Guardian Farming March 2012

Page 1

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising Feature

Guardian interesting • informative • essential

Vicky’s finally getting to know her patch

page 4, 5

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Winchmore update - February John Carson

Pedal power rules on a West Coast holiday

I

t’s the first day back at work after having three weeks away on holiday and my thanks go to Ian, John and Ray for taking the responsibility of looking after animals, irrigation and science trials.

no worry for a few more days of whether I would have wet feet or not. There was a dear lady who had lived in Haast for all of her 93 years and could not remember a summer as sunny as this one.

It was great to come back to see stock, pasture and crop looking healthy.

The only real way to experience all the West Coast has to offer - on a bicycle.

There were some amazing farms, healthy animals and interesting people to talk with.

Guardian

Some terrific scenery in the form of lakes, beaches, rainforest and mountains which has all added up to a huge appreciation of the land we are fortunate to live in.

interesting • informative • essential

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

Advertising: Phone 307-7900 Email: emma.j@theguardian.co.nz

Next issue: April 3, 2012 An advertising feature for the Ashburton Guardian. Any opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Guardian Farming or the Ashburton Guardian.

The maximum average temp of 20.2°C is only 1.7°C behind the long-term average and the minimum average only 0.2°C behind the long term average of 10.3°C. Soil temperature is only 0.6°C above the average at 16.2°C. I gather that most of the month has been grey and cloudy and seemingly cooler than normal but not by as much as probably thought or felt.

Everyone I talked to commented on the wonderful summer season they were having.

Publication date: March 6, 2012 Please direct any correspondence to: Amanda Niblett, on 307-7927 email: amanda.n@theguardian.co.nz or to: Linda Clarke, on 307-7971 email: linda.c@theguardian.co.nz or write to PO Box 77, Ashburton.

It surprised me to hear that some of the tourist towns like Franz Josef, Fox, Hokitika Around the latter part of last year I decided and Wanaka were all desperate for more to take a trip around the Southern Alps on visitors as there were numerous tour buses my mountain bike and in November when passing me every day, perhaps they were I received a letter from head office asking just looking and not spending? me to reduce the amount of annual leave I had owing me, well, it was perfect timing I must admit it was a good feeling to get for a February holiday. back to riding in some wide open spaces of the Plains for the last few days riding With only two days of rain, and they were home. a week apart, the whole trip was brilliant sunshine. Catching up on the met data here at Winchmore, to date we have had 63.6mm Having only been in the South Island 11 of rain, with just over half of that falling in years and never being down the West the last week, 10mm more than the long Coast it was amazing to see that part of term average and just less than half of the the Mainland and its contrasts and history. 133.6mm that February 1951 recorded.

Some farmers were cutting their fourth cut of silage and baleage, it was a happy sight to see freshly mown hay paddocks as I figured they knew there was 3 to 4 days of fine weather ahead and that I had

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 3

What’s happening with milk? Neal Shaw, ATS Chief Executive

Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA)

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ubmissions on the Government’s proposals to amend the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) and Raw Milk Regulations have now closed and the waiting begins to see what will eventuate and how it will affect our dairy industry. There has been much talk and speculation around the proposals which Primary Industries Minister David Carter says “aim to ensure that the DIRA and the Raw Milk Regulations remain a durable platform for the continuing growth of a competitive and innovative dairy sector”. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, with input from economic, regulatory and legal experts, has set the proposals, which were open for public consultation from late January. Submissions closed February 24 and MAF will present its options (taking into account submission received) to the Government for consideration at a later date. David Carter says the amendments (as publicised during the consultation process) “will result in a regulatory regime that promotes a more transparent and efficient dairy market”. Other recommendations under the revised Raw Milk Regulations include a three season limit for independent processors who source milk directly from the farmer, and a range of maximum quantity limits for independent

processors accessing milk in different months to reflect the seasonal nature of milk production. One of the more controversial recommendations is that under the Raw Milk Regulations, Fonterra will have to increase the total quantity of raw milk it makes available to its competitors from its current 600 million litres to almost 800 million litres.

a competitive market, lack of transparency remains an issue”. I wonder why the dairy industry is being targeted through this process, and I ask myself where this lack of transparency is? When it comes to dairy pay-out information, the payments are very public.

MAF is recommending that Fonterra’s current milk price governance arrangements This logic seems flawed when several should be embedded in legislation; that competitors to Fonterra source their own Fonterra should be required to publicly milk supply. disclose information about its milk price The Raw Milk Regulations allow independent setting; and that an annual milk price monitoring regime be introduced by the processors an entrance pathway into the farm gate market, but Fonterra argues these Commerce Commission. processors are increasingly foreign owned The reforms of the 1980s saw the and they will end up shipping the milk as Government send a strong directive to milk powder to lucrative overseas markets. farmers that they had to stand on their own two feet with no subsidies, and that We already know that most of the milk they had to find a global market or else find produced in New Zealand is destined for something else to do for a living. Many overseas markets in one form or another, farmers were offered a $45,000 restart with only a small amount required to meet package to walk off their farms and buy a local demands. house in town. If the amount of raw milk supplied to Since then we have seen a consolidation of Fonterra’s competitors is greater than what farms with many larger and more productive can be consumed on the local market, then units now producing a product which is it will obviously have to go overseas. What does that do for the industry or for our local competitive on the global market with commensurate returns. and overseas markets? Farm gate milk prices David Carter says “the review of farm gate milk prices found that although Fonterra’s approach is consistent with that expected in

It would seem that 30 years later, the general population doesn’t like the end result, but they can’t have it both ways. Our dairy industry needs to compete on

the global market and take the highs and lows without Government subsidies. The alternative is to produce milk more cheaply for New Zealand markets with the Government putting its hand in its pocket to meet any overseas market price shortfall as they occur. Much of the interest surrounding this review is based on concerns regarding the price of milk. A Statistics NZ article “Tracking Milk Prices in the CPI” makes interesting reading and looks at retail milk prices from the 1890s until February 2011. When decimal currency was introduced in 1967 a pint of milk cost 4 cents which is equivalent to 65 cents in February 2011 (or $2.29 for two litres) after allowing for general food price inflation. According to the article, February 2011 prices for two litres of milk ranged from $2.90 to nearly $6.00 with an overall average of $3.68. It is obvious that these days there is plenty of retail competition and a vast range of retail prices. I wonder if the dairy industry is being unfairly targeted and I am unsure what will be gained through this process. Are there other reviews that should also be taking place – maybe the tax take on fuel? That certainly has an effect on all our consumables. Or maybe another food staple, such as bread could be a focus? What is this review process about? Is it more about the profile of the company rather than just milk?

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GUARDIAN FARMING

R E Y V R CO TO S

Vicky finally gets to see her patch

F

ederated Farmers field officer Vicky O’Connor has been in the job for 17 months but is only just now making herself known to Mid Canterbury farmers. But she has good reason.

She had been in the job just six weeks when Darfield was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on September 4, 2010. Five months later, Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region was changed forever by another devastating, this time fatal, quake.

animal identification and tracing scheme that comes into force in July; Trading Amongst Farmers (TAF) for dairy farmers who supply Fonterra, and milk prices. She said the biggest challenge for dairy farmers was communicating their good work to the urban sector. “They are really trying to do their best to comply with effluent conditions. Most farmers are working on the land because they love it and respect it and they

have to go back next year and get a crop off it. They are really doing their very best.” Federated Farmers represents farmers at a Government level. It has 18 to 20 policy staff poring through proposed legislation and district plans at local government level. “We do a lot of submissions, because policy can change the way people farm.”

With the first anniversary of the February 22 quake just passed, Vicky has been reassigned to normal duties. For the Timaru-based field officer that means visiting some 6000 farmers between North Canterbury and the Waitaki River. She is in Mid Canterbury at the moment, meeting sheep and beef farmers in the foothills; they are happy of course, on the back of a cracker season. She plans to catch up with as many dairy farmers as possible during the winter, easier said than done when so many farms are converting or changing their land use. Vicky visits all farmers, not just paid-up members of Federated Farmers. She wears her Federated Farmers shirt, but says she needs a bigger sign declaring she is a friend. Topical issues include NAIT, the compulsory national

There’s plenty of shingle roads in Vicky O’Connor’s future as she gets familar with her patch.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 5

Linda Clarke, Ashburton Guardian rural reporter

Vicky said farmers often felt picked on. They represented just one per cent of the population, but exported billions and billions of dollars in primary produce – out-performing other industries and keeping the country going during the recent global financial crisis.

member of Federated Farmers’ Farmy Army, which worked on the front line of quake aid, helping survivors.

Ashburton was just one example of a rural town that had been buffered from the worst of the latest recession by its farming and related industry.

Relief teams worked 18-hour days, slept on the floor and helped where they could.

Sadly, many urban people were ignorant of agriculture’s reach. “They don’t really understand what farmers do. I’m not saying that farmers are always right, but I encourage people to find out what they do.”

“It is hard to come away and not think about those people you met face-to-face.”

“I have stepped aside now, but I am really proud of Federated Farmers’ efforts.” Farmers affected by the quakes had ongoing challenges that they had to deal with, like fences being blitzed by boulders shaken loose in continuing aftershocks. Mentally, they needed to recover too.

Vicky said balance was needed in the environmental pollution debate.

Vicky said building relationships with farmers in Mid Canterbury was key to spreading the word about Federated Farmers’ work. It is no hard sell to recruit members.

“Urban people will see effluent being irrigated from the end of a gun and straight away have an opinion about it. In the city, you see smoke and smog and rubbish and that has an impact on the environment.

A former farm girl, she has plenty in common to talk about with farmers and loves the interaction. “I am like yeast. I grow a bit with every person I meet.

She said it had been a unique chance to be a

Federated Farmers has over 50 staff nationally and 24 branches, including Mid Canterbury. It makes submissions to decision-makers, but also has a range of tools to make life easier for farmers – like free contracts, legal documentation and employment advice.

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Vicky O’Connor, Federated Farmers’ Mid Canterbury field officer, is getting to know farmers in her patch.

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Page 6

GUARDIAN FARMING

Kettleholes Contributed by Mary Ralston

K

ettleholes are small but special features of our tussock grasslands.

They are small ponds or tarns that are usually full of water in the spring and early summer, but are dry during the summer. Kettleholes are only found in the eastern South Island high country and there are many fine examples in the Hakatere Conservation Park, near Lake Heron. Kettleholes were formed during the last ice age when blocks of ice were separated from an advancing glacier. The blocks got covered in sediment from the moraine and when the ice eventually melted, a depression in the ground remained. This fills with water, creating a small pond. The plants found in kettleholes are extremely well adapted to their environment – they need to be able to withstand hard frosts, being under water for many months, and then exposed to the hot sun during the summer. They are different from the plants in the surrounding tussock grassland, which are adapted to more even drainage conditions. There are often many different plant species within a very small area and so kettleholes are considered to be “hot spots” of biodiversity. The plant communities within a kettlehole belong to a plant grouping called ephemeral turfs – ephemeral meaning they come and go, and turf being a mat of low-growing plants. One thing the plants have in common is that they reproduce very quickly – they grow, flower, and set seed all within the few months that the pond is dry. Many of the plants are small versions of bigger plants found in

Kettleholes contain fragile ecosystems. By all means look, but don’t touch. grasslands and wetlands such as grasses, mosses, ferns, rushes and bulbs. Most are less than three cm high. Before they dry out, kettleholes are also important as food sources for some of our native birds such as the black-fronted tern, wrybill and stilts. This type of ecosystem is quite rare and fragile. They are vulnerable to being trampled by stock and are easily damaged by vehicle tracks and horse’s hooves. Weed invasion is another threat to the survival of the tiny species.

When driving or riding in the high country it is important to keep to the tracks and avoid the kettleholes – damage is virtually impossible to repair. Wheel marks not only damage the plants but allow grasses such as cocksfoot to colonise the bare ground, and can change drainage conditions. So when you are next out for a walk in the high country and notice a round depression in the ground, take a closer look. This is one of the distinctive features of our high country.

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Page 7

Explaining capacity charges Contributed by IrrigationNZ – www.irrigationnz.co.nz

S

ecurity of electricity supply is paramount to irrigation connections. The distribution network has to have the capacity to meet peak energy demand. Line companies are responsible for supplying and maintaining the regional network (the power poles) and TransPower provides the national infrastructure (the pylons). Capacity charges are a combination of TransPower costs and the operating and maintenance costs of line companies. The line companies set the charge and the charges are passed on through the energy retailers – the guys you write your cheque to. Capacity charges are based on the total size of the motor or collection of appliances that are connected to a meter expressed in kilowatts (kW) or kilovolt amp (kVA). In plumbing terms volts can be expressed as the pressure and amp is the flow. Multiplying pressure by flow gives energy – ‘volt amp’ (VA). The same measure is also called a ‘watt’ (W). The difference between kVA and kW is the power factor. Power factor There are two types of load – resistive and inductive.

Resistive is when there is resistance in the line such as light bulbs or bar heater that expresses the energy coming down the wire as light or heat. The power factor for any resistive load is 1 so what goes down the line comes out in the desired output. Inductive load uses electricity to produce motion. The motor driving the irrigation pump, refrigeration and heat pumps (fridges in reverse with a fan attached). With third parties (magnets etc) involved to produce the desired output (motion) there are inefficiencies in the system that soak up energy. The input rating, (kVA) on a motor (stamped on the specification plate) is typically 5 to 10 per cent higher than the output rating (kW), a power factor of 0.95 to 0.90. A power factor less than 1 means the circuit’s wiring has to carry more current to deliver the same amount of (true) power to the load. The calculation of power factors descends into a labyrinth of symbols and calculations that makes your head hurt so we won’t go there suffice to say it needs to be considered when designing a power distribution network. Household power consumption is mainly resistive except the motors keeping your beer cold and roasts frozen. The average house can have a peak load

of up to 20 kVA similar to that of a 16 kW irrigation motor. There is an important distinction to make here in that an inductive load requires a start up power load 4 to 5 times that of the operating load. For example the energy required to start a 15 kW motor (operating load) is up to 75 kW. A ‘soft starter’ on motors lessens the load by taking longer to wind the motor up. An added benefit is reducing the torque applied to the attached pump reducing the likelihood of mechanical damage during start-up. Load diversity Within a row of houses the peak load of any one house could be 15 kVA but not all the houses will be on that peak load simultaneously. Everyone has meals, electronics on, at different times within the row, so the infrastructure capacity only needs to cope with the peak load from the street to the house. The delivery along the street is designed to have maybe only a third of the total potential load. So in a residential situation as the infrastructure moves further away from the end use it can become smaller in relative terms. However because the nature of irrigation load is constant - a motor is on or off and when it is dry everyone is irrigating.

The peak load is not as diverse and the capacity has to be greater. So when designing and building networks with a number of irrigation installations the capacity built is a sum of the total demand along that network. Terrain and distances add a further dimension to maintain a high level of supply security. Overhead lines are cheaper and easier to maintain but are more exposed to outages caused by weather, cars etc. The line companies responsible for delivering your electricity, current and future demand, consider many factors when designing and maintaining a network to cater for the diverse needs of each sector. Irrigation in Canterbury is the dominant summer use and the capacity charges and issues that relate are well understood by the line companies servicing the region. For a comparison and more in-depth look at costs across regions IrrigationNZ has a report on its website comparing capacity charges in the main irrigating regions. IrrigationNZ – is the national body representing all irrigation interests in a unified voice to promote excellence in irrigation development and efficient water management based on the principles of responsible and sustainable water management throughout New Zealand.

Page 8

GUARDIAN FARMING

The ever changing face of farming T

here’s an old saying: “There’s nothing as constant as change.�

Certainly true when related to land production capability in Ashburton District.

– surely the fact that 269 buyers registered for a yarding of only 5500 ewes had a lot to do with making for a supply and demand scenario.

Climatically this farming season has been so far one of the best in years for pasture and crop growth.

One of the great advantages of farming in the Ashburton District is surely the versatility of soils and the ability to change product emphasis within a farming unit.

What the district desperately needs now is 2 to 3 weeks of hot drying days to enable crop and small seed harvest completion.

I don’t see a wholesale return to sheep farming in the current situation – perhaps at most a few more sheep on mixed crop/dairy support units.

Seldom has stock across the district had better climatic conditions for healthy growth. At the same time farmers have been able to store huge volumes of silage, baleage and hay for supplementary winter feed.

The economics of full scale sheep farming certainly don’t support massive change.

Unfortunately the late grain harvest may well lead to an oversupply of feed grains and poorer germination of small seeds. Such is the fluctuating nature of the industry. Federated Farmers’ signature publication Straight Furrow of February 14 proclaimed in a bold headline “Sheep are selling like there’s no tomorrow.� Wrightson Waikato manager went a step further claiming “sheep are becoming the new gold�. Really? I doubt it. While sales at Hamilton peaked at $300 a head for breeding ewes – a high price by any standard

Beef and Lamb New Zealand director of economic services, Rob Davison, points to an average $114,000 profit for the current season for a sheep/ beef farm. Not a good return on an average $5 to 7 million investment. The equivalent return in the 2005–6 year was a minimal $10,000, so there’s still a long backlog before deferred development and equity issues can be significantly addressed. Mt Algidus Station, a large property that has changed emphasis in recent years was portrayed in the Guardian last week with an interesting photo and article. After almost 150 years as a sheep station, one of the most remote properties in Canterbury presented the last 11 loads of capital stock sheep for dispersal, ending an era of farming sheep in the Rakaia Gorge.

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The commitment of such a large challenging property to beef breeding and finishing in the future, surely augers well for prospects for beef prices in the longer term. A huge Asian market for red meat as living standards gradually improve, I believe heightens optimism for both beef and sheep meat products. One factor if a change back to sheep farming was to occur that is significantly different from a decade ago, is the time taken to rebuild numbers. With current genetics and high lambing percentages common and hogget mating now a proven and successful practice, recouping the 19 per cent fall in sheep numbers nationally since 2004-5 is achievable in a relatively short timeframe. My own view is that with dairy prices at current levels, and the outlook good, a wholesale return to sheep farming is unlikely. Increasing any cattle numbers is a much slower process with the expectation of only one female offspring every two years. This will only occur if current product price and demand is a new plateau rather than an unsustainable peak. My personal belief is that there is huge untapped potential for dairy beef production by using appropriate terminal sires on some lower performing dairy cows, and portion packing the product for the lower end Asian market. This would obviously exclude use of Jersey predominant animals.

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Page g 9

John Leadley

It would seem with the probable exception of cropping, local farming enterprises are in for a good season. If so this will ultimately reflect positively on the local business community generally. Maybe the farming results will be sufficiently favourable to enable some to address issues of debt. While overdraft interest rates are currently favourable to borrowers it would be wrong to assume this will remain the case. Prominent local accountants Gary Leech and Don Church in their chapter on the Finance Resource printed in the Regional Resources Survey 1976 noted that the average owner equity in farmland at the time was 78 per cent. I’ve been unable to obtain the current comparable figure at time of writing, but suspect it is significantly below this figure. Personally, once established I consider 60 per cent equity should be the minimum target, for any business enterprise. No doubt my background of 40+ years of mixed farming ownership, dealing with droughts, price peaks and troughs, climatic and stock health disasters, leaves me with very conservative views. For that I make no apology. I am a farming survivor.

Part of the writer’s 2500 ewe flock about 1998. Today there are no sheep on the farm.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Perspectives on waste Sheryl Stivenss

W

e know that an environmental problem has hit the mainstream when our children and grandchildren come home from school worried about it. There are certainly lots of things not to like about plastic film and bags especially when they blow around, get caught in trees and hedges and cause plenty of damage out at sea where turtles, seals, whales, dolphins and other marine wild life mistake the plastics for jelly fish and eat it. Making degradable plastic bags and film is not the answer as when it breaks down into small pieces of plastic these ultimately end up in our food chain with the Manly Environment Centre saying several years ago that there are now 2500 pieces of plastic per square mile of ocean off the shores of Australia. For shopping bags the best case scenario is to reduce the number of plastic bags and switch to reusable cloth bags but with the best of intentions so many of us still forget to take our bags when dropping by the supermarket. Thus humanity still gets through about a trillion plastic bags a year weighing 5 million tonnes and using at least 50 barrels of oil. That sounds like a lot; however the world produces about 80 million barrels of oil per day so plastic

bags represent only about 0.17 per cent of oil production. Put another way only about 2.5 minutes worth of global oil production goes into plastic bags every day. So even if the entire plastic bag industry stopped dead in its tracks it would make little difference to global oil demand.

sileage wrap on farms has caused a similar problem to plastic bags ever since it was introduced. Once used the baleage wrap has traditionally been burnt or buried causing significant environmental damage or been an unsightly mess in paddocks or stuck on fences eventually ending up in waterways or the stomachs of cattle so ultimately once again in the food chain.

Clean plastic bags are recyclable in Ashburton. Make sure they are empty of food and paper dockets, put them inside another bag and when the bag is full drop them off at the Ashburton Resource Recovery Park along with any other reusable items, household batteries etc when you come to town.

Baleage wrap is difficult to recycle due to the high levels of contamination found in the plastic. This includes mud, manures, water and heavy objects used to weigh down the plastic to stop it blowing around.

Most plastic bags produced do however end up in landfills after being reused as rubbish bin liners, and for containing dirty nappies etc. This all provides another use and is not really a problem as plastic is inert in a landfill so does not produce methane gas or leachate as do organic materials. In fact we’ll probably mine landfills one day to extract the metals and plastics for remanufacture.

The volume of contamination can be as high as 58 per cent and this makes recycling this plastic difficult and expensive. It is good that Agpac has developed a practical and easy solution to the problem. The bin and liner system is designed to cut down on contamination, keep your farm tidy and make collection of the baleage for recycling easier and more efficient. For more information contact www.agpac. co.nz

However plastic bags and film have taken on an iconic role as symbols of environmental despoilment and waste and are of high importance as they are visible polluters of our environment. So too is sileage wrap. Used plastic

We have a continuing responsibility in terms of environmental impacts in the choices we make as to what we purchase, where does it come from, what is it made of and how will we dispose of it responsibly when we no longer need it.

Balege wrap found in the stomachs of two cows. “Be the change you wish to see.� For help with waste minimisation and recycling call your Community Recycling Helpline 0800 627 824

Sustainable Solutions for Today’s Agricultural Challenges ANIMAL AND PLANT NUTRITION PROBLEMS?

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Plant diseases, plant nutrition problems, (effecting nodulation, proteins and photosynthesis), weeds and pests. Animal health problems (sleepy sickness, milk fever, high somatic cell counts). These are indications of soil nutrient problems, such as excesses or deficiencies. It doesn’t have to be that way – we are able to provide a proposed solution. There is a direct relationship between the minerals in the soil and the health of plants and animals. Just applying some nutrients to the soil doesn’t guarantee the plant can access them.

You need to measure and supply the correct chemistry for each particular soil.

YOU NEED A PLAN AND A PROGRAMME!

Let us take a comprehensive p soil test – including g trace minerals. We will analyse y it, p provide interpretation p and g give a recommendation. We can organise, supply pp y and mix fertilisers and nutrients that are required. HEALTHY SOILS Soil Fertilityy Farming g PROGRAMME, is focused on progressively p g building and maintaining soil fertility for optimum quality and yyield. Balancing g soil minerals aids in g getting g the essential nutrients into the plant to maximise p production from the soil, or to solve nutritional problems. We also have a PLAN for improving the biology.

Feed the soil and let the soil feed the plant. This is what the Albrecht system of soil fertility emphasizes, which uses soil chemistry st to affect soil physics. This determines eter the environment for the biology gy of the soil.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 11

Maize planting options Y

ou don’t need to be a rocket scientist to achieve higher, more consistent yields in maize crops, says visiting expert Bob Neilsen.

“By focusing on these yield components, it will help you narrow your search to specific periods of the growing season simply because the various yield components are determined or set.”

Bob, originally from a farm himself, lectures and carries out maize research at Purdue University in the USA and is considered to be one of the world’s leading agronomists. He was in Mid Canterbury recently giving local growers a few tips.

Bob says the most prevalent yield influencing factor for maize world wide was water management, striving to avoid periods of excessive or deficit soil moisture levels throughout the growing season.

He said achieving higher, more consistent yields required a lot of commonsense agronomic principles that worked together to minimise usual stresses so the crop could better tolerate uncontrollable stresses like weather.

Naturally poorly-drained soils affected the success and uniformity of rooting and plant development. He said a key challenge was also to identify hybrids that not only had good yield potential but that also tolerated a wide range of growing conditions.

“Make the effort to identify those yieldlimiting factors that are most important for your specific farming operation. This requires good crop detective skills and a sound understanding of agronomic principles.” Bob said that while plant breeding and technology had helped improve yields, there was no “one-size-fits-all” answer to better yields. “Yield improvement will come about by your investment in hard work and commonsense to identify the important yield influencing factors that are specific to your own fields. You need to spend time in

PHOTO KIRSTY GRAHAM 230212-KG-028

Bob Neilsen talks about the future development of maize crops during a discussion at Randal Hanrahan’s Fairton farm recently. your fields throughout the entire growing season; not just at planting and harvest. “It ain’t rocket science. It is hard work and commonsense, coupled with a sound knowledge of agronomic principles.” New Zealand growers could also access

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maize information from all over the world via the Internet, sharpening their focus on identifying the factors that influenced their crops. These primarily were plants per hectare, ears per plant, kernels per ear and weight per kernel.

“The best way to accomplish this is to evaluate hybrid performance across a lot of locations. Recognise that no hybrid wins every trial in which it is entered. “Look for hybrids that consistently yield no less than about 90 per cent of the highest yield in the trial no matter where they are grown.” More detail about Bob’s maize tips can be found on his website www.kingcorn.org/ news/archive.html. He also recommends Iowa State University’s www.agronext. iastate.edu/corn

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Was it warmer when you were a kid? H

ow often have you heard “we used to swim all year round.� Or “I’m sure it’s warmer now - we used to break ice puddles on the way to school�.

Has the weather gone crazy, out of control? They can’t both be true, warmer days then, and warmer now, so how accurate are those nostalgic memories? Perhaps we like to remember back to a different time, whatever it was, as long as it differs from now. If it is uncomfortably hot now, we like to think it was cooler back in the good old days, and if our toes are freezing, we sigh for the halcyon sun-drenched days of yore. There is some truth to that, but you can apply that to anything as we get older and grumpier. Perhaps we snarl a bit at a life that has taken away our youth and our best years. Also, we selectively recall the best bits. Except for one thing. When people swear that 15, 34 and 53 years ago there were more summery days in a row and/or longer frosts, and the warm summer sea has now turned cold - actually they may be correct. It may have something to do with the declination cycle of the moon. If there was no tilt to the earth the moon would orbit earth at the equator, year in and year out and month after month, and both hemispheres would be equidistant from the moon. The fact is, earth is on a 23-degree lean which means that the moon still orbits around the middle of the planet, going around earth once every 29.5 days, but for half of every month the northern hemisphere is closer to the moon in space, and during the other half of the month it is the southern hemisphere leaning more towards the moon. It means for half of the month the northern half of

Australia is affected by heat from the equator and the other half of the month the south of Australia and much of New Zealand are affected by cool airflows from the South Pole. On the opposite side of the globe the north-facing moon draws Arctic air southwards and cools the UK, and a fortnight later their southern moon warms the Caribbean, Eurasia and the southern US. But the story doesn’t end there. Taking a longer look, the distance or latitude line N or S of the equator that the moon reaches to each month, changes over about 18 to 19 years. In a maximum declination year the moon reaches a maximum point of 28deg, N and S of the equator every month. During midpoint years the moon only ranges between 23 degrees N and S of the equator every month and in a minimum year the moon has a range of 18deg, N and S of the equator each month. From space it would look like a giant very slow vertically-changing wobble. In a max- dec period, e.g the last one of 2005-7, depressions, troughs and anticyclones tend to pass more quickly but more intensely, and frosts and snowfall periods come in like a train and leave in a rush. Consequently some months can be windiest on record, like October 2006. They are quick and pouncing events, like in 2006, the March cyclone that drenched the north of the NI, the winter floods that affected Wairarapa and the snowstorm that affected Otago and Canterbury. The internal stress built by max-dec in 2006 saw significant earthquakes the following year: a 6.9mag

in the east of the North island in December, within the biggest 25 ever recorded in this country, and a 6.7mag and 6.1mag in Te Anau. As well, in February 2006, central NZ received a 6mag jolt. And it was 2006 that saw the strongest-ever Australian region cyclone, Cyclone Monica which had wind gusts in excess of 350 km/h. The reason for such weather variations between max and min-dec years is that the moon must traverse greater inter-latitude distances in the same timeframe during a max year than a min year, and angular speed increase means a faster moon which brings fasterchanging weather patterns. We did learn it at school, but we have forgotten. Speed = more power/strength. In min-dec years, depressions and troughs take longer to pass over. Anticyclones remain for longer and winter gives memorable frost periods, conditions more persistent. At min- dec the moon’s movement slows, traversing 36/37 degrees from north to south in about half a month, vs in a max-dec year, the same north/ south movement of 56/57 degrees in the same halfmonth. In min-dec year 1996, the moon’s daily advance northwards at the equator was a leisurely 4 degrees or so. By 2005 the moon‘s daily advance at the equator was 6 degrees. Around 1996/7 the moon was at mindec, and before that; 1977-8 and 1959. Then, there were more persistent westerlies onto central New Zealand, resulting in the west and south of the South Island being wetter and cloudier and with more damaging floods. The north and east of the North Island were drier and sunnier compared to the max-dec years of 1969 and 1950-51.

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 13

March Forecast Ken Ring So where are we now? At the moment the moon is just past mid-dec point, reaching 22 degrees N each month (over Burma), and 14 days later, 22 degrees south (about Mackay). We are progressing towards the next batch of min-dec years which will be around 2015. We can expect summer weather to start to improve in the next couple of coming years with progressively longer summer spells. So we should set our biological clocks to this oscillation, and not grumble too much. Most of us get to live through about two or three whole moon declination cycles (6 half-cycles) in our adult lives. It has meant some memorable summer periods, e.g. 1958-9, 1969-70, 1977-8, 1986, 19957, and 2006, and the rest being in-between cycle periods, the mid-dec years of 1982-4, 1991-2, 2001-3, and 2011, all of which have been relatively cooler summers. The cooler mid-dec years are the El Ninos, when less heat for evaporation means less rain. What happened in 1975-77(cooler summers) also happened in 1994-95 and repeated this summer. So in the next min-dec period of 2015-16, prepare for depressions of greater length, troughs longer to cross the country, more rain and snow and in the winter, relatively longer frosts. Anticyclones will give longer fine stretches. It will be windier again, and drier too, like 1959 and the others. And I’ll make this prediction: the whole new crop of surfing sunbathing teenagers in 2015 will be the ones expressing disgruntled nostalgia five decades later.

General Number of rain days: Precipitation potential times:

Wettest periods:

March 1st-3rd, 28th-29th

Warmest maximum temperatures: Coolest maximum temperatures: Warmest minimums: Coldest minimums:

March 7th-10th March 13th-15th March 1st-2nd, 11th March 18th, 31st

Sunniest days:

March 9th-10th

Best days for outdoor recreation:

March 5th-9th March 19th-22nd, 24th-29th

Cloudiest: Estimated precipation for Ashburton:

165mm

Rakaia:

174mm

Methven:

124mm

Estimated sunshine amount for Ashburton:

We’re here to keep you going through harvest. arvest arvest.

Locally owned and operated

March 1st-3rd, 11th, 14th, 17th, 28th-29th March 5th-9th, 20th-22nd

Mostly dry

Blacklows TradeZone Ashburton

See us first for all your mechanical all engineering requirements. d We know how crucial it is to avoid downtime, and our team of professionals are committed to getting you back to business as soon as possible. Plus we stock a full range of grease, oils, filters, hydraulics, nuts, bolts and seals etc.....

Approximately 7

144 hrs (March average 160hrs)

A wetter than average month, with some summer temperatures persisting over the first 10 days, after which autumn coolness sets quickly in. The month may not go four days without somewhere seeing some rain in the district. Temperatures should be average with maxima 19-20°C and for minima around 10°C. Windier days may be around 6th-11th, 15th-16th and 29th. Higher king-tides are expected around 12th and 24th. The 2nd and 31st are neap tide days, which are favoured for harvesting crops.

Full range of engineering supplies & accessories for all your repairs and maintenance Kerrick Hot & Cold Waterblasters & Industrial Vacuum Cleaners Esseti Welders & Accessories Stockists and distributors of Trailer Equipment Blacklows TradeZone Ashburton Locally owned & operated family business with over 59 years experience.

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Page 14

GUARDIAN FARMING

GUARDIAN FARMING

Page 15

Page 16

GUARDIAN FARMING

Greening the desert T

he Sahara Forest Project, a hightech initiative for bringing arable land to desiccated climates, has signed a deal with the QAFCO fertiliser company and chemical company YARA internatonal ASA to build a pilot plant to make the desert green. The test facility will be built on a 10,000 square metre square area at the QAFCO plant in Qatar and will show the potential to grow crops in the desert with only the use of salt water and renewable energy. The plant will be fully operational by December this year and will house a unique combination of salt water greenhouses, concentrated solar power and solar cells, algae cultivation ponds and salt drying facilities. YARA and QAFCO will cover the cost of development, estimated at $NZ6.5 million. Saraha Forest Project is a private Norwegian company, trying to develop profitable environmental solutions within the food, water and energy sector. It is owned by Norwegian company Bellona Holdings. “Bellona has long been an advocate of and an incubator for the Sahara Forest Project. This is a foundation and

An artist’s impression of the Qatar pilot plant. a company and we are proud to have foundation’s response to the IPCC report. been involved in its development,” said president Frederic Haugue. A part of the solution, as described in the Bellona report, is to use biomass In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on that binds CO2 in its photosynthesis and Climate Change wrote in its assessment which can be used for fuel and a variety report that rich countries must bear 80 of other purposes. per cent of emissions cuts over the next 40 years. Arguments against using biomass solutions to climate change have In these serious signals from the world’s centered around the fact that biomass, leading climate scientists, Bellona’s until now, has created a direct conflict incentive was spurred to invest in an to food production. Maize, for example, even more solid evidence-based work is food. Its production places heavy surrounding the challenges of climate burdens on arable land and requires change on a global basis, and Bellona’s access to quantities of fresh water. solution-oriented report entitled How to Combat Global Warming was the The Sahara Forest Project will avoid the

challenges of land use, both in terms of the amount of land used, and because the project is located in the desert, an area that does not conflict with food production. Cultivation of algae, however, is a much better solution for the production of biomass. Algae cultivation requires much less space on non-arable land; it grows quickly and can be grown directly in salt water or salt water greenhouses. Last year the Sahara Forest Project began construction of a similar facility in Jordan, where solar energy is used to produce fresh water and biomass in the form of algae grown in salt water.

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