AginED
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Volume 31 I November 2, 2020 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz
1 Go the AgriHQ market snapshot page 2 What was the South Island mutton price last week? 3 How is this tracking compared to year-ago levels?
STRETCH YOURSELF:
This graph shows the volume of NZ lamb exports to the UK. When forecasting what may happen to our sheep and beef prices in coming months it is important to look at what is happening in our export markets. As well as another wave of covid, the UK is also facing high levels of uncertainty around Brexit negotiations, in particular a ‘no deal’ Brexit. Put simply, Brexit is the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. If there is a ‘no deal’ Brexit, then UK exports to the EU will be penalised with higher tariffs.
1 Do some research, what is a tariff? 2 The UK exports the majority of their lamb to the EU. Additional tariffs are likely to have an affect on demand, and this product will need to be redirected to another market. If there is an oversupply of lamb in the UK, what might this do to the demand for imported lamb i.e. NZ lamb exports to the UK? 3 How did the total volume of lamb exported to the UK in September compare with last year and the five-year average? 4 What month do exports usually peak?
MIDDLEMARCH FUTURE FARMERS CELEBRATE FARMING, IN A SCHOOLS HEALTH AND SAFETY DAY!
1 Go to www.farmersweekly.co.nz 2 Find and watch the OnFarm Story of Amanda Henderson “Couldn’t imagine doing anything else” and read the article “Keeping the farm in the family”.
A farm health and safety day held in Middlemarch last Friday was hailed a huge success by the schools, community and industry groups involved. Strath Taieri School invited Lee Stream and Macraes Moonlight schools to join them in an educational farming day with the focus of over 100 children learning to use their ‘Think Safe Brains’. Strath Taieri teacher Kate Martin said that the idea came from a student who received a minor injury during woodwork and wanted to know more about how to stay safe on farm. New Zealand Young Farmers Bridget Joicey and Harriet Bremner from Safer Farms were also involved in running the event, backed by local support including parents who helped by supplying machinery for the day. The children participated in practical modules including learning to load and strop down a trailer and where the blind spots around tractors and stock trucks are. This was a pilot day and Bremner says they hope that many more schools around New Zealand will get to take part in a day like this because it is important that we are not just assuming children are safe. They need to be having conversations with their parents about health, safety and wellbeing to stay safe from a practical approach.
3 Where in NZ do the Hendersons live? 4 What do the Hendersons farm?
STRETCH YOURSELF:
The children were sponsored to take home two books per family from the Gurt and Pops range by Worksafe NZ and FMG/Farmstrong, which target health, safety and wellbeing. Helping to keep the conversation going once the children got home.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CONTROL PHOSPHORUS RUNOFF? Common fertilisers like superphosphate contain phosphorus in a form that is highly water soluble and readily taken up by plants. This is a good thing, as phosphorus is an important nutrient for plant growth, but if we get rainfall soon after we apply phosphorus fertiliser, we might get water running off the surface of our paddocks (surface runoff) and this can take the phosphorus in the fertiliser granules with it.
The photos below show: Left; phosphorus fertiliser granules dyed blue and Right; after creating rainfall using a watering can, the blue dye (which represents the phosphorus in the fertiliser granule) runs off the surface of the pasture soil.
Firstly, our streams and rivers are very sensitive to even very small amounts of phosphorus. Phosphorus loss from paddocks can stimulate the growth of algae in waterways, which impacts on species that live in the water and also makes the water dangerous for people to swim in. Secondly, we want the phosphorus to stay in our agricultural soils to help grow plants. Any loss of this precious phosphorus resource is a waste of money. The easiest way to do this is to make sure we aren’t applying phosphorus fertilisers to wet soils or if rainfall is forecast that might generate surface runoff. We can do this by looking at a weather forecast and only applying phosphorus fertiliser when the risk of surface runoff is low.
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SOIL SCIENCE?
2 Since taking on the lease of the property, what changes have Amanda and Jarred made that has diversified their cashflow and allowed them more autonomy? 3 The farm has some interesting individual characteristics/features. Can you name two of these? 4 Why does Amanda believe that education is so important in the agricultural sector? 5 How many stock units do the Hendersons carry? What are the average scanning percentages for their cows and ewes?
So why is this a problem?
So how can we reduce the risk of phosphorus runoff?
1 The Hendersons run stock that suits their properties terrain? What breeds of sheep and cattle do they run and why do these suit their lands typography?
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QUESTIONS
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Remember to use the hashtag #AginEd Letters to: agined@globalhq.co.nz
1 What common fertilisers contain phosphorus?
3 Why is it important to keep phosphorus out of streams and rivers?
2 Why is it important to keep phosphorus on agricultural soils?
4 How can we reduce the risk of phosphorus being lost in surface runoff?
Check out the Bachelor of Agricultural Science https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/programme-course/ programme.cfm?prog _ id=93425
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