rural news 16 march 2013

march 19, 2013: Issue 534 www.ruralnews.co.nz

RuRalNEWSto all farmers, for all farmers

industry winnersFirst timers triumph at the Dairy Industry awards. pages 42-44

fast and easyFront-and-rear mower combo halves tractor time. page 53 aniMaL HeaLtH

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Minister seeks better way on waterWhILe The drought worsens, environment minister amy adams has launched a consultative document with proposals to reform the management of fresh water. The launch took place in horowhenua where commercial growers are especially hard-hit by the drought. adams says water management has become more and more contentious, divisive and litigious -- parties vying for a winner and a loser. The proposed reforms seek a more collaborative approach. See pages 16-17 for details

Rush to slaughter lambs Nasties lie in waitNASTIES ARE waiting to strike farm animals when the drought breaks, a veterinarian warns.

Anthony Oswald, Taihape, told Rural News the biggest threat is worms, and in some regions facial eczema could pose a problem. In both respects the drought has exac-erbated the problem because pas-ture covers are low, making ideal conditions for worms and facial eczema.

Oswald says little larval develop-ment has occurred during the past few months, the extreme dry caus-ing the eggs to be sitting on the ground. Though many will not sur-vive, enough will be there to cause a ‘worm explosion’ when rain comes.

“Once you get some moisture that lets you grow some grass, it’s also an ideal environment for these larvae to develop up to the infective stage,” Oswald explains.

“It’s still relatively warm and there’ll be a significant number of eggs waiting to go. Once the mois-ture happens we tend to have high worm challenges, in particular the Barber pole worm (haemonchus contortus). This… sucks blood and sheep become anemic quickly.”

Oswald recommends farmers treat their stock – especially lambs and two-tooths – with a preventa-tive.

Farmers should also be on watch for facial eczema in areas where this is a known problem. Spore count monitoring is essential.

peteR buRke

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• The Big Dry - pp 6-9

A MASSIVE increase in lambs to slaugh-ter in the North Island has resulted from farmers rushing to minimise feed demand. Killing space at processing plants is under pressure and farmers have to queue to get stock slaughtered.

B+LNZ’s director of economic ser-vice, Rob Davison, told Rural News the lamb slaughter is 22% ahead of this time last year. Normally in the North Island at this time of year about 45% of lambs (for the year ended September 30) would have been processed.

“Currently we’ve slaughtered about

52%, which shows the drought has caused the early slaughter. Also lambs are much lighter, and the other week in the North Island lambs averaged 17.25 kg – about 1kg lighter than the same week last year. That gives us a feel for where the drought is and the impact it’s having.”

Beef is in a similar situation, also linked with the impact of the drought on dairying. Davison says last season the cow cull was down 110,000 on pre-dictions because the good season saw a greater number of cows get into milk

with low empty rates. But drought is causing the cull cow slaughter to run 70% ahead of last year.

The drought’s extent shows notions of having ‘summer safe’ areas don’t exist, Davison says.

“If the drought persists, one conse-quence will be that capital stock will be slaughtered at quite light weights. Next season’s ewes won’t be in such good condition so lambing percentages will be down.

“Last spring it was so good and 5% of the lambs were born to hoggets, a

pretty high percentage. But this year the number of hoggets mated will be down so that’s going to affect next sea-son’s lamb production.”

Davison says compared to the North Island the South Island has fared a bit better; lamb slaughter weights there are similar to last year.

Lambs are making about $74 a head, but if they had the condition they had a year ago they would have been 1kg heavier. The net effect of lighter lambs is to knock about 6% off lamb receipts.

• Meat companies challenged pp 4-5

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RuRal News // March 19, 2013

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Shipping it north

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PGP passes, but not without challenges

SHEEP AND beef farmers have backed Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s proposal to use $19.7m of reserves to co-fund a Pri-mary Growth Partnership.

On a weighted turnout of 21.3% of the potential, 77% voted in favour of the proposal as put in Resolution 3 at the levy body’s annual meeting, held in Wanaka March 8.

Chairman Mike Petersen welcomed the result, but not the turnout.

“It’s disappointing,” he told Rural News.

The poor turnout was despite the resolution attracting considerable media attention prior to the annual meeting, stirred up by levy-payers who believe meat companies should be doing more to raise farmers’ returns, and that meat companies and State Owned Enterprise Landcorp shouldn’t have had a vote on the issue.

At the annual meeting, Petersen stressed the need to keep the debate to the resolution, not wider industry issues or the constitution, which is

why the companies and Landcorp had votes.

Nick Perry, Woodeville, who admit-ted he was only at the annual meeting because he was a Glammies finalist, was one of several who spoke from the floor against the resolution.

“Not because of an emotive pro-test, but because I feel Beef + Lamb and other industry participants have their priorities wrong.”

Behavioural change by farmers is the key to improving sector returns, he believes.

“I cannot see the PGP effecting behavioural change at farmer level. The only thing it will do is throw more lamb at a processing system that has nothing but roller-coasters in front of it.”

Petersen’s response was to reiter-ate the Red Meat Strategy finding that 40% of the gains to be made in sector productivity are behind the farm gate.

“Across all of New Zealand, on every class of land, irrespective of the age of the farmer, irrespective of the level of debt servicing, there is a huge variation in performance.”

The PGP is about efficiency, which

could be about producing more, or pro-ducing less but of higher value and/or at lower cost.

“It’s not about product for prod-uct’s sake.”

Brent Robinson, Wyndham, sug-gested there’s already more infor-mation available on improving productivity on farm than farmers are able to “uptake.”

That was echoed by David Eckhoff, who admitted he was a “wee bit torn” as to which way to vote.

“All the information is out there that you need to improve your on farm productivity, and profitability, if you chose to find it…”

Speakers for the resolution included Federated Farmers board member Jeanette Maxwell, South Otago farmer Alex de Boer, and Waitaki Valley farmer Walter Cameron.

“I only support it because it’s a third of the whole Red Meat [Sector] Strat-egy,” Cameron said.• Petersen challenges meat companies… see pages 4 and 5

ANDReW SWALLOW

[email protected]

About 1000 bales of straw were loaded in three cargoes out of Timaru last week bound for Napier and Wanganui as Feder-ated Farmers representatives in Canter-bury facilitated efforts to get extra feed into the North Island. Mid Canterbury Grain & Seed chairman David Clark says the initiatives are commercial operations, but prices are being kept reasonable with no-one seeking to take advantage.

“The baling contractors we’re working with are acting a very even handed manner, but they’re also facing rapidly increasing demand locally… make no mistake, the sur-plus feed in the South Island will run out so if you can buy feed from your normal com-mercial supplier, do it.”

Rail-freighted containers of grain are another option being investigated.• See more stories on the drought pages 6-10

Grim reading!

THE NEWS is mostly bad in B+LNZ’s newly released mid-season outlook, compiled about a month ago.

It estimates nationally farm profit before tax for 2012-13 will fall 54 % on last season to an average of $73,000, largely due to sharply lower lamb prices and, as a consequence, a 27% drop in sheep revenue.

B+LNZ economic service direc-tor Rob Davison says lamb numbers were up because of a 123% lambing last spring and more hoggets produc-ing lambs.

“However, this was not suffi-cient to offset the lower lamb price and the impact of drought. The fore-cast average lamb price of $85 per head is down 25% from last season’s $113.60, which was the second high-est on record.

“This has understandably flowed through to farmers’ bottom lines, with the result that profit levels will effectively halve for the season ending September 30, 2013. In infla-tion-adjusted terms, this returns profits to levels similar to the first decade of this century.”

Davison says maintaining prices for lamb will be challenging given Europe’s debt crisis is far from solved and growth in the region is almost nil. Concerns remain about US economic prospects, given its fiscal challenges. And China’s eco-nomic growth has slowed to the lowest rate in a decade, though still at about 8%.

“Cattle returns are predicted to drop 8.8%, but the outlook is rela-tively positive, thanks to the supply situation in the US. Three years of drought in the US has reduced the country’s total cattle numbers to 89.3 million – the lowest since 1952. Significantly, the beef cow herd is the smallest in decades and it will take years to rebuild breeding numbers.”

peteR buRke

@rural_news

facebook.com/ruralnews

the ship Baldur, which normally services the chathams from timaru and napier, leaving timaru port last week with hay bound for the north island.


4 newsBeef + Lamb New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen challenged meat companies at its annual meeting in Wanaka this month. “Farmers want to hear for themselves the gains made by companies in the procurement and market areas; not in PR speak, but real numbers of real gains making a dollar difference to returns to farmers.” Rural News put this to the four big meat companies and a couple of others. Here are their responses.

producer groups key for ANZCOANZCO FOODS puts pro-ducer groups at the top of its list of procurement and marketing initiatives making a dollar difference to returns to farmers.

ANZCO operates (and has done for many years) a number of specific farmer producer groups strongly aligned with work that will ultimately be done as part of the ‘Collaboration for Sustainable Growth’ PGP scheme. The producer groups focus on: Continuous improvement: collectively, the producer groups achieve continu-ous improvement through recording best practices, business development projects, taste testing, benchmarking and collec-tive learning. Producers

also receive feedback from ANZCO and its customers, ensuring a strong market focus is maintained.

Communication: through working together to understand each other’s strengths and challenges, individual producer groups can network and develop in this environ-ment.

Customer interaction: members appreciate the chance to spend time with customers and hear first-hand what is happening in the market place and what flow-on effect is likely in New Zealand. Equally, producers are able to let the customer know what is influencing decisions made within the farmgate.

Critical to the success

of the groups has been the producer group commit-tees, made up of a combi-nation of producers and company personnel, set up to ensure producers are involved in decision making on developments of the producer group direction.

A testament to the success of our producer

groups are the long term partnerships between ANZCO and UK super-market chain Waitrose, and Japanese restaurant chain Aleph, for which dedicated producer groups have continued to grow in the 12 years they have been in place.Market GainsANZCO’s Foodplus Programme

In addition to its contribution of $1.3 million to the ‘Collaboration for Sustainable Growth’ which focuses on activity ‘behind the farmgate’, ANZCO has also committed $43.5 million to a second PGP programme which will be jointly funded by the

mark clarkson

Government – Foodplus, focussed on innovation beyond the farmgate.

Foodplus will focus on identifying opportunities to create new products, with particular concen-tration on parts of the beef carcass that currently generates less value. The programme’s goal is to

reposition the market’s traditional and narrow perception of meat prod-ucts through the develop-ment of novel, sustainable, value added products in food, ingredients and healthcare. Development of niche lamb brands

An example of market

area gains has been the launch by ANZCO and its market partners of two niche lamb brands into Europe and the UK respectively within the last 18 months which link spe-cific customers and groups of producers while extend-ing the market reach of New Zealand lamb.

Alliance first for yield paymentsALLIANCE GROUP chief executive Grant Cuff was last week visiting cus-tomers overseas, so a spokesman responded to Petersen’s challenge.

“Alliance has made a significant investment in procurement and market areas to benefit its 5000 shareholder suppliers.

In 2008 Alliance Group became the first processor in New Zealand to offer yield payment contracts to all its suppliers. The ‘yield quality contract’ provides for yield-based premi-ums over and above the competitive price sched-ule, currently up to $6.00 per qualifying lamb. The contract rewards quality and promotes committed supply. Yield has increased 8% since 2002 and we are regularly investing time and energy into improv-ing this.

Our investment in technologies such as VIAs-can and the Central Prog-eny Test trial is paying dividends for our suppli-ers and the market in gen-eral. VIAscan provides our suppliers with detailed information on each car-case, assisting them to produce animals that meet the tight weight and qual-ity specifications required by customers.

CPT provides all farm-ers with access to good objective scientific data to assist them in identify-ing superior genetic traits when making their breed-ing selections and meeting the market’s require-ments.

We have reduced our reliance on traditional western markets such as the UK and are developing markets in China and lat-terly new markets such as

Brazil. This has changed the marketing mix and provided the opportunity to trial and introduce new products.

These emerging mar-kets, China in particular, have increased the value of previously low-value items and made viable a number of new products. This has resulted in improved recovery and yield of sale-able products from each animal. In real terms, that means 10% more is being saved in edible form for venison, 15% more edible mutton and up to 20% saved in edible form for lamb.

Having invested in these markets, and secured long standing relationships, we are look-ing to introduce higher value items. We’ve also chosen to co-brand with

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IT IS impossible to answer Mike Peterson’s enquiry with meaning-ful statistics that can be understood by all, says Blue Sky Meats’ chairman Graham Cooney.

But let’s have a go. When Blue Sky Meats (BSM) commenced operating in 1987 it paid about $20 for an average lamb. Of that about $12 was pelt value and $8 was meat. In 2013 the meat value is about $75 – an increase of at least 900%. Sure, the lamb is bigger and the figures quoted are not inflation adjusted but the trend is arguably better than any other agricultural product.

No one is pretending such a figure is at a level

satisfactory for farmer incomes. But remember meat is now being asked to virtually provide 100% of the farm income. It used to be about 50% with the rest coming from wool.

So what has created this increase? In no partic-ular order:

Technology: the oper-ation of our processing room, the products pro-duced and the yields being

achieved bear no resem-blance to even 15 years ago.

Chilled product: a fur-ther form of technology but worthy of being on its own.

Brands: BSM has two distinct brands that are known and respected.

Fresh cutting: there’s been a huge change from the days of bringing frozen carcases back for cutting. But it does provide its own set of challenges. Process-ing decisions are made daily for a wide range of raw product and often in the absence of forward sales.

Tailoring product to customer demand: unfor-tunately there is often a huge divide between what

news 5Alliance firstour in-market partners to ensure the product remains connected to Alliance Group.

The group has made considerable gains through increasing its volume of chilled lamb into a number of mar-kets in order to capture – while preserving – the margin over frozen lamb.

Alliance also invests heavily in R&D in a range of areas to drive longer shelf life and improve taste and tenderness of our products.

Our R&D and invest-ments in technologies such as hoofprint ensure

we remain aligned with high paying customers.

Regrettably, the increasing value of the New Zealand dollar has negated most of the improvement in market prices achieved over recent years. Today’s in-market returns are about $50 per lamb higher than in 2009.

Lamb prices to farm-ers, however, are simi-lar to 2009. About $50 per lamb has been lost to New Zealand farmers due to movements in the value of the New Zealand dollar over those four years.

fROm pAge 4

meat value gain 900% – blue Skythe customer wants and the raw carcases provided to the plant.

Dealing direct: BSM deals directly with a mul-titude of small outlets around the world who do not want to deal with a large exporter, often due to the smaller volumes they require.

Procurement: for at least 25 years BSM has pro-cured at least 90% of its livestock under a contract system that specifies the date of delivery and the numbers contracted on that date.• Rural News also invited AFFCO and Ovation to respond, but they did not.Graham cooney

Creating value Silver fern farm’s focusSILVER FERN Farms chief execu-tive Keith Cooper says the compa-ny’s investment and business plan is focused on creating value in the market and enabling farmers to create value on farm.

1. Co-ordinated in-market behaviour

Three joint ventures aimed to create a strong brand position in premium markets and use scale: The NZ Lamb Company in North America, Alpine Origin Merino, Farm Brands Ltd.

International brand build-ing based on quality attributes

identified within our BeefEQ pro-grammes to be launched October 2013: Angus, Her-eford and Reserve programmes.

Investment in offshore market-ing offices and personnel in Bel-gium, Germany, UK, Hong Kong, Middle East, Japan, Korea, USA and Canada enable us to interact direct with in-market customers plus a further $11.6m spend in 2012-13 on brand development and market-

ing initiatives to build brand equity, channels to markets and market development.

Developing our consumer-focused retail lamb and veni-son brand in New Zea-land to drive a greater

proportion of revenue through premium value branded products. These have achieved year-on-year growth of 40% since launch in 2009.

2. Efficient and aligned pro-curement

Backbone, Lamb Plan and Dairy Bull Beef programme supply plans mean 10% of livestock is now con-tracted and farmers are using this mechanism to manage volatility in their businesses and deliver cer-tainty and against market require-ments.

These initiatives have given another option for farmers to manage their cashflow, without capital investment in stock in the case of Lamb Plan, while we have the ability to better manage stock flow and supply to our markets.

Keith cooper

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6 news: tHe big dry

Support trusts keeping busyABOUT 20 calls a day are being received by the Waikato Rural Support Trust, mostly from young farmers concerned about their financial position.

But in Northland the desperate feed situation is prompting most calls to the support trust, which has set up its own feed line.

Mike Eagles, chairman of Northland Rural Sup-port Trust, says beef farm-ers are getting rid of stock but he also knows of some dairy farmers getting rid of capital stock. “That becomes a serious issue long term,” he says.

“Previously with a drought you could bring feed in from other areas, but this time everyone is getting hammered at the same time,” says Eagles.

“So people are getting a bit wary of releasing their excess feed in case they find they are in the cart themselves.

“We’ve had a huge number of calls in com-parison with the past. People are pretty resil-ient but there’s a lot of stress going on. Our facil-itators are trying to help people and get them good advice and get rural assis-tance payments to them.”

The payments are only “to put food on the table” for those with no income.

“We are a relatively new trust, we’ve only been going five years so people are more aware of us; they know they can get help. We can’t do cash handouts or anything, it’s down to the government as to who they assist in the end but it defi-nitely seems to be hitting harder than in the past.”

This is Northland’s

pAm tIpA

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third drought in four years and Eagles says they have only just pulled back from helping people from the 2010-2011 drought. “Now we’re straight back into it before anyone has had the chance to build themselves up again.”

The trust is running its own feed line. “The prices of palm kernel have gone through the roof,” Eagles says.

Waikato Hauraki Cor-omandel Rural Sup-port Trust chairman Neil Bateup says mainly young farmers and sharemilk-ers are checking if they eli-gible for rural assistance payments and applying if they are.

“The financial situa-tion is the major issue, with a lot of people dried off or drying off, so income will be quite poor for the next few months,” he says. In contrast to Northland, feed is not prompting a lot of calls to the trust.

Bateup’s advice to farmers is to “keep talk-ing to their advisers, their bank manager and any other rural profession-als”. “Keep talking to one another, go to some social

events, join with your neighbours and friends in barbecues… and it will rain one day.”

Derek Spratt, Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust chairman, says they have had 13 calls so far and their facilitator will visit all bar two of those to discuss rural assistance payments. The other two were hang-ing in to see what happens.

“Feed and where to get it is a big concern, but

that will be all through the North Island,” he says. People are moving any stock they don’t need off farms to “take pressure off what bit of straw is left in the paddock”. Some Bay of Plenty areas are desperate and in others “there’s feed around but not a lot”. Feed queries are being directed to the Federated Farmers website.

@rural_news


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news: tHe big dry 7

Horowhenua commercial grower John clarke checks some of his newly sown brassica seedlings. less than half his 240ha opera-tion is irrigated and at this time of the year he would be expecting rain to grow these crops.clarke has farmed in the area for 35 years and says the current drought is up there with others he’s experienced. the lack of rain has caused him to reduce the hours of some staff. crops will come on late and quality will suffer, causing a shortage of vege-tables. the clarke farm irrigation helps grow lettuce, celery and spinach.

Sheepmeat saved by ChinaMANY SHEEP and beef farmers will need to arrange bank help to carry them through the drought, says Professor Keith Woodford, Lincoln University.

Woodford, profes-sor of farm management and agribusiness, expects lambing percentages will

be right down next season as a result of the drought.

“We’ve known for long time three things are really important to lambing percentage: one is genetics and there’s no doubt we have better genetics; second is the live weight of ewes at mating; third is whether the ewes are on a rising plain of nutrition.

“So if the ewe is gain-ing live weight at the time she’s mated then she’s much more likely to give a multiple ovulation. I can’t put numbers on it at this stage…. I would expect the lambing percent-age in August-Septem-ber to be down quite a lot. Having said that, the rams aren’t there yet and a lot depends on what happens

over the next month.”Looking at our sheep-

meat markets, Woodford says if wasn’t for China, New Zealand would be in a mess. The Kiwi dollar’s strength against the Euro and the pound sterling is impacting farms, depress-ing returns to New Zea-land farmers from European markets.

“[But the] sheepmeat

market in China has been growing incredibly rap-idly, more due to good luck than good manage-ment on our part; it’s not demand we’ve created, it’s a demand the Chinese have created.”

Woodford says China by volume is now our big-gest market for lamb – a market for cuts once a bit difficult to sell.

peteR buRke

A MAJOR importer of palm kernel, J. Swap Contractors, says shipments are arriving frequently, but there’s huge demand. “We can’t get it here quickly enough,” says Stephen Swap.

Most of it goes to those on contract, but they are still selling spot, at about mid $300 a tonne. Demand is coming from everywhere – greatest from the mid North Island.

“We are quite a way behind with deliveries due to delays with ships and other things”. Ship delays go hand-in-hand with the business “but we are going through palm kernel more quickly than anyone anticipated”.

Nevertheless Swap’s advice to farmers is “call us definitely – there’s no doubt there are delays on deliveries, but we always work seven days a week. We are getting through as fast as we can.”

Imports were stepped up as the drought emerged but “it’s a moving target all the time,” Swap says.

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BEES FACE starvation and, surpris-ingly, drowning as a result of the drought, says John Hartnell, head Federated Farmers’ bee group.

He told Rural News drought limits bees’ ability to collect nectar; this is now evident in the South Island, the clover crop being well down on previous years.

“That was simply a reflection of a very cold spring and a rapid change to an almost totally dry environment that’s been rolling on ever since. Without moisture we

don’t get the flowers and, in partic-ular with clover, it won’t yield any nectar and the bees go hungry. It’s not a great position.”

Moving into autumn, bees have a critical need for good pollen for next year; that’s the other challenge beekeepers face: normally there are yellow flowers available such as gorse, but it’s too dry and such flowers have not been there for bees, Hartnell says.

Bees need water and, because their normal sources are dry, they will seek it at animal drinking troughs. But troughs are a hazard.

“At a trough the bees look for something to land on so they can drink. But often they don’t find a stable place and because they can’t swim they drown. We have bee losses with them trying to access water.”

Hartnell says every year is a

challenge for the honey bee. “In the spring they need good pollen

to build the hives up and then they need the nectar flow to come in at the right time. This year, particularly in the South Island, that didn’t happen.

“In the North Island it was slightly different. The

Waikato has had a great flower-ing of white clover and a lot of bees have done relatively well in those areas, but it’s spasmodic in the other regions, especially on the east coast of the South Island.”

8 news: tHe big dry

bees also starvingpeteR buRke

She’s a shocker!

THE DROUGHT’S “a shocker mate” says John Rennie, farm manager for the Glen Tui Partnership at Greatford, near Marton. He has farmed there 15 years.

Reflecting on the drought, Rennie told Rural News that last autumn was dry, following little rain in July and August. “We also had a cold spring in this area and winds till Christmas so the dry spell was almost the dizzy limit.”

The farm is a flat 180ha and runs 1100 Romney ewes and 320 hoggets, 20 cows and calves; they also buy in heifers and some lambs to fatten each year. Five hundred ewes are put to Southdown rams to lamb between July and Aug to get the early grass growth.

“The Southdown is an excellent terminal sire and we usually get the lambs away well before Christmas and get any premiums available.”

The main mob of 650 Romney ewes lamb in Sep-tember and breed all their own replacements.

Using contractors they plant turnips for the summer which Rennie says have been a saviour for the cattle this season. They baled 40 big bales of lucerne hay and another 500 conventional bales for “times like this.” Titan rape is grown for the hoggets and this is followed by Pasja before returning to grass.

“I am rotating the ewes around five paddocks with a new paddock each day with some lucerne. There is no grass, but it seems to keep them happy.”

Rennie has been planting shade and shelter trees since he arrived on the farm, reducing stress on live-stock during the long hot summer days.

tONy hOpkINSON

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news: tHe big dry 9

Rare West Coast drought declaredMANY WEST Coast farm-ers have not had to cope with drought or its after-math because it is such a highly unusual event there.

The Rural Support Trust has swung into action in the region – although official drought has not been declared.

“Farmers need to remember they are not alone because the West Coast Rural Support Trust is only a phone call away on 0800 787 254,” says Dianne Milne, chair-woman.

“If farmers feel stressed it is vital to keep talking to their family, business part-ners, mates and rural pro-fessionals.

“If you are a dairy

farmer speak to staff at Westland Milk Products, DairyNZ and others who come up your drive. Sim-ilarly for sheep and beef farmers, have a yarn with your meat processor or to Beef+Lamb NZ.

“Don’t be shy about picking up the phone and talking to Federated Farm-ers either.

“At times like this you need the best advice so speak to your bank manager or accountant about options, especially in dealing with Inland Revenue.”

Milne says farmers should keep any eye out for their neighbours and get mates together for a barbecue to reinforce that are not alone.

Rain will bring deluge of challenges

DROUGHT RAVAGED dairy farmers should not expect immediate respite when the rain arrives.

DairyNZ warns rain will rot pasture, leav-ing cows underfed and give rise to facial eczema. Farmers will need at least three weeks of supple-ments (100kgDM/cow) to feed out after rain, or on very dry farms up to 160kgDM/cow.

DairyNZ ‘Beat the Heat’ fieldays are help-ing farmers deal with the drought and prepar-ing them for the post-drought period. Marketing manager productivity Warren Twohey says turn-out to the fieldays has been good. About 100 farmers attended days AgResearch’s Tokanui Research Farm in Te Awa-mutu last week, 100 in Gordonton and 70 in Mor-rinsville.

The events give farm-ers confidence to make key decisions as they face prolonged dry weather, Twohey says. “It also gives them opportunity to talk to fellow farmers and get an understanding of how their neighbours are deal-ing with the drought,” he told Rural News.

He points out prob-lems don’t end when the rains arrive. “When it starts raining, it doesn’t

mean everything is hunky-dory. It could be two to three weeks before grass starts growing.” So sup-plements are essential.

DairyNZ says past experience shows this ‘rot down’ time is when cows are most underfed during a drought. “As pasture can halve after rain, cows can be severely underfed and will require 50-75% of their intake from sup-plement. If feeding out before the drought, the amount required after rain will at least double in the first 7-10 days, reducing as pasture cover improves.”

Pasture management is also critical when the autumn rain arrives. After autumn rain and very rapid grass growth, slow herd rotation will keep pasture cover high. But it warns not to speed the rotation to fully feed the herd, as this will hinder pasture growth.

The rains will also bring animal health problems such as facial eczema. Maintaining a low zinc dosage is then worth-while. “When the rain does come, spore counts are likely to rise dramati-cally and by maintaining a low zinc dosage the cows are already adapted to zinc should zinc dosages need to be lifted.”

Farmers are also advised to go easy on copper supplementation,

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especially if the cows are fed PKE. If feeding out PKE, mind the impact this may have on copper levels in the cow’s liver. “Avoid routine copper supple-mentation for cows fed PKE in large amounts over long periods without checking the cows copper status first.”

With cull cows being

sent to the works now is a good time to mon-itor copper status via liver biopsies to ensure copper is within accept-able limits.

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10 newstime to get busy on water shortage –kelly

THIS DROUGHT is one of the worst seen by Land-corp chief executive Chris Kelly in his half century in agriculture. The prob-lems are not being over-stated, and the nationwide extent of the dry leaves few regions unaffected, he says.

He’s not surprised at reports that the drought will knock a billion dol-lars off the economy this year. It will have a signifi-cant effect on Landcorp’s bottom line.

The extent of this drought limits the options available to farmers, Kelly says.

“If I was a single farmer in the middle of Hawkes Bay, I would be nearly crying now.”

Kelly’s been in Canter-bury and says the irriga-tors are going flat out and only in the deep south can you see green anywhere.

“The other worry is that we can’t see any immediate relief on the horizon…. Sheep are going into tupping on a declin-ing plain of nutrition. They’re losing weight, which means lambing per-centages will be down next year. Some of the improved pastures on the hill country – where it’s hard to cultivate – will be affected and some will be possibly irretrievably destroyed.”

One long-term cost of the drought could be the

need to re-grass paddocks – even recently sown ones, and there are concerns some of the newer pasture species are more vulnera-ble to drought, he says.

“They grow better when the weather is good and have higher ME. But some are certainly a lot more vulnerable, although some pastures like chicory, plantain and lucerne have deep rooting systems and are not so bad.

“However, some of these new hot species tend to shrivel up… earlier than the traditional stuff. While chicory recovers well, so do the weeds.”

Landcorp has shipped truckloads of sheep to the South Island from its North Island farms and has already dried off many dairy herds. “We are pretty much down to capital stock now. We are bring-ing pregnancy testing forward a bit so we can get empty cows away as quickly as possible.”

Dairying’s advantage is that you can dry cows off and continue to feed them on supplements. But he acknowledges feed is expensive.

“If you have to buy it, PKE has gone up from about $250 a tonne to something like $350. Farmers are ship-ping barley and wheat

straw to the North Island; it has almost zero nutri-tion value but at least it’s bulk.”

The drought has high-lighted the need for more irrigation.

“If there is an encour-aging note… it’s that the Government is committed to getting more irrigation schemes going. We waste about 96% of the rain that falls because it flows out to sea.

“[We need] water stor-age and effective use of [rain]. I’ve just come back

from Canterbury… and where a centre pivot irri-gator has gone around you can put one foot in bloat-prone clover and ryegrass and the other foot in bare dirt. That’s how profound the effect of irrigation is.”

Kelly says the best place to dairy farm now is irrigated Canterbury. Landcorp plans to spend up to $5 million over two years on irrigation in the region and will double its cow numbers.

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12 newsBeef + Lamb voting scheme questioned

OHAKUNE FARMER John McCarthy, who missed getting elected to the B+LNZ board, says he accepts the vote, but sees it raising a raft of issues and shortcomings in the industry.

McCarthy was defeated by the sitting member for

the western ward of North Island, Kirsten Bryant. He congratulates Bryant but is sorry he can’t represent the interests of local farm-ers.

McCarthy has renewed his attacked on the meat processing companies saying he doesn’t trust them and that they have let farmers down. They

will continue to rape and pillage farmers, he says.

Of greatest concern to McCarthy is the dem-ocratic process. “The voting return was 24% and this represented approxi-mately 50% of the sheep and beef industry. What that says to me is that I didn’t get the meat com-pany vote and proba-

bly not the corporate one either. Personally I am quite pleased if that is indeed the case.”

He asks how, on this basis, can a family farm expect to be heard in a meaningful way? He says with the PGP vote due soon, this is important.

“It would seem to me that a combination of

Landcorp, meat compa-nies and the odd other cor-porate vote [results in] a done deal for Beef + Lamb. This is quite obviously an abrogation of due process. No wonder that in my elec-tion only 24% bothered to vote; the smaller unit is disempowered under the current rules and knows it. I am asking the new Minis-

PETER BURKE

ter of Agriculture what he considers is an acceptable voting percentile to justify a mandate for change. Also does he feel it is acceptable for Landcorp and the meat companies to even have a vote? It will be interesting to hear the response.”

McCarthy says there is something morally repug-nant about the spin per-petuated especially by our farming leaders about our supposed ‘brave new world’. This ignores the horrible prospects facing their farming constituents, he says.

“After this year, with its combination of drought and meat company sav-agery, a lot of these smaller units will be in serious financial and emotional trouble. A lot of it has been caused by the inability of politicians and farming representatives to curtail meat company antics. It is an anathema that decent, hard working New Zea-land families are being done over in this way and we continue to get the same timeworn platitudes regarding exchange rates and the like.”

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news 13

Plan wisely

IF THE drought continues it will soon be as bad as 2008, says Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) chief exec-utive Sarah Speight.

“It is just a matter of hanging in there. People have been saying it’s not as bad as 2008, but it’s rapidly get-ting the point where that’s not quite right. The level of concern has definitely risen in the last week or so.”

Speight says it will be a short season for many people particularly north of Taupo, so that’s putting pressure on cashflow. North of Hamilton, large numbers will be drying off over the next week or so.

“Feed supplies are tightening quickly as more people are looking for additional supplement if they can find it,” she says. “Luckily there are some good maize crops around, so as we start seeing the maize harvested the pressure on feed will come off a bit.”

Speight says DWN is urging the regional groups to get together so people know they are not alone in the situation. “Everyone is in the same boat and we are encouraging members to get along to events such as the DairyNZ ‘Beat the Heat’ days, to develop a plan sen-sible for their business.”

Speight expects it will be the main point of conver-sation during networking times at the Dairy Women’s Network annual conference in Nelson this week. “One workshop in particular called Profitable Nutrition we expect will focus on the drought… feeding our cows right now, what are our options, what do we need to do and think about.”

Pam TIPa

[email protected]

Drought stuns spread of killer kiwifruit diseaseWHILE DEVASTATING for pas-toral farming, the drought has at least one up-side: it has slowed the advance of the kiwifruit vine killing disease Psa.

“From a Psa perspective we have been very fortunate with the hot, dry summer with less Psa movement and impacts within orchards,” Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) chief executive Barry O’Neil told Rural News.

“Psa needs rain and lower tem-peratures to develop, so in gen-eral the dry hot summer has seen lower levels of Psa than we saw last summer and therefore all varieties are holding up reasonably well.”

O’Neil says the new gold vari-ety G3 has been going well over the summer. “However we are very conscious that come autumn with colder, wetter weather some pro-gression of disease especially on

vines under water stress and carry-ing a full crop, could be expected,” he says.

“With G3 we are becoming more and more confident that provided growers follow the best practice Psa control mea-sures we are recommend-ing, G3 will be able to grow through successfully in a Psa environment.

“But I think everyone would like another 12 months of experience – another autumn-win-ter-spring period – to have full con-fidence that we are understanding everything about G3 in a Psa envi-ronment that we need to know.”

From the perspective of fight-ing Psa, the dry has been the best weather they could have hoped for “but unfortunately that’s not going to last forever”.

An issue of concern is that some green varieties have had flower drop and bud rot that KVH believes

are associated with Psa. “Some of those varieties had lower crops as a result and smaller misshapen fruit

which is the biggest con-cern at the moment,” he says. That was not seen to any extent in the Gold varieties.

O’Neil says there has been no further progres-sion of Psa in areas newly identified last spring as having the dis-

ease. The movement of the Psa into these areas had actually occurred six months prior but was only identified in spring. Hawke’s Bay, Kerikeri and Poverty Bay have had just one orchard each identified as having Psa. “But again the warm, dry summer has helped and we would expect some more movement coming into autumn and then

through into spring.”O’Neil says an issue for grow-

ers in those regions is whether they should convert from Psa-suscepti-ble Gold variety 16A to G3. “The experience from Bay of Plenty is that it’s easier and safer to convert their Gold varieties to a more tol-erant variety before infection gets established because after it does, it is more difficult.”

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More weapons for battleKVH HEAD Barry O’Neil is “opti-mistic” the National Pest Manage-ment Strategy for Psa will get government approval in April.

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14 news

LANDCORP IS set to take over the full running of the Crafar farms, now owned by the Chinese company Shang-hai Pengxin. Currently the farms are run by sharemilkers, but Landcorp has a wider management role in the interim.

Chief executive Chris Kelly says he’s spent a day going around the farms and has seen a quite a selection.

“They have farms in the Te Kuiti area near Bennydale that are quite good. They are as good as any I’ve seen for a while because it’s quite high up and cold so there’s a bit of greenery there. One of the Crafar farms is irrigated so that helps, but the other ones on the volcanic plateau are just as bad as ours – production plummeting. They’re having to dry off cows and there will probably be no production at all in May. It’s not normal for this ground around here that’s for sure.”

Kelly says the new joint-venture Shanghai Pengxin-Landcorp board has been meeting to discuss a proposal to upgrade the Crafar farms.

It’s planned to spend upwards of $15 million on the farms over the next two to three years. Some of the Chi-nese directors will get to see the farms for the first time.

Landcorp takes over Crafar farms

THE DROUGHT may have spared farmers in the North Island from a major infestation of porina this year. But farmers – espe-cially in Southland and Otago – are still warned to watch for signs of damage in their pastures.

Colin Ferguson of

AgResearch, Invermay, says he’s been monitor-ing flights of porina moths all around the country and noted big flights in the South Island in Decem-ber last year. But there is usually a late flight about this time of the year in the North Island and he and a group of farmers are closely monitoring the

flights for porina moths,The moths lay their

eggs in the pasture, these hatch and the caterpillars eat the grass. Porina cater-pillars can cause massive damage to pasture and it’s been reported that whole hillsides have been eaten bare causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage.

Last year porina caused significant damage in the central North Island and a group of farmers vol-unteered to set traps to monitor the porina flights. Recently there were reports of flights, and Fer-guson will be checking the situation this week. But he says the dry weather may offer some tempo-

rary relief for North Island farmers.

“Basically the hot and dry desiccates the eggs of the young larvae so they don’t do very well. So nor-mally when you get a very dry summer you don’t get porina problems, but what you can get is large out-breaks about two years later.

PETER BURKE

Porina warning for southern farms

“When the dry summer kills off the porina, there is nothing there for the dis-eases that normally reg-ulate the populations of porina, so they die off as well. It takes a couple of years for the porina to build up numbers, but the diseases lag a year behind the porina, so you can get a very bad year for porina damage before things settle down.”

But while it’s been dry in the North Island, it’s been a ‘normal’ season for porina in Southland and Otago and Colin Fergu-son is putting the warning out for farmers to monitor their pastures.

“The big flights have already occurred and we don’t get that very late flight the North Island gets. We had some mas-sive pre-Christmas flights and we also got some rea-sonable post Christmas flights. The number of moths we are collecting down here would suggest there could be quite a lot of porina damage around.”

Ferguson says porina damage should start to show in early April in the South Island and in some cases in the North Island. He says the damage from the big North Island flights won’t show up until well into May.

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ENVIRONMENT MIN-ISTER Amy Adams says the importance of fresh water to the New Zealand environment and econ-omy cannot be overstated. She told Rural News that though Australia is seen as ‘lucky’ because of its min-eral wealth, she argues New Zealand is even luck-ier because of it water resources.

A new 57-page docu-ment now out for public consultation originates from the Land and Water Forum (LAWF), which gained, over two years, a high degree of consen-

sus among parties for-merly at loggerheads on water management. This document highlights, among other issues: deci-sion processes being liti-gious, resource consuming and creating uncertainty; a lack of robust informa-tion on the impacts and outcomes of manage-ment decisions; water not being used efficiently or for its higher-value use; iwi values not being consid-ered; and existing freshwa-ter management systems being insufficiently adap-tive and dynamic.

Adams wants changes, but she insists economic development will not be at

the long-term expense of the sustainable manage-ment of water.

She points to gains attainable by better man-aging water. “Managing water more efficiently by irrigation has potential to increase agricultural exports by $4 billion per year by 2026. The value of allocating existing water takes more efficiently in water-scarce catchments is estimated at $12.7 mil-lion for each 1% improve-ment.”

Clearly annoying the Government are the drawn-out legal processes characterising many coun-cil decisions relating to the

RMA in respect of water. For example, the Horizons One Plan, whose finer points are being fought out in court.

“Sector groups, indus-try and environmental, have often tended to take extreme positions in the hope it will move the bal-

ance their way,” Adams explains. “This is perhaps out of concern that if they start in a moderate posi-tion they will miss out. This cannot continue as a way forward for New Zea-land. We must recognise the economic potential of water use and the rare and valuable asset our abun-dant, clean waterways are and find solutions that protect both.

“In the end, I think New Zealand is mature enough to have that debate and make informed and sensible choices.”

The report highlights the need for more effi-cient and productive use

16 newsEnvironment minister rings water changes

Amy Adams

Reforms aimed at councils

of fresh water. Horticul-ture and dairying differ on this. In catchments where resources are limited hor-ticulturalists see the use of water for dairy irriga-tion and shed washdown as much less efficient than using it on high-value crops. The report seems to back the horticultural-ist view.

Some proposals in the reform document will be part of RMA reforms; most will be achieved by ‘guid-ance’ from the ‘national objective framework’ councils will be required to follow.

Says Adams, “We can’t continue the system of lit-igating – where the last

man standing wins. We need a process that’s more collaborative, more for-ward looking and reflect-ing the fact that water is important to us – envi-ronmentally and eco-nomically. We can’t afford to pick one winner over another. We have to find what works for our econ-omy, now and into the future and that is sustain-able.”

Adams says while it’s not possible to force people to be collaborative, there will be incentives in the process to reward those who behave in this way.

THE WATER reforms document follows by one week a similar document on reforming the Resource Manage-ment Act (RMA), also out for consultation.

The 83-page RMA report proposes hacking at the undergrowth of costly council plans; the aim is to make New Zealand’s regulatory environment simpler, clearer and less expensive.

It also proposes putting the acid on councils to produce detailed plans, and to properly analyse economic impacts.

Some councils have been severely criticised by Adams and her colleagues for the quality of their ‘section 32’ reports – supposed to provide detailed economic analysis to back up decisions. ‘Sub optimal’ is how Adams describes some of them.

“Councils need to use what I call an iterative process. When they set limits and objectives they have to come up with an indicative position on what they think they should be.

“They need to work through and understand the impact of what that will be on their community in growth, jobs and lost opportunities and then work out whether they’ve set them at the right level. They then need to go back to their community and make sure that’s what they want.”

Adams believes the lack of clarity in the RMA is discouraging innovation and investment.

PETER BURKE

@rural_news


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FEDERATED FARMERS and Fish & Game appear back on the road to dis-agreeing on water reforms. Both attended the launch of the reform document at the annual ‘Blue Greens’ conference – the envi-ronmental arm of the National Party.

Feds chief executive Conor English says water reform is complex, but he sees the Government heading in the right direc-tion. Feds intends scruti-nizing the document and will make a submission, English says. He favours

the collaborative approach proposed.

“The challenge with the collaborative approach is making sure there is enough independently based science informa-tion to help communities make informed decisions. We support the collabora-tive approach if we can get win-win solutions – pro-vided these are based on good science and not emo-tion…. In the past there hasn’t been enough infor-mation for the best deci-sions to be made.”

English says the sci-ence needs to catch up to ensure more informed decisions. “We have regional councils… making decisions on regional plans that impact land and

water stewardship and they simply don’t have the required scientific and economic information for informed decisions.”

Meanwhile, Fish & Game’s Bryce Johnson claims the reforms out-lined in the document are loaded towards the use of water and far less towards the conservation of natu-ral water.

“The document lacks conservation orders which are the primary mechanisms we have in New Zealand to protect

rivers. They want to con-vert these into basically a regional planning instru-ment. I don’t think this will have traction with the wider public once they work through it.”

Johnson also describes the consultation process as dishonest, saying the public has not been given sufficient time to read it and make a submission. He thinks the primary goal of the Government in the reforms is making more water available for development and sweep-ing away barriers to get it. He’s also not convinced more science is needed.

“There is a lot of sci-ence around that can be applied. It’s a red her-

ring to say we need more science. We know what the problems are, and we know what the rem-edies are; what is lacking is industry and, to some extent, the political will to enforce that science we have now on to land use.”

news 17

Sensible, organised, consistantLobby groups view changes differently

Conor English

Bryce Johnson

IMPROVING THE quality of science is a priority, and Environment Minis-ter Amy Adams says measures will be put in place to improve this.

“You will never completely remove battles and individual parties presenting their cases. New Zealand is a small country and we have a lim-ited number of experts in this field. It makes more sense to use them to compile a nationally understood and consistent framework of what the best science tells us and then get local decision making focused on how that applies to their water body, rather than re-arguing the sci-ence from the ground up.”

On the Overseer controversty, Adams admits it’s “a long way from being a perfect regulatory tool”. She acknowledges the problems horti-culturalists and arable farmers have with Overseer, and that more work has to be done to make it a more reli-able regulatory tool.

Adams believes the proposed reforms will benefit farmers. She says farmers and everyone else can expect a far more understandable system based on better science and infor-mation and a focus on better deci-

sion-making at local council level. With a collaborative approach, she’s hoping for greater buy-in and an end to expensive wasteful litigation.

However, she does have a simple bottom line. “Government can’t continue to be hands-off and allow every community, every council, to work this out it for itself in isolation

and fight for resources. Our bottom line is that we need to make a start on a sensible, organised and consis-tent framework that’s going to pre-serve water for the long term benefit of New Zealand based on national guidelines.”

Submissions on the document close on April 8.

“In the past there hasn’t been enough information for the best decisions to be made.”

– Conor English

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18 news

India beckons large for NZ agricultural exports

Huge growth in demand

BANKER SUBHAS DeGamia has seen dairy shelves in Indian supermarkets undergoing big change.

DeGamia, who five years ago moved to Mumbai as ANZ’s chief executive, says the range of flavoured yoghurts, speciality cheeses and pro-cessed milk is rapidly expanding. And India’s increasing middle class wants more speciality dairy products.

DeGamia, in Auckland last week for a NZTE and India-New Zealand Business Council seminar, says Fon-terra is well placed to take advantage. “My observations from a demand per-spective are that there are opportuni-ties for a high quality processor like Fonterra,” he told Rural News.

While New Zealand may be a small country facing the “tyranny of distance” from India, there are traditional linkages and the clean green reputation that works in our

favour, he says.Most Indians know

about New Zealand through cricketing and Commonwealth ties. “Their perception of New Zealand is clean, green and pristine. Dairy products from New Zea-land are considered high quality and safe. So, the demand… is there and people are will-ing to pay a premium for high quality and safe products.”

Indian consumers’ appetites for quality New Zealand food is not con-fined to dairy. Our kiwifruit is sold in many parts of India and wine exports are growing. Lamb exports to India are also on the agenda.

DeGamia sees three opportunities in India for New Zealand businesses:

First, India is tipped to become the world’s most populous nation by 2030 and to become a net importer of most farm commodities.

Second, demand for value-added products will remain strong. DeGamia points out in the past 50 years about 200 million people moved into urban areas of India. About 250m more will move into cities over the next 20 years. “We have the same number of people moving into urban

areas in half the time. This urban-isation creates opportunities. As dis-posable incomes move up, so does demand.”

Third, the supply of food will need to be backed by better technology and infrastructure between the farmgate and consumers.

The Indian and New Zealand gov-ernments are working on a free trade deal. While DeGamia opts not to com-ment on the status of FTA talks, he says any bilateral agreement will ben-efit both countries.

Two-way trade six years ago was

$200 million; this grew to $1.2 billion last year. DeGamia believes an FTA will enable trade to double within years.

But even after eight rounds of negotiations a trade deal remains elusive. MFAT said after the eighth round of talks in New Delhi last year that “useful progress was made in a number of areas, but progress over-all remains mixed”.

High tariff and regulatory barri-ers and concerns by Indian farmers about opening the dairy sector to big producers remain stumbling blocks.

Fonterra, developing milk pools outside New Zealand to meet a growing global demand for dairy, has India in its sights. Last November it announced the appointment of its first India staff and the opening of the Delhi office. It says India has a com-plex dairy market and “must have dedicated leadership on the ground to further strengthen relationships and develop opportunities”.

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

PROTEIN DEMAND in India over the next 10 years is projected to increase 3.2 million tonnes (72%). Annual demand for fats would increase to 11.1 million tonnes (52%).

An ANZ report says while it is difficult to forecast the mix of products that might fill this gap, converting the figures to milksolid (MS) equivalents gives an idea how many cows would be needed.

“Our estimates suggest that to meet India’s protein demand you would need roughly five times what New Zealand currently produces, while fat requirements are about 12 times what we now produce.

“At current international dairy prices this translates into some big numbers. Of course New Zealand does not have the resources to fill this and some of this higher demand will be met by higher domestic production in India and accessing other markets than New Zealand.”

It does, however, present opportuni-ties for New Zealand. One would be to focus on the speciality/boutique food market segments to extract as much added value as possible, the report says.

“Another would be to leverage more fully off our comparative advantage and boost the returns from our intellectual property and expertise in food production systems and food processing and manufacturing.”

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news 19

‘guru’s’ claims full of bull – scientist

NEGATIVE ASSERTIONS about New Zealand farm-ing by biological farming and nutrient dense-food advocate Arden Ander-sen (Rural News, Feb 19) have been systematically refuted by New Zealand Grassland Association president Jacqueline Row-arth.

In an article posted on the association’s web-site, Rowarth says some of Andersen’s ideas “are not based on science or New Zealand experience”.

Rowarth rips into his comment that New Zea-land milk has three to four times the urea nitrogen of US milk, and that much urea ends up in our lakes and rivers.

“Fertiliser requirements in New Zealand are calculated based on nutrients being

exported off farm and what is required for plant growth, based on soil and herbage tests. Using the tests, farmers can see if they are increasing, maintaining or mining nutrient concentration in the soil,” she writes.

“New Zealand’s fun-damental problem is that most nutrients brought onto the farm are exported in milk and meat; it is extremely difficult to be 100% efficient.”

She also shreds Ander-sen’s linking high masti-tis and low cow longevity in New Zealand to “sup-posed imbalances in New Zealand soil and resulting cow stress”. Research indi-cates an 11% incidence of mastitis here, in contrast to industry statements from the US of 25%, and a New Zealand cow aver-ages 4.8 lactations to a US cow’s 2.5.

Meanwhile, Andersen’s

aNDREW SWaLLoW

[email protected]

labelling of DCD as an antibiotic points to confusion with dermcidin, which shares the abbreviation with dicyandiamide, she says. Dermcidin is a protein produced in sweat glands and described as antimicrobial/antibiotic because it kills organisms on the skin.

As for Andersen’s assertion that research organ-isations are biased by their funders, he doesn’t appear to know that at least some of New Zealand’s major research organisations state in contracts with

commercial companies that they retain the right to bal-ance trials, ran-domise and replicate treat-ments, analyse

data and withhold their name if they don’t agree with the way results are used commercially.

“Universities and CRIs have done and are doing a considerable amount of research on the various components that make up ‘biological agriculture’. They are called soil sci-ence, pasture science and animal science, as well as ecology and systems research.”

Rowarth told Rural

News that in writing her riposte, she focussed on facts. She acknowl-edges Dr Andersen’s pas-sion, but, based on a quick Google search, notes his qualifications do not appear to cover soil sci-ence, plant physiology or ruminant nutrition. Full article: www.grassland.org.nz

FERTILISER COMPANY Ballance says it shares farmers’ sentiment that nitrate inhibitors containing DCD should be allowed back on the market.

But the farmer co-op adds this must only happen only when potential international trade requirements are met.

Ballance research and development manager Warwick Catto says the question is what standards need to be met on trade issues. “We have to work out what levels of DCD residues the marketplace will accept,” he told Rural News.

“This will require a bit of science and research. But we endorse farmer sentiment that nitrate inhibitors should be allowed back to help farmers tackle nitrate leaching on farms.”

Nitrate inhibitors, containing DCD, were voluntarily withdrawn last month by fertiliser companies Ballance and Ravensdown following the discovery of small traces of res-idue in New Zealand milk products.

A working group, headed by MPI, is assessing the use of DCD on farms and resulting residues in food. The work-ing group is also made up of Fonterra, the Dairy Compa-nies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ), Ravensdown and Ballance.

Catto says the working group could take a couple of years to complete its work. “At the end of the day, we must have the confident of the market,” he says.

Ballance had not sold its nitrate inhibitor DCn since July 2012 and had not promoted its use on pastures since late 2010.

Catto says only a handful of Ballance customers have recently used the product. As a precautionary measure Bal-lance will not reintroduce any DCD-based products to the market until the potential international trade issue of milk residues is mitigated.

Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Ian Brown says the products containing DCD are one of the effective tools used by farmers to mitigate nitrate leaching.

He says Fonterra farmers are waiting to see if DCD products are allowed back by MPI. “It’s not the silver bullet but it’s one of the spanners in our toolbox,” he told Rural News. “We’re keen to see it come back but let’s wait and see.”

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

DCD’s wanted back

Jacqueline Rowarth

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20 newsmost farmers not as good as they think

A TOTAL 80% of sheep and beef farmers think they are in the top 10% of profitability, says Beef + Lamb NZ director James Parsons.

Clearly most are not, says Parsons and the planned Red Meat Pri-

mary Growth Partnership (PGP) is about closing the gap between the top per-formers and the rest. But first many have to realise they are not top perform-ers so they can see the opportunity to increase profitability, Parsons adds.

He was outlining the $65 million PGP to farm-ers at a recent Sheep Pro-

ductivity Field Day in Northland.

Regarding criticism of the meat industry Parsons said: “I am not for one second trying to suggest the meat industry should sit on their hands and do nothing; there are things they need to do.

“But what we can con-trol as farmers is our busi-

ness and that’s something we can do something about. We should look at the things we can control rather than the things we can’t.”

Parsons said all studies show the gap has widened between the profitabil-ity of top performing farms and others over the past 20 years. When they

looked at what these farm-ers were doing differently, they were just good busi-ness people.

An aim of the PGP was to start replicating some of that best practice through-out the industry and much of it was about doing the basics really well.

Parsons said he wanted to move the discussion

Pam TIPa

[email protected]

in the sector away from price; there was not much variation in price between fifth and second quartile of performers.

“When you move to lamb sales per hectare you see the variation – 135% difference in profitabil-ity. The sector talks about what we are getting per head. These are things we can’t control as farm-ers; what we can control is things such as lamb sales per hectare, productivity and what should our focus be if we want to be pro-active about moving our profitability forward.”

The Red Meat Strat-egy came up with three core themes: coordinated in-market behaviour, effi-cient aligned procure-ment, and sector best practice.

“People said ‘here’s another strategy, it’s been tucked away in the bottom drawer and it would just

be a door stopper’,” he said. B+L NZ has had people working over the past 12 months to “put some wheels behind it”.

Parsons said all farmers should have voting documents on whether they support the investment. “This is a significant transaction for B+L NZ so we are required to go out and get farmer support. That voting process finishes on March 8.”

Understanding behaviour change: About $3.6m (over seven years of programme). How do these top performers behave differently from others?

“This is about doing some social science, which is a bit touchy-feely after the traditional way we have done research – which is more the biological stuff,” said Parsons. How do you get the research out to farmers and get them to adopt it faster than before?

“If we can reduce that down to three years rather than 10 years, that’s going to ramp up profitability a lot faster. Sector capability: The biggest project – about $36.5 million. Annual investment is $5.2m a year – the Government is funding half – so investment as farmers is about $1.5m a year.

This part of the PGP includes building accountability including in implementing farm systems, building a stronger network among farmers – including the professionals they deal with – and building business management skills.

“We are technically quite competent but some of our financial literacy is behind; we are running multi-million dollar businesses so it is important we raise the bar.”Systems and data integration: About $18.5m; $6m a year; B+LNZ’s contribution is about $792,000 a year.

“One thing which came out of the Red Meat Sector Strategy is that 80% of farmers think they are in the top 10% of profitability,” says Parsons. “If farmers think they are in the 10% of profitability but they aren’t, they won’t think there’s much more they can do to lift prof-itability. People are going to have to have some aware-ness of that and see the opportunity.”Production and providence: About $1.8 m over seven years. A quality assurance scheme that is a base stan-dard for all the meat industry – not just animal welfare etc but also environmental. “The great thing about benchmarking is you can pick trends,” said Parsons.

This was also about taking the production and prov-idence story to the marketplace including providing good information for “those who go into bat for us to regulators” and building some collateral using the clean green image to win new markets.

Four key aspects of the programme:

Beef+Lamb director James Parsons outlines the Red Meat PGP strategy.

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22 news

Connecting with the real world!

Research improving – Minister

RIVERSIDE RESEARCH farm, just off SH2 about 11km north of Masterton, is 650ha plus a 75ha block at Mikimiki. The farm runs 4000 ewes and 300 cattle on mostly typical hill-country pasture, but is now trialling herb crops

such as chicory.Though known as

‘scientist is residence’, Professor Paul Kenyon remains based at the Massey campus and con-tinues in his teaching and research roles; but he’ll have another role.

“My role is to facilitate more activity on the farm through research, and also technology transfer and the best use of the farm for educational purposes, whether it’s with Massey students or high school students in Wairarapa or

education providers such as Taratahi Training Insti-tute.

“From the universi-ty’s point of view it’s one of the larger commercial farms, but it still has the capability to do controlled research and collect the

‘Scientists in residence’ are an effort by Massey University to get farmers and researchers working close together. Reporter Peter Burke caught up with one such scientist, Professor Paul Kenyon, at Riverside Farm, Wairarapa.

hard data because of the way it’s set up with staff. It has a slightly higher staff-ing rate than a commer-cial farm would have for its size because it has the potential to collect data.”

The level of activ-ity at Riverside has been low in the past few years, but Kenyon’s appoint-ment shows Massey wants more, Kenyon says.

Riverside is used to ‘scale up’ research done on smaller farmlets around the Massey campus. But Kenyon says the university

will this year set up inten-sive research areas on the farm to foster greater community engagement and look more closely at farmer requirements.

Farmers once had much more contact with MAF farm advisors and were able to talk to sci-entists at the Ruakura Research Station open days which used to pre-cede National Fieldays. Many people now argue that science institutions have lost touch with farm-ers.

“There has been a dis-connect for a long time between scientists and farmers,” Kenyon says. “The thinking has always been that scientists do the work and farmers pick it up. But there’s been a gap in the middle [requir-ing information be pack-aged up] and made readily available to farmers. You can do that with better knowledge transfer sys-tems or by involving the farmers in the research. This is what we are trying to do.”

‘IMPROVING’ IS how the Minister of Science and Innovation, Steven Joyce, describes the performance of the CRIs in technology transfer.

He told Rural News, at a recent science communication conference in Christchurch, that he’s formed this view after talking to some CRI people.

Some have improved a lot; some

need to do better.CRIs should be as close as possible

to the sectors they service, Joyce says. “There is a huge challenge in transfer-ring technology in a sector as diverse as agriculture. CRIs have a role, so does industry – the various organisaition farmers are part of, such as Fonterra, B+LNZ and DairyNZ.”

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news 23

Farmers on board with Massey

Jim Spall

Taking ideas from the lab on to farm

Professor Paul Kenyon

A TWO-YEAR research project by Massey Univer-sity is aimed at improving technology transfer from scientists to farmers.

This study involves agricultural scientists, including Professor Paul Kenyon, running trials on species of mixed herbs and clover. About 20 farm-ers regularly meet with the scientists for updates. Also taking part are two social scientists evaluating the interaction between the scientists and farm-ers; their role is to find the best way to present infor-mation to farmers.

Professor Peter Kemp, recently appointed head of the Institute of Agri-culture and Environment at Massey, oversees this work. Some 25 farmers were first involved, a few dropped out and others joined. Kemp hopes to get funding for another group

at Riverside as the farm raises its profile in the community.

The researchers are doing exactly as suggested in the B+LNZ and meat industry multi-million dollar Primary Growth Partnership proposal to improve technology trans-fer, Kemp says.

“We’re not trying to run a parallel system to B+LNZ; ideally they would pick up some of the ideas we have. One advan-tage the university has is that we can [go direct to] people. We don’t have to read a paper about it…. Maybe we can improve our discussion groups by going direct to the social scien-tists.

“One eye opener for us is the [wealth of ] research on how well people learn in these types of group-ings. Most of us aren’t aware of this; ignorance

is bliss. But you have to force yourself to say ‘let’s not keep doing revised versions of what we have done in the past which works ok’. Instead we will try to get something better or different. We do exten-sion well in New Zealand but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be better.”

Paul Kenyon sees his extra role as scien-tist is residence present-ing challenges different from everyday teaching at Massey.

“It’s different from the type of teaching you nor-mally do; it’s more inter-active and it’s a different type of research. Every time farmers visit they come with new ideas or new questions, so we have to tweak the research to make clear what we are doing or try to answer their questions. But at the same time we have to

exercise some control so that it produces good sci-entific data.”

Kenyon hopes the farmers will pick up the concepts and ideas and see why scientists do certain things. “Conversely

many of the ideas we have investigated are tweaked from what farmers are doing on-farm. Hopefully we can come back with management plans applicable [to farmers’] systems.”

JIM SPALL is a Hawkes Bay sheep and beef farmer who’s been involved in the Massey project since its inception. He is full of praise for what’s been done and says it’s been a good learning experi-ence.

“We’ve been able to converse one-on-one with scientists and see their thinking behind the project with the chicory and herbs. We also have opportunity to come back a number of times in the year and this gives you a picture of how the herbs and the chicory are working. There’s also good dialogue between farmers and the scientists and all of us are learning.”

Spall feels he and the other farmers are contributing to the success of the herb species trial. “We are learning, and I hope the scientists are picking up some

stuff from us because we inject the practical into it. We all farm in different environments and have different farming systems, so we come to it with different perspectives.”

Like many farmers, Spall says he’s missed the interaction with scientists that existed until 20 years ago.

Since joining the group Spall has planted chicory and plantain mixtures and got good results. “It’s starting to have an overall good effect on the farm performance.”

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24 world

Protest meetings in Vic-toria and South Australia, further planned dem-onstrations and a direct meeting have all left Fed-eral Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig unmoved.

Farmer Power representatives met with Minister Ludwig last month at a meeting hosted by the Victorian Farmers Federation. The United Dairy Farmers of Victoria also attended.

The group asked for

cash assistance to help farmers address cash flow problems.

However, Ludwig later said although he recog-nised the ongoing con-cern among dairy farmers about their tough financial situation, the Government would not apply any fur-ther measures.

Ludwig said he and his parliamentary secre-tary, Sid Sidebottom, had regular contact with rep-resentatives of the dairy

industry.“Australian agricul-

ture is seeing a patch-work effect and while some areas are doing well, others are doing it tough,” Ludwig said.

“For some dairy farm-ers in Victoria, a range of factors are combining to place pressure on their businesses.

“Dairy Australia is aware of these pressures and is using levies and gov-ernment funding to sup-

Farmer protests fail to sway Govt

Farmers at the Tongala Farmer Power meeting line up to state their concerns.

port producers through initiatives such as the Tac-tics for Tight Times work-

shops.“The Transitional

Farm Family Payment is available to producers to provide some financial assistance.”

The payment is paid at a fortnightly rate equiva-lent to the Newstart allow-ance.

It helps farm fami-lies experiencing financial difficulty to manage the impacts of climate vari-ability and market fluctu-ations.

South Australian Dairy Association (SADA) presi-dent David Basham is due to appeal to both Opposi-tion Agriculture Spokes-man John Cobb and Federal Agriculture Minis-ter Joe Ludwig for help in Canberra this month.

Farmer Power held meetings in Tongala, Warrnambool and Mt Gambier last month and each were well attended.

The Tongala meeting was dominated by presen-tations by guest speakers, including Barnaby Joyce, Dick Smith, and the local council. Bob Katter was invited up for a few min-utes and implored the room to “vote for me”.

Farmers leapt at the

chance at the end of the meeting to raise their con-cerns and these were pri-

marily based on water and uncertainty surrounding irrigation allocations.

Opposition Agriculture spokesman John Cobb travelled to Warrnam-bool the following day and took questions for 90 min-utes from the crowd of 150 farmers.

Although sympathetic, Cobb said there was no silver bullet for the indus-try.

Up to 200 people attended a meeting at Mt Gambier to discuss

the current industry and listen to speakers, includ-ing Murray Goulburn rep-resentative Robert Poole, Dairy Australia’s Joanne Bills and Grain market analyst Ron Storey.

Farmers travelled from as far away as Blythe in South Australia’s mid-north to Cobden in West-ern Victoria and they asked questions right throughout the three hour meeting. There are about 290 dairy farms in South Australia.

South Australian Dairy Farmers association pres-ident David Basham told the crowd to register their interest for collective bar-gaining in a bid to improve farmgate returns.

He said the process had been successful in the Fleurieu Peninsula

in bringing an extra pro-cessor to the region and adding competition.

An immediate solution offered by Basham was welfare support for those dairy farmers struggling to put food on the table in the current low price, high cost environment.

Farmers have been called to support another protest movement at Murray Bridge later this month. The March for Milk is expected to attract at least 300 protestors.

Organisers want to highlight trade tariff imbalances between Aus-tralia and other nations, a lack of real competition between milk processors in the domestic market, and downward price pres-sures from major super-markets.

Farmers have been called to support another protest movement at Murray Bridge.


world 25Boffins chew on climate change actions

THE THREAT of climate change to global agriculture will be the focus of an international conference in the United States this month.

Scientists and policymakers will meet this week (March 20-22) at the University of California, to recom-mend science-based actions to slow the effects of climate change yet continue meeting the world’s need for food, live-lihood and sustainability.

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi says climate change, which brings severe weather events and more subtle but equally menacing temperature changes, presents unprecedented chal-lenges to the global community.

Attendees will discuss the implica-tions of cutting-edge agricultural, eco-logical and environmental research for improved design of policies and actions affecting agricultural manage-ment and development; identifying farm and food-system issues; determin-

ing research gaps; highlighting emerg-ing research initiatives; and developing transformative policies and institu-tions.

The conference will conclude with a declaration on key research and policy messages expected to point toward science-based policies and actions for global agriculture that will mitigate cli-mate change and encourage adaptation to maintain food security, livelihoods and biodiversity.

The conference comes as

researchers in Germany develop a new model to allow agricultural landholders to determine the full range of causes of greenhouse gas emissions, including soil and climate conditions. They say agriculture causes 10-12% of greenhouse gases attributable to human activities.

The scientists spent three years investigating 40 organic and 40 conventional agricultural holdings in Germany’s four agricultural regions – focusing exclusively on crop and

dairy farms. They recorded all climate gas streams during the production process, including methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. In the case of dairy farms, they also factored in the purchase of soybean meal from South America and all related greenhouse gas emissions.

Organic farming is more energy efficient and produces less land-spe-cific CO

2 emissions, but the research-

ers say this advantage is offset by the much lower yields of organic farming.

ALAN HARMAN

Aussies push for Korean FTA

AUSTRALIAN BEEF farm-ers are pushing the Gillard Government to restart free trade agreement talks with South Korea. Indus-try leaders visited Seoul this month seeking to resume talks with the South Koreans.

The National Farm-ers Union says Australian beef producers stand to miss out on A$1.4 billion in exports to Korea unless a FTA is in place soon. It says the threat to other exports like wheat (A$350 million) and dairy (A$100 million) is also high.

FTA talks between Aus-tralia and South Korea stalled after the Australian cabinet banned even start-ing talks which require settling any type of inves-tor-state dispute (allowing companies unhappy with their treatment in another country to seek arbitration in an agreed third jurisdic-tion).

This ban was imposed because the cabinet was so upset that tobacco corpo-ration Philip Morris was taking the Government to an international tribunal to seek compensation for the new plain packaging rules for cigarettes – via an investment treaty with Hong Kong.

NFF president Jock Laurie says Australian farmers are losing out without an FTA with South Korea, unlike major competitors including the US. “We are effectively handing over more and more of our hard-earned market share each year to farmers in the USA and other regions.”

Meat and Livestock Australia’s manager of international markets and trade services Andrew

McCallum says FTA nego-tiations with South Korea have stalled due primar-ily to an issue totally unre-lated to beef. “MLA is providing support to industry and government as they work to secure a swift conclusion to the free trade agreement with Korea.”

Under the current arrangements, Australia’s A$645 million annual beef trade with Korea is subject to a 40% tariff. But under the Korea-US deal US beef attracts only a 34.6% tariff. And this tariff differen-tial is set to widen year by year till 2026, when US beef exports to Korea will be tariff free. Long term this could cause farmers to lose most of their trade with Korea.

He says modelling by the Centre for Interna-tional Economics indi-cates that by 2026 – the year US beef imports to Korea become tariff free – Australia will be losing A$182m sales annually. Australian beef exporters may lose A$1.4 billion.

“Around the world, nations are looking to pro-mote trade, particularly with lucrative markets in Asia, to overcome the economic downturn that resulted from the global financial crisis and to put in place a framework of trade agreements in the wake of the languishing WTO Doha negotiations,” says Laurie.

“We have heard much talk about the opportunity ahead for Australian agri-culture in the Asian cen-tury, and now is the time to act on this. Korea is Asia’s fourth largest econ-omy and our third largest export market and Austra-lia and Korea already enjoy an A$30 billion two way trade.”

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

Market snapshot laMb Market trendsbeef Market trends

Beef & venison prices are reported as gross (before normal levies & charges are deducted). Lamb & mutton prices are reported nett (after levies & charges are deducted). Note: Freight is paid in the North Island but not by all companies in the South Island.

MeatMeatMeatMeat North IslandNorth IslandNorth IslandNorth Island South IslandSouth IslandSouth IslandSouth Island

c/kgCWTChangeChangeChangeChange

c/kgLast Last Last Last WeekWeekWeekWeek

ChangeChangeChangeChangec/kg

Last Last Last Last WeekWeekWeekWeek

LambLambLambLamb - PM 16.0kg -2-2-2-2 4.234.234.234.23 n/c 4.334.334.334.33

SteerSteerSteerSteer - P2 300kg -3-3-3-3 3.823.823.823.82 -5-5-5-5 3.653.653.653.65

BullBullBullBull - M2 300kg -3-3-3-3 3.853.853.853.85 -5-5-5-5 3.703.703.703.70

VenisonVenisonVenisonVenison - AP 60kg n/c 6.306.306.306.30 n/c 6.426.426.426.42

North Island 16.0kg M Lamb PriceNorth Island 16.0kg M Lamb PriceNorth Island 16.0kg M Lamb PriceNorth Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price

$3.5

$4.5

$5.5

$6.5

$7.5

$8.5

Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

5yr AveLast YearThis Year

South Island 16.0kg M Lamb PriceSouth Island 16.0kg M Lamb PriceSouth Island 16.0kg M Lamb PriceSouth Island 16.0kg M Lamb Price

$3.5

$4.5

$5.5

$6.5

$7.5

$8.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

North Island 300kg Bull PriceNorth Island 300kg Bull PriceNorth Island 300kg Bull PriceNorth Island 300kg Bull Price

$3.0

$3.5

$4.0

$4.5

$5.0


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

South Island 300kg Steer PriceSouth Island 300kg Steer PriceSouth Island 300kg Steer PriceSouth Island 300kg Steer Price

$3.0

$3.5

$4.0

$4.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

North Island 60kg Stag PriceNorth Island 60kg Stag PriceNorth Island 60kg Stag PriceNorth Island 60kg Stag Price

$6.0

$6.5

$7.0

$7.5

$8.0

$8.5

$9.0

$9.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

South Island 60kg Stag PriceSouth Island 60kg Stag PriceSouth Island 60kg Stag PriceSouth Island 60kg Stag Price

$6.0

$6.5

$7.0

$7.5

$8.0

$8.5

$9.0

$9.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

BEEF PRICES

c/kgCWT Change Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

NI P2 Steer - 300kg -3 3.82 3.85 4.12

M2 Bull - 300kg -3 3.85 3.88 4.17

P2 Cow - 230kg -10 2.80 2.90 3.30

M Cow - 200kg -10 2.65 2.75 3.20

Local Trade - 230kg -5 3.75 3.80 4.15

SI P2 Steer - 300kg -5 3.65 3.70 3.90

M2 Bull - 300kg -5 3.70 3.75 3.85

P2 Cow - 230kg -5 2.75 2.80 3.20

M Cow - 200kg -5 2.60 2.65 3.10

Local Trade - 230kg -8 3.80 3.88 4.00

NZ Slaughter Estimated Weekly Kill

1000s Change 2Wks Ago

3 Wks Ago Last Year 5yr Ave

Cattle NI +3% 55.8 54.2 25.4 38.8

Cattle SI +1% 15.8 15.7 13.8 13.8

Cattle NZ +2% 71.6 69.9 39.2 52.6

Bull NI -21% 7.9 10.0 4.5 9.6

Bull SI -17% 3.8 4.6 3.5 3.6

Str & Hfr NI -11% 15.2 17.1 10.3 16.1

Str & Hfr SI +2% 6.7 6.6 6.5 6.5

Cows NI +21% 32.7 27.1 10.6 13.2

Cows SI +18% 5.3 4.5 3.8 3.7

Export Market Demand

Change LastWeek


95CL US$/lb +2 2.20 2.18 2.24 1.73

NZ$/kg +2 5.85 5.83 5.99 5.35

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks

Ago3 Wks

Ago Last Year 5yr Ave

% Returned NI -0% 66.3% 66.6% 69.60% 69.9%

% Returned SI -1% 64.1% 65.5% 64.3% 64.7%

NZ Weekly Beef KillNZ Weekly Beef KillNZ Weekly Beef KillNZ Weekly Beef Kill

0

20

40

60

80


Last Year

This Year

Demand Indicator - US 95CL BeefDemand Indicator - US 95CL BeefDemand Indicator - US 95CL BeefDemand Indicator - US 95CL Beef

$1.80

$2.00

$2.20


Last Year

This Year

Procurement Indicator - South I.Procurement Indicator - South I.Procurement Indicator - South I.Procurement Indicator - South I.

60%

70%

80%

90%

Dec Feb Apr

Last YearThis Year

Procurement Indicator - North I.Procurement Indicator - North I.Procurement Indicator - North I.Procurement Indicator - North I.

60%

70%

80%

90%

Dec Feb Apr

Last Year

This Year

LAMB PRICES

c/kgCWTChange Last

Week2 Wks

AgoLast Year

NI Lamb YM - 13.5kg -2 4.21 4.23 6.04

PM - 16.0kg -2 4.23 4.25 6.06

PX - 19.0kg -2 4.25 4.27 6.08

PH - 22.0kg -2 4.26 4.28 6.09

Mutton MX1 - 21kg -2 2.48 2.50 3.35

SI Lamb YM - 13.5kg n/c 4.33 4.33 5.61

PM - 16.0kg n/c 4.33 4.33 5.63

PX - 19.0kg n/c 4.33 4.33 5.65

PH - 22.0kg n/c 4.33 4.33 5.66

Mutton MX1 - 21kg n/c 2.43 2.43 3.30

NZ Slaughter Estimated Weekly Kill

1000s Change 2Wks Ago


Lamb NI +9% 351 322 186 236

Lamb SI +18% 429 364 289 417

Lamb NZ +14% 780 686 475 653

Mutton NZ -18% 128 156 118 126

Export Market DemandChange Last

Week2 Wks


UK Leg £/lb n/c 1.50 1.50 1.78 1.77

NZ$/kg -9 5.99 6.08 7.54 8.88

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks

Ago3 Wks


% Returned NI -1% 73.0% 73.5% 82.9% 59.4%

% Returned SI +0% 72.6% 72.4% 76.3% 56.2%

Venison Prices

Change LastWeek


NI Stag - 60kg n/c 6.30 6.30 7.17 7.01

SI Stag - 60kg n/c 6.42 6.42 7.20 7.35

NZ Weekly Lamb KillNZ Weekly Lamb KillNZ Weekly Lamb KillNZ Weekly Lamb Kill

0150300450600750900


Last Year

This Year

Demand Indicator - Demand Indicator - Demand Indicator - Demand Indicator - UK Leg PriceUK Leg PriceUK Leg PriceUK Leg Price

£1.00

£1.50

£2.00

£2.50


Last Year

This Year

Procurement Indicator - South I.Procurement Indicator - South I.Procurement Indicator - South I.Procurement Indicator - South I.

45%

55%

65%

75%

85%

95%


Last Year

This Year

Procurement Indicator - North I.Procurement Indicator - North I.Procurement Indicator - North I.Procurement Indicator - North I.

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


Last Year

This Year

RuRal NewS // MARCH 19, 2013

We’re in this together come rain or shine.ANZ has been supporting New Zealanders for more than 170 years and our recently launched drought support packages

are just another example of our continued commitment to the agri community. To find out more about how we can help, please contact your local ANZ Agri Team or call 0800 269 78725.

ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited 03/13 14577

news price watch

BEEF

Kill still charging along due to drought

Cattle continue to pour out for slaughter with cows leading the charge. Some companies continue to focus heavily on killing cows with less space being allocated for steer or bull. This is causing some delays and frustration for farmers looking to drop prime and bulls quickly due to the dry. Delays of one to two weeks are fairly common with some out to 3 weeks. Cow prices continue to drop due simply to the weight of numbers. Bull and steer prices are slightly more stable. Holes in the kill are looming – it’s just a question of when they appear. The cow kill will be well advance if kill rates continue at current levels through March.

US imported beef prices move higher

The high NZ cow kill has been pressuring the US imported beef market with US buyers bidding prices down on the back of our abundant supplies. NZ Feb cow slaughter was up 107% (or 46,000 hd) on a year ago levels and the desperate conditions in the North island will only serve to keep them coming. The run of NZ cow meat usually combines with the start of grilling season in the US which underpins prices but this year the cows have come early due to the drought. This has been pressuring returns with imported 90CL cow meat dropping US12c/lb since the end of Jan. But the tide appears to be turning with enquiry on the up for 95CL bull beef in particular. US imported beef prices have moved higher in the last week. It appears that many US buyers have sold forward and want to buy before prices seasonally climb.

LAMB

Farmgate lamb prices continue to feel heat

Unfortunately lamb prices have continued to move lower in the last two week as big numbers of lambs continue to hit the market due to drought conditions. Average lamb weights are now 1kg lower than this time last year in the North Island. With the store lamb markets dropping back sharply farmers are now killing down to even lower weights to get stock off the farm. Killing delays are still common for lambs and the number of ewes being killed has reduced again making space tighter for them.

Store lamb market takes a big hit

A big drop in demand for store lambs and an increase in numbers hitting the market have hit store lamb prices hard in both Islands recently. South Island buyers have been significantly less active up in the north and drought conditions through most other areas means vendor mentality has shifted quickly. The real focus now is finding buyers rather than what price you can get. North Island store lambs had been trading in the paddock at between $1.50-$1.60/kg but prices quickly dropped by at least 20c/kg last week and most lambs traded in the paddock at between $1.25-$1.35/kg depending on sex and weight. But demand as these price levels is by no means solid. South Island store lamb prices are 30-40c/kg higher than in the north which has seen some renewed interest from South Island buyers.

DAIRY

Dairy price lift on supply concerns

Dairy prices in Oceania are firming significantly at present as milk production falls. Whole milk powder prices are now ahead of where they were at the same time last year. At the latest gDT event the whole milk powder price jumped a massive 18% and is now over US$4200/T. The weight average price across all products lifted just over 10%. Milk production in NZ is falling quickly due to continued drought conditions. Farmers are starting to dry off completely in some areas and processing plants are running on reduced schedules. It’s a similar situation in Australia where January milk production was 6% lower than last year. Production levels projected out to February have been described as “grim” with conditions in major producing areas drier and hotter than forecast.

WOOL PRICE WATCH DAIRY PRICE WATCH

Indicators in NZ$ Change 08-Nov 01-Nov Last Year Indicators in NZ$/T Change Last 2

WksPrev. 2

WksLast Year

Coarse Xbred Indic. -4 3.90 3.94 6.36 Butter +315 4425 4110 4480

Fine Xbred Indicator +1 4.72 4.71 6.61 Skim Milk Powder +167 4365 4198 3913

Lamb Indicator - - - - Whole Milk Powder

+284 4365 4081 4211

Mid Micron Indic. - 8.57 - 9.21 Cheddar +213 4910 4697 4719

Overseas Price Indicators Overseas Price Indicators

Indicators in US$/kg Change 08-Nov 01-Nov Last Year Indicators in US$/T Change Last 2

WksPrev. 2

WksLast Year

Coarse Xbred Indicator -4 3.20 3.24 4.85 Butter +150 3650 3500 3750Fine Xbred Indicator -1 3.87 3.87 5.04 Skim Milk Powder +25 3600 3575 3275Lamb Indicator - - - - Whole Milk

Powder+125 3600 3475 3525

Mid Micron Indicator - 7.02 - 7.02 Cheddar +50 4050 4000 3950

Wool Indicator TrendsWool Indicator TrendsWool Indicator TrendsWool Indicator Trends

300350400450500550600650

Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan

CXI FXI LI

Coarse Xbred Indictor in US$Coarse Xbred Indictor in US$Coarse Xbred Indictor in US$Coarse Xbred Indictor in US$

250

300

350

400

450

500

550


Last YearThis Year

Coarse Xbred IndicatorCoarse Xbred IndicatorCoarse Xbred IndicatorCoarse Xbred Indicator

300

400

500

600


Last YearThis Year

Dairy Prices TrendsDairy Prices TrendsDairy Prices TrendsDairy Prices Trends

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000


SMP WMPBut. Ched.

Whole Milk Powder Price in US$/TWhole Milk Powder Price in US$/TWhole Milk Powder Price in US$/TWhole Milk Powder Price in US$/T

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000


Last Year

This Year

Whole Milk Powder Price (NZ$)Whole Milk Powder Price (NZ$)Whole Milk Powder Price (NZ$)Whole Milk Powder Price (NZ$)

3,500

4,500

5,500


Last Year

This Year

Wool Indicator in US$Wool Indicator in US$Wool Indicator in US$Wool Indicator in US$

250

300

350

400

450

500

550


CXI FXI LI

Dairy Prices in US$/TonneDairy Prices in US$/TonneDairy Prices in US$/TonneDairy Prices in US$/Tonne

2,500

3,500

4,500


SMP WMP.But .Ched

CURRENCY WATCH

vs. NZ Dollar Last Week 2 Wks Ago 4 Wks Ago Last Year

US dollar 0.829 0.825 0.833 0.824

Euro 0.632 0.632 0.622 0.621

UK pound 0.552 0.544 0.530 0.521

Aus dollar 0.806 0.807 0.810 0.774

Japan yen 78.53 76.41 78.03 67.25

Euro

0.52

0.56

0.60

0.64


Last Year

This Year

UK Pound

0.46

0.48

0.50

0.52

0.54

0.56


Last Year

This Year

US Dollar

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

0.90


Last Year

This Year

RuRal NewS // MARCH 19, 2013

We’re in this together come rain or shine.ANZ has been supporting New Zealanders for more than 170 years and our recently launched drought support packages

are just another example of our continued commitment to the agri community. To find out more about how we can help, please contact your local ANZ Agri Team or call 0800 269 78725.

ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited 03/13 14577


28 agribusiness

Horsemeat scandal continues to nag UK food sector

Sunny days for growers?

ONE OF the world’s largest retailers says the recent horsemeat scandal is a wake-up call for the food indus-try.

Tesco, UK, says it will source more meat closer to home. From July it will buy fresh chicken from UK farms. All its beef – fresh, frozen and in ready meals – is already British.

Chief executive Philip Clarke says it will move towards buying frozen chicken also from British farms – “a genuine shift in how Tesco sources the products we sell,” he told the recent National Farmers Union conference.

He urged UK farmers and processors to work together with the retailer. “This needs to be a true and sustainable partnership, one built on mutual trust and understanding, in which both parties can prosper and make a fair profit.

“The processors should work with us in tripartite partnerships and shouldn’t be a barrier to Tesco and farmers talking and working directly together.”

Clarke says over many years, the way retailers source food has grown too complex., leaving the supply chain open to exploitation by rogue elements in the process-ing industry.

“This is a pivotal moment for our industry. And it can also become a transformational moment. A strong and dynamic food industry needs partnership between retailers, processors and farmers, underpinned by a powerful and effective regulatory regime.”

The horsemeat scandal hit global headlines last month when Swedish frozen food company Findus said some of its frozen beef lasagnas sold in Britain were in fact 100% horse.

Investigators traced the meat back to horses slaugh-tered in Romania. However, the meat left there clearly labelled as horse. It then passed through a string of traders and processors linked to operations in Cyprus, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Virgin Islands and the Netherlands before ending up in the Swedish firm’s processed pasta product on British supermar-ket shelves.

Clarke says Tesco isn’t the only retailer enveloped by the scandal. “There is barely a major retailer in the UK which has not had to withdraw a product, and the problem extends beyond retail to the catering indus-try, beyond the UK and across the EU.

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

THE HOT dry summer is a boost for horticulture, but growers too need rain in the next few weeks.

The dry has encour-aged good colour in fruit and allowed for ideal har-vest, Horticulture New Zealand communications manager Leigh Catley told Rural News.

“The dry conditions have had a positive effect in slowing the progress and incidence of some pests and disease in some regions, which means better yields, better prod-uct quality and less use of crop protection [chemi-cals],” she says.

HortNZ president

Andrew Fenton says pro-vided bores and water sup-plies hold up then most growers will not be too badly affected.

“The apple industry is having a great clean har-vest, the fruit has coloured up superbly so there will be good colour, good taste.” Onions are drying super quickly with no fungal rot.

“Spray requirements for fungal diseases are down,” he says. “But anyone who is relying on water for irrigation, greens crops or new planting of fruit trees would be having major worries. Most [hor-ticultural] people irrigat-ing have a bore supply like a groundwater take as opposed to a rural reticula-

tion system. “If it continues much

longer I suspect we might see some increases in the prices of some vegetables – the green lines.”

The hot dry and still weather is just what the kiwifruit industry needed

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

with vine-killing disease Psa thriving in just the opposite – wet and windy conditions, Fenton says.

Catley says horticul-ture has a high propor-tion of people who irrigate over summer. But it will become critical when veg-etable growers shift their production to land not irri-gated, the usual practice at this time of year because they expect it to rain.

“That’s when things will get interesting: if they can’t plant out, it’s hard to plant out or if the products

go in the ground and don’t get any water.” Production will slow and the effects will be felt three or four months down the track, she says.

The dry is great for har-vest; she has heard com-ments such as “at least the tractor is not getting bogged down”. But it’s not so great “if you can’t till because the ground is so hard”.

But overall right now she says “we would like it to rain just as much as any-body else right now”.

HortNZ president andrew Fenton says hot, dry weather is a boon for crops such as apples, onions and kiwifruit.

Call now for more information for a 1 week obligation free trial09 414 1028www.prosol.co.nz

PROSOL PCS Ultrasonic flowmeters are simple to install, reliable and suit standard council metering requirements. The transducers mount to the outside of the pipe, and will suit most pipe materials 15mm to 3m diameter. Onsite display, datalogging or telemetry options available. Transducers can be mounted up to 100m from display.

Flowmeteringcausing you a headache?Consider Ultrasonic Clamp-on meters as your first solution

Freephone 0508 800 800 www.horizons.govt.nz

RURAL ADVISORAn exciting opportunity is available with Horizons Regional Council for a person to work with farmers on a range of issues and in particular, farm dairy effluent, water use efficiency, and nutrient management.

The position is based in Palmerston North.

You will need to:• Enjoy working with the rural sector.• Have excellent communication and liaison skills.• Understand how agriculture can impact on the environment. • Have a thorough understanding of farm dairy effluent

systems, proven experience of nutrient management planning and the use of OVERSEER®.

• Have a relevant tertiary qualification and proven industry experience.

• Develop and sustain successful relationships with a range of scientists, rural consultants, farmers, and other Council staff.

• Be familiar with the Resource Management Act and Horizons Regional Council’s relevant regional plans.

This is a position where a highly motivated and innovative self-starter, working within a team environment, can make a difference partnering agricultural best practices with a healthy environment.

Applications close 4.30pm Thursday 28 March 2013.

Sound like you?

For information on this position, including a job description and application form, please go to the Vacancies page on our website www.horizons.govt.nz/jobs or contact our Customer Services Team on freephone 0508 800 800.

Your written application must be accompanied by a completed “Application for Employment” form.

Agribusiness Manager – Regional Queensland

The Suncorp Group of companies offers a range of financial products and services across Australia and New Zealand. With more than 16,000 employees and relationships with over nine million customers Suncorp is a top 25 ASX listed business with over $95 billion in assets.

We are seeking motivated Agribusiness Managers with a beef or grain focus who are looking for a new and exciting opportunity to progress their careers in one of Australia’s largest banks.

For more information and a detailed job description please refer to our website: www.suncorp.com.au/corporate/careers, quoting job number 618445 and 618868. Alternatively call Leslee Kennedy on +61 7 3135 4125.

Excellent opportunity to join a business leader

Great benefits including relocation and rental assistance

Long-term career progression opportunities

Regional Queensland Australia Locations

20283 01/03/13 A


agribusiness 29

Drought raining on agriculture’s fortunesTHE 2013 year started with reasonable optimism. Dairy production was tracking nicely and dairy prices took off. For sheep there was hope that new Asian demand for lamb and wool would bring a move in the right direc-tion. Meanwhile, the US drought last year meant demand for our beef, grains and produce were looking healthy.

Enter mother nature, her refusal to let the wet stuff fall from the sky giving us an unwanted drought of our own. Weather is the worst vari-able in the farming pro-duction chain, because despite the prudent plan-ning of many farmers we have no control over it. It’s no surprise the impact of this summer’s drought is the main economic theme around the farming camp-fire.

Although the North Island is worst affected, the financial impacts will be felt across the rural community and the country. Extremely dry weather continues, offi-cial drought now having been declared in North-land, Waikato and Hawkes Bay and others follow-ing. As a result, stock has been sent to slaughter early and dairy produc-tion has been cut back to reduce feed requirements. From an income perspec-tive, reduced production will be particularly disap-pointing as farmers are

unable to benefit from the pick-up in dairy and meat prices over the past six months.

The impact of lower revenue will be further compounded by higher production costs, with the increased feed require-ments a major contribu-tor. This will have a lasting impact on our economy overall, as reduced prof-its will see farmers scale back on investment next season.

New Zealand’s pas-ture-based farming system relies on rain to grow animal feed. While improved irrigation in some areas has reduced this reliance, rain as always remains critical to farm-ing. While milk collection in the seven months to December was up 6% on the previous season, the last five months are shap-ing up to be much weaker – milk production for the full season is expected to be up only 1% on last year.

Lower dairy production will have a direct impact on gross domestic prod-uct (GDP). GDP in short represents New Zealand’s total earnings and in turn our economic growth, changes to economic growth projections impact many areas of our econ-omy as the reserve bank will look to make policy adjustments to minimise the impact the drought has on the country’s finances as a whole, needless to say this will impact everybody.

This goes to show how important the weather is for the New Zealand econ-omy, in every recession for the last 50 years; drought has been at least a contrib-uting factor.

However, it is hoped the dry conditions won’t be damaging enough to offset the positives of a strengthening housing

market and the Christ-church rebuild. But it’s clearly negative for the

economic growth out-look this year and a sharp change to how things were shaping up at the start of the year.

Although it’s hard to see any positives from the drought it may have a favourable downward impact on the Kiwi dollar, as the value of a country’s currency rises and falls

with its economic pros-pects.

We are currently seeing US dollar strength on the back of some recent favourable economic data over there. The US share-market has recently hit an all-time high and con-fidence is beginning to return to the US economy. The impact of the drought

in New Zealand and the US economy starting to strengthen means we may see some further Kiwi dollar weakening. This has already happened as the Kiwi dollar is well off its recent highs. But for now the economic prospects for our farmers who are struggling depends on the simplest of things, rain.

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30 agribusiness

From left: Fonterra Director Global Sustainability Bruce Donnison, farmer shareholder Grant wilson, RD1 Managing Director Jason Minkhorst and Fonterra Chairman John wilson load up some fencing supplies.

RD1 posts record fencing salesFONTERRA FARMERS bought at least 100,000 posts in one week as part of their effort to reach the co-op’s stock exclusion

goal.A fencing products pro-

motion last month by Fon-terra and its subsidiary RD1 Ltd has been dubbed a great success.

RD1 managing direc-tor Jason Minkhorst says

about 2500 suppliers bought in.

“We we sold over 100,000 posts,” he told Rural News. “More was spent during the one week of the promotion than we could expect in store

sales in a month; suppli-ers really responded to the offer.

“We’ve also got a clearer idea about regional product variations and will incorporate this knowl-edge into our national

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

fencing campaigns.”Fonterra in June 2012

launched a waterway man-agement scheme requir-ing that farmers, under their supply contracts, by December 1, 2013 exclude stock from waterways by permanent fencing or planting.

Fonterra’s director global sustainability, Bruce Donnison, says the pro-motion is one way of help-ing farmers to achieve this.

“Protecting New Zea-land’s waterways is impor-tant to everyone in our cooperative and we need to work together to make a difference.

“We know our farmers are working hard to make changes on-farm, but we also know there are big costs involved. We want to do what we can to get behind our farmers and

support the work being done.”

The promotion included 50% off the price of fencing supplies, zero interest for three months on all fencing products, and free wire with all pur-chases over $1000. Bar-becues were held at RD1 stores around the country during the promotion.

Minkhorst says farm-ers enjoyed getting off-farm and catching up with neighbours, and supplier feedback suggested that having Fonterra field rep-resentatives and RD1 staff together at one time was helpful, especially for farmers yet to finish their exclusion fencing.

“They now have a clear understanding of what they need product wise and the best approach for their particular property.”

THE ‘HOUND’ (Rural News March 5) piece ‘Too little, too late!’ was incorrect.

Incorrectly reported was the date Fonterra suppliers were contractually obliged to ensure stock could not access waterways. This date reported was December 2012 and your columnist went on to say RD1 and Fonterra had effectively missed the boat by offering fencing product at reduced prices now – rather than back when this could have been of use to suppliers. The correct date is December 1, 2013.

Farmers have enough problems on their hands with the drought without having to wonder unnecessarily if they had got it wrong and missed their compliance obli-gations re fencing waterways.

To answer your columnist’s question: no, it was neither too little nor too late. The United RD1 and Fonterra Group fencing promotion referred to was a success. At least 2500 suppliers took advantage of the offer and we sold at least 100,000 posts. More was spent during the one week promotion than we could expect during in-store sales over a month, so suppliers did not miss out on savings.

The barbecues held at most RD1 stores during the promotion were also popular. Farmers got off their farms and caught up with neighbours. And supplier feedback suggested that having Fonterra field representatives and RD1 staff there was helpful, especially for those with exclusion fencing yet to complete who now have a clear understanding of what they need and the best approach for their particular property. Annie WrightCommunicatons manager RD1 Limited[Editor’s note: The Hound has been appropriately chas-tised for getting this information so wrong. He will not be allowed out of his dogbox until he has eaten more humble pie than he can swallow.]

barking up wrong tree!


agribusiness 31

Product last GDT auction 1 Mth ago 3 Mths ago

NZD/Tonne

Whole Milk Powder (WMP)

$5,201 $4,197 $3,836

Skim Milk Powder (SMP)

$4,549 $4,301 $4,068

Butter Milk Powder (BMP)

$5,083 $4,272 $4,375

CHEESE $4,631 $4,266 $4,080

NZ Dairy Market

New ZealaND agri shares

NZX Code Company

Prices as at

11/3/2013

Divdend Yield

LIC Livestock Improvement Corporation Limited (NS) $5.60 9.71%

SAN Sanford Limited $4.38 7.50%

SKL Skellerup Holdings $1.49 7.52%

DGL Delegat’s Group Limited $3.43 3.75%

FSF Fonterra Units $6.90 4.63%

HBY Hellaby Holdings $3.08 5.93%

HNZ Heartland New Zealand $0.75 2.78%

The latest GDT auction on March 5 2013 shows that the rise of 10.4% on the Trade Weighted Index (TWI) puts the TWI up 18% for the last three months. The whole milk powder (WMP) price has been was the biggest contributor up a massive 18% and 29.5% over the last three months. Butter milk powder (BMP) was also a strong performer up 14.3% and 16.3% during and over the last three months. Amongst the other major product groups skim milk powder (SMP) also had good gains with up 4.6% and up 10.4% for the last three month. Cheese has been quite volatile, but the strong showing in the latest auction has cheese up 8.3% and is up 11.5% over three months. Despite these great results dairy export volumes fell 12% over January, although this follows a strong pick-up in dairy exports in the last six months of 2012. The drop in export volumes is a trend set to continue and it is expected that dairy export volumes will remain subdued rela-tive to the previous year, with dry conditions in the North Island hampering milk production growth leading to mix fortunes for the dairy industry.

Us agricUltUral coMMoDity Prices

Commodity units Price This Issue

Price last Issue Change

Live Cattle USD/Kg $2.811 $2.821 -$0.010

Feeder Cattle USD/Kg $3.171 $3.108 $0.063

Lean Hogs USD/Kg $1.808 $1.796 $0.012

Greasy Wool USD/Kg $12.480 $12.380 $0.100

Corn USD/Bushel $6.993 $6.842 $0.151

Wheat USD/Bushel $7.065 $7.187 -$0.122

Livestock Improvement Corp prepares for the change in leader-ship and on March 1 2013 current COO David Hemara assumed the role of Acting CEO, while an international search for a new CEO is conducted. Mark Dewdney will continue to support David Hemara and the Board until May 31 2013. The share price has come back slightly to $5.60, but way up from the 1 year low on 14 August 2012 of $4.66. Sanford received a takeover offer from Zero Commission the small holding sharebroker with an offer to buy Sanford Limited shares for $4.00 per share. The Board of Sanford Limited advised that it does not endorse this offer. The market price for Sanford shares was $4.34 per share as at close of trading on 4 March 2013 when the offer was announced. Fonterra and Netherlands-based A-ware food group have given the green light to develop a new cheese plant and dairy ingredients plant in Heerenveen in the north of the Netherlands. This did little to the share price only moving it from $6.94 before the announcement to $6.86 afterwards. Heartland New Zealand continues its strong run hitting an all-time high of 75cents on March 12.

U.S. wheat exports for 2013 are projected 25 million bushels lower this month and global wheat supplies for 2013 are raised 1.8 million tons with higher overall production. Global wheat trade is projected higher for 2013 as world wheat feed use is increased 1.3 million tons with 0.5-million-ton increases for Australia, Canada, and South Korea, and a 0.1-million-ton increase for Japan outweighing a 0.3-million-ton decrease for Egypt. New Zealand is expected to add to this increase with wheat feed needed due to the drought. However, lower an expected food use in India, Egypt, and Kenya limit the increase in global wheat consumption. Projected 2013 U.S. corn ending stocks are unchanged this month as an increase in imports and lower exports support higher expected feed and residual disappearance. Corn imports are raised 25 million bushels reflecting the strong pace of shipments reported through January. US beef export and import forecasts for 2013 are lowered based on slower-than-expected shipments in January. US Pork exports are lowered from last month, as export demand has softened. Cattle prices for 2013 are lowered from last month, reflecting slightly weaker demand for fed cattle into the second quarter of the year, hog price forecasts are unchanged from last month.

francis wolfgramfinance matters

This table and information is in no way a recommendation to buy or sell any share but a list of New Zealand agrishares that have the highest dividends. Please consult your financial advisor before entering into any sharemarket investment.

PRICE INCLUDES LOADER

$86,990 +gst

AGROFARM 430GS• High-vis 4-post cab• P/shift P/shuttle trans.

40F/40R $89,990 +gst

AGROTRON K410 A-SPEC• Deutz Tier 3 Engine• Powershift trans 24x8 40kph ECO

$103,990 +gst

AGROTRON K610 A-SPEC• Deutz Tier 3 Engine• 24x8 power shuttle/powershift trans

$43,990 +gst

AGROLUX 4.75• True 4 wheel braking• 12-speed synchro trans

COMMANDO 603 4WD• SAME 1000 Series Engine• 12-speed Fwd & 3 Rev trans

$35,990 +gst

WHANGAREI Power Farming Northland 09 438 9163PUKEKOHE The Tractor Centre 09 238 7179MORRINSVILLE Maber Motors 07 889 5059TE AWAMUTU Power Farming Te Awamutu 07 870 2411PUTARURU Maber Motors 07 882 1310

TAURANGA Capital Tractors 07 543 0021WHAKATANE Jacks Machinery 07 308 7299ROTORUA Truck and Tractor Services 07 349 6528GISBORNE Power Farming Gisborne 06 868 8908HASTINGS Power Farming Hawke’s Bay 06 879 9998

HAWERA Power Farming Taranaki 06 278 0240FEILDING Power Farming Manawatu 06 323 8182MASTERTON James Trucks and Machinery 06 370 8240NELSON Brian Miller Truck & Tractor 03 544 5723 BLENHEIM Marlborough Tractor Services 03 572 8787

WEST COAST Power Farming West Coast 03 768 4370CHRISTCHURCH Power Farming Canterbury 03 349 5975ASHBURTON Power Farming Ashburton 03 307 7153 TIMARU Power Farming Timaru 03 687 4127 ALEXANDRA Peter Watt Machinery 03 448 8490

DUNEDIN Power Farming Otago 03 489 3489 GORE Power Farming Gore 03 208 9395 INVERCARGILL Power Farming Invercargill 03 215 9039

CS2610• Easy to operate HST trans• 3pt linkage & PTO

$17,990 +gst

Tractor and Loader Combo

DK901• 12x12 power shuttle trans• Flat operator platform

$49,990 +gst

DS4510• Fwd/rev shuttle 8x8 trans• Wet disc brakes

$28,990 +gst




DX100• Heavy duty construction &

power steering• 16x16 power shuttle (wet

clutch) trans

$59,990 +gst


B&POW01

65

te HST transPTO

90 +gst

r Combo

DS4510• Fwd/rev s• WetWet disc b

$$$$$$28,9Tractor and Lo

ransm

+ggst

X100DX• Heavy duty constH

power steering• • 16x16 power shu

clutch) trans

$59 99

0CS2610• oEasEasy to o• 3pt linklin a

$$17,9Tractor and

DK901• 12x12 pow• Flat operat

$49,9Tractor and Lo

To locate your local KIOTI dealer, visit www.kiotitractors.co.nz


3 44WWWWnginneneeenev trraaatr

+gst

WWWWWDDD

annss




To locate your local SAME dealer, visit www.powerfarming.co.nz

$

A• •



+gstst

SS

.

$ 9,989

OTROAGRO• z Tier 3DDeutz• rshift Poower

PRICEPRICEIINCLUDELLOADER

-SPEC

kph ECO

$103,

AGROTRO• Deutz Tier • 24x8 power

PRICEPRICE IINCLUDELLOADERLLO

k

3w

CICNC

ROe

-

LLO

nns

EXPLORER 100 GS ROPS• Deutz Tier 3 Engine• Wet clutch power shuttle

$74,990 +gst

SILVER 110 CAB• High-vis 4-post cab• P/shuttle P/shift with ‘Stop and Go’

$88,990 +gst

IRON 110 B-SPEC• Cab suspension• Deutz Tier 3 Engine

$96,990 +gst

www.powerfarming.co.nz

To locate your local Deutz-Fahr dealer, visit www.deutztractors.co.nz

www.gallagher.co.nz

1994Gallagher Diversifies

With the purchase of Franklin Farm Machinery the company adds gate and gate hardware to its fencing range.

1948Production in Full Flow

Gallagher and his small but loyal team began full production of the Battery energizers from an engineering workshop in Hamilton’s Norton Road and added farm equipment like fertiliser spreaders.

1969First Export Shipment to Australia

In an effort to take electric fencing and the benefits of improved pasture management to the world Bill Gallagher Jnr initiated the export of electric fence energizers to Australia in 1969, to the UK and France in 1972 and to the US in 1974.

1984Gallagher Expansion and Acquisitions

Gallagher brings its core engineering strength to a wider customer base through contract manufacturing and plastic solutions via the acquisition of Sunplas Engineering and the launch of Gallagher Plastics Ltd.

2008Touch Screen Weigh Scale Revolutionises On Farm Management

Gallagher releases the TSi - a touch screen, integrated weigh scale, computer and animal management system. The TSi provides real time access to all farm records anywhere, anytime, for efficient management decision making.

2004The Walk Over Weigh Dairy System

The Dairy Scale changed a traditionally slow process; now farmers could automatically capture cow weights as they walked through the shed at every milking on this stand-alone, automatic walk-over weigh system.

2013Continuing to Redefine What’s Possible75 years ago Bill Gallagher Senior designed a solution that set in motion a long term commitment to create products that allow our customers to do things they never thought possible.

Working alongside customers the team gains valuable insights that inspire the design of market-leading solutions for which Gallagher is now internationally renowned.

Today, Gallagher is lead by Sir William Gallagher Jnr, it distributes to 130 markets around the world and has over 1000 staff worldwide all driven to find solutions that make our customers’ lives easier.

2007Animal Management Enters Electronic Identification (EID)

Using the Research and development expertise and technology originally developed for human access control for the Security division, Gallagher could also help farmers better manage and monitor their animals. As a result, Gallagher EID reading technology was introduced, allowing farmers to automatically identify and trace animals individually.

2010 Sheep Auto Drafter Unveiled

Another world first solution that radically reduced the time and labour involved in sheep drafting. The award winning Sheep Auto Drafter is a fully automated weighing and drafting system, quieter than anything else on the market.

Gallagher Celebrating 75 Years of Innovation

1938New Zealand’s First Energizer

Bill Gallagher Senior shows the pioneering spirit that still drives us today when he designed his first electric fence inspired by a need to stop his horse “Joe” scratching up against the family car.

1969First Mains Powered Energizer Developed

The invention of a mains system meant electric fencing could now cover an entire farm. And the farm machinery side of the business continued to grow including forage harvesters, post-hole diggers and rotary hoes.

1982Total Solution: Mains, Battery and Solar

Looking to provide customers greater flexibility and choice - the company offers a complete range of mains, battery and solar-powered energizers along with a comprehensive array of fence components.

1988Gallagher Security is Born

Recognising that electric fencing had wider usefulness beyond just animal management, the company became the first in the world to enter the perimeter security market using electric fencing.

1999World’s First Intelligent Energizer

Gallagher developed SmartPower, the world’s first intelligent energizer range to monitor fence performance.

Animal weighing products were also added to the range to help farmers manage their businesses more closely.

PEC Fuel Pumps was also acquired. As well as fuel pumps, PEC (now known as Gallagher Fuel) produced technology products including the Cardax access control system.

It’s our birthday and we’re celebrating with the release of the limited edition MR5000 75th Anniversary Model.

Be quick offer is on for a limited time only, while stocks last. Available from your local participating Gallagher stockist.

Unwrap a Birthday Offer

2011Another World First: i Series Electric Fence Systems

Recognising farmers need for accurate, real time information Gallagher developed the new i Series Fence Energizer Systems. An intelligent system that can tell the farmer by text where the problem is so it can be fixed before it becomes an issue.

Check the Gallagher website for more specials

each month...


34 opinion

editorial

the hound

edna

want to share your opinion or gossip with the Hound?

send your emails to: [email protected]

HEAD OFFICE POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 3855, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140

PUBLISHER:Brian Hight .............................................. Ph 09 307 0399

GENERAL MANAGER:Adam Fricker ........................................... Ph 09 913 9632

CONSULTING EDITOR:David Anderson .......................................Ph 09 307 [email protected]

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER:Ted Darley .......... Ph 07 854 6292/021 832 [email protected]

AUCKLAND SALES REPRESENTATIVE:Stephen Pollard ....Ph 09 913 9637/021 963 [email protected]

TAURANGA SALES REPRESENTATIVE:Tony Hopkinson .. Ph 07 579 1010/021 949 [email protected]

WELLINGTON SALES REPRESENTATIVE:Mark Macfarlane .Ph 04 234 6239/021 453 [email protected]

SOUTH ISLAND SALES REPRESENTATIVE:Kaye Sutherland Ph 03 337 3828/021 221 [email protected]

RURALNEWS

ABC audited circulation 80,767 as at 31.12.2012

Rural News is published by Rural News Group Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of staff, management or directors of Rural News Group Ltd.

TECHNICAL EDITOR:Andrew Swallow ................... Ph 03 688 2080

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Horizons help ‘green Jafas’ThE hOUND hears that the ‘Green rig’ – a mobile environmental display owned by hori-zons regional council – has been sold to auck-land council. The rig cost $1.2 million, but was sold for $185,000. Farmers hated it for the perceived anti-farming messages it presented. Your old mate reckons that as few farmers inhabit auck-land, maybe the Queen St farmers will be targets for an anti-farming message from the new owners. Meanwhile the $1.01 MILLION lost by horizons on this fantasy trip is yet another cost to struggling rural ratepayers.

Working?FONTErra haS yet again shown it’s incom-petence in communica-tions; the hound’s mates are shaking their heads in disbelief. Late last month, after having invited media to attend a briefing on its latest scheme – it not only turned journalists away at the door but also cut-off dial-in attendees. appar-ently those journos who braved the teleconference – with an overseas oper-ator connecting callers – for a second time then only got another ten minutes air-time, only to be cut-off again. anyone would think Fonterra chair ‘Little Johnny’ Wilson and head honcho Theo Spierings had something to hide!

Top shearer and bloke!YOUr caNINE crusader is quick to point out the regular cock-ups, conspir-acies and incompetence when they occur; but he’s equally happy to highlight positive news. he hears that this year’s Golden Shears winner rowland Smith donated his $3000 prize to cancer research in honour of his late mother. The hastings 26-year-old, who lost his mum to cancer, took the crown in the Masterton shearing competition at the begin-ning of the month. Smith’s generosity earned a standing ovation from the 1000-strong crowd. and rightly so!

Biological BS!WITh a couple of well-known biological farming evangelists doing the rounds in New Zealand recently, your old mate can’t help wondering whether there’s some-thing in what they say – literally. after all, why else would biological farmers be so happy with the results? There’s so much about building soil fertility — usually without adding any of the macro nutri-ents proven to be essen-tial for vigorous plant growth – that the plant food must be coming from somewhere. Maybe it’s in all the bullshit they spread!

Says it all!a MaTE of yours was highly amused during a recent internet surf, to visit the Ministry for Primary Industries website [see screen-shot]. The hound’s spy thought the “Blah, blah, blah” heading in the left hand column was entirely appropriate, considering some of the bureaucratic bovine scatology she’s heard coming out of this ministry over the years.

“On the plus side, we won’t have to worry about fencing it to keep the stock out.”

Dry arguments ring hollowAS MORE regions are declared drought zones farmers can only despair of ill-informed com-ment – mainly by non-farmers and big-city media – showing up the rural/urban divide. It’s a chasm.

For example, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy was criticised for not rushing home from an overseas trade mission because the drought was the worst in 70 years. (Guy and and primary industries boss Wayne McNee were on a 10-day trade mission to South America with the Prime Minister and business leaders).

Speaking in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after a Fon-terra-hosted event, Guy said, “I can’t make it rain... this is a very important trip. We are open-ing some doors here… getting our products into these markets.”

Those critics should have been able to see the greater value of the minister forging relationships with those countries than performing mock rain dances back in Wellington!

Guy pointed out that the way for the Gov-ernment to truly make a difference to drought-affected farmers is to get busy on irrigation. “We haven’t got a water shortage issue; rain falls in huge volumes. What we have is a storage issue. We need to capture and store water more effi-ciently.”

But the opposition to such proposals as the Ruataniwha dam in Hawkes Bay and similar proj-ects in Canterbury show how difficult this will be. The Greens and eco-fundamentalist groups have drawn swords.

Then there are the snide comments – chiefly letters to city newspapers and radio talkback – about how much cash help farmers are getting. These sometimes go along with bellyaching about farmers getting welfare while shoppers pay dearly for milk and meat. Few city dwellers would know – as Fed Farmers chief Bruce Wills points out – that farm advisory and counselling services are delivered mostly by Rural Support Trust chapters.

Says Wills, “An official declaration [of drought] tells the banks how bad things are. It also gives Inland Revenue discretion on things like income equalisation, but farmers are not excused any tax obligations.”

Wills adds that ‘rural assistance payments’ are for genuine hardship, granted only after testing of an applicant’s farm and off-farm income. “In Jan-uary 2011, during the last major drought, fewer than 100 farmers out of some 25,000 commer-cial pastoral farms qualified.”

Let’s hope rain falls soon where it is needed, relieving us from drought and ill-informed critics.


opinion 35

Quad bikes wrongly and badly malignedQUAD BIKES should not be portrayed as killing machines; they are simply part of an evolutionary process. Many of the news media critics of these mag-nificent machines have never been close to one.

Most farms today have one if not two quads; they are essential to on-farm management. They are greatly versatile and simple to operate.

Unfortunately these attributes encourage some operators to push the limits. No quad is designed to pull loads several times its weight such as baleage. It can, but the risk factor increases dramatically.

Quads can also traverse amazingly steep country. But in these potentially dangerous conditions some sort of training should be mandatory for the unskilled and/or inex-perienced. Similarly, wear-ing helmets and fitting roll bars will become compul-sory.

Helmets are some-thing the older genera-tions don’t want to know about. They are sure to be resisted or ignored. So people in charge are likely to adhere to that wise saying from chairman Mao Zedong, “indoctrination is most successful when working with the young”.

Farmers know they are legally responsible for the health and safety of their staff. For the sake of young riders espe-cially, officials from the Department of Labour can include quad safety on their check lists. The death of a young person on a quad is a tragedy – more so when it could have been avoided.

Training and safety requirements will even-tually become accepted, like tractor safety frames. I recall an occasion when a contractor turned up wearing ear muffs for driv-ing his tractor. Another employee referred to him

as a wimp. The muffs dis-appeared. Today all those wimps probably still have good hearing!

The quad has played a huge role in the farm transport evolution, cer-tainly taking out the horse. However, the early bikes were three wheelers and extraordinarily dangerous. But they still had a conve-nience and being some-thing of a big toy made them attractive to farmers.

The late west Otago doctor Peter Snow began a campaign to get rid of or modify trikes because they were lethal. Snow accepted he was seen as a spoil-sport, but he was

the one who stitched riders’ skin and flesh back together.

About then, the early 1980s, the quad came on the market. It was seen as a breakthrough even though built for the Amer-ican hunting/recreational market. It had four wheels, and looked as if it could readily be adapted for New Zealand farming.

Almost overnight this mini-tractor added a new dimension to farming. Here was a machine that could go anywhere, at first called ‘all terrain vehicle’ (ATV).

Part of the problem was the perception these bikes were error-tolerant. This was not so. Going from a recreational machine to a farm workhorse the quad had big limitations, espe-cially load carrying. But the quad took over from the horse, the motorbike and the three wheeler.

As a main player in the transport revolution, the

quad by the 1980s was here to stay. By this time there was a growing reali-sation safety issues could not be ignored. With the huge growth in numbers,

quads have almost become invincible. With the extra numbers came the inevita-ble increase in accidents.

It’s interesting to note that more older riders

are being injured and are taking longer to recover. Researchers suggest older people don’t bounce back like younger riders. These older riders were more

likely to have learnt quad riding by trial and error.

As a younger genera-tion comes into power there will be more research and safety

changes. These are already happening.• John Stirling is a south Otago farmer who formerly was agricultural editor of the Otago Daily Times.

as a younger generation comes into power there will be more research and safety changes. These are already happening.

As a farmer making breeding decisions I always wanted the best, and Premier Sires gave me the top ranked LIC progeny tested bulls.

With the advent of genomics, there was a need to consider the issues of risk and reward. Reliability has been an issue, and some of the early results from young sires did not meet expectation. With the lessons learned over the past several years LIC has taken the opportunity to review the structure of the Premier Sires teams.

The Daughter Proven option remains unchanged, and there is still an alternative for those wanting to access the cream of the young sire crop. This is called the Premier Sires “Forward Pack” and it is comprised of the top ranked bulls from both categories – the best Daughter Proven sires complemented by a selection of young sires that we think tick all the boxes – outstanding ancestry, proven cow families, depth of pedigree and genomic evaluation.

I always demanded the best, now I’m going to deliver it.

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Malcolm Ellis – Bull Acquisition Manager


36 opinion

Agricultural innovation answer to challengesI’D LIKE to talk about what New Zealand has to offer and about innova-tion in the New Zealand primary sector.

One of the biggest

challenges the world faces in the coming decades is feeding its rapidly grow-ing population. Grow-ing markets, particularly in Asia, and the expan-sion of the global middle class, means agricultural

producers will struggle to keep up with demand. The world’s biggest challenge can also be a nation’s big-gest opportunity.

As a nation of over 4 million that feeds about 40 million, New Zealand

is well placed to take hold of this opportunity. New Zealand prides itself on a world class reputation for producing high quality primary produce. But this reputation is not earned simply by producing

mouth-watering steaks or outstanding wines, such as the ones displayed on the banner behind me.

New Zealand’s reputa-tion is built on trust and integrity. It is vital that we retain this, so we have

NATHAN guy

developed a world leading food safety regime. It is why we carefully manage the impacts of produc-tion on our environment, and strive to have a world class animal welfare system.

We need to assure our customers that New Zea-land’s produce is made in a high quality, safe, eth-ical, and environmen-tally sustainable manner. Maintaining this repu-tation is paramount for New Zealand’s economic future.

The New Zealand Gov-ernment is focused on economic growth, partic-ularly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and the earthquakes in Christchurch. As Minis-ter for Primary Indus-tries, a key focus of mine is to boost the productiv-ity and competitiveness of New Zealand’s primary sector.

In the 1980s New Zealand underwent a comprehensive structural reform. These reforms removed agricultural subsidies along with a wide range of other industry protections. Because of these reforms, New Zealand is now one of the most efficient agricultural producers in the world. Following these reforms New Zealand primary sector productivity has doubled. For example, today we produce the same amount of lamb meat that we did prior to the reforms, but with half the number of sheep.

While this is good progress we need to do better. In international trade New Zealand is at a distinct disadvantage. We are a small country, with a small population, located in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean at the bottom of the world. But as I’ve said, your big-gest challenges can also be your biggest opportu-nities. Our trading disad-

vantage has meant that we need to do more with less and to work smarter.

Innovation in the pri-mary sector is a key prior-ity for me and for the New Zealand government. That is why we launched the Primary Growth Part-nership, or the PGP. The PGP is a partner-ship between indus-try and government. We jointly invest in research and innovation that will deliver long term eco-nomic growth and sus-tainability to the primary sector.

There is an exciting variety of projects under-way, including selective mussel breeding, steep land forest harvesting, improving pasture quality and increasing the value extracted from animal carcasses.

The Prime Minis-ter and I have a brought a number of our lead-ing businesses with us on this trip, all on the cutting edge of agricultural inno-vation.

So why have we come here?

Mexico has astonishing potential as one of the world’s major emerging economies, on the edge of a thriving Asia-Pacific region, with strong export growth and a government focused on driving further economic growth. Trade relationships between New Zealand and Mexico are growing stronger.

New Zealand can also learn a lot from Mexico, just as I hope Mexico can learn from New Zealand. Mexico’s reputation for a high quality horticulture industry is well known in New Zealand. I want New Zealand to be a part of the Mexico story, just as I want Mexico to be a part of the New Zealand story. An edited version of a speech given by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy to ‘Innovation in Agribusiness’ forum, Mexico.

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opinion 37

Why are farmer co-ops being so unco-operative?DROUGHT BEHAVIOUR renders deeply question-able the concept of co-operative companies being for the benefit and fair treatment of shareholders.

The National Insti-tute of Water and Atmo-spheric Research (NIWA) is warning that by 2040 ‘time spent in drought’ is likely to be double what it is now. After the 2007-2009 drought, estimated to have cost the country $2.8 billion, farmers were urged to build more drought resilience into their farm-ing systems. Measures such as water storage, irri-gation, shifts in produc-tion timing, experimenting with pasture species and fodder crops, or moving operations to less severely affected regions were sug-gested.

This overlooks the fact that these measures are costly, potentially risky, time consuming, and, per-haps of even more impor-tance, that since the last drought farmers have been under pressure to pay off debt.

The last drought occurred during high payout ($7.90/kgMS) for dairy. Since then the payout has fallen and costs of production have increased. The sched-ule price for meat has also decreased, and Beef + Lamb NZ’s latest predic-tions are that farm income before tax will be reduced by 54% this season.

Government declara-tions of drought in dif-ferent regions might be of assistance in ensur-ing farmers know they are not alone, but the rest of the package is of mar-ginal value. Of more use might be an investigation of drought behaviour in the so-called farmer-owned cooperatives.

Fonterra has confirmed

a milk price of $5.50, the RD1 price of palm kernel expeller has increased from $260 to $360 in the last few weeks, and the schedule price for cull cows has dropped from about $700 to $300-400.

It would appear that instead of having the needs of the farmer first and fore-most, the companies are following a traditional business model of seizing an opportunity to make additional profit. Although some of this profit might be returned as a dividend to farmers, immediate cash flow positions are deterio-rating now.

Nationwide, late last year concerns were expressed at strategies which involved sending money to establish busi-nesses offshore when overseas investors are developing processing companies in New Zealand “because the milk price is cheap”. Internal competi-tion and undercutting in international markets was also raised as an issue, as it has been for many decades.

The answer lies in farm-ers’ hands. If they don’t like the company strategy, a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the board would create a change.

Most boards have reg-ular re-elections, but the number of members elected or re-elected in any year is usually small. This ensures institutional memory is preserved, but it also leads to ‘business as usual’. Research with monkeys and bananas

has shown that ‘group-think’ dominates and a new-comer is generally prevented from radical behaviour by those with institutional memory.

If farmers want a change, they can take

action. Of course there is a risk: alternative strategies might not result in imme-diate benefits. But current strategies appear not to be delivering what individ-ual farmers need. And it is the individual farmers who

are suffering. Few people in cities are aware that the $2.8 billion loss to the country in the last drought was carried by 45,000 farmers and their families, and some of the agricul-tural support industries.

Government help is needed to explain exactly who is suffering, to inves-tigate who is profiteer-ing, and to underscore the fact that food prices must increase to allow farm-ers to be more sustainable

– economically as well as environmentally.

And farmers can make their feelings heard at the next board elections.• Jacqueline Rowarth is Professor of Agribusiness, The University of Waikato.

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38 opinion

Dollar defies gravity despite droughtDROUGHT IS a low point for any farmer, so passing drizzle on the day Hawke’s Bay requested drought be declared seemed like nature’s way of pulling a

practical joke.Our farm, like many

others as far afield as Northland and the West Coast, is fast approaching a drought. If you want the economic bill nationally, ANZ puts it at $1 billion

and counting. Many people are sur-

prised when they learn that the biggest thing farmers welcome from an official declaration is psychological. A declara-tion confirms that events

have spiralled well beyond a farmer’s control, so it is okay to ask for farm advi-sory and counselling ser-vices – delivered mostly by Rural Support Trust chap-ters. This helps recov-ery and helps families to

cope with the huge busi-ness and personal stress drought incurs.

An official declara-tion tells the banks just how bad things are and if farmers keep their banks fully informed, I am con-

Bruce WillS

fident the banks will work with them in return. It also means that Inland Rev-enue has discretion on things like income equal-isation, but you are not excused any tax obliga-tions.

Though there are ‘rural assistance payments’, I couldn’t get one. These are for genuine hardship and test both farm and off-farm income. In Jan-uary 2011 during the last major drought, fewer than 100 farmers out of some 25,000 commercial pasto-ral farms qualified. Sup-port from the Ministry for Social Development and Inland Revenue may prove more beneficial to farm workers as drought reaches into our commu-nities.

Federated Farmers has activated its 0800 DROUGHT feed line and industry-good bodies like Beef+Lamb NZ, FAR, DairyNZ, and the Minis-try for Primary Industries, have released vital advice.

DairyNZ indicates large swathes of North Island dairy production is now down between 15-20% on 2012.

We are not anticipat-ing positive news from Beef+Lamb NZ’s coming mid-season update and to top it all off the latest overseas merchandise trade statistics were ugly.

Given how tough things are, I can but shake my head at the New Zealand dollar. A gravity defying dollar ignores that with a fair proportion of the dairy season left to run, dairy farmers are either on once-a-day milking or con-

sidering drying-off their cows until August. When you consider that dairy and meat-and-wool farm-ers rapidly destocked over summer, New Zealand’s two leading exports are under pressure.

It is why Federated Farmers agrees with the Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler: New Zealand’s economic fun-damentals provide no justification for the over-valued NZ dollar. Of course we could print money, but that is like throwing a hand grenade into a confined space.

Like Graeme Wheeler, farmers are telling the Government it must take the pressure off the dollar through prudent spending choices. While a strong Kiwi is here for a while, investors need to know how risky is the buying of an overvalued Kiwi.

Yes our economy is ‘less bad’ than the seques-tered United States or Europe, where dole queues grow daily, but it is still bad. The dollar is why we need policy reform to help exporters become as competitive as they can be – making the best of a rum situation.

Right now our dollar is a balloon and drought declarations ought to be the sharp pin. Given that the droughts of 2007-9 cost New Zealand $2.8 billion and were tipping points for the last reces-sion, investors buying the Kiwi ignore reality at their peril. • Bruce Wills is the national president of Federated Farmers.

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management 39

cali controls old and newNOW’S THE time to be hitting Cali-fornian thistles with chemicals down south, says Ravensdown, while in the North Island release of an – as yet – unproven thistle bio control continues.

Southland and Otago farmers in par-ticular are facing an onslaught from Californian thistle and weed wiping or boom spraying now will give good control, says Ravensdown agrochemi-cal technical manager Nick Roulston.

Meanwhile, Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff have released Green This-tle Beetles at two sites in the Western Bay area following releases elsewhere in the region.

The beetles are one of a number of biological agents being trialled.

This follows some successful bio controls established, such as Ragwort

Flea Beetle (Longitarsus jacobaeae) which has been helping keep a lid on Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) in the region for 20 years.

“Establishing biological control agents in areas where pest plants are rife can work well for both the land-owner and the environment,” says

Worms redistribute PIRISH RESEARCH shows earthworms do valuable work in redistributing phosphorus from fertiliser throughout the soil profile.

“By feeding on material on the soil surface, earthworms can mix phospho-rus present at the surface with soil below the surface,” explains Dr Rachel Creamer, of national agricultural research body, Teagasc.

Not only does this help increase availability of the nutrient to plants, it reduces the risk of it being washed away into streams and local water-bodies, which can have harmful effects on the environment, notes Teagasc.

the council’s western land manage-ment manager Robyn Skelton. “We are hoping these beetles will establish themselves and help us in our efforts to control these pest plants in the future.”

Skelton’s colleague Andrew Blayney says feedback from landowners on the biological control agents has been “really positive.”

“Some of the plants they tackle are aggressive and extensive and can signif-icantly affect our environment, econ-omy and our people. If these beetles establish themselves as we are hoping, then we will look at introducing them to other properties further down the track.”

Te Puke farmer Carol Burt’s prop-erty is one of the sites where the Green Thistle Beetles have been released.

“We’ve had releases of other types of

agents on our property before and had good success with them. In particular… in slowing down the spread and reduc-ing the density of… Nodding Thistle and Scotch Thistle.”

Roulston says Californian thistles cut pasture yield by competing for light, water and nutrients. They also reduce effective grazable area – because stock won’t graze close to the plants.

He adds that the best control from herbicides is achieved just after most plants finish flowering – as the flow of sugars from photosynthesis to root rhizomes helps pull the chemical down

into these storage organs, limiting ability to re-grow from rhizomes next spring.

“Californian thistles spread under-ground at a rate of 1.5m/year, with a large amount of energy being stored in the root rhizomes,” he explains.

“Practically, this means no matter what control method is used, it must be done over multiple years to ensure effective control.”

He says clopyralid-based products provide excellent control and result in increases in grazing available – with fewer thistles far exceeding any costs.

ANDreW SWAlloW

[email protected]

BOPRC’s Ryan standen and farmer Carol Burt release the thistle-eating beetles.

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40 management

Aiming to be the best in the worldEVER HEARD people talk about their “BHAG”?

It stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal and while the term wasn’t used at the Lincoln University Foundation Farmer of the Year field day earlier this

month, it could very well have been.

“We want to be the best multi-farm dairy business in the world,” Synlait Farms chief exec-utive Juliet Maclean told the crowd in her intro-duction.

As the day progressed six “pillars” of the busi-

ness strategy to achieve that were relayed in six workshops: cows, grass, people, profit, environ-ment, and innovation.

“If the things we are looking at doing… don’t fit into one of those key areas then it’s likely we shouldn’t be committing any time to them,” said

Maclean.Michael Woodward,

Synlait’s contract milker on its original property Robindale, presented the cow pillar where the core aim is to have the herd producing it’s liveweight in milksolids every season.

With an average live-weight of 475kg and his-

ANDreW SWAlloW

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❱❱ 85 staff, including contract and sharemilkers

❱❱ Separate company to Synlait Milk

torical average output of about 400kgMS/head “we have a fair way to go,” he acknowledged.

However, it seems strides towards that 1:1 milk to liveweight goal have already been made through better body con-dition scoring and action, and splitting herds. For example, heifers have their own mobs.

“They always struggle up against the big eaters.”

Making a late-calving mob – those due in Octo-ber - at the start of winter so they have at least 90 days dry and are in “fan-tastic condition” come calving has also paid divi-dends: 55% are back in the early calving bracket for next season.

Mixed age cows are split into high and low production herds throughout the season with the mobs redrafted after every herd test to make most efficient use of feed. The opportunity to transfer cows between farms if there are sur-pluses and deficits on dif-ferent properties is also taken.

Supplement use isn’t high: Woodward told Rural News this season they’ll use about 350kgDM/cow in total: silage and grain. Despite that modest input over grass, and a budget of

418kgMS/cow, “this season we’re on

track

for 460kgMS,” he told the field day.

It’s not all about quan-tity across the farms either: running an A2 herd, and other herds producing specialist milks for (now separate business) Synlait Milk, mean cow-driven quality traits add value to the volume.

Woodward says he believes this season’s output is “a direct result of that body condition scoring”, reflecting on last season’s February shift of anything below BCS four onto a 16-hour milk-ing roster, which saw them gain 0.6 of a condition score in three months.

With herds in even better condition this year, “next year I think we’ll really see a huge rise in per cow performance,” he added.

Weekly feed budgets for next year are already drawn up, as Woodward’s colleague Brett Walter explained in the grass workshop. These are mon-itored weekly against actual covers throughout the season, and even more frequently during spring.

Walter outlined the detail that goes into their spring pasture planning, and stressed the impor-tance of getting it right so cows hit their potential peak, and consequent sea-son-long production.

“It’s about doing the planning and putting it into action and monitor-

ing.”Maclean threw

that back at the

area checks: a handheld GPs, available for about $200, is used.

Juliet Mclean


management 41

Aiming to be the best in the world

audience.“The Synlait challenge

to you is if you’re not using a spring rotation planner now, have a go at it and let know if you have a better spring because of it.”

In the following inno-vation session, she threw down an even bigger gauntlet to the whole of the New Zealand agricul-tural industry.

“If we don’t start inno-vating more effectively New Zealand’s advantage is going to slip away… For us to be the B team is not good enough. We’ve got to be the A team. We’ve got to be there or we will die.”

An example of innova-tion by Synlait presented on the day is a trailer-mounted herring-bone stall for teat-sealing heif-ers away from the home farms.

“When you’ve got 2500 heifers away teat-sealing isn’t very practical.”

However, the trailer solved the problem, allow-ing them to do 250 on a standard day, or over 300 at a push. The result is when they enter the herd

mastitis incidence has been slashed from 19.5% to 4%.

While that’s a suc-cessful innovation that’s paying dividends, Maclean said she’s disappointed that when they analysed what they’d done over the years, they could only identify 20 such ideas.

“Only 20 in 12 years isn’t a great hit rate… we’ve now set ourselves a target to come up with ideas and act on them much more frequently than that, or we’re not going to be the A team.”

Looking off farm, and even outside agriculture, will prime the ideas and innovations pipeline, she suggests.

“Sometimes we all get a little bit insular.”

Involving the whole farm team is also key.

“Great ideas frequently don’t come from the leaders of the business... making sure we mix enough with the people all the way through the business is really important.”

Synlait livestock and

innovation manager, Dave Campbell, relayed a simi-lar message in the ‘envi-ronment’ session, which he admitted was taking a “slightly different angle” to what visitors might have expected under that heading.

“I’m going to talk about the work place envi-ronment. That’s really important to us at Synlait Farms.”

Individuals are rarely to blame for problems that occur: it is the systems and structures in which

they’re placed that are the root cause of things going wrong.

“We don’t go and blame; we go and ask ‘why?’. And ‘what can we do to rectify the prob-lem?’… It is about the system and the leader-

ship of that system. Let’s not blame the people but examine the system and work out how to make it better.”

In the ‘people’ session, Synlait’s people and per-formance manager Josie McKenzie illustrated the

key difference between telling people what to do, and telling them the why and the how.

“People don’t buy ‘what’ you do; they buy ‘why’ you do it.”


Delivering results: a focus on achieving target condition scores is paying in the vat.

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42 management

First-timers triumph in dairy awardsIt’s the time of year when awards nights come thick and fast. On this and the following pages Rural News relays highlights from recent Dairy Industry Awards and Ballance Farm Environment Awards events.

ANOTHER WEEK, another suite of big nights for North Island dairy farmers as the annual awards season gets into full swing.

Russell and Nadine Meade, Whakatane, landed the Bay of Plenty region Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year (SEFOTY) title early last week while Andrew and Michelle McPherson took the same title in Waikato March 8, and James Court-man, Ngatea, the Auck-land/Hauraki mantle March 6.

Both the McPherson’s and Courtman are Dairy Industry Awards debu-tants.

“We’re stoked,” Andrew McPherson told Rural News. “We put a hell of a lot of effort in but to win first time was just unbelievable,” he added.

While they will winter 500 cows, as of last week the dry meant they were down to milking 450 of their herd on the farm of Michael and Donald Macky, near Te Awamutu, where they’ve been sharemilking the past

Michelle and Andrew McPherson.

three seasons.“And we’ll be down to

430 in a week’s time.”That’s despite put-

ting in about 9kg of feed (maize and grass silage plus PKE) to supplement the 3-4kgDM/head of grass they’re allocating.

“It doesn’t look like there’s a lot in there for the cows but the dry matter is really high and they’re not going hungry.”

The couple are both 40 and, with nine years’ sharemilking under their belts, aim to have their own 360-400-cow farm in 5-10 years. The plan in the meantime is to look for a smaller operation to buy that they can employ a

manager to run while they stay sharemilking to pay down some debt. Such a move would also “provide a stepping stone for our staff,” they point out.

Ideally they’d like to stay in the Waikato, but haven’t ruled out moving further afield if need be.

“It’s a great dairying location and we’ve got fab-ulous farm owners.”

Meanwhile fellow first-time entrant Courtman is just 28 years old.

“I entered the awards… to challenge myself, to develop better goals, and to try and win!”

He’s currently 23% sharemilking 870 cows for Mark, Dianne, Richard

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Craigmore Sustainables is a specialist investment manager of NZ farmland and forestry, with a rapidly growing portfolio of assets – currently including 15,000 hectares of land. For more information www.craigmore.com

The following are new opportunities and represent the next phase in the continued growth of the business, which reflects the growth prospects for the NZ agricultural sector.

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management 43

First-timers triumph in dairy awards This year’s Dairy Industry Awards attracted a record 566 entries, up from the previous best of 525. The Share-milker/Equity Farmer category was up five at 144 entries, Farm Manager of the Year had 171, and Trainee 251.

“It’s the most entries we have had in both the farm manager and the dairy trainee contests, with the trainee contest in particular just going from strength to strength,” says national convenor Chris Keeping.

Four more North Island regional results were to come when this article went to press: Central Plateau, March 13; Taranaki, March 16; Manawatu/Horowhenua/Rangitikei, March 20; Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa, March 21.

South Island awards nights run bottom up from Southland, April 5 and Otago, April 6, to Canterbury/North Otago April 9 and West Coast/Top of the South April 11. The National Awards night is May24, Wellington.

Record entry across all regions

Russell & Nadine Meade.

and Karyn Townshend at Ngatea and has a Bachelor of Commerce from Lin-coln University plus work experience on farms in Australia and Chile.

He aims to own up to 30% of a 200,000kg milk-solids business within two years and 100% of the business by the time he is 35.

“I believe the strengths of the business are its focus on business oper-ating costs and execut-ing the production plan, which happens because of good skill sets and strong accountability.”

The Meades 50% share-milk their 220 cows for farm owner Barbara Sul-livan, and unlike the McPhersons or Courtman, are no strangers to the Dairy Awards, having won the2010 Farm Manager of the Year title in the same region.

“One of the many ben-efits we perceive this competition offers us is in motivating us to con-stantly examine our busi-ness to ensure that it is a sustainable, productive and competitive opera-tion,” they say.

“It also gives us recog-nition within our region and helps improve and publicise our dairy farm-

ing reputation.”Russell has been in

the industry most of his life, having grown up on a dairy farm, and Nadine has embraced the dairying life since the couple met in 2006.

While she still works off-farm, for Carter Holt Harvey, her management skills are pivotal to the farm’s operation.

“We believe the great-est strength that our business has is our com-plementary skill set. This makes it easy to align responsibilities and ensures that all aspects of our business are attended to and are managed by the best person for the job.”

Other title winners in Bay of Plenty were Chris Mexted, Farm Manager of the Year, and Thomas Chatfield, Dairy Trainee of the Year.

In Waikato, Gary McFarlane, won Farm Manager of the Year, and Thomas Herbert, Dairy Trainee of the Year, while in Auckland/Hauraki Kylie and Michael Cox are Farm Managers of the Year, and Mathew Whittaker Dairy Trainee of the Year.

Northland kicked of this year’s round of awards nights on Mar 2, where brothers Ian and

Tim Douglas, Whangerei, took the SEFOTY title, Niall and Delwyn McKen-zie, Wellsford, the Farm Manager award, and Jake Thomson the Trainee title.

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44 management

A brace more BFEA winnersA HILL farm in the west, and a 5000ha station in the east are the latest win-ners in the annual round of regional Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Hawke’s Bay’s well-known Smedley Station and Cadet Training farm landed the Supreme title in the awards’ East Coast region while Curwen and Marija Hare, Waituna West, won in Horizons for their “impressively bal-anced approach” on their 275ha (230ha effective) farm north of Feilding.

Last year the Hares’ farm ‘Ewanrigg’ wintered 1050 ewes, 350 hoggets and 200 dairy heifer graz-ers on contour that ranges from flat to moderately steep.

BFEA judges praised their “commitment to detail” and use of expert knowledge to steer their business through a period of substantial debt.

Judges also noted use of a Horizons Regional Council Sustainable Land Use Initiative plan (SLUI),

which had a major effect on how they run the farm allowing for its natu-ral limitations, including steep contour, varied soils, wind exposure and limited natural water.

“This is an excellent example of adapting out-side knowledge to max-imise production and manage within some con-siderable natural limita-tions, without having a detrimental effect on the environment,” the said.

Ewanrigg was bought by the Hare family’s Tua-tahi Farm Partnership (which includes Curwen’s parents) in 1982 to com-plement the original farm, Tuatahi, which was settled by Curwen’s grandfather in 1894.

Six years ago the Hares made the difficult decision to sell Tuatahi, downsizing to the one farm.

Since, Curwen and Marija, who have three adult sons, have substan-tially subdivided the prop-erty and fenced 7km of steep gorge under their

SLUI plan, so nearly 12% of the farm is now retired from production.

Permanently flowing streams are also fenced, and judges praised ripar-ian management and plantings. While natural water isn’t abundant what is available is “very well managed in terms of quan-tity and quality,” they said.

Stock water is supplied by a two-dam system, the top dam acting primar-ily as a silt trap. About 75% of water is gravity fed to troughs. A solar-powered system is used to pump water from the dams to a storage/header tank before distribution to troughs.

High stock productiv-ity is achieved with careful grazing management and mixed pastures includ-ing chicory and plantain which boost lamb and dairy-grazer weight gains.

Meanwhile on the other side of the North Island, East Coast BFEA Supreme Award winner Smedley Station and Cadet Train-ing Farm was noted for

setting and achieving high benchmarks.

“As a working farm Smedley not only prac-tises profitable and sus-tainable management, it also teaches this ethos to tomorrow’s agricul-tural leaders,” said awards judges in that region.

Smedley was bequeathed to the Crown in 1919 by Josiah Howard who wanted the farm to be used for agricultural training.

Today the 5054ha (3186ha effective) sheep, beef and deer property near Tikokino, northwest of Waipukurau, is home to 22 cadets who get a wide range of learning opportu-nities living and working on the property. It’s man-aged by Terry and Judy Walters.

Last year the mainly rolling to steep hill-coun-try station wintered 28,500 stock units, includ-ing 11,500 ewes, 500 breeding cows 365 breed-ing hinds and 450 velvet-ing stags. As well as being

Horizons region Ballance Farm Environment Award Supreme title winners, Curwen and Marija Hare.

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management 45

Tauranga dairy farmers Dennis, Judith and Gordon McFetridge were Supreme Winners of the 2013 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA), the first of this year’s round of regional awards announced. A field day will be held on their farm March 26.

Canterbury’s awards night is next on the BFEA agenda, March 21, followed by Northland March 27, Waikato April 3, Southland April 10, Otago April 12, and Greater Wellington April 18. The National Sustainability Showcase involving all nine regions’ Supreme winners is in Hamilton, June 22.

Members of judging teams are chosen for their specialist skills, knowledge and experience in the farming sector, typi-cally coming from organisations such as Federated Farmers, Landcare Trust, Farm Forestry Association, conserva-tion boards, banks and regional coun-cils. Farm consultants and Ballance technical sales representatives are also frequently involved.

Judging criteria are extensive and encompass the whole farm system. Judges spend time on farm with the entrant, aiming to get a complete under-standing of the farm and its manage-ment. Entrants are encouraged to discuss their goals, achievements and weaknesses, to get the most benefit from the process. Judges are interested in entrants’ plans, reasoning behind decisions made, and success of strategies to date. They look at the way land is managed and what the production goals are.

A range of questions are addressed on each farm:

• Are production targets achieved?

• Are natural features protected and enhanced?

• Is land use most appropriate for land type?

• How are waterways managed?• What habitat enhancement is

there?• How energy efficient is the farm?• What is the pasture and crop health

status?• How is farm effluent managed?• How is general waste disposed of?• What’s the nutrient management

strategy?• How are weeds and pests

controlled?• What animal husbandry practices

are used?• How is agro-chemical use

managed?• What projects are planned?Questions asked on any farm will be

tailored to individual ventures, but in all cases judges are looking for exam-ples of profitable farming married to long-term environmental and economic sustainability.

The judging processFarm environment awards agenda

Judy and Terry Walters manage the 2013 East Coast Farm Environ-ment Award’s Supreme title winning Smedley Station and Cadet Training Farm.

a training facility, it hosts a wide range of visitors and interest groups.

Walters was a stock manager on Smedley prior to his appointment as manager in 2002. Since then the station has con-solidated, selling outly-ing blocks and buying two large neighbouring stations – Onepoto and Ridgelands –which are managed separately but with activities dovetailing with the Smedley block.

The station continues to fence, retire and protect areas of native bush, with 150ha transferred into QE II national covenants in the past decade. Cadets are heavily involved in this bush protection proj-

ect which instils them with good environmental values.

Judges said Smedley Station owes much of its rich diversity to its close proximity to the Ruahine Forest Park, and the fore-sight of early management decisions to retain large areas of native bush.

“Hundreds of hectares of retired indigenous bush and well-maintained pas-tures dotted with totara that have been retained for shade and shelter help make Smedley an extremely attractive prop-erty.”

Biodiversity has been further enhanced through the protection of freshwa-ter ecosystems.

“Smedley has banned commercial eeling, many of the property’s water-ways are protected and a wetland enhancement project is underway.”

Soils are carefully man-

aged to reduce the risk of erosion, and the sta-tion operates a nutrient budget that, judges said, “is informed by excellent record keeping”.

Judges also noted the

station’s 180ha of pro-duction forestry, which is maintained to a high stan-dard by cadets.

Horses have always been a key part of life on Smedley Station and cadets learn how to break in and train station hacks.

Smedley Station and

Cadet Training Farm also won the Ballance Nutri-ent Management Award, Beef+Lamb New Zealand Livestock Award, Hill Lab-oratories Harvest Award and Donaghys Farm Stew-ardship Award.

A BFEA field day will be held on Smedley Station

on Wednesday March 27.The Hare’s also won a

couple of category awards: the Beef+Lamb New Zea-land Livestock Farm Award and the WaterForce Integrated Management Award. A field day date was still to be set when this article went to press.

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46 animal health

Act fast to save twisted gut dogs

THE FASTER you get a dog with twisted gut to the vet’s, the more likely it can be saved, so don’t delay.

That’s a headline mes-sage from papers pre-sented at a couple of recent conferences* by one of New Zealand’s leading researchers on working dogs, Massey Uni-

versity senior lecturer Dr Kate Hill.

Gastric dilation and volvulus – volvulus is the twisting part; gastric dila-tion alone is the bloating – is second only to con-stipation in terms of non-traumatic causes for dogs being taken to a vet clinic, a survey by Hill and col-leagues found.

“It’s the second most common non-traumatic cause for dogs being seen by vets, and the most common cause that results in the loss of the dog,” she told Rural News.

An unknown is how many working dogs, typi-cally Huntaways, die or are euthanised on farm due to the condition, but given the onset is rapid and often occurs at night, it’s “probably more common than the numbers we actu-ally see at the vets,” she adds.

“When you talk to shepherd’s it’s quite common that they’ve found a dog dead in its kennel or motel in the morning. It does some-times happen during the day and during work, but less often.”

A big meal seems to be a risk factor, especially where the dog has “got into something” by acci-dent, such as a carcase or feed bin, and engorged itself.

“Whether they do this because they’re hungry or it’s just a scavenging behaviour we don’t know, but trying to prevent scav-enging and risk of engorg-ing will reduce the risk [of twisted gut].”

Feeding twice a day, instead of once at night, seems to reduce risk from planned feeds but the practicalities, and possible consequences, of morning and night feeding on-farm would need investigating before it could be recom-mended, says Hill.

“If they’re fed and then worked, what we don’t know is how long after feeding it is safe to work or exercise them, so we’re not saying feed twice a day at this stage.”

One risk factor some farms might be able to eliminate is a raised feed bowl.

“Sometimes we’ve seen dog runs with the bowl on the door… it would be worthwhile moving it lower.”

Warning signs a dog is developing the condition are discomfort, panting, bloating, and reluctance to work or even walk around.

“But sometimes the dog’s rib cage goes past the stomach so you may not see any swelling so much, just that the dog is uncom-fortable, panting and not walking around.”

Deep chested dogs such as Huntaways and German Shepherds (aka Alsatians) are much more prone to the condition than heading dogs. Stud-ies of incidence in pet dogs suggest anxiety is another trigger, but whether that can be extrapolated to these working species is unknown.

If a dog develops symp-toms, surgery within five hours of onset was found to have greatly increased chance of survival in the Massey survey, and that 65% of all dogs with the condition seen by vets were saved.

Hill notes that’s a lower success rate than some overseas studies found but given many of the farm dogs developed symptoms overnight and were out-side that five hour thresh-old before they were seen, it is probably quite a good result.

In general, surgery is necessary costing upwards of $1500, sometimes as much as $3000, depending on the complexity of the procedure.

Hill acknowledges some farmers or shep-herds will opt for euthana-sia rather than incurring such costs. She suggests whether to take that option should be driven by the age of the dog.

“With a younger dog the prognosis for getting it back into work is really good.”• The International Sheep Veterinarian Conference, Rotorua, Feb 18-22, and World Small Animal Veterinary Association Conference, Auckland, March 6-9.

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animal health 47

Extension key to limit resistanceGETTING DRENCH resistance mitigation mea-sures integrated into farm practice is the challenge now, more so than devel-oping mitigation measures themselves, says a world-renowned expert on the problem.

“As a science group we are starting to move away from the problems of anthelmintic resis-tance and management of sheep,” Agresearch’s Dave Leathwick told the recent International Sheep Vet Congress in Rotorua.

“We think we have delivered to industry many of the tools they need and the problem ahead for New Zealand is one of extension and adoption,” he concluded.

Leathwick says field trials have shown anthel-mintic resistance result-ing in a 10-14% loss in lamb carcass value. It also results in lower condition score, less wool, carry over

effects to adults and more dags.

However, a pertinent point from some New Zea-land trials is that some-times there are no visible signs in the animals, he warns.

“Farmers think they will see a drench resis-tance problem in the per-formance on their stock and that is not true – they will see it eventually but it is not visible until it gets really bad,” he told an audience of about 400 vets, about half of whom were international visi-tors.

Leathwick’s aim in his keynote address to the conference was to outline the 20-25 years of “every-one’s work” on anthel-mintic resistance in New Zealand.

When the first case was detected in 1979 “resis-tance was regarded as a little interesting but no one really cared”, he says.

Severity and prevalence increased to the year 2000 when there was a particu-

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lar “wake-up call” and 80 farms were screened for drug resistance.

“The surprise was the prevalence of resistance to anthelmintic which nobody had expected or seen. It motivated a signif-icant increase in action by industry.”

In “the dark old ages”, advice to farmers was contradictory, based on what people thought, with a smattering of com-mercial self-interest, he says. There was confu-sion because farmers were being told to do five differ-ent things.

Today, 20 years’ research provides rec-ommendations to farm-ers based on good peer-reviewed science.

Results from a 2004-5 survey of 80 sheep farms were used by Leathwick in modelling to answer the question: should drenches be used in alternations or combinations? Combina-tions came out far supe-rior.

Unlike anywhere else, these modelling results have been field-tested in

New Zealand in expen-sive trials: the last three-year one cost $1.8 million, he notes.

Mini-farmlet systems were used and pastures contaminated with mix-tures of parasites known to be prone to develop-ing drug resistance. These were then managed to suit the site and evolution of drug resistance measured in real time.

What they found was a considerable disparity in resistance development with different treatment practices. For instance the use of a 100-day cap-sule accelerated resistance development in three dif-ferent parasites.

Leathwick says he’s sure the ISVC audience had all heard about main-taining refugia – “you’ve got to have some suscep-tible worms on the farm. If you don’t – the alterna-tive is to have nothing but resistant worms,” he com-mented.

But one of the ques-tions farmers ask all the time is ‘how much refugia do I need’, he says.

A key factor in answer-ing that is the efficacy of the anthelmintic.

“As the efficacy of the drench goes down your ability to dilute the resistance becomes almost nil. So if you have at treatment which is 99% effective and you leave 1% of animals untreated you get a 10 fold dilution. But if you’ve got a drench that is only 95% effective you have to leave 34% of the flock untreated to get the same dilution.

“So, if someone asks how many animals shall I leave untreated the first thing you say is how effec-tive is the drench you are

using? If they can’t tell you then you have to say ‘I don’t know’.

“But this brings us on to the concept of using combination drugs. If 90% is treated with an anthelmintic which is 98% effective, the calculated dilution ratio is just under

5%. But if we use two anthelmintics which are 98% effective, the dilution ratio is more than 100% which is a massive differ-ence in terms of diluting the resistance.

“This is the argument for using combinations to

New Zealand and Australia were the first countries in the world to get two new anthelmintics – Monepantel, as in Zolvix from Novartis, and Derquantel as in Star-tect from Zoetis.

“Both companies brought these out with the mindset of management anthelmintic resistence - that has never happened in the past,” notes parasite resistance expert Dave Leathwick (see mainstory).

Some authorities elsewhere in the world think the new actives should be stalled and mothballed to save them for the day we need them but Leathwick says the concensus in New Zealand is the opposite. “If we don’t use a new active it is of no value. …it is no use sitting in a cupboard.”

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Delegates at the recent International Sheep Vet Congress mingle after Dave Leathwick’s paper.

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48 animal health

slow the development of resistance.”Leathwick says when this science

started coming out, commercial companies responded with combina-tion products. “So the drench com-panies looked at what was coming out of the science and what people were looking for and they started producing the products.

“We have a raft of combination anthelmintics in this country and you would struggle to go to many retailers in this country and find a single active (drench) on the bench.

“That is a direct consequence of science and indus-try working together to produce the products we need. We’ve got the first triple combination, we’re the first in the world with new actives and there’s wide acceptance across all the industry of using these tools to slow the development of resistance.”

In 1999 an industry mentor group was set up with farmers, vets, ag consultants and scientists from other organisations to advise, critique and ensure the practi-cality of what Leathwick and his colleagues were doing.

“There is absolutely no point in producing a solution that nobody wants…. because nobody will use it and aca-demics are really bad at this. They sit in ivory towers and produce solutions that farmers don’t really want.”

Historically researchers lacked connectedness with farmers and strategies developed through research had never been implemented on commercial farms, he notes.

However, about four years ago case studies were set up on 20 farms using best practice science recommenda-tions to combat resistance. It has been a learning curve for everyone, he admits.

The results show no worsening of resistance and in some cases improvement.

In summing up, Leathwick says New Zealand has a portfolio of evidence-based recommendations to combat drench resistance, supported by significant investment in science.

“We have a lot of confidence in those recommenda-tions.”

Strong involvement and input by the industry the whole way through the development of those was key, as they have been evaluated in an absolute practical sense on farm, he adds.

“We’ve got the first triple combination, we’re the first in the world with new actives and there’s wide acceptance across all the industry of using these tools to slow the development of resistance.”

Combinations shown to slow build up

Dave Leathwick

FroM PAgE 47

Strong case for desexing dogsCONSTIPATION IS the number one non-traumatic cause of working dogs being seen by a vet and incidence could be drastically reduced by neuter-ing males, says Massey Univer-sity senior lecturer Dr Kate Hill.

“It’s mostly seen in intact males, which is what most of the working dogs are. It’s due to the size of their prostates, and a diet typically with a lot of

bones. Neutering is the answer but if you do need to keep the dog intact, it needs to be on a high fibre diet without too many bones.”

Neutering reduces the size of the prostate, which facilitates passage of hard to pass faeces in the lower bowel.

A 2008/9 survey of 119 sheep and beef farms with dogs in the Manawatu-Wanganui region

found only 9% of females to be de-sexed, and 3% of males.

Hill believes a lot more males should be neutered and while it’s understandable some breeders/trainers don’t want to make a decision until they know how good the dog is going to be, there’s no reason why the job shouldn’t be done once breeding has been ruled out, or enough pups sired.

Massey honoursFORMER DEPUTY director general of MAF Biosecurity and trained vet Barry O’Neil is among four recipients of this year’s Massey University Dis-tinguished Alumni awards. O’Neil received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the University in Auckland last week recognising his role “at the forefront of biosecurity and animal welfare for 35 years.”

He was elected President of the World Organization for

Animal Health from 2006 to 2009, served as the New Zea-land delegate from 1994 until he left MAF.

Massey says O’Neil led the ongoing transformation of New Zealand’s biosecurity system, seeing off biodiversity scares including the painted apple moth and the hoax foot and mouth disease on Waiheke Island.

Now a biosecurity consul-tant, he is currently focused on

the kiwifruit PSA incursion.Dairy NZ chairman, former

Minister, and multiple board director John Luxton received the University’s supreme honour, the Sir Geoffrey Peren Medal. Massey says Luxton was responsible for a number of significant policy and legis-lative changes in New Zealand, including policy work that led to the formation of Fonterra and deregulation of producer boards.

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animal health 49

sFF deal to beef-up blood valueA MEAT processing by-product traditionally sold as a fertiliser for garden-ers, if not simply disposed of as waste, promises to become a $6-8m/year rev-enue stream for Silver Fern Farms.

The farmer-owned cooperative this month announced a long-term partnership with US-based biotechnology company Proliant to produce bovine blood plasma products.

Proliant is the world’s leading producer of bovine

serum albumin (BSA) which is used in the pro-duction of diagnostic/medical kit manufactur-ing, biopharmaceuticals, veterinary medicines, vaccines and antibodies, nutraceuticals and life-sci-ence research.

Keith Cooper, Silver Fern Farms’ Chief Execu-tive, says the agreement fits with the company’s strategy of creating value from co-products and with the company’s sustainabil-ity ethos.

Cattle blood is the raw material from which bovine serum albumin (BSA) is extracted. Large quantities of BSA can be purified from the blood.

BSA is useful in pharmaceutical processes because of its stability, ability to increase signal in diagnostic assays, and lack of effect in many biochem-ical reactions.

It is used in the production of diagnostic/medical device manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, veter-inary medicines, vaccines, nutraceuticals and life-science research.

Proliant is the world’s largest manufacturer of animal-derived proteins with over 50% of the BSA market.

About BSA

“Proliant is an ideal part-ner, offering high technol-ogy, processing and global marketing expertise. A partnership of this nature, with the potential for addi-tional multi-million dollar revenue to our co-opera-tive over the tenure of the agreement, will ensure that together we make the most of market opportu-nities and grow value from our products over the medium term.”

Initially blood from SFF’s Te Aroha and Fin-egand works will be used but it’s envisaged even-tually all beef processing plants will be fitted with automated blood collec-tion systems and contrib-ute to the product stream.

New Zealand currently produces about 1500t/year of blood plasma of which 99% is exported for manufacture of medi-cal pharmaceuticals and nutritional products.

“Annual production of blood plasma is predicted to grow six-fold over the next five years as a result of this agreement,” says Cooper.

“We are also now deal-

ing directly with the man-ufacturer through this partnership.”

The investment aligns with the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment’s Business Growth Agenda which encourages innovation with links to export mar-kets.

“To us this is exactly what the Government growth agenda is look-ing for – innovation which creates additional reve-nue.”

Steve Welch, CEO of Proliant, says a consis-tent supply of high-quality BSA is critical to the health care and medical research

CONVICTION OF a former west coast herd man-ager for damaging, in some cases breaking, the tails of over 200 cows in spring 2010 sends a strong mes-sage to those who treat animals cruelly, say spokes-people for a range of industry bodies.

“Breaking tails is indefensible animal cruelty and the scale of the recent West Coast case is mind bog-gling,” says Katie Milne, Federated Farmers West Coast provincial president and a dairy farmer herself.

“I speak for all farmers when I say that we find this crime despicable.”

Milne points out stressed cows yield less milk than content ones.

“They also become harder to handle, for pretty obvious reasons.”

New Zealand Veterinary Association Dairy Cattle Society president, Neil MacPherson, says banning the offender from owning cows for five years “sends a strong message to those who treat animals cruelly.”

DairyNZ’s strategy and investment leader for sustainability, Rick Pridmore, points out its surveys and research show the vast majority of dairy farmers have high animal welfare standards, “going beyond the minimum requirements established in the Animal Welfare Act.”

Pridmore’s colleague Nita Hardking, DairyNZ’s team leader for animal husbandry and welfare, says the key to managing cows is to work with them, not against them.

Tail-breaking ‘indefensible’

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sector.“People rely on the

ready availability of phar-maceuticals, vaccines, nutraceuticals and diag-nostic kits for their health, which is why we had to partner with the right people who understood our focus on excellence and reliability of delivery.”

Welch says the partner-ship is the start of a long-term relationship between the two companies.

“We chose Silver Fern Farms because of their strength in the beef indus-try.”

A large volume, qual-ity supply combined with a long-term strategy of building brand equity, and a record of capital invest-ment were key factors.

“Their new Te Aroha facility is impressive and demonstrates a clear com-mitment to the beef indus-try which will ensure our critical raw material long into the future.”

New Zealand’s BSE-free status was also key, it seems.

“New Zealand is a safe place to source bovine proteins as it has

a negligible risk of BSE as well as other animal diseases of significance. It makes this country attractive for these kinds of long-term

investments.”Proliant is a fam-

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50 animal health animal health 51

Tags should cost less now levy cutA REDUCTION in the NAIT tag levy should be passed onto farmers in cheaper tag prices, says the organisation, following a cut in cattle tag levy from $1.10 to 90c/tag, effective from March 8.

“We would expect the price of tags purchased after 8 March 2013 to reflect this reduction in

NAIT levies, which is good news for farmers,” says NAIT Chief Exec-utive Russell Bur-nard.

NAIT slaugh-ter levy for cattle is also down, from $1.35/carcase to $1 ex GST.

The reduc-tions are a result of faster than expected uptake of the scheme on farm and conse-quent levy income, and follow a brief consultation process on the proposed reductions.

“As a non-profit company owned by farmers NAIT Ltd is obligated to only recover what it

needs to operate the NAIT scheme. Due to farm-ers complying with NAIT early, NAIT Ltd has

received revenue sooner than anticipated,” says Burnard.

Deer levies, for which NAIT became mandatory March 1, are unaffected by the reductions.

The Impractical to Tag (ITT) levy, designed to allow animals which it would be dangerous to tag to be sent straight to slaughter without tagging, remains at $13.

“Our original model predicted the ITT levy would increase this year but our data reflects that

it is set at about the right level at this point in time.”

NAIT’s tag levy is down from $1.10 to 90c per tag.

Success sees TB controls easedTHOUSANDS OF cattle and deer herds have had TB movement controls or testing requirements removed or scaled down thanks to the success of the TB-free New Zea-land programme, says the Animal Health Board.

As of March 1, more than 3750 cattle and deer herds had requirements

eased, a move made pos-sible due to the success of focussing on TB-infected wild animal control, strict movement rules on infected herds, and exten-sive cattle and deer test-ing, says AHB’s national TB manager, Kevin Crews.

“The AHB is proud to again deliver some direct benefits to regis-

tered cattle and deer herds across the country. This is a reward for the dedica-tion farmers have shown in supporting the TBfree New Zealand programme. We greatly appreciate their help and co-opera-tion, without which this reduction would not have been possible.”

AHB is responsible

for implementing the TBfree New Zealand pro-gramme which is work-ing to eradicate bovine TB in New Zealand. Changes to movement restrictions will affect about 50 herds across Tasman, Marlbor-ough and North Canter-bury.

Around 3700 herds in the Hawke’s Bay,

Manawatu, Wanganui and Canterbury regions will also have testing frequen-cies reduced to either every one, two or three years. The changes affect an area of just under 1.3mha; about half the size of Waikato.

Golden Bay herdowner, John Harwood, has had his movement control restric-

tions removed and says he’s pleased to get on with the job of farming with fewer hassles when shift-ing stock.

“No longer needing to pre-movement test our animals before we shift or sell them is a huge relief. For many farmers, pre-

movement TB testing is not only a hassle, but another on-farm cost.”

Herdowners can visit www.tbfree.org.nz/dcamap to check if they have been affected by the changes but will be noti-fied when their next test is due.

Cattle and deer herds have had TB movement controls or testing requirements removed or scaled down thanks to the success of the TB-free New Zealand programme.

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animal health 51

Dry-off may not be best optionDON’T RUSH to dry off cows without first doing your sums.

“There are a number of profitable options to keep cows milking through this dry period,” says Seales Winslow technical manager, James Hague.

Drying cows off early has a number of drawbacks: a dry cow creates no income and still needs to be fed 8-10kgDM/day, about 2% of its body-weight, he points out.

“This is only 4-5kg less than many milking cows eat at this part of the season.”

A cow dried off now which does not calve until August will be dry for 20 weeks and if sent away to graze will be costing $20-30 per week – at least $400 in total. At $5.50/kgMS that’s equivalent to 73kgMS.

Similarly, feed for a dry cow kept at home will cost $1.50 - $2.50/day, or $10.50 - $17.50/week.

That compares to a diet for a milk-ing cow giving 1.5kgMS/day costing $3 - $5 per cow per day. Given the milk’s

worth $8.25/day, even a diet costing $5/day leaves a margin of $3.25/day.

“Calculate the cost of feeding a dry cow and the cost of feeding a milking cow, as the cost difference between the two can be very little,” he points out.

Many commentators get bogged down in the cost of each feed but Hague says it’s more practical to look at the cost of the whole diet and stay focussed on the margin.

“Even buying in the feed at 70c/KgDM is economic.”

However, diets must be balanced and unbalanced diets are costing pro-ducers’ money, he warns.

“Check for undigested fibre in the dung, as this indicates that the diges-tive system is not functioning as well as it could and feed value is being lost.”

Low protein in the diet, due to low protein grass, is a current prob-lem as nitrogen hasn’t been applied for months on many farms, he adds.

“In these situations higher pro-tein feeds need to be used to supply the rumen with the protein it needs to efficiently digest feed. This is espe-cially important where less digestible feeds such as hay or straw are being fed.

“Feeds such as palm kernel are great for filling a dry matter gap, but higher protein feeds such as cotton-seed or canola are much more suit-able. With PKE at current high prices, these other feeds on a nutrient cost basis represent real value for money. The value of a feed is not in its cost; it is in the value it brings to the diet and the amount of milk or meat that is produced as a result.

“Look at all types of feed and eval-uate which ones do the job.”

SealesWinslow is offering ration reviews to help farms balance diets through this dry spell: tel 0800 007766.

Britain’s TB toll risingWHILE NEW Zealand appears to be winning the war with bovine TB (see opposite) Britain’s battle with the disease continues to deepen.

Statistics last week released by the Government’s Department of Food and Rural Affairs, aka Defra, show a 10% increase in last year’s toll of cattle culled due testing pos-itive for the disease, or having been in direct contact with positive test-ing animal(s), so-called reactors.

The British Veterinary Associa-tion points out the 37,753 tally does not include cattle slaughtered as inconclusive reactors.

“The figures remind us that urgent action is required to help us get on top of this disease,” says BVA past president Carl Padgett.

“We need to ensure compliance amongst farmers with the tougher

cattle control measures, a strong push from the Government on cattle and badger vaccination, and support for measures to tackle the disease in badgers through piloting a targeted, humane cull.”

The National Farmers Union of England and Wales (NFU) notes the toll in England is the highest for over a decade.

“In 1998 we had 6,000 cattle with TB in the whole of Great Brit-ain…this figure has jumped to 38,010 - 28,284 in England alone,” says NFU president Peter Kendall.

“And it is not just in endemic areas: TB is creeping into new areas like the North and East Midlands, Cheshire and the South East. This has to stop.

Kendall says cattle controls alone “are not enough” and

controls targeting the disease in the protected native species, the badger, “play a fundamental part in ridding our countryside of TB once and for all.”

The Defra figures show 5.5% increase in TB incidents in previ-ously unaffected or “new” herds, at 5,171 compared to 2011’s 4,901.

However, in an attempt to get a better handle on the disease, tests on officially TB free herds increased 17.8% to 73,627, compared to 62,481 in 2011.

The BVA notes that increased the proportion of lower risk herds tested, making incidence rate appear to dropping from 4.9% in 2011 to 4.5% in 2012. Defra and Brit-ain’s National Statistics office have warned incidence rates are subject to further revisions.


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52 animal health

Study highlights pig traceability problem

sentinal species: pigs’ suscep-tibility to exotic diseases can be useful.

NEW ZEALAND has a potential problem: we don’t know where all our pigs are, where they’re going, or where they’ve been.

The problem isn’t so much with the commercial industry – New Zea-land Pork keeps a register of produc-ers – as with the non-commercial, a MAF-funded survey by Massey Uni-versity, published in this month’s New Zealand Veterinary Journal, reveals.

Its authors warn early detection and management of an exotic disease incursion in New Zealand’s pig herd “may be challenging” owing to the “substantial geographical overlap” between these groups of producers, and the lack of mandatory identifica-tion and tracking.

“If an exotic disease comes in it is very likely pigs will be involved either as the primary or a secondary source of infection,” lead author Eric Neumann told Rural News. “They’re susceptible to a number of exotic dis-eases, not just foot and mouth.”

Pigs’ susceptibility to such dis-eases can be a good thing, in that they act as a sentinel species, alerting authorities and industries to the pres-ence of a pathogen before it spreads to another sector such as sheep, beef or dairy.

However, that sentinel role is unlikely if people keeping them are unaware of disease symptoms and rarely, if ever, use veterinary services. As such, “backyard” pigs also present a significant risk, explains Neumann.

“The other worrying part is the extent to which waste [human] food is used as a feed. That’s a [biosecurity] risk if it contains imported material.”

Regulations state meat waste must be heated to 100 deg C for an hour before it may be fed to livestock, but Neumann doesn’t believe that hap-pens with scraps fed to backyard ani-mals.

“People are unaware of that requirement.”

Even cooked meat is unlikely to comply with the regulations because typically it doesn’t get hot enough. If it did, it would “turn to shoe-leather” and be inedible, he points out.

Consequently imported meat car-rying an exotic disease could lead to infection in a live animal, he believes.

While the paper points out back-yard pigs typically do not come into contact with the commercial herd, even the small likelihood of such an event and the numbers involved means over time it is “almost certain to happen,” he says.

Just how many properties keep pigs in New Zealand remains a big unknown. The NZVJ paper notes recent estimates of holdings with non-commercial pigs range from 2,200 to over 6000.

“An accurate count of properties in New Zealand holding pigs remains an elusive yet important piece of infor-

mation for disease outbreak planning activities,” states the paper’s discus-sion.

It also stresses the importance of engaging New Zealand’s substan-tial non-commercial industry in any premises identification or traceabil-ity scheme for the sector.

Even mandatory schemes may not gain sufficient compliance in non-commercial herds to add value beyond their cost so education on biosecurity and exotic disease presen-tation, public awareness campaigns, veterinary involvement and robust systems to ensure border security “will remain critical in keeping the New Zealand pig industry at its cur-rent level of disease freedom,” it con-cludes.

The NZVJ paper is particularly timely as a judgement on NZ Pork’s appeal of the High Court’s May 2012 ruling in favour of MAF over the risk raw pork imports pose with regards to PRRS, is expected this month.

anDrew Swallow

[email protected] issue downplayed?The NZVJ paper doesn’t discuss the role feral pigs might play in disease transmission but Neumann says the pig industry and MPI position generally is that there are other more important threats to biosecurity of the commercial pig industry.

however, he says the assumption a disease in the feral population is unlikely to get into the commercial industry is largely based on the fact aujeszky’s disease in the commercial herd 15-25 years ago didn’t go the other way, and get into the feral population.

“The risk is different now than from the aujeszky’s era given the increasing number of pigs being raised in free-range production envi-ronments and outdoor sow herds. South Island pig farmers repeatedly report seeing ferals on their property and at least occasionally ‘inside the fence’,” notes Neumann.

he also says there’s “a dark underbelly” to pig hunting, trapping ferals to relocate them in better hunting terrain or areas that, in the hunter’s view, need more pigs. Not only could such relocation spread disease, it typically involves feeding or baiting which produces “concen-tration points” of wild pigs, at which disease transmission events are more likely to occur.

as for the extent of contact between non-commercial pigs and ferals, it’s unlikely in peri-urban settings but certainly occurs on some lifestyle blocks, he says.

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RuRal News // March 19, 2013RuRAl News // March 19, 2013

52 animal health machinery & products 53

Front-rear mower combo fast and easy

A POTTINGER front-and-rear mower combination has halved mower tractor time for a Northland dairy farmer.

Ruawai, Northland, dairy farmers Garth and Lyall Preston farm 800 cows on their 380ha property. Using capital and labour units effectively is a big priority, including the tractor.

Preston has had a front PTO installed on successive tractors used in pasture management and supplement harvesting. “On a farm like this you’d probably need two tractors and two rear mowers to handle the same area if you didn’t have the front mounted mowers. I can mow 4ha in 25 minutes.”

Halving the tractor running time maintains its resale value, and saves time and running costs says Preston. “When I resell a tractor I’ve owned for 10 years it’s only done 4000 hours; if it hadn’t had the front mower then it would have done 7000 hours.”

While several front-and-rear mower combinations have been used on the farm, Preston has run Pottinger mowers front and rear for five years – on both

the Ruawai property and South Island farms – and says he hasn’t regretted it. “The mowers have done especially well down there. We’ve done a phenomenal amount of work with them in the three

years we have had them and we haven’t had to touch a bar on them.”

On the Ruawai property Preston’s current 7.34m mowing set-up is made up of a 3.04m Novacat 301 Alpha

Motion in the front and 4.3m Novacat 442 offset mower on the rear of a 140hp John Deer 6140R.

While Preston says he has tried out several front-mounted disc mowers,

the Pottinger model has been the one he settled on due to the way it is mounted and the amount of room it gives the operator to move. “If the paddock dips it won’t scalp the ground. From what I’ve seen it is the best front mower you can buy because of how it follows the contour.”

The 4.3m rear mower also follows contours well and Preston attributes this to the mower’s centre mounting. The mower is suspended from the middle of the mowing bar instead of near the 3PL connection.

The maker saying this makes for a more even cut which isn’t affected as much by uneven or undulating ground.

Manufacturers say this and the mower’s innovative hydraulic suspension mean the Novacat 442 acts lighter than other mowers giving a ‘floating cut’.

Preston agrees, saying while the 4.3m mower has given him an extra 0.8m cutting distance on the previous Pottinger rear mower.

It has only added an extra 150kg of weight. Tel. 07 823 7582 www.originagroup.co.nz

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Northland farmer lyall Preston with front and rear mounted Pottinger mowers; which he says halves the tractor hours spent mowing.

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54 machinery & products

Top digger man loves ‘changing the face of the earth’JAMES LUX, Papamoa Beach, has won the title of New Zealand’s top exca-vator operator, against 11 other contenders. The final took place at Cen-tral Districts Field Days, Feilding.

The contest organiser, the New Zealand Con-tractors’ Federation, says Lux, who works for Fulton Hogan, took home a Hita-chi excavator trophy and

other prizes.The 2011 national

champion, Matthew Hareb

from Waitara, the current Taranaki regional cham-pion, won second place and Hawkes Bay cham-

pion Steve Galbraith from Napier was third.

Lux, in the final a

second time, also won the Humes Good Bastard award – voted for by con-testants – for the finalist

seen as the most consid-erate and helpful. And former national champion Brian Hoffmann, Auck-land, won the One Day Job category.

Federation executive office Malcolm Abernethy said Lux was a worthy winner. “James had a great day on Friday, blitzing the field by 20% for that day. Steve Galbraith did the same sort of thing

on Saturday, but James remained consistently in the top four for each activity.”

Lux says he loves every minute of operating exca-vators and enjoys taking part in the famously gru-elling contest. “How can you not love this industry. You are outside driving big toys and changing the face of the earth.”

Contestants must do delicate tasks using the

buckets of 12-tonne Hita-chi machines. For exam-ple, popping a champagne cork, flipping sausages on a barbecue, slam-dunking a basketball and pouring a cup to tea.

Deadly serious con-test aspects include two days of rigorous construc-tion, planning and load-ing challenges designed to test their operator skills and industry knowledge to the limit.

Ploughing champs set for Lincoln

NZ’s newly-crowned top excavator operator James lux.

PLOUGHING ENTHUSIASTS at Lincoln are about ready for the 2013 finals of the New Zealand Ploughing Associa-tion annual championship.

Paul Murphy and his committee of 14, from the Lin-coln Ploughing Association, have been working for two years preparing for the event, near Lincoln University on April 6 and 7.

A series of qualifying events have been held around the country during the last 12 months. The winners in each section will plough at these finals. Winners in the open and reversible ploughing sections will contest the World Ploughing champs in France in 2014.

At present there are 12 entrants in the Case IH Silver Plough Open division, six in the CRT Fuel reversible divi-sion, seven in the Mainland Minerals vintage division and six in the Rural News horse ploughing division.

“The ground as you would expect is dry. The barley was removed from the stubble ground in early February and I expect this to plough well,” says Murphy. “With the grass ground we will start irrigating within the next two weeks which will make it ideal.”

The event coincides with the Lincoln Town and Coun-try Fair with many different family activities, as well as the ploughing. These include vintage tractors and machinery, arts and crafts and entertainment for children.

“Any profit the Lincoln Ploughing Association makes from the event will be donated to the Christchurch St John Ambulance.”

TonY HoPKInSon

The event coincides with the lincoln Town and Country Fair with many different family activities, as well as the ploughing.

Deadly serious contest aspects include two days of rigorous construction, planning and loading challenges.

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machinery & products 55

I-spy you! re-worked tractor aims to be affordable and competitive

FARM SECURITY cameras from Andytek Enter-prises Ltd, Cambridge, help catch unwanted visitors.

I-Spy Security Cameras, said to be competitively priced, are actuated by motion sensors which are adjustable and, depending on the model of camera, have a range of 5-15m.

They are effective day and night. At night, they use an infra-red flash which can’t be seen, especially by the intruder. The units are weatherproof and can be mounted on any hard surface.

Three of the cameras use four AA-size batteries for power, lasting up to eight months on standby. Another of the units can be hardwired for electric power.

All the cameras use an SD card similar to that in most conventional cameras and cellphones. A 4GB card will take 4000-6000 photos for viewing on a computer. The camera, once started, sits in standby mode until ‘woken up’ by movement, which it does in 0.9 of a second.

On show at the Central Districts field days and ranging in price from $129-395, these may provide cost-effective farm security. Distributor Per Ander-son had a photo montage in his tent showing thieves arriving at a property, entering the residence, remov-ing goods and leaving, all within 3 minutes.

With the camera showing the car, the licence plate and the people, the police were able to appre-hend those involved and recover the property the same day.

The company also sells I Spy Alarms, which can be placed on the driveway or entrances to buildings.Tel. 07 827 2965www.andytek.com

BernarD lIlBurn

A REWORKING by New Holland of its TD5 tractor range will provide dairy and livestock farmers with a reliable tractor at a com-petitive price, says New Zealand distributor CB Norwood.

“New Holland has rein-vented and extended the TD5 range, the extended series now containing four models with distinctive NH styling: the TD5.75, TD5.90, the two new range-topping TD5.100 and TD5.110 models that develop between 75 and 110hp.”

Pierre Lahutte, head of tractor product man-agement comments, “The TD5 range [will] sat-isfy the demands of this segment with specific requirements. Elements such as mechanical trans-mission and easy mainte-nance have been coupled with a new cab and a col-umn-mounted hydraulic power shuttle… to offer a modern take on a tradi-tional favourite.”

The all-new cab ensures comfort and intu-itive control of all key tractor functions. There

are lots of ergonomic improvements: all prin-cipal controls, includ-ing the hand throttle and hydraulic remote valve control levers, have been relocated to the right hand console to minimise twisting and turning by the operator.

The integrated loader joystick (optional) and the column mounted shuttle lever increase loader productivity and reduce operator fatigue. A dedicated pedal for steer-ing column adjustment enables users to position the steering wheel whilst in their natural operating position.

An optional high visi-bility panel takes the over-all glazed area to 5m2, ideal for loader work. A super-fast defrosting vent directs air down onto the front windscreen for

frosty mornings and eve-nings.

The VisionView cab has a larger, more comfortable seat and a newly intro-duced passenger seat.

Lighting is from pro-tected rear work lamps and six work lamps within

the rear roof section –no damage from overhanging foliage or in low sheds.

Distinctive New Hol-land styling includes slop-ing bonnet and cat eye lights; the ergonomic lay-out further extends the tractor family feeling.

The TD5 is unique in its segment in offering an optional column mounted hydraulic power shuttle for on-the-move direc-tion changes without the clutch. TD5.75 to TD5.110 models especially suit

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Tractor takes out top awardNEW HOLLAND has won the Tractor of the Year 2013 award in the Best of Specialised category with the T4060F.

Local distributor CB

Norwood says the T4060F (106hp) is the top model in the T4000F/N/V series, a narrow design for vineyards and orchards.

The T4060F, together

with the entire T4000F/N/V range, is aimed at best efficiency. Various features enable growers to tailor their tractor to needs: a range of

transmissions can be selected, and all ‘F’ models have the maker’s SuperSteer front axle (turning radius 76°).

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DAIRYING AND irrigated cropping will be served by a newly opened Claas Harvest Centre at Wanaka, selling and servicing German-made Claas machinery and tractors.

The Ballantyne Road business is a branch of Claas Harvest Centre

Otago. Dealer principal Steve Scoles says they have serviced the Wanaka region from Mosgiel for 20 years.

“We’ve had a service technician based at Wanaka for three years and we opened a workshop in December.

Now we have three mechanics, a parts specialist and a sales representative. We see enormous potential up here. There’s a lot of pivot irrigation going on, one large dairy farm and more coming on.”

Scoles says Claas, Amazone and Landpower are family-owned businesses and so is his. “My sons, Daniel and Sam, both work in the business in service and sales. My father, Colin, also drives the truck occasionally, so I guess we qualify as a family business.”

Scoles worked as a farm machinery service technician for almost 15 years before starting his own business in 1993. “I started servicing tractors from the back of my ute,” he says.

“Within a couple of months, I had two other mechanics working with me from a small workshop in Momona. Pretty soon we were selling second-hand machinery and by the end of the first year, we had chalked up our first major sale, a Claas Quadrant baler.

“We became the first Landpower franchise in New Zealand in 1995 and then we built our workshop and showroom three years later.”

Rebadged as a CLAAS Harvest Centre in 2010, the business now employs 22 staff, including three sales representatives, 12 service technicians and three parts specialists.

CLAAS will release 11 new tractor models in 2013, including the Axion 900 series (320-410hp) and Arion 600/500 (140-184hp).

Central Otago’s top ‘Claas’ dealer

parking lock makes for safety and a new PTO ratio gives efficiency and a 5% fuel saving.

Hydraulic mid-mounts are controlled by an ergonomic joystick; the system has a hydraulic motor function with 100% priority and a free return.

The new electro-

hydraulic mid-mount valves are controlled via a joystick which manages eight outputs.

The Blue Cab is redesigned, and all key tractor functions are grouped together “for intuitive and immediate operation”. www.newholland.co.nz

“we became the first landpower franchise in New Zealand in 1995 and then we built our workshop and showroom three years later.”

MS1412



FINE weather and a jam-packed schedule pulled record crowds to the 2013 North-land Field Days this year, say organisers.

With temperatures averaging a blis-tering 25oC, and little cloud cover during the three days, it was very different from last year when a ‘weather bomb’ caused an early close on the Saturday after-noon.

Visitors streamed in from 9am to 4pm every day. Over 25,000 people attended the event in total – 1000 more than the last record attendance in 2012.

Many of Saturdays’ 11,000 visitors tried to beat the heat with More FM’s Megasplash. There was plenty more to see and do – heli-copter rides, the tractor pull, lawnmower races, dog trials, logger sports and quad skills.

The tractor pull cel-ebrated its 21st birthday in style with entrants coming from near and far, according to event organiser John Phillips. “One driver came up from Hamil-ton to take part in the event and there were a lot of locals interested.”

The ANZ and More FM won the bank and business house competitions on Thursday. Shane Phillips won the main competition on the Thursdsay and Mark Phillips won the hotly-contended 21st birthday champion’s 3-legged race on the Saturday.

Karl Bow was named the logger of the day in the Northland Loggersports event

after getting placings in the stock saw and woodsplit events. The Montana team won the team event, relegating last year’s win-ners Paniora Logging to second and third place.

Alan Van Hartigen won the open quad skills competition with Megan Browning

taking the ladies’ competiton.Prizes and giveaways at the

event included a motorbike at the Vodafone stand, 200L

drum of teat treatment from Donaghys and a 600kg bag of fertiliser from Viafos.

Northland Field Days organisers and

exhibitors also gave away

thousands each day

as gate prizes. Joe Danher from

Tamate-rau won the

Thursday gate prize of $4800,

Chris Longville from Warkworth $2800 on

Thursday and Sarah Bird from Dargaville $1600.

While organisers, exhibitors and trac-tor pull contestants were celebrating the event’s 21st birthday on Saturday night, Northland Field Days president Lew Duggan says plans will begin immediately for the 2014 event, from Thursday Febru-ary 30 – Saturday March 1 to work in with regional field days in Gore and Fielding.

“The 2014 field days will be bigger and better than this year’s event,” says Duggan. “The committee is working on some excit-ing changes.”

MEDIUM- AND small-scale farmers won’t need to shell out for a 100hp+ tractor thanks to the launch 75-95hp Massey Ferguson 4600 series, says AGCO NZ area sales man-ager Greg Keegan.

The tractors, unveiled in Australia early February, reflect a major investment in Massey Ferguson’s utility range of tractors, says Keegan.

Previously drivers of smaller capacity tractors missed out on developments such as AGCO’s highly effi-cient Sisu engine, shuttle transmission and tilt steering which were only available in models above 100hp.

According to Keegan, the 3.3L 4600 series offers more advanced features with better manoeuvrabil-ity and affordability than the utility tractor ranges.

“More engineering goes into the back of the higher power tractors so the chassis can handle 140+hp. However, some of those medium

power tractors won’t do any work over 100hp, so a lot of capacity goes spare.”

Keegan says with an output of 75-95hp, farmers will be able to tow a 3m mower or a rotary mulcher.

“The 4600 series are quality machines, they’re well-built and well-engineered.”

Keegan is especially keen on the ROPS version of the tractors,

which he says is in hot demand on farms in the north. “It’s a very good ROPS offering with flat platform and nicely laid out controls.”

Keegan says the tractors will be on display at the Northland Field Days, Central District Field Days, and Lincoln Field Days, as well as being available from all Massey Fer-guson dealers.www.masseyferguson.co.nz

Tractors suits smaller farmsGareTH GIllaTT

northland field days run hot

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wheat and wheels event gathers paceMID CANTERBURY Vin-tage Machinery Club’s 30th anniversary event, Wheat & Wheels, next month, is shaping up large.

Co-organiser John Hall anticipates at least 300 tractors, plus classic trucks, traction engines, cars and a dozen vintage

headers.Host farmer Peter But-

terick will dust off his 1931 comb-fronted Sunshine for its first run in 50-odd years.

“It was the first header in Ashburton County with a motor,” says Butterick, whose grandfather bought the Australian-made machine.

Butterick has had the engine apart and reassem-bled it, the radiator’s been off and soaked to lift dust and dirt out of clogged fins, and the fuel tank’s been checked for leaks. “And we’ve had the mag-neto checked so when we get it all back together it should be good to go.”

A magneto used to pro-vide the spark for engines before machines such as the Sunshine had batter-ies. “A lot of McCormick tractors had them until the 1950s. So did aeroplanes

[and motorbikes and out-board motors. Ed].”

The Sunshine’s motor, a Morris Commer-cial petrol, only powers the cutter and thresh-ing works. Horses pro-vided the pulling power when it was new but for Wheat and Wheels it will be hitched to a tractor. “We wouldn’t be able to make the horses go slow enough,” notes Hall.

The headers, includ-ing Hall’s own Massey 788, will work on 5ha of Sage wheat Butterick’s grown especially for the occasion. “We sowed it on Novem-ber 1 to try to have it about right to harvest in mid April.”

Last week it was a touch green but with the dry weather he’s confident it will be ready in good time. “Then we just need a fine weekend.”

Fungicides have kept

the crop clean, but nitro-gen use has been kept modest to avoid making it too heavy for the old machines.

A couple of reaper binders are expected to do a pass or two over the weekend. “I’ve told them they’re welcome as long as I don’t have to do the work of picking up the sheaves behind them!”

Butterick’s Sunshine will contrast with a new Case IH 9230 (35-foot belt feed front) he used to reel in his harvest this summer and which will be on dis-play at the event. “It’s the first brand new combine we’ve had in 80 years. The Sunshine was the last!”

The vintage club’s pres-ident, John Stewart, says such contrasts are part of the aim. “What we’re trying to do is show the public how the power has changed over the years. Not too long ago 100hp was considered a big trac-tor. Now there are several 600hp machines in the district.”

Some of those will be lined up in what organis-ers hope will be the largest display of pivot tractors ever assembled in one paddock in New Zealand. “We’ve identified 26 in Ashburton District and we reckon we’ll get 20 to 25 of

them.”Parades of different

classes of machine will be run throughout each day,

starting from 10.30am. Wheat and Wheels

is on Christys Road, Wakanui, April 13-14.

“she’ll be going on the day,” promises wheat and wheels host Peter Butterick, seen here with his 1931 sunshine header before it was pulled out for pre-event tune-up.

Big tractor fans: wheat and wheels organisers John Hall, Bruce Taylor, Peter Butterick, and John stewart with a few of the pivot tractor line-up expected.

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Farm utilities built to take the roughA NEW supplier in the side-by-side farm util-ity market, Avatar, offers two models: an 800cc an 1100cc, both with EFI petrol engines, CVT auto transmissions and, most importantly for hill coun-try farmers, engine brak-ing.

Built in China, these are designed and built for our arduous conditions. The fit and finish seen was much better than on previous machines from China. Their stylists are still copying some popu-lar machines from Amer-ica and Japan, but they are better at it.

We saw machines look-ing like a cross between a Can Am Commander and a Honda Big Red, in 2WD, 4WD and diff lock sys-tems. With a solid looking chassis and suspension in

an attractive durable plas-tic body, the machines look the part.

Suspension compo-nents, double A-arm setups front and rear, are solid and designed for work rather than a soft riding sports. Brakes are 4-wheel discs with a clean-ing disc to help brake lon-gevity. On display were components used in the Avatars, solid and sub-stantial.

The display machines (2-seaters) had ROPs cabs with 3-point seat-belts. The base machines cost $14,995+GST for the V-twin 800cc model and $16,500+GST for the 1100cc.

The larger machine has a 4-cylinder engine from the Daihatsu Cherry car made in China.

A roof and windscreen are options for $1500 extra, and power steer is a

BernarD lIlBurn $700 option. Tel. 06 9748152

www.avatar-products.com

FARM IMPLEMENT maker Metalform is expanding its Australian operation to ensure its equipment gets the notice it deserves, says sales manager Tim Henman.

Since 2006 it has sold lifestyle farm products there – its Tow and Collect and Tow and Mow.

Now the company intends to go hands-on in Australia with its well-regarded Tow and Fert suspended-material fertiliser spreader, Henman says.

“The product has some new technologies in it and we didn’t want it to get ‘lost’ on an agricultural dealer’s yard. And it puts us close to the inquiries and sales which helps immensely in a new product launch to tweak the product to suit the customer.”

The company last month organised warehouse space in Melbourne for its distribution centre.

Henman says Australia is a similar market to New Zea-land with customers having many of the same require-ments. “The Australians also look to the New Zealand dairy industry for ideas that have sustainable solutions and obvious payback solutions.”

Melbourne was chosen because Victoria has most of Australia’s dairy farms. “We have just exhibited at our first trade show in Warrnambool and have another planned in Warragul this month. Both of these places are in Victoria as 60% of Australia’s dairy industry falls within this state.”

Stock will be made in New Zealand then shipped. Henman says while sales and distribution of smaller implements will remain with local dealers, the Tow and Fert will stay in-house. Tel. 0508 747 040www.towandfert.co.nz

GareTH GIllaTT

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loader-intensive dairy and livestock farmers when stack-ing bales or feeding cattle.

All models can be equipped with the 20x12 transmis-sion option and can be specified exclusively with the mechanical column mounted shuttle.

Braking performance has been upgraded by 15% by an additional brake disc.

The entire TD5 range is available in both cabbed and ROPS variants. The ROPS platform shares the same ergonomic control layout as the cabbed version. ROPS variants can be fitted with a FOPS (fall-on protection system) compliant canopy.Tel. 06 356 4920www.newholland.co.nz

Re-worked modelfrom page 55

New precision planter launchedOPERATORS will be able to plant seeds in drier con-

gareTH gILLaTT ditions with more confi-dence and travel between jobs easier with a new precision planter being imported by Tulloch Farm Machines. The company launched its 6M wingfold Monosem NX 2 pull-style planter at the Northland Field Days.

Tulloch North Island regional sales manager Nick Gillot says the pull-

style design allows towing by lower-powered tractors than three-point-linkage planters.

Monosem, a French maker of planter and inter-row cultivators, has intro-duced several innovative features with the seeder, Gillot says. These inno-vations assist with trans-portability, control and strike rate.

While stretching out to just over 6m in full work position, the seeder folds to 3m for easy transport.

And it achieves better results over a wide vari-ety of ground conditions thanks to its Pro wheel. Positioned between the seed chute and rear press wheels, the Pro wheel (an intermediate press wheel)

is a 295mm cast iron unit that pushes the seed into the soil below the trench created by the double disc openers and shoe for the maximum level of con-tact, leaving only the clos-ing of the furrow to press wheels.

Gillot says this is hugely beneficial when planting in drier conditions as it means

operators are able to get the best seed-to-soil contact without having to slow down as much as in situations where they rely on rear press wheels for consolidation.

“If the seed is not in good contact with the soil then the paddock won’t germinate evenly. With the Monosem Pro wheel system all the rear press wheels are doing is closing up the furrow.”

For the most precise seed singulation Monosem has a tried and tested pat-ented system that allows the vacuum to be altered independently on each planter unit while adjust-ing the seed singulator. Tel. 0800 88 55 624www.tulloch.co.nz

“If the seed is not in good contact with the soil then the paddock won’t germinate evenly. With the Monosem Pro wheel system all the rear press wheels are doing is closing up the furrow.”

Tulloch’s Nick Gillot, pictued with the machine at the recent Northland Field Days.

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machinery & products 61Contracting business that grew and grewPETER MOLLOY started contracting 43 years ago when he was 18 with a conventional baler doing 45000 bales in his first season.

“I was working on the family farm and contacted some neighbours to do their mowing, raking and baling and I was able to pay for the baler in that first season.”

His only tractor was a David Brown 990. He was also supplementing his income with fencing, an AB run and bush work.

Peter and wife Jenny are based at Reporoa where he has two dairy farms. The home property has been in the family 60 years and is managed by their son ‘PJ’. In spite of the dry spell at February 20 they were 13000kgMS ahead of the same time last season.

“They are going well with some silage, PKE and plenty of scenery and the stock are in good order.”

He started making silage with a Gallagher forage har-vester and a Buckton trailer with a large cage, carrying to stacks and pits. He had one of the first round balers in the early 1980s and the conventional baler was “history.” Then when Gallagher stopped making Silorators they bought their first loader wagon, a Taarup, in the early 1990s.

It was with this machine that Molloy coined the phrase ‘hectare hogger’. “Compared with the Gallagher these machines travelling up to 11km just hogged the grass.”

He has had several different brands and his latest is ‘hectare hogger’ MK VIII (See sidebar).

He worked about 20km from his home base and it is a family business. As it expanded he used Lincoln College students for the busy part of the season. Reporoa at this time was an area of small farms where all farmers made their own supplements and there was no brought in feed.

Molloy Contracting expanded into cultivation, devel-oping land for crops and new pasture, and spreading fer-tiliser and lime.

Contracting reflects the changes in sizes of tractors and machinery and as the machinery grew bigger tractors were needed. “Back in the 1990s a big tractor was 120hp.”

Farming in the area was also changing with farms amal-gamating and farmers leaving the complete job to con-tractors. He now works up to 40km from his home base with himself, one permanent and two casual staff. “I now need bigger tractors, mowers and rakes and we changed to wrapped bales about 2007.”

He has a Krone round baler, McHale bale wrapper, Claas hay rake covering up to 8.8m, Pottinger front and rear mowers covering 6m, ASIP mower 3.8m as well as cul-tivation gear including power harrows, drills, rotary hoes and fertiliser spreaders.

Tractors are two Massey-Fergusons 140 and 160hp and two Fendts 240 and 270hp.

MOLLOY CONTRACTING’S latest purchase – from Piako Motors, Rotorua – has now completed its first season – a Pottinger 7210 Combiline loader wagon (72m3).“

After the first season it has done all I want,” said Peter Molloy.

He has fitted 800mm wide flotation tyres because a lot of the areas he harvests are on soft ground.

Standard features include a swing-out chop-

ping unit that can be lowered hydraulically from the tractor or with a control on the side of the wagon. Individual knives can be removed without the need for any tools and the arms are secured in a protected area.

The autocut sharpens the blades directly on the trailer. The sharpening cycle can be programmed which reduces maintenance and guaran-tees long lasting cutting quality.

A special feature is the auto steering tandem axles which improve access to paddocks from farm lanes/raceways. Molloy had weigh scales fitted as an optional extra.

“With the high deck we can turn and the deck is high enough to clear stan-dard end/gate strainers, but we have to give a little more thought with deer fencing.”Tel peter molloy 0274 724 197

Clicking with new technology

Peter Molloy – 43 years in the contracting business and still going strong.

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McKee Plastics, Feilding Branch | Phone 0800 625 826 | Hamilton Branch | Phone 07 847 7788 [email protected] | www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

MOBILE FEED TROUGHS

4m - 1100L

Deluxe3 wheel

$3250 incl

FOR: MEAL, MOLASSES, PALM KERNEL, MAIZE SILAGE, ETC ETC(PROMPT DELIVERY)

4m - 800L

Budget

drawbar

$1945 incl

6m culvert

(mobile)

$1299 incl

TUSSOCK SOFT TOE TRIPLE/SINGLE HOB NAIL, REVERSE KIP This boot is designed for

heavy duty use on high country farms and over alpine terrain. This boot will handle tough environments. With an upper

constructed from reverse kip leather, a tough heel counter for better ankle support and a full bellows tongue for

greater water tightness. A leather insole and triple bend leather runners, with a stitched

and screwed construction and heel and toe plates. Triple or single Hob nails. Tricounis available with tungsten tipped

teeth. Tussock made to order only. Sizes 4-15 including half sizes.

48 JOHN STREET, WHANGAREI0800 4 BOOTS (26687) or 09 438 8907

Visit www.lastrite.co.nz for more quality products

FOOTWEAR LTD FARM BOOTS KIWI MADE

FOR 3 GENERATIONS

YARDMATE SOFT TOE This is designed for heavy duty uses and is perfect for fencers, high country farmers and

hunters walking through tough, rugged, country. With an upper constructed from thick full grain leather, a leather insole and

mid-sole, which is stitched and screwed to a cleated rubber repairable sole. A tough heel counter for

better ankle support and a full bellows tongue for greater water tightness, this boot will handle the tough environment. Yardmate also available in Steel toe. Sizes 4-15 including half sizes.

$595+GST delivered

BE SAFE... FIT A QUADBAR

For a Quadbar, call me, Stuart Davidson, owner of Quadbar NZ, on 021-182 8115.

Email [email protected] or for more info

go to

www.quadbar.co.nz

The award winning Australian Quadbar is now on over 250 farms

in NZ and is saving lives and preventing injury daily. It is now

made here and is a well proven crush protection device for quad bikes.

• ATV Carrier Mats • Exit/Entry Areas• Calf Trailers • Horse Floats & Trucks

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• Utility Deck Matting

Phone: 0800 80 8570www.burgessmatting.co.nz

Rubber Safety Matting

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STOP RATSNESTING IN HOMES, BUILDINGS, MACHINERY

TWO WAYS TO ORDER/PAY: 1) POST: cheque to N. Keating telling us the product(s) you want,

plus your name, address and telephone number. 2) INTERNET: direct credit ASB 12 3039 0893559 00

(your surname as reference) PLUS telephone or email us, saying which product(s) you want.

Pest Free Domesticforhomes,garages,etcto200sq,m–$159.90 incl. GST + post.

Pest Free PROforlargehomes,smalloffices&factories,etcto400sq.m–$399.90 incl. GST and post.Pest Free Commercialfordairysheds,grainmills,factories,etc–$1800 incl. GST + post.

STOP RATS with Pest FreeBuywithconfidencefromauthorisedruralsalesagentN+JKeating,70RimuStreet,NewLynn,Auckland0600.Tel. 09 833 1931(cell 021 230 1863);[email protected]

• The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989• Quality construction and options• Get the contractors choice• Direct from the manufacturer• Efficient application and unequalled cost savings

FLY OR LICE PROBLEM?

Phone 07 573 8512 • www.electrodip.com

Unique self adjusting

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CRAIGCO SENSOR JET

P 06 835 6863 - www.craigcojetters.com

DEAL TO FLY AND LICE

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DOLOMITENZ’s fi nest BioGro certifi ed

Mg fertiliserFor a delivered price call...

0800 436 566

RuRal NeWs // MARCH 19, 2013

rural trader 63

FLYSTRIKE AND LICE

❖ Fantastic Penetration❖

NO ONE BEATS OUR PRICE• Make a big job quick and easy• Retire the shower and plunge dip• Quicker and much more effective

than a hand wand!• Deep penetration, total body

coverage, 2.5 litres/sheep • No re-cycling – always fresh clean

dip prolonging residual effect of your dipping product

PPP Super JetterManufacturing Jetters since 1980.

1000’s sold in NZ & overseas.

Freephone 0800 901 902email: [email protected] or

www.pppindustries.co.nz

ALL PRODUCTS HAVE 3YR WARRANTY

• Faster, easier wash up!• Non toxic, Hygenically approved• Long lasting finish• Withstands pressure hosing• Resists deterioration from daily use• Can be applied to walls and floors

DAIRYCOAT

Made in NZ – 10 year guaranteed

FREE DELIVERYwww.enviropaints.co.nz

The ultimate in paint protection

0800 50 ENVIRO (0800 50 368476)14 Riverbank Rd, Otaki

SPECIALACRYLIC

FENCE RAIL BLACK

Amazing cover

$59 PER 10 LITRE

0800 766 737 www.painfreeday.co.nz

www.clicdualwheels.co.nz

Clic Wheel Systems Ltd, Rotorua Ph/Fax 07 347 2292

on Duals for more traction, stability, flotation, towing power, versatility.

AVOID ROLL-OVERS

For all single, separated,divorced and widowed people.

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For Information Pack, contact...Country & City Contacts

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Happy BirthdayTo mark a birthday, retirement or any

milestone, give that special someone, something special - a personal cartoon portrait by

Edna cartoonist Malcolm Evans - $200 plus GSTSend no money - just email a few up-to-date photos of subject, with a note of details you’d like included, to; [email protected]

Or post your inquiries to; M. Evans, 39J Cape Horn Road, Hillsborough, Auckland 1041 . .

and don’t forget to include your return address.

Check out the latest market data atwww.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/markets

Market Data Every Week

Please add $10 Freight per order

$70valued at

$140valued at $190

FLEXISKIN RAINWEAR SALE! 40% OFFOFFER AVAILABLE 2 WEEKS ONLY! NEW! WATERPROOF, BREATHABLE & LIGHTWEIGHT

$80

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$60valued at $120

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1 Stop Water Shop!

THE ONE STOP WATER SHOPPhone 0800 625 826 for your nearest stockists

Colour choice

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20-50mm outlet fitting

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WATER STORAGE TANKS

WATER TROUGHS

CULVERT PIPES

RANGEd= diameter h = height mm g = gallons *22500 litre • d: 3500 h: 2500 g: 5000 .......... $2595 *12000 litre • d: 2400 h: 3000 g: 2750 .......... $2795 5000 litre • d: 1800 h: 2300 g: 1000 .......... $1685 3750 litre • d: 1800 h: 1800 g: 850 .......... $1520 2200 litre • d: 1800 h: 1300 g: 500 .......... $1175 2000 litre • d: 1500 h: 1600 g: 450 ............ $915 1800 litre • d: 1200 h: 1800 g: 400 ............ $915 1400 litre • d: 1500 h: 1200 g: 310 ............ $715 1400 litre • d: 1200 h: 1500 g: 310 ............ $715 1000 litre • d: 1200 h: 1100 g: 200 ............ $495 800 litre • d: 900 h: 1400 g: 175 ............ $475 500 litre • d: 900 h: 1000 g: 110 ............ $328 225 litre • d: 600 h: 1000 g: 50 ............ $210 150 litre • d: 600 h: 800 g: 30 ............ $169Level indicator ........................................................$165* North Island only

Warranty subject to correct installation. Instructions available

For the cheapest New Zealand made 22500L Water Storage Tank call today on 0800 625 826. 10 Year Guarantee.

New Zealand’s best value per litre of water. Check out our prices you won’t fi nd better.

New Zealand’s CHEAPEST Culvert Pipes!FREE joiners supplied on request.• Light weight, easy to install. Made from polyethylene

300mm x 6 metre ............................................ $410400mm x 6 metre ............................................ $515500mm x 6 metre ............................................ $690600mm x 6 metre ............................................ $925800mm x 6 metre .......................................... $13991000mm x 6 metre .......................................... $21751200mm x 6 metre .......................................... $3475

RANGE

RANGEd= diameter h = height l = length w = width1900 litre open d: 1900 h: 600 g: 420 .................$6851100 litre open l: 2100 h: 550 w: 1450 g: 240 ...$4951000 litre open d: 1700 h: 580 g: 220 .................$495820 litre bridge d: 1575 h: 580 g: 180 .................$466820 litre open d: 1575 h: 580 g: 180 .................$425620 litre bridge d: 1450 h: 580 g: 135 .................$388620 litre open d: 1450 h: 580 g: 135 .................$348420 litre bridge d: 1300 h: 500 g: 93 .................$320420 litre open d: 1300 h: 500 g: 93 .................$295300 litre open d: 1100 h: 400 g: 66 .................$235150 litre open d: 900 h: 350 g: 33 ................$148420 litre square l: 1300 h: 400 w: 1100 g: 93 .....$320220 litre square l: 1200 h: 320 w: 820 g: 48 .....$270

12,000L & 22,500L

FREE DELIVERY IN NORTH ISLAND

McKee Plastics, Mahinui Street, Feilding Phone 06 323 4181 Fax 06 323 4183

McKee Plastics, 231 Kahikatea Drive, Hamilton Phone 07 847 [email protected] • www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

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Ballcock protected

20mm ballcock installed

ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST

Joiners supplied free with culvert

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North Island prices only

rural news 16 march 2013

Documents

drought breaks

north island lambs

lambs nasties

time of year

anthony oswald

regions facial eczema

rural news

ideal environment