23
www.age.co.nz Thursday, October 10, 2019
HAY & SILAGE
Book your contractor now With the hay and silage making season fast approaching, now is the time to book your contractor to avoid disappointment or delays in getting your job done.
Hay and silage contractors will be under pressure in the next few months. Keep in touch through the whole process and be clear with the contractor as to what you want. Know what their requirements are and do
everything you can to make their job as easy as possible. Don’t be impatient as contractors will be working hard to make sure everyone’s jobs are done as soon as possible and to everyone’s satisfaction.
AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTOR WE SEE YOU THROUGH FROM START TO FINISH
• Direct Drilling • Minimum To Full Tillage Cultivation • Maize Planting & Side Dressing • Pasture & Crop Spraying • Silage Grass, Cereal & Maize • Baleage & Hay • Grain & Seed Harvesting • Grain Drying & Handling • Cartage • Supplementary Feed Trading
For a professional result, call the experienced team at Colton Bros. Ltd 61 Georges Rd, RD3, Martinborough P: 06 306 9168 or M: Rob Gawith 027 454 6982 | Rob Carter 027 449 8023 E: rob.coltbros@gmail.com
24
Thursday, October 10, 2019 Wairarapa Times-Age
Making imported staff feel at home Nearly 150 mostly Irish and English operators have now mostly arrived for the springautumn season, to be shared by 47 RCNZ members under the current Approval in Principle regime – although this is set for change with recent Immigration NZ announcements. These imports are in hot demand with their skills to drive machinery; some may be working in the Wairarapa right now on haymaking and silage, so we sought some advice on how best to look after them.
HAY & SILAGE
Richard Woodhead, a Wanaka-based board member of Rural Contractors NZ, had two Irish lads and one English with him last season and all were talking of returning. One Irish lad has returned five years in a row. Richard says you’ve got to look after them. A lot of those who come to New Zealand for seasonal work driving machinery are really young. Some of them are 19 or 20 years old and have never left home before. This is not to say they can’t do the job.
BE HARVEST READY!
He reckons they make some of our young Kiwi operators look amateurish.
We can help with:
An evening meal is provided at the Woodhead’s home that they all share including the Kiwis who work for them and live locally.
• • • • • • • •
Batteries Bearings Belts Nuts & Bolts Grease, Oils & Lubricants PTO shafts & Gearboxes Hydraulic Hoses & Fittings Pins & Bushes
Repaired & serviced your gear yet? Book it in now.
Belvedere Road, Carterton Ph 06 379 8044 sales@massons.co.nz
“But you have to look after them and keep an eye out for how they are faring. They can get horribly homesick. ‘’
“One good meal a day goes a long way to making our overseas lads feel at home. Frankly, if you don’t feed them they’ll end up going to town and eating rubbish. We really treat
them like part of the family for the weeks and months they are with us. They are accommodated in a cottage on Richard and his wife Lynne’s Wanaka property that used to be their own home. They have their own bedrooms. “Sorry but the days where young fellas will bunk in two and four at a time for months on end are over. “Most won’t tolerate that. They expect some privacy along with home comforts. Shabby, cold shearers’ huts are not going to cut it.” The Woodheads don’t have an Internet connection in the cottage but the lads use their phones or come into the house and Skype home or call their girlfriends. “Of course, they use their phones to trade notes on what their experiences are. I’m aware that some contractors and farmers can lose overseas staff during a season. I don’t condone that but we’ve never had anyone jumping ship here. “I think in part at least that comes down to people working here feeling truly appreciated. ‘’ STORY CREDIT: RURAL CONTRACTORS NEW ZEALAND
PROUD TO KEEP YOU ROLLING 24/7 INDEPENDENT TYRE SUPPLY, FITTINGS, AND SERVICING WE SPECIALISE IN COMMERCIAL AND AGRICULTURE.
17 Villa Street, Masterton
0800 563 789 • Colin 0274 464677
25
www.age.co.nz Thursday, October 10, 2019
Early summer pasture silage success With a hand on the tiller Achieving silage success means carefully managing pasture growth, residuals, storage and feeding out. DairyNZ suggests a focus on pasture quality, not quantity, is the key. DairyNZ farm performance developer Maitland Manning explains. Managing surplus pasture growth in early summer is important in achieving ongoing pasture performance. In November/December, reproductive tillers appear, elongating into less easilydigested stems and seed heads, dropping pasture quality. Leaving high residuals in early summer won’t help fill a feed deficit later, as there is reduced pasture growth and quality in those later months. Silage is one way to use up a true surplus and ensure you
continue to hit residuals in preparation for summer.
Silage quality Lighter crops, harvested earlier, produce better silage. Our research shows closing a silage area two to four weeks after balance date significantly drops its pasture quality, as seed heads emerge within three weeks. So harvest with an eye on quality pasture not quantity. A post-grazing residual close to 1500 kilograms of dry matter per hectare (kg DM/ ha) helps to maximise silage quality. Our trials showed that for every 100kg DM/ha above that, DM/ha pastures should be closed for 1.4 days less.
Preparing silage and feeding out Minimise exposure to air when harvesting pasture and stacking or baling it up for silage. Even in good harvesting conditions, you can lose between five to 10 percent of pasture: in the worst, up to
25 percent. Select paddocks that minimise machinery turns (corners, obstacles). If you’re using a stack or pit, make sure it’s well-packed and covered promptly. All silage should be given time to ferment before feeding out.
SHORTY’S DEAL OF THE MONTH PRICES TO MAKE YOUR MOUTH WATER...
Depending on the inoculants used, any silage stack or bale should not be opened for three to four weeks after closing. Shape stacks and pits to suit herd size and clean the stack face daily, so it’s not exposed to air for longer than 24 hours. Movement of the silage within
a stack should be minimised (use a block cutter/shear grab). Wastage at feeding out is best reduced by using a feed pad so cows cannot trample the silage into the ground.
STORY CREDIT: DAIRYNZ.CO.NZ
MASSEY FERGUSON FOR ALL CROPS & NEEDS • MOWERS • RAKES • TEDDERS • BALERS
1840 INLINE BALER
DM306P DISC MOWER
RK662 TWIN ROTOR RAKE
INDENT PRICING APPLIES TO STOCK UNITS
300 High Street, Solway, Masterton Shorty 027 294 5010 • 06 370 0390
www.tfmtractors.nz
GREEN HARVEST
26
Thursday, October 10, 2019 Wairarapa Times-Age
HAY & SILAGE
Simple, cost effective Silage is an integral part of a dairy or beef herd’s supplementary diet. But regardless of whether you are harvesting maize, pasture, cereal or lucerne, there is no guarantee that the resulting silage will be of high quality. With the hard work you put into crop establishment, growth, harvesting and stacking, it makes sense to add a simple, cost-effect step to the silage-making process – one that is proven to increase the amount of milk or meat your animals produce. Applied to the crop or pasture at harvest time, Pioneer brand silage inoculants provide the right strains of lactic acidproducing bacteria in ideal numbers to efficiently ferment your pasture or crop. Although the science behind producing a high-quality Pioneer brand inoculant is complex, the way they work is relatively simple. Due to the losses that occur
during fermentation, silage is always slightly lower in quality than the material that was ensiled. The amount of dry matter, nutrients and feed energy lost in the silage stack is largely determined by the speed and quality of fermentation. The speed and quality of the fermentation is influenced by the number and type of fermentation bacteria which are present. High quality silage translates to higher energy – which results in more milk and
meat for every tonne of forage you ensile. Pioneer offers silage inoculants suitable for each and every crop or pasture you ensile:
Pioneer brand 1127
A pasture silage specific inoculant that helps improve fermentation, retain nutrient content and enhance digestibility of pasture silage. It improves the feed value and milk or meat production of pasture silage.
FOR ALL YOUR AGRICULTURAL REQUIREMENTS • Silage: grass, maize and cereal • Baleage • Hay and straw, round and square • Full cultivation and drilling • Slurry tanking and umbilical • Digger and truck hire
Contact Shane: P 06 379 5504 M 027 453 3505 E grayscontractingltd@yahoo.co.nz
27
www.age.co.nz Thursday, October 10, 2019
step of the silage process Pioneer brand 11H50
Pioneer’s lucerne silage inoculant. Pioneer 11H50 helps improve the fermentation, retain the nutrient content and enhance the digestibility of lucerne silage. 11H50 produces top quality lucerne silage for all high producing livestock operations.
Pioneer brand 1174 This multi-crop inoculant is suitable for use on all types of silage including pasture, cereal and lucerne silage. Pioneer 1174 helps improve fermentation, retain nutrient content and enhance digestibility.
Pioneer brand 11C33
Pioneer 11C33 is a maize silage specific inoculant. This inoculant helps keep silage cooler for longer, enabling it
The amount of dry matter, nutrients and feed energy lost in the silage stack is largely determined by the speed and quality of fermentation.
to be fed out up to a day in advance.
Pioneer brand 1132 Also a maize specific
inoculant, Pioneer 1132 produces top quality maize silage for high producing dairy cows and specialised beef production.
When buying a silage inoculant, don’t be fooled by cheaper products. They may have the same bacteria name on the bottle, but just like two cows differ in the efficiency with which they convert grass to milk, bacteria differ in their ability to improve silage fermentation quality. Cheaper products may lack animal performance data, or technical personnel who really understand silage and back up the product. Cheaper products are often derived from a buying strategy of sourcing the lowest-cost unproven bacterial strains, and lack quality standards and label bacterial count guarantees. By comparison, Pioneer
brand inoculants have undergone stringently controlled research, trialling and field evaluation before they hit the market. The bacterial strains in Pioneer brand inoculants are unique and patented, and specially selected to give a faster, more efficient fermentation. The inoculants are also produced and packaged by a system that meets ISO9001:2000 quality standards to ensure you get the right numbers of the correct strains of live bacteria, in the right proportions, in every bottle that is applied. To find out more about how Pioneer brand inoculants and our exclusive applicator technology work, contact your local Pioneer area manager or call 0800 PIONEER (746 633). STORY CREDIT: GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Whether you’re after a small square, big square, round or combi baler; New Holland has you covered. Talk to your local New Holland dealer today to lock in for delivery this spring and summer.
LET’S GET IT DONE THIS SPRING.
0%*
LOW DEPOSIT FINANCE
3 year term WITH 3 ANNUAL PAYMENTS
3 YEAR/30,000 PROMOTION EXTENDED 320 High Street, Masterton Ph (06) 377 3184 norwood.co.nz/masterton
Newholland.co/nz
*Promotion only applies to new baler orders taken between 1st May 2019 and 31st December 2019. Units must be delivered in 2019. Finance package provided by UDC and based on 25% deposit, GST back in 3rd month then 3 equal annual payments every 12 months from delivery date. Standard lending criteria, fees and conditions apply.
19PMAS012
BALE PREMIER WARRANTY
28
Thursday, October 10, 2019 Wairarapa Times-Age
Having a good yarn essential It used to be that a day’s haymaking was followed by a beer or two, sometimes at the local pub. But the gradual loss of country pubs is part of increasing isolation for farmers is being seen – and now addressed – by rural contractors. Otago rural contractor Reid Gare was one of those attending a Good Yarns workshop at the RCNZ conference in Nelson earlier this year. Good Yarns is an evidencebased, peer-delivered, mental health literacy programme for workplaces, both rural and urban, that enables people to talk about mental health. Reid says his staff often comment on the amount of time he spends talking to farmers. “Farmers and contractors both face a lot of time working alone. A lot of farmers love to have a yarn. I see that as just a part of my job or call it PR.”
He says contractors have to be careful as not everyone wants to talk and they can be masking a range of emotions, though sometimes the signals are there that all is not well. “I’ve seen guys react to some situations in the strangest of ways – that always raises alarm bells for me.” Rural Contractors NZ vice president Helen Slattery lead the Good Yarns workshop at the Rural Contractors
conference. Helen trained as a Good Yarns facilitator after the loss of a family member due to suicide. “These things are happening too often in rural communities. “Farmers can become isolated. “As rural contractors, we are often the only person that they might see during the day. It’s important for them to have someone to yak to”
Helen says one place farmers used to be able to talk were country pubs. “Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of these, so farmers don’t get the same chance to meet mates and neighbours. Even for those who still have a pub within cooee face the realities of tougher drink driving laws.” Reid Gare says it’s not just the loss of country pubs that’s causing more farmers to be isolated. With many
farming wives and partners now working off-farm for both economic and social reasons, there was much less opportunity for partner-topartner contact through the day. “Sometimes farmers don’t go in for smoko and keep working. By the time the partner gets home they are both tired and there’s less chance to talk.” STORY CREDIT: RURAL CONTRACTORS NEW ZEALAND
2628/2632 SERIES
MOUNTED MOWER CONDITIONER - 3232MN
MOUNTED MOWER CONDITIONER - 3332/3336
8500 TEDDER RANGE
9472C RAKE
9590C HYDRO
• 2.8m and 3.2m working width • Round discs are less susceptible to stone impacts (on all mowers) • Easy lift on headlands, can lift by spool only • NonStop BreakBack system
• 5.5 to 14m working widths • Super-C tines with large spring coil diameter • Easy setting of spreading angle through simple three-way adjustment of wheel height • Low weight and power requirements
• Lightweight due to nylon conditioner tynes • Fully welded cutter-bar with overlapping C-profiles for strength (on all mowers) • NonStop BreakBack system
• Working width of 7.2m • CompactLine maintenance - friendly gearbox • TerraLink Quattro for perfect ground following • Active wheel steering with 80° turning angle for easy manoeuvrability
• Four suspension arms, ground breaking contour • 3.2 and 3.6m working width • NonStop BreakBack protection across working width • Flexible suspension - 700mm working range
• Maintenance-free ProLine gear box with fully enclosed oil bath design • HydroLift allows lowering of the frame for transport • TerraLink Quattro for perfect ground following • Hydraulic adjustable working width 8.0-9.0m
29
www.age.co.nz Thursday, October 10, 2019
Guidelines for safe hay stacking Transporting and stacking large hay bales has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths of some operators of machinery or people nearby. Many of these accidents could have been prevented had equipment more suited to the job been used and more care taken by the operators when using the equipment. A set of guidelines for safer handling of large bales is available at worksafe.govt.nz The booklet gives safety advice to everyone involved in the handling, transportation and stacking of large hay bales, dealing with both round and square bales. It helps identify the hazards in the job and the necessary precautions and control measures so that accidents can be avoided.
Assess the hazards All work activities involving bale transportation, stacking and handling need to be assessed to ascertain the hazards and the steps needed to protect those involved
from the hazards. This applies whether you are an employer, self-employed, a contractor or a person in control. When assessing hazards, don’t overlook the risks to your family and members of the public as well as to yourself and your employees.
Child safety Children are particularly at risk when farm machinery is in use. Keep children well away from bale stacks and handling and stacking operations. Supervise young children. Don’t allow children under the age of 15 years to assist with, adjust or clean any machinery. Don’t allow children under the age of 15 years to drive a tractor, ride on a tractor when it is towing an implement, or ride on any implement.
Employee safety If you are an employer, you should ensure that your employees have the
knowledge and experience, or are supervised by a person with the knowledge and experience, to ensure that the employees and others are not harmed and have been properly trained in the operation and safe use of machinery and equipment, the correct and safe procedures to follow, and the correct equipment for the task, and are aware of the dangers and precautions to be observed. It’s also recommended that you ensure employees are medically and physically fit for the type of work. Employees must not do anything likely to endanger themselves or others and should report all defects in machinery and equipment to the person in charge. To read the whole booklet go to worksafe.govt. nz/topic-and-industry/ agriculture/farm-vehicles/ transportation-and-stackingof-hay-bales/
LOCALS LOOKING AFTER LOCALS LANGLANDS HONDA PRICE BUSTERS! SXS700M2
$20,865 + GST OVER $1,500 OFF
HAY & SILAGE
NEED YOUR BALEAGE OR HAY BALED THIS SEASON? We’ve got you covered Mini Baleage
Round Baleage
We also do Fencing, Digger Operations, Hay, Baleage, Mini Bales
027 284 7543
WOODLEA CONTRACTING woodleacontracting@hotmail.com
SXS500
$16,995 + GST
est-1938
SAVE $1,000
TRX420FM1
$10,995 + GST SAVE $1,500
MASTERTON
GREYTOWN
11 Chapel Street P: 06 378 8444
2491 State Highway 2 P: 06 304 8482
www.langlandshonda.co.nz
PAKOHE LTD LIME CO
get it on
AGRICULTURAL lime DRIVEWAY lime RACEWAY lime SILAGE PIT BASE lime ORNAMENTAL lime ROCKS call Rob McMaster 06 306 9638 Jamie McMaster 027 955 7147 WWW.PAKOHELIME.COM
30
Thursday, October 10, 2019 Wairarapa Times-Age
HAY & SILAGE
Pasture Silage – getting
It has been a good spring, and some will be lucky enough to have excess pasture and considering shutting up paddocks for silage. If it is going to become silage, how do we make the good stu˜ ?
pasture silage feeding starts. Over half of the pasture silage fed out to the dairy herds in the survey was rubbish and barely suitable for maintenance feeding for dry cows.
A good start is to look at the characteristics of good quality pasture silage.
To know what influences silage quality, we need to understand the silage preservation process. Silage is basically pickled pasture (like sauerkraut, which is pickled cabbage). When pasture is ensiled, its sugars are converted into lactic acid by bacteria. It is the lactic acid that pickles the pasture. For good silage preservation we need a rapid drop in pH to a level where there will be no butyric fermentation (spoilage).
High quality pasture silage has high levels of energy, crude protein and is highly digestible. How often are the optimum values being achieved? Do you measure the quality of your pasture silage? The minimum values for high quality pasture silage are: Metabolisable Energy (ME) 10.5, crude protein 16%, digestability 70%, DM pit silage 25-30%, DM baled silage 30-35%. An LIC survey in 1994/95 showed that more than 70% of silage submitted had an ME of less than 10 MJME / kg DM. It’s no wonder then that we often see cows dropping in milk production and cow condition when
Getting a good brew
So, whatever we can do to maximise sugar content of the pasture and speed up the preservation process will result in higher quality silage that our cows desire to eat. The key factors to get right are: 1. Harvest time 2. Dry Matter % 3. Ensiling & compaction
Harvest Time The ensiling process will never improve the energy value of the pasture. Silage will always be of lower quality than the pasture it was made from. Rubbish in = Worse Rubbish out. The sweet spot looks to be at 5 - 6 weeks post closure, harvesting at 3 – 3.5 TDM / ha with an ME of 11 - 11.3. This data is backed up by Ruakura research from 1996 proceedings that stated “the optimal closure period for pit silage was generally five and
ONE NAME FOR IRRIGATION Whether you are looking for a sustainable irrigation advantage or to maximise the potential of your existing system, there is only one name you need to know – Zimmatic®.
Zimmatic® irrigators have been servicing farmers around the world for over 50 years. Add Zimmatic® Precision VRI’s ability for delivering water exactly where it is required and FieldNET® remote management and scheduling options, and you have the most advanced and proven irrigation technology available globally. Contact your Zimmatic® dealer today, they will work with you to save time and money, boost production yields, and meet your compliance requirements.
Find your Zimmatic® dealer at www.ZimmaticANZ.com or phone 0800 438 627.
ZIMMATIC® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF THE LINDSAY CORPORATION. © 2019 LINDSAY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
31
www.age.co.nz Thursday, October 10, 2019
the good stuff fresh pasture samples in to get tested to determine when the optimum time is to harvest so a method commonly used is the squeeze test as follows: Cut the pasture into 2 – 3 cm lengths, roll it into a ball about twice the size of a golf ball and squeeze it in your fist for 30 seconds. There should be no juice running down your hand and the pasture sample should stay in a ball when you stop squeezing. If there is juice running out of the sample more wilting is required. a half weeks”. This research calculated the economic optimum taking into account the expected liveweight gain or milksolids production from feeding the silage after taking into account the cost of making the silage, (higher yield has lower per unit cost to harvest). There is always a tradeoff between quantity and quality, however the optimum closure time for making pasture silage is 5 – 6 weeks after the previous grazing, for both milking and dry cows.
2. Dry Matter % The dry matter target for pit pasture silage is 25 – 30 %. The reason for this is to reduce the losses from silage effluent once in the stack. If the dry matter % is too low the surplus water carries soluble sugars and proteins out of the silage and dry matter is lost. As dry matter exceeds 30% the losses in the field rise due to excess wilting (respiration) rise and from being lost while the silage is being picked up. It is not practical to send
To minimise silage losses: • Mow pasture after 1 – 2 days of sunny weather to ensure good sugar levels in the pasture. • Minimise the wilting time by cutting silage in the morning of a sunny day. • Avoid wilting for more than 24 hours. • Harvest silage at the optimum 25 – 30 % DM. • Good compaction & sealing Good compaction and sealing help to ensure an efficient fermentation process is started and reduce the risk of
heating and mould growth. The less air that is in or can get into the silage the better.
3. Keys to achieving good compaction and sealing: • Harvest at the right DM%. If DM is above 30% the silage will be harder to compact. • Use the heaviest wheeled vehicle available to compact. • Spread the harvested pasture into 100 – 150 mm layers and compact until the surface is firm. If the tractor wheels sink further than the depth of the rubber the layers are too thick. • Don’t be in too much of a hurry. It’s hard to get correct compaction if the trucks are coming thick and fast or all at the same time. Discuss this with the contractor to get the right result. • Seal the stack with an airtight cover. Fix any holes in the plastic straight away. • Tyres should be touching
PROMOTE YOUR SILAGE PRESERVATION WITH SILAGEKING Made in New Zealand for New Zealand farmers Call Wayne Robinson 027 526 0000 biostart.co.nz
and covering the whole stack. • Ensure there is minimum soil contamination from the stack tractor or brought in from the field. • Drainage - think about where rain water will go when it runs off the stack. Make sure there is sufficient drainage so that water goes away from the stack. • If concrete walled pits are not full, make a concave top rather than a convex top to avoid water seeping down the side of the pit. Know what the quality of your silage is. Silage should be tested. I often hear the comment “it’s in the stack, we can’t change it now”. How do you know how successful you are at making silage if you don’t measure the result? If you measure the result you know what was achieved, then you can investigate why the result was achieved, what lessons can be learned and what can be changed to achieve a better result next time? REPRODUCED FROM BAKERAG’S MONTHLY PUBLICATION, MILKLINES.