Wanganui Chronicle - The Country August 2017

INSIDE:

THURSDAY, August 24, 2017

The forgotten farmers p18 Make sure you get home in one piece p22 Growth industry occupies pole position p24 Game of drones p27

EXTRA: August Farming Outlook

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

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Slow boat to China PERSIMMONS HOLLY RYAN

Export deal to China signed after 12 years of negotiations

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FTER a 12-year negotiation, New Zealand is shipping its first export of persimmons to China in what exporters say will be a multi million-dollar opportunity for the industry.

After a successful conclusion to negotiations between the Ministry for Primary Industries and China’s quarantine authority AQSIQ, Gisborne-based exporter First Fresh will send its first shipment next month.

First Fresh managing director Ian Albers said the strategy would be to start small and gain a clear understanding of its Chinese consumers before taking the next step.

“At this stage we’re just dipping our toe in the water to see what the interest is like. It’s difficult to say how much it’s worth until we get a year or so under our belt.” Mr Albers said this was definitely “a multi million dollar opportunity”.

“China could fuel decades of growth for the New Zealand persimmon industry, but

China could fuel decades of growth for the persimmon industry, but only if we get our approach right. only if we get our approach right,” he said.

“That’s why we’re only exporting a small test shipment into Shanghai in the first year.”

New Zealand’s total persimmon exports amount to about $8 million, mainly to Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Negotiations for access to the Chinese

market began in 2005 and persimmon will be the first new fruit to gain access to the Chinese market since the free trade agreement was signed in 2008.

The fruit would be marketed in China

by Foodview, a New Zealand specialist marketing company.

The first shipment would be sold through 250 retail stores, with feedback collected from customers.

“We want to make sure we understand the market and consumer preferences to ensure the market is ready for us before we arrive in force,” he said.

New Zealand’s 50 persimmon growers have 154ha under cultivation, 70 per cent of which is in the Gisborne area. ■

SMALL SLICE: The first shipment to China will be small to test the consumer response.

— NZPA

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

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She’s a whole lot of country RURAL LIFE with SALLY RAE

Singer brings her show to New Zealand

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NLIKE MANY of her counterparts, Fanny Lumsden, 30, is a true country girl, brought up on a sheep and cropping farm in western New South Wales.

Born Edwina Margaret Lumsden — she got the nickname Fanny at university and it stuck — she enjoyed a typical rural upbringing: riding horses and helping on the farm after school and during school holidays.

Keen on agriculture, she studied rural science at the University of New England in Armidale and ended up doing an honours degree in wool and sustainability in high fashion.

“Nothing to do with what I’m doing now,” she says, laughing, during a tour of New Zealand. “I loved all the ag stuff but haven’t really used it since.”

Always interested in music, it was towards the end of her tertiary studies that she started writing more music.

Once she finished her studies, she headed to Sydney where she formed a band and increasingly became more immersed in the music scene.

These days, Ms Lumsden and her musician partner Dan Stanley Freeman spend much of their time on the road touring. They have driven 87,000km over the past 14 months, pulling a little, old caravan called Little Millie.

“Most of our life is spent driving or playing shows,” Ms Lumsden said from Christchurch, where she was preparing for shows at Lyttelton and Akaroa.

Last week, she was in the South, playing with singersongwriter Melody Moko at Sherwood in Queenstown on Thursday, Gin and Raspberry in Wanaka on Friday, and at a house concert in Omarama on Saturday.

Her debut record Small Town Big Shot was released in 2015 and it was around that

Often, she and her band are playing in a hall ‘in the middle of a paddock hundreds of kilometres from anywhere’ — and it was that aspect of touring that she loved. time that “everything changed”.

The album was crowdfunded. She had no idea how it was going to go but the response was “unreal”, she said.

It debuted at No 6 on the ARIA chart and was nominated for best country album at the 2016 ARIA awards.

She was thrilled with a review from Rolling Stone magazine that described her as “a breath of fresh country air”, saying she differentiated herself from Australian country peers “with her cleareyed, unvarnished articulation of life in the bush as it is, rather than as it was”.

Ms Lumsden recently announced her sixth annual country halls tour, visiting remote rural communities throughout Australia.

Often, she and her band were playing in a hall “in the middle of a paddock hundreds of kilometres from anywhere” — and it was that aspect of touring that she loved.

She was passionate about taking music to those places.

Not only was it an opportunity to see amazing parts of the country, but also to meet people and hear — and be inspired — by their stories, she said.

Often, shows in those small communities were more suc-

cessful than in larger centres, although her next tour included gigs in Sydney and Melbourne.

Life, she acknowledged, was crazy. It was tiring but also “awesome”. Sometimes, like the 16-hour drive in one day, it was also a bit much.

But music was what she loved and there was a lot going on at the moment, including a new album coming out and starting her own record label.

As far as future plans, Ms Lumsden wanted to “keep doing what we’re doing” and “just for it to be maybe not so mad” — and keep writing music that she was proud of.

She hoped to tour in Canada, the United Kingdom and United States over the next couple of years. In the meantime, she was looking forward to spending a few days in the middle of her first visit to New Zealand exploring the countryside. ■

TOTALLY COUNTRY: Country singer Fanny Lumsden with her musical partner Dan Stanley Freeman make a point of performing in remote rural locations.

PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

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How to do your books when busy Monitor your actual vs forecast: Monitor your actual income and expenditure against forecast, and communicate this to your business advisers. Keeping your cashflow budget up to date will help you see what your overdraft needs will be, how they might change and, most importantly, it will give you the information you need when talking to your bank.

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FINANCES with CAROLYN BUSHELL

Keeping control of your finances during calving period doesn’t have to be difficult

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HERE are many things to think about on-farm right now, but it’s crucial to keep track of when and where you’re spending money, and how that affects your cash position. By doing so, you’ll be more able to achieve your goals, take advantage of opportunities, rectify unforeseen issues, and feel less stressed.

Profitable farmers tell us they monitor and manage their finances by: ■ Forward planning, which allows them to stay one step ahead ■ Understanding how on-farm decisions affect their financial performance ■ Setting up clear business processes, which means they run as a well-oiled machine and have more time on-farm ■ Communicating regularly with their on-farm team and advisers ■ Making sure they’re on track by reviewing their performance against their plan.

Don’t be intimidated by this

Refresh your budget: Update your budget in line with dairy company milk price announcements so you can assess the impact of changes, and make plans to manage any negative impacts or capture the benefit of any upside. Your dairy company website may provide a payment predictor you can use.

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list, gaining control of your finances is actually pretty simple. It’s all about managing, monitoring and communicating. We’ve broken it down into five aspects to focus on: Update your cashbook: Set yourself up with a process that is easy and intuitive. If it seems too hard, you’ll be less likely to do it. Ask your chartered accountant which system might work best

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for you, or ask other farmers what they do. If you need to get in touch with a farmer for help, visit dairynz.co.nz/dairyconnect.

Keep records and financial reporting up to date: Does your office set-up and filing system help or hinder you keeping your cashbook up to date? Could you change the way you manage incoming bills and invoices to make this easier?

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TEMPLATES: DairyNZ has a range of budget templates to suit all business situations — visit dairynz.co.nz/ budgeting.

PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

Good conversations: Talk to your farm team and advisers about your budget, where you’re at, how things are tracking and any changes or decisions that need to be made. How frequently you do this will depend on your circumstances but it’s wise to do it monthly. ■

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— Inside Dairy

Carolyn Bushell is a business management specialist for DairyNZ

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Wanganui Chronicle

Fodder for thought: RESEARCH

Catch crops offer some juicy gains but do your homework first

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VER a six-year period, DairyNZ is investing $450,000 of the farmers’ levy annually in a research programme called Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching (FRNL).

Here, we highlight some key discoveries made about catch crops and fodder beet.

In Canterbury, FRNL has been investigating the potential yield and reduced risk of nitrate leaching from using oats as a catch-crop after winter-grazed kale.

We found catch crops can: ■ Reduce soil mineral nitrogen and nitrate (N) leaching by about 30 per cent ■ Increase dry matter (DM) yield on the same land by 6-12t DM/ha annually, depending on the season and sowing date ■ Cut the cost of growing DM by 3c/kg DM. That’s good news but, before sowing a catch crop, farmers should consider whether their farm has reliable summer rain or irrigation for establishment of the next main crop. You should also think about whether it’s possible to get heavy machinery on your paddocks in July or August, or at the latest

before mid-September.

Testing quality In Lincoln, FRNL has been looking for differences in the yield and nutritional value of fodder beet sown from early September to early December, and harvested in June and September.

We found DM yield and nutritional quality of fodder beet was the same in June and September, meaning there was no yield or quality lost by harvesting later. Crops sown

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key findings

early had higher DM yield because they had more time to grow.

Health effects The effects of fodder beet diets (low in N) on urinary N excretion and cow performance have been evaluated in late lactation and during the nonlactating period.

The results show that, when managed properly, fodder beet can lower animals’ N intakes and urinary N excretion without negatively af-

KEY FUNDINGS FRNL is principally funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, with additional funding from programme-partners DairyNZ, AgResearch, Plant & Food Research, Lincoln University, Foundation for Arable Research and Landcare Research. ■

LEVY: The farmers’ levy is being used to fund research into the animal health effects of fodder beet.

fecting their health and productivity.

Here are some key findings from the research: ■ A diet of 40 per cent fodder beet with autumn saved pasture almost halves the urinary N concentration in a lactating cow.

■ Feeding 40 per cent or less of DM intake as fodder beet to cows in mid to late-lactation reduces their risk of acidosis.

■ Feeding 70 per cent or less of DM intake as fodder beet to non-lactating cows reduces the risk of not meeting their nutritional requirements. ■ — Inside Dairy

For more information on these results, go to dairynz.co.nz/frnl

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

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AFTERMATH with PAUL DYKES

Farmers are far from over the deluge wrought

by Cyclone Debbie

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HE NEWS HAS moved on from the flooding that swamped Edgecumbe and the Hauraki Plains during Cyclone Debbie in April, but little has returned to normal for hundreds of farmers who bore the brunt of the onslaught.

Given the constant media diet we live on, perhaps it is excusable that many of us have since found new images to take our attention; our concerns for the flood victims now little more than a righteous memory.

But hundreds of families are still struggling towards recovery, with paddocks and fences ruined, winter feed destroyed and access routes into some farm areas still unusable.

Sandy Scarrow, chairwoman of the Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust, says the public has generally forgotten that the flooding was so widespread and the impacts were especially significant because the rain fell onto already-saturated soils.

“Some farmers are involved in calving now yet they are not even back in their own homes. Calving is a 24/7 activity, with the calves needing constant monitoring, which is especially hard if you are not able to live on your farm.”

She says the impact of the unrelenting wetness is much worse than in previous floods. “The costs are huge, and ongoing. We estimate the initial cost for the worst affected

A flood of

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SWAMPED: Self-evacuated homes in Tramline Rd, near the Piako River on the Hauraki Plains.

farmers was around $4 million with money needed to shift cattle, buy in feed and also the lost production as affected farmers have dried off cows six weeks early.”

Two maize growers have not been able to harvest 500ha of crops, thereby losing a full season’s income.

Two kiwifruit growers have started

removing vines because the root systems have not coped with the wetness. One farmer has replanted his pastures twice since the flood, without any success, she says. Overall, an estimated 93ha of riverside land has been washed away for good.

“These farmers have complex needs, including housing, health,

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“We were able to shift out 5700 cattle in the first few days after the flood. Other farmers volunteered to

■ Continued p19

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www.thecountry.co.nz ■ Continued from p18 take them, without question.”

The Rural Support Trust also helped distribute a $200,000 Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) relief grant, given out once the flood was classified as a Medium Adverse Event. Sandy estimates this will be less than 2 per cent of the overall costs. The Rural Support Trust is lobbying the government for a topup to this grant.

The MPI classification triggers a range of recovery assistance packages, including Task Force Green teams to help with the cleanup, rural assistance payments for extreme hardship to help with rural families’ essential living costs, tax flexibility and financial support via Work and Income to farmers whose incomes have changed.

Darryl Jensen, Federated Farmers provincial president in the Bay of Plenty, said dairy farmers were just starting to get back on their feet financially after two years of low payouts when the floods hit.

“The biggest concern is the emotional and mental wellness of people — especially those who have not previously experienced such an event. The area affected is huge, and we are still getting rain on rain.

The sodden pastures will have a slower recovery.

“There are still 41 rural properties [in the Bay of Plenty] that are yellow stickered — people can’t live in those homes. There’s another 141 in Edgecumbe township. Fonterra’s factory staff have been affected.”

There won’t be any going back for some farmers. The water table has changed and is higher in some

Some farmers are involved in calving now yet they are not even back in their own homes.

places. Some horticulturists on the plains are pulling out kiwifruit vines and long-established avocado trees because of sodden roots. It will take about six years for new avocado plantings to fruit, if planting stock is available immediately.

Record river flows It is a similar story for the Matamata-Piako and Hauraki Plains farmers caught up in the same weather event. The Waihou and Piako rivers reached record height levels and record flows, which continued for several days.

Although Waikato Regional Council flood protection measures performed well, there was extensive surface flooding and ponding in unexpected areas.

Hauraki District mayor John Tregidga says farms bordering the

Kopuatai Peat Dome in Patetonga, Kaihere, Springdale and Otway areas haven’t experienced this type of ponding in the past.

Waikato Regional Council (WRC) advised that overtopping of stopbanks in the area, and the spilling of water to ponding areas, was part of the way the flood management scheme in the area was designed to operate. However, many people were now asking questions about potential improvements to the Piako River Flood Scheme managed by WRC. The scheme is currently in its normal review cycle, but following the April flooding WRC is working to produce a special report into what happened that it will then discuss at a series of open days.

Now in recovery mode, the Waikato Civil Defence Group is working to co-ordinate agencies that can

AWASH: Rangitaiki River overwhelms Kopuriki Rd — and surrounding farmland — near Murupara in April 2017.

provide assistance. These include MPI and Ministry of Social Development (MSD) which are working with Rural Support Trust and Task Force Green to supply crews for clean-up work. Federated Farmers has also put its hand up to assist farmers in need of feed or grazing.

It’s been working with its members to source discounted and donated feed across the North Island. Rural Women New Zealand also has $1000 grants available for farmers in need. The WRC is keen to spread the word support is available for those who need it.

In July, the economic and social impact of the events were still real.

MPI intended to have a full economic impact report into the effect on farmers ready within the next few months. Estimates at this stage across the Waikato indicate about five farms suffered greater than $200,000 in loss of production, while about 30 farms suffered less than $100,000 loss of production.

Anyone needing help on the farm should contact Federated Farmers on 0800 327 646. They can also help with stock movements and feed.

Rural Support Trusts have local people trained to offer assistance and support, and their help is free and confidential. Call 0800 RURAL HELP (0800 787 254) or visit www.rural-support.org.nz. ■

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

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Why does animal health matter?

LIVESTOCK with JENNY JAGO

What do farmers and sports coaches have in common? Why a focus on animal health is important

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HE MODERN dairy cow is an incredible animal, extremely effective at converting grass and other feed sources to milk. But just like top athletes, cows must be in great health to perform at their best.

Most high-level sports coaches and support staff run regular tests to check their athletes are on track in the lead-up to important events.

They put in place preventative health management programmes, and strength and conditioning programmes, because they know it’s far better to avoid injury or health issues than deal with their consequences during the season.

Coaches also make sure they have people with the right skills to help sportspeople stay in top condition. They know that a wellconditioned, healthy athlete trains harder and is generally better for the team. Coaches also know that, regardless of the care they receive, most athletes will become unwell or

injured at some point. That’s why good coaches have processes in place to ensure their athletes get prompt treatment, so they can be up and running again as soon as possible.

In many ways, the management of professional athletes is simply catching up to what top dairy farmers have been doing for years. Highperforming farmers know that a healthy animal is a productive animal, so it’s good business to ensure all animals are well cared for.

Top farmers also know that prevention is better than cure.

It’s about planning ahead, keeping good records, and involving professionals as part

of their support staff.

At DairyNZ, we invest the dairy levy to ensure our sector has all the skills and support services necessary for farmers to care for their animals, alongside veterinarians and other rural professionals. Levy funds have been used to support programmes like SmartSAMM, Healthy Hoof, InCalf, FeedRight, StockSense, and the training of certified condition body score assessors.

DairyNZ is also making a significant investment in research to improve animal health performance; and in animal breeding through New Zealand Animal Evaluation

(NZAEL), which ultimately aims to deliver a more robust cow that can thrive in New Zealand conditions.

So, as you plan for the season ahead, we encourage you to look out for these programmes and take advantage of what your levy has delivered. Doing so will help your team (herd) perform at its best. Animal health matters to the whole dairy sector — it helps keep us competitive, minimise waste, and demonstrate that we care for our cows. ■ — Inside Dairy

TIP TOP: Cows must be kept in great health to perform well.

Jenny Jago is strategy and investment portfolio manager for DairyNZ

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Wanganui Chronicle

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Carbon budgets offer ‘certainty’ CLIMATE with D TIM MACKLE

An ability to plan ahead will enable dairy farmers to be part of the solution

AIRYNZ welcomes the release of a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, which recommends New Zealand approach climate change in a similar manner to the United Kingdom.

Dr Jan Wright recommends the Government set up an independent Climate Change Commission to propose carbon budgets as stepping stones towards meeting greenhouse gas targets, which would provide certainty and transparency about how New Zealand climate change targets will be met.

We support the development of an economy wide plan that outlines the expectations of each sector. The dairy sector has been at a point of flux — and we know we must be part of the solution.

We recognise the dairy sector’s

responsibility to contribute to reduction targets, but we are currently operating within an environment that provides no clear pathway for dairy to move towards a low emission future.

The approach recommended by Dr Wright provides a transparent process which would provide greater certainty to dairy.

The setting of carbon budgets for five year periods would will allow the dairy sector and farmers to plan over the longer term how they will reduce their emissions. However, this is a complex challenge which requires a well thought out approach.

This report provides a good platform to start discussions on what the appropriate framework is for providing certainty and clarity on how the dairy industry and the wider economy will contribute to New Zealand’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.

It is important to remember that as a food producing nation New Zealand has a very different greenhouse gas profile to the United Kingdom, where only 8 per cent of emissions are agricultural. As almost half our emissions are from agriculture, we face a far greater challenge to meet future targets.

While our dairy sector is one of the most emissions efficient producers in the world, we know more action is required to address our emissions over the longer term.

We launched the Dairy Action Plan for Climate Change in June which, in partnership with the Government and Fonterra, aims to increase education and awareness of mitigation options for farmers, and the Biological Emissions Reference Group which looks to ensure we have the right science in place to look at what can be done to reduce emissions. ■ — NZME

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

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Make sure you get home in HEALTH & SAFETY with

What makes these figures all the more poignant is that almost all agricultural accidents are entirely avoidable.

PAUL DYKES

220,000 work days are lost annually due to farm-related injuries

$

B

ASED on reported statistics, New Zealand farms are not safe places to work and live. In a typical year, six or seven farmers or farm workers are killed while using a tractor or its associated machinery.

Quad bikes are a factor in 25 per cent of other on-farm fatalities, with at least two people a day requiring medical attention after using them.

Two people may not sound many, but that’s 730 or so each year.

Add in all the other on-farm incidents and accidents that are reported, or not reported, and it becomes clear that farming is a higher risk activity than it should be.

For every hour lost because of injury or ill-health, productivity suffers and profitability is reduced.

On a personal level, people’s lives are upset and their family income threatened. That’s why WorkSafe New Zealand, ACC and SaferFarms are united in promoting the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), which came into effect just over a year ago.

— Al McCone WorkSafe NZ

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO ■ Be able to show you are managing your work risks ■ Identify and manage health and safety risks to people in your workplace ■ Monitor the health of workers and workplace conditions to prevent illness and injury ■ Include workers and family in planning to make the farm healthy and safe ■ Train and supervise people who work in the business ■ Make sure workers and family know how to manage risks ■ Keep a record of notifiable events

According to SaferFarms, 220,000 work days are lost annually due to farm-related injuries.

WorkSafe’s April 2012-March 2015 farm sector analysis shows farm assistants, labourers and agricultural workers are more likely to suffer injuries at work than selfemployed people.

The recently released data show that for every 1000 employees in the agricultural sector, 20 suffered an injury requiring more than a week

off work, compared with 12 out of every 1000-self-employed individuals (typically, the farmer).

WorkSafe agriculture sector lead Al McCone said the data underlined the importance of farmers talking with everyone who works on the farm — employees, contractors, and family — to ensure they are aware of risks on the farm and the best ways to manage them.

■ Continued p23

■ Have procedures for dealing with workplace emergencies ■ Have safe and healthy facilities for workers ■ Make sure machinery and systems are safe for workers to use ■ Provide and make sure personal protective equipment is used where appropriate.

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Wanganui Chronicle

www.thecountry.co.nz

one piece ■ Continued from p22 “A simple way to change the culture positively is to get workers more involved with farm decisions around health and safety.

“It’s the workers who are out there in the paddock or shed seeing first-hand the conditions and potential risks.”

Men more prone Even taking into account that there are far more males than females working in the sector, men are statistically more than twice as likely than females to suffer injuries.

It is possible that employees have a higher serious accident because they undertake more highrisk physical activities and tend to be younger and less experienced.

“The most common external factor involved in injury for both genders is live cattle, followed by ground/path, almost certainly related to slips, trips and falls,” Mr McCone says.

“Females, however, are more likely than males to be injured by livestock, in comparison to other factors. Males are more likely to be injured by vehicles, in comparison to other factors, than females.

“What makes these figures all the more poignant is that almost all agricultural accidents are entirely

avoidable. By thinking through or talking through beforehand how you will manage the risks involved in a task, even one you have done many times before, you will be better prepared for it.

“It might be that you decide the quad bike isn’t the best vehicle for towing spraying equipment, it might be that you take time to share good practice for dealing with stock, or in assessing whether it’s best to drag or carry when a hillside is slippery from rain or snow. It’s just a few minutes of planning, but it could make all the difference between you or one of your team making a good decision or a poor one.

“This isn’t a one-off thing. It’s a good idea for farmers to have regular conversations with everyone on the farm about this. Risks such as handling large animals, visitors’ vehicles and large machinery will always be there, and need to be continually re-assessed and addressed.

“Then there are risks that change daily due to variables such as weather conditions or different seasonal work. It might have been safe to take the farm bike up that hill yesterday when it was dry, but it may not be today if the grass is wet.”

In 2015, there were 2364 injuries requiring a week away from work (previously referred to as “severe”).

Of these, 1200 were in dairying. In 2016, there were 2234 injuries requiring a week away from work, and of these, 1083 were in dairying.

“So far this year, there have been eight workplace deaths in the agriculture sector — these cases specifically involved machinery and vehicles. Vehicle and machinery incidents, handling animals and falls regularly feature every year in farm injury statistics.

“Farmers must pay attention to these critical risks, as these recent deaths have been caused by the same types of issues that have been killing and injuring New Zealand agricultural workers for years. The first step is to acknowledge that

such incidents are preventable and to put in place good risk management practices to mitigate the risks that cause them.”

As to why the injury rate in agriculture wasn’t declining, WorkSafe chief executive Nicole Rosie says research suggests that experience is not correlated to risk.

“Farmers do the same things year after year, but they lose mobility and strength and their reaction times get longer.”

WorkSafe and ACC have prepared a range of free guides for use on farms and orchards that set out the best way to identify, manage and communicate health and safety risks to family and workers. ■

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

www.thecountry.co.nz

Growth industry occupies

PAUL DYKES

Why investing in pines makes sense across the board

T

HERE ARE LOTS of reasons to like on-farm forestry at the moment. It is making good money for harvesters, the market is strong, it’s doing its bit for the climate and it is another income stream for farmers seeking the income protection possible through diversification.

It can record a better dollar-perhectare return than most other uses of agricultural land – especially in hill country – and the export market to China is being helped right now by lower shipping costs and a favourable NZ dollar currency rate.

The demand is not just for logs.

New applications for felled product are opening up new opportunities.

The current building boom across the country is diverting product as well.

However, these figures reflect the efforts made by growers 25 to 30 years ago and there is some concern that not enough planting is taking place to maintain the scale of the industry.

New Zealand had about 1.84 million hectares of planted forests in 2006, but this figure has since declined by 3 per cent, according to New Zealand Forest Portal, an online site developed by the New Zealand Forest Research Institute (Scion) for

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the New Zealand Forest Owners Association.

In its monthly Agri Focus report, ANZ Bank points out that despite this positive outlook, the overall plantation area has declined 5 per cent in the past 10 years.

Supply concern It says such levels of deforestation are leading many industry participants to worry about the longterm supply of wood beyond 2030.

This in turn is influencing investment decisions further along the

supply chain in new wood-processing facilities that produce higher-margin products.

ANZ argues that recent returns should encourage replanting. Prices received in the past 12 months suggest forests that were good-toexcellent in quality/yield and were located within 200km of a port and/or mill had an average pre-tax real rate of return (excluding carbon revenue) of 6.3 per cent, with a range from 4.4 to 7.9 per cent.

When carbon revenue is included, the average pre-tax real rate of return lifts to 9.9 per cent, the bank

states, with a range of 8.3 to 11.25 per cent.

According to ANZ, the forestry sector is an important part of New Zealand’s economic and environmental landscape. In economic terms it generates about $5 billion of annual gross income, or 3 per cent of GDP each year.

It is one of New Zealand’s largest export earners, says the bank, bringing in $5.3 billion worth of foreign earnings each year (11 per cent of total 2016 exports).

■ Continued p25

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Wanganui Chronicle

25

www.thecountry.co.nz

SITE SELECTION

■ Continued from p24 Murray Downs from the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association was at the National Fieldays to get a similar message across to farmers.

He quoted figures for radiata pine that suggested an exceptional good current return of $56,000 per hectare after 24 years.

“That’s $2337 per hectare per year from on-farm forestry. Sheep farming returns about $1000 per hectare and dairy can get up to $2300 in a good season.”

He says these figures include all associated harvesting costs, but not the initial planting, which costs about $1500/ha at present (including the plant stock). The trees require pruning three times by age 7 years and typically reach 6 metres at 24 years. Harvesting usually takes place after 28 years.

Radiata pine is a very site-tolerant species, but limitations include these:

■ Wet feet and fluctuating water tables can lead to toppling and root rot ■ On high-fertility sites, especially high N (nitrogen) sites, trees will have poorer form, larger branches, and lower density wood ■ Humid, sheltered inland sites can have problems with fungal disease only technology currently known and implementable on a large scale that has the capacity to remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Quoting a recent Vivid Economics report that called for a doubling of forestry planting, Peter says the time to start acting on sequestering carbon out of the atmosphere, by using trees, is now.

He was critical of the government’s timetable, with the Productivity Commission to report back in June 2018 with recommendations for achieving a lowercarbon economy.

“I agree, it might make sense for the government to take time to carefully work out a process to bring agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme, for instance.

“But if you want to lock up carbon dioxide that is already in the

Carbon sink Murray says there is the carbon offset aspect to consider as well.

Farmers can build enough carbon credits to enable them to run a selfsustaining operation.

“One pine tree at 20 years is equal to one sheep [in carbon offset terms],” he says by way of illustration. “On the average 600 ha farm, you could offset 450 cows by planting 2ha a year.”

On-farm forestry is also seen as a major contributor to the country’s Paris commitment to reduce net emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

According to Peter Clark, the Forest Owners Association president, planting new forests is the

atmosphere, there is only one option. It’s a no-brainer. It doesn’t need a year to think about it. The answer is to get on and help get more trees planted.

“Already, our plantation forests lock up, each year, more than half the carbon the whole of New Zealand agriculture produces. So, the forests are a substantial carbon sink.

“As it is, if there is going to be any meaningful expansion of planting, then it’ll take another year to build up seedling capacity, which will result in planting out in 2019.

“In the 1990s there was nearly 100,000 hectares a year of new plantings.

“We certainly wouldn’t get to that level again for many years, but we do need to make a start now to build up from a static, or even slightly declining, national forest area.” ■

■ Consolidated and impervious subsoils, such as papa, can cause rooting problems on some skeletal hill country soils ■ The most serious trace element deficiency is boron in the East Coast of both islands, especially the drier parts ■ Tree form will be better on moderately sheltered and somewhat shady sites, than sites exposed to full wind and sun ■ The best sites for growing good-quality trees are lower fertility, well-drained sites, without full exposure to wind.

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

www.thecountry.co.nz

Progeny testing improves the herd BREEDING

Farmer sees benefit to his own and national herd

We haven’t had a dud heifer yet since we’ve started.

D

AIRY farmer Mike Tillemans is calling on others to get involved in progeny testing, not only to benefit their own farm business, but to benefit the national herd.

Tillemans is a farm owner from Atiamuri, between Taupo and Tokoroa. He milks 450 cows at the peak of the season, on his 150ha dairy farm.

Tillemans has been part of CRV Ambreed’s sire-proving programme known as the Progeny Test Programme for about eight years and says it’s put him at an advantage when it comes to achieving the best herd possible.

Progeny testing involves using semen from carefully selected unproven but highquality bulls for Artificial Insemination. Through herd testing and herd recording, CRV Ambreed can determine the bull’s genetic traits and advantages — while also improving the value of farmer’s own herd.

“I would recommend the CRV Ambreed Progeny Test Programme to other farmers because you can see the next generation of bulls coming through before anyone else,” Mr Tillemans says. “The more

people involved, the more reliable the bulls will be.”

MrTillemans says having access to some of the best dairy genetics in the country is one the most appealing reasons to take part in the PT programme.

“We haven’t had a dud heifer yet since we’ve started.”

Participating farmers have access to semen from some of the best unproven bulls in the country, selected by the CRV Ambreed breeding team using genomic selection and their knowledge of the cows and their parentage.

In the more than 30 years the programme has been running, CRV Ambreed has put more than 3000 young bulls through the programme. From this, more than 350 bulls have graduated to become influential sires in the New Zealand dairy industry, producing more than 1.5 million herddaughters, tested CRV Ambreed’s breeding programme manager Aaron Parker says.

Mr Tillemans feels confident in the quality of the unproven bulls. “It’s not a risk at all. These heifers coming

PT PROMOTER: Farmer Mike Tillemans says other farmers should get involved in CRV Ambreed’s Progeny Test Programme.

through CRV Ambreed’s programme are fantastic.”

Farmers in the programme are required to keep careful records of the daughters for four years, tracking them through to their first calving and first year in the milking shed. “Your record-keeping has to be pretty good, and you have to do a minimum of four herd tests a year, but that is no big deal,” says Mr Tillemans.

Through record-keeping and genomic genetic analysis CRV Ambreed is able to determine the genetic traits each bull offers. The top performing bulls graduate as ‘proven bulls’.

Mr Tillemans is pleased he is able to contribute to the improvement of the national dairy herd. “It’s about having the next generation of bulls coming through the system, and having access to them before they are proven and on the market.” ■ For more information, visit crv4all.co.nz/service/progeny-test/

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Wanganui Chronicle

27

www.thecountry.co.nz

Game of

SURVEYING: An Aeronavics drone surveys the farm below. This could become a much more common sight soon.

DRONES

DEMO: Aeronavics director Linda Bulk shows off one of her company’s drones.

TECHNOLOGY with JAMES PENN

The use and usefulness of drones on farms is really taking off

D

RONES are set to become the “eye in the sky” on New Zealand farms.

John Bampfylde, CEO of DroneMate, a Kiwi firm specialising in the commercial application of drone technology, says the uptick in interest has been noticeable over the past few months.

“Previously, three or four years ago, you would buy a drone and it generally had reliability issues,” Mr Bampfylde says. “Now they are cheaper, better, and they’re just more reliable . . . people are beginning to think: ‘Okay, well how can I actually use this on the farm?’”

Where farmers previously had to travel across the breadth of their farm in a truck or on a quad bike to identify crop levels, now they can cover multiple hectares through a drone camera without moving an inch. Not only does this save time, it eliminates soil disturbance — and farmers can at the same time gather intelligence on water levels, fences, gates, animal health, and more.

Specialised cameras are often attached to the drones and mapping applications are used to develop sophisticated 2D and 3D maps.

“We can even mount specialised camera systems that measure photosynthesis to give crop farmers — particularly fruit tree farmers — an early heads-up to any signs of disease,” says Jonathan Kubiak, sales consultant at Ferntech, a drone retailer. “They can also use them to herd stock. Sheep, deer and cattle all respond just the same as they would with bikes and dogs.”

I think the next stage is we’re going to see a lot more, and much smarter, interrogation and analysis from the data that the drones are now gathering

While Ferntech has just opened an Auckland store for DJI products — the world’s largest drone producer — other Kiwi firms are capitalising on the growing market with more specialist products.

Aeronavics is producing industrial UAVs with a range of agricultural capabilities. One example is its soon-to-be released precision spray drone, which significantly reduces costs.

According to Aeronavics, one of New Zealand’s largest agricultural spraying companies is looking at using this technology to reduce risk to pilots, having lost an employee in an agricultural plane crash recently.

Aeronavics is also envisaging a future in which drones can perform tasks on a more automated basis, without the need for real-time monitoring by the farmer.

Rob Brouwer, director of flight operations, says the future looks like this: “A smaller drone that lives in a doghouse-sized automated hangar, launches on command to scan the terrain and gathers data from various sensors, and creates a map of nutrient deficient zones, pests and weeds.

“This data is sent to a larger drone in the form of a mission map, which deploys to target those areas with a precise dose to eradicate the pests or fertilise the soil.”

And the technology has significant environmental upside: “This is a smart and precise way to reduce the volumes of unnecessary chemicals delivered into our nation’s soils and waterways, and to maximise efficiencies, by reducing runoff.”

DroneMate has built a relationship with Sentera, one of the world’s leading specialist sensor manufac-

turers. By pairing the sensors with various DJI models, the company has developed an accessible and affordable way for farmers to take their first steps with the technology.

The drone and its sensors monitor Near Infra Red light, the level of which is correlated with the healthiness of plants. This data is then converted into a plant health index and placed onto a map, allowing farmers to visualise which sections are doing well and which need attention.

Next frontier The next frontier is on the data analysis side, and Bampfylde says that careful analysis gathered by sensor companies over the past 18 months in which agricultural drone uptake has skyrocketed is starting to show up some interesting new capabilities.

“I think the next stage is we’re going to see a lot more, and much smarter, interrogation and analysis from the data that the drones are now gathering,” says Bampfylde.

This will eventually mean that more can be measured from the same footage — such as moisture levels — than is now possible.

However, according to a Global Market Insights Report, there are still hurdles to overcome.

Although drones allow precision monitoring, most farmers don’t yet have precision agriculture technology to act on that information, such as the ability to spray extra fertiliser on a particular four square metres identified by the drone.

Aeronavics’ precision spray drone may well provide the solution to this particular hurdle. Additionally,

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centralising data from increasingly smart farms is a challenge. Farmers are now collecting data from multiple sources, but it is being fed into vastly different computer programmes that are often unable to speak to each other.

And the common limitation identified by those with a stake in the industry is regulatory in nature.

Drone operators must maintain line of sight to their drone at all times.

This means despite the ability to operate multiple kilometres from the controller, farmers are permitted to fly their drone only a relatively short distance from where they launch it.

Aeronavics’ futuristic vision of drones taking off by themselves based on automated systems is a potential solution to this hurdle.

“The actual hurdle for large scale adoption, in our opinion, is because of limitations in the regulatory framework and in particular the requirement to keep the aircraft within visual line of sight,” says founding director Linda Bulk.

By having the drones take off automatically from multiple launch points, the farmer doesn’t have to travel across the farm to launch and operate the drone. In the future, a farmer could be waking up and checking the state of the farm, before even getting out of bed. ■ — NZME

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

www.thecountry.co.nz

Riparian planting comes on WATERWAYS with PAUL DYKES

NIWA hopes to cool things down

F

ARMERS CAN literally take some of the heat out the nutrient run-off contamination issue by fencing off and planting alongside their waterways.

According to NIWA, the shade provided by riparian planting can keep the waterway cooler in summer, thereby mitigating some of the impact of farming.

John Quinn, NIWA’s chief scientist, took this message to the Fieldays, stressing that the full effects of such plantings could take several years to become apparent.

“In the first few years, there is not much happening. With a stream about three metres wide you would start to get the shade effect after three to four years,” says John. “After five to seven years the shading could drop the water temperature in the stream by three to five degrees [Celsius].”

This is important, says John, because temperature is a key driver of run-away plant

growth in waterways.

“Excessive plant growth is because of nutrient run-off and sunlight. A shady stream won’t get the algae response that drives changes in habitat.

“Farmers can mitigate a lot of the impact of farming by controlling the amount of light getting into the stream.”

The vegetation is also useful to filter the run-off that is trying

to get into the stream, he says.

“In the past 15 years there has been a huge improvement [in waterways protection].

Farmers in the Waikato have fenced off about 90 per cent of streams wider than a stride.

“On dry stock farms a lot less has been done, but the change has been led by the industry – there is still a long way to go, and it is good to see

moves in the right direction.”

John says NIWA and various regional council are monitoring about 1000 sites to detect trends in contamination.

“More sites had positive trends for contaminants, [exhibiting] better water clarity, because of reduced dissolved reactive phosphorus, ammonia

HEADS DOWN: Volunteers band together to help plant up a riparian strip.

■ Continued p29

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Wanganui Chronicle

29

www.thecountry.co.nz

stream ■ Continued from p28 and E.coli. Other sites are getting worse for nitrogen [N], which goes through the groundwater.”

He says plants can take up N into their biomass at the land/water interface.

Trials using woodchip filters had helped the denitrification process as the microbes in the woodchip use oxygen in the N compound, eventually releasing the unwanted N as a gas.

“We are trialling this on a 9ha block in Southland: 10 by 10 metres to a depth of half a metre. We are losing almost all of the N before it gets into the drain.”

The study is also using lime and crushed oyster shells as a filter of phosphorus.

“It depends on the soils too.

Some have greater N-binding attributes. You could spread it back onto the farm.”

When deciding what to plant, choose local wherever possible, says John. The local regional council will be able to advise what to plant, matched to the land form and wetness.

Stabilise the banks, and use sedges, trees and grasses as filters on the other side.

“These can be productive riparian buffers. You could

Habitat gains flow on NIWA freshwater biologist Brian Smith manned the Fieldays booth to explain how riparian planting can boost insect life.

While such plantings can reduce sediment and provide cooling shade, another key benefit is that they create a habitat and a food source for insects.

Helped by an on-site aquarium that mimicked stream conditions, Brian identified mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies in his display.

He says the plantings not only provide shade to the stream, but when leaf litter and sticks fall into the water they provide important habitat for native fish and aquatic insect larvae.

Microorganisms then colonise the sticks and leaves, making them more palatable for larvae to eat, and break down into smaller pieces for even smaller larvae to eat. Aquatic insects are essentially recycling the sticks and leaves.

“People aren’t really aware of what’s in their streams, so if we can show them the neat freshwater insects and invertebrates that also live there. It’s something they can see in action and get excited about,’’ says Brian.

There was a tendency to focus on habitats in the streams when restoring waterways, but he is keen to raise awareness about the flow-on effects take hay in the summer, and leave them as a filter in the wet. You could get firewood, or plant manuka for honey.”

BIODIVERSITY: Part of the life of a healthy waterway, an adult caddisfly Olinga jeanae.

of planting trees alongside streams.

“These trees will shade the stream and cool the water temperature, but they also provide habitats for all these other animals that are dependent on insects coming out of the water as a food source.

“We also know from our research that it’s important to have rocks that stick out of the water. The adult stage of most aquatic insects are terrestrial and many species need to land on these rocks, using them as an access point into the water where they lay their eggs.

“It’s all about making people aware of these features. I want to pass on the excitement of picking up a rock in a stream and realising that it’s not just a rock, it serves a purpose.’’

Brian is a caddisfly expert who goes by the Twitter handle of @thecaddisflyguy. “Adult caddisflies can be a bit dull and drab and not

Farmers should actively manage the plantings to remove sequestered carbon from the system.

particularly active during the day, but all of the 250-plus species are native to New Zealand.’’

Caddisflies play a large role in determining stream health and there is ongoing research into what it takes to ensure not only adult caddisflies, but other aquatic insects such as mayflies and stoneflies, are also catered for in stream restoration projects, particularly egg-laying females.

“If they’re not, the restoration of the stream’s biodiversity may take longer than we would like it.

You need diversity, a healthy stream has a high diversity of aquatic organisms — it’s not just about restoring a stream, but an ecosystem’’.

NIWA scientists want to hear from farmers who have fenced and planted stream banks in a bid to learn more about their hard work. Farmers can record their riparian strip at the website, riparian.niwa.co.nz ■

He says shading drains and streams can also make them faster running and increase their drainage capacity. ■

30

Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

www.thecountry.co.nz

Invention the right fork for the job INNOVATIONS with

Lots of farmers have stiff joints, bad backs or artificial joints — so twisting and turning while on the tractor is out of the question.

DEAN TAYLOR

Farmer came up with a practical answer to moving silage

W

HEN Wayne Fraser of Pahiatua has a job that needs doing, he likes to tackle it himself. Sometimes that might mean inventing something to make the job easier, quicker or simply better than it was.

Such is the case with carting and storing silage on the run-off he farms.

Mr Fraser thought there would be a better way to address the main problem of damage to wrapping as the valuable feed was being carted, stacked and stored.

Other considerations were low cost, ease of use and practicality for the everyday farmer — plus it had to be front fitting.

“Lots of farmers have stiff joints, bad backs or artificial joints — so twisting and turning while on the tractor is out of the question,” he says.

“Lots of attachments go on the back of tractors and it can be physically demanding.”

His answer — the Fraser

Forks — a set of attachments for the tractor that were easy to fit to an existing front end loader attachment.

The front fitting device immediately meant he could avoid having to constantly turn around to see the back of the tractor, which solved the first major problem.

Because the Fraser Forks are handy, easy to use and not time consuming to attach, the farmer doesn’t have to undertake a major planning exercise to move balage.

And because there are no moving parts, there is no maintenance.

But that isn’t where it started.

His first experiment was using alkathene pipe, bent at the ends and held in place with wire.

These proved the concept worked and from there Mr Fraser used trial and error to come up with a final design.

The concept was taken a stage further when a dairy farming mate asked for help to

TEAM: Fraser Forks Fieldays team, from left: Sam and Wayne Fraser and Kim Jensen.

PHOTO/ DEAN TAYLOR

cart more than one bale at a time — and the Mega Range was born.

This is a system that utilises the Fraser Forks and a frame that attaches to the back of the tractor to carry extra bales, and currently comes in a one and two bale configuration — with a three bale system under development.

Sam and Wayne Fraser and mate Kim Jensen took Fraser Forks to Fieldays and were pleased with the level of interest in the new concept.

Mr Fraser says farmers were positive about the system and it has encouraged him to continue the development. ■ To find out more, go to www.fraserforks.co.nz or email fraserforks@gmail.com

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Wanganui Chronicle

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systems of success

4

Make a treatment plan: Even with the best-laid plans, metabolic disorders and downer cows can still occur.

Wet or frosty weather increases the occurrence of downer cows and older cows are more at risk. These cows require immediate treatment and every farm should have a treatment protocol in place.

A veterinarian should be involved in the setting up of your treatment plan to ensure cows are treated with the correct products in a timely and efficient manner, reducing the occurrence of disorders.

Your treatment plan should also include other management factors, such as providing ample water and feed, and using correct lifting techniques. You could also consider oncea-day milking for sick or lame cows during the colostrum period, as it reduces energy output, calcium demand and walking distances.

ANIMAL HEALTH

DairyNZ’s development team offers tips on how to minimise health issues in your herd

1

Identify at-risk cows: It’s important to have animal health measures in place before calving. One thing that can make a big difference is ensuring any at-risk animals are clearly identified so they can receive priority treatment.

Have regular team catch-ups and use a white board to record information about cows that are being treated. Put this where everyone can see it.

Set up an overall animal health management programme with your vet and consider the prevention, monitoring and treatment of: ■ Metabolic disorders, such as milk fever and ketosis ■ Infectious diseases, including metritis and mastitis ■ Lameness ■ Calves (make regular health checks).

2

Hit body condition score targets: Body condition score (BCS) targets at calving are set to optimise milk production and maximise reproduction and health. Mixed-age cows should calve at 5.0, while two- and three-year-olds should calve at 5.5.

31

Cows thinner than target BCS have poor immune function and greater risk of infectious diseases.

They also produce less milk and have poorer reproductive performance.

In contrast, cows fatter than target BCS will have reduced dry matter intake and greater BCS loss post-calving, predisposing them to metabolic disorders. The most common metabolic disorders occurring during the calving period in pasturebased systems are milk fever and ketosis with incidences of fatty liver.

The occurrence of one disorder can increase the risk of another and predispose the cow to infectious diseases. The risk of metabolic disorders is greater if these fatter cows are eating more than their metabolisable energy requirements in the two

to three weeks prior to calving.

3

Manage transition: We recommend farmers put a wellthought-out management plan in place to ensure cows have a successful transition from pregnancy into the milking herd. The plan should include the following.

Feeding level ■ Cows at or above BCS target should be fed 90 per cent of their metabolisable energy (ME) requirements.

■ Cows below BCS targets should be fed 100 per cent of their ME requirements.

Mineral supplementation ■ Magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium all play a role in preventing metabolic disorders such as milk fever. Check out dairynz.co.nz/nutrition.

5

Involve the team: Good people, those with the right attitude and skills, can be the difference between a crazy spring and a manageable one. So, focus on your team and you’ll reap the benefits.

Keeping everyone involved provides an opportunity for minor frustrations to be dealt with quickly before they affect morale and productivity. Identify any knowledge gaps so staff are up to speed and can contribute right from the start. Lastly, Kiwis are not great at taking time to reward good work, but it costs nothing to acknowledge a job well done. This simple action can dramatically improve staff performance — vital for a successful spring. ■ — Inside Dairy

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

www.thecountry.co.nz

Thorough records play major role LIVESTOCK

Well-kept records, sound written procedures and good advice from dad help Jodie Mexted keep her herd in robust health

FARM FACTS ■ LOCATION: Awakaponga, Bay of Plenty ■ FARM SIZE: 140ha effective ■ HERD SIZE: 550 peak ■ PRODUCTION: 520kg milksolids per cow

JODIE’S TOP TIPS

J

ODIE MEXTED is three seasons into a management position on her family’s Awakaponga, Bay of Plenty property, overseeing 550 cows on 140ha.

She came from a busy hospitality industry background where “getting slammed” is code for an unexpected rush of customers through the door.

That means she can cope well with stress, but she’s also minimised the chaos of springtime through good planning and procedures, which in turn helps ensure her herd is in top condition at the start of lactation.

Over the past three seasons, a key animal health focus for Jodie has been managing mastitis throughout lactation. Despite a comprehensive dry cow policy of using antibiotics on cows with 150,000+ somatic cell count (SCC), and Teatseal on the rest, mastitis was still a problem.

“I found it was that most basic procedure, teat spraying, that really needed to be monitored and standardised to keep teat condition up to standard through lactation, which in turn helps lower mastitis risk.”

To achieve that, Jodie has developed a clear procedure for staff to follow on mixing teat spray, right down to the required quantities of each product in the mix. She also monitors how staff spray teats, emphasising coverage on the easily missed front two quarters. Even the ingredients of branded teat spray

■ RECORD any new treatment, procedure or product to monitor its outcome. Use the records as a reference for future treatments, rather than having to relearn the process.

■ CREATE clear written procedures for all animal health treatments so staff members are consistent in their treatment of health issues.

■ PLAN ahead for the high-demand spring period so mundane daily tasks are simple. That leaves time to focus on more time-consuming, unplanned tasks such as looking after down cows and sick calves.

■ SEEK advice from professionals and talk to other farmers about what they’re doing. Don’t waste time and energy reinventing the wheel.

FOCUSED: Jodie Mexted.

PHOTO/GERHARD EGGER

formulations come under scrutiny.

“I’ve learned recently that not all ingredients are created equal. This applies to the glycerine too.”

Finding a winning formula has helped Jodie improve teat condition,

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Jodie takes a tactical approach to teat spray, with the formula adjusted

upward in emollient concentration if necessary in muddy conditions, and for the colostrum cows.

She’s also found that pre-calving blood testing has proven its worth in establishing baseline mineral levels in the herd, and saving money on mineral use.

“The tests have shown us the herd is well covered for key minerals, and we’ve been able to cut the amount administered through a Peta dispenser by half from post-mating to drying off. But the cost saving is a

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Wanganui Chronicle

33

www.thecountry.co.nz

in herd health ■ Continued from p32 secondary outcome, rather than our main one, which is to try to optimise what the cows are getting.”

Jodie is, however, an ardent supporter of vitamin B12 and selenium dosing. The herd receives four shots a year. The springer mob receives the first shot, with a second at pre-mating, another over summer and one at drying off.

“I’ve found this helps reduce retained foetal membranes, helps maintain their appetite, and contributes to their overall wellbeing.”

This proactive approach to animal health underscores Jodie’s philosophy that it is an investment in avoiding future sickness or failure to grow.

Guided by records Having good records of key events and herd indicators like body scores, drying off dates, and when zinc was put into the water is vital for Jodie to understand where health challenges may arise from year to year.

“In many cases I can go back over the previous 10 years’ records to see who did what when. This gives me an idea of how my decision may play out, and how early or late it may be compared to the past.”

She notes which treatments worked, and makes changes to her procedures or policies accordingly.

Jodie attributes much of this feedback loop to her father Michael,

who she says has always been a firm believer in investing in cow health, researching options carefully, and looking hard to see if the promise of different products and treatments matches the reality.

She makes a point of being in the farm dairy for morning milkings with staff, treating it as an opportunity to assess, analyse and plan on critical animal health issues. “It’s never a dull time. I make a lot of decisions early on by being there looking at the cows, ahead of where they need to be.”

She will compile lists of cows with lighter body conditions scores that may need to go on once-a-day milking and cows with feet that need trimming, and assess teat condition. “It’s also a chance in spring to decide what cows I will cull, based on their udder confirmation. It’s way harder to spot a splayed udder later in summer.”

Jodie believes reproductive performance is ultimately linked to animal health and feed levels, so paying attention to sick or unhealthy cows prevents them from also becoming empty cows.

“So, we have very clear procedures for things like down cows. That includes what product to use and what steps to take on finding her,” says Jodie. “We employ an extra staff member over springtime so everyone has the time to do their jobs properly, including looking after any sick animals. There’s always the risk the sick down cow becomes the empty cow if you don’t treat her properly.

“All the staff can see the proce-

dures for treatment, and at the start of the season all staff receive a list of their responsibilities. That means no animals get forgotten or left partway through its treatment process, which can happen when people get busy.”

Cows that have a difficult calving are put on once-a-day milking until mating to reduce their loss of body condition and increase their chances of cycling. She records all these details so she can better understand the history of empty cows.

Jodie makes a point of ensuring her colostrum cows get extra ‘antenatal’ attention to help minimise complications later in the season.

“We just milk them once a day, taking extra time to check for mastitis and ensure they’re fully milked out.

They also receive a special StarterPlus brew with limeflour. Doing it once and doing it right means they get more individual attention.

“We also back-fence them with a portable trough and give them palm kernel. It all helps the cows settle and get into routine with less stress on

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them and on staff.”

Jodie is not averse to seeking her vet’s advice but she’s also worked with her staff to ensure they appreciate the cost of, and how to get the best value from, a vet callout. “The staff know that if it’s a Friday and there’s a cow not looking too good, it’s better to call the vet then, rather than having to get them out on a Sunday afternoon at extra cost.”

She also keeps an inventory of non-urgent vet cases so when the vet does come, those cases can all be seen in one go. Reducing stress on staff goes hand in hand with better animal health. Having good procedures, an extra set of hands, and clear responsibilities mean the only uncertainty is the weather, giving staff time to manage animals as individuals.

Jodie attributes advice from farm adviser Tonya Greig for helping her become more proactive: “She told me not to be a firefighter, but instead get to issues before the fire starts, and that has proven to work well.” ■

ABOVE: Farm assistant Anna Craig at milking. A focus on teat spraying has helped reduce the mastitis risk.

— Inside Dairy

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

www.thecountry.co.nz

Pollard: Still on track for bumper season APPLES with PATRICK O’SULLIVAN

Massive drop in profit in half-year forecast not the full picture

T

HE APPLE SEASON will still be a bumper despite T&G Global’s lower first-half-year profit forecast, says New Zealand Apples and Pears chief executive Alan Pollard.

In a NZX announcement T&G Global reported a 49 per cent decrease in firsthalf-year profit, with poor weather contributing to harvest timing, quality, volume and margin.

“Inclement weather also affected thirdparty growing partners in New Zealand and internationally, leading to an overall decrease in the volume of fruit available,” T&G Global said.

Profitability was also affected by the northern hemisphere where fruit was available for a longer period, delaying the switch to southern produce.

“These issues led to operating profit for the pipfruit division decreasing by $8 million from the same period last year.”

Mr Pollard said that, for the whole season, it looked like it would be a similar result to last year nationwide.

“Last year was a record year, so if we do the same we equal our record — you can’t complain about that,” he said.

It was likely some false assumptions were made on the estimate for the year.

“We got some of that wrong, particularly in Nelson, and there is no doubt the

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weather also had an impact. It slowed the process down and made maturing a bit more difficult. We didn’t get those nights you expect and as you’d expect the cyclones were much more warm and moist.”

T&G Global was founded in 1897 and named Turners & Growers in 1921.

In 2012 BayWa, a German investment company purchased 72.5 per cent of Turners & Growers, which owned Enza, and later rebranded to T&G Global. In

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T&G grows produce in more than 20 countries including apples, grapes, citrus and kiwifruit.

Its revenue of $501.6 million for the six months ended June 30 was an 18.6 per cent increase from the same period last year but “challenging climatic and market factors” on key divisions resulted in a reduction in profit after tax of $10 million compared to the first six months of 2016. ■ — NZME

GROWING: While forecasts are down, New Zealand Apples and Pears chief executive Alan Pollard is still optimistic.

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Wanganui Chronicle

35

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Indian market has ‘massive’ potential EXPORTS with

An increasingly prosperous middle class is looking for value-added dairy products that are difficult for Indian industries to provide.

SALLY RAE

Demand for dairy products could rise by almost 40 per cent over next five years

I

NDIA’s growing demand for dairy products, coupled with a limited domestic ability to meet that demand, might create opportunities for exporters like New Zealand.

In a report for ASB, USbased agribusiness expert Prof Bill Bailey said the Indian market had “massive” potential for the likes of New Zealand and the United States.

Both countries had made efforts to enhance and broaden opportunities to increase exports to India, particularly for food and agricultural products.

In view of the changing political climate in the US, particularly relating to trade policy, the potential for India to open up its economy to imports had improved.

India was projected to overtake China and become the world’s most populous country by the early 2030s.

However, unlike China, it had minimal dependence on imports of agricultural and food products.

China imported about $220 billion worth of food and agri-

cultural products in 2015 while India with only a slightly smaller population imported $32 billion. That was likely to change as India’s food needs grew, Prof Bailey said.

The Indian Government estimated growth in dairy product consumption would increase demand by almost 40 per cent over the next five years. With Indian dairy production increasing at about 4 per cent a year, 2017 production was forecast to be 160

million metric tonnes, and meeting increased consumer demand from domestic production would be “extremely difficult”, he said.

Growth in domestic production was constrained by a variety of factors, including genetics, diseases, lack of adequate veterinary and breeding services, and poor farm management.

While the Indian Government was attempting to improve those areas through its

SQUEEZE: India lacks the systems and infrastructure to supply a rapidly expanding domestic market with dairy products.

PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

national dairy plan, the impact had been limited so far.

Poor infrastructure — highly dispersed production, lack of cold storage and weak procurement and retail systems — when combined with domestic production constraints, would eventually force India’s Government to begin importing dairy products.

An increasingly prosperous middle class is also looking for value-added dairy products that were difficult for the Indian food and dairy industries to provide. In addition, consumers had begun to focus more intently on product safety, another significant challenge for the domestic industry. All those changes were positive for the possibility of increased New Zealand dairy exports to India. ■ — Otago Daily Times

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Wanganui Chronicle

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Rural & Lifestyle

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