Dairy Farmer July 2020

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JULY 2020

Setting goals Waikato Feds president up for the challenge The outlook gets brighter

Big city, little farm A small farm just minutes from downtown Auckland is where students can get their hands dirty DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

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July 2020 Editor

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COVER Mt Albert Grammar School students Charlotte Tinsley and Alicia Blakeley get hands-on experience on the school’s farm.

JULY 2020

Setting goals Waikato Feds president up for the challenge The outlook gets brighter

Big city, little farm

18

A small farm just minutes from downtown Auckland is where students can get their hands dirty DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

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www.farmersweekly.co.nz ISSN 2624-0939 (Print) ISSN 2624-0947 (Online)

4

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Contents NEWS 16 Milk Monitor The outlook gets brighter 17 Positive contribution Dairy farmers to lead post-covid economic recovery 40 Free fees Lincoln University to waive fees for some students

ON FARM STORY

8 Agri in education A small but effective working farm is part of the Mt Albert Grammar School campus

18 Setting goals Canterbury farmers Glenn and Sarah Jones are big on setting goals and making plans

FARMING CHAMPIONS

7 Guest column – Tim Carter

26 Dairy champion – Jacqui Hahn

8 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of all advertising revenue in Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer to farmer health and wellbeing initiatives. Thank you for your prompt payment.

SPECIAL REPORT 34 Greenhouse gases conference 38 Climate change

REGULAR FEATURES 30 Women in agribusiness – Michelle Clarke 42 Farmstrong 44 Industry good DairyNZ 46 Technology 51 Research

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GUEST COLUMN

Quick action paid off

L

Dairyworks chief executive Tim Carter shares his team’s experience of the recent covid-19 lockdown and the impact on the business.

IKE all New Zealand businesses, Dairyworks was affected by covid-19 and the resulting lockdown restrictions in March, April and May. We were fortunate to get a sense of the potential impact early from our Chinese customers so we got organised and being prepared early paid off during lockdown.

By late February we had activated our business continuity plans and a crisis management team was in place.

Innovation and collaboration were critical during this time to ensure we could quickly respond to issues we had never faced before – while still being focused on the future and planning for our business post covid-19.

Keeping an eye on the future was key because during the alert level four lockdown Dairyworks had a change of ownership, joining the Synlait Milk family on April 1.

This is an exciting opportunity for us.

Dairyworks and Synlait Milk are a logical fit.

We are like-minded companies with a shared passion for doing things differently in the dairy sector. It provides us with a wider support base to collaborate and maximise our joint efforts to keep

Dairyworks chief executive Tim Carter says Dairyworks had a change of ownership during lockdown and is now part of Synlait Milk.

growing our presence in the everyday dairy sector in NZ and Australia.

The Dairyworks team was impressive during lockdown. Everyone contributed ideas and seemed to have endless energy to step up to face the challenges ahead.

The Government identified us as being an essential business, which

Dairyworks supplies New Zealand with almost half of its cheese, a quarter of its butter, as well as milk powder and the award-winning Deep South ice cream.

Chief executive Tim Carter catches up with team members Chanthy and Kalo during lockdown in the cheese plant at Hornby.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

we considered a privilege but not one we took lightly. We are conscious many businesses weren’t as fortunate as us during this time and we had a responsibility to keep our staff safe and covid-19 free.

We couldn’t and didn’t continue to operate on our own. Having strong supplier and key stakeholder relationships in place allowed us to be agile when demand and supply chain access could change in a heartbeat. That collaboration allowed us to provide an uninterrupted supply to supermarkets and food service businesses that were operating.

While demand for food service products, which is providing ingredients for restaurants and cafes, accounts for about 15% of our business in NZ, that demand largely disappeared during lockdown.

In contrast, the demand for grocery items increased significantly during level four. We were all topping up our pantries, preparing all meals at home and doing more baking. In the two weeks leading up to the lockdown supermarkets’ grocery food departments experienced a huge acceleration of growth on 2019. We have seen a slight softening in this demand since, however, supermarket spend is still tracking above 2019 results.

As the alert levels decreased food service demand has increased and grocery spend has deceased as Kiwis return to more normalised spending activity.

I’m extremely proud of the 250 Dairyworks staff who, despite risks to their own health and that of their bubbles, turned up on shift day in, day out to provide fresh food for NZ by ensuring supermarkets were well stocked. I believe our team, along with thousands of others in the food manufacturing industry throughout NZ, are some of the unsung heroes of the lockdown.

The loyalty and support NZ consumers showed to our Dairyworks family of brands was a huge motivation for our team during lockdown. We are all very grateful for this support. n

7

ON FARM STORY

Peter Brice has been the farm manager at the Mt Albert Grammar School since last year. He teaches the practical side of agriculture to 250 students who pitch in and help on the farm.

Photos: Frances Oliver

Farming in a fishbowl

I

Just a 10-minute drive from Auckland’s bustling Queen Street lies a farm where our future farmers are being taught. Sonita Chandar reports.

lucky that it is supported by the school and a couple of key sponsors. The fact it is still running is awesome.”

The ASB MAGS Farm was established in 1932 when the NZ Institute of Horticulture decided city children were losing knowledge of farming practices it right. and asked the school to teach agriculture Peter Brice is the farm manager at the and horticulture.

ASB Mt Albert Grammar School (MAGS) The Trustees of Auckland Savings Bank farm in the middle of Auckland city. (now ASB) bank bought the land from Its 8.1 hectares milks fewer than 10 the Kerr-Taylor family and leases it to the cows, has seven chickens, 21 Suffolk ewes, school. In 2013, a 99-year lease was signed a Gold kiwifruit orchard and a native tree for a peppercorn annual rent of $1. nursery.

“Even back then the Horticultural But as difficult as it is to be under a Institute saw a widening urban/rural microscope it is probably one of the more divide so stepped up to help try to bridge interesting if not one of the easier farm that gap,” Brice says. manager positions in the country.

Students are able to study agriculture, “It’s a pretty unique resource,” Brice horticulture and agribusiness from says.

Year 10 onwards and go to farms and “The farm is a multi-million dollar agricultural training centres for day trips property in the middle of Auckland being and camps. used as an educational facility for ag They attend the Fieldays at Mystery students to get their hands dirty. Here Creek and some help at the Auckland they learn the ropes of various agriculture Easter Show. sectors.”

As well as classrooms, the farm has Funding is allocated by the school but a one-stand wool shed with woolnot in a normal way. handling facilities, pens to hold 150 sheep “MAGS basically takes money out of its overnight, a two-stand walk-through back pocket to keep us going as the farm milking shed with milking is in noDung way profitable so we are extremely beetles will deliver upon the promise to plant, an T’S not easy being a farmer at the best of times but when you are surrounded by townies who just have to look over their back fences to see what you’re up to it is even more important to get

implement shed and a unit for small animals.

In June 2015, ASB and MAGS announced development plans for the farm that include a world-class teaching facility and an Agri-food & Fibre Experience Centre. In 2018 Brice was appointed as Farm Experience Centre development manager as a result of a $250,000 grant by agribusiness investor AGMARDT. The aim is to educate more Auckland students and the community about the primary sector and its career opportunities and to meet a growing demand for tertiary graduates to help steer one of the country’s largest export industries into the future.

“The project was expected to cost

Thinking outside the [tree and fence lined] box

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Continued page 10

We need to be smarter than just focusing on planting and fencing. MPI supports planting, fencing and “other initiatives to prevent farm runoff ”.

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– if we dung toand fixand the broken nutrient cycle boostto production.

There is absolutely no better scientifically proven way of reducing overland flow, fixing the broken nutrient cycle, and boosting production than dung beetles.

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With the cows milked and fed and the calves content with full bellies Peter Brice and his team head back to class after finishing the farm work and collecting mushrooms on the way. around $12m and the vision was to have 25 different areas in the building to give students and visitors a more up-to-date agri experience and help bridge the ruralurban gap,” Brice says.

“Those areas were to be sponsored by different companies. We had lots of ideas but it was really hard to get funding for capital development. The project is now a long-term goal.

“Instead we are focusing on a redevelopment of the existing teaching block, farm development and horticulture extension, undertaking some redevelopment work with improved fencing, pasture, drainage, irrigation and land management and cleaner waterways with native plantings.”

Brice teaches practical work to several ag and horticulture classes and also oversees the Teen Ag group.

Growing up in rural Pukekohe he had a different future planned. He was keen to emulate his father’s 40-year career in horticulture.

“I studied agriculture at school then in 2005 went to Lincoln University to study viticulture and oenology. I ended up changing my degree to ag science as I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.”

10

After a couple of overseas stints in Western Australia and Europe he worked at Ravensdown in Ellesmere, Canterbury, for four years before returning to Australia to work the harvesting season.

A stint on the kiwifruit export boats in Bay of Plenty, travelling from Tauranga to Japan and back, followed.

“I also did several trips to the United States and Europe and spent months at sea with 25 Croatians. I was the only Kiwi on board but it was interesting.

“Zespri gave us the option of spending time at our destination having a holiday or of coming straight back and hopping on another boat. I often took the opportunity to look around so got to visit a lot places.”

A move to Saskatchewan, Canada, where he was paid handsomely to sit in tractors for hours on end, followed.

“It is a really nice place and the people are friendly but it was very much a maledominated community, which sort of didn’t sit too well with me. My host family were amazing and we still keep in touch.”

Back in NZ he went to work for an startup tech company then decided it was time to go back to agriculture.

“I worked on farms during my Lincoln studies as well as helping my brother who

is a sharemilker on an 800-cow farm at Otorohanga.

“At MAGS I started out running the Centre project then the opportunity to run the farm came up so I took on the farm manager’s role last year.”

He is not a one-man band as he has about 250 student helpers from years 10 to 13.

“Most of them are really keen and hardly ever miss the chance to get out on farm and help,” Brice says.

Included in his army of helpers is year 13 student Rose Young who has wider family in farming but has grown up in the city.

Rose hopes to gain a different perspective in the industry, which is important to the wellbeing of New Zealand, she says.

She loves the balance of practical and academic work and says it gives people an idea of a future career. Being an ag student has swayed her career choice.

“I’d love to be able to learn more about sustainable and regenerative agriculture as I think it could be the future of agriculture in NZ. I’m hoping to study at Massey University in Palmerston North and do either a degree in agricommerce or agricultural science though

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Having the school farm and the agricultural programme is unique, important and special and I don’t take it for granted.

Charlotte Tinsley

I’m also interested in viticulture.

“I have developed a passion for the industry and want a career that is fun and one I will be happy to wake up every day to participate in.”

Rose says many people ask why she is interested in a career in agriculture.

“I find that people in urban areas aren’t as understanding and don’t quite comprehend the fact that our economy is based on agriculture and without it NZ wouldn’t be the place that we are all so proud of.

“My family is supportive of it and think it’s a great thing that I want to do.

“They are very proud of all the hard work I put into the programme as well as our TeenAg club and part-time work as a farmhand.”

Charlotte Tinsley, year 13, joined TeenAg because she enjoys practical work and wants to learn about farm management.

“I understood the concept of farms and orchards and had a rough idea of where food came from but had little idea as to how the systems were actually run and managed,” she says.

“I have a much greater appreciation for the food that is produced, knowing all that I know now about the very intricate systems to get quality food to the plates of New Zealanders.”

Charlotte is planning to study agricultural science and the environmental and sustainable side of farming. Being involved in TeenAg has made her realise she can turn her love for animals and the outdoors into a job.

She is one of the students who each weekend works on the farm helping milk and feed out.

“I’m glad that I joined ag as it is something I’ve really enjoyed and appreciated. Having the school farm and the agricultural programme is unique,

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Callum Raynor feeds the calves which are bought in, raised and sold to lifestyle block owners. Lam Binh An Chu, Callum Raynor and Jessica Marginson.

important and special and I don’t take it for granted.”

Her family is supportive, her friends joke about farming being bogan and she finds herself defending the industry to others.

“It’s often stuff about how agriculture is for dummies, the mistreatment of animals. I feel people often are quick to judge and just laugh at the idea of agriculture because there is some weird negative stigma around the word.

“I try to convey the positives that if it wasn’t for the agriculture sector there wouldn’t be much of a NZ economy and how ag does a lot for both the country and its people. I think people often forget where their food actually comes from and

turn a blind eye to the agriculture sector,” she says.

Year 13 student Cameron Hicks is making the most of his studies to gain practical experience before going to Lincoln University to do a commerce degree in agriculture. He hopes to work in consultancy.

“Understanding the running and operation of the farm is useful information for me as I want to go into work which involves consulting with farmers and those that work on farms, he says.”

Coming from a farming background he advises other students not to overlook the

Continued page 12 11

primary industries as a future career path.

His message to others is “The ag sector is something which is much more precious than you realise. Farmers deserve much more credit than they are given.

“I would say that at many points in history the agricultural sector has helped NZ get through economic hardship.

During the war the main focus on the country’s survival was through farming and I think we are seeing again, because of covid-19, why it is so important for us to protect that industry.”

Year 12 student Ben Forster, who has a rural background, joined the TeenAg group to sharpen his farm skills and gain a greater understanding of the industry.

“The ag industry is very diverse and there are so many opportunities and skills you can learn that you wouldn’t get in other industries.”

Ben also says all farmers have a story to tell as they are the backbone of the NZ economy.

“It was really good that the ag sector was able to continue working during lockdown and help feed the country. It shows how important the industry really is.”

For year 13 student Campbell Barclay TeenAg is a fun after-school activity that links to his favourite subject and teaches him practical skills.

“Ag has helped me to understand the work and effort put behind the process of making our food and how it gets to the quality products that we see on shelves.

All I really knew before was cows produce milk and sheep produce wool, they are held in fields by fences and that is how they are raised. I had no concept of all the different factors that go into producing our food.”

The ASB MAGS farm was gifted five cows – a Friesian, Jersey, Kiwicross, Shorthorn and an Aryshire, by dairy farmers Jim and Deb Kirkham from Te Awamutu.

He is considering studying agri-science and possibly water management at Lincoln.

Campbell often works on the farm at weekends and helps with milking and fencing.

He says it is great that agriculture will lead the economic recovery in NZ. “The fact we rely on the agri sector to provide for us in this time of crisis shows its importance to us. It makes me glad that I know I’m going into an industry that will be relied on going into the future.”

He describes Brice as a great teacher who makes sure students are comfortable with a task before doing it while always helping them push their limits to learn more about the agri sector.

“He also has the amazing ability to explain things very well. He teaches by not just telling but also showing and helps us through the process.”

The students get around the farm in

their side-by-side vehicle donated by Blue Wing Honda and they also get support from Ravensdown by way of products, as well as funding from ASB. Generosity doesn’t stop there.

The herd of six cows was boosted with a donation of five cows from Jim and Deb Kirkham from Te Awamutu.

“We were really fortunate and gifted one of each breed – Friesian, Jersey, Kiwicross, Shorthorn and an Aryshire, which was really cool,” Brice says.

“But ideally, the herd should be about six cows so they will replace most of the older herd.

“Unfortunately, the Shorthorn is too big to fit into the walk-through so we may have to return her.”

Calving 11 cows should have been a cinch but not so, he says. Well, at least not this year.

“They all had different calving dates from our existing herd which began

An ongoing planting project will result in thousands of native trees on the MAGS farm.

Ben Forster, Quinn Walden and Peter Brice get their hands dirty planting trees.

12

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

The ag sector is something which is much more precious than you realise. Farmers deserve much more credit than they are given.

Cameron Hicks

calving on Valentine’s Day. The donated cows were due anytime from March to May. “What we ended up with was a calf every two weeks, which threw up challenges as we were conscious of the neighbours. The farm is almost in a fishbowl with about 50 or so residential neighbours bordering the farm.”

Brice says once they started calving they could not remove the calves in case the cows bellowed for them.

“We would have had to raise one calf here and another there so it was easier to leave the calves with their mums and keep the peace.

“Most of the neighbours are really good and will chat over the fence, compliment how the farm is looking etc but others raise an eyebrow so I am conscious that the neighbours are listening and watching.

“It actually plays on your mind and can be a bit worrying.”

Another issue has been the extreme ongoing water shortage in Auckland. They managed by giving less to the Suffolk ewes, which were fat enough.

The farm is predominantly kikuyu grass, which, under normal circumstances, grows well from December to May. “But with the lack of rain it turned into rope. It really is the worst feed in a drought as the cows lost condition and are a bit on the light side going into mating.”

With feed in short supply he went looking for bales and struck gold with South Auckland contractor Lance Caddy.

“He said he had some that weren’t top quality but I was happy to take anything by then. I asked him how much and he said we could have them free of charge.

“Transport company Howard and Sons

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Though the milking shed is not ideal for training, students can get a feel for milking. Peter Brice and Luke Campbell in the shed.

delivered them to us for free too, which was awesome. We staggered the feed throughout the drought and it was hard but we eked it out and fed the last of the bales in June.”

During lockdown he undersowed 75% of the farm with Italian ryegrass and put in a paddock of no-spray turnips and grass, which is yielding 3t to 5t/ha.

After an extended period of spring-like rain feed is starting to grow with enough ahead of the cows to push the round out to 25 days. Surplus vegetables and offcuts are collected from the local supermarket every two days.

“The girls eat most things but they don’t like leeks. They love broccoli, which makes sense as it is a brassica and will come running from the other side of the paddock when we feed it.”

He usually feeds the cows a 50:50 diet including barley maize and molasses

along with some pellets in the shed during milking. Their in-shed feeding system consists of three 44-gallon drums cut in half.

“It is pretty primitive but it works. They happily eat away during milking,” he says.

“Our milking shed is anything but flash and in fact, though the two-stand plant still works, it’s almost at the end of its life and needs replacing or upgrading.

“It is not ideal for training purposes either. I compare it to training someone to use a computer using Windows 3.1. The students can get a feel for milking but it is not pleasant squatting down on a stool.”

As the plant is not food grade quality they cannot do anything with the milk so it is fed to whiteface calves that are bought in and raised for the lifestyle market.

Continued page 14

Year 13 student Rose Young Rose clipping the gold kiwifruit vines of which the rootstock was donated by Plant and Food Research and an educational gold licence from Zespri.

13

Students bring in all the cattle so the cows can be drafted for morning milking.

They have three Speckle Park calves from their original herd, which have become stars of the farm.

“They are just so funny and have personalities of their own. They just wander around and go wherever they want. Hopefully, they will get sold to lifestylers.”

With the lockdown in place and the sale yards closed, the beef heifers could not be sold. He eventually managed to sell

them but got only $520 a head or $2.35 a kilogram, which was disappointing but at that stage he just had to get rid of them.

The cows are mated to AI in June so they calve about mid March.

“Going forward, we will use sexed semen so we get five replacement calves over five years to build a desirable herd instead a lot of different breeds.

“This season we’ll milk six cows, calving should be over two weeks rather than

months and we’ll rear about 25 calves. I think we can do that quite easily.”

Eggs from the chickens are sold to staff for $5 a dozen. However, during the lockdown with the school closed Brice and his partner couldn’t get rid of them so ended up eating lots of scrambled eggs, omelettes and other egg dishes.

Sheep have always been a part of the farm and in the wool shed are stacks of ribbons won at various shows. At one

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DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Campbell Barclay, Rose Young, Alicia Blakeley and Peter Brice check on the calves before heading back to class.

The farm is a multi-million dollar property in the middle of Auckland being used as an educational facility for ag students to get their hands dirty.

Peter Brice

time there were also pigs and Brice still gets inquiries from people wanting to buy one.

On the horticultural side, the school has been granted a gold licence from Zespri and given the root stock by Plant & Food to grow gold kiwifruit.

“Growing the kiwifruit gives the students greater exposure to another aspect of the industry and shows them there are a multitude of possibilities in the sector.

“Our agri students have just completed an NCEA achievement standard on kiwifruit so having the vines here has been of great benefit.”

Students from the tech department built a chicken coop while others have jumped in and helped with fencing using

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Future Posts made from recycled plastic.

“Using sustainable products is not only a good look for dairy farming but also for our urban critics.”

Last winter they planted 2000 trees, another 600 in June and still have 3500 to plant in a small gully.

“We fundraised and received a $14,000 grant from the Sustainable Business Network and Million Metres programme.

The money didn’t go far as it cost about $8500 for 2000 trees but we have a native plant nursery on the farm which will boost tree numbers.”

Water Care funded half of this year’s planting project, with Hynds providing a valuable culvert and ASB in conjunction with Future Post, supplying fencing material.

Brice says the farm is starting to look really good, which is a great motivator for students.

“We get a lot of primary school groups visit with their parents who often have quite curious questions. With lots of visitors we are all aware of the image we are portraying and do everything possible to ensure it is a positive one.

“Our cows will be fat, the sheep are fat and woolly, the calves look amazing, the trees are growing and the waterways will be fenced so I believe we are projecting that positive image.

“The farm is great example of somewhere the students can get their hands dirty while getting real hands-on experience. You can’t get that from a textbook.” n

Video link: bit.ly/OFSmags

Campbell Barclay learns how to measure pasture with a plate meter.

15

MILK MONITOR

Things not as bad as feared Each month the milk monitor Stephen Bell delves into the dairy industry and gives us the low-down on the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between.

D

AIRY farmers can’t yet breathe of sigh of relief but they can stop holding their breath.

The air is now clearing on what postcovid markets look like and the picture isn’t as bad as many feared.

There was good news at the June 16-17 Global Dairy auction with prices up 1.9% overall and only one product falling with butter down just 1%.

The key whole milk powder price was up 2.2% but even better news was the 4.5% leap in powder for August shipment, giving confidence in the medium-term outlook.

Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell tweeted the just under $100 million of product sold at the auction tells only part of the story.

“Some of our contracts are linked to GDT in some way so the upward movement supports future contracts,” he said.

That must give heart to Fonterra’s farmers and those supplying companies whose prices are linked to the co-op’s.

It’s good news for the economy too in the wake of figures showing market prices for fruit and meat have held up so far and that primary sector exports are predicted to increase by $1.7 billion this year.

However, as one wit once said prediction is a tricky business, particularly if it involves the future.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty and not enough time since the covid outbreak to see any patterns or trends we can use to draw accurate maps.

There are new cases in China that might or might not be from a mutant

WHERE THEY STAND Predictions for the 2020-21 farmgate milk covid strain and the United States appears price: to be experiencing a resurgence as it Fonterra $5.40 to $6.90 relaxes restrictions.

NZX Europe seems calm but who$6.62 knows what might happen in South America and ASB $6.50 Africa.

Westpac $6.50 We also can’t predict the outcome of Rabobank $5.95 rising unrest in America and the flowANZ $5.75 on effects in other countries and even

16

Upwards movement in the Global Dairy Trade supports Fonterra’s future contracts, chief executive Miles Hurrell says.

President Donald Trump probably doesn’t know how he’ll respond to that or to rising tensions on the Korean border or his continuing war of words with China.

We can see the uncertainty at home where our dairy analysts and economists are generally a bit more cheerful and increasing their farmgate milk price predictions but they are still widely split on where the real money will land. Their predictions are all within Fonterra’s wide range of $5.40 to $6.90 but go from $5.75 to $6.62.

How much money ends up in farmers’ pockets depends on another uncertainty, the exchange rate. We know Fonterra hedges its currency bets but we don’t know the details.

ANZ economist Susan Kilsby blames the exchange rate as a big factor in her miserly $5.75 prediction but not all currency dealers agree with her view it will remain high.

Another big unknown is how much milk we will produce this season.

Reports from freezing works indicate a big cow cull this year but there are no statistics separating beef from dairy cows so we will have to wait to find out just how many animals are left on dairy farms.

Prediction is a tricky business, particularly if it involves the future.

Then there’s the feed supply. Will we get enough rain and grow enough feed come spring.

Those two imponderables might be a swings-and-roundabout argument. If production is down prices might go up and vice versa.

At grassroots level we can get an idea of farmer sentiment by looking at futures prices. The September 2021 milk price futures contract settled at $6.43/kg MS on June 18, up 13 cents from a week earlier and up 21c in a fortnight.

Looking further out the September 2022 milk price futures contract has also lifted. On June 17 it was up three cents at $6.30/kg MS with 236 lots traded. The September 2020 contract remains at $7.22/kg MS, having been untraded since mid May. n

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

NEWS

Dairy saves the day GERARD HUTCHING

D

AIRY export revenue is being hailed as one of the chief economic saviours of the country now key sectors such as tourism have been

hit by covid-19.

Dairy exports will have earned New Zealand $19.2 billion by mid this year as forecast by the Ministry for Primary Industries in its latest Situation and Outlook report.

That is $1b more than last year’s figure of $18.1b.

Over the last decade tourism and dairy have regularly swapped positions as the biggest export earner.

MPI figures show dairy exports up 12% since the start of March, compared to the corresponding time last year, a $512 million increase.

“Dairy farmers have an important role to play and will be a key component in NZ’s post-covid economic recovery,” DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said.

“This is good news and dairy farmers and workers throughout the dairy value chain can be proud of the valuable contribution they have made as essential workers throughout lockdown.”

Meanwhile, against predictions, Global Dairy Trade prices have held up, encouraging analysts to adjust their farmgate milk prices upwards to $6.30/ kg milksolids average though many uncertainties might undo the rosier forecasts.

Fonterra has a wide range of $5.40 to $6.90, reflecting the potential for further unsettling economic news.

Both Chinese and southeast Asian buyers have been active in recent dairy auctions, resulting in positive prices.

Mackle said the dollars dairy brings into the country will be critical as NZ rebuilds its economy and communities after the impact of the global pandemic.

“A key contribution of the dairy sector to the economy is also the availability of jobs.

“There are fantastic opportunities for Kiwis to get work on dairy farms right now, including people who have lost jobs due to covid-19.”

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Dairy farmers have an important role to play and will be a key component in New Zealand’s post-covid economic recovery.

A key contribution of the dairy sector to the economy is also the availability of jobs.

Dr Tim Mackle

DairyNZ has launched a Go Dairy campaign to attract people to work in dairy and to provide training and support so they have the right skills to have a great experience once they get work on a farm.

“Dairy is a tried and true sector that has delivered for us in the past and it will continue to deliver in the future – providing safe and highly nutritious food and also economic prosperity and resilience to our regions,” Mackle said. n

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says the dollars dairy brings into the country will be critical as New Zealand rebuilds its economy and communities after the impact of the global pandemic.

17

ON FARM

Glenn and Sarah Jones are 50:50 sharemilkers for the Rakaia Incorporation’s Hororata farm milking 650 cows. Photos: Tony Benny 18

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Goals keep them going Goal-setting fuels the fire for a Canterbury farming couple’s ambitions. Tim Fulton reports.

A

CANTERBURY sharemilking couple are strong on setting goals and working hard to achieve them and say they can attribute much of their success to their teamwork.

Operating as Waterton Agricultural, Glenn and Sarah Jones are 50:50 sharemilkers for Rakaia Incorporation (Hororata) Farm, a hapu-based company based in Mid Canterbury milking 650 cows on the 175ha farm 50km west of Christchurch.

The couple see their combined skill set as one of their strengths.

“I am in charge of the administration side, accounts, payroll, human resources and health and safety while Glenn is hands-on with the cows, grass and people,” Sarah says.

“We’ve built a sustainable business model which has a high staff retention and positive team culture, great pasture utilisation and an excellent herd of cows.”

Glenn has always been a methodical goal-setting type. Early in his career he wrote a five-year plan based on becoming a sharemilker in that time. It took him an extra year but he recalls the sweet satisfaction of landing a role.

“I had a look at that bit of paper as I was

standing there unloading my cows that first time onto grazing … that was pretty cool.”

He still has that sheet of paper as a reminder of the achievement.

Glenn says he’s a competitive type and dairy creates the sort of performance benchmarks that get him up in the morning. It is a great industry for information sharing and benchmarking with other like-minded farmers. He is involved with two dairy discussion groups.

“I love the feedback we get back from dairying constantly. We can set these goals and parameters so if I can get my feeding right I can see it in the vat the following day. I love seeing my updates from my pick-up every day. That drives me.”

In their first season as 50:50 sharemilkers they came third in the 2018 Canterbury/Otago Sharemilker of the Year competition.

“As first-year sharemilkers it was a fantastic opportunity to analyse and familiarise ourselves with every aspect of our business and plan for the future,” Sarah said.

As young parents they are aware of the importance of getting the people side of their business right and ensuring they have a great team culture. It is something

FARM FACTS n Owners: Rakaia Incorporation Farm n Sharemilkers: Glenn and Sarah Jones n Location: Hororata, Mid-Canterbury n Farm size: 184ha n Cows: 650 Friesian-cross n Production: 2019-20: 277000kg MS, 425kg MS/cow n Target: 2020-21: 285,000kg MS, 440kg MS/cow

they have worked hard towards.

And with that comes human resources, administration, health and safety, something Sarah is vigilant about but comes relatively easy to her. As a registered nurse she is well used to following standard operating procedures and keeping meticulous records.

“In nursing, records and paperwork have to be true and accurate. Everything has to be recorded and it is the same in

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Sarah, Esmee, 3, James, 18 months, and Glenn Jones get among the herd on the fodder beet crop.

We’ve built a sustainable business model which has a high staff retention and positive team culture, great pasture utilisation and an excellent herd of cows.

Sarah Jones

the dairy industry,” she says.

Standard operating procedures and compliance documents are treated as live and staff are encouraged to contribute and change when necessary. Hazard logs are filled out by staff on FarmIQ. “There’s a strong expectation of feedback if anything is identified as unsafe on the basis that today’s near miss 20

can be tomorrow’s serious accident or even death,” she says.

“Responsibility for health and safety extends from workers to anyone who comes onto the farm and contractors are given regular on-farm hazard updates, a farm map, contacts and farm rules.”

Glenn and Sarah also ensure staff get plenty of time off when possible and encourage the team to take time off or finish early to make the most of sporting, cultural and learning opportunities.

Staff with English as a second language can leave early on days when they have language classes.

“I think we’ve got a pretty good staff culture here. I enjoy working with my team … I certainly love getting out and getting hands-on,” Glenn says.

Glenn grew up on dairy farms in Canterbury and though he always wanted to go into farming the former rodeo competitor was more interested in roping cattle than milking them.

At the age of 13 he and a friend from a nearby sheep and beef farm discovered bull-riding and decided to give it a go.

“My friend had seen it on television and we thought we would try it,” Glenn says.

“We started riding the calves and steers on the sheep and beef farm

and really enjoyed it. We had a couple of experienced guys teach us and we ended up travelling all over the place to compete.”

They both did well in the junior ranks and went on to ride bulls and broncs in the open events.

After graduating with an agriculture commerce degree from Lincoln University in 2007 he went to Canada for a farming OE. Kiwis had been working on the 10,000ha property in Alberta for about 20 years so he slotted right in, doing horse work on the open range.

Glenn, in his early 20s, was enjoying the

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

life of a rancher but it was there he was really able to indulge his love of rodeo.

Every weekend there was a rodeo across the provinces of Alberta, British Colombia and Saskatchewan. Sometimes he would do four events between a Friday night and Sunday evening. He started out as an amateur but by the time he finished he was entering professional events.

After managing to stay clear of serious rodeo accidents, 21-year old Glenn damaged a vertebrae in his back on a mountain bike ride.

“That laid me up for about three weeks and I had to give up rodeo after that.”

He recovered but decided after two and half summers of Canadian farming it was time to head home because he found there were not many long-term farming opportunities available.

He worked on a sheep and beef farm in North Canterbury followed by a largescale lamb finishing farm at Methven in Mid Canterbury. But after two years he decided he could progress more in dairy.

After a season on a local dairy farm he did a couple of months travelling in Europe where he did some harvesting work before returning.

After sizing up prospective employers he found the Camden Group, a kind of family-corporate headed by John and Leo Donkers and went to work for them as a farm assistant.

Sarah is a city girl from Christchurch where she got a nursing degree and worked as a registered nurse in theatre and recovery and the post anaesthetic care unit. She then moved to London where she continued nursing as an emergency theatre nurse.

“I came home in 2015 to attend a friend’s wedding and she said we were going to the Foo Fighters concert.

“So I changed my ticket so I could stay on for the concert and that is where I met Glenn. I then changed my ticket

Esmee, 3, James, 18 months, and Sarah Jones went out every day during lockdown to shift the herd off the fodder beet.

again a couple of times before heading back to London to wind up things before returning.”

They now have two young children Esme, 3, and James, 18 months, and are expecting their third in November.

Having gone from Christchurch to the even busier and larger city of London she took to farming like a duck to water.

“I grew up in the city and the lifestyle on the farm is just so different to what I had. I am so grateful that my children get to grow up in a rural lifestyle,” she says.

“I was so grateful to be on the farm during lockdown. The kids and I went out every day to shift the herd off the fodder beet crop – something they loved doing.”

During their time at the Camden Group they built up enough equity over five years to pursue their sharemilking goal.

They did it by raising calves through to rising one and two-year-olds.

As part of the trading before Mycoplasma bovis changed the way many

farmers trade stock Glenn would sell the animals on May 1 and pay a grazing fee on May 20.

He would then buy calves from a variety of sources and rear them on farms he was managing. He also leased a couple of mobs to the farm group and bought weaned dairy calves, which he leased to another sharemilker.

In spring he would do a morning’s work on-farm then take a car and trailer to another dairy farm to pick up calves.

They would be quarantined in a shed next to the house and reared through the Camden Group farm system.

“It was a wee bit of extra work but it paid off,” he says.

While he enjoyed working for Camden Group, the Rakaia sharemilking position offered them a chance to build capital through herd ownership.

After submitting their application

Continued page 22

The farm is a System 3 and the aim is to produce 450-460kg of milksolids a cow and is targeting 285,000kg MS this season.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

21

Each year 5ha of fodder beet is planted on the platform as autumn supplement and for transitioning cows from early April.

and CVs they did a farm walk then gave a presentation to the Rakaia board. The process gave them an insight into what was expected of them on the farm and reaffirmed their decision on who they wanted to sharemilk for.

Rakaia has a great reputation for looking after its sharemilkers, having had long-term sharemilkers on two other farms.

Glenn says while there’s nothing dramatically different about the way Rakaia oversees the business it is particularly interested in looking after the land and people.

“This can be seen in their approach to farm environmental aspects,” he says.

“In the past three seasons 2.5km of shelter belts have been planted and about 500 natives a year around the farm have

been planted. Rakaia buys the natives and Waterton Ag plants them. Rakaia delegates oversight of the farm to the farm adviser John Donkers, who works closely with us on implementation of the farm’s management strategy.”

The farm is a System 3 and the aim is to produce 450-460kg of milksolids a cow with less than 500kg supplement a cow with an emphasis on efficiency.

The farm is part of Synlait’s Lead with Pride programme and Grassfed special milk programme supplying Munchkin Milk.

“Since our first season here the farm has undergone an aggressive regrassing programme with 20-25% of the farm being done each year,” he says.

The first tranche is to spray out an older pasture and direct drill a short rotation

This year the farm grew a 23t/ha crop by mid April for 8c/kg of DM. Glenn Jones in the fodder beet crop.

22

grass. That is done in late September/ early October when soil temperature is still cooler.

As the grass starts to come back into the round the previous year’s direct drilled paddocks are sprayed, left to break down for two weeks before being cultivated and sown in a permanent clover/ryegrass mix.

The short rotation grass effectively acts as a break crop and allows two goes at spraying weed grasses like browntop that can start to take over old pastures.

The farm is now starting to see benefits like more grass growth on the shoulders of the season with cool season active cultivars like Shogun.

After the whole farm has been cultivated once the plan is to move to more direct drilling of permanent pastures to minimise cultivation and soil disturbance.

Each year 5ha of fodder beet is planted on the platform as autumn supplement and for transitioning cows from early April, ready for off-farm winter grazing.

He says the beet is a fantastic lowcost supplement when yield is good for putting on condition and for late lactation.

This year the farm grew a 23t/ha crop by mid April for 8c/kg DM and this season each cow is getting a maximum 550kg of supplement, all as balage, which is bought in.

In mid January they change from twice-a-day milking to three milkings in two days which results in a 25% reduction in the number of times cows go through the shed from January to May, therefore reducing costs as well as the amount of effluent to store. With more time in the

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

James helps his dad Glenn plant natives at the cowshed.

paddock cows have put on more weight.

Staff have responded positively to a 7.30am start every second day when there’s a staff meeting. On the double-day milkings the night milking is at 4.30pm so the team gets home no later than 7.30pm with a four-hour break during the day.

In mid April to drying off they tried the 10 milkings in seven days routine. That is double milking on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10.30am on Tuesday and Thursday, 11am on Saturday and 8am on Sunday. It effectively reduced the workload for staff over weekends and allowed them more free time and kept the milking pattern consistent every week.

By still milking the cows twice a day for three days it was enough to keep stimulating the udders for production, which remained steady after the change at 1.4kg MS/cow and bulk SCC remained under 100.

Though it is a relatively new idea other farmers doing it are seeing similar results.

There have been no trials on it yet but Glenn feels it could be an option for the ever-changing industry.

Sarah oversees calving and rearing which begins on August 4. They aim to keep 160 replacements and if they have surplus they might be sold.

That is another aspect of the farming system Sarah is vigilant about.

“Everything has to be cleaned – that is my thing,” she says.

“Calves’ navels have to be sprayed regularly. Iodine is cheaper than antibiotics. Do the basics right, keep the pens clean and allow access to fresh, clean water and feed. All the calf feeders and equipment are cleaned every day and we test the colostrum so they are getting high-quality fresh feed.

“Calves are also blood tested. The total protein test measures the amount of protein in the blood. If the calf gets an adequate feed of colostrum the total protein should be greater than 53g/l

because of the increase in antibodies in the blood.”

Target weaning is 85kg from milk and they have to be 100kg when they go off to grazing in December, returning as in-calf heifers.

When they joined Rakaia they owned 240 cows including in-calf R2s and R3s that were leased out. The rest of the herd was bought from south of Timaru, Taranaki and Manawatu, leaving them with a young herd in the top 20% breeding group.

He aims for a high Breeding Worth herd that can turn grass into milk and reliably produce progeny based on an F10-F12 (50% to 75%) Friesian-Jersey cow (F10). The herd has an average BW of 125, Production Worth of 175 and herd recorded ancestry of 99%.

Mating begins on October 26 using a good cross-section of bulls from the LIC

Continued page 24

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The herd is fed less than 500kg supplement a cow with an emphasis on efficiency. Glenn Jones in a freshly mowed paddock.

Sire Proving Scheme. They do AI for five weeks followed by two weeks of short gestation dairy.

“The bottom 20% of the herd is mated to a beef bull and Speckle Park then we finish of with Angus bulls so we have valuable calves to sell at the end of it.”

They are looking ahead at options for the farm with Rakaia and Waterton Ag involved in the Selwyn Hinds Project.

The five-year initiative launched by DairyNZ in September 2018 focuses on how farms in Hinds and Selwyn can meet nitrogen loss limits and maintain a resilient and profitable business under the Canterbury Lands and Water Regional Plan.

Reducing nitrogen is a key focus as both catchments have reduction targets.

Under the plan, Selwyn farmers must reduce nitrogen losses by 30% by 2022 and in Hinds 15% by 2025, 25% by 2030 and 36% by 2035. The project also focuses on reducing other aspects of the environmental footprint such as phosphorus, sediment losses and greenhouse gas emissions.

The project builds on initiatives they and Rakaia have already implemented and on previous nitrogen loss research.

Every paddock on the farm has been soil tested every year for three years to build up a clear picture of nutrient levels.

In turn that helps them make correct fertiliser decisions.

The farm effluent area and non-effluent

24

areas are also tested separately. They are mapped by GPS, allowing fertiliser trucks to apply different rates of fertiliser and urea. No urea is applied on the farm in May. Soil temperature is also monitored closely to make sure urea is going on only when the plants can effectively take it up.

Information generated from 50 partner farms is being shared with other farmers to provide a good range of examples and options, which will give farmers the confidence the nitrogen limits are achievable.

He is methodical on biosecurity, too, after having a trace bull and carry-overs tested for M bovis. The results came back negative but as sharemilkers it was a sharp reminder for them that all their equity is in cows.

“We’re a lot more diligent with any trading – we really do our due diligence on any stock we’re looking to buy in. As a rule we try to avoid buying stock in now,” he says.

The farm grazes stock off-farm over winter but has exclusive use of the grazier’s property. Young stock run alongside Camden Group’s young stock but all the animals are subject to tough biosecurity policy.

“We’re just trying to minimise our exposure.”

As for covid-19, Glenn suggests the national emergency might ultimately represent a chance for farming to be a

Since our first season here the farm has undergone an aggressive regrassing programme with 20-25% of the farm being done each year.

Glenn Jones

reminder to the rest of New Zealand how much agriculture means to the country.

“We were grateful that we could contribute to the economy and keep the country fed.

“Hopefully, there will be some potential for the dairy industry to attract some new people that may have not looked at agricultural jobs in the past. I hope school career councillors take this on board.”

He is generally confident about dairy’s prospects.

“I think it’s a really exciting space to be. There’s a lot of opportunities there for young people who are prepared to work

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

James, Glenn and Esmee head home after shifting the herd.

through some of this compliance and recording detail that’s required.”

He is doing his own bit for dairy as a promoter of the industry through Waterton Agricultural on Facebook and Instagram and as a new committee member for South Island Dairy Event.

The annual mid-year event has been postponed till 2021 because of covid-19 but planning includes an initiative started in 2019, called Brightside, aimed at getting dairy newcomers motivated, skilled and primed to become industry stars.

BrightSide delegates joining the conference will hear from keynote speaker Logan Williams and get financial advice from the sorted.org team and professional development tips from Sarah Howe.

Glenn’s father, David, played a leading role in SIDE 20 years ago. For Glenn the involvement is just another marker of his full-circle journey back to the industry.

Their goal is to continue sharemilking but explore other dairy investment opportunities.

The herd has an average Breeding Worth of 125, Production Worth of 175 and herd recorded ancestry of 99%.

“We are continuing to set our goals and possibly the next step could be an evolving ownership structure where we

can take our skill set and experience and apply them in another dairy venture,” Glenn says. n

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Rangitoto dairy and drystock farmer Jacqui Hahn is Waikato Federated Farmers’ new provincial president as well as a DairyNZ climate change ambassador.

Photos: Gerald Piddock

Big challenges ahead Waikato Federated Farmers first female president says good leaders listen to what farmers have to say and encourage involvement and discussion among members. Gerald Piddock reports.

J

ACQUI Hahn has three challenging years ahead as Waikato Federated Farmers new president.

The region’s farmers are grappling with new

environmental rules from local and central government, rates rises and the ongoing economic and social fallout from covid-19.

The Rangitoto dairy and drystock farmer is well versed in those issues, having served as the organisation’s provincial vice-president for the past three years under Waitoa dairy farmer Andrew McGiven.

Before that she was vice-chairwman of the provincial dairy section and is one of 15 DairyNZ climate change ambassadors.

On top of mind for the region’s farmers 26

is the Waikato Regional Council’s plan change 1, the Healthy Rivers.

She says the federation will comprehensively appeal against the new rules designed to improve water quality in the Waikato and Waipa Rivers.

The proposed regulations could stifle good farming practices if on-farm decisions are taken out of farmers’ hands and put in the hands of consent officers who do not have practical on-farm experience, she says.

The new rules for stock movements on certain classes of land are seen as the most troublesome for farmers.

Her involvement with the federation came when she began attending local meetings.

“I suppose I always had a natural interest in politics. I just joined and the next thing I knew I was dairy chair for

Waitomo. It just grew from there.”

For Hahn good leadership at Federated Farmers comes down to listening to what farmers are saying and echoing their opinions.

“It doesn’t have to be about your opinion at all. If you find that it’s about your personal opinion you’re going down the wrong track because everyone’s got to come on board.”

Issues affect drystock farmers differently to dairy and cropping farmers.

Bringing forward those opinions to discussion might seem provocative but they have to be aired, she says.

“When I’m throwing something in the pot – that’s what I’m doing. It sounds like I’m really stirring but I’m just bringing these other opinions forward to be discussed.

“Unless you have that broad discussion

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

DAIRY CHAMPION

Jacqui Hahn and husband Sofus have four farms on their 680-hectare home block, including two dairy farms and a drystock farm.

you come up with some silly answers.”

In dealing with difficult people she says, “Some people have ego issues but everyone has something to add. You’re not expected to change people.”

Having a good team, particularly in policy, who are also good representatives of the industry is also key.

“You want farmers on the board who are also good farmers themselves.”

Any changes to farming needs to be at a pace where people can mentally cope with it, she says.

But she does not like dwelling on the past. Farmers and the industry have to keep moving forward.

The federation still has an important role advocating for farmers despite falls in membership in recent years as farms amalgamate.

“Politicians still come to us. People still come to us and there’s occasions where you think they might have gone somewhere else but they have gone to feds because we’re pan-sector.”

The federation has also questioned the roles of Beef + Lamb and DairyNZ taking on more advocacy.

Hahn feels her background gives her a good grounding in being able

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

to understand how such issues affect different farming groups.

If you find that it’s about your personal opinion you’re going down the wrong track because everyone’s got to come on board.

Jacqui Hahn

She grew up on a sheep and beef farm and also worked as a shepherd at Tirau for a year and has also worked as both a packer and farm manager in the kiwifruit industry and at a piggery while on an agricultural exchange in Denmark.

Soon after marrying husband Sofus

she also helped on one of his parents’ neighbour’s dairy farm.

When asked if she thinks if it is more difficult to farm now than it was five to 10 years ago she says “I think it’s harder to think you can farm and not keep yourself up to date with everything that’s happening. You are at much more risk of getting in trouble than you ever were.

That’s the difference.”

For family-run farms it remains a challenge to keep on top of new regulations while maintaining a viable business. Many farmers are also more accustomed to keeping information about their business in their heads rather than having it recorded.

“Putting it down on paper is quite a hard transition because there’s a lot of farmers that have learning problems in putting pen to paper. Dyslexia is quite prevalent in farmers.

“We have asked questions because their role is to lead best practice but you’ve got to get there. So, when you take everyone’s view and appreciate where everyone’s at then you can make appropriate rules to get there.

Continued page 28 27

About 50ha of the Hahns’ home block has been retired or is in bush or wetlands.

“You can’t say this is where our best farms are at and we must all be doing exactly this because those people who are further behind have got too far to go and get mentally stressed about it all.”

Jacqui’s and Sofus’ farming operation spans four farms. The 680-hectare home block near Rangitoto, just east of Te Kuiti has two side-by-side dairy farms, both 170ha and System 2 and an adjacent 290ha sheep and beef farm, running dairy-beef and 300 ewes.

The balance is in bush, retired land and wetlands including one which is in a QEII covenant.

The farm belonged to Jacqui’s parents who farmed it as a sheep and beef property before she and Sofus took it over in the late 1990s and converted it to dairy.

When she was younger her parents told her she could have the farm if she wanted it, which she did, after buying out her two sisters’ share after meeting Danish Sofus while travelling.

“We looked to see if we could convert this farm to dairy because it wasn’t financially viable. It was barely viable for my parents and it certainly wasn’t 28

for another family to join.”

They briefly considered and rejected farming in Denmark because of the tough regulatory environment in the Scandinavian country.

“We did think about it but the opportunity was always greater here,” she says.

Neighbouring blocks and lease blocks soon came up for sale, which they bought, allowing them to expand further. In 2012 they bought the 317ha sheep and beef block.

There is also a third, 300ha effective, dairy and beef farm near Benneydale bought in 2015 and run by a contract milker.

“My husband gets bored and buys more land,” she laughs.

They work the two dairy units in tandem with each other. The herds are calved on the easier land on one of the farms. Once they are halfway through calving, about mid August, 500 of the cows go to the other milking platform and are milked through the shed on that farm.

For Jacqui good farming from an environmental and profit perspective

comes down to being as efficient as possible. It is what has driven the industry to being the most efficient producer in the world.

“It’s about being efficient with shed use, people use and because colostrum cows tend to make more of a mess, so we like them to be on the flatter ground.

“The more efficient you are, generally you drive down your emissions and if you can keep your costs down you can become more efficient.

“We have to make sure we stay efficient and not distort things by going into a way of farming that relies heavily on carbon and fossil fuels, which is the risk when trying to reach other environmental targets.”

Sofus oversees the day-to-day management of the farms and six staff, not including the contract milker at Benneydale.

She looks after the paperwork, fencing and other maintenance and the calves until they are yearlings. She describes herself as the Girl Friday on the farm.

“He just yells something out when he wants something done.”

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WOMEN IN AGRIBUSINESS

Michelle Clarke has made a career from her art and is now running a full-time business while fitting in farm work. Michelle with her pet cow Penelope, the subject of her latest children’s book.

The art of Michelle Clarke A Canterbury farmer who is a self-confessed creative type says it hasn’t been the easiest of roads turning a passion for art into a fully-fledged business but she has done just that and is drawing inspiration from rural life. Cheyenne Nicholson reports.

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ANTERBURY farmer Michelle Clarke has trod a rather wobbly career path and even when she settled on art it very nearly didn’t happen.

But now she has forged a successful art career that has grown her business, The Art of Michelle Clarke, into a fulltime job. Her photographs and artwork grace the pages of magazines and walls all around the country and more recently she has turned her hand to writing and illustrating a children’s book.

Michelle and husband Stephen Tuck manage on a 224-hectare dairy farm at Hororata where they milk 750 cows.

“We’ve only recently moved to this farm as we found it quite late in the season and it wasn’t in our original plan but with 30

lockdown it came along at just the right time,” she says.

“Because art is a full-time job my time on the farm can be limited but I generally do the calf rearing on the farm each year, which I really enjoy and can fit it in around creating art.”

A keen artist throughout her school years she knew a career in the arts was slightly unrealistic. She dabbled in a few different jobs like riding racehorses, bartending and vet nursing before deciding to study art.

“I honestly thought it would get me to where I wanted to be in life. I loved art and creating so I thought yeah let’s do a fine arts degree.

“My ambitions were promptly stomped on though.”

She flunked all her assignments and

exams and nine months in was told by a professor she should drop out because she didn’t stand a chance of passing the end-of-semester exams.

“I was basically told that I was terrible at the one thing I didn’t think I was terrible at. I did not pick up a paintbrush for two years after that and I grew to hate everything about the art world.”

She dropped out toward the end of the first year after lecturers speculated she might have learning difficulties but didn’t offer extra help or guidance.

“I was never diagnosed with anything and I’m not sure their speculations were entirely accurate as I’ve never been the most academic person.

“I always wanted to be a vet from as early as I could remember but in later years of primary school I started

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

having some learning difficulties show, particularly in maths and science, so the dreams of becoming a vet faded the older I became.”

With the tertiary education system failing her she switched gears and focused on photography and competing her horses in show jumping while maintaining a full-time job as a veterinary administrator at a small animal clinic in Redcliffs. The job was hands-on and she learned a lot under an encouraging boss and was even able to step into nursing roles in small surgeries.

“When I was in high school I made a Facebook page where I’d upload my photography and I just sort of kept doing that on the side. After a while I did get back into painting. I started small and posted my work on my social media. I’d sell the odd thing here and there but it was very much a side hustle for a long time.”

“I’m very much a creative type of person. I don’t like thinking about admin stuff, business or marketing so I never really thought about how I could turn it into a business. I just painted because I love to paint. Then I met my husband Stephen and he’s one of those people who is good at everything. He loves the business side of things and really encouraged me to give it a go.”

Continued page 32

Michelle Clarke draws inspiration from her rural life in some of her art. She is now turning her hand to writing and illustrating children’s books.

Michelle Clarke always wanted to be a veterinarian but was not good at academic subjects so dabbled in riding racehorses, bartending and vet nursing before deciding to study art.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

31

Not knowing much about business or marketing and having lost faith in traditional education she decided to teach herself the basics. Everything from setting up a website through to learning how to market herself properly.

“There’s honestly so many resources out there to utilise, a quick Google search and you’re away.”

I was basically told that I was terrible at the one thing I didn’t think I was terrible at.

She has also learned a lot from Australian business strategist and human performance specialist Kerwin Rae and others who put out information and workshops on small business marketing.

“In a way I’ve learned to love that side of things, I guess because it affects my business and I like to figure out how to apply what I’ve learned to my business and test what works and what doesn’t.”

She puts a lot of her success down to the support and encouragement from Stephen and says that like many businesses, social media plays a huge role in the ongoing viability of her small business.

With more than 7000 followers on Instagram and 13,000 on Facebook she shares many aspects of her life online and treats it as a virtual diary of sorts. Steering clear of the more typical hard sell, she has built a rapport with her followers by keeping things authentic and down to earth.

From life on the dairy farm with her pet cow Penelope to show jumping events with her horses as well as art projects and commissions – her social media pages showcase not just art but also rural life.

“I think that’s the key to using social media for business. It’s finding a way to connect with your audience and let them get to know you as the person they’re purchasing a product from.

“I basically have to post something every day if not twice a day as well as going on Instagram stories. From a post someone might go to my website and buy a print so it’s been a way to create a passive income.

32

Social media plays a huge role in the ongoing viability of Michelle Clarke’s business and she has more than 7000 followers on Instagram and 13,000 on Facebook.

“If I go dead on social media my whole business slows down, which means there’s always this pressure to post things, even when I’ve had enough of social media.”

In 2019 she branched into new territory by writing a book. A Horse Named Sydney is a children’s book based on the real-life adventures of her horse Sydney, which she has written, illustrated and selfpublished. Following that book’s success she is working on her next one, A Calf Named Penelope, based on the life and times of her calf, a fan favourite on her social media pages.

“I learned a lot with the Sydney book so I feel more polished coming into this one.

“Mostly I figured out what worked

with illustrations and what doesn’t so I’ve spent time figuring out sizing and drafting things.”

With plans to enhance and expand her creative offerings Michelle says her focus will continue being to create affordable artwork she enjoys creating and keep showing others you don’t need a degree to be successful.

“I’m a bit of an advocate for not going to university if you want to make a career out something like art or photography.

“With any business you have to be willing to put in the time and effort and realise that it won’t become a success or a full-time job overnight. It takes time and commitment.” n

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SPECIAL REPORT

Overseas trials have shown feeding the native red seaweed asparagopsis armata to livestock has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in cows and sheep by up to 80%.

Climate change confuses farmers The New Zealand Agricultural Climate Change Conference has been replace by a series of webinars. Gerard Hutching zoomed in to listen.

F

ARMERS are confused about climate change but the science showing it is occurring is irrefutable, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says.

Speaking to a webinar on moving towards a low-emissions future O’Connor said the Government is committed to helping the primary sector.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on our environmental initiatives and management and therefore we have to be at the forefront of including agriculture in emissions reduction and coming up with techniques that can help the rest of the world.”

One of the key reasons for including agriculture in the Emissions Trading Scheme was to give New Zealand momentum in free-trade agreements it is negotiating with the European Union and Britain.

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Both jurisdictions are proud of what they have achieved with measures to combat climate change.

Kiwi farmers have five years to adjust to the fact of the ETS and since emission prices will still be discounted by 95% initially it is a huge concession, O’Connor said.

Asked about the role of gene editing in lowering emissions he said the country needs to have a mature discussion about the issue because gene editing is a reality.

The Primary Sector Council has not ruled out using the technology.

However, more work needs to be done on what our customers want.

“We may be able to produce lower emissions milk through geneticallymodified organisation but what’s the relative value of that compared to our pasture-based, non-GMO milk. We haven’t been very good at doing that

In a general sense our pastoral systems are close to what they would call regenerative in the US. Damien O’Connor

market analysis of how it affects the value chain.”

Exporters could take a leaf out of Zespri’s book and replicate the way in which it went into supermarkets and

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

talked to consumers because it has had amazing success.

Referring to the use of the nutrient model Overseer, which calculates the amount of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide generated on farm and the amount of carbon sequestered in trees, O’Connor said it is not perfect but it is the best available model.

For example, lucerne and plantain are not accounted for in the model. The alternative to using Overseer is an inputbased system but an output-based model is preferable.

O’Connor said more research needs to be done on regenerative farming, with products based on the system attracting big premiums, especially in the United States.

“In a general sense our pastoral systems are close to what they would call regenerative in the US. “We have to establish what is regenerative … and if it can help connect to the values of our consumers and we can deliver on that in a credible way then I think there is potential for us to supply the most discerning customers.”

A possible mitigation measure is the feeding of the native red seaweed

During a low emissions future webinar Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said the Government is committed to helping the primary sector.

asparagopsis armata to livestock. In trials overseas the seaweed has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in cows and sheep by up to 80%.

O’Connor said it would be incredible if the reduction was even just half of that.

Ministry for Primary Industries climate

change systems policy manager Jennie Marks said while 63% of farmers believe humans contribute to climate change there is low awareness of farm emissions and measures to combat the problem.

Only about 14% of farmers have calculated their emissions, half of them with a rough estimate and no use of emission tools. Of the 14%, only 2% of farmers know the value of their non-farm emissions.

Last year the Government joined forces with the primary sector and iwi in its He Waka Eke Noa initiative to equip farmers and growers with the knowledge and tools they need to reduce emissions.

Among the goals is that by 2022 all farmers will know their farm emissions.

By the beginning of next year they will be given guidance on how to measure and manage emissions through farm planning. At least a quarter of all farms will have a written plan by 2022 and all farms by 2025.

Between 2017-18 and 2020-21 the Government will have invested $107m in research into climate change mitigation.

Another $122m has been set aside to provide tools and advice and improve farm emissions data. n

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SPECIAL REPORT

Livestock are big emitters of the greenhouse gas methane but some industry organisations says the reduction targets are too high.

Gas target might move The targets for reducing methane have been set but the message from the Government is they could be changed next year. Gerard Hutching reports.

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LIMATE Change Minister James Shaw has conceded the 24-47% range for reducing methane by 2050 is unsatisfactory and has hinted it might change.

Primary sector groups such as the Meat Industry Association have argued the target, which will affect dairy farmers particularly, has been set too high and the reduction required is only 7%.

Speaking to a webinar on a low-emissions future entitled Staying the Course, Shaw said the target will be looked at next year by the Climate Change Commission chaired by Rod Carr.

“The range is unsatisfactory if you’re trying to plan your business because the kind of things you would do if you were trying to hit a 24% reduction are quite different to if you are trying to hit a 47% reduction,” Shaw said.

Meanwhile, the Government has set an earlier target of a 10% reduction in methane by 2030.

Shaw said he is confident that is eminently doable, it simply demands a 1% cut every year from 2020.

“The longer we leave it the harder it gets.

“If, for example, we don’t make any reductions between now and 2025 it means you have to do 2% a year until 2030.

“We’ve known about this for 30 years but our emissions have gone up rather than down during that period.”

Shaw spoke of the importance of the Emissions Trading Reform Bill being enacted.

“In the 12 years we’ve had the Emissions Trading Scheme it

36

Climate Change Minister James Shaw says the 24-47% range for reducing methane by 2050 is unsatisfactory and will be looked at next year.

has not fulfilled its primary purpose to reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gases.”

The most significant feature of the legislation is that it puts a cap on emissions, which up until now have been unlimited.

Regarding agriculture, it brings nitrous oxide into the ETS but not methane.

Instead, primary sector leaders last year persuaded the

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July 2020

Government to agree to an alternative mechanism to the ETS, an on-farm way of measuring and pricing agricultural emissions.

“We took the sector at its word and have developed this programme, recognising the ETS really works better with large industrial emitters of carbon dioxide.

“It’s a bit clunky if you apply it to the agricultural sector.”

Shaw is optimistic ways of measuring farm emissions will be worked out by 2025, the same time farm plans would be completed. That is partly because at least a decade’s worth of work has been done on developing farm measurement tools.

Fonterra, Synlait and Horticulture NZ have farm or orchard plans they have already started to roll out while a lot of research and development has gone into Overseer during its tortured life.

Still to be decided are what instruments will be used to measure emissions, whether to pick a winner or to set up a system using a variety of tools but relying on some standards for robustness.

Carr said agriculture is important to the economy, culture, community and how Kiwis perceive themselves and their place in the world.

“The sector has shown over many years it has been able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output as a result of research into pasture management and how we breed our herds.

“Incremental change in efficiency will continue.

“The challenge for the Climate Commission is to understand where we are, the pathway we’re on and the gap between what can be expected and required and what might be achievable,” Carr said.

The commission is there to highlight any inconvenient truths and advise the Government whether the methane target is consistent with NZ’s international obligations.

Meanwhile, Shaw said the Zero Carbon Amendment Act, which came into force last year, is the first time a government worldwide has legislated to keep temperatures at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. n

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July 2020

37

SPECIAL REPORT

Industry organisations say the Climate Change Response Amendment Bill will not achieve the outcome New Zealand is after.

Law hinders efforts The Emissions Trading Scheme reform became law in June but industry organisations still have some serious concerns and say the Government did not listen to them. Samantha Tennent reports.

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HE hunger for carbon credits created by the Climate Change Response Act might speed up the conversion of productive farmland to pine

plantations.

The emissions trading reform lifts the cap on the carbon price.

Beef + Lamb analysis indicates carbon farming will become more profitable in some places because of distortions created by the carbon price.

About 70,000 hectares of productive sheep and beef land has been converted to forestry since 2019 and carbon-related investment has been a major driver.

“Large-scale exotic afforestation will not address climate change issues,” B+LNZ chairman Andrew Morrison says.

“Allowing fossil fuel emitters unlimited ability to offset their pollution by planting trees or planting pollution on farms allows the fossil fuel industry a get-out-ofjail-free card while the pastoral industry is asked to pick up the tab for other industries’ pollution.

“The Government will have the power to effectively dictate the terms of sale of logs, including placing restrictions on the export of logs. Beef + Lamb is concerned about the precedent set by this from a systemic perspective. If market controls and export restrictions are placed on one sector it is paving the way for the same controls to be placed on other sectors in the future.”

Morrison said B+LNZ has been asking 38

for a clear mechanism in law that allows the Government to put a limit on the use of forestry offsets but the Government has repeatedly ignored the request.

“Put simply, the politicians didn’t listen and this legislation will not achieve the outcome New Zealand is after,” he said.

“Converting productive farmland to pine plantations for carbon credits is only a short-term solution to make progress on climate change targets but one that will lead to severe, long-term, negative impacts at a community and national level.

“Planting a tree does not make carbon emissions go away. Exotic pines absorb carbon for around 17 years. If carbon emissions don’t change the same amount needs to be planted to offset for the next 17 years. This increases exponentially and sucks towns, schools and communities into a green hole.”

Federated Farmers is also disappointed to see the reform was passed without fixing some of the serious concerns raised during consultation.

“The economic repercussions of covid-19 are squeezing businesses and households up and down the country. The last thing we need is more cost pressure for consumers and for farmers on prices for electricity, petrol, diesel and the like,” Federated Farmers climate change spokesman Andrew Hoggard says.

“There has been no analysis undertaken since the pandemic on how sweeping changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme will impact our economy,

our international competitiveness and, therefore, the standard of living enjoyed by all New Zealanders.”

There are concerns over the long-term impact. If pine forests are grown solely for carbon credits there will be missed job opportunities maintaining and milling trees.

“We lose farm production from that land and thus export dollars. We lose real jobs, the districts’ schools, contracting businesses and community networks are gutted.”

Hoggard said Federated Farmers is pleased the Government agreed to take up the Primary Sector Climate Change Commitment, He Waka Eke Noa, which encompasses sector-driven initiatives to account for and drive down farm emissions.

But, despite pleas, the reform legislation fails to deal with something as basic as aligning the agreed He Waka Eke Noa milestones with farming’s production year – the basis for farmers’ software systems – rather than the calendar year.

It also shows bad faith by persisting with the inclusion of agriculture in the ETS as a fall-back option.

“Federated Farmers will continue engaging in the He Waka Eke Noa partnership and will advocate for the development of a fit-for-purpose pricing mechanism that lowers global greenhouse gas emissions while not reducing food production.

“Unfortunately, this ETS reform legislation hinders rather than helps that mission.” n

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

SPECIAL REPORT

Diseases love climate change Climate change could cause more food-borne disease outbreaks that threaten our food chain.

Samantha Tennent reports.

F

OOD safety is being threatened by climate change directly and indirectly putting public health at risk from foodborne diseases, experts say.

Primarily, it happens with increases in extreme events, increases in air and water temperatures and changes to rain frequency and intensity.

World Health Organisation nutrition and food safety technical officer Carmen Savelli recently spoke about climate change and food-borne diseases at the digital World Veterinary Congress.

“It’s estimated 600 million people are getting sick from unsafe food each year.

“Which translates to one in 10 people getting sick and 420,000 of those people die.

“This could increase with the effects of climate change,” Savelli says.

There are many complex systems related to climate change that will affect foodborne diseases including the growth range and survival of pathogens and other micro-organisms in the food chain that could have an impact on crops, livestock and the environment.

The increases in water temperature can lead to increased rates of bacterial growth in water and with sediments already present convert mercury into methylmercury, which then accumulates in the food chain and gets into fish.

Methylmercury is highly toxic and can lead to a range of health problems.

Higher water temperatures also correlate to an increase in the frequency and extent of algal blooms. The rapid growth of algae can harm animals, people and ecology. Toxins released by algal bloom can accumulate in fish and shellfish and if humans ingest even a small amount of contaminated seafood they can experience serious health problems.

Another water-related problem is the increase in rain and flooding, which can move pathogens through the environment and contaminate crops and livestock facilities.

“When animal and plant agriculture are in relative proximity it’s not hard to

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July 2020

Change can increase events such as floods, which can move pathogens through the environment and contaminate food sources like crops, which in turn contaminate livestock.

imagine how increased precipitation leading to flooding can lead to contamination of irrigation water, for example.

“On the flip side, during droughts contaminated dirt blowing into the fields as dust particles is also a possibility.”

Another indirect way climate change can cause food-borne disease is through increased activity, range, expansion and reproduction rates of wildlife carrying diseases, which can change contamination patterns and lead to foodborne disease.

“Produce like lettuce or strawberries or other fruits or vegetables are generally grown in rural areas. Wildlife, such as deer, which are known carriers of human pathogens like E coli, readily intrude on crops and can be responsible for contamination and illness events.” Savelli says.

“Fortunately, mitigating the healthrelated impacts of climate change is both possible and necessary. Globally, health authorities in collaboration with their partners, agriculture, environment and other relevant sectors, will need to be able to prevent, detect and manage the increased food-borne risks that are going

Climate change will provide several ways food-borne diseases can spread more easily, World Health Organisation food safety technical officer Carmen Savelli says.

to be associated with climate change.

“They will need to do so in a way that advances health equity and ensures that no one is left behind.”

There needs to be improvement in monitoring and surveillance of foodborne diseases and enhancement of emergency preparedness response and capacity-building to better be able to prevent and manage the threat from increased food-borne risks that are going to be associated with climate change.

“Climate change is a global problem and it is going to take a global effort to overcome the challenges we are facing.

There will need to be better information sharing.” n

39

NEWS

Post-graduate Lincoln University students studying applied science and various agricultural degrees will have their fees waived next semester to help make study more accessible.

Free study for post-grads TONY BENNY

L

INCOLN University has moved to make postgraduate study more accessible by waiving fees on some courses, saying its doing its bit to meet increased demand for qualified workers in the food and fibre sector.

The university says post covid-19 the sector is even more important than it already was and the demand for skilled staff is growing, particularly as other countries recognise the success of New Zealand in protecting its citizens with science-based responses to the new virus.

“That admiration is translating into a trade advantage for our primary sector exporters,” Bio-Protection Research Centre deputy-director Professor Stephen Goldson and Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit director Dr Caroline Saunders said.

40

The fee waivers will apply to master’s degrees taught in areas such as agricultural systems, pest management, accounting and food innovation as well as graduate and postgraduate certificates and diplomas in applied science, environmental management and commerce, all offered from semester two in July.

The move applies to domestic students for courses ranging from one to three semesters and includes online options.

With average fees for one semesterlong graduate certificate course starting at $3150, the fees waiver represents a significant saving.

The university expects the courses to support students’ personal development as well as providing them with the skills to be in demand by employers, particularly in the food and fibre sector.

Lincoln has a long association with the sector, doing research and training workready graduates. More than 350,000 New Zealanders are employed in the sector,

which contributes more than $46.4 billion in export revenue and 11% of GDP. Goldson and Saunders say we must protect our unique trade advantage.

“With such a strong international reputation, however, we also have never had so much to lose if we fail to protect our borders from all forms of pests, not just the covid-19 virus. And for that, we need an outstanding biosecurity system that detects any potential biosecurity threats before they get in.

“The science to achieve this is increasingly more challenging due to climate change and changing trade patterns.

“To maintain our reputation for quality food and beverages we need to be able manage biosecurity threats in ways that are safe and sustainable.”

To get the fee waiver potential students need to apply for the programme they want to pursue and if they’re accepted the waiver will be applied automatically. It will last to the end of 2021. n

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July 2020

INNOVATIONS

New ideas to be tested SAMANTHA TENNENT

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URAL professionals and scientists will team up with farmers to test exciting and innovating ideas that could lead to significant improvements in farming systems.

A new fund has been established by the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge to support projects benefiting farming communities.

“Farmers and their rural professionals often try out new ideas and apply different farming practices because they are curious to see what will happen,” Primary Industry Management Institute chief executive Stephen Macaulay says.

“We thought it would be great to see some of these promising ideas move beyond the farm gate and be researched further.”

The fund will invest up to $50,000 in projects to rapidly test ideas and innovations within six months. Their outcomes and lessons will be shared with the wider rural profession and farming community, including projects that did not have the desired outcomes.

“We know that the Kiwi farmer is innovative and resourceful,” Our Land and Water chief scientist Rich McDowell says.

“Now is the time to connect those innovations with science and tell others of the results, good or bad.”

“Communicating the results of both successful and unsuccessful projects will be an important part of the learning process,” Macaulay says.

“If projects show promising results they could apply for other research funding for further examination. If the opposite occurs we can fail fast, learn from the experience and move on to the next exciting prospect.”

Our Land and Water was established in 2016 to enhance primary production and productivity while maintaining and improving land and water quality for future generations.

Its work has three themes.

Future landscape addresses the need for greater diversity of land uses and practices matched to what the land is most suitable for to support the vitality of

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Our Land and Water chief scientist Rich McDowell says Kiwi farmers are innovative and resourceful and now is the time to connect innovations with science.

land, water, air and living communities.

It will involve a mix of existing and new land uses and practices and build evidence to demonstrate the economic, environmental, social and cultural viability of mixed systems.

Now is the time to connect those innovations with science and tell others of the results, good or bad.

Rich McDowell

Incentives for change seeks high-value products and collaborative value chains that improve the health of land, water and

people and to identify the market, social, cultural, natural and regulatory signals and the monetary and non-monetary rewards motivating behaviour and beneficial changes.

Capacity for transition provides opportunities to bring together people and organisations from across the agrifood and fibre system to create new paths to future landscapes. Identifying the barriers to change and how to overcome them and implementing and practically demonstrating new land use options and value chains.

Project teams will include an institute member, a farmer and a researcher from one of Our Land and Water’s partner organisations.

They will develop links and collaboration and look for ideas that will build evidence for innovative ideas and practices and speed up testing and implementation. Successful projects might become eligible for continued investment from the likes of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund.

Applications close on July 17. n

41

FARMSTRONG

Sam Whitelock looks forward to one day hanging up his rugby jersey and boots to go farming.

Opening new doors Farmstrong Ambassador Sam Whitelock says sport has taught him a lot about learning that he’ll take into farming.

W

HEN I hang up my boots eventually I will head back into farming.

So, recently I have been spending some time on my farm and working on my own skills – working out what and how I want to learn.

On the rugby field I like just getting in there and doing it. We walk through moves to get a clear picture then just get 42

into it. But on the farm, in everyday life, it is different. It is about actually having someone show me and then me trying myself.

But I have had to be prepared to make a few mistakes, like fencing for example.

I have been trying to fix a few fences and have definitely made a few mistakes and created a few more issues but without having a go I am never going to learn.

One of main things I have learned from sport is that even the toughest times are

farmstrong.co.nz

a chance for learning. That is something I’ll be taking into farming to help me deal with pressure. That old saying, which I can still picture my father reciting, is so true – control the controllable.

Obviously, you cannot control the weather, the rain, whether there is too

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July 2020

Learning new things is a chance to change things up. much rain or not enough rain. It is the same with the payout, whether it is a dairy payout or the land price, beef price, wool price, whatever. In farming and in life you have got to learn to roll with the punches to a certain extent.

It is all about keeping perspective and looking at what you can have an influence on and how can you do it positively. There is nothing worse than always seeing the negatives in something. The easiest way is to turn the situation around and ask yourself what the positive is.

What is the opportunity here to change or learn something? Whether it is changing a fenceline or a new water system or how you operate as a team with staff. Having the right mindset and being prepared to learn is a real asset when you are feeling under the pump.

There are so many chances to learn and grow in farming and I know this is what I am really looking forward to. I know I am going to enter the industry at the bottom of the chain and have to work my way to the top. Hopefully, I have got a bit of time to do that but that is one thing that excites me about farming – there is always a chance to get better.

Learning also gives us a fresh perspective on things and often reminds of us why we love what we are doing in the first place. For example, I recently decided to try something different and did a rugby coaching course. It means in future I’ll be able to referee things like kids’ sport.

It was interesting because it definitely challenged me. As a senior player I am used to looking at things from a player’s perspective. This has given me a better understanding of what the coaches are trying to do. I think the lessons are relevant for anyone working with a team.

It makes you realise that when you want to pass on skills to others you really need to work out how people prefer to learn and receive information and that everyone is different.

Some people prefer learning by discovery – you have just got to let them go and let them make the mistakes.

Other people want you to show them

and tell them. Some people need regular encouragement, others more direct feedback without the small talk.

Rather than guessing, it is worth asking people how they want to receive feedback. I have learned from sport that if you ask, people will give you an honest answer.

So doing that coaching course has been interesting and opened a few different doors for me. From a personal perspective I have also enjoyed just doing something a little bit different compared to playing and training.

Learning new things is a chance to change things up. n

Sam Whitelock says there are many opportunities to grow and learn in farming, as there are in sport.

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production is not jeopardised.

“We need food so other sectors need to do better.

“This is a breath of someone to finally fresh air for say Rankin says while that.” reports have been previous scathing of farming, this one is less so.

“I felt like this report has helped us turn a corner, that affected by climate farmers are change but we The Intergovernme also really need them.” on Climate Change ntal Panel The report found (IPCC) report global food is being welcomed systems account

by New for a quarter of Zealand farming greenhouse gas leaders as an emissions and endorsement of agricultural emissions of nitrous our low impact systems and the oxide and methane importance of are increasing. maintaining food But land also has production. a role as a The IPCC says carbon sink, absorbing land on which 30% of the we rely for food, planet’s greenhouse water, gas emissions health and wellbeing energy, between 2008 and 2017. is already under pressure Crop production and climate is being change will exacerbate affected by higher temperatures, through desertification that changing rain patterns degradation potentially and land frequency of extreme and greater affecting events. food security.

The report warns consumption The report’s advocacy patterns, land management and balanced diet including of a population growth will determine animal protein sourced the planet’s future from resilient, in a changing sustainable, low climate. greenhouse systems is an endorsement gas “Pathways with higher demand for NZ, for food, Beef + Lamb chief feed, and water, insight officer more ON-FARM training Jeremy Baker says. resource-inten courses have an sive consumption important role to “This is the NZ She said there should and production play red and more limited always future, Feilding High in agriculture’s be an opportunity production system. meat technological improvements Reesby said the to role that form Meaghan Reesby School student training because do practical of training plays “It is definitely in agriculture yields, says. trained in increasing the not saying that The year 13 pupil result in a better understanding staff have skills of people in we all need to higher risks from of how their agriculture should become vegetarian agri-commerce at plans study water scarcity workplaces, such not be overlooked Massey University or vegan.” in drylands, land as farms, function, and any future next year but said degradation and which is good for changes in how not everyone employers and It is an opportunity food insecurity.” training course are interested in agriculture employees. delivered needs to ramp wants to go up promotion to remember that.

Report contributor to university. of the Taste Pure Feilding High School The daughter of Associate Himatangi dairy Nature brand, Professor Anita Some people prefer can build their practicalpupils farmers, Meaghan’s to tell Wreford, of farming global meat eaters 40 million on approach, whether a more handsLincoln University’s experience while on the family farm, brother works about NZ’s lowthat is through at school by Agribusiness complementing a cadetship or beginning carbon footprint, and Economic taking courses offered what he learns at he says.

Research Unit, work with building their knowledge a job and Gateway, a programme through DairyNZ climate says it shows the practical courses, through change importance of for young while her sister courses offered people in their last ambassador Trish also is also full time not implementing by workplace year of school Rankin is on contradictory the farm, training that allows them providers such as fitting her Massey heartened the policies. to Primary report says some course work ITO. training made up complete around that. sectors need to “The report is of theory and reduce their highly practical unit standards. emissions faster for NZ as we grapple relevant to ensure food MORE: trade-offs involved with the greenhouse gas P3 emissions, with reducing adapting to the change, managing impacts of climate the areas we value and maintaining supporting our communities and and societies in this process.

Neal Wallace

neal.wallace@glo balhq.co.nz

HE red meat industry hopes to ramp up its Taste Pure Nature brand campaign on the back of international climate the latest change report.

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INDUSTRY GOOD Down cow care should include providing a dedicated nursing area.

Add rolling to your down cow routine Katherine DeWitt

DairyNZ developer

C

ALVING is on us and with it comes an increased risk of down cows.

Living on-farm I know first-hand how disappointing a down

cow can be.

It’s upsetting to see your cows unwell and means putting other jobs on hold and can add a bit of stress to your day.

If down cows are not properly cared for their chances of recovery are lower.

So, delivering high standards of care for all down cows will increase your cows’ chances of recovery and ultimately reduce pressure on the farm team during an already busy time.

44

Providing shelter or a cover, easy-to-eat and reach food, water and pain relief are all part of a high standard of care.

Rolling is another aspect you should add to your down cow care routine until your cow is ready to be lifted.

Everyone wants to get a down cow back on her feet and returned to the herd as quickly as possible.

However, lifting a cow before she’s ready to stand can do more harm than good.

The wings of the pelvis, where hip lifters are attached, are not designed to bear the cow’s weight. A cow that isn’t prepared or able to hold her own weight is at risk of skin, muscle and bone damage during lifting.

It’s important to note which leg a down cow is sitting on each time you check her.

If she can’t swap sides one back leg will take all the pressure from her body weight. This can reduce that leg’s circulation and lead to nerve and muscle damage.

with DairyNZ You’ll notice that if she tries to stand the stronger leg will usually push her onto her weaker leg – the leg she always sits on – causing further damage.

If she cannot swap sides by herself she needs to be rolled regularly onto her other side, especially if she’s trying to stand up.

Down cows should be rolled two to four times a day so it’s a good idea to have one team member responsible for keeping track of her care.

Cows lifted incorrectly or before they are ready to stand can have a poorer chance of recovery than those that are not lifted. Only cows likely to be able to bear their own weight should be lifted.

If in doubt, roll her instead of lifting – it takes less time and is less risky to the cow. n

MORE:

dairynz.co.nz/down-cows DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

“IT’S THE CONSISTENT QUALITY OF ANCALF THAT GIVES US CONFIDENCE.” JAMES EMMETT, J&C DAIRY PARTNERSHIP, GERALDINE.

ANCALF™ THE WORD ON THE FARM

Every bag tested, every bag true.

James feeds his calves Ancalf to start with because of the coccidiostat and the nutrients and once they get up to proper weight, close to weaning time, he puts them on Ancalf Finisher.

Any weaker calves quickly flourish and James reckons his calves put on around 10 kilos at every weigh in and manages a 10-12 week rearing stage.

“When our calves go out onto pasture, they’re still being fed CMR. The vitamins, minerals and proteins in Ancalf helps their development and well-being which in the long run ensures they reach their full potential as a heifer and cow.”

Low fertility in South Canterbury and the wider Canterbury area seems to be an issue and according to James, one theory is that it could be a result of poor calf rearing systems in the past. Producing healthy replacements, giving calves the best start in life with a premium CMR is vital so they can become contributing and productive animals in the herd.

For more information talk to your local rural retailer or call us on 0800 809 011

™

“Our whole farming system is based around using quality products for quality results and you can cheat yourself on one area and cost yourself and another, so it’s not really worth compromising to be honest.”

He knows Ancalf is not just good quality protein, but provides milk fat a good source of Butyrate for rumen development.

ANCALF

When you’re rearing calves to boost your bottom line, getting good quality protein from every bag is number one. James Emmett doesn’t compromise on quality and knows Ancalf will get his calves up to weight faster.

TECHNOLOGY

Agritech has a plan Peter Wren-Hilton says one of the key priorities now is telling the New Zealand story in potential export markets to let them know NZ is focused on producing high-quality food and fibre and also high-quality technology to make that happen.

TONY BENNY

T

HE New Zealand agritech sector is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to grow its exports with $11.4 million Budget funding despite covid-19

disruption.

Though the launch of the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan in April had to be delayed work has continued behind the scenes to realise the Government’s desire to take NZ farming technology to the world.

“We’ve been talking to the Government pretty much every week over the past three months about the plan,” Agritech NZ executive director Peter Wren-Hilton says.

The plan, the result of nearly a year of consultation between the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and other government departments and industry, identifies three high-impact projects, a horticulture robotics initiative, an agritech venture capital fund and the Farm 2050 Global Nutrients Project.

But with NZ locked down and borders closed progress has been limited.

46

“There are challenges now facing the sector, which probably weren’t as apparent prior to covid-19,” he says.

“The closed borders affected our ability to export and build new overseas markets because of people’s inability to travel.

“Investment has also been affected.

A number of agritech companies were in the process of raising funds and a lot of those funding rounds have been put into hibernation as investors look at their investment portfolios and try and work out what the future looks like.”

Wren-Hilton says one of the key priorities now is telling the NZ story in potential export markets, making it known NZ is ready for a post-covid world and the agritech sector, farmers and producers are still focused on producing high-quality food and fibre and also highquality technology to make that happen.

Before covid the NZ story was being told at international events like the Irish Ploughing Championships attended by 125,000 people a day with the theme of Powered by Place, stressing the affinity of the agritech industry with the land.

“What we didn’t try to do was to say our robotic technology is better than the Israelis or the Dutch because that’s a

Agritech New Zealand executive director Peter Wren-Hilton says the launch of the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan was delayed by covid-19 but work continued.

horrible rabbit hole to go down,” WrenHilton says.

“You say that and then they release a new version and you look stupid so instead we focused much more on our cultural awareness of the land, the

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

There are challenges now facing the sector, which probably weren’t as apparent prior to covid-19.

Peter Wren-Hilton

fact that many people who work in the agritech sector grew up on farms and so there isn’t that kind of distance between technology and farming.”

He says the message got good feedback and since the pandemic broke out interest in NZ has grown thanks to the apparent success in stamping out the virus and limiting the death toll.

“In some ways that presents us with an opportunity which we’re keen to see how we can leverage.

“Within the past week I’ve had separate conversations with the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America, Australia and Singapore. There’s a lot of interest in what we’re doing.”

Flagship projects like NZ’s involvement in Farm 2050, an initiative launched in 2014 by Google chairman Eric Schmidt to find new technology to produce more food sustainably to feed a projected global population of 10 billion, are still on including a three-year series of field trials to be done here.

Agritech New Zealand tells the story of how cultural awareness of the land and that many people who work in the agritech sector grew up on farms so the distance between farming and technology has reduced.

“One of the short-term challenges is that some of the offshore companies that were looking to come into NZ, like Syngenta, Corteva and Bayer Crop Science, are working through how they can operate in a NZ environment when potentially a lot of their folk will be offshore but in terms of the core fundamental planning, that’s ongoing.”

Another of the projects identified in the transformation plan, the establishment of a robotics academy to help NZ become a world leader in this field, is also still on the drawing board.

“Right now some research is being

undertaken, led by MBIE, to understand what is NZ’s capability from both a research perspective and a company perspective and once we’ve done an audit on our capability we can begin to frame what an academy might look like.”

In July Agritech NZ will hold workshops in Hamilton, Auckland and Lincoln to which industry and researchers in the agritech sector will be invited to talk about what support they need to realise their export ambitions. Government representatives will also be there to listen.

And the plan will be launched in July. n

New Zealand is involved in Farm 2050, an initiative launched in 2014 by Google chairman Eric Schmidt to find new technology to produce more food sustainably to feed a projected global population of 10 billion.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

47

TECHNOLOGY

Time for an upgrade GERARD HUTCHING

N

EW Zealand’s dairy genetics database is 20 years old and no longer fit for purpose, prompting a $1 million investment to upgrade

it.

DairyNZ animal evaluation manager Brian Wickham said the overhaul, largely funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries, has two main components. It will create an independent system and support breed societies.

The data collected is very important, enabling the sector to fast-track genetic gains for traits important to farmers using artificial insemination.

The new system will record and collate vital data on a range of important traits of dairy cows, especially the non-production traits.

Each year physical and behavioural traits of 50,000 dairy cows are assessed by breed societies to help evaluate the performance of NZ’s top breeding bulls.

“Besides production traits there are also important ones such as the look of an animal and adaptability to milking – something that you can’t see but a farmer would know,” Wickham said.

“It’s replacing a system that was previously part of LIC’s database but is now more independent of LIC.” Wickham said a database collecting information on traits other than production (TOP) has been around since the late 1980s but is out of date.

The second component of the system is to support breed societies with registrations, classifications and other services.

Holstein Friesian NZ general manager Cherilyn Watson said the old system has major limitations and can’t deal with the rise in the use of genomic technologies.

“The data collected by breed societies on behalf of their members and genetics companies is accessible to all dairy farmers. It’s a vital industry-good service which is independent and impartial.”

MPI has given $792,000 from of its Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund.

The work is expected to be completed by November.

48

DairyNZ animal evaluation manager Brian Wickham says the new database will record and collate vital data on a range of important traits of dairy cows.

It’s a vital industry-good service which is independent and impartial.

Cherilyn Watson

The new database is being jointly developed by the independent, not-forprofit, dairy cattle breed societies, which include Holstein Friesian NZ and Jersey NZ. MPI investment programmes director Steve Penno said the TOP data collected through the database will help all dairy farmers breed more efficient cows that are healthy and live longer.

“This project attracted SFF Futures investment because of the clear animal health, environmental and economic outcomes being sought and its aim of future-proofing our dairy industry by having access to the best genetics.”

The new, independent system will integrate with the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database, managed by DairyNZ subsidiary NZ Animal Evaluation.

It will provide NZ’s dairy industry with access to the latest technology, improved data and the ability to add new traits in line with world standards, something not possible now.

“The key to utilising genomic technology is having access to accurate phenotypes in suitable training populations,” Wickham said.

“The more flexible and adaptable TOP system we’re developing will facilitate independent collection of phenotype data for calibrating and validating our genomic predictions.” n

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

NEWS Rural Women president Fiona Gower, with her daughter Emily at the 2019 Fieldays, says the new Animal Health Study Grant will help attract vets and vet nurses to rural areas.

Look after calves and community

S

UPPORTING hard-working rural women and their communities for close to a century, Rural Women has been a huge part of so many rural New Zealanders lives including that of its president Fiona Gower, a proud third-generation member.

Rural Women has changed the perception women on farms are just farmers’ wives. They are farmers in their own right, they are often business owners and mothers active in building connections and supporting their communities.

Undoubtedly one of Rural Women’s greatest strengths is its members. With branches and groups nationwide it provides a platform for members to connect and build friendships with others in their rural communities.

Women make a huge contribution to the rural sector and Rural Women wants to empower future rural female leaders by nurturing their talents and helping

them grow. With a strong charitable history Rural Women provides grants to rural women and girls, encouraging recipients to give back to their own rural communities.

“We are in the midst of calf rearing season – a critical time for dairy farmers and a time of the year we know rural women, in particular, are actively involved in,” Gower said.

“Rearing calves into a future dairy herd is a tough and demanding role requiring care, nurture and hard work, qualities commonly found in rural women.”

This season, animal health company Virbac NZ has partnered with Rural Women with proceeds from the sale of its calf oral electrolyte products being donated to the organisation.

The money will fund the new Animal Health Study Grant, available to anyone studying in the veterinary or vet nursing field with special consideration given to those living and working in small or rural communities.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for a partnership. It will provide an opportunity for Virbac and Rural Women to support those training in the veterinary field to qualify and get to work in the rural practices,” Gower says.

“Rural NZ struggles to attract professionals for a number of reasons.

Graduates now have few ties or little understanding of living rurally so they haven’t considered it.”

A perception of lack of access to services for professionals and their families can also be seen as a drawback, Gower says.

“The benefits of living in small rural communities are not always promoted.

Bonding of professionals to rural professions is a good way to give them a taste of rural life and encourage them to consider a permanent move to the country.” n

MORE:

ruralwomen.nz or calfscours.co.nz

RESEARCH

Dairy focus at AgResearch GERARD HUTCHING

T

HE new $45 million education, science and innovation precinct at Lincoln will include a strong focus on driving advances in the dairy

industry.

Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Megan Woods said the funding will give AgResearch the capital needed to move to the next phase of building a scientific research facility and corporate headquarters on the Lincoln University campus.

AgResearch will apply for resource and building consents later this year and hopes to start construction in 2021. The completion of the facility housing 200 staff is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Research director Dr Trevor Stuthridge said the facility will have three key dairyrelated goals: to drive technologies, study the relationship between genetics and food quality and investigate resilience.

“A major focus will be driving advances in the digital agriculture space to support the New Zealand dairy sector,” Stuthridge said.

“We think a key advantage of having a modern, top-class, new research facility at Lincoln is that it will help us attract new partners from around the world who work on the cutting edge with new technology platforms, which we can help Kiwi dairy farmers to adapt and adopt on their farms.

“In the years ahead the ability to harness the vast amount of data available on-farm from sensors and other technologies will be crucial to staying ahead in the global marketplace.”

The second focal point will be a deeper dive into research around the relationship between genetics and food quality and work around provenance of dairy products and how best to take advantage of that.

Finally, the centre will address the resilience of the dairy industry and how it can best respond to climate change and pests and the rise of new markets. It will also help farmers respond to changing environmental standards and policies and to future-proof their operations.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

An artist’s impression of the new $45 million AgResearch facility at Lincoln University.

New Zealand needs research facilities to help generate innovative science that ensures our export products remain internationally sought after.

Dr Trevor Stuthridge

“We are already working with multiple other organisations on various projects in the dairy space, such as the trial seeking to identify a possible link between the methane cows produce and their genetics, but we think the new Lincoln facility will help us become even better aligned with the likes of the universities on the most pressing issues for the dairy sector,” Stuthridge said.

AgResearch chairman Dr Paul Reynolds said the facility will encourage more collaboration in food and fibre research and innovation to help farmers and growers manage challenges and seize opportunities for getting more economic value out of products.

“NZ needs research facilities to help generate innovative science that ensures our export products remain internationally sought after.

“The build will be a significant boost to the Canterbury economy, land-based science and the farming sectors.”

AgResearch bought a 15,000 square metre block from Lincoln University earlier this year. The co-location arrangement means both research entities can consolidate their already close working relationship. The total budget for the 8000 square metre build is about $97m.

Originally it was planned to build a $206m joint facility with 900 scientists from Crown research institutes including AgResearch, Landcare Research, Plant and Food Research and DairyNZ. It would have been the largest agricultural research centre in the southern hemisphere and was considered crucial to Lincoln’s future. However, Lincoln is now going it alone with a new building next to the AgResearch one. n

51

RESEARCH

Massey University doctoral student Aaron Yang has been researching digital dermatitis in dairy herds for his studies. He visually assessed 59,849 cows in 127 herds.

Hoof disease reveals mysteries ANNE BOSWELL

N

EW Zealand’s unique position with bovine digital dermatitis (DD) puts it in good stead to manage the disease in future, Massey University student Aaron Yang says.

He gained many insights into the disease, which was previously thought to be absent or at least extremely rare here because of the unique pastoral dairy system, while doing his masters degree and doctorate.

Studies have been done overseas but limited information was available on DD in NZ. DD is the most important infectious cause of cattle lameness in confined systems, particularly in the northern 52

hemisphere. Once in a herd DD typically becomes endemic and is eradicated from few herds.

It can result in loss of production and increased animal health management time and cost. It also raises concerns of animal welfare because it causes varying levels of discomfort and pain.

Yang’s interest was encouraged by hoof health expert Neil Chesterton.

“Neil brought a project to Massey when I was doing my masters, which was a pilot study of DD in Taranaki,” he says.

“I thought it was a very interesting study as no one else had really looked at this disease carefully in NZ. I took the project as my masters dissertation and then DD research became part of my life over the past five years.”

He found the disease is rare, at least in Taranaki. Farms where more DD cases

were detected were generally related to loose biosecurity management.

However, there was no information about it in the other parts of the country and he was to discover the mystery of DD in NZ where the dairy system is different to other major dairy production countries.

Yang adopted novel methodological approaches and investigated the distribution, risk factors, climate effect and transmission dynamic of DD. He visually assessed 59,849 cows from 127 herds in Waikato, South Canterbury, West Coast and Manawatu.

He chose those regions to provide a cross-section of farming systems: Waikato for its 3000-herds, South Canterbury to represent large herds and irrigated pastures, West Coast for its unique geography and predominantly self-

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Aaron Yang found the disease is still in the early stage of establishment in New Zealand though it is widely present on most dairy farms.

contained farms and Manawatu for its proximity to Massey.

During milking he hosed the cows’ feet and visually inspected them, screen testing for DD lesions large enough to be seen without lifting the hoof.

He also asked farmers to complete a questionnaire on their management systems and biosecurity practices.

Yang found the disease is still in the early stage of establishment in NZ though it is widely present on most dairy farms.

Factors associated with increased cases are mainly hygiene and biosecurity related, including hoof-trimming equipment and animal movements.

However, lameness is rarely associated with the disease, an insight he has yet to understand.

The strong overseas risk factor of housing cows is not associated with cases of DD here, even on farms with herd homes or stand-off pads. However, Yang says absence of evidence does not imply evidence of absence and that needs more investigation.

DD lesions in NZ are very different from classical presentations overseas. Yang saw very few active clinical cases but small, grey, rubbery lesions that disappeared within six weeks.

There was also evidence of faster transmission in early lactation with the rate decreasing over time. The curve flattened druing lactation, like the much-publicised covid-19 flattening of the curve, with the number of new cases eventually lower than recovered cases.

Finally, climate observations were also surprising. Overseas, cases were higher

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Digital dermatitis is an animal welfare issue because it can be painful and results in a loss of production and increased animal health management time and cost.

with humid weather associated with rain but in NZ cases decreased as rain increased.

Yang says the only explanation he has is increased rain appears to make hooves cleaner and the environment more hygienic.

The disease profile here is starkly different to overseas.

At this stage it is being overlooked and underreported and the consequence of this is that the future is uncertain.

Aaron Yang

“In the northern hemisphere I don’t think they had comprehensive research of DD at its early stage of establishment,” he says.

“Some overseas experts say NZ today is like the Netherlands was 20 years ago.

“The only thing that didn’t surprise about the findings was the low number of affected cows in most of the herds, that

pattern was consistent across all regions.”

Yang’s chief supervisor Professor Richard Laven interpreted all the research results and authored all the associated publications, Professor Cord Heuer supervised his masters degree, technician Megan Moss collected most of the Taranaki data, Dr Kristina Muller and Dr Carolyn Gates co-supervised and Professor Wesley Johnson and Professor Geoff Jones provided statistical insight.

Yang also worked closely with staff from Vetent, Totally Vets, West Coast Vets and Southern Rangitikei Veterinary Services.

Despite his research Yang is reluctant to make a prediction about the future of DD here.

He is, however, cautiously optimistic.

“In general I will say this disease is still at a manageable condition but we currently lack an efficient and accurate method to detect the disease.

“At this stage it is being overlooked and underreported and the consequence of this is that the future is uncertain.

“The good news, however, is that we can do something to possibly eradicate the disease or at least keep it at this manageable condition for years and years depending on the ambition of the dairy industry.

“We need to develop and use an accurate, rapid method of testing a herd four times a season to determine what sort of cows are at risk.

“The wise thing to do at this stage would be to at least detect the disease in dairy herds and keep an eye on it, monitoring its pattern over time. I think precaution is a good idea.” n

53

RESEARCH

Despite 99.5% of dairy herds being vaccinated against lepto 26.5% are shedding non-vaccine strains, which indicates new strains are emerging and putting dairy farmers in the high-risk category.

Lepto on the rise SAMANTHA TENNENT

L

EPTOSPIROSIS notifications are on the rise and dairy farmers are at high risk of being hospitalised if they contract the disease.

Leptospirosis is a disruptive disease that can affect people for a long time.

A Massey University team led by Associate Professor Jackie Benschop is half way through a four-year study on the disease.

“I think people thought it was done and dusted after the vaccination was introduced but it’s a dynamic disease that continues to emerge and re-emerge worldwide. It is classified as a neglected disease,” Benschop says.

“While the vaccination is effective against the strains it covers there are others that aren’t covered and other ways people can be exposed to the disease other than through cattle.”

Between 2017 and 2019 the average

54

number of patients notified with leptospirosis was 140 a year compared with 74 a year from 2012 to 2016.

The severity of disease appears to be increasing, too, with 60% of notified cases in 2017 hospitalised.

Veterinary studies student Maryna Sokolova said dairy farmers are at an increased risk of being hospitalised if they get the disease.

“When compared with other occupations dairy farmers are more often needing hospitalisation,” Sokolova says.

“This could be because they have more opportunities to come in contact with the disease, reluctance to get checked and stop working and remoteness of farms.

“And despite 99.5% of dairy herds being vaccinated against lepto 26.5% of dairy herds are shedding non-vaccine strains, which indicates new strains are emerging.”

The study is funded by the Health Research Council and seeks to address gaps in leptospirosis knowledge that will inform control strategies. It has

been interviewing people who recently contracted the disease and 20 of the 33 people interviewed reported contact with dairy cattle.

Patients are asked questions about animal exposure, rodent sightings, outdoor activities, symptoms and workplace compensation. The study will answer questions about risk factors, disease severity and duration, how ACC works for patients with leptospirosis and will identify practices used for animal vaccination and personal protection.

One dairy farm worker described his experience, which involved chronic relapses, severe fatigue, headaches and flank pain. His symptoms were worse than any chronic fatigue patient his doctor had seen and the disease was having a huge impact on his family and mental health.

Earlier research looked at notified cases in 2015. Of the 63 cases 36 were farmers or farm workers, nine worked in the meat processing industry and five others worked in close contact with animals.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

It’s a dynamic disease that continues to emerge and re-emerge worldwide.

Research into the increasing incidence and severity of leptospirosis cases is being led by Associate Professor Jackie Benschop at Massey University.

Jackie Benschop

“We need to work together for research beyond just the disease and do research specific to the social impacts,” Benschop says.

“Lepto can have a big impact on communities and we need to raise awareness and understanding.”

Leptospirosis is caused by bacteria that live in kidneys of animals. It is passed from their urine into the environment, surviving for extended periods in damp soil and water and spreading rapidly in flood conditions.

In NZ domestic and wild animals that host the disease include cattle, sheep, deer, pigs, possums, hedgehogs and rodents. People can be infected with the disease by direct or indirect contact with infected animal urine, including contact with damp soil and water.

There are also risks people can contract it from animals not normally considered hosts, for example a dog. The bacteria get in through the body’s mucus membranes or cuts and abrasions.

There are typically two phases to the disease in humans. The early phase at five to seven days is characterised by flu-like symptoms of fever, muscle aches and headache and the late phase from four

to 30 days is characterised by prolonged fever and a range of possible systemic complications including fatigue, jaundice, renal failure, respiratory insufficiency and confusion, which is probably a result of fever.

Up to 30% of those with acute disease suffer long-term effects such as depression and chronic fatigue.

The prevalence of the disease can be severely underestimated because there are no specific clinical signs for a patient with leptospirosis and the disease might be self-limiting, so doctors are not always aware of or suspect the disease.

The Veterinary Association developed Leptosure, a risk management programme, in 2002 that is aimed

specifically at dairy farmers to protect staff and other farm visitors.

Vaccination programmes work well for the leptospirosis strains in the vaccine but several strains are not covered and the best protection against them is to minimise the risk.

“Reducing contact with infected animal urine is the key way to minimise risk. We want people to be aware of leptospirosis and protect themselves, their families and their staff,” Benshop says. n

MORE:

The team wants anyone who gets leptospirosis to contribute to the study by contacting study coordinator Shahista Nisa s.nisa@massey.ac.nz.

0508 Animate (264 6283) nzsupport@pahc.com

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

55

RESEARCH

Buttercup killers elusive Dense infestation of giant buttercup in a Takaka dairy pasture.

TIM FULTON

R

ESEARCH on giant buttercup has highlighted the risk of herbicide resistance from a narrow range of weed control treatments.

Scientists at AgResearch, Landcare Research and Lincoln University are working together on biocontrol options for giant buttercup (Ranunculus acris), a weed avoided by dairy cattle because of its acrid taste.

It is estimated to cost dairy farmers $200 million a year in lost production.

Giant buttercup, a native of Europe, has been in New Zealand since the early days of pastoral farming. Genetics research suggests it had multiple introductions from different parts of Europe.

Its seeds are easily spread by stock, agricultural equipment, floods and in hay. Rhizome fragments are also spread by stock, machinery and floods. The longevity of the seed in the soil varies depending on soil moisture and other climate conditions. The rhizome enables the plant to readily survive drought and sub-zero temperatures.

AgResearch principal scientist Dr Graeme Bourdot leads a national team of scientists addressing some of the big weed management issues facing the pastoral sector including herbicide resistance evolution, biological control, internal biosecurity, sleeper weeds and weed control economics.

The Lincoln-based researcher has been working on giant buttercup since the 1990s when dairy farmers began reporting 56

poor control from the herbicides they have relied on since early 1950s.

His research showed the buttercup evolved resistance to the phenoxy herbicides (MCPA, MCPB, 2,4-D) on many farms as a result of regular exposure to the herbicides, which, until the late 1990s, were the only mode of action available for selective weed control in pastures.

In Europe it occurs across a very wide climatic range from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle. It is prevalent on dairy farms in South Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Southland, Taranaki, Wairarapa, West Coast and Tasman and all other regions are at risk because of their climatic suitability.

The plant is particularly troublesome in Golden Bay where Bourdot and colleagues have worked closely with farmers on two Sustainable Farming Fund projects since 2014.

Scientists are yet to make the breakthrough needed for successful biological control though other discoveries are being made.

Experiments in Golden Bay from 2014 to 2017 in 18 different dairy pastures compared the effectiveness of a common fungus, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum formulated as a mycoherbicide with all the synthetic herbicide active ingredients on the NZ market and with pre-graze mowing, liquid nitrogen fertiliser and gibberellic acid on wet and dry soils.

Sclerotinia is a naturally occurring fungus that can kill giant buttercup in dairy pastures.

It turns the plants into a slimy, rotting mess. It has the same effect on lettuces, carrots and celery and many other plants.

AgResearch principal scientist Graeme Bourdot says one of the challenges in the fight against giant buttercup is a lack of information on its precise origins.

It causes the brown rot often seen in the refrigerator. Grasses and clovers are unaffected.

Experiments in the past three years have quantified the effects of timing (preor post-graze) and frequency of mowing on giant buttercup and on pasture drymatter yield.

Observations made in Golden Bay indicate giant buttercup is more likely to invade paddocks that are pugged in winter.

The experiments in the 18 pastures show soil drainage, gibberellic acid, nitrogenous fertiliser (growth promoters) and the experimental mycoherbicide have no effect.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

But the herbicides aminopyralid and aminopyralid+triclopyr gave substantial and long-lasting reductions in the cover of the weed but also substantial temporary reductions in clover.

Flumetsulam, thifensulfuron methyl, MCPA, MCPB and MCPB+bentazone were less effective against the buttercup but also less damaging to the clovers.

Pre-graze mowing reduced the cover of giant buttercup as the frequency of mowing increased and showed promise as an alternative to herbicides.

For all herbicides there was a 1:1 replacement of giant buttercup by grasses and clovers. The effectiveness of the herbicide treatments varied greatly between pastures, possibly due in part to differences in evolved resistance.

The study showed repeated use of the same synthetic herbicide or those with the same mode of action is not sustainable, Bourdot said.

Across the more than 40 branded herbicide products registered in NZ with label claims for giant buttercup there are only seven active ingredients belonging to only four different mode-of-action (MOA) groups giving farmers a relatively small set of MOAs to rotate between to help avoid resistance.

“Repeated use of a single MOA is likely to result in resistance to that MOA and this possibly explains many of the poor results from farmers’ herbicide applications,” Bourdot said.

Sheep don’t seem to mind the acridtasting plant but it is generally not palatable to cattle unless mown before grazing. When the intact plant is wounded or eaten the toxin protoanemonin is produced by enzymatic breakdown of the glucoside ranunculin, contained in the plant’s foliage.

While only seven of NZ’s 17 dairy regions are known to have significant populations of giant buttercup, AgResearch modelling indicates all regions are climatically suitable for the weed.

Bourdot said one of the challenges for a classical biological control programme for giant buttercup is a lack of information on its precise origins.

“It almost certainly came from Europe, probably in the bush-burn seed mixes sown by the early colonists, but we don’t know precisely where in Europe.”

Giant buttercup in NZ has a variety of lineages as determined from the maternally inherited DNA found in plants’ chloroplasts.

“Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research scientists working with us in the project

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

AgResearch science staff, from left, Sarah Jackman, Mike Trolove and Shona Lamoureaux inspecting the data collected from the herbicide experiment at one of the 18 sites in Takaka in September 2015.

discovered that there are seven different chloroplast cytotypes of giant buttercup in NZ and one is far more common in dairy pastures than all the others. And that’s the one we haven’t yet been able to trace back to its European origin.”

Without that trace information it is not possible to look for a natural enemy that might have potential as a biocontrol agent.

“It’s found on the coast of France by the Mediterranean right up to the Arctic Circle so where do you go looking?”

Nonetheless, that impediment hasn’t completely closed the door on a biocontrol programme.

“With further research we could discover the European origin of our dominant lineage of giant buttercup, enabling targeted exploration for its natural enemies.” n

Giant buttercup plants in the AgResearch shadehouse at Lincoln.

Striking initial effect two months after treatment with one of the herbicides (treated plot in centre, untreated on right) in the field experiment at Takaka. AgResearch technician Sarah Jackman at back of the plot.

57

RESEARCH

Kiwi products tick credence boxes TONY BENNY

O

VERSEAS consumers are prepared to pay a 24% premium for dairy products that are carbon-neutral, according to research funded by Our Land and Water National Science Challenge and AgResearch.

Co-author of a paper called Impact of delivering green dairy products onfarm in New Zealand Dr Wei Yang says an analysis of international academic papers and empirical research confirmed consumers are prepared to pay more for so-called credence attributes.

“The way we define credence attributes is something that as a consumer we could not observe or identify or ensure the existence of.

“It doesn’t look like colour or taste that we can tell. It’s the kind of thing we cannot tell except by food labelling,” Yang says.

As an economist now lecturing at Lincoln University she was invited to participate in the study because of her understanding of the market and market signals.

Credence attributes were first raised in the mid 1990s and have been widely studied by academics as well as marketers since then. Yang spent two months searching and analysing the existing literature published since the 1990s.

She was careful to include only peerreviewed studies that were objective rather than grey literature that might be compromised as authors look for the positive results their funders hoped for.

In addition to academic studies she included those focusing on hypothetical decisions but they also provided monetarised estimation of consumer willingness to pay.

There are three possible motivations for consumers to consider credence attributes, Yang says.

“One is more from a food safety and health perspective. They’re worried about the food safety issue and so they pay more for the credence attributes.

“The second motivation is about

58

New Zealand dairy products produced in an environmentally friendly way are popular with overseas consumers.

the environmental or so-called social responsibility so they feel like they are responsible for all those environmental issues and they are willing to pay more.

“The third category is a kind of mix of the other two so it’s really hard for the consumers to tell if it is driven by their personal interest or if’s driven by the social responsibility.”

Whatever the reason, researchers have concluded consumers are prepared to pay more for products they believe have credence attributes.

Because the issues of carbon neutrality is relatively new in the marketplace they use environmentally friendly as a proxy.

It showed consumers are prepared to pay a 24% premium for environmentally friendly attributes.

But in a list of seven credence attributes, environmentally friendly actually ranked lower than organic, for which consumers would pay a 35.8% premium, as well as country or region of origin, food safety, hormone or antibioticfree, animal welfare and grass-fed.

Though other businesses along the value chain would all take their share Yang used historical United States data to calculate 30% of the premium could be returned to farmers.

After including carbon-neutral

Lincoln University lecturer Dr Wei Yang says studies show overseas consumers are prepared to pay more for dairy products produced in New Zealand.

certification fees and the cost of offsetting emissions that are impractical or impossible to eliminate on-farm, such as biogenic methane, the results show producing carbon-neutral dairy products can increase farmer profit by up to 15%, assuming the gas offset cost is $25 a tonne. n

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

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ADVICE

Significant fires can start behind appliances so it’s a good idea to check the cords, plugs and sockets of all appliances.

It’s never too late to be fire safe

W

E’RE well and truly into single figure temperatures these days.

That said, it’s never too late to make sure your home is fire safe. At FMG, fires in fireplaces make up 20% of house fire claims and electrical fires make up 30%.

New Zealand’s rural insurer has shared some checks people can do to make sure their homes are fire safe.

• Last year FMG had $13.5m worth of house fire claims; • Half of them were from winter with most in June; • Fireplaces and chimneys were the leading cause of winter fires and; • Electrical fires in heaters continue to be a common cause.

Check electrical wiring, switchboards and appliances.

Significant fires can start behind appliances. It’s a good idea to check the cords, plugs and sockets of large appliances like dishwashers, ovens and fridges.

60

FMG also suggests checking smaller appliances like electric blankets, heaters, irons and toasters.

Check only one appliance is connected to each socket, whether to a single power point or a multi-board and power points are not overloaded with double adapters.

People concerned about any electrical wiring or switchboard in a house should ask a qualified electrician to examine it and replace if needed. People are at greater risk of fire in houses not upgraded with new electrical wiring and switchboards, such as those over 60 years old.

Rural properties are twice as likely to use wood fires and the damage caused by rural house fires is often worse because of the extra time it takes for emergency services to arrive.

Fires often start because a fireplace has no fireguard. The fire can spread to nearby items such as rugs and carpets that start to burn. A fireguard helps to prevent sparks, embers and logs rolling onto the floor when a door is opened.

Inspect and clean fireplaces and chimneys. If people are concerned they

Check electrical wiring, switchboards and appliances. should get a certified expert to inspect fireplaces and chimneys for deterioration.

Chimneys should be swept regularly to remove any debris and build-up of creosote, soot and ash.

Fire and Emergency has found in 80% of house fires it has attended smoke alarms were either not properly installed or not working.

And people should make sure emergency services can access properties should a fire occur. Now is a good time to clear driveways of low branches and other obstructions. n

MORE:

House Fires Advice Guide on the FMG and Fire and Emergency websites.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

ANIMAL HEALTH & NUTRITION

From human bits to whole animals SAMANTHA TENNENT

D

EALING with bits and pieces of people in the form of body tissue samples finally took its toll on Matt Collier who was craving interaction with living human beings.

When a chance to work for himself and build relationships with dairy farmers arose he left a 17-year career in medical science where he had been a manager in human histology and pathology laboratories, dealing with cancer diagnoses and the like to join forces with his father, Chris Collier, who launched Probiotic Revolution at the end of 2015.

Working with farmers has been a big learning curve.

He had some connections to dry stock farming through family when he was growing up and did six months on a farm when he left school but his career was focused on human medicine.

“I still consider myself a student in the game in terms of agriculture, animal management and the seasons of agriculture. Understanding dry stock doesn’t mean a lot when it comes to what’s involved in a dairy farm season,” Collier says.

“I love getting out and having a conversation with a farmer and not just jumping straight into business. I’m learning heaps from my clients and enjoying the relationships, which is absolutely key for us.”

As a townie he has always appreciated the beauty of rural New Zealand and understands how much farmers value their animals and land. He is enjoying stretching his legs in the countryside.

“I think a point of difference for what we’re doing is we want to be a face, not a product. We don’t stock our product on shelves as we want to work alongside our farmers to uncover their goals and help match solutions through our products.

“And there are benefits from having the personal relationships as we get to hear

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Matt Collier left his medical science career to work in probiotics, which are used to build the strength of the immune system of animals and increase growth and production naturally.

I still consider myself a student in the game in terms of agriculture.

Matt Collier

what’s happening. We get feedback and photos from clients and they refer us to other farmers.”

There are strong movements internationally to reduce the reliance on antibiotics in feed-producing animals, largely because of the dangers of antimicrobial resistance. Collier promotes probiotics to build the strength of the immune system of animals and increase growth and production naturally.

Bacteria outnumber body cells 10 to one. Most of the bacteria live in the gut and most are quite harmless. Probiotics are live micro-organisms, a certain type of friendly bacteria that provide health benefits when eaten.

Probiotic research and the understanding of the role of microorganisms in humans and farm animals has increased dramatically in the last five years.

“We have the international science and our on-the-ground experience from our clients to build our understanding of the role probiotics can play in the farm system.”

The product range covers calves, cows, horses, goats and dogs and the first product was Calf Xtreme.

“We got over 130,000 calves on it in the first three years. Initially, we focused on Taranaki and Waikato but now have got clients in Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay, Northland and all over. We are also starting to expand into the South Island.

Progress has probably been a bit slow since we are the service on the ground but we are happy with how we are tracking and referrals from happy clients are expanding our reach.”

Collier does not have any regrets about his career change. He enjoyed medical science but finds working with dairy farmers meets his needs for interaction and he loves helping farmers and their animals. n

61

ANIMAL HEALTH & NUTRITION

Milk fever is commonly caused by a calcium deficiency in cows that takes many forms and affects many processes critical to early lactation.

Managing calcium deficiency CHRIS BALEMI

A

LL farmers will recognise a downer cow by the symptoms presented and they know the disease is caused by low calcium in the blood

during stress.

It is commonly called milk fever.

What farmers won’t always recognise is cows with clinical symptoms are just a small part of a much bigger issue.

That is why most researchers use terminology such as hypocalcemia because the broader term better conveys the true issue of calcium deficiency and that the disease takes many forms and affects many processes critical to early lactation.

For every downer cow there will be many more cases where cows stay on their feet but suffer the wider effects of 62

the deficiency. They commonly have calving problems, metritis, retained fetal membranes, mastitis, poor immunity, poor conception and the list goes on. Few are as dramatic as a downer cow yet are equally important.

Most feeds supply more than adequate calcium yet it is among the most poorly absorbed elements. The body controls calcium uptake very tightly because an imbalance can lead to serious complications. That is done through the release of hormones, particularly parathyroid hormone and vitamin D and calcium storage is controlled by another hormone, calcitonin. The body’s hormonal system responds quickly to manipulate the available calcium based on demand. This system works really well provided the diet is right and the cow has not been subject to longer-term deficiencies and is not under or over conditioned because such cows are not

as good metabolically at regulating the hormones.

On New Zealand farms our high reliance on large amounts of pasture during early lactation presents the biggest challenge for calcium management.

Pasture supplies very high levels of potassium, normally more than 3%, when the cow’s nutritional requirement is about 1.1%. The large over-abundance of potassium doesn’t just compete with calcium for uptake, it also seriously affects the acid/alkaline balance of the blood.

Increased pH in the blood interferes with the release of the hormones required to control calcium balance. High blood pH effectively stops the release of parathyroid hormone.

Over the years farmers have used many strategies to treat milk fever with varying levels of success. Many of the common ones have shown very inconsistent results and methods that prove successful in one

DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

situation can often fall totally on their face in another.

Here is a run-down on common methods used to combat calcium deficiency in dairy cows: • Reducing the levels of calcium in the diet. This is probably the most common method used over the last 40 years. It can work well as long as no pasture is fed but to work well pasture must be almost totally removed and replaced with a feed that has low calcium, potassium and sodium. Maize silage is one of the few feeds that fits the criteria and where large quantities of maize silage have been added to the diet this approach has worked well. It is, however, important the cows are very well supplemented with extra calcium during lactation otherwise the induced calcium deficit can have serious consequences.

• Injectable calcium or calcium boroglucinate has always been used as the last line of defence for this disease. This formulation floods the bloodstream with readily available calcium along with boron, which further increases calcium absorption.

In desperation some have adopted this method as their primary means of control, simply treating the cows showing clinical symptoms, giving either intravenously or under the skin. This approach never works satisfactorily. While a bottle of calcium boroglucinate usually gets a cow back on her feet she will often go down again later. In many cases when she does seem to recover she will remain sub-clinically calcium deficient throughout much of the early lactation.

Another issue is many sub-clinical cases of calcium deficiency are not picked up. It can be common to have

anywhere from 25% to more than 50% of cows suffering sub-clinical calcium deficiency at calving and well into early lactation. As well as producing less milk these cows will be more susceptible to mastitis and uterine infections as well as poor reproductive outcomes.

Interestingly, a number of scientists report injecting calcium solutions can seriously interfere with a cow’s ability to balance her calcium status longer-term, struggling to regulate and control the calcium metabolically in subsequent seasons.

On New Zealand farms our high reliance on large amounts of pasture during early lactation presents the biggest challenge for calcium management.

• Flooding the body with calcium in the form of lime flour is another option that has gained some traction over recent years, sometimes with large quantities of vitamin D. This approach can work on some farms, however, success is very reliant on keeping the levels of ongoing calcium supplementation very high.

That can be challenging. If the levels fall below an often poorly defined point

the cow will then be metabolically incapable of activating any of the calcium reserves in her body.

The high levels of lime flour have the added disadvantage of buffering the blood pH to the point where parathyroid hormone release can no longer be activated. This approach means a farmer relies solely on the body’s ability to absorb its calcium from the diet yet, because of the pH buffering of the blood, the body is doing everything it can to shut down the absorption of calcium and could be triggering calcium storage through calcitonin release.

So, is there a better option available?

Over the last five years Agvance Nutrition has worked intensively to develop and apply its own specific version of the anionic (negative DCAD) diet designed to be practical in a NZ dairy system.

We believe, based on the many hundreds of farms we formulate these blends for, we have developed a combination of the DCAD salts that suit NZ conditions and provide a better option to combat calcium deficiency.

During this time we have learned how this system can be applied to local conditions where pasture normally makes up at least part of the diet. We have also formulated ways that better match requirements based on the make-up of the diet and that target specific deficiencies more prevalent under different crop feeding situations. The poor palatability of these salts is often mentioned in the literature and removing this issue has also been given much time and effort. It is no good making up a good blend of minerals if the cows won’t eat it. n Chris Balemi is the managing director of Agvance Nutrition.

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One last word …

A

STUNNING cow mural has become a popular stop along the well-travelled Rai Valley roads in the Marlborough Sounds and the story behind the artwork is equally as heart-warming as the spectacular mural.

What do you get when you combine a roadside cow shed, a family holiday and a relief milker with an artistic hand and big heart?

For dairy farm owners John and Lynne Small the answer was an appropriately themed mural, or should we say mooral, turning an ordinary shed wall into a vehicle-stopping work of art.

The funky mooral is a popular stop along the well-travelled Rai Valley roads in the Marlborough Sounds.

Following the birth of their first grandchild the Smalls hired a relief milker to stay on the farm while they went to America to spend time with their newest family member.

“We knew the artist through a mutual friend before he started on the farm so we thought he might be keen to milk cows as well as paint a mural,” John says.

“He was up for the challenge and the 66

fact that he’s put so much thought and effort into creating this for us has really blown us away. We’d been keen on a mural for some time and everything just came together beautifully. The mural makes us smile every day.”

We’d been keen on a mural for some time and everything just came together beautifully. The mural makes us smile every day.

The humble artist-turned-milker used the time around his farm schedule to create the masterpiece on the shed.

The element of surprise was key for the artist, who started with simple outlines, as he refused to disclose his vision to both the Smalls and curious

passers-by who would stop to query exactly what the mural was going to depict.

The finished product is bright and striking. Located near the top end of the valley, it continues to attract attention from those travelling the Rai Valley roads, with passers-by often stopping to admire the artwork and take a picture.

Winter has definitely arrived with storms and snow in parts of the country.

This is usually a good time to wrap up in front of the fire with a good read but, unfortunately, the farm work never stops with maintenance and cleaning as well as feeding out and shifting stock.

And, of course, calving is just around the corner so many are preparing for the season ahead. I have yet to hear of any early calves so cows appear to be holding on. But as farmers know, cows love to drop their calves when the weather is at its absolute worst.

Good luck for the new season.

Sonita Like us: farmersweekly.co.nz Follow us: @DairyFarmer15 Read us anywhere: farmersweekly.co.nz DAIRY FARMER

July 2020

Dairy Diary July 2020 July 1 – DairyNZ Smaller herds wintering discussion group, Southland. Ivan and Denise Hopper have finished their second season with robotic milking technology.

They have five robots and peak milk 340 cows on their Woodlands farm.

Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz July 1 – DairyNZ Organic discussion group, Waikato/Bay of Plenty. Converting a hill-country dairy farm to organics. Visit the Sheehy’s farm west of Otorohanga.

Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

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July 2 – Dairy Business of the Year Awards on Sarah’s Country The awards evening has been cancelled and will be replaced with an online event live on a special edition of Sarah’s Country. The Leaders Optimisation Day will be postponed to later in the year.

Info at www.dboy.co.nz

July 4 – Dairy Industry Awards The awards will be screened online and on national television on Saturday July 4 at 7.30pm on Country TV’s Sky Channel 81, which will be accessible to all viewers without subscription.

Info at dairyindustryawards.co.nz

July 2 – DairyNZ Muddy Waters discussion group, Waikato. Focus on the host farm’s system and seasonally relevant topics including 40ha shell bank management, how to make the most of the support block and spring feed plan. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

Dairy NZ – CalvingSmart Various dates and locations, For new entrants with 0-3 years experience.

Approach the calving season with confidence. Topics include what a normal calving looks and feels like and looking after new-born calves.

Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

July 2-3 – DairyNZ FeedRight 2020, Waikato. Workshop 1, transition period and early lactation. The FeedRight course includes an e-learning module assessment on dairy nutrition principles and theory and two practical two-day workshops, Workshop 2 is on mid and late lactation and dry period. Cost $750. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

DairyBase – Benchmarking Various groups and dates, Southland and Otago. Provides insights on financial and physical performance KPIs. DairyNZ farm business specialist Robb Macbeth highlights trends in operating profit/ha, operating expenses per kg MS, pasture harvested tDM/ha, farm systems comparison.

Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

Livestock transporter declaration From 14 June 2020, your livestock transporter may choose not to take your animals without a declaration that they are NAIT compliant.

To avoid delays when transporting animals, OSPRI’s advice to farmers is to: Check all animals are tagged and registered in NAIT

Declare any unsafe to tag animals in NAIT and mark the animal

Fill in the declaration ready for your transporter to collect To request a book of transport declaration forms from OSPRI, please call 0800 482 463 or request one online at ospri.co.nz.

The declaration form will be included on new Animal Status Declaration (ASD) forms from June 2020.

NAIT is an OSPRI programme

More information?

ospri.co.nz