An Ashburton Guardian Advertising Supplement

From milking to herd testing P3

dairyFOCUS

Issue 33. February 15, 2011. $2.00

Ashburton / Methven / Rakaia www.ats.co.nz0800 BUY ATS / 0800 289 287

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Page 3 From milker to herd testerPage 4 Hoof trimming a skillPage 6 Milking liners have limitsPage 7 Giving cows the best startPage 8 Awards put spotlight on skillsPage 9 Production on the comeback trail Page 12 Share trading plans on trackPage 13 Awards a must for improvement Page 14 Empowering dairy womenPage 16 Farmers declare war on prices

Contents

On FarmWater Storage

E A R T H M O V I N G S P E C I A L I S T S

Also

We specialise in

• Effluent Ponds• Dairy Conversions• Border Dyking• Stockwater Reticulation• Farm Track Construction &

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An advertising supplement of the Ashburton Guardian

Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Ashburton Guardian

Publication date: February 15, 2011 Next issue: March 15, 2011

We welcome any correspondence to either: Amanda Niblett, phone 307-7927 email: amanda.n@theguardian.co.nzor Lance Isbister, phone 307-7953 email: lance.i@theguardian.co.nz

dairyFOCUS

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HEASKEDFOR ITWhen Graham upgraded to a Protrack system in his herringbone shed, he knew he was getting an awesome piece of farm automation equipment, what he didn’t realise was that it was also the best piece of multisport equipment he’d ever bought.

He reckons that the time he used to spend in the shed is far better spent clocking up the miles doing what he loves; training for, and competing in multisport events. And now, with the time he’s saved, he can do more of it than ever.

You may not be as mad as Graham, but we’re sure you will be able to think of something to do with the time a Protrack system can save you.

To fi nd out more about how Protrack can help make your life easier, call 0508 Protrack or contact your LIC District Manager.

Graham Barlow:Waikato. Herd size 350.

Milker now a herd testerLance Isbister

Rural Reporter, Ashburton Guardian

Karen Walker’s role in the dairy industry has changed from putting cups on cows as a dairy farmer to taking milk samples as a herd tester.

This is her first season as a herd tester for Livestock Improvement (LIC) and she has enjoyed the experience and variety in her new career.

Karen’s been working in the dairy industry for the past seven years and always wanted to try something different and was keen to learn all the different aspects involved with herd testing.

“It’s nice to see what happens on the other side, I want to learn as much as I can about the different sides of the dairy industry.”

With no shortage of ambition, Karen said she preferred the more hands-on aspect of herd testing as well as working alongside farmers and their employees to provide an accurate service for them.

She said every dairy shed she worked in is different, especially when it came to setting up the herd testing equipment.

“Setting up can be challenging, especially in 80 bail sheds, but it’s still pretty cool.”

It was a trial by fire when she first started last September leading into one of the busiest periods for a herd tester.

“October and November was really busy, at the time I didn’t know what I had let myself in for, running from farm to farm.”

Since then Karen’s found one of her favourite parts of the job is travelling to different sheds while also taking in the scenery around her.

“Some farmers don’t realise the view they have got, there are some beautiful views outside the cowshed,

and when I see them I think, wow.”

She also enjoys sample collecting, which keeps her busy throughout the milking as milk is bled through a milk meter into a barcoded or numbered sample pottle that corresponds to the animal’s identification number.

Using the modern barcode system with a cow’s electronic tag, a farmer/milk harvester can scan in the cow’s details onto the barcode using an EZ Link Electronic Identification (EID) tool developed by LIC to increase the accuracy of the information when the samples are sent to a Christchurch lab for testing.

“We want to get it as accurate as possible,” said Karen, who is also keen to have a better understanding of how the laboratory extracts information from the milk sample to give farmers data on the somatic cell count, level of protein, fat content and volume of milk each individual cow produces.

That’s why Karen appreciates how vital it is to record the information as accurately as possible, otherwise a farmer could mistakenly cull a high producing cow if the data they receive is inaccurate i.e. from a low producing cow.

Karen said she worked with a tightly knit team and LIC has offered her plenty of training and support, especially with modern herd testing technology such as the MINDA Mobile.

She can see huge scope for technology in the future of the dairy industry.

“There is so much more technology on the way to do everything that will save farmers time and money.”

In the meantime, one thing is certain, Karen will be back herd testing next year.

Photo Lance IsbIster 090211-LI-048

Karen Walker returned to her former employers Hamish and Natalie Davidson’s 80 bail rotary dairy shed at New-lands recently which is now part of her herd test run.

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In my last article I explained how to treat lame cows. It all sounds very simple until you are in your yard with a cow in your crush with a back foot lifted and all of a sudden it doesn’t seem so easy anymore.

You may be dealing with a cow that has a hoof that is so deformed that you can’t make head nor tail of it.

I can appreciate you feeling that way. You are not alone. There are a number of different issues that you could come up against.

What do you do with a crack in the wall? There might be a toe that is point-ing up. A claw may have arthritis, or be very swollen up or sometimes you may find a little chip of the pedal bone broken off - what on earth do you do with that?

It is very important to realise that hoof trimming is a very specialised job. Just like dental work. Imagine if I went to visit a dentist for a day. He explains everything to me about teeth: how to drill and fill, how to pull teeth, how to give local anaesthetic, and everything else that I want to know.

I go home, I buy myself a nice leather chair and a good second hand drill be-cause I’m Dutch and I would need a pair

of pliers to pull the teeth that I don’t know what to do with. I put a sign out on the road side and I am in business.

Would you like to be my first client? What if I do it for free? Hoof trimming is a bit the same as dentistry. If you use an angle grinder it even sounds similar. I think that many people underes-timate the skill level that is required for hoof trimming.

To get a qualification overseas takes about 14 months. So don’t feel dis-couraged if you feel stuck because you don’t know how to treat this cow.

Usually there are things you can do to at least make a positive difference for that cow.

If in doubt use a claw block. Last month I made the comment that claw blocks are always cheaper than lame cows. If you can identify which claw is giving the cow trouble but you don’t know how to treat it then with a block underneath the healthy claw the cow is most likely to walk properly soon after.

Because you have taken the weight of the sore claw it has a much better chance to heal up.

As a rule of thumb you don’t need an-tibiotics in most lameness cases. Only use antibiotics when the claw is swollen up.

Ask your vet what are the best anti-

biotics to use for the different cases you come across. Even if you are not a profes-sional hoof trimmer you can still make a difference for your cow.

If you would like to improve your skills in hoofcare, we would be happy to discuss the training options we provide at Veehof Dairy Services - 0800 833463

Trimming not straight forwardFred Hoekstra

Veehof Dairy Services

It is important to realise that hoof trimming is a specialised job. Just like dental work.

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efficiently?With Advanced Feeds complimentary relationship with the Dairy Business Centre (DBC) and our expertise in manufacturing and supplying supplementary feed to some of the region’s top performing herds, many new and existing clients look to Advanced Feeds to provide nutritional support and advice. This is critical at vital times both in the lead up to calving, during peak nutritional demands on the cow and in periods of changing seasonal quantity and quality of feed in the paddock

Why not see what Advanced Feeds can offer your herd to better utilise and balance your in shed feed grain feeding via its range of cereal balancers or we can process your cereal grains and precision blend them with the latest in minerals, additives and rumen ionospheres such as Rumensin.

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Research findings from AgResearch reported in 2010 that only 51% of PKE is utilised by the cow and the addition of Molasses with PKE lifted rumen digestibility by 37% (relative percentage).

Therefore the addition of CMS (Molasses Solubles) to PKE therefore helps rumen micro organisms better utilise PKE.

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Cow nutrient requirements and responses to supplements Animal scientists will learn that

i. a dairy cow requires 18% crude protein, of which 65% is degraded in the rumen and 35% escapes rumen digestion.

ii. milk production is maximised when non-structural carbohydrates (SSS) are 35 to 40% of the diet, and

iii. rumen conditions are optimised and DM intake maximised when the fibre content (NDF) is between 28 and 32% DM, with 40 to 50% of NDF is in a rumen stimulatory (“effective”) form.

Therefore, pasture would not appear to meet the cow’s nutrient requirements, even when highly digestible. It has surplus protein, too much of which is rumen degradable. It has a low sugar content, particularly in spring, and the effectiveness of the fibre at stimulating rumination may be low.

In addition, rumen pH can be lower than the optimum used for overseas grain-based diets.

However, high quality pasture is a good feed because of some unique nutritional characteristics which must be considered when evaluating pasture.

Energy: In general, energy is the first limiting nutrient in the diet of grazing dairy cows. There is, therefore, a general belief that supplying cows with more energy will be beneficial. However, because of the rapid degradation of fibre in high quality pasture, supplying cows with sugars or starch does little to improve microbial fermentation, unless it actually increases the amount of energy being supplied to the rumen microorganisms.

When grazing cows are supplemented, they often refuse some pasture (substitution).

The amount of pasture they refuse depends, primarily, on how well fed they are:• If cows are very well fed on pasture (i.e. post-grazing residuals of 1800 kg DM or greater), substitution may be as high as 75% (i.e. for every kg of supplement DM you feed, cows refuse more than 0.75 kg DM of pasture). The resulting increase in energy supplied to microorganisms is small. In this

situation, milk production response to the supplement will also be small (2-4 g MS/MJ ME).• If post-grazing residuals are 1500- 1600 kg DM, the cow is reasonably well fed but not fully fed; in this situation, substitution would be approximately 50% and the milk production response to supplements would be 6 to 8 g MS/MJ ME).• In situations where cows are grazing to 1200 to 1300 kg DM/ha residuals, cows are severely restricted and substitution is likely to be less than 25% (NOTE: there will always be some substitution). Milk production response to supplements in this situation will be in the range of 9 to 10 g MS/MJ ME.

Protein: The extent of protein degradation in the rumen is a function of the degradability of the protein, the rate at which the protein can be degraded and the passage rate of the feed from the rumen. Crude protein in pasture is highly degradable and although passage rate can exceed 6% per hour, in excess of 70% of dietary protein in fresh pasture is degraded (Waghorn and Barry, 1987). Because of this, the requirement of early lactating grazing cows for crude protein exceeds 18% and is estimated to be between 22 and 24% to ensure metabolisable protein reaching the small intestine is not limiting milk production.

Fibre: Pasture management (rotation length and previous post-grazing residuals) impact on pasture fibre content. High quality spring pasture generally contains between 33 and 40% NDF, but it is highly digestible and lacking in “effectiveness” for rumen stimulation. rumen pH can decline below 6.0 which is lower than the optimum targeted in overseas grain-based diets (Hutjens, 2003).

However, New Zealand research (de Veth and Kolver, 2001; Kolver and de Veth, 2002) has shown that there is no depression in digestion or microbial growth at the rumen pHs experienced by cows grazing lush spring pasture. Furthermore, supplementation of grazing dairy cows with straw does not change rumen pH or milk production, even when dietary fibre is marginal.

Understanding digestion in the dairy cow

Dairy FocusFeed Supplements

Dr John Roche, Animal Science, DairyNZ, Hamilton

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Milking liners have limits Ian Hodge, BVSc. MACVSc.

Riverside Veterinary Services Ltd

Milking liners, or inflations, are an integral component of the milking machine. They are the interface between the milking machine and the cow and the only point of contact between the machine and the cow.

Liners have a huge impact on many aspects of milking and mastitis. They can potentially have different effects on teat health under differing vacuum and pulsation settings, and have different effects on the completeness of milk out.

Liners are designed to fit in to metal shells and when fitted are under a certain amount of linear tension. Some liners have two tension rings and can be tightened within the liner. Increased tension can result in better milk out, but can also cause further damage to the teats if the tension is too high.

Although increasing the tension may improve milk out, old liners should not be tensioned to extend their life.

Liners have very different inner barrel dimensions. These dimensions refer to the inner diameter of the liner and we usually measure three points at the top, middle and bottom of the liner. The three measurements have effects on vacuum access to the teat, milk flow from the teat and teat end damage.

The rubber compounds liners are made of usually dictate that after 2500 milkings the inner surface of the rubber will be pitted and more able to harbour bacteria. Old liners also lose effective tension.

It is certainly true that old liners will contribute to the spread of mastitis between cows at milking time

if they have been used for more than 2500 milkings.

The relationship between liners, vacuum and pulsation is extremely complicated and very important. Some liners may be shorter and wider than others and may be milking cows with longer teats.

At higher vacuum and wide pulsation ratios this may be a recipe for causing teat end damage.

Teat health, which includes teat skin health and teat end health, is affected directly by liners.

An inappropriate liner may be leading to the development of teat end damage in your herd. Teat end damage is a major risk factor for mastitis.

In summary not all liners are the same and cheapest is not always best. You must choose the liner that is appropriate for the milking machine and, more importantly, the cows.

The PureMilk Mastitis Consultancy provides a total mastitis control service. As part of that service we help select the most appropriate liner for your herd.

7

“Your Safety is my biggest concern”– Fred Hoekstra

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Giving your cows the best start Leighton Parker, Dairy NZ

Consulting Officer Mid Canterbury

Many farms are now at a stage that they can take a breather from an eventful season.

A wet spring followed by volatile pasture growth rates up until the end of December have made animal performance and pasture management challenging.

However, now the focus will shift to making the most of the higher milk price and setting cows up for next season.

The interesting question that develops is how many farmers will ensure they do not compromise the following season by working cows too hard and not allowing sufficient time to regain body condition by the planned start of calving.

Body condition score BCS at calving is a critical determinant of dairy cow welfare, future productive and reproduction success.

I know it is something that we consulting officers harp on about at discussion groups a lot but it remains one of the key areas most farm businesses can make profitable improvements.

So what are the key factors to ensure you achieve your body condition score targets?

• Aim for a target BCS at calving of 5 for mature cows and 5.5 for heifers at their first and second calving

• Cows calving thin (less than BCS of 5.0) will produce less milk and are more likely to have reproductive problems

• Cows calving too fat (greater than BCS of 6.0) are more likely to have calving problems, metabolic dis-eases and other health issues.

To ensure all cows reach their BCS target by calving it is critical to understand the condition of your herd. Condition scoring the herd

early (February/March) will allow you time to manage those cows that have stripped considerable condition throughout the season (BCS <4.0).

Realistically dry cows only gain half BCS in 30 days unless very well fed with high quality supplement. Do not expect cows to gain BCS during their final month of pregnancy.

For example, if there is a group of

cows at 3.5 CS, they will require 120 days or 4 months to achieve a BCS of 5 at calving.

Therefore, drying cows off which are 3.5 CS at the end of March for an August 1 calving date.

If you require any further information about condition scoring please contact DairyNZ for a condition scoring handbook or your local CO.

BC change MS response kgMS

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From 3.0-4.0 18.0 $99 $40 $139 From 3.5-4.5 12.5 $69 $40 $109 Rule of thumb 15.0 $83 $40 $123

Table 1: Reproduction and milksolid benefits associated with BCS for a 500kg Lwt cow

A prominant shoulder ridge on this skinny cow. She cannot be above BCS 3.

8

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Awards put spotlight on skillsThe skills and knowledge of nearly

500 entrants in the 2011 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards go under the spotlight, with judging taking place.

National convenor Chris Keeping said NZDIA try to encourage entrants to be original and unique with their presentations and to really demonstrate their passion for dairy farming and career goals.

Entrants in the New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year competition and New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year contest each have two-hour on-farm judging sessions.

For the first time this year, entrants in the New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year competition will compete in a 30-minute practical session in

a central location, as part of their judging criteria.

Mrs Keeping says judging can provide one of the most rewarding aspects of entering the awards.

“The feedback entrants receive from judges on areas where they could improve their business is invaluable.

“As entrants have to present all aspects of their business to the judges, the judges are in a position to identify or highlight areas of improvement or opportunity for their business.”

She said those who gain the most from judging plan and prepare how the visit will go.

Organisers recommend entrants read the judging criteria, seek advice from past entrants about what to expect, have a practice run-through and avoid any distractions.

“It’s also a good idea to have a back-up plan in case of bad weather and to even get someone else to drive, so they can concentrate on what they are presenting to the judges.”

“Those that do prepare well will learn a bit more about them and their farm business by having to think about what their strengths are, where

they want their farm business to go and how they are going to get there.

“Some amazing new ideas appear each year too.”

Judging continues throughout February, with the first regional winners announced in Manawatu Rangitikei Horowhenua at an awards ceremony on March 4.

There are 12 regional competitions, with the Southland region completing the series of awards ceremonies on April 2.

Visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz for more information.

9

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Production ‘on comeback trail’New Zealand dairy farmers are

struggling to keep production ahead of last year’s record milkflows, even though summer rains have rescued many regions from the drought that loomed before Christmas, a commodities report said.

Rabobank economists reported in their regular agribusiness report the impact of cows culled, lost production and cows dried-off early will ... result in production struggling to stay ahead of last year through the rest of the season.

The very heavy rains which arrived over the Christmas and New Year period enabled North Island dairy farmers to avoid what would have been a very early and severe drought, Rabobank said.

The North Island produced just over 60 per cent of the nation’s milksolids last season — even though there were also drought problems last year, when Fonterra’s milkflows in the North Island fell by about four per cent, while its South Island milk production rose by 10 per cent.

Nationally, milkflows rose to 16.5 billion litres, containing 1.44 billion kg of milksolids, a 3.3 percent lift compared to 1.39 billion kg processed in the previous season. The biggest increase in dairy export volumes in December was in whole milkpowder (WMP) as milk diverted from other

product streams lifted the WMP exports that month to more than 100,000 tonnes, with a record 50,000 tonnes of it going to China.

Rabobank said that improvements in commodity prices in New Zealand dollar terms had strengthened local prices by four per cent to nine per cent this season, with the exception of cheese prices which remained flat.

In NZ dollar terms, butter and powder prices are now more than 20 per cent higher than in early 2010, and Fonterra’s projected payout for this season is at least $7.30/kg milksolids

— equivalent to nearly $900,000 for the average Fonterra supplier, if the company can match its 1.286 billion kg milksolids production last year.

Federated Farmers’ dairy section chairman Lachlan McKenzie said he expected this season’s production to be hit by drought in the upper North Island.

The ASB Bank said that though the NZ dollar exchange rate is in the middle of its 2011 range at US76c to US78c, the downward pressure this exerted on farm-gate earnings was being offset by extremely strong commodity prices.

A former New Zealand academic and Western Illinois University agriculture professor Bill Bailey said that prices for all ingredients were up again in both Oceania and European markets.

But he noted that the reduced number of bidders and eventual winners taking part in the fortnightly Fonterra auction online was difficult to read.

“Are the needs of an increasing number of buyers covered so that only those short of product involved in the auction; or have prices reached levels where the remaining bidders are only those with deep pockets?,” he said.

Comparing the latest auction prices to last year at this time, anhydrous milkfat (industrial butter) prices are up 55 per cent, skim milkpowder (SMP) up 34 per cent and WMP up 22 per cent.

Demand did not seem to be weakening even in view of the high prices.

Prof Bailey said that New Zealand dairy production was slowly recovering.

“Given the challenges earlier in the season, even the current idea of production increasing 1 per cent to 2 per cent from last year is good news to the market.”

Experts believe New Zealand’s dairy production is slowly recovering.

10

Avoid breakdowns . . .Improve efficiency of your dairy shed

2010 International Laser Business of the Year • 2010 ABA Best Rural Service Business of the Year2007, 2009, 2010 Laser Electrical NZ Member of the Year

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“The Dairy Maintenance check, together with the Dairy Shed Data base Service provided by Laser Electrical, have proved invaluable in the day to day smooth operation of our three dairy sheds.”

– David Turner, Rakaia Island Ltd

www.laserplumbing.co.nz

Dairy Focus Dairy Shed Maintenance

Providing a more efficient service to the dairy industry is what initially saw Laser Electrical Ashburton launch their exclusive Dairy Maintenance & Data Base programme.

Brent Christie, Managing Director, and Phil Moore, Rural and Dairy Division Manager realised the need to increase the quality of repairs and maintenance on dairy sheds. Fully aware of the extra stress untimely breakdowns cause dairy farm-ers, these sought after programmes were designed to reduce maintenance costs, avoid breakdowns and loss of production.

Using thermal imaging technology Laser Electrical’s skilled tradesman are able to detect primary stages of faults on switchboards, motors, pumps and switchgear and fix problems quickly therefore preventing breakdowns. The Dairy Shed Maintenance Check also in-cludes complete checks of electrical com-ponents, refrigeration, pumps, plumbing and dairy plant. The client then receives a full written report including photos and thermal image readings and comparisons of these are made in consecutive checks. Any repairs needed can be dealt with im-mediately or options discussed with the owner. Farmers can set their own sched-ule for frequency of maintenance checks although the recommendation is at least bimonthly to benefit properly.

Over the years Laser Electrical found that in the event of breakdowns there was always a considerable amount of

downtime while the farmer waited for the electrician to come and find the prob-lem then more often than not they would have to return to town to collect the correct parts before being able to get the plant up and running to continue milk-ing. The Dairy Shed Data Base includes all plant items, photos of components, and details of starters, circuit breakers, isolators, fuses, pumps, and even light fittings so in the event of a breakdown Laser Electrical Staff can bring the right spare parts the first time, therefore improving efficiency and minimising any loss of production.

The success of these products has been backed up with testimonials from the likes of Robert Mangin, David Turner and David McKimmie, all of whom have Dairy Maintenance Programmes and Data Bases’ in place.

Judges from the Ashburton Business Association were also very impressed and awarded the Rural & Dairy Division of Laser Electrical Ashburton, Best Rural Business Service Provider 2010, this achievement is testament to the hard work and dedication put in by Phil and his team who have also restructured the services this division provides to include a comprehensive quoting programme to enable dairy clients to design their new dairy shed specific to their needs and budget. The programme also gives a breakdown of detail of exactly what the client is getting.

With decades of experience in the dairy industry Laser Electrical are able to adapt to any type or style of shed from herring-bone to rotary, and work with any builder or engineer. Phil and his team are very excited to have become the Canterbury electrical service and installation agents for the Lely Robot milking Systems.

Other features exclusive to Laser in-clude the smooth cover consoles which provide a water proof option with great detail, these are now seen in many dairy plants across the district. They have cur-rently established an electrical design for Ecan approved effluent management systems, and the latest irrigation controls include a touch screen and data logging

equipment to comply with Ecan require-ments. While all this takes place on the farm back at the workshop the rest of the dairy team cover many facets of the industry including building dairy switch boards, consoles, mealfeeders and grain crusher control panels, effluent systems and irrigation controllers. Laser also em-ploy a qualified engineer to enable them to recondition pumps and motors as well as basic engineering requirements

All of this would not be complete without the 24 hour on call service Laser Electrical Ashburton continues to pro-vide, as it was 30 years ago when Brent’s father Les Christie established the busi-ness then known as Christie Electrical.

Phil Moore, Rural & Dairy Division Manager & Brent Christie Managing Director, created the exclusive Dairy Maintenance & Data Base Programmes to provide a more efficient service to their clients & reduce Maintenance costs.

11

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Dairy Focus Dairy Shed Maintenance

Another milking season is half way through and consequently I should be at the same bench mak\rk with dairy shed assessments.

For those I have had the pleasure of visiting, on the whole you are doing a pretty good job, for those who are on the yet to be visited list, expect a phone call or a letter in the next few weeks for your annual evaluation.

I would be less than honest if I said there are not too many changes to the standards compared to last year, and the year before, but that is the environment in which we live in, constant change.

I will outline some of the more major changes or variations to the standards that, we as assessors,, and farmers are expected to measure up to.

Presentation

Dairy farms are food factories, and so presentation is evaluated as such. So suppliers take time to beatify the entrance to the dairy via the tanker track.

It should be aesthetically pleasing for a non-dairy person

or anyone for that matter.It would be mice to drive

up or pass a dairy farm to se planting of natives, ornamental trees and shrubs and grasses adorned by neatly mown lawns, or beds of finely screened shingle, a far cry from the being a parking lot of cafeterias, old vehicles and debris waiting to be burnt.

Sanitation

This is an important part of the assessment as it involves the cleanliness of milking plant and premises.

Consequently, the rubberware and milk lines are checked through to identify cleaning failures and perishing of any rubberware to ascertain the effectiveness of the plant cleaning systems.

The four components of effective sanitation are:

• Water temperature• Correct chemical volumes • Correct contact tiem (above 60 degrees)• Mechanical as in how well plant surges during wash

12

Trading among farmers plans on track

Ring for a free quote 0800 693 7377,The timber may help cover the cost of clearingWith loads of experience Blake has the know-how to deliver what you want when you need it.

• Irrigation Pivot Maintenance• Land Development • Tree & stump Removal

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To get that pivot on - you’ll need those trees gone

Specialise in private processing from: Ashburton Meat Processors

Also offer a registered on farm service in association with Ellesmere mobile abattoir.

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Open Monday to Friday 7am to 6pmSaturday 8am to 12pm

Fonterra has recently conducted a series of meetings to update farmers on progress towards share trading among farmers.

In June 2010, Fonterra shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of changes to the co-operative’s constitution to allow steps to be taken to implement Trading Among Farmers at a future date. This would involve farmers buying and selling Fonterra shares from one another through a market, rather than via the co-operative.

Since then Fonterra has been working with advisors on the design of Trading Among Farmers in line with concepts outlined prior to the farmer vote.

Trading Among Farmers would involve the creation of a Fonterra shareholders’ market for share trading. At the same time, farmers would be able to free up share capital by placing some of their shares with a new Fonterra shareholders’ fund.

This fund would pay farmers for shares that farmers place with the fund, including the rights to dividends and the gain/loss from any change in the market value of those shares.

The design contemplates the fund raising the money that would be paid to farmers for shares they place with the fund by issuing units to outside investors.

This would give investors an investment linked to Fonterra’s financial performance while ensuring Fonterra remains 100 per cent farmer controlled.

Fonterra Chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden said the process of developing a robust, secure and transparent system

for Trading Among Farmers is complex, but care is being taken by management to ensure the board and shareholders’ council are satisfied.

“We’ll take the time necessary to ensure the board is satisfied that all the pre-conditions for a launch previously

outlined to shareholders are met,” Sir Henry said.

“Beyond that shareholders need to know the processes will be easy to understand and continues to reflect our wholly farmer-owned co-operative principles.

“Trading Among Farmers is a vital step to remove redemption risk and stop money washing in and out of Fonterra’s balance sheet every season.

“This is about strengthening the co-operative and giving it the ability to grow as the world demands more and more of the milk we produce.”

Trading Among Farmers is dependent on the Government determining what changes are required to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) to provide for it and at least 50 per cent support from the shareholders’ council. The Government is expected to release a discussion paper on potential DIRA changes later this month.

Fonterra is considering three possible launch dates for Trading Among Farmers aligned with Fonterra’s half and full year balance dates: October-December 2011, April-May 2012 and October-December 2012.

Approximately 50 farmer meetings are being held around the country this week to update shareholders on progress.

Federated Farmers’ sharemilkers chairperson Ciaran Tully explains some of the options available to local farm owners and sharemilkers who will need to negotiate their payments with the proposed payment structure.

13

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Awards a must for improvementRay Mayne

Ray Mayne Hose and Fittings Limited

Last year, we were offered a sponsor-ship opportunity, to help support the 2010 Canterbury/North Otago New Zealand Dairy Awards.

We agreed to do this as I believe it is important to help promote this power-ful and innovative agricultural industry.

We have also agreed to support the 2011 Canterbury/Otago New Zealand Dairy Awards after last year’s successful event.

These awards are split into three dif-ferent categories:

• The New Zealand Sharemilker/Equi-ty Farmer of the year – this category is open to all percentage sharemilk-ers, dairy farm managers who own up to 50% of the total farm business in which they are employed, contract milkers who own up to 50% of the total farm business in which they also hold the contract milking agree-ment and lessee’s of an operating dairy farm business for which they hold the lease agreement.

• New Zealand Farm Manager of the year - this category is open to dairy farm managers who have a written dairy farm manager’s employment agreement and have a contract milk-ers whose on farm income is derived from a payment formula based on

a “cents per kilogram of milksolids produced” and have a written con-tract milking agreement

• New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the year – this category is open to anyone who is aged 18 – 30 as at December, 31, 2010, is currently em-ployed on a dairy farm, has not been employed for more than 5 years on a dairy farm either continuously or in total as at December 31, 2010, is a New Zealand citizen or New Zealand resident as at December, 31, 2010, is currently enrolled in toward achiev-ing or has completed within the last 2 years, a National Certificate of Ag-riculture Level 4 (Dairy) or higher or completes a nomination form from their current employer and meets the additional eligibility criteria as set out in the conditions of entry.

There are 12 regional competitions being held around the country. The three winners from each of the regional competitions will then progress to the national final which will be held in May this year in Queenstown.

Entries for the Canterbury/North Otago region have closed with 63 contestants having entered across the three different categories. This is on a par with last year’s numbers and proves exactly how popular this event has become.

Some of the judging criteria that are required in the three categories are financial planning and management, livestock knowledge, human resource knowledge, communication, farm en-vironment, pasture knowledge, farm management.

To have this high level of knowl-edge, and to encourage all people working in this industry is a credit to the dairy industry as a whole. The previous winners of “our” region live in our district.

One of the “prizes” of winning a category is that it is the responsibility of those winners to organise the following year’s awards in their respective category.

This helps with the continuity of the event as the awardees can use their initia-tive, input and fresh ideas.

Best wishes to all contestants for all three categories with the awards din-ner and presentations to be held at the Queenstown Events Centre on Saturday, May 14, 2011.

Sharemilkers of the year runners-up 2010 locals Jeremy and RebeccaDuckmanton

14

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Empowering dairying women

Empowering dairying women with tips and tools to take charge of their farm’s financial planning will be the focus of a series of practical workshops being held across the North and South Islands in February and March.

Run by the Dairy Women’s Network,

the Dairy Days workshops have been developed to provide dairying women with the skills and knowledge to create a farm budget, cashflow it and to use this information for informed decision making.

The workshop will spend time look-

fertigationDairy Women’s Network nationalDairy Days focus on financial planning

South Island Dairy Women’s Network Dairy Days ScheduleCulverden 15th February Culverden Community Cen-

tre, Amuri School Road.Dunsandel 16th February Recreation Centre, Tramway

Road.Murchison NB: Topic ‘Office Management’, not ‘Cashbook to Cashflow’

17th February Community Centre, Hamp-den Street. Function room.

Geraldine 17th February Geraldine Heritage Hotel, 31 Talbot Street. Conference room

Waimate 18th February Criterion Hotel, 198 Queen Street, Waimate.

Balclutha 24th February Telford Rural Polytechnic, Owaka Highway, Otano-momo.

Winton 25th February Central Southland Lodge 232 Great North Rd. Func-tion room.

Hokitika 1st March Beachfront Hotel , 111 Revell Street.

Murchison 2nd March Community Centre, Hamp-den Street. Function room.

Takaka 3rd March Kahurangi Function centre1552 SH60, Tukurua

ing at cash manager software, which is a tool that can be utilised to make the financial planning process simpler.

Network Chair, Michelle Wilson said the Dairy Women’s network ran a similar series of Dairy Days last March and had a record number of around 440 women attend the sessions.

“DairyNZ has increased our funding for Dairy Days this year and we are using those extra funds to focus solely on the topic of financial planning,”

Former rural banking manager and

ex-farm consultant, Rebecca Rowe, is the presenter at the North Island Dairy Days.

Performance improvement and people development specialist, Claire Harvey, is presenting at the South Island Dairy Days.

As part of the seminars, Rebecca and Claire will teach participants through instructional and interactive sessions that will include: how to calculate farm income from production data, dealing with major categories of expenditure, calculating forecasted income, and esti-mating forecasted expenditure.

Dairy Days workshops have been developed to provide dairying women with the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions.

15

Packed with Features

10 Robinson Street, AshburtonPh 03 307 9049 Fax 03 307 9047Email: rainer@ashburton.co.nz

website: www.rainer.co.nz

For more information please contact

Fertigation is a system that has been used around the world for many years. In earlier years in New Zealand it has been used predominantly in horticulture but over recent years this method of applying fertilisers has gained acceptance in pasture and crop farming.

The various injection systems allow major and minor nutrients to be applied directly, evenly and effectively to the pasture or crop through the irrigation system. This has proved to be extremely efficient and produces excellent results in dry matter production, crop yields and crop quality. There are significant cost savings and reduction of damage such as compaction, crop loss and soil environment.

The basis of any system is to test the nutrient status of the soil by doing a soil test across the paddock to establish the fertiliser requirement for the pasture or crop. This will determine what type and amounts of fertiliser the soil requires for the season or the crop. This analysis will

include a reserve nitrogen test which will give an indication of the nitrogen requirement, in either solid or liquid forms over the season for the pasture or the crop.

Once this information has been gathered a fertiliser programme can be recommended that may include granular fertilisers and soil conditioners, such as lime or humates. It will incorporate nutrients that can be applied through the irrigation to complement the granular fertiliser to maximise the yield.

The fertigation products may be predominantly nitrogen on a dairy farm or cropping situation but does give the opportunity to add phosphate, potassium, sulphur and minor elements such as boron, copper and other trace elements essential to good plant health

A trial on a dairy farm has proven through the use of a fertigation system and fertiliser programme, which includes granular fertiliser, to produce an extra 20 per cent of dry matter over control every year for the past six years. It was also noted that the density of the pasture sward (particularly clover) in the trial area was greater than that of the control areas. (See article in the Dairy Exporter 2008 ) .

The protocol for the trial; the dry matter was cut in the trial area and the

control areas every month throughout the year.

Other trials have shown that the liquid nitrogen UAN (as used in this trial) can replace Urea when applied to pasture and crops.

The use of UAN as part of the nutrient fertiliser programme helps reduce the effect that urea has on the soil environment.

It doesn’t burn the same amount of carbon (organic matter) in the soil which allows more moisture to be retained and there is less leaching, all good for the environment.

With regional councils around New Zealand looking at limiting the amount of nitrogen that can be applied to farms around sensitive areas, such as Lake Taupo and Lake Brunner, it is only a matter of time that these areas will be increased to include farms near rivers and streams.

In summary, a fertigation system that is based around a well researched fertiliser programme will deliver excellent results. More farmers are looking at adopting this method to improve their production while reducing costs – because the main aim of your farm business is “to improve your bottom line”.

fertigationashburton guardian advertising feature

Agri Specialist Ellesmere Road, Lincoln, CanterburyPhone 0276 246 750 www.fertigation.co.nz

Graeme Pile

16

Get your seed sowing right with the right machinery

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Key Features• 6 inch row spacing • 25mm coil tine and Duncan 'T' boot with tungsten tile on leading edge • Weigh kit with scales • Safety chains • Stainless steel agitator shaft • Peg roller seeder unit

Options and accessories• Disc openers on the front of the drill• Tine Harrow or Uni-Roller following tool • Rear tow bar • Stainless steel box(es) • Seed level indicator • Hydraulic ram for drawbar • Hydraulic ram for disc openers • Baffle extension kit • Lighting kit • Harrow transport kit • Jack stand • Weather skirts to cover over seeder units

Australian dairy farmers have vowed to stand up to the “big supermarket bullies” over the tumbling price of milk.

They’ve again called on the consumer watchdog to launch a formal inquiry into the power of Coles and Woolworths.

The pair caused a storm two weeks ago by cutting as much as a third of the price of their home-brand milk, offering two litre bottles for just $A2 and de-lighting shoppers.

But Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative chairman Ian Zandstra insists only the big supermarkets will be grinning at the end of the day.

He wants to tell consumers not to be duped, that inevitably drops in prices will be recouped else-where.

Down the line, it’s farmers and vendors who will be the biggest losers.

“You might think it’s just a unilateral decision, but there is massive collateral damage - vendors are going to be hurt, those small corner stores and farm-ers,” he said.

“But (supermarkets) are going to want their prof-its back, and they will squeeze the supplier.

“We’re being held up.”

Mr Zandstra met with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last Friday and is confi-dent farmers will get the inquiry they’re after.

Dairy farmers have long felt used by the super-

markets, Mr Zandstra said.

“It’s a war,” he said.

“Now they’ve changed the whole category of milk and different milk products and now other processors have got to compete with these low prices.

“Processors won’t talk against these big bullies in town, so it’s up to farmers to fight this fight.”

He said wholesale milk prices - about 48 cents a litre - had barely risen in over a decade, while Aus-tralian production had also decreased.

Only about nine billion litres is being produced annually, rather than 11 billion in 2004 - about 25 per cent of that is drinking milk.

The commission has declined to comment on the milk fight, refusing to say if it is looking further into the matter. - AAP

Farmers declare war over prices