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Supplement to Te Awamutu Courier, Tuesday, February 19, 2013Supplement to Te Awamutu Courier, Tuesday, February 19, 2013

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TC190213RR02

TATUANUI dairy farmer Dave Muggeridge will host thefirst of two Lime Live Field days next week.

BY SUE EDMONDS

I n these days of climateuncertainty and big dries,farmers need to feel confi-

dent that their pastures will notonly ‘hang in there’ when theweather does unexpectedchanges, but will also remaingreen and palatable at all times.

This year there will be twoLime Live days run byMcDonalds Lime, one on dairyland and one on hill country,proving that it can be done.

Waikato Tatuanui dairyfarmer Dave Muggeridge hasbelieved in the efficacy ofannual liming of pasture foryears to achieve enviable profit-ability and happy cows.

He uses annual dressings of400kg/h across the wholefarm. The ryegrass grows inthick clumps, there is masses ofclover and very few weeds, andthe pH stays around 6.2. Herenovated one paddock andwon the DairyNZ pasturerenewal 3 years and older prizefor 2013, but finds his mucholder pastures just as good andprofitable.

Chris Adams farms bulls andsheep on hill country near TeKuiti.

After trying two years ofheavy liming on the bullpaddocks, he’s now convincedof the need for annual top-upsof the whole farm. His bullsgraze more evenly, seemquieter, and there’s a lot moreclover appearing everywhere.Aerial liming is now a practicaloption and will be demon-strated on the day.

While annual liming showssignificant effects from thestart, a further step forwardcomes after about 5 years,when suddenly there’s clovereverywhere, everything is lush,and the urea bill drops by two

thirds. And all along pasturesget fully grazed, and milk andbeef production gets better andbetter.

If you haven’t seen whatlime can do for your farm, yoursoils and your pastures yet, getalong to a relevant Lime Liveday this year.

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High calibreentrants

Regional convenor LisaSuisted says competition for thefinal six placings was tight amongthe 15 entrants in the WaikatoSharemilker/Equity Farmer ofthe Year and 24 entrants in theWaikato Farm Manager of theYear competitions. ‘‘They wereall vying for the top six places intheir category to progress to thefinal round of judging.’’

Finals judging will take placefrom February 25-28 to decidethe 2013 Waikato winners.

‘‘The preliminary judges wereextremely impressed with thehigh calibre of entrants this year.Many of them demonstrated ahuge passion for their farms andthe industry, and what they haveachieved to date is impressive.’’

The Waikato Dairy IndustryAwards Dinner will be held atBledisloe Hall, Mystery Creek, onMarch 8. Tickets are $85 and areavailable from Kyly Coombes (ph07 824 6717).

FINALISTS ARE:Waikato Sharemilker/EquityFarmer of the YearAaron Price (Taupiri)Michael & Lindy Bennett (TeAwamutu)Stewart & Sue McKay (Te Aroha)Andrew & Michelle McPherson(Paterangi)Dan & Michelle Brice (Otorohanga)Mark & Cathy Nicholas (Tokoroa)Waikato Farm Managerof the YearGary McFarlane (Cambridge)Craig Wyber (Hamilton)Kaylea Pamment (Paterangi)James Heke (Tokoroa)Clem Schollum (Morrinsville)Antje & Soenke Paarmann(Otorohanga)

Finalists found forfarming competition

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KAKEPUKU Road farming couple Michael and Lindy Bennett.■ Continued Page 5

Michael and Lindy Bennett returned fromtheir honeymoon on January 29 and just twodays later they were being judged for the 2013

Waikato Dairy Industry Awards.Mr Bennett says it was a nerve-wracking experience,even though they spent a day of their honeymoon inRarotonga preparing for the event.Ironically it was the effects of a cyclone that kept themindoors on a rainy day to map out their plan of attack —while farms back in New Zealand were drying out andturning brown.‘‘We gave a power point presentation first and then wetoured the farm, outlining subjects like farm safety,human resources, dairy hygiene, pasture renewal andenvironmental issues.‘‘To be honest our plan that we made while onhoneymoon pretty much went out the window once wegot underway and we ‘winged it’ to a degree.‘‘It was pretty hard to gauge their reaction because thejudges don’t ask questions or provide feedback at thetime.’’The couple must have impressed them, however,because they have been announced as one of six finalistsin the Waikato Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year.The Bennetts are into their second season as 50/50sharemilkers on Derek and Faye Black’s 131haKakepuku Road farm where they milk 470 cows.Interestingly Mr Bennett’s parents farmed on the sameroad when they first came to the Waikato.He says the competition is a great way to look closely atyour own business and benchmark yourself againstothers.‘‘I certainly recommend others take the opportunity toenter the awards next year.’’Andrew and Michelle McPherson spent yearsworking in banking in London to save enough money toget them started in dairying.Both come from farming backgrounds and on theirreturn to New Zealand they were quick to get a footholdon the farming ‘ladder’.The couple are now into their third sharemilkingposition in the area.They are currently milking 500 cows, with theassistance of two full time staff, on the Elderslea Farm atPaterangi.


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The booking deadline forthose wanting to safely disposeof their unwanted or expiredagr ichemica ls throughAgrecovery Chemicals isMarch 8.

Last year over three timesas many Waikato farmers andgrowers used the safe andenvironmentally sound chemi-cal collection scheme to get ridof their old and unwantedchemicals than they did in2011.

In its last financial year,Agrecovery collected morethan 11,500kg agrichemicalsacross the country, 23 percentmore than the previous finan-cial year and this year it hopes

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ber of Waikato farmers andgrowers using the schemeincrease. However, we knowthere is still a lot of old andunwanted chemicals out thereand we’d like to see it bookedin for our upcoming collec-tion,’’ says Duncan Scotlandfrom Agrecovery.

Many agrichemicals andanimal health products areeligible for free disposalthrough the support of the 59brand owners who participatein the programme, whileothers are subsidised throughcentral government and someregional councils. WaikatoRegional Council is activelysupporting this upcoming col-lection.

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Finalists fine-tune for next round

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PATERANGI farmers Andrew and Michelle McPherson.

TC190213RR05B

PATERANGI farm manager Kaylea Pamment.

■ From Page 3 Mrs McPherson says theyspent considerable timepreparing for the visit fromWaikato Dairy IndustryAwards’ judges and twosick children almostderailed their efforts at thelast minute.

‘‘I have to admit I wasvery nervous about thejudging and we almostpostponed it when the chil-dren were sick, but in theend it all went smoothlyand we were pleased withthe day.

‘‘The judges were lovely

and put us at ease.‘‘We had very long lists

and we practised our pre-sentations several times, sowe were well prepared.

‘‘We’ll just have to finetune our presentation nowfor the next round of judg-ing.’’

The McPhersons have ashort term goal of equitypartnership and long termthey are looking at farmownership.

Mr McPherson says theyhaven’t got a solid plan ofthe steps in between, butentering the 2013 Waikato

Dairy Industry Awards hasalready been a worthwhileexperience.

‘‘It has certainly madeus sharpen our game - wedont want to be just ‘aver-age’ sharemilkers andwe’re always looking forfurther opportunities.’’

Kaylea Pamment is inher first year as a farmmanager, so was delightedto be named a finalist fromthe field of 24 WaikatoDairy Industry Awards’entrants.

She is in a sole chargeposition on Janet Macky’s

38ha Paterangi farm, whichis leased by Andrew andVicki Macky.

Raised on a Bay ofPlenty farm, she travelledfor several years beforereturning to farming oneand half years ago while inthe South Island.

‘I wanted to come backcloser to family and friendsso I advertised looking for aposition in the NorthIsland.

‘‘I didn’t know anyonewhen I came to Te Awa-mutu, but it’s perfect herefor me.

‘‘I enjoy being close toLake Ngaroto and I’vejoined local sports clubs, soI’m getting to know the areaand the people here.’’

She decided to enter theDairy Awards to learn moreand help raise her profile.

‘‘Farming has a clearpathway, so I want to move

up as quickly as I can.‘‘Short term I’m looking

to buy 40 in-calf heifers nextyear and lease them out.

‘‘My long term aim is tobe a sharemilker in fiveyears with at least 400 cows.

‘‘Making the finals of theDairy Awards has certainlygiven me a boost.’’


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Farming intro courseYou may not have heard of

Taratahi Agricultural Train-ing Centre, but all that is

about to change from Monday.For the first time the Wairarapa

based training institution brings anew programme to the Waikatocalled ‘Introduction to Farming’.

Taratahi has been successfullypreparing students for careers inagriculture since 1919.

Graduates and farmers recom-mend Taratahi because they offernationally recognised courses, anenvironment for students that areboth male and female and comefrom urban and rural backgrounds.They offer practical, technical andtheoretical study creating wellrounded individuals.

Introduction to Farming is a feesfree programme where studentswill learn a range of basic agricul-tural skills. It’s a fantastic entry levelprogramme which focuses on prac-tical learning and is a great intro-duction to the basic skills requiredto be successful in farming.

The 23 week programme isfocused on safety, confidence build-ing and best practice. Skills that willbe covered include quad bikes,fencing, stock handling, tractorsplus much, much more.

Students wi l l gain twoqualifications:• National Certificate in Agricul-ture General Skills;• National Certificate in Agricul-ture Introductory Skills.

The programme starts onMonday, February 25, with addi-tional start dates throughout theyear in the Waikato region.

The course is open to everyoneaged 16 years and over and is agreat opportunity for people whohave just left school, undecidedabout their career path, thosewanting to change careers, or whomay already have a lifestyle prop-erty and need to brush up or gainfarming skills.

Taratahi offers full-time courses,extra-mural study, short coursesand STAR/Gateway programmesas well as the Primary IndustriesTrades Academy.

The main campus is based nearMasterton in the Wairarapa, withnon-residential campuses in Mana-watu, Taranaki, Waikato, HawkesBay and Northland.

■ For any questions orenrolments just call 0800TARATAHI (0800 827 2824) or theycan email [email protected]

Finance factors in ‘Feeling Rotten’ survey

MONEY WOES: Financial pressure and family problems come out asmajor concerns for rural families in a new survey.

‘On a positive note,people are telling us

that friends andcounselling services

have an important roleto play.’NOELINE HOLT

Rural Women NZ

Financial stresses and family prob-lems are emerging as majorfactors in Rural Women NZ

‘Feeling Rotten’ survey.Since it was launched there has

been a big response to the RuralWomen NZ ‘Feeling Rotten’ survey.

Rural Women NZ executive officerNoeline Holt says we encourage ruralpeople to take part, to build up a clearpicture of what contributes to theiranxiety or depression, and what helpsthem overcome it. This will help us inour advocacy role, as well as providingpractical support.

The latest survey updates an earlierone Rural Women NZ conducted in2006, and aims to show if there havebeen any significant changes oremerging trends.

Rural Women NZ welcomes thesupport of agricultural-based organisa-tions such as Federated Farmers andDairy Women’s Network for the Feel-ing Rotten Survey. The organisations

will meet next week to work oncollaborative action to reduce thedebilitating harm anxiety and depres-sion causes. Early responses to thesurvey indicate the majority of peoplefeel anxious due to financial stresses.This is followed by time pressures anda feeling of being overwhelmed.

When it comes to depression,family problems are showing up as amajor contributing factor, with abusive

situations playing a part. This isfollowed by post-natal depression andwork stresses leading to depression.

‘‘On a positive note, people aretelling us that friends and counsellingservices have an important role to playin helping them through difficult times.

‘‘This is encouraging, as RuralWomen recently gave a significantsum of money to provide counsellingservices in rural Canterbury to thoseaffected by the earthquakes. Itindicates we are on the right track.’’

Rural Women NZ would also like tohear from people who have notsuffered from anxiety or depression, orwho have overcome it, and ways inwhich they have done that.

■ The ‘Feeling Rotten’ survey closeson 21 February, when further resultswill be published. To complete thesurvey go towww.surveymonkey.com/s/Feeling—Rotten

Funding forgas researchThe Pastoral Greenhouse Gas

Research Consor t ium(PGgRc ) has secured

funding from the agriculture sectorand the Ministry of Business,Innovation and Employment(MBIE) to continue research to findtools for mitigating greenhousegases.

Industry partners have commit-ted $2.3 million and this will bematched by government throughMBIE’s Partnership fund over thenext seven years.

The research work will be leadby AgResearch along with othernational and international groups.

PGgRc Consortium manager,Mark Aspin said a new pro-gramme of activity is planned thatwill build on the knowledge alreadygained from investments in recentyears.

New Zealand is at the forefrontof this challenging science frontierbeing worked on globally, and haspreviously delivered new know-ledge such as sequencing the firstrumen methanogen genome,developing a low emission sheepflock and finding feeds that canreduce methane emissions.

‘‘The new work aims todevelop a suite of ready-madetools that will reduce greenhousegases by 30 per cent by 2030while supporting the agriculturalindustry’s growth targets of twoper cent each year.’’

Together with the funds contri-buted from consortium partnerAgResearch, the annual researchinvestment of $5.4m will specific-ally focus on:· Refining animal breeding toolsfor low emission livestock;· Identifying more low greenhousegas feeds;· Identifying inhibitors that reduceruminant emissions;· Developing a vaccine to reduceruminant emissions;· Understanding the productivityeffects and enhancing the adop-tion of mitigations.

The refreshed research pro-gramme, while recognising thelong term commitment required,will be strongly focused on deliveryof mitigation solutions, developedthrough an increased partnershipbetween the consortium and theNew Zea land Agr icu l tu ra lResearch Centre (NZAGRC). Bothof these organisations will coordi-nate their operations to ensurerapid delivery of effective optionsfor farmers.

Agriculture plays a critical rolein the economy and unless tech-nical solutions are found to reduceagricultural emissions, there maybe significant ETS liabilities in thefuture, Mr Aspin said. ‘‘We’recompletely focused on developingtechnologies that are practical andcan be readily adopted byfarmers.’’


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FENCING FARM WATERWAYS

Why its worth it . . .This article is adapted

from the third in a seriesof nine DairyNZ Farmfactson managing waterwayson farms. They can beviewed atwww.dairynz.co.nz in theFarmfacts — Environmentsection.

Fencing waterways on-farm has many benefits.It helps stabilise banks by

preventing treading anderosion, and reduces the riskof stock bogging or drowning.

Fencing to keep animalsout of waterways leads tobetter water quality by reduc-ing the amount of faecalmatter and sedimentdeposited directly into it. Thiswill contribute to a betterhabitat for fish and otherfreshwater life, improve theappearance of the waterwayand reduce drain maintenancecosts.

Many regional councilsprovide free guidance on fenc-ing and other aspects ofwaterway management. Mostprovide free locally-focusedand helpful publications. Besure to contact them in theearly planning stages. Alongwith professional guidance,council staff can alert you toany possible regulations, aswell as funding opportunities.

In the meantime, here aresome key things to consider.

FENCE SET-BACKSAND OPTIONS

Consider the overall layoutof your farm when planningfor waterway fences. Alongwith protecting waterways,new fencing could improvesubdivision for grazing man-

agement and stock control.For fence placement:· go for a minimum set-

back of 1m where the pad-dock slope toward the water-way is less than 10 degrees(the set-back should be greaterif you are going to be planting)

· go for a 3m set-back ofungrazed vegetation wherethe slope is greater than 10degrees

· where banks areunstable, set it further back

· weigh up straight lines(less materials and labour toinstall) versus following thewaterway course (possibly lessgrazing land lost).

Choose fencing that suitsyour budget and your current

set-up. Just be sure it’s stock-proof!

· Seven to nine wires withbattens is best for permanentfences

· A two- or three-wireelectric fence with permanentposts is satisfactory to preventcattle entering the waterway

· For a single wire fence ona 1m set-back, increase themargin a little to allow for thegrazing that will occur underthe fence.ALLOWING FOR ACCESS

Be sure to allow for accesswhen needed. For marginsretired permanently, remov-able wooden rails in a con-venient spot will make it easyto free stock that might get in.

For areas that requiredrain clearing, an electricfence that can be removed ordropped will allow easyaccess. Where fencing is morepermanent, adequate spacingshould be left between thewaterway and fence for diggeraccess.COPING WITH FLOODS

Simple one-wire or two-wire electric fences are goodchoices in flood prone areas.They are less likely to collectdebris or be swept away infloods. They are also easier tostand back up after a floodevent.

Here are some more waysto reduce damage and repaircosts in areas prone to flood-ing:

· place fencing a greaterdistance from the waterway(especially on the outside ofbends) and place posts furtherapart than normal

· put fence wires on thepaddock and/or downstreamside of posts so they pop theirstaples and drop, rather thanbreaking

· use un-barbed staples sowires can pop more easily

· construct separate ‘blow-out’ sections across floodchannels.

You should also thinkabout the height of the bottomwire relative to expected floodlevels. Recording flood heightswill be helpful with placementof fences in the future.

Finally, temporary electricfences can be helpful to pro-tect sensitive areas at criticaltimes. You can run a hot tapearound wet areas and seeps inwinter, for example, to keepstock out and avoid pugging.


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Energy use talksfor SMASH eventThree Waikato SMASH

(Smaller Milk and SupplyHerds) events tackle

three thought-provoking topics— energy use, pasture persist-ence and robotic milking.

Now in its third year,SMASH is supported byDairyNZ.

Chairman Noldy Rust saysthe days are highly informativefor dairy farmers.

The first took place lastTuesday in Cambridge, lookingat how to produce and saveenergy on-farm.

‘‘All farmers are consciousof how energy costs take sig-nificant dollars from theirbottomline, but not all knowhow to set their dairy up to beenergy efficient, and knowwhether the different energygeneration technologies areactually worthwhile.’’

Guest speakers discussedenergy production and how tomake dairy sheds moreefficient.

NIWA’s Stephan Heubeck

shared information on energygeneration (including solar,wind and microhydro) andNIWA research into generatingenergy from effluent.

Jim Miller, an energy con-sultant to Fonterra, spokeabout how energy is used in thedairy shed and how farmers canmake operational changes tosave energy. Suppliers for thedifferent energy generation sys-tems were on-hand to answerquestions.

The second event, onThursday in Morrinsville, isfocusing on pasture persist-ence.

‘‘Brian and Bridget Frost’sfarm was converted to tallfescue to deal with persistenceissues, something manyfarmers struggle with, aspastures don’t survive morethan a year or two. The Frostswill share what they havelearnt,’’ says Mr Frost.

DairyNZ senior scientistErrol Thom and farm systemsspecialist Chris Glassey will also

talk about how to establishpersistent pastures and how tallfescue can fit into existingsystems.

The final SMASH event, onMarch 5, will be held on JohnFisher’s farm in Cambridge.

‘‘We’ll look at his roboticmilking machine set-up and seethis exciting technology inaction,’’ says Noldy.

‘‘John will also share whythey decided robotics was forthem, how the farm has beenset-up to work with it and thelessons learnt so far.’’

Although geared towardsfarmers with smaller oper-ations, all are welcome toattend these events, as there ismuch of interest for everyone.

■ For more information andevent updates, visit the SMASHwebsite smallerherds.co.nz

February 21, 233 SeifertRd, Tauhei; March 5, Roboticmilking 387 Parallel Rd, Cam-bridge. All meetings run from10.30am until 2pm.

New fruit wins award

TC190213RR08

© Plant & Food Research

A new fruit bred by Plant &Food Research was afinalist in the international

Fruit Logistica Innovation Award2013.

’Hortgem Tahi’, one of theInstitute’s four new kiwiberrycultivars, marketed as Nergi byFrench company Sofruileg, is asmall grape-sized sweet tastingfruit with green flesh and asmooth, thin edible skin.

Kiwiberries are the fruit of theActinidia arguta, a deciduousvine with berries that grow inbunches following on from itsbeautiful and highly scentedwhite blossoms.

They are grown on vinessimilarly to other kiwifruitspecies, each vine producingbetween 10kg and 50kg of fruitwhich is individually hand-harvested.

Although Actinidia arguta hasbeen known for a long time,commercial production has beenlimited due to the delicate fruithandling required and limitedstorage potential of varieties.

In the 1990s, Plant & FoodResearch began working todevelop an improved cultivar.

After 15 years of breedingand postharvest research, newvarieties have now been bredpreserving the original taste,nutrition and convenience bene-fits while obtaining more robustand longer storing fruits.


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Greg Muller (Owner Operator)M. 027 5997 223 P. 07 871 5597 E. [email protected]

SeedSeed FertiliserFertiliser

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No fertiliser on left.Fertiliser with Cross Slot on right

Both our drills have broadcasting bins.Sow your clover separately to eliminate competition!

with home grown grown meatmeat

Stock your Stock your freezer

Rickit Rd, Te Awamutu - Ph 871 5320 A/H 871 6305Rickit Rd, Te Awamutu - Ph 871 5320 A/H 871 6305

We have a vehicle especially designed for farm pick-up We have a vehicle especially designed for farm pick-up and killing in your areaand killing in your area

Offal removal service availableOffal removal service available

We are not retail butchers and handle no stock, except We are not retail butchers and handle no stock, except farmer-ownedfarmer-owned

We have a fully equipped van to deliver your pre-packed We have a fully equipped van to deliver your pre-packed meat back to youmeat back to you

• Bacon Cured • All corned cuts processed • Sausages• Bacon Cured • All corned cuts processed • Sausages

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Ruakura low voltage stimulatorfor tenderising your homekills

WATCHING EFFLUENT

ONE of the cartoons being used as part of the Keep It Low campaign.

A DairyNZ-funded report has highlightedpractical ways to improve Waikato’seffluent compliance results.

Compliance data provided by regionalcouncils nationwide was analysed by AgFirstWaikato’s Nicola Waugh, who produced areport identifying trends in the region’s sig-nificant effluent non-compliance.

The information is being used in DairyNZ’sKeep It Low campaign, launched last summer toremind farmers to irrigate in the drier months,when conditions allow, and to get effluent pondsas empty as possible before winter.

This year, the message is the same — tokeep the level of effluent in ponds to a minimum— but with extra emphasis on keeping appli-cation depths low with an effluent irrigationsystem.

DairyNZ environmental extension specialistfor Waikato, Trevor Foley, says summer is agood time to lower effluent pond levels.

‘‘Irrigating when conditions allow, from mid-summer through to early autumn, will meanthere is as much free capacity as possible in thepond, before the wet weather hits,’’ says MrFoley.

Managing the process of applying effluentto land is also really important, he says.

‘‘There was a reduction in the number offarmers found non-compliant in 2011/12however the reasons for non-complianceremained the same, which was ponding,’’ saysMr Foley.

‘‘One of the main reasons for ponding islack of storage.

‘‘A lack of storage will mean having toirrigate when soil conditions are not suitablethrough the wet winter periods.

‘‘A well-designed and managed pond ortank is an investment and essential to beingcompliant 365 days of the year.’’

DairyNZ has developed a range of guides tohelp farmers manage effluent, including ‘Afarmer’s guide to building a new effluentstorage pond’.

■ These guides have been summarised inthe DairyNZ Effluent Resources Brochure andhighlighted in a Keep It Low calendar. Bothare available to order at dairynz.co.nz/effluent or phone 0800 4 DAIRYNZ (0800 4324 7969).


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DIRECTORS:David BaileyRobert InghamCheyne Waldron

ASSOCIATEDIRECTORS:Layne KerrKelly McIvor

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTSJayne AdamsTracey HallRebecca LynchBridget Morgan

ASSOCIATECHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS:Michael CrookShellee EdwardsCarolyn Perrett

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Contact us for a free noobligation interview to discuss your financial requirements

Our Te Awamutu basedaccountants are availableto visit your business or

farm as required

18 Maniapoto Street, OtorohangaFreephone: 0800 482 928

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The ONLY way to get your message to EVERY farmer in Te Awamutu and surrounding areas.Every month the Rural Roundup is delivered to 5207 rural properties not to mention 6902 homes in town.

To promote your business phoneAlan 871 5151 ext 703 or [email protected]

CourierTe Awamutu

Dry summer managementDarren SuttonWaikato FarmWise Consultant

‘The cheapest and most readily available feed atpresent is palm kernel. The economics of feeding

this now in a feed deficit does stack up’Farms are really starting to dry

up very quickly now, evenafter some rain in early Feb-

ruary. Action needs to be takennow to protect autumn’s pro-duction. The following covers someareas to think about and to help geta plan in place.

STOCKING RATEStocking rates need to be

reduced where possible as soon aspossible. This can be done byculling cows that you know you willnot be keeping for next season.These will be cows that are olderand have had mastitis and arecurrently helping hold the SCChigher. Also any cows that areobviously drying themselves off andnow and putting excessive con-dition on her back.

If you have done a 12-week PDalready, then you will know thosecows that are likely to be empty.Again, look through this group thatare low producers (using recentherd test data where possible), andhave SCC issues. At this stage ifyou have empty cows that may becarried over or are exceptionallygood producers, then feedingsupplements to these cows can stillbe profitable. But by the end ofFebruary if no rain has arrived,then even these must be looked atto be culled.

If you have not done a 12-weekPD scan, get this final scan bookedfor 5-6 weeks after the bulls havebeen removed.

ROTATION LENGTHHopefully you are on at least a

25-day round length now, but a30-day rotation would be better. Aslower round length allows forhigher average pasture covers,which reduces the amount ofevapotranspiration. It also helpswhen drought-breaking rains doarrive to maximise re-growth rates.

SUPPLEMENTSA feed budget should be done

for what you think you will need forwinter and spring. Ring fence anysupplements that you know youwill need for winter first. Thisclearly sets out what is then avail-able to be fed out this summer andautumn. Then think about whatsupplements you have on hand andwhat is best to be fed, and when. Ifyou have grass silage or maizesilage, then this may be bestrationed out to when your newcrop of maize is likely to beavailable.

The cheapest and most readilyavailable feed at present is palmkernel. The economics of feedingthis now in a feed deficit does stackup with it costing about 33 centslanded per kg of DM. When cowsare grazing to a 1500 residual,then we can expect an 80-100gMS responses per kg of DM eaten.So there is a good margin thatshould allow your marginal feedingcosts to be covered when workingon a $5.50 milk price.

If your pastures are very dry andshort, then crude protein (CP) maybecome limited. The total CP levelin the diet should be 15-16 percentin mid lactation. Below 15 percent,we can start to see some milkresponses to feeding a supplementthat has a higher CP. Palm kernel isabout 14-15 percent CP, so it onlyjust holds it own. Maize silage is 8-9percent CP, so this drops the totalCP in the diet, but is still worthfeeding when cows are at risk ofbeing underfed. Grass silage andturnips are therefore best spreadout through February and March to

get closer to some autumn rainsand a lift in pasture back into thediet. You can look to add drieddistiller grains (DDG) or cottonseedto your PKE mixes to help lift thetotal CP levels in the cows’ diet, butthese products do quickly lift thecost. Seek good advice whendesigning these mixes.

Because it is so dry now, when itdoes rain the pasture will softenquickly and that will reduce cowintakes for the next 3-4 weekswhile everything gets growingagain. To help reduce the fall inmilk production at this time, try tosave some grass silage that you canfeed to replace the ‘‘melting’’pasture.OAD OR THREE IN TWO

MILKINGSMilking OAD or three times in

two days will help keep as manycows milking for longer into thesummer and autumn before dryingoff decisions have to be made.Most cows will naturally tend topartition energy away from milkproduction and will hold or gainsome BCS. Ideally the best time tomove to OAD is before a feedpinch as cows can drop furtherthan the typical 10 percent whendone in December or early Janu-ary.

Feeding levels should not bereduced when going onto OAD,and should be lifted for the firstweek in particular to reduce theproduction drop.

Culling your high SCC cowsbefore going onto OAD will helpkeep SCC manageable. SCC willtypically double and then settleabout 1.5x what the SCC was on

TAD.The best option at this stage

when running two herds is to put alltwo and three year olds onto OADfirst. This will minimise SCC issues, buy you some time before theolder herd goes onto OAD andhelp protect the younger cowsfrom stripping too much weightoff.

FACIAL ECZEMA (FE)Make sure that you are monitor-

ing what FE spores are doing onyour farm. Spore counts are quitelow considering how hot it hasbeen but that can change veryquickly. I expect with more rain,spores will rise quickly and cowswill be eating low into the base.Cows should be on at least halfrates now, and ready to go to fullrates once spore counts start torise. Take some pasture samplesinto your vets from a north facingsheltered paddock before the cowsgraze it. This type of paddock willbe a good early indicator of whenspores are starting to lift over yourwhole farm.

Now is the time to check onyour replacements that are outgrazing and ensure their weightgain is on target and also their FEneeds are being covered as well.

MAKE A PLANSo don’t bury your head in the

sand and ignore the situation — getan independent assessment ofwhere your farm is positioned withpastures, supplements and animalcondition. From there a plan canbe made to mitigate the effects ofthe drought this season, and tominimise the effects of it impactingnext season as well.


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‘Master’ of timetalks to network

Robyn Pearce

Robyn Pearce, the muchsought after ‘queen of timemanagement’, will show

hundreds of busy dairying womenhow to ‘get a grip’ on theirpriorities and be the ‘master oftheir time’ when she speaks at theDairy Women’s Network annualconference in Nelson on March20 — 21.

Mrs Pearce is an internationalexpert in time management whogrew up on her parent’s SouthRotorua dairy farm, was marriedto a Waikato sheep farmer for 15years and is now mum to a sheepand beef farmer, who is also adirector of Beef + Lamb NZ. Sheraised six children, including herintellectually handicapped fosterson, and is a grandmother to 16grandchildren.

As well as training, writing,blogging and speaking about timemanagement in New Zealand,Australia, the US, Great Britain,Europe and the Middle East, MrsPearce’s rural family backgroundmeans she understands theeveryday challenges that dairyingwomen face when managingtheir time.

‘‘Farm production and pro-ductivity is very much gearedtoward land and animal outputs,but how we manage our time alsoaffects the bottom-line — if we’renot productive that will bereflected in the farm’s pro-ductivity and, more importantly ifthings are really out of control,the wellbeing of our family andour own health can suffer.’’

She is a regular columnist inthe New Zealand media, andadmits the reason she teachestime management is because sheused to be ‘‘very bad at it’’.

‘‘I can honestly say I havewalked in those shoes! My timemanagement skills almost put anend to my real estate career in the80s and 90s. I was kicked out of

meetings because of being lateand I burnt out numerous timesfrom overwork and poor timehabits. I really do understand howit feels to be out of control!’’

Thankfully a friend caredenough to give her the push sheneeded to adopt a few basic timemanagement principles — ignit-ing Mrs Pearce’s passion for thesubject and transforming hergreatest weakness into her majorstrength, and an internationalbusiness.

Today she helps largenational and internationalcorporates train employees tobetter manage their time, includ-ing Rabobank, QBE Insurance,National Bank, NIWA, the Inter-national Cricket Council —Dubai, Academy for Chief Execu-tives — UK and Beiersdorf NZ &Australia (makers of Nivea &Elastoplast), to name a few.

She says overload is being feltin all walks of life — and it’s asprevalent on the farm as it is inthe corporate world.

‘‘When you are overloadedyou’ll look around your kitchen,your office, your paddock orshed, and you’ll feel like you don’t

know where to start. It’s at thesetimes, as things keep flying atyou, that it’s really important toknow what to take on and whatto push back on. I love showingpeople how to do ‘helicopterthinking’ — to rise above every-thing going on, get perspective,and then work on the tasks andprojects that will make the great-est difference.’’

She added that the DairyWomen’s Network conferencewas an opportunity for people tostep back and take the time toreflect on the things in their livesthat really matter.

‘‘We all don’t take the time towork on prioritising the reallyimportant things in our lives in ameaningful way — whether theyare the way we use our time, theway we manage our homeoffices, the time we spendtogether as a family or any otherbusiness activities we have — weneed to be sure that we arealways only putting time andenergy into the things that aregoing to make the biggest differ-ence.’’

Joining Mrs Pearce at theconference is a world-class line-up of speakers includingOlympian Mahe Drysdale; Minis-ter of Women’s Affairs, the HonJo Goodhew; Parininihi Ki Wai-totara (PKW) Farms LimitedTrustee Hinerangi Edwards; andBlue Duck Station owner andeco-warrior, Dan Steele. Theconference theme is ‘Takingdown the boundary fences’ andwill cover subjects as diverse asanimal nutrition, environmentalconstraints and developing futureleaders.

■ To learnmore about the DairyWomen’s Network conferencevisit: www.dwn.co.nz. There arestill spaces and accommodationavailable.

Jersey Cattle Club show

Results of the Te AwamutuJersey Cattle Club Showas judged by Graeme Col-

lins of Wellsford.Cow in Milk 8 years and

over — Sponsored by PGGWrightson: RA and PE Adam,Carnmor Cals Pet 1; ShaunGood and Michelle Adam,Hillstar Pascos Karli Ex 9, 2;Selwyn Singh Family Trust,Mount Cosy Fabs Art, 3.

Cow in Milk 6 and 7 years— Sponsored by OsbornesTransport: Chris and JenniferTurner, Karaka Mans WorthyJoan, 1; RA and PE Adam,Thornwood Norths Charmer, 2;AAR and EJ Riddell, RoscliffMaunga Daphne, 3.

Cow in Milk 4 and 5 years— Sponsored by ASB Bank:RA and PE Adam, CarnmorBowies Cameo, 1; AAR and EJRiddell, Roscliff Kaha Damone,2; Shaun Good and MichelleAdam, Hillstar Jonos Starlet, 3.

Cow in Milk 3 Years —Sponsored by VetEnt: AARand EJ Riddell, Roscliff OscarDollar, 1; RA and PE Adam,Carnmor Groves Peggy, 2; RAand PE Adam, Carnmor RiversAdele, 3.

Cow in Milk 2 Years —Sponsored by VetEnt: RA andPE Adam, Carnmor CometsFrancie,1; AAR and EJ Riddell,Roscliff Ivins Gilda, 2; ShaunGood and Michelle Adam,Hillstar Manzellos Trudy, 3.

Champion Cow —Mangapiko Trophy —Sponsored by Ecolab:Carnmor Bowies Cameo.Reserve Champion Cow —Sponsored by Ecolab: RoscliffKaha Damone.

Best Uddered Female —Sponsored by Bell Booth: RA

and PE Adam, Carnmor BowiesCameo, 1; AAR and EJ Riddell,Roscliff Oscar Dollar, 2.

Type and Milksolid (Live-stock and Pastoral Labora-tories Cup) — Sponsored byDairy Production Systems:RA and PE Adam, Carnmor CalsPet, 596 kgs milk solids at sevenyears, 1; RA and PE Adam,Thornwood Norths Charmer,551 kgs milksolids at six years, 2;Shaun Good and Michelle Adam,Hillstar Jonos Starlet, 410 kgsmilksolids at two years, 3.

Genetic Realisation —Sponsored by CRVAmbreed: Shaun Good andMichelle Adam, Hillstar JonosStarlet, BW 187 PW 245 60.0,1; Shaun Good and MichelleAdam, Hillstar Pascos Karli, BW141 PW 243 50.5, 2; AAR andEJ Riddell, Roscliff MaungaDaphne, BW 155 PW 169 37.0,3.

Three Females in Milk —Sponsored by LIC Alpha: RAand PE Adam, 1; AAR and EJRiddell, 2; Shaun Good andMichelle Adam, 3.

Dam and Daughter or TwoDaughters of the same Dam —Sponsored by LIC Allflex: RAand PE Adam, 1; Selwyn SinghFamily Trust, 2.

Heifer Calf (restricted toJunior Members) —Sponsored by AlanDarlington Livestock: EthanStreet, Willand Trixie, 1; TrayThompson, Braedene TokensBubbles, 2; Lily Street, WillandEvelyn, 3.

Best Presented HeiferCalf — Sponsored by Kellyand Bryant Accountants:Aleisha Thompson, BraedeneTokens Emily, 1; BriannaStrawbridge, Willand Poppy, 2;

Caitlyn Turner, Karaka DominicButtercup, 3.

Yearling Heifer —Sponsored by PGGWrightson: Bocock Family,Merridowns OT Rosa, 1; SelwynSingh Family Trust, Mount CosyTarget Sharily, 2; Bocock Family,Merridowns Damons Sofie, 3.

Two Yearling Heifers —Sponsored by Russo BulkSpreading: Bocock Family, 1;Selwyn Singh Family Trust, 2.

Heifer Calf (Open) —Early — Sponsored by BrianRobinson Livestock: EthanStreet, Willand Trixie, 1; AleishaThompson, Braedene TokensEmily, 2; Anna Turner, KarakaJoskin Blossom, 3.

Heifer Calf (Open) — Late— Sponsored by FinchContracting: Lily Street,Willand Evelyn, 1; Paige Thomp-son, Braedene Roxy, 2; Brianand Amanda Johnson,Mangapiko Chiefs PendantCarnmor Stones Chief —Mangapiko Sams Pendant GP5,3.

Two Heifer Calves —Sponsored by Stihl Shop(Ace Lawnmowers): M and BStrawbridge, 1; B and A John-son, 2; L and E Street, 3.

Champion Junior Female(Kinghorn Trophy) —Sponsored by Farmlands:Bocock Family, Merridowns OTRosa.

Bull Calf — Sponsored byPratt Milking Machines: BrettThompson, Braedene TricksterBaron, 1; Bocock Family,Merridowns Murs Starski, 2;Brian and Amanda Johnson,Mangapiko OT Champion, 3.

Most Points Prize —Sponsored by VE Vets: RAand PE Adam.


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We Pride Ourselves on Reliability

Phone Phone 07 871 272607 871 2726 FARM MACHINERY CENTRE

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859 Ohaupo Rd, Te Awamutu

Antony Antony MetcalfeMetcalfe021 821 809021 821 809

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COWS at work.

Monitoringwater is key

Gord StewartAQUAS Consultants Water Conservation Specialist

You can’t manage what youdon’t measure. It’s an oldadage, almost a cliche now,

but it sure applies to water use onfarm.

Monitoring and reporting wateruse is a coming requirement formany Waikato dairy farmers, givennew water take rules for dairy sheduse under Variation 6 to theRegional Plan. It may seem anonerous task, but some very goodbenefits can result from it.

Getting the most out of everylitre of water going through thefarm dairy makes sense. It can help:■ control power use and costs;■ manage effluent in a cost-effective manner;■ make for efficient use of stafftime;■ reduce water costs if you pay forit by volume, and;■ meet regulatory obligations.

To help farmers meet thedemands of Variation 6, DairyNZ isholding a series of Smart Water Use

Ideas Exchange events, with two ofthem running locally.

Wednesday, March 6 the eventis at the Bluett farm in Te PahuRoad, Pirongia. The Thursday,March 7 session is on the Colling-wood farm, Scown Road, Otoro-hanga. Sessions will review resultsof a recent water-use study, con-sider metering and monitoringoptions available, and discusswater-use efficiency and water-lossprevention.

The sessions run 10:30am to12:30pm, with lunch provided andgreat draw prizes on offer. Seewww.dairynz.co.nz/events formore information.

Why ‘Gypsy Day’is less important

Hamish BurdonCardon Dispute Resolution

‘It all boilsdown to beingopen andhonestbetween theparties andknowing whatthe needsare.’

I was asked the question the otherday ‘Why May 31?’ This was inrelation to employing staff on

farms and the fact that it hastraditionally been the philosophythat farm staff are employed fromJune 1 until May 31.

From an employment law per-spective, there is nothing that bindsfarm employees to this date to stopand start a normal employmentcontract.

Traditionally everybody used tostay in farm positions for a couple ofyears and then move up to biggerpositions, and then move throughthe levels of sharemilking and on tofarm ownership. This way of life andcareer gravitated around 1 June or‘Gypsy Day’ as it has come to beknown.

Fixed term employmentcontracts are now becoming less andless and being replaced by perman-ent employment contracts. This isbecause fixed term contracts must befor a genuine business reason.

This is normally because theemployer is not a farm owner and iscontracted for a set time to the farmowner. That is, the employers con-tract with the farm owner runs outon May 31 and there will no longerbe employment to offer theemployee after that date.

If an employer does not have agenuine business reason for the fixedterm contract, then it will be taken tobe a permanent agreement. Thisagreement will continue on untileither the employee chooses toterminate or the Employer hasjustification to terminate.

I highlight justification becauseemployers must follow a process inall circumstances and have justifi-cation to terminate any employmentcontracts. Failure to have justifi-cation would leave an employeropen to the risk of a personalgrievance being raised by theemployee.

The one other point to note atthis stage is an employer cannot usea fixed term contract to trial or checkout a potential employee. Anemployer can insert a trial period (90days) within the employment con-tract itself, but this does need to fitwithin the context of the relevantlaw.

Permanent employmentagreements are nothing to be waryof. The obligations on bothemployers and employees stillremain the same.

The process for dealing withissues does not change.

This brings me back to theoriginal question ‘Why May 31?’

Times have now changed with anew style of employees and young

farmers coming through. We areseeing a lot more equity manage-ment positions being sought andemployees that wish to settle downearlier in their careers and give theirfamilies the stability of staying in thesame position and locality for longer.

The date of May 31 should beused more as an opportunity toundertake staff appraisals and reflecton the season gone rather thanchanging staff unnecessarily.

Whilst there will always be share-milkers and contract milkers makingthe big shift on May 31, the need foremployees to shift then does notnecessarily need to gravitate aroundthat date.

I see many employees comingout of school, university or evenemployment in town. I am alsoseeing many employees headingback to university or town. It all boilsdown to being open and honestbetween the parties and knowingwhat the needs are.

If May 31 is not an ideal time foreither party to enter into or out of anemployment relationship, then theyneed to approach each other ingood faith in order to work out whatsuits. The big key here is to giveplenty of notice and be prepared tobe flexible with each others needs.


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Farm Machinery Centre859 OHAUPO RD, TE AWAMUTU, TELEPHONE 07 872 0232 - www.norwood.co.nz/teawamutu - HAMILTON TOLL FREE 07 849 6000, FAX 07 871 8191

Haydn Megaffin 0274 428 056 - Cedric Borlase 0274 975 935 - Ken Seabright 0274 437 729 - Dave McNeill 0275 050 798

Managing oursoil resourceskey for futureBY BALA TIKKISETTYa sustainable agriculture co-ordinator atWaikato Regional Council

The transformation of natural capi-tal, namely soil, plants and animals,air and water into resources that

people value and use is generally calledecosystem services. It is a concept that isgaining more attention as we see environ-mental pressure increasingly applied toresources, such as soil health, that weonce took for granted.

Soil provides ecosystem services criti-cal to all of us. In addition to providinghabitat for billions of organisms, soil actsas a water filter and growing medium. Itcontributes to biodiversity, solid wastetreatment, acts as a filter for wastewaterand so on. Soil is the basis for ourcountry’s agro-eco systems that provideus with fibre and food and supports ouragriculture industry.

The Waikato Regional Council soilquality monitoring programme measuressoil properties such as soil compaction,nutrient status, biological activity and soilcarbon at 145 sites, with about 30 siteseach year sampled in the region. The sitescover a range of soils and land usesregionally.

The main soil quality issues identifiedare compaction, excessive phosphorousand nitrogen on dairy and cropping land,and declining carbon on cropping landuse. I am happy to say that some of theemerging data trends suggest a positivechange in soil quality, most likely attri-buted to improved land managementpractices undertaken by our farmingcommunity. That’s great news.

But some areas still need improve-ment. The following are a few of theissues on which we can potentially focus

for developing good management.Minimising human induced erosion

and maintaining good soil quality areessential for maintaining soil ecosystemservices such as nutrient and waterbuffering, productive capacity, assimilat-ing waste and minimising impacts ofsediment and other contaminants onwater bodies.

Other good practices include optimumcultivation, avoiding over grazing andheavy grazing under wet weather leadingto compaction, avoiding under or over-fertilisation, practicing appropriate use ofpesticides and other agrochemicals, man-aging pasture to maintain complete soilcover and careful application of farm dairyeffluent to avoid saturation and optimiseorganic matter.

There is every benefit in protecting thesensitive areas on farms. Wetlands delivera wide range of ecosystem services suchas improving water quality, flood regula-tion, coastal protection, and providingrecreational opportunities and fish hab-itat.

A good way of describing soil quality isto relate the properties of the soil to theuse we want to make of it. A good qualitysoil is one which will serve the purpose wehave for it with minimum modification.

Waikato Regional Council continuesto work with the farming community,farming industry and other stakeholdersto increase the understanding of theabove issues and provide advice onsustainable agriculture practices todecrease the impact of resource use.

Soil is one of the most valuable assetsthat a farmer has. It is our responsibility tomake use of soils without damaging eitherthe soil or any other part of ourenvironment, protecting them for ourown use and use by future generations.

AgResearch to host workshop

This year’s Meat Industry Work-shop will return to AgResearchRuakura Research Centre on

Tuesday, March 5.These workshops are an ideal

opportunity to find out about themeat-industry related work beingcarried out at AgResearch and howsome of it is being implemented in theindustry.

The two-way interaction that takes

place at these workshops is of benefitto processors and researchers alike.

This is a one day event withcoverage of current projects andproducts that we are working on.

Being a workshop, there is ampleopportunity to question and discussthe topics presented, and thereforegain greater benefit from your attend-ance.

This will be followed by a barbecue

and drinks providing a good opportun-ity to chat with the researchers andconsultants at AgResearch, as well asyour meat industry colleagues.

In addition, the invitation onlyMeat Industry Association Workshopwill be held at the same venue the nextday.

■ Formore information go towww.agresearch.co.nz

Brocksopp to head project

AdrianBrocksopp

‘Most will realise thatthis project will givethem a head-start in

terms of coping with achanging regulatory

landscape andmeeting any dairycompany supply

agreement and newwater accord

requirements.’DR MIKE SCARSBROOKDairyNZ environment manager

D airyNZ has appointedAdrian Brocksopp to man-age the largest environ-

mental good practice project everundertaken by the dairy industry.

The project aims to reduce thenutrient and sediment loads in theupper Karapiro catchment of theWaikato River, as well as encour-age more efficient water use.

Mr Brocksopp, formerly anarea sales manager for BallanceAgri-nutrients, will lead the UpperWaikato Sustainable Milk project.

He is one of three newly-appointed DairyNZ CatchmentEngagement Leaders now workingacross the country with dairyfarmers on various key environ-mental projects. The other twoleaders are based in Canterburyand Southland.

The three-year Waikato projectwill involve 700 farms from theHuka Falls to the Karapiro Dam.

The project has been co-fundedby DairyNZ, central governmentand the Waikato River Authority.The Authority is charged by thegovernment to support projectsthat clean up the Waikato River.

Mr Brocksopp will oversee theproject that will see farmers takingvoluntary actions to improve theenvironmental health of the catch-ment by improved on-farm prac-tices. The practices wil l be

captured in an auditable DairyNZSustainable Milk Plan tailored toeach farm.

The project allows for free, one-on-one advice to be delivered toevery farmer involved.

Project leader and DairyNZenvironment manager Dr MikeScarsbrook said the Upper Wai-kato Sustainable Milk project hadthe full support of the industry butit was not compulsory for farmers.He was confident that farmers in

the catchment would see the valuein getting involved.

‘‘Most will realise that thisproject will give them a head-startin terms of coping with a changingregulatory landscape and meetingany dairy company supply agree-ment and new water accordrequirements. And most will bekeen to do their part because likeanybody else, they want to lookafter their own backyard and thewider environment.’’


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All mastitis casesadd to ‘big picture’

■ Continued Page 16

Hamish DoohanVetFocus Dairy Technician

As we are starting to headtowards late lactation, itis important to give

some thought to how you aregoing to be managing your bulkmilk somatic cel l count(BMSCC) until the end of theseason.

While most cases of mastitisat this time of the year are sub-clinical, we often tend to alsosee a slight increase in thenumber of clinical mastitiscases. There are a number offactors that contribute to highBMSCC, and while some ofthese factors may seem‘‘small’’, the reality is that theyall contribute to the big picture.

There are three areas toconsider: the human influence,the environment and themilking machine.

Typically February is thewarmest month of the year; theflies are out in full force and canlead to frustrating afternoonmilkings.

Nuisance fly upset cows anda natural response is for cowsto flick their tails, and stomptheir feet to try get the flies offthem. They also have the tend-ency to defecate more, whichmeans that you do need to paymore attention when usinghoses and sprinklers to avoidsplashing water and faecal mat-ter up onto the udder, as thisincreases the risk of environ-mental infections. Avoidmilking wet teats as dirt andfaecal matter that are in thewater droplets are a high riskfor infection.

Teat spraying is one of thebest ways to assist in reducingintramammary infections. It is

also something that is not donewell by many people.

As a rough guide you shouldbe using 20ml per animal permi lk ing every mi lk ing.Although emol l ientconcentrations may be reducedfrom spring levels, teat sprayshould be used throughout theseason to minimise bacterialtransmission from sub-clinicallyinfected cows.

If your BMSCC is alreadycausing concern, rememberthat you have the options ofherd testing, or rapid mastitistesting (RMT) your cows to findthe offenders.

If you routinely herd test,then you are in a good positionto look at each animals SCChistory and based on thatinformation it will give you agood guide as to potentialproblem cows.

If you do not herd test, butfind that your BMSCC isbecoming an issue, it is worthconsidering doing a herd testsimply for SCC to assist you indecision making.

Another option is to useRMT.

This is not used enough atthis time of the year. RMT isroutinely used by most farmersat calving but gets forgottenabout soon after. As with herdtesting, RMT it is a good way toidentify potential problem cows

and the advantage over herdtesting is that you have theability to identify specific quar-ters with high SCC.

Once you have identifiedhigh SCC cows/quarters, milkculturing is another excellenttool that is available.

By culturing high SCC milk,it allows you to find out whatbacteria you are facing, andbased on this information yourveterinarian will be able to helpyou develop a managementplan for these animals, be itculling, drying-off or treating.

Treating high SCC sub-clinical cows based on herd testresults is expensive and oftendoesn’t accomplish the desiredoutcome, as the success oftreatment is influenced consid-erably by which bacteria arepresent in the udder.

The milking machine is themost important piece of equip-ment on a dairy farm but, at thesame time, is generally not aswell looked after as it should be.It is important that the milkingmachine is in good order tohelp reduce the risk of bacterialtransmission from cow to cow.Ideally you should have yourmilking machine tested at leastonce a season, replace allappropriate rubberware at thecorrect intervals and with areputable brand, and wherefitted, air and regulator filtersshould be cleaned regularly.

Depending on herd size andshed size, for most people,liners should have already beenchanged or will be coming due.


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Jobs: Is it greenersomewhere else?

Lance FielderGyde Wansbone Director

Christmas now seems adistant memory andnow the job hunting

begins, at least for some ofyou anyway.

This is the time of yearwhere contract milkers, lowerorder sharemilkers and 50/50sharemilkers are looking forjobs for the new season.

Some of you will be veryhappy where you are but somewill be thinking a change isrequired and will be searchingfor new jobs on Fencepost andthe like.

In this article I will provideyou with some ideas to con-template when consideringjobs and deciding if the grassreally is greener somewhereelse.

PREPARATIONProbably the most import-

ant aspect of job hunting ishaving an up to date andaccurate curriculum vitae (CV).Your potential employer islikely to receive quite a fewCV’s so you need to make sureyours paints an accurate pic-ture of who you are, what youare about and the skills you canbring to the job.

If your CV doesn’t, youmay miss out on the opportun-ity to get an interview anddiscuss the job with yourpotential employer. There arequite a few sample templatesfor CV’s on the internet andlots of tips for making yoursstand out amongst the manyother CV’s.

INTERVIEWWhen you get to the inter-

view you should always betimely and dress appropri-ately. You should ask as many

questions about the farm andsystems used on the farm asyou can. This allows you tobuild up an accurate picture ofwhat production can beachieved on the farm and thetime and effort required inobtaining that production.

It also shows the farmowner that you know theindustry and are genuinelyinterested.

If possible you should havea farm visit and inspect thefarm, this will give you a goodindication of where the farm iscurrently, and areas you maylook to improve on.

BUDGET/CASH FLOWFarm owners may have

already prepared a budget foryou of what they think youshould be able to achieve. Thisis useful but not tailored toyour situation so you shouldprepare a budget to ensure thejob is profitable for you. Askthe owner questions such asproduction history, electricitycosts, shed expenses, howmuch feed is bought in, andyour expected contribution.

Once you have an accuratebudget you should cash flowthis monthly to ensure yourcurrent funding limits (over-draft) can be maintained and ifnot you may need to approachyour bank for an extension.Most accountants have a cashflow template and ours is very

user friendly and easy tounderstand for you and thebanker. You should also stresstest the budget / cash flow toaccount for adverse weatherconditions, changes to payoutetc, ensuring the job remainsprofitable. There are alwaysother factors to consider whenselecting new jobs, such as,location, cost of living,schools, family etc. Often themost decisive factor is your gutfeel, so make sure you arecomfortable and confidentwith your decision.NEWLY SELF EMPLOYED

If you are newly selfemployed you are not onlydealing with a new farm, newschools etc but also dealingwith compliance requirementsthat you have not previouslyhad to deal with.

You will need to come toterms with the record keepingrequirements of the InlandRevenue Department. Self-employment p laces theresponsibility back on to thetaxpayer to account forincome tax and GST, and ifyou are employing staff PAYE,Kiwisaver and other payrolldeductions and issues.

In essence the taxpayerneeds to prove their positionso all accounting records needto be kept, including bankstatements, cheque anddeposit books, tax invoicesand wage records.

A visit to your accountantearly on in the process willassist you to make timely andaccurate decisions about jobpossibilities and get you com-pliant with your responsibili-ties as self employed.


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2013 RURAL 2013 RURAL ROUNDUP DATESROUNDUP DATES

For Further Information please phone:Advertising: Alan Price

Editorial: Dean Taylor or Cathy Asplin

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A CourierTe Awamutu

The Rural Roundup is our monthly farming feature delivered to 12,109 homes including 5082 rural clients in the Te Awamutu and surrounding areas from north of Otorohanga in the south, to Kaipaki/Te Pahu in the north and out to Oparau/Kawhia in the west.To assist with your forward planning below are the datesand features for the Rural Roundup for the balance of 2013.

March 12 Regrassing & Maize Silage

April 16 Maize Grain Harvesting and Regrassing

May 14 General

June 11 Fieldays and Welcome to the District

July 16 Calf Rearing

August 20 Grow Maize 2013/14

September 17 Summer Crop options and Silage Making

October 15 Cropping, Silage and Hay

November 19 Hay/Silage and Calf Club Results

Phone 871 5151

Checking gear stops spread■ From Page 14

If you are due to replaceyour liners it is advised todo it now and then again inthe dry period. Milkingfreshly calved cows withold worn out liners isactively discouraged as therisk of spreading con-tagious bacteria early inthe cow’s lactation is high.As inflations age theydevelop microscopic crackswhich can harbour bac-teria.

Many high SCC cows atthis time of the year areinfected with the con-tagious bug, Staphylococ-cus aureus. When this iscoupled with worn out

inflations, the risk of cow tocow transmission willincrease.

Vacuum regulator andpulsator airline filters needto be cleaned more fre-quently over the dry dustymonths. A dirty vacuumregulator can reduce theamount of effective reserveavailable, and can also pre-vent the regulator fromoperating correctly poten-tially resulting in unstablevacuum levels.

Some form of basic shedmaintenance needs to bedone to ensure that themachine is operating cor-rectly. If you are unsure ofwhat basic maintenance

needs to be done in yourshed talk to your milkingmachine service agents.

If you notice an increasein BMSCC and/or clinicalmastitis infections, it is agood idea to step back andtake a close look at milkinghygiene and practises.DairyNZ have developedthe Smart SAMM websitewhich you can view onlineat www.smartsamm.co.nz,this website includesfarmer guidelines and con-sultant resources.

If you feel you need morespecialist advice consultyour veterinarian — often afresh set of eyes can make abig difference.

Tougher sentencefor animal crueltyThe Ministry for Primary

Industries (MPI) success-fully appealed what was

seen as a light sentence for dairyfarmer Lourens BarendErasmus (40) for cruelty toanimals.

Erasmus had initially beensentenced to 10 monthsimprisonment in the Waihi Dis-trict Court last year, but thismonth in the Rotorua HighCourt he was sentenced to twoyears and one month imprison-ment.

Justice Priestly described hisoffending as ‘wilful, intentionaland repetitive.’

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Dis-trict compliance managerBrendon Mikkelsen saidErasmus’ offending was theworst type of animal welfare

cruelty dealt with in his district,and likely nationally through thecourts.

The MPI investigation foundthat he had broken the tails of155 cows in the 135 cow herd,was hitting them on the hindlegs with a stainless steel pipeand stainless still milking cups atthe milking shed.

Mr Mikkelsen said the MPIinspection in late February2012 revealed serious animalwelfare issues, with cows on theproperty showing obvious signsof injuries and severe distress.

‘‘This sentencing reflects theview of MPI, industry and theCourts that any animal welfareabuse is unacceptable. ‘‘MPIbelieves the sentencing reflectsthe seriousness of the offendingand sends a strong message that

this sort of behaviour will not betolerated.’’

Persons in charge of animalshave an obligation to the welfareof those animals, and the vastmajority of persons in charge ofanimals on farms and the indus-try take their obligations veryseriously.

MPI’s Animal Welfare teamcannot be everywhere so it isvital that farmers, the industry,associated on-farm serviceproviders and the public main-tain vigilance and report animalwelfare breaches on our hot line0800 00 83 33.

Calls can be treated in con-fidence if necessary.

MPI and industry will con-tinue to work together to helpensure this type of incident doesnot occur in the future.


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Get your waterconsents sorted

Hayley WillersEdmonds Judd Senior Solicitor

‘We don’t quiteknow yet therepercussions forthose farmers whodon’t make anapplication by thedeadline — but wedon’t suggest that youtry it on.’

Farmers will be very familiar with Variation 6of the Waikato Regional Plan. WaikatoRegional Council (the Council) is now

accepting Resource Consent Applications forwater taken for milk cooling and dairy shedwashdown.

Making an application for this type of resourceconsent will be mandatory for most dairy farmers.Following on from previous articles featured inthe Rural Roundup this article outlines who needsto apply and some of the aspects need to beconsidered when making your application.

TIME OF APPLICATIONThe Council has broken the region down into

catchment areas and has suggested that whereapplications can be processed in catchment areagroups, the cost of the application should bereduced for individual farmers. Each catchmentarea has been given an application date butCouncil has also stipulated applications can bemade any time prior to January 1, 2015. If youare in an area that is, full and over allocated suchas upper Waikato or Piako, and water is beingtaken from a surface water source, then it isrecommended that applications are in early,particularly if applying for more than thegrandparented rights. If water is being taken froma ground water take then Council have advisedthere are not the same restrictions on the water.Farmers can submit their application at any timeas there are no full and over allocated areas forground water take.

WHO SHOULD APPLYIt is mandatory for most dairy farmers to apply

for a resource consent for milk cooling and dairyshed washdown where more than 15 cubicmetres of water per day (the threshold) is beingused for that purpose. The Council has estimatedthat the average herd size using this amount ofwater is 215 cows based on an average use of 70litres per day per cow. We have found that insome cases farmers are using more than 70 litresper cow per day. If you are in this position andyou are milking less than 215 cows per day, youwill still need to apply for a resource consent. It isimportant for all farmers to work out what theircurrent water use is to ensure that they are notusing more than the specified 15 cubic metres perday.

PERMITTED USEFor those farmers using less than the threshold

it is not necessary to apply for a resource consentas Variation 6 provides that taking/using less than15 cubic metres is a permitted activity. It ishowever important that the water use ismonitored to ensure that water use remains underthe threshold. We think it is likely that the farmerwill have to prove they are using under thethreshold (and therefore don’t need a consent),rather than the Council proving the opposite, andprovide evidence of this should Council everquestion the water use.

BENEFIT OF MORE THAN ONE TITLEVariation 6 allows for the taking of up to 15

cubic metres of ground water per day per site.Therefore where a farm comprises more thanone title and there is a bore on each title, it ispossible to take 15 cubic metres of water per dayper title. This is best illustrated by giving anexample;

Bruce operates a 400 cow herd. He relies onground water bore for his shed water supply. Hisfarm consists of two titles and he has a bore oneach title. He is allocated 15 cubic metres of waterper title and is therefore able to take up to 30cubic metres per day. Based on an average use of70 litres per cow per day he is capable of milking

up to 430 cows therefore, provided he is notusing more than 30 cubic metres per day, it is notnecessary for him to apply for a resource consent.

Unfortunately this disadvantages the otherfarmer, Brian, who has 400 cows on one title. Hecan only take 15 cubic metres per day as of rightand must apply for a resource consent for thebalance.

HERD SIZE WAS DOWN IN 2008Variation 6 provides that grandparented rights

are based on cow numbers prior to October 15,2008, which was the date set as a benchmark bythe Environment Court, and is based on the datethe Variation was initially notified. Unfortunately2008 was a drought year and cow numbers weredown from what they normally would have been.The Council is aware of the lower cow numbers in2008 and has advised that they will acceptevidence of cow numbers back as far as 2005 insome circumstances.MAKING YOUR APPLICATION IN TIME

Because of the mandatory nature of Variation6 it is important that dairy farmers are mindful oftheir water use and are taking steps towardsmaking an application. January 1, 2015 is thedeadline for making your application but it isimportant to get applications underway and inearly, particularly those that take water from asurface source. We don’t quite know yet therepercussions for those farmers who don’t makean application by the deadline — but we don’tsuggest that you try it on. We have found eachfarmers situation is different so it is important totake advice to determine your position.

For a free 15-minute discussion on Variation6, please email Richard or Hayley [email protected] or contact ouroffice on 872 0236.


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If you wish to promote your rural services or products call Alan on 871 5151

PUBLISHES Tuesday, MARCH 12PUBLISHES Tuesday, MARCH 12focusing on...focusing on...

RURAL ROUNDUPM A R C H 2 0 1 3

Maize Silage and Regrassing

CourierTe Awamutu

Deal big bonusfor goat industry

‘New Zealandgoat industriesremain under

rated and underutilised.’JOHN WOODWARD

Goats Industry Group

An agreement amongvarious producer repre-sentatives to have equal

representat ion on theFederated Farmers GoatsIndustry Group means theindustry can look forward to abrighter future, says JohnWoodward, Mohair New Zea-land chairman.

‘‘Goat meat is the world’smost consumed meat and, withfewer calories, fat and choles-terol than chicken, is a veryhealthy option, but at presentthe New Zealand goat indus-tries remain under rated andunder utilised,’’ says Mr Wood-ward.

‘‘We expect that as a resultof changes made at theFederated Farmers goats indus-try group conference held atPukekohe earlier this month,this will start to change.

‘‘Federated Farmers’ GoatsIndustry Group was createdsome years ago by Mohair NewZealand, but we have realisedthe only way forward for theindustry is to provide an inclus-ive sector-wide group formohair, dairy goat and meatgoat producers under theFederated Farmers umbrella.

‘‘The proposal at this meet-ing was to change the group’sgovernance structure, allowingequal representat ion ofmohair, dairy goat and goatmeat producer organisations.There will also be provision toenable other goat farminggroups to join the group infuture.

‘‘Initially the group will bemade up of two representativesfrom each of the industry’s

sectors; Mohair New Zealand,the Dairy Goat Cooperative(NZ) Ltd and Meat Goat NewZealand. The group’s first taskwill be deciding on which areasthe group can be most effective

in. Exploring the possiblereinstatement of a goat meatlevy is one example of this.

‘‘The Federation’s Goatsindustry group looks forward togrowing the industry so thatgoat meat takes its rightfulplace among the other redmeats — sheep meat and beef— that are very much a part ofthe pastoral sector.

‘‘Goats have a reputationfor being a bit gruff, but we arechuffed at the progress whichhas been made to get all partsof our sector workingefficiently together,’’ says MrWoodward.


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