MEKA WHO?
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
Meet the new Associate Agriculture Minister.
Tractor sales on the up.
PAGE 13
PAGE 31
MANAGEMENT Managing the volatile climate. PAGE 27
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS FEBRUARY 20, 2018: ISSUE 647
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Minister blasts NAIT PETER BURKE
AGRICULTURE MINISTER Damien O’Connor says NAIT clearly hasn’t worked as it should have. His comments come as the deepening crisis over the spread of Mycoplasma bovis causes problems not only for dairy farmers, but also sharemilkers, winter grazers and others in the dairy and beef sectors. O’Connor told Rural News that NAIT has not been enforced as it should have been. He says clearly animal identification and traceability is at the core of any good biosecurity system. “It’s hard to blame individual farmers given the lack of clear direction from industry leaders and organisations. This system is essential for New Zealand as a food producing nation into the future.” O’Connor says it’s “almost a crisis”
because M.bovis is a significant disease NZ does not want nationwide. The focus has been on identifying the spread and containment of the disease, then its eradication. O’Connor has met with many winter dairy grazers and sharemilkers, and sympathises with their dilemma caused by the spread of M.bovis. He hopes the results of bulk milk testing will be available soon.
PSA busters win prize A team of Plant and Food scientists who saved the kiwifruit industry from the ravages of PSA has won the prestigious Prime Minister’s Science Prize. It was presented by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to Dr Bruce Campbell, who led a 100-strong multi-disciplinary team from the CRI to control PSA and then develop a new resistant strain of kiwifruit. The $500,000 prize was presented at Parliament last week before a large crowd from the science community and industry representatives. Ardern praised the team, saying the country appreciates the work of scientists in New Zealand. – See more page 7
But some people are saying this will be too late for many. O’Connor has seen a draft report on M.bovis, due to be made public in a couple of weeks, which he says identifies a number of issues. “These range from problems right at the top, down to what happens in the yards on the farm.” He says improvements are needed in all areas. He rejects claims that it is taking
time to sort out problems in a system that started running five years ago. “There’s been plenty of time to run a good system. It’s glaringly obvious that adherence to NAIT and a functioning animal identification and traceability system is a given for farmers.” O’Connor says changes will be made, education given and there will be clear signals that non-compliance with NAIT will not be tolerated.
NOTHING TO SEE HERE SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
FONTERRA CHAIRMAN John Wilson claims the co-op’s overall strategy in China is “working very well”. China is Fonterra’s largest market, accounting for nearly $4 billion of sales last financial year; normalised earnings exceeded $200 million. But Wilson admits the co-op’s joint venture with dairy company Beingmate is a “significant frustration and concern” for everyone. Speaking to farmers at a recent Northland Dairy Development Trust conference in Whangarei, Wilson said Beingmate’s performance will be discussed with farmer shareholders after the release of its interim results next month. “Rightfully, we should expect individual parts of our integrated China strategy to deliver returns to farmers. But it’s important that we measure the success of our China business against the entire integrated strategy over the medium term. “There will be bumps on the road from time to time; I don’t like it all but there will be,” he conceded. “That integrated strategy has helped China become our largest global market, accounting for just under $4b sales revenue which contributed to the milk price and delivered a normalised earnings contribution last year greater than $200m. TO PAGE 3
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NEWS 3 ISSUE 647
www.ruralnews.co.nz
A big wake-up call PETER BURKE
NEWS ��������������������������������������1-16 AGRIBUSINESS ����������������18-19 MARKETS �������������������������� 20-21 HOUND, EDNA ���������������������� 22 CONTACTS ����������������������������� 22 OPINION ����������������������������22-24 MANAGEMENT �������������� 26-28 ANIMAL HEALTH ����������� 29-30 MACHINERY AND
THE IMPACT of the outbreak of M.bovis is a wakeup call for everyone in the agriculture sector, says Beef + Lamb NZ’s chief executive Sam McIvor. Farmers are now realising, if they didn’t before, that a serious biosecurity threat such as M.bovis highlights the vulnerability of their farming businesses, he says. The beef and dairy industries are inextricably linked and each depends on the other; the presence of M.bovis is causing big uncertainties in the value chain of the farming sector. Animals from the dairy industry play an important role in the beef sector and in the same way beef farmers provide winter grazing and bulls for the dairy sector. “The relationships between the dairy and beef sectors are very strong and very important,” McIvor says.
BLNZ is so concerned about the impact of M.bovis that it has appointed one of its staff to work on the problem full time. That person will work with farmers and other agencies, e.g. MPI and the Rural Support Trusts, who are supporting farmers. Another BLNZ staffer is helping MPI at its research facility at Wallaceville, near Wellington. One issue raised is a lack of farmer compliance with NAIT due to issues they have had with it for some time. A review of system, due out shortly, will hopefully address some of those concerns. “M.bovis has reinforced the importance of NAIT as a critical tool in animal tracing, as MPI works to understand where the disease came from and where it is going,” McIvor told Rural News. “There are examples where MPI has not been able to source stock
Beef and Lamb NZ’s Sam McIvor says the M.bovis outbreak has affirmed farmers support for stronger biosecurity protection for NZ.
movements through NAIT. That means it has had to go through other routes to trace those animals and that is a slower process. “Every day and every hour is critical when you are dealing with an
exotic disease and anything that stops you tracing it quickly is a problem.” McIvor says farmers are now calling for better policing and strict compliance with NAIT in order to protect their farm businesses.
PRODUCTS ����������������������� 31-34 RURAL TRADER �������������������� 35
CHINA IS WORKING – FONTERRA FROM PAGE 1
HEAD OFFICE Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Phone: 09-307 0399 Fax: 09-307 0122 POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 Published by: Rural News Group Printed by: PMP Print
“So the overall strategy is working very well, but there are a few pieces we would like to be doing better,” Wilson told farmers. Fonterra invested at least $750 million on a 18.8% stake in Beingmate in 2015; the co-op paid 18 Chinese yuan per share and last week the share price was hovering around 4.5 yuan. Last month, the listed Beingmate company issued a downgrade, putting
its projected loss at $171m - $214m for the December year, against a prior forecast loss of $75m - $107m. The extent of the writedowns on Fonterra’s 18.8% investment will be revealed when the co-op releases its interim financial results next month. Wilson was careful not to comment on Fonterra’s write-downs before the half-year results. “We will spend some time talking to our farmers in our interim results;
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 80,580 as at 30.09.2017
MARKET BOOMING CHINA’S INFANT formula market is booming. Fonterra chairman John Wilson says the China market is growing rapidly; within five years forecast demand for infant formula and baby dairy products will exceed the total of all other global
dairy markets. Wilson says Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings is working with Beingmate’s founder and cornerstone shareholder Sam Xie to improve the business. @rural_news
facebook.com/ruralnews
John Wilson meets AgFirst’s Kim Robinson (right) while attending a Northland Dairy Development Trust conference in Whangarei earlier this month.
typically we do not comment on performance leading into half-year results,” he says. “But of course
Beingmate is a significant frustration and concern for farmers and for the board and management team.”
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
4 NEWS Fairlie farmer Nigel Bishell is using UHF RFID eartags on his flock and says it helps him achieve a big increase in lambing percentages. SUPPLIED: ANZCO
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AN EXPERT in data management in the meat industry is calling for a fundamental change in the technology used in the NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) system. Mark Rance, the ICT manager of meat processor ANZCO Foods Ltd, believes there would be long-term benefits in upgrading the RFID (radio-frequency identification) eartags and readers from their current LF (low-frequency) system to a UHF (ultrahigh frequency) system. His comments come as NAIT undergoes a review, with suggested changes about to be put up for public consultation. The system is also under fire because farmers’ incomplete NAIT records have hampered the response to Mycoplasma bovis.
Rance says ANZCO has had input into the NAIT review, but he does not expect a change in the technology to be a priority. “They’ve made it very clear, to me anyway, that they don’t want the technology question raised at the moment because it might get in the way of the other issues, like compliance, though I might argue that it helps that.” The review is expected to concentrate on improving compliance both by making NAIT more user-friendly and by increasing enforcement. However, Rance says he’d be “very surprised and disappointed” if consideration of UHF technology did not eventually flow out of the review and subsequent work on usability of the system. He adds that ANZCO and others had pushed
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THE GOVERNMENT is being accused of going cap-in-hand to the primary sector seeking cash to help eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. National’s primary industries spokesman Nathan Guy claims the Ministry for Primary Industries is canvassing the dairy and red meat industry for money to pay for its response and eradication of the disease. “In Parliament Damien O’Connor couldn’t say how much money the Government is prepared to contribute to fully eradi-
cate Mycoplasma bovis,” Guy says. “Knowing how tight the Government’s finances are because of its other big-spending commitments – and even with financial contributions from industry – Mr O’Connor has an uphill battle convincing his Cabinet colleagues how critical funding of over $100 million actually is.” Meanwhile, National’s biosecurity spokeswoman Barbara Kuriger says New Zealand farmers deserve clarity and transparency from the Government on its plans
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“One of the limitations of low frequency RFID is that you can only read one tag at a time, which in some cases you want to do; but in other cases if you want to read sheep or deer running through a gateway you want to be able to read all of them. You don’t want to have to single-file them.” UHF is also cheaper, said Rance, because it is the technology used in most other RFID applications worldwide, such as inventory control by Amazon, Walmart and DHL. The reader hardware is therefore cheaper, being volumeproduced off-the-shelf units. Rance emphasised that ANZCO supports NAIT and is happy to work with the chosen system, but it also continues to encourage development of UHF and to encourage NAIT to consider future alternatives.
“quite strongly” for UHF when the NAIT system was first being formulated, although at that time there was no UHF eartag on the market. Since then, countries including China have adopted a UHF standard for cattle, and Chinesemade UHF eartags are now readily available to buy. “But the trouble is the decision has been made and now we’ve got this mandatory system based on low frequency.” Rance says the advantages of UHF technology include the ability to scan tags metres distant rather than up close. “This is not an issue for sheep necessarily, but it certainly can be if you’re trying to read a big bull or a stag.” He adds that a UHF reader could also read multiple tags.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NEWS 5
SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
FONTERRA SAYS it shouldn’t be forced to collect milk from farms with poor environmental credentials. Fonterra chairman John Wilson says a lot has changed since the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) was enacted to launch the co-op in 2001. “Today’s environment is so different,” he told a Northland Dairy Development Trust conference in Whangarei this month. “Right now we are required to pick up milk from any farmer who is thinking about supplying milk.... If that farmer does not have great environmentl practices or is in an area that’s not great for dairying or has a highly fragile ecosystem, we are still forced to pick up that milk,” Wilson says. “That’s not the right answer so regulations need to be changed to address that…. Unfortunately they were not changed by the previous government and we hope we can have a constructive conversation with the current government.” The Labour-led coalition government has signalled a comprehensive review of DIRA. It is also introducing a bill to prevent the expiry of the efficiency and contestability provisions of the DIRA in the South Island. This will mean the current regulatory regime will continue in place; it is due to expire on May 31 this year. It includes the open entry-and-exit clause under which Fonterra must accept any application to become a shareholding farmer in the co-op, and accept supply of milk from that shareholder. Shareholding farmers can also readily exit from Fonterra and supply another dairy processor should they wish to do so. Fonterra also has to sell up to 20% of its milk to other processors each season. DIRA was set up to manage Fonterra’s dominant position in the NZ dairy market, until sufficient competition emerged. It contains automatic expiry provisions that were triggered in 2015 in response to the co-op’s reduced market share in the South Island.
MORE MILK AVAILABLE FONTERA SAYS rival processors will need a competitive offering to catch milk from its suppliers. Chairman John Wilson says farmers have seen processors come and go over time. “We went through a period of five years until two years ago when our milk production grew at 5% average per annum. “That’s a lot of milk growth; there has been a lot of milk available so other processors have been taking a slice of a growing pie. We strongly believe that environment has changed.”
M.bovis keeps on spreading NIGEL MALTHUS
THE NUMBER of dairy farms with confirmed infections of Mycoplasma bovis is creeping up as the national milk-sampling programme continues nationwide. Sampling began last week in Taranaki and the northern half of Canterbury. This week it is moving into the top of the South Island and the West Coast, to be followed by most of the North Island. In each district, bulk milk is being sampled from each farm’s regular tanker pick-ups, then each farm is asked to provide vials of discarded milk from the farm’s ‘sick cow’ mob on two specific dates 14 days apart. In Dunsandel, about 250 people packed the community centre to collect their sampling packs. During questions and answers, DairyNZ and MPI officials said
the sampling should be complete nationwide by late March. While eradication remains MPI’s preferred goal, the way forward will be decided when the results are in. All confirmed infections are now believed to be associated with the two known clusters in the Waitaki and Winton
districts. Farmers are being told that MPI will notify them immediately of any positive test result. Where the results are negative – meaning the bacterium is not detected in the samples – farmers will be notified within 10 working days of all three samples having been
tested. However, two weeks after sampling finished in the Ashburton district an MPI spokesman told Rural News that testing was still underway and results should start to be reported “from late February”. As of February 13, the number of confirmed infected properties stood at 23, with two recent confirmations, one in each of the two known clusters. The number of properties under Restricted Place Notices was 38 and the number of properties for casing was 305. Meanwhile, whole herd culling has been put on hold until the results of the national surveillance are known. However, MPI said it was doing targeted culling of selected animals on a case-by-case-basis, mostly for surveillance testing purposes.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
6 NEWS
‘Scary’ rural health issues needs urgent government action PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz
WORKFORCE SHORTAGES in the rural health sector – now and into the future –are “quite scary”, says Rural Health Alliance (RHAANZ) chief executive Michelle Thompson. “We are saying to government, unless you get your head around this with some solutions we will have a crisis. You can’t just grow a doctor overnight,” she told Rural News. “To get a doctor, for example, or even a nurse practitioner who can practice on their own in rural, you are talking the best part of 10-12 years.” The Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa NZ (RHANZ) was established over concern for access to health services for rural people and part of that is staffing, Thompson says. Two proposals are now in front of government: a joint one from Otago and Auckland medical schools and a proposal for a new medical school in Waikato.
They were presented to the National Government. The new Government “is just sitting on them at the moment and none of us is sure which they will support, if any,” she says. “There are some really good parts to some of those proposals and they have been founded on what we call a pipeline approach to health education and training. “You take your best and brightest rural people, you signal they might want to Michelle Thompson is calling have a health career, and for urgent government action then you train them in on rural health. their chosen health profession – nursing, medicine, pharmacy, munity; because they have grown up whatever it might be, in the commu- with a rural reality they understand nity where they will serve,” Thomp- what they are getting into and are not likely to leave. son says. “Once you take them out of a small “If you do that, evidence overseas tells us you are much more likely to community – you show them the retain those people in a rural com- bright lights of Auckland or Wellington
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NEWS 7
They had just one chance PETER BURKE
THE LEADER of the team that cracked the kiwifruit’s PSA problem says a hunch on how to deal with the outbreak paid off. Dr Bruce Campbell says they had just one chance to get it right and they did. He attributes a lot of their success to the long term investment in science by all people in the kiwifruit industry. Campbell says Plant and Food’s partnership with Zespri, growers and the wider industry meant that as scientists they were better prepared to make a scientific contribution when the disease struck. “There were still many challenges that turned up,” he told Rural News. “The first was knowing how the disease really operated in NZ, because it was new to the country and our kiwifruit industry. “Working out a diagnostic test, trialling all sorts of possibilities from different crops from different parts of the world and testing different genotypes and genetic types that might be able
to be better adapted to tolerate PSA were all part of the process,” Campbell explained. “There were a whole number of elements that had to come together to produce a solution.” Plant and Food had a team of 35 in fact about 100 were involved all told, “including people from New Zealand
universities and overseas institutions, who all contributed to finding what eventually turned out to be the right answer.” Campbell says a key challenge was on the genetic side – finding a variety of kiwifruit that was resistant to PSA, unlike Hort16A which was hit by the disease.
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION BRUCE CAMPBELL says because of the achievements of Plant and Food and the kiwifruit industry, NZ has become the ‘go-to’ place for advice on PSA. He says NZ has positioned itself strongly internationally, as borne out by requests from other countries for NZ to run symposia to tell its success story. “Diseases can be so damaging to economies and countries and the opportunities to link up with the international science community to share precompetitive information is really important,” Campbell says. “In this case, the prize money will be put towards developing these international networks [for] collaborative approaches so that we are better prepared for any further disease incursions.” This will ensure that everyone is going to be better off by being able to maintain food supply in the future. Campbell says the Plant and Food scientists are humbled and pleased with their solution and the resulting recognition. “This is a triumph for science and it’s important to promote scientists who have shown they are there to be able to deliver to the needs of industry and the community.”
The Plant and Food team pictured with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at parliament last week after picking up their award. PHOTO CREDIT : THE ROYAL SOCIETY TE APARANGI.
“So we really only had one shot at it and there was a lot of pressure on the team to get it right. If we got that wrong and came up with something that wasn’t able to withstand PSA there would have been problems because everyone had sunk their investment into what we were doing. “As it turned out, Zespri had done some early commercialisation of the Gold 3 variety, which proved to be able to withstand PSA and be robust enough to become the replacement fruit for Hort 16A,” he says. The Plant and Food team had to get answers quickly, doing their work in a very narrow time-frame and this meant adapting their science systems to work
within these limits. “We also had to cope with more uncertainty than scientists would normally be comfortable operating with in order to drive forward to a solution as fast as possible.” He says not only did Plant and Food liaise with growers, they also had to show the banks that there was a genuine opportunity that their scientific work would result in a new and PSAresistant strain of kiwifruit being produced. “The finance sector backed the industry and as a result we solved the PSA issue and today we have a sector that by 2025 will earn $4.5 billion dollars a year”.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NEWS 9
Massey adds farm plan course PETER BURKE
THE GROWING need for farmers to have farm environment plans has prompted Massey University to develop a new course to help train rural professionals to do these. Dr Lucy Burkitt and Dr Mike Bretherton of the university’s School of Agriculture have put together the course, which is online, making it easier for people to complete it in their own time. Burkitt says with new regulations, such as the Healthy Rivers programme, Massey recognised the need for a tertiary qualification in this subject. It’s built on work done by colleague Mike Touhy, who has been running a course on understanding soils and landscapes, and how nutrient and sediment are lost from landscapes “We spent last year going around the country doing a lot of market research, talking to regional councils about the important attributes they want their employees and people doing farm plans to know and understand,” she told Rural News. “We have revamped
the existing course to be targeted, so that rural professionals can do it online in their own time.” Burkitt says the course has three modules. The first is an introduction to soil and nutrient loss issues, with a field trip that will be done with the regional councils. The second module goes into a lot more detail about soil and nutrient loss processes and understanding the hydrology that makes soil and water move, as well as erosion processes. “The final module has the students developing a farm environment plan themselves, so we will encourage them to hook up with the regional councils. Many of the councils have agreed to provide mentorship to the students and help guide them through the process,” she says. The aim of the course, Burkitt says, is have people who will be qualified, confident and understanding of all the components of farm plans. Anyone interested in nutrient management can do the introductory module and field day, but only people with qualifi-
cations in soil and nutrient management can do the remaining two modules. Burkitt says farm plans are complex and
people doing these need to understand landscape and soil processes and how these interact with hydrology to influence nutrient and soil loss.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
10 NEWS
NAIT problems stymie M.bovis response NIGEL MALTHUS
Fed Farmers president Katie Milne says farmer problems with NAIT have slowed the response to M.bovis.
FEDERATED FARMERS president Katie Milne says farmers’ problems in complying with NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) have
slowed the response to Mycoplasma bovis. NAIT could be a lot easier to use, she says. While it works well for recording animals arriving at a processing works, there are appar-
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don’t find ourselves in these situations,” Milne told Rural News. She says that where NAIT records are incomplete, cattle movements are still able to be traced from farmer records, but it had added time to the response to M.bovis. “We could’ve been in a different position than where we are right now.” A Federated Famers technical advisory group including dairy, beef and deer sectors had contributed to a review of NAIT, which will soon go out for wider consultation. Milne, herself a West Coast dairy farmer, said she had experienced problems with farm management apps not always doing what they are supposed to do, i.e. automatically sync with NAIT so farmers only have to input data once. The NAIT review is intended to modernise -- going through finding any small discrepancies or faults within systems that might be addressed, she said. “Let’s all fix it and get on with it.” Federated Farmers’ dairy industry chair, Chris Lewis, said in a statement that better NAIT recordkeeping “certainly would have made everybody’s job easier”. He said NAIT is seen by some farmers as a compliance cost, and some report issues with the registering of stock movements, particularly receiving farmers. “The NAIT review, soon to put its recommendations out for public consultation, focused on identifying and removing barriers in the system that are stopping people from complying,” Lewis says. “The review considered a wide range of topics including animal location and animal movement recording; assignment of NAIT number; tag readability, replacement and retention; tag visual coding; new tag technologies; roles and responsibilities of user groups under the NAIT standards; NAIT system enhancements;
and user experience. “The recommendations focus on retaining accurate animal location and tracing information while making it easier for NAIT system users to fulfil their obligations, improving design aspects of NAIT, and improving farmer and industry compliance with NAIT obligations.” Lewis said the whole industry, MPI and OSPRI (the company which runs the NAIT system) all have a role to play in encouraging 100% compliance. Meanwhile, Milne says how ‘gypsy day’ will go this year in the face of the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak remains “a $64,000 question”. There is concern in the dairy industry that the traditional June 1 relocation of sharemilkerowned herds will be disrupted by movement restrictions placed on suspect herds, or that the movement of herds with undetected infection will spread the disease. Milne believes MPI’s national milk surveillance programme now well underway will give answers. She says it’s a shame the national milk testing was not begun sooner, but the capacity for all the tests was not available sooner. “Quite frankly I’m not sure how it’s going to work at this stage. But once we get that extra information on spread from the bulk testing, that will help enlighten everyone on the best way forward.” However, Milne emphasised that concern was not just about gypsy day. New Zealand’s dairy farming is quite different from elsewhere, having evolved a lot of off-platform grazing with a lot of stock movements on and off. “It is unique worldwide and no-one does the sort of shifting around we do. We’ve been lucky because we’re an island nation, but... that luck runs out from time to time because we are vulnerable to an incursion.”
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
12 NEWS
Less milk, fewer products – better prices SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
FALLING MILK production due to weather constraints has forced Fonterra to reduce sales volumes across its entire product range. Milk production in New Zealand was down 6% last December on the
same month in 2016. Fonterra chairman John Wilson told a Northland Dairy Development Trust Conference this month that the co-op’s forecast milk intake this season is 1.48 billion kgMS, down 3.6% on last season. “Let me remind you that last year we had a
favourable late summer and autumn; we don’t expect that this year,” he said. Wilson said the first six days average milk collection in February was 8% down on February last year. “We’ve had great rain but we are struggling to get milk production up,”
he explained. “We’ve had to reduce our sales volumes across our entire product portfolio; the last thing you want is to be in a position where you don’t have product to sell as prices move up.” In December, Fonterra revised its farmgate milk price to $6.40/
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Fonterra chair John Wilson says the co-op’s forecast milk intake is down 3.6% on last season.
kgMS – a drop of 35c. Forecast earnings were also reduced by 10c/share to a range of 35c to 45c, mostly due to the Danone arbitration decision where the co-op was fined $183m. Wilson says the milk
price downgrade was “a conservative decision”. “On the milk price side we know demand has been sustained particularly out of China, across Asia and Latin America,” he added. “Our milk price revision at the time reflected the mixed picture in our global markets and especially the good production achieved in Europe, South America, the US and Australia.” Wilson points out that much analysis goes into these forecasts. “With that is always a large factor of supply potentially affecting future pricing… and of course the markets have been watching.” The last three
consecutive Global Dairy Trade auctions have all gone up. Whole milk powder price is sitting at US$3200/tonne, reflecting that the market is fundamentally balanced, said Wilson. BNZ senior economist Doug Steel agreed. He told the conference that a milk price of $6.40/ kgMS looks a lot more achievable now. Steel noted that WMP prices were up 13% in the three auctions this year. “It’s pretty much a recognition that NZ weather has been awful; clearly the markets recognised that it had been dry from November to December,” Steel said. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews
PASTURE MODEL TOPS FONTERRA CHAIRMAN John Wilson says NZ’s relatively low-input pasture model farming makes Kiwi dairy farmers the most efficient in the world “We must never forget that,” Wilson told the conference. “It’s a natural competitive advantage that we should always respect and seek to maximise. Our future success and the sustainability of our co-op lie in maintaining that competitive advantage.”
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NEWS 13
New minister gets up to speed in portfolio “They want to suss out me as a minister and find out more about my leadership style; I am looking for FOR NEW Zealand to have a feedback. I love the portfolio – there competitive edge in world markets it are lots of opportunities I’m keen to must retain and promote its position get my teeth into,” she says. An obvious area of interest to as leader in animal welfare. That’s the message from the new Whaitiri is Maori agribusiness and Associate Minister of Agriculture, how it is developing. People in or close Meka Whaitiri, who has specific to the Federation of Maori Authorities responsibility for animal welfare as know what is being achieved, she says, but many Maori quietly working away part of her ministerial role. She says for NZ to promote itself at farming don’t know the big picture. A big challenge is to do something as world class producer of animal for Maori landowners products it must keep whose blocks have repeating that as a become ‘land-locked’ nation we treat our This event because of land having animals humanely. been taken under the “It’s part and parcel turns the Public Works Act. A lot of our story and gives spotlight on of land is lying idle, she us a competitive edge because we have the excellent says. “If only we could sound animal welfare contribution utilise those lands policies and codes and Maori make economically, then regulations,” Whaitiri those owners would told Rural News. to the NZ derive an economic “While we do economy. benefit and so would promote this, I think more has to be done to – Meka Whaitiri the regions they live in. It’s clear to me that no make people aware of single entity is focusing our codes of practice on this and that to me and regulations. I have told MPI that I would like to see is a lost opportunity. Many Maori more done and for them to work with landowners don’t even know where to go to for assistance.” stakeholder groups.” Whaitiri says Maori trusts that Whaitiri came into parliament in a by-election following the death of need help and have the potential to Parekura Horimia in 2013. She had do more are those in the ‘middle’ worked in his office at parliament – medium size organisations that and before that had worked in the own the bulk of Maori land. She Department of Labour, been general believes that with the right help they manager of the Maori Woman’s can lift their game and benefit their Welfare League and the chief shareholders considerably. And larger trusts – such as executive of Ngati Kuhungunu, NZ’s Mangatu and Wairarapa Moana, both third-largest iwi group. Meeting the huge range of people developing value-add products – who report to her has been her recent also need assistance to keep up the positions they have established in the emphasis. PETER BURKE
New Associate Minister of Agriculture Meka Whaitiri.
market place. “A point about larger incorporations is that if you are going to work in the added-value space, one thing that must be understood is the stories about our farming industry,” Whaitiri explains. “This is both the cultural aspects and about where the food comes from. It’s not a uniquely Maori thing, it’s a just a market thing, but some of our Maori incorporations
are not quite there yet.” Knowing the range of challenges facing Maori agribusiness, Whaitiri wants to use her skills in and knowledge of agriculture to drive change to provide answers. She wants to provide Maori with the tools to address the gaps that Maori landowners face. This week, the finalists in this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy competition for
the country’s top Maori dairy farm will be announced at parliament. Whaitiri says this event turns the spotlight on the excellent contribution Maori make to the NZ economy. She says to be a finalist or to win this competition is huge and it helps other Maori farmers lift their performance. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NEWS 15
Cumulative pressures taking toll PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz
STRESSES ON rural people may have increased due to the cumulative effect of various pressures over the last few years in farming, says Michelle Thompson, chief executive of Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand (RHANZ). “Maybe we are moving into a new norm -- financial shocks, global shocks, weather bombs, earthquakes; it is one after the other and people often haven’t got over the first one,” she told Rural News. “Unusual right now is the cumulative impact of adverse events facing rural families, particularly those deriving a income from the land. “Most people can deal with one or two major events, but when they are all back to back that is where pressure is building.” Thompson says it is impossible to get a good overall picture of this until there are better official definitions of rural and rural facilities. “What is a rural health service as opposed to an urban health service for instance? And then if we start comparing rural health outcomes against urban health outcomes we might start seeing the difference we believe exists.” An example is that Ministry of Health figures on rural suicides compared to urban suicides
run three years behind. RHANZ works with the Rural Support Trust. Neil Bateup, chair of the Waikato trust and the national network, reported to the board before Christmas an increase in calls to the trust of a “wellness” nature – a shift from the usual onfarm or finan-
advanced suicide prevention training programmes for rural health and social service professionals. Feedback from earlier programmes showed more training was needed on how to manage a patient who could be at risk of suicide. RHANZ is now halfway through providing 20 workshops
offering that training. “We have been inundated; we’re oversubscribed for these workshops. We aim to have about 30-40 people in these workshops and for some we’ve had 70 or 80 people register and we haven’t been able to meet that demand.” Thompson says they
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say access to counselling same day or next day in rural NZ is pretty difficult. “From what I hear about what is happening in urban centres, it is the same there as well.” NZ has fundamental problems with mental health and addiction services, she says. This is
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
16 NEWS
Blowing his own pipes winner into the news media. This is his story. Raised in a local farming family, James Kinsman (19) says he has been attending the annual Mackenzie show, at Fairlie, since he was “about two”. As a piper in the Mackenzie Highland Pipe Band, he has successfully
NIGEL MALTHUS
ASKED BY the organisers how to attract more young people to participate in the annual Mackenzie A&P Highland Show, James Kinsman, this year’s winner of the $2000 show scholarship, suggested getting the story of a young show
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competed in solo piping, photography and wool, taking the most points in crossbred wool at last year’s show. He will be back competing again this year. He concedes that he is “pretty much a loner” among his peers in his participation in the
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becomes just like a fair.” Kinsman is not on the show committee, but is likely to put himself forward in the future. He has just begun studies towards the bachelor of agricultural science degree at Lincoln University, a four-year course. Show secretary Jodi
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with the show. “We’re trying to pick the young ones’ brains really, to see what the modern ones want to see at a show, and how they think we might be able to attract more entries from people their age or the involvement of people their age.” She describes Kinsman as “a high-calibre young man.” She says in her time as secretary, since 2010, they haven’t had a scholarship applicant who was also a previous
and administration experience. Billed as the largest one-day show on the national calendar, with between 12,000 and 15,000 expected through the gates, the 120th Mackenzie A&P Highland Show will be held on Easter Monday, April 2, at the A&P Showground in Fairlie. The Schedule of Classes is online at www. mackenzieshow.co.nz with the closing date for most entries on February 23.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
18 AGRIBUSINESS
New Massey boss rings in changes PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
Massey University vice chancellor Jan Thomas.
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WE MUST stop thinking about agriculture in the traditional sense, says Massey University vicechancellor Jan Thomas. She told Rural News that she would like to think of graduates of many other colleges at Massey – besides agriculture and veterinary – moving into jobs relating to the wider primary sector. In the past year, Thomas has developed a new strategic plan for the university that will better align its courses with industry needs and ensure its teaching meth-
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“I want all our graduates – pakeha, international or whatever – to be able to work effectively in the Maori economy in a way that is respectful and that recognises the culture.” ods meet the needs of the digital age. Changes have included separating out the veterinary school as a stand-alone college and bringing other aspects of agriculture into one large college. Thomas says it is now
important to see agriculture through a different lens and be aware of the digital era, with innovations such as remote sensing playing an increasing role. Graduates in agriculture must have a wide
range of skills that prepare them for their future roles, she says. Students need to spend time with industry as part of their degree course and understand and be able to work in the rapidly rising Maori economy. “I want all our graduates – pakeha, international or whatever – to be able to work effectively in the Maori economy in a way that is respectful and that recognises the culture. To be a successful New Zealander you need to be successful in that space,” she says.
SOME DON’T LIKE IT SOME STAFF have criticised Professor Thomas’s restructuring. But she insists the changes were necessary to ensure the university is on a “sound financial footing” and that money is directed into areas that meet future needs. “As the industry transforms, our degrees have to transform to meet that,” she told Rural News. Thomas says the restructuring at Massey has some roles disappearing and staff leaving, while others have taken voluntary retirement; the overall staff reduction will allow the university to invest in the future. “The university is in a good financial position, but we need to make sure every dollar we get from taxpayers, donors or students is used to best effect,” she says. “We need to build the areas that have been under-resourced because of growth pressures and make sure we have the right capability. Broadly, the [restructuring]
is no different from what most organisations do routinely.” Thomas says the role of the university is to prepare the next generation of workforce leaders to meet the future demands in the workforce and the changing nature of work itself. Massey is looking to produce graduates able to adapt to the new ways of working rather than just the same old ways. The focus is on ‘graduate attributes’ -students highly skilled in communication and analysis and able to critique masses of information. While they will teach specific skills, some higher-level skills will be transferable across a wide range of disciplines. “We want our graduates to create jobs for others rather than just get employed,” Thomas says. “We want our graduates to take advantage of their education at Massey to participate and succeed in these new economies.”
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
AGRIBUSINESS 19
New plant gets go ahead SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
LAND USE consent has been granted for a new $230 million infant formula plant on the outskirts of of Otorohanga, Waikato. Happy Valley Milk’s land consent application was strongly opposed by some residents including Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Duncan Coull, who milks 700 cows on two farms 6km from the proposed site. The opponents queried the economic viability of the project and expressed concern about increased traffic and noise levels. However, independent hearing commissioners Alan Withy and Phil Michell last week approved the application with 73 conditions, including factory size and noise control. The Otorohanga District Council received 69 submissions – 34 in support, 30 opposed and four neutral. The commissioners ruled that the proposed milk plant will have significant economic benefits for the Otorohanga township and wider district. “We have given careful consideration to the issues raised by Mr Coull, and others, who question the economic viability of the proposal and whether or not Happy Valley Milk Ltd will be able to secure milk supply contracts and operate in a commercially viable manner. “The reality of the sit-
uation is that if the applicant cannot secure milk contracts, the proposal will not proceed and that is a matter for the applicant and milk suppliers to negotiate. As Ms BarryPiceno (Happy Valley lawyer Kate Barry-Piceno) noted, case law has made it clear that those types of economic viability decisions are for ‘the boardroom, not the courtroom’ and we accept that.” While the commissioners accept that project-related traffic is of concern to neighbours and other road users, they are satisfied that the proposal meets accepted standards. On noise effects, they were satisfied “that the noise limits proposed for construction and operational traffic are appropriate”. Happy Valley Milk founder and director Randolph van der Burgh says his company is pleased with the decision. The company is now making submissions to the Waikato Regional Council on water use; construction work will start once water use consents are received. Van der Burgh says the company had planned to start production in the 2019-2020 season but the project will be delayed about six months by the lengthy land use consent process. Farmers around the factory will be offered milk supply contracts once construction work starts.
“We will be doing some soft selling but we’ll wait until construction work starts [before we] approach farmers,” he told Rural News.
“We expect some farmers to switch supply to us; others may want to stay with Fonterra… it’s entirely up to each farmer.”
An artist’s impression of Happy Valley Milk’s plant in Otorohanga.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
Rabobank supports clients from farm to fork in
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2018... another good year year, it looks set to generate a sense of sustained recovery in New Zealand agriculture.
FAVOURABLE MARKET conditions should underpin a second year of broad-based profitability for New Zealand agriculture. Global market settings are firmly in favour of New Zealand farmers. The world economy is enjoying a broad-based recovery, the prices of the key commodities produced in New Zealand are generally high, and global input prices (fertiliser especially) are low. While the New Zealand dollar has strengthened in the last month or so, it remains around its five-year average, with potential to drift lower through the year. But 2018 should be a profitable year for most New Zealand producers across an unusually broad base of subsectors. As the second consecutive good
RECEIPT
number of cattle slaughtered late in 2017 (as of 9 December the bull and cow kill were up on the same stage last year— by 29% and 23% respectively). Recent rainfall should stall the flow of cattle
Dairy Rabobank’s forecast payout for the 2017/18 season stands at NZD 6.30/kgMS. This is slightly below Fonterra’s forecast payout of NZD 6.40/ kgMS. This would be the second consecutive farmgate price above NZD 6.00/kgMS, underpinning a second season of profitability. Seasonal conditions remain unfavourable for New Zealand dairy farmers. Since late 2017, most of the country has become very dry, which has impacted soil moisture levels and pasture production. While some regions have had some much-needed rain since the start of 2018,
for many it is not enough. Some regions have been drought declared. As the new year begins, national milk production is being negatively impacted. The latest advice is for Fonterra’s milk intake to be down 3% on the previous season at 1,480m kgMS. Growth in the global exportable surpluses will continue to expand in Q1 2018—meaning ongoing pressure on global prices.
Beef As rising global beef production puts downward pressure on prices, continued demand growth in New Zealand’s major export markets, in particular the US and China, will be key to holding domestic cattle prices firm and above long-term average returns. While Rabobank forecasts New Zealand’s cattle exports for the 2017/18 season to be simi-
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
MARKETS & TRENDS 21
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be limited, as processors look to fill orders for Easter shipments (which run until the end of January), increasing competition for lambs that are ready for slaughter. However, it is likely there will be some easing of schedule prices through February/March as domestic supply increases.
local pace of inflation. This is the key reason why the general view is that the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) will not raise interest rates for some time. It was not the best start to the year for New Zealand exporters, with the New Zealand dollar starting the year strong. The US dollar begins the year languishing at its lowest level in three years. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to deliver three interest rate increases in 2018, which would usually support the US dollar. The general consen-
Wool
flat New Zealand production and strong in-market prices will continue to support strong farmgate returns through 2018. Beef and Lamb NZ estimates that the New Zealand lamb crop is up 1.9% YOY (436,000 head) on the back of a record ewe lambing percentage (127.2%) for spring 2017. Despite this increase, Beef and Lamb NZ is forecasting the 201718 export lamb slaugh-
ter to be similar to the low levels seen in 2016-17 (19.27m head), anticipating that more replacement lambs will be kept to maintain flock levels. This will help to maintain procurement pressure domestically and ensure that global export supply remains limited. With a high volume of stock brought forward for processing prior to Christmas, lamb supply through January could
Plentiful supply of broad wool has kept crossbred wool prices at eight-year lows through the first half of 2017/18. Although the downward trajectory of prices has steadied, and some signs of positive demand appeared in late 2017, the outlook for 2018 is for persisting subdued market conditions. While wool production is forecast by Beef and Lamb NZ to lift just 1% YOY, seasonal strong offers will likely continue through the first half and weigh on prices. At a macro level, the strong global growth out-
look should help maintain improved export and pull through demand for wool fibre.
of question marks regarding the outlook for the
sus is that the New Zealand dollar will decline slightly by the end of the year. Rabobank retains a bearish outlook for NZD/ USD and looks for a move towards 0.65 on a 12- month view. • Want to keep up-todate with the latest food & agribusiness insights? Tune into RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness Australia & New Zealand podcast channel. Most Apple devices have the Podcasts app preinstalled—if not, you can find it in the App Store. These are also available on Android devices. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews
NZ dollar and interest rates The outlook is for the New Zealand economy to shake off post-election jitters and post similar growth in economic activity in 2018, but with increasing risk of an economic slowdown. There are still plenty
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
22 OPINION EDITORIAL
EDNA
A spreading disaster? THE INTRODUCTION and spread of Mycoplasma bovis in New Zealand is an unmitigated disaster which, despite the efforts of MPI and others, has continued to spread. We may never know how it got here, or if someone does they may never admit to it. The cost and the stress to farmers and the rural community, in general, is high and seemingly never-ending as further outbreaks continue to surface. The farmers themselves are badly affected, and there are sharemilkers, dairy grazers and transport companies and other businesses in rural areas whose incomes depend on what’s happening onfarm. Then there is the huge resource being put into controlling the disease by MPI, DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb NZ, Federated Farmers, Rural Support Trusts and others. Their time would be better spent doing other things. And there is a deeper problem that farmers and the authorities must be worried about: the fact that the traceability system NAIT is simply not working properly – five years after it was introduced. The system is complex and online, which may be ok for the people in major centres with good broadband, but it sure as hell is not easy for people in the country where good technology is hard to access. What sounds like, and probably is, a good idea should not take five years to find out it’s a failure. Yes, the chickens have come home to roost on this one. Bad and all as Mycoplasma bovis is, a black reaper lurks in the background: what if this were foot and mouth disease (FMD) and the traceability system was not working as designed? The thought and fear of what could happen is terrifying. Successive ministers of agriculture have said biosecurity is their number-one priority, yet we still do not have a robust means of tracing the movement of stock. We seem to have a cavalier attitude to stock movement – especially between the North and South Island. Some farmers, and some of the authorities, don’t seem to get it and it’s time they did. Distance from the rest of the world will never save us as a major exporter. We need to get our act together yesterday.
RURALNEWS TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS
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
“But for your final landing, that was definitely worth a medal!”
Want to share your opinion or gossip with the Hound? Send your emails to: hound@ruralnews.co.nz
THE HOUND MIA!
Muddied thinking
Contagious
Tough life
THE HOUND reckons when it comes to continued pollution breaches in the country’s largest city you don’t hear a word from supposed environmental groups. Earlier this month health warnings were issued at more than 30 Auckland beaches after heavy rain, with dozens of beaches in the city remaining unsafe for swimming due to sewage outflows. Did we see Greenpeace’s Australian head and former Green MP Russel Norman all over the television news decrying the situation or kayaking around the sewage-laden beaches? No! Did we see Forest and Bird’s American water expert Annabeth Cohen jumping up and down in the media demanding an end to such terrible pollution? No. Funny as you’d never find these groups missing in action when it came to supposed ‘dirty dairying’ or ‘industrial irrigation’.
SPEAKING OF hypocritical supposed environmentalists, your canine crusader had to scoff at the harried and clouded justification by the head twerp at Bitch & Complain (Fish & Game) trying to excuse the huge damage the introduced brown trout is doing to NZ native fish. Following the publication of a new international report on this fact, Bitch & Complain’s Martin Taylor was quick to ‘spin’ it as…“farmers diverting attention from declining water quality, the environmental ravages of dirty dairying and excessive irrigation”. Talk about a diversion! Meantime, the Hound notes that Taylor – in his spin piece – concedes that introduced animals in NZ, including dairy cattle, “contribute significantly to the economy and feed us all”. It’s nice to see he got one thing right.
THIS OLD mutt notes the infectious disease of the new government – death by committee or review – has seriously spread into the office of Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor as well. His first action was to restructure MPI and create four standalone entities within the ministry; I guess creating more public servants will keep Labour’s union mates happy. Though O’Connor inherited the M.bovis outbreak, it has got worse on his watch yet his only answer so far is a ‘review of NAIT’. Meanwhile, his big plan for the sector is to establish a primary industry council – yes another committee. However, O’Connor’s recent move to put on ice the implementation of DIRA changes which were two years in the making and hold another ‘review’ has left many in the dairy industry scratching their heads.
THE HOUND reckons Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings should be forever known as ‘Teflon Theo’, because no matter what goes wrong on his watch it never seems to stick to him. During Spierings’ reign at the dairy giant the Dutch maestro has overseen a number of calamities including the false botulism scare, the ongoing underperforming business in Australia and now the Beingmate disaster in China, to name a few . However, it seems that despite all these ‘challenges’ the only thing ‘Little’ Johnny Wilson and the Fonterra board have raised with Teflon Theo is his salary. Spierings earned a total of $8.32 million in 2017, a 57% jump from 2016. According to Fonterra’s annual report, this total was included performance payments (that’s right ‘performance payments’) for 2016 and 2017 of $1.83m and $3.85m!
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
OPINION 23
Ensuring our young farmers’ futures limitations and risks, ensuring safety helmets and gloves as a minimum requirement, and keeping youngsters away from that risk until the appropriate time. Then our potential ‘young farmers’
not! And we know that both plants would be shut down immediately in such an event. So why can we not accept that although NZ farms are homes to young people, they are also places of work? In the coming weeks we will hear rural folk saying farming is ‘different’ and ‘everyone needs to muck in’. But what next? Are you going to send the nine-year into town in the farm ute to pick up supplies or groceries? We must learn from this tragedy and ditch the outdated thinking that says “it won’t happen to us”. Quads, tractors and the like are ‘tools’ and, as such, are no more dangerous than a car or even a shotgun. It’s the way they are used that is the danger. Quads require ‘active’ riding by persons who are physically strong enough to do so. Industry parties promoting the use of anticrush devices with no scientific proof of their efficacy are only offering a smokescreen to address an underlying problem, i.e. we continue use these machines in a way they are not designed for and we allow their use by persons who shouldn’t be using them. We must get back to basics by promoting the safe use of such machines -- understanding their
TOKO’S 125TH TOKO SCHOOL and district will celebrate its 125th year during Easter weekend – March 30 to April 1. Go to www.toko.school.nz for a registration form or telephone 06 762 2849. Among the plans are a meet-and-greet, decade photos, country fair, dinner and dance, and a thanksgiving service. Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate this historical milestone. Contact the committee secretary, Katherine Sextus on 027 762 2967.
might just become ‘old farmers’. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews Quad’s require ‘active’ riding by persons who are physically strong enough to do so.
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PWS 1840
THE DEATH of a nineyear old in a quad accident on a Waikato dairy farm in late January is a tragedy for his family. And it must be a final wake-up call for New Zealand farmers: we cannot allow this to keep happening. Any death on a rural property is devastating, but to see the loss of someone so young, who was described by his teachers as “full of energy, excelling at sports and who had a big heart” is even more distressing given that this young person will not go on to reach his full potential. While some will call for things to change, we will also hear that things on farms are different from other work environments. Yes, we know that children who grow up on farms are subjected to far more potential dangers than their urban contemporaries and overall appear to have a more idyllic way of life. However, we can’t allow the gut-wrenching news of young people being killed in our workplaces to continue just because “farming is a different way of life”. We need to remember that farms are workplaces and, while understanding that young boys are drawn to tractors and quads like moths to flame they can’t be allowed to use either. We need to ask firstly, what was a nine-year-old doing on a full-size, adult quad, and secondly, why was he doing it unsupervised? Would you expect to see a nine-year-old ‘helping’ in the steel mill at Waiuku or the paper mill at Kawerau? Of course
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
24 OPINION
Water storage’s answer to climate change ANDREW CURTIS
THE IMPORTANCE of water storage in helping provide a reliable supply of water for urban communities, as well as for food and energy production in a changing
climate, needs to be recognised. We are seeing the effects of poor future planning for the effects of climate change on water infrastructure overseas, with Cape Town expected to soon run out of water.
By ratifying the Paris Agreement in 2016, New Zealand confirmed it will plan for and take action to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Developing more water storage to supply towns, rural communities and for food
and energy production is important to protect the future wellbeing of Kiwis. A new draft government report ‘Adapting to Climate Change in New Zealand, highlights that droughts are expected to occur more frequently
Without water crops don’t grow. A fodder beet crop on a Canterbury sheep farm photographed in early January, following several weeks of very low rainfall. Most of the paddock was irrigated, but the bare patches show where the irrigator didn’t reach the crop.
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Maintaining adequate river flows and river ecosystems is important for our future, and we must look at options to store water. Overseas water storage projects have combined flood protection works with water
Many regions went for several weeks with minimal rainfall this summer. Where water storage was available it played an important role in ensuring locally grown produce was still available in supermarkets.
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20/12/17 5:53 pm
flooding in several regions during autumn and winter, followed by droughts in spring and summer. Many regions went for several weeks with minimal rainfall this summer. Where water storage was available it played an important role in ensuring locally grown produce was still available in supermarkets. But a lot of work still needs doing to improve the resilience of our communities by improving our water storage. The 2012–2013 drought, which affected the entire North Island and the West Coast, is another example of the impact climate change could have on NZ’s economy and communities. It was one of the most severe experienced in these areas in at least 40 years. The economic impact of the drought was estimated to be a minimum of $1.5 billion by Treasury. According to NIWA, NZ now gets an average of 550 billion cubic metres of rain each year, of which 80% flows out to sea, supporting river ecosystems along the way. Around 2% is used for irrigation, urban and industrial use, and the rest evaporates.
storage for urban and rural use. Projects to recharge underground water supplies through wetlands which provide a habitat for wildlife have also been completed as a low-cost way of providing water when needed in Europe and America. In Timaru, Oamaru and Kerikeri, irrigation schemes also provide town drinking water and farmers’ stock water. Modern irrigation schemes can be designed to allow river flows to be supplemented in times of low flows. IrrigationNZ is pleased that the government has indicated it will honour existing Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd commitments to support irrigation scheme modernisation and development. By 2050, our population is expected to reach 6 million. We’ll need to feed more people from the same land area, and supply water and power to new homes and businesses. Water is critical to our nation’s wellbeing. We must continue planning today to ensure we can meet NZ’s needs in the future. • Andrew Curtis is chief executive of Irrigation NZ
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
26 MANAGEMENT
Lincoln offers organic diploma “How we raise sheep for instance – except for superphosphate and animal remedies – they’re close to organic. They’re very sustainable. But organic production principles are a little different.”
NIGEL MALTHUS
ORGANIC FARMING advocates are welcoming a new Lincoln University course leading to a diploma in organic agrifood production. Brendan Hoare, chief executive officer of Organics Aotearoa NZ, said it has been absolutely necessary, but “a long time coming”. “It’s a great start. Well done, keep going.” Professor Bruce McKenzie, Lincoln’s chief academic officer, says the diploma was developed with two Ngai Tahu runanga -- Taumutu, based near Lincoln, and Koukourarata, at Port Levy. “We’re working closely with them; they’re both involved in different ways,” McKenzie says. A notable paper is on mahinga kai, or tra-
Bruce McKenzie
ditional Maori growing techniques for particular species, such as the selection of Maori potatoes now being grown by the Koukourarata runanga. There is also a paper on principles and development of organic growing systems, one on plant and animal health for
organics, and another on soils and soil management for organics. McKenzie said the health paper is “really crucial” because of organics’ different approach to pesticides, herbicides and animal remedies. But many traditional NZ agri systems are close
to organic, he says. “How we raise sheep for instance – except for superphosphate and animal remedies – they’re close to organic. They’re very sustainable. But organic production principles are a little different.” McKenzie says much soil science would be the same “but how you would get your fertility into the soil, for instance, is rather different”. The diploma, to be taught with the universi-
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ty’s Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU), is now open for enrolments for study starting in July this year. While other institutions have offered organics courses, this is believed the first sub-degree diploma in organic farming to be offered by any NZ university. Hoare, a former academic and manager of the BHU, claims organics is the fastest-growing food sector in the world – including New Zealand. But he says NZ has no regulation or national standards and “a deep void” of knowledge of organic systems approaches. Our agricultural universities are 10 years behind the times, Hoare reckons. “Most countries have specialised organic programmes and universities that specialise in organic and they are world-renowned. [New Zealanders] have to travel overseas to become expert. It’s shameful.” He says NZ has lost capacity in recent years in offering primary production courses, and growers struggle to get staff who know what they are doing. “The whole horticultural sector is talking about that. It’s not just
MORE NEW COURSES LINCOLN UNIVERSITY’S diploma in organic agri-food production course is one of four new ones this year. The others are a master of professional accounting (CPA), bachelor of commerce (agriculture and professional accounting), and a master of business in finance. And a raft of new course offerings recognises a need for multi-disciplinary flexibility and programmes “cognisant of contemporary issues”. A transferable major in environmental management, for example, can be put towards commerce, agricultural science or tourism degrees. The chief academic officer, Professor Bruce McKenzie, said the move shows Lincoln “putting a stake in the ground and accepting responsibility for providing our new generations with the academic capacity to create and design solutions in the clash between agriculture, water, tourism and conservation”. “Students studying for the bachelor of agricultural science will be able to add breadth with a major in environmental management, making Lincoln the only university in NZ with this combination of academic achievement.” The other transferable majors are event management, parks and outdoor recreation, tourism management and water management. Commerce offerings include new majors in supply chain management and global business. “This enables students to design their own options and ensures employers can hire students with multi-disciplinary job-ready capacity,” said McKenzie, Lincoln is now sprucing up its courses as recommended by a recent Transformation Board report, McKenzie says. The university plans to simplify its curriculum, probably with fewer specialised degrees. But it will keep bachelor of agricultural science, bachelor of landscape architecture, bachelor of commerce in agribusiness and food marketing and bachelor of viticulture and oenology. “There’s a range of specialist programmes we will continue with but we’re looking for more generic degrees with majors that give more flexibility to students.”
organics,” Hoare says. Graham Clarke, chairman of the Soil and Health Association, said the Lincoln diploma course is “just fantastic”. “Organics is growing quickly, but from a low base. If we get a genuine increase in education on how to farm organically, with a bigger focus
on biology etc, this will enhance that significantly.” Clarke says it is harder for organic producers to find the support and knowledge base that’s available for conventional farming. He believes a steady output of organics graduates would help change that.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
MANAGEMENT 27
Managing the volatile climate
NE W
THE LAST 15 years have seen much more variability in climate conditions in New Zealand, says Danny Donaghy, who has a special interest in agronomy. He notes this period has seen eight of the driest-ever summers and also the driest winters. “We are getting patterns where there are warmer, drier summers while winters are also milder, so the rainfall has been compressed into springtime,” he told Rural News. This has not been so in every region, he says, but freak conditions which see floods one month and suddenly a drought the next month are a challenge to farm management. And though the ryegrass species that forms much
Danny Donaghy
!
Recent bizarre weather – floods quickly followed by drought – has prompted a Massey University scientist to suggest that farmers may need to look at changing their farm systems. Danny Donaghy, a professor of dairy production systems at the university, shared his thoughts with reporter Peter Burke.
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“In drought, for example, we have to leave a bit of residual behind and we can’t let the animals eat right down to nothing.”
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of the pasture in NZ is resilient to extremes of both cold and heat, the way it needs to be managed is not often to the liking of farmers. “In drought, for example, we have to leave a bit of residual behind and we can’t let the animals eat right down to nothing,” he explains. “That is pretty tough when farmers are possibly facing low milk prices and at the same time high feed prices. This is hard, given that we are saying ‘you have to leave something in the paddock if you want it to keep growing and avoid over-sowing the whole farm next autumn’.” Donaghy, who comes from Victoria, Australia, says farmers there have much more water and feed storage facilities. While driving around northern Victoria around Christmas time he noticed huge barns full of hay and ‘turkey’s nests’ – above-ground water storage dams. “Farmers [in Victoria] are more used to having to drought-proof their systems although they haven’t had to deal with excessively wet seasons – apart from western Victoria where the soils are bit heavier and the rainfall a bit higher. “They have stand-off areas – be that a widened cambered laneway or an area of trees. They also have feed pads.” Donaghy says while in NZ there are similar feed pads and stand-off areas, he doesn’t see the large-scale feed and water storage that exists in Australia. Of new pasture species, Donaghy says regardless of type they all need rain, but some will survive better than others with less rain. He says there’s been growing interest in a new species of red clover because it has got a tap root; new varieties of white clover are also more tolerant of heat. “The old type of lucerne was grown just for hay and it didn’t handle grazing pressure. But we have a lot more species of lucerne now that can be grazed. “Herb species such as plantain and chicory are obviously becoming hugely interesting to the industry; not just because of their ability to handle the dry conditions, but also – in the case of plantain – to reduce nitrate from the urine of cows.” Donaghy believes the volatile climate conditions farmers have experienced recently sends strong messages: if spring is going to be more compacted, farmers should make hay while the sun shines.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
28 MANAGEMENT
Better than a beer or a yarn TIM WARRINGTON
A YARN over the boundary fence or a catch-up over a beer at the local is all good, and a great way to share information and get the lowdown on the how, why and where. But for the latest ideas and products for farming innovation and excel-
lence, it’s hard to go past the East Coast Farming Expo, on April 11 and 12 at the Wairoa A and P Showground. The latest in rural communications is again high on the agenda; several specialists will exhibit, including Colvins and Gisborne Net. Expo director Dave
Martin says communication on farms needs to be as “real time as possible” to enable more timely and accurate decisionmaking. “The old saying ‘knowledge is power’ is more relevant today than ever because of the speed at which modern business operates,” he says.
“Being remote no longer need be a barrier to operating effectively in the modern farming business environment. “Increasing broadband speeds and cellphone coverage, combined with online sale reports, cloud recording and banking and financial programs allow many farmers to
have the same instant access to decisionmaking tools as if they were in an urban business environment.” Award-winning Gisborne radio communications company Colvins is attending the expo for the second time. Manager Scott McSloy says, “the biggest development in
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Gisborne Net’s main rural repeater site that feeds the Wairoa District and East Cape.
radio communication in recent times has been the advancement of the digital radio platform”. “This provides better voice clarity and allows packets of data to be sent over the network.” Colvins have installed
grant, brought the first internet service to Gisborne in 1995. They use a land-based microwave radio network to deliver fast, low cost internet in Gisborne, the East Coast and Wairoa. Brice says getting
“If you are a Hawke’s Bay or East Coast farmer wanting to keep your business moving, or an agricultural innovator wanting to spread your message, this event is perfect.”
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at least 30 onfarm communication systems over the past few years in the East Coast region. “Most of these use solar-powered repeaters we have specifically developed for the purpose,” McSloy says. “Being solar-powered allows the repeater to be placed at a convenient location where the most property coverage is achieved.” Colvins will display and demonstrate this equipment and it will have portable demonstration repeaters available for onfarm trials. Gisborne Net’s Ronald Brice says they will be at the expo to discuss the extent of their current coverage and where they expect to grow in the Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regions. “We’re keen to talk to people living in the region about coverage and what customers expect when it comes to their internet requirements,” Brice says. “If there are people out there without coverage, we would like to know, and to find out how best to provide that coverage.” The company, which recently got a Rural Broadband Initiative
more technology on the farm and more communications is always going to help with safety. The East Coast Farming Expo is industry-specific – sheep and beef farming businesses ranging from extensive hill country to intensive flat operations. Agricultural business teams including husband/ wife partnerships, managers, stock managers, shepherds, business partners, accountants and financial advisors can talk with expo exhibitors about ways to farm smarter. Farmers and landowners can explore new ideas and have their questions answered by experts. “If you are a Hawke’s Bay or East Coast farmer wanting to keep your business moving, or an agricultural innovator wanting to spread your message, this event is perfect,” says Martin. The popular Evening Muster takes place on April 11, where attendees and exhibitors can socialise and hear keynote speakers, the award-wining South Island farmers Richard and Anabelle Subtil. www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
ANIMAL HEALTH 29
New lepto strain needs care PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz
DAIRY FARMERS and workers must take extra precautions because a newly discovered strain of leptospirosis is not covered by vaccine. A vaccine for the new strain should be developed in three years, says Cord Heuer, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Infectious disease at Massey University. Meanwhile, dairy farmers need to keep vaccinating because the current vaccines still protect against the common forms of leptospirosis. But extra handling precautions are needed particularly by dairy farm-
ers and workers. Data analysis has clearly shown they are getting infected by the new strain. It has also been found in beef cattle – it is particularly a cattle disease – and to a lesser extent in deer and sheep. Heuer says more information is emerging as they analyse the data and do research. A new strain creates uncertainties particularly for dairy farmers and workers, he says. “This new strain is not included in the vaccine and existing vaccines do not provide cross protection,” he explained to Rural News. “The strain has probably been emerging for 30 years. Nobody
knew about it because there was no investigation being done because everybody thought dairy herds were safe because they vaccinate.” The strain is in at least 70% of dairy herds; about half of herds are likely to have shedding occurring. About 27% of dairy cattle are testing positive for shedding. “We only tested a small fraction of the herd. By and large the new strain is found in 75% of the herds and in 16-17% of the animals nationwide. That is as it stands at the moment.” People working on dairy farms are particularly at risk because of twice-daily contact with
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❱❱ Protection: protection methods are needed because the new strain is not covered by vaccine. The disease is carried in the animal urine. Don’t smoke with contaminated hands, wash hands, cover cuts, use protective gear and visors if available; don’t get any urine in eyes or nose or mouth. Don’t get complacent about personal hygiene.
Massey University professor Cord Heuer.
farmer, meat worker or others. “Everyone thought dairy farmers were protected. We analysed the data and found dairy workers among them. “A study in Waikato published by the district health board there worked out how many of the affected dairy farmers were due to the new strain. “Even though the numbers are small, there was a significantly higher portion of dairy farmers being infected and notified with this strain.” The number is greater than has emerged among other farmers. “That is pretty dra-
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matic and the data is crystal clear; we hardly ever get such clear data from surveys. Surveys come up with trends but here the findings are so significant with ❱❱ Beef cattle, sheep and this one particudeer can also carry the lar strain that we strain and protective are surprised. We methods should be used didn’t expect that. when handling. “This disease is transmitted through urine: it gets in the eyes, it’s in the tive for the new strain as dairy cattle. air and gets through the Positive results were skin. Dairy farmers deal detected in 5% of deer, with urine twice a day.” 12-13% of all adult sheep Results from 4000 and 18% of beef cattle sheep, deer and beef (17% in dairy cattle). cattle show that beef cattle are just as posiTO PAGE 30
& ID l r E ina Fo rig O
Heuer says it is hoped genome sequence will be described this year; then it takes up to two years for companies to obtain a licence vaccine. The problem could be solved within three years. But the lesson learnt is to keep watching for newly emerging strains. “There may be a particular strain that is subject to climate change. Wet and humid summers like this are particularly conducive; floods are extremely conducive. “We need to do these things so we don’t have another gap of 30 years during which a new strain is creeping up, infecting people and making them ill and nobody knows about it. “With this new strain we have to act and the companies are keen to fit this niche because the one who comes first gets the biggest share of the market.”
❱❱ Vaccinate: keep vaccinating against the Hardjobovis and Pomana strains because they are effective.
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FUNDING IS being sought and further research carried out to isolate the new leptospirosis strain, Heuer says. They need to describe the DNA sequence and help the companies to add this particular strain to the vaccines. “It will take time because authorities have to isolate the right strain; it has to be added to the vaccine which is an expensive process; they have to be registered and approved. “That will take a minimum of two years after they have found it. They have tried to find it but they had difficulty culturing it so they will probably have to change lab procedures.” There is initial seed funding by three companies and the Government will be asked for more funds. About 1000 samples will be taken from abattoirs.
urine. “Farmers need to take precautions despite using vaccines,” he says. “The current vaccines protect against the most important and most widely distributed strains effectively. All the shedding we have seen was not related to any of the vaccine strains. The vaccination is very protective. “It is important farmers continue to use the vaccines. If they don’t then the risk explodes.” Heuer says they have analysed the data from the ESR (Institute of Environmental Science and Research) on leptospirosis notified cases which are only “the tip of the iceberg”. About 10-15 minor cases occur for every notified one. “Those notified cases had dairy farmers among them and no one had analysed the data. That information was sleeping there and nobody paid any attention – it said
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
30 ANIMAL HEALTH
Thank a vet for your steak PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
MASSEY UNIVERSITY’S vice-chancellor Jan Thomas believes many people underestimate the wide ranging role of veterinarians. It’s not just that Thomas is a vet herself; she reckons the role vets take in society is not widely understood or publicised. “Take for example having a deli-
cious steak at dinner. It is a vet who has ensured the meat is safe to eat,” she told Rural News. Thomas explains that vets are scientists are involved in a range disciplines, such as medical and pharmaceutical research and animal ethics, and the many other roles they play in caring for animals. And they are able to play a role in some community debates on animal health and welfare issues.
“As professionals they are smart and practical and I like that balance. I think we, as a profession, have a lot to be proud of and should be talking more about the many ways of utilising that expertise,” Thomas explains. “Personally, I am proud to be vet and have never regretted doing it, although for most of my career I worked in a lab as a pathologist and not facing clients.”
Jonathan Huxley
Jan Thomas
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Help support diseAse mAnAGement And control
NEW VET BOSS FOR MASSEY A VET with a dairy background in the UK is to head Massey University’s School of Veterinary Science. The appointee is Professor Jonathan Huxley, now professor of cattle health and production at the University of Nottingham. Massey University vice-chancellor Jan Thomas announced last year that the School of Veterinary Science was to be a stand-alone operation. Huxley was raised on a dairy farm in North Wales and gained his PhD on the subject of bovine mastitis. He originally lectured at Bristol University before joining the staff at Nottingham in 2006. He is a recognised in the UK and Europe as a specialist in dairy cow health and is expert in cow welfare and the behaviour of dairy cattle. He has appeared as a vet on many television and radio farming programmes in Britain. Thomas says she looks forward to Huxley starting later this year. His academic credentials and leadership will maintain Massey’s veterinary science as worldleading in research and education. “Professor Huxley’s expertise in the dairy industry aligns strongly with one of Massey University’s strengths and with a key New Zealand industry,” Thomas says.
NEW LEPTO STRAIN NEEDS CARE FROM PAGE 29
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“These are animals that have antibodies against the new strain -- they have seen the bug. With this strain they carry the antibodies but they also carry the bug, and off and on shed it in their urine. If they have high levels of antibody they are more likely to shed the bug. “Normally with antibodies you have protection, but not with this one; it’s a dormant thing sitting in the kidney cells, being protected not being harmed by a cellular defence mechanism. Often they multiply and you find them in the urine. It is a clever bug that survives well in kidneys for a long period of time and then off and on it sheds.” Beef farmers are much less exposed to urine than dairy farmers but should be careful when handling. Sheep farmers should take precautions when docking or lambing. “Just about every farmer in New Zealand knows about this disease but often people are not paying any attention.” Sheep farmers generally don’t vaccinate for leptospirosis at all because costs are too high; about 15% of beef and deer farmers vaccinate. Production loss from leptospirosis in general is prominent in deer; also in sheep and beef to a lesser extent. It causes about 11% of all abortions in beef cattle and can cause huge foetal loss in sheep flocks. It can flare up after floods; lambs dying with blood in their urine is an indication. “It survives in the soil, water brings it up to the surface and then animals drink it and get infected.”
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 31
Tractor sales on the up markd@ruralnews.co.nz
WITH REGIONAL field days right upon us, tractor importers and dealers should have a smile on their faces given the sales results just released for the 2017 year. Industry association TAMA reports that sales topped out at 4079 new tractors retailed, up from 3609 in 2016, 3578 in 2015 and the big year 2014 when 4062 sales were recorded. TAMA notes that the largest increases came from Taranaki,
the combined effect of new model introductions, competitive finance deals and stronger demand in the higher horsepower sector as growers sought to increase productivity. In the UK, sales amounted to 12,033 units in 2017, a rise of 13.5% over 2016; much of this growth came in the 140200hp range with sales of 4750 machines. The UK Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) noted a surge in Nov/Dec appeared to be a result of higher pre-registrations in advance of the
1.9 million, against a 5-year average of 2 million. Some 990,000 tractors were sold in India and China, where the numbers totalled 570,000 and 420,000 respectively, while European sales hit 165,000 and the US 211,000. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews
Industry association TAMA reports that tractor sales topped out at 4079 last year.
Industry association TAMA reports that sales topped out at 4079 new tractors retailed, up from 3609 in 2016, 3578 in 2015 and the big year 2014 when 4062 sales were recorded. where 214 were sold (+35%), Otago (+28%) and the combined Canterbury regions (+22%) TAMA general manager Ron Gall suggests the increases resulted from an improved outlook in the dairy sector and steady growth in the horticultural and viticulture sectors. The Australian association, TMA, reported sales last year broke through the 12,000 mark, an 8% increase on 2016. These increases seemed to be
new ‘mothership’ regulations introduced by the EU to take effect from January 1, 2018. These mandatory specifications will include dual-line trailer braking systems, extra locking devices on guards, indication that independent brakes are locked together, and two-stage actuation functions for key control elements. The AEA foresees lower sales in the coming months. Globally, in 2017 total tractor sales were about
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
32 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
600 Series raises the stakes MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz
MAKING ITS public debut in New Zealand on the Claas Harvest Centre site at Waimumu was the new Arion 600 Series tractors. They meet Tier 4 Final emission regulations with a combination of EGR, DPF and SCR technologies, and have several upgrades to meet European Union regulations on operator safety and braking. The Arion 610, 630 and 650 produce 145, 165, 185hp respectively, and in the case of the 660 a boosted output of 205hp in transport operations. That power is supplied by a six-cylinder DPS engine of 6.7L, using common rail fuel injection, four valves per cylinder and
a variable speed cooling fan. Transmission choice is either the Hexashift or C-Matic, the former a semi-powershift set-up offering four ranges with six powershift steps and 50km/h, while the latter offers 0-50km/h in a continuously variable format using Claas’s own EQ 200 or 220 transmissions. Subtle tweaks of the product offering make the Arion 610 only available with Hexashift and 40km/h, while the flagship 660 will only be offered with the C-Matic set-up. The product manager for NZ & Australia, Dave Knowles, says the split between the two options is likely to be at a 50:50 ratio. Up front, a new axle sourced from Dana-
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operation, and importantly only has seven grease nipples for routine maintenance. The rear axle can now take tyres up to 1.95m or 42-inch diameter, and up to a 710 -section, and rear lift capacity is quoted at 7500 or 8000kg depending on the model. Closed centre load sensing hydraulic systems of either 110 or 150L/ min look after hydraulic flow; there are four rear remotes and two central outlets, and a Power beyond function. As part of the NZ package, 650 and 660 models will be fitted standard with front linkage and PTO systems, and all models will have a combination hydraulic and air braking system with an air dryer unit. The
SLURRY TANKERS
PTO package offers 540 or 1000 speeds, Eco or Normal operation, and comes with bolted-up 6 or 21 spline PTO shafts. In the cab, where Claas is already respected for operator comfort, 4-point suspension combines with the suspended front axle for a superior ride, while the cab itself can be either the ‘standard’ 5-post layout or the optional 4 post version. A choice of control systems sees CIS offering a black and white screen, mechanical rear remotes and Hexashift transmission, while the CIS + version can be found on both transmission configurations and offers full colour display and electronically controlled valves. The top of the range CEBIS version sees
multiple electronic functions such as spool valve priority, ramp-up control, spool valve reassignment and a full-colour touch screen, and the choice of transmission. Also fitted as standard to the range is the aptly named Extended Transmission Functions that include SmartStop, a clutchless stop/start function actuated by the brake pedal, right hand reverser via the control lever, and auto shifting and twin power droop settings, depending on the chosen transmission. All tractors will be GPS-ready with steering valves and wiring in place, needing only a receiver for commissioning. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews
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NORTH ISLAND www.gaz.co.nz Call Jarred L’Amie | 07 823 3765 | 027 203 5022 CAMBRIDGE | OTOROHANGA | ROTORUA
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 33
Self-propelled sprayer offers value and performance markd@ruralnews.co.nz
MASSEY FERGUSON has launched its MF 9130 Plus self-propelled sprayer for Australia and New Zealand This meets a demand for a robust, entry-level machine to suit smaller and medium sized operators, the company says. It claims the machine has simplicity, strength and exceptional value,
together to maintain constant traction, with one pump driving the front left and rear right wheel, while the second drives the front right and rear left wheel. This ensures that if a wheel hits a wet patch and breaks traction, or if the weight comes off one wheel in extreme undulations, all the other wheels continue driving to keep the machine moving forward.
A unique feature of the MF 9130 Plus is the addition of a double acting valve to the transmission system. This allows the sprayer to run normally at a reduced engine RPM of 1700-1800rpm while maintaining full torque for the engine and hydraulic system, helping to save fuel and extend service life. which might tempt some operators away from large trailed machines. MF has built the 210hp MF 9130 Plus sprayer at its factory in Canoas, Brazil for at least six years, which has led to success in the South American market. “The MF 9130 Plus hit the mark in Latin America and we’re confident it will do the same in Australia and New Zealand,” says product manager Tim Oldaker. “One of the models has been working in local conditions; it has performed well and impressed everyone who has spent time behind the wheel.” Main features of the MF 9130 Plus include a large capacity Bosch Rexroth hydrostatic transmission with three operating ranges. This is coupled with Bosch Rexroth variable displacement wheel motors and final drives, using constant 4WD and a cross-drive transmission system. In operation, two 90cc capacity pumps work
A unique feature of the MF 9130 Plus is the addition of a double acting valve to the transmission system. This allows the sprayer to run normally at a reduced engine RPM of 1700-1800rpm while maintaining full torque for the engine and hydraulic system, helping to save fuel and extend service life. Power comes from a 6-cylinder, Tier 3, AGCO Power engine producing 210hp; chemical goes into a 3000L spray tank complemented by a 240L fresh water flush tank; and spraying is powered by a 549L/min Hypro sprayer pump. There’s a choice of 24m or 28m booms with fence line nozzles and Norac boom levelling as standard; and 1-inch steel boom lines and Hypro nozzle bodies. Standard offering is a seven-section boom with section and rate control; and upgradeable autonomous auto-steering. In the cab, an air suspended seat has complete implement control
via the main armrest, which includes hydraulically actuated axle spacing from the driver’s seat.
MF hopes the simplicity, strength and value of its selfpropelled sprayer may tempt some operators away from large trailed machines.
CONTROL SO ADVANCED, EVEN WE’RE AMAZED HOW SIMPLE IT IS TO USE. GILTRAP FERTILISER SPREADERS NOT ONLY COME STANDARD WITH A WORLD CLASS TOUCH SCREEN CONTROL. PEACE OF MIND COMES STANDARD AS WELL. With precision spreading rates, spinner speeds and border spreading at your fingertips, you’ve got total control to nail every job perfectly.
KEY FEATURES: — Precision and flexibility to vary spreading rates electronically — Touch screen control for spinner speeds and border spreading — Optional electronic scales to precisely measure the load and amount spread — Checks spreading rates — Provides automatic rate calibration with scales fitted
NEED EVEN MORE CONTROL? For those wanting more advanced control and measurement there is an upgrade to include GPS functionality. This will enable coverage mapping of jobs as they are done for proof of placement, and add prescription maps through the USB port for variable rate spreading.
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SPREADING TALK TO US ON 0800 804 458 OR VISIT WWW.GILTRAPAG.CO.NZ
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MARK DANIEL
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
34 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
Giant is a real workhorse MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz
WHILE TRACTOR-MOUNTED frontloaders still take the lion’s share of the handling chores on Kiwi farms, telescopic handlers are gaining traction, and a third option in the form of compact wheeled loaders is also finding favour. This last sector has a large following in Europe, where livestock farmers who house stock during the winter find the compact size and manoeuvrability especially useful. One manufacturer making more sales is Tobroco, which makes the Giant range of loaders at a purposebuilt factory in Oisterwijk, Netherlands, at a rate of about 60 machines a week. With materials handling being a speciality, an extensive range runs to 29-wheel loader variants, three skidsteer machines and two telescopic handlers. Distributed in NZ by Forestquip, Christchurch, the Giant Loaders are named after the humble ant that can lift 50-times its body weight. These appeal to farmers and build-
ers, who might not need to lift huge weights but do need a compact profile and versatility. Rural News caught up with a Giant V600-4T operated by the Sanderson Group at its rapidly growing Bethlehem Shores retirement complex on the outskirts of Tauranga. Said to be the largest independent developer of such complexes in NZ, the group locates good sites, does the earthworks to make the best of the site, then builds quality retirement homes. With basic infrastructure done, the Giant comes into its own for loading and unloading trucks, moving aggregates, emptying rubbish skips and powering a sweeper/collector to keep the site tidy. Initially chosen for its compactness, manoeuvrability and narrow width, the machine is also proving useful for getting between completed or part-finished buildings without risk of damage; it has clocked up 1200 hours in just six months. Powered by a 4-cylinder, 60hp Kubota engine, the machine is rated to lift 2300kg to a lift height of 3.4m, and weighs about 5600kg. Standard
Compact wheeled loaders like the Giant is finding favour in the ag and construction sector.
features include a load sensing 80L/ min hydraulic system, a power management system that delivers optimal hydraulic flow between the loader or drive system, and a Z-Kinematic linkage to deliver higher breakout forces. Sanderson Group transport and logistics manager Dean McLaughlin said the operation previously tried to
BALE FEEDERS STRENGTH / QUALITY / PERFORMANCE
Designed to an uncompromising strength standard. You expect strength, quality and performance from your farm machinery, and McIntosh Bale Feeders deliver all three. The McIntosh Bale Feeder is not designed to be the lightest on the market, because with today’s larger bales, faster tractors and less time for maintenance, the need for additional strength has never been more important.
do the same tasks with a reverse-drive tractor with forks and a top speed of about 5km/h. The Giant with its 40km/h capability proved much more productive. He also notes that running costs so far have amounted to diesel and regular servicing at 250-hour intervals. “The machine is easy to operate
and easy to attach or detach the implements we use,” McLaughlin says. “The 4WD is an added benefit, allowing us to get to all areas of the site irrespective of weather or ground conditions. Frankly we now couldn’t operate without it.” @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews
GREAT PLAINS JOINS KUBOTA CAMP C B NORWOOD Distributors Ltd and Great Plains America have agreed on distribution of Great Plains in New Zealand. Great Plains has since 1976 built a solid reputation worldwide, making quality products for tillage, seeding and planting. The Land Pride range has been distributed by C B Norwood via its Kubota dealer network since 2011. Kubota bought Great Plains in May 2016, and following a restructure realigned itself with CB Norwood Distributors which already sold Land Pride. Great Plains will be distributed in NZ alongside the current Land Pride range by the existing Kubota dealer network.
“The Great Plains product offering is going to make an exciting addition to the product offering from Kubota NZ,” says C B Norwood Kubota operations manager Ian Massicks. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to represent these brands in the NZ market. “Great Plains’ reputation for delivering a quality product fits well with Kubota customer’s expectations of reliability and value for money. “Our Kubota NZ team are excited about Great Plains. With such a huge range of products, Great Plains will be a valuable addition, providing our customers the highest level of products and service.” – Mark Daniel
www.mcintosh.net.nz 0800 622 276
Great Plains are now part of the Kubota camp in NZ.
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
RURAL TRADER 35 Rubber Safety Matting
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Northland Field Days TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS FEBRUARY 20, 2018: ISSUE 647
DARGAVILLE MARCH 1-3, 2018
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Family fun doesn’t cost the earth SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
KEEPING COSTS down is a priority for organisers of the Northland Field Days. Event administrator Meagan Edmonds says the three-day event will be “a fantastic day out to enjoy with the whole family, and it won’t break the bank”. “Northland Field Days is not only organised, managed and staffed by volunteers, but the communityfocused event has also kept costs realistic to encourage more Northland families to attend,” Edmonds says.
Beginning life as an agricultural expo, the Northland Field Days is about to celebrate its 34th anniversary on March 1-3. While it has grown in size and scope, the focus on the local community hasn’t changed at all, Edmonds says. “Widely recognised as Northland’s largest annual agricultural event, it champions all things farming and agricultural, notably innovations in fencing and agriculture, cutting horse demonstrations and sheep dog trials.” There will be rural and lifestyle pavilions, housing exhibits and stuff for home and garden.
THE BEST IN 4X4, AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY TYRES! ALL ON ONE SITE!
A family day pass will cost $30 for two adults and three children. Adult passes will remain at $12.00, and child (5-16years) passes at $5.00; children under five will get in free. “Entertainment for kids will include bouncy castles and fairground rides, and the Dargaville Fire Brigade will run a free children’s mini combat challenge,” says Edmonds. “Not often do families get to enjoy such an affordable local day out; many kids’ attractions will be free and there will be lots of delicious food and drink options onsite, and lots of seating.”
The Northland Field Days in Dargaville opens in two weeks.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
2 NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS
Keeping it local A new office under construction at the Northland Field Days site.
THE NORTHLAND Field Days is now an incorporated society. It is registered with NZ Charities Commission
and provides community grants for scholarships and research in various sectors in the north. The society also donates cash to community groups it enlists to prepare for the event and tidy up afterwards. Volunteers still run the
show, despite its growth and the added complexities of managing such a large attraction. Traditional Kiwi attractions like cutting horses, tractor pull competitions, sheep shearing shows and sheep dog trials draw the
crowds. This year’s field days will have a mobile farm, sheep racing, Clydesdale rides and fairground rides and food stalls. The Dargaville Fire Brigade will run a mock firefighting course for the kids.
Agpac’s plastic baler in action.
GETTING RID OF PLASTIC THE RULES on waste disposal by farmers and growers are changing: the traditional options of
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burning and burying are no longer allowed. The Plasback recycling service collects plastics from farms and sends it for recycling. Plasback is a government-accredited product stewardship scheme owned and operated by Agpac Ltd, New Zealand’s largest supplier of crop packaging products. It collects such plastics as balewrap, silage covers, twines, drums and polypropylene bags. Plasback operates a bin and liner system for collection. The liner system keeps the plastic cleaner and allows it to be collected in large bags -easier to collect and bale than loose plastic. Plasback owns six recycling balers that handle the large bags of waste plastic. Once baled, the plastic is sent away for recycling. Since its start in 2006
The Agrifert Biological range utilises soil bacteria to fix nitrogen, unlock phosphates, combat thatching and improve soil health.
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the scheme has recycled 10,000 tonnes of used plastics. Plasback is now working with Astron Plastics, Auckland, to recycle farm silage plastic into Tuffboard, a plywood-replacement product with many uses on farms. Using new dry-clean technology, silage plastic is heated and treated to clean the shredded film before it is made into pellets. Tuffboard is strong, easily cleaned and hygienic. The deer industry uses it in upgrading velveting barns to new hygiene standards. Tuffboard is also used by pig farmers to replace plywood – pigs do not eat the plastic sheet. The Tuffboard range has been expanded to both a recycled and virgin plastic. The recycled plastic is black and the virgin a natural colour.
See us at Northland Field Days Site 158
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS 3
Makes stubble short work MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz
DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY for stubble cultivation and seedbed preparation, the Pottinger Terradisc compact disc harrow has a compact layout and aggressive disc angle position to promote mixing of harvest residues in shallow seed beds and stubble. The 3.0m and 4.0m trailing Multi-Line versions allow for the fitting of a seed drill to the rear, providing a one pass cultivation and seeding system. The machine layout has 580mm diameter scalloped discs mounted on twin arms with large rubber suspension blocks to give a higher break-out force for work in harder soil conditions. These also protect the large twin-race double-sealed disc bearing units, ensur-
ing trouble free life and maintenance. The range has fixed or trailing versions ranging from 3.0m to 6.0m working width with a choice of rear roller options. PackRing roller or Rubber Packer rollers have proven to be the most popular types, providing a cracking effect and breakdown of clods for a finer seedbed. These help by pushing the crop stubble into the surface of the soil to increase contact and accelerate breakdown of residues. The rollers also increase moisture retention by leaving a well consolidated surface. Hydraulic folding side discs are a standard feature on all linkagemounted and Multi-Line models, allowing the operator to reduce overall width in transport. Meanwhile, hydraulic-folding trailing models have a rear transport
wheel system which folds up and over the top of the discs when working. This increases weight over the discs, helping soil penetration and improving stability when working at high speeds.
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ECONOMIC FUEL STORAGE FUEL STORAGE Systems Ltd of Ashburton, maker of Sebco diesel, waste oil and AdBlue storage tanks, has launched a new range of low-cost models to complement its existing diesel storage line up. Suitable for users not requiring computerised fuel management, the tanks are basic, compliant, safe and secure – with many of the advantages of the mainline Sebco diesel stations. “We discovered operators with a lower diesel use have also upgraded to vehicles with a common rail engine,” says Sebco managing director Ed Harrison. “These require clean fuel, so the design of our bunding system, which virtually eliminates condensation -- the inner vessel cannot rot or rust – ensures the fuel being dispensed is clean.” The tanks have quality components and a manual pump that is easy to access and operate. A 4m delivery hose with a filling nozzle helps reduce the risk of spillages, and a lockable door keeps all pumping equipment and hoses secure when not in use. All Sebco units carry a 5-year warranty on the rotomoulded tanks and have a 25-year design life.
The Terradisc’s compact harrow layout makes short work of stubble.
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
4 NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS
Even more kick from latest Mule MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz
ARRIVING JUST in time for regional field days is the latest addition to the Kawasaki Mule range – the Mule PROFXR. Described as a premium side-byside that offers performance, work capacity and comfort, the FXR differs from other models in the range by having a wide-body chassis and a wheelbase reduced by 320mm, compared to its nearest relatives. This is said to increase manoeuvrability, noticed in its tight turning radius of only 4.3m. The chassis features a classic Japanese theme -- shinari (elasticity). It has a frame that can bend without braking then return to its original shape, much like a hunting bow or a fishing rod. This feature improves performance over difficult terrain, while keeping wheels in contact with the ground and superior comfort for the passengers. Power comes from a liquid cooled, 3-cylinder petrol engine with 30L fuel capacity. This delivers 48hp and 65Nm torque and is mated to a CVT trans-
mission for stepless speed control and engine braking on the downhill sections. Suspension is double wishbones front and rear, with twin tube shock absorbers absorbing bumps. Shod with 27-inch tyres mounted on cast-aluminium wheels, the set-up offers 275mm ground clearance, a 34 degree breakover angle to lessen bottoming-out on ridges or climbing over logs, increased rider comfort and superior grip. Stopping is by disc brakes on all four corners and a park brake system that acts on the rear axle. Electrically actuated 2WD/4WD and a rear diff lock are complemented by electric power steering that is speed-sensitive, as well as acting as a damper to eliminate bump-steering and backlash, particularly in rough terrain. A wide, comfortable cab area has a three-person, contoured bench seat with seatbelts and a tilt/adjustable steering wheel. There are several storage options -- a glovebox, dashboard pockets and under-seat storage bins, and the essential cup holders. A high output generator is capable of producing 60 amps to run numerous accessories. These are also catered
for with four pre-wired feeds and two DC power sockets. Digital instruments keep the driver informed of all key machine functions, quadruple headlamps point the way to go and the driver is protected by standard doors and a roof overhead. A robust, gas-assisted tilt bed
offers 453kg carrying capacity, and a 2-inch receiver for the tow coupling
is rated to 907kg.
The Mule Pro FXR will be on show at the round of regional field days.
See us on Site
FARM MACHINERY
69
STRENGTH / QUALITY / PERFORMANCE NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS SEE US AT SITE
61 Bale Feeders
Forage Wagons
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FREEPHONE: 0800 622 276
ce
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RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS 5
A wrap for Kuhn MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz
AWARDED THE prize Machine of The Year 2018 in the forage harvesting category at the recent Agritechnica event, the Kuhn FBP 3135 baler wrapper combination uses the company’s unique film binding system – as an alternative to conventional net wrap – to achieve high silage quality at low costs. Using two 750mm film rolls rather than a single set-up, the system is said to save up to 30% in film costs, with the bonus of offering lighter rolls (27kg) for the operator to handle rather than the more typical 40kg+. Inventory management is also said to be easier with only one type of film having to be bought for both binding and wrapping. In operation, at the start of the wrapping cycle the two applicator heads start in a vertical position to create two strings of film which are applied on top of the bale. After tilting to a horizontal position, the wrap covers the full width of the bale after just half a rotation – much quicker than a conventional widemantle film. From the bale chamber, a transfer system with smooth rollers
moves the bale to the wrapping sector, forming a well-sealed bale using both 3-D wrapping and Intelliwrap features. Again, using regular stretch film, the additional wrapping is said to become an ‘extension’ of the original bale chamber application, creating a perfect seal. After the 3D cycle is completed, 80% of the bale is covered in film before the unit reconfigures to a conventional wrapping cycle to ensure that 100% of the bale is sealed. The film applied to the cylindrical side helps bales retain their original shape and allows prolonged storage if necessary. Meanwhile, the Intelliwrap system allows control of the number of film layers applied to suit local crop or climate conditions. Also designed to increase output by avoiding downtime, the Kuhn FBP 3135 has an intake unit that uses the maker’s fully automatic rotor Deblock function to allow clearance of rotor blockages from the tractor seat, automated knife cleaning at a pre-determined interval and the ability to change from film to conventional net binding. Operator comfort and maximum control are guaranteed using the
new Process View user interface on the ISOBUS controller. This user interface conveniently shows the different procedures within the machine, allowing each process to be paused and restarted at any time.
The Kuhn FBP 3135 bale-wrapper combination.
www.kuhn.co.nz
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Celebration
See us at SITE 247A
• 50 years of Danfoss VLT, 25 years Corkill Systems partnership with Danfoss VLT Division. • TRADE IN any variable speed drive 10 years +, any make, used in the rural sector. • Upgrade your speed controllers on your vacuum pump, milk pump, irrigators, gates sludge pump, etc. • Not restricted to the dairy industry. OFFER ONLY • 20% discount and 5 year warranty. AVAILABLE IN • TRADE IN model to be returned for green recycling. 2018 • Some conditions apply
0800 10 7006 www.corkillsystems.co.nz
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POSTDRIVER SPECIALS KINGHITTER TT INCLUDES • • • • • •
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4.25m (150UC) Beam 270kg Hammer 6 Bank Valve Hydraulic Hinge 250mm Mast Shift Terminator Base 900mm Side Shift
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www.kinghitter.com 0800 476 868 sales@fairbrother.co.nz
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
6 NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS
New Gallagher tech on show MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz
New S200 units will be on display.
2018 MARKS a big year for Gallagher, with its 80th anniversary and the release of several new products. Celebrations will take the theme of ‘Sparking Possibilities’, a nod to the first electric fence that started the business years ago. The latest product
FEED SYSTEMS SINCE 1962
releases represent what Gallagher has done well with – providing fencing and weigh scale solutions and gaining a reputation for high quality, relevant equipment. The fencing technology sees the completion of the Solar Energizer family, with the introduction of the S200 and S400s units, developed following the success of the smaller S10 - S100
See at S us it 269 e
models and said to be ideal for heavy crop grazing. The rugged units include an integrated battery and solar model using smart technology to keep the battery power at optimum even on the darkest days. A high-quality casing and circuit protection ensures it can be relied upon in harsh environments. A new extra high voltage Strain Insulator is created to deal with the increased voltages delivered by modern energisers. The Strain Insulator is especially suited to places where the farmer does not want stray volt-
Supreme quality stainless steel feed trays / Exceptional back-up support / Easy to use and maintain First class installations / Robust construction / Skiold Disc Mills Grain Holding Silos / Utility Augers / Mobile Auger
Need help with your stock water system? Come and see Pete.
Freephone 0800 800 262 Web www.iplex.co.nz
Northland Field Days Site 197 (next to Farmlands)
LK0080053©
DAIRY FEED SYSTEMS
TW weigh scales will also be on show.
age, including electric fences close to dairy sheds and hay barns. Likewise, the new Insulated Line Post will offer flexibility and easy installation with a wide range of applications including fencing sheep, cattle, deer and horses. Farmers needing to sharpen up their livestock data collection may want to look at the TW Weigh Scales units that combine a user-friendly touch screen interface with time saving technology that has eliminated any need to re-enter data at the end of a weigh run; these generate useful reports on site.
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS 7
Fast, accurate spraying every time MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz
GERMAN FARM machinery manufacturer Amazone has unveiled three innovations said to achieve unprecedented application accuracy across the entire working width of the boom. Suitable for all Amazone sprayers equipped with Super-L2 booms from 27 to 40m, ContourControl and SwingStop systems control vertical and horizontal boom movement respectively. And the SwingStop Pro takes the concept a step further by adjusting the output of each nozzle according to its speed. Used individually or combined, the systems are said to offer unprecedented levels of application accuracy over the entire boom by compensating for any vertical or horizontal movements of the sprayer boom. ContourControl uses six boom-mounted ultrasonic
Amazone has unveiled three innovations in its latest range of sprayers to achieve application accuracy across the entire working boom width.
The SwingStop Pro takes the concept a step further by adjusting the output of each nozzle according to its speed. sensors and a fast-responding hydraulic system to maintain boom height. With the two outer sensors controlling the independent angling of the left-hand and right-hand booms, and the two middle sensors regulating the height of the boom, it is guided in its height by the parallelogram. A hydraulic accumulator on the boom provides short reaction times -- literally in a fraction of a second. The system also allows the negative angling of the outer boom sections to maintain the determined application height in all conditions, such as when the booms dip below the horizontal plane – useful if the sprayer passes over a ridge. SwingStop is an active yaw stabilisation system that maintains the horizontal boom position during fast travel over ground undulations, or during turning, accelerating or high speed. All these can put booms under enormous strain, causing the boom ends to swing backwards or forwards. This can affect application rates, with forward movement causing under-dosing and backwards motion overdosing, the results of which can be readily seen in heavier crops; this is even more pronounced with the use of wider booms. While most sprayers use passive buffer or damper systems to minimise yaw, the SwingStop system uses boom-mounted acceleration sensors to determine the horizontal position of the boom relative to the forward speed of the sprayer. Two actively operating hydraulic rams in the centre section of the boom then counteract any detected movements to ensure the boom rides smoothly. SwingStop Pro uses the same data to adjust the output of each individual nozzle relative to the forward speed of the sprayer, using pulse width frequency modulation (PWFM) nozzles controlled by valves with a high frequency range of 50Hz. High speed switching means the valves can be opened or closed in two milliseconds, and the application rate can be adjusted from 30 - 100% over the same time. In practice, if the nozzle is moving quicker than the sprayer, the opening time and application rate is increased for a short time. However, a nozzle moving slower than the sprayer will remain closed longer, so reducing the application but maintaining spray pressure and droplet size.
FOR A LIMITED TIME SAVE UP TO $1,000 ON SELECTED YAMAHA FARM ATVS. SEE THE FULL FARM RANGE AT NORTHERN FIELD DAYS SITE 308
VISIT US AND LOCAL DEALER AT:
www.yamaha-motor.co.nz
*Terms and conditions apply. Available on selected ATV models until 28 March 2018 at participating dealerships. While stocks last.
RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 20, 2018
8 NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS
Making it really count WITH THE annual round of regional field days about to hit us, followed by the National Fieldays in June, it might be the right time for exhibitors to look at how they will perform. Many companies put a lot of time and effort into setting up their sites, while others appear to be there to make up the numbers – or because the boss told them to attend. Any visit to any field days will reveal sites that are buzzing and others as still as a graveyard. Now’s the time for exhibitors who don’t do well at these events to put themselves in the shoes of visitors and look at things from the other side of the fence with a more critical eye. How about inviting your top customers or key prospects along to the site? Give them a reason to visit – either to look at a new product, take a little hospitality or even perhaps to collect a thank you freebie. But all the time remember that ultimately any of
your activities are intended to save them time or money. A couple of weeks before the event, send them the invite and follow it up with a phone call just before to give them a final reminder. If you do send an invite, make sure it clearly states your site number and preferably a map of how to find you. How frustrating for you to learn that a key prospect couldn’t find your site. In a similar vein, make sure your site signage clearly says who you are. Use product signage to explain the USPs (unique selling points) of your products, but keep it brief and don’t exaggerate. If you have something new to promote, make sure the signage says ‘NEW’, because sometimes visitors are in a rush and won’t venture onto a site unless there is something new to see. Think about how the site is staffed,
both in terms of the right people and the number. If it’s a smaller event too many people can be intimidating. Most of all, make sure staff are easily visible in the company uniform and greet customers in a positive manner – even if those customers are not their own and from another area. Equally importantly, if you are going to place somebody on site, make sure they are briefed on the products on display. There is nothing more disconcerting for a visitor to hear, “Umm... that’s a new product... I don’t know anything about it”. Finally, don’t have too much seating on your site, to prevent your staff from sitting in huddles bitching about competitors or planning the night’s activities before the day is over. Visitors will find it intimidating to intercept these groups. In some cases, too many seats will lead to a paralysis that hinders staff -- gazing at their phones -- from getting off their backsides when a customer approaches. Field days, whatever the size, take up valuable time and lots of money. Be sure to make them work for you.
Any visit to a field days will reveal sites that are buzzing and others that are as dead as a graveyard.
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