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RURALNEWSMANAGEMENTRural broadband benefits on show. PAGE 22

MACHINERYHigh output, easy to operate, low maintenance. PAGE 28 NEWS

Fonterra’s milk collection and prices

dip, while their exports soar.PAGE 14

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

JANUARY 19, 2016: ISSUE 599 www.ruralnews.co.nz

REAPING WHAT HE'S SOWNAs this summer’s harvest gets underway, Earl Worsfold, of Greendale, Canterbury, takes the wheel of his combine harvester, hoping for a good season for arable farmers. He was heading 20ha of blue peas last week near Darfield. The peas are destined for the Indian food markets.With about 75% of New Zealand’s pea crop grown in Canterbury and close to 70% of all crops in NZ grown across 140,000ha in the region, everyone from farmers to economists will be watching to see how much production is affected by the prolonged dry spell. – More page 4

PHOTO RICHARD COSGROVE

BIG CULL IS OVER

THE MASSIVE culling of dairy cows is over, says Beef + Lamb NZ’s economic service director, Rob Davison.

Figures for the December quar-ter show the cull is down by at least 4% on the same period in the previ-ous year. The cull of dairy cows in the quarter to the end of Septem-ber last year was huge and greater than anyone had anticipated, he says.

“The cow cull has moved through and an adjustment has occurred. Consequently we expect a more normal cow cull this year,” he told Rural News.

“With the cow cull worked though, established dairy farmers now have to produce as much milk as they can to earn money.”

On beef, generally, Davison says supplies in the US will grow, so beef prices will ease towards 2017. But he reckons in the immediate year they look reasonably good.

On the lamb front, the lamb kill this season could be low, but with key markets in Europe not performing well this year, having fewer lambs for slaughter could be “helpful”.

Davison says the big unknown is still El Nino and what effect it may have on the red meat sector.– Gong page 4

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

TPP signing in NZEXPECT PROTEST marches, outrage and nonsensical claims – from self-pro-fessed academic experts to gloried All Blacks’ water-boys – now it has been confirmed that New Zealand will host the formal signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement by trade minis-ters from 12 nations of the Pacific rim early next month.Prime Minister John Key offered to host the signing of the Trans Pacific Partner-ship (TPP) trade deal in New Zealand, says Trade Minister Todd McClay.

They are looking at possible dates with the 11 other countries involved

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

in the deal.Currently TPP participants are also

legally verifying the text. When that it finished it will be made publicly avail-able and will need to be signed, McClay adds.

NZ is the repository, meaning we take responsibility for holding the final text when it is signed.

“Every country has a different pro-cess to go through domestically to have the ability to sign the agreement and

they need to wait until all 11 countries have finished that process before final decisions on a venue and a date can be made.”

On the free trade negotiations with the European Union, McClay says he met with the EU trade commission head Cecilia Malmström in Nairobi in December and they agreed McClay would travel to Brussels early this year and meet with her again.

“We have agreed we want to make

significant progress during this year, but it is likely to take a couple of years before we can be close to reaching agreement on an FTA with the Euro-pean Union,” he told Rural News. “It is a big priority for our government.”

Current two way trade with the EU, even without an FTA, is worth $20 bil-lion. The TPP is worth about $28b in exports to NZ and the China FTA is worth about $20b.– More page 8

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Rain great, but drought biting

BUSINESS-MINDED PEOPLE are needed to run agricultural aviation as a business – not a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs.

That’s the view of Agricultural Aviation Association chair Alan Beck who describes the present state of the industry as too many operators charging too little for less and less overall work.

Beck, who operates a helicopter operation in Taranaki, says the present industry is over-competitive and in an effort to stay in business operators are cutting their prices to the point where they will inevitably go broke.

“They are trying to hang in until the other guy goes broke to get a bit of their work,” he told Rural News.

“Years ago we had the situation where one or two operators could

conveniently handle all the work and did 600-800 hours. Now there are eight operators. In Nelson there are 15 helicopters – just about one on every hill – and they’re all doing a bit so it’s a dog-eat-dog situation.”

Beck says while he has a good business now, if he was coming new to the industry he wouldn’t set up a business; there is no future in ag aviation under the present regime.

He says in 1989 there were 315 ag operators and today just 20 of those have survived.

He believes it’s too easy for people to get into the industry: even if people can’t get an air certificate they can ‘attach’ themselves to a fully licensed operator and work under their ‘umbrella’. Such people are supposed to work under direct supervision, but in many cases their supervisor can be hundreds of kilometres away – a farce.

He says in the past people joining

the ag aviation industry went through carefully phased training and usually stayed with the company that trained them for some years. But now, once a pilot is trained he tends to leave and set up his own business.

Despite these problems, he reckons the quality of the work being done

in the ag sector is higher now than it was because of new technologies – especially GPS.

Beck sees the downturn in farming affecting ag aviation. In the last quarter flying time is down by 8000 hours on the previous year. He sees a lot of urea being applied but says this is seasonal.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

“EVERYONE’S TRYING all sorts of combinations to get through” is how Cheviot’s Emmet Daly describes North Canterbury farmers’ efforts to cope with their sixth season of drought.

The 50mm of rain that fell January 2 was a huge morale booster for the locals, says Doug Archbold, chairman of the North Canterbury Rural Support Trust. He knows of several farmers who sat looking out the window watching the rain; at least one went out and danced in it.

The rainfall exceeded falls in the first seven months of 2015, giving new life to brassicas, rapeseed and kale and helping lucerne crops.

NIWA’s latest soil moisture deficit map shows a dire water situation in North Canterbury: the moisture deficit in some parts of the district is at least 130mm in the red.

Archbold says there is quite a

variation in the Hurunui district: Scargill, Waikari, Hawarden and the Leamington valley are “very, very dry,” but some coastal areas are average for rainfall.

Rainfall data from a new NIWA monitoring station near Medbury indicates the area is within 10-15ml of the driest year on record. This all points to the worst drought in 20 years, possibly becoming the worst since records began.

But the news is not all bad: Archbold says sterling work by Beef + Lamb NZ in holding numerous info days has enabled farmers to make early decisions. Those who made early tough decisions have come through well.

Toughest of all has been on de-stocking – especially capital stock. Archbold says a huge de-stocking of beef cattle around the Hurunui has had a big impact.

Driving around the district it is

starkly obvious how much de-stocking has occurred: paddock after paddock is bare of feed and stock. And in several cases the animals remaining are already reliant on supplementary feed.

Daly, discussing his own efforts, says he had reduced his stock numbers by 300 ewes and increased his crops in an effort to cope, but highlights poor yields from some of his crops.

He says the money’s not there for farmers and there will be big financial headaches for people when they need to restock.

Archbold also points to the financial implications of such a long drought and he praises the banks for being supportive.

However, the hottest month of the year is still to come and the next six months will be crucial for farmers and banks. Hopefully they can hold their nerve as the weather changes from El Nino to a La Nina cycle and the prospect of rain.

RICHARD COSGROVENorth Canterbury farmer Emmet Daly moving some of his calves down Mina Road, near Cheviot, last week to a paddock with more feed as a light drizzle fell throughout the district.

DEREGULATION KILLING PROFITABLE AG AVIATION

Alan Beck


4 NEWS

Red meat number cruncher recognisedA MAN who has devoted virtually all his working life to the collection of statistics about the sheep and beef industry has been recognised in the New Year’s honours.

Rob Davison has been the executive director of Beef + Lamb NZ’s eco-nomic service since 1989. And before that he was a research officer collecting farm data for reports and publications produced by

the service.Davison told Rural

News he was greatly hum-bled and had not expected to receive the ONZM.

Davison started life as a farm cadet in the early 1960s and worked in Wairarapa to learn how to use dogs in hill country. He then went to South-land where the empha-sis was on learning to feed stock on crops.

“I then had a stint in Canterbury and then did a diploma in sheep farm-ing at Massey University.

After that I worked on farms around Ohakune before deciding to go to Lincoln University to get a degree,” he says.

Davison used to attend meetings of the former Farm Management Soci-ety and was told he needed a degree. That motivated him to com-plete a B Ag Com (Hons).

Armed with a degree he joined the economic service under the then director Frank Ward. He later served under Neil Taylor before being

appointed director in 1989. “In the early days I was busy writing reports on the need for more farm subsidies. But that changed when the indus-try was deregulated and de-politicised.”

Davison says deregula-tion was the biggest single change he’s experienced in his lifetime in the pri-mary sector.

He believes this has driven change and says the industry can be very proud of what has been achieved. Davison

cites the fact that while sheep numbers have been halved this has not affected the sector.

“We are producing a meatier, leaner lamb carcase that is meet-ing market demand,” he explains. “We are now only exporting about 2% of lambs in carcase form, the rest being broken down into cuts. A single lamb carcase can go to many many markets.”

Davison believes the economic service has moved with the times in

the amount and nature of the data collected. There is greater speed in com-munications and the way of presenting data has changed.

The fundamental prin-

ciples of the economic service remain – to pro-vide independent, author-itative data for making good, high-level, policy decisions and good deci-sions down on the farm.

AN ICONIC agricultural figure – shearer David Fagan – is now Sir David.

Fagan’s knighthood was announced in the recent new year honours list and recog-nises his 30 years at the forefront of competitive shearing sports until his retirement last year.

Fagan won 642 open cham-pionships, was an individual world champion five times and a world team champion seven times. He was the first shearer to exceed 800 lambs and 700 ewes in a nine hour working day under world record rules. He has represented New Zealand at least 120 times in various teams.

He was recently appointed chairman of Shearing Sports New Zealand and been on the committee of the New Zealand Shearing Championships since 1985.

Fagan has played a huge role in the promotion of his home town of Te Kuiti as the shearing capital of the world.

Others in the ag sector to recognised in the honours list were farmer John Lee who receives the CNZM for devel-oping a number of tourism busi-nesses in the Cadrona Valley.

The ONZM has been awarded to David Civil for developing dairy

by-products as a fertiliser. Dr Andrew McEwen received the same honour for his services to forestry and Professor Norman Williamson also received the ONZM for services to the veterinary profession.

MNZM’s were awarded to Jona-thon Kirk for devising the K-Line spray irrigation system and Linda Nelson for services to agriculture and women.

SHEARING’S WHITE KNIGHT

GREEN GOLD is flow-ing around New Zealand as this summer’s harvest gets underway.

With pea pods pop-ping in the 30 degree Canterbury heat, Green-dale farmer Earl Wors-fold hopes this will be a good season for farmers.

Worsfold was har-vesting 20ha of blue peas near Darfield last week, destined for Indian food markets. He says at the moment crops on dry-lands farms appear to be a bit more advanced than those with irrigation.

As the dry weather stretches on he predicts those with water will do better than those with-out.

With the wells already dry on the 360ha Worsfold family farm they are hoping for rain in the coming weeks to

tide them over to winter. As shareholders in

the Central Plains Water scheme the Worsfolds are eagerly awaiting the completion of its second stage, which will bring a consistent water supply to their farm.

Federated Farmers

Arable representative for North Canterbury Alan Harvey says the harvest has started with the dry-lands farms harvest-ing first, but he reckons it is too early to predict yields.

With about 75% of NZ’s pea crop grown in

Canterbury and close to 70% of all crops in NZ grown across 140,000ha in Canterbury, everyone from farmers to econo-mists will be watching to see how much produc-tion is affected by the prolonged dry spell.

– Richard Cosgrove

Arise Sir DavidEarl Worsfold unloads peas after harvesting.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

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Rob Davidson – received an ONZM for services to agriculture.


NEWS 5

Rain brings more confidence

ALTHOUGH IT has been variable across the country, recent rain has brought confidence to many farm-ers, says DairyNZ general manager extension, Andrew Reid.

“There was wide prediction about the effects of El Nino during summer bringing dry drought con-ditions to large parts of the coun-try,” he told Rural News.

“That was certainly the case in December with many parts of the country showing signs of drought early on. Recent rain has allevi-ated a lot of those fears. However, coastal Bay of Plenty and large parts of the eastern South Island are still suffering some of the con-sequence of that time.

“The drying wind has been a point of concern but a lot of it has been alleviated by recent rain over the past couple of weeks over most regions.”

But while he is hearing from the regions that January is okay, the farming sector is not out of the

woods yet, depending on what Feb-ruary and March bring. That deter-mines the shape of the rest of the season for farmers.

The rain has alleviated imme-diate concerns in Waikato, North-land, Taranaki and most of the North Island.

“Of concern are the Canter-bury, North Otago and northern Southland areas. They are still dryer than normal.”

Reid says grass growth is rea-sonable for the time of year. It now depends on the season from now until mid-March.

For the best part, across the country grass growth would be above normal on a daily growth rate. Regions that suffered through the spring are in catch-up mode, particularly Southland, West Coast and Taranaki.

Production is down on last year but by how much will depend on the weather. “The prediction before Christmas was that we could be up to 6% behind, but that was on the basis of having a dry summer. If this rain keeps up we

may catch up some of that before the season ends,” he says.

DairyNZ senior developer for productivity Kim Mashlan says DairyNZ reviewed pasture growth data for the three strongest previ-ous El Nino years – 1972-73, 1982-83 and 1997-98 at up to about 150 locations. Obviously some were not affected by El Nino as much as others.

The East Coast is expected to be worse than the West Coast in dryness during these events.

The results showed an average of 2-3 tonnes less feed per hectare was produced during El Nino sea-sons in the affected regions.

They are not as yet making any predictions on the current data for this El Nino. Some regions have had rain – certainly the Waikato has. Other regions, even though they have had some rain, have higher winds drying things out.

“Then there are some regions like North Canterbury which haven’t had any rain. So some regions are starting to see the impact of El Nino quite strongly

already. With others it may still be to come,” Mashlan told Rural News.

She recommends farmers write a management plan contain-ing trigger points for decisions as time progresses. Options such as once-a-day milking, culling cows and pregnancy testing for empties to get surplus stock off the farm should be planned ahead of time so that, hopefully, they reduce stress.

“We encourage people to keep checking the forecasts – weather forecasts and the pasture growth forecast available through Dair-yNZ and Farmax.”

Beef + Lamb NZ chairman James Parsons says although he can’t speak for the lower North Island or South Island, the upper North Island is largely in a good state moisture-wise with the recent rains. His own property at Dargaville has benefited from 50mm over the new year, then 20mm more the following Satur-day.

“The farm has greened up and is looking good,” he told Rural News.

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

SMILE – YOU’RE ON CAMERA!

THE ADVENT of closed circuit television is now making it easier for farmers to protect themselves from ‘industrial sabotage’, according to an industry leader.

Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard’s comments follow a recent incident in Manawatu where a dairy farm worker was prosecuted for deliberately contaminating 18,000L of milk worth nearly $11,000, stored in a vat.

Hoggard says such vandalism is not unusual and he is unsure whether the problem is getting worse. The incident in Manawatu coincides with claims by the Council of Trade Unions that some farm workers are poorly paid and have poor working conditions.

Hoggard says farmers are particularly vulnerable because they have to leave their sheds open for the tank-ers. Now he is seeing more farmers using CCTV at their vats and cowsheds.

“A CCTV camera can be bought for about $120. This can have a motion-sensor built in which sends an email to the farmer so he can find out what’s going on. There are cheap technology options available for farmers to keep an eye on their farms.”

Hoggard says farmers normally carry insurance to cover any loss of milk because of power cuts or other incidents. The latest case, where the farm worker is paying back the farmer $20 a week in reparation, is an insult to the farmer in question.

Many of the problems farmers face are out on their properties, he says.

“Most farmers would have a story about some ille-gal [growing] activities taking place on their farms. There is always a risk in harvesting maize too early,” Hoggard adds. “Farmers face the dilemma of report-ing such activities. If they report them, strange things start happening around their farms.”

Hoggard has discovered people have been on his farm at night drinking beer and spirits at the end of a road by the river.

“Often you wonder what sort of strange people go and park up in the middle of the night and drink themselves silly. Weird stuff like that happens,” he says.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

Andrew Hoggard

Beef+Lamb chair James Parsons says his Dargaville farm has benefitted from recent rains.

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6 NEWS

E-commerce an opportunity in waitingTHE MINISTRY for Pri-mary Industries says E-commerce has huge potential for the New Zea-land primary sector.

Its direc-tor of sector policy, Jarred Mair, told Rural News the oppor-tunities to market our primary products in this way are astronomical. The world is moving towards this and it won’t change, he says.

The importance of E-commerce is high-lighted in MPI’s latest update on the primary sector. It highlights that online retailing has soared

in the Asia Pacific region and especially in China, the main market for many of NZ’s primary exports.

MPI says China in 2013 surpassed the USA to become the largest E-commerce

market in the world; transactions are likely to reach $866 billion this year. Currently NZ sells infant and health formula,

health products, honey, liquid milk and lamb online in China.

The report notes that

special online shopping events are promoting E-commerce to Chi-nese singles especially. A

lot of work is being done to speed up delivery of online orders: the record is 14 minutes in China.

The report updates its forecasts on the primary sector and predicts pri-mary sector export rev-enue for the year ended June 2016 will be $37.6 billion – up $1.9b on the 2014-15 season. This rise would have been greater but for the expected decline in dairy exports by 4% to $13.5b. However, MPI expects an increase in 2016-17 to $17.9b.

MPI says milk produc-tion for this season will be down by 7%, but that doesn’t take into account the effect the El Nino may have. Dairy prices are sta-bilising but any recovery will be slow because milk stocks are depleted.

MPI notes that

demand for premium food products in Asian countries is increasing, driven by economic devel-opment and increasing consumer concerns about health.

Demand is high for liquid milk, seen as fat free and high in calcium. MPI says that while Asian countries have dou-bled their imports of liquid milk, exports of liquid milk from NZ have remained static at low levels.

Meat and wool rev-enue is expected to rise to $910m this season and then reach $1.05b by 2016-17.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

@rural_news

facebook.com/ruralnews

Demand is high for liquid milk, seen as fat free and high in calcium.

SOPI report author Jarred Mair.

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NEWS 7Kiwifruit sector bounces back with vengenceSOPI AUTHOR Jarred Mair got a big surprise while preparing the report.

“That was the uptake in the kiwifruit sector. Gold we always knew was going to be big so that’s a produc-tion issue, but the green result this year was aston-ishing,” he told Rural News.

“We got another 15 mil-lion trays out of green and the indications are that this will continue into next season as well – a huge increase in production.”

The report also notes that the yield per hectare (11,000 trays) was 30% higher than normal. But while green has had a good year the sleeping giant is Kiwi Gold. Its remarkable recovery from PSa will see around 50m trays harvested in 2018 compared with only 12m trays in 2014.

The demand for Gold is expected

to increase as it proves attractive to health-conscious consumers in high-value markets.

“Kiwifruit is a great story from both a national and regional per-

spective. You look at the Bay of Plenty region in particular as a hub of growth for kiwifruit and Plant and Food Research has done a lot to ben-efit the sector,” Mair adds.

“The plant breeding pro-gramme and the $20m a year Zespri has invested in that has created real ben-efits, including the ability to deal with PSa. There are new cultivars, potentially a new green under commer-cial trials for next year and a second generation red is being tested which is fan-tastic.”

Mair says one thing working well for NZ, espe-cially in China, is the link between our food products and our overall NZ brand. He says in the case of China there is a 73% association between our food products and our clean, green image. This is positive news for our tourism sector.

Mair says that 73% in NZ’s case compares more than favourably with Australia, which has only a 10% association between its food products and overall brand.

JARRED MAIR believes with all the changes taking place in our markets it is critically impor-tant for the primary sector to continue to embrace innovation.

He says it’s something NZ has always been good at.

“When there has been improving tech-nology farmers have taken it. There is an oppor-tunity to do more and to think about where we innovate in the value chain – a great opportu-nity for us.”

Mair says the farming and agritech sectors tend to feed off each other in respect of growth. Where one succeeds the other flourishes.

And he has an interesting perspective on the effects of this innovation: MPI studies show that while the primary sector will need more people, it is likely there will be fewer jobs on farm and more in the sectors that service farms.

INNOVATE OR STAGNATE

Innovation is likely to see fewer on-farm jobs and more in the sectors that service the primary sector.

Kiwifruit has made a remarkable recovery from PSA outbreak.

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8 NEWS

Christmas bonus for NZ agricultureNEW ZEALAND primary sectors were not expecting the World Trade Organisation (WTO) decision to remove all agricultural export subsidies at the 10th ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya, says the new Trade Minister Todd McClay.

But they have warmly welcomed the decision at the conference late last year which will remove about $16 billion of export subsidies world-wide. Because the meeting was min-isterial the decision comes into effect immediately. However, full removal of subsidies will take about five years.

“Going into Nairobi it wasn’t clear there would be any outcome at all,” McClay told Rural News. “But most NZ producer groups have come out as very supportive of it.”

Fonterra in particular had talked about the importance of this measure of fairness where they compete in markets overseas, he says.

“NZ farmers probably have been concerned to see other products of equal quality being sold at a lower price in markets overseas because overseas governments have provided cash directly to producers. The NZ Government hasn’t done that for many years.

“We have a strong and robust farming economy, it can compete equally with anybody, anywhere in the world, but all we have done is ask for this to be fair competition. Our producers have recognised this as a significant achievement on their behalf.”

NZ has waited more than 50 years for this levelling of the playing field particularly for the dairy sector, he says. “So it is a significant achievement and it will be welcomed by all farmers, especially dairy farmers.

“Because it is a ministerial declaration it enters into force straight away – a day after the agreement was reached. There is a process for some countries that have export subsidies in place. They must be removed over the next couple of years and developing countries have a little longer time.

“But it really means between now and the next five years all subsidies will be removed. That’s about $16 billion dollars in export subsidies a year.”

Importantly for New Zealand dairy it means no export subsidies can be instigated or re-instigated in the future.

“A few years ago the US and EU had significant export subsidies in place. Many of those have been removed but as we have seen over the last couple of years with the downturn in the dairy price and increased production in parts of the

world, there have been calls in some of these countries from farmers for export subsidies to be [reinstated].

“This removes this uncertainty and means they never can be put in place again.”

NZ farmers will now compete fairly based on efficiency of production and cost of production, he says.

The decision was important for the integrity of the WTO negotiations. The Doha development round has been under negotiation for about 20 years, says McClay. Agriculture is one of the most heavily protected and supported industries around the world. Every country and group of countries have a different approach. NZ, Australia and other Cairns Group (Cairns Group of Fair Trading Nations) countries have always advocated for removal of subsidies and greater access to markets around the world.

“It is fair to say there was a desire for progress to be made as part of the Doha round in part to reinforce the importance of the WTO process,” says McClay.

“Many observers said that if there had been no outcome in Nairobi then the next few years would have to be used to talk about whether there is a future for the WTO.

“I think the countries of the world have shown they believe that multi-lateral base negotiations and decisionmaking is important and it is really a vote of confidence in the WTO.

“The result has been warmly received by the primary sector in NZ and was probably a surprise.”

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

New Trade Minster Todd McClay has welcomed the decision, made late last year, by the WTO to remove all agricultural subsidies.

TRADE MINISTER Todd McClay says he will talk with the rural sector about his planned refresh of the New Zealand trade policy.

“I want to engage with the rural sector on this before anything is made public,” he told Rural News.

The policy refresh will be done through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“Our current trade policy was put together some years ago,” he says.

“You shouldn’t expect any significant changes, but it is an opportunity now to update it considering some of the FTAs which have been successfully negotiated – such as China, Korea, Taiwan and TPP – and look at what the next steps will be.

“It will take a few months in the first part of the year to work through that and set the scene for an ambitious trade policy agenda in the next few years.”

TRADE POLICY REFRESH

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NEWS 9Tough lesson over price fixingRURAL SERVICES com-pany PGW Wrightson says its run-in with the compe-tition watchdog over price fixing was a tough lesson.

PGW last month agreed to pay the Com-merce Commission a pecuniary penalty of $2.7 million and to review the NAIT related fees it charges. The High Court has approved the settle-ment.

PGW’s chief executive Mark Dewdney says the case was a tough lesson for the business to learn and was especially disappointing given all the good work that was done facilitating the implementation of the NAIT scheme – an ‘industry good’ initiative.

“From everything I have heard or read about PGW’s involvement in the implementation of the scheme it seems we were well intentioned and made an earnest effort to be fair and transparent.

“However, with the benefit of hindsight, more care should have been taken in respect of mat-ters relating to the fees imposed when NAIT came into effect.

“There are definite [lessons] to be taken from this matter and as a busi-ness we have carefully looked at what occurred and have moved to improve our internal pro-cesses and controls.”

The commission charged PGW and other companies that oper-ate livestock saleyards for agreements relating to

NAIT-related fees charged at those yards.

PGW says the settle-ment avoids protracted and costly litigation.

In a separate penalty hearing in relation to the same matter the court has fined Rural Livestock Ltd $475,000.

The commission has also filed court proceed-ings making similar alle-gations against Elders New Zealand Ltd (now Carrfields) and five indi-viduals; court cases are pending.

Formal warnings were also issued to several com-panies.

NAIT was enacted to provide traceability of cattle and deer to enhance NZ’s ability to respond quickly in the event of a biosecurity event such as a disease outbreak.

Implementing the NAIT regime required PGW’s livestock busi-ness to buy new technol-ogy and systems to ensure accurate records could be kept of the movements of animals through its sale-yards.

The New Zealand Stock & Station Agents Association played an industry role in coordi-nating its implementation after NAIT Ltd sought livestock industry collab-oration.

In the absence of gov-ernment funding to cover costs incurred by livestock businesses in gearing up for and delivering NAIT related services, fees were intended to be introduced by association members,

principally to defray ser-vice delivery costs.

PGW says at the time NAIT was introduced into Parliament it understood that the implementation of the new tracing requirements would take a lot of management time and resources. Consequently, PGW made an early start to

implement the NAIT requirements and was ahead of its peers in planning for these.

In its capacity as an association member PGW shared a lot of its knowl-edge with other members and saleyards partners. This sharing of informa-tion included the NAIT-related fees that PGW had

determined to implement.PGW independently

determined the fees it considered it needed to charge to cover the sale-yards services it was obliged to provide under NAIT.

PGW says its approach in determining those fees was principally to recover the additional costs to

the business in deliver-ing NAIT tracing ser-vices. Saleyards tagging fees were also introduced to deter the delivery of untagged cattle to sale-yards in order to give effect to the legislation and to minimise saleyards operational issues.

UNUSUAL CASETHE HIGH Court acknowledged that the circum-stances in which the matter came about were unusual because PGW got together with the other companies on the initiation of NAIT Ltd.

These competing entities, all members of the NZSSAA, were acting in response to a new regula-tory environment, the court says.

They had to work out cost structures to respond to the new NAIT requirements as NAIT Ltd would not pay for or subsidise the set-up and ongoing costs of compliance with the legislation. Agreeing to NAIT procedures led, it would seem almost incidentally, to decisions on the appropriate fees.

Justice Raynor Asher in his judgment noted that “PGW drifted into infringement as a consequence of endeavouring to comply with the complex regula-tory scheme, rather than through making a knowing decision to price fix at the outset.”

He went on to comment that PGW’s “actions in accepting responsibility and promptly ending the price fixing warrant significant discount” to the penalty.

PGW chief executive Mark Dewdney

@rural_news


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There are two diseases that cause abortion storms and preventing them takes two vaccines.

So talk to your vet about how the Toxovax®+ Campyvax4® combination gives you the best protection against abortion storms.

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100% of farms have toxoplasmosis present. 88% of farms have campylobacter present.So what are the odds?

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10 NEWS

What’s in store for 2016?

HERE ARE some key mes-sages from industry lead-ers for the year ahead in the primary sector.Horticulture

In New Zealand hor-ticulture is the little brother to the major pri-mary industry powers of the dairy, meat, for-estry and wine sectors, says HortNZ in its crystal ball gazing piece for Rural News.

“But this little brother is growing up fast,” it says. “At the end of 2015 MPI predicted that the rise and rise of horticulture will make a considerable contribution towards off-setting the slump in the primary sector’s export earnings caused by the dairy downturn.”

The growth is built on years of long-term stra-tegic planning, commit-ment to developing new markets, constant evolu-tion of production sys-tems and old fashioned hard work.

MPI’s outlook for 2016 predicts a rise in industry returns of about $700 mil-lion, thanks to the recov-ery of kiwifruit post-Psa, increasing apple exports and improved market access with lower tariffs and exchange rates for products like onions, but-tercup squash and cher-ries.

Mike Chapman, former chief executive of Kiwifruit Growers Inc, is taking over as Horticul-ture NZ chief executive

following the departure of long-serving chief execu-tive Peter Silcock.

He has also worked for the Commerce Commis-sion, the Auckland Dis-trict Law Society and as chief executive of the reg-ulatory body Kiwifruit NZ, and for NZ Kiwifruit Growers.

Chapman says the appeal of his new role with Horticulture NZ lies in the opportu-nity to work across the entire horticulture indus-try, which has enormous potential and scope for better collaboration and development.

“What really excites me is being in the position to strengthen all the exist-ing networks in horticul-

ture,” he says.Horticulture is NZ’s

fourth-largest export industry with at least 100 different products, with a total value of just over $5 billion – export returns making up half of that figure.

The industry has a strategic plan to make horticulture a $10 billion industry by 2020. “And I’m excited about being part of the industry as we close in on that goal. I have every confidence that we can get there,” says Chapman.Beef + Lamb

Last year was a good year for progressing free trade agreements and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could be the best

deal yet, says BLNZ chief executive Scott Cham-pion.

The NZ Korea FTA came into force in Decem-ber and given Korea is our fourth-largest beef market by volume this will be sig-nificant for NZ beef farm-ers.

But the TPP is a ‘mega-FTA’ involving NZ and 11 other countries around the Pacific Rim includ-ing the world’s first- and third-largest economies US and Japan, he says.

“It will secure our trading position in some vitally important mar-kets, and prepare the way for possible expansion into others with exciting growth potential,” says Champion.

“The TPP will wipe out all tariffs on our sector’s exports into 10 of those 11 TPP countries. Even fac-toring in the zero tariff treatment we already get in markets like Austra-

lia and Singapore, that is a major achievement.

“But it will be in Japan – the only TPP market where not all sheep and beef sector tariffs will be

Horticulture claims to be the little brother growing up fast, Beef + Lamb NZ welcomes the possibilities new trade agreements will bring and the dairy industry is being urged to stay strong and keep enhancing its reputation. Pam Tipa reports...

TO PAGE 11

New Hort NZ boss Mike Chapman takes over an industry on the rise.

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NEWS 11How will the primary sectors fare in the New Year?eliminated – where the really big win will come for Kiwi sheep and beef farmers.”

On another issue, Champion says sup-porting farmers as they manage increasing envi-ronmental commitments is an area where BLNZ added more resource last year, ensuring farmers can cope with increasing cli-matic challenges.

Focus on environmen-tal policy work has also increased.

“It’s important that farmers are at the table when decisions are being made on farming within nutrient limits,” he says.

“We’ve now held two environmental confer-ences to help equip farm-ers with the information they need to ensure their

interests are represented on their local catchment groups and councils. This ensures sheep and beef farmers’ voices are heard as decisions on farming within limits are devel-oped.

“We know that local voices count for plenty in community discussions and these conferences have provided opportuni-ties for farmers to under-stand how to engage in their own community dis-cussions and ensure their views are listened to.”

Champion has resigned from BLNZ. “It’s been a privilege to work for sheep and beef farmers for the past 10 years and at the end of March it will be time to hand over to the next BLNZ chief executive to take the organisation onwards,” he says.Dairy

As we look to 2016, we

are not out of the woods yet, says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.

“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,” he says.

We are also dealing with the questioning of our reputation – where the action of a few let us all down, he says

“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,” says Mackle.

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

The dairy industry must continue to focus on building character.

“We also want to keep hearing from farmers about the kind of sup-port they value the most and want us to deliver,” he says.

“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.”

Last year was certainly a testing time for dairy farming, he says.

“With the low milk

price, we had around 40 farmers nationwide open their farm gates and their books so that others could learn from their experi-ences – good and bad,” he says.

“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 support. In August 2015, as part of the Tactics

campaign, DairyNZ staff made one-on-one feed review visits to help assess feed allocation and dis-cuss spring feed manage-ment plans.

Around 900 dairy farmers were visited nationwide.

FROM PAGE 10

BLNZ chief Scott Champion says 2016 could be a great year for trade deals.

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says last year was certainly a testing time for the sector.

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12 MARKETS & TRENDSRURAL NEWS // JANUARY 19, 2016

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NI P2 Steer - 300kg n /c 5.10 5.10 5 .50

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NI L am b Y M - 13 .5k g n /c 4 .91 4 .91 5 .56

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BEEF:. Fresh pasture growth over the Christmas and New Year period has done little to slow the bull kill in the North Island. Numbers have held strong, with many processors expected to be busy through to late-January. The combination of tight returns from overseas markets and solid kill numbers has seen schedules slip further downwards over the past few weeks. With the kill trending well above last year for the season to date, numbers are not expected stay at current levels beyond January, which may mean some stability in schedule prices in February, should overseas markets not deteriorate further. It has been a quieter start to the 2016 for South Island beef processors, with kill numbers fairly low. This has helped keep prices stable over the past week, though they are lower than was seen prior to Christmas. International markets have been weak from late December into the New Year. US market has been particularly poor, not helped by a 6-7% fall in prices over the space of a week in late December. Imported beef prices in the US are now at the lowest levels seen since December 2010. With fresh rain coming to many beef producing regions which were affected by the dry, there is some hope that the Australian beef kill will slide even further below its current level. This has the potential to kick some life into the US market, as

Australia is the largest source of imported beef in the US. Store markets only just beginning to kick into gear, as farmers and agents alike gradually return from holidays. Though early demand throughout the North Island has been strong, even with limited trading. SHEEP SLAUGHTER: Those wanting to offload ewes are having a difficult time for the moment. With international demand for mutton particularly low, clearing backlogs of mutton remains low on most processors priority lists. There have been reports of some waiting up to eight weeks to have their ewes processed. The lack of interest in mutton is being reflected in current operating prices, with around 30c/kg coming out of schedules over the past month. The lamb kill has remained strong through late December and early January, with some plants in the South Island refusing to take lambs that are not on contract. The fresh rainfall throughout the North Island and upper South Island is not expected to have a major influence on the kill in the short-term, as many farmers are happy to stick to their usual routines when it come to finishing stock.

SHEEP STORE: The store lamb markets got off to a reasonable start to the year, though numbers traded have been low so far. Decent rain between Christmas and New Year for most of the North Island and the upper South Island has placed some confidence back into the market. Those

wanting to sell lambs are not having much difficulty finding buyers, though with prices low and grass growth improving, the numbers being offered up are low. Prices at saleyards have been either on par with pre-Christmas prices or back around 10c/kg, while prices in the paddocks were steady.��

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14 AGRIBUSINESSMilk collection and prices dip, while exports soarMILK PRODUCTION may be falling but Fonterra’s exports are soaring.

The co-op last month exported 300,000 tonnes of dairy products, set-ting a single-month record for volume shipped to global markets.

Last month’s volume was nearly 10% higher than Fonterra’s previous record month in December 2014.

Fonterra managing director for global ingredients Kelvin Wickham says the record reflected direct-to-customer ingredients, consumer and foodservice sales success despite the tough global market environment.

“This is an excellent achievement by our sales and logistics teams and it is gratifying to finish 2015 on a high with this record export volume.

“We have seen unprecedented global volatility due to geopolitical events over the past year. The dairy market has been a tough environment globally, so we are pleased to achieve

record export volumes despite the chal-lenges.”

Wickham says the new benchmark would be difficult to surpass as reduced milk volumes began to impact on the cooperative’s production levels.

Fonterra is forecasting a year-on-year reduction of milk volumes by at least 6% this season as farmers responded to the low milk price and dry conditions in some regions.

In its December monthly update Fonterra said it is expected to collect 1523 million kgMS this season.

It says farmers are using more tra-ditional practices to manage their busi-ness within the limits of a low payout.

“Farmers have reduced stocking rates and supplementary feeding in order to help lower costs. We have the advantage of a largely pasture-based system which allows this.

“Historically we have seen that cli-matic conditions can cause a lot of volatility in late season milk collec-tion when the farmgate milk price is at lower levels. Farmers are likely to

rely more on rainfall to support grass growth and milk production, and less on supplementary feed.”

Fonterra’s milk collection across NZ in November was 4% lower than the same month last year. For the first six months of the season, ending Novem-ber 30, milk collection reached 737m kgMS.

North Island milk collection in November reached 127m kgMS, 6% lower than November last season. South Island milk collection in Novem-ber was 82m kgMS, in line with Novem-ber last season.

Responding to global dairy prices, particularly for its flagship product whole milk powder, the co-op has reduced the amount of WMP on the GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction over the next 12 months by 146,000 tonnes.

The co-op says it is changing its product mix away from base milk powders and towards contracting and demand via other sales channels.

“An increased portion of product is being sold through bilateral customer

agreements for a premium on prices achieved on GDT. Ingredients inven-tory levels for the first quarter were in line with the same period last year,” says Wickham.

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

Fonterra’s Kelvin Wickham.

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s

ince 1987

JFM


AGRIBUSINESS 15Fonterra sells yoghurt business to lift its struggling Australian operations

FONTERRA’S REVAMP of its struggling Austra-lian business continues with the impending sale of yoghurt and dairy des-serts range.

Last month the co-op signed a sale agreement with Parmalat Australia; regulatory approvals are expected by June this year.

The sale of the Australian yoghurt and dairy desserts business, which includes manufacturing sites at Tamar Valley and Echuca, and the Australian yoghurt and dairy dessert brands, is part of a plan to return Fonterra’s Australian business to strong and sustainable profitability, it says.

In its 2015 annual report Fonterra said that lower returns from Aus-tralian dairy desserts and yoghurt units had affected volume growth in its con-sumer and food service business.

However, Tamar Valley yoghurt sales were up 62% last year. Fonterra bought Tasmania-based Tamar Valley in November 2013.

Fonterra managing

director Oceania Judith Swales says the co-op is committed to the Austra-lian dairy industry and its retail business, and the sale is intended to lock in its competitive position in the Australian consumer market.

“We will continue investing in programs and innovation that sup-port our market-leading brands in key retail cate-gories, including Western Star butter and Perfect Italiano, Mainland and Bega cheeses, Anchor cream and fresh milk.

“Divesting the yoghurt and dairy desserts busi-ness will allow us to focus on what we do best, so we can continue [paying] a competitive milk price to our suppliers, benefits to our customers, inno-vative dairy foods to our consumers and improved returns to our farmer shareholders and unit holders,” says Swales.

All Fonterra’s Echuca and Tamar Valley employ-ees in the yoghurt and dairy dessert business have received offers of employment from Par-malat.

Fonterra recently announced other major

changes to turn around its ailing Australian business.

It is spending A$120 million to rebuild its fac-tory in Stanhope, north-ern Victoria, as a primary cheese making plant with 50% extra capacity. The co-op sold 9% of its hold-ing in Bega Cheese and will spend the cash on the Stanhope cheese plant. It also announced plans

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

with Bellamy’s Austra-lia Ltd and China’s Being-mate Baby and Child Food Company Ltd that offer growth prospects in nutri-tional volume from Fon-terra Australia. A multi-million dollar beverages plant was com-missioned at its Cobden facility in western Vic-toria to service a 10 year partnership with Wool-

worths and its largest global brand, Anchor, was launched in Australia.

Chief executive Theo Spierings says these changes result from a plan to get better retruns from the Australian business.

“We are focusing on areas where we can win in a highly competitive market, and that means optimising our prod-

uct mix and streamlining operations to match, and investing in higher value-add products that will deliver the best returns for our farmer sharehold-ers and unit holders.

“Australia is our larg-est milk pool outside New Zealand, and is an inte-gral part of our multi-hub strategy. Our Australian operations have particu-

lar ingredient strengths in cheese, whey and nutri-tionals, complemented by our strong consumer and foodservice businesses. As a key part of our multi-hub strategy, we are matching these strengths with the opportunities across our 100 markets,” says Spierings.

@rural_news


Fonterra has sold its Tamar Valley yoghurt range in Australia.

More rain neededMPI SAYS while recent rains have brought welcome respite from dry weather in much of the country, farmers in drought-affected regions will feel the impact of El Niño for months.

The ministry is monitoring the weather closely and keeping ministers updated. It is also working through Rural Support Trust branches and industry groups to ensure support for farmers.

“In many drought-hit areas, particularly Canterbury and Marlborough, the rain was a great morale booster,” says MPI’s director of resource policy David Wansbrough.

“Crop farmers have

had a better start to the year, as any good rainfall like this helps new crop growth. But where pasture has died from over a year of dry weather more rain will be needed to break the drought and it will be months before production recovers.

“Much of Otago was less lucky and didn’t receive the rainfall of their northerly neighbours. In Strath Taieri some locals are saying it’s the driest they have ever seen it.”

Rural Support Trust reports that the financial and emotional impact of drought is starting to pinch some farmers. (Farmers and their families can contact their local

Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254 for advice and information; or Federated Farmers feed line on 0800 376 844 to help get feed to drought-hit farms.)

“Increasingly dry Northland did particularly well out of this month’s deluge, getting up to 80mm of rain, but has since been hammered by strong easterly winds which hasten soil drying and it can damage some crops.”

MPI continues to monitor soil moisture deficits in the North Island, knowing many farmers are still recovering from the June 2015 storms in Taranaki and Whanganui.

Southern Field DaysFEBRUARY 10-12, 2016

The South Island’s largest rural event for business and pleasure. Visit ___�[W]\PMZVÅMTLLIa[�KW�Vb for more information

THE HOUNDWant to share your opinion or

gossip with the Hound? Send your emails to:

[email protected]

RURAL NEWS // FEBRUARY 17, 2016

16 OPINIONEDITORIAL EDNA

SensitiveTHIS OLD mutt’s colleagues at Rural News recently received a curt and nasty email from one Briar Smith about the less-than-complimentary review this publi-cation gave Mike Joy’s latest book about water quality. Despite hiding behind an anonymous email address, it turns out that Smith happens to be a colleague of Joy at Massey University and – just like the Joyless one – a profes-sional student who to the Hound’s knowledge has never had a real job. Your canine crusader finds it amusing that so-called fearless academics like Joy and Smith are all for the freedom that enables them to make sweeping criti-cisms, but get outraged when someone dares criticises their work. Must be such a tough life living in their ivory towers – poor wee sensitive sausages.

Save the planet, eat meatTHE HOUND had a bit of a giggle when he saw a recent US study that reveals a diet heavy in some fruit and vegetables does the planet more harm than eating meat. The study, published in the Environment Systems and Decisions journal, flies in the face of recent calls for humans to reduce meat consumption in a bid to help stem climate change. So just when we are told by tree huggers that eating truckloads of vegetables is the best way to help the environment, researchers from Carnegie Mellon Univer-sity have found lettuce was “over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon”. The research group studied the impact per calorie of different foods against energy costs, water usage and emissions.

Dumb moveNEVER NEGOTIATE with terror-ists is the mantra of all reputable countries and companies. So your old mate has to question why Fonterra recently sat down with Greenpeace to discuss PKE imports, and why in God’s name did DairyNZ and Fed Farmers do the same with SAFE over animal welfare? The Hound suggests all this is giving these eco-terror-ists and crazy animal activists credibility when their ongoing, outlandish claims against the farming industry – the dairy sector in particular – are anything but credible. Dumb move!

Farewell ToowoombaYOUR OLD mate was saddened to hear of the demise of former Fed Farmers chief executive ‘Toowoomba’ Tony St Clair during the holiday break. St Clair was boss at Feds from 1997 to 2005. Hailing from the great arid conti-nent, he was cheekily christened ‘Toowoomba” Tony by yours truly back in the day. Despite having the borax poked at him regularly in this column, St Clair took it all in his stride and with good humour. The Hound passes on his condolences to Toowoomba Tony’s family and his past friends and colleagues at Feds.

“Wasn’t that bloke from OSH due here about now?”

NEWS THAT the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is to be signed in New Zealand early next month will no doubt fire up outrage, ridiculous claims and pontificating by the usual array of serial protestors, desperate politicians and other economic Luddites.

These people seem to throw out all sorts of fantastic claims about the evils of trade and their nonsense is never seriously challenged.

Just how our country is supposed to pay for ever increasing demands for better health, education, superannuation and social welfare, while not increasing its trade with the rest of the world, seems to get lost in the venomous rhetoric spewed by those opposed to the TPP and other trade deals.

The fact is that as a trading nation – with agriculture as our biggest trading sector – NZ needs deals like the TPP, the China FTA, CER and the proposed EU trade deal – for economic survival.

No deal is ever perfect and that includes the TPP – notably as it concerns NZ dairying. But despite only minuscule progress for our dairy exports, the deal has delivered some good wins for NZ primary sector.

As NZ special agriculture envoy Mike Petersen said at the conclusion of the negoti-ations last October, the TPP has delivered an “outstanding” result for the NZ primary sector.

“We have basically gained free trade access for most of our primary sector products – with the exception of dairy and some beef – to 11 new markets with a population of 800 million or 40% of the world’s trade.”

How is that a bad thing?A recent World Bank report – ‘The poten-

tial macroeconomic implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership” – estimates that the NZ economy will get a definite economic boost from TPP.

As President Obama told legislators in the US during his final State of the Union address last week, a Trans-Pacific Partnership opens markets, protects workers and the environ-ment, and … supports more good jobs.

“Do you want to show our strength in this century? Approve this agreement,” he implored.

It would be nice if NZ politicians would also take up President Obama’s challenge and put aside petty politicking for once and approve this agreement.

Don’t hold your breath.

Obama nails it

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OPINION 17

Farmers show urban businesses the way on managementA HEADLINE in National Business Review at the end of December urged read-ers to “embrace uncer-tainty for better business in 2016”.

Steve McCrone and Paul Sullivan from Corn-wall Strategic suggested that many business plans are like bedtime stories: they have heroes, vil-lains, interesting plots and happy endings. They went on to suggest that real life is different and traditional management interven-tions frequently fail when applied to reality.

They had evidence to support their concerns.

Despite this, farmers are expected to have busi-ness plans and to adjust them (and redo the bud-gets) at each change of, for instance, the milk price forecast, the sched-ule price or the weather. All of these changing fac-tors operate within altera-tions in the exchange rate and official cash rate with consequences for inter-est rates.

The effect of re-plan-ning this season was 100,000 more dairy cows to slaughter than usual before Christmas and destocking on drystock farms. Un-forecast rain means that many areas are now harvesting feed that would normally have been grazed.

Everything farmers do is within uncertainty. There is almost always a plan B and readjustments occur all the time. So maybe it is time business learnt something from farmers.

McCrone and Sullivan recommend businesses move to “complexity management because it is driving the business rev-olution of the future”. This concept involves diverse factors acting in

an interconnected way, and having the capacity to change and adapt. An example would be farm workers, stock, and Fon-terra working within the soil-plant-climate system.

Unexpected results can

occur and small changes can result in unexpected differences. The drop in the milk price at the beginning of the season, for instance, resulted in differing advice on calf rearing. Whereas some industry advisors sug-gested saving money by cutting costs on ‘calf meal’, veterinarians rec-ommended maintain-ing full feeding. This was on the basis that calves represent the future pro-ductivity of the herd and so growth should not be compromised for short term gains.

The same philosophy has operated on AI and herd testing: without it money can be saved, but with it the genetic poten-tial of the herd can be improved.

Some farmers locked in to supplementary feed; others decided to rely on strategic fertiliser appli-cation for boosting grass growth.

Whether the advisors turn out to be heroes or villains won’t be known for some months and years – when the calves come into the herd, the accounts are done at the end of the year and the opportunity cost consid-ered.

Plan B in action: Un-forecast rain is now seeing many farmers in some areas harvesting feed that would have been grazed.

The casting of vil-lains and heroes always depends upon point of view.

Fonterra has announced a record export volume: in Decem-ber more than 300,000 MT of dairy products were shipped to the global market, beating the pre-vious December record by 10%.

But farmers are not crowing because their income is not increasing and the current forecast is above what the milk price manual suggests. The Commerce Com-mission accepts a devia-tion from the milk price manual if adhering to the formula could result in jeopardy for the com-pany. The concern is that a milk price even lower than is currently being forecast could result in more suppliers quitting. Farmer loyalty is being sought through promises of a good dividend – but a forecast is only a forecast and costs of production continue to escalate.

Silver Fern Farms could be seen as a hero because it has attracted foreign investment based on food safety and high value product. But if the relationships and strategy change to the detriment of the New Zealand farmer the hero tag will vanish.

In agribusiness, heroes

and villains are always involved in the interesting plots that are innate in the biophysical production system – soils, plants, ani-mals, climate… and policy all combining for chal-lenges that, mostly, are overcome in one way or another. A happy ending is never guaranteed, but embracing uncertainty, with persistence and adaptability, are core to what happens on the land. Urban business has a lot to learn.• Jacqueline Rowarth is professor of agribusiness, The University of Waikato.

McCrone and Sullivan recommend businesses move to “complexity management because it is driving the business revolution of the future”.

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18 OPINION

Warnings about illegal pesticidesINTERNATIONALLY, TRADE in Illegal pesticides has exploded.

Made secretly and given names that sometimes resemble the original, counterfeits account for up to 30% of the pesticide market in India and 10% in Europe. These untested and unauthorised products are a threat to farmers’ health, harvest and environment.

There are three main areas of illegal activity in pesticides: fakes, counterfeits and illegal parallel imports.

Fake pesticides contain anything from water to banned or restricted chemicals. Sometimes they contain an illegal and untested copy of the active substance. These products are often sold in plain bottles with minimal labelling, usually missing health or environmental precautions.

Counterfeits are copies of legitimate, branded products, usually with high quality labelling and packaging. Most counterfeits contain a copy of the original active ingredient. However, its biological efficacy is often diminished due to high levels of impurities from manufacturing, including process by-products. Counterfeits, which are often difficult even for experts to distinguish from legitimate products, are likely to be sold to agricultural

producers and may result in adverse side effects such as crop damage after application.

Illegal parallel imports are illegal copies of legitimate, parallel-traded products which have been repackaged and sold as brand-name products.

The Chinese piracy mafia has a broad network including between Europe and Asia and has made millions in profits.

Dangerous counterfeit agrichemicals are illegally imported into the EU by ships and aircraft from China. These goods are fraudulently mis-described on shipping documents and air waybills. These counterfeit, untested, unsafe pesticides are then distributed through the EU to unsuspecting parties who believe the pesticides to be genuine.

Pesticides are among the most regulated products in the world today, and can only be traded and used in the EU if the products are proven safe and authorised. Despite this, the market for illegal pesticides in Europe means that at least one in 10 products sold is illegal. Tests have shown that the ingredients often contain banned substances harmful to human health.

This is not a new phenomenon; illegal imports have been arriving in Europe for over a decade and hundreds of tonnes are seized every year. This is a huge amount.

In November 2015, a 12 day international operation discovered 190 tonnes of illegal or counterfeit pesticides in the EU. The operation, called Silver Axe, conducted 350 inspections at major ports in seven EU countries.

India loses about 4%, or 10 million tonnes, of food output a year due to fake pesticides. India’s fake pesticide industry is expanding at 20% per year. Counterfeits account for up to 30% of the $4 billion pesticide market. Influential dealers in small towns peddle high-margin fake products to gullible farmers.

Farmers bear the brunt of the presence of non-genuine pesticides due

to crop damages and low productivity, because the product does not work as effectively as the genuine product.

Due to the untested nature of the illegal pesticides and possible imbalance of active ingredient or no active or wrong active, these products also pose a danger to farmers’ health.

The other main concern is the irreversible damage to the environment by use of unmonitored toxic ingredients

in illegal products. This can cause:Degradation of soil, rendering it

useless for cultivation of succeeding crops

Ground and surface water contamination

Imbalance of natural flora and fauna and negative health impacts on humans and animals.

When found, the safest way of getting rid of the products is via high-temperature incineration.

New Zealand’s regulatory processes and agricultural systems have deterred these illegal products from our shores. Nevertheless, it is important for NZ’s agricultural community to be aware of the possibility of illegal pesticides entering the country and to make sure products purchased are legitimate.

Legitimate products should have a clear label with directions, registration number and manufacturing date. The packaging should be sealed and intact.Only buy products from well-known and trusted dealers and be cautious of unknown brand names or labels. Always ask for a receipt and, if in doubt, check with the Ministry of Primary Industries or Agcarm.• Mark Ross is chief executive of Agcarm, the industry association for companies which manufacture and distribute crop protection and animal health products.

MARK ROSS

Mark Ross

@rural_news


Fake pesticides contain anything from water to banned or restricted chemicals. Sometimes they contain an illegal and untested copy of the active substance. These products are often sold in plain bottles with minimal labelling, usually missing health or environmental precautions.

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20 MANAGEMENTMORE FARMERS RENEWING PASTURE – STILL MORE TO GORENEWING 10% of New Zealand farm pasture annu-ally would ensure productivity and performance gains achieved via new species do not dwindle over a 10-year cycle.

So says the Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust (PRCT), which last spring began campaigning to get farmers to get busy on pasture renewal.

“Pasture renewal offers a great return on invest-ment at a time when pastoral farmers are under pres-sure,” says PRCT project manager Tim Wood. “The weaker pay-out for dairy farmers this season has seen a refocus on the importance of pasture.”

The message is getting through, Wood says, as evi-denced by the 2014 Dairy NZ Economic Survey show-ing that dairy farmers spent on average only $17/ha on regrassing in 2004-05 – rising to $73/ha in 2013-14.

“Even taking inflation into account, this is more than a doubling of regrassing spending over eight years.”

And the 2015 ANZ Business Barometer showed that 67% of red meat farmers spending money on their busi-nesses are forking out on pasture renovation or forage crops.

ANZ quotes a recent red meat case study showing a 35% return from spending on fencing, water, fertil-iser and pasture renovation. The top three choices were pasture, fencing and fertiliser. In the dairy sector 55% were planning to renovate pasture or plant more area in crop.

And pasture seed sales are up, says the New Zea-land Plant Breeders Association: 2009-2014 pasture seed sales rose by 17%. “Although this has levelled off recently; it shows farmers are recognising the benefits of regrassing,” Woods adds.

Wood says PRCT is asking farmers to do something about the difference in the pastures of their best-per-forming and lowest producing paddocks. This typically could be 100%.

Sales reps who regularly visit farmers are being prompted to ask how this difference can be addressed in a planned way, Woods says. “The 10% goal gives reps a lead in to conversations about pasture renewal and how it benefits farming.”

PRCT will reprint a pasture condition score guide – folded to pocket size and waterproofed – for farmers to use in the paddock to assess pasture quality. The guide advises on preferred action and gives ten tips for pas-ture renewal success.

Needlegrass gains groundTHE INVASIVE pest Chil-ean needlegrass was dis-covered on the edges of Christchurch, in West Melton, late last year.

This discovery is the furthest south the prickly pest has been found. All the other sites in Canter-bury have been much fur-ther north in the Hurunui district.

Environment Canterbury biosecurity advisor Laurence Smith says the farmer identified Chilean needlegrass after reading an article urging a watch for the seeding plants.

It was the first new dis-covery of Chilean needle-grass in Canterbury for two years.

Chilean needlegrass seed can lie dormant in

the ground for about 10 years so the lag stage between seed move-ment and establishment requires constant vigi-lance, Smith says.

“Chilean needlegrass can reduce stock car-rying capacity, income and, potentially, property values.”

The seed heads stand out as reddish purple-flecked and glossy in the

summer, but are indis-tinguishable from other grass, making them hard to identify.

Seeds attach them-selves to people, vehicles and animals and can also be spread in feed and soil. Its sharp tip and twist-ing awn may drill through animals’ pelts and lambs’ eyes, causing suffering and downgrading of car-casses.

RICHARD COSGROVE

A PICTURESQUE 40,000ha Canterbury high country station is for sale for the first time in 91 years.

Mount White Station, the largest Canterbury high station, nestled in the upper Waimakariri Basin, has 31km of river frontage along the Waimakariri, Hawdon, Esk and Poulter rivers. The beautiful Lake Letitia is a focal point of the homestead block.

Near to Arthurs Pass, the station has a famous bridge – a welcome sight for competitors in the Speights Coast to Coast

adventure race. Here the competitors reach the halfway point in the race and start the 67km kayak leg down the Waimakariri River.

First settled in 1873, the property has been in the Turnbull family since 1924 when it was bought by David Clarkson Turnbull.

No direct descendants now live on the farm so the family has decided to sell “and give someone else the opportunity to further develop the prop-erty and take it into a new era,” great-grandson Ben Turnbull says.

Traditionally a Merino

station, it also includes Hereford cattle and deer, and it could be a manuka honey operation or a

tourist location. It is a 30 minute flight from Christchurch airport.

The station stretches from the Puketeraki Range in the southeast, to Arthur’s Pass National Park to the north and west and the Esk Head saddle to the northeast near Hawarden.

The farmland has irri-gated pasture, and large river flats and terraces leading to steeper and

more open hill countryColliers rural and agri-

business national direc-tor Shane O’Brien expects a lot of interest. “We think this will have huge appeal for anyone looking for a large scale farming oper-ation with the X factor, with a rich history and stunning landscapes.”

International tenders close on February 25.

Ecan’s Laurence Smith says needlegrass seed can lie dormant for 10 years.

Iconic station up for saleRICHARD COSGROVE

@rural_news


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MANAGEMENT 21

THE SO-CALLED mother of precision agriculture in New Zealand, Methven’s Roz McKenzie, was instru-mental in getting Spark to install 4G wireless broad-band in rural Canterbury.

McKenzie and her hus-band Craige have champi-oned data driven precision agriculture for years. Their technical approach led them to be recognised as Ballance Farm Envi-ronment Award winners in 2013 for their innova-tion and leadership in the arable industry.

They spoke at the Can-terbury Mayoral Forum about what impacts 4G would have on farming if it went ahead. Dame Mar-garet Bazley, Environment Canterbury chair, singled out their presentation as a defining moment in the digital connectivity task-force’s work.

McKenzie says the five

R’s of precision agriculture – right input, right amount, right place, right time and right manner – are achiev-able with 4G.

“If it’s measurable, you can manage it,” she says. “Variable rate irrigation, distance learning, confer-ence calls, contact with online workshops, sending jobs to spray tractors with GIS mapping of the task.”

McKenzie says farmers used to look at a paddock and knew there were areas that didn’t produce as well as other parts. Now it is possible to analyse them using sensors and use technology to target those specific areas to increase growth.

“Data is a powerful thing; as farmers build up the data from their farm this knowledge will now become a valuable asset,” she explains. “For instance, when the time comes to sell, the data package from your farm

will be valuable to the incoming farmer. Or being able sell the data to sup-pliers or manufacturers of farming equipment so they get empirical feedback of actual use.”

Access to technology will attract people back to the rural sector as it will no longer be seen as only hard manual work – there is a lot more to farming

now. Cross-pollination from across technology areas with app builders, etc, means no one needs to limit their thinking to just the agricultural sector, McKenzie adds.

The McKenzies got into precision agriculture in the 1980s when they were forced to think about every dollar spent on the farm and how to maximise its

effectiveness. They have since developed this into their precision agriculture business Agri-Optics run by their daughter Jemma.

They have done around 15,000ha of electromag-netic mapping of soils during the last three years in the South Island. Now they are poised to take advantage of the change 4G will offer.

Ag champions help get 4G rollout

WHEN IT comes to online entertainment, country-lov-ing folk are much like anyone else: they like to read, play games, Skype family and friends, peruse social networking sites, listen to music and watch the latest movie at home.

For many, the speed and reliability of their internet connection becomes a barrier to favourite online pastimes: it affects them and their families and their workers – and they don’t like it one bit.

Paul O’Hagan runs a 1780ha dairy unit in the Rangitiki District. He gets his internet via Wireless Nation’s satel-lite services and says it’s proven a boon.

“We employ backpackers during busy times, and offer-ing them online services like Skype has meant we’ve had more success recruiting and retaining workers,” O’Hagan says. “They want to be able to talk to their families at home in the evenings.”

A Venture Southland report released in 2015 says the region could be short of up to 12,000 employees in the next 15 years because people are aging and leaving the work-force. The report says better access to high-speed broad-band is a must if Southland is to attract people and avert a massive workforce shortage.

What no one wants is for the Southland example to become a ripple effect to other parts of rural New Zealand. Rural communities need to be able to retain good staff. Given the extent to which the rural economy impacts the whole country, rural employers quite rightly expect access to fast, reliable internet services.

The Government has come a long way in improving rural connectivity under the RBI network, with average internet speeds having tripled during the past seven years, but much more and rapid change is necessary.

If you’re keen to know what broadband services are currently available or planned around the country, check out the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprises useful map: https://broadbandmap.nz . This map details service availability and expected speeds across multiple technologies, including fibre, copper, cable and wireless.

The glaring service omission on this map is satellite – the most reliable internet service of them all.

PENNY HARTILL

INTERNET HELPS RETAIN STAFF

RICHARD COSGROVE

Ros McKenzie – sees big potential for broadband in farming.

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22 MANAGEMENT

Rural Canterbury getting connectedCANTERBURY FARMS are about to become the most technologically capable in New Zealand.

Spark expects by December 2016 to have installed 4G wireless broadband net-work to 96% of where Canterbury works and lives, enabling internet con-nectivity at speeds previously only dreamed of in rural areas.

The ambitious plan was announced by Spark manag-ing director Simon Moutter in Christchurch on December 10. Spark has worked with the Can-terbury Mayoral Forum headed by Dame Margaret Bazley to ensure the needed network upgrades get fast tracking by the councils involved.

Timaru District mayor Damon Odey has led the digital connectivity task force for the Mayoral Forum and has worked with Spark for 12 months. Canterbury is the first province to get the Spark ser-vice, which Mouter says is unlikely to be repeated elsewhere in NZ.

An average house now downloads more data in one day than the whole of NZ used per month in 1990, and there is a growing digital divide between rural and urban NZ. About 32,000 rural homes now have less ultra-fast internet capacity than the Gov-ernment deems desirable.

Spark has chosen to use 4G wireless

because the other alternatives – ADSL and fibre-optic – either need infrastruc-ture that is too expensive or deliver ser-vice that deteriorates with distance from an exchange.

The 4G rural wireless network runs at 40-135 megabits/second; most competitors offer a maximum of only 10 mb/s.

Spark is offering two data plans: a naked broadband connection priced at $95.99 a month for 80GB of data, and a broadband and land-line option at $105.99 per month for 80GB of data and free national calling. The deal includes a wi-fi base station that connects devices to the internet.

This opens the door to precision agri-culture: farmers will be able to download previously unobtainable data and have it transmitted to their smartphones.

It will enable efficient irrigation and no wasted water, and improved farm secu-rity with farmers able to put sensors and cameras on gates to trigger alerts. It will improve farm safety, allowing staff to be contacted or to call for help.

Stuart Gray, Fonterra, says 300 of the co-op’s farmers cannot get email – a huge disadvantage. This will change.

And migrant workers will be able to do their industry qualifications online and stay connected to their families more reli-ably.

Rural broadband benefits on show

RICHARD COSGROVE

ALL BUSINEESES benefit from fast reliable internet and rural broadband can help reduce the effects of isolation on East Coast farming operations.

That message will be explored by two exhibitors at the East Coast Farm-ing with Technology Expo in Wairoa in April.

Experts from Gisborne.net.nz Ltd and Netspeed will be onsite at the two-day expo to demonstrate and promote their for-ward-think-ing rural broadband products.

Kristina Lee from Gisborne.net.nz says rural broadband in the 21st cen-tury delivers a wide range of data ser-vices and farmers should ensure they are using quality, up-to-date systems and connections.

“In addition to the internet and email, broadband enables telemetry, security systems, CCTV cameras and VoIP phones,” she explains. “A sheep and beef operation – like any business

– requires reliable, fast internet for tax, banking, bill processing and communi-cations and marketing.”

Heather Rivett from Netspeed agrees, saying it helps farmers with data capture and analysis, management and financials.

“New Zealand farmers are natural innovators; the internet is a tool in this process,” she adds. “If farmers want to improve their business and improve

the marketing of their products the internet is integral to these goals.”

Rivett believes one of the biggest changes in the sector over the past decade is the RBI

network – a government-led initiative to get broadband-speed internet into rural areas where fibre will never go.

“The target is to get a minimum of 5 megabits/sec download speed to 90% of businesses and homes,” she says.

“With the 4G network being rolled out now, many RBI clients are getting better speeds than their city cousins. Previous options for these areas were dial-up – too slow for most modern software applications to run – and

satellite, which is costly for small amounts of data.”

Lee says reductions in particular costs are a further factor in rural res-idents enjoying a better, more afford-able service.

“Over the last fifteen years, the cost of microwave radio equipment has plummeted, and the bandwidth and performance that microwave radio systems can deliver has increased markedly,” she adds.

“As a result, broadband inter-net services are being delivered by small, efficient independent inter-net providers at much lower cost than before, and fast uncapped broadband is now available to rural users.”

Gisborne.net.nz sees the Wairoa, April expo as an opportunity to share data about their “world class” wire-less systems with potential rural cus-tomers. The company uses a network of microwave radio repeaters and does not rely on cellular or other third party providers.

“Visitors will be able to talk to knowledgeable technical staff about broadband opportunities in their area,” explains Lee.

“We’ll have examples of typi-

cal equipment that customers would expect to be installed at their premises, and possibly examples of solar equip-ment used for repeater installations.”

Netspeed will be offering onsite, interactive demonstrations of how their products can work for individual

East Coast sheep and beef operations. Experts will be able to map a path from any property to give a solid indi-cation of whether an RBI connection can be reached, and will show soft-ware products and video streaming.

The companies agree there will be more speed and more data.

“The ongoing evolution of micro-wave technology will enable the deliv-ery of faster internet while the falling cost of solar power means that broad-band repeaters can be deployed in remote areas where internet service was not previously viable – more con-nected users with faster internet ser-vice,” says Lee.

“When we started, 30GB packages each month suited most people – now 100GB is common,” adds Rivett.

“As people start to use the internet they find more useful and innovative ways to use it. The innovator is the user, we provide them with the tools.”

The East Coast Farming with Tech-nology Expo will be hosted at the Wairoa A & P Society Showgrounds on April 13 and 14.

For more information, including ticket sales and how to register as an exhibitor, visit www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz.

SARAH CHARTERIS

Spark managing director Simon Moutter

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ANIMAL HEALTH 23

Swede cow death findings

DO NOT feed herbicide tolerant (HT) swedes to cows when the animals are in late pregnancy or early lactation.

That’s the advice from DairyNZ following a lengthy investigation into the death of hundreds of dairy cows in Southland and Otago during winter/spring 2014.

Last week DairyNZ’s swede working group (SWG) issued its final report; it cautions farmers against feeding HT swedes in late August/early September.

“This is when many of the known factors (warmer temperatures, new leaf growth, ‘bolting’/stem elongation) that lead to ill-health and potential cow deaths can rapidly combine,” the report says.

The report found that cow illness and deaths were the result of liver damage,

possibly caused by higher levels of certain nitriles; these compounds can be formed as breakdown products following the consumption and digestion of glucosinolates (GSL) found in all brassica species.

There was also evidence of liver damage found in apparently healthy animals grazing swedes in early spring 2014. Information from the affected farms suggested that during this season many cattle had been fed on swede crops that had moved into the ‘reproductive phase’.

The report says there is reliable evidence in scientific literature that this would result in exposure to higher concentrations of GSLs.

“A cross-sectional survey of swede crops in the Southland region aligned with this. In the calving and early lactation period a strong statistical association was found between feeding the HT swede cultivar and illness

or death of animals. “Analysis of GSLs

in swedes found higher concentrations in upper leaves/stems and flowers in samples from HT plants.”

DairyNZ has concluded that all cultivars of swedes have the potential to cause liver damage in cattle when a “multi-factorial situation exists”. These factors include the physiological status of the animal, plant characteristics (i.e maturity/cultivar/physical composition), the effect of climate on plant characteristics and farm management practices.

It says the higher disease

incidence reported during calving and early lactation was strongly associated with increased exposure to swede crops in their ‘reproductive phase’.

“As HT swedes were shown to have higher concentrations of GSLs they exacerbated this risk.

“The air temperatures in the winter and spring of 2014 in Southland and South Otago were generally warmer than the 10 year average. In DairyNZ’s opinion, these weather conditions contributed to swede crops retaining more leaf (which does not normally survive

winter frosts) and the crops being in the ‘reproductive phase’ earlier than normal. “This therefore contributed to the clinical presentation of a known risk associated with feeding brassicas.”

DairyNZ is reiterating the advice it gave farmers 15 months ago; aligned with managing the levels of GSLs consumed in the diet, particularly when swede plants begin the reproductive growth phase and GSL concentrations are expected to increase.

It also advised farmers not to feed swede crops in their reproductive growth phase.

“This is recognisable when the swede’s stem elongates, new growth appears and the swede plant develops flowers and a seed head (referred to as ‘bolting’).

“In autumn, before the first frosts, be cautious when grazing animals on swede crops as they might eat more leaves than bulbs as the bulbs are hard and difficult to eat,” it says.

At any time during the season, farmers are asked to be cautious when grazing animals on swede crops with a high leaf-to-bulb ratio, as cows may preferentially graze leaf.

Observe the physical characteristics of the crop being fed, monitor the health of cows and adjust their feed management if incidences of ill-health are observed.

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

COW SYMPTOMS TO WATCH FOR kk�� Weight-loss and ill-thriftkk�� Poor crop utilisation – leaving crop behind

especially the bulbkk�� Cows not putting on condition despite

adequate crop allocationkk�� Signs of photosensitivitykk�� One or two cow deaths.

DAIRY TALKS ON PROFITABILITY

DAIRY FARMERS are invited to Ashburton in late February to attend a ‘profitable dairy farming’ conference.

Organised by the New Zealand Associa-tion of Ruminant Nutritionists, the confer-ence will address issues such as nutrition, farm management and profitability.

Conference convenor Wendy Morgan says the Feb 24 event will be similar to a North Island event held in 2015. The South Island conference will meet demand for knowledge and awareness in dairy nutrition and feeding.

“Speakers include some of the most experienced nutritionists in NZ, covering aspects of grazing, feed intake, feeds, feed-ing and efficient utilisation to optimise per-formance.”

The programme includes: how to get cows to eat more (Charlotte Westwood); diurnal grazing pattern: its understanding and stra-tegic management (Pablo Gregorini); how to get the best value out of forages (Jakob Kleinmans); ensuring your silage is fit for purpose (Trish Lewis); growing great cows: rearing heifers from weaning to calving (Nat-alie Chrystal); condition management – how does it help fertility (Nigel Meads); nutri-tion and management of close-up dry cows – taking good care of our springers (Andrea Murphy); and feeding supplements and prac-tical feed balancing (Julian Waters).

“Farmers are welcome to register via the form on the website – www.nzarn.org.nz – and/or can contact Morgan directly at: [email protected]. The cost for the day is $100 +GST, including morning and after-noon tea and lunch.

The New Zealand Association of Rumi-nant Nutritionists has members in a diverse range of businesses – advisors, and research and extension services in the NZ livestock industry.

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24 ANIMAL HEALTH

FARMERS ARE being encouraged to consider the risk of facial eczema (FE) in the coming months as weather con-ditions point to a ‘bad’ season with dry condi-tions looming.

“Plan for the worst and have a robust FE preven-tative plan that pro-tects animals from this insidious dis-ease,” says Andrew Oakley, technical manager of Agri-trade, the supplier of the Time Capsule zinc bolus.

He says rain after warm drought con-ditions and a short-age of pasture brings conditions ripe for spore counts to soar.

“The most favourable condition for the growth of spores causing FE is rain following long periods of dry. Dead pasture material at the base of the sward is

the medium on which Pithomyces spores grow and warm ground temperatures (>12°C) following rain are perfect for rapid spore growth,” Oakley says.

“As the pastures dis-appear with drought FE risk increases as animals

are forced to graze lower into the litter where the spores reside. It’s critical that farmers continuously monitor, using either pas-ture or faecal testing, to determine when preven-tative action is necessary to ensure animals are ade-

quately protected.”Oakley says March

and April are often the peak months for FE spore counts but high counts can happen in January or even earlier. “But animals need not be at risk…. FE is preventable with a sound management plan.”

Sheep farmers espe-cially should take note; often the breeding season coincides with peak spore counts. “Many ewe losses can be attributed to liver damage caused by FE and ewes exposed to even a moderate FE challenge

can show a delayed onset of oestrus, a decreased numbers of oestruses and a reduced lambing per-centage.”

Oakley says spore test-ing is easy to do and is available from most vet-erinarians and takes the guesswork out of the

equation. He advises to use district spore counts as a guide only as they are not applicable to individ-ual properties.

While no one method is 100% effective against FE, he says the Agri-trade Time Capsule zinc bolus has been a reliable preventa-

tive option for sheep and cattle for 20 years.

“By the time FE becomes visible, the damage to the liver has already occurred. Preven-tion is the cure.”

Plan to head off FE

PRAISE FOR 1080 ARRESTANIMAL CONTROL Products (ACP), the state-owned enterprise that imports 1080 and manufactures 1080 bait products for animal pest destruction, has congratulated the police on bringing the offender to book.

A man was last year arrested and charged over his threat to contaminate infant formula with 1080 poison.

Chief executive William McCook said ACP was pleased to have assisted the police with their

investigation, in particular with some of the technical and historical aspects of their investigation.

He said the police had done an exemplary job in tracking down and bringing the blackmailer to justice, and that the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) approach to protecting consumers and ensuring infant formula was safe was well-coordinated.

“They have brought to justice the perpetrator of a crime that has cost the country millions of dollars

and had the potential to cause huge damage to our export dairy industry and to our ability to protect our environment from pests,” McCook said.

He said 1080 remains our most important means of large-scale pest destruction, and it is a closely monitored hazardous substance.

“The public can be confident the manufacture and use of 1080 in pest [destruction] are subject to rigorous, world-class health and safety precautions.”

“Many ewe losses can be attributed to liver damage caused by FE and ewes exposed to even a moderate FE challenge can show a delayed onset of oestrus, a decreased numbers of oestruses and a reduced lambing percentage.”

NO FLIESON CYREX or maggots...

or lice

CyNF Oct14

@rural_news



ANIMAL HEALTH 25RURAL NEWS // JANUARY 19, 2016

24 ANIMAL HEALTHThe dos and don’ts of buying a dogOFTEN PEOPLE are lost for words when they ring about a dog for sale, so here is a checklist I have compiled to help you before you set foot in the ute to drive off on a wild goose chase.

Q Was the pup or dog a planned birth or an accident? Sometimes accidents turn out well, but I’d rather see litters conceived after much thought has been given to parents, grandpar-ents and the resulting offspring. Ask about the parents,

grandparents and related siblings: were they good working dogs?

Q How long have you had the dog? Is the person a dog dealer making a living from trading or someone with a sur-plus dog?

Q Why are they selling it; are they giving up farm-ing, too many dogs, etc?

Q Does the dog work stock alone? Beware of dogs that will only work alongside another.

Q How does it get on with other dogs? You don’t want to introduce an aggressive dog into your team.

Q How is it with people? There is a difference between wary and scared.

Q Ask about its nature: is it hard, soft, timid, boisterous; does it take work seriously?

Q How is it with other animals? Do you want horses chased, chick-ens plucked, etc?

Q Did you train it? It is often handy to know how a dog was trained; I’m never afraid to give a dog a refresher lesson if it gets a bit slack on something.

Q What sort of stock is the dog used to work-ing? Some dogs will work anything well, others are a bit more particular: perhaps they have only ever worked one type of stock; maybe they’ve had a bad experience with something.Does it work for voice

or whistle? Anyone can speak to a dog but a lot of people can’t whistle.

What sort of terrain is it suited to? Some dogs

need hills to let off steam; others are more suited to easy country.

Q How is he after a week or two off? Some dogs don’t change and others will have you ripping your hair out.

Q Has the dog had any injuries or illness? Some things can restrict a dogs working ability.

Q Are its vaccinations up to date? Don’t take home an unvaccinated dog; Parvo is invisible and lives in the ground for years – it can be deadly.

Q How much distance does the dog have? Some dogs are happy close at hand but won’t venture further afield.

Q How well does it take its commands? If it is learning don’t expect much, if they claim it is a mainstay it shouldn’t need commands con-tinually repeated.Ask to view a clear

close-up photo showing the complete dog side on. Look how the dog stands and its conformation: does it look strong, well built with no apparent weakness – working dogs lead a hard physical life.

Ask other questions relevant to what you are looking for. Vital: “what are its bad or annoying habits”? Be wary if you are told of none, it is a rare dog that is perfect.

Weigh everything up. Does the person sound genuine, does the dog sound genuine? Beware if the seller sounds vague. Will it suit you and what you do? If every-thing sounds good view it promptly; good dogs are snapped up quickly.

Important: make sure you get a good demonstra-tion with the dog doing everything you have been told it does; note the rela-tionship between the seller and dog.

Lastly, don’t expect a guarantee (I’ve covered this in a previous column)

A good example of a conformation photo.

but do expect to be able to phone the seller if you are having problems.

ACVM No: A10119 ®Registered trademark. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.coopersonline.co.nz NZ/CVG/1115/0002

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26 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Two into one will goTHE TOW and Fert product range from Metalform takes a different approach to crop management by applying soluble or insoluble fertilisers either as a spray or fine particle

blend – rather than in a coarse particle form when applied as a solid.

Neither of these pro-cesses is easy to do with a conventional sprayer and tends to fall into the ‘too hard’ basket.

However, Tow and Fert uses a mixing tank that uses a powerful agi-

tation system which can accommodate one part water and three parts fine particle fertiliser. The boom assembly also dif-fers in that it incorporates a unique re-circulation system that operates con-tinuously irrespective of whether application is taking place.

The system has the ability to deal with blends – of perhaps fertiliser and trace elements – with a resultant decrease in the number of passes required during the grow-ing season which saves time, money and ground compaction.

The set-up is able

to handle water soluble products, insoluble materials which are mixed to a slurry-like consistency, any liquid fertilisers and biologically active products such as compost teas.

A range of link-age mounted or trailed machines 1000-4000L capacity combine with booms 8-24m to cover all farm sizes. It also offers coverage per load from 8-40ha, depending on application rates.

Options such as hydraulic or petrol engine drives and specialised wheel equipment is fur-ther enhanced by hydrau-lic lifting cranes and task specific nozzles.www.towandfarm.com

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

THE HOPKINS Farming Group (HFG) in Manawatu has used a Tow and Fert system to cover 1000ha over six separate farm units.

Applications costs have been calculated at around $15/ha for applying a mix of urea and Progib in one pass.

This contrasts with previous spray contractor applications which could only apply one product at a time at $30/ha.

The saving of $15,000 over the 1000ha will mean the Tow and Fert machine will give a 100% payback against capital cost ($30,000) in no more than six months, then save lots from then on.

The HFG set-up uses the modular components of the Tow and Fert system to create a front and rear mounted layout with tanks offering a total capacity of 2500L – able to cover 100ha plus per day. Product combinations are applied to save tractor hours and reduce running costs.

PAYBACK IN 6 MONTHS

Call in & see us | 73 Preston Street | Invercargill Phone: 03 215 8558

Email: [email protected] Visit our website www.hecton.co.nz

for a full list of products

SHEEP HANDLER AND LEAD UP RACE

WEIGHT CRATE

those in the next two rows are not forgotten, with each area getting its own heater controls, and seats installed the-atre style so everyone gets to see the view. As you’d

expect when the second- and third-row seats are laid flat the load space resembles an aircraft car-rier, so it’s easy to take the kitchen sink with you on a weekend away. And of

course the automated rear door: hit the button she’s up, press it again she’s down, so great when you have an armful of kids, dogs or shopping. As you’d expect the list of options is vast, so the car can be blinged to your

heart’s content.So it’s unmis-

takably a

Volvo: rugged good looks, Hammer of Thor LED headlights with adap-tive beams, combined with a fit and finish that will have the other luxury brands worried. Where to next? I’m just making a bit more room in the garage, then I’m going to give the nice man from Volvo a call.www.volvocars.co.nz


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 27

Volvo’s SUV impresses reviewer

THE MAN from Volvo NZ said “would you like to review or XC 90?”, and after driving one for a week the review is pretty straightforward….I want one.

The original XC90 sold in large numbers for Volvo, no doubt for its safety features, true seven seat capability and its rugged macho looks. With the second generation XC 90 already creating a wait-ing list for the buyers, it’s interesting to see what’s changed – and that’s just about everything.

Main changes centre about Volvo’s ‘scalable chassis design’, which form part of the $11 bil-

lion dollar engineering investment that allows future modifications in all dimensions from wheel-base to front and rear overhangs, being built around the same plat-form. Two key points of the re-design are strength and stiffness which have an influence on handling, particularly on large boxy vehicles like this one.

Another big change is repositioned front and rear suspension elements. This creates much more internal space and takes this vehicle fairly and squarely into the luxury SUV market against the likes of BMW, Audi, Mer-cedes and Range Rover.

Out on the road the XC 90 seems to keep its manners well, and even a spirited drive across coun-try roads with poor edges and adverse cambers did little to move the car off its intended line, with the body exhibiting very little roll, and permanent 4WD appearing to straighten

out corners. Tweaking of adjustable features like steering weight, throttle response or changing to the dynamic driving mode are there if you want, but this driver just liked the way it seemed to eat up the miles in a relaxed manner and without any drama

This ride was fitted with the D5, 4-cylinder diesel engine that pumps out 225hp and a lusty 470Nm of torque, which combines with a superbly engineered 8-speed auto transmission that returns around 8.6L/100km, and keeps engines revs nice and low. In dynamic mode engine revs rise to portray a more sporty feel, but the calmness starts to disap-pear and things get a little

noisier.But it’s the cabin that

makes this vehicle the standout from the rest of the crowd. Big doors with keyless entry make for easy access into seats that can be adjusted to accom-modate all sizes. Sup-port is firm and extremely comfortable with high quality hide on the seats. Electrically adjustable seat pads can be extended for those a little longer in the leg, and com-bined with lumbar sup-port means you can get the position just right, not nearly right. The start knob on the centre arm-rest console works as one would expect, and once everything lights up ahead of the driver it is clear, concise and easy to understand. A nice touch on moving off sees the two main roundels moving away to their lat-eral extremities, and the navigation pane appears centre screen.

In the centre console

vehicle control and set-up is taken care of by the new Sensus control panel that uses a touch screen format to move through all key features from auto engine stop, hill descent, parking assist into and out of spaces, and also creature comforts such as that Volvo trademark of seat heat-ing, dual zone cli-mate control and a host of other functions.

As part of the pack-age, and synon-ymous with Volvo

– who let’s remember gave the world seatbelts as far back as 1959 – is a raft of safety features. The Intellisafe system gives road sign information on the driver’s screen, a lane departure warning that shows on the screen and gently vibrates the steer-ing wheel to warn the driver and an adaptive cruise function that sets speed, monitors inter-vehicle distance and gives a warning if a collision is imminent. The latter was superbly demonstrated on a drive to Auckland when a vehicle in front decided to take the off ramp at Pokeno, no doubt for an ice cream. Then said driver decided to abandon the plan and cut back across the median strip into the northerly flow. It’s safe to say that the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and brakes automatically cut in until the danger was clear.

Whilst the driver is certainly looked after,

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

The Volvo XC90’s dash includes a Sensus control panel which uses touchscreen technology.

TOW AND FARMby metalform

TF

Call us for your FREE demo now:

WWW.TOWANDFARM.CO.NZ0508 747 040

TOW AND FERT DOES THEJOB OF 3+ MACHINES:- ATV Duster- Boom Sprayer - Fert Spreader - Seed Broadcaster

ONE INSTEADOF THREE!

The Tow and Fert is a versatile machine that can dissolve urea in cold water combined with lime flour, gibberellic acid and selective weed spray in one pass. Easily oversow pastures with chicory, plantain, turnip or clover seed at the same time as your fert application. All of this fert application can be done at speeds of up to 3 minutes per hectare.

High output, low maintenance still focus


28 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Upgrade for SteigerTRACTOR MANUFACTURERS are gear-ing up for 2016.

Key supplier Case IH has announced improvements to the Steiger prime mover that it says are aimed at improving perfor-mance and operator comfort, while help-ing bottom line results.

A major change for the season is an upgrade to the transmission that shifts between speeds 20% quicker, so main-taining traction and conserving power by up to 5%. And improvements to the power shuttle system has reduced reaction time by 38% while maintaining a smooth for-ward/reverse transition.

To help operators get the best from the machine, factory-fitted lighting pack-ages make extensive use of LED’s that turn night-time running into daytime with improved visibility. New split image, wide rear-view mirrors improve sight lines around the machine.

Other improvements are in the steer-ing system and automation of the diff lock engagement.

On the guidance front, an automatic line acquisition option sees the tractor achieve precise end-of-rows turns with less overlap.www.caseih.co.nz

JAPANESE TRACTOR MAKER EXPANDINGKUBOTA, WELL known for its smaller lifestyle tractors and agricultural units up to 100hp, a year ago said it would start making a range of higher powered models.

Hence the recent opening of its new factory at Dunkerque, France, not far from the Channel Tunnel, chosen for its proximity to ports and a cheery wel-come by the local authority keen to encourage new jobs.

The 115,000 sq m factory will pro-duce the new M7 series tractors from 130-170hp with 4-cyl engines and ZF-sourced transmissions.

Early production will be for the European and North American mar-kets, then other destinations as produc-tion ramps up. Small scale production started in April; volumes will rise to 3000 units per year by 2017.

Considered a small player in the over 60hp market, Kubota’s annual turnover of Euro 11 billion surpasses that of US giant Agco.

About 45% of sales are in the home market of Japan, but this ratio is reduc-ing as plans for Europe and North Amer-ica bear fruit.www.kubota.co.nz

CASE IH started the trend towards rotor separation with the Axial Flow com-bine harvesters as far back as

1977. Over the years, the

company has developed a machine that has high output, low maintenance and is easy to operate. Updates to the 240 series for the coming season will see a number of improve-ments aimed at perfor-

mance, productivity and profitability.

The three model range comprises the 7240, 8240 and 9240 delivering 498, 571 and 634hp respec-tively, via FPT

engines that do not require AD-Blue or any EGR to meet emission requirements in New Zealand. The power increase over the previous season should see longer, more productive days and is further supported by

larger fuel tanks.

Up in the cabin the operator is supplied with a new multi-

function control lever, which takes care of header, rotor, clean-ing and residue functions and the drivetrain. That same driver now sits in front of grain tanks that

have increased to 14,400L on the largest machines, and also sees a range of modifications to the clean grain auger to promote even filling and

dura-bility.

Getting the clean grain away from the harvester into trucks or

trail-ers is not

overlooked either, with a 10.4m folding unloading auger that also features a

pivoting unloading spout for accurate load placement.

Finally at the rear of the

machine, rede-sign of the straw chopper see a reduction to 24 blades from the previous 28, which

is said to give better chop quality, sees

improvements in the transition from chopping to non-chopping, and increased durability from the incorporation of new cast mounting lugs for the chopper blades.www.caseih.co.nz

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

For more information call 0800 487 853 or visit www.hustlerequipment.co.nz

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DESIGNED TO clear large areas quickly by producing dense, well-formed bales, the MF 2200 series balers look likely to move up a notch with the introduction of the maker’s Pro-Cut option.

This will help deliver a finer, more uniform chop length, resulting in denser bales, AGCO says.

From the pick-up, quad augers pro-vide a con-stant feed to the 650mm diameter Pro-Cut rotor, which spins at 120rpm and utilises 26mm wide fingers laid out in a spiral ‘v’ formation to deliver crop to the knife system.

Rotor fingers are a three-piece design, with each finger clamp- ing around a central tube and secured by bolts, offering quick replace-ment of any damaged items in the event of a foreign object being ingested.

The chopping knives are mounted in two banks fitted in a hydraulic drop-down magazine which can be easily rolled out to the nearside of the machine for any maintenance or repairs.

With a knife spacing of 43.5mm, the 80cm chamber carries 17 knives, while the 120cm version

uses 26 and offers a fine

consistent chop. Each 4mm knife has a new ser-

rated edge design said to increase intervals between sharpening and reduce overall power consump-tion.

Each bank of knives has individ-ual hydraulic control, which allows engagement or disengagement of

the chopping

function and the abil-

ity to change chop length. A hydraulic accumu-

lator system guards against foreign objects: it allows

knives to fold back if an object is encountered.

The system is ISOBUS compatible and utilises the MF

C1000 terminal.With increased densities comes

an increased loading, so the drive-line is upgraded with bigger gears, higher load bearings with heat resistant seals and a slip clutch assembly that transmits 35% more torque.www.masseyferguson.com.au


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 29

Large, square balers go a cut above

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

0800 476 868 [email protected]

www.kinghitter.com

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Combining the functions of both fixed and variable chambers, the semi-variable chamber is a unique system on the world market. Relying on the new NovoGrip system, the design combines quiet running with high baling pressure. Comprima F 155 XC features the X-Cut rotor cutter.


30 RURAL TRADER

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Download - Rural News 19 January 2016

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