Farmers Weekly NZ August 21 2017 by AgriHQ

28 Farmer invents water tester Vol 16 No 33, August 21, 2017

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Beef prices fall Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com

ATTLE farmers are being warned a “wall of United States beef’’ coming onto the market over the next several months could knock a hole in their returns. The domestic US supply would have a negative impact on the price of imported beef in to the country, AgriHQ analyst Mel Croad said. Prices might have peaked in June and since then the impact had been shielded by tight imported beef supply but that was changing. A dry winter in beef producing parts of Australia had forced production higher there and exporters were already accepting lower US pricing, she said. That would affect New Zealand exports. Prices might remain above historical levels but there would probably be financial pain for farmers who had been paying above the odds for store cattle earlier this year, often in the race for scarce stock supply to manage strong pasture growth. As recently as July beef finishers were paying record prices for rising two-year-old steers. Affco Holdings general manager Andy Leonard said US prices for imported beef had already fallen about US5c/lb in the last week or so. “The US production is getting much higher and that fresh

product going into the grinding market is easier for them than imported beef.” NZ supply remained tight and Affco didn’t expect the main bull beef season to start much before the usual time in late November, Leonard said. With conditions very wet round parts of NZ, especially in the North Island, if spring and summer were warm, farmers might take advantage of feed supply to put more weight on their livestock, which might slow the supply peak. Leonard saw some positives for the NZ outlook; firstly, that Brazilian beef was still banned from the US market and secondly that Australian supply could reduce again if weather conditions become more favourable as the sector there was still in a herdrebuilding phase after huge supply levels in recent years. “We think their production will still be down on their five-year average. We think that will help us a bit and the consumption and economic outlook in the US is positive. “Whatever happens in the grinding market, that is the market, and we do all we can and we do our best to maximise the price.” Leonard did not think the new, higher Japanese tariffs on NZ frozen beef would push that product into the US and put further pressure on pricing. “It depends on the sale mix but I think they’re different products. It’s mainly prime beef going into Japan and that can go to other markets.”

PREPARED: Manawatu farmer Hamish Brown will get slimmer margins but is ready for a correction in beef prices.

Croad said the US 95CL beef price had peaked in June at US$2.40/lb and was trending steadily lower to $2.20/lb in August. The AgriHQ forecast was for a $2.12 price in September, $2.04 in October, $2.01 in November and $1.96 in December before a

slight lift back to $2 in January. Using the North island schedule price a 295kg to 325kg bull was at NZ$5.65/kg in June, dropping to $5.45 in August. The AgriHQ forecast was $5.35/kg in September, $5.30 in October, $5.25 in November, $5.15 in December and $5.05 in January.

“It took months to get to US$2.40/lb and that’s quite high but it’s just taken weeks to come down,” Croad said. Till a few weeks ago the expectation was that it would go higher.

Continued page 4

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NEW THINKING

Soil Moisture Anomaly (mm) at 9am August 18, 2017

29 Protecting farms and water Grant Muir gained a profile several years ago beyond his small district of Hinakura with an award-winning movie River Dog filmed by his son James.

32 Alternative View The decline in the national sheep flock has slowed markedly over the last year with rebuilding after drought and indicating some return in confidence.

7 Arable growers’ levy vote

Alan Emerson wants scientists to put their necks on the line.

-30

Letters �� 30

-50

From the Ridge �� 32

WORLD

34 Tax meat, dairy to change

diets

Dairy war will benefit farmers �� 3

Farmers have been hit with the release in Britain of two influential reports on the future of agriculture - one calling for a tax on meat and dairy products and the other demanding tariffs on food be unilaterally abolished.

Easy life lifts cattle numbers �� 4

REGULARS

Rural electorates favour National �� 10

Real Estate �� 36-39 Employment �� 40 Classifieds �� 41 Livestock �� 42-43

Rural groups set out wish lists �� 11

MARKETS

Arable growers’ levy vote closing soon �� 7 Kaikoura quake puts FMG in red �� 8

Scarred country creates pest nest �� 13 Wet weather boosts sales �� 14 Farmers urged to pressure co-ops �� 19 Race on to meet velvet rules �� 26

NEWSMAKER

28 Passionate legend a humble

man

Passionate about all things farming, Brian Cameron knows full well the trials and tribulations of the early-days toil on the land.

Drier than normal (mm)

Pulpit �� 31

From the Lip �� 33

Rebuild slows flock decline �� 5

-10

Cartoon �� 30

Cropping farmers have just a few days left to cast votes on keeping their levy-funded research organisation, the Foundation for Arable Research.

Earthquake damage has helped gorse, broom and pest animals fan out across Kaikoura.

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Alternative View �� 32

pest nest

Editorial �� 30

closing soon

13 Scarred country creates

normal (mm)

OPINION

5 Rebuild slows flock decline

60 Wetter than

buyers await signals Dairy commodity buyers around the world are waiting for stronger milk supply signals from New Zealand’s spring production, AgriHQ dairy analyst Susan Kilsby says.

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This map shows the difference or anomaly in soil moisture level at the date shown compared to the average, generated from more than 30 years of records held by NIWA.

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48 Dairy

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Editor: Bryan Gibson Twitter: farmersweeklynz Email: nzfarmersweekly@nzx.com Free phone: 0800 85 25 80 DDI: 06 323 1519

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News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Dairy war will benefit farmers Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com DAIRY plant underuse is an emerging problem from a slowdown in New Zealand’s milk production growth, Rabobank dairy analyst Emma Higgins believes. Overcapacity might lead to increased competition between dairy companies for milk supply and more loyalty schemes and higher milk prices. Competition for milk supply could take three forms – defending the status quo, aggressively recruiting new supply or expanding into new territory or buying production assets with milk supply attached.

Capacity construction has run ahead of recent milk supply growth and appears to factor in stronger milk supply growth than we anticipate. Emma Higgins Rabobank Companies could add value to the restricted milk supply or seek to produce dairy commodities more efficiently at lower cost though both strategies carried risk, Higgins said. Greater competition at the farmgate was a factor that would affect Fonterra, Open Country and Westland as the most exposed processors to adverse shifts in their existing supply base in relation to their plant capacity. Farmers in Waikato, Southland and Canterbury were the most likely to benefit from increased

competition, with three new plants in the pipeline over the next two years. Higgins said milk supply growth would continue but at a lower rate than over the past 20 years, in which time volume had doubled. Even with low world prices and bad weather, NZ farmers contracted milk output by only 1% last season. This season would see a bounce-back of 2-3% growth. But she did not expect more than 2% growth a year in the following four seasons. Her reasons included an almost complete lack of new conversions and dairy farm expansions, environmental constraints and the need for resource consents, nutrient limits, lower-cost production models, limits on palm kernel feeding and lower farm value increases. However, improved herd and pasture management would drive increased production. That onfarm productivity growth was forecast to be 1.6% compounded annual growth over the next five years, mostly from increased milk yield per cow, not more cows. But that was much lower than the 4.1% compounded growth of the preceding 20 years, when there were seven years of growth of 8-10%, including consecutive seasons in 2000 and 2001. Higgins charted dairy company capital expenditure over five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16, totalling more than $3 billion by Fonterra and $800 million by its competitors. “Capacity construction has run ahead of recent milk supply growth and appears to factor in stronger milk supply growth than we anticipate. “In an environment of low milk supply growth as competition for market share intensifies, a key risk for the industry and worstcase scenario would be persistent

ATTRACTIVE: Slow growth in milk supply could spark more loyalty schemes and higher farmgate prices, Rabobank dairy analyst Emma Higgins says.

plant under-utilisation leading to high overhead costs and – unless addressed – a rationalisation of manufacturing assets.” Further value-added capacity worth $450m was planned by

Fonterra over three years, Oceania was part-way through a $600m build at Glenavy and three more powder plants were planned by Happy Valley, Open Country and Mataura Valley.

Any more foreign investment would have to deal with greater milk procurement challenges. The report was called Survive or Thrive – the Future of New Zealand Dairy 2017-2022.

Dairy industry in biosecurity bloc THE dairy industry is now part of the Government-Industry Agreement on biosecurity. The Dairy Companies Association was the 15th and largest industry body to join the biosecurity partnership, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said. The association was the national organisation representing the dairy processors and exporters sector, comprised of 11 members responsible for 99% of the milk processed. “It’s very pleasing to have

DCANZ working with the Ministry for Primary Industries and other industry partners on biosecurity,” Guy said. “The dairy industry is a crucial part of New Zealand’s economy, making up over a third of all NZ total exports. It is vital we work together to prepare and respond to biosecurity threats. “The discovery of the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis near Waimate is a real reminder of how important biosecurity is to the dairy sector. It’s good practice for all farmers to have an onfarm biosecurity plan.

“As the recent Biosecurity 2025 Direction Statement outlines, biosecurity is a shared responsibility. We need everyone working together sharing their expertise and experience. “Earlier this year I was proud to announce an $18 million boost to biosecurity in Budget 2017, meaning the total biosecurity budget is now just under a quarter of a billion – the highest ever.”

MORE: M BOVIS UPDATE

My holiday starts the day I set stock to lamb “We have consistently produced 150% survival to sale for the last ten years, with at least half sold prime, and the balance sold store, due to our very short season. The ewes are shorn and set stocked, and I leave them to it. We have a very simple system where all ewes, including two tooths, are run in one mob from February onwards. Any light ewes are mated to a terminal, but that’s only about sixty two tooths and a few mixed age ewes”. Dougal and Mary Cottier run 2200 ewes on 980ha near Albury, South Canterbury. The property runs from 480 to 850 metres above sea level, and consists of mainly tussock hill paddocks.

“The Wairere sheep are just easy to farm”.

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Livestock numbers as at 30 June 2017

THE NZ FARMERS

News

This paper summarises the results from a survey carried out to estimate the number of sheep and beef cattle on hand at 30 June 2017. This survey uses the Sheep and Beef Farm Survey framework, which is a statistically representative sample of over 500 commercial sheep and WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017 beef farms. Economic Service Managers based throughout New Zealand collect information from farms at various points during the year. The livestock on hand at 30 June 2017 described in this report are the productive base for meat and wool production in the 2017-18 farming and meat export years.

Introduction Easy life lifts cattle numbers In addition to the survey results, other information was used to estimate how changes in the size of the dairy herd impact on sheep and beef cattle numbers.

The results of the survey are reported by region for sheep in Table 3 and for beef cattle in Table 5. Longer-term time-series of livestock numbers are shown at the national level in Table 2 for sheep and in Table 4 for beef cattle.

Matt Dewes 28/7/2017 10:20 AM

Figure 1 shows the 20-year trend in sheep and beef cattle.

Continued from page 1 She said farmers might hold on to stock through the spring and into summer to add weight but they would have to weigh up the risks on prices when they were ready to sell and their feed outlook through summer. “They should be starting to work those things out now.”

Sheep and Beef Cattle Sheep and Beef Cattle

Matt Dewes 28/7/2017 10:20 AM Deleted: Table 4

Matt Dewes 28/7/2017 10:20 AM

30,000

3,000

25,000

2,500

20,000

2,000

Sheep

2012-13

Beef (000 head)

3,500

Deleted: Figure 1

2016-17p

4,000

35,000

2014-15

40,000

2010-11

4,500

2008-09

45,000

2006-07

5,000

2004-05

50,000

2002-03

Nationally, the gain in numbers The livestock on hand at 30 June was in2017 older trading cattle and described in this report are the for meat and wool greaterproductive weanerbase numbers. production in the 2017-18 farming Breeding cow numbers and meat export years. were static at 954,000 a In addition to because the survey of results, otherin information wasIsland used to slight fall the North estimate how changes in the size of wherethe overall cattle numbers dairy herd impact on sheepwere and numbers. higherbeef andcattle a rise in the South Island.The results of the survey are reported by region for sheep in TheTable number cattle 3 and of for trading beef cattle in Table 5. time-series of livestock being Longer-term farmed was highlighted in are shown at the national Beef +numbers Lamb New Zealand’s June level in Table 2 for sheep and in Table 30 survey livestock numbers. 4 for of beef cattle. Figure 1 shows theprofitable 20-year trend in Cattle were more sheep and beef cattle. than sheep and farmers were encouraged by plentiful grass growth despite having to pay high prices. South Island numbers rose 6.3% year-on-year to 1.09 million with 7% rises in CanterburyMarlborough to 690,000 and in Otago to 225,000. In most areas sheep and cattle were farmed together and the beef increase was mostly a tilting of the balance rather than a wholesale switch away from sheep, B+LNZ chief economist Andrew Burtt said. In Canterbury-Marlborough, coming out of the multi-year drought, the lift in trading cattle numbers reflected the

Matt Dewes 28/7/2017 10:20 AM Deleted: Table 2

Sheep and beef cattle

2000-01

from a survey carried out to estimate the number of sheep and beef cattle on hand at 30 June 2017. This SOUTH Island beef cattle survey uses the Sheep and Beef numbers rising quickly with Farmare Survey framework, which is a statistically sample of what have beenrepresentative encouraging 500 commercial sheep and beef pricesover as well as older farmers farms. Economic Service Managers looking for throughout an easierNew life Zealand than based information from farms at sheep collect farming. various points during the year.

By the numbers

1998-99

alan.williams@nzx.com This paper summarises the results

Deleted: Table 5

FIGURE NUMBERS URE1 LIVESTOCK 1 LIVESTOCK NUMBERS FIG

Sheep (000 head)

Livestock numbers as Alan Williams at 30 June 2017

Matt Dewes 28/7/2017 10:20 AM

Deleted: Table 3

Beef

Source: Beef + Lamb New Zealand Economic Service, Statistics New Zealand

Source: Beef + Lamb New Zealand Economic Service

Source: Beef + Lamb New Zealand Economic Service, Statistics New Zealand

Southland had a 2.4% increase in beef cattle numbers to an estimated 173,000 on June 30. The numbers indicated the interest in finding an alternative to sheep, Burtt said. The increased number of weaner cattle also pushed overall beef cattle numbers higher to 3.63m, up 2.8% on a year earlier. North Island numbers were © Beef + Lamb New Zealand Economic Service | Stock Number Survey 2017 up 1.4% to 2.54m. There were P17017 | 5 falls in the upper North Island and, marginally, in Taranakischedule price outlook and the Manawatu but they were offset by plentiful feed available as well as a major boost in East Coast with a frustration with purchase prices stunning 18.4% increase in weaner for alternatives, especially beef numbers to 307,000 and an overall weaners. 6.4% gain to 953,000 head of beef Older trading cattle were also cattle. a feature in Otago and the wider Farmers in the wider region Otago-Southland region also had were continuing to focus more on an 11% boost in weaner numbers, running cattle, he said. making up 143,000 of the total, In the northern North Island sourced mostly from the dairy covering Northland, Waikato and industry.

Cattle were more profitable than sheep and farmers were encouraged by plentiful grass growth despite having to pay high prices.

AgriHQ analysts were talking weekly to exporters and everyone was surprised at the rate of the price fall. Hamish Brown, who farms at Kimbolton in Manawatu, had increased his beef-to-sheep ratio in recent years and accepted market corrections must be expected. “We’ve enjoyed six good years in

the rising market,” he said. “Any market has to correct and return to normal. At some stage it has to favour the people buyingin.” Brown sold rising two-year-olds in autumn, buying Angus weaners as replacements. “We had to pay up for them and our margins will be smaller this year.

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EASING OFF: Older farmers reducing their workload are apparently shifting the balance from sheep to trading cattle.

Bay of Plenty there were decreases in breeding cow numbers on easier hill-country and finishing farms, continuing a six-year trend, but an increase on the harder hillcountry. Taranaki-Manawatu continued to experience the decade-long decline in the beef cattle herd, following the expansion of the dairy herd and dairy grazing. Breeding cow numbers fell 5%

to 103,000 and overall beef cattle numbers by 0.4% to 413,000. Throughout the country B+LNZ reported very good cow condition going into mating and favourable pasture-growing conditions. The South Island was expected to have an increase in calving though scanning showed sporadic reports of high empty rates in Southland and Otago.

“If you’re buying quality cattle you have to stump up, there’s no way round it. “The pressure was on with pasture growth and we had to buy stock.” He was ready for a market correction and had a breeding operation as well, as a hedge against buying in the market. He had noted an easing in sale

yards prices in the last couple of weeks as farmers sold heavy livestock just to get them off saturated ground. Brown was also convinced the market for Angus beef had a strong future and most of the pricing pressure was likely to be experienced in the dairy-cross beef herd more exposed to the US grinding market.

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THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Rebuild slows flock decline Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com THE decline in the national sheep flock has slowed markedly over the last year with rebuilding after drought and indicating some return in confidence. Total sheep numbers were estimated to be 27.34 million on June 30, a 0.9% fall from the 27.58m a year earlier but that figure was a 5% fall on 2015. Though ewe numbers were lower than a year earlier this year’s lamb crop should be higher, according to Beef + Lamb NZ, largely because more ewe hoggets were mated and the ongoing productivity gains in the flock. Total hogget numbers were well up as part of the flock rebuild.

Though ewe numbers were lower than a year earlier this year’s lamb crop should be higher.

There were also specific reasons for some of the fall in overall numbers, B+LNZ chief economist Andrew Burtt said. There were anecdotal accounts that older farmers in several regions were looking for less labour-intensive livestock activity and reducing breeding ewe numbers and running more trade beef cattle. As well, a slow recovery from last year’s facial eczema in parts of the North Island had reduced breeding ewe numbers. The estimated lamb crop this season was 23.53m, a gain of

260,000 or 1.1% on the 23.27m last year. That was from 17.8 m breeding ewes and 8.71m hoggets. Lambing was well under way and full numbers would be collated in November, when the survival rate was known after docking was finished. The June 30 sheep numbers last year were 18.14m breeding ewes and 8.56m hoggets so ewe numbers were down 1.9% but hogget numbers were 1.7% higher. At the same time, beef cattle numbers had risen by 2.8% over the year, to 3.63m from 3.53m. The B+LNZ charts showed that ahead of the lambing and calving season, total sheep numbers had been estimated to fall to 27.34m at June 30 from just under 45m in 1998-99 but with a lower rate of decline than previously. Beef cattle numbers had fallen from a high of about 4.6m in the 2003 to 2005 period. Of the 17.8m breeding ewe population on June 30, 8.69m were in the North Island and 9.11m in the South Island. Hogget number estimates were 4.55m and 4.16m respectively. Features of the survey were the fall in sheep numbers in the northern North Island and in Taranaki-Manawatu, especially on hill-country, and a sharp rise in cattle numbers in Canterbury and Otago. Southland also had a significant rise in cattle numbers and a matching fall in sheep numbers. That area was an example of farmers continuing to look for alternatives to sheep because they were labour-intensive and the poor wool prices providing another incentive to switch. There was a rebuilding of sheep numbers on the large East Coast of the North Island, despite ewe numbers being down 2% at 4.3m

HEARSAY: Beef + Lamb NZ chief economist Andrew Burtt says there is anecdotal evidence older farmers are replacing sheep with cattle to reduce their workload.

because of the impact of facial eczema in flocks last year. That impact was more than offset by an estimated 14% lift in hogget numbers to 2.72m. Most of them were ewe hoggets kept by farmers choosing to do that rather than buy in replacement ewes and risk further exposure to facial eczema. Total East Coast sheep numbers lifted to an estimated 7.13m from 6.94m. The region was the biggest for total numbers, ahead of Canterbury-Marlborough with 5.92m. This region was gradually restocking after the several years of drought and the numbers, again boosted by hogget retention, were slightly up on 2015 and 2016

though still well down on predrought levels. Canterbury-Marlborough breeding ewe numbers slipped marginally to 3.48m with hogget numbers up just over 2% to 2.17m, mainly trade hoggets being carried through winter, Burtt said. Some farmers also carried more lambs into winter to take advantage of the improved feed levels. Otago breeding ewe numbers dropped 1% to 2.97m, with a greater fall in Southland, down 3% to 2.65m, and hogget numbers there also declined. Otago also registered a slight fall but there was a slight increase in replacement ewe hoggets,

indicating a possible slowing of the steady decline in breeding ewe numbers in recent years, the report said. Otago had an estimated 4.3m sheep at June 30 and Southland 3.6m. Northern North Island breeding ewe numbers fell 2.6% to 2.37m with a continuing trend of a decline on the easier hill country. In Taranaki-Manawatu there were declines in hard hill and hillcountry maternal flocks with ewe numbers down 3.6% to 2.01m, Burtt said. Hogget numbers also declined over both wider areas as limited supply led to high prices, encouraging farmers to quit their finishing lambs earlier than usual.

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Smarter farming for a better New Zealand

News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Full picture still some way off Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com FARMERS will be waiting for some time before the Primary Industries Ministry can confirm their herds are not infected with the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis, MPI response director Geoff Gwyn says. Gwyn said while MPI had stepped up the testing programme it was a huge job. “To make good decisions on how the situation should be managed MPI needs to first know where it is. “Is it just in the van Leeuwen group of farms? Is it in the region? How did it get here, has it been here for some time and is it present around the country?” were the questions the investigation still sought to answer. MPI was working with dairy companies to look at milk from animals in two districts around the van Leeuwen dairy group’s 16 farms in Waitaki and Waimate. “And we’re looking at the nationwide situation through samples supplied through regional veterinary laboratories and through a survey run by

This means farmers, unfortunately, will have to wait for a long time before we can confirm that their herds are not infected. Geoff Gwyn MPI

WIDE NET: Cows and milk throughout the country are being tested for Mycoplasma bovis.

Massey University looking at highrisk farms.” Up to 140 animals a herd were tested with MPI’s animal health laboratory expecting more than 39,000 samples. “So far we’ve received more than 6200 samples of milk, blood or swabs and of these almost 2500 have been tested. “We are reporting out results in batches and expect to report the second batch any time,” Gwyn said.

One test showed if bacteria were present and showed whether an animal had been exposed. Because a cow could be infected without showing symptoms herds had to be tested more than once over three to four months before MPI had definite results for each farm. “This means farmers, unfortunately, will have to wait for a long time before we can confirm that their herds are not infected.

“We have to be absolutely thorough in diagnosing positive and negative farms so we can give farmers and the NZ public certainty,” Gwyn said. The first component of bulk milk testing would start this week with a district surveillance programme led by Fonterra and Oceania Dairies. It involved monitoring herds for infection by testing bulk milk and milk from cows with mastitis, lame and other sick cows.

All farms in Waimate and Waitaki would be tested. Massey’s survey would involve bulk milk testing in 17 regions. So far only two van Leeuwen farms had tested positive. Farms that had received animals from any of the van Leeuwen farms were being contacted and animals tested with MPI now sampling and testing animals on farms neighbouring the van Leeuwen properties. If any farms test positive, MPI would put them under movement restrictions and support the farmers to comply with the restrictions and contain the disease, Gwyn said.

Arable growers’ FAR levy vote is closing soon Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com CROPPING farmers have just a few days left to cast votes on keeping their levy-funded research organisation, the Foundation for Arable Research. Chairman David Birkett was confident FAR had the support of its grower base. “But it isn’t just a rubber stamp – it’s always good to check the pulse,” he said. Over its 20-year history FAR had moved as an

organisation from its beginnings concerned with simple crop agronomy. Five years ago it had started to look at the whole farm system, rotations and how they interlinked and looking at that big picture had brought big gains, Birkett said. “We’re now starting to shift to the next area of the whole farm business because there are components outside the farmgate that are having a big influence on how we operate.

“We need to integrate those issues into farming business and address them. “A grower survey last year confirmed environmental compliance as the biggest concern facing arable farm businesses and this is just one area were FAR is expanding its capability to provide information to help growers.” Birkett said FAR’s farm systems focus had produced great results for growers in recent years including successfully challenging the ability of

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Overseer to accurately estimate N losses from cropping systems. “This challenge resulted in plans to improve the model for cropping systems as well as delaying its implementation as a regulatory tool by some regional councils.” Farm environmental plans had been another success story as were biosecurity driven projects in helping prevent weeds like black grass and velvet leaf from becoming established in crops in NZ and supporting growers hit by the ban on growing peas

after the pea weevil incursion in Wairarapa. Birkett said FAR had good links into Wellington and had successfully leveraged funds from central government for numerous research projects including more than 70 Sustainable Farming Fund projects over the past 16 years. The referendum vote was not about change and would have no impact on levy rates. Voting would close at noon on Wednesday.

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News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Kaikoura quake puts FMG in red Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com SPECIALIST rural insurer FMG says its long-term business planning prepares it for the loss suffered in the year ended March 31, caused by the costs of the Kaikoura earthquake. The loss was $3.3 million and was directly due to the $18m in extra costs incurred from the Kaikoura quake, which affected other parts of the upper South Island and lower North Island. At balance date FMG had settled 40% of the 3300 earthquake claims and was on track to be 75% settled at the one-year anniversary of the quake in mid-November, chief executive Chris Black said. Many of the claims involved Earthquake Commission cover, which FMG and other companies were now managing in a new operating model for the industry. He expected the quake to have a total insurance cost of $100m for the FMG business, most of which was covered by overseas

reinsurers. Most of the damage had a “strong rural skew to it”. The level of non-earthquake claims also increased last year. The co-operative insurance group also had 800 claims from Cyclones Debbie and Cook, which hit the Edgecumbe area of Bay of Plenty. They were two-thirds settled. There were also more vehicle claims and claims for house and commercial building fires, all of which were more expensive to repair than previously, Black said. FMG had increased its premiums after absorbing extra costs over the previous seven years. Insurance companies were valued on what was called the combined ratio – the comparison of payout and other costs with its premium income. For every $100 received in premiums, FMG paid out $74 to claimants and $34 in other costs during the year. “That’s $108 for every $100 coming in and it’s not sustainable.”

FIX IT: Work is under way on repair work after the Kaikoura earthquake.

However, the group was in a strong financial position with capital reserves of $226m at balance date (from $229m a year earlier) and $500m of total reinsurance cover. Chairman Tony Cleland said the year was very successful though the financial result did not reflect that. Given the volatile nature of the industry FMG anticipated losses from time-to-time and was set up to handle them, Black said. “The core concept of insurance is that everyone chips in a bit to help others when they need it and that’s when we step up. It’s what we’re here for.” FMG had increased its share of the NZ rural insurance market to 46% from 43% the previous year. That was by far the biggest part of its business and the group could easily manage a bigger share than that, he said. However, it had also increased its general lifestyle and commercial business over the year and was also growing the personal insurance business at a doubledigit percentage rate. It closed the year with 76,613 clients, a 4305 year-on-year increase. Before the latest year, the group’s previous loss was in the 2009 year, after the global financial crisis and a significant rise in the number of house fires. For the latest year the total payout covering all claims was $152m, up $15m on the previous year.

UNSUSTAINABLE: FMG has raised premiums after seven years of absorbing cost increases and a loss in the last financial year, chief executive Chris Black says.

At year-end the group had an A (excellent) credit rating and had 2.25 times the minimum capital required by the Reserve Bank. Black said there were many advantages in insurance companies managing claims for the EQC as was happening with the Kaikoura situation. “It’s working well and means policy-holders are just having to deal with one insurer.”

The core concept of insurance is that everyone chips in a bit to help others when they need it. Tony Cleland FMG

Chairmen on the board Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com THE chairmen of two major agri-business co-operatives have been elected as directors of insurer FMG. They were Alliance chaiman Murray Taggart and Tatua chairman Steve Allen. A third new director was also elected at the FMG annual meeting in Hanmer. He was Geoff Copstick, a former chief financial officer and a director of agri-based manufacturing business Gallagher Group.

Two of the newcomers were replacements for long-serving FMG directors Greg Gent (a former chairman) and Graeme Milne, both retiring after 12 years on the board. Gent had 10 years as chairman. FMG had decided to expand its board from seven to eight directors. Chairman Tony Cleland said that was partly based on another long-term director Marise James retiring next year, after 16 years on the board. It would ensure a strong succession plan.

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10 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Rural electorates favour National Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com RURAL and regional electorates are expected to deliver about half of the electoral wins the National Party needs for a fourth consecutive term in power. In the 2014 election National won 22 of the 26 rural and regional seats but subsequently lost Northland in a 2015 byelection to New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. National won 41 electorates overall and its 47% of the party vote added 19 list MPs, making 60 in total, plus the support of the ACT, United Future and Maori parties to form a government. On the basis of 2014 majorities and recent party support polling, National could legitimately count on 20 rural and regional electorates being again safe in this election. Of the other six, two were held by Labour (West Coast-Tasman and Napier), one by NZ First (Northland), one by National with a small majority (Waimakariri) and two had slightly bigger National majorities but new candidates standing (Whanganui and Tukituki). Those swing seats could all go to National or conceivably three or four to Labour and one to NZ First should there be a strong antiNational voting trend. In Waimakariri, first-term MP Matthew Doocey had one of the

smallest majorities, of just 2506 votes in 2014, pushed hard by Clayton Cosgrove for Labour. His main opponent this year would be Army serviceman Dan Rosewarne but Doocey was also position 29 on the National list and would be returned to Parliament. In Northland, West CoastTasman and Napier the incumbent MPs had 2014 majorities of 4000-4500. In Whanganui and Tukituki the retiring National MPs had 2014 majorities that were 4505 for Chester Borrows and 6490 for Craig Foss, respectively. National candidate and lawyer Harete Hipango would be contesting Whanganui with Labour’s Steph Lewis, who had a background in dispute resolution. They were both new candidates. National had selected former Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule to contest Tukituki with second-time Labour candidate Anna Lorck, a journalist and public relations consultant. Yule’s strong public service record was tarnished by the Havelock North water contamination last year and Lorck was another well-known local. In Northland Peters turned a 9000-plus majority for National’s subsequently discredited MP Mike Sabin in 2014 into a 4000plus anti-Government protest victory in the by-election. Farmer and former policeman

TOP JOBS: National has farmers at the top of its list with Prime Minister Bill English at one and Speaker David Carter at three.

2017

election Matt King was selected as National’s candidate for Northland late last year and he had been up and running all of this year. National Party leaders said they were confident King could unseat Peters and restore a Sabin-type majority but 13,000 voters is a large number to convince to turn again. Peters’ showing in his electorate would be boosted by party leadership, a profile second to none in politics and the possibility NZ First would be called on to form a coalition government with either National or Labour. King was at position 51 on the

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National list and would get to Parliament if National’s party vote reached 47.5%, even if he did not defeat Peters. At that percentage of the party vote National would probably be able to govern without NZ First. In Napier, after the retirement of three-term National MP Chris Tremain in 2014, Stuart Nash for Labour profited by a split conservative vote between National candidate Wayne Walford and the Sensible Sentencing campaigner Garth McVicar. Nash had been a high-profile Labour MP in his first term and National had selected airline pilot David Elliott to try to win back the seat. Local West Coast and Tasman issues would dominate in the fight between Labour’s Damien O’Connor and National’s Maureen Pugh, both MPs. O’Connor had represented the large electorate for 24 years and Pugh was a former Westland Mayor, called into Parliament off the National list when Trade Minister Tim Groser resigned in December 2015. Pugh was at 44 on the list this time and would be returned to Parliament if National gained 45% of all 2.5 million party votes expected to be cast. The Electoral Commission adjusted boundaries to ensure each electorate had an average of 44,000 enrolled voters, of which about 80% or about 35,000 actually voted in 2014. The turnout of voters was higher in the rural and regional electorates compared with the urban centres. Amy Adams in Selwyn and Mark Mitchell in Rodney achieved two of the biggest majorities for National in 2014, each being more than 20,000 votes ahead of their Labour rivals. Seven of the 23 rural and regional electorates for National had MPs who were cabinet ministers.

Should Labour and NZ First form a coalition government, the likelihood would be three provincial electoral MPs in cabinet – Peters, Nash and O’Connor. National had two farmers high on its list – Prime Minister Bill English at one and Speaker David Carter at three. The National Party allocated sure list positions to bring in diversity and boost its urban MPs. Labour certainly went for diversity but did not seem to deliberately include rural candidates. NZ First announced three farmers as candidates when Peters spoke to the Federated Farmers annual conference in June.

Labour certainly went for diversity but did not seem to deliberately include rural candidates.

They were sheep and beef farmer Mark Patterson for Clutha-Southland, beef farmer Rob Stevenson for Rangitikei and Waikato Regional councillor Stu Husband in Waikato. The party’s primary industries spokesman Richard Prosser said NZ First expected to have candidates standing in all electorates by the deadline of August 29. National had just selected a candidate for the safe seat of Clutha-Southland, vacated by Todd Barclay after an employment dispute handled badly. He was Hamish Walker, aged 32, a former commercial fisherman and former National candidate in Dunedin South in 2014. Barclay had a majority of 15,000 votes when he took over the seat from English.

News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Rural groups set out wish lists Continuing the pre-election series on issues the rural sector wants the next government to address, this week the Farmers Weekly looks at what is on Federated Farmers’, Horticulture New Zealand’s and Rural Women New Zealand’s wish lists. Neal Wallace reports. THERE are some similarities in the election wish lists being promoted by land-based industry bodies. Horticulture New Zealand and Federated Farmers broadly seek similar policies, led by biosecurity, while Rural Women NZ prioritises greater recognition of how government policies affect rural communities along with seeking improved services such as broadband and electricity security. Biosecurity ranked second on Federated Farmers’ wish list, which was topped by a desire for a targeted, catchment approach to tackling water quality issues followed by Resource Management Act reform, free trade and science investment. The pre-election announcement

NOT FAIR: It is inequitable to charge people for using water in Waikato when electricity companies and people in Auckland get it free, Federated Farmers water spokesman Chris Allen says.

by the Labour Party of a tax on irrigation water used by growers and farmers was a late addition to those lists, with Federated Farmers water spokesman Chris Allen saying it was inequitable because it applied only to irrigators and water bottlers. HortNZ chief executive Mike Chapman said biosecurity was

crucial to the sector’s wellbeing. The risk of a biosecurity incursion was growing as international trade and travel increased and he was concerned some tourists did not acknowledge the importance of adhering to quarantine laws relating to imported food. Food security was second on HortNZ’s list followed by workforce capability, country of origin labelling and healthy eating education. Chapman said urban creep was threatening food security by blanketing some high-quality soils with tar seal and concrete. “We have got to save our good soils. “If we don’t we will need to import vegetables when we have got marvellous country in which to grow the stuff.” His organisation was monitoring 50 district and regional plans and would like a national environmental standard to protect the top quality soil and preserve the industry’s ability to operate. It was not just the loss of soils but the impact of housing on aquifers and dealing with urban waste water. “We just want them to be a bit smarter where they put their

2017

election houses.” Other priority issues were continuing with the recognised seasonal employer scheme, country of origin labelling and teaching healthy eating and how to prepare nutritious meals to school children. Federated Farmers wanted water quality policies that allowed sustainable economic growth alongside environmental goals. It sought catchment partnerships that co-ordinated community, councils and science, especially targeted at water quality hot spots. Reform of the RMA was a matter of national importance because it affected property rights, rural protection and economic returns. Other issues on the wish list were advocating free trade, science investment, a pragmatic approach to climate

change, addressing skill shortages, improving education opportunities including increased boarding bursaries, better telecommunications and policing, fairer investment in tourismrelated infrastructure and tougher deterrents for livestock theft. Meanwhile, Rural Women NZ’s manifesto requested government policy take account of the diversity of rural communities and the impact of any new policies. Education was another priority, with Rural Women seeking greater access for adult learning in rural areas, more young people taking subjects that led to agricultural careers and extending early childhood education to those under three. An Auckland University study found rural women were more likely to experience family violence than urban women and Rural Women said other studies had shown victims were reluctant to leave an abusive relationship because of obligations to pets or animals. Other issues it wanted advanced were safer rural roads, better aged care and mental health services, voluntary bonding for nurses in rural areas, extending mammograms to women aged over 69 and improved biosecurity.

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THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Scarred country creates pest nest Tim Fulton tim.fulton@nzx.com EARTHQUAKE damage has helped gorse, broom and pest animals fan out across Kaikoura. Kaikoura’s pest liaison committee chairman Derrick Millton said the region faced an explosion of deer, goats and possums. Parts of the Clarence back-country were full of Red deer and there was serious risk of more erosion and fouling of waterways if they weren’t kept in check, he said. Millton had seen estimates of 24,000 new slips across the upper South Island since last November’s earthquakes. The Clarence farmer, a Kaikoura District councillor, said his country was among the most vulnerable to a deer outbreak. “So far nothing has been done since the earthquakes. Rust doesn’t sleep does it? The animals keep breeding.” It didn’t help that the area had been mostly inaccessible for hunters since the quakes, Millton said. A leaseholder on Waiau-toa Station on the Clarence, George Murray, said the earthquakes had set off a sequence of slips that might never be regrassed.

WORRIED: Kaikoura farmer and district councillor Derrick Millton worries weeds and animal pests will explode following the earthquake.

nassella tussock, which affected about 60 Kaikoura properties. Most landholders had until the end of September to do necessary control work. No allowance could be made for nassella because it could spread quickly and dominate pastures. Unspent Kaikoura ratepayer funds for control of gorse, broom and other weeds would be retained for plant inspections.

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We’re not in there harassing them at the moment. Leanne Lye ECan Some areas were “just running mud”. There was probably little anyone could do about repairing some of that land but it seemed more weed seed from publicly-owned property up-river was being carried toward the coast. There was also no weed control in the lower reaches of the river last summer, he said. “That’s one thing with the earthquakes, that people lose sight of their core jobs.” On the weed front, ECan accepted the earthquakes had made monitoring harder. “It’s definitely not been helped by the earthquakes. There’s just some areas that we can’t access at the moment,” ECan biosecurity team leader Leanne Lye said. Landowners were responsible for weed control but the regional council had “stepped back on inspections” in the worst-hit areas, partly on compassionate grounds. It was a trade-off between regulation and creating unnecessary stress for isolated and stressed owners and managers. “We’re not in there harassing them at the moment. They’ve probably got enough to do. It’s business as usual with a twist.” The usual round of property inspections for gorse and broom in April, May and June had been deferred, partly because some areas like upper Clarence River were virtually inaccessible for council staff and motorbikes. Noxious plant numbers appeared to be holding steady but slips had created plenty of bare land for pest plants, Lye said. ECan had maintained its usual regime for

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14 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

News

Watery weather boosts boot sales Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com

WET: Bad weather has proved helpful for Skellerup.

SKELLERUP’S agri-division was again the best earner for the group in its improved profit. Agri, based on the production of high-quality rubber consumables for the dairy sector, was the smaller of the two operating divisions by revenue but provided more of the operating earnings than the Industrial division in the year ended June 30.

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Improvements in the international milk price resulted in stronger sales in the peak May to July period as farmers caught up with maintenance spending, chief executive David Mair said. Skellerup makes agri-consumables, including liners for use in milking, in Christchurch and had completed the transfer of operations to the new plant at Wigram. Agri produced earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) of $19.8 million, providing a margin of nearly 25% on revenues of $79.2m. The Ebit figure was 6% higher than the previous year. Sales momentum was expected to continue, Mair said. The Industrial division increased Ebit by 12% to $17.1m on sales of $131.2m, for a 13% margin. The group exported 56% of its agri products with 26% of sales to the United States where demand was strong. Higher European milk production boosted demand for dairy consumables. That market took 18% of sales and Australia, Asia and South America took 12%. The Agri division also made gumboots for world markets and wet weather provided a boost for NZ sales. The group after-tax profit was $22.1m, an 8% increase on the previous year. With a final dividend of 6c a share being paid on October 12, shareholders would have a total annual dividend of 9.5c a share, up from 9c previously.

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NOMINATIONS have opened for farmerelected roles on the DairyNZ board and the directors’ remuneration committee. There were two positions open to farmers on the board and one on the committee. Nominations closed at noon on Friday, September 8. Voting was held from late September. Electionz.com returning officer Anthony Morton said the first election for two directors was a chance for levy-paying farmers to get more involved with leadership of DairyNZ. “These roles are a chance to contribute to the whole dairy sector, supporting DairyNZ, its priorities and objectives. “This is an important governance role which will help shape and influence the organisation’s direction for dairy farmers.” The board had five farmer-elected directors and three board appointed directors. The election for the two farmer directors came as Alister Body and Jim van der Poel retired by rotation. Body was not seeking reelection. The committee member would join two others in considering and recommending remuneration for directors each year. Chris Lewis was the retiring committee member. “All farmers paying a levy on milksolids to DairyNZ are eligible to stand for either election,” Morton said. An information pack outlining criteria and nomination requirements could be obtained from 0800 666 033 or www.electionz.com/ dairynz. “If more than the required nominations are received, elections will be carried out using the STV (single transferable vote) voting method. Vote packs will be posted on September 25 with all votes weighted by annual milksolids production for all registered DairyNZ levypayers.” Election results would be announced at the DairyNZ annual meeting in Rotorua on Wednesday, October 25.

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16 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Labour water policy ill-targeted Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com WHILE congratulating Labour on bringing the water debate into the spotlight, two agribusiness experts maintain the party’s water royalty scheme is ill-founded and poorly considered. Massey University agribusiness expert Dr James Lockhart and agri-economist Peter Fraser believe Labour had tried to solve two politically charged but distinctly different problems with a single, punitive approach. Labour announced its intention to charge a royalty on water bottlers and irrigators, with funds from the irrigation charge being given to regional councils to improve water quality. “Other things aside, the first problem I and many others have had with this is determining exactly how much they would be charging,” Lockhart said. “They put the policy out but left a vacuum around the amount, causing no end of confusion and a wide range of figures in terms of charges and total costs.” Latest indications, confirmed by Lockhart, were Labour would look at charging irrigators 2c a cubic metre. Water bottlers were estimated to be expected to pay 10c/cubic metre. Calculations based on an average Canterbury dairy farm put the cost at $40,000 to $60,000 a year and at about $50,000 for an average Canterbury lamb fattening unit. But by tying the royalty revenue back to the relevant regional councils for water quality improvements and charging water bottlers for exporting the resource, a “polluter pays” type tax had been bundled into an extraction charge. “The royalty charge on irrigators specifically is a very punitive tax when we already

ABOUT FACE: In dry times when water is most valuable Labour’s policy becomes counter to what it is trying to achieve, Massey University agribusiness expert Dr James Lockhart says.

GST is successful. It is applied uniformly with no exceptions on the goods or services and it has a single rate. Peter Fraser Agri-economist have mechanisms in place to deal with water quality management through our regional councils.” He acknowledged those systems were not always perfect, as the Horizons One Plan made plain.

However, they could be sharpened and toughened up by central government. Labour leader Jacinda Ardern had emphasised the party did not want to compromise farm profitability with the plan and would make allowances on the rate in dry periods. “But that is the very time when water is most scarce and actually worth more,” Lockhart said. “The environmental damage from taking it to use for irrigation is also greatest. Straight away the policy becomes counter to what is trying to be achieved.” Fraser said based on his experience in Treasury any tax that singled out a particular user and had variations between users

was at least inequitable and at worst unconstitutional. “Look at why GST is successful. It is applied uniformly with no exceptions on the goods or services and it has a single rate, again no exceptions.” Taking a single flat royalty rate across all water users – commercial, domestic and primary – created an equal footing in valuing the resource. It also marked a good point to start when identifying its value in specific uses. “From there you then have to deal with water bottlers, even if only for political reasons. “That could be done by tendering the rights to bottle water so they pay the royalty plus

a premium by purchasing that right.” Under Labour’s policy large soft drink and beer bottlers whose product was 90%-plus water would be immune from such a charge because of their urban water sources, Fraser said. Lockhart agreed and maintained before any royalty or charge system was set up water had to be recognised as the national resource it was. That could be done through a separate act similar to the Crown Mineral Act, where royalties were charged to extract gold, oil, coal and other minerals. He saw NZ’s water as akin to Norway’s oil reserves and as such an opportunity to raise income from its extraction to grow national wealth. “At present we allow foreign firms to bottle our water and export it for relatively few jobs and no profit returned here. “We would not do that for oil, coal or any other resource and nor would any other country.” Putting a value on the water raised the issue of payment to iwi, an issue Labour had acknowledged was open for negotiation. But Fraser said leftover funds could and should go to another public asset, the Superannuation Fund. “Given both water and super are intergenerational issues, I think it makes sense.” Norway had a government pension fund, the Oil Fund, valued as the largest pension fund in the world at NZ$1.25 trillion. Both men were dismissive of the claims made by some sectors the water cost would lead to $18 cabbages, given the significantly lower values proposed and the horticultural sector’s inability to set prices to reflect rising costs.

First step to a water market? Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com IRRIGATORS forced to pay a tax under Labour’s water proposal maintain that tax should be applied across all water users in town and country and not be used as a means of dealing with water quality. Irrigation NZ chief executive Andrew Curtis said agrieconomist Peter Fraser’s “one tax – all users” approach made the most sense and was most equitable. “As it is now the tax sends the wrong message when it comes to cleaning up waterways. “Farmers will pay it and just think nothing else needed to be done. It will not result in them improving water systems. “And hydro generators would also have to be included. Their use of water restricts the ability of others to use it in areas like the Waikato and Waimate and they

make a huge amount of profit from this ability.” Massey University agriexpert Dr James Lockhart said the market for tradable water rights was relatively crude, often enabled only between users who shared specific water schemes, such as Central Plains Water. However, having a value on water might help build a market for tradeable rights. In Australia the water entitlement market was valued at A$30 billion with allocations based on how much water a holder was allowed to take in any one season. Growth in values of the entitlements was resulting in a transition from lower value to higher value agricultural production but unlike a uniform charge the entitlements applied specifically to irrigation rights. The largest water take area was the Murray Darling Basin, comprising 35 trillion litres

of which 30% was used for irrigation. However, the Australian Financial Review reported earlier this year there continued to be a push to have more water returned to the environment. But Curtis said while economic theory of a water market was appealing, NZ’s hydrology was too complex and the infrastructure lacking for it to happen. “If you look at Australia, they basically have a big pond (the Murray Darling Basin) they draw a known amount from each year. “NZ has a lot of run-of-river schemes and our groundwater supply is complex, with issues around adjoining wells drawing off each other, complicating water take amounts.” Research by Farmers Weekly found determining NZ’s annual total water use to be approximate at best, with conflicts between

IT’S NOT ON: New Zealand’s hydrology is too complex to create a water market, Irrigation New Zealand chief executive Andrew Curtis says.

consented water takes and actual water consumption. One estimate from 2011 was that Manapouri use aside, NZ consumed 15 billion cubic metres of water a year. Lockhart acknowledged putting a value on water also opened a can of worms on ownership, including iwi claims.

“You can understand why National has avoided it for the past few years after Helen Clark’s foreshore and seabed issues.” There were also complications over who would “own the rain”. “For example, if you have a large farm irrigation storage pond, how do you allow for the water it captures that is rainfall?”

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News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Farmers urged to pressure co-ops Anne Lee anne.lee@nzfarmlife.co.nz DUNEDIN artist Matthew Galloway hopes that by sharing his experience in a Western Saharan refugee camp he can raise New Zealand farmers’ awareness of the long-running territorial dispute and this country’s links to it through its fertiliser trade. Galloway’s story from the two weeks he spent with Saharawi people in a refugee camp in Algeria appeared in the August issue of the NZ Dairy Exporter. He explained how his international art exhibition took him to the other side of the world where he saw the plight of Western Saharan refugees for himself. Galloway’s wife Megan and her parents, Waitaki dairy farmers Neil and Julie Hamilton, had also taken up the cause of raising awareness about the issue. The Hamiltons said they were uncomfortable with the NZ fertiliser co-operatives’ buying rock phosphate from the Moroccan state-owned mine in the disputed Western Saharan region and would prefer they bought the raw material elsewhere. About 160,000 Saharawi had lived in refugee camps in Algeria for 40 years because of a longrunning territorial dispute over the Western Sahara between themselves and Morocco. Both Ballance and Ravensdown bought significant quantities of rock phosphate from the Moroccan state-owned miner OCP. Both said they were comfortable United Nations resolution 71/103, December 2016, requirements were being met by OCP. The resolution detailed what a company operating in a disputed territory must do in terms of supporting the local people. Ravensdown chairman John Henderson said he visited the mine and the local area in May.

SUPPORTERS: Raising awareness of fertiliser’s link to the Western Sahara dispute are, from left, Neil Hamilton, Megan Galloway, Matthew Galloway and Julie Hamilton.

What I saw there was quite impressive in terms of what’s being done for the people who live there. John Henderson Ravensdown “What I saw there was quite impressive in terms of what’s being done for the people who live there.” Housing, health care, schools and adult education were all heavily invested in by the company. He met several Saharawi people who worked for the mine company and all said they were much better off than they were in the refugee camps.

Settling the dispute was up to the UN and Ravensdown fully encouraged the UN in that role. He didn’t believe trading with OCP supported or in any way aided in extending the dispute between Morocco and the Saharawi Polisario. “If we withdraw there will be a lot more disadvantaged people including Saharawi people,” Henderson said. The matter was a regular item on the risk management agenda at Ravensdown and his own experience and independent reports such as one published by KPMG meant he was very comfortable with the co-op’s position. Ballance chief executive Mark Wynn had also visited the region and the mine. He, too, was impressed with the investment by the mining company in supporting the local people.

He understood close to 60% of the mine’s workforce were Saharawi and they were represented at all levels including as technicians and senior management. The trade between Ballance and OCP met all legal requirements, he said. “Then there’s the question of the ethics of it and I’ve satisfied myself and the board – and three of our directors have been there – that what we’ve seen is the absolute implementation of both the principals and the law of what the UN require. “We accept it’s a disputed territory and it’s up to the UN to deal with that.” While he hadn’t been to the refugee camps he had read widely on the issue and had sympathy for those who held strong views supporting the Saharawi there. “But I’m comfortable there are a lot of Saharawi living and working

in Western Sahara and that they are benefiting from the economic trade.” An independent Canadian report supported that view, he said. Canada and NZ were the major buyers of Western Sahara rock phosphate, which was low in cadmium. Erik Hagen, a board member for the Western Saharan Resource Watch based in Norway, said Ravensdown and Ballance should not be assured by OCP that what that company was doing was good for the Saharawi people. OCP’s, Ravensdown’s and Ballance’s view of what was good for the Saharawi people was irrelevant based on the findings of the Court of Justice of the European Union in December 2016, he said. “That judgement shows the real test – the only test of whether it is good for the Saharawi people has to be based on the views of the Saharawi people themselves. “How did Ballance and Ravensdown get the consent of the people?” Given that 160,000 people lived in exile the views of those employed by the mine couldn’t be taken as the views of the Saharawi people overall, he said. The giant Norwegian government pension fund that invested in 2% of stocks listed on world stock exchanges, would not invest in companies doing business with companies in the Western Sahara and Hagen said he knew of more than 50 other private and public investors with the same view. “If Ravensdown and Ballance were listed on the stock exchange they would have heard that message very directly from investment funds. But they’re not, they’re co-operatives owned by farmers and farmers should be asking questions of their boards and management.”

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News

20 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Top co-op award for Fonterra Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com FONTERRA’S financial turnaround over 18 months while reforming its governance and raising public awareness of its farmer ownership and principles have won the big dairy co-operative a major industry award. The New Zealand Co-operatives Association has named Fonterra as Co-operative Business of the Year in its annual awards, a trophy accepted by Fonterra Shareholders’ Council chairman Duncan Coull. Coull said farmer-shareholders should take pride in the award and praised the contribution of staff as well. “Our farmer shareholders set themselves high standards and it’s their daily hard work and commitment that drives the success of the co-operative,” he said. NZ Co-op chief executive Craig Presland said Fonterra was on track to deliver a milk price and dividend combination for the 2017 financial year at least 50% higher than the year before. “Over this period Fonterra has completed a comprehensive cooperative governance review and raised its profile with the NZ public so that it is now better understood as a member-owned co-operative and not a corporate. “It has also continued to generously support New Zealanders within the spirit of concern for community, a key co-operative principle. “Its Milk for Schools programme,

THANKS: Fonterra’s farmers and staff contributed to the work that won it the Cooperative Business of the Year award, Shareholders’ Council chairman Duncan Coull says.

which is now in its fifth year, is the largest social responsibility programme ever driven by a Kiwi business. “The $10 million-plus a year initiative benefits more than 140,000 kids each school day.” The annual co-operative awards were self-nominated entries under four criteria then judged by the board of the association, Presland said. The growing business sector of co-operatives, mutuals and societies employed about 50,000 people and

generated more than $43 billion a year in revenue, which was 20% of GDP. The other awards this year went to Mitre 10 chief executive Neil Cowie as Co-operative Leader of the Year, to Ruralco chief financial officer Oliver O’Neill for Co-operation Among Co-operatives and a lifetime achievement award to Brian Cameron. Enduring service awards were also made to LIC (livestock improvement) and SBS Bank for 100-plus years, Foodstuffs North Island (retailing) for

75-plus years and NZPM (plumbers’ merchants) for 50-plus years. The association’s chairman Jonathan Lee, also chief operating officer of the Co-op Money NZ, said this year’s nominees and recipients were exceptional and reflected the best of co-operative values. About 30 of the association’s full members were involved in the primary sector.

Our farmer shareholders set themselves high standards and it’s their daily hard work and commitment that drives the success of the co-operative.

MORE: NEWSMAKER P28

Duncan Coull Fonterra

Youth get scholarship money on a plate SILVER Fern Farms has awarded six Plate to Pasture Youth Scholarships to young people developing their careers in the red meat, food and farming industries. SFF chief executive Dean Hamilton said the talent emerging from the scholarship applications indicated a bright future for the broader red meat sector. “We were overwhelmed at receiving 79 applications. “The standard and passion

from the applicants exceeded all expectations when we launched the Plate to Pasture Youth Scholarships,” he said. “Our panel certainly had a challenging job making their selections and we extend our thanks to all of the young people that took the time to apply and to the co-operative shareholders who supported their applications. “SFF is proud to be supporting the future of farming and the

communities where we live and work.” The scholarship recipients won $5000 each to further their careers in the sector. The scholarships were awarded to Grace Van Tilborg, Northland, Hugh Jackson, Waikato-Bay of Plenty, Jake Jarman, western North Island, Nicole Harvey, eastern North Island, Joshua Kirk, upper South Island, and Zac Johnston, lower South Island.

As part of the process applicants were asked to identify what they saw as the biggest challenge or opportunity in the food industry and what they would do about it. “The winners delivered ideas on a vast range of industry issues,” Hamilton said. They included a fresh look at dealing with biosecurity challenges, the development of food technology processes to extend the shelf life and flavour

of red meat, exploring ways to sustainably add value to farming businesses, selling the story of New Zealand’s natural artisan agriculture to the world and challenging the industry to think big and be bold. “By 2020 we aim to have invested $120,000 in scholarships to support 24 young people in their careers in our industry from plate to pasture,” Hamilton said.

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YOUNG MINDS: Zac Johnston, Hugh Jackson, Nicole Harvey, Grace Van Tilborg, Josh Kirk, Jake Jarman and Rob Hewett, co-chair of Silver Fern Farms

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News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

First slice of freshwater funding Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com TEN big water bodies will be the largest recipients from the Government’s first grants from its Freshwater Improvement Fund, announced last year. It allocated $44 million to 33 projects The largest water bodies benefitting from the investment stretch from the top of the North Island on the Wairoa River to the bottom of the South Island at the Te Waituna Lagoon. Water bodies in between included Lake Whangape in Waikato, Lake Tarawera in Bay of Plenty, the Manawatu River, Waimea River in Tasman and Selwyn River in Canterbury. Environment Minister Nick Smith said the money would ultimately total $142m when council and other contributions were included. The allocations were determined by an independent panel and were required to meet the Government’s goals of

improving the swimmability and ecological health of waterways, with the projects including waterway fencing, stream plantings, wetland development and sewage reticulation. Retirement of marginal land alongside affected waterways was also included in the funding, which was specific on how it could be spent. The Northland region, for example, received $782,000 to address invasive pests and weeds at Dune Lakes. The Northern Wairoa River and tributaries got $1.25m to set up sustainable land management practices with fencing, wetland enhancement and soil conservation. The Northern Wairoa River has proved to be a high profile one that had drawn public attention to farmers failing to fence its banks, through the work of long time campaigner Millan Ruka. Northland Regional Council chairman and farmer Bill Shepherd said the Northern Wairoa improvement project would result in $2.5m being spent

over the next five years and would reduce sediment and bacteria levels in the river and tributaries. The projects would be met with accompanying funding from the regional council. The money was equally welcomed by other councils and projects across the country. The largest single amount was

for the Waimea augmentation scheme – $7 million of environmental support. It supported the delivery of the “public good” portion of the proposed Waimea Community Dam, reflecting the elevated water flows built into the region’s water plan to maintain river health and reduce salt water intrusion.

Where the money flows Northland

$2,519,223

Tasman

Auckland

$1,042,500

Marlborough

Gisborne

$847,450

Canterbury

$7,000,000 $519,950 $2,693,586

Bay of Plenty

$8,250,000

Otago

Waikato

$1,641,638

Southland

Taranaki

$2,000,000

SI Total

Hawke’s Bay

$3,496,156

Manawatu-Whanganui

$5,843,923

Multi-regional Projects

$2,171,625

Arable Research

$485,168

$27,812,515

Beef and Lamb

$265,000

Wellington NI Total

$375,000 $5,000,000 $15,588,536

Mayor Richard Kempthorne said the river’s slow degradation would occur without flow support and having an enhanced flow would protect aquifers from salt water intrusion. However, the major spending on the project drew flak from opponents on grounds the money was intended to restore damaged waterways, not to build dams. Another big ticket item receiving a grant was the high profile Waituna Lagoon in Southland that got $5m. The project helps establish a buffer around Waituna, allowing water levels to be managed independently of the need to drain surrounding farmland. Contaminant reduction targets for the lagoon and tributaries would also be set along with farm plans to reduce the rate of contaminant losses from farm activities. Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell said the money would go a long way to build on the improvements to date since the project kicked off in 2013.

Critics pan end-of-pipe solutions Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com CRITICS of the Government’s first funding round for waterways clean-up have described it as an end-of-pipe approach failing to deal with the intensive agriculture causing the problems. Ecologist, veterinarian and farm adviser Alison Dewes said the $44 million distributed under the first tranche of government funding should be going to help farmers in the affected catchments transition and diversify.

Farmers deserve to be told more about what their options are other than just planting more riparian strips. Prof Russell Death Massey University

“Most farmers want to do the right thing but on some soils the current farm systems will simply not be viable in the long term and we need support to explore more diverse systems,” she said. She agreed with the policy released by the Freshwater Action Group in June that included diverting the $400m allocated to the Crown Irrigation Fund to a transition fund for farmers to adjust to less intensive farming in affected catchments. Dewes said the spill-over losses of nitrogen and pathogens from irrigated coarse soils in Canterbury were systemic and would not be fixed with end-of-

pipe fencing and riparian margins. Similarly, peat soils in Waikato faced the same risks. Massey University freshwater ecology expert Professor Russell Death lamented the planned expenditure for its inability to deal with nitrogen losses, arguably the biggest issue facing freshwater quality. “There are some good riparian projects there in the funding but they will not address nitrogen losses from farming systems by simply riparian planting.” There was plenty of evidence and methods available that would help farmers reduce nitrogen losses but they were not being communicated to them. He agreed DairyNZ’s Pastoral21 programme in Waikato was one programme that highlighted how systemic changes to dairy operations did not necessarily mean farmers would lose money while also reducing their nitrogen footprint. The Pastoral21 project showed it was possible in four years for a dairy unit to reduce nitrogen losses by almost half using existing technologies and lowered stocking rates, without significantly affecting profit. The trial used improved genetics and stand-off pads. Other developments since then that could help farmers transition to an even lower nitrogen footprint included changes in pasture composition to grasses like plantain and low nitrogen sire genetics, launched this year. “It is not the fact we are dairying but how we are dairying that is having the effect and farmers deserve to be told more about what their options are other than just planting more riparian strips,” he said.

HELP THEM: Farmers need support to explore new ways to farm, vet and ecologist Alison Dewes says.

He believed dairy farmers would happily engage with such methods should it be made clear to them how much effect they

could have on nitrogen losses over time. “Pastoral agriculture needs support to explore new ways to

farm and in some cases that is diversification from the way we have farmed in the past 50 years,” Dewes said.

News

24 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Alliance roadshow hits the regions ALLIANCE is encouraging farmers to attend one of its 20 roadshow events in October. Management and directors would discuss the performance of the co-operative and farmershareholders would also receive an update on the progress of Alliance’s strategy and prospects for the new season. “This is a good opportunity to hear first-hand the latest news

and plans for the co-operative and ask our team questions,” Alliance chief executive David Surveyor said. “We can also offer insights into some of the new initiatives we have under way here in New Zealand and across our global markets.” The co-operative was encouraging farmers to take along any friends interested in finding

out more about becoming an Alliance supplier, he said. “I do know it is a busy time for farmers but I encourage shareholders to attend a roadshow event in their area.” Alliance would announce its annual results slightly later this year, Surveyor said. “We anticipate releasing the results on or around November 22.”

Roadshow dates District

Day, date

Time

Place

Masterton

Monday, October 2, 2017

1.30pm

Copthorne Solway Park

Dannevirke

Monday, October 2, 2017

7.30pm

Dannevirke Services & Citizens Club

Feilding

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

5.00pm

Manfield Park

Nelson

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

1.30pm

Waimea Rugby Club

Blenheim

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

7.30pm

Quality Hotel, Blenheim

Waiau

Thursday, October 5, 2017

1.30pm

Amuri Golf Club

Amberley

Thursday, October 5, 2017

7.30pm

The Tin Shed

Little River

Friday, October 6, 2017

1.30pm

Banks Peninsula Rugby Club

Methven

Monday, October 9, 2017

1.30pm

Methven Heritage Centre

Fairlie

Monday, October 9, 2017

7.30pm

Fairlie Golf Club

Waimate

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

1.30pm

Waimate Event Centre

Oamaru

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

7.30pm

Brydone Hotel

Middlemarch

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

1.30pm

Middlemarch Golf Club

Milton

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

7.30pm

Toko Golf Club

Alexandra

Thursday, October 12, 2017

1.30pm

The Cellar Door

Heriot

Monday, October 16, 2017

1.30pm

Heriot Community Centre

Gore

Monday, October 16, 2017

7.30pm

Longford Function Centre

Otautau

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

1.30pm

Otautau Sports Complex

Mossburn

Wesnesday, October 18, 2017

7.30pm

Mossburn Community Centre

Fortrose

Thursday, October 19, 2017

1.30pm

Tokanui Golf Club

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WIDE: Heartland Bank’s gain in its share of rural loans was across all key sectors, chief executive Jeff Greenslade says.

Big increase in rural loan book Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com HEARTLAND Bank has increased loan growth in its Rural business by about 20% for the third year in a row. The division’s net operating income rose $3 million to $29.2m, an 11% increase, which was close to the 12% gain in the group’s bottom-line after-tax profit, at $60.8m for the year ended June 30. The Rural gain was driven mainly by the growth in net receivables, chief executive Jeff Greenslade said. They rose to $675m, from $552m a year earlier and $488m in 2015. The growth was mainly in term loans across all key rural sectors, including dairy, sheep and beef, horticulture and viticulture. Dairy lending at balance date made up 8% of the total lending book. With total book at $3.54 billion, that put dairy lending at just over $283m. The average loan-to-value ratio for dairy lending was 63%. Among the Rural initiatives during the year, Heartland launched its digital platform for livestock loans, called Open for Livestock, providing 100% finance for farmers buying livestock, with the bank retaining security over the animals till they were sold. Working in with the website business, the bank had also

partnered with NZX Agri section AgriHQ in a free service to farmers allowing them to calculate the potential margin after finishing livestock they were considering buying. Another new business was the partnership with online livestock trading platform StockX. It provided for applications for Heartland livestock financing through the StockX website. Rural was the third and smallest of the three Heartland operating divisions. As comparisons, Households net receivables were much higher at $1.9b. Within that division, motor vehicle loans alone were bigger than the Rural lending, at $824m at balance date. Households also included the Reverse Mortgage business in NZ ($405m in receivables) and Australia ($515m). The other division was Business which had net receivables of $995m. Rural had the lightest operating margin at 4.33%, with Business at 4.73%, and Households 4.89%. Shareholders would receive a final dividend of 5.5c a share plus 2.13c tax credits on September 21. The directors said asset growth was expected to continue this year, with aftertax earnings in the $65m to $68m range expected.

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ALLIANCE Group has paid out another $4.5 million in loyalty payments to shareholder suppliers. The payments recognised farmers who sent all their lambs, cattle or deer to an Alliance processing plant. For 100% lamb supply the

payment was an extra 10c/kg and for sheep the payment was 6c, cattle 8.5c and deer 10c. Co-operative loyalty payments so far this year to shareholders on the platinum and gold supply programmes totalled $13.8m, chief executive David Surveyor said.

News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Quake recovery groups get grants Tim Fulton tim.fulton@nzx.com GRANTS have been confirmed for applicants to the state-sponsored primary industries earthquake recovery fund. The $3.54m would support South Island community projects helping farmers and growers determine what to do with their land after the November 2016 earthquake. The three-year funding was set up to support the Hurunui, Kaikoura and Marlborough districts facing significant erosion and damaged land and needed support to investigate long-term land use options. The five projects funded so far involved sheep and beef, dairy, viticulture and seafood. The Ministry for Primary Industries had approved funding in principle for a further three projects, provided they met certain conditions. MPI director-general Martyn Dunne said projects would be expected to share their findings with the community they represented. “This way everyone can benefit and make progress together as the region recovers,” he said. Projects would be contracted from September 1 and groups would report back annually to MPI on progress. MPI had set aside a further $1m for consultancy services, allowing farmers to use ministryapproved contractors to re-establish their previous systems and prepare for future shocks. This consultancy cash provided up to 200 land owners and managers with up to $5000 each. The remaining $460,000 of MPI’s $5m Earthquake Recovery Fund covered earthquake recovery work not covered by the eight community projects, such as precision agriculture and resilience planning.

Projects funded in principle Paua Enhancement Facility The Paua Industry Association could get $250,000 to set up an education programme to be run in conjunction with existing initiatives to support recovery of the paua population. It would include both reseeding and habitat options. Flaxbourne and Waimea Water Resources The Flaxbourne Settlers Association could get $372,250 to focus on changes to surface and ground water resources, their interaction and how the changes had affected water availability, quality, use and infrastructure.

Wine Industry NZ Winegrowers could get $313,370 to enhance resilience for Marlborough and North Canterbury wine industries with insights, evidence and engineering The earthquakes revealed vulnerability to seismic hazards. The aim of the research was to apply practical tools to make wineries more resilient to environmental, climatic and socioeconomic shocks.

SPREAD IT: Earthquake recovery projects being funded would have to share their findings with their communities, director-general of primary industries Martyn Dunne says.

DARD 1 STAON MOT E S US A L L THAT PR

All five venison marketing companies have agreed to base their on-farm quality assurance (QA) programmes on one industry standard

Approved projects Farm Land and Business Recovery Programme The Farm Land and Business Recovery Programme is an initiative by local farmers, Federated Farmers, Beef + Lamb NZ and local government to give direction to recovery research. The programme would work with local farmers to target relevant research, data and information collation to support their needs and to deliver the results back to the community through extension activities. The South Marlborough Farm Land and Business Recovery Group, the Kaikoura Farm Land and Business Recovery Group and the Cheviot Farm Land and Business Recovery Group got $600,000 each. Managing biosecurity risks on earthquake affected land The NZ Landcare Trust got $207,300 to look at the biosecurity risks on earthquake affected farms with various risks being investigated with a focus on how to reduce further spread and adapt management options for earthquake affected properties. It shared lessons with other biosecurity groups, eg nasella tussock, Chilean needle grass and wilding pines. The project would support the group and work collaboratively with landowners, industry groups, councils and research bodies. Pilot sites would be monitored and be a focus for field days and case studies to share the lessons. Kaikoura Plains Recovery project The Kaikoura Enhancement Trust got $600,000 to repair damage to the ground, emerging springs, stream banks and riparian areas on dairy farms. Suitable technical advice was now required to enable clarity, offer support, provide direction and allow landowners to make informed decisions. “This project provides an opportunity for multiple parties to work in unison to address some key issues, difficulties and questions currently facing the Kaikoura dairy farming community and develop a new land-use plan for the whole catchment.”

Ask your venison company about their on-farm QA programme

HELP KEEP OUR CUSTOMERS CONFIDENT On-farm QA proves oves that we as farmers are as good as we say we are. That our venison and velvet is good to eat and that our deer have been raised humanely. Having one on-farm QA standard supported by all venison companies will make it easier to communicate these messages to our customers and the wider NZ public. It will also make it easier on the farm. Each venison company has its own time-frame for introducing its new or revised QA programme based on the Deer QA on-farm standard.

ASK YOUR VENISON COMPANY about on-farm Quality Assurance and how you can be involved.

Deer Industry New Zealand | PO Box 10702, Wellington 6143 Tel: +64 4 473 4500 | Email: info@deernz.org

News

26 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Race on to meet new velvet rules Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com NEW Chinese regulation around how velvet is being imported as a traditional medicine ingredient is an opportunity for New Zealand product to be credible, branded and acknowledged by Chinese consumers, Deer Industry New Zealand board member Tony Cochrane says. Velveting was a privileged procedure involving a high-end product with regulated standards potentially offering added value for NZ deer farmers. “Setting our own standards with a newly implemented, regulated control scheme for farms and velvet depots is timely as we look at leveraging opportunities to remain the best in the velvet business,” Cochrane said. Farmers harvesting must this season comply with new regulations on food product standards required by the Chinese government. The need for new requirements followed a visit late last year by Chinese officials who reviewed how velvet was harvested, handled and stored. The new hygiene standards would apply to the harvest, storage and transport of velvet on all farms where velvet was collected, What was required for farmers

to upgrade their onfarm harvest sheds and facilities had been the focus of a series of Deer Farmers’ Association field days. A field day organised by the Canterbury-West Coast branch at Aubrey Aitken’s Mid Canterbury farm attracted 40 farmers to join discussion with National Velvet Standards Body director Paddy Boyd and industry accredited assessing veterinarian Rob Dunbar. Boyd encouraged deer farmers to accept the new hygiene standards were appropriate for a highly valuable food or pharmaceutical ingredient to help protect and build the reputation of NZ velvet and ensure it continued to have access to world markets. To date standards had been voluntary with nothing regulated. “Now a lot of velvet product is going into food and the regulated control scheme requires us to all abide onfarm, meaning all velvet sold out of NZ now has to be harvested under the regulated control scheme,” Boyd said. Compliance fell back on the NVSB and farmers. Any shed not up to standard could not export velvet. “Velvet can still be taken off but if it’s not tagged compliant by an assessing vet then it cannot go for export,” Dunbar said. While the Ministry for Primary

Industries realised everything couldn’t be achieved in two months farmers must be seen to be making an effort. “Pretty much the lead-in period is zilch but farmers who have made an attempt but not quite reached target will not necessarily be failed but will be advised of what they need to do to reach the mark. “It will be a big task this season to tick as many boxes as we can,” Dunbar said. Boyd said both the industry and MPI had pulled all stops to make the changes as workable and easy as possible for farmers. “We have got away with a lot for some years harvesting in pretty shoddy sheds and systems but we have to step up and comply now. “It’s about a change of management from what we have done – next season there will be no exemptions,” Boyd said. Some, including smaller or more venison-focused farms, might face bigger changes than others. Velvet antler could be removed only in a designated clean zone. All floors, walls, gates, benches and crush had to have surfaces that could be washed or wiped. Bare timber or dirt floors were no longer acceptable. Timber must be painted or plastic coated and floors concrete or covered with a non-porous rubber

BIG TASK: NVSB director Paddy Boyd and industry accredited assessing veterinarian Rob Dunbar talk to farmers about new velvet harvesting requirements. Photo: Annette Scott

matting. Freezers dedicated solely for velvet and operating below -15C° were now required. Cochrane said the new standards would position NZ ahead of its competitors. “Having a clean and safe environment for velveting should also instill a stronger sense of pride in what we do. “This is part of telling a story about our superior product to global markets that are asking for greater traceability and accountability,” Cochrane said. Whether spending $1500 on the deer shed would translate to $1500 more for velvet sold was yet to be seen. “But by cutting velvet on time to achieve rounder tops and more regrowth, having handling efficiencies and less damage, I would say the investment could easily be covered.” The healthy food sector provided the best chances for NZ

velvet to take the next steps in growing demand. China already had an image of a clean, green NZ. Interest was building and dollars were being spent in Korea by large food companies such as Korea Ginseng Corporation to market NZ velvet alongside their own brands. “Companies are wanting to visit NZ farms and premises to tell a story and leverage off our high standards. “This provides exposure we could never afford from levies alone,” Cochrane said. “How we present ourselves will determine this. We have a lot of potential in front of us. “Setting our own standards to achieve this is can only be a good thing.”

Read more on the new standards http://deernz.org/shed-examplesnew-standards

Scots get into velvet market

Five-star treatment for NZ venison

Colin Ley

Lynda Gray lyndagray@xtra.co.nz

SCOTTISH venison farmers have secured an export breakthrough into the Chinese medicine market with an allindustry shipment of Scottish Red deer antlers to Hong Kong. Organised by southwest Scotland deer farmer Rupert Shaw, the shipment was based on alters from his own farmed Red deer at Gledpark Farm, Kirkcudbrightshire. He also drew on supplies from several other Scottish venison producers who worked together to fill a shipping container. The Scots’ export success added new competition into an antler velvet market already attracting an investment of NZ$500,000 a year in development funding from Deer Industry NZ. Almost half-way through a five-year velvet market development programme, DINZ saw China as a core outlet for NZ velvet. For Shaw, however, his success was the result of a year-long process to secure the necessary export licence. “Although it is early days, the potential demand for Scottish deer antlers in Chinese

EXPORTING: Rupert Shaw, right onfarm at Gledpark with Janis Varklas of VP Holding, Hong Kong, after loading a container with Red deer antlers.

medicinal products could represent a very valuable market for those who are already producing venison or are planning to keep deer in the future,” he said. “At current prices of up to £16/kg of antler and many adult stags casting a set of antlers that could weigh more than 15kg there is a valuable return to be gained if we can secure a foothold in this market.”

VENISON processor Mountain River is slowly but surely growing Chinese appetites for Kiwi venison through five-star Western hotels restaurants. At face value the strategy seems illogical but it made perfect sense given most of the diners were Chinese. “If you’re a high-end Western restaurant and not targeting Chinese diners you won’t survive,” Hunter McGregor, a Shanghaibased importer and exporter said. The Mandarin speaking New Zealander who is encouraging uptake of Mountain River venison in restaurants in Shanghai and Beijing said the predominantly Chinese clientele expected and paid high prices for Western-style menu offerings. The restaurants were run by European chefs with whom McGregor was forming good working relationships. Last week the five-star Fairmont Hotel in Beijing launched a two-month summer venison promotion driven and developed by managing chef Christoph Zoller. “He saw venison as a point of difference and really likes the product,” McGregor said. The Swiss chef said he liked the flavour and the quality of the New

Zealand venison and also the story. “It’s a clean product from a clean country and it’s also a healthy product.” Zoller was familiar with European hunted venison, which had a gamey taste and was used mostly in slow cooked stews. “The NZ venison has a milder flavour so you can do a lot more with it.” The Fairmont menu offering, launched on August 10 by NZ Ambassador John McKinnon, included venison Wellington for two at NZ$260, smoked and cured venison salad for NZ$22 and Zurich style venison for NZ$60. “The best seller so far is the rump venison tartar. The feedback in general from the diners has been very enthusiastic and I will keep on using it,” Zoller said. It took 12 years of groundwork to make progress in China, Mountain River marketing manager John Sadler said. Taking a niche approach either to a particular food segment or geographical area kept the growth manageable and sustainable. “We want to get as close as we can to the customer and we’re able to do this in the Western restaurant business.” Since May last year the company had increased the number of restaurant clients from 30 to about 100.

HARD SLOG: It took 12 years for Mountain River venison to make headway in China, marketing manager John Sadler says.

The strategy of exporting lower-value, bone-in cuts for use and development into leg and rump cut dishes for the high-end restaurant segment was exciting. “It’s an interesting market and the chefs have been very supportive.” But there was still a long way to go before diversifying into the mainstream Chinese restaurant arena. Since 2013 the total volume of venison exports had almost doubled from 170 tonnes to 335 tonnes, valued at $2.1 million. However, it was still a lowvolume and low-value destination in comparison to the United States, the leading market, which took 3283 tonnes and paid $34.2m.

News

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Needle grass threat to all sheep farmers Tim Fulton tim.fulton@nzx.com CHILEAN needle grass is a threat to every sheep farmer, the leader of a new national fight against the noxious tussock says. The plant, infamous for ruining animal fibre and pelts, was found in Marlborough, Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay. It was being reported on a growing number of properties, partly because of growing awareness. The new Chilean Needle Grass National Steering Group’s chairman Warwick Lissaman said the weed was ideally suited to dry, east coast grassland. Its seed carried easily on anything from sheep and socks to bicycles and contracting equipment. CNG was an erect, tufted perennial tussock that could grow up to a metre high when left ungrazed. It produced seeds from three points on the plant: the panicle seed, mid-stem seed at leaf joins and at the base of the plant. Panicle seed was the most obvious and was usually present from November to January and, when conditions were suitable, from March to May. “If it gets in your socks it will wind its way in (to skin) and you won’t get rid of it,” Lissaman said. It was time for central and local government to move on from CNG awareness campaigns to a national response. The Seddon farmer said over the past few years he had changed

his thinking about the grass from seeing it as a biosecurity problem to an environmental danger and a threat to the sheep industry. Biosecurity officials usually treated the tussock as just another noxious weed with limited impact. Similarly, the Conservation Department appeared to classify it only as an agricultural weed.

They’re totally down-playing it. This is a pest of the highest level. Warwick Lissaman Chilean Needle Grass National Steering Group “They’re totally down-playing it. This is a pest of the highest level.” If it became widespread on hill country, cattle and forestry might be the only options on traditional sheep territory. That could spell trouble for the environment as nutrient built up in waterways. Lissaman’s 400ha farm was unaffected by the grass but he saw that as an advantage in a national debate about the danger. “To carry kudos it had to be led by someone who didn’t have it. We will have that plant pest if we don’t address it.” Environment Canterbury and Marlborough District Council had different policies for the grass, from a form of self-regulation

and monitoring to proposed movement controls. Lissaman’s steering group opposed bovine Tb-style controls on the transport of animals and farm machinery. “To physically make sure that a seed doesn’t leave a property you would end up having to strip down a bulldozer to 100 different pieces. It would be virtually impossible.” And machinery used on an infected farm would have to stay there. “It’s creating a nightmare.” Even if adopted, the measures would be pointless if the livestock industry, including meat plants, were not set up for rigorous monitoring. As it stood, the safeguards were sporadic. At the Wither Hills farm near Blenheim, for example, the public could use walkways year-round despite the grass being present. “Some people locally and wider than there are saying ‘why isn’t this whole place shut down for parts of the year?’” It was also worrying that a proposed public cycleway from Picton to Kaikoura appeared not to have taken stock of biosecurity risk. “It’s a wonderful concept but has anyone thought about the pest plant Chilean needle grass?” Whatever the control policies, they needed to be consistent between regions, Lissaman said. The Ministry for Primary Industries had approved New Zealand Landcare Trust’s

Why is Chilean Needle Grass a pest? CHILEAN needle grass is an invasive weed that can dominate productive pasture grasses and take over large areas if left, particularly in dry environments such as south Marlborough. It was unpalatable to stock

when the panicle seed was present from November to January and March to May. The panicle seed attached easily to stock, particularly wool, and could dig through the pelt and muscle, downgrading pelts

and meat as well as wool for export. The seed could also penetrate lambs’ eyes, causing blindness and sometimes death. Source: Marlborough District Council

2096FW

The online hub for what’s happening now in agriculture. It’s where farmers go for live news, information, jobs, real estate and much more.

NO WAY: Putting movement controls on stock and machinery from farms with Chilean needle grass would create a nightmare, farmer Warwick Lissaman says.

application for just over $200,000 to look at biosecurity risks on quake-damaged South Island farms. Landcare South Island team leader Janet Gregory said it would use the funding to work with landowners, industry groups and researchers on control.

The conditions of MPI’s grant weren’t yet clear but Landcare hoped to set up pilot sites for field days, Gregory said.

The full version of the plan is available at ecan.govt.nz/pests

There is a control plan ALL Canterbury land occupiers with Chilean needle grass on their properties are required to eliminate all plants within five metres of a boundary and abide by the proposed management agreement. Eliminate meant the permanent preclusion of the plant’s ability to set viable seed. Parties to the management agreement must address, where relevant, the sale of sheep in known Chilean needle grass areas; inspect cattle, horses and deer from known needle grass areas before movement or sale and inspect dogs before moving

them outside the property. The land occupier must also heed protocols for vehicles, machinery and equipment including clothing and personal equipment. The requirements also applied to the sale and movement of any crops; visitor entry and exit points, signs and access. The rule also required land occupiers to notify Environment Canterbury of any stock movements, including the new location, beyond the property Source: Environment Canterbury proposed pest management plan 6.4.8

28 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Newsmaker

Passionate legend a humble man Retired Ashburton farmer, author and agricultural industry pioneer Brian Cameron has been hailed as a true legend for his extraordinary achievements on behalf of the co-operative business sector. Annette Scott talked to him about his lifetime passion for agribusiness.

ASSIONATE about all things farming, Brian Cameron knows full well the trials and tribulations of the earlydays toil on the land. He always had a vision to do much more, not only on his own land in Mid Canterbury but also for the farming industry nationwide. A part of that vision was born in 1979 when he realised the need to address the ailing agricultural cooperative business sector. Cameron headed a working party of like-minded business and community leaders in creating a voice that led to the formation of the NZ Agricultural Co-operatives Association, a not-for-profit membership organisation to represent the country’s cooperatives, mutuals and societies. Registered in March 1984 the association’s name was changed to the NZ Co-operatives Association in 1997 then in November 2012 to Co-operative Business NZ (CBNZ). Following almost 40 years of continuous involvement Cameron was honoured by CBNZ this month when he received its premier award for his outstanding contribution. The award recognised an individual who had contributed significantly for more than 10 years to the success of an individual co-operative or the wider co-operative business model in NZ. Cameron was the organisation’s founding chairman and held the role for 18 years. During that time and largely because of his leadership and perseverance, extensive and innovative legal work was done in the 1990s culminating in the Cooperative Companies Act 1996. He was also committed to raising the standard of cooperative governance and early training initiatives introduced during his chairmanship continue today with both CBNZ and the NZ Institute of Directors offering governance training for cooperative directors. As the co-operative business sector’s performance and reputation grew Cameron was invited to present several papers in Australia, England and Europe. Topics ranged from the groundbreaking co-operative legislation to farming without subsidies. Today CBNZ’s membership exceeds 100, representing a business sector that employs 50,000 and generates more than $43 billion in revenue, about 20%

TRUE LEGEND: Brian Cameron, pictured with wife Norma, who he says has been the cornerstone support that allowed his wider agribusiness achievements.

of the country’s GDP and a third of all exports. Honoured and delighted to receive the award, 86-yearold Cameron was proud of his passion but modest about his achievements and accolades. He acknowledged the huge satisfaction he gained from his time and effort.

It’s been a glorious adventure and it’s exciting to see what has been achieved today. Brian Cameron Pioneer “It certainly took up time. My family can tell you that. “If it wasn’t for the support from my wife (Norma) I couldn’t have achieved what I have. She has been involved in what I was doing and also in running the family and farm while I was doing it. I used to farm in the weekends,” Cameron said. “It’s been a glorious adventure and it’s exciting to see what has been achieved today – if I had my time over I wouldn’t change anything. “The atmosphere and spirit has

been marvellous and made it all worthwhile.” One of his greatest highlights was striking water on his own farm at Pendarves on Mid Canterbury’s east coast despite hydrology experts strongly advising against the idea. He farmed through the times when community water management schemes were instigated by central government and largely treated as engineering projects. He always had the vision that with water he could do much more on his land. “And I did when in 1968 water turned my farm into an oasis.” In 2009 Cameron released his book Liquid Gold – the record of the journey of irrigation in Mid Canterbury from that water-breaking day just before Christmas 1968. The book chronicled the value of water to the district and the challenges faced by those whose vision it was that water could one day turn Mid Canterbury into the agricultural powerhouse it was today. While competition for water was the big challenge now, Cameron had a simple answer to that – storage. Other notable contributions by Cameron to co-operatives included being the founding chairman of Irrigation NZ in 1978, chairman of the Lower Rakaia Irrigation Scheme and deputy

chairman of the Barrhill Chertsey Irrigation Company. He served on the board of PPCS, now Silver Fern Farms, was fully involved in the formation of Ravensdown and the Electricity Ashburton co-operative and served on the Lincoln University Council through the 1980s and 1990s, being awarded the Bledisloe Medal from the university in 2001. Cameron’s agribusiness contributions were recognised by other awards throughout his career including the Hall of Fame Australian Agribusiness Co-operatives 1995, honorary membership of CBNZ in 2000 and the J R Cocks Memorial Medal for services to irrigation in 2012. CBNZ chief executive Craig Presland described Cameron as a true legend in NZ’s co-operative economy in the modern era. His foresight, determination and energy had significant influence in driving the organisation to where it was now, Presland said. “While chairing our fledgling membership organisation for almost two decades Brian insisted that kiwi co-operatives and mutuals be represented, protected and supported by separate legislation. “Due in part to his leadership and perseverance, extensive legal work was done during the 1990s culminating in the NZ Cooperative Companies Act 1996.

“It was an innovative piece of legislation which has generated considerable overseas interest, been highly successful with its low compliance costs and commercial focus enabling co-operatives to grow and take a significant and influential place in the economy and wider society, Presland said.

The voice of co-ops CO-OPERATIVE Business New Zealand is the industry’s peak body bringing together the country’s co-operative and mutual businesses to champion the highly successful business model. For more than 30 years it has been the voice of Kiwi co-ops and mutuals and the recognised authority on cooperative business. In 2014 the United Nations named NZ as the world’s most co-operative economy following a global survey of 145 countries. In partnership with the Institute of Directors it offered co-operative-focused education and professional development programmes targeted at leaders, directors, members and senior managers of co-ops and mutuals.

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Protecting farms and our water Accurate, affordable water quality monitoring will soon be in the hands of every landowner who needs it thanks to the efforts of Wairarapa technologist, farmer and environmental campaigner Grant Muir. Richard Rennie spoke to the environmentalist who wants to provide a tool that ensures farmers get a better insight to nutrient losses and freshwater quality.

RANT Muir gained a profile several years ago beyond his small district of Hinakura with an award-winning movie River Dog filmed by his son James. The darkly shot movie followed Muir’s daily efforts to keep cattle out of the Pahaoa River. More recently his efforts have been focused on developing RiverWatch, an in-situ floating monitoring device capable of measuring waterway turbidity, nitrates, phosphates, pH, temperature and oxygen levels. That’s usually the domain of $20,000-plus German manufactured equipment. But the hand-held floating monitor would typically sell for about $2000 a unit and was now poised at the “beta testing” stage before going commercial. “The problem we have right now alongside degradation issues in waterways is the lack of data that is being collected on those parameters. “The cost of the equipment has limited collection points and who is capable of purchasing such equipment. “For example, Horizons

invested in four of these German units. “Only about 10% of our waterways actually have any water quality data available.” Muir said the wireless ability of the RiverWatch monitor and its affordability would open up the coverage nationally in water systems. Multiple units feeding realtime data into a web server would effectively crowd source data for landowners’ information. Feeding data to freshwater scientists for analysis would also ultimately deliver more accurate catchment decision-making. The sensor’s development included significant input from doctoral students at Victoria University, a group Muir said were an inspiration to work with, with a can-do approach to any problem confronting the project. “For me working with these young, intelligent people has been great. They don’t know what they don’t know, give them guidance and you get it back in spades.” A key piece of technology making RiverWatch viable was the affordable and robust lowpower, wide-area networks (LoRaWaAN).

MEASURED: RiverWatch team member Joanne Jackson with Grant Muir.

EASY AS: Farmer Grant Muir has developed a new water quality monitoring device that is a tenth of the cost of rival devices.

They could broadcast data over long distances using solar power. At a farm level RiverWatch data would be accessible via a smartphone app, providing realtime data on nutrient loss and water quality. But it was also the ability of RiverWatch’s open platform software to mesh with research and catchment programmes

that had engaged the interest of freshwater scientists and regional councils. Victoria University had 13 doctoral students working on the data RiverWatch would be collecting in the coming year. “Coupled with GPS mapping we will be gathering data down to fiver square metres. “This is going to enable us to identify hot spots of nutrient losses and is also going to take much of the guesswork out of catchment nutrient management that we work on now.” The device had already painted a digital map from the sensors now in waterways and as more populated waterways that will grow in accuracy. The project reflected Muir’s philosophy of “putting back” into the environment. RiverWatch’s manufacture was being run by a not-for-profit venture at a minimal cost of about $2000 a unit with surplus income going back to conservation innovation and research and development. Recognition had come early for the device, with it picking up a World Wildlife Fund conservation award last year and being a finalist in the Wellington Gold innovation awards this year. As regional councils struggled to develop freshwater management plans based on modelling decisions with far-reaching effects on farmers’ livelihoods, Muir was adamant the device was as much

to protect farming as to preserve waterways. “What we have found in some areas when we test with RiverWatch is the pollution coming from farms is actually less than initially modelled.” He hoped widespread distribution of RiverWatch would improve the accuracy of models used in programmes like Overseer and avoid issues like those in the Horizons region.

Only about 10% of our waterways actually have any water quality data available. Grant Muir RiverWatch “It’s been tough on everyone. “We all have to review the whole nitrogen leaching process, looking longer-term at measures to reduce it. “In some ways it’s only now with this technology the plan can really be effective in achieving those goals set before the technology had really caught up.” RiverWatch needed $350,000 to advance to full commercial production and Muir said he was receiving positive response on PledgeMe, a crowd funding platform.

Opinion

30 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

EDITORIAL Rural water whammy a sop to Aucklanders

Neal Wallace

LETTERS

Water tax now, will air be next? INTERESTING in an election year that water tax is on the table. Management of water and charging when it’s exported I am in agreement with but taxing water, that opens a new field of farming. Do we get to charge the Government for the water that’s falling on my land? That’s an idea, farm water. Forget about animals or crops, we can live on water alone. It could be more profitable considering the amount of water I see falling from the skies each year. That brings another item to the forefront. Air or, more importantly, oxygen, that critical element that keeps us all alive, is that the next tax, an air tax? I wonder how long before that’s on the agenda, if not already.

Being an election year, one would think it’s in everyone’s interests to get rid of a few taxes, not increase the burden on the population by increasing the number of taxes. Maybe when we famers stop producing food and it’s rationed then the few in power might understand we all need to work together. Murray Taylor Eketahuna

Heading ARE you worried what the next government will throw at us – clean, swimmable water, nitrogen-leaching issues, Paris climate agreement. For farmers it looks hard. How can we come to fair solutions for farmers? In the 1950s when I was at the agricultural school in

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plantings and/or severely restrict fertilisers near lakes, the costs would be impossible to afford from our farming incomes. Since all in NZ benefit from our primary industries and will benefit from clean water (think tourism) it’s only reasonable that all people contribute to the costs of establishing clean waterways through subsidies, affordable loans, even volunteers help. We farmers should do research for a realistic, fair deal on establishing the required clean waters. Riparian plantings should become hugely beneficial to all of us as they will add up to sequestering carbon dioxide for which we again should claim carbon credits. Helena Thorpe Takaka

Letterof theWeek

EDITOR Bryan Gibson bryan.gibson@nzx.com

Wageningen in Holland you could smell the Rhine a mile off – the sickly dump smell. The Rhine carried all the industrial and urban waste from Zwitserland and Germany through Holland into the North Sea. Europe agreed on clean rivers, making all those urban polluters pay to clean up their own rubbish. The Rhine is clean now with fish. Low lying grasslands, like in the Netherlands, have again very strict restrictions on fertiliser use to prevent algae blooms and dying off of marine life. As the land also needs to be intensively farmed for farmers to make an income, the government pays farmers subsidies for keeping clean streams. For New Zealand farmers to fence and plant riparian

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OR a rural sector feeling ostracised and marginalised, the Labour Party’s election policy of taxing irrigators and rural water bottlers feels like the proverbial being kicked when you’re down. While the party refuses to divulge the rate of the proposed tax ahead of the election, when pushed party leaders have conceded it will not exceed $500 million a year, equivalent to twice the value of arable export earnings each year. The party’s Environment spokesman David Parker has hinted it could be 1c to 2c a cubic metre, with proceeds distributed to regional councils to fund improvements to water quality after some has been paid to Maoridom to meet Treaty of Waitangi settlements. The unified response from those in the productive sector is that the policy was poorly conceived and would result in higher food prices but it is the assumptions that accompany the tax that are most alarming. It assumes farmers are not doing anything to improve water quality and by exempting urban uses it either assumes they do not have water quality issues or any remedial work will be subsidised by the regions. Regional councils are toughening up environmental laws so sucking funds out of farm businesses reduces the ability for remedial and preventive environmental work. The policy implicitly states the Crown owns water and could trigger a new round of Treaty of Waitangi claims. So, after being processed by bureaucrats and provision made for treaty settlements, how much money will be left over for water quality improvements? Clearly, a promise made in March by former Labour leader Andrew Little that the party had no plans to raise taxes is history, so once in place, what is to stop this latest tax being increased? Quite simply a policy taxing rural food producers but not urban water users such as brewers and sugary drink manufacturers is blatant populist politics that formalises the urban-rural divide. By launching the policy at the Environmental Defence Society conference, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has illustrated the stark reality that to win an election, political parties must win over Auckland voters.

Opinion

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Fluid policy wrong for water Chris Allen

NY plan to tax water needs to be very well thought through, not made up on the hoof weeks before a general election. Federated Farmers’ opposition to this Labour policy is not an anti-Labour campaign – we don’t care about the colour of a political party’s flag, just about the quality of its policies. Over the last week Labour has flip-flopped from what started as a universal royalty on large commercial users of water, to a tax that zeroes in on farmers. They’ve gone from reacting to public concern about the export of bottled water by overseas companies to ending up with a discriminatory tax on food production. Labour has accused Federated Farmers and others of scaremongering. But we simply asked Labour how much they had in mind to collect and in the face of a lack of detail did some calculations based on publicly available statistics and the moving target of Labour’s statements as they were made. When the Greens announced a tax of 10 cents a litre of exported bottled water, Labour in early June said they were considering a tax on irrigated water of “one thousandth” of that, ie 10 cents per 1000 litres. Labour mentioned no figure per thousand litres when they announced the policy on August 9. Following a Federated Farmers challenge to “tell us the numbers”, Labour said in a media interview the tax would be between “cents per litre” for bottled water and “cents per 1000 litres” for irrigation and less than $500 million in total. By Sunday, Labour’s water spokesman David Parker put the total tax from farmers at $100m and the party had backed off putting a tax on those taking from municipal water supplies such as Coke’s Kiwi Blue water bottling plant.

The

Pulpit

That’s the very kind of business the public was up in arms about in the first place. Labour says they’re not interested in applying the tax to businesses that draw from municipal supplies as those firms would end up paying twice. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. No-one pays for the actual water from a municipal supply. The charges cover the collection, treatment and piping of water to users. Irrigation water also does not arrive at the farmgate for free. Rural commentator Ele Ludemann has given as an example the North Otago Irrigation Company (NOIC). Farmers have to buy shares and pay a cost of about $80 a hectare a year. That covers the infrastructure and delivery costs – ie the same kind of costs Coca Cola pays for water delivered to it by Auckland City Council. If all of this is about seeking improvements to water quality and taxing those who have detrimental effects on water quality then taxing the water itself is not the answer. Irrigation does not equal pollution. Irrigation can be the most efficient way of managing nutrients.

WRONG OUTCOME: A tax on agricultural water use could be counterproductive and hinder farmers’ conservation efforts, Federated Farmers water spokesman Chris Allen says.

Precision irrigation enables farmers to put the right products on the land at the right time, eliminating leaching when there is no rain.

An extra tax merely increases farmers’ costs and - perversely - might even encourage them to intensify farming activity to offset the increased cost of the tax.

An extra tax merely increases farmers’ costs, which might be passed on to consumers, makes our primary products less

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competitive in export markets, robs farmers of income that might otherwise be used for the environmental stewardship work the vast majority of them do and – perversely – might even encourage them to intensify farming activity to offset the increased cost of the tax. What it doesn’t do is guarantee an improvement in water quality. Canterbury is home to nearly 70% of irrigated water users and, thus, will shoulder the greatest burden of the proposed new tax. When farmers have less money to spend, employees, contractors, suppliers and entire rural towns will feel the squeeze. Farmers want Labour to take a consistent approach – to work with the farming community in the same way they propose to work with urban communities to

lift water quality in both urban and rural New Zealand. A new era of stringent discharge limits is being ushered in by local authorities in rural areas and farmers are further picking up their game, having already collectively spent many hundreds of millions of dollars on fencing, riparian planting and putting wetlands and native bush under protective covenants. Those in breach are prosecuted or don’t get consent renewals. Another tax – applied regardless of the farmer’s environmental performance – is unfair and counter-productive.

Your View Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across? The Pulpit offers readers the chance to have their say. nzfarmersweekly@nzx.com Phone 06 323 1519

Opinion

32 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Ag scientists must speak up Alternative View

Alan Emerson

THE front page in last week’s Farmers Weekly told us that farming will have to shut down in Canterbury’s Selwyn District to meet the Government’s national water quality standards. That is what Environment Canterbury told the Government. We have similar issues with both Horizons and Waikato District Councils and nothing would surprise me with Hawke’s Bay. Labour is playing tootsie over the issue and is going to tax us to irrigate, though at what level we don’t know. They’ll tell us after the election. So, our problem is that both major parties seem to want to shut down farming or severely restrict it. How the economy is going to survive and prosper with all that happening no-one will say but, in a nutshell, our industry has major problems. The issue, in my opinion, is that our industry needs credible, scientific support and we’re not getting it. What that means is that our detractors, and there are many, can say virtually what they like and there is no factual counter to it.

In years gone by we’ve had directors-general of agriculture maintaining a strong media presence, the universities supported them with factual scientific information and our Crown research institutes were all happy standing up and being counted. All of that seems to have gone by the way. Yes, we have Federated Farmers who do an excellent job on policy issues but they are not scientists. Sure, they were able to bring Greenpeace to heel on its recent emotive hysteria regarding water quality but we need a lot more than that.

What we do need is a scientific advocate for agriculture.

We need scientific champions. In the past we had Dr Jacqueline Rowarth at Massey and latterly Waikato universities but sadly she has joined the state sector and is no longer able to comment broadly or independently put issues in context. Dr Doug Edmeades never walks away from controversy and is an extremely able advocate for our sector. The problem is that one person can do only so much. Not that long ago Massey University had several scientists who weren’t afraid of controversy and were prepared to stand up and factually argue agriculture’s case.

That is all in the past and I would argue Massey’s stance is now firmly anti-agriculture and it all seems to go unchecked. I have absolutely no issue with academic freedom; it is one of the basic tenets of our society. The problem I have is that science needs to be factual, based on reputable data and be peer reviewed. Massey doesn’t seem to worry about any of that and while in the past I’d have recommended Massey as an institute of primary industry learning, I certainly wouldn’t suggest it to any school leaver based on its current performance. Lincoln, my old university, sadly, seems to be missing in action. They’re not antiagriculture. They just don’t have much of a profile. AgResearch also appears to have gone into hibernation when it comes to presenting factual, scientifically based arguments supporting the rural sector. Whether it is deliberate policy, the result of their matrix management system or just the shambles emanating from Future Footprint, I don’t know. I will, however, give new chairman Jeff Grant time to get his position firmly established before I pursue AgResearch further. What I find incredibly frustrating is that I can phone several scientists and/or academics capable of making a strong statement but they don’t want to lift their heads above any parapets. What we need and desperately

SCARED: Scientists don’t want to stick their heads up when it comes to defending agriculture.

so is a scientific champion, capable of factually arguing the science presented by the various anti-farmer lobby groups. We desperately need an independent voice for science for both the economy and protecting the environment, who achieves as much exposure as those from the extreme organisations. As we don’t seem to have it from the universities or scientific establishment we need to create a position to do just that. We have the resources. I believe Federated Farmers do extremely well on a budget of just $6 million but they are stretched incredibly far. Correspondingly, Beef + Lamb have, by my reading of their annual report, total income of $35m. Establishing a champion would, I’d respectfully suggest, be more in their members’ interests than some of their other activities.

DairyNZ has an annual income of $92.5m, a substantial amount. They have a scientific division but they have little public profile and they don’t seem eager or even willing to participate in any public scraps. So what we do need is a scientific advocate for agriculture. Another option would be to have a Parliamentary Commissioner for Agriculture similar to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Agriculture is our biggest income earner, it occupies most of our easier country and it employs a lot of people. Surely it deserves some sound, reputable scientific support the same as other industries receive.

Your View Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath-emerson@wizbiz.net.nz

Confetti storm bowls the Aussies over From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

THE events of the last few months are astonishing and completely unexpected. All eyes had been firmly fixed upon the Korean Peninsula but not now. Machiavelli in 1517 said “It is a very wise thing to simulate madness.” It’s a policy the Nixon administration played to good effect, to the point where Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam and the Soviets came to believe he was so irrational and volatile that any move that might tip him into madness would see him punching the nuclear button. So, they played it very cool. But the madman theory was never going to work where you have two madmen on opposite sides of the Pacific in Trump and Kim Jong Un or Fatty Kim the Third, as the Chinese fondly refer to him. Mind you, mutual insane unstableness could just work as

a nuclear deterrent but it’s a risky ploy. So, no one other than the Australasians paid any attention to what is now known as The Barnaby Joyce Affair. He was the deputy prime minister in Australia. It turned out that because his father was born in New Zealand Joyce enjoyed automatic NZ citizenship by descent. The Australian constitution (Section 44 Part 1) forbids foreign citizens holding public office to ensure loyalty to Australia. Compelling evidence of his disloyalty was on display when the infamous sheep photo surfaced. It turned out he should never have been able to be elected to parliament and as he left, the government’s one-seat majority crumbled. The Australians shouldn’t have been surprised as almost everyone in that country has a parent born overseas thus ruling nearly everybody ineligible to hold public office. In the chaos that followed in The Lucky Country, public witch hunts began. Family trees were scrutinised and mobs began breaking into houses to inspect pantries and those without Vegemite but with Marmite were daubed with the word Kiwi

BAA HUMBUG: Barnaby Joyce tried to say his affinity with sheep didn’t mark him as a Kiwi.

scrawled across the front. The All Black/Wallaby test played in Dunedin at the end of August turned into a farce. It had quickly become known that 11 of the starting 15 of the Wallabies were now actually NZ citizens and ineligible to play the test for Australia. In the end the 26 New Zealanders gave the four Australians a beating that will remain in the record books for ever. Back across the Tasman things began to deteriorate rapidly. This forced into play a policy so secret that only successive NZ Prime Ministers had known about it since National’s Sydney Holland. When his government brought in the NZ Citizen Act in 1949 Holland realised that any NZ man

who left the country and fathered children would result in secret NZ citizens scattered all over the world. It was labelled the Confetti Citizen strategy. Many of these citizens rose through the ranks of their adopted countries and bided their time. English went to Ardern and disclosed the strategy and she readily agreed the time had come to help quiet the turmoil of NZ’s neighbour. Australians had always believed the threat would come from the north so were completely caught off guard when the NZ army with Gerry Brownlie in tow swarmed onto the beaches of eastern Sydney. There they were met by the top brass of the Australian military, all

NZ citizens of course, and it was only a few days before the NZ flag flew over Canberra. One of the benefits of this invasion was that no new flags were required – just a liberal use of twink. The Land of the Long White Cloud had spread across the Tasman and the Chinese admiringly called NZ the mouse that roared. With control of the newly named West Island, the new government quickly righted historic wrongs. The result of the Underarm One Dayer was swapped. Pavlovas, lamingtons and flat whites were recognised as Kiwi inventions and all the great Kiwi bands were acknowledged by Turnbull in his final act as PM as having come from across the sea. The Olympic and Commonwealth medal tables of the past were readjusted to recognise that most of the Aussie medal winners had in fact been NZ citizens. The occupied West Island soon settled down and became a kinder and gentler place.

Your View Steve Wyn-Harris is a Central Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer. swyn@xtra.co.nz

Opinion

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Centre-left is now targeting farming From the Lip

Jamie Mackay

IN A farming week dominated by a soggy start to spring, a slight fall in dairy prices and the decline of our national sheep flock to just 27.34 million, one story has dominated the rural headlines. Labour’s proposed water tax, and let’s not water it down by calling it a royalty, has really antagonised farmers. And it’s probably fair to say quite a bit of fake news, to use Trump vernacular, has been bandied about by both sides of the argument. Wily old Winston, he of the selfsatisfied Cheshire cat grin, has led the charge with his anecdotal $18 cabbages. For her part, the effervescently charming Jacinda Ardern has channelled her own “I’m happy to be the MP for Tauranga” rhetoric with her constant reminders of her rural upbringing in Morrinsville and how she hasn’t given up on the farmer vote. If that’s the case she has a strange way of showing her affection.

Every man and his dog have been happy to wade in – the likes of the Greens, Greenpeace and Forest and Bird in the red corner with the Nats, New Zealand First, Federated Farmers and Irrigation NZ in the blue corner. The latter organisation even publicly challenged Jacinda (she’s only been in the job two minutes and already she’s known only by her Christian name, an honour reserved for the likes of Winston and Richie) to answer the questions New Zealanders deserve to know when it comes to the water tax. I put some of them to her and added my own two cents (no water royalty pun intended) on my show last week. Here are a couple of her interesting answers: JM: Why is it fair to tax some types of commercial water use and not tax others? Everyone is happy to tax water bottlers, that industry has driven this tax, but it seems like it’s just water bottlers and farmers, no one else? JA: Let’s be clear, water bottlers will pay a higher rate – the equivalent of a royalty between gold versus gravel. But other users already pay. Anyone with a commercial operation hooked into a municipal supply will be paying their council. My understanding is Coca Cola pays a dollar per 1000 litres and what we’re talking about for farmers is 1-2 cents. JM: If the tax varies depending

on water scarcity, water quality and weather conditions then how many different tax rates will there be? Surely the compliance and metering costs will be a nightmare? JA: We’ll aim for simplicity on this but if we went in the other direction with one flat rate, people would cry foul on that too. Someone taking water from a pristine aquifer, bottling it and shipping it off to China should pay a higher rate than someone irrigating their farm. I want to make sure all the issues that have been raised by our farming community are taken into account. I want to do this together. I don’t see it as adversarial, it shouldn’t be. We all know that we’ve got an issue. Lots of farmers are doing so much good work to try to rectify it. We want to keep doing that work with them. Soothing and conciliatory words indeed from Ardern but I reckon you’ve got to back 10 elections to 1987 and Rogernomics since we’ve had such a them-and-us election. The battle lines are drawn. I can’t recall a time in my 23 years in the rural media when’s there’s been such a rural-urban divide over issues such as water quality. There are many urban folk who are quite happy to see polluting farmers pay to clean up our waterways, even though their own municipal authorities are major polluters in many cases.

EASY: Labour leader Jacinda Ardern is aiming for simplicity in the water tax.

Make no mistake, for better or worse, farming will become an increasingly regulated and compliance-driven business should a centre-left government be first past the post in our MMP election. However, a lot of non-taxed water has to cross under the bridge before September 23 and even more before the November 12 departure of our farming and sightseeing tour to the southern states of America. On the menu is jambalaya and jazz in New Orleans, a Mississippi steamboat river cruise, the NASA Space Centre in Houston, Elvis’ Graceland home in Memphis, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the Jim Beam Distillery and Kentucky bluegrass thoroughbred country in

Lexington, the Muhammad Ali Centre and Churchill Downs in Louisville and hopefully, along the way, Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Add to the mix, farm visits to the likes of a sprawling Texas cattle ranch, an intensive, housed dairy farm and a Kentucky horse stud and you have an ideal postelection breather. And the best bit is for farmers it’s a legitimately claimable expense. Unless, of course, Ardern decides to tax that too.

Your View Jamie Mackay is the host of The Country that airs on Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport, 12-1pm, weekdays. jamie@thecountry.co.nz

Hard numbers needed for a hard decision Yeah Right

Stephen Bell

HERE we go again. A well-meaning desire to clean up waterways could result in the country going broke. Yes, it’s that serious. We are all being asked to vote on dramatic policies with far-reaching and possibly dire consequence without having any specific detail about how much they will cost. We don’t know how much commercial users will have to pay for water so we don’t know what the impact will be on their businesses. In rural areas will that mean farmers being unable to carry on, market gardens growing veggies only when the summer is a damp one, industries closing down? We don’t know and even those who are writing the policies don’t seem to know. It is time for those who can provide some answers – Treasury, the Primary Industries Ministry,

the Environment Ministry – to do what public servants are supposed to do and provide a public service. They could give us some numbers on the policies and tell us what the impacts of those policies will be on farmers’ costs and returns, on job losses, on food prices and on environmental benefits. Unless someone puts some meat on the bones electors are being asked to vote on vague notions and ideals without knowing the upshot of voting on way or the other. It’s clear opposition parties have come up with policies they believe will sound appealing to many people, especially urban people, grand ideals and pointing the finger at someone else. They are asking people to vote for them on the basis they are taking the moral high ground and voting for them will give you a dose of the warm fuzzies. In other words they are counting on the feel-good appeal of their policies and hoping no one will ask about the reality of the aftermath. And that could be serious. Very serious indeed. Meanwhile, the Government seems to have caught a bad case of nerves. It seems to be trying to react to everything the other parties are doing. It’s sort of standing by its record, but not all

WHAT COST? Stephen Bell says we are all being asked to vote on dramatic policies with far-reaching and possibly dire consequence without having any specific detail about how much they will cost. that convincingly, while trying to counter the moves the others are making to appeal to urban voters by also trying to appease those who don’t like its policies. In other words it’s trying to have a bob each way. Voters are left gambling, taking a punt on what might be best for the country. Everyone thinks clean water is a good idea. What’s at question is who pays and how much. Labour reckons its mystery charge will do the clean-up job in five years. Really? Can we undo in just five years something that has taken hundreds of years to cause? And should we if the price of that it unfairly blaming and taxing just one sector of the population. Remember, the whole country

has benefitted from agricultural exports since The Dunedin set sail on February 15 1882 with 4331 mutton, 598 lamb and 22 pig carcases, 250 kegs of butter, hare, pheasant, turkey, chicken and 2226 sheep tongues. And things haven’t changed since then. We are still a long way from our markets, even if some of them are now in Asia. So to combat the tyranny of distance we need to give our primary producers and manufacturers every advantage we can. One of those advantages is water and the cost of its delivery. Here we can learn from the electricity deregulation fiasco. Cheap power was one of the things counter-balancing the cost of freight to market for our goods. But in a triumph of ideology over common sense a National

government privatised the electricity industry. I wrote a column suggesting it was folly to sell off what we already owned to companies that would then put up the price of electricity to make us pay them back for buying what we used to own. Thus we paid not just more for electricity but had to pay a second time for the cost of all the electricity-generating assets. I got a phone call from the then Minister, Max Bradford, telling me I was talking nonsense and that power prices would come down rather than go up. He said the electricity market would be the same as the petrol market where fuel companies were about to start undercutting each other on price because of government policy. My power bill has gone up steadily ever since. So, experience suggests to me that once someone starts charging for water that will be the thin edge of the wedge and that cost will filter through to everything we buy, including food. It will likely give local bodies the idea they too can charge for water – the water bill they impose now is not for the water but for the cost of delivering it – and everyone will have to pay more if they do. And if all the farmers go broke and stop exporting how will that generate money for the clean-up?

World

34 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Tax meat and dairy to alter dodgy diets FARMERS have been hit with the release in Britain of two influential reports on the future of agriculture – one calling for a tax on meat and dairy products and the other demanding tariffs on food be unilaterally abolished. National Farmers Union president Meurig Raymond said the proposals in both papers could be detrimental to the economy and environment.

We know we need dairy products and meat to be part of a wellbalanced diet. Meurig Raymond National Farmers Union The first report, from the Eating Better Alliance, was produced with organisations including Friends of the Earth and Compassion in World Farming, and said any future agricultural policy must push people towards a more plant-based diet to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions. It was claimed such a “less and better” approach to livestock consumption would result in higher quality, higher welfare produce. The report called for the government to explore all avenues to change people’s eating habits, including taxing meat and dairy. Other suggestions involved providing advice to the public on sustainable diets and integrating it into public procurement rules. Raymond said the demands were “absolutely ridiculous”. “We know we need dairy products and meat to be part of a well-balanced diet. “Butter is now seen as a health product and there are beneficial nutrients in red meat. “Taxing them would deny people the ability to buy nutritious food and price people on lower salaries out of the marketplace.” The second report, which suggested tariffs on food should be abolished to make them cheaper, was produced by Policy Exchange, a think-tank set up by Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove and former

TOSH: National Farmers Union president Meurig Raymond describes suggestions of taxing meat and dairy to change eating habits and putting sustainable diets in public procurement policy as absolutely ridiculous.

Conservative Trade Minister Francis Maude. Its authors said the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) had reduced agricultural productivity by lessening competition and bumped up prices for consumers. They called for the United Kingdom to phase out production subsidies and income support by 2025, with any remaining cash to be directed towards protection for public goods and increased research and development.

Kiwi lamb imports tipped to rebound THE fall in lamb imported to Britain from New Zealand this year was welcomed by British producers but indicators showed levels will likely rebound next year. In the year to May 2017 NZ lamb imports were down 17.47% to 35,934t compared with the corresponding period a year before, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board figures showed. That was because of a drop in NZ lamb numbers, down 1% to 23.7 million from fewer ewes – down 5.3% to 18.06m, making the 201617 NZ lamb crop the smallest since spring 1953. Those numbers combined with a strong NZ dollar against the pound to reduce imports to the United Kingdom. Data from the European Union Commission showed that between January and early July NZ used only 41% of its 228,254t EU lamb quota despite the first half of the year being NZ’s seasonal peak and when EU demand was highest. The latest report from the Ministry for Primary Industries suggested slaughter and production were well down in the year ended June 2017, compared with the previous year.

The export situation was compounded by the weakness of sterling following last June’s vote to leave the EU, making returns for exporters to the UK far less attractive. Partly in response to the weak pound, NZ increased its lamb shipments to China, shipping 6000t more in the first five months of 2017 compared with the corresponding period the previous year – despite total exports globally falling. Higher UK production helped satisfy domestic demand in the wake of lower NZ imports, as a result of an unusually higher number of old season lambs carried into 2017. However, the UK levy board predicted 2018 would see a return to a more regular production pattern in the UK and NZ, which would result in imports and exports returning to more traditional levels. That return would be facilitated by the slowing of the rate of flock decline in NZ in the 201718 season, alongside lambing percentages increasing over the next five years and carcase weights continuing their increase, the ministry predicted. UK Farmers Weekly

Policy Exchange research director Warwick Lightfoot, who co-wrote the report, said “The EU’s historic reluctance to open up trade in food products has stymied trade deals and led to higher prices and a distorted farming industry. “The UK can now lead the world in cutting tariffs and being a champion of free trade in agriculture.” Raymond said the analysis from Policy Exchange was too simplistic.

“It is so easy to make this point that all tariffs should be removed but there are issues around standards. “We are required to produce to high standards. “Undermining them cannot be right for British farming or the environment. “We also know consumers want more British food and we could easily put this in jeopardy with these calls.” UK Farmers Guardian

US dairy farms up fertility UNITED States dairy farmers are improving fertility without compromising milk yield. Dr Jose Eduardo P Santos, of the University of Florida’s department of animal sciences research foundation, told the Australian Dairy Research Foundation Symposium US dairy farmers had reversed a 20-year decline in the reproductive performance of lactating cows. Describing reproduction as being in an “upswing”, Santos said the US dairy herd now had reproductive performance comparable with 30 to 40 years ago. “In fact, the numbers we have today for reproductive performance are comparable with those we had in the late 1970s and early 1980s despite the fact the average cow in the US now produces 10,600kg of milk a year and approximately 750kg of milksolids, with numerous herds averaging 13,000kg of milk/cow/year and 900kg of milksolids/cow/year. “In the last 10 years alone we reduced 21 days of calving interval. It now averages 401 days.” Days open had declined from 144 to 123, he said. There were numerous reasons for the improvement.

“First, we understood a better producing cow needs proper feeding, health management and comfort,” he said. Producers understood resting time, heat stress abatement, proactive disease control and proper diets were all part of the success of a dairy farm.

In the last 10 years alone we reduced 21 days of calving interval. It now averages 401 days. “In early 1990s the US industry stopped selecting dairy cows based only on production and incorporated productive life in the selection programme.” In 2003 the industry incorporated daughter pregnancy rate as the key fertility index for selection and since then genetic selection had expanded, particularly with the use of genomics. “The industry now keeps selecting cattle for yields of milk and milk components

but health and fertility traits are part of the selection programme,” Santos said. There had been a lot of technology implemented to better manage reproduction. “The emphasis on more intensively managing reproduction has made the industry learn how to implement technologies to better detect oestrus, to better synchronise ovulation to allow for fixed-time artificial insemination.” The changes took years to implement and it was not until the early 2000s that daughter fertility showed signs of improvement. “To put it in perspective to Australia ... our average farm has a typical six-week in-calf of only 45 to 50%, whereas our best farms have a six-week incalf of 65 to 70%,” he said. “As we get better, more and more farms move into the better numbers.” Santos hoped for further improvements and said if they continued at the same rate it would be possible the calving interval of 401 days would continue to decline and soon get to 380 to 390 days. Many thought that level was “economically ideal” for today’s level of production.

World

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

Aussies committed to push free trade accounted for 57% of Latin America’s imports, only 0.2% of them from Australia. Removing tariffs — now so high that Australian produce had effectively been shutout of the region — would be crucial for Australian agriculture to benefit from any deal. Tariffs up to 80% were imposed on Aussie beef, dairy attracted tariffs up to 45% and sugar more than 30%. The Australia, New Zealand and Mexico Business Council vice-president Donald Smallwood said it was high time Australia began engaging with Mexico, set to join the top 10 economies in coming decades, while GrainGrowers noted the potential for Australia to help feed the Pacific Alliance’s 84 million tonnes a year appetite for grains, a trade dominated by the United States. So, how low could tariffs realistically go? Ciobo refuses to enter into a sector-bysector analysis: “If I start ruling things in and out from the get-go then frankly it bastardises the process,” he said.

I would always prefer to get a goodquality deal than just do a deal for the sake of doing a deal. Steven Ciobo Australia He was mildly more open when it came to discussions on Europe. A working group to prepare for a post-Brexit free-trade agreement with the UK — where most of Australia’s agricultural trade in Europe lay — was already under way. Negotiations with the EU, however, were set to formally begin by the end of the year. Europe was fiercely protective of its agricultural industry but improved Australian access would be a must — something he made clear in a speech to the

European Parliament last year, Ciobo said. “When you consider we import more agricultural products from Europe than we export to them with their population, it goes a long way to describing the imbalance, in terms of the current trading environment.” Industry expected dairy, beef and lamb exports to be sticking points. Likewise, the issue of geographical indicators — product names such as Parmesan that were associated with European regions, which the European Commission said were “confronted with abuses and imitations in Australia”. Ciobo acknowledged the topic would be a “central shift” for Europe but he pointed to the past success of the wine industry that “win-win outcomes” could be achieved. Closer to home, a deal with Indonesia could be locked in by the end of the year with progress recently made on sugar and cattle exports. However, India, another market Australian producers had struggled to access because of its protected ag sector, appeared to be off the radar. Ciobo denied that was the case but it was an illustration he wouldn’t sacrifice the quality of the deal for a timeline. “What was on the table was not something I would have considered a good outcome for Australia so I simply wasn’t prepared to entertain it. “We’ll continue to try and make headway in a range of different areas but it does reinforce my point that it’s not just about doing a deal for the sake of doing a deal.” Away from the negotiating table, non-tariff measures remained the biggest barrier — all the FTAs in the world meant nothing without market access. The gains seemed sluggish at times and not without their own give-and-take. China earlier this year licensed more than 40 more Australian beef exporters while six were shut out

IMBALANCE: Australia imports more from Europe than it exports there and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo wants to address that.

overnight last month because of labelling issues. Ciobo was pragmatic on working through non-tariff barriers, citing Australian’s ban of imported prawns following the white-spot outbreak. “Australians understandably are very focused on making sure we maintain standards in that respect,” he said. “Other countries argue the same principle in reverse. Now we know that our products ... are among the best, if not the best, in the world but we still have to work through that process.” Australia’s involvement in multilateral deals, chiefly the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership also remained high on the agenda and Ciobo maintained their importance in the face of rising protectionist sentiments. www.weeklytimes.now.com.au

Aussies can buy free-range milk MILK supplier Camperdown Dairy in Australia has launched a range of twolitre milk brandishing a “free-range” label. The company advertised the new labelling on social media as available at “selected Woolworths stores across Victoria”. A Woolworths spokesman confirmed the new range was available at 20 stores and included full-cream and low-fat two-litre options at $4 each and two two-litre Jersey milks, also at $4. “The four new products complement

the existing Camperdown Dairy range we have in a selection of Victorian stores and emphasises our continuing support for locally produced milk,” he said. But the labels raised a few eyebrows on Camperdown Dairy’s Facebook page, with some comments questioning their necessity. The company did not respond to media calls. Dairy Australia figures showed just 1% of dairy farms in Australia used total mixed ration systems where cows were

housed inside with feed taken to them, creating about 5% of milk output. About 12% used partial mixed ration systems where cows were on pasture most of the year, accounting for 16% of milk production. Food Standards Australia New Zealand said there were no standards around the term “free-range” for dairy. In Britain eyebrows were also raised when milk there was advertised as freerange on the basis cows were allowed to go outside when the weather permitted. www.weeklytimesnow.com.au

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agrievents AWDT’s Escalator 2018 Applications for AWDT’s Escalator 2018, growing primary industry leaders, are now open. Applications close September 30, 2017 To apply: Admission to Escalator is by written application. Places are limited to 14 each year. For an application pack and more information please contact: www.awdt.org.nz/ programmes/escalator/ Phone: 06 377 4560, Hannah@awdt.org.nz Wednesdays 23/08/2017, 20/09/2017, 18/10/2017 & 15/11/2017 AWDT Understanding Your Farming Business 3 full-day workshops and an evening graduation ceremony run over four months Venue: Moutere Hills Community Centre, Upper Moutere Contact: anna@awdt.org.nz Website: To register for the programme follow this link http://www.awdt.org.nz/programmes/understanding-yourfarming-business/ Wednesdays 13/09/2017, 11/10/2017, 08/11/2017 & 06/12/2017 AWDT Understanding Your Farming Business 3 full-day workshops and an evening graduation ceremony run over four months Venue: Waverley Contact: anna@awdt.org.nz Website: To register for the programme follow this link http://www.awdt.org.nz/programmes/understanding-yourfarming-business/ Wednesday 18/10/2017 to Thursday 19/10/2017 East Coast Field Days 2017 Two day agri business event, promoting agriculture in the East Otago area. Venue: Palmerston saleyards, State Highway 85, Palmerston, Otago Contact: President, Paul Mutch, 021 800 833 or Secretary, Maria Barta, 021 211 1111 Email: info@eastotagofielddays.co.nz Website:www. eastotagofielddays.co.nz Thursday 27/10/2017 to Saturday 29/10/2017 Waikato A&P Association - 125th Jubilee Show Venue: Claudelands Showground, Hamilton Entries and contact: Trish Lloyd – 07 855 4776 or accounts@waikatoaandp.co.nz Website: www.waikatoaandp.co.nz Should your important event be listed here? Phone 0800 85 25 80 or email adcopy@nzx.com

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AUSTRALIAN Trade Minister Steven Ciobo defines Australia’s approach to global trade in its simplest form as a good quality deal. But he won’t reveal exactly what that deal looks like for specific sectors, including agriculture. Nor too, with half a dozen trade agreements on the table from Indonesia to the European Union, does he give an inkling of which are the most pressing. “I make the point repeatedly that I would always prefer to get a good-quality deal than just do a deal for the sake of doing a deal,” Ciobo said. “Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean you just continue ad infinitum but I think what’s more important is the quality of the deal.” His predecessor, Andrew Robb, left parliament last year to high acclaim, particularly among those in the agriculture sector, for clinching a trifecta of free-trade deals that were years in the making, with China, Japan and Korea. Those FTAs have been “game changers”, according to Ciobo, who has been no less busy since taking the portfolio. In the face of rising protectionism, the government had remained unapologetically pro free trade — crucial for the ag sector, which exported two-thirds of the food produced. “We consistently make the point Australia is a premium producer of high-quality foodstuffs ... and there’s blue sky potential for us. We just have to make sure that we’re tapping into that,” Ciobo said. “My objective if I can, if at the end of this term, I’m able to say, ‘Well look, I’ve been able to start and finish Indonesia, start and finish Peru, start and finish Hong Kong, start and finish the Pacific Alliance, start and finish the European Union, and start the United Kingdom’. “I think that’s a reasonable amount.” Ciobo’s first ministerial trip was to Colombia and Chile, which, alongside Mexico and Peru, make up the Pacific Alliance trading bloc. The bloc

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – August 21, 2017

Spring 2017 Property Pull-Out We’ve got you covered

It’s back! The Spring Property Pull-Out feature will be running through all issues of The Farmers Weekly in October. Book a campaign of three or more advertisements in October and get a complimentary editorial on your property in one of our pull-out specials. We’re very proud that The Farmers Weekly remains committed to the Real Estate industry, and that we have been the most read rural publication for more than a decade. Talk to your agent now and make sure you are in the paper that more farmers read. For more information on real estate advertising contact Shirley Howard on 06 323 0760 or email shirley.howard@nzx.com 2301RE

Contributor to realestate.co.nz

Terms and conditions apply.

Give your advertising campaign the edge with an advert on farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

RURAL rural@pb.co.nz 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Spray irrigated - Mayfield - 52 ha

WEB ID AR57157 MAYFIELD 10 Moorhouse Road This farm is located on 4 titles and is nestled in the heart of Mayfield which is located approx. 35km west of Ashburton. Special features include: Quality Mayfield Silt loam soils, spray irrigated using water from the Barrhill Chertsey Irrigation Scheme, 2x200 tonne grain silos. The property is topped off with a near new 275sqm (Fowler Home) made up of 4 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and large open plan living with indoor outdoor flow. A great additional or stand alone.

Irrigated arable - 186 ha + 53 ha lease

WEB ID AR57156 MAYFIELD 100 Oakleys Road View By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Wednesday 27th September, 2017 at Very seldom does an irrigated property located on top 3.00pm, (unless sold prior) quality soils (Mayfields and Templetons) become available to the market. Located at Mayfield and approx. 30km west of Ashburton this farm has the capability to produce quality produce year in year out. Presently run Chris Murdoch as an intensive arable/lamb finishing/bull fattening unit Mobile 0274 342 545 but has the ability to be a top quality dairy farm or dairy Office 03 307 9191 support unit. Spray irrigated with a 630 metres pivot Greg Jopson irrigator and a hard hose OCMIS UR7 gun. Excellent Mobile 027 447 4382 4 access and well fenced. Boasts a large lockable Office 03 307 9176 workshop and implement storage. Paul Cunneen

DEADLINE SALE

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190

Quality smaller dairy unit - 119 ha

WEB ID AR56893 ASHBURTON 758 Hackthorne Road Seldom in Mid Canterbury do we get dairy farms of this size available to the market. Special features of this farm include Pivot irrigation, MHV Water Limited, tidy shed and 3 homes. The present vendor runs a very efficient low cost dairy unit (Approx. $3.25/kg/ms) showing excellent returns. The property is only being sold because the vendors are looking for their next step.

View By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Friday 25th August, 2017 at 3.00pm, (unless sold prior)

Mobile 0274 342 545 Office 03 307 9191

Paul Cunneen

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190

Rodger Letham

Mobile 0274 333 436 Office 03 307 9192

www.propertybrokers.co.nz

Chris Murdoch

Mobile 0274 342 545 Office 03 307 9191

Rodger Letham

Mobile 0274 333 436 Office 03 307 9192

Greg Jopson

Mobile 027 447 4382 Office 03 307 9176

Methven - Arable, irrigated - 69 ha

DEADLINE SALE

Chris Murdoch

DEADLINE SALE View By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Wednesday 27th September, 2017 at 3.00pm, (unless sold prior)

WEB ID AR57162 METHVEN 63 Longs Ford Road This property located within 2km of the Methven township is looking for new owners. The recent development of the property from dryland to pivot irrigated using the very affordable Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Limited water make this property a great purchase. A tidy 3 bedroomed home in a sheltered setting plus numerous sheds and silos. A great stepping stone property.

DEADLINE SALE View By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Tuesday 19th September, 2017 at 3.00pm, (unless sold prior)

Chris Murdoch

Mobile 0274 342 545 Office 03 307 9191

Greg Jopson

Mobile 027 447 4382 Office 03 307 9176

Rodger Letham

Mobile 0274 333 436 Office 03 307 9192

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – August 21, 2017

RURAL rural@pb.co.nz Office 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Ravelston Farm

Midway Meadows

WEB ID DFR56966 KIRWEE 1048 Courtenay Road View By Appointment Rare opportunity to purchase a well established 113 ha TENDER closes Thursday 7th September, 2017 at 3.00pm, (unless sold prior) dryland finishing property with a rich history of top performance. Located at Kirwee within the command area of Central Plains Water Irrigation Scheme - Stage 2, with versatile Lismore slit loam soils and excellent shape with two road frontages, this property is ideally suited to intensive finishing or mixed cropping, which underpins the future investment potential. Improvements include a Gareth Cox large 4 bedroom homestead plus a range of Mobile 021 250 9714 outbuildings, an excellent first farm option or add on. Office 03 929 0306 Open Day Wednesday 16th August 12pm-2pm gareth@pb.co.nz

TENDER

Sallan Realty farmersweekly.co.nz

BY NEGOTIATION View By Appointment

Dairy (315 ha) - Maize (78 ha) - Forest (190 ha) Lucerne (16 ha) - Beef (2000 calves reared) Calving 950 cows in Spring and 150 in Autumn, milked through a new 74 bail fully automated rotary shed. 505,000kg/ms. For Sale as a Going Concern, walk in - walkout Possession to suit the new owner. Call Paul O'Sullivan 0274 964 417.

Paul O'Sullivan

Mobile 027 496 4417 paulo@pb.co.nz

OPPORTUNITY TO GROW

• • • • • • •

Situated south of Whanganui is this 175ha opportunity 20 aside herringbone dairy and 300 cow yard with adjacent feed pad The herd is split calved and supplies milk to Open Country Bore that supplies water to stock troughs, dairy and houses Large machinery shed, large silage bunker Three bedroom family home and second staff home Call Les to inspect, asking 3.1 mil

WELL BALANCED DAIRY FARM

• • • • • • •

Very nice 105ha dairy farm on the town boundary of Eketahuna Well laid out with flat to rolling contour and growing well Good 24 aside dairy with 250 cow yard and adjacent feed pad Three bedroom family home, open plan living, i/access garage Has produced up to 88,500kgs milk solids. Your chance to own this farm now with a first of June 2018 takeover Call Les to inspect

Google ‘Sallan Realty’ Your Farm Sales Specialist

LES CAIN 0274 420 582

Licensed Agent REAA 2008

New Zealand's leading rural real estate company

THE NEW ADDRESS FOR RURAL REAL ESTATE

Retiring Vendor • • • • • •

Stay up-to-date with the real estate market with

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

75 hectares Large five-bedroom family home Four car garaging Good implement sheds Old disused cowshed (great for calf rearing) Fertile flats

Licensed under REAA 2008

Dargaville DEADLINE SALE

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closing 2.00pm, Tuesday, 5 September

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: DAG26479 Megan Browning B 09 439 3344 M 027 668 8468

pggwre.co.nz

LK0088856©

MARKETING PREVIEW

Well run 174 ha dairy farm in the Tararua District Currently running 300 Holstein Friesians Has produced up to 139,000kgs milk solids consistently Bore at dairy supplies high pressure water Top quality 32 aside herringbone dairy shed Two very good family homes with views Call Les to inspect

WEB ID TPR55298

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhBlmGanTBw

www.propertybrokers.co.nz

• • • • • • •

UPPER ATIAMURI 6261 State Highway 1 A growing business - 572.01 ha

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

Licenced under REAA 2008

TENDER

A Proven Producer

Taumarunui TENDER

• 139.0113 hectares, 343 acres (more or less) • Purchased in 2010, this property has been reverting rapidly since then for the sole purpose of Manuka production • This property is located at the end of the road with the main neighbouring property being a state forest and is well tracked to collection sites • Good water with the Waitara river close by • Please bring your own motorbike to view - helmets compulsory

(Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 11.00am, Friday 22 September PGGWRE, Rora Street, Te Kuiti OPEN DAYS 11.00-12.00 noon, Friday, 1, 8 September, MOKI ROAD

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: TEK26432

Peter Wylie B 07 878 0265 M 027 4735 855

OPEN DAY

Riverside Farm And Elysian Alpacas

Whakamarama TENDER

• Wonderful waterfalls and river pools to swim in • Sea views and big northerly aspect from modern, four bedroom, three bathroom, two living area home with adjoined, self-contained lodge, B&B or granny flat • Stunning 7.06 hectare farm, clean pasture, fertile land, bush and river, well fenced, raced and watered • The new ’loveshack’ riverside cabin is a charming addition • Purpose built large poulty area for breeding fancy birds • Alpaca stock and business available as an option • Contact the listing agents for an Information Memorandum www.pggwre.co.nz ID: TAR26483

(Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm, Thurs, 14 September OPEN DAY 10.00-11.00am, Sunday, 27 August

Andrew Fowler B 07 571 5797 M 027 275 2244 Todd Martelli B 07 571 5793 M 027 330 5604

pggwre.co.nz

Employment

SHEPHERDS

Account Manager

We are looking for dedicated and motivated Shepherds to join our team in the Hawke’s Bay.

INFORM – EXCHANGE – GROW

Positions available:

NZX Agri is the recognised leader in the rural media sector in New Zealand. It is also developing a global reach with its publications and primary sector analysis delivered in both digital and print.

As a Shepherd, you will work within a small team, under the guidance of Managers who are keen to see staff expand their skills and achieve their goals. There is also scope for the right person to work across both the livestock and cropping enterprises.

For more information, phone Tracy Gage-Brown – Farm Manager on 027 200 6980. To apply visit www.landcorp.co.nz/careers Applications close 5pm, Thursday 24 August 2017.

Farm Locations: • Poukawa Valley – about 20 minutes south of Hastings or 10 minutes north of Otane • Fernhill – about 15 minutes from either Hastings or Taradale The farms are close to town allowing staff to enjoy the best of both worlds and providing the added benefit of giving family and partners choice in regards to schooling and work. The successful applicant will bring: • A sound level of stockmanship • 2 to 4 capable working dogs • Self-motivation to work independently • Good communication skills • Ability to follow and implement health and safety protocols • Willingness to learn new technologies • Excellent work ethic and reliability • Pride and respect for their workplace

As you will be working independently you’ll need to have loads of energy, a can do attitude and strong communication skills. Your resilient sales skills and your ability to build client relationships at all levels will be essential in this role. You will need to demonstrate sound computer skills, past media experience is preferred and an absolute passion for NZ’s agricultural sector is essential.

Farm Manager Te Akau Stud, which is a 1600ha property in the Te Akau valley, has a rare vacancy. One of its properties is an 800ha sheep and beef finishing property and a vacancy has arisen for a farm manager to join the team.

A competitive remuneration package with employee benefits will apply based on experience and skill level.

You will be well rewarded for your performance with a competitive salary, potential to earn sales incentives and a company car, phone, laptop etc are all part of the total remuneration package.

Bring your great attitude and energy to our progressive farming business

LK0088688©

Or if reading this online: Click here to apply

Cape Foulwind Dairy Support

What you will bring: • A minimum of 2 years experience as a shepherd. • Be a motivated team player and have good communication skills. • 2-3 well-controlled dogs.

Livestock policies consist of winter trade lamb, bull beef and Wagyu cattle supplying grass-fed markets and feedlot finishing programmes. A range of paddock sizes provide good mustering opportunities as well as the chance for further development in intensive finishing systems, pasture management and modern farming practices.

You will be the face of NZX Agri in the South Island working remotely from Christchurch and reporting into Agri HQ in Feilding. You will be part of a wider sales team and will be working to reach business KPI’s and successfully manage your revenue pipeline to achieve sales performance targets.

HEAD/SENIOR SHEPHERD Landcorp are looking for an experienced Shepherd who will perform stock work and general duties. Located 10 minutes from Westport, this dairy support property has approximately 18,000 su over 700ha. The ideal candidate will bring experience in pasture and crop management, driving tractors and have a strong knowledge of bull farming. This role comes with a 2-bedroom house.

• Shepherd – Permanent • Shepherd – Fixed Term (August to November)

The Account Manager will focus on print and online digital sales into our leading rural publications – NZ Farmers Weekly, farmersweekly.co.nz along with other subscription publications we represent, NZ Dairy Exporter and Country-Wide magazines. You will take full ownership of a portfolio of clients in understanding their business objectives and be responsible to maintain and accelerate customer revenue and bring in new client business. You will be comfortable selling directly to clients and also into advertising agencies.

To apply for this job go to Seek and search Account Manager – Canterbury. Job# 34064970.

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – August 21, 2017

Email your CV and cover letter, with “Shepherd” in subject line, to: hayden@brownrigg.co.nz Or apply online via our website: www.brownrigg.co.nz If you have further questions call Hayden Ashby 0272 931 682

The successful applicant will have outstanding stockmanship, be a good communicator, be a very organised person and will have good technical skills. This position will allow the successful applicant to grow their sheep and beef farm management skills. A four-bedroom home in attractive grounds with good quality schooling (primary) and a very competitive remuneration is part of the package. Please email your CV with references to admin@total.ag.com For further information and job description please contact Rob Macnab on 027 320 3185 Applications close on 3rd September 2017

FARM ENVIRONMENTAL POP QUIZ Addressing environmental risks to water quality start with which biophysical characteristics? A: Soil types

B: Topography

C: Climate

D: All the above

EMPLOYMENT

REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY Please print clearly Name: Phone: Address: Email: Heading:

Principal Consultant

Advert to read:

We need an environmental expert and, if you know your Good Management Practices for farming like the back of your hand, you might be just the person we’re after. Your incredible abilities will have been honed by years of experience in agriculture, including a degree, plus an in-depth knowledge of a variety of farming practices together with an excellent understanding of OVERSEER® and Farm Environmental Plans. Your lively mind keeps up with all the latest technological and procedural breakthroughs as well as all the ever-changing local environmental regulations. Plus you are just as comfortable passing on your enthusiasm and knowledge to the members of your team as you are offering our customers honest, commerciallysound, practical advice. But above all it will be your passion for New Zealand agriculture and helping farmers that will impress us. The importance of smarter farming to lower environmental impacts while optimising land value is what we are all about. You’ll believe what we believe. This is your chance to join a company that’s making a direct contribution to the success of the NZ agricultural industry and to receive an impressive haul of personal benefits from medical insurance and superannuation to excellent training and development opportunities. Don’t delay, if you truly are a master of your specialist subject, then we want you here heading up our crack Ravensdown environmental consulting team in Canterbury, Otago or Southland as soon as possible. So if you think you have the commitment, energy and flexibility to take these roles on then we would love to hear from you. To apply, please send your CV and covering letter to Rachel Wix, HR Advisor, on careers@ravensdown.co.nz

www.ravensdown.co.nz/careers

Return this form either by fax to 06 323 7101 attention Debbie Brown Post to NZX Agri Classifieds, PO Box 529, Feilding 4740 - by 12pm Wednesday or Freephone 0800 85 25 80

LK0088784©

classifieds@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

LK0088869©

Classifieds

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – August 21, 2017

DOCKING NET® 07 867 3091 8am - 8pm

contact@fencewright.co.nz

www.fencewright.co.nz

ANIMAL HANDLING

CRAIGCO SHEEP JETTERS. Sensor Jet. Deal to fly and Lice now. Guaranteed performance. Unbeatable pricing. Phone 06 835 6863. www. craigcojetters.com

FLY OR LICE problem? Electrodip - The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides. Incredible chemical and time savings with proven effectiveness. Phone 07 573 8512 w w w. e l e c t r o d i p . c o m

FOR SALE

ANIMAL HEALTH www.drench.co.nz farmer owned, very competitive prices. Phone 0800 4 DRENCH (437 362).

CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISING

FREEZERS

udly NZ Madew Pro Since 1975

021 441 180 (JC)

Advertise in The NZ Farmers Weekly

LK0088733©

frigidair@vodafone.co.nz

FOR FARMERS & HUNTERS When only the best will do!

Call Debbie

classifieds@nzx.com

With automatic release and spray system. www.vetmarker.co.nz 0800 DOCKER (362 537)

LK0088657©

VETMARKER

LAMB DOCKING / TAILING CHUTE

DEMOLITION. Country Villas, houses, buildings, commercial, industrial. Any area. NZ. Please phone 027 405 2391.

VERY WELL BRED strong eye Heading pups. 5 months old, showing eye. Phone 06 372 5951. Masterton.

www.gibb-gro.co.nz GROWTH PROMOTANT $5.85 per hectare + GST delivered Brian Mace 0274 389 822 07 571 0336 brianmace@xtra.co.nz

DOGS WANTED

CONTRACTORS

0800 85 25 80

POWER CABLE

GORSE SPRAYING SCRUB CUTTING. 30 years experience. Blowers, gun and hose. No job too big. Camp out teams. Travel anywhere if job big enough. Phone Dave 06 375 8032.

DOGS FOR SALE FIFTY DOGS FROM 50 cents a day! Online or Onfarm. Deliver Northland to Southland. Trade ins welcome. Thirty day exchangeable trial. 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes.

We could save you hundreds of $$

HOMES FARM SHEDS SUBDIVISIONS PUMPS

DOG IS IN OAMARU! Two year plain eyed Header. Strong pulling, Sides. $2500. Thirty day exchangeable trial. 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes.

ATTENTION FARMERS

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, GARLIC & HONEY. 200L - $450 or 1000L - $2000 excl. with FREE DELIVERY from Black Type Minerals Ltd www.blacktypeminerals. co.nz

Do you have something to sell?

6-YEAR-OLD Huntaway dog. Athletic, good all round dog. Heaps of go. Needs lots of work or experienced handler. $3000. Phone Laurence Patterson 06 342 7728.

BRIAN BURKE, NZ Champ 1984 and 5 times NZ Champ finalist, available to train your working dog. In three weeks he will transform your heading dog into a productive asset for the farm. Contact Brian 06 343 9561 for further details and pricing (heading dogs only). HUNTAWAY BITCH, 4 years old used for moving bulls. No bite. $500 ono. Phone 09 431 7307. ONE 20-MONTH-old Heading dog under good command. $2000. Phone 07 825 4423. Mark Porter.

ANIMAL SUPPLEMENTS

CHILLERS &

DOGS FOR SALE

12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195. NORTH ISLAND monthly buying trip 26/8/17. Buying dogs South and North Island daily! Quick easy sale. No trial required. No one buys or pays more! 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes.

FARM MAPPING YOUR FARM MAPPED showing paddock sizes. Priced from $600 for 100ha. Phone 0800 433 855. farmmapping.co.nz

FERTILISER DOLOMITE, NZ’s finest Magnesium fertiliser. Bio-Gro certified, bulk or bagged. 0800 436 566.

classifieds@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

FOR SALE DOG/PET FOOD. Lamb/ Beef and chicken products. All natural - raw - no preservatives or additives. NOSLOC PRODUCTS. Ex-freezer Te Kuiti. For information and prices www.nosloc.com or phone 07 878 6868. WINDMILLS for water pumping. Ferguson Windmills Company. www.windmills.co.nz sales@windmills.co.nz Phone 09 412 8655 or 027 282 7689.

FORESTRY WANTED

NATIVE FOREST FOR MILLING also Macrocarpa and Red Gum, New Zealand wide. We can arrange permits and plans. Also after milled timber to purchase. NEW ZEALAND NATIVE TIMBER SUPPLIERS (WGTN) LIMITED 04 293 2097 Richard.

GOATS WANTED

FERAL GOATS WANTED. All head counted, payment on pick-up, pick-up within 24hours. Prices based on works schedule. Experienced musterers available. Phone Bill and Vicky Le Feuvre 07 893 8916.

CLASSIFIEDS REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY Advertise in the NZ Farmers Weekly $2.00 + GST per word - Please print clearly Name: Phone: Address: Email: Heading: Advert to read:

PROPERTY WANTED HOUSE FOR REMOVAL wanted. North Island. Phone 021 0274 5654.

SITUATIONS VACANT MILKER CASUAL weekends and odd weekday. 5 minutes from Rangiora, 200 cows, 24 ASHB. Must be available throughout the season, punctual and reliable. Phone Wayne 021 185 6691. Return this form either by fax to 06 323 7101 attention Debbie Brown Post to NZX Agri Classifieds, PO Box 529, Feilding 4740 - by 12pm Wednesday or Freephone 0800 85 25 80

LK0088147©

Notice of Election

TH IN K P REB UILT

• LEASE • BUY • SERVICE • COMPLIANCE

0800 383 5266

LK0088655©

SCOTTY’S CONTRACTORS

NEW HOMES SOLID – PRACTICAL WELL INSULATED – AFFORDABLE

• DairyNZ Board of Directors • DairyNZ Directors Remuneration Committee Invitation for 2017 candidate nominations – three positions available In October, two elections will take place for DairyNZ Incorporated – one election for two farmer-elected directors for the Board of DairyNZ Incorporated and a second election for one member of the Directors Remuneration Committee.

Under Woolshed/Covered Yards Cleaning Specialist www.underthewoolshed.kiwi

Registered levy-paying dairy farmers are invited to nominate candidates to fill these three positions. All farmers paying a levy on milksolids to DairyNZ are eligible to stand for either election. An information pack outlining desired criteria and nomination requirements for the positions can be obtained from the Returning Officer.

Now working Northern Hawke’s Bay: Fern Hill, Tutira & Wairoa areas

FROM THIS

Nominations must be received by the Returning Officer by 12noon Friday, 8 September 2017.

Our homes are built using the same materials & quality as an onsite build. Easily transported to almost anywhere in the North Island. Plans range from one bedroom to four bedroom First Home – Farm House Investment – Beach Bach

Elections

To date over 600 woolsheds. Big or small – give us a call.

If more candidates than the required nominations are received, elections will be carried out by postal and internet voting using the STV (single transferable vote) method. Votes will be weighted by annual milksolids production. Voter packs will be posted on 25 September 2017 to all registered DairyNZ levy payers, with voting closing at 12noon Tuesday, 24 October 2017.

TO THAT

The DairyNZ Annual General Meeting will be held in Rotorua on Wednesday, 25 October 2017. Election results will be announced at the meeting.

Phone Scott Newman Freephone 0800 2SCOTTY (0800 27 26 88) Mobile 027 26 26 27 2 New Zealand’s Number 1 service provider for under woolshed cleaning for more than a decade

For further details contact the Returning Officer as below. LK0088822©

LK0088637©

We haven’t been beaten yet!

Call or email us for your free copy of our plans Email: info@ezylinehomes.co.nz Phone: 07 572 0230 Web: www.ezylinehomes.co.nz

FOR SALE

GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds. Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten. Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis.

Prices include delivery to your door! For friendly & professional advice CALL 0800 843 0987 Fax: 07 843 0992 Email: power@thecableshop.co.nz THE CABLE SHOP WAIKATO www.thecableshop.co.nz

Anthony Morton Returning Officer – DairyNZ Inc 0800 666 033 iro@electionz.com

livestock@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

Livestock

Okupata Herefords

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – August 21, 2017

Stock Required:

YEARLING

BULL SALE

31st Annual Bull Sale

Under cover on farm sale Monday 11th September 2017, 12 noon

R1 Dairy Heifers. Friesian, Friesian X & Jersey. Recorded, Capital & Part Lines. 350 – 450kg Friesian & Beef 2 year old bulls. Contracts available for 80 & 100kg Friesian weaner bulls for October & November delivery. Bryce Young 027 496 7411 Aaron Clapperton 027 496 7410 Richard Seavill 021 169 8276 / 07 825 4984 Chris Smith 027 496 7413 / 07 870 4552

80 - 2yr Hereford Bulls 16 - 2yr Murray Grey Bulls

Office 07 823 4559

byllivestock.co.nz byllivestock

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING OKUPATA STUD 860 Okupata Road, RD 1, Oparau 3885 P: 07 871 0524 • M: 027 711 1291 • E: okupata@farmside.co.nz

PHONE NIGEL RAMSDEN 0800 85 25 80 SALE TALK

craigmore

polled herefords YEARLING BULL SALE

Monday 11th September 2017, at 12.30pm Luncheon available

On A/C D.B & S.E Henderson At the stud property: 429 Rukuhia Road, RD 2, Ohaupo 89 Registered Well Grown Bulls Delivery can be delayed until 1st October 2017 if required. Tb and Brucellosis accredited. BVD tested and vaccinated.

Craigmore Hereford bulls carry the Hereford Blue tag.

For further information or inspection, please contact: Vendors: David 07 825 2677, 021 166 1389 or the selling agents: PGG Wrightson: Bruce Orr 027 592 2121, Vaughan Larsen 027 801 4599, Cam Heggie 027 501 8182

LK0088698©

We have bulls that will suit beef and dairy farmers www.craigmoreherefords.co.nz

An elderly couple had dinner at another couple’s house, and after eating the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, ‘Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great I would recommend it very highly.’ The other man said, ‘What is the name of the restaurant?’ The first man thought and thought and finally said ‘whats the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know, the one that’s red and has thorns.’ ‘Do you mean a rose?’ ‘Yes, that’s the one,’ replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, ‘Rose, what’s the name of that restaurant we went to last night?’

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You’re invited to a relaxing afternoon with a lunch and refreshments on the farm, before our Annual Sale. Enjoy our spectacular West Coast scenery, see our bulls in their environment and reference sires before the sale. 12-2pm Friday 25th August, the end of Kokonga East Rd by the woolshed. We look forward to seeing you.

12 NOON - UNDER COVER PAULSEN ROAD, WAERENGA TE KAUWHATA, NORTH WAIKATO

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Enquiries to:

Dean & Lisa Hansen 07 826 7817

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farmersweekly.co.nz

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BULL WALK

Friday 8 September 2017

Livestock

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – August 21, 2017

livestock@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

STOCK REQUIRED 500 x MA EWES Due Sept

2YR TRAD/EXOTIC X HEIFERS 350-450kgs

R1 YR ANG & ANG X STEERS 200-280kgs

PRELIMINARY NOTICE 1YR DAIRY HEIFER FAIR

FOR SALE

Tuesday 19th September, 12 Noon Start Morrinsville Saleyards A/C S & J Godley 500 1yr Quality Dairy Heifers Tony Blackwood 0272 431 858

64 x R2-8YR SIC HEREFORD COWS Due 20th Sept – Genuine - Property Sale www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Ross Dyer 0274 333 381 A Financing Solution For Your Farm E info@rdlfinance.co.nz

PARADISE VALLEY MURRAY GREYS HILL COUNTRY BORN & BRED 1st Annual on farm Bull Sale at 375 Turitea Rd, Otorohanga Tuesday 19th September 2017 - 12pm 12 x 17 month bulls - Performance recorded & transferable 22 x yearling bulls - Ideal for heifer mating

CONTACT: MIKE PHILLIPS • P: 07 873 8115 • E: pvmg95cl@gmail.com PGG WRIGHTSON • Andy Transom, M: 027 596 5142 • Wium Mostert, M: 027 473 5856

North Island spring setting up nicely for sheep and beef farmers PGG Wrightson North Island Livestock Manager Tom Mowat says farmers are quietly confident of a profitable season ahead. “Sales of lamb and sheep meat are very strong. Present prices are a big improvement on 2016, at over $1 per kilogram ahead of where they were this time last year. These values appear sustainable, as the outlook for sheep looks bright in all regards, with the exception of returns for strong wool which is still struggling at very low levels. “International markets have picked up. There is more activity into China, where excellent demand for mutton is evident. In addition, some mutton is now being further processed before shipping. These added value products have helped improve farm gate returns. “On the store stock front, there is not a great deal of market activity recently. We had a quiet July, partly due to the wet weather and partly due to stock being killed earlier in the season. “That said, with lambing now under way in most of New Zealand, everything looks good for the next few weeks. We just need the ground to dry out somewhat. Scanning results are promising and barring adverse weather events, spring should be a season of good news for sheep farmers,” he says. Meanwhile, the trade in livestock suggests the situation for cattle farmers is also positive, though with a few caveats.

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“Cattle have been more seriously affected by the conditions being so wet, which has tightened up the feed supply. Across the country, farmers are likely to be working in the mud at present, and the feed surpluses created by our mild autumn are now largely used up. “Cattle trading has been slow over the past few weeks. Although local market demand is strong and prices remain positive, there is downward pressure from overseas markets meaning cattle values are unlikely to rise significantly over the next few weeks,” he says.

Get in touch: 0800 10 22 76 www.pggwrightson.co.nz

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For more information call 07 856 0731 or visit www.jersey.org.nz

Helping grow the country

MARKET SNAPSHOT

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Grain & Feed

MILK PRICE FORECAST ($/KGMS) 2017-18

6.75

AS OF 27/07/2017

AS OF 17/08/2017

Prior week

Last year

6 Mar 17 May 17 AgriHQ Spot Fonterra forecast

Jul 17 AgriHQ Seasonal

What are the AgriHQ Milk Prices? The AgriHQ Seasonal milk price is calculated using GDT results and NZX Dairy Futures to give a full season price. The AgriHQ Spot milk price is an indicative price based solely on the prices from the most recent GDT event. To try this using your own figures go to www.agrihq.co.nz/toolbox

WMP GDT PRICES AND NZX FUTURES

6.80

5.85

340

327

NI mutton (20kg)

4.10

2.80

353

350

272

SI lamb (17kg)

6.65

6.60

5.45

Feed Barley

361

355

256

SI mutton (20kg)

4.15

2.70

221

Export markets (NZ$/kg) 8.02

7.95

7.29

219

UK CKT lamb leg

Maize Grain

418

347

PKE

220

216

* Domestic grain prices are grower bids delivered to the nearest store or mill. PKE and fertiliser prices are ex-store. Australian prices are landed in Auckland.

6.5

3000 2500 2000 Oct 16 Jan 17 Apr 17 C2 Fonter r a WMP

5.5

INTERNATIONAL Last week

Prior week

Last year

Wheat - Nearest

234

218

Corn - Nearest

201

182

APW Wheat

354

372

309

ASW Wheat

343

363

306

Feed Wheat

273

284

262

Feed Barley

327

332

257

5.0

CBOT futures (NZ$/t)

4.5

South Island 1 7kg lamb

7.0 6.5

PKE (US$/t)

Jul 17 Oct 17 NZX WMP Futur es

6.0

Ex-Malaysia

NZ venison 60kg stag

6006.0

$/kg

3500

North Island 17kg lamb

7.0

Australia (NZ$/t)

4000

5005.5 4005.0 300

4.5

OctOct

DecDec

FebFeb

5‐yr ave NZX DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T) Nearby contract

Prior week

vs 4 weeks ago

WMP

3230

3300

3150

SMP

2010

AMF

6325

Butter

5850

Last week

Prior week

Last year

Last week

Prior week

Last year

2060

Urea

477

460

29 micron

6.65

8.60

6325

6625

Super

309

314

35 micron

3.10

5.50

6150

6050

DAP

784

39 micron

2.65

5.45

702

3000 2750 Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

EXPECTATIONS heading into reporting season were fairly high given lofty valuations. So far, the market has not been disappointed with most companies finding favour with the market and pushing the NZX50 to fresh record highs. One of the companies in focus was Fletcher Building. It had numerous profit downgrades this year with the last late in July that coincided with the departure of chief executive Mark Adamson. The market was well prepared for the significant decline in profit and far more focused on the outlook for the coming year. Although no quantitative figures were given for guidance, the outlook was reasonably upbeat, although more colour will be given at the annual meeting in October. The market reacted favourably to the result and the share price rose 1.8%, taking it back above $8. China was in focus earlier in the week with a large number of data points released on Monday. Expectations were for them to show a slowdown in economic activity and that came to fruition though it was a bigger slowdown than expected. Industrial production was the biggest disappointment for the market, coming in at 6.4% versus expectations for 7.1% growth. Market commentary provided by Craigs Investment Partners

11780

S&P/FW AG EQUITY

14882

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

7870

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

7621

$/kg

250 150 Aug 13

Aug 14

Aug 15

Aug 16

Feed barley

4 w eeks ago

Sharemarket Briefing

5.5

NZ venison 60kg stag

600

c/k kg (net)

350

NZ$/t

US$/t

3250

Coarse xbred w ool indicator

6.5

CANTERBURY FEED PRICES 450

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR

This yr

(NZ$/kg)

3500

Latest price

Last yr

AugAug

NZ average (NZ$/t)

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Oct

JunJun

WOOL

* price as at close of business on Thursday

Sep

AprApr

FERTILISER

Last price*

2500

Last year

6.85

c/kkg (net)

5 Jan 17

Last week Prior week

NI lamb (17kg)

Feed Wheat

Waikato (NZ$/t)

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Milling Wheat

PKE

8 $/kgMS

Last week Canterbury (NZ$/t)

MILK PRICE COMPARISON

US$/t

SHEEP MEAT

DOMESTIC

AGRIHQ 2017-18

FONTERRA 2017-18

Sheep

$/kg

Dairy

Aug 17

Auckland International Airport Limited

300

2.5

Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

Last yr

Jun

Aug

This yr

Dollar Watch

YTD High

YTD Low

7.03

7.43

6.31

Meridian Energy Limited

2.92

3.02

2.57

Spark New Zealand Limited Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd Fletcher Building Limited Mercury NZ Limited (NS) Ryman Healthcare Limited Contact Energy Limited Air New Zealand Limited (NS) Xero Limited

3.92 11.43 8.42 3.50 9.31 5.61 3.35 26.95

3.97 11.67 10.86 3.59 9.41 5.74 3.60 28.20

3.32 8.50 7.38 2.94 8.12 4.65 2.08 17.47

Listed Agri Shares

400 3.5

5‐yr ave

PKE spot

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

4.5

500

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

4.990

5.100

2.060

Cavalier Corporation Limited

0.300

0.810

0.270

Comvita Limited

6.010

8.650

5.150

Delegat Group Limited

6.900

7.000

5.650

Foley Family Wines Limited

1.200

1.500

1.200

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

6.260

6.400

5.880

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

2.100

2.610

2.100

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.680

1.750

1.220

PGG Wrightson Limited

0.610

0.620

0.490

Sanford Limited (NS)

7.280

7.750

6.700

Scales Corporation Limited

3.590

3.680

3.210

Seeka Limited

5.080

5.500

4.300

Tegel Group Holdings Limited

1.320

1.460

1.050

S&P/FW Primary Sector

11780

9307

S&P/FW Agriculture Equity

14882

10899

S&P/NZX 50 Index

7870

6971

S&P/NZX 10 Index

7621

6927

UNITED States political This Prior Last NZD vs ructions are offsetting week week year several factors that should USD 0.7291 0.7280 0.7212 be pushing the kiwi dollar EUR 0.6216 0.6184 0.6419 lower, ANZ Bank senior economist Phil Borkin says. AUD 0.9241 0.9237 0.9479 Doubts about President GBP 0.5665 0.5609 0.5536 Donald Trump and his Correct as of 9am last Friday ability to bring about tax and other reforms are keeping the US dollar lower. The NZ economy is still doing well, with strong terms of trade, but better global growth, reducing interest rate gaps as the RBNZ stays on hold, some global geopolitical risk and increased uncertainty about the election outcome should be leading to a lower kiwi, Borkin said. “US politics is not doing anything for economic sentiment and that’s not helping.” The dollar has come off its highs around US0.75c a few weeks ago and ANZ still thinks it will fall modestly lower again over time. Formal forecasts are for a US$0.70 rate at year-end and 0.67 through the second half of next year. Borkin acknowledges the risk is that it might remain higher than that. The European Central Bank said late last week it was concerned at the euro’s elevated level against the US dollar despite the EU economy looking much better. The euro is stretched there and is expected to ease back, which points to the kiwi dollar firming against it, he said. ANZ has the kiwi pushing to €0.65 in mid-next year. It believes the dollar will push higher against the Aussie in the short term. Alan Williams

Markets

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

NI SLAUGHTER BULL

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB

NI SLAUGHTER COW

($/KG)

R2 TRADTTIONAL HEIFERS, 310-400KG, AT FRANKTON

($/KG)

($/KG LW)

6.65

5.35

4.35

2.85

high lights

$800

$89-$91

R1 Friesian bulls, 223-225kg, at Canterbury Park

Good Romney ewes with older blackface lambs at foot at Stortford Lodge

Cattle & Deer BEEF Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

5.50

5.60

NI Bull (300kg)

5.35

5.45

5.50

NI Cow (200kg)

4.35

4.40

4.50

SI Steer (300kg)

5.35

5.40

SI Bull (300kg)

5.05

5.10

5.20

SI Cow (200kg)

4.30

4.40

4.30

US imported 95CL bull

6.53

6.56

6.80

US domestic 90CL cow

7.04

6.86

6.56

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

North Island steer (300kg)

6.5

$/kg

6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 South Island steer (300kg)

6.5 6.0

BIRD’S EYE: Photographer Aaron Davies looks down at a recent sale in Feilding.

NZ venison 60kg stag

c/k kg (net)

$/kg

5.5 600

More photos: farmersweekly.co.nz

500 5.0 400 4.5 300

4.0

Oct Oct

Dec Dec

Feb Feb

5‐yr ave

Apr Apr

Jun Jun

Last yr

Aug Aug This yr

VENISON Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

NI Stag (60kg)

9.25

9.20

8.15

NI Hind (50kg)

9.15

9.10

8.05

SI Stag (60kg)

9.25

9.15

8.15

SI Hind (50kg)

9.15

9.05

8.05

New Zealand venison (60kg Stag)

$/kg

c/k kg (net)

600 8

NZ venison 60kg stag

500 7 400

300

6 Oct

Oct

Dec Feb Dec Feb 5‐yr ave

Apr Apr Last yr

Jun Jun

Aug Aug This yr

Ewes with lambs at foot kicking off

ITH lambing well underway around the country, the ewes with lambs at foot market is also getting off the ground. Expectations are high for this section, following a season of consistently high cull ewe prices, and strong results for lambs. At present good ewes with older lambs are trading at $87-$91, with similar ewes and younger lambs making $75-$85.

NORTHLAND NORTHLAND After two weeks of fairs, WELLSFORD offered up a typically small yarding last Monday and sold to a local bench. The sale started off sticky on the older cattle, with limited demand for heavier lines. Just one line of Hereford-Friesian steers, 377kg, hit $3.05/kg, with the majority trading at $2.72-$2.83/kg. A small offering of crossbred steers, 335-400kg, managed $2.81-$2.90/kg.

R2 heifer prices were all over the show, reflecting the mix in quality and condition. The feature was a line of well-bred Hereford-Friesian, 526kg, which sold for $1550, $2.95/kg, though most other lines on a whole traded at $2.62-$2.82/kg. Good buying power for R1 cattle saw solid returns posted. The heavier steers, 230-268kg, sold for $800-$930, and 189-211kg, $705-$735. Hereford

Continued page 46

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KIWI MADE

Markets

46 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017

BAY OF PLENTY BAY OF PLENTY Wet conditions limited local demand at RANGIURU last Tuesday, where a moderate yarding of 380 filled pens. Schedule concerns is bringing a cautious air to the older cattle market, but Angus steers proved resilient, with 516kg making $2.94/kg. Cow numbers climbed, helped along by two pens of Friesian, run with a Jersey bull, that sold for $2.30-$2.38/kg. Boner cow prices

KING COUNTRY KING COUNTRY The yarding of approximately 800 cattle at TE KUITI on Friday 11th August featured an excellent offering of good weighted R1 steers and heifers, Carrfield’s agent Carl White reported. Sheep numbers last Wednesday continued their seasonally low run, with the highlight being the prime lamb market. While the quality was there in the cattle prices eased, as many buyers still battle wet paddocks. A good portion of the steers weighed in excess of 300kg, and exotic lines, 300-346kg, returned $1050-$1135, with the heavier end making $3.28-3.36/kg, and those at the 300kg mark, $3.50-$3.66/ kg. Angus prices were equally as strong, and 285-307kg returned $1030-$1090, $3.54-$3.61/kg. Also of note was Hereford-Friesian, $1090, and Hereford, 332kg, $1010. Good weighted Friesian bulls had a worthy following, with the top line 332kg, returning $1040, while 245-275kg sold for $810$940, and 208kg, $660. Beef bulls, 214kg, returned $805, and 160kg, $670. Demand for heifers was solid, and Hereford and AngusHereford, 251-261kg, fetched $850-$870, $3.33-$3.39/kg, while beef-Friesian, 344-352kg, returned $1005-$1120. Around 1700 sheep sold at Te Kuiti last Wednesday, with the low numbers putting pressure on buyers to up their game. The small ewe offering featured a mix of cull lines as well as breeding. Top cull ewes made $120, and medium $90-$105, while 2-tooths returned $90$120. Run-with-ram ewes sold for $119.50, and one pen of ewes with lambs-at-foot, $65 all counted. Prime lambs featured, and heavy lines returned $152-$165, and the remainder $135-$145. Short term lambs were right up with the prime prices, with good males making $129-$139, and ewe lambs, $124. Other medium type lambs sold for $105-$111.

WAIKATO As the rain keeps falling, cattle continue to flow into FRANKTON, though it did little to deter a strong local and King Country buying bench last Wednesday, and the market was firm and in some cases lifted. R3 Angus steers, 551-554kg, returned $2.92-$3.03/kg, and Hereford-Friesian, 710-762kg, $2.79-$2.82/kg. Hereford-cross heifers, 411-441kg, earned $2.78$2.79/kg. Good quality Angus steers, 449kg, were a treat in the R2 pens and recorded the best price at $3.43/kg. Other Angus, 368-450kg, fetched $2.93-$3.05/kg. HerefordFriesian, 360-495kg, lifted to $2.95-$3.07/kg. Angus-Hereford heifers, 313-395kg, also lifted to $2.84-$2.89/kg, while Herefordcross, 317-437kg, made $2.73$2.90/kg. R1 cattle remained strong, in particular Hereford-Friesian steers, 183-225kg, which returned $850-$945, $4.20-$4.64/kg. AngusHereford, 224-239kg also hit and exceeded $4/kg, making $910$995, $4.06-$4.16/kg. HerefordFriesian heifers, 232kg, managed $800. The lone R1 bulls were Friesian-cross 260kg, $745.

YOUR EYES ON THE SALES. Get saleyard results as they happen with LivestockEye.

TAKE A FREE 30-DAY TRIAL NOW AT AGRIHQ.CO.NZ/FARMER

, 2017

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COUNTIES COUNTIES Prices for R1 cattle lifted at TUAKAU last week, Kane Needham of PGG Wrightson reported. The better 20-month steers also sold well, and other classes steady. The offering of 600 included Hereford-Friesian steers, 507602kg, $2.76-$2.83/kg, and Angus, 467kg, $3.10/kg. R1 HerefordFriesian, 266-310kg, made $1000$1100, and 206kg, $850. Autumnborn Hereford-Friesian weaners, 97kg, sold at $605. In the bull pens Angus, 308kg fetched $3.04/kg. Older heifer numbers were low, but Hereford-Friesian, 389kg made $2.72/kg, with R1 heifers, 183-196kg, earning $670-$760. Autumn-born Hereford-Friesian heifers, 96kg, made $470. About 300 cattle last Wednesday saw steers and heifers remain steady, and boners firm. Prime steers sold to $2.96/ kg, medium $2.85-$2.88/kg and lighter $2.82-$2.85/kg. Heavy heifers sold up to $2.86/kg, and medium $2.77-$2.81/kg. Lighter heifers returned $2.70-$2.75/kg and in-calf cows, $2.20-$2.50/kg. Well-conditioned empty Friesian cows traded at $2.05-$2.20/kg, medium $1.87-$1.98/kg and light, $1.74-$1.85/kg, while beef bulls earned $2.90-$3.01/kg. About 1600 ewes and lambs were yarded last Monday, with prices strong. Prime lambs sold to $179, with heavy types at $150$165, medium $135-$150 and lighter $110-$120. Store lambs also sold well. The best lots earned $100-$110, medium $98-$100, and light $70-$80. Good heavy prime ewes sold at $120-$140, medium $79-$95, and light $50-$70.

Autumn-born weaner cattle continue to be very well received, and Hereford-cross steers, 74108kg, fetched $430-$490, with the heifers, 98-127kg, making $420-$490. Hereford-Friesian of all sexes proved popular, with steers, 100kg, at $675, and heifers, 89121kg, $467-$550. Bulls, 96-115kg, fetched $600-$700. R3 vetted-in-calf Hereford heifers, 478kg, were well contested at $1630.

firmed, and 475-565kg averaged $2.07/kg. R2 steer numbers were very low, with the better beef and beefFriesian lines making $2.84-$2.97/ kg. Heifers made up for the steer numbers, and Hereford-Friesian, 421kg, firmed to $1180, $2.80/kg, with lighter lines trading at $900$930. Specially advertised R1 Hereford bulls and heifers were a lively bunch, and the main line of bulls, 239kg, returned $950, $3.97/kg, while their sisters, 150-177kg, fetched $520-$540. Angus steers, 200-232kg, sold for $735-$865. Sheep numbers were very low, with prime lambs the feature, trading at $107-$154. Feeder calf sales continued last Wednesday, with numbers currently holding at 140 head. A few steers joined the mix, and sold well at $140-$150. Once again bulls were the main feature, with the top HerefordFriesian managing $310, and the remainder, $205-$285. Good Friesian’s sold to $120-$150, and smaller lines, $30-$75 Hereford-cross heifers featured alongside the more common Hereford-Friesian, but buyer preference was obvious, with the latter making $140-$205, compared to $105-$135 for the Hereford-cross.

s sand

AUCKLAND AUCKLAND A bit of optimism flowed into the store cattle pens at PUKEKOHE on Saturday 12th August, while a small prime section seemed largely unaffected by schedule drops, auctioneer Pat Farrell reported. Prime numbers were limited to heifers, with 636kg achieving $2.83/kg, and local trade, 494kg, $1300. The best of the R2 steers, 631kg, managed $2.82/kg, with store types, 459kg, at $2.61/kg. Other crossbred steers, 380-416kg, returned $2.60-$2.74/kg, with heifers following a similar path at $2.67-$2.78/kg for 415-464kg. With spring on the way, R1 cattle sold more freely, and steers, 191-235kg, returned $690-$850, and small weaners, 87kg, $540.

Medium heifers, 205-227kg, sold exceptionally well at $750-$810, and crossbred, 156kg, $578. Results were mixed in the cow pens, with the highlight being a line of younger cows, 549kg, which sold for $2.53/kg, while other lines traded at $1.30-$1.58/kg, and very light, $0.87/kg.

Thou

Friesian heifers, 181-237kg, fetched $585-$750, over a tight range of $3.16-$3.23/kg, with a few other lines of quality and good weight making $705-$795. Numbers were unusually low for KAIKOHE levels last Wednesday, with 380 cattle on the books, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. Wet conditions locally and further south is keeping the market in check, and prices eased on the previous sale. Good quality R2 AngusHereford and Hereford-cross steers ranged from $2.80-$2.85/ kg, with $2.75-$2.78/kg common for crossbred lines. Ayrshire sold for $2.58/kg to tidy up the section. With no bulls offered, the sale moved onto the heifers, though numbers were light in these pens. Beef heifers returned $2.60/kg, while a consignment of 30-40 empty Friesian and Friesian-cross sold at expected levels of $2.20$2.40/kg. R1 numbers were limited, and Angus and beef-cross steers fetched $3.40/kg, though heifers proved to be harder to move, with $2.80-$2.90/kg the money. Bulls were also mainly beef-cross and traded at $3.15-$3.20/kg. The sale perked up when the autumn-born cattle entered the rostrum, with a nice quality line up of Friesian bulls, 140-160kg, selling freely at $650-$690, and 100-120kg, $560$610. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 100-110kg, returned $500, with lighter types at $400-$450. Cow numbers were limited to medium Friesian and beef at $1.80-$1.90/kg. The new selling facilities for feeder calves is working well, and around 200 head sold undercover. Top Friesian bulls made $180, with Hereford-Friesian returning $200-$220.

TARANAKI TARANAKI Dairy-beef featured in a small yarding at TARANAKI last Wednesday, with good quality cattle selling well, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Stephen Sutton reported. Just 150 head came forward, and R2 steers made good returns, with the better types, 380-425kg, earning $2.92-$3.05/kg, though one line of 420kg pushed to $3.17/ kg. Heifer numbers were low and nothing sold under $2.80/kg, with one small line of 270kg selling for $870, $3.22/kg. The R1 steer pens lacked quality, but did include good boned Hereford-Friesian, 290kg, $990, and Angus-Friesian, 271kg, $835. Autumn-born’s made reasonable returns, and HerefordFriesian steers, 158kg, made $750, while 121-200kg bulls fetched $645-$680. Of note in the sheep pens was a line of pure Suffolk ewes with three-week lambs-at-foot, which sold for $75 all counted. POVERTY BAY POVERTY BAY Numbers lifted at MATAWHERO, though were still quiet as a whole. More than two thirds of the sale came in the form of three different lines of store ewe lambs. The heavier two of these did well at $120, but other medium and heavy lines were only $104-$110.50. There were no male or mixed sex store lambs. The rest of the sale mostly consisted of scanned in lamb ewes. The more popular mixed age lines, SIL 128-151%, were $85$93, but anything else was only $59-$72, though quality was below average through these. Only limited numbers of prime lambs and ewes were available. The top prime lambs made $150, while the better prime ewes were $97-$110. HAWKE’S BAY HAWKE’S BAY Ewes were in the spotlight at STORTFORD LODGE sales last week, with prime ewes featuring last Monday, and ewes with lambs-at-foot and ewe lambs the highlight last Wednesday. Regular buyers set the bar high in the prime lamb pens last Monday, but bids were still placed and prices firmed. Heavy males sold for $150-$160, with a small number to $171-$180, while most ewe lambs were very good types at $131-$147. The cull ewe market cannot be faulted, and consistency continued for the 1740 penned. Those lines comparative to the previous week remained steady, with very heavy lines at $128-$145, and heavy, $118-$128, and only one small line under $100. The cattle sale offered up little in the way of true prime stock, which was reflected in the prices. Angus steers, 380-458kg, returned $2.75-$2.87/kg, and 397kg heifers, $2.70/kg. Cow prices were solid, and Hereford-Friesian, 505-575kg, fetched $2.06-$2.08/kg, while Friesian-cross, 545kg, managed $1.98/kg. Ewe focus flowed through to Wednesday’s sale, as good numbers of ewes with lambsat-foot went under the hammer, and a good quality yarding of ewe lambs were offered. Prices for the ewes and lambs

Markets

varied dependent on lamb age and ewe quality, though in general the older lamb lines made $89-$91, and younger, $76-$85. Ewe lamb prices strengthened for a top quality line up, with most very good types at $121-$128. Male lines of similar weight made $117-$129, and a decent number of heavy males returned $132$143. Mixed sex numbers were low and ranged from $115-$135. Cattle numbers dropped to 134, after the bigger yarding the previous week. Just two lines had over ten head, and Angus featured prominently through the heifer pens, though quality was mixed. A few lines of Angus heifers were in as they were not accepted for a live shipment, with R2, 312kg, making $2.97/kg, and R1, 170-276kg, $680-$870. One line of Angus, 415kg, hit $3/kg, while beef-cross, 360-470kg, returned $2.85/kg. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 445-465kg, made $2.80$2.92/kg, while a line of R2 Angus steers, 366kg, fetched $3.06/kg. R1 Hereford-Friesian steers were noteworthy for being the biggest line of the day at 19 head, and sold to strong demand for $1060, $3.30/kg. WAIROA got into the spring cattle fair action last Thursday, with 680 mainly Angus and AngusHereford cattle offered. Buyers travel some distance for these sales, and while results were pleasing, the spring fever market had not hit. Very good R2 Angus steers sold for $1530-$1590, and second cuts, $1460, while AngusHereford made $1320-$1500. Angus heifers earned $885-$985, and heavier Angus-Hereford, $950-$1075. Two big lines of R3 Friesian bulls made solid returns at $1350-$1352. Bids did not flow freely in the R1 pens, though end results were respectable. The best of the steers made $1000-$1390, while two good lines of Angus and AngusHereford heifers managed $847$867, with the remainder making $700-$785. MANAWATU MANAWATU With calving in full swing around Manawatu, the calf pens were filled to capacity at RONGOTEA last Wednesday, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. Older cattle numbers are yet to start flowing, with low numbers in all sections. Hereford-Friesian heifers featured, and at 312-448kg, returned $2.65-$2.85/kg, and Friesian, 351-405kg, $2.14-$2.22/ kg. The only other older cattle to speak of were cows, and boner prices eased Friesian, 429-546kg, traded at $1.61-$1.75/kg, and Jersey, 395kg, $1.42/kg. In-milk crossbred sold for $500-$1120, and in-calf Friesian, $740. A few cows with calves-at-foot came forward, and crossbred made $600, and Angus-cross, $1120. The quality in the R1 section was found in the heifer pens, where Hereford-Friesian heifers, 264-287kg, fetched $844-$900, while beef-cross steers, 185-240kg, returned $640-$740. The bull pens also had some weight yarded, and Friesian, 310kg made $800, and Angus-cross, 287kg, $910. Jersey bulls, 176-235kg, earned $490$610. A big yarding of calves saw bull

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017 calves ease, and top Friesian made $150-$195, medium $100-$140, and small, $70-$90. HerefordFriesian sold to $120-$180, and small $60-$110, while Charolaiscross returned $370, and Anguscross, $200. Hereford-Friesian heifers topped out at $120-$160, with small lines earning $60-$110. Charolais-cross sold for $290, and Angus-cross, $215. The downward spiral in numbers of last season’s lambs began at FEILDING last Monday, with just 2300 penned. A big yarding of ewes however was unusual, though still managed a steady market. Returns for heavy lambs eased to $161-$177, while a similar number of medium types made $135-$160 on a lifting market. Top price of $177 was spent on 113 woolly blackface males. In the ewe pens, heavy types traded at $120-$129, medium $89-$120, and lighter, $76-$87. A decent number of 2-tooths varied from $61-$116. A further 550 calves also featured, with returns solid. Good Friesian bulls made $200-$230, and medium, $150-$200, while good Hereford-Friesian fetched $300-$385, and medium, $220$290. Charolais-cross earned $420, and Speckle Park, $230. In the heifer pens, good HerefordFriesian sold to $165-$205, and medium, $120-$150. Charolaiscross sold for $330, while the Speckle Park heifers bettered the bulls at $360. Cattle numbers were moderate, led by Angus cows. The better yielding Angus, 490-750kg, managed $2.03-$2.13/kg, though boner types, 433-540kg, dropped away to $1.80-$1.87/kg. Friesian, 520-521kg, returned $1.79/kg. The first sunny day for what seems like months brought the buyers out in force but the numbers and quality of the offering on Friday was not too inspiring. The only stock class to increase in numbers was the ewe with lambs at foot section and they sold above expectations and up to $92 all counted. Hoggets, mostly ewe hoggets, sold at cents/kg levels that easily lifted to new highs for the season, most especially for the longer term and lighter hoggets. Top price on the day was $162 for 102 woolly ewe hoggets, which would offer more options, and the heaviest hoggets – a pen of 49 cryptorchids – sold for $159.50. Much of the offering were tail end hoggets and the progeny of last year’s ewe hoggets and all the winter conditions like lice and sore legs were present in some pens so good finishing will be needed. Ewes; SIL, $124-$157; Ewes (84) with LAF (108); $61-$92; Hoggets; very heavy, $139-$162; heavy, $133.50-$142; medium, $123-$136; light, $112-$131.50. The cattle offering was lacking in quality and numbers and sale prices reflect that. Not many traditional steers and heifers came forward and Friesian bulls dominated the yarding. With the steers and heifers being lighter, sale prices eased back from recent levels but market sentiment helped drive that direction. The heavier yearling cattle perhaps had the most interest. The bulls did sell to reasonable enquiry; 7 R2 Friesians made

$1620, $3.03/kg, and 5 R1 Friesians sold for $1050, $3.28/kg. Steers; R3, 458-543kg, $1355$1545, $2.84-$2.95; R2, 323-450kg, $1120-$1370, $3.04-$3.46; R1, 240333kg, $880-$1095, $3.28-$3.66; Bulls; R2, 337-534kg, $840-$1620, $2.49-$3.13; R1, 109-320kg, $640$1050, $3.24-$5.87; Heifers; R2&3, 315-350kg, $780-$1060, $2.22$3.16; R1, 95-318kg, $450-$1410, $2.89-$5.08. CANTERBURY CANTERBURY Mother Nature was up to her tricks again, with rain hampering efforts to get stock to CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday. Specially advertised R1 Friesian bulls did manage to make the trip though, while sheep numbers were very low. Least affected in the sheep pens was the store lambs, as numbers are seasonally low anyway. Just 630 were offered, and prices steady to firm. Good mixed sex returned $111-$116, with the remainder at $82-$99. Ewe lambs traded over a tight range of $102-$110. Similar numbers of prime lambs sold on a firm market for a yarding that was top heavy, with a good portion making $170-$177, and the remainder, $120-$158. Ewe numbers were scarce, as both the weather and lambing kept them down. Prices lifted $2-$3, and heavy ewes returned $121-$140, medium $97-$120, and lighter, $70-$90. The weather-affected sale saw just 41 prime cattle offered, most of which were heifers. High yielding beef lines sold to $2.83$2.92/kg, with local trade types steady at $2.66-$2.78/kg. Three quality Simmental cows made $2.08-$2.20/kg, and the next cut returned $1.83-$1.92/kg. R1 Friesian bulls from North Canterbury featured, and sold to high demand. The 720 head split into two main weight bands, with 223-225kg earning $800, $3.56$3.59/kg, and 208-211kg, $720$750, $3.46-$3.55/kg. The only other store cattle of note was R1 Hereford-cross heifers, 211-229kg, $750-$780, and R2 Hereford and Angus-cross heifers which made a tidy $1000, $2.80/kg- $2.91/kg. COALGATE ticked off another week on the calendar with a small yarding in most sections, but a decent number of Friesian cows and feeder calves. Prime lambs numbered 1300 and just under half traded at $140$180, and the remainder, $115$139. Ewe numbers were low and mainly medium types, with top prices at $122-$129, with the rest returning $74-$119. The store lamb sale was over before it began, with just 280 on the books, and most sold for $89$120. One line of seven ewes with ten healthy lambs-at-foot sold for $86 all counted, while a small line of scanned-in-lamb ewes sold very well at $174. Around 40% of the 130 cattle offered were Friesian cows, and with good competition came a firm market as 461-619kg traded at $1.96-$2.02/kg. The rest of the yarding was beef-Friesian, with steer selling to $2.73-$2.79/kg, and heifers, 460-523kg, $2.62-$2.76/kg. Two Angus bulls, 770kg, fetched $2.92/ kg, $2248.

Store numbers were very low, and the only lines of note in the R2 pens was four Hereford-Friesian steers, 473kg, at $2.83/kg, and Jersey and Jersey-cross bulls, 391403kg, $2.98-$3.07/kg. R1 cattle were represented by bulls alone, and HerefordFriesian, 235kg, made good money at $840, with values similar for heavier Friesian-cross. Feeder calves outnumbered the older cattle at 155 head. Top Friesian bulls made $130-$145, medium $70-$90, and small, $40$55. Hereford-Friesian bulls sold to $195-$210, with the remainder at $120-$150. Heifers of same breeding sold to $195, and the rest, $90-$120. SOUTH CANTERBURY SOUTH CANTERBURY The weather was not conducive to selling at TEMUKA last Monday, with persistent rain and cold temperatures, but by Thursday a spring-like day put 460 store cattle in good light. Short term mixed sex lambs sold on a steady market at $115$125, though interest dropped for longer term types, with prices easing to $90-$114. Prime lamb numbers increased, with mainly medium types penned, with most trading at $120-$167. A big yarding of ewe saw the heavy end ease $4-$5 to 130-$144, though the remainder sold on par at $80-$128. A line of 24 ewes with 50 older blackface lambs-at-foot sold for $87 all counted. Prime beef steers are a regular feature in the yards, with vendors well rewarded. Top Angus, 515615kg, held at $2.84-$2.93/kg, though Hereford eased, with 475609kg finishing at $2.80-$2.85/kg. Most other lines traded at $2.76$2.80/kg. Bull numbers were low, and ex-sire Hereford, 895-1010kg, sold for $2.50-$2.51/kg, while higher yielding 619-640kg firmed to $2.77-$2.80/kg. Hereford and Angus heifers also featured, with 445-580kg making $2.75-$2.85/kg. Boner heifer prices were steady and Friesian and Friesian-cross, 420-461kg, mostly returned $2.30-$2.38/kg. Angus cows, 505-604kg, were steady at $2.20-$2.25/kg, with 693kg Charolais hitting that mark too. Low volumes of boner cows saw younger Friesian, 423-475kg, return $2.30-$2.39/kg, and the better mixed age, $1.90-$1.99/kg. Thursday’s sale had a positive air to it, as a small crowd was very competitive. R2 cattle sold to expectations, with beef and beef-cross steers, 383-445kg, trading at $2.87-$2.92/kg, and 342-351kg, $3.08-$3.13/kg. Heifer prices firmed, and beef-Friesian, 387-450kg, fetched $2.83-$2.89/ kg, with lighter lines also just over $3/kg. R1 prices were above expectations, as Hereford-Friesian steers, 238-309kg, sold for $830$1100, $3.49-$3.57/kg, and a small 315kg line managed $3.80/kg. Charolais-cross heifers made steer money, with 231-261kg earning $825-$920, $3.52-$3.57/kg, and 201-230kg, $755-$845, $3.67$3.76/kg. Hereford-Friesian sold at similar levels, with the bulk earning $800$880. Friesian bulls, 242-262kg, returned $770-$850, matching Hereford-Friesian prices.

A consignment of vetted-in-calf cows had a keen following, with Angus & Angus-Hereford, and Hereford-Friesian to a Hereford bull making $1380-$1400. OTAGO OTAGO The strengthening continued in the sheep pens at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday, with buyers all too aware that lamb numbers at least are on their way out. Demand was strong for all types, with store lamb lifting $2, PGG Wrightson agent Russell Moloney reported. Again the size of the yarding made the job hard for store lamb buyers, and top lines reached $110-$115, and medium $100$108. Prime lamb prices continued to climb, and heavy lines sold for $156-$166, medium $146-$155, and lighter, $131-$140. The ewe market was the steadiest out of the lot, with heavy ewes making $125-$130, medium $100-$120, and light, $75-$98. SOUTHLAND SOUTHLAND The CHARLTON sale took little time to complete last Thursday, with low numbers through all pens, PGG Wrightson agent Greg Clearwater reported. Results were mixed for a small store lamb offering, with good types steady at $101, while medium lambs firmed to $90$100, but longer term types lost some power and traded at $60. The prime lamb market however was consistently stronger, and heavy lambs returned $150, medium $125-$133, and lighter, $105. Ewe prices eased slightly, though not by any great margin, and the top lines returned $140, medium $95-$110, and light, $60, with rams trading at $70. What lacked in numbers was made up for in size at the LORNEVILLE sheep sale last Tuesday, as the small yarding featured some good weighted lambs and ewes. Store lambs sold on a steady market, and good lines made $95$105, medium $80-$90, and light, $65-$75. Plenty of weight in the prime pens and a steady market saw heavy lambs make $145-$155, medium $115-$125, and lighter, $100-$110. The ewe market was steady to firm, and heavy ewes finished at $120-$130, medium $90-$105, and light, $50-$65. The very heavy steers were missing from the prime pens, with 390-440kg trading at $2.70-$2.82/ kg, with the best of the heifers at $2.62/kg, and dairy’s firm at $2.20-$2.40/kg. Cows returned steady values, with 500kg plus lines making $1.80-$1.90/kg, and medium $1.60-$1.80/kg. Store cattle numbers were limited, especially in the older cattle pens, where the highlight was Hereford-cross heifers, 415kg, at $2.65/kg. A bit more action in the R1 pens saw Hereford-cross steers, 265kg, return $1005, while lighter Murray Grey-cross, 206kg, made $795, $3.85/kg, and Friesian, 285kg, $810. Angus-cross heifers, 218kg, fetched $770. In the feeder calf pens, good Friesian bulls sold for $130-$145, medium $80-$95, and small, $30. Hereford-cross returned $130$165, and Angus, $200. Medium Angus heifers sold for $90-$130.

Markets

48 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 21, 2017 CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY

NI SLAUGHTER LAMB

NI SLAUGHTER STEER

($/KG)

MEDIUM EWE LAMBS AT FEILDING

($/KG)

($/HD)

361

6.85

5.50

122-132

high lights

Dairy buyers await signals Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com

AIRY commodity buyers around the world are waiting for stronger milk supply signals from New Zealand’s spring production, AgriHQ dairy analyst Susan Kilsby says. “The markets are reasonably well balanced and there is no urgency either to buy or to sell. “Stocks are low in NZ and the Europeans are not providing any strong signals.” The lack of volatility in world prices over the past three months was in itself unusual as the market awaited stronger indicators such as what would happen to the huge stockpiles of skim milk powder in the European Union. Kilsby was commenting on the latest Global Dairy Trade auction results, which she summarised as “drifting along”. The GDT price index fell 0.4%, continuing a run of fortnightly GDT auctions over two and a half months in which prices remained steady, neither up nor down by large percentages. For NZ dairy farmers that was good news, indicating farmgate forecasts were valid. On the other hand, there was nothing to suggest any upwards revision in milk price, she said. The AgriHQ indicator rose 2c after the latest GDT and plus futures market

STABLE: A lack of dairy price volatility shows farmgate milk price forecasts are valid, AgriHQ analyst Susan Kilsby says.

Any signs of weakness could see milk fat prices, if not WMP as well, head higher. Nathan Penny ASB reaction to be the same as Fonterra’s forecast at $6.75/kg milksolids. Most of that lift was caused by the NZ dollar falling US2c over the past fortnight, AgriHQ said. Whole milk powder futures contract prices rose slightly

on the NZX Dairy Derivatives market, despite the WMP average price of GDT falling 0.6%. Milk futures contracts for September 2018 rose 9c to $6.82/kg MS in the wake of the GDT auction. Westpac economist Shyamal Maharaj said the latest GDT prices were in line with the bank’s expectation for the rest of the season. “Milk production has picked up among the major exporters and has scope to rise further, which could put some downward pressure on prices in forthcoming auctions. “Our farmgate price forecast for this season remains at $6.50/kg.” ASB rural economist Nathan

Penny was more bullish with a current season prediction of $6.75/kg MS and a longer run forecast of $6.50/kg MS to $7/ kg MS. He thought milk fat product prices might be about to surge again and drag the whole dairy market higher. “Milk fat demand continues to surge and global inventories are now very tight. “With that in mind, early season NZ production is shaping as key. “The expected production lift, if it arrives, may be enough to head off further price rises. “However, any signs of weakness could see milk fat prices, if not WMP as well, head higher.”

$755-$920

$1530-$1590

R1 Charolais-cross heifers, 200-260kg, at Temuka

Very good R2 Angus steers at Wairoa

Differing effects of weather on sales THIS has been one of the wettest winters in my memory and it hasn’t been isolated to any particular area. The NIWA soil moisture map shows the whole country Suz Bremner in light blue, which means we AgriHQ Analyst probably all should have built an ark by now. Only Southland has had lower than average rainfall this month with most of the South Island very high and the North Island average to high. But enough of talking about the wet stuff, what you really want to know is what impact is it having on the markets. The store cattle market is the most affected, given that this is the time of year when we start to see numbers flow as vendors look to meet the spring market. Western areas of the North Island are seeing more cattle entered due to the wet while, on the flip side, some South Island areas have struggled to get cattle to market because of access issues. It is a double-edged sword with prices in limbo as buyers wait a few more weeks for paddocks to dry out enough to coax some good grass growth. Once that happens we should see the market fire, though restricted to some degree by sketchy beef outlooks. As it is, good quality cattle are trading at historically high levels but so far without the punch in the market we saw last year. The store lamb market, on the other hand, is largely unaffected, given that last season’s lambs are almost finished and new seasons are yet to hit the market. North Island yards are focused on ewe lambs and some good entries are coming out though there are fewer male lambs each week as most are now in the supermarkets. More action in the prime lamb pens in the South island has been largely because of crops finishing and no place onfarm for the lambs to go though returns at auction are mostly above schedule so it is still a win. suz.bremner@nzx.com

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