rural news 5 august 2014

AUGUST 5, 2014: ISSUE 566 www.ruralnews.co.nz

RURALNEWS

ABRIBUSINESSThere’s no other farm like the Clevedon Valley Buffalo Farm. PAGE 26

ANIMAL HEALTHSequencing bull genomes could eliminate hereditary diseases. PAGE 40

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

UP BEET!This monster beet is seen by Dr Jim Gibbs of Lincoln Univer-sity as the equivalent of New Zealand’s wheat. He says we don’t have the land area to grow large quantities of feed grains, but beet can be grown virtually anywhere in the country and is especially good for finishing beef cattle. See pp 36-37 for more details.

Meat outlook rosyA BRITISH meat marketing research specialist says he’s more optimistic than ever about the future of the meat industry.

Richard Brown, from Britain, is a partner in GIRA Euroconsulting, which publishes extensive meat market and industry reports. He is also a sheep, beef and arable farmer.

Brown told Rural News at last week’s Red Meat Sector Conference in Welling-ton that his optimism is based on people worldwide wanting to eat the meat farmers produce and pay a price that turns farmers a profit. Farmers in turn can then re-invest in their businesses.

Brown says it appears at last that prices for premium meats such as beef and lamb are not being driven by those

of cheaper meats such as chicken and pork.

“There will be a growing separation between premium meats and premium cuts, away from everyday, relatively low-priced meats. But people who like eating fresh meat are going to have to pay more than for a ham and cheese roll.

“This will advantage New Zealand because you grow grass well. You have a good image and should be able to sell premium meats all over the world. In China, where people are concerned about impurities in meat, New Zealand

lamb compared with local lamb should be a benefit.”

But though New Zealand has done well in marketing its lamb, it could learn from Denmark’s marketing of pork. Danish pig farmers are well organised and work well with processors, dealing effectively with challenges, Brown says.

“There is a lot of friction between processors and farmers in New Zea-land and this is unfortunate.” Farmers need to know more about the pressures on the meat industry.

Some farmers say supermarkets are

their worst enemy – correct in terms of perception, but “unfortunate that farm-ers feel their ultimate trade customer in reaching the consumer is an enemy. That is unhelpful and… needs to be resolved by more imaginative strategic thinking by retailers and a better under-standing of their business by farmers.”

“McDonalds is a world class retailer with a good way of looking at their supply chain and recognising everyone has to make money. They don’t screw their partners to death in the same way many food retailers do.”

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

Huge potential

SILVER FERN Farms (SFF) is just weeks away from an online launch of its best consumer-branded lamb cuts into China via Tmall, the world’s biggest internet shopping site.

Tmall and its partner Taobao account for 80% of e-commerce in China, the two sites getting 100 mil-lion hits a day.

SFF’s general manager sales and category management, Grant Howie, told Rural News the launch is part of the co-op’s China ‘value creation’ strategy to build sales of branded product, formerly sold in high-end supermarkets.

“We focus on building our brand story as an integral part of the prod-uct, so wherever our product goes it has to [carry] that brand story about New Zealand and SFF. The consumer retail pack selling here in New Zealand is going into China.

“We are fast building relation-ships with big online shopping plat-forms and the biggest in the world is Tmall… think eBay, plus the US online channels and treble it, that’s how massive they are.

“You can go there and [even] buy fresh cherries from Central Otago. So our retail pack of lamb, and soon beef and venison, will go on that plat-form. It will be one of our key chan-nels to the top end of the Chinese market.”

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

TO PAGE 3

Do you know of a rural community project that needs a little cash injection? The community hall, rugby clubrooms or the school playground... Stafi x has $10,000 in cash to give away to the three most deserving rural community projects across the country!

Tell us about your local rural community project and be in to win. Make your submission at www.yourcommunity.co.nz. Entries close on 10th August 2014.

AVAILABLE FROM

0000

XX

X00

$10,000UP FOR GRABS

Freephone 0800 10 22 76 www.pggwrightson.co.nz Helping grow the country

Terms and Conditions: Prices valid for dates speci� ed, or while stocks last. Prices include GST and are subject to change. Some products may not be available in all stores but may be ordered on request. Prices do not include delivery, delivery costs are additional. Images are for illustrative purposes only.

on selected calf rearing products!

(Conditions apply)

Ask about our

NZAgbiz SupaCalf™ Calf Milk Replacer 20 kgPremium curding Calf Milk Replacer with essential vitamins and minerals. Contains Actigen® for gut health and Deccox™ to help prevent Coccidiosis.

NZAgbiz ancalf™ Calf Milk Replacer with Deccox 20 kgPremium curding Calf Milk Replacer with extra calcium for bone development, Actigen® for gut health and Deccox™ to help prevent Coccidiosis. Also available without Deccox.

NZAgbiz Denkavit Whey Calf Milk Replacer 20 kgWhey based Calf Milk Replacer containing a prebiotic and acidifiers to enhance disease resistance.

NZAgbiz Brown Bag CMR™Calf Milk Replacer 20 kgMade with quality nutritional milk powders and contains Actigen® to combat Salmonella and E Coli.

SealesWinslow Calf Pro1® 20% Muesli 25 kgHighly palatable to encourage early feed intake and maximum rumen development.

Gusto 20% and 16% Textured Calf Feed 25 kgDesigned for young calves, Gusto textured calf feeds are high quality, highly palatable feeds, developed by dairy nutritionists to provide essential nutrients for growth and rumen development.

ALLIANCE® Cobalt and Selenium 10 L

$699Cydectin® Pour-On5 L + 500 ml free10% VOLUME FREE

$635

Agritrade RumenX® Calf Starter Rations 15 kgComes in pellet form, with a specialised feeding programme. Calves are able to be weaned off milk earlier which ensures superior rumen development.

NZAgbiz Denkavit Plus Calf Milk Replacer 20 kgPremium curding Calf Milk Replacer containing only essential vitamins and minerals with no extra additives.

SealesWinslow Calf Grow® 16% Pellets 25 kgDelivers optimum intake, rumen development and contains leading coccidiostat and mineral additives.

SealesWinslow Calf Pro1® 20% Pellets 25 kgHigh energy, 20% crude protein diet for young calves to maximise growth rates during rumen development.

Calflyx® Easy Breather 5 kgDesigned for use in pre-weaning, aids in immune function and rumen development and reduces the risk of respiratory disease. Use from birth until weaning. Average intake is 5-25 g/head/day.

McKee Plastics3 m Culvert Trough on Legs

$335

Virugard1 kgRRP $109

$99Valid 1/6/2014 - 30/9/2014

RURAL NEWS // AUGUST 5, 2014

NEWS 3

HEAD OFFICE Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622

Phone: 09-307 0399 Fax: 09-307 0122

POSTAL ADDRESSPO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740

Published by: Rural News Group

Printed by: PMP Print

CONTACTS

Editorial: [email protected]

Advertising material: [email protected]

Rural News online: www.ruralnews.co.nz

Subscriptions: [email protected]

ABC audited circulation 81,232 as at 31.12.2013

NEWS�.............................. 1-19WORLD�........................ 20-21

MARKETS�.................... 22-23

AGRIBUSINESS�........... 24-27

HOUND, EDNA�................... 28

CONTACTS�......................... 28

OPINION�....................... 28-31

MANAGEMENT�........... 33-38

ANIMAL HEALTH�........39-44

MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS�..................45-50

RURAL TRADER�.......... 50-51

ISSUE 566www.ruralnews.co.nz

Howie says the cuts available will be the same as seen in New Zealand super-markets: “Stir fry – which we believe will be the most popular there because it suits the Asian way of cooking – lamb rumps, venison medallions, diced veni-son and minced beef.”

The cuts will come with recipes because to be successful they need to show consumers how easy it is cook the product. “So we’re developing Chinese

recipes as a big part of the selling proposition to Chinese consumers who want to know it’s authentic New Zealand product you and I would want as consumers here.

“Packaging will exactly replicate what you see in the New Zealand supermarket – English on the front and instructions on the back in Chinese. It’s important they see and believe this is the product a consumer would buy at a supermar-ket here.”

Chinese consumers will have the product delivered to their doors by New Zealand Focus, based in Shanghai and distributing through a national network. It specialises in selling branded New Zea-land products to China including honey, beverages, dairy products and now meat.

Before committing to this venture SFF did a lot of consumer research and this is ongoing, to better understand the Chinese consumer market.

“The growth we’re getting in the high-

end consumer market is very, very large and our biggest challenge is forecasting how much we can sell.

“We are talking multiple container loads of these branded retail packs…. We have used New Zealand as our test market to get all our processes and systems in place. China gives us the opportunity to scale-up for significant value.”

World’s largest on-line market – See page 9

FROM PAGE 1

Huge potential for high-value NZ meat in China

NZ not to blameNEW ZEALAND bears no blame in the kerfuffle over Britain’s Tesco supermarkets discounting New Zea-land lamb against fresh lamb from Wales.

Complaining Welsh farmers are blaming New Zealand companies for this.

But UK meat marketing expert Richard Brown says Tesco is to blame for incorrect timing: they should have run it during the first quarter of the year when local prod-uct was in shorter supply.

“If Tesco doesn’t want the angst of local farmers it needs to think through its position and not do things perceived as damaging to the local industry.

“It’s an aggressive campaign by Tesco, bringing an aggressive response from the people it dam-ages most.”

“As a specialty meat, lamb needs marketing in less of a commodity manner… more imaginatively, to help encourage consumers under-stand that lamb is a premium meat deserving premium status because of its flavour and texture.”

Welfare chief debunks factory farming ban

POLITICAL POSTURING by the Labour Party to ban factory farming by 2017 is puzzling the chairman of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, the government’s chief advisor on animal welfare issues.

Labour’s Trevor Mallard recently floated this idea and the Greens and Mana parties lent support.

However, Dr John Hellstrom told Rural News it’s not exactly clear what they mean. Pig and poultry farming are getting lots of attention, but Hellstrom believes even bigger welfare issues sur-round intensive dairying.

For example, lameness caused by cows having to walk long distances to milking is more pressing. And bad weather also affects many animals.

“A lot of farms are now providing decent stand-off facilities and so on, but still many farms haven’t and that’s a seri-ous concern.

“And with the big move of dairy into the south, provision of decent shelter hasn’t caught up with places people are

farming in. NAWAC has concerns with intensive dairying – not that they can’t be resolved, but that they exist now.”

Hellstrom is impressed by the stan-dard of NZ cow houses; they are far better than in the US and Europe – “new and purpose built with good planning.” He believes, as time goes by, the new models will be even better.

Problems arise with cows being “knocked around a bit” during mechan-ical failures in robotic milking machines and stall sizes too big or small. But gen-erally in a shed you see a lot of contented animals, he says.

“From the evidence we have seen, well managed 24/7 dairy sheds can pro-

vide high levels of animal welfare. We are considering whether animals farmed this way should have opportunity to spend at least some time outdoors.”

Hellstrom says a great example of animal welfare is the cow house trial at Massey University, where cows are housed at night but graze on pasture during the day.

‘Free range’ poultry is myth, he says, and plenty of data shows free range poul-try or pigs have serious welfare issues. Some farms are very good and others bad.

On some large, free range poultry farms where hens may go out to forage they seldom do because they have food inside and it’s warmer.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

Pig and poultry farming may gain a lot of attention, but more concern should be shown over intensive dairy issues.


4 NEWSAnswer is blowing in the wind

Avoid the Miraka ‘mistake’A MAORI business leader cautioned the Red Meat Sector Conference attendees against the “Miraka mistake” of underestimating Maori’s business intentions and energies.

Craig Ellison, project director for Tuhona Whenua – the Red Meat Coalition – was referring to the Maori-owned Miraka Dairy Company, near Taupo.

Ellison told conference goers not to underestimate the ability of Maori to do something big when they want to and believe in it. Maori have the ability to band together, find the capital and have the ‘smarts’ to make good business decisions, he said.

Miraka was set up not just because it was a good idea, but also in response to “some negative commentary about the capability of Maori” by a farming leader at a Federation of

Maori Authorities Conference. The decision to launch Miraka was made minutes after that speech, Ellison said.

Miraka is up and running because people have said “hey we can do it”. “People have seen Miraka and the massive opportunities there are.”

People who want to do business with Maori need to understand that their way is different from the Pakeha way. “The difference between Maori and non-Maori entities is multiple ownership: often there is a committee of trustees or a board that makes the decisions.

You don’t just rock up to the owner and say ‘let’s do this’ and it happens.

“You have to sit down and convince all those owners that doing it is the right thing. Getting an answer may take many meetings, hence my concept of 1000 cups of tea.”

Ellison believes the so-called ‘divide’ between Maori and non-Maori farmers is artificial: everyone wants the same outcomes in sustainability, increased yields and fair returns.

“Everyone wants a smarter industry and Maori are no different [except] their farms are larger, they have a range of owners and they focus on free cashflows rather than capital gains.”

Every Maori farm is different Ellison says, but all are keen to move their operations beyond the farmgate and up the value chain. Some want to run, others to walk and some to just dip their toes into the water to see what might happen.

Ellison points to the Mangatu Incorporation as one Maori group that has moved up the value chain with its company Integrated Foods. It sells about 250,000 lambs a year in consumer packs to customers online and via retail outlets.

MAORI ARE looking to make greater use of technology on their farms to improve productivity.

He pointed to a trial now on some East Coast farms owned by Potikirua ki whangakoena (PkW) and involving NIWA, Callaghan Innovation and Beef + Lamb NZ.

Weather stations with remote monitoring is using NIWA science to yield better information to help management and decision-making. This is similar to what Landcorp have on their proper-ties.

Ellison says the trial has many and varied benefits. “For example, some of the PkW farms have beehives for manuka. The prevailing and forecast wind [affects] the placement of these hives. If the wind is blowing the bees away from the manuka into the clover that’s a bad result.

“So a forecast can help manage the positioning of the hives on a day-by-day basis which can be valuable in production of manuka honey.”

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

Craig Ellison warned RMSC-goers not to underestimate the ability of Maori to do something big when they want to.

A rain gauge is so simple yet so vital.It has a simple task: measuring rainfall. But what can be gained from it is vital. What we do is vital to your business too. We’re an agribusiness bank. This exclusive focus enables us to meet the specific needs of your business and help secure your long-term future.

Rabobank. One focus.


NEWS 5

Record payout coming from fert co-op

FERTILISER, FEED and agri-technology co-op Ballance Agri-Nutrients last week reported record annual revenues, profit and distributions for the second year run-ning.

“It’s a nice way to leave the company,” chief executive Larry Bilodeau, who retires in September, told Rural News.

He says strong supply relationships saw product sourced competitively all year and sustained focus on keeping fertiliser prices low, plus buoyant dairy and recover-ing drystock and horticulture, helped drive volume to 1.55m tonnes compared to 1.33m tonnes last year.

No particular nutrient drove the growth though some pent-up demand for capital fertiliser, notably potash, probably was a factor as prices eased. “And of course potash is especially important in dairy.”

Bilodeau estimates dairy accounts for about 55% of Tauranga-based Ballance’s fertiliser sales. “That’s not changed as much as you might think. It’s probably come up a little bit but it’s almost within the margin of error.”

Last week’s cut in forecast dairy pay-outs (see pXX) “will impact a bit” on the coming year’s figures but with farmers well aware of the long-term importance of fertiliser it will not be drastic.

“It’s been plus or minus 15% over the years. It won’t be as good as last year but it’s not going to be terrible either.”

New efficiencies converted record revenue of $921m – up from $878m – into record profit of $93.5 million, ahead of last year’s $92.6 million.

However, $4m of one-off restructur-ing costs related to decommissioning its Whangarei plant – Ballance now supplies

Northland from Tauranga – put the group trading profit at $89.5m.

“What’s gratifying is… a net cash posi-tion at year-end while keeping up invest-ments in our operations and in research and development,” noted Bilodeau, reflecting on a $28.3m cash positive year-end compared to $6 million of net debt the year previously. Ballance’s year-end equity ratio* was 70.9%, similar to last year’s record 71.2%.

Kapuni, Ballance’s urea plant in Taranaki, had $21m spent on maintenance and capital improvements during a one-month shutdown, $10m went into feed business SealesWinslow “to boost feed production and distribution capability”, and “several million” went into improve-ments at distribution centres.

Bilodeau says returns from fertiliser, feed, or “farm tech” aren’t split in the financials yet.

Ballance chairman David Peacocke says the co-op’s performance and strong bal-ance sheet mean it can pass more profit to shareholders and retain a smaller share for reinvestment.

“Demand lifted during the year with forecasts for a high dairy payout, improv-ing red meat returns, more maize crops and farmers moving to improve pastures after drought conditions. We capped off the year with good autumn conditions which saw demand reach a peak, driving an upturn in year-end sales.”

Peacocke says the co-operative’s com-bined approach to fertiliser, feed and farm technology is getting results onfarm, with nearly 1000 new shareholders signing.

“They like our whole-of-farm approach to nutrients and our expert, science-based advice”.

* total assets less all current and long term liabilities divided by total assets

Zespri will bounce back

ZESPRI’S AFTER-TAX profit was up $9.6 million to $17.2 million following the provisions for China-related issues in last year’s accounts, chief executive Lain Jager says.

The company’s total revenues fell from $1.56 billion to $1.35 billion in the 2013-2014 financial year to March 31 as Gold volumes bottomed out at 11 million trays following the impact of Psa, he told the annual meeting.

Overheads remained flat at $66.7 million from 2013 to 2014, but would have decreased by 5% without costs of $3.7 mil-lion related to China and the SFO investigation.

“While we expect Zes-pri’s profitability will con-tinue to grow in parallel with the growth of the Gold and 12-month busi-nesses, over the next sev-eral seasons we must bear in mind that the Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project is considering the issue of Zespri commission arrangements,” Jager said. “This may have a mate-rial impact on Zespri’s rev-enues.”

Zespri’s key respon-sibility is to develop demand ahead of supply as Gold volumes grow rap-idly through these next five years. The company is investing heavily in pro-

cesses, systems and people to support the industry’s growth.

Reflecting on the year, Jager said strong grower returns were delivered in 2013.

Average Green per tray returns increased 13% from $4.62 to $5.23, the highest returns in a decade. Average Green per hectare returns were $42,659.

In the Green Organic

category, average Green Organic per tray returns increased by 14% to $7.07 and per hectare returns increased by 18% to $40,989 a hectare. The focus is to build genuine organic demand in the key markets of Japan, Europe and the US.

Average Gold returns, driven by extremely short volumes, were at record levels of $12.91 a tray, though, lower yields off

newly grafted Gold3 hect-ares meant per hect-are returns fell by 11% to $90,813.4

Gold3 was well accepted by the markets in 2013 and has been even more favourably received in 2014 off the back of a very strong taste year, he said.

The conventional Green crop Hayward will make up about half of pro-duction by 2018.

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected]

All In One account. All your business finance needs in one.As New Zealand’s only dedicated agribusiness bank, we understand the unique financial needs of farmers. That’s why we’ve created the All In One account. With a single account, you have all the advantages of working capital with term debt. And what’s more, there’s the everyday convenience of ATMs, online access and Debit MasterCard®. To discover how our All In One account can benefit your business, call Rabobank to arrange a visit.

Call 0800 722 622 or visit rabobank.co.nz

® MasterCard is the registered trade mark of MasterCard International Incorporated.

ALPINE CLEARSPANBirdproofkitsetsheds

Phone now for your free brochure pack on

0800 428 453

BIRD PROOF Solid and robust Protects your assets Free delivery na�onwide Galvanised box sec�on ra�ers www.alpinebuildings.co.nz


FONTERRA IS maintaining its advance payments to suppliers over the next two months despite slashing its fore-cast payout.

The co-op will pay $5/kgMS for milk supplied in July and August, matching what it paid farmers same time last year.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson told Rural News this will help cashflows on the farm during the winter months.

However, he admits the $6/kgMS opening farmgate milk price for the 2014-15 season will bring cashflow chal-lenges for farmers.

Wilson joined other dairy industry leaders in urging farmers to be cautious and budget accordingly.

The advance rate is a schedule of payments farmers receive throughout the season for their milk; rates posted last week on Fonterra Fencepost web-site shows farmers will receive $5/kgMS. However, the payment will drop to $4.48/kgMS during the peak pro-duction months October and January. From February, the advance rate returns to $5/kgMS.

Fonterra slashed its opening fore-cast by $1 citing strong production globally, a build-up of inventory in China and falling demand in some emerging markets in response to high dairy commodity prices. The co-op also announced a dividend range of 20-25c/share.

Wilson says the forecast payout is based “on the best information in front of us”.

The season has a long way to go and things could either way, he says. “There is a lot of volatility in the global dairy markets and farmers need to be cau-tious.”

Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard agrees farmers will need to watch costs closely and “cut their cloth accordingly”. “It means get-ting back on the computer to re-fore-cast farm budgets…. One thing for sure is the margin between operating costs and revenue has appreciably closed up.”

Fonterra shareholders council chair-man Ian Brown says most farmers had already been taking a cautious approach after seeing the recent GDT results.

But no one expected the milk fore-cast payout to drop by $1, he says.

“A drop of this scale was not expected and will have a significant effect on all farmers’ cashflows and budgets. Volatil-ity is a constant in our industry, [seen] in the difference between last year’s forecast and last week’s announcement. Farmers must remember this is a fore-cast only… but a timely reminder of the

importance of cost management.”Hoggard recommends farmers talk

to their bank manager, farm consultant and accountant. These days we can’t burn the chequebook, but some may be deleting their online banking apps, he adds.

He also spoke about the impact

of the payout on local communities. “Given half of what we get paid is spent locally, this will impact the towns but the cities are not immune.”

However, Hoggard says it’s not all doom and gloom and the payout will “progressively lift as the season unfolds”. “We are in a season of two halves. The first half isn’t flash but after half-time and the market equivalent of a few oranges we’ll be back on form. This is not the death of dairying.”

DairyNZ economists estimate the reduced payout could cut national income by $1.8 billion this dairy season – an average per farm loss of about $150,000 (based on 2013-14 milk pro-duction).

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says for many farmers $6/kgMS is a break-even payout, meaning little cap-ital spending or principal payments will take place in 2014-15.

“While it is unclear where prices could be at the end of the season, vola-tility requires farmers to be prepared to react to changes quickly,” says Mackle.

“Look at where the fat can be trimmed and where efficiency gains can be made.”

6 NEWS

Fonterra chairman John Wilson concedes the open-ing forecast for 2014-15 will bring cash flow chal-lenges for farmers.

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

Cut your cloth accordingly – Fonterra

THE NEW 2014 HONDA ATV RANGE.

TALK TO YOUR LOCAL HONDA DEALER TODAY!

FORGE A NEW PATH.

$13,387 EXC GST $14,257 EXC GST $14,778 EXC GST

$9,300 EXC GST $11,300 EXC GST $12,170 EXC GST $12,865 EXC GST

TRX500FM1

TRX420TM1 TRX420FM2TRX420FM1 TRX420FA2

TRX500FM2 TRX500FPA

www.hondamotorbikes.co.nzAvailable while stocks last. At participating Honda dealers only. Specifications may not apply to all models. Contact your local Honda Dealer for more information.

ATV Rural News Ad.indd 1 9/06/14 3:12 PM


NEWS 7On the bright side...FONTERRA’S GDT price index has declined 16% since the start of the season on June 1.

While the lower prices are impacting the forecast payout, it means improved returns from the co-op’s value-added and branded products; these businesses use milk as a raw product.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says the increase in divi-dend payout reflects expectations for improved returns on its value-add and branded products, given volume increases and lower input costs.

“As we continue to drive for growth in our consumer and foodservice businesses, during the first half of the current financial year we expect reduced cost of goods arising from lower dairy commodity prices to have a positive impact on returns.

“In light of the volatility, our divi-dend estimate is based on zero ingre-dients stream returns at this early stage in the season.”

Spierings says the co-op antici-pates some recovery in global dairy prices. It will update its business performance on September 24.

Forecast drop no surprise

FONTERRA’S CUT fore-cast was not a surprise, says US dairy market analyst Bill Bailey and he says the coop-erative did a good job looking at supply and demand factors.

But some news stories have been less balanced, focussing on China’s with-drawal from the market. While important, Bailey says increasing global production is also a key factor that should be recognised. EU production quotas end in April and the USDA is forecasting a 3.1% increase in US milk produc-tion next year, though Bailey questions that figure.

“The key to an increase in production of more than 3% is a larger number of cows in the US herd. The present herd is only marginally larger than in 2012 – there’s no number available for 2013 – so that means an increase in produc-

tion will rely on increased per-cow output,” he told Rural News.

“While that will happen, it will be less than 3%. So, for the first time in a long time, I think USDA has over-estimated production….

“Certainly lower feeding costs, which have dropped to about 40% of the cost of milk production in May, compared to 51% last year, will help push up produc-tion. And corn prices have continued to fall, reaching levels not seen for several years. But the serious water shortages in the key produc-ing state of California have kept production increases small, despite excellent [dairy] ingredient prices.”

In May 2014 Californian production was only 0.9% above 2013, he points out.

Another factor not widely reported here is the burgeon-ing domestic demand in the US, evidenced by a curl of

butter making the front cover of Time last month.

“Butter prices are through the roof, 40% higher now than last year at this time, based in increased demand,” says Bailey.

“So, attention will shift to domestic demand with the export market a residual

claimant. This is an important shift because the [US] indus-try had looked at export mar-kets as important for the past several years.

“Increased domestic demand will trump export markets any day.

“I am optimistic about greater growth in US produc-

tion, but I don’t see that hap-pening until 2016. A relief to water-short areas (Cali-fornia), lower feeding costs, reduced cattle prices – beef prices are at their highest level ever, bidding cows away from dairy – will eventually enter into the expansion equation, but not in the near term.”

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected]

US-based dairy analyst Bill Bailey says Fonterra has done a good job at looking at supply and demand factors.

THE NEW 2014 HONDA ATV RANGE.

TALK TO YOUR LOCAL HONDA DEALER TODAY!

FORGE A NEW PATH.

$13,387 EXC GST $14,257 EXC GST $14,778 EXC GST

$9,300 EXC GST $11,300 EXC GST $12,170 EXC GST $12,865 EXC GST

TRX500FM1

TRX420TM1 TRX420FM2TRX420FM1 TRX420FA2

TRX500FM2 TRX500FPA

www.hondamotorbikes.co.nzAvailable while stocks last. At participating Honda dealers only. Specifications may not apply to all models. Contact your local Honda Dealer for more information.

ATV Rural News Ad.indd 1 9/06/14 3:12 PM


NEWS 9

CHINA IS now the world’s larg-est online market, says a Shanghai researcher, Mary Boyd.

She told the Red Meat Sector Conference that consumption and shopping patterns in China have changed with growing consumer affluence and population growth in the cities.

“This has brought about changes in what people want to eat and how they enjoy food – especially protein,”

Boyd says.“We are also seeing changes in

how people and families do their gro-cery shopping [because of ] foreign companies and growth in local play-ers in the supermarket and hyper-market business.”

This affluence has led to more people buying cars, giving them mobility and flexibility to shop fur-ther away from home.

Now comes on-line shopping.

“The big question is ‘what is the split going to be for a conventional in-store visit to the hypermarket or supermarket, versus how much of those goods can be bought online and delivered directly to the home?’

“This is not unique to China, but the extent to which it’s been adopted in China is extraordinary.”

Any company wishing to sell into China needs to have a strategy for online sales, Boyd says.

China on-line huge!

MIE plans not pie-in- the-sky – McCarthyMEAT INDUSTRY Excel-lence (MIE) chairman John McCarthy says he saw an irony for him in the recent Red Meat Sector Conference.

The conference themes of ‘stable procurement and market cooperation’ have been pushed by MIE for the last 18 months, he says. The conference organisers didn’t offer MIE a speaking slot, but had they done so it could have led to intelligent dis-cussion of the subject.

“It’s no accident the themes of this year’s conference are aligned with MIE principles; equally it’s no accident good news stories have

increased about the red meat sector,” McCarthy told Rural News. “We pose a threat to the reputa-tions of all the sector par-ticipants who have staked their careers, and in some cases their life’s work, on preserving the status quo. In my view, it is the wrong path.

“The status quo is a slippery slope and more of the same will not reverse that trend. We should not, however, underestimate the breadth of the forces potentially aligned against us.”

McCarthy presents the analogy of a ‘pie’ to illus-trate the overall dynamic of the red meat sector. He shows this pie divided into three slices: the first rep-resents the supermarket

chunk; second, the pro-cessors/exporters; third, the biggest slice worth the most – yet returning the least – is the farmer stake.

He says his analogy makes nonsense of histori-cal expectations of farm-ers believing the industry will “fix our problems”. “They won’t. They can’t. They are essentially in competition to main-tain and grow their slice of what is now a shrink-ing pie.”

McCarthy says the meat industry needs to change, but the challenge will be turning the per-ceived threat MIE poses to the status quo into an opportunity everyone can buy into.

“My message to the grassroots is simple.

Don’t be fooled. The good news stories, the predicted increases in prices for the coming season are red her-rings.

“The fundamentals remain. Unless we change the structure of our indus-try model, in five years there will be another meeting in Gore or Field-ing, another MIE will be formed and the status quo will once again pay lip-service to the need for reform.”

McCarthy believes this year will be “make or break” and where MIE goes is up to farmers.

He says farmers can remain at the behest of the rest of the industry – sup-pliers of raw commodity into various profit centres, essentially wage slaves on

farms. “Or they can get behind the cooperative model to drive the syn-ergies and opportunities in scale and size and take control of their futures.”

MIE chair John McCarthy believes this year will be ‘make or break’ for red meat sector.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

Helping grow the country

Terms and Conditions: Pricing valid 1/8/2014 - 31/8/2014 or while stocks last. Prices include GST and are subject to change. Products may not be available in all stores but may be ordered on request. Prices do not include delivery, delivery costs are additional. Image is for illustrative purposes only.

John Bull Himalaya Safety BootNormally $189

$164

John Bull Cougar Safety BootNormally $169

$144

Territory (pictured)

Glacier

Aqua Flex

Aqua Dairy

Valley

Station

www.powerfarming.co.nz

Contact your local Power Farming dealer today for more information

* Normal Lending Criteria & Conditions Apply

An ultra heavy duty 3m unit available with either a cage or packer option making it well suited to a wide range of soil types.

• 3 & 3.5m working widths• 200Hp gearbox• Quick fit tines• Cam clutch standard• Packer and cage options• Heavy duty gear tray with

double reinforcement

DM RAPIDOPOWER HARROW

STRENGTH &RELIABILITY

FALCO4 - 4.6M WORKING WIDTHS

FALCO4 - 4.6m working widths

Designed for 130-200Hp tractors

• 1000 rpm gearbox• Cam clutch• Stone guard deflectors• Bolt on tines• Rear levelling bar

1.95%* *FINANCE FROM


10 NEWSWestland wipes $1.50 off forecast range

Westland chief executive Rod Quin.

HOKITIKA DAIRY co-op Westland last week wiped $1.30-1.50/kgMS off its forecast, leaving its Coast and growing number of Canterbury suppli-ers expecting $6.00-6.40/kgMS this season.

Its board met at the

same time as Fonterra’s but announced its revi-sion the morning after its larger counterpart, chief executive Rod Quin citing lower international prices and the strong New Zea-land dollar.

“The market has con-tinued to decline as customers limit their purchases due to higher

inventories in their supply chains, and growth in milk and dairy product supply from Europe and the US.

“We have to con-sider whether we’re at the bottom of the price cycle, and here the signs are slightly more encour-aging. There are indica-tions that customers are buying more than in previ-

ous months to refill their supply chains.”

Quin later told Rural News he expects to see China back in the market “in a more material way” in the next four-six weeks. “But we’re not building hope of an upside into our current forecast. We’re saying it’s time to be con-servative with budgets.

Customers still have a rea-sonable volume of prod-uct in the supply chain and they have more choice from other [suppliers].”

While some industry commentators have spec-ulated a weakening New Zealand dollar will offset lower global dairy prices and therefore bolster pay-outs, Quin cautioned that

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected]

as of last week, declines in the dollar had been small and the currency remained over-valued.

“Westland’s response is to [keep growing] its capacity to produce higher value nutritional products such as infant formula.”

A recently announced $102 million nutritionals dryer at Hokitika will be commissioned in one year.

Westland started new season collections on July 22 and saw the season making a good start, said Quin. “We’re get-ting strong milk flows – 150,000-200,000L/day already –much stronger than at the same stage last year.”

Cool, sunny weather had helped dry things out and though rain was set-ting in again it was warm so Quin hoped it wouldn’t have too much impact.

Federated Farm-ers West Coast presi-dent Katie Milne said the payout forecast cut was expected, but would add to stress levels at a busy time of year.

“It’s frustrating but everyone was wised up to

it coming. We’ll just have to look at budgets and talk to the bankers and work our way through it. Hopefully it will go back up again as quickly as it’s come down.”

Though the West Coast has been a low-cost pro-duction area, increased use of PKE and grain has seen costs creep up on some farms as they’ve pushed production, often to cover rising overheads, particularly where irriga-tion has gone in, Milne says.

“Those feeling they’re a bit close to the wire will have to be talking to their banks about signif-icant changes or letting the leash out a bit further. This will have added a lot of pressure for those who are close to the [break-even] line.”

While a few farms were calving already, most wouldn’t start until this or next week, she said.

“For the last fortnight we’ve had a marvellous run of weather which was much needed: June and the first week of July were a bugger.”

2014-15 payout confirmedFEDERATED FARMERS West Coast Dairy chair Renee Rooney put a positive spin on West-land’s announcement saying farmer-share-holders would appreciate the early ‘heads-up’ on the current season and confirmation of a final payout range of $7.50 - $7.70/kgMS for 2013/14.

“Of course we’ve got retentions on top, but it is set to be a good payout and Westland’s supplier communication has been pretty good.”

Dairy farmers nation-wide would be tight-ening their belts with an immediate impact on rural economies, she

predicted.“That will ultimately

‘trickle up’ to our larger urban centres. It is safe to say dairy farmers will be sitting on their wallets, focussing only on what we need,” she added, rattling off some statis-tics.

“Westland pumps about $450 million into the West Coast economy and [at least] $100 million into Canterbury. Some 2.3% of all jobs on the Coast and the top of the South Island hinge on what we do. Each of our cows generates $3599 for these regions too.”

Signs the New Zealand dollar was easing

TO PAGE 11

WWW.SUZUKI.CO.NZ

Once you’ve played and worked with the best, there’s no settling for less. That’s why Tony Woodcock kits up on a Suzuki. And just like New Zealand’s most capped prop, the DR200 Trojan has measured up to the test for years. With a tough 200cc engine, greater suspension travel, higher ground clearance, and a lower seat height than any of its competitors, it’s rugged, reliable and easy around the paddock. The 13-litre fuel tank means it won’t be stopping half way through the game. When you add top level details like alloy hand guards, rubber insulated steel footpegs, dual side stands and a large 12Vheadlight it’s clear no other farm bike can compete.

NO.1 PERFORMER ON EVERY PADDOCK

PROVEN TOUGH. GREATER ENDURANCE. NO COMPETITION

SZM

0037


NEWS 11

Zespri tidies up Chinese connections

DEALING WITH the con-sequences of non-compli-ance issues in three of its 53 markets in recent years was “not good enough,” says Zespri chairman Peter McBride.

In China, Zespri is working hard to rebuild it operation and distribu-tion, he told the annual meeting. Zespri’s sales in China and Japan are at weekly records.

McBride says the board had strengthened its com-pliance framework with

former Fonterra chief financial officer Jona-than Mason leading this work. External profes-sional advisers were also engaged to ensure the company is compliant wherever Zespri kiwifruit is sold.

Independent partners are being audited in direct sales markets and “tough choices” will be made to end relationships if part-ners are putting Zespri at risk.

“We now have four import partners in China. We have a new market manager, a newly cre-

ated government relations role and have several new team members in key posi-tions,” McBride added.

“The links between New Zealand and our China operation are now

THE KIWIFRUIT Industry Strategy Project’s draft proposal will go out to growers and shareholders in the next few weeks ahead of the first growers’ meeting on August 21.

They can have input into the strategy and will vote on a final proposal by the end of the year.

The strategy maps the long-term future of the industry and is led by academic and businessman Neil Rich-ardson who has previously said the New Zealand kiwifruit industry must not be lost to overseas interests.

McBride told the annual meeting

that when the industry structure was established in the 1990s, they agreed to the principle of cooperation.

“That principle still guides the industry in its decisionmaking today, albeit decisionmaking sometimes surrounded by robust and passionate debate.

“The Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project is to cement that principle for the future and ensure our long-term success.”

He said the biggest risk to the process is grower apathy, so he urged all growers to get involved.

Growers asked about strategy

tighter and much more transparent.

“We have also worked hard to build the right relationships in China, recently culminating in our appointment to the advisory board of the APEC China Business Council and the New Zea-

land China Council. We have made positive change across the business and I assure you our focus remains fixed on getting it right.”

McBride said Zespri is in the top three fruit brands in major markets, including the number-one

fruit brand in the main cities in its key growth market of China.

The global fruit busi-ness is almost exclusively a commodity trade. But with New Zealand “a rela-tively high-cost producer, far from our markets, exporting almost 100%

of what we grow, we will not survive if we seek to compete on a commodity basis”.

Adhering to a strat-egy of a premium-qual-ity, branded position will deliver long-term sustain-able wealth to New Zea-land kiwifruit growers.

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

Zespri chairman Peter McBride.

were welcome and would help Westland’s exports.

“What’s happening is a blip but we need to suck it up and get on with farming.

“Welcome to the life of an exporter.”

Westland and “big brother” Fonterra’s investment in new facili-

ties was another posi-tive and Rooney said as long as you farm sensibly for the medium term you wouldn’t lose your shirt, but highly leveraged dairy farmers would feel this.

“If you haven’t already, you should be talking to your bank, accountant and farm consultant.

“Prioritise what

you really need to be productive and compliant, which includes a Feds membership,” she said, pointing out that Feds’ submission resulting in the recent waiving of earthquake rules applying to farm buildings had saved every farm with buildings several thousand dollars.

2014-15 payout confirmedFROM PAGE 10

the beginning of a legendary journey

TM © Rugby World Cup Limited 2008 - 2014. All rights reserved.

Rugby World Cup 2015 Tours & PackagesThree great options available now:

• Semi-finals & the Final Corporate Package• Quarter-finals to the Final Hosted Supporter Tour• English Coaching Inns & Pubs; quarter-finals to the Final Tour

Register online today or call BCD Travel on 04 891 1000 www.bcdsport.co.nz/rwc2015

AVAILABLE FROM

$10,000UP FOR GRABS

AVAILABLE FROM

Do you know of a rural community project that needs a little cash injection? The community hall, rugby clubrooms or the school playground... Stafi x has $10,000 in cash to give away to the three most deserving rural community projects across the country!

Tell us about your local rural community project and be in to win. Make your submission at www.yourcommunity.co.nz. Entries close on 10th August 2014.


12 NEWSEwe flock rebuilding will pressure slaughter volumes

BEEF + Lamb NZ’s chief economist is predicting a slight rebuilding of the national ewe flock, result-ing in a drop in mutton

and lamb slaughter in the coming season.

Andrew Burt told the Red Meat Sector Con-ference to expect other minor adjustments in the sheep sector in the coming year.

“The current view is that the number of ewes mated will be back a bit on last year as a result of drought impact and the higher number of ewes slaughtered in the season. But we will see a slightly

improved lambing per-centage coming back from the drought-affected fig-ures last year.

“It’s primarily a cli-matic situation, so the slightly fewer ewes mated and the higher lambing

percentage would just about offset each other so we’ll have only slightly more lambs born – all being equal.”

Burt says though few ewe hoggets were mated this year, overall the pro-

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

portion of lambs from ewe hoggets is only about 4-5%. Lambs for slaugh-ter are expected to decline 2-4%.

“The current market signals a little rebuild-ing or rebalancing of the national flock: it will be a younger ewe flock, a lot of the older ewes having been being slaughtered. This might help productiv-ity in the next two-three years.”

He expects many farm-ers to retain older ewes in the process of rebuilding.

As for how all this affects farm incomes, Burt says BLNZ is still finalising the numbers.

“From what we’ve seen it varies from region to region. For example, for the East Coast last

year was tough with the drought, but this year was favourable – better but not exceptional. In other regions last year was normal and this year will be the same.”

Burt says the interna-tional lamb and beef mar-kets are strong because of the ‘China factor’ and adjustments are being made worldwide to deal with this.

“China has put pres-sure on other markets. It’s raised prices and now everyone is shuffling the pieces adjusting to the new normal in sheepmeat prices.”

Burt has heard that US demand for lamb may increase but this may apply more to volume than price.

Elders sale now complete

Andrew Burt reckons the number of ewes mated will be back a bit on last year.

ELDERS NEW Zealand’s sale to South Island-based Carr Group has now been completed.

The deal was announced in June and Elders man-aging director Stu Chapman and Carr directors Greg and Craig Carr have since been meeting Elders staff and clients, discussing what the merger will mean.

“The feedback we have received from Elders staff and current clients has been overwhelmingly posi-tive,” Chapman says. “The rural sector is encouraged about the 100% New Zealand ownership and is keen to embrace a new Kiwi brand.”

Carr Group managing director Craig Carr says he’s looking forward to the one entity.

“It will be good to join forces with Stu Chapman to create a robust rural business. We will continue to look for synergies across the combined group and we are working on growth plans.”

Carr says Elders staff he’s met have been “encour-aging and supportive of the sale”.

The business will continue to trade under the Elders brand for the foreseeable future with Stu Chapman continuing as managing director.

Check out our websiteswww.ruralnews.co.nzwww.dairynews.co.nz


NEWS 13

Electioneering the red meat sector‘NONSENSE’ WAS how some industry leaders at the Red Meat Sector Conference labelled politicians’ comments during a debate at parliament on the Sunday evening prior.

Politicians from National, Labour, NZ First and Greens sought to impress attendees, but their patter prompted shak-ing of heads and murmurings of “bullshit”. Political journal-ist Colin James was referee as the speakers waded into topics such as water and trade.

The Greens’ Stefan Brown-ing claimed the country was “headed the wrong way” on free trade deals and said more needed to be done in such deals to better secure the “liveli-hoods of farmers and families”.

He then roundly attacked past and present Federated Farmers Dairy chairs whom he claimed don’t believe there is any need for urgent action on water. “I hope the meat sector overall doesn’t follow the same line because that would devalue our markets,” he added.

Richard Prosser says NZ First didn’t support free trade, but supported fair trade. “The US Marines combat manual says ‘always cheat, always win; the only fair fight is the one you lose’.”

Prosser says NZ First favours bilateral agreements. And we must sell high value products, getting away from selling carcases – a reference to our selling lamb carcases to China.

Damien O’Connor, Labour’s agricultural spokesman, also

jumped on selling carcases, saying we were doing that in the last century and are still doing it, and is this ‘progress’?

“The issue for all agricultural sectors is to negotiate access for the safest, highest-value food in the world bar none. We can produce the finest pasto-

ral based protein in the world, but if it sits on a bottom shelf in the UK what does that do for our image?”

O’Connor also claimed the dairy sector had no strategic plan, yet should have to retain world markets. Because New Zealand farmers are not subsi-

dised, as are others, ours are in a fragile situation, he said.

Finally, National’s Nathan Guy claimed his party has one of the world’s best trade nego-tiators in Tim Groser, whose efforts in negotiating many FTAs are praiseworthy.

“We have talked a lot about China, but in the red meat sector we also need to look at other historical mar-kets important to you – namely the US and Europe.” Neither should we forget new and emerging markets such as Latin America and the ASEAN countries. “We have negotia-tions underway with Korea and India, but Russia may take more time.”

Guy sees greater collabo-ration between government departments on trade issues and industry.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

THE POLITICIANS may have

thought they scored points

against each other but many

failed to impress meat indus-

try leaders.

Progressive Meats

managing director Craig

Hickson the next day intro-

duced two speakers saying, “It’s

nice to hear from two people

who know what they’re talking

about.”

Hickson told Rural News

some of the politicians misrep-

resented the industry in talking

about a reversion to the lamb

carcase trade.

“That is simply not

supported by the facts,” he

explained. “There has been a

slight increase in the carcase

trade in comparison to other

years, but the net return to New

Zealand has been higher. Only

6% of lamb is sold in carcase

form now. I started in this

industry 40 years ago and then

we were 95% carcases and 5%

cut.”

Politicians fail to cut it!

From left Stefan Browning, Damien O’Connor, Richard Prosser listen as Nathan Guy speaks.

ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited ANZ1551/RN/8

anz.co.nz/rural

Paul Phelps, ANZ Bay of Plenty Agri Manager.He’s made farming in the region his business.

For the past 20 years, Paul has been working as an ANZ Agri Manager. Having spent 18 of those in the Bay of Plenty region, his knowledge of the local farming environment and agri business issues would be hard to match. Paul is part of ANZ’s dedicated

Agri Business team of 17, providing expert service to farmers in the Bay of Plenty region. To fi nd your local ANZ Agri Specialist, visit anz.co.nz/rural or call Paul himself on 0274 383 336. Best Agribusiness Bank

New Zealand2012 - 2014


14 NEWSWhat about us say contractorsAGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING lobby Rural Contractors New Zealand (RCNZ) has welcomed news that Government plans to increase caps to overseas season workers for the horticultural sector, but believes a similar scheme is also needed in the rural contracting sector.

“There is no doubt the horticul-ture sector is an important and valu-able part of New Zealand’s economy and the Government is right to

make provisions for that sector,” RCNZ president Steve Levet says. “However, we need similar provi-sions for the rural contracting sector as there is a gap between rural con-tractors’ needs for trained, agri-cultural machinery operators and unemployed New Zealanders who can do this work.”

Levet says the rules around employing temporary, skilled people from overseas prepared to work for 6-8 months each year need

to be simplified – as do the regula-tions restricting people who have previously worked here in past sea-sons coming back to New Zealand to work.

“Contracting is a seasonal busi-ness and one that uses sophisticated machinery that requires technical skill to operate productively. Part of this shortfall is met by bringing in skilled operators from overseas.”

Levet adds that political parties of all persuasions need to under-

stand that a dire shortage of suitable agricultural machinery operators means rural contractors rely on employing skilled people from overseas on a temporary basis each season and have done so for many years.

He says RCNZ will continue to work closely with the Government, political parties and officials too both ensure that locals have to lobby for changes to the rules around engaging overseas seasonal workers.

US dairy sector threatens to pull TPP supportTHE US dairy industry is threatening to end support for the proposed trans-Pacific trade agreement (TPP) if Japan and Canada stall on their pledges of comprehensive market access for US dairy products.

Both lobbies have also expressed concern about the dominance of Fonterra in international export markets and want this perceived advantage looked at as well.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) together sent a message intended to underscore the need for compre-hensive market access in all dairy tariff lines into both countries’ markets. They say this is needed to ensure TPP negotiations result in a high standard trade agreement that can be held up as a model for future agreements.

Said USDEC president Tom Suber, “It is unaccept-able to have such sizable, sophisticated economies refus-ing to undertake the necessary openness they agreed to upon entering TPP.”

NMPF president and chief executive Jim Mulhern says he wants to see strong outcomes on market access with Japan and Canada.

“Our industry remains prepared to match the level of ambition of those countries. To be successful, any even-tual TPP agreement must result in more open dairy mar-kets in Japan and Canada.”

The two groups also say it is import the talks address the lingering impacts of New Zealand government dairy policies that have intentionally advantaged Fonterra at the expense of other competitors.

“It is vital that TPP address serious non-tariff poli-cies by the New Zealand government that have uniquely advantaged the largest dairy exporting company in the TPP region and the world,” the two groups say in a letter to US Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agricul-ture Secretary Thomas Vilsack.

The letter says it’s clear Japan and Canada are standing back from ambitious trade goals the US obligated itself to undertake upon joining TPP negotiations.

“The US dairy industry has been a leading and long-standing advocate for comprehensive market access and the inclusion of Japan and Canada in the TPP,” the letter says.

“Should Japan and Canada not commit to minimum standards and basic market-based principles as many other TPP countries have done, we would need to re-examine our support for a TPP.”

ALAN HARMAN


that goes betterwith lamb is

THE ONLY THING

SMARTShot®

Restricted Veterinary Medicine. Available only under Veterinary Authorisation.VI

R-03

49_R

N_28

x5

The SMARTShot® family of long-acting B12 and Selenium products have been developed and trialled by AgResearch and are made in New Zealand.

One simple and convenient 0.5mL injection in lambs from 3 weeks of age can ensure that vitamin B12 and selenium levels remain sufficient for up to 4 months, delivering greater liveweight gains across the board. With fewer injections there’s less stress on your lambs and less labour for you to worry about.

Why choose a short acting B12 injection when for as little as 1 cent a day, a long acting SMARTShot® B12 Prime Lamb or SMARTShot® B12 can help your lambs grow to their full potential?

Your vet knows the science and benefits behind SMARTShot® and how it can add value to your farming operation. We entrust SMARTShot® to your veterinarian - your animal health expert.

GET A FREE JAR OF

with every purchase of 2 x 500mL SMARTShot®# from your vet, to go with your perfect lamb.

*While stocks last. #Minimum purchase of 1 x 500mL SMARTShot® B12 Prime Lamb and 1 x 500mL SMARTShot® B12

plus Se or 2 x 500mL SMARTShot® B12 Prime Lamb or 2 x 500mL SMARTShot® B12 plus Se to qualify.

Mint & Apple Jelly*


NEWS 15

Farmers warned to clean up their act

FARMERS MUST mini-mise the impact of their business on the environ-ment says Waikato Fed-erated Farmers president Chris Lewis.

Just as restaurants are forcibly closed by coun-cils for serious hygiene related breaches, farmers must realise they can be ordered to stop milking until environment related issues are sorted.

Lewis made these comments as a Thames farming company was ordered by a judge, Jeff Smith, “not to com-mence milking” until a new dairy effluent system was in operation on its Kopu farm. The farm has since upgraded its efflu-ent system and begun milking.

The farm was found guilty of discharging milk vat waste and large vol-umes of dairy effluent directly into farm drains. It was fined $47,250.

Lewis says if Waikato Regional Council docu-ments presented in court are correct, then the offending was “extremely damaging to the environ-ment”.

“Like any business, the council can shut you down if you have a bad grade and not allow you to open only until the prem-ises are clean enough,” he told Rural News.

Lewis says most farm-

ers are law-abiding busi-ness owners but are let down by a few careless operators.

“As in any profession – police, doctors, law-

yers and accountants – there are one-per-centers who let the team down. Like the other professions, this minority group of farmers gets the head-lines.”

Tuitahi Farms Ltd farm was inspected by Waikato Regional Council officers after

a monitoring flight in Sep-tember 2013.

The officers discov-ered unlawful discharges including milk vat waste and large volumes of dairy

effluent going directly into farm drains. The drains flow a short dis-tance to the Waihou River which flows to the Firth of Thames.

The council prosecuted under the Resource Man-agement Act. The judge’s order arose from convic-tion on four environmen-tal offences and a fine of $47,250 for offending which had “long term and insidious” effects on the environment.

Waikato Regional Council investigations

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

manager Patrick Lynch says it realises the court order put the farmer in a difficult situation.

“Cows are calving and the dairy shed, where effluent collects, needs to be used at this time of year. However, coun-cil officers inspected the property recently and confirmed that a robust

effluent management system is now in place and operational. This has the ability to protect the envi-ronment 365 days of the year and the farmer can get on with his business lawfully.”

The effluent system was designed by an accred-ited designer, Lynch says.

“It complies with the

dairy effluent code of practice and meets the challenges of farming in low lying areas. They have created above ground stor-age with sufficient volume to make the most of the effluent and water for irri-gation during the summer months.”

@rural_newsfacebook.com/ruralnews

Waikato Feds president Chris Lewis (inset) says farmers must minimise their impact on the environment.

Well fed ewes produce well grown lambsFeeding ewes to maintain body condition over winter ensures good lamb birth weights and colostrum production, improving lamb survival.

Talk to the team at PGG Wrightson about your winter sheep requirements today.

Helping grow the countryFreephone 0800 10 22 76 www.pggwrightson.co.nz

Pyrimide®Abamectin, albendazole, levamisole oral combination drench. Stable Suspension Technology for a consistent dose every time.

MAGNUM®With correct application, MAGNUM’s high-tech water-based formula means you get a highly effective, thorough lice kill.

Zapp EncoreThe combination of triflumuron (IGR) and imidacloprid to achieve knockdown and long-term control of lice on all breeds of sheep and for the treatment and protection against fly in coarse wool sheep.

MULTINE® 5-in-1Plain or SelenisedPre-lamb protection when you need to combine the drench of your choice for your farm.

ES Plough

Contact your local Kverneland dealer for more information

Available from 3 to 5 furrows

• A range of mouldboard options depending on soil type

• Vari width on the move provides 30 to 50cm furrows – SAVING TIME

• 200hp headstock

• Well proven Kverneland auto reset protection FINANCE

FROM 1.95%*

*Normal lending criteria & conditions apply


THE SUSTAINABLE Farming Fund is definitely “grassroots” with farmers leading successful projects in the agri-cultural sector, says Kathy Mansell, MPI director growth and innovation.

The fund begins a new round of applications on Thursday (August 7) with $8 million to allocate to projects with environmental, economic and social benefits in the primary sector.

This approach differs from the usual funding rounds for research organisations: the projects must be lead by a “community of interest” such as farmers, says Mansell. Appli-cants can be from diverse areas and may be a group just formed on an issue, such as water quality.

Recognised entities may be con-tracted by MPI as part of a project or may be partners in a project, says Mansell. Partly this is because part-ners in a project, other than MPI, must provide at least 20% of the fund-ing through cash and in-kind con-tribution. MPI is finding the most successful projects get roughly 50% contributions, showing commitment from the other parties.

The fund is set at $8 million a year, however in each funding round the allocations will vary from one to three years. On a rolling basis MPI allocates about $3 million a year.

“It is a grassroots fund so a com-munity of interest determines there is a particular issue they are trying to respond to to solve that problem,” says Mansell.

“The range of projects is varied: it could be sustainable land man-agement, developing a niche crop,

adapting to climate change, beekeep-ing, organic systems, arable systems – anything in primary industry except wild fisheries.

“Generally the projects need to be applied research or some form of field trials with demonstration sites to prove some form of new tech-nology. Or an opportunity to identify something new where the knowledge could be transferred to other parts of the country.

“One community will prove something and that can be extended to other farming situations.”

All sectors have equal opportunity to apply, she says. Successful projects closely meet the criteria and can demonstrate a higher likelihood of success. All three criteria – economic, environmental and social – must be in the mix. The significance of the problem is taken into account. Commercial organisations cannot leverage this particular fund.

“We need definite evidence there is an ability to deliver so they need somebody with the technical and project management skills to ensure the project can be driven forward.

“We also want to see the project can make a different in the commu-nity and to whom, and how far that can be extended. It might be regional or the best ones might have a national ability to extend change. Risky proj-ects might get less than those whose level of risk can be managed.”

Value of the overall investment by all parties will be taken into account. “We are also looking for innovation,

asking what’s the new area, new skills, new opportunity that the project will provide.

“We also take an overarching approach to ensure we are getting balance across sectors… dairy, sheep and beef, arable, horticulture, for-estry, apiary, aquaculture, viticulture and land management. It is common to have every sector in every funding round.”

The maximum grant is $200,000 per annum up to three years. “An increasing number of successful applications are at the higher end of the spectrum – towards the $600,000 threshold. However a project might apply for less funding because they are doing feasibility work. They prove some sort of concept, then may come back for a subsequent funding round.

16 NEWSDrought forages viewed $8 million on offer

for ‘grassroots’ projects

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

PRACTICAL USE of forages in regions prone to drought is the topic of one successful project in the last SFF funding round, says Mansell.

Though some farmers know about various forages, eg lucerne, plantain, clover, etc, to improve the flexibility of farming systems, there’s less knowledge on how to use them, she says. This North Island East Coast project looks at the new forages available and how

to apply them in a prac-tical sense.

The project is called ‘Future forages and their role in dryland systems’ and could benefit farmers in other parts of the country also experiencing increasing climate vari-ability.

Other topics successful in this year’s round include sustainable land use intensification and environmental mitigation in the Ruataniwha plains,

widening the range of bee forage plants for pollination security, building leadership capacity in dairy women, diminishing canker infections in apple orchards, release of a new coddling moth parasitoid, improving parasite resistance and foot quality in angora and dairy goats, an N-leaching under lucerne trial in Taupo and sustainable farming systems in North Canterbury.

MPI’s Kathy Mansell

Realise your farm’s potential with an ANZ Agri Development Loan.

ANZ lending and eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and fees apply. ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited. ANZ1843/RN

anz.co.nz/rural

The ANZ Agri Development Loan is designed to help farmers grow and develop their business by providing them with a revolving line of credit to be utilised for on-farm investment. ANZ’s dedicated team of agri specialists can help you invest in irrigation, farm

conversion, feed systems, milking technology and stock housing for your farm with a loan that allows you to match repayments to your future cash fl ows. Give us a call. To fi nd an ANZ Agri Manager near you go to anz.co.nz/rural.

Best Agribusiness BankNew Zealand2012 - 2014

Call the team today to discuss your requirements


NEWS 17

Oceania factory readies to openSTANDING IN front of the milk powder dryer of Oceania Dairy Ltd’s new factory at Glenavy, Shane Lodge has a feeling of deja vu – but with a dif-ference.

During his 30 years in the dairy industry Lodge has seen new plants built for Fonterra and New Zea-land Dairy Ltd. But this time the owners are Chi-nese, reflecting the chang-ing face of the global dairy industry.

Rabobank recently released the findings of its annual global dairy survey and Yili Group, the owner of Oceania, was for the first time named in the top ten companies in the world.

Yili Group took over Oceania Dairy in April 2013 and immediately set about constructing the new Glenavy plant capable of 47,000 t of infant milk powder per annum at full

production.The ownership change

resulted in a new position for Shane Lodge as the quality and compliance manager at Oceania. He has overseen the construc-tion of the Glenavy factory site from grass land to new plant.

“It has been fascinat-ing to witness the inter-action and harmony between people repre-senting the world’s larg-est milk powder export country and the biggest milk powder consumption country,” he said.

“It has been a huge effort to turn around the site to a nearly completed factory in less than two years and this is a great reflection on the new owner.”

Lodge has also worked directly with local supply farmers to lock in the contracts for milk that will supply the new fac-

tory. The confidence pro-vided by Yili’s ability to absorb local production has helped recruit farmers Lodge says.

“We are proud to be the earliest supplier to Oce-ania Dairy,” local dairy farmer Ard van Leeuwen said.

“Oceania is establish-

ing a world-class plant here and that provides local farmers with more choice and opportunities.”

Van Leeuwen says the new factory and its own-ership by Yili is a boost for the local economy.

Meanwhile, a key aspect of Lodge’s role is ensuring outputs from the

new Glenavy factory meet the milk powder specifica-tions of New Zealand and China.

“As the world’s largest milk exporter, New Zea-land is ideally positioned to work with China to meet the country’s insa-tiable demand for milk,” Lodge adds.

CASH FOR Communities during autumn raised $35,000 to help rural communities nationwide.

During March, April and May, PGG Wrightson with Ballance Agri-Nutrients donated $1 per tonne of fer-tiliser sold, giving the cash to schools and charities selected by farmers who bought the product through PGW.

Some 850 farmers registered for the scheme; money is tagged for 170 rural community groups.

$14,000 will go to schools, $11,000 to rescue heli-copter services and $9000 to St John. Clubs and groups around New Zealand will also get some.

Stephen Guerin, PGG Wrightson general manager retail, says this reflects a “genuine commitment by farmers and suppliers to support organisations that need assistance to survive in rural communities. Fund-ing is increasingly difficult to source so every bit makes a difference.”

The top three recipients were the BayTrust Rescue Helicopter ($3411), Lakes District Rescue Helicopter ($2326) and Westpac Rescue Helicopter Canterbury ($1957).

Cash for Communities will be on again in spring. www.pggwrightson.co.nz

$35k for rural regions

Oceania’s Shane Lodge

• Clinically proven effi cacy in NZ against NZ BVD virus

• Convenient 50 and 125 dose plastic pillow packs

• Cow and user friendly subcutaneous injection• Unique 30 day in-use shelf life to

minimise wastage• Flexible primary vaccination course

Zoetis New Zealand Limited, PO Box 2094, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140, New Zealand. Tel: 0800 963 847, Fax: 0800 628 629. ULTRAVAC® is a registered trade mark of Zoetis Inc. or its subsidiaries. ACVM No. A10730. RVM; Available only under Veterinary Authorisation.

ZOE9945F


18 NEWSSniffing out trouble inside the country’s borders

NEW INCURSION dogs for biohaz-ards (those that have crossed the border and entered the environment) are now in training by MPI biosecurity detector dog teams.

Their first job will be to help eradi-cate a weed pest, white bryony, a plant with a distinctive smell which smothers everything from forest to pasture. The weed has been isolated to a small area and it’s hoped the dogs will sniff out any remaining plants.

A display by a potential incursion dog, a springer spaniel called Boston, was held during an open day briefing about MPI biosecurity detector dogs at its headquarters near Auckland Airport.

Detector dogs are used at airports, for cruise ships, cargo and at mail cen-tres to sniff out biosecurity risk mate-rial. The incursion dogs for beyond the border are new.

“It is very different for us, because it is in the wider environment,” says Brett Hickman, MPI manager of detec-

tion technologies, which includes the dog team “It is not indoors, it is not at the airport so it’s a different set of skills. The training team is loving having something different to do with the dogs. It is a next layer for us… if unfor-tunately something does get in, we do have another dog team which can go out and find it in the field.”

In the incursion demonstration, Boston, in training for only two weeks, sniffed out a blue-tongued lizard. Most MPI border detector dogs are beagles or Labradors but Hickman says for incur-sion dogs they will use any that will work in the environment.

MPI detector dog deployment man-ager Vanessa Smith told Rural News the border biosecurity detector dogs pick up risk goods every shift they work at the airport: in the busy pre-Christmas time they may find at least 100 items a shift.

Much of the offending is ignorance or a mistake, Smith says. People don’t realise souvenir items may contain risk materials, or often there are food items such as orange peel tucked inside chil-

dren’s gear.Dogs suit cruise ship work because

they are efficient, says Smith. They are much quicker and more efficient than asking all passengers disembarking for a day’s outing to open bags. Passen-gers from cruise ships often bring fruit from the ship to eat during the day, risk-ing incursions such as Queensland fruit fly. The dogs will go straight to hidden food items.

The detector dog team now has about 50 dogs and two recent pup-pies. A beagle, named Clara by the Pri-mary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, was hand-reared by staff because her mother died of leukaemia. In her first week on the job she detected plant material concealed on a person coming through immigration, whose visa was revoked.

Training of dogs starts with a few odours and others are added. Dogs are taught not to jump on people because some from other cultures object to being touched by a dog.

The dogs are in a high reward envi-ronment (tiny dog biscuits) because

they make frequent finds, so motiva-tion is high, Hickman says. Although young dogs such as Clara may seem ‘hyper’ they are well controlled and the team is looking for this high energy and keenness to do the job.

“Some dogs don’t make the grade. We want the best, we don’t want dogs that are mediocre.”

Being a dog handler is “hard yakka” and some handlers don’t make the grade either. It is a partnership between dog

and handler and important to get a good match.

The dogs must get used to crashing noises, different sounds and people pat-ting them. From about eight weeks to 14 months they go into puppy walking pro-grammes with members of the public similar to guide dogs.

They get used to kids, going to cafes, malls, going up and down escalators, noisy places and all sorts of environ-ments.

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

Minister for Primary Industry Nathan Guy greets a biosecurity puppy with kennel manager Kirsty Ansell at Auckland Inter-national Airport late last month


NEWS 19

Bowling them over in IndiaLEADING NEW Zea-land sportsmen for many years followed a familiar path when their glory days were over. Some became sales reps, some bought into menswear businesses, some managed pubs.

Not so former New Zealand cricketer Geoff Allott and his company Quality New Zealand Ltd (QNZ), exporting NZ lamb to India.

Its shareholders and promoters include former New Zealand cricket cap-tains Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Stephen Fleming — all with strong connections to India via cricket.

Allott saw India, with its rapidly expanding middle class, an excellent market for top quality NZ produce.

He knows the coun-try and is pleased to have other former players with Indian connections in the new company.

NZ-registered QNZ has offices in Christchurch and Mumbai and a head office in Bangalore.

Its main focus is the fast-growing middle-class market with money to spend and a desire for

quality food, for which NZ is well known.

Like other expand-ing middle classes, such as Singapore, the Indian middle class sees an increase in protein as important, notably sheep meat.

Allott says the com-pany saw the market for sheep meat as top-end. It developed business rela-tionships with quality Indian restaurants and hotels, all eager to add NZ lamb to their menus.

All roads led to the Alli-ance Group, the two com-panies agreeing to send the first major shipment of frozen NZ lamb to India. Now on its way is a con-tainer of lamb – French racks, legs and shanks – bound for top restaurants and hotels.

All the meat is branded as Alliance Group ‘Pure South’, launched last October to the Indian food and hotel industry at a function at the New Zea-land High Commission in New Delhi.

QNZ’s India chief exec-utive, Geoff Thin, says his company knows it will take time to firmly estab-lish a market for sheep meat; the NZ High Com-mission event was the

right first step.Alliance Group market-

ing manager John Rabbitt says his company knows it must keep a high stan-dard to secure an Indian

market. Alliance knows global exporting, he says. Over time its markets have numbered 65 countries.

Aussie wheat looking goodNATIONAL AUSTRALIA Bank (NAB) says the 2014-15 wheat season is off to a good start in most growing areas in Australia following autumn rain.

However, the bumper 2013-14 crop means pro-duction will still be 3.8% down on last year.

Grain prices in Australia are currently above world prices due to concerns about the impact of a dry spring. NAB predicts prices will ease 1.8% in local terms in 2014-15 as a falling Australian dollar mitigates steeper international falls.

The bank forecasts the Australian dollar will fall to US85c by the December quarter and Australia’s official interest rates will remain on hold until late next year.

PETER OWENS

Current and former NZ cricket captains Daniel Vettori, Brendan McCullum and Stephen Fleming are helping promote QNZ lamb in India.



WHANGAREI Power Farming Northland 09 438 9163DARGAVILLE Power Farming Northland 09 439 3333PUKEKOHE The Tractor Centre 09 238 7179MORRINSVILLE Maber Motors 07 889 5059TE AWAMUTU Power Farming Te Awamutu 07 870 2411TAURANGA Capital Tractors 07 543 0021WHAKATANE Jacks Machinery 07 308 7299ROTORUA Truck & Tractor Services 07 349 6528

GISBORNE Power Farming Gisborne 06 868 8908HASTINGS Power Farming Hawke’s Bay 06 879 9998HAWERA Power Farming Taranaki 06 278 0240FEILDING Power Farming Manawatu 06 323 8182MASTERTON Wairarapa Machinery 06 377 3009NELSON Brian Miller Truck & Tractor 03 544 5723 BLENHEIM Tractor Repairs & Spares 03 572 5173GREYMOUTH Power Farming West Coast 03 768 4370

CHRISTCHURCH Power Farming Canterbury 03 349 5975ASHBURTON Power Farming Ashburton 03 307 7153TIMARU Power Farming Timaru 03 687 4127ALEXANDRA Peter Watt Machinery 03 448 8490DUNEDIN Power Farming Otago 03 489 3489BALCLUTHA Power Farming Otago 03 418 3393 GORE Power Farming Gore 03 208 9395 INVERCARGILL Power Farming Invercargill 03 215 9039

• High output bale wrapping• Capability to operate behind

a baler• Load sensing hydraulics

• Twin satellite dispensers• Reliable cut and holds• Film break sensors

• Patented damper system: eliminates stress to the chassis by gently lowering bales to the ground

• Twin film dispensers

• Transport width of 2.45m and 1900kg weight - a compact unit with minimal power requirements

• Full road lighting kit

fff

WORK WITHTHE BEST

• The V660 is capable of producing a bale between 0.7-1.68 metres in diameter with a soft or hard core depending on individual requirements

• Drop floor for unblocking• Heavy duty drive line• 2 metre wide galvanised

pickup• 15 knife chopping unit

V660 VARIABLE BELT BALER

991T WRAPPER

HS2000 WRAPPER

FINANCE FROM1.95%* *Normal Lending Criteria & Conditions Apply

WWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPP

BBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE



20 WORLD

New Zealand lamb production irks UK red meat producers

JUNE SURVEY data shows big UK retailers are now displaying more British beef and lamb than at this time last year.

But the gaps between retailers are evident and the timing of the survey (late June) has pinpointed retailers slow to stock bigger quantities of British lamb.

The figures, released by Eblex –

the organisation for beef and lamb levy payers in England – shows most retailers are stocking UK beef.

But only three retailers – Aldi, Budgens and Morrisons – stock 100% UK lamb compared to the same time last year. Tesco stocked 54% UK lamb, down from 69% last year, Sainsbury’s 46% (53% last year) and Marks and Spencer 68%, (70% last year).

Numbers don’t back claims

UK’S BIGGEST super-market chain is under fire from farmers for promot-ing lamb from New Zea-land.

About 60 farmers pro-tested at Tesco’s stand at the Royal Welsh Show (July 21-24), accusing the retailer of selling New Zea-land lamb at the height of the British season despite

its claims that it supported UK farmers.

The National Farm-ers Union is unhappy with Tesco’s decision to heav-ily promote end-of-season lamb from the south-ern hemisphere despite it being the middle of the prime season for Brit-ish grass-fed, spring-born lamb.

UK media report Tesco selling two 300g packs of New Zealand lamb chops for £6 – a saving of 30%. New Zealand leg steaks were also on offer at £4 for a 270g pack usually priced at two steaks for £7 or three for £10. Only pre-mium British lamb was on sale.

A Tesco spokesman

says the supermarket plans a half-price promo-tion of British lamb soon, but could not say when.

“We sell more Brit-ish lamb than any other retailer, and we are proud to sell and promote Brit-ish lamb to our millions of customers.

“We know it is a great product and we want to sell large volumes at the peak of its season.”

NFU livestock board chairman Charles Ser-combe, who took part in the protest, says live-stock farmers are angry and frustrated with some retailers.

“Some are promoting an end-of-season prod-uct many view as inferior, over Red Tractor-assured, fresh lamb produced in the fields, valleys and hills of England and Wales.

“We’re highlight-ing Tesco for failing on commitments by their outgoing chief exec-utive Philip Clarke at the NFU conference last year that Tesco should be the best supporter of British farmers and that it wished to shorten the supply chain. We will keep the pressure on all retail-ers. The independent Beef & Lamb Watch results just out highlight those retail-ers who aren’t backing British farming.”

UK farmers export

100,000t of lamb a year – 33% of their production – mostly to Europe where it is seen as a premium prod-uct. Yet retailers import 100,000 tons, mostly from New Zealand.

NFU president Meurig Raymond says the UK was

self-sufficient in lamb last year and lamb numbers are higher this year.

“Promoting New Zea-land lamb over British, and Tesco’s attempts to justify this, misleads consumers about the seasonality of lamb and sends a signal to

farmers that Tesco is not prepared to promote the benefits of food produced in the UK.”

He says clearly-labelled home-grown lamb should get pride of place in retail outlets, so consumers can easily find it.

UK farmers are unhappy with Tesco’s for promoting New Zealand lamb.

LOW PRESSURE GUN

New Zealand’s Leading Boom Irrigator BRIGGS ROTO RAINER & LINEAR – Eight Models

Importer and distributor of Zimmatic Pivots & Laterals. Full variety of options offered.

10 Robinson Street, AshburtonPh 03 307 9049 - Fax 03 307 9047

Email: [email protected]: www.rainer.co.nz

Superior product design feature and strength. Computer Irrigation Design. Full Installation complete with Back-up Service & Parts.

Model PW100

Helping grow the country

Terms and Conditions: Pricing valid 1/8/2014 - 31/8/2014 or while stocks last. Prices include GST and are subject to change. Products may not be available in all stores but may be ordered on request. Prices do not include delivery, delivery costs are additional. Image is for illustrative purposes only.

Skellerup4x4 Power GumbootsNormally $105

$80

Skellerup4x4 Marathon GumbootsNormally $125

$100

$25 0FF 4X4 GUMBOOTS


WORLD 21

Falling Aussie cattle numbers lift beef prices

The Australian cattle herd is estimated to have declined 8.8%, as at 30 June 2014, to 26.7 million head.

After a rapid start to the year, slaughter is expected to ease as the year continues, and reach 8.3 million head, down 0.7% year-on-year.

Live cattle exports are forecast to reach 1.13 million head for 2014, up 33% on the previous year, underpinned by strong demand from Indonesia and Vietnam.

As during the past 18 months, the drought influ-enced slaughter has delivered lighter cattle to processors. Average carcase weight for 2014 is esti-mated to decline 0.7%, to 276 kg/head.

Beef and veal production is forecast to decline 1.3%, to 2.332 million tonnes cwt, before declining a further 9% in 2015, to 2.126 million tonnes cwt.

Domestic utilisation is expected fall 4.5%, to 708,000 tonnes cwt, with strong international demand likely to strip product from the domestic market in the final few months of 2014.

Supply and demand projections

AUSTRALIAN CATTLE numbers have fallen, but the tightening supply is pushing farmgate prices up.

Meat & Livestock Aus-tralia forecasts that by June 2015 the Australian cattle herd will have fallen to 26.1 million head – the lowest in 20 years.

MLA spokesman Tim McRae attributes this to wide, severe drought in the key cattle regions of Queensland and NSW.

In turn, the national cattle slaughter has continued at rarely seen levels for 18 months, cutting the numbers available for processing or exporting in coming years, says McRae.

“The sustained high adult cattle slaugh-ter levels of the past 24 months, combined with near-record live cattle shipments, have eroded the production capac-ity of the Australian herd heading into the second half of 2014. But with the inevitable tightening of supply, prices for Austra-lian cattle are forecast to increase into next year, bringing them back in line with global cattle and beef prices.

“The limiting factor in a price turnaround for the Australian market will be seasonal conditions for

the remainder of 2014 and the northern 2014-15 wet season.”

On the live export front, the strong demand for cattle is expected to hold, with shipments for 2014 tipped to exceed 1.1 million head, on track for their highest level since 2003.

Beef and veal exports, driven by surging female slaughter and production levels, are also tipped to reach 1.1 million tonnes swt, matching the 2013 record level.

Export demand, par-ticularly through Asia, had helped to alleviate some supply and price pressure in the southern markets.

In 2015, the competi-tion for a smaller volume of Australian beef is likely to intensify, says McRae.

“With the emergence of China, record prices for manufacturing beef in the US and improved market access agree-ments into Japan and Korea, the global compe-tition for Australian beef is extremely strong head-ing into the second half of 2014.”

The US market is fore-cast to be Australia’s larg-est export beef market in 2014, surpassing Japan for the first time since 2003.

However, after two years of drought still to be

broken, and an uncom-fortably high Austra-lian dollar, the Australian cattle industry still faces

some major production and competitive issues. Australian cattle numbers are

dwindling and the national herd is at its lowest for 20 years.


www.lely.com innovators in agriculture

HARVEST RESULTS.

RAKE IN MORE PROFIT THIS SEASON WITH LELY!Lely will help you to have a more sustainable, enjoyable and profitable future in farming, starting with;

Lely Splendimo Mowers:• The unique drive system ensures a considerably lower

power requirement - 1 litre of fuel per hectare!

Lely Lotus Tedders:• The best spreading and drying tedder on the market

due to the unique Lely hook-shaped tines.

Lely Hibiscus Rakes:• The Ro-tine harvests results - not dirt! The most

efficient rake, minimising contamination.

Call 0800 535 969 NOW or email [email protected]

Buy Lely and get the real deal...

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).

BEEF PRICES

c/kgCWT Change Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

NI P2 Steer - 300kg +3 4.88 4.85 4.52M2 Bull - 300kg +3 4.75 4.72 4.40P2 Cow - 230kg n/c 4.00 4.00 3.60M Cow - 200kg n/c 4.00 4.00 3.50

Local Trade - 230kg n/c 4.85 4.85 4.52SI P2 Steer - 300kg n/c 4.55 4.55 4.20

M2 Bull - 300kg n/c 4.10 4.10 4.05P2 Cow - 230kg n/c 3.02 3.02 3.10M Cow - 200kg n/c 3.00 3.00 2.95

Local Trade - 230kg +5 4.75 4.70 4.20

Slaughter

Export Market DemandChange Last Week 2 Wks

Ago Last Year 5yr Ave

95CL US$/lb +8 2.70 2.62 1.93 1.81NZ$/kg +27 6.94 6.67 5.28 5.19

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks Ago 3 Wks


% Returned NI -2% 68.0% 70.0% 82.83% 77.6%% Returned SI -2% 59.1% 61.5% 76.4% 72.1%

LAMB PRICES

c/kgCWTChange Last

Week2 Wks

AgoLast Year

NI Lamb YM - 13.5kg n/c 5.98 5.98 5.26PM - 16.0kg n/c 6.00 6.00 5.28PX - 19.0kg n/c 6.02 6.02 5.30PH - 22.0kg n/c 6.03 6.03 5.31

Mutton MX1 - 21kg n/c 3.70 3.70 3.10SI Lamb YM - 13.5kg n/c 5.98 5.98 5.11

PM - 16.0kg n/c 5.98 5.98 5.13PX - 19.0kg n/c 5.98 5.98 5.15PH - 22.0kg n/c 5.98 5.98 5.16

Mutton MX1 - 21kg n/c 3.28 3.28 2.90

Slaughter

Export Market DemandChange Last

Week2 Wks


UK Leg £/lb n/c 2.18 2.18 1.82 1.81NZ$/kg +19 7.93 7.74 7.76 8.26

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks

Ago3 Wks


% Returned NI -0% 77.2% 77.7% 68.9% 73.4%% Returned SI -0% 75.7% 76.1% 67.0% 74.8%

Venison PricesChange Last

Week2 Wks


NI Stag - 60kg n/c 6.15 6.15 6.70 7.53SI Stag - 60kg n/c 6.20 6.20 6.87 7.82

Play your part Record all your stock movements in the NAIT system

To find out more go to www.nait.co.nz | [email protected] | 0800 624 843

MatingFarm to farm Events Grazing Gypsy Day From a sale yard

A & PSHOW

NEWS PRICE WATCH


BEEF

Competition heats up in both islands

The rising US bull beef prices have underpinned a lifting bull schedule in the North Island in recent weeks, with last weeks average price between $4.70-$4.75/kg. Reports suggest some companies are aggressively seeking bulls; calling in contracts and seeking lighter weight ranges and rumours of $5.00/kg have also surfaced. There is also indications that recent weeks bull slaughter is higher than previous years. The lack of prime cattle continues to underpin strengthening steer prices with $4.85-$4.90/kg available last week and $5.00/kg on Angus lines.The local trade market continues to dominate in the South Island at $4.75/kg, and with export steer prices steady last week, but still 20cpk below local trade, it appears they have given up the chase.

US beef market in panic mode

While US beef prices continue their frenzied climb, panic is setting it at high levels as the prospect of a serious beef shortage looks to become reality. With favourable pasture conditions and hay in abundance, analysts are picking the traditional autumn cow kill will not eventuate. The USDA has raised its forecasts for 2014 imports up 12% from 2013, and a further 2% increase into 2015. However the origin of these imports are now becoming an unknown. While the rate of Australian cattle slaughter has continued at unprecedented levels longer than anticipated; there is little doubt that when the end comes, it will put Australia out of the market for a long time, and relief for the US shortage will not be found there. US eyes are being turned to NZ to assess our capability of filling the shortfalls left by Australia. Given supply side fundamentals of the US market aren’t picked to change any time soon, there is a growing chance that these market highs will be sustained through to the NZ bull kill. However consumer demand is the wild card, as the full impact of current prices is yet to be felt by consumers. This may be the factor that limits further upside.

LAMB

Processors keeping a lid on lamb prices

Processors are doing their best to keep a lid on lamb schedules at present. A combination of the high NZD, the beginning of the bobby kill season and an increasing focus on cattle slaughter as companies seek to take advantage of the surging US market, contributed to several companies taking money out of their printed lamb schedules in late July. While this did little to actually pull back operating prices in either island, it did succeed in further lowering farmer expectations of money to come later in the season. Export lamb prices in the NI were between $6.10-$6.20/kg gross last week, with the upper end of the range available on larger lines of lambs. In the SI one company that had reduced prices twice in consecutive weeks, was forced to put money back in last week. The majority of export lambs are making $6.00/kg in the SI, with the range between $5.70-$6.10/kg gross.

Store sheep markets positive across country

Demand remains firm for store lambs in the NI and the numbers appear to be sufficient to meet demand. In paddock prices seem to have found a level in recent weeks and have remained largely steady with 30-34kg lines trading between $2.95-$3.00/kg and heavier types between $2.80-$2.85/kg. There has been little to no price differential between males and ewes either in the paddock or the saleyards in the last two weeks. Both Stortford Lodge and Feilding had very firm sales last week. In the SI the lack of lamb numbers to trade is resulting in lifting prices, but the activity is very light. Prices are around 15-20cpk behind those in the NI. The SI has seen firm demand and subsequent prices for breeding ewes in recent weeks. Good quality ewes with high scanning percentages are making between $150-$180/hd. Demand in the NI for breeding ewes is steady, with prices ranging between $130-$140/hd. With lambing underway in several regions, this market will soon be winding up and the focus turned to ewes with lambs at foot.

Whole milk powder prices decline again

.

WOOL PRICE WATCH DAIRY PRICE WATCH

Indicators in NZ$ Change 24-Jul 17-Jul Last Year Indicators in NZ$/T Change Last 2

WksPrev. 2

WksLast Year

Coarse Xbred Indic. +1 5.05 5.04 4.64 Butter -72 4158 4229 5245

Fine Xbred Indicator -5 5.39 5.44 5.08 Skim Milk Powder -170 4287 4458 5750

Lamb Indicator - - 5.31 5.19 Whole Milk Powder -201 4042 4243 6208

Mid Micron Indic. - - 6.91 7.86 Cheddar -33 5168 5201 5529

Overseas Price Indicators Overseas Price Indicators

Indicators in US$/kg Change 24-Jul 17-Jul Last Year Indicators in US$/T Change Last 2

WksPrev. 2

WksLast Year

Coarse Xbred Indicator -4 4.35 4.39 3.68 Butter -100 3600 3700 4150Fine Xbred Indicator -10 4.64 4.74 4.03 Skim Milk Powder -188 3713 3900 4550Lamb Indicator - - 4.63 4.12 Whole Milk Powder -213 3500 3713 4913Mid Micron Indicator - - 6.02 6.23 Cheddar -75 4475 4550 4375

CURRENCY WATCH

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

US dollar 0.858 0.866 0.878 0.807Euro 0.637 0.641 0.644 0.607UK pound 0.505 0.507 0.515 0.524Aus dollar 0.912 0.928 0.931 0.873Japan yen 87.28 87.62 89.05 80.06

Euro

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

UK Pound

US Dollar

Play your part Record all your stock movements in the NAIT system

To find out more go to www.nait.co.nz | [email protected] | 0800 624 843

MatingFarm to farm Events Grazing Gypsy Day From a sale yard

A & PSHOW


24 AGRIBUSINESS

Mixing passion and science a winning formula

A PASSION for bringing together New Zealand information science to deliver practical information daily to farmers has become a successful business for Wellington mother Bridget Hawkins.

It recently won her the Fly Buys Mumtrepreneur of the Year Award and she won the agribusiness section of these awards.

Hawkins’ business, Regen Ltd, helps farmers manage disposal of cattle efflu-ent. The company has developed soft-ware, Regen Effluent, which turns data including soil moisture, temperature and rainfall into a simply daily recom-mendation sent to the farmer by text message.

Using the same model, Hawkins company is now launching a nitrogen management service, Regen Nitrogen, and a water irrigation service is under development.

“How you join all the information science done in this country to make

a difference to farmers day to day is something I have always been interested in,” Hawkins told Rural News.

With improved tech-nology, and cellphone and internet speeds, plus the uptake by farmers of smartphones, delivering that information daily by text makes sense, she says. Farmers get key informa-tion delivered to their fin-gertips, whether they are on a tractor or in a milk-ing shed.

An agricultural scientist and mother of two teens, Hawkins says when she first started working in the field her youngest child was at kindergarten. The Mumtrepreneur awards recog-nise the growing number of successful Kiwi women who handle the key chal-lenges of running a business while rais-ing a family.

Hawkins grew up on a sheep and beef farm near Taupo, attended Repo-

roa College and graduated in agri-cultural science from Massey Uni-versity. After work-ing overseas she began a career in the rural sector.

She worked for the predecessor to New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, the

meat and food industries, then for AgResearch in ag science commerciali-sation. While doing consulting work she began the work that led to Regen.

Hawkins says with her science and ag sector background she exploited opportunities as they arose, not neces-sarily seeing, early on, the opportunity for her own business. Now she has fur-ther aspirations for her business.

“What we’re doing can help make

a difference with some of the challenges New Zealand faces, not just in dairying but across the agricultural sector.

“With the resources we’ve got we have to show we can farm profitably and sus-tainably and show urban New Zealand that farmers keep changing and evolv-ing and as opportunities present do things better.

“We want to be part of ensuring farmers have got the tools to do things differently.”

Hawkins says the Mumtrepreneur awards recognise building a business while being a mother is hard and takes extra determination and commitment. “There are a lot of awards for business itself but they don’t necessarily take into account what else you have to deal with to succeed in your business.”

Hawkins has always juggled family and work, following her passion and her goals and presenting a good role model for her children. She needs to travel at

times and attributes her success to the support of her husband Anthony Cox.

She says there’s endless discussion and guilt among women about juggling family and work. “There is no right answer, but rather what is right for you or your family and what you can make work. I would never presume to judge anyone else’s choice.”

One of the Mumtrepreneur judges, Stephen England-Hall, sees agriculture as the backbone of the New Zealand economy and our international com-petitive advantage stemming from our clean, green credentials.

“Regen’s services provide farmers with a way to increase their profitabil-ity while improving their environmen-tal impact.”

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

Fly Buys Mumtrepreneur of the Year winner, Bridget Hawkins.

An example of the Regen Effluent text for the Massey University No4 Dairy farm.

“ I couldn’t control my mind when I was in that rut.”Matt Farmer, Ashburton

“ I couldn’t control my mind when I was in that rut.”Matt Farmer, Ashburton

There is a way through it DEPRESSIONHaving trouble making decisions is pretty normal. But when this goes on for more

than two weeks, this could be a sign of depression.You’re not alone. One in six New Zealanders will experience depression at some time in their life. Understanding more about depression can help you fi nd a way through.Join JK at depression.org.nz, or call the Depression Helpline 0800 111 757. depression.org.nz/rural

MO

H09

66/R

N//M

My idea of financial freedom

Getting out on the boat whenever I wantWhatever your idea of financial freedom, we can help keep your vision on track.

At Spicers we have been providing specialist investment solutions and financial advice to Kiwis for more than 25 years. We help our clients achieve their ideas of financial freedom and are trusted with over $1.3 billion of funds under advice.

Call us today to arrange a free, no obligation consultation on 0800 102 100. Eligibility criteria apply.

spicers.co.nz

Your Spicers Adviser has a disclosure statement that is available on request and free of charge. 32518_RN_W


26 AGRIBUSINESS

Buffalo soldiers in the heart of Clevedon

NESTLED AMONG Clev-edon’s dairy and sheep and beef farms, 40km south-east of Auckland, the 25ha farm is home to the coun-try’s only buffalo herd.

Milking is done daily at the farm’s 14-a-side herringbone shed. Milk is trucked to the Cleve-don Valley Buffalo Com-pany nearby and turned into mozzarella, cheeses, yoghurts and lassi for local restaurants, the Clevedon farmers market and export to Australia.

The farm owns 140 buffaloes, imported from Darwin seven years ago. In winter 40 buffalo cows are milked daily; in summer

80 cows pass through the shed daily. A run-off block near Ness Valley is used to raise heifers and bulls.

Farm manager Rich-ard Keast has been on the farm since day one. He’s a sheep and beef farmer from Omarama, Otago, who moved to Waiheke Island to manage a merino farm. Later, while work-ing on a dairy farm in Cle-vedon, the farm owner decided to launch the buf-falo project.

“My ears pricked up when they decided to milk buffaloes,” he told Rural News. “I was trying to figure out how they would do it.”

It resembles a typical dairy farm but there is no other in New Zealand like the Clevedon Valley Buffalo Farm. Sudesh Kissun reports.

Richard Keast admits buffaloes can be a little intimidating until you get to know them.

0800 440 290 | www.polaris.co.nz

*Offer ends 30/9/14 or earlier if stocks run out. Only available at participating Polaris dealers. Not valid with any other offer. Excludes fl eet clients.

$19,126EX GST

SAVE$2000

*

904CC - 24HP DUMP BOX CAPACITY - 454KG 907KG TOWING CAPACITY

KG907

INDEPENDENT REAR SUSPENSION - 22.9CM OF TRAVEL

ON DEMAND TRUEALL-WHEEL-DRIVE (AWD)

HEAVY DUTY “HD”FEATURES 22.9CM OF TRAVELALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) FEATURES


AGRIBUSINESS 27

Buffalo soldiers in the heart of Clevedon

Buffalo milk is turned into mozzarella, cheeses, yoghurts and lassi products.

The first animals arrived in 2007, flown to Auckland in groups of 15-20. In Darwin they were raised for meat so they arrived at Clevedon never milked.

Buffaloes are huge, Keast points out. A cow weighs 800-1000kg, a bull as much as 1300kg. Oth-erwise they are like any other bovine.

“They can be a little intimidating until you get to know them. The time you need to be careful is when they have a calf on them; they are very protec-tive of their offspring.”

It took Keast about three weeks to train the buffaloes for milking.

The buffalo milk pro-duction curve is slightly different from the dairy

cow’s. Milk production peaks in September and retreats before peak-ing again in late summer; milk from buffaloes in late summer is mostly used to make mozzarella.

The Cleveland Buf-falo Company is happy with progress over the last seven years. But Keast says with the buffaloes’ “large imprint” on the land it is looking at having fewer animals with better milk yields. A breeding pro-gramme, using semen from Italy, is underway.

Buffalo cows have a 10.5 month gestation, compared to nine months for a dairy cow. Calving is year-round on the farm; a bull is with the cows all the time.

Milk solids production

is double that of a dairy cow. Cleveland’s cows produce 5-13L daily.

They eat mostly grass pasture supplemented by maize, lucerne and formu-lated nut feed from Seales-Winslow. No PKE is fed.

Fussy calves find favour in fibre feed

BUFFALO CALVES are notoriously fussy and require hand-rearing, says Richard Keast.

Since the cows arrived from Australia the farm has found no product the calves will eat along with milk to help weaning process.

“As a result, we were seeing huge checks in growth once the animals moved onto pasture. The calves would leave the shed at 25-30kg then drop to 15kg before slowly building up again once in the paddock.”

Then about 18 months ago, Keast started using Fiber Fresh made from lucerne. The calves love it, developing faster without a weaning check from shed to paddock. They also play more once in the paddock, are less often spooked and behave better.

Survival rates have risen from 70% to 95% since Fiber Fresh has been fed. Calves are started on fibre in their first week and weaned at about three months. The fibre helps reduce the volume of milk fed to calves relatively quickly.

Keast rears 80 calves each year in groups of 10, and milks 50 adult females year-round.

A buffalo bull (third from front) grazes among the herd.

That’s what works out here.

Another suit from the big smoke is the last thing you need.

Farming’s a serious business, so you’ve probably already got a

handful of advisers from the city. But when it comes to insurance,

the city is the last place you’ll want to look. You need someone

who understands life on the land like we do, someone who can

give you the benefi t of advice learnt from over 100 years.

Ask around about us, or for some advice call 0800 366 466.

FMG

0213


28 OPINION

THE HOUNDWant to share your opinion or

gossip with the Hound? Send your emails to:

[email protected]

EDITORIAL EDNA

Lack of manaTHE HOUND has always suspected Mana leader Hone Harawira of not being the sharpest knife in the drawer. And this was confirmed when he accused the Government of putting the welfare of farmers ahead of the Northland communi-ties devastated by the recent floods there. Your old mate reckons Hone is so busy sucking up to the obese German convict Kim Dotcom that he has cut off the oxygen supply to his tiny brain. He seems to forget that farmers are also part of the commu-nity, albeit just not part of Hone’s community of losers, whiners and conspiracy theorists.

A good startNEW ZEALANDERS could be forgiven for believing the country’s environment is going to hell in a handcart if all they hear is the doomsday claims made by eco-nazis like the Greens, Mike Joy, Fish & Game, Forest & Bird and talentless out-of-work actresses. The most recent example was these so-called environmental-ists’ negative reaction to the recently announced national water standards. The Hound does not pretend these new stan-dards are a panacea for all our water quality issues, but at least it is a start.

OuchTHE HOUND hears that Bryce Johnson and his mates at Bitch & Complain may well feel the cost of their anti-dairying stance in membership non-renewals this year. Sources tell yours truly that a number of fishers will not be buying F&G licences this coming season because of that body’s anti farming campaign. In fact, one fisherman – who has not bought a fishing licence for the last two years – has come up with a novel idea: instead of a licence he carries around one of F&G’s ‘dirty dairy’ articles in his fishing bag and says he presents that if they ask for a licence.

Nostradamus! YOUR OLD mate had a bit of a giggle at the promotional material being sent around to promote Moon Man Ken Ring’s 2015 weather almanac. According to the publicity blurb, Ring’s weather predictions are “eagerly anticipated” and some of the key weather events from 2014 which he “got bang on” were, “Easter would be wet for some, but dry for others”, and “June would be followed by wintry polar blasts”. Gee with predictions like that, who needs the MetService or Niwa? Mind you, the Hound won’t be relying on Ring to provide him with the correct Lotto numbers for Saturday.

Pig of a dealYOUR OLD mate reckons it would be understand-able if pork producers felt a little bitter about signing a government industry agreement (GIA) on biosecurity last month. They fought MAF, and then MPI, all the way to the Supreme Court over import health standard changes they believe will lead to disease incursions, losing to an acknowl-edged difference of scien-tific opinion. Now, their only option is to get along-side the ministry and minister with a GIA, the principles of which have stunk from the outset: you get a say on your sector’s biosecurity if you agree to cost sharing. It’s not far short of blackmail.

HEAD OFFICE POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740

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]

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 81,232 as at 31.12.2013

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

PRODUCTION:Dave Ferguson ........................Ph 09 913 9633Becky Williams ........................Ph 09 913 9634

REPORTERS:Sudesh Kissun ....................... Ph 09 913 9627Pamela Tipa ............................ Ph 09 913 9630Peter Burke .............................Ph 06 362 6319Tony Hopkinson ......................Ph 07 579 1010

SUB-EDITOR:Neil Keating ............................Ph 09 913 9628

WEBSITE PRODUCER:James Anderson .................... Ph 09 913 9621

“No – they still won’t let us bulldoze the stopbank!”

The politics of slaggingFISH & Game NZ’s use in March of dubious survey results to justify slagging dairy farming prompted Rural News to urge farmers to ‘lock the gate’ to F&G members until the parent body shut up.

We reasoned that since Fish & Game’s gov-erning body had such low regard for farming, it might want members even to forgo any associ-ation with farmers – by declining to hunt or fish on the properties of such scoundrels.

A serious call, yes. But we demanded, and we still demand, an end to Fish & Game’s incessant anti-farming carping.

Conservation Minister Nick Smith recently fell foul of the lobby; it demanded Smith resign, accusing him of threatening the group’s future. The minister reportedly told the F&G council “Fish and Game sometimes behaves like a rabid NGO,” which it does.

But Smith rejects accusations that he told Fish & Game members, at a tense meeting in July, essentially to pull back on campaigning or risk its council being stripped of its statutory powers.

In fact he wants Fish & Game to engage more with agriculture and irrigation so as to achieve the highest possible freshwater quality.

“While it is right for them to advocate for freshwater, they sometimes get into being anti New Zealand’s most important industry, the dairy industry.”

Smith in his defence released a DOC official’s notes of the meeting, including, “F&G needs to work out what it wants to be: a statutory body [with] legislation and a relationship with Gov-ernment, or an NGO.”

Fish & Game is supposed to be an indepen-dent body with statutory authority to protect rivers, lakes and streams and the sole agency issuing hunting and fishing licences.

Rural News agrees with the Taxpayers’ Union which says, “The Fish and Game council’s cam-paigning is a gross breach of faith by a statutory body.”

Enough is enough! If Fish & Game wants to be in politics, the Government should abolish compulsory licences for trout fishing and hunt-ing, by which the lobby funds its political grand-standing.


OPINION 29

MANY LANDOWNERS are allowing surveys of indigenous vegetation and wetlands without realising the consequences.

These surveys can be useful for landowners. But if a survey is done by a public agency – for exam-ple a council – then your private property infor-mation becomes forever entangled in the Resource Management Act (RMA) system and you have no control over how that information is used.

Experience from around New Zealand tells us that these surveys lead to zonings/listings in dis-trict plans, exposing land-owners to unworkable regulations and prosecu-tion, takeover by regional council or government legislation and difficulties in selling your property.

My wife Linda and I run a native planting restora-

tion business that helps many farmers undertake environmental projects. But the RMA system does not recognise the past efforts of landowners.

I believe it is crucial to have the support of land-owners when protect-ing biodiversity on private land. Unfortunately the RMA has forced coun-cils into conflict against their most conservation-minded landowners. It has created a ‘perverse incen-tive’ whereby some land-owners are clearing native vegetation to avoid being caught in the RMA system.

An increasing number of landowners are clos-ing their gates to public access, DoC and coun-cils, because they see this as the only way to protect themselves.

I’m a member of the Hurunui SNA Group, which consists of land-owners who have pro-tected native areas on

Conservation surveys entangle landowners in RMA netA conservationist is taking the unusual step of warning landowners not to allow surveys on their land...

JAMIE MCFADDEN their land. Our current chair is Fran Perriam, a farmer from Greta Valley in North Canterbury, who has two QEII Trust native bush covenants on her

property. As Perriam explains,

“Members of our group are those who have left areas of native bush and wetlands on their proper-

ties. We trustingly allowed surveys, but now find our-selves trapped in the RMA system. The more you do to look after your land the more you are picked on

under the RMA.” The Hurunui SNA

Group has launched a national campaign call-ing for all landowners to refuse any more access for

surveys and to support a call for urgent legislative change.• Jamie McFadden is a con-servationist and restoration expert in North Canterbury.

RIP PeteFORMER RURAL News Group sub-editor Peter Devlin died in late July.

Devlin spent the latter part of his journalistic career, from 2002-2010, helping mould and shape the editorial copy in Rural News Group’s publications Rural News and Dairy News.

Prior to joining Rural News Group, Devlin had forged a stellar career as a leading sports journalist and author – working for the Auckland Star and other news-papers. He covered mainly cricket and rugby, includ-ing the All Black tours to South Africa in 1970 and 1976.

As well as sub editing at RNG, Devlin penned a pop-ular column for Rural News looking back at interest-ing juxtapositions of sport and farming in New Zealand over the years.

IT’S A SUPER SEED.

Not just any brassica seed.

A herbicide tolerant (HT) seed from the Cleancrop™ Brassica System that grows cleaner, higher yielding crops.

Need more feed? Contact your local seed retailer, go to www.pggwrightsonseeds.com or Freephone 0800 805 505

PW

S13

37


30 OPINIONFarming apprenticeships are already here!JACQUELINE ROW-ARTH’S opinion piece in Rural News July 15 (‘Time to look at farming appren-ticeships’) is misinformed and misleading.

Firstly, she says “we should be teaching our children what we do”. But many children aren’t stay-ing onfarm, instead pursu-ing careers in alternative fields.

We can’t rely on farm-ers’ children to fill the skills gap by taking the 48,000 new positions forecast by the MPI report Howarth cites. This is why we run the Primary ITO Trade Academy – to inspire young people to a primary industry career. It’s a partnership between Primary ITO, second-

KEVIN BRYANT ary schools and primary industry employers.

Students can achieve the National Certificate in Primary Industries Level 1 and NCEA 2, then a Level 1, 2 or 3 National Certificate in Agriculture or Horticulture. Blending class-room study with on-job learn-ing, this includes field trips in year 11 and regular industry place-ment in year 12. About 500 stu-dents are now in training and more want places, unavail-able due to lim-ited funding for the programme.

Once young people are ready to enter the work-force, they can enrol with New Zealand Apprentice-ships, a government sup-ported initiative via TEC administered by the rele-vant ITOs.

Howarth also says “searching on the Ter-tiary Education Commis-sion website reveals there are schemes for shearing, sheep farming, beekeep-ing and horticulture, but not farming, agriculture or anything to do with dairy”. This is incorrect: Primary ITO offers a NZ Appren-ticeship in Dairy Farming.

The apprenticeships support a staircased approach, catering to all roles in the industry, from entry level to opera-tional. The scheme con-

sists of level 3 and level 4 national certificates, ideal for a career in farming. Graduates of the appren-ticeship scheme are ready for lower manager roles and this provides a great launching platform for

higher level manage-ment responsibilities, and further education. At June 30 there were 2251 appren-tices in our apprenticeship scheme.

As well as apprentice-ships, the Primary ITO vocational training model for people employed in the primary industries is strong and robust.

We’ve been helping people working in the primary industries to upskill since the Cadet schemes began in 1964. We contract AgExcel endorsed training providers to run courses on our behalf, and support and mentor the training advisers who work with our trainees and employers. In 2013 we had 20,344 people in training and 514,550 credits

achieved. We have developed a

capability matrix for the dairy sector with indus-try partners, including DairyNZ and Federated Farmers, that identifies the industry standards for roles within the dairy

industry, from assistant to business/operations manager. Our qualifica-tions align with the spe-cific skills required at each level as trainees move up.

I agree with Howarth that when staff leave it costs a business to replace them. I also know training pays and trained staff tend to stay in the industry.

We have internation-ally reviewed research showing the significant return on investment (ROI) training provides to a business. The ROI is $3.40 to $1 for dairy farms after all training costs and $4.90 to $1 for sheep and beef farms. This proves the vocational training model works. • Kevin Bryant is former ceo of the Primary ITO.

A journey like no other...and you could be one of the few to experience it !

viaggio L IFESTYLE VACATIONSfor more information cal l L isa on 0800 100 799

There are a host of reasons to be onboard this private chartered cruise ship

for its inaugural sailing, cruising between Istanbul and Venice,

including being off theGallipoli Peninsula for the

Anzac Centenary April 25, 2015.

We have a limited number of staterooms and suites left on this once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

details can be found at

www.viaggio.net.nz

•EXCLUSIVE 21 night cruise Istanbul to Venice

•ANZAC DAY dawn off the Gallipoli Peninsula

•INAUGURAL sailing of Du Ponant’s Le Lyrial

•ACCOMMODATION with Private Balconies

•VACATION IN STYLE 5 Star Luxury

•DESTINATIONS 19 Ports of call

•LIMITED AVAILABILITY only 240 guests

viaggio vacation features

Be part of the action with over 3,000 animals and7,000 livestock and feature competition entries,600 trade exhibitors and 100,000+ Show visitors.Compete for showing success against the best ofthe best at New Zealand’s largest A&P Show.There’s over $100,000 in Show prize money up for grabs and concessions are available for exhibitors travelling more than 400km.Don’t miss this year’s Canterbury A&P Show!

EQUESTRIAN ENTRIES CLOSE FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBERLIVESTOCK ENTRIES CLOSE FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

Canterbury Agricultural Parkwww.theshow.co.nzInfoline: 0800 800 970Email: [email protected]/CanterburyA.PShow

ENTRIES OPENNOW


OPINION 31JUST THE FACTS, PLEASEWHEN ARE TBFree NZ / OSPRI NZ going to inform the general farming public through the rural news-papers that five herds in Southland are infected with TB? A Southland Times article in mid-June said three herds were infected by either possums or stoats. There was no proof given to support that state-ment. The other two herds must have been infected by herd move-ment as TBFree didn’t say otherwise. Are all these infections from herd movement?

There was no mention by TBFree Southland spokesman Mike O’Brien that trapping programmes had been put in place to

prove TB is in the feral animal population or that special testing areas and 10km movement control areas been put in place around affected farms. Southland was declared TB free in early 2009; that lasted until a cow was transported from the West Coast in April 2010.

Southland Regional Council reports traces of anticoagulant rodent poison (1080?) have been found in Southland fresh-water fish: is this the tip of the toxin iceberg? Can TBFree also confirm there is now a TB infected herd in the Oamaru area as well?

The Hound’s (Rural News, July 1) comment on ‘Sensitive souls’ did not surprise me. The Hound

reported, “the sensi-tivity stakes of OSPRI NZ must right now be at record highs. Some of these supposed guardians against TB are unhappy this fine publication dares to run letters from people criticising OSPRI NZ, more often than not vehement anti-1080 crusaders ques-tioning the ‘guardians’ methods and use of the poison”.

If OSPRI / TBFree and the Government want to try to stop people writing letters against them all they have to do is tell the truth surrounding their use of 1080. Stop the spin doctoring, the truth is all we want.Ron EddyRD2, Nelson

Why Green is not the best colour for waterTHE GREEN Party recently launched its water policy and before looking at what they propose I need to explain what’s been recently gazetted.

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater (NPS) may not have razzmatazz, but arose from that exercise in consensual collaboration called the Land and Water Forum [LAWF]. It was the first time indus-try, councils, government depart-ments and groups such as Federated Farmers and Fish & Game have sat down to openly address water issues and find solutions.

At the heart of the NPS are regional councils, assigned to main-tain and improve water quality and to raise the lowest water quality to a national minimum standard. With few exceptions this policy applies to all water bodies whether in town or country. This was an essential part of the LAWF consensus and the govern-ment chose secondary human contact as the national minimum standard. All New Zealand’s top water scien-tists were involved.

The Green Party claims it advo-cates for the environment and it should welcome this important leg-islation, whose intent is to keep New Zealand’s fresh water the best in the world.

The Greens often claim 60% of our water is unsafe, but many sites are affected by urban runoff. Now it wants to make all water bodies swim-

mable. This is disingenuous because of the sheer difficulty and cost of achieving it.

New Zealand has 425,000km of waterways which would have to meet those swimming standards, 24 hours daily, 365 days yearly.

The LAWF website states, “rivers and streams in (or downstream of ) urban areas tend to have the poor-est water quality (the highest con-centrations of nutrients and bacteria, and lowest macroinvertebrate com-munity index [MCI] scores).” This is because all our urban stormwater systems are designed to use urban streams and rivers to take away all this run-off. Trying to apply that standard to all freshwater bodies is a nonsense. And this is where the Green Party is disingenuous.

When the Green Party says “all water bodies” it really means only those in the coun-tryside because they do not wish to alarm their core urban constituency. The Green Party ignores the huge shift in farmers’ attitudes towards environmental stewardship and underplays quan-tum leaps in management and miti-gation of farm nutrients, the fencing of waterways, riparian planting, the strategic application of fertilisers and nutrient budgeting and the effects these are having on improving water quality. Instead the Green Party

continues to blame farmers.Farmers like me acknowledge we

need to do a lot more work and the vast majority of us are adopting prac-tices and spending tens of millions of dollars a year which, given time, will sort out our contribution. But we are not the sole cause or the sole solution.

The NPS may not have the sexy, but implausible, sound bite, ‘swim-mable for all,’ but it gives that choice to the community to decide. It is prac-tical, pragmatic and is the law. • Ian Mackenzie is Federated Farmers environment spokesperson.

IAN MACKENZIE

Ian Mackenzie

POW0399A

Contact your local Power Farming dealer today for unbeatable finance deals tailored to your requirements across the entire range of award winning Deutz-Fahr tractors. Visit www.deutzdeals.co.nz

POWER FARMING

FLEXI-FINANCE• RATES FROM 1.99%

• TERMS UP TO 5 YEARS*

TERMS UPTO 5YEEAR

YOU CALL THE SHOTS

*Normal lending criteria applies. Consult your Power Farming dealer to discuss specific terms and rates. Loaders pictured may vary from those provided with tractor.

STREAMLINEOat Roller Crusher

Senior All GrainRoller Crusher

STREAMLINEJunior All Grain Crusher/Roller

STREAMLINEHayway Chaff

Cutter


MANAGEMENT 33New modelling steers towards better N responsesPASTURE RESPONSE to nitrogen fertiliser will this spring be predictable more accurately by a new com-puter model unveiled by Ballance Agri-Nutrients.

The model is the first product of Ballance’s $19.5 million, seven-year Clear-view Innovations Primary Growth Partnership proj-ect jointly funded by MPI.

Dubbed N-Guru, the decision support software was designed in partner-ship with AgResearch to improve the efficiency of nitrogen use on pastoral farms.

Soil total nitrogen tests are a routine aspect of soil testing and where total nitrogen varies suf-ficiently across the farm the model can be used to determine variable nitro-gen use instead of apply-ing nitrogen at uniform rates.

Ballance sales staff are already offering N-Guru as part of a fertiliser rec-ommendation to aid deci-sions about nitrogen use.

Given the low cost of getting total nitrogen tested, and the potential gains, “it’s a no-brainer,” says Ballance’s science manager, Aaron Stafford. “With N-Guru we can now more accurately pre-dict the relative pasture response and confidently tailor our advice accord-ingly.”

For example, if soil tests on a 100ha dairy farm show 50ha has a total nitrogen content of 0.7% based on soil dryweight, and 50ha has total N of 0.3%, that would be suffi-cient to warrant the use of N-Guru.

In the high-nitrogen area the model predicts an extra 7kgDM of pasture would be produced per kg of nitrogen applied, but in the low nitrogen area a 13kgDM/kgN response can be expected.

Without N-Guru, typi-cally 30kgN/ha would have been uniformly applied over the farm, producing an average 10:1 response and an extra 30,000kgDM. With the insight from N-Guru, 60kgN/ha could be applied to the low-N area in two applications, and none to the higher-N area, giving a 13:1 response and an extra 39,000kgDM

from the same amount of fertiliser.

Converting that extra 9000kgDM to milksolids at 12kgDM/kgMS, that’s another 750kgMS in the vat, which, at $6/kgMS, is worth an extra $4500, Bal-lance calculates.

With the exception of some allowance for efflu-ent blocks, “nearly all dairy farms have been taking pretty much a blan-ket approach to nitrogen

rates on pasture,” Stafford told Rural News.

“They’ve known they get more or less response on some paddocks but haven’t known why or how to respond to that…. This is another step forward in our ability to give expert advice, adapted to each part of the farm and firmly based on knowledge gath-ered from a large number of pasture response trials carried out nationally.”

Initially he sees the tool mostly being used to tune rates to blocks of paddocks across farms according to soil type and land use history, but in due course applications may be fine-tuned to individual paddocks, or even variably applied as spreaders cross paddocks using GPS sys-tems and maps.

“We are always looking at ways to support farmers in increasing production while making the best use of their fertiliser budget and reducing impact on the environment.

“By improving nutri-ent use efficiency through the strategic and targeted use of nitrogen, the risk of associated nitrogen loss is reduced and the cost ben-efit of fertiliser-nitrogen application increases.”

Development of the N-Guru software is ongoing, based on feed-back from farmers. Staf-ford says he expects it to

N-GURU AT A GLANCE● Nitrogen fertiliser

modelling package.

● Rates tuned to soil total nitrogen test results.

● Payback depends on amount of variation.

● Block approach for starters, full variable rates maybe later.

deliver about a third of the improvement (ie a fifth to two-fifths) in on-farm nitrogen-use efficiency that Ballance is targeting with the Clearview Inno-vations PGP.

R&D manager Warwick

Catto says the co-op has made nitrogen and phos-phorus efficiency a high priority in the PGP proj-ect, aiming to increase nitrogen uptake efficiency from the usual 10:1 return to 15:1 and to increase

phosphate efficiency by 20% while minimising losses.

A phosphorus manage-ment plan called MitA-gator will be available by early 2015. It identifies areas at high risk of phos-

phorous and sediment loss, as well as nitrogen and microbial losses. It takes data files from Over-seer, links it to a geo-ref-erenced farm map, soil map and digital elevation model.

Ballance’s science manager Aaron Stafford.

THE NEXT GEN IS COMING.

www.masseyferguson.co.nz | Freecall: 0800 825 872

Toughness and reliability - that’s what made the iconic MF185 so special.

If you appreciated the virtues of that series, you’ll absolutely love what’s coming as part of the Next Gen MF range. A new era of value is coming soon to your nearest Massey Ferguson dealer.

TALK TO YOUR LOCAL DEALER ABOUT THE UPCOMING MASSEY FERGUSON EXPO ON 27 AUGUST IN MELBOURNE.

IF YOU LIKED THIS

YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE THESE


34 MANAGEMENTTime and place: venue, room layout, and even the meeting leader’s dress can have a big impact on the outcome of a meeting, says Emma Holderness of The Training Practice.

Better meeting management good for business

ARE YOU amiable, expres-sive, an analyst or a driver?

While you might answer “all of the above”, attendees at Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s ‘Making Meetings Count’ work-shops are finding out their own communication pref-erences and, more impor-tantly, are gaining insights into why people commu-nicate differently.

“It gives you an idea where people might sit and how they prefer to operate,” explains course

tutor Emma Holderness, of The Training Practice. “If you can work out who is what, then you have a better chance of work-ing out how to influence them.”

The work-style assess-ment is one of many ele-ments in a packed one-day programme starting with a game of ‘human bingo’ – an icebreaker to encourage delegates to find out about their workshop fellows.

Later, alternative ice-breakers are discussed as ways to get meeting attendees talking and engaging with each other

and the host and/or leader.Holderness stresses

that the likelihood of suc-cess depends on being clear on the intent of a meeting and communi-cating that clearly at the outset, or even beforehand with an agenda.

“If you don’t under-stand the why… you actu-ally don’t get the outcome you’re after.”

Having the intent – the ‘why’ – written large on a flipchart or whiteboard for all to see can help keep things on track, as can agreed ‘ground rules’.

“Without agreed ground rules people will do whatever they think is okay and if you have 12 people you’ve probably got 12 different views on what is okay.”

For regular meetings revisit the ground rules periodically to check adherence and relevance. “Maybe you call them ‘expectations’.”

Having a “parking lot” on the whiteboard for points raised which aren’t central to the meeting’s success allows them to be acknowledged, recorded, and, if time permits, revis-ited once core business is addressed.

A room’s layout can influence success, so this needs matching to meeting purpose: is it to inform, discuss, decide, solve/resolve, innovate, sell or simply meet?

“Don’t try to have all seven of these types of meeting in one hour because it probably won’t work. Often less is more.”

Breaking delegates into small groups can help get ideas flowing, and walking meetings are less confron-tational, giving partici-pants time to think as they walk and talk.

“Maybe you say ‘let’s go down the farm and check those fences’. The envi-ronment of the meeting

very much determines how people interact… it can change the energy.”

When leading a meet-ing, Holderness says, roles such as hosting, minuting, logging points on white-boards and time keeping should be delegated if pos-sible.

“Otherwise you end up doing everything and it’s harder to keep the meet-ing on track.”

As a participant at a meeting, don’t be afraid to volunteer for such roles if you can see it will facilitate the process, she adds.

“You want the right people there, in the right roles, for the right reasons and at the right times.”

Elephants in the room need addressing and hard-to-have conversations must be tackled. “Too many end up being ‘nearly’ meetings, not ‘really’ meetings.”

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected]

BEEF + LAMB New Zealand central South Island extension manager Aaron Meikle says the ‘Making Meetings Count’ work-shops aim to empower levy payers and stakeholders in meet-ings they attend, be they with the bank manager, farm consultant, farm staff or larger groups such as a ‘Farming for Profit’ steering committee or other industry bodies.

“Our primary interest is to support our programmes in

the regions which are strongly farmer-led. But we know these skills help sheep and beef communities generally. ‘By Farmers, For Farmers’ is our most important principle, and the skills from these sorts of courses help farmers steer the activities of BLNZ in the regions.”

BLNZ has been convening the courses since it was formed in 2009 and Meikle estimates at least 300 people have attended. It also runs higher level gover-

nance and strategic planning courses annually, primarily for farmer council members. About 70 have attended.

Dan Studholme, who runs a 4500 stock unit sheep and cattle operation near Waimate, South Canterbury, attended a ‘Making Meetings Count’ workshop in Timaru recently.

“I found it useful,” he told Rural News afterwards. “In all the sections we went through I got bits to take on board.”

As vice president of his local A&P association, and having recently taken on chairing the region’s BLNZ ‘Farming For Profit’ steering committee, he said understanding different person-ality types and communication preferences (see main story) was quite important.

Meikle says the courses are offered to farmer council members and farmers and other members of BLNZ steering groups initially.

Empowering levy payers and stakeholders

SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS❱❱ Intent is clear from the outset.

❱❱ Appropriate venue and layout.

❱❱ Right people present and prepared.

❱❱ Ground rules agreed.

❱❱ Keep on track.

❱❱ Conclude with action points.

ANZAC CENTENARYA p r i l 2 5 , 2 0 1 5

Join us on our 21 night inaugural cruise Istanbul to Venice.

ONLY 240 GUESTS ⎮19 PORTS OF CALL ⎮DAWN OF APRIL 25, 2015 OFF THE GALLIPOLI PENINSULA

a Suite Offer is LIMITED TO ONLY EIGHT SUITES

p. 0800 100 799www.viaggio.net.nz

v i a g g i o LIFESTYLEVACATIONS

Cruise in a

PRIVILEGE SUITE

and receive one of the following cruise vacation

extensions with our COMPLIMENTS

a Suite Offer

Choice 2

VERONA for four nights and the

VENICE SIMPLON ORIENT EXPRESS

from Venice to London

Choice 3a week in a

LUXURY VILLA located in Lucca,

Tuscany, Italy

Choice 1

DISCOVERCAPPADOCIA

5 night pre-cruise vacation

Terms & conditions apply

advert ising proofrevisions:

your contact:

job:

publication

2014

run date position sort cost (excl gst)

Proof read by:_______________________________ With: _______________________________Date:_______________________________

:tamrof:ezis

URL Closing date tested: checked:

PLEASE NOTE: that we have prepared this advertisement proof based on our understanding of the instructions received. In approving the advertisement, it is client’s responsibility to check the accuracy of both the advertisement, the media and the position nominated.

Cancellation of adverts booked with media will incur a media cancellation fee of $50.

$0 $0 $25 $50 $751 2 3 4 5

Dairy Exporter 14x3Rural News 16x2Dairy News

Notice of Election2014 Board of Director Extraordinary Vacancy

Invitation for Candidate Nominations

Barbara Kuriger has recently resigned from the Board of DairyNZ Incorporated, effective from the 2014 AGM. The Board therefore invites registered members to nominate candidates to fill this extraordinary vacancy. All members of DairyNZ (farmers paying a levy on milksolids to DairyNZ) are eligible to stand for election. An information pack outlining Director attributes and nomination requirements can be obtained from the Returning Officer. Nominations must be received by the Returning Officer by 12 noon on Friday 29 August 2014.

Elections

If more than one nomination is received an election will be carried out by postal, fax and internet voting using the STV (Single Transferable Vote) voting method. Votes will be weighted by annual milksolids production. Voter packs will be posted on 16 September 2014 to all registered levy payers, with voting closing at 12 noon on Wednesday 15 October 2014.

The DairyNZ Annual Meeting will be held in Timaru on Thursday 16 October 2014. Election results will be announced at the meeting.

For further details contact the Returning Officer as below.

Anthony Morton

Returning Officer – DairyNZ Inc

0508 666 337

[email protected]

Amy

C49232

Farmers Weekly mon 4 aug public notices $815.10

Dairy Exporter mon 11 aug $1201.20

Rural News tue 5 aug $809.60

Dairy News tues 12 aug $563.20

Notice of Election2014 Board of Director Extraordinary Vacancy

Invitation for Candidate Nominations

Barbara Kuriger has recently resigned from the Board of DairyNZ Incorporated, effective from the 2014 AGM. The Board therefore invites registered members to nominate candidates to fill this extraordinary vacancy. All members of DairyNZ (farmers paying a levy on milksolids to DairyNZ) are eligible to stand for election. An information pack outlining Director attributes and nomination requirements can be obtained from the Returning Officer. Nominations must be received by the Returning Officer by 12 noon on Friday 29 August 2014.

Elections

If more than one nomination is received an election will be carried out by postal, fax and internet voting using the STV (Single Transferable Vote) voting method. Votes will be weighted by annual milksolids production. Voter packs will be posted on 16 September 2014 to all registered levy payers, with voting closing at 12 noon on Wednesday 15 October 2014.

The DairyNZ Annual Meeting will be held in Timaru on Thursday 16 October 2014. Election results will be announced at the meeting.

For further details contact the Returning Officer as below.

Anthony MortonReturning Officer – DairyNZ Inc0508 666 [email protected]

@rural_news

facebook.com/ruralnews


MANAGEMENT 35

DIY N tests – cheap and quick

HOW GOOD would it be to get readings on nitro-gen availability in pad-docks without having to send samples away for analysis and for a fraction of the cost?

Plant & Food Research has been assessing the suitability of just such a test and last month relayed its findings at the Foundation for Arable Research conference, Palmerston North.

The problem with cur-rent tests is that typically 90% or more of the total soil nitrogen isn’t immedi-ately available because it is bound in organic matter, and what is plant avail-able, as indicated by a min-eralised nitrogen test, can change rapidly because leaching reduces plant-available nitrogen (miner-alisation) from the organic nitrogen pool adding to it, explained Plant & Food’s Matthew Norris.

“The numbers you get from the test are not the same as they are [at the time of ] side dressing.”

Current best practice is to sample and test for total soil nitrogen and miner-alised nitrogen at the start of the growing season and then plan fertiliser requirements and timings from those using experi-ence and crop modelling packages.

However, a growing number of nitrogen quick

tests are available which use a colour response on a test strip card to indi-cate the nitrogen concen-tration of a soil and water solution.

Once soil samples have been taken from the field following usual proto-cols according to crop or pasture situation, a sub-sample is mixed with a calcium chloride solution, then allowed to settle, which typically takes 10-30 minutes. When the solution is clear, the test strip is dipped into

it and allowed a set time – 30 seconds or a minute depending on the brand – to develop colour before reading against a chart converting the colour to a

nitrate reading.Colour can continue to

develop over the set time, hence it is important the duration is the same for every test strip. Samples should also be tested soon after removal from the field. “Same day analysis should be quick enough,” says Norris.

Plant & Food’s work has been with Merck Mil-lipore’s Mquant nitrate test but Norris says there are several brands avail-able online. “They all use much the same chemistry

so it doesn’t really matter which you go for,” he told Rural News.

They’re also relatively cheap, at most $1/test strip in some cases so if time permits many samples can be taken and tested. However consistency in approach and sample preparation is important to get reliable results and those nitrogen concentra-tion results then need cor-relating to crop needs.

Work with such tests on paddocks grow-ing maize in the US has

shown that results of over 20 parts per million of nitrate mean fertiliser isn’t needed. “Further work is required within our New Zealand context to vali-date these results.”

Another point he made at the FAR confer-ence was that if there is a large amount of ammonial nitrogen in the soil the test will underestimate plant-available nitrogen.

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected]

Matthew Norris

NITROGEN QUICK TESTS● Measure nitrate content of soil within 30

minutes.

● Simple and cheap.

● Protocols must be followed.

● Results need calibrating to NZ crops and practice.

Strength / Quality / Performancewww.mcintosh.net.nz0800 622 276 Palmerston north

FORAGE WAGONS | TIP TRAILERS | MANURE SPREADERS | BALE FEEDERS

BALE FEEDERS | FORAGE WAGONS | TIP TRAILERS | MANURE SPREADERS

BALE FEEDERS TIP TRAILERS

TIP TRAILERS | MANURE SPREADERS | BALE FEEDERS | FORAGE WAGONS

FORAGE WAGONS | TIP TRAILERS | MANURE SPREADERS | BALE FEEDERS

BALE FEEDERS | FORAGE WAGONS | TIP TRAILERS | MANURE SPREADERS

FORAGE WAGONS MANURE SPREADERS

TIP TRAILERS | BALE FEEDERS | FORAGE WAGONS |

FORAGE WAGONS | TIP TRAILERS | BALE FEEDERS |

BALE FEEDERS | FORAGE WAGONS | TIP TRAILERS |

| BALE FEEDERS | | TIP TRAILERS | | FORAGE WAGONS |

Say hello to unbeatable hire rates Hire an award winning Deutz-Fahr tractor this year for as

little as $32 per hour* and see for yourself why Deutz-Fahr is rapidly becoming one of New Zealand’s best-selling tractor brands. We think you’ll be so impressed with its comfort, power and unparalleled fuel efficiency, you’ll want to keep it at the end of the hire term. If so, we’ll help you out by deducting all you’ve paid in hire fees** from the overall purchase price.

For all the details contact your local Power Farming dealer.

0800 801 888 | powerfarming.co.nz

* Excludes GST. Rate applies to specific M Series models. **Less set up costs.

per hour*

FROM

32

* Excludes GS

per hour*

POW0396


36 MANAGEMENT

Beet becoming NZ’s wheat?More than one hundred farmers turned out recently for a Beef + Lamb New Zealand fodder beet field day to look at BLNZ sponsored trials run by Manawatu farmer Scott Linklater and his brother Paul who runs Agrilink Contracting, and hear from guest speaker Dr Jim Gibbs of Lincoln University. Peter Burke reports.

FODDER BEET is New Zealand’s wheat.

That’s how Dr Jim Gibbs, a leading researcher from Lincoln University describes the fodder crop which is rapidly gaining popularity among dairy, beef and deer farmers, so much so ‘fodder beet clubs’ are being set up to get best value from the crop.

Gibbs says New Zea-land farming has always suffered from not having a very high energy feed that

is cost effective for finish-ing animals, with much of the limited area of cereals grown targeted at human consumption. Price has also been a part of the equation.

“There aren’t any other high energy [winter] feeds which historically have been available for us,” he points out.

Winter brassicas have filled the gap, but com-pared to beet they have a narrow window for utilisa-tion and are lower energy.

One of beet’s big advantages is it will grow in any environment from sand dunes at Riverton, Southland, to clay hills at Kaitaia, Northland. The other key point is it pro-vides high quality feed when normal pasture qual-ity is low and not good for finishing cattle.

“People have described fodder beet as probably the most exciting inno-vation in beef finishing in generations and I sup-port that. I think it is a

wonder crop in terms of its suitability for New Zea-land but there is noth-ing magical about it: it’s simply high energy and it’s cheap.”

While lamb finishing on it is a possibility, Gibbs believes it will be most benefit in finishing beef because it doesn’t require top quality land, making it very cost effective.

“It is already being used extensively in the South Island in all aspects of dairy support from

Lincoln University’s Jim Gibbs is a

leading researcher in fodder beets.

TO PAGE 37

heifer rearing right through to winter grazing.”

The crop is helping herds achieve body condi-tion score targets which are increasingly recog-nised as very important to reproduction and subse-quent milk yield.

“The other advantage that beet offers is that it has a low nitrate leaching profile. It is a particularly low crude protein crop,” he notes.

That means stock on it don’t excrete a lot of sur-plus nitrogen, but nor is the protein so low they start metabolising tissue due to lack of it in the diet.

“It’s effectively in a

sweet spot.”Another plus is the

flexibility to graze or ‘cut and carry’. Provided it is not particularly wet, it can be harvested with leaf intact and fed more or less immediately once or twice a week, or leaf mate-rial may be flailed off and bulbs lifted and stored several months, typically in windrows.

High yields and low harvest costs mean beet currently costs about a quarter what grass silage does in the South Island.

“That’s what’s really driving the uptake for it - it can be grown for 6-10c/kgDM and harvested for

about 5c/kgDM. It is also a very high ME product that will last for four to five months.”

Gibbs notes the 10c/kgDM growing cost is “pretty generous really” and most crops come in comfortably below that.

Concerns about animal health with beet diets are better under-stood now and simple management protocols should avoid problems. The most important thing to remember is the high energy density. Just as nobody would suddenly start feeding cracked wheat to cows ad-lib, nor


MANAGEMENT 37Researcher upbeat over fodder

FROM PAGE 36

should they with beet.“We’ve developed

some extremely effective and very practical on farm techniques to ‘transition’ stock from a pasture based diet onto a high input adlib beet diet.”

Typically an animal starting from a no-beet background should be allocated 1-2kgDM/day

of beet initially, and only introduced to the crop when fully fed.

Over the next two weeks intake of beet can be steadily increased, feeding a fibrous supple-ment such as cereal straw, meadow hay or possi-bly bailage or silage at the sametime. The aim is to find the cheapest fibre supplement available.

The crop grows well in both islands but the North has a slight advantage because it’s warmer so the growing season is longer, says Gibbs.

A consistent or rising soil temperature of 10-12 degrees for five days is the general rule of thumb for when to plant, he notes.

Why it hasn’t occupied large areas of land previ-

ously is probably because it wasn’t realised how high yields could be here, or that it could be grazed in situ.

“It is a thoroughly kiwi innovation.... the only other countries that graze it are the ones that have come to New Zealand, seen it happen and gone back and done it.”

A fodder beet ‘club’

to facilitate information transfer on growing and using beet is being set up.

“We’ll hold semi-nars and have some on-farm coaching as well. All this will be up and run-ning before the planting season,” says Gibbs.

To register interest in joining a fodder beet club, e-mail [email protected]

Trial attracts great interestA BUS and fleet of cars full of farmers rolled up for the Beef + Lamb field day to view the strip-tillage fodder beet trials Manawatu-based brothers Paul and Scott Linklater are running. Unfortunately, so did the clouds and by the time the crowd was 200 metres into the 5.4ha trial the heavens opened.

The hardy hosts and Dr Jim Gibbs from Lincoln University (see main story) perse-vered from under umbrellas for about 20 minutes, long enough for everyone to get a good view of the trial, before adjourning to a nearby hall.

Gibbs, who is overseeing the trial to ensure it is scientifically sound, says it was set up to look at two establishment methods: conventional cultivation with broadcast fertiliser and whole paddock sprays; or strip-tillage with banded fertiliser and spray appli-cations.

Paul Linklater has devised a one-pass machine that will cultivate a previously sprayed out strip of pasture, sow the seed, and apply fertiliser.

The trial, coming to the close of its second year, is to assess yield and cost differences between the two systems.

Linklaters have proved strip tillage can succeed and while they overshot their target of trimming costs to $1500/ha, strip estab-lishment came in at $2,088/ha, compared to upwards of $2,500 for conventional cultivation and growing.

“Strip tillage showed more vigour through the growth stages but came out even in yield compared to conventional,” he later told Rural News.

Scott Linklater, who manages the farming side of things, isn’t disheartened by missing their target savings as they have learned much from the trial, such as leaving a six week gap between spraying and cultivation to let the grass die.

“We got a better tilth, better soil compaction and Paul has modified the machine so he’s getting better seed placement and compacting in behind so it’s getting a real good moisture retention. The fertiliser is placed nice and accurately and overall we have been more organised this year.”

The trial’s had challenges beyond their control, mainly weather, with a dry season making it hard to hit yield targets, he adds.

“But overall we are very happy. This is our fifth year of growing it and we are certainly seeing good stock performance.”

In dry summers, getting stock onto beet early is improving performance, especially with cattle.

Meanwhile, Paul has been busy upgrading and redesigning the strip-till-drill equipment and a design company has taken up his ideas and incor-porated them into a completely new machine which will be ready for use in a few months.

“It will handle any type of soil better and will work it up into an even finer tilth,” he says.

Individually mounted units mean it will follow the contour better and it is better equipped to cope with hitting rocks.

“It’s quite a complex build and we have lodged patents.”

The coming season will be used to proof the machine and possibly make tweaks before it goes on sale in about a year.

Gibbs admitted to being a little sceptical about strip tillage initially, but there were no statistically significant differences in the crops.

Scott Linklater

Paul Linklater

The DTX is a mounted one-passstubble incorporator & soil loosenerFitted with the unique Simba roller system as standard,the DD press rings provide the ultimate consolidation weatherproof finish.This unit can also be fitted with an APV airseeder for grass seed or brassicas.

• Pro-lift legs

• Suitable for 180-300hp tractors

• The 510mm disc gang angle is adjustable for different

crop residue conditions

• Pro-lift tines give effective soil loosening down to 400mm.

ARM yourself with the best

Minimum TillageDISC HARROWS

• Available in a mounted 3m configuration or trailed units

• Incorporate stubble in a reduced cultivation system

• Work down ploughing in a more conventional system

• Gang angle adjustment enables both primary

and finishing roles

The X-Press is a flexible high-speed one pass cultivator designed to work at up to 100mm deep on stubble or ploughing.

ang angle adjustment enables both primary• Ga

nddddd fffffffffiininininininninisisisisisisisisissshihihihihihihhhhh ngngn roles an

The mounted X-press (1750kg) can be used in conjunction with an ST Bar to working

depths of up to 250mm

1.95%*FINANCE FROM *Based on 40% Deposit.Normal Lending Criteria & Conditions Apply

WHANGAREI Power Farming Northland 09 438 9163DARGAVILLE Power Farming Northland 09 439 3333PUKEKOHE The Tractor Centre 09 238 7179MORRINSVILLE Maber Motors 07 889 5059TE AWAMUTU Power Farming Te Awamutu 07 870 2411TAURANGA Capital Tractors 07 543 0021WHAKATANE Jacks Machinery 07 308 7299ROTORUA Truck & Tractor Services 07 349 6528

GISBORNE Power Farming Gisborne 06 868 8908HASTINGS Power Farming Hawke’s Bay 06 879 9998HAWERA Power Farming Taranaki 06 278 0240FEILDING Power Farming Manawatu 06 323 8182MASTERTON Wairarapa Machinery 06 377 3009NELSON Brian Miller Truck & Tractor 03 544 5723 BLENHEIM Tractor Repairs & Spares 03 572 5173GREYMOUTH Power Farming West Coast 03 768 4370

CHRISTCHURCH Power Farming Canterbury 03 349 5975ASHBURTON Power Farming Ashburton 03 307 7153TIMARU Power Farming Timaru 03 687 4127ALEXANDRA Peter Watt Machinery 03 448 8490DUNEDIN Power Farming Otago 03 489 3489BALCLUTHA Power Farming Otago 03 418 3393 GORE Power Farming Gore 03 208 9395 INVERCARGILL Power Farming Invercargill 03 215 9039



38 MANAGEMENT

Another nail for neonicotinoids?USE OF neonicotinoid insecticides, such as those used in seed treatments Gaucho and Poncho, has been dealt another blow by researchers in the Netherlands.

A letter by Hallman and others published last week in the renowned journal Nature details how

increasing concentrations of the insecticides in sur-face water correlate with declines in insect eating birds.

The authors say their findings suggest impact of the insecticides is “even more substantial than has recently been reported and is reminiscent of the

effects of persistent insec-ticides in the past”.

They call for legislation to take into account “the potential cascading effects of neonicotinoids on eco-systems”.

Commenting on the discovery in a news arti-cle in the same journal, Dave Goulson of Sussex

University’s School of Life Sciences says it is “remi-niscent” of Rachel Car-son’s milestone 1960s novel Silent Spring.

Goulson suggests the long-running debate on neonicotinoids, and Europe’s two-year mora-torium on its use on flow-ering crops imposed in

December, may have missed “the bigger pic-ture” as they are still widely used as seed dress-ings.

The insecticides are used in New Zealand as seed treatments for grass, cereals, maize-sweetcorn, pumpkins-squash and brassicas, and as sprays on

The EPA says it is monitoring international developments and New Zealand has very tight restrictions in place.

potatoes, onions, vegeta-ble brassicas, pipfruit and stonefruit.

Asked whether a review of nicotinoid use in New Zealand is underway or planned, the Environmen-tal Protection Agency told Rural News its staff “moni-tor international develop-ments in the science and regulatory activity” and that “New Zealand already has very tight restrictions

in place”.However, it says it is

updating requirements for applicants seeking approv-als for new pesticides in New Zealand “in line with overseas regulators in the US and Europe”.

“We are demanding a much higher level of sci-entific evidence about the safety and effect of such products before consider-ing them for approval.”

Boron breakthrough for wheatGENES THAT make wheat tolerant to boron have been identified by the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, Adelaide University.

“We now have molecular markers that can be used in breeding programs to select lines for boron tolerance with 100% accuracy,” says project leader Tim Sutton.

Where boron toxicity limits yields, genetic improvement is the only effective strategy to address the problem, which occurs worldwide, par-ticularly in drier grain-growing environments.

“Boron tolerant lines of wheat, however, can maintain good root growth in boron toxic soils whereas intolerant lines will have stunted roots,” says Sutton.

The wheat genome has about six times the number of genes as humans’ which makes identi-fying genes controlling such adaptations extremely challenging.

The ACPFG research is published in Nature. – Alan Harman

• Uniquely shaped hydraulic twin spinner

discs provide controlled accurate spread

• Digital tachometer accurately reads

spinner speed from tractor

• Chain feed provides reliable constant

feed to spinners

• Stainless steel Hoppers, single and

tandem wheel options available,

floatation tyres, Hydraulic wheel

drive and 3 speed gearboxes

• Bin extensions & roll top covers

Transpread

FEEDOUT MACHINES AND

TRAILED SPREADERS

• Feeds pit silage

• Round bales

• Square bales

• Electric Joy-Stick

• Extension Bin

• Flotation tyres 400/60x15.5

• Optional tilting elevator

• Self loading forks

• Extra capacity

• Level capacity 13cu/m

• Loaded capacity 14.5 - 15cu/m

• Extended capacity 15 - 17cu/m

SUPER COMBYEX

SIMPLY SUPERIOR

Please contact ANDREW 027 443 4777 or DON 027 433 2212

Main South Road | PO Box 6 Hinds MID CANTERBURY

Phone 03 303 7228 | www.robfarm.co.nz Email [email protected]

For your free catalogue of all our products

M A N U F A C T U R I N G

M A N U F A C T U R I N G

Models Comby/Super Comby/SuperComby EX. And the ALL NEW Mega XL.

MODELS FROM 4 cu/m to 24 cu/m

Models from 1.4 tonne to 12 tonne.Truck Spreaders 3.6 and 4.2 meter bins available.

DIRECT


THE INCIDENCE of theileria is expected to increase before immunity becomes more widespread and cases start to wane, says the New Zealand Vet-erinary Association.

The tick-borne cattle disease causes anae-mia and has been on the rise since the novel Ikeda strain was first identi-fied two years ago. Nearly 700 beef and dairy herds have tested positive, about a third of those this year, most cases in the upper North Island.

Speaking on the launch

of a 32-page hand-book on the disease, immediate past pres-ident of the NZVA Society of Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Neil MacPherson said vets are moni-toring the situation and are prepared.

“Even though there is no vaccine or treatment that has proven 100% effective there are measures to successfully treat theileria as comprehensively out-lined in the handbook.” These include good nutri-tion of cattle, minimis-ing stress, herd screening to detect affected animals

and at-risk herds, clini-cal diagnosis and disease management strategies.

The handbook is “a hugely valuable ‘ready-to-use’ resource which includes a section on farm management strategies to

lessen the effects of the disease. It will be of relevance for newly and previously diag-nosed dairy and beef properties.”

Predictive model-ing of the epidemic indicates cases will rise before starting to decline as herds develop immunity, though in areas where tick numbers are vari-able or patchy, such

as lower Waikato, herd immunity could fluctuate with tick numbers so dis-ease could re-emerge.

“Working with farmers to minimise the disease is essential. It will include

ANIMAL HEALTH 39

Theileria likely to get worse before it gets better

AREAS OF high tick activity East Cape and Bay of Plenty, where few herds have so far been exposed to ikeda, may suffer greater incidence of the disease, the handbook warns.

“Outbreaks in Auckland and Waikato are also likely to continue to be significant,” say the handbook editors Andy McFadden (MPI) and Roger Marchant (NZVA).

“Naïve livestock moved into endemic areas such as North-land are also likely to be at risk depending on when the movement occurs and the physiological status of the animal.”

The handbook relays three

Vetscript articles on the disease and one from the February edition of DairyNZ’s technical series which was largely dedicated to the disease.

The DairyNZ article highlights risk factors, symptoms, prevention and treatments.Risk factors• Movement of cattle to/from tick

infested areas.• Calving – due to changes in

immune system.• Young calves (2-3 months) and

recently calved cows.Symptoms• Anaemia – pale udder and

mucosal membranes, yellow eyes.

• Lethargy eg straggling on way to shed.

• Raised heart and breathing rates.Preventions• Tick controls: quarantine

incoming stock and inspect.• Regularly check tail head, udder

base, inside legs for ticks.• With veterinary advice, treat for

ticks.Treatment• Minimise stress and movement.• High quality, easy to eat feed plus

plenty of water.• Veterinary treatments.

Handbook highlights risks

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected]

identifying and manag-ing affected animals, opti-mising herd health and implementing general biosecurity measures such as strategic tick control,” says MacPherson.

The Veterinary Hand-book is a joint effort of MPI, the Society of Dairy Cattle Veterinarians of the

NZVA, and the sheep and beef cattle veterinarians branch of the NZVA.

Copies and updates on the disease are avail-able on www.nzva.org.nz. DairyNZ’s Technical Series issue 20 was also dedicated to the disease.

The tick-borne cattle disease causes anameia and has been on the rise.

NZVA’s Neil MacPherson says even though there is no vaccine or treatment that has proven 100% effective there are measures to successfully treat theileria outlined in the handbook


*Terms and conditions apply. See your Vet Clinic for qualifying purchases. While stocks last. For full terms & conditions visit www.dectomax.co.nz. DECTOMAX is a registered trade mark of Zoetis Inc. or its subsidiaries. ACVM Registration No. A6199 & A7101. 1 Data on file.

ZOE

1173

Buy Dectomax and receive a FREE* Hunters Element 5-piece clothing pack

Winter is here and Ostertagia is becoming more prevalent. Control the No.1 production limiting parasite with Dectomax®, NZ’s No.1 injectable cattle drench1. Dectomax Pour-on and Injection keep killing Ostertagia for up to 28 days so if time and money are important to you - use Dectomax.

Dectomax’s powerful, long-acting formula provides persistent activity against Ostertagia meaning more time to get on with other things.

Direct effective delivery plus longer acting formula equals supremely conditioned stock.

LESS HARD YARDS IN THE YARDS.

Ask for Dectomax at your vet.dectomax.co.nz

ZOE 1173 Dectomax Refresh 2014 FW 120x265_ƒ.indd 1 6/26/14 4:05 PM

Increase the survival rate with Lamb Warmers

SINGLE AXLE ATV 1560 X 1200

12 & 24 VOLT LAMB WARMERS

Call in & see us at 73 Preston Street INVERCARGILL

Ph: 03 215 8558

Email: [email protected] Visit our website www.hecton.co.nz

for a full list of products


40 ANIMAL HEALTH

Genome project flags higher productionSEQUENCING THE genomes of 234 bulls whose descendants number tens of mil-lions can enable breed-ing schemes to reduce or eliminate hereditary dis-eases and produce milk and beef more efficiently.

The international ‘1000 Bull Genomes Proj-ect’ says the bulls whose genomes are sequenced and analysed represent four commercially impor-tant cattle breeds.

Scientists from Germa-ny’s Technical University of Munich (TUM) con-tributed data on 43 sires of

the Fleckvieh breed, now on every continent from its origin in the Bavarian Alps. Worldwide there are 40 million Fleckvieh dairy cows.

Scientists from Aus-tralia, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands and the US obtained whole genome sequences for 129 Holstein-Friesian bulls with six million daugh-ters on dairy farms and 15 widely used Jersey bulls. Previously published genome sequences for 47 Angus cattle were also analysed.

Nature Genetics car-ries a research report on the ancestors’ sequences.

The scientists say breeders now have a leverage tool to extrapolate the sequence information to the numer-ous descendants using readily available chip-based DNA microarrays.

From whole-genome sequencing of the selected bulls – 28.3 million vari-ants are identified: the researchers began building a database of genotypes. This allows sequence-based genome-wide asso-ciation studies as well as genomic prediction. As a result, mutations with negative impact on animal health, welfare and pro-ductivity can be rapidly identified.

ALAN HARMAN

Researchers believe genome sequencing could help beef and dairy farmers increase production.

The researchers now see evidence this approach could help dairy and beef farmers raise production.

They tested the use-fulness of the database by flagging recessive muta-tions associated with embryo death and a lethal skeletal disorder. In addi-tion, genome-wide stud-ies identified variants of specific phenotypes, such as high fat content in milk and the curly coat inher-ited by some Fleckvieh cattle.

“Whole-genome sequencing of founder animals on this scale is unprecedented for a live-

stock species,” says Ruedi Fries, TUM chair of animal breeding. “Our results provide the basis for indi-

vidualised cattle genetics – one might say ‘personal genomics’ for cows’.”

Surprising variationTHE RESEARCHERS note a “perhaps surprising” amount of genetic variation given the selection pressures breeders have applied over the centuries, with a total of 28.3 million variants of the 234 cattle sequenced.

“This large number of variants is perhaps surprising given the recent reduction in effective population size in the B. taurus indi viduals sequenced here,” they say, alluding to the contrac-tion in bulls used since artificial insemi-nation became widely used.

The work did not include New Zealand bulls but 72.3%, 43.3% and 55.3% of the chromosomes in the modern Australian, French and Danish Holstein populations, respectively, can be traced back to the ancestors sequenced.

LIC’s science leader genetics and genomics Bevin Harris told Rural News’ sister paper Dairy News that the Nature Genetics paper is important in demon-strating what can be done with whole genome sequencing.

Harris says LIC will provide germ-plasm to the project but similar work is underway here. With the help of PGP funding, LIC has just finished sequencing 550 New Zealand sires, though about one year will pass before all that data has been analysed to the

level of the work reported in Nature Genetics.

The sequencing is a step forward from current SNP Chip techniques because it details every part of the DNA as opposed to blocks of it, Harris explains.

“Now you get the entire three billion pieces of information in the bovine genome in front of you.”

With SNP chips, traits are “associ-ated” with the chip and how strong that association is will dictate rate of prog-ress made in selection for the trait. “And sometimes those associations get broken. With sequence data if you’ve got the source of a trait, you’ve got it: there’s no association to be broken, or strength of association to be worried about.”

It will mean greater certainty and accuracy in bull selections, but for farmers to reap the benefits they will need accurate records of their herd’s parentage too, Harris stresses.

CRV Ambreed’s genetic strate-gist Phil Beatson told Rural News he too expects the research is “likely to be influential in years to come” given the authors “are a large group of eminent scientists from several key research institutions and universities”.

– Andrew Swallow

Serious about keeping on top of mastitis with your teat spray?

Then the all NEW Teat Clean Plus H/S is for you!

❱❱ A true 9 to 1 dilution rate (from the day you start milking)

❱❱ High levels of emollient (45%) which reduces the need for addition emollient, at an extra cost. Keeps your cows teats in better condition

❱❱ Non tainting & non irritating

❱❱ Made in New Zealand for New Zealand dairy farmers.

Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act No. 10013

Call The Drench Company now

on 0800 118 888 for your nearest supplier

ALSO AVAILABLE IN

20 AND 100 LITRE PRESENTATIONS

Your price for 200 litres

incl GST

$1599

Smart Fuel Storage

Visit our website for a full list of products and features

Available in 1300, 2300, 4800 and 9500 litre diesel stations

0800 473 226 | www.sebco.co.nzProudly made in New Zealand

Fully Compliant BundedOptimum clean fuelMinimise fuel theftEasy and safe to fill and dispenseAlso manufacturers of Waste Oil Tanks, Tanks for Adblue and Transportable Tanks


42 ANIMAL HEALTH

Neonics confuse bees

TINY RADIO frequency tags show long-term expo-sure to a neonicotinoid pesticide hampers bumble-bees’ ability to forage for pollen, Canadian and British researchers say.

Nigel Raine, a professor at Guelph Universi-ty’s School of Environmental Sciences in Ontario, Canada, and Rich-ard Gill of Impe-rial College London, England, used RFID tags similar to those used by courier firms to track when individual bees left and returned to the colony, how much pollen they collected and from which flowers.

Their research, published in the British Ecological Society’s journal Functional Ecology, found bees from untreated colonies got better at collecting pollen as they learned to forage but bees exposed to neonicoti-noid insecticide imidacloprid became less successful over time at collecting pollen.

“Bees have to learn many things about their envi-ronment, including how to collect pollen from flow-ers…. Exposure to this neonicotinoid pesticide seems to prevent bees from being able to learn these essen-tial skills,” says Raine.

Neonicotinoid-treated colonies sent out more foragers, presumably to try to compensate for lack of pollen from individual bees, and they found the flower preferences of neonicotinoid-exposed bees were different to those of foraging bees from untreated colonies.

The researchers suggest reform of pesticide reg-ulations, including adding bumblebees and solitary bees to risk assessments that now cover only hon-eybees.

“Bumblebees may be much more sensitive to pes-ticide impacts as their colonies contain a few hundred workers at most, compared to tens of thousands in a honeybee colony,” Raine says.

ALAN HARMAN

New home needed for rare sheepRETIRED FARMER David Tuart is looking for a place to keep and graze his flock of rare British sheep.

Tuart, 79, lives on a rented property at Mamaku, near Rotorua; he gets $400 a week pension and spends about $100 of this on supplementary feed for the 100 sheep.

The severe winter has ham-pered grass growth, he says. “The winter has been so severe

the grass has not been growing. Soon there will be no more grass to grow and I don’t know what to do.”

Tuart’s sheep flock includes Hebrideans, Mohakas, Arans and Goths.

He started buying rare Brit-ish sheep after returning to New Zealand from a work stint in the US. Twenty years ago he had 1000 sheep on his Te Puke farm; he sold the farm and spent most

of the money on looking after the sheep.

Rising land prices prevent him from buying another farm.

He believes Hebridean and Mohaka sheep may be the future for the New Zealand sheep indus-try.

“These sheep have a muscling gene and produce more meat per carcase weight than any other sheep,” he told Rural News.

“They may not produce much

wool but they are super meat producers and we should be farming them.”

The sheep are kept on sev-eral lifestyle blocks at Mamaku but Tuart says he’s fast running out of pasture.

“It will be good if a farmer can help me keep all these sheep together. They will be valuable to the industry one day.”

Tuart can be contacted on 027 975 0228.

David Tuart and his rare sheep flock.

Grow healthier profits not Septoria

Protect your crop and your profits now from the effects of Septoria tritici with Proline.

Proline produces an extra 2.3 tonnes/ha compared with an untreated wheat crop*. That’s $650/ha extra after taking out the cost of using Proline. It’s really that good!

Insist on Proline from Bayer.

Proline® is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997 No. P7250 and is approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996, No. HSR001661. Proline® is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group. ®Priority Partnership is a registered trademark of Nufarm Ltd. © Bayer CropScience 2014. *Source Bayer NZ trials.

www.cropscience.bayer.co.nz

Download the new Crop Solutions App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store

BA

C12

65

CAMBRIDGE FARM ROLLERS

Vee Ring Roller Seeder Drill with Vee bottom seed box, hydraulic clutch, ext. drawbar, ...................... $18,800 Special rollers made to order, Spare parts, Rings and Bearings. 26"dia rings ................... $90.0024"dia rings ................... $85.00 Ph: 0800-838 963

• All prices ex-Factory, Excl GST •Competitive freight rates to the North Island

NEW 10ft Roller with Extension Drawbar & Screw Jack $6900

AUSTINS FOUNDRY LTD 131 King Street, Timaru www.austinsfoundry.co.nz


ANIMAL HEALTH 43

UK supermarket supports global parasite projectPARASITE TESTING pio-neers Techion Group have signed a deal with leading UK supermarket Sainsbury’s to roll out the Fecpak G2 system, not just in New Zealand, but in the UK too.

Fecpak G2 removes the need to post parcels of poo around the country for analysis and, crucially, eliminates uncertainty for those who were already doing their own egg counts onfarm (Rural News, June 17).

Last week the Dunedin company announced Sains-bury’s will fund 50% of the FECPAK G2 hardware cost of NZ$800, and 50% of the $70/month subscription for suppliers for two years.

In the UK meat proces-sors Dunbia and Randall Parker Foods are involved, while Alliance is the pro-cessor partner in the proj-ect here.

“The problem of increasing drug resis-tance by parasites to the drenches designed to kill them means we have to be smarter on how and when we use them,” says Fec-pack founder and manag-ing director Greg Mirams. So it’s important to make use of new technologies to make better decisions.

“About 30 Sainsbury’s suppliers in the UK use it as part of the evaluation group and about 15 here – not as many because of the

seasonality issue. But obvi-ously we’ll start to pick up more now.”

By linking veterinary and technical expertise with information gener-ated straight from the pad-dock (see sidebar) the G2 system allows more informed parasite manage-ment decisions, increas-ing farm profits and lamb performance and reducing treatment costs.

Canterbury farmer Tony Plunket, who has already signed up to the project, says it’s an exciting con-cept. “Testing the old way meant there was too much human error and it was taking too long…. Techion’s system is user friendly and puts accurate information at our fingertips so we can make a decision on the day [as to] whether we need to drench or not.”

Another farmer participating is Warren Leslie, South Canterbury. “Animal health is a big expense to me – $6/stock unit annually – and

I want to make sure it’s money spent wisely, in a sustainable way.”

Leslie, who has hosted trials on issues such as tail docking for Alliance, says Sainsbury’s and Alliance’s support for the technol-ogy makes good sense. “Getting information and research on available tech-nologies is good, but it’s often a challenge to know 100% whether they work until they work on your own farm system.”

Sainsbury’s says it is pleased to support and encourage the rollout of the technology to its sheep farmer producer group to promote efficient, sus-tainable production while protecting and improving animal welfare.

Techion’s initiative builds on a three year EU Parasol Project, started in 2006, with the origi-nal Fecpak system which found 74% of users reduced the number of drench treatments in lambs while not negatively impacting

animal performance.Mirams believes the

G2 system will achieve even greater results. It has already been evaluated in the UK under the guidance of Dr Eric Morgan, Bristol University.

“Our work with the system has shown that Fecpak G2 is highly repeat-able in the hands of differ-ent farmers in the field,” says Morgan.

Alliance general man-ager Murray Behrent is confident farmers will find the system beneficial and easy to use. “It is high-tech, but Techion have made it simple to get actionable results on a computer, no matter where the farmers are, in a short time.”

While Alliance will always do its best in the market for suppliers, the more information and technology it can help them use to gain efficien-cies behind the farmgate the better, he adds. “This R&D project helps us do just that.”

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected]

FECPAK G2 is offered as a hard-ware plus subscription service – a bit like a mobile phone deal – that allows users to submit samples for analysis over the internet without so much as a pellet of poo going in the post.

“Basically you take a tradi-tional dung test, look at it down the microscope and then put it online and a qualified technician reads the image of the sample,” explains Techion managing director Greg Mirams.

For those who sent samples away, it will save the time and cost of postage and risk of degradation of samples due to delay between

collection and analysis. “There’s also no danger of the courier losing them,” adds Mirams.

For those who’ve been doing their own egg counts it provides an independent and auditable check that the farmer, who may only look at such samples a few times a season, is getting counts right.

“Effectively it takes away the fear of looking down the micro-

scope and asking yourself ‘do I see what I think I see?’: it’s a confidence issue for those who do their own samples.”

Fecpak G2 results are returned online “within hours” and a farmer may opt to make them simultaneously available to his veterinarian, advisor or others in the business.

Results can be graphed over time and images of each sample slide are stored, as well as the results, so justification for drench use is auditable with images avail-able for checking later if need be.

Here’s the deal!

Greg Miriam.

Talking parasite testing: From right, Phil Hambling (Sainsbury’s), Kevin Brown (Randall Parker UK), Warren Leslie (Farmer), Greg Mirams (Techion) and Lawrence Woodrow (Stock Manager).

Rumensin Capsules are your best defence against bloat.

Suitable for beef and dairy cattle over 250kg liveweight, one capsule

provides 100 days of proven bloat control.

Control bloat and benefit from improved growth rates in beef cattle and

improved milk production and cow condition1 in dairy cattle.

You can trust Rumensin. With over 2300 scientific papers to its credit,

it is one of the most researched products in the world. Talk to your

veterinarian or animal health stockist about bloat defence today.

Available in drenchable Liquid, 100 day capsule, in-feed Premix and Water Trough Treatment from leading animal health stockists. Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company (NZ) Limited, 123 Ormiston Road, Botany South, Auckland. Helpline: 0800 ELANCO (352 626).Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No’s. A3553, A9676, A7450, A8278. R Weapon RN07/11

Elanco Helpline 0800 ELANCO (352626) 1,2. Elanco Data on File. Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. A9676. www.elanco.co.nz RCap Weapon 39x3 05/12

BLOAT • MILK PRODUCTION • KETOSIS COW CONDITION 1 • FEED EFFICIENCY 2

INL INE DRENCH INFEED CAPSULE MOLASSES


44 ANIMAL HEALTH

North American disease control plan backedA DRAFT plan to allow North America to cope with an outbreak of, say, foot-and-mouth disease, without shutting down the continent’s cattle trade has won US backing from the National Milk Producers

Federation. The plan calls for the

US and Canada to cooper-ate in establishing quaran-tine areas central to disease eradication during an out-break. Trade could then resume or continue in areas

considered free of disease.The NMPF, represent-

ing 32,000 dairy farmers, says Canada is the second-largest export market for US dairy products, and an outbreak of a highly conta-gious animal disease such

as FMD in either country could be catastrophic for the US dairy industry.

“We fully support the draft plan and see it as an effective tool for dealing with an outbreak,” NMPF vice president for sustain-

ability and scientific affairs Jamie Jonker says. “It would facilitate continued trade between disease-free areas, while safeguarding animal health in both coun-tries.”

Jonker says the NMPF

would like to see the USDA use this approach as a tem-plate for other US dairy export markets including

Mexico, China, Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.

– Alan Harman

New milk replacer suits calves, kidsTWO NEW milk replacer products from NZAgbiz will cut the time and cost of raising calves and kids, the com-pany says.

Denkavit Supastart calf milk replacer (CMR) is a new version of the original Denkavit whey product and Den-kavit Ankid goat milk replacer (GMR) is a new product. Both are whey-based, an “easy-to-digest protein source for young stock”.

“Dutch company Denkavit products were a natural choice,” NZAgbiz says. “Denkavit is a global specialist in young animal nutrition and a leader in the compound feed industry in Europe. They also do R&D… in innova-tive feed specialties to deliver high grade animal nutri-tion for the first stages of life.”

Denkavit raises 500,000 calves and produces 300,000t of animal nutrition product annually. “Its expertise and ability to customise solutions will suit our local New Zealand market and rearing conditions.”

Denkavit Supastart contains whey, wheat and soy “which provide a balanced, cost-effective alternative to the dairy ingredients currently used in most other CMR products,” the company says.

“Whey does not have to curd before being digested, so young calves can assimilate their feed faster. Young calves (and kids) can be fussy eaters: if their feed does not smell right, or is not the correct consistency, they will avoid it.”

NZAgbiz says Supastart gets past this problem straight away because it’s highly palatable, has a pleas-ant smell attractive to the calf, is easy to mix and suits all automatic feeders and, because it’s slightly acidic, it counteracts gut-pathogens.

“Most importantly, it encourages early rumen devel-opment which will set up young calves for a healthy and productive future.”

Denkavit Ankid suits rearing kids and fattening stock “and because it’s highly soluble it can be used in all automatic feed-ers”.

“Young kids and goats are selective feed-ers so a product needs to tick all the boxes before they will eat it. Ankid is highly palatable and easily digested, plus it contains natural oregano oil which deliv-ers a protective antimicrobial effect in the gut to further reduce the risk of digestive dis-orders.”

Restricted Veterinary Medicine. Available only under Veterinary Authorisation.Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, A6422. VI

R_04

50_R

N 28

X5_A

UG3

ESPECIALLY WHEN VACCINATING AGAINST SCABBY MOUTH.

Phenax® ClassicSCABBY MOUTH VACCINE

There’s always an easier way

PHENAX© CLASSIC scabby mouth vaccine has been trusted in New Zealand since 1991.

Developed in New Zealand for New Zealand conditions, PHENAX© CLASSIC is a unique vaccinator combined with a built-in scarifier where you can be certain of the best possible outcome every time.

This peerless vaccinator is designed to optimise operator comfort, includes an easy flow needle for application and has a robust anti roll screw-on top for an easy, secure fit to the applicator.

PHENAX© CLASSIC. Too easy.

Your vet knows the science and benefits behind PHENAX© CLASSIC and how it can add value to your farming operation. We entrust PHENAX© CLASSIC to your veterinarian - your animal health expert.

There’s always an easier way


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 45

Great for work or playA POWERFUL quad capable of 100km/h is also great for towing says the Australian manufacturer, CF-Moto.

Launched in June, the 798cc CF-Moto X8 sets records for speed and towing grunt says the compa-ny’s general manager Dale Schmidtchen.

It is powered by a V-twin liquid-cooled 798cc engine with Bosch electronic fuel injection. The engine pro-duces 62hp.

Towing capacity is 450kg, and it can carry 50kg on the front and 100kg on its rear cargo frame. A 3000 pound tow winch increases on-farm functionality.

For sports driving the machine can sustain 100km/h. Indicators, horn and mirror included as standard make it suitable for driving in a group.

Power steering is standard to improve handling.With 27.5 cm of ground clearance and indepen-

dently adjustable suspension, the X8 will perform well over rough terrain Schmidtchen says.

A push-button transfer switches the differential between 2WD and 4WD to help the operator adjust the machine’s handling to the terrain and tasks. Con-tinuous variable transmission allows the rider to get on with riding after setting the system to either high, medium or low.

Warranty is two years or 15,000km. – Gareth GillattTel 09 263 8307www.mojomotorcycles.com.au

Taking the risk out of machine washAN AWARD-WINNING electronic sensor system will make dairy plant washing much less risky say its inventors.

DTexH2o owner operators Graeme and Alison Franklin took home the prize for most viable business at the 2014 Waikato field days.

The system uses electric sensors fitted into a natural acetal housing slipped between pipes to measure the conductivity of the liquid running past.

As milk is less conductive than water, the

sensor can detect when the liquid passing it is 50% water and sounds an alarm warning the farmer to divert liquid from the vat.

Data from the sensors is transferred to a central control box which will trigger an alarm if a microswitch on the vat valve is still engaged.

The entire system can be plugged into a three-point outlet and takes little time to install.

It will help farmers harvest all the milk available without any water sneaking through into the vat and also tells the farmer exactly when

to turn the tap in order to maximize milk in the vat that would normally be discharged into the waste.

Normally farmers take two different steps during wash up.

If their farm’s water quality is poor and they are bound by a water exclusion policy then they will stop milk from flowing into the vat as soon as the wash water goes through, potentially wasting 20-100L of milk each time.

But if their farm’s water quality is good then the milker will monitor liquid temperature by holding a

hand on the pipe, diverting liquid from the vat when the temperature gets too low, risking water grades if the milker forgot to divert the liquid.

Franklin says the system eliminates the risk in both situations by giving the farmer a clearly defined window when they can stop liquid from flowing into the vat without suffering any repercussions.

With an average of 30L lost per milking in even normal circumstances Franklin says the average farmer can lose as much as $14,000 a year. So a system

could pay for itself in well under 12 months.

Franklin says a GEA technician he talked to at the show told him he travelled down a similar

path before deciding it couldn’t be done.

Fonterra and QCONZ have given the invention their approval and Franklin says he has been

installing water sensor systems in and around Manawatu and Wairarapa for 12 months.Tel. 0800 383 9426www.detexh2o.com

GARETH GILLATTGraeme Franklin.

For more information on how Sulky can optimise your fertiliser investment phone 0800 667 9663 and ask your local Sulky dealer for a demo today!

C B Norwood Distributors Ltd

MS1479

make your next inveStment an accurate one

Sulky ECONOV, the only system on the market that will automatically control the real crescent shape of the spreading pattern and therefore precise application. It truly manages the PROGRESSIVE shut-off of all boom sections!

PreciSeinnovation up to the last section.

www.cfmoto.com.au

• 500cc water cooled engine• Stable independent suspension• Smoother riding gas shocks• Canadian CVTech transmission• Winch, Towbar, Hand Guards,

INCLUDES $1200 WORTH OF ACCESSORIES!

500ccATV

CF500 CLASSIC

$7,250 EXGST

800ccUTVU8

$12,700 EXGST

INCLUDES $3000 WORTH OF ACCESSORIES!

• 800cc water cooled engine• Selectable drive modes• Canadian CVTech transmission• Alloy wheels and 6 ply tyres• Roof, Winch, Screen and Tow pack included

800ccSSVZ8

$13,550INCLUDES $2600 WORTH OF ACCESSORIES!

• 800cc water cooled engine• Canadian CVTech transmission• Engine braking system• Downhill braking• Lockable diff• Roof, Winch, Screen included

EXGST

Alloy wheels, 6 ply tyres included

CFMOTO NORTH ISLAND • Experience Motorcycles of Kingsland, Auckland (09) 845 5950 Northland Powersports, Whangarei 021 346 449 • Northwest Motorcycles LTD, New Plymouth (06) 759 9059

CFMOTO SOUTH ISLAND • Ag and Auto Direct, Balclutha (03) 418 0555On Farm Agri Centre, Greymouth (03) 768 4078 • On Farm Agri Centre, Nelson (03) 547 3276


46 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Canadian drill ticks many boxes

At work the Salford 522 making short work of sowing ryegrass and red clover last autumn.

SOUTH CANTERBURY farmer Norm Styles pre-fers to employ horsepower to manpower, an approach which saw him buy one of the biggest seed drills in the country earlier this year.

It’s a 9m Canadian built Salford 522, imported for Styles by local dealership Paul Wilkins Tractors.

But it’s not just the width that attracted him to it: its weight means it can direct drill into his sometimes hard Waitohi clay and Timaru silt loam soils – no mean feat over such a wide working width.

It also has an aggres-sive action, Styles having chosen a wider-fluted pre-opener disc than standard, effectively working a 5cm channel of soil for the fol-lowing disc openers to place seed into at precisely the depth he sets.

Downward pressure on the coulters is adjustable from 18-227kg (90-500lbs) even over the narrow-est row spacing of 18cm, which is the option Styles has chosen.

The seed hopper holds about 4.5t of seed wheat, enough for him to drill all day without having to fill up, something he couldn’t do with most New Zealand made drills, even though they have much narrower working widths, he notes.

Price was another factor in the Salford’s favour. “It was relatively sharp for the amount of machine you get com-pared to a New Zealand built drill,” he comments.

He’s not planning to do any contracting with the machine, so how does he justify such a massive tool

on a property of 400ha, of which about 300ha is cropped?

“It’s a good question but I believe in horse-power. You can spend an extra $50,000/year on extra horsepower and machinery if you don’t employ someone and for me that’s better than money spent on a man. Horsepower gets the work done quickly and easily, and it keeps things simple.”

The drill has replaced a 3m (10 ft) triple disc Duncan Enviro which he also used as a direct drill. That had the option of putting fertiliser ‘down the spout’ with seed, which is also an option on the Salford, but it wasn’t something he was rou-tinely doing with the old drill anyway.

“I’ve been applying fer-tiliser ahead of the drill for more than ten years and been happy with the results, so why change?”

Paul Wilkins, who imported and assem-bled the drill for Styles, notes most wide drills on the New Zealand market are 8m, and not nearly as heavily built.

“This is an altogether bigger structure. I’ve not seen any others up on tractor-size wheels like

this one, and it’s only a mid-size model in their range!”

Styles says the big wheels mean a larger foot-print, hence lower ground pressure and smoother ride which is good for control of seeding depth and reduced wear on the sturdy axles.

“The stub axle isn’t going to break off, which wouldn’t be the case with many drills. They’re just not built to handle the conditions.”

Currently he is pulling the Salford with a 1980s John Deere 8440. While it looks a big tractor, it is only 215hp and with 15,000 hours on the clock it is struggling on some of the steeper hills.

“I knew the old girl was going to be at her limits pulling this drill. A new, larger tractor is part of the

long term plan.”With the 8840 he’s

been travelling at 8-9 km/h with the drill, a comfort-able speed for triple-disc type drills. Seed depth and spacing have proven excel-lent as has accuracy of the Salford designed meter-ing unit.

“Calibrate it for your seed rate, and that’s what it delivers.”

At 8-9km/h he was cov-ering 8ha/hr so while it was frustrating not being able to get on after it turned wet in early April this year – “with direct drilling you’ve got to have the ground in the right condition” – he’s looking forward to knocking off the remaining area to sow soon.

“It’s going to make the spring work a lot easier and we should get through it relatively quickly.”

ANDREW SWALLOW

[email protected] 522 SPEC'S❱❱ Width: 9m working, 4.5m transport.

❱❱ 18cm, 24cm & 37.5cm row-width options.

❱❱ Up to 227kg pressure per double disc opener.

❱❱ Stainless steel peg and brush metering.

❱❱ 4760, 5640 or 6520 litre hopper options.

❱❱ Inter-row fertiliser options.

One man band Norm Styles at the helm of his JD8440.

Rollit Feeders

New

Inve

ntion

Phone Wessel 07 893 8565www.rollit.co.nz

Th

e g

en

u i ne w e e d w

i pe

r -

s

ince 1987

JFM


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 47Good spraying progress for farmer/contractorAN OTAGO farmer and contractor reckons he is efficiently spraying at an average speed of 12km/h with a new sprayer he bought last Septem-ber.

Macraes Flat farmer-contrac-tor Kent Tisdall bought his Hustler Genius sprayer to replace a truck that had been his spraying ‘mainstay’.

Since buying the Hustler, Tisdall has sprayed 200 ha on rolling coun-try at an average speed of 12km/hr.

He is mainly spraying Roundup with Granstar and Verstill to help combat the clover and says the 1000L tank with 12m fully hydraulic folding boom and Raven GPS are going well.

“It is simple and easy to use and the GPS is easy to set up and follow,” he explains.

“I have also used it for spreading fertiliser”.

Tisdall says the induction hopper saves him lugging chemical contain-

ers to the top of the sprayer. He powers the rig with a John Deere 6930 155hp tractor for his spray work.

“The boom seems good and sturdy and the self-levelling follows the contour well.

“The boom foldup is excellent especially around the rocks. It allows you to spray at 9m if need be and the auto rate is a good for maintaining the application rate well.”www.hustlerequipment.co.nz

Weighing stock done fasterTHE LATEST versions of Gallagher’s W610 and W810 weigh scale and data collectors offer faster livestock weighing and improved connectivity, the company says.

Product manager Dan Loughnane says the new generation models are better designed and more user-friendly because of customer feedback where the work is done.

“The W610 and W810 are tried and proven products, but we are always on the lookout for ways to make yard work more efficient and effective.”

He says the new-version models lock in weights much faster. Both have a ‘maximum speed’ option relevant especially to the sheep market, enabling weights to be locked in three times faster than the standard weigh option.

“This feature especially suits the growing number of sheep operations using automated drafters. It enables farmers to more quickly weigh large numbers of stock.”

The weigh scales’ connectivity is also improved, allowing connection to an android device via Bluetooth. Using Gallagher’s free animal data transfer (ADT) app, farmers can extract session files from the scale and send EID data directly to NAIT. They can also attach the full session data to an email or upload straight to a web-based database system such as AgHub. The ADT application is available from the Google Play store.

Both models come with Gallagher’s Animal Performance Software (APS Standard), with a largely icon-based menu system that speeds viewing, evaluating and sharing current and historical animal information.

Operating features include backlit screens, raised keyboards and ergonomically operated switches and buttons. These units can connect to any brand of EID reader and are capable of storing weight readings from many thousands of animals.

Additional livestock management information, such as average daily weight gain and carcase weight, can also be calculated and displayed automatically when an animal is weighed.Tel. 07 838 9800www.gallagher.co.nz

Kent Tisdall is very happy with his Hustler Genius sprayer.

WWW.SUZUKI.CO.NZ

Power away on a new Suzuki KingQuad for 1/3 deposit and you’ll pay no interest at all on the balance! Then simply pay a third in 12 months time, and the fi nal 1/3 another 12 months

later. THAT’S A FULL 24 MONTHS TO PAY! You could even use your old bike as a trade in. Off er available 1 August – 30 September 2014 or while stocks last.

Talk to your participating Suzuki dealer today!

Not available in conjunction with any other promotion. Prices include GST. Payments include$395 documentation fee, $13 PPSR and $5 transaction fee. Normal lending and credit criteria apply.

WWW.SUZUKI.CO.NZ

SZM

0084

LT-A500XL4 KINGQUAD 500 AUTORRP $13,995 – DEPOSIT $4,798

LT-A750XPL4 KINGQUAD 750 AUTO POWER STEERRRP $16,995 – DEPOSIT $5,798

LT-F/A400FL4 KINGQUAD 400 MAN/AUTORRP $12,695 – DEPOSIT $4,365

LT-A500XPL4 KINGQUAD 500 AUTO POWER STEERRRP $15,995 – DEPOSIT $5,464

0%INTEREST

1/3 + +1/3 1/3DEPOSIT IN 12 MONTHS IN 24 MONTHS

THAT’S A FULL 24 MONTHS

TO PAY!


48 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Co-op model builds platform for growthFARM MACHINERY co-op, Origin Agroup is celebrating its tenth anni-versary.

Set up in 2004 by a group of independent farm machinery retail-ers it imports and distrib-utes farm machinery to its member shareholders.

Over the past 10 years of operation Origin

Agroup has experienced formidable growth and has firmly positioned itself and its products on the market, the company says.

This rapid growth and expansion would not have been achieved by any other business model, says managing director David Donnelly.

“Quite simply our suc-

cess is contributed to the fact we adopted a coopera-tive business model with cooperative principles and ethos which fairly rep-resents the shareholder members and their cus-tomers interests,” he says.

“Cooperatives are founded on strong values, and we put them into practice every day. With

relationships built on trust, co-ops enable the member owners, custom-ers and suppliers to work together to serve every-one’s needs.”

Donnelly believes that trust is the glue that holds the member owners of a cooperative together.

“It’s vital to the success of Origin Agroup as we

create and develop long-term relationships with our customers and sup-pliers from all around the world.

“Our objective is to ensure that New Zea-land farmers and con-tractors get the best possible equipment, that the machinery they need will be available when they

need it, and that they will be well looked after by the members of the Origin Agroup cooperative with service and parts when they need it most.”

Origin Agroup imports its products directly from overseas manufacturers on exclusive market dis-tribution agreements; this provides shareholder members and their cus-tomers with a competitive range of quality products.

Origin Agroup dis-tributes many success-fully recognised European brands of machinery which include Pottinger cultivation, seeding and harvesting equipment; Alpego power harrows, rotary hoes, mulchers, seed drills, and sub-soil-ers; Dal-Bo cambridge rollers and disc harrows; Manip tractor front end loaders; Bogballe fertilizer spreaders; HatzenbichleR air seeders and harrows and Tatoma mixer wagons.

Donnelly says the

group is poised for further product and distribution expansion but empha-sises the fact that Origin Agroup has successfully been here for the past ten years and will be here for the future.

“It was a logical deci-sion to provide the indus-try with an alternative supply of products and services to the farm machinery market which could look after its retail-ers with an exclusive range of products more fairly and the co-op structure is a proven business model which achieves this.

“We knew 10 years ago that simply starting up a new company to import farm machinery and intro-duce new products would be difficult, so we needed a point of difference that would benefit both the farm machinery retailer and their customers and the Cooperative model would provide this differ-ence”.

Origin Agroup’s David Donnelly.

MS1502

C B Norwood Distributors Ltd

124 Lincoln Road, MastertonEmail: [email protected]

Leaders in farm machinery design

PH STUART 0274 387 528 OR WORKSHOP 06 370 1329

BALE FEEDERS(FEEDS ROUNDS & SQUARE)

FEED OUTWITH DAYTECH

AUGUST SPECIAL

$7500+ GST


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 49

ON DISPLAY at the Farmgard site at the recent Waikato field days was a large set of Razol trailed offset discs, owned by Terry O’Brien of Springdale, between Morrinsville and Te Aroha.

He has had them for one season and loaned them back to Farmgard for the field days.

Razol is a French company that makes tandem and multi-discs, rollers, rippers and subsoilers – built bigger, wider and stronger to make the most of high-powered tractors.

O’Brien grows 60ha of

maize each year for silage, selling mostly to local dairy farmers and some to a customer 25km away. He also works as a salesman for Whyteline Ltd Case IH distributors at Paeroa.

“I do all my own ground preparation and planting and leave the harvesting to contractors so time is of the essence,” said O’Brien.

He had upgraded his tractor to a Case IH Puma CVT of 230hp to help him do the work in a timely manner. He also wanted a

machine to complement the tractor to get the ground ready for the new season’s planting.

He chose a set of trailed offset discs with vertical folding for travelling. His machine has a 4.7m working width with scalloped discs at the front and plain discs at the rear. Both lots of discs are 660mm diameter with 260mm spacing. It hydraulically folds to 3m for travelling.

“I have a manual system to alter the cut but

there is a hydraulic option available.”

There is also hydraulics on the wheels for depth control and to raise the discs from the ground for travelling. Machines are available for working widths of 4.5m to 5.8m and discs options of 730mm and 810mm diameter plain and scalloped. Tractors with a minimum 200hp are recommended.

“The discs are a perfect match for the tractor and I only need two passes to finish the job, and then with a quick pass with a power harrow the ground is ready for planting.”Tel. 09 275 5555www.farmgard.co.nz

TONY HOPKINSON

Maize grower goes for bigger, wider, stronger discs

“The discs are a perfect match for the tractor and I only need two passes to finish the job.”

Terry O’Brien with his Razol trailed off-set discs.

low pressure

easily moved

Greener grass, more fertile pastures

available nationwide

The K-LineTM Irrigation system delivers

the right amount of water to the right

areas, quickly, effectively and cost efficiently.

Find out more: call 0800 288 558 or visit rxplastics.co.nz

• Ideal addition to your block• Grow vegetables all year round and reduce your grocery bill• Very affordable and easy to install• Totally NZ made by family business making tunnelhouses for 30 years• Range of models from 2m to 8m long

T/F 03 214 4262E [email protected]

www.morrifield.com

Tunnelhouses


Contact your local Power Farming Dealer for more information

• 500 litre seed & fertiliser hopper standard

• Stainless agitator shaft for optimum corrosion protection

• Durable spring tine with tungsten point provides excellent penetration characteristics

• Heavy duty galvanised frame

• Calibration is made simple with the variable speed gearbox & seed collection tray

Made In New Zealand

* Normal lending criteria and conditions apply.

DIRECTSEED DRILLUnique 100mm or Standard 150mm Row Spacing

FINANCE1.95%*

FROM

+GS

T

4 inch spacing

4 inch spacing

Includes Front Disc


50 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS / RURAL TRADER

ONE STOP WATER SHOP

Culvert Pipes Phone 0800 625 826

for your nearest stockistNew Zealand’s CHEAPEST Culvert Pipes!

FREE joiners supplied on request.

• Lightweight, easy to install

• Made from polyethylene

McKee Plastics, Mahinui Street, Feilding Phone 06 323 4181 Fax 06 323 4183

McKee Plastics, 231 Kahikatea Drive, Hamilton. Ph 07 847 [email protected] www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

300mm x 6 metre ................................ $410

400mm x 6 metre ................................ $515

500mm x 6 metre ................................ $690

600mm x 6 metre ................................ $925

800mm x 6 metre .............................. $1399

1000mm x 6 metre ............................ $2175

1200mm x 6 metre ............................ $3475

Joinerssupplied FREE with culvert

pipes

ALL PRICES INCLUDE G.S.T.

• 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

sides

FLYSTRIKE AND LICE❖ Fantastic Penetration❖

NO ONE BEATS OUR PRICE• Make a big job quick & easy• Total body coverage,

2.5 litres/sheep

PPP Super Jetter

• ATV Carrier Mats • Exit/Entry Areas• Calf Trailers • Horse Floats & Trucks

• Weigh Platforms • Bale Mats • Comfort Mats for Wet & Dry Areas

• Utility Deck Matting

Phone: 0800 80 8570www.burgessmatting.co.nz

Rubber Safety MattingCRAIGCO SENSOR JET

P 06 835 6863 - www.craigcojetters.com

DEAL TO FLY AND LICE

• Cost Effective

• Complete Package

• Unbeatable pricing

• Performance Guaranteed

GRAZINGLong Term Lease44 Hectares available from 1 June

Tokoroa South Waikato

Email: [email protected]

DOLOMITENZ’s fi nest BioGro certifi ed

Mg fertiliserFor a delivered price call...

0800 436 566

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITES

www.ruralnews.co.nz

www.dairynews.co.nz

@rural_news

facebook.com/ruralnews

RURAL ONLINEREADING THE PAPER ONLINE HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER.GO TO WWW.RURALNEWS.CO.NZ

Faster, smarter data is WiFi -readyGALLAGHER SAYS its new TSi 2 Livestock Man-ager is faster and smarter than its ground-break-ing SmartTsi launched in 2008.

The only touchscreen-operated integrated weighscale, computer and animal management system on the market, the TSi 2 Livestock Manager has a processor twice as fast as the previous unit.

Product manager Dan Loughnane says the com-pany talked at length to farmers in developing the

TSi 2. “It has much more memory and power and this means it can quickly store, analyse and transfer animal data in the yards.”

It also locks in animal weights much more quickly during weighing sessions.

“For example, the new fast weigh feature is designed specifically for weighing sheep and enables weights to be locked in 2.7 times faster than in standard mode. This allows big increases in stock throughput.”

Another key improve-ment in the TSi 2 is WiFi connectivity, allowing animal data to be imme-diately transferred to the web. “This is ideal for farmers who want to quickly send information directly to third parties such as NAIT.”

Higher processing speed and memory make it easy for farmers to find information quickly and with minimal fuss.

The TSi 2 can store at least one million animal records, allowing the

entire life history of ani-mals to be saved for on-farm viewing.

It is supplied with Gal-lagher’s Animal Perfor-mance Software (APS Professional valued at $1378 inc GST).

Like the SmartTSi, the TSi 2 is ruggedly con-structed. It can be inte-grated with loadbars, EID readers, auto drafters and other management soft-ware. It has an outdoor-readable touchscreen with large buttons and an intui-tive user-interface.

Gallagher market-ing manager Mark Harris says the TSi 2 helps farm-ers take the guesswork out

of major farm policy deci-sions. “It’s a simple way to comprehensively monitor animal performance under

different feeding and treatment regimes.” Tel. 07 838 9800www.gallagher.co.nz

The TSi2 Livestock Manager is the only touch-screen-operated, weight-scale, computer and ani-mal management system on the market.

www.clicdualwheels.co.nz

Clic Wheel Systems Ltd, Rotorua Ph/Fax 07 347 2292

on Duals for more traction, stability, flotation, towing power, versatility.

Be Safer With Clic Dual Wheels


RURAL TRADER 51

Please add $10 Freight per order

$48valued at

$140

FLEXISKIN RAINWEAR & RAINWALK SALE!OFFER AVAILABLE 2 WEEKS ONLY! COMFORTABLE, HIGHLY BREATHABLE & LIGHTWEIGHT!

$66valued at $180

$66valued at$140

$48valued at$120

$42valued at

$110

$42valued at $120

Rainwalk is ultra light nylon.More breathable, but lesswaterproof than Flexiskin.

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.

BUY WITH confidence from authorised rural sales agent N + J Keating, 70 Rimu Street, New Lynn, Auckland 0600. Tel. 09 833 1931 (cell 021 230 1863); email [email protected]

•PestFreeputs50Hzpulsealongpowercables•Ratsandmicestress,dehydrate,exit•Noharmtohumans,pets,computers,etc.•Modelstosuitbuildings/plant200sq.mto1000sq.m•NSW-made,patented,scienceproven•Usedintencountries•2-yearwarranty

Drive Rats Out!Electromagnetic Plug-In Pest Free Expellers Drive Out Rats and Mice. They Won’t Return.

100% 60-DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE

Or Just Buy Pest Free domestic at $159.90

(RRP)

including GST and post

Buy One Pest Free PROFor your large home, office or factory (400m2) $399.90 incl. GST and post

And get a domestic model FREEThe original Pest Free domestic has thousands of satisfied owners throughout New Zealand.

NEW OFFER

TOP DOG BOX

Phone 0800 625 826www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

❱❱ Accommodates up to 4 dogs❱❱ 6 individual air vents❱❱ Removable centre board❱❱ 2 lockable galvanised gates❱❱ In-house drainage❱❱ Tie down lugs on each side❱❱ Fits all wellside &

flatdeck utes (2 models)❱❱ Raised floor for insulation

$699 inclGST

$495 inclGST

SINGLE DOG BOXNew

Docking Chute

0800 DOCKER(362 537)

www.vetmarker.co.nz

VETMARKER

Minimal SweatingPOLY SILOS

No RustLonger Lasting

Fast Easy AssemblyNo BlockagesPolyethylene

Call: 0800 668 534 Rangiora

www.advantageplastics.co.nz

Full Rangeof SizesAvailable

www.ruralnews.co.nz

BREAKING NEWS

MANAGEMENT STORIES

MARKETS & TRENDS

MACHINERY REVIEWS

COMPETITIONS

AND MUCH MORE...

CHECK OUT OUR

WEBSITES

Phone: 04 384 7683 • Fax: 04 384 7689Email: [email protected] Dixon St, Te Aro WellingtonPO Box 9254, Wellington 6141www.metshop.co.nz

Weatherstations, unusual gifts and science support for over 40 years...

The Met Shop

WE’RE ONLINE!

MCKEE PLASTICS, Mahinui Street, Feilding | Ph 06 323 4181 | Fax 06 323 4183 | MCKEE PLASTICS, 231 Kahikatea Drive, Hamilton | Ph 07 847 [email protected] | www.mckeeplastics.co.nz

PHONE 0800 625 826 For your nearest stockists

OPEN YET CLOSED FEEDERAvailable in 50 Teat - 80 Teat options

COLOSTRUM STORAGE4500 Litre $ 1775.003750 Litre $ 1565.002200 Litre $ 930.001400 Litre $ 699.001000 Litre $ 540.00

COLOSTRUM TRANSPORT TANK1500 Litre $ 900.001000 Litre $ 715.00550 Litre $ 540.00

20L Meal Trough

MEAL TROUGHS

12L Pen Water Trough $ 86.5020L Pen Water Trough $ 99.9512L Pen Meal Trough $ 57.2520L Pen Meal Trough $ 71.00

www.agro.basf.co.nz

SHARPEN®, Kixor® and the X® logo are registered trademarks of BASFSHARPEN® is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act, 1997 No. P8391

Available from your local rural supplier or call BASF on 0800 93 2273

BSF0022 06/14

THE SHARPEST YET

SHARPEN® is the only herbicide in New Zealand to contain KIXOR®, a unique and powerful active

ingredient from entirely new chemistry.It’s powerful enough to provide increased

broad spectrum control of previouslyhard-to-control broadleaf weeds.

With over 4,500,000 hectares treated in the USA during its fi rst year of use, SHARPEN® is set to revolutionise the way you prepare your crops and pasture. It’s the break-through herbicide with two distinctive common applications.

Pre-emergent Weed Controlfor Maize CropsSHARPEN® + acetochlor = a hard hitting, pre-emergent solution for maize crops, offering an extended period of residual weed control.

SHARPEN® + acetochlor

Pasture BurndownSHARPEN® + glyphosate = rapid, more complete, pasture burndown and brown-out. Now you can choose to graze longer or plant earlier!

SHARPEN® + glyphosate

INTRODUCING THE MOST SUCCESSFUL HERBICIDE LAUNCHED WORLDWIDE IN THE PAST 20 YEARS.

1 2

rural news 5 august 2014

Documents

meat farmers

meat industry

fresh meat

premium meats

new zealand lamb

extensive meat market

danish pig farmers

premium cuts