canterbury farming, december 2015

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The Selwyn Cattery

December 2015 Edition30,287 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast

Protecting wildlife

A different style of farming

They brought Canterbury to the world

P3 P4 P10

A different style of farmingPage 4–5

2 December 2015 CANTERBURY FARMING

1016 Weedons Ross Road, West Melton, RD1, Christchurch Ph 03 347 2314 Email [email protected]

Canterbury Farming prints material contributed by freelance journalists, contributing columnists and letters from readers.

The information and opinions published are not necessarily those of Canterbury Farming or its staff. Canterbury Farming takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Canterbury Farming is published byNorthSouth Multi Media Ltd

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Wasp bait readily availableThe availability of Vespex, a targeted wasp bait, will be a welcome reprieve for our native birds and insects, and for people who enjoy getting out in nature.

Nelson-based company Merchento has announced that Vespex wasp bait can now be released to individuals who have completed an online training test. Previously the bait was only licenced for use on public conservation land.

The protein bait, which contains the commonly used insecticide fipronil, is targeted at wasps and is not attractive to bees. Vespex was developed in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and piloted on five public conservation land sites earlier this year, reducing wasp activity by more than 95 per cent.

“Wider access to the wasp bait means that more

conservation and recreation areas can be protected from the annual wasp onslaught,” said DOC scientist, Eric Edwards.

“Introduced wasps are a significant pest which harm our native birds and insects and are a threat to human health and recreation. The announcement means that community groups and private landowners with natural areas on their land can now access this targeted bait station method.

“It’s also safer for conservation workers and volunteers because the wasps take the bait back to their nests to feed their larvae, and there’s no need

to approach and destroy individual nests.

“Wasps are still a persistent annual problem. It’s vital that the science community keeps working on developing a range of tools to control wasps over the long term.”

Mr Edwards says this bait will go a long way towards taking the sting out of many of our forests, parks and picnic areas each season.

New Zealand has some of the highest densities of German and common wasps in the world.

This is because they have no natural predators here, our winters are mild and there is plenty of food for them. They have major social and environmental impacts.

The country has several kinds of native wasps which have evolved here and have never become a nuisance.

In recent years there have been four social species accidentally introduced which are classed as pests.

Social wasps l ive as colonies in nests of honeycomb-like cells. They form complex social groups and all members of a colony help raise the young.

The German wasp was introduced in the 1940s and the common wasp arrived relatively recently but is now

widespread. Both species live in large colonies, about the size of a soccer ball. These colonies can become huge if they manage to survive over winter.

German wasp nests are grey whilst common wasp nests are brown. The world’s largest recorded wasp nest was discovered at Waimauku — near Auckland. It was 3.75 metres tall and 1.7 metres wide.

Wasps are a nuisance to forestry gangs, and a worry to tourist operators. They are unwelcome guests at summer picnics and barbecues. No one finds a wasp sting a fun experience.

The venom from a wasp sting contains several toxins that can cause a hypersensitive or allergic reaction in some people.

Eric Edwards installing a wasp bait station

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Protecting wildlifeA new Bill will improve the protection of vulnerable native wildlife from smuggling, poaching and hunting.

“Protection of New Zealand’s vulnerable native wildlife from smuggling, poaching and hunting will be modernised and improved by a Bill introduced to Parliament in early December,” said Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.

The Wildlife Powers Amendment Bill will reform the Wildlife Act 1953 to give full-time DOC rangers new powers when they encounter offences in progress.

“Under the Act, DOC is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crimes against native wildlife, including poaching.”

DOC’s enforcement role under the Act is carried out by specialist, warranted rangers who work closely with the police.

“The Act’s enforcement powers haven’t been updated for 60 years and in many cases are hopelessly out of date, making it more difficult for these hard-working DOC staff to do their jobs. For example, the Act currently specifies that rangers can only call for assistance from men if they need help from a member of the public,” said Ms Barry.

“The intention of this Amendment Bill is to modernise the legislation and empower DOC’s specialist

staff to protect our wildlife from exploitation.”

If the Bill is passed into law, warranted DOC wildlife rangers will have the authority to arrest in cases of serious offending against protected wildlife or obstruction of investigation into such offences.

It will also give warranted rangers four new standard powers — the ability to take action to prevent an offence about to occur or in progress, temporarily stop persons suspected of an offence to allow investigation, seize a broader range of evidence such as laptops, cameras and mobile phones, and require identification details from suspected offenders.

“Poaching and smuggling of native animals like tuatara, geckos and parrots is completely unacceptable, as is hunting of protected species,” says Ms Barry.

“This reform means DOC takes ownership of dealing quickly and efficiently with wildlife crime.”

The Bill maintains the status quo for Fish and Game officers and will not alter their existing powers.

Only DOC staff who are appointed as warranted officers will have the authority to exercise the powers included in the Bill.

There are about 260 DOC staff members who have warrants, but the specific power to arrest will be limited to a small number of them — likely less than 10.

These few are often ex-police with a high level of training who form the National Compliance Team. This Bill brings the Wildlife Act into

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry

line with the Conservation Act 1987.

Ms Barry hopes the Bill will receive its first reading in Parliament early in the new year and go forward for consideration by Select Committee.

100IT’S NOT A TARGET


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They run 1540 Friesian cross cows which are milked in two rotary

cowsheds — a 50 and a 60 bale. Nick is a shareholder with three partners in the business. Kintore employs nine full time plus seasonal staff across the properties.

“I grew up on dairy farms. When I left school I did a trade certificate in dairy farming then went to Lincoln University to study for a Rural Valuation degree and post graduate diploma in Human Resources and Information Technology,” said Nick who met his wife Demelza whilst studying at Lincoln.

They have been married for 11 years and have three daughters.

“My family moved from Cambridge in the Waikato to Southland in 1992 when I was at school as the opportunities and land prices were better down there.”

He said he tried other occupations but returned to farming.

“I enjoy the work, my days are challenging and varied. I could be doing a budget proposal or meeting with staff in the morning and installing moisture sensors or heading to MacKenzie Country to look at bulls in the afternoon.

“People are a very important part of our business,” said Nick. “Our company slogan is ‘Powered by People’, the business is based on relationships from the board to staff, suppliers and rural professionals.

“Over the years we have invested time and money to provide the tools to help people within the business grow and develop in their lives. Using leadership coaches is an important part of this and we use Coach Approach Ltd who have been an integral part of our system to mentor and develop our team. I highly recommend farmers use a

by Ann MorganNick Hoogeveen is the general manager at Kintore

Farm Ltd in Carew which consists of 450 hectares and

is home to two dairy units, a 30 per cent share in a 310

hectare specialist dairy support block and a 70 hectare

run off block. He has been there since 2005.

photos courtesy of kintore farms

A different

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JJ’s sell and service leading brands including Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Challenger, Lely, Welger and Giltrap. Established in 1958, JJ Ltd is one of the leading agricultural machinery dealers, with 6 branches covering the majority of the South Island. The Southland family owned business moved into Canterbury in 2009 and has not looked back since.

SERVICE MANAGERWe are currently looking for a suitably experienced Service Manager to run our busy workshop located in Hornby, Christchurch. This job is ideal for someone who wants to step up and make their mark.

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This job is workshop based however visits to clients will be necessary from time to time.We will offer an excellent remuneration package to the successful applicant based on experience.If you want to progress in this field this is the perfect opportunity. PARTS MANAGERWe are currently looking for an experienced Parts Manager to work in our busy parts department located in Hornby, Christchurch. If you are looking to progress in this field this is the perfect opportunity. This job is ideal for current Parts Managers, technicians that want to move out of the workshop, or parts assistants wishing to advance their career.


• Experience in the agricultural/machinery industry• Experience in parts or service.• A good customer service background• Computer literate and an understanding of systems used for ordering and invoicing• Excellent work ethic

A very competitive remuneration package will be negotiated with the successful applicant.

PARTS ASSISTANT We are currently looking for a Parts Assistant to work in our busy parts department located in Hornby, Christchurch.This position would be ideal for school leavers or someone wishing to change career paths. If you want to progress in this field this is the perfect opportunity.


• Excellent work ethic• The willingness to learn• Computer literate

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Applicants for this position should have NZ residency or a valid NZ work visa. If you are interested in joining a successful team servicing the farmer and contractor please contact by calling, emailing, or writing, in the strictest confidence, toTerry Gordon – Branch ManagerPO Box 16360Hornby, CHRISTCHURCH 8441P: 03 344 [email protected]

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business coach. We have put a lot of time and effort into building a team culture and have rules and systems. Our people are measured by how they lift each other up and help each other grow and develop, rather than outdoing each other.

“We strive for ‘above the line’ behaviour. For example on some farms if it rains, production drops. Our guys are thinking about what is in their control that they can do. They feed more grass on the wet days and production

usually goes up.” Nick says when things are stressful it is important to keep your power, don’t give it away to problems.

“Don’t go on about how bad things are, think about what you can do that is positive. When I come up against stress I try to focus on what I can do rather than what’s outside of my control. When you pull yourself up it is like a weight is lifted from your shoulders.

“I walk up Mt Peel once a week with a dairy farmer neighbour. This keeps me fit

and we usually sort out the world’s problems on the way up. Once you get up to the top, it gives you a different perspective on life, you remember your problems aren’t significant in the big scheme of things. We’re just like fleas on a dog’s back really.”

He says things have changed from when he was growing up.

“Progress is good, farmers used to put effluent into the swamp back then. Now we spread it on the land and it’s

a valuable fertiliser resource. We like to apply technology to problems and have systems that automatically collect, process, and send us relevant data.

“Our on-farm data collection system is supplied by Harvest Electronics and it collects all sorts of data such as soil moisture and temperature, rainfall, milk silo valve position and so on. We use it for reporting, monitoring, and controlling things. We can send alerts out for any of these parameters,

such as if a silo tap is left open during milking or milk cooling fails.”

They have two roto rainer irrigators that work in tandem and are GPS tracked.

“Our cows are weighed every milking. If the cows are under weight it usually means they have been under fed, the system sends a text to alert us.”

They believe in fully feeding their stock as having hungry cows is an opportunity lost and false economy.“By stuffing them full of grass

we get top performance out of them. Study of epigenetics has proven that making animals go hungry affects the future generations via gene switching so the effects go much further than today or tomorrow.

“I like the variation and challenge in the job and applying technology to issues. I have a hunger for learning how to manage things better and I like working with cows and people and appreciate what we can accomplish in the dairy industry together.”

We have put a lot of time and effort into building a team culture with rules and systems

Preparing paddocks to make sure cows have enough feed for their health and production

6 December 2015 CANTERBURY FARMING RURAL PROFESSIONALS

Ben TurnerM 027 530 1400 E [email protected]

Call Ben for confidential and professional advice on any real estate matters.

Whalan and Partners Ltd, Bayleys, Licensed under the REA Act 2008

Property | Family | WillsTrusts | Estates | EPAs | Rural

Business | Traffic | EmploymentLeeston (03) 324 3033

Email: [email protected] | www.anglands.co.nzSolicitors of Selwyn since 1965

Ronald W. Angland & SonLAWYERS

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Disclosure Statements are available on request and free of charge.

Country Lawwith Ronald W. Angland & Son

Money Talkwith Andrew Wyllie

Landlocked landThere are provisions in the statute books dealing with landlocked land. ‘Landlocked land’ is defined as a piece of land to which there is no reasonable access — this arises in two manners:

Existing circumstances whereby the land never had any appropriate access or following some manner of division of titles or change in boundaries. Basically, the cases on landlocked land divide between those seeking ‘return to the status quo’ (where, say, an old unregistered access has been blocked by a new neighbour) and ‘applications for new access’ (where, for example, a developer buys an old farm block and seeks to subdivide).

In such circumstances, if a neighbour refuses to negotiate an easement for access, either the owner or the occupier of the landlocked land may apply to the courts for an order for access. This order is then registrable.

The first port of call in the court deciding whether or not to make an order for access is whether the land is genuinely landlocked. Land is considered landlocked if there is no ‘reasonable access,’ which is defined as meaning ‘physical access for persons or services of a nature and quality that is reasonably

necessary to enable the owner or occupier of the land to use and enjoy the land for any purpose for which it may be used in accordance with any right, permission, authority, consent, approval, or dispensation enjoyed or granted under the Resource Management Act 1991’. This definition has been the subject of contention where people have applied for access in relation to proposed resource consent uses which are not in existence at the time and have no historical nexus with the property, but generally speaking the definition is taken as meaning vehicular and walking access together with the ability to connect services to a property.

If it is found that land is landlocked the court will then consider:

The nature and quality of access (if any) to the landlocked land at the time when the applicant purchased or otherwise acquired the land; the circumstances under which the land became landlocked; the conduct of the parties, including any

attempts they have made to negotiate reasonable access to the landlocked land; the hardship that would be caused to the applicant by the refusal of an order, in comparison with the hardship that would be caused to any other person by the making of the order; and, any other relevant matters. Orders are at the court’s discretion. If the court is satisfied an order is necessary it can either order an easement over the neighbour’s title or order a part of the neighbour’s title to vest in the applicant.

If an order is granted allowing access the court the judge may then consider whether c o m p e n s a t i o n i s appropriate. Benefits arising from the granting of relief should be taken into consideration in relation to compensation, eg if a property value will rise dramatically in consequence.

This article has been prepared by Craig Wakelin, a Solicitor with Ronald Angland & Son, Solicitors, who may be contacted on Tel: 03 324-3033 or e-mail: [email protected].

Investment Markets UpdateCovering the three months ended 30 November 2015

Global Environment December may mark the

point at which the United States Federal Reserve commences tightening monetary policy by way of lifting interest rates, albeit only gradually. At the time of writing, consensus placed a 73% probability on the Federal Reserve raising their interest rate settings by 25 basis points (0.25%) at the December meeting. Not only would this be the first change in United States monetary policy since October 2008, it would mark a further divergence in policy from other major developed economies.

The lift in rates is from such a low point it is still only symbolic. However doing so should ease some of the pressure on other developed and developing economies, with the likelihood of a higher United States dollar improving the relative competitiveness of other countries’ exports.

In terms of growth, the United States continues to lead the developed economies, driven by increasing wage inflation and lower unemployment. This is boosting consumer and household spending. New home sales are already growing at double-digits and United States Gross Domestic Product growth has been revised higher. Chinese growth has also held up better than expected and should continue to be driven by the growing services sector. The European recovery is subdued but improving, with data generally beating expectations.Global Equity Markets

While equity returns were flat (in New Zealand dollar terms) over the last quarter, the last two months have provided positive returns as

investor interest has returned to equity markets.

Reviewing the individual equity markets we monitor, the weakest quar terly performers were the United Kingdom, France and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong equity market was impacted by concerns surrounding mainland China growth rates while France reflected the recent terrorist attacks. German equity markets however have recovered and performed well since the issues surrounding their automotive industry surfaced. Australian and New Zealand Equity Markets

Austral ian equit ies recovered strongly over the last month after the Reserve Bank of Australia revised higher its expectations for the economy. The Banking sector appears to have bottomed, having been repriced for higher capital requirements and with banks now undertaking ‘out of cycle’ interest rate rises to recover their profitability. Resource sectors remain out of favour.

New Zealand equities performed the strongest over the quarter, having avoided the worst of the sell-off in October. Health care, electricity and transport companies provided the best of the returns.Fixed Interest Market

Locally the news was all about the Official Cash Rate and whether or not there would be a further cut. As I write the Reserve Bank Governor has cut the OCR by 25 basis points. He has not ruled out further cuts and this makes it harder again for income investors to generate reasonable returns from cash. The next decision we now await is the outcome of the United States Federal Reserve meeting next week.

Longer-term interest rates were largely unchanged although corporate bond rates rose as the interest rate gap between corporate and wholesale bond rates widened. New Zealand spreads had been lagging international trends but with the recent increase in issuance, investors have been able to be more discerning, influencing the yields on offer.

Have a safe Christmas and a happy holiday period.

If you’re new to investing please see Forsyth Barr’s Introduction to Investing guide available at www.forsythbarr.co.nz/investing-with-us/new-to-investing/ or to discuss your investment options please contact Andrew Wyllie, an Authorised Financial Adviser with Forsyth Barr in Christchurch. He can be contacted regarding portfolio management, fixed interest, or share investments on 0800 367 227 or [email protected]. This column is general in nature and should not be regarded as personalised investment advice. Disclosure Statements are available on request and free of charge.


Please call 03 347 2314


CANTERBURY FARMING December 2015 7 RURAL PROFESSIONALS

Help prevent didymo spreadSummer is the time to head out to our beautiful Canterbury lakes and rivers for recreation and relaxation. It’s also time to be a tidy visitor — and to Check, Clean, Dry says Environment Canterbury.

“While having fun you can also be a responsible water guardian, leaving your favourite spot as you found it,” said Regional Manager Biodiversity and Biosecurity, Graham Sullivan.

“Freshwater pests like didymo spoil recreational activities and can affect plant and animal habitats. They also undermine the community’s efforts to keep their waterways clean and improve water quality.

“Remember to check for cling-ons, clean your gear, or if this isn’t practical dry your clothes and equipment, before entering and leaving the water. We don’t want people to stop enjoying waterways, just to make sure they’re not having an impact on the environment.”

Check, Clean, Dry is not just about didymo. Taking the right steps also stops other freshwater pests such as lagarosiphon, egeria and hornwort from spreading.

“Many of our waterways are still free of these pests and we want to keep them

that way,” said Mr Sullivan. This is how to Check, Clean, Dry:

CHECK: For ‘cling-ons’. Check any equipment or clothing that has come into contact with water for waterweed and remove all plant parts.

CLEAN: After removing debris, clean with a five percent d ishwashing detergent or nappy cleaner — two large cups or 500 millilitres with water added to make 10 litres. Soak or spray all surfaces for at least one minute — absorbent items require longer soaking times to allow thorough saturation — before rinsing with tap water.

DRY: When cleaning is not practical, items must be completely dry to the touch, inside and out, then left to dry for at least another 48 hours before use in another waterway.

If cleaning or drying is not practical, keep your gear in a single waterway.

Environment Canterbury aquatic advocacy officer

Kerry Mathews is visiting the Waitaki Lakes district over the festive season to help visitors with their Check, Clean, Dry responsibilities.

Didymosphenia geminata-didymo, is also known as ‘rock snot’ and is a freshwater diatom — a type of alga. People are legally obliged to prevent the spreading of didymo.

It is a microscopic pest that can be spread by a single drop of water. Even if you can’t see it you could be spreading it. Treat every waterway like it is infected.

Didymo can attach itself to stream, river and lake beds by stalks, and can form a thick brown layer that smothers rocks, submerged plants and other materials. It forms flowing ‘rats tails’ that can turn white at their ends and look similar to tissue paper. As the ‘tails’ of the alga get longer they become white in colour.

For more details on how to clean particular equipment, visit www.biosecurity.govt.nz/cleaning.

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Now he has settled back home in New Zealand and

is studying towards a New Zealand Diploma in Agribusiness Management at Aoraki Polytechnic whilst working for well known lettuce producer, Scottfresh.

Mike was brought up in Wellington and moved to Coromandel when he was 14. When he left school he spent some time picking apples and travelling, eventually finding himself in Western Australia on a melon farm where he worked seasonally for eight years. It was here his passion for horticulture really took root.

“I used to start work around the end of February

OPENING HORTICULTURAL DOORSBY AYLA MILLER

Mike Scott has discovered horticulture on his own, with no previous background in farming, and developed a passion for the industry after working in various fruit and

vegetable operations to fund his other passion — travel.

and finish around the end of November. In between that I travelled the world to South America, Europe and Asia.

“All through my 20s, up until I was about 28, I spent every summer overseas and spent all my money.

“I’ve got some good memories, you can’t take money with you when you die,” he says.

“What drew me to the industry was that you are around other people your own age from different countries and you make friends from all around the world. I thought how good is this life? I’m going all the way around the world, meeting new people every year.

“I was addicted to the lifestyle but when I was almost 30 I started to want other things and I felt it was

Mike decided to study to increase his knowledge of the horticultural industry to keep his options open

throughout his career

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Pete and Graeme stand behind all their products with a commitment to farmers.

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“Our goal is to increase farmers return on the investment required to grow all crops, from grass, maize, fodder beet, vegetables, grapevines, tree crops, flowers and anything at all. We can design programmes to suit your specific outcomes whatever they may be – higher tonnage, increased nutrition, better shelf life, more protein, higher brix or earlier harvest dates.Our in-house agronomy and irrigation specialists can help develop packages to suit your requirements”

Agrichem NZ is backed by the full resources of Agrichem Australia with its team of in house agronomists, irrigation scientists and team of research people along with technical resources pulled from one of the largest farming cooperatives in the USA.

This allows Pete and Graeme to provide the latest information on products and technology to allow farms to operate sustainably and economically. These include soil moisture probes, weather

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“Through our resource network we can provide technology, products, knowhow and crop programs tailored to suit any farming situation. We can troubleshoot when needed, provide crop pathology and supply products to help mitigate”

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Last season’s maize crop was the biggest by far using the fertiliser and agronomy provided by the boys from Agrichem. We are now evaluating different seed treatments to improve our establishment and yield. Graeme and Pete are always available, informative and keen to lend a hand – especially treating seeds late at night!”Andrew Stewart, Cresslands Farms Limited(Milking, cropping and support blocks)

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time to come home.” When he returned to New Zealand he came across a job with Scottfresh in Canterbury and hasn’t looked back.

“I’ve been here for five and a half years managing this operation and it is fantastic.”

Scottfresh supply lettuce and broccoli to the South Island market and have recently started other crops including spinach as well.

“We are seasonal of course because you can’t grow many vegetables in Canterbury over the Winter. We have people come back and work for us every year because they like the good work culture and atmosphere.”

As for studying, he says it is a challenge to fit it into his long work weeks but has managed thanks to the support and flexibility from his employer.

“I try and get as much done in between April and October. I still have to work but I’m not as busy as during the Summer.”

Not only is he learning things for any future career developments, he is finding the course has helped him immensely in his current job.

“Financially, it opens your eyes. In terms of management I’d always been out in the paddock, managing the farm, not really organising the other things like an owner would do. I’m now far more hands-on with that kind of thing.”

He was motivated to do the course to learn more and improve his knowledge every year. “I’m 35 years old and

I’m not getting any younger. I’m so used to doing physical outdoor work and I love it, but I didn’t want to be 60 years old with skin baked in the sun and my back stuffed. I wanted to give myself other opportunities in the industry. It also gives skills, not just in the farming industry, but in any business.”

One day he says he would like to own his own farm but realises this isn’t

always a viable option due to land prices.

“Owning my own farm is something that does drive me but if it never happens I wouldn’t be demoralised. It is just about learning more and putting myself in a position where I can be a leader in New Zealand horticulture.

“I really love the industry and I wouldn’t want to be in any other. Quite often farming is about doing the same thing

every day, which is no different to most jobs, but with my job there is something different every day.”

He is still in regular contact with the melon farmer in Australia that planted the seed for Mike’s passion in horticulture.

“We still have an hour long conversation on the phone every few weeks and he has been a huge inspiration in my life.”

Mike Scott found his own way into the horticulturalindustry to fund his travels in his younger years and hasn’t looked back ON THE FARM

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By the 1870s, the great sheep stations of Canterbury were at full

production. Wool, the staple export of these massive runs, was baled and shipped from Lyttelton and Port Chalmers, while mutton and lamb fed the colonies. But New Zealand was slumped in economic depression. And meanwhile, a booming V ictorian population in England could barely afford meat for their tables. Attempts to salt, tin and preserve beef and lamb had been made, but the resultant product was not to the tastes of England’s emerging middle class. This

set of circumstances was to set off a race between two mighty companies, led by charismatic and determined men. And, in the end, it would revitalise the Kiwi economy, making our reputation as an agricultural powerhouse.

In 1880, an urgent telegram was delivered to John Cooke, of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. This monol i thic enterpr ise brought together many of the runholders of vast Canterbury sheep stations, and when Cooke contacted one of them, John Grigg, both men knew the importance of the

message they had received. A ship called the Strathleven had arrived in London, having successfully transported a cargo of frozen beef from Australia. A previous attempt at such a traverse by the Northam, had failed when the complex steam-powered refrigeration unit on board had blown up mid-ocean.

Others had seen the news as well and were quick to respond. While Cooke and Grigg arranged a meeting of Canterbury farmers, set for late 1880, the equally monolithic New Zealand and Australia Land Company were making their move. Company

Grass-fed Canterbury beef and lamb are known around the world by chefs and gourmands alike, prized as prime cuts from a clean, green land. But

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Director William Davidson dispatched negotiator and facilitator Thomas Brydone to New Zealand to investigate the possibility of frozen shipping. His first task would be to outfit a tall ship with the new technology of refrigeration — a tall order in far-flung New Zealand.

John Cooke on the other hand, knew that the principle of refrigerated shipping was sound. His focus was on supply — bringing the produce of the land to the port itself. He and his backers saw early on that a whole new method of slaughtering and butchery would be needed for the massive potential of the frozen trade. By the end of 1881, as Brydone was working with Davidson and his engineers to outfit the sailing vessel Dunedin with a coal-powered freezing unit, the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company had formed plans to create a new venture — the Canterbury Frozen Meat and Dairy Produce Export Company. This company was officially launched just as the Dunedin came into dock in London, having successfully delivered a hold full of beef and lamb, sourced near Oamaru, to the English capital’s Smithfield Markets. Despite a perilous journey — during which the Captain almost died of hypothermia, clearing air ducts to the massive chiller plant — the profits were outstanding.

The Times newspaper of the day records — ‘Today we have to record such a triumph over physical difficulties, as would have been incredible, even unimaginable, a very few days ago…’

It was vindication for the Canterbury farmers and their new company. Land was sourced near Belfast. Unlike the plant near Burnside which had slaughtered for the Dunedin voyage, this was to be a purpose-built facility, the first of its kind, overseen by designer and engineer Frank Coxson. As more ships were outfitted with refrigeration plants — huge, smoke stacked monsters consuming three tons of coal a day — the Belfast site looked like becoming ground zero for a

new kind of industry. By 1883, that promise had come to fruition. Within the five years since the Dunedin’s voyage, 172 cargoes of Kiwi meat were shipped to England, kick-starting the colony out of depression and creating a local boom for Canterbury. Working conditions were hard, with slaughtermen taking to the floor at 5am, often finishing around midnight. A single slaughterman at the Burnside plant was once recorded as killing and dressing 238 sheep in one shift.

Before long, the Belfast plant would lead the way in this area too, with the workers there becoming the first in New Zealand to negotiate an industrial agreement with management for better pay and better conditions.

There’s a direct link between the historic Belfast works and the present day, as well. Not only was the ground-

breaking new style of abattoir replicated all over the country, it also changed the nature of farming in Canterbury and beyond.

Raising beasts for the table was now of equal value to raising them for wool alone, and the beef farming trade was utterly transformed. Down the years the Belfast site changed hands, ending up under the management of the Primary Producers Cooperative Society, who would go on to become Silver Fern Farms, lately making news with their international partnership initiatives.

While the sailing of the Dunedin is a well known historical story, the work behind the scenes by Cooke, Grigg, Coxson and their company is often overlooked. But without them, a new technology would have been pioneered, only to struggle with a lack of infrastructure, linking the land

to the seaways. And while the Dunedin itself mysteriously disappeared, lost at sea in 1890, the legacy of all those involved with the race against time in the early 1880s lives on as a vital part of our export economy.

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12 December 2015 CANTERBURY FARMING WATER & IRRIGATION

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The ‘Know to make it Flow’ Andrew Curtis, Irrigation New Zealand CEO

Battling misconceptionOne of the misconceptions we battle with at IrrigationNZ is that our biennial Conference and Expo is for irrigation scheme board members and management only.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We have always incorporated field trips and workshops into our two-yearly gathering to attract all levels of irrigators, but 2016’s event has really zoned in on the practical. Next year’s conference which takes place between April 5 — 7 in Oamaru will roll out a series of workshops tackling

topics close to farmers’ hear ts. These include measuring and monitoring data for improved irrigation performance, attracting and keeping talent, understanding irrigation good management practice expectations, and making sense of Overseer. Other sessions include developing irrigation on hills and how to encourage

scheme shareholder uptake. Sponsored by Anderson Lloyd, Monadelphous, Network Waitaki, ANZ Bank and Waterforce, the renewed focus on individual irrigator concerns was instigated by the local organising committee. A group of farmers in North Otago have been instrumental in pulling the programme together

keeping farmers’ interests at the centre of their thinking. So there’s no excuse not to attend. Coupled with the pre-conference tours to irrigation sites of interest around the Waitaki District, which also take in many of the area’s renowned tourism and foodie attractions, there’s something for everyone, including your partner. Registrations for the conference are now open and early bird discounts apply until February 23, 2016. Full details of the conference programme can be found at: irrigationnz.co.nz/events-training/conference-2016/programme.

Many of the workshop sessions touch on the foundations of IrrigationNZ’s SMART Irrigation Programme (which stands for Sustainably Managed, Accountable, Responsible and Trusted). SMART has been based upon the industry body’s suite of codes of practice and standards which were developed in conjunction with industry and stakeholders. To help irrigators meet new good management practice expectations an Irrigation Design accredi tat ion programme has been recently introduced by IrrigationNZ. Accredited c o m p a n i e s h a v e

demonstrated the designs they produce meet the Design Code of Practice and Standards, this distinguishes them from other organisations.

The Design Code of Practice and Standards also form the basis of IrrigationNZ’s new NZQA registered Irrigation Design Qualification. With ever-increasing pressures on irrigators for efficient water use and managing within nutrient allocations, the importance of a well-designed irrigation system, underpinned by qualified designers from an accredited company, is now critical to

meet these regulations. Irrigators and irrigation schemes are being actively encouraged to use accredited companies for their new or upgraded irrigation systems.

The Irrigation Design Accreditation programme joins the already-established Blue Tick Water Measurement accreditation programme and the Farm Dair y Effluent System Design accreditation programme.

For more information about any of these accreditation p r o g r a m m e s v i s i t irrigationaccreditation.co.nz or contact IrrigationNZ Project Manager Steven Breneger on phone 03 341 2225.

Irrigation New Zealand Project Manager Steve Breneger will be one of the workshop presenters at the upcoming conference. He’s pictured speaking at a recent FMG Rural Insurance field day

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Weather Watch by Tony Trewinnard

Steady decreaseLike the rest of the Spring and much of the earlier Winter, November saw an increased frequency of southwesterly airflow over New Zealand, with regular cold southwest changes affecting Canterbury for the first three weeks of the month. However, airflow tilted northwesterly for the final week, bringing much warmer weather.

Like October, sunshine hours were 15–25% above normal for the month across the Plains, but near normal on the foothills. Also like October, rainfall was 25–50% of normal across the Plains, but near normal on the foothills as some periods of spill-over rain in northwesterly airflows topped up totals there. Temperatures were quite variable, with mean temperatures for the month overall right on the long term normal, but with some very cold days (and the frosty nights) early in the month and some very warm days late in the month.

Most of December has seen frequently alternating periods of warm northwesterly and cool southwesterly airflow. Rainfall has been light and infrequent, with plenty of sunshine.

In the tropical Pacific, ocean temperatures remain in El Nino territory. A strong El Nino is currently in place, and is responsible for the

frequent southwesterly airflows over New Zealand this spring. There are clear signs the El Nino event is peaking and slowly starting to weaken. There are a number of similarities between this season and the 2009/10 season, which was also an El Nino year with southwesterly airflow dominant through the spring months and moderate summer dryness following, with warmer temperatures later in the summer.

All computer models we monitor continue to predict a steadily decreasing El Nino over the next three to four months. A strong La Nina event often follows, and a number of predictive models are now starting to predict this. Here at Blue Skies we think it looks increasingly likely later next year.

El Ninos of the current type often bring increased frequency of anticyclones over the North Island from about January onwards, and through the summer months.

Light westerly airflow often blows over the South Island. As Autumn arrives a return to stronger westerly airflow often occurs. This pattern happened in the 2009/10 season, bringing a drier (but not intensely droughty) summer with increased sunshine hours, especially inland, and temperatures a little milder than usual after a cool start.

We expect most of 2016 to see a steady trend from the current strong El Nino to a strong La Nina by year’s end. When this type of significant transition occurs, weather patterns over New Zealand are often dominated by anticyclones and westerly

airflow. This raises the prospect that many months in 2016 could be drier than normal in Canterbury. The current developing pattern is increasingly suggestive of not one but several dry seasons ahead.

For January and February anticyclones are expected to be the dominant weather feature over New Zealand, especially over the North Island. These months are likely to be sunnier, drier, and possibly a little warmer than normal in Canterbury. March and April may see a return to regular periods of westerly airflow but with on-going dryness, warmth, and increased sunshine.

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Irrigation Issues with Dr Tony Daveron

Infuriating, exasperating and annoyingI have listened to Radio Sport a great deal in the last month. This says something about a passion, but has also given me cause to be infuriated, exasperated and annoyed.

It also says I have been out and about, often listening to Jamie McKay and the Farming Programme. I have heard about irresponsible farmers irrigating when it is hot and sunny — I have heard that El Niño is all over, is approaching neutral and is a weak event — and I have observed the waste of valuable annual volume.

So to my ‘infuriation, exasperation and annoyance’. I should point out listening to cricket on Radio Sport and or watching it on Sky Sport (and I promise I am not live streaming while I am driving which thanks to mobile broadband coverage is highly unlikely anyway) is for me all of infuriating, exasperating and annoying, and the first of my infuriation’s etc. Of course like all ex-players and tragic’s of any sport we can all do it better or make

better decisions. Second on the list was the Taranaki farmer suggesting to Jamie McKay ‘someone needs to get stuck into those farmers in Canterbury who irrigate on hot and windy days. All that water just evaporates and is a complete waste’.

I could not hold back and emailed Jamie to put the record straight. This is a misconception come ‘wives tale’ come hearsay. The following table defines the losses in an irrigation system and evaporation to the air from irrigated water is typically less than 3%.

For water to evaporate the temperature (obviously) must be raised to change from liquid to a gaseous state. This quite difficult given most of the groundwater is 11–12°C and the alpine river water around 14–16°C. It requires a significant

amount of energy to raise the temperature of water — ie it takes 5× the energy to raise the same volume of water as air by 1°C. Most of the modern irrigation systems deliver water from 1-8–2.1m above the ground and there is insufficient time for water to reach a state to evaporate. An exception might be a high pressure gun system attempting to push water into a very strong wind. Only then could droplets be ‘atomised’ into very fine droplets and evaporation increase — but then to no more than 10%. The biggies when it comes to losses are the wind blowing the water off target (not arriving where we want it to be) and, even bigger is non uniformity (everywhere getting a different depth of water) and applying water faster than it can infiltrate into the soil. To increase my frustration levels

was to endure an interview with the ‘Moon Man’ when he discussed El Niño — in particular ‘all the talk is about El Niño’, and that ‘it is approaching neutral’, and that it ‘is weak El Niño’, and a number of other exasperating comments. I have repeatedly written about the strength of the El Niño indicators and that it something not seen since 1997-98. All of the indicators — the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), the NINO3.4 index, sea temperatures and others show this is a very strong El Niño.

With regard to the SOI it has been very strong from June-October, weakened a little in November and now shows signs of strengthening again in December.

With regard to the NINO3.4 index, exceeding +0.4°C for at least five consecutive months identifies an El

Niño event. NINO3.4 index exceeds. September 2014 currently +3.

As we know this typically results in lots of westerly, SW and NW weather, low rainfall on the east coast and often strong NW winds. So it has been and so it will be it seems all the way till April if the mimicking of 1997–98 continues.

What about groundwater levels? Once again in previous articles I have discussed how low groundwater levels and how little recharge occurred in the 2015 winter. In their October state of water resources report, ‘approximately 79% of the wells we monitor have levels below the long-term October mean’. Coastal bores in the area north of the Rakaia River and West Melton are still very low.

Obse r va t i on bo re M36/1926 in the mid-plains had similar low/little recharge in both 1997 and 2015, but 2015 recharge began from a significantly lower starting level. As I wrote last month, as soon as irrigators began we would see the reverse of the ‘kick back’ with water levels dropping nearly 5m in a month. The second factor in the perfect storm is worse than 1997–98 by a fair distance.

No need to tell any of the readers that rainfall has

been below average — no big south easterly rainfall events in the autumn or winter in 2015. Recent NIWA reports for the end of October show rainfall deciles in parts of Canterbury are the lowest on record — North Canterbury and parts of the central plains in particular. Most of Canterbury has received less than 40% of the long-term average rainfall. Hmm — with El Niño conditions potentially till April, well it just won’t get much better.

The fourth factor of the perfect storm is a ‘no brainer’ — with 40% of long-term average rainfall it is a given soil moisture reserves will be low or very low. We’ve known that since March.

We’ve known about the last two factors and the potential for the ‘perfect storm’ since early winter. However, it never ceases to surprise me how long it takes for some to become aware. For example — in the Rural News Group Bulletin of November 3, one headline read ‘Bank on drought watch’ stating the ‘Reserve Bank has joined farmers on drought watch, refusing to reduce the official cash rate from 2.75% in part because of the predicted El Nino’. No…! Where have they or their advisors been all year? Certainly not outdoors in Canterbury, maybe not even in the South Island.


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From the Minister Nathan Guy, Minister for Primary Industries

2015 at a glanceThis is my last column for 2015 and a chance to look back on another exciting and challenging year for the primary sector.

The year started with a criminal blackmail threat to contaminate infant formula with 1080. It was a despicable act and sparked a major Government operation to step up testing of formula and increase security at retail outlets.

I want to congratulate the Police and MPI for their hard work in making an arrest in October.

Once again Mother Nature has given many farmers a tough time with drought throughout the east coast of the South Island and severe flooding around the central North Island this year.

The drought has been at its worst in North Canterbury where farmers haven’t had a decent rainfall for around 12 months.

As a Government we’ve put more money into Rural Support Trusts and it’s pleasing to see the community pull together in these areas.

The likely El Nino effects mean this summer could be dryer for some parts of the country, particularly on the east coasts of both islands. It’s important for farmers to prepare now.

Meanwhile the flooding around Taranaki, Whanganui and Rangitikei caused around

$270 million worth of damage in June.

Rebuilding is going well but will take some time. It’s been an especially volatile year for the dairy sector. Prices have been affected by international factors beyond our control, including growth in global supply, trade sanctions by Russia, and the EU lifting their dairy quotas.

At Fieldays this year we announced a $500,000 funding boost for rural mental health initiatives to help those in need, recognising that this is an unusual year and the lower payout will affect many.

The continued growth in Asia and increasing demand for protein gives me a lot of confidence in the wider outlook for dairy, and I expect 2016 will be a lot better than 2015.

The TPP is a major boost for the primary sector and one of the highlights of 2015. It’s our biggest trade deal ever and gives us much improved access to over 800 million consumers, including the US and Japan — the world’s first and third largest economies respectively.

It is exciting news for our red meat industry with tariffs on beef exports to TPP countries to be eliminated, with only the exception of

Japan where tariffs reduce from 38.5 per cent to 9 per cent. Tariffs on all other primary exports will be eliminated, including fruit and vegetables, sheep meat, forestry products, seafood, and wine.

The Korea FTA was also signed this year and will see 98 per cent of tariffs on our exports to Korea eliminated.

Biosecurity has been to the fore this year with a small Queensland fruit fly population discovered in Auckland in February. This month the operation has come to a formal end and all restrictions are now lifted, however we will be on high alert this summer.

In the Budget this year we boosted biosecurity by $27 million which is helping fund 20 more detector dog teams, five new x-ray machines and a new mobile x-ray machine.

From January 1 next year we will have a Border Clearance Levy so that travellers will directly pay for biosecurity and customs service as demand increases, and we have signed three new industries to the Government I ndus t r y Ag reemen t biosecurity partnership.

We also boosted animal welfare by $10 million and passed the Animal Welfare

Amendment Act to improve compliance and enforcement. This has become very timely with the recent campaign against mistreatment of bobby calves, and a reminder of how important it is to treat our animals properly.

Thanks for all your feedback and support over the year. I hope you get a decent break and we get enough rain in the right places over summer!

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Prices remain competitiveThe volatility anticipated in export markets has continued with the expected price softening becoming a reality for the most recent settlements in China and India.

Meanwhile my spies in the domestic scene suggest it is very much business as usual, indeed almost boringly so.

It would be really nice to see export markets reach a similar boring status despite this resulting in having little to write about in my monthly market commentary. On the plus side, the domestic sawmills are maintaining log

prices in a pretty competitive environment as it relates to framing and new house starts. Consumption levels are good and supply lines generally in balance, despite the earlier predictions of some shortfalls of structural logs this summer.

Given the pressures coming on, it would not be unreasonable to expect some

upward pressure in domestic markets. Those pressures include the impacts of CPI really driving in to the bottom lines of all in the chain. But it is also a reflection of some pretty staggering results on the health and safety front. Recent statistics suggest the forest industry has moved from posing as the ‘much maligned by media bad boy’ to the glowing example of safe work practices.

The NZ Forest Industry Safety Council has set an industry target of zero fatality and zero serious harm accidents. The industry’s focus on this has been a great credit to all with fatalities and serious harm accident rates plunging. Safe work practices are about working smarter and where applied correctly result in improved productivity. However underlying the safe work practices is a real investment in every-day business. The word cost is deliberately avoided here as we don’t measure lives saved or lost by some sort of monetary outcome.

On an exciting note, a major new sawmilling operation in the Central North Island is under commissioning. This mill is focussed on squaring logs primarily for the China market thus achieving some value added status. The mill has no conventional saws, rather chippers to square the logs. When in full production the mill will churn out approximately 950,000 cubic metres per annum with a log intake of 1.2 million cubic metres. This is a fantastic new venture led by a very brave bunch of Kiwi investors.

Last month log export settlements in China reached US$120 per cubic metre A grade basis. This was a massive jump from US$85 the month before. Late December vessels are looking to be settled at or about US$105 and some stability looks to be finally entering the market framework. Meanwhile shipping costs have softened very slightly meaning prices at the wharf gate NZ are remaining in a pretty good space.

Even though the market appears to be settling down, concerns remain over the broader China situation with credit line squeezes and much more conservative money supply lines being the order of the day. Construction numbers have started to weaken as winter conditions impact activity levels, particularly in southern provinces.

NZ ports have suddenly become very busy with volumes picking up from October to the tune of about 25%. However it is also evident there has been some capacity loss with casualties across harvesting

and trucking business during the crash. Daily national port deliveries are still about 7% behind the same time last year. A Christmas break in production will be good for constraining supply for quarter one 2016, but China New Year celebrations will essentially balance the supply versus demand books.

Meanwhile India has responded to the China situation with similar price drops. Prices remain slightly above China when all factors are considered. This emerging market is really starting to crank some volume with 4 to 5 vessels per month of Radiata pine logs now being the norm. New ports are opening up in India with some container trade being the forerunner to what most believe will be new ports accepting break bulk cargo in the near future.

While we battle away on the daily grind, world leaders have contemplated our climatic future via some sort of navel gazing exercise in France. As usual the results seem little more than words of stoic irrelevance except for that glowing example of clear and simple values and judgements to be found in Prince Charles. It is heartening to hear a world leader remind those of confused and uncertain mind, a goodly portion of the reason for climate change is the loss of forest cover. .

Thus, it has never been more timely to remember, the only way forward for climate, country and the planet is to get out there and plant more trees. And with those most wholesome of terms, I bid all readers all that is good and safe this festive season and into the New Year.

Forestry Market Report Allan Laurie MNZIF, Laurie Forestry Ltd

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www.selwyn.govt.nz

Total Fire Ban in place in Selwyn

A prohibited fire season (total fire ban) is now in place in Selwyn.

Under the restrictions no outdoor fires can be lit in the district. The burning of crop stubble is also not allowed. Gas barbeques with a high pressure water source at hand are allowed but not charcoal barbeques.

Fires are also not permitted in Council reserves.

To help reduce the fire risk, is you have lit any fires in recent months please check that these are fully extinguished as fires can easily ignite in the current conditions. You should check the embers are extinguished and douse these with water if needed.

Over summer, Selwyn District Council will be issuing alerts on days when the fire risk is high. You can receive these alerts by registering at www.selwyn.getsready.net and enter your details. To subscribe to the emails tick the ‘Fire Risk Alert’ option under the household needs section.

On days when the fire risk is high we recommend avoiding operating lawn mowers or other machinery during hot weather as sparks can easily ignite in these conditions, and waiting until the weather is cooler to mow laws or operate machinery. If you do need to use machinery or a lawn mower, having a source of water nearby for fire fighting is advisable as a precaution. It is also important to regularly check and maintaining machinery and equipment so it is safe to operate.

Unauthorised Fire Charge Increased

Please note that the fee applicable for unnecessary callouts to volunteer fire brigades in Selwyn when people start fires in breach of fire restrictions has increased from $575 to $1150. This charge is provided to local volunteer fire fighters and the increase recognises the significant cost involved in attending unauthorised fires.

We appreciate your help in helping to protect lives and property from the risk of fire this summer.

› Take extreme care with farm machinery — welders, grinders — anything that can cause a spark.

› Mow lawns and paddocks in the evening, when it’s cooler

› Carry a fire extinguisher or other fire-fighting gear

› Ensure any old fires are completely extinguished

› Check your insurance cover — third party won’t cover the cost of fighting a fire if it gets out of control

AS OF 16 DECEMBER, 2015 WAIMAKARIRIDISTRICT HAS IMPOSED A TOTAL FIRE BAN.

THE FIRE SEASONIS HEATING UPIT’S DRY › THERE’S BEEN VERY LITTLE RAIN › IT’S WARM

Prohibited � re season introducedA D V E RT O R I A L

A prohibited fire season has been declared in Selwyn District, effective from 8am Thursday 3 December 2015.

Under the restrictions no outdoor fires can be lit in the district. The burning of crop stubble is also not allowed. Gas barbecues with a high pressure water source at hand are allowed but not charcoal barbecues. Fires are also not permitted in Council reserves. During a prohibited fire season all fire permits previously issued by the Council are also cancelled.

The district’s Principal Rural Fire Officer Douglas Marshall says that vegetation in Selwyn District is now very dry and a prohibited fire season has been introduced to help ensure that the risk of fires breaking out is minimised. “Selwyn has been experiencing hot, dry weather along with strong winds and this provides ideal conditions for fires to spread quickly,” he says.

Mr Marshall says that people need to be very vigilant in this weather to avoid any activities that could start a fire. “We would discourage people from mowing the lawn or operating machinery during the heat of the day as sparks can easily ignite in the heat, and instead carry out these activities when it is cooler. Letting off fireworks is also not allowed

in the current conditions.” Mr Marshall says the Council will be reviewing the prohibited fire season status regularly and will lift restrictions as soon as it is considered safe to do so.

Reducing fire riskYou can help to reduce

the fire risk, and make sure that fire services can quickly access your property to put out a fire if one does start, by: • Checking any old fires

are fully extinguished as older fires can easily reignite in the current conditions. Dig the fire with a shovel and douse the embers with water.

• Avoiding operating lawn mowers or other machinery during hot weather as sparks can easily ignite in these conditions, and waiting until the weather is cooler to mow lawns or operate machinery. If you do need to use machinery or a lawn mower, having a source of water nearby for fire firefighting is advisable as a precaution

• Regularly checking and maintaining machinery and equipment so it is safe to operate

• Disposing of ashes from an indoor fire safely in a

metal container and using approved incinerators

• Keeping a hose connected that can reach round the house

• Storing firewood and other flammable materials away from the house

• Keeping grass away from under hedges

• In rural areas keeping a clear space between your house and buildings and vegetation like trees, shrubs and long grass to act as a fire break. Keep this space watered and green if possible or construct it from non-flammable material like paving stones.

• Make sure your property number is easy to see and that it has a clear access

way four metres wide and high so that fire services can easily access your property if needed .Certain types of plants

are more flammable than others. To find out more about planting less flammable species and reducing fire risk on your property visit www.selwyn.govt.nz/fire and select the ‘fire safety’ link.

The Council encourages all homes to have a household emergency plan, in case you need to leave home in a hurry because of fire danger. For more information about household emergency plans and supplies visit www.getthru.govt.nz.

If you see a fire burning out of control, phone 111 immediately to report it.

18 December 2015 CANTERBURY FARMING FARM MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Pick of the cropby Andy Bryenton

Agritechnica in Germany is the ultimate test for any farm machine — an event which is to ag engineering what the Olympic games are to athletics.

So it’s no surprise that the top tractor award at this world-renowned trade fair is so coveted. It takes more than just a new paint job to attract the attention of the very demanding judges here — innovation and advancement are key factors in securing a victory.

This year the big, powerful Fendt Vario 1000 took home the crown, rocking the heavyweight division of tractors with 500hp or more. Some of these machines take a radical approach to design, allowing all that power to reach the ground without

tearing it up, and we have seen massive twinned balloon tyres and even caterpillar treads deployed to spread the load. Of course, as a machine grows bigger to pack a larger, more potent engine, overall weight goes up, meaning it’s necessary to think hard about how that weight will ‘float’ over the soil without causing disastrous compaction.

Fendt’s Vario 1000 looks far more like a regular tractor than many others in its class. With the traditional large rear wheel and smaller front wheel design maintained, it may have double-wide axles

— but it’s chat’s behind the wheel hubs which counts. First up, the tyre pressure of each wheel can be directly controlled from inside the cab, on the fly, using a computer interface screen. Any veteran of tractor pull competition will tell you that tyre pressure is a big part of success in front of the sledge — it’s equally important out in the fields. This was enough to earn a silver medal from the Agritechnica judges for innovation, but they are a hard lot to impress. What really pushed the Vario 1000 into top spot was the

way it generates its 500 horsepower, and how it delivers it to the ground. To reduce emissions and provide a high level of fuel economy, the Vario reaches peak torque — 2,400Nm in all — at just 1,100rpm. With the big mill ticking over at such low revs, all that power is diverted through an updated automatic Vario Drive transmission,

complete with independent hydrostatic drives on each axle. This acts like the smart four by four system in modern SUVs, vectoring that huge amount of torque to exactly where it’s needed.

Add in a 360 degree suite of camera to ensure safety for those working around this 14 ton beast, and you have a recipe for success. The Vario

1000 was judged machine of the year, a stunning feat for Fendt’s first entry into the 500-plus horsepower class. Innovative ideas like those deployed for the Vario 1000 will be sure to trickle down into some of the smaller, more ‘all round’ models in Fendt’s lineup as they plan their model range for the future.

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Green machine leads the wayby Andy Bryenton

As farming becomes more of a science than ever before, higher and higher levels of technology are developed to unlock the potential of the land. It’s not just about the bottom line — this kind of smart thinking is needed to ensure a growing population can be fed with healthy, field-grown produce for years to come.

A huge par t of maximising the potential of any given acreage is ensuring that whatever is planted there receives the very best start in life. This philosophy has seen the rise of no-till seed drills and the adoption of GPS powered fertiliser application technology, working hand in hand to make sure each seed is precisely placed, and comes to germination in soil tailored to its own nutrient needs.

Now Canadian company Clean Seed Capital Group have taken this concept even further, with a machine called the CX6 Smart Seeder. A monster in both size and potential, the CX6 can accurately deliver six different products per seeding head, across a pair of multi-head booms. Towed behind a high horsepower tractor, this machine is made to handle the wide open plains of North America — but as we have seen in recent years, the wide open plains of Canterbury

have some similarities with their Canadian counterparts.

Farmers are now well used to viewing a soil nutrient map on their digital device or PC. Looking at such an overlay, the field appears less like a neat grid of rows, and more like a swathe of army camouflage, with some areas needing less of certain fertilisers while others need more. Go deep — layering nutrient needs in the soil over each other for a variety of elements, and often there is little overlap between these

layouts. That’s where the CX6 has the competition beat — it can literally change the mix deployed to every square foot of soil, on the fly, as it drives.

The result is uniformity of nutrient conditions on a scale undreamed of before. Seed hitting the ground in these conditions ‘hits the ground running’, for better growth and better resistance to pests, culminating ultimately in a better crop. In the developer’s own words:

‘Clean Seed recognised that in order to be more

efficient with inputs, we had to design a drill that puts down only what you want, where you want and when you want. Until now farmers have not had efficiencies where they can virtually e l iminate over lap and misapplication. Farmers will see large economic gains from this new drill through overall yield gains, high resolution site specific management, overlap elimination,

improved seed handling and placement, and logistics management’.

The CX6 has already scooped up a swag of awards across North America, and while it’s a big unit for many smaller Kiwi farms to consider, it points the way to the future.

Of course, there are some who already swear by Canadian machinery on their large arable farms, so perhaps this revolution in seeding will be with us sooner than expected.


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There’s danger in the workplace

Year in and year out, the use of machinery on farms and in the industrial workplace takes its toll in injury, and sadly on occasions, death.

Advanced automation — moving machinery — can cause injuries in many, many ways.

People can be struck and injured by moving parts of machinery or ejected material. Parts of the body can also be drawn in or trapped between rollers, belts and pulley drives.

Sharp edges can cause cuts and severing injuries, sharp-pointed parts can cause stabbing or puncture the skin, and rough surface

parts can cause friction or abrasion

People can be crushed, both between parts moving together or towards a fixed part of the machine, wall or other object, and two parts moving past one another can cause shearing.

Parts of the machine, materials and emissions,such as steam or water, can be hot or cold enough to cause burns or scalds, and electricity can cause electrical shock and burns.

Injuries can also occur due to machinery becoming unreliable and developing faults or when machines are used improperly through inexperience or lack of training.

It sounds like the scenario for a horror movie, but it is a cold hard fact of life. Machinery is dangerous.

Before you start using any machine you need to think about what risks may occur and how these can be managed.

FELLING TREES?THINK SAFE

Check that the machine is complete, with all safeguards fitted, and free from defects. The term ‘safeguarding’ includes guards, interlocks, two-hand controls, light guards, pressure-sensitive mats and more.

By law, the supplier must provide the right safeguards and inform buyers of any risks that users need to be aware of and manage because they could not be designed out, and produce a

safe system of work for using and maintaining the machine. Maintenance may require the inspection of critical features where deterioration would cause a risk. Also look at the residual risks identified by the manufacturer in the information/ instructions provided with the machine and make sure they are included in the safe system of work.

Choose the right machine for the job and do not put

machines where customers or visitors may be exposed to risk. Make sure the machine is safe for any work that has to be done when setting up, during normal use, when clearing blockages, when carrying out repairs for breakdowns, and during planned maintenance — properly switched off, isolated or locked-off before taking any action to remove blockages, or to clean or adjust the machine.


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Out of the dark continentby Andy Bryenton

There are few environments more challenging for motor vehicles than those presented by the deserts and jungles of Africa. The very name conjures up images of wild adventure — which is just the connotation Honda desire for their new go-anywhere enduro bike.

There’s another reason that the big 1,000cc twin has been given the name of an entire continent — the legendary Paris to Dakar rally. Back in the days before terrorism ruled the news, this contest pitted men and machines against the entire Sahara desert, and Honda have been involved since Frenchman Thierry Sabine first established the race. Their first win came in 1985, and it has been inspiring big, rugged single-overhead-cam bikes ever since, such as the NX650 Dominator.

Today the Paris to Dakar is paradoxically held in South America. And other things have changed in the world of enduro bikes as well. No longer just a big competitive machine, the enduro class has grown to become a bike for adventurers, featured on travel shows and beloved of the kind of tourists who eschew buses and trains to really get to know their destination.

Hence the whole ethos of the 2016 Honda Africa Twin, first glimpsed in 2014 at the EICMA motorcycle show, and now ready to hit the road. It’s

all about letting the rider enjoy the scenery, and not have to worry about manhandling the machine. To this end the Africa is actually lighter and carries a smaller engine block than some competitors, in the name of nimble handling. That’s not to say that the side-by-side single overhead cam twin lacks power — far from it! Fans of the old 650 Dominator will appreciate that growling engine note as well. The entire engine, battery and fuel tank setup has been consolidated for better weight distribution,

and that tank is a whopper — with enough capacity to allow long distance blasts between gas stations. Perhaps the biggest talking point is an optional extra, though. A dual clutch transmission with a variety of automatic shift patterns is available for the Africa, allowing adventure riders to really engage with their surroundings, not the gearbox. It’s the kind of tech seen in high-end sports cars, and represents a massive technological shift from the early rough-and-tough simple bikes which dominated

the Paris to Dakar sands. There’s even an incline detection mode which senses hills, adjusting the shift pattern accordingly.

Honda have been ahead of the pack when it comes to off-road machines for some time now, constantly innovating and fettling their range of bikes — such as the CRF series in motocross — to stay atop the podium. And while this new machine speaks to the heritage of their race-winning past, it’s also a look at the future of adventure riding.

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From waste to harvestby Andy Bryenton

This year’s Agritechnica, held in Germany, has brought to light a wealth of new ideas in the rural sector. Innovation has been the name of the game, and the coveted gold medal from this international gathering of machinery experts can be the seal of approval which takes an idea from the drawing board to the world.

It’s little surprise then, that a concept embracing the ideal of waste-free farming took top honours for 2015.

Machinery manufacturer Krone unveiled their new Premos 5000 pellet harvester to massive acclaim, not just for the technical acuity embodied by its design, but because of the simple concept it represents — turning stubble and chaff into a useful product, all in one unit, right in the field.

Most farmers are left with a field of yellowed dry stalks after harvest, and there have been a variety of methods developed over the years to dispose of this by-product.

Krone however, saw a resource waiting to be tapped, and have designed an all-in-one unit, towed behind a high-horsepower tractor, which cuts, presses and collects small kernel-sized pellets from what was once waste. Usable immediately for a variety of applications,

the pellets can be utilised as bedding, fuel, or feed. In the field, the material is picked up by the 2.35 metre wide harvesting head, then fed into a conveyor belt leading to twin rollers. These act as ring dies, with rows of teeth alternating with rows of holes.

Working together, the rollers force chopped material into the holes, molding it into pellet form. The finished pellets are then fed by augers inside the rollers onto a conveyor belt, and hence

to a huge hopper. It has to be large — the Premos can churn out 5,000kg of finished pellets per hour!

The internal temperatures generated by this process reach 80 degrees celsius, at immense pressures. The side effect of this is that germs are eradicated, making the completed pellets perfect animal feed.

Krone’s development team have also noted the ability of Premos pellets to absorb moisture, making them an

ideal animal bedding. Burned in pellet fires, they substitute for fossil fuels such as oil and coal as well.

Krone are justifiably proud of their achievement, taking its name from both the latin for ‘pressing’ — and the root of our modern word ‘premium’.

A gold medal win may very well see this machine rolling out all over the world — a sight as common, one day, as the combine harvesters which precede it in the paddock.

The Premos provides an all in one solution to stubbled,harvested fields — one which offers big benefits to farmers

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Manage equipment and safetyBoth self employed people and employers are responsible for the health and safety of everyone who does work for you or comes into your work site. This includes employees, contractors, visitors, and volunteers.

An employer is required to take ‘all practicable steps’ to ensure the safety of employees while they are at work. This includes any place where they work such as a building, farm, vehicle or forest. This includes thinking about the ways that someone could be harmed and doing what is reasonably practicable to ensure the safety of that person.

You must provide a safe working environment and facilities, such as first aid kits and protective equipment, for staff safety and health, and ensure any plant or equipment used is designed and made safe for the employee and properly maintained.

To help keep equipment in good working order and safe, regularly scheduled maintenance is important to the efficiency and life of machinery.

Early detection of any problems allows repairs to be made before the situation worsens.

Regular inspections can be useful to predict and prevent component failures that may create safety hazards and breakdowns.

Ma in tenance and scheduled equipment overhauls can diminish

the chances of machinery breakdown and lessen the risks faced with some repairs which reduces accidents in the workplace significantly.

Keep daily records of use and keep a maintenance log to ensure regular checks are not missed and compliance is measured. Wear and breakdown are often worsened by unskilled handling. Ensure all users know how to use the equipment properly.

Component break down and wear is inevitable. Establish forecasts for the expected life of all components and replace them on schedule. It is important part replacement is carried out by knowledgeable technicians. Bearings

are key components of machinery and can be easily damaged or worn. Bearing housings should be regularly maintained, including inspection for corrosion and wear and replaced when necessary. Lubricate and clean frequently. Some components, especially moving parts in engines demand frequent lubrication. Other components, such as hydraulic lifts and bearings need to be monitored and lubricated at the first sign of need.

Water is a major source of corrosion. Lubrication and maintaining seals and replacing filters will help keep lubricants free of contaminants. Components that must be replaced ahead

of schedule may signal a larger problem that needs to be diagnosed. Check belts, pulleys and chains for alignment and condition. Inspect gears and sprockets for broken teeth, cracks and misalignment.

Analysis of used lubricants and other fluids is an excellent way to diagnose problems. Identifying contaminants in the fluids can lead analysts to the source of wear and damage.

Machinery should be stored under cover whenever possible. Motors, turbines, mixers and other equipment should be rotated frequently. Inspect idle machinery for rust, condensation and contamination and check all lubricants.

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CANTERBURY FARMING December 2015 25 LIFESTYLE BLOCK SERVICES

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Managing summer feedInformed feed supply decisions made in early December can help ensure the herd’s production remains profitable for the remainder of the season.

DairyNZ developer Sean McCarthy provides insights and points to new resources that will help you make the best decisions over the next few months to ensure feed supply is managed in an effective way.

Ensuring feed supply matches demand, for many, will mean continuing to meet pre-grazing leaf stage and post-grazing residual targets to encourage as much pasture growth as possible. It may also include the use of summer crops, nitrogen — N — fertiliser and supplements where it makes economic sense.

Assuming sensible culling and dry off decisions are made to manage feed demand, the focus shifts to supplying high quality, low cost feed.

Before culling and dry off decisions can be made, it is important to have the right information.

Knowing the average pasture cover and feed on hand will enable you to determine if a lift in farm cover is required and whether December is a good time to apply N fertiliser to encourage greater growth rates in early summer.

N boosted pasture is a valuable feed source, and even if ensiling is required, it will cost less than many supplements.

A dry summer will slow pasture growth, so slowing down the round in early December by increasing the number of days in the rotation will help achieve maximum growth during summer and help ensure there is adequate feed ahead of your herd for grazing. It will also allow for grazing of pastures closer to

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the target three-leaf stage, therefore capturing the 40–50 per cent of the high quality leaf growth from the second to third leaf.

The way to increase feed is by a slower rotation, not higher residuals.

There is a misconception that leaving higher residuals in December will increase feed availability in summer and help capture moisture.

Leaves have a limited lifespan so higher residuals will in fact reduce pasture growth and any remaining high quality feed will decay and not be available later in the summer. Therefore, leaving high

residuals in December won’t help fill a feed deficit later on — it will simply result in wasted pasture now and reduced pasture growth and quality in the months ahead.

Residuals of 1,500–1,600kg DM/ha will ensure the plant maintains its energy reserves and will provide some shading of the soil surface.

While the area in crop has by now been determined, it is important to measure and monitor yields so this feed is allocated accurately.

Information on managing and feeding individual crops can be found at dairynz.co.nz/crops.


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Looking at the larderThe ability of a lifestyle block to support a family is of course dependent upon size and with just a few acres, you may look forward to almost a self-sufficient existence between having a good kitchen garden, as well as some livestock.

But there is more to it than deciding that with X number of paddocks over X number of acres, your block will be fine with a certain number of stock units.

First will come location, soil fertility, water supply and the condition of the fencing. That’s just for starters.

The size of the property’s grazing land and not the actual size of your whole property is your starting point so obviously the first step is to cut out areas like your house, sheds, trees, pathways, waterways, and areas outside your paddocks so you may ascertain your grazing land size in hectares.

With that established it’s time to measure the pasture actually available. It may look fine and green, but it’s not quite that simple. The grass type and feed quality will be a major factor in determining whether it is even suitable to stock. To start with, it might be a good move to have your soil tested — if you haven’t already before moving onto the property.

The first couple of centimetres of grass is about 1,000 kgDM/ha (kilograms of dry matter per hectare). Every 2.5cm after that is about 500 kgDM/ha.

Therefore, if your grass is 7.5cm high, your pasture quantity is 2,000 kgDM/ha.

However, consider that growth rates will change with the weather and time of year, with growth boosting and declining as the climate progresses.

At their lowest, growth rates can be as little as 10

kgDM/ha a day. You can work out your dry matter by simply multiplying your grazing land size by your kgDM/ha, then adding on your estimated growth rate.

If you are planning on a house cow or two, or a few freezer sheep consider that different livestock require different amounts of feed

intake. For instance, a 500kg cow may consume about 15kg of dry matter a day, or 5,475 kg/year. If the land produces sufficient feed, supplemental feed such as palm kernel or hay may not be needed. Get the best local advice on stocking rates from neighbouring properties, or your rural adviser.

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Management is keyThere is a growing exodus from New Zealand cities and town to the countryside, where a few acres of land can enhance a family’s lifestyle — a garden, tennis court maybe, ponies for the children.

With this comes added responsibilities to those experienced in urban areas.

Environment Canterbury has a lifestyle block management plan template for properties under 10 hectares in size for the increasing number of lifestyle properties.

CEO Bill Bayfield says it was important to measure the environmental footprint of these properties, but that this should not be onerous because they tended to be low nutrient leachers. Acknowledging how user friendly the template was, Mr Bayfield said it also met all the requirements of Schedule 7 of the Land and Water Regional Plan.

“While small holdings are not significant contributors to water quality issues they make up a reasonable proportion of rural Canterbury, so col lect ively they do contribute.

“I hope the use of this template results in more understanding of the environmental risks

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associated with smaller landholdings and the benefits of recording and acting on farming information.

“We encourage all farmers to prepare farm environment plans, and this is a simplified version tailored specifically to smaller properties.”

Farm consultant David Ashby is one who encourages use of the lifestyle block management plan. “You have an effect on the environment

whether you have four or 400 hectares,” he said. “The template will help lifestyle block and small land owners take responsibility for their on-farm actions.

“It could be as simple as making sure you don’t over-irrigate, keeping rainfall records, and looking for daily evapotranspiration figures.

“If you look after the environment your lifestyle block will grow more grass

or crops and also look better, and be a pleasure to work and live in,” Mr Ashby said.

Under Schedule 7 of the Land and Water Regional Plan, landowners can use an approved, industry-prepared template and guidance material or they can use their own template, provided they follow Schedule 7.

Contact an Environment Canterbury advisor on 0800 324 636.

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A long hot summerWater conservation on the farm will be paramount as summer takes hold and owners of lifestyle blocks in particular are advised to make sure they comply with restrictions that may occur.

Environment Canterbury warns that at a time of continuing dry weather and low river flows, lifestyle-block occupiers need to use water efficiently when they are permitted to do so.

Regional manager Marty Mortiaux, says it’s important for everyone in the community to act responsibly with their water use.

“Lifestylers and small-block holders should know how much water they are allowed to take and use, and should make sure they do not exceed what they are entitled to.

”You may be able to take a permitted volume of water depending on the location of your property and other factors. However, there have

been instances where small-block holders may have been irrigating for several hours or overnight. In almost all cases this would not be a permitted activity due to pump rates and permitted activity allocation rules.”

Water may be taken without a resource consent for an individual’s reasonable domestic use, such as drinking, household washing, garden and stock use under the Resource Management Act 1991, as long as there is no adverse effect on the environment.

An additional permitted volume for uses such as irrigation may also be available.

Compan i es , bod y corporates, partnerships and

trusts, not being ‘individuals’, can only take and use water that is allowed by the relevant regional rules or by a resource consent.

“If you are taking water from a well or a surface water body for your own use, such as watering your garden and lawn or for stock, you may not need a consent,” Mr Mortiaux said.

“If you do require a consent, you will need to fit a flow meter to record the amount of water you are using. In a dry period, restrictions may also apply.”

For further information go to www.ecan.govt.nz.

You can also contact Environment Canterbury Customer Services on 0800 324 636.

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Growing the organic way

A large section of the lifestyle community has been moving away from sprays and fertilisers to organic gardening, with the perceived health benefits therefrom.

Many gardening gurus will give conflicting information and it seems that what works for one person may not work for another with each property and its garden governed by weather conditions and regional influences and existing plants, animals, insects and other contributing factors that make each garden unique.

Pe rmacu l tu re .o rg .nz has some handy advice in this regard and is highly recommended for the organic gardening beginner.

It suggests the no-dig garden is an excellent way to keep down weeds and you should start by choosing an area with sunshine and shelter.

‘Slash down the grass and weeds. Pull out any invasive, destructive weeds. Cover

the area with ½ an inch of newspaper soaked in water, make sure that it is well overlapped to stop the weeds from coming through.

‘On top of the newspaper put approximately a 20cm layer of thin twigs, soft hedge clippings, kitchen vegetable waste and then a layer of fresh and dried seaweed, grass clippings, leaves, and a little manure and blood and bone’.

Next is compost 10cm deep and lastly a mulch. Shallow rooted plants should be fine to plant directly into the compost.

For deeper rooted plants you will need to make a hole through all your material layers and fill with compost, then plant.

Bu i ld ing up and maintaining good healthy soil

with compost and manures will in turn grow strong healthy plants able to fight off pests and diseases. And for insect control — well — try washing machine water.

Water from the washing machine can be collected and used directly on plants in the garden.

This soapy water can be collected during the spin cycle and seems to work very well on tomatoes.

For aphids, red spider mites and thrips, use 225g plain soap grated and dissolved into nine litres of hot water and cool. After spraying infected plants gently hose down with clean water. Repeat as often as necessary.

For more comprehensive organic advice go to permaculture.org.nz.

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SEPTIC SYSTEM SERVICING

Keep children safeFarms and lifestyle blocks are unique environments where families work, live and play, and it raises unique challenges that other business operators don’t need to consider. With summer here and the school holidays on the way, it is a good time to put safety measures in place.

The Ministry of Business and Innovation recommend landowners and operators take time to look around the farm and identify the hazards, particularly those that pose the greatest risk to children.

Walk around the property with children and identify the hazards together. Adult supervision is the key. For young children it needs to be close and active and adults need to lead by example.

Have safety fences around play areas, animal enclosures, work areas and water spots. Keep doors shut or locked so little ones can’t get anywhere they’re not supposed to. Remove keys from doors and vehicles, and never leave vehicles unattended with the motor running.

There are many hazards children face, some obvious and some not so obvious, for instance animals can be unpredictable, especially if startled or protecting their young and can charge or kick out.

Children can also be infected by a number of animal diseases such as leptospirosis, ringworm and diarrhoea. Teach them to wash their hands after touching animals.

Children also lack the judgement, body weight and strength to operate full-sized farm vehicles like ATVs. They need to understand that tractors can be dangerous. Younger children are most likely to be injured while playing on or near tractors and older children are most likely to be injured as passengers or while carrying out farm tasks. All farm machinery has the potential to cause harm and should only be operated by adults. All machinery should have appropriate safety guards.

Small hands can get caught in things and workshops need to be kept locked. Spare tractor wheels should be tied to a wall or left lying flat so they can’t

topple over and crush a child. Have a map of all the water hazards on the property — rivers creeks, troughs, dips, tanks, dams and ponds. Cover tanks and wells with child restraint covers or fill-in any that are unused. Water also poses the risk of burns, especially in the dairy shed where hot water is used at scalding temperatures.

Ensure all dangerous chemicals are stored safely and out of the reach of children. Make sure it is safe to reverse any vehicles. The best way to do this is to walk around the vehicle and ensure children are a safe distance away before starting the engine and always use seat belts and children’s car seats.

Older children should not ride farm bikes until they can place both feet firmly on the ground on either side when seated on the bike. They should also be taught the dangers of speeding and uneven ground.

Make it a rule for older children to always say where they are going and ensure children know what to do in an emergency, where to go and who to call, and teach them basic first aid. Children do listen, understand, remember, and apply rules over time. But things change — seasonal work, new hazards, environmental changes, getting older, having friends over — farm safety needs to be constantly reviewed and updated.

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Children listen, understand and can remember what they are told and shown. Farm safety needs to be constantly reviewed and updated


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partners in a better future

From Consent to Installation,It’s a crappy job but someone has to be good at it!

Ph Sarah 021 662 648 | email: [email protected]

Solutions for sewageA D V E RT O R I A L

All about Sewage is a Canterbury business specialising in wastewater treatment and they have taken an upfront approach with solutions for sewage issues.

With the name ‘All about Sewage’, the company motto is ‘From consent to installation — it’s a crappy job but someone has to be good at it.’

AAS — pronounced like it sounds — is based in Glenroy and services the whole of Canterbury and beyond — wherever that may be.

The company is part of GK’s Contracting which is managed by Vaughan Ratahi and has been operating for more than 12 years. The GK’s team specialises in tank installation and has a unit set up for doing dripline installation and is now introducing AAS for commercial installations.

AAS was established specifically to install and maintain Eloy Water treatment systems and handle the necessary regulatory consents. With strict legislation governing water quality, the demand for a comprehensive approach to treatment is increasing and the team of three is meeting the challenge.

Director Graham Ratahi is more commonly known as ‘chief dog’s body’. His daughter Sarah Ratahi-

Stanfield is the full-time office manager and she handles waster consents and other day-to-day matters, and Sharyn Moore works part time and is responsible for the building consents.

This family based company believes every site should be treated as their own and they understand that to be successful, customers need to have the correct system for their site, the correct installation and the correct servicing.

AAS proudly supplies and installs Eloy Eater products from Belgian. This company has been manufacturing and distributing their products for the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater for more than 50 years.

Eloy Water supplied quality products are suitable for single households to medium sized communities, integrating the latest technology for sustainable solutions.

These systems are now distributed to 34 countries through a network of subsidiaries and AAS is part of this group of exclusive installers, trained in Belgium, to provide local support. AAS recommends the Eloy

Water Oxyfix product range which is a new generation of compact, reliable, low cost waste treatment systems for homes and buildings that are not able to connect to a reticulated sewage network.

Oxyfix is easy to install and costs little to maintain. It substantially reduces the risk of nuisance odour or noise and blends discreetly into the landscape.

When wastewater enters the Oxyfix system, treatment of pollutants occur under gravity in three stages via a primary separator, biological reactor and clarifier.

Firstly, solid matter is partially digested by anaerobic bacteria in the primary separator. A layer of cellulose and grease that forms on the surface is liquefied and digested, while effective ventilation removes gas.

Inside the second stage reactor, honeycomb shaped media made from durable recycled plastic create the ideal environment for growing bacteria essential to the treatment process. Oxygen is introduced at the base of the reactor to increase the activity of aerobic bacteria, important

to nitrify ammonia. The final stage in the clarifier is to settle any residual suspended matter, which collects as sludge and is returned to the primary separator. A sampling chamber inside the reactor makes it easy to control the quality of the clarified water.

The tanks are made from self compacting concrete reinforced with steel fibres. Where concrete cannot be used, a polyester version is available. Eloy Water tanks have a 10-year warranty and the internal components are covered for two years. This warranty can be extended as the installer will explain.

For more information on how AAS can sort your wastewater needs, phone the office on 03 318 6577 or email [email protected].

Ph 027 313 7338

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O’Connor Commentswith Damien O’Connor Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture

Challenges aheadThe brief cold storm that swept up the South Island last week at the same time officials were finalising the agreement on climate change in Paris may have seemed confusing for many.

There are still some people who think the climate change initiatives a big conspiracy. Regardless of the daily debate in some sectors, there is clear evidence that carbon dioxide levels are rising along with sea temperature.

What we can’t deny is the growing number of crazy weather events and challenges facing farmers who rely on stable climate and biological systems for their production.

Already the warnings of a dry summer are showing through lower rainfall and lake levels earlier than normal. The increase in access to irrigation is welcome relief for those who have invested and are lucky enough to be in the right location. There is still a huge amount of New Zealand’s economy that is affected by the cycles of climate and our ability to adapt to the changing

patterns will determine our long term viability. Those who followed the Paris talks might have been surprised by the new target to reduce the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees rather than the 2.0 degrees starting point.

Such is the level of concern across the world, New Zealand cannot turn its back on the global initiative nor the effect of climate change on our farming.

The big question of animal emissions cannot be solved easily and we have to be realistic about the limited options for farmers to reduce them.

The National and future governments must be part of the global movement to reduce carbon emissions which opens up opportunities for new technology, but they must not be naive enough to undervalue agriculture


Please call 03 347 2314or email [email protected]

or strangle its ability to continue profitably.

The immediate challenges of high levels of debt, overvalued land and irrigation schemes that can run dry are upon us to test the

skills, determination and resilience of Kiwi farmers and their families.

I wish you all the best for success and a very happy Christmas and New Year with family and friends.


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Precision Spreading Accurate variable rate Proof of placement Spreadmark certified Experienced drivers Mini spreader 11 spreaders Covering Canterbury area

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REVERSE THE EFFECTS OF SOIL DAMAGE MADE BY COWS WITH 100% NATURAL GYPSUMA soil’s ability to produce pasture can be seriously inhibited by the damage made by cattle traffic.

Ag Research* found that treading damage resulted in up to a 14% reduction in pasture yield and further research quantified a reduction in pasture production between 22% and 40% in the subsequent 3 months. This reduction outstrips the positive effects of annual application of base fertilisers (P, K and S).

*NZ Journal of AG Research 1994, Vol. 37: 559-567. NZ Journal of AG Research 2001, Vol. 44: 181-190

Additional applications of gypsum across the entire farm aerates, conditions and improves soil structure promoting an optimum environment for pasture growth, reducing pugging. Gypsum also helps mitigate the flow of nitrates and phosphorus in New Zealand waterways.

Visit your local agricultural fertiliser supplier for 100% natural gypsum.

Country Matters with Rob Cope-Williams

Understanding the water issues

It certainly isn’t a secret that the farming community is up against the wall with respect to a lack of water, but do the urban people really understand.

I admit to getting very grumpy when I see people washing their cars and letting a hose run into the gutter as they polish the brake dust

off their wheels, and when I see sprinkler hoses watering driveways and the foot paths.

In their defence, I suppose they see irrigated paddocks

along the main road and think that all farmers are flush with pasture and that there isn’t a shortage, so how do we get across to the ‘townies’

that there is a problem. The national media run the odd story about the drought, but miss the main points about the cost of selling capital stock and the cost of replacing them when and if the producer does. There is never any mention of cost of supplementary feed that becomes a huge loss factor if the stock are sold off at a big loss, and there is never a mention of the mental hell many farmers are going through. Farmers are the sort of people who aren’t going to run to the media, or even talk to the media about their plight, but surely the bankers, accountants and farm advisors can talk for them.

The other aspect is the costs involved with irrigation.

Most people have no idea of the costs literally because no-one talks about it, and few will really add them all up.

Suffice to say the reports that I get are very varied, but the figures are mind blowing.

Power bills of $1,500 to $2,000 a day seem to be bantered around a lot, plus the on-line charges, the costs involved with buying the water, and on and on it goes.

My understanding is that some are spending around $400,000 a year to irrigate,

and then face the prospect of water restrictions that instantly undoes all the hard work and money that has been invested.

Whether that is a good thing to tell people who assume that all farmers have a lazy $400k sitting in the bank and still live the life of Riley or not is debatable.

Most farmers I talk with are very quick to say it is very hard out there at the moment and that they have pulled the spending right back.

Have you ever worked out an hourly rate farmers pay themselves over a year? Add up all the hours they work, and I mean all the hours whether out on the land or in their offices, and then look at their personal incomes.

Now divide that income by two if their partner is involved, and then stir in the hours family members do and for what return, if any.

Now check that against the minimum wage and see how you fare.

Email [email protected] | Phone 06 856 5857 or 021 856585

Lincolns are the “Heaviest wool producing breed known” 8kgs+ per sheep stock unit wintered…

Bruce M. WorsnopAssociated with Lincolns

for over 61 yearsTikokino Central

Hawke’s Bay

1. Cross breeding with Lincoln will increase wool production by up to 23% in one cross.

2. Bring wool production back to an economic level in one cross over any breed. Ten+ years quicker than any comparative wool breed. “Guaranteed”

3. Rams available in Central Hawke’s Bay, trucked to any part of NZ with one phone call.

4. Largest Flock in NZ 2000 Purebred Ewe base allows selection for: a. Commercial traits i.e. open face, high twinning (also will be

exaggerated by hybrid vigour from crossing with your flock) b. Selection for worm tolerance for over 37 years. c. Easy care traits. Selected for commercial traits not show traits. d. High yielding wool clip, averaging 83%. When run in conjunction with Romney stud for ten years Lincolns wool yield was 1-4% greater than Romney’s: Commercial Fact.

5. Wool sold at Auction in Napier has many times topped the crossbred market, aided by low Y-Z factor = Whiteness

6. Heavy clipping Lincolns are high twinning ewes.

CANTERBURY FARMING December 2015 35 POW05

48

SUPERIOR KOREAN QUALITY MORE TRACTOR FOR YOUR MONEYContact Power Farming Canterbury or

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of NZ’s best value-for-money tractors.

Power Farming Canterbury51 Waterloo Road, Hornby, Christchurch

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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE TEAM AT POWER FARMING

Farm Bridges - Precast and Prestressed Concrete

www.stahlton.co.nz

A division of Fulton Hogan Ltd

For further information: Phone: 0800 782 486 Web: www.stahlton.co.nz

At Stahlton we pride ourselves on delivering cost effective and sustainable solutions for the rural sector. Specialising in precast farm bridges, Stahlton will provide you with a fit-for-purpose solution designed and installed with your environment in mind.

Irrigator bridges

• Cost effective solution.• Easy installation.• Durable product.

Spans available:• 7,000 max (200mm deep)• 12,000 max (300mm deep)• 18,000 max (400mm deep).

For further information:Phone: 03 344 3014 Web: www.stahlton.co.nz

Super Cheap Waterproof Vinyl TarpsThese brilliantly priced tarpaulins

have been pre-used as advertising banners and are available in

a number of sizes

Contact Mike to order yours nowPh 021 644 903

Sample picture only

NEW STOCK AVAILABLE

Special: Buy five 6m x 3m tarps and get one free

TARPAULINSFOR THE FARMTARPAULINS

FOR THE FARM

6m x 3m $75 12m x 3m $150 15m x 5m $550 16m x 4m $550 16.5m x 7m $750

www.stevensseeds.co.nzPhone: 03 347 2613 or 0274 323 356 Email: [email protected]

STEVENS SEEDS NZ LTD“Your Multiplication Specialists”

An Independent Grain and Seed CompanyLEAFMORE RAPE

• Highest yielding variety in 3 years UK trials • Winner of the Ashburton A&P Winter Feed Competition • Excellent Leaf to Stem Ratio • Good Resistance to Powdery Mildew • Quick Maturity (6-8 weeks) • Exceptional Regrowth for up to 4 weeks grazing

Leafmore is capable of excess of 12,000kg.DM/Ha, is able to be grazed 6-8 weeks, regrazing is 4-6 weeks. Leafmore provides a long term

option while retaining high ME values.

Animal welfareWho wasn’t shocked by footage released by SAFE and Farmwatch in December showing bobby calves being thrown onto trucks for transport to an abattoir and dying in roadside pens? Animal lover or not, it was upsetting. It is totally inappropriate to treat animals in such a cruel and callous way. People were right to be outraged.

On Twitter and Facebook, farmers from all over the country showed their disgust. They posted images of calves on their farms, some rollicking around their barns, others snuffling the camera, others tucked up in warm dry pens, to show that the acts of a few farm and trucking company workers were exactly that — isolated actions by a few bad eggs.

It only takes a few bad eggs, however, to damage our meat and milk industries and New Zealand’s reputation for having high animal welfare standards.

The Minister, Nathan Guy and Ministry of Primary Industry have appeared slow to take the urgent and comprehensive action

needed to enforce our animal welfare laws and ensure that all farmers, transport and meat processing companies comply.

Farming leaders have condemned the practices that Farmwatch highlighted. We need high animal welfare standards across the primary sector so that we farm with integrity.

Not only do dairy cows, goats, and cattle provide us with food but most agricultural businesses depend on animals for their existence and livelihoods.

We need 100% plus commitment to high standards to support our supposedly clean, green ‘100% pure’ New Zealand brand. Allowing animals to

be abused undermines our self-worth, just as polluted rivers do.

People all over the world are increasingly aware of, and interested in where their food comes from, how it’s produced and the impacts of different farming systems. Consumers deserve to know that the milk, cheese, and meat they eat, and the wool and other fibre products they use come from animals who have lived well and died humanely.

No one wants to buy food or clothing that is the result of cruelty.

It was public opinion that finally ended the practice of keeping sows in crates, and that has seen sales of free range eggs surge. Poor

animal welfare is a strong turn-off for consumers.

It is a turn-off that the primary sector cannot afford, especially with increasing debate about the sustainability of meat and dairy rich diets in a climate challenged world, and the contribution that vegetarian and vegan diets can make to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the climate by reducing demand for animal products.

It’s MPI’s job to work with the industry to identify and prevent animal abuse on farms. The Minister needs to look into why it is groups such as Farmwatch that are repeatedly exposing animal cruelty, and not his own MPI inspectors.

A Green Perspective with Eugenie Sage, Green Party Primary Industries spokesperson

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36 December 2015 CANTERBURY FARMING DAIRY

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A dog’s tail …

Time ta wave the reel flagon. “But hell, Dog, wotta bout Parris? Them terrerists went ona slaughterin’ rampage. An’ then some more shot up a pub in Africker.”

By this time, Sharlene come over froma homsted with a tray of limmonade drinks. I shot off ta the troff by the yards an’ had slurp.

Well, wen I got back, Sharlene ana Boss were lookin’ atta mail she pickt up froma post box in town, wear she had been doin’ the supermarkiting.

“Gawd Dog, will ya lookit this nonsinse!” Boss tore open a fat invilope. “Blimmin flag choise rubbish.” He showed me an Sharlene.

“Looks like a bannana republik if ya arsk me. Blimmin’ silvar fern is wot ya wave atta rugby werld kup, not stick up a flag pole. Tell yer wot, Dog, remember I went ta France an’ saw me granddad’s grave in a big semitry?

They hada big New Zilland flag flyin’ high ona flagpole there. If that Mr John Ki, wots a grate mate of Barrick Obarmy, had his way, they’ll be flyin’ a footy flag over our fallin’ heroes, who fort and died under the proper kiwi flag. I dunno, seems sum

“Hells bells Dog, its been a heckofa weak!”

Yep readas, Boss an’ me was bizy drafting off sum lambs for the werks, wen’ Boss had his usual statement, about wot I new nothing. I give him a bittofa rollin’ eye, an’ he gotta messij, cos he took a brake, wrote downa count ona notebook,and sat ona yard fense.

“Yissee Dog. First we gotta news about big Jonah Lomu. He was a reely great All Black, a reel champin who past away, way before his time.”

I remembid seeing about that wen’ I gotta papa froma kattilstop atta road gate. Big foto ona front page, an’ Boss’s gerfrend Sharlene rang her Mum in Orkland and hada bit ofa cry too.

“Then,” seda Boss, “we had old Richy Mcor, another top footy player, decide it was time to take off ‘is boots, and put ona a flyin’ helmit. Yep, he’s gonna fly helichopters fer a livin’. Probly sprayin’ thistles an’ stuff like that. Dont s’pose it will pay as much munny as bein’ a footy captin tho’.” I hada think about that. Maybe they gonna call him Poor Mcor insted? (Sorry readas.) Thena Boss went

peeple just bluddy insecure about our histry.” Sharlene fer once said she rilly agreed. “ Yes deah,” she sed.” This blimmin’ flag idea costin’ millions of munny we shood spind elsewhere. Lets keep our histry intact. It’s all a bit like them jeehardists, blowing up histry monumints. Tell yer

wot deah. Lets fly the proper kiwi flag down atta kattil stop.

“Ring orl your mates. A proper kiwi flag on every farm gate!”

Woops, eye thort. Boss cood start sumthing hear.

Yeah, go for it Boss. You too readas!

Billy

HITACHI ZX10U-2 TRACK EXCAVATOR 2014 | 126 HRS | *$24,000+GST

CAT 320D LRR2 TRACK EXCAVATOR 2008 | 10,615 HRS | $82,000+GST

CAT 301.8C TRACK EXCAVATOR2007 | 2,920 HRS | $25,000+GST

CAT 226B SKID STEER LOADERS2004 | 3,843 HRS | $22,000+GST

Contact Matt Holloway: 029 208 0423

CAT D6R TRACK TYPE TRACTOR2000 | 12,476 HRS | $85,000+GST

CAT 312D L TRACK EXCAVATOR 2008 | 6,806 HRS | $95,000+GST

CAT 304C CR TRACK EXCAVATOR 2007 | 4,568 HRS | $44,500+GST

QUALITY USED EQUIPMENT

CAT 315C TRACK EXCAVATOR2004 | 12,280 HRS | $60,000+GST

*Trailer not included

Be water wise this summer

DON’T WASTE IT

CANTERBURY FARMING December 2015 37 DAIRY

New Canadian manufacturedHeavy Duty Cultivator from Pluck’s

Starting at 6.8 Meters Wide x 30 Legs, at 9" or 7" Centres x 4.6 Tonnes

We have just assembled our latest cultivator from Canada and it’s even bigger and tougher than before.

It has been manufactured to our design, from input we got from you, for New Zealand farm conditions and roads and still has the bullet proof Morris 2” x 11/4” Auto Reset Trip Legs.

Also with 3 extra front castor wheels (7 wheels in total) and a fully floating tow bar that makes your cultivator follow your paddock contours far more closely.

Please give us a call at Pluck’s to find out more about this brand new cultivator to New Zealand.

• All sizes come with the option of Harrows and/or rear Tow Bar.

• And, of course, they still come with the very solid, later model, 340kg (755lb) Auto Reset trip leg that is 2” wide × 1¼” thick, with a trip clearance of 300mm and will trip, then reset itself, day in and day out, trouble free.

• As with all our Cultivators you can still run points from 2” wide up to 12” wide and keep them in the ground without the legs moving out of the ground under load.

• Very deep ground penetration, and huge ground clearance when out of the ground for easy point changing.

Of course, we still manufacture our smaller range of cultivators here at Pluck’s.

Phone NOW0800 PLUCKS0 8 0 0 7 5 8 2 5 7

www.plucks.co.nz • [email protected] Main South Road Rakaia 7710, Mid Canterbury

Call for more information

CANTERBURYTREEREMOVAL

CALL ERNIE0274 802 554RAKAIA 03 303 5179

Irrigation Development

Controlled tree topping of larger trees to a height to clear pivot irrigators for stock shelter.

Specialist tree grab for total hedge and tree removal. Quick and efficient burn on all stumps and trees. Grappled log skidder with 3 meter wide rake for efficient moving of all trees and slash. All areas raked and levelled ready for seeding.

All trees inspected for logging. Can market for sale all logs.

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Hello to a New YearLike a lot of dairy farmers, DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle said he is pretty happy about farewelling 2015, and looking ahead to a New Year with better prospects and farmgate milk prices.

“This last year was certainly a testing time for dairy farming. First there was the aftermath of the 1080 infant formula threat that flowed on into the start of 2015. We also started the year with a low milk price that got lower as the year progressed, and had some serious flooding on farms in the middle of the year across some regions. It was then rounded off by the welfare of bobby calves coming under the spotlight.

“In all those cases the dairy industry banded together to overcome each challenge — by sharing information and support and by ensuring our collective voice was loud and clear.”

With the low milk price, approximately 40 farmers nationwide opened their farm gates and their books, so that others could learn from their experiences — good and bad.

“They were happy to share this information as part of DairyNZ’s Tactics campaign through events, online and in the news.”

DairyNZ also had to look at doing things a bit differently and asked farmers what they wanted in terms of support. In August 2015, as part of the Tactics campaign, DairyNZ staff conducted one-

on-one feed review visits to help assess feed allocation and discuss spring feed management plans. Around 900 dairy farmers received a visit nationwide.

“Rural professionals stepped up in this area as well. An example of this is accountants offering an hour of their time for free, to support one of the groups most affected by a low milk price — variable order sharemilkers,” said Mr Mackle.

“Working in partnership with Federated Farmers and the dairy companies was also an important part of the approach to ensure all farmers knew we had their backs and were there to help them.

“As we look to 2016, we are not out of the woods yet. The milk price is still low and on top of that we are facing a potentially dry summer in some regions because of an El Nino weather pattern.

“On top of all this, we are also dealing with the questioning of our reputation — where the action of a few let us all down. When video footage of the treatment of bobby calves was recorded by animal rights group Farmwatch and released as part of a SAFE campaign in

November, I was immensely proud of how dairy farmers stood up and wanted to be counted and heard through various channels, including social media.

“Their only concern, despite a tough year and low milk price, was the welfare of those animals. You all showed how much you really cared. New Zealand heard you — and got in behind the need to show support for our industry and our farmers.”

Mr Mackle said at the time he was reminded of a quote from a famous American basketball coach, John Wooden.

‘Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are’.

“We must, as an industry, continue to focus on building our character. We also want to keep hearing from farmers about the kind of support that they value the most and want us to deliver.

“We’ve worked together as an industry to survive a tough year. Now we have to look forward to a New Year — and make sure our resolutions as well as our reputation are strong.”

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle

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38 December 2015 CANTERBURY FARMING DAIRY

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Keeping carbon in the ground, not in the airThe environmental debate around intensive pastoral farming and fresh water quality is gaining momentum, and people are rapidly taking positions, with the ‘don’t blame me’ lobby seemingly gathering popularity.

Two things worth bearing in mind are, that a supply of clean fresh drinking water for both humans and animals now and into the future is

non-negotiable in this country. Nothing less is acceptable — and rightly so.

Secondly, ever yone wins when we finally reach

that situation. No-one is ultimately disadvantaged by a sustainable environment, although in the short term some may have to change their practises, which may involve extra initial cost.

And it’s not just farming that is coming under the microscope. In our area ageing septic tanks, some of which were probably no more than an old steel container sunk in the ground, are no longer fully effective or acceptable, and the cost of alternatives is considerable.

A 30km direct pipeline to the urban treatment plant was found to be both expensive and culturally insensitive. After consultation, the communities here have agreed to take responsibility for their own waste via local treatment plants using bacterial processes — essentially sophisticated versions of the old septic tank.

When it comes to water nearly every drop of water in our lakes, rivers, and aquifers has travelled through or over the land surface. Soil is the ultimate filter, and when water is able to permeate it and steadily percolate downwards, a cleansing process takes place. And it’s carbon that has the lead role in this.

As a country we’re a net carbon emitter, which no amount of cheap carbon credits will change.

The solution, however, is simple as it’s under permanent grazed pasture that carbon is most rapidly sequestered.

Intensive pastoral farming, seen by most as the greatest emitter, is actually potentially the carbon saviour, with one proviso. The use of nitrogen fertiliser must be limited, as excess nitrogen limits the speed at which carbon stocks can be built.

At present 600,000 tonnes of urea per year are applied to our pastures, with conservatively 500,000

tonnes applied to intensive dairy land, which equates on average to 135kgN/ha. With an increasing number of farmers using less, there are obviously a significant number using more than that amount.

Farms where pasture growth has become reliant on regular applications of chemical nitrogen are also those properties that dry out more quickly with the onset of summer, have an increasing requirement for pasture renewal, and suffer from severe infestations of insect pests.

Conversely, those that use minimal amounts, and have replaced most of the energy provided by such nitrogen with alternative inputs that stimulate the speed of nutrient cycling, are finding that less feed is required by their cows to produce each kilogram of milk solids, lambs fatten more rapidly, and there is a greatly reduced requirement for animal ill-health intervention.

The transition to a long-term plentiful permanent pasture discipline, based on actively N-fixing clover and grasses by using alternative non-urea fer tiliser, can be achieved amazingly rapidly, with no interim loss in production. However a commitment to doing regular observations of both pasture and animals, (not just a quick whiz by on the motorbike), is a requirement for complete success.

Some new ‘converts’ to such a system often express real trepidation during their first season, when a known fixed farm management formula is replaced by a flexible, principle based one.

However trepidation is rapidly followed by pleasure from a growing awareness of improved pasture quality. The knowledge that it is possible to enhance and influence natural systems (rather than just replace them) to achieve this, is genuinely satisfying.

For more information call Peter on 0800 843 809.

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CANTERBURY FARMING December 2015 39 DAIRY

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Preventative hoof trimmingWhat is preventative hoof trimming? I have been on farms where they had done their own preventative hoof trimming during the year.

When I started doing my trimming I had to explain what I was doing and it turned out to be quite different from the way that they did it.

This made me wonder how many people out there actually understand preventative hoof trimming and what its benefits are.

Preventative hoof trimming is not cutting out white line cracks and any other issues that you may find in a claw. If anything, you will probably make things worse for the cow if that is all you do. If all lameness issues are caused by physical damage then it would make sense to cut out any deformities, but the problem starts on the inside of the claw, in the live tissue, not the outside.

If the live tissue (corium) is unhealthy, then preventative hoof trimming will not heal it. But with preventative hoof trimming we can reduce the stresses on that corium enabling it to heal quicker. The ideal is to have both claws on the one foot carrying the same amount of weight. If one claw is bigger (usually the outer one) it will carry more weight.

This, in itself, is not necessarily a problem as most cows have a bigger outer claw than the inner one, but not all cows go lame. Most cows have laminitis as well but not all cows are lame because of that either, depending on how severe the laminitis is. A cow that has laminitis has all claws affected.

If the outer claw is bigger and therefore carrying a greater proportion of the weight the corium is under more stress in that claw compared to the inner claw — this is why most cows

are lame on the outer claw. So, the first step that any preventative hoof trimming should entail is paring away the sole on the outer claw. This will reduce the weight and the stress on the live tissue in that claw.

If we trim a cow that has a white line issue and we open it up, exposing the corium without taking the sole down, then there is a good chance that the corium will prolapse because that claw is still carrying too much weight. This obviously creates more problems for the cow than benefitting her.

I know it sounds simple and straightforward but it takes skill to achieve that balance. Both claws need to be level and flat, but on the other hand they are not allowed to get too thin either. That is why it takes more advanced training and time to become more proficient at hoof trimming. If you are keen

to learn to become a better hoof trimmer then contact Veehof Dairy Services on

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Cervena promotions refreshed in the United States

The deer industry has fine-tuned its promotional strategy in the United States, the largest year-round market for chilled New Zealand venison. This includes a change in the definition of cuts that are eligible for the Cervena appellation.

Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) venison marketing manager Marianne Wilson says the industry will also be reviewing its digital communications in North America, with the aim of finding the best ways to communicate with chefs and those who influence their buying decisions.

“We need to regularly review our activities in major markets, because the expectations of chefs and consumers are constantly changing.

“Cervena has always been about the provenance of our wonderful meat, humanely and naturally raised on green pastures.

“But when it was launched, quality was also strongly linked to top-end cuts like loins and Denver legs,” she says.

“These days white tablecloth restaurants offer cuts from all parts of the animal. Beef cheek and brisket and pork belly are good examples of this trend. So we have expanded the definition of Cervena to include all parts of the carcass — not just the traditional high-value prime cuts.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is the popularity of executive chef Graham Brown’s venison cooking demonstrations, says Wilson.

“He’s a wonderful asset … he makes our venison exciting and breaks down the myths that can be a barrier to sales. Before long, Brownie will have a new range of Cervena cuts to demonstrate on his two visits to the United States each year. This will include ribs, shoulder tenders, brisket, and indeed anything edible from the tongue to the tail that exporters believe they can find a profitable market for.”

It’s one thing to identify an opportunity like this. It’s another to convert it into

sales. So Wilson says DINZ has decided to give its Los Angeles-based part-time key account manager, Nigel Morris, a full-time position.

“There’s huge competition in the United States among naturally raised meats. The noise is huge, Cervena is competing with grass-fed beef, bison and wild boar — there are so many meats we sit alongside.

In addit ion, most distributors of NZ venison in the United States offer their chef customers a huge product list.

“That’s where Nigel comes in. To encourage them to put our venison first, he works with exporters and their distributors to offer chefs menu solutions involving NZ venison. He ensures we get heard by making the distributors’ job easier,” she says.

“Where a restaurant chain is involved, he will work with the distributor’s representative to help make a sales pitch. If they want Brownie involved, he can

organise that too.” A big opportunity Morris is pursuing are major 21st century businesses like LinkedIN and SpaceX.

These businesses serve several thousand high quality meals a day in their in-house restaurants and their executives host high-end events regularly.

“These restaurants serve more protein in a day than many restaurants serve in a month.

“That’s the opportunity for us. Our goal is to ensure Cervena venison is part of that protein mix,” Morris says.

In the year ended September 30, 2015, 600 tonnes of chilled venison worth NZ$12 million was sold in the United States, making it New Zealand’s top year-round chilled venison market. Growing this market, as well other year-round high-value chilled venison markets are priorities for the venison industry which wants to reduce its reliance on the highly seasonal European game meat market.

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Wool Perspective From Rob Cochrane GM, Procurement, PGG Wrightson Wool

Prices level — exports healthyThe 2015 calendar year began on a sour note for wool growers as the market opened cautiously before plummeting dramatically.

The sudden price fall however was soon corrected and from that point on wool prices continued to increase pretty much across the board until late Spring when a levelling out was evident. Crossbred and Halfbred/Corriedale wool growers probably enjoyed the best of the positive price movement however Merino growers also experienced an increase compared to the previous year.

The major influencer on wool price was the obvious supply shortage due to the seemingly ever decreasing sheep population, particularly in the South Island, in favour of a raft of land use changes including dairy, arable, and horticulture, to name a few.

During the early part of December a noticeable decrease in wool quality, compared to earlier in the season, was witnessed from the wool samples displayed on the Christchurch auction show floor. Wools representing

most geographical areas of the South Island were affected similarly despite the differences in climate experienced during the past twelve months.

Local readers do not need reminding of the extreme dry conditions which have prevailed for well over twelve months now almost completely halting grass growth, and readers from the deep south can relate to the very cold and wet Winter followed by an extremely long cold spell during Spring and the subsequent shortage of quality feed in their areas. Feed shortages and the resultant animal stress combined to produce low yielding and poor tensile strength fleeces however most, up until time of writing, displayed good colour, and although obviously carrying tender fibres, were not heavily cotted.

It will be interesting to see how some of the southern wool clips fare into the New

Year when a considerable number will shear full-length fleeces due to their inability to second-shear during the Autumn/Winter because of the aforementioned conditions prevailing at that time.

Latest New Zealand wool export statistics to the end of October this year, show China continuing to lead the charge well ahead of any others, however the next four in order of merit, including Italy, the United Kingdom, India and Germany, all appear to have purchased more wool from New Zealand this year to date than each did during the entire 2014/15 season. Lithuania, Australia, France and Thailand, although much smaller importers of New Zealand wool than the top five, also showed import increases of New Zealand wool to date.

Considering that prices for New Zealand raw wool on the international market have definitely increased during

the past couple of years, and for much of that time the Kiwi dollar was extremely strong against the major trading currencies, increased purchases of New Zealand wool by such a variety of countries, in my view, augers well for future trading.

The challenge to New Zealand wool growers is to continue producing good volumes of a product which is generally superior to most other wool grown around the globe, and to present it in such a way that overseas processors and manufacturers remain confident the fibre will perform as desired, so that their (processors and manufacturers) customers remain keen to secure finished products, from interior textiles through to hosiery and apparel, for retail. Sound simple enough?

Here we are again approaching the festive season and another New Year! I thank all readers and

clients for their support and, on behalf of the wider team at PGG Wrightson, wish everyone

an enjoyable Christmas and a bright and prosperous 2016. That’s my view.

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Kevin James WoolThe Working Wool Buyer

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Handling with careDealing with cattle can be difficult and they can be unpredictable if farmers aren’t aware of the signs. Over-excited or frightened cattle can be dangerous and it is important to know how to handle situations to protect yourself and others on the farm.

Moving locations can be stressful on the animals and it is important to give them time to adjust to their new surroundings especially in new yards before handling them again. This will make them a lot calmer and easier to work with.

Understand that cattle can become upset by a number of things such as being hungry, thirsty, frightened by loud noises, being in pain, or by people being in their personal space, especially near their head.

Bellowing and pawing the ground are sure signs of agitation. The position of the tail and the head are also a

good insight into the animal’s emotional state.

Cattle can remember who treats them well and who they are fearful of. It is only natural that they will be stressed during castration, weaning or first milking, but gentle caring at this time will help in the future.

It is important to be mindful of the ‘flight zone’ when handling cattle. This is how close you can get to the animal before it will move away. The flight zone can be five metres or less for regularly-handled dairy cattle.

A herd of beef cattle that have not been handled regularly will start moving if

you get within 100 metres. Manage their movement speed by how close you get to them. To stop them moving, step out of their flight zone.

Some farmers use their voice as a handling tool to calm and soothe. As cattle see differently to humans, using your voice lets the cattle know where you are and prevents them from getting spooked when someone enters their line of vision suddenly.

Stand outside the kick zone and when working next to them turn side on and stay very close to reduce the power of any potential kick. Space between you and the animal means any kick will be more powerful before it hits you. Bulls are especially dangerous and many accidents occur each year as

a result of charges. A golden rule is to never turn your back on a bull and try not to work with them on your own. If you find yourself cornered

by a bull, make a loud noise and strike it on the nose with a waddy to force it to close its eyes before removing yourself from the situation

as quickly as possible. All aggressive bulls should be sent to slaughter to avoid transferring the problem to another farmer.

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Six decades ahead of the packby Andy Bryenton

It’s been sixty years since Yamaha’s ‘red dragonfly’ — a 125cc copy of a post-war German DKW street bike — hit the road. In that time the Japanese company have gone from strength to strength, earning a reputation for speed, power and precision engineering on both tarmac and dirt.

Founded in the 1800s as a producer of pianos, Torakusu Yamaha’s company diversified into other areas early on, amassing engineering and metalworking knowledge.

Building finely tuned instruments crossed over nicely into building finely tuned bikes, and down the decades there have been some big wins for the company’s top names, such as the high-velocity R1 and the off-road YZ series.

To commemorate those years of podium spots and constant technical advancements, Yamaha have gone back to their roots this year, offering up a range of brand new bikes in their old racing livery.

Famously decked out in blue these days, the Yamaha colours were once a combo of yellow and black, and they have returned to this palette with the special 60th anniversary edition 2016 YZ250F.

This is a great opportunity not just for nostalgia, but to see the two machines next to each other and witness how far they have come. The latest YZ has once again

packed more power into its diminutive frame, utilising Yamaha’s revolutionary reversed cylinder head configuration. This structure puts the inlet at the front of the bike, and slopes the heart of the motor gently backward, concentrating mass under the rider.

An under seat fuel tank further serves to centre the bike’s gravitational axis, making the YZ250F nimble in

the corners and remarkably controllable in the air. Which is one element this bike will be seeing plenty of — as an established winner in motocross competition, uptake of Yamaha’s new ‘weapon of choice’ has been high among the riding community.

“The goals were very clear for us,” says Yamaha’s development engineer for the YZ250F project. “Better

power and optimal handling. So we adopted the reversed-engine layout that was so successful on the 450. At the same time, we didn’t want the power output to be too aggressive. Easy control and overall rideability was our main focus.”

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The big paybackby Andy Bryenton

Talk about high pressure. The New Toyota Hilux is not just the eighth generation of one of the most popular utes ever built.

I t ’s not just the replacement for a rural Kiwi favourite which has been the Japanese automaker’s flagship since 2009. No — this model carries the hopes of Toyota with it as it hits the highway — out to unseat the

Ford Ranger at the top of the light commercial sector.

Cleverly, Toyota have not tried to wrest the crown from Ford by a battle of similarities. Instead they have sharpened up the previous Hilux, and played to the brand’s well

publicised strengths. This is not the Rolling Stones playing dubstep, then. It’s old fashioned rock ’n’ roll, re-upped for 2016.

The Hilux has always been known for its unbreakable, go-anywhere nature — a real bonus on the backblocks. So the gen-8 turns up the Hilux recipe past ten, with a beefed up chassis and platform under a bigger, more menacingly styled body. So its rivals can tow 3.5 tons? No problem — now, so can the 2.8 litre turbo-diesel Toyota.

Here, too, you’ll find a stark contrast with the frankly agricultural handling of ancient utes — the Hilux plays the ‘sedan-like road manners’ game with the best of them.

It’s hard to believe that leaf springs can feel so responsive, but Toyota’s engineers have worked their magic with the suspension setup, delivering a smooth, controlled feel on or off-road. In fact, after over 600,000km of testing in Australia alone, a special ‘rugged’ suspension setup has been exported by

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Toyota from the antipodes to a variety of harsh environments, such as India and Russia.

On paper, the new diesel mill under the hood may sound uninspiring — it’s got less torque and power than some rivals, and one less cylinder than the looming presence of the Ford. But in practice the 8th-gen engine is smooth, frugal and willing, with enough torque (450Nm) to never feel stressed, even under load.

Part of this strong showing is down to a well-set-up six speed transmission, but part is down to the quiet, silky delivery of power. Long gone are the days of utes sounding like the tractors they share a shed with!

Toyota have cleverly avoided trying to build a road car in wolves’ clothing with their new Hilux. In an era when many light commercials strive to be all things to all men, this vehicle is taking things back to its roots —

though incorporating the best of eight generations of advancements.

The huge question remains — is this truly the vehicle to knock the Ranger from the throne? And it’s one which, thanks to the remarkable quality of both machines, can only be decided one driver at a time. The winners of this arms race are the motoring public, who should definitely take heed of Toyota’s latest strategic and masterful counterstroke.

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Power surge drives successby Andy Bryenton

As the old saying goes ‘there’s no replacement for displacement’ — a term coined to justify big power and big engine blocks in muscle cars. While modern turbochargers and high compression systems may have given the lie to this old adage, over at Can-Am the boys in research and development certainly believe that there’s some truth to the catchphrase yet.

That’s why the incoming 2016 range of ATVs from the big North American marque is all about power. A trio of brand new, modern and horsepower-laden new Rotax engines is at the heart of this redesign, upping the ante for competitors in an arms race of power reminiscent of that fought by the big German automakers during the mid 2000s.

At the top of the tree, the fully revamped 89 horse,

976cc liquid-cooled eight-valve Rotax V-twin engine in the Outlander 1000R gains a nine per cent power boost, putting it head and shoulders above anything else in its bracket.

Throwing down the gauntlet to the big names out of Japan and America, Rotax engineers have redesigned the pistons to wring more power out of the 80 degree mill, and have added a beefier 54mm throttle body

and a whole new engine head from the successful Can-Am Maverick.

It’s the first instance of reverse engineering tech from a side-by-side UTV down to a quad in the engine bay, and it shows how seriously this power surge is being taken over at Can-Am. The same head-swap and massive 54mm throttle body have been ‘hot-rodded’ onto another mid-range favourite, the Outlander 850. Sitting in

muscle cars. While modern turbochargers and high compression systems may have given the lie to this old adage, over at Can-Am the boys in research and development certainly believe that there’s some truth to the catchphrase yet.

That’s why the incoming 976cc liquid-cooled eight- and a whole new engine head

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the ‘middleweight’ division, this machine may lack the raw fury of the 1,000cc which weighs in above it, but Can-Ams in this category have proven a willing and versatile choice on the farm.

The 2016 model is powered by a 78 horsepower, liquid-cooled, 854cc power plant, delivering 10 per cent more grunt and 7 per cent more torque than last year. Torque is where it’s at for the

smallest of the new Rotax offerings, with a big 9 per cent boost for the 570 series of quads.

The new 48hp, eight-valve, liquid-cooled single overhead cam 570cc V-Twin under the Outlander’s tank offers improved performance all round, packing larger pistons, a longer stroke and a higher connecting rod to increase all the vital stats while not impacting top speed. The 570

replaces the dependable old 500cc Rotax twin, but thanks to technological advances, this new mill’s power-to-fuel consumption figures are still superb.

Sitting at the heart of a huge range of new models, these powerful and versatile engines are a clear challenge to the competition — and a clear invitation to enjoy a test drive at your local Can-Am shop soon!

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Long live the new bossby Andy Bryenton

Not long ago, an ambitious designer at Mercedes-Benz reckoned that their huge, V8 powered G-Wagen was not insane enough. Nor did it have sufficient off-road ability, despite being utilised by oil sheikhs, gangster rappers and military organisations worldwide.

Their answer — equip the 4x4 with extra wheels, creating a 6x6 monster able to ford rivers a metre deep, tackle sand dunes and wallow through thick mud with equal

ease. Six wheels proved better than four — and now the same holds true on the farm.

Polaris have enjoyed great success with their

range of ATV quads, and the latest series packs in even more power and utility. One stand-out model in their range has been the Polaris Ute — taking its name from the light commercial truck, and replacing its passenger seat with a voluminous tipping tray. So far so good — and so useful for the hard working farmer. Now the carrying capacity and terrain-busting grip of the Ute and the Sportsman ATV have been expanded in the same manner as Mercedes-Benz’s G-Wagen, with the advent of the Big Boss 6x6.

What seems a simple concept is backed up by some very clever engineering beneath that wide and capacious rear tray. The ability of this versatile little vehicle to carry over 400 kilos of gear comes from a 760cc four-stroke engine, engineered to operate at a higher compression ratio than many of its competitors. This means better fuel economy despite that extra pair of wheels, which come into play off-road, engaged to deliver 50 horsepower to

the ground across six broad contact patches.

Of course a six-wheeled setup also requires a re-imagined suspension system, and the Polaris engineering team have worked hard to ensure that maximum grip is achieved at all times, especially when the Big Boss is under full load. That may very well mean not just the aforementioned 400 kilos on top, but a further 600 kilos

towed behind. Macpherson struts in the front and a high-rise independent setup in the rear keep the Big Boss sure-footed, even on hilly terrain. True six-wheel drive can be engaged on the fly, making this long, relatively heavy ATV feel far more nimble than its frame suggests at a first glance.

In the case of the big 6x6 Merc, an added axle may have added presence, but it

has largely been put to use carrying celebrities to and from expensive hotels. The Polaris Big Boss, on the other hand, is a tool of pure utility, designed to slog through truly awful terrain while shrugging off conditions which would stop some contenders dead in their tracks. When there’s a big job to do, and a big load to carry to get it done, six wheels really can be better than four!


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Mental health and farming

I am one of many that are very concerned about the mental health, or lack of it, amongst our rural communities.

The present climate is adding huge stress to farmers and those involved in farming and it will certainly be taking its toll.

I am one of many who have been down the track of depression and so I know what people are going through and how lonely and desperate people can become.

I also know that people become very clever at hiding it and that they certainly won’t talk about it.

Many won’t realise that they are as low as they are, and blame it all on being over-tired or whatever they come up with.

May I suggest you take a look at my story on the website; www.ontheland.co.nz and click on the Mental Health Special to see how I dug myself out of that deep black hole and was able to face the world again and how I was able to heal.

Most people who have done some sort of awareness thing have just said that they have suffered from depression, but I am lucky enough to have a panel of people describe and expand on the symptoms and explain the finer points so it is a lot more than just me talking. Suffice to say the key point

is to visit your GP and talk to them.

If you are thinking that someone in the family is suffering, organise a check-up for them and ask the doctor to talk to them about depression.

Doctors are trained to dig into people’s ills and get the ball rolling for you.

As you will see during the item on the website there are a variety of ways to treat depression, and also that a huge percentage of people have been there.

You will also learn that it is like a drought and sneaks up on you and doesn’t necessarily come from one event.

You will also discover the stigma most people think is attached to mental illness isn’t actually there, and that the thought is a lot worse than the reality.

The reason I have laid my story out for all to see is simply that I hit rock bottom and seriously wanted to end it all and have a fatal accident.

I don’t want anyone else to be in that state and certainly don’t want anyone to feel so helpless that they do take that step.

Suicide isn’t a weakness — people at that point are

the ‘last’ wordwith Rob Cope-Williams

simply a passenger of their illness, but one call to your doctor can bring you back from the brink.

ON THE FARM

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Available with 2.55 m to 8.3 m cutting widths

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Large cutting circle diameter with quick blade changingsystem as standard


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Offer ends 31 December 2014, while stocks last. Finance available to approved AGCO Finance customers only. 1/3 deposit, 1/3 payment 6 months after installation and 1/3 payment at 12 months after installation. GST paid in fourth month. Offer applies to Massey Ferguson European hay tools only. Conditions apply.Offer ends 28 February 2015

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canterbury farming, december 2015

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