Guardian Farming | January 2019 by Ashburton Guardian

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JANUARY 2019

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Farming

Rain advances antler harvest

INSIDE

PAGE 3 BIG WET ON HARVEST

PAGE 9 BOVUS BACK

PAGE 10 DAIRY EARNER

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NEWS

A good spring with plenty of pasture growth has deer farmers beginning the antler harvest about two weeks earlier than past years. By mid-December about two-thirds of the expected 725-tonne crop has already been harvested for the 2018/19 season. Deer Industry NZ Asia markets manager Rhys Griffiths said buying activity had begun strongly in lateOctober, with prices for traditional Korean velvet styles firm on last season’s close. “Since then we have seen some adjustment in price relativities between grades, but exporters have done a great job of holding the line. Overall prices to farmers are still very strong.’’ PGG Wrightson velvet manager Tony Cochrane said there was good demand for Chinese styles favouring spikers and regrowth and that was now starting to come forward, with prices up on last season’s final returns. CK Exports managing director Colin Stevenson said

Slices of the highly-prized waxy velvet “jelly tips” in China. Smaller sticks of velvet are better suited to slicing than the large Super A grades preferred by health food manufacturers in PHOTOS SUPPLIED Korea.

velvet volumes were coming in from farmers in a good season so far. “We are holding no stocks in store and are enjoying strong demand at good prices from a wide spread of buyers.’’ Provelco general manager Ross Chambers said nearly 90 per cent of the velvet cut by November 20 was Super A grade, a percentage that has been increasing each year. The high grading reflects the strides farmers have been making in breeding antlers for

size and style. This suits processing systems used by health food manufacturers in Korea, but is less suited to the traditional oriental medicine trade which is based on the sale of sliced velvet. The smaller B-grade sticks are better suited because they hold their shape and structure when they are sliced. Chambers said different customers had styles they preferred to buy. “They want what they want,

so as sellers we do our best to provide them with this, at the best price we can achieve for our farmer suppliers.” Griffiths said there was always some apprehension among buyers and sellers at the start of the season as they agreed on price levels. “But despite this, the reality is that overall velvet prices have been strong for nearly a decade now. That reflects the determination of the main sellers to get the best possible prices for their farmer suppliers.’’ A steady stream of new health food product manufacturing customers were visiting New Zealand to see the industry for themselves and to secure supply. “Some of them come with their marketing people and camera crews to get photos and video of deer in our fabulous landscape,’’ said Griffiths. “Health food products based on velvet and its New Zealand provenance are very trendy in Korea at present … we are all hoping that it’s a trend that stays around for a very long time.”

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NEWS

Harvest results up to weather How the harvest unfolds after a wet spring and early summer is the poser facing Mid Canterbury’s arable farmers. Some pressure is expected to go on yields for cereal crops and germination percentages are likely to be down for ryegrass as a result of short sunshine hours and some disease pressure. To make the most of the higher ground moisture levels growers could have done with the sun coming out in early December. Valetta Farm owner David Clark said farmers were taking the coming harvest in their stride as they had to factor in weather changes every year, and were working with an unusually wet start to the season. He said the proof would be when the harvested crops were in the silo. “We had an unprecedented wet period in November and December on the back of an amazingly dry November and December last year,’’ said Clark, the national vice president for the arable branch of Federated Farmers.

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

“I have been in Canterbury for 25 years and have never seen such a wet period during those months and it must be a record. That benefitted dryland yields and reduced the need of irrigation to nil in the cropping game and all this should bode well for the harvest, but it has really been too wet and we have had quite a bit of disease in crops.’’ Most affected with increased levels of the fungal disease, fusarium, are feed and milling wheat, with yields expected to be down slightly on both autumn and spring sown crops. This has resulted in a further fungicide sweep for some crops. Crop growers suspect the wet stint resulted in poor pollination for flowering

David Clark’s carrot seed crop is due to be harvested in March. PHOTO TIM CRONSHAW 090119_TC_0081

brassicas such as turnip, kale and oilseed rape, as well as early ryegrass varieties for seed. Clover and pea seed crops are also expected to be feeling the effects of the wet start. Last year yields were back on average because of the

long dry spell. So far some processed pea crops and a small amount of autumn sown brassicas have been harvested, while yields for some autumn-sown barley have been disappointing. Clark is due to begin bringing in the first ryegrass

seed crops at his farm this week. Typically these crops would net two to 2.5 tonnes a hectare and it remains to be seen if this will be achieved. He said his gut feeling was that the coming harvest would produce average to slightly lower yields again. “The ryegrass is more than likely going to be a quality issue [germination percentages down] and the cereals a yield issue. There is no doubt there are amazing looking crops around. It’s just going to be what degree the lack of sunshine and disease pressure will impact on them. No amount of shaking your fist at the sky will change it.’’ Clark said Mid Canterbury received average rainfall levels normally, but when it fell could vary greatly. Farmers would appreciate long sunshine hours over the coming months for “fantastic’’ harvest weather to make up for the extreme conditions previously. Silage contractors had also found the drawn out wet spell trying.

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NEWS

Irrigation chief replacement found IrrigationNZ has found a replacement for its departing chief executive Andrew Curtis. The board of the membership-funded national body for irrigators has appointed Elizabeth Soal to be the new boss. Chairwoman Nicky Hyslop said Soal had a strong background in water management, law and policy and would contribute to the group’s new strategy focusing on the responsible use of water for food production. “She is particularly well qualified to contribute to national discussions as we seek to achieve solutions to complex issues around water allocation which result in good outcomes for both communities and the environment.” Hyslop said part of the strategy would focus on encouraging innovation through sharing ideas and adopting new technology as well as bringing the irrigation sector, researchers and decision makers together to develop leading irrigation standards.

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

Soal said she was excited about participating in national-level discussions about the important issues. “I am looking forward to leading the implementation of IrrigationNZ’s new strategy which I think will take the industry in a really positive direction,’’ she said. “Managing our freshwater effectively whilst reducing our environmental footprint is critical for the wellbeing of our communities and for New Zealand as a whole.’’ Soal was the director of strategy and policy at Waitaki Irrigators Collective for the past eight years. She also served on IrrigationNZ’s board from 2011 to 2016, and until lately sat on the technical committee of the

International Alliance for Water Stewardship, based in Edinburgh. Previously, she was a policy advisor for the social development and justice ministries and for law firms in New Zealand and England. Academically, she has no shortage of qualifications with a Master of Arts degree in politics, a first class honours degree in politics and a Bachelor of Law. She is working towards a PhD in Geography which focuses on freshwater governance in New Zealand. Soal takes up her new role in late February, with Curtis leaving his position to start new ventures in late January. Hyslop said Curtis had made a considerable contribution to IrrigationNZ over the past decade and left with its gratitude. Elizabeth Soal takes up the reins next month.

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Carrfields buys Farm Source livestock arm Ashburton rural services company Carrfields has bought the livestock division from Fonterra subsidiary Farm Source for an undisclosed sum. The giant co-operative has shed the livestock arm as part of a review of its business since posting its first financial loss last year in 17 years. Family-owned Carrfields has been quietly growing, buying up enterprises and setting up partnerships in its technology, livestock, irrigation, contracting, grain and seed, machinery

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

and wool businesses. Last month it signed a hemp-processing deal. Farm Source stores director Richard Allen said the decision

to sell the livestock division to Carrfields Livestock was made as part of a larger review within Fonterra. “In the context of the review of the co-op’s assets and investments, we have made the decision to sell the livestock division to Carrfields Livestock,’’ said Allen. “This will better serve the livestock team and the farms they service. While Farm Source’s livestock division has contributed positive returns since inception, we believe the investment

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required to maintain and grow this division can be more effectively targeted towards improving core areas of the Farm Source business.’’ Carrfields Group managing director Craig Carr said the division would fill gaps in its national network and it would now have more than 150 livestock agents spread across the country. “This strategic partnership will offer Farm Source clients and Fonterra farmer owners access to a nationwide agent

and sale yard network provided by a New Zealand family-owned business.’’ Carrfields takes ownership in March with only a “small number’’ of employees expected to be unable to continue working with the business. Farm Source said it would support them with job opportunities within the co-operative. Farm Source, previously operating as RD1, has a network of 70 stores and has run the livestock division since 2005.

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NEWS

ID compliance to be stepped up The Government has stepped up compliance for an electronic animal identification scheme with 27 new compliance officers. After graduating from training in Christchurch just before Christmas the officers will begin working with farmers to educate them on their obligations for the National Animal Identification and Tracing (Nait) scheme. They will also issue infringement notices for noncompliance of cattle and deer movements among farmers. Throughout the early stages of the mycoplasma bovis response Minister for Primary Industries (MPI) Damien O’Connor had been disappointed with the record keeping of animal movements which had complicated tracing the disease on farms. However, in November he said farmers were upping their on-farm biosecurity by making greater use of the scheme. MPI was also taking a harder line on enforcement. Animal welfare and Nait compliance manager Gray Harrison said the new officers

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

were part of a stepped-up effort to educate farmers about their Nait obligations and enforce compliance with the scheme. “The new officers will be located throughout the country helping farmers use Nait consistently and taking action when non-compliance is detected.’’ Since the start of the year the MPI team has issued 97 infringement notices to farmers for failing to comply with Nait. “In addition, OSPRI, which manages the Nait scheme, has issued more than 600 letters to farmers about non-compliance,’’ said Harrison. He said there has been a steady increase in animal

All farmers, including lifestylers, need to record cattle and deer movement. PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

movements being recorded through Nait. “We’re pleased to see there has been an almost 20 per cent increase in the number of animal movements recorded this year compared with the same period in 2017. It is essential all farmers, including lifestylers, register their cattle and deer in

Nait and record all animal movements.’’ Harrison said a wellfunctioning Nait scheme was a vital part of the national biosecurity system as it helped MPI respond to and manage animal diseases, such as M. bovis. Changes were being made by MPI and OSPRI to improve

the scheme and ensure it was fit for the future, he said. Submissions closed on November 19 for potential changes to the NAIT Act and regulations by MPI to improve the scheme. OSPRI is making operational changes which include making the system faster and easier to use.

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OPINION

Farming GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL COMMENT

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In many respects it was nice to close the door on 2018. That’s not to say the entire year was a write-off, but there was just too much noise going on. In dairying alone there was a rare Fonterra loss, leadership turnover and the aftermath of one-off payments and write-offs. As the saying goes it’s better to look forwards than backwards, so with a brand new year ahead of us here is our top five wish list for farmers this year. 1) Wish number one would be to remove the misery that farmers have endured with mycoplasma bovis. That’s not going to completely happen because under the eradication programme there’s no other way to remove the disease other than to destroy every cow – healthy or unhealthy – in an infected herd. So let’s hope that few farmers from now on have to experi-

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

ence this heartache, that compensation claim times continue to be slashed, that farmers are listened to and the way is smoothed as much as humanly possible for them. A change of guard at the top of the MPI team seems to have placed more urgency on putting a human face on the response. The drum beat coming from Government is that the disease can be beaten as there are fewer farms being added to the infected list. 2) While we are on the biosecurity subject, let’s hope that there are no further additions to new pests

arriving in this country. There is reason to be nervous as a solitary brown marmorated stink bug was just last month found in Mount Maunganui. This smelly beast feeds on field crops and fruit trees and has aggressively invaded the United States and Europe. We don’t want it. 3) We do, however, want high lamb and sheep meat prices to stay where they are and in a perfect world wouldn’t it be nice for beef to slip back to where it was previously and for crop prices to reflect their true value. Let the good times continue to roll for red meat, forestry and horticulture. Poor performing strong wool continues to bear the brunt of market forces so it would be nice to see more lift than drift in this sector. 4) Also on the list of under-achievers should be Fonterra’s dairy payout. It’s well documented de-

cline last year started from a positive $7 for a kilogram of milksolids in May to a December 6 forecast of $6$6.30 range. That needs to reverse for the better. 5) After getting through a mild winter, being rained out for much of November and December now we appear to be striking a schizophrenic heat wave – one moment hot and the next wet and cool. I’m not sure what the wish is here – possibly that it all balances out. No farming wish list would be complete without a reference to compliance, public perception and regulations so we’ve added a sixth one. The wish is that new paperwork is minimal and factors in the importance of agriculture for everyone. Sadly, our powers don’t extend to making these wishes happen – we can only wish you all the best for the year ahead.

GDT prices rise again after slump Global dairy commodity prices lifted 2.8 per cent overall for the third consecutive increase at the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction. Buttermilk prices had the heftiest gain at 9.3 per cent to reach $4815 or $US3252 a tonne during the latest event on January 2. Skim milk powder increased 7.9 per cent to $US2201 and the main commodity of whole milk powder rose 1.2 per cent at $US2705. The better results lately

are a turnaround from a drawn-out slump lasting since May. Commodity prices increased across the board partly because of a decline in expected volumes, said NZX analyst Robert Gibson. He said commodity prices had been expected to lift. Leading up to the auction, whole milk powder volumes were down 22 per cent on the previous event, while skim milk powder volumes were down 28 per cent.

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Milkfat prices also lifted for both anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and butter — reaching an average of $US5137, up 3.9 per cent and $US4076, also up 3.9 per cent. This was despite 2000 tonnes of each commodity removed from the catalogue. At the auction 167 bidders bought 28,651 tonnes, compared with 36,181 tonnes of product sold at the last event. The next GDT event is on January 15.

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OPINION

Firm prices on limited sales for rural property market Calvin Leen

PGG WRIGHTSON

Nationwide rural property statistics indicated a variable picture to end 2018, with the Real Estate Institute reporting that the market held its own in some regions and sectors, while drifting in others. In Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury several excellent rural properties are listed for sale. However, the market has not been especially responsive and progress towards finding purchasers is slow. While those properties that have sold in the past few months maintained firm price levels, the number of sales is too low to draw any conclusions about whether the local market is stable or softening. This may change over the next few weeks, with an increase in sales possible, particularly around sheep and beef, as the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fundamentals are positive and farmers have every reason to be confident. A sale that will be closely monitored as a gauge of the local market is a 319 hectare bull beef finishing farm between Geraldine and Fairlie, which goes to auction on March 1. This should attract a good gallery and strong interest. How the bidding proceeds will give us a strong indicator of demand for local

A bull beef finishing farm is expected to provide a guide to the real estate market

rural property. One factor causing hesitation in the market is tightening environmental regulations. Farmers are realising that regional land and water use plans, and nutrient budgets, are an important consideration for anyone purchasing, or financing, a farm. Those who have not paid heed to this in recent years, by bringing their farm into line with optimal nutrient inputs, may

be penalised when they come to sell. Another continuing market trend is the demand for lease properties, as dairy farmers look to create self-contained operations to manage the risk of mycoplasma bovis, while arable and finishing farmers seek to expand their operations. If you are thinking of listing property for sale in the next few months, be aware of a new regulation recently

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properties, and their trustees or directors. In practice, that means a few extra forms, and a short delay before we would agree to market your property. If you are considering selling residential, lifestyle or rural property, please be ready to answer these questions. Calvin Leen is Mid-South Canterbury sales manager for PGG Wrightson Real Estate.

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M. bovis still taking its toll on farming The new farming year has got away to a promising start with no further flare-ups of mycoplasma bovis in the latest update by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). Tim RURAL In the first update of Cronshaw REPORTER the year MPI reported little change to property numbers with the cattle disease. Farmers and Over the Christmas their families period there was only one revoked notice of would be at direction in the South the centre of Island, otherwise no other changes. MPI efforts as Just before Christmas it continued two dairy farms in the Ashburton District were to work among four farms added towards to the list of infected properties. eradicating MPI M. bovis director M. bovis Geoff Gwyn said in a statement that MPI had been working with property owners at risk of being infected with M. bovis since the decision to attempt eradication of the disease and the “vast majority’’ of those tested were found not to have the disease. “For those that do have the disease on their property, you are taking a big hit for the industry and I assure you, it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.’’ He said feedback received from farmers about how to deal with them and their properties had been invaluable and MPI was encouraging more suggestions. More workshops and meetings will be held throughout this year to update farmers of the response’s progress. “As I said a couple of weeks ago, the latest evidence we have is that things are looking positive for eradication. However, I know that a number of people are still doing the hard yards and this news may be of little consolation to them.’’ Farmers and their families would be at the centre of MPI efforts as it continued to work towards eradicating M. bovis, he said. Changes have been made to farm cleaning and disinfecting specifications as a result of more knowledge about the transmission of M. bovis. MPI will retain a conservative approach, but the changes are expected to simplify the cleaning process on farms. Gwyn said last year had been a big year for property owners affected by the M. bovis outbreak and response momentum was expected to continue throughout this year. So far 262,245 samples have been received from the Animal Health Lab and 255,687 tests completed.

“

MYCOPLASMA BOVIS CURRENT SITUATION

JULY 2017

DISEASE FOUND IN NEW ZEALAND

MAY 2018 DECISION TO ERADICATE

CURRENTLY UNDER RESTRICTED PLACE NOTICE

52,000

CURRENTLY WITH INFECTED PROPERTY STATUS

PROPERTIES

CURRENTLY UNDER NOTICE OF DIRECTION

PROPERTIES

193

PROPERTIES

ANIMALS CULLED (APPROX)

51 PROPERTIES

HAVE GONE THROUGH PHASED ERADICATION

384 PROPERTIES

CURRENTLY UNDER ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE

5,100 22,000 PROPERTIES

,400 2 PROPERTIES

CASED BY RESPONSE^ (APPROX)

TRACED BY RESPONSE* (APPROX)

BEEF & DAIRY FARMS

IN NEW ZEALAND

135

350

PUBLIC MEETINGS HELD THROUGHOUT NEW ZEALAND

NUMBER OF STAFF WORKING ON MYCOPLASMA BOVIS

15,000 EVENTS

OF INTEREST IDENTIFIED Approx.

Latest compensation (As at 7 December)

$37m

527

PAID IN COMPENSATION

CLAIMS

NUMBER OF RECORDED ANIMAL MOVEMENTS HAS INCREASED

HAVE BEEN RECEIVED

25%

Of the 2,400 properties that have been cased, 607 have been put under movement controls (25%). Of these, 367 have had their controls lifted

20% OVER THE LAST YEAR

Of the 1,154 properties that have completed the testing process, 83 have been confirmed

*Traced meaning: farms identified as potentially being at-risk of M. bovis. Many of these are ruled out of the outbreak prior to casing. ^Cased meaning: identified farms which have been contacted for further information. For some farms no further action is required. Others will be progressed on to Active Surveillance.

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NEWS

Dairy earning dollar has big impact Dairying is the third largest income generator in Canterbury and is an even larger earner for Ashburton. The township is the second major producer of dairy value among all the territorial authorities within New Zealand. Dairy production generates $965 million of value to greater Ashburton. Leading the list in a Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand report was Southland where dairy contributed $1.124 billion. Executive director Kimberly Crewther said dairy was a major contributor to New Zealand’s living standards and played a crucial role in supporting the development of regional economies. “Many people will already know that dairy is New Zealand’s largest export sector. What this report shows is how that $17 billion of revenue is shared across the economy, as both income and a driver of economic activity” she said. She said the dairy sector’s economic activity supported economic opportunities across

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

the regions. The report found there has been a 70 per cent increase in export earnings per cow since 2001. The dairy sector employs over 38,000 people and dairy farming has the highest average salary among agricultural industries. Dairy processing has the highest average salary level of New Zealand’s food manufacturing industries Dairy manufacturing has the fifth highest average female salary level of 138 New Zealand industries, just under 80 per cent of dairy sector wages are earned in rural areas and dairy farming is a top 10 employer in half of New Zealand territorial authorities.

Milk has big earning clout in Canterbury. PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Dairy is the top income generator, delivering more than 10 per cent of GDP in Waikato, Southland, the West Coast and Taranaki and the second largest contributor in Northland and Manawatu. In Canterbury and Bay of Plenty it is the third largest contributor. The sector is highly linked to the Maori economy with

an estimated 10 per cent of industry assets held in Maori ownership. “It is important that regional New Zealand continues to thrive alongside our main centres,’’ said Crewther. “Dairy exports have provided opportunities outside of the main cities for people in a broad range of careers from science to engineering, accounting to driving.” The report considered how dairy has added value to its exports. “The 70 per cent increase in export revenue per cow achieved since 2001 and a 43 per cent increase in export revenues per kilogram of exports since 1990 reflect value addition from diversification of processing. For example, infant formula has grown to being a billion dollar export industry, and within more traditional product categories like cheese, butter and milk powders, New Zealand dairy exporters have shifted from standard products to speciality ingredients, including the supply to a growing food service and

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bakery industries in key markets.” Dairy manufacturers have invested over $3.1b in processing facilities in recent years. Dairying’s contribution to economic activity, incomes, and regional growth outlined in the report would not have been possible without trade. An earlier report from NZIER in 2017 highlighted the benefits the New Zealand dairy industry had already secured to trade liberalisation, but also the ongoing impact that trade barriers are having in supressing returns for New Zealand dairy products. Trade liberalisation so far, in the form of tariff reductions from bound WTO levels, has resulted in New Zealand dairy exports being $2.3b higher, and nominal GDP $1.66b more than it otherwise would have been. Remaining tariffs supress the value of New Zealand dairy exports by about $1.3b dollars a year and non-tariff measures add over $3b in costs to New Zealand dairy exports in the APEC region alone.

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Farming

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PROFILE

Scottish couple firmly entrenched in A farming couple hailing from Scotland have established deep roots in New Zealand, writes Tim Cronshaw. Nearly 16 years have passed since Michael and Nicky Salvesen uprooted their family of four sons from their Scottish homeland and began farming in Mid Canterbury. A whim of fancy or tempestuous sea change? Not really – they are well satisfied with the move, made after careful thought. The couple are busy preparing the table for the return of their adult children, but still have time to put on the kettle for visitors. Scottish hospitality is no different from Kiwis’. A limestone-clad home does little to provide a reference point for their former upbringing, but there are small signs – a stag head in the hallway – of their heritage. Nor does their light Scottish brogue provide much hint of where they came from – Kiwi-isms have entered their vernacular. Their accent was likely never that heavy in the first place – certainly not as thick as Glaswegian patter or the highland lilt. Michael Salvesen was the eldest of five children and the family farmed 1700 hectares in the Scottish Border area. On the intensively cropped farm was grown potatoes, carrots, parsnips, daffodils and grains. About 800 cattle were raised and sheep came and went. The growing windows are smaller in the colder climate and more machinery is needed for cultivating, drilling and harvesting crops within a short timeframe. A longer New Zealand summer provides more leeway although the Salvesens could be forgiven for thinking they are back in Scotland after such

Michael and Nicky Salvesen call New Zealand home now. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

a wet start to the season. Driving their move halfway around the world was farming succession – a subject as familiar in Scotland as here. Passing on the family farm to the next generation is never easy and they made the call to move on. Rather than looking around the neighbourhood for a fresh start, they chose to move halfway around the world. The couple had spent their honeymoon in the South Island in 1984 and fond memories of this time never left them. So New Zealand was the destination when they told their sons – the eldest was 15 at the time – to pack their bags. The Kiwi lifestyle rests easily with them today and regular flights allow them to keep in touch with family. Salvesen has been following the tangled mess of Brexit and the chance of him ever going back permanently is getting slimmer by the day. “Someone once said never look backwards or you might bump into a tree. You never go backward in life anyway and our children are all Kiwis now, not only in citizenship but in attitude. The attraction to come here was the ability to do things by ourselves. We

had succession issues which weren’t acrimonious, but it was about people trying to be too fair.’’ They have been busy since buying a 350ha sheep and cattle finishing farm “to get started’’ on Tramway Road at Mt Somers in 2002. The flatland property was sold for Wakare Station on 1460ha at Upper Downs Road about six years later. “We knew we didn’t want to go dairy farming and it was late 2007 and [the Barrhill Chertsey Irrigation scheme] was just starting. This was before the global financial crisis had just hit and things were going, boom, boom, boom. It was looking very much like the irrigation shares were over-subscribed and that didn’t happen and we thought we would leave someone else to make that choice and we manged to find a buyer. In the meantime the agent said he thought a farm would be advertised in the weekend that we would be interested in.’’ The agent had struggled to sell the farm – Wakare – so the Salvesens approached the buyer themselves on a Sunday afternoon. They managed to convince the landowner that they were a family and had no intention of splitting the farm

and that swung the deal. Wakare is on medium to steep footthills and to the rear is country which might not see bootmarks from one year to the next. At the tops are rocky crags and ridgelines. The farming system has progressed from initially

breeding deer and finishing some 900 hinds and rising two-year-olds, raising 120 calves for the dairy shed and breeding and fattening angus cattle for Five Star Beef. No longer do they provide cattle for the feedlot and they have made adjustments in line

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PROFILE

New Zealand farming

with changing markets. Chief among them is buying an additional 200ha irrigated block with five centre pivots in Mayfield. Deer numbers are similar at Wakare with 1000 progeny calved a year for venison and they are also trading young

stock. The young deer are born in November-December, weaned in March-April and start heading to the meat works in September. The venison is sold mostly overseas in Central and Eastern Europe and the United States.

Most of the cattle are sold for breeding with yearling bulls mostly going to dairy farmers. The females are retained for their own breeding programme with surplus animals sold as in-calf heifers at 18 months.

Angus and hereford herds are run separately. The smaller hereford herd is retained because a dairy farmer obtains 15 yearling bulls from them each year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are trying to get premium homes for all of our stock. We have also

moved into trading lambs as well because we have been selling bulls in spring and not keeping them longer.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Continued over page

Farming

from page13 Previously Salvesen had bypassed sheep because the returns were poor and the 100-year-old four-stand woolshed had badly needed upgrading. Sheepmeat prices have since risen and the woolshed now boasts new wiring, while errant piles and flooring have been replaced. Lambs are bought opportunistically when they can be picked up for good prices – last year they came from Southland when it turned dry and good margins were made. The Mayfield block has been inserted into the Wakare system and is used mainly for finishing stock and for growing spring-sown feed wheat. Perhaps milling wheat might be added if it suits the soil types. Originally, the intention was that the new block would dovetail neatly with Wakare, but the arrival of mycoplasma bovis in the province has made this more challenging. The cattle would have been moved more freely between the properties, but they have decided that no animals will be transported from Mayfield to the home farm and each farm

“

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PROFILE

Contrary to reports that environmental, traceability and regulation compliance is much harder in the UK, he has found compliance costs to be “huge’’ here.

has different Nait numbers. That explains partly why they are running more lambs in the flat block which required another woolshed restoration. Dairy grazing is carried out on the block and contracts are limited because of M. bovis with accurate records kept of animal movements. They are also in their first year of raising wagyu cattle for First Light Foods, based in Hastings. Nearly 600 dairy cross wagyu are divided into two age groups and are sold at a premium. “I think we have got a pretty good balance now,’’ says Salvesen. “It’s very different [from Scotland] because that was cropping. We always had livestock and finished cattle, mostly indoors and we finished 800 a year.’’ The Mayfield property may also come in handy when they are ready to pass on the farms to the next Salvesen generation. The centre pivots are hooked

on Salvesen’s cell phone so he can irrigate remotely and they have a worker stationed at the property full time. At Wakare there is a manager and two junior staff. Salvesen is restricted to a part-time role as he’s also the Mid Canterbury president for Federated Farmers. Contrary to reports that environmental, traceability and regulation compliance is much harder in the UK, he has found compliance costs to be “huge’’ here. Salvesen feels strongly that the world is skirting around the edges of the climate change debate. It rankles with him that the finger is pointed easily at farmers for their emission contribution, yet people think nothing of booking flights for their holidays or hopping in a fourwheel-drive to go for a bike ride. “We are quite happy to hit anybody as long as it doesn’t affect me. The focus on farming has been that it is the cause of all ill.’’

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Feel-good recycling ends up in boats bound for other countries and double standards abound, he says. “We have to work along with being able to feed the world’s population. … We also have to understand that pastoral farming is by and large carbon neutral and using American feedlot figures and extrapolating them across to grass doesn’t work.’’ Dealing with the overly complicated and expensive environmental compliance burden with tools which are not always accurate has been “quite onerous’’, he says. Part of Wakare’s development has been the preservation of wetlands and new riparian strips put in to trap sediment and stop it getting into waterways further down the plains. The property gets about 1000mm of rain a year and small streams pop up during heavy rain. Over the years new fences and pasture have been put in with Salvesen making the most of his intensive cropping

background to plant grass that regenerates quicker. Kale and fodderbeet are grown for stock feed. Their sons have grown up and are leading their own lives. Otago University has proven a good “marriage bureau’’ for many of them, just as their parents met at the University of Aberdeen. Oldest son Andrew is married and works in the farm insurance industry. He has found landowners different here than in the UK where a lot of land is in estates carrying large, old dwellings. This is often the only asset of the landowners and keeping them maintained and finding insurance to the right level is not always easy. In contrast, some of the big dairy farms in Mid Canterbury are worth much more than the landed properties, particularly to the north of Scotland, and farming is harder nosed. Peter is in the tourism business in Christchurch and is setting up an inbound tourism business offering itineraries, Robert has gone from banking in Auckland to managing hedge funds in London and Hamish has found a career in genetics. Time will tell if any of them choose a life at Wakare.

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PROFILE

Retiring, but busier than ever A farming devotee who can trace his involvement in farmer lobbying to 1960 has finally moved on, writes Tim Cronshaw.

Kevin Geddes has promised wife Lorraine that he will become no couch potato. PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

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The Ashburton office of Federated Farmers won’t be quite the same now that farming stalwart Kevin Geddes has called it a day. Geddes, 80, has put his heart and soul into supporting the farming community for decades, more lately as a parttime policy analyst for the federation. His departure on December 21 marked the end of an era at the corner office on West Street. Judging by a long list though, it will be a short-lived retirement. A good portion of his time he suspects will be taken following his son’s aviation career and being astride a rideon-mower at his daughter-inlaw’s function venue and their country garden. Federated Farmers’ newest life member will continue managing the trust that owns several buildings, including the site of the branch office.

Tim Cronshaw

RURAL REPORTER

The workaholic will be involved in other charitable trusts, extend his long service with many non-profit groups and has already turned down other “opportunities’’ as the list is growing uncontrollably. The concept of sitting at home would be a “total disaster’’ for him and his wife, Lorraine, he admits. A full life in farming and working alongside rural support trusts, community groups and Federated Farmers has brought immense satisfaction. Continued over page

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PROFILE

from page15 “I have no regrets – I would do the same again in a heartbeat. I won’t slow down too much. I never expected to reach the age 80. How do you know? He survived a cancer scare and feels fortunate to be part of a blessed generation. “Our food is better, our lifestyle is better and when you read history and old diaries of our forebears we are extremely fortunate. There’s no such thing as luck – there is good fortune which is improved through work. If I have anything going into retirement it’s that I do not intend to stop working. That’s what life is all about.’’ Geddes left the farm in 1998. He had been involved with Federated Farmers leading up to then, starting as a 21-year-old as a provincial executive representative for the Otago/Southland Council of Young Farmers Club in 1960. Kevin Geddes received the Queen’s Service Medal in 2017. PHOTO SUPPLIED

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www.guardianonline.co.nz “I was young then and knew everything and they were a lot of old duffers. It’s been downhill since then steadily. That was my first involvement and it’s wisdom now, the wisdom of ages,’’ says a selfmocking Geddes. He rose through the elected ranks to sit on the national meat and wool executive and in his fifties was vice-president of the Mid Canterbury branch. Farming is difficult enough without adding the many responsibilities of representing the Feds and the endless phone calls and meetings that entails, particularly during the challenging 1980s. “I was aged 50 at that stage. I say that this was something that I had to do. My family say it was hormones, a middle aged crisis. Essentially we were in a mess.’’ Federated Farmers had been arguing from the late 1970s that NZ had to become more market related otherwise its internal costs would choke rural and urban exporting. Then the Labour government outflanked the National Party to win the 1984 election and introduce Rogernomics and bring about a market focus and expose

“

PROFILE

There’s no such thing as luck – there is good fortune which is improved through work

the New Zealand economy to global trade. The party set about to remove tariffs, reform the labour market, abolish transport regulations and float the dollar. The dollar was expected to “float like a stone’’ but it revalued 30 per cent in the other direction. Geddes said the sequencing of the reform changes was flawed during a period of hyper-inflation, a rising dollar resulting in a huge capital inflow into NZ which led to October 20, 1987, the day the New Zealand stock market crashed and wiped out millions of dollars. Drought did not help. The result was a lot of farmer pain. In Mid Canterbury the export barley industry was wiped out totally because of the revaluation. Many small businesses exporting to Australia went broke. Any farmer with too much debt was left vulnerable. Some of them had to up stakes and move on. Geddes became the rural coordinator of the New Zealand

Rural Trust and did what he could to help farmers rebuild their lives. Leading up to then, the Ashburton man had run the family’s sheep and beef operation, Braeside, in Maniototo from 1962 until moving to Carew on 355 hectares in 1973. The mixed cropping and sheep and beef farm was renamed Braeside and they put in borderdyke irrigation – 100 acres a year which “damn near killed me’’ to set up a dairy unit in 1984. Later spray irrigation was installed. Then in 1980 they sold some of the farm, keeping the dairy unit and putting sharemilkers on, and bought Cracroft for cropping and sheep and beef farming. “We covered just about every farming enterprise at that time but the decade of the 1980s was pretty tough and we certainly weren’t exempt from that by any means.’’ They got through this troubling phase, later downsizing the farming operations, selling Cracroft in 1990 and keeping the

dairy unit. When a yearlong contract with the rural trust finished, the provincial president came to him and suggested he next take up the reins. Geddes replied he would rather work in policy than “admin’’ and became the chief executive of Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers. Another chapter as a policy analyst followed, and he and Lorraine, happily moved from the dairy unit to Ashburton 15 years ago, theoretically at retirement age. Geddes received a Queen’s Service Medal in the 2017 New Year’s Honours for services to agriculture and the community. He remains a staunch farming supporter, citing rural-urban communication, biosecurity and the environment as his main “not concerns, but acknowledgments of the reality of life’’. “We need to keep teaching our children that we are all linked to the soil and we may not move away from the soil because it’s our heritage and

we must look after that.’’ New Zealanders have to be constantly on guard for more pest and disease incursions on an island nation that already has a record of unwanted arrivals putting pressure on agriculture. “My generation drained the swamps and there will always be a balance but we must be pragmatic. Actually, by simply blocking up the drains we can return the swamps back if that is what society wants. But of course you have property issues – who’s swamp is it? And if you are going to expect a farmer to bear the cost to returning the land as swampland are you going to buy that land, impose constraints on farming that have the potential to make farming unsustainable financially. That will always be a tension point. … In retirement I shall be watching.’’ He’s unlikely to ever completely shake off the policy analyst inherent in him, even in retirement, says Geddes, of Scottish and French heritage. “The French wants to drink the wine and the Scottish doesn’t want to pay for it – life is full of balances and tensions.’’

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COUNTRY ROADS

LC70 – King of the hill The music choice, given the looks, size and heavy metal used in Toyota’s iconic LC70, just had to be Metallica’s Greatest Hits! And that was certainly not to drown out engine or road noise, for this the latest version of this truck, proved surprisingly quiet, and civilised to drive, albeit, in an unapologetically rugged way. They have always been pretty much kings of the hill and mostly spotted about NZ doing the real hard yards, such as serious towing and load carrying on high country stations, mines and in forests. Wherever it might be, their long history shows they are no-compromise, strong, hard-working, virtually unbreakable trucks with ample grunt, good (283mm) clearance, a clean underbelly and other go-anywhere features. The fuel tank capacity has increased from 90 litres to 130 litres. With 4WD vehicles definitely continuing to become more genteel, it is great to see Toyota continuing to commit to the real thing. Real being the heavy duty ladder chassis, dual-range 4x4 complete with dual range transfer case, diff locks front and rear with dual automatic locking hubs on all models, and a big, unstressed V8 diesel. There’s cruise control across the range, and every model gets a reversing camera. Oh but what about health and safety? Well no compromises there either, especially for the single cab models whose comprehensive safety equipment gives

them the maximum 5-star ANCAP safety rating. This safety gear includes side, curtain and driver’s knee airbags, pre-tensioned seat-belts, stability and active traction control, hill-start assist and a reversing camera. LC70s are available as a single cab/ chassis (2.4m x1.8m tray costs around

$4000) or a double cab with correspondingly shorter tray. As well there’s a Wagon with two seats and van-like cargo space. The 5.2 metres long, and tall, tried and tested exterior is pretty much unchanged except for a slightly higher bulge in the bonnet. You climb up in and there’s an expan-

sive view to the front and sides from the long haul, comfortable seats. Expectedly the cabin furnishings and controls are practical and durable, and there’s no fancy stuff such as electric windows or central locking. But while sitting tall enough to eyeball truckers, it has also joined the digital age, for there’s a 6.1-inch screen, decent sound system, with CD player, USB port, Bluetooth and simple but efficient aircon All models use the reliable 4.5-litre V8 turbo diesel engine producing 151kW of power and 430Nm of torque from 1200 to 3200rpm. With new injectors and diesel particulate filter, it meets EURO 5 emission regulations. This big, relaxed V8 is a wonderful lugger and while the gearbox remains a 5-speed manual, it gets taller 2nd and 5th gears. It feels strong, changes easily and given the engine’s pulling power, doesn’t need more ratios. It’s reasonably quick off the mark when you need it to be, and then on the open road it happily lopes along at 100km/h in a surprisingly quiet and refined manner. The other surprise, given the heavy duty suspension with the amount of off-road articulation it offers, is just how good the on-road ride is and how flat it sat through corners with just a light load on the deck and towing a largish pop-top camper.

- By Roger Hart

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Farming

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COUNTRY ROADS

Endurance pays off When the last Australian-designed and built Ford Territory rolled off the production line in October 2016, Ford New Zealand was left with no other option than to scour the global carmaker’s back catalogue for a medium-size SUV replacement. Finding an SUV wasn’t hard; Ford makes about 10 models in different forms globally, but sourcing one built in righthand drive configuration that met the needs of Kiwis wasn’t so straightforward. So much so that the task of replacing the popular Territory has taken almost two years. Eventually, a suitable replacement was found in the second-generation Ford Edge, a Canadian-built five-seat SUV that’s been on sale in North American markets since 2007. However, Toyota owns the rights to the Edge nameplate in this part of the word, so the new Ford SUVs that land in New Zealand will do so with Endura badging. The new name also ensures that all models in Ford New Zealand’s 2018 SUV line-up start with an E; small EcoSport and Escape (formerly Kuga) and large Everest. Yet the Endura has taken so long to get here that other righthand-drive markets in Europe are already getting a facelifted version. But in an age where almost one fifth of all new cars registered on our roads are medium SUVs, Ford New Zealand couldn’t wait any longer for the first models to roll off the boats and into dealerships. And although the Endura isn’t a direct replacement for the Territory, the Canadian-sourced SUV does fill the medium SUV gap in Ford’s SUV line-up. “The Endura ST-Line will be a stand-out offering in what is a fiercely competitive market,” says Ford New Zealand MD Simon Rutherford. “While SUVs continue to grow in popularity, the capability, design and technology that comes with the ST-Line gives the Endura an edge over its competitors and is a fantastic way for Ford to introduce the new nameplate to

New Zealand.” Although the Territory was available in three trim levels and two engines, Ford has opted to introduce the Endura to the New Zealand market in one, all-bells-fitted model, the ST-Line. As standard, all ST-Line models are fitted with 20-inch aluminum wheels, rear passenger privacy glass and sports body kit including new bumpers, splitter, side sills and chrome exhaust outlets. As the name suggests, ST-Line models also feature a slightly stiffer suspension setup than standard models in other markets. The five-seat SUV will be powered by a new 2-litre Duratorq Bi-turbo diesel engine producing 154kW of power at 3750rpm and a healthy 450Nm of torque from 2000-2250rpm. The engine is mated to a sixspeed automatic transmission

and full-time AWD system. Like the Territory, the Endura is built on a car (Ford Mondeo) platform. So, despite the AWD capability, the crossover SUV isn’t made for serious off-roading. For that, you’re better off with the ute-based Everest. With confident American styling, the Endura strikes a much tougher appearance than any other SUV in Ford’s line-up. However, on first impressions, it appears slightly smaller than the Australian-built Territory. But consider its dimensions — 4.7m long, 1.9m wide and 1.7m high — and the Endura is slightly more compact (77mm), a bit wider (30mm) and taller (28mm) than its predecessor. Weighing in at 1840kg dry, the Endura is also lighter than the SUV it replaces. The shorter length does little to hinder interior space as the Endura will be sold exclusively in five-seat configuration, but

the added width and height pay huge dividends for the Endura’s aspirations as a family car. In the cabin, all passengers have ample head and leg room and — unlike some models — the Endura will comfortably sit three adults in the rear row. The elevated front seats also mean rear passengers can stretch their legs that little bit further when their seats are reclined. The news is just as good in the front with a driver of any height able to be positioned comfortably in a 10-way adjustable seat and a fully adjustable steering column. All seats are upholstered in leather with suede inserts. Front seats feature heated and ventilated functions and the rear row is heated. Enduras are fitted with Ford’s latest Sync3 infotainment system with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, a 12-speaker audio system and 8-inch colour

touch screen display. Forward collision alert, collision mitigation, Adaptive cruise control and no fewer than six airbags ensures Endura achieves a 5-star Euro Ncap safety rating. On the road, the Endura is a smooth performer with taut handling. The engine’s lowdown torque moves the SUV with ease and the paddle-shift gearbox allows you to pluck any extra gear needed. The ride can be firm on uneven surfaces, but not uncomfortably so, and the slightly firmer suspension pays off when the Endura meets a country road. Now it faces the tough task of taking on the Hyundai SantaFe, Kia Sorento and Volkswagen Tiguan in one of New Zealand’s toughest new car segments. Albeit with an SUV that’s unmistakably Ford.

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Farming

PEST CONTROL & CROP PROTECTION FEATURE

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Growers need to keep their finger on fungicide withholding periods.

PHOTO ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Records vital for fungicide treatment The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) says it is important to have a good grasp of fungicide withholding periods for straw and post-harvest grazing in ryegrass seed crops. Cropping farmers need to be aware of their obligations when trading straw which has been treated with fungicides for the control of disease such as stem rust. This is particularly important in crops where the residue, or seed and grain, may be used as animal feed. When products are registered through Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines legislation, they are required to include withholding periods for both re-entry of livestock

to paddocks where treatment has occurred, and for the use of forage straw. This is to prevent the accumulation of fungicide residues in livestock. The advantage of applying fungicides for the control of stem rust has been demonstrated in many FAR trials with turf-type perennial ryegrasses, where seed yield increases of up to 50 per cent are common. However, stem rust cycles rapidly when canopy temperatures are hot and few fungicides offer protection outside 14 days in midsummer. Therefore it is important to consider withholding periods for both straw and grazing of crop regrowth. FAR has a list

available of the witholding periods for active ingredients in fungicides. As harvest approaches, growers will need to consider their options if fungicide treatment is required. Option one is to not apply a fungicide that contravenes the specified withholding period and this may result in a yield loss if disease is present. The second option is to either burn or incorporate all crop straw and seed, ensuring livestock cannot eat crop residues, if a fungicide is applied that contravenes the withholding period. Option three is to do a fungicide residue test, at grower costs, to ensure residues are at or below the maximum residue limit for

the product. For all fungicide products, harvest is considered as cutting, not threshing. FAR recommends checking labels for generic formulations of common fungicide brands to make sure that the same label conditions apply. If in doubt, growers should contact their agrichemical supplier or the manufacturer. Growers using fungicides for grain and forage in cereals should also check that the withholding period for the product fits their intended harvest time, whether it is for a silage or grain crop. With standard crop management, there should be little risk of harvesting within the withholding periods listed for autumn sown crops. However, harvesting at

the early end of the silage harvest window could put some crops at risk of not meeting the withholding periods from a growth stage 39-49 application of certain fungicides. Keep a record of application dates to calculate safe harvest times. Spring sown crops will generally have a shorter window from GS 39 to harvest, so extra care should be taken to ensure withholding periods are met. See FAR for a table of withholding periods for common fungicide products used for cereal silage and grain production. Source: Foundation for Arable Research (FAR)

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PEST CONTROL & CROP PROTECTION FEATURE

You must protect yourGRAIN stored grain INTEGRATED

STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Grain stored on farm represents the ultimate asset a grower obtains from investing in sowing, fertilising, spraying and harvesting a crop. This asset must be protected. While grain is in storage, unless it is managed properly, its quality and value will deteriorate. An integrated approach is the key to grain storage management says Nick George, Canterbury/West Coast Territory Manager for Orion AgriScience. With the grain harvest just around the corner, Nick reminds us about the importance of good grain hygiene to minimise insect problems once the grain is stored. Nick points out that last harvest was particularly hot and dry, resulting in low grain moisture levels, therefore growers were reluctant to use grain storage insecticides. This caused problems later on in storage with an unprecedented number of phone calls this winter regarding advice on how to

compromised - this is the number one reason for poor results in New Zealand. The other option is to use Actellic®50EC liquid which is applied through a calibrated spray system. The use rate for this is 8ml/T diluted with sufficient water to obtain uniform distribution (usually around 2L). When used in conjunction with good hygiene and storage practices, Orion AgriScience Step 1) Spray out vegetation single 60g smoke generator grain storage insecticides with a 1-2 metre wide buffer provide exceptional will treat a silo or grain store around the silo to prevent knockdown and on-going with a capacity of up to 250T harbouring pests. control of common grain of wheat or 200T of barley. Step 2) Sweep all surfaces pests in New Zealand. If capacity is bigger, extra thoroughly and burn the For more information these smoke generators will be sweepings. and other on Orion products, required. Step 3) Treat all cleaned visit www.orionagriscience. Harvest ® surfaces with Actellic®50EC co.nz or phone 0800 674 6627 At silo filling there are liquid using 100ml/10L water two ad mixture options ®ACTELLIC is a registered and spray to the point of run- using Actellic®Dust or trademark of a Syngenta off. Group Company Actellic®50EC. These Step 4) Complete the pre®GRAINMASTER and insecticides should be A complete ad-mixture and harvest process by using ® SUPERSMOKE are incorporated evenly surface throughout treatment grain GrainMaster® SuperSmoke® registered trademarks of the in grain to stores just prior to filling. Theproviding Orion AgriScience Ltd provide the final level of superior control. fine smoke produced by the Editorial supplied by Orion protection. firework-like smoke generator AgriScience Canterbury/West The Actellic®Dust use rate Active isingredient: permeates the empty silo, Coast Territory Manager, Nick 200g/T. If the 500g/litre dust is not pirimiphos-methyl ensuring insects in every George applied throughout in nook the form ofevenly an emulsifiable concentrate. and cranny are controlled. A Advertising feature the grain, results will be

treat pest infestations postharvest. The hygiene management process can be split into two halves - pre-harvest and harvest. Orion AgriScience has a range of products for each step of the way. ® Pre-harvest (four to six weeks before harvest) Good silo or grain store hygiene is an essential ® foundation for keeping grain insect-free, explains Nick. It is important that all old grain, debris and cobwebs are removed, including around hatches and doors. This also applies to harvesting and handling equipment.

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www.orionagriscience.co.nz For more information contact Orion AgriScience Ltd. Freephone: 0800 674 6627 ® GrainMaster, SuperSmoke and See no weevil are Registered Trademarks of Orion AgriScience Limited. ® Actellic is a Registered Trademark of Syngenta Limited. GrainMaster SuperSmoke is approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996, No. HSR 101001. Actellic Dust and Actellic EC are registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, P3591, P3590. Approved pursuant to the HSNO Act 1996, No. HSR 000196, HSR 000197. See www.foodsafety.govt.nz for registration conditions. See www.epa.govt.nz for approval conditions.

Farming

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PEST CONTROL & CROP PROTECTION FEATURE

Insecticide targets only pests Mayfield based spray contractor Gary Harrison runs three spray trucks and a self-propelled unit, spraying several thousand hectares of forage brassicas each year. Last season, Gary tried Minecto Star, a new forage brassica insecticide from Syngenta containing two IPM compatible active ingredients (cyantraniliprole plus pymetrozine). The combination of the two active ingredients is designed to control a wide range of insect pests without harming beneficial insects, which helps to provide ongoing control of insect pests and reduce the need for follow-up insecticides. “As soon as we tried Minecto Star we liked it, because of no risk of OPs getting into us. And it worked,” says Gary. “It does a really good job on both caterpillars and aphids, and one pass does it all.” “In the past we have been using Exirel® and Pirimor® mixed together, which means us having to carry two chemicals on the truck, and good old Attack® which kills more than just bugs.” “The beauty of Minecto Star is it’s leaving the ladybirds alive, which means the bugs don’t come back. I think we’re getting up to 8 weeks’ control with Minecto Star compared with 3 weeks with some other products, which means we don’t have to come back.” “Yields will be right up there where growers use Minecto Star, and that’s where growers make their money. Price is the main reason why people are using the other stuff, but if they sat down and did the sums Minecto Star works out cheaper than using two applications of Attack®. It’s as simple as that.” Minecto Star contains a full rate of cyantraniliprole (the active ingredient of Exirel®) plus pymetrozine (a systemic aphicide). The addition of pymetrozine not only provides better control of aphids than using cyantraniliprole alone, it also offers resistance management for aphid control. Being fully systemic, pymetrozine moves inside the plant to control aphids within the crop canopy and protect new growth. It acts almost immediately on contact or ingestion, causing the aphids to withdraw their feeding stylet from the plant, with death from starvation occurring after 3 to 4 days. Pymetrozine is only active against certain sucking insects (such as aphids) that feed on leaves through a stylet. Beneficial insects (such as ladybirds, lacewings and parasitic wasps) that have no stylet and feed on insects (not leaves) are not affected. This helps to explain why pymetrozine has such a good IPM fit. The best time to apply Minecto Star is when both caterpillars and aphids are present in the mid to late part of the season, before the build-up of high pest numbers. The product is also very good against leaf miner, making it an effective (and more pleasant to apply) alternative to organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid insecticides in forage brassicas. For a limited time, growers who purchase just one 900g pack of Minecto Star (enough to treat six hectares) can

Mayfield spray contractor, Gary Harrison, gives Minecto Star the thumbs up for efficacy and IPM safety. PHOTO SUPPLIED

“

The beauty of Minecto Star is it’s leaving the ladybirds alive, which means the bugs don’t come back. I think we’re getting up to 8 weeks’ control with Minecto Star compared with 3 weeks with some other products, which means we don’t have to come back.

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PEST CONTROL & CROP PROTECTION FEATURE

SST appoints new account manager SST NZ are pleased to announce the appointment of Geoff Booth as account manager for the South Island representing SST’s products. Booth brings a wealth of knowledge to SST with a strong background in the NZ agricultural sector having worked in a variety of agricultural related jobs over much of the past 20 years, and brings with him a strong background in botany, pasture and crop sciences. SST is a leading manufacturer of adjuvants and spray additives in NZ and Australia, with much of its products developed and manufactured at its specially developed plant in Melbourne Australia. SST’s products are available at most rural supply stores in NZ and have developed a reputation over the past two decades of producing products that the agricultural, horticultural and contracting sectors can trust and rely on to deliver the best results under every situation. “It’s been great to be

involved strongly in the agricultural sector of the South Island over the years and I am enjoying my involvement in the highly successful and booming horticultural sectors as well,” Booth said “With phenomenal and record rainfall in many regions this year farmers are experiencing significant growth after a slow start to the spring growing season and this will hopefully lend itself to a high performing season with large crop yields for many farmers. “However, the rainfall and humidity does also bring with it challenges into the ag, horticultural and viticulture markets and we are anticipating seeing strong demands our products as growers try to keep ahead of insect and fungal outbreaks as more humid days begin to ramp up”. SST’s acronym is short for Surface Science Technologies and in keeping with this vision for scientific advancement SST has opened a dedicated Innovation

Centre at the Green Chemical Futures building at Monash University in Victoria. ERADICATE: Eradicate is a new multipurpose adjuvant that significantly enhances the performance of glyphosate, reduces spray drift and improves penetration and plant uptake through the epicuticular wax with virtually no foaming issues for the user. Eradicate is based on greener technology, is nontoxic and contains no NPEs (Nonylphenol ethoxylates) which are becoming increasingly frowned upon by the industry, giving Eradicate an innovative and vital point of difference over market alternatives. For more information on Eradicate, please contact Geoff Booth at Geoff.booth@ sstnewzealand.co.nz or 027 4056673 Geoff Booth, account manager for the South Island for SST .

Advertising feature

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Farming

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OPINION

Keeping on top of invasive weeds The tussock grasslands of the Hakatere Conservation Park are looking their showy best. A mild winter and moist spring has ensured plant growth has been good. These tawny tussocklands – our big brown backyard – are remarkably free of weeds, especially wilding conifers. The Department of Conservation can take much of the credit for weed control over the vast conservation estate they manage. Every year, on a limited budget, DOC teams and contractors control broom, gorse, wilding conifers, rowan and other weeds. Although there are pockets of nuisance plants, such as elderberry in some gullies, we are fortunate that a large-scale weed disaster such as the Mackenzie Basin conifers has not happened here. When the Hakatere Conservation Park was established, conifer shelterbelts were removed from the new DOC land. Seedlings from those shelterbelts germinated for some years, and although the rate of germination from

Mary Ralston

FOREST AND BIRD

these sources has dwindled, seeds still invade the conservation land from shelter belts on neighbouring private property. Volunteers have also made a considerable impact on maintaining the naturalness of the Hakatere Conservation Park. Several times a year, members of the Ashburton branch of Forest & Bird descend on the Hakatere to control wilding conifers and other woody weeds such as broom and gorse. Originally their mission was to remove conifers from new conservation land around Lake Heron. Over the years hundreds of thousands of conifer seedlings have been pulled out, or cut down and poisoned. Now that this area’s wildings are under control, the effort has shifted to the Spider

Spring in the Hakatere Conservation Park with Bulbinella flowering profusely alongside Paddle PHOTO SUPPLIED Stream.

Lakes and Paddle Stream area where wildings are still springing up and broom makes itself known in spring with its yellow flowers. The weeding team is systematic and thorough. Members spread out so that not a hectare will be missed or a patch of yellow overlooked. Known clumps of broom and gorse are pulled out, sprayed or otherwise controlled and then the site is recorded by GPS so that a return visit

can be made to ensure all plants have died, and any new germination dealt with. Weed control is definitely a “stitch in time saves nine” scenario. Or in the case of wilding control, control now saves thousands later – one need only look at the Mackenzie conifers or the broom on the South Ashburton just downstream from the DOC land to know the truth of that. Large scale wilding control, which

has occurred over the last few years in certain areas, is essential but the continuous efforts of volunteers to mop up errant trees is also extremely valuable. If left, just a few trees could spawn a whole new generation of wildings. Broom and gorse could be even more of a curse as their seeds last for decades in the soil (up to 60 years according to one source), and they have great ability to resprout.

Keeping recyclables from landfills Have you factored sustainability into your New Year’s resolutions? As 2019 rolls out, running our farms, our businesses and our lives more sustainably has never been more topical. Getting the support to fund sustainability initiatives can be hard work. Reframing recycling and composting as a business opportunity will make this more possible. If retail giant Walmart can divert 81 per cent of its waste from landfills then why not you, your farm or your household? Many people are now reducing waste by taking their own shopping bags to shops, printing less and recycling more. But what happens to your foodwaste and organic waste? Do you have a sustainable system in place? Take composting as an example. Many large organisations baulk at the cost and effort of separating foodwaste at the staff cafeteria or smoko room. They lose an opportunity to change staff behaviour let alone setting up a composting solution for their foodwaste. Despite the obvious challenges a number of Envirowaste’s large customers

Sheryl Stivens

ECO EFFICIENCY

have successfully launched and continue to run foodwaste capture and composting programmes. Often corporate customers are keen to grow a more sustainably minded workplace culture and diverting food and organic waste from onsite cafeterias and staff areas is now often top of the list. Some larger companies which have rural branches are even looking to partner with local schools for composting their staff foodwaste. A hungry worm bin is another good solution for this or even a staff member with composting systems at home. Thinking only in terms of recycling particularly in the current environment in which so many so-called recyclers simply bale recycling for commodity sellers, may not remain viable long term.

EnviroWaste’s composting facility in Hampton Downs.

Reframing sustainability as a closed loop system, a regenerative system where materials have more than one life, either reused, repaired, reconditioned or remanufactured and ultimately cycled at different levels in the economy is a better approach. A good example of this is a grocery retailer that Envirowaste is working with

PHOTO SUPPLIED

right now who wants to divert broken shopping baskets from the landfill. Thinking in terms of closed loop economics, Envirowaste helped set up a process for turning old baskets into plastic pellets to provide the ingredients for making building materials. Now everyone is focused on developing a market for

the new materials. Investing in these new initiatives puts economics first and creates business opportunities from sustainability initiatives. The challenge is to always include organic waste and foodwaste so that these materials are used sustainably to rebuild soils in our gardens and on our farms rather than being transported to landfills.

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OPINION

Time to listen and take note I am sitting here wondering what I am going to write about. It is almost Christmas Eve and after 20mms of rain during the last week the country side is looking great. Stock are doing well, the milk is flowing and silage is being cut and harvested throughout the district. So shall I join other commentators and pass disparaging comments on the state of the farming industry or should I add to the chorus of dissatisfaction about MPI and their handling of mycoplasma bovis? Should I take a shot at Greenpeace and/ or other environmentalists about their ill-informed comments about water usage, pollution and dirty farming in general? No, I don’t think I will, primarily because I feel there is too much shouting at each other with none of the parties listening and this is not achieving anything. Everyone is on Facebook, tweeting, texting or whatever at each other with no one listening. I am sure there are some farmers out there who

Rodger Letham

PROPERTY BROKERS

are today almost reluctant to say that they are farmers be it dairying or not, because they are immediately labelled by the listeners as polluters and wreckers of our environment. We seem to live in Twitter, a whispering echo chamber that amplifies false news. Users look for stories that confirm their beliefs and prejudices and ignore or dismiss contrary thoughts or stories. This marvellous thing called the internet was supposed to promote free and democratic conversation across countries, over borders and shine a light on all people everywhere. No longer would governments be able to hide the truth from their people. The web would disclose their

crimes to the world. In some cases this is so but I believe the reverse has happened. A gulf has opened up in our world and it grows bigger every day. Neither party on each side can hear a word the other shrieks and nor do they appear to want to. I think it is time for this toxic, binary, zero sum madness to stop. The web, Facebook and Twitter are now awash with salesmen, conspiracy theorists, demagogues and messianic gurus. They can be anonymous, crazy, odd,

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hateful, abusive and the most loud-mouthed people on earth, as Bob Brockie said recently. The web in general and Twitter in particular serves to magnify their bizarre, twisted views and to swamp honest news. Just think how little news there would be if Donald Trump stopped tweeting. Now having said all that, we are all aware I am sure that our farming community is facing challenges. Big challenges in some cases. Has not it always been thus?

However, we are blessed in this district by having the very best of professional advice available be it in finance, legal matters, marketing or counselling, if needed. Having had previous experience in having to leave the land I farmed and loved, I know it is vital to talk in confidence to the right people. Let’s make this a faceto-face conversation rather than resorting to soul-less tweeting.

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WATER & IRRIGATION FEATURE

Putting irrigation systems to the test IrrigationNZ will be carrying out an irrigation efficiency testing programme in South Canterbury this summer to help farmers improve their irrigation management. The programme operated last summer in Selwyn and over the previous summer in Ashburton. Around 360 irrigation systems were tested through those two programmes. The checking programme is the first large scale independent trial of irrigation efficiency that has been carried out in New Zealand. Most farms with irrigation will spend over $50,000 a year in water and electricity charges. “Checking your irrigation system is operating efficiently is a good investment as even small adjustments to your irrigation operation will quickly add up to thousands in savings over a few irrigation seasons. Fixing faults can help you save water and reduce nutrient losses,” said Steve Breneger, IrrigationNZ technical project manager, who is overseeing the project. The testing programme

Irene Setiawan and Lughano Mwenibabu checking the water pressure on a centre pivot irrigator. The university students will be part PHOTO SUPPLIED of this year’s irrigation efficiency testing programme.

is carried out by university scholarship students who have been trained to carry out bucket testing which checks whether systems are working correctly. The results are then reviewed by Breneger, an irrigation educator with over 10 years’ experience in irrigation installation, maintenance and repairs, who makes recommendations on how to improve performance. Farmers receive

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a summary of the test results listing any key performance issues and actions that would improve irrigation performance. “A key part of the project is that it provides farmers with a good picture of both how well their irrigation system is operating and also how they are managing it. Farmers are offered advice on what they could do to improve their irrigation performance

or their management of their irrigation system,” said Breneger. The testing carried out in Ashburton found that older irrigation systems performed more poorly than newer systems. In Selwyn the programme found that many newer systems were not operating well which highlighted the importance of commissioning irrigation systems to check their

performance before they were handed over to farmers to operate. In both districts, most farmers were using resources such as soil moisture monitoring tools to help them identify when they needed to irrigate. The testing programme is being carried out until mid-February and will cover properties between the Waitaki and Rangitata River.

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WATER & IRRIGATION FEATURE

Dairy conversion slowing down Just three new dairy conversions in Mid Canterbury last year is part of a steady decline in conversions across Canterbury since 2013, says Environment Canterbury (ECan). The regional council says its strict water quality limits are holding the line as more scrutiny goes on the impact of farm intensification on local waterways. The three new conversions in the Ashburton district in 2018 are all within irrigation scheme areas, where nutrient loads are distributed among farmers on an “overs and unders’’ basis, but cannot exceed the overall nitrogen load allocated to the scheme. In the 10 years to 2003, some 200 consents for dairy farms were granted in the Ashburton District and the industry continued to grow; some 274 herds with a combined 217,352 cows made up Ashburton’s dairy industry in the 2008-09 season. Last year there were 410 herds and 357,381 cows. ECan said nutrient leaching control measures meant that stocking levels were effectively

New dairy conversions are a rarity in Canterbury nowadays.

capped for most dairy farmers in Canterbury. A few farmers operating at the top end of the environmental management spectrum had converted to dairying or extended their existing dairy operations by making improvements to ensure they

continued to meet nitrogen loss limits. The regional council said the number of dairy cattle in Canterbury reduced substantially from 2015 to 2016 and in 2017 there were 1.3 million cows. That dropped to 952,363 in the 2017-18 season.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

ECan said its data showed a small increase in dairy farming, demonstrated by the number of dairy effluent consents granted. There were also 27 applications for an increase in dairy herd size. The number of conversions in the latest

figures were small compared with the total of 1333 farms with effluent consents in the region. Most of the conversions and increases were in irrigation schemes, where the effluent load was managed in a global consent.

BY BYLINDSAY LINDSAY

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Ashburton: 25 McNally, Ashburton 7700. Phone (03) 307-2027 Ashburton: 7 JB Cullen Drive, Ashburton 7700. Phone (03) 307-2027 Timaru: 81 Hilton Highway, Washdyke 7910. Phone (03) 688-7042 Cromwell: 9 Rogers St, Cromwell 9310. Phone (03) 445 4200 Timaru: 81 Hilton Highway, Washdyke 7910. Phone (03) 688-7042

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Reducing the pressure of severe droughts More water storage is needed to reduce the pressure severe droughts will place on rural and urban livelihoods, says IrrigationNZ. The national body for irrigators says an expert discussion document on drought and climate change supports the need to improve water storage and look at options to reduce the effects of more severe droughts forecasted. Departing IrrigationNZ chief executive Andrew Curtis said urban and rural communities would have to rethink how they managed water during increased droughts and variable rainfall. He said less rainfall forecast over summer in western areas of New Zealand would result in more demand for water storage from councils and farmers to provide reliable water supplies. “To adequately prepare for the future New Zealand needs to capture more of its plentiful water from rain and ice melt.’’ NIWA projections included in the discussion document indicate that droughts are

Central Plains Water is among new schemes that will help future-proof the risk of more droughts PHOTO SUPPLIED ahead.

expected to become more severe in most areas and more frequent and severe in drought prone regions. Historically “water-rich’’

New Zealand is not well-prepared to cope with a future that will involve more droughts in many areas. The report found much of

the irrigation in drier areas from river water was a model vulnerable to drought because of environmental obligations. The risk of more droughts

was expected to impact water supply, wastewater, stormwater and primary production. Curtis said the next step was to develop a national approach to plan for improved water storage in urban and rural areas. Tasman District Council is proceeding with building a new dam to supply residents, businesses and growers with water, an investment that would increasingly be needed in the future, he said. The project would stop severe water restrictions for urban and rural water users, and provide environmental river flows. Curtis said the Central Plains Water scheme was another example of a project designed to help reduce the impacts of future droughts. Improving water use efficiency such as installing piped systems would continue to be a priority, he said. The economic impact of droughts in New Zealand was estimated to be $720 million from 2007 to 2017 in a report last year for Treasury.

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Bowden Environmental

Resource Management Consultants • Resource Consents • Replacement Consents • Groundwater • Surface Water • Effluent Discharge • Effluent Storage • Gravel Extraction • Consents Compliance • Advocacy • Aquifer Testing • Due Diligence • Feasibility • Flow Monitoring • Farm Environment Plans 92 Williams Street, Kaiapoi PO Box 404, Kaiapoi, 7644 www.bowden.co.nz Ph: 03 375 5015

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WATER & IRRIGATION FEATURE

Debont – a new irrigator making a splash In a highly competitive and changing irrigation market you need a point of difference to ensure your customers have a robust and viable solution, not just for tomorrow but for many years to come. With two resellers but a network of many more, Debont Irrigation NZ was created three years ago by Richard Kingsbury (formerly Irrigation Evaluation Services) to do just this.

Debont irrigators, a clear winner for uniformity, quality standards and structural integrity.

Why Chinese pivots? Whilst working as an irrigation consultant, Richard was approached in early 2016 by Debont (Tianjin) Irrigation Company in Tianjin, China to become a distributor of centre pivots for them. After auditing many irrigation systems over the past years and finding the uniformity was poor in a lot of infill irrigation, Richard decided to take this opportunity to find a more viable option to apply water more efficiently and more cost effectively. After completing six months due diligence, including reviewing pricing, quality standards, structural integrity and electrical componentry as well as visiting installations and talking with existing customers it was obvious that this was the option to choose. It was also essential that the Debont machines were electrically compliant in New Zealand so the process of having them certified was completed late 2017. Next step was to find the best method to market the equipment that would ensure the product was installed and serviced correctly.

PHOTOS SUPPLIED

How do we distribute them in New Zealand? After reviewing several opportunities, it was obvious that the product needed to be distributed by an irrigation company with experienced irrigation designers, installers and service technicians. These irrigation companies needed to understand the benefits of offering farming customers a financially viable alternative to automating their irrigation by using solid set and fixed grid solutions. So, in 2017 Irritech Otago Ltd was appointed to resell the machines in the lower South Island and in 2018 Irrigate New Zealand and Irrigation Maintenance and Service was created to cover the upper South Island.

What’s the real difference? Customers can purchase a quality, simple, no frills centre pivot irrigator, with sprinklers and end gun system designed and selected by an irrigation auditor to ensure high uniformity. The sprinklers and end gun are where the rubber hits the ground. This is important to get right for many reasons but most of all for best water use efficiency. We have no need to reduce our pipe diameter to 5” or to even 4”. We stay with 6 5/8 pipe size for all our pivots. This reduces costs as it makes all our systems standard. There is no cost benefit to reducing our pipe and we believe that the flow rate through a centre pivot should be no less than 8

litres per second otherwise uniformity will be greatly reduced. Debont also offers 8” pipe and just recently released that they now offer poly-lined pipes of all sizes available for installations of problem waters.

Results to date! In the last 18 months, sales of Debont irrigators has surpassed all expectation considering some early expected resistance to “Chinese manufactured” systems and a lot of this was due to questioning as to the quality of the steel and the galvanising. Those that have purchased have no question about the quality. Since purchasing their first

Debont, many have now purchased their 2nd, 3rd or even 4th Debont Irrigator in 18 months. 2019 is already looking to surpass both 2017 and 2018 as the name Debont is becoming more widely accepted in the market due to the quality and price.

Contact us Call directly to Debont Irrigation NZ on 0508DEBONT (332668) or Irrigate Solutions John Parker 021 405 557 or Richard Kingsbury 0210 359 239. Advertising feature

Irrigate New Zealand One year into our operation Irrigate New Zealand, or what we like to refer to ourselves is Irrigate Solutions, have been busy creating the optimum irrigation solutions to match our customers specific requirements. Operating out of our premises in Christchurch we have a truly mobile business which offer services such as designing, quoting and project managing multiple irrigation projects from start to finish. We pride ourselves in achieving the best outcome for our customers and are certified to complete an irrigator performance evaluation on all solutions we install. Why Irrigate? John Parker, Richard Kingsbury and Terry O’Loughlin have taken our combined years of irrigation experience and formed a new company which is driven to deliver to you. We have two centre pivot agencies (Bauer and Debont) to allow us to find the right solution for your requirements. All sprinkler packages are custom specified and designed in house using the latest OEM software. Any equipment we have installed is backed up by Irrigation Maintenance and Service (‘IMS’) based directly in Ashburton. IMS has access to all spare parts and a team of very experienced service technicians that can meet all you servicing requirements.

Debont Debont, direct sourced out of China, are our optimum solution for infill irrigation allowing our farmer customers to cost effectively irrigate smaller areas using centre pivots instead of opting for the more expensive solid set of fixed grid solutions. Debont offer a very competitively priced option which has both manual and remote operational capabilities (dependent on your requirements). To ensure that Debont pivots meet the New Zealand Standards a supplier declaration of conformity has been issued for all pivots sold in New Zealand.

Bauer Bauer Irrigation technology has a full array of pivot and linear options as well as hard hose machines allow us to optimize your irrigation needs. Bauer offers the farmer the ability to have all irrigation equipment on the same platform where both hard hose and low-pressure systems can be accessed by either SMS or the Bauer Smart Rain portal. Bauer’s Smart Rain solution offers the farmer real time operations and information to allow them to better manage their irrigation system. Bauer also offers a fully integrated variable rate irrigation (VRI) solution which can be easily installed or upgraded to should this option be required.

Should you have any irrigation needs please feel free contact John Parker on 021 405557 or Richard Kingsbury on 021 0359 239 or email us from www.irrigate.nz

We will also be attending this years South Island Field Days, middle section, site 274.

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WATER & IRRIGATION FEATURE

Keep track of water

The best ballcock

Environmental Consultancy 2015 Ltd. (ECS) specialise in investigating and monitoring surface water and groundwater resources, and monitoring of compliance of resource consent conditions. Established in 1994 (Environmental Consultancy Services Ltd) and based in Timaru, we combine an extensive knowledge of the surface water and groundwater resources within the central South Island of New Zealand with the requirements of the Resource Management Act and the resource consent process. We can assist clients in obtaining resource consents for irrigation, dairy conversions (effluent disposal / consent to farm / change of land use), and to comply with conditions of current resource consents. ECS has developed an excellent working relationship with Regional Council resource management officers. Some of our services include: • Irrigation New Zealand certified water measurement system verification practitioner; • Installation and operation of flow monitoring equipment, including remote access by telemetry and display via our web portal for both open channel and pipe flows; • Provision of flow/water data

The SIS ballcock was a concept of Ray Collins. I have shot ducks on Ray’s farms for over 40 years and we have shared many (at times somewhat crazy) engineering projects. Ray processes designs in his mind and with the ballcock I couldn’t picture his design in my mind. So he made one. We made five, then we made 10, then we made 50 – now we do runs of a 1000. Ray has had a lifetime of frustration with ballcocks that prompted his comment “make the best ballcock in the world”. They are all made from 316 marine grade stainless steel. They have no internal parts – the sealing face is on the exterior. Our design is so simple your children, your wife, your bank manager would able to understand how the SIS valve works. A farm in our area has 300 troughs, this property has 20 per cent of ballcocks fail every year, that is 60 a year, of those 60 at least 10 per cent of those will be less than a year old. An independent trial showed at 52 psi with 50mm pipework to the ballcock gave a flow rate of 13 cubic metres per hour. We are now 5 years into producing ballcocks and not one has failed. Many thanks to Ray Collins, Ross Symes and Terry Nelley. These

management - processing, auditing and reporting services; • Specialists in flow measurement - we can measure rates of water flow in open channels (irrigation races, rivers and streams) or within pipes; • Collection of surface water and/or groundwater samples for chemical analysis; • Installation and operation of meteorological instrumentation (rainfall, wind direction, wind speed, solar radiation, relative humidity), including remote access by telemetry and display via our web portal. We provide regular reports to clients on the way in which compliance is achieved and, where appropriate, recommend ways in which compliance could better be achieved.”

Advertising feature

“

We are now five years into producing ballcocks and not one has failed

farmers gave me access to their properties for the development process. Ray Collins gets free ballcocks for the rest of his life.

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WATER & IRRIGATION FEATURE

Savings in energy usage Get the best system

The SSS Irrigation System is a static set irrigation system with sprinklers permanently mounted on posts, 1.8m above ground with posts spaced 44m apart on average. Each sprinkler is individually operated via the post kit’s solenoid valve controller. Watering times are infinitely variable, thus allowing for differing soil types and flexible application rates. We use our proven SSS Irrigation grid system to design layouts suitable for any landscape with a range of post and row spacings to suit the particular requirements which vary depending on available water pressure, windage issues, etc. Our recommended water pressure at the sprinkler is 4 bar (58psi) where the PF 30 sprinkler unit is achieving a throw radius of 30m (60m diameter). The PF 30 sprinkler will perform

efficiently from as little as 2.5 bar to well over 6 bar with corresponding changes to throw radius. Underground, the system utilises 100mm to 200mm PVC mainlines (varying in size according to individual system needs) with 63mm MDPE lateral lines reducing to 40mm LDPE post lines to the individual sprinklers. Our system does not require any landscape modifications or alteration to existing fence lines, removal of valuable shelter belts, etc. High application rates allow shortened run times and resultant savings in energy usage, in most cases allowing all irrigation to be completed overnight when further savings can be made with use of night rate electricity supply.

Advertising feature

Water is a precious commodity and it is our job to ensure you get the best system possible. 1. Consult with you as to where you would like your well sited and discuss water and pump system requirements 2. We obtain the required bore permit from Environment Canterbury at no cost for you 3. Drill the well using quality steel casing for wells from 150mm diameter to 300mm diameter 4. Install high grade stainless steel well screens to maximise water take and quality by using the largest diameter screen available for your well 5. Developing and test pumping of the well not only cleans up the water but also enables accurate flow rates to be established. The correct pump system can then be installed to suit individual needs 6. We then file the completed well records with Environment Canterbury 7. We can provide electronically monitored aquifer step pump testing and constant flow testing per ECan and Canterbury Land and Water Plans 8. Arrange to take water samples

PHOTO SUPPLIED

Barry Kewish drilling.

for Council Code of Compliance 9. Water sampling is also often done in older wells for peace of mind to check such possible problems as nitrate levels and water quality if there have been issues. Advertising feature

• Specialists in Domestic, Lifestyle and Irrigation Wells and Pump Systems • Well and Pump Repairs and Maintenance

New Zealand’s leaders in high performance static set irrigation. We take sprinkler technology to a new level of performance. We can irrigate your property, irrespective of terrain, making best use of your available water.

Contact: Stew Woodward 027 227 6128 sales@sssirrigation www.sssirrigation.co.nz

• Member of NZ Drillers Federation • Ecan Accredited Barry and Cathy Kewish Phone: 03 324 3799 Email: smithwells@xtra.co.nz Website: smithswelldrilling.co.nz

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610mm deep base, 1520mm wide. Has 24 feed spaces - 326.5mm between feed spaces Sold ﬂat packed. Units have corner bracing for added strength. Mitred corner sits ﬂush, giving even more strength and helps the unit to sit square in conjunction with the bracket when animals are feeding.

$1250*

HEAVY DUTY TOMBSTONE FEEDER 2285mm (7’6”) diameter x 1195mm high x 545mm deep welded base. Formed into 12-sided shape, rather than one continuous circle. 12 feed spaces. Manufactured in three sections bolted together.

$875*

*All prices exclude GST

IAE commitment to research, development and the investment in the most up to date laser, robotic and profiling machinery ensure that all products are manufactured to the highest standard.