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NEWS An industry where technology is top of the pops.

PAGE 18-19

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016: ISSUE 615

www.ruralnews.co.nz

More rural bank closures PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

A DAIRY farmer and mayor of a town hit by a double whammy of bank branch closures says the loss of a bank can change the perception of vibrancy and wealth in a rural town. But the reality is most farmers are now banking online and have mobile managers, Otorohanga mayor Max Baxter told Rural News. Westpac and ANZ saying within weeks of each other that they will close their branches in the town particularly affects the older people, Baxter says. Otorohanga and Te Aroha are the two towns scheduled to lose both banks’ branches: ANZ last week announced five closures, and Westpac said a few weeks ago it will close 19. ANZ is also considering closing branches at Massey University in Palmerston North, Milton (50km south of Dunedin) and Ngaruawahia.

Baxter says having banks in town gives a certain perception of vibrancy and wealth. “You take banks away from a town and it changes the whole dynamic. It certainly will affect the elderly people in town who enjoy face-to-face interaction with tellers.” ANZ assures him its remaining ATM will accept deposits of cheques and cash. “So you will be able to do all the transactions you now do [but without] one-to-one interaction; obviously we will lose the personal edge,” he says.

ANZ is adamant it will close the branch, he says. “It’s just a sign of the times. Internet banking has changed things so they aren’t getting the foot traffic through the door and don’t deem it viable to stay open.” And as a farmer he can say in all honesty in the last eight months he has written only one cheque. “All my transactions are done via internet banking – a sign of the times. It is just unfortunate we get this double whammy in such a short time.” Most farmers are banking online and

have mobile bank managers, “so we’ve got one-on-one interaction with our own personal managers. The closures will really only affect the old people who enjoy the one-on-one.” The town vibrancy and perception are also two big issues. “It is very unfortunate and came out of the blue. When Westpac made its decision I didn’t expect another bank to follow straight behind.” But he says it won’t be the death knell for Otorohanga by any means. “The town is very vibrant; it is always going to be vibrant.”

AN UNOFFICIAL WORLD RECORD! Leeston farmer David Birkett inspects the tillers on a wheat plant sown in April. He hopes this crop turns out as good as that harvested in February this year, which yielded 16.7 tonnes/ha, edging out the current world record of 16.52t/ha. Birkett says weighbridge figures now confirm the yield at 17.59t/ha, beating the world record by just over one tonne. Unfortunately, he cannot claim an official world record because the crop was not registered and monitored as an attempt on the official world record. – See more on page 8. PHOTO: NIGEL MALTHUS

IRISH LEAD THE WAY BEEF + Lamb Genetics chair Chris Kelly says New Zealand could learn from the Irish model that combines research, farm extension and education in one research organisation – Teagasc. Rural News spoke to Kelly and others during the visit of a BLNZ Genetics delegation to Teagasc Research at Athenry, near Galway, in Ireland’s west. Teagasc is notable not only for its science but also for interacting productively with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and Irish farmers. Says Kelly, “When Teagasc was formed it started out as just a research organisation, then combined with extension and education; I have learned they have gone back to the old MAF-type model. “This is something we could take a lesson from because we are all struggling with this issue of technology transfer to farmers. The Irish have recognised this as a market failure and they are funding it in an industry-led way.” Kelly is impressed with the Walsh Fellowship scheme, named a great Irish agricultural scientist. “It’s a good initiative we could do some work on,” Kelly says. Kelly says Kiwi youngsters are not going into science the way young Irish are; he believes there is a big lesson in this for NZ. • More on BLNZ Genetics’ visit on pages 6-7

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 3 ISSUE 615 Lincoln ‘committed’ to agriculture

www.ruralnews.co.nz

NIGEL MALTHUS

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY vicechancellor professor Robin Pollard is reaffirming the university’s commitment to the agriculture sector in the face of reported financial difficulties. Lincoln has embarked on a ‘Refreshing Lincoln’ project, calling for submissions from staff and other interested groups, the process documented in a special section of the university website. Launched with a statement from Pollard on August 19, by September 1 the site had listed three formal submissions. Pollard says the university is not asking for change, but seeking ‘dialogue’. “We’ve announced the university needs to undergo a transformative process whereby it becomes more sustainable, more attractive to students... and economically and financially sustainable.” However, Pollard denies reports the that university needs to save $7 million to meet financial standards set by the Tertiary Education Commission. He says Lincoln is seeking to improve its finances, student experiences, programme flexibility and use of teaching technologies. “So there is a financial dimension, but it isn’t the only dimension and we

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have not announced a figure. Some of the reports have been incorrect,” he told Rural News. Pollard says Lincoln’s commitment to New Zealand’s agriculture by providing well-trained people and quality research is stronger than ever. “Lincoln some years ago decided to be NZ’s specialist land-based university, saying ‘Feed the World, Protect the Future, Live Well.’ “We are absolutely 100% committed to that positioning.” The university is “well-endowed” with farms and other assets and reconfiguring these had to be considered. “We are exposed to the commercial fluctuations of farms caused by, for example, the price of milk. It’s not a happy circumstance for a university to have its academic viability buffeted by market fluctuations in the price of milk. “There are strong arguments for Lincoln having farms. The question is, do we need all of them, and do all the current farms best serve our current purposes?” Pollard says Lincoln is still part of the Lincoln Hub project with Dairy NZ, AgResearch, Plant & Food Research and Landcare Research. The hub development has a “bright future.” “We have made strong progress

Robin Pollard

through this year and things are looking positive. I don’t think the hub development is at all affected by Lincoln’s decision to transform itself.” Pollard can’t rule out job losses, but says he’s “not sure of the basis” of an assessment by the Tertiary Education Union’s Cindy Doull that 50 jobs could go. “We have not targeted any particular number of job losses. We have made no comment about job losses other than the very broad parameters about transformative processes.” Addressing reports of low staff morale, Pollard says the ‘Refreshing

Lincoln’ project understandably causes anxiety, but cannot be done any other way. Lincoln is deliberately being open and transparent and is calling for people to participate. “Universities are not top-down management structures. We rely on communities, fellows, stakeholders, alumni, members of the farming community, and members of other communities all being aware and all being given the opportunity to express their views and make some input. We are doing that through our website.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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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 31.03.2016

News there is no statutory timeframe in which the ministers must decide, but they are aware of the September 30 deadline Shanghai Maling and Silver Fern Farms has for the deal. China’s Shanghai Maling Aquarius will buy a half stake in Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand’s largest meat processor, if the $261 million deal gets the nod from the OIO and Ministers. OIO approval was first sought in October last year and was slated to go unconditional by June 30 this

year. However, delays in the approval process and a failed bid by a minority SFF shareholder group to stop the merger saw the companies agree to a revised date of September 30 this year. Silver Fern Farm shareholders reaffirmed their support for the deal at a meeting last month, after first giving it the go ahead last October. However, another vote was needed after the minority group of SFF farmershareholders opposed to the deal. SFF says the deal will allow the company to repay its debt and remove

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

4 NEWS

Court action undermines farmers’ efforts FEDERATED FARMERS says legal action announced last week against the Horizons Regional Council shows “some people just can’t accept that industry and councils can work together effectively”. Federated Farmers Manawatu/ Rangitikei provincial president James Stewart says the court action undermines and disregards the enormous amount of good work and investment by farmers in the region to comply with the new One Plan regulations. The Environmental Defence Society and Fish & Game have filed court papers claiming the One Plan has not been “properly implemented”. But Stewart says the One Plan is not a rubber-stamping exercise. “We’ve all been working

very hard to meet new stringent requirements and ensure checks and balances are in place that must be met. “To have organisations, with limited local knowledge, throw stones from outside our region is very disappointing and fails to recognise the large amount of proactive and local work happening to support One Plan,” Stewart says. The One Plan cost farmers and the regional council millions of dollars to refine and negotiate, in and out of court, for at least seven years. It finally took effect about 18 months ago and has been a daily work-in-progress for farmers and the council since then. Federated Farmers Tararua provincial president Clint Worthington says the economic cost of revisiting this plan will be depress-

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each to further improve their work in water quality, nutrient management and environmental farm planning. “Forums like the Manawatu River Leaders group exist for the good of the local community and promote best practices from a local social, economic and environmental perspective. They contribute to this process on a daily basis, and work closely with the council. The people of Manawatu and Rangitikei deserve the opportunity to address environmental issues at a local level, without outof-region interference by organisations with minimal knowledge of the outcomes of the One Plan.” Federated Farmers encourages all farmers to continue their vital work, even with the uncertainty this legal action brings.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 5 Cuts to rural delivery MORE CUTBACKS will hit mail delivery in rural regions. New Zealand Post says that from November 1 more rural delivery runs will drop from six to five days a week. About 15% of rural customers now get fiveday delivery; soon that will be 25%. NZ Post spokesman Mark Stewart says though six-day service has

been maintained for 75% of rural customers, some regions are not handling enough mail to justify this. A Federated Farmers spokesman says while he is disappointed at the changes, it is a sign of the times. The days when the cheque came in the mail are long gone; most people pay bills online and by auto-

matic payments. NZ Post’s changes reflect changing communications, Stewart says. NZ Post is talking to its rural contractors about the changes. Most of the affected runs are in Southland, Otago, parts of Tasman, Nelson, West Coast, North Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.

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per share range for the 2017 financial year of 50-60 cents, the total payout available to farmers in the current season is forecast to be $5.25 - $5.35/kgMS before retentions. The lift in prices has also improved the advance rate payable to farmers. Westland chairman Matt O’Regan says the advance rate payable this week has been approved at $3.80/kgMS. “In line with the revised forecast payout, the board has also revised the 2016-17 season advance rate schedule and extended the $3.80/kgMS rate for one month to include November milk supplied, payable 20 December 2016.” O’Regan says despite the uplift, the strong NZ dollar continues to be a challenge along with the short-term over-supply of international markets. For OCD, the low price of oil was also a worry; key dairy importing countries rely on oil for purchasing power. Oil was still at US$45/barrel versus the US$100 it was fetching between 2010 and 2014, the company said. The strength of the NZ dollar against the US dollar was also negating some benefits of the recent price rises. Open Country increased its cash advance rates for November to Januarysupplied milk to $3.45/kgMS.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

6 NEWS

Genetic lessons show Ireland h Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics is looking at how Ireland improves herd genetics, in a bid to improve the way it delivers genetic information to NZ farmers. Ireland’s genetics delivery, said to be the world’s best, was ironically, led by Kiwi geneticist, Dr Brian Wickham for 14 years. Rural News reporter Peter Burke met a delegation from NZ during their visit to Teagasc Research Farm at Athenry, near Galway, in Ireland’s west. THE FIELDS of Athenry are the subject of a famous Irish song; but it’s the cattle and sheep of Athenry and, in particular, the researchers there at Teagasc who may hold one part of the code for unlocking better use of genetics in NZ. New Zealand’s delegation to Ireland consisted of BLNZ Genetics chairman Chris Kelly, chief executive Graham Alder and two world-class New Zealand geneticists: Dorian Garrick, working in the USA but due to join Massey University next year, and Brian Wickham, in Ireland since 1998 and now dividing his time 50/50 between Ireland and in NZ working as a private consultant. Teagasc somewhat resembles MAF before it was split up and AgResearch appeared, but it has no education or farm advisory services. The day at Athenry was spent at

Chris Kelly

presentations by Teagasc scientists led by Dr Michael Diskin. We briefly saw some sheep in a comparison with Irish animals, but the trip was taken chiefly to learn about organisational structure and programme delivery. Kelly says genetics is another

instance of NZ dropping the ball. In the 1950’s, he says, NZ led this field with such famous contributors as Coop and Peren. Now BLNZ is seeking to refresh the way it delivers genetics to commercial farmers. Dorian Garrick says Ireland understood the opportunity for greater genetic improvement years ago, hence hiring Brian Wickham to sort it out. Garrick says often people who invent a product do not make the best use of their achievement. Rather, those who follow may avoid the mistakes of the innovator, as in the case of Ireland. “In the 1990s the Irish had a lot of scientists retiring and no young scientists were working in the genetics space. So they worked to reinvent themselves and did a better job than NZ has been doing in recent years. They have overtaken us and represent the world’s best practice for the

Brian WIckham

collection and the analysis of data to generate information and knowledge. “In NZ we still have fragmented systems – different systems for dairy cattle from those of sheep or beef cattle – the beef cattle systems are serparate for breed association and they are not

exploiting crossbred data.” Ireland under Wickham’s leadership has created one organisation, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF). Now Ireland has a database containing each of its animals, individually identified, from which it gets carcase

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 7

d heads off NZ

Michael Diskin

information on every animal killed in meat plants. “They can use all that data for genetic improvement, while NZ still has a fragmented system with multiple databases,” Garrick says. “We are here to learn how they developed and structured the ICBF which incorporates sheep, beef and dairy and how they link that information to the needs of research providers and farmers.”

Graham Alder says the Ireland trip has been to look at how the Irish have organised their programme infrastructure to deliver genetics to Irish farmers. BLNZ Genetics is interested in ICBF and how that’s set up, administered and funded, and the services it offers. “Overall we aspire to improving the genetic merit of the NZ sheep and beef populations, and we are here to try to find ways to create

more profitability for our farmers. We need to work with both breeders and farmers alike and not just focus on the stud industry ti improve the genetic merit of sheep and beef. “Ultimately, our customers are commercial farmers and we want them to get more profit by using the best genetics for beef and lamb.” Kelly say NZ has undersold genetics in the last few years; he believes it will take a long time for sheep and beef farmers to fully embrace genetics; a huge paradigm shift is needed. (Dairy is different, he acknowledges.) “It will take a generational change; many young sheep and beef farmers now understand the power of genetics; it will take a generation, but the young farmers really keen on profit can see the power of genetics and, as they take over their parents’ farms, they will embrace this new era.” • Peter Burke is in Ireland as a guest of Enterprise Ireland. @rural_news

FROM MOYCULLEN TO MASSEY A 2016 recipient of a Walsh fellowship is due in New Zealand soon for a threemonth visit with staff at Massey University and to visit farms and meet farmers. Martin Mulkerrins (23) works at the Teagasc Research station at Athenry, County Galway. He comes from a farm near the village of Moycullen, near Galway, and already has a degree in ag science, majoring in animal and crop production. The scholarship will contribute to his finishing a masters degree in agricultural and innovation support. At Massey, Mulkerrins will work under professor Paul Kenyon and Brennon Woods, learning from Massey research into knowledge transfer, especially to monitor farmers. Mulkerrins is involved in Ireland’s Better Farm programme. “A lot of Irish Teagasc people have been to NZ and our Better Farm

Martin Mulkerrins

programme is similar to your sheep, beef and dairy monitor farms. I am keen to find out how farmers feel it is working and get the views of specialists and how they feel it’s working from a knowledge transfer point of view,” he says. Mulkerrins also hopes to visit farms and do a lambing beat or milk cows.

BIG BUDGET FOR WALSH SCHOLARSHIPS Walsh Fellowship scheme is named after a renowned Irish agricultural scientist. The fellowship annually awards 30 postgraduate students a basic grant of $33,000; some get travel grants to attend overseas universities. The Walsh scheme’s annual budget exceeds $5 million. At any one time at least 140 students hold Walsh scholarships.

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Leeston arable farmer David Birkett.

It’s a world record – or is it? NIGEL MALTHUS

LEESTON, CENTRAL Canterbury arable farmer David Birkett has unofficially smashed the world record wheat yield by at least 1 tonne/ha. In February he had claimed a yield of 16.7t/ha from that season’s harvest, edging out the current world record of 16.52t/ha. Birkett says he has now received confirmed weighbridge figures putting his yield at 17.59t/ha – beating the current world record by 1.07t/ha. “I’ve got confirmation we’re well and truly above the record,” he told Rural News. However, he still cannot claim the official record because it was not registered and monitored as an official attempt. “They changed the rules a couple of years ago so now you have to advise them of the paddock you’re going for and who your advisors are and so forth, prior to sowing the crop – which is a bit ridiculous, to be honest, because at any time you don’t know which paddock will yield the best.” Previously, all that was needed was that the harvesting and weighing be attested by, say, a Justice of the Peace, he says. The current holder is Rodney Smith, of Northumberland, Britain. New Zealand growers held the two previous records. “To get the world record back for NZ would be a big job now,” says Birkett. He has not registered anything for the current season.

Birkett, chairman of the Foundation for Arable Research, farms a third-generation family farm of 180ha. He runs about a dozen crops on a five year rotation, including wheat, barley, peas and beans, clover and grass seeds for the local market, and vegetable seeds mainly for export. His record-breaking crop of last season was Oakley wheat, a feed variety, which tends to be lower-protein but higher yielding than milling varieties. Most of it went as feed to local chicken farms. Birkett says there was no secret to the record-breaking crop, just good management. “If you do the basics well you’re 90% there.” This season’s crop is “looking pretty good,” he says, having just finished tillering at growth stage 31-32. It was sown in mid-April. Birkett believes a long time in the ground is important for high yields. Wheat puts down long roots and seems to enjoy dry conditions, but Birkett says the continuing dry is now “pretty worrying”. He irrigates from wells and says Leeston, close to the coast, is lucky to have a high water table. However, the groundwater level is now very low for this time of year. “We’d normally be about 1.5m coming out of winter and we’re currently at 3.5m. We got down to 5m this year, which is the lowest we’ve ever seen.”

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 9

Tourism ‘flippant’ on biosecurity pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

THE TOURISM sector appears flippant both on the risk their industry poses through arriving passengers, and the importance of biosecurity, Horticulture New Zealand says. Yet tourism’s value is mostly based on our unique natural estate, says Richard Palmer, biosecurity and trade policy manager. A breach in biosecurity threatens their livelihood as much as the primary sector’s. He was submitting this month to Biosecurity 2025, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) consultation forum on biosecurity. MPI will now draft the final direction statement based on these submissions and workshops, due to be released later this year. “Offshore attitudes present a huge challenge and opportunity; how can exporters and visitors quickly and easily grasp the importance of biosecurity to New Zealand?” Palmer asks. “Our challenge is to provide carrot and stick incentives that compel understanding and compliance. Biosecurity must include social science to identify the human exacerbators of biosecurity risk.” In addition to steps already proposed, HortNZ suggests: · Push ads targeting NZ based buyers, on offshore sales websites with NZ rules and practical steps for receiving goods from overseas · On-arrival, multi-lingual push messaging to visitors’ mobile devices · Partnership with ports/airports for biosecurity excellence, like Port of Tauranga · Introducing biosecurity into corporate social responsibility reporting · Including NZ’s biosecurity context and questionnaire in visa application processes · Using trusted traveller models to highlight biosecurity exemplars · Requiring border

operators to have a biosecurity risk management plan. “Developing a NZ sense of biosecurity importance to our businesses, communities and country is a long term challenge – one we’re up for. Other commercial sectors must consider carefully their positions,” HortNZ says. “The constantly evolving media landscape presents challenges to all key partners in biosecurity to understand and harness, in order to maintain and build strong community biosecurity connections. “In April the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) launched a new online visa application process for China visitors to streamline their experience, and thereby enable tourism. “Whilst MBIE and MPI were in discussion about biosecurity, the failure to include biosecurity information for tourists at the outset underscores the challenge of developing a cohesive team. “Improving tourist knowledge of our biosecurity context is a simple way to reduce risk at our borders.” In wide-ranging submissions HortNZ also encouraged the Government to do more to support science, and to assure funding and the funding mechanism. HortNZ also says the role of bio-control agents (BCAs) and genetic technology requires much exploration, from science and policy perspectives. “NZ is lagging behind in the policy settings for genetic technology which we must explore urgently to examine the opportunities and risks, and determine how to go forward.” Palmer says managing biosecurity risk will be much easier when the hurdles to knowledge exchange are removed. HortNZ has previously noted that whilst many understand the broad opportunity from “big data” we’re not well appraised of the reality. “Seizing the opportu-

nity will require decision makers to have a much better grasp of what the challenges, real opportunities and risks are from big data and free information exchange. This

upskilling must happen quickly.” HortNZ says the tourism sector appears flippant on the risk the industry poses to NZ’s biosecurity.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 11

Luxury garments from ‘stroppy’ sheep PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS of fabrics and knitwear now being launched in the UK trace back to a very small but stroppy sheep farmed in the South Island and parts of Australia. “You don’t want to get penned up with one,” says Keith Cowan, a director of Escorial Wool, commenting on the El Escorial sheep. El Escorial farmers in New Zealand can earn

twice the standard price of wool from the stroppy sheep. But they have to do a lot of work to ensure the finest quality, says Cowan. Escorial wool, originating from the Spanish Royal flocks of El Escorial, has a name worldwide for producing luxury garments. The Escorial distinction is in the fibre, performing as a naturally coiled spring. This gives unique qualities to Escorial fabric, making a lightweight garment of crease resistance and

comfort. Founded by NZer Peter Radford in 1998, Escorial Wool in February this year partnered with Yorkshire textile companies Joshua Ellis and Luxury Fabrics, both of whom have heritage and experience. Cowan says told Rural News all the El Escorial sheep farmed under their brand are direct descendants of the flock of the same name from Spain. About 20 farms are involved, mainly in Marlborough and a few in Central Otago, plus

Tasmania and Victoria. Peter Radford brought pure-bred stock from Tasmania to NZ in 1987. “They are small sheep, about two thirds the size of a normal Merino sheep and they are reasonably aggressive,” says Cowan. “They don’t have a particularly huge wool clip but the wool itself is very high crimp wool. It is those capabilities that we collect in the wool. We take that and exploit it all the way through the processing. “It is a slow and

DESIGNERS LOVE IT “WE LOVE working with Escorial,” says Kristie Reeves, design director for Joshua Ellis. “It has the luxurious feel of cashmere yet the natural durability of wool; Escorial has extraordinary performance properties.” This season in the UK the rare Escorial wool will be showcased in the first complete collection in both worsted and woollen fabrics, woven in Yorkshire by partners Joshua Ellis and Luxury Fabrics. For autumn winter 2017-18 Joshua Ellis will launch a range of Escorial wool coatings and jacketing fabrics, and a trans-seasonal line of luxurious Escorial wool shawls and scarves. Specialising in Escorial woven fabrics, Luxury Fabrics will showcase a collection of Escorial wool suitings, blazer and travel fabrics. “Escorial is popular in markets where people understand real luxury,” says David Gallimore, managing director of Luxury Fabrics. “It is a special fibre from a protected source, the lightweight, crease resistance, comfort factor makes Escorial the perfect travel fabric.”

An Escorial travel suit, a sports jacket, an overcoat, an Escorial scarf.

Both the woven and woollen collections have been designed as a complete capsule to tell a story capturing the subtle British heritage combined with the Escorial history. “Through our partnership with Joshua Ellis and Luxury Fabrics, the introduction of the complete Escorial collection is exciting; Escorial can now offer something versatile and unique to the customer,” says Peter Radford, founder and managing director of The Escorial Company.

elaborate process making the product on the way through. At every step you have to be careful so as not to lose all that exciting volume and crimp in the wool which gives it its lightweight and durable character. “Because they are small sheep and they don’t have a particularly high wool clip, we pay the farmers a premium for the wool -- quite a lot over the market price; at times we have paid twice the market price. “Because of that the farmers look after the wool. Because these sheep are so small they aren’t bred for their meat, they are bred for their wool. “The farmers only put them on paddocks where the wool will not get a lot of vegetable matter in it. When we get the wool,

we comb it more than you would with Merino wool to make sure it is free of vegetable matter.” All the processing happens overseas. “Our industry unfortunately has gone,” says Cowan. But wool down to this micron level has never really been processed in NZ. “We are dealing with between 14.5 and 17.5 micron and it is pretty hard to process that with the plant we’ve got here. In fact the 14.5 end we have to take to Italy. “It is a nice little earner for farmers but they have to do a bit of work to look after the sheep. They have to do a lot of sorting to make sure the sheep don’t get contaminated within the gene pool. “Most farmers will have other sheep as well. They have to be

careful they don’t get contaminated and we look carefully for that. “We have our own wool classer who goes around giving instruction on shearing and classing techniques and he also looks at the sheep before they are shorn to make sure they are sorted correctly. “There is a lot of work in it; you don’t get a high value, high quality sweater or piece of fabric unless you do the work. “In the last five years we have improved the quality of what we are doing tremendously. We are continuing to make inroads all the time.” Cowan says they have some lovely product coming in the next few weeks.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

12 NEWS

Compensation clarification PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

COMPENSATION ISSUES need to be clarified in the government’s biosecurity response guide, says a new report on New Zealand’s veterinary services. This includes confirming areas where people who had suffered losses would be eligible for compensation, the report says. This applies particularly to ‘grey’ areas such as welfare slaughter in the case of a significant disease outbreak like foot and mouth disease, or for losses because of a national livestock standstill, says the report, which compares NZ’s vet services and systems against international standards.

The report is largely complimentary but has raised some recommendations. Systems, processes and supporting logistics need to be developed for dealing with compensation claims for medium-large responses, as the current process is “very cumbersome and unworkable,” the report says. The ‘Whole of Government Biosecurity Response’ guide also needs to be updated to outline the future integration of government – industry agreement (GIA) partners into biosecurity responses, the report says. The report was done in late 2015 by two evaluators from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Dr Andre van Halderen (technical expert and

coordinator) and Dr Erin Daldry (lead auditor); Dr Chris Morley was the industry evaluator. The self-evaluation of the NZ veterinary services was based on the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) methodology. It was released last month. It recommends that the roles and responsibilities regarding disease preparedness, as well as agreement on who is responsible for leading what type of response, need to be clarified. “There should also be clear criteria and cross-organisational processes for involvement in emerging disease scenarios, particularly where non-infectious diseases are involved,” it says. In other recommendations it says

the animal welfare project should be prioritised and recommendations implemented to ensure the animal welfare system (including leadership and roles and responsibilities) is clearly understood, to allow for a more strategic approach to dealing with animal welfare issues. The report also says that after multiple mergers and restructures of MPI needs to develop a clear, comprehensive organisational chart. This should clearly outline functions, key role holders and the main areas of interaction between the different parts of the organisation. “This will be useful for MPI staff and stakeholders. This should be widely publicised, freely available and fre-

quently updated to ensure currency. This should help stakeholders identify and find appropriate parties in MPI. “ MPI should ensure there is systematic consultation to ensure all relevant parties are consulted and all comments considered. It also needs to be ensured that the depth of response to consultation is appropriate for the issues raised, and that adequate time is allowed when comments are requested. The report says the access to markets via NAIT has brought about significant improvements to animal traceability. The review of NAIT now starting is an ideal opportunity to improve the system.

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 13

NZ avocados hope for Chinese access PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND Avocados chief executive Jen Scoular was in China last week looking at the potential market for avocados. Avocados are gaining “celebrity status” around the world, she says. NZ avocados do not yet have access into China, but they are top of the Ministry for Primary Industries negotiating list, says Scoular. Meanwhile the NZ industry is looking at a record year. The avocado crop typically bears more in alternative years. This year the industry is expecting 7.6 million trays (a tray is 5.5m kg) compared to its record year two years ago of 7.1m trays. “I am in China right now with NZ exporters looking at what we might do in the China market if it opens,” Scoular told Rural News, on her way to the Shanghai fruit market. “We know our productivity on our orchards is continuing to increase as our growers work out how

to get more out of their orchards. “The amazing health attributes of avocadoes continue to be very attractive to the consumer who is looking after their health.” Phytosanitary access negotiation to the Chinese market is now going on between the two governments. Scoular says the potential is huge, because of the population and the massive growth of the affluent class in China who live in a ‘global’ world. If NZ Avocados gains access it would promote the health and versatility of avocados in China and other Asian markets. Whether they will gain access is so far unknown but it tops the list of agricultural products with MPI. Meanwhile NZ Avocados and the industry are pushing their visibility in their market and showing they can commit to it. “We are riding a global wave of the celebrity status of avocados. Worldwide they are in high demand and we are work-

ing to ensure we are part of that,” says Scoular. They want to maintain interest in avocados and get new consumers; and they are looking to improve how they get avocados to the market fast.

Most fruit goes to Asian markets in modified or controlled atmosphere containers. Meanwhile Scoular says NZ consumers will also see a huge crop this year, and “this is a really

important market for us as well,” she says. “Avocado popularity is growing because of health and versatility in many different recipes.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 15

Comedy and music tour to hit North Island Comedy and musical group ‘Sons of a Bitch’ and singer Mel Parsons are preparing for their North Island Woolsheds Tour starting October 19. The tour is supported by Farmstrong, whose publicity officer Paula Yeoman asked ‘bitch’ Amelia Dunbar about the phenomenon. Q. How did you select the woolsheds for this tour? A. I would like to be able to say they just fell into my lap, but there were many hours on the phone grilling friends, friends of friends, shearing contractors and stock agents about shed size, location and whether the shed has a raised or flat board. Fortunately, some sheds we decided we’d return to, and they all enthusiastically agreed to have us back. Q. You are playing in the Cambridge Town Hall – did you have trouble finding a woolshed in that area? A. It wasn’t so much that we struggled to find woolsheds around Cambridge – they are certainly there – but there was a capacity issue. Strong support in the North Island over the years means we’ve simply outgrown some venues. We always try to stick with woolsheds, but if it comes down to cutting the audience in half versus getting lots of people out for a fun night, we’ll always go for the latter. We might sneak in a full daggy fadge or two to add a little woolshed olfactory authenticity to the nonwoolshed spaces. Q. Apart from the odd place, you’re mostly performing in working woolsheds. Describe the set-up process from the moment you arrive at the farm gate to the moment you close the gate on your way out. A. From the farm gate we follow our noses to the woolshed, back the horse truck up to the loading platform and start a chain gang unloading chairs, lighting gear, sound gear, stage curtain, props, and bar (and booze). We then work out seating, where the power points are – we need heaps – then head off to our respective areas to set up; this normally takes a couple of hours (with the exception of power phases

or gear breakdowns) and then it’s a quick freshen-up and onto front of house and the bar for an hour for Emma and me. Once Mel hits the stage we dash off for a warm-up on the horse truck floor or get into character by chatting to resident dogs. Then we snarl, prance and howl on stage for 50 minutes, take a bow and then what feels like half a burger later, we’re packing the illusion down and loading the horse truck up again ready for the morning departure. Q. How much help do you get from the farmer in setting up and packing down? A. We always try for minimal impact on our hosts. It’s already an enormously generous thing for them to open up their farms to us and a couple of hundred locals, so we don’t ask for or expect help. But for many of our wonderful hosts it’s hard not to pitch in and, yes, the 200 folding chairs feel double their weight by the end of the night, so a bit of grunt is warmly accepted. Q. This Farmstrongsupported tour emphasises to farmers the importance of living and farming well. Why is this an important message? A. Farmers looking after themselves is paramount. If you’re not living well and looking after yourself, it’s unlikely you will look after your staff, your stock or your farm well. It is easy to see how a farmer can take on the pressures and stresses of farming and end up putting their own wellbeing on the back burner. We need to change that. We’re thrilled that we can help Farmstrong get the message out there and get rural people off the farm, seeing neighbours and sharing the load and putting themselves first. Q. Do you find farmers are generally open to the idea of taking better care of themselves and ensuring they’re having

fun in between all the hard work? A. Of course! I don’t

know many people who don’t like a bit of fun and farmers are no exception.

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(From left to right) Emma Newborn, Mel Parsons and Amelia Dunbar.

31/08/2016 10:50 am

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

16 NEWS UK sheep farmers fear FTAs with NZ and Australia ALAN HARMAN

BRITAIN’S NATIONAL Sheep Association is alarmed at Australia proposing a free trade deal with the UK effective when it leaves the European Union. NSA chief executive Phil Stocker says a free trade deal with Australia or New Zealand may benefit some UK industries, but could have a catastrophic effect on UK sheep farmers. “We cannot sit back and be sacrificed for the benefit of others,” he says. “Given the fundamental role our sheep sector has in maintaining the rural environment, landscape and community in the UK, we cannot afford to be overlooked in crucial trade negotiations. We encourage the UK government… not to rush into agreements without considering the wider consequences.” NSA says Australia has a quota to export just under 20,000 tonnes of sheep meat to the EU, which it fulfils every year. Stocker says Australia, annually producing 700 million tonnes, is keen for more trade opportunities and is seizing on Brexit to renegotiate its EU quota. “They also have their eye on a separate UK deal, seeing this country as a prime destination for lamb and mutton products,” Stocker says. “NSA understands

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Australia has been pushing to increase its EU quota for years, wanting to send more sheep meat to Europe and the UK.” He says the UK sheep sector suffers from high imports of NZ lamb, much of it in shops when UK product is plentiful. “[Post Brexit] we want tighter controls on NZ lamb into this country, and we need to avoid making the situation worse by allowing Australian product to head our way too,” he says. NSA cites recent figures from Meat and Livestock Australia showing the country produced 516,366 tonnes of lamb and 196,040 tonnes of mutton in 2015-16, exporting 56% of total lamb production (worth AS$1.78 billion) and 91% of mutton production (A$700 million). Most of it went to the Middle East, US and China. “The UK imports and exports lamb, which helps balance supply and demand through the year and exploits ideal sheep producing conditions in the UK,” Stocker says. “But we need to grow the UK domestic market and increase self-sufficiency in lamb production and consumption, especially as we do not know what access we will have to EU markets in the future. “We export 36% of UK lamb, mostly to France and the rest of the EU. A priority for our sector is negotiating a trade deal with the EU post-Brexit.”

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FIRST DETAILS from the register of overseas owners of Australian farms confirm a rise in foreign ownership. However, Chinese buyers, whose purchases have attracted particular controversy, are nowhere near top of the league. The first releases from Australia’s Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land show foreigners own 52.1 million ha – 13.6% of Australia’s total farmland; it is more than the 49.6m ha suggested by an official survey three years ago, and the 44.9m ha shown by 2010 research. “This common perception that the level of foreign ownership has been increasing seems confirmed,” says Barnaby Joyce, Australia’s agriculture minister. The register was formed because of concerns in Australia over the extent of foreign purchases of the country’s farms, particularly overinvestment from China.

Barnaby Joyce

The concern sharpened last November when the government rejected a China-backed purchase of the giant S Kidman & Co estate covering 10m ha; a decision on a second bid ($280m) was deferred in April 2016. The register shows Chinese buyers own 1.46m ha – no more than 3% of all Australian land owned by foreign investors and 0.4% of the country’s farmland overall. Britons are the biggest foreign landowners, hold-

ing 27.5m ha, at least half the total held by overseas investors and 7.2% of Australia’s overall agricultural area. Joyce believes the register “will give us more accurate data on which to base public discussion”. The register also reveals that livestock farms are particularly popular among overseas owners (46,000 ha) – 30 times as much land as held in cropping farms. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 17 EIGHT CANDIDATES VYING FOR TWO BALLANCE DIRECTORSHIPS EIGHT CANDIDATES are vying for two vacancies in the Ballance Agri-Nutrients North Island director elections this year. The fertiliser co-op is moving to its new two-ward voting system. Shareholders last year approved the move from three wards to two – one in the North Island and one in the South, aiming to move to nationally elected directors in time. The North Island ward has Oliver Saxton retiring after 15 years and Sarah Von Dadelszen retiring by rotation. The South Island ward has a bye this year. Nominations closed on August 16; shareholders have until 5pm on September 21 to vote. Voting papers have been mailed to eligible shareholders. Voting can be by post or online. Von Dadelszen is seeking re-election. The remaining seven candidates are Dirk Sieling, Whitianga; Donna Smit, Whakatane; Grant Coombes, Taupiri; Ken Hames, Paparoa; Murray Jagger, Whangarei; Paul Martin, Whangarei; and Stu Chapman, Dargaville. Candidate profiles can be seen at http://www.electionz.com/ballance2016nw/profiles.pdf Ballance chairman David Peacocke says he is pleased to see eight candidates standing for the new North Island ward. “It’s important for our cooperative to have strong governance and that shareholders can choose from a pool of candidates.... We are confident this selection will encourage good voter turnout.”

ALLIANCE TO HIT THE ROAD ALLIANCE GROUP is encouraging farmers to attend one of its 19 road-show events nationwide next month. The road-show, starting in Darfield on October 4, will allow farmer-shareholders and suppliers to hear from management and directors about the company’s performance. They will also be updated on the progress of Alliance Group’s strategy, prospects for the new season and new initiatives. “Although it is a busy period for farmers, it’s vital our shareholders... hear directly from management and directors about their company,” chief executive David Surveyor says. “So our mix of morning, afternoon and evening events will accommodate as many farmershareholders as possible.” He says the co-op is now one year into the roll-out of its strategy, designed to improve performance and lift returns to farmer-shareholders. “Alliance Group is making good progress and seeing measurable results and we remain focused on transforming the shape of the business.” The road-show finishes in Blenheim on October 27. – See schedule page 28

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Bayer bids more for Monsanto BAYER IS bidding more (US$65 billion) to buy fellow agrichemical giant Monsanto. A combination of Bayer and Monsanto would create the world’s biggest agricultural supplier and would lead the market in the US, Europe and Asia. The German pharmaceutical

and crop chemicals maker says it has, for a second time, raised its offer for Monsanto saying it would be prepared to pay $US127.50 per share. It first offered $62b in May 2016. Bayer says it is now “in advanced negotiations with Monsanto”, but says “key terms and conditions have not yet been

agreed”. Monsanto referred to the higher $127.50/share offer saying “it has been engaged in constructive negotiations with Bayer”. Bayer is doing due diligence. Bayer’s previous offer was a record all-cash takeover offer, aimed at giving it a shot at grabbing the top spot in the

fast-consolidating farm supplies industry, combining its crop science business with Monsanto’s strength in seeds. Some watchers say a $US130/ share offer may be necessary to get a deal with Monsanto “in a swift and friendly way”. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

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An industry where tech i A massive $50 million spend on new infrastructure and technology by one of the country’s largest kiwifruit packhouses is an example of the rising efficiencies in the industry seen as the shining light of the primary sector. Peter Burke visited EastPack, near Te Puke, to see what the money has bought.

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NOT LONG ago kiwifruit packhouses were full of people grading fruit pretty much manually. While people still do some of this work, a new generation is now on site: engineers, technicians, IT whizzkids -- oozing innovation and peering into the future. Smart cameras and robots, hitched to computers, have edged out some manual tasks. Packhouses and all elements of the supply chain are rapidly embracing science and innovation as kiwifruit volumes surge. In 2016, New Zealand produced 117 million trays and total sales for the season were up 21% on the previous season to $1.9 billion. They predict it will keep rising. EastPack’s business development manager Toby Potter says the company spent the money to deal with the rise in fruit volumes coming on the back of the Psa recovery and the growth of Zespri’s Sungold category. “As the volume of SunGold started to ramp up we needed to increase packing and coolstore capacity to look after the fruit,” he told Rural News. “More recently, we have refreshed cool-chain infrastructure at most of our seven sites – things like pre-coolers and new coolstore technology to further improve fruit quality. Packing seasons and shipping periods are getting longer and more complex so we need to keep the fruit in good nick for consumers.” Some technology at EastPack is mind blowing, for example, a system to handle fruit more gently when it enters the grading phase at the packhouse. That’s when the fruit meets even more technology – InVision camera grading that processes multiple images of each piece of fruit to identify cosmetic defects. In many cases, 80% of fruit is sent straight to class 1 packaging without being graded by a person. Grading staff are used to

grade the small percentage of fruit that is close to grade margins. To keep the technology honest, fruit is regularly sampled and assessed by quality control staff. EastPack also uses innovative, non-invasive, near-infrared (NIR) grading technology to test internal fruit properties by projecting halogens onto fruit and measuring reflected light. NIR technology can measure internal fruit characteristics – dry matter, brix and colour and pressure in real time at high speed. “There are many purposes for this technology. One is to increase productivity so it allows us to pack more fruit per hour, which means more of our growers are able to pick their fruit at the best time,” Potter explains. “Then there is the opportunity to recover as much class one fruit as possible. This year, the NIR system allowed us to recover 340,000 trays of Gold which otherwise would not have made Zespri dry matter requirements. This made a lot of growers very happy.” And the technology can go up yet another stage. “It also allows us to set parameters for long storage. So we can set an optimum brix parameter and all the fruit within the optimum brix range will go onto one pallet for long storage, and the outliers would go onto another for earlier shipping. So the technology allows us to improve storage outcomes for growers.” Grower experience manager at EastPack, Janette Montgomery, has worked at the Te Puke facility for many years. She has seen the transition from semi-manual to high-tech. The days of a largely manual job in a packhouse have gone, she says. “That’s why we’re attracting a lot of graduates from university. With automation technology we require more and more technicians and informa-

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

NEWS 19

h is tops tion systems people. It’s high-level stuff, which requires very smart people.” EastPack provides technical support for 850

growers who sometimes have challenges on their orchards and need technical support. Potter says science and innovation are making

The company has spent $50m on updating infrustructure and technology to deal with the boom in kiwifruit production.

a massive difference to the industry all along the supply chain, from growing to post-harvest and through to markets. “Developing a depth of skilled people to drive innovation and clever thinking is the key to ongoing growth in the industry.”

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HANNAH CARTER is a young person who has made good in kiwifruit since joining EastPack in 2010 with a background in logistics and supply. Since her school days Carter always wanted to be a manager but was not sure in what industry. She has worked her way up through the company and is now in packhouse management. “I don’t think young people realise what opportunities there are in the kiwifruit industry,” she told Rural News. “There are many opportunities in lots of different areas – growing, post-harvest, inventory and marketing. People don’t realise there is more to the industry than picking fruit off the vine. There are a lot of opportunities for young people to extend their careers.” Carter says she likes the kiwifruit industry and the challenges it offers and is now looking to work in the supply area of the business. EastPack business development manager Toby Potter says a big challenge for the industry is breaking down the notion that jobs in horticulture and the primary sector are only for people who want to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. “The industry is great for people who want to roll up their sleeves, but you don’t always have to get your hands dirty because there is such a diverse range of roles in the industry,” he explains. “There is a shortage of young people coming through with diverse skills. What that means for the average young person is they could have a really bright career if they have skills and a good attitude.” Potter says he’d like to see horticulture and agriculture much more integrated into education. That doesn’t necessarily require getting more people to study horticulture or agriculture. “We mean it would be nice to see more horticultural themes or topics introduced into other mainstream studies,” he explains. “For example, in studying science you could do it in a kiwifruit context and in working through maths or statistical problems you could apply that in a context relevant to the region you live in or the part of the economy you are associated with.”

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20 NEWS

The age of the f Two South Canterbury dairy farmers are not waiting for the technology to be proven; they believe the age of the farming drone is here now and are already using off-the-shelf drones in their weekly farm management decisions, Nigel Malthus reports.

South Canterbury dairy farmer Nick Hoogeveen is an early adopter of aerial drone technology to manage his farms.

“THERE IS a misconception that to use a drone effectively you must be a

whizz-kid with flash cameras,” Alastair Tremewan tells Rural News. How-

ever, he believes having an eye in the sky in itself – without any technical wizardry – can provide an enormous benefit to farm management decisions. Tremewan, who runs the family farm near Geraldine, and near neighbour Nick Hoogeveen, general manager and part-owner of the Kintore Farms group, are both enthusiastic users of standard Phantom drones.

applications to be developed. “I’m a farmer; so I don’t have time for that.” For Hoogeveen and Tremewan, the primary use is visible-spectrum aerial mapping of pastures to GPS-level precision. Using software from the American company DroneDeploy, a drone can be set to autonomously run a grid over a given area, taking a series

“To survey one of my farms, which is about 238ha, takes me roughly 40 minutes with three battery changes. So that gives me a snapshot in time of what my farm is like at that point.”

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The Phantom is an offthe-shelf model made by Chinese company DJI. The company is regarded as a market leader in small drone technology. Tremewan says he got into drone use because he “loves technology”. Before returning to the family farm, he’d spent time in various technologyrelated ventures, including online retail. When he saw how Hoogeveen was already using a drone on his properties he bought his own. Tremewan has since started a public Facebook page, called Drones on farm NZ, to promote and discuss drone usage. Research is continuing into aerial measurement of pasture nutrient levels. This study is a partnership between fertiliser co-operative Ravensdown, Massey University’s precision agriculture group and AgResearch, funded by the Primary Growth Partnership and led by Massey’s professor in precision agriculture, Ian Yule. The use of sophisticated hyper-spectrum cameras is central to that research. However, Hoogeveen said he didn’t want to wait for more sophisticated

of vertical photographs that are then automatically stitched together to a single map. “To survey one of my farms, which is about 238ha, takes me roughly 40 minutes with three battery changes,” Hoogeveen says. “So that gives me a snapshot in time of what my farm is like at that point.” The result is “like a fully up-to-date version of Google Earth”. He’s now using it to confirm his spring rotation planning, checking that stock are grazing to target amounts. “Over the winter we were using it to survey the run-off block then we could draw on it with GPS precision where the crops had been grazed so we can see what area of crop we have left and how much we had used in the previous week,” Hoogeveen says. Tremewan says it has allowed him to bring his farm maps up-todate, after decades of unmapped small changes. He’s used this updated information to plan and implement changes to paddock fencing layout. “I mapped over that area and was able to re-

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

e farming drone is here plot the size of the paddocks before we ever did anything and make sure it was all in line and that our paddock sizes would be the same. “Once you’ve made the photo you can draw out the border and it will tell you accurately the square metreage.” While standard drone cameras are great for mapping, assessing crop density in terms of kilograms of dry matter; they theoretically require expensive aftermarket infrared cameras.

However, Tremewan says stock cameras had enough residual sensitivity at the red end of the spectrum to carry out what he calls “mock NIR (near infra-red) imagery” by fitting the lens with a filter to block out the rest of the visible spectrum. “It’s not the most accurate thing in the world; if I was a crop farmer I wouldn’t rely 100% on it. But it uses the little bit of the NIR spectrum that’s on the camera as standard. “I’ve used that over-

lay to show us where the cows have had too much pressure on the ground – areas where we might be looking at re-seeding, something like that. It’ll come up a different colour to the rest, where the grass isn’t growing, basically.” He was also using his drone to monitor fodder beet crops over winter. “As the cows slowly graze away the fodder beet you can run a scan over the top of the paddocks then go to your computer and drag the

measurements out and work out exactly how much is left.” Simple aerial photos taken weekly also allow him to keep track of silage and baleage stocks. “It’s a good tool overall, even without a fancy camera, just to take photos of the paddock conditions,” Tremewan says. “So when we make re-grassing decisions or generally discuss the highs and lows of different paddocks, we’ve got something there to look at.”

NEWS 21

A JDI Phantom 1 drone.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

22 NEWS

Robots must be affordable to be useful PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

ROBOTICS WILL play a huge role in the future of horticulture, but it is no use building robots no one can afford, says Steve Saunders, founding director of Newman Park Innovation Centre, Tauranga. “Food prices will not spike so much that you can afford to have a $1 million machine picking five bins of kiwifruit a week,” he says. The innovation centre is looking at service models, where the robots are sent in on contract, costing the same as labour with fewer hassles. Companies at the innovation centre include Robotics Plus, which has won a $7.7m MBIE research grant for its work on robotic fruit harvesting and sensing technologies. Saunders told the NZ Horticultural Conference that he is not a ‘techo’; he is just a kiwifruit farmer with a vision for where we need to go in horticulture. “Horticulture is facing a lot of challenges,” he says. “Comparing horticulture to the broad-acre food crops in the US – they are highly mechanised, huge acreage, machine driven, GPS guided

and genetically modified. [The ethos is] let’s mow it down and get it into the food system as fast as possible. “But there is change happening in the fruit and vegetable world. Grains and those sort of things are low-nutrient, as opposed to fruit and vegetables which have dense nutrient make-up. So there is a swing in favour of fruit and vegetables; and to scale up to meet our audacious goal of $10 billion in exports by 2020… we need more labour and to be more efficient with what we have.” Saunders says labour is a big problem for the sector – whether it’s lack of availability or hygiene. “We’ve got the scalability issue: as we grow we have more reliance on labour; where are we going to get that labour? For us robotics plays a huge role in that formation, into the future.” It is no use building a robotic machine that nobody can afford, so they are looking at service modelling. “How do you get people to adapt to technology? The easiest way is to say, ‘you don’t have to pay [to buy it]; we will do the task for you: robots arrive, job happens, you pay. Our goal is you pay what you would now for labour; you just get rid of the labour hardship’.”

He says they start with an end userfocused outcome. “This is what we pay to pick a bin of apples or kiwifruit; how can you build a machine which costs no more than at present to pick kiwifruit? To build an affordable machine we have to see whether there is a good return on investment for building it.” They also look at consistency: in a harvesting situation people can be erratic in their actions. “Just prior to Psa we tested our robotic kiwifruit harvester with a small fund Zespri gave us to look at man versus robot. “We did every part, comparing man versus robot picking kiwifruit. We tracked that through cool storage and through all the damaged fruit. The robot was more consistent and the fruit quality better all the way through the system. It was constant: there was no reaction similar to how people react when they are harvesting fruit.” Saunders says technology is happening very fast and technology costs are decreasing. “Technology that can be adapted to robotic systems is now incredible compared to four-five years ago. The speed

Steve Saunders

of new technology enables fast adaption.” He had recently visited an operation Salina, California, where they harvest 101ha of lettuce a day. Their big concern is labour. They were “freaking out” at the prospect of a US$15 minimum wage. “There are a lot of areas within that value chain that can be improved with the use of sensors, technologies and robotics,” Saunders says. “We are looking at robotic harvesting, wireless orchard sensors, the use of drones, pollination systems and then moving into the post-harvesting to get more simplified systems.” With drones they can do kiwifruit

orchard flyovers to look and report on factors such as budding, canes or pruning. They have also been doing trials with robotic apple packers with Compass Packhouse, Nelson, as early adopters. They can pack apples more quickly and efficiently than people standing on the lanes. “At Compass they now have a machine that packs 120 apples a minute; it orientates the apples; it can outperform people and fits onto a standard sorter.” He says a number of robotics projects are underway with his company, including a robotic kiwifruit harvester. The base technology was developed several years ago, but the whole project got stalled because of the Psa outbreak. It can pick 24 hours a day. The innovation centre also has the universities of Auckland and Waikato and Plant and Food Research involved in a four-year, contestable science project with $10.5m; of this, $7.6m is from the government. Saunders says they are looking at automated platforms for a variety of tasks, such robotic picking and spraying biologicals direct to a target.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

24 MARKETS & TRENDS MARKET SNAPSHOT Me at

BEEF MARKET TRENDS

No rth Is lan d L as t We e k

C h an g e c /kg

L as t We e k

L amb - PM 16.0kg

n/c

5 .8 8

n/c

5 .4 3

S te e r - P2 300kg

-5

5 .6 0

-5

5 .4 5

-1 0

5 .3 0

-1 0

5 .0 5

B u ll - M2 300kg Ve n is o n - AP 60kg

n/c

8 .8 5

n/c

c/kgCWT

2 Wks A go

-5

5.60

5.65

6.10

5.30

5.40

5.70

P 2 Co w - 230kg

- 10

4.30

4.40

4.55

M Co w - 200kg

- 10

4.30

4.40

4.55

Lo cal Trade - 230kg

n/c

6.00

6.10

-5

5.45

5.50

5.90

M 2 B ull - 300kg

- 10

5.05

5.15

5.10

P 2 Co w - 230kg

- 10

4.25

4.35

4.10

M Co w - 200kg

- 10

4.25

4.35

4.00

Lo cal Trade - 230kg

n/c

5.60

5.90

P 2 Steer - 300kg

$6.5

Last Year

- 10

P 2 Steer - 300kg

8 .6 0

Change

Last Week

M 2 B ull - 300kg

No rth Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price

$5.5

5yr Ave

$5.0 12-Jul

12-Aug

Last Year

This Year

12-Sep

12-Oct

Last Year

This Year

n/c

5.86

5.71

n/c

5.88

5.73

P X - 19.0kg

n/c

5.90

5.75

P H - 22.0kg

n/c

5.91

5.76

M X1 - 21kg

n/c

2.80

3.30

YM - 13.5kg

n/c

5.43

5.46

P M - 16.0kg

n/c

5.43

5.48

P X - 19.0kg

n/c

5.43

5.50

P H - 22.0kg

n/c

5.43

5.51

n/c

2.68

2.90

M X1- 21kg

N ort h Island Weekly Lamb Kill

50k

5yr Ave

k 5 Jun

k 12-Jun

12-Jul

12-Aug

12-Sep

12-Oct

5 Jul

12-Nov

S outh Island Weekly Cattle Kill

30k

5yr Ave

Last Year

$5 .0

12-Aug

12-Sep

12-Oct

k 5 Jun

k 12-Jun

12-Jul

12-Aug

12-Sep

12-Oct

5 Jul

Export Market Demand

$4 .5 5yr Ave

$4 .0 12 -Jun

$6 .0

12 -Jul

12 -Aug

Last Year

12 -Sep

95CL US$ /lb

This Year

12 -O ct

NZ$ /kg

12 -No v

S outh Island 300kg Steer Price

$5 .5

Change

Last Week

2 Wks A go

Last Year

5yr A ve

-3

2.15

2.18

2.53

2.31

- 19

6.40

6.59

8.76

6.55

D e mand Indicator - US 95CL B eef

$3.00

5 Aug

5 Sep

5 Oct

5 Nov

Export Market Demand

12-Nov

Change

Last Week

2 Wks A go

Last Year

UK Leg £/lb

n/c

1.85

1.58

1.86

NZ$ /kg

n/c

8.30

8.78

8.54

$5 .5 $5 .0

5 Nov

50k

10k

No rth Island 300kg Bull Price

This Y ear

5 Oct

100k

12-Nov

$6 .0

5 Sep

150k

This Year

20k

This Y ear

12-Jul

Last Year

5 Aug

S outh Island Weekly Lamb Kill

200k

$5 .5

Last Year

100k

20k

$6 .5

$4 .5 12-Jun

M utto n

2 Wks A go

150k

12-Nov

$6 .0

SI Lamb

Last Week

200k

40k

S outh Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price

M utto n

Change

P M - 16.0kg

250k

N ort h Island Weekly Cattle Kill

60k 5yr Av e

c/kgCWT NI Lamb YM - 13.5kg

Slaughter

$6.0

$4.5 12-Jun

LAMB PRICES

BEEF PRICES

S o u th Is lan d

C h an g e c /kg

c /kgCWT

LAMB MARKET TRENDS

5yr A ve

D e mand Indicator - UK Leg Price

£2.50 Last Year

£2.00

This Year

£1.50 £1.00 12-Jun

$2.50

12-Jul

12-Aug 12-Sep 12-Oct

12-Nov

$5 .0

$2.00

$4 .5

5yr Ave

$4 .0

Last Year

$3 .5 12 -Jun

This Y ear

12 -Jul

12 -Aug

12 -Sep

12 -O ct

Procurement Indicator Last Year

$1.50 12-Jun

12-Jul

This Year

12-Aug

12-Sep

12-Oct

12 -No v

Procurement Indicator $9 .0 $8 .5 $8 .0 $7 .5

$6 .5

$9 .0

3 Wks A go

Last Year

5yr A ve

% Returned NI

+2 %

84.4%

81.9%

66.21%

73.5%

% Returned SI

+2 %

80.5%

78.9%

59.4%

65.8%

85%

5yr Av e Last Year This Year

$7 .0

$6 .0 12 -Jun

Change

2Wks A go

No rth Island 60kg S tag Price

12 -Jul

12 -Aug

12 -Sep

12 -O ct

2Wks A go

3 Wks A go

Last Year

5yr A ve

% Returned NI

1.2 %

72.3%

71.1%

64.9%

73.1%

% Returned SI

0.0%

65.7%

62.6%

71.5%

P rocu rement Indicator - North I. 80% 70% 60%

P rocu rement Indicator - North I.

Last Year

50% 1-Jul

80%

1-Aug

1-Sep

This Year

1-Oct

1-Nov

75%

12 -No v

S outh Island 60kg Stag Price

70%

Last Year

65%

This Y ear

60% 12-Jun

12-Jul

12-Aug

12-Sep

12-Oct

12-Nov

$8 .5

P rocu rement Indicator - South I.

80% 70% 60%

$8 .0

80%

$7 .5

75%

$7 .0

5yr Ave

70%

$6 .5

Last Year

65%

$6 .0 12 -Jun

Change

12-Nov

This Year

12 -Jul

12 -Aug

12 -Sep

12 -O ct

P rocu rement Indicator - South I.

55% 12-Jun

1-Aug

1-Sep

This Year

1-Oct

1-Nov

Venison Prices Last Year

60%

12 -No v

Last Year

50% 1-Jul

Change

Last Week

2 Wks A go

Last Year

5yr A ve

NI Stag - 60kg

n/c

8.85

8.00

7.63

SI Stag - 60kg

n/c

8.60

8.00

7.86

This Year

12-Jul

12-Aug

12-Sep

12-Oct

12-Nov

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

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

MARKETS & TRENDS 25 NEWS

PRICE WATCH

BEEF: Manufacturing beef schedules

have dropped back recently. The NZD has continued to climb against the USD, eating into export returns, while general weakness in the US market has also eroded margins. While kill rates have been low, as is typical for this time of the year, procurement competition hasn’t been firm enough to keep slaughter prices firm for either bull or cows. The situation isn’t so negative for prime cattle, where export returns haven’t suffered to the same extent. Some direct competition with local trade is also underpinning the prime market, although the gap between the two is larger than usual through the North Island. The North Island local trade market has been very competitive, with prices firming for three consecutive weeks. South Island local trade has been more stable, and there appears to be enough numbers coming out to keep processors busy throughout September. Store markets have been strong in recent weeks. Demand for service bulls from the dairy industry is underpinning 2yr Friesian bull prices.

INTERNATIONAL BEEF: There’s

been no signs of improvement within the US imported beef market lately. The market as a whole is stagnant, with very little demand being generated for the

WOOL PRICE WATCH

small volumes of imported beef on offer. The US domestic kill is in full swing, which has meant the domestic market has dipped, which will likely flow through into imported beef prices. Asian beef markets have also been relatively steady. China is in its warmest period of the year, which is when beef consumption is at its lowest level. Demand is expected to pick up in a few weeks when temperatures start to cool.

Change

25-A ug

18-A ug

Last Year

Indicato rs in US$ /kg

Co arse Xbred

-3

5.02

5.05

4.78

Fine Xbred

5.39

5.35

5.26

6.25

Lamb

-6

9.22

9.28

10.50

M id M icro n

Indicato rs in NZ$

Lamb M id M icro n

Wo ol Indicator Trends

850

CXI

SHEEP:

Lamb schedules have clambered upwards over the past month through the North Island. Procurement competition between processors is very strong, with low kill rates meaning some processors have struggled to process enough numbers to fill orders. North Island slaughter prices have risen 50c/kg or 9% since late July. The situation has been more tame through the South Island, where slaughter rates have shifted closer to last season’s level after previously sitting at record low levels. Slaughter prices there haven’t moved in a month now. The international lamb trade is in a subdued state. Much of the weakness is coming from the UK, where the weakness of the UK pound has cut into NZ dollar returns for exporters. Some processors are even opting to avoid this market where

FXI

650

18-A ug

Last Year

Co arse Xbred

3.68

3.67

3.78

Fine Xbred

3.95

3.88

4.42

6.75

6.74

6.87

Wo ol Indicator Trends CXI

500

FXI

450

350

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

300 Aug

Jun

Last Year

600

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

C o arse Xbred Indictor in US$

C o arse Xbred Indicator

650

25-A ug

400

550 450 Aug

Change

550

750

450 This Year

400

550 350

500 450

Last Year

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun

300

Aug

possible, as there are better returns to be made elsewhere. China has also come under a little pressure as their

The Rabobank difference

Overseas Wool Price Indicators

The average time our Rural Managers have worked with us

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

This Year

Jun

Aug

domestic kill has lifted recently. Prices there are unlikely to improve until at least next year.

of our Rural Managers own or grew up on a farm

100

of customers would definitely recommend Rabobank*

of Rabobank deposits directly fund NZ agribusiness

*Based on NZ farmers surveyed in the TNS Brand Health Survey 2015.

the average time our Rural Managers have worked with us years of global agricultural history

global agribusiness research analysts sharing market outlooks

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

26 AGRIBUSINESS

Deer farming and photography – all in a day’s work BECKIE WILSON

BEING THE only female worker on a deer farm has never fazed Emma Coutts, after years of experience around deer. Her parents bought a deer farm at Cave, near Timaru, when she was 10 years old where she got fascinated about working with deer. “I got really interested in helping dad on the farm,” she says. After completing a degree in ag science at Lincoln University, Coutts (25) did not know what lay ahead for her. She worked as a technician for Lonestar Farms, collecting feed budgeting data in the Waitaki Valley and Otago for six months,

Emma Coutts loves her farm job which she says is a good balance of office and outdoors work. PHOTO: ELSIE RUTHERFORD.

then headed to Canada and the US for a six-week holiday in 2014. She had secured a job on the co-owned family farms Oakleigh and Barton near Timaru just

before leaving for her holiday, and she’s been there ever since. In winter a typical day for her consists of break feeding, maintenance and feeding out. And from

mid-October to late January velvet is cut. The Oakleigh and Barton farms rear 1200 stags and 600 hinds, exporting the velvet mostly to Asia for medici-

nal purposes. “I don’t notice I’m the only female. In other jobs I’ve always worked with lots of guys,” she says. Coutts farm job is part office, part outdoors.

“I love being outdoors, following blood lines of animals and the more technical side of it,” she says. “Doing both has a good balance; it’s really cool.” Coutts owns three hinds and two weaners and is “interested in playing around with genetics and maybe making some money”. “Velvet is heritable; you can look at a velvet head and you can tell where it’s from,” she says. Along with work and downtime Coutts is on various committees that help the industry and community. She was the secretary of the Mackenzie Young Farmers, belongs to the local Deer Farmers Asso-

ciation and the Winchester Rodeo Club and is now helping organise the Next Generation Deer Conference for young people in Canterbury. She is doing a diploma course in professional photography through New Zealand Photography Institute. “It started as a hobby, but now people are interested [in her photos].” She enjoys having a hobby “removed” from farming. Coutts has her own photography business, Antlers & Images, specialising in rural and farming scenes. “It could end up being a career,” she says. • Beckie Wilson is a journalism student at Massey University.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

28 AGRIBUSINESS

Technology will help agriculture grow faster NEW ZEALAND agri technology could boom and lead the world in that market, says NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. NZ is growing agritech exports faster than other nations, he says.

And global agritech investment is said to be substantial and growing rapidly: in 2014 venture capital investment in agritech firms was at least $US2.36 billion – more than in financial technology.

“Our strength in agriculture and our growing strength in technology raise an opportunity we should pursue with vigour,” Muller says. “Tech sector innovations are being

adopted in many agricultural areas, for example precision agriculture, and industrywide information capture and utilisation as in the Dairy Data Network.” ‘Re-igniting’ productivity in the rural

NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller.

sector is critical for farmer profitability and NZ’s global competitiveness. “Falling farm productivity is typical in most high-income nations except the Netherlands. Despite being one-third the size of the North Island and having 26% of its land below sea level, it is now the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world, achieved by innovation and value-add.” NZ should take notice, Muller says. “Digital agriculture – precision farming, big data, sensor technology and drones – raises new potential for productivity gains in rural NZ.” NZTech is now allied with Precision Agriculture Association NZ.

“We recognise the growing interest among stakeholders -- farmers, high tech firms and the government -- to understand the scope of activities of organisations and individuals using tech to grow the agri sector.” Precision Agriculture NZ offers a connecting body for land users, researchers, companies, regional councils, primary industry organisations, rural professionals and students. Precision Agriculture NZ chair Craige Mackenzie, says its purpose is to encourage the uptake of technologies in land-based primary production systems, and promoting and supporting the allocation of more research funding.

ALLIANCE HITS THE ROAD Roadshow schedule, October 2016. Date

Location/Venue

Time

Tue 4

Darfield: Darfield Rugby Club

2.30pm

Wed 5

Waiau: Amuri Golf Club Omihi: Scargill Golf Club

2.30pm 7.30pm

Mon 10

Masterton: Copthorne Solway Feilding: Rangitikei Golf Club Dannevirke: Dannevirke Services & Citizens Club

10.30am 2.30pm 7.30pm

Tues 11

Fairlie: Mackenzie Rugby Club Five Forks: Five Forks Hall

2.30pm 7.30pm

Wed 12

Kurow: Kurow Rugby Club Middlemarch: Middlemarch Golf Club

2.30pm 7.30pm

Thurs 13

Heriot: Heriot Community Centre 10.30am Omakau: Matakanui Rugby Cub 2.30pm

Mon 17

Northern Southland: TBA Otautau: Otautau Sports Complex Gore: Longord Function Centre

10.30am 2.30pm 7.30pm

Tues 18

Fortrose: Tokanui Golf Club Balclutha: South Otago Town & Country Club

2.30pm 7.30pm

Thurs 27

Nelson: Waimea Rugby Club Blenheim: Quality Hotel

2.30pm 7.30pm

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

AGRIBUSINESS 29

Dairy sheep a possible pathway to added-value agriculture INTEREST IN dairy sheep is slowly but surely rising in New Zealand, claims real estate company Bayleys. Because dairy conversion faces environmental and economic constraints, milking sheep farmers are taking notice in Southland and central North Island, the company says. Bayleys rural consultant Hayden McCallum, in Invercargill, says that region offers opportunities for milking sheep, given its strong sheep sector and pastoral property base. It is home to a large dairy sheep operator, Antara Ag, which exclusively supplies Blueriver Nutrition HK, milking 15,000 East Friesian-Poll Dorset ewes on three Southland farms. It manufactures infant formula from sheep’s milk for export to China, the first company in NZ to do so. Ultimately the company intends to take on farmer suppliers in what may be a syndicated ownership structure. McCallum says the central North Island also has sheep milkers, for example, Waituhi Kuratau Trust milking

“It appears to be an industry whose time may have come. For many sheep farmers seeking a succession plan, sheep milking may provide a pathway to helping boost farm returns for the next generation to buy into, without necessarily converting the entire farm.” Globally the dairy sheep market is estimated to be worth US$8 billion at the farmgate, 2% of the dairy cow milk market. But westernised Asian consumers with lower lactose tolerance prefer sheep’s milk. It averages 18-19% milksolids versus about 12% for cow’s milk. Returns from the milk are typically $2/L – $17/kgMS. Work by Nuffield scholar Lucy Griffiths identified some of the short term issues facing the industry in its efforts to expand. A key one is the need to avoid the usual approach to marketing bulk commodity type product and instead focus on high value niche products in health, infant formula and gourmet food. A robust financial model is needed

Areas such as Southland and the central North Island are touted as potential sheep milking regions.

3000 ewes near Turangi. And Landcorp is starting this season in partnership with SLC Group. The companies formed Spring Sheep Dairy, focused on high value products rather than bulk dried powder exports. This group is now milking 3000 ewes on Wairakei Estate between Taupo and Rotorua. Their milk is pro-

cessed at Hamilton’s Innovation Park into high value yoghurt, pro-biotics, ice cream and protein products aimed at the fitness market. McCallum says as rural catchments face stricter control of farm nutrient losses and management, converting more land to dairying gets tougher. But dairy sheep, with their relatively low level of nutrient losses, are an option.

to show farmers the financial benefits of dairy sheep, she says. Keith Neylon, director of Antara Ag, Southland, and founder of Blue River Dairy, says his company will milk more sheep next year. The company has grown its genetic base and can offer genetic stock to new farmers. Supply deals resemble conventional dairy farmer supply agreements with a processer, receiving monthly payments for milk supplied. “Our growth has been demand led, not dissimilar to what the dairy goat industry has also experienced. We are number-two in the world in recognition of quality and it has taken us only 10 years to achieve it. Our best cheeses are renowned globally now, including our Blackmount cheddar as a gold medal winning cheese.” Neylon says the scale a new dairy sheep farmer may want to operate on will depend upon their financial position and their equity in their property that would enable them to adapt the farm to dairy sheep.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

30 OPINION EDITORIAL

EDNA

Agenda pushing MOVES BY environmental activist groups – the Environmental Defence Society and Fish and Game – to appeal against Horizons Regional Council’s One Plan in the Environment Court should sound warning bells for other regional councils and farmers around New Zealand. As Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon says, “It is disappointing that despite obvious progress, a fishing and hunting group and a small environmental group in Auckland are willing to enter an expensive court proceeding on what appears to be related to RMA process rather than outcomes in our local waterways.” Gordon points out that the One Plan implementation was complex and required the cooperation of many organisations in the region to make rules and policies take effect. According to the council’s strategy and regulation manager Dr Nic Peet, a specific section of the plan focuses on limiting the amount of nutrients entering rivers from intensive agriculture around the region. “Every nutrient management consent granted to farmers is subject to annual monitoring,” he explains. “This involves council staff visiting farms and assessing nutrient budgets to make sure farmers are on track with the targets set out in their consent. “There is also a five-yearly consent review process, which allows council to revisit consent conditions across a catchment if the measures in place are not having the desired effect.” According to Horizons natural resources and partnership manager Dr Roygard, existing dairy farms consented so far have markedly reduced the leaching of nitrogen -- to an average of 9%. “This equates to approximately 100 tonnes (100,000 kg) of nitrogen reduction overall.” Roygard points out that if the remaining consents granted continue at a similar average reduction rate, the overall reduction on existing farms will well exceed 200 tonnes of nitrogen, once all the estimated 400 consents for existing dairy farms are processed. He also notes that stream fencing, riparian planting and other measures are helping improve water quality. The farming sector and council have been working hard together to gain better water outcomes for their community and region. But the outsiders at EDS and Fish and Game have decided this is not good enough. It’s clear these environmental activists have little interest in seeing water quality improvements, but are hellbent on pursuing their anti-farming agenda via the court process. Farmers and regional councils nationwide can expect similar actions and need to be ready to fight such corruptive and reprehensible tactics.

RURAL NEWS HEAD OFFICE POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 PUBLISHER: Brian Hight .............................................. Ph 09 307 0399 GENERAL MANAGER: Adam Fricker ........................................... Ph 09 913 9632 CONSULTING EDITOR: David Anderson .......................................Ph 09 307 0399 davida@ruralnews.co.nz

“You get the custard and sherry ready while I whip into town and get some stale sponges!”

THE HOUND

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

Dirty politics?

Not so GE-free

Green wash?

Seriously?

YOUR OLD mate was always convinced that a shady cabal of players had hooked their wagons – behind the scenes – to the failed attempt to ‘shanghai’ the proposed Silver Fern Farms and Shanghai Maling merger. Despite denials and subterfuge the Hound smelt something dodgy all along about MIE, NZ First and Winston Peters’ involvement. And now it turns out former MIE deputy chair and south Otago farmer Mark Patterson has become one of Winny’s little henchmen – joining NZ First about 12 months ago. Watch out for more MIE types to lining up in NZ First ranks as we lead up to next year’s election. Mind you, the Hound reckons MIE and NZ First are a perfect fit: both are old, backward looking, stale, anti-foreign investment has-beens and permanently bad tempered!

THE HOUND had to shake his head at the performance of the Hastings District Council (HDC) and the debacle it had in managing – or is that mismanaging? – the water in Havelock North. The outbreak of E.coli in the town’s drinking water and the resulting gastroenteritis (GE) left thousands of residents sick and having to boil water before drinking it. Now you’d think that getting the quality of drinking water right would be a local council’s top priority. But, oh no -- not HDC. It has been busy on far more important things (not) like declaring the region a GE-free zone. The joke is that while HDC has been focussing on stupid things like this it has dropped the ball and ironically left the region the most GE (gastroenteritis) prominent area in the country.

THIS OLD mutt suggests that if there were any doubts before about ‘environmental’ lobby groups – such as Greenpeace, Forest & Bird and his old mates at Bitch & Complain (Fish & Game) – being little more than political fronts for the Green Party, then such doubts would now be all but dispelled. Earlier this year, former Green co-leader Red Russel Norman left the watermelons to head up Greenpeace and now another long-time Green MP Kevin Hague is quitting parliament to head up Forest & Bird. Your old mate would not be in the slightest bit surprised to see another Green heading up Bitch & Complain when its head Bryce Johnson is finally put out to pasture. Watch this space. No wonder the Greens are so vocal in their hatred of farming.

YOUR CANINE crusader had to giggle at the latest spin coming out of Lincoln University, now engulfed in a financial crisis which could force it to close, downsize or even merge with another university. All this it hopes to avert by chopping staff and selling farmland. Despite all this it keeps crowing about how ‘successful’ it is. In a media release earlier this month headed ‘Lincoln’s star continues to rise’ it quotes a meaningless world university ranking survey that puts Lincoln 343rd in the world: “This latest increase means it has gone up 138 places since 2013,” Lincoln’s spin-doctors gushed. And then, “It is maintaining its top New Zealand status for low teacher-student ratios which: Tell that to the 50 staff it may have to sack to get it books back in black!

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

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

OPINION 31

Review provides more questions than answers and attributes still present. Farmers can now choose to stand outside the process against the “selected and board/ council-endorsed candi-

dates”, but must have support from 35 (proposed number) shareholding entities. Candidates who achieve 50% of farmer votes will join the board.

How this might work if several candidates are standing has not been addressed. Shareholders and Fonterra itself need more time

to sort out these issues. Questions are already being asked on whether the rush is to do with the fact that supporters of the current Fonterra strat-

egy are due to retire at the next election. • Jacqueline Rowarth is professor of agribusiness, The University of Waikato and a Fonterra shareholder.

SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING JACQUELINE ROWARTH

model, which does not seem to be working for the benefit of farmers. It might align with key performance indicators for management on creating a profitable company, but the value is being taken out of the milk that farmers produce. The half-year profit announced earlier this year was at the expense of shareholders operating in the red. More transparency is being requested on how management incentives are being set and on the milk price mechanism itself. This can be changed to protect the viability of Fonterra (as it was in the high payout year) but doesn’t change to protect farmers’ businesses. The shareholders’ council might have been expected to take on the role of challenging the strategy, and the way the accounts are presented, but increasingly the board has put it in the position of “explaining and communicating” to shareholders rather than taking the lead in being the watchdog. This puts the council in a conflicted position. Sorting out such frustrations is vital to give shareholders confidence their company is on the right track. Constant reassurances are not stemming the flow of shareholders to other dairy companies; it isn’t only in China that Fonterra is losing market share. The current recommendations from the governance and representation review are not likely to change anything of concern, which should bother all shareholders. The original proposal on size and composition of the board is the same, with the matrix of skills

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FONTERRA’S GOVERNANCE and representation review is gathering speed towards a special meeting in October. An update released on September 9 refers repeatedly to “careful listening” followed by “careful thinking”, and emphasises that everybody agrees on “attracting the very best people to stand for the board and council”. Few people are likely to debate the requirement for a great team to steer the company. What is debatable is whether what is being proposed will do what is required, particularly because under current leadership (management and governance – the people proposing the new system) the great ship Fonterra is beset with problems. Beingmate, 18.8% owned by Fonterra, has reported a net loss of $43.8 million for the six months to June. Macquarie broking firm values Beingmate at half the $750m Fonterra paid for it in March 2015 and forecasts further losses for the full years 2016 and 2017. Forsyth Barr notes that Fonterra has dropped from 10% of market share in China to 7%. At the same time, unofficial reports from the milk hub in China are bad and the business in Australia continues to lose money. Soprole in South America appears profitable, but unrest among Chilean farmers – in the news earlier this year – has led to speculation that Fonterra will buy its own farms in Chile. Chief executive Theo Spierings confirmed this as a possibility during a special meeting in Hamilton in June. Fonterra’s annual accounts will be out on September 22 and questions on transparency are already being asked. Information on which activities are making or losing money is difficult to find when they are bundled together in different ways each year. Other questions being asked are on the milk price

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

32 OPINION WILLOW APHID A BIG THREAT

There’s a Gaucho treated seed, and then there’s the rest!

WE HAVE kept bees commercially for over 60 years in the South Auckland/North Waikato area where willow is a very important feed source of pollen and nectar in the spring for the spring buildup of the hives. Three years ago, beekeepers noticed a new type of honey being stored by the bees in mid-late summer. This honeydew was identified as being produced by an aphid working the sap of the willow trees. This aphid, identified as the giant Asian willow aphid, is so voracious that it is literally sucking the blood out of the willows. Two years ago, I noticed the odd dead willow and this spring the number has greatly increased; beekeepers throughout New Zealand are reporting the sudden collapse of willows. I have broken off twigs of trees where dieback has just started, and have observed that the

wood seems to be degenerating from the core outwards. This rapid mortality is affecting trees over 30 years old, and those planted for land stabilisation. You suddenly become aware of the implication of this when you realise the importance of willow in land stabilisation. It is becoming very obvious this spring, considering the aphid only arrived three years ago, and it has now been identified in both the North and South Islands. Willow is also used to stabilise many of our roads and I now drive with one eye on the road and the other looking at the state of overhanging willows. I believe MPI is urgently looking for a biological means of controlling the aphid, as it has been observed on apples and kiwifruit; where this heads I shudder to think. Apart from the willows

dying, I also notice how they have turned black; this is a sooty mould caused by the aphid dew. The aphid was first identified, I believe, three years ago in Western Springs,

Auckland. A quick survey has found it already as far south as Ashburton. John A. Wright, South Auckland Apiaries Ltd, Bombay

ag twits Rural News’ irreverent and hypothetical look at what’s happening in the farming world Top Bleats view all @tspieringsfonterra: Good newsh with milk priceshs on the way up. Perhapshs farmhers and ohthers will now stop giving me suhch a hard timesh. It makesh the $5 millionsh I earn a year look so schmall. #woulditberudetoaskforapayrise

this year? You may’ve noticed that I’ve not said a peep about dairy in the past couple of months. I wonder why? I hope my poll ratings can bounce up like the GDT. #upisdownanddownisup #whatabouthouseprices @johnkeypm: Hey @littleandylabour you know how falling dairy prices and your predicted mass exodus of dairy farmers from their properties all over NZ was entirely my fault back in June? Does that mean improving dairy prices, growing GDT and brighter outlook for the economy is my fault as well? #yeahright #plonker

@jwilsonfonterra@tspeiringsfonterra: Excellent work Theo. The board always had faith in you – despite none of us having any idea what milk prices are going to do. Our pick is the next GDT will either go up, down or stay the same. #lottoisabetterbet

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@dcoullshc: Hi @jwilsonfonterra what a wonderful job you, your board and executive are doing on behalf of Fonterra shareholders. BTW, when you finalise the governance review can you ensure I keep my job? Love your work. #lapdog

@rpollardlincoln: My new job as chancellor at Lincoln is even a bigger hospital pass than coaching the Warriors; in fact I’d rather be the Warriors’ coach as they might make the top eight one day.

@winstonfirstandlast: We (as in the Royal we) can’t be fooled. It’s obvious the latest dairy auction rises are just Chinese companies manipulating the market in an effort to completely take over the NZ dairy industry by stealth. #someonetoldmethis #noimmigrantsthatdonotlooklikeme

@drmikenojoymasseyuni: I blame dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, goats, alpacas and deer for on everything that is wrong with NZ. The sooner there are no animals in the food chain the better and then Massey can concentrate on teaching important things like philosophy, poetry and Green Party Policy. #whatatosser #plonker #leftynutjob

@littleandylabour: Do you remember when I was blaming the government and declaring it a crisis when dairy prices were falling earlier

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

OPINION 33

Finding a solution to a very real problem RECENT DEBATE about unemployed New Zealanders and their keenness – or lack of it – to gain work was sparked after Prime Minister John Key commented how hard it is to get beneficiaries into seasonal work. The PM was defending the current levels of immigration, and this, of course, led to the usual political shenanigans – opposition politicians of all stripes bagging this claim to promote their own agendas, whether on immigration or unemployment. However, I assure you that many in the rural contracting sector have had a tough job – pun intended – finding the right kind of skilled local people to fill vacancies in our industry. As the PM pointed out, many employers cannot get NZers to work due to problems with location, drugs and/or their work ethic. He gave as an example the NZ Seasonal Workers Scheme, is designed to give unemployed locals a job, and the issues employers in this scheme have had in getting locals who will actually work. Many growers are backing the PM’s claim, voicing frustration at the many ‘no shows’ hampering the trial. A Central Otago wine grower, James Dicey, explained the problems he’d had trying to get workers for his vineyard from Dunedin. “Usually in a van of 10 – if you can fill a van – two people won’t turn up to work the first day, another two will last a couple of hours and a further two won’t turn up the following day; two of all those people will see the harvest out, but when we offer them winter pruning work maybe only one or two will take it.” Many rural contractors will empathise with Dicey’s situation; Rural Contractors NZ (RCNZ) worked hard in recent years to find a practical solution to this troublesome issue for our sector. Temporary, skilled overseas workers are vital for the agricultural con-

try and worked hard to find a practical solution. It may well show other industry groups how they could tackle similar problems. • Wellsford agricultural contractor Steve Levet

tracting sector. Every year, in many regions, it’s often impossible for rural contractors to find skilled NZers to do seasonal work, so contractors must look overseas to find experienced people. RCNZ has now implemented a new scheme to bring in overseas workers, following a deal struck between RCNZ and Immigration NZ earlier this year. This has RCNZ applying for an approval in principle (AIP) on behalf of all our members, then contractors can apply online for a visa for the person being recruited; contractors need not advertise or apply to WINZ or jump through the hoops confronting individual employers who want to take on overseas staff. With RCNZ holding the AIP, responsibilities are placed on us, so it is important that all contractors using this scheme meet the conditions. For starters, there is a written contract between RCNZ and each member company participating in the scheme, to ensure each knows their responsibilities. If these conditions are not complied with, the AIP can be rescinded. This ensures that all the appropriate statutory and regulatory compliances are being met; also any contractors applying to the scheme must be accredited registered contractors, fully complying with RCNZ’s code of ethics and our code for employing overseas staff. It is early days, and anything new always presents teething problems, but feedback so far suggests there are no major problems being experienced by contractors using the AIP scheme. This is a good example of how RCNZ identified a problem facing our indus-

is the president of Rural Contractors New Zealand (RCNZ). Many in the rural contracting sector have had a real job finding the right kind of skilled, local people to fill vacancies in the industry.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

34 MANAGEMENT

Searching for hill country answers AN INATE curiosity about ‘why things happen’ made Lincoln University PhD candidate Amy Whitley a natural for scientific research, suggests Ballance Agri-Nutrients. She is now using that

curiosity to help improve soils and raise the productivity of low fertility land in hill and high country areas. Sponsored by the co-op Whitley is now doing doctoral studies in

soil science, seeing it as vital to the New Zealand and global economies. “Soils acidify over time, through natural weathering and land use,” she says. “This affects their utility for agricul-

ture and reduces overall productivity, essentially reducing the amount of food we can grow and produce. “This is a NZ problem and a global one and it isn’t going away by itself,

Lincoln University PhD student Amy Whitley.

so we need to research the issue and find ways to address it.” Whitley is looking into the known association between acidic soils and aluminium toxicity, which affects the growth

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of plant species, in particular the legumes clover and lucerne. Legumes are critical to the economics of NZ sheep and beef production. “By identifying the key drivers of aluminium toxicity and the relationship with soil pH and other soil characteristics, we can determine the areas most susceptible to aluminium toxicity and the resulting low productivity,” she says. “This research will help to inform better land use decisions, such as where best to apply fertiliser and lime to get optimal soil productivity and which mitigation strategies will be most effective.” Though Whitley grew up in town, she enjoys going to farms and meeting farmers her research will help. “It’s hard to complain when the field sampling requires me to travel to some of the most beauti-

ful parts of NZ,” she says. “The farmers we talk to are well informed and know what we’re trying to achieve; it’s great to know they are interested and supportive.” Ballance Agri-Nutrients last year paid $350,000 to support six doctoral candidate positions. Science strategy manager Warwick Catto says the co-op and Lincoln want to advance soil research to drive innovation that lifts farm productivity. “Research by Amy and her colleagues should deliver key insights on how best to prioritise fertiliser and lime inputs to areas of low fertility prevalent in hill and high country regions,” Catto says. “The economic and productivity impact will be huge from prioritising the right lime and fertiliser spend.”

TOMATO SECTOR SIGNS UP TOMATOES NEW Zealand has signed up to the government industry agreement for biosecurity readiness and response. Chairman Alasdair MacLeod says signing is an important step in securing the growth of the tomato industry. He sees biosecurity incursions as the biggest threat to the industry’s goal of doubling in value from $100 million to $200 million by 2020. By signing the GIA deed the industry will have more say in preparing for and managing specific risks.

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

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

MANAGEMENT 35

Environment awards prove a worthy challenge for Taranaki couple ENTERING THE Taranaki Ballance Farm Environment Awards was a great challenge for Opunake dairy farmers Kenneth and Rachel Short. The equity partners and sharemilkers milk 443 cows on 180ha and are now converting to a fully organic operation. They first entered the awards in 2014 and were happy to win a category award. They entered again this year and won three categories, including the CB Norwood Ltd Agri-Business Management Award, which recognises farmers’ management practices aimed at operating a successful farm business. The judges praised the Shorts’ excellent use of agri-business professionals and their knowledge of business management and strategy. Rachel Short says good business management is important to them. “We are always trying to finetune our system. And with the payout at the current level, it’s even more crucial to constantly review

what is happening inside the farm gate.” Their entry in the awards contest was important to their planning, she says. “It made us sit down together and look hard at what we had done and what we are trying to achieve.” The judges had a broad range of experience and expertise, and the judging was relaxed and friendly. “I used to get nervous about these things, but the judges are normal everyday people there to help you. “It was worthwhile having the judges come onto the farm and give us an outside perspective on our business. Some of their ideas were useful and we enjoyed their feedback.” The Shorts are now changing their farm system to meet requirements of organic certification. “We’ve had to look hard at our fertiliser policy and how we manage weeds.”

Opunake dairy farmers Kenneth and Rachel Short say entering the awards was a great challenge for them.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

36 MANAGEMENT

Benefits of beef sires USE OF proven beef genetics delivers the goods on dairy farms, a five-year study has found. Preliminary findings by Beef + Lamb NZ on the use of quality beef sires confirm that dairy farmers can produce high value calves with minimal calving problems by breeding to proven beef genetics. BLNZ’s dairy-beef integration programme did a five year analysis and demonstration of the benefits and risks along the supply chain, seeking to increase the supply of quality calves to the finishing industry. The AgResearch-led project was funded by BLNZ mid-northern farmer council with support from LIC and Ezicalve (proven Hereford sires). Releasing the preliminary findings, Dr Vicki Burggraaf, AgResearch farm systems scientist, says the use of beef genetics in the dairy industry has traditionally been mainly bulls of unknown genetic merit. “This study researched animal performance, farm financial and labour implications for the various stages of mating, calving, rearing and finishing by comparing the performance of progeny sired by proven and unrecorded Hereford sires (nat- Doug Lineham ural and AI mating). “DNA profiles were conducted for all dams, sires and progeny so that progeny performance could be linked to parentage. Dam attributes were recorded (frame size, liveweight and breed) to link progeny performance. Animal performance attributes of calving ease, liveweight gain and carcase attributes were also measured.” Burggraaf says the study showed that the use of proven sires with high estimated breeding values (EBVs) for calving ease limited calving problems and those with high EBVs for liveweight produced cattle with higher growth rates. “The use of proven beef sires on a dairy farm and the impact on the progenies’ performance was demonstrated. Ezicalve Hereford sires, which have high EBVs for calving ease and liveweight, were compared with unrecorded Hereford sires.

Soil properties critical when applying effluent BALA TIKKISETTY

“Using some beef semen during mating reduced mating costs. Ezicalve sired cattle had minimal calving problems, and despite being smaller at birth, performance was similar to those sired by unrecorded bulls during rearing and finishing. “The sire had little effect on meat quality, but cattle from the Ezicalve sire with the highest liveweight EBVs were quicker to reach slaughter targets and produced more revenue per animal than those from other Ezicalve AI (artificial insemination) sires. Using beef sires with high EBVs for calving ease and liveweight on dairy farms therefore has benefits for dairy and beef farmers.” Dairy beef integration programme manager Doug Lineham says the findings “couldn’t have come at a better time for dairy farmers”. “The report provides the research validation for what is happening in the market right now. Farmers who bred tail-end cows to proven beef semen last year are being paid twothree times more for four-day-old calves than they would for straightbred dairy calves. The difference can be anything from $40 for a bobby calf to $200-$300 for a dairy/beef animal. “A number of farmers changed their breeding strategies last year to take advantage of this increased income, but the BLNZ dairy beef integration programme would like to see more farmers [make more money] by mating tail-end cows to proven beef sires. “Farmers can choose between artificially breeding some cows to proven AI bulls, or purchasing or leasing proven beef sires. Semen from proven beef bulls is around 20% cheaper per insemination than high BW dairy semen so there are savings to be made with the promise of a larger calf cheque next year.” Lineham says increased use of quality proven beef sires will benefit dairy farmers (easy calving, high quality calves worth up to $150 more); calf rearers/finishers (faster growing, finish earlier, high carcass value); and meat processors (improved supply of quality table beef).

DAIRY EFFLUENT is a great source of nutrients for growing pasture, but managed improperly it can let loose lots of contaminants that harm waterways. Understanding how soil properties affect nutrient loss is the key to maximising the benefits of effluent and minimising its impacts on waterways. Soil texture and structure determine the amount of water that can enter and be retained within a particular soil, and the rate of transmission of excess water through that soil. So effluent irrigation systems should be matched to soil properties to minimise runoff and leaching. The rate at which effluent can be applied to land for maximum production benefit is determined by the soil’s properties, such as structure, porosity and infiltration rate. The nature of the effluent and cattle treading on soils can affect the infiltration rate. Treading damage, which occurs most when the soils are wet, significantly reduces the infiltration rate. For some soils, this can result in accumulation of effluent below slopes and in hollows; it can then enter surface waterways. Movement of water through soil pores is generally described as hydraulic conductivity; when this conductivity is low, irrigation of effluent will result in pond-

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ing and run-off once the total water capacity of the soil is exceeded or if application rate exceeds infiltration rate. Low rates of hydraulic conductivity are found in soils that are poorly drained, and ponding and runoff often occur with high rainfall. Many of these soils are artificially drained to reduce the incidence of ponding and waterlogging, and this carries a risk that effluent can bypass the soil and be directed rapidly into waterways Leaching occurs as excess water moves through the soil, so those with lower water holding capacity are more susceptible to leaching; and soils with high water holding capacity (deep silt loams) can store significant quantities of effluent. Soils that have low available water holding capacities are the shallow to moderately deep soils, as well as sandy or stony soils. Effluent irrigation on these soils is likely to result in leaching, unless it is applied at low rates and in small doses. The irrigation system on these soils must be capable of low rates of application to gain the maximum nutrient benefit. Drainage and the level of biological activity of the soil at the application site are important. Aim to apply effluent at a rate that keeps it in the root zone, so that the nutrients can be utilised by pasture. Permeable soils, with

a deep water table and no drainage limits, are best for putting effluent on. However, on stony soils the risk of effluent draining directly into groundwater is an issue to consider. In such situations, application depths and rates should be adjusted to account for this risk. Another issue is ‘bypass flow’. When effluent application rates are higher than infiltration rates, water can enter continuous macropores that are open at the soil surface and then move very rapidly via so-called ‘bypass flow’ through a relatively dry soil matrix. This means little opportunity for the water to be retained within the root zone and high leaching of nitrate is likely to occur. Bypass flow of farm dairy effluent can occur in soils that undergo shrinkage and fissuring during drying, especially when these soils have been previously compacted by treading. A key to avoiding over application can be having adequate effluent storage so that irrigation can be deferred if conditions aren’t right. DairyNZ has released a new smartphone app to help farmers apply effluent more efficiently. The dairy effluent spreading calculator app provides dairy farmers and effluent spreading contractors with guidance. • Bala Tikkisetty is a sustainable agriculture advisor at Waikato Regional Council.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

MANAGEMENT 37

Experiment pays dividends for drought-ravaged farmer NORTH CANTERBURY sheep and beef farmer Hamish Murray got more grass than he bargained for this spring when trialling liquid nitrogen and gibberellic acid, says Ravensdown. He wanted to try and mitigate some of the damage from the drought and maximise pasture recovery from the recent moisture for lambing. So he decided to trial 30ha of the liquid nitrogen and gibberellic acid combination. “We’ve been so desperate for feed during the drought that when Dan Pavey, the Ravensdown agronomist, rec-

“They’re staying on it longer and seem to like the taste. It’s like I’ve put sugar on top of the grass.” ommended it I was keen to trial it and it’s produced near double what I would have usually grown at this time of the year,” Murray says. Pavey says that the solubility of the mix plays a big part in the results. “Express gibberellic acid has 100% solubility, optimising the double hit you get with nitrogen stimulating extra tillers and gibberellic acid increasing the tiller size. The response will vary depending on soil moisture and fertility, but it’s common to see a lift in pasture of an extra 300-500kgDM/ha from Express gibberellic acid and liquid nitrogen.” Murray says he needed grass now and found his brome (grass) was very slow coming into lambing. “[Brome] comes a couple of weeks behind the lambs, which is too late. I’ve only done half my paddocks in this trial and you can see the visual benefits clearly. It’s certainly had a massive response.” He also reckons that the stock prefer the taste of the grass with the gibberellic acid applied. “They’re staying on it longer and seem to like the taste. It’s like I’ve put sugar on top of the grass.” Murray says the paddocks that haven’t had the liquid nitrogen and gibberellic acid application are well back on the stocking rate and ewe condition. “It’s been well and truly worth the cost. I usually run with an annual application of fertiliser but now I wish I’d done more. I’ll extend my application next year if our feed supply is down, which it usually is around here.” Culverden contractor Sam Douglas applied the mix when the soil temperature was at just five degrees – two degrees lower than the recommended minimum temperature. Murray says Pavey had shown him a few pictures on what it can achieve under low soil temperatures so he was reasonably confident. Murray was confident he was going to get a response, but wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was.

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North Canterbury farmer Hamish Murray is delighted with the results.

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

38 MANAGEMENT

Give it a go – winners recommend FARMING IN an environmentally sensitive catchment can be tough, but the Birchall family is working hard to meet the challenge. And the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards highlighted the good work they do on their 280ha dairy farm near Rotorua.

It benefits their business, and their awards involvement helped them show the community that farmers in the Okaro catchment take their environmental responsibilities seriously. “A lot of good work is going on here,” Shane Birchall says. “Farmers support each other, so we

felt it was important to put up our hands and tell others what is happening in the catchment.” He and wife June run their 530-cow operation, Waionehu Farm Ltd, with their son Daniel and daughter Megan. Shane and Megan are also involved in local committees focused on environ-

mental issues. The Birchalls first entered the awards eight years ago and enjoyed the experience, so the family decided to enter again. “The kids were a bit hesitant at first, but we all found it to be an excellent educational and networking experience and they are already talking about

having another go.” In the last 10 years, the family has spent a lot on improving farm infrastructure to raise environmental and economic sustainability. They have upgrading the water and effluent systems and built two HerdHomes – the first in the district – to improve animal welfare, The Birchall family says the Farm Environment Awards provided them with the perfect opportunity to highlight some of the good work they are doing on their Rotorua dairy farm.

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minimise pasture damage and reduce nutrient loss. They have fenced and planted waterways and developed a 2ha wetland to filter nutrients from farm run-off. “This place has been in our family 35 years. Mum and dad laid a good foundation but we realise that to keep the operation sustainable for future generations we need to keep improving,” Shane says. The award judges describe the Birchalls as an innovative family with individual strengths. They noted the family’s environmental focus “within the farm and the community”. The Birchalls won three category awards including the WaterForce Integrated Management Award, which recognises farmers “who have developed and implemented integrated water manage-

ment systems and processes for water used within their farming system”. Shane says the WaterForce award recognised their efforts to improve water efficiency on the property. He says the family was thrilled to win three category awards. “It reinforced what we are trying to do here.” He found the judging process rewarding “because it makes you sit down and look hard at what you are trying to achieve”. “We also met interesting people, including the judges, scientists and other entrants.” The information they got is helping them tackle environmental issues. “There is a lot of good science out there, and this is a great way of getting the message across.” www.nzfeatrust.org.nz

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DAIRYNZ REGIONAL policy manager James Ryan will next month succeed David Natzke as general manager of the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust (NZFE). Natze leaves the trust, which runs the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, at the end of October. NZFE Trust chairman Simon Saunders says Ryan has a broad range of skills including strategic thinking and management experience. “James is an excellent communicator with expertise in environmental issues and stakeholder engagement. As a regional policy manager for DairyNZ he represented the interests of dairy farmers to local and central government and developed a strong network in the agricultural sector.” Sanders says Ryan’s experience with farmers and regional councils will benefit the trust and its stakeholders. Saunders says Natzke took the awards from “small beginnings to the keenly sought recognition it has today”.

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

ANIMAL HEALTH 39

Australian livestock consultant San Jolly says maximising ewe survivability and profitability are underpinned by four key profit drivers.

Measuring and monitoring a key part of ewe management the sheep. The second step concerns feed quality. “The best time to test feed quality is before you need it – before lambing and again before weaning”. Feed test results can guide decisions on the cost-effectiveness of supplementary feeding if pasture protein levels are low, and provide information about whether pasture condition or other factors (such as genetics) are influencing weight gains. Her tip is that feed quality cannot be accurately assessed visually; consultants can advise on how to take accurate samples and where to send them for laboratory testing. The third step is stocking rates. There are several times of year and methods to assess stocking rates (based on kgDM/ha) including when there is a feed wedge before sheep go into a paddock, or during winter when pasture is growing. Fourth is genetic potential. Genetics underpin the potential for fleece weight, fertility, growth rate and lamb survival. Each enterprise will have different priorities so it is valuable to have formal breeding objectives to focus ram selection and culling decisions. Broad rules of thumb for optimising

genetic profit drivers include: Identify the constraints to your production system (such as environment or predation) and focus on areas within in your control. Weigh lambs at weaning to see if genetics are translating to enhanced growth rates. Match rams to your target market: for example, if producing store lambs then prioritise ASBVs for high weaning weights. Joining presents another opportunity for producers to increase ewe productivity. With many pastoral producers preparing to wean now, Jolly says good pre-joining activities include: Draft ewes into light/heavy or fat/ thin mobs using the most efficient and appropriate method for your business (eID/auto drafting based on weight or condition scoring). Start managing the light/thin ewes with preferential allocation of feed to bring them up to the target joining weight Draft out dry ewes so they do not re-enter the breeding programme. Now is the time to start planning for weaning nutrition by taking feed quality tests and mineral deficiency tests to guide supplementation decisions, says Jolly.

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MANAGING EWES for maximum survival and profitability is underpinned by four key profit drivers, says Australian livestock consultant San Jolly. Jolly, of Productive Nutrition, recently spoke about those profit drivers to producers at ‘Pastoral Profit’ workshops, held jointly by Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation, in NSW and Queensland. He reminded producers that measuring and monitoring are vital to guide management, and productivity improvements lead to profits only by reassessing cost of production annually and running gross margin budgets on feeding strategies. Jolly says the first step to assessing the nutritional requirements of ewes is to weigh them, “to provide a baseline to monitor weight gain/loss for early intervention and management”. Based on ewe weights and fertility (measured by pregnancy scanning), producers can determine their DSE (dry sheep equivalent) and estimate feed demand. Jolly’s tips are: buy scales to monitor weight gain or loss for targeted management, assess readiness for joining, and ensure the dosage of drenches is correct for the weight of

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

40 ANIMAL HEALTH

International experts to share their wisdom on selenium supplementation A ONE-DAY free seminar on selenium next month in Hamilton will present data on boosting animal health and productivity, says the organiser, BEC Feed Solutions. Professor Peter Surai and Dr Kevin Liu will present global R&D on selenium nutrition and supplementation, on October 28 at the Hamilton airport conference centre. “They will talk about the importance of selenium as an antioxidant in modern intensive animal

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production,” says event organiser Trina Parker, country manager of BEC Feed Solutions. “They will also talk about different sources of selenium for ruminant (dairy, beef, sheep and goats) and monogastric animals (pigs, layer hens, broilers, horses and pets).” Parker says the seminar is a New Zealand-first, presenting the latest global developments in selenium supplementation. “It’s well known that NZ has low-selenium

Kevin Liu

Peter Surai

Trina Parker

soils, and because it’s not essential for plant growth this vital mineral is often overlooked,” Parker says. “We’re keen to raise awareness of the fact selenium is vital to animal

health and production and so supplementation is essential. The link to human nutrition of optimised selenium in animal products is an area waiting to be explored.”

The event is in two parts: 10am -12 noon, selenium in ruminant production and nutrition; and 1-3pm, selenium in monogastric production and nutrition.

Low antibiotic use FROM PAGE 40

under the one veterinary account were not enrolled. Herds were visited on a six monthly basis and all hard copy records were photocopied and entered into a database. Additionally, cow demographic data were obtained from electronic sources (LIC, Hamilton) including age, breed, calving date, any disease and treatment records. All drug sales for enrolled farms were extracted from the accounting packages of the veterinary businesses. Sales data for purchases of products containing antibiotics and

administrable by injectable, intramammary, intrauterine or oral routes was retrieved from accounting software. The time period of interest was January 1 to December 31, 2015. A total of 78 herds, managing 63,500 lactating cows, had sufficient data to calculate the ADUR – 39 in each of the North and South islands. The median ADUR was 1.59 daily doses per cow per year. The predominant use of antimicrobials was mastitisrelated, either dry cow therapy (DCT) or for treatment of clinical or subclinical mastitis during lactation.

particularly the liquid organic selenium option, which enables water application. Selisseo 2% Se is the only pure source of seleno-hydroxymethionine, Parker says. “It is quite new and different for NZ producers, combining purity, reliability, stability and ease of use with 100% efficiency.” • To register: www. becfeedsolutions.co.nz/news/ or telephone 0800 BEC 001. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

300 Hereford bulls for sale TAINUI GROUP Holdings says it’s responding to strong market demand by offering 300 Hereford bulls – 100 more than last year – at its annual Hangawera Station Hereford sale on October 3. TGH’s rural operations manager Ian Mathieson says there is now a market imbalance, as demand for Hereford bulls exceeds supply. “There are two reasons for this. In a low milk price environment, some dairy farmers are seeking to

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Parker claims that new research indicates selenium supplements now available in NZ are not as bio-available to animals as initially believed. “This is a major concern for NZ animal production, particularly in the dairy sector where selenium options have until now been limited to sodium selenite/selenate and selenium yeast. The company will soon two organic selenium products in NZ. Easy application is a notable feature of the products,

diversify income by running beef cattle,” he says. “Last season, farmers reduced stocking rates in New Zealand after warnings of an El Nino weather pattern developing and they now need to rebuild their herds.” Mathieson says all the bulls will have been tested two weeks before the sale. “We will also deliver the bulls for free anywhere in the country.” All bulls are pure bred, fertility tested and double

vaccinated and tested for bovine viral diarrhoea and enzootic bovine leukosis before the sale. “We test all our bulls to make sure they’re fertile, fit and ready to perform. We have also bred for temperament: our bulls are easy to work with.” PGG Wrightson and RD1 Livestock will be agents for the sale, at Hangawera Station, 398 Manual Rd, Tauhei, from 12.30pm. Refreshments provided.

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

ANIMAL HEALTH 41

Low antibiotic use in NZ dairy herds pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND appears to have very low use of antimicrobials in dairy cattle by international standards, a study has shown. The calculated average daily usage (ADUR) is about 1.7 cow days of antibody usage per year from a study of 78 farms. This compares to ADUR of 5.4 for the US and 5.3 ADUR from records in Canada and the Netherlands. The study was reported to the recent NZ Veterinary Association conference by Scott McDougall, Khaled Gohary, Andrew Bates and Chris Compton. Cognosco, AnexaFVC, Temuka and the Epicentre at the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University were also involved in the study. “We have calculated the average daily use of antimicrobials (number of daily doses of antibiotics per cow per year) for 78 herds, split equally between the North and South Island,” the report says. “There was a tendency for North Island herds to have a higher antibiotic use than the South Island herds, for reasons that are not clear. There was no association between size of the herd and antibiotic use.” The range of usage amongst herds was relatively narrow with between one and four ADUR. However, some herds were outside the 95% confidence interval for the population and hence are outliers in terms of antibiotic use, the report says. It is not clear at this stage whether these outliers are due to a higher-than-average disease incidence in the herd, requiring greater antibiotic use, or related to sensitivity of diagnosis and hence the risk of overtreatment. The second year of this study will examine recorded onfarm usage patterns and potentially identify where over/under diagnosis and usage is occurring.

The use of critically important (Class A) antimicrobials was relatively low, with about a fifth of the farms not using them at all and the remaining farms using, on average, 0.05 daily doses per cow per year. There are some potential limitations of the current data and analytical approach. It is assumed that all antibiotics sold from the veterinary businesses in the calendar year 2015 were actually used within this timeframe. Another assumption is that the antibiotics were used on-label. Again further analysis will allow assessment of compliance with onlabel recommended doses across these herds, the study says. Data from this study was derived from clients of two veterinary businesses over one calendar year. The variation in ADUR between subsequent years was relatively small in one study but the variation amongst veterinary businesses in prescribing and diagnostic approaches is not known. Hence further data is required to gain representative national data relating to farm level antimicrobial usage. By way of introduction the study says antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasing problem in both human and veterinary medicine. Recently, guidelines to reduce the risk of emergence of antimicrobial resistance have been released by the British government, the Centre for Disease Control in the US, and the US Department of Agriculture, amongst others. These strategies all broadly include components of measurement of drug usage, surveillance for antimicrobial resistance, prudent usage and an emphasis on alternatives to antimicrobial (AM) usage. Estimates of AM usage are important to monitor usage of specific drug classes, assess AM sensitivity data, manage potential risks for AMR, monitor drug usage across time and regions, and to

use as a proxy for disease incidence. The herds in the NZ study were drawn at random from client lists of two veterinary practices in the North and South Islands (AnexaFVC

and Vetlife, respectively). The herd owners provided written permission to access all records related to the farm, including electronic records (for example those held in Minda,

Antibiotic use in NZ dairy cows is much lower than that in the US, Canada or the Netherlands.

LIC, Hamilton), on-farm records (for example dairy diaries, yellow books) and drug sales from the clinic.

To reduce potential errors associated with drug sales, herds that were part of business

Alliance is a quality, low-dose triple combination drench that controls internal parasites, including tapeworms, in sheep and cattle making it ideal for routine and quarantine drenching. It has a 14-day meatwithholding period for sheep and 10 days for cattle.

Scanda gets your lambs and calves off to a good start. The dual combination oxfendazole/levamisole drench controls parasites and tapeworm, and with just a 10-day meat-withholding period, there’s just a short wait to get your animals on the truck.

FROM LAMBS AND CALVES.

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PAM TIPA

ACVM No’s: A7130, A7368,A10249. ® Registered Trademarks. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone 0800 800 543. NZ/ALCE/0716/0009

TO SHEEP AND CATTLE.

structures that had multiple farms under the one management and TO PAGE 40

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

42 ANIMAL HEALTH

‘Leave it’ means ‘walk away from that’.

Teaching a dog to ‘leave it’ a useful trick command for your dog DOGS CAN be taught to know. a lot of different ‘Leave it’ means commands, more ‘walk away from that’! than you would think; I found it a fantastic the thing to remember command at lambing, prior to training is to and when shedding out run through in your HEAD ‘N HUNT dry ewes from ewes mind their other ANNA HOLLAND with their lambs prior to commands to make docking. Most of the time we want our sure they all sound different. And I will remind you yet again dogs to bring everything, but when we that consistency in training is the are shedding out they need to learn to secret to success. Be consistent with leave ewes and lambs behind; if they the command (don’t change it in any have been taught ‘leave it’ prior, it is way) and be consistent when you use less confusing for a young dog. It is also a very useful command it. I probably have more commands when mustering. Again, we usually than your average person. I think want our dogs to bring everything, it makes life simpler for dogs when including the slow animals, so they first go to work if there is a clear imagine how confusing it is for a command that has a clear meaning dog when we expect him to leave something that is never going to make and they know and understand it. The start of working life with it. A simple ‘leave it’ and he walks all that is involved can really be away – easily and without reluctance. I regularly attach a 6-8m cord, of overwhelming for dogs, and people expect the dog to automatically fit about 1cm diameter, to a pup’s collar in; and ‘natural ability’ supposedly in the early days when letting it off for means understand everything, even a run. If it doesn’t come when called, though we have taught you nothing you walk over, pick up the end and give a jerk, saying ‘mate -- behind’; beforehand. In my last column I discussed ‘no’, it makes life easy and you are far less likely to lose your temper and which means ‘that is wrong’! Now I will explain my ‘leave it’ do something you shouldn’t. (Mitre which is similar to ‘no’ yet different. 10 has the perfect cord; it is soft and You decide if it would be a useful comes in bright colours, so is easy to

see in the grass.) To teach ‘leave it’, take the pup for a walk on a long lead, allowing the pup to potter about exploring things. Allow it to have a good sniff of something interesting and then say its name (to get its attention); ‘mate - leave it!’ and give a jerk on the lead. You want the pup to leave whatever it is and continue on the walk. You don’t want the pup to come to you, because you won’t when he is mustering miles away; you want him to ‘leave it’ and continue the job in hand. It usually takes only a few lessons over a couple of days, with a jerk on the collar and ‘mate – leave it!’ for a pup to understand the new command. Most people will throw something at a pup to teach ‘leave it’ but that can have dire consequences: not only could you injure the pup but it can frighten it and have it running for cover; is it not better to have control, give a jerk on the lead and have the pup still with you unharmed and unafraid and learning without fear? • Anna Holland is teaching people dog training. For more information www. annaholland.co.nz or Ph 06) 212 4848 or annaholland@xtra.co.nz @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

ANIMAL HEALTH 43

Small things make a big difference in growing lambs Ideal selenium and B12 levels for lambs: Herbage (mg/kg DM) Liver (nmol/kg) Selenium >0.03 >440 Cobalt >0.11 - Vitamin B12 - >375

PAUL McKEE

IF YOU were to look at the range of lamb daily growth rates on sheep farms in New Zealand you would find a huge range from as low as 80g to 350g+/lamb/day. To get to the top of this range requires attention to detail. Ewe condition score and milking ability, pasture quality and quantity, climatic conditions, trace elements and genetics are among the variables farmers need to manage. It only takes one of these ingredients to be missing or to be in short supply to make it difficult for lambs to reach target weights. Trace elements, though only required in small amounts, are a key part of this big picture. Adequate dietary levels are essential for healthy lamb growth

and production. Selenium and cobalt (used to make vitamin B12) are of particular importance in NZ farming systems. Providing the ewe’s selenium and B12 levels are adequate, her suckling lambs should receive enough of these minerals through to weaning. If the ewe’s mineral levels are not adequate then additional supplementation may be necessary to ensure good lamb growth rates. The trick is to know whether you need extra supplementation and whether to give this to the ewe or the lamb. If targeting the ewe, then a pre-lamb mineral boost is ideal; if targeting the lamb then docking/tailing is the first ideal opportunity. • Paul McKee is a Ravensdown animal health advisor.

Serum Blood (nmol/L) >100 >500

SAVE MORE THAN YOUR SHEEP AND CATTLE.

A pre-lamb selenium drench to ewes is an ideal way to boost mineral levels.

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HERBAGE SAMPLES in the spring, when the grass is growing, can give you an idea whether the pasture will supply adequate amounts of key minerals. Herbage trace element information should be supported with liver or blood samples, to confirm actual levels for animals and the level for supplementation required. All stock have different requirements for each trace element, but an animal health professional can help you decide where there may be shortfalls and interpret the results. There is a range of different options available for boosting animal trace, including mineral amended fertilisers, mineralised drenches, injections, pourons, etc.

ACVM: A10249. ® Registered Trademarks. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone 0800 800 543. NZ/ALCE/0716/0010

Paul McKee

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

44 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Fast, easy, accurate drilling MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

GETTING CROPS into the ground relies on a drill that is accurate, fast and, in these high-tech days, easy to use. Dealer principal at Power Farming Ashburton, Simon Jackson, is so impressed by the new Kverneland 6m U-Drill Plus -- which can sow seed and fertiliser simultaneously -- that he has put his money where his mouth is in ordering a demonstration rig for his mid-Canterbury business. The machine is built using proven componentry from KV’s extensive range of cultivation products. The seedbed preparation begins up front, with a full width tyre packer system comprising nine 800mm diameter tyres, which crush clods or lumps and pave the way for optimum depth control for the following modules. Next item is two rows of discs, known as Qualidisc, to create a fine and uniform seedbed across the machine’s width, and offer the added benefit of in-cab control for depth and disc pressure. Depending on conditions, up to

100kg per disc can be exerted to ensure penetration in all conditions. After cultivation a second set of tyres packers, this time with a 900mm diameter, re-consolidate the ground to produce optimum conditions for the planting module, at speeds up to 18km/h. These packers are mounted in a staggered configuration to prevent the typical ‘bow-waving’ of soil that can occur in a parallel layout and so ensure optimum conditions.

Up above, a 4350L hopper system has the potential for high daily output and long working days. The tricky task of filling is taken care of by a hydraulically driven loading auger and the body of the hopper is split longitudinally to allow both seed and fertiliser to be carried in a 40:60 split. Seed delivery is controlled by the new ELDOS metering system, driven electrically and fully ISOBUS compatible. Used with GPS it can communicate

with KV’s GEOcontrol software to produce accuracy in seed rates, spacing and section shut-off, to avoid double seeding that can occur on headlands. A choice of four different feed rotor inserts allow the machine to deal with small or large seeds, and fertiliser, and allow application rates from 2-40kg/ha. Depending on requirements, fertiliser can be applied directly into the seeded row via secondary delivery tube or it can be applied inter-row – where

outlets are piped to the cultivation module and placement depth is regulated by the disc cultivator working depth. At the rear of the machine a coulter bar takes the form of a central box tube, mounted on a three-point parallelogram linkage and carries the seed distribution head. Seeding hardware consists of twin 410mm diameter discs set at 125mm spacing, with inter-row stagger allowing 200mm clearance. Discs have maintenance-free bearings and are followed by 380mm diameter press-wheels, made from a specialised rubber compound which allows flexing and largely removes the need for rear scrapers. Depth control is controlled from the cab via ISOBUS or the Tellus system and is easily adjusted as conditions dictate. Final covering tines are made from high-grade spring steel. Options for making life easier include an access platform, LED lighting and wheel track eradicators. The 6m machine folds to 3m to make shifts easier and safer. www.powerfarming.co.nz

Tow and Fert saves on fert costs

™

Given the current financial conditions for dairy farmers around the world, managing input costs without decreasing production is the only logical way to navigate through this tough time. Technology developed in Dannevirke is becoming noticed as breakthrough technology with research agencies in other pasture grazing markets around the world. Tow and Fert, designed and manufactured by Metalform, has the ability to either reduce fertiliser input costs without impacting pasture yields, or maintain fertiliser inputs and improving dry matter and protein production. As well as proven research from NZ and a dairy co-operative in NSW Australia, an independent dairy specialist in the UK is the latest company to prove the efficiency of Nitrogen when applied in a foliar form. The trials were performed when applying 33%, 66% and 100% of the typical rate of nitrogen which was 25kg/ha, 50kg/ha and 75kg/ha of foliar applied Urea compared to 75kg/ha of granular Urea. Even when the foliar urea was applied at 33% of typical application rate, the DM response was only 10% less DM per hectare. At an application rate of 50kg/ha which was 66% of the control rate, the increase of DM yield was exactly 50% higher. Based on this research, now consistent from 3 different research trials it can be concluded the possibilty of acheiving the same DM response with only 1/2 the amount of urea.

To put this into a reality from a profitability point of view, on a typical farm of 150 hectares milking 400 cows, a typical application of granular Urea at 80kg/ha 6 times a year would equate to approximately 72 tonne of Urea, $43,000. If it were to be dissolved and applied as a foliar spay, then the cost would be around $18,000, which is an annual saving of $25,000. From an environmental point of view, the N escaping into the environment, as ammonia, leached beyond the plant’s root zone or as the greenhouse gas, Nitrous oxide, would be largely reduced because the Urea should not enter the soil but is directly absorbed by the leaves.

TF TOW AND FARM by metalform

Metalform developed Tow and Fert, a fertiliser applicator, to quickly dissolve normal granular urea in cold water on the way to the paddock which means turning urea into a dissolved foliar spray is quick, convenient and most of all more cost effective and environmentally responsible. As grass is the cheapest form of feed, it is ever so important to ensure that we are growing the most nutrient rich pasture rather than spending on supplement feed and the Tow and Fert can be a key part of reducing input costs in the current economic climate without decreasing pasture yields.

0508 747 040 WWW.TOWANDFARM.CO.NZ

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 45

Mowers cut it in steep, rough terrain MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

SHANE AND Marie Donovan of Taihape needed to replace their combination mowers, with a pre-requisite that the replacements could deal with ground steep and rough. After plenty of research they decided to buy Pottinger, which now looks like a smart decision. The 301 Alpha Motion front and Novacat 302 rear mower conditioners excel in such conditions. The Alpha Motion offers 600mm of vertical travel

and 16 degree of lateral oscillation, which combines with superior headstock geometry to bring the weight closer to the tractor for safe operation on the steeper areas. At the rear, the centre pivot 302 unit supports a cutterbar that is even over the entire cutting width, while benefiting from a 45 degree range of movement, which helps achieve a clean finish on rough terrain. Interestingly, typical forward speeds have increased by up to 4km/h, fuel use is down and higher daily work rates

The Novacat 302 rear mower/conditioner in action.

bar, combined with the low profile discs that cause only low drag resistance, and smooth crop flow into the conditioner

are being achieved without compromising quality of work. “This is because of the slim profile of the cutter

unit,” says David Donnelly, managing director of Origin Agroup, the national distributor. As an added bene-

fit, the cutterbar layout has three drive teeth in constant mesh, which achieves high strength, long service and low noise characteristics. All this leads to peace of mind and better conditions for the operator. During the evaluation process the Donovans carefully considered their choice of conditioner unit fitted to the mowers, especially because they have to deal with high volumes of lucerne gently to avoid leaf loss, and they must cope with the hard river stones prevalent in their area.

The Extra Dry tine conditioner chosen is fitted with rubber mounted, V-shaped steel tines, which flex if they hit an obstacle, yet are rigid enough to provide an even, positive flow of crop against the adjustable conditioning plate to achieve the desired result. The Donovans sum up their switch to Pottinger as “a win-win”. “Not only in the increased productivity and reduced running costs, but customers are telling us this is the best mowing job they’ve ever had.” www.originagroup.co.nz

SMALL SIZE, BIG HEART NOTHING IS new, goes a saying; everything’s just a re-working of an old idea. However, it seems tractor maker Massey Ferguson has created a new category of tractor in its new MF 6700S series, with a four-pot motor pushing out 200hp. The six-model range, using the latest AGCO Power 4.9L, 4-cylinder engine, offers maximum power outputs of 120-175hp, ‘boosted’ by engine power management in all versions and up to 200hp in the case of the MF6718S. Maximum power is developed at 2000 engine RPM, with maximum torque gained at 1500 erpm, which the manufacturer claims will deliver big tractor pulling power, but in a compact, nimble and light package that should result in miserly fuel use. Indeed, with a wheelbase of 2.67m and a turning radius of 4.75m, the tractor should be manoeuvrable and lend itself to loader work or field duties where a light footprint is required, such as powering spray equipment in the spring. While the S series takes its looks from the established MF6700 series, under the skin there are substantial engineering changes in the engine, transmission and cabin, increased hydraulic outputs and a 4-speed PTO system. – Mark Daniel

SWADRO TC • New durable heavy duty frame • New LIFT tine has superior raking performance • New Improved 3D rotor oscillation • New Improved rear axle construction • Standard Duramax cam-track with 3 year warranty • Standard cam-track profile offers sharp lift out and ideal windrows

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

46 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Will these robots ever catch on? A UK research company suggests the market for agricultural robots and drones, now about $3 billion annually, will balloon to $10b by 2022. Acceptance of GPS technology in the past decade – just look at its use in cars – has grown to where farmers use this technology, with superb accuracy, to apply fertiliser and sprays. Tractors can now achieve sub-2cm accuracy by using GPS guidance. And they can hugely reduce inputs and outputs, and reduce driver fatigue over long days and difficult conditions, such

as poor light or dust. The industry says around 300,000 tractors will this year be sold equipped with some form of guidance or auto-steer system. As prices keep tumbling it’s predicted this will jump to 660,000 units annually by 2026. The next stage seems

to be unmanned, autonomous tractors, such as the concept units shown by CNH at the recent Farm Progress Show in the US: a full-size tractor, without cab, could cultivate, plant and spray without an operator. It appears now that the jury’s out on whether the preferred choice would be fullsize units, or a number of smaller, lighter 50hp units roaming a farm doing repetitive tasks. Interestingly, the technology is now in place but seems to be stymied by draconian regulations and/or lack of trust on the part of poten-

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) or dones continue to gain favour in the agriculture sector.

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tial users. The next stage is foreshadowed by AGCOowned Fendt, which suggests a master/slave format, where one tractor with a driver is ‘shadowed’ by a second autonomous unit. Not long ago, with wearily repetitive work and staff recruitment difficulties mounting, it was mind-boggling to imagine robots milking cows; now it’s a commonplace: cows choose how often they want to be milked and their productivity shows it’s working. The milking robot market is tipped to hit $8.5b by 2026, up from today’s estimate of $1.9b. It’s getting a push from robots that push up feed and remove manure, and by the growing acceptance on the part of livestock farmers once wary of anything without teats. Meanwhile, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ie drones, gain favour,

helped by common sense regulations. And though pizza chain chatter about home deliveries may grab the headlines, the real heft is in drone use by agriculture, getting broader by the month. Onfarm cameraequipped units can send real-time pictures of life and work in progress – things such as cast sheep and leaking water troughs. They will also produce aerial maps using nearinfra-red, or photo-mosaic technology, to inform on crop health, and emerging technology will do targeted spot treatment on problem areas. The next generation of farmer – or at least one of his staff – will need to be up-to-speed on computer operation and programming, while those of more mature years – who are still out on the farm – will need eyes in the back of our heads and a good set of low-tech ear plugs.

Why MAXAM? ● Cut, Condition and Spread in one pass ● Give Fast and Even Grass Re growth ● No Ground Scalp ● Robust (Low Maintenance)

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Phone 06 356 8516 www.farmgear.co.nz

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 47

Water’s for troughs, not tractors MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

LABRADORS AND Kiwi farmers love water, the former for swimming and the latter for ballasting tractors by filling the tyres with the stuff. Granted water is cheap, but carting one tonne of it in each rear tyre when not required can be a drag on acceleration, degrade tyres and raise fuel consumption because, let’s be honest, once it’s in, it stays in. Now comes a new range of ballast gear offered by Giltrap Agrizone, Cambridge, from the French company Althimasse; they offer interesting solutions slightly outside the norm.

For loader tractors – often the target of rear tyre water fills – a 900 or 1500kg cast steel counterweight will help bring things under control. It will also allow the use of rear-mounted implements via its fixed, integral three-point-linkage system. This added weight, plus 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 frontmounting to balance rear implements; they have hivisibility extremity-marking panels. Also designed for front-mounting is a neat system sculpted

PRECISION FARMING INVESTMENT KNOWING THAT farmers will keep demanding high precision and optimal seed distribution, cultivation and drilling specialist Vaderstad has opened a new seed lab within its R&D facility. The company says this will offer the possibility to recreate different environments and simulated field conditions, with a varied affect from workloads, heat, cold, air pressure and other external factors, while also providing test rigs for durability and quality testing of drill componentry. The seed lab was officially opened in May. The 280 sq.m facility includes advanced measuring systems that provide exact results, says Väderstad’s Mikael Albrecht. “The R&D department itself has 120 co-workers. Significant investment in the department every year enables Väderstad to constantly deliver innovations, product developments and solutions for effective agriculture.” Vaderstad is imported in New Zealand by C B Norwood Distributors Ltd. www.vaderstad.co.nz

CAMBRIDGE FARM ROLLERS

NEW 10ft Roller with Extension Drawbar & Screw Jack $6900 Vee Ring Roller Seeder Drill with Vee bottom seed box, hydraulic clutch, ext. drawbar, ........................ $18,800 Special rollers made to order, • All prices ex-Factory, Excl GST • Spare parts, Rings and Bearings. Competitive freight rates to the North Island 26"dia rings ............................$90.00 Ph: 0800-838 963 24"dia rings ............................$85.00 AUSTINS FOUNDRY LTD 131 King Street, Timaru www.austinsfoundry.co.nz

to fit between the tractor’s front link arms and embodying an adjustable mounting system. This has a base weight of 900kg and an extra cassette system to raise the mass by a further 300kg.

Further combinations can take maximum capacity to 2400kg. Interestingly, the cassette can be picked up or dropped off quickly and safely from the tractor seat.

When it comes to hay equipment we go the extra mile to ensure you get better performance.

A range of ballast gear from French company Althimasse is now available from Giltrap Agrizone.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

48 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Quads an indispensable and major part of farm management strategy MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

ON A typical farm, ask the farmer what he loves most and he may answer: wife, dog and quad; and if the first is out of earshot the order may differ. Honui Land Ltd is run by Donald McIntyre’s family on 270ha in the Pohangina Valley, 40km north of Ashhurst, while

the 130ha home farm is near Shannon. Pohangina stocks 1700 ewes, 420 hoggets and 50 Angus beef cattle; Shannon has 600 ewes, 200 ewe hoggets and 90 beefies. Quads feature large in the running of both properties, used daily for stock inspection, feeding and maintenance. The standout brand is Suzuki.

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Gordon (front) and Duncan McIntrye with their omnipresent Suzuki quads.

McIntyre chose the brand in 1988, when he leaned his struggling step-thru 90cc against the shed wall and took delivery of a new Quadrunner. This sowed the seed for a brand loyalty that hasn’t waned since. MacIntyre senior told Rural News their vehicles are well looked after and changed on a twothree year cycle; he reckons they’ve had about 15 different machines over the years, all Suzuki. The latest, earlier this year, are two new machines. Up on the high ground,

son Gordon favours a KingQuad 400, and in the lower country father Donald says the 300 version is the machine for him. So why the enduring love affair with this brand when there are so many choices? The McIntyres, particularly Donald, believe the machines are a little lower than most other brand, making them easier to mount and dismount. More importantly, the lower centre of gravity makes for a safer ride on difficult terrain. They also

like the large rear rack system, ideal for taking conventional hay bales to outlying stock and a great perch for the other love, the farm dogs. The key feature, which continues to impress, is the mechanical transmission with five main speeds and three selectable ranges. They prefer this system to the increasingly popular CVT style set-ups, not least because once selected they know they are in-gear and don’t have to rely on maintaining engine revs to keep the CVT belt engaged with its

drive pulleys on downhill sections. Notably, the low ranges offer huge traction, used often when, for example, they need to pull a waterlogged sheep out of a drain. Then it’s a soft strop and a steady pull to get the wayward animal back onto dry land. The 300 does what it’s meant to without fuss: it’s nimble and easy to steer for McIntyre senior, who also likes the external crashbar system around the machine. This creates a well around the foot well area that allows carrying a sheep on its back-

side in the well; suitably restrained it can be taken home without a trailer or without hog-tying it to the rear rack. The 400 favoured by son Gordon is slightly heavier so is seen as being more stable, has extra power in reserve and is fitted with larger wheel and tyre equipment said to make the ride more comfortable on tough terrain. So when asked if their next move would be to a UTV, their answer is a terse, “I don’t bloody think so!”

RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 49

More than a rear view camera! MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

SAFETY COMES high on the agenda of many tractor developers and manufacturers, but many industry watchers don’t realise that much of the technology shown at annual shows and exhibitions comes from industrial giant ZF. To help showcase their latest technologies, such as intelligent cameras, automated hitching systems and electric drive systems which promote safety, comfort and efficiency, the company has developed the aptly named Innovation Tractor. The prototype gathers all the above functions into a package likely to be useful for the agricultural and construction sectors, to show what is available and to provide a benchmark for future innovation and development. As part of the project, six cameras scan the periphery of the tractor, and with the aid of a computer generate a surround-view image on the tractor screen or a portable device like a tablet. The operator can view the images from a range of perspectives, including a birds-eye view,

either from the seat or from a portable device nearby, facilitating auto hitching functions via a hitch detection system. In this scenario, a camera detects the position of an implement in relation to the tractor, by measuring the distance and the angle of ‘optical targets’ placed on the machine. Reversing is done automatically, with continuous reassessment during the cycle; automated steering corrections are done for alignment, before the tractor stops in the optimum position for hitching. This final step is done manually by the operator. During the whole operation a pedestrian detection system checks for movement of any person in a predetermined safety zone around the tractor, particularly between the implement and tractor; it will warn of anyone in the zone and stop the tractor if the operator does not act. The steering system forms part of a system powered by ZF’s Terramatic transmission coupled to the Terra+ generator module; this can provide up to 60kW of electrical power to be sent to wheel motors on trailed

implements for a traction management system which will allow perfect ‘set-off’ on slopes up to 30% gradient. www.zf.com/corporate/ en ZF’s safety prototype incorporates many features in its Innovation Tractor System.

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

50 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS / RURAL TRADER DOLOMITE

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Tangle-free electric fences at last R&D AT Strainrite has developed an improved electric fencing standard with no more tangling of wires, the company claims. The Tangle Free Hotpost is primarily used to hold a herd of cattle in a break feed crop. The shaft of the pigtail stake is electrified using an insulator just above ground level instead of at the pigtail end, which helps deter more boisterous bovines from pushing over a fence to get to the balance of a crop. Ease of use is ensured by an insulated hand grip just below the pigtail, with no protruding handle as in the previous design; this helps reduce the tendency of shafts to tangle. The shaft of the standard is manufactured from high strength, bend resistant galvanised spring steel. It also uses a galvanised press steel foot proven on the company’s popular Gold Foot post and is said to offer superior strength and excellent ground holding. The new post also has an integral, formed spring steel pigtail that averts poly-wire or tape cutting through plastic coatings and shorting out a fence. “Getting supplementary feeding wrong can be disastrous to a cow’s

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RURAL NEWS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

RURAL TRADER 51

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We’re open for business just up the road.

Wherever you are and whatever you’re farming or growing, you’ll never be far from one of our stores. We welcome farmers and growers from all walks of life and offer the same great service and value to everyone. 160 years of experience has taught us that being local counts. So when you need to down tools and go looking for the products you need to keep things ticking over, we’re just up the road.

There’s only one name you need to remember. PGG Wrightson.

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Helping grow the country