Rural News 02 June 2020 by Rural News Group

NEWS

MANAGEMENT

FEATURE

Time meat fought back against false claims. PAGE 14

Northland farmers count the cost. PAGE 24

Bringing Field Days to the Farm PAGES 29-43

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS JUNE 2, 2020: ISSUE 702

www.ruralnews.co.nz

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NEWS

MANAGEMENT

FEATURE

Time meat fought back against false claims. PAGE 14

Northland farmers count the cost. PAGE 24

Bringing Field Days to the Farm PAGES 29-43

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS JUNE 2, 2020: ISSUE 702

www.ruralnews.co.nz

Devil will be in the details PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

A MASSIVE reform programme aimed at cleaning up the country’s waterways has been announced by the Government. The plan, announced at Parliament last Thursday by Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, will require some immediate action on farms while other actions will be phased in over a number of years. In terms of farming changes, it includes a number of measures aimed at reducing pollution in rivers and streams. For example, by 2023, dairy cattle will have to be excluded from waterways over a metre wide and other cattle and deer by July 2025. Farmers will also have to apply for resource consent before converting more than 10 hectares of land to dairy farming. The same rules will apply to other forms of livestock intensification. Fences must be three metres back from a stream. However, any permanent fencing closer to the stream will be deemed acceptable.

Environment Minister David Parker says the objective of the reforms is to stop any further degradation of NZ’s freshwater and to see water quality improve within five years.

On land with a slope of less than 10 degrees all beef cattle and deer must also be excluded from waterways of more than a metre wide by 2025. The issue of excluding stock from streams on hill country will be addressed through a combination of mandatory farm plans and regional

council plans – all of which must be based on the country’s National Policy Statement on water. There will also be limits placed on the use of nitrogen, and dairy farmers will be required to report annually to regional councils on the quantity of nitrogen that they have applied per

hectare. Also, there are special rules relating to the protection of wetlands, winter grazing and provisions for grazing animals on forage crops. Primary sector and other groups will be financially assisted with the implementation of the new clean water

standards through a $700 million fund. “Cleaning our waterways will secure the future of our meat, dairy and other primary exports and ensure they continue to earn higher prices overseas. It makes both economic and environmental sense,” says Environment Minister David Parker. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says New Zealand’s highvalue overseas consumers want greater assurances that the food and fibre they buy is produced in a sustainable way. He says clean water and sustainable farming is entwined with the economic success of the sector. “The proposals appear to be an improvement on earlier plans, but the Government has only released a high-level summary of its proposals and the devil is always in the detail,” Beef+Lamb NZ chief executive Sam McIvor says. Federated Farmers Chris Allen says the proposals still have some sharp edges that will bite our farmers and rural communities at a time when we need it least. “If the regulations are shown to be flawed or impractical, the Government needs to be open to changing them.”

Feds frozen out of water reform talks! FEDERATED FARMERS continues to be snubbed in regard to the Government’s freshwater reforms. Late last week, Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor – along

with ministry officials – unveiled the long-awaited reforms before invited guests at Parliament. However, the farmer lobby was a notable omission. Rural News understands that Federated Farmers has been on the outer

WIN

and completely frozen out of the process since May last year, when it was accused of leaking confidential briefing material about the reforms – something that the farmer lobby has fiercely denied and Ministry for the

Environment (MfE) officials have never proven. MfE blamed Feds for the leak and refused to work with or share any further information on the water reforms with the farmer lobby. This

was despite the Feds strenuous denials of any leak in a letter to Parker’s office. “The documents were not provided to our elected water spokesman and definitely not to any farmers,” the letter said.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

NEWS 3 ISSUE 702

www.ruralnews.co.nz

NEWS �� 1-17 MARKETS ��18-19 HOUND, EDNA �� 20 CONTACTS �� 20 OPINION �� 20-22 AGRIBUSINESS �� 23 MANAGEMENT �� 24-26 ANIMAL HEALTH ��27-28 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM �� 29-43 RURAL TRADER �� 44

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: Ovato Print CONTACTS Editorial: editor@ruralnews.co.nz Advertising material: davef@ruralnews.co.nz Rural News online: www.ruralnews.co.nz Subscriptions: subsrndn@ruralnews.co.nz ABC audited circulation 79,553 as at 31.03.2019

Sting in the tail -DairyNZ THE GOVERNMENT has taken on board dairy sector feedback in its revised Essential Freshwater package but issues remain, says DairyNZ. Over the last eight months the dairy lobby has advocated for an evidence-based and pragmatic approach to freshwater regulation. DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says it is pleased to see the Government has listened and made significant changes to some of the more controversial elements of their original proposal. However, there’s still a sting in the tail, says Mackle. “Like all New Zealanders, dairy farmers share ambitions for healthy waterways and have invested a lot of time and money for over a decade in improved management systems, upgrading effluent systems, riparian planting and fencing streams to exclude cattle. “Looking at where the policy has landed, it appears that the Government have taken a better approach in terms of scientific rigour and practical-

Funding will be available to support actions like installing mini wetlands, removing sediment, riparian planting, helping farmers with stock exclusion and developing farm plans.

ity for farmers on the ground.” The Government have parked the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) measure and removed the impractical and expensive requirement for farmers to move existing fences to meet new stock exclusion guidelines, two policies of great concern for farmers. But DairyNZ is also concerned that the minister intends to revisit the DIN

in 12 months. Mackle says the proposed 95% protection standard will severely affect farmers in catchments who are already taking significant action towards reducing their footprint in line with new Regional Council policy plans. For example, in Canterbury’s Selwyn and Hinds zones farmers are already working towards a 30% reduc-

tion in nitrogen. Under these new regulations, these reductions may need to increase to 70% to meet the standards being proposed. “The Government and regional councils need to take a more nuanced approach when it comes to rolling out plans in regions where farmers are already undergoing significant change due to recent nutrient limits.”

COMMENT

Sensible enough changes POLITICAL PRESSURE and strong lobbying by agriculture groups have seen sensible and practical changes made to Environment Minister David Parker’s previously over-thetop freshwater proposals that were released last September. These water reform proposals caused huge consternation in farming circles and led to large farmer meetings around the country. According to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), it received 18,000 submissions on the freshwater proposals of which 3,500 were individual submissions – not just form-letters or templates. Parker’s new freshwater regulations, released last week, will be met

with howls of anguish by the environmental die-hards. However, the practicality and huge economic impacts of the proposed reforms on the agricultural sector – which is now more important to the country’s fortunes than ever in a post COVID-19 world – meant a backdown to more sensible, but still tough, standards was necessary. In fact, the nitrogen limits for waterways outlined in the proposed reforms announced last year would have seen total milk production fall by 24% and the country’s export receipts by 5.2% or $8.1 billion by 2050, according to figures produced by Dairy NZ. With the country now facing a

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huge pandemic recovery bill, such environmental fundamentalism would have been economic suicide. The limits set for dissolved nitrogen (DIN) in the original proposals would have had a devastating impact in major dairying districts such as parts of the Waikato, Southland and, in particular, Canterbury. It is a good move that the DIN limits will now be reconsidered over the next year to find agreement on what limits should be. Other good changes to the original proposals include: • Permanent fences will not need to move to comply with riparian setback requirements.

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• Developing mandatory and enforceable freshwater farm plan regimes and phasing their introduction over a longer timeframe. • Removal of commercial vegetable growing from the interim intensification rules. Federated Farmers – which, unbelievably, has been left out of the consultation process by MfE for more than a year – rightly says that changes to the essential freshwater regulations reflect farmer feedback. “The high-level policy decisions indicate the Government has heeded some of the rural sector concerns,” environment spokesperson Chris Allen says.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

4 NEWS

Potato sector’s chipping away fails to gain government support SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

THE GOVERNMENT is brushing away grower concerns about a looming potato invasion from the European Union. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor told Rural News there’s no evidence of a surge in potatoes or frozen potato chips imports from the EU. “This isn’t something we’re seeing,” he says. New Zealand potato growers want the

Government to impose short term limits on imports. Potatoes NZ, the umbrella body for the $1b industry, is warning that a dump of EU potatoes and frozen chips into NZ would cause prices to plummet and could decimate the industry. But the Government is indicating that it’s not keen to hinder trade agreements between NZ and the EU. “While the Government would always support the use

Despite warnings from the NZ potato sector, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor claims there’s no evidence of a surge in potatoes or frozen potato chips imports from the EU.

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of New Zealand grown potatoes, these are commercial decisions for importers and businesses using fries,” says O’Connor. “We’re a trading nation and we benefit greatly from our trade with other countries. Products flow between countries under normal commercial arrangements.” National’s new agriculture spokesman David Bennett shares the concerns of potato growers and wants the Government to intervene. “If New Zealand’s markets were flooded with these ‘cheap as chips’ potatoes it would be devastating to the industry and could see a major disruption to growers’ decisions about what they plant for this year’s crops. “We encourage the minster to listen to the industry and to seek dialogue with them so they can get solutions

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“We’re a trading nation and we benefit greatly from our trade with other countries. Products flow between countries under normal commercial arrangements.” that meet their needs.” NZ processed potatoes account for 55% of NZ potato industry value and 85% of all fries eaten in NZ are from locally grown potatoes. However, the potato fries business has taken a major hit during the COVID-19 lockdown, both here and overseas. Potatoes NZ chief executive Chris Claridge says this has led to the complete collapse of potato prices in major production centres, in particular the EU. “This will shortly lead to extraordinary price reductions in frozen potato chips from the EU,” he says.

The EU currently has approximately 2.6 million tonnes of surplus frozen fries that could soon end up in NZ and other countries. “If urgent steps are not put in place to prevent it, New Zealand is likely to be swamped by imports of frozen potato chips at those extraordinary prices. “That, together with the existing impact of the current pandemic, will in turn cause the New Zealand potato-growing and potato-processing industries to suffer severe and prolonged damage. “This may lead to potato growers planting alternate crops and in

turn lead to a shortage of New Zealand grown potatoes, which given New Zealand’s reliance on potatoes as a source of food, will represent a serious risk to food security.” Meanwhile, New Zealand producers of frozen potato chips have built significant stock levels and are already having to deal with an oversupply of raw potatoes. Claridge says, as a result, contracts with farmers for future potato production will be for reduced volumes, at lower prices. He says the Government must help ensure local demand is first and foremost met through the supply of locally produced potato chips. “Achieving that outcome will require some level of government intervention to dampen imports for a limited period of time.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

NEWS 5

Nat’s new ag man unknown While new National Party leader and former agriculture spokesman Todd Muller may have been unfamiliar to urban New Zealand, he was well known in the rural heartland. Now, with Muller’s elevation to the top job, he has named the relatively unknown Hamilton MP David Bennett as National’s new agriculture spokesman. Peter Burke finds out who he is. FROM THE corporate life to the good life and then politics – that’s the career path of National’s new agriculture spokesman David Bennett. Bennett, who has a strong agri background, told Rural News that he’s “stoked” to get what he describes as the pre-eminent portfolio in NZ politics. “The primary industries and horticulture are the best things going for the country and being able to advocate for them and work alongside farmers is a real honour and privilege in politics.” Bennett studied law and accountancy at Victoria University and then worked for KPMG in Auckland for two years. However, he says working in the corporate world “wasn’t his thing” and he decided to go dairy farming. Both his parents had been involved in the dairy industry. He worked hard and now owns two dairy farms and a dry stock block in the Waikato. Nowadays, the-day-to-day running of the farms is vested in three staff who Bennett says are as passionate as he is about the primary sector. “I love the cows, I love being outside and I have loved working for myself and building up a business,” he told Rural News. “At the weekends, I try to get out there and do a bit of fencing which is good for my soul. If I’m whacking a few waratahs into the ground, I can think about the opposition,” he jokes. Farming was the catalyst for Bennett’s move into politics. He was president of Young Farmers and that inspired him to have a tilt at the Ham-

ilton East seat, which he won in 2005 and has held ever since. Bennett says from now on the primary sector is going to be crucial as the country recovers from the COVID19 pandemic. He says it will also be a time when the wider community will support and acknowledge the contribution of agriculture and horticulture. He senses there is an underlying level of support amongst the wider community, because many people have rural backgrounds. “I think it is also important that farmers feel part of the nation’s family, that they are valued and are not ostracised. Not only for their own businesses, but also the downstream businesses that they support [with] their own farming and horticultural operations.” Bennett believes a lot of people are keen get out of the rat race and he hopes that they seek the huge employment opportunities that the primary sector has to offer. He thinks that people, who up until now have been employed in jobs like management and marketing, will get involved in the primary sector and love the job options it has to offer. Looking to the future, Bennett says the drivers will be farmers and others in the sector becoming more innovative and focused on increasing the production of value-add products in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. He says farmers must “capture” that value chain. “I think a government has to look at the infrastructure that’s required to

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enable farmers to get there and given that we have had prolonged droughts, water storage is now a crucial issue for this country,” he told Rural News. “A government also needs to provide infrastructure to get our products to export markets.” While the drought is the centre of focus for many farmers right now, there have been suggestions that perhaps there should be some hold put on dealing with environmental issues. However, Bennett says realistically everyone is going to have to deal with increased compliance in this area over the next few years. “I don’t see how we can walk away from that, but we need to do it in a way that is scientifically-based and manageable on farm,” he says. “For their part, farmers will have to adapt their businesses to meet the challenge of the market, which is definitely going to have an environmental focus on it over time.” However, Bennett says farmers need to be given the structures to do that and government needs to be “rational and reasonable” around any requirements they put on farmers and ensure that these are science based. National’s new agriculture spokesman David Bennett.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

6 NEWS

Meat companies deny gaming wage subsidy DAVID ANDERSON

CRITICISM LEVELLED at meat companies for taking the wage subsidy by some media and commentators has been labelled ill-informed and stupid. These critics claim meat companies were granted a total of $101 million in support,

despite being an essential service and continuing to work on during the lockdown. However, National secretary of the NZ Meatworkers Union Daryl Carran told Rural News the wage subsidy was a ‘no brainer’. He says it saw many millions of dollars paid out to workers and their families during

the crisis. “Without it, hundreds even thousands of meat workers would have been laid off – swelling the queues at foodbanks and WINZ offices around the country,” he says. “It was absolutely crucial to the industry’s future that these people are retained in the sector.” Carran says the union

worked closely with meat companies and the Meat Industry Association when preparing their applications for the subsidy. “COVID had a substantial impact on production output, especially for sheep

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and lamb,” he explained. “In some plants it fell as low as 30% of usual daily output during Level 4.” Carran added that the subsidy allowed older workers, those with underlying health issues and single parents to still be paid when they could not come to work. “Without [the subsidy] these people would have been given early season termination notices and ended up on the dole, which many would not

have qualified for if they had a spouse who works as well.” ANZCO chief executive Peter Conley told Rural News his company had claimed subsidies of $18.8m for 2,679 employees. He says it was all done in accordance with the Government’s guidelines and the company will repay any funds that don’t meet the required criteria. “At the time of apply-

WIN

ing for the subsidy, we faced unprecedented operating circumstances and had to move quickly to protect all employees by providing a safe working environment, as well as providing employees with financial security and retaining jobs. During the period ANZCO paid employees who were available to work and those who couldn’t: those isolating because of COVID-19; TO PAGE 7

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COVID had a substantial impact on meat company production output, especially for sheep and lamb, with some plants only processing 30% of usual daily output during Level 4. Left: National secretary of the NZ Meatworkers Union Daryl Carran says the wage subsidy was a ‘no brainer’.

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NEWS 7

SFF comfortable with stance DAVID ANDERSON

SILVER FERN Farms (SFF) says it applied for the wage subsidy to ensure it could retain workers when production levels decreased by up to 50% at some of its processing sites. “This led to projected revenues being over 30% lower during April than the previous year, which met the criteria for being eligible for the wage subsidy,” SFF spokesman Justin Courtney told

Rural News. He says SFF also implemented significant new controls with physical distancing, hygiene practices and PPE in its plants to protect staff. “This slowed our production levels by up to 50% at some of our sites – though we ramped up efficiency levels across all species. Through all of this we were able to retain and pay our staff.” Courtney says SFF worked with the support of the union through this

period. “We committed to those employees that were still working during the Alert Level 4 and 3 periods that their pay will not be less than 95% of a normal pre-COVID-19 production day, despite lower throughputs and we also implemented a

bonus for production staff. “For any staff that could not work at all due to COVID-19 restrictions they continued to be paid at a weekly rate higher than the wage subsidy.” Courtney says this covered those who were solo-carers, employees

aged over 70 years and those who meet the Ministry of Health guidelines to self-isolate. “[The wage subsidy] was applied for during considerable uncertainty for our company – both domestically around our ability to operate under Level 4 restrictions,” he

added. “There was significant global market disruption for our products, with containers held-up in China, airfreights to Europe cancelled, disruptions in the Middle East and delays in containers returning to New Zealand for future shipments.” Courtney says SFF is

still monitoring its operating conditions, honouring commitments to staff and will pay any unneeded funds back. “We are engaging with government in order to keep them updated on our progress given the situation has been so fluid through this period.”

Gaming subsidy FROM PAGE 6

those who weren’t working because they are older than 70; those with vulnerable conditions; and those who were caring for those with vulnerable conditions. Conley says of the company’s total workforce of 2,679 more than 600 employees were unable to work during lockdown. He added that the company had incurred significant costs in implementing the new processing requirements. He says three of its businesses were unable to operate, including its wholesale butchery, hamburger patty manufacturing business and beef Jerky operations. “ANZCO Foods is fully prepared to be audited about its use of the subsidy once the company has worked through all the challenges COVID19 has created and can assess and understand the full impact on the business.” Alliance Group chief executive David Surveyor told Rural News the company had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We applied for the wage subsidy in accordance with the purpose of the Government’s policy, to keep people in jobs and preserve income. The subsidy went directly to our people. “The company con-

sulted with the Meat Workers Union, which supported our application. The wage subsidy saved almost 1,000 jobs from early season termination and secured 3,800 others. The importance of this for our people and their families is not something we take lightly.” Surveyor says if Alliance does not experience the forecast 30% revenue reduction set by government, the subsidy will be returned. “However, we will have incurred millions of dollars in costs to keep people in jobs and preserve incomes. The easy approach would have been to terminate jobs and save the cost. We decided to take on the financial risk and look after our people.” Carran believes any surplus monies should go back, but says the union believes the Government should look at exactly how the meat industry was adversely affected by COVID and adjust its criteria. “Some companies may not meet the 30% reduction in revenue criteria, but the fact is if it weren’t for the subsidy workers would have been laid off.” He pointed out that workers still got full pay even when most plants were only operating at about 50% of the daily production during this time.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

8 NEWS

Saving livestock and lives PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

“WE’VE GOT to get every farmer through the winter and save as much stock as possible.” That’s what chair of the Hawkes Bay Rural Advisory Group (RAG), Lochie MacGillivray, told Rural News. MacGillivray’s been tasked with dispensing the recently established $1 million special mayoral and government fund set up to pay for transporting much-needed stock feed to the drought-stricken region. For MacGillivray, involvement in the group is a voluntary position – his real job is working as a consultant for AgFirst. Before that he was a Wool Board director and also farmed in the region. He says the group will not be buying feed because doing that would simply distort the market. MacGillivray told Rural News that farmers will have to source their own feed and get it to their farms. Once that it is done, they can then apply to have the cost of transporting it there refunded by the RAG.

Hawkes Bay Rural Advisory Group chair Lochie MacGillivray says the group’s aim is to get every farmer through winter and save as much stock as possible.

“We want to help as many people who are vulnerable and genuinely in need of help and do this quickly and simply,” he says. MacGillivray says because the fund is capped at $1 million, he can’t be all things to all people. He points out that there are 3,000 farmers in the region and if the fund was distributed evenly, that would mean people would get just

$350 each – which he says is nothing. “My focus is on those who are in need. That’s my first principle.” He says the scheme has got to operate on a high trust model because RAG doesn’t have time or resources to monitor what people do. But he says the community itself will act as a monitor. “People in the community will quickly spot somebody who applies for

feed and they have got grass growing out of their eyeballs or if they have got all their trading stock on and they have got dollars in the bank then applying for assistance with feed,” he explains. “Those individuals will have to hang their heads pretty low when they come to the school BBQ because everybody will know.” MacGillivray says the assistance

package will apply to farmers who have purchased and transported feed from the day the mayoral fund was established – which was May 19. He acknowledges this may cause some angst – especially from someone who bought in feed the day before or earlier – but says the line had to be drawn somewhere. He also acknowledges that some farmers, who have planned well and bought feed early at considerable cost to themselves, may be upset that those who have not been so proactive and are being subsidised. MacGillivray says he gets this philosophical argument, but the time to address this is when this event is over – not now. He says those farmers in trouble now may not necessarily be bad farmers, but people for a variety of circumstances have been caught out by the severity of the drought. “My view is we have to get everyone through this drought irrespective of their decisions of the past,” he says. “I don’t want lie to bed at night thinking that any of my actions could have cost someone their life.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

NEWS 9

Report highlights good pay packets SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

A REPORT confirming a sharp rise in pay for dairy sector workers will help attract more New Zealanders to farming jobs, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Chris Lewis. He says the 2020 Federated Farmers Rabobank Farm Remuneration Report has come at a perfect time. “At a time when we are trying to attract more Kiwis into dairy farming, the report confirms the dairy sector has quite competitive pay and benefits for potential workers,” he told Rural News. The report, released last week, shows that between 2017-18 and 2019-20, the mean total remuneration package (salary plus benefits such as accommodation, meat, firewood, Kiwisaver, etc) has increased significantly for farm employees across all sectors groups. Based on survey responses relating to nearly 3,000 on-farm positions, the report shows the mean farm employee remuneration package for dairy farm workers rose by 9.7% to $57,125. Across sheep/

beef farm roles it was up by 7.6% to $55,568, across grain farms it was up by 3.1% to $58,800 and in ‘other’ specialist farm roles outside standard position descriptions, it was up by 16% to $61,288. Federated Farmers president Katie Milne says during the COVID-19 pandemic, agriculture has been an essential service and one of the nation’s economic pillars. “Not only does a career in our sector offer very good job security and the satisfaction of working outdoors to produce quality food for families, here and around the globe, it also offers competitive pay packages,” Milne says. “Those who have the right attitude and show leadership potential can find a satisfying career pathway in front of them.” In the last two years, the mean total remuneration package for a dairy assistant manager has jumped $10,643 (20.6%) to $62,317, while the mean package for a dairy operations manager is now up by $1,658 (1.96%) to $85,986. The mean total remuneration for a head shep-

herd is now $60,091 (up by 8.37%) and for a senior tractor/machinery driver on a grains farm, $65,269 (up by 4.67%). The report provides a range of information rel-

evant to farmers who employ or who are looking to employ workers. Milne says the report aims to provide a ‘one stop shop’ for farmers employing staff.

It is hoped a report showing good pay for dairy sector workers will help attract more New Zealanders to farming jobs.

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FEDS REFRESH IT LOOKS like the National Party it is not the only body revamping its leadership. Federated Farmers annual meeting later this month will herald a change of guard. First woman president, Katie Milne, will step down at the virtual meeting on June 22 after completing her three-year term. She will be replaced by Manawatu farmer and current vice president Andrew Hoggard. Nominations are yet to close and an election is expected for the vice president’s post. Two new sector chairs will also be appointed – dairy chairman Chris Lewis is stepping down and will join the board as a national member. He will be replaced by his deputy and Golden Bay farmer Wayne Langford. Meat and Wool chairman Miles Anderson is also stepping down after completing his three-year term. He is likely to be replaced by current vice chair and Masterton sheep and beef farmer William Beetham. A Feds spokesperson told Rural News the annual meeting will be part of the governance day because it will also involve sector annual meetings. This year the Feds provincial groups have chosen only two new presidents – Jacqui Hahn, the first woman president for Waikato and Murray Holdaway in Manawatu/Rangitikei. – Sudesh Kissun

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

10 NEWS

The growing cost of drought Central Hawkes Bay sheep and beef farmer Craig Preston has spent a huge sum of money buying feed for his stock rather than sending them off to the works – but says it’s worth the money. Peter Burke reports. PRESTON HAS been on his 1,000 ha property where he runs 8,500 stock units of sheep and beef, near the township of Ongaonga, for more than 30 years. He says the drought in the region is the worst in living memory. Since October 16 last year until mid-May this year, Preston says only 280mm of rain has fallen on his farm. He says 120mm is the average monthly rainfall, which means that the rain deficit for the last seven months is 550 mm. He says it’s so bad that even young rimu and kahikatea trees are dying in the bush and on farms. He says many small creeks have dried up and, as a result, so have farm dams. Many farmers have had to move stock to properties where water is still available. Preston told Rural News that when it comes to dealing with a drought, a farmer has two choices – kill stock or feed them. “I have chosen the

latter. I have paid the money and for me the stress has gone out of the situation,” he says. When he says he’s paid out, he really means it: Preston has spent $200,000 buying 700 bales of baleage, 1,000 large bales of hay and 50 tonnes of grain. “I started early and you could say I was lucky, but I thought something was going wrong,” he told Rural News. “We had a big easterly in December and in four or five days we only got 20mm, and it just stunk of drought. On that basis I bought a huge amount of feed – about $100,000 worth – and my idea was, if I look stupid, okay, I can say it was insurance. “But all that feed has gone and we are getting the stuff up from the South Island at $150 a unit load for thrashed hay. It’s just incredible what’s happened.” Preston says the people who have got caught and who are stressed are those who he

Central Hawkes Bay sheep and beef farmer Craig Preston has spent a huge sum on buying feed for his stock rather than sending them off to the works.

“I have friends who were holding and hoping, and I gave them some tough talking and said, ‘either kill or feed your stock’. In the end, they came round to feeding and all of sudden they felt better.” describes as “holding and hoping”. He says in the case of Hawkes Bay, the hope disappeared two months ago. “I have friends who were holding and hoping, and I gave them some tough talking and said, ‘either kill or feed your

stock’. In the end, they came round to feeding and all of sudden they felt better.” Preston admits, for the next two years his task will be to repair his balance sheet from the cost of feeding his stock through the drought. He says if he killed capital

stock, next year he would have to restock and that will be a problem because there will be a shortage of stock. He says in normal years if there is a drought of some sort in Hawkes Bay, this is largely taken care of because the western side of the North

Island gets rain and it’s relatively easy to buy feed and restock again. “But that’s not the case this time,” he told Rural News. “I have a friend who trades bulls and he says it will take him two years to recover from this event.” Preston says, for him, by the far the best option was to ‘hunker down’ and take the financial hit this season and be over the situation the following year without any unnecessary stress. He believes, as a result

of the drought around the country, there are signs of problems looming in the future. Preston believes that few hoggets will be mated this season and that upwards of three million fewer lambs could be dropped in spring. He says this season his own scanning rate is about 128%, whereas it is normally around 165%. The one piece of good news, he claims, is that because of the stock shortage, the schedule is more likely to favour farmers.

Nine AboutFacts P Fertilisers Regarding Meeting Water2025 Quality Limits TenBasic BasicFacts Fertiliser You Must Know and Adopt2025 to Meet Water Quality Limits: Dr Bert Quin

Fact ofsoluble solubleP Pfertiliser is by far largest causecause of P run-off andand leaching, andand thetherefore decline of in the thedecline qualityinofthe Kiwi waterways. FactA. 1. The The overuse overuse of is the by far the largest of P run-off leaching, quality of Kiwi waterways. Fact 2. Once you have Olsen P levels that are more than a third of the P retention (ASC), application of additional soluble P is very prone to loss to the

Fact B. True RPRs maintain high production as well as soluble P, but are far, far less susceptible to run-off and leaching. And RPR is cheaper! environment. Fact 3. If you want to build up your soil P in an environmentally-protective way, simply apply RPR. It does not get leached or lost directly in run-off, but

Fact C. Quinfert Algerian RPR isforthe only low-cadmium, internationally- recognised true RPR available in New Zealand. releases P in a sustained fashion plants.

Fact 4. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. RPR-based fertilisers are even cheaper than super-based products as well! Added sulphur bentonite

Fact D. It doesn’t meet the industry-backed Fertmark 30-minute citric acid solubility test, introduced about 40 years ago. (sulphur 90) is far more efficient than the excess sulphate in super.

Fact 5. Following 1-4 above will greatly reduce P run-off and leaching. This should be done before anything else, and the situation reassessed before

Fact E. So what. This test is not used anywhere outside NZ. It has been widely criticised as not being fit for purpose, given the knowledge spending huge amounts of money! that exists today, because it gives artificially low solubility tests for RPRs that contain free lime or dolomite.

Fact 6. It is nonsensical to give in to pressure to install expensive mitigations riparian strips, excessively large wetlands and ‘phosphorus walls’ when you have no idea of their long-term effectiveness and maintenance costs, and before you have established whether changing to sustained-release RPR is all Fact F. Quinfert Algerian RPR contains 7% free dolomite. This is a plus. But the dolomite consumes citric acid, meaning the Fertmark test you need to do! gives an artificially low solubility result. Fact 7. in any case simple fenced-off 3-metre wide grass riparian strips are essentially as effective and vastly cheaper than more complex strips. Both reduce bacterial and sediment losses. Neither will have any significant long-term beneficial effect (on a whole -farm basis) on soluble P and nitrate-N loss. Fact G. In agronomic trials, and in the ‘Watkinson Dissolution’ proposed replacement Fertmark test, Quinfert Algerian RPR at least matches But grass strips can be harvested in summer to be fed out, to improve P and N cycling. the performance of other true RPR’s as a maintenance P fertiliser. Fact 8. In a nutshell, for maintenance of P levels any genuine RPR (not an RPR/Boucraa mix please!) can be used. Just check the Cd content. For low fertility situations or low rainfall, use a blend of RPR and high-analysis soluble P. Fact H. If you want your P to be available in 30-minutes, use straight super, TSP, DAP or MAP. Fact 9. For N, rather than granular urea, use prilled urea, sprayed immediately prior to, or during, the spreading with urease inhibitor. Use of N can be literally cut in half with big savings. Fact I. If you want a licence to farm from 2025 however, I strongly recommend that you start using RPR. It’s as simple as that. Fact 10. Potash is more efficient, and must less likely to cause metabolic problems, if applied in small doses 4 times a year, adding up to 50-60% of the total annual amount you are using now. Easy to mix with your prilled urea. Leaching of anions like nitrate will be minimised as well.

For more info. email Bert Quin on bert.quin@quinfert.co.nz, or phone 021-427 572, or visit www.quinfert.co.nz For more info, email Bert Quin on bert.quin@quinfert.co.nz, or phone 021 427 572, or visit www.quinfert.co.nz

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

NEWS 11

$1 billion leasing scheme launched SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

DAIRY FARMERS can unlock capital in their dairy herds in a $1 billion herd leasing scheme launched last week. Agri-finance company StockCo Capital says its pioneering herd leasing service will help dairy farmers raise capital, rebalance their finances and grow their business. General manager Will Purvis told Rural News that the initial response

to your financial advisers before signing up,” he told Rural News. Lewis says there are a lot of good deals out there with banks and traders offering low interest rates. “This could be a good product, but farmers must look at the finer details.” Purvis believes some farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to raise funds. He says it is no secret that financial institutions

“We did a market sounding exercise within our network and a few farmers have already signed up.” from farmers has been “really positive”. Purvis says farmers are enquiring about using the scheme to pay off bank debts, meet drought-related costs and for infrastructure projects like new effluent systems. “We did a market sounding exercise within our network and a few farmers have already signed up.” Under the scheme farmers will sell their cows to StockCo Capital and agree to lease them back. Cows are valued between $1,500 and $1,800 each. An average 400-cow herd can raise $625,000 under the scheme. The scheme is initially open to Fonterra farmers because Purvis says scheme funder Greensill, a global provider of working capital finance is taking “a measured approach”. “It looks to Fonterra as a very credible party with a good credit rating and sound policies around supplier arrangements.” Federated Farmers dairy chairman Chris Lewis says the scheme looks like a good financial product, but wants farmers to do their homework before signing on the dotted line. “I would say to farmers, make sure you talk

are becoming increasingly cautious around farm lending. “It is estimated 30% of dairy farmers are classified as being highly indebted and, despite firm milk prices, the Reserve Bank is encouraging banks to act prudently with farm lending and work closely with their existing dairy farming customers to ensure they are well positioned in the event of a future downturn in the sector. “This, combined with the economic impact of COVID-19, a surge in demand for financial capital, and a limited ability for tier-two institutions to fill the gap, are all impacting liquidity within the sector and making it increasingly difficult for farmers to raise the funds they need to maintain and grow their business. “This is constraining growth within the broader dairy sector. We believe herd leasing can help individual farmers address this situation by allowing them to unlock the large amount of capital they have in their herd.” Purvis warns the leasing service is not aimed at those farmers who are highly indebted; it is focused on those farmers who are financially sound but finding it difficult to

raise capital due to the liquidity barriers within the broader dairy sector. During the lease period, farmers will continue to maintain con-

trol of the leased herd and will generate income from milk production and the sale of offspring. They will also be able to deduct the lease

Farmers have been advised talk to their financial advisers before signing up to the scheme.

payments as a taxable expense. By following the best-practice culling and

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

12 NEWS

Farmers facing undue Govt pressure PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

HAWKES BAY vet Richard Hilson says the effects of the lockdown with COVID-19 tended to isolate farmers more than people might have imagined. He says towards the end of Alert Level 4, farmers needed to talk to people – their neighbours and others. He believes many felt they were being backed into a corner, on their own, having to deal with the drought. Vets, says Hilson, were in a unique position to help farmers in this respect. He says when a vet goes on a farm they usually work with a

Hawkes Bay vet Richard Hilson says, as well as dealing with drought and COVID, farmers are being put under unnecessary pressure by government demands.

farmer, unlike someone who comes on to fix a machine. He says vets are people that farmers more likely form a relationship with, chew the fat and

have a laugh. “But right now, half the time it’s talking about animal health and the other half, human health. As a vet you are aware

of what other people are going through,” Hilson told Rural News. “At our staff meeting, I made the point that if people come into the shop and they want to talk to you, please stay with them – don’t fob anyone off – we don’t mind if you spend time with them. One of my staff said a guy who rang up the other day is someone she would normally only have a 30 second conversation with, but says he was still on the phone after 30 minutes. I said: ‘good on you – you have made his day’. It just goes to show how bad it really is out there,” he says. Hilson says as well as

the drought and COVID, farmers are having to deal with M. bovis and, in parts of the region, an outbreak of TB. He says the Government has put unnecessary pressure on farmers demanding they apply for consents for the Tukituki catchment scheme. Federated Farmers have already asked Environment Minister David Parker to give them more time to apply for consents because of the drought and COVID, but he has refused. Hilson says the Government attitude stuns him and warns that stressing farmers like this could have fatal consequences.

TWO LONG YEARS! IT’S BEEN two years since New Zealand decided to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. Agriculture and biosecurity minister Damien O’Connor believes the latest technical data shows the programme is on track. “Two years ago, the Government, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand and industry partners committed to a 10-year, $880 million programme to eradicate M. bovis to protect our most important sector and the economy.” O’Connor claims if the disease had been left to run rampant, he’s unsure whether the dairy and beef sectors would have been able to weather the economic storm of COVID-19 and the challenges of drought conditions. “These sectors are now well-placed to lead us out of this economic crisis.” O’Connor says he is proud of the farming community and they should be proud of themselves too. “We currently have 17 active properties and 232 that have been cleared of the disease. We’ve culled 154,788 cattle.” O’Connor says the priority over the next 12-18 months will be continuing to find and eliminate the disease. “We will get another technical advisory group report in the coming months, but two years into a 10-year effort, I’m pleased by the progress made.”

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

14 NEWS

Time meat fought back against fake claims says some of the narrative from the alternative protein lobby groups is starting to resonate in the community to the point where people are being made to feel guilty about eating red meat. He says

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

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that commentary needs to be countered. “The way these people [alternative protein lobby] have marketed themselves is that they have cast aspersions on natural meat production,” he told Rural News. “The two angles that they come from is the negative impact of red meat production on the environment and the animal welfare aspect.” McIvor says what is concerning is that lobby groups have become effective in influencing policy makers, to the point where the world cancer organisation has questioned the role of meat in the diet. “We also see government departments, including our own Ministry of Health, starting to talk about taking meat out of the diet because of environmental impacts. What we are seeing is a growing societal commentary around meat with people raising issues such as whether it is ‘safe’ in their diet as well as environmental and animal welfare issues.” But McIvor says the reality is that there is large bunch of people who like meat in their diet and argue, equally convincingly, that meat is good for you and that it is a sustainably produced product. But he says in some circles of society speaking out in favour of meat is often questioned. “People who love meat should not be made to feel guilty about their choice because there are compelling arguments

in favour of their preference.” He says opponents of red meat should be reminded that in NZ, animals are ‘free range’, that NZ is ranked number two in the world for animal welfare and – as a country – we have an absolute commitment to the environment. McIvor points out that NZ meat producers don’t use hormone growth promotants and make minimum use of antibiotics to treat our stock. He says those who criticise our farming systems should be aware that 1.4 million hectares of land is held in native bush on NZ’s sheep and beef farms. He adds that many countries have the highest regard for NZ meat products and says China, for example, sees meat as a product which is special to their people’s health and wellbeing and that is a driver for their consumption of meat. “I was on a call with the chief executive of the National Beef Cattleman’s Association in the USA recently and he was talking about what has happened with meat consumption there through the Covid situation,” McIvor told Rural News. “He told me that they have evidence that in supermarkets, red meat has sold out, while artificial meat was still on the shelves unsold. “He made the interesting observations that people have gone back to the things they know and they can trust such as red meat,” he says.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

NEWS 15

Beef and lamb exports look good PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

FARMERS AFFECTED by the drought and COVID-19 can take some heart from the latest forecast for sheep and beef exports for the 2019/20 season. However, there is a prediction that average farm incomes could be down. Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s (B+LNZ) mid-season economic update shows that beef exports

are expected to pass $4 billion for the first time, lifting 18% to $4.6 billion. At the same time, a lift in the average export value for lamb offset a lower lamb crop in 2019, resulting in a 4% lift in total lamb export receipts to $3.54 billion. Combined exports for beef and lamb for the season is estimated at just under $9 billion. B+LNZ’s chief economist Andrew Burtt says while the drought and COVID-19 have both had

impacts for farmers and meat processors, the fundamentals are looking likely to remain strong for New Zealand sheepmeat and beef exports this year. “Red meat is expected to remain a key component of many diets and African Swine Fever (ASF) in China continues to drive a shortage of pork, which underpins solid demand for beef and sheepmeat imports there.” Burtt says shifting market access dynam-

BANK PRESSURE LESSENS FARMERS ARE feeling slightly more satisfied and under less pressure from their banks, according to a new survey. Nearly 1,400 farmers took part in the Federated Farmers May 2020 Banking Survey. Of that number, those feeling ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their bank lifted slightly from 68% to 69% during the past six months, while farmers feeling ‘under pressure’ dropped from 23% to 19%. “Satisfaction had slipped as a trend since we started this twice-yearly survey in August 2015 and this is the first positive change since then,” says Federated Farmers vice-president Andrew Hoggard. He says farmers have been battling widespread drought and the COVID19 pandemic fallout over the past few months, adding to financial pressures. Hoggard believes the apparent alleviation of some of this pressure may be attributed to banks being actively encouraged by the Govern-

ment to support lending during the economic downturn, through measures like the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme. The Reserve Bank has also delayed implementing its tougher bank capital requirement, again, to help banks support lending. “This approach has probably also spilled over into rural lending even though farming has been less badly affected by COVID-19 than most other sectors of the economy,” he says. As with the November 2019 survey, arable farming is the group with the highest percentage of farmers feeling under pressure (28%, down from 30% in November). They also have the lowest percentage feeling very satisfied or satisfied (58%, down from 60% in November). Meat and wool farmers are relatively more satisfied than most other groups (72% feeling very satisfied or satisfied) and they are also less likely to be feeling under ‘undue pressure’ (13%).

B+LNZ’s chief economist Andrew Burtt says the fundamentals remain strong for New Zealand sheepmeat and beef exports this year.

ics have the potential to change the distribution of beef exports this season.

He says the US is forecasting a significant lift in beef exports and has

gained improved market access to China and Japan, though US exports have currently been significantly impacted by COVID-19 due to the closure of meat processing plants. “This may increase competitive pressure for NZ beef in some markets but has the potential to create opportunities in others. Brazilian beef has recently regained access to the US market, increasing competition on the US imported beef market. “However, a significant reduction in Australian sheepmeat and beef production will provide some support for demand for New Zealand red meat in key markets

during 2020,” he says. On the home front, the beef herd grew by nearly 5% to 3.9 million as at 30 June 2019. Sheep numbers were down by 0.8% to 26.7 million. In terms of farm incomes, B+LNZ says farm profit, before tax and adjusted for inflation, is forecast at $104,400 – down 20% on the 2018/19 season. However, Burtt says this figure was arrived at before the escalation of the COVID crisis. He notes the uncertainty of the times ahead, but says NZ livestock production and red meat processing sectors continue to deliver products that meet customer needs.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

16 NEWS

Southland teeters on the brink PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

WHILE HAWKES Bay and other parts of the country are suffering drought, Southland is

facing different problems. Flooding earlier in the year and the failure of some winter crops – on top of a lack of space at the meat works – has left Southland teetering

on the brink of a really bad situation going into winter. DairyNZ’s lead consulting officer in the South Island, Tony Finch, says if dairy farmers in

The Oreti River lapping at the top of the stopbank at the height of the Southland floods back in February.

the region can’t get rid of cull cows soon, and if the weather doesn’t play its part, these problems will get even worse. Southland is facing a major feed shortage – not because of drought, but because of too much rain. Finch says farmers in the region came out of a pretty hard winter and a very wet spring last year, which delayed any winter crops being planted in the spring. “A lot of crops failed because of the wet, resulting in yields that have been severely checked now as we come into winter, with some as much as 40% down,” he told Rural News. “On top of that, there is a significant winter feed challenge because during the

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floods some feed was lost and farmers just had to keep feeding out to keep their farms going during this period.” Finch says there has been a little bit of good news in that autumn has been very good. However, many animals are grazed off on winter crops and he says that’s when the challenge will come. At the moment, the big issue for dairy farmers in Southland is getting their cull cows through the works. This is not a COVID issue because on beef chains the normal distance between workers is about a metre or two. The problem is a huge backlog. “We have been told there is a four to six week delay and that will mean

that it won’t be until end of June before the backlog is cleared,” Finch told Rural News. “In the meantime, some farmers are carrying in excess of 50% more culls than normal and they still have to be fed. What you have is extra animals to feed and less grass and so all it will take is a bad weather spell, and Southland does have these, and it will provide a lot more anxiety for farmers.” Finch says like their counterparts in the North Island, Southland farmers have been looking at reducing their herd sizes, but again the delays in processing at the works is challenging this move. He says many can’t afford feed and those that can

are finding it difficult to source feed. “Silage is simply not available and the option of using PKE or grain is only possible if farmers have indoor facilities to feed this to animals. It is bringing the level of anxiety to the stage where they are saying ‘oh shit, what am I going to do here’,” he says. Finch says DairyNZ is working with Beef+LambNZ and other strategic partners to try and help farmers do feed budgets and get good professional advice on how to manage their way out of the crisis. He says, so far, farmer wellness hasn’t reared its ugly head, but warns that a bad spell of weather could change that.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

NEWS 17

Animal health problems loom PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

ANIMAL HEALTH and welfare issues are likely to emerge soon as Hawkes Bay farmers try to cope with the effects of what is believed to be the worst drought in the history of the region. Richard Hilson, managing director of Vet Services Hawkes Bay, told Rural News his worry is what will happen to the huge number of skinny animals in the region come winter. He says despite farmers’ best efforts to feed their stock, there are lots of light animals around and they will come under pressure when the winter sets in. Hilson is also a farmer in his own right with 800 deer, 550 ewes and some cattle. He says he’s been spending between $12,000 and $15,000 a month to feed his stock during the drought. Hilson says the picture in the region is grim. “The ewes were going backwards at the start of mating because no one had any tucker and so we would expect fewer twins and triplets and more empties. Wool quality will also be [affected] and they’ll have no capacity to handle potential stress,” he says. “When winter comes you have large numbers of animals in lighter condition that aren’t carrying the fat that keeps them warm when it gets cold. They will also be more susceptible worms and lice.” Hilson says his vet-

erinary practice will be scanning about 15% fewer sheep this year because of the drought. He says hoggets account for about half of this number and notes while the number of actual flocks have remained the same, farmers have sold some of their capital stock. “Some pretty drastic calls have been made. One stock agent told me he’s had 200 cows booked into the works every week for the past month,” he told Rural News. “The number accounts for the loss of about seven breeding cow herds in Central Hawkes Bay, given that the average size of a breeding herd here is about 130 mixed aged cows.” Hilson says he takes his hat off to the way that farmers in the region have handled the drought. He says some have had to sell animals for $50 each, whereas in a normal season these would fetch $150. He says many farmers are just haemorrhaging money to feed their stock and are taking a huge hit. “They really care about their stock and are not worrying about themselves. They are out there every day doing their best for their animals and at this moment they “don’t gave a rat’s arse” about Covid-19, he says. Hilson says while the lockdown might have been bad for people in Wellington, the farmers in Hawkes Bay have taken a massive hit. He says many are gutted with the Government’s response to the

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drought. “I wrote a letter to David Parker and Damien O’Connor and asking them to make sure that MPI shows a bit of com-

passion around the drought because there is no doubt there is going to be some welfare issues and maybe there will be some neglect,” he says.

Hawkes Bay farmers are likely to encounter animal health and welfare issues soon as try to cope with the effects of what is believed to be the region’s worst ever drought.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

global agribusiness research analysts sharing market outlooks

18 MARKETS & TRENDS

Rabobank supports clients from farm to fork in

COUNTRIES

100 000

12630

farmers to connect Content supplied by Rabobank - Growing New Zealand Together with worldwide , a Better

Beef during and beyond Covid-19 COVID-19 AND the associated measures to contain it have created turmoil in the global beef market. The virus has caused major disruption to the processing and demand sides of the beef industry. While we do not expect large changes on the cattle-production side of the industry, ongoing management of the virus and the resulting economic contraction will play out during 2020 and will heavily influence processing and demand parts of the industry across different regions. Rabobank’s global beef production outlook has been revised down.

Australia

LIMITED CATTLE supply and improved seasonal conditions continue to dominate the Australian cattle market, although Covid-19-as-

ing plants having their export licenses to China suspended on May 12, we may see prices ease off until the matter is resolved.

sociated pressures are causing disruption at the consumer end of the supply chain. Foodservice and restaurant trade were severely limited following the imposition of social distancing measures in mid-March. March retail sales figures show a 23% decline (seasonally adjusted) in restaurant, café, and takeaway turnover. Meanwhile, the pivot to retail and panic buying

caused retail food turnover to increase by 24%. Australia has been fortunate to avoid any major disruptions to beef processing capacity. Rather than Covid-19 disruptions, Australia’s beef processing is being limited by a reduced availability of cattle. Australian cattle prices increased through the first two weeks of May, following US import prices higher. However, with four major process-

IN LATE March, the Covid-19 pandemic’s major challenge to the beef supply chain was shifting a large portion of beef consumption from foodservice (typically 59% of beef consumption) to retail. That

Total New Zealand beef exports were only marginally down (-2% YOY) for the FebruaryApril period, although there was a significant shift in the composition of export markets over that period. changed in early April. Despite enhanced sanitation and social distancing measures, several packing plants became hotspots

for Covid-19. These outbreaks compelled several major plants to temporarily close, while those still

operating were doing so at reduced capacity. For the weeks ending April 4 through to May 9, cumulative cattle slaughter was down 23% YOY, with the week ending May 2 seeing the largest drop, down 37% YOY. Such massive and simultaneous supply chain shocks have never been seen before. The imbalance created between the number of fed cattle ready for harvest relative to plants’ operational slaughter capacity has put immense negative pressure on live cattle prices (see Figure 17). The reduced availability of wholesale product has sent cut-out price to all-time highs. Q1 beef exports set a record pace, up 9% in volume and 8% in value. With favourable trade deals in place, weekly

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

MARKETS & TRENDS 19

COUNTRIES

Content supplied by Rabobank - Growing a Better New Zealand Together

reopen the hospitality and foodservice sectors.

beef export volume has remained strong, up 18% for the YTD through to April 30. However, global recession, a strong US dollar, and rising geopolitical tensions put future export demand at risk.

NEW ZEALAND cattle prices eased across all classes over the last quarter. North Island bull and prime prices were both sitting at NZ$ 4.85/kg cwt as of mid-May, down 3% since early February. In mid-May, cattle prices were down between 6% and 15% on last year, depending on the class of cattle and region in which producers are located. The easing of prices was mainly due to reduced process-

China

CHINA’S BEEF consumption is gradually recovering as foodservice slowly reopens. However, we believe full recovery will still take a few more weeks or even months, as many consumers still don’t feel confident to eat out or get together. Although there has been a shift from foodservice to food retail for general food items, the shift in beef consumption has been limited as beef is not a typical home-cooked protein. According to China Statistics Bureau, beef production in Q1 2020 was 1.56m metric tons, down 6.4% YOY. During lockdowns in February and March, there

was some delay in cattle slaughter due to the disruptions of live cattle transport and the temporary closure of cattle trade markets. This resulted in tight supplies of fresh beef in the retail market, though frozen beef storage in foodservice was high. As such, China’s fresh beef retail prices decreased only slightly to CNY 83/kg in April – usually the low season – from the peak of CNY 85/kg in February, still up 21% YOY (see Figure 12). In the coming months, we expect beef prices to stay strong, supported by tight pork sup-

plies hit by African swine fever. China’s official beef imports still managed to reach 513,000 metric tons in Q1 2020, despite operation suspensions during lockdowns in February. This is 65% higher than the same period of last year and only down 2.6% on the record volumes in Q4 2019.

Europe

WHILE EUROPE slowly brings the pandemic under control, worker absences at plants and sporadic plant closures due to the virus continue to pressure beef process-

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rating carcass value and softer demand due to the shutdown of foodservice across Europe. We expect recovery on the demand side as countries begin to ease lockdowns and

ing capacity resulting from Covid-19 lockdown requirements. As a result, processing costs increased, and with cattle supplies far outweighing available space, cattle prices declined through April. Efficiency gains since late March have improved throughput, and plant capacity in midMay is down about 10%. Securing space to kill cattle was a major challenge for New Zealand cattle producers over the last quarter, with challenging climatic conditions prompting a surge in supplies leading up to and during the period of reduced processing capacity. Kill space will remain restricted over at least the next month. Total New Zealand beef exports were only marginally down (-2% YOY) for the FebruaryApril period, although there was a significant shift in the composition of export markets over that period (see Figure 16).

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

20 OPINION EDITORIAL

Short-sighted PETTY AND small-minded is the only way to describe the continued snubbing of Federated Farmers in regard to the Government’s freshwater reforms. Late last week, Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor – along with ministry officials – unveiled the long-awaited reforms before invited guests at Parliament. However, the farmer lobby was a notable omission. How does the Government expect to get farmers onside for its highly contentious water plans, when it refuses to deal or even engage with the farmer representative organisation? O’Connor denies that farmers have been left out of the process. He cites the involvement of the John Penno-led Freshwater Leaders Group – with the likes of Bryce Johnson, Marnie Prickett, Gary Taylor, Hugh Logan and Alison Dewes (look up these people’s attitude to farming), along with staffers from Dairy NZ and Beef+Lamb NZ as bringing “deep knowledge, expertise and input from leaders across the primary sector” to the reforms. Rural News understands that Federated Farmers has been on the outer – and completely frozen out of the process since May last year – when it was accused of leaking confidential briefing material about the reforms. The farmer lobby has fiercely denied this claim and MfE officials have never proven it. This all came to a head in May 2019 when Ministry for the Environment’s (MfE) water director, Martin Workman, circulated the key parts of the draft final freshwater package. It went to a number of agricultural organisations who were told it was confidential and not to be shared. However, it was leaked within 24 hours of being sent out. MfE and Workman blamed Feds for the leak and refused to work with or share any further information on the water reforms with the farmer lobby. This was despite the Feds’ strenuous denials of any leak in a letter to Parker’s office. “The documents were not provided to our elected water spokesman and definitely not to any farmers,” the letter said. Feds water spokesman is Chris Allen, who Environment Minister David Parker publicly castigated at a fiery farmer meeting about the proposed reforms in Timaru, last year. The continual snubbing of Federated Farmers by the Ministers, MfE and the advisory bodies over these reforms will make it even more difficult to get farmer buy-in on the new water regulations.

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 021-842 226 CONSULTING EDITOR: David Anderson .................................. Ph 09 307 0399 davida@ruralnews.co.nz

“The damned ducks are flying at alert level five!”

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

THE HOUND Cheeky!

Still woke

Death knell?

Too hasty?

Your old mate notes that the failing NZ Herald (owned by dying media company NZME) was quick to put the boot into various meat companies for claiming the wage subsidy in a recent article. The article made a huge hullabaloo about the fact 13 meat companies had claimed a total $101 million to support the wages of 13,552 meat workers. The Herald intimated, without any proof, that these ‘offending’ meat companies had basically gamed the system and should pay the money back. However, the Hound observed that the very same article made no mention of the fact the NZME itself had claimed some $10 million in subsidy to cover 1500 employees and – unlike the meat companies – had also sacked another 250 during the Covid crisis. It seems it is okay for the NZ Herald’s owners to claim the subsidy, but not meat companies. No wonder the company is going down the gurgler!

This old mutt hoped that the Covid crisis would have forced companies to change the old way they have been doing things in an effort to survive and thrive in the new post Covid world. However, it seems as if one of the Hound’s favourite entities is continuing with its same-old politically correct and ever so woke ways. Pamu Farms – better known as Landcorp – recently announced it was refreshing its costly box-ticking advisory body, Environmental Reference Group (ERG), with the retirement of high-profile farming critic Mike Joy and long-time ecowarrior Guy Salmon. The taxpayerfunded state farmer will now pay for another Forest and Bird activist, along with the obligatory ‘diversity’ appointees to sit around, drink expensive coffee and tell farmers how terrible they are and how environmentally progressive Pamu is.

This old mutt wonders why regenerative agriculture advocates seem to be good at promotion and hype, but not so good at providing good, scientific research to back their claims. Your old mate thought that the demise of ‘regen ag’ was the endorsement by the $2 million white elephant known as the Primary Sector Council, whose ‘big plan’ was for NZ agriculture to be “a world-leader in modern regenerative production systems”. However, surely the downfall of the regen ag fad will be hastened following anti-farming, multinational, tax-dodger Greenpeace coming out in support of the practice. In fact, these whackos are so in love with the idea of regenerative agriculture that they want the Government to spend $1 billion converting every farmer in NZ to the practice. As a mate of the Hound says: If Greenpeace thinks it’s a good idea, then it’s not!

This old mutt mentioned a couple of issues back about the appointment of a new head of the M. bovis programme – former ex-fisheries manager Stuart Anderson. In said column, it was hoped that farmers dealing with the new M. bovis boss will have a better experience than with previous boss Geoff Gwyn. However, your old mate was contacted by a concerned fisherman who has had dealings with Stuart Anderson acting in his previous role as director of fisheries management. To say the Hound’s informant was less than complimentary would be an understatement. “Those in the farming industry have my sympathies. An archetype of the capricious and vindictive brotherhood is heading your way,” was one of the few repeatable comments that the fired-up fisherman gave to yours truly. Let’s hope the Hound was not too hasty of a better time for farmers dealing with MPI.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

OPINION 21

Trust must be earned I AM sure you have heard the term ‘Hindsight Wisdom’. This is being wise after the drama has happened; or much better than that – learning life-lessons from the event that wises you up for the future. I have never been big on people who are quiet at the time, with really nothing worthwhile to say. However, then they are very braggadocios and vocal after it’s over, with comments like “I knew that would happen” or “It’s just what I expected” or “I could see that coming a mile off”. Before the national lockdown, after our Prime Minister announced that incoming travellers at our borders would have to self-isolate for 14 days, I made some comments to a few people close to me. One of them I’d like to raise in my column this month. New Zealand’s most trusted brand apparently is Whittaker’s. In the annual Reader’s Digest survey, Whittaker’s has now taken out the title nine years in a row! Congrats to them is due, I reckon. Now, when it comes to most trusted professions, and most trusted people, politicians are always well down the list – usually fighting it out for bottom spot! No surprises there though, most people are already well aware of this. From a press release, back in May 2006 which I have in my files: “Politicians scored the rather dubious honour of being the least trusted, having earned the wooden spoon for the professions category six years in a row.” From another survey and press release June 2014: “Fifty professions were surveyed for this survey. Politicians came in 48th, just ahead of doorto-door salespeople with telemarketers taking out the wooden spoon.” My comments a few weeks ago, which I mentioned above, reflected on this. Here we are, and have been for weeks now, dealing with

be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.” George MacDonald (1824 - 1905). And an old saying from Africa: “Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.”

FARMER’S CHAPLAIN

Colin Miller

this global pandemic. We are being led by and being forced to follow implicitly the instructions of a very small group of people who year-after-year we say we just don’t trust. I find that all rather odd, to say the least. Trust actually is a very precious thing. It cannot be legislated, it cannot be bought with the currencies of men, nor can it be forced upon a people with threats of penalties and punishments. The real thing, which is heart trust, can only be earned over a period of time. Trust takes real time to build and to grow. And it cannot be rushed through under urgency! Things like genuine humility, simple integrity, being true to your word, lifting up others rather than yourself all the time, and acknowledging your mistakes, all serve to earn respect. And respect is necessary to help build solid trust. Now, as you already know, trust takes time, even years to build into the real thing. But it can be lost in a few mad moments. And once it’s lost, you may never truly get it back. Having your trust violated and trampled on has to be one of the most damaging tidal waves life can throw up in your face. Can you trust again? Yes, but it certainly won’t be easy for you. The right kind of help can get you there. I have been helped immensely by my trust in the Good Shepherd. And He has definitely been the difference maker for me when my trust has been trashed by someone else. A couple of my favourite quotes for you as I sign out today: “To

Till next month, God bless. • To contact Colin Miller email: farmerschaplain@ ruralnews.co.nz @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

Whittaker’s has taken out NZ’s must trusted brand title nine years in a row.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

22 OPINION

Book puts farming at centre of NZ’s story WILLIAM SOLTAU Davidson is not usually considered one of New Zealand’s great 19th century heroes. He came to New Zealand in 1865 as a 19-yearold farm cadet at the

Levels in South Canterbury. By the age of 32 he was general manager of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, which held some 3,000,000 acres in the South Island, in Victo-

ria, New South Wales and Queensland, some of which Davidson sold off to small holders. In 1882 he supervised the loading of the first exports of frozen meat at Port Chalmers and welcomed

the Dunedin when it reached London. That Davidson does not appear more prominently in our general histories reflects their neglect of the central role of farming. It is a strange

Brian Easton says his new book could not ignore farming’s contribution on the history of NZ.

omission, probably the result of the urban base of the writers, the tendency to imitate foreign histories with their focus on industrialisation and their lack of interest in the economy. Brian Easton’s new book Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand could not ignore farming. The sector has dominated the economy from the beginning of European settlement. Earlier, in fact, as he shows for the Māori economy through to the middle of the 20th century. In 1921, a third of total market employment was on farms. Add in those servicing farms and involved with farm products beyond the farmgate and the farm sector was probably half the New Zealand economy. Farming’s share in the economy is smaller today, but to look only at farm production and ignore the servicing and postfarmgate activities, as a recent study did, is fool-

Livestock transporter declaration From 14 June 2020, your livestock transporter may choose not to take your animals without a declaration that they are NAIT compliant. To avoid delays when transporting animals, OSPRI’s advice to farmers is to: Check all animals are tagged and registered in NAIT

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Declare any unsafe to tag animals in NAIT and mark the animal

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To request a book of transport declaration forms from OSPRI, please call 0800 482 463 or request one online at ospri.co.nz. The declaration form will be included on new Animal Status Declaration (ASD) forms from June 2020.

Auckland

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■ BREAKING NEWS ■ AGRIBUSINESS HEADER ■ MARKETS & TRENDS

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ish. Moreover, the farm sector remains the biggest generator of foreign exchange which, as the history shows, has been the central challenge to a viable New Zealand economy. If general histories have tended to neglect farming, there are specialist farm histories, monographs and histories of individual farms. The difference with this book is that it synthesises them, along with Easton’s own research, to make farming an integral part of New Zealand’s history. It always has been. But in this wide-ranging history, which begins with Gondwanaland 650 million years ago and ends with the Ardern-Peters Government and climate change, Easton tells it like it is and was. • Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand by Brian Easton is published by Victoria University Press and is available in bookshops.

Ferist et quati au pedici te vollab im quamet atur sole quiatibu.

PAGE 24

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

AGRIBUSINESS 23

Times will get better for deer sector DAVID ANDERSON

WHILE THE deer industry faces several challenges in the short term, there will be a strong rebound in New Zealand venison sales once global demand recovers. According to Rabobank’s Blake Holgate, several seasons of strong export returns have left New Zealand’s deer farmers well positioned to overcome the severe trade disruptions resulting from Covid-19. Speaking on a recently released RaboResearch podcast, he says NZ’s venison producers have enjoyed a good run in recent seasons with the industry benefitting from healthy export sales into both established and new venison markets. “In the last five years we’ve seen significant export growth in the US – due in part to increased demand for venison as a component in pet food – while we’ve also seen

strong sales in longstanding European markets such as Germany and Belgium.” Holgate says venison prices reached a historical peak of $11.50/kg in 2018 and, while prices had drifted lower in 2019, the industry was in a healthy position moving into 2020. However, he adds that the impacts of the coronavirus on the global food service sector had significantly affected venison demand. “As a high-end product, venison demand is heavily linked to the food service industry. With this industry currently closed or operating at significantly reduced capacity in virtually all key markets across the globe, venison sales have been hit hard.” Holgate says importers in key markets across North America, Europe and Asia are reporting a significant decline in demand from end-users

ONLINE VENISON SALES NZ’S DEER industry lobby concedes that venison sales have been particularly hard-hit by restaurant doors slamming shut around the globe due to Covid-19. However, marketers of New Zealand farm-raised venison are pushing to build sales through on-line outlets and through gourmet retailers Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) chief executive Innes Moffat says Covid-related restaurant shut-downs created a crisis for their food service suppliers and the farmers that supply them. Demand from chefs for NZ farm-raised venison overnight became a vulnerability. “Fortunately our venison export marketers and/or their overseas partners already had small retail and on-line marketing programmes. They are now putting a lot of energy into generating more sales through these

Rabobank’s Blake Holgate says the deer industry faces several challenges in the short term.

for venison products and this has resulted in a many importers cancelling or delaying their own incoming orders for venison. Venison exporters were also running into additional challenges over and above lower food service demand in the Chinese market. “With the initial outbreak of Covid-19 thought to be linked to a Wuhan wet market, the Chinese government

declared a ban on consumption of wild animals in January and this originally included deer products,” he explained. “Fortunately, since then many deer species have been re-classified as “special livestock”, exempting them from the ban.” However, Holgate adds that there are still concerns that confusion about the status of deer products under the ban could cause some disruption once the product

arrives in China. He says the fall in global demand for venison had quickly translated into lower New Zealand venison exports. “Export volumes for the month of March 2020 were down 30% on last year, with the United States the most affected

channels, while looking out for the green shoots of recovery in food service.” Moffat says venison is still selling through food service in those markets where restaurants have remained open, or which are now reopening. But volumes are much reduced and few forward sales have been made for the northern hemisphere winter game season, which is when venison demand and prices normally peak. “In response, processors have reduced the schedule prices they offer farmers for their deer.” Moffat cautions that on-line and retail are not quick fixes. “We expect the next 12-18 months will be difficult for everyone in the food service supply chain – diners, restaurants, food service operators and the farmers who supply them.”

market, dropping by 55% on the same month in 2019. “Prices for New Zealand venison have also fallen with the current stag price sitting at $7 per kilo, 20% back on the same month in 2019.” Holgate says the challenges for the deer indus-

try stemming from Covid-19 would evolve as the year progressed. “With the probability of a global recession, the magnitude of the fall in consumer spending and the speed and extent of recovery will be very important for NZ venison producers.”

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Dr Bert Quin (right) receiving his Life Membership of the NZ Soil Science Society late last year, for “Distinguished Service to Soil Science”.

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24 MANAGEMENT

Northland farmers count the costs COURTNEY HAMMOND

NORTHLAND FARMERS are starting to count the cost of one of the most severe droughts to hit the region as the cost of feed and lower prices for stock are the order of the day. According to NIWA, it is the worst drought the region has suffered in 50 years. Leigh Askew, who’s a beef farmer in Hokianga, says she’s never experienced a summer dry like this before. Her family says it’s the worst they can remember. She says throughout the summer, temperatures were upwards of 26 degrees Celsius daily. Askew says effects of the terrible dry have caused a drop in prices for stock she has been trying to sell. “I was once selling

Charolais steers and bulls for $1,400-1,500, and now they only selling for a mere $930,” she told Rural News. “It is incredibly frustrating and debilitating. But as a farmer, you just keep on farming through it. You tighten your belt a little bit more and you just have to keep farming.” Askew adds that the

drought had affected them far more than COVID-19. Another to be badly affected by the drought has been Kerikeri dairy farmer Renee Upston. She says, so far, it’s cost her an extra $80,000. Half of this was for additional feed, $30,000 in lost income due to a drop in milk production and a

Rising costs of feed and lower prices for stock are the order of the day in droughthit Northland.

further $10,000 for loss in income of cattle sales. “I’ve taken on some part-time work to try and off-set the losses from drought,” she told Rural News. Upston says most farmers she knows have been working for the last

few years just to get on firmer financial footing, after borrowing to survive the effects of the low dairy payout crisis. But she notes that many of these farmers survived the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the plunge of

the dairy payout in 2015 and will do it again. Dairy farmers Scotty and Delwyn Rumsey say they have also experienced increased production costs on their Takahue dairy farm, despite a record season –

which saw them produce 91,700 kgMS from their herd of 232. They’ve had to purchase additional feed, as well as under sown and re-seeded all drought affected paddocks and transported water to their lease block. They say COVID has made it nearly impossible to get cattle off the farm while under Alert Levels 3 and 4, when saleyards were closed and meat works were operating under tight restrictions. For most Northland farmers, it’s been a case of having to buy in additional feed and trying to get surplus stock to processing works. The unknown, at this stage, is what impact this drought will have on next season’s production and how long the region as a whole – like many parts of NZ – takes to recover.

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Thanks for showing up for us We wanted to take this opportunity to recognise the essential workers at our plants who have continued working through Alert Level 3 and 4. We are an essential service, fundamental to the production of safe food for New Zealand, and for the world. The hard work of our Food People is recognised and appreciated. By coming to work at our plants and support offices you are keeping our industry going. Food will be the backbone of New Zealand’s recovery. In particular we need to thank you for processing over Easter for the first time, and Anzac Day, which has been a great relief to farmers. To our farmers - thank you for your patience as your stock is processed. These are unprecedented times, but the way people are working together through this is bringing out the best in everyone. Kia Kaha. Simon Limmer Chief Executive

Reduced processing speed to keep people safe

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A reminder around the eASD App to those who are not yet on it. You will no doubt have your livestock transport company asking you to use the App instead of paper forms. This is one of the options open so we can keep each other safe. All of our sites are set up to take the E-ASD. It is also handy as it pre-populates parts of the old paper ASD form and makes sure no information is left off for people at plant to track down with you prior to processing as well – it’s a timesaver at both ends.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

26 MANAGEMENT

Maize stubble fills feed gap SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

IN A normal season, maize stubble wouldn’t be required as a feed on dairy farms. But this is no ordinary season – most parts of the North Island are experiencing their driest first half of the year on record. For drought-stricken farmers on the Hauraki Plains, a scheme harvesting and carting maize stubble to dry regions is proving useful. Supplemented with palm kernel

“They haven’t put their rates up and are not out there to make money from someone else’s misery. This is a team effort to help farmers facing acute shortage.”

expeller (PKE) and silage, it’s helping farmers fight a feed deficit and keep dried–off cows fed. To date, the scheme has delivered 1236 bales of maize stubble and about 400 bales of grass

silage to affected farmers. Farmers pay $100/bale for silage and $40-$50 for a bale of maize stubble plus cartage costs. Waikato farmer and Federated Farmers Waikato dairy chairman

Feed shortages – you can get through

Drought, floods and the effects of COVID-19 restrictions have combined to create feed pressure for many farmers. Now is the time to seek help. Assistance is widely available to provide practical and financial help, and support for your wellbeing and that of your animals.

To find out more visit mpi.govt.nz/drought Beef + Lamb NZ

0800 233 352 drought&feed@beeflambnz.com

DairyNZ

0800 4 324 7969 info@dairynz.co.nz

A scheme harvesting and carting maize stubble to dry regions is proving useful.

Ben Moore started the scheme early last month after getting calls from farmers. “These farmers couldn’t secure winter graziers to take their cows during winter and wanted me to help them find feed,” he told Rural News. Moore, who worked for a hay and straw merchant in the UK, decided to approach local contractors and farmers. With the help of Bluegrass Contractors, Te Poi, John Austin Ltd, Te Awamutu, Neven Granich,

Hinuera and Phil Hawke, Hinuera started harvesting and delivering maize stubble to farmers in Hauraki Plains. The maize stubble is mixed with inoculants to prevent it from going stale. Moore says with 70% drymatter (DM) and low metabolism energy and protein, maize stubble isn’t a complete feed but can be mixed with PKE and silage to keep cows fed after they are dried off. He thanks the contractors for harvesting and

cartage. “They haven’t put their rates up and are not out there to make money from someone else’s misery,” he says. “This is a team effort to help farmers facing acute shortage,” he says. The maize stubbles are harvested from farms owned by commercial vegetable growers Balle Brothers and Wilcox, who plant it as a rotating crop behind their onion crops. Hauraki farmer Brent Aitcheson purchased 200 bales of maize stubble for his 1000-cow farm in

Hauraki Plains. Aitcheson told Rural News that the maize stubble is another tool in his toolbox to keep cows fed without biting into his winter hay stock. “You can only feed cows so much PKE, so the stubble helps stretch the feed at a time like this.” Aitcheson says the Hauraki Plains is suffering one of its worst droughts: last week’s 6mm rainfall was the first in many weeks. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

RURALHORTNEWS NEWS TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

Agriculture & Investment Services Ministry for Primary Industries

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

ANIMAL HEALTH 27

Monitoring trace elements key to sheep health ASSESSING THE trace element status of a flock should be part of your animal health programme. There are four important trace elements to consider in New Zealand sheep flocks. These are selenium (Se), copper (Cu), iodine (I), and cobalt (Co). A trace element deficiency will impact on ewe (and ram) fertility, as well as the health and growth of lambs. In some situations, a trace element deficiency may be subclinical or marginal and, therefore, can only be detected by collecting the appropriate blood and liver samples for trace element and/or enzyme determinations. As most trace element deficiencies occur in lambs, prevention is the best approach. To prevent white muscle disease (Se), swayback (Cu) and goitre (I), treat the ewe in early gestation with Se, Cu and I. Preventing Co deficiency is the exception – lambs are best treated with vitamin B12 at docking. In this article we will look at Selenium – Se. Selenium About 30% of the pastures in New Zealand will not provide an adequate selenium (Se) intake for grazing livestock. The main role of Se is as an antioxidant

About 30% of the pastures in New Zealand will not provide an adequate selenium intake for grazing livestock.

to protect the integrity of the cell membranes. It also maintains the integrity of the immune system. Clinical signs of selenium deficiency • Poor lamb growth rates. • Infertility in ewes as a result of embryonic mortality, which occurs three to four weeks after conception. This results in a higher percent of barren ewes and a low lambing percentage. • Poorer motility and

increased morphological defects in ram sperm. • White muscle disease in lambs, characterised by a non-inflammatory degeneration or necrosis of the skeletal and cardiac muscles. Lambs are born dead or die suddenly within few days of birth. Selenium deficiency diagnosis Sheep grazing pastures with 100 nmol/L reflect deficient, marginal and adequate selenium status,

respectively. Some vets use blood glutathione peroxidase activity, and the respective values for deficiency and adequacy are 3.0kU/L @25 degrees C. Liver selenium concentrations of 450 nmol/kg fresh tissue reflect deficient, marginal and adequate Se status, respectively. Preventing SE deficiency [Warning: Use only one of the following approaches to prevent selenium deficiency,

otherwise selenium toxicity could become a serious problem.] Inject ewes and rams subcutaneously in the neck region with a longacting product containing barium selenate four weeks before mating. The dose is 50mg Se (1mg Se/kg LW). This will increase the selenium status of the ewe during gestation and lactation; the effect being the selenium status of their lambs will be increased from birth to weaning or

time of slaughter. Lambs do not have to be supplemented with selenium, since treating the ewe protects the lamb from white muscle disease and ensures good growth rates until at least weaning. If ewes have not been treated and their lambs are selenium deficient, then they can be treated at three to four weeks of age at docking time. The dose is 12mg Se (1mg Se/ kg LW) and its efficacy is for at least 10 months.

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Oral dosing of 5mg of selenium (0.1mg Se/ kg LW) as sodium selenate to ewes and rams at four weeks before mating. The ewes again at four weeks before lambing, and a further 2mg Se to their lambs at docking. Lambs will require further drenching at 6-8-week intervals to maintain selenium status. Top-dress in the autumn with 0.5 or 1kg of selenium prills to provide 10g Se/ha annually. The ewes (and rams) must graze a seleniumtreated pasture for a minimum of eight weeks; namely four weeks premating and the following four weeks during mating. Their lambs are likely to need a further 2mg selenium at docking. Preferably, ewes should be grazed on seleniumtreated pasture for at least 16 weeks. From a management point of view, after applying the seleniumamended fertiliser, the pastures must not grazed for at least four weeks, to allow the Se to be ‘washed’ into the soil and taken up by the pasture. Dose ewes with one 10g Se bolus (iron) pellet, four weeks before mating. • Information from Beef+Lamb NZ factsheet: ‘Trace element nutrition of sheep’. Next issue Copper, Iron and Cobalt

6 IN 1 VACCINE AND WORMER

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

28 ANIMAL HEALTH

Better bovis test on the cards DAVID ANDERSON

A SMALL, Auckland research firm is developing a more sensitive test for Mycoplasma bovis that could play a critical role in accelerating the eradication of the disease from New Zealand and preventing another incursion. Biotechnology company Pictor recently concluded a research agreement with the M. bovis Programme (Ministry for Primary Industries, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb) to fund the development of a more sensitive diagnostic tool for M. bovis. Pictor chief executive Howard Moore told Rural News the current M. bovis test is not as sensitive as it could be. The company has collaborated with the Uni-

Pictor chief executive Howard Moore.

versity of Melbourne, which Moore claims is the world’s leading expert in M. bovis research, to develop a more sensitive test for the disease which will have five biomarkers instead of just the one in the current test. This means from a single sample of milk there will

be more informed diagnoses of M. bovis through the detection of multiple biomarkers. The new test will also reduce the analysis costs, complexity, and sample volume. “The more sensitive a test the more reliable it is in picking up the disease,” Moore explained.

He says the current M. bovis testing produced a number of false negatives meaning herds infected with the disease are not easily detected. “Our test technology detects more immunogenic biomarkers and will make it easier to identify M. bovis in infected herds,” Moore told Rural News. Pictor and the University of Melbourne plan to develop a diagnostic test capable of simultaneously detecting antibodies against multiple M. bovis antigens, rather than detecting only antibodies against a single antigen, as is the case in existing commercial testing. Moore says NZ has more data on M. bovis than anywhere else in the world. “In biotechnology, the

NOT JUST COWS! PICTOR ALSO has plans to develop a test for detecting COVID-19 infection that will give a result in less than an hour. Chief executive Howard Moore says current diagnostic testing in New Zealand for COVID-19 is slow, complex, expensive, and must be done in a specialist central laboratory. “We are developing a new diagnostic test to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection at all stages of the COVID-19 disease,” Moore says. “It will involve the simultaneous detection of specific biomarkers involved

more data the better,” he explains. Meanwhile, chair of the M. bovis advisory group and MPI’s chief science adviser John Roche says the development of a more sensitive M. bovis test has the potential to optimise future testing for the disease. “The current testing

in different stages of infection, enabling early diagnosis of infected patients, including asymptomatic patients.” He says the test will be fast (taking less than an hour), cheap and will not require specialist infrastructure. “This makes the new test ideal for deploying globally, including remote locations, decentralized labs and developing nations.” Moore is hoping Pictor will have the new test ready for clinical trials within six months and available for use in 6-12 months.

regime is good for this stage of the eradication programme. However, in 12-18 months as the prevalence of the disease in the cattle population gets lower and lower, the ability to detect it will get harder and harder.” Roche says better testing will play a critical role in accelerating the eradication of M. bovis from

New Zealand and in preventing another incursion. Moore says while Pictor will be developing the testing kits, MPI will still be carrying out the actual testing. He estimates the new testing kits will be available by June or July 2021, and these will be 100% manufactured in NZ.

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mental schemes it is trying to place on farmers at the moment and generate a better connection between rural and urban communities.” At the producer level, he says stricter border controls will constrain immigrant and seasonal labour, necessitating a move to mechanisation and robotics quickly and the redeployment and retraining of displaced labour or the unemployed. “The social isolation we have seen over the last month or so has certainly accelerated the uptake of digital solutions in our day-to-day lives,” Proudfoot added. “I believe businesses will need to take this on board, probably reinventing themselves to deliver direct to consumers, be they the growers, manufacturers or retailers.” Discussing likely changes in future consumer spending, he thought people would be looking for lifestyle solutions that helped build immunity and min-

imise the risk of any future contagions. “This means producers will need to establish products that offer unique health benefits or immunity boosting capabilities, with sales of functional and nutraceutical products going stratospheric.” He added that the impacts of C-19 are unprecedented and will be long lasting. “This means primary and secondary producers will need to rethink their product offerings in a period of austerity, where traditional demand will have shifted. History will recall that this crisis came about from a food safety failing, so in the future, food supply will need to be traceable, trusted and safe KPMG’s head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot describes the Covid-19 event as the most disruptive for the global comever in the global ecomomy. munity.”

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GET PREPARED for a ‘Now Normal’ future, says Ian Proudfoot – Global Head of Agribusiness for KPMG – discussing the likely effects of Covid-19 in the months to come. Speaking via a recent webinar, organised by AgriTech New Zealand, Proudfoot described the event as the most disruptive ever in the global economy, “Our experience is our biggest asset – and also our biggest constraint – is the fact that we need to overcome our educated incapacity.” He suggests there has never been a better time for a rethink about the way we operate and open our minds up to new ways of doing things. With the early stages of the lockdown creating irrational waves of panic buying, Proudfoot says this level of

insecurity, the greatest since the 1940s and World War 2, means that food and its guaranteed availability is no longer a given. “The level of food insecurity over the last four weeks has seen people give the freezer a good workout, but also reverting to traditional home cooked meals – a trend that will hit the suppliers of ready or high-end meals hard,” he says. Proudfoot says that food security within NZ means around 1.25 million in the country were “food insecure”. He claims the Government will need to shift its focus from encouraging exports to a position that says we need to feed our own first. “This might mean structured investment in rural infrastructure to attain the required levels of security and an investment in water,” Proudfoot explained. “Backing off from the intense pressure to adopt environ-

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30 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM

Canterbury Show canned for 2020 THE ICONIC Canterbury A&P Show – known as the New Zealand Agricultural Show – will not go ahead this year. It is the first time the event has been cancelled since World War II. The Canterbury A&P Show Association says there was financial uncertainty

for the event due to the Covid-19 outbreak. “If we continued to prepare for the show and find out the month before we are unable to run, then the association would be bankrupted.” The association says this led it to finalise a decision of …“sacrificing

The cancellation of this year’s show joins other key agricultural events that have been cancelled this year due to Covid-19 such as National Fieldays, Central Field Days and the Young Farmer of the Year.

this year’s show to shore up its future.” It says its first objective, as a charity, is to protect its financial position “at all costs” to ensure the show could be held in the future. The association says it has reduced event management fees by over

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75% and “scaled back the operation to ensure we avoid bankruptcy” – but it had not been enough. “Unfortunately, this does not insulate us from the significant loss we have already experienced due to the fact we will not have revenue from a 2020 show to cover the work done between December 2019 and May 2020.” Despite the move to cancel this year’s event the association says the future of the show “is not out of the woods yet”. The Canterbury A&P Show Association has launched a fundraising campaign, warning its long-term future is “at significant risk”. The loss of the show, which is held each year in November alongside famous NZ Cup horse

racing events, will be a major blow to the Canterbury region. It joins other key agricultural events that have been cancelled this year due to Covid-19 such as National Fieldays, Central Field Days, Young Farmer of the Year, and a myriad of other rural happenings. Show chief executive Geoff Bone says they will be refunding all site fees. “Even though we’ve spent a lot of money on the event already, it would be morally wrong to hang onto them.” This stance is in contrast to the National Fieldays, which has only offered to give back its exhibitors 80% of their site fees for the cancelled 2020 event. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

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BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM 31

Effluent treatment system yields a wide range of positive impacts FOR SOUTH Canterbury dairy farmers Neil and Margaret Campbell, installing a ClearTech effluent treatment system has yielded a wide range of positive impacts on their 240ha farm. Thorneycroft, an 800cow property near Geraldine, borders the water collection zone for the township. It was while working with Ravensdown Environmental to renew his farm consents that Neil says the idea of installing a ClearTech unit came about. “The science was a plus with the information we were putting together with our consents to farm, which is why we pursued the ClearTech system for that particular farm,” he says. Developed in conjunction with Lincoln University, Ravensdown’s ClearTech system uses a coagulant to bind colloidal particles together to settle them out from the water. This clarifying process reduces the environmental and safety risks

linked with farm dairy effluent (FDE). It kills 99% of E. coli bacteria in the clarified water and reduces the risk of phosphorus leaching in the FDE applied to pasture. Stripping out the E. coli and other bacteria in FDE means freshwater use is reduced, while effluent storage capability is increased. The clarified water is used to wash down the dairy yard and irrigated back onto paddocks. By reducing the amount of FDE by around two-thirds, ClearTech offers Neil a proactive solution to the environmental issue of spreading effluent to pasture near the township. He’s also noted better water conservation and increased time efficiencies for staff on-farm, particularly with their travelling irrigator system for effluent spreading. “The less material we have to spread with that, the less labour is required,” he notes.

Neil’s seen firsthand how much easier it has made things for the staff on Thorneycroft, and his advice for anyone thinking about ClearTech is to

‘go for it’. “There are so many positives with it and the science is all there behind it.” www.ravensdown.co.nz

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SNIPPETS SIMA Show THE BIENNIAL French SIMA show, scheduled to take place in Paris on a revised date of November 8-12, has been postponed and will return to its more normal timing of February 21-25, 2021. This follows numerous requests from machinery manufacturers, whose production and shipping activities have been disrupted by Covid-19. The rescheduling will mean that there is now no overlap with the Italian EIMA show being held in Bologna in November 2020.

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Back to work IN MOST European countries, production has restarted at tractor and machinery manufacturers, subject to strict guidelines. As an example, AGCO tractors, manufacturers of the McCormick, Landini and Valpadana brands, has sanitised its six factories in Regio Emilia, Italy, using tractor-mounted misting sprayers to meet the guidelines, alongside implementing safe working distances for its workers. KUBOTA CORPORATION has unveiled a new 300hp engine dubbed the S7509. A 7.5 litre, six-cylinder, direct injection, Stage V unit will commence production in 2023. The development raises the question: will this engine form the basis for a larger range of tractors? Kubota’s current offering of the 210hp M8, supplied as part of a joint venture with Versatile, uses a Cummins engine.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

32 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM

Updated Jaguar harvester unleashed MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

CLAAS HAS released a new flagship for its Jaguar forage harvester, as well as announcing a host of improvements right across the 900/800 series. Available with the TERRA TRAC assembly, the new Jaguar 990 features a 24 litre, V12 MAN engine, delivering a whopping 925hp. “With three decades of experience with tracked machinery and its new application to Jaguar is going to change forage harvesting,” says CLAAS Harvest Centre product manager Luke Wheeler. “The pivoting mounting system allows the machine to be operated in even the most difficult conditions.” The design layout means track units can oscillate upwards by

10 degrees and downwards by 13 degrees, with a headland protection system incorporated to protect pastures. During turning, the support rollers in each unit are pushed down hydraulically, while the front drive roller is raised. This effectively reduces the contact area by a third, reducing damage to the grass cover. TERRA TRAC, fitted with the 635 mm tracks offers an external width of just 3m and allows a road speed of up to 40km/h. While the extended wheelbase results in a larger maintenance compartment and better accessibility. In the rest of the range, power outputs of the Jaguar 970, 960, 940, 880 and 860 models have been increased, while complying with Stage V emission standards. Of particular note, the

RANGE EXPANDED

The new Jaguar 990 features a 24 litre, V12 engine, which delivers 925hp.

970 now has a 16-litre, six-cylinder MAN D4276 engine that delivers 790 hp. This offers a displacement of nearly three litres per cylinder, said to promise a stable power curve with sustained torque and the lowest fuel consumption per tonne of harvested

material in its class. CLAAS has also introduced its new CEBIS Touch control system across the entire 900/800 series, giving operators faster and easier access to all machine functions. The layout sees up to seven commonly used settings being able to be

programmed as favourites and accessed by the rocker switches on the CMOTION control lever. Other improvements include the addition of the award-winning CEMOS AUTO PERFORMANCE system, which regulates engine power and driving speed accord-

CLAAS HAS released another two new maize front attachments for its Jaguar harvesters. These join the 7.5 m ORBIS 750 and 6 m 600 SD standard diameter units released earlier this year. With a working width of 6 m, the new ORBIS 600 is equipped with large-diameter discs and is ideal for use in medium to tall maize crops. Meanwhile, the ORBIS 450 has a 4.5m working width and rounds out the lower end of the range. All models have the proven ‘V-shaped’ crop flow for optimal reliability, especially in variable harvesting conditions. They also feature newly designed fingers ahead of the knives to reduce crop losses and points which can be removed for harvesting laid maize. A new tilting frame concept ensures a centred feed of the crop to the Jaguar’s pre-compression rollers, which – depending on field conditions – allows the mounting angle of the tilting frame can be set to two different positions. For example, in wet conditions, the cutting angle of the front attachment can be maintained even if the front wheels of the forage harvester sink into the soil.

ing to harvesting conditions. The 990, 980 and 970 can be equipped with the new V-MAX 42 drum, offering a cutting frequency of 25,200 cuts

per minute. This means by using the full engine output, the machines can provide top-quality chopped material at short lengths of cut from 3.5 to 12.5 mm.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

34 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM

50 years of reliability MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

THE FIRST Croplands sprayers made their way into New Zealand’s apple orchards nearly 50 years ago. Over the years, the company has evolved into a business that offers New Zealand and Australian farmers and growers the tools to cover any crops. As a subsidiary of

crop protection company Nufarm, Croplands has access to crop protection specialists with deep understanding of chemicals and their requirements for application. This connection allows it to provide growers a unique approach to selecting and achieving the best outcome with their sprayers. Designed and built to deal with New Zealand’s

tough and varying terrain, Croplands says its spray equipment gives its users the confidence to take on pass after pass and row after row saving time, reducing costs and maximising productivity. With an extensive range from knapsacks to self-propelled sprayers, a recently introduced range of 3-point linkage sprayers add durability and several unique features. This includes

keeping the weight as close as possible to the rear wheels to optimise load-carrying potential, improve stability and ensure the safety of the operator. Standard features across the linkage range include robust hotdipped galvanised frames, UV-stabilised tanks, 80L/ min PTO pump. This is rear-mounted – meaning a longer PTO drive shaft to allow

shallower universal joint angles. This range of sprayers also includes a flush tank and Airmix, low-drift, airinduction nozzles. Tank sizes range from

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HANDLES ALL LIVESTOCK COMBI CLAMP owners Wayne and Lynley Coffey created their first sheep handler around 20 years ago. With a few minor improvements, it remains in production today – alongside a range of cattle handling solutions. “Our cattle handling equipment is based around the automatic catching and resetting Auto Head Yoke, helping meet the efficiency and user-friendliness operators demand,” Wayne explains. With Covid-19 bringing regional and national field days to a halt, the Coffey’s have decided to put the money they would have invested into these events to offer a substantial discount to their customers. This initiative that has created increased enquiry and subsequent orders, resulting in the need for more staff after they re-opened their doors at Level 3. This is a great example of what happens when Kiwis purchase New Zealand made products. “Our whole range is New Zealand made,” Wayne says proudly. “So, until further notice, discounts apply to a range of products purchased from Combi Clamp.” The full range can be found on their website www. combiclamp.co.nz by following the Fieldays Promotions link. The business will also hold Facebook LIVE demonstrations at 12.30pm Monday June 8 – Friday 12 June, alternating between sheep and cattle handling. To take part, ask real-time questions and see solutions, be sure to ‘like’ Combi Clamp Ltd on Facebook to receive notifications.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM 35

Partners in agritech innovation NIALL CASEY

WHILE IT may sound like a cliché to say that Ireland and New Zealand both punch above their weights, it’s clear from the figures that it’s true. Ireland, a country of less than 5 million people produces enough food to feed over 50 million people, while NZ’s agrifood is known across the world for its food – with its dairy farming passing $15b in export earnings annually. Both countries are united by their shared commitment to quality, traceability and the highest standards in production and safety. At the same time, they face the same challenge

– such as feeding a world population that is set to grow from 7.6 billion to 8.6 billion by 2030, 9.8 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. So, the question arises: “How do we increase production to meet the world’s growing population and changing diets, while at the same time reducing costs and maintaining profitability?” The answer will undoubtedly come from the agritech sector and a new generation of precision machinery. Irish agriculture competes with the absolute best internationally, thanks to incredibly low rates of antibiotic usage, no hormone usage, high standards of animal wel-

NZ and Ireland both share an innovative approach to farming and agritech.

fare, and full traceability from fork to farm. Irish agritech and agri-engineering exports are now worth €250m annually to the Irish economy. Ireland has long been home to the world’s tech giants, housing names such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Intel and Microsoft. The top 10 global pharmaceutical companies are also based in Ireland and cumula-

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tively the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics industries employ over 30,000 people – offering Ireland unique access to talent and knowledge in digital technology and life-sciences that can be seen in our agritech base. Companies such as MooCall have harnessed the latest technology to produce a range of calving sensors and heat

detection collars. MagGrow offers spraying technology that helps farmers grow more by using less, with a system that gives better coverage than conventional crop spraying systems and reduces spray drift by up to 70%, benefitting both farmers and the environment. Irish companies like Abbey, McHale Major and Hi-Spec are already world

leaders in the specialised machinery, such as mixer wagons for feeding cattle, high-quality baling and wrapping systems, slurry spreaders, agricultural trailers, and grain handling equipment. Many of these are making a difference to NZ agriculture. Looking at collaboration in the other direction, Ireland welcomed a NZ Agritech delegation to the National Ploughing Championships in Co. Carlow, Ireland. The mission undertaken by Callaghan Innovation, in partnership with Agritech NZ and NZTE, were given an insight into Ireland and the UK’s agricultural industries. Throughout the visit, the delegation met with Irish counter-

parts, many of which showcased the latest in Irish agritech solutions at the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena, forming new commercial bonds with Irish companies. In a similar vein, NZ Trade and Enterprise established a hub at “The Ploughing” to showcase some of the Kiwi firms already making an impact in Ireland. This is helping to drive the innovation agenda that is crucial to both countries and has the potential to increase the resilience, productivity, and profitability of farming across both regions. • Niall Casey is Enterprise Ireland’s agribusiness market adviser

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

36 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM

Case IH upgrades its big gun MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

WITH JUST over three decades since it’s unveiling – and with more than 150,000 units sold around the world – Case IH has launched the seventh generation of its flagship tractor, the Magnum AFS Connect. The NZ range comprises the Magnum 250, 280,310, 340, 380 and 400. With maximum power outputs of 284, 315, 347, 374, 418 and 435hp respectively from 8.7 litre FPT Cursor 9 engines. The Magnum 400 is available with 21/5 PowerDrive transmission only, offering 40 and 50km/h at reduced engine speed, while the 340, 380 and 400 can also be specified in rear tracked, Rowtrac configuration The tractors have a

rear lift capacity of up to 10,200kg while the optional front linkage is rated at 4,090kg. Up to six remote valves are available at the rear and three dedicated valves at the front. Specifying a front linkage does not now limit the number of rear spool valves. Hydraulic pump capacity is 221l/ min with the option of an upgrade to 282l/min. Obvious changes include a full-length door, new styling and lighting upgrades. The cab interior has also been revised to include familiar Case IH concepts such as pillar information displays and the multi-controller plus. The new armrest has four configurable buttons on the multi-controller joystick and a further four on the armrest, plus a turn-and-press encoder dial for selecting func-

Case IH has launched the seventh generation of its flagship tractor, the Magnum AFS Connect.

tions on the AFS 1200 monitor. Key operational data can be gauged quickly on the new compact VIS2 smart screen display on the right front cab pillar. A new seat design offers 40-degree right

and five-degree left swivelling. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems have been improved, while storage and connectivity have been enhanced with the addition of a new arrangement of compart-

ments and cup holders plus charging and data ports. Recognising the importance of data to today’s farmers, information can be recorded and transferred securely in real time, on the move,

with the AFS Connect telematics technology inside the new models. AFS Connect is based on proven Case IH Advanced Farming Systems (AFS) precision technology. This provides a two-way link between

the new AFS Pro 1200 display in the cab and the Case IH AFS Connect portal available through the mycaseih.com website. It offers a gateway to management of data generated by the tractor, allowing farmers to precisely manage their farming operations, from their office or mobile device, all in real time. Secure wireless transfer means no requirement for manual movement of data using USB memory sticks, eliminating the associated risk of loss or damage. Also new is a brakeassisted steering system, aimed at Rowtrac models. This aids headland/endof-row steering by automatically applying the brake to the inside rear track or wheel when a steering movement is made.

O U R P R I C E S H AV E N ’ T G O N E U P ! Despite the fact that our imported machine pricing is affected by the drop in the New Zealand Dollar we don’t think you should suffer for it so we are keeping our prices down.

25% deposit of the financed sum i n c l u d i n g G S T P LU S a p a y m e n t h o l i d a y * Ta k e a d v a n t a g e o f o u r F i e l d a y s specials that are still in effect **

The interest rate for the loan is 3.79% and is based on a schedule of 36 monthly payments. To suit seasonal cash flow, there are no payments required through June, July, August and September so customers can take a winter payment holiday! These Krone finance offers apply to all new imported products so be in quick to ensure your order is made by the end of the second quarter and take advantage of these great offers. *Terms, conditions and lending criteria apply. ** Fieldays special valid until 26th June 2020.

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM 37

Next-gen McCormick tractors now available in NZ MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

A NEW generation of McCormick tractors, aimed at livestock operators, is now available in New Zealand. The new X5 Series, offered in three models, is powered by a 3.6litre Deutz four-cylinder engine – delivering max outputs of 99hp (X5.35), 110hp (X5.45) and 113hp (X5.55). All models feature a simpler emissions control system in the form of a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC). This, unlike a diesel particulates filter (DPF), requires no fuel-burn offs to clean, no maintenance and no operator intervention.

The new X5 Series is offered in three models.

Power is channelled through a new 24x24 transmission with a splitter operated by a button on the gear selector. This permits easy up-

steering and transmission lubrication. Other standard equipment in the X5 Series

range includes interchangeable ball and claw ends for the 4500kg rear linkage lift arms, elec-

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and-down-shifts to cope with changing loads. In addition, the new Eco Forty feature offers reduced engine revs once a 40km/h cruising speed has been attained – saving fuel and reducing noise.

tronic rear hitch control, air suspension seat and a tilt and telescopic steering wheel.

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32-litre/ min pump dedicated to steeringSolway, and ancil- Masterton • Street, lary clutches), supplying www.stockwhips.co.nz the three, double-acting spool valves fitted as standard. Meanwhile, a separate, dedicated 32l/min pump looks after power

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SHEEP HANDLER SPEEDY, VERSATILE HECTON PRODUCTS has been in the sheep handling business for more than 40 years now and its Sheep Handler and Weigh Crate products are common sights around the country. The Sheep Handler has a reputation for speed and versatility. Built for strength, it is the perfect unit for dagging, crutching, bellying, foot trimming, vaccinating, wool sampling, mouthing, eye wigging, loading of AI cradles or any task requiring a sheep or goat to be immobilised on its side. Stock are held in a comfortable

position during operation allowing full access to the underside of the animal, no heavy lifting is required and operation is easy on the back. The Sheep Handler is available in air-operated and manual (no air required) versions. Hecton Products is also offering – for a limited time – a promotional price for its Weigh Crate. Having multiple jobs to do on your flock does not necessarily mean you need more staff or help to do it. The Weigh Crate is a low cost, quality-build solution that can be

simply added into your yards. It can be hard mounted into an existing sheep race in the woolshed or it can be mobile and added into temporary yards. Hecton says this multipurpose product is ideal to use for tagging, drenching, mouthing, vaccinating and drafting. Add load bars and you can also weigh your stock. The product is modular, additional components can be added at any stage to include dagging, and ring crutching capability.

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38 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM

Wagon takes a lot of beating THE BEATER Wagon, which is new from McIntosh Farm Machinery, is designed for integrating different fodder products together. The company says it offers both cost and labour-saving benefits for farmers who don’t want to go to the expense of a mixer wagon based on the TMR system. A unique design sees three PTOdriven horizontal beaters, delivering better incorporation and a more consistent blending of different product groups together.

The action of the beaters is said to ensure bales are broken up, so cows don’t have to lift their heads and shake material to drag the feed apart, resulting in less wastage. It is able to handle chopped round and large square bales quickly and efficiently, while also incorporating them with pit maize and grass silage. “They will give a more consistent and even feed-out of the fodder, making them well suited for operating on feed pads, but also offering the ver-

satility to be used in field conditions as well,” says the company. “Operators of these machines in Australia have said they halved their fuel and labour costs by replacing their mixer wagon with a McIntosh Beater Wagon.” Showing the versatility of the design, the company worked closely with a grape grower in South Australia, the company has developed a beater wagon for applying straw and compost onto grape vine rows. www.mcintoshfarmmachinery.co.nz

The Beater Wagon is said to give a more consistent and even feed-out of fodder.

The Navigator IBOSUS terminal.

‘PLUG AND SPRAY’ OPERATION

REAL WORLD TOUGH.

MARINE GRADE WIRING.

ON ALL FARM VEHICLES.

MOST FARMERS will have heard about the commonly referred to “ISO”, the ISOBUS Communication Protocol, which is familiar to the technology that provides a universal connection between tractors and implements from different manufacturers. ISO is also an option on the Hardi Navigator range of trailed sprayers that offers 3,000 to 6,000 litre tank capacities and 18 metre to 36.5 metre boom widths. ISOBUS gives the Navigator automatic compatibility with the existing tractor and its on-board systems – meaning there is no need to invest in any special terminal, displays or controls. More importantly, it means the user doesn’t have to learn the functions of another operating system, just use the Navigator via the tractor platform they are familiar with. “It also saves a lot of tedious sprayer set-up and calibration work with no risk of running into installation or interface problems,” says HARDI’s NZ territory manager, Ross Dickson. “It’s a ‘plug and spray’ solution.” For tractors not fitted with a guidance system, the HC8600 and HC9600 systems have been specially developed for agricultural use and provide perfect integration with the machine’s spray functions. Featuring 8.4-inch and 12.1-inch colour screens respectively, both provide access to a full range of ISOBUS and spraying functions from the main screen. These include including guidance, autosteer and auto section control, plus information on application rate, tank contents, boom height, spraying speed and data capture. “Designed as a high quality, high capacity sprayer that’s very user friendly, Navigator is, without a doubt, the most popular Hardi sprayer,” Dickson adds. “The ISOBUS connection fits right in with this concept by adding even more value to the machine.”

FIND YOUR LOCAL DEALER AT:

www.yamaha-motor.co.nz Check out the latest news and information at www.ruralnews.co.nz

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM 39

Valtra changes for Stage 5 MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

WITH STAGE V emissions regulations coming into force across Europe, Valtra has taken the opportunity to include some new features on its updated models. These models include the N Series (3 models; 145-201 max hp), T Series (6 models; 180-271 max hp) and the S Series (6 models; 300 to 405 max hp). Engine changes, focused on meeting stricter emissions regulations, follow AGCO Power’s philosophy of after-treatment only. A new unit, tucked away under the right corner of the cabin, creates a slim-line exhaust that can hardly be seen past the A-pillar. The smallest Valtra tractors to receive this change are the N4 series with the updated four-cylinder, 4.9litre engine. The latest N134, N154 and N174 models are fitted with a single air-bag version of the Aires pneumatic front suspension. The dual airbag version has been fitted to six-cylinder T-series models for a few generations.

The Valtra N4 series has an updated four-cylinder, 4.9 litre engine.

Valtra T4 series tractors are fitted with 6.6-litre or 7.4-litre, six-cylinder engines. With the change to Stage V, Valtra has dropped the T144 from its ANZ line-up. However, the company has bolstered its range with the addi-

tion of Tier 3 (non-SCR) T154, T174E, T194 and T234 models with Powershift transmissions. Other new features, common to both series, include the front linkage position display through the Smart-

Touch terminal, and new tyre choice options that now include Bridgestone and Continental, plus some new options from Mitas, Michelin and Trelleborg. Lower-spec Hitech and Active vari-

YOUR SPRAYING NEEDS COVERED

ants can now be optioned with an auxiliary SmartTouch ISOBUS terminal and the AGCO Common Electronic Architecture (CEA) Valtra Guide system, which is used in the Versu and Direct models. The S4 range, Valtra’s highest horsepower offering, has also undergone some changes with the move to Stage V engines. S4 tractors come in black, and they combine the 8.4 litre AGCO Power engine with the AGCO CVT transmission and the SmartTouch user interface. Like its smaller siblings, the aftertreatment system is located under the right side of the cab at the expense of the fuel tank, countered by an increase in capacity of the left side fuel tank. This redesign includes new stairs and handrail, a more accessible toolbox, and a new battery box. Valtra will continue to offer the S4 with the option of a non-SCR Tier 2 engine. It uses an older version of the turbocharging system and does not produce the additional 30 hp of boost of the Stage V engine versions. @rural_news facebook.com/ruralnews

3-Point Linkage Sprayers • Hot-dipped galvanised frame • UV-stabilised tanks from 300 to 1600 Litres • Boom options from 2 to 24 metres • 80L/min PTO pump • Flush tank • Airmix® low drift air-induction nozzles FROM

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RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

40 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM

Made in NZ - Morrifield Made in New Zealand is a feature that looks at the wealth of design and manufacturing ability we have in New Zealand, producing productive and costeffective products for the agricultural sector. This week machinery editor Mark Daniel takes a closer look at Morrifield Developments, talking with founder Gordon Morris. When was the company founded, by whom and why (was it to solve a problem or market a product)? Morrifield was started

in June 1980 by Gordon and Elizabeth Morris and Fred Field. Elizabeth wanted a greenhouse and we couldn’t afford

CUTS – POWE R AFFO

U CAN YO

RD TH

one so Gordon set about attempting to make one. She then had requests from workmates for one. Morrifield took its first

Invercargill-based Morrifield Developments have been making greenhouses for the NZ market for 40 years.

Businesses

E RISK?

• Direct PTO driven (no gear boxes or belts) • Heavy duty construction (including drive shaft) • Dials facing cab (one person operator) • Designed and assembled locally for rugged conditions! • Three sizes to suit all sheds: 37.5KVA, 62.5KVA and 93.75KVA • Silent diesel available by pre-order only

Sized for: • Cow sheds • Pump sheds • House standby TRAILER OPTIONS AVAILABLE

‘Specialists in Dairy Automation Solutions’ 5 Tasman St, PO Box 16, Opunake 4616, Taranaki

www.corkillsystems.co.nz 06 761 7531 or 0800 10 7006

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EXPANDER Normal retail price

$22,045 + GST SPECIAL PRICE

SERIES 3

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+ GST

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• 4.0 metre mast • 250kg hammer • 4 bank hydraulic valve • 450mm side shift

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19,840

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official order in May 1980 and after 40 MADE IN NZ years in business A LOOK AT it is now run by HOME-GROWN our son, Allister COMPANIES Morris. Where are you located- is it single or multiple sites and how many people are employed? Our factory and showwholesale markets. room are situated at 210 What has been the Clyde Street Invercargill, company’s greatest success where we have a team of since its formation? nine people. All compoThousands of happy nents of greenhouses are customers, which, is made on site. What are your key products extremely satisfying. In contrast, what has been and which markets do they the biggest “Oh Bugger” serve? moment or the steepest We manufacture learning curve? greenhouses for the New When cheap imported Zealand domestic market. greenhouses arrived, we Are your products unique were worried about being -if so, what are the four key benefits? If not unique what competitive. We needn’t have worried, as poorare the four unique selling quality products, not points? designed for NZ condiOur products differ from others in the market tions, didn’t take too long to start to blow to bits as they consist of a polyand customers realised ethylene covered greenthe quality of our prodhouse. uct. Our twinwall greenIf you were approached by house can have mesh someone looking to start doors for bird and pest a business, what would control and a mesh covbe your three key pieces of ered greenhouse for advice? cooler protected growProvide a product or ing. We supply a simple service that is in demand kitset, partially assemand don’t try to grow too bled, that is strong and quickly. Your customproven over many years. ers and loyal staff are We provide a complete your biggest assets, in back up of spare parts that order. Watch your and replacement covers. finances and pay your The polythene tunnelbills before you pay yourhouse gives the best self. growing results because Where do you see the of high light transmiscompany in the next three, sion, wind protection and five and ten years? What warmth. changes do you foresee to Looking at an ever-evolving keep relevant and grow market, what changes have your business? you made over the last few More of the same, years? as the current situation “If it’s not broken, sees a lot of more people don’t fix it”. Our prodwanting to grow their ucts work so well, why own food to be more selfchange anything? Our sufficient. It can only be focus at the minute is good for us. to try and expand our

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM 41

More grunt added to 5-series range MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

DEUTZ-FAHR HAS recently expanded the 5-Series range to include a 127HP flagship model. Dubbed the 5125.4 – along with the extra horsepower and standard frame size – this tractor features a new hydraulic system with a maximum flow rate of 90 litre/ min. This is delivered by an open centre hydraulic

system, feeding the three adjustable rear remotes offered as standard. Operator comfort is also enhanced with the addition of hydro-block cab suspension, which the manufacturer suggests is a cost-effective alternative to a full mechanical suspension system, helping to absorb harsh bumps and shock loadings. Well specified, the Deutz Fahr 5-Series also includes as standard, the

NZ MADE AND PROUD OF IT FUEL STORAGE Systems, the award-winning manufacturer of Sebco diesel stations, Blue stations (for AdBlue), waste oil tanks and chemical tanks for farms and industry alike, are a proud New Zealand based manufacturer. “Components for our stations, other than some specialised pumping and electronics, are manufactured and assembled here in Ashburton,” explains managing director Ed Harrison. “Up to 15 people are involved in the sales, manufacture/assembly and the dispatch areas of the company. You can be assured any business conducted with Sebco is directly supporting the New Zealand economy.” Harrison believes this so important because: “anyone can import a cheap product of dubious quality, with no compliance to New Zealand regulations”. He says there are some products out there that people need to be cautious of. “Buying New Zealand made has a direct effect on the welfare of the New Zealand economy,” Harrison adds. “We manufacture to the highest standards, are fully compliant, show positive environmental improvements where our products are used. We employ Kiwis to get the job done from start to finish and we’re extremely proud and protective of this.” Approved by MPI as an essential service during the recent Covid-19 Level 4 lock down, Sebco were proud to support Kiwis to keep them operating in unusual times. “During that time, on several occasions, Sebco Diesel Stations were urgently required on farms, and the company was able to deliver to keep the farmer in fuel and keep the wheels of agriculture turning,” Harrison says.

Stop and Go clutch-less braking system. It also includes the SDD quick steer system, that reduces the number of turns of the steering wheel from lock to lock, as well as 4-wheel braking delivered by integral disc units in

the front axle hubs. Additionally, the electronically-governed engine offers improved throttle response and smoother power delivery – with an engine-speed memory function with push button resets. A

Duetz-Fahr have expanded the 5 series range to include a 127hp flagship model – the 5125.4.

4-post cabin layout delivers enhanced visibility in all directions. Moving from winter

into spring, Power Farming will be offering an extensive demonstrator programme, showcasing

all models in the Deutz Fahr ranges, throughout its nationwide dealer network.

TIME GENTLEMEN PLEASE... to get your next seasons irrigation & pumping systems sorted! Further dry seasons forecast & increased times on indented orders means you can’t delay. With every Ferbo Hard Hose Irrigator or Motorpump Set purchased over $20,000 in the month of June, receive a FREE Oleo Mac GS650 Professional Chainsaw valued at $1299! You give us the order, we give you the chainsaw even before your products arrived! T’s & C’s apply

FERBO DIESEL MOTOR PUMPS • Water & effluent models • From 10hp-238hp standard • Engine & pump protection std from 16hp • Fuel tank chassis std from 16hp • Unsurpassed value from $9995 + GST

FERRARI 100E EFFLUENT PTO PUMP SET • More than enough performance for average dairy farm. • Complete ready to go • Only effluent pump with 2 yr warranty • From $7990 + GST

EFFLUENT GUNS • From $499 + GST

We service all Water and Effluent Guns and have parts in stock. Free return of gun to main centres.

0800 426 296 www.irrimax.co.nz www.irrrimax.co.nz

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

42 BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM

Suzuki brings field days to the farm THE FARMING sector is very important to Suzuki, says the company. In fact, it was right here on a New Zealand farm that the Coleman family and Suzuki created the first ever 4-wheel ATV.

Suzuki branded ATVs are recognised for their ruggedness and reliability, and their ability to handle the demanding conditions of New Zealand’s high-country farms. Suzuki says its motorcy-

cle and ATV dealer network operates across the country, with sales and service representation available almost anywhere in the country you may be. Suzuki’s ATV range

includes the KingQuad 400, which was extensively tested and refined on New Zealand farms and is equipped with an economical fuelinjected 376cc motor. A step up to the KingQuad Suzuki’s KingQuad ATV range was extensively tested and refined for New Zealand farms

handypiece ■ Ideal for shearing sheep, alpacas, goats and cow tails. ■ Variable speed from 2400-3500 rpm. ■ Latest brushless motor technology means minimal heat build up ■ 1400gms means 100-200gms lighter than standard handpiece. ■ At 2700 rpm the 12-volt lithium battery will crutch up to 300400 sheep, 400-500 cow tails. ■ Tough alloy switch box with auto rest fuse for overload or lockup – clips to belt.

Worl d’s m o spee st powe r d cli pper ful varia ble is he re!

JUNE SPECIAL

receive an extra lithium battery

H FASTER H LIGHTER H VARIABLE SPEED

WINTER IS A GREAT TIME TO SEND YOUR HANDYPIECE IN FOR SERVICING AND REPAIR

MAKE DIRTY JOBS EASY View in action go to www.handypiece.co.nz

Freephone 0800 474 327

500 range delivers extra power and towing capacity along with a simple, low maintenance automatic transmission and optional power steering. Top of the range is the mighty KingQuad750, which features a sealed and water proof LCD digital instrumentation including speedometer, odometer, trip meter, clock and fuel gauge. With long travel anti-roll suspension, independent rear end and a low centre

of gravity, the KingQuad provides power and strength, and combines all-day comfort with a stable ride. In addition to the ATV range, Suzuki markets the top-selling two-wheel farm bike, the DR200SE Trojan. This variant was designed in New Zealand, for New Zealand farms. Being one of the few made in Japan farm bikes on the market, the Trojan enjoys an unmatched reputation for reliability and

durability, along with low initial cost and miserly running costs. In tune with the times, Suzuki offers a “shop from home” facility on its website, www.suzuki. co.nz. Farmers have the ability to contact dealers, book test rides, and obtain finance quotes and applications, without having to leave the farm. In this way, the brand says it truly brings the field fays to the farms.

ROTOWIPER TO THE FARM DEALS

email: dave@handypiece.co.nz

ON SALE!

FREE Freight PHONE FOR A DEAL FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE

Email: info@hecton.co.nz Visit our website www.hecton.co.nz for a full list of products

TR ROTOWIPER

Trailing model towed by a 4 wheel bike SHEEP HANDLER AND LEAD UP RACE • Fastest handler on the market • Ideal for dagging, crutching & foot trimming

HECTON WEIGH CRATE

FANTASTIC NEW FEATURES!

• Single height adjustment • Roller drive disengagement • Fold-up drawbar • Tank leveller adjustment

Capable of: • Weighing • Drafting • Dagging • Mouthing • Ear Tagging • Capsuling

• New strong design frame • New stub axle hub arrangement • All covers now stainless steel

Rotovacuum: 350lt bin, Stihl BG86 blower motor. Great suction to clean your paddock or garden.

Rotocart: RC270, RC300 & RC500. 3 sizes, super strong rotationally moulded in our factory.

Call in & see us | 73 Preston Street | Invercargill | Phone: 03 215 8558

48 Bremners Road PO Box 333 Ashburton www.rotowiper.com P: 03-308 4497 M: 027-311 9471 E: rotowipersales1@gmail.com

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

BRINGING FIELD DAYS TO THE FARM 43

2020 upgrades for MF tractors MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

MASSEY FERGUSON has announced updates on the Tier2 version of the MF 8700S, which is now available on indent orders. The upgrades are said to provide more reliability, more accessibility during service and more dedicated storage space. Looking at some of the key features of the latest MF 8700S, the hydraulic system on the upgraded models delivers a rear linkage lift capacity of 12,000 kg, separate lines for transmission and auxiliary oil – which lowers the risk of contamination – and decompression levers make it easier to attach implements. A four-pillar cab, with active cab suspension, delivers superb 360° visibility, while a new Datatronic 5 touchscreen terminal allows tractor, guidance, ISOBUS and camera functions via an ergonomic Multipad controller – making for easy operation. Sixteen LED work lights produce 34,000 lumens and turn night into day, enhancing output and operational safety. The curved chassis allows a tight 11.5m turning circle. The curved chassis and low hood improves visibility around

the front axle and front linkage areas. The MF 8700S has a long 3.1m wheelbase that provides excellent stability and traction. The tractor can be loaded up to 16.5 tonne using factory weights for optimum weight distribution. Other key features include redesigned fuel tanks with a capacity of 660 litres, mounted on the nearside of the tractor, incorporating access steps and grab handles. For added safety, the nonslip tank top provides easy access so the operator can clean the windscreen or remove the GPS antenna, as well as incorporating a removable toolbox. Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand’s most popular tractor from the MF stable – the 7614 – now comes standard with a Dyna-6 transmission. The 24-speed Dyna-6 transmission offers more power shifts to deliver better traction across a wide range of speeds. This machine can achieve 40 km/hr at only 1550 engine revs, which offers meaningful fuel savings in transport operations. For those seeking even higher performance, the 7614 can be specified with a 50 km/h front suspension, alongside highpressure hydraulic brakes for improve braking at higher road speeds.

Meanwhile, a new heavy-duty rear linkage lifts 8300 kg, to handle heavy implements with ease with precise track settings, achieved using

a heavy duty 10-stud bar axle. This fitment means the 7614 offers the same axle and tyre options as its 7615 and 7715 stablemates.

MF’s most popular tractor in NZ and Australia – the 7615 – now comes standard with a Dyna-6 transmission.

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Purchase any Hustler product* during the 2020 season and go in the draw to win a one-off MiNT Green Can-Am Defender HD8 Pro worth $26,799!

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READING THE PAPER ONLINE HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER ❱❱ Breaking news ❱❱ Management ❱❱ Animal health ❱❱ Agribusiness ❱❱ Machinery & Products reviews ❱❱ Competitions... and much more

All the latest stories and more at www.ruralnews.co.nz HEADER

Ferist et quati aut pedici te vollab imod quamet atur soleniet quiatibu. PAGE 15

HEADER

Ferist et quati aut pedici te vollab imod quamet atur soleniet quiatibu. PAGE 23

RURALNEWS TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

Discover the Hustler advantage and explore the full range on our website or call a Hustler livestock feeding expert.

0800 487 853 hustlerequipment.com

HEADER Ferist et quati aut pedici te vollab imod quamet atur soleniet quiatibu.

PAGE 24

*Purchase any new Hustler bale feeder, feed out wagon, bale handler, sprayer, swifthitch or tip trailer between the 1st of March 2020 and the 30th of September 2020 for your chance to win a MiNT green Can-Am HD8 DPS PRO including accessories. Warranty must be registered via online warranty registration between the dates of the promotion. Each serial number is one draw entry. Draw is open to New Zealand residents only. Visit hustlerequipment.com/winacanam to see full terms and conditions.

RURAL NEWS // JUNE 2, 2020

CRAIGCO SENSOR JET

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For a Quadbar, call me, Stuart Davidson, owner of Quadbar NZ, on 021-182 8115. Email sales@quadbar.co.nz or for more info go to www.quadbar.co.nz

julieb@ruralnews.co.nz

The low emission Laser FF95 is 92% efﬁcient, and can be installed in Clean Air Zones throughout NZ. DIY install or we can arrange. Stylish cabinet suits any home. Ultra quiet & easy to operate (Manual or Automatic Operation) - simply press a button - the thermostat controls the 3 x heating stages automatically.

600 500 400 300 200 100 0

QUADBAR 5 YEAR SURVEY

NUMBER OF QUADBARS 479

ROLLOVERS 61

NUMBER OF DEATHS 0

m Made in Japan since 1991 – sold in NZ since 2005 m Diesel is approx. 30-50% less than “on demand” Electricity or Gas m Our installation advice is free – installers NZ wide. m It uses the same fuel as your Tractor or Ute m No wood to cut, cart or store m No ashes, no soot, no dust, NO indoor diesel odours.

Installs on any external wall. No ﬁre surround or hearth required. The almost invisible “through the wall” Flue is supplied and installs in less than an hour. (NO TALL FLUE REQUIRED). On the coldest winters day the 9.5kW Laser FF95 delivers more heat than 2 or 3 average Heat Pumps. Leave internal doors open and “surplus heat” will spread throughout your home. The Laser heater is supplied with standard “through the wall” ﬂue assembly, “everything to make it go” except for the fuel tank and the copper pipe that connects the Laser FF95 to the fuel tank.

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CLOSING DOWN SALE! - FLEXI RAINWEAR

After 25 years of providing workwear to New Zealand farmers - our rainwear & footwear is the best it has ever been - however we are unable to get the prices &/or sell the quantities we need to remain viable. We have rainwear arriving in June & anticipate this will sell very quickly. Thank you to all our customers who have supported us over the years! Flexiskin Max Rainwear - there really isn’t another product to match it for durability, comfort & price. Take the flexible fabric, it stretches as you move so you can get around easier. The hood visor will keep rain from driving into your eyes & the fleece collar will keep you cosy and warm when the wind is howling. The 100% waterproof outer layer will keep you completely dry even during a torrential downpour.

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SO GOOD YOU’LL DESIGN YOUR BOAT AROUND IT.

It should be your first pick. The lightweight, quiet and portable four stroke, that’s big on economy, big on industry leading features and huge on value. It’s an easy choice. Find out more at marine.suzuki.co.nz/offers or get down to your local dealer.

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Find out more at marine.suzuki.co.nz/offers or get down to your local dealer.

T&Cs: Price does not include: repairs or alterations to transom, repairs to the steering or fuel and electrical system including the battery; any modification to accept new controls or gauges. Finance to approved purchasers, documentation fee applies.

Landscape version

Portrait

New Zealand’s

FUEL ECONOMY

NEW 2 02 0

Experts

ITUDE. LOURS, BIG ATT O C EW N , K O NEW LO UV. R-COMPACT S THE ONLY SUPE POSIT

GLX FROM

$19,990

+ORC

90 +ORC LTD JUST $24 ,4

NO DE FINANCE

FROM

EC EX

New Zealand’s

FUEL ECONOMY Experts

PER WEEK*

LIMITED EDITION

+ 16 inch alloys + Rear UPPER spoiler s + Black side BODY-mouldNTROL CO + BLUETOOTH & CRUIESE , lay rarP me Ca rs Reve v, Au tdrNaoid + Sa Ca e pl Ap & to An AUTO

$22,600 PLUS orc

NO DEPOSIT FINANCE

PER WEEK*

SIMPLY EXCEPTIONAL Keyless entry • Climate air con • Polished alloys LED headlamps • Sat Nav • Reverse camera Apple CarPlay • Android Auto • Protection pack

AUTO $23,990+ORC OR $103/WEEK ON EASY NO DEPOSIT FINANCE *

BOOSTERJET TURBO ENGINE • 17-INCH PERFORMANCE ALLOYS MONROE SHOCK ABSORBERS • APPLE CARPLAY & ANDROID AUTO SAT NAV & REVERSE CAMERA • BLIND SPOT MONITOR ADVANCED 5 STAR SAFETY • AND A WHOLE LOT MORE…

NEW 2020

From $29,990 + orc OR $128 PW WITH NO DEPOSIT

Weekly payments based on nil deposit, 3.9% p.a. fixed interest rate and 5-year term. On payment of on-road costs to the Dealer, finance payments include a $305 documentation fee and $10.35 PPSR fee. Normal lending and credit criteria apply. Offer available until 30 June 2020. Excludes fleet purchases, demo vehicles and all other promotions. www.suzuki.co.nz * $85.70/week based on Ignis GLX Manual, $19,990 plus ORC, total amount payable $22,367.70; $104.68/week based on Ignis LTD Auto, $24,490 plus ORC, total amount payable $27,321.48. *$96.71/week based on Swift Plus Auto, $22,600 plus ORC, total amount payable $25,241.31. *$102.57/week based on Baleno SE Auto, $23,990 plus ORC, total amount payable $26,770.77. *$127.89/week based on Swift Sport Manual, $29,990 plus ORC, total amount payable $33,379.29; $130.04/week for Swift Sport Manual Two Tone shown, $30,500 plus ORC, total amount payable $33,940.44.

WWW.SUZUKI.CO.NZ

EC EX