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No respite for fertilizer cost

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Pat Deavoll

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T

RURAL REPORTER

he international price for DAP – that’s the product that combines nitrogen and phosphate for fertilizer – has been increasing as world producers react to growing demand. At the beginning of December urea was priced at about $1200/tonne. A year earlier it was under $350/t and as recently as September 2021 was $590/t. At the start of the year, farmers paid $5.50 for one litre of glyphosate; now it’s $13 and percentage-wise this increase is huge.

What’s more, the price fluctuations are expected to continue over the next few months.

The fertilizer price spike can’t be simply attributed to Covid-19. Instead, the last 12 months have seen a bunch of influential events come together at exactly the wrong time.

First, at a global level, food commodity prices started rising and demand quickly grew for fertilizer. In the United States, several weather events stifled fertilizer production,

including Cyclone Ida. But the biggest issue was rising gas prices in Europe. Producers of nitrogen simply stopped working because they could no longer make a buck, shutting down 12 per cent of Europe’s production.

At the same time, China imposed restrictions on its fertilizer exports and even though New Zealand’s imports of fertilizer may not come directly from China, it is now facing competition with other markets caught out by the blockade.

Finally, a further handbrake that is felt more in New Zealand because of our geographical isolation is the rise in Covid-19-related transport costs. Eighteen months ago, it took between six weeks to two months to get a laden ship berthed here. Now it is taking between three and five months.

If farmers have confidence the high milk price forecast will happen, it probably makes sense to keep applying fertilizer (within regulations). But if things tighten farmers could instead look to make use of the nutrients they have built up in the soil. This is where regenerative agriculture, which uses no fertilizer, comes into its own.

As for 2022, farmers may see the price of nitrogen ease by up to 20 per cent. But if commodity prices remain high then so too will fertilizer prices.

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Farmers forced to buck ‘draconian’ Covid rules Pat Deavoll

F

RURAL REPORTER

armers, stay at home.

Keep your circle tight and don’t get into a situation where you could potentially become a close contact of a Covid case and have to isolate, is the advice of Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury Provincial President David Clark.

Close contacts must selfisolate for 10 days. Positive cases must isolate for 14 days, and these need two negative tests before being released.

“Farmers can’t afford to get caught up in this,” Clark said.

“It’s a huge impediment for farmers who have a harvest to do, milking to do, livestock to look after.”

Many farmers around Mid Canterbury are actively encouraging their staff not

to get Covid tested to avoid a stint in isolation, Clark said.

“I think this is irresponsible, but I can understand why they are doing this,” he said.

“The reality is that there were some isolation rules put in place three weeks ago which were draconian, and this has brought about this mindset amongst farmers.

“MPI is saying if you are feeling ok you can go and milk your cows, you just have to stay away from other people. Their advice is quite vague and Dairy NZ’s advice is also vague - they are saying “just take precautions and stay away from other staff.”

“The problem is if a farmer interprets the rules according to MPI and Dairy NZ and someone from the Ministry of Health interprets them differently a farmer could find themselves frog marched off into MIQ for weeks,” Clark said.

The Ministry of Health was predicting up to 50,000 Omicron cases a day. Start running those isolation numbers and you are talking

thousands of people out of the workplace because they are isolating at home.

Why didn’t this happen?

The modeling was done overseas, it referred to infections, which was not the same as cases, and a lot of Omicron cases when people were vaccinated were very mild and wouldn’t be picked up.

“It’s just nuts. If they’d got anywhere near the number of cases they were predicting, after a couple of weeks there wouldn’t be anyone at work. It is painfully obvious that this is all just being made up on the fly,” Clark said.

“So, it’s a complete and utter shambles. Our isolation rules are far more draconian than Australia and even the Ministry of Health is saying that once cases get into the thousands, they will change the rules, so you don’t have to isolate.

“So, I completely understand why farmers will be doing everything they can not to be tested.”

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David Clark: there were some isolation rules put in place three weeks ago which are draconian, and this has brought about this mindset amongst farmers.

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Is re-gen agriculture the way forward?

Pat Deavoll

F

RURAL REPORTER

rom the road, Clearview Farms’ paddocks look lush and verdant. Black and white dairy cows graze peacefully on what seems to be a standard pasture of clover and ryegrass.

All seems normal for a dairy farm. But cross the fence and poke around amongst the foliage and a different world is revealed. Chicory, plantain, and different types of grasses and clovers have been added to the mix to create a “regenerative” (or re-gen) method of farming.

Chief executive of Align Farms Rhys Roberts, who manages Clearview along with four other farms said his operation has recently embarked on a new farming strategy, converting two of its five dairy farms to re-gen farming. The two farms will be run “half and half ”, that is half conventional and half regenerative for the next two seasons. The transition of Clearview started last year with 20 per cent of grazed area converted to regenerative paddocks with another 30 per cent to be converted this year.

The other farm will begin its transition this year and will be operating 100 per cent regenerative by the end of 2024.

Roberts says there are about five principles that regenag stands for “but for us, we increased the diversity of the pasture species so instead of just ryegrass and clover we added in

chicory, plantain, and different types of grasses and clovers.”

This is all sprayed out and direct drilled, he says.

“Some we over sowed directly into the grass species. On highly compacted soils we used 15 to 20 different species and some with deep tap roots that penetrated to aerate the soil. But when this isn’t needed, we spray out or direct drill into the soil or over sow existing pastures.

“The farm managed regeneratively hasn’t seen any urea for three seasons now.

That is a positive,” he says.

“Productivity is reduced but it depends on what you see as success and what you are trying to achieve.”

Firstly, trying to achieve a balance between high productivity and the impact we have, and can we balance the two? Roberts says.

“Secondly we own our own dairy brand (yogurt) and we would like to add to this brand and build it into a premium.”

What else do you do? “We do put on fertilizer but it’s not synthetic urea. We use guano which is a natural form of phosphate, and we use natural forms of fertilizer like composts and manures, and we make a bit of this ourselves. We are also recycling a bit of the pasture,” he says.

Roberts says it will take about five years to get any accurate data on regenerative farming and in the meantime, it’s a matter of fine-tuning things. They are looking to take some of their other land over to regenerative in due course, he says, “We have been doing this for about three years now. We publicize all our data live. As far as success goes, it depends on what success looks like I guess,”

Regenerative farming (regen-ag) has gained a lot of traction in recent years.

PHOTO: OURLANDANDWATER

Re-gen ag refers to a loosely defined set of techniques, which try to boost soil health and biodiversity while using less added fertilizer.

PHOTO: OURLANDANDWATER

Roberts says.

Regenerative farming has gained a lot of traction in recent years. It refers to a loosely defined set of techniques, which try to boost soil health and biodiversity while using less added fertilizer.

Proponents argue that this way of farming will help solve many of the problems the

agricultural sector faces, from improving the state of rivers to reducing greenhouse gas.

However, the benefits and effects of regen-ag have not been widely studied and some of the claims and success stories from overseas can’t be directly transferred to New Zealand’s farming systems.

Director of the Washdyke-

based South Pacific Sera, and past President of Federated Farmers William Rolleston says before you can test regenerative farming scientifically it has to be defined.

“To my knowledge, a definition has not been settled on and therefore from a science perspective regenerative farming is a moving target that is difficult to test. There is a risk when governments put in place rules based on practices which are not scientifically tested or not suitable in all situations as we saw with the proposed (now revised) winter grazing rules.”

A new report published in October 2021, as part of the National Science Challenge Our Land and Water summarises what is known so far about regen-ag in New Zealand.

The research emerged from more than 70 organisations and 200 people including farmers and growers, researchers, agricultural consultants, industry bodies, and not-forprofit organisations.

This project aims to develop a better understanding of what regen-ag means for New Zealand’s farmers.

The paper identifies 11 regenerative farming principles: these include soil disturbance, harnessing diversity, and managing livestock holistically.

Some argue that New Zealand farming practices already do this; for instance, perennial pastures and diverse crop rotations, are very much aligned with some of the principles of regenerative farming; others, particularly the high rates of synthetic fertilizers and monocultures, are not.

Rolleston says New Zealand farmers, with their extensive grass-fed systems, are probably already considered regenerative.

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“Some say regenerative farming is a watered-down version of organics peddled by those who are frustrated that organic agriculture has struggled to capture more than a few percent of farming production. It is good that regenerative farmers want to improve the soil but, in my experience, this is the goal of most farmers,” Rolleston says.

In short, the research concludes, while New Zealand’s pastoral and arable farming systems may be world-leading and in many regards comply with regen-ag principles, if more New Zealand farmers were to adopt these principles, they would see significant changes to their outcomes.

Regen-ag is a term that was first coined by the late Bob Rodale (of the US) in the 1970s. He used it to summarise a set of farming principles and practices that enriched soils, enhanced ecosystem services such as soil carbon and nitrogen sequestration and promoted farmer and livestock welfare.

Definitions and principles vary a little depending on who you talk to and regenag is achieved through the practices of several related land management approaches including organic farming and conservation agriculture.

In the context of agriculture, the terms organic and regenerative are closely linked

5

William Rolleston says before you can test regenerative farming scientifically it has to be defined.

PHOTO: EVENTFINDER

Rhys Roberts: Productivity is reduced but it depends on what you see as success and what you are trying to achieve.

PHOTO: OURLANDANDWATER

and are sometimes incorrectly used synonymously, yet they are not the same.

Organic agriculture is prescriptive in terms of inputs, eliminating the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetically modified seeds and

breeds, preservatives, additives, and irradiation.

Regen-ag on the other hand is not just about reducing harm but seeks to improve the health of the land, waterways, the animals that live on it, and people that benefit from it. Taking a

“whole-system approach”, it encourages farmers to pay close attention to what individual pastures need in order to function more like natural ecosystems, while simultaneously seeking to improve farmer wellbeing and animal welfare. In practice, this includes zero tillage, continual cover, increased pasture, and crop diversity, the use of nitrogenfixing cover crops, and longer rotational periods for stock to give plants more time to recover.

Rolleston says conventional fertilizing supplies essential nutrients to the plant. Thus, if you are taking the product off the farm to sell in order for people to clothe and feed themselves then that nutrient must come from somewhere.

“Carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen are recycled but other nutrients don’t spontaneously appear,” he says.

“Either those nutrients are added by the farmer (as organic or mineral fertilizer) or mined from the soil – there is no free lunch – that’s why conventional fertilizer is essential somewhere in the system. To pretend otherwise defies logic. New Zealand farmers already use their stock to move fertility tactically within their farming systems.

“There are two points to make about nitrogen – the first is that across all farming systems nitrogen fixation from the air does not supply enough to feed

the world and certainly not the right amount at the right time and in the right place. In fact, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer feeds around 40 per cent of the world’s population. The second point to make is that the plant is agnostic to the source of nitrogen and if too much nitrogen is added in the form of organic or synthetic fertilizer it will leach just the same.

“Should we dismiss regenerative farming as a simple marketing gimmick?

Not entirely, there is always something to learn from those who step outside the current convention but to be learnings of value they need to be tested scientifically and discarded if they don’t stand up to scrutiny.

“Ironically if regenerative farming has anything to offer scientifically those practices will be quickly absorbed by conventional farmers and regenerative farming will run the risk of becoming a belief system without scientific merit just to maintain its point of difference.”

The last word goes to Roberts.

“Regen farming is challenging to explain,” he says.

“If you aren’t regenerative then are you degenerative?

The way we look at it it’s about finding a balance between productivity and impact. It’s more about not cutting off the hand that feeds you.”

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Velvet producers pleased with season Pat Deavoll

T

RURAL REPORTER

he velvet season has gone well for brothers Simon and Hamish Guild of High Peak Station in the head of the Selwyn River.

Hamish Guild said the season had been “pretty solid” despite Covid disruptions.

“The weighted average has probably increased throughout the season and is above our budgeted expectations,” he said.

“And I guess that budget was potentially predicting a fair bit of variability.”

Deer Industry New Zealand CEO Innes Moffat said the velveting season had gone “pretty well” although there were concerns for Mid Canterbury farmers coming out of the floods with a squeeze on feed.

“But across Mid Canterbury production has gone well with feed being adequate,” he said.

The velvet sector was reliant on sales to the Republic of

Korea and Mainland China.

“We entered the year with trepidation as to how those economies were impacted by Covid and around the logistics of shipping of goods to those economies,” Moffat said.

“But demand from both countries has been very strong.

The prices our buyers have offered farmers have steadily improved over the course of the season from initially being on par with last year and ending the year 15 -20 per cent above.”

The price of velvet depended on grade but farmers producing Super-A grade were getting $120 – $130 a kilogramme.

“The exporters are certainly experiencing disruption getting containers booked onto ships and the product already exported getting clearance into Mainland China with a couple of the main seaports being shut down because of Covid restrictions,” Moffat said.

“But buyers have been happy to secure supplies from farmers and then deal with the logistics as they can.”

“Velvet antler is a remarkable thing. Its growth is stimulated by the amount of sunshine in a

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Simon (left) and Hamish Guild of High Peak Station have had a blinder of a velvet season with prices above budgeted expectations.

PHOTO: HIGH PEAK STATION

day,” Moffat said.

“The velvet growing season has pretty much finished now.

You don’t want to be handling stags as they enter the roar.

They are competing against each other as they come into the mating season - the antlers

harden off and become pretty dangerous weapons.”

Predictions for next year?

The people who are buying our velvet want more of it.

There is a growing demand for natural medicine in China and Korea, Moffat said. Its seen

as preventative medicine, to boost the immune system and promote health.

“Whilst DINZ has not been making any claims for the efficacy against Covid, deer velvet has been pretty popular in these countries.”

Farming

8

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AUTUMN PASTURE FEATURE

The life-stylers’ guide to autumn pastures

O

wn a lifestyle block, a few sheep? Maybe you have taken on some dairy grazers but are unsure of how to maximize your pasture coming into autumn. Here are a few tips.

• By the end of summer, you will be able to see what permanent grasses and clovers have survived. Look carefully at the paddock – you will see grasses, clovers, bare ground, and dung patches. You will also see weeds- Californian thistles, dead docks, and ragwort.

It’s worth trying to get rid of these, either with a slasher or by spraying.

Lack of early action means their nasty seed will be around for a long time. With drier summers becoming the norm, more ‘summer grasses’ such as paspalum, and crowfoot will also crop up, but these will disappear as it gets colder.

• Autumn is a good time to renew pasture if you think it necessary, so it’s best to look at planting out permanent species that are more drought-resistant and

Autumn pasture preparation is as important on a lifestyle block as any farm.

do not rely on perennial ryegrass cultivars. But having to renew a ‘run-out’ pasture is expensive so get some advice on this and what best to plant. Only grass and clover really work - the ideal mix from an economic point of view is two-thirds ryegrass and

one-third clover.

• All plants are programmed to produce seed and then either die or survive in a semi-dormant state to do it all again. Pasture management aims to slow this process up because as plants mature their protein content drops, fibre

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

increases, and digestibility and palatability fall. This is not good feed for stock, especially any that have to grow and need maximum nutrients.

• Your main aim is to keep pastures in the green vegetative stage, which is easy in spring but can

be difficult in autumn as soil temperatures drop and the first frosts appear.

All the dead litter left from summer will rot away in a couple of days.

After that, there’s little prospect of an ‘autumn flush.’ If you are lucky enough to get one it can be encouraged by a light dressing of Nitrogen fertilizer (25kgN/ha), provided soil temperatures have not dropped below about 10°C. Have a guess at this and check the 10cm soil temperatures in the MetService information tables online.

• The key is to encourage autumn pasture to last as long as possible. This can be helped along by using an electric fence to control grazing. These aren’t that expensive. If you do have cattle avoid pugging. Make a standoff area for the cattle during wet periods in winter.

Follow these tips and you should be well set up for winter.

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When you consider making changes to your farming operation, whose

advice and opinion on changing can you rely on, and who do you listen to? Is it your neighbours, traditional fertiliser reps, farm advisers or merchants that rely on sales commission? Are they the right people to give advice on how to change your farming system or programme?

When their previous advice probably contributed to the issues and problems in the first place. How experienced or qualified are they to adopt new farming programs to change?

There are many farmer influences

and innovators with acceptance of new technology, new thinking that are figuring out and problem solving the issues of today, eg, reduction of Nitrogen applications, no-till, protecting soil biology, carbon sequestration, Regenerative Agriculture, the Albrecht system of soil fertility.

Any time we attempt to guild someone in a different direction we engage in intervention, we see the negativity of some Agricommentators. Their reluctance and

acceptability of new ideas, technology and science is disturbing. Being ‘anti’ doesn’t inspire people to change, and it reflects former prejudices that cloud judgement. The entrepreneurial producers are not suggesting previous farming systems were bad, but they seek improvements when new information is available. It is more powerful to be for something than against something.

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so is a lot” - Albert Einstein D L Hart (CEO, Top Soils Ltd).

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AUTUMN PASTURE FEATURE

9

Autumn pasture - a juggling act Pat Deavoll

RURAL REPORTER

A

utumn is approaching and dairy farmers are gearing up.

According to Dairy NZ extension partner for Mid Canterbury Hugh Jackson autumn is “a big juggling act” for dairy farmers.

“The focus in autumn is reaching good pasture cover and cow condition targets ready for spring,” he said.

“And whether farmers are irrigated or not will affect a grazing round (how long it takes to graze a whole farm) and how much grass is consumed and what growth rates will be.

“If farmers don’t have irrigation there is more uncertainty because it could get dry, and they won’t grow as much grass.”

But Canterbury farmers with irrigation will be sitting on a fast round - growing lots of grass and allowing the cows to

Hugh Jackson: If there is one broken spoke in the wheel it has an effect on everything going forward.

PHOTO: DAIRY NZ

eat as much as they can, he said.

If farmers are on a fast round, this would be 21 days for a 21 hectare farm, but if a farmer wanted to double their round length and take it up to 42 days, they would only graze half a hectare a day. By grazing 42 days rather than 21 days the farmer is giving the grass an extra 21 days to grow.

In Canterbury, farmers would be on a fairly fast round at the moment because it is warm, Jackson said. Then they would start to extend that round and give the grass more opportunity to grow as they move through

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

to autumn.

By May most farmers would be looking to dry off (the cows from milking) and by June 1 would be on an 80-day round.

They would budget how much growth they would get over winter. Most dairy farms in Canterbury would have crops on hand to winter the cows on and won’t actually feed any of the grass on the milking platform, Jackson said “Farmers will have a target pasture based on experience that would allow them to calve

in the spring with enough grass but not too much. With too much grass the quality becomes poor and the feed fibrous and tough. But on the other hand, they don’t want to have too short a cover,” Jackson said.

“Body condition score (BCS) of cows is something else farmers will look at through autumn. Cows need time to put weight on because when they calve, they need to be in a good condition - not too skinny. Cows always lose a bit of condition at calving and with milking - a

lot of energy goes into this, and they can’t meet the demand.

“Farmers will be looking after their skinny cows and potentially drying them off earlier or milking them less often - maybe once a day (OAD) rather than twice a day.

This gives cows more chance to recover and calve in good condition,” Jackson said.

“It’s all a balancing act,” he said. “If there is one broken spoke in the wheel it has an effect on everything going forward.”

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with Craig Hickman

Protests and politics

I

n my lifetime there have been many memorable protests, and for farmers the fart tax protest when Myrtle the tractor ascended the steps of Parliament has become immortalized.

For those too young to remember the 2003 protest, the then Labour Government was proposing putting a new tax on livestock and reinvesting that money into mitigating agricultural emissions.

It was estimated at the time that the new tax would raise about $8 million a year. The proposed tax was too much of a political hot potato and was shelved for another day.

The protestors felt victorious and, for some, just the hint of something they didn’t like coming their way still made them head to their sheds to dust off the old placards.

Fast-forward from the 2003 protest to October 2019 when

instead of being an issue that only the Green Party, Greenpeace and Forest and Bird publicly campaign on, climate change is now a mainstream issue.

Damien O’Connor, who was the Associate Agriculture Minister at the time of the 2003 protest, and Green Party Leader and Climate Change Minister James Shaw announced that the Government would enter into a five-year partnership with primary sector organisations and Maori to develop a system that will incentivise farmers to measure, manage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The formation of this partnership, He Waka Eke Noa, was greeted with sighs of relief from the farming sector and howls of derision from environmental groups for much the same reasons; it allowed primary producers to remain

outside the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for a further five years and possibly even indefinitely if the partnership is successful.

Farming leaders have often said that farmers should be responsible for charting their own destiny. Governments need to trust us to do what is right for ourselves, the country and the environment. With the formation of He Waka Eke Noa, the Government has quite cleverly pushed the issue of charging agriculture for emissions on to those very farmers – if the partnership fails to deliver then farming will simply be rolled into the ETS and it will be farmers’ fault.

The incentives for the primary sector to make the partnership work are huge; the pricing is likely to be lower than that of the ETS, the partnership allows for a split gas pricing model so

methane and carbon can be priced differently, and the funds generated will be ring-fenced and put directly back into primary sector environmental initiatives, a model not dissimilar to the 2003 proposal.

The first goal of the partnership was to have 25 per cent of all farmers knowing their annual on-farm greenhouse gas emissions. This was achieved in a single move with Fonterra creating personalised emissions reports for each of their nearly 10,000 farmers.

While achieving that first goal is comparatively simple the next step is proving far more difficult. How do you price emissions? The partnership has put forward two proposals; a farm level payment based on an individual farms’ emissions or a processor levy which would be based on the amount of product a processor bought from the farmer, like meat and

milk, or sold to the farmer such as fertiliser. The cost of the processor levy would be charged back to the farmers.

The revenue raised from either pricing model would then be spent on emission reducing initiatives.

My personal view is that if you want to make a material difference then a farm level payment scheme is the way to go. This may sound to some like a turkey begging for Christmas to come early, but if you are going to get farmers to invest to reduce their on-farm emissions then they should directly see the benefit of that.

A levy charged to the processor such as Fonterra or Silver Fern Farms, and then on-charged to me, which doesn’t recognise the individual attributes of my farm and the investments I have made, certainly doesn’t encourage me to invest further.

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The major problem facing the partnership is that the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw, doesn’t like the options being put forward. Shaw, who has publicly distanced himself from the proposals, wants to see pricing used to influence behaviour whereas the partnership has been focusing on using revenue to influence outcomes.

Part of the game of getting what you want from Government is giving Government a little bit of what they want as well, and from where I’m sitting it looks as though nobody asked Shaw what he wanted from these pricing models.

It’s easy to forget about the Green Party, they sit outside Cabinet and have been largely neutered by Labour’s huge majority, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Labour won’t be governing alone after the next election. James Shaw is under increasing pressure from his party members to put more pressure on Labour to achieve things and leaving agriculture out of the ETS amounts to a broken campaign promise from both parties.

With red meat and milk achieving very good prices some dairy farmers could be making $5 profit from every kilogram of milk solids they produced this season, and

11

Farmers protesting back in October on climate change proposals for the industry.

Shaw may decide the time is right to force farmers to make environmental changes.

With the next election only 18 months away, Labour

wouldn’t want this issue to be the catalyst for the Greens to walk away from supporting the Government. Also, I’m sure Damien O’Connor has no desire

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

to be standing on the steps of Parliament in a decade’s time, trying to persuade placardwaving farmers to pay for livestock emissions.

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Farming

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www.guardianonline.co.nz

EQUINE FEATURE

More farriers needed for technical job Pat Deavoll

A

RURAL REPORTER

fter a new career? Why not become a farrier?

Paul Constable of Hoofin’ it Horseshoeing, Waimate, says that for every four “old guys” that retire from farriering, only one apprentice comes on board.

The industry is crying out for farriers.

Constable is generally flat out this time of the year, but his business has been thwarted by Covid.

“There is usually a lot of shows and the Goldfields Trust Cavalcade, which involves up to 1000 horses. But these have all been cancelled,” he said.

But there are still racehorses to shoe - racing carries on all year round and there are a lot more races now than in winter.

Shoeing a horse for the Cavalcade is very different from shoeing a racehorse, he said.

As far as racehorses go there are two types - the gallopers and the standardbreds.

“Standardbreds are different from any other type of horse for shoeing. They are very involved and technicalespecially if they are a trotter rather than a pacer,” Constable said.

“With a trotter, there is a lot of focus on weight (of the shoe) and even a difference in weight from one side of the hoof to the other.

“For instance, on the back feet of a pacer, the inside of the shoe is lighter and shorter than the outside of the shoe.

“With the trotters, there is a lot of difference in the weight of the front shoe compared with the back,” he said.

If trotters have a natural gait, they will have quite a light shoe on the front. If they aren’t trotting as well as they could be, they will have a heavy shoe in front which acts like a pendulum to make them stay in the trotting gait.

Most gallopers, once they start doing “fast work,” will be in aluminum shoes to reduce weight. There is a requirement that they must have a low weight of shoe – a lot of people think this is for speed, but it is for safety in case they throw a shoe during a race.

Paul Constable has been a farrier for nearly 30 years. His son is just finishing his apprenticeship, but more apprentices are needed to keep the skill alive.

PHOTO: HOOFIN’ IT HORSESHOEING

“Show Jumpers have studs in their shoes (like the sprigs in a rugby boot). These screw into the shoe and the length of the stud will depend on conditions.

When they aren’t “out doing it,” the owner puts keepers in which

fill in the hole and keep the thread intact,” Constable said.

“The Cavalcade usually happens every year in February.

We are talking up to 1000 participants and all horses must be shod – this is with a standard

hack shoe.”

Constable has been a farrier for nearly 30 years. His son is just finishing his apprenticeship and he has another apprentice in his first year working for him.

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www.guardianonline.co.nz

13

Tips for taking a farm to auction this autumn Calvin Leen

PGG Wrightson Real Estate

I

f you are thinking about selling a farm this autumn, for handover prior to winter, whoever is marketing it may recommend offering it for auction. The key reason for going to auction is that, at the fall of the hammer, the property is sold unconditionally, with a purchase date set by you.

Due to a lack of properties to choose from, current rural property market conditions favour the seller, meaning a successful auction will deliver many benefits. Most important among these are: An auction is a clean and transparent way to determine what the property is worth.

It generates a strong sense of excitement that will heighten competition, and maximise value.

While the buyer sets the price, as the seller you remain in

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control of the process.

If you decide to take a farm to auction, presentation of the physical asset is the first step.

That includes ensuring all land and buildings are in the best possible shape, pasture is in good condition, laneways are groomed, fences are sound, shelter belts are tidy and livestock or crops are thriving.

To create a compelling initial impression, preparation of all relevant information is almost as crucial. Full documentation will include current and historic stocking/ cropping rates, farm improvements, current soil tests, production history, irrigation consents, inputs, pasture development and business expenses. What you need is enough detail for your purchaser to gauge the cost of production.

Environmental compliance is becoming such an important subset of this information that it deserves a separate category.

If required, and in many instances, it will be, that means a current Farm Environment Plan and/or a consent to farm, specifying how the

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management of your property complies with environmental regulations.

Included in the marketing timeframe, you need to leave enough time for intending purchasers to liaise with their solicitors and other professional advisors. Well prior to auction date they need access to your legal documents so they can properly understand the content and form of the sale, including chattels and any conditions

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you may set. As part of this level of documentation, we strongly recommend seeking advice from your accountant relating to the Purchase Price Allocation of fixed assets, which came into effect from 1 July 2021.

Prospective purchasers are looking for this due diligence information. They need it to help them make a sound, confident business decision about what value they are willing to offer to take on your

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property. Gathering these facts before the farm is listed should mitigate most of the reasons that might otherwise cause buyers to pause. With as much of this information as possible, you maximise your chances of earning a premium when the auctioneer’s hammer falls.

Without it, you may be selling your farm short.

Calvin Leen is Mid-South Canterbury and North Otago Sales Manager for PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited.

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Farming

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FARM MACHINERY FEATURE

www.guardianonline.co.nz

Massey Ferguson celebrates 175th anniversary Pat Deavoll

RURAL REPORTER

A

nthony Hampton of Mid Canterbury is a stalwart Massey Ferguson fan. He has been collecting Massey Ferguson machinery for over 40 years, having renovated his first tractor after acquiring it from a neighbour in 1980.

“I bought another one to get parts off it and that started me off,” he said, “And I have been renovating Massey Fergusons ever since.

“We had always run Massey’s on the farm and when I started collecting, I thought I would just concentrate on the one brand.”

His oldest tractor is a grey 1928 Massey Harris Wallace that has been restored to its former glory. It came from a farm in Culverden.

There is a shed, fully enclosed and bird proofed, for his collection.

The bulk of Hampton’s collection is Massey Harris tractors that he has found “lying around” and rebuilt.

“I enjoy doing this myself, just to save costs,” he said.

“This was after Massey got into tractor manufacturing on a large scale.”

He claims the MF 185 was a reliable brand They had no computers to play with back then either, he said. They are still a very popular tractor today- a lot of people are hunting for them.

Hampton has three Massey Ferguson tractors on the end of his irrigators, used to winch the machinery down the paddocks.

He shifts the irrigators once a

day but can’t just push a button to have this done like a centerpivot-hence his trusty tractors.

Massey Ferguson, a worldwide brand of AGCO announced a fresh new look for its MF Triple Triangle logo to celebrate its 175th year anniversary in 2022.

“It made sense to launch a new logo during this moment in our history, “Luis Felli, general manager for Massey Ferguson said in a press release.

“Massey Ferguson is now moving away from being a pure farm machinery manufacturer into a provider of straightforward and dependable machinery that’s the best value for farmers and makes their business more profitable and sustainable.

“This farmer-first approach allows customers to experience the transformation of the brand in a unique way all over the world.”

Pat Deavoll, rural reporter for Guardian Farming commented that her North Canterbury farming father had always had Massey Fergusons and was a fan.

“He had one tiny Massey Ferguson (amongst several including a 185) that was ancient and had been down to the South Pole with Sir Edmund Hilary. He would drive around the farm with his dogs in a tray in the back. If you’d pick away at the paint on the tractor body, you could still see Hilary’s expedition logo in yellow underneath. It had been repainted back to the iconic red.

“This tractor survived two farm accidents over the yearsone where my father rolled it down a hill and another when it went over a cliff. But it always bounced back and lived for another day. Such a sturdy little tractor that my father was devoted to as his general run around.”

Anthony Hampton has collected an impressive array of Massey Ferguson tractors on his farm in Mid Canterbury.

PHOTO: RNZ

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“Massey Ferguson has been offering farmers around the world straightforward and dependable machines for the last 175 years,” said Eric Hansotia, chief executive officer of AGCO Corporation. “Few brands around the world can claim such a lasting impact in the agricultural industry.

The Massey Ferguson brand has had a long and somewhat chequered past and this article only touches on a few of the details.

In 1847, Daniel Massey established the Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory. The company made some of the world’s first mechanical threshers.

Thirty years later, the company moved to Toronto, where it soon became one of the city’s leading employers.

The company expanded further and began to sell its products internationally. Through extensive advertising, it became one of the most well-known brands in Canada.

By the 1890s, the company had merged with A. Harris, Son and Company to form MasseyHarris Limited, which became the largest agricultural equipment maker in the British Empire. Massey-Harris made threshing machines and reapers.

In 1910, Massey-Harris acquired the Johnston Harvester Company of Batavia, New York, making it one of Canada’s

FARM MACHINERY FEATURE

The 2021 Massey Ferguson 6490.

The Massey Ferguson 3660 from the early 1990s.

PHOTO: MASSEY FERGUSON

PHOTO: MASSEY FERGUSON

first multinational firms.

The company’s early tractor models included the 20 horsepower Massey-Harris GP 15/22, the 25 horsepower Massey-Harris Pacemaker’, and the 35 horsepower Model 101.

In the 1930s, it introduced the first self-propelled combine harvester. Massey Harris also produced one of the world’s first four-wheel-drive tractors.

Grain harvesting was revolutionized by Massey with the world’s first affordable, mass-produced, self-propelled combine. This served as a guide for the design of a lighter and less costly model which was put on sale in 1941.

15

Massey-Harris merged with the Ferguson Company to become Massey-HarrisFerguson in 1953, before finally taking on its current name in 1958. Nevertheless, the company soon began to decline financially after facing increasing international competition in the 1960s.

The 30-horsepower MasseyHarris 50 tractor was introduced after the merger that created Massey-Harris-Ferguson in 1955.

A year later, the M-H 33 was replaced by the “triple series” which was mechanically similar to its predecessors but featured power steering, live power takeoff, and hydraulics. The triple

series tractors remained in production until 1958.

Massey bought 100 per cent of Landini, based in Italy, in 1959. Landini had built many models for Massey over the years, especially vineyard and crawler models. It also purchased Perkins Engines from Peterborough, England Perkins had been the main diesel engine supplier for Massey Ferguson for many years.

By 1992 despite hardship, Massey Ferguson was selling 25 per cent more tractors than its nearest competitors. In 1995, its worldwide holdings was purchased by the United Statesbased AGCO Corporation.

“2022 will be the year of the

new Massey Ferguson global brand,” said Francesco Murro, Massey Ferguson vice president global marketing.

“We have been thinking of a new logo since we unveiled the MF NEXT Concept at Agritechnica 2019. Our new era started to come to life with the MF 8S launch in July 2020 followed by the launch of a full line of products these past 18 months, including our September 2021 Born to Farm Digital Event.”

The MF8S will arrive in New Zealand within the next couple of months- something for Massey Ferguson aficionados to look forward to.

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STAYING NIMBLE WHILE

GROWING Pages 18-19

18

Dairy Focus

www.guardianonline.co.nz

The Align Farms market garden.

PHOTO: JOHNNY HUSTON

Rhys Roberts: stay nimble and true to your beliefs Pat Deavoll

R

RURAL REPORTER

hys Roberts CEO of Align Farms has recently won the acclaimed 2022 New Zealand Zanda McDonald Award and he is stoked. The prizes are massive and include flying around the Australian outback in a private plane visiting remote stations.

“I can think of worse things to do,” he says. “I think the networking and opportunity to see both Australia and New Zealand leaders within our industry will be really critical for me.”

But all that is to come, in the meantime he is focused on

getting the most out of the seven farms plus market garden he is in charge of.

“Align Farms totals 2000 hectares,” he says, “and milks over 5000 cows. There are 30 team members from all corners of the globe. It’s a big job but one that I am passionate about.”

Roberts talks to the Guardian Farming about the ins and outs of running Align Farms.

So, what is the history of Align Farms?

Align Farms is owned by John Buchanan from Central Otago. We bought our first farm in 2012 and have then grown a farm a year on average since then. Now we have seven farms and a market garden in Mid Canterbury. We are vertically integrated with a majority shareholding in a dairy factory and have our own yogurt range, Cyclops.

A hub of five farms is within

kilometers from each other and then two more are in the Mayfield/ Hinds area, one in Westerfield and the other in Mt Somers.

The farm at Mt Somers is a 150hectare dairy support property.

We have just purchased another farm near Longfield which we take over in June.

We are always looking at opportunities to expand but it has got to be smart expansion.

And what about your personal history?

I live at Westerfield and my wife Kiri manages that farm.

I grew up in Matamata and then went to Telford Southern Institute of Technology in 2004 after school. I went back to the North Island then moved south again in 2006. I ran through the management sharemilking route in Canterbury and have been with Align Farms for 10 years, starting as farm manager

then moving into an operational role, and then becoming chief executive about five years ago.

What are the objectives of these seven farms?

There are objectives that I have, and objectives shareholders have, and they probably align somewhat.

I think we want to be a resilient, diverse, and productive environment that’s enjoyed by all and that’s what we set out to do. I guess scale, resilience, and diversity bring productivity because you can aim for a more competitive environment.

The reason for scale is that we want to be a commercially productive business. Scale brings opportunities and opportunities bring smart minds and smart minds bring prosperity, so I guess that’s what we are about.

What about regenerative (re-gen) agriculture

objectives?

We were looking at types of low-impact farming and one of them was organics, but we thought that wasn’t us as a business because it was quite restrictive.

We found re-gen was quite inclusive – there were tools you could use but you weren’t restricting yourself to anything else. We felt re-gen better aligned with our philosophy.

Firstly, we are trying to find a farming system that values food production and productivity. We call it finding our balance - the balance between productivity and low impact. So that’s where Cyclops yogurt comes into it- we put our regenerative milk into Cyclops and provide nutrient-dense food for our communities. It’s more around dabbling our toes in the market and trying to understand what is possible and what’s not.

www.guardianonline.co.nz

19

Rhys Roberts: We also have flexible work rosters on some of our farms where the workers have a choice in what and when they do their work.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Align Clearview cowshed.

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PHOTO:PUBLISHING JOHNNY HUSTON

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We are really interested in the a lot of that is driven by the week, but they are an integral ADVERTISING DESIGNER Unknown SECTION dairy market and in particular high milk payout. part of our team. Most of the GENER CHRISTCHURCH VEIN CLINIC yogurt on the back of some ofCUSTOMER I am quite passionate about staff live on-farm.PUBLISHING PROOF PROOFED 27/08/2014 1:31:18 p.m.

SIZE 10X7 its added health benefits. SomeSALES producingREP nutrient-dense food Our team comes from all BERNADETTE.CHRISTIE PUBLICATION exciting innovations are going and putting that food back into over - the Philippines, India, ERTISING AD ID 6268508AA FAX 4528 Unknown SECTION on with the kefirs and different DESIGNER the food so to speak. Basically, Brazilian, and the UK. We’ve ROOF types of yogurts. They are all PROOFED I have 20 years of conventional had them for quite some 27/08/2014 1:31:18 p.m.

SIZE PLEASE APPROVE THIS AD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. NOTE THAT ANY ALTERA areas we would like to target experience and 20 minutes of time - we haven’t employed down the line. re-genAD so haveID a lot to6268508AA learn. anyone since the new changes. FAX MUST BE FINALISED BY OUR MATERIAL Secondly, we didn’t want to You have innovative ways of We DEADLINE. decided to look after our be farmers who just got caught managing your staff ? employees rather than continue PROVE THIS AD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. NOTE THAT ANY A up in the emotions of re-gen We have a market garden, employing more and trying to farming - we wanted to BE provide FINALISED and the team gets a vege box get through current challenges.

MUST

BY OUR MATERIAL DEADLINE. some detail and data around the once a week That was born out Some of our farms employ all effects this can or cannot have. of the maxim “a healthy diet Filipinos and some employ all So, the regenerative farming creates a healthy attitude.” We Kiwis - it comes down to the data goes up on our website and plan to provide 60 per cent of management and how they we track anything from grass the team’s diet from the farmwant to run their business. growth to milk production to that’s eggs, meat, and veggies.

And the future? possibility and share that data We sell the excess produce You always have your eye on with everyone. in town at farmers’ markets something. At this point, it’s As far as productivity or peer-to-peer sales. The just trying to find the smartest goes, fewer cows per hectare plan is to expand this – it’s an opportunity to invest our mean less productivity but independent business that we capital whether it be land or productivity is made up of run. We have Liz Philipps who vertical integration (grass to Rhys Roberts, CEO of Aligns Farms, has won the prestigious New two things: 1) amount and 2) manages this - she is the chief glass). I guess it’s just finding Zealand Zanda McDonald Award. efficiency. market gardener, and the team the right spot for our capital.

PHOTO: JOHNNY HUSTON We are looking to optimize helps her out in the busier times The areas I am passionate the productivity, not increase like packing. She is full time. about are vertical integration it. That is what re-gen is all And the teams work What challenges the long unpaid breaks. (grass to glass) and future about. We are certainly seeing rosters? industry is that dairy workers Now they can do eight hours workplaces. Wellness and wella reduction from an output We also have flexible work do 2400 hours a year which a day at 1100 hours a year and being are important to me and perspective, but we are also rosters on some of our farms is the “holy grail”. The get paid the same. They can trying to improve that. seeing a reduction from an where the workers have a choice unfortunate thing is that they invest this extra time in the The next step is to evolve input perspective as well. Our in what and when they do their must do 3500 hours a year to community. as a business and adapt to data is telling us we are going work. This works fantastically complete this because we get We also employ the some of the challenges and opportunities we have facing us. to be $800 a hectare a year less well but is not a magic bullet them up so early and they may underemployed and smartest in Staying nimble and true to our profitable on the re-gen side because you are still dealing do 13 hours a day but only get the community and they may beliefs and values. from the conventional side. And with people. paid for eight hours. They get only do a couple of milkings a

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21

New Zealand now home for Zhybale

Dairy assistant manager for Align Farms Zhybale Castil has embraced her life in New Zealand and can’t see herself and her family living anywhere else.

A

Tourism New Zealand advertisement and a prompt from a friend brought Zhybale (Zybeel) Castil out from the Philippines to work in the dairy industry nine years ago.

She has never looked back and is now assistant manager on Clearview Align farm, where she lives with her husband and two children who are both at Mt Hutt College in Methven.

“I had a classmate from university working on a dairy farm in New Zealand and they asked me if I was interested,” Zhybale said.

“I said I would give it a shot, so they told me what to prepare and an agency helped me get a position.

“Because my degree was in veterinary medicine, I had some experience in dairy animals, but also with small animals.

“I worked for the Council in the Veterinary Services Department in the Philippines and once I knew I was going to be working in the dairy industry I started to focus more on dairy animals.”

Now dairy is her life, she said. She loves everything about her job. Firstly, it is in line with her university qualification.

“And I like the environment - you must deal with the animals, and you see nature. Every morning I see the sunrise - the most beautiful thing that I always look forward to.

“And of course, I love the cows,” she said.

As an assistant manager, she is involved with milking, planning pasture management, animal health, and some pest control. She has been in the position for a year.

Her workmates are mainly Filipino and most of them have been at Clearview for many years – some longer than the nine years she has been there. We are a close-knit Filipino community, she said.

And does she want to stay in New Zealand? Most definitely.

“We are supposed to apply for our resident’s visa next week. So far, we’ve been here on working visas.

We don’t go back to the Philippines that often - we’ve been twice. It’s just too expensive to get all the family back there, Zhybale said.

“Anyway, New Zealand is my dream country. I saw pictures of it

in an ad and wondered if it could be true that the scenery could be so beautiful. It was true.”

Zhybale plans to be in the dairy industry for a while. I’m planning a career progression, she said.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

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23

Biofumigation: gaining increasing interest amongst farmers Mary Ralston

I

FOREST AND BIRD

ntegrated pest and disease management is the subject of increasing interest as farmers and growers aim to reduce their agrichemical use. One area of disease management showing great potential is soil biofumigation.

Biofumigation involves the use of finely chopped plant material incorporated into the soil. The green matter releases gaseous compounds that suppress the viability of the disease-causing fungal spores.

Potatoes, onions, tomatoes and lettuce, and other crops are prone to a variety of soil-borne fungal diseases and the fungal spores responsible can persist in the soil for many years.

Brassicas, especially mustard, have been traditionally

considered to be useful crops for cleansing the soil. The mode of action is now known and evidence for their effectiveness has been shown in research trials. For best results, they should be grown as a dense cover crop before the main crop and incorporated into the soil where they alter the composition and levels of soil microorganisms.

The “active ingredients” in brassicas are a wide variety of glucosinolates (GSLs) which are precursors of isothiocyanates (ITCs), and it is the ITC gas that suppresses the activity of many soil micro-organisms. The brassica needs to be chopped up finely and incorporated into the soil; the isothiocyanate gas (ITC) is released from the brassica tissue and “fumigates” the soil, reducing the viability of the problematic fungi and the infection of crops prone to these diseases.

Sclerotinia spp. and Sclerotium cepivorum are examples of fungi affecting lettuce and onion that can be controlled by biofumigation.

Caliente mustard grown for biofumigation. Note the dense planting.

PHOTO: ANDREW CULLEY

Potatoes can be badly affected by soil fungi, such as Rhizoctonia solani which causes stem canker and tuber black scurf. Trials using various plant species incorporated into the soil showed promising results in reducing the severity of these diseases. Tomatoes are

frequently prone to Verticillium wilt and this may also be reduced by ITC. Not all brassicas are created equally when it come to their usefulness for biofumigation.

While all brassicas contain ITC, only some contain it in sufficient quantities to

have the disease-suppressing ability. Caliente mustards have been bred specifically for biofumigation and as well as containing high levels of GSLs, they produce a very bulky crop with a lot of biomass. Brown mustard and ‘Nemat’ arugula (known to home gardeners as rocket) have also been shown to be useful for biofumigation.

The high biomass aspect of the brassica cover crops is an important part of its value.

The large quantities of green matter encourage beneficial microorganisms, and these help out-compete pathogens to suppress disease levels in the subsequent crop.

For best results, the plants must be chopped as finely as possible before being immediately incorporated into the soil. Discing or ploughing in the crop will not produce the same levels of ITC gas.

Green manures have many other benefits: they capture soil nutrients that may otherwise be lost through leaching or runoff, they improve soil structure and suppress weeds.

24

Dairy Focus

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Rural contractors to get national training scheme T

he Rural Contractors NZ Board has backed a proposal for the industry to establish a National Training Council.

RCNZ CEO Andrew Olsen said his board’s approval gives the green light to the initiative, which could start a more comprehensive approach to training in the sector.

“We have a lot of competing training and while there’s a lot of good people doing their best, there are varying outcomes that don’t serve the primary sector as a whole very well.”

He said spray contractors had the benefit of a lifetime of effort to develop a training regime from a now-retired contractor but other strands within the sector had struggled to get beyond teaching the basic skills.

“It’s a time of change in vocational education so there’s an opportunity to refocus our efforts and look to develop the best training options and be futurefocused for all of our members.”

Olsen said currently rural contractors themselves spent much of their time guiding and upskilling recruits.

“Our board recognized that last year and put some funding, along with MPI, into supporting the development of the HanzonJobs training initiative which sees trainees record their work activities on an app.

“It gives trainees and their employers a physical record of the range of tasks they can do and how much time they’ve spent doing them.”

This and other training, including some provided at the ITO level and courses run by polytechnics and other tertiary providers, needed to be able to fit into a more comprehensive record of achievement.

With his board now backing a National Training Council, Olsen said he wanted to develop support among contractors, training organisations, and Government agencies.

“The Government has made clear that if our efforts to bring in skilled workers from overseas are to have any success once Covid conditions ease, they must be matched by a focus on training Kiwis.

“We’ve worked up short courses and on-the-job training but this now needs to be stitched into a model which gives trainees a qualification that sets them up for life rather than one which often just really gets them started on skills development.

“As technology develops, we will need increasingly skilled people to ensure rural contracting can meet modern farming demands and I think we are signaling we are up to the challenge.”

RCNZ CEO Andrew Olsen: It’s a time of change in vocational education for the sector.

PHOTO: RURAL CONTRACTORS NZ

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25

Ryal Bush takes the initiative

R

yal Bush Transport of Ashburton has taken the bull by the horns and mounted a Tow and Fert spray fertilizer applicator on the back of a truck - an Isuzu 4WD. We are the only contracting company to have taken this initiative, said fertilizer dispatcher Dean Rattray.

“The Tow and Fert Multi 4000 is normally towed behind a tractor, but we thought we would go outside of the box.”

There was a bit involved he said, but Ryal Bush had been operating it on dairy farms for the past two weeks.

It was “going good” and reviews had been favourable.

“We have a pretty sharp operator on it who has worked in the spray industry before,” he said.

The applicator could be operated from the cab of the truck with the driver never having to get out, Rattray said.

“We generally pick up the fertilizer on-farm. There is a crane that lifts the bags and products onto the applicator, and it has an agitator which dissolves the fertilizer - this works full time, so the mixture is kept at a consistent solution. So, it is a one-man job.

“We wanted to try and help our customers reach their nitrogen requirements and get the benefits of

using liquid fertilizer” Rattray said.

“This gets to the leaf of the plant rather than going into the roots where it is of no value. This is especially important with the lower rates of nitrogen that the dairy people use these days.”

Sales manager for Tow and Fert Michael Smith said the applicator was made in Dannevirke (by Metal Form) and had been on the market for nine years.

They cost anything from $11,000 up to $90,000 (that’s the Multi 4000), he said.

“The Multi 4000 has a 4000-Litre capacity, can spread a width of 20 -24 metres, and can mix granular fertilizers and fine particle fertilizers into a liquid or a slurry.

“Five tonnes of product can be loaded in just 15 minutes, and it can cover one hectare in just three minutes with a capacity of up to 40 hectares per load.

“Down around the Ashburton area they are very popular. There are probably around five contractors and another 100 farmers who operate them,” Smith said.

“They are becoming more and more popular because with fertilizer prices rising if you apply it in a liquid, you use about 40 per cent less for the same results.”

Operator Joel Craw with the Tow and Fert applicator mounted on the Isuzu 4WD truck.

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27

Big decisions ahead for dairy industry W

ith the government’s agri-emissions pricing coming in 2025 there are some big decisions ahead for the dairy industry. Every farmer is urged to voice their opinion on the issues to come in this article, in a series of roadshows and meetings throughout the country.

The primary sector action partnership He Waka Eke Noa was established two years ago in response to the Government’s proposal to price agricultural greenhouse gas emissions through the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). The ETS is the Government’s main tool to encourage industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with a broad tax.

The ETS is a governmentcontrolled market- it sets the direction and speed. This means when the pressure to reduce emissions increases so will the price. If agriculture joins the ETS the cost to farmers will continue to increase each year despite progress made to reach targets. Within the ETS the dairy sector will have no control.

Pricing agriculture this way will be counterproductive -the ETS is a blunt instrument designed to ramp up the price of all greenhouse gas emissions until they reach net zero. But because methane from livestock is a short-lived gas that doesn’t need to reduce to zero the dairy industry needs a system that can treat methane separately.

Although New Zealand’s farmers have the lowest carbon footprint in the world; efficiency is only part of the answer.

Farmers need to stay ahead of the game globally. Some of the dairy industry’s biggest customers, including Nestle, are also working towards emissions reductions targets. Soon some of the countries New Zealand exports will have new emissions tariffs in place.

The Partnership’s aim is to develop an alternative to the ETS which will practically and effectively reduce emissions.

It has released two pricing options for farmers to consider: the farm level levy and the processor level hybrid levy.

When designing the two options the Partnership considered four things: While agricultural emissions need to reduce every farm is different. Farmers need the choice to manage emissions in the way that best suits their farm and values.

Carbon capture through onfarm sequestration needs to be recognised and rewarded.

Methane must be treated differently from carbon dioxide; and All revenue collected from farmers needs to be reinvested back into farms to reduce emissions Mid Canterbury Federated

New Zealand farmers have the lowest carbon footprint in the world; however, efficiency is only part of the answer.

Farmers President David Clark said, “Broadly speaking there is a processor and a farm level of emissions.

One would be accounting for all the ins and outs on a farm, the sequestration versus the emissions. And the other involves the farm as a producer.”

Within the farm-level levy option, farms would face the cost of reported emissions from livestock and fertilizer, and offsets, to a thirdparty organisation or new Government department.

Individual farms or collectives calculate their short and long-lived gas emissions through a greenhouse gas calculator. The calculator would have a simple or detailed reporting process depending on the level farmers want to report their emissions.

Different levy rates would apply to short- and long-lived gases. Actual on-farm emissions would be used to determine costs rather than using national averages. And farms that have already taken action to reduce their emissions would be recognised through reduced cost in this option.

With the processor-level hybrid levy, each processor would pay for emissions based on national average emissions factors for short- and long-lived gases applied to products supplied, or bought (i.e., fertiliser), by farmers or growers.

The emissions charge would most likely be passed onto farmers via a reduced pay-out, and/or an increased cost of fertilizer.

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

Some of the dairy industry’s biggest customers, including Nestle, are also working towards emissions reductions targets.

Farms (individually or in collectives) could opt-in to a legally binding Emissions Management Contract (EMC) to receive a payment for emissions reductions made on the farm and/or a Sequestration Management Contract (SMC) to receive a payment for their sequestration.

“There are a lot more compliance costs in the farm level option versus a lesser compliance cost at the producer

level,” Clark said. “The processor levy is far simpler and cheaper to administer but does less to recognise what individual farms do to mitigate emissions themselves.”

“What you have to remember in all of this is that New Zealand farmers are amongst the most climate emissions efficient farmers in the world,” he said.

Doing nothing is not an option, according to Dairy

NZ. The government has already decided to price agriculture emissions. Now is the time to have your say on the partnership’s alternative solutions.

“At the moment it seems the government is hell-bent on raising a significant tax against our production and reducing our emissions by 40 per cent which effectively is a reduction in stock numbers by the same amount,” said Clark.

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29

High cost of fertilizer has trickledown effect increased astronomically over the last few months. At the beginning of December urea was priced at about $1200/ tonne. A year earlier it was under $350/t and as recently as September 2021 was $590/t.

At the start of the year, farmers paid $5.50 for one litre of glyphosate; now it was $13 and percentage-wise that increase was huge Bulk fertilizers like superphosphate - the prices haven’t gone up much, said Hart.

“What has gone up is the high analysis fertilizers used on crops and we spread a lot of this - that’s special mixes on potatoes and specialist crops.

“Some of the croppingground farmers don’t have a choice but to put urea and DAP on and this will be eating into their bottom margin.”

But eventually, it will impact everyone and everything, he said.

Mid Canterbury President Federated Farmers David Clark said the operating costs on his arable farm near Ashburton had risen significantly because of

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he skyrocketing cost of fertilizer doesn’t seem to have affected topdressing operators – but it’s just a matter of time.

Topdressing pilot Duncan Hart of Skyfarmers, Methven said it was probably a bit early to tell if there would be a tailoff in fertilizer demand because of the high price – this would become apparent in the autumn which, along with spring, was the main season for top dressing.

“Then I imagine it will have a trickledown effect,” he said.

“I’m sure it will have an impact on everyone and everything - not just the top-dressing companies.”

The international prices for urea and DAP– the product that combined nitrogen and phosphate for fertilizer – had

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Operating costs for arable farmers have risen significantly because of the high cost of fertilizer.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

the high cost of fertilizer.

“The cost of food and feed will have to go up. We could back off on the amount of fertilizer we put on but then we wouldn’t produce as much,” he said.

Clark said nitrogen systems in the arable industry were so finely balanced that if you grew a primary crop all the nitrogen had been used up by the previous crop. By the time

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you’ve grown a crop of wheat or ryegrass, the petrol tank was empty.

“If you don’t then add more nitrogen, you get very little growth from the next crop you plant,” he said. “It’s an unbreakable cycle.”

For instance, to grow a ton of wheat requires 25 kg of nitrogen. Once that nitrogen had been used up it’s gone for good.

“If we grow a 12-tonne crop of wheat that’s 25 kg of phosphorus and potassium that leaves the farm,” he said.

Clark used a variety of products - urea, sulfate of ammonia, high analysis fertilizers - depending on the crop to be planted.

“It’s a linear interaction - less fertilizer, less wheat to sell. Less wheat, less bread.”

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Organic wine trade agreement with China welcomed C

ertified organic winery, Greystone, located in North Canterbury’s Waipara wine region, is among the New Zealand wineries now with greater access to the Chinese market.

Thanks to an Organic Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA), announced by the Organic Exporters Association of New Zealand last week, China now acknowledged New Zealand’s organic standards.

Greystone marketing manager Nik Mavromatis said the agreement was a win for the organic wine industry, with wineries like their own now able to tell consumers in China their product was organic.

“The MRA gives New Zealand’s wine companies greater access to one of the strongest markets in the world and helps us show consumers all the organic work we do to make our wines,” Mavromatis said.

While Greystone and other New Zealand certified organic wineries were able to ship their product to China previously, they had to jump through hoops to gain the appropriate organic recognition, including changing labels.

“You couldn’t say you were organic unless you flew over an inspector from China and covered their fees,” said Mavromatis.

“That was going to cost us $20,000 a year, with licenses needing to be renewed every year. Add in the additional labeling costs and stock management, and the MRA marks a big win for all organic

Greystone marketing manager Nik Mavromatis said the agreement was a win for the organic wine industry.

wineries in New Zealand.”

Last year, Greystone exported 6,263 cases of wine to China. Mavromatis said he expected this figure to continue ramping up, with the Chinese market keen on what New Zealand wineries had to offer.

He experienced this fondness for NZ wine on trade visits to China prior to the pandemic.

“Chinese consumers have a preference for healthy and organic beverages more than

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any other market in the world.

It’s a huge opportunity for us to promote our clean, green, organic produce to China and to show off all the hard work we do in the vineyard and beyond to achieve our organic status,” he said.

“In addition, most of New Zealand’s top wineries such as Ata Rangi, Rippon, Neudorf, Dog Point, and many more are all organic. So now China can see the best of what New

Zealand wine has to offer. This will help grow our country’s reputation in one of the fastestgrowing markets for wine in the world.”

In early 2014 Greystone began the conversion from conventional to organic viticulture. By 2018, Greystone’s entire 33-hectare vineyard was certified organic with BioGro New Zealand.

Most recently Greystone began work in regenerative viticulture,

PHOTO: GREYSTONE.

planting a mix of flowers and crops between their vine rows.

In a statement, Andrew Henderson, Chairman of the Organic Exporters Association of NZ, said exports of certified organic produce to China were worth $93 million and were likely to grow due to reduced compliance costs and the increased certainty and facilitation that this arrangement provided New Zealand exporters.

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31

A Day in the life of a topdressing pilot B

ill Byrch of Motunau AgAir Ltd is up at the crack of dawn. At daylight, he has his Air Tractor 402 roaring and takes off down the runway, over the cliff, and out to sea.

Today he is heading to the Banks Peninsula to spray insecticide and fungicide, some on crops, some on hill country.

The fungicide is for fodder beet and the insecticide for kale, he says.

His loader driver left hours beforehand, to check the weather and condition of the airstrip – he phones this information through to Bill before he takes off.

The loader driver’s job is to mix the insecticide and fungicide with water and load the plane, Bill says.

They spray all morning until the nor’easterly picks up, and there is a risk of drift of the application.

Bill comes home to Motunau and changes the role equipment and spends the rest of the day spreading fertilizer further up the coast.

“Fertilizer is heavier and not so prone to drifting,” he says.

“It can be applied in less-thanideal conditions.”

Bill sprays everything from fungicides, insecticides, glyphosates, and does a lot of scrub spraying.

Up to 50 per cent of his work is spraying.

He also does fertilizer spraying for Mainland Minerals Southern down in Gore.

“Mainland Minerals is suspension fertilizer, it’s not a liquid,” he says.

“It is fertilizer ground into a fine powder and mixed with water and flown on. It requires different spray gear to apply.

“This can be sprayed on any country - it is normally used to correct imbalances in the soil.”

Bill says he often works from home if doing low-volume applications covering a large area from the central base.

“For instance, we can do a hundred kilometre round trip from home doing up to 70

hectares per load,” he says.

“But if we are going off to spray scrub because it’s a lot higher water rate and a much higher turnaround, we set up on the strip on the farm involved.

“This could be anywhere from Kaikoura to the Hakataramea. If we are going to the Haka the loader driver will go down the day before and set up. Then I will go down at first light.

“If we have big jobs to do, we will put two planes on it - we have another guy in Methven, Duncan Hart who will come and help us.”

As far as crop spraying goes, we put on whatever the agronomists recommend, he says.

“We do forestry spraying as well. We normally do weed spraying to get rid of all the scrub amongst the trees and post-planting spraying.”

We push the aerial spraying, it has great advantages over the ground application, Bill says.

“When you do aerial spraying on crops it is much more efficient than ground applicators (trucks and tractors), better coverage and you don’t get wheel marks.

There is no crop damage. You don’t get wastage and we get a big area done much quicker.

“I don’t know how much a ground rig will do but our best day on scrub was 700 hectares.

“And that’s a high-water rate which is far more efficient than a helicopter and ground rigs couldn’t do it.”

Crop spraying, we could probably knock out 1500 hectares if we had good going, he says.

“We are more efficient than a helicopter because we can carry bigger loads and travel faster.

We also have lower running costs and more specialized machinery.”

“Air Tractors are purposebuilt for spraying whereas helicopters aren’t. They are built for carting people around.”

Topdressing pilot Bill Byrch spraying on his home farm at Motunau.

Bill with his Air Tractor 402 which he bought from Australia about three years ago.

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

32

Farming

www.guardianonline.co.nz

SEED FEATURE

Want to try re-gen farming but don’t know what to plant?

A

s a proportion of this edition is devoted to regenerative farming, we thought it best to include some of the varieties of plants used for this method of farming.

Regenerative agriculture has a wide variety of definitions and regenerative farmers farm for a wide variety of reasons.

Some of these reasons include caring for their soils, their interest in the diversity of species, seeing the farming system as a whole, and using a low input system.

Regenerative farmers tend to require mixes of more diversity than traditional farmers do. And because of this, we thought it better to list typically used varieties.

Regenerative perennialbased seed mix options • Chicory is a tap-rooted perennial herb with excellent animal production potential. It provides a leafy, high-quality feed over spring, autumn, and when other pastures lack quality.

• Fescue is a perennial grass more tolerant of hot summer,

Regenerative farmers tend to require mixes of more diversity than traditional farmers do. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

poorly drained soils than perennial ryegrass.

• The Bromegrass family is best suited to free draining soils with moderate to high fertility.

They will not persist on poorly drained soil types. Very palatable with good average quality.

• Timothy is used as an important part of any pasture seed mix where high

spring/summer production is required. It is, therefore, better suited to areas where summer moisture is assured.

• Perennial ryegrass is an excellent base for a permanent pasture mix with good palatability and establishment.

• Yorkshire Fog tolerates wet, infertile, and acidic soil types and because of this has been used for forestry and erosion

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control and on high country sheep farms. Yorkshire Fog contains flavonoids and tannins which have been shown to improve stock health when used for stock grazing.

• Browntop is sometimes known as Bentgrass. It is often mixed with fescues. It forms a dense sward; it has good drought and low fertility tolerance and is suitable for cooler climates.

• White Cover leaf size generally means more potential yield. However, a high stolon density means that there is better tolerance of adverse conditions, such as drought, pests, or pugging. It is important to select the right clover for the situation based on these attributes.

• Sub Clovers are annual clovers that breed to perform well in summer conditions.

Being an annual clover, it must be allowed to reseed to persist into the second and subsequent seasons.

• Plantain is a deep-rooted pasture herb that is almost a standard edition to both pasture seed and brassica sowdown projects. It contains wellproven higher levels of trace elements than ryegrasses and can also significantly improve the paddock’s dry matter yield and stock live weight gains.

• Yarrow is a Eurasian plant with feathery leaves and heads of small white or pale pink aromatic flowers, which has long been used in herbal medicine.

Another step in nitrogen battle Nutrient losses due to leaching commonly occurs when soils are wet and draining, often after summer crops have been harvested heading into winter. Cover or catch crops are often used as a mitigation tool for nitrate leaching, however the challenge is to plant a crop which actively grows during the wetter and colder months.

Cates recently introduced WinterMax T-100 Triticale to the market. WinterMax T-100 was developed by the team at Plant Research (NZ) and Grasslanz Technology to fit a need in the dairy sector for a catch crop that can be sown in autumn/winter and can rapidly accumulate dry matter over the winter period.

Forage trials sown in April evaluating dry matter production, comparing oat and triticale, showed that WinterMax T-100 produced 1350 kg DM/ha, whereas the oat varieties only produced 528 kg DM/ha 80 days after planting.

WinterMax T-100’s deep root system gives this variety excellent nutrient scavenging ability and it offers superior early vigour when compared to similar catch crops such as oats and wheat. WinterMax T-100 also offers a highly nutritious early spring forage supplement by retaining green leaf throughout winter.

Agronomist, Darcy Moore inspecting WinterMax T100 drilled into a lucerne stand at the Ashburton Airport (photo taken in October 2021).

Results of field trails show positive results in terms of nitrogen uptake.

In trials comparing WinterMax T-100 with Doubletake Triticale, Milton Oat, and Torch Wheat it was found that WinterMax T-100 was the only variety where Kg/Ha nitrogen removed at the final harvest exceeded the total Nitrogen applied (Mineral N + applied N) To find out more about this effective option for reducing nitrogen contact your local Cates agronomist or call 0800 900 308.

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SEED FEATURE

33

New service now offered

by Townsend Blue Lupin suppresses weeds and makes excellent green manure for improving most soil types.

PHOTOS: MPI

Regenerative annual based seed mix options • Buckwheat is the speedy short season cover crop. It establishes, blooms, and is ready for incorporation in 35 to 40 days and its residue breaks down quickly.

Buckwheat suppresses weeds and attracts beneficial insects and pollinators with its abundant blossoms.

• Mustard residues that contain glycosylates are known to suppress soil-borne fungi and nematodes.

• Sunflowers have an excellent and robust root system that enables them to capture nutrients that

are available in the soil. Sunflowers are a must in any summer cover crop mix due to their rooting abilities and the positive influence they provide on beneficial insects.

Sunflowers also are good for mycorrhizal fungi growth • Radish as a cover crop can provide these benefits and more. The long radish root creates deep channels in the soil that can make it easier for subsequent crops to reach water in the soil below. Radish is also known to benefit water quality.

• Tic Beans cover crop seeds produce hardy annual, upright plants.

This small-seeded broad bean is a popular nitrogen fixer.

• Blue Lupin suppresses weeds and makes excellent green manure for improving most soil types. It produces a mass of green matter and adds nitrogen to the soil.

The extra soil nitrogen is ideal for growing leafy vegetable crops.

• Field peas are great for early spring cover cropping or through the summer. Not only are they a good source of nitrogen, but their flowers are also an early source of nectar for honeybees.

Field pea residue breaks down quickly in the soil.

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We can spray out the previous crop and direct drill high quality seed, for which Townsend Seeds International are known around the world, into your field, be it a Lifestyle block or a large commercial field.

We can also provide advice on the best seeding options for your field.

Locally owned and operated, Townsend Seeds International Ltd also continues to service the seed markets right around the Globe. By doing this we can offer a wide range of seed crop options to Growers for both Autumn and Spring planting including Clovers, Ryegrasses, Garden peas, Asian vegetables, Chards and Brassicas.

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and Rakaia and apart from our Trading and Contracting divisions we also have a large Research portfolio concentrating particularly on Garden peas but also evaluating numerous other species for yield potential, disease resistance and other attributes for the benefit of our Growers and Customers alike.

Now some 25 years old the Company continues to seek out new options for Growers as well as look for new innovations that will help to keep us all competitive in the very challenging environment of international trade.

From small beginnings we have grown to be a significant player in the International Seed scene, and we therefore can offer Growers a wide range of options for seed production.

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Farming

34

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More challenges for farmers Chris Murdoch

PROPERTY BROKERS

T

his world really is a crazy place right now with Russia and America lining up over Ukraine. Covid sits in the shadows waiting to be let out amongst the people. Rain comes every second day and threatens the livelihoods of our arable farmers. But dairy returns that have never looked so good.

Where to start …

With the world commodity prices going through the roof including petrol, building materials, etc, inflation set to reach six per cent, interest rates set to move - it really is an unknown world we live in.

For some of us with grey hair, we look on and hope it’s not a repeat of the eighties.

There is an upside with sheep, beef and dairy being the best farming types to make money this year but of course the weather has had its say, particularly with arable farmers

Chris Murdoch: There is an upside with sheep, beef and dairy being the best farming types to make money this year but of course the weather has had its say, particularly with arable farmers who are having a year from hell.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

who are having a year from hell.

There was more rain in the spring than was needed followed by dull, cold days that have had a huge effect on all crop yields to date.

Everyone’s hopes lifted with good sunshine over Christmas and New Year, only to be plunged back into darkness with more rain and muggy days. The

result is grass seed crops lost, grain quality knocked and yields down. A year’s investment in money, time and management down the drain.

These guys seem to be just hoping they can keep in front of rising production costs that they have no control over. I know of a dairy farmer who got a quote to dig a second effluent pond

on his farm for environmental reasons and from the start of the year until now the quote changed by $30,000. Reasons?

Fuel, labour, replacement of equipment and pay rises.

Rising cost structures, inflation and interest rate rises are on everyone’s minds with no clear end in sight.

And Covid is sitting in the

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wings ready to pounce and are we ready? Not likely. The protestors in Wellington will be nothing to the disruption we will face when Covid really hits.

Our farmers are great at ‘jumping fences’ and gosh, haven’t they been given a lot of extra fences to jump over the past several years. But they continue to do so. Bravo.

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35

Manuka was the winner at the onset of Covid as it is seen as a health benefit in some Asian countries.

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

Beekeepers around Canterbury have had a rough season so far.

Erratic start to honey season T

he honey harvest is off to a slow start for Canterbury beekeepers this summer with some reporting to an Apiculture NZ regional roundup that the season was running three weeks late.

Apiculture NZ CEO Karin Kos said rain and low temperatures in December meant early clover crops were a washout, although the rain was welcome in the drier parts of the region.

“However, since New Year and with a warm January clover has been producing well as has bush honey so there has been a good pickup in activity, although I have heard that honey yields in South Canterbury have been lower

than expected,” Kos said.

Grant Rawson of Ardgowan Apiaries said the harvest was “not bad” – it was going to be above average. But with the weather being “up and down” the honey harvest season was dragging out.

“It started with a hiss and a roar, but it has been up and down with the weather ever since. It’s getting quite dry now – if it doesn’t rain the season won’t continue.

“We are just pasture honey and I’m running around 700 hives. My prediction is that we’ll get around 20 kilograms per hive which puts us just above average for the season,” Rawson said.

Christchurch buyer John

Hartnell of Hartnell and Associates Ltd said it was correct that there had been a very slow start to the season.

“The weather continues to have an impact: bees locked up in the hive eat the stores they have leaving little surplus for the beekeeper.

“The market remains tight, export tonnages are rising but they are well behind the national crop, and the stockpile is growing, particularly manuka where some beekeepers are sitting on up to three years stock,” he said.

“Clover stocks are in better shape with good demand the last two years. Prices though have been in a fairly tight

band, any price movement will be minor as without export competition the buying pool is limited.

“Manuka was the winner at the onset of Covid for the same reasons as deer velvet (which is seen as a health benefit in some Asian countries) but that has slowed in my view. Sales by volume are up, but the industry needs a major increase in demand or a crop failure over the next two years to rebalance stock versus the market.”

Kos said the situation in Canterbury “pretty much reflects the rest of the country,” where a wet spring that lasted well into December meant that early crops and harvests were

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poor, particularly in the Far North.

“However, warmer temperatures and more sunshine hours postChristmas do mean better yields are expected, especially from manuka from the Central North Island and clover crops in parts of the South Island.

“Predictions are for an average to slightly aboveaverage production year.

However, for many, last season’s harvest remains in the storage sheds although clover is selling well (on the overseas market) and I understand there’s been good movement of clover and bush honey over the last few months.”

36

Farming

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Harvest time in our food forest Sheryl Stivens

A

ECO EFFICIENCY

re you finding this season challenging? It’s especially so for those of us harvesting fruit and seeds or growing summer vegetables. The erratic weather and lack of consistent sunshine sure take their toll. Despite this, the apples, plums, pears, and nashi trees have never been so laden with fruit. Whether it’s largely due to 40 years of ecological regeneration of our soils and especially applying a range of minerals in recent years I’m not entirely sure. Many of our trees are heritage varieties so they have the potential resilience to withstand extreme weather once they have shelter.

We see ourselves as conservationists of these varieties as well as soil farmers growing healthy soils with the essential good bacteria and ecological values due to no defoliants, pesticides, or herbicides.

Some trees have excelled this season with all the rain.

The many seedling plums and original trees we planted in our shelterbelts were laden with fruit and kept the birds away from our main crops. I remember my mum’s story of growing up on a farm at Winchmore and there were always plum trees planted in shelterbelts so there was a supply of fruit to eat fresh or for making jam, pickles, sauce, or jars of preserved fruit.

We followed that path in our permaculture designs and are eternally grateful for that knowledge. Besides the various reds and yellow smaller plums, we largely leave to the birds we have a variety of other species.

One of our favourite varieties is the satsuma and this season we have the best satsuma plums that we have had in 30 plus years. They are huge, juicy, and delicious. Satsuma is known as originating from Japan as they were introduced to the USA from Japan in the 1800s.

However, they originate from China. We also grow a variety of prunes (European heritage plums), a firm drier fleshed fruit that does not ferment during dehydration. They are equally

The author with her beloved plum tree.

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PFASH_AGFEB22

delicious eaten fresh or processed for dehydrating or freezing. Prune stones can easily be removed. Simply cut prunes in half; pop out the stones and free-flow frozen in zip lock bags for all year round feasting. The purple ones with the green flesh are my favourites.

The consistent rain has made it difficult to tree ripen softer stone fruit. Our white-fleshed heritage nectarines have a small set of fruit this year and are struggling to ripen. Fortunately, our varieties of peach trees are largely late varieties. We have golden fleshed heritage freestone as well as white-fleshed peaches grown from seed originally from my parent’s Winchmore farm which are a taste sensation and disease resistant.

The purple blackboy are tasty, and we have developed our own stripey pink-fleshed pink girl variety from seedlings which are juicy and delicious. Here’s hoping we will get a hot sunny March so the peaches can ripen.

Nashis are a type of Asian pear beautiful and crisp with thirst-quenching sweetness. Originating in Asia 3000 years ago they were historically considered a delicacy for the wealthy. They were originally introduced to Australia in the 1850s by Chinese gold miners. I’m unsure when they were introduced to NZ. I never tasted them as a child.

Nashis have only been grown commercially for 30 years and are a beautiful tree to add to any garden.

We have several varieties, and the hardest thing is keeping the birds from eating the nashi fruit before they are ripe enough to pick. Tree ripened they are a taste sensation. When it comes to apples there are so many varieties. We have recently picked the peas good nonsuch giant cooking apples. They are magnificent and cook up so beautifully with a little cinnamon. Little pottles of apple sauce and cinnamon are great for school lunches. There were two old apple trees here when we settled here 40 years ago that are estimated to be over 100 yrs. old. They produce an abundance of medium to large green apples each year that is yummy either eaten fresh or cooked. The old trees provide an abundance of food annually with very little input. How special is that?

When it comes to green apples you can’t beat Granny Smith. We have two of these trees which produce well each year and are a taste sensation. We do not have a name for it; however, the old-fashioned flavour and even the smell of the tree-ripened organic apples are difficult to find in the commercial varieties.

2022 has been a great season for berries and we have enjoyed feasting on raspberries and have been picking containers of delicate sweet redcurrants since New Year. This old variety of berry is now considered a superfood.

The thornless blackberries are covered with fruit ripening fast and thankfully a net to protect them from the birds. Blackberries make delightful winter feasting treats and freeze very well. To pick and eat fruit you have grown yourself is one of the simple pleasures of this life. Crisp apples that are tree-ripened, a juicy plum, peach, or nectarine; raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries or blackberries, or a lemon or two. The dilemma is what to plant? Plant what you love to eat and enjoy watching it grow. Espalier fruit trees along a fence line and grow berries in the cool shady areas behind a shed or containers. No matter how big or small you can produce something that you and your family will enjoy eating. Happy feasting!

Simon Jackson

027 512 7205

37

Satsuma plums have been a joy this year.

Harvesting apples under the watchful eye.

Apples galore!

Tom Wells

027 706 4147

Terms and conditions apply. While stocks last. Contact Power Farming Ashburton for more information.

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Farming

38

EFFLUENT AND WASTE MANAGEMENT FEATURE

Top quality tank solutions

A Flexi Tank in action.

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lexi Tanks are an astonishingly simple concept that provides farmers, horticulturists, and domestic clients with cost-effective solutions for storing water or effluent.

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Get an effluent WOF!

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year manufacturer’s warranty for textile and manufacture and have an expected life, under normal conditions, of up to 20 years.

Not only are they reliable but they are cost-effective too and come in as a cheaper and more economical solution to other effluent storage alternatives.

Flexi Tanks can be depreciated as they are a tangible asset which can be rolled up and used somewhere else if needed.

The tanks are fast and easy to install simply level a pad, unload the tank, roll it out, connect the valves, connect to your system and fill.

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The dairy farm effluent assessment programme helps farmers understand the suitability of their effluent system to their farm system and local council requirements.

PHOTO: DAIRY NZ

D

airy farmers, get a Dairy Effluent Warrant of Fitness (WOF) urges Dairy NZ. It will help farmers understand all the requirements to be sure their effluent system is fit for purpose and capable of being compliant 365 days a year.

The assessment is carried out by a trained and certified independent professional and takes three to four hours.

At the end, farmers will receive a report with practical actions they can take to reach compliance.

Chris Gibbs of CG Ag Consulting Ltd, Methven has been a dairy effluent WOF assessor for the last year.

The WOF is a Dairy NZ initiative, he said, and the idea behind it is that we assess the dairy effluent system against the dairy effluent code of practice, the farmer’s consent conditions, and the ECAN Regional Plan rules.

“I make sure the system is fit for purpose and has enough effluent storage to comply, is the right depth, and that it adheres to required setbacks from bores and waterways and the likes.”

Synlait requires it of all their suppliers for their Lead with Pride program, Gibbs said. As yet, the other

dairy supply companies don’t require it but it’s just a matter of time.

“The way I look at if I was going to buy a farm it would be worthwhile if I was presented with this. I would want to know that my systems were up to spec. Or am I going to spend a couple of hundred thousand dollars in tidying things up?

“Farmers pay roughly $1200 - $1500 for the service,” he said. “They get bucket tests done on their irrigator and a take-home report.”

The assessment looks at the farm’s effluent consent or permitted rules and asks if all the requirements are being met?

It views the nutrient budget and checks nitrogen loadings; runs the dairy effluent storage calculator to estimate if there is enough storage for the farm effluent system; checks over the storage facility for signs of possible risk areas; looks at all catchment areas, particularly standoffs, feed pads, and underpasses; tests the application depth and rate of the irrigation system; and identifies the hazards and notes general health and safety requirements.

If you are interested, local Canterbury assessors can be found here: https://www.effluentwof.co.nz/ index.php

Mid Canterbury scholarships up for grabs T

he Mid Canterbury branch of Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) is pleased to be offering three scholarships this year to male or female students with a home base in Mid Canterbury.

Applicants need to be enrolled in tertiary education and can be studying for a variety of qualifications.

This year grants totaling $2000 are on offer: • $1000 scholarship • $500 resource grant • $500 Lamont Scholarship for a

student studying for art, music, or sports-related qualifications.

The family of the late Margaret Lamont, a long-time member of RWNZ who passed away in 2021 donated this grant.

Advertisements will be appearing soon, and those interested are invited to obtain further details from Rural Women branches or the coordinator: Pauline Hewson Ph. 3036397 Email: hopelands407@gmail.com

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EFFLUENT AND WASTE MANAGEMENT FEATURE

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AUTUMN CLEAN UP FEATURE

39 39

Best ballcock in the business Best ballcock in the business

T T

he SIS Ballcock was a concept of Ray Collins. I have shot ducks on Ray’s farm for over years and we sharedofmany he40 SIS Ballcock washave a concept Ray (at sometimes crazy) engineering projects.

Collins. I have shot ducks on Ray’sRay farm processes hiswe mind withmany the (at for over designs 40 yearsinand haveand shared ballcock I couldn’t his design in my sometimes crazy)picture engineering projects.

Ray mind.

So he designs made one. processes in his mind and with ballcock made five, then madein10, we So he IWe couldn’t picture hiswe design mythen mind. made 50 – now we do runs of thousands.

We made one. nowWe purchase the 35mm made five, then wediameter made 10,stainless then we steel a ton a time. made 50 –atnow we do runs of 1000’s. We now Ray has had lifetime of frustration purchase the a35mm diameter stainlesswith steel a ton ballcocks at a time.that prompted his comment “make the best ballcock the world”.

Ray has had ainlifetime of frustration with They are that all made from 316 marine grade ballcocks prompted his comment “make the stainless steel.

They have no internal parts – best ballcock in the world”. the sealing face on the exterior.

Our design They are allismade from 316 marine grade is stainless so simplesteel. your They children, wife, your haveyour no internal parts – bank would able to understand the manager sealing face is onbethe exterior.

Our design how thesimple SIS valve is so your works. children, your wife, your bank One largewould farm be in our is laid out how in a the manager ablearea to understand SIS valve manner thatworks. every time they leave the farm large our area is laid out in a theyOne drive pastfarm two in thirds of their water manner that every time they leave the farm they troughs. drive pastonce twoathirds ofhusband their water At least year as andtroughs. wife left At least once a year as husbandthey andwould wife left the property for an appointment, property for an appointment, would see seethe a trough overflowing.

There is they no choice, a trough overflowing. choice, these these problems cannot beThere left –isa no water source problems be aleft – a water pumped outcannot can ruin $7000 pump.source pumped out canSIS ruin a $7000replacement pump.

Their Ballcock programme Theirthis SISproblem.

Ballcock replacement programme is is fixing fixing problem.

We arethis now seven years into producing We areand now intobeen producing ballcocks not7years one has thrownballcocks into a and not one has been thrown into a rubbish bin. rubbish bin.

Many thanks Ray Collins, Ross Symes and Many thanks toto Ray Collins, Ross Symes and Terry Nelley.

These farmers gave access Terry Nelley.

These farmers gave meme access to to This ballcock is one of our original test sites – a dry stock situation – with a huge static head, in the bottom of a valley. their properties development process. Ray their properties forfor thethe development process.

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40

Farming

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WATER FEATURE

Giant fish screen nears completion Pat Deavoll

RURAL REPORTER

A

giant state-of-the-art fish screen near the Rangitata River will be finished soon as part of an $18 million project to protect salmon, trout, and native fish in the river.

The fish screen was commissioned by Mid Canterbury’s largest water supply company Rangitata Diversion Race Management Ltd (RDRML) and the mechanical screen was built in stages in Australia. Ashburton company Grant Hood Contracting was responsible for the construction.

Project Manager James Green said the job for Grant Hood Contracting involved the excavation of a new section of the canal; construction of the new fish screen facility; construction of the new fish by-pass; installation of the fish screen, and electrical and mechanical works.

“At this stage, we have most of the work complete. We have built a new section running

The state-of-the-art fish screen was built in Australia and costs $18m.

parallel to the canal and when we get the shut down on May 1, we are going to dig the plug out at both ends,” he said.

“We have built most of the structure and all of the canal work and are just waiting for a canal shut down.

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“We have used diggers from 12 to 45 tonne. And off-road dump trucks from 30 to 45 tonnes; mobile crushing and screening plants and have up to four loaders on site. And, not forgetting the big one, a 150-tonne crawler crane, a

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Sumitomo from Japan,” he said.

RDRML CEO Tony McCormick said the construction had gone very well and that site activity was expected to finish by the end of this month.

“But because we have built the screen outside of the canal, we

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have to connect it to the main race, and we are scheduled to do that in May. “That is the end of the irrigation season, and we always schedule major shutdowns between the irrigation and generation (of power) seasons.

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WATER FEATURE

41

Tony McCormick, CEO of RDRML says the construction has gone very well and site activity was expected to finish by the end of the month.

The screen has been built outside of the canal and will be connected to the main race in May.

“At the moment there will be a twoweek outage to connect in the canal.”

Now Grant Hood Contracting was focusing on fences, roads, and completing the electricity needs, he said.

The fish screen was the biggest in the country and amongst the top ten biggest in the world for that type of facility, McCormick said.

“The screens were manufactured in Victoria and really well managed despite the impact of Covid.

“Their delivery schedule was unimpeded which was pretty impressive.”

McCormick said that come to the end of May RDRML would start “watering up and wet-commissioning” the scheme.

They would then start testing to make

sure the screen performed.

“It has also been built to meet consent conditions, so we have to do some measurements to ensure it meets these for Ecan,” McCormick said.

“We have NIWA on board to help with the testing.”

Come September RDRML will be conducting some live fish trials to ensure the fish can get safely through the screen and back to the river.

RDML intended to run several public days to give people a chance to look through the construction before it went underwater. Even local schools might find this interesting from a science perspective, McCormick said.

“It’s an opportunity to show people just what we have done up here.”

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Farming GUARDIAN

Dairy Focus

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020

WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER16,2020

Farming

SIAFD SOUTH ISLAND AGRICULTURAL FIELD DAYS

GUARDIAN

MARCH 24-26, 2021 • KIRWEE

Page 10-26

South Island Agricultural Field Days aims to give farmers and others in the rural sector the opportunity to see the latest in agricultural machinery and services that are available on the market, particularly home-grown products.

The field days is the only agricultural show in New Zealand to feature side-byside demonstrations, with 80 to 100 tractors, headers, mowers, seed drills and other machines being put through their paces each day.

BEATING M. BOVIS

TOP IRRIGATION

OPERATORS Page 18

INSIDE

Farming

Dairy Focus

WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

GUARDIAN

CUTTING DAIRY’S

FOOTPRINT

Dairy Focus We’ve got the South Island covered

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Farming

Dairy Focus

GUARDIAN

WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER25,2020

Dairy Focus

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Page 18-19

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020

INSIDE

SHEEP MILKING

SOCIALLY MOBILE FARMER Page 3-6

A BALANCING ACT

STEPS UP

A GEAR Pages 3–7

Pages 28–29

CUTTING DAIRY’S

ON THE BASIS

OF SEX

Page 20

FOOTPRINT Page 18-19

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