Guardian Farming March 2011

Guardian

farming

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising Feature

interesting • informative • essential

March 2011

The Wright man at the right time ... page 3 Where are we going wrong? ... page 16

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Page 2

GUARDIAN FARMING

What’s happening

chewing the cud Astounding rural support The 6.3 magnitude earthquake which struck last Tuesday has rallied the rural community, but in a much different way to the September 4 earthquake.

Over the past week we have seen the tragedy of February 22 unfold as emergency services and citizens worked tirelessly to rescue and recover those trapped in the debris.

Although many Cantabrians have become all too familiar with the extensive damage caused by the recent earthquakes and aftershocks, the earthquake has etched a black mark in New Zealand’s history with the tragic loss of life.

The wider rural community has fared comparatively well compared to the September 4 earthquake, which took its toll on farm chattels, spilling silos and dislodging rotary dairy shed platforms.

Nonetheless it is reassuring that rural community groups such as Federated Farmers and Rural Women, just to name a couple, have pledged their support to those whose lives are now in limbo and seek refuge.

Federated Farmers has been liaising with Fulton Hogan and Civil Defence to lend assistance through sourcing heavy machinery,

which will be needed to clear the silt and rubble when essential services such as power have been reconnected.

Rural Women have also Lance Isbister been pro-active with Ashburton Guardian members offering rural reporter accommodation throughout the country for those families affected by the earthquake.

Rural Women did a great job of immediately identifying the needs of Christchurch-based homecare companies (which supports the elderly and disabled) to source portable toilets so their needs are catered for.

Local Rural Women efforts in supplying baking and bedding for those who have taken refuge in Mid Canterbury has shown how every little bit helps in providing the basics that we all too often take for granted.

The members of these organsations have done an incredible job of rallying to the cause and offering their services to those in need.

It just goes to show how the perception of the rural and urban divide can dissolve when there is a crisis.

Guardian

farming interesting • informative • essential

Any feedback is welcome, any comments about our magazine, letters or story suggestions.

Please direct any correspondence to: Amanda Niblett, on 307-7927 email: amanda.n@theguardian.co.nz or to: Lance Isbister, on 307-7953 email: lance.i@theguardian.co.nz or write to PO Box 77, Ashburton.

Advertising: Phone 307-7900 Email: emma.j@theguardian.co.nz Publication date: March 1, 2011 Next issue: April 5, 2011 An advertising feature for the Ashburton Guardian. Any opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Guardian Farming or the Ashburton Guardian.

Event

calendar

March 11

Tue 1 Wed 2 Thur 3 Fri 4 Sat 5 Sun 6 Mon 7 Tue 8 Wed 9 Thur 10 Fri 11 Sat 12 Sun 13 Mon 14 Tue 15 Wed 16 Thur 17 Fri 18 Sat 19 Sun 20 Mon 21 Tue 22 Wed 23 Thur 24 Fri 25 Sat 26 Sun 27 Mon 28 Tues 29 Wed 30 Thur 31 Fri 1 Sat 2 Sun 3 Mon 4 Tue 5

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Page 3

The Wright man at the right time

Lance Isbister, Ashburton Guardian rural reporter

You’d have a hard time encouraging Mark Wright to blow his own trumpet, but the modest mixed farmer has done plenty to reinvigorate Young Farmers.

Mr Wright will be standing down as the Young Farmers Aorangi regional chairperson after two years as he looks to focus more on the farm and family with bride-to-be Marthie Meyer.

Mr Wright galvanised Pendarves Young Farmers Club four years ago when a large number of former members retired from the club at 30 years of age, leaving only four members left contemplating the future of the club.

As Pendarves Young Farmers chairperson Mr Wright became proactive in recruiting more members, by giving farming mates a nudge to come along to the monthly meetings held at the Chertsey pub.

“I knew I had a few mates who were keen to come along, their mates brought their mates along and it really grew from there.”

Word of mouth saw Pendarves’ plight passed along quickly and club membership steadily grew as young farmers and members of the public sought a social forum with a rural bent.

Mr Wright said the key to keep people coming back was to provide them with fun interactive activities which ensured new members were involved right from the start.

“They need to be involved in an activity that incorporates everyone otherwise they don’t come back.”

Some of the activities range from practical skill courses such as first aid, fencing through to boot challenges such as pest destruction, darts and cake baking, the latter proving to be Pendarves’ Achilles heel. The fishing charters and LMS were also very popular according to Mr Wright.

Photo 140211-LI-060

Mark Wright step down from the Young Farmers Aorangi chairperson role in late April to focus more on the farm and family when he will marry fiancé Marthie Meyer (right) later in the year.

Mr Wright and fiancé Marthie Meyer, a fellow Young Farmer, have worked as a team to incorporate more administration in Young Farmers and introduced a calendar to make the organisation run more smoothly.

The fact they both live under the same roof has enabled them to co-ordinate Aorangi Young Farmers initiatives more easily.

“It’s quite handy to bounce ideas of each other,” the couple said.

Through his leadership Pendarves once again thrived and new leaders emerged and took over from Mr Wright who went on to become the Young Farmers Aorangi regional chairperson.

One of the initiatives Mr Wright helped to bring about was the investment of a term deposit from fundraisers, for Aorangi clubs to fund and support those who will go on to compete in the Young Farmer of the Year contest.

“At the time there were not that many people keen to be regional chairperson. Someone approached me at a meeting and before I knew it I was regional chairperson.”

In the meantime Mr Wright is in the midst of updating the Aorangi Farm Find Maps, a handy resource which shows where farmers are situated in the Aorangi region.

He is hoping the map booklet will be ready for sale by the end of this year, which means Young Farmer members throughout Mid Canterbury will be approaching stock agents, contractors, and vets to help them associate farmers with their farm’s location on the maps.

Mr Wright said Young Farmers has changed a lot over the past three years and said it has a positive future with the membership steadily increasing.

He will step down from his Young Farmers Aorangi chairperson position at the end of April, but is still keen to help out with Pendarves club events when he can afford the time.

In the meantime he has his hands full with harvest, but is looking forward to the Pendarves Young Farmers’ Harvest Party, which will be held at the Pendarves Hall on March 26.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

FAR harvest update Oilseed Rape Fungicide Trial – Makikihi, South Canterbury FAR/Biodiesel New Zealand Fungicide Trial: Makikihi, South Canterbury (courtesy of Mr Colin Hurst) Sown: 20 March 2010 Harvested: 24 January 2011 Sowing rate: 3 kg/ha Previous crop: Wheat Previous stubble management: Stubble burnt and incorporated by top working followed by deep ripping Yield Results: (corrected for % moisture)

This fungicide trial was designed to evaluate the benefit of autumn, winter and early spring fungicides for stem canker disease control.

Stem canker (blackleg), also known as phoma in its asexual stage, is first identified in autumn when it attacks the leaves.

In spring it attacks the base of the stem causing

premature senescence and sometimes lodging.

A phoma infection assessment took place 21 days after the green bud spray application and with both untreated treatments showing the highest infection (18.8% of the plants affected).

Proline applied at 4 leaf stage and then again 21 days later (both at a rate of 400 mls/ha) and Proline applied 21 days after 4 leaf and applied again at green bud (400 mls/ha) showed the lowest infection with only 6.9% of the plants affected (nearly half the site mean infection of 12.2%).

Stem canker infection was scored 14 days prior to harvest and was found in every treatment.

Where applications have been consecutive or repeated the stem canker scores were lower.

The application of Proline (400mls/ha) at the three timings showing the lowest score (46.1% stems infected).

The untreated plot had the highest infection with one scoring 80.9% of the plot being affected.

Yields were good within this trial with a mean site yield of 5 t/ha. There was no significant difference between treatments within the trial.

The highest yielding treatment was Proline 800 mls/ha applied 21 days after the 4 leaf stage with a yield of 5.12 t/ha (102% of the site mean). The lowest yielding being the untreated at 4.88 t/ha.

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Page 5

FAR harvest update Dryland Autumn Milling Wheat Cultivar Performance – Methven 2010 As well as a dry, late spring and early summer, the trial received a very strong north-west wind on 21 and 22 of December.

This wind event caused severe lodging in some cultivars (see mean scores on a 0–10 scale, with 0=nil and 10=lodged), and shedding in some cultivars.

Yield results reflect the straw strength and shedding resistance (the ability to resist wind damage) of the cultivars rather than their yield potential in better conditions.

The trial received 257 kg N/ha over the season in five split applications.

Previous cropping history: 09/10 Ryegrass seed, 08/09 Wheat

Sowing Date: May 5 Harvest Date: February 2 Soil Type: Lyndhurst silt loam Location: Methven Dryland yields at the Methven cultivar performance trial were lower when compared with the four year adjusted means for the other Canterbury dryland trial sites.

Methven had a mean yield of 5.5 t/ha compared to the four year averages of Highbank 9.1 t/ha, Chertsey 6.8 t/ha and St Andrews 8.6 t/ha.

The highest yielding cultivars were Phoenix and CRWT151 which performed statistically better than the other cultivars at this site.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Social media = social responsibility Neal Shaw, ATS Chief Executive

Social media is no longer just the domain of the younger generation. Online media such as Facebook and Twitter, where people can share information quickly and easily with their friends and peers, have become an everyday part of life for many households.

But with many people having potentially hundreds of online friends, and the ability to circulate opinions quickly without any checks in place, the damage caused by misinformed or incorrect comments could be huge.

Its immediacy and popularity has also become an increasingly popular marketing tool and many businesses are now using Facebook and the like to reach their customers.

In this instance I was able to quickly and easily track down the person who had made the posting (through their online profile) and I was able to discuss the customer service complaint and resolve the perceived problem very quickly. I pointed out to the person involved that there was an etiquette involved in making a complaint, and I asked how they would feel if I had used Facebook to warn other retailers of their behaviour without notifying them.

But there are many warnings which come with social media usage and it is common to see news items cautioning the risks and potential pitfalls of using these sites.

Recently I experienced such an incident within our business. It was brought to my attention that there had been a posting on a Facebook page criticising the level of service received in an Ashburton Trading Society (ATS) retail shop.

The posting concerned me on a number of levels. The first was obviously the perception there was a customer service issue. Secondly, I was also concerned the posting had been made without giving ATS the opportunity to try and rectify the perceived issue in the first instance.

Before the introduction of such websites, the expectation was that word of mouth would result in a customer telling 10 others of a bad customer service experience.

Following our discussion, the postings related to ATS were promptly removed by the writer.

I wanted to make the point that basic etiquette rules should still apply to social media, and in fact it is highly important it does, because these networks are powerful in their size, speed and accessibility. Even when postings are removed there’s still the ability to retrieve them – they never truly disappear.

It’s for this reason there is growing momentum and awareness for change, and the need for a more considered and careful approach to what is posted. We are already aware the media uses these websites for

background information on news stories, and potential employers also use them to check the character of job applicants. We have even had a situation where a potential employee had posted on their Facebook page that they were coming to work for ATS. They had not resigned from their previous position or signed the contract with ATS - such is the naivety of the younger age segment using electronic social media sites.

As an employer these sites provide the opportunity to assess whether an applicant will understand the level of appropriateness which is relevant to our business. All businesses have required standards, but as yet there doesn’t appear to be any real level of etiquette on many social media sites, and as a result, many users have not developed a good understanding of protocol and ethics.

In the past the only way to really broadcast opinions or exploits was to take out an advertisement in a newspaper or become the news item. These were always peer reviewed and have plenty of checks and measures in place to ensure accuracy and an unbiased approach. There are no such checks and measures in place on social media sites, and it is very difficult for the general public to defend themselves after the fact.

We wouldn’t dream of standing on a chair in a crowded room to tell everyone what

we’ve been up to during the day, so why should we feel so comfortable about sharing all of these details with “friends” – sometimes so far removed from us they should really fall into the category of strangers.

It is a huge risk to post private information in the misguided belief only a select few will read it. The potential is much greater and isn’t necessarily short-lived. Some of these postings will come back to haunt many in years to come.

I’m not saying people shouldn’t be able to express themselves – but there is a proper and safe way to do it.

If someone experiences a problem with customer service, a co-worker or a boss they should confront them and deal with the issue face to face. They shouldn’t use social media sites to vent their feelings on such important issues without trying to solve the problem first. The reality is they are probably going to end up making the problem worse.

Comments made on these sites will be shared and they have the ability to act like chinese whispers, distorting facts while gaining momentum and potentially escalating a situation.

These sites can be powerful and have much to offer but should be treated with respect and caution to best serve all users.

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Irrigation

Page 7

Irrigation New Zealand Inc www.irrigationnz.co.nz

Irrigation with collective opportunity versus individual The Ashburton spray irrigators group was formed in the 1970s to explore the opportunity to gain cheaper power prices.

At that time there were new technologies, namely the drilling of bores and submersible pumps that had opened up opportunities for further exploration of water resources.

The price of fossil fuels, the traditional source of energy for irrigation, was also on the rise.

Through some very direct linkages the group was successful in lobbying the government to secure power prices and recognised the fact that their use was not contributing to the peak load in the winter months. This was of direct benefit to their members, the wider irrigation community had continued to have benefits as increasing numbers of irrigators used electricity as the preferred source of energy.

The ability to achieve this outcome rested in the collective representation that the group held. The force of growing numbers and a compelling argument put forward by credible representatives through direct involvement in the issue meant that their voice was heard and taken seriously.

There have been other times that the Ashburton spray irrigators group has successfully facilitated benefits for the irrigators. The negotiation of contracts through the Ashburton Trading Society

(ATS) with the power generating companies is another example where the collective action of the group directly benefitted the individual irrigator.

The group has lapsed with personnel moving out of the district and no fires to fight at the present time. That is not to say there is no smoke on the horizon.

The neighbouring Rakaia Selwyn zone consent reviews were a huge challenge to the irrigators in that area. This is an ongoing and protracted process that has sapped resources and strained relationships. The Ellesmere Irrigation Society was formed as a direct response to that process and a comment made by an involved member was that if they had been an organised group earlier they would not have had such a big problem to deal with.

The irrigators were caught on the back foot, but as a recognised group they are able to have a voice, be proactive and involved at the local and regional level of policy making and planning.

Along the same lines as the Ashburton group they have negotiated a favourable electricity deal with an electricity provider and have set up their own telemetry network enabling better management of their irrigation practices in relation to the consent conditions they work under.

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underestimated. If irrigators are not focused and spending resources on waging a battle, but instead are able to influence and have an input into processes the battles may be avoided. To be a recognised group that has the ability to be consulted and the ability to contribute allows the individual irrigators an influence that they don’t have alone.

Collective gains can be far greater than individual if acting as a co-ordinated group.

So what are the possibilities in the Ashburton district? With much the same issues around water use efficiency and water quality as the neighbours in the north if we can be proactive and organised the hurdles

will not be insurmountable.

The new zonal committee structure and Environment Canterbury are actively pushing for water user groups to signal the pathway.

If you are not involved you will not have an effective voice. A meeting, hosted by IrrigationNZ and Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers scheduled for March 24 at the Hotel Ashburton at 1.30pm, is the first step to get involved and take control of how your water resource will be managed in the future.

All irrigators are urged to attend.

Get involved take control come to the meeting!

Page 8

GUARDIAN FARMING

Autumn sowing options Forage cereals are used to produce large volumes of quality feed, providing feed for animals during periods when pasture growth does not meet demand.

They can either be grazed or harvested as silage. They are easy to establish and are therefore ideal as a break-crop when renewing old pastures.

Forage cereals have a distinct advantage over other winter crops where the paddock cannot be planted until midautumn, because they have a greater ability to grow in cool conditions.

The large seed allows them to be planted with less preparation, saving time and money, and improving success rates.

Direct-drilling forage cereals into droughtdamaged pastures is an excellent way to generate rapid feed recovery after a drought.

Oats or triticale are commonly planted in autumn to provide grazing in winter and can produce 5-8 tonnes DM/ha at grazing.

Oats can regrow after a careful grazing in early winter (May) in mild-warm climates.

Oats or triticale are the preferred crops to grow between maize crops, producing more green-chop silage (up to 44 per cent) than annual ryegrass and being harvested at an ideal time for re-planting of maize.

Triticale can be planted throughout winter and early spring to produce whole-crop cereal silage (WCCS).

The silage has similar properties to maize silage (high in carbohydrates), but grows in winter and spring and is harvested in early summer.

restricts amounts of grass silage that can be harvested.

Barley Barley is planted in spring for whole-crop silage. It matures quicker than triticale, so becomes the preferred species when crops cannot be planted until mid to latespring, or in dryland climates. Barley is also used as a stepping stone for establishing Lucerne.

Oats Forage oats provide a large amount of feed for a single grazing during winter.

They can be planted in February for earlywinter grazing, through to April – May in mild climates for late-winter grazing.

Oats are also popular for growing between maize crops and harvesting for green silage in September, because they can produce 44 per cent more than annual ryegrass and are up to $600 per hectare more profitable to grow.

Oats are also planted in early spring to produce green-chop silage. This is an Triticale effective way Triticale is a cross between wheat and to ensure adequate silage storage in ryecorn. Most autumn- planted triticale districts where dry spring weather often cultivars can only be grazed once, but DoubleTake is the only triticale that will reliably grow back after grazing, and can be grazed one to two times in winter and then kept for spring silage production.

Triticale is also planted in winter and earlyspring for whole- crop silage production, with no grazing.

Establishment Forage cereals are relatively simple and reliable to establish, but some details are different to establishing pastures.

Forage cereals are one of the key tools for farmers to economically increase the amount of feed produced on their farm.

As with most tools, they need to be used correctly to get the best from them.

Farmers should seek advice from a local seed retailer with good field experience.

Time of sowing is critical for autumn forage cereals, as it has a major impact on total yield, days to first grazing, and quality at grazing.

Oats planted in late February and March will provide high yields for grazing in mid to late winter, whereas May planting is suitable for spring green-chop silage production.

Paddock preparation is less critical than for new pastures, as cereal seed is less sensitive to deep sowing, and they are more competitive with weeds.

Best results however will be achieved from paddocks that have been sprayed

and carefully cultivated, or sprayed and direct-drilled. It is very important to drill nitrogen-based fertiliser (e.g. 150- 250 kg/ ha DAP) with the seed, especially when direct drilling.

Seed should be drilled at 3-4 cm, depending on soil density.

Shallow drilling (<2 cm, e.g. roller drills) or broadcasting is not recommended as it increases the chances of bird theft.

Oats are sown at about 100 kg/ha. Triticale seed is much larger than oat seed, so the sowing rates must be higher (e.g. 140-180 kg/ha).

Post-establishment fertiliser is necessary on most crops to achieve reasonable yields.

The establishment fertiliser should be enough until after the first grazing with early planted triticale crops, when nitrogen (40-70 kg N/ha) should be applied.

Oat crops will need at least one nitrogen application if grazed in winter, and two if grown for silage in spring. Application rates will depend on paddock history, soil type, and previous leaching.

Avoid applying within four weeks of grazing as this increases risks of nitrate toxicity.

Management Early grazing of triticale is very important for subsequent production.

It should be grazed when it reaches 20cm in height (can be 60-90 days after planting).

Graze animals for a short duration (one day) and move them to leave a 10cm (1200-1500 kg DM/ha) residual.

Backfencing is essential.

If you want to restrict animal intake, a runoff paddock may be needed so that the triticale is only grazed for part of the day.

Avoid grazing when the soil is wet and soft enough to cause any pugging, because this will severely reduce recovery.

The second grazing should be done in a similar manner. If the crop is to be kept for whole-crop cereal silage in spring, grazing should be completed by the end of August.

Grazing of oats is usually done by strip grazing, so that intakes can be restricted and utilisation maximised.

Crops should be grazed before they become too mature because feed quality will decline as leaves turn from green to yellow, and the proportion of stem increases.

Over-mature oats can have low protein levels, so are not suitable for grazing with pregnant ewes within three weeks of lambing, or with young male deer.

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TURBO-CHISEL This vertical tillage cultivator will SLICE-MIX and DICE your soil and crop residue without damaging soil profiles.

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Page 9

Page 10

GUARDIAN FARMING

Get your seed sowing right with the right machinery Eco Seeder

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• 25mm coil tines: strong and maintain their shape for more accurate seeding • Duncan ‘T’ Boot: creat an excellent seed bed environment • Tungsten tile on the leading edge to increase the life of the point. (Tungsten chip points also available for stony conditions) • Weigh kit • Rear foot board

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Renovator Classic • 6 inch row spacing • 25mm coil tine and Duncan 'T' boot with tungsten tile on leading edge • Weigh kit with scales • Safety chains • Stainless steel agitator shaft • Peg roller seeder unit

• Electric drive for accurate, even sowing • Variation of sowing rates at the touch of a button • Drawbar ram for easy adjustment • Radar for accurate area count • Weather skirts to cover the seeder units • Sowing width equals transport width • Large platform with adjustable hand rails

Roller Drill • Rubber encased roller axle bearings • 3" roller axles • Jack stand • Safety chains on drawbar • Deflector tabs on each end of the frame • Turnbuckle for drawbar adjustment • Safety support chain for transport

MK4 Renovator • Option of 5 or 6 inch row spacing • Large capacity bins with lids opening to 110° and gas strut on outside of the lid • 4 bar frame giving better trash flow • New design bins giving better seed flow • Large loading platform with safety rails • Accurate peg roller seeder units able to sow turnips through to peas • Electronic hectare meter • Weather skirts to cover seeder units in damp conditions

22 Robinson Street, Ashburton Phone (03) 307-8550

GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 11

22 Robinson Street, Ashburton Phone (03) 307-8550

Page 12

GUARDIAN FARMING

Autumn sowing options

Why is sowing depth so important?

Sowing depth is critical. Oats planted on the surface will give you an amazingly poor strike. Put the same seed line into the ground 50mm (two inches) and the different germination will amaze you. It’s all about seed sowing depth.

Similarly Clover, place it 75mm deep and you’ll be lucky to see it.

As a general rule – sow small seeds shallow, sow big seeds deeper.

that had been driven over by the quad weighed at 24 tonne / Ha, while the rest of the paddock weighed only 13 tonne / Ha. The extra $60.00 / Ha to give it all another roll would have been well worth it, costing only another $0.005c / Kg DM! Try it yourself. The less consolidated the comparative area, the bigger the difference will be.

Does soil temperature influence germination?

Sure does.

According to Pasture and Crop Science

by White and Hodgson - Effect of temperature on the germination rate of pasture species, expressed as the number of days to reach 75% germination of viable seed Soil Temperature (°C) Species 5 5-10 10 15 20

Why is this?

As seed germinates, it requires moisture and nutrients to be able to continue growth. If the soil structure near the new developing root structure is loose, the root structure will be unsuccessful in penetrating the soil, causing seed mortality.

Can we over compact soils? Yes, especially heavier soils. We would normally say that you would want to be able to place your boot into the soil no deeper than the sole of the boot to be suitable for sowing and then give it another roll after sowing.

Is consolidation of seed bed prior to sowing important?

Yes, very important.

One example of a Swede paddock planted into a pumice soil type was rolled once, sown and harrowed.

The farmer then drove through the paddock on his quad a couple of times to view the establishment.

When the crop was measured, the area

Sowing rate - are our rye and clover sowing rates too high?

At times, we tend to think they are too high. We often hear of farmers and contractors sowing small seed permanent pastures at 35 Kg / Ha.

A proven classic, the Renovator Classic

Built to Duncan’s high standard with 6 inch row spacing and a 25mm coil tine and Duncan ‘T’ boot with tungsten.

Dixon Machinery & Diesel Tech 12 Line Road, Methven Phone 302 8946

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Line Road, Lyndhurst, 6 RD, Ashburton Talk to the man who does your dressing Phone/Fax 03 302 1777 A/H John 03 302 1839 Mobile 027 388 6004 A/H George 03 302 8541

Not the biggest, but one of the best!

This will look great at initial grazing, but then get yellower and yellower as interplant competition comes into effect.

Should the following summer be dry, you can virtually guarantee you’ll have a patchy paddock with lots of bare ground and weed invasion.

What sowing rate should we be planting at?

There are a few people out there claiming that we should only be sowing Ryegrass

at 10 Kg / Ha. Farmers sow at this low rate when they are trying to produce seed.

They are growing Ryegrass alone, and use a lot of chemicals to keep the sward pure.

However, this is not the case in a permanent pasture situation.

Each seed variety has a thousand seed weight. This tells us what one thousand seeds of a certain seed variety weighs.

We arrive at sowing rates based on previous experiences as much as anything.

Plants cloned as seeds Plants have for the first time been cloned as seeds. The research by UC Davis plant scientists and their international collaborators, published February 18 in the journal Science, is a major step toward making hybrid crop plants that can retain favorable traits from generation to generation.

UC Davis assistant professor of plant biology Simon Chan said most successful crop varieties are hybrids.

But when hybrids go through sexual reproduction, their traits, such as fruit size or frost resistance, get scrambled and may be lost.

“We’re trying to make a hybrid that breeds true,” Prof Chan said, so that plants grown from the seed would be genetically identical to one parent.

Some plants, especially fruit trees, can be cloned from cuttings, but this approach is impractical for most crops. Other plants, especially weeds such as hawkweed and dandelions, can produce true seeds that are clones of themselves without sexual reproduction — a still poorly understood process called apomixis.

Prof Chan said the new discovery gets to the same result as apomixis, although by a different route.

Normally, eggs and sperm are haploid - they have half the number of chromosomes of the parent. The fertilised egg and the adult plant it grows into are diploid - containing a full complement of chromosomes, half contributed by each parent.

Prof Chan and his colleagues focused their work on the laboratory plant

Arabidopsis, which has certain genetic mutations that allow it to produce diploid eggs without sexual recombination.

These eggs have the same genes and number of chromosomes as their parents. But those eggs cannot be grown into adult plants without fertilisation by sperm, which adds another parent’s set of chromosomes.

Last year, Prof Chan and UC Davis post-doctoral researcher Maruthachalam Ravi showed that they could breed haploid Arabidopsis plants that carried chromosomes from only one parent.

They introduced a genetic change so that after the eggs were fertilised, the chromosomes from one of the parents were eliminated. Such haploid plants would reduce the time needed to breed new varieties.

In the new study, Prof Chan’s lab, with colleagues from India and France, crossed these Arabidopsis plants programmed to eliminate a parent’s genes with either of two mutants that can produce diploid eggs.

In about one-third of the seeds produced, the diploid eggs were successfully fertilised, then the chromosomes from one parent were eliminated, leaving a diploid seed that was a clone of one of its parents.

Ravi described the result as a step on the way toward artificial apomixis. The team hopes to produce crop plants, such as lettuce and tomato that can fertilise themselves and produce clonal seeds.

The right match of seed to soil WE UNDERSTAND THAT NO TWO FARMING OPERATIONS ARE THE SAME.

That’s why we specialise in offering expert advice about the right product for your farm. Talk to us about our extensive range of seeds and find the right match of seed to soil, for ultimate results on your farm.

www.specseed.co.nz

GUARDIAN FARMING

Nutrient management

Lachlan McKenzie, Federated Farmers Dairy Chairperson

Water quality issues have been around for a long time. The old Ministry of Works built many schemes in the 1960s as the government of the day recognised the benefits of storing water.

even discussed with farmers who are the resource manager and the most affected party.

As a nation we have just started to address the issues of eutrophication, or excess nutrients that stimulate aquatic plant growth.

These schemes essentially used border dykes or irrigation built into a slanting paddock. The majority have now been upgraded by farmers to spray irrigation with a corresponding improvement in water use efficiency and a reduction in nutrient losses. This is a very good story.

But people outside of agriculture who don’t understand this, now see big shiny alloy structures spraying water with concern. Before, they would never have noticed water running off the border and down the drain along with the nutrients we are working hard to minimise.

There is still huge potential for dairy growth in many parts of New Zealand.

The issue we all now face is the growing requirement for nutrient management.

I acknowledge that intensive food production can have more nutrient losses than broad acre or extensive farming.

But we also have to acknowledge the world demand for food is increasing.

Government articulates the importance of dairy to our economic and social wellbeing.

Page 13

Yet when it comes the catchment scale there has been an absence of forward thinking because what we are talking about is truly intergenerational.

We have several challenges as representative of our dairy sector.

• How do we show we understand the community’s views?

• How do we articulate our goals and aspirations to our communities?

We have to show we have similar aspirations and goals. We know in the minds of some that irrigation and dairying creates irrational fear and anxiety. We also know some lobby groups play on this fear for their own political and financial benefit.

Part of our role as farmers is to understand these fears and concerns to better explain the true picture. We need to use sound

science, facts and an absence of emotion to show how we are focused on solutions and progress.

It frustrates me that in our modern and highly educated society that some socalled scientists and regulators exhibit a narrow-mindedness. They fail to comprehend the complexity of the issues involved in the land and water interface.

Some are of our industry’s making but most environmental impacts are not.

Yet their only solution is to literally shut down dairying.

All too often and before such solutions are proposed, the real issues have not been clearly articulated, documented or not

As for sound analysis, we face too many assumptions over our industry’s impact pushed by some politicians for personal aggrandisement. I refer specifically to the Green Party. We want to talk science and reason and they prefer the sucker punch.

Getting soundness around this is a role for Federated Farmers. We need to work within and outside of the industry to turn this thinking from assumed links to factual evidence.

I have personally done the numbers in some catchments and converting just 1.5 per cent of the farm area into intensive wetland plants such as water cress and then harvested could halve the nitrogen and phosphate loss to water bodies.

Where is the old kiwi “can-do attitude” in solving these issues?

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Page 14

GUARDIAN FARMING

Pond construction Innovative reservoir solutions

Ashburton Contracting Limited have the local experience matched with the best machinery to make your earthwork project stress free and successful. We pride ourselves on working with our clients, on farm, to complete timely, cost effective projects to the highest possible standards.

We aren’t just here to provide the service today, your farm will go on for many years, and ACL will be there to ensure the integrity of our work.

ACL can provide irrigation and effluent pond infrastructure to form the base of water supply and effluent management on your property.

ACL operate an extensive fleet of late model plant, complimented by an experienced local staff, to ensure the best possible result is delivered each and every time.

Getting the large task underway of creating irrigation and effluent ponds, ACL have the machinery needed on hand to clear trees and vegetation to get the task started. Our fleet of diggers and scrapers are well equipped to tackle the biggest of jobs, to get the earth moved quickly. Our heavy duty compactors will ensure a solid base and water-tight finish.

ACL are passionate about providing a one stop solution,

Yeatman Brothers began involvement in irrigation reservoir construction in 1976, at that time it was considered an eccentric distraction from the then predominant borderdyke irrigation development.

Many borderdyke irrigators at the time considered the feasibility of water storage for improved irrigation efficiency but the large volumes of water required for borderdyke irrigation usually made reservoir construction prohibitive.

However a small number of reservoirs were constructed in the early days.

Learning the processes used in these and large scale civil works, such as the upper Waitaki and a number of district council sewage pond projects. Nick, Hoss and their team acquired the skills and knowledge of how to do it right the first time.

When large travelling irrigation systems came on stream in the 1990s, the reservoir boom took off, and many thought then and still do today an irrigation reservoir was a cut to fill exercise to build a primitive bund.

The porous and varying nature of Canterbury soils soon revealed the deficiencies of simplistic and under engineered ponds.

Yeatman Brothers usually take a bit longer to complete their pond projects but long term experience, proven

101006C7028 101006C7028

... visit our website: www.agcontracting.co.nz

so you are not having to deal with multiple companies to get the task completed.

We can construct all necessary inlets and outlets to irrigation ponds, including the construction of multiple water races and the pump shed. We can work to suit the needs of your complex irrigation system, ensuring water reaches the four corners of your crops.

Erosion control is an important part of ACL’s passion for creating a successful irrigation solution. We use a combination of aggregate and large rocks, positioned in accordance with an engineers recommendation and your own expertise of your farm, to stop prevailing wave damage from eroding the pond.

ACL – we will move the earth for you.

performance and the assurance of having the owners of the business directly involved in the day-to-day building of your reservoir assures Yeatman Brothers Ltd customers the initial cost is the only one.

A recent innovation available from Yeatman Brothers Ltd is their Wave Control Baffle system.

The Wave Control Baffle system is a low cost alternative that allows the use of smaller size, on site aggregate to be used as armour for erosion control. The Wave Control Baffle system has added ascetic and recreational benefits for the user as well.

Give Nick or Hoss a call if you think the new Wave Control Baffle innovation could improve your proposed, new or existing irrigation reservoir.

For Quality Work Can Count On For You Quality Work ... visit our website: www.agcontracting.co.nz

For Quality Quality Work Work For You Can Count On You Can Count On You Can Count On You can rely upon the...

Experience team with over 20 years in the contracting business, plus the...

Expertise of NZQA qualified operators and Rural Contractors Federation members who have been compliance assessed.

• Pond Construction

• Land Clearing

• Pond Construction

• Land Clearing

Complete management and co-ordination of Land Development any projects• for smooth, on-time progress.

• Land Development

Assurance of a• Border RCNC assessment Storage Pond Construction • Land • Dairy Lanes •Lanes Riverwork Dyking • Silage Bunkers Storage Pond Clearing Construction&• Development Land Clearing & Development • Dairy • Riverwork • Bordercompliance Dyking • Silage Bunkers You can rely upon the...

You can rely upon the...

Experienced team with over 20 years in the contracting

Experienced team with over 20 years in the contracting business, plus the... business, plus the...

Expertise of NZQA qualified operators and Rural Contractors Federation members who have been compliance assessed.

Yeatman Brothers Ltd Expertise of NZQA qualified operators and Rural Contractors Complete management and co-ordination of any projects for Talk to Nick or Hoss Yeatman today Federation members whosmooth, have on-time been compliance assessed. progress.

• Pond Construction • Land Clearing • Land Development 03 303 7567 or 0274 745 243 Assurance of a RCNC compliance assessment • Pond Construction • Land Clearing Complete management and co-ordination of any projects for • Land Development Email:to yeatmans@agcontracting .co.nz Talk Nick or Hoss Yeatman today smooth, on-time progress.

‘Adding value to Canterbury’s Agriculture’03 303 7567 or 0274 745 243 Storage Pond Construction • Land Clearing & Development • Dairy Lanes • Riverwork • Border Dyking • Silage Bunkers Assurance a RCNC compliance assessment Storage Pond Construction • Land Clearing & Development • DairyofLanes • Riverwork • Border Dyking • Silage Bunkers Email: yeatmans@agcontracting .co.nz

You can rely upon the...

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101006C7028

Yeatman Brothers Ltd

101006C7028

...website: visit ourwww.agcontracting.co.nz website: www.agcontracting.co.nz visitour ourwebsite: ......visit www.agcontracting.co.nz

Water – your farm’s lifeline

‘Adding value to Canterbury’s Agriculture’ Experienced team with over 20 years in the contracting ‘Adding value to Canterbury’s Agriculture’ Experienced business, plusteam the...with over 20 years in the contracting business, plus the...

Expertise of NZQA qualified operators and Rural Contractors Expertise of NZQA qualified operators and Rural Contractors Federation members who have been compliance assessed.

Federation members who have been compliance assessed.

Complete management and co-ordination of any projects for Talk to Nick or Hoss Yeatman today Complete management and co-ordination of any projects for Talk to Nick or Hoss Yeatman today smooth, on-time progress.

03 303 7567 or 0274 745 243 smooth, on-time progress.

03yeatmans@agcontracting 303 7567 or 0274 745 243 Assurance of a RCNC compliance assessment Email: .co.nz Assurance of a RCNC compliance assessment Email: yeatmans@agcontracting .co.nz

IRRIGATION POND EROSION Yeatman Yeatman Brothers Brothers Ltd Ltd

‘Adding value to Canterbury’s Agriculture’ ‘Adding value to Canterbury’s Agriculture’

ACL - The Earthwork & Contracting Professionals Phone Rodney 308 4039 or 027 226 3091 South Street, Ashburton Website: www.ashcon.co.nz

ASHBURTON CONTRACTING LTD

GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 15

Pond construction Transform a sludge-filled liability into a fertiliser-filled asset Through continuous research, development and testing, Plucks have developed the market leading design in effluent pond stirrers. This design gently and continuously stirs the effluent, making sure that a crust doesn’t form on the top of the pond, and there isn’t a thick layer of sludge settling at the bottom.

It’s all about oxygen. Ample oxygen supply in a waste water pond system is the key to rapid and effective dairy effluent treatment.

Without sufficient oxygen being present, bacteria are not able to quickly biodegrade the incoming organic matter. In the absence of oxygen, degradation must occur under septic conditions which are slow, odorous and yield incomplete conversions of pollutants.

For example, two stage ponds designed to biodegrade waste water pollutants without oxygen must hold the incoming waste water for six months or longer, (without any further waste water coming in) to achieve acceptable levels of pollution removal. This is because the breaking down of organic matter in the absence of oxygen is a very slow process.

Adequate stirring or mixing,

to keep the pond’s content in suspension, is also an important element. With mixing, incoming pollutants and waste water are better distributed throughout the entire pond volume.

This results in more uniform and efficient treatment. In addition, solids that settle are suspended by the mixing action and brought back into contact with the microbial population floating throughout the pond.

Poor mixing has the effect of creating thick solid deposits that fall to the pond floor before proper treatment has occurred. This causes improperly treated solids to fall away from the active, overhead treatment process.

It also creates septic conditions on the pond floor which, in themselves, pull available oxygen out of the upper layers of the pond and reduce the effectiveness of treatment in the upper zone.

When this occurs, the sludge builds up to a point where it effectively eliminates the main advantage of a large pond system because the capacity of the pond is getting smaller every day.

Plucks have worked with an

Auckland company who are specialists in mixing large volumes of liquid, and have learnt how to keep the effluent pond continuously moving, but at a very low horsepower. It would have been easy to create a powerful machine to do the job, but this would create a massive power bill. Making it as cost effective as possible for the farmer was a top priority.

Once the stirrer is first installed, it takes three months or slightly longer to fully blend the pond contents, but once this is achieved, there is a constant, rich effluent potion ready to be applied to paddocks, with no black sludge leaving black lines over the ground.

Whether it is a plant upgrade or a new facility, a pond system will not work well without proper treatment. As sludge disposal regulations become stricter and disposal sites become scarce, proper aeration and/or mixing will completely eliminate the need to mechanically remove solids from the effluent ponds.

Call 0800 PLUCKS for more information or to find a distributor in your area.

Before

New pond only six months old.

After

View after three months operation using two small EPS stirrers from Pluck’s.

Take your Effluent Pond...

This pond took only four weeks to go from crusty and stagnant to aerobic and biologically active from this...

to this...

Don’t accept a standard format irrigation control system Talk to Burtons Electrical Service Ltd about a custom designed control system that meets the unique needs of the individual system.

Book in now for you winter service and control checks to ensure your system runs smoothly throughout the season.

using one of these:

The Stirrers come in a number of different Hp sizes and all of them are very low kW/ Hr, starting at .75kW. All the bearings are above the water line and are fitted with auto greasers that grease for 12 months unattended.

Your pond will stay clean, crust free, sludge free and look outstanding when the Environment officers call round.

For a prompt, reliable service talk to the experienced professionals at Burtons Electrical Service Ltd

For more information call us at Plucks

0800 PLUCKS 0 8 0 0 7 5 8 2 5 7 www.plucks.co.nz - enquiries@plucks.co.nz - Main South Road, Rakaia - 7710 Mid Canterbury

275 Havelock St, Ashburton Ph 308 5795

Page 16

GUARDIAN FARMING

Where are we going wrong?

John Leadley

In recent times, seemingly after nearly every weekend our newspapers are full of the exploits of young persons and teenagers affected by drugs or alcohol, and the consequences of their actions. This is not only a local problem but an alarming issue nationally.

Dr Paul Fairfax, head of the Emergency Department at Wellington Hospital provided the following figures. 40 per cent of all admissions to Wellington Hospital for drunkenness are aged under 20 years – some as young as 13-years-old.

No one can factor can be cited as the major cause of this alarming statistic – and I’m not suggesting for one minute that 95 per cent of teenagers today are any more wayward than those of previous generations.

What I do know from observation and crime statistics is that those that are bad are really bad, and I mean really bad.

Lack of respect for others and for both public and private property is a national concern, and not limited to teenagers.

Vandalism repair alone is responsible for 1 per cent of the Ashburton District’s rate take. Road signs, playground equipment, fences, mailboxes, public toilets, gardens, school property, the list goes on. And again it’s not only teenagers.

Undoubtedly easy access to alcohol at a young age is a major part of the issue.

Promotion of low cost ready to drink products, often with an alcohol level of 8 per cent or above, certainly is part of

the problem. Maybe our teenagers have access to too much money? Just check the footpaths and gardens around the CBD after the weekend!

The mayhem surrounding the recent “party” at Balmoral Hall would surely leave no responsible parent with a sense of pride. This was not a one-off event, merely symptomatic of 2011.

For the resources available, I believe our police, town watch, town ambassadors and security firms do a wonderful job in very difficult and challenging circumstances.

These agencies are significantly hamstrung by political correctness and a weak kneed judicial system, making so-called punishment ineffectual.

Fifty years ago many teenagers were literally scared of the police and certainly if not scared at least respectful of police, their parents and others in authority. Seemingly not so today, in a sizeable minority of cases.

Mobile in-your-face teenagers with a know-it-all attitude to authority constantly challenge police verbally, and with increasing concern, physically.

Arrogant, hooded (even in mid-summer) and devoid of eye contact they tend to hunt in packs, aided by ever present texting.

Quite probably this behaviour is initiated by hours of watching all too readily available crime movies on film, Television and video.

Whatever the cause for this decline in

values of young people it requires an urgent multi-faceted approach if essential human values of pride and respect are to be maintained.

I don’t buy the popular argument that immigration is part of the issue. In the Auckland police district, Chinese make up 10 per cent of the population – they appear in just 2 per cent of the crime statistics.

Statistics for Ashburton District counter the common belief that new settlers commit a disproportionate percentage of crime.

One fact that is clear is the strong correlation between employment and crime. How often the terms sickness beneficiary or unemployed appear in court!

It’s surprising how many little “Jonnies” are either too light for heavy work or too heavy for light work!

What’s really lacking is motivation.

Moreover the overused complaint “There’s nothing to do in Ashburton” has no credence.

Countless sports, cultural, service, recreational, social and church related clubs provide a multitude of opportunities for any motivated person, young or old, catering for all land, water and air pursuits at all levels of fitness.

Some parents want to blame teachers for lack of discipline and poor motivation.

Clearly an opt out.

It’s my view that the real cause of the current degradation of standards comes

from the home environment – put simply, poor parenting.

Twenty percent of New Zealand’s children come from homes where welfare payments are the major source of income. It’s surely more than coincidental that this same group feature strongly in the larger than average family size.

Intergenerational unemployment is a cycle that seems almost unbreakable.

An over generous welfare system does nothing to fracture the cycle.

I certainly don’t pretend to be an authority on successful parenting but I have some views I’m willing to share.

Firstly I believe the greatest gift you can give your children is time, time to share experiences, to teach motivation, to reward good results, to reprimand misdemeanours, to build pride and a sense of responsibility and tolerance.

To build respect you need to share respect showing an ability to listen.

I find the statistics for numbers of children born out of wedlock alarming – but not an automatic precursor to teenage delinquency. It always comes back to parenting.

Like employment, the ability to have children should be seen as a privilege rather than a right.

We should all take the role of parenthood seriously.

The rewards are immense.

GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 17

More than meets the eye Story & Photos: Amanda Niblett The name Robertson is synonymous with excellence in farm equipment throughout Mid Canterbury and beyond. Don and Delma Robertson first established Robertson Farm Equipment and Robertson Manufacturing in 1977, but the recent recession presented some of the toughest times that the company has had to face.

A fresh focus mixed with determination in 2011 has seen the businesses rise, with their sales and servicing departments flourishing to meet the growing needs of local farmers.

The sales team consists of Danny King, Colac Mcenroe and Jo Broadfoot. Danny is developing a wider sales role when he’s not busy in the workshop, allowing him to spend time on-site with farmers, building relationships and offering after sales service and advice. The team have access to a large range of farm machinery and implements, including specialist equipment.

Danny and Colac make up the experienced service and repair team, giving local farmers a prompt, professional on-call repair centre. Colac Mcenroe is the service manager, and brings seven years of experience with Robertsons, with a total of 15 years within engineering. He is a Certified 4711 welder and an experienced fabricator. Danny King has been with Robertsons for six months, and brings four years of experience back from Western Australia, where he managed a cropping farm workshop. His extensive knowledge of repairing a wide range of farm equipment quickly brings Robertson’s an invaluable skill set.

Danny and Colac understand the need to get farm equipment back up and running as fast as possible without sacrificing quality workmanship. With two fully equipped fleet vehicles, they are available 24/7 to assist with emergency repairs, to make sure the cows are fed. With Colac’s dairy experience and Dan’s background from a production based farm, the lads are fully aware that reducing down time of farm equipment is top priority.

Colac and Danny can also design and build custom-made equipment, specifically designed for

farming requirements. Bring ideas to them of what surprisingly affordable. Robertson’s believe these They can supply parts for every piece of you require to make life easier, and they can design mowers are some of the best available in today’s equipment sold to ensure a prompt after sale and build to suit. Examples of some of their one off market based on performance and price. Bad Boy service. creations have been a pig meal feeder, mushroom also has a versatile range of MTV’s in both petrol If it’s broken, Robertson Farm Equipment is here to compost mixer, a custom spray batching system and electric. keep your farm running. and service trailers.

Robertson’s are stockists Robertson’s don’t just repair farm equipment, they of the reliable Reese Agri repair and fabricate a range of farm items, from brand, featuring the UFO farm gates to large machinery, building trailers mowers and Aitcheson brand and log splitters, repairing silage grabs and sheep seed drills. They also stock mothering on pens and everything in-between, Farmguard grader blades, Robertson’s can repair and fabricate to suit a Fairbrother post drivers, range of farm requirements. They also operate an Agrimaster mulchers, Hustler extensive parts department. bale feeders and hydraulic rams, and the Fieldmaster If farm equipment is what you’re after, the range range of mowers, mulchers of items readily available through Robertson’s and toppers. is extensive, starting with their own brand of specialised farm equipment, manufactured right Where possible, the farm across the road. equipment available for sale at Robertson’s can be Fertiliser Spreaders - The Robertson Transpread demonstrated on farm by trailed spreaders are built with stainless bins. This Danny and Colac, otherwise ensures farmers and contractors know they are they will endeavour to Colac Mcenroe (left) and Danny King are the engineers that farmers rely on getting a piece of equipment that will last. arrange one to be viewed. to keep their equipment in top condition.

Feed out Machines - The Robertson Comby Range are very versatile machines, being able to feed all types and sizes of round and square bales including straw, hay and baled silage.

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Page 18

GUARDIAN FARMING

Winchmore update – February

John Carson

Sitting here at my desk early morning (24th) still shocked at what we have seen and heard these past few days to the people of Christchurch, people we know and the ones we don’t.

Where do we start to help?

What can we do to help?

Apart from the obvious, by donating what we can in goods, time or money, I think we as farmers can appreciate the cost that this is going to have to the whole of New Zealand and as major export earners the call will be upon us to put in the extra effort to ensure our produce and production is at the maximum and the best that we can deliver.

We can look at this disaster and feel helpless or we can ask ourselves what we need to do to fine tune our farming operation to maximise market returns and export earnings for New Zealand.

No matter what our work involves and no matter if town or country, by doing what we do best we will be contributing.

Here at Winchmore, February to date has been average, according to the long term metservice data.

Our rainfall is slightly below normal at 41.2 mm and our soil temp is slowly decreasing from the 18 to 20°C range down to 15.5°C. Even the very hot day last week at 29.9°C only ranked 34th from the past 50 years. The highest February daily temperature was in 1973 at 38.5°C. Three more science trials have just started and so we are back to some more little paddocks fenced with flexi

netting and small mobs of lambs and young calves.

Science has it all under control, it is looking quite complicated to me but in time it will all become clear as the shifts become more regular and a pattern develops.

It is probably easier to make sense of the system they use if you are good at playing chess or Chinese checkers.

While it is good to have the opportunity to utilise our stock and pasture it does mean that longer-term plans need to be much more flexible and that to me is the challenge of being available for research and also to be

a commercially viable enterprise.

This makes the dairy support system a very important part of the farm’s income and development.

Pasture growth is back to normal after slipping slightly in January and now with 340 lambs and cull ewes gone it has been easier to keep good lengthy pasture up to the dairy grazers and to flush the ewes before mating.

The R2 heifers have just been pregnancy tested with only two scanned empty, a pleasing result.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Equine

Page 19

Jenny Paterson B.Sc Horsemanship NZ Ltd

Autumn: A tricky time owners ‘Dairy Cow-it is’forinhorse Horses!

Growth mode: why do horses develop health and behavioural problems in Autumn?

As I am writing this article it is raining steadily and with ground temperatures still plenty warm enough for growth and sunny days ahead it is a recipe for horses to start doing ‘naughty’ things out of the blue, get bouts of ‘colic’, laminitis, headflicking, swellings in various parts of the body (see picture where weird swellings are evident on the cheeks), and are prone to muscle soreness and ‘stiffness’ especially in the sacro-iliac area and the hind-quarters.

It is so easy to misread these issues as being when in actual factInthey Lots ofphysical horses get ‘dairy cow-itis’. other wordslikely they are consuming lots in are more to be physiological, ofother feed but you awould never For know it by a words diet issue. instance their appearance!

Like most dairybucking cows horse that has maybe started these have ‘no top-line’, you can and horses is generally tight and stiff doesn’t see their ribs and sometimes need reschooling, he needsback-bone. to come off This translates in horses to saddle-fitting the grass temporarily and be fed lots of problems from trying to fit a saddle to a hay (no clover or lucerne) with awill feed hollow shaped back.

Usually there be every day containing salt and premium other associated issues concerning health andflora minerals especially calcium ofvitamins the hind-gut and behaviour. and magnesium (organic To reverse this syndrome is forms actuallyare easy if you have the rightthey setup.

Youthe justfastest do exactly best because work to the opposite what dairy farmers ratios) do! balance uptocritical electrolyte and selenium.

Chances are the bucking will no longer be a problem after a few weeks on the right diet and the whole horse will be back to normal.

A horse with ‘dairy cow-it is’! Look at the similarities in condition.

A combination of the following points will get excellent results.

1. Feed as much hay as the horse will eat.

If your horse is chronically thin and has soft to sloppy manure, you may need to turn an area into a ‘dry lot’ by spraying out or scraping the grass off. This is the best thing you can do to ensure the flora in the hind-gut is healthy.

2. Feed the right minerals. The disturbance to the horses electrolyte balances caused by high potassium, low sodium, calcium & magnesium from the grass is a major cause

of the ill-thrift. New formula Alleviate C and Premium New-Zealand-Horse Minerals are perfectly designed for this and you can add plain salt to help balance their potassium:sodium ratio 3. Add calories in the form of extruded barley and maybe some oil. Extruded barley is ground and cooked so it is very digestible and we have found it excellent for giving these horses a boost.

The mineral balances play a huge part in rectifying this condition. Provide It has been collecting forage tests to verify our feeding recommendations. You will really ‘get it’ after

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Q VO Z ; M M L AM I M LQ VO is feed. ?M cause Autumn is bad time for horses and in most cases Z[the AM I

It is such a tell-tale sign that it is a grass issue when people say “he was going horse and manifests in all sorts of health beautifully before, .. at the last lessons and behavioural problems including ... when I bought him etc.” As most horse owners don’t have access to large Alleviate & Alleviate-C ‘staggers’. acreages, their horses inevitably end up Potassium is very antagonistic to grazing vegetative grass, that is grass in Tox-Defy magnesium absorption and this is why growth mode, with intermittent bouts of horses canMinerals get the staggers symptoms rapid growth mode, depending on the Premium New-Zealand-Horse when they are on any kind of grass, not weather. just rye-grass, especially after a drought The whole story: “Change in the Grass breaking rain!

When grass wants to grow it draws up Makelike Changes the Horse” DVD nutrients potassium andin nitrogen, Autumn is also prime time for classic especially with water after rainfall. ‘rye-grass staggers’ caused by endophytic Potassium is involved in cell division fungi producing the ‘Lolitrem B’ which means growing grass tips are mycotoxin which affects the central always high. This causes disturbances to nervous system. A very good reason to the critical electrolyte ratios which run the nervous and muscular systems of the keep feeding your toxin-binder.

Your local store or horsemanshipnz@xtra.co.nz

Efforts to ensure plenty of grass is available often mean ‘high octane’ fertilisers are applied with no understanding of the harm these can cause the stock grazing them.

– with Gorse – Broom – Blackberry – the farmer wants improved pastures, fertilised opposite to that which nitrogenous or phosphorous compounds to fatten his livestock or milk his herd! can literally turn lethal under the ‘right’ Phone 03 302 9444 any time weather conditions and of course autumn Autumn is the ideal time to resow with max.riverland@xtra.co.nz weather is notoriously unpredictable. a mix of brown-top, cocksfoot, crested dog’s tail with a touch of timothy.

It’s not that horses can’t eat grass but that they need mature and therefore minerally Visit www.calmhealthyhorses.com or balanced, slow growing, low sugar, grassHealthcontact JennyRegistered for moreChemical information : Quick Spray & Safety or hay. Not short, over-grazed, horsemanshipnz@xtra.co.nz Equipped stressed Qualified Applicator

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pasture which has been taken over by clover and flat-weeds (like cat’s ear), nor heavily fertilised, grasses meant for high production.

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listening to the whole story as explained on “Changes in the Grass Make Changes in the Horse”.

You should see a marked difference in one-two weeks and they will continue to improve from there. Contrary to popular belief horses don’t actually NEED green grass to be fabulously healthy!

The same horse just two months later.

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Page 20

GUARDIAN FARMING

Ashburton

Industrial Estate

Stevens Seed - first for seed Story and Photos: Amanda Niblett

S

tevens Seeds Ltd is an independent Grain and Seed Company based in the heart of New Zealand’s grain and seed producing area, within the Industrial Estate, Ashburton.

Being independently owned allows owner Peter Stevens to offer the farming community his immense knowledge to gain the best performance, yield and cleanliness of all crops grown and sold.

Peter has a hands-on philosophy in terms of all crop monitoring, giving his clients expert advice on the most effective solutions to maximising crop yields.

Peter’s main area of expertise involves importing specialist overseas varieties, growing them in New Zealand and then re-exporting back to the breeder overseas. This enables the plant breeder to cut the number of years from conception to the market place, and maximising two harvests in one year.

A new concept developed by Stevens Seeds is their Perenmore Diploid Perennial Ryegrass. This is an economical nil endophyte later seeding persistent ryegrass that has proved very palatable.

It is similar to the Nui variety, but seeds substantially later, giving more longevity for grazing. It is easily established in both cultivated seedbed and direct drilling situations.

It is a fantastic option for providing great pasture, at a similar cost to traditional pastures such as Nui. It is ideal in permanent pasture mixes.

Stevens Seeds has a growing reputation for exporting high quality, nutritional food supplies to different corners of the globe.

Their Promore White Lupins are currently being exported to the Middle East, where they are soaked and prepared as a high protein food alternative.

Raising

the standard of roofing in Mid Canterbury Manufacturers & Suppliers of: • Long run corrugated iron • Ashdek 5 Rib iron • Ridgings & Flashings • Metal rainwater systems

Peter Stevens stands beside his restored 1952 Bedford Model KM. This truck was purchased new by Peter’s father, Mr HJ Stevens, when Peter was three years old and stayed on the family farm. Peter purchased it in 2002 and restored it to its original working condition for associated seed business.

Promore White Lupins were bred in Germany specifically for the pig and poultry industry to replace animal products being fed back to animals.

Stevens Seeds Limited recognised the potential for this type of product for the stock-feed and human consumption market and secured the rights to produce and market in New Zealand.

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Stevens Seeds are striving to bring to the market place varieties that have done years of natural selection. One of these varieties is Waimore Lucerne. This variety has undergone 50 years of natural selection and in this time has not had any fertiliser and sprays. We hope to be able to harness the natural selection of this plant, and will have limited stock

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Rangitata South Irrigation project

Ashburton

Industrial Estate

Scheme takes shape

Motorscrapers are currently stripping the storage pond site of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme on the south bank of the Rangitata River at Arundel, with more men, machines and equipment to follow as the initial pond and race construction ramps up.

The innovative irrigation scheme will utilise a “water harvesting and storage” strategy to divert water from the Rangitata River when flows exceed 110cumecs. This water will subsequently be used to irrigate a gross area of up to 16,000 hectares within a command area of 20,000 hectares, situated between the Rangitata and Orari Rivers, which extends from Arundel to the coast.

The scheme involves the diversion of 20 cumecs of water from the Rangitata River into a series of seven stepped storage ponds at Arundel. The total storage capacity of the seven ponds will be 16.5 million cubic metres (m3) with a maximum depth of 8.0m and a total surface area of 300ha.

The seven ponds will require the movement and placing of 3 million m3 of local soil and gravel to construct the pond embankments and lining layers.

As well as the vast quantity of pond earthworks there are numerous concrete structures collectively requiring in excess of 1000 m3 of concrete, 20 hydraulic gate

i ng r Se e d a e Y 1 e di ng rs We a e Y 7

Stevens Seed is located in the Ashburton Industrial Estate, but will be moving to the Izone Business Park in Rolleston at the end of March.

At the end of March the business will be going through another transformation to allow for further growth and development.

Stevens Seeds will be shifting its operation to the Izone Business Park in Rolleston, Christchurch.

Peter will strive to retain local relationships and has plans to stock a large supply of seed and grain within Ashburton for immediate distribution to clients.

If further stock is required, Peter will be able to ship the desired quantity quickly from the new site.

For further information on the rapidly expanding, successful grain and seed varieties available from Stevens Seeds, visit their website at www.stevensseeds. co.nz

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Page 21

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systems and 35 off-take structures and water metering points along the scheme.

The race network comprises 70km of open race over three separate legs. The initial race carries 6.0 cumecs of water via a 10m wide and 2m deep race eventually reducing to 0.25 cumecs via 2.8m wide races as the scheme water makes its way towards the coast.

For the past five years the scheme design and consenting has been driven by Gary Rooney and the Rangitata South Board and has been designed entirely in-house by REL engineers and staff, with external design support and review by Damwatch.

A critical feature of any modern irrigation scheme is the control of the abstraction of water from the river and ability to restrict fish access to the ponds and races.

The control gates consist of three large steel slide gates, concrete headwalls and three large diameter concrete pipes which convey the water through to the initial race.

The slide gates are hydraulically operated and will be automatically opened and controlled to pass the minimum flow of 1.4 cumecs, up to the maximum flow of 22.5 cumecs in accordance with Resource Consent requirements.

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Page 22

GUARDIAN FARMING

Rangitata South Irrigation project

Scheme takes shape

A fish barrier is provided at the face of the river. This consists of 14 rolled galvanised steel mesh gallery drums embedded into the face of a 250m long embankment. The gallery drums are open but surrounded with free draining river stones, with the outer face of this embankment protected with large rock rip rap.

the abstraction and delivery of the correct quantities of water, as well as to indicate problems that need immediate attention.

This scheme is not just about the taking of water for irrigation, it is also giving something back to the river system that is making it all possible. In addition to the irrigation water take, a further abstraction of 1.4 to 2.5 cumecs has been earmarked to supply a fish spawning race.

This race will be developed on the northern side of the storage pond area and terminate back into an active braid of the Rangitata River, thus enabling populations of local sport fish to spawn and for their fry to safely make their way back to the river.

This enables the abstraction water to freely percolate through the screens but prevents fish from entering and being trapped in the scheme’s races and ponds.

The storage ponds will release up to 7.0 cumecs of water into a series of water races based on the existing stock water race network which is to be extensively upgraded.

This upgrade will include some realignment, regrading, resizing and replacement of culverts and road crossings. The water will then be supplied to each irrigator directly into an on-farm storage pond. Each on -farm storage pond is required to have a minimum of 250 cubic metres of storage capacity per hectare of irrigation which equates to one Rooney Earthmoving’s D375 bulldozer removes one of many tree stumps week of on-farm storage. This storage is during site clearing on the new Rangitata South Irrigation Project. crucial to the smooth running of the scheme ability to store or “harvest” water during control the water abstraction rate, the but more importantly it will provide an filling of the storage ponds, the emptying additional 3 million cubic metres of scheme high river flows and then, utilising the huge storage capacity, release the water as of storage ponds and the supply of water to storage giving a reliability of 90-95%. required to provide reliable irrigation water. the race network.

The Rangitata River is already heavily A state-of-the-art, automated control There will be many safety features committed with irrigation water takes and system will utilise wireless telemetry to incorporated into the automation to ensure the key strength of this scheme lies in its

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It is expected that significant job opportunities will be created in the region as a result of the extra activity on farms irrigated by scheme water.

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Page 23

Weather by the moon Ken Ring

You cannot tear a piece of paper twice in the same place Perhaps at this time of shock and disbelief it is untimely to question geologists, who are trying their best to find answers for our worst catastrophe. But I do feel some questions have gone unanswered for too long.

This earthquake that smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted rail lines in Christchurch ripped a new 3.5m-wide fault line in the Earth’s surface. A Canterbury University geology professor said “a new fault” had ripped across the globe and pushed surface areas up.

He said the quake was caused by the collision of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. “One side of the Earth has lurched to the right - up to 11 feet (3.5m) and in some places been thrust up,” he said, and New Zealand sits above where two tectonic plates collide.

New Zealand’s last major earthquake registered 7.8 mag and hit Fiordland on July 16, 2009 (just before new moon+closest perigee), moving the southern tip of the country 30cm closer to Australia.

The January earthquake that rocked Haiti was also unleashed by a previously undetected fault line - not the well-known one scientists initially blamed, according Eric Calais, a professor of geophysics at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. He said the mag-7.0 earthquake occurred along this newly uncovered fault and not the well-documented Enriquillo fault. US based geophyscist Ross Stein noted that even in California about half of all moderate or stronger quakes occur on previously unknown faults.

But perhaps these “newly discovered” faults were unknown because they weren’t actually there before the earthquakes occurred! Do plates collide or were they once one piece that got broken into two by an event?

Surely a fault line should be renamed Previous Rupture Line.

I question that any fault line was ever

there first, before any force or molten matter decided to break through at that point. It is more likely that the earthquake/volcano etc comes through to the surface wherever it wants to, and this creates a weak section in the crust, through which later events may follow if stresses occur in the immediate vicinity.

Seeing a fault line host a new earthquake does not mean the fault line caused it. It may mean the earthquake is opening up a new old wound because of internal machinations deep in the molten core directly under that old wound.

That is a long way from being causal.

Earthquakes cause fault lines, yet most geologists hold that fault lines cause earthquakes.

Let us ponder this. The September 4 earthquake happened 12kms underground. Current geology wants us to believe that a mighty loose cannon of a 650 kiloton ball of energy, from 12kms away, hurtling surfacewards like a cyclonic wind through solid ground, has some sort of steering mechanism that seeks out old fault lines to surface through.

Imagine an H-bomb the size of that which destroyed Hiroshima, heading towards Christchurch from 12kms below. Now imagine 43 such bombs in one explosive package of energy and you have the size of the September 4 earthquake.

Would the bomb that struck Hiroshima have had time to seek out the best skyward path to the city, or did it just drop anyway? After falling from the plane, did it wander around in the sky until it found a sky-hole corridor through the air down to the city that some previous (unknown) bomb had created?

I cannot see that a 650 kiloton monster earthquake would have bothered to set itself within the confines of a previously carved faultline. Earthquakes go where they choose. If there is a fault line there already, then a shake may shake that too and an observer will say the fault

Faultlines are caused by quakes - not the other way round. line was active. If there is no fault line the earthquake will make one.

And scientists now do agree that the 7.1mag earthquake created a new fault line that either they didn’t know was there or that actually wasn’t there.

But it cannot both be that earthquakes get caused by old fault lines and at the same time create new cracks in the countryside in totally different places to those previously formed.

One other thing. Tectonic plates cannot possibly rub together to cause earthquakes/volcanos. For plates to rub together means they would have to be already separated. Also, heat tends to go up, not down. The answers are upwards, at colossal movements in the heavens that cause tides deep within the earth. Why else would the Te Anau earthquake have been on new moon/closest perigee, the Christchurch 7.1mag.on new moon+second closest perigee, the Napier earthquake on full moon/fourth closest perigee etc etc?

These give the clue that earthquakes are tidal, and tied to the moon, not to tectonic plates colliding. There is a tide within the earth that brings earthquakes, eruptions and volcanos at particular times, and these times

coincide with what other known tides are doing. The answers are not looking down at the drums, the horses there have all bolted, so putting new drums on existing fault lines and/or analysing core samples from old faults from the Alps is a waste of time and money.

My suggestion to all the geologists, seismologists and other earthquake specialists is forget fault lines, they will lead to nothing useful. It is like examining a pool of water to see when the next tsunami will arrive.

Developing methods of determining timing will save lives. The last biggest jolt in Christchurch (5.1 mag) was on 20 January, the day of January full moon and kingtide. The 6.3-mag was two days after full-moon-perigee.

The next earthquake risk period is probably in a month’s time, at the next full moon/kingtide in both land and ocean, around 19-21 March.

Just as Christchurch needs to be rebuilt old theories need to be reworked. Tectonic plates are about 6-10kms thick under the sea and up to only 10 times that under the continents. Yet some earthquakes occur at a depth of 300kms, a long way from these “colliding” plates.

Funny that.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Weather by The Moon: March Forecast Summary, outlook period About 4-5

Number of rain days: Precipitation potential times:

March 3rd-4th, 7th, 13th-14th, 17th, 22nd-23rd 28th, 31st

Mostly dry

March 5th-6th, 8th-12th, 18th-21st, 24th-27th

Wettest periods:

March 4th, 28th, 31st

Warmest maximum temperatures: Coolest maximum temperatures:

March 12th March 17th, 29th

Warmest minimums: Coldest minimums: Sunniest days:

March 9th March 18th, 24th, 29th-31st March 8th-12th

Best days for outdoor recreation:

March 5th-16th, 18th-27th

Cloudiest:

March 17th-21st

Estimated precipation for Ashburton:

13mm

Rakaia:

19mm

Methven:

24mm

Estimated sunshine amount for Ashburton:

157hrs (March average 160hrs)

General March may be considerably drier than average, with than normal sunshine and slightly above average temperatures.

No storm systems are likely although odd showers are expected at times, overnight in the first week, then mid-month and later in the day in the last week. Cooler minimums with chance of frosts are likely in the last few days. High kingtides are expected around 21st .

Potential ground tremor risk is between 1st-5th and 19th-21st, at low, high or mid-tide times.

Averages for maxima may be 20-22°C and for minima 7-10°C.

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