, which in turn improves

ogy is playing a strong part in the evolution of farming practices” said Andrew Gillam, TRS sales and marketing manager. BKT, NZ’s largest selling agricultural tyre brand, has also developed a new range of increased flexibility tyres to combat the issue of soil compaction; the Agrimax Fortis was created for high-powered tractors used daily for transport, seeding and soilengaging applications. Said to be able to support and carry heavy loads at lower inflation pressures than a standard tyre, its wide tread footprint allows for even distribution of weight on the ground without damaging the soil.

28 years of continuous development gives you a choice of 9 different models in the Mule range. From 2 to 6 seats, petrol or diesel. Kawasaki’s industrial strength has developed strong, dependable, practical and safe farm utility vehicles. Check out full details at www.kawasaki.co.nz or phone 0800 452 9272.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS 51

Keep it all under cover A NEW, easy-to-use cover for utes that doesn’t require holes drilled into the bodywork will be taking pride of place on the Toyota, Isuzu and Volkswagen vehicles at this year’s National Fieldays. Best Bars roll-up tonneau cover uses an alloy frame that is fixed to the top of the wellside tray with specially designed brackets to lock it into place, providing a smart and attractive appearance, and also

keeping the weather at bay. Removable ribs inside the cover keep it taut over the tray. As the name suggests, the cover simply rolls up when the ribs are removed and it can be stored right behind the cab when the driver needs to transport tall or bulky items. Elasticated straps are incorporated into the design to keep the rolled-up cover tightly in place while the Ute is underway.

The new cover has further advantages over ordinary fabric tonneau covers, which can stretch and tear more easily without the supporting and protective frame that is an integral part of the product. The material used is a heavy-duty vinyl, which still retains its soft feel even though it is very tough. www.bestbars.co.nz @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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TECHY APPROACH TO DISPLAY THE SAYING goes you can either follow the pack, or lead the pack and make history. Tulloch Farm Machines at Fieldays will again take the latter route with a radical step away from the typical field days display to create what they call an ‘interactive display’. The site will be covered with a large marquee, and entry made through the ‘throat’ of a large self -propelled forage harvester. Customers will enter to sit and talk with company specialists, delve deeper into products via displays on large hi-definition monitors in brochure or video walkaround form, and see videos of machines in action. Many are said to have labelled the move a way of saving money, but the change keeps site visitors protected from the often dodgy weather at Fieldays, and they get to see complete ranges of machinery impossible in the conventional format. This year’s site will take the same format and feature interactive displays from the company’s nine major brands sourced from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland. Sales manager Nick Gillot comments, “we will continue with the use of interactive technology as last year, but also introduce some ‘wow’ factor, as well as providing some heavy metal for the die-hards”. This will include the Krone BigPack 870 HDP baler, the ActiveMow 320 mower and the recently introduced Multicrop inter-row cultivator from Monosem.

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

World leading performance! Check out our range of world leading equipment brands at Fieldays® this year. MIMICO is the New Zealand distributor for Kobelco excavators, Kawasaki Z7 wheel loaders, Atlas Copco breakers and demolition equipment, Moxy articulated dump trucks, Metso crushing and screening equipment, and ZF transmission and drive components. We sell, hire and service heavy machinery for the quarrying, mining, contracting, construction, recycling and forestry industries.

Visit us on I Road at sites I46 & I48 www.mimico.co.nz Freephone 0800 806 464 | E-mail enquiries@mimico.co.nz | Auckland, Matamata, Christchurch

Rural-News_Fieldays2016.indd 1

25-May-16 10:28:03 AM

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

52 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Tractor range expanded NEW HOLLAND has expanded its tractor offering with two new models, the T7.290 and T7.315, to match growers’ needs for increased power, and with the versatility to do, say, primary and secondary cultivation, drilling, baling, mowing and haulage. A fundamental design criterion of the T7.290 and T7.315 was to improve efficiency to new levels. The engine uses New Holland’s ECOBlue Hi-eSCR (high-efficiency selective catalytic reduction) technology to meet Tier 4B emissions standards. This aftertreatment system, which has no CEGR or DPF,

allows the engine to optimise combustion, torque and fuel efficiency, maximising power output from each cylinder. An electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger delivers the torque required to operate at low engine speed and react quickly to load changes. The new T7 models also have New Holland’s award-winning Auto Command continuously variable transmission (CVT) with four direct drive points with 100% mechanical efficiency. For PTO work a four speed rear PTO and a two speed front PTO allow the engine to be operated at maximum efficiency.

Vredestein tyres on Cameron Kerr’s MF means he can get to places he couldn’t before.

HILL COUNTRY MORE ACCESSIBLE If mowing in light crop conditions the operator simply uses the in-cab speed shift to select 1000rpm (economy) for

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the front and rear mowers and then starts counting the fuel savings. Hydraulic circuits have been redesigned so no oil moves on these tractors unless it is required, and with a 220L/min pump, significant oil flow can be obtained at low engine speeds, again saving fuel. The Horizon cab offers the premium comfort levels of T7 models with extremely quiet operation at just 69 dB(A), the new generation Auto Comfort ventilated seat and the standard SideWinder II armrest. The new seat, together with the standard Comfort Ride suspension and new generation heavy-duty suspended front axle give an exceptionally smooth, cushioned ride. Combining this

comfort with the commercial vehicle systems of ABS and an exhaust brake, the T7 becomes a benchmark for haulage work. At night all becomes clear with up to 20 LED work lights; the 360° packages leaves nothing in the dark. The T7.290 and T7.315 automation features, such as the latest generation headland turn sequencing, IntelliSteer auto guidance and PLM Connect telematics, put the driver in full control of the tractor. The new models also have New Holland’s IntelliCruise ISOBUS Class 3 tractor-baler automation technology that enables the baler to control the tractor’s speed to optimise feed rate and produce consistent flake thickness.

FOR SOUTHLAND sheep and beef farmer Cameron Kerr, Vredestein tyres are helping to overcome the daily challenges of operating in steep hill country. Cameron’s operation at Camindy Ridges covers 500ha on the western side of Mid Dome Mountain 80km south of Queenstown. The property carries 8000 stock units of beef cattle and sheep which graze over elevations ranging from flat, through rolling to very steep. As well as feeding stock and fieldwork, the fleet of four MF tractors also transport other equipment 116km south to their dairy farm, east of Invercargill. Kerr was impressed by the look of the Vredestein tyres, so he ordered a set for his Massey Ferguson 6480. “I thought they looked aggressive and give you traction on the side of the hills,” he says. He says he was sometimes nervous when asking staff to load tractors and feed stock on the steepest of the farm’s hills; safety is the first rule on the property. He recalls the first time he drove the MF 6480 on one of the steep paddocks. “I immediately felt really safe. Even if it was beginning to slide downwards, I maintained total control of the vehicle and could manoeuvre and turn – even in the thick and greasy mud. The tread on the tyres even seemed to be self-cleaning as it ploughed through like a bulldozer.” With long travel between the two farms, Kerr was further impressed with the smooth running of the Vredestein tyres on all types of surfaces. “It was a soft ride on both the farm tracks and the sealed roads”.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

54 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

See kitchen celebs in person CELEBRITY TV chefs will turn out in force to the Fieldays Kiwi’s Best Kitchen. Among them will be 2015 My Kitchen Rules winners Belinda MacDonald and Neena Truscott, from Cambridge, with their nourishing and delicious seasonal foods, in recipes free of gluten and refined sugar. And the New Zealand Hospitality Hall of Fame winner Michael Van de Elzen will be onstage. The star of television shows The Food Truck and Family Recipes, Van de Elzen recreates favourite Kiwi foods as nutritious family meals. Kiwi’s Best Kitchen shows exclusive Kiwi fare from well-known and emerging brands, says head of events Lee Picken. “We’re thrilled with our selection of chefs this year, and excited that Allyson Gofton will make a guest appearance,” she

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says. “Every year we look to who is popular with our visitors and who is doing something different in the kitchen that particularly relates to good, wholesome Kiwi food. “Seating in the Kitchen Theatre is always full so we recommend people get to the demonstrations early so they don’t miss their favourite cooking celebrities.”

The 2010 Masterchef winner Brett McGregor will front for his second year in the Kitchen Theatre. A seasoned traveller, McGregor has a passion for new flavour combinations to make tasty and easily done meals. Judging the Fieldays Rural Bachelor culinary efforts will give him his first challenge before he demonstrates his own distinctive cooking style.

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THIS FIELDAYS will see the arrival of a much awaited tractor from Case IH -- the new Puma 4B series. Existing Puma models already having a good reputation with larger farmers and contractors for delivering efficient power, reliability and operator comfort. The new 4B series will offer significant improvements and refinements, and “will set the benchmark for other manufacturers to follow,” says NZ operations manager Case IH, Tim Fanning. The most noticeable visual difference is the new roof cap which sports 360 degree LED surround lights and the overall family look of the Magnum and Optum ranges. At the

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patible and allows control of all the tractor’s key functions. As the name suggests, a key change to the machine centres on the 6.75L FPT engine, upgraded to meet Tier 4B /Final emission regulations. This is achieved by using the Hi-SCR system (DEF only) which removes the need for any energy sapping exhaust gas recirculation or diesel particulate filters (DPF). The company claims the set-up results in a cleaner burning and more powerful engine, with lower fuel consumption and an industry leading 600 hour service interval. NZ customers will be able to choose a Classic or Ultimate level of specification, and full powershift or CVT transmissions according to operating requirements or personal preference.

front of the cab a single-piece front screen gives unhindered forward visibility which should prove a favourite with operators. Inside the cabin greater comfort is offered with a new Grammar Maximo Evolution semi-active leather clad seat, with a novel sideways-sliding backrest for added support, which cleverly moves out of the users’ way when he looks over the shoulder to inspect work or hook up implements. For easier control of repetitive field tasks, the headland management control (HMC II) can be used to record or edit sequences during work or while stationary, and offers 12 ‘triggers’ to start the next step in a sequence such as time, distance, hitch position, PTO or shuttle movement. Control is via the PRO700 touch screen which is ISOBUS 3 com-

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS 55

Smart feeding for herringbone sheds A NEW patented travelling feed hopper for herringbone dairy sheds allows feeding which until now has only been achievable in rotary sheds. PPP Industries’ Smart Feed delivery unit is intended to increase yield and long-term growth, and to facilitate herd expansion. The system allows precise distribution of up to six different feed formulations directly into the milking shed or feed pad, providing cows with the correct amount of feed reliably and at the desired time. Smart Feed is able to deliver more than one type of dairy ration at the same time (similar to

rotary sheds) and has the added advantage of an in-built mineral dispenser. Available in three formats, the system can deliver standard blanket feeding, where all cows receive the same amount; grouping, where cows are fitted with EID’s and the farmer can select fourfive different groups and target these groups with different feed amounts; and/or different types of feed, where the system is connected to silos containing different dairy rations, for a feed-to-yield regime which offers the advantages of a rotary shed. The buyer can first choose a basic system

COMBI ON THE COMEBACK MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

MANY WITH receding hairlines and expanding girths remember lazy touring adventures in the iconic Volkswagen Combi. Some of those memories will be repeatable at dinner, but more will fall into the ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’ category. The latest, and sixth incarnation, dubbed the California Ocean, follows on from the first California launched in 1988: over 100,000 units were made. Powered by a 4-cylinder twin-turbo producing 132kW and 400 Nm of torque, the engine is mated to a 7-speed DSG transmission, and 4 Motion allwheel drive system which allows the users to get off the beaten track. Internally the California offers a way to tour New Zealand in luxury, and in such a way that misty-eyed memories of the 1960s and 70s Combi will long be forgotten. With sleeping accommodation for four adults and a slim-line kitchen with gas cooker, sink, cooling box and ample storage, all the necessities are catered for. The front seats swivel 180 degrees to allow passengers to sit as a group, a removeable camping table is integrated into the sliding door, and the pop up roof gives a feeling of great space. Roll on summer.

which can be upgraded to ear-tag readability at a later date. The system also has the ability to identify cows for herd testing, add alerts on cows in the shed such as antibiotic status, and

can interact with automated drafting systems, allowing the operator to remotely check feed given to cows and daily feed usage. Moving parts are minimal, reducing clutter.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

56 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

difficult going, with the higher values causing major damage to soil structure. Track systems see typical slip values of 3-5%, which over a given area and operating at the same power will see a reduction in operating hours of around 10%. This fact alone will result in major savings in fuel, and preserve soil structure. At Fieldays, Cervus Equipment will display a four track system fitted to a JD 6125R tractor, which is claimed to offer key benefits over a two track system – smoother ride quality and full power

turns, while retaining the original transmission ratios of the tractor and so eliminating any additional loads on the driveline. Supplied as a complete kit, the system also offers the benefit of being able to be removed from a tractor at the time of changeover, returning that unit back to the standard layout, and then being re-installed on a new unit. “We are pleased to be introducing this cutting-edge technology to a market always keen to look at new ideas” Cervus sales manager Tim Harty says.

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TRACK SYSTEMS have many advantages over conventional wheel and tyre systems, not least more grip and reduced ground compaction. While normally the domain of high power prime movers, the recent appointment of Cervus Equipment as the New Zealand distributors for the Soucy Track systems will bring the technology to a wider audience – with kits available for all the major brands in the marketplace. Soucy Tracks are said to offer three times more surface contact than a typical tyre set-up, by way of a much larger footprint, while causing around half the compaction of a dual wheel arrangement and resulting in greater yield potentials. While it is claimed that track systems allow users to travel over paddocks in less-than-ideal conditions of softer footprint and greater tractor, it’s probably better to look at the benefits from a different perspective. Wheeled tractors normally operate at 12-15% wheel slip in optimum conditions, but this can exceed 30% in

LINCOLN ENGINEERING student Mike Liao has designed a machine to make work easier and more efficient in vineyards, by allowing an operator to pick grapes, clip leaves and prune vines while sitting down. While the fruiting wire for a viticulture system defines the position of working, the wire’s height can vary depending on different types of trellis system, but all are relatively low. The working position is usually much lower than an Viticulture lecturer Amber Parker gives the machine adult human’s comfortable a run. working range, so the idea of an adjustable chair which Liao got his idea from working in holds workers in a comfortable position will have a number of benefits. Lincoln’s vineyard, where he found Comfortable working envi- he suffered from a sore back and ronments will result in a quality wondered if he could improve the assured working period and better experience. The ‘vineyard assistant device’ efficiency, by up to 20% in harvest, with the added benefit that the rid- took about two months from start er’s feet are kept off the ground, out to its successful field test during May 2016. of the cold and wet.

JFM

markd@ruralnews.co.nz

MARK DANIEL

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Bigger and better* See the new benchmark in tractor brilliance at National Fieldays. Superior in power, and with industry-leading fuel efficiency, the Fendt S4 Series tractors offer big savings for the farmer that means big business. Because when it comes to agriculture, you deserve a machine that’s as serious as you are.

*According to DLG Powermix Test

Fendt is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

58 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Massey’s new workhorses on display THE 80-100HP tractor continues to be the workhorse in New Zealand, especially on dairy farms, and the picture is the same in world markets. Hence Massey Ferguson starting with a clean sheet and $350 million to design the Global Series which took all the best points of utility tractors and brought them up to date for the 21st century. Having seen the results of this project with the 4700 series in 2014, the imminent arrival of new 5700 models is sure to get the red and silver tractor fans excited. The new 5709 and 5710 offer 92 and 102hp from the 4-cylinder, turbocharged Agco Power engines displacing 4.4L

and offering 410Nm torque at 1500rpm. These are mated to a 12 x 12 transmission with six speeds, two ranges, and a wet clutch/power-shuttle operated by a lever under the left side of the steering wheel. As on the larger series this lever controls forward/reverse direction changes, and includes controls for aggressiveness of drive take-up and a de-clutching action for making speed changes, all without the need to use the clutch pedal. Levers on either side of the seat control speeds and hi-lo ranges while acting directly on the gearbox selector rails for simple, easy and reliable operation.

4WD front axles achieve 55 degrees of steering angle for tight turns and a 100% locking differential means positive traction is ensured in the toughest conditions. The rubber is meaty radial tyres of 540-65R34 at the rear and 440-65 R24 at the front. At the business end, a heavy-duty rear axle offers lift capacities up to 3300kg. The open centre hydraulic system has flow of up to 98L/min via twin gear pumps, the first powering the three point linkage and two rear remote valves, the second seeing to power steering, 4WD engagement, diff lock and PTO. A six spline PTO is offered with 540 or 540E speeds.

NZ spec tractors are offered in ‘essential specification’ (ES) which means a semi-suspended, flat operator platform,

levers on either side of the driver’s seat for speed and range changes, pendant pedals suspended from the underside of

the centre console and hydraulic wet brakes. The package also has electronic linkage control (ELC) with a simple lever

operation, radial tyres, folding ROPS frame and a larger fuel tank (170L). @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

The new MF 5710 in action.

The best in 4WD, SUV, Tractor and Implement tyres, all on one site!

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PHONE 0800 4 AGBITS | 0800 4 242 487 WEBSITE www.agbits.co.nz

Y A D D L E I F L A N O I T NA

! S L A I SPEC

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2 K 5 4 H

SECURITY CAMERA

WEEDPAK 20 LITRE TROLLEY SPRAYER 12 VOLT

REDLINE 55 LITRE SPOT SPRAYER

WAS $343.48

WAS $220.00

WP20-TR2

SP55-R1

$299

WAS $293.91

$230

$199

SECURE01

WIDE ANGLE SECURITY CAMERA

15 METRE RETRACTABLE HOSE REEL

JOLLY GUN SPRAY LANCE

WAS $388.70

WAS $60.87

WAS $145.00

SECURE120

410-51

180J1510A

$299

$40

$125

DRIVEWAY SENSOR

200 LITRE DIESELPOWER TANK

WAS $46.09

WAS $990.00

800 LITRE SLIMLINE LINKAGE WITH BP125 PUMP

SEC-ALERT

SQDN200-7

WAS $4,300.00

$40

ECONOPAK 300L 60/20 PMP 6 METRE BOOM

$899

K08-105

WAS $3,860.00

WAS $1,210.00

KBC300

SQD300-7

$3,760

1000 LITRE TRAILED AIRBLAST

$3,870

300 LITRE DIESEL TANK

$1,000

335 LITRE GALVANISED HOP SPREADER

6 METRE MANUAL FOLDING FIELD BOOM 032-06G WAS $5,910.00 NOW $5,238.00

8 METRE MANUAL FOLDING FIELD BOOM 032-08G WAS $6,230.00 NOW $5,510.00

MULCHER FIXED H/S & HAMMERS

WAS $17,500.00

WAS $1,340.00

WAS $8,280.00

AB11AF8R

SX-500GALHOP

BE18/06

$15,990

$1,299

$7,200

*Prices exclude GST, exclude dealer installation and/or freight charges.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

TEFIND U E2S 3

60 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

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Drill promises greater flexibility MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

AIMED AT contractors with a need for flexibility when it comes to planting crops like maize or fodder beet, the Kverneland Accord Optima V precision drill can also be utilised by larger operators wishing to keep main machines on ‘task’ and utilise the Optima V for tidy-up or alternative crops. It is also ideally suited to larger farmers who have a range of crops to plant. The drill has a variable telescopic beam design hydraulically actuated to

alter row spacing from 40 to 80cm on a six row, or 33 to 55cm on an 8-row set-up. The telescoping action allows the drill to be narrowed up for safe transport, and also allows individual positioning of each of the seeding units. Up front, and positioned over the re-designed headstock, a 1000L fertiliser hopper is driven by a variable drive gearbox to adjust application rates; it has a full width hood for easy loading and air transfer to the double disc coulters. Seed rate control is via the KV e-drive 2 system that allows target seed rates to be achieved irrespective

of forward speed or terrain. Accurate placement is achieved by the combination of trash wheels, intermediate press wheels and a hydraulic ballast system that smooths out the planting operation by reducing coulter bounce, so maintaining uniform depth control. Optional extras include KV Geo Control for individual switching of the seeding units at headland marks or in short ground, saving seed input, and the further option of Geo Seed for uniform seed spacing across the whole paddock, allowing optimum germination for each plant. www.powerfarming.co.nz

SEE US AT STAND G33 AT FIELDAYS 2016

TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST WET WEATHER GEAR AND QUALITY FARM APPAREL

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

62 NZ NATIONAL FIELDAYS

Calving info at flick of a tail TOP UTE ON CHARGE THE MITSUBISHI Triton has obviously caught the eye of New Zealand’s ute buyers, as it sits in the top three in the sales league tables for this class of vehicle. Those who are undecided might get a reason to make up their minds when they see a limited edition steed at Fieldays. The Triton Charger-X is based on the top-of-the-range GLS, offering a premium package in only 300 examples in May and June. Hi-grade leather upholstery is complemented by a 7 inch touch screen display for satnav and rear vision, while a stunning decal package makes this vehicle stand out from the crowd. The 2.4L DID Mivec engine offers

up 135kW and 437Nm of torque, providing excellent power-to-weight ratio and achieving a miserly 7.6L/100km fuel use. The SuperSelect 4WD system includes all the usual choices, has the ability to be driven on-road in 4WD mode for grip and safety, and combines a diff lock function for when it gets really tough. Safety gear includes seven airbag functions (ATC, ASC, ABS and EBD) and the vehicle has a 5-star ANCAP safety rating. For those looking to do work, 1 tonne of stuff can be accommodated in the 2.23 sq m tray, said to be the longest and deepest in class, and payload of 3.1t should not see anyone complaining.

CALVING COWS means late nights and early mornings, with statistics showing around 18% of heifers need help and 7% of calves die at birth. So a new device, launching at Fieldays, should be welcomed by farmers’ looking for a few more hours sleep and, more importantly, peace of mind that all is well in the calving shed or paddock. The Moocall device came about after farmer/inventor Niall Austin had a heifer in calving difficulties. This resulted in a dead calf and the heifer having to be put down after paralysis, all leading to a financial loss of around Euro 2000 (NZ$3300). The device, which attaches to the cow’s tail, contains a motion sensor that analyses the tail’s movement. It refers around 600 pieces of data per second, comparing to an algorithm and predicting the onset of calving. When this happens, an internal GSM device sends an SMS text to the farmer or stockman’s mobile device,

normally an hour before the event. Messages can be sent to two different phone numbers and the device’s status, and that of others, can be viewed from a computer based ‘dashboard’ that records any activity including calving. Power comes from an internal rechargeable battery with 30 days life. The unit is attached to the cow’s tail, opposite the vulva, with an integral ratchet strap; it is shaped to resist removal by rubbing or knocking off and is water-resistant. Launched in 2015 after four years of testing and development, units have been sold on 10,000 farms in 25 countries. It has ‘overseen’ 90,000

births and won awards for technical expertise, design and manufacture. Depending on calving patterns, the manufacturer suggests that one unit can be used to monitor 30 cattle. Especially it is useful for early or late-calvers, heifers, animals calving at night or pedigree animals that might need a vet’s assistance. It should also prove useful to stockmen working away from the farm, or in situations where the farmhouse is a distance from the calving area. The company is currently looking for distributors in NZ and Australia www.moocall.co.nz

1st of its kind MULTI 4 BALE FEEDER The New McIntosh Multi 4 Bale Feeder is the first of its kind. Capable of carrying 4 round bales, or a combination of round and square bales. Combined with the rear loading system this is a truly unique machine. Built to the usual high standards seen across all McIntosh machines this Multi Bale Feeder is a must see. Come and see us at Mystery Creek Field Days to view this amazing machine and see for yourself how it will save huge amounts of time, reduce travel costs and will change the way you feed out forever. MYSTERY CREEK FIELD DAYS SEE US AT SITE

K27 & D75

www.mcintosh.net.nz

Also come and see our new square bale feeder attachment which breaks slabs in half FREEPHONE: 0800 622 276

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 63

No doom and gloom in tractor and machinery showrooms Clearly some farmers are locked into a plant replacement cycle and markd@ruralnews.co.nz often find that a new machine will FARMERS AND contractors are still reduce annual spending as repairs ready to spend on technology if it will and maintenance generally cost less save them money, says the New Zea- on a new machine and are often covland Tractor and Machinery Associa- ered by warranty. The 20-60hp compact utility segtion (TAMA). “NZ tractor sales are still relatively ment in NZ has enjoyed around buoyant, despite the current dairy 15% growth as residential property owners look payout” says replace TAMA pres“The NZ tractor market to ident Mark aging tractors. is mirroring what is Hamilton“We are seeing signifManns. occurring in the US, icant compeTAMA tition in this obtains retail where retail sales of segment of delivery statis- under-40hp tractors the consumer tics for 97% of were up 33.2% for market,” the NZ tracsays Hamiltor market, March 2016 and plus general increased 26.1% yearton-Manns. agricultural “These consumers spend machinery sales to-date.” a lot of time statistics from online and in store evaluation and its co-operating members. A look at how the industry is fair- research. But we stress that they ing shows it is not all doom and gloom. should look at parts supply, service Commenting on first quarter results, and warranty support. What could Hamilton-Manns says sales figures are be a great deal could end up costing a down 11% on 2015 numbers. great deal. “While certain segments have “The NZ tractor market is mirrorenjoyed growth, the dairy sector (100- ing what is occurring in the US, where 120hp) has seen a greater in decline in retail sales of under-40hp tractors were sales activity. up 33.2% for March 2016 and increased “We are seeing farming customers 26.1% year-to-date. However, Januarytake longer to make decisions and are March sales of 4WD tractors fell by often electing to purchase a machine 38.2%.” with a lower level of specification to The global commodity downturn is meet a budgeted price point. In some largely responsible for the decline in cases cabs are a luxury removed from ag tractor sales. Perhaps the most tellthe shopping list.” ing statistic in a market dominated by

Prices subject to change due to currency ﬂuctuations

MARK DANIEL

TAMA president Mark Hamilton-Manns.

corn, wheat and soybeans is that combine sales were down 14.7% for firstquarter 2016 versus last year. In Europe similar trends are seen: overall tractor sales in 2015 declined by 3.4% (129,249 units in 2015 vs 133,857 units in 2014). In an already depressed South American market, industry commentators have predicted sales of tractors

and combines could fall by as much as 10-15%. “At a time when our customers are reducing costs, most manufacturers TAMA represents are doing the opposite and investing in training, aftermarket support and parts supply to ensure our customer’s machines keep operating,” Hamilton-Manns says. “Moreover, our manufacturers are

spending heavily on R&D to meet offroad emissions regulations, integrate technology into machines and reduce operating costs. “New technology at National Fieldays will… if nothing else, send visitors away with new ideas or opportunities they can integrate into their businesses to achieve greater bottom line returns.”

Two Wheels on the Farm $5,648.00 excl. gst

$4,343.00 excl. gst

Farm 150

250 Stockman

Built for farmers who put a premium on high quality construction. Electric start, disc brakes, alloy rims, quality suspension, stainless mufﬂer, O-ring chain, rear farm carrier, knobbly tyres and mudﬂaps, feature on both models. Plus the Stockman has dual side stands, front carrier, handlebar and engine guards. See the full details at www.kawasaki.co.nz

Phone: 0800 4529272

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

64 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

A fair bit of ‘red’ in the shed MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

A FAVOURITE colour of the Nickell family, owners of Normanby Contractors, South Taranaki, is red, judging by the stable of modern machinery focused on the Case IH and Lely brands. Started back in 1951 by father Jim – who bought a bulldozer and set about creating roads, farm races and clearing gorse – the business expanded through the decades, with Nickell junior, Gary, joining the business in the

early 1970s. Nowadays the business offers a complete general contracting service, over a 25km radius from the home base just north of Hawera. The business has nine Case IH steeds from 80-210hp and a Claas selfpropelled forage harvester to handle a growing forage maize workload. On the grass front, machinery in the fleet is mostly Lely. A pair of 3.2m Spendimo mower conditioners, mounted front and rear, takes around 6m of grass in each pass and

averages 6ha/hour cut over the season. The Nickells note that the units are easy to drive and the front mounted unit follows undulating terrain extremely well, helped by a suspension system that sits over and effectively ‘pulls’ the unit, rather than being ‘pushed’, bulldozing rather than lifting over obstacles. They also praise the modular design, which sees cutting units and spacer blocks clamped together to form a cutterbar and driven by a hightensile, hexagonal shaft

at the rear. In the event of any impact damage while mowing, these units can be quickly removed and replaced and work can re-commence with minimum delay. A recent addition to the machines was some newly available, alloy steel stone guards which avert damage to blades or the mower assemblies. A further essential part of the grassland project is a Lely Tornado 445 baler wrapper combination. The machine has helped daily outputs of finished products rise

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eliminating blockages and markedly and allows one ensuring high daily proman to keep ahead of the duction. weather in changeable The father-and-son conditions. The variable team say the unit took chamber baler uses belts some getting used to, but for bale formation, which is now a breeze. The only are produced at an average weight of 750kg, (15-16 glitch has been with the net wrap system, which equiv. bale weight) at an could be difficult to start average output of 50 bales in the windy conditions per hour. seen in Taranaki, until a The machine also guard was designed and has a 25 knife chopping installed. rotor, which is typically They also point out used with half the knives that a little common sense dropped out to give an needs to be applied when average chop length of operating in wet condi90mm, said to be ideal tions: the machine weighs for rumen activity. A around 6 tonnes. drop floor system, under Visit us at rotor, Fieldays 1 TheGate latest arrival the chopper uses opposite from the Lely camp is the hydraulics to allow any lumps to pass through, Tulip Multidisc cultiva-

tor, used to turn maize ground back into maize and turn grass into suitable maize seedbeds. The 3m wide machine has two banks of angled cutting discs mounted on rubber suspended arms and a set of loosening legs capable of getting down to 15-16 inches working depth. These legs address any compaction by breaking pans. However, as Nickel senior advises, “You need careful setting to ensure that the operator is not engaged in recreational cultivation.” The only red item missing from the implement shed... perhaps a Ferrari, Jim?

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 65

App targets better farm safety A NEW app tailored for New Zealand farms should make it easier and more convenient to adopt sound health and safety practices in rural workplaces. Dubbed ‘Safely.nz’, the app especially suits farms and agricultural support businesses such as contractors, transport providers, fertiliser spreaders, vets and shearing contractors. It results from a partnership between accountants Crowe Horwath and Progressive Consulting, and developer Peak Software. Neil McAra, head of agribusiness at Crowe Horwath NZ, says the company is pleased to offer this support to its rural clients, particularly on an issue vital to the

wellbeing of workers. “Compliance can be a challenge given the extent and complexity of the new regulations in the new act which [took force] in April. The app is designed to make compliance with new regulations faster and easier, ultimately supporting improved workplace safety,” he explains. “By providing rapid guidance on the regulations and a handy ‘go anywhere’ reference, the hassle is taken out of health and safety, while delivering the benefits of good practices. The app also has features to automate and accelerate record keeping, calculate risks, manage documents and produce reports as required.” The app can be installed on a smart-

phone or tablet and offers a browser-based portal, providing flexibility of access for users. It operates in online and offline modes, allowing users to access a real-time view of

their safety management anywhere and anytime, important given that connectivity isn’t assured in rural settings. McAra says businesses owners and farmers may

be eligible for a discount of up to 20% on their ACC levies by instituting sound health and safety practices. www.crowehowarth. co.nz

Multitasking made easy

KEEP WATER IN TROUGH, NOT TRACTOR MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

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LABRADORS AND Kiwi farmers have in common a love of water – the first for swimming and the second for trying to ballast tractors by filling tyres. Granted water is cheap, but carting around one tonne of water in each rear tyre, when it’s not needed, can lead to poor acceleration, tyre degradation and increased fuel consumption. Let’s be honest, once it’s in, it stays in. So a new range of ballast solutions marketed by Giltrap Agrizone, Cambridge, and manufactured by Althimasse in France, looks to offer interesting solutions slightly outside the norm. For loader tractors, which are quite often the target of rear tyre water fills, a 900 or 1500kg cast steel counterweight will help brings things under control. It will also allow the use of rear-mounted implements, via its fixed, integral three point linkage system. So add some weight, then a quick hitch will allow a feed trailer to be towed – a workable solution around a feed pad. The same units can also be used as counterweights for front-mounting to balance rear implements, and incorporate some hi-visibility extremity marking panels. Also designed for front-mounting is a neat system that is sculpted to fit between the tractor front link arms, which has a fully adjustable mounting system with a base weight of 900kg and an additional cassette system that can increase the mass by a further 300kg. Further combinations are available to increase the maximum capacity to 2400kg. Interestingly, the cassette can be picked up or dropped very quickly, but more importantly, safely from the tractor seat.

* Conditions apply. Contact your local Power Farming dealer. ** Applicable to all models other than the 100DT.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

66 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS / RURAL TRADER FLY OR LICE PROBLEMS? The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989

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Keeps out of the mud and over the bed MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

HIGH-CLEARANCE TRACTORS – ‘mudders’ in New Zealand – are sold by most manufacturers, but their low sales numbers make them a rare sight. They’re more to be seen on, say, strawberry or carrot farms, where the large ground clearance averts damage to crops. The latest offering from Italian maker Landini is a three model range designated 5-090D, 5-100D and 5-110D (85, 95 and 105hp respectively) using a Tier 4i Perkins, 4-cylinder engine meeting the latest emission standards with a combination of DOC, DPF and cooled EGR.

Weighing about 3700kg dry, the tractors are light enough to restrict damage to seedbeds but still can carry up to 3700kg when required. Transmission has a basic layout of four speeds and three ranges, which provides 12 forward and 12 reverse speeds in the dry clutch, synchroshuttle model, and 24F /12R choices in the wet clutch version designated power-shuttle. This latter is equipped with a push button hi-lo system, and either version can be specified with a creep set to allow 16F/16R or 32F/16R speeds accordingly. Both versions are limited to 30km/h maximum speed, while at the other end of the spectrum the

When you’re serious about

SHELTER! See us at Fieldays! Sites J25 - J29

creep set can bring the minimum speed at rated engine output down to 360m/h. At the business end, an independent PTO system offers a choice of two speeds – 540/540E or 540/1000 rpm outputs. The system is said to offer a modulated start-up to protect the tractor and implement drivelines, and engagement can also

be controlled from rear fender mounted switches. The hydraulic system uses an open centre, tandem gear pump layout with output of 54 and 24L/min, which in the first instance prioritises feed to the steering and braking systems, but if required can combine to offer a maximum output of 78L/min for high demand situations. Lift capacity is rated to

a maximum of 4350kg using two external lift cylinders controlled by a mechanical system to determine position, draft and intermix control. Running gear can be specified with equal-size wheels in a range of sizes from 7.5 inch tread width, and wheel diameters of up to 48 inches, giving a maximum ground clearance of up to 700mm, said to be largest in the market place. A choice of 2WD or 4WD front axles are offered with electrohydraulic engagement of the latter, and traction is further enhanced with an electro-hydraulic rear diff lock system. Axles can be configured for tread widths of 1300-2300 mm to accommodate varying crop/bed system requirements. Up on top a ROPS or cabin can be specified, both with ISO mounting for operator comfort. The cab version has a fourpost layout and creature comforts such as air-conditioning, roof hatch and front opening windows. www.agtek.co.nz

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 7, 2016

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RegisCoatings.co.nz

The best the world can offer

SINGLE DOG BOX

DEAL TO FLY AND LICE

✓ Non-slip ✓ Durable ✓ Custom Made ✓ Noise Reducing

FLEXIBLE CRUSH PROTECTION

Ph 09-439 7688

CRAIGCO SENSOR JET

PO Box 73 Tuakau 1892 Tel: (09) 236 8414 Stainless Structure See us at the PO Box 73 Tuakau PO Box 1892 73 Tuakau 1892 construction Fax: (09) 236 9321 Innovator’s Accelerator Marquee Industries Ltd Tel: (09) 236 8414 Tel: (09) 236 8414 1,000 + Email: sheep/hr PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz at the Fieldays Fax: (09) 236 Fax: 9321(09) 236 9321 Fantastic Industries Industries Ltd LtdEmail: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz email: lifeguard@ag-tech.co.nz Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz Penetration www.atvlifeguard.co.nz Automatic Super Jetter

Innovative Agriculture Equipment

$7,500 plus GST

TOP DOG BOX

With Davey Pump & Honda Motor

PO Box 73 Tuakau 1892 Tel: (09) 236 8414 Fax: (09) 236 9321 Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz

PO Box 73 Tuakau 1892 Tel: (09) 236 8414 Dairy PO Box 73 Tuakau PO Box 1892 73 Tuakau 1892 Fax: (09) 236 9321 Free Range & Barn Eggs Feed Systems Tel: (09) 236 8414 Tel: (09) 236 8414 Dairy Dairy Dairy Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz Feed Systems SUPPLIERS OF: (09) 236 Fax: Fax: 9321(09) 236 9321 Feed Systems Feed SystemsEmail: • Nest boxes - manual or PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz automated

Accommodates up to 4 dogs 6 individual air vents Removable centre board 2 lockable galvanised gates In-house drainage Tie down lugs on each side Fits all wellside & flatdeck utes (2 models) ❱❱ Raised floor for insulation ❱❱ ❱❱ ❱❱ ❱❱ ❱❱ ❱❱ ❱❱

$745

Industries Ltd

sales@pppindustries.co.nz

0800 901 902

www.pppindustries.co.nz

PO Box 73 Tuakau 1892 Tel: (09) 236 8414 Fax: (09) 236 9321 Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz

• Poultry Equipment

PO Box 73 Tuakau 1892

Tel: (09) 236 8414 Feed & Drinking Fax: (09) 236 9321 Email:trays PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz • Plastic egg

incl GST

QUALITY PRODUCTS MADE IN EUROPE OR BY PPPPO Box 73 Tuakau 1892

A trusted name in Poultry Industry Tel: (09) 236 8414 Poultry for over 50 years PO Box 73 Tuakau PO Box 1892 73 Tuakau 1892 Fax: (09) 236 9321 Equipment Tel: (09) 236 8414 Tel: (09) 236 8414 Poultry Poultry Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz Fax: (09) 236 Fax: 9321(09) 236 9321 Equipment Equipment Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz Email: PPP.LTD@xtra.co.nz ❖

❖

Phone 0800 625 826 www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

Culvert Pipes

New Zealand’s CHEAPEST Culvert Pipes! FREE joiners supplied on request. ONE STOP WATER SHOP 300mm x 6 metre ................................ $410 400mm x 6 metre ................................ $515 500mm x 6 metre ................................ $690 600mm x 6 metre ................................ $925 800mm x 6 metre .............................. $1399 1000mm x 6 metre ............................ $2175 1200mm x 6 metre ............................ $3475 ALL PRICES INCLUDE G.S.T.

• Lightweight, easy to install • Made from polyethylene

McKee Plastics Mahinui Street, Feilding Ph 06 323 4181 Fax 06 323 4183

sales@mckeeplastics.co.nz | www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

Phone

0800 625 826

for your nearest stockist

Joiners supplied FREE with culvert pipes

order early and enjoy the benefits Order your pioneer® brand hybrid maize seed from a participating merchant and register before 4pm on the 30th of June 2016 and receive the following benefits:

100% seed REPLANT RISk cover & $100 per bag replant contribution* PREFERENTIAL HYBRID SUPPLY* 10 chances to WIN-BACK YOUR pioneer SEED ORDER* *TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY. VISIT WWW.PIONEER.NZ FOR FULL DETAILS.

0800 PIONEER (746 633) www.PIONEER.nz Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase, which are part of the labelling and purchase documents. ®, TM, SM, Trademarks and service marks of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

DR-Z250

DR200SE

FARMER EDITION

$6,995

TROJAN FARM BIKE

$5,995

INCL. GST

FREE $450 FARM KIT Quality-built in Japan, the DR-Z250 is an offroad legend and comes with a great farm kit to make it work hard on your farm.

INCL. GST

LESS $500 CASH BACK

Farm kit includes: • Rear carrier • Lower gearing • Handlebar guard • Clutch lever trigger • Side stand foot • Front mudflap

• • • • • • •

Fuel-injected 1,300 cc Hi-lo ratio 4WD 500kg payload All-weather protection Rugged all-terrain capability Built for New Zealand conditions Most practical side-by-side on the market

• • • • • • • •

Number one selling 200cc farm bike Quality made in Japan Dual side-stands Electric start 4-stroke 5-speed Comfortable seat Handlebar-mounted carrier Large 12V headlight

TF125

MUDBUG FARM BIKE

$3,995 INCL. GST

LESS $300 CASH BACK • • • • • •

Quality made in Japan Dual side-stands Comfortable seat Handlebar-mounted carrier 125cc 2-stroke 6-speed

*Cash back paid at time of sale. Prices include GST. DR200 road legal version not covered by this promotion. Offer not available with any other promotions.

FARM WORKER WELLSIDE 4X4 $17,990 WITH $1,000 ACCESSORIES

FARM WORKER FLATDECK 4X4 $21,590 WITH $1,000 ACCESSORIES

The Suzuki Farm Worker offers a practical option to side-by-side UTVs with more load space, FARM WORKER VERSATILE 4X4 better protection from $14,990 WITH $1,000 ACCESSORIES the elements and more comfort. PLUS legendary Suzuki 4x4 technology and reliability on the land – and we’ll give you $1,000 worth of genuine Farm FARM WORKER MULTI-PURPOSE 4X4 Worker accessories. PRICES INCLUDE GST. NOT REGISTRABLE FOR ROAD USE.

GET A JIMNY FLATDECK 4WD WITH TOWBAR PLUS A TF125 MUDBUG SAVE $1,000 OFF THE PACKAGE PRICE

* $139/week based on Jimny JX Flatdeck (long wheelbase) supplied with towbar and wiring and TF125 Mudbug (Package price $31,800 plus ORC), nil deposit, 3.9% interest rate and 5 year term. All pricing includes GST. Payments include on-road costs, a $395 documentation fee and $13 PPSR fee. Total amount payable: $36,245.07. Offer available from 15 May to 30 June 2016. Excludes fleet purchases, demo vehicles and all other promotions. Conditions apply. See your local dealer for details.

$16,590 WITH $1,000 ACCESSORIES

BUY NEW FROM JUST

$69

PER WEEK*

No deposit finance across a range of Suzuki vehicles Flag second-hand cars! Enjoy the benefits of a new Suzuki with no deposit and payments from just $69 per week! Get a 5 year warranty, roadside assist package, and that new car smell. So why buy used? Hurry, offer available for a limited time. *$69/week based on Celerio manual (SSP $15,230 plus orc), nil deposit, 3.9% interest rate and 5 year term. Payments include on-road costs, a $395 documentation fee and $13 PPSR fee. Total amount payable: $17,998.56. Offer available from 15 May to 30 June 2016. Excludes Vitara turbo models, Farm Worker, fleet purchases, demo vehicles and all other promotions. Conditions apply. SEE WWW.SUZUKI.CO.NZ FOR DETAILS.

FREE

NO DEPOSIT

$ 139 PACK BUY NEW FROM JUST

ADVENTURE

• SATELLITE NAVIGATION • BLUETOOTH • REVERSE CAMERA • NUDGE BAR • ROOF RACKS

PER WEEK*

COMING SOON ON DISPLAY AT NATIONAL FIELDAYS.

NEW

HATCHBACK

* $139/week based on Grand Vitara JLX manual (SSP $31,690 plus orc), nil deposit, 3.9% interest rate and 5 year term. Payments include on-road costs, a $395 documentation fee and $13 PPSR fee. Total amount payable: $36,122.40. Offer available from 15 May to 30 June 2016. Excludes fleet purchases, demo vehicles and all other promotions. Conditions apply. See www.suzuki.co.nz for details.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PROMOTION: Offers are available from participating Suzuki dealers until 31 July 2016 unless otherwise stated or while current stocks last. Excludes fleet purchases and all other promotions. Product availability: At the time of printing the number of units and colour options were correct. SNZ Ltd reserves the right to change specifications, appearances, models, colours and other items shown in this catalogue at any time without notice. Colours and specifications may differ slightly from those shown within this catalogue. NO DEPOSIT: Offer available from 15 May to 30 June 2016. Excludes Vitara turbo models, Farm Worker, fleet purchases, demo vehicles and all other promotions. Conditions apply. FARMWORKER: Accessories are covered by their own manufacturer’s warranty conditions. MOTORCYCLE: Some prices are recommended retail excluding GST, motorcycle cash back shown includes GST. $2,000 deposit, 3 years to pay offer is based on $2,000 deposit or trade-in equivalent, a $395 documentation fee and $13 PPSR (total charges $408) and 36 equal monthly payments. Normal lending credit criteria apply. Full details are available at www.suzuki.co.nz.

SUZUKI NEW ZEALAND LIMITED 1 HEADS ROAD, WANGANUI.

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