rural news 5 feb 2013

RuRalNEWS

managementCooling grain the day it comes off the paddock minimises the risk of infestation. page 21

northland field daysA change in scheduling gives rise to better attendance by exhibitors. pages 29-34 wool growth

The hot dry weather has seen a bumper

season says wool broker.

page 12

to all farmers, for all farmers

februAry 5, 2013: Issue 531 www.ruralnews.co.nz

happy chappyrecent fine weather has helped cropping farmers reel in this year’s harvest, with most reporting good yields and quality, including Canterbury grower sid Worsfold.“I’m wrapped with harvest so far,” he told Rural News last week as he was augering saracen milling wheat into a silo.Coming off a dryland paddock at 9t/ha it was well ahead of his long-term average of 6.5t/ha for such crops off that land.“And the quality’s just beautiful.”more harvest detail p13

DCD scare will blow overA DAIRY RETAIL analyst believes the DCD tainted-milk scare engulfing New Zealand processors will blow over in two weeks.

Tim Morris, of Coriolis, an Auck-land market research firm, says there’s nothing to suggest Fonterra has been directly involved in getting DCD into milk or trying to sweep the issue under the carpet. Fonterra’s global reputation as a producer of clean and safe dairy products isn’t under threat, he says. Unlike the 2008 Sanlu melamine scan-dal in China where six babies died and thousands were hospitalised. Fonterra owned 43% of Sanlu.

Morris says levels of DCD found in Fonterra products are well below acceptable limits in Europe. Last week one Kiwi entrepreneur selling infant for-mula in China reported a drop in sales.

But Morris says sales of New Zea-land infant formula in China should not be affected. Chinese consumers prefer New Zealand milk powder over their own since the melamine scandal.

Consumers will also decide whether Fonterra is a passive victim or an active participant in getting DCD-contaminated milk to the markets, he says.

“There are no dead babies and most people have never heard of DCD,” he told Rural News. “It has been detected because there is much more stringent testing in place after the Sanlu scandal. But it’s nothing like the melamine scan-dal.”

Morris says he has researched 20 to 30 similar events and believes the media focus on the story will be gone in two weeks.

Outgoing Minister for Primary Industries David Carter is also backing Fonterra’s handling of the DCD scare.

“I think Fonterra acted with abso-lute honesty and integrity and I equally think that New Zealand has acted with honesty and integrity,” he told Rural News. “We are aware of our interna-tional reputation in this regard about

being upfront with trading partners and we’ve enhanced that reputation again by being so upfront.”

MPI was first made aware of the issue in early November. Nitrate inhibitors containing DCD are applied by farmers

in spring and autumn. Carter says the MPI took time to re-test and check the results before talking to processors and other industry stakeholders on a strat-egy to deal with the issue.

suDesh kissun

[email protected]

Success fee concerns

to page 3

to page 4

CONCERNS OVER a consultant’s success fee are emerging as the pivotal issue in the CRT/Farmlands merger debate.

Merger analysts KPMG or Sim-mons Corporate Finance get no bonus if the merger goes ahead, but there is such a deal with the consultant who

supplied those firms the information they analysed. That is prompting some shareholders in both cooperatives to question the independence of the information critical to their decision.

But CRT chairman Don McFarlane stands by the analysts’ reports. “There’s absolutely no success fee for the independent appraisers so that the reports are completely independent

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RuRal News // february 5, 2013

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issue 531www.ruralnews.co.nz

and have absolute integrity,” he told Rural News. He dismissed the concerns raised by ex-Farmlands directors Hugh Ritchie and Charlie Pedersen as a “political stunt”.

McFarlane declined to put fig-ures on how the estimate of $38m of net merger benefits in the first three years would accrue, but says the split is roughly a third from each of better margins and hence profits, reduced overheads and administration, and more efficient use of resources.

Simmons’ report, publically avail-able on CRT’s website, says CRT and Farmlands estimate that after merger costs of about $3m incurred in 2013,

net benefits in 2014 will be “approx-imately $9 million, approximately $14 million in 2015 and, once the IT systems have been fully integrated, approximately $18 million in 2016.” No further breakdown of these fig-ures is provided.

Ritchie says the full KPMG report – not the two-pager on Farmlands’ web-site – flagged a lot of risk in the merger with only stronger procurement get-ting a green light out of eight or nine merger points. “There was a red light for IT, and everything else was amber.”

He is also concerned the analysts haven’t “pulled the figures apart” or ‘ground-truthed’ them with staff in the cooperative.

“The independent consultant has provided the information and orches-trated the process. When you have a success fee on that, then you start to call into question the impartiality of the information.”

He dismisses recent suggestions the success fee is insignificant. “If you don’t think a six figure sum going to one individual isn’t a significant driver, then there are some issues.”

He stresses his resignation wasn’t to campaign against the merger, but to raise shareholders’ awareness that “this is not clear cut”. Nor was it a political stunt.

See more on merger p6

from page 1

lamb outlook tenuous that’s enough!BEEF + LAMB New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen says he’s going to quit the top job when his term expires about this time next year.

Petersen told Rural News he believes people should not stay in the role for more than 10 years and it’s time for others to step up.

“I’m in my final term and have about a year to run. I feel strongly that if you stay around any longer than 10 years you become a blockage for new think-ing, ideas and people. There’s really a need for new energy and enthusiasm.”

Beef+Lamb NZ Board have known about this for some time, he says.

“We have been working through this and talking about succession and devel-oping people for the future and we are well prepared. We’ve got a succession plan in place and will probably be talk-ing at the AGM in March about how we are going to do that.”

Petersen says the changes in the meat industry have been ‘graphic’ in the 10 years he’s been on the board. In 2004, there was a still a statutory organisation called the Meat Board.

“We have turned around from being an organisation that operates under statute to one that is now 100% owned by farmers – who determine the future and direction of Beef+Lamb NZ. It’s been a massive change. There is greater ownership at grassroots level than we’ve ever had before.”

Petersen believes one of the biggest issues still to be resolved in the meat industry is over-capacity in processing plants.

“It’s far too competitive at the farm-gate and this stops farmers and compa-nies forming long term relationships This doesn’t allow the companies to plan with certainty in the market.

“What we have is fierce competi-tion for probably about 15% of livestock that’s floating and unfortunately that’s what creates the inequity and almost the obsession to get best price,” he adds.

THE OUTLOOK for lamb right now is tenuous, according to Beef + Lamb NZ chairman Mike Petersen.

He told Rural News that for farm-ers the issue is price, even though it has not descended to the levels seen five years ago. Petersen says this is rocking the confidence of many farmers at a time when they face the decision about how many ewes to put out to the ram in March.

“When we look at the affluent mar-kets we are selling most of our sheep-meat to, particularly in Europe and the USA, those economies are very, very sick. I’d say it’s going to be volatile for a while longer. We’re just hopeful we can get renewed demand at much better prices so it comes back to the farm gate. But I haven’t got a firm handle on where that’s heading right at this moment.”

Petersen says given the present sit-uation there is a risk sheep farmers will turn to dairying – particularly in the south.

“I think the swing to dairying in the

South Island is becom-ing a landslide and I am concerned about what’s happening there. When I see mates of mine who’ve got high coun-try stations in Central Otago and they are put-ting 2000 dairy cows on them, I ask ‘is that really the right thing to do?’ ”

Petersen says he respects people’s deci-sions to convert, but land converted from sheep to dairy is seldom converted back to sheep. He believes further irrigation schemes may also encourage sheep farmers to convert to dairying or dairy support.

The meat industry cops a lot of flak, says Petersen, but people should not underestimate how quickly the meat companies are diversifying away from Europe and the US. He points out that New Zealand only filled 70% of its quota to Europe last year.

“Look at China, our second biggest market by volume now and they are moving very quickly up the value chain.

“In Indonesia, where I was just before Christmas, the inquiry there about sheepmeat was very strong. So don’t underestimate just how quickly this is happening.”

Petersen says many farmers are taking a long term view of the sheep-meat market. He believes they are look-ing three to five years out and saying there is good money to be made.

Petersen reckons, even with the dry weather on the North Island East Coast, many farmers there are still making good money. But he concedes it’s tough going.

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CRT/Farmlands merger gets messy

mike Petersen.

peter Burke

[email protected]


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4 news

“I am told they did some second testing and found zero levels of DCD so a third test was needed to confirm there was some level of DCD. At all times we knew we were never dealing with a food safety issue because the level of this ‘contamination’ was minus-cule.”

Fonterra’s managing director coopera-

tive affairs Todd Muller says while there is no food safety risk, DCD residues in agricul-tural products may present a future trade issue.

Fonterra will participate in a group set up by the MPI to examine what the sus-pension means to the use of DCD in farm-ing, including the impact on water quality requirements.

from page 1

Milk fuss to blow over

Councils face flak over DCDs

REGIONAL COUNCILS are under fire for not having policies on nitrate inhibitors and its effect on the food chain.

University of Waikato academic Stuart Locke says the DCD tainted-milk scare points to “massive failings” by regional coun-cils.

“ As our elected bodies with respon-sibility for the environment and increas-ingly needing to contribute to ensuring eco-nomic growth in regions, the fail-ure to have policies on fertiliser usage and any science on what anti-nitrate leaching agents might do to the food chain is disappointing,” he told Rural News.

“A defence of ‘we did not know’ cloaked in ‘no comment’ is not satis-factory and is potentially damaging to our food commodity export mar-kets. When we regulate to stop nitrate run-offs we end up with what the councils will probably call ‘unforeseen problems’.

“It is what economists would call an ‘adverse selection problem’. You

ban one thing and the response to satisfying the ban is to start to use some-thing else which has its own set of dangers.”

Canterbury Regional Council principal planning advisor Leo Fietje says the council doesn’t tell farmers how to farm. It’s what happens below the root zone and its affect on waterways that the council monitors, he says.

“We don’t require farmers to use nitrate inhibitors but it’s the second most cost-effec-tive way to control nitrate leaching. Irrigation man-agement is the most cost effective way.”

Fietje says the coun-cil has not been involved in industry discussions on DCD. He only learned about DCD-tainted milk by “a courtesy call” before the public announcement.

Horizons Regional Council chairman Bruce Gordon says it is looking into the extent of nitro-gen inhibitor usage in the region and getting advice

from MPI on implica-tions to New Zealand. “As a council we need to con-sider what, if any, implica-tions this may have on our rural sector,” says Gordon.

DairyNZ supports the withdrawal of nitrate inhibitors from the market but wants “pragmatic solutions” that would enable the product to be back on the market and able to be used by farmers.

DairyNZ chief execu-tive Tim Mackle says it sup-ports a proac-tive approach to managing the trade risk. “But this is a useful tool for farm-ers in manag-

ing their nutrient loss on farms, so we’d like to see solutions worked on as a priority.”

Mackle says there are tools farmers can use instead of DCD to manage nitrogen loss and its effect on water quality, so farm-ers will look at those in the meantime.

“We’re doing a lot of research on other mea-sures to manage nutri-ent loss so there are other options. But DCD is a par-ticularly effective one so we hope a solution can be worked on to enable it to be used.”• Customer concerns - p14

suDesh kissun

[email protected]

‘Crunch’ time for decisions in the parched north

IF DROUGHT conditions continue next week, it’s ‘crunch time’ for decision-making on beef and dairy farms in Northland and Waikato.

The dry is affecting beef finishing in Northland, and DairyNZ is sounding warnings on pasture preservation. But Federated Farmers Waikato dairy spokesman Chris Lewis says weather extremes are a fact of modern farm-ing and most farmers will have a plan in place.

Beef+Lamb NZ ‘s northern North Island extension manager Thomas Creswell told Rural News Northland was “very dry for sheep and beef and the dairy guys are the same”.

“The dry weather and the lack of rain is only half the story; the other half is wind. It is drying everything out, pasture growth has dropped off, quality has dived and our performance is suffering. So the guys aren’t finishing stock as they normally would be at this time.”

Creswell said late last week rain was forecast so they were “sitting on the edge of their seats” hoping it would come.

Beef+Lamb extension manager for mid North Island Erica van Reenen says in Waikato there’s a reasonable amount of feed around so it is a “watching brief ”.

Lewis, at Pukeatua near Te Awamutu, says feedback particularly from farmers on sandier soils is that pas-tures have dried-off; they have minimal feed and are considering a high level of supplements or once-a-day milking.

Some farmers went through maize stocks in winter and spring because it was wet and buying in a lot of sup-plement with the current payout may not be economic.

“If this carries on for another week it will be deci-sion making time. But farmers have been through a few droughts in the last four to five years and most have a plan in place. Animal welfare and feeding cows properly is top of our list.”

Federated Farmers Northland president Matt Long says: “Some areas are severely dry and we definitely need some rain. Production is falling on the dairy farms, the beef processes are falling and all your typical dry weather things.”

DairyNZ regional team leader Craig McBeth says a key focus for dry North Island farmers should be keep-ing a core group of cows milking until pasture growth recovers.

“Implementing some culling and tallying up supple-ments are important actions right now,” says McBeth. “It’s also important to manage pasture condition and not over-graze, so when it does rain, pastures are in good shape to respond.”

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[email protected]

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news 5He’s the right ‘Guy’ for the jobHOrOWHeNuA DAIry farmer Nathan Guy says he’s over the moon at being given the job as the Minister for Primary Industry.

He says agriculture and politics are in his blood and he’s fortunate to be to leading such a significant industry.

“It’s fantastic to have the Prime Minister’s confidence in what is a hugely important ministry and something I am really passionate about.”

He singles out biosecurity and water as two top priorities and says he’ll be working closely with environment Minister Amy Adams on pushing water and rMA reforms through parliament.

Guy says he’s enjoyed working with David Carter over the last 12 months and

says Carter has done an outstanding job.

The new Associate Minister for Primary Industry is rangitata MP Jo Goodhew. she was raised on a sheep and cropping farm in south Canterbury. Although she went nursing she retained her interest in the land through young farmers.

“I now represent many farmers in the electorate of rangitata, so agriculture has remained an important sector for me to keep in touch with.”

New cabinet minister Nikki Kaye takes over the role of Minister of food safety from Kate Wilkinson who was dumped from the cabinet.

Carter leaves – page 6

kiwifruit rationalisation needed and soon

RAPID KIWIFRUIT post-harvest industry rationali-sation is needed in the face of Psa, says EastPack chair-man Ray Sharp.

Restructuring the industry down to two to four large post-harvest suppliers to Zespri - rather than the existing 20 plus of varying size – would bring a grower benefit of 30-50c a tray, Sharp told Rural News.

EastPack is propos-ing industry restructur-ing after the grower-owned cooperative announced a forecast result of $6.2 mil-lion for the year to Decem-ber 31, 2012. The company says it has achieved effi-ciencies while retaining staff and anticipates some of the highest orchard gate

returns in the industry (see sidebar).

Sharp says EastPack has seen the benefits of a good scale operation in lower packing prices and good returns.. “It is only some-thing we have improved over the last three years,” he says.

All pack houses face lowered margins in the competition for reducing volumes in the Psa envi-ronment, he says. “A lot of post -harvest opera-tors will struggle to make money,” he says. “As long as we have volume, we (EastPack) will continue to make money with the cut margins…. And that’s the sense in which we will try and lead the way, because we think we’ve seen the light.”

Sharp says rationalisa-tion is desirable “rather

than post-harvest opera-tors continuing to defend their position to the last and losing viability”.

The industry does not yet know what the recov-ery situation may be and it may have to live perma-nently with lower volumes. “We think there is 30-50c a tray benefits for growers and owners by achieving that rationalisation. That is very significant when green growers are operat-ing on very fine margins, due to challenged returns from the marketplace.

“Part of that challenge is the rising New Zealand dollar and the competi-tion in the world market makes it impossible to continue to ramp up the sale price. So you’ve got to look for efficiencies in the systems between market and grower. Two avenues are the Zespri supply chain and the post harvest.”

Eastpack chief execu-tive Tony Hawken says all

post-harvest companies are scrambling to main-tain their volume because of Psa.

“We’ve got a (finan-cial) result that would be among the top echelon, so would be particularly enthusiastic about expand-ing our market share. It is logical with contract-ing volumes that those vol-umes are centred around the most efficient plants, not only efficient in terms of costs but also highest quality – they turn out a good product.

“If we all compete for ever shrinking volumes, there will be no real win-ners at the end of the day.”

Regarding industry moves he says “everyone is talking to everybody at this stage”. In the end grow-ers will decide “because it is an industry pretty well dominated by growers”, Hawken says.

pam tipa

[email protected]

ray sharp says rationalisation could bring 30-50 cents a tray benefit to growers.

eastPack is forecasting $6.2 million profit before tax for the year ending December 31, 2012.

It is anticipating an increase of 17c per tray to $4.68 per tray, which it says is among the highest Orchard Gate return in the industry and above Zespri’s average of $4.33 per tray.

Other 2012 highlights include a further 10c per tray reduction in operating costs without staff reductions, acquiring 2.3 million trays from growers new to east-pack and reducing packing prices by 20c per tray.

sharp attributes the positive finance perfor-mance to the focus on quality, productivity gains and supporting growers and staff to improve on orchard profitability through tech transfer and grower services.

a fruitful year!

@rural_news

facebook.com/ruralnews


6 news

Rebel directors quit Farmlands boardONE OF two Farmlands direc-tors who resigned over the pro-posed merger with South Island counterpart CRT says they had no choice.

“We needed to get the message across to members before they voted on the merger that we had concerns,” says East Coast direc-tor Hugh Ritchie.

Voting papers were mailed late January, says Ritchie, who quit as

a director of the North Island cooperative with West Coast director Charlie Pedersen.

Since December, Ritchie says he and Pedersen had unsuccess-fully, through Farmlands chair-man Lachie Johnstone, been trying to get their concerns addressed and clarified to mem-bers.

“Every time we’ve tried to reach some consensus on this

or get something to happen or get some changes to be made, the process has been screwed around,” Ritchie claims.

Ritchie and Pedersen feared members would get their voting papers and think “the whole board is behind it, we’ll just sign off on what the board is doing”.

“They need to know it is not clear cut and to read the infor-mation – make their own mind

up. Read it carefully, look at the report, read the KPMG stuff and be aware.”

Ritchie concedes there’s been a process undertaken to try to allay his and Pedersen’s concerns, but he says they were never con-sulted as to whether that process had been successful. Consider-ing their remaining reservation about a number it issues, it had not been, he says.

THE RURAL merchandise marketplace is extraordinarily competitive and Farmlands needs to stay ahead of the game, says its chairman Lachie Johnstone.

The greatest risk for the North Island cooperative would be to not capture the benefits identified in going ahead with a proposed merger with South Island counter-part CRT, he told Rural News. This includes a projected $38 million in “cumulative net merger synergy benefits” over three years.

His comments follow the resignation of two Farm-lands directors Hugh Ritchie and Charlie Pedersen over their concerns about the proposed merger. They claim the business model is short on detail, a consultant will be paid a ‘success fee’ if the merger is successful and no agree-ment had been reached on future membership representa-tion. Pedersen and Ritchie say the figures are not clear, and that the $38m figure includes $6m in deferred payments.

Their resignation came in late January as voting forms on the merger were about to be mailed to shareholders of both cooperatives.

Asked by Rural News if he thought the resignation of two high profile directors would derail the merger, John-stone says: “It’s not for me to decide – the shareholders will gather all the facts and they can make an informed decision.”

“That’s why we’ve got all the regional meetings and the packs are on their way out and they’ve got plenty of opportunity, whether they look on the website, come to the meetings or whether they put questions to me, to have their questions addressed.”

Johnstone says they have addressed the great major-ity of the two directors’ concerns and people will see that when they receive their packs.

“We’ve put in a lot of effort to take account of the con-cerns they have raised and the flavour of their concerns is represented in the documents and if other sharehold-ers have additional concerns, as I said, then we are happy to answer them.”

Asked if there had been a communication breakdown with the two directors, Johnstone says it is not for him to speculate.

“Really, what I am interested in is the commercial ratio-nale and the fact that we are taking an opportunity to set these businesses up for the future.

“This is a big decision for Farmlands; there’s a large pile of synergy benefit there and the greatest risk is that shareholders don’t give the board and the management the opportunity to go and bank those for shareholders’ benefit.

“These synergy benefits are over and above status quo. Assuming strong, structured and successful integration, the status quo simply can’t be as good as the merged entity.

“Have a look at global trends in consolidation – espe-cially in the agricultural sector. We’ve seen it in Australia and it’s been pushed from North America. It’s something we’ve lived with for years. Farmlands is an amalgamation of goodness-knows-how-many mergers, as is CRT. So the concept is not unusual.”

Johnstone says it is an extraordinarily competitive mar-ketplace and it always has been.

“We are trying to stay ahead of the game and we are trying to take a leadership role here. Farmlands and CRT are solid, profitable organisations and there’s not a lot of profit in the sector and we want that edge to be maintained into the future. We believe we are taking a pro-active step.”

merger needed claims chair

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[email protected]

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news 7

spring’s non-appearance triggers droughtTHE APPARENT lack of a real ‘spring’ has triggered rapidly developing drought conditions in many parts of Hawkes Bay and the North Island East Coast.

The hills and flats espe-cially around Waipukurau are browning off and stock trucks are working around the clock to take sheep to sales. Those sheep that remain are struggling to find much green grass.

Beef and Lamb New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen, who farms just outside of Waipukurau, told Rural News that while it’s quite normal for the east coast of the North Island to dry off, this season has been unusual.

“The problem we’ve had is that the dry period has set in very early and we have really been dry since October. This is so in some parts of the East Coast and Hawkes Bay and the issue is we really had no spring leading up to the dry period that’s set in now.”

Petersen says farmers who are used to situations like this have responded well and have made good decisions early.

“But there are some concerns that ewe condi-tion is dropping off and there are implications for next season with mating coming up in early March. That’s what’s concerning farmers now.”

Given the present con-ditions, Petersen says it’ll be interesting to see how many ewe lambs get taken into sheep flocks as replacements. He says it’s unlikely many hoggets will be mated because they won’t get up to weight. This may affect the number of lambs born next season.

Green crops in his area have either failed or not grown well and yields from these crops are low. This has meant farmers have been selling stock earlier than they might other-wise have done. Petersen says almost no supplemen-tary feed has been made in Hawkes Bay, so feed sup-

plies are low. “Farmers are continu-

ing to sell down just what they can and those that haven’t sold down trad-ing stock are carrying on doing that. It’s just a matter of getting down to your capital stock num-bers as quickly as you can,” he says. Prices for some of these lambs have been poor – as little as $50-60.

Like other farmers, Petersen has had to revise his stocking policy. He runs cattle and then buys in lambs for finishing.

“I was planning to run 3000 lambs, but instead I now only have 650 on the property. Any lambs we have are on green crops and these crops are only a fraction of what they should be. We have a number of paddocks where they have completely failed, particularly some of the chicory and plantain crops we planted. They haven’t fired at all.”

Petersen says farmers are selling into a soft store market and that’s affecting confidence. But there are

peter Burke

[email protected]

few other options; dairying is not on. But he points out that though the situation is difficult it’s not the end of the world.

“We are not talking about a big drop in prices. Four years ago we were talking of an average fin-ished lamb price of $50.

Yes we’ve come back from where we were at $115 to a forecast now of $85, but we are still not talking about a $50 lamb. I keep saying

it means we’ll have a three year average lamb price of about $100.”

mike Petersen says while it’s quite normal for a dry spell, this year has been unusual.

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news 9

wools confident of making target

DesPITe reCeNT lifts in wool prices shadbolt doesn’t think it is enough – and he sees big opportunities in europe, us, China and the Christchurch rebuild.

“My objective is that growers need to be getting $6/kg. I talk to many

customers and they don’t disagree with that… but we have to realise as growers that we have to work

alongside those customers in the market, developing the prod-ucts and helping them take their products out to the point

of sale.”because the Centre of Wool

excellence is based in the uK, Wools of NZ’s initial effort has

been in europe and the uK. The company also wants to focus on the us, and there was renewed interest at a services trade show in Las Vegas in

January. but China and the local market

are also in Wools of NZ’s sights. “We have an office in China; we

recognise 50% of New Zealand’s cross-bred wool goes into China and we need to develop a commercial strategy for re-entering the Chinese market. That will be a focus over the next 12 months as well. It is certainly way beyond taking it into China as a commodity; it’s more what we do with retail and branding.

“There’s opportunity in the wealthy, middle class and the contract sector such as five-star hotels who are big consumers of wool and branded items.”

The local market and the Christ-church rebuild also offer big oppor-tunities but the company hasn’t yet had time to focus on that. “We need to be working alongside the Cavalier bremworths and supporting them in promoting woollen products on the domestic markets. far too often we hear of our neighbours purchasing synthetics over wool and that is sad for a wool producing nation.”

the magical $6/kg the goal

WOOLS OF NZ chair-man Mark Shadbolt says directors are confident the company will raise the $5 million minimum required by February 25 in its share offer to growers – and it aims for $10 million.

And he says proof the Wools of NZ commer-cial model works was seen last month in successes at Europe’s biggest floor-ing show Domotex in Hannover, Germany. The success included more partners and contracts.

Shadbolt expects plenty of movement on the share offer in the final 7-10 days before the close on February 25. “We are basing that on the last effort to close on Decem-ber 14; it all happened in the last week.

“Our objective is still the $10m. We are not far from the $5m and all the directors hold the view we will get there. But it would be ideal to move closer to the $10 million. The assumptions in the prospectus have all been based on $10 million and 20 million kilos of wool production.

“We are well ahead on the wool production… we are sitting at an average of 21,000kg per grower and our assumptions were for 10,000kg per grower. I think it is an indication of the size of the grower that’s committing.”

Shadbolt says the offer, open to all strong wool growers, is “an important step towards unifying the industry”.

“We are asking grow-ers to focus on the oppor-tunity. It will only be growers who invest and commit who will own Wools of New Zealand brands. We’ve made some significant progress in the last 12 months; we want growers to own it and ben-efit from the effort.”

He has just returned from Domotex where Wools of NZ had 29 ranges of their exclusive brand

Laneve on show with nine manufacturing partners.

“Last year we had four ranges with three part-ners, so we have taken a massive step forward in product development, design and the opportu-nity for Wools of New Zea-land to capture the benefit in royalties at point of sale,” he says.

He says some trial con-tracts with European cus-tomers during the past 12 months have been renewed with larger vol-umes of wool.

Another new contract will move ahead subject

to Wools of NZ being capitalised.

pam tipa

[email protected]

mark shadbolt

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10 news

Carter vacates minister’s officeDAVID CARTER says his greatest achievement during four years as Min-ister for Primary Industry was bringing his cabinet and caucus colleagues to greater awareness of the importance of the agricultural sector to the

country’s economy.Speaking to Rural News

on his last day as minis-ter, before being elected as parliament’s 29th speaker, Carter says having got his colleagues on side he was able to get good support for money for irrigation and the Primary Growth Partnership scheme (PGP).

Other achievements he cites are water reforms including the Land and Water Forum process and funding for irrigation. He also believes biosecurity has been a success story.

“I believe the biosecu-rity system in New Zealand now is substantially better than in 2008 for two rea-sons: we have the border

working more efficiently, and Customs and MPI are working far more collab-oratively.

“The other thing we’ve successfully done is got industry engaged in being part of the solution to bios-ecurity. So the trust that’s developed between indus-try and MPI is substan-tially better than it was.”

Agriculture and politics have been a huge part of David Carter’s life. He was educated at St Bedes Col-lege, Christchurch, where he was head boy, and later at Lincoln Univer-sity where he completed a B.AgSci. He started farm-ing in 1972. His father was a Christchurch city coun-cillor for nearly 40 years.

In his first farming operation, at West Melton, near Christchurch, in the early 1970s, he became involved in the embryo transplant business. This involved importing some of the new European cattle – breeds such as the Sim-mental and Charolais from the UK. Using embryo transplants he was able to breed cattle and export these to Australia. It was a million dollar business at the time.

His first taste of politics came in 1993 when he was farming on Banks Peninsu-lar and Ruth Dyson was the Labour candidate. “I knew of other Labour locals who wanted to stand and they were just pushed over by the Labour hierarchy; so I said I’d challenge her. It was in the days when it was first past the post and the seat was strategic and we almost got there.”

However, Carter didn’t have to wait long for another chance to stand for parliament. A year later in 1994 Ruth Richardson resigned and Carter won the National nomination from 13 other hopefuls and was subsequently elected to parliament in August 1994.

Since then he’s held several roles related to agriculture including asso-ciate minister during the Shipley era. He’s also been associate minister for rev-enue and education and minister for senior citi-zens.

“But agriculture is my passion. It’s something I think New Zealand is exceptionally good at. Our wealth is determined by the success of the primary industry sector.

“When I came into parliament I never aspired to be the Speaker; I don’t think many politicians do. But I did aspire to be the Minister of Agriculture. Once it was suggested I become the Speaker, I saw it as a tremendous opportunity and a huge

challenge.“When John Key for-

mally approached me to take the job, I said I’d be delighted to do it.”

Carter does not see his new role as a sideways move and in fact is happy to see a new man – Nathan Guy – in the primary industry role. He says the Prime Minister felt that he (Carter) was the best person in the national caucus for the role of Speaker.

Being Speaker means Carter will have to take on an unfamiliar apoliti-cal role. He sees it as a bit like being a referee. He says Lockwood Smith was the best speaker he’s seen in his career and hopes to adopt a similar style, although he acknowledges his will be slightly differ-ent.

“I am going to have to be firm because the ten-sions in the house are going to be greater over the next two years than they have over the last four years. I am going to have to be fair. You’ve got to main-tain order and give people a chance to have their say. You’ve got to allow the opposition to hold the ministers to account in question time.”

Carter admits he will miss the day to day contact with the ag sector and the honour of being the Min-ister for Primary Industry. But like his predecessor Lockwood Smith he’ll have more time to spend on his own farm.

“I still actively farm and I am looking forward to doing even more farm-ing. As a cabinet minister you’ve got five to six hours of paperwork every week-end – so I won’t have that anymore. On Mondays I won’t have to rush to Wel-lington for a cabinet meet-ing, so I will have more time to farm.”

Carter also confirmed he plans to stand again for parliament in the election in 2014.

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12 news

Dry suits woolWHILE THE hot, dry weather that’s hit Hawkes Bay has caused grief to many sheep farmers, it’s been a bonus for wool.

Waipukurau wool broker Philippa Wright and her son Nick have

seen excellent lambs wool come into their store in the past month. It’s been a good wool growing season, she says.

“We’ve had extraordi-nary wool growth due to the fabulous season this year for sheep. We’ve had an early season and no rain in December; that was our

biggest December in my 16 years here. We had no rain so the shearing started at the correct time and they weren’t held up – they were shearing every day.”

Wright says the wool quality is really good. “The colour is great and there’s more and better grown wool because the

sheep have had more feed through the winter.

“Only now are we seeing some seed come though the clip but nor-mally by now we’ve got poor colour.”

Prices have been firm and Wright says they had an extraordinary peak in the first sale after Christ-

mas for lambs wool. Strong wools have lifted, but not as much as people would like.

“Confidence has been ho-hum because they really want a couple of dol-lars a kilo more to make farming for wool genu-inely worthwhile.”

Wright says with sheep prices dropping there’s a little more negativity towards wool production. Wool is still not a priority for farmers although gen-erally the wool clip is well prepared.

“We’ve got good shed hands and a good system for harvesting wool so

it’s pretty hard to mess it up from shearing to sale. Farmers by and large are breeding for meat and, while they are feeding their sheep well, you don’t have the same number of farmers selecting for wool as you used to. It’s there in the background but it’s not prominent as it used to be.”

Wright is optimistic about the future of wool. She says the product ticks all the boxes for the new generation of consumers looking for ‘natural’ prod-ucts.

in brief

Waipukurau wool broker Philippa Wright, and son Nick, have seen excellent lambs wool come in during the past month.

peter burke

[email protected]

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AN ARTICLE (Rural News, Jan 22, page 15) about the on-farm sale held on the Lilburn proper-ties, near Hunterville, was a success for all concerned. However, an error was made stating that the lambs offered were Cheviot-cross Kelso bred. This is incorrect and we apologise for this error.

Kelso is indeed its own breed, and the Kelso rams in the article were run over Romney ewes to gain the cryptorchid lambs offered for sale. The black face lambs were from sires bred by Kevin Nesdale of Kimbolton, near Feilding.

@rural_newsfacebook.com/ruralnews


news 13

Contrary to comments being made by some prominent New Zealand Soil Scientists, testing carried out by the Australian Agricultural Research Institute, clearly shows that lime’s efficiency increases exponentially as particle sizes are reduced.

In the Australian Journal of Agricultural , Mark Whittens summarises the test results as follows :- “The greater increases in pH with finer lime lasted for at least 3 years and were highlighted by increased yields. Coarse fractions were relatively in-effective, demonstrating the fallacy of a commonly held belief that the larger lime particles impart a longer benefit because they dissolve more slowly.”

Further references to the proven benefits of fine particle lime, can be found in publications by Penn State University, Uni-versity of Nebraska, University of South Dakota and the North Carolina State University to name a few.

Soil scientists who continue to denounce the efficiency of Fine Particle Lime, (perhaps based on Lime tests dating back to 1923), are doing so despite overwhelming scientific evidence, that when it comes to lime, “The finer the grind the better the results” and “It’s not the tons to the ha that raises pH - It’s the available surface area of Calcium carbonate that counts.”

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Harvest humming along nicelyYIELDS ARE good and headers ahead of schedule as cropping farmers reel in this year’s grass, cereal and small seed crops.

A few suffered some hail and wind damage early last month but a fine fort-night since has helped make amends.

“Yields are back on last year but still reasonably good,” Federated Farmers’ Grain & Seed chairman Ian Mackenzie told Rural News.

“The heat around Christmas has probably taken the edge off grain yields but grass seed seems to have done rea-sonably well.”

On his own farm, wheat he’d not irri-gated did 11-12t/ha where it might have done 14t/ha if it hadn’t been so hot.

“We’ve not done any irrigated wheat yet so it will be interesting to see if that’s good, bad or indifferent.”

For some without irrigation, the har-vest is all but home, such as the Clark-sons, at Greendale, Canterbury, who finished wheat last week.

“This year’s been much more straightforward than last year,” noted Lloyd, heading the last paddock of Savannah feed wheat for brothers John and Andy.

Yielding at least 9t/ha it was well above average off the Templeton silt soil. “Six to eight tonnes is more the norm off this ground.”

In Southland, John Gardyne says autumn barley yields are average or just under, probably due to late frosts, but harvest weather has been fantastic.

“The humidty was down to 34% yesterday.” Con-sequently grain’s coming in with good colour and no drying required.

Meanwhile spring barleys and wheats are ripening fast, which is a possible concern for yields.

“I almost daren’t say it, but the wheats need another drink.”

Federated Farmers herbage seed section chair Hugh Wigley says yield reports of earlier grass cultivars have generally been “up to expectation” though he hadn’t harvested any of his own crops near Waimate, South Canter-bury.

Customers seek tests

SOME DAIRY exporters are testing all products for DCD in a bid to allay concerns among Asian customers.

Westland Milk and Tatua have confirmed testing for DCD since MPI said it had found minute traces of the chemical in some milk powder samples. However, Fonterra says none of its Asian customers has asked for DCD residue tests.

Westland Milk, Hokitika, last week confirmed traces of DCD in some of its milk products after independent tests. Westland chief executive Rod Quin says it is “very aware” that for many of its custom-ers any residue in milk products is undesirable. “Some of our custom-ers in Asia have already requested tests for DCD following the MPI announcement last week.”

As a priority, Westland is doing more tests and results will be relayed to customers.

Tatua Dairy Co-op chairman Steve Allen says tests on its AMF and caseins products have returned negative.

At this stage small traces of DCD have been found only in milk powder but Tatua is not taking any chances. “We’re testing as a matter of course and relaying the results to our cus-tomers to allay their concerns,” he told Rural News.

A Fonterra spokeswoman says the co-op tested samples of products made in September 2012 at all sites.

“We found very low levels of res-idue in a small number of products made in September: whole milk powder, skim milk powder, and but-termilk powder.

“When we tested products made in November 2012 we found no res-idues.”

The withdrawal of DCD prod-ucts means it can no longer be used on farms. The last application was September 2012, Fonterra says.

“Research tells us DCD residues are a transitory issue so we would not expect to find any trace of res-idues in products being made now. We are examining how and when DCD testing needs to be built into our quality assurance processes.”

suDesH kissun

[email protected]

@rural_newsfacebook.com/ruralnews

anDrew swallow

[email protected]

End in sight: Lloyd Clarkson wraps up the last paddock of Savannah winter wheat for brothers Andy and John at Greendale, Canterbury.


14 agribusiness

irrigation prospect welcomed in the bay

Council to lodge consents

THE PROSPECT of irrigation addresses some of the woes of Hawkes Bay’s annual drought, says Beef + Lamb NZ chairman Mike Petersen.

The Hawkes Bay Regional Council is developing the Ruataniwha water storage scheme, in the Tukituki river catchment, near Waipukurau.

This involves building a 90 million m3 dam which could irrigate 30,000ha. It could also be used to generate electricity.

Petersen can see the

catchment from his farm but he wouldn’t benefit from it because he’s in the

hill country. Considering the

years of drought such as the present one, the Ruataniwha scheme is what the district needs, he says.

“Frankly a year like this

is a graphic example to naysayers of why it needs to happen. We have a

district severely impacted by dry conditions. Having a 30,000ha area capable of being watered year-round is going to be a big benefit for the area.”

Petersen says history shows that where you

build irrigation the dairy cows soon follow. But there are spin-offs for the wider farming community, he says.

“In this area we’ll see a focus on sheep and beef finishers and they will see how they can integrate their operations with the irrigation. Remember we’ve got McCains and Heinz in this part of the world, so there will be benefits for people who want to do cropping as well. It’s a massive opportunity and dairy hasn’t got it all its own away in this area.”

peter burke

CONSENTS APPLICA-TIONS for the dam and the overall Ruataniwha scheme are expected to be lodged in March, to be heard by the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure indepen-dence.

The chairman of Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Wairoa sheep and beef farmer Fenton Wilson, says while the scheme offers huge opportunities, it’s not a done-deal until the consent process is complete.

The Ruatanaiwha scheme looks to be the first to benefit from the Government’s kick-start of such projects – $80 million in the 2013/14 budget to set up a Crown company to develop regional water infrastructure, as announced recently by then Minister of Primary Industry David Carter.

Cash is expected to begin flowing in July, the $80 million being some of $400 million spread over five years, Carter says.

“Most of the initial $80 million will be available for grants. This company will have low overheads and… can partner with investors to get some bigger schemes of the ground as quickly as possible. There is no set ratio of cash input by investors; every project will be different. But the Government will be a minority investor, never a majority investor.”

Reliable irrigation is critical to the Government growth strategy to lift primary exports, Carter says. Ruataniwha is a good example of projects fundable by the new scheme.

“What has driven me to fight for this policy through the cabinet process is that I can find no example anywhere in the world where a large scale irrigation scheme has been successfully launched without the involvement of a central government,” he says.

Fenton Wilson agrees that without the prospect of government investment, getting Ruataniwha off the ground would be challenging.

“To suggest we would do it without them would be a step too far. I am heart-ened to hear John Key saying they are not chasing huge dividends from these investments.”

Wilson says while dairying is likely to benefit from the scheme it’s not at the top of heap. Other types of farming – especially cropping – give excellent returns from the use of water. And a return to normal summer flows would be good for the Tukituki River.

“In this area we’ll see a focus on sheep and beef finishers and they will see how they can integrate their operations with the irrigation.”

HBRC chair Fenton Wilson.

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

MeatMeatMeatMeat North IslandNorth IslandNorth IslandNorth Island South IslandSouth IslandSouth IslandSouth Island

c/kgCWTChangeChangeChangeChange

c/kgLast Last Last Last WeekWeekWeekWeek

ChangeChangeChangeChangec/kg

Last Last Last Last WeekWeekWeekWeek

LambLambLambLamb - PM 16.0kg n/c 4.684.684.684.68 n/c 4.734.734.734.73

SteerSteerSteerSteer - P2 300kg -10-10-10-10 4.124.124.124.12 -3-3-3-3 4.024.024.024.02

BullBullBullBull - M2 300kg -10-10-10-10 4.254.254.254.25 -3-3-3-3 4.024.024.024.02

VenisonVenisonVenisonVenison - AP 60kg n/c 6.456.456.456.45 -5-5-5-5 6.606.606.606.60

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

$3.5

$4.5

$5.5

$6.5

$7.5

$8.5

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr

5yr AveLast YearThis Year

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

$3.5

$4.5

$5.5

$6.5

$7.5

$8.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

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

$3.0

$3.5

$4.0

$4.5

$5.0


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

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

$3.0

$3.5

$4.0

$4.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

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

$6.0

$6.5

$7.0

$7.5

$8.0

$8.5

$9.0

$9.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

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

$6.5

$7.0

$7.5

$8.0

$8.5

$9.0

$9.5


5yr Ave

Last Year

This Year

BEEF PRICES

c/kgCWT Change Last Week

2 Wks Ago

Last Year

NI P2 Steer - 300kg -10 4.12 4.22 4.45

M2 Bull - 300kg -10 4.25 4.35 4.45

P2 Cow - 230kg -10 3.45 3.55 3.55

M Cow - 200kg -10 3.30 3.40 3.40

Local Trade - 230kg -8 4.10 4.18 4.45

SI P2 Steer - 300kg -3 4.02 4.05 4.30

M2 Bull - 300kg -3 4.02 4.05 4.30

P2 Cow - 230kg -3 3.17 3.20 3.35

M Cow - 200kg -3 2.97 3.00 3.25

Local Trade - 230kg -3 4.07 4.10 4.30

NZ Slaughter Estimated Weekly Kill

1000s Change 2Wks Ago

3 Wks Ago Last Year 5yr Ave

Cattle NI +16% 45.3 39.2 38.8 43.8

Cattle SI +9% 13.8 12.7 14.1 12.7

Cattle NZ +14% 59.1 51.9 52.9 56.5

Bull NI +11% 22.0 19.8 18.5 18.7

Bull SI +45% 4.8 3.3 3.6 3.1

Str & Hfr NI +22% 16.9 13.8 15.4 17.7

Str & Hfr SI -9% 6.0 6.6 7.0 7.2

Cows NI +14% 6.4 5.6 4.9 7.4

Cows SI +7% 3.0 2.8 3.5 2.4

Export Market Demand

Change LastWeek


95CL US$/lb -2 2.18 2.20 2.13 1.66

NZ$/kg -6 5.74 5.80 5.72 5.10

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks

Ago3 Wks

Ago Last Year 5yr Ave

% Returned NI +0% 75.8% 75.5% 81.29% 72.0%

% Returned SI +2% 70.6% 69.0% 76.0% 67.6%

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

0

20

40

60

80

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

Last Year

This Year

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

$1.80

$2.00

$2.20


Last Year

This Year

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

60%

70%

80%

90%

Nov Jan Mar

Last YearThis Year

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

60%

70%

80%

90%

Nov Jan Mar

Last Year

This Year

LAMB PRICES

c/kgCWTChange Last

Week2 Wks

AgoLast Year

NI Lamb YM - 13.5kg n/c 4.66 4.66 7.16

PM - 16.0kg n/c 4.68 4.68 7.18

PX - 19.0kg n/c 4.70 4.70 7.20

PH - 22.0kg n/c 4.71 4.71 7.21

Mutton MX1 - 21kg n/c 2.73 2.73 4.40

SI Lamb YM - 13.5kg n/c 4.73 4.73 6.61

PM - 16.0kg n/c 4.73 4.73 6.63

PX - 19.0kg n/c 4.73 4.73 6.65

PH - 22.0kg n/c 4.73 4.73 6.66

Mutton MX1 - 21kg n/c 2.51 2.51 4.00

NZ Slaughter Estimated Weekly Kill

1000s Change 2Wks Ago


Lamb NI +5% 326 311 199 286

Lamb SI -10% 371 413 373 388

Lamb NZ -4% 697 724 572 673

Mutton NZ +13% 191 169 224 223

Export Market DemandChange Last

Week2 Wks


UK Leg £/lb -2 1.36 1.38 1.90 1.76

NZ$/kg -17 5.65 5.82 8.00 8.74

Procurement IndicatorChange 2Wks

Ago3 Wks


% Returned NI +2% 85.0% 82.5% 92.5% 61.0%

% Returned SI +2% 84.1% 81.6% 85.6% 57.2%

Venison Prices

Change LastWeek


NI Stag - 60kg n/c 6.45 6.45 7.70 7.10

SI Stag - 60kg -5 6.60 6.65 7.65 7.32

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

0150300450600750900

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

Last Year

This Year

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

£1.00

£1.50

£2.00

£2.50


Last Year

This Year

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

45%55%65%75%85%95%

105%


Last Year

This Year

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

50%60%70%80%90%

100%110%


Last Year

This Year

M re people on the ground, here and overseas.

news price watch

RuRAL NEWS // FEBRuARy 5, 2013

BEEF

Farmgate beef prices begin to ease

Farmgate prices for beef finally started to ease last week. The continued pressure of the high NZ dollar and declining US imported beef prices have started to bite. Schedules declined by 10c/kg in the North Island and 0-5c/kg in the South Island last week. Meat companies’ margins have been in decline over recent weeks and with the flow of cattle to plants still strong they have had some flexibility to reduce prices. Dry conditions in the North Island in particular has seen kill rate maintain momentum in late January. The latest estimated kill numbers were up 15% in the North Island week on week. Kill rates are now 15-20% above the same week last year and 3% above the 5yr average.

US cow liquidation continues

A steady stream of US cows have been heading for slaughter over the past two years. Drought has pushed out beef cows while high feed prices have sent dairy cows packing. 2011 and 2012 cow slaughter as a percentage of total US cow inventory has been well above the 16.3% recorded in 1996 when a summer drought and hike in corn prices set about an extended period of cow liquidation. This can only spell bad news for US beef production going forward but should underpin strong demand for imported product as traders source product to fill gaps. Currently however, the ample US cow supplies are keeping imported prices in check.

LAMB

Lamb prices stable for the short term

Farmgate prices for lamb are holding steady in late January. This is providing some more certainty for farmers. North Island prices are averaging $4.80/kg gross in the North Island and $4.75/kg in the South Island last week. Prices are being supported by demand to fill orders for the Easter chilled trade. But once this demand eases, by around mid-February, schedules may drop further unless lamb kill numbers dip. Currently the dry is pushing North Island kill rates higher with estimates for the latest kill week putting kill number 65% higher than last year and 15% higher than the 5yr average. High kill rates now may act to limit the kill into the autumn especially if there is some rain.

Some renewed interest in lamb markets

Exporters have noted renewed interest from many of our main lamb markets in recent weeks as buyers look to fill orders for Easter. Chilled product has been the favoured choice which is typical for this time of the year with chilled ABO legs into Europe now pulling in around €5.80-6.00/kg. There has also been an upsurge in demand for frozen boneless manufacturing lamb into the UK following backlash from the 'horse meat scare'. Millions of burgers have been pulled from freezers across Britain following testing that revealed horse DNA in a significant percentage of beef-burger products. Horse meat is not sold in Britain and its presence in ground beef has certainly caused a stir. China remains hungry for NZ lamb with exporters fielding an abundance of enquires on a daily basis. In fact, the avid demand from China has seen Japan slowly re-enter the market amid fears they will miss out on product. But the middle cuts like lamb racks remain a hard sell, particularly into the US where stocks are high. Our domestic market has been taking up some of the slack.

WOOL

Demand slips after urgent orders filled

Wool prices benefited from upward price pressure in early January from urgent shipping requirements from Chinese buyers in particular. But these pressures came off at last week’s wool sale and prices corrected downwards as a result. Most wool types were back between 2.5 and 5% with the NZ Wool Services International coarse crossbred market indicator slipping 13c/kg to be back under $4/kg clean.

WOOL PRICE WATCH DAIRY PRICE WATCH

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

WksPrev. 2

WksLast Year

Coarse Xbred Indic. -4 3.90 3.94 6.36 Butter +21 4007 3986 4830

Fine Xbred Indicator +1 4.72 4.71 6.61 Skim Milk Powder +20 4157 4137 4332

Lamb Indicator - - - - Whole Milk Powder

-9 4007 4016 4534

Mid Micron Indic. - 8.57 - 9.21 Cheddar -47 4785 4832 5095

Overseas Price Indicators Overseas Price Indicators

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

WksPrev. 2

WksLast Year

Coarse Xbred Indicator -4 3.20 3.24 4.85 Butter +50 3350 3300 3875Fine Xbred Indicator -1 3.87 3.87 5.04 Skim Milk Powder +50 3475 3425 3475Lamb Indicator - - - - Whole Milk

Powder+25 3350 3325 3638

Mid Micron Indicator - 7.02 - 7.02 Cheddar n/c 4000 4000 4088

Wool Indicator TrendsWool Indicator TrendsWool Indicator TrendsWool Indicator Trends

300350400450500550600650

Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov

CXI FXI LI

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

250

300

350

400

450

500

550


Last YearThis Year

Coarse Xbred IndicatorCoarse Xbred IndicatorCoarse Xbred IndicatorCoarse Xbred Indicator

300

400

500

600

700


Last YearThis Year

Dairy Prices TrendsDairy Prices TrendsDairy Prices TrendsDairy Prices Trends

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec

SMP WMPBut. Ched.

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

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000


Last Year

This Year

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

3,500

4,500

5,500


Last Year

This Year

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

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov

CXI FXI LI

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

2,500

3,500

4,500

Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec

SMP WMP.But .Ched

CURRENCY WATCH

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

US dollar 0.837 0.836 0.821 0.821

Euro 0.626 0.625 0.620 0.626

UK pound 0.530 0.523 0.510 0.524

Aus dollar 0.801 0.793 0.791 0.773

Japan yen 75.66 75.11 70.68 63.53

Euro

0.52

0.56

0.60

0.64


Last Year

This Year

UK Pound

0.46

0.48

0.50

0.52

0.54


Last Year

This Year

US Dollar

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

0.90


Last Year

This Year

M re people on the ground, here and overseas.


18 opinion

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traitor!FORMER ANTI-GM activist Mark Lynas certainly stirred up the tree-hugging set with his now famous (or is that infamous) ‘change of heart’ speech given at the recent Oxford Farming Conference. Lynas – who spent “several years ripping up GM crops” and helped start the anti-GM movement in the 1990s – told the conference he had a change of heart on genetic modification after he “discovered science”. Of course Lynas’ change of heart has gone down like a cup of cold Round-up with the anti-GM lobby who – predictably – have gone on to attack their former hero as a traitor.

Milking it!THE HOuND under-stands that the collective sigh of relief emanating from the Auckland-based HQ of Fonterra’s PR firm Baldwin Boyle Group could be heard all over the city of sails, when they were recently re-appointed for another five years as the dairy giant’s spin doctors. your canine crusader believes there were plenty of nerves at BBG’s CBD offices when Fonterra decided to re-look at the PR contract at the end of last year. Especially after a number of PR blunders for Fonterra in the past year or so, such as the TAF debate and angst over former chair Henry van der Heyden’s delayed depar-ture from the board.

Get stuffed!SPEAKING OF milking things… remember Bendigo Station’s John Perriam exploiting that ovine celebrity Shrek the sheep for all he was worth a few years back? Well it seems he’s not finished, yet. Shrek the sheep will be unveiled at the national museum this year. Te Papa senior curator Claire Renault said the museum was anticipating Shrek’s arrival. They had not yet decided whether the well-known Merino would sit next to the skeleton of famed New Zealand-bred racehorse Phar Lap, Renault said.

banana republic!AS THE political year begins in earnest, your old mate had a bit of a giggle at a mate’s descrip-tion of the Green Party’s approach to anything – but trains, marijuana law reform and organic farming. He told yours truly that the Greens mantra for everything could be summed up in one word: BANANA – Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Never Again. Meanwhile, the Hound reckons it is entirely appropriate that the words ‘Greens’ and ‘Bananas’ appear in the same sentence when assessing that particular party’s political philosophy!

lawyers clean up!yOu OLD mate was reminded of the intense legal battle fertiliser companies Ravensdown and Ballance fought over the patent rights to nitri-fication inhibitor tech-nology a couple of years back, which must have cost a pretty penny or two. Now comes the news that these products are being withdrawn from the market due to concerns about DCDs contained in these nitrification inhibi-tors. The Hound can only surmise that the major winners in this point-less legal battle were the lawyers – yet again!

POLITICS CAN be a brutal business; just ask former ministers Kate Wilkinson and Phil Heat-ley.

One day you are part of the executive and set-ting policy, with a ministerial house and Crown limousine at your disposal. Then after just one phone call from the PM you are out of Cabinet, your house and car gone, and you’re suddenly languishing on the back bench.

For the agribusiness sector, the real interest in the Cabinet reshuffle was the promotion (or more of a sideways shuffle) of former Primary Industries Minister David Carter to the speak-er’s chair and his former associate Nathan Guy elevation as minister.

The changes in the primary sector portfolio were pretty well telegraphed – with the jungle drums beating for some time about Carter’s move to Speaker – with the only real debate being whether or not Guy would get the primary indus-tries top job or whether it would go to such as the high-flying Amy Adams.

Some commentators have criticised the change, which now leaves Guy and the primary industries portfolio ranking at the relatively low number 16 on the Cabinet list. But as former Agri-culture Minister Jim Sutton once sagely com-mented on the subject: “It doesn’t matter what number you are at the buffet table during state dinners; what really matters is being seated at the Cabinet table.”

David Carter will be a loss to the primary sector. He has been a strong advocate for farm-ing as a minister and opposition spokesman for the past 10 years. His work – particularly in water sphere – leaves a legacy for Nathan Guy to build on.

Guy already has a head start, having been the associate minister for primary industries for the past year or so. Therefore, he should be up to speed on the issues facing the sector and not new to the portfolio.

As a farmer and MP for Otaki, an electorate that takes in rural heartland in the lower North Island, Nathan Guy has all the credentials and mana to connect well with the rural sector. But he needs to do more than connect – he has to deliver – to be a success.

If Guy performs to his potential, it will not be long before the primary industries portfolio is back on the front bench and its minister at the front of the queue for those all-important state dinners.

out with the old, in with the new

editorial

She’s doing a great job but maybe you should tell your townie cousin, on the farm, we don’t pick up after the dogs do their business!


opinion 19

united we stand... divided we fallAT THE beginning of the year, Rural News judged Federated Farmers of New Zealand (FFNZ) as the most media-friendly organisation during 2012 – by a country mile. This is great recognition for a tremendous effort. When one considers the size of the organisation in com-parison with some of New Zealand’s agricultural companies, the output is remarkable. And it hasn’t just been reactionary state-ments, it has also been think-pieces.

Bruce Wills has col-umns which appear in a wide variety of places; increasingly Feds board members have been active as well. Already this year, Conor English, Fed’s chief executive, has had a by-line as a commentator in the

New Zealand Herald on the issue of urban sprawl. The raising of ideas and opin-ion is commendable. It is also important for increas-ing rural-urban under-standing.

Given the importance of this understanding, it is surprising more farmers aren’t supporting the work of Fed Farmers by becom-ing members. The fed-eration has about 27,000 members and the subscrip-tion is $120.59 (incl. GST). Fewer than 60% of pasto-ral farmers are members.

A similar comment can be made about NZ Grass-land Association, which is focussed on informa-tion exchange between farmers, industry person-nel, policy makers and researchers, as well as society in general. From

the association evidence-based material is through talks and media articles. Despite this, membership is fewer han 1000 (the sub-scription is $30.85 incl. GST).

The importance of numbers is the politicians’ check. The greater the rep-resentation, the greater the chance of being taken seri-

ously – which is an impor-tant point given that rural

New Zealand is an increas-ingly small proportion of the population.

That Feds and NZGA have any impact at all (given the urban popu-lation at approaching 4 million) reflects history and the motivation and experience of the people involved. It also reflects the fact that both organisa-

tions deal in evidence and facts. All of New Zealand benefits, not just farmers – and not just those who have joined up.

‘United we stand, divided we fall’ has been the refrain during peri-ods of adversity since the time of Æsop. Adversity is not going to go away. Achieving understanding

will take a collective effort. Supporting the groups making a difference could be a New Year’s resolu-tion of the type that is easy to keep.• Jacqueline Rowarth is Professor of Agribusiness, The University of Waikato. She is also President of NZ Grassland Association www.grassland.org.nz

ag twitsRural News’ irreverent and hypothetical look at what’s happening in the farming world

Top Bleats view all

bwillsfedfarmers: David Carter’s demotion, ahem, um, argh … promotion… to Speaker of the House and news that Nathan Guy will take over as the Minister for Primary Industries is warmly welcomed by Federated Farmers. #whocares

nathguyminister: @dcartermrspeaker: Hey Dave, where did you leave the Minister for Primary Industries door badge and stationery? #afewthingsmissing

dcartermrspeaker: Order, order order? Three fish, 2 hotdogs and 1 scoop of chips … that’s the only order I know. #dazedandcon-fused

jwilsonfonterra: @nathguyminister: Well done on the new job. There is real satisfaction in replacing old dead wood, but make sure he’s not behind you looking over your right shoulder #bigshoestofill

henryexfonterra@jwilsonfonterra: Who the hell are you calling dead wood, junior? BTW it is the left shoulder! #oldchairmennev-erdie

damienoconnormp: There is no doubt @dcartermrspeaker’s demise as minister is all due to the fact he backed Fonterra’s decision to implement TAF! And the DCD stuff is all TAF’s fault. #theskyisfalling

@Forest_and_Bird: We welcome @nick-smith as Conservation Minister. He’s one of the Government’s most knowledgeable MPs on environmental issues and we look forward to working with him again! #kissofdeath

ljohnstonefarmlands: I’d respect the deci-sion of both @hritiche and @cpedersen not to support the merger with CRT a whole lot more if Hugh was not such a daddy’s boy and Char-lie was not such a plonker. #offcomethegloves

cpedersen: Hey @ljohnstonefarmlands both I and @hritchie refuse to engage in personality politics with you about our disagreement on the CRT merger – mainly because you lack a personality! #bringiton

fonterrapr: Thank you, thank you, thank you @toddmullerfonterra and @jwilsonfonterra for rolling over our contract for another 5 years. Can we just say how well you are both looking and how clever, smart and wise you both are. Love your work #eternally grateful

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20 opinion

why water makes nZ the true lucky countryAUSTRALIA HAS often been called the lucky country, largely because ot its mineral wealth. But fresh water resources make New Zealand a far luckier country. Managed wisely, that resource will be available for genera-tions to come.

Water is crucial to growth in our economy,

particularly in the agri-culture, food and forestry sectors, which generate at least 70% of New Zea-land’s merchandise export earnings and about 12% of gross domestic product. It is also, of course, cru-cial to our $10 billion tour-ism sector, and as part of our renewable energy pro-duction.

Economically, we know that managing water more

efficiently through irri-gation has the potential to increase agricultural exports by as much as $4 billion per year by 2026. The value of just allocat-ing existing water-takes more efficiently in water-scarce catchments has been estimated at $12.7 million for each one per cent improvement. There is also lots of scope for fur-ther irrigation area, with a

number of major schemes in development.

But there is no doubt we have not had a suffi-ciently rigorous system for managing our fresh-water, both as to quantity and quality. That simply cannot continue if we want better environmental and economic outcomes.

On an international scale, New Zealand’s water quality is still among the

best internationally, but we do not shy away from the fact that the quality has been declining in some of our lakes and rivers over many decades, and we must address this.

To improve this, the National-led Government has already spent $101 mil-lion, since taking office in 2008, on cleaning up pol-lution from our water-ways, and $450 million has

aMy aDaMs

Environment Minister Amy Adams

been committed to a two-decade clean-up of Lake Taupo, Rotorua lakes and the Waikato River.

In the white-hot emo-tion of the water debate, it seems that a different report is released every week making claims about the state of our waterways that often give only half the picture and lack con-text. One recent report used data going back to 2004 to claim our water-ways today are not in a good enough state.

A recreational water quality indicator report released by the Minis-try for the Environment focussed on 210 fresh water beaches and 248 coastal beaches over five consecutive summers that were known to have water quality issues (out of the tens of thousands of swim-ming spots across the country).

Most of our moni-tored sites were graded fair-to-excellent for swim-ming. But even in that con-text, waterways graded as poor in the report indi-cated a 1% chance of a swimmer there becom-ing unwell. And the report made it clear the causes of concern in the moni-tored sites include not just agriculture, but also wild-life, waterfowl and council sewerage discharge.

Looking at the bigger picture, it seems the focus of debate on environmen-tal issues, such as water management, often centre on the competing pres-sures which divide us, while ignoring the values and outcomes most of us would share.

The legacy of water management has increas-ingly been contentious, divisive and litigious, where there must be a winner and a loser. Sector groups, both industry and environmental, have often tended to take extreme positions in the hope that it will move the balance their way and perhaps out of concern that if they start in a moderate posi-tion and if their opponents

do not then they will miss out.

This cannot continue as a way forward for New Zealand. We must recog-nise both the economic potential of water use and the rare and valuable asset our abundant clean water-ways are, and find solu-tions that protect both.

To deal with these challenges, we need to make difficult balancing decisions between envi-ronment and economic potential. Without doubt, these issues are politically challenging but equally the cost of not dealing with them over many years has been significant.

We have an opportunity to implement a significant water reform strategy to maximise opportunities and address problems with our system for managing freshwater.

New Zealand needs this reform to provide for economic growth and improve environmental outcomes.

Improving water man-agement systems will require solutions that start now and build over the long-term.

The collaborative approach taken by the Land and Water Forum (LAWF) is a critical cor-nerstone of the Govern-ment’s moves to reform the way we manage fresh-water.

LAWF’s success has provided us with a unique opportunity to advance freshwater reform that reflects all those essential ingredients of economic development, environ-mental, social and cultural safeguards.

We will soon be able to advance reforms that have wide buy-in, that consider the long-term impacts of the way we manage our freshwater resource, and that provide greater cer-tainty for businesses which need reliable access to water.• Amy Adams, MP for Selwyn (National), is Minister for the Environment.

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management 21

start cooling grain from intakeSTART COOLING grain from the day it comes off the paddock to minimise risk of infestation or other problems down the track.

While the target for long-term storage should

be to get heap or silo temps down to single figures, fans should be on as soon as ambient air is 3-4 deg C below the grain temperature, says storage specialist Richard Flach, of equipment supplier Flach & Leroy.

“Aim to have grain below 15 deg C within two weeks of harvest, and below 12 deg C within 3 months.

“For example, if the grain is coming in at 20 deg C, you can use air at 15 deg C to cool it, so do it in steps making the most of cool ambient conditions rather than waiting for a frosty night.”

Flach points out it requires much less energy to cool grain than to dry it.

“A useful analogy is a mug of tea - it cools down far quicker than it evaporates!”

It’s important to cool grain as it comes

in off the field because the main insect pests of stored grain, particularly grain weevil, can multiply rapidly above 10 deg C, irrespective of the moisture content, he points out.

Preventative treatment with organophosphate (OP) insecticide such as Actellic (pirimiphos-methyl) at intake is an expensive option compared to cooling and, while still permitted in New Zealand, there are concerns with residues entering food chain.

“OP’s aren’t allowed in the UK anymore,” he notes.

That said, there may be some merit in treating the top layer of grain due to localised increases in moisture content because of condensation come winter, he adds.

Relatively low air volume is required to achieve effective cooling, as little

as 0.15 cubic metres/minute/t.

Typically, a small centrifugal fan can provide this, but the air distribution system must be appropriate to the store type.

Manual management of fans can work, but it is easy to forget to turn a fan off in the morning, or fail to notice if temperatures rise unexpectedly,

storage reminders•Preparation and hygiene key• Clean and chemical treat

pre-filling• Control vermin and birds• Ensure stores are weather

proof• Check ventilation equipment

before filling• Check transport hygiene,

especially contractors’

anDrew swallow warns Flach.“If that happens, at

best you’ll be doing no good at all, and at worst, warming the grain back up.

“Better to have a simple differential thermostat which measures the grain temperature and the ambient temperature, and

only runs the fan if the ambient temperature is 3 or 4 deg C lower than the grain temperature.”

Accurate and regular sampling and monitoring of stored crop will help detect potential problems early, minimising losses and or the cost of corrective action.

“Any localised increase

in temperature could indicate fungi, sprouting or insects. Any increase in moisture content could indicate condensation, leaks, or insects.”

No storage fungi grow if grain is stored below 14.5% moisture content and mites are unable to breed if the moisture is below 14.5%, he adds.

Relatively low air volumes can achieve effective cooling, says Richard Flach (inset).

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22 management

WE MAY have thought we had maize week control nailed with pre-emergence sprays such as Atrazine, but nature, in her inimi-table way, has seen some

weeds develop resistance and render it useless in some paddocks.

There are other pre-emergence chemicals still doing a job on such sites,

but who knows when they too will become redun-dant?

A recent field session at the Maize Research Station run by FAR at

Tamahere, Hamilton, saw chemical compa-nies, contractors and farmers gather to hear AgResearch’s Trevor James talk about what

How to get rid of weeds and give young maize plants a chance gets a thorough airing every year, and rightly so in light of rising resistance issues. Sue Edmonds reports.

Seeking novel weed controls

might come next.With some pre-emer-

gence sprays not only becoming less effective, but being banned else-where, James and his team are investigating how effective existing and newly developed but not yet commercialised post-emergence sprays are.

Of thirteen treat-ment plots, twelve have had just one application of various post-emer-gence sprays with no pre-emergence product used. The treatments include sprays known to be effec-tive on broadleaf weeds and others which work mostly on grasses. To get the most out of each product BASF’s additive Cadet (topramezone) was added as it is supposed to increase knockdown and spectrum of weeds affected.

While results are still to be written up, it is clear some sprays are more effective than others. Untreated plots demon-strate the local seedbank, with lush fathen nearly a metre tall towering between the maize.

The maize itself in all plots is fairly uniform, despite it being known

some of the sprays can affect early maize growth. To minimise this 110° spray nozzles at 75mm spacing were used to give wide but low coverage.

James says timing of spraying is the most important factor, particu-larly with post-emergence sprays. For pre-emergence

spray within seven days of cultivation; with post-emergence, get in early when weeds are no more than an inch high: it’s far more effective than trying to knockdown big weeds later.

The trial results should demonstrate which post-emergent sprays work best, then calculations on cost-effectiveness need to be done to enable pric-ing of supplementary feed from maize grain and silage.

James says while pre-emergence sprays are still permitted, they’re the most cost-effective weed control, if necessary topped up with a post-emergent spray.

However, he stresses that if markets get partic-ular over spray use New Zealand growers needed to be ready to change their methods.

Soil preparation trials at Tamahere are now in their sixth year with 21 trial areas either direct drilled, strip tilled, or ploughed each year. All other applications are identical. To date yields have shown none or little difference but soil struc-ture is also being monitored and last year, for the first time, beneficial effects of direct drilling began to show. FAR’s Mike Parker notes direct drilled maize was the only one to really cope with the drought of 2008 and if recent dry weather continues, there could be noticeable differences again this season.

Sixth-year soil work

“While pre-emergence sprays are still permitted, they’re the most cost-effective weed control, if necessary topped up with a post-emergent spray.”

FAR’s Maize Research Committee at Tamahere.

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management 23

Condition scoring your pastureHOW DO you assess whether a paddock needs renewing?

The Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust is encouraging use of a con-dition scoring system akin to those used to assess cattle or sheep.

To that end; it has adapted online informa-tion supplied by Dairy NZ into a handy to use fold-out pocket guide to scor-ing pastures from 1 to 5. On the reverse are 10 Top Tips for pasture renewal success.

The initiative is part of a wider project to raise awareness of the benefits of pasture renewal.

“The guide is indicative rather than prescriptive,” project manager Nicola Holmes told Rural News.

While the informa-tion was drawn from the dairy industry, it should work equally well for low-land beef pastures, she acknowledges.

The other plank to the project is a “Win a free paddock” draw in which entrants can land one of three prize packages of pasture renewal products and services, each worth $8000.

A recent nationwide CINTA survey* found 80% of dairy farmers intend to renew run-out pastures this season, regardless of the financial outlook, but actions do not always follow intentions: on aver-

age dairy farms renew just 6-7% of pasture annually, well behind the 10-12% recommended by the Trust.

A limited requirement for crop and/or reluctance to increase cropped area, was stated in the CINTA survey as the biggest bar-rier to renewing a greater area of pasture.

Holmes notes pasture to pasture renewals can work with top manage-ment, “but most people don’t want to go beyond that cropping regime.”

Just how big the dif-ference between the best and worst paddocks will be will depend on the farm and there is no national data to quantify such dif-ferences, for dairy or any other sector, she adds.

“It would be good if we could. Some of the highest producing dairy pastures will be doing 15-20t of dry matter a year, so if you’re doing 10-12t you’re losing a lot of ground there.”

Statistics New Zea-land has agreed to a Trust request to put a couple of questions about pas-ture management into the agriculture census which is conducted every five years.

“It will give us specific answers around pasture renewal,” says Holmes.

Entries to the “Win a Free Paddock” campaign close February 28. Entry forms are at most rural retailers and on www.pas-turerenewal.org.nz

Winners may under-take their pasture renewal in autumn or spring, but agreement to have the process documented and used in subsequent pro-motional activity is a con-

dition of entry.* Survey conducted

by market research firm CINTA across a nation-wide database of 600 dairy farms. The Trust refused to release further details.

andrew Swallow

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No problem here: the revamped pasture condition guide says no action required. Inset: Nicola Holmes.

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24 management

Certified fert products spreadCOMPANIES AND products certified to Fertmark standards are at an all-time high, but a standard for product spread quality remains elusive, says Fertiliser Quality Council chairman, Neil Barton.

“We continue to try to find a way to get the

industry to put on an SGN rating,” he told Rural News.

Barton believes the lack of such a standard stems from a cost of prod-uct focus among pasto-ral farmers, most of whom use contractors to apply nutrients and are either unaware or undervalue

the importance of even spread.

“All they’re concerned about is the cost of prod-uct applied.”

If more spreaders charged a premium to apply poor or hard to spread material, it would encourage more attention to be paid to

product spreadability, and help persuade the major manufacturers that a standard is needed, he adds.

As for Fertmark, which sets nutrient content stan-dards, 14 companies and 51 products are now cer-tified.

“To farm in an environ-

mentally friendly, sustain-able way, farmers have to know exactly what they are putting on their land. With Fertmark products they can do just that.

“There is some angst around the use of fertilis-ers in general but research has shown that our pro-duction will drop by up to

two thirds if we don’t use fertiliser. That would be catastrophic for the coun-try.

“The issue is to decide

what fertiliser to use and farmers should insist on a product with the Fertmark tick before they put any-thing on their land.”

Nutrient tested, but no spread-ing standard yet.

Pump it out nowTAKE ADVANTAGE of dry weather to lower effluent pond levels, says DairyNZ.

The levy body has revamped its Keep it Low campaign following analysis of significant effluent non-compliance information from regional councils.

“Dairy farmers have made really good progress meeting effluent management requirements and we want to help them improve even further,” says DairyNZ’s sustainabil-ity team leader, Theresa Wilson.

Last season, for the first time, significant non-compli-ance was below 10%.

Analysis of regional council compliance data found ponding, and the causes of ponding, such as lack of suffi-cient storage or over-application of effluent, accounted for more than half of significant non-compliance incidences in many regions.

“Through the Keep It Low campaign, we’re reminding farmers to irrigate when conditions allow from mid-sum-mer through to early autumn, so when the wet weather starts, there is as much free capacity as possible in the pond,” stresses Wilson.

“It is also really important to manage the process of applying effluent to land. Is the irrigator well-main-tained? Are staff effectively trained on when to irrigate and where?”

DairyNZ has a range of guides to effluent management and is using cartoons, a calendar and a magnetic pond indi-cator to get the messages across. See www.dairynz.co.nz/effluent

Ballance renews awards backingAGRI-NUTRIENTS supply cooperative Ballance has extended its role as principal sponsor of the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust’s flagship com-petition to 2015.

The Ballance Farm Environment Awards, which the firm has backed since 1995, do more than just acknowledge farmers’ success, said Ballance chief executive Larry Bilodeau announcing the extension.

“They are creating a growing pool of farmers who demonstrate great environmental leadership who are happy to share their advice and experience.”

The awards also “demonstrate the value of farm-ing to New Zealand along with the thought, lead-ership and innovation which makes New Zealand farmers the best in the world at what they do.”

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26 animal health

Think before letting dogs breedEIGHTEEN YEARS ago I retired from shepherd-ing; I had been hitting my head against a brick wall for too many years. It had been a frustrating occupa-tion met with much resis-tance. Slowly it is changing and now there are some very capable women being given the opportunity to work the land.

Since then I have tried my hand at other things. My passion for working dogs never waned and I still bred the odd litter of pups, and in the last few years I trained a number of young dogs to the point of being ready to join some-one’s team.

Many people are of the impression that I am reg-

ularly out with a team of dogs working stock - quite

the contrary. It has only been in this last year, rent-ing a cottage on 1300 acres that I have once again picked up the reins with some casual work, mus-tering sheep for a reason. Prior to that sheep were for training young dogs.

It was fun building up a small capable team again; woman, horse, 3

dogs back working as one to get the job done. They did me proud last dock-ing. But there hasn’t been enough work to keep the dogs even remotely fit and it is unfair to expect them to perform as if they were fully employed.

I could look for more work but I no longer have the desire to be employed on a farm working with someone else’s stock – it gives me no satisfaction. If I was breeding and rearing my own flock, that would be a different story.

The dogs and I are heading north to Taupo. We will be centrally based, and we’ll concentrate on ‘teaching people dog train-ing’. The girls won’t be expected to work at dis-tance or need to handle predictably unpredict-able lambs. However, they will need to keep ‘a paw in the paddock’ in order to demonstrate to people the message I am trying to convey.

Words cannot express the joy I have received over the years from breed-ing pups - the last litter was 18 months ago. But sadly the plight of many farm dogs has once again been bought to my atten-tion and I doubt if I will

breed pups again. The thought of bring-

ing a dog into this world to live a life of hell is more than I can bear. I don’t want to be responsible for their misery, so please don’t contact me if you are looking for a pup or trained dog – I won’t have anything. On the other hand, if you would like to learn how to train a dog or you are having problems with one, I am here for you and would love to help, but please bear in mind that I do need to eat and so too do my dogs – there is a fee. Consider it an invest-ment; your return – more money.

If you are a farmer, good dogs = efficient sheep and cattle handling, making more time to do other things. Uncontrolled dogs injure stock, injured stock lose value.

If you are an honest capable shepherd with a well trained team you will be highly sort after and paid accordingly. A well trained dog is a priceless asset. • Anna Holland is teaching people dog training. For more information www.annaholland.co.nz or Ph 027 28 44 639 or [email protected]

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animal health 27

Belt and braces best with deer drenchingFORGET THE pour-ons; use an injection and oral drench for best practice parasite control in deer.

That’s the headline message producers attending a series of workshops around the country during the past couple of months should have taken home, say workshop presenters.

“Nothing is as easy as a pour-on, but we are going to have to bite the bullet and realise giving anthelmintics is never going to be that easy again,” AgResearch veterinary scientist, Colin Mackintosh told Rural News after one of the workshops last week.

Straw polls at the start of each workshop found pour-on as the most common approach to parasite control, but research shows it is also the least effective.

Mackintosh and fellow presenter David Lawrence, a retired vet come deer specialist from Winton, say in light of this injections are the way forward, backed up with a simultaneous oral drench to minimise the risk of resis-tance developing.

Ideally that oral drench should be a combination prod-uct containing levamisole, suggests Lawrence.

“It will delay the onset of resistance on your farm.”With trials having shown inadequate control from Star-

tect (derquantel + abamectin), long-acting Cydectin (mox-idectin), and Zolvix (monepantel), “we’ve got to be very careful with the tools we have got,” he adds.

While oral levamisole is highly effective against lung-worm, deer seem to break it down so rapidly its efficacy against ostertagia is well short of 100%.

Many of the drench options for deer are off-label uses, which are permitted, provided a veterinary prescription is obtained. A problem with that is they have no approved withholding periods so the default 91 days applies.

However, tests on liver tissue found no trace of mox-idectin 49 days after injection and only a trace – 120 times less than the EU maximum permissible level – in fat.

“So if you use [a Cydectin injection] subcutaneously at the correct dose rate you should have no problem killing at

49 days after treatment. But that is not a label claim, which has implications for you as a farmer and for your vet.”

Lawrence advised against listing such uses on ASD forms as they would “create chaos” at processing, even though they are permitted. Vets must retain records of such prescribed uses for two years, he points out.

Establishing approved withholding periods for prod-ucts is “hugely expensive” so unlikely to happen for deer use, he says.

Mackintosh stresses there’s more to parasite control than drenching, be it oral, injection or pour-on.

“Use all the tools in the tool box.”Vulnerable stock classes, notably weaners, should be

allocated the cleanest feeds, and grazing rotations man-aged to provide a supply of clean pasture and/or crop. Avoid grazing pastures too low and use other stock not susceptible to the same worm species as deer, notably sheep, to clean up pastures behind weaners.

Faecal egg counts shouldn’t be relied on in deer as an indicator of worm burden – as extremely high adult pop-ulations can be affecting an animal despite low or even zero FEC.

“If you are going to use faecal egg counts, you have to know what you are doing,” warns Mackintosh.

Post-rut weaning allows young stock more time to develop resistance to worm challenges, and high tannin feeds such as chicory or plantain can act as natural anthel-mintics.

Lawrence says work looking at genetics and breeding to enhance stock’s resistance to worms also shows promise.

andrew Swallow

Deer parasite key points• Intestinal worms, mainly

ostertagia, the biggest problem.

• Lungworm greater risk summer/early autumn.

• Intestinal worm risk increases mid-late autumn.

• Weaners most at risk.• Red deer develop resistance

faster than Wapiti or hybrids.• Ostertagia species mostly

deer specific, though some crossover with cattle.

Weaners are stock class most at risk.

Vaccinating for toxo is one of those ‘must-do’s’ on the farm – and there is a very good reason why.

Toxoplasma occurs everywhere in New Zealand. Because of its hidden nature, farmers may not be aware it exists on their farm. Ewe hoggets and two-tooths are at most risk, and if they contract Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, they are at risk of aborting or giving birth to weak non-viable lambs.

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28 animal health

Toxo health issue for you too?IT’S NOT just sheep and pregnant women that are at risk from the cat-born parasite toxoplasma gondii: the resulting disease, toxoplasmosis, may be a much more severe and dis-abling in the wider population than previously understood, say researchers at University of Auckland.

The disease begins with an acute phase lasting typically for six to eight weeks. It continues as a chronic infection, normally without obvious symptoms that cannot be cured and last for life.

“While chronic toxoplasmo-sis has been shown to have a strong association with conditions affecting the brain such as schizophrenia, and with suicide and self-harming behav-iour, the disease in its acute phase has usually been seen as a benign, trivial and self-healing illness,” says Associ-ate Professor Mark Thomas from the university’s Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology.

His comments follow a question-naire study completed by 31 adults

diagnosed with acute toxo by GPs in Auckland in 2011.

“We were surprised, when the results came in, to discover how common it was for patients to report significant and prolonged symptoms such as impaired memory and con-

centration, headaches and extreme fatigue.”

Thomas told Rural News the study did not determine whether respon-dents were rural or urban residents.

“We did ask about cat contact (16/31 respondents) and about gar-dening with bare hands at least once a week (4/31 respondents).”

While there are probably many reasons for higher rates of suicide and depression in rural populations,

Thomas says he couldn’t rule out toxoplasmosis as having some effects.

The few studies of chronic toxo-plasmosis incidence in New Zealand hint at increased incidence in rural areas: 60 out of 140 blood donors (43%) tested positive in Waikato

in 2005; 163 out of 500 (33%) pregnant women in Auckland in 2004; 340 out of 566 (60%) pregnant women in Hamilton in 1982.

“Perhaps the Waikato and Hamilton samples had higher rates than the Auckland sample because of more rural people in these samples,” Thomas sug-gests.

Studies of laboratory animals with toxoplasmosis show that the organ-ism releases dopamine – an impor-tant brain messenger molecule.

Thomas suspects some human effects of acute and chronic toxo-plasmosis may be due to excessive amounts of this.

The Auckland study has been published as a scientific paper in the Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases.

UK move good newsRED MEAT genetics company, Focus Genetics, is teaming up with UK sheep technology firm Innovis in a move that will be good for New Zealand farmers, says a Focus sup-plier.

“Merging skills has got to be good for us,” says Hawke’s Bay farmer, Shane Tilson, who runs a Primera nucleus flock at Awapai Station.

“It gives our products another leg up into international markets.”

Focus Genetic’s UK general manager, Bayden Wilson, says the collaboration will improve genetics supply to UK breeders and increase investment in technologies for the

benefit of farmers.“By working with Innovis we

can produce better genetic gains from our UK stock and create effi-ciencies from the ability to share resources, skills, technologies and equipment.”

Focus Genetics currently pro-vide around 300 Primera and High-lander rams/year to UK Farmers. Innovis has a customer base of over 450 farms using its Aberdale, Aber-field, Abermax and Abertex breeds.

As a result of the collaboration, more than 800 rams will be avail-able through Innovis in the UK in 2013 but biosecurity restrictions mean there won’t be any return

flow of Aber- genetics into New Zealand, at least for the foresee-able future.

“It’s definitely something that’s been discussed but the main issue is getting the [UK] genetics into New Zealand,” Wilson told Rural News.

Most UK breeds wouldn’t cut it here anyway, though there are traits in a few terminal breeds and an occasional maternal breed, such as the Lleyn, that could be benefi-cial integrated into New Zealand lines, he adds.

“There’s still a lot of progress to be made in New Zealand and Aus-tralia with the genetics we’ve got.”

andrew Swallow

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RuRal News // february 5, 2013RuRAl NEWS // FebRuARy 5, 2013

northlanD fielD Days 29

event to be bigger than ever

lew Duggen

NORTHLAND Field Days visitors can ask questions about the natural envi-ronment and about where to apply for financial help with environmental projects – all at the Biodiversity site.

Located beside the Northland Regional Council site the Biodiver-sity site is a collaboration between DOC, Landcare Trust, the Northland Regional Council, Whangerei District Council and QE2 Trust, with the aim of getting everybody in Northland to reduce their farm’s impact on the environment.

The site – this year featuring a ‘hab-itat sequence’ display of forest, farm,

coast and wetlands – is themed water-ways and how people in the commu-nity can best protect them.

Giveaways include the Landcare Trust’s new publication Restoring the Balance, a self-help guide which shows farmers how to fill out grant applica-tions and where they can find grants as well as exploring different types of sensitive habitat.

Northland Regional Council land management spokesman Bruce Grif-fin says special attention will be paid to wetlands on agricultural proper-ties, including how farmers can work out whether there is something worth

protecting, and what grants and help might be available for the farmer. “We are looking also at some of the special things people might have on the farm and how they might best might pro-tect it and how they can get assistance protecting it.”

Protection of the waterways is a common theme this year with the Northland Regional council replacing possum pies with eel crackers. Coun-cil events and partnerships coordina-tor Natasha Stubbing says they moved to eel crackers to highlight a broader push to improve water quality in the region.

THE 2013 Northland Field Days promises to be the biggest ever, with more exhibitors, a higher dairy payout and the earlier staging of the show bringing tens of millions of dollars into the region, say the organisers.

Northland Field Days (February 21-23) is two weeks earlier to better fit in with other regional field days, says president Lew Duggan. Many exhibi-tors believe the time is right to expand their share of the growing agricultural industry.

“Better scheduling between the Northland Field Days and regional events in the Central Districts and the South Island has meant more busi-nesses can make the trip to Dargaville without missing out on the other two events,” says Duggan.

Organisers say a lot of new exhib-itors have been signing up as a result of the change. At January 23 only 10% of the 32ha site was not booked. Event coordinator Meagan Edmonds says two new exhibitors were book-

ing each day.“As the interest in available sites

is high, I am letting potential exhibi-tors know that the sites they might be looking at today may be gone tomor-row.”

Duggan so many lifestyle exhibi-tors were booking this year that they considered adding a fourth lifestyle pavilion. “Olive oil, crafts, liqueur, paintings. I was amazed by the range of exhibitors in the lifestyle pavilion.”

An Enterprise Northland commis-sioned AUT economic impact study discovered that in 2008, 1250 people surveyed specifically went to the field days to buy something. Spend-ing averaged $738 per visitor includ-ing food and accommodation. This

means a about $15 million was spent in the region as a result of the show and Duggan expects that to grow with next season’s payout lift.

With dairy cows making up at least a quarter of the region’s ruminants (2007 data) the lift in payout will be heavily felt by the region, Duggan says. “Farmers tend to save up big purchases for the field days to take advantage of time and money saving opportunities at the event. 2013 should reflect that with the higher payout.”

The Northland Field Days has just launched a new site with a specials page allowing visitors to see all field day deals in one place and Duggan has been amazed at the turnout.

Environmental help on hand at field days

gareTh gillaTT “Better scheduling between the Northland Field Days and regional events in the Central Districts and the South Island has meant more businesses can make the trip to Dargaville without missing out on the other two events.” – Lew Duggan

Dargaville, february 21-23

See You There!

21st – 23rd February 2013enjoy a great event with us!

The best place in Northland to see all the latest rural innovations and technology available as well as entertaining demonstrations of skill and expertise.

Gates: 9:00am-4:30pm

Entry: Adults (16yrs+) $15 • Children (5-16yrs) $5 • Under 5s – Free A great family day out

www.northlandfielddays.co.nz | Phone 09 439 8998

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30 northlanD fielD Days

Calf grain feeder minimises wasteTHE MILKBAR Meal Saver skid-feeder has eliminated bird fouling and stopped feed waste, according to South Island farmer Wayne McKenzie

McKenzie milks 570 cows on 156 ha in Waimate, half way between Timaru and Oamaru. He rears 200 calves a year to replace poor performers and to build up the genetic strength of his herd, but says getting grain into them wasn’t always easy.

Feeders would get blown over in the wind, or grain was soiled by weather or birds that were able to access the grain. McKenzie says mainte-nance costs were also high.

gareTh gillaTT

“I basically had to bring them back to the house after calves were on a strictly grass diet. There were big repairs and main-tenance bills to get them ready for next year.”

McKenzie first saw the

MilkBar feeders at a local show 3-4 years previously and was initially suspi-cious about calves’ ability to work out how to oper-ate the lid themselves.

“The agent told me that calves would learn to lift the lid – I looked at him and said ‘rub-bish’, but sure enough they did.”

The feeder prevents birds and other the elements from getting at that grain with a counterbalanced lid. Stock can easily lift the feeder lid with their noses to get at the grain, while birds cannot.

Once stock have lifted the lid; a counter balance automatically swings the lid shut.

“The calves just lift the lid up with their noses. They don’t even worry

about the lid being on top of their heads,” says McK-enzie.

Water is used as a counter balance, with the farmer able to remove or add water depending on conditions.

McKenzie reckons this is ideal when training calves that are in the pad-dock for the first time.

“The first day you have a wee bit more weight in the counterbalance so it lifts up lids slightly, after that you can take a bit of water out.”

While the feeder has the capacity to carry three, 20kg bags of meal, McK-enzie puts two bags a

day into feeders and says calves get about 95% of the grain in the bag compared to other skid feeders.

McKenzie liked the Meal Saver so much he has been replacing his existing feeders with them once

the existing feeder “gets past their use by date”.

“We’ve just got a couple of old ones

left now, but we don’t put them out in the pad-dock because they just get blown over by the wind.”

According to McK-enzie, the MilkBar feed-ers avoid this problem by being low to the ground.

“I have done nothing to them at all and the original one I bought still has all its original parts.”Tel. 0800 104 119 or http://milkbar.co.nz

The feeder’s counterbalanced lid prevents birds and other elements getting at the grain.

“The first day you have a wee bit more weight in the counterbalance so it lifts up lids slightly, after that you can take a bit of water out.”

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northlanD fielD Days 31

wind may solve power woesWINDPOWER is an affordable way of powering cowsheds if new wind turbine designs are used, according to a company showing this technology at the Northland Field Days.

While much has been said about the use of solar energy, natural gas and even biofuels North-land farmer and Pacific Wind Associate execu-tive Bob Bull thinks the new INVELOX generator, produced by US specialist R&D company Sheerwind, is a good alternative.

The new turbine design model, which will be pre-sented to the public for the first time at the Northland Field Days by exclusive Australasian dis-tributors Pacific Wind,

brings the wind to the tur-bine instead of putting the turbine in the wind.

A funnel draws wind down into the generator where it is converted into electricity and is described by Sheerwind founder and INVELOX inventor Dr. Daryoush Allaei as being a new wind delivery system

– rather than a new type of turbine.

Allaei told CBS Radio in the US, on the Cen-tsible Media Radio show recently, that while he wasn’t trying to re-invent the wheel he had to con-vince a lot of people that this concept was even viable.

“When I first came up with the idea my own engi-neers they told me ‘no it won’t work’ I told them to go and build one, they came back and told me that ‘yes it works’.”

Putting the genera-tor on the ground allows the unit to be maintained easier, makes it safer and eliminates the noise made by traditional wind gener-ators claims Allaei.

However, vice presi-dent Reza Sehdehi says the true benefit comes from

the design of the funnel leading into the generator. The pipe is not the same size all the way through allowing air to contract and expand before it finally hits the turbines explains Sehdehi.

“Making the air con-tract and expand ampli-fies the wind energy and

gareTh gillaTT allows the turbines to do more work with less wind” Proponents say the inno-vative design means gen-erators work off less than a quarter of the wind using towers half as tall and tur-bines that are half the size to pump out power for lower cost. In fact, Sheer-wind founder Allaei claims

that the funnel can double the strength of the wind and the INVELOX system requires less than 3.2 km/hr to start compared to 14 km/hr as traditional units.

He also says it can handle winds twice as strong as traditional wind turbines.

“When there is a strong

wind we simply open up a vent and let the air out.”

There are several pro-totypes available, from instantly erected porta-ble units that can be used by the military to massive units that could power a town.

The company has also developed funnels that

can be mounted to exist-ing buildings.

Bob Bull says there has been a lot of inter-est in New Zealand, with a number of locations suitable for the units. A number of different units have been designed to meet these needs and turbines can be made to

produce a variety of out-puts. He says Pacific Wind works with clients to come up with the solution that fits them best, but Sehdehi estimates that the average sized farm would probably need it to produce 15 KW of power.Tel: 09 4765359 or www.pacificwind.co

A funnel draws wind down into the generator where it is converted into electricity.

SITE 202

www.gallagher.co.nz

Be in to Win Black Dog bar leaner and four chairs

It’s our birthday and we’re celebrating!

Spend $100 at the Gallagher Northland Field Day site and go in the draw to win a bar leaner and chairs valued at $1500.

Plus come and see our great birthday product offers and some very exciting NEW products.* *Conditions apply.


32 northland field days

Add-ons for quad bike roll barsMAKERS of the Lifeguard, an award-winning, flexi-ble roll-bar for quads, will launch accessories for the device at Northland Field Days.

GARETH GILLATT

The farm quad roll bar is designed to avert injury should the machine roll.

Winner of the 2012 New Zealand National Fieldays ‘Golden Stan-dard’ award for excellence in innovation, the crush protection device (CPD) is made up of 60 individual nylon segments connected with two strong cables to form an arch over the rider.

Should the quad roll and rider come into con-tact, the CPD will mold itself around the person while holding the ATV off the

ground, preventing inju-ries.

AgTech’s Lifeguard sales and marketing manager Weston Stewart says that the University of New South Wales has asked for sample units for testing.

Though it took top prize for innovation at last year’s National Fieldays it was not market-ready; now it’s available.

Northland Field Days (February 21 to 23) will be the first showing in com-

mercially available form. AgTech is releasing acces-sories to make the Life-guard safer and more functional.

Accessories include rubber matting, bright LED flashing lights, a reflective sleeve and a specially packaged heavy duty torque wrench and socket set.

The sockets are made for the bracket that holds the unit to the quad as well as to tighten the cable that holds the Lifeguard bar

together.A clamped rear

bracket holds the CPD to the quad’s carrier and is designed so that the bracket can be attached to the quad in different posi-tions and can be attached to any metal carrier.

Manufacturers say it is vital that the clamp bolts are tightened to 12 Nm torque; the Lifeguard needs to maintain 33-34 Nm torque.Tel. 0800 782 3763 www.atvlifeguard.co.nz

welcomes visitors to

NORTHLAND FIELD DAYS21-23 February, 2013

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northland field days 33

Tractor pull competition comes of age!VISITORS watching the Northland Field Day trac-tor pull competition this year will be able to enjoy a blast from the past.

The Northland Field Days tractor pull is cel-ebrating its 21st birthday this year – a big milestone for what is the only event of its kind in the region and the only one in the country to have a ‘com-pany challenge’.

Event organiser John Phillips says that, besides regular races, all previ-ous winners and competi-tors will be competing in a grand championship event to see who’s the best trac-tor driver – of all time – in Northland.

Started in 1992 by Dar-gaville farmer, and one of the Northland Field Days’ founding members, Ted Rope; only three sponsors and a handful of competi-tors turned up to compete.

Competitor numbers hit a high of 26 in 2010 at the launch of the bank challenge and business challenge, but Phillips says the event attracts around 20 competitors on aver-age.

In the business and bank challenges organ-isations form into teams where they compete in races – including the three way race – where three tractors compete at one time and the ‘three-legged race’ where competitors need to race in all three of

the tractors supplied by organisers.

Around 13 businesses and five banks enter teams into the tractor pull and Phillips doesn’t know of any other event like it in the country.

“A lot of the entrants in the bank competition are ladies who have never driven a tractor before and they get a lot of fun out of it. You can really see the adrenalin running.”

While technology has reduced the number of levers most competitors needed to pull and pedals they have to push; busi-nesses and banks don’t have that luxury as they are given tractors with fully manual gearing.

Manual gears will be

something that return-ing champions will need to cope with as well accord-ing to Phillips.

All winning competi-tors and runners up were invited to the event and so far 10 have risen to the challenge.

“It should draw quite a crowd.”

Entrants in the main race might have the assis-tance of electronically-assisted gear changes, but Phillips says accidents still sometimes happen.

“If you miss a gear change it’s fatal, there’s no way back from it in a race.”

And there’s plenty riding on the competition. With $2100 in prize money being up for grabs for the winner of the main com-

petition and the runner up getting $1400.

Phillips expects a good turnout this year, partly due to the milestone it represents and partly due to the earlier kick off date.

“This year is looking better because the field

days are earlier; so con-tractors and farmers are not so flat out.”

It costs $40 to enter the competition with entries to the three-legged race costing $60 per team of three.

Bank challenges and

business challenges will be held on Thursday February 21 with the main compe-tition starting on Thurs-day afternoon. The final of the main competition will be held on Friday February 22. Past competitors will square off on the Saturday.

GARETH GILLATT

There’s a serious side to this ‘boy-racer rural’ contest, says Tractor Pull NZ.

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34 northland field days

Mower makes top job of topping

Northland research farm manager Jeremy Clark says the Fieldmaster mower makes topping a breeze.

A FIELDMASTER GMM 230 Mower has made top-ping a breeze on a North-land research farm, says farmer Jeremy Clark, man-ager of the Northland Agri-cultural Research Farm. Its two 40-45ha farmlets near Dargaville are used to compare the economic value of a ryegrass farm against one relying on mulched kikuyu.

The study, which dis-covered that mulching kikuyu with oversown Ital-ian annuals is as commer-cially viable, if not more so, in Northland, is in its second phase. Clark says

Fieldmaster representa-tive Patrick Murray got in contact with him to offer the 2.3m rotary mulching/topping mower. “We both saw the synergies so we gratefully accepted,” says Clark.

According to Murray, the company was keen to work with the research farm due to its high vis-ibility. “Because the Northland Agricultural Research Station is vis-ited by many Northland farmers and their research and methods are of note to the region, Fieldmaster deemed it worthwhile to offer a loan trial machine – particularly to advertise

the merits and versatility of the Fieldmaster GMM series machines.”

The Fieldmaster 3 tier mulching system can be fitted with a tungsten-treated blade, which copes with abrasive conditions and to a high degree self-sharpens.

“This is especially good in kikuyu, which needs cutting back at low height to control it and cattle will eat and do well on the fresh sugar rich regrowth.”

The mower was deliv-ered in October, a month when the kikuyu hadn’t started growing, and the farm has used it as a top-ping mower to main-

tain pasture quality over the entire property. “It hasn’t had to cope with the kikuyu stems or clumps yet, but I’m impressed with what I have seen so far.”

The mower doesn’t tax the property’s 89hp Massey Ferguson 5355 tractor while topping and Clark says he is able to get more work out of lower revs. “The tractor doesn’t seem to be work-ing as hard with the gear mower; we’ve been able to get more trips out of the fuel tank.”

Besides being able to top pastures in 10-15 min-utes less time than the pre-

GARETH GILLATT

vious mulcher, Clark says the rotary mulcher also does a better job. “The pastures come up better with the mulcher. They came up lush and green; the mower really did an outstanding job.”

The mower’s three blade system gives a cleaner cut and stays sharper longer, Clark adds. “The alloy means the blades are partially self-sharpening. These blades are awesome.”

Murray says the Multi-cut rotary mulcher knives have three blades that cut in three heights and

in two steps. The blades are designed to pulver-ise plant material with a lower power ratio. This is further assisted by down-ward pointing blades that cut close to ground level while creating a vacuum that mixes soil and plant debris for faster break-down times.

Northland and Waikato farmers have mentioned the mower’s capability to handle kikuyu, according to Murray, and the com-pany wants to put that per-formance to the test.

“Many of Fieldmasters’ Gear mower users indicate

they can mow faster even double the forward speed, use half the fuel and still achieve a clean cut even spread that is considered the ideal result.”

Clark says rainfall and a cooler start to summer have delayed major kikuyu growth, which would normally be hap-pening around now. “It will be interesting to see how it copes with the big thick kikuyu clumps that are common around Northland farms during summer.” Tel. 0800 500 275 www.fieldmaster.co.nzSoil Aeration Specialists

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machinery & products 35

Gallagher to mark 75th year

Cost-effective, time-saving way to store grain

GALLAGHER GROUP says it has huge plans for its 75th anniversary throughout 2013.

And the company wants farmers to join in the fun, says Peter Nation, national sales manager for Gallagher Animal Management.

Famed for successfully developing leading electric fence systems, the Hamilton-based company’s origins span back to the 1930s when Waikato dairy farmer Bill Gal-lagher (senior) was searching for ways to stop his horse rubbing against his car. He developed a battery-powered electric fence unit and began selling these and other farm machinery. The electric fence enabled farmers to manage pastures more efficiently and at a lower cost than conven-tional fencing.

Today, Gallagher is recognised as a major contributor to the success of New Zealand agriculture and enjoys an international reputation for innovative products.

Nation says a major part of the company’s success is its investment in R&D “to keep us at the leading edge of technology”.

“We also have to thank farmers in New Zealand and around the world for their support. The company wouldn’t be where it is today if farmers didn’t trust the Gallagher brand and buy our products.”

Nation says reaching 75 years is a big achievement for any privately owned New Zealand company. “We plan to make the most of it, and we’d like our customers to be a

key part of these celebrations.”Farmers can expect to see several new Gallagher prod-

ucts in 2013, and generous product specials are promised throughout the anniversary year.

Key account manager Matt Macfie says the 75th cel-ebrations will be evident at Gallagher displays at the National Fieldays and regional field days. “Jaw-dropping” product specials will be seen at Mystery Creek, the Cen-tral Districts Field Days, Northern Agricultural Field Days and the South Island Agricultural Field Days, Macfie says.

“As always, we will be showcasing a great line-up of weighing and EID products at these events. We will also be unveiling some outstanding new products designed to make life simpler and easier for the farmer.”

Official celebrations will be in March.

A NEW way of handling grain could save grain farmers thousands and increase their mobility, says Farmgard marketing manager Scott Capper.

The company recently launched a temporary silo system called Grainstor. With this system grain is blown into specially pro-duced bags using the EGS 900 grain bagger.

These can then be left where packed, as the bag is weatherproof and will store the grain safety for several years

Once the grain is ready to be used, it can be removed ad hoc with a specially made extractor. Capper says the portable bagging system is cost-effective when compared to traditional grain silos with the 200 ton capacity bags costing $1700.

“You don’t have to transport it to a silo; bags can be laid in the paddock, which is fast, cost effective and time saving.”

Capper says the entire system has been set up with ease of use and low capital costs in mind. The bagger only requires 45hp to operate to put 250 tons of grain into bags per hour.

He adds that getting it out again is just as easy. The P-Ex Max extrac-tor uses two small augers to draw grain out of the bag and into the main dis-charge auger along with two hydraulically driven rollers, which roll up the bag. The method of extrac-tion doesn’t put any strain on the tractor, allowing smaller tractors to be used and larger machines to be freed up for other con-tracting jobs, says Capper.

“It is an ideal machine for contractors because they can tow it around dif-ferent farms and store grain wherever they want.”

Bags can be emptied as quickly – at 180 tons/hr with a 75hp tractor, with operators able to seal off bags once grain has been

taken out of them.The polyethylene bags

‘remember’ their original shape, allowing the fabric to draw back on itself, causing any oxygen to be expelled from the bag; the quality of the stored grain is therefore better than in a traditional silo. The bags stand up to the elements, Capper adds. “They are UV-protected bags, but tearing can happen if the operator is not careful.”

He says the system is ideal for anybody produc-ing or handling 150 tons of grain a year. “It really comes into its own in times like the 2011-2012 season; when grain farm-ers faced bumper crops and increased supply from granaries in Australia keeping prices low.

“With the Grainstor, arable farmers can cope with excess supply with-out building costly infra-structure,” says Capper. Tel. 09 275 5555 www.farmgard.co.nz

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36 machinery & products

Wanganui Dog Trial Centre attracts big crowd at its ‘Cockies day out’ rideTHE WANGANUI Dog Trial Centre has started fundraising to enable it to hold the New Zealand championships at Mow-hanga, near Taihape, in 2015.

So it organised a ‘cock-ies day out’ – a farm trail ride for cockies on quads, side-by-sides and a few hardy souls on 2-wheelers. All took on the 85km ride in the hills north of Hunt-erville. About 20 from the Taumarunui area enjoyed an informative and well-organised ride looking at iconic properties between Hunterville and Taihape.

Starting at local dog trial identity Stu and Linda Bradley’s 413ha property Makariri (3000 stock units

on West Rd) the riders were split into two groups with Alex Dalgety leading. We then traversed through another well-known tri-alist’s lease property, Sel-kirk, farmed by Geoff White.

Local dog trialist and event reporter Don (Reuters) Evans led the second group, giving infor-mative talks along the way. His property was next and a high vantage point on his 250ha farm gave riders a spectacular view down into the Rangitikei River and towards Taihape.

Next stop was the 420ha Omuia, recently purchased and in a devel-opment phase with its new owners. Then on to Korae-nui, another property recently purchased by Ed

Kight and investors from Hawke’s Bay.

Collective gasps were heard when the group realised the whole prop-erty had been planted in trees for carbon cred-its. Koraenui used to run close to 8500su. The 384ha Araroa was the next boundary, owned by

BERNARD LILBURN

Andrew and Joanna Lam-bert, whose family once owned the previous two properties.

From Araroa, we entered Te Kumu Station, part of the extensive CR Grace family holdings at the top of the Watershed Road totaling 4250ha. Te Kumu is now the aggregation of eight properties, with the original Te Kumu once part of the Otairi Station that was split up amongst Duncan family some 20 years ago.

At the bottom of the Te Kumu drive, we came to a 30ha man-made lake that provided a great spot to view the wildlife, while we had lunch.

Mangapapa, a block within Te Kumu, is an impressive 570ha in a huge basin among steep hills that are cultivatable. The station puts in 100ha of crops each year for the lambs, as well as other crops for the deer block and winter cattle crops.

The groups had come

together by this stage and it was an impressive sight watching 84 machines head back up the hills (and not a helmet in sight!) towards the biggest pad-dock we traversed all day – Back of the Fence at 320ha!

It was then into Otairi Station’s Tauporae and the highest point of the day at 850M. Magnificent views were available in all direc-tions with Mt Ruapehu and Taranaki visible and Kapiti Island. From here, we entered the 1500ha Te Namu Forest planted in trees some 20 years ago; it was disappointing to see the forest management in this block hasn’t been done as well as it could have.

After descending back down through Te Namu to around 550m all adjourned to the Poukiore Collie Club cookhouse for well-earned refreshments and a succulent steak, courtesy of C R Grace Ltd, a fitting end to an informative and enlightening day.

Climbing one of the steeper hills on the Cockies day out farm trail ride.

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machinery & products 37

Machine’s multi-functionality surprises farmer

The Tow & Fert made it possible to spread supplements on pasture quicker than a quad and a hopper.THE METALFORM Tow and Fert liquid fertiliser mixer/

spreader is good for much more than spreading fertiliser, says Northland dairy farmer James Brady.

Brady milks 250 cows off 130ha just out of Wellsford. He spreads magnesium on pastures ahead of the herd to supplement his cows’ diet.

Getting the Tow and Fert made it possible to spread supplements on the pasture faster than a previously used quad and hopper says Brady. “If you compare a small quad-bike hopper to a 8m boom with an even 18m spread then it’s really a no-brainer. Spreading magnesium is much faster, which is important given the fairly low labour pool I have on this farm.”

The Tow and Fert takes liquids and solids, mixes them together with a patented system and then sprays them out with a 14-20m spread via a recirculating boom system.

Metalform says the Tow and Fert is able to mix fine ground lime flour to a mix ratio of 60% lime flour, 40% water and has an application rate of 50 L/ha at 25km/h with TF15 nozzles to 650 L/ha at 5km/h with TF50 nozzles. This means you can mix 1 tonne of lime flour with 650L of water in one load.

Liquid inputs are pumped in and measured with onboard scales, the dry material is added into the pre-mixer chute at the rear of the machine where the product is then kept mixed by the in-tank agitation system until it comes time to spray onto the pastures.

Brady initially purchased the mixer/sprayer to spread magnesium and fertilisers like urea onto pastures and is impressed with how much he can save on fertiliser. “I can get the same response out of 50kg of urea that I would from 80-90kg spread in the hopper. Because it’s liquefied, the grass leaf takes it up that much better and there’s no leaching or run off.” He has since discovered the imple-ment has many more uses.

So far Brady has used it to put urea and 24D onto crops in the spring, spray out effluent, hose down the cowshed and oversow clover seed in the spring. “I use it for all sorts and it’s surprising what you can do with it.”

Functionality comes partly from its easily adjustable design. All piping and components are held on by a simple Camlock fittings, allowing for easy removal and spray-noz-zles are kept in a holder at the front of the sprayer. Brady

GARETH GILLATTsays this comes in handy when spreading fertiliser over different paddocks.”Tel. 0508 747 040 www.towandfarm.com

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38 machinery & products

Good year for Krone GroupREPORTING A turnover of about €1.4 billion, the Krone group almost reached another record fiscal year 2011/2012.

This performance compares to €1314.9 billion sales revenues in the previous year when the trade and ser-vices division still formed part of the group. This division was hived off from the rest of the group during 2011.

While domestic sales decreased to €464.6 million (from previous €538.9 million), export sales increased to €925.7 million (from previous €776 million), which translates into 33.4% of group sales being generated in the domestic market and about 66.6% in foreign markets.

The commercial trailers division (comprising the Krone trailer fac-tory and its subsidiaries) continues to account for the biggest share in the group sales with annual sales worth €878 million (9% up over the previous year). Krone made about 27,000 trail-ers in the past fiscal year, most sold in

Germany (34%), followed by Scandi-navia (23%), central Europe (22%) and eastern Europe (21%).

Record sales are reported by the agricultural machinery division (com-prising the agricultural machinery fac-tory and its subsidiaries), generated a total €512 million in 2011/2012 (up from the previous €410 million). The factory at Spelle made 20,000 machines, 33% sold on the German market, 35% in central Europe, 17% in eastern Europe and 15% in overseas markets (includ-ing the US, Japan, Australia, New Zea-land and China).

“Once again the group reports a remarkable result for fiscal 2011/2012, which is owed to our innovative prod-ucts, our sound financial situation and the outstanding loyalty of our customers. With both the agricultural machinery and commercial trailers industries... we anticipate a moderate growth from the existing high sales level for the current fiscal year”, says managing partner Bernard Krone.

John, Heneritta and anna Tulloch pictured with Bernard Krone at Tulloch’s 2012 dealer conference held in wellington.

Cranking up down southENTRIES EXCEEDED 1000 at Edendale Vin-tage Machinery Club’s 26th annual Crank- Up event in late January. Edendale is mid-way between Inver-cargill and Gore.

Crank-Up contin-ues to grow, now taking all available space at the

recreation grounds plus five paddocks at the adja-cent Fonterra farm. Since 2002, it has become a full weekend event, starting on the Friday night with a street parade and ending on Sunday afternoon.

Crank Up is not only a must-attend for rural Southlanders, it attracts visitors from overseas

and all over New Zealand. This year the sun shone and thousands of people attended.

The first Crank- Up was in 1986 on a local farm with 25 tractors plus other machinery on public dis-play. The annual event has grown in popularity each year and was shifted to the Edendale recreation

grounds in January 1988.In 2013 they came

from everywhere –well over 1000 entries of vintage tractors and machinery, vintage cars, stationary motors, motorbikes and a vast array of machinery, equipment and crafts. Many were operating.

As usual, this year the Crank- Up highlighted machinery that has made a difference in farming. This year the event celebrated 110 years of Ford trac-tors, trucks and cars and 150 years of Reid and Gray implements.

Entertainment included stunt motocross riders, celebrity events, marching girls, rugby challenge, country music, pipe bands, vintage shearing, working displays, children’s entertainment and many craft and food stalls.

It is the biggest week-end event held in South-land and also the largest in New Zealand of this kind

on an annual basis. Once again a promi-

nent New Zealander was the club’s special guest at

the Crank- Up. This year it was London Olympic gold medal rower Nathan Cohen, a Southlander.

a line-up of some of the many Fordson tractors at this year’s edendale Crank-up.

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rural trader 39

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rural news 5 feb 2013

Documents

dcdcontaminated milk

levels of dcd

fonterra products

new zealand milk powder

pivotal issue

rural news

sanlu melamine scandal

tim morris