AginED
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FOR E FUTURIA G R R S! U PR EN E
Volume 106 I May 23th, 2022 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz/agined Are you a parent or teacher and want to receive AginED every week directly to your email inbox? Send us an email to sign up at agined@globalhq.co.nz
Bringing Native Bush Back to New Zealand Farmland
This graph shows NZ beef exports in thousand tonnes.
STRETCH YOURSELF: 1
Why do they choose autumn-calving?
2 What are some of the planting programmes that the government has invested in? Are there any more than the two Adam mentions? Should there be more investment made by the government for this purpose? Why or why not? 3 How many plants did they originally grow? What number has this grown to now? 4 Why would farmers want to retire portions of marginal grazing land to replant native bush? What would make areas suitable or more likely to be retired from grazing and established in native plantings?
Head to https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=kH4nVE1wAXk to watch the Onfarm Story of Adam Thompson who believes that establishing native flora on farmland goes beyond the obvious environmental and biodiversity benefits.
5 Adam talks about first generation colonisers, what are these? Can you name 4 or 5 species that fit this description? 6 How do they help to regenerate larger native species in the longer term? 7 Why is trapping an important element of native bush regeneration?
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2 Which year/month on this graph were export volumes at the highest level? 3 Which year/month on this graph were export volumes at the lowest level?
STRETCH YOURSELF: 1
Where is Adam based?
2 How much land does Adam have and what does he do with it?
How do April exports compare to March?
How many less tonnes of beef products were exported in April compared to March and also April 2020-21? The combination of Omicron and short weeks due to public holidays had a part to play in this, why do you think that is?
2 What is the percentage decrease of April exports this year vs. last year?
TWO-THIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND POTATO PRODUCTION GOES INTO PROCESSING
3 China imported the lowest amount of NZ frozen beef for April since 2017 which meant their market share fell to 53%. What is meant by market share? 4 Looking at year-ago levels and the five-year average, which month would you expect export volumes to be at the highest level?
Some interesting facts about NZ Horticultural production
97% of Kumara is grown in Northland due to its warm climate
93% of tomatoes are grown in the North Island and most are grown inside
Onions have the largest export production of New Zealand vegetables
Half of carrot and parsnip production is in Canterbury
5 Which month would you expect export volumes to be at the lowest level?
What crops are grown in your region? What makes your area suitable for those species?
Seaweed fertiliser gaining ground Demand for seaweed derived bio-stimulants has jumped significantly this autumn compared to 2021 levels. This can be partly attributed to price increases of synthetic fertilisers and an inability to get some products that have been used traditionally, both due to new regulations and the diminishment of global supplies due to the war in Ukraine. Head to https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/ audio/2018841647/boom-in-demand-for-seaweed-based-fertilisers to read about the NZ company at the forefront of seaweed bio-stimulants.
FILL YA BOOTS: Head to https://www.farmersweekly. co.nz/live-export-run-abandoned/ and read this article. 1
Why have these cattle not been able to be exported?
2 What destination were they headed for? 1
Where does AgriSea collect seaweed from currently?
2 Where in NZ is their factory located?
STRETCH YOURSELF: 1
AgriSea’s final product is considered to be a bio-stimulant. What does this mean?
2 How many species of seaweed are there in NZ? 3 Which species does AgriSea target? 4 Where are they currently developing a seaweed farm? Why did they decide to start this? 5 There is some research that purports seaweed supplements can reduce methane emissions from cattle. Do some research and see if you can find out more information regarding this. 6 To listen to the full interview follow this link: https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio _ id=2018841647
3 What is the difference in price expected to be between the export premium and local sale price?