AgInEd | January 25, 2021

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AginED

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FOR E FUTURIA G R R S! U E N E R P

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Volume 40 I January 25, 2021 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz

Staying safe on your farm We want you to have a think about what hazards are on your or others farms. Head to our website https://sites.google.com/view/agined/home and download the BE SAFE POSTER. Fill this out and next week we will print a completed copy in AginED for you to compare your answers and see the similarities or differences between the hazards you identified and ours.

DON’T FORGET TO SEND US YOUR PHOTOS!

‘Be Safe, Be Seen’ and the whole Gurt and Pops collection could be yours! - We want to see howyou stay safe on the farm. Send us in a photo of you being safe on the farm these holidays, along with your answers to two of the questions below to get yourself in the draw. Let Ted and Pops teach your children how to use their ‘Think Safe Brains’ to keep the little ones safe this summer! Why do you never drink out of bottles that are in the workshop?

BE O IN T ! WIN

If we walked into this paddock with cattle what could go wrong?

Before riding your motorbike, what should you dress yourself in and why?

Why should you never go somewhere on the farm without talking to an adult first?

Send your entries to: agined@globalhq.co.nz (we will draw the winner on February 8th)

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?

2 Find and watch the OnFarmStory of Wiliam Morrison “We determine our future” 3 What do the Morrison’s farm? 4 Who makes up Morrison farming?

STRETCH YOURSELF:

STRETCH YOURSELF:

This graph shows the NI AgriHQ average mutton slaughter price in $/kg.

2 How does William believe that we can use social media to improve our lamb and beef farm productivity? 3 Do you think that this is a good way to help people outside of farming understand where their supermarket or restaurant sheep and beef comes from? How does this benefit farmers? 4 What do you believe are the most important things that farmers can do, or need to show to the world that could increase the value and profile of NZ lamb and beef products? Let us know your thoughts at: agined@globalhq.co.nz

Ewe said:

Regenerative farming is a process using Organic farming principles of allowing the soil ecology to thrive. Regenerative Organic farming uses compost, animals, and biodiversity to maintain the health of the soil. It restricts use of any practice that harm the soil ecology and is an arable farming system free of synthetic pesticides and GMO’s. The grazing and tilling are restricted and cover crops are grown to ensure no bare ground. By growing a diverse sward of pasture with animal to graze nutrients are cycled through the animal and returned to the ground to be used by the microbiology of the soil increasing the soil organic matter and building humus. Plant roots grow deeper protecting them from weather extremes. The increased organic matter acts like a sponge which restricts nitrogen run off, conserves soil moisture, and sequesters CO 2 . Regenerative Organic Farmers are finding that they are economically better off due to stable yields and the ability to protect themselves from the adversity of climate change. New Zealand has a grass arable agriculture. It would not be difficult for arable farmer to move to regenerative farming practices. However, the beliefs and education around the dependence on synthetic inputs to maintain productivity is not benefiting farmers as the cost is becoming prohibitive as the soils degrade further. The use of self-sustainable practices would impact heavily on the industrial economy that promote the use of fossil fuel derived chemicals and fertilisers. Many of these industries fund research and newspapers by advertising their products. There will be a strong resistance against moving away to alter the industrial paradigm unless somehow, they can be brought into the system and re jig their products to support Regenerative Organic practices. As Agriculture contributes to nearly half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions it is extremely important for the government to lead the way internationally by robust research into Regenerative organic methods to reduce the impact of our footprint.

1 Go to www.farmersweekly.co.nz

1 How many generations of farmers have there been in the Morrison family?

Our regenerative piece really peaked people’s interest and we got some very interesting responses, here is Claire Bleakley’s viewpoint:

1 Mutton schedules have held much more resilient than lamb schedules this season. Looking at the graph, how does the latest average value compare to the previous season and the fiveyear average? 2 According to Beef + Lamb NZ, breeding ewe numbers have fallen by over 5 million head in the last 10 years. What are some long term impacts of this? Hint: If there are less ewes in NZ, what might this mean for lamb numbers and therefore export volumes in the future? 3 Head to www.agrihq.co.nz and read the Pulse article “Rebuild confidence now’ for more on this topic.

FILL YA BOOTS: 1 What are the symptoms and causes of facial eczema? What time/s of year is it likely to be prevalent? 2 What are the symptoms and causes of staggers in sheep? For more related content please head to our website at: www.sites.google.com/view/agined/home


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