Guardian Farming | April 2019 by Ashburton Guardian

Farming GUARDIAN

April, 2019

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NEWS

Westland milk payout falls

INSIDE

PAGE 4 SPEED PLOUGHING

PAGE 7 TOPSY TURVY SEASON

The West Coast’s dairy co-operative has lowered its payout forecast by 20 cents a kilogram of milksolids with the lower end of the range now below $6/kg for the 2018-19 season. Westland Milk Products’ board said it was forced to drop its payout prediction from $6-$6.20/kg to $5.80/$6/kg because of lower than expected sales. The company said its proposed sale to Chinese company Hongkong Jingang Trade Holding Co, a subsidiary of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, had no factor in sales dropping. Rather, chairman Pete Morrison said the board believed that one of the benefits of the proposal was that Yili would provide

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

a strong route to market as one of the world’s leading dairy producers. He said the factors driving the revision included the failure to meet last quarter’s sales targets for infant and toddler nutrition. “While we have seen increased production of infant and toddler nutrition by 29 per cent, the budget was reliant on the business achieving 52 per cent sales growth, and now the

forecast sales growth is 34 per cent. “This situation reinforces Westland’s need to have better and more direct sales channels and to reduce our reliance on third party distributors,” said Morrison. Dairy giant Fonterra increased its forecasted milk price range to $6.30$6.60/kg, although its share earnings range is down to 15-25 cents per share.

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NEWS

Farmers support Muslim victims Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

Farmers are dipping into their pockets to support victims of the attack on Christchurch mosques through a charitable trust set up by major meat processing companies. The trust will collect proceeds from farmers who nominate animals or a sum of money after sending stock to the Alliance Group, Silver Fern Farms, Affco New Zealand and Anzco Foods. Proceeds collected by the Meat Industry Association Halal Community Response Trust will be distributed to the “Our People, Our City Fund”, part of The Christchurch Foundation. Meat Industry Association

chief executive Tim Ritchie said the Muslim community played a vital role in the meat processing industry, allowing exports to be certified as halal. “A number of our people working in our sector lost friends and family in the attack and this is one way we can show our support. … Many farmers donated generously in the same way to events such as the Canterbury earthquakes and we expect many farmers will want to make a contribution to those affected.” Alliance Group chief executive David Surveyor said many farmers supplying stock to Alliance had expressed the desire to help victims of the tragedy. “We were deeply shocked and saddened by the attacks that happened in Christchurch. We employ many people from the Muslim community and some of our people lost friends or family.’’ Alliance has provided support to its Muslim

employees and donated red meat to the Christchurch Muslim community. Affco general manager Nigel Stevens said the tragic events in Christchurch had deeply affected many of the company’s Muslim employees and friends, particularly those based at the Malvern plant near Christchurch. He said the company had provided assistance to Muslim employees and their communities and was working with industry peers for farmer suppliers to contribute to a good cause. Anzco Group chief executive Peter Conley said a meaningful contribution could be made to the Muslim community by the joint fundraising initiative. Silver Fern farms (SFF) chief executive Simon Limmer said halal employees were part of the day-to-day life and culture of SFF plant. Farmers interested in making donations should contact their stock buyers or meat processors.

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Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie.

Top of table for deer milk dessert By Tim Cronshaw

Deer milk’s profile gained priceless exposure after finding a prized place on the menu at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards at Wynn in China’s special administrative region of Macau. The deer milk produced by state owned farmer Landcorp, trading under Pamu, was made into a panna cotta for the dinner. Pamu business development manager Hamish Glendinning

said deer milk’s presence on the menu gave the product invaluable exposure in the Asian market. “Asia’s restaurant scene is very competitive and for Pamu deer milk to be on the menu at their annual awards menu is a real coup.” He said Pamu worked with New Zealand food service company Eat The Kiwi, which supplies products in Asia, to secure the spot on the menu. “To be on the menu at this event is a measure of the growing interest in Pamu

deer milk, especially from chefs who want to work with new and exciting ingredients.” After the launch of deer milk in New Zealand and Australia, Pamu is now in the early stages of developing Asian markets in partnership with Eat The Kiwi. “We are taking a cautious approach with a select number of chefs, but the inclusion of deer milk at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards is a real boost for the profile of our product on the international stage,” said Glendinning.

Deer have a third string to their bow – venison, velvet and deer milk. PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Farming

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NEWS

Grass to winter barley in an hour Farmers will attempt in one hour to have a large Chertsey grass paddock cultivated, ploughed and cultivated again into a seedbed for drilling in winter barley using three massive tractors with 12 furrow ploughs next month. The grass to barley attempt during the two-day New Zealand Ploughing Championships is understood to have never been done before within that timespan in New Zealand. Attempts will be made each day on two four hectare paddocks at 2.30pm, after the close of competitive ploughing during the May 11, 12 championships. Event organisers have introduced the event to draw in more onlookers for the ploughing competition. The largest of the three tractors is Peter Butterick’s 525 horsepower eight wheeled Versatile with the May brothers and fellow agricultural contractor Roger Smith on John Deere tractors. All of them will tow 12 furrow ploughs and are expected to make short work of the sprayed grass paddock. “The attempt is a drawcard for the public to see some of the biggest machinery in New Zealand,’’ said demonstration convener John Hall. “To have three 12-furrow ploughing and the biggest tractors of 525hp and the others only slightly less, but still massive, is not something you see every day. This has never been attempted before what we are trying to do.’’ Hall said the public enclosure would be fenced off for their safety, but onlookers would still be close enough to see the action. “We are intending to have some of the largest tractors and machinery in New Zealand there and the 8ha will

RURAL REPORTER

Tim Cronshaw

be cultivated, ploughed and cultivated again for a seed bed and drilled in winter barley each day. The public never get to see this machinery working because it’s just too big.’’ A quad track tractor with a large set of discs from Hewson Farms – likely the largest in New Zealand – will also be part of the attempt and Power Farming will be drilling the barley. “We estimate it will take about an hour to go from a grass paddock to be drilled in barley and it’s never been done before as far as we know. You don’t bring machinery worth millions of dollars to do four hectares.’’ The Rakaia Ploughing Match Association (RPMA) is hosting the event and its members are working hard with the Wilkinson family to prepare the site at Wilkinson Road ready for the national event.

“

Attempt organisers John Hall (left) and John Davison.

latest owner. The last time the national championships were held in Mid Canterbury was in 2010 during the world championships. Adding spice to the competition for the Silver Plough trophy is that Marlborough ploughman Ian Woolley will not be defending

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

be in the host country. Defending his title in the reversible class will be South Canterbury’s Bob Mehrtens. Mehrtens was also at the world event and after a slow start finished third in the grasslands ploughing. Among the local ploughmen will be Simon Read from

We are intending to have some of the largest tractors and machinery in New Zealand there and the 8ha will be cultivated, ploughed and cultivated again for a seed bed and drilled in winter barley each day. The public never get to see this machinery working because it’s just too big

The family has been on the fifth generation property since 1876 and Kate Wilkinson, a former Minister of Conservation who held other cabinet positions, is the

his title in the conventional class. Woolley was third in the world championships in Germany last year and his tractor is understood to still

Rakaia in the conventional ploughing and vintage ploughmen Pearce Watson and Maurice Millar. RPMA chairman John Davison said the ploughmen were grateful

for Kate Wilkinson making the farm available and setting their crop rotations to suit the event’s need for grazed grass and barley stubble. “There is quite a bit of the farm tied up. We are using four paddocks so it’s about 40ha and it’s quite a commitment to the farm.’’ Competitors had attended a lot of qualifying events in the lead up and would be well tuned for the national championships, he said. A large contingent of vintage machinery was expected to also be on display, including Davison’s 9G Chamberlain which has an interesting history. Hall also has a well-stocked shed and will likely pick out some 1960s classic tractors from his fleet of 14 tractors. Each day the vintage machinery will go on a short trek around the farm.

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NEWS

Desert Rat finds distant home Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

When John Davison rolls up with his 1966 Desert Rat tractor at the National Ploughing Championships the workhorse’s interesting history will come in tow. Lincoln-based Davison bought the Desert Rat in 2015 from Western Australia’s Gary Snook and brought it home. He didn’t know the tractor’s lengthy history at the time and bought it because he always had a soft spot for Chamberlains. “We never had a Chamberlain on the farm, but I had always hankered for one and I don’t know why because there is no logic to it. I’ve imported three tractors from Australia and the first one [Chamberlain 236] I bought sight unseen and it didn’t have a cab. You find that out pretty quickly when your eyes start streaming at 40 kilometres an hour and when I saw this one on the market I flew to Perth and it was Gary Snook’s Desert Rat.’’ In Perth he learned all about the history of the Desert Rat from Snook, a former farmer, cray fisherman and shire mayor, Member of Parliament and all round character. Snook dropped the tractor off at Freemantle port and Davison probably took it on its shortest journey to the Lincoln block. The Desert Rat had the sought-after modified cab, but ear muffs are still required and Davison finds six hours on the road for 250km a day is long enough for him.

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Ian Woolley at last years world ploughing championships.

So far he has taken it to the Ellesmere and Canterbury A&P shows and followed a mostly inland route to Edendale in Southland. He plans on taking the “two-easy-day’’ journey to the Wheels of Wanaka before turning up to the ploughing championships. The 9G Chamberlain Champs was originally bought by Yorkrakine farmer Allen Cousins in Western Australia’s wheatbelt in 1966. Often the farm tractor also served as the farm vehicle and was used to go to town for picking up household and farm supplies and to get the mail. One owner was reputed to have taken his girlfriend on the tractor to the drive-

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in movies which was the Saturday night entertainment for rural people during the 1960s and 1970s. Versatile 9Gs were popular tractors across the wheatbelt when farmers were clearing and developing new blocks. As farmers demanded more and more horsepower, they dropped off in popularity and some of them were placed on light duties or just left to deteriorate, stuck under a gum tree and forgotten about. The Chamberlain 9G Tractor Club changed all of that and they became sought-after collector items. In 1998 a cray fisherman mate from Dongara told Snook about a planned trip across Australia on 9G

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tractors for the year 2000. Old 9G Chamberlain Champs across the WA wheatbelt were worth little more than $500-$1000 at clearing sales and were in various states of disrepair as there was virtually no demand for them. When Snook travelled to an auction at Yorkrakine to successfully bid for a 1966 model 9G Champ the word was out about the 9G Trek Across Australia and it had created interest among farmers in Western Australia. Bidding started at $1000 and rose in $1000 increments quickly between him and a Jurien man until it closed at $4500 in Snook’s favour. This was well over the $1000 he thought it would cost, but it was fully intact with original features. The purchase set the market price for old 9Gs at near the $5000 mark as the race was on to get hold of them to be readied for the big trek across the widest part of Australia. A line-up of 12 tractors was initially confirmed and the

tractor club was registered as a charitable organisation for tax free status to raise money for charitable groups such as The Royal Flying Doctor. By the end of 1999 the club’s membership had risen to 150 with 31 tractors registered to go on the 2000 trek. Snook chose the name Desert Rat for his tractor fittingly as it was going to cross Australia from the most westerly point of Shark Bay to Byron Bay, the most easterly of point of Australia. The route went through three of Australia’s deserts, past Ayers Rock and Alice Springs and the tractors had a reputation of being tough and resilient. On July 2000 31 tractors assembled in front of the steps of the Western Australian Parliament House to be “flagged off ” by the premier of the day. Most of the tractors towed camper trailers and there was 45 back-up 4x4 vehicles for the eight-week journey which raised $80,000 for the Flying Doctor. Continued on page 9

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John Davison’s 9G Chamberlain Champ worked on a Western Australia farm before becoming a trek workhorse.

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OPINION

EDITORIAL COMMENT Attending South Island’s largest field days at Kirwee was a good reminder of the enormity of agriculture in this country. It wasn’t just the 600-odd exhibitor sites spread across the enormous base of the South Island Agricultural Field Days which brought this home. Nor was the eye-opener of the many farmers and the rural community walking down the lanes often with shopping bags in tow. More than anything, the proof of this statement was the sheer value of the farm

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

machinery and equipment in many of these sites. All added, they would amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. Four of the largest combine harvesters alone amounted to at least $500,000 each and that

Farming GUARDIAN

might be on the light side. A farmer I was chatting to confirmed this as he had just bought one recently. When I asked how long it might take to get the full return on this large capital outlay he made a very good point. For him the return was about more than extracting income from the machinery. With about $1 million of crops to come out of the soil each year any losses because of machinery failure or an inability to harvest during a small fine-weather window would be calamitous.

While he probably could have found many ways to spend this amount of money he was content knowing that he had done everything he could to safeguard his crops and income. So, yes, there is an enormous number of dollar signs at the field days. There is, however, a distinguishing difference between country and town here. Unlike more well-padded

Dairy prices continue rally

Guardian Farming is proudly published by the Ashburton Guardian Limited

Tim Cronshaw

Enjoy reading Guardian Farming? You may also enjoy Dairy Focus

Global dairy commodity prices have continued their rally with a ninth rise in a row at the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction. Dairy prices rose overall 0.8 per cent at the April 2 event. Average prices lifted for all commodities except whole milk powder and lactose. Whole milk powder slipped 1.3 per cent from the last auction two weeks ago after a long run of increases to settle at $US3287 a tonne and lactose dropped 5.3 per cent for an average price of $US948/t. NZX analyst Robert Gibson said whole milk powder decreased across most contracts. “Total offer volumes for whole milk powder [were] down 25 per cent on the previous event at 9650t. The decline in overall prices reflects weaker demand across our markets,

Read the latest Dairy Focus online at guardianonline.co.nz We appreciate your feedback Editorial Email your comments to tim.c@theguardian.co.nz Advertising For advertising enquiries email cushla.h@theguardian.co.nz or phone 03 307 7955. Designer Yendis Albert Post Ashburton Guardian, PO Box 77, Ashburton 7740

particularly North Asia and follows eight consecutive increases in average prices since December.’’ Skim milk powder prices lifted to $US2468/t, up 1.8 per cent. Gibson said skim milk powder increased for most contracts. “The increase at the latest event possibly reflected a decline in volumes sold, and some clearing through the system of SMP stocks which were sold at EU intervention earlier in the year.’’ Anhydrous milkfat (AMF) increased on average to $US5867/t, up 3.7 per cent from the previous

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urban citizens who drive around in Mercedes and other expensive marques, the great range of machinery – which doesn’t come cheap – at the field days is a justifiable expense for farmers running everyday businesses. Combining the complete value of exhibitor displays gives you a small, but tangible, sense of the scale and importance of farming to New Zealand.

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event. Butter prices increased 5.8 per cent to $US5374/t. Rennet casein was up 7.5 per cent to $US6703/t from a lift in competition, although traded volumes were small compared with other commodities. Cheddar inceased 3.2 per cent at $US4248/t. Commodity prices have been in positive territory since December 4 in a rally that stopped a continuous slump from May. At the auction 166 bidders bought 17,854t compared with 21,713t of product sold at the last event. The next GDT event is on April 16.

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OPINION

A growing season of two halves With the irrigation season drawing to a close it has been a season of “two halves”. Until New Year sunshine was a rare commodity, degree growing days were well below average while post New Year was the complete antithesis with much less rainfall and very high temperatures. But in the scheme of things it all came right in time for harvest. No-one needs reminding of how wet it was back in spring and early summer with record breaking rainfall totals – third highest since 1867. Then it was some record breaking temperatures in January-February. To coin a cliche we often use, it truly has been a game of two halves. Cliche or not, it absolutely describes circumstances that have changed suddenly as they did this growing season. So January 1 was like the light switch was flicked off for rainfall and on for sunshine and temperatures. From September 1 to January 1 there was 352 millimetres of rain at

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HYDRO SERVICES

Winchmore or thereabouts depending on your exact location on the Plains. Since then we’ve had less than one-third of this - just 107mm or thereabouts or about 30mm a month and just 36mm from Christmas to February 23 – perfect for harvest. As a consequence, irrigation was a non-event before New Year (or should have been, except for those who thought soil moisture reserves could be used overnight or in one day of sunshine). Typically, soil moisture rarely dipped below the Full Point (Field Capacity) or came close to Stress Point (Refill) from October to January and most of the rainfall was “in excess” of what the soil profile could store

and therefore drained to groundwater. Irrigation has been continuous until a profile filling rainfall at the end of February. So why the sudden turnaround? Why was it so wet before New Year and so hot and dry after New Year? One reason could be the switch from strongly positive El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index in December (La Niña) to strongly negative (El Niño) in February-March. Typically La Niña events are characterised by more north–easterly winds and moist, rainy conditions to eastern areas and reduced rainfall to the south and south-west of the South Island. El Niño on the other hand brings stronger or more frequent winds from the west in summer and can lead to a greater risk of drier than normal conditions in east coast areas. While winds from the westerly quarter were not common post New Year, the drier than normal conditions were. While ENSO doesn’t fully

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Leading up to January there was no shortage of rain.

explain the switch in weather, the change to strong El Niño did coincide with a switch in the weather. As we saw on Field Days week typical El Niño conditions prevailed for a couple of days, including some strong westerly quarter winds.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

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Farming

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OPINION

Homework critical for selling a farm Land is the most significant financial asset that most farmers hold. Offering a farm for sale needs careful preparation. If you are considering selling a farm in the next 12-to-18 months, here are some tips. Make sure regular maintenance of land and buildings is up to date so you can present the property at its best. Attention to detail will pay you back when buyers inspect the farm. Buyers need facts. Presenting full and accurate farm records is essential for an optimal sale. These facts are relevant: rainfall, contour and soil types, stocking rates and holding capacity, a catalogue of recent improvements, an equipment inventory, production history and any existing supply agreements; plus operational information such as inputs, pasture development, farm supplies and business expenses. In addition, your water, irrigation and other consents are essential to demonstrate environmental compliance. That includes a nutrient

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baseline and your farm environment plan. These are key to any valuation. Without them, a sale will be particularly challenging. Your rating valuation can be a worthwhile guideline, alongside other relevant market activity. Likewise, a registered farm valuation should assist marketing effort, though only as one point of reference. Full documentation gives potential buyers the information they need to make a sound, confident business decision. Without comprehensive information, you may be selling your farm short. If you have recently transacted property you may want to entrust your marketing campaign to someone you have worked with previously. Otherwise

test the market by seeking appraisals and marketing proposals from at least two real estate firms. Â An appraisal is an estimate of the value the salesperson believes they can achieve for the property. A marketing proposal outlines how they will present your farm for sale, and what that will cost you. You need to evaluate both. Beware of an appraisal promising a high value, accompanied by aÂ budget rate marketing campaign. Once you have selected a salesperson, expect detailed and regular communication from them. They should promptly inform you who has enquired after, or inspected, your farm and what feedback they gave. They should be able to tell you who has shown interest in similar local properties. Auction, tender and private treaty are the most common ways to sell a farm. Which method best suits depends on how quickly you need to sell, how anxious you are to maximise value, what the market is doing and how

public you are prepared for the process to be. How you sell is your decision, made with advice from your salesperson. Prior to your marketing campaign, selecting a salesperson, ensuring the farm looks its best, collating the relevant documentation, and placing advertising will typically take four to six weeks. After that, once you go live, a campaign for an auction or tender will usually take another six weeks. Selling by private treaty will generally take longer, particularly when a conditional offer is received. However, if a motivated

buyer comes forward right away, you might complete the sale much quicker. Autumn and spring are typically the time when farms transact, and potential purchasers are most motivated, though farms sell at any time throughout the year. As in anything else, preparation and a wellconsidered strategy will pay dividends. The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

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NEWS

So-so result for SFF co-operative Silver Fern Farms Cooperative has reported a “lower than desirable’’ aftertax profit of $900,000 in meat trading for 2018 which is up on a $5.6 million loss. The reversal of fortunes needs to be put in context as 2017 was a transitional year for parent company Silver Fern Farms Limited (SFF), half owned by the co-operative and half by Shanghai Maling. The 2017 year was also over a 15 month period, which included losses from discontinued operations. The co-operative’s net profit before tax for the year ending December was $2.4m. Silver Fern Farms Cooperative chairman Rob Hewett said the co-operative

Co-op chairman Rob Hewett says the co-op remains in a strong position with no debt. PHOTO SUPPLIED

would receive an $874,000 dividend from their 50 per cent shareholding in SFF. “While significantly down on last year’s $4.1m dividend, we are pleased that (SFF) was in a position to pay a dividend

to its two shareholders. The $874,000 dividend we will receive marks the first time that (SFF) has been in a position to pay back-to-back distributions out of operating profit to its shareholders.

The co-operative remains in a strong position with no debt.” Hewett said the board was determined to support moves to improve the performance of SFF. “It should be noted that our investment … is undergoing a process of consolidation. “It is in a period of intensive capital investment across infrastructure and systems to ensure it can sustain a high level of performance. While the level of profitability is lower than desirable as it goes through this process, we have an expectation that we will be in a position to derive future value from our equal share in the company. This is in addition to the high level of service supplying shareholders

currently receive.” For the period, SFF achieved sales of $2.4 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) including share of associate earnings of $32.4m, and net profit after tax of $5.8m. The company increased capital expenditure, up $8m to $29m, across health and safety, compliance, asset replacement and operational improvement over the course of the year. Chief executive Simon Limmer said the after-tax result was a back-to-back profit for the business, but not at the level aimed for the company.

agent, tends to use the Desert Rat sparingly on his lifestyle block apart from heavy rolling a lucerne paddock once. For him the tractor’s relatively high road speed

makes it attractive for road trips. As a farmer he can’t help but admire its provenance and well spread nine gears which have made it such a good lugging tractor.

The co-operative’s annual meeting will be held in Dunedin on May 1.

Desert Rat finds new home From page 5 Two years later Snook and his 9G took part in a tractor club organised trek across the full length of the 1900 kilometre

Canning Stock Route from Halls Creek to Wiluna. Getting it on the road came at no small cost. The estimated cost of the final restoration was north of

$25,000. Over 16 years he travelled about 30,000km on treks and to fundraising functions. Davison, a former cropping farmer and now a real estate

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NEWS

Anzco rolls out new online sales Meat company Anzco Foods has set up a new online trading system to sell meat products digitally around the world. The company has begun trialling the online sales platform PrimeXConnect with domestic customers who export globally. Anzco sales and marketing general manager Rick Walker said the company’s intention was to use the custom-made platform as a direct sales tool with individual customers, although it did have an open auction platform capability. A pilot would work initially with existing New Zealand traders exporting worldwide and the company would consider expanding it across export markets, he said. “The intent is to focus on opportunities for the tool in our domestic business in 2019. “We will review its application across export markets once that process is complete and we have quantified the benefits to Anzco and our customers.’’ Walker said the online tool was user friendly and

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

another way of the company improving its links with customers. The sales platform would work alongside the company’s existing sales team and tools rather than replacing them. A negotiation process is built into the private web based system, including bids and counter bids, and discussion on terms and conditions of direct sales. Walker said person-toperson relationships with customers would always be important to the way Anzco did business. “PrimeXConnect offers the chance to complement and streamline our traditional communication channels, which more of our customers are indicating is important

Meat buyers can now trade with Anzco at the click of a button.

to them in the digital world in which we live in today,” he said. PrimeXConnect chief executive Michael Chandler

said the technology would deliver Anzco customers a seamless sales process to help teams make better business decisions.

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Anzco is one of New Zealand’s largest exporters with an annual turnover of $1.65 billion and nearly 3000 employees globally.

www.guardianonline.co.nz

Ashburton Ashburton

$60,000 $60,000

DEUTZ AGROFARM 410410 DEUTZ AGROFARM

TrimaTrima Loader, 17601760 hrs, immaculate condition Loader, hrs, immaculate condition

$44,900 $44,900

JOHN DEERE 6530 JOHN DEERE 6530

WithWith Stoll Loader, very tidy, 6500 Stoll Loader, very tidy, 6500hrs, hrs, fullyfully serviced andand ready to to gogo serviced ready

Disc Roller Cultivator, rubber roller, immaculate

MERLO 40.7 MERLO 40.7 X 2X 2

2000 hr and 4000hr, 2012, both extremely tidy 2000 hr and 4000hr, 2012, both extremely tidy one owner telehandlers one owner telehandlers

$25,000 $25,000

AMAZONE KW402-2 Power Harrow Drill Combination 125 mm spacing, AMAZONE KW402-2 fold, Combination marker arms,125 rubber Powerhydraulic Harrow Drill mmpacker, spacing, Amazone front tank. Tidyrubber condition hydraulic fold, marker arms, packer, Amazone front tank. Tidy condition

$15,000 $15,000

ALPEGO FH300 3.0MTR ROTARY HOE In very tidy condition ALPEGO FH300 3.0MTR ROTARY HOE In very tidy condition

KUHN MANAGER 8 FURROW WAGON PLOUGH 5 plus 3, hydraulic auto reset, very tidy condition

5 plus 3, hydraulic auto reset, very tidy condition

VADERSTAD RAPID RAPID 600P 600P VADERSTAD 6.0mtr drill, coming in 6.0mtr drill, coming in

6 furrow with disc coulters and trash boards,

6 furrow with disc coulters and trash boards, hydraulic breakaway, vari width and steering

$55,000 $55,000

NEW HOLLAND T7030 4900HOLLAND hrs, Super T7030 Steer, immaculate NEW

Recentrubber rubberreplacement, replacement, loader, Recent JDJD 731731 loader, verytidy, tidy,8700 8700hrshrs very

HOUSEHAM HOUSEHAMMERLIN MERLIN4.32 4.32

$49,990 $49,990

SIMBA XPRESS 5.5 MTR Adjustable cut, 7005.5 DD roller, SIMBA XPRESS MTR rear hyd and

Both 6 furrow, trailing press available for each,

Both 6 furrow, trailing press available for each, very tidy

Manip Loader, tidy tractor, Manip Loader, tidy tractor, runs runs well well

$49,990 $49,990

AMAZONE CIRRUS 60016001 SUPER AMAZONE CIRRUS SUPER

6.0mtr, workshop serviced, great drills, bargain! 6.0mtr, workshop serviced, great drills, bargain!

$16,500 $16,500

AGRISEM COMBIPLOW 3.0MTR Auto reset ripper and trailing press, AGRISEM COMBIPLOW 3.0MTR

awesome combo sorttrailing any consolidation out Auto reset rippertoand press, awesome combo to sort any consolidation out

FROM $16,000 FROM $16,000

KVERNELAND BB85 AND BB100 PLOUGHS very tidy

JOHN DEERE 6210 PREMIUM JOHN DEERE 6210 PREMIUM

$POA $POA

2014, 4000ltr, 24 or 32 mtr, 2 sets of wheels, auto 2014, 4000ltr, 24 or 32 mtr, 2 sets of wheels, auto steer, section control, all the bells and whistles steer, section control, all the bells and whistles

KVERNELAND BB85 AND BB100 PLOUGHS

GREGOIRE BESSON PSPW9

GREGOIRE BESSON PSPW9 hydraulic breakaway, vari width and steering

JOHNDEERE DEERE6620 6620 JOHN

$45,000 $45,000

draw bar, great stubble incorporation, Adjustable cut, 700 DD roller, rear hydvery andtidy draw bar, great stubble incorporation, very tidy

$16,000 $16,000

$40,000 $40,000

KUHN MANAGER 8 FURROW WAGON PLOUGH

2012, coming inin 2012,new new tyres, tyres, very very tidy, tidy, coming

P.O.A P.O.A

$48,000 $48,000

AMAZONE CATROS 6001-2 AMAZONE CATROS 6001-2 Disc Roller Cultivator, rubber roller, immaculate

MERLO MERLO 60.10 60.10

$27,000 $27,000

$35,000 $35,000

$80,000 $80,000

$10,000 $10,000

VOGEL & NOOT 6 FURROW CONVENTIONAL PLOUGH 85cm spacing’s, vari6 width, hydCONVENTIONAL front furrow, PLOUGH VOGEL & NOOT FURROW steerable wheel, vari hyd width, auto reset 85cm rear spacing’s, hydlegs, front furrow, Skimmers andrear trash boards, tidy steerable wheel, hydvery auto reset legs, Skimmers and trash boards, very tidy

$30,000 $30,000

HE-VA 5.0MTR DISC ROLLER

ROBERTSON 20CM3 SUPER COMBI SILAGE WAGON

Tidy condition, hydraulic levelling boards, bargain!

Scales, very tidy

HE-VA 5.0MTR DISC ROLLER

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$20,000 $20,000

SUMO FRONT TANK 2016, 1 FRONT season old, e-drive, auger feed, SUMO TANK

ROBERTSON 20CM3 SUPER COMBI SILAGE WAGON Scales, very tidy

$30,000 $30,000

SAME SILVER 100 With loader, 5258 100 hrs, very tidy SAME SILVER

plastic1tank, as new condition,auger greatfeed, for reliable tractor5258 hrs, very tidy 2016, season old, e-drive, With loader, seed and fertas new condition, great for plastic tank, reliable tractor and only fert available over $20,000 + GST. All prices Exclude GST Finance conditions apply,seed finance

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Power Farming Ashburton 03 307 7153 Web www.powerfarming.co.nz Blair Jackson 027 706 4147, Simon Jackson 0275 127 205 Andy Keenan 027 562 8024 Power Farming Ashburton 03 307 7153 Web www.powerfarming.co.nz Blair Jackson 027 706 4147, Simon Jackson 0275 127 205 Andy Keenan 027 562 8024 Finance conditions apply, finance only available over $20,000 + GST. All prices Exclude GST

Farming

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NEWS

Religious beliefs no problem for farmer A contract milker who cannot own cows and make decisions to kill them because of his religious beliefs is the Share Farmer of the Year for Canterbury/North Otago. Ruwan Wijayasena is in his 14th year dairy farming and was the stand out performer for judges at the regional final of the Dairy Industry Awards. He was presented the major award at a Christchurch function. The 43-year-old contract milker of 1840 cows for Theland Farm Group on a 537 hectare Darfield farm won $10,750 in prizes plus two merit awards. Wijayasena said he had always loved being a farmer and was lucky to join Synlait Farms, now Theland Farm Group, which shared his desire to carry out best farm practices towards the sustainability of dairy farming. “My wife and I are Buddhist and have a religious barrier of not being able to own cows and make decisions to kill them. We have found a way to grow our business without following the traditional

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

footsteps.” The other major winners were Matt Redmond, who was named the region’s Dairy Manager of the Year and Nicola Blowey, the Dairy Trainee of the Year. Wijayasena said his future farming goals included expanding the contract milking business. “I am not planning to become a 50/50 sharemilker and then a farm owner. I can prove that there are other ways to grow than the traditional ladder and wish to share my knowledge with the industry.” He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture sciences from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, majoring in livestock production. His career goals are to look

after his people, pasture, cows and environment through sustainable best practices and increase profit through innovative business culture. Wijayasena said the past few years had shown the contract milking business was achieving consistent results. “I wanted to share this with the wider industry and find out whether there are any other opportunities for the business to grow.” Runners-up in the Canterbury/North Otago competition were Shaun and Andrea Wise, who won $3750 in prizes. They contract milk for Dairy Holdings on a 134ha Rangitata Island property, milking 590 cows. Future farming goals include herd and farm ownership. “We would also like to have a dairy farm that is powered completely by renewable energy from dairy byproducts.” Third place went to Elizabeth and Lyndon Grant, who entered the awards to challenge themselves and analyse their business in depth.

Award winner Ruwan Wijayasena is a Buddhist and does not own cows because of his religious beliefs.

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

“We also want to give back to the dairy industry and the people who have helped us on our journey into sharemilking. We think recognition for us is also reflection on all their hard work and input.” The couple milk 700 cows as 50/50 sharemilkers for Ross and Susan Duncan’s 195ha farm at Ashburton. As the Dairy Manager of the Year Redmond won $6125 in prizes plus three merit awards and is the farm manager on Craigmore’s

Pahau Flats Dairy – Landsend, a 232ha, 830-cow property at Culverden. Christchurch farm manager Mohit Pandya was second and Waimate farm manager Robert Reyes placed third. Women were represented strongly in the Dairy Trainee of the Year category, achieving a clean sweep of first, second and third places with 25-year-old Blowey named the winner. Blowey is an assistant herd manager on Kieran and Leonie Guiney’s 600-cow, 175ha Fairlie property and won $5800 in prizes and three merit awards. “Seeing Will Green do so well last year inspired me to enter and seek out new information and increase and consolidate my knowledge.” Runner-up in the dairy trainee competition was 24-year-old Hororata secondin-charge Claire Ritchie and third was 19-year-old secondin-charge Amy Charman who works for Rob and Vincent Lob on their 113ha, 430-cow Westerfield property.

Versatility in the air Malcolm has been flying since 1992 and 99 per cent of his flying has been mountain flying in both the fixed wing and helicopter. Having flown for his father both in the Hughes 500 and MD Notar for several years, he recently purchased Station Air Ltd and the MD Notar. Station Air Ltd is based at Mesopotamia Station providing the closest access to the prime DOC blocks

STATION AIR HELIFLIGHTS

in and around the Rangitata River headwaters for Tahr hunting. Station Air can provide access for hunters to Crooked Spur, Potts Hut, Growler through to Mistake Flat, St Winifreds and McCoy, as well as Forest Creek, Camp Creek and Carney’s. They also do flights for fly camping on the West Coast for chamois or the Lyall Hut in the Rakaia catchment. For fly camping, Malcolm’s local knowledge of animal

movements puts hunters in great stead for a top hunt. The helicopter is perfect for scenic flights in some of New Zealand’s pristine scenery bordering the Southern Alps. Easily located for pick-up and drop-off for trampers, hunters alike and for those wanting to make the most memorable occasions like proposals and wedding photos. Advertising feature

STATION AIR HELIFLIGHTS Station Air operate an MD Notar 520 seating up to 4 passengers. Based at Mesopotamia Station, the helicopter is ideally located for pickup and drop-offs to DOC huts and hunting blocks or prime fishing areas in the upper reaches of the Rangitata region.

Telephone: Sue or Malcolm on 03 696 3738 or email: info@mesopotamia.co.nz

Station Air operate an MD Notar 520

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Boarding life at St Margaret’s

“

Boarding allowed me to become so independent and responsible, while at the same time allowing me to become part of an amazing family. The girls you meet don’t just become your friends, they become your sisters – Charlotte.

By creating a warm, caring home-away-from-home atmosphere, boarding at St Margaret’s College provides the opportunity of a firstclass education while building strong relationships and learning lifelong values. When school finishes at the end of each day, the boarding houses come alive with the sounds of many voices and laughter and because the boarding school is part of the school campus those who chose to can attend extra circular and after-school activities without disruption. The boarding community is at the heart of St Margaret’s and the culture is closely aligned with the school’s

vision of a holistic education, embracing the spiritual and emotional well-being of the girls, as well as their academic growth and their development in sport and the arts. The three boarding houses are arranged in year groups and tailored to the specific needs of each developmental stage. In Julius House (Y7-10) the environment is structured and nurturing for the girls to make the transition into boarding. Kilburn House (Y11-12) encourages the girls to begin personally integrating these skills. Cranmer House (Y13) allows for more freedom to

help them develop life skills and become driven, selfmanaged young women, all in a monitored setting. These senior girls thrive as they become the leaders of the boarding school and the ‘older sisters’ of the younger girls. “SMC is a place where girls are believed in and become strong women of the future and where great boarding

“A place we can call our own” Boarding at St Margaret’s College is a home away from home. It’s where life-long friendships are formed. The three boarding houses have facilities and programmes tailored to suit each age from Years 7 to 13, all looked after by warm and caring staff.

“We love it, and we know you will too” For boarding enquiries, please contact Lizzie Dyer: T: 03 353 2563 • E: enrol@stmargarets.school.nz

stmargarets.school.nz

friendships last a lifetime,” said Marianne. The boarding staff take pride in having the privilege of watching the girls grow into incredible young women and treasure the moments they capture with them. Warm, open relationships develop over the years as they share the girls’ highs and lows, encourage, celebrate and

nurture as they all journey through life together. To learn more about boarding life at St Margaret’s College, visit www. stmargarets.school.nz or call Lizzie Dyer on 03 353 2563 or email enrol@stmargarets. school.nz to arrange a personal tour of the college. Advertising feature

Farming

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NEWS

Big spending to come after South Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

Farmers mixed window shopping with bringing out their wallets among “hundreds of millions of dollars’’ of farm machinery lined up for the three-day South Island Agricultural Field Days at Kirwee. Spending was most visible for smaller items judging by visitor’s shopping bags and exhibitors were doing the groundwork for future sales of heavy machinery. Among the massive display of farm machinery were combine harvesters worth more than $500,000. A farmer, who had his hands in his pockets, had bought one before the field days. He said the machinery was expensive, but necessary to ensure crops worth $1 million were safely harvested. Other farmers took advantage of field day specials for tools, outdoorwear and farm equipment. Organising committee spokesman Dan Schat said the gate turnover was pleasing overall and the field days had been well attended by visitors

and exhibitors. “Car parks were full on the Thursday and near full on Friday. Wednesday was probably down because of a cold start to the day and probably the flooding on the West Coast had an impact because we normally get a good contingent from the

Coast, but they had bigger things to worry about.’’ He said it was always difficult to judge how sales performed as often farmers would like what they see at field days and return home to consider their finances before making their purchase. Some exhibitors had received

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good leads for farm machinery and would follow them up and a vehicle manufacturer had made 30 sales over the three days, he said. Schat said the total value of all the machinery would be in the “hundreds of millions of dollars’’ and that was outside of the intellectual property for

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NEWS

Island Agricultural Field Days

difficult to estimate how much it cost exhibitors to attend but after they factored in staffing, transport and other costs it would be a “significant part’’ of their marketing campaign. He said the event was the South Island’s premier field days for this year and farm machinery exhibitors coming

software and other technology also exhibited. “They are upwards of $550,000 and there would be about four combine harvesters of that size being exhibited and even more silage choppers which are similarly priced, but of slightly less value.’’ Schat said it would be

for market presence had increased their site size from the last event two years ago. “There were a lot of Swanndri, Stoney Creek and Swazi bags around and George Henry for tools was majorly busy. We did see a lot of these small ticket items go out the gate.’’

Technology was a growing category at the field days and drone demonstrations had been added to displays. Farm machinery displays were well attended and visitors gravitated to the dusty drama in particular for the modified tractors in the Tractor Pull.

Overall, a promising payout for dairy farmers and a hot summer for arable farmers found them in a spending mood during the field days. Organisers will carry out a debrief this week to get a feel of the financial performance of the field days and make suggestions for improvements.

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Farming

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www.guardianonline.co.nz17

COUNTRY ROADS

D-Max – simple but effective After stepping down from testing the monstrous Dodge Ram, the new Isuzu D-Max LS was more eye-opening than expected. The Dodge is everything that we know and love about America – excessive. They have options purely because they can, not because you need them. So it was nice to move into something that was more in line with New Zealand’s requirements. Like all great ideas, the best ones are simple but very effective. The Isuzu D-Max range is available in six platforms. Three of which are 4WD only, and the other three are available with selectable 2WD and 4WD. Double-cab models are available in LS, LX and LS-T spec. Single space-cab is available in LS and LS chassis, and the single cab is available in LX chassis. Both of the chassis models come with a custom aluminium flat deck as opposed to the standard ute deck. The range starts with the LX automatic 2WD at $39,890 and with 11 variants to choose from; it goes all the way up to the LS-T Automatic 4WD starting at $61,990. Every model available comes with the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel, in-line 4-cylinder,

DOHC, 16-valve Isuzu 4JJ1-TC HiPower diesel engine. They produce 130kw @ 3600rpm and 430Nm of torque between 2000 > 2200rpm. All models are available in 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. For the models that come with selectable 2WD and 4WD, you have the latest Terrain Command system which allows you to switch on the fly from 4H-2WD at speeds up to 100km/h. Every model is built on a full-length, heavy-duty truck chassis, and comes with front independent high ride coil springs, with gas shock absorbers, upper and lower wishbones and stabiliser bar. The rear has an alloy-steel over slung long-span leaf spring with gas shock absorbers. And for the two flat deck chassis models, the leaf springs and shocks are upgraded with heavier duty parts. The changes still keep the iconic look of the Isuzu D-max, while keeping it modern looking. On the outside, there is an allnew front bumper and grille, new headlights and bonnet. So in my mind, it looks the way it always looked: great.

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apply. Offer ends 30 June 2019. Prices and specifi cations are subject to change at any full terms and conditions visit our website, www.toyota.co.nz

*Accessories not included. Toyota Financial Services normal lending criteria apply. Offer ends 30 June 2019. Prices and specifi cations are subject to change at any time. The advertised TDP is for the vehicle only, ORC and GST included. For full terms and conditions visit our website, www.toyota.co.nz *Accessories not included. Toyota Financial Services normal lending criteria apply. Offer ends 30 June 2019. Prices and specifi cations are subject to change at any time. The advertised TDP is for the vehicle only, ORC and GST included. For full terms and conditions visit our website, www.toyota.co.nz

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Farming

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COUNTRY ROADS

A Swedish celebration The Volvo 440 was presented for the first time in June 1988. This was a five-door family car that shared its technology with the 480 sports coupé. Volvo now demonstrated in earnest that front-wheel drive was the way forward. Work on what later became the Volvo 440 began back in 1978. This was a new project that would lead the company to the Volvo cars of the future. Free thinking and aiming for the stars were the name of the game – and so the project was dubbed Galaxy. In September 1980, the first front-wheel drive prototype was ready. Although its primary aim was to test the various functions, in terms of appearance it resembled what later became the Volvo 440. The G4, as the prototype was called, displayed the attributes that Volvo was looking for. It had front-wheel drive, and it was fun to drive. Interior spaces were good, while external dimensions remained compact.

The Galaxy project later culminated in the launch of two model series. The big 850, which was presented in the summer of 1991, had the greatest impact, but the 400 programme actually came about several years previously. That part of the project was taken over by Volvo subsidiaries in the Netherlands in 1992, and this was where development work continued. The first of Volvo’s new front-wheel drive models was the 480 sports coupé, which was officially launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1986. This distinctive niche product paved the way for the 440, which was presented two years later and ended up battling in earnest for car buyers in the mid-range class. The Volvo 440 was a modern hatchback model with a practical rear seat that was split into two sections. The centre panel on the dashboard faced the driver, making it easier for him or her to access the controls. The arrangements linked this model programme with the

700 series, with its smooth sides and low, almost vertical side windows. All the engines were fourcylinder models with a single overhead camshaft, from 1.6 litres to 2 litres, including a 1.7-litre turbo model. Of course, safety was a

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prime consideration and anti-lock brakes, ABS, were available as an optional extra as early as 1989. Seatbelt pretensioners and airbags were fitted as optional extras from model year 1991 onwards, and Volvo’s integrated side impact

protection system, SIPS, was introduced to the model in 1994. Production of the Volvo 444 60 was discontinued in November 1996: successors, the S40 and V40, had been in parallel production for more than a year at that time.

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Farming

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COUNTRY ROADS

Don’t mix driving with alcohol Impairment: the state of being diminished, weakened, or damaged, especially mentally or physically. This definition may look unusual for many because we are conditioned to think you only have to be drunk or stoned to be impaired. Here is a list of what terms are included under the understanding of impairment. Tired or fatigued, lack of sleep, distraction, emotionally upset, stressed, anxious or nervous, depressed, in pain, affected by any substance – be it alcohol, illicit drugs, medicine, prescribed medication, over the counter medicine, natural remedies, etc. The list goes on for anything that may affect your reaction time or decision making abilities. We may think that impairment only means being affected by one of these substances at a time. Taking a combination of small portions, which on its own may not affect you, may push you into impairment. The physical and

higher the risk of an incident. The faster the operating speed, the higher the risk for serious or fatal injury crash. This is just basic physics. There are many incidents that happen as a result of impaired drivers – see attached crash map.

“

psychological demand needed to operate a vehicle safely on the road and to be able to identify potential hazards

other road users may pose could be seen as a scale. These could be listed on a scale of 0 per cent to 100 per

cent where at 100 per cent a driver would be fully alert and unimpaired. The lower the level, the

Tired or fatigued, lack of sleep

This map only reflects reported crashes where impairment was a factor in the crash. As you will notice, there were many single vehicle crashes. So, the busier the road, the higher the potential for conflict with other moving objects. However, when the environment becomes less demanding, like travelling on a long straight road with no other traffic, the risk increases that the driver will relax and become distracted. Advertising feature

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NEWS

Calf bidding ends at Owaka sale yards The gavel swung down for the last time as bids ended for the final annual calf sale at the Owaka saleyards, in South Otago. As the first calf auction in the South Island, the sale had set the market for other sales to follow and was the most southern of all calf sales in New Zealand. The legacy of the Owaka Calf Sale will continue as it will be held from next year as a special sale day at the Balclutha Saleyards. Balcultha saleyards has a larger gallery for buyers and scales to provide accurate weights. However, the gates have closed at Owaka saleyards, which opened about 50 years ago just south of Balcultha, because it was deemed uneconomic to hold only one sale a year at the site. PGG Wrightson Otago regional livestock manager John Duffy said a great line up of calves sold well at the March 21 sale. “We expected 700 but there was over 880 on offer. “The average price was $828

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

overall with good calves sold at a fair market price – leaving both vendors and buyers happy.” Duffy said the high quality calves were mostly exotics, with some angus and angus

cross calves offered. “The high quality of calves on offer is a reflection of the investment local farmers have in their bulls. “They consistently buy in very good bulls, which are at the higher end of the price range at bull sales in June. “This investment in breeding shows through in the calves they are producing.” The top price went to the estate of RB Murray for a line of charolais cross steer calves for $1180. A line of heifers from the same property made $1160.

Farmers Warren and Steph Burgess and son Cameron made $1040 for their top pen of simmental steer calves and $910 for purebred heifer calves. Their purebred murray grey bull calves made $1150. Duffy said angus and angus cross calves were also in

demand and veteran vendor Alan Wilson made $960 for his angus steer calves, with his top cut of angus cross steer calves making $970. Buyers arrived from Southland, Otago, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury for the auction.

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The Owaka calf sale was held in South Otago on March 21.

Owaka calf sale vendor Alan Wilson (left) catches up with Southland farmer Maurice Yorke and a fellow farmer.

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Farming

I got to thinking the other day about the Nelson fires where fire officers, police and everyone else all worked together day and night to fight a very large fire. To finally get that fire under control took the combined effort of all the services. I started wondering how they even managed to achieve this with what was a very difficult situation. Fighting a fire is not about putting your strongest team at the base of the fire especially when you have a strong wind at your back it’s about getting out in front of it. Here you must clean, cut and work the true face of the fire, cleaning the ground of

Chris Murdoch

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OPINION

PROPERTY BROKERS

things that the fire feeds on and making fire breaks, even back burning where required. This was truly a great effort in very trying conditions and one that you must take your hat off to. I couldn’t think of a better analogy than firefighting and fighting mycoplasma bovis. Even though it seems to be off the media’s radar at

present the bovis fire is still raging at its many fronts and MPI still seem to be trying to stamp out the embers rather than get in front of it and clear a fire break. I know of two farms that both got notice that their farms may have been infected in late December. As I understand, both farms have had suspect milk tests since the start of the milking season and no one had told the owners that this was the case. In both cases the farmers had transferred several cows from one farm to another as both were A2 farms and A1 cows needed to be shifted off the farm to keep them in A2 status. Now, of course, the herds

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that the cows were moved to are under surveillance and are being blood tested. To further complicate things calves have been sold off all the infected farms and one farm has brought in new rising two-year-old heifers and mixed them with the existing R2 heifers. The worst part is that the farms that had cows moved to, took the best part of between two to three months to be notified that there was an issue and by then they had also moved stock. For the life of me I cannot understand as soon as an issue or possible issue arises why the very first action should be to look at NAIT records and immediately follow those leads to stop the

next farm moving stock. Just like cutting a fire break, we need to get in front of it and stop the spread. If they really do want to stop bovis spreading surely you treat the problem like a wildfire and get everyone working together to stop the spread. Chris Murdoch is a director and rural sales consultant at Property Brokers. The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

When you list your farm with our South Island team, there are Property Brokers’ members across the country working alongside them to get you the best result. That’s because every one of them has signed a binding agreement to work together to sell your property. It’s a New Zealand first for the rural real estate industry that means we put your best interests first. Which is exactly where they should be.

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BULL SALES

Breeders build up for bull sale season Whether the fast approaching bull selling season reaches the heights of a South Island bull making $60,000 again remains to be seen. Last year Grassmere Gallant 244 led the hereford catalogue at the combined Grassmere and Capethorne Hereford bull sale near Cheviot after the final bid was taken by stud owners from Beechwood and Richon Herefords. The bull just slipped under the $62,000 paid last season for an angus bull at Springdale Angus in central North Island sold to Tangihau Angus Stud in Gisborne. The beef market remains healthy, if off the record levels of previous years, and demand at this level will be dictated by the quality of elite performers emerging from the catalogues. Prices at this level are paid out by stud breeders and commercial farmers, both in beef and dairy farming, will have

their bidding pointed at animals which are below this threshold but which are best suited for their business. PGG Wrightson livestock national genetics manager Callum Stewart said the bull selling season will kick off in mid-May for the season and the genetics team was trying to get to as many properties now to evaluate bulls and programmes before the sales began. The bull selection that farmers made could extend into their breeding programme for the next 10-15 years and they were already doing their buying homework, he said. “We would be hoping the decisions are made prior to the sale because it’s an important part of their strategy for their breeding plans.’’ He said farmers were working with experts such as PGW’s genetics team and stud breeders to

select the best bulls which suit their farm environment and breeding programme. Often farmers in the hill country were looking for a “moderate-type’’ bull to generate better efficiency in their herd and fertility without losing animal constitution as well as working towards trending markets. Some farmers were paid a premium for producing top quality beef and had to maintain high performing genetics. Both stud and commercial farmers were always looking to improve their herds, he said.

Stewart said it was always difficult to find a balance across estimated breeding values (EBVs), but farmers were generally looking at traits including for growth, fertility, mature cow weights for retaining females and easy calving. He said the heights of the beef market had carried through to last year and remained strong even after coming back for “more of a balance’’. This had resulted in a trend of weaner beef calves coming back in price, but some of that could be because farms were

dry as well as beef pricing, he said. “They are still very good returns.’’ Farmers seeing the benefits of the direction of their breeding were still prepared to pay good prices for a quality bull, but lesser quality bulls might struggle, he said. He said the $60,000 paid for Gallant 244 was at the elite end of the industry. Bull buyers relied on figures to evaluate bulls, but also liked to eye them up and this part of the process was enjoyed because it also got them off the farms, he said. Stewart said dairy farmers were mindful of mycoplasma bovis and wanted beef bulls from reputable breeders who had done their homework so they could have peace of mind about their biosecurity. Dairy farmers were looking for good yearlings to diversify returns and this was the growth part of the business for the industry.

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BULL SALES

Beefing up bull security pays off Farmers are being reminded to follow best-practice biosecurity management to protect their dairy and beef herds from mycoplasma bovis. Beef + Lamb New Zealand general manager South Island John Ladley said farmers should ensure any bulls they use were from a known source and had up-to-date animal health and NAIT records. Bulls should have been quarantined after purchase and any animal health issues dealt with before they are mixed with home stock. While beef bulls are generally considered a low-risk stock class, bulls previously used over dairy herds are at a greater risk of carrying M.bovis. Ladley said farmers leasing bulls to dairy farmers as yearlings – and then selling them as two-year-olds – should be reconsidering that policy. “Yearling bulls should ideally only go to one dairy farm and either be retained as a bull or sold for processing.” The calf and weaner market

FIND OUT MORE 1. For a complete guide to managing M. bovis for cattle farmers visit: https:// beeflambnz.com/ sites/default/files/ factsheets/pdfs/ BLNZ_Mbovis_ Guidance.pdf

has changed in light of the M. bovis outbreak, but there is opportunity for dairy farmers to use top quality beef genetics to add value to their calf crop. Calves born of herds with a paper-trail validating their health status, fed safe milk and reared under best practice biosecurity protocols are

highly sought after. The B+LNZ Genetics Dairy-Beef Progeny Test showed that angus and hereford estimated breeding values (EBVs) will deliver similar results to a friesian bull. By focusing on EBVs for gestation length (aim for angus EBV 0.5 days, hereford EBV-2.6 days) and EBV birth

weight (angus EBV +3.5kg and hereford EBV +1.2kg), farmers will get top-quality calves without compromising calving ease or days in milk. By including the 200-day weight in the genetic selection criteria, dairy farmers can add even more value to their calves.

2. More information for buying service bulls and cattle: Mating management – service bulls and semen Pre-Purchase Checklist (mycoplasma bovis) 3. For resources about how to protect your farm and business from M. bovis go to: https:// beeflambnz.com/ mycoplasma-bovis

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BULL SALES

Love for herefords a family affair Herefords truly are a family favourite for the Patersons, a fourth generation farming family firmly planted on their Southland based Waikaka Station since 1907. These days the farm is run by Laurie and Sharon Paterson, along with their son Ross and his wife Steph, while it’s the youngest generation, Ollie, Emmie and little Leo who think they run the show. The love for this gentle breed has been passed down generation to generation since Leo’s great-great grandfather chose to farm them as a happy result of them being the only breed of wild cattle he mustered to not disappear into the bush. They have remained on the property ever since, and the Patersons’ passion lies in stud breeding maintaining their principles of 110 years on farm while constantly adapting to new and improved practices. Their studs include herefords, romneys, texels and crossbreeds romex and romdales. The core focus of Waikaka’s

Laurie and grandaughter Emmie with some of the sale bulls.

breeding programme is genetic gains based, and their aim is to help their commercial clients by offering them the best possible genetics to strengthen and grow their livestock businesses and ultimately make them more profitable. The end goal is also always in sight, to produce the tastiest beef/lamb possible to

our end consumer. Ross states, “With factors such as the weather and market prices out of our hands, genetics are a part that we can control, hence the increased importance of measuring, DNA testing and following traits. While the Patersons are constantly working to get the best figures they can amongst

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these traits, they emphasise they are careful to ensure that they aren’t so focused on them that they end up compromising their structural integrity. “Our breeding animals are all judged by the eye still as well to make sure they measure up to our high standards for carcass and structure.”

- Since 1953 -

Waikaka Genetics HEREFORDS . TEXELS . ROMBREEDS

STRONG, rugged HEREFORD BULLS. THEY ARE A GAME CHANGER ASK US HOW TO GET THEM ON YOUR TEAM THIS SEASON follow us on facebook for catalogue updates

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This year marks the 45th Annual Bull Sale Waikaka Genetics have held on their property near Gore, and they are excited about the lineup of rising two-year-old bulls that are on offer this year. With more clients starting to come from Canterbury and surrounding areas, Laurie is looking forward to his post sale “holiday”, as he takes great enjoyment from personally visiting the bulls after they have been delivered and getting to take a look around new farms and meeting the families who run them. All sale bulls will be filmed and available for viewing online at www. waikakagenetics.com from early May, and catalogues can be sent to anyone who requests one. The Patersons are a down to earth farming family with their heads in the game and their hearts in herefords. They would love to become a part of your team, and this year’s sale looks like it’s definitely the place to start. Advertising feature

Farming

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BULL SALES

Breeding for functionality and soundness Here at Orari Gorge Station we farm 4,300Ha, 75 percent of which is steep unimproved hill country up to 3500 feet above sea level. As well as nearly 300 stud cows we also run nearly 400 commercial cows. The stud and commercial hereford cows are run together in large mobs through the autumn and winter to create the grazing pressure we need to improve the pasture quality for other stock (ewes and hinds). Even the in calf rising 2-year-old heifers spend the winter on the hill with no supplements. Despite making our cows work hard for a living all our commercial males have to reach 400kg by 14 months of age and heifers have to reach 300kg by 15 months for mating. Following best practice we keep all stud bull calves (over 100) in one mob until muscle scanning at 400 days of age as we also do with all the heifers. We have the highest possible rating for performance recording (five star, gold). Clear breeding objectives,

Cows wearing GPS collars for Lincoln University research.

performance recording animals in large mobs and regular culling of animals that don’t perform under pressure, ensure we achieve steady genetic gain. We regularly embrace new technologies to help our genetic gain.

• AI using the best bulls available. • Embryo transfer of our best cows • Muscle and IMF (marbling) scanning of every bull and every heifer yearling for over 20 years.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

We have now 50 kinetoplast DNA tested our whole cow herd and 10 kinetoplast DNA testing every calf born to enhance the accuracy of our breeding values. We have been part of the Beef + Lamb Maternal cow project for four years, weighing and body condition scoring (BCS) every cow and heifer three times a year and comparing this data with calf production and fertility. We are now part of a Lincoln University trial monitoring cows on the hill country with GPS collars. This project is co-funded by the NZ Hereford Association, by monitoring cows behaviour on the hill we can work out which ones move around the hill and which ones camp at the bottom which is often near the creek. Combining this with the weighing and BCS work already done we will have both production benefits and environmental benefits.

• DNA testing every calf born to ensure correct parentage for nearly 20 years. • Gene testing our entire cow herd in 2013 to ensure the WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ whole herd is free of all Formally known as Nithdale Herefords Advertising feature known genetic defects.

ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS

ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS Established 1947

ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS

WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ Formally known as Nithdale Herefords Established 1947

WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS

55th ANNUAL BULL SALE WEDNESDAY JUNE 5th 2019 at 11.00am ORARI GORGE STATION, GERALDINE Formally known as Nithdale Herefords The main objectives of the herd have always been to focus WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ SALEEstablished BULLS INCLUDE SONS OF 1947 on breeding functional, structurally sound cattle with good

ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS th

Formallyto known as Nithdale conformation meet today’s market. Herefords Running over 100 Established 1947 bulls in one management mob with regular weighing, muscle scanning, Body Condition Scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE herd ensures highly accurate data.

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WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ Formally known as Nithdale Herefords Established 1947

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th ORARI GORGE OLIGARCH 140025 scanning, BodyWEDNESDAY Condition Scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE ORARIBULL GORGE STATION, GERALDINE 55th ANNUAL SALE JUNE 5 2019 at 11.00am herd ensures highly accurate data. ORARI GORGE OHAU 140143 The main objectives of the herd haveORARI always been to focus on breeding functional, structurally sound STATION, GERALDINE The main objectives of the herd have alwaysOur been250 toGORGE focus studRunning cows are run100 with ourinINCLUDE 400 cattle with good conformation to meet today’s market. over bulls onecommercial management mob SALE BULLS SONScows OF

The main objectives of the herd have always been to focus on breeding functional, structurally sound cattle with good conformation to meet today’s market. Running over 100 bulls in one management mob with regular weighing, muscle scanning, Body Condition Scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE herd ensures highly accurate data.

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ORARI GORGE 140143 on breeding functional,muscle structurally sound cattleOHAU with goodScoring and DNA testing WHOLE herd ensures ORARI GORGE NAPIER 130133 regular weighing, on Condition steep, high tussock country over 3000ft from weaning Ourwith 250 stud cows are run with our 400 commercial cows scanning, Body ORARI GORGE NAPIER 130133 conformation todata. meet today’s on steep, high tussock country over 3000ft from weaning market. Running over 100 GORGE PATTON 150051 the highly accurate to calving. Snow been is a ORARI frequent problem, challenging have always to focus to calving.The Snow ismain a frequent objectives problem, challenging theof the herd KOANUI BRITON 4260 KOANUI BRITON 4260 bulls in one management mob with regular weighing, muscle Hereford and soundness. adopters of our 400 commercial cows on steep, high tussock country over 3000ft from Our longevity 250 stud cows Asareearlyrun with Hereford longevity and soundness. As early adopters of MONYMUSK GALLANTsound 10089 Breedplanon EBV analysis, we have over 25functional, years of records to ORARI GORGE OLIGARCH 140025 As breeding with good scanning, Condition Scoring andstructurally DNA testing our WHOLE cattle weaning toBody calving. Snow is a frequent problem, challenging the Hereford longevity and soundness. show steady progress to benefit all our clients from lowland MONYMUSK GALLANT 10089 Breedplan KAIRURU IRONSIDE 11047 EBV analysis, we have over 25 years of records to to early High Country. herd ensures highly accurate data.analysis, adopters of Breedplan EBV have over 25 years of records to show steady progress to conformation to meet today’sweshow market. Running over 100 ORARI ORARI all GORGE OHAU from 140143 steady progress to benefit our clients lowland GORGE PATTON 150051 benefit allstud our clients from lowland to400 High Country. cows KAIRURU IRONSIDE 11047 Ourbulls 250 cows are run with our commercial in one management mob with regular weighing, muscle to High Country. ORARI GORGE NAPIER 130133 on steep, high tussock country over 3000ft from weaning ORARI GORGE OLIGARCH 140025 scanning, Body Condition Scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE to calving. Snow is a frequent problem, challenging the SOME OF THE BESTBRITON MARBLING KOANUI 4260IN THE COUNTRY VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME herd ensures highly accurate data.adopters of Hereford longevity and soundness. As early BALANCED TRAITS = MAXIMUM PROFITABILITY ORARI GORGE OHAU 140143 • FERTILITY • STRUCTURE • BREEDPLAN RECORDED • CARCASE SCANNED • TB STATUS C10 WWW.ORARIGORGE.CO.NZ MONYMUSK GALLANT 10089 Breedplan EBV analysis, we have over 25 years of records to • SERVICE & SEMEN TESTED • BVD TESTED & VACCINATED • ALL BULLS HYPOTRICHOSIS FREE Oursteady 250progress stud cows areall run with from ourlowland 400 commercial cows show to benefit our clients KAIRURU IRONSIDE 11047 GORGE NAPIER 130133 Peacock | Tel 03 692 GORGE 2853 | Email rosa@orarigorge.co.nz to and HighRosa Country. ORARI STATION, TRIPP SETTLEMENT ROAD, GERALDINE, on steep, tussock over 3000ft from weaning Graham and RosaORARI Graham Peacockhigh | Tel 03 692 2853 | Emailcountry rosa@orarigorge.co.nz

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BULL SALES

Improving beef profitability As I was checking some cattle today I couldn’t help but notice the horizon. Looking out there, it’s easy to understand and appreciate why people, hundreds of years ago, used to believe the world was flat. Thanks to science and understanding we all know that’s not the case. How much more science and understanding do we need to convince people that Estimated Breeding values (EBV’s) really do work? Progeny tests worldwide keep confirming it yet there are still those who won’t accept that running cattle and monitoring their performance in large contemporary groups is the best way for a seed stock operation to make true and predictable genetic gain. Every farm environment and system is different, Te Mania for example, goes from beautiful flats where the bulls live leading up to sale time in June, to the country further back where the cows venture that has some of the thickest, steepest most god forsaken black berry and gorse infested

gullies you’ll find anywhere. The challenge for beef breeders is to ensure we are able to get a balance of phenotype and EBVs into our cow herds. These females need to produce and raise a live calf in some of the harsher environments in NZ, but also the resulting offspring must have the genetic ability to grow fast and hit the premium

markets that our finishers are targeting. With bull selling season fast approaching, a lot of commercial farmers will be reviewing how the bulls they have brought over previous years have stacked up. Pregnancy testing will be under way, the calf sales are starting and if available those precious kill sheets will have been gone over in depth.

A conversation with your stud breeder about where you want to be heading and how they can help you get there is essential. It is also a time to decide whether the stud programme you’ve committed to is working for you or could you do better? As a seed stock producer we are constantly trying to improve the genetics in the bulls we are providing to

many parts of New Zealand. My grandfather, Frank Wilding always said that fertility and getting a live calf is the first priority in any breeding programme. His approach back then is not too dissimilar to what still happens today at Te Mania. We continue to mate all heifers as yearlings, cull all dries and select bulls on efficient weight gain that are run in large groups and without being over fed. However the big difference that we do have today, to enhance what Pop started in the late 1950’s, is that we are also lucky to have access to scientific tools and EBVs to allow us a better understanding how we can keep improving the less obvious but also equally important economic traits that contribute to helping improve profitability right down the beef supply chain. Will Wilding Stud Master Te Mania Angus Advertising feature

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Farming

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BULL SALES

Uniform at Temora Downs “This year Kaiwara Angus’ line is looking like their best yet, with plenty to choose from at their sale in June,” said breeder George Johns. Returning Kaiwara Angus clients, Johnny and Jane Harrison, say Estimated Breeding Value’s are the main qualities they look for in purchasing a bull and why they buy from Kaiwara.

“

The bulls produce such an even line of calves you could throw a blanket over them” says Johnny

They manage Jane’s parent’s farm, Temora Downs, and believe combining EBV’s with a good sound functioning animal is their sweet spot. In addition to purchasing bulls, Johnny and Jane purchased Kaiwara’s first lot of cows to be sold at their bull sale last year and are thrilled with how well they have shifted. “When we calf marked this year -

the bulls had produced such an even line that you could throw a blanket over them,” Johnny said. “I study all the catalogues weeks before the bull sales, comparing the EBVs. What stuck out to me was Kaiwara’s 200 and 400 day weights. We want to finish our progeny before the second winter and the boys from Kaiwara do that for us.” “While we mainly look at EBV’s, I still like them to look good and sound. Kaiwara definitely meets those needs.” “When you get them home they look better and better and are keen to get into the job. They don’t seem to miss any cows on heat.” “The bulls come from harder country, which makes them harddoing and so they do really well when they come down to here.” “I’m really pleased with the calves. Looking at the EBV theory they’re growing really well. By using Kaiwara’s bulls they all get up to that 545kg mark before their second winter, which is pleasing.” “I go back to Kaiwara each year because I like how they look after their clients. If a bull breaks down, even if it’s not theirs, they help you get back up and running quickly.”

Temora Downs wintering stats 1000 acre foothills 1000 ewes 300 hoggets

100 dairy beef 180 finishing cattle 950 dairy cows

80 angus MA cows Finish 80 per cent R2 cattle 80 velvet stags

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Bull Walk 23rd May - Bull Sale 13th June Hill Country Proven - Where Performance Meets Maternal

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NEWS

No sacred cows for Fonterra overhaul Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

Fonterra has made a start on honouring its pledge to farmers to return the cooperative to profitability after posting an after-tax profit of $80 million in the six months to January following its first ever loss last year. As part of an investment overhaul the co-operative has put its 50 per cent share of DFE Pharma with FrieslandCampina up for sale and completed the sale of its Venezuelan joint venture Corporacion Inlaca to international food business Mirona. Fonterra has been under the pump to turnaround its first loss in 17 years of $196m last year. At the previous interim result, the co-op reported a net loss of $348m. Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell said the cooperative was pleased to be back in black territory, but its earnings performance was not where it should be and this was the reason for revising forecasted full year earnings down to 15-25 cents per share in February. Fonterra leaders were continuing the work to develop a new strategy to support a much-needed change in direction, he said. “We are doing the right things but it’s clear more is needed to lift our performance. We need to simplify and improve the co-op so we can grow value.” The sale of its half share of DFE Pharma will spell the end of a joint

Fonterra is back in black and has more assets up for sale to get the business back in line.

venture established in 2006 between Fonterra and FrieslandCampina. DFE Pharma is one of the largest suppliers of pharmaceutical fillers which are used in medicines such as tablets and powder inhalers. Lactose from its Kapuni operation in Taranaki will continue to be supplied to the DFE Pharma business. Hurrell said DFE Pharma was continuing to perform well, but its ownership was “not core to our strategy”. The co-op had received strong interest in Tip Top and was considering its options for its shareholding in Chinese company Beingmate, he said. “We are well on track to meet our target to reduce end of year debt by $800m,” said

Hurrell. He said the decision to sell Inlaca was the result of ongoing instability in Venezuela which had led to challenging operating conditions. Fonterra received $16m for the Inlaca sale which was not included in the half-year result. More one-off transactions over the course of the financial year are expected to impact positively and negatively to the business and announced forecast earnings will continue to reflect only the underlying performance of the business. Revenue across the half year was down 1 per cent at $9.7 billion and its EBIT result was also back 29 per cent on the same period last year to $323m.

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However, net profit was up 123 per cent on previously. Hurrell said the steady performance from the New Zealand ingredients business in the first half of the financial year had been offset by challenges in Australia ingredients for total EBIT to decline by 17 per cent to $461m. The Australia ingredients business continues to feel the bite of drought and aggressive price competition for milk, resulting in underused processing plants and tighter margins. Hurrell said the consumer and foodservice business was tracking behind last year with an EBIT of $134m. “This part of the business has been held back by

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

disruptive political and economic conditions as well as high input costs in Latin America. In addition, in our China foodservice business, demand slowed due to higher prices and in-market inventory levels growing for butter at the end of FY18.” Fonterra chairman John Monaghan said the co-op was serious about its business strategy review. “There will be fundamental change. We are taking a hard look at our end-toend business, where we can win in the world and the products where we have a real competitive advantage. Other than collecting, processing and selling milk, there were no sacred cows, he said.

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Farming

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OPINION

Rodent risk rises with mega mast New Zealand’s vegetation is unique and one of the things that’s distinctive about many of our plants is their ability to produce more abundant flowers and seeds in some years. In summers that are significantly warmer than the one before, there will be higher than usual seed production. These are called mast years. This is the case this year. Many people noticed cabbage trees and flax with unusually good flowering. In the forests, the hillsides were pink with beech flowers. There was mast seeding in 2016 and 2018, but this year’s mast is occurring not just in the beech forests but in the podocarp forests and tussock grasslands as well. It’s being being referred to as a “mega mast”. This year’s mast is also very widespread – huge flowering was observed from Fiordland, the Landsborough, Arthur’s Pass, Kahurangi National Park and throughout the North Island. Mast events have occurred sporadically for ever but

Mary Ralston

FOREST AND BIRD

what’s different about them now is that they are occurring more often as average summer temperatures rise. In the past, mast events with lots of seed would have been bumper years for native animals: a time of plenty resulting in betterthan-average breeding success. But things are different now. Prolific quantities of seed benefit the mammalian predators of our wildlife – the possums, rats, mice and stoats. They all have the ability to breed quickly and in just a few months there will be many generations of these pests making the most of the seed falling to the forest floor. The trouble starts when the seed supply begins to run out – then the predators turn their attention to the native birds,

lizards and insects. There have been signs of the impending “mega mast” for several months and planning a response to the increased numbers of pests is well under way. The Department of Conservation is extending and intensifying its trapping operations and drops of aerial 1080 poison to protect threatened native species. The area covered by the drops is expected to be about one million hectares, which sounds a lot, but this doesn’t include large areas of highpriority conservation land that will not get any predator control at all. DOC’s high priority areas alone cover 1.5 m million hectares and some areas with nationally and regionally important species such as whio (blue duck) and mohua (yellowhead) aren’t included. Department of Conservation scientist Graeme Elliott said based on current predictions and historical climate records, this year was looking like the most extreme mast for 20 years. He said if

Rats are one of the major predators of our native wildlife . PHOTO BY LUC HOOGENSTEIN

nothing was done, the impact on species such as the mohua (yellowhead) could be dire. “The places that we’re most worried about are particularly around Arthur’s Pass, where there are small populations of mohua and rock wrens hanging on, and there are the remnants of the orangefronted parakeet population.” In Mid Canterbury, there are no plans for any response to the mega mast because we only have relatively small patches of native forest, and there is no good science yet on the effects of a mast year in

tussock grasslands. Further away, the mast could be good news for the kakapo and other threatened species in predator-free sanctuaries. The time of plenty means abundant food supplies, and without the competition from predators, breeding is expected to be very successful. The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

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BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

Building standards tighten up Never before has there been as much pressure on dairy employees to have their staff accommodation meeting housing improvement codes as today. Little gets past the regulators, but there are other good reasons to have accommodation up to modern standards. Providing good accommodation for staff makes good sense for dairy farmers who also act as landlords. A warm, dry and safe house with quality fittings, functioning appliances and aesthetic appeal can make a house a home and an employee happy. As landlords farmers have obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act and the Housing Improvement Regulations Act, which can be found at TenancyServices. govt.nz. The purpose of the housing improvement regulations is to ensure properties are warm, dry, safe, and sanitary. Staff housing must meet minimum requirements and

regulations include provisions for light, ventilation, drainage and dampness, overcrowding, sewerage and sanitation, heating and room size, function and safety. The last point is often an issue for single-man accommodations which will not always meet the requirements. If the facilities are not available in the accommodation they must be available around the clock within the main homestead for the worker. From July 1, it’s compulsory for all tenanted homes including sleep-outs - to have underfloor and ceiling insulation which meets the required standard where it can practically be installed. If you are unsure of the existing levels of insulation in your property, contact a professional. Insulation must meet ‘R-value’ ratings - the higher the R-value, the better the insulation. If the accommodation owner is genuinely unable to safely access areas of a house they may qualify for

Professionals are needed for home improvements.

an exemption. An example of this is a house built on concrete foundations where underfloor heating would be unable to be installed. Ceiling and underfloor insulation must be installed, where it is reasonably practicable, by July 1 and must meet the standards set out in the regulations and be installed safely. Wall insulation is not compulsory. If the property already has ceiling insulation which is at least 70 millimetres thick and underfloor insulation, and both are in good condition, then landlords have not been required to take action.

Under the Healthy Homes Standards, all rental properties will need to have insulation which meets the 2008 Building Code, or is at least 120mm thick. A qualified professional insulation installer can advise you on the best way to meet the regulations. As a rough guide EECA advises that the average cost of paying a professional installer to put in both ceiling and floor insulation is about $3400 excluding GST for a 96m2 property. A larger home is likely to cost more. All tenanted houses, including caravans and sleep-

outs, are legally required to have working smoke alarms. They must be either photoelectric (long life) or hardwired and installed according to manufacturers’ instructions. Landlords are required to supply and maintain smoke alarms, which must be situated within three metres of each bedroom and on all levels of multi-level houses. DairyNZ says the dairy industry needs to maintain its reputation as good employers by valuing accommodation fairly. The IRD require a fair market rental is charged for accommodation provided to dairy farm employees. This means it needs to be similar to the rent charged for similar properties in similar areas. Farm owners are responsible for any capital structural requirements such as meeting insulation standards but sharemilkers or contract milkers are responsible for managing the tenancy on a day-to-day basis, such as checking smoke alarms are working and conducting property inspections. Source: DairyNZ

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BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

Synlait switches away from coal Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

Synlait has stood by its pledge to step back from coal and put in a new boiler powered by electrodes submerged in water at its Dunsandel site. The electrode boiler is the first of its kind to be installed in New Zealand and has been operating for the past two months. Chief executive Leon Clement said the milk company had made a commitment last June not to install another coal fired boiler at any of its sites, also announcing a goal to reduce off-farm greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2028. “This is an exciting moment for Synlait,’’ he said. “It’s a significant milestone in terms of reducing our energy footprint as part of our sustainability commitments.’’ The electrode boiler is seven metres tall with a diameter of 2.7m and provides renewable process heat to Synlait’s dairy liquids facility. Electricity flows through the electrodes submerged in water to make contact with the water, vaporising it into steam to create renewable process heat.

Synlait has detoured from coal by putting in an alternatively fuelled boiler at its Dunsandel site.

Steam from the electrode boiler will be used to pasteurise and sterilise milk, clean production lines, and help form

product packaging, among other uses. Initially the boiler’s capacity will be 6 megawatts and there

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BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

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supported the project financially through its technology demonstration programme.

Traditional dairy processors have relied on coal as a costeffective method to create large volumes of process heat to dry liquid milk into powder. “We reviewed several options to fuel process heat, including diesel, gas, biomass,” said sustainability and brand director Hamish Reid. “The electrode boiler stood out as the best option, even though the operating costs are around double over a 10-year period.” The electrode boiler is 99 per cent efficient, which is up to 30 per cent more efficient than coal burners. Reid said the carbon equivalent saving of the electrode boiler was 13,714 tonnes a year compared with a coal alternative. “We estimate that over a 10-year period, the electrode boiler’s emissions savings (at its current capacity of 6MW) are roughly the same as emissions from 9600 households. On an annual basis, that’s approximately the same as removing 5300 cars from the road.’’ Last month Synlait announced an after-tax profit

Synlait’s liquid dairy packaging facility in Dunsandel will cost $125 million.

of $37.3 million for the half year, down 9.6 per cent as a result of lower margins made on dairy product supplied to A2 Milk and its Chinese customers. The six month result to the end of January 31 compares

with $41.3m made during the same period last year. Synlait still expects to lift its full year earnings. The company described the result as “solid’’ after sales volumes were increased

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PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

across its powders, cream and lactoferrin businesses. Infant formula sales were slightly ahead of the first six months in 2018, but were delivered at lower margins.

Farming

From page 33 The Dunsandel manufacturing plant processed 12.4 per cent more milk into 90,466 tonnes of product, up 10.5 per cent on previously.

Energy Plant Solutions’ 3D model of Synlait’s electrode boiler.

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BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION The company invested $200m during the first half of the financial year on major growth projects. A new $280m manufacturing facility in Pokeno is on track for commissioning for the 2019 / 2020 milk season and will provide it with a second site to its Dunsandel base. A liquid dairy packaging facility in Dunsandel announced last year with a Foodstuffs South Island (FSSI) supply agreement will cost $125m. Synlait also entered an agreement last year to buy selected Talbot Forest Cheese assets for an expected $35m-$40m with settlement expected to be reached in August. An $18m expansion of its Dunsandel lactoferrin facility has just been completed and will double the manufacturing capacity.

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Building quality

A snap shot of our current project – Heybrook house.

Heybrook Building has been establishing itself in the Mid Canterbury market, based out ofMt Somers, for the past five years and has many happy and returning customers. The business is owned and run by Thamis Heybrook, and with his apprentice alongside him they strive to deliver an efficient and quality service. “Being on the tools,” Thamis said, “helps me keep a control on the quality and level of work that I expect to deliver. It also lets me have a good one on one relationship with the client, helping sort out problems before, and as they arise.” With a focus on thinking outside of the square, Heybrook Building is excited to help with challenging projects that some builders may steer clear of.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

Past projects include the Red Cottage in Staveley - a beautiful colonial style cottage used for weekend getaways and hunting safari accommodation, as well as new residential, bathroom and kitchen remodels, and a variety of rural farm buildings. Thamis has been developing an ‘upmarket’ pole shed with new claddings and finishings that can be viewed at his new residence in Mt Somers. Their current project is his new house at the same location, where they are working with 140 year old kauri trusses and timbers. He said the build has been very challenging but also very rewarding. If you want good quality building, come and talk to Thamis for all your project needs. Advertising feature

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OPINION

Biodegradable and degradable Sheryl Stivens

ECO EFFICIENCY

Is switching to compostable packaging a solution for New Zealand’s plastic problem? Recycling has become a part of everyday life for most of us. We wash and place plastic containers in a recycling bin and they are recycled. Does this mean that it’s not our problem anymore? For plastic, that idea has been challenged ever since China decided to stop taking many types of plastic For some of us the latest simple solution is to turn to compostable packaging. Imagine a world in which everything could be easily broken down and turned into something useful again. Unfortunately it’s not that easy with so many different types of materials used in packaging and the promotion

Road Science and EnviroNZ are trialing non-recyclable plastic in road resurfacing. PHOTO SUPPLIED

of plastics that are said to be “biodegradable, degradable or compostable”. The major hurdle for plastic packaging labelled biodegradable or compostable is that commercial composters don’t necessarily want to take it. If we think that it’s simply a matter of having new bins put in place where we can throw compostable packaging, and, as with recycling, it’ll become someone else’s problem, we’re wrong. Commercial composters produce compost for the market including the organic market. Food and garden waste can be turned into high-

quality compost full of useful nutrients and many of us with backyard compost systems make good use of our garden and food waste. But the same can’t necessarily be said of compostable packaging. Different materials compost at different rates using different processes, and facilities aren’t set up for compostable packaging. There is confusion around the difference between degradable and biodegradable plastic packaging. Even those who want to do the right thing find themselves misled by the labelling.

If biodegradable plastic is left to break down in a natural environment it often only breaks down into microplastics. These micro-plastics can create plastic smog in parts of the ocean and accumulate in soils. Something that is biodegradable should be compostable and, under the correct conditions, fully break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass through the living organisms in a composting system. However, the term biodegradable is also being used to describe plastics that are degradable and simply break down into smaller pieces or microplastics. Contamination is a huge concern for commercial composters. Think about an apple, for example. Perhaps it starts to go mouldy before there’s a chance to eat it, so it gets thrown into a compost bin whole. That should be fine, but what if there’s a plastic sticker on it? That’s no good for soil, and it’s no good for compost either. Plastic contamination is a big problem at the

Christchurch City Council’s Organics Plant with staff removing 60 tonnes of plastic from the organic composting plant per year which is landfilled. If disposed to landfills biodegradable plastic is likely to produce methane, a known greenhouse gas. So does that mean that compostable packaging is entirely pointless? Not at all – there is absolutely a place for it, provided it’s done right. Four areas regarding biodegradable plastics need urgent attention including; sorting out the terminology, standards and labelling, end of life infrastructure - including recycling, composting, and landfill facilities, and clarity of environmental goals for what we are trying to achieve. Only then will we know if we have the solution we so need. The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof

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