rural news 17 november 2015

RURALNEWS

ANIMAL HEALTHUnlocking the feeding secrets of sheep. PAGE 32

MACHINERYFourth generation contractors add new precision planter to their fleet. PAGE 37

MANAGEMENTYoung Southdown stud breeder’s

success story.PAGE 28

TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

NOVEMBER 17, 2015: ISSUE 596 www.ruralnews.co.nz

One of the emerging leaders at the recent KPMG forum on leadership in the agribusiness sector was Mark Julian, in charge of Landcorp’s dairy farming operations and responsible for 59 farms that collectively produce 20 million kgMS annually. Julian (34) has a bachelor of applied science degree with a major in agriculture from Massey University, and he did a postgraduate year studying dairy production and farm management. After leaving university he worked as consulting officer for DairyNZ then joined Landcorp six years ago as a business manager in Wellington. In 2013 he was chosen as young business executive of the year. Julian was raised on a dairy farm, at Okato, Taranaki. More on the KPMG leadership report page 3

Has AgResearch got it right?A FORMER director of AgResearch, Dr Jock Allison, remains unconvinced about the validity of the AgResearch strategy that has driven changes in per-sonnel.

This is despite assurances by the current chief executive Tom Richard-son that despite making 78 scientists and technicians redundant at the CRI research on key projects related to the dairy industry will continue and in many cases increase.

AgResearch has cut 78 positions but is planning to employ 27 new staff in dif-ferent areas.

Allison questions why AgResearch is starting to get involved in the food sector when Massey and Otago uni-versities are involved, as is Fonterra which, he says, has 500 staff involved in this work.

“They are getting big in Maori agri-business. Well what’s different about Maori agribusiness? Certainly there’re opportunities on Maori land, but that’s a farm advisor’s role; you don’t need more science for that, so that is a ficti-tious reason,” Allison claims.

“Then they are getting into areas of farm systems and that again is essen-tially a farm advisor’s job.”

Allison says it seems AgResearch

PETER BURKE

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and the science funding people are dis-covering the farm extension business, which he claims he did years ago.

The former AgResearch boss believes there is nowadays very little interaction between scientists, farm-ers and news media. He says whenever a breakthrough is announced farmers and others seeking more information mostly get put through to ‘head office’, not to the scientist who did the work.

However, Richardson says sci-ence relating to dairy food research is growing and there new people will be employed.

“As well, there is a lot more focus on farm systems and on forages,” he told Rural News. “But the main area of growth is in dairy food companies look-ing to extract extra value from their products, including the dairy goat and emerging sheep milk sector.”

Richardson says there is more sci-ence the dairy sector wants done, proven by AgResearch’s success in MBIE contestable funding rounds for joint ventures, with the likes of the Miraka dairy company.

He says the feedback AgResearch gets from the industry is that it is doing the science that is wanted. But he con-cedes there is less interest now in some areas because priorities change.

FONTERRA CUPBOARD BARE

EVERYBODY STILL believes Fon-terra still has high stock levels but it doesn’t, says Fonterra chief execu-tive Theo Spierings.

“Everybody thinks of a conspir-acy, that we are hiding a lot of milk powder. We don’t,” Spierings told Rural News.

“If we come to the back end of the season and we get a long dry spell, who’s going to have milk? Then you will have panic in the market when everybody starts demanding prod-uct. The prices will spike up to a level way too high.”

Spierings says Fonterra is keen to inform the market properly.

“Everyone thinks New Zealand is playing hide and seek – that we have a whole lot of milk. We don’t.”

He says the large quantities taken off the GDT were sold through other channels.

“We are over 50% contracted and up to 80% contracted and commit-ted for the season. And we’re only three months into the season,” says Spierings.

Fonterra knows milk volume is down: production to date is 4-5% down and that is without a signif-icant weather event, which could occur at the end of the season if the predicted El Nino eventuates this summer.

• More page 5

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RURAL NEWS // NOVEMBER 17, 2015

NEWS 3

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ISSUE 596www.ruralnews.co.nz

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Rain no showstopper!A cold start to the Canterbury A&P Show didn’t deter another huge turnout. About 100,000 people packed Christchurch’s Agriculture Park for the three-day event last week. President Nicky Hutchinson predicted the drought might deter farmers from attending, but exhibitor numbers were similar to last year and some categories were higher. The City Farmyard (pictured above) was the most popular attraction. More from the show next issue.

Time for change!A PLEA has been made for big change in the management style of leaders in the NZ primary sector.

It comes from a group of 60 pri-mary-sector ‘emerging’ leaders who spent a day at a KPMG workshop map-ping the future. They want their bosses to take them more seriously, involve them more in decisionmaking and col-laborate both within their organisations and outside them with competitors, customers and stakeholders.

They say unless this happens, many may think about moving to where they can get greater career satisfaction.

The group represented a wide swath of the primary sector – private company executives, scientists, academics and government managers all seen by their employers as future leaders.

A report on the day highlighted the difference in thinking between the young leaders and their bosses who, in the past, have contributed to KPMG’s annual Agribusiness Agenda document.

Both groups ranked as top priority New Zealand’s maintenance of a world-class biosecurity system – but there the commonality stopped. The emerging leaders are much more customer-cen-tric and they strongly emphasise the need to innovate to provide products tailored to the needs of NZ customers.

They envisaged as a key 20-year trend the positioning of food as affect-ing health, and they saw a need to focus on what consumers will pay for those health benefits. They discussed the need for new, flexible food processing systems and for setting up a NZ-owned distribution hub. And they called for NZ to increase its R&D spend.

KPMG’s Julia Jones, a co-author of the report, says a major issue is the

need for meaningful collaboration. She believes there is clearly a difference between the emerging leaders and their bosses on the definition of col-laboration. Most of the emerging lead-ers are under 30 years of age and have been brought up in a schooling system that encourages collaboration and the value of decisionmaking by committee.

Jones says the group insists on the need for immediate change in this aspect of management – including their being heard around the directors’ table. The group sees collaboration as a ‘to do’, not a ‘nice to do’.

On product traceability the group predicts that by 2035 there will have to be a farm certification programme in NZ to protect branded products. The group says by then farmers will be expected to verify their sustainability practices because consumers will want to know how the food was produced and whether its production was caus-ing any damage to the environment.

They demand strong, cohesive

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

branding backed up by positive stories about our foods, farming practices and environment.

The group believes food production systems will change dramatically with food being produced in buildings and in cities. And they predict that by 2035 supermarkets will be obsolete.

Predictably the report has a strong focus on people capability, the need to attract more young people into the primary sector and the raising of aware-ness process at an early age. They com-ment on the widening the skill base needed in the agri sector and utilising people with non-traditional agri skills.

MOST OF the talk at the emerg-ing leaders’ workshop was positive, says KPMG’s Julia Jones – except for huge concern voiced about the state of the red meat industry.

One contributor to the report suggested hiring a marriage guidance counsellor to sort out the dishar-mony in the sector.

“Their perception of the red meat industry is that everyone hates each other within it. They are fighting the battles of yesterday, which nobody can really remember what that was

about and are not relevant anyway to young people,” Jones says.

“They are saying the present custodians of the industry are not making it good for young people and that potentially it is worse now than ever before.”

Jones says stories were told of companies fighting against each other in markets and driving the price down for everyone.

“Basically [the report respon-dents] see the industry as being run by a bunch of guys who would rather

sell their souls than work with each other.”

Jones says it was disappointing to see the red meat industry’s lack of interest and commitment to the seminar. One director even que-ried the cost of sending someone to Auckland for a day to participate in the workshop.

Jones says there is a huge talent pool in the industry, but if these people are not treated in a way they think they should be they will go elsewhere.

Meat industry cops flak


4 NEWS

No fear of job exportsIN THE short time Silver Fern Farms (SFF) has so far spent with its soon-to-be joint partner Shanghai Maling, the Chinese firm has begun ordering product made and packaged in New Zealand for sending shelf-ready to China.

SFF chief executive Dean Hamilton told a recent China Business Summit that Shanghai Maling’s investment of $360m in Silver Fern Farms (subject to Overseas Investment Office approval) in return for 50% ownership is a game-changer in a

complex market.“The growing middle

class, if they can afford it, will buy imported safe food,” he says.

“We aren’t about to build a plant in Uruguay or China; they want this product 100% made in NZ. This is a tremendous outcome of this investment in terms of economic development and employment falling into [the NZ] market.

“We’re excited that retail-ready [product] packaged in this market will be a significant growth area for us.”

Hamilton says Shanghai Maling can bring some real value to the company on several

fronts, including access to an inland customer clearance business, which allows them to bypass the port clearance system; and the company knows how to handle chilled product and understands the supply chain.

“Between themselves and Bright they have over 6000 supermarkets. So in trying to get product into a complex part of the end market, there is opportunity to leverage those supermarkets to put us in a unique position.”

“They have a direct-to-home business operating now,” Hamilton concluded.– See Editorial pg 24.

THE HUMBLE hotpot has been the catalyst for phenomenal growth of the red meat market in China, Silver Fern Farms (SFF) chief executive Dean Hamilton says.

In fact, most of SFF’s red meat export growth has been based on the dish in restaurant chains.

During 15 years of exporting to China it had been slow growth. Primarily one or two relatively cheap lamb products went into the hotpot business in a north-

eastern region.But business with China has

grown phenomenally in the last five years from $50 million to $330m annually, Hamilton says. A big contributor has been hotpots’ rising popularity nationwide via restaurant chains offering everything from relatively cheap dishes to silver service.

Variations on the dish have expanded to include mutton and beef.

Four things have happened during these five years of phenomenal growth, says Hamilton.

The lamb business has hugely diversified: two products that were 85% of the lamb the company sold to China now account for 40%.

They have moved into mutton and beef. The beef business has gone from $3m of sales five years ago to $160m in the 12 months just ended.

“You can see the phenomenal growth we are experiencing, such that we are selling more beef than sheepmeat,” he says.

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NEWS 5

High prices in China not good for NZFonterra chief executive says the co-op will move to bring down consumer prices in China if no one else acts.

FLAT MARKET NEEDS TO PICK UP

ON-SHELF DAIRY prices for consumers in China are too high so demand is not growing, says Fonter-ra’s chief executive Theo Spierings.

Fonterra will move first to bring consumer prices down if some-one else does not, he told Rural News.

Spierings says Chinese consumers are paying too much and NZ farmers are getting too little.

A can of infant formula costs three times more in China (36 euros equiva-

lent) than in Europe (12 euros).

“Out of the spike of the milk price [last year] the industry priced the products up and kept the prices up there,” he says.

“So I’m not concerned about the strength of China and the economy, but I am concerned about price levels for dairy in general such as retail and food service.

“A whole lot of margin is being made by the trade which in part should go back to the consumer and money should come back to the farmers. The con-sumer is paying too much

and the farmer is getting too little.”

But Spierings warns it will correct itself if prices stay high, with a switch to alternatives such as vege-table oil and soy protein.

“If people lose market share they will react. Dairy is stable but not gaining, and even in some South East Asian markets, with what is happening to the economies, you see declining share.

“People will react; we will react… somebody has to go first.

“The problem in emerging markets is that if your price is at a rela-

tively high level you don’t want to go down alone because that indicates there might be quality issues. The way people behave… they think, ‘that brand is pricing itself down – why is that? Is there an issue?’ ”

Spierings says the dairy industry needs to adapt and get back to volume growth.

“That’s most impor-tant for farmers – demand growth. We need to see

PAM TIPA

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stronger demand growth, but if not the milk price will stay at a low level.

“What you saw with the uplift of GDT was supply – everybody could see supply was restricted: the US and the Europe-ans were going down; but demand is still weak.

“The spike up is supply driven not demand driven, and demand is what you want to see because you get a better milk price.”

Neither does Spier-

ings want any panic in the market, which he says would take the farmgate milk price back to unsus-tainable levels of $8/kgMS.

Part of the problem for the consumer prices was the spike to US$6000/kgMS. That was not healthy either. He believes these should be US$3500-US$4500 – yielding a milk price of $6-$7/kgMS and the rest paid as a dividend.

While they are not

at that stage yet, he says everyone can see the weather pattern.

“I was just in China, Malaysia and Indonesia; Indonesia is super dry: the country is burning, they are closing down airports and schools.

“The El Nino effect is all around the region and if we see an El Nino effect, chances are we will see panic in the market.”

THE HIGH consumer dairy prices in China open up on-line and off-line trading such as uncontrolled parallel importing, says Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings.

“If the price is too high when we go to markets it triggers all sorts of wrong developments,” he says. “All domestic players in China are dropping [in sales] and parallel importing is increasing because of the low price in Europe and the low euro.

“These are all the wrong develop-ments for China and for us.”

Spierings says it is not only the industry, but the governments that need

to act. And the governments in South East Asia and China also need to act on their economies.

Malaysia and Indonesia have nega-tive volume growth and China is flat. “These economies are key markets, they need to pick up.

“The good news is the govern-ments of these countries know that an emerging economy cannot survive for long with flat or negative volume growth. You need to see volume growth in emerging markets.”

Spierings believes these govern-ments will act to stimulate their econo-mies.

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6 NEWS

Winning the innovation race vitalTHE RACE to innovate faster than our competi-tors is one we must win, says Zespri chief execu-tive Lain Jager.

He told the recent kiwifruit innovation sym-posium that doing the things we do today better will not be good enough to keep the industry up with competitors.

It’s no use thinking about the status quo when thinking about the future, Jager says.

“Our competitors will be breeding new cultivars and bringing new varieties to the market. They will devise new production systems and new supply technologies,” Jager says. “We are at real risk of dis-ruption. The choice we must make is between being disrupted by our competitors or disrupting them and I know what I’d

prefer.” Jager says the pace

of change has increased especially in the last 20 years, but now it is accel-erating at an even greater rate.

“Technology is driv-ing change – robotics, new production systems, better pest control and greater computing power.

“That’s positive because there are oppor-tunities inherent in that.

But there are enormous risks, in particular the risk of being disrupted by other industries that come up with new ways of doing things.”

Jager says what is needed is ‘transforma-tional innovation’ which may be outside some peo-ple’s comfort zones. This requires embracing the concept of ‘unbelief ’ and thinking about an inno-vation system completely

different from what exists today.

Worldwide emerg-ing macro trends include more melons and berries are appearing in markets: consumers see these as offering flavour and fruit ‘ready to eat’… they don’t want to take it home and find it is too hard or too soft. They want to be able to take it home and eat it,” Jager explains.

“These macro trends

enable us to gain insights into what’s working and what is meaningful for consumers. And we need to be able to breed vari-

eties of kiwifruit which meet those objectives.”

High quality science is fundamental to the suc-cess of Zespri, Jager says.

Science is a crucial tool in the innovation process and in providing quality data to consumers about products.

PETER BURKE

[email protected] MAORI CO-BRANDINGZESPRI IS now working with Maori on a co-branding exercise, Lain Jager says.

Maori orchards produce about 10% of the national kiwifruit crop and this is expected to increase. Maori are very supportive of the integrated industry structure but are also keen to put their own stamp on the marketing of kiwifruit providing it can link with Zespri’s objectives.

“Maori are telling us that the origin of the fruit, the land, the people and where the fruit comes from is very important to them. They are looking at ways to repre-sent that view in the market and we support working with Maori on co-branding initiatives.”

Zespri is now doing market research to see if such a concept resonates with consumers.

Zespri chief Lain Jager says the NZ kiwifruit industry must innovate faster than competitors to keep ahead.

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NEWS 7

HEALTH BENEFITS OF KIWIFRUIT NEED PUSHINGHEALTH RANKS as one of the top three attributes of kiwifruit says Dr Juliet Ansell, a health and nutrition expert with Zespri.

She says when kiwifruit enter a new market the need is to estab-lish the brand and tell con-sumers about the product. When consumers know about it they quickly latch onto the health properties it offers.

“Our research shows that taste and quality, health and convenience are the top three attributes in almost every market. And though the order will often change in a particular market, health is always there – even in undeveloped markets.”

Ansell, a scientist, says having good science to back up health claims is essential. She won’t give any infor-mation to the Zespri marketing team unless it has scientific backing via peer reviewed studies or accepted health claims.

The challenge for scientists, her

included, is to present that science in a way that is relevant and meaningful to consumers.

“It’s so hard. I’ll explain something that to me is perfectly understandable,

but when my colleagues ask ‘what does that mean?’ I have to think carefully about what I’m saying.”

Ansell believes the means of getting the message across will vary from country to country. In Asia, for example, often a mascot is used as part of the messaging process.

Meanwhile, a NZ health researcher says more needs to be done here to get the message across to consum-

ers about the health benefits of kiwi-fruit.

Professor Margreet Visser says many people in NZ don’t know how good kiwi-fruit is for them and no one has taken responsibility for telling them. “The benefits of kiwifruit are huge. Parents need to be told how good it is for them and their children. And it’s easily avail-able in NZ and cheap.” – Peter Burke

Prof. Marget Visser says many people don’t realise how good kiwifruit is for them.

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Ag exports to hit $100BNEW ZEALAND’S agricultural exports are predicted to grow to $100 billion a year in the next 20 years and will be much more diversified than the current mix.

Speaking last week at an Auckland conference on farming and the future of food, Ian Proudfoot, KPMG’s global leader for agribusiness and food, said such an increase would require raising the compound annual growth rate of agricultural exports from 4.5% to 5.4%, but that would happen only with a ‘cultural shift’ towards more value-add products.

“That has to be driven by organisations aligning their cultures to those of value growth, focusing on intelligence in-market, building better relationships with customers, employing the right people and offering

branded experiences.” Proudfoot says NZ

companies are good at building things such as new powder driers – for which they know the cost and outcome – and must instead take more risks and move into the unknown.

“The biggest constraint is that most organisations are geared to accept lower-risk activity. The right leadership is critical to taking on these opportunities because if we keep doing what we’re doing now, we’re not going to be as successful.”

At least half of NZ’s agricultural exports are dairy and forestry related, Proudfoot said. Future growth will come from new products that can extract a premium from the growing numbers of middle class

consumers.Proudfoot predicts

strong growth in the beef sector which he says will become NZ’s single biggest agricultural export within 20 years due to the middle class’s rising demand for products such as

hormone free and grass-fed steak.

He also predicts a move to dairy liquids rather than the dried powder products due to a lack of water in developing markets and despite declining fluid milk sales in recent years.

Ian Proudfoot


8 NEWSSFF back in the black

Teachers get farm tourFOR THE third year in a row; secondary school teachers from Wellington, Horowhenua and Manawatu will get an opportu-nity in a couple of weeks’ time to see science in action on the farm.

Organised by DairyNZ’s Susan Stokes and Rural News reporter Peter Burke, the day-long tour helps show city students the vari-

ety of exciting, fulfilling and well-paid jobs in agribusiness.

The group of careers advisors, science and commerce teachers will visit a Manawatu dairy farm and Massey University to hear from recent graduates about their careers.

The speakers will include Leander Archer, Massey’s top

agricultural student for 2015, and Massey University chancel-lor Chris Kelly.

Rural News, ANZ, DairyNZ, Massey and Lincoln universities are sponsoring the trip. Rural News has published a booklet about agribusiness careers avail-able to young people.

Rural News Group general

manager Adam Fricker says the teachers’ day is just one initia-tive to promote primary sector careers and he knows of many others.

But he emphasises that bright young city people must be given opportunity to find out about agribusiness careers – hence the big day out.

SHEEPMEAT HAS returned to profit for meat co-op Silver Ferns Farms (SFF).

The welcome news signals this as the first time in four years the meat processor has made a buck out of sheep-meat.

Three species – sheep, beef and venison – contributed to an overall net profit before tax of $27.2 million, up from $1.8m in 2014.

The company’s EBITDA result was $86.9m, a 28% improvement on 2014.

SFF chairman Rob Hewett said “all species made a sig-nificant contribution to the overall improvement”.

“However, whilst this is a significant improvement on 2014, we still have progress to make to achieve a return that reflects the amount of capital we have invested in the busi-ness over the course of a season,” Hewett said.

SFF has been burdened with massive debt in recent years. The issue was a key driver of its decision to join forces with Shanghai Maling.

Interestingly, the co-op was able to slash debt under its own steam. Net debt of $289m at the end of 2014 has been whittled to to $121m – a $168m reduction.

Hewett said this was achieved by “being profitable, reducing inventory, selling non-core assets and winding down the investment in our dairy bull beef scheme”.

“The combination of our improvement and the new [Shanghai Maling $261m] investment will put Silver Fern Farms into not only a position of financial stability but one of strength.”

Chief executive Dean Hamilton said “beef and venison both had good results, and our big focus on turning around the performance of our sheepmeat business is starting to achieve results with a meaningful profit, the first one in four years. More importantly, we see significant scope for continued improvement in all three species.”

The company’s annual report will be released in late November ahead of the annual meeting in Dunedin on December 16.

GREG FORD

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NEWS 9

CHINESE BUSINESS investors are looking for fair play and a consistent message from the Government, business and the community, says ambassador to New Zealand Wang Lutong.

The two countries and businesses have a consensus that investment is beneficial – a win-win situation, he told a Chinese Business Summit in Auckland this week, in answer to questions.

He says Chinese investors are happy with the conditions here, but are looking for that consistent message.

Earlier Lutong said the Chinese economy is undergoing a major transformation from an economy sustained by exports and investment to an economy powered by consumption and innovation.

“The speed of growth is shifting from high to medium-high. The speed might be medium-high to China but is still very high to the rest of the world.

“We are also rebalancing the economy away from heavy industries to the services and reducing state intervention to encourage the market to play a more decisive role.

“Innovation is highlighted as the driving force for China’s economic reforms and growth goals.”

He said reforms will be deepened and new growth released from entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. One example is that internet will be better integrated with traditional industries.

He said commodities trade will remain a core strength of two way trade between NZ and China. But there will be growing and new opportunities for NZ which is also very creative, competitive, open and globally orientated.

“We have a fundamental stake in each others’ success,” he said.

He said there are tremendous business opportunities out there but contracts are not all about business. “We need to reach out, enhance understandings and forge relationships that will go on for many years.

“Sometimes we have to give before we take. We have to give sincerity and thoughtfulness; sometimes we have to show even more trust and respect. Sometimes we have to observe and reflect instead of react. Sometimes we have to change and adapt in order to stay relevant to the changes of China.

“China’s change will be New Zealanders’ moment. I encourage you to keep up the fine work you have been doing and I am confident New Zealand is perfectly placed to seize that moment.”

Chinese investors want a consistant message

THE SIGHT of hundreds of Merino sheep herding through downtown Queenstown is returning with the second annual ‘Running of the Wools’ next Wait-angi weekend, during the 2016 Hilux New Zealand Rural Games.

Organisers have announced a new sheep friendly course and two new events in addition to the main Merino run on Satur-

day February 6. Event manager, Steve Hollander said the new simpler course avoids the twists and turns of the previous one.

About 5000 people lined Queenstown’s streets and crowded balconies to watch the inaugural run last February.

All the sheep running next Waitangi weekend will again be relatives of Shrek, Bendigo Sta-

tion’s world famous Merino that grew the world’s heaviest fleece while evading muster in the Cen-tral Otago high country for sev-eral years.• For further information on the Running of the Wools or the Hilux New Zealand Winter Games visit www.ruralgames.co.nz.The Running of the Wools in

central Queenstown.PHOTO: NECO WIERINGA

Sheep run!

@rural_news


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10 NEWS

‘Silent majority’ urged to vote for revamp

FORMER FONTERRA directors Greg Gent and Colin Armer are banking on the “silent majority” of co-op share-holders in their quest to revamp the board.

Armer, a corporate farmer, and Gent, a respected company director, have put a remit before next week’s annual meeting.

They want shareholders to vote for a reduction in the size of the board, cur-rently 13 directors – nine elected and four appointed.

But Fonterra’s board and the Share-holders Council have rejected the motion.

Gent says shareholders are the only people who own the company’s consti-tution and the only people who have the right to change it. He encouraged those who do not normally vote to do so this time.

He says the Shareholders Coun-cil’s comment that even if sharehold-ers voted in favour of the proposal their vote would not count was at best wrong. “The shareholders’ council

cannot disenfranchise shareholders,” Gent says.

Armer said that shareholders always have the right to change the constitu-tion. “We own it and nobody can take that away from us – not even the share-holders council.

“Things are pretty tough for all of us at the moment. I believe it is imperative we don’t waste any more time on this and that we make a positive change by telling the board to get on with the job.

“Directors don’t like voting them-

selves out of jobs so they are not going to hurry up and do it. That’s why we shareholders are going to have to do it for them.”

Armer says 50% of the company’s shareholders usually do not vote in company affairs; this is the group he is calling on to support to the proposal.

“The silent majority holds the key to this. The board and council have failed to trust their shareholders’ voice on this issue but we believe our fellow shareholders hold the key,” says Armer.

“They just need to make sure they exer-cise their vote in greater numbers.

“Our proposal poses no risk to the cooperative, gets the most important change done quickly, fairly and effi-ciently, and will ensure we get a board that can get on with the job of building our company into a cooperative we can all be proud to be part of.”

They say accountability for the per-formance of the company begins at the top.

“A meaningful reduction in the size of the board will improve board effi-ciency and decisionmaking. A smaller board will give greater clarity to our cooperative’s strategic direction for the future.”

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected] PAY RISE!FONTERRA CHAIRMAN John Wilson will miss out on a pay rise this year if a recommendation is accepted at the co-op’s annual meeting next week.

The remuneration committee recommended Wilson’s and the directors’ fees remain unchanged.

Wilson is paid $405,000 a year, directors get $165,000 and subcom-mittee chairs are eligible for a $31,000 top-up.

Fonterra Shareholders Council members will also miss out on a raise.The chairman’s honorarium will stay the same at $90,900, the deputy

chair will get $55,550 and councilors $30,000.Fonterra’s annual meeting will be held at its Waitoa plant on Wednesday

November 25.

Former Fonterra directors Colin Armer and Greg Gent who are putting up a remit at the co-op’s AGM to revamp its board.

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NEWS 11

Milking machine maker to expand global trade

MILKING TECHNOL-OGY maker Waikato Milk-ing Systems says 70% of its business will be done internationally within the next few years.

Speaking at the open-ing of its $13 million fac-tory in Hamilton this month, WMS chief execu-tive Dean Bell says roughly 40% of New Zealand’s

exports are raw products; only 16% are complex.

“We are helping to turn that ratio around, one rotary system at a time, aiming to double our business over the next few years, and shift from doing roughly 35% of our business internationally, to about 70%.”

Bell says WMS is a global company design-ing, manufacturing and exporting dairy technol-ogy to at least 30 countries from offices in Australia, US and UK, and clients as far away as Russia, Israel and China.

“We lead the world in what we do and we lead it from right here in Waikato.

“We take our values with us wherever in the world we go, and those values are part of what

makes us successful. “When our people

travel the world to install our systems or train our clients, we remind them that they represent the country, our company and themselves... they should never let any of those down.”

Bell says being 100% NZ-owned helps them to believe in people, because one of the values NZ have is that everyone deserves

a fair go. Opening the building,

Prime Minister John Key praised the dairy industry for driving innovation and technology. He says the use of innovation and sci-ence is helping the indus-try succeed.

Key says the size of the NZ dairy industry is often misunderstood overseas.

“When I go out and negotiate free trade deals around the world people often think we are bigger than we actually are,” he says.

“We produce only 3% of the world’s milk; the issue is we are the big-gest exporter because of our small domestic popu-lation. So, we export the bulk of what we produce.”

Key says New Zealand’s dairy industry does this in “a completely unsubsi-

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

dised way” and is still suc-cessful. And part of the reason for this success is what companies like WMS do.

The PM says WMS is driving innovation and

technology and the use of science. “Anyone can milk cows and own big cows; the difficult issue is to get the level of production and productivity we are getting.”

Key praised WMS for developing milking technology and for exporting it around the world. This is crucial to New Zealand’s success, he says.

“When I go out and negotiate free trade deals around the world people often think we are bigger than we actually are.”

– John Key

Waikato Milking Systems chief executive Dean Bell.

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12 NEWSPM John Key claims he does not have political backing to change overseas land ownership rules.

OIO needs more funds – PMTHE OVERSEAS Investment Office needs more resources, but a reform of legislation is not on the cards because of

lack of political support, Prime Minister John Key says.

The Overseas Investment Act and the way the Overseas Investment Office works is not perfect, he told a

Chinese Business Summit in Auckland.

“They are under-resourced in my opinion…. I don’t think they are deliberately trying to do this, but the length of time it is taking to make a decision is far too long.

“The only applications going in are the ones where the legal advice is a very high probability of success. So when people say the office approves nearly everything put in front of it, that’s true, but that’s because it has already gone through a filter process.

“But nevertheless it is far too long.

“The Government’s view is we should raise the costs and fees and the applicants seem happy with that and pour money into the offices which make the decisions.”

Key said if you wanted him to change the Overseas Investment Act, which a lot of people would do, to at least have more clarity, “show me where I can get the [political] numbers from. Only ACT would support us.” United Future, the Maori Party, Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens would not.

He also claims the decision two ministers made to turn down the Shanghai Pengxin bid for Lochinver, which they made without consulting others, was nothing to do with the politics.

The Government has said ‘yes’ to the OIO for a whole range of things such as Shanghai Maling buying into Silver Fern Farms “with a whole bunch of people jumping up and down”, Bright

buying into Synlait and Shanghai Pengxin buying into Crafar farms. He said all of them had a degree of pushback, but not a single one moved the polls.

“I think a lot of people jump up and down and make lots of noise but I don’t think they moved our polls in any way so it is consistent with the Government’s view that we are not going to get rich selling things to each other.”

We will get wealthier and provide more jobs with two-way investment, he said.

“We are not saying ‘no’ because they are Chinese or American or anybody else…. We will say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the merits of the case, on the basis that any decision we make could be judicially reviewed both ways. But it is not about the public not liking it.”

Investment by China into NZ and vice versa is extremely low, Key said. When approval was given to buy the Crafar farms all hell broke loose in the political sense. At that stage they went away and looked at it and there wasn’t a single other farm registered to a Chinese owner in NZ.

“In fact, despite what people might want to argue, there hasn’t been a massive investment in land in NZ from China. There has been a lot from Australia, US, Netherlands, some of the German pension farms and Scandinavia – but not from China.

“Two-way investment really matters and is the next step in bringing our relationship to the next level.”

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

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14 NEWS

Fonterra’s return on capital worries farmer shareholdersFONTERRA’S RETURN on capital sits at the bottom end of the range of returns of other global dairy co-ops, says the Shareholders Council.

In its annual report, the council also questions Fonterra management’s new method of calcu-lating return on capital employed (ROCE).

The council says its analyses ROCE for other

international dairy co-ops and companies when reviewing Fonterra’s per-formance.

Although direct like-for-like comparisons are not available due to the mismatch of report-ing periods, the council’s review found Fonterra’s ROCE under-achieves compared to interna-tional dairy co-ops such as Friesland Campina and Arla, which achieved ROCE of 10.4% and 7.9%.

For the 2015 financial

report Fonterra adopted a new methodology for reporting on the ROCE of the group and its busi-ness units, the council says. The co-op excludes assets that it does not control, for example the $756 million investment to buy 18.8% of Chinese dairy company Being-mate, intangible assets and goodwill.

The co-op justifies this by saying these intangi-ble assets often relate to decisions made by past

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

management teams, the council says.

“The council has dis-

cussed this methodol-ogy and understands the rationale from the

Fonterra’s Pahiatua plant is one site where the co-op spent money on boosting capacity.

THE NUMBER of Fonterra employees each paid over $1 million annually was up 29% to 22 in the 2015 finan-cial year.

The total number of staff paid over $100,000 was up 17% to 3036 from 2590 in 2014.

The Fonterra Shareholders Council annual report says the employee numbers rose 21% to 22,000, up from 18,200 in 2014. The increase mostly reflects the effect of the co-op’s Latin American business, Dairy Partners Americas (DPA), consolidation, the council says.

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management’s perspec-tive, but… farmers regard the standard methodol-ogy – including the per-formance of all capital employed (including equity investments, good-will and intangible assets) – as the more relevant per-formance measure.

“The council, on behalf of farmer shareholders is interested in the total cap-ital invested by the co-op irrespective of whether it was spent on stainless steel or a brand.”

The council’s annual review also touched on Fonterra’s balance sheet and its debt gearing ratio which jumped from 42.3% to 49.7%.

The co-op recorded a

higher net interest-bear-ing debt of $7.2 billion last financial year, including higher advance payments to farmers of about $900 million.

The council says Fon-terra management says this will reverse this season and, with reten-tions from forecast earn-ings, will lead to a lower gearing ratio for 2016.

The higher advanced payment rate is shown by the amount Fonterra owed farmers at the end of July 2015 – about $0.07/kgMS vs $1.10/kgMS at the same time last year.

The council says the higher debt levels are due in part to lower retained earnings.

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NEWS 15

CHINA STILL HUGE!

THE CHINA story and its economy’s consumption is still huge, says Prime Minister John Key.

“People say the growth rate is slow; ok, but when it was growing at 10% it was a $5 trillion economy. It is now a $10 trillion economy conservatively,” he said.

“Even if it is growing at 6.5% or 6% it is still larger than if it was growing in double digits.

“There will always be periods of digestion in different parts of the economy but overall, given the underlying demographics, you just can’t beat those numbers. That economy is very large, fast growing and very determined

to succeed. They want to buy a lot of products from New Zealand so we should ride that wave because it is a wave of prosperity for NZ.”

Asked of the dangers of over-exposure, Key said the Government can’t decree that 40% of our exports will be to China and no more. “It will be what it will be; we can’t stop people doing it and we can’t make people do it.”

But businesses should think about their own balance sheets, portfolios and exposure and any decent board would sit around the boardroom table and stress test these things.

“Over-exposure might help you in an upswing but hurt you massively in a downswing, so you’ve got to manage that.”

PAM TIPA

[email protected]

Kirky’s a MAMIL?

IAN KIRKPATRICK wears Lycra and he’s not afraid to admit he rather likes it.

The thought of the All Black’s legend as a MAMIL (middle-aged man in lycra) might be hard to digest, but he is a devoted cyclist. Wearing bright coloured clothing is one of the occupational hazards.

“It keeps you from getting a sore backside.”

And getting farmers off their backsides is one of Kirkpatrick’s main motivations while he prepares for next year’s Farmstrong Fit4Farming Cycle Tour.

The ride from Waikato to Invercargill is to help highlight the benefits to rural communities of being active.

Kirkpatrick rides about three times a week. He’s done so for several years.

Running became “too hard on the limbs”. And he has always been active, even long after

retiring from rugby, and found cycling was a good compromise.

It wasn’t as hard on his body and was an excellent way to stay healthy.

“Farmers are generally pretty fit because they have a physical job,” he said.

“But shearing and fencing will only get you so fit. Farmers need to be doing a bit of cardio-vascular work too. Going for a run is a great way to get off the farm and a form of exercise, but for us older blokes biking or just walking is good too,” he told Rural News.

“I often see older blokes still running. They are bent over and struggling. I don’t understand that. You’re much better off taking it easy, trying to enjoy your exercise rather than busting your gut. It’s better for you which is what it’s all about.”

Kirkpatrick sold his farm about two years ago. He still lives on the property near Gisborne. But he and his wife will

shortly move into a new house just outside of the city. Kirkpatrick will join the peloton for the first two stages of the cycle tour – a distance of around 300km from Ngatea to New Plymouth.

“I reckon all farmers should look into Farmstrong and take on the simple tips it promotes about getting off the farm and checking in with mates and neighbours,” he says. “I challenge all farmers to get involved with the Farmstrong Challenge and see how many kilometres you and your mates can do.”

Farmstrong ambassador Ian Handcock says Farmstrong has set a collective goal for all farmers and growers.

The challenge is to head to the website and pledge a set number of kilometres you’re willing to exercise – cycling, running, walking or swimming. The goal is to have travelled four million kilometres by June 2016.www.farmstrong.co.nz

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16 NEWS

Trade deals more than buying and selling

PM John Key, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Mengniu Dairy chief Sun Yiping at opening of new Yashili dairy factory.

FREE TRADE agreements mean more than just selling products to one another, says Prime Min-ister John Key.

They also give busi-nesses opportunity to invest in the other coun-try and grow.

Speaking at the open-ing of the $220 million Mengniu Yashili infant formula plant at Pokeno

earlier this month, Key highlighted the two-way investments since the NZ/China FTA was signed.

“What’s important is the FTA is a starting point for having greater access in each other’s markets

but it doesn’t guarantee success,” he says. “It gives you an opportunity to grow and expand.”

Key highlighted Fon-terra’s decision to buy 18.8% of China dairy com-pany Beingmate, a deal

SUDESH KISSUN

[email protected]

worth $700 million. And Chinese companies are pouring money into New Zealand: recently Shang-hai Maling bought 50% stake in Silver Fern Farms.

And now Yashili has made a large invest-ment in the infant for-mula plant. “These are examples of what’s taking place.”

The new plant will make 52,000 tonnes of formula product. The product will be sent to China in cans and 25kg bags.

Yashili is majority owned by China’s largest dairy firm Mengniu Dairy; European dairy giants Arla Foods and Danone are also shareholders.

Key say Yashili knows infant formula is five times more in value added terms than milk powder.

“This plant has a great opportunity to grow and you have picked the right

place for your plant.”Mengniu chief

executive and chairman of Yashili International Holdings Ltd Sun Yiping also attended the opening.

She says Yashili NZ begins a new chapter of Chinese offshore infrastructure development.

“With ever-increasing

levels of urbanisation, and an increase in consumer demand for dairy products, China is the fastest growing dairy market in the world. The Mengniu-Yashili plant is creating an elite team based in NZ to embody a blending of cultures with an international vision and integrated ability,” Yiping says.

Food safety is the main priority: the plant is designed to operate under strict quality controls and testing will be done by AsureQuality.

THE RECENT decision by the Chinese Government to drop the one-child policy is expected to increase demand for infant formula.

Mengniu chief executive Sun Yiping says this is good news for infant formula manufacturers.

Yiping, who also chairs Yashili International, the owner of the $220m factory, says she is a “one-kid mummy” and that this new policy, a “hot topic” in China, is “very good news for Yashili”. “I’m also happy this is the first plant overseas following the release of the new policy.”

The factory, the first built outside China by Yashili, is Mengniu’s first step in its quest for globalisation.

Yiping predicts Yashili will become a brand Chinese mums know is best. “It will help the growth of Chinese babies.”

Mengniu Yashili was happy to choose New Zealand as the first offshore factory site.

“In the last 100 years NZ has built world-class dairy farming and dairy production systems with a repu-tation for safety and purity. It’s an honour delivering 100% NZ product to our consumers in China.”

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18 NEWS

Woolshed goes on walkaboutA UNIQUE mobile ‘woolshed’ has had a royal send-off on a nationwide

journey.Prince Charles, a

UK wool producer in his own right, during his recent visit here, officially launched the

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

‘woolshed project’, aimed at inspiring children aged 11 and 12 about the quality and versatility of wool.

The event, at an intermediate school at Tawa, had a group of students trying out the shed while Prince Charles looked on.

The travelling woolshed is part of an education effort by the Campaign for Wool NZ Trust, headed by Waipukurau wool broker Philippa Wright and funded by PGG Wrightson.

The woolshed is a shipping container brilliantly kitted out with static and interactive displays. Designer Gaylene Hosking says it’s intended to provide a “journey” for children “to explore as they want,” Hosking told Rural News.

“It relies on their curiosity, which is why things are in drawers and behind cupboards, so they can open them and discover whether it’s greasy or carded wool or a product made from wool,” Hosking told Rural News.

“There is a blend of the practical and technology. We wanted them to have a practical experience with wool and engage it in a tactile way, and we also have DVDs in the shed and a link to a website as an ‘in class’ resource.”

Kids can experience wool and feel excited about it and teachers can do a curriculum activity using the website, Hosking says.

“This might involve looking at the science behind whether wool burns or not and comparing it with how other fibres burn. They can look at how wool is used in sporting items, for example all the tennis balls used at Wimbledon are made from wool and the core of a softball contains wool.”

On the day before Prince Charles arrived, Rural News had a preview of the children seeing the woolshed for the first time. They were clearly excited and enthused – opening drawers, playing DVDs and handling wool in all its forms. They were doing a project making an All Blacks supporters’ jersey from wool.

Philippa Wright showed Prince Charles around the shed and says he was delighted at the project and impressed to see the huge number of products on display made from NZ wool.

“He was fascinated to learn that the inside of a softball has wool in it, a 4kg fleece yields enough wool to cover 563 tennis balls and all the Wimbledon tennis balls are covered with NZ wool.”

Wright says they chose to target children aged 11 and 12 because that age group can absorb and retain information and are open to new thinking.

Schools wishing to have the woolshed at their place can book it on the website www.campaignforwool.co.nz

Prince Charles, Campaign for Wool NZ chair Phillipa Wright and children from Tawa Intermediate discover the qualities of wool.

The mobile woolshed set-up at Tawa Intermediate.

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WORLD 19

Aussie politicians unite on China FTA

National Farmers federation president Brent Finlay.

AUSTRALIAN FARMERS are hailing bipartisan sup-port for a free trade deal signed with China.

The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, signed in June, was the subject of a bitter battle between the Government and the opposition Labor Party and unions backing the party.

However, a deal has been reached between the Government and Labor, securing enough votes for the deal to pass both chambers of Parliament.

National Farmers Fed-eration president Brent Finlay is relieved that poli-tics has been put aside in the interests of Australia’s economic future.

“This agreement is a game-changer for Aus-tralian agriculture, and should never have been held to ransom. Common sense has prevailed: there was always too much riding on this agreement for it to be sidelined.

“Ratification will mean Australian farmers and agribusinesses can take advantage of the reduced tariffs on Australian food and fibre products. This presents huge opportuni-ties for Australian farm-ers, boosting economic growth and farmgate returns.”

The NFF has main-tained the position that the China FTA will create more jobs for Australians because of increased food and fibre exports and the positive flow-on effects to rural and regional com-munities.

At the same time, it expressed concern about the potential changes to skilled migration policy which could increase the cost and regulatory burden on Australian farmers.

“We will be look-ing closely at the detail of today’s agreement to assess its likely impact on the sector,” says Finlay.

“Bipartisan support for trade has been a mainstay of the Australian Parlia-ment, an example of this proud tradition and we hope to see this continue for Australian agriculture.

“Farmers are capi-talising on world lead-ing innovation and digital technology to guide them through the next wave of growth. Trade is a cru-cial element to facilitate this investment, connect-ing our food and fibre to a global network of con-sumers.”

Finlay hopes the agree-ment can be ratified by Parliament this year.

Australian Trade Min-ister Andrew Robb Aus-tralia has enjoyed decades of bipartisan support for freer trade and through the agreement reached with Labor this tradition is now set to continue.

“Our discussions with Labor were constructive and held in good faith, and the shadow Minis-ter for Trade and Invest-ment Penny Wong and her staff deserve credit for the work they have done on behalf of the opposition.

“Before the FTA can enter into force, Australia

has to complete its neces-sary domestic processes and this includes the pas-sage of the implementing customs tariff and rules-of-origin bills currently before the Parliament. To ensure this occurs, the Government has agreed to [clarify] key issues raised by the Opposition,” says Robb.

“Crucially, the provi-sions we have agreed with Labor will not change or contravene the binding commitments we have made to China through our concluded FTA nego-tiations. Nor will they discriminate against our biggest trading partner.”

AUSTRALIAN UNIONS feared the trade deal would allow cheap Chinese labour into the Australian market.

However, Andrew Robb says Australians should always have priority in the labour market, overseas workers getting jobs only if suitably qualified local workers were not available.

To assure Labor on its commitment to this prin-ciple the Government has agreed to amend an existing regulation so that employers seeking to sponsor skilled workers on 457 visas under work agreements will have to show they have recently tried to recruit local Australian workers first.

This will apply to all work agreements, including those under the investment facilitation arrangement linked to the FTA. Labour market testing is already a mandatory requirement under current Government policy, as detailed in existing DIBP guidelines.

The Government has also agreed to make minor amendments to guidelines for companies seeking a work agreement. The amendments will incorporate more criteria for the minister to consider in approving work agreements.

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MARKET SNAPSHOT LAMB MARKET TRENDSBEEF MARKET TRENDS


20 MARKETS & TRENDS

Beef & venison prices are reported as gross (before normal levies & charges are deducted). Lamb & mutton prices are reported nett (after levies & charges are deducted).

BEEF PRICES

c/kgCWT Change Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

NI P2 Steer - 300kg -15 5.60 5.75 5.90M2 Bull - 300kg -10 5.40 5.50 6.10P2 Cow - 230kg -10 4.20 4.30 4.80M Cow - 200kg -10 4.20 4.30 4.80

Local Trade - 230kg -10 5.70 5.80 5.70SI P2 Steer - 300kg -15 5.65 5.80 5.30

M2 Bull - 300kg -10 5.20 5.30 5.20P2 Cow - 230kg -10 3.70 3.80 3.80M Cow - 200kg -10 3.60 3.70 3.75

Local Trade - 230kg -10 5.70 5.80 5.10

Slaughter

Export Market DemandChange Last Week 2 Wks

Ago Last Year 5yr Ave

95CL US$/lb -2 2.07 2.09 3.00 2.19NZ$/kg +6 6.91 6.85 8.44 6.01

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks Ago 3 Wks


% Returned NI -2% 79.6% 81.8% 71.08% 77.2%% Returned SI -1% 76.7% 77.4% 60.4% 69.7%

LAMB PRICES

c/kgCWTChange Last

Week2 Wks

AgoLast Year

NI Lamb YM - 13.5kg -15 5.91 6.06 6.61PM - 16.0kg -15 5.93 6.08 6.63PX - 19.0kg -15 5.95 6.10 6.65PH - 22.0kg -15 5.96 6.11 6.66

Mutton MX1 - 21kg -10 3.20 3.30 3.70SI Lamb YM - 13.5kg -10 5.73 5.83 6.26

PM - 16.0kg -10 5.73 5.83 6.28PX - 19.0kg -10 5.73 5.83 6.30PH - 22.0kg -10 5.73 5.83 6.31

Mutton MX1 - 21kg n/c 2.98 2.98 3.30

Slaughter

Export Market DemandChange Last

Week2 Wks


UK Leg £/lb n/c 1.55 1.55 2.08 1.94NZ$/kg +10 9.20 9.10 9.37 8.71

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks

Ago3 Wks


% Returned NI -1% 67.4% 68.7% 71.5% 77.0%% Returned SI -2% 63.6% 65.9% 68.3% 69.8%

Venison PricesChange Last

Week2 Wks


NI Stag - 60kg -10 8.15 8.25 7.60 7.83SI Stag - 60kg -15 8.30 8.45 8.00 8.21

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BEEF:. Cattle operating prices are in

decline across the country. This is driven both by processors managing margins as prices remain depressed in key markets, combined with large numbers of cattle being forwarded for slaughter, removing the need for competition. Prices are expected to come back sharply through November. Killing space is tight in most areas and is expected to remain tight to Christmas. This is driven both by the threat of summer dry conditions on the east coast of both islands resulting in many farmers looking to offload killable cattle before Christmas, and also the realisation that while feed is growing in most regions, at the rate schedules are dropping, there is little chance in beating this with weight gain.

BEEF INTERNATIONAL: The US

market continues to remain a challenge to beef processors. At present there is very little product trading as end-users are choosing to step out of the market as they focus on working down some of their inventories; which are both large and expensive. While earlier on NZ had been scrambling to withhold product to protect quota limits, now they are wondering if they will be able to use up what quota they have left

remaining as end-users do not want 2015 meat because freezer stocks are so high. There are concerns around how the market will handle the large volumes expected to enter the market for Jan 2016 as quotas renew. Imported prices are expected to be under pressure at this time, which in turn will be reflected in NZ farmgate prices.

SHEEP: Lamb operating prices are in

a downwards spiral across the country. Chilled supply to the EU market is now over and with product reverting to lower value frozen orders, all premiums are removed from schedules. New season lamb slaughter is picking up in Canterbury and the North Island. It will gain momentum through November. There have been no premiums for new season lambs this season. The first of the new season store lambs are beginning to hit markets. Early prices have been solid, but with schedules expected to fall sharply in coming weeks, store lamb prices will follow suit. Farmers on the east coast of both islands will be trying to offload as many lambs as possible by Christmas.

WOOL: The first wool auction for

November saw prices cease the

recent downwards trend. A lower NZD and increased interest from China resulted in most prices experiencing increases. Quota issues out of China had resulted in reduced participation which saw prices ease through much of October. The lack of participation from China

also resulted in other international buyers waiting for prices to decrease due to reduced competition. However with the chance of the quota being redistributed traders in China were keen to source wool at these cheaper prices which saw increased competition.

WOOL PRICE WATCH Overseas Wool Price Indicators

Indicators in NZ$ Change 05-Nov 29-Oct Last Year Indicators in US$/kg Change 05-Nov 29-Oct Last

YearCoarse Xbred +10 5.84 5.74 5.29 Coarse Xbred +1 3.85 3.84 4.14

Fine Xbred +18 6.19 6.01 5.51 Fine Xbred +6 4.08 4.02 4.31

Lamb - - - - Lamb - - - -

Mid Micron - 9.22 - 7.85 Mid Micron - 6.08 - 6.15

NEWS PRICE WATCH


MARKETS & TRENDS 21

BEEF:. Cattle operating prices are in

decline across the country. This is driven both by processors managing margins as prices remain depressed in key markets, combined with large numbers of cattle being forwarded for slaughter, removing the need for competition. Prices are expected to come back sharply through November. Killing space is tight in most areas and is expected to remain tight to Christmas. This is driven both by the threat of summer dry conditions on the east coast of both islands resulting in many farmers looking to offload killable cattle before Christmas, and also the realisation that while feed is growing in most regions, at the rate schedules are dropping, there is little chance in beating this with weight gain.

BEEF INTERNATIONAL: The US

market continues to remain a challenge to beef processors. At present there is very little product trading as end-users are choosing to step out of the market as they focus on working down some of their inventories; which are both large and expensive. While earlier on NZ had been scrambling to withhold product to protect quota limits, now they are wondering if they will be able to use up what quota they have left

remaining as end-users do not want 2015 meat because freezer stocks are so high. There are concerns around how the market will handle the large volumes expected to enter the market for Jan 2016 as quotas renew. Imported prices are expected to be under pressure at this time, which in turn will be reflected in NZ farmgate prices.

SHEEP: Lamb operating prices are in

a downwards spiral across the country. Chilled supply to the EU market is now over and with product reverting to lower value frozen orders, all premiums are removed from schedules. New season lamb slaughter is picking up in Canterbury and the North Island. It will gain momentum through November. There have been no premiums for new season lambs this season. The first of the new season store lambs are beginning to hit markets. Early prices have been solid, but with schedules expected to fall sharply in coming weeks, store lamb prices will follow suit. Farmers on the east coast of both islands will be trying to offload as many lambs as possible by Christmas.

WOOL: The first wool auction for

November saw prices cease the

recent downwards trend. A lower NZD and increased interest from China resulted in most prices experiencing increases. Quota issues out of China had resulted in reduced participation which saw prices ease through much of October. The lack of participation from China

also resulted in other international buyers waiting for prices to decrease due to reduced competition. However with the chance of the quota being redistributed traders in China were keen to source wool at these cheaper prices which saw increased competition.

WOOL PRICE WATCH Overseas Wool Price Indicators

Indicators in NZ$ Change 05-Nov 29-Oct Last Year Indicators in US$/kg Change 05-Nov 29-Oct Last

YearCoarse Xbred +10 5.84 5.74 5.29 Coarse Xbred +1 3.85 3.84 4.14

Fine Xbred +18 6.19 6.01 5.51 Fine Xbred +6 4.08 4.02 4.31

Lamb - - - - Lamb - - - -

Mid Micron - 9.22 - 7.85 Mid Micron - 6.08 - 6.15

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22 AGRIBUSINESS

Expansion rules the waves in Tauranga

THE COUNTRY’S largest port is rapidly gearing up to take some of the largest container ships, a move that will benefit many pri-mary producers.

The Port of Tauranga is in the process of major dredging work so that

by mid-2016 ‘super’ con-tainer ships of the Maersk Line will be able to berth there, making it the only NZ port able to handle them. Otago is also dredg-ing to berth larger ships.

At present, the outer channel to Tauranga is being dredged to 17.4m and the inner harbour to 16m.

The game breaker for the expansion project at Tauranga, says chief exec-utive Mark Cairns, was a deal between Kotahi – representing Fonterra and Silver Fern Farms – and Maersk for a guaran-teed output of cargo from the port over ten years. This prompted the port’s expansion because of the

guaranteed volumes. “This deal we have

with Kotahi means we will be handling 95% of the dairy exports in the North Island through Tauranga, whereas in the past these were going out through different ports serviced by smaller vessels that [incur higher] ocean freight costs,” he told Rural News.

“NZ faces the chal-lenge of the tyranny of distance, so cutting freight costs is critical. I take my hat off to Kotahi for showing leadership in their 10 year deal with the Maersk line.”

Fonterra, with Tatua and Miraka, all export through Tauranga, as does Open Country. The port watches the volatility in the market and the pro-duction trends onfarm.

Like everyone in the pri-mary sector the port is affected by market vola-tility and it plans for that, Cairns says.

The advent of the larger container ships will mean Tauranga will be a ‘hub’ port to where car-goes from other NZ ports will go to be shipped over-seas. Cairns says this will create efficiencies lead-ing to savings in shipping costs which are the big-gest cost in the supply chain.

“The idea of a large hub port is similar to the concept in the NZ aviation sector where there are

just two major interna-tional airports capable of taking very large aircraft. This doesn’t squeeze out smaller airports or ports, but in certain areas it cre-ates attractive financial outcomes,” he explains.

“It has been said that unless NZ can have a good port that can deal with the big ships we risk having our cargoes transhipped to Melbourne or Bris-bane. That’s fine for milk-powder or manufactured products, but for sensi-tive cargoes such as kiwi-fruit and chilled lamb that would be a disaster. These products need speed to

market and services with-out transhipping to Aus-tralian hub ports,” he adds

The Port of Tauranga has gone from strength to strength and shows no sign of letting up. It has the advantage of being close to the hinterland where much of the North Island’s primary exports are produced. Unlike Auckland it has land – 192ha with room for expansion.

It also has a 50% share in the ports of Timaru and Northport, and other stra-tegic investments aimed at increasing throughput and lowering costs.

PETER BURKE

[email protected]

TAURANGA PORT has to consider the rapid expansion of the kiwifruit industry and the issues this raises. One is the need for special cool store facilities at the port to keep the fruit in tightly controlled conditions before shipping.

“Kiwifruit is a very big part of the regional economy. It’s great how resil-ient the industry has been in bouncing back from PSa,” the port chief executive Mark Cairns says.

“Zespri is now talking about a near doubling of exports over the next decade, so we are working with them to ensure we have the appropriate buffer coolstore facilities and the right shipping lines calling for their produce.”

Cairns says kiwifruit tends to use smaller and faster reefer ships and for Tauranga that means having sufficient berths for these vessels when they are needed.

KIWIFRUIT GROWTH A CHALLENGE

Tauranga Port chief executive Mark Cairns.

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AGRIBUSINESS 23

The outlook for red meat pretty rosyIn the second of our ‘in the hot seat’ interviews we talk with Matt Costello, Rabobank animal proteins analyst, responsible for analysing developments in animal protein markets including beef, sheepmeat, pork, chicken and seafood. He is one of Rabobank’s 80 food and agribusiness research analysts worldwide.

Question: 2015 has been a mixed year for sheep and beef farmers in New Zealand. What has stood out to you?

Answer: The stand-out performer has clearly been the beef sector, with record cattle prices in all categories, although they have eased over the past few months. Making the returns even more impressive is that they were achieved despite huge cattle supplies in NZ (given the high dairy cow slaughter) and liquidation of the Australian cattle herd. Q: Surely this leads to a tighter supply scenario in 2016?

A: Absolutely. For NZ the increased beef supply has been under-pinned by the weaker dairy prices. The higher returns for beef have cer-tainly helped and, given the massive cattle slaugh-ter this year, we expect the NZ beef supply to reduce in 2016. Encour-agingly for NZ farmers and processors, Austra-lia’s cattle supply is at last showing signs of contract-ing after three years of near record slaughter vol-umes. Given that Australia is NZ’s major competi-tor in export markets, the tighter supply will support ongoing strong cattle and export prices for NZ. Q: The higher prices have been underpinned by strong demand from the US, however imported beef prices have fallen significantly in the last few months. What has caused this decline?

A: Large volumes of beef were absorbed by the strong US market in 2015, as their herd continued to rebuild. More recently however, US domestic and imported beef prices have been pressured by to a combination of vari-ables. These include high domestic US beef produc-tion (Fed cattle weights at record levels), imbal-ance in beef trade from an import/export per-spective, strong export

volumes from NZ and Australia (as they fill the allocated quota) and the high US dollar has damp-ened exports from the US to other markets. Lastly, supported by cheap feed costs, competing proteins such as pork and poul-try have also tested beef price competitiveness, given the increase in pro-duction in these sectors. Despite these short term pressures, the fundamen-tals for the NZ beef sector are sound, as seen from demand and supply per-spectives. Q: One clear cause of the lower lamb and mutton price this year has been weaker demand from China. What has transpired?

A: The weaker lamb and mutton prices in 2015 are attributed mostly to oversupply in the Chinese market in 2014 causing higher carryover stocks into 2015. This has seen overall Chinese imports and NZ exports in 2015 fall around 20% YOY.

However, forecast record Chinese sheep-meat production of about 4.3 million tonnes (equat-ing to roughly eight times the volume NZ produces) in 2015 has continued to put downward pres-sure on demand, although slowdown in the Chinese economy and a crackdown on government spending is likely to be also impact-ing demand. Wholesale sheepmeat prices in China have declined roughly 12% YOY through the first seven months of 2015.Q: Looking ahead, what is the outlook for 2015-16 season for the sheep-meat sector?

A: From a supply per-spective, lamb supplies are going to be much

tighter this season, with expectations of a 10% (1.5 million) decline in lamb

processing numbers. This tighter supply will support farmgate prices but it is

always important to find the right balance between the procurement price and end user demand.

Demand from China leading up to Chinese new year (February 2016) is reportedly steady, but the market remains somewhat volatile because of expected higher domestic Chinese

production. Demand from the EU has reportedly been strong with the usual chilled Christmas trade driving demand and higher prices. Expectations are for prices to ease from these highs, although farmgate returns should be higher than last year. Supporting the positive outlook

for sheepmeat and beef sectors is a weaker currency.• Matt recently authored a sheepmeat report, ‘Maxi-mising the Cut - Breaking it All Down’, which looked at the overall carcase from a value, yield and end market perspective. To request a copy contact Rabobank on 0800 722 622.

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24 OPINION

EDITORIAL

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EDNA

Captain Oates?YOUR OLD mate wonders if the recent sudden, unannounced and under-the-radar departure of Fonterra’s top communica-tions man Kerry Underhill may be linked to the Fonterra board’s recent re-think on the co-op’s communications strategy. It is as though Underhill has done a Captain Oates and gone out for a walk – leaving after only two years on the job and with no offi-cial word from the co-op; he no longer appears as a co-op management teams or on the website. This is a mystery and ironically another communi-cations gaff by the giant dairy co-op that leaves a great many questions to be asked about Fonterra’s old head-in-the-sand, ‘nothing to see here’ comms approach that has so far been an unmitigated disaster.

Another puddleSPEAKING OF Fonterra, the Hound received a curt note from a failed board candidate in last year’s election, ‘thanking’ this old mutt for helping publicise his run as a director in 2014 – claiming it helped lift his profile (what do they say about all publicity being good publicity?). Anyway, the said column referred to a lack of talent among the challengers last year and described the talent pool of poten-tial directors as being “as shallow as the puddle out the back of the Hound’s kennel”. Anyhow, the said failed candidate claims, “Got to say though that you did lament the caliber [sic] (or lack of) in the chal-lenging pack last year. Surely now with the untrained lot hoping to get onto a sinking lid board this will make last year’s lot look like rocket scientists”. The Hound reckons his newest ‘fan’ does make a fair point!

Holier than thouWHO WOULD have thunk it – the sanctimonious lot from Bitch & Complain (Fish & Game) have spat the dummy and walked away from the Land and Water Forum – like a petulant, spoiled child in a blaze of self-interested publicity. The Hound would have thought chief executive Bryce Johnson might want to take a look at his own house first before throwing stones at other organisations. After revealing some seriously dodgy dealings in the Hawkes Bay branch last issue your old mate has been inundated with messages that he needs to keep following the scent coming off “the rotting flesh in HB Fish & Game”. Meantime, ques-tions are also being asked about Johnson himself: he’s had 25 plus years at the helm, on a big salary, the role is ‘self-assessed’ and is said to be difficult to be replace.

Leopard, spotsYOUR OLD mate notes that Green-peace is challenging Fonterra to “prove that its massive use of palm products is not fuelling the enormous fires raging across Indonesia”. Apart from the ridicu-lous demand that Fonterra must prove ‘it is not beating its wife’, what really tickled this old mutt’s interest was that the new NZ head of the eco-activist multi-national is none than one Dr Russel Norman. Yes, that would be the same Dr Russel Norman – who recently stood down as head of the NZ Green Party to take up the highly paid position at Greenpeace and was forever bagging Fonterra and the NZ dairy industry when he was an MP. It looks like dyed-in-the-wool (organic of course) Greenies never stop hating NZ’s number one primary sector export earner. Yawn….

“What a cheapskate! – why didn’t he just buy a new box?!”

WINSTON PETERS has been at it again, hiding behind the cloak of Parliamentary privilege to deliver another conspiracy-riddled attack, this time on the directors and farmer shareholders of Silver Fern Farms.

Last week Peters took a call in Parliament’s weekly general debate to rant and rave about the SFF/Shanghai Maling deal and made all sorts of spurious claims – all the while his sycophant caucus of no-names and nobodies nodding, jeer-ing and gesturing like trained monkeys.

It is obvious Peters has neither the cohunes nor the facts to back any of his wild claims out-side the House, therefore rendering his argument – much like his entire political career – full of hot air and empty rhetoric.

The fact that neither Peters nor critics of the SFF/Shanghai Maling deal will admit to is that 82.2% of Silver Fern Farm farmer shareholders (the owners of the co-op) voted overwhelm-ingly in support of the deal. Farmers – not the Government – own SFF. During the last days of Government control of the NZ meat industry – in Peters’ heyday of the 1980s – it was an unmit-igated disaster.

NZ First’s objection to the SFF deal is little more than grubby politics – a deliberate plan to try to mine the 5% of the vote it needs to survive in Parliament, from redneck elements especially in rural and provincial NZ.

They have been trying to stir up fears about the ‘Chinese takeover’ for months, even making unsubstantiated claims that Finance Minister Bill English “refused to meet with the board of SFF for over a year”. When this accusation was put to SFF chair Rob Hewett by Rural News back in October his answer was blunt: “That’s bullshit.”

But that’s Winston Peters for you: full of the proverbial and never letting the facts get in the way of the real story.

The reality is somewhat different: Shanghai Maling already wants SFF product made and packaged in NZ and sent shelf-ready to China. SFF chief executive Dean Hamilton (who accord-ing to Peters will, with chairman Rob Hewett, be axed by Shanghai) told a recent China Business Summit that, contrary to another Peters’ claim, “We aren’t about to build a plant in Uruguay or China [because Shanghai Maling] wants this product 100% made in NZ.”

The Shanghai Maling JV not only assures the balance sheet but also brings real value to SFF on many fronts – not least 6000 supermarkets to which the new partner has access in China.

SFF farmer shareholders saw this huge poten-tial and hence overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Shanghai Maling deal. That’s because these farmers are modern-day business people who know that in the year 2015 we need to be open and focussed on the world – especially Asia.

Boring

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RURALNEWS

ABC audited circulation 81,004 as at 30.06.2015

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

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OPINION 25

Paying the price for our hot airNEW ZEALAND is liable internationally for agri-cultural emissions, but the Government (taxpay-ers as a whole) pays for them, despite agriculture contributing nearly half the country’s greenhouse gases.

A review of the ETS scheduled to begin by the end of the year could result in a change of policy.

The fundamental argument for inclusion is based on the misun-derstanding of who con-tributes to the ETS and why, illustrated by state-ments from Greenpeace: “We don’t see why there should be any objection to farmers doing their bit and contributing like other sectors, and like the taxpayers and like energy consumers.”

Farmers are doing their bit and are contributing

through taxes and energy consumption, just like other NZers.

It is the animals that aren’t – they are just doing what comes naturally and the expertise of NZ farm-ers means that milk and meat products from NZ are associated with rather fewer GHG emissions than many countries can achieve.

But agriculture does contribute almost half the emissions from NZ.

Environment Aote-aroa 2015, released by the Ministry for the Environ-ment and StatisticsNZ last month, identified GHG as an area of concern because of increases. NZ still con-tributes only about 0.1% of emissions globally, but they increased 42% between 1990 and 2013. During that time agricul-ture increased by 14% to its current contribution of 48% of the total, while the energy sector increased 32% (more than double agriculture’s increase) – now contributing 39% of the total.

Most countries have decreased their emissions by cleaning up indus-

try, moving to renew-able power and improving public transport. For NZ there are no simple options.

The OECD Economic Survey: New Zealand 2015, states that ‘NZ faces diffi-cult climate change chal-lenges because of the high share of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions coming from agriculture, where there are few cost-effective abatement pos-sibilities and because three quarters of electric-ity already comes from renewable sources, mean-ing there are fewer poten-tial gains in generation’. The OECD also notes that transport emission inten-sities are high, reflecting low use of public trans-port and poor average vehicle fuel economy.

The OECD’s solution is to reduce vehicle GHG emissions (responsible

for 19% of the total), by moving towards a plug-in hybrid/electric vehicle fleet and it recommends that the Government develops a cost-effective public network of charg-ing points to encourage their use.

Barry Crump will be turning in his grave….

For agriculture the report suggests develop-ing a strategy to cut agri-cultural GHG emissions efficiently through a com-bination of pricing, regu-lation and R&D. The R&D is underway, and vac-cines have been identified that could halve meth-ane emissions. Their use is, however, several years away.

Speaking at the East Coast Hill Country Sym-posium held in Hastings, at the end of October, Ecologic’s executive direc-tor Guy Salmon went as far as to propose removing ruminant animals from NZ! This caused conster-nation to Minister of Eco-nomic Development Hon Steven Joyce, because ruminants account for a huge portion of the export economy.

The answer could be to tax products at point of consumption in home or restaurant.

Professor Ralph Sims, Massey Universi-ty’s expert in renewable energy and a member of the IPCC Global Energy Assessment Group, points out that people have

choices about what they eat and where it comes from. Taxing for GHG at point of consumption might affect their choices to NZ’s advantage through premium prices.

The same can be said about transport decisions: an improved network of charging stations could

encourage the switch from fossil fuel cars (with apologies to Crumpy).

Animals, however, don’t have choices. They just do what comes natu-rally. Taxing them won’t change their behaviour and reducing their num-bers will affect the econ-omy.

The Government wouldn’t then have the money to invest in the public network of charg-ing points for our new cars… Barry Crump would have something to say about that logic, as well.• Jacqueline Rowarth is pro-fessor of agribusiness, The University of Waikato.

Most countries have decreased their emissions by cleaning up industry, moving to renewable power and improving public transport. For NZ there are no simple options.

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OPINION 27

Internet connectivity curbs rural isolationIN THIS digital age people want to interact on all manner of digital devices on a myriad of social media platforms all the time.

The young don’t expect to wait for a response; they want it now!

But rural folk feel like we’re swimming against the tide. And though some of us like it that way, for many the idea of miss-ing out on 21st century technology is a sting that hurts.

A lack of reliable, fast internet connectivity can affect productivity, edu-cation choices, friend-ships and lifestyles. John Kirwan knows it and we know it: isolation is a major cause of depression and anxiety in New Zea-land.

In fact, isolation is the number-two health issue in rural communi-ties. Rural Health Alliance New Zealand (RHANZ) is running workshops for rural health professionals, industry groups and com-munity groups in suicide risk assessment and sui-cide prevention strategies.

Upper Moutere film maker Keith Hawke spent a year documenting the

effects of rural suicides, which he made into an independent film.

“People living on rural properties are dispropor-tionately affected by sui-cidal thoughts because they tend to be isolated,” he says.

The government’s rural broadband (RBI) is now being installed. The new cell towers going up will make a big difference to people living and work-ing the 6km signal zone. The second instalment (RBI2) will go much fur-ther, meanwhile other ser-vices can deal with rural isolation now.

Satellite is the ultimate communications method: no cables, no trenches, no wait for installation; you get fast, reliable internet in a matter of days.

Says Wireless Nation’s technical director Tom Linn, “reliable and afford-able connectivity is crit-ical for the health and wellbeing of rural commu-nities – especially to mini-mise the sense of isolation [afflicting] rural families and improving access to health services. Satellite connectivity also opens up business and economic development opportuni-ties.”

The satellite networks used by Wireless Nation

PENNY HARTILLhave ‘hot’ signal strength over NZ. Its high ‘look’ angle makes it less prone to rain fade and line-of-sight issues and it can stand severe weather.

A recent speed test survey by TrueNet shows

satellite consistently out-performing old-time copper ADSL connectivity in rural areas.www.wirelessnation.co.nz• Penny Hartill is Wireless Nation’s communications advisor.

A lack of reliable, fast internet connectivity can have a number of implications for rural consumers.

MEAT SECTOR WELCOMES POSSIBLE EU FTABEEF + Lamb New Zealand (BLNZ) and the Meat Industry Association (MIA) have welcomed news that the European Union and NZ are set to progress negotiations for a free trade agreement.

The NZ/EU FTA negotiations were announced by Prime Minister John Key during his recent trip to Europe.

The EU is a huge export market for NZ red meat products – almost NZ$1.9 billion for the year ended December 2014. The EU is NZ’s largest market by region for sheepmeat exports and second-largest for chilled beef and wool exports.

BLNZ chair James Parsons said NZ still faces tariff and non-tariff barriers in this market, paying $70 million in tariffs per year on its red meat exports to the EU.

“This is an exciting opportunity to explore an ambitious, high quality agreement with an important market for our sheep and beef exports. An EU FTA has the potential to ensure NZ’s competitiveness with other red meat exporters to this market,” Parsons said

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28 MANAGEMENT

Young stud breeder’s success storyAt just 24 years of age Corey Prouting is making a name as a Southdown stud sheep breeder. While his operation is relatively small he is following in the family tradition as a breeder of excellent terminal sires. Peter Burke recently visited his farm.

PROUTING’S 100HA farm is just north of Levin, in an area of mostly dairying and horticul-ture, with few commercial sheep operations.

The farm is largely flat and beyond it rise the dis-tant Tararua Ranges, a natural barrier that keeps the area wet, so it handles the summer dry well.

The property has been owned by the family since the 1920s and Corey Prouting is the fifth gen-eration to run the farm. The first owners, his great grandparents, ran mostly Southdown’s. His grand-mother started the stud in 1943 and passed it to Corey to manage in 2009.

Since boyhood Prout-ing showed a great inter-est in the farm.

“In the weekends I’d help my grandparents on the farm and I enjoyed this. After I left secondary school – Waiopehu Col-lege (also Minister for Pri-mary Industries Nathan Guy’s school) – I spent a year doing the farming course at Otiwhiti station in 2009,” he told Rural News.

Once through the Oti-whiti course, Prouting took over managing the Southdown stud. He runs 65 breeding ewes and each year sells about 25 rams to buyers in the North Island. His grandparents

started this and he con-tinues.

While Prouting has specific responsibility for the Southdowns, his grandparents run other stud sheep on the farm – Cheviots, Polled Dorsets, Perendales and Romneys and – he helps them with these as well.

The part of the farm where the Southdowns are run was first a dairy farm, but was converted to sheep about 20 years ago. “I like the charac-teristics of Southdowns: they are very quiet ani-mals, easy to deal with and are good mothers. Their lambs have low birthweights so there are

no lambing problems but then they have very quick growth rates,” Prouting explains.

“This allows commer-cial farmers to get the lambs that have gone to the Southdown ram off the mothers quickly and away to the works.”

This season has been a tough one for all farm-ers in Horowhenua. There was a lot of rain, frosts came early and the grass has not grown as well as in past seasons. Normally Prouting relies only on grass but this year he had to feed baleage to keep the

ewes in good condition leading up to lambing.

“Stud farming entails a lot work and is quite hard because you have to do all the tagging and record keeping,” he says. “But it’s rewarding because you can see the ram hoggets after a year are good sheep and you can show them.”

Showing his stud Southdowns and gener-ally becoming involved in the Southdown Soci-ety has been an inter-est Prouting has pursued since he took over the stud. A few years ago he won the ewe hogget

class at the Royal Show at Palmerston North. This year he won the supreme champion ram at the Levin A&P show.

He says showing is good because it enables you to benchmark your stock against others and help think of new ways of managing the stock. But the interest in showing his stock has led to another opportunity – judging.

“I went to the 2014 Royal Show for sheep judging and won the prize for the top junior judge. The prize for winning that was to go to the Sydney

Royal show and I went up against competitors from all the Australian states and won a silver medal.”

Prouting is keen to pursue a career as show judge and says he’s had lots of support from the Southdown Society. Last year, they invited him to be junior judge and he’s keen to see where this will lead.

At just 24, Prouting is among the youngest Southdown stud breed-ers in the country. He’s keen to continue this and is working hard to buy his own farm.

24-year-old Corey Prouting is one of the youngest Southdown stud breeders in New Zealand.

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MANAGEMENT 29

The Loe-down from the Hurunui kidTHE ROADSIDE lucerne paddock is freshly cut.The kettle is on the boil and Richard Loe is looking ruefully out his kitchen window, perched high on the north bank of the Waimakariri River. Further up the gorge, gathering rain clouds are dumping moisture on the south bank.

“It’s why the Sheffield flats are so fertile,” Loe tells Rural News. “When the wind sweeps down the gorge on this side all we see is dust heading that way.

“That big wind last week rolled down the valley and for two days we couldn’t see the river. All the neigh-bour’s winter feed, freshly sown and rolled in, looked as if it was blown away – the lot.

“But I guess if farming was that easy every bastard would want to do it.”

Farm philosopher. Father of three. Former All Black. Media mogul. Brand ambassador. Loe (55) has packed plenty into his eventful life and of course there’s still plenty more to come – includ-ing a decent tussle with Canterbury’s drought.

Loe has cut stock numbers – he runs a Donnie Merino stud operation – in half because of dry conditions. Loe’s been on his farm for about eight years and a previous owner kitted it out with deer fences. He generally runs a few head, plus cattle as a “release valve”, but he’s sold them off too.

The aforementioned lucerne paddock has been cut once this

summer in the hope there will be enough moisture and growth to do it once more before autumn. But he’s not overly optimistic.

“Generally we’d cut it three times, but we decided to take the early cut now hoping maybe this shower of rain might persist so we’d get a second one.”

But rain has been scarce and Loe – steeped in farming – is putting gen-erations of farming knowledge to use, battening down the hatches and making sure he doesn’t lose his trade-mark sense of humour.

Loe’s father was a well-regarded farm manager (Greta Paddocks) on the banks of the Hurunui. He taught his son the ropes and after leaving school Loe became a junior stock and station agent with PGG in Seddon, Marlborough.

He impressed enough to assume the mantle of senior agent after his mentor Jim Cassidy left the business, but then a move to Waikato coincided with an offer to play a season of rugby in France and it was while plying his trade there that he got a call-up to play for the touring 1986 All Blacks against

the French Barbarians.A year later he was invited to trial for

the All Blacks and was selected in the 1987 Rugby World Cup squad. He went on to play 49 tests, but during his sport-ing career his links to the land were a constant.

In his early 20s, while playing and working in Marlborough, he had an interest in a hill block. He bought 20ha with an old house on it while in Waikato, which he ran as a dairy sup-port unit with some trading stock.

He returned to his roots in Canter-

bury in 1993, bought a place in Whiter-ock, Loburn and then moved to a farm in Sheffield.

“It ended up being for a while at least the preferred option for the dam for the central plains irrigation scheme so I was offered reasonably good money for it and got out of it quick,” Loe says.

“In the meantime, I had some lease blocks but ended up getting chased off with dairy value for them higher than finishing. I was growing maize and doing dairy grazing and finishing lambs. But the way it was going I was working for wages.”

His media career then blossomed. He hosted his own farming show, ‘On The Field’, a mixture of farming chat and sporting banter.

But Mediaworks canned it last year, leaving The Radio Network’s ‘Farming Show’, hosted by Jamie McKay, unri-valled in the farm broadcasting market.

“Jamie rants and raves that he has the No 1 farming show in the country and I always say self-praise is better than no praise at all. I have been keep-ing my hand in by doing a slot with Jamie once a fortnight.”

But for now he’s happy to remain active in public relations and advocacy work fronting Landcorp’s WorkSafe campaigns and spruiking Allflex farm-ing products on the side of his ute.

“There’s always something off-farm to keep me busy,” he says.

“I am fortunate because my farm is not my A-all and B-all. I don’t have to stock it to the hilt, but it my passion.

GREG FORD

Richard Loe: Father, farmer, former All Black and farm philosopher...

TO PAGE 30

Aviator Xpro, Delaro and Prosaro are registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, Nos. P8930, P8953 and P7662 and are approved pursant to the HSNO Act 1996, HSR100864, HSR100886 and HSR007871 respectively. Aviator® Xpro, Prosaro® and Delaro® are registered trademarks of the Bayer Group. © Bayer CropScience 2015.

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30 MANAGEMENT

“If I have tucker I will buy some animals. I can make a reasonably good living off-farm without worrying about on farm. That’s a big release valve.”

His early years as a stock and station agent have stood him in good stead.

“In the early 80s, I think we had 10 inches of rain a year. I just thought ‘that’s how it was in Marlborough’. I remember that those farmers who made early deci-sions were the best. You can’t get away from it and that hasn’t changed.”

When Loe wants to get away from it all he backs his jetboat out of the farm shed into the Waimakariri and explores its upper reaches.

His annual Donnie sale is looming at Darfield Rugby Club on December 10. He has a large network of family and friends in the province.

He helps out the local rugby club. There’s always a bit of code to watch on TV. His phone is rarely silent. He makes a reasonable cup of coffee and spins a good yarn.

Not bad for a kid from Greta Paddocks, with a huge personality and an ability to hold his own in a scrum.

THE LOE-DOWNFROM PAGE 29

Aussie lead global red meat researchA GLOBAL approach to positioning beef and lamb as premium consumer products is a step closer, with Australian research attracting new international collaboration.

Leading Australian scientists, headed by Dave Pethick, meat quality programme leader with

the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC), recently addressed a two-day meeting in Paris – bringing together 80 experts from 17 countries.

Pethick says the International Meat Quality Congress galvanised support for using the Meat Standards

Australia (MSA) system as a common language for implementing new consumer research around the world.

“The aim of the congress was to encourage consumer-focused sensory research for beef and lamb with key international collaborating partners

all using common protocols,” he explains.

“The workshop unanimously supported the need for evidence-based systems to underpin eating quality for lamb and beef to encourage consumers to keep buying [these] products that cost more than [chicken and pork].

“We are now working towards a global model –

suggested name 3G for Global Guaranteed Grading –

for sharing sensory data using the MSA protocols that can be used for scientific and commercial purposes.”

The congress was organised by Meat &

Livestock Australia (MLA) and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), said to be Europe’s top agricultural research institute and the world’s number-two centre for agricultural science.

The 19 presentations at the congress focussed on meat eating quality prediction methods which will allow modern beef and lamb products to meet the expectations of consumers who buy red meat.

Pethick says that while many countries had meat quality assessment systems in place, MSA was the only real system available to grade eating quality at the consumer level.

“The MSA approach differs markedly from other systems now in use. Firstly, it is based on consumer responses and secondly, for beef, it independently grades each cut rather than applying a common grade to the entire carcase,” he says.

“The system includes information about all

the events up to the point when the steak was cooked and eaten – genetics, backgrounding and finishing, pre-slaughter handling of the animal and post-slaughter treatment and processing of the carcase.”

Pethick says common protocols have now been developed in France, Korea, Poland, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and US.

“In all the countries the data has clearly showed enormous commonality in how consumers respond to beef in particular. However, extra precision can be achieved if adjustments are made for issues like alternate production systems not included in the MSA prediction model – for example, beef and dairy bulls or dairy cows, subtle consumer differences between countries and new cooking methods.”• More information on the Sheep CRC’s Meat Quality Research Program is available. www.coxinall.us7.list-manage1.com

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MANAGEMENT 31

How much do you know about your insurance?

Q: When did you last do a general risk assess-ment for your business?

A: Each business’ risks are different. Iden-tifying your risks is the start of risk manage-ment. Assessments, which may be less obvious, include analysing the nature and level of liabili-ties to customers, a risk that business premises are deemed earthquake prone or cyber-risks. Q: How well does your insurance broker understand your business?

A: A good insurance broker who under-stands your business can identify unaccept-able risks that may be ‘slipping’ between insurance policies. But a broker’s advice can only be as good as the information provided. Invite them in. Q: Do you regularly review your insur-ance policies?

A: Risks change due to changes in a business, the business environment or the law. Insurance policy terms are revised in light of legal changes and insurers’ analysis of risk. You should regu-larly review your policies.

Too many businesses neglect to check the small print, only to find when an adverse event occurs that cover is inadequate or, worse, excluded. Q: Do you discuss with your insurer or broker how to minimise risk?

A: You and your insurer have a common interest in minimising the likelihood and potential impact of an adverse event. Your

broker, or a proactive insurer, may be able to help you identify risks and advise on steps to reduce them. Some insurance policies also include assistance after certain types of events, where good crisis management can reduce impact on a business from catastrophic to survivable, for example a serious data breach or food product

contamination. Q: When selecting an insurance policy, is your main criterion the premium, the cover provided or the insurers’ anticipated claims service?

A: Premium is a key matter for most busi-nesses. However, the precise details of the cover provided and the quality of claim handling make a huge difference if an adverse event occurs.

Shaving a small amount off the premium may have substantial cost consequences down the track. Ask for details of previous claims and references from other customers of the insurer who have made claims, to assess the likely response to a claim.

Q: Does your third party liability cover accu-rately reflect your potential liabilities to sup-pliers, contractors or other trading partners?

A: It is important to compare the terms on which you do business with those of your insurance policy, to check that potential busi-ness liabilities to others are accurately reflected.

For example, some insurance policies exclude liability if the insured fails to use ‘due diligence’. If your business may incur a liability due to negligence, then such a policy would not provide adequate cover. Q: Will your statutory liability policy adequately protect owners, directors and officers in the event of health and safety prosecutions

against them personally? A: Under the health and safety reform bill

owners, directors and officers will be at higher risk of personal prosecution. This, combined with the risk of substantial reparation awards under the recently amended Sentencing Act, makes it vital to check that the terms of the policy accurately reflect the potential for such personal liabilities, and include cover for all employees sufficiently senior to attract poten-tial personal liability. • Minters is a law firm with experience at the farm gate and in the commercial world. For more information on practical pragmatic legal advice got to: www.minterellison.co.nz or Tel: 0800 862 774

Tony Gee, from national law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, poses questions he would ask, and the answers he would give, about business insurance and ways to save money and hassle.

“You should regularly review your policies. Too many businesses do not check the small print, only to find when an adverse event occurs that cover is inadequate or, worse, excluded altogether”.

STEELING FARMERS FOR SAFETY IN THE YARDSSTEEL YARDS and animal handling gear is a must in the 21st century farming, especially for sheep and beef, says an exhibitor looking forward to the inaugural East Coast Farming with Technology Expo at Wairoa in April.

Farmquip sales and marketing manager Brenden Watts says the design improvements to yarding and handling sys-tems have made animal handling faster, more automated and much safer.

“The benefits of steel over timber yards are much longer lifespan, less maintenance and ease of removal any-time, should the farmer sell and want to take them away. Designs are also modified to suit individual farm require-ments.”

The East Coast Farming with Technology Expo, on April 13-14 at the Wairoa A&P Society showgrounds, will focus on new ideas for farming in that region. Exhibitors will get to demonstrate and promote their products and services.

Te Pari Products Ltd, another exhibitor of steel yarding, agrees about these products. Marketing director Jeremy Blampied says it’s ‘goodbye’ to the timber that predomi-nated for so long. Good yard design must minimise stress on animals and save farmers time, worry and money.

“Safety is also a major consideration with the new health and safety laws coming into effect in April 2016: one significant change is the specific duty placed on those holding governance or senior management roles to assume due diligence duty,” Blampied says.

“This means employers and directors need to have safe yard systems. Over 15,000 people are injured each year in New Zealand in cattle handling incidents – twice the pop-ulation of Wairoa district.”

Watts says Farmquip will have a variety of products on show and trained, qualified staff there to answer questions and offer advice, specific to site visitors’ needs.

“Look out for our HDale sheep handling units, Farmquip cattle crush and yards and our new alloy stock crates for ATV/4x4 vehicles. Farmquip is an East Coast manufacturing business; we’ve dealt with local custom-ers for many years and we value their support.”

Blampied also looks forward to connecting with exist-ing and potential customers. Its sheep and cattle handling equipment on display will include its Te Pari Revolution drench gun.

Precision and automation are the essentials in the future of yarding systems, Watts says. “More automa-tion makes these systems easier to use by fewer staff and it’s safer for workers.

“Precision farming is the future: we don’t have any more land so we have to get more efficient and produc-tive with what we have,” Blampied adds.

“In cropping, extensive GPS and field data is recorded and used as a management tool; we will see more record-ing and data-driven decision making in sheep and beef farming.” www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz

CLICK. DONE. EASY. www.partsdirect.farm

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32 ANIMAL HEALTH

Unlocking the feeding secrets of sheepA UNIQUE trial is under-way to understand more about the intricacies of sheep feeding.

The first stage is com-plete but scientists at AgResearch, leading the work, say it’s just the beginning of an exciting four years research.

According to Dr Tricia Johnson, a senior scientist on AgResearch’s animal genomics team at Inver-may, overall the trial went better than hoped for, embarking on such a large scale project involving the technology.

This first look at the

data is pointing towards significant animal varia-tion in the trait of feed efficiency, with some sire variation also exist-ing. There is also inter-esting feeding behaviour evident, with some con-sistent grazers and gutsy sheep, says Johnson.

Feed efficiency – the measure of how much feed an animal actually eats versus what it should need to eat for mainte-nance and growth – is being integrated into many worldwide breed-ing schemes for beef and dairy cattle and is showing

to be moderately herita-ble. Given its importance in these species it is also likely to be important in sheep, says Johnson.

While feed efficiency continues to be ranked in the top 10 traits in the ‘Industry Needs Analy-sis’ done by Beef + Lamb New Zealand Genetics, there is no data available in NZ that investigates the genetics associated with it in NZ maternal sheep breeds. In fact, there’s little relevant overseas data either.

The trial near Inver-may is the first step of the

BLNZ Genetics-funded programme.

“What we’re aiming to do is collect sufficient data over four years to provide first estimates of the heritability of the trait and genetic correla-tions between it and other important production traits. Such data will be able to inform decisions about its integration into maternal breeding pro-grammes,” Johnson says.

But investigation of this trait required the development of auto-mated feed intake machines capable of real time recording of indi-vidual feeding events of sheep in a mob situation using EID technology to differentiate animals.

Though there are off-the-shelf machines that could have been bought from commercial compa-nies, all had been designed for use in cattle or pigs and all had limitations for use with sheep.

Instead 20 auto-mated feeders specifically designed for sheep were built by AgResearch’s engineering team at Lin-

coln and installed ready for use in early July.

The feeders are designed to record the number and size of feed-ing events each day, from which total feed con-sumed per day can be calculated. They allow real-time access to the loggers, and can receive text alerts and a daily summary table of data collected per animal, noting any outlier ani-mals, meaning the data is equally being analysed in real time.

The feeders are also portable so they can be used at other sites if required.

At the beginning of July the first 200 ewe hoggets from the Wood-lands Central Progeny

Test, and the geneti-cally-linked Woodlands Coopworth Progeny Test entered the facility.

Also being measured is the full spiral computed tomography (CT) imag-ing of the animals at the conclusion of their time in the facility because sig-nificant relationships between feed efficiency and body fatness have been observed in overseas cattle studies. This data will also provide insight into the variability of the genetics of fat distribution (subcutaneous vs inter-muscular vs internal fat reserves).

The researchers will also investigate corre-lated measurements including heart rate, body temperature (mea-

sured using thermal imag-ing) and methane output (measured using porta-ble accumulation cham-bers); if any are proven to be correlated to feed effi-ciency, in the long term they will allow for more rapid screening of feed efficient sheep.

This trial will be repeated at the same time next year. A first look at the data was taken in preparation for the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics Conference in Lorne, Victoria in September, Johnson says.

“Overall the trial went better than we could have hoped for embarking on such a large scale project involving the technology.”

AgResearch is conducting research to understand more about the intricacies of sheep feeding.

AgResearch senior scientist Tricia Johnson.

To discover more visit our website or call us now

Pasture is the cheapest energy source on a farm so

it is critical to make this limited resource last as long as possible.

Supplementation with small, regular amounts of cereals, sorghum or pellets increases rumen

efficiency and decreases pasture consumption.

Trials have shown that adding 1kg of barley to the diet of rising 2 y.o. steers can decrease pasture consumption by 3kg/day/

head or 33% of the total daily pasture consumption per head.

Additional benefits of increased rumen efficiency includes higher growth rates, finishing stock quicker and so further decreasing the amount

pasture required to reach target weight.

AGCARM, THE advocate for the New Zealand agrichemical industries, is lauding the signing of the TPP.

It sees prospects for farming to increase its outputs once barriers to trade and investment are removed.

Of most interest to the agrichemical industry is chapter 18, on intellectual property (IP), the group says.

“The IP chapter will make it easier for businesses to search, register and protect IP rights in new markets, which is important for small businesses. The chapter includes commitments to protecting undisclosed test and other

data submitted to obtain marketing approval for a new pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical product.

“Confirmation that the final agreement includes 10 years of data protection for agricultural chemicals [could] lead to an increase of data protection on agrichemical products and vet medicines registered in NZ for 5-10 years.”

Agcarm says it is working with the EPA, Maori and the Department of Conservation to ensure that all affected parties can agree any changes in risk assessment and management policies.

AGRICHEM SECTOR SUPPORTS TPP

Keep up with the latest stories from by following us atGET SOCIAL WITH RURALNEWS

facebook.com/ruralnews twitter.com/Rural_News

BREAKING NEWS MANAGEMENT STORIES MARKETS & TRENDS MACHINERY REVIEWS


ANIMAL HEALTH 33

New dog owners beware of buyers remorse!REMEMBER THIS article next time you are buying a dog; it might save you a wasted trip or, worse, wasted money.

Julie sent me an email: they had recently acquired an 18-month-old Huntaway. They had driven many hours and covered hundreds of kilome-tres to get it. Natu-rally they viewed it working and were given its commands before hitting the road for the long journey home.

The young dog they saw was keen to work stock and apparently taking its commands, however it was all done alongside another dog.

The alarm bells should have been deafening, but being inexperienced they thought nothing of it.

They gave the dog a few weeks to adjust to his new environment and treated him well to form a bond. He happily barks when the bike starts and runs beside it for exercise. The trouble is he shows no interest in stock, in fact he looks nervous in their presence.

I know a lot of you think I bleat on about some things, but there is a

good reason for it and here is a prime example. The dog had only ever worked stock alongside another dog.

I’ll say it again – don’t train dogs this way. They have to be interested in, and work, stock on their own or it will create problems further down

the track.For example, the

young dog will pick up the older dog’s bad habits. All the dogs get tired playing follow the leader because no one is having a breather beside you. All the dogs are in one place so you don’t have a spare to send in the opposite

direction.And worse still, if the ringleader

is injured or dies, the others may not work without it: I have heard of many such cases.

If you must, temporarily use another dog to get a pup going and keen, but as soon as it is, train it on its own with stock. To me, a dog that won’t work on its own, is useless – bullet material.

Buyers, when you phone about a dog you are interested in, after asking ‘Is it still for sale?’ ask ‘Does the dog work stock on its own?’ If it doesn’t, don’t even bother getting in the car;

find one that does.If you forget to ask, whatever you

do don’t hand over any money if all you see is the dog running around chasing stock with another dog; you may be paying good money for a big problem.

I asked Julie what they paid for the dog and roared with laughter when I heard “nothing”.

Apparently the owner was giving up farming and was more interested in a good home. I’d say he knew the dog was half-hearted and didn’t dare put a price on it.

Even though they didn’t hand over any cash, time and fuel don’t come cheap. They aren’t the first people to go on a wild goose chase, or the first people to take home a dog they should not have and they won’t be the last.

They were naïve, they didn’t know; learn from their mistake.

I am going to work with Julie over the phone; we shall try all the tricks I can think of to turn the situ-ation around and maybe, just maybe, her young Huntaway will fly solo and work stock on his own – fingers crossed. • Anna Holland is teaching people dog training. For more information: www.annaholland.co.nz Tel. 06 212 4848 [email protected]

One question new working dog buyers should always ask: ‘Does the dog work stock on it’s own’?

On high performance beef farms, stock become more vulnerable to clostridial disease, especially sudden death syndrome. If you’re seeing unexplained deaths, especially in young stock, top producing herds, or stock of high genetic value then it’s time to upgrade to the advanced protection of Covexin®10.

AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ®Registered trademark MSD Animal Health. Phone 0800 800 543 www.msd-animal-health.co.nz COV-289B-2013

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SHOW FLY AND LICE THE DOOR!EXIT® is a highly effective, easy-to-use IGR Pour-On that controls fly and lice on sheep.

l EXIT Pour-On for sheep contains triflumuron, an extremely effective insect growth regulator (IGR)

l IGRs provide longer acting control of fly and lice, as well as being more user-friendly than traditional OP dips and SP Pour-Ons

l EXIT Pour-On, with its no-mix formulation means it is extremely easy to use anywhere on the farm for effective fly and lice control

FOR THE CONTROL OF BODY LICE (BOVICOLA OVIS) ON ALL BREEDS OF SHEEP AND FOR THE CONTROL OF FLYSTRIKE (INCLUDING LUCILIA CUPRINA) IN COARSE WOOL BREEDS OF SHEEP.

CONTAINS 25 mg/mL TRIFLUMURON

PLEASE READ LABELS BEFORE USE.

WARNING: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDRENFOR ANIMAL TREATMENT ONLY

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PROUDLY AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL VETERINARY CLINIC.

MAL_Exit_14x7_advert.indd 1 11/11/14 2:02 PM

2015 External Parasite Treatment Survey – Sheep SATURATION DIPPING METHODSProduct Company Active

ingredientConcentra-tion

Dilution RateConstant Replenish-ment Shower

Part Per Million in Active Ingredient Wash

Withholding Period

Claims COMMENTS– asterisk (*) indicates not for treatment of existing strike

MEAT WOOL LICE KEDS FLY ITCH MITE

TICK

SERAPHOS 1250 Bayer NZ Ltd Propetamphos 360g/L 1:1250 14 days

RE

CO

MM

EN

DE

D: •

FIN

E W

OO

L 1

80 D

AYS •

MID

MIC

RO

N 9

0 D

AYS •

STR

ON

G W

OO

L 6

0

DAYS •

AT L

EA

ST 2

MO

NTH

S

Yes Yes Yes No Yes Mid term fly protection.

MAGGO Bayer NZ Ltd Propetamphos, Paradichloro-benzene

16g/L400g/L

1:40 14 days No No Yes No No For treatment of flystrike in sheep and protection against restrike and as a docking medication.

SWAT LIQUID Bayer NZ Ltd Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000500

7 Days No No Yes* No No 1. For longer term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against flystrike. Swat Liquid should not be used to treat active flystrike.

ZAPP JETTINGLIQUID

Bayer NZ Ltd Triflumuron 480g/L 1:1000L 480 42 days Yes No Yes* No No Specialised jetting formulation. Long term control of flystrike and lice.

ZENITH® CONCENTRATE

Coopers Diflubenzuron 250g/L 1.5L/10002.5L/1000

375 625

Nil Yes – Yes* No No 1.5L/1000L for shower/plunge dips, 2.5L/1000L for jetting controls both fly and lice. Non-stripping formulation. Water-based.

EXTINOSAD®

LIQUIDElanco Spinosad 25g/L 1:1250 20ppm spinosad Nil Yes No Yes No No Fast knockdown lice control with no meat or wool withholding.

20 week lice control guarantee on coarse wool breeds. Short term flystrike prevention and treatment.

CYREX ™ Elanco Cyromazine plus Spinosad

500g/L cyroma-zine and 12.5/L spinosad

1:500 1000ppm cyroma-zine and 25ppm spinosad

7 days Yes No Yes No No Combination dip for long term flystrike protection plus fast knockdown of maggots and lice. Treats active flystrike.

VETRAZIN LIQUID

Elanco Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001

1:10002

1000500

7 days No No Yes* No No 1. For long term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against fly strike. Vetrazin should not be used to treat active flystrike.

CRYAZIN KO® Merial Ancare CyromazineIvermectin

500g/L and 15g/L

1:500 1000 Cyromazine, 30 Ivermectin

21 days No No Yes No No For medium term protect against Flystrike.

CYRAZIN LIQUID®

Merial Ancare Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000500

7 Days No No Yes* No No 1. For long term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against flystrike. Cyrazin will not treat active strike.

FLEECEMAS-TER®

Merial Ancare Diflubenzuron 250g/L 1.5/1000l

2.5/1000l

375 625

Nil Yes – Yes* No No 1. For dipping and jetting of all adult sheep and for medium term fly protection in lambs. 2. 2.5/1000 For long term fly protection in lambs. 3. Fleecemaster is an insect growth regulator therefore: (i) lice control is achieved only when adult lice die naturally which may take 8 weeks or more (ii) Fleecemaster should not be used to treat active flystrike.

BANISH LIQ-UID

Norbrook New Zealand Ltd

Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000 500

7 days No No Yes* No No 1. For up to 12 week protection against flystrike. 2. For up to 6 week protection against flystrike.

LUCIFY LIQ-UID


Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000 500


SATURATE CLASSIC

Ravensdown Diflubenzuron 250g/L Lice: 600mL/1000L for off-shears; 1.5L/1000L for longer wool. Flystrike: 1.5-2.5L/1000L

150-375 (lice), 375-625 (flystrike)

7 days Yes No Yes* No No For lice control a unique cost-effective low dilution rate of 600mL/1000L for off-shears (1.5L/1000L for longer wool). For flystrike control use 1.5-2.5L/1000L (see label). Non-stripping water-based formulation.

SATURATE GOLD

Ravensdown Diflubenzuron 100g/L & Cyromazine 250g/L

4L/1000L for flystrike prevention & 2L/1000L for lice control

400 diflubenzuron & 1000 cyromazine for flystrike prevention200 diflubenzuron & 500 cyromazine for lice control

10 days Yes No Yes* No No Unique combination IGR for fly and lice control. Non-stripping formulation. Water-based.

FLYSAFE LIQUID

Ravensdown Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000500

7 Days No No Yes* No No 1. For long term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against flystrike. Flysafe Liquid should not be used to treat active flystrike.

2015 External Parasite Treatment Survey – Sheep POUR-ON OR SPRAY-ON METHODS

Pro

duct

Com

pany

Meth

od o

fA

pplicati

on

Acti

ve

Ingre

die

nt

Concentr

a-

tion

Form

ula

ted

Dose

Rate

Withholding Period

SA

FE

TY

MA

RG

IN

Treatment Times

RE

GIS

TE

RE

D

FO

R G

OAT

S

Claims

Comments— Asterisk (*) indicates not for treatment of existing strike.

MEAT MILK FINE WOOL COARSE WOOL

LICE KEDS FLY

SWAT SPRAY-ON

Bayer NZ Ltd Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L See label 21 days 35 days 4-12 weeksOff-shears

4-12 weeksOff-shears

No No No Yes* Apply with a coarse spray nozzle. Swat Spray-on will not treat active flystrike.

ZAPP ENCORE

Bayer NZ Ltd Pour-on Triflumuron, Imidacloprid

25g/L30g/L

See label 56 days 35 days 5x Machine shorn off shears and lambs up to 6 months – lice only

Flystrike and lice control off shears up to 6 months

No Yes No Yes Double combination pour on for knockdown and long term control of flystrike and lice. Can be applied to wet sheep. Easy to apply, fast spreading formulation.

ZAPP POUR-ON

Bayer NZ Ltd Pour-on Triflumuron 25g/L See label 49 days 35 days 5x Machine shorn off shears and lambs up to 6 months – lice only


No Yes No Yes* Can be applied to wet sheep. Easy to apply, fast spreading formulation.

MAGNUM® COOPERS Pour-on Diflubenzuron 25g/L Refer to label Nil 35 days 10x Fly: Any length Lice: Off-shears

Fly: Any length. Lice: Up to 3 months

No Yes1 No Yes* Magnum® is water-based and rainfast. 1 Recommended off-shears treatment for lice.

VANQUISH® COOPERS Pour-on Alpha Cypermethrin

50g/L Refer to label 7 days 35 days 5x Lice: Up to 10 months

Lice: Up to 10 months

No Yes*1 Yes Yes*2 Rainfast. 1 Vanquish is recommended off-shears but can be used as an emergency long-wool lice treatment. 2 Up to 6 weeks protection against flystrike.

WIPE-OUT® COOPERS Pour-on Deltamethrin 10g/L Refer to label 3 days 35 days 5x Lice: Up to 3 months


Yes Yes1 Yes. Excludes goats

No Rainfast. 1 Recommed off-shears treatment for lice.

CLIK Elanco Spray-on Dicyclanil 50g/L Read label for dose rate

1. 2 35 days >10X Any length wool Any length wool

No No No Yes 1. Meat WHP - Merino 56 days. All other breeds 35 days. 2. Do not use on sheep producing milk for human consumption.

CLIKZIN Elanco Low volume spray-on

Dicyclanil 12.5g/L Refer to label 7 days 35 days >10x Any wool length, including lambs at docking

Any wool length, in-cluding lambs at docking

No No No Yes

EXPO Elanco Spray-on Spinosad 20g/L See label Nil Nil >25x Off-shears up to 3 months

No Yes No No Lice pour-on for sheep with no meat or wool witholding. Rainfast.

VETRAZIN SPRAY-ON

Elanco Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L Read label for dose rates

7 days 35 days N/A Up to 5 mths wool

Up to 3 mths wool

No No No Yes* A water-based spray-on which will give protection against flystrike.

CYPERCARE® Merial Ancare BacklinePour-on

Cyperme-thrin

25g/L 1m/5kg LW2ml/5kg LW

14 days 35 days 10x Off shears Up to 3 mths3-6 mths

Yes YesYes*

Yes No *Lice on goats. Contains scourable marker Pour-on 2ml/5kg LW 3-6mths wool.

EXIT® Merial Ancare Pour-on Triflumuron 25g/L Refer to label 49 days 35 days 5x Off shears2 Off shears or with up to 6 mths wool1

No Yes2 No Yes1* 1. Fly: up to 3 mths following. Shearing lice - up to 6 mths wool growth. 2. Fine wool lice only - off shears.

EXIT EXTREME®

Merial Ancare Pour-on Cypermethrin Triflumuron

30g/L25g/L

Refer to label 49 days 35 days 5x Off shears2 Off shears or with up to 6 mths wool1

No Yes2 No Yes1 1. Fly: up to 3 mths following. Shearing lice - up to 6 mths wool growth. 2. Fine wool lice only - off shears.

CYRAZIN SPRAY-ON®

Merial Ancare Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L Read label for dose rate

14 days 35 days 4-12 weeks 4-12 weeks No No No Yes* Apply with a coarse spray nozzle. Cyrazin Spray-on will not treat active flystrike. Do not use on sheepproducing milk for human consumption.

BANISH SPRAY-ON


Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L Refer to label 7 days 35 days N/A 4 to 12 weeks off shears

4 to 12 weeks off shears

No No No Yes* Apply with a coarse spray nozzle.Additional Point: Wool Withhold, 60 days.

LUCIFLY SPRAY-ON





FLYSAFE SPRAY-ON

Ravensdown Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L Refer to label 7 days 35 days N/A 4 to 12 weeks 4 to 12 weeks

No No No Yes* Apply with a coarse spray nozzle. Flysafe Spray-On will not treat active flystrike.

FLEECE-GUARD

Ravensdown Pour-on Diflubenzuron Deltamethrin

20g/L10g/L

Refer to label 7 days 35 days 5x Off-shears and up to 6 weeks wool growth

Off-shears and up to 6 weeks wool growth

No Yes No Yes* Unique double combination pour on for knockdown and long term control of lice plus up to 14 weeks flystrike control. Easy to apply with a standard applicator and T-bar nozzle.

NOTE: The Rural News External Parasite Treatments Guide for Sheep is compiled from information supplied by animal health companies. Although the information has been checked by our independent animal health advisor, Rural News accepts no responsibility or liability for inaccuracies. Asterisk (*) indicates not for treatment of existing strike. NOTE: – = Not supplied. N/A= Not allowed. A = Not allowed on animals producing milk for humans


CYRAZIN LIQUID FOR THE PREVENTION OF FLY STRIKE IN LAMBS AND SHEEP.

The tried and trusted cyromazine liquid dip for sheep. Available from your local veterinary clinic.

HIT FLY STRIKE BEFORE IT STARTS THIS SEASON.

Merial is a Sanofi company. MERIAL NZ LTD. LEVEL 3, MERIAL BUILDING, OSTERLEY WAY, MANUKAU, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND | WWW.MERIAL.CO.NZ | CYRAZIN® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF MERIAL. REGISTERED PURSUANT TO THE ACVM ACT 1997 | NO. A7509. ©COPYRIGHT 2014 MERIAL NZ LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SEE WWW.FOODSAFTEY.GOVT.NZ FOR REGISTRATION CONDITIONS. NZ-14-CYR-206.

PROUDLY AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL VETERINARY CLINIC.

MAL_Cyrazin_14x7_advert.indd 1 11/11/14 2:01 PM

2015 External Parasite Treatment Survey – Sheep SATURATION DIPPING METHODSProduct Company Active

ingredientConcentra-tion

Dilution RateConstant Replenish-ment Shower

Part Per Million in Active Ingredient Wash

Withholding Period

Claims COMMENTS– asterisk (*) indicates not for treatment of existing strike

MEAT WOOL LICE KEDS FLY ITCH MITE

TICK

SERAPHOS 1250 Bayer NZ Ltd Propetamphos 360g/L 1:1250 14 days

RE

CO

MM

EN

DE

D: •

FIN

E W

OO

L 1

80 D

AYS •

MID

MIC

RO

N 9

0 D

AYS •

STR

ON

G W

OO

L 6

0

DAYS •

AT L

EA

ST 2

MO

NTH

S

Yes Yes Yes No Yes Mid term fly protection.

MAGGO Bayer NZ Ltd Propetamphos, Paradichloro-benzene

16g/L400g/L

1:40 14 days No No Yes No No For treatment of flystrike in sheep and protection against restrike and as a docking medication.

SWAT LIQUID Bayer NZ Ltd Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000500

7 Days No No Yes* No No 1. For longer term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against flystrike. Swat Liquid should not be used to treat active flystrike.

ZAPP JETTINGLIQUID

Bayer NZ Ltd Triflumuron 480g/L 1:1000L 480 42 days Yes No Yes* No No Specialised jetting formulation. Long term control of flystrike and lice.

ZENITH® CONCENTRATE

Coopers Diflubenzuron 250g/L 1.5L/10002.5L/1000

375 625

Nil Yes – Yes* No No 1.5L/1000L for shower/plunge dips, 2.5L/1000L for jetting controls both fly and lice. Non-stripping formulation. Water-based.

EXTINOSAD®

LIQUIDElanco Spinosad 25g/L 1:1250 20ppm spinosad Nil Yes No Yes No No Fast knockdown lice control with no meat or wool withholding.

20 week lice control guarantee on coarse wool breeds. Short term flystrike prevention and treatment.

CYREX ™ Elanco Cyromazine plus Spinosad

500g/L cyroma-zine and 12.5/L spinosad

1:500 1000ppm cyroma-zine and 25ppm spinosad

7 days Yes No Yes No No Combination dip for long term flystrike protection plus fast knockdown of maggots and lice. Treats active flystrike.

VETRAZIN LIQUID

Elanco Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001

1:10002

1000500

7 days No No Yes* No No 1. For long term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against fly strike. Vetrazin should not be used to treat active flystrike.

CRYAZIN KO® Merial Ancare CyromazineIvermectin

500g/L and 15g/L

1:500 1000 Cyromazine, 30 Ivermectin

21 days No No Yes No No For medium term protect against Flystrike.

CYRAZIN LIQUID®

Merial Ancare Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000500

7 Days No No Yes* No No 1. For long term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against flystrike. Cyrazin will not treat active strike.

FLEECEMAS-TER®

Merial Ancare Diflubenzuron 250g/L 1.5/1000l

2.5/1000l

375 625

Nil Yes – Yes* No No 1. For dipping and jetting of all adult sheep and for medium term fly protection in lambs. 2. 2.5/1000 For long term fly protection in lambs. 3. Fleecemaster is an insect growth regulator therefore: (i) lice control is achieved only when adult lice die naturally which may take 8 weeks or more (ii) Fleecemaster should not be used to treat active flystrike.

BANISH LIQ-UID


Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000 500


LUCIFY LIQ-UID


Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000 500


SATURATE CLASSIC

Ravensdown Diflubenzuron 250g/L Lice: 600mL/1000L for off-shears; 1.5L/1000L for longer wool. Flystrike: 1.5-2.5L/1000L

150-375 (lice), 375-625 (flystrike)

7 days Yes No Yes* No No For lice control a unique cost-effective low dilution rate of 600mL/1000L for off-shears (1.5L/1000L for longer wool). For flystrike control use 1.5-2.5L/1000L (see label). Non-stripping water-based formulation.

SATURATE GOLD

Ravensdown Diflubenzuron 100g/L & Cyromazine 250g/L

4L/1000L for flystrike prevention & 2L/1000L for lice control

400 diflubenzuron & 1000 cyromazine for flystrike prevention200 diflubenzuron & 500 cyromazine for lice control

10 days Yes No Yes* No No Unique combination IGR for fly and lice control. Non-stripping formulation. Water-based.

FLYSAFE LIQUID

Ravensdown Cyromazine 500g/L 2:10001 1:10002

1000500

7 Days No No Yes* No No 1. For long term protection against flystrike. 2. For medium term protection against flystrike. Flysafe Liquid should not be used to treat active flystrike.

2015 External Parasite Treatment Survey – Sheep POUR-ON OR SPRAY-ON METHODSP

roduct

Com

pany

Meth

od o

fA

pplicati

on

Acti

ve

Ingre

die

nt

Concentr

a-

tion

Form

ula

ted

Dose

Rate

Withholding Period

SA

FE

TY

MA

RG

IN

Treatment Times

RE

GIS

TE

RE

D

FO

R G

OAT

S

Claims

Comments— Asterisk (*) indicates not for treatment of existing strike.

MEAT MILK FINE WOOL COARSE WOOL

LICE KEDS FLY

SWAT SPRAY-ON

Bayer NZ Ltd Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L See label 21 days 35 days 4-12 weeksOff-shears

4-12 weeksOff-shears

No No No Yes* Apply with a coarse spray nozzle. Swat Spray-on will not treat active flystrike.

ZAPP ENCORE

Bayer NZ Ltd Pour-on Triflumuron, Imidacloprid

25g/L30g/L

See label 56 days 35 days 5x Machine shorn off shears and lambs up to 6 months – lice only


No Yes No Yes Double combination pour on for knockdown and long term control of flystrike and lice. Can be applied to wet sheep. Easy to apply, fast spreading formulation.

ZAPP POUR-ON

Bayer NZ Ltd Pour-on Triflumuron 25g/L See label 49 days 35 days 5x Machine shorn off shears and lambs up to 6 months – lice only


No Yes No Yes* Can be applied to wet sheep. Easy to apply, fast spreading formulation.

MAGNUM® COOPERS Pour-on Diflubenzuron 25g/L Refer to label Nil 35 days 10x Fly: Any length Lice: Off-shears

Fly: Any length. Lice: Up to 3 months

No Yes1 No Yes* Magnum® is water-based and rainfast. 1 Recommended off-shears treatment for lice.

VANQUISH® COOPERS Pour-on Alpha Cypermethrin

50g/L Refer to label 7 days 35 days 5x Lice: Up to 10 months


No Yes*1 Yes Yes*2 Rainfast. 1 Vanquish is recommended off-shears but can be used as an emergency long-wool lice treatment. 2 Up to 6 weeks protection against flystrike.

WIPE-OUT® COOPERS Pour-on Deltamethrin 10g/L Refer to label 3 days 35 days 5x Lice: Up to 3 months


Yes Yes1 Yes. Excludes goats

No Rainfast. 1 Recommed off-shears treatment for lice.

CLIK Elanco Spray-on Dicyclanil 50g/L Read label for dose rate

1. 2 35 days >10X Any length wool Any length wool

No No No Yes 1. Meat WHP - Merino 56 days. All other breeds 35 days. 2. Do not use on sheep producing milk for human consumption.

CLIKZIN Elanco Low volume spray-on

Dicyclanil 12.5g/L Refer to label 7 days 35 days >10x Any wool length, including lambs at docking

Any wool length, in-cluding lambs at docking

No No No Yes

EXPO Elanco Spray-on Spinosad 20g/L See label Nil Nil >25x Off-shears up to 3 months

No Yes No No Lice pour-on for sheep with no meat or wool witholding. Rainfast.

VETRAZIN SPRAY-ON

Elanco Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L Read label for dose rates

7 days 35 days N/A Up to 5 mths wool

Up to 3 mths wool

No No No Yes* A water-based spray-on which will give protection against flystrike.

CYPERCARE® Merial Ancare BacklinePour-on

Cyperme-thrin

25g/L 1m/5kg LW2ml/5kg LW

14 days 35 days 10x Off shears Up to 3 mths3-6 mths

Yes YesYes*

Yes No *Lice on goats. Contains scourable marker Pour-on 2ml/5kg LW 3-6mths wool.

EXIT® Merial Ancare Pour-on Triflumuron 25g/L Refer to label 49 days 35 days 5x Off shears2 Off shears or with up to 6 mths wool1

No Yes2 No Yes1* 1. Fly: up to 3 mths following. Shearing lice - up to 6 mths wool growth. 2. Fine wool lice only - off shears.

EXIT EXTREME®

Merial Ancare Pour-on Cypermethrin Triflumuron

30g/L25g/L

Refer to label 49 days 35 days 5x Off shears2 Off shears or with up to 6 mths wool1

No Yes2 No Yes1 1. Fly: up to 3 mths following. Shearing lice - up to 6 mths wool growth. 2. Fine wool lice only - off shears.

CYRAZIN SPRAY-ON®

Merial Ancare Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L Read label for dose rate

14 days 35 days 4-12 weeks 4-12 weeks No No No Yes* Apply with a coarse spray nozzle. Cyrazin Spray-on will not treat active flystrike. Do not use on sheepproducing milk for human consumption.

BANISH SPRAY-ON





LUCIFLY SPRAY-ON





FLYSAFE SPRAY-ON

Ravensdown Spray-on Cyromazine 60g/L Refer to label 7 days 35 days N/A 4 to 12 weeks 4 to 12 weeks

No No No Yes* Apply with a coarse spray nozzle. Flysafe Spray-On will not treat active flystrike.

FLEECE-GUARD

Ravensdown Pour-on Diflubenzuron Deltamethrin

20g/L10g/L

Refer to label 7 days 35 days 5x Off-shears and up to 6 weeks wool growth

Off-shears and up to 6 weeks wool growth

No Yes No Yes* Unique double combination pour on for knockdown and long term control of lice plus up to 14 weeks flystrike control. Easy to apply with a standard applicator and T-bar nozzle.

NOTE: The Rural News External Parasite Treatments Guide for Sheep is compiled from information supplied by animal health companies. Although the information has been checked by our independent animal health advisor, Rural News accepts no responsibility or liability for inaccuracies. Asterisk (*) indicates not for treatment of existing strike. NOTE: – = Not supplied. N/A= Not allowed. A = Not allowed on animals producing milk for humans

ACVM No:A0934 ®Registered trademark. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.coopersonline.co.nz NZ/MLT/0915/0014

ELE-

0177

3A-R

NEL

E-01

773A

-RN

In a recent New Zealand trial we tested Multine against a leading 5-in-1 competitor. Every lamb vaccinated with Multine had increased Pulpy Kidney antibodies. In the case of the competitor vaccine, Pulpy Kidney antibodies increased in only 78% of the vaccinated lambs. When you’re vaccinating your lambs, the last thing you want is the possibility that they may not respond. The fi rst thing you want is Multine. Ask your animal health retailer now about Multine. The superior 5-in-1 clostridial vaccine.

When is a vaccinated lamb not a vaccinated lamb?

COMPETITOR VACCINEMULTINE®


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS 37

Maize planter offers 15% yield increasesWITH DEVELOPMENTS in forage maize grow-ing over the last decade – genetics to improve yields, pest resistance and reducing days to matu-rity – the arrival of a new planting concept looks to give maize growers another option.

Fourth generation McFarlane Contractors at Newstead, east of Hamil-ton, in the heart of dairy country, have recently added a new precision planter to their fleet, which takes the technol-ogy from the US – the home of corn growing.

The Great Plains Yield Pro Twin 825A planter, while using conventional seed rates, has a layout that departs from a con-ventional 30 inch single row spacing and places seeds 4 inches on either side of the traditional centre-line. This results in two rows, 8 inches apart, so 16 rows over the working width. More importantly seeds are

symmetrically staggered to allow each plant twice the room in each row.

The layout is said to result in a potential yield increase of 5-15% over conventional systems. With 24 inches between each pair of rows the crop can be treated post-emergence with standard implements and har-vested with unmodified machines.

The construction of the machine owes much to the North American trait of lots of steel with a heavy duty drawbar. It comes with a box-sec-tion toolbar which dou-bles as an air reservoir for the pressurised seed and delivery fertiliser system. Hydraulics send power to the fan, machine lift and lower, markers and the folding outer wings. The machine’s weight is car-ried by four large diame-ter wheels when drilling, which reduce to two for transport.

Under the toolbar, double disc openers create a tilth and are fol-lowed by Keaton seed

firmers. The fertiliser and seed distribution is pneumatic, with a 1600L capacity fertiliser carried centrally above the tool-bar and the 16 seed boxes mounted across the rear. The fertiliser system can deliver product at up to 400kg/ha at planting and, importantly, is placed directly between the pair of rows for best utilisa-tion.

The seed distribution units can be switched for small round, large round and large flat seeds.

These are delivered by air pressure to the delivery plate, singulated by brush and then momentarily held before dropping down the ‘clearshot’ delivery tube

for accurate spacing and placement.

Brent McFarlane, after watching the develop-ment of the technique in the US for six years, says they favoured exploring new technologies with the potential to increase yields.

“Using conventional seed rates of 100,000--115,000 seeds/ha but with

each plant having much more room to establish a good root system – that must be good science.”

He also reckons the crop canopy appears to develop much more quickly, so eliminating weeds and conserving

moisture; and he believes the plant stagger will help resist lodging in exposed or windy areas.

With three weeks of long days and late nights planting behind him, McFarlane is encouraged by the emerging plants.

On the question of downsides, McFarlane commented only that he was developing muscles from now having to fill 16 seeds hoppers rather than the conventional eight.www.powerfarming.co.nz

THE FACTS■■ McFarlane■Contractors,■Newstead,■

Hamilton■■ Fourth■generation,■operated■for■60■yrs■■ Twenty■operators■at■peak■season■■ Full■farm■contracting■■ Operating■to■80km■from■base■■ Fourteen■tractors,■two■harvesters,■six■

trucks.

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

Waikato contractors Brent, Nick and Colin McFarlane beside their Great Plains maize planter.

Galloway International Ltd

Registered Site(s):

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Design and manufacture of large, rotational moulded Polyethylene products

Scope of Registration:

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08 May 2015

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38 MACHINERY & PRODUCTSFendt’s new offering pushes the boundaries

FENDT HAS long pushed the boundaries of new tractor technology.

It pioneered headland management, on-board tyre inflation and exhaust brakes while other main-stream brands played catch-up. So it’s no sur-prise to hear Fendt will unveil its new 1000 series soon at Agritechnica.

The company says this 400-500hp wheeled trac-tor will supply a demand that until now has been the domain of gigan-tic tracklayers, dogged by inherent problems of weight and size.

While this world

market is relatively small -- 2500 units per year -- Fendt believes the 1000 series’ ability to do heavy cultivation or road work will find favour with cer-tain users.

Four models (1038, 1042, 1046 and 1050) will develop 380, 420, 460 and 500hp respectively. The designers claim that

very few components are sourced from exist-ing ranges: a point in case is the engine, which uses truck style technologies for low revving and high torque -- the 12.4L MAN units offer up to 2400Nm torque at 1100-1500rpm, at a rated speed of only 1700rpm.

Cooling is by a hydrau-

lically driven ‘push’ fan forc-ing air across the engine, the warm air exit-ing at the sides.

Emissions control is by SCR/Ad-Blue, and the low revving design of the lump makes extra DPF or DOC elements unneces-sary.

A new transmission (TA400) allows 60km/h at 1450rpm, or 40km/h at a low of only 950rpm. As in the 900 series, a hydro-static pump supplies two

hydrostatic motors, each driving the front or rear axle.

Clever engineering forestalls front wheel drag, as the wheels are pushed along, and at any speed over 25km/h the drive to the front axle dis-connects, only the rear axle driving. From the hydrostatic pump oil is free to take the path of least resistance to each motor, allowing vari-able torque distribution between each axle and eliminating wind-up suf-

fered with mechanical drive lines; the result is lower power loss and tyre wear and a better turning radius.

A newly launched con-trol called Grip Assist helps the operator iden-tify the need for bal-lasting, it’s position and on-the-go tyre pressure adjustment. This should make the transition from heavy cultivation to road work and back again a real breeze. Tyres up to 900-70R46 can be accommo-dated and up to 1250kg

ballast can be added to each rear wheel.

The cabin is as seen on the 800 and 900 series, with four point air sus-pension, and it combines double wishbone front suspension for a smooth ride. Automotive style lighting includes head-light levelling, hi-viz high level brake lights and day-light running lights.

Production is sched-uled for first quarter 2016, and prices are yet to be announced.www.fendt.co.nz

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

Fendt believes its 400-500hp models will supply demand that until now has been dominated by gigantic track layers.

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New CVT range good for contractors

IT’S TAKEN Argo a while, considering the re-birth

of McCormick took place in 2001, but the company has recognised the need for a ‘vario’ type tractor and launched the X

and-VT range.Continuously

variable transmissions (CVT) – or varios – have found increasing

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

IN THE early days of self-propelled forage harvesters, power seemed to be 350-400hp and they chopped a lot of grass or maize.

Today’s SPFH can be running engines from 600-1000hp and the output can make the man on the silage clamp cry.

Over the years we have seen telehandlers called in to replace the tractor mounted buck rake, while the high-end operators have largely moved to commercial grade loading shovels that can move high volumes of chopped grass, but need matching with equally high capacity attachments

Recently introduced by importer Ag Attachments, the Albutt range of folding forks look well able to take on the task.

Consisting of two models with overall widths of 4.27 and 4.88m, they offer capacities of 8.0 and 9.3cu m and

can move up to 7.5cu m of material in one push. Over-dimensioned high grade steels throughout are strong and durable and keep tare weights down.

The units have 1.65m long Hardox tines mounted in a 200 x 100 x 10mm carrier beam, and built to withstand the loads from commercial loaders. Side spillage is controlled by four conventional tines.

Hydraulic folding via double acting brings the transport width down to 2.97m; a locking mechanism makes for safe transport between jobs.

During operation the hydraulic cylinders are protected from upward shock loads to the wing sections by a hydraulic accumulator system which allows the wings to float over uneven ground and protects the loader headstock from the same forces. The units are supplied with quick hitch brackets, and tine guards and lighting kits are options. www.agattach.co.nz

favour especially with contractors who need continuous adjustment of speed during, say, harvesting, baling or transport work. There a conventional fixed ratio power shift set-up might not offer the exact speed required.

The McCormick VT range has three, 4-cyl models from 144 to 166hp, with ‘power boost’ in PTO and transport work taking output to 175hp. Also offered are two 6-cyl units rated at 165 and 177hp, with ‘boost’ giving a maximum of 192hp.

For the VT project the company has partnered with transmission industry leader ZF, whose latest Terramatic unit has software developed

by Argo.Product specialist Paul

Wade says “the design brief was to make the VT easy and intuitive to drive. First time users can jump on and drive away, and over time explore the tractors’ sophisticated features”.

In operation the VT system offers four driving modes:

auto – push the pedal and go, just like the family car

manual – upper and lower engine speeds are set and the driver controls the travel speed. This is useful for keeping the tractor in a power band that exploits the torque and power available, so would be good for heavy draft work

Cruise control for constant speed

PTO mode which maintains shaft speed and adjusts travel speed as load demands.

Supplementing the four driving modes are four speeds bands – 0-3km/h, 0-12km/h, 0-21km/h and 0-40 or 50km/h – which can be pre-programmed for specific tasks. It is interesting to note that the change between each of the speed ranges is seamless, unlike some other two range systems on the market that require the tractor to be stationary before the change can be made.

The cabin and drivers spaces focuses on ergonomics; a noatable

feature is a seat mounted control console with a 12 inch touch screen displaying transmission, engine, PTO and hydraulic functions, and optional display of GPS and ISOBUS control through the same screen

Generally the rest of the tractors’ specifications are the same as the semi-power shift X7 Pro-Drive models introduced last year, with features such as 9300kg lift capacity, 123L hydraulic flow via a load sensing system, and a total of up to 4 rear and 2 mid-mount remotes.

Expect to see first models in NZ mid 2016.www.agtek.co.nz

PILE IT HIGH!

Keep up with the latest stories from by following us atGET SOCIAL WITH RURALNEWS

facebook.com/ruralnews twitter.com/Rural_News

@rural_news


MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

TRACTOR & MACHINERY PARTS DIRECT TO YOUR FARMCLICK. DONE. EASY. www.partsdirect.farm

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40 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

2016 UPGRADES to New Holland FR self-pro-pelled foragers include all models having ECO mode which reduces fuel con-sumption when the engine cannot be fully loaded,

with the engine manage-ment system controlling engine speed to suit the job at hand.

The five models in the range (FR 480, FR 550, FR 650, FR 780 and FR 850) deliver 470, 544, 653, 775 and 824hp respectively.

The machines run FPT Industrial engines that

meet Tier4B emission reg-ulations; the four smaller machines run Cursor13 or 16 engines while the flag-ship FR850 sticks with the massive 20.1L Vector engine. With a combina-tion of Ad-Blue / DEF and DOC to deal with emis-sions, the 2016 set-up is said to use 13% less fuel than the previous Tier 3 versions, but maintaining the same length of cut. Along with the ECO mode running there is also an option of the NH Pow-ercruise system, which monitors power use and can adapt forward speeds to achieve the high-est work rate in variable conditions. The package is further enhanced by larger fuel and DEF tanks

to enable longer intervals between refills.

At the front end of the machine, NH claims to have the largest feed chan-

nel in the industry, with a 750mm wide feed roll unit delivering to a chopping cylinder with a chevron knife layout. A choice of 2

Fuel saving gear on all NH foragersMARK [email protected]

All models will come with fuel saving technology.

A new cabin gives 360 degree views.

x 8, 2 x 10 or 2 x 12 knives gives a range of chop lengths of 6-33mm, 5-27 mm or 4-22 mm respec-tively.

These machines come with the added bonus of the NH Hydroloc system, offering on-the-go adjust-ment of chop length as conditions dictate. This system can be used with the optional NH Activeloc system which monitors information from mois-ture and yield sensors to adjust length of cut auto-

matically, based on mois-ture content, with

the ability to adjust by up to 5mm over a 5% moisture change.

At the delivery end is a new spout layout with full length, replace-able side and top liners, a hard faced flipper at the spout’s end and a larger flipper control ram. At the base of the spout improved lubrication cuts wear and tear.

Optional NH Intellifill will fill trucks or trailers automatically in all con-ditions.

The new cabin allows 360 degree views, giving

an exceptionally unclut-tered view of the header and spout areas. A deluxe air suspension seat offers auto weight adjustment, variable shock absorp-tion and a host of adjust-ments to suit all shapes and sizes.

An optional leather luxury seat can be specified in the three larger models. A slim, double-jointed steering column and the CommandGrip control lever combine to offer fingertip control, while the Intelliview display screens monitors all machine functions.www.newholland.co.nz

DRAINAGE AND SOIL AERATION PAY BIG DIVIDENDSDon’t put good fertiliser on compacted soil which can’t absorb it. If your soil can’t support 15cm root growth and good worm population check for compaction. You could need aeration. In dollar terms, what would 20% production increase mean to your yearly turnover?

YOUR GREATEST ASSET IS THE SOIL YOU FARM. DON’T DESTROY IT!

MAITLAND RD5, GORE. PH/FAX 03-207 1837 OR 027-628 5695www.james-engineering.co.nz

• SOIL AERATION SPECIALISTS •

HEAVY DUTY AUTO RESET

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AERATORS

PRE RIPPERS

NOW AVAILABLE, 5 OR 6 LEG

MODELS

TOW AND FARMby metalform

TFCall us for your FREE demo now:WWW.TOWANDFARM.CO.NZ

0800 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 selective weed spray in one pass. Apply mag-oxide evenly with no waste resulting in no under-dosing or over-dosing of your cows during the spring. Easily oversow pastures with seed at the same time as a nitrogen application.



More precision in the field

JOHN DEERE used Agritech-nica 15 to showcase a silver medal-winning system called E-Z Ballast. It uses a 1.7 tonne weight fitted to the under-side of the tractor chassis. The system is said to be easily attached or removed from the driver’s seat. In operation it does not compete with the linkage for space and helps optimise weight distribu-tion for increased productivity.

FRONTLOADER SPECIALIST Stoll has developed a semi-automatic system to enable easy programming of two preferred heights of operation. Called Boom Kick-Out, and available on the Profi-line range of loaders, it allows the operator to select a lower position, typ-ically for loading, and a higher one for filling trailers or feeder/mixer wagons. Benefits include reductions in loading cycles, fuel consumption and wear and tear.

MCCORMICK IS about to launch the new X8 series comprising three models -- 264, 286 and 310hp. Using Beta Power engines sourced from FPT and mated to a ZF sourced CVT transmission, rear lift capacity is said to be 12 tonnes. A new cabin design completes the pack-age.

TOYOTA LUXURY arm Lexus has unveiled a vision-ary concept that for a high output fuel cell system that would drive the car’s rear wheels and send power to a pair of in-wheel motors at the front. The unique layout allows precise torque distribution between front and rear, giving exceptional handling and stability.

KRONE HAS released its ActiveMow mower range, with some models at smaller working widths but fea-turing specifications from higher-end units including the flagship Big M self-propelled machine. SmartCut, SafeCut, cutter bar protection and a large headstock combine for best mowing performance, and a verti-cal storage design saves space in the machinery shed. Working widths are 2.05-3.61m.

CULTIVATION AND drilling specialist Great Plains has unveiled its new Saxon range of cultivator drills. They come in working widths of 3 and 4m and suit min-imal disturbance situations. The drill is dual purpose: it can plant directly into a no-till seedbed with heavy trash residues, or work in a plough-based system need-ing extra cultivation before drilling. The key to this is a turbo coulter that can be exchanged for the angled, notched cultivation discs found on the company’s Cen-turion machine -- as conditions dictate. Seed delivery, placement and consolidation remain common across both ranges.

BITS & PIECES

FIRSTLY THERE was GPS and all of a sudden you knew what paddock you were in on the farm, then auto-steering kept you on the straight and narrow cleverly matching up bouts so there were no embarrassing misses.

The latest addition to the Case IH precision package takes the game a step further with the

NextSwath app.NextSwath takes the

effort out of headland turns with a fully auto-mated system that will boost efficiency and preci-sion in many arable oper-ations

In practice, as the trac-tor approaches the end of a swath or bout, the system calculates the best possible track to turn the tractor and implement around and bring it back onto line for the next pass.

This automation has several benefits, not least relieving the driver of a substantial workload, so it should prove particu-larly useful when using wide trailed implements and by ensuring there is no under- or overshoot-ing which can result in increased ‘shuttling’ on

headlands.While doing the cal-

culation the system will select the shortest route, which saves time, increases daily outputs and helps to save fuel. It lends itself to any row crops that need regu-lar applications of herbi-cides, and helps prevent

soil compaction on head-lands as the tractor will travel over the area in a more controlled and regu-lar way.

NextSwath is now available for the Case IH XCN 2050 and FM-1000 terminals and can be easily installed using an app.www.caseih.co.nz

MARK [email protected]

PO

W05

26A

Agrotron M600 Summit• 140hp 6.1L Deutz engine• 120L/min load sensing pump• 9250kg rear lift• Front and rear 100% diff lock

ASM• Cab suspension• 4 rear remotes

Agrotron M620 Summit• More horsepower (166hp)• Front suspension• 50 kph top speed• Front weight upgrade package

Agrotron TTV620• Even greater horsepower (184hp)• ZF TTV transmission• Electronic remotes• Headland management• Larger wheel equipment

5 DEPOSITINTE

REST

RAT

ESFR

OM A

S LO

W A

S

PAY

AS L

ITTL

E AS

TERM

S UP

TO 10% 0% **

YEAR

S

Pay for the Agrotron M620*We’ll upgrade you to the TTV620

Pay for the Agrotron M600*We’ll upgrade you to the M620

It’s easy really. It’s an upgrade. For free. You pay for an Agrotron M-Series tractor, and we’ll give you the next level of spec – for free.

Pay for a 140hp Deutz and we’ll give you the 166hp model; pay for the 166hp model and we’ll upgrade you to the 184hp TTV model. For all the details visit deutzdeals.co.nz or call your local Power Farming dealer, and get more bang for your buck.

DEUTZFLEXIFINANCE

ASK ABOUT

HIRE TO BUY

an upgrade. For free. You pay for an Agrotron MMM SS-Series tractor, and we’ll evel of spec – for free.

d ’ll

* Refer to current ‘no trade’ prices. ** 0% finance based on 30% deposit (plus total gst paid in month 3) and monthly payments for a 12 month term.Offer available for a limited time to approved applicants only. Terms and conditions apply.


42 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Digging deep for our communitiesAS YEAR-END approaches we are at last seeing grass growth around the country and rural contractors are cranking up for their busy season.

Parts of Canterbury are still in desperate need of good rains, while in Southland and Otago too much of the wet stuff has fallen and we need summer conditions to get things cracking. Mean-while, in the North Island baleage and silage harvest-ing is well underway and the main hay season is just around the corner.

It appears the run of positive dairy auctions have taken a breather with slight drops in the last two GlobalDairyTrade events (GDT). Let’s hope the drop in forecast milk pro-duction – due to lower cow numbers and slower pas-ture growth – will lead to a corresponding lift in auc-tion prices again.

In fact, the ASB says it expects dairy auction prices to rise over the season despite the recent GDT falls. The bank’s rural economist Nathan Penny

says it’s sticking with its $5/kgMS milk price fore-cast.

Meanwhile, beef prices, formerly buoy-ant, are now coming off record highs and there is talk of possible $100 lamb prices again this season.

No doubt year’s end and early 2016 will bring tight times for farmers and agricultural contractors. My advice to contractors is keep communicating with your bankers and accoun-tants, and with your clients and other contrac-tors. We are all in the same boats, but good communi-cation helps keep everyone informed and sometimes it is good to simply chat with someone who under-stands your situation and

the issues you face. It is easy, when things

get tough, to get caught up in day-to-day business matters and forget the positive things happening in our sector.

For example, I recently had the privilege of pre-senting a cheque for $25,325 to St John in Marl-borough on behalf of Rural Contractors NZ (RCNZ).

This donation was thanks to the generosity of RCNZ members attend-ing our annual conference

in Blenheim in late June. Each year at our confer-ence we hold a charity auc-tion: sponsors provide gifts and RCNZ members bid for these, the pro-ceeds going to St John in the local area. So St John in Marlborough are now better funded to keep doing their splendid com-munity work in the local region.

In the past five years RCNZ has raised well over $100,000, all of it going to St John in various regions.

Rural contractors have a great affinity for the work of St John and RCNZ is proud to help support this worthy and valuable char-ity that is vital to rural NZ. And the gifts show the spirit and value of agricul-tural contractors in our rural communities.

For the same reason RCNZ is also part of RHAANZ (Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa NZ). This group represents many rural sector organ-isations and sounds a united rural voice on spe-cific matters and policies affecting the health and wellbeing of rural commu-nities.

Rural contractors work, and mostly live and take part in, NZ’s rural commu-nities. So RCNZ believes it is important we are seen to be doing our bit to contrib-ute and add value to those communities. We will con-tinue to do so, despite the weather or the ups-and-downs of the commodity markets.• Agricultural contractor Steve Levet, of Wellsford, is the president of Rural Contractors New Zealand.

JCB TURNS 70!

LYING IN bed on the company’s birthday? I don’t think so! But then, I’m not the company owner.

Instead it was the privilege of Sir Anthony Bam-ford, chairman of renowned British machinery maker JCB, on October 23 to give all the group’s 12,000 employees a day off to celebrate the firm’s founding on that day in 1945. That was the day Joseph Cyril Bamford (JCB), in a lock-up garage in UIttoxeter, UK, began making trailers from war-surplus scrap steel.

Today JCB runs 22 factories – 11 in the UK, others in India, USA, Brazil and China; annual rev-enues are 2.7 billion pounds.

“My first memories of my father was that he was always dreaming up ways of doing things better, and this is epitomised by the invention of the backhoe loader in 1953, which proved a god-send and caused a revolution in the construction industry,” Bamford says.

Today backhoe loaders make up part of a product portfolio that runs to over 300 products produced and sold globally, and over 600,000 backhoes since those early days. The range of back-hoes alone runs to 40 different models from the compact 1CX to the mighty 5CX.

While the backhoe loader was undoubtedly the building block of JCB, diversification over the years saw a move into agriculture, military and industrial products.

On the agricultural front, how many farm-ing operations have had their materials handling revolutionised by a JCB Loadall, or their trans-port operations accelerated by the unique Fas-trac, while still turning in a credible performance in the paddock?

The business remains privately owned by the original family, working to Mr JCB’s ethos: “our customers make payday possible and we need to listen to and work with then closely.”

To celebrate the milestone a ‘Platinum Edi-tion 3CX’ will be built, limited to 70 pieces, with red buckets, a full white cab and red wheels. This appearance was last seen on the 3CIII in 1979.

MARK DANIEL

[email protected]

In the past five years RCNZ has raised well over $100,000, all of it going to St John in various regions. Rural contractors have a great affinity for the work of St John and RCNZ is proud to help support this worthy and valuable charity that is vital to rural NZ. And the gifts show the spirit and value of agricultural contractors in our rural communities.

FEED PROCE SSORF OR A L L S T OCK F E E D OP E R AT ION S

0800 88 55 624www.tulloch.co.nz DEALERS NATIONWIDE

All Supreme Feed Processors have been designed according to sound, field tested engineering principles to make them the most versatile and reliable feed preparation units available.

Features include....

• Patented auger design

• Extremely accurate electronic measurement

• Optimally designed mixing tub

• Full control of cut length

• Highest quality components and materials

3 point linkage connects to tractor hydraulics

23 tonne capacity (at 3100 psi)

Large table for ease of operation

Detent on valve

HYDRASPLITTER TPL

PH: 06 759 8402 FOR YOUR NEAREST DEALER

[email protected] www.agriquip.co.nz

CAMBRIDGE FARM ROLLERS

Vee Ring Roller Seeder Drill with Vee bottom seed box, hydraulic clutch, ext. drawbar, ........................ $18,800 Special rollers made to order, Spare parts, Rings and Bearings. 26"dia rings ............................$90.0024"dia rings ............................$85.00 Ph: 0800-838 963

• All prices ex-Factory, Excl GST •Competitive freight rates to the North Island

NEW 10ft Roller with Extension Drawbar & Screw Jack $6900

AUSTINS FOUNDRY LTD 131 King Street, Timaru www.austinsfoundry.co.nz


RURAL TRADER 43

10 HALL ROAD, RD5, WHANGAREIPhone 09 438 8907

Visit www.lastrite.co.nz for more quality products

FOOTWEAR LTD NZ MADE BOOTS

HUNTER BOOTS Comfortable, durable and stylish. The heavy duty sole construction makes this a robust boot

designed for climbing over rugged ground. This boot has a soft toe and is made from a thick Mad Dog Nubuck Leather, stitched and screwed construction with a rubber,

replaceable sole, that is glued and screwed. Soft padding for ankle support and D-Rings for your laces are an added

advantage. Great fitting boots full of comfort, ideal for those long hunting and tramping trips.

FARMER BOOTS Lastrite’s Farmer boots are made for comfort. Constructed from Reverse kip leather they are an

ideal farmers, fencers and builders boot. Very sturdy and made to last this boot is robust with a heavy duty construction.

It has a leather insole and midsole that is stitched and screwed construction with a rubber, replaceable sole,

that is glued and screwed. Update your old boots now and you will never look back.

Bar Tires Grass Mulching Kit

Choose Performance That LastsThe Bush Hog® brand means superior performance now and for years to come. It was born more than 60 years ago with the famous Bush Hog® rotary cutters. From the very beginning, Bush Hog® TOUGH features were built into these machines. Many Bush Hog® mowers built 30 years ago are still on the job.

Canopy (not pictured)Our white canopy mounts directly to the roll bar (ROPS tube) to provide shade, comfort and protection from harmful UV rays.

Grass Mulching Kit Under-deck, bolt-on baffles capture grass clippings so specially designed mulching blades can shred them into a fine, lawn-feeding mulch.Working Lights Halogen headlights are easily angled from the operator’s seat and throw plenty of light for after hours mowing.Trailer Hitch Kit Easily bolts-on to enable you to tow a utility trailer or other tools and attachments.Anti-Scalping Roller Additional anti-scalp protection on discharge side is provided by this easily bolted-on roller. Recommended for use with mulching kit.Bar Tires Specially designed for maximum traction on hilly terrain or red clay and mud. Power Deck Lift (Not pictured) Electronically raises or lowers the mowing deck to your chosen cutting height. (Available on Professional Series only)**Accessories differ by model. See dealer for complete details.

Dealer Info:

SMILE. The grass needs mowing. Again.Our line of Zero Turn Mowers give you plenty to smile about. There’s the renowned durability andreliability that has made BUSH HOG® a legend for over 60 years. They’re perfect for commerciallandscapers and homeowners with large lawns and acreage. They’re built to last and easy tomaintain. They cut beautifully. And they’re a total blast to drive!

www.bushhog.comBush Hog®, Inc. 2501 Griffin Ave., Selma, AL 36703 (334) 874-2700©April 2014 Bush Hog®, Inc.

Available Accessories**

Mulching Blade

Trailer Hitch Kit

Working LightsAnti-Scalping Roller

Professional SeriesThese mowers combine heavy-duty construction and

superior performance features with creature comforts designed to enhance the operator’s mowing experience.

In a lawn professional’s world, this is the bosses’personal machine.

Everything you need for maximum productivity and comfort year after year

Model Engine & Deck

PZ2761KH5 Kohler CV742 Command Pro Engine (Gross 25 HP*)/61-inch, 3-spindle deck



FEATURES

• Infinitely variable speeds from 0 to 14 MPH• 61 and 73-inch cutting widths with 7-gauge welded decks• 12-gallon fuel capacity• Deluxe high-back, vinyl covered full-suspension seat equipped with arm

rests and operator weight adjustment, lumbar adjustment and fore and aft adjustment• Dual Hydro-Gear® ZT5400 hydrostats with large, 9-inch cooling fans

deliver faster ground speed and superior responsiveness • Pivoting front axle to reduce scalping and deck wear• Deck is suspended from front axle to provide better contour following

and immediate response to high spots• 3-year commercial limited warranty. Lifetime limited deck weldment.*

PROFESSIONAL SERIES

*Engine Rated at 3600 RPM Per SAE J1940 Gross

MADE IN

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0800 38 44 5004

1515

C109

27

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• Ideal addition to your block• Grow vegetables all year round and reduce your grocery bill• Very affordable and easy to install• Totally NZ made by family business making tunnelhouses for 30 years• Range of models from 2m to 8m long

T/F 03 214 4262E [email protected]

www.morrifield.com

Tunnelhouses

$595+GST delivered

BE SAFE... FIT A QUADBAR

For a Quadbar, call me, Stuart Davidson, owner of Quadbar NZ, on 021-182 8115.

Email [email protected] or for more info

go to

www.quadbar.co.nz

The award winning Australian Quadbar is now on over 3000 farms

in NZ and Australia and is saving lives and preventing injury daily. It is now

made here and is a well proven crush protection device for quad bikes.

Free Range & Barn EggsSUPPLIERS OF:• Nest boxes - manual or

automated• Feed & Drinking• Plastic egg traysQUALITY PRODUCTS MADE

IN EUROPE OR BY PPP❖ A trusted name in Poultry Industry

for over 50 years ❖

SHEEP JETTER

Over 1000 units soldDeep penetrationTotal body coverage2.5 litres per sheep

NO ONE BEATSOUR PRICE!

Manufactured

in NZ since 1980

* Price includes Davey Pump & Honda Motor* Freight free to nearest main centre

$5112.00 + GST

FLY OR LICE PROBLEMS?The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989

Quality construction and options • Get the contractors choice

07 573 8512 | [email protected] – www.electrodip.com

Featuring...• Incredible chemical economy• Amazing ease 1500+ per hour• Unique self adjusting sides• Environmentally and user friendly• Automatically activated• Proven effective on lice as well as fly• Compatible with all dip chemicals• Accurate, effective application

• ATV Carrier Mats • Exit/Entry Areas• Calf Trailers • Horse Floats & Trucks

• Weigh Platforms • Bale Mats • Comfort Mats for Wet & Dry Areas

• Utility Deck Matting

Phone: 0800 80 8570www.burgessmatting.co.nz

Rubber Safety MattingCRAIGCO SENSOR JET

P 06 835 6863 - www.craigcojetters.com

DEAL TO FLY AND LICE

• Cost Effective

• Complete Package

• Unbeatable pricing

• Performance Guaranteed

DOLOMITENZ’s fi nest BioGro certifi ed

Mg fertiliserFor a delivered price call...

0800 436 566

Registration is FREE!

KEEP UP-TO-DATEWITH OUR WEEKLY

NEWSLETTER.

www.ruralnews.co.nz/enewsletter

Check out the latest market data atwww.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/markets

Market Data Every Week

Check out our websites

www.ruralnews.co.nz

www.dairynews.co.nz

Follow-up coming onwww.dairynews.co.nz

Minimal SweatingPOLY SILOS

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The Alpheus Anti-Parasitic Capsule is truly revolutionary, with four months premium protection from one dose.

For further information please visit sironaanimalhealth.com, phone 0800 474 766, or contact your local veterinarian.

rural news 17 november 2015

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