Canterbury Farming, March 2021 by Canterbury Farming

30,287 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast

March 2021 Edition

INSIDE

THIS EDITION Student rewarded

p5 Field days lift-out

p17 Securing a future

p49 VelTrak on track

Live and learn: West coaster Mac Williams is off to study veterinary science with the help of a NZ Young Farmers World congress charitable Trust Scholarship.

Coaster awarded Young Farmers scholarship

A hopeful veterinarian from the West Coast and a young woman who has her heart set on supporting farmers have been named as the recipients of the 2021 New Zealand Young Farmers World Congress Charitable Trust Scholarship.

❚ by Erin Speedy p60

Mac Williams, 18, from Jacksons on the West Coast has headed to Palmerston North to begin his first year studying veterinary science, while Otautau Fonterra Farm Source sales specialist Kimberly Thomas, 23, used the funds to enrol in a sustainable nutrient management course with Massey University.

Williams, a former St Bede’s College student was crowned the 2020 FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year alongside his teammate Jack Coakley. Interested in animal biology, nutrition and embryo imports, he dreams of becoming a large animal vet. “I love the rural lifestyle, working outdoors with people and animals, and the productive

yet peaceful atmosphere of farming in New Zealand,” Williams said. With a passion for livestock and agriculture, he purchased his first cow at ten years old and has since grown his enterprise to lease 60 hectares of land and turned over 30 cattle this season.

TO PAGE 2

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

FARMING NEWS

Thornbury Young Farmer looks to Massey FROM PAGE 1 Keen to learn about animal production, how vets could help farmers reach high levels of output and improve on farm relationships, he said is all beneficial to the productivity and profitability of the agriculture industry. “In order to keep this industry strong, we need to ensure we optimise animal productivity through farming practices which are innovative, sustainable, and efficient,” Williams said.

“Veterinarians work side by side with farmers to implement health plans which ensure healthy, disease free stock, ensure optimum nutrition, promote growth rates and productivity, and contribute to biosecurity.” Meanwhile Thornbury Young Farmer, Kimberly Thomas wanted to develop a more in-depth range of technical knowledge to support farmers in an everchanging world. Having already completed a certifi-

cate in land-based sustainability practices with SIT, she was looking forward to studying with Massey remotely and continuing her career development with Fonterra Farm Source. “This is really important to me because it allows me to not only continue the relationships I have built with farmers in my district, but also adds values to them and builds on myself for the future,” she said. The World Congress Charitable Trust

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Study: Thornbury Young Farmer Kimberly Thomas will use her New Zealand Young Farmers World congress charitable Trust Scholarship to further her studies at Massey University. scholarships are now in their 47th year and have contributed to more than 100 Young Farmer member’s educations in that time. This scholarship’s for Young Farmer members who are currently or intending to study agriculture or agriculturally related topics. The two University Scholarships are worth $1500 each and were started with funds remaining from the 1965 World Congress of Young Farmers which was formed into a Trust in 1969.

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FARMING NEWS

March 2021

Feds survey shows farmer conﬁdence has bounced back Farmer confidence has bounced back to where it was pre-Covid19 but attracting and retaining staff remains a headache for many, are two of the findings of the latest Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey.

❚ by Kent caddick Of the nearly 1,100 farmers who completed the Research First survey in the second week of January, a net 5.5% considered current economic conditions to be good. That’s a 34-point jump from the July 2020 survey when a net 28.6% considered them bad, marking the lowest level of farmer confidence in the 12 years the six-monthly survey had been conducted. “Looking ahead, a net 43.8% expect general economic conditions to worsen over the next 12 months. That sound a bit grim, but just six months ago 58.7% of survey respondents expected a deteriorating economy,” Federated Farmers President Andrew Hoggard said. “I think farmers, like other New Zealanders, are feeling buoyed by the way we’ve handled the pandemic despite the torpedo to international tourism. “The agricultural sector is willing and able to maintain production so long as regulatory and other stumbling blocks don’t trip us up.” The January survey showed the three greatest current concerns for farmers are regulation and compliance (chosen by 18.0% of respondents), followed by freshwater policy (16.7%), and climate change policy (13.6%). “This questionnaire went out before the recent announcements by the Climate Change Commission. “As the impacts of the draft emissions budgets, and the government’s reaction to

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New Zealanders, are feeling buoyed by the way we’ve handled the pandemic despite the torpedo to international tourism.

Confident: Federated Farmers President andrew hoggard says their latest survey shows farmer confidence is trending upwards. them, become clearer, it will be interesting to see the results of our next survey in July,” Hoggard said. A net 35.8% of respondents reported it has been harder to recruit skilled and motivated staff, an 8-point increase from July 2020 when a net 28.1% reported it has been harder.

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Other key findings from the January survey: • Farm profitability: A net 49.3% of respondents reported making a profit currently, up from 46.7% in July 2020. Looking ahead, a net 18.3% expect their profitability to worsen over the next 12 months, a 17-point decrease from Ju-

ly 2020 when a net 35.5% expected it to decline. • Farm production: A net 13.6% of respondents expect their production to increase over the next 12 months, down from 16.1% in July. • Farm spending: A net 11.3% of respondents expect their spending to increase over the next 12 months, a 24-point increase from July 2020 when a net 12.8% expected it to reduce. Hoggard said consistent with recent commodity price movements, the improvement in farmer confidence was particularly strong for dairy farmers, with other farming groups more cautious about current conditions and less optimistic about future conditions.

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March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Damien O’connor ❚ by for Agriculture, Biosecurity, ❚ Minister ❚ Food Safety and Rural Communities

FARMING NEWS

Making the most of opportunities

Recently I drove from Motueka to Christchurch down the backbone through the Lewis Pass. Getting on the open road gives you time to think and a welcome chance to see what’s going on in our rural communities. It’s pleasing for all to see strong commodity prices across the board. It bodes well for the rural economy, and though we can’t control prices, farmers should also take some pride in the heavy lifting they’re doing for New Zealand’s economy, during these Covid times. As we all know, we’re used to prices going up and down. That’s the nature of farming and something we’re resilient to. Covid-19 however, is testing our resilience new ways. Among other things it’s highlighting skills shortages across the country, where we’ve relied on skilled migrants coming into the country. Without a doubt, we need to do what we can with enabling qualified migrants to fill immediate holes in our production calendar. Having said that it raises the longer term question about how we bring keen smart Kiwis out of the cities and into ag-based careers. There’s been some good early progress with the Opportunity Grows Here campaign, which is focussed on this issue. It’s a great

go-to point online to learn about careers and I’d encourage you to share this website with your cousins in the big smoke. Most of our tourism happens in rural New Zealand too, which has been a boon for the provinces in recent years. I’m well aware of how difficult this sector is doing – particularly down the remote West Coast. The collapse in overseas tourism numbers due to Covid-19 will have flow on impacts for our rural communities and this is something that weighs on my mind as Minister for Rural Communities. The real question I ask myself, and will be asking rural people is this: • What’s the health of our rural communities and what are the things you need as far as services go that will help bring new blood into the regions, or that said, keep young people in our primary sector? If you see me in your neck of the bush, this is something I want to hear your thoughts on. and please do visit: www.opportunitygrowshere.nz

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CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

Hort student’s drive rewarded The journey of New Zealand’s high quality nutritious food from farmer to fork is what drives Agcarm’s horticultural scholarship winner Alexandra Tomkins in her goal to be a leader in food production.

❚ by Dominique Bray The Massey University student is in her third year of a Bachelor of AgriCommerce degree and will put her winnings towards her student loan, which she says is “fairly daunting”. Growing up in New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand before finishing her school studies in New Zealand, Tomkins says that, as New Zealanders, we don’t realise how good our produce is – that high quality is the norm. She intends to share New Zealand’s story and encourage the food industry to be more consumer-centric and sustainable. “I’m passionate about the New Zealand primary industries; putting our high quality and nutritious products on the world stage,” Tomkins says. She says she would like to be a leader in New Zealand’s food production industry, encouraging the industry to be even more consumer driven, producing high quality products sustainably, and sharing the New Zealand story. “I’m particularly interested in supply chain management and logistics; getting a product from the farm gate to final consumers around the world.” Her interest in horticulture was ignited when living in Asia for six of her schooling years. “Seeing New Zealand quality horticultural products in supermarkets, particularly kiwifruit, sparked my interest in the NZ primary industries and horticulture,” she says. Once she returned to New Zealand, living

in the Bay of Plenty for the last two years of high school, she was exposed to the large scale of the kiwifruit industry. She witnessed first-hand the drive of growers to place “quality horticultural products in household fruit bowls all over the globe”. She also became aware of the ability of technology and data management to shape the future of horticulture and increase production efficiency. “Horticulture has huge growth potential and many opportunities, but this comes with challenges - seasonal labour shortages, increasing demand for land, water restrictions, increasing policy standards, plastic packaging, climate change, and a growing urban-rural divide. “Overcoming these challenges is no small task which will require constant collaboration,” she says. At 20, Tomkins already has several accolades behind her. In January, she went to Thailand as part of a Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia AgriBusiness study trip and, last year, participated in the inaugural industry funded International Horticulture Immersion Programme (IHIP) study trip to Europe and Korea. She is the President of the Massey Horticulture Society and last year won the academic section of the inaugural ‘Massey Rural Student of the Year’. Most recently, Tomkins was selected as an emerging leader contributor for the KPMG 2020 Food & Fibre Agenda roundtable discussion.

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March 2021

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FARMING NEWS

Democratic institutions treated with disdain The recent introduction of the Electoral Amendment Bill is a cause for serious concern in our communities.

David Bennett ❚ by Party spokesperson ❚ National for Agriculture ❚ The Bill removes the referendum option from Local or Regional Council decisions to set up Maori only wards in their constituencies. Previously, if a certain number of electors (5%) had signed a petition requesting a referendum on a Maori ward decision, then the relevant council would have to take that decision to a public vote on whether or not the community wants to endorse the proposed Maori wards.

Inevitably, many councils that have sought to include Maori wards have seen the public vote against the proposal. The Government sees this as being racist and discriminatory, and has determined that local communities no longer warrant such a decision-making power. The Government wants all of the power to go to councils and not to the local voters. Some may argue that Councillors and Mayors are elected with a mandate to make such decisions. Often we find Mayors and councillors don’t campaign on this issue, preferring to remain silent knowing the potential for electoral backfire. However, when in positions of such authority, they are often pressured by interest groups to undertake such reform and find themselves promoting such reform even though they are neither required to, nor necessarily wanting the change. It is the Government’s duty and role to set the rules so that this pressure is not insurmountable. That is why previous governments have had the referendum clause. This Government is changing the power structure away from the people and now towards the Council. The Bill is being rushed by Labour so that it can impact next years’ local body elections. It is difficult to believe that this Bill’s

changes are so significant that they need to be rushed – running this process correctly and having any changes come into force in 2025 would be significantly better. The Labour Government only allowed one day for submissions to be lodged on the Bill from the standard 20 days. Also, certain councils supporting the Bill were given advance notice so that they could prepare a submission for the shortened timeframe. The Bill undermines the democratic process that many councils have already undertaken and enables councils to ignore historic

referendums on the issue. This is entirely unfair and an abuse of process. The Labour Party also campaigned saying they would respect and ensure local democratic decision-making. They are now in power – doing the opposite in removing the referendum process. This has been an appalling process and a breach of an election commitment, all done in a manner so that New Zealanders are unaware of the issue. It is politics at its worst and is a sign of how our democratic institutions are treated with disdain by a Labour-led Government.

Checking the source Things show up on the shelves or nicely packaged and we don’t think about where they come from.

Teanau Tuiono ❚ by spokesperson ❚ Agriculture for the Green Party ❚

The packet of Weetbix I bought from our local dairy could have been magically packaged and transported there by fairies and I would be none the wiser. But once you do know where something comes from it’s hard to look at it the same way again. Such as it was when I got a phone call that one of the pastors of one of our local churches had been arrested protesting against blood phosphate outside the gates of Ravensdown. Pastor Andy is one of those church leaders who not only believes the words in the sermons he delivers on Sundays but also backs those words with actions.

So when I went down to the police station to bail out the good Minister I learnt a few things that day. Phosphate sourced in Western Sahara has huge consequences for the people of that country. Thousands of Sahrawi refugees fled Western Sahara when it was invaded by Morocco in the 1970s and the territory was still under Moroccan control. The Sahrawi people consider the phosphate stolen. Western Sahara is an occupied territory which is nearly the same size as New Zealand, rich in minerals and guarded by the military from Morocco.

And it is not considered a non-self-governed territory under the United Nations, with many of its population living in refugee camps trying to cross the Algeria border. The New Zealand co-operatives, Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Ravensdown, have become the only known independent companies in the world buying from the mine. It has thrust New Zealand into the centre of one of the world’s most protracted refugee crises. Refugees have pleaded with New Zealand to stop the trade, which they see as a roadblock to the long-running peace process. We should listen.

CANTERBURY FARMING

FARMING NEWS

March 2021

Feds say RMA reform needed but shouldn’t be rushed Federated Farmers says it has long believed Resource Management Act reform is overdue but is concerned by the speed and scale of the rebuilding proposed today.

❚ by Kent caddick Environment Minister David Parker has announced his intention to replace the RMA with three new pieces of legislation before the end of this Parliamentary term, with a special select committee looking at a draft of the main Bill by the middle of this year. Federated Farmers resource management act spokesperson Karen Williams said this gives very little time for the community to absorb, consider and submit on the contents of the Bill. “We should be able to get to the end of this process and feel the work has been completed over timeframes that will ensure we deliver the outcomes we want to achieve as a country,” she said. “The opportunity to make such significant step-changes comes once in a generation, and reform should be done in a way that is thorough, open and considered. It is too important an issue to rush. “We all want planning processes simplified and costs and times reduced but we also want good quality legislation. Faster planning doesn’t necessarily equate to better planning.” Williams said Federated Farmers believes there is a danger that if the legislation is formed too quickly it will exclude community input and could lean towards predetermined outcomes. “We are keen to ensure this process in-

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We don’t want to see quick fixes to address today’s urban ‘crisis’ around housing. Karen Williams Federated Farmers resource management act spokesperson

cludes adequate consideration of sustainable food production planning. Feds would welcome wider community comment on this. “We also don’t want to see quick fixes to address today’s urban ‘crisis’ around housing, resulting in long-term changes to New Zealand’s environmental management that has other resource users picking up that environmental tab.” Greenpeace has welcomed the announcement but also sounded a warning. Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Dr Russel Norman said the new law must

protect environmental bottom lines in a way that the RMA failed to. “The RMA created a consenting process that traded off private profit driven development against environmental destruction, which cumulatively resulted in an environmental death spiral,” Norman said. “The result is the polluted rivers, spiralling greenhouse emissions and biodiversity collapse we see today in Aotearoa. Our groundwater is now poisoned from north to south. “It is hopeful that the proposed new legislation will incorporate biophysical limits that

must not be breached. The test of the new legislation will be exactly what those limits are and whether these public interest environmental protections trump private profit driven applications. “Whatever replaces the RMA must effectively regulate our most polluting industry – dairying. That means stopping nitrate pollution entering freshwater from milk processing, synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and too many cows,” Norman said.

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

Bessie Paterson LLB ❚ with Ronald ❚ W Angland & Son

RURAL PROFESSIONALS

The Law Reform Testamentary Promises Act

New Zealand’s legislation whereby someone may enforce a promise of reward for services to another person and that other person fails to honour the promise is unique in the World. Failure to honour the promise usually arises when the person receiving the services dies and has failed to make provision in their will for the service provider. There are some limits on who is eligible to apply for relief under the TPA Act. It does not apply to normal family assistance provided for elderly parents, unless there are extraordinary circumstances, and the Family Protection Act will apply for a remedy for children who have been omitted from a parent’s will. Sometimes someone will say flippantly when you do them a favour, “Thanks I will remember you in my will”. While most of us would see that a humorous comment some others may believe it is a promise. A promise to make a compensatory gift under a will may be express or implied. It goes without saying that to be able to make a claim under the TPA a claimant must have performed the services rendered to the deceased during their lifetime. A claimant must prove that she/he was led to believe that they would be rewarded for the services provided. The threshold for establishing a promise is quite low and little evidence is required to prove a promise. The benefits of the services to the deceased person must outweigh the benefits which the claimant may have already received. The claimant also has to prove that the deceased failed to make the required alter-

This article has been prepared by Bessie Paterson, a partner at ronald W angland & Son, Lawyers, 2 chapman Street, Leeston.

ation to their will to provide for compensation to the provider of the services. That is a matter of easy proof, but if the claimant has received some gift in the deceased’s will it, could be argued that they have been sufficiently compensated. The Court, when deciding on an award has a broad discretion to award an amount which is reasonable to compensate the claimant for the services provided. The Court will also take into account all circumstances relating to the making of the promise and the services rendered. It also takes into account the value of the deceased’s assets and the amount of any other claims of anyone else in the estate. Proceeds may be taken in either the High Court or the Family Court. Different rules apply to whichever Court the application is filed in. Usually the executor or administrator of the estate will “abide by the Court’s decision” but there may be occasions where it is appropriate for the executor or administrator to get actively involved with the Court process. To avoid any claims on your estate everyone should update their will when appropriate and not put it off as many of us are inclined to do. The most important thing to keep in mind is not to make flippant comments which many be regarded as a promise.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Liability for escaped stock In rural New Zealand, it is not unusual to discover livestock wandering outside of the livestock owner’s boundary.

In situations where escaped livestock have caused significant damage to neighbouring property, the question of liability may not be as clear-cut as you might think. The Fencing Act 1978 (as amended) considers the nature, and condition of a fence to assess whether a boundary fence is reasonably satisfactory for the purposes of keeping livestock within a boundary and neighbouring livestock out. For example, cattle farmers who may only require a two-wire fence to contain their cattle would also be expected to construct a boundary fence that could reasonably keep sheep out. Where an occupier of land discovers that livestock have trespassed within their boundary (that has been adequately fenced in accordance with the above), the land occupier has the right to impound and charge trespass fees. A land occupier who has an adequately fenced boundary (described above) can also impound and detain livestock on their own property. He/she shall within 24 hours of impounding, notify the livestock owner or the local impound (Council) of the address of the livestock and the trespass fees claimed. It is important that the land occupier feeds and maintains the livestock with all reasonable care as required. Once the trespass fees have been paid, the land occupier must immediately release the livestock into the care of the livestock owner. If the livestock owner has not paid within 48 hours of notification, the land occupier shall transport the livestock to the nearest impound, charges for which are added to the trespass fees. These trespass rates are found within the Impound Act 1955 (as amended). A land occupier who has an adequately

Livestock are usually an expensive or loved chattel and if procedure is incorrectly followed, the land occupier could face liability.

fenced boundary (described above) can elect to claim for damages instead of trespass rates. Trespass rates are reasonably low and may not cover cost of damage in situations where livestock have trespassed through crop or damaged property. Here, the livestock owner shall give written notice to the pound-keeper of the intention to claim for damages. After which, the pound-keeper shall release the livestock to the owner. Pigs, goats and poultry are an exception to the trespass rules above. Where pigs, goats or poultry trespass once, a land occupier may charge normal trespass rates. Should the animals trespass again within a three month period, the land occupier is entitled to double the trespass rates and so on. A land occupier may also elect to destroy these animals with the exception to branded Angora, Saanen or Tongenburg goats. Where a land occupier wishes to destroy pigs, goats or poultry, the land occupier shall, within 24 hours of doing so, send a written description of the animal and the place it was destroyed to the livestock owner (if known) or the local police station. If the carcass is not claimed within 48 hours of this notice, the land occupier may dispose of the carcass. Although the rules for trespassing livestock appear relatively straightforward, a land occupier must be mindful of the strict

procedures within the Impound Act 1955 (as amended). Livestock are usually an expensive or loved chattel and if procedure is incorrectly followed, the land occupier could

face liability. It is recommended that you consult with a legal professional who specialises in rural law before impounding or destroying neighbouring livestock.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

RURAL PROFESSIONALS

Software speeding up the process Last month I touched on the use of computerised systems as an aid to assist you in preparing your annual Financial Statements. This month I want to take this further and discuss how I find these systems and their connectivity working in the accountant/client relationship.

alister Stevenson ❚ by Alexander and Associates Ltd ❚ Like it or not, we are now in the age where technology must be used in our business, there is no getting away from this and it is moving at such a pace that it is hard to keep up, so the sooner we adapt to some of this the better. We, as agri-business accountants, need to be across all of the various types of systems, as clients demand that we are connected and understand how they work so as to provide them with knowledge.

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I firstly want to talk about payroll providers. There are a number of these businesses out there and they are all online. There are a number that are tuned in with the agriculture section and the sometimes different ways employees are paid and the hours that they work. However, the most amazing thing I find that is of assistance with payroll providers is that they complete all of your Inland Revenue Department filing processes and in some instances even pay the PAYE on the due date. I know of clients who, prior to moving to a payroll provider, would spend hours completing the Inland Revenue forms and filing these by the due date and now, having moved to the provider, have freed up this time to either focus on another part of their business or maybe even relax. Another great thing is that all the providers have excellent support and helpdesks or personnel, and those tricky issues can be ironed out with a phone call or an email. In today’s age of payday filing, the use of these providers is a ‘no brainer’. Yes, there is a cost, but the $50, $60, $70 or however much is cheap measured against your hourly rate. You only need to cop a couple of late filing penalties from the Inland Revenue Department or interest on overdue PAYE to make this worthwhile. Secondly, and I touched on this briefly in last month’s article but I do want to expend on my experiences around this, and that is the ability of the agri-business software programmes that

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are out there to attach a source document or an invoice to the transaction. In today’s age, most invoices or credit notes that you receive come via your email system, which I would suggest in most situations is then printed off, added to the pile of bills to pay on the 20th, and then once paid filed away in the box or folder to go to the accountant with the annual Financial Statements. Most accountants will already have joint access to your online software for doing you GST, so why not, with a few clicks of the mouse, send the emailed invoice across to the online system and attach to the payment made. Your accountant can then access this transaction, look at the documentation, and be happy with its coding, okay it or move it all without having to contact the client or sort through a number of files. Another benefit of these online systems and accountant/client dual access is that a client can enter the transaction at their end but not be 100% sure they have the entry right - a quick phone call or email to the accountant about this, they log in and check, job done. The third and final point I want to make around computer software and IT, and the use of this in the accountant and client relationship, is this: many accounting firms now allow clients to have their own secure portal or folder on the accounting company’s server. Stored in this portal are copies of your Financial Statements, tax returns and other important documents. This is available to you only and can be only accessed by logging in.

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The rate of change in the accounting/client software platforms has been incredible and hard to keep on top of.

Many of these portals will also have the ability for the client to electronically sign the Financial Statements, tax returns and various minutes that would all normally come your way for signing by mail. Our practice has found this to be a ‘game changer’ in how we go about sending and receiving these important documents and signatures, and controlling the turnaround of these documents back from the client. After some education we are finding that most clients prefer this secure form of contact. Clients can even upload their own information and documents and send to us in reverse. All in all, I would have to say that over the 25-odd years that I have been involved in this industry, the rate of change in the accounting/client software platforms has been incredible and in many situations very hard to keep on top of. But as each new release is uploaded, my thinking is always “how can this benefit my clients?”, and in most instances it is about having live information and acting on it.

CANTERBURY FARMING

RURAL PROFESSIONALS

Equities surged into the close of 2020

Global equity markets surged in November and December fuelled by two key events. Firstly the positive progress on Covid-19 vaccines, and secondly the outcome in the United States election and prospects for significant further stimulus from the new Biden regime. Prices generally paused for breath in January. The biggest news of the quarter was the positive trial results and initial rollouts of Covid-19 vaccines. Israel leads the way with 57% of the population vaccinated as at 1 February, with the early evidence suggesting that vaccines are at least as effective as the clinical trials concluded. The United Kingdom at 15% and United States at 10% are the leaders of the major economies. We’ll see a ramp-up of vaccine production and distribution through 2021 supporting slow, but steady, progress toward more normal economic conditions.

Democrats consolidate power in the United States After winning the Presidency and the House of Representatives in November, the Democrats secured a “Blue Wave” in January with unexpected victories in both Georgia Senate runoffs. Vice-President Kamala Harris represents the deciding vote in the 50-50 split 100 seat house. Securing a Blue Wave should better enable President Biden and the Democrats to advance their policy agenda. Biden has proposed a huge US$1.9 trillion stimulus package that will provide financial support directly to individual Americans, as well as assist in the distribution and rollout of vaccines. President Biden is expected to push for another stimulus package in February focused on longer-term investments such as infrastructure and climate change.

Growth indicators positive Economic activity generally is bouncing back from easing lockdown restrictions. In December New Zealand’s third quarter GDP was reported up +14.0% quarter on quarter, the largest quarterly rise on record. Despite border restrictions likely largely remaining in place, at least through 2021, we remain optimistic on the outlook for the local economy. The key drivers should continue to be the boom in housing construction, as well as the recovery in global trade and rise in commodity prices lifting our national income. Our ‘covid-free’ status is an advantage

over many other economies in allowing normal domestic activity. Globally, China’s economy was the first to rebound back to positive growth. The United States economy has also recovered well with two back-to-back quarters of GDP growth in the second half of last year. The rebound in United States growth puts inflation-adjusted economic activity not far below the record high that was seen in late 2019. The main impediment to a continued improvement in the global economy is, of course, COVID-19. While the third wave has been rampaging through much of the northern hemisphere, recent data indicates it crested in the middle of January with both new infections and hospitalisations starting to ease. The distribution of vaccines will support the recovery in activity led by consumer spending, and residential and business investment.

The year ahead Optimism about the development and distribution of several vaccines along with expected substantial fiscal support from governments is paving the way for a recovery in economic activity in the year ahead.

We remain generally positive but we also expect the recovery to be uneven, which could cause market volatility in the year ahead. For investors we focus on a number of key thematics and believe the following will be important: • Monetary and fiscal support to continue, which will underpin economic activity, rising employment, asset prices, and healthy consumer confidence. • Vaccines to eventually dominate the virus, which will allow economies to re-open and some sectors, currently in survival mode, to re-start normal activities. • Mergers and acquisitions will remain an active part of the equity market as very low funding costs and the attractiveness of certain assets listed in New Zealand continue to attract global capital. • Climate change and the impact on the environment is now one of the dominant investment themes globally. Almost all major governments have signed up to some emission reduction targets and investment philosophies and mandates are rapidly changing to reflect this important trend. • Geopolitics will become a more important

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consideration in investment strategy with particular interest in the Asia-Pacific zone. China’s assertiveness and New Zealand’s reliance on trade with the world’s second largest economy will pose risks and challenges that will need to be navigated carefully. The start of a year is often a time to reflect on your financial goals. Your Forsyth Barr Investment Adviser is available to discuss your investment plans with you, at any time. This report covers the three months ended 31 January 2021. If you’re new to investing please see Forsyth Barr’s Introduction to Investing guide available at www. forsythbarr.co.nz/intro-to-investing/ or to discuss your investment options please contact andrew Wyllie, an authorised Financial adviser with Forsyth Barr in christchurch. he can be contacted regarding portfolio management, fixed interest, or share investments on 0800 367 227 or andrew.wyllie@ forsythbarr.co.nz. This column is general in nature and should not be regarded as personalised investment advice. Disclosure Statements are available for Forsyth Barr authorised Financial advisers on request and free of charge.

Looking at off-farm investments? When you are thinking about your investment options, talk to Forsyth Barr To get personalised investment advice and portfolio management specific to your investing needs, talk to Investment Adviser Andrew Wyllie in confidence on (03) 365 4244 or email andrew.wyllie@forsythbarr.co.nz Disclosure Statements for Forsyth Barr Authorised Financial Advisers are available on request and free of charge.

CHC6189-01 - December 2019

andrew Wyllie ❚ with ❚ Forsyth Barr

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Fifteen percent less ❚ with rob cope-Williams

Global warming is still a debate that is raging around the world and dividing families, people, and in fact countries, but the argument is as real as the Covid pandemic.

New Zealand seems determined to lead the world in showing what can be done to eliminate things that cause it and to clean up our planet. Making plastic bags illegal lead the way, moves to stop imports of fossil fuel burning vehicles is very much on the cards, serious rules about fencing off waterways plus the clamping down on nitrate levels have all been part of the making us the top students in the world of pollution and living with nature. Overseas countries were also ver y impressed when we slammed through new gun laws after the terrorist attack here in Christchurch and in fact some other nations have followed our lead in the hope that tighter gun laws may stop such things happening in their neck of the woods, sadly though, criminals ever ywhere will always find a way of procuring weapons, as will organisations that want to change governments by force, but that is another stor y for another day. What I am not sure about the wisdom of however, is the call for stock farmers to reduce their numbers by fifteen percent, and forest owners to do the same. As a country that relies on three things for its wealth being agriculture, forestry and tourism, and that tourism has a huge shadow

‘

about is the call for stock farmers to reduce their numbers by fifteen percent.

over it as the world grinds to a halt, I would have thought that the call would have gone out to increase production by fifteen percent rather than the other way round. So, do we assume that the call for the reduction is simply so we, as in New Zealand, are prepared to reduce our earnings by fifteen percent so we can be seen to be reducing global warming gases? May I suggest that is a case of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. Apart from dairying, most livestock are breed and farmed on land that is marginal or totally unusable for cropping so alternatives are few when it comes to earnings. Plus of course, cropping farmers use

those shocking things such as nitrogen so that option is likely to get a spotlight on it soon. Dairying has always been a target, and I admit that the dairy industry is very clever, and if anyone can produce more from less animals, it will be them. We survived the loss of SMPs a long time ago, and have got through the huge swings in world markets, so there is no doubt that the New Zealand farming industry will survive this move to impress the world, but I am sure there are a lot of people who will be wondering what else will happen in our lust to show the rest of the world how wonderful we are at saving our planet.

ric Turme C P with O

❚ with John arts

Inflammation is part of the body’s healing system Is your body hot, cold or lukewarm? I am not talking about your actual body temperature but the degree to which unwanted inﬂammation is affecting your body. Some inflammation we can feel and see. There is also silent inflammation that has no symptoms but can cause disease. Inflammation is actually an amazing part of our body’s healing systems. It is an essential part of how we fight infections and heal against damage caused by injuries. It is always associated with fighting infection. Without inflammation our first infection or injury would have probably ended our lives. The signs of inflammation are heat, swelling, redness, and pain including loss of function. Inflammation is a process where our immune (white blood) cells produce a wide range of chemicals that co-ordinate the process of removing the cause of the problem and then to clean up the mess to complete the healing process. These processes are incredibly complex and involve a wide range of cell types and a variety of messenger compounds. Actually many inflammatory problems are caused by overactive messengers triggering unwanted inflammation. The inflammatory process is like your kitchen tap. When working well you get

What I am not sure

cold water when you turn the cold tap and hot water when the hot is on. Unwanted inflammation is like turning the cold tap and getting warm or even hot water instead. A common cause of unwanted inflammation is when our body tries to repair a problem that it cannot actually fix. This is typical of osteoarthritis. The problem is caused by cartilage erosion. But most of the pain is caused by immune cells inflaming joint tissue in an attempt to repair it. All this does is cause unnecessary pain, swelling and loss of function. If you are affected by arthritis or any inflammation I recommend following an anti-inflammatory diet with supplements that can help reduce unwanted inflammation. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. John arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of abundant health Ltd. For personalized advice, contact John on 0800 423559 or email john@ abundant.co.nz. Join his full weekly newsletter at www.abundant.co.nz

Abundant Health

CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

FARMING NEWS

Practical solutions for agriculture Fliegl are a family owned German company specialised in manufacturing trailers and attachments. With over 11,000 trailers made every year they have the volume and expertise to produce very high quality trailers at very competitive pricing. If you’re in the market for an ag-trailer talk to us as we have many different options to choose from. Here’s a selection to get you thinking.

Feedback on long term plan wanted

Late February marked a milestone for the elected Environment Canterbury Council term, with Council approving its draft Long-Term Plan 2021-31 for public consultation.

supplied by ❚ Article ❚ Environment Canterbury

From March 8 your feedback will be sought on the activity proposed in the plan, and we really need to hear from you. Long-Term Plans, updated every three years, outline a Council’s commitment to the community, detailing the work the Council intends to do over a ten-year period, and importantly, how it will be paid for. Council is considering how it can stepchange environmental outcomes, partly funded by increased regional council rates. There has been considerable robust discussion about how far and how fast the Council can reasonably expect to drive this work, and people’s ability to pay has been at the forefront of Council discussions. It’s important to note that some of our investment is to meet existing commitments, or attract funding from other sources, like the Government’s Jobs for Nature and Covid-19 recovery funds for river and pest control work. The Council has proposed two options for public consultation. Option 1 represents work costing $246.54m – about $46m more than this year. That would deliver all statutorily required work, and provision to accelerate key projects, including the Government’s new Essential Freshwater package and public transport initiatives. $143m of that amount would be rate-funded, with the remainder made up of

Government grants and Council user-pays charges. Option 2 represents work costing $240.19m – about $40m more than this year. It will deliver all statutorily required work, but compared to Option 1 some projects are delayed, scaled back or not proposed to be funded. $135m of that amount would be rate-funded, with the remainder made up of Government grants and Council user-pays charges. Acknowledging these are not insignificant amounts of money, Council has determined it will consult with the community on the full extent of what could be done, and what it costs – and ask the community how much we are able to achieve together. These are big decisions and Council needs your feedback. There is a balance between the cost of undertaking this activity, against the cost to the region should the activity outlined in the draft plan not progress. It is important we hear your views. Be informed, consider what is important, and tell us what you think. From 8 March, when consultation opens, you’ll be able to find out more, including how these options could impact your regional council rates bill, and make a submission, at haveyoursay.ecan.govt.nz/ltp If you would like to speak to one of your regional councillors, contact details are online at https://www.ecan. govt.nz/about/your-council-2/our-team/councillors

Three way tipping farm trailers that tilt back, left or right, galvanised chassis, sprung braked double axles with floatation tyres,rear opening door and option to lay sides flat for hay carting. Sizes from 8 ton to 20 ton and prices from $22,000 + GST

Three way tipping trailer with same specs as trailer to the left, but with side extensions and hydraulic rear unloading door.

Three way tipping trailer with same specs as above as well as rear mounted grain auger. Ideal for unloading grain or loading TPL fert spreader.

High capacity hydraulic push unloading trailers. Up to 60% more load capacity than a standard trailer as you can compress the load. Ideal for silage, beet and grain. Single to triple axle, weights up to 40 ton, capacity from 30 cbm to 80 cbm compacted

Sizes from 8 ton to 20 ton and priced from $28,000 + GST

High capacity tip trailers with optional side dumping and hungry boards.

Weight up to 20 ton and capacity up to 17 cbm, prices from $30,000 + GST

Bale transporters for round or square bales. Trailer on right shown with optional hydraulic bale securing frames so no tie-downs required.

Tandem and triple axle trailers up to 30 cbm and 33 ton capacity

Slurry spreaders for tractors or trucks. Single, double and triple axles as well as all types of applicators including splash plates, dribble bars or injection systems. From 5,000 litre up to 27,500 litre, galvanised or painted finish, huge range

18m long deck can take up 24 bales, priced from $35,000 + GST

Hydraulic push-off trailer with manure spreader option. Fully galvanised for long life. With addition of rear door can double as a transport trailer. Sizes from 6 ton through to 29 ton

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March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

FORESTRY & LOGGING

What to consider when setting up a forestry block Many of the people interested in planting trees for profit are farmers who already own the land and wish to diversify their income or capital assets in future.

❚ Article supplied by NZFFA

However, increasing numbers of tree planters are not farmers, but people who want to create a valuable asset by planting trees. The following is aimed principally at those who want to buy land for forestry, but much of it applies equally well to those who already

own land and want to choose the best sites for planting.

Location How far is the site from the nearest port, or processing plant with ready access to export facilities? Long distance transport is costly and has a major impact on profitability. Transport costs for sites that are more than 100km from the market can seriously erode returns for logs.

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Access How close is the site to a public road and is there legal access? Getting logs from the site to a public road requires good reliable access for logging trucks. Roading to a suitable standard can be very expensive, particularly if the costs have to be met from only a small block of trees. If access would require upgrading, make sure the site is sufficiently large to bear the cost without seriously affecting profitability. The quality of access can also impinge quite signifi-

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cantly on silvicultural costs (site preparation, planting, releasing, pruning and thinning). If access is by right-of-way or paper road, ensure that there are no impediments to using that access.

cial species that will grow on poorly drained sites, and artificial drainage is usually expensive. Be aware that in cool climates, flat areas may be frost flats where it is difficult to get trees established.

Topography

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Is the site flat, rolling or steep hill country? Steep topography not only increases silvicultural costs and preclude a production thinning, but can have a major impact on harvesting costs. If tracking is required for harvesting machinery, this will affect profitability, and if harvesting has to be by hauler rather than ground transport, costs will be even greater. Make sure that the drainage of flatter areas is naturally good enough for satisfactory tree growth, because there are no commer-

Even if you plan to do all the preparation and silviculture yourself, it is sensible to employ a reputable consultant before you commit yourself to any expenditure, because such a consultant may help you avoid pitfalls that you had not foreseen. In particular, consultants are aware of the many difficulties that can arise at the time of harvesting, and even if you have done everything else right in growing the trees, excess harvesting costs can seriously reduce the potential profitability of the whole enterprise.

FORESTRY & LOGGING

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Covid still rattling supply chains Quite a mixed bag of markets to report this month. On the surface, the continuing increases in Export log prices is positive with levels climbing toward the top 95 percentile of the market of the last 5 years.

allan Laurie MNZIF ❚ with ❚ Laurie Forestry Ltd But every silver lining has a cloud in the international context. In this case, at the current elevated CFR levels (the costs of logs in US$/m3 landed in China) is already starting to see increased supply from other sources. Some commentators are suggesting at the current US$150/m3 A grade basis we are close to a tipping point. Covid is also highly disrupting supply chains. Nervousness and uncertainty prevail with a continuing focus on China and how that economy will continue its recovery. As at mid-February we are in the middle of Chinese New Year holidays. Whilst most people will take about a two-week vacation, but the effective holiday and wind back up period is about a month. It will be mid-March before we will be able to assess the full impacts of supply and demand in this critical market. As at mid-February daily log consumption is still chugging along at 7,000 to 10,000 cubic metres per day, not bad for a country supposedly on holiday. Inventory is sitting at 3.7 million cubic metres across the eastern seaboard, up over 1 million cubic metres in a month. Commentators are variously suggesting we will get to about 4.5 million cubic metres after CNY. This is still historically quite low. But it will

take China some time to crank up as they experience one of their coldest winters on record. Covid continues to rattle supply chains internationally. In some countries, demand for finished products is highly elevated but distribution difficult. This is seeing some significant increases in sawn timber prices, in fact in Europe and Asia, for example highly elevated prices. In general terms, NZ timber exporters should be seeing some very good prices. But their problem is distribution, with thousands of containers sitting on wharfs waiting a vessel that is not already well over allocated. This is certainly straining the cashflows for some. Across the log sector we have continued to see shipping rates increase. The Handy

class segment is in short supply as new coal suppliers to China move to replace the Australian supply. These new supply sources are in ports that cannot handle the big Supramax vessels. Thus, the earlier predictions that we might see rates soften during CNY have not come to pass. For the moment sellers in China have been able to achieve increases in log prices to cover both our elevated exchange rate and higher shipping costs. My predictions are we will see further at wharf gate increases in NZ in March as a consequence of the current push and pull. But April and May could be our tipping point, so much depends on COVID and the rates at which nations will achieve vaccination rates and economic recovery. Whilst there is a general sense we are over the peak of infection and death rates from

COVID, there is a lot of foreboding about variants and populous unrest. But there are also some commentators who are suggesting the UK and US economies, as examples, will come flying out of the abyss with having had an inability to spend suddenly unleashed. The consumers flush bank accounts together with the likes or UK and US getting their money printing presses running extra hours on austerity measures could yet see some of the strongest demand for commodities every experienced on the planet. Meanwhile in good old NZ we may well rightfully roll in the pool of admiration of others. We are good as gold thanks with demand rampant and the big banks starting to signal interest rate rises. New house start numbers continue to beat all previous records Our domestic sawmills continue to experience high demand and we are finally starting to see some increases in lumber prices. There are increasing reports domestic log prices are on the move upward. Some would say this in long overdue. But as usual the local sawmills have been our backbone, offering stability and good price levels. Thus, we should be careful not the bite the hand…. As always people, please remember the thoroughly important message, “It remains, as always, fundamentally important, the only way forward for climate, country and the planet, is to get out there and plant more trees”.

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

FORESTRY & LOGGING

Wasps buzz off when there are more trees, less humans Lush forest cover and limited human habitation mean fewer invasive wasps, new research on New Zealand’s offshore islands shows.

❚ by Kent Caddick A study on 36 islands off the east coast of the North Island has found low numbers of invasive wasps on islands with better forest cover but high numbers on islands where farming is a significant activity and where high densities of exotic weeds and plants have replaced native forest. The study found invasive wasps on 35 out of 36 islands with the highest mean abundance of common and German wasps (78 wasps per five minute count) found on Great Mercury Island off the Coromandel Peninsula and the highest mean abundance of paper wasps (33 per five minute count) on Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Lead author of the study, Julia Schmack, a PhD student at University of Auckland’s School of Biological Sciences, says wasps are attracted to open grassland with plenty of sunlight and they also like areas of exotic plants. “Sunlight helps them to warm up and stay active, so areas that are shaded by canopy are not favourable for them whereas open areas of pastureland are,” she says. “Also, the first plants that grow in areas where forest has been cut down are often exotic weeds and we think some of these may provide better food resources for invasive wasps than native plants.” There are five species of introduced social wasps in New Zealand: the German and

Unwanted: Wasps, like the Vespula germanica, aren’t attracted to land with good forest cover. Photo: Julia Schmack

the common wasp, Vespula germanica and Vespula vulgaris, and three species of paper wasp or Polistes, the Asian and Australian paper wasp as well as the more recently introduced European paper wasp. Social wasps have been particularly successful in New Zealand since introduction, but very little was known about wasps on New Zealand’s offshore islands. Introduced social wasps cause big problems for native species including some endangered species. Invasive wasps compete for nectar and honeydew and are a particular

problem in South Island beech forests where they consume massive amounts of honeydew which would otherwise be available for native birds, bats, insects and lizards. Wasps also eat native insects and drastically reduce the survival chances of native orb web spiders. Researchers say there is one type of forest which is an exception to this study’s findings and that is forest infested with high densities of native scale insects that produce honeydew. Honeydew is a vital food for many native birds but wasps consume large

amounts of it to the detriment of native birds. Schmack says the study provides new and important insights that may help control invasive wasps in New Zealand, particularly on offshore islands with endemic wildlife. “If there were more forests, it would likely reduce wasp numbers. Re-planting with native trees is an obvious strategy to enhance habitat for native species. “It’s important to look at the whole ecosystem and the influence humans have on it to better understand invasive wasps,” she says.

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CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

Field days a chance to reconnect With last year being one to forget for many the organisers of the 2021 South Island Agricultural Field Days are looking forward to bringing people together in a celebration of the rural sector.

❚ by Kim Nutbrown Celebrating its 70th year in 2021, the South Island Agricultural Field Days (SIAFD) is one of the largest and longest running Field Days in New Zealand, and is well known as an invaluable oppor tunity for farmers and contractors to see the latest agricultural machiner y. SIAFD this year runs from March 24 to 26 at its purpose built site in Kirwee. SIAFD chairperson Michaela McLeod said as a result of Covid-19 the agricultural sector, like so many others has struggled. “Not just from a financial perspective but from a social perspective as well,” McLeod said. “There have been a number of A&P Shows and other events cancelled around the country. They are such important events for farmers and traders and I know it’s been very hard on a lot of people not having them.” SIAFD is an opportunity for the agricultural industry to get together to celebrate all the latest developments and innovations in the sector as well as a chance to catch up with friends and colleagues. McLeod said the event will offer something to interest everyone, not just those in the agricultural sector. “I’d say the technology sector has continued to advance, even with Covid-19. “There are some exciting new innovations which people may have read about, but at the Field Days they will have a chance to see them, not only on display but in action. The working demonstration area has definitely expanded and we have made them more accessible to people. “There has also been a lot of work done on creating a fantastic lifestyle section which we are really excited about. It will be the place to find delicious food and treats as well as things like spa pools and other lifestyle products. “We think it will be the perfect area for people to come together and catch up with friends over a beer and a bite to eat.” The event attracts between 20,000 and 25,000 visitors over the course of three days to the Kirwee site on the outskirts of Christchurch.

McLeod estimates if someone was to walk around and visit every single attraction it would be about 10km of walking. “That’s why we encourage people to come over at least a couple of days, and take it easy. It is however doable in just a day. Over the years we have had buses doing day trips from as far away as Blenheim and people have still had a great day out.” This is McLeod’s her first year in the role as chairperson and it’s a position she has worked towards after more than 10 years on the organising committee, in a number of different duties “I really enjoy working with the fantastic bunch of people on the organising committee. I have got to know a lot of them well over the years in my various roles and they are some of the hardest working people you could ever meet.” McLeod is a mother to two young children and along with her husband Ben runs an agricultural research business which conducts independent trials. She says when she took the helm of the event for 2021 there wasn’t anything that needed changing.

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Popular: Over 25,000 people are expected to attend the 2021 South Island Agricultural Field Days in Kirwee in March. “It’s already a very successful formula – I think the fact it’s been running for 70 years is testament to that. We had a social function last year with past members from organising committees and stalwarts of the event. It was wonderful listening to their stories about what it was like in the earlier years of the event and just how much it has grown over the years.”

McLeod said a key component of the events success is the support from the local Selwyn community. “We love all the support we get and it’s really important for us to be able to outsource jobs to community groups. We always need help with things such as car parking so if anyone wants to get involved, we would love to hear from them.”

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

New Outback hailed as greatest of all time Subaru’s sixth generation Outback wagon arrived in New Zealand late last month and the company is touting the new version as the Greatest Outback of All Time.

❚ Article supplied by SubaruNZ

Bestowed with a formidable list of new technology and refinements, the all-new Subaru Outback is the biggest, safest, most technologically advanced and luxurious Outback ever, according to Subaru of New Zealand’s Managing Director Wallis Dumper. He says the all-new Outback is a culmination of 25 years of technology, safety and build-quality advancements. “Ever since the initial Outback was launched in 1996, this Subaru SUV has consistently been a game changer and sales catalyst for Subaru in New Zealand. “It’s been six years since the last generation update but it will certainly have been worth the wait, as we eagerly look forward to launching this hugely-improved version of our already-popular Outback. “Subaru’s engineering prowess AllWheel Drive is coupled with a more powerful new Direct Injection 2.5 litre Boxer engine. A whole suite of off-road, technolo-

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gy, infotainment, safety enhancements and luxury features have also been added.” Subaru’s safety focus and sense of luxury are highlighted in comprehensive specification lists that are significantly enhanced from the entry-level upward. It now features the stylish and durable cladding that was previously exclusive to

Safety first: The all-new Subaru Outback is the biggest, safest, most technologically advanced and luxurious Outback ever.

the upper range variants, together with a 11.6-inch tablet-like touch screen, power driver and passenger seats, Driver Monitoring System (DMS), 18” grey alloy wheels, smart entry and push-button ignition. The mid-range Outback X adds adventurer-friendly features, such as, water resistant seat upholstery with green accents

both inside and out, 18” dark grey alloy wheels, heated front and rear seats, handsfree power rear tailgate, and sat nav. Topping the range is the Outback Touring, which adds Nappa leather seat upholstery, a heated steering wheel, an electric sunroof and Harman Kardon® audio to its feature list.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

What you see is what you’ll get at SIAFD Unrivalled as a place to see some of the latest machinery in action, the demonstration area is certainly the jewel in the South Island Agricultural Field Days crown.

❚ Article supplied by SIAFD

Originating as a machinery demonstration day run by the Christchurch District Young Farmers Club seventy years ago, SIAFD has grown into one of the country’s premier field days and the place that many major machinery and implement companies flock to showcase their wares. Organisers are expecting over fifty separate pieces of machinery to be showcased by sixteen different companies, including New Zealand Tractors revealing an automatic intercrop cultivator. Exhibitors will have 3ha of barley stubble, 3ha of oats, 3ha of grass and 1ha of lucerne to put their implements to the test. And it’s not just on the ground, with Christchurch Helicopters set to demonstrate their latest spraying operation, which is focused on limiting the damage done to crops during the ground spraying process. It’s not just the oversized machinery on show with many of the exhibitors targeting farmers and lifestylers with their site exhibitions. An ATV demonstration site will again be a key attraction with companies such as Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha all set to use the allterrain track to simulate their on-farm use. Fencing Contractors from around the South Island will team up with a partner to aim for the ultimate prize package, with the

Watch and learn: Demonstrations of the latest machinery have always been at the heart of SIaFD.

winners gaining entry into the Fieldays Silver Spades doubles fencing championship at National Fieldays in June. The South Island Fencers are used to the tough going that the Kirwee ground presents and will demonstrate their knowledge of industry best practice over a range of installation types. Organised and run by New Zealand Fencing Competitions (NZFC), the fencing competition area includes exhibitor sites from some of the sponsors, including Stock-ade, Strainrite, Waratah and Revolution Postdrivers.

Long-time Competitor Nick Liefting, Chief Judge Colin Browne, and Trevor Bell will be onsite to pass on fencing knowledge during the three days and judge the competitions on the Thursday. Like many in the primary industry utilising technology to streamline their business operations the South Island Agricultural Field Days are too, with the introduction of online ticketing for the first time. One of the key reasons is to help ensure the public can maximise their time at

the field days and interacting with exhibitors and demonstrations, rather than waste time in queues. It’s also to align with the government’s Covid19 best practices for major events. Organisers have chosen to absorb the ticketing booking fee this year, making the tickets the same price online as they will be at the gate. Purchasers will also be emailed a map of the field days allowing the opportunity to plan the exhibitors they’d like to see before arriving in Kirwee.

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March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Gypsum and wastewater irrigation Dairy Factory wastewater (DFW) can be a useful resource for pasture and crops but high sodium levels in the wastewater may accumulate in soil. supplied by ❚ Article ❚ Winstone Gypsum Excess sodium can be detrimental to pasture and crop growth since it causes low soil water availability and poor soil structure. Soil structure effects may reduce the ability of the soil to receive DFW before surface ponding or runoff occurs. Gypsum is an ideal material to address any build-up of sodium in soils receiving DFW, extending the number of years that affected land remains useful for receiving wastewater. Gypsum can also enhance soil structure, water infiltration and drainage in the face of high sodium levels. A gypsum programme should ideally start before critical sodium levels are reached. Sodium in wastewater largely comes from the use of caustic soda and sodium hypochlorite in cleaning and sterilising processes. Some soils receiving this wastewater will tend to accumulate sodium. The extent to which sodium accumulates in a soil depends on soil type, drainage properties and the level of other minerals in the soil and wastewater. Sodium is relatively easily leached and the role of gypsum is to accelerate that leaching to reduce the chance of sodium accumulation.

High sodium levels can impact on soil structure. Sodium is a monovalent cation (single positive charge) and competes for cation exchange sites in a soil with the more desirable calcium and magnesium cations (both divalent). While calcium and to some extent magnesium help flocculate a soil into a crumb or aggregate structure, high sodium levels can reduce flocculation particularly in what are known as dispersive soils (where clay content loses structure in contact with water). The subsequent loss of structure can impact on the ability of the soil to receive and drain large amounts of water as well as restricting roots and plant growth. High sodium can also increase soil crusting and reduce water infiltration, leading to increased water ponding and surface runoff problems. Gypsum is hydrated calcium sulphate. Calcium from gypsum replaces sodium in the soil. The sulphate allows the sodium to be effectively leached out of the soil. The soil then has more ability to flocculate and form stable aggregates to improve drainage and soil quality. Gypsum application is a standard practice worldwide for addressing the build up of sodium in soils including soils receiving wastewaters.

The combination of calcium and sulphate effectively address sodium. Calcium release from the partially soluble gypsum is faster than from lime (calcium carbonate). Lime is also unsuitable in many cases as it acts to increase soil pH, pushing out acid hydrogen rather than sodium from the cation exchange. Although DFW can be acidic, the effect of adding it to the soil can increase soil pH over time, meaning that lime application would simply add to a future issue of overly high soil pH. Other calcium sources such as calcium nitrate and calcium chloride would provide a faster release of calcium than gypsum but, at the high levels required, they would have negative effects such as increasing nitrate leaching or increasing soil salinity to the detriment of plant growth. Gypsum can maintain a higher electrical conductivity near the soil sur face for a prolonged period of time resulting in improved infiltration of sodium rich DFW, thus fur ther improving the ability of soil to receive the wastewater without ponding or sur face runoff.

Gypsum is typically and most easily applied as a broadcast application to the soil surface. This is also the recommended method if soil crusting is to be addressed. Incorporation of gypsum into the soil is not generally required as the gypsum can work through the profile of most soils. Gypsum can be applied annually or every two or three years (at higher rates). Many soils will have quite high thresholds for sodium before soil structure is affected; this depends on the the balance of the monovalent cations (sodium and potassium) with calcium and magnesium, the electrical conductivity of the soil. Regular soil testing will assist in calculating gypsum requirements. If sodium levels are high and increasing, gypsum application should be increased accordingly.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Where there’s a Will, there’s a way We all know the ‘she’ll be right’ ethos innate in every Kiwi. That very attitude certainly serves us well on many fronts but when it comes to getting our affairs in order it’s unlikely to stand you in good stead.

‘

If you don’t have a Will, or if it is invalid for some reason, then what you would like to happen with your assets may not take

David haigh ❚ by ❚ Partner at Wynn Williams

Making a Will seems to be only something we consider in earnest when a major event occurs, such as marriage (or its failure), childbirth, buying a home, or international travel. The reality is, the time to plan your estate and make a Will is now because when you really need it, it will be too late. A Will is a legal document which provides for the distribution of your assets to named beneficiaries. For most people, this will be easy to determine. It also allows you to record any guardianship wishes for children and any special funeral arrangements. A Will may also include any specific gifts such as jewellery, medals, artwork or furniture, or cash payments you may want to

place.

make, whether to family, charity or other organisations. Everyone over the age of 18 years should have a valid Will. It should take account of any major life changes, such as marriage or separation, as marriage revokes your Will automatically unless you state otherwise. Something else to consider is putting Enduring Powers of Attorney in place. This provides authority for someone you know and

trust to manage your legal affairs. When it comes to writing a Will, we suggest you obtain professional advice. The cost is not great, especially when you consider the alternative. If you don’t have a Will, or if it is invalid for some reason, then what you would like to happen with your assets may not take place. If you die without a Will, your assets will be distributed according to the Administra-

The future won't take care of itself. ww.wynnwilliams.co.nz

tion Act. That is, the law determines who gets what regardless of what you may have wanted, or the needs of family members. Lawyers often see families emotionally struggling to deal with what is left behind following the death of a loved one. That struggle is heightened when the loved one dies without a Will or a Will that is inadequate. So, whether it’s travel that prompts you into action, or some other life event, get it done for the sake of those that are left behind. David haigh is a Partner at Wynn Williams specialising in business structuring in the rural sector.

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Paul’s cutting back on synthetic fertiliser On the outskirts of Nelson Lakes is Paul Bavin’s 187ha dairy farm.

Lloyd Thomas ❚ by Nevada ❚ SpecialistEfﬂuent Management ❚

Milking 640 cows, Paul pumps the effluent from a sump into an above ground Clip Tank for storage, or out to pasture using his travelling irrigator. The problem was the underground system could only reach a small area. Realising the value of effluent nutrients, Paul wanted a way of spreading effluent over the rest of the farm. After researching his options, he gave Nevada a call to enquire about a tanker. “The quality was better than others on the market, and I appreciated the specialist knowledge,” Paul says. A Nevada 12,000L slurry tanker was the ideal size to easily spread over the rest of the farm without making too many trips.

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Good fit: Nelson Lakes dairy farmer Paul Bavin says a Nevada 12,000L slurry tanker was the ideal size to easily spread over the rest of the farm without making too many trips.

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CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

Meet the hard-working SIAFD team The success of the South Island Agricultural Field Days over the years is largely down to the hard work and dedication of the organising committee. Let’s meet the team for 2021. • Michaela Mcleod 2021 Organising Committee Chair Michaela and her husband Ben operate a business running independent agricultural research trials, and Ben is also a local fencing contractor. They live in Ladbrooks and have two children under the age of 5 – Joe and Harriet. Michaela has been on the committee for over a decade in a variety of jobs for the Organising Committee and is the current Chair of the SIAFD Organising Committee. • Alastair Robinson Executive Committee Chairman Alastair is the current Chairman of the executive committee, and has been on the organising committee since 2005. He is fourth generation on the family dairy farm, now milking 800 cows all year round. He is the past President of the Northern A&P Association and the Canterbury Westland branch of the Holstein Friesian Association. He sees SIAFD as an important meeting point. “The Field Days are a great opportunity for farmers, contractors and the like, to be able to visit one site and see a variety of industry leaders, businesses and catch up with fellow rural people from near and far,” Alastair says.

• Dan Schat Executive Committee Member

Rodney has been involved in the South Island Field Days for 20 years. He was the Chairman for the 2017 and 2019 Field Days. He operates an arable farming operation and contracting business, (combine harvesting, cultivation and drilling) which also encompasses an equine feed business, with his two brothers and their wives.

Dan is a dairy farmer near Darfield with his wife Amanda. They have two children, Lexi and Harper. Dan has been on the organising committee for over 10 years, recently filling the publicity officer role, which means it is his task to give the public all information about SIAFD and to encourage them to get to the event. “I enjoy being part of the great volunteer organising committee, and putting on this amazing event for the exhibitors and the public,” Dan says.

• Richard Westaway Executive Committee Member

• Hayden Dorman Executive Committee Member

Richard works on a mixed crop farm near Kirwee, and as well as the SIAFD committee, Richard is also actively involved in the Courtenay A&P Association. He is married to Rebecca and they have one son.

Hayden and his wife Jessie lease 420 ha in Dorie milking 900 cows in a split calving self-contained system. They have a son Adam who is five. Hayden is a passionate cow man and breeds pedigree Holstein-Friesians and Jerseys. Hayden has been on the SIAFD committee for seven years. He served in his earlier days in Young Farmers as Dunsandel Club Chair and Tasman Regional Chair. He is currently the Vice President of the Canterbury Holstein Friesian Association and a member of Jersey NZ.

• Rodney Hadfield Executive Committee Member

• Hamish Maginness Executive Committee Member Hamish owns and operates a fully irrigated 216 hectare mixed cropping farm at Killinchy. He is married to Taryn and they have one daughter. Hamish believes strongly in the concept of the South Island Agricultural Field Days and has been a member since 2002. The committee and Field Days have benefited much from his experience, knowledge and hard work.

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• Andrew Stewart 2021 Demonstrations Coordinator & Executive Committee Member Andrew is a dairy farmer on the family farm in Waikuku, milking 380 pedigree Hol-

stein Friesan cows, with his wife Rachel and young son. He is interested in showing dairy cattle and breeding cows that have high type production. Andrew has been on the committee for six years and was in charge of the demonstrations for the 2019 SIAFD. • Henry Williams Executive Committee Member Henry has been on the committee for over ten years. He enjoys being on the committee to help run SIAFD which showcases the agricultural industry, in particular helping with the demostration programme. He works on an arable farm not far from Kirwee. • Tineka Johnstone Secretary / Event Coordinator Tineka brings over 17 years of event management experience including the event coordination of The Young Farmer of the Year Contest, Kathmandu Coast to Coast, RMPP contract work and the Mission Mt Somers running race. Tineka works from home which is on a beef farm in Wainui, Banks Peninsula, which her husband Tony manages and they have three primary school aged children. • Other committee members Alan Sadler, Chris Watts, Daniel Sheat, David James, Dean Judson, Lachie Hamilton, Martin Bates, Nathan Stewart, Phil Lancaster, Robin Hornblow, Rory Burgess, Sarah Heddell, Shane Brooker, Tim Sheat, Tim Wilson, Tony Redmond.

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

A sustainable option with a difference On the right track, developed and made in New Zealand by two farming brothers over the last 20 years, Optimise Ultra Fine Pelletised Lime based fertiliser is a sustainable option with a difference. supplied by ❚ Advertorial ❚ CP Lime Solutions “As farmers and growers, we are a proud bunch of people always looking for solutions to improve the way we do things on the land,” Scott Pascoe of CP Lime Solutions says. “We don’t just work on the land, we live on the land which means we see and notice all the changes and things happening around us.” Lime is not generally seen as a fertiliser but it has two benefits, firstly as a fertiliser containing Calcium, the highest required Cation in the soil and Carbonate as a neutraliser of hydrogen to increase pH and make macro and micro nutrients more available. CP Lime Solutions wanted to get a better understanding of what the most active and responsive part of lime was that created the necessary changes in the soil. What they discovered was the finer the particle size, the quicker the effect on your soil. Meaning ‘Optimise ultra-fine pelletised lime’ raises soil pH quickly and helps farmers achieve and maintain their ideal pH more efficiently. Ultra-fine lime also helps stimulate soil

The team at cP Lime Solutions, from left, Simon Inkersell, Emma Stackhouse, Nigel Wilson and Scott Pascoe will be at SIaFD to answer all questions on Optimise Ultra Fine Pelletised Lime based fertiliser.

biology, improve soil structure and promote the release of locked up soil nutrients. “However, clients were always asking for alternative ways to apply other nutrients, so the solution was to give them options,” Scott says. The options included adding combinations of sulphur, phosphorous, magnesium, humates, trace elements, seaweed and

bio-stimulants to the lime in the pellet. “Not only does this have the benefit of reduced volume and easy application it has shown great results in the field improving the effect on the soil nutrient status. “At CP Lime Solutions we have always liked to challenge traditional thinking and after 20 years of pelletising lime here in

New Zealand, doing on-farm soil testing and trialling, as well as getting plenty of farmer feedback about our Optimise products this has given us confidence that we are on the right track,” Scott says. We look forward to seeing you at the South Island Field Days at site 128 W or for further information please visit our website www.cplimesolutions.net.nz.

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Free sprinkler testing at SIAFD Water Strategies (site 526) are encouraging irrigators to bring along at least four sprinklers and pressure regulators from the end span or corner arm of a pivot for free testing at the field days.

andrew curtis ❚ by ❚ Water Strategies The latest climate outlook from NIWA (February 2021 to April 2021) is for above average temperatures, (potential evapotranspiration (PET) rates will continue to be on the high side), but for rainfall to now be average (this has changed from above average – noting the confidence around this prediction is low). The PET and rainfall graphs below, show how we are tracking against last season and an average Canterbury irrigation season for the Lincoln climate station. January and February temperatures have both been higher than average, and the rainfall is below average. Due to the dry start to the season, irrigation depths applied for 2020-21 are starting to get up there, particularly for central and north Canterbury.

For both, you could easily justify having applied over 500 mm of irrigation to a pasture scenario. In mid and south Canterbury there has been comparatively more rainfall and lower temperatures meaning around 400 mm is the benchmark. South Island Agricultural Field Days is now less than a month away and Water Strategies will be there showcasing a couple of new ways to assess and manage your irrigation. We have recently analysed results from the last two seasons of irrigation assessments. From this we are noting irrigators with greater than 12,000 wet hours (7-8 years old) frequently have worn regulators and sprinklers, particularly on the end pivot spans and corner arms. This relationship particularly holds true for surface water takes. At the Water Strategies South Island Field Days site, we will have free pressure regulator and sprinkler flow testing available. We

Free test: Water Strategies are offering free pressure regulator and sprinkler ﬂow testing at SIaFD.

are encouraging irrigators to bring along at least four sprinklers from the end span or corner arm of a pivot and have them tested for free, and those that do will go into a draw

to win a new sprinkler pack! The picture below shows an example of a stuffed regulator – note the water coming out of the join in the regulator. Ensuring your sprinklers are working well is one of the most important things you can do to improve your irrigation – 70% of your pivot performance is down to the operation of the sprinklers. We will also demonstrate our new automated water budget method for irrigation scheduling that we have successfully trailed during the 2020-21 irrigation season on 6 farms. So come and talk, to the Water Strategies team at Field Days, and have your technical questions around irrigation, sensors and telemetry, farm planning and consents answered by independent experts… and don’t forget to bring your sprinklers with you.

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

Country Women to be tested with farm-focused challenges After an engaging response to the inaugural Country Women Competition at last year’s Amuri Show, the fun, farm focused competition heads to the South Island Agricultural Field days in 2021.

❚ Article supplied by SIAFD

The Kirwee based Agricultural Field Days hosts one of the largest and most interactive demonstration areas in the country, so to have some of the regions most talented rural women also display their capabilities is a big coup for chairperson Michaela McLeod. “The South Island Agricultural Field Days has long been known for the place to see harvesters, seeders, bailers and some of the newest agricultural technology in action,” McLeod said. “But to be able to highlight the skills and capabilities of the women, who are often the backbone of the Agricultural industry is a special addition to the Field Days this year.” Initially designed by Bex Green, Volunteer Regional Leader in North Canterbury, the competition revolves around a series of challenges that give rural women a chance to prove their mettle and demonstrate their talent in the farming sector. “I wanted to see women step up and step out, and be brave in the farming world,” Green said. “And the response we had to the CWC was incredible, with 20 women toughing it out last year.’’

‘

We’re so excited to be

Competitive: SIAFD organising committee chairperson Michaela McLeod says they are looking forward to hosting the Country Women Competition.

running this competition again, and show the rest of New Zealand how to get it done. Jordain Adams Volunteer Regional Leader

After seeing some incredible skills, tactical thinking and entertaining endeavours, Fran Gunn from North Canterbury became the inaugural Dairy Women’s Network Country Woman of the Year This year, volunteer Regional Leader Jordain Adams is taking the lead for the DWN Canterbury team and she is looking forward to seeing the calibre of competition this year as

she and the rest of the Canterbury team look to broaden its appeal by taking the competition to the South Island Agricultural Field Days. While details are still being finalised, she says participants can expect the same challenges such as throwing darts, milking a fake cow, throwing a gumboot, chopping wood, backing a trailer on a quad bike, and carrying hay bales.

“We’re so excited to be running this competition again, get ready for three days of tough competition, bigger prizes and opportunities for rural women to get out there, have fun and show the rest of New Zealand how to get it done” Adams said. “Providing opportunities for women to get out there and demonstrate the value of women in the rural sector is the purpose of the Network as an organisation. “Through workshops, regional events, competitions and conferences they bring women from around the country together for shared learning and connection and give them the support they need to achieve personal and professional goals.”

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March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

CCR throws down the gauntlet ‘ The recent release of the Climate Change Commission report has attracted a lot of media attention and speculation.

Nicky hyslop ❚ by ❚ Director Beef + Lamb New Zealand

It’s important to remember that this is just a draft document and open for discussion before the commission makes its final recommendations to the Government. It is certainly not cast in stone and its release is a great opportunity for New Zealanders to collectively decide how we, as a nation, are going to address the urgent need to reduce our greenhouse gases emissions. Personally, I feel it is very balanced report, although there are parts that need further clarification and amendment before being presented to the Government. It is important to remember that this report is not just about agriculture, it is about all our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions

and will be confronting for many sectors. On a positive note, the Commission has endorsed taking a split-gas approach to emission reduction, acknowledging the impact different gases have on our climate, rather than taking a blanket approach to all gases. Carbon dioxide, for example, lasts in the atmosphere for about a thousand years, unlike the short-lived methane. The report stresses that as a nation, we cannot just plant our way out of climate change through pine trees and that absolute reductions in fossil fuel emissions have to be made. This is something that Beef + Lamb New Zealand has been arguing for. It also recognizes the value of wetlands and small blocks of trees on farms for sequestering carbon and encourages the planting of native trees over exotics. There are areas of confusion in the report and one is around methane reduction targets. As a sector we would like clarity on these. One of the numbers that has captured the media’s attention and caused alarm amongst some farmers is the perceived call to reduce livestock numbers by 15%. The Climate Change Commission has told me directly that this is not a target, but considers that this may be likely as a result of increasing productivity efficiencies and environmental policies and limits.

carbon dioxide, for example, lasts in the atmosphere for about a

thousand years, unlike the shortlived methane. We are concerned that the Commission has assumed a similar trajectory of productivity gains in the sheep and beef sector as we consider the challenges of achieving this in the future given the very environmental limits spoken of in the report. B+LNZ will be providing farmers with more detailed analysis of the commission’s recommendations and its implications for red meat producers in the coming weeks, we will also be working with other agricultural groups and making a submission on farmer’s behalf. There have been a number of meeting throughout the South Island with farmers demonstrating their growing frustration of

the scale and pace of policy changes. I hear this frustration and there are days when I too want to vent. There has been calls from farmers for our industry good bodies and advocacy groups to better collaborate. The Southland winter grazing group is a good example of industry collaboration through which joint recommendations have been put to the government to fix the proposed rules. The Government is currently considering this report. B+LNZ will continue to work with Federated Farmers and DairyNZ for changes for the benefit of all our levy farmers, sheep, beef and dairy farmers.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Prolan proving a protection plus Prolan’s new lanolin ‘Extreme’ product is proving to be a successful natural rust protection solution for some of the toughest testing grounds around, for protection of equipment and machinery exposed to fertiliser, sand, salt and mud.

❚ Advertorial supplied by Prolan

Ashburton Fertiliser Company Green Fertiliser Spreading says, “It’s fantastic! I always had an A+ rating at the vehicle testing station without it. Now they want to give me a higher rating,” Mr Greening said. The ‘Extreme’ product is a new product in the Prolan product range – manufactured in New Zealand using sheep’s wool lanolin. This product was initially developed for the Danish offshore turbine windmill industry as a long-term natural rust protection with a less tacky finish. The ‘Extreme’ has proved itself as once applied it stays on and protects in harsh environments, reducing maintenance costs and at the same time it ticks the boxes for environmentally friendliness. Closer to home in New Zealand the product has proved successful in the fight against corrosion for the 90-mile beach Spat farming industry. Loaders are coated to prevent corrosion from a harsh salt-water environment. Vehicles can be water blasted with cold water after the vehicle has been exposed to beach conditions and the Prolan product stays on. Operators recommend a Prolan coating as a crucial part of their maintenance programme, reducing downtime in maintenance and component replacement -with improved WOF and COF pass rates and resale value on machinery. Where the environment is harsh on gear rust is an ever-present problem. Prolan is effective in shutting off the supply of oxy-

Before and after: a vehicle chassis without protection (left) will be affected by rust and corrosion, but with a coating of Prolan Extreme (right), which stays on and protects in harsh environments, maintenance costs will be reduced while also ticking the boxes for environmental friendliness. gen to a surface. It can be used on areas where existing rust is present and it prevents it going any further. The preparation time is minimal – the surface needs to be clean and dry. For example, a used vehicle chassis may require a quick waterblast and wire brush over flaky rust and the Prolan can then be applied straight over the surface. Prolan ‘Extreme’ is perfect as a coating for vehicle chassis – 4WDs, trucks,

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

Buckle up on the farm WorkSafe New Zealand is advising farmers to buckle up after an analysis of vehicle-related fatalities found that nearly half those that occur on farm could have been avoided if a seatbelt was being used.

❚ by Kent Caddick The data analysis, completed by WorkSafe, revealed that not wearing seatbelts while on the job was the largest single factor contributing to fatal work-related accidents. The data analysis coincides with the launch of a new side-by-side vehicle simulator which will spend the next six months travelling New Zealand’s agricultural Fieldays and featuring in the FMG Young Farmer of the Year competition. The simulator allows a driver to sit in the seat of a retired side-by-side vehicle and navigate a series of farm safety tasks while driving an off road course. The first task is putting on your seatbelt. “Putting on your seatbelt is the simplest task and one we practice easily when driving on the open road, Al McCone, WorkSafe Engagement Lead for Agriculture, said. “If we can get people doing this on farm as well – we will see lives saved.” The side-by-side began its road trip in Wellington last month, where WorkSafe invited key agricultural stakeholders the chance to try out the simulator before it headed into provincial New Zealand. “We know that we need all of an industry to get on board with improving health and safety for us to see results. That’s why we seized the opportunity to get some of the

Safety first: According to WorkSafe if all agricultural workers wore seatbelts, claims to ACC could be reduced by almost $2 million a year. city based agricultural representatives on board,” McCone said. According to WorkSafe if all agricultural workers wore seatbelts, claim costs to ACC could be reduced by almost $2million a year, while non seatbelt use was relevant in 40% of vehicle related fatalities on farm and 27% of all fatalities on farm.

CANTERBURY FARMING

Nitrogen is powerful stuff In more recent history, it is believed that a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate caused the explosion in the Port of Beirut. It’s fair to say then, that nitrogen is ‘powerful stuff’, and as farmers we know all too well, this is also true when it comes to plant growth. No other input (except water) will give such a quick plant growth response as nitrogen. In modern-day agriculture our reliance on nitrogenous fertiliser has perhaps allowed us, to some extent, to neglect the maintenance of the natural systems which aid in supplying all of the other nutrients a healthy plant requires. This can result in vulnerable plants, prone to disease and pests. Nitrogen use on crops is a topic that has been receiving increased attention over the last decade; not only due to the pressure

that inorganic nitrogen has on aquatic systems, but also due to nitrogen volatilisation losses. It’s time to move in a direction that sees us maintain (or increase) production whilst becoming less reliant on synthetically produced nitrogen. So where can we look? The air. The air we breathe is made up of 80% nitrogen. Soil is a living thing and needs to breathe. If soil can breathe then it can be a host for the likes of azotobacter, worms, legumes, protozoa and many other organisms which aid in the nitrogen cycle from the atmosphere; but to breathe, the soil needs good structure. When we started cultivating soils our appreciation for good soil structure, and support of living organisms in the soil, diminished. If we start to focus on soil structure again it will allow us to lower the environmental impact of our food production systems and

improve the quality of our produce. The good news is, we do not have to go hungry when we take this route. The reason being, nitrogen supply may not always be the limiting factor for growth processes but rather, it might be a plants’ inability to access sufficient molybdenum or sulphur? That’s where Canterbury based soil consultants, Soil Matters, are ready to help. They can help identify potential opportunities to improve soil health and boost growth. Soil Matters look at how to improve the cycling of airborne nutrients (CO2, N, H2O and S) by applying and implementing fundamental natural principles into modern day farming practices. They work to improve soil structure, therefore enhancing the ability for soil biology to thrive and en-

checking for compaction layers can help with decision making around plant choice and grazing times to ensure optimal benefits from both a soil health and a nutrition point of view.

It was during the mid-1800s that Justus von Liebig, a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, discovered the power of nitrogen when he created an explosion whilst experimenting with nitrate in his father’s pharmacy. by Rik Mulder, ❚ Advertorial ❚ General Manager at Soil Matters

March 2021

Taking a close look at soil structure can provide insight into the health of the soil and how well your soil will be able to supply nitrogen that may be stored in the soil. sure nutrient cycling occurs. We’ll leave you with this question to wrap up… how much attention are you paying to soil structure in your farming operation? If you think you might benefit from talking with a Soil Matters consultant then you can give them a call on 0800 764 5628, or visit them at the South Island Field Days, site 282.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

You don’t want to come a cropper with our wires Farming equipment can get tangled up in overhead power lines in a flash. So, when you’re moving gear around the yard, or out in the field, always watch for wires. Our golden rule is to stay at least 4 meters away from any power line.

You’re our priority. To find out more, go to:

oriongroup.co.nz 03 363 9898 | 0800 363 9898

Orion operates, and maintains, the electricity distribution network that provides power to central Canterbury. We are always here to help if you have any questions or concerns about the network.

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Four Seasons Realty

e l y t s e f i L r o F d Deman

Autumn 2021

Properties in Canterbury Continues!

Every day we tune into further news of the New Zealand residential markets strong growth in the face of the covid-19 storm, our local lifestyle market is not one to buck this trend either. Listings are around 33% down on what we’d typically expect in the Waimakariri, Hurunui and Selwyn districts at this time of the year, as good quality properties that hit the market are quickly snapped up.

The completion of the arterial motorways has only further enhanced the value of lifestyle properties with improved access to Christchurch City. The volume of completed lifestyle sales in these Canterbury districts over the last twelve months ending January 2021 is a staggering 25% up on the same period a year ago. Buyers are coming from many differing segments of the market with City buyers realising the benefits

and value in lifestyle properties, Kiwi’s returning from overseas and indeed existing “lifestylers” that are looking for a change. Contact one of our lifestyle partners for a free appraisal of your lifestyle property, we have buyers looking in all three districts. Greg Roberts Licensed Business Owner

Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd | Licensed Agent REAA 2008

Livestock numbers under the microscope The recently released Climate Change Commission Report highlighted that under current government policies, New Zealand will not achieve the Government’s target of being Zero Carbon by 2050.

to Guy Trafford, Rural Editor for interest.co.nz, who points out that beef cattle numbers have dropped by 15% since 1991 and sheep by 53%.

It also suggests that one of the measures that needs to be taken to reach the emissions targets is to reduce livestock numbers by 15% by 2030.

Statistics show that beef numbers have flattened over the past 10 years and sheep numbers continue to decline, but dairy cow numbers have nearly doubled in the past three decades.

“Beef and sheep farmers would have reason to feel aggrieved if this was foisted upon them,” according

However even dairy cow numbers have declined by around 6% over the past three years.

If these trends continue, Trafford’s view is that the necessary reductions in livestock numbers may be achieved without too much political intervention. He also notes that New Zealand dairy farmers have been shown to have the lowest rate of carbon emissions of any dairy producers globally. The draft report is open for consultation until 14 March with the final report to be released on 31 May.

2020 ends on a positive note REINZ data released in January 2021 show that 1,462 farms were sold in the year to December 2020, 15.6% more than were sold in the year to December 2019, with 26.2% more Dairy farms, 9.6% less Grazing farms, 32.0% more Finishing farms and 23.8% less Arable farms sold over the same period. “Sales figures for the 3-month period ending 31 December 2020 reflect a further consolidation in the results which have been emerging in recent months, with dairy in particular achieving the strongest December since 2017,” says the rural spokesman at REINZ. “As is always the case, climate is the uncontrollable variable, so it was regretful that heavy rain and

hail in the South Island in December caused flooding to pastureland and severe damage to horticultural crops in both the Central Otago and Nelson/ Marlborough regions.” “However, it is an ill wind that blows no good so for many other parts of the country, late spring/ early summer rainfall has been an absolute bonus, with numerous farmers heading into one of their better seasons for years. “Of particular encouragement is the resilience of the dairy industry with current Global Dairy Trade Auctions being positive enough to encourage Fonterra to increase both its mid-season price and the forecast for the end of season payment – extremely positive for the dairy industry and for the

overall economy.” “The flip side of the equation is that schedule prices for beef in particular, and lamb, are being impacted negatively. Returns for both products are under pressure due to the mix of supply chain issues and the temperamental nature of the EEC and the Chinese markets, to the extent that margins for spring-purchased cattle are likely to be quite thin.” “Those issues, COVID-19 and the shortage of labour aside, the rural economy appears to be in reasonable heart,” he concludes. 8,887 lifestyle properties were sold in the year to December 2020, 1,828 (25.9%) more than were sold in the year to December 2019. The value of lifestyle properties sold was $8.15 billion for the year to December 2020.

0800 789 1011 | fourseasons@harcourts.co.nz | harcourtsfourseasons.co.nz | Facebook: Harcourts Rural Lifesyle

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

NC Equipment adds Agrisem NC Equipment are pleased to announce that we are the NZ importer for the Agrisem range of cultivation and sowing equipment. The agrisem range of cultivation and sowing equipment is available at Nc Equipment.

supplied by ❚ Advertorial ❚ NC Equipment Agrisem is a leading French manufacturer with a number of innovative features that make them stand out in the world of cultivation.

The range of multidiscs include the Disc-O-Mulch, a very heavy-duty machine running a coil tine on each disc assembly and a range of roller options. The ‘R’ series uses the ‘Duro torque’ mount system with widths up to 12 metre.

The full range of Agrisem Multidiscs can be seen at The South Island Agricultural Field Days Site 1020-1023. call Nc Equipment for more information 0800 908 908, or visit us a SIaFD Site 1020-1023.

A leader in the design & manufacture of quality cultivation farm machinery.

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March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

For all your water and environmental management needs Locally owned and operated Bowden Environmental has been in the resource management industry for 24 years. supplied by ❚ Advertorial Bowden Environmental ❚ During this time, the company has specailised in all aspects related to groundwater and surface water resources gaining a reputation of being one the leading companies for water consents in Canterbury. The expertise of the team at Bowden Environmental does not end there with the company offering a wide range of services relating to all aspects of water and land management. Refer to the website www. bowden.co.nz Hear what the team at Bowden Environmental have to say and how they can help you. “It can be quite confusing and stressful for people to meet the requirements of the Resource Management Act and Environment Canterbury. “Since the National Policy Statement and National Environmental Standards for Freshwater Management have been released, the rules are becoming more complicated, with more assessments required. We have the knowledge and understanding

to ease clients through this procedure. “Assisting farmers through the resource consent process to achieve a successful outcome is very satisfying. Aiding farmers to understand how to gain the most value from their Farm Environment Plans and how best to implement on the ground actions is equally as rewarding. “We specialise in all aspects of resource management so farmers do not have to deal with the paperwork. With the skills and knowledge to organise any environmental work we have the expertise and understanding to guide you through the process from start to finish; from organising consents, preparing Farm Environment plans to Auditing Farm Environment Plans. “Essentially, we try to take the pressure away from the farmers workload so they can do what they love, farming.” So, if you are a farmer or farm manager and water and environmental management is one of your top priorities, contact Bowden Environmental today. come and see us at the South Island Field Days, site 687.

Erin harvie of Bowden Environmental measuring ﬂow of water with portable ﬂow meter.

Bowden Environmental Resource Management Consultants

• Farm Environment Plans (FEP) • ECan Certified for Audits of FEP • Resource Consents • Groundwater • Surface Water • Consents Compliance • Effluent Discharge & Storage • Seepage Tests • Overseer Modelling • Aquifer Testing • Due Diligence 92 Williams Street, Kaiapoi, 7630 www.bowden.co.nz

erin@bowden.co.nz Ph: 03 375 5015

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Doing it differently New Zealand Holstein breeders have responded to a new, independent sales force by offering their best for the Autumn Harvest Sale at Cambridge Raceway in April.

❚ by Kent caddick Up to 60 live lots and embryos will sell in an evening sale run by Dean Malcolm of Bluechip Marketing. The Australian cowman, who has settled in New Zealand, is a former co-owner of Australia’s well-regarded Bluechip Genetics. Bluechip was Premier Breeder at International Dairy Week nine out of 10 years, during which time it led the way in sale averages, with prices peaking at AUD$101,000. Together with Malcolm’s high-level international connections, buyers can expect a smorgasbord of choice on April 22. “There is a huge hole in the registered market for a sale like this, I believe,” Malcolm said. “Things are still moving in this country. I know it can work, and there are many ways to make it work.” To bring this to life, he has engaged a newlook team. “We’re using all independent cowmen, not only breeders but also a team that have been in this industry all their lives. They are welltravelled and well-respected all over the world, and they understand the industry. You don’t historically see the guys like this in these kinds of roles, so I’m excited about that.’

Winning breeder: Dean Malcolm formerly of Bluechip Genetics has the runs on the board in australia winning Premier holstein Breeder at australia’s International Dairy Week (IDW) nine out of 10 years, in addition to a swag of champions in all breeds. Malcolm is pictured with Bluechip hero Marion, the 2019 Supreme Intermediate champion at IDW.

Malcolm said early enquiries have been phenomenal, which makes us feel like we’re heading in the right direction. He said lots are coming in from throughout New Zealand and internationally, resulting in a full catalogue. “People know that we can get sales done; we’re targeting all breeds and there will be some strong cow families included from around the world that aren’t represented in the Southern Hemisphere, let alone in New Zealand.”

And he expects the global industry will be watching. “I think it’s important to note that there are cow families that are just as good in New Zealand as internationally. And, with the power of marketing and promotion, we can shine a light on those individuals. “I also think it’s great to have all the breeds represented. Most breeders internationally are into more than one breed, and we need to embrace that. It’s a strength and it brings more energy.”

‘

I believe there’s a huge hole in the registered market for a sale like this. Dean Malcolm Bluechip Marketing

WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE

SOUTH ISLAND AGRICULTURAL FIELD DAYS!

AVONCITYFORD.COM 0800 655 551

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Taking the challenge out of irrigation Farmers are starting to weigh up the challenges which have been introduced since the start of the calendar year. supplied by ❚ Advertorial ❚ Onfarm Data PC7 staged nutrient reductions, the NPS-FM rules for stock and contaminate exclusion, and the introduction of a synthetic nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha/year, would make any farmer start to question their long-term business viability. At Onfarm Data, we have spent the winter months redefining our business model, our key products, and more importantly, our focus on the end-user. This all started with the purchase of Streat Instruments in January 2019. With the acquisition of Streat Instruments, Onfarm Data now owns New Zealand’s most trusted and reliable soil moisture sensor – the Aquaflex. This has set the tone for how the company, its people, and our products and services will evolve moving forward. The Onfarm Data staff are driven by customer feedback and end-user satisfaction. We, like you, are constantly improving how efficiency is gauged. This is why we are proud of our vertical, single stack platform that allows our users to monitor, control, and report all of their various applications from a single login dashboard. Soil moisture, pivot control, fertigation/effluent proof of placement, pond/

tank levels, etc. – everything in one place. Our software developer, the talented Mr. Fox, has put the finishing touches on our major platform upgrade, which is scheduled for release in late August. This will give our users a fresh look, new functionality, and greater flexibility and control. But there is no point having great software if the hardware is going to let you down. That’s why the Onfarm Data team has been developing a new control board

with almost limitless applications. From the most basic of functions like flowmeter or soil sensor logging, through to the next generation in irrigation exclusion systems and fertigation variable rate control, this little board will set the benchmark for performance and flexibility for all your monitoring and control needs. Season 2020/21 will also see some exciting new releases to the market. In line with the new expectations from the NPS-FM

and regional rules, Onfarm Data is releasing the next generation in SMART control solutions. From pivot control, fertigation/effluent control and proof of placement, and exclusion control. The Onfarm Data team has redefined simplicity when it comes to adding control to your already existing irrigation system. Our completely modular systems allow it to be overlaid on the existing control panel and is designed to complement your management needs – not complicate it. Control your pivot from anywhere in the world as if you were standing at the panel. Exclude paddocks or parts of paddocks for a set number of days or permanently. Control and monitor your fertigation system – including tank levels, flow rates, pump status, and fault alerts sent to your mobile device, proof of placement for irrigation, fertigation and effluent, all simultaneously. The Onfarm Data team are more than happy to discuss your current and future integration needs, whether its regulatory requirements for the Regional Council or your irrigation scheme, control and monitoring, technology replacement, or fertigation and effluent proof of placement and control. For more information and contact details go to: onfarmdata.com

An evolutionary agnostic approach towards Irrigation Management, Operational Clarity and Risk Management.

The One Centre Axis platform is designed to handle variability and limitations across your irrigation, farming system and regulated environments. Pivot Control. Effluent. Fixed grid. Fertigation. Flow Meters. End gun control. Grain silo depth. Water consent data.

Weather stations. Proof of placement. Well and pond depth. Exclusion zone systems. Remote tank monitoring. Soil moisture forecasting. Soil moisture sensors- Aquaflex .

Visit us on the 24-26th of March at the SIAFD at Kirwee on Site 124. Andrew: 022 183 2018

Steve: 021 365 814

Lyall: 021 223 8666

CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

Remote maintenance capability boosts farm contracting business A diverse customer base of dairy, beef, sheep and cropping enterprises scattered throughout the North Canterbury plains means the reliability of the equipment used by farming contractor Rotherham Machinery Group (RMG) underpins the success of the business. supplied by ❚ Advertorial ❚ Drummond & Etheridge Established by three farmers more than 25 years ago, first as a syndicate to expand the equipment lineup across their own sheep and beef operations, RMG now services 20 farms in the region, to which timely and consistent on-farm work must be provided. RMG Manager, John Ranford, said the breadth and diversity of the customer portfolio meant he needed peace of mind that the machinery fleet worked to full capacity at all times, which is what drew him to embrace John Deere Connected Support™. “There are a lot of moving parts to this business, so it’s essential each of the elements are operating smoothly,” John said. Connected Support, a suite of digital tools intrinsically linking farmers and contractors with their dealership, underwrites efficient operations by allowing John Deere technicians to monitor machinery performance and remotely provide vital back-up support. In John’s case, the industry-leading tech means his local dealer, Drummond & Etheridge, Rolleston, can deliver integrated support to RMG’s John Deere 750A six-metre direct drill, a 6155M and three full-spec John Deere 7210Rs. “Given we are based about an hour-anda-half away from our local dealer, it’s much

Rotherham Machinery Group manager John Ranford has a vital link directly with his Drummond & Etheridge service department thanks to John Deere Connected Support.

more efficient for them to be able to see how the machine is running remotely and take action straight away,” John said. “It also allows them to pre-empt issues and provide proactive solutions, which saves a lot of time.” Based near Culverden, about 100 km outside of Christchurch, RMG operates in the productive farming basin that is bordered by the Hurunui and Waiau rivers. “The season comes to a peak for us in spring when there is the overlap between drilling for specialist seeds for winter crops,

and silage and baling are in full swing,” John said. Throughout the rest of the year, services provided by RMG include fertilising, spraying, land clearing and development, mowing, mulching and ploughing. Service ADVISOR Remote™, Connected Support’s online tool to allow technicians to analyse machine information instantly from any location, has proved invaluable. “This is a feature we have found extremely handy,” John said. “In the past, if we had a problem the mechanic would have to come

all the way out to the farm to diagnose it. “It’s much more efficient for them to be able to see how the machine is running, look at the trouble codes, and bring the correct parts and tools for the job if they do need to come out.” John opts for John Deere equipment due to its reliability and it also comes with the knowledge unexpected issues are avoided through the use of John Deere Expert Alerts™. Expert Alerts is a Connected Support tool that proactively notifies dealers of any potential machine issues that can occur in the throes of everyday farming before it becomes symptomatic, maximising uptime. “The most rewarding part of the job, for me, is when it’s all running smoothly. Technology and reliable equipment help guarantee that efficiency and consistency for us.” Learn more about the suite of products within John Deere’s Digital Ecosystem, visit the Drummond & Etheridge site at the SIAFD or phone them on 0800 432 633.

HOMEOPATHY Another tool to use for the health of all your farming livestock

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Ironman 4x4 on show at field days Ironman 4x4 products will be on display at the South Island Agricultural Field Days in Kirwee from 24-26 March at site 682. supplied by ❚ Advertorial ❚ Terraquip NZ Limited

Lighting To help you enhance your current vehicle lights, Ironman 4X4 produce a range of lights including LED lights from small modular types through to driving lights and light bars. These lights have coverage up to 1km and make seeing at night no problem.

These products have been developed in the harshest proving ground in the world, Australia, and have been available to 4WD users for over 60 years. Sold in more than 120 countries, Ironman 4x4 will deliver the comfort and safety you demand as well as quality and value for money. With one of the largest ranges of suspension in the world and top of the line accessories, you will find the products and friendly advice you need to help get your vehicle off the beaten track. The team with over 50 years of combined experience will be at the show to answer all your vehicle fit out needs.

which is similar to the commercial bar but has an integrated driving light and the protector bar with a grey finish and stainless steel hoops. All have an aerial lug as well as spotlight mounting points and high lift jack slots.

Vehicles on Display

Winches

This year we will have some of the latest vehicles on display fully fitted out with the Ironman 4x4 range of accessories. Come and see what your 4wd could look like after you’ve let the team at Ironman 4x4 dress up your truck.

Ironman monster winches are becoming very popular with 2 in the range, a 9500lb and a 12000lb. Winches come complete with a wireless remote with a 40m range as well as a 3m lead remote. The 12000lb monster winch has a 6hp (4.5kw) motor which is fully sealed and is supplied with a breather tube for mounting high on the firewall away from water. Winches have 28m of steel cable or have the option of 28m of synthetic rope.

Bullbars The range of bullbars is extensive with an entry level commercial black bar which is airbag and winch compatible, a deluxe bar

Recovery Equipment Ironman 4X4 have an extensive range of recovery equipment including snatch straps, recovery kits, highlift jacks and exhaust jacks. All come in sturdy carry bags and you can feel confident of having the right equipment should you get stuck.

Suspension Suspension kits and components with raised height, long travel and improved performance are available for most makes and models. Ironman 4x4 shock absorbers are available in 35mm Nitro gas or 41mm Foam cell. These have longer travel and are built stronger to deliver performance in all conditions. Leaf and coil springs are made from high quality SUP9 steel and are available in different load ratings from ‘comfort’ to ‘extra constant load’.

Underbody Protection Ironman 4x4 have developed a range of underbody protection kits which give en-

hanced protection from rocks, mud and debris. These kits are made from 3mm pressed steel, have easy bolt on installation with no drilling or welding required, allow oil changes without removal.

Camping Accessories The range of camping accessories from Ironman 4x4 is always expanding with the proven rooftop tents and awnings available and a new range of fridges from 30-74 litres, camping chairs, tables, swags, tent lights and picnic sets recently released, there is something for everyone who enjoys the outdoors. See us for some awesome tent specials at the field days.

Two Way Radios If you are in the market for hand held or truck mounted UHF radios, come and see us at the show for expert advice and see the full range of GME products on display.

Yakima Roof Racks New to the Ironman 4x4 range are Yakima Roof racks. These offer cargo carrying solutions for new vehicles including roof rack feet, cross bars and load platforms. The Ironman 4x4 range of accessories is extensive. For a full run down see the website www.ironman4x4. co.nz or phone 0508 IrONMaN.

March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

Plan for feeding New Zealanders needed too Horticulture New Zealand is calling on the Government to hurry up protection for highly productive land.

❚ Article by HortNZ

“While it’s great that the Government is trying to do something to improve housing supply by making land more available through reform of the Resource Management Act (RMA), the New Zealanders who will live in those houses will also want fresh vegetables and fruit to eat at appropriate prices,” HortNZ chief executive Mike Chapman said.

“Part of New Zealand’s overall plan to house people and respond to climate change needs to be a plan to feed people fresh, healthy locally-grown vegetables and fruit, at appropriate prices. “If feeding New Zealanders and of fering them food security is not par t of the countr y’s plan, New Zealand’s health statistics will get worse, and vegetables and

Protect: As urban sprawl spreads Horticulture New Zealand is calling for more protection of highly productive land. fruit will become unaf fordable.” Chapman said Deloitte has estimated that

New Zealand consumers could face price increases as high as 58% by 2043 if vegetable production does not increase. He said he’d like the Government to ensure that the draft National Policy Statement on Highly Productive Land does not get side lined in this Government’s busy agenda. “As a country, we think we’ve got endless, affordable food but as Covid and recent weather events have shown, we cannot take this situation for granted. “Yes, we’ve got a lot of factors in our favour but, if we keep on letting highly productive land be swallowed up for houses, New Zealanders’ health and the country’s economy will be the poorer. “Let’s ensure we grow vegetables and fruit as well as houses near our main centres, particularly as we have an abundance of less productive land that could be used for housing.”

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Award winners at Candrive have all the options covered Canterbury Driver Training Ltd (Candrive) offers a wide range of NZTA approved courses for Truck licences: Class 2, 4 and 5. supplied by ❚ Advertorial Canterbury Driver Training Ltd ❚ Along with the licence endorsements for Wheels (W), Tracks (T), Rollers (R), Dangerous Goods (D) and Forklift (F) - Forklift Operators Certificate and a range of other customised commercial driver training courses. We are a locally owned and operated family business based in Rangiora, North Canterbury and predominately service Christchurch, Canterbury and the West Coast but also travel to other areas of New Zealand by arrangement. Our highly qualified training specialists Scott and Phil Johnson are extremely passionate and motivated, both keen to pass on their skills, knowledge and experience. They have a fresh and up to date approach to your training using modern technology with small class sizes to help make your learning experience enjoyable. They focus on the ‘should knows’, the ‘need to knows’ and the ‘nice to knows’. Our two friendly and knowledgeable receptionists Diane and Haley can help you

with any bookings or general enquiries. We work with a diverse range of clients, from a variety of industries including rural, contracting, transport and service industries for both individuals and companies looking to upskill and develop themselves or their staff. Phil is an experienced spreader driver and he identified a need for specific training for these operators. Phil and the rest of the team at Candrive developed the Spreader Operator NZ course. which is approved by New Zealand Groundspread & Fertiliser Association (NZGFA) and is a requirement of their Spreadmark certification for companies. In recognition of the positive impact the course has had on health and safety in the industry, we were excited to be informed that Phil and the team at Candrive were the 2020 winners of the NZGFA Health & Safety Award, an achievement we are all extremely proud of. Following on from this and feedback from existing clients, Candrive have developed a new range of courses focussing on 4WD vehicles. This is an opportunity for drivers to

Scott and Phil Johnson from canterbury Driver Training can help you gain any class of truck driving licence.

gain more understanding of how to safely and effectively operate 4WD vehicles and is popular with both the general public and companies alike. Candrive relocated late last year to a new office and training centre at 40 Edward Street, Rangiora, as we had outgrown the original office. The new premises offer a variety of spacious training rooms and great

parking for attendees. Onsite courses are available on request. If you would like more information on any of our courses, please come along and see us at the South Island agricultural Field Days, we are on stand 531 & 532 where you can enter our Prize Draw for a $100 candrive Gift card to use towards one of our many courses.

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Newly appointed DairyNZ associate director from Canterbury North Canterbury farmer Cameron Henderson is one of two new associate directors selected to join DairyNZ’s Board of Directors.

❚ by Kent caddick Henderson and Carlos Delos Santos, from Bay of Plenty, have been selected to join the DairyNZ board, with each working alongside the directors for six board meetings. Henderson begins in March, while Delos Santos will join the board from December. DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel said the associate director roles have been providing the DairyNZ board with valuable input and contributions since the roles were established seven years ago. “Every year the associate directors bring their unique knowledge and opinions which help shape board discussions and decisionmaking,” Van der Poel said. “It is exciting to have Cameron and Carlos joining us this year, as they both bring their individual strengths and experiences which the board will value having around the table.

Their experiences will bring new thinking, as the sector progresses.” Henderson, who is Canterbury-based and farms with his partner Sarah, is the North Canterbury provincial president of Federated Farmers, as well as holding other industry and regional governance roles. “This is a unique chance to learn, as there aren’t many opportunities to get involved in professional boards like this,” Henderson said. “There is a lot of expertise at the table, and I hope to contribute some of my own experience and perspective, to help shape discussions. “Within my other industry roles, I have gained insight into many current issues and opportunities facing dairy farmers. “I have heard from a diverse range of perspectives both inside and outside the industry, and hope to use this knowledge to

New role: North canterbury provincial president of Federated Farmers cameron henderson is joining DairyNZ’s Board of Directors as an associate director.

contribute to the leadership of the industry.” Eleven other farmers have been associate directors with DairyNZ since the initiative was introduced in 2013. The associate director roles are non-voting and are for dairy farmers wanting to move into sector leadership.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

The perfect John Deere tractor for you The John Deere tractor line-up offers premium features, power and performance, no matter the application. supplied by ❚ Article Drummond & Etheridge Ltd ❚ The versatile John Deere 5 and 6 Series tractors are suitable for ag, viticultural and horticultural jobs, and make light work of big tasks. Add a loader, attachments or implements and do even more with your John Deere workhorse. Capable without compromise, John Deere’s 5 Series Utility Tractors make easy work of any challenge. Ranging from 50hp to 125hp, these agile tractors are built to get any job done across a wide range of speciality applications. John Deere 5E tractors (50-93hp) are ideal those who need just a little more tractor, with the features and specifications to handle heavier-duty chores. Choose from a comfortable cab or open operator station options, and 2WD or 4WD to suit your application. John Deere 5M tractors (75-115hp) come with an array of controls and features, optimised for power and efficiency. Need to slow things down? The two-gear

Choices: Finding your John Deere tractor is easy. Whether you are a livestock farmer, arable farmer, mixed farmer, specialty operator or run a contracting business – one of these tractors was made for you.

creeper option lets you work at speeds as slow as 280 m/hr. Plus, John Deere’s Click & Go front loader mounting system allows for fast, safe and easy attachment. John Deere 5R tractors (90-125hp) are light and agile, packed with premium features such as CommandARM™, and offer outstanding comfort with front axle suspension and cab suspension options. John Deere 5R tractors are also equipped with Precision Ag technology capability, including JDLink™ connectivity, and handsfree steering with AutoTrac™ for greater

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

New shearing championship to focus on rookies Teenagers will get to show their shearing prowess at the inaugural Secondary School Championship.

❚ by Kent Caddick The championship, to be held on Saturday, March 13, is part of the three-day Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games, in Palmerston North, and will be the first time a shearing competition for secondary schools has been held in New Zealand. The most decorated Kiwi sheep shearer, Sir David Fagan, has welcomed the championship, saying he hopes it will help get young people excited about shearing. “It really is a fantastic lifestyle and career option,” Fagan said. Top shearers from Napier Boys’ High School, Whanganui Collegiate, Palmerston North Boys’ High School, New Plymouth Boys’ High School, Feilding High School and Rathkeale College will compete. Event organiser and Feilding High School Ag Science teacher Kain Nixon said each team will comprise four shearers and a wool handler.

“They’ll shear one sheep each and will be awarded points based on how well they do, with the winning team earning the fewest faults and points.” The top individual shearer will win a trophy donated by Sir David Fagan and his family, while the winning school will take home a trophy donated by the reigning Golden Shears and New Zealand champion shearer, Rowland Smith, and his family. The Secondary Schools Shearing Championships – sponsored by Lumberland and the Ministry for Primary Industries – will be livestreamed on social media. The Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games, on March 12-14, will host multiple championships in various disciplines. It is a free event in The Square in Palmerston North.

A one-hour television programme will air on TV3 on March 27.

Champ: World champion New Zealand shearer, Sir David Fagan, is behind the countries first Secondary School Shearing Championship.

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Vaccinating beneﬁts animal health As we struggle to fathom how we ended up in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re reminded of the importance of vaccinations to protect us from life-threatening diseases.

Mark ross ❚ by Chief ❚ executive of Agcarm The same applies to animals, to preserve their health and wellbeing as well as ours, due to the spread of disease between animals and humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 60 percent of infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, meaning that they can pass from animals to people and vice versa. Three out of four zoonotic diseases originate in wildlife. As well as affecting human and animal health, animal diseases are detrimental to livestock, wildlife and agriculture. They also result in revenue and trade losses. Up to 20 percent of livestock are lost to disease each year. Preventing animal disease through vaccination, nutrition, biosecurity, and good husbandry increases the availability of safe food by reducing losses and waste on the farm. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are essential because disease can’t always be avoided. For bacterial diseases, the only current

solution is antibiotic treatment. The global animal health sector invests approximately $1.8-2.7 billion per year in new R&D for better prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Vaccinating animals protects them from life-threatening diseases such as distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis, which affect New Zealand animals. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease shared between rats, dogs, pigs, cattle and people. According to the Accident Compensation Corporation, New Zealand has one of the highest rates of leptospirosis in the world. It puts farmers, particularly dairy farmers, at risk as it can spread from infected urine in dairy sheds. It is also an occupational risk for meat workers, who can contract the disease in the same way. According to the New Zealand Veterinary Association, anyone in contact with cattle could be at risk. Many killer diseases have been kept in check by responsible animal owners maintaining vaccination programmes. Rabies, for example, is a completely preventable virus that is fatal if left untreated. It kills more than

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59,000 people each year, mostly children in Asia and Africa. If this isn’t tragic enough, the impact of the virus is estimated to cost in excess of US$6,000 million, according to the WHO. Many animals die of rabies. Its transmission to livestock reduces food productivity. Bovine rabies causes one million cattle deaths in Central and South America every year. Rabies is prevented by vaccinating dogs. Through research and pilot programmes, the World Society for the Protection of Animals found that vaccinating at least 70 percent of a community’s dogs creates ‘herd immunity’. This occurs when a significant proportion of the population (or herd) is immunised, providing a level of protection to unprotected individuals. Vaccinating a large proportion of dogs in a community breaks the cycle of transmission between them. It also prevents the disease from spreading to people. The World Health Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Global Al-

liance for Rabies Control have committed to ending dog-mediated rabies in people by 2030. The spread of disease between humans and animals remains a constant threat. With a growing global population, the risk of zoonotic diseases spreading will only increase as humans and animals live in increasingly closer proximity. This coincides with an increasing demand for food when resources for agriculture are increasingly under pressure. Continuous investment in breakthrough technologies and innovation is imperative to control diseases among animals as well as their spread to humans, as are appropriate government strategies for disease eradication. We must continue to use and develop lifesaving vaccines to limit the spread of disease and ensure that people and animals remain healthy and productive. Vaccination vastly improves the health of both people and animals and is vital for continuing to meet the health challenges of growing populations.

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

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March 2021

Securing a future for NZ pastures Farmers, scientists and rural industry leaders are meeting in Waikato later this year to map out a secure future for New Zealand pastures. Article supplied by NZGA and industry-led initiatives, including the

❚

The Resilient Pastures Symposium (RPS), organised by the New Zealand Grassland Association (NZGA), comes 10 years after the association’s landmark Pasture Persistence Symposium. With agriculture currently earning more than 40c in every NZ export dollar, those behind the event say pasture, and innovative thinking about its prospects in coming years, has never been more relevant. Pasture is a significant global advantage for New Zealand, but faces increasing pressure from climate change, environmental regulation and social and market expectations. “The uniqueness of NZ’s high value animal protein exports – their embedded naturalness and low per unit emissions compared with competitor countries – rests on our pasture base,” says RPS organising committee chair David Chapman, principal scientist at DairyNZ. “We want to make sure our market strength continues to grow from this base, because that is critical to NZ’s economic future.” The 2011 Pasture Persistence Symposium gave rise to significant new pasture R&D

highly influential DairyNZ Forage Value Index. NZGA president Warren King, a senior scientist at AgResearch, says 10 years on, climate change effects signalled in 2011 have intensified, and the physical environment for growing pasture is more challenging and volatile than ever. But other challenges that barely registered then are now competing for the attention of researchers, plant breeders and farmers alike. “Environmental regulations are putting caps on nutrient inputs and losses from pastoral systems. GHG emissions are being considered, with emphasis on reduction,” King says. “Social and market expectation around the way animals are farmed and treated are now part of the farming landscape. “And all this needs to be done using less land, with more trees being planted and better exclusion of waterways.” Chapman says in this context, all the signals suggest NZ grassland farmers will need more information and support over the next two decades than at any time in the past. “So there is urgency to pinpoint the criti-

Like minds: NZGa president Warren King (left) and rPS organising committee chair David chapman discuss the upcoming resilient Pastures Symposium.

cal knowledge gaps and get to work on filling them. That’s what the symposium will focus on. “Pasture persistence is still a key part of the programme, but the scope of this event has broadened to pastures that are resilient, and capable of playing their key role in meeting coming challenges.” The RPS will highlight current soil, plant genetics and management solutions, and look towards future opportunities, giving those who attend a chance to contribute to charting future priorities, he says. A key goal for event is to achieve broad-

based primary sector collaboration and direction for further pasture development. It also seeks Government and industry recognition of the pressing need to invest in future proofing pastures for the good of all New Zealanders. The two-day programme will feature peerreviewed research papers and a range of keynote presentations, including strong focus on farmers’ own experiences and observations. The NZGa resilient Pasture Symposium will be held 11 and 12 May at Karapiro, and earlybird registrations are now open at www.grassland.org.nz.

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March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Are you looking for a quick winter feed? In this article, we will look at annual (not Italian) type ryegrasses that are currently on the market.

Stephen Finch ❚ by ❚ Speciality Seeds

Often confused with the more persistent Italian ryegrasses that are also typically used at this time of the year, annual ryegrasses will only last 9-10 months. Like most seed types currently on the market in New Zealand, there is a wide range of cultivars from which to select. They each have some common traits; these include being tetraploid ryegrasses, being very quick to establish and providing a bulk of high-quality feed during winter and spring. Because of the above traits, these grass options can be sown late (into May) for winter feed, and then used for spring options which include grazing, silage, etc. As mentioned, most of these grasses are tetraploids and normally have 250,000 seeds per kg, notably different from diploid types which have 500,000 seeds per kg. The reason they are still successful when sown into less-than-perfect or later-than-normal situations is because they are tough seeds. Due to this fact, we suggest a minimum sowing rate of 25 kgs per hectare. Being quick growers, they respond to frequent nitrogen applications. Ideal to use in after maize, in a mix with brassica or used to top-up run-out pastures or following summer brassica as part of a pasture renovation program. Annual ryegrasses are very useful products for our clients, and we recommend them.

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annual ryegrasses are very useful products for our clients, and we recommend them.

Cultivars Below is a summary of most of the cultivars currently available. • Bullet: Is a densely-tillered, uprightgrowing and highly palatable tetraploid. Westerwolds’ annual ryegrass has outstanding performance. Key features are the speed of establishment, high growth rates over autumn, winter and late into spring, coupled with high-pasture quality and palatability. • Devour: Tetraploid Westerwolds type, selected for increased dry-matter yields — very high, dry-matter production.

Ideal maize to maize feed Reason 1 to use Devour... Maize After maize harvest the same paddock is often sown back into maize the following spring. Devour is the ideal ryegrass to use for grazing/silage during this time.

• Hogan: Tetraploid annual ryegrass. Very fast establishment, high dry-matter yield from start to finish and is a high-value feed. • Jivet 4n: This tetraploid Westerwolds ryegrass, bred by DLF Seeds, was selected for its fast establishment and winter productivity. • Prowgrow: Italian-type with good recovery from hard grazing and vigorous establishment. • Sultan: Fast-establishing diploid Westerwold ryegrass with strong Autumn/ Winter/ Spring activity.

• Tama: Tetraploid Wester wolds type, ver y old cultivar still used for shor tterm production though becoming outclassed. • Winter Star II: A Tetraploid Westerwolds, annual ryegrass, suitable for quick winter feed with improved late season quality, making it ideal for silage and hay production. • Zoom: An exceptional, new, denselytillered and highly palatable tetraploid, Westerwolds annual ryegrass specializing in winter feed has outstanding cool season performance.

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Fusarium head blight in wheat crops Cropping farmers in Canterbury are being urged to watch out for Fusarium head blight, or head scab, in their wheat crops.

❚ Article supplied by FAR

Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat, also known as head scab, is most easily recognised on immature heads where one or more spikelets in each head appear prematurely bleached. Sometimes large areas of heads may be affected, and where infection is severe, pink or orange spore masses can be seen on diseased spikelets. Fusarium damaged grains are pink or chalky white and shrivelled. This disease can cause significant yield losses where conditions favour the disease, and grain from affected crops may be less palatable to stock than healthy grain and may contain mycotoxins (a toxin produced by fungi). It is important to know that not all species of Fusarium produce mycotoxins. F. crook-

wellense, F. culmorum and F. graminearum can produce mycotoxins but other species are not considered major producers. The incidence of different species of Fusarium fungi in New Zealand grain varies from year to year and by grain type, harvest date, region and the weather conditions in the season. A survey in 2000 found that the Fusarium species present in Canterbury were not major producers of mycotoxins. However, since we do not know if all the recent reports of FHB are caused by non-mycotoxin producing species, it makes sense for growers to take precautions to minimize the risk of harvesting and storing Fusarium contaminated grain. Wet weather promotes Fusarium development and during flowering (GS60-69) crops

are particularly susceptible to head blight infection. The higher the rainfall through flowering the higher the risk. At harvest, Fusarium mycotoxins may increase if wet weather causes delays. Also, mycotoxins may increase if the grain has a high moisture content in storage.

Suggested actions: • Harvest fusarium affected wheat crops as soon as possible once ripe. • Consult the combine manual: Combine adjustments should follow the manufacturer’s manual when first going to the field. Once in the field, operators should invest the time to sample the grain and make adjustments. The most important adjustments include concave clearance, screen

openings and cylinder and fan speeds. This is particularly important when dealing with compromised grain quality. If it is determined that grain quality is not an issue, more conventional settings should be used to minimize grain loss. • Fan speed: Many, but not all, Fusariuminfected kernels are shrunken and have lower densities. Increasing the combine’s fan speed can greatly increase the number of lighter kernels blown out the back of the combine. • Harvest and store grain with fusarium contaminated grain separately. • Good farm practices will minimise the risk of mycotoxins. Damp grain needs to be dried to minimise risk.

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Telling sign: heads which are partly or fully bleached indicate a crop may have fusarium head blight.

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

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CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Absolutely carbon positive farming

The last article was written prior to the release of the Climate Change Commission’s draft plan for slashing New Zealand’s emissions.

From the article ominously titled, “The Government will not hold back”, there is a call for a 15% reduction in animal numbers, less reliance on brought in feed, and a marked reduction in methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Interestingly Federated Farmers response has been along the lines of, they’re tough standards but knew they were coming, and probably doable provided the solutions are science lead. The solutions in our view will not be science lead because agreement amongst scientists doesn’t, and will never exist. Emotion drives decision making and when, after considering how a proposal will affect us personally, we take a position and then look for the data, or ‘science’, that supports. Government will roll out data that shows the pastoral industry must mend its ways and farm within regulations determined by bureaucrats far removed from practical day to day farming reality. It should never have got to this point when it is pastoral farming that can significantly reduce atmospheric CO2 levels, and with a marked reduction of this gas there will be a corresponding drop in methane and nitrous oxide. It is rapidly growing plants that are hungry for carbon dioxide as it is essential for the formation of both proteins and sugars.

When pastures are operating efficiently the carbon content is held in the soil in the form of humus which provides increased storage for plant nutrients and moisture. Carbon provides the filter reducing the loss of nitrogen as well as other nutrients. Because pasture is being regularly eaten, and therefore in a constant growth phase, carbon dioxide is always in demand. Forestry is useful while trees are rapidly growing however when they reach maturity the gains are no more than the natural losses. The same applies to mature native bush which at maturity is carbon neutral. It is permanent grazed pasture that provides the best long term means of New Zealand meeting its carbon targets so why is pastoral farming not trumpeting its virtues. The answer is that not all pastoral farming is capturing carbon dioxide and storing the carbon component. A 2011 article by Bay of Plenty Regional Council contains the following, “Most pastoral soils in New Zealand are generally considered to be rich in organic carbon…. However, recent research has shown that in intensive lowland livestock systems (e.g. dairying), soils have lost organic carbon by an average of 1 tonne carbon/ha/yr over the last 20 -30 years while in hilly land soils organic carbon levels have increased.” The key difference between hill country farming and intensive dairying is the use of

Focus: The key difference between hill country farming and intensive dairying is the use of urea.

urea. Urea relies on soil carbon for the iniThe data required is already available and tial growth response and with continuous use although the urea industry will take a hit, soil carbon can be steadily lost. pastoral farming in this country can, by the We suggest that the science fraternity fo- end of this parliamentary term, be regarded cus on this because there are systems that as an essential provider of health food with use no urea and grow more total pasture an- an unchallenged long-term future. nually, produce more from fewer animals, and have a markedly lower overall environ- For more information contact Peter 0800 843 809. mental footprint. Urea is reliant on the Golden Bay Dolomite continued supply of large amounts of natural gas and NZ’s most loved magnesium. there is already a determination to reduce its production. For intensive dairy to change from a net loss of carbon to one that is carcall 0800 436 566 or visit bon positive requires only a change of attitude by induswww.dolomite.co.nz try leaders.

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

DAIRY

THE BENEFITS OF 100% NATURAL GYPSUM

Gypsum application is a standard practice worldwide for addressing the build up of sodium in soils, including soils receiving waste waters. Gypsum is one of those rare materials that performs in all categories of soil treatment: an amendment, conditioner and fertiliser. It is useful in the transition period in dairy cows 2 – 4 weeks pre & post calving, and can be used as an anionic salt to counteract the effects that high potassium & sodium concentrations have on increasing hypocalcemia. Gypsum, a readily available form of calcium, is 100 times more soluble than lime and is more suitable for the digestive system during this period.

Gypsum in fertilising Soil tests throughout New Zealand shows sulphur deficiency is wide spread. Although often overlooked, sulphur is needed in at least equal quantities to phosphorus. Many responses in crops are sulphur due to the sulphate radical (SO4--). • Readily dissociates into free calcium ions (Ca++) and sulphate ions (SO4--), major elements in plant nutrition • Has an approximately neutral pH and can be used in heavy applications without causing undue alkalinity in soils

Gypsum in water savings

• Promotes water infiltration, retention and conservation • Allows water to penetrate the soil without forming puddles or water logging • Conserves water by stretching intervals between irrigations • Tests show that farmland treated with gypsum requires up to 33% less water than soils without recent gypsum application

How Does Gypsum Work?

Gypsum is hydrated calcium sulphate. Calcium from gypsum replaces sodium in the soil. The sulphate allows the sodium to be effectively leached out of the soil. The soil then has more ability to flocculate and form stable aggregates to improve drainage and soil quality. Na+ Na+ Ca++ leached Soil Cation Soil Cation CaSO4 + ➔ + Na2SO4 Exchange Exchange

Gypsum in soil conditioning

• Breaks up soils compacted by sodium and clay, and compounded by farm animals and machinery • Reduces cracking and compaction following irrigation and retards soil crusting • Allows soil to dry more quickly after rain or irrigation so that it may be worked sooner • Decreases energy requirements for tillage • Binds organic matter to soil and checks soil erosion • Enhances friendly bacterial action and discourages plant diseases related to poor soil aeration • Conditioned soil allows for deeper, healthier root development and water penetration

Gypsum in amendment

• Displaces sodium binding clay soils • Reduces high soil aluminium levels • Suppresses the soil acidification effects of growing crops and the prolonged use of acidifying fertilisers

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DAIRY

CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

New leader for Climate Change Ambassadors Award-winning dairy farmer Fraser McGougan has been appointed chair of the DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassadors.

❚ Article supplied by DairyNZ

Climate Change Ambassadors are leaders for climate change action on dairy farms. They help communicate the challenges and opportunities dairy farmers face in playing their part to address climate change, alongside the rest of New Zealand. “The 13 ambassadors are leading dairy farmers who run their farms sustainably and profitably, while being committed to reducing on-farm greenhouse gas emissions,” DairyNZ strategy and investment leader Dr David Burger said. “The ambassadors work to raise awareness and mobilise change for the benefit of the environment, farmers and New Zealand.” McGougan from Whakatane said he was looking forward to leading the ambassadors to engage with farmers, communities and decision-makers, and to provide a farmer voice at national level. He has been a Climate Change Ambassador since 2018. “Farmers want to be part of the climate change solution,” McGougan said. “Our role as Climate Change Ambassadors includes helping farmers understand the changes they can make on their farm to reduce emissions and improve water quality, while maintaining or even increasing profitability. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach

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Investment in R&D and support from the government are crucial. Fraser McGougan DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassadors chair

and small incremental changes on individual farms add up to big changes nationally.” McGougan said now is a critical time in the national conversation about emissions reductions, with the Climate Change Commission announcing draft carbon budgets on how New Zealand can meet its climate change obligations. Research by AgResearch has confirmed New Zealand dairy is already the world’s lowest emissions producer of milk. But McGougan said there is more to be done to maintain our competitive advantage and do the right thing by the environment and New Zealanders.

New role: Whakatane dairy farmer Fraser McGougan has been appointed chair of the DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassadors. “New scientific developments will be important in supporting farmers to continue to address climate change, and investment in R&D and support from the government were crucial,” he said. The Climate Change Ambassadors group was created in 2018 under the Dairy Action for Climate Change. New members have been appointed this year to maintain the di-

versity of the group, with a mix of locations, farm systems and experience. The five new ambassadors appointed to the Climate Change Ambassadors are: Waikato farmers Graeme Barr and Melissa Slattery (Dairy Environment Leaders chair), Southland farmer Steve Smith, and Canterbury farmers Ash-leigh Campbell and Phill Everest.

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

DAIRY

With a little help from their friends

Dealing with cow’s feet on a daily basis as part of their business Veehof Dairy Services, Mid Canterbury couple Fred and Sandy Hoekstra are running a special fundraising promotion in a bid to enable all local kids to go to school in a pair of comfy shoes. supplied by ❚ Article Veehof ❚ Dairy Services

in some small way. “As kids head back to school it’s often a very hard time for families who are struggling Sandy and Fred are passionate about the lo- right now with one of the common expenses cal community and have felt for some time being school shoes,” Sandy said. Their goal is to help 125 local school that they could possibly help local families kids walk through the school gates with comfy shoes, that look just like their friends. Electrical Problems or Maintenance? “We deal with cow’s feet. Often when a cow is very lame, they need to have a block put on their good claw to relieve the sore claw. We call that a block or a shoe,”  Irrigation Sandy said. Member “I thought that we could  Farm MASTER tie that in with providing ELECTRICIANS  shoes for kids – shoes for Industrial Electrical Contractors Association of NZ cows, shoes for kids.”  Municipal In February, Veehof donated $1 for every dairy cow trimmed or tube of Hoof-Tite LEESTON Ph (03) 324 3752 RANGIORA Ph (03) 313 6104 glue sold towards their “happy feet fundraiser”. “Even if someone is not a dairy farmer, they might like to donate towards the cause. Every kid deserves a pair of practical school shoes that fit.” Electrical installation, maintenance and a breakdown At the time of publicaservice second to none tion, Veehof were about half-

Helping out: Fred hoekstra, and his wife Sandy, from Veehof Dairy Services are working to help children go to school with new shoes.

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way to their goal of 125 shoes which would be distributed to Mid Canterbury school children, in conjunction with Bronnie McKenna who works for Safer Mid Canterbury. “We also appreciate the support of the Front Store in sourcing quality shoes, as well as a number of private donations. We would love other local businesses to jump on board as well. “A big thank you to all our customers for their support, we really appreciate your business and in turn, together we’re helping local kids,” Sandy said. Mid Canterbury-based Veehof are recognised leaders in hoof care services and hoof

care products for dairy herds. The business provides a hoof trimming service to Canterbury, West Coast and Southland. Its work includes the treatment of lameness and hoof disease as well as providing a cost-effective hoof trimming service. Veehof is also the sole importer and distributor of award-winning Wopa cattle crushes’ that provide a faster, safer and more comfortable environment for trimming hooves or for calving assistance. It also holds hoof trimming courses throughout New Zealand. Veehof Dairy Services will be at the South Island agricultural Field days, site 325.

Smartrace proves to be a great option Giving ewes a slow-release dose of important trace elements makes sense to Jeremy Pitts. So, he switched to dosing ewes with a Smartrace capsule of selenium, cobalt and iodine. “I’ll definitely do it again this season.” “We’ve had the best ewe survival rate over winter and lambing for several years.” The extensive nature of Jeremy and Hayley Pitt’s 5500-hectare high country property, Mt Gladstone Station, means limited trips through the yards for ewes. “I really like that we can give the ewes what they need with two capsule doses – prior to tupping and then at shearing in late pregnancy,” said Jeremy. The property runs mediummicron Merino ewes, hoggets and wethers. Smartrace really fits the animal health plan for the ewes, and has potential for wether flocks who require long term supplementation. The capsule is two pills of trace elements, held together with a biodegradable paper. The paper dissolves and the pills rub together. As they scratch together the elements are released. “I like the fact that there is no plastic going into the sheep.” The Awatere property in Marlborough has a proven issue with low selenium soils. Cattle showed up with selenium

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Jeremy Pitts on his high country property. Photo: Hayley Pitts

“We’ve had the best ewe survival rate over winter and lambing for several years.” deficiency 15 years ago and resolving it made a huge difference to fertility. Ewes have always had selenium, iodine and cobalt supplementation, but Jeremy was

keen to try a product that gave a longer-acting dose. “Selenised drenches are more short-term and we don’t drench often enough.” “I decided against the injection as it’s another needle for ewes, when they are already getting two or three vaccinations.” Jeremy read about Smartrace in the Vet Marlborough newsletter and grabbed a sample pack of capsules from the vets when in town. The capsules were given to ewes in

the race using an adapted capsule gun, and Jeremy estimates only 12 or so capsules were immediately coughed up out of 3200 ewes. Any ewes seen doing this in the race were given another. Smartrace has released a new applicator that will make the dose process even faster. Research by Agrimin (the manufacturer) shows the capsules deliver all three ingredients for up to at least four months, but potentially beyond. Jeremy noticed that a ram killed for dog

tucker still had the capsule inside after four months. “It was still breaking down.” “It was really interesting to see.” Like many treatments, proving the benefits of a supplement is hard to do, Jeremy said. “But I feel that they are going better.” “The lambing percentage in the ewes was the same but the ewe survival rate was much improved.” “We only lost three ewes from ram joining in June to September.” “Our wool clip was also up but that could also be the season too.” Iodine regulates ewe body temperature and helps foetal development. Jeremy said iodine is really important pre-lamb so this is probably the key time to give a capsule, if farmers just wanted to give one. His ewes typically graze high country oversown-top dressed pastures, which are of moderate quality for much of the year. Giving long-acting selenium means the Pitts have to make sure they give only unselenised drench to the ewes. “It takes a bit of planning to make sure staff know not to drench ewes with selenised drench, but we write it all on a whiteboard in the shed.” Jeremy’s advice to other farmers is to give Smartrace a go, as it’s a great option.

WATER & IRRIGATION

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

The days are getting shorter ❚ with Dr Tony Davoren Time is approaching to make “considered” decisions about irrigation – autumn can be unforgiving if you get it wrong. La Niña is still influencing our weather and as NIWA predicted in their climate outlook for the first few months of 2021 ‘air temperatures are very likely to be above average’ and ‘rainfall is about equally likely to be near normal or below normal in the east of the South Island’. The Airport rainfall since 1 January (61mm) and Ridgens Road (53mm) further inland a testament to the ‘below normal rainfall’ and falls far short of potential crop water use of around 180mm. Irrigation has been essential to maintain and optimize crop growth. And with little rainfall in the medium-term forecast, irrigation will be the norm for a while longer. While the lack of rainfall this year is still keeping irrigation front and foremost, we are heading toward the time when considered irrigation decisions need to be made. Day-length is shor tening and is now down around 13 hours and solar radiation, the driver in the water demand system, is also waning (about 85% of the peak in early Januar y). The schematic shows solar radiation lagging daylength by two to three weeks so we can expect crop water demand to remain high into mid-March. But bear in mind the

The end of February signalled shorter days and waning solar radiation. La Niña continues to “bite”, rainfall is still a scarce commodity, but autumn is just around the corner.

shor tening days mean that even when solar radiation is still ‘high’ there are not enough hours in the day for demand to be really high – like it can be back in Januar y and early Februar y. So by the time the next month’s article rolls around be thinking carefully about the next irrigation: • Return period will be getting longer; and/or • Your application depth can start to be less.

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Heading into autumn the risk of getting irrigation wrong can have long lasting effects, especially on deeper and heavier soils. These soils are best to be deficit irrigated from now on and ensure there are no over-irrigation plus rainfall events resulting in soil moisture content exceeding field capacity. Trafficking and soil damage is a risk if this occurs in the next couple of months with less “drying” capacity. Make considered decisions.

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We are heading toward the time when considered irrigation decisions need to be made.

March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

WATER & IRRIGATION

Changing leaves as autumn approaches As we ease into Autumn, the morning temperatures cool, the days remain warm and dry and our irrigation requirements are still close to capacity; we are well and truly considering next season and setting ourselves up for winter. Most of us will also be considering what the current change agenda is going to bring.

Vanessa Winning ❚ by IrrigationNZ CEO ❚

strategies, and the new Climate Change Adaptation Act (CAA) to address complex issues associated with the managed retreat and funding and financing of adaptation for climate change. The RMA has been widely blamed for urban design issues, poor infrastructure strategy, putting a handbrake on development and for the cost of housing, among other things. The new legislation is hoped to improve the natural environment, enable more development within environmental limits, while providing an effective role for Maori, and improve housing supply and affordability. Further, it is expected that the planning processes will be simplified, and costs and times reduced, and therefore a stronger national direction and one single combined plan per region. The ministry has stated these new laws will have more focus on natural environmental outcomes and less on subjective amenity matters that favour the status quo. Better urban design will be pursued, with better coordination of future infrastructure with land use, development, and urban growth. Hopefully under the CAA more understanding of water and storage of such under the adaptation to climate change. These are all goals most farmers and growers will agree with, and are working to on theirx own land, but as with the RMA 128mm 100mm when introduced in 1991, the intentions

‘

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While Covid remains in the background and has had a serious impact on our tourism and hospitality sectors, it has by and large left most of the productive economy alone. Yes, we have had issues with freight and management of social distancing, but at the high level our food is still well sought after, our teams working hard, and our country producing top quality products. This has also allowed for the current government, local and central to continue to consider changes needed for ongoing sustainability and hopefully productivity of the nation. While the National Environment standards come into effect for winter grazing later this year, and we work to ensure we are following Te Mana o te Wai under the National Policy Statement, along with the changes implemented last year, we have further change on the horizon. With the overhaul of the Resource Management Act (RMA), to be replaced by the Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA) to provide for land use and environmental regulation, along with the new Strategic Planning Act (SPA) for long-term regional spatial

and the outcomes may not always align. This overhaul is needed, but as with all change to policy, the devil is in the detail. It’s important that the productive sectors stay engaged with the development of these Acts and influence improvements where needed. As with our approach with Covid, we will get on and keep producing what we can and continuing to contribute to a better New Zealand, and our food will continue to be desired. And we need to keep ensuring that the importance and value of our labour is not forgotten in the process of legislative design that is being put forward to largely improve urban impacts. We watch this change with interest and will work with our irrigators, schemes and new opportunities to ensure outcomebased improvements can be made where required and development can continue for our sectors.

CANTERBURY FARMING

LIVESTOCK

rob cochrane ❚ by Wool Procurement Manager, ❚ PGG Wrightson Wool ❚

March 2021

Market shows modest improvement

It was pleasing to note a modestly improved market tone during open cry wool auctions in both Napier and Christchurch held on February 18, driven mainly by European and UK buyers and good support from Chinese mills. Broker catalogues throughout January and into mid-February, at time of writing, contained less bales than originally rostered due to growers holding wool on-farm awaiting significant market improvement, shearing delays in some areas due to weather, changed shearing regimes in many areas, and suggested larger than normal numbers of woolly lambs and sheep being sent to meat works. All these factors combined, make forecasting wool flows and related volumes quite challenging for the foreseeable future. Crossbred wool types gained in value on February 18 with most support and competition shown for well grown, well prepared wools with low y minus z colour readings, and low vegetable matter contamination results. Poorer colour wools which were less well prepared and weaker in staple strength, also improved in value but the gap in prices between those and the better styles widened compared to earlier sales. There appeared also to be some good competition for crossbred Lamb’s wool pretty much across the micron ranges, with most focus on those measuring finer than about 30 microns, but certainly dependent upon vegetable matter readings as well. In general however, crossbred lamb’s wool types remain at levels considerably less than those of the past few seasons.

With only a small handful of Halfbred and Corriedale types offered for sale during the past few weeks no meaningful quotes have been available, however during the next month there will be a few more of these available which should provide a better indication of where the demand sits for these particular types. Australian brokers recently reported that good demand for their crossbreds (our mid-micron types) has been evident over the past few weeks. By the time this has been printed and digested by avid readers, the final recognised fine wool auction for the current South Island wool selling season, will have been conduct-

ed on February 25th, with around 2000 bales of merino and mid-micron wool included in a total offering of approximately 10,000 bales. When beginning to compile this editorial I began to think about how other industries have evolved over the past 25 years or so. The days of going down to the local bottle store to pick up a swap-a-crate of your favourite bulk brand, which might have stars or maybe horses on the label, seem to have changed somewhat over the past few years and what was an uncomplicated process has become quite the opposite. In the old days if you added beer to the supplies list when someone was next in the village, more often-than-not the right stuff (or near enough) arrived home. An explosion of craft beers during the past few years has provided such a vast selection that, unless you are prepared to live for-

ever, there is probably not enough time left, for my generation at least, to try all of them. The wool industry and the wool market share a lot of similarities to the 21st century beer industry. A lot of haziness and confusion to the lay-person but plenty of opinions from marketers about what the customer really wants. In my view, focussing on the benefits of wool as a healthy and sustainable (regenerative) fibre should assist wool to claw back some of its lost share of the fibre market, and along with new product innovation, wool may regain recognition for its versatility. Will that improve farm gate returns for the majority of New Zealand’s wool growers? Time will tell. That’s my view.

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March 2021 CANTERBURY FARMING

LIVESTOCK

VelTrak on track for deer industry Although the next velvetting season is several months away, Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) is now co-ordinating orders from velvet buyers and packhouses for the Zebra brand UHF RFID scanners that will play a key role in VelTrak.

❚ by Trevor Walton Early ordering is needed so DINZ can negotiate a bulk price for the scanners and get them delivered in time.

VelTrak is the new electronic track-andtrace system for deer velvet. It will be introduced from the start of the 2021/22 season. It enables velvet to be tracked and traced each step of the way from the farm to the market (and vice-versa). “It will prove to customers that the velvet they are buying has been produced on quality assured NZ farms and meets our stringent animal welfare and food quality standards,” DINZ chief executive Innes Moffat says. “It builds on the great work done by farmers to upgrade their sheds and freezers to comply with the MPI Regulated Control Scheme (RCS).” Farmers won’t have to do any recording or scanning of tags. Apart from the new black VelTrak tags it’s a completely paperless system. Instead, vets will scan and allocate tags by number to each of their farmer clients. These tags will next be scanned by the buyer or the packhouse – either when the velvet arrives in their store,

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Tagging: Velvet tagged with 2020/21 blue tags. From next season, the tags will be black and contain an UHF RFID chip, as part of the rollout of VelTrak.

or when they pick-up the velvet from the farm. Each VelTrak tag has a UHF RFID chip embedded in it, as well as a barcode, and would remain with each stick of velvet for easy traceability. The tags, which will cost farmers about 49 c, are made of synthetic paper. “Farmers will just need to have internet access, so they can register on the system and approve the electronic VSDs (eVSDs) when their buyer or packhouse sends them through. If a farmer doesn’t have internet, they will need to get someone they trust to sign the eVSDs for them,” Moffat says. Buyers and most warehouses will need to buy a RFID scanner. Most vets already have barcode scanners in their practice and will find that barcode scanning is the most efficient way to allocate VelTrak tags to their farmer clients. Farmers may decide to buy a barcode scanner for farm management purposes, but they won’t need one to be part of VelTrak. DINZ has developed VelTrak to help lock-in the price premium that NZ velvet now enjoys in South Korea over velvet from competing countries. It is also expected to be a major selling point when marketing our velvet to major healthfood companies in China, Taiwan and elsewhere.

Before the start of the 2021/22 velvetting season, all farms, vet clinics and businesses involved in velvet removal, procurement, warehousing, processing and packing for shipment will need to register with VelTrak. If your deer farm, clinic or business is known to DINZ and you are designated as the main DINZ contact, registration instructions will be automatically emailed to you. “We will let you know in plenty of time for you to register,” Moffat says. “Please don’t try and register before the opening dates.” First on the rollout plan for VelTrak will be deer vets, who are being invited to participate in webinars to be held in the few weeks. Invitations will be sent directly using the NVSB contact database. Then, from 1 April, they will be able to register on the VelTrak website. Moffat says the new system could be accessed by computer and mobile phone. “It is novel technology, and a pretty sophisticated piece of software,” he says. “We have thought long and hard about the benefits of this system and we believe those benefits outweigh the cost. New Zealand is well regarded and we need to protect our reputation.”

CANTERBURY FARMING March 2021

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March 2021

CANTERBURY FARMING

Lexus delivers leading driving dynamics

Bred at a new and purpose-built test track in Japan, the new Lexus IS represents the very best of high performance luxury sports sedans.

❚ Article supplied by ToyotaNZ

Lexus engineers focused on the driving dynamics and improving driving performance for the 2021 Lexus IS while the designers reworked the overall profile of the car to create a suave, sports sedan that is set back on its broad haunches with wider tyres ready to be launched. Lexus New Zealand General Manager Andrew Davis said the new IS matches its design upgrade with significant handling improvements, which were developed at a new technical centre in Shimoyama, Japan. “Beneath the skin, this is a true enthusiast’s car,” Davis said. “It was the first Lexus developed at the new Shimoyama Technical Centre and represents Lexus’ high level of passionate performance.” Countless test hours at the Shimoyama track and other test facilities were conduct-

unsprung mass. “Converting performance into passion is a guiding philosophy for the brand and is what the Lexus Driving signature is about. You can’t help but have a smile on your face when you drive this car,” Davis said. The overall profile of the 2021 IS follows that of a classic coupe, with sloping rear pillars, a long bonnet and short boot. Add in larger wheels, up an inch for all variants, and the overall impression is more aggression and Upgrade: The overall profile of the 2021 Lexus IS follows that sports performance. of a classic coupe, with plenty of power and an upgraded Seven IS variants will be availdriver assist package. able, including a return, due to ed on various road sur faces and conditions customer demand, of the IS 300h F Sport. to identify ways to increase responsiveness The IS 300 has a 2.0-litre turbocharged fourand reduce unnecessar y movement from cylinder petrol engine matched to an eightspeed automatic transmission, producing 180kW of power and 350Nm of torque. The IS 300h delivers the innovative Lexus self-charging hybrid electric system combining a 221Nm 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine and 300Nm electric motor. It achieves a total system output of 164kW and combined fuel consumption as low as 5.1 litres per 100 kilometres. Both the IS 300 and IS 300h are available as a standard model, in F Sport specifi-

cation or as a Limited variant, which has 19” alloy wheels, black ink woodgrain interior ornamentation, and a 17 speaker, 7.1 channel Mark Levinson audio system with a new amplifier delivering 1,500 watts of power. For drivers who crave power there is the IS 350 F Sport. As well as featuring the only 3.5-litre normally aspirated V6 engine (232kW and 380Nm) in the range, the IS 350 F Sport has a rear Torsen Limited Slip Differential, silver woodgrain interior ornamentation, and unique BBS matte black 19” alloy wheels. There should be no question about acceleration of the 350 F Sport as it moves from 0 to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds. Other features that become standard on the Lexus IS for the first time include an electric park brake (replacing a foot-operated pedal), new 10.3-inch touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and upgraded driver assist technology. A number of safety features have been added to the Lexus Safety System+ package. These include Lane Tracing Assist, Road Sign Assist, Intersection Turn Assist, Emergency Steering Assist, All Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, and the Pre-Collision System now has bicycle detection. Parking Support Brake with Rear Cross Traffic Auto Brake has been added across the range with Blind Spot Monitor now available on entry variants and a Panoramic View Monitor on Limited grades.

CANTERBURY FARMING

March 2021

Rosy tinted steam punk glasses

Two good things this month have led me to, perhaps temporarily, rethink my doom and gloom position on the climate adaptation palaver. I’m more pessimistic than most so these are events of note.

Some deer farmers and I watched a webinar given by the Climate Change Commission. The show explained their advice to government on how to begin adapting agriculture toward our brave new low emissions future. The only real point we could decipher was that native forests would have increasing preference over pines. Not so helpful, guys. So I read chapter 4c, the ag part of the commission’s report. It was pleasantly surprising. A reasonable, practical, and considered set of views. Not only that, the views seemed to sync well enough with the broad direction of agriculture in this country. As closely as anyone can really deduce. Through some rosy steam punk glasses it read (and I paraphrase) ‘farm efficiently within your resource base, consider lowering your stocking rate a little if you can get gains out of the remaining stock, explore low

nitrogen feeds, integrate the dairy and beef sectors better, plant out areas of your farm that aren’t good for much else and make the most of that constantly evolving field of breeding genetics. Lastly, don’t hold your breath for a magic pill, potion or cork to stop your stock emitting methane but something might eventually turn up that helps a bit.’ Good enough for a start, accepting a lot rests on the interpretation. The second thing was Jen Purdie’s presentation at Otago University’s Centre For Sustainability. It covered the future of our electricity system out to 2050 based on several years’ work with a large and very complex computer model. The model explores the impact on electricity generation of predicted changes in temperature, rainfall patterns, wind patterns, snow levels, and hydro lake flows. It also mimics changing patterns of use. For example more electric vehicles, more irrigation, air conditioning, and switching industrial processes from coal to electricity. The bottom line; an increase in total energy supply somewhere between 25% and 100% is anticipated to meet increased demand. Those in the know felt this is generally achievable. Expected price of power to you and me was thought to change only slight-

ly on average, but be more volatile from time to time. Keeping those rosy glasses on, the Commission’s advice and Jen’s work both suggest there is a good window for us to make steady, gradual change. Change based on common sense and reasonable expectations. Whether this fits with the overall thermodynamic challenges of our great transition remains to be seen, but still, optimism beats pessimism with just its cheery nature and happy disposition. So on the right track, for a start at least. Not a bad place to finish the week.

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There is a good window for us to make steady, gradual change based on common sense and reasonable expectations.

The limits of online buying I recently went into a retail shop here in Christchurch with a list of books that I would like to buy. I told the assistant that I noted the titles and authors and that I would prefer to buy them through a shop than buy online as we have already lost so many retailers including music shops and travel agents and that I did not want to risk on-line book sellers taking over retail shops and therefore I would lose the ability to drift in and buy what I wanted and actually talk with some-one. She said they weren’t going anywhere and eventually muttered a thanks for supporting local shops. Within a couple of days, I received a phone call to say that the nationwide chain could not source the books on my list and

suggested I buy them online. Well, I had tried. With Covid driving people to work from home, and that sort of lack of personal contact where are we going with respect to service. The farming support industry has relied on personal contact and the trust that comes from dealing with people who you know and can relate too. Good old-fashioned respect for a client, even the wearing of a company tie, not because it looks good, but out of respect for the person you are doing business with. I know that stock sales have gone online,

and that people are buying and selling property online, but where will it stop. OK, stock sales have used phones to collect bids from buyers in other centres, but at least the auctioneers are still in front of a live audience. I think it will be a very sad day when stock and station staff stop calling in on clients, chatting over a cup of tea as advice changes hands and information flows. That face-to-face interaction is vital in so many ways, and as we lose more and more of it, surely our values also drift away. Thankfully, well at this stage anyway, service people still call out to fix machinery, how-

ever as they themselves ring someone on the other side of the world to get advice on what to do, there must be a time that the operator will cut them out and do it all themselves. I, as you will have ascertained, enjoy fact to face conversations, I just hope that despite Covid, modern trends, and computers that the services we enjoy don’t join the ranks of Banks, travel agents, music shops, and the multitude of other services we have lost. As I said recently, farming people are very special, have special qualities and have an amazing community spirit, let us all hope that modern living does not destroy those things that we hold so dear.

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