dairy news 8 september 2015

MOWER CUTS TO TASTEThree-pronged attackPAGE 46

HEALTH AND SAFETYNo farm sparedPAGE 25

Don’t open the champagne yet. PAGE 5

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 ISSUE 342 // www.dairynews.co.nz

RIPARIAN REBUILD

GOES ON“As third-generation dairy

farmers on this property, it’s our duty to protect the environment

despite the financial costs.” – Brendan Attrill, Taranaki.

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NEWS // 3

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DIANE FOREMAN says the Asian market is hungry for the products we produce.

She says a lot of good work has been done by government agencies in develop-ing the Chinese market, but she’s surprised at the lack of strong NZ brands there. It takes passion to take a brand offshore and she’s not sure some of the people running large companies have that passion.

She acknowledges that Fonterra has some great people working for it, but

believes it could do much more to increase the value add of its products.

“There are huge opportunities in China. When we first got into ice cream, people said ‘you will never sell it in China because the people there are lactose intolerant’. A whole generation later they are not lactose intolerant. They actually love dairy food; you can see it by the way the Chinese people are growing. They are growing taller and stronger because they are eating much

more dairy. The opportunity is phenom-enal.”

On Chinese investment in the NZ dairy sector Foreman sees no secret plan to take over NZ.

“But they are going to come down here and milk our cows and send product back to China, it’s as simple as that. If we are silly enough not to get the value from it before we sell it, that’s our loss and they’ll take it and get the value,” she says.

CHINA HAS NO SECRET PLAN FOR NZ

Ice cream queen’s sour take on Fonterra

ENTREPRENEUR DIANE Foreman, known to many as the ice cream lady, has fired a broadside at Fonterra saying “it needs a kick up the backside”.

Foreman describes her newly published autobi-ography, In the Arena, as a toolkit for entrepreneurs and budding business people. In it she takes a big swipe at Fonterra based on her personal dealings with the cooperative including the attempted sale of her ice cream company New Zealand Natural.

About 15 years ago Foreman invested in an organic milk processing plant in the South Island and contracted supply from an organic dairy herd. By her own admission she didn’t realise there was such a thing as a ‘flush’ of milk.

“Although we had done our budgeting and busi-ness plan on the type and amount of milk coming through the door, what we weren’t expecting was the flush. All of a sudden we had this ginormous amount of milk and nothing to do with it so we were looking at how to process it and add value to it which was when we started making ice cream. As far as the ice cream business went there was nothing sophisti-cated about it: we just had an oversupply of milk and we had to look at a product that we could use that

milk for and ice cream was the answer,” she says.From that start in Christchurch, Foreman moved

the business to Auckland where she bought a pro-cessing plant and a small company to acquire the NZ Natural brand and incorporated this into her Emer-ald Foods Empire. This franchise had 650 stores in 24 countries but was eventually sold by Foreman to a Chinese buyer a few months ago.

But when she got the offer from the Chinese buyer, Foreman tried to approach Fonterra to see if the co-op would be interested in buying it.

“The response was no. What I don’t understand is why a brand like NZ Natural, which is incredibly strong, would appeal to a Chinese textile manufac-turer out of the middle of China and not to Fonterra.

“He could see the value of the brand and wanted to take it to Asia. We were already in Asia and had about 55 shops in China, but his view was to have 6000 shops and it just seemed strange to me that Fonterra didn’t want to have a dream like that.”

Fonterra says it was approached by Foreman who offered her company for sale. But a spokes-person says she did not supply sufficient informa-tion for them to make a decision.

Fonterra supplies raw milk to New Zealand Nat-ural under DIRA to make ice cream.

Foreman says Fonterra was arrogant and claimed she didn’t give them enough information, but she

says they never asked for any.

“I emailed one of their direc-tors who didn’t reply and I sub-sequently got one of my profes-sional advisors to contact them and they emailed a response to my professional advisor to the effect that they had taken some soundings and there was no inter-est. This very much surprised me and it seemed incredible that they would let a brand like NZ Nat-ural go offshore. I’m a business person and I have to take the best opportunities that come my way; I was surprised that Fonterra didn’t even want to engage in a process.”

Foreman says she believes one of Fonterra’s problems is its sheer size. She says a small com-pany like hers can make decisions quickly, but says it’s hard for a large company to be nimble.

PETER BURKEpeterb@ruralnews�co�nz

Diane Foreman claims in her new book that Fonterra turned down her ice cream business and a Chinese buyer snapped it.

THE LOW payout is not holding back flood-rav-aged farmers in parts of Taranaki from replanting riparian areas or fencing waterways.

Two months on from one of the region’s worst storms in decades most farmers have spent thousands of dollars to repair infrastructure and

clear waterways.The North Island flood-

ing in June is estimated by the Government to have cost the economy $270 million. Most dairy farms in the affected areas lost land, fences and riparian planting from land slips from streambank erosion and overflowing rivers.

Brendan Attrill, who farms at Toko, 50km southeast of New Plymouth, has spent $25,000 on repair works

since the floods.A Fonterra supplier,

Attrill milks 350 cows on a 115ha (eff ) property with his wife Susan.

He says they could have done without spending the money on repairs in a chal-lenging year. However, he says the low payout should not mean less focus on environment.

“Susan and I could do without the $25,000 cost, like everyone else right now,” he told Dairy News.

“But, if we did noth-ing all those plants would have died and we would have been left with com-pletely useless infrastruc-ture down the western boundary of the farm.”

Attrill’s farm suffered 10 slips; his farm lost about 2000 riparian plants and 2km of fencing. He has since repaired the fence, re-staked 600 plants and planted 1000 new ones.

Two rivers -- Toko and Patea -- meet on Attrill’s


4 // NEWS

$25,000 repair bill and still battlingSUDESH [email protected]

farm. Though he was pre-pared for the June floods, moving stock to higher ground, the damage took him by surprise.

“We knew we were in trouble because our friends in eastern Taranaki were reporting high rain-fall. We knew all that rain from eastern Taranaki and that catchment would work its way down to our catchment; so we knew it was coming and shifted all stock to a higher stand-off pad.

“Saturday night looked alright and we thought we would get away with it, but late on Saturday night the river levels rose like we’ve never seen before.”

Attrill says it was dev-

astating to see the damage; it took the farm about a month to get back to normal operation.

But he says restoring riparian plants and fences was a priority.

“We have got the envi-ronmental and sustain-ability back in play,” he says.

“We are in dairy farm-ing for the long haul; as third generation farm-ers on this property we believe it is our duty to protect the environ-ment despite the financial costs.”

He says flooded farm-ers have had help from bankers, Taranaki Regional Council and others.

The council has set

aside $395,000 to help with riparian planting, pre-venting soil erosion; it will be supplying grass seed and helping with environ-mental fencing repairs.

Council director of operations Stephen Hall says it was tough to see some of the good work by farmers destroyed in a few days by June’s extreme weather.

“Some of it was years of effort, he told Dairy News. “We want to help where we can, so our storm recovery package is avail-able to all farmers with plans, or those who want to get a plan, and work with the council to help them recover from the storm damage.”

OF THE 2500 farm riparian management plans in Taranaki, 1760 are for dairy farms.

Taranaki Regional Council director of operations Stephen Hall says 99.5% of the region’s dairy farms have riparian man-agement plans.

Taranaki has 14,000km of streams and waterways on farms; 83% of the waterways are protected by fencing and

68% are planted.“By the end of this decade

all farmers will have plans and 100% will be riparian planted,” Hall says.

The riparian management plan is voluntary; no regula-tions or subsidies are involved.

“Farmers do everything off their own backs,” Hall says. “The council assists by provid-ing plants at cost price.”

Hall says despite the low payout, dairy farmers remain committed to the programme.

“The pace may have slowed slightly; instead of buying 1000 plants this season they are buying 500 plants. We un-derstand it’s a long game and farmers might take an extra year or two to complete plant-ing. We are flexible and fully support them.”

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Taranaki farmer Brendan Attrill says environment remains a priority despite the low payout.

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NEWS // 5

Not yet time for champagne

FARMERS NEED to work with fi-nanciers and advisers to get a plan, even if it is not palatable, says David Jones, from PPB Advisory.

While it is good to see a positive shift in dairy prices, there is no doubt global markets are more volatile, he told Dairy News.

“It is essential for the industry to manage businesses with a view to a changing market, and ensure businesses are driving cash earn-ings,” he says. “The days of capital growth may well be beyond what

is needed to correct cash deficits.” Jones says his advice to farmers

is to work closely with their finan-ciers and advisers.

“Make sure there are no surpris-es. And build a plan to deal with issues at hand and for the next 24 months.

“Once the game plan is estab-lished and agreed, sometimes not palatable, at least each party knows what’s expected of them. Then business at hand can be the focus.”

PLAN TO FRONT-FOOT

THE LATEST Global-DairyTrade results showed another move in the right direction and cause for cautious optimism, but “not time to pop the champagne yet”.

That reaction to the GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) overall price index lift of 10.9% at last week’s auc-tion, with whole milk powder up 12.1%, from Rabobank agribusiness research analyst Emma Higgins, sums up the gen-eral reaction from the finance community. The latest result follows a 14.8% increase at the pre-vious auction.

“While it’s great to see prices on the GDT bounce

upwards over the past two events, global dairy market fundamentals are still out of balance,” Higgins told Dairy News.

“We are still await-ing the global supply taps to be turned off, particu-larly in Europe as farmers continue to expand pro-duction after having their shackles removed follow-ing the unwinding of the EU quotas.

“From a demand per-spective, China is still whittling away excess inventory, while other importers outside China and Russia who have pre-viously mopped up the oversupply appear to be stuffed to the rafters with inventory.

“The good news is that the mechanisms to move these market place fun-

damentals have been trig-gered. Overseas, farmers are beginning to feel the crunch of falling farm-gate prices in key export regions, particularly in Ire-land. This is significant as low farmgate prices are the first step towards slowing supply growth – much needed in a market still awash with milk.

“We are expecting a significant improvement in dairy prices by mid-2016 as the supply/demand fun-damentals rebalance once excess stocks are whittled away and global produc-tion slows.”

David Jones, director and NZ head of agribusi-ness at PPB Advisory, says it’s good to get a positive shift in GDT early in the season.

But the major influ-

ences, with a slowing con-sumption of the emerging markets, lifting of the EU quota, China stockpile and Russia trade bans, make it difficult to gauge what is around the corner.

“All things being equal, two positive trades is a good start,” he told Dairy News. “As the US shifts from dairy to beef we should see a further strengthening of com-modity prices. There is a positive shift, with Russia and China both coming back to market.

“We need to get back to that environment where demand is greater than supply, supported by a correction in commodity prices to a long-run aver-age rather than the highs and lows as current.”

Nathan Penny, rural economist with ASB, says the first leg of the dairy price trifecta is near-ing completion. Dairy market sentiment has turned and prices have mostly regained the losses incurred in July and August.

The second, more dif-ficult, leg of the dairy price trifecta is a drop or a material slowing in NZ dairy supply.

With dairy farmers culling aggressively and a high risk of El Nino, the bank predicts a 1% pro-duction fall from last season.

But Penny says markets are yet to be convinced NZ production is slowing, and will prefer cold, hard data to forecasts.

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6 // NEWS

Store specials shed light in the gloom

WITH FARMERS under pressure, Fonterra is offer-ing discounts and special payment terms through its Farm Source and RD1 stores.

These have included a system of six months

deferred payment and low prices for such items as calf milk, glyphosate and tail paint.

Fonterra’s manager of cooperative affairs in the lower North Island says farmers in his region are finding it very tough at the moment with low or nega-tive cashflows.

Dallen Olson describes

the mood of farmers as sombre.

“All this has come on the back of three tough things: the recent floods, the low payout and cold, wet conditions. There has been little grass growth and this has made it tough for farmers.”

Olson says the weather this year has been unusu-

ally bad with heavy rains making farming especially difficult. But he says farm-ers have a good awareness of the global situation and that it is tough for every-one, not just Fonterra. He says people are aware of the long term viability of the sector and realise this is a short term glitch.

“A lot of people are changing their farm-ing systems to reflect the global environment and lower milk payout. They are becoming more self contained, buying in less supplement and culling a few cows so as to be self-contained within their own block.”

Olson says it’s hard to generalise about what is happening because every-one has different systems and the degree of flexibil-

ity to change varies a lot. But it appears many are trying to revert to a pure pasture model, reducing supplements and reliance on the lease block down the road. Those who built infrastructure as part of their farming system have that debt to service which has its own set of chal-lenges.

“In terms of health and wellness, the problem is the new ones in the game and sharemilkers. The new ones have gone through a couple of bad years and

had only one good season in three; the sharemilk-ers, be they 50/50 or lower order, are struggling. We have a targeted approach using our network within Fonterra to get out there and get a sense of what the sharemilkers need. It’s not always going to be finan-cial support; they may need help with budgeting or on farm practices.

Olson says Fonterra is working with DairyNZ to help farmers make the best decisions in their par-ticular circumstances.

He says the in-store specials at Farm Source and RD1 stores are typi-cal of the help Fonterra is giving shareholders. A special on Ancalf allows farmers to buy milk at the same price as taken out of the vat. Olson says this is a logical move, given that farmers own the stores anyway.

Farm Source is also offering an advance pay-ment of $2.50-$3.00 for cull cows, now being slaughtered in large num-bers.

FONTERRA SHAREHOLDERS can now apply for an interest-free loan of 50c/kgMS produced from June 1 to December 31, 2015.

The loan will be interest-free until May 31, 2017, after which Fonterra may charge interest.

Chairman John Wilson says farmers can repay all or part of the loan at any time and no security is required over their shares

or any other assets. The loan will be repayable directly from milk payments, and automatic repayments will occur when total advance rate payments exceed $6.00.

Applications are open now and close at 5pm on September 25.

Farmers can apply online (the preferred option) at nzfarmsource.co.nz, or by email, fax or post.

LOAN APPLICATIONS OPEN

PETER [email protected]

Fonterra’s Dallen Olson says in-store specials is one way the co-op is helping farmers.

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DIGITAL INNOVATION start-up com-pany Job Done has won a deal with Fon-terra to develop an app to save farmers time and money.

Job Done won an idea pitch last week at GridAKL, in Auckland’s innovation precinct. Seven teams representing Ice-house, Spark Ventures and BBDO spent a month developing prototypes at their own cost in the hope of supplying the co-op.

The seven ideas were pitched to a judging panel of Fonterra farmers and staff. Pitch winner Job Done, founded by Manawatu farmer Nigel Taylor, was mentored by Icehouse.

They presented a new workforce man-agement and productivity app that allows farmers to track their workers’ location in real time using GPS. This helps with com-pliance and replaces timesheets.

Each company worked with a co-op farmer who gave practical and honest feedback to guide and shape the ideas and concepts.

Fonterra farmer Olin Greenan says the winning app has great promise.

“Having more instant information

and data available for my farm will help me run a more efficient operation.

“Some important things such as com-pliance, environmental and employment regulations take a lot of time to track and manage.”

Fonterra director cooperative affairs Miles Hurrell, one of the judges, says they gave a simple brief: “look for new ways to help farmers with their businesses by reducing input costs, improve profitabil-ity and save time”.

“Job Done has a strong idea that looks promising for helping our farmers save time and money.”

All attendees were also invited to vote in a People’s Choice Award, won by Prox-imity with its Dairy 360 smartphone app. This connects with Fonterra’s existing app Fencepost to help farmers manage workflow and paperwork.

Fonterra is hoping the initiative will become a regular event, bringing con-tinuous innovation to the farm.

“I [want] anything which provides more assurance that dairy products made from my milk are made to highest indus-try practices,” says Greenan.

Digital start-up gets job done

Banks lend a helping handBANKS ARE working closely with dairy farmers as they manage through tough times.

New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope says it helps that a Federated Farmers survey has confirmed this.

“There’s a range of measures avail-able in the banking sector, and banks will continue to provide assistance according to the particular circum-stances involved.

“Two-way communication… is essential, and the survey overwhelm-ingly shows this happening on the ground. This helps farmers facing challenges to act early and have a plan and a budget in place, which is what’s needed to get through,” says Hope.

The Federated Farmers Banking Survey was completed last month by 1300 farmers around NZ.

Only 6.6% of dairy farmers say they have come under undue pressure from banks over their mortgage. Just 5.7% are dissatisfied with banks over

their mortgages and as few as 3.1% are unhappy about the quality of communica-tion from banks over the past three months.

Across all farming indus-tries the level of dissatis-faction over mortgages is even less (5.2%), with 5.5% saying they have come under undue pressure in this area and 3.5% unhappy with how banks are commu-nicating with them.

Federated Farmers president Wil-liam Rolleston says the organisation took the step because it was vital the industry knew exactly what level of support it was receiving.

“The support of banks is abso-lutely critical in these market condi-tions. They have the ability to make a significant difference to farmers, the industry and the economy if they work constructively and take a long term view.

“The high levels of satisfaction our

survey has identified are extremely encouraging for the dairy industry, but at the same time it’s con-cerning that some farm-ers are coming under pressure from banks. We are following this up and continue to urge banks to stand by the industry.

A repeat of this survey in November will tell us whether they have.”

The survey also found that 25% of dairy farmers do not have a detailed budget for the current season. This compares with 33% of all farmers.

“More than 10% do not have a mortgage and many more have very low levels of debt so this is not entirely surprising, however we remind farmers that, particularly in difficult market conditions, it is important to review your budgets and obtain expert advice from your bank, accountant and farm advisor,” says Rolleston.

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8 // NEWS

Danone threatens to pull out

Danone Nutricia says if Fonterra stops supplying raw milk under DIRA, it may consider pulling out of New Zealand.

DANONE NUTRICIA says it would have to consider leaving New Zealand in favour of countries with more suitable raw milk markets if dairy regulations are removed.

In fact it wants to see the time period Fonterra is required to supply milk to an independent processor expanded from three to five years.

The removal of regulations – particularly those pertaining to raw milk supply to other companies and farmers’ entry and exit provisions – would impact Danone Nutricia’s ability to expand and it would have to reconsider its future development in NZ, it says. The Danone Group has factories in Europe, including Ireland, from which it can source competitive dairy products for the NZ market, the company says in a submission.

Owned by Danone, its Paris-based parent company, Danone Nutricia NZ Ltd manufacturers the Karicare range of formula for infants and toddlers from its two blending, packaging and canning facilities in Auckland. The comments were made in submissions to the Commerce Commission.

The commission is reviewing the regulations under the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act. Fonterra has submitted

that it should no longer be required to provide raw milk to independent processors after 2018 or be required to collect milk from all suppliers.

Danone Nutricia says Fonterra’s dominance in NZ’s raw milk markets means these markets are not currently competitive. Regulation of the raw milk markets remains necessary for those markets to be workable and efficient, until Fonterra’s “market dominance is addressed”.

Danone Nutricia considers that it is of “paramount importance” to retain the current regulations relating to:

■ the entry and exit of dairy farmers to and from Fonterra (e.g. no discrimination between suppliers, regulation of supply contracts for raw milk, right to supply independent processors, etc.)

■ the regulations providing independent milk processors with access to raw milk

■ the regulations in relation to default milk pricing.Danone Nutricia

manufactures the milk powder for its infant formula internally at its Balclutha spray drying facility which it acquired on August 1, 2014. Previously, Danone Nutricia got most of its milk powder from Fonterra. Danone Nutricia’s supply relationship with Fonterra ended in March 2014 because of “serious

concerns as to Fonterra’s food safety standards and lack of food safety culture”.

Danone Nutricia is planning to invest in its NZ operations over the next five years, its submissions says. It sees the regulations applying to Fonterra as critical to support this growth.

“The proportion of milk collected by Fonterra has reduced from its inception to around 87%,” it says. “However, despite a reduction in the percentage of raw milk collected, it is still a very high proportion by global standards. In addition, in terms of total volume, Fonterra has reached a level far beyond the volumes produced in the early 2000’s.

“As a result, Fonterra has retained or achieved a dominant position both domestically and in worldwide markets.

“As a result of Fonterra’s dominant position domestically at both the farmgate and the factory gate, it is generally able to dictate market conditions.

“This is especially the case in remote areas where there is little or no competition. Indeed, while there are now some regions with competition where the farmers can opt for a supplier of raw milk other than Fonterra, there are a number of regions where there are still no alternatives.

“Furthermore, NZ raw milk markets are not competitive when viewed

from a global perspective. For example, in Germany, the national competition authority (Federal Cartel Office (FCO)) conducted a sector inquiry into the milk and dairy industry in 2011-2012 and published a very comprehensive report with its findings.

“The FCO states that no milk purchaser has a dominant market position in any of the regional markets in Germany, though at the time market dominance was presumed under German law whenever market shares exceeded 33%.

“However, the FCO is still very concerned about “relatively strong” market positions and long-term contracts as well as a high degree of market transparency. Until Fonterra’s market share is materially reduced, there will continue to be little opportunity for meaningful competition for the collection or distribution of raw milk.”

The current dairy regulations enable a degree of workable competition in dairy markets, Danone Nutricia says. Of utmost importance are the obligations on Fonterra in respect of exit and entry of farmers to and from Fonterra, provision of raw milk to independent processors and default milk pricing.

Danone Nutricia says these regulations have enabled the independent supply to its Balclutha facility and sees them as critical to its continued

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NEWS // 9

Danone threatens to pull outFonterra’s rival Danone says due to its dominant position in NZ, the co-op is dictating terms to other processors.

THE REMOVAL of the dairy regulations would have a negative impact both on Danone Nutricia and other manufacturers of dairy products in New Zealand, Danone Nutricia says.

Without the dairy regulations Danone Nutricia considers that Fonterra will:

(a) seek to contract with farmers for long periods (eg 5 years+) particularly in areas where it considers competition is likely; and

(b) leverage its position in the market to absorb the balance of farmers’ raw milk supply which is currently allocated to inde-pendent processors (using targeted tactical pricing, long contracts, etc.).

As a result, Danone Nutricia and other in-dependent manufacturers may be precluded from acquiring new sources of milk supply, it says.

Furthermore, these tactics will create potentially insurmountable barriers to new entry, enabling Fonterra to solidify, or even grow, its dominant market position.

“For example, Fonterra’s latest marketing initiative, “My Milk”, offers farmers the option to sell their milk without being a shareholder. Such initiatives could be used specifically to target farmers supplying independent processors with targeted pricing or supply conditions,” says Danone Nutricia.

“In terms of downstream markets, deregulation would give Fonterra a huge competitive advantage linked to its domi-nant position upstream. Absent regulation, with 87% of raw milk collection locked up by Fonterra, downstream competitors would be dependent on the willingness of Fonterra to supply them by its own choice.”

Danone Nutricia considers that it is clear that Fonterra would not have the incentive to do so

In conclusion Danone says Fonterra’s dominant position in NZ’s raw milk markets has not yet resulted in meaningful competi-tion developing. Should the dairy industry be deregulated, Danone Nutricia and other independent processors of raw milk would have significant difficulty obtaining sufficient raw milk supply at competitive prices. The likely result would be reduced competition in downstream dairy product markets and up-stream (i.e. farmers will not be likely to want to supply independents). Accordingly, until Fonterra’s market dominance is addressed, the dairy regulations should either be kept as they are or tightened.

‘DON’T REMOVE DAIRY REGULATIONS’

growth. “The entry and exit provisions will allow Danone Nutricia to compete for supply from farmers within the region around its facility, while pricing regulations make pricing more transparent and mitigate tactical overpricing of milk by Fonterra,” it says.

“As an additional consideration, although these regulations appear to be satisfactory for an established business (such as Danone Nutricia) to obtain raw milk supply, it appears unclear whether they provide a sufficient

avenue for new entrants. “Indeed, the three year

exception to the right to obtain raw milk from Fonterra does not appear to be long enough for a new manufacturer to establish its reputation.

“In order to improve the current regulations so that new entrants are able to compete, Danone Nutricia considers that exception to the right to obtain raw milk from Fonterra should be extended to five years.”

Fonterra is now not required to supply raw milk to an independent

processor in a season beginning on and after June 1, 2016 if the independent processor’s own supply of raw milk in each of the three consecutive previous seasons was 30 million litres or more.

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Rivals gang up abroadLIC AND CRV may be rivals in New Zealand but they are working together in Australia.

The farmer-co-op has entered an exclusive distri-bution agreement with Dutch dairy genetics supplier CRV.

As part of the agreement, LIC’s Australian subsid-iary business will distribute CRV’s global genetics prod-ucts to Australian farmers alongside its own genetics offering. In NZ, LIC competes with CRVAmbreed in the dairy sector.

LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says the agree-ment would strengthen LIC’s proposition in Australia.

“LIC has been supplying Australian dairy farmers with NZ genetics for more than 15 years, but the inclu-sion of genetics from CRV will allow us to cater to a wider range of farmers and grow the business in Aus-tralia,” McNee says.

CRV Oceania managing director Angus Haslett says the agreement will provide Australian dairy farmers with a range of genetics solutions while maintaining CRV’s strong reputation in the country.

“We see it as a positive move for Australia’s dairy farmers who… need quality genetics at competitive prices….”

The popularity of larger, North American and Euro-pean-style Holstein-Friesian cow has limited LIC’s ability to provide genetics to a larger proportion of Australian dairy farmers, McNee says.

Fresh start by Fonterra in OzFONTERRA HAS started supplying fresh milk to Australian supermarket chain Woolworths from its new multi-million plant in

Cobden, western Victoria.The plant was

commissioned last week and will supply Woolworths Select own-brand milk in Victoria for

10 years.Fonterra Australia

managing director Judith Swales says the plant starts a new era at the Cobden site – “an important milestone for our Australian business and a key pillar of our strategy”.

The plant expansion will generate 50 new jobs and benefit the local community and the co-op’s farmers. It will process up to 100 million litres of milk each year.

The long-term agreement with Woolworths provides certainty for our farmers that they will have a home for their milk, says Swales.

“Everyone involved in the Cobden expansion has done an exceptional job readying the site.”

Over the next four weeks the plant will increase production of Woolworths Select milk for sale across Victoria. It will be officially launched in September.

Australian dairy farmers have welcomed the commissioning of the

plant.Australian Dairy

Farmers (ADF) president Noel Campbell says he expects the benefits of the long term contract to flow through to the farmers’ bottom line. “The duration of Woolworth’s commitment with Fonterra Australia is welcome. Retail contracts with this sort of longevity provide milk processors with the security and certainty they require to invest in the industry’s capability and growth. “The ten year contract also gives Fonterra the option to provide longer term contracts to their suppliers. Farmers are always more willing to invest onfarm when they have a certain destination for their product.” Campbell says ADF would continue to monitor farm gate returns for farmers supplying fresh milk contracts and he encouraged all Australians to buy branded products to support Australian dairy farmers.

Costa Pavlou (right), project Manager with the first bottle of milk made at the plant.

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‘Cure of low prices is low prices’THE PAST year has tested many assumptions made about the world dairy market, most importantly that there was a once-bottomless market being driven by the urbanisation mira-cle occurring in China.

Everyone got that wrong – econo-mists, food companies, dairy exporters and analysts – but especially the Chi-nese government that has been caught out by the massive loss of confidence in its industrial demand, currency and stock market. Even the world’s biggest dairy exporter, with a long association and deep investments in the market, couldn’t see the building stockpiles and flattening demand.

With acute 20/20 hindsight, the Chi-nese dairy boom and bust may go down as one of the biggest bubbles in the his-tory of dairy trade, but leaves us with staggering numbers. Chinese import growth exploded from 2012 to 2013 to consume an additional three billion litres in a single year, with expectation the growth would keep going. This surge very cutely equalled the expansion in NZ output over three years to 2014 as it geared up to supply the surging demand. Imports slid in 2014 and again over 2015, and many now think China’s future

norm will be back at 2012 import levels.

Add that to Vlad Putin’s hissy fit with the West, and the sub-sequent closure of Russia’s cheese market which put a further 2.3 billion litres of market demand in doubt. This came at a time when net export availability (after domestic demand) from the big three exporters grew nearly four bil-lion litres.

Hence the demand disruptions cou-pled with extra supply meant an extra nine billion litres –Australia’s total annual output – was without a home over the past year. Low prices encour-aged some keen buying in several mar-kets – South East Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Mexico and South America – to soak up about 40% of that volume. The world is now still left with a large problem – literally a powder mountain – to work through before ‘balance’ is restored.

But what does balance actually mean? It isn’t some calm derived from a neat meeting of minds of buyers

and sellers for mutual benefit. Simply, it’s the average prices at which trade has been done over the long term (since 2007 when the world changed) – milk powders at about US$3500/t and cheddar around US$4000/t. In 2012-13 at these prices, when the $A traded

at around parity with the $US, aver-age southern milk prices were close to $5/kgMS. With the dollar at or around US70c, those prices will pay well above $6.50/kgMS. So, you’d like to see them back, right?

The world will adjust, the market will recover, but what will the new norm look like beyond that?

Sorry, but this is another phase of the extreme volatility that has plagued dairy markets since 2006. Dairy is not the only sector going through this, given close relationships between grains, meat proteins, and oilseeds, and the greater fragility of the world’s weather, not to mention China’s influence and geo-political upheavals.

The history of spot prices for ched-

dar and SMP shows the contrast over time.

Either side of a period of relative calm from early 2010 to mid-2013, mar-kets have experienced lengthy phases of extreme volatility. Up to 2009, a global food shortage then the global financial crisis had large impacts on trade. Since mid-2013, a more complex mix of influ-ences have impacted the sector.

Can we come out of this deep plunge? The adage ‘the best cure for low prices is low prices’ is now at work to slow down milk supply, but it will take time.

Supply responses always work faster when the market is low – as long as it takes to put cows on a truck bound for burger heaven, or to hang-up on the feed merchant. On the way up, the response is far slower: high product prices in 2013 and 2014 induced a positive, gradual milk supply response which has lasted well into 2015, spurred by the removal of EU production quotas.

A slowing in milk output is underway in New Zealand, and will accelerate as its season unfolds. A gradual slowing has also started in a number of EU states more exposed to commodity exports. The slowdown may take longer as new found freedom post-quota has created

its own monster, and exports are a small portion of milk use.

There is much more to unravel from the current market situation, as this extremely volatile cycle quickly built large stockpiles. Chinese processors will take time to work through milk powder inventories, but buyers in other regions such as SE Asia and MENA are also well-stocked.

All up, we will be very lucky to see the balance restored to prices in the next year. Most likely this will take longer to arrive, certainly in actual prices paid to exporters, as opposed to the emotion captured in spot prices. Poor weather may change that.

Will the dairy world learn from these inevitable impacts? Possibly not a lot.

China as a single large market is a black hole because its data in most areas can’t be believed. Creating a better system of information on consumer demand and product in stockpiles in China and other critical countries might be a dream but it won’t be devel-oped without a benefit to players who have to share. • Steve Spencer is a director of FreshA-genda, a consultancy company based in Victoria, Australia.

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Long queue for DairyNZ boardDairyNZ chairman John Luxton is stepping down.

THIS YEAR’S DairyNZ director elections has attracted 10 candidates, the most in recent years.

Voting opens on Sep-tember 14 for the three director seats; results will be announced at DairyNZ’s annual meeting in Morrinsville on Octo-ber 13.

The field includes two

sitting directors: Michael Spaans and Ben Allomes, who are retiring by rota-tion; a director serves a four-year term before re-election. The third direc-tor and DairyNZ chairman John Luxton is stepping down from the board after 12 years.

The other candidates are Murray Jamieson

(Hamilton), Steve Hines (Mangakino, Waikato), Elaine Cook (Hamilton), Grant Wills (Walton, Waikato), Michelle Wilson (Waihi, Waikato), Kevin Ferris (Te Awamutu, Waikato), Greg Maughan (Marton, Manawatu) and Kevin Old (Lincoln, Can-terbury).

The greatest number of

candidates in a DairyNZ director election was 14 in 2009; last year there were five.

Meanwhile four farmer candidates have put their name forward for three seats on DairyNZ’s direc-tors’ remuneration com-mittee. They are Federated Farmers Waikato presi-dent Chris Lewis (Puke-atua, Waikato), David Gasquoine (Matamata, Waikato), Gerard Wolvers (Te Awamutu, Waikato) and Harry Rich (Taupiri, Waikato).

Returning officer Anthony Morton, elec-tionz.com, is encouraging farmers to have their say.

“It’s easy to vote and quick to do. Farmer levy payers can vote by the internet, post or fax – or in

person at the AGM. These candidates will repre-sent dairy farmers nation-wide so it would be great to see a strong turnout of voters,” says Morton.

All dairy farmers who pay a levy on milksol-ids can vote for their pre-ferred candidates in both elections for the board and the directors’ remunera-tion committee.

Voting opens when packs, with candidate profiles, are sent to levy paying farmers on Sep-tember 14.

“If anyone has any que-ries or doesn’t receive their voter pack by the end of September they can contact us at [email protected] or tele-phone 0800 666 030,” says Morton.

Coffee, vanilla flavours add to milk rangeNEW ZEALAND’S best known flavoured milk is now available in two more flavours.

Premium dairy brand Lewis Road Creamery last week launche fresh coffee milk and fresh vanilla milk flavours; they join the record-breaking chocolate milk.

Lewis Road Creamery’s chocolate milk created consumer hysteria: fans lined up for the product, and cleaned out supermarket supplies within hours of the product hitting the shelves each week.

Just as the chocolate milk was a joint effort between Lewis Road and Whittakers chocolate, the two new fla-vours are collaborations with two premium and popu-lar Kiwi brands – Coffee Supreme and Heilala Vanilla.

And like its popular fresh chocolate milk, the two new flavours were developed with a focus on quality over quantity and natural over artificial.

The simple process from farmgate to bottle has the milk blended with only a few ingredients of the highest quality and no additives or preservatives.

Lewis Road Creamery fresh coffee milk derives from coffee from the independent coffee roaster Coffee Supreme in a chilled format.

A blend of hand-selected and naturally processed Brazilian coffees are roasted, ground and batch brewed to create a coffee extract – in contrast to other coffee milks made from instant coffee. The coffee extract, with notes of cocoa nib, jersey caramel, honeysuckle and hazelnut brittle, is warmed with Lewis Road Creamery’s permeate-free milk and a hint of organic coconut sugar before being pasteurised and bottled.

A similar simple process is used to produce Lewis Road Creamery Fresh Vanilla Milk. Heilala Vanilla’s Pure Vanilla Extract, Lewis Road Creamery’s milk and cane sugar are infused together through a gentle warm-ing process to create a vanilla milk that is the first of its kind in New Zealand. It has notes of butterscotch, honey and hints of hazelnut and fig.

“Coffee Supreme and Heilala Vanilla represent the finest in their respective categories and share our vision of world-class products,” says Lewis Road Creamery founder Peter Cullinane.

The new products are on sale in two bottle sizes – 750ml, RRP $6.49, and 300ml, RRP $3.69.

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16 // NEWS

Fert co-op holds pricingBALLANCE AGRI-NUTRIENTS is holding nitrogen prices to help shelter customers from the drop in the dollar.

“We know this is a crucial period for pastoral farmers, and with nitrogen a key feed source in farm budgets we are doing our best to help out where we can and support our customers to plan their feed requirements for spring,” said Ballance chief executive Mark Wynne.

Ballance science manager Aaron Staf-

ford advises farmers to focus on the nutri-ent inputs that drive production in the current season or year when planning budgets.

“With talk of an El Nino summer we support a focus on farmers planning early to set up farms up to grow as much feed as possible, as early as possible. Nitro-gen can be used to lift pasture covers and provides the opportunity to harvest sur-pluses. Potassium is also a very impor-

tant nutrient that supports clover health, which in turn lifts the feed quality of pastures heading into summer. Where phosphate or sulphur is limited, super-phosphate still remains the cheapest way to supply these nutrients.”

Prices of Ballance’s SustaiN and Nrich Urea range remain unchanged. The large drop in the NZD against the USD has been the driver behind some small price increases in other nutrients.

“The NZD has dropped more than 30% against the USD in the past year, causing price pressures on product sourced inter-nationally. We are conscious of tight farm budgets and we are absorbing some of the impact on our customers, however we’ve had to pass on a small portion of these costs,” says Wynne.

He says that due to the decline in the NZD over the last 12 months, the coop-erative is anticipating material price

increases in all key nutrient groups in the second half of the financial year.

“We are asking our shareholders to carefully consider this when finalising annual fertiliser plans.”

Ballance at the end of July announced they were returning 94% of the coopera-tive’s $81 million gross trading revenue to shareholders. The rebate and dividend averaging $60 per tonne totalled $76 mil-lion paid on July 31.

THE CURIOSITY of a Mexican dermatologist has sparked new anti-acne research.

It may also hold the key to further success for Hamil-ton-based Quantec Ltd, developers of a clinically-proven anti-acne cream called Epiology Skincare derived from high value milk proteins.

Quantec founder and managing director Dr Rod Clay-comb says one simple question has led his research and development team to confirm the patented ingredient in Epiology Skincare kills the bad bacteria that causes acne but does not kill naturally-found good bacteria required for healthy skin.

“We launched Epiology Skincare onto the Mexican market in December 2014 through a strong national net-work of dermatologists. One of those dermatologists, Dr Ingrid Karin Lopez-Gehrke, performed some clinical stud-ies on her patients.

“Those patient experiences led her to ask our R&D team if it was possible that Epiology kills the bad bacteria on your skin that causes acne but does not kill the good bacteria your skin requires to be healthy.

“This was something we suspected but never thor-oughly tested so her question sent us back into the lab to run new experiments. We concluded Dr Ingrid’s suspi-cions were factual: in the process of killing the bad bac-teria that causes acne – P. acnes – Epiology does not kill commensals, or good bacteria naturally found on healthy skin,” Claycomb says.

Dr Lopez-Gehrke, a key opinion leader among Mexi-can dermatologists, was invited to present the results of Epiology clinical experiences at the New Zealand Derma-tological Society annual meeting on Saturday, August 28 in Auckland.

Lopez-Gehrke led a study of the unique ability of Epi-ology to reduce redness and protect patient’s skin from known harsh effects of prescription acne medications.

According to statistics provided by Quantec’s Mexican distributor, 80-90% of the country’s population is affected by acne before the age of 21 and many will contact a derma-tologist. Mexican dermatologists derive around one-third of their income from selling branded derma products.

Claycomb believes the distribution of Epiology into Mexico is a good entry point for the company to launch into other Central American and Latin American markets in the medium term.

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Dermatologist, Dr Ingrid Karin Lopez-Gehrke and Dr Rod Claycomb, Quantec

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The scholarship, run by Countdown’s parent company Woolworths, gives practical and aca-demic perspectives on the business of agriculture from key industry leaders. The indus-try supported course gives insights into all aspects of the food chain.

The other Kiwi participant was sheep farmer Grant McNaughton.

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NEWS // 17

Oz business insights for Kiwis

State farmer controls cost as profits slump

LANDCORP CHIEF executive Steven Carden says while the company has taken a hit in its profit this year due to the down-turn in the dairy industry, it has done a lot to control costs and increase pro-duction.

For the year ended June, profit dropped by just over $25 million to $4.9m but Carden says in the circumstances the result is a solid one for the state owned farmer. He says like all farmers in the dairy industry they suffered the same fate in terms of profit.

But he says the result could have been worse had Landcorp not secured a significant volume of milk to Fonterra’s guaranteed milk price.

Milk revenue was down from $129m last year to $88.1m, but livestock rev-enue was up from $98.7m to $111.3m, partly off-setting the drop in dairy income.

Carden says while the drop is not unexpected, there are some positives.

“We have a 9% decrease in the cost of our dairy

production and that coin-cided with the 4% increase in overall production so it’s a sizable increase in our efficiency. We will increasingly lower stock-ing rates to a system two type rather than the more intensive systems,” he says.

Carden says as part of a move to get greater effi-ciency in their dairy oper-ation they are adopting a management regime based on the system Toyota uses.

“We are looking at how we spend our time in every aspect of our dairy opera-tion and looking for areas where we are inefficient and to standardise the way we do things to drive out that inefficiency. It sounds very mechanistic but these are disciplines from other businesses that work really well in every sense, and the great thing is the staff love it because it means they are a lot more productive in what they do. They don’t waste a lot of time looking for tools or conducting a process like putting on cups in an inef-ficient manner because they have been shown the most efficient way of doing it,” he says.

Carden says this means staff get through milking

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faster, get home sooner and are more energised. He says it’s having a big impact on the quality of the experience of working at Landcorp regardless of the dollar savings.

The further develop-

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Carden says that since he came into the role of chief executive he’s been very wary of the risks dairying poses to Land-

corp’s balance sheet.Landcorp had

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QLD DAIRY CONFERENCE // 19

ASIA MAY not be far from Queensland’s doorstep but the challenges of catering to the export market are great, says an Aus-tralian dairy leader.

Norco Dairy Co-op deputy chair Tony Wilson says the road to China had not been easy for the company.

“The tyranny of distance is still a chal-lenge for Australia, but the size and scope and proximity to Asia cannot be ignored,” Wilson says.

In the past 12 months, Norco has man-aged to set up systems so that fresh milk is sent to China within seven days of pro-duction. It achieved faster regulatory and logistics access, and a direct selling trail online.

The co-op also developed a smart-phone app that allows customers to trace information on when the milk was pack-aged, and it will tell where it was produced.

“Slowly but surely the potential in China is being realised,” Wilson says. Norco’s sales in China had grown ten-fold in the past year “and there was more to come,” he said. The Norco brand is now available in many cities in China.

Bruce Warren, head of Japfa Com-feed, an agribusiness firm, told the con-ference the opportunities in Indonesia are immense and that Australian produc-ers needed to be “bold”. “Unless we jump in boots and all now, we’re going to be left behind.”

Asia there for the taking

Oz farmers told to brace for lower pricesQUEENSLAND FARMERS have received a sobering message about the effects of a supermarket war on the price of milk and dairy products.

Lion Dairy & Drinks managing director Peter West told farmers at the recent Queensland Dairy Conference to brace for lower milk prices.

The price wars in the regular milk category started in 2011 when major retailer Coles unveiled A$1/L milk; rival supermarket chain Woolworths quickly matched the offer. Coles recently set the lowest mark yet for the product, cutting the cost from A95c/L to A90c/L.

“The prices I get today will be lower next year, lower the year after and the year after that,” West said. “I can guarantee you there will be five years of price deflation.”

He said a strategy of pursuing growth opportunities and cutting costs was driving Lion’s response, highlighting that consumer trends towards full fat milk, butter, coffee and natural products was great for the sector.

“DARE iced coffee now outsells Coca-Cola in convenience stores,” he said. “This is a market in enormous change and transition [and] it is the future of a more vibrant dairy industry.”

He said the need for authenticity in products – supported by the government’s new country of origin labelling laws – will also bode well for Australian dairy, but he urged caution about seeing China as the

saviour of industry.“The opportunities are there but

it will be volatile and harder than everybody thinks. This market is hugely sophisticated and competitive.” The company has also launched a new ‘Milk Matters’ campaign to remind local consumers of the effort that goes into producing a litre of milk.

“We want people to think again about all the work that went into that product, and we want them to have an emotional reaction to the things they take for granted -- your hard work required for this product that [often costs less] than water. [We want them to ask], is that right?”

The company has cut budgets and staff and offloaded its cheese businesses in an “unrelenting” effort to reduce costs.

West said a “strong focus on mutuality” – supporting farmers to be viable and successful – was also a focus of their approach and the company is looking to help suppliers reduce costs, eg by bulk energy purchasing.

“We all want to see the notion of a fair price. There will always be a tension about how much that is, but our aim will always be to pay the maximum we can afford.”

Parmalat’s Steve Oldridge told of new measures to help farmers save production costs including bulk energy and feed, and benchmarking tools and increased communication with farmers. He said the company and was looking to ensure suppliers had sustainable profit margins.

Lion Dairy & Drinks managing director Peter West with Norco deputy chair Tony Wilson, QDO’s Wesley Judd, and Parmalat national manager, farm sustainability and communication, Steve Oldridge.

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20 // WORLD

West African markets beckons ArlaEUROPEAN DAIRY co-op Arla recently signed two new joint ventures in Africa as part of its expan-sion plan on the continent.

Two strong local part-ners, Tolaram in Nigeria and Attieh Group in Sen-egal, will provide the dis-tribution backbone that

will help Arla grow and develop its business in West Africa, the co-op says.

The move is part of Arla’s strategy to develop new markets outside the EU to make more money from its farmer-owners’ milk.

Arla’s ambition in sub-Saharan Africa is to grow its annual revenue from $158 million to $800m in 2020.

“This is to be achieved initially through sales of powdered milk and liquid milk, which is in high demand among the rapidly

growing middle class in and around the big cities, and eventually also butter and cheese,” it says.

Steen Hadsbjerg, head of the business region in sub-Saharan Africa, says wealthier families are increasingly demanding safe and affordable nutri-tion. He says West Africa faces a milk deficit, which Arla will fill with milk powder and other dairy products.

“We are here to build a long-term business, and that requires strong local partners. We [will have] two experienced partners in Senegal and Nigeria,” says Hadsbjerg. Arla’s powdered milk products in Africa are sold under the Arla Dano brand.

“In Nigeria Arla now has annual reve-nue of $140m but so far it has been based on vari-ous distribution agree-ments. Now, by placing all its business in the new

joint venture company with Tolaram Group, Arla expects to grow its reve-nue by 2020.

“Nigeria is one of the biggest markets for dairy products in Africa,” says Hadsbjerg.

“For Arla to succeed in Africa we must succeed in Nigeria. The population is growing at 2-3% per year, and people are young, ambitious and increasingly well educated.

“This makes Nigeria a perfect market for Arla’s Africa strategy, and we expect the new joint ven-ture to start selling in Sep-tember.”

The venture in Nige-ria will be called TG Arla Dairy Products LFTZ Entreprise, owned 50% by Arla Foods and 50% by Tolaram Group. The com-pany will handle packag-ing, marketing, sales and distribution of Arla prod-ucts in Nigeria. Mads Bur-mester has been appointed managing director.

ARLA DOES not now sell any product in Senegal, but by forming a joint venture company with the Attieh Group, the co-op expects to build annual revenue of $56m by 2020.

The new joint venture company in Senegal is called Arla Senegal S.A. and is owned 75% by Arla Foods and 25% by Attieh Group.

The joint venture will handle packaging, mar-keting, sales and distribution of Arla products in Senegal, and is expected to be operational before the end of this year.

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WORLD // 21

University of Sydney’s Kim McKean with his award.Career award for

dedication to dairy

FIFTY YEARS is a long time to work in one indus-try, and long enough to witness lots of change.

Just so for Kim McKean, manager of the University of Syd-ney’s dairy operation at Camden, New South Wales who recently received the Dairy Science Award from the Dairy Research Foun-dation in recognition of his service to the industry.

He started as an animal attendant in 1966 and over the decades has trained thousands of veterinary and animal science stu-dents in practical animal husbandry, and been on-the-ground support for at least 100 masters and PhD students.

Now he helps oversee the implementation of the university’s Corstorphine farm robotic rotary dairy.

“When I started we were milking in a little six bail walk-through dairy, putting the cups on the cows and washing their teats with an old cloth,” he said. “I never thought I’d see robots milking the bloody things; it’s amaz-ing.” The university campus has five farms over 350ha and milks 360-380 cows.

In August last year, the farm transitioned from a 40-a-side double up her-ringbone system to the automatic milking system developed by the uni-versity in partnership with Swedish company DeLaval, the NSW Depart-ment of Primary Industries and Dairy Australia.

The robotic rotary has an internal, rotary her-ringbone platform, with cows facing outwards and the robots housed in the centre.

The system does teat washing and drying, applies the milking cups, removes cups, disinfects the teats and flushes the cups. It also monitors milk yield and quality.

Commercial versions can handle 90 cows per hour depending on the number of robots installed and the daily operational procedure. The dairy can do 1500-1600 milkings per

day, meaning the equip-ment could milk up to 800 cows twice a day.

McKean said it had been a steep learning curve since they first started using the system in August. “I’m not particularly computer literate, though I am now apparently. It’s been a challenging 12 months, but we’ve got it going and it’s working well.”

The cows had settled into the new way of milking within a couple of days but they took longer to adjust to the voluntary cow traffic.

“I’ve always known animals are not stupid but this has reinforced just how smart they are. It only takes a couple of days for them to work out the new system. And from an animal welfare and cow comfort point of view the system is fantastic, because the cows move to the milking system voluntarily.”

The cows’ movements and eating patterns are monitored and tracked, and they are guided through designated gated areas to the milking area, knowing there is more food once they are milked.

“They love it. There’s no pressure on the cows, there’s no one yelling at them, they are not being jammed up in yards with lots of other cows. It’s good from that point of view.”

McKean said his biggest challenge adapting to the new technology was surrendering management to the system and trusting it to do the job.

“And someone has to be available to monitor the system, not necessarily be in the dairy, but be available to take automated phone calls from the system and to attend to an issue.”

That may mean a phone notification in the middle of the night to attend to a problem. “But the upside is, we start at 6am now and not 3.30am.”

He said 90% of the herd came to be milked during the night. “We only get about 50-60% during the day and that’s because we do a lot

MADELEINE BRENNANof teaching of vet students here. It’s not the most appealing place to come (as a cow) when there is a high risk that you will be poked and prodded by a heap of students.”

McKean said adjusting to the robotic system had so far not made his life easier, but he can see it will as they get better at using it. “It’s definitely the way of the future.”

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22 // OPINION

RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

MILKING IT...

Staring down the floodsTARANAKI FARMERS are bouncing back from the devastating floods two months ago.

In a season when most dairy farmers will end up in the red, thanks to the low milk prices, these farmers deserve a pat on the back for forking out money on repairs.

Each farmer in eastern and southern Taranaki has spent thousands of dollars on digger hire, fencing contractors and riparian plants to get farms back on track.

It would have been easy for farmers to hide behind the excuse of low payout and leave the rivers and streams without riparian plantings and further susceptible to erosion.

The figures are mind boggling: Taranaki has 14,000km of rivers and waterways, 85% of which have riparian management plans, and 65% have been planted.

The floods in June were devastating; the council described it as an extreme event and that farmers might expect to be hit by such extraordinary damage only once or twice in a lifetime of farming.

In many cases, years of investment and hard work that farm-ers have put into their properties through the council’s riparian and sustainable land management programmes were devas-tated by flooding and erosion over a couple of days.

There was extensive slipping, soil erosion and damage to fencing in the eastern hill country and on the ring plain where some farms lost hundreds of metres of riparian planting. Recent plantings were destroyed; they are more vulnerable as the young plants are still developing roots. Once mature, the riparian mar-gins will stand up better to future flooding.

Farmers are not alone in their quest to repair fence and plant waterways; the council has set aside $395,000 to help farmers. The Government has chipped in with $2.6 million for affected communities in Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatu.

Sustainability remains a buzzword for the dairy industry. Taranaki farmer Brendan Attrill says restoring riparian plants and fences on his flood-ravaged farm was a priority.

Most farmers are in the business for the long haul; they have a duty to protect the environment whatever the payout.

The council acknowledges that farmers’ and landowners’ environmental work is vital to caring for Taranaki, ensuring farm work and living off the land is sustainable.

Taranaki is a great example of a council and farmers work-ing hand-in-hand. They run a voluntary scheme but the healthy uptake by farmers indicates that farmers take their environ-mental responsibilities seriously, no matter where the payout stands.

Are they really?WHO SAID bankers are bastards? Feds’ latest survey shows bankers are turning a sympathetic ear to farmers hit by the low payout.

Only 6.6% of dairy farmers say they have come under undue pres-sure from banks over their mortgage. Just 5.7% are dissatisfied with banks over their mortgages and as few as 3.1% are unhappy about the quality of communication from banks over the past three months.

We say hats off to the bankers for not unduly pressuring farmers.

Is almond milk nuts?WHAT PERCENTAGE of almonds should almond ‘milk’ contain avoid misleading consumers? A class action filed in the US against WhiteWave Foods and Blue Diamond Growers for false advertis-ing looks set to nut it out in the civil courts soon. Of course, here at Dairy News the concern isn’t so much whether there is a small (2%) amount of almonds in the product, as whether you can really call it milk at all? Given that the word milk has its roots in an Indo-European word ‘melg’ (to wipe or stroke), we’re not sure any liquid should be called milk if it isn’t harvested by milking. Camels, goats… you’re off the hook. But almonds, coconuts, soy beans, oats and cashews? Perhaps it’s time for a new word. How about ‘non-dairy water-based composite’? Sounds delicious.

Shorten odds on trade dealTHE NZ-CHINA free trade deal has worked wonders for us. So why are the Aussies are still playing political football with their deal.

Oz farmers are keen to have the deal endorsed by Parliament and brought into effect by the end of 2015. With the mining downturn, the bumbling Oz economy needs a kickstart.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says he supports the deal but his party will not compromise on Australian jobs. But some Labour stalwarts are peel-ing away from Shorten on this issue and the Opposi-tion leader may soon fall in line.

There’s now talk that China could walk away and look elsewhere. Oh dear!

No, we won’t!SCIENTISTS AT Massey University have confirmed what farmers have known for years: cows do not like to walk uphill.

Their research, funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, investigates more sustain-able farming practices for managing beef cows on hill country and around waterways.

Angus, Angus cross-Friesian and Angus cross-Jersey cows were moni-tored over two consecutive winters at the university’s Tuapaka farm to get base-line measurements of how the beef cows used the 8-12ha paddocks.

The research found that even in extensive hill country paddocks cows avoided walking uphill. Of the 3km they walked each day, less than 300m was uphill. Instead the cows followed the contours of the hills and concen-trated their grazing on the flatter areas. The cows’ movements were largely unaffected by cold, wet weather.

Researchers say this confirms what farmers already know about feed requirements and grazing habits but gives them a baseline measure.

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OPINION // 23

AS THE New Zealand dairy industry has expanded rapidly in recent years so too has the dairy support farm.

So what is the dairy downturn going to mean for the dairy support farmer? This important question needs serious thought by both sides of the industry.

Already we have seen many dairy animals not go out to previously arranged winter feed. Thankfully for those farmers who had grown this feed, the South Island drought and North Island floods meant there was an alternative market on which to sell it.

As dairy farmers trim costs many are also reducing cow numbers which in turn will mean fewer animals need to be retained and possibly young stock could now be grazed on the dairy platform.

So fewer stock to be grazed and reduced feed requirements for dairy farmers will see dairy

support farmers having to review their farm policies.

The strength of beef and the favourable outlook will be seen by many dairy support farmers who have lost dairy stock as the logical policy to follow. This policy change would then pose another question: is there sufficient young beef stock to meet an increasing demand?

For dairy farmers to rear significant numbers of dairy beef calves will require a major mindset change -- from every possible drop of milk in the vat to one of assessing all possible revenue streams from their herd.

If we do see a swing to more beef being farmed and there’s no evident lift in the numbers of young stock reared, the competition for replacement stock will be intense.

Those affected parties should discuss any changes that may occur. If a one sided, abrupt change eventuates, the aggrieved farmer, from whichever side --

RICK POWDRELLbecause it does happen both ways -- will often avoid entering a similar arrangement again.

It is important to weigh up where you want to be when the dairy industry returns to business as usual. That way, you won’t lose good relationships which may be beneficial in the future.• Rick Powdrell is Federated Farmers board member

Wise to farm more beef

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24 // AGRIBUSINESS

Wise use of land, labour and capitalASHBURTON SHAREMILKERS Sara and Stuart Russell have always tried to make their dairy operation as sustain-able as possible. Entering the Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards helped them confirm they were on the right track.

“We wanted to see how our business compared with others, and to find out what we could do to improve,” says Sara.

Sara and Stuart, a former builder, 50:50 sharemilk 700 cows on 252ha (eff) south of Ashburton. The farm is owned by her parents Rick and Diana Bourke via the Bourke family trust.

The Russells entered the 2015 Can-terbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA) and won the LIC Dairy Farm Award in their first time in the competition.

“We were blown away to win the LIC award,” says Sara. “It was great to know the judges liked what we were trying to achieve.”

Last year’s LIC Dairy Farm award recognised the dairy farmer who dem-

onstrated in a practical way the choices made to farm for the long term. Judges took into account the wise use of land, labour and capital resources, and they considered the effects of dairy farm-ing on surface and groundwater and its impact on soil properties.

BFEA judges were impressed with the Russells’ work ethic, clear focus on pro-ductivity, innovative nutrient manage-ment and excellent staff management.

Sara says they always consider staff and the environment when making key management decisions.

She says winning the LIC Dairy Farm Award was a welcome endorsement of their operation.

“It was great to get such positive feed-back from the judges. Stuart loves talk-ing about the farm and we enjoyed the judging process. The judges gave us very useful advice on how we could improve our business, and we have taken on board their ideas.”

One tip they immediately imple-mented was putting shade cloth under

the sawdust in the calf shed, to improve drainage.

“The judging process made us take a good look at our business and think hard about what we are spending our money on. That’s been a valuable exer-cise because in times like this, we have to watch our farm expenses very carefully.”

Sara says the awards evening was another highlight. “It was brilliant to meet so many people from different farm types. We found it quite inspiring.”

She and Stuart plan to enter the com-petition again. “We’d recommend it to other farmers. It’s an amazing experi-ence.”

Entries for the 2016 Canterbury Bal-lance Farm Environment Awards close on 1 October 2015. Entry forms are avail-able online at www.bfea.org.nz

This year the LIC award has changed to also recognise the important role herd improvement plays in a sustain-able farming business.

“While best practice environmental management has always been linked to

long term sustainability, herd improve-ment also has a key role to play in that it helps our farmers breed animals that are efficient converters of feed to milk,” LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says.

“Smart use of breeding, culling, animal health, selection pressure and reproductive management can help drive

herd improvement and in turn deliver an efficient and profitable herd and farming operation.”

As a new aspect the judges will con-sider how entrants demonstrate high standards of herd improvement, repro-duction, animal health and welfare via herd recording.

Ashburton sharemilkers Sara and Stuart Russell.


AGRIBUSINESS // 25

Melissa Vining, Crowe Howarth.

Farmers not off the hook on health and safetyIT’S A complete fallacy that the farming community doesn’t have to worry about health and safety as a result of proposed changes to the Health and Safety Reform Bill, according to an expert.

Crowe Horwath agri health and safety expert Melissa Vining says the recent hype around proposed changes have monopolised the headlines in recent days with many accusing the Government of letting farmers off the hook.

However she is quick to dispel the idea that farmers have been given a mandate to ignore health and safety.

Vining says the classification of high and low risk sectors in particular has been in the media spotlight with backbone farming sectors sheep, beef and dairy being classified as low risk. “This means most farms will not need to appoint a health and safety representative.”

She cautions people not to let the silliness about worm farming and cat breeding being deemed high risk distract from the real issues of health and safety being addressed by the bill.

“This is only one small part of the bill and farmers of all types still need to be aware of and fulfil their obligations regarding health and safety in their businesses.”

Vining stresses that a key element to the bill is to develop an effective working relationship between all parties (person conducting a business or undertaking [PCBUs], officers and workers) and lower the rate of workplace accidents. This is regardless of whether or not there is an appointed workers’ health and

safety representative. As someone who

works with farmers daily, Vining has been disappointed by the attitude portrayed in the coverage of the issue.

“The majority of farmers know they work in an environment which carries risk. They acknowledge that health and safety is critically important and want clear guidance from the Government on what they need to do.”

Vining notes that along with existing requirements there are several key changes proposed which will affect farmers.

The workplace has been redefined as the

area where you are working or where work usually happens, rather than the whole farm.

All PCBUs will be required to engage with their workers on matters of health and safety that affect them.

All PCBUs are required to consult with other PCBUs working on their farm to identify potential hazards / risks and how they will be addressed.

There are huge upsides to getting health and safety right Vining points out.

“First, you’re protecting yourself and your employees from harm. You also minimise the risk of prosecution if there is a workplace incident. Financially farmers can also receive a 10% reduction in ACC levies for three years once their health and safety management plan is accepted and that can be renewed for subsequent three year periods.”

While the changes might seem confusing, farmers are encouraged not to panic, says Vining’s colleague former WorkSafe NZ inspector

“The majority of farmers know they work in an environment which carries risk.”

turned health and safety consultant Richard Tattersfield.

“Once the bill is passed it is expected to come into force in April 2016. This gives businesses about eight

months to get a good understanding of the new legislation,” says Tattersfield.

Lastly, Vining encourages farmers unsure about what impact the proposed

changes will have on them to talk to a health and safety consultant or visit the saferfarms.org.nz website.


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26 // AGRIBUSINESS

PKE now trucked from WellingtonPALM KERNEL expeller (PKE) is now being imported directly to Wellington from this month.

Animal feed supplier Sour-ceNZ says this means lower freight costs for farmers in Manawatu, Wairarapa and Hawkes’ Bay.

The inaugural PKE ship-ment is due to dock at Cen-trePort, Wellington, early September, the first time a feed commodity will be available to truck direct from Wellington to all regions in the lower North Island.

SourceNZ managing director Warren Morritt says the company is pleased to help farmers reduce unnec-essary road transport costs. And it will lessen the risk of road-closure disruption, especially that of the noto-rious Manawatu Gorge.

This venture will enable farmers in the lower North Island to reduce their onfarm feed cost and have greater reliability of supply.

SourceNZ has a large range of commodities and ingredients available and makes custom blends. It has supplied stock feed since 1996 nationwide; this is the first time PKE has been available via Wellington. The company also has stores in Northland, Mount Man-ganui, Stratford.

Warren Morritt

Irish milk meter maker eyes NZA MAJOR Irish supplier of milk collection and meter-ing systems has Transport Hydraulic Systems (THS) as its New Zealand distrib-utor.

Piper Systems Ltd, Co.Wicklow, Ireland, has made these products for 20 years; THS is established in the supply and servicing of the hydraulic pumps used in all NZ dairy tankers.

“We already have a Cer-tificate of Approval from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs under the weights and measures regulations and are now doing feasibil-ity trials with one of NZ’s bigger dairy companies,” says Piper Systems chief

executive, Archie Hamil-ton.

Piper is well established in Ireland with Lakeland Dairies, one of Ireland’s biggest dairy compa-nies. Its fleet of 60+ tank-ers uses Piper’s pumping and recording equipment. Lakeland has 2200 family farmer suppliers and in 2014 year had turnover of €625.8 million ($NZ1 bil-lion).

Piper has 120 units with six different dairy compa-nies in Ireland, 220 in the UK and 120 with two trans-port companies collect-ing milk in Australia. Their gear is also gaining accep-tance in the US.

The use of Piper’s mea-surement guarantees the accuracy of volume read-

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helps lower fuel costs,” said THS managing direc-tor Brenden Lyons.

He reports also that the units cause less product damage.

TONY HOPKINSON

Archie Hamilton

2015

DP0011 Harmony_Dairy News 200x265mm v1.indd 1 1/09/15 3:57 pm


MANAGEMENT // 27

Trust turns its back on the pastLEAVING BEHIND its difficult start, the Tumunui Trust has pro-gressed for 30 years to become a successful Maori incorporation with deer and beef, forestry and dairying says Andrew Kusabs, Rotorua.

The trust’s various dairy farms will this year supply milk from 5000 cows.

Kusabs says he was elected secretary treasurer in 1985 with a new board of trustees “after the pre-vious managers, the Maori Affairs Department, was fired by the Maori Land Court after leaving the total operation effectively bankrupt”.

Kusabs is now one of only two original trustees; he is an accountant prac-tising in Rotorua.

Their first project was to lease land from another trust in the Reporoa area and convert the sheep and beef property to dairying, originally with 400 cows and now milking 880 in a self-contained operation. Kusabs is a dairy farmer in his own right, owning two dairy farms. “I have always had a lot of faith in the dairy industry.”

The trust has extensive land holdings on the south side of Rotorua, fronting and split by SH 5, the road to Taupo.

They then converted part of their own property, the “north block”, to milk 1000 cows (now milking 1200). This was followed by the “south block” start-ing with 1000 cows, and increasing to 1500. Each farm is managed by a 50:50 sharemilker.

But stock had to walk up to 5km to the shed, so the trust bought land on the other side of SH5 and decided to divide the south block in half. The sharemilker, Matt Pepper, became the share-milker on the two adjacent blocks.

In preparation a 60-bail rotary was built -- there was a similar rotary on the original block -- and on August 27 half the herd was brought to the new shed for the first time for afternoon milking.

In the morning the shed had been blessed by local elders; then followed speeches by the trust chairman Craig Kusabs, son of Andrew, and a rep-resentative of the BNZ, the trust’s long-time banker. The builders, project engi-neers, GEA, news media and sub-contractors were also present.

The first stock hesi-tated because the shed still “smelled new” but reports are that after two-three milkings the cow flow is back to normal.

The rotary has a GEA milking plant with auto-

TONY HOPKINSONmatic cup removers; the 60 x 12m rectangular yard can hold 600 cows. It has a high lift gate fitted by Reporoa Engineering. This has touch screen con-

trol and now runs on an ‘I’ beam to prevent derailing. The yard is flood washed with green water.

The farm employs six permanent staff.

Tumunui Trust original trustees Donald Bennett (left) and Andrew Kusabs.

THE OTHER original trustee with Andrew Kusabs is Donald Bennett, of a whanau con-sidered Maori ‘royalty’ in the Rotorua area.

He came from a family of 18 and his father was the first Maori archbishop of Aotearoa, as was one of his brothers.

Another brother, Charles, led the Maori battalion and later became a NZ diplomat, and Henry Bennett was a well-known psy-chiatrist.

“We are the survivors and I think Andrew and I worked well as a combination, Andrew with his skill with numbers and knowledge of farming and I with skills with the land and with people.”

“I am proud of what we see here today as it shows how far the trust has come in 30 years from bankruptcy to this.”

He says 4000 trustees now get regular annual dividends.

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28 // MANAGEMENT

Chicory serves wellONE RESPONSE to the tightening economic circumstances for many dairy farmers is to look at how they can reduce the amount of feed they buy in for their cows, comments Ravensdown.

The challenge many face is finding the best crop to see them through

different times of the year. Brendon and Rochelle

O’Leary milk 400 cows on 85ha at Gordonton, north of Hamilton. They have split calving with 310 cows calving in the autumn (from March 10) and the other 90 in the spring (from July 10). The aim of that is efficiency.

Chicory has been a part of their summer cropping programme for six seasons.

“It’s a high-quality feed with good protein levels so the cows milk well on it over summer. We’re very pleased with the results it has given us,” Brendon says.

Thirty hectares of maize silage and 100 tonne DM of grass silage is grown on a runoff 18km away at Orini, where their young stock are grazed.

“We bring a lot of feed onto this farm. We milk twice a day and feed the cows on a feed pad. They are high producing Friesian and Friesian-cross cows with a lactation length of 305 days on average producing 480kgMS per cow.”

Chicory has been chosen as a summer crop on the peat soils as part of the pasture renovation process on the farm. This year’s seed was bought from Ravensdown with Agri Manager Sarah Sexton providing

agronomy support to help the O’Learys maximise forage production.

“We grow enough maize silage off the farm. We needed a crop we could graze on the platform during milking. Chicory has high protein and gives us high yields so it was a perfect fit for what we required in a summer crop.”

Paddocks are sprayed out in September and the chicory is planted in October.

A post-emergence spray is used after germination (usually about 23 days after sowing) to kill any broadleaf weeds and any summer grasses coming through then.

Brendon O’Leary, Gordonton.

Grass always winsNOTHING COMPETES with grass when it comes to cost effective feed. But when grass supply is short, ProGibb SG is the next best thing, says Farmlands Manawatu field manager Mike McLean.

He says for no more than 16c/kgDM (including application costs), New Zealand’s first and most widely tested plant growth regulator for pasture presents a compelling financial argument this spring.

“Few inputs can offer the same return in the cur-rent economic climate, but for many farmers ProGibb SG has become part and parcel of cost-effective farm-ing no matter what the budget looks like.”

McLean says the product is “proven to work, and there’s good trial data wrapped around it as well”.

He estimates at least 50% of his clients now rou-tinely use ProGibb to boost DM production in spring and autumn by 30-60% within three weeks of applica-tions.

One user is Himitangi dairy farmer Owen Greig, with 2400 cows on two milking platforms and a size-able run-off. He started using ProGibb SG three-four years ago and now aims to apply it on both milking platforms several times a year, spraying up to 200ha a week at the busiest times and complementing it with solid urea.

His first goal was to shift his spring balance date and he says pasture supply now matches cow demand 7-10 days earlier than it used to. “Now we’re using it in early autumn too, to help build our covers back up after summer.”

Either way, he says, “it’s growing grass for the cheap-est possible price at the time of the year when you need it most.”

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MANAGEMENT // 29

Smaller herd, OAD – and the sunrise

Te Awamutu farmers Matt and Sarah-Jane Yates.

THE STRONG work-ing partnership of smaller herd farmers Matt and Sarah-Jane Yates has been a cornerstone of their farming success.

Matt started his career drystock farming on the family block, but its sale enabled him to buy his own property, deciding then that dairy farming was the more profitable way to go.

His next step was to buy a farm at Wharepapa South, near Te Awamutu, in 2002. He still farms there, with Sarah-Jane, who has been in dairy farming in the area from the word go.

The Yates’ farm is 98ha (85ha eff ) of rolling coun-

try, milking 260 cows, mainly pedigree Jerseys, some Friesian and mixed breeds. So why did they decide smaller herd farm-ing was the career for them?

“We like to know our cows and look after them,” says Matt. “They are not one of thousands: we don’t want to have a factory farm.”

Although Matt is now thinking about employ-ing a manager, not having to deal with staff till now has been an added ben-efit. “Smaller herd farm-ing keeps it in the family,” he says. Like many smaller herd farmers he sees train-ing and managing staff an extra hassle.

Keeping it in the family has also allowed the pair to build an excellent work-

ing partnership. Sharing a mutual interest in the farm with Sarah-Jane has been a big plus for Matt. “Being on the farm every day makes for a strong team.”

They believe smaller herds offer substantial benefits to the commu-nity as well. “If smaller herds weren’t around it would be a real loss to the community,” says Sarah-Jane. “Schools in partic-ular would suffer. We are already seeing the effects of the migrant workers, employed by larger farms, shifting in and out of the area.”

Matt and Sarah-Jane regularly attend SMASH (Smaller Milk and Supply Herds) events. They like the wide range of informa-tion covered.

“Networking with other farmers of a sim-ilar type is great”, says Matt. “It is almost like a little club. You don’t see the same people every time, but you do see a lot of them again and again, which is quite neat. You don’t get the same feel at other events.”

He believes having speakers willing to talk openly about more dif-ficult or personal topics -- for example, Doug Avery’s session on battling depression on farm at the SMASH 2014 conferences -- breaks down barriers between people and adds to the inclusive feeling.

Matt always learns new information from SMASH events which is applicable to their business. When they were contemplating

switching to OAD, coming along to an event on the subject was particularly helpful.

They are now into their second season OAD, chosen for its lifestyle benefits. This is working well for them, but they are always reassessing their system and tweaking it. This season, with the low payout, Matt is trying a number of different strat-egies, he says.

“We are trying to cut all the extra expenses. We’re going to cull early and cut

cow numbers. Instead of buying maize in we will grow it at home, and we have changed from the more expensive meals through the shed to pretty much PKE with a little bit of added tapioca.” They are growing 4ha of maize on farm this season plus 3ha of turnips.

In the past Matt and Sarah-Jane ramped up farm production by utilis-ing a lot of brought in feed, but Matt came to the con-clusion that this strategy was not profitable enough

for them, he says, “We did lots of production, but we didn’t make lots of money, so we have slowly been tapering off again.”

Despite the tough fore-cast for dairying Matt still enjoys farming, he says, “I like the outdoors, seeing the sun rise, being out-side and working with ani-mals.”• Louise Hanlon is a com-mittee member of Smaller Milk and Supply Herds (SMASH).

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30 // MANAGEMENT

Breeding more dairy calves an attractive optionMATING MORE dairy cows to beef sires and rearing more dairy-beef calves are attractive options for some dairy farmers as they look for ways to supplement their income.

With this in mind a farm consultant is urging dairy farmers to focus on value, not cost, when it comes to choosing beef bulls.

AgFirst Consultant and beef specialist Bob Thomson says most dairy farmers mate early calving cows to high BW AI dairy bulls, breeding the remainder of the herd to service bulls or beef AI.

“When it comes to mating the balance of the herd it’s possible to claw

back much of the cost of mating by selecting proven beef bulls which are easy calving and short gestation.

“We need to challenge traditional cost thinking

– selecting proven beef bulls (easy calving and short gestation) could mean up to four-five extra days in milk and generate a dairy-beef calf which is worth more. It’s a win-win-win – safe calving, more days in milk and a calf in demand by the beef industry.

“Whether you choose AI or service bulls is up to you, but breeding values should be part of the decision. I encourage farmers to explore the differences between the

estimated breeding values (EBV’s) of the bulls on the hoof and AI. There can be big differences. And buying

bulls with no records is a pig in a poke so can be very risky.

“As dairy farmers you can choose to take some of the risk out of your business by selecting beef bulls which will generate income in three streams – easier calving, more days in milk and a high-value dairy-beef

calf.“Genetics companies

and beef breeders have those bulls but you have

to do your homework.”Thomson says the beef

industry relies heavily on the dairy industry for beef finishing cattle and there needs to be more collaboration across the industries.

“The dairy industry has grown at the expense of beef. In the last 10 years the number of dairy cattle has grown by 31%

(from 5.15m in 2004 to 6.7m in 2014). Over the same period there was an 18% drop in the number of beef cattle. There are now five million dairy cows but only 1 million beef cows.

“There are currently 660,000 finishing cattle of beef origin on farms, 420,000 of dairy-beef finishing type

and 420,000 which are dairy-beef bulls – that’s 840,000 of dairy origin.

“Beef + Lamb New Zealand Genetics is very aware of the need for greater clarity on the breeding values of beef sires for both dairy farmers and beef farmers and is investing in a dairy-beef programme which is

AgFirst consultant Bob Thomson.

“Its a win-win-win – safe calving, more days in milk and a calf in demand by the beef industry.”

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MANAGEMENT // 31

Breeding more dairy calves an attractive option

A SCHEME which enables dairy farmers to buy and use proven beef service bulls, deferring payment until the bulls are sold, is finding favour with dairy farmers as bull sales begin around the country.

PGG Wrightson national genetics man-ager Bruce Orr reinforced the clear advan-tage and potential extra profit the BLNZ dairy integration programme has highlighted for dairy farmers using proven beef genetics over the balance of the herd (after replace-ments).

“But I am concerned that a majority of service bulls arrive on farm with no records, ie no indication of the traits needed by dairy farmers – calving ease, short gestation and days to calve. It’s a risk dairy farmers can avoid by ensuring any bulls on the farm have economic breeding values (EBVs) and come from a registered breeder.

“Locating those good bulls is easy: dairy service bull sales begin around NZ at the end of August and the majority of those beef bulls have EBVs.”

Orr says there are advantages in dairy farmers buying rather than leasing their service bulls.

“If you lease a bull you are not in control of what is sent to you; nine out of ten are not registered and you will be paying $450-$800 to use and then return the bull after mating.

“However, if you buy a proven bull from one of our sales, through our defer-a-bull agreement, for say $2000, you will only pay interest on that bull at 1% per month for the time you use it. At the end of mating the bull is usually sold. In comparison to the cost of leasing it will probably cost a few hundred dollars for a proven beef bull.

“It’s a win-win whatever way you look at it. The bull has the traits you need so it will sire calves worth more than straight dairy calves, and overall it will cost you less than a leased animal.”

Orr says a full list of dairy service bull sales is available on the PGG Wrightson Genetics website.

DEFER-A-BULL SCHEME

testing and comparing established and young beef sires to promote greater awareness of the attributes needed by the dairy and beef industries.

“Insights and learnings from this programme will gradually filter to the dairy and beef industries, but in the

meantime the national beef herd statistics are unlikely to change and the dairy industry will continue to be a significant source for this country’s beef finishing animals.

“Calf rearers, beef finishers, meat processors and exporters

are looking to the dairy industry for animals with genetic merit for growth and carcase attributes. Discovering beef bulls that meet the needs of the dairy farmer and the beef farmer is an opportunity for the industry as a whole. But it all starts with the

dairy farmer’s choice of beef semen, whether delivered on the hoof or in a straw.

“And while it’s fully appreciated that things are tough on the dairy farm right now, the value of dairy-friendly beef genetics still outweighs the cost.”

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The dairy industry has grown at the expense of beef.


32 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Richard Kyte, DairyNZ. Don’t feed bolted swedes

to livestock – DairyNZDAIRYNZ SAYS the results of analysis of Southland swede plants collected last season backs up its advice to farm-ers that feeding maturing swede crops increases the

risk of ill-health in cows.Following the analy-

sis, the industry body is recommending that farm-ers do not feed herbicide tolerant (HT) swedes to cows in spring when the

animals are in late preg-nancy or early lactation.

DairyNZ is also advis-ing caution if farmers are considering other leafy varieties.

DairyNZ arranged for

swede sample analysis from 11 Southland farms in September last year after cows became ill and some died.

Staff collected swede samples, promptly dis-sected plants and froze the samples in liquid nitrogen to prevent spoiling of the plant material and break-down of the glucosinolates (GSLs) -- the naturally occurring compounds in brassicas that have been linked to cow health prob-lems.

Swedes were dissected into up to six plant parts so each section could be analysed separately. Up to 150 plant parts were ana-lysed from three swede varieties from the 11 differ-ent farms.

Key findings from the analysis are:

Total GSL concentra-tions are higher in the HT swede variety than in the non-HT varieties. While there is not much dif-ference in GSL concen-trations in the bulb and crown between HT and non-HT swedes, GSL con-centrations in the other plant parts are gener-ally higher for HT swedes, with a pronounced differ-ence in the upper leaf and upper stem.

The risk of ill-health and death in cows increases when total GSL concentrations increase as swedes enter the repro-ductive stage (elongated stem, new leaf, flowers and seed heads).

Different parts of the plants included different individual GSLs.

The concentrations of individual GSLs varied between plant parts.

HT swedes have higher concentrations of GSLs in ‘reproductive’ plant parts, increasing the risk of ill-health for cows graz-ing swedes with elongated stems and the appearance of flowers.

No single GSL stands out as significantly differ-ent between plant variety and plant part.

DairyNZ Southland-South Otago regional leader Richard Kyte says the new plant data sup-ports the current DairyNZ advice that farmers should be cautious when feeding

swedes. “This analysis con-

firms that feeding matur-ing swede crops increases the risk of ill-health,” he says. “Farmers should manage a number of fac-tors in feeding swedes this season, including the proportion of swede that makes up the diet of their cows.

“And these new plant results back up our ear-lier farmer survey findings that feeding swedes on the milking platform in spring when cows approach calv-ing and early lactation increases the risk of ill-health.

“The farmer survey we released earlier indicated that in spring 2014 there was a higher risk of ill-health from herbicide tol-erant (HT) swedes than from other varieties of swedes in spring.

“Given those findings and now the plant analy-sis, we’re recommending farmers do not feed HT swedes to cows in spring when the animals are in late pregnancy or early lac-tation and when the risk of all the factors that can lead to ill-heath and cow deaths can rapidly com-bine.

“In spring, air tem-peratures are expected to increase rapidly, lead-ing to ‘bolted’ swedes; bolted HT swedes have much higher levels of total GSLs. At the time of plant-ing their swedes, farmers have no idea what the fol-lowing winter/spring is going to be like. Spring is a key risk time as swedes will be closer to going into the reproductive stage,” he says.

However Kyte says the climatic and growing con-ditions for swedes this season are very different from last year.

“We identified through our farmer survey a departure from the ten year climate average for the region in 2014. The warmer air temperatures and fewer frost days may have enhanced both leaf growth and maturity last year.

“We’re seeing quite a different growth pattern this season. Plants don’t

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ANIMAL HEALTH // 33

The timing of the first feed of colostrum is crucial.

Feed colostrum soonest – the clock is tickingTHIS MONTH we focus on the timing and methods of feeding of colostrum and how this affects the absorption of vital antibodies.

When should we feed colostrum?The timing of the first feed

of colostrum is one of the most important factors affecting the efficiency of absorption of antibodies (mainly “IgG”).

This is due to the phenomenon of ‘gut closure’ where the intestinal cells of the calf lose the ability to absorb IgG, allowing only a small timeframe of 24 hours for absorption. After 24 hours there is minimal absorption and good quality colostrum fed after this time will result in IgG acting locally within the gut itself.

It is estimated that the decline in absorption is very rapid, resulting in much-reduced absorption even at 12 hours post birth. On this basis, the author recommends the first two feeds to occur within 12 hours, although some literature will recommend these two feeds within 24 hours of birth.

Practical ways to achieve this on farm include:

Collect calves from the calving area at least twice daily and feed the best possible quality colostrum immediately. A second feed of the same volume should occur within 12 hours.

On large farms with tight calving patterns this may seem a daunting task. As a compromise, tube or teat feed stored colostrum in the calving area and record (either visually or in a notebook) that the calf has had

one feed of colostrum. A second feed can be given on arrival at the calf shed. While this increases the risk of exposure of pathogens to calves vs the practice of collecting calves twice daily, at least the newborn calf has colostrum on board and is ready for its second feed on arrival at the calf shed.

A recording system should be set up on all farms (small and large) to ensure that all calves receive their two feeds. Calving is a busy time for everybody and a simple system such as whiteboards or spray paint can help ensure that no calf ‘slips through the net’.

How much do we feed?If calves do not ingest sufficient

IgG from colostrum, they are very vulnerable to disease. The term used to define calves that are unable to fight a disease challenge as a result of low blood IgG levels, is failure of passive transfer (FPT). The volume of first-milking colostrum required to avoid FPT depends on the quality of the colostrum.

As a feasible rule of thumb, it is recommended that 4L of good quality colostrum (>22% Brix) is fed within 12 hours of birth. This volume can be split over two feeds. If only poor quality colostrum is available (<22% or lower Brix) calves will need a larger volume to avoid FPT. In such instances, it is recommended that two 3L feeds of colostrum are fed within 12 hours of birth. How do we feed it?

Colostrum can be teat-fed or fed by an oesophageal feeder (stomach tube). Teat feeding is considered more natural and the natural suckling action stimulates closure of the oesophageal

groove reflex. This reflex allows colostrum to bypass the forestomachs (the rumen, reticulum and omasum) and flow directly into the abomasum. The abomasum is considered a ‘simple stomach’ with an acidic pH, much like that of a human being. This acidic environment allows the colostrum to form a curd before passing into the small intestine for absorption.

Teat feeding can be time consuming, is sometimes frustrating and there is often wastage of colostrum. Tube feeding can be quicker and a known volume is fed. However, the oesophageal groove reflex is not stimulated. As a result, colostrum is deposited into the forestomachs and not directly into the abomasum. If only small volumes (~1.5L) are fed by tube, there is a time delay before colostrum flows into the abomasum and subsequently the small intestines. As the antibodies in colostrum can only be absorbed for up to 24 hours, this time-delay can increase the risk of FPT. The good news is that when colostrum is fed in larger volumes (2.5–3L), there is rapid passage of colostrum from the forestomachs to the abomasum.

Research has shown that there is no difference in absorption of antibodies between calves tube or teat fed 3L of colostrum. Whichever method is used to feed colostrum it is important that enough is fed in relation to the quality that is available and this should be fed as soon as possible after birth.

Colostrum quality can be difficult to influence and there is also a limit to the quantity that can be fed to a calf.• Gemma Chuck is a vet with The Vet Group in western Victoria.

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34 // ANIMAL HEALTH

appear to be bolting. Last season was a bit abnor-mal,” he says.

“The general advice we’re giving to farmers is that special care is needed with HT swedes and other leafy varieties like Aparima Gold and Triumph, when warm air temperatures from northerly weather conditions cause swedes to regrow and change quickly. By early August last year farmers were seeing the plant in an advanced reproductive state. But that’s not the case this year,” says Kyte.

“This plant analysis has shown that HT swedes, collected in September 2014, had higher concen-trations of GSLs in ‘re-growth’ components of the crop, increasing the risk of ill-health for cows grazing swedes that have bolted and have elongated stems. In a nutshell, we’re saying don’t feed bolted swedes to livestock.”

Kyte says it has been a slow process to get the robust plant analysis com-pleted.

“Unfortunately there is no quick test for plants and we’ve spent a lot

of time developing and establishing a method to determine GSLs with a commercial laboratory – Hill Laboratories.”

He says DairyNZ is still monitoring the health of a small number of cows this season. “This is the first step in assessing how we can develop baseline monitoring for detecting early signs of ill-health in cows.”

DairyNZ is also running two confidential online surveys to understand more about how farmers use crops during winter and spring in Southland.

“This will help us target advice and identify future research needs for manag-ing crops. I’d urge South-land farmers to complete the survey if they get ran-domly selected.”

DairyNZ will now complete its consolidated report pulling together the results of all the different parts of its study into last year’s issues with swedes. “We expect to release this final report to farmers in October,” says Kyte.

DairyNZ’s full farmer advisory on the plant anal-ysis is available at www.dairynz.co.nz/swedes

FROM PAGE 32

■ Farmers need to focus on managing a number of fac-tors when feeding swedes, including the proportion of swede that makes up the diet of their cows.

■ All swede varieties can present a risk to animals depending on how and when they are fed and used as part of the farming systems. However feeding maturing swede crops increases the risk of ill-health in cows.

■ The chemistry of glucosino-lates (GSLs) for swedes and other brassicas is complex. It changes with swede variety, growing conditions and crop maturity. Further

complexity is added when the GSLs are changed during eating and digestion.

■ Cow ill-health increased last season as the propor-tion of swedes fed as part of the diet increased. Feeding swedes on the milking plat-form in spring when cows are approaching calving or early lactation also in-creased the risk of ill-health.

■ DairyNZ recommends that farmers do not feed HT swedes on the milking plat-form in spring (late preg-nancy, early lactation) when all the factors (warmer tem-peratures, new leaf growth, bolting) that lead to ill-heath

and potential cow deaths can rapidly combine.

■ Plant analysis has shown that HT swedes, collected in September 2014, had higher concentrations of GSLs in ‘re-growth” components of the crop, increasing the risk of ill-health for cows grazing swedes that have bolted and have elongated stems. Farmers should not feed bolted swedes to livestock.

■ There was a departure from the ten year climate average in 2014 in Southland. The warmer temperatures and fewer frost days may have enhanced both leaf growth and maturity.

KEY FINDINGS

Don’t feed bolted swedes to livestock – DairyNZ

DairyNZ says feeding maturing swede crops to cows could increase ill-health.

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ANIMAL HEALTH/GENETICS // 35

Dairy beef calves sired by proven beef bulls are worth more than a dairy calf.

Greater demand for proven beef geneticsGENETICS COMPA-NIES are reporting an increase in demand from dairy farmers for proven beef genetics.

This reinforces the potential, highlighted by the Beef + Lamb New Zea-land dairy beef integration programme, for dairy farm-ers to increase their income from calves by breeding to proven beef sires.

The manager, Doug Lineham, says dairy beef calves sired by a proven beef bull are worth on aver-age $70 more than a mixed or straight-bred dairy calf (ie average dairy bobby $50, dairy/beef $120 which equates to $70 added value based on last season’s fig-ures).

“Around 70% of NZ’s beef production originates from the dairy industry. Most dairy beef is produced from sires of unknown genetic merit with the resulting animals less desir-able to rearers and finishers because their potential for growth and meat quality is unknown.

“Our message to dairy farmers this season has been to consider the poten-tial benefits and increased income from breeding the balance of the herd (after replacements) to beef sires which have economic breeding values confirm-ing the traits needed by dairy farmers: short gesta-tion, calving ease and days to milk.”

Early indications are that many dairy farmers are taking advantage of this potential; AI and purebred bull breeders are reporting an increase in demand.

CRV Ambreed sales and marketing manager Mathew Macfie says the company is “getting lots of anecdotal comments about farmers who have changed, or who are thinking of changing, their mating plans to include more beef”.

“This led to us [launch-ing] a new beef product – Fertabull Hereford short gestation semen…. Each straw of Fertabull semen contains the semen of three sires, giving a greater chance of getting a calf in calf because the length of time viable semen is avail-able to fertilise the egg is increased.

Fertabull was launched in Northland recently.

LIC bull acquisition manager Malcolm Ellis also said the cooperative is seeing a noticeable increase in demand for the Hereford category of its short gesta-tion length (SGL) range.

“Farmers will obviously be drawn to the extra milk-ing days -- not as valuable at a low milk price but at a low milk price it all counts. Therefore the main driver for the increase in SGL Hereford use will be farm-ers looking to diversify their income stream. The milk price to beef schedule ratio suggests this is a wise move.”

Hereford breeder Wil-liam Morrison said that while farmers in the lower North Island are only mid-way through calving, the potential to increase income from calving is being picked up and rein-forced by strong sales of dairy/beef calves.

“The outlook for beef is strong for the next 24 months. Some dairy farm-ers I know are discussing rearing a few more calves for beef this year. Some are a bit nervous that there will be a lot more calves reared and that this may have a supply impact on the market, but once you show them the BLNZ graphic (showing the decrease in beef breeding cow and beef cattle numbers in the last 10 years) the logic is pretty clear that NZ could rear an extra 200,000 beef calves from the dairy industry this year, and we would still be below the number of beef and dairy-beef weaned calves produced in 2005.

“I also tell dairy farm-ers that NZ’s beef product is only a fraction of the global beef supply and that global beef demand is incredibly strong.”

Lineham said farmers can choose between arti-ficially breeding tail-end cows to proven AI bulls, or buying or leasing proven beef sires.

“Semen from proven beef bulls is around 20% cheaper per insemination than high BW dairy semen and increased use of quality proven beef sires will have wide benefits in the dairy and meat industries:

Dairy farmers – easy

calving, more days in milk, high quality calves worth around $70 more

Calf rearers/finishers – faster growing, finish ear-lier, high carcass value

Meat processors – improved supply of quality

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36 // EFFLUENT & WATER MANAGEMENT

A COROMANDEL farmer was fined $72,750 for deliberately discharging dairy effluent into farm drains that flow to the Tairua River on the Coromandel Pen-insula.

Peter Craig Darrah was convicted and sentenced by Judge Jeff Smith in the Thames District Court last month for eight offences under the Resource Manage-ment Act (RMA) spanning discharges that occurred over an 11 year period between 2003 and 2014.

The prosecution, brought by Waikato Regional Council, arose after a complaint was received in August 2014 about effluent management practices on Darrah’s Hikuai Settlement Road farm near Tairua.

A council inspection found the farm’s effluent ponds were overflowing to water. Hoses were also found that appeared to be set up for the purpose of pumping efflu-ent into farm drains. The subsequent investigation confirmed that pumping had been deliberately and routinely occurring over the previous 11 years.

An abatement notice was served on Darrah to cease the unlawful discharges. Despite this he continued with the practice. On one occasion the pumping duration was found to be approximately nine hours resulting in over 300,000 litres of effluent being discharged into the farm drain.

The drain flows a short distance before entering the Boom Stream – this stream flows about 1.5 kilometres to the Tairua River.

“In some respects this is about as bad as it gets,” says council investigations manager Patrick Lynch.

Hefty fine for breach

Waikato Regional Council says the Effluent Expo has been cancelled due to the low milk payout.

Effluent Expo off, field days onTHE 2016 annual Effluent Expo at Mystery Creek has been cancelled.

The Waikato Regional Council will instead run catchment-specific field days to promote good effluent management practices.

The council says it will take a fresh approach to helping farmers with effluent management next year, with more catch-ment field days for providing advice to smaller groups of farmers closer to home.

In recent years, the council has

run the annual Effluent Expo at Mys-tery Creek, an event which has regu-larly attracted hundreds of farmers and dozens of exhibitors.

The council has decided not to hold an expo at Mystery Creek in 2016 given the dairy payout situation, and it believes its new approach will make things sim-pler for farmers.

“We feel we can better support farm-ers in the current economic climate by running effluent management field days

in each catchment to help drive over-all improvements in effluent systems,” says sustainable agriculture advisor Elec-tra Kalaugher.

Meanwhile, the council also intends having a stand at the Grasslandz agricul-ture hub in Hamilton in January. “So we won’t be slowing up on offering efflu-ent management advice to farmers even though we’re not going ahead with the Effluent Expo at Mystery Creek,” she says.

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THE GOVERNMENT’S 30 Year Infrastructure Plan announced last month recognises irrigation infra-structure as part of the foundations for a prosperous New Zealand.

“This is positive and, impor-tantly, the plan recognises that more needs to be done by national and regional government to ensure water storage and irrigation infra-structure is built to maximise the economic and social benefits our freshwater can offer while pro-tecting the environment,” says Andrew Curtis, IrrigationNZ chief executive.

“As part of this, the action plan identifies that Government needs to provide more detailed national guidance on nutrient limit setting in rivers and help develop better tools for measuring nutrients.

“This will prevent councils and environmental courts muddling their way through vague legisla-tion to reach outcomes which are causing significant delays in getting water storage and irrigation proj-ects off the ground and are driving away investors.”

Additionally, there is recog-nition in the plan that unneces-sary delays caused by the RMA and consenting processes need to stop. Otherwise, we will be in a situation where promises are made but not delivered on and our regional and national economies will suffer, says Curtis.

“The plan also acknowledges our recommendation that the best way to respond to land change, and other development pressures on freshwater, is by collaborative

catchment scale solutions. As part of this, water storage can become part of the solution to water qual-ity and nutrient issues by providing flushing flows and river or ground-water augmentation. All irrigation projects currently under inves-tigation provide these key bene-fits. This way, water infrastructure can offer environmental benefits, as well as the well-known broader economic and social ones.

“The Government recognises this potential, which is why it has contributed $150m since 2011. But more needs to be done, quickly, to

get this beneficial infrastructure built and over the line.

“The future requires building resilient provincial communities and water supply reliability is par-amount to this, especially on the east coasts of NZ.”

IrrigationNZ emphasises that as well as these changes at a national level, all irrigators need to implement SMART irrigation prac-tices and technologies to ensure maximum efficiencies. SMART irrigators are those farmers dem-onstrating precise and account-able water application.


EFFLUENT & WATER MANAGEMENT // 37

State plan paves way to prosperity

Andrew Curtis

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Leverage water useNEW ZEALAND must better ‘leverage’ its use of water for our national wellbe-ing and to protect us from the effects of climate change, says IrrigationNZ chief executive Andrew Curtis.

Water Week was celebrated world-wide on August 23-28 with the theme ‘Water for Development’. Some 3000 people, including world leaders, water experts and international aid organisa-tions, gathered in Stockholm, Sweden to debate solutions for water crisis; the annual event was run by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

Curtis says New Zealanders are bliss-fully unaware of the relative advantage NZ has with plentiful rivers, lakes and groundwater supply.

“Many other countries would love to have such abundant, comparatively clean and geographically dispersed water sources. On top of this we have ample rainfall. Worldwide rainfall (pre-cipitation) averages 800mm per year. But NZ experiences 2.5 times that amount -- average rainfall of 2000mm per year.”

Additionally, NZ’s water concerns are less complex than those faced in other continents.

“Though we have pressing issues on

nutrient management and allocation of water, from a global perspective our water challenges are manageable and we are already working on the solutions. The Stockholm gathering looked at issues such as how best to safely recycle water, how to get water to people living in war-zones and ways to develop water infra-structure in developing countries.”

From IrrigationNZ’s perspective, water development in NZ will only come about if we have sustainable investment and support for water storage infrastruc-ture, hand in hand with SMART Irrigation practices, products and technologies.

“We need to improve our water pro-ductivity; that is what we create from the water we tap into. Irrigated farmland gen-erates three times as much production as dryland systems so it’s a win-win for the community and farmers if we can con-vert a majority of farmers to SMART Irri-gation.

The way forward will be by storing water on a regional basis to increase water security for users, alongside improved irrigation practice in the paddock. Irriga-tionNZ launched the SMART Irrigation programme last year and its focus now is mainstreaming this approach.

Right design, processes ensure successGOOD EFFLUENT man-agement requires a well-designed effluent system and processes for people that make sure the efflu-ent the system collects is applied to pasture in the right amount at the right time, says DairyNZ.

Onfarm benefits of good effluent management include:

■ Fertiliser savings ■ Improved soil condition ■ Prevention of animal-

health issues ■ Compliance with coun-

cil rules or resource con-sent.The key to good deci-

sion making is understand-ing the soil water deficit. It is essential to prevent pond-ing and run-off and to avoid applying effluent to satu-rated soils.

Soil water deficit is the amount of water (ie efflu-

ent) which can be applied to the soil before it reaches field capacity (which refers to the amount of water held in the soil after excess water has drained away). If efflu-ent is added at field capacity it will likely result in pond-ing, runoff or leaching.

The average dairy cow produces $25 worth of

nutrients annually as farm dairy effluent (FDE). For a 400 cow dairy herd this rep-resents about $10,000 of nutrients annually. If these FDE nutrients are used effectively then this signif-icantly reduces the fertil-iser bill.

The DairyNZ Farm Dairy Effluent Spreading Calcu-

lator (app or Excel spread-sheet) allows farmers to easily calculate nutrient loadings and application rates for dairy effluent based on a number of cus-tomisable inputs. This means that farmers can manage the application of their effluent nutrients with greater precision.



Umbilical slurry handling boosts dischargeA SLURRYQUIP umbil-ical effluent system on a South Canterbury farm has the thumbs-up from the owner, says the supplier, Webbline.

Ikawai Dairies, in south Waimate, last month bought a Slurryquip system and within the first two weeks was reaping the benefits.

Farm spokesman Ben Smith said before the umbilical system they discharged effluent

out through the pivots, but blockages took a lot of time to fix and this detracted from grass growth.

Webbline sales man-ager Glen Malcolm says compared to other meth-ods of effluent discharge the Slurryquip system can move large amounts of slurry quickly.

“Take a 20,000L tanker for example: if you are averaging three loads an hour, this equates to only

60,000L/hour discharge, versus the Slurryquip’s discharge rates of at least 200,000L/hour.”

Ikawai Dairies trac-tor driver Perry Henrik-sen echoed the comments: “I’m amazed at the volume we move with this unit. It’s taken me a few days to get the hang of the process; with his block being very hilly, I am learning to use it mainly on the hills which is more difficult than operat-ing on the flat.

“We have five ponds between the farms, col-lecting effluent from 4000 cows…. The Slurryquip is set up with nearly 2km of hose with a mixture of 150mm and 125mm, then discharged out through a 9m dribble bar.

“This week we have been discharging on quite steep hills, and I have been pumping about 1.5km with a lift from the pump to outlet of up to 100m and even then still achiev-

ing nearly 200,000L/hour discharge. Compared to applying on the flat we are getting more like 230,000-250,000L/hour. This is impressive when we are running the pump on a 150hp John Deere 6920.”

And it can pump thick material, Henriksen says.

“One of the ponds had a crust thick enough to walk on and we put the NC stir-rer into the pond and were able to stir up everything and pump it out.”

Malcolm says the Slur-ryquip system can be extended at any time. “For example we can set up a basic unit with about

800m of hose for no more than $100,000, so a dairy farmer or contractor can lease a basic system for a little over $20,000 per season. Then as time or funds permit you can add to it, i.e. more hose, GPS systems for proof of place-ment, etc.

“With the Slurry-

quip interchangeable reel system, if the operator needs more hose he need only buy another reel to carry it on as the reel lift-ers are interchangeable. He can be running several reels of hose and have only one lifter, saving money.”

Malcolm says pump-ing distance is no problem.

“We had a client earlier in the winter who had set up two pumps, one at the pond and one pump inline, and was pumping 3.5km from the shed to the runoff block and still achieving a discharge of more than 100,000L/hour.” Tel. 0800 932 254www.webbline.co.nz

Accurate placement and a constant supply of effluent make for minimal paddock and laneway damage.

Ikawai Dairies machinery manager Perry Henriksen dropping off the Slurryquip reeler and dribble bar.

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KNOW YOUR SOIL MOISTURE

KNOWLEDGE OF soil moisture is necessary for the effluent irrigation manager to determine the timing and quantity of effluent to be applied.

A good design will describe how soil moisture is to be monitored.

Separate monitoring may be required for each FDE application management zone if soil types or application depths vary.

Some common forms of soil moisture moni-toring include:

■ Permanent sensors

These provide a continuous measurement of soil moisture at a particular site. Because the sensor is stationary, soil moisture at other parts of the property needs to be estimated.

■ Hand-held sensors

These provide a single measurement of soil moisture at any location. These require some owner initiative to work correctly, but soil mois-ture may be checked at any number of locations, and on any desired schedule.

■ Contractors

Engage a third-party irrigation scheduling ser-vice to measure soil moisture. These contractors usually provide soil moisture measurements at fixed locations, on a fixed schedule (ie once per week), and can prescribe areas of the property that are fit for application.

Measurement, monitoring a starting pointTHE PURPOSE of measuring and monitoring effluent is to provide information to assist with system management and tracking of perfor-mance, and as the basis for reporting for regulatory compliance.

The system specification must describe how performance can be measured, and must ensure suit-able sites and equipment are speci-fied to facilitate the collection of the data required.

Install a marker or water level measuring device in the effluent storage that clearly indicates stored volume and/or storage capacity remaining.

A marker or other measuring device should be installed to indi-cate the level of solids accumulation on the bottom of the storage. This should be visible after the liquid has

been removed so the need for solids to be removed may be determined.

Flow rate measurements are required by the system operator to calculate how much nutrient has been applied to specific land areas.

Most systems should include a flow measuring device on the deliv-ery side of the effluent irrigation pump to measure the volume and flow rate of liquid effluent being applied to land. If no flow measur-ing device is specified, some other way of determining the flow rate must be prescribed.

The method for determining flow rate must be described in the system’s operation manual and training.

Always include the provision for a flow measuring device to be installed at a future date, even if it

is deemed unnecessary to include a device in the original design.

Typically, this will mean install-ing a length of straight pipe on the outlet side of the pump. Also con-sider installing a flow measur-ing device to monitor water usage during washdown. Always con-sider the nature of the particular fluid being pumped when selecting any flow measuring device. Some devices will not be compatible with FDE.

Install a pressure gauge or pres-sure test point at the pump outlet and at the applicator to enable reg-ular checking of performance.

For accurate reading, the dis-tance from a pressure gauge or pres-sure test point to any valves must be at least three times the diameter of the pipe.

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Nutrient budget is essentialA NUTRIENT budget must be prepared for the area where effluent is to be applied.

This is necessary for determining many of the design specifications. The following must be taken into account in a nutrient budget:

■ All farm nutrient inputs, including FDE, fertiliser, N-fix-ing plants (legumes), animal deposits, and any other supplements

■ All farm nutrient removal processes, including volatilisation, leaching, denitrifica-

tion, and plant require-ments

■ Health standards to be met, ie timing of irri-gation with respect to stock grazing, or observing minimum separation distance from dwellings, bound-ing roads, and surface water bodies. Nitrogen, phosphorus,

potassium, and any other elements of local concern must be included in the nutrient budget.

A design must state which of the above con-siderations have been included as part of the

design process. If any of the above items are not included in the nutri-ent budget, the designer must explain why it was not necessary to include them. If solids separation is used, both the liquid and solid components of efflu-ent must be considered separately in the nutrient budget.

This will require sepa-rate analysis of the liquid and solid components of the effluent. Nutrient budgets are often already completed by the farmer (or consultant) on a regu-lar basis.

Selection of an appropriate land application depth depends primarily on the:

■ nutrient content of the FDE

■ nutrient status of the soil

■ nutrient requirements of pasture or crop

■ landscape features

■ water holding capacity of the soil

■ soil water deficit at the time of application.

LAND APPLICATION

This budget is often adequate. In addition, there are several analyti-cal tools available to efflu-ent system designers who wish to complete an inde-

pendent nutrient budget. For example, the Over-seer software programme is available free of charge from AgResearch Ltd www.overseer.org.nz.

RANGE OF DEPTHS

The FDE system must be capable of applying an appropriate range of depths to:

● keep the applied FDE in the root zone of the plants

● avoid exceeding the nutrient requirements of the plants

● comply with resource consent conditions.

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Design with eye on volume, consistencyTHE EFFLUENT collection infra-structure must be designed to handle the volume and consistency of effluent being produced, says DairyNZ.

The system must be designed to handle the peak flow rate of effluent without blocking, overflowing, or leak-ing. Wash-down system

A water supply is required for wash-down of the dairy shed and, periodically, for washing of other areas such as stand-off areas and feed pads.

Wash-water can form a large proportion of the total volume of FDE produced. Thus, it is important to determine the final specifications of the wash-water system prior to designing the rest of the collection and conveyance system.

Wash-down water is usually supplied from clean bore or surface water.

Consider any available alternative sys-tems to minimise water use. For example, consider the use of recycled water, or har-vested stormwater, for washing areas that

do not require high quality water (eg feed pads, stand-off areas or animal housing areas). Always check local regulatory requirements prior to designing systems that use recycled water.

In addition to the general hydraulic design requirements, the collection infra-structure must be able to:

■ handle the peak flow rate of FDE into the system

■ collect material from all enclosed areas subjected to animal FDE

■ avoid potential contamination of groundwater and surface water bodies

■ comply with all regulatory require-ments. Initial collection may be by a number

of different methods. Common effluent collection methods include:

■ hose wash ■ flood wash ■ Scraping by chain in a groove in the

floor, rubber backing gates or scraper attached to a farm vehicle.

Safety is paramountTHE DESIGN of an effluent system must ensure the safety of those operating and maintaining it. The following items are particularly important:

■ Guard all moving parts: ensure any potentially dangerous moving mechanical parts are guarded.

■ Earth electrical equipment: ensure all electrical equipment is properly earthed and protected from moisture.

■ Barriers: fence around storage ponds to keep humans and animals away.

■ Non-slip surfaces: because work must sometimes be done inside barriers, consider using non-slip surfaces next to storage ponds to minimise the likelihood of workers falling in.

■ Stabilise pontoons: FDE pumps and/or stirring equipment are occasionally installed on a pontoon floating in the storage pond. If a pontoon is used, ensure it is stable and has suitable devices to prevent it from flipping over.

■ Emergency escape: install equipment in liquid storage units

to aid in the rescue of a person who has fallen in, eg rope, ladder or floating inner tubes.

■ Ventilation: avoid over-exposure to hazardous gases potentially present in FDE (eg carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, methane, carbon monoxide) by providing good ventilation around all areas of the FDE system.

■ Training: provide training for system owners and operators that includes instructions on how to operate and maintain the FDE system safely.

Effluent storage ponds must be fenced.

Installation and repairs of Centre Pivots, RotoRainers, Electrical, Pumps, Effluent, Mainline, and more

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Regular maintenance will allow your effluent system to last longer.

Well-maintained plant extracts top value

IN TIMES of low milk payout, the maintenance of all equipment should be a priority. When the budget excludes buying new capital items, everyone should look after existing equipment.

A farm dairy effluent system is a large financial investment; with regular maintenance it will last longer. And there is another benefit – the pumps and irrigators will operate correctly, applying effluent at correct depths and rates to maximise fertiliser benefit and value.

What do you need to look for or be aware of ? Start with the pump: the first thing is noise. Never ignore a noisy pump; a pump making more noise than normal needs to be looked at.

If the pump is allowed to continue running, the repairs can be hefty, but possibly not so if you get it looked at pronto. Pump vibration also signals inspection.

Set up a schedule for regular greasing or replacing the oil. We have these schedules set up for other farm vehicles and personal vehicles but sometimes the effluent pump is not included.

When you grease a pump, look for anything that may need attention, eg holes or wear in the castings and hoses, worn impellers, broken fittings and couplings and signs of leaks. If you have a pressure gauge fitted, check the pump pressure; a decrease in pump pressure may signal a worn impeller.

On the irrigator check the nozzles for wear and splits. If your irrigator is not spreading the effluent as far as normal it may just need a new set of nozzles. Then check

the wheel bearings and tyre pressure. A flat tyre may cause the irrigator to travel slower or even stall. Any leaks require attention as the seals may need replacing. Effluent is very abrasive so if a leak is ignored it may cause the bearings and risers to be worn as well. Ensure the wire rope is not frayed and replace it if it is. Inspect the irrigator every time it is set up for a new run and look for any areas of wear; check the drag hose for kinks. Follow the correct instructions for the drag hose layout. A 3m loop makes it easier for the irrigator to pull the drag hose and it will be less likely to over-apply the effluent or break the wire rope.

Regularly clean the stone trap; if it fills with sludge/stones it will no longer work. A stone trap is designed to allow

the liquid to enter at one point and exit at another. In doing this there is time for the solids to drop to the bottom. If the stone trap is not emptied the flow of liquid goes over the top of the solids and nothing drops to the bottom. This means the pump must now move all the abrasive material. Remember that the removed solids must always be put on a sealed sloped surface to ensure liquid drains to the stone trap or pond.

Always watch for leaks in the main line, hydrants and drag hoses.

Make a current list of all the contact details for the suppliers and service agents for all equipment. Keep a second copy visible and handy in the cowshed.

Effluent systems are only effective when well managed and maintained. A regular maintenance programme will assess potential problems and enable them to be

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Good winter grazing reduces run-offsRECENT RESULTS from AgResearch trials in South Otago as part of the Pastoral 21 project have shown that grazed winter forage crops contribute significantly to the risk of nutrient losses to water but that with careful management, sediment and phosphorus losses can

be reduced during grazing.DairyNZ developer

Maitland Manning says strategic grazing and careful management of wet areas such as gullies and swales in winter forage crops can reduce losses of sediment and phosphorus (P) to surface runoff by 80-90%.

“Gullies and swales are where overland flow and seepage converge to form small channels of running water, which may then flow to streams and rivers. By minimising stock movements and soil treading damage in these areas, any rainfall and runoff that occurs is

more likely to infiltrate the soil, reducing the amount of runoff and loss of sediment and P,” says Maitland.

“Simple changes in grazing management of winter crops can result in huge benefits for farmers as well as the environment.”

Strategic grazing means letting cows graze the drier parts of the paddock first and the wetter parts last. This usually means the cows start at the top of the catchment and graze their way downhill towards the gully or swale. The uneaten crop acts as a buffer to minimise the runoff risk.

“If it needs to be grazed at all, the break nearest the gully or swale should be grazed at a time when the soil moisture content is not too high.

“Back fencing as much as possible will minimise soil pugging and compaction damage, and will also help to reduce volumes of surface runoff,” says Maitland.

Southland farmer Geoff Baldwin says he has noticed an improvement in sediment runoff since he has made changes to the way he winters his stock on swedes and kale at his Riverton property.

“Wintering can be a mission here with wet soil, so anything we can do to

mitigate sediment losses is beneficial,” says Baldwin.

“We have identified and fenced off swales and we leave a 3-4m boundary along the fenceline which is kept in grass and not ploughed. Sediment is washed into the swales and settles in the grass, so sediment from the crop is reduced. We always graze the crop in front of the cows so the swale is the last place the cows get to,” says Baldwin.

■ Work out a grazing strategy before putting up fences. Think about stock water sources, i.e. do you need portable troughs?

■ Use a winter crop calcula-tor to work out feed re-quirements to achieve BCS targets at calving.

■ Ensure cows begin grazing

the least risky parts of the paddock first to minimise the period of runoff risk. This usually means that cows should enter at the top of the paddock and graze their way downhill.

■ On-off graze any crop left in the gully or swale at a time when soil moisture content is not too high.

■ Fence gullies or swales to provide as much of a buffer zone as possible.

■ These initiatives can help farmers to manage soils, animals and forage crops during the challenging win-ter season so that they can optimise their businesses and reduce their environ-mental footprint.

TIPS TO REDUCE RUN-OFF


Trial suggests that winter grazing management can reduce nutrient losses to waterways.

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MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 45

Angel keeps watch over vehicle

WITH FARM vehicle accidents far too frequent it’s interesting that the Black-hawk, from Farm Angel, can be a life saver.

It can’t prevent an accident, but it can keep a watchful eye on riders or drivers and raise an alert if something goes wrong.

On a quad, side-by-side or any other vehicle, sensors continuously monitor speed, acceleration and GPS co-ordi-nates, and an inclinometer detects lean. If it detects a roll-over it sends a message via satellite to the home base, prompting action, and in the worse cases calls emergency services out within the ‘magic hour’ to the seriously injured.

The message contains GPS co-ordi-nates, especially good on large proper-ties. The use of geo-stationary satellites means no reliance on mobile phones which might have poor coverage in remote areas.

The system can also be specified to allow the vehicle operator to send and

receive text messages via satellite link, up to 10m from their machine – good for emergency or breakdown.

And there’s a security angle: the Blackhawk can be used as a tracker if a vehicle is pinched, and its ignition system can be shut down remotely.

Halo tags allow only authorised employees to start the machine, and management gets to see where and when it is being used. The tag has a small panic button in case the operator gets into trouble and needs to summon help.

A snoop feature allows monitor-ing of operator behaviour: it will keep an eye on novice riders, or discourage bad behaviour, looking at speed, accel-eration and braking, and so encourage

responsible and safe operation.Packages are priced from $19/month

and can be tailored to suit all enter-prises.www.farmangel.co.nz

MARK [email protected]

Sensors continuously monitor speed, acceleration and GPS co-ordinates.

Farm Angel swings into action once the vehicle is involved in a mishap.


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TRIPLE MOWER set-ups have become the norm for contractors looking to knock down large areas of crop in front of forage harvesters with huge appetites. The latest offering from Kuhn importer CB Norwood Distributors looks up to the task.

The FC 9530 mower conditioner combines a single front, and two rear units laid out in the normal ‘butterfly’ formation; it offers cutting widths from 9.1 to 9.5m.

Using the Kuhn Optidisc cutter bar design, with Fast-fit knives and Protectadrive safety bearings, each unit is mounted using a pendulum-type hydraulically controlled connection that allows vertical and

lateral movement to ensure the best ground adaptability and a clean cut, even at high speeds.

The conditioner units use a full width rotor with pivoting fingers and an adjustable baffle plate to offer a range of conditioning effect in varying crops, with a choice of rotor speeds of 1000 or 750rpm.

The latter is particularly useful for delicate crops such as clover or lucerne, or it can be used to create a fluffy swath which easily passes between the front wheels, in the case of the front unit.

Kuhn operations manager for NZ, Brian Robertson, explains that “the FC9530 triple was developed for high power tractors, operating at high speeds to achieve high productivity. All the mower units have a heavy duty drive train, using the Optidisc cutter bar, and lift control suspension for best ground following. This system allows up to 50cm of vertical

movement on the rear units, and for the front, which can be more susceptible to impact, the range of movement is 70cm.”

In use the mowers can be controlled by a single panel that lifts them simultaneously or individually, and overlap between the front and

rear units can be adjusted 30-50cm to eliminate striping on turns or while operating on sidling ground.

For transport the unit folds to 2.95m and for storage it can be parked vertically or unfolded and placed horizontally.www.kuhn.co.nz


46 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Mowers cater to harvester’s tasteMARK [email protected]

Kuhns new triple mower.

ABOUT KUHN:❱❱ founded in 1828 by Joseph Kuhn

❱❱ originally manufactured scales and weigh systems

❱❱ turnover Euro 1040 million (2014)

❱❱ investment Euro 54 million

❱❱ production 65,000 units

❱❱ employees 5200

❱❱ 1900 worldwide patents held.

Cutter™ controls weeds and cutworm in one hit. Apply Cutter with Atraflow™ (atrazine) as your normal pre-emergent herbicide mixture. Cutter will control weeds and protect your emerging crop against cutworm attack. It works perfectly in combination with insecticide seed treatments because it’s contact activity cuts down cutworm before crop damage occurs.

Cutter saves time and money. By combining the herbicide and insecticide there is less chance of incurring the extra time and cost of a follow up insecticide treatment.

Main advantages of using Cutter.

• Controls cutworm across the entire field – even between the rows • Attacks cutworm before it ruins your crop • Less cost compared to separate herbicide and insecticide applications • Perfect complement to insecticide seed treatment

CUTDOWN WEEDS CUTDOWN CUTWORM CUTDOWN TIME CUTDOWN COSTS

www.orionagriscience.co.nzFor more information contact Orion AgriScience Ltd. Freephone: 0800 674 6627

™CUTTER and ATRALOW are Trade Marks of Orion AgriScience Ltd. Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. P8850 and P7775. Approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996 No. HSR100858 and HSR000534. See www.foodsafety.govt.nz for registration conditions. See www.epa.govt.nz for approval conditions.



Forage choppers cut fuel consumption

John Deere’s

new 8300 series

cuts fuel use by 15%

when harvesting

grass.

JOHN DEERE is to add three new models to its 8000 series self-propelled forage harvesters which currently ranges from 380hp to 625hp.

The new 8300 produces 483hp from its Tier 2, 13.5L engine, and the 8700 and 8800 models 755hp and 832hp respectively, from their Tier2, non-EGR, 19.0L units.

Engineers have matched engines to outputs, achieving fuel reductions of up to 6% in maize and 15% in grass.

At the business end, the choice of new 9 series grass pick-ups from 3.0-4.5m is complemented by row-independent headers from 8-12 rows, supplied by in-house manufacturer

Kemper. The headers have

automatic speed matching to length of cut, and the feed roller widths are tailored to ensure a well compressed layer of crop is presented to the DuraDrum cutterhead.

Dependent on the model’s power, cutterhead width varies between 686mm and 856mm and can be specified with 40, 48, 56 or 64 knives depending on the crop being harvested.

Other improvements to the series for the new harvest season include wider feeder housings for the larger-engine machines, and improvements to the chute assembly which include faster rotational speed.

An improved drive system for greater

durability and the option of the ‘active fill system’ that loads all corners of trucks or trailers, freeing the operator to concentrate on the feed going into the front of the machine.www.johndeere.co.nz


POTTINGER HAS introduced upgrades from the large trailed HIT tedder series to smaller 8-rotor models with working widths of up to 8.86m.

A sturdy three-point pivoting headstock has absorber struts as standard and tracking performance that prevents the tedder from jolting during operation is seen as working well on slopes. The horizontal head-stock guidance provides high clearance at headland turns and prevents under-running on slopes.

A newly designed DynaTech rotor unit and tine arm has been introduced, using smaller rotor diameters and either five or six curved tine arms. A new tine design ensures optimum tedding quality and accurate ground tracking for a superior spread pattern, making for faster and uniform wilting of forage and hence higher quality.

This rotor geometry ensures forage cannot snag or wrap around the tine arms, and a gentle uptake by the trailing, sweeping arms ensures the crop is subjected to less damage between the tine arms, resulting in lower crop losses. Spreading angles can be adjusted on each rotor in three steps without tools.

All rotors have 16 x 6.5-8 tyres, better protected from contamination thanks to a newly designed axle. An optional front jockey wheel system is available which ensures optimum ground tracking to protect the sward and forage.

The new HIT 8.91 T trailed version has transport wheels which fold up hydraulically over the rotors during operation, achieving an optimal centre of gravity and preventing oscillation while in work, and making it ideal for use with smaller tractors.

Operation is straightforward and is activated using a double-acting connection with sequential control. Fenceline tedding systems are also available for all models to clear the crop away from fences.www.originagroup.co.nz

Eight-rotor tedder from PottingerMARK [email protected]

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Weigh system on loader gets feed quantities rightTHIS SEASON of belt tightening demands a close eye on production costs, whether stock are fed grass only, or supplements to keep production up and revenue rising.

Farmers feeding total mixed rations (TMR) are likely to have load cells on their mixer wagons, but those using tra-ditional feeder wagons might look at a weigh system from Loadrite (Trimble Group) which fits to a frontloader, tele-handler or skid steer unit. This closely measures feed quantities -- be they over or under target amounts. It might also be useful if materials are being sold off the farm.

The systems are based around a hydraulic transducer built into the loader lift ram circuit that converts dif-ferences in hydraulic pressure to an

electrical signal displayed as a calibrated weight on the in-cab screen. Claimed accuracy is +/-1% when correctly calibrated.

The system can be fitted to up to nine different attachments, such as buckets, fork/grabs and pallet tines, and because the centre of mass is different with each, the system needs a quick, one-off calibration for each, which is stored in the control box. In use once an attachment is changed, the operator goes to the display and selects the correct item before weighing commences.

In practice the S1100 system uses a single sensor, and is used statically, which means to do a weight check the operator lifts the loader until arrows

line up with a marker, then hits the ‘weigh” button on the cab display. This removes from the calculation any differences in hydraulic forces

resulting from lift height and geometry. An alternative option is the TS 1128

system which uses twin sensors and can be used dynamically or on the move for faster operation. It also has overload warnings, load counters and

recall and subtract functions, plus

the option of a printout if required.Both units are easy to retro-fit to

existing set-ups in around three hours. The gear is robust and weath-

erproof so it can be fitted to any ROPS loader tractorswww.loadritescales.com


Trimble Loadrite system is based around a hydraulic transducer built into the lift ram and it converts the differences in hydraulic pressure to screen (above).

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ACRONYMS ABOUND: it’s no surprise that sales of SUV’s have risen PDQ in NZ.

SUV sales growth has averaged 27% per annum for five years, and industry pundits predict they will account for half of all passenger vehicles by 2018.

Current 2015 figures are just on 47%; in 2104 sales of SUV’s hit 37,000 (total of 53,000 passenger vehicles).

Steve Kenchington, general manager of Volvo noted “in 2014 industry sales for passenger vehicles were up 9% to 90,152, but SUV’s showed a gain closer to 30%”. Their popularity rose with improved fuel efficiency, better safety features and their panoramic driving position.

“Ten years ago only a handful of such vehicles were available in NZ, but… now we see over 60 different small, medium and large choices available.” Volvo NZ has seen sales rise at least 130% per annum.

– Mark Daniel

Kiwis love SUVsVolvo SUV.

Too foggy to see the cows?

IT’S BEEN a long time since this writer went to a pop concert, but the young people down our way tell me that if it gets too hot for the seething masses in the mosh pit, the organisers turn on misting cannons to cool them.

Fogging (misting) has been used commercially for years, notably in shop-ping malls in Asia to cool passers-by. It controls odours at waste sites and piggeries, and suppresses dust at quarries or in places where fine particulate create a risk of explosion.

During hot dry sum-mers, dairy stock can be susceptible to heat-stress, knocking back produc-tion. A case for fogging? Probably. US studies show that keeping cows cool can increase production up to 5% per cow per day, as the cows spend more time ruminating, and put-ting energy into milk pro-duction, than using energy to stay cool; cool cows showed better feed conver-sion rates.

High pressure fogging works on the basis that when tiny water droplets are produced in a warm

environment they evapo-rate, absorbing heat from the air. Because water requires more energy to remain in a gaseous, rather than a liquid, state, so when it evaporates it absorbs energy (in the form of heat) from the air. Hence when you emerge from a swimming pool on a hot day you feel cooler than while swimming because the water evapo-rates from your skin.

For a cooling effect, much depends on the ambient temperature and the level of humidity, but with a mid-afternoon tem-perature of, say, 23 degrees C and a humidity con-tent of 70%, tempera-ture reduction can be 6-8 degrees C.

BiOx International, Mount Maunganui, sells fogging/misting plant – high pressure, low volume -- that can be customised for individual set-ups (dif-fering building shapes/sizes). These rely on gen-erating water droplets of 5-15 microns at about 1000psi pressure from very fine nozzles; the resulting water droplets evaporate almost instantaneously and remove the latent heat. The instant evaporation ensures surfaces are not wet to the touch.

The systems typically consume 60ml per nozzle per hour, hence 100 noz-zles covering some 600-1000m would use about 6L/m – half that issuing from a home garden hose. www.bioxinternational.com


Keeping cows cool can boost milk production.

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Subaru Forester.

Staying true to 4WD

WITH AROUND one third of New Zealand roads unsealed, no surprise that drivers like utes, crossovers and SUV’s.

On a trip to a bach or a cross country trek to a favourite fishing spot, these vehicles come into their own. But many are just wanabee 4x4’s and really only 2WD; the rough-est terrain they will tame is the kerb outside the local school or supermarket.

One company that stays true to the 4WD mes-

sage is Subaru, and its Forester range in particu-lar has a loyal following. Often chosen by profes-sional couples or those with young families, the Forester lives up to the marketing – ‘Forester can do what other pretender SUV’s can’t’.

For the 2015 season it is available for the first time with a combination of a 2.0L diesel engine and the maker’s refined Lineat-ronic transmission (SLT), surely broadening audience appeal.

First impressions are of a refining of the old model, which was a little boxy.

Some nice curves now adorn the bonnet and rear hatch, and a good looking front end is accentuated by a strong grille and abun-dant chrome

Stepping into the car is a breeze with large doors and the car sitting higher than normal with a 220 mm ground clearance, giving an indication of purpose. At first, the seats seem a little upright and old-fashioned, but after a few kms they remain comfortable and supportive.

Starting the flat four motor gives little indica-tion of its preference for diesel; tickover is steady and there is no obvious ‘rattle’ as found in other marques. Injection is via the now familiar common rail and the vehicle pumps out 108kW and a healthy 350Nm torque at 1600-2400 rpm.

While meeting Euro 6 emission standards by means of EGR, DPF and variable geometry turbo-charger, the engine shows no reduction in get up and go; it eats up the kms with little effort and importantly only sips 5.9L/100km.

The SLT drive train has probably set the standard for CVT transmissions, and offers smooth transi-tion through the speeds in auto mode or manual shifting. Subaru engineers have used electronic pro-gramming to match engine speeds to road speeds, and in practice the unit switches between the two modes unnoticed to improve the driveability.

This is controlled via the position of the accel-erator pedal, so in effect it takes account of the driv-

ing style for a more sporty or relaxed change. The test car as driven was also fitted with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel, but this driver preferred to put the vehicle in the D position and let it do its own thing. The full-time 4WD ensured bends were effectively straightened out, and gave the car a neutral feel, which was better than expected; other brands of this genre can be prone to alarming body roll.

As expected, when hit-ting the rough -- muddy farm tracks on dairy farms in Waikato -- there were no problems and the tyres as fitted coped well on and off road, and didn’t exhibit any road howl, a problem on this type of vehicle if the tread pattern is too aggres-sive.

A noticeable feature was the X-mode AWD assist feature which allowed inclines to be tackled as they should be, particu-larly on the downslopes, with feet off the pedals and let the car do its own thing. At all times it felt safe, and even on sticky flat going the system allowed power to be transmitted to the right wheels and eliminate wheelspin, so progress was never impeded.

As part of the year upgrade, the vehicle now gets the Infotainment screen to control audio, telephone and other key vehicle functions. The accommodation was com-fortable and it would appear the engineers have spent time on the car from an acoustic perspective as cabin noise was very low and road noise just about non-existent.


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get in touch with your local ecolab rep for more info and special introductory deal.

North island 0508 737 733 | south island 0508 737 343

new1+10formula

NPEFREE

Packs available: 5, 20, 100, 200, 1,000 litre

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2015-09-02, Hibitane2 Ad FINAL [DN].indd 1 02-Sep-15 3:23:03 PM

New Zealand’s leading rural real estate company

Licensed REAA 2008 Helping grow the countrywww.pggwre.co.nz

If you’re in the market to sell your property this spring, get in touch with New Zealand’s leading rural real estate company. From farm to lifestyle to rural residential, our national team of experienced locals are experts in connecting people with property.

Get listed, get sold. Bookings close 22 September.List your property today in New Zealand’s leading rural and lifestyle property magazine: ‘Property Express’.

Contact your local PGG Wrightson Real Estate expert today at pggwre.co.nz

A national team of locals, connecting people with property

dairy news 8 september 2015

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