Farmers Weekly NZ August 27 2018 by AgriHQ

3 O’Connor report backs PGP Vol 17 No 33, August 27, 2018

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Farm leaders back off Neal Wallace

neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

ARMING sector leaders are unimpressed by the last-minute inclusion of far-reaching search and surveillance powers changes to the National Animal Identification and Tracking Act. Federated Farmers, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ leaders, who endorsed the changes a week ago, said they understand the need for the change but the late additions should have been open to public scrutiny instead of being pushed through Parliament under urgency. Farmers Weekly was told a drafting error omitted the search and surveillance powers from the original Nait Act. Farming sector leaders have been criticised for supporting the changes but they now say they were unhappy at the rushed legislated process. “The risk when you rush through legislation is that you do not fully understand the implications and the unintended problems,” Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said. It has been claimed the search and surveillance powers allow Ministry for Primary Industry officers to enter farms unannounced and without a warrant to search for and seize items. Some changes were designed to plug cattle tracking gaps identified by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak but the extended powers have provoked anger among farmers and claims that in some cases they exceed police powers.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor disagreed, saying MPI officers will not have any more power than they already had. The changes ensure the Nait Act is consistent with the Search and Surveillance Act, something O’Connor said was recommended by the Primary Production Select Committee when it considered the original Nait Bill and gave inspectors similar powers to those in the fisheries, wine and animal welfare sectors. “Officers could already enter a farm to inspect for Nait compliance under the old laws.” But there are limits to their powers. “MPI Nait officers are not able to enter a house, living quarters or a marae. To do this they would have to have a court-ordered search warrant. “Other safeguards to protect people’s rights also stay in place, like a Nait officer has to give notice of an inspection and identify him or herself and the right to challenge the seizure of items remains.” O’Connor said the new laws clarify what evidence can be collected during an inspection, including copying documents such as Animal Status Declaration forms or taking photos and videos. “This evidence can be used to issue infringement notices.” Milne acknowledged it aligns aspects of several Acts but she is unimpressed with the rushed process. “It was not part of the original things to which we agreed.” Milne said MPI would have to carefully exercise its authority or risk losing the support and trust of farmers. B+LNZ policy and advocacy

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle agreed the new powers are needed but said the legislative process “was not optimal”. “If there had been a lot more clarity off the bat for farmers and their partners it would have avoided a lot of the consternation farmers have felt.”

Officers could already enter a farm to inspect for Nait compliance under the old laws. Damien O’Connor Biosecurity Minister

SLIPPED IN: Enhanced search and seizure laws were not part of the Nait changes farm leaders agreed to, Federated Farmers president Katie Milne says.

manager Dave Harrison said his organisation doesn’t support the process followed and has asked MPI to provide clarity to farmers on why the process was rushed. He understands the need for stronger Nait compliance laws but noted MPI officers already had extensive search and surveillance powers under the Animal Welfare Act, Biosecurity Act, Animal

Products Act, Animal Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act. The previous Nait Act did not allow MPI officers to collect evidence that could be central to enforcement. “This is not us justifying what MPI has done and why but we can understand what it is trying to do by aligning other powers it has under other laws.”

Mackle said inspectors could always enter farms but the legislative changes unified inspectors’ powers under Nait with other Acts. “My understanding is that without making these changes, it made it more difficult to use evidence collected from farms under the Nait Act in any prosecution.” O’Connor said changes to the Nait Act also resolved issues with unregistered addresses. “Before, you could send an animal to a non-registered location, not record the movement and face no consequences. “That defeats the purpose of Nait and undermines the ability to respond to M bovis. “But common sense has been applied and this would now be an offence, just like not recording animal movements to a registered address.”

NEWS

5 A2 Milk Co

continues to grow Infant formula sales in Australia and China continue to drive A2 Milk Co growth momentum as earnings outstrip the higher operating and marketing costs that come with expansion. Fonterra still excelling in China �� 10 Dairy goats win with PGP funding �� 14

Newsmaker ��22 New Thinking ��23 Opinion ��24

WEATHER OVERVIEW THE weather pattern moving in is a lot more topsy-turvy and by that we mean a big mix of lows and highs. We kick off this week with high pressure, especially over the North Island, while a developing west to northwest flow builds over the South Island. This flow is caused by another large Tasman Sea low, which is growing. The low, like the one last week, will be so big there will be large areas of dry and showers, however, northern New Zealand might be exposed to a period of heavy sub-tropical rain mid week. By next weekend we’re back to the northwest winds and there’s a chance one week from now we might be facing a cold snowy southerly.

Pasture Growth Index Above normal Near normal Below normal

7-DAY TRENDS

Wind

Rain Rain this week is mostly being pushed into northern and western NZ with the upper North Island exposed to a burst of sub-tropical rain mid week. Heavy rain is also possible this Sunday in the west. Drier than average in the east.

Air flows over the next few days will frequently be from the northerly and westerly quarters. There might be some localised southerlies but no major southerlies this week. This weekend has mild northwesters but might turn colder southerly next week.

World ��32

ON FARM STORY

NZX PASTURE GROWTH INDEX – Next 15 days

Highlights/ Extremes

Temperature This week is going to be milder than average most days for most regions thanks to the northerly then westerly quarter winds. Eastern and northern NZ will be mildest with most places frost-free or having only light frosts inland.

Heavy rain is possible in northern NZ this Wednesday and Thursday and might lead to localised flooding. One week from now there is some potential for a polar southerly. Not yet locked in but worth monitoring. Drier than average for eastern NZ.

14-DAY OUTLOOK

For further information on the NZX PGI visit www.agrihq.co.nz/pgi Soil moisture levels around NZ are fairly positive with a number of regions perhaps just a touch on the slightly wetter side. Some parts of Canterbury are wetter than usual, more so than anywhere else. The weather pattern over the coming week will encourage more moisture in northern parts of the country and western areas. Sunny, dry, mild weather signals an uptick in pasture growth for eastern parts of both islands too. Very few frosts expected this week.

SOIL MOISTURE INDEX – 24/08/2018

30 Multi-talented with attitude Lisa Kendall reckons she does a little bit of everything when it comes to hiring out her skills for farm work. But she’s also a competitor, scholar, researcher and consultant and is a passionate champion of animal welfare who wants to work toward farm ownership.

REGULARS Real Estate ��33-37 Employment ��38-39 Classifieds ��39 Livestock ��40-43 Markets ��44-48 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of advertising revenue to the Rural Support Trust. Thanks to our Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer advertisers this week: $902. Need help now? You can talk to someone who understands the pressures of farming by phoning your local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254.

Source: WeatherWatch.co.nz

For more weather information go to farmersweekly.co.nz/weather

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

PGP projects are delivering Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz FORECASTS of billions of dollars in financial benefits from Primary Growth Partnership projects look like being delivered, albeit later than envisaged, an independent review of the programme has found. It concluded financial benefits from the nine-year-old the programme have already exceeded the $272 million the Government invested to June 30. The review by consultant Deborah Battell said forecast economic benefits of $6.4 billion to $11.1b from PGPs by 2025 by the Institute of Economic Research are likely to be achieved.

In my view the PGP’s heyday is not over. In fact it hasn’t been reached. Deborah Battell Reviewer And even better results could have been delivered but for several factors, including a decline in applications. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor was critical of the programme while in opposition, in 2014 calling it “an unaccountable slush fund for the National Party’s industry mates”. Battell’s review, that he commissioned, said the programme is worthwhile. “Taking into account the financial and non-financial benefits already achieved the likelihood of substantial future benefits and the firm and wider industry transformations taking place, the PGP has been, will be and can continue to be a

worthwhile public investment.” O’Connor said demand, especially from larger applicants, has tailed off, there had been consistent under-spending and it suffered from a lack of long-term strategy. Last week he announced the PGP and Sustainable Farming Fund will be wrapped in to a new $40m-a-year programme, the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund, to provide money for projects delivering economic, environmental and social benefits. The PGP programme was launched in 2009 by the National government to boost productivity, value and profitability in the primary sector, deliver economic growth and encourage private sector investment in research and development. Its architect and now opposition agriculture spokesman Nathan Guy said the report vindicates the programme and the government investment. Guy said O’Connor, having previously bagged the scheme, had to acknowledge it is a valuable initiative for the primary sector. “Despite previously labelling it a slush fund for National’s mates Mr O’Connor has finally discovered the value of the PGP after spending $100,000 to have it reviewed. “He was hoping the review he kicked off last summer would give him his much-wanted justification to destroy it but, instead, the review revealed how essential it is.” Battell said PGPs are ideal for effecting long-term transformation or step change and supporting future investment in innovation, collaboration, capability building and culture change. “In my view the PGP’s heyday is not over. In fact it hasn’t been reached.” Given the challenges facing the primary sector, incentives are

PROOF: Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has criticised the Primary Growth Partnership but commissioned the report that says it is working.

needed to innovate and invest instead of going for easy options. But the money allocated since 2009 was under-spent by a third, equivalent to $145m over the last nine years. Battell said the scheme lacked a clear and agreed long-term strategy to optimise its value and demand for large-scale projects has declined since 2013. There are nine small programmes in the pipeline. Four of them have progressed to the contracting stage. Battell said Transforming the Dairy Value Chain, FarmIQ and the Red Meat Profit partnership have delivered the greatest benefits but all 22

programmes have encouraged new investment, created jobs, increased exports, generated highvalue products and boosted farm incomes. Of the 22 programmes, 15 are still in progress but none is expected to start delivering economic benefits of any scale until 2020. The report gave some examples of economic benefits to flow from programmes. The Steep Land Harvested project was designed to find new log harvesting techniques on steep land. It cost the Government $3.7m but had returned $152m since 2010. The logging industry had

invested $80m in mechanisation and annual benefits of $129m a year are expected from lower costs and greater productivity. Transforming the Dairy Value Chain cost the Government $76.7m but will return $2.7b by 2025. It prompted Fonterra to invest $310m in new manufacturing, add 100 new jobs at Clandeboye and has generated returns of $60m a year from improved breeding and increased exports. FarmIQ, a farm management software programme, cost the government $59.3m but resulted in livestock premium payments of $3.5m a year to farmers with future benefits of $1.2b by 2025.

These ewes know how to count Bruce and Denise Cameron farm 270ha near Palmerston, Otago, running 1300 Wairere ewes and 70 steers to finish. “High performing stock is the key to our operation. We need to make every lamb count. The great mothering ability of our ewes and the super low wastage is the key to the result. Our scanning averages 182% and lambing at 163%. We usually draft around 500 POM at weaning at 17kg, with the balance going over the next four months between 17 and 18kg.”

“These sheep really can count.”

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Bruce and Denise with grandson Reid

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

New fund to replace PGP and SFF schemes Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

COME IN: The door is open to every innovative idea, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says.

THE Government’s new primary sector investment programme amalgamates the best of the Sustainable Farming Fund and Primary Growth Partnership, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says. The new $40 million Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund was launched by O’Connor. Its primary funding criteria is to improve value or performance, he said. An Extension Service Model will be the first project funded, a $3 million initiative that builds on existing programmes to help farmers improve their environmental performance and value creation. The four-year programme will involve the Ministry for Primary Industries working with 300 farmers a year to spread skills

and knowledge to improve farm systems. “There are a range of good extension programmes under way but there is opportunity for us to play a stronger role in partnering with industry to support better co-ordination and targeting of services that focus on sustainable and profitable farming,” O’Connor said. The fund will accept big and small requests for projects as diverse as researching an aspect of soil, weed or pest control to collaborative marketing, O’Connor said. It will help the sector move from being driven by volume to value. “New Zealand’s commodity growth drive has come at the expense of the vital natural resources we need for our primary sector, our soil, water and social licence to operate.” An MPI spokesman said applicants will have to provide some co-funding, with the amount dependent on the size of the

project and other factors such as the expected public benefit. O’Connor said the Primary Sector Council will give guidance for the fund to assess applications through its work establishing strategies for the various sectors. “We are leaving the door open to every innovative idea but if it is part of a strategy and spending will add value to that programme then it is likely to be supported.” Opposition agriculture spokesman Nathan Guy said the fund is a rebranding of PGPs and the Sustainable Farming Fund but with half the money available. “What he’s forgotten to tell farmers, growers and processors is that he’s slashed the funding by nearly half. “National was investing $78m a year for PGP and the Sustainable Farming Fund. This is now reduced to just $40m a year and makes a mockery of adding value to what we produce in partnership by using science, research and innovation.”

Feedlot poses no M bovis spread risk CANTERBURY’S Five Star Beef feedlot has been issued with a Notice of Direction after being suspected of having Mycoplasma bovis following an intake of 44 cattle from a supplier who has subsequently been found to have M bovis. “The cattle are suspected to have been infected before they arrived at Five Star Beef and quarantine protocols were implemented immediately following notification of these animals of interest,” chief executive Peter Conley said. “As New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries has confirmed, M bovis is not a food safety risk and there is no issue with eating beef from infected herds. “We are working closely with

the MPI on a plan to manage the impact of M bovis on the property,” Conley said. “There is no risk of M bovis spreading from Five Star Beef because all cattle arriving at the property for finishing ultimately go direct to slaughter. “In addition, neighbouring farms are some distance from cattle on the property. “Five Star Beef has also received attention in recent days from a group questioning the merits of grain-finishing animals on feedlots in New Zealand. “This issue is unrelated to the current challenges Five Star Beef is facing with M bovis. “Any farm infected by M bovis is going through a very difficult time because of the uncertainty

and stress associated with it,” he said. Five Star Beef is one of a number of farms with cattle that have tested positive for M bovis since July last year. “Animal welfare is a high priority for Five Star Beef. It is not in its interests to compromise on animal welfare,” he said. So Five Star Beef is working closely with MPI and implementing all measures as required. It has implemented extra measures and controls to minimise the risk of spreading M bovis. As required, it will continue to restrict access in and out of the site, ensure all vehicles and work boots use the washing facilities provided and continue

SMALL NUMBER: A group of 44 cattle among 16,000 on the Five Star Beef feedlot have Mycoplasma bovis.

to comply with MPI best practice. Five Star Beef is focusing its significant efforts on the M bovis

issue in the first instance and will provide updates when they become available, he said,

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

A2 Milk Co continues to grow Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz INFANT formula sales in Australia and China continue to drive A2 Milk Co growth momentum as earnings outstrip the higher operating and marketing costs that come with expansion. A more than doubling in operating cashflows in the yearended June 30 led to a neartripling of cash on the balance sheet. A2 Milk reported a 68% lift in revenue to $922.7 million, a doubling of operating earnings (Ebitda) to $283m and a 116% rise in after-tax profit to $195.7m. Sales of A2 Platinum infant formula still dominate the business, providing $724m of the total revenues, and are rising by 84% a year, still faster than the overall sales growth. The company continues to gain market share in both Australia and China, new managing director Jayne Hrdlicka said. She described the year as transformational and said A2’s intellectual property and knowhow make it tough for others to follow easily. The first signs of competition from a major international company in the A1 protein-free category emerged in March with no apparent impact on A2 Milk Co’s sales momentum. She is confident competition will ultimately expand demand for A2 milk over time and the company will benefit from it. A2 Milk Co shares rose 24c to $11.37 on the NZX after the result. The company ended the year with $340.4m in cash, from $121m a year earlier, based on operating cashflow of $231m, up from $100m. It still has no borrowings. After balance date it paid $162m for a further chunk of shares in Synlait Milk, its A2 Platinum infant formula manufacturer, to take its shareholding to just over 17%. Hrdlicka said A2 Milk is

achieving sales volume growth in an expanded network of about 6000 shops across the United States with that business expected to have monthly positive Ebitda in the 2021 year. United Kingdom fresh milk sales increased more than 50% by volume but the market is a challenging one in which to achieve scale. Australia remains the key driver of profits with revenue up 50% at $656.6m and Ebitda ahead nearly 70% at $262m. The A2 Platinum infant formula increased market share by value to 32% from 26% and remains the fastest-growing brand by value.

We have a lot of momentum on this and are not finished. Jayne Hrdlicka A2 Milk Co Its ability to keep meeting the demand growth highlights the flexibility and strength of the group’s supply base, she said. Some of the Australian A2 Platinum sales end up being forwarded to China in Daigou or grey channel trade. The company has a good estimate of the dollar value of this expanding trade but does not release the figures. A2 fresh milk sales in Australia continue to increase, with revenue up 4%, and the grocery trade market share now at 9.8% nationally. The Chinese and other Asian business increased revenues by 163% to $233.6m and Ebitda by 148% to $81.3m. A2 Platinum infant formula market share continues to grow rapidly in the group’s targeted regions, with market share by value independently measured at 5.1%,

up from 2.8% a year earlier. A2 Milk Co has several sales lines into China, including the Daigou trade, cross-border e-commerce channels, big oneoff online sales events and the number of bricks and mortar outlets increased to about 10,000 Mother and Baby stores from 3800 a year earlier. “We have a lot of momentum on this and are not finished at 10,000,” Hrdlicka said. To support the strong growth the group has increased selling, marketing, supply chain and administration resources in China and that will continue as a focus this year. A2 Milk Co now has a supply agreement with Fonterra to make A2 milk products in Australia for sale in southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets as well as supplying A2 liquid milk in New Zealand. That has started and should be available nationwide in October, Hrdlicka said. Further growth in nutritional products in Australia, NZ and China is expected and in liquid milk sales in the US. The focus on emerging markets and product development will continue. Marketing spend as a percentage of sales is expected to increase in this year in the major markets and higher overhead costs are also likely, mainly because of increasing staff levels to service growth in China. However, the directors expect the Ebitda margins to be broadly consistent with the 31% figure in the latest year. A2 Milk Co has made the investment in Synlait and says it is also reviewing opportunities to invest in blending and canning capability as part of its longerterm nutritional products sourcing arrangements. That could be in conjunction with powder supply partners. With the increasing growthbased investment, a dividend is not being paid.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Exporters must stay on pace Glenys Christian NEW Zealand exporters must maintain their momentum in China over the next five years to take advantage of the enormous opportunities the market offers, NZ-China Council executive directord Stephen Jacobi says. He was speaking at a celebration of five years of the Anchor brand in China where he said Fonterra’s team had met its challenges head on. This country had enjoyed first-mover advantage but now its competitors are catching up. So NZ needs to steer a careful path between different trading factions. The council has recently done a Perception of China monitoring

exercise where 1000 New Zealanders were interviewed. Jacobi said 43% had positive reactions to the country, similar to those of the United States and Japan, almost three times the number who expressed negative views. “One third wanted to see trade increased, which is a pretty good result,” he said. But a surprising finding was most respondents think China benefits more from the trade than NZ. “So there is work to do.” Other results from the survey are that 10% of those questioned had visited China, 46% would like to and 60% feel a Chinese language would be the most useful one to learn.

Fonterra not changing ownership structure FONTERRA won’t be changing its ownership structure but is keen on finding partners to fund future projects, director Scott St John says. The co-op’s capital structure has been criticised as making it too hard to raise equity and led to a poor track record of adding value from investments, with one of its harshest critiques coming from First NZ Capital analyst Arie Dekker. Units in the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund, which gives investors exposure to the co-operative’s earnings stream, fell to a three-year low recently after the dairy company’s board trimmed its forecast payout to farmers and said it probably won’t pay a final dividend. St John, a former chief executive of FNZC, put forward the dairy company’s case to the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association annual meeting in Auckland, saying the payout cut was a tough decision but the right call to make and one he would do again. He gave a potted history of the 17-year-old company, saying its growing expansion in China and successful development of higher-

value food ingredients products show it has been successful. Still, he accepted some of the challenges facing the company had got the better of it. St John didn’t agree with a question from the floor that Fonterra’s 10,500 farmer-shareholders are reluctant to be fully shared up and said changing the ownership structure is just not on the table. He did, however, say the company needs to think carefully and innovatively how we fund the projects it enters into. St John said the recent Indian joint venture with Future Consumer to produce consumer and food service producers is probably more likely to be the sort of thing you see them doing. He was among a line-up of speakers including Finance Minister Grant Robertson, Westpac New Zealand chief economist Dominick Stephens, SkyCity Entertainment Group chief executive Graeme Stephens and Sanford chief executive Volker Kuntsch. – BusinessDesk

BIRTHDAY: Fonterra’s greater China president Christina Zhu, Fonterra’s president for Greater China cutting a cake with chief executive Miles Hurrell at a function to celebrate five years of the Anchor brand in China.

Seeka’s profits falling on banana difficulties SEEKA, New Zealand’s biggest kiwifruit grower, posted a 6.5% decline in first-half profit despite revenue rising as it wrote down the value of its banana-sourcing business further. The Te Puke-based company reported profit of $10.4 million in the six months ended June 30, from $11m in the same period a year earlier. Seeka said the bottom line included a $1.5m write-down of goodwill to its tropical fruit business, Seeka Glassfields. Revenue rose 8.5% to $145.4m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation lifted 7% to $23.5m. Glassfields, which imports and ripens tropical fruit and provides a logistics service for retailers, suffered after a major customer sourced a

direct supply of bananas in 2018, Seeka said. That pushed the board to reassess the value of the tropical business. Seeka had already written down the business by $2m in 2017. It now recognises just $440,000 of goodwill for the business. Seeka said it expects a better second half than in 2017 with a rebound in volumes of NZ kiwifruit production and stronger avocado volumes and earnings. It gave guidance for annual net profit to be between $6.5m and $7.2m compared to 2017’s $5.8m and ebitda of between $24m and $25m, from $23.1m. Still, it noted 2017’s profit included a number of non-recurring negative

adjustments, including the $2m Glassfields write-down and a $1m deferred tax adjustment. Seeka said the first half saw increased kiwifruit crop volumes, up 21% on the previous year to 31.1m tray equivalents handled, and record returns on avocados, delivering average return to growers of $40.81 a tray from $24.85 a year earlier. It also said its Delicious Nutritious Food Company, which manufactures Kiwi Crush drinks, increased ebitda earnings to $400,000 in the first half, from $160,000 in 2017. The board declared a 12 cents a share dividend, payable on September 21 with a September 14 record date. Seeka’s shares last traded at $6.40 and have dipped 0.8% this year. – BusinessDesk

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Contracts can deal with M bovis Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz MANY of the rules governing the way farmers have transacted livestock sales, land purchases and leases might be rewritten because of Mycoplasma bovis. Its nationwide hold, status as an unwanted organism the Government wants eradicated and uncertainty about who qualifies for compensation mean agreements previously settled on a handshake no longer provide adequate protection for either party, lawyers say. They are in new territory trying to write contracts with legal protection and compensation for farmers buying, leasing or grazing herds or land and who are then confronted by an outbreak of M bovis. Blackman Spargo lawyer Chris Spargo of Rotorua said including clauses to provide disease protection is new but his firm has adopted a policy all land purchases must have clauses to address the discovery of M bovis. “Our view is that it must have a clause added to it.” Lawyers are grappling with the legal repercussions of an M bovis outbreak and Spargo said the specifics differ for each case and are varied for the purchase or lease of stock or a land buyer unable to stock a farm for 60 days because it has been infected with the disease. Contracts could proportion liability or cover the cost of alternative grazing, compensation or buying supplementary feed. Spargo said the M bovis outbreak should prompt a review of the process of stock agents taking their commission when a deposit is paid for a livestock transaction. He believes deposits should now be held in a trust account so if cattle test positive for M bovis after a deal is agreed but

PROTECTION: People buying and selling stock and farmland are looking for legal protection in the case of Mycoplasma bovis being found.

There are potentially quite a few things to deal with and it comes down to a farmers’ appetite for risk. Nathan Adams Gallaway Cook Allan before the change of ownership, the contract can more simply be terminated. There have already been cases of buyers pulling out of agreements because of the disease. “Our view is that all agreements should include warranties because you really want a guarantee as a vendor that your cows are free of M bovis.” Spargo said a dispute when there is no contract is to be

avoided because it becomes costly and time-consuming. He believes the uncertainty might encourage some farmers to sit on their hands until there is certainty about whether the disease will be eradicated or lived with. “Maybe people won’t do deals. Instead they will wait for a stand down period for the industry.” Dunedin law firm Gallaway Cook Allan partner Nathan Adams said it depends on people’s appetite for risk whether every transaction has a contract or disease-related clauses. For some, like dairy graziers, wintering cows or growing out young stock is the foundation of their business but previously few contracts dealt with disease. “Certainly not to the extent of being actually tailored to these circumstances or to provide sufficient compensation or accuracy to really provide robust answers that cover off circumstances people

are confronted with now.” Adams said lawyers are trying to provide practical, legal solutions on the rights and responsibilities of parties involved in a transaction. “We are trying to achieve reasonable certainty in terms of rights and obligations and then what outcomes can reliably occur if there is failure by either party.” New contracts might incorporate protection such as stating cows on winter grazing must not come in contact with cows from other herds by having at least one paddock separating herds. “Isolation could be a way of mitigating risk and it can certainly be written into a contract.” But preventing a grazier from taking a vehicle between herds and unwittingly spreading M bovis is more problematic to enforce. Other issues to be considered include testing cows, bulls or bull semen before purchase but Adams

said others might seek to include a warranty against M bovis. “There are potentially quite a few things to deal with and it comes down to a farmers’ appetite for risk.” The list of those who might receive compensation because of M bovis is potentially wide. A Primary Industries Ministry spokeswoman said that could extend to lessees, graziers or those unable to stock a newly-bought or leased farm because of M bovis. They should submit a claim to see if they qualify. “Compensation may be paid to a person who has suffered a verifiable loss as a direct result of MPI exercising powers for the control or eradication of M bovis. “All claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the eligibility criteria of section 162A of the Biosecurity Act.” Nationally, the number of active infected properties has dropped to 35 while 28 farms have been cleaned and depopulated.

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News

10 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Fonterra still excelling in China Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz BEINGMATE’S worries, while serious, have obscured Fonterra’s major achievements in China, including the leadership of its Anchor brand among imported dairy products, Fonterra’s greater China president Christina Zhu says. The appointment in July of Bao Xiufei as general manager of Beingmate was the first step in addressing the very real problems that company faces. Fonterra took the 18.8% stake in Beingmate for long-term strategic reasons and it represents only 5% of Fonterra’s Chinese enterprise value – the total revenue, assets and debts in its number one export market. Zhu is one of two Fonterraappointed directors on Beingmate’s board. “It has been a big disappointment for us and we are working hard to improve its performance.” While in New Zealand to mark the five-year anniversary of the Anchor brand in China, Zhu highlighted 40% compound annual growth figures and cumulative consumer sales equivalent to a billion glasses of milk. Anchor is now the number one brand for both off-line and on-line sales of imported UHT milk to Chinese consumers among 60 to 70 foreign competitors.

STRATEGY: Beingmate represents only 5% of Fonterra’s Chinese enterprise value and is a long-term strategic investment, its greater China president Christina Zhu says.

Fonterra supplies either directly or indirectly 11% of China’s dairy needs and NZ is the country of origin of 36% of China’s dairy imports. China is the destination for 26% of Fonterra’s output, worth $5 billion annually. Its investment in China is integrated, being grass to glass, for the long term and done at scale, not in niches, she said. Fonterra ingredients are clearly the market leaders among imported dairy products with annual sales of 3.4b litres of liquid milk equivalents. Anchor food service sales

represent 80% of all butter used and 50% of all mozzarella cheese and cooking creams. China food service made sales into 20,000 businesses and accounted for 70% of Fonterra’s worldwide food service sales, something Zhu called the crown jewel of Fonterra. China Farms is now producing more than 330 million litres of milk annually from

28,000 cows on two completed farm hubs and one being developed with partner Abbott. The five-year journey for Fonterra Anchor in China began with just one product – a 250ml UHT white milk into one Shanghai store. There are now 47 Anchor products on sale in 13,000 stores. Sales on all e-commerce platforms will account for 100m LME this year. On-lines sales are 55% of all Anchor product sales to Chinese consumers and Anchor milk powder is the market leader in store sales. Many Anchor products attract 20% price premiums while outselling their competitors. “The number of people employed by Fonterra in China has reduced slightly but the volume of sales per person has increased by seven times over five years,” she said. “With small numbers at the beginning, 40% annual sales growth may be easy to achieve but now when we are so much bigger it is much harder. China is no longer an automatically growing market. “Some of the biggest fastmoving consumer goods companies in the world now have declining sales figures in China.

To be sustainable we have to have a start-up mentality – such a complex and uncertain market demands constant re-invention. Christina Zhu Fonterra “To sustain our rate of growth takes a lot of work.” Anchor brand awareness among Chinese consumer has grown from zero to 72% in the five years, Zhu said. Fonterra’s Chinese employees had returned a high engagement score even though their workload has increased considerably. “I think that shows that people want to work for a winning team.” She also said standing out in a noisy place like China requires constant work and for Fonterra China standing still is not an option. “In order to be sustainable we have to have a start-up mentality – such a complex and uncertain market demands constant reinvention.”

Success at home sells products in China Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz

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CHINESE consumers are very interested in imported food products that have been successful in their country of origin, Alibaba’s Australia and New Zealand business development director John O’Loghlen says. The New Zealander, a former investment banker and co-founder of Gung Ho Pizza in Beijing, said Alibaba will soon open an Oceania central procurement system to help cater for the growing appetite of Chinese consumers for newer and better imported goods. It will feature products from NZ, definitely including Fonterra, he told a function to mark the five-year anniversary of Anchor in China. Australia and NZ are among the largest source countries for goods on Alibaba platforms, including its new Hema grocery stores in Chinese cities. There are 400 NZ brands and more than 2000 from Australia in what O’Loghlen calls the Alibaba ecosystem. Alibaba Group is the largest retail commerce business in the world in terms of gross merchandise value in the financial year ended March 31, having overtaken Wal-Mart. The transaction value of goods sold was $768 billion, an annual growth rate of 28%.

EXPANDING: Alibaba is opening an Oceania procurement system that will feature products from New Zealand, its Australia and New Zealand business development manager John O’Loghlen says.

Its platforms transacted more than half of the $800b annual trade in e-commerce in China. It has more than 600 million annual active consumers on its China retail marketplaces and has group revenue of nearly US$40b in the 2018 financial year, an increase of 58%. Alibaba has 66,000 employees, 1500 of whom are outside of China, including 50 in Australia and NZ. It has more than 2b listings on its platforms and Australia is the third-largest source country, including 25% of its products with NZ origin, and NZ is the 12th-largest. The group’s new retail strategy aims to seamlessly integrate e-commerce and off-line shopping using mobile devices.

Its 46 Hema grocery stores in 13 Chinese cities carry produce that is fresh daily, with each day of the week colour coded. Fonterra provides liquid milk from its China farms, processed through third parties. New retail integrated product offerings, on-line and off-line ordering, payment, delivery and the loyalty programme. Scanning of the bar codes on the product packs and on store display shelves provides consumers with information about the source and journey of each product, connected by block-chain technology. The Hema stores are also fulfillment centres for online ordering, which includes delivery with a 3km, 30-minute radius.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Kicking myths well into touch Richard Loe YOU don’t have career in rugby without taking a few knocks. I’ve taken a few knocks in my farming career too but I’ve learned that, with a bit of planning and forethought, most accidents are avoidable. The major common factors in fatal accidents on farms are vehicles and machinery and one of the major obstacles to reducing them are the myths that have grown up around the use of vehicles on farms. As a farmer and ambassador for WorkSafe’s Safer Farms programme I talk to a lot of farmers and I hear these same myths aired over and over again. Since 2011, 128 people have died in farm accidents – 90% involved vehicles or machinery. So in this series I’m going to have a go at busting some of the misconceptions that contribute to that unacceptable toll. Myth 1: Using vehicles on farms is inherently dangerous, accidents happen Sadly, if you attend the funeral of someone who has died in a farm accident, someone will likely come out with this myth. A vehicle is involved in seven out of

every 10 fatal farm incidents and the reality is almost every one of those deaths is avoidable. I’ve rolled a farm vehicle and was lucky to walk away. Now I look at it this way: as farmers we need to put the same thought and planning into operating vehicles on our farms as we do for driving on a public road. If you’re driving on a road and there’s snow, frost, fog or heavy rain you take the safest route and drive to the conditions. You make a mental note of roadworks and you keep an eye out for what other drivers are doing. If you need to pick up a load of stuff from the farm store you take a truck not a Suzuki Swift. It’s all about choosing the right vehicle for the job, driving to the conditions, knowing where the risks are and making sure everyone who uses that vehicle is trained and capable of handling it well. That’s why I don’t take my quad out on frosty mornings or onto slippery slopes or use it to tow heavy loads. I don’t want to get into strife. I’m also very aware it isn’t youngsters who feature highest in the fatal accident figures for farms. It’s guys around my age

Win with Richard Loe

SAFE AND SOUND: Knowing he’s safe under his helmet keeps Richard Loe smiling.

doing routine jobs, often later in the day, so I bear that in mind when I’m trying to get stuff finished before dinner. As farmers, vehicles are our critical risk. You wouldn’t use a sledgehammer to knock a nail in or an ordinary hammer to knock in a post so think about your farm vehicles in the same way. It’s about mindset and taking a few minutes to select the right tool for the job and making sure everyone else using vehicles on your farm gets that message too.

A RUGBY club or team will get the chance to learn skills from rugby legend Richard Loe as part of a programme to improve health and safety on farms. Farmers, their families, employees and contractors are being encouraged to send WorkSafe’s Safer Farms programme examples of how they’re farming safely. The winner can then nominate their favourite rugby club or team to receive a coaching session from former All Black Loe, WorkSafe’s Safer Farms ambassador. WorkSafe agriculture sector leader Al McCone said “We are seeing many farmers stepping up to the plate and introducing simple steps to reduce the chances of an accident happening. “Many farmers now accept that it isn’t about compliance or form-filling but about

making health and safety a priority. Loe, who farms at Oxford, North Canterbury, said “We all know farming can be a risky job. “Dealing with the changing weather, animals and large machinery can be dangerous. “I want to be safe on my farm. I want my workers and contractors to be safe and I want my family to be safe. It’s about thinking or talking through a job before you tackle it. To enter visit www.worksafe. govt.nz/rugbycomp and submit a brief explanation about the steps taken to improve health and safety. That can include technological innovations, hazard mapping or worker engagement. Entries can also include a video or photograph. Entries close on Friday September 21.

SIZE does matter! THE SMALLER THE BETTER The effectiveness of lime is not about tons. As only the surface area of Lime chips are able to react with and neutralise soil acidity, it’s about how much exposed surface area of Calcium Carbonate is available.The more you crush lime, the larger the combined surface area becomes so when we talk about Lime, ‘Size does Matter’ and the smaller the particles the better. Better because as you reduce the size of Lime chips into smaller particles (increasing the combined surface area), you can reduce the tons of product required whilst maintaining the same effectiveness. If you consider the average particle size of a standard Ag Lime product being 250micron or 0.25mm (Grafton 2010), and the average particle size of PFP Lime being 20 micron or 0.020mm you can start to understand how we can reduce your application rates, which in turn reduces the costs of cartage and spreading. The key is being able to get this “Ultra-Fine Particle Lime Flour on the ground

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12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Co-ops rewarded for talent course Bryan Gibson bryan.gibson@globalhq.co.nz

FUTURE: Co-op boards have a duty to ensure future good governance, Farmlands chairman Lachie Johnstone says.

A GOVERNANCE development programme run by Silver Fern Farms and Farmlands has won a major co-operative award. The programme, To the Core, won the cooperation among co-operatives award at the Co-operative Business awards in Christchurch last week. To the Core is a three-day programme for

shareholders who want to build their knowledge of how their co-operatives operate and feed their appetite to develop rural leadership skills. Farmlands chairman Lachie Johnstone said “The co-operatives have similar demands in terms of getting people into governance roles. “While the day-to-day operations of our cooperatives may differ, it made good sense.” Silver Fern Farms chairman Rob Hewett said while his was an output co-operative and Farmlands an input one, there are common issues. “It’s a whet-the-whistle course for those that might be interested in governance roles,” he said. The programme gives participants a taste of cooperative businesses, what they do and what the issues and risks are. It is helping to meet the challenge co-operatives face in ensuring shareholders are engaged in the future governance of the companies they own, Johnstone said. SFF ran the first programme in 2016 with the Burnside Hart Co-operative Education Trust. “We saw the potential to grow the programme alongside another like-minded co-operative and Farmlands have been an ideal partner to build on these foundations. Many of our shareholders are also Farmlands Co-operative shareholders,” Hewett said. The programme was run at Farmlands’ Christchurch support office, with 23 Farmlands and SFF shareholders from around the country participating. It featured high-quality speakers from both co-operatives and the primary sector addressing all areas of governance, including financials, risk management, market disruption, strategy and sustainability. Johnstone and Hewett said their boards have a responsibility to ensure the co-operatives are wellgoverned in the future. Co-operative Business represents the growing business sector of co-operatives, which employ more than 48,000 Kiwis but make up almost 20% of our country’s GDP – and generate revenues in excess of NZ$43 billion a year for the New Zealand economy.

King is crowned

LIC chairman Murray King has been named Co-operative Leader of the Year at the Cooperative Business NZ Awards. The annual award recognises those who have shown strong leadership and commitment to the co-operative sector. A Nelson-based dairy farmer, King has a long-standing connection to LIC and the dairy farming community of the upper South Island. He was first elected to LIC’s board in 2009 and has been re-elected twice as chairman since 2012. As chairman King has steered LIC through a period of significant change and disruption in the dairy sector. To date, the transformation project has delivered $60 million in recurring revenue benefits and $30.7m in one-off benefits for the co-operative. In its latest annual report the company recorded its highest ever annual revenue amount. Chief executive Wayne McNee said “Murray has shown exceptional leadership over the past three years, navigating unprecedented disruption in our industry and protecting and growing LIC for the benefit of its 10,500 shareholders.”

News

Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz MEDIAN farm prices fell sharply year-on-year to the end of July but the overall index is firmer after taking farm types, sizes and location into account. The median price for the three months to the end of July was $21,302 a hectare, a 21.6% fall from the $27,158 figure at the corresponding time in 2017, according to Real Estate Institute figures. However, the group’s All Farm Price Index rose 3.7% over the year. The institute regards its All farm index as the most accurate barometer of prices because it makes adjustments for farm type and location and the size of the property, whereas the median figures don’t. In the three months to the end of July the median price fell 2% compared to the three months to June this year but the All Farm Price Index rose 5.6%. Grazing farms made up 36% of sales in the threemonth period, ahead of finishing farms at 31%, horticulture units at 11% and dairy properties 10%. With the mid-winter focus on calving, dairy farm sales activity was very light nationally, with just Waikato reporting reasonable business levels, the institute’s rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said. He believes the increasing age of dairy farmers and issues finding farm labour could lead to a solid number of dairy farms coming to market this sales season. Over all farm types there were 17 more sales in Waikato, including steady finishing farm turnover, in the three-months than at the same time a year earlier. Manawatu-Wanganui had the greatest lift, up by 24 sales, and Hawke’s Bay had 12 more. Canterbury had the biggest decline with 26 fewer sales and Auckland dropped by 12 sales. Across the country activity levels were reasonably consistent with last year but 15% lower than at the same time in 2016, Peacocke said. Horticulture unit sales were down in volume but kiwifruit sector values mean the median price per hectare jumped to $281,468 from $149,251 a year earlier. The dairy farm median price for the period was $31,881/ha, the same as in the June period, but down from $36,332 for July last year. That is a 12.3% decline, consistent with the 14.5% slide in the Dairy Farm Price Index, which adjusts for farm type, size, and location. Finishing farm median prices rose slightly to $26,531/ha in the July period from $26,245 in June but were down from $30,882 for July last year, a 14% fall, and on lower turnover. For grazing properties, the latest median price is $10,196/ha, down from $11,274 a year earlier, a 9.6% fall. Total sales numbers for the latest period were 397, down from 427 for the June period and close to the 392 sales of a year earlier.

DOWN: The median price of farmland has fallen 21.6% in the year to July 31 to $21,302 a hectare.

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News

14 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Dairy goats win with PGP funding

EXPANSION: The aim is to increase the number of milking goats from 50,000 to more than 100,000, Dairy Goat Co-operative chief executive David Hemara says.

the uniqueness of NZ’s dairy goat farming system, retaining the benefits onshore. The programme is one of nine business cases for new PGP programmes in the

Calf Rearing & Herd Health

August 2018

Read all about calving and herd health. We also featured Jodie Heaps, the Dairy Business of the Year winner.

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pipeline, developed before the announcement of the PGP review. “We have been working on this for over a year. Such programmes take a lot of time to develop,” Hemara said.

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NZ has about 50,000 milk goats and the long-term goal, aided by input from the PGP, is to expand that to more than 100,000 over a 15 or so years. Hemara said there are three or four other countries internationally with milking goat populations larger than NZ’s but the focus here is to aim at

FARMER RY D

David Hemara Dairy Goat Co-operative

What we want to do from here is to strengthen the research to show the additional, quantifiable features and benefits of goat’s milk formula.

the premium, niche end of the market. The unique supplemented diet NZ dairy goats receive with cut grass and silage is thought to contribute to the milk’s particularly high nutritional value and it is hoped the trials will also highlight that, making it a particular selling point for processed products. There is added appeal in dairy goat systems as farmers look to reduce their farm’s nutrient loss levels and confined, cut-andcarry goat systems are one way to achieve that. “There’s the opportunity to decrease the environmental impact of pastoral farming through conversions from other farming systems,” Hemara said. MPI director general Martyn Dunne said a dairy goat research farm will also be established under the PGP to trial innovations alongside the high-value nutritional research. “The Caprinz PGP programme meets our criteria for investment, such as an innovation focus, delivering economic and environmental benefits and a focus on the value chain.” He believes programme developments will not be easily replicated overseas because of

FARME RY RD

THE burgeoning dairy goat sector has secured significant funding to advance its nutritional claims and farm productivity with the latest Primary Growth Partnership. The $29.65 million Caprine Innovations New Zealand PGP between the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Dairy Goat Co-operative has been welcomed by the co-operative’s chief executive David Hemara for the horsepower it provides to the co-op’s efforts to implement a range of international clinical trials focusing on dairy goat milk’s nutritional value. “For many years we have already focused on doing clinical trials showing goat’s milk is safe as an infant formula. “What we want to do from here is to strengthen the research to show the additional, quantifiable features and benefits of goat’s milk formula and undertake trials so we can share the results with medical health groups.” International multi-centre trials are known to be very expensive, being run in different parts of the world. The co-operative intends to initiate a series of pilot trials in

NZ then the large international trials will run with centres that focus on different aspects of infant nutrition and formulations. At a farm level the funding also intends to deliver better tools to help goat farmers measure herd productivity and individual animal’s physical performance.

Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Lincoln to look at partnerships ANY working relationship between Lincoln and Canterbury Universities will be as equals, Lincoln’s vice-chancellor James McWha says. The two universities are not setting out to merge but rather will spend the rest of the year determining how a potential partnership could work. A proposal will then be submitted to Education Minister Chris Hipkins. McWha said there are no preconceived ideas on what the final structure could look like except both universities will be equal. That was not the case from 1961 to 1990 when Lincoln College was a constituent and under the oversight of Canterbury University. “Here we are talking about the universities coming together to deliver something neither can do separately.” Lincoln might also work with other universities, organisations and Crown research institutes, he said. “We have left all options on the table so we can produce better results for the agriculture community, conservation community and tourism community.” McWha said a transformation project had turned around Lincoln’s earlier financial problems but also identified the need to collaborate and extend the courses offered. He identified precision agriculture and animal health as

areas Lincoln wants to be involved in but establishment costs mean collaborating with universities that have those skills, Canterbury, Otago and Massey, is a better option. Lincoln is already involved in collaborative developments on its campus, Lincoln Innovation, formerly the Lincoln Hub, and a joint facility with AgResearch that will accommodate 700 people and which McWha said has Hipkins’ support.

We have left all options on the table so we can produce better results for the agriculture community. James McWha Lincoln University Hipkins also told McWha he wants the Lincoln brand retained. In a statement Hipkins said he supports the prospect of either a partnership or merger between Canterbury and Lincoln and he is looking for it to enhance Lincoln’s unique contribution to the landbased sectors of the New Zealand economy. “We need to encourage more people to study and work in the land-based sectors to meet industry demand, increase productivity and tackle technological and environmental challenges.

“It is critical that NZ has strong and stable, multi-disciplinary, university-based teaching and research that best supports the land-based sector and this process will help determine whether a partnership or a merger with Canterbury would achieve this at Lincoln,” Hipkins said. Canterbury chancellor Dr John Wood said the university has longstanding interests in landbased sectors and he is confident the parties can collaborate. McWha hopes Lincoln can collaborate by working with international universities with a similar land based, agri, food and fibre focus. Lincoln still suffers from a small but stable roll, which last year numbered 2700, but with forecasts of lower numbers of school leavers until 2021, McWha said enrollments remain an issue for all universities. There is also the continued issue that despite the sector’s importance, studying landbased industries is not attractive to young people and he hopes extending collaboration will address that. “It is a challenge to get young people involved in land-based degree study after leaving secondary school. “To do that we need to make sure we are using new science and technology. “In some areas, such as precision agriculture, which requires engineering facilities, we can’t afford to build a new workshop so it makes sense to talk to Canterbury which has worldclass engineering and IT facilities.” There is likely to be a double-up

EQUALS: Lincoln University will not lose its identity and will be an equal partner in any deal with Canterbury University, vice-chancellor James McWha says.

in some business courses offered by the two universities but McWha said feedback from employers of Lincoln graduates is that the agri flavour is important to them. A partnership could enable cross-over courses or allow students to take courses at the respective universities. McWha said employers and graduates should be confident Lincoln will remain but emerge stronger from this initiative. Lincoln, the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the southern hemisphere, was founded in 1878 as a school of agriculture linked to Canterbury College.

Its first intake of students arrived in 1880. By 1896 when agriculture was established as a mainstay NZ export industry links to Canterbury College were severed and until 1961 it was known as the Canterbury Agricultural College, with its own governing body and the ability to award degrees through the University of NZ. In 1961 it was renamed Lincoln College and became part of Canterbury University. In 1990 Lincoln split from Canterbury and became Lincoln University, a self-governing national university.

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Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

News

18 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Tree scheme target in doubt Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz THE Government’s target of an extra 50 million trees a year might be elusive in the One Billion Trees programme’s first year as landowners hold back on a full commitment. Farm advisers and nursery operators are experiencing strong interest in the plan’s big planting goals aiming for a billion trees in the ground by 2027. But estimates are the first year of the scheme might see only an extra 20,000ha planted, once replacement hectares are allowed for. Large scale nursery operator Patrick Murray said national harvest rates are at near record levels with about 65,000ha being felled this year. Meantime, he reckons about 85,000ha is being planted. The net gain of 20,000ha stands to leave the first year’s planting target short by 30,000ha of genuinely new land in trees. Those figures fit relatively closely with Ministry for Primary Industries data. MPI’s tree tracker has recorded 58.5 million trees or about 58,000ha planted since the programme was announced. Orders for seedlings for this year have actually eased back a bit because of latest Government announcements about more funding becoming available. In mid August Forestry Minister Shane Jones announced a $240m boost to the One Billion Trees project through the Provincial Growth Fund. It aims to provide direct funding to landowners for the cost of planting and establishing trees and regenerating indigenous forest. That is in addition to the $245m already committed from the PGF to start the programme.

The Government has also bent to Green Party calls to include native trees in the tree programme. Now, as many as two-thirds of trees planted will be natives. Jones had preferred half the plantings be industry-friendly exotics. Murray said the two announcements mean some planting decisions have been pushed into next season. “Those incentives for next year are causing people to delay until next year for planting decisions. We have gone from a bit of a shortage to something of an overhang of stock as a result.”

Getting 200ha of land for pines is a lot. Gary Massicks Baker Ag Some of the hesitation might also be explained by potential foresters taking a wait-and-see view of carbon prices, which have surged to touch their cap of $25 a tonne in recent weeks. The Government is considering lifting or removing the cap, with strong likelihood it could go higher yet. Waikato based Total Ag farm consultant and director Rob Macnab said interest from his dry stock clients on taking up the subsidised planting programme has been strong but comes with reservations. “The scheme sounds good, but there are provisos around it and I think they need to be loosened.” One of those is for the new blocks to be 200ha in size though they can be smaller ones near each other.

“Typically 20-50ha on a farm would be an ideal area for most of my clients.” His concerns are shared by lower North Island farm consultant Gary Massicks of BakerAg. “Getting 200ha of land for pines is a lot. If you can get 200ha with neighbours you could do it but that can be difficult among farmers. “I do, however, have one client who has 500ha set aside and will be planting it next year. I can understand why they want big blocks but that is a problem.” He expects parts of the Gisborne region, Whanganui, Wairarapa and areas in King Country will be key areas to be planted. “And in terms of returns, 50ha of managed forest will generate a decent return if you are converting country less than ideal for grazing in that 7-7.5 stock units or less a hectare sort of area. It’s the sort of country breeding cows struggle on.” With the Crown paying the $150 a hectare lease, possible elevated carbon returns and rates relief it is likely a better return than having sheep on that country. “The key is, it has to be marginal country.” He will not be surprised to see more smaller blocks get on board in future because the larger ones are tagged by farmers for planting earlier. Both he and Macnab agree there is a need for greater knowledge extension from foresters to farmers to ensure the right trees are planted in the right place. Murray said he already has cases of too many trees ordered for specific sites and being returned or cancelled. “Consultancy advice is a really underrated area and even at that level sometimes there is a lack of understanding about planting diversity.”

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NOT BIG ENOUGH: The 200ha minimum size for tree planting areas rules out the many farmers who have 20ha to 50ha available, Total Ag consultant Rob Macnab says.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Comvita returns to making profit Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz COMVITA has returned to an operating profit and has built up its manuka honey supplies in case there is a third successive poor production season. It reported an after-tax profit of $8.2 million for the year ended June 30, down from the $9.8m figure a year earlier achieved as a result of asset sale gains. Taking out non-operating items, the latest after-tax profit was $9.3m compared to a loss previously of $5.5m. Earnings were built on a strong increase in sales with good gains in North America and Asia and gray-channel sales in New Zealand and Australia rising 58%. Net sales were $177m, up from $149m. The joint-venture, Comvita Food (China), achieved first-year sales of $46m and after-tax profit of $3.3m. Comvita’s 51% share earnings are included in the group results but the sales aren’t.

CONCENTRATE: Comvita is to focus on building its position selling manuka honey and propolis health products, chairman Neil Craig says.

Chairman Neil Craig said that after a strategic review, Comvita will focus on building its early leadership position in manuka honey and propolis health products. It will run a leaner, more focused business model with

Heartland lifts rural income Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz HEARTLAND Bank increased its rural net operating income in the latest year though the amount loaned to the sector at year-end was lower. At year-end, the rural loan book was $656.2 million, down from $675.5m a year earlier. However, the average book rose to $665.8m from $614m year-to-year. The division’s net operating income was $32.3m, up $3.1m. Managing director Jeff Greenslade said Heartland is focusing on livestock lending as a priority over traditional rural relationships and larger risk loans. Rural division impairments rose to $1.2m, up from just $300,000 a year earlier, because of provisions on larger loans.

The division’s impairment expense as a percentage of the loan book was very low at 0.17%. Rural lending made up 17% of the total lending book but the division was not mentioned as a core business for the group. Increasing livestock lending, via the digital platform Open for Livestock, is among the new business targets. Heartland reported an aftertax profit of $67.5m for the year, up from $60.8m, on net operating income of $196.8m, a 15% lift over the previous year. The total loan book was $4 billion at June 30. A highlight for the group was a 39% increase in Australian operations, with total lending at $721m. Of that, $677m was in the fast-growing reverse mortgage business.

lower overhead costs but will increase the offshore marketing spend. The new strategy follows feedback and analysis from a potential buyer for the business. Talks ended when the parties could not agree on price. The company has reduced its dividend payment as a ratio of the operating after-tax profit to 25%, against the earlier policy of 40% to 45%. That is a more appropriate level for a high-growth company with ongoing demand for cash to fund growth, Craig said. A final dividend of 2c a share will take the total payout for the year to 6c. The profit improvement is based on good results in the branded sales business, which had an after-tax profit of $15.5m compared to earlier guidance of $13.5m. The poor 2017-18 honey season meant the supply business ran at a $6.2m loss compared to a budgeted $4.5m profit. The company said the history of honey harvests in NZ shows a third consecutive poor season

is unlikely but it has reduced the fixed-cost overheads in the business and is using scientific knowledge to select hive sites, which optimises profitability. Comvita has also bought more aggressively to build up its honey inventory to $89m at balance date to satisfy its full-year expectations rather than relying on a more normal honey season. Manuka honey increases in value when properly stored, it said. The build-up in inventory will have contributed to the operating cash outflow of $22.1m for the year compared with an outflow of $10.2m a year earlier. At balance date borrowings funded 36% of the total assets of $318m, up from a 26% ratio of total assets of $256m previously. Comvita’s manuka breeding programme has produced variety crosses that could flower for longer and/or later as well as enhancing nectar qualities. The business has a positive outlook for the June 2019 year, Craig said.

Skellerup boosts its agri earnings Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz STRONG international sales have boosted Skellerup Holdings’ agri-business results to record levels. The unit recorded earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) of $22.8 million for the year ended June 30, a 15% increase on the prior year. Revenue was $89m with a very good Ebit margin of 25%. The industrial division had Ebit of $20.8m, a 21% improvement, on sales 15% higher at $151.5m. Skellerup reported a record after-tax profit of $27.3m.

Cavalier is back in the black Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz A MUCH sharper Cavalier Corporation is looking forward to increased carpet sales. New Zealand and Australian carpet markets were softer in the year ended June 30 but favourable wool prices helped the group to an impressive profit turnaround, achieving an after-tax profit of $4.1 million, compared to a $2.1m loss a year earlier. After completing its restructuring in 2017 Cavalier’s streamlined operations allowed it to boost operating cashflows and reduce borrowings, both by significant amounts. Cashflows were $12.1m from an outflow of $5.4m and that helped reduce borrowings to $29.4m at balance date from $40.2m previously. Further improvement is

expected this year and the group is very focused on lifting volumes and revenues and achieving sustainable and profitable growth, chief executive Paul Alston said. Dividends to shareholders are still being held back while that is achieved. Cavalier is increasing focus on higher-end, high-margin products for sale mainly in NZ and Australia but will also consider large-population markets with high socioeconomic consumers wanting the best of the best in their homes. Though there had been a move from wool to synthetics there is now increasing demand for environmentally sustainable products and the virtues of wool are becoming more widely known. Wool will increasingly be a focus for Cavalier and the

company is well placed. Chairman Alan Clarke said it is an exciting time for Cavalier with its strong operational platform, new sales strategy and rising demand for high-end products. Carpet sales for the year were $123.7m, down from $131.6m. As well as softer sales there had also been a short-term impact on supply to Australia as a result of the consolidation programme. The segment profit was $7.1m compared to a loss of $4.47m after restructuring costs a year earlier. Revenue for the wool acquisition business was $27.4m, down from $29m, and the segment profit was $1.29m, up from $430,000. Cavalier reported total assets of $133m at balance date, with shareholders’ funds of $72.2m. The company’s 27.5% stake in scouring company Cavalier Wool Holdings is valued at $24.5m.

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OBSESSED WITH AGRICULTURE

farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

News

Water guru laments lost opportunities Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz AFTER half a century working with natural resources around the world and now in his career twilight Dr Terry Heiler despairs about New Zealand’s ability to develop a cohesive, sustainable water policy that supports irrigators, communities and the environment. The irrigation pioneer and 2013 Lincoln Bledisloe Medal winner believes the problems around NZ’s irrigation funding are heightened in a global environment where hedge funds are seeking investment in a world requiring about $3.7 trillion a year in infrastructure investment. That amount is about the equivalent of Germany’s annual GDP and the hundreds of millions irrigation projects here are seeking represent small change for infrastructure investment funds. “Those funds would love to get stuck into a modest return, stable sort of infrastructure investment like these but that’s just not happening.” He puts the lack of investment first and foremost down to the complications, cost and uncertainty the Resource Management Act brings. “They are nervous about it. It is just too uncertain.” Add in a coalition government with assorted compromises around environmental standards and regional investment the investment environment becomes even more fraught, he said. “This situation we have is one we have created wholly on our own. “We have no cross-border conflicts or demands with other countries yet we seem to have worked out a way to develop things so we don’t do anything. “We spend years in environment courts and it’s farmers who end up paying for that.” The controversial Crown Irrigation Investment Fund was no lolly scramble for irrigators with tight terms more onerous than banks’ conditions in some areas. “But what it did do was it gave those banks confidence. It was a surrogate shareholder and provided that security.” It also reduced the risk perception of the scheme in potential farmer shareholders’ minds. “So when the CII was dropped that tacit approval and support was removed.” He believes it has affected farmers’ views in all the affected schemes (see Farmers Weekly August 20 issue). “And why would it not? This is a longterm investment that needed some certainty.” Irrigation has also fallen foul of highly organised and now unified environmental groups that threaten the social blessing to continue farming using irrigated water. “And we are now seeing farmers and farmer co-operatives like Fonterra start to move to protect themselves and their shareholders. The example is the MacKenzie dairy operation (see Newsmaker on page 22) that Fonterra moved to distance itself from – they just don’t want any more trouble and it’s the same for existing irrigation companies.” The result is a growing haves and have-

NO TAKERS: International investment funds would love to invest in New Zealand water schemes but are put off by the confusion, cost and uncertainty generated by fragmented policy and the Resource Management Act, Bledisloe Medal winner Terry Heiler says.

nots split in the farming community – farmers who have water and are intent on keeping it and those who would dearly love it but can’t get it. The positive environmental benefits of irrigation should play well with the broader public but even so schemes are still struggling.

We spend years in environment courts and it’s farmers who end up paying for that. Dr Terry Heiler “If you take the Hunter Downs scheme, the Wainono Lagoon was to be augmented by it and the only people paying for that were farmers but they have had so much opposition.” But the Central Plains scheme has amply demonstrated the positive environmental benefits the projects deliver, including better flow into Lake Ellesmere and the Selwyn River catchment and a reduction in aquifer take from deep bore pumps. “Irrigation has been a strong enabler for these schemes. It brings in some hard cash but delivers public good. It’s

something the community is interested in and benefits from.” Heiler said NZ lacks a multi-objective, multi-use approach to water use. “We have lost that centralised capacity to plan for a multi-objective outcome of resource use.” Nothing highlights that more than the Hunter Downs struggle. “Hunter Downs had the most reliable water supply scheme in the Waitaki and even then that scheme can’t get going. If we can’t do it there we can’t do it anywhere. “It’s hands off from central government. There is no base for water resource management. And with RMA case law all we have done is drift somewhere no one wanted to be. It’s expensive and there are no positives for the environment or anyone else except the legal profession.” The opposition came despite United States experts assessing NZ’s irrigation technology as world leading in terms of efficiency. Heiler is calling for a bi-partisan government initiative rather than devolving control to 13 regional governments. He has spent a lot of time out of NZ working with water authorities in countries significantly less endowed with it. “They cannot believe we are in the situation we are in today.”

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Sheep and beef levies will rise

MORE: PULPIT P25

RETURN: The increased levy will deliver benefits for farmers, Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman Andrew Morrison says.

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BEEF + Lamb New Zealand’s board has decided to proceed with the proposed increase in the sheep and cattle levies following significant support from farmers. From October 1 the levy for sheep will increase by 10 cents to 70 cents a head and the cattle levy by 80 cents to $5.20 a head. That is 0.4% of the average slaughter value for prime steers and heifers, 0.7% of cull dairy cow, 0.7% of lamb and 1.1% of mutton over the last three years. The extra levies will be spent accelerating four key programmes: the international activation of the Taste Pure Nature origin brand and the Red Meat Story, helping the sector lift its environmental performance and reputation, telling the farmer story better and strengthening B+LNZ’s capability to address biosecurity risks. Its consultation asked farmers whether they support the levy rise, how it proposes to spend the money and for any other feedback on how B+LNZ is investing sheep and beef levies. B+LNZ chairman Andrew Morrison said there is clear support for the levy with almost 63% of respondents backing a rise. “We were pleased by the level of interest in the proposal and the amount of detail we received in the submission forms. “Along with 63% of respondents backing an increase overall there were also similar levels of support across sheep, cattle and dairy farmers. Almost 64% also indicated support for the strategic direction of B+LNZ. Along with the indications of support for the levy and the priority areas the extra cash will support, farmers also provided valuable feedback about B+LNZ more generally. “Feedback from farmers showed widespread support for the Taste Pure Nature origin brand and the organisation’s new environment strategy,” Morrison said. “However, farmers also encouraged B+LNZ to work collaboratively across the sector to ensure there wasn’t a duplication of effort.” While many farmers endorsed the proposal, noting the small percentage of overall animal sale value, others indicated they are concerned about potential cost pressures for the sector too. “We’re aware that for some farmers their costs are increasing and that there is uncertainty around the impacts of Mycoplasma bovis and what their share of the phased eradication cost will be,” Morrison said. “In making this decision we’ve considered farmers’ concerns carefully. “Even though we had a clear mandate from the 2015 referendum to increase levies we committed to coming back to farmers to ensure they backed the direction we were heading in. “We’ve listened to the valuable feedback that farmers have given us and we’ll be working hard to ensure that the results of this additional investment will deliver benefits for our industry.” In all 1881 farmers made submissions and more than 1000 attended meetings.

22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Newsmaker

Dairy decisions made on facts Dunedin accountant and successful businessman Murray Valentine has been thrust into the public limelight with plans to convert a farm in the South Island’s Mackenzie Basin to dairying. Neal Wallace had a chat to the man who has retained his equanimity in the face of vociferous protests and invasions.

URRAY Valentine certainly does not fit the image of someone intent on destroying the environment in the South Island’s Mackenzie Basin. The Murray Valentine portrayed by critics of the dairy farm he is building on Simons Pass Station near Lake Pukaki is an uncaring, heartless capitalist, devoid of any ethics who plans to milk 15,000 cows on the most environmentally sensitive land in the South Island. The Murray Valentine who occupies an orderly but busy office in Dunedin’s central city is genial, reserved, studied, methodical and who, true to his accountancy profession, makes decisions on fact not emotion. He is not going to milk 15,000 cows on Simons Pass. Valentine has a long, successful business history with investments in tourism, poultry and agriculture, through which he has managed to stay out of the public eye. The Simons Pass investment required exceptional tolerance during the six years it took to get the required resource consents and at the inaccuracy of some of the claims critics levelled at him and his plans. That tolerance extends to a letter or poster delivered to his offices last week by those protesting against his dairy development, which has messages and accusations scribbled all over it. He accepts their right to protest and to have a point of view and intends responding to their claims. “They are entitled to their views and I take their views seriously but they are wrong if they think I am going to destroy the Mackenzie.” Of the 800,000ha in the Upper Waitaki catchment, about 250,000ha is flat to rolling country that can be farmed. There is sufficient water allocated to

MESSAGE RECEIVED: Dunedin businessman Murray Valentine with a letter covered in comments and accusations delivered by those protesting against his Mackenzie Basin dairy farm development.

irrigate about 25,000ha. Valentine’s plans, which have never been a secret, are to irrigate 4500ha. “Not many people who oppose me, I believe, have read the consent.” Valentine said critics demand he rip up his consents but that is not an option given the long, drawn-out process to secure them, dating back to soon after the 2004 purchase of the property by his family trust. He now has all the consents needed and started milking 800 cows this season. That will progressively grow over seven years to about 5000 cows through three sheds. Forty centre pivots will irrigate the 4500ha, of which about

1500ha will be the dairy platform. The rest will be dairy support, dairy-cross beef finishing and a halfbred sheep breeding unit. Valentine said Simons Pass will be a closed unit worked in conjunction with a 2000-cow dairy farm he owns in North Otago. He has made several significant and costly concessions including agreeing to control weeds and pests on 2500ha of ecologicallysignificant land he set aside for conservation as part of his irrigation consent. The retired land dissects his farm in a large S shape and Valentine will protect it with 30km of rabbit fencing at a cost of $11.50 a metre. A further 1300ha of land closest to Lake Pukaki was retired to the

Crown under a tenure review agreement. Opponents claim there are rare black stilt birds on the farm but Valentine says in the 15 years he has owned it and 26 years his manager has been on the farm they have not seen one. “I’m not saying there are no black stilts in the area but I’ve never seen any.” His consent requires annual monitoring of water quality at his boundary. He intends doing it monthly to ensure he gets an accurate picture of the quality of water leaving the property and can respond quickly to any issues. Technology measuring irrigation rates, soil moisture and the weather will help decisionmaking while drones will monitor the centre pivots and stock troughs. Water for the small area of irrigation the previous owners and neighbour had consent for came from the Maryburn Stream but Valentine has invested $8 million in an 8km pipe delivering water from the Tekapo hydroelectric canal to his boundary, allowing the Maryburn consent to be retired. “I believe I have shown enough responsibility on the conservation side. I am not shirking my responsibility.” Valentine’s explanation for why he wants to convert Simons Pass to dairying is consistent with an accountant’s methodical, calculated process and sheets back to the reality the Mackenzie’s dry summers limit farming options. “The limiting factor is 500mm of rain in the Mackenzie and most of it comes in the spring, winter

and autumn. During the growing season there is no rain.” And there is another issue. The invasive weed hieracium is encroaching over much of the basin, killing tussock and causing soil loss through erosion. Photos taken on Simons Pass in the 1970s showed tussock at hip height but 20 years later the weed has rendered the land barren.

They are entitled to their views and I take their views seriously but they are wrong if they think I am going to destroy the Mackenzie. Murray Valentine Simons Pass

“Most people would describe it as a desert.” Cultivation and fertiliser in recent years have restored vegetative cover. Valentine intends completing his Simons Pass conversion and said groups with polarised opinions are not unusual during such debates. Both sides want similar outcomes but approach via different routes and expectations. “Somewhere in the middle we could come to an agreement if both parties are prepared to meet in the middle. “But I cannot get agreement with any of these groups on these things.”

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

CAUSE AND EFFECT: Disruption to her daughter’s birthday party led Seespray director Vicky Smith to set up her warning service for people affected by spray operations.

Spray alert achieves wide reach A Bay of Plenty mother’s frustration at unforeseen orchard sprayings on her boundary left her with two choices – to either join the vocal but ineffective protesters in the western Bay of Plenty or to go out and work on a change for a better system for spray notifications. Vicky Smith chose the latter path and six years on her brainchild Seespray has earned her the New Zealand Kiwifruit Innovation Award. She told Richard Rennie about her groundbreaking spray alert system.

HEN a spray contractor unexpectedly started working in the orchard bordering Vicky Smith’s property on the day of her daughter’s party to celebrate her third birthday, she knew it was time to act. Her choice to live at Plummer’s Point in the rural idyll in western Bay of Plenty with its beaches, bush and the convenience of a city nearby was being blighted by what appeared to be random orchard sprayings that often came with no warning. “Psa had just come through the region and the level of spraying had really stepped up. “The day Hi-Cane was sprayed on my daughter’s birthday I felt nothing would change unless someone did something about it.” Hi-Cane, hydrogen cyanamide, a plant growth regulator promoting uniform bud-break and flowering in kiwifruit receives the greatest attention from anti-spray activists and claims of health impacts. Accepting spray is a necessity to control not only Psa but maintain orchard productivity Smith spent time not protesting but thinking about how people could be better informed about spray activity. “I came up with an idea that would enable people to be notified via text, email or maybe a call when a sprayer was going to operate in their area. “A start-up business development weekend held in Bay of Plenty got things going. “Steve Saunders, owner of Gro-Plus was there, along with some software developers and we worked on the business model

and problem over that weekend and we had our first customer six months later.” The Seespray system consists of software that links a network of orchards, spray contractors, field staff and boundary neighbours throughout Bay of Plenty with the ability to notify the network when spraying is in progress. Growers pay a subscription to use the service and those being notified access the information free. Not having a background in software development was no impediment to Smith who worked closely with a developer who could understand a practical issue and translate a solution into code for her system. The system is now in its third year and Smith has gained penetration into about 1000 avocado and kiwifruit orchards, in turn sharing spray activity information with about 10,000 staff and neighbours including schools. Seespray is moving fast towards being the industry requirement as the sector tunes in to concerns over spray use and impacts. “Once I started working with orchardists and sprayers I saw first-hand they genuinely care about what they are doing. They just needed an economic and efficient way to keep their communities informed.” Today the bulk of spray notifications are put out via text, some through email and a small number are personal calls often made by Smith to people who prefer to know more details of applications and their timing. Smith has built a solid subscription base among the main kiwifruit contractors in

Bay of Plenty and is also gaining more traction in the avocado sector. She is also working to ultimately get the beekeeping sector on board Seespray. Beekeepers can often come into conflict with spray operators over the busy spring and the sector welcomes the system as a chance to get a better idea of where sprayers are operating as pollination hives across the region are put in place at the same time. “We are also finding spray contractors who may have a number of staff out in the field are using Seespray as much to identify and manage their staff as they are for notification. It’s a means to keep tabs on who is

where and where they can be dispatched to next.” Bay of Plenty Regional Council has also added more impetus to contractors using such a system. Under the council’s existing air plan contractors have 20 days from notification to spray but the window is being shrunk to three days from notification date, putting more pressure on them to promptly notify communities about spray actions. Smith hopes her system has helped ease tensions over necessary spray applications and feedback from spray subscribers suggests that is the case. She also hopes communities have gained a better understanding of what sprays are used when, rather than fixating

The day Hi-Cane was sprayed on my daughter’s birthday I felt nothing would change unless someone did something about it. Vicky Smith Seespray only on the high profile Hi-Cane applications. “Overall, the kiwifruit industry is a very responsible one and with a few changes we have helped make it more communicative with the wider community.”

Opinion

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

EDITORIAL Let’s hope new fund continues success

N INDEPENDENT review of the Primary Growth Partnership has vindicated the controversial programme, finding it has added great value to the primary sector and will continue to do so. Set up in 2009 by the National Government, the PGP saw industry and government co-invest in a number of initiatives to boost capability, research and productivity in the primary sector. Depending on the side of the political fence you sit on it was either a great way to get some real momentum into agriculture or it was corporate welfare with the profits distributed among only a select few. But the review, by consultant Deborah Battell, found the PGP is doing what it should. The forecast benefits of $6.4 billion to $11.1b from PGPs by 2025 looks likely to be achieved, she said. It even has the potential to surpass those forecasts. Last week Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced the PGP is being folded into the Sustainable Farming Fund, to be called the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund. It’ll continue to provide funding to those who have an idea that could improve the environment or primary productivity. O’Connor was of course quite critical of the PGP programme when in opposition. When giving a speech at an event to mark a major milestone for a PGP project a couple of months ago he openly admitted it was an awkward moment. But evidence is evidence and so good on him for reading the report and acknowledging the worth of the programme. He’s given it a few tweaks, sure, but the concept remains. For the sector, the gains made are real and Battell says they should continue. We all want a sector that can act on the great ideas our people have, with the capital to see them through. Here’s hoping this new, altered programme can do that.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Farmers respect man of sense AS A retired farmer but still vitally interested in our industry I have followed the Mycoplasma bovis disaster with interest since it became headline news last year. The person who has always spoken the greatest sense on this issue from day one has been Professor Keith Woodford. I always look forward to his honest and sincere comment. He seemed to have no bias and spoke from a great knowledge of both the scientific world and practical farming world. I would therefore implore Martin Dunne to stop shooting the messenger. Get on and fix the issues. Dunne, it is not Woodford’s fault that farmers trust him enough to seek his guidance and support.

Keep up the good work Professor. Donald J Ford Whakatane

Answers please PRIMARY Industries Ministry director-general Martyn Dunne’s criticism of Professor Keith Woodford’s matters of claim. Having been involved with farming all my life, the response now being performed by MPI with the 700 staff now involved in the largest biosecurity response ever in our country is deserving of a response. Your reply to the following questions of concern would be appreciated. Why did MPI never place Mycoplasma bovis on the MPI bulk milk monitoring programme since 2002 and how many other diseases are

MPI not testing for? Why would a near 60-yearold disease not be placed on this multi-million yearly programme? Is MPI claiming M bovis does not have the same end, being health effects, as TB? At the first Winton meeting I stated in the public question time “In 2012 the Biosecurity Act was changed and the board of inquiry was removed.” So, what is your reason for not reinstating any industry board of inquiry? That was not answered. At the first Winton meeting MPI claimed 40% error in its testing programme. So, when is MPI’s testing programme expected to reach 99.9% accuracy, MPI’s testing programme being the 120 random cows tested and three weeks later another 120 random cows tested out of a herd of 450?

So, what is the reason why the testing programme percentage of each herd tested is not 100%. All testing appears to have an undisclosed positive percentage per herd. What percentage of positive tests of the national herd does M Bovis affect? As stated by MPI “Farming in NZ is going to change significantly for a lot of people, regardless of the outcome of the response.” Does this include MPI’s policy of calling all farmers land managers and the Resource Management Act changes that allow all regional councils the ability to permit our livestock to our land, plus the new legislation MPI popped through Parliament. What are you planing to do next? We look forward to your constructive reply. Alanna Barrett Nightcaps

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

‘We have got farmers’ backs’ Andrew Morrison

HE sheep and beef sector is at a crossroads. As farmers, we’re facing unprecedented scrutiny over our environmental performance and animal welfare while alternative proteins are likely to become a major competitor for New Zealand’s red meat products over the next three to five years. We need to be ready and prepared to face these challenges together. That’s why, over five weeks in June and July, we asked sheep and beef farmers for their views on a proposed increase to sheep meat and beef levies. As a board we recognised the significance of what we were seeking from farmers. Although the proposed increases fell within the range supported by farmers in the 2015 Commodity Levies Act referendum they still represented the first levy rise in six years. We are also acutely aware that some farmers are concerned about rising compliance and costs and some farming families are facing an uncertain future with Mycoplasma bovis. By the same token, we know some farmers are very optimistic about the future. Beef + Lamb NZ thought long and hard about going out to farmers at such a difficult time but we believed the rate of change and the challenges ahead meant there was a limited window of opportunity for us to try to get ahead of the curve. Last week B+LNZ announced 63% of respondents to the consultation supported the proposed levies increase. In making the decision to proceed with the increase the board was encouraged not just by the level of support for the rise but also the interest shown by farmers in the consultation. This was the highest number of submissions from any consultation process outside of the referendum.

The

Pulpit INFORMING: Beef + Lamb New Zealand will demonstrate a return on investment from the levy rise and will give farmers regular updates, chairman Andrew Morrison says.

It’s now our job to ensure these additional levies are invested wisely in our programmes so we can deliver better outcomes for sheep and beef farmers. The international activation of the Taste Pure Nature origin brand represents an important opportunity for the sector. We have just had a team in China and the United States and are now working with companies on how Taste Pure Nature will be activated.

We are also conscious that we cannot tell our story alone and our plan will include how we can help farmers to tell their own stories. We hope to share this plan with farmers in the next few months. A number of initiatives to help the sector lift its environmental performance are already under way and the new investment will mean we can accelerate that work. It includes an expedited delivery of the Land and Environment Plan refresh to cater for new needs farmers have, such as biodiversity and carbon emissions, which we

now expect to deliver from early next year. With the levy increase, B+LNZ can also step up its support for farmers operating in catchment groups. A new programme is being developed and farmers will begin gaining access to new resources and additional support over the coming months. It is also vital we tell the farmer story better so over the course of the next few months we will be developing a plan for how we can do this, including surveying consumer and public perceptions of the sector and identifying research that can assist in telling our story better. We are also conscious that we cannot tell our story alone and our plan will include how we can help farmers to tell their own stories. I’m a Southland sheep and beef farmer so for me, personally, the M bovis incursion underlines the importance of strengthening B+LNZ’s internal capability to prepare for future incursions or issues. However, it’s important to remember the levy increase is separate to the industry’s share of the M bovis response. The industry’s contribution to funding the M bovis response costs is being negotiated between

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B+LNZ and DairyNZ and will likely be raised by a separate biosecurity levy. Ultimately, the consultation was a valuable exercise for the B+LNZ board and we have listened to the feedback. Farmers really took the time to provide detailed feedback on what B+LNZ proposes. While there is support for the need to invest additional funds in the four proposed areas, some farmers felt B+LNZ should be spending more. But, on the other side, a range of farmers believes B+LNZ doesn’t need an increase. They are concerned about rising cost pressures on their farms and worried about possible duplication. We do need to avoid replicating the work of others and we will continue working closely with DairyNZ and Federated Farmers and other partners to ensure our environmental work is coordinated. The environment team really stepped up its engagement with other partners earlier this year as part of the development of the environment strategy. We met people we had never met before and this collaboration will continue.

Where possible, such as with Taste Pure Nature, we will be looking to leverage extra investment and will measure the results of the additional investment. We will not be doing anything unless the companies support it. We need to demonstrate a return on investment and we will be developing metrics to measure progress on the activation of Taste Pure Nature and intend to provide farmers with continued progress on the additional investments. B+LNZ accepts it needs to ensure it is prudent with this additional investment. First and foremost, this is farmers’ money and we take our responsibilities towards this extremely seriously. Over the next 12 months we will be working hard to ensure we have farmers’ backs and that the additional levies are invested in a way we can maximise the benefit for the sector.

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

26 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Good sense prevails at Fonterra HQ Alternative View

Alan Emerson

THE settling of all action between Fonterra and former director Leonie Guiney is a victory for common sense. Guiney is now free to speak and Fonterra has agreed to pay all her costs. That the case was brought in the first place is a sad indictment on the Fonterra board. It shows me beyond all doubt that at board level personalities come first with the shareholders a poor second. My view, simply stated, is the amount of time and money wasted with gold-plated law firms while massaging the egos of some at board level has achieved absolutely nothing for shareholders. I’ve followed dairy industry politics for more years than I care to remember. It’s a pointless, vicious, egofuelled, destructive game with the winner taking all and ordinary dairy farmers the losers. These political battles haven’t added one cent to dairy farmers’ returns even though it’s been those farmers who have paid. The problem in the past has been the dairy farmers themselves have tended to be blissfully unaware of all the expensive,

internecine games that have been played. That’s just changed with the Guiney action. To recap, I believe Guiney was gerrymandered out of contention for the Fonterra board even though she’d served with distinction as a director. I wrote an article on that incident at the time. I wrote a subsequent article on Fonterra’s Chinese debacle and checked some facts with her. She didn’t discuss anything with me that I didn’t already know, just verified some facts that were in the public arena. She made the strong point before our interview that she wasn’t prepared to discuss anything relating to Fonterra board discussions or meetings. Then all hell broke loose with the end result that Fonterra was granted an injunction that stopped publication of my article. The reason given was that publishing my article could do irreparable harm to the dairy giant. Why? The reasons were suppressed. Then a letter was sent to shareholders justifying the injunction on the grounds the Fonterra board believed “leaked and misrepresented details of board discussions (were) supplied to the media by a former director”. Then, in the crocodile tears category, “It is deeply regrettable that we have been forced to take this step in order to protect the co-operative”, it said. I thought the suggestion of protecting the co-op was pure bollocks. Dumping on a former director

OVER: Leonie Guiney has settled her dispute with Fonterra.

who asked the hard questions? You have it in one. The truth was Fonterra wasn’t forced to do anything and the only threat to the co-operative, in my view, was mismanagement by the board.

It’s a pointless, vicious, ego-fuelled, destructive game with the winner taking all and ordinary dairy farmers the losers.

In addition, Farmers Weekly approached Fonterra for comment on my articles. By midday the next day its big city law firm had filed papers for the injunction, a fact Guiney was blissfully unaware of. Having been involved in several injunctions over the years I don’t believe it was possible to prepare

documents of that size and detail in that time-frame. Preparing documents of that detail would have taken days if not weeks rather than hours. In addition, an ex parte injunction or one involving just one side of the proceedings is extremely difficult to get. Fonterra must have laid it on really thick to convince the judge the business was in jeopardy. Fonterra appears to have by far the biggest spin budget in the country trying to polish the co-op’s image both here and overseas. What they achieved with the Guiney injunction, in my view, was to successfully offend the sense of fair play by the NZ media and they will inevitably pay for that. My view of the whole sorry saga is a simple one. Guiney is young, super bright and committed to the cooperative that is Fonterra. She and her husband started as sharemilkers and now own six farms.

Their management practices are, in my opinion, state of the art, profitable and sustainable. One of her endearing qualities is her inability to tolerate fools and she’ll ask all the hard questions despite the fact asking those questions might hurt some egos. All that put her offside with the conservative, male-dominated Fonterra board who decided to bury her no matter what the cost. Well, she has risen again and the costs will be borne by Fonterra shareholders. I have one sincere hope and that is that Guiney will stand again for the Fonterra board. Given the parlous state the cooperative is in I believe Fonterra needs her more than she needs Fonterra.

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

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

We can do fine without GM grass Tracey Bayliss HEY consumer, it’s up to you if you want to see a change in our farming systems. I normally keep my head low and decided a long time ago to save my energy for the already converted. However, there have been a lot of recent articles about genetically modified grass and most recent the one said “Super grass is here and it’s a green breakthrough. Can Greens stomach it?” has brought me out of my hole. The article implies GM grass is going to save New Zealand farming. In a nutshell, it would increase farm production, reduce water demand and decrease methane emissions. Oh, and as the icing on the cake, it will apparently increase GDP by $2 billion to $5b. The article also said there is funding from the Government and industry partners including DairyNZ. None of this surprises me. So, here’s my counter argument. Non-GM grass grows just fine in NZ. I want to shed some light for those outside farming circles because without this background knowledge it is difficult to understand why it hasn’t been a simple switch from conventional farming systems to a biological or more regenerative system. Government-owned educational institutes teach conventional farming systems, using synthetic fertilisers such as NPK/urea, and the skills taught are all geared around industrialised farming practices. NZ banks will not loan money to farmers who do not have a synthetic fertiliser programme. And there is no funding from Government or industry partners for research and development around regenerative farming practices that do not use synthetic fertilisers or urea. You can see the odds are stacked against you if you want to move away from conventional farming. And those farmers who are making or considering the move find themselves isolated in their

bid to research environmentally friendly farming practices while still making a profit. After all, contrary to popular belief, there are very few farmers who can buy farms without financial support. So, NZ scientists want farmers to grow GM grass to further increase production yet production has increased massively over the past 90 years under a conventional farming system. Unfortunately, that system has been detrimental to our environment, animal health and farmer profits. But the question then is, if nonGMO grass grows just fine in NZ, why are we not funding research into regenerative farming first, before sinking millions into GM organisms?

Why are the very businesses that are supposed to be supporting the farming industry so hell bent on trying to keep us fighting the rest of the world on a commodity market?

Under a regenerative farming system, not only does grass grow just fine but it is more resistant to drought (less demand on water), more resistant to disease (less agrichemical input) and richer in nutrients (improving flavour and animal health and therefore reducing vet bills). Farmers who were selling fattened two-year-old stock under conventional farming systems are now finishing stock at 1618 months at similar or heavier weights on a regenerative system. And regenerative farming practices on our farm have showed improvements in the environment with healthy waterways, healthy soil and healthy animals. Many NZ farmers are turning their backs on conventional

farming. And what’s interesting as well as exciting is that if we were to put them together in one room you could mistake it for a Grey Power convention. These are our last standing heroes in my mind. These are the farmers who have farmed both systems – conventional and regenerative. And the one thing all these farmers have in common is that not one of them would go back to farming conventionally after transitioning to regenerative farming. Regenerative farming is the breakthrough waiting to happen. Imagine the vast amount of farming experience and knowledge in that room. These are not people who have learnt farming through theory. These farmers have been doing their research every day, 24-7 over a lifetime on the land. And, unlike paid scientists, they take on massive personal financial risk. Here is another thing they have in common – they are tired of trying to convince scientists and industry partners regenerative farming is the way forward. But this is the breakthrough that holds great potential for NZ farmers, not GM grass. Why, when there is clearly a massive push all over the globe for humans to pick up their game and start protecting the environment, is NZ still so reluctant to move into this new era? NZ could easily set up regenerative farming systems that could propel our products into unique and niche markets. Why are the very businesses that are supposed to be supporting the farming industry so hell bent on trying to keep us fighting the rest of the world on a commodity market? In 2017 more than 35 countries had banned GM food crops and China returned a cargo ship it suspected had GM food aboard. Yet, clean, green NZ still wants to push ahead with GMO grass research. It makes no sense. If I was going to guess at answering my own question it would be that unlike GM grass, nature cannot be patented. This is the only reason I can see why so many scientists in NZ heavily dispute the pros to regenerative

THE FUTURE: Grandad’s Beef director Tracey Bayliss says being GM-free will, like being nuclear-free, only strengthen New Zealand’s image overseas.

farming and why no business or the Government (in NZ anyway) is willing to fund any research to support our findings. NZ stood up as a nation to become nuclear-free; being GMOfree would only strengthen our image, surely? Imagine if little ole NZ were to lead the way with a little forward thinking in our farming practices. And why would we risk our reputation as being pure, anyway, when we can and already do grow non-GMO grass just fine in NZ. We can also do it exceptionally well without synthetic inputs. I am not a farmer, just a farmer’s daughter with the love of the outdoors. I don’t pretend to have

all the answers but at least we are asking the questions. I have never met one farmer, conventional or otherwise, who went into farming with the intention of destroying the environment. I doubt the scientists 100 years ago did either. Scientists now are just working out that what they thought they knew about the soil is barely scratching the surface. They are just finding out now what some of our regenerative farmers have known for decades. I don’t have a lot of faith in industry partners to change from the chemical input systems but I hope NZ consumers will help give the farmers a voice and back regeneratively farmed produce.

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Opinion

28 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Beware, x-ray glasses don’t work From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

I ONCE was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. Those are John Newton’s famous words from Amazing Grace he borrowed from the Bible. But let’s first travel back to the 1960s and a young Steve avidly reading the comics he was allowed to buy with his pocket money gained from doing various small chores. In the back of the comics were a myriad of advertisements for a variety of very intriguing items. I bought my Sea Monkeys and added the sachet of granules to the solution I prepared as per the instructions. A bowl full of happiness I was promised and my instant pets would swim around with their cute little faces in their family groups. They did hatch out but were a rather underwhelming collection of very small thrashing things,

which, many years later, I learnt were brine shrimp. They eventually died and I can still point out the spot where I buried them, still in their glass jar. Of course, I was a sucker for the thing that allowed you to throw your voice. It was going to be great in standard one at Takapau School. My ventriloquism device turned out to be something called a swazzle, which fitted uncomfortably in your mouth and made noises like a pained dog whistle. I was never able to throw my voice so it sounded like it was coming from outside the door, much to the consternation of the teacher, but the instructions did give insightful instructions on how to talk without moving your lips. The hypno coin was a steal and was going to let me hypnotise my sisters and get them to do my bidding. The little plastic disc with the swirly pattern didn’t seem to have any effect on my sisters but before I was able to perfect the art, I lost it. But the most enticing of all the ads in the back of the comics were the x-ray specs. This was well before puberty but, still, the ability to see through women’s clothing had a certain appeal.

LET DOWN: Steve Wyn-Harris was disappointed with his x-ray spectacles.

I wanted to run up and down the street and get everyone to try on my new glasses so they could see how good the world really is.

I was somewhat disappointed to get a pair of plastic glasses with red and white swirly patterns in the lenses and the words “X-Ray Vision” written across the frames. I was even more disheartened when having put them on and peering through the two small holes that not only could I not see through people’s clothing but

I couldn’t see the dog’s skeletons either. However, for better or worse, they were my first set of glasses. In recent times I’ve noticed a certain decline in my ability to discern things as clearly as in the past. Someone will shout out “gidday Steve” from a distance away and though appearing clear and distinct I haven’t quite been able to work out the facial recognition that our species is so good at. Sounding like some sort of imbecile I’ll reply with “Who is that?” Eventually, I took myself to the optometrist and went through a battery of tests. I didn’t yet need glasses for driving but elected to buy a pair.

I walked out of there with my newly acquired eye assistance and gazed in wonder. I couldn’t see through the clothes of the good people of Waipukurau but I could recognise them and the far distance was sharp and clear. I wanted to run up and down the street and get everyone to try on my new glasses so they could see how good the world really is. A couple who did said they didn’t work for them for some reason. Driving home I could read the number plates of oncoming cars and see features on the Ruahine Ranges I didn’t know existed. Later, tagging the stud lambs, I could read the mother’s tags easy-peasy. I had been about to increase the size of the tags, believing the supplier wasn’t printing them as distinctly as in the past. I had planned to just wear the glasses for driving but now find it has quickly become impossible not to use them. I was blind but now I see.

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

Move your body, shift your mind years at least twice as many men as women have taken their own lives. The rural community, in particular, is rife with depression Andrew and anxiety. Stewart I do not claim to know a lot of people but among the people I do know there are countless examples of people affected by these illnesses. I have experienced first-hand JUST over 600 years ago the Black the effects of mental health and Plague devastated communities there is no way of sugar-coating it. throughout Europe, forever It is brutally ugly to deal with. changing their social and It turns people you love and economic structure. care for into shells of their former The disease did not selves, incapable of making simple discriminate between young and decisions and struggling to live old, rich and poor or urban and from one day to the next. rural. All sectors of society were Frequently, I have been asked what my opinion is to help those both dealing with mental health and the people around them trying to cope. I always say the same thing. It is not a job for the average person to deal with, diagnose and treat. Get professional help and get it immediately because there are some wonderful, albeit sometimes tapped out, resources for those in need. But another piece of advice Taupo Western Bays Farm Manager Lance Aldridge has used Gleniti I am pushing in a big way this Romney Rams for over 25 years. He says their consistency and reliability has year is through a mud run, produced top performing ewes whose fertility is outstanding and The Mudder, we host on the impressive. farm every September. This We’ve had the highest scanning ever despite going through two droughts back to back. is the sixth year we have held We keep going back because it works. It’s about performance and profit in a harsh the event and this year our environment including, snow ice and summer droughts. focus is on the relationship between exercise and improving mental health. Bill Hume 06 307 7847 So we have come up with David Hume 06 307 7895 the phrase, “Move your body, Gleniti, RD 2, Featherston shift your mind”. at risk and faced a death rate like nothing seen before. Fast-forward to today and we are facing our own Black Plague in New Zealand in the form of mental health or lack thereof. Suicide numbers in this country are shocking and so are the number of cases of depression and anxiety. Communities are tearing themselves apart trying to cope with the fallout and at the moment it is a battle we are all losing. Men are particularly at risk as they struggle with increased expectations and isolation in their farming careers. According to Statistics NZ, over the past 20

LK0094041©

Off the Cuff

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I have seen first-hand over the past five years people from all walks of life come to our little corner of the Rangitikei and have the time of their lives going around the course. Everyone dresses up, groups of friend and families get together to share the experience and the laughter and excitement bounces around our hills like infectious optimism.

Exercise has a profound and uplifting effect on people’s mental health.

Just to see the smiles and hear the stories of why people enter is inspiring but we are trying to encourage everyone to not just limit themselves to The Mudder for their exercise plan. This year The Mudder has partnered with Farmstrong to deliver some fantastic advice about ways to include exercise in your daily lives and the importance of doing so. Farmstrong has some great resources on its website including easy-to-follow instructional videos I encourage all Kiwis to take a look at. I am not a scientist so I do not have scientific data to back my findings. What I do have is real world experience as an event manager that exercise has a profound and uplifting effect on people’s mental health. You don’t have to sign up for

a marathon or ironman for it to make a difference. A five-minute walk with the kids, leaving the quad bike behind for the morning or joining up with a local event or group are all great ways to kickstart your mental wealth. We need to do more as a society, both rural and urban, because we are failing ourselves and future generations. We can make a difference if we just take the time to acknowledge this plague, talk about it openly and honestly and invest more time and resources to help those in need. The most powerful antidote will come from individuals reaching out to others they suspect are in need, regardless of the consequences, because the consequences of doing nothing are too tragic for anyone to bear and the time to act is now. So, if you live with someone, work with someone or even have a slight suspicion that someone you know is suffering please have the courage to do something about it before it is too late. And if you are suffering take a look in the mirror and be honest with yourself about how you are feeling and whether you need some help. Doing nothing is no longer an option.

www.rural-support.org.nz www.farmstrong.co.nz www.themudder.co.nz

Your View Andrew Stewart is a sheep and beef farmer and tourism operator in Rangitikei.

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Fonterra needs a wind of change Keith Woodford

FONTERRA’S recently appointed chairman John Monaghan, in announcing the appointment of interim chief executive Miles Hurrell, said Fonterra wants to pause and reassess the way ahead. This could be a breath of fresh air. It needs to be a wind of change. A starting question has to be why has Fonterra been doing so badly with its international ventures? This includes both international processing of milk and marketing of consumer-branded products. In the case of China it also includes farming. The so-called Fonterra communications division, in reality the Fonterra propaganda division, has done a stalwart job over many years of painting over the cracks. But even those skilled operators have been unable to cover up some of the recent messes, particularly in China but also elsewhere. There are likely to be more awkward disclosures to come. More of that further down. There is no doubt Fonterra is a very efficient producer of commodities. Every day the milk is collected from more than 10,000 farms and converted into a range of products, led by commodity whole milk powder. It is a slick operation. But when it comes to consumer products or other international ventures Fonterra struggles to take a trick despite owning longstanding brands such as Anchor, though it did sell the European rights to even that brand. There is a small number of Asian countries where Fonterra does well with its stable of Anchor, Anlene and Anmum products. Fonterra communications is very good at singing these songs of success. In contrast, failures are well

hidden for as long as possible. Fonterra has used multiple tricks to cover its poor performance. In 2013-14 Fonterra retained more than a billion dollars that should have been milk payments to farmers to shore up the balance sheet. It is playing that trick again this year but to a lesser extent. Another trick is to focus on normalised profits in its public utterances. They are the profits Fonterra would have made if not for the saga of stuff-ups. This year’s examples include the distress at Beingmate and the $183 million compensation to Danone. Historically, losses at China Farms have also been buried this way. In fact, scrubbing up the results this way is standard fare. If anyone thinks I am exaggerating then they might like to think about the value of Fonterra shares, which are down more than 20% this year and only marginally above their value when Fonterra was formed 17 years ago. In the meantime, other companies have prospered. There are many examples of international dairy companies that have been prospering but the most spectacular is The a2 Milk Company, which now has a capital value greater than Fonterra’s. I recall back in 2008 a Fonterra director telling me how, if need be, Fonterra could take over The a2 Milk Company (then called A2 Corporation) whenever it wanted. Back then there was some truth to that – at that time Fonterra was worth more than 100 times the value of The a2 Milk Company. Now, Fonterra is worth less than The a2 Milk Company. Most New Zealand farmers are very loyal to Fonterra. Accordingly, over the years I have made my share of enemies by pointing out deficiencies. So, let me make one point clear: I am a strong believer in the importance of Fonterra but for everyone’s sake it does need to do better. Fonterra is the emperor of NZ dairying. But the emperor is down to his underwear and it is not a pretty sight. Underwear might be okay for producing commodities but it does not resonate with overseas consumers. We need to get more clothes on the emperor. There will be some who say Fonterra should stick to longlife commodities, which it is

MORE BAD NEWS: There are likely to be more awkward disclosures from Fonterra for new chairman John Monaghan and interim chief executive Miles Hurrell to deal with.

so good at and for which there is a unique synergy with our seasonal production systems. That argument does need to be heard. To a large extent it might become the only realistic path forward for Fonterra, which is now capitalconstrained as a result of so many mistakes. If that commodity focus and argument is to become the company mantra then there has to be more room created for dairy entrepreneurs outside the Fonterra framework. The genesis of the situation goes back a long way. I recall just before Fonterra was formed when the NZ Dairy Board was doing supposed due diligence on the purchase of struggling Australian dairy cooperative Bonlac.

Fonterra is the emperor of NZ dairying. But the emperor is down to his underwear and it is not a pretty sight. At the time I was living in Australia and I knew something about Bonlac. In conversation with a Dairy Board director I asked whether the board understood Bonlac was a lemon. The reply came back with some passion: “Bonlac is not a lemon, it is a dog. But we, the Dairy Board, can turn it around”. It really is only in the last two years this Australian dog, owned and fed for 17 years since 2001 by Fonterra, has started to wag its tail. Even then, the historic purchase came right only because Murray Goulburn, Australia’s one remaining dairy co-operative and the largest Australian dairy company, shot itself in both feet so that even limping along became impossible. Many of the Murray Goulburn farmers fled to Fonterra. Now Canadian-owned Saputo

communications machine that has taken over Murray Goulburn polishes everything up before they we can expect to see renewed receive it. competition for milk supply in Yes, the directors do travel Australia. Life for Fonterra in Australia will get more challenging internationally and, indeed, most of them spent several weeks again. travelling internationally just last Fonterra’s other big overseas month. I agree that this travel is enterprise has been the Soprole/ important. I hear they came back Prosesur conglomerate in impressed with many good things Chile. In the last nine years, Fonterra is doing. under Fonterra’s ownership, it The problem is they lack has declined from the premier sufficient networks external to dairy company in Chile with Fonterra to find out what else is 25% market share to becoming happening in these countries. And number two with 19% share and if you are a Fonterra employee, still dropping. In the market it is you sure don’t want to be the being seriously outperformed by bearer of bad news. So, the cycle local co-operative Colun. continues. The word is Fonterra’s farmersuppliers in Chile, including both locally-owned farms and two very Your View large NZ-owned operations, are not happy. These suppliers are Keith Woodford was Professor of farm management and agribusiness looking at their options. at Lincoln University for 15 years to So far there has not been a 2015. He is now principal consultant whisper from Fonterra back to at AgriFood Systems. He can be its NZ farmers about the Chilean contacted at kbwoodford@gmail.com issues. It will be an interesting test case for Monaghan and his new chief executive. Why is it that with a board of highly qualified people, both farmer-elected farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz and internallyappointed, Agribusiness Fonterra keeps Farm Manager making so many Fencer General mistakes in the Livestock Co-Ordinator international Manager marketplace? Operations Managers I have asked Regional Manager myself this same Sales Manager question many Shepherd times. The key Shepherd/General answer I come up Tractor/Truck/Machinery with is that these Operator directors, though well qualified, do Employers: Advertise your vacancy in the not have outside employment section of the Farmers Weekly information on and as added value it will be uploaded to what is happening farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz for one month or close of application. in the markets. Rather, they Contact Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 have to rely on or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz the internal

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The Braided Trail

On Farm Story

30 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Multi-talented with attitude Lisa Kendall reckons she does a little bit of everything when it comes to hiring out her skills for farm work. But she’s also a competitor, scholar, researcher and consultant and is a passionate champion of animal welfare who wants to work toward farm ownership. And though she’s starting with a small sheep milk venture she already has ideas about diversification into cheese and a cafe. She told Glenys Christian about her life.

STANDING UP: Lisa Kendall presented her animal welfare research findings to Auckland Federated Farmers where they generated a good discussion and some push-back. Photos: Geoff Dale

ISA Kendall’s two sisters say she’s crazy. But both of them have already expressed their strong interest in getting involved in the sheep-milking farm with attached cheese-making and cafe facilities the 26-year-old is planning in the near future. She grew up at Kingseat, south of Auckland, where her parents had a lifestyle block. “I always loved animals and being outside,” Kendall said. She attended Strathallan College, doing well academically and studying ballet until she was 16. “I thought at one stage I might be a doctor but then decided to follow my passion and see if farming was for me,” she said. So it was off to Lincoln University to complete an agriculture diploma. She worked on a South Canterbury sheep, beef and cropping farm that also ran dairy grazers for a while. But then she decided to travel, volunteering for four months at an orphanage in Thailand run by a New Zealand woman. It was on the Burmese border and attracted members of the Karen minority group, persecuted in their homeland. She was involved in looking after babies as well as teaching older children, building and property development. From there she went to Cambodia then Britain and Europe before returning home in 2014. University called her back again, this time to do a farm management diploma. “I realised after my diploma that I could use my brain a bit more and give myself more of a challenge,” she said. Studying days over she found work in the kiwifruit industry in Bay of Plenty as a member of a harvest audit team. “But I realised I didn’t want a full-time inside job,” she said. So she returned to her parents who had moved to a lifestyle block at Karaka, closer to the city, to help her mother who in quick succession had a hip replacement then a shoulder injury when her dressage horse kicked her. “There weren’t agricultural jobs about and I wanted something flexible,” Kendall said. So the answer was to set up her own business, Nurture Farming, making herself available for farm work around the area. “I advertised in the local paper and it worked well. “In a couple of months I had plenty of work. I do a little bit of everything.” That can range from fencing to shearing small mobs of sheep on lifestyle blocks or helping out on larger farms with tasks such as repairs and maintenance or tractor work. She also offers a farm-sitting service when people are away from their properties

for extended periods and does consulting work for lifestyle block owners. “The consulting can be anything from questions about rearing lambs to suggestions on how to set up their fences and yards to animal health plans,” she said. Some of the work is regular and other landowners just call on her for the one job they need done but usually there’s a steady flow of work coming in. “But everyone does want everything to be perfect right before Christmas.” Last year she entered the Young Farmer of the Year competition after initially being hesitant. “I’d always wanted to do it but I didn’t have the confidence,” she said. “My friends twisted my arm to enter. I was trying to study everything because I didn’t know what was going to come up and my business was quite new so I was calling on help from a lot of people.” Not only did she do the Franklin Club she belongs to proud by taking out second place in the district, she won the northern regional title then was fourth in the grand final. “It was a great way of getting your name out there and being taken more seriously,” she said. With scholarships that came as part of her prize haul she enrolled for a graduate certificate in science and technology, this time switching allegiance to study extramurally at Massey University. She chose environmental papers she felt would be more applicable to her farming aspirations, sitting her exams at its Auckland campus. “It keeps me really busy and it is sometimes hard to keep up,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve had enough of a break from studying.” Another opportunity came her way with the partial funding of a Kellogg Rural Leadership course. “I decided to do my project on animal welfare because I’m so passionate about it,” she said. “I’m such a big softy and there’s always room to improve but it’s not a subject that farmers talk openly enough about.” To do an analysis of different attitudes she put together an online survey for which she received responses from more than 250 farmers, vets and rural professionals and another survey for urban consumers for which there were about 75 responses. Both groups were asked for their

On Farm Story

views and how much emphasis there should be on animal welfare issues. She agrees her sample was not exactly representative of the age structure of the farming population, with more younger people responding than in other age groups. But she was surprised to receive answers from farmers she thought would have been more likely to come from urban respondents when it came to criticism of some farming practices. “Fifty-six percent of farmer respondents said that they had seen what they would personally consider animal abuse performed by another farmer,” she said. “This number needs to drastically reduce.” When it came to answers to questions about how to change attitudes farmers generally favour education as the best way forward. “Anyone can become a farmer, like with owning a dog,” Kendall said. “You don’t have to have a formal education in animal care before being tasked with looking after thousands of livestock.” And she found farmers are very much keener on the farmer-tofarmer education approach. “They much preferred this method than suits from Wellington telling them what to do.” The consumers she surveyed were much more in favour of harsher penalties if farm animals were mistreated. “A lot of people felt that farmers just got off with a warning,” she said. “Urban people are really against bobby calves because they don’t like to see us slaughtering such young animals. “The dairy industry needs to work hard towards alternative options.” She’s presented her findings to Auckland Federated Farmers where she said there was a good discussion but some push-back, compared with the more receptive response she received from her fellow Kellogg participants. She’s also presented the project to DairyNZ via a Skype session and sent of copies of her project to Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Associate Minister Meka Whaitiri. It will also be

RESCUER: Lisa Kendall took on Katy a year ago from a farmer who didn’t want her.

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

VERSATILE: Lisa Kendall can turn her hand to most things but also gets some help from fellow Franklin Young Farmers Club member Toby Greenhalgh.

I decided to do my project on animal welfare because I’m so passionate about it. Lisa Kendall available on the Kellogg website. Now her focus has turned very much to the 20-hectare property she’s just leased next to her parents’ place. Improving infrastructure is the priority on part of what was a small dairy farm. She’s properly fencing off the creeks and making sure internal fences are up to scratch to keep in the 50 two-dayold ram lambs soon to arrive from Spring Sheep’s Hamilton farm. She aims to take them through to 40kg prime lambs.

There’s also plenty to be done cutting out privet and woolly nightshade. Helping out is her friend Toby Greenhalgh, a fellow member of the Franklin Young Farmers Club, and originally from Britain. He’s not from a farming family but has an agriculture diploma and has been working on a Pokeno farm milking 1000 cows at peak and carrying a similar number of dry stock. Next he’ll move to a 200-cow Waiuku dairy farm. Kendall is also running 40 inlamb East Friesian ewes that will be milked. “People say that East Friesians are jumpy but I’m very hands-on with them,” she said. “I have a few too many pets.” Her dog Katy, who she’s had for a year after her former farmer owner didn’t want her any more, goes everywhere with her. As well as a named kennel at the back of the house Kendall’s built her a home away from home kennel at her parents’ Coromandel bach. Then there are the two Saanen kids, Pinky Pop and Bin Bob, which were taken in from local goat milk farmers. Kendall has yards on the block where she will milk her sheep initially but she’s now looking to the next step which will be options for a sheep milking trailer. She’s working on the theory that will allow her to run stock on a number of smaller block she might be able to lease locally. “I’d love to move into farm ownership,” she said. Sheep milking appeals to her because of the proximity and size of the Auckland market where many consumers are waiting to be enticed by the taste of something different produced locally. “I’d like to build up stock numbers and set up a cafe as well,” she said. This is where her sisters come in.

The eldest, Rachel, is a trained high school teacher who has been travelling and would love to train as a cheese maker to work in-house. And the youngest, Emily, who is completing her PhD in theoretical physics after studying here as well as in London and Canada, would like to brew the best beer to help wash it down.

>> Video link: bit.ly/OFSKendall

FACETS: Lisa Kendall studied ballet till she was 16. Now she’s balancing being a hired gun for farmwork with starting her own sheep milking venture.

World

32 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Drought pushes up stock kills AUSTRALIAN farmers wrangling the country’s worst drought in living memory have been forced to take extreme measures to keep animals fed and stop crops dying in fields. The number of animals sent to slaughter is expected to hit 7.8 million by December, an increase of 9% compared with 2017, Meat and Livestock Australia calculated.

We thought we ought to run some hay up there in NSW and one thing led to another. Now, a week later, and here we are, 14 trucks, 18 blokes. Glenn Phillips Businessman Hay has been transported more than 3500km to victims of the Big Dry to help livestock producers in New South Wales. Many producers have already had to completely destock as the whole region has been declared in drought. Some farmers say they

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haven’t seen a drop of rain since December 2017 as stocks of hay in the worst-hit areas all but dry up. Feed costs were at near-record levels in the worst-affected areas of NSW and Queensland. Maize prices jumped by $110/t to $500/t in central NSW this month while a tonne of wheat in the region cost $400/t and barley stood at $390/t. Hay from cereal crops such as oats and wheat increased in August by $100/t to $500-$600/t in central NSW. The drought could also cut Australia’s wheat harvest by 20% to between 19m and 22m tonnes. In response to the cost of stock feed and transport spiralling the Australian government has increased funding to $1.8 billion in federal aid to support those worst hit. Farmers will have access to lowinterest loans, repayable over the course of four years. Some regions of the country have been in a state of drought for between one and seven years. Dairy farmer Shane Hickey from the Northern Rivers region of NSW calculated he was paid just $2.46/hour for his work producing milk in July, comparing his wage to slavery and prompting an emotional video appeal on Facebook. Hickey said his

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production was already down by 50% compared with last year and milk supplies are disappearing quickly. Special measures have been introduced to allow farmers to shoot kangaroos because wild animals have been moving closer to human settlements in search of food and grazing. Farmers and people from less badly affected areas have donated millions of dollars in hay and diesel to shift vital supplies across the country to those who

need them most. Tasmanian businessman Glenn Phillips, who put together a group to gather and deliver aid supplies including hay, said the support he had seen come forward was incredible. “We thought we ought to run some hay up there in NSW and one thing led to another. “Now, a week later, and here we are, 14 trucks, 18 blokes. “We’re heading there on Monday morning to Melbourne to help the poor buggers in NSW.”

Although global exports of Australian chilled and frozen beef actually increased by 13% in July to 105,158t, exports to the European Union plummeted by a third on the month and 38% yearon-year to 973t. The world’s fourth-largest dairy exporter did increase shipments in the year to June 2018 by 5.7% to 842,050t, however, its secondlargest export, cheese, fell by 0.2% to 86,000t compared with the same period in 2017. UK Farmers Weekly

Meat gets secret, edible bar codes

agrievents RMPP Action Network – Facilitator training courses For rural professionals or farmers looking to run an Action Group under RMPP Action Network. No course fees. Register at www.actionnetwork.co.nz/training Lead Facilitator workshops • Whangarei 3 & 4 September • Hawkes Bay 20 & 21 September • East Coast/Gisborne 16 & 17 October • Christchurch 7 & 8 December Action Network Fundamentals & Extension Design workshops • Hamilton 19 & 20 September • Whangarei 9 & 10 October • Hawke’s Bay 17 & 18 October • Invercargill 24 & 25 October • East Coast/Gisborne 13 & 14 November • Christchurch 12 & 13 December For more info contact info@actionnetwork.co.nz Thursday 27/09/18 Rural Business Network Effective Industry Collaboration for Environmental Gains - Rebecca Hyde Venue: Barge Showgrounds Events Centre, Whangarei Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm Website: https://my.youngfarmers.co.nz/rbn/events

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Wednesday 31/10/18 Rural Business Network Positioning for a very different future Dr Warren Parker Venue: Barge Showgrounds Events Centre, Whangarei Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm Website: https://my.youngfarmers.co.nz/rbn/events Saturday 1/12/18 Whangarei A&P Show – One Epic Show Day Venue: Barge Showgrounds, Maunu Road, Whangarei Time: 9.00am start Trade sites & Entries contact Chris 09 4383109 ext 3 website: www.whangareishow.co.nz

CHEAP: New South Wales dairy farmer Shane Hickey reckoned he worked for $2.46 and hour last month.

Should your important event be listed here? Ph 0800 85 25 80 or email adcopy@globalhq.co.nz

SCIENTISTS are developing invisible, spray-on bar codes for beef to combat fraud, which costs the British food and drink sector an estimated £11 billion a year. The codes, which will be edible, can be scanned by smart phones, allowing consumers to see details of where their meat came from, what it was fed and where it was processed. Multinational services company PricewaterhouseCoopers is developing the technology in Australia, where it is expected to be available by the end of the year, while being employed in the export market in the next 12 months. The technology will eventually be rolled out for dairy and wine products in what PwC describes as a multi-step approach to beat fraudsters. In China alone, it is estimated just 50% of the Australian-branded beef on sale actually originates from that country. PwC is trialling the technology with Australian beef processor Vic’s Premium Quality Meat. Vic’s spokesman Anthony Puharich said he hadn’t been sure the technology would be possible at first. “It was such a pie-in-the-sky idea when it was first floated,” he said. “The public will be ecstatic

I SPY: Customers will soon be able to use telephones to scan secret bar codes sprayed directly onto meat to combat fraudsters.

but there are a lot of people who’ve profited from selling products that aren’t what they claim they are. “This will enable full transparency of the product’s provenance.” Puharich said the tracking technology will be used in packaging to begin with as a stop-gap while the meat spray technology is prepared and passed for regulatory approval for human consumption.

Similar technologies already exist in the pharmaceutical industry for tracking drugs. To use the codes sides of beef are sprayed with edible silicon dioxide in the abattoir. The spray leaves a unique fingerprint or crypto-anchor on the meat, which can be scanned and identified by a hyperspectral gun. The gun, basically an advanced bar code scanner,

shines a light on the spray’s microparticles and reads back its unique wavelength. This wavelength essentially acts as a unique serial number revealing the meat’s complete provenance. In the future it will be possible for the information to be scanned with a smart phone allowing customers to check the origin of the products themselves. UK Farmers Weekly

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FENCE? ON THE

If the chatter around your place has been “will we sell?” or “shall we wait?”, then jump off the fence and be part of Bayleys’ next Country magazine – there’s no time like the present to secure your future. Planning for the eagerly-awaited Spring edition of Country is underway now. Country magazine has given owners of rural New Zealand property the opportunity to access motivated and serious buyers for almost 20 years. It’s a proven way to get in front of the market and to tap into Bayleys’ extensive local, national and international databases at the same time. Our rural sales team is hard-wired to do the ground work for you – that’s why Bayleys is recognised as New Zealand’s number one rural brand. So talk to your local Bayleys office today and lock in your Country spot now.

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• This quality property is located on the outskirts of Palmerston North and is 76 hectares in 4 titles including lovely scattered bush. • Currently milking cows and would be suited to any agricultural activity with resource consent for intensive agriculture along with a recent upgrade to the cowshed effluent system. • Facilities include a 16 aside dairy, machinery shed, good hay shed. • With silt loam soils this could be a great chance to add a forage and heifer block to your current dairy business. • Call Les to inspect this property.

• Your opportunity to own this quality dairy farm in full production. • Situated in Northern Horowhenua and very well laid out with central laneways, rotary dairy and 600 cow feed pad. • 170 hectares in three titles with a great mix of Kairanga silt loam and Pukepuke sandy loam soils. • There are three good family homes in their own sections. • Our vendors are looking to retire and have priced this property to sell at $7.5 mil land and buildings. • Call Les to inspect this property.

• Have you ever wanted to go fishing in between milking? Well this is your chance to do just that. • This 525 acre property located in the central Horowhenua has all the features that you and your family would love. • A good mix of flat to rolling contour that has the ability to winter cows. • Modern herringbone dairy along and nice five bedroom family home. • With growth in this area who knows how great this farm could be as an investment in the future. • Call Les to inspect this property.

• Situated south of Whanganui is this 175ha farming opportunity. • 20 aside herringbone dairy and 300 cow yard with adjacent feed pad. • Herd is split calved, milked all year round, supplying Open Country. • Bore water supplies water to stock troughs, dairy and houses. • Large machinery shed, large silage bunker. • There are two three bedroom family homes set in treed surrounds. • Your chance to buy this farm with a flexible takeover date and take advantage of the coming season, current RV $3 mil, what’s your offer? • Vendors considering all offers. • Call Les to inspect.

• Situated in a sought after location only minutes from Foxton Village is this quality 2.75ha lifestyle property with excellent sandy loam soils. • There are 600 mature olive trees on the property planted in 2002. • Large modern five bedroom family home with outstanding indoor/ outdoor living featuring an in ground swimming pool. • With two ensuited bedrooms and separate living area this home lends itself to cater for the extended family. • Why not move your family to this great location for summer? • Call Les to inspect.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – August 27, 2018

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T RA NSF O RM I N G R E A L E S TAT E INTO R E A L A DVA NTAGE FOR SALE

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IMMEDIATE RESOURCE OR PASSIVE INVESTMENT AVAILABLE On behalf of NZTA, CBRE Agribusiness offers a rare opportunity to purchase a small-scale but productive operational quarry. With proven records of extraction servicing a range of agricultural and roading contractors and substantial remaining resource, this will suit either active owner operators, or passive investors with the current multinational operator prepared to enter into a long-term lease. Contact CBRE today for detailed information or a confidential discussion. + 18.6225ha* freehold title + Historic extraction data available + Vacant possession or potential long-term lease to existing operator + Surplus to NZTA requirements + Rateable Value $230,000 FOR SALE BY TENDER

Friday 14 September 2018 at 4.00pm CONTACT US JEREMY KEATING

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021 461 210

*Approximately www.cbre.co.nz/215201Q38 CBRE (Agency) Limited, Licensed Real Estate Agent (REAA 2008)

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Flaxmill Avocados 1047M Purangi Road The best and largest orchard to be presented to the market for quite some time. A true trophy property. 14.8ha with 11 can ha and around 1100 x 16 year old Hass avocado trees carrying a great crop. Around 30,000 trays of fruit hanging ready for harvest. Most of the machinery and all of the crop are included in the sale. The manager of 16 years wishes to stay on and says the orchard is still improving. Job done. This location is life at its best. pggwre.co.nz/TAR28700

Cooks Beach TENDER (Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm, Tuesday, 11 September VIEW 11.00-12.00pm, Wed, 29 August

Andrew Fowler B 07 571 5797 M 027 275 2244

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EMPLOYMENT ADVERTISEMENTS

Leefield Station in the Waihopai Valley has a proud history as a leading Marlborough Angus and Romney breeding / finishing property wintering 6000su alongside an 800ha vineyard development.

The property in total is 2165ha. Farm effective area of 1000ha of which 900ha is rolling hill to steep. Winter vineyard grazing further increases productivity.

An opportunity has arisen for a proven Shepherd General to join the Leefield Station team.

An opportunity has arisen for a proven Fencer General to join the Leefield Station team. The ideal candidate will bring with them the following experience in:

We are looking for someone who has made Farming their career – the ideal candidate will bring with them the following: • A minimum of 3 years farming experience • Attention to detail in stock performance and forage management; • First class attitude to Health and Safety, Animal Welfare and Environmental Management. • Preferably minimum 2 working dogs • A general can-do attitude with a willingness to turn your hand to any job on the farm

Manuka SA is primarily a New Zealand owned company that develops and operates dairy farms in the south of Chile. The company is committed to adopting New Zealand dairy farming techniques, and is seeking to aggressively implement a pasture based milk production strategy. In the 2018/19 season the company will milk approximately 35,000 cows across 47 dairy units.

• Repair and new fencing on hill country • Electric fencing • Maintaining water systems • Stockwork in yards and handpiece work • Weed management • Vehicle maintenance • Capable tractor driver • First class attitude to Health and Safety, Animal Welfare and Environmental Management • A general can-do attitude with a willingness to turn your hand to any job on the farm

We offer a competitive remuneration and benefits package, including a house. Primary schools within 10 minutes and colleges within 20 minutes on sealed roads. School bus at gate.

The Technical Assistant will be a ‘knowledge resource’ for the CEO and senior members of the Production Team, assisting them to execute the Business Plan to grow Manuka SA to 67 dairy units by 2023/24. Reporting to the CEO, the position supports the company operations by seeking out information that can be adapted to provide profitable and sustainable growth.

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The applicant must: • be able to recognise excellence in pastoral dairy farming and have an understanding of farm production models and systems • know where to source relevant information in NZ and other countries • have a high degree of computer literacy with particular emphasis on MS Excel and Power Point • be able to adapt to a rapidly growing business and work in a team environment • be prepared to learn Spanish • have excellent problem solving skills and proven ability in quantitative and qualitative analysis • have excellent communication skills, both written and oral • be prepared to commit for a 3 to 5 year period • be self-motivated and preferably hold an agri-based tertiary qualification

Please apply via email with a brief covering letter and a current CV to: greg@leefieldstation.co.nz or for further information please contact Greg Crombie on 027 551 1011 A position description is available upon request. Applicants must have the legal right to work in New Zealand to be considered for this role. Applications close 5pm, Sunday 2 September 2018

NEED

STAFF? 0800 85 25 80

We offer a competitive remuneration and benefits package. Please apply via email with a brief covering letter and a current CV to: greg@leefieldstation.co.nz or for further information please contact Greg Crombie on 027 551 1011 A position description is available upon request. Applicants must have the legal right to work in New Zealand to be considered for this role. Applications close 5pm, Sunday 2 September 2018

Ag jobs at your fingertips

Manuka SA – CHILE Technical Assistant

Please forward expressions of interest or CVs to: Max Kennedy kennedys@xtra.co.nz Cell: 0274 973 835

FENCER GENERAL

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Advertisements that discriminate in any way will not be published.

SHEPHERD GENERAL

Operations Managers – Central Plateau Tuatahi Farming Partnership is a progressive and growing farming business formed in 2010 by two Maori Incorporations. The Partnership engages professional management and is governed by a Board of Directors. Tuatahi is seeking two high level Operations Managers for two of its three Stations located in the Central North Island. The Operations Manager will report directly to the General Manager. Manunui Station is a hill country sheep breeding/finishing and cattle finishing operation, 1700 eff ha running 17,200su. Moerangi/Oraukura Station is a sheep, beef and deer breeding operation with a bull finishing unit, 2572 eff ha running 25,350su. This property is farmed under a nitrogen cap being predominantly located in the Lake Taupo Catchment. Responsibilities - this is a working manager’s position with the following key areas of responsibility: • Development of Strategy directly associated with the farm unit in conjunction with the Executive Team and Board • Planning, executing, reviewing and reporting against farm targets • Operational Management – covering all areas including budgeting, targets, resource requirements and reporting • Financial Management and Control • HR – management, recruiting, training, mentoring • Asset Management • Identify Opportunities, analyse and implement The Applicants need to have demonstrated: • leadership skills working in a team environment • the ability to develop people including themselves • high levels of competency in all technical and financial aspects of pastoral farming with a high level of industry knowledge These roles are new positions within the Partnership due to current and future growth to strengthen and secure a high level management team for the future. This is a rare opportunity to join a major farming enterprise that has expansion in its sights. The position offers the successful candidates the prospects of significant career and skill development. Applications should be made directly to Tuatahi Farming LP General Manager, Barry Pope. Email:tuatahi@tuatahi.co.nz or phone 07 386 5751, 021 501 377.

The closing date for applications is Friday 14 September, 2018

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Under the Human Rights Act, 1993, it is unlawful, apart from some exceptions, for employment advertisements to restrict applicants because of their sex, marital status, religious belief, colour, race, national origins, age, family status, or sexual orientation.

Marlborough coastal hill country station. 2300 acres plus 700 leased. Applicants preferably to have own dogs. Single accommodation available.

Apply to: Robert Fisher 027 496 2382 or Alec Tuanui 027 244 9270

FARMERS WEEKLY – August 27, 2018

FARMERSWEEKLY

SHEPHERD/ GENERAL

Employment

www.farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

classifieds@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

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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 ONLY $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds. Phone Debbie on 0800 85 25 80 to book.

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

HIGH COUNTRY STATION MANAGER Branches Station

DOGS FOR SALE

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

The Branches runs Merino sheep and Hereford cattle. The station is a breeding property (33,000 hectares) producing store calves and Merino wool. Branches Station is owned by five individual partners who spend time on the property.

EXTENDED DOG CLEARANCE sale due to huge demand! August 27 to September 1. Opotiki. By appointment only! 37 Headers, 43 Huntaways, $350-$2,500. 45 day exchangeable trial. Trade in your dog! www. youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553.

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

Key management skills required for the role are as follows: • Stockmanship, including horsemanship • Good understanding of all aspects of the Stations machinery and mechanically minded • Ability to prioritise and complete tasks • Maintain Health and Safety standards, including meeting any legal requirements

HUNTAWAY PUPS, 14 weeks, $250. Phone 06 863 9815.

ATTENTION FARMERS

• Contribution into setting and working within financial budgets and development plans

WHATATUTU DOG SALE. CHANGE of date and venue. Saturday 1st September at Otara Station, 319 Whatatutu Road, Te Karaka, Gisborne. Sale starts at 12 noon. Enquiries Allen Irwin 06 862 3618 or email: toromirostation@ gmail.com

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

The Partners are looking for a person who will also be honest, reliable, capable and able to work within a small team. This role provides an opportunity to be involved in a progressive business, in a remote and challenging environment. During the winter period, there are road restrictions due to weather.

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Alongside the managers position, there will also be an opportunity for the Station Manager’s partner to be employed in non-farming activities that take place on the Branches Station.

GERMAN DAIRY FARMER visiting NZ in December/ January would like to see the different types of farms in NZ like sheep, cattle, pig, poultry, crop farms. I want to learn how things work on NZ farms, be involved in new experiences and expand my horizons while meeting new people. I’m also open to having a good time while doing it! Contact martinGerlinger@web.de

DOGS WANTED QUICK EASY SALE! Buying 400 dogs annually South and North Islands! No trial or breeding required. No one buys or pays more! www.youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553. HEADING, HUNTAWAY, handy, backing dogs or bitches, 2-6 years. Top money paid. Phone Ginger Timms 03 202 5590 or 027 289 7615. 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195.

CALF TRAILER MATS SOFT, DURABLE, FREE draining rubber mats. Easy to clean. Call to order on 0800 686 287 – www. numat.co.nz

CONSULTANT REQUIRED TO RUN THE PEOPLE SERVICES/HR FOR BAKERAG, BASED IN OUR FEILDING OFFICE

LAMB DOCKING / TAILING CHUTE

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

MOA MASTER

Ideally based in our Feilding office, the right person for this position will: • Be outgoing, enthusiastic, flexible and committed to meeting our customers needs • Have a background in farming, understanding our clients needs by having “been there and done that” on farm • Be able to multi-task, work to deadlines and have great verbal and written communication skills • Be a great team player but with the initiative and drive to work on their own

Quality you can rely on – GUARANTEED

TOWABLE FLAIL MOWER $3910 + GST

You will have your own vehicle and will be reimbursed for travel. A computer, mobile phone and related office equipment will be supplied. This is a full-time role and we offer a competitive salary Please forward your CV with a covering letter to Rob Steele at rob@bakerag.co.nz

PURCHASING FERAL DEER

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

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

FERTILISER

HIGH PRESSURE WATER PUMPS, suitable on high headlifts. Low energy usage for single/3-phase motors, waterwheel and turbine drives. Low maintenance costs and easy to service. Enquiries phone 04 526 4415, email sales@hydra-cell.co.nz

McNicholas Aviation Limited is a helicopter deer recovery operator based in Opotiki. The aerial operation can selectively cull your feral deer population and pay a royalty. If required we can also seek and destroy any resident feral goat population.

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

E S T A B L I S H E D FURNITURE REMOVAL business for sale based in Taupo, 0274 525 301 for enquiries. BOOK AN AD. For only $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone Debbie Brown on 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

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.

PUMPS

GOATS. 40 YEARS experience mustering feral cattle and feral goats anywhere in NZ. 50% owner (no costs). 50% musterer (all costs). Phone Kerry Coulter 027 494 4194.

HORTICULTURE NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp. The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz HERITAGE APPLE TREES. Farm pack specials. www.tastytrees. co.nz – Phone 09 408 5443 or text 027 346 7645.

The feral deer population has increased to levels seen in the 1950’s resulting in reduced winter feed for farmer’s stock, and damage to juvenile trees for forest owners. Contact Lance McNicholas 027 294 7504

WANTED FORESTRY/ WOODLOTS

TRACTOR PARTS JOHN DEERE 6410, 6600, 6610, 6800, 6900, dismantling Andquiparts. Phone 027 524 3356.

WEED SPRAYING BOOM SPRAY. Broad acre, brush weed control, total vegetation. Hilux gun and hose units x 2 and mist blowers for gorse, broome, blackberry control. Covering Lower North Island. Phone 06 375 8660 or 021 396 447, email kingbilly718@gmail.com

(Shelters removed or harvested)

Tree Tec Ltd: What do we do? We can purchase standing trees, land and trees or harvest and market on your behalf. No worries as we’ll do all the hard work for you around health and safety, resource consent application and management. Harvesting and trucking. GUARANTEED PAYMENTS Call or email Tree Tec Aaron West 027 562 3832 aaron@treetec.co.nz

FOR SALE

GOATS WANTED 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.

(from private blocks)

CLASSIFIEDS REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY Advertise in the NZ Farmers Weekly $2.10 + GST per word - Please print clearly Name: Phone: Address: Email: Heading: Advert to read:

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE RED DEVON BULLS, R1. Pure bred. Closed herds/ closed breeding groups. BVD tested negative and vaccinated. Quiet and easy to handle. Phone John 027 644 1143.

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

Stainless Steel Farm Tanks

TOWABLE TOPPING MOWER $3570 + GST

The role is all about finding out what the farmer wants from their employee and then finding the ideal candidate for the job. You will be a great judge of people and be able to work with our clients to build trust and demonstrate your skills in recruitment and also in helping establish goals and helping people to grow in their roles on farm.

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VETMARKER

BakerAg is Wairarapa and Manawatu-based, providing agribusiness consultancy and valuation services. We are looking for a consultant to help our sheep and beef and dairy clients recruit staff for their operations and advise on HR matters.

PROPERTY WANTED

FOR SALE

BORDER COLLIE, pedigree strong eyed working pups. Bred from the finest, international working lines. 25 years of breeding. Phone Somerton Park Kennel 021 264 6250.

ANIMAL HEALTH

A rare and exciting opportunity has become available for the operational management of the Branches Station, situated in the upper reaches of the Shotover River, Central Otago.

Closing date for applications 10th September 2018.

GORSE AND THISTLE SPRAYING. Experience teams with mist blowers, hand pumps and gun and hose. No job too big. Camp out teams. Phone Dave 06 375 8032.

FARM MAPPING

“WOOD SPLITTER” 50 TON

12 HP DIESEL MOTOR “ELECTRIC START”

$3990 + GST

To find out more visit

www.moamaster.co.nz Phone 027 367 6247 Email: info@moamaster.co.nz

• Above Ground & On Ground options • Spilt tank options - incl. Diesel exhaust fluid • Fitted with both Vent Filter & Product Filter • Meter, hose & nozzle (standard) • Above Ground is fitted with ladder & standing platform • On Ground tanks have a top pump box fully enclosed & lockable

WWW.FUELCONZ.CO.NZ 0800 FUELCON/0800 383 5266

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LK0094062©

Large baling contractor [big square bales] in West Australia seeks experienced tractor and baler drivers with good mechanical knowledge for seasonal work start early October. Good pay package. bigbaleaccounts@bigpond.com www.bigbale.com.au

CONTRACTORS

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ANIMAL HANDLING

BALER DRIVERS WANTED

If you have the above skill set and a desire to investigate this opportunity further, please contact us for a full job description and/or send your application to: hr@compassagri.com

Classifieds

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Employment

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livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

Livestock

FARMERS WEEKLY – August 27, 2018

PINE PARK RAMS Herds June Delivery 230 Xbreds BW99 PW125 RA100% Mated to suit 5 weeks AB, 367ms/cow, Low SCC. Top Northland herd Contact Kaneo: 027 286 9279 470 F/FX cows BW87 PW97 RA98% DTC 20/7 270 x 2-3yrs, 380 ms/cow, Low SCC, Tidy uddered. Contact Webby: 027 801 8057

FRIDAY 31ST AUGUST Commencing at 1:30pm A/- COVENEY CONTRACTING 60 B Gap Road East No 1 RD, Winton

In-Milk Cows, Heifers & Autumn Calvers We have various lines of In-Milk cows/heifers and Herds available for delivery from now through to

Carrfields Livestock have received instructions from Coveney Contracting to offer for sale the following plant due to a downsizing of the contracting business.

Wanted for Immediate Delivery Rising 2yr and weaner heifers.

Wanted for June Delivery We have strong early enquiry from buyers wanting to secure Herds and In-Calf Heifers for June 2019 delivery including sought after A2A2 cows and heifers. Call Kaneo or Webby for more info.

Buyer Register as they come available. To register txt your name with your requirements and email to: Kaneo: 027 286 9279 or Webby: 027 801 8057

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Or email: paul.kane@carrfields.co.nz philip.webb@carrfields.co.nz

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

Edward Sherriff 06 327 6591 021 704 778

SALE TALK A drunk stumbles into the front door of a bar and orders a drink, the bartender says, “No way, buddy, you’re too drunk.” A few minutes later, he comes in through a side door. “Give me a drink,” he slurs. “No, I told you last time, you’re too drunk,” replied the bartender. Five minutes later the guy comes in through the back door and orders a drink, again the bartender says, “You’re too drunk” The drunk scratches his head and says “Damn, last two places said the same thing.”

Kokonga Farm is approximately 40 minutes from Ngaruawahia, 50 minutes from Mercer, Rangiriri and Huntly via Glen Murray.

POLLED HEREFORD ST U D

WE D NE SD A Y 1 2 th SE P T , 2 0 1 8 - 1 2 NOON LOWER HER EN G AWE R OAD, WAV ER LEY

“The beef breed for every need” Owner Bred Genuine Home-Bred Beef Bulls

44 2yr & 161yr Offering Merit Sires • Low Birth Weights Easy Calving • Whitehead Premiums Performance Recorded • BVD & Lepto vaccinated/tested

HUKAROA

2-YR OLD BULLS FERTILITY TESTED

POLLED HEREFORDS

FOR BUTTS, NUTS AND GUTS

ANNUAL ON-FARM BULL SALE

IAN & DANIEL SMITH

ENQUIRIES TO: CHRIS MCRAE (CARRFIELDS LIVESTOCK) 0274 342 169 STEVEN COVENEY 0274 313 424

Friday 7 September 2018

P/F: 06 762 7899 • Mobile: 021 749 235 • Email: daniel.rae@primowireless.co.nz

NZ FARMERS LIVESTOCK Jeremy Newell: 027 664 8832 Tim Hurley: 027 445 1167

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

PGG WRIGHTSON Mark Neil: 027 742 8580 Callum Stewart: 027 280 2688

Bred, reared and raised naturally on strong hill country

Hillcroft Est. 1960

93 quiet, easy-calving Hereford bulls 2 year olds & yearlings

FREE GRAZING UNTIL 1 OCTOBER 2018

Annual Spring Bull Sale

BVD tested clear and twice vaccinated Tb C10

More bull for your buck!

Hillcroft bulls: born and bred on our closed breeding unit. No bulls have been leased.

20 ANGUS YEARLINGS

ALL BULLS FERTILITY & SEMEN TESTED Enquiries to: Dean

& Lisa Hansen 07 826 7817 or 0274 40 30 24

Rangatira 13-4 Sire of 1 & 2 yr olds

26 HEREFORD 2 YR OLDS Sires:

Selected for heifer mating

• Ardo Prophet 2329. Top 5% Hereford prime and dairy maternal. Top 10% NZ calving ease, NZ carcaseweight • Riverton Lochie 1320. Top 5% C ease

93 ANGUS 2 YR OLDS

Lot 5 - Sire Rangatira 13-50

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING Are you looking in the right direction?

Lot 11 Rangatira 13-50

On bull farm: 820 Waiterimu Road, Ohinewai • Monday 17th September 11.30am

To advertise LK0094020©

Enquiries welcome – call for a catalogue or view online www.angusnz.com or FB hillcroftangus Malcolm & Fraser Crawford: Matahuru Rd, Ohinewai Malcolm Phone 07 828 5709; Fraser Phone 07 828 5755, 0272 85 95 87

Phone Nigel 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

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Suzuki Eiger 4x4 (21,000km)

Lot 2 - Sire Stern 358

Kokonga East Road, off Waikaretu Valley Road, RD5 Tuakau

SHADOW DOWNS

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2013 Fendt 828 (4480 hours) 2014 Case Puma CVT230 (3630 hours) Overum 6 Furrow plough Overum 5 Furrow plough Kuhn 5 mtr Power harrow Kuhn 3 mtr Power harrow Kuhn 3 mtr Integra drill 2015 Cross engineering fodderbeet destoner washer & chipper Austin Roller c/w Hatzenbichler airseeder 7 mtr leveller 6 mtr leveller 6 mtr leveller & harrows 4 ag Supergrubber 300 3 mtr Case discs 3 mtr Howard rotary hoe 2.5 mtr rotary hoe 14 foot chain harrows 10 x 5 trailer 1500 ltr diesel tank c/w motor 2000 ltr diesel tank and stand Willet 2 furrow swamp plough Tandem axle hay trailer 7 mtr double axle transport trailer for drill etc PTO Auger 3 bay dog kennels Comet P48 spray unit Steel bridge frame PTO Lincoln welder generator Assortment of tractor tyres 1990 Hilux 4x4 D/Cab (335,000km) 2009 BT50 D/Cab (270,000km) 2012 Ranger D/Cab (230,000km) 2003 Compass Rallye 634 Caravan

January. This also includes lines of Autumn calvers.

SIL Carcass Scanned FE Testing LK0093719©

CLEARING SALE – PLANT

FE Coopworth FE Romney x Coop Texel x Coopworth Suffolk Suftex Texel x Poll Dorset

Livestock

FARMERS WEEKLY – August 27, 2018

STOCK REQUIRED SIL EWES or EWES and LAMBS

Okupata Herefords 32nd Annual Bull Sale

R2 YR STEERS 400-500kgs

Under cover on farm sale Monday 10th September 2018, 12 noon

R2 YR ANG & XBRED HEIFERS

R1 & R2 YR FRIES BULLS

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

PARADISE VALLEY M U R R AY G R E YS HILL COUNTRY BORN AND BRED

R1 YR ANG & ANG X STEERS 230-280kg

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Ross Dyer 0274 333 381

40 - Registered 2yr Hereford Bulls 87 - Commercial 2yr Hereford Bulls 14 - Registered 2yr Murray Grey Bulls

A Financing Solution For Your Farm E info@rdlfinance.co.nz

NIGEL 0800 85 25 80

OKUPATA STUD 860 Okupata Road, RD 1, Oparau 3885 Philip P: 07 871 0524 • M: 027 544 4658 Thomas P: 07 212 2284 • M: 027 711 1291 • E: okupata@farmside.co.nz

2nd Annual Bull Sale Lynrich Jersey’s

Stokman / Heather Dell Sale Selling - 85 Yearling Angus Bulls 35 18mth Commercial Angus Heifers

Bred/Reared/Grazed on our own property Richard & Christine Lansdaal & Family 200 Luck at Last Road, Karapiro,Cambridge

Wednesday 19 September 2018 - 1pm

12 September 2018 - 12pm On offer are: 50 Elite R1 Jersey Bulls, G3 profiled-BW’s 164-210. A2A2 tested. Registration on request 110 R1 Jersey Bulls, Fully recorded, G3 profiled BW’s 100-183 Everyone of these low risk bulls are out of the Lynrich Jersey Herd BW160 PW181 (2nd in NZ) The Elite bulls will be sold first by Jersey Marketing The Grade bulls will then be sold by NZ FarmersLivestock

All bulls are TB tested (Herd Status C10, EBL Free) BVD tested negative and double vaccinated. (Vet Certs available on the day) Lepto vaccinated. Delivery will be every Wednesday with prior arrangement until th 10th October 2018. Bulls staying on the property will be at purchasers risk. The sale is under cover and a light luncheon provided.

On farm 18 September 2018

Mike Phillips • M: 027 404 5943

NEW!!!!!! - Sale at Farm 1708 Te Kopia Road Waikite Valley Rotorua

Paradise Valley Murray Greys 375 Turitea Rd, RD 3, Otorohanga

Andy Transom • M: 027 596 5142 Vium Mostert • M: 027 473 5856

MAHUTA Annual Yearling Bull Sale Friday 21st September 2018

Your Angus Bull Source Average EBV’s on our Sale Bulls Calv Ease Gestation Lgth Birth Weight 400 Day 600 Day Self Replacing Angus Pure

+1.3 -5.5 +2.2 +85 +108 +146 +165

NZ Breed Average +.0 -3.9 +4.3 +77 +106 +108 +127

Call for a catalogue or view on www.angusnz.com

* Well grown - suitable for heifers or cows * Excellent temperments * BVD Tested and vaccinated * C10 status - EBV recorded * Stokman Bulls - Fertility and semen tested - i 50K tested for enhanced EBVs

PGG Wrightson Cam Heggie 027 501 8182 Mark & Sherrie Stokman Neil Heather Sam Wright 027 443 0905 161 Hossack Rd Ext Paradise Valley Road Pete Henderson 027 475 4895 Rotorua Rotorua Steve Wattum 027 493 4484 07 3332446 • 0276404028 027 421 4050 • 07 357 2142 Central Livestock: mtkiwi@farmside.co.nz neil-heather@xtra.co.nz Shane Scott 027 495 6031

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING Catalogue available on MyLiveStock.co.nz Enquiries to: Richard & Christine - 027 353 5693 Ollie Carruthers - NZFLL - 027 451 5312 Ross Riddell - JMS - 027 211 1112

NIGEL RAMSDEN livestock@globalhq.co.nz 0800 85 25 80

OVER 1,000 HEREFORD BULLS

For Sale Now! Protect your farm, buy safe & buy registered Hereford Bulls visit: www.herefords.co.nz for a list of bulls & sale dates

Limehills Starter 1078 – a heifer-mating bull Top 1% HPI Offering includes: 54 top Hereford bulls and 10 top Angus bulls Sale on the farm – 1 pm, 313 Maurice Rd, Glen Murray Open day Friday 31st August Contact: John Allen 027 440 7504 Kane Needham 027 839 3612

LK0094037©

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

YEARLING BULL SALE

TE TAUMATA POLL HEREFORDS

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

rd 33 AnnuAl on fArm Bull SAle FARMERS WEEKLY – August 27, 2018 Livestock

June 7th 2012 at 12pm

To view our bull sale catalogue & PREDICTABLE PROFITABLE pictures of sale lots go to: PERFORMANCE GENETICS 2 YR VIRGIN BULL SALE www.tetaumata.co.nz

Young Her Romney and Thursday 13th September 2018, noon Te Taumat Border Leicester Rams A/c Graham Farms, SH 1, Huntly free Taking DelIVerY C10 SaleCArC orders now BVD VACCInATeD 2nd Annual TB ON-FARM Comprising:

Beef20Industry Driven fro x 2yr PB Angus BullsPerformance (home-bred)

USE A

REGISTERED

MURRAY GREY BULL FOR...

RANUI

Angus bulls are all from vendors closed herd

• 10 years breeding, Landcorp Rotomohana, low b/w bulls, minus-5 days gestation • 15 years breeding, Waitawheta Angus

YEARLING BULL & HEIFER SALE

• Every year purchasing the best calving index (4.5 or better) and less than +2kg Index positive growth rate and fats

12 noon Tuesday, 11th September, 2018 Karamu, 662 Rangitatau East Rd, Wanganui

ANGUS

The Jersey bulls are all purchased as 10 day old calves ex Bromley and Newlands, and are vendor reared. All bulls are BVD tested negative and vaccinated, TB and Brucellosis accredited

YEARLING BULL & HEIFER SALE

ON OFFER: 30 yearling bulls • 35 yearling heifers

12 noon Tuesday, September 25, 2007

PROFITABLE BEEF CATTLE!

For more information, phone: Vendor – Craig Graham 027 497 2819

TO:

NZ Farmers Livestock Liam McBride 021 222 2662 Brent Bougen (Stud Stock) 0272 104 698

On offer: Lindsay Johnstone 027 445 3211 25 yearling bulls 30 yearling heifers, which Lin will Johnstone be sold in lots027 445 3213

For more information contact: MIKE PHILLIPS • M: 027 404 5943 or visit: www.murraygreys.co.nz Like us on Facebook: NZ Murray Grey Breeders

PGG WRIGHTSON AGENTS:  All cattle BVD & EBL tested  All cattle electric fence trainedStewart 027 280 2688 Callum  TB status C10  Vet inspected  Quiet temperament

Ken Roberts 027 591 8042

LK0093857©

• Calving ease • Polled calves • Colour dominant • • Easy to sell calves • Easy to finish progeny •

Karamu, 662 Rangitatau East Rd, Wanganui ENQUIRIES

INQUIRIES TO: Lin Johnstone Lindsay Johnstone 06 342 9833 06 342 9795 W & K AGENTS Blair Robinson Don Newland 027 491 9974 027 242 4878

KAIRAUMATI POLLED HEREFORDS SALE

Need an Angus bull

20TH SEPTEMBER 2018 12.30pm – 68 NGATAIPUA RD, TURUA, THAMES

CONSIDER THIS . . . Fully Registered 300 cow herd Specialising in ease of calving and heifer mating All our best bulls offered at our annual yearling sale Full EBVs on all animals

24 YEARLING BULLS 24 RSG 2-YEAR BULLS 6 TOP BREEDING HEIFERS

Bulls born and bred on the top of the Coromandel

Excellent Temperament

Good selection of bulls with growth and carcass attributes without compromising ease of calving FERTILITY Calve as 2 yr old Only 43 day mating Cull everything that doesn’t rear a calf

WHO ELSE IN NZ TICKS ALL THOSE BOXES?

Our complete program (all 300 cows) is focused on ease of calving and heifer mating LK0089276©

Contact Roy or Kaye Ward 021 128 7174 Dave Stuart 027 224 1049 Cam Heggie 027 501 8182

LK0094040©

Te Taumata Genetics

Alistair & Eileen 20 06 x372 Jim 06 372 7718 Em 2yr 7861 JerseyorBulls 150 Te Kopi Road, RD 4 Masterton 5884, w

LK0094064©

Alistair & Eileen McWilliam Ph 06 372 7861 • www.tetaumata.co.nz POLL HEREFORDS Est. 1962

Chris & Karren Biddles, RD1, Te Kopuru, Northland P: 09 439 1589 m: 021 795 929 e: chris@teatarangi.co.nz

107 Yearling Angus bulls at our Annual sale, on farm

5th Sept 2018, 12.30pm

craigmore

polled herefords YEARLING BULL SALE

Monday 10th September 2018, at 12.30pm Luncheon available

On A/C D.B & S.E Henderson At the stud property: 429 Rukuhia Road, RD 2, Ohaupo 93 Registered Well Grown Bulls All bulls SNP DNA tested to verify parentage and improve accuracy of EBVs

Craigmore Hereford bulls carry the Hereford Blue tag.

Lot 1: Craigmore Anzac 17231

Delivery can be delayed until 1st October 2018

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

LK0093837©

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

Livestock

OUTSTANDING 18TH ANNUAL SERVICE BULL AUCTION A/C CLEM & UNA SHOTTER

Survival, one of the few traits you will never get too much of

DATE: Friday 7 September 2018 ADDRESS: 597 Hurford Road, Omata, New Plymouth (Sign posted from Surf Highway 45 / cnr Hurford Road) START TIME: 12:00pm - undercover

MATING DAIRY COWS?

THE CHOICE IS

•

6 x fully ID Jersey yearling bulls - BWs up to 213

400

300

200

100

•

WILL MORRISON - 027 640 1166 SALE Tuesday 25 Sept, 12noon Ardo Herefords, Marton

All bulls Lepto, BVD, Conexion 10 n 1 vacc blood tested clear

•

Pre-sale inspection welcomed

-100

GOING GOING GONE! Have you got a sale coming up? Advertise in Farmers Weekly

0800 548 339 | nzfarmsource.co.nz/livestock

EARN FARM SOURCE REWARD DOLLARS ON ALL FARM SOURCE LIVESTOCK PURCHASES & SALES*

Phone Nigel 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

-100

5 199

7 199

95 199

1 200

3 200

7 5 200 200

9 200

1 201

3 201

5 201

7 201

At Turanganui we have always paid attention to Lamb survival demonstrated above where the red line denotes Turanganui’s progress, the blue line is the average of 1199 SIL flocks.

FARM SOURCE LIVESTOCK AGENT: Colin Dent 027 616 8908 BUY NOW, PAY LATER WITH OUR BULL PLAN. 0% INTEREST AND NO REPAYMENTS DUE UNTIL 31 JANUARY 2019. Ts&Cs APPLY.

LK0093823©

LK0088699©

DETAILS:

PAYMENT TERMS: 22nd October payment, delivery available to 30th October 2018 or by prior arrangements to auction.

500

400

MIKE CRANSTONE - 027 218 0123 SALE Thursday 20 Sept, 12noon Riverton Herefords, Wanganui

www.ezicalve.co.nz

600

Turanganui Romneys DP Flks Avg

500

DPS - cents

300 BULLS AVAILABLE

45 x top Jersey yearling bulls

SIL Dual Purpose Survival Genetic Trends

600

COMPRISING OF: •

TURANGANUI ROMNEYS

Safe Traceable Bulls

Bulls For Heifer Mating

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

Holmes Warren

Todd Candy

Michael Warren

06 307 7802

06 307 7841 0274 465 312

0274 795 006 LK0093699©

FARMERS WEEKLY – August 27, 2018

RD 2 FEATHERSTON 5772

T&Cs apply. See nzfarmsource.co.nz/rewards

MEAT-MAKERS Inaugural Sale

September 13, 2018 at 2PM 216 Wiltons Road Carterton

3/4 Angus 1/4 Simmental - TAG 7350

3/4 Simmental 1/4 Angus - TAG 7415

3/4 Simmental 1/4 Angus - TAG 7407

3/4 Angus 1/4 Simmental - TAG 7398

40 Years of Proven Performance 30 Top Quality Simmental Angus Bulls For more information or a catalogue contact us: John McFadzean 06 - 372 - 7045 Johnie McFadzean 06 - 379 - 7401 / 027 - 429 - 5777 Steve Olds PGG Wrightson 06 - 375 - 8060 / 027 - 595 - 3387 FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: @mcfadzeancattlecompany 7% rebate for non participating agents

Your source for PGG Wrightson livestock and farming listings Key: Dairy

Beef

Sheep

21ST ANNUAL JERSEY BULL SALE A/C TETLEY JONES AGRICULTURE LTD Monday 10th September 2018 Starts 11.30am On farm 105 Tahaia Bush Road, Otorohanga (signposted from State Highway 3 South of Otorohanga) Comprising: 131 2yr jersey bulls 31 2yr Angus bulls. One line of very well bred Angus bulls. 70years of breeding background. TB,EBL,BVD tested clear. These bulls are always in suitable mating condition and are farmed on rolling country, ideal for dairy cow and heifer mating. All bulls have had two vaccinations plus one booster for BVD. Free grazing on vendor’s property until October 20 2018, or 50kms transport subsidy if purchased bulls taken from sale venue to purchasers property on the day after the sale. Purchasers must have NAIT number on sale day. A great opportunity to purchase genuine, clean one vendor farmed bulls. All enquiries: PGG Wrightson Bill Donnelly 027 493 2063 or 07 873 1855 Wium Mostert 027 473 5856 or 07 871 9188 Richard Healey - 027 727 372 Vendor: Ross Tetley-Jones – 027 454 3909 or 07 873 0622

Other FOR SALE 33 Angus & Angus Hereford X MA Cows (Autumn calving) PTIC Angus Bull 13/5/18 (Bull out for 35 days) Further inquiries Gerard Shea – 027 442 5379

WAIROA CATTLE FAIR Thursday 30th August 11.00am PGG Wrightson will offer approx 885 cattle including 375 2yr Steers 180 2yr Heifers 330 1yr Steers Including A/c Mangatawhiti Stn 60 1yr Ang & Ang/Here Steers A/c Cricklewood Stn 100 2yr Ang Steers 60 1yr Ang Steers A/c Okare Stn 30 2yr Ang Steers A/c Te Tiki Stn 50 1yr Ang Steers A/c Rosscommon 50 1yr Ang & Ang/Here Steers A/c Tangihau Stn 80 yr Ang Steers A/c Tahaenui Stn 45 2yr Ang Steers A/c Pihanui Stn 40 1yr Ang Hfrs Contact: Ian Rissetto – 06 838 8604 or 0274 449347 Mason Birrell – 06 838 7091 or 0274 967253 Hamish Forrester – 0276 012351

Freephone 0800 10 22 76 | www.pggwrightson.co.nz

Helping grow the country

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Dairy

Grain & Feed

MILK PRICE FORECAST ($/KGMS) 2018-19

SHEEP MEAT

DOMESTIC

FONTERRA 2018-19

AGRIHQ 2018-19

7.00

6.43

AS OF 24/05/2018

AS OF 22/08/2018

MILK PRICE COMPARISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

Canterbury (NZ$/t) 421

340

NI mutton (20kg)

5.20

5.15

4.20

419

353

SI lamb (17kg)

8.20

8.10

6.70

Feed Barley

414

413

361

SI mutton (20kg)

5.30

4.15

219

Export markets (NZ$/kg) 8.67

8.70

8.31

6.5

Maize Grain

433

418

6.0

PKE

325

324

220

WMP GDT PRICES AND NZX FUTURES

325

324

UK CKT lamb leg

* 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.

7.5

INTERNATIONAL Last week

Prior week

Last year

Wheat - Nearest

290

302

212

Corn - Nearest

206

218

192

578

412

354

North Island 17kg lamb

8.5

6.5 5.5

CBOT futures (NZ$/t)

4.5 8.5

South Island 17kg lamb

7.5

NZ venison 60kg stag

Australia (NZ$/t) APW Wheat

3500 3000 2500 2000 Oct 17 Jan 18 Apr 18 C2 Fonter r a WMP

ASW Wheat

552

483

343

Feed Wheat

549

479

273

Feed Barley

529

489

327

147

138

PKE (US$/t)

Jul 18 Oct 18 NZX WMP Futur es

Ex-Malaysia

600

$/kg

4000 US$/t

7.00

421

Waikato (NZ$/t)

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

8.25

422

PKE

Jun 18 Aug 18 AgriHQ Seasonal

6.5

500

4005.5 300

4.5 Oct Oct

Dec

Feb

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

Prior week

vs 4 weeks ago

WMP

2805

2940

2975

SMP

2050

1995

AMF

5500

Butter

4340

Last week

Prior week

Last year

Aug

This yr

Last week

Prior week

Last year

1950

Urea

523

503

477

3.21

3.19

2.86

5675

5655

Super

304

309

37 micron ewe

3.40

3.05

4750

5045

DAP

702

30 micron lamb

4.55

3.10

753

750

2800 Nov

Latest price

Dec

Jan

Feb

4 w eeks ago

Sharemarket Briefing THE NZX 50 logged multiple record closing highs last week as investors zoned in on reporting season. The Australian market also continued to push higher, with the country’s benchmark hitting 10-year highs. In America the bull market is set to become the longest on record, turning 3453 days old on Wednesday. In that time, the S&P 500 has skyrocketed more than 300%. Market darling The a2 Milk Company said annual profit more than doubled from last year. Its products are now being sold in 10,000 stores in China and 6000 stores in the United States. Net profit jumped 116% to $195.7m while revenue was up 68%. Looking ahead, the company said it expects further revenue growth in 2019. The company said marketing investment is now expected to be higher than originally expected in order to build its distribution network more quickly and increase brand awareness. The share price jumped 6.1% on the news and is up 45.6% this year. Honey exporter Comvita returned to an operating profit despite a second poor honey harvest. Net sales increased 19%, with China outperforming as well as a breakthrough in North America, with sales of $26.8m. Market commentary provided by Craigs Investment Partners

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

9140

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

8931

$/kg

350 250 150 Aug 14

NZ venison 60kg stag

4.5

600

c/k kg (net)

3000

Coarse xbred wool indicator

5.5

CANTERBURY FEED PRICES

NZ$/t

US$/t

Last yr

Aug

Coarse xbred ind.

450

16885

Jun

(NZ$/kg)

3200

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Jun

NZ average (NZ$/t)

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Oct

Apr

WOOL

* price as at close of business on Thursday

Sep

Apr

FERTILISER

Last price*

2600

Last year

8.35

Feed Wheat

7.0

Apr 18 AgriHQ Spot Fonterra forecast

Last week Prior week

NI lamb (17kg)

Milling Wheat

7.5

5.5 Feb 18

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

c/kkg (net)

$/kgMS

Sheep

$/kg

Aug 15 Feed barley

Aug 16

Aug 17 PKE spot

3.5

400 300

2.5

Oct Jul

Dec Sep 5‐yr ave

Feb Nov

Apr Jan Last yr

Jun Mar

Aug May

Jul

This yr

Dollar Watch

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

YTD High

YTD Low

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

15.69

16.00

11.92

The a2 Milk Company Limited

11.77

14.62

7.66

Auckland International Airport Limited Meridian Energy Limited Spark New Zealand Limited Ryman Healthcare Limited Fletcher Building Limited Mercury NZ Limited (NS) Contact Energy Limited Air New Zealand Limited (NS)

6.94 3.25 3.88 13.45 6.39 3.32 5.75 3.27

6.99 3.30 4.02 13.65 7.96 3.45 5.96 3.43

6.11 2.75 3.28 10.27 5.74 3.08 5.15 2.86

Listed Agri Shares

500

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

11.770

14.620

7.660

Comvita Limited

5.620

9.210

5.590

Delegat Group Limited

9.990

10.100

7.510

Foley Family Wines Limited

1.480

1.610

1.400

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

4.910

6.660

4.800

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

0.730

3.000

0.700

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

2.850

2.990

1.840

PGG Wrightson Limited

0.650

0.720

0.560

Sanford Limited (NS)

7.650

8.500

7.350

Scales Corporation Limited

4.760

5.000

4.350

Seeka Limited

6.500

7.010

5.800

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

11.330

11.650

6.260 3.100

T&G Global Limited

3.140

3.300

Tegel Group Holdings Limited

1.120

1.240

0.810

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity

16885

17332

14417

S&P/NZX 50 Index

9140

9163

8059

S&P/NZX 10 Index

8931

8953

7640

THE Reserve Bank’s This Prior Last NZD vs emphatic notice that it week week year “plans to be last cab off USD 0.6633 0.6601 0.7217 the rank or a no-show” EUR 0.5745 0.5796 0.6115 in central bank monetary tightening is a major factor AUD 0.9153 0.9068 0.9136 in ANZ Bank’s sharp cuts GBP 0.5182 0.5187 0.5644 to its New Zealand dollar Correct as of 9am last Friday forecasts. That isn’t to downplay the import of the United States dollar’s strengthening in currency markets, ANZ senior economist Phil Borkin said. “At a time when other central banks are talking about tightening as the next move, the Reserve Bank is saying the economy is not growing fast enough for that.” NZ’s yield advantage is disappearing fast. In its Economic Overview, ANZ said it believes the risks are skewed towards the OCR heading lower rather than higher but is not making a formal call yet. Its growth forecasts have already been lower than the RBNZ’s dovish views and it has tweaked them lower. The economy isn’t rolling over and data over the next month might not be too bad but, beyond that, will be more wobbly, Borkin said. Out to December next year, the ANZ expects a 7% fall against the US dollar (on top of a 10% slide since mid-April), a 17% fall against sterling despite UK Brexit uncertainty and 15% against the euro, which should stabilise on improving economic data. The biggest forecast fall, 25% against the yen, reflects eventual slowing in global growth as well as trade and geopolitic concerns. Alan Williams

Markets

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

SI SLAUGHTER STEER

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB

($/T)

($/KG)

GOOD EWE LAMBS AT STORTFORD LODGE

($/KG)

($/HD)

5.75

8.20

Cattle & Deer BEEF Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

5.75

5.70

5.50

NI Bull (300kg)

5.40

5.45

NI Cow (200kg)

4.50

4.35

SI Steer (300kg)

5.75

5.65

5.35

SI Bull (300kg)

5.30

5.05

SI Cow (200kg)

4.50

4.30

US imported 95CL bull

6.55

6.63

6.59

US domestic 90CL cow

6.95

7.09

7.03

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

North Island steer (300kg)

6.0

$/kg

5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 South Island steer (300kg)

6.0

NZ venison 60kg stag

c/k kg (net)$/kg

5.5

600 5.0

500 400 4.5 300 4.0

Oct Oct

Dec Dec

Feb Feb

5‐yr ave

Apr Apr

Jun Jun

Aug Aug

Last yr

This yr

VENISON Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

NI Stag (60kg)

11.20

9.35

NI Hind (50kg)

11.10

9.25

SI Stag (60kg)

11.40

9.35

SI Hind (50kg)

11.30

9.25

New Zealand venison (60kg Stag)

12 11 10

c/k kg (net)

$/kg

600

NZ venison 60kg stag

500 8

400 7 300 6 Oct

Oct

Dec Feb Dec Feb 5‐yr ave

Apr Apr Last yr

Jun Jun

Aug Aug This yr

high lights

159

$330-$450

$139-$179

Medium to good Hereford-Friesian bull calves at Frankton Feeder Calf Sale

Medium to good Merino wether hoggets at Temuka

Short term cattle are in hot demand

ROUND the sale yards interest in short term cattle has lifted significantly as the forecast shortage of killable stock becomes a reality. In contrast younger cattle are still meeting some resistance as farmers allow paddocks to dry out and grow first. NORTHLAND NORTHLAND The weather was blamed for a bit of hesitancy in the market at KAIKOHE last Wednesday, as a miserable day was not conducive to selling cattle, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. Older cattle did not sell as fluently as they have in the last few weeks, and R2 exotic and traditional steers mainly made $2.82-$3.00/kg. Bulls of the same age had Friesian lines earning $2.65/kg and Angus, $2.72/kg, while beef heifers mainly sold for $2.80$2.85/kg with the odd good line up to $2.88/kg. R1 numbers were low and the bulk were in the heifer pens. Medium Angus sold to $3.00/kg, with heavier Simmental earning $2.90-$2.95/kg. There was quite a spread of lesser quality, off-types which traded at $2.50-$2.60/kg. Autumn-born weaner Friesian bulls sold on a steady market at $550-$600. The cow market continued its strong run and in-calf dairy and beefFriesian firmed to $2.58-$2.60/kg. Empty medium lines made $2.20/kg, and lighter sorts, $2.00/kg. After all the excitement of the fairs it was back to normal sales at WELLSFORD last Monday, with a small yarding penned. Results in the R2 pens were mixed. Beef-Friesian steers sold on a firm market as 380-400kg averaged $2.99/kg. Prices in these pens were

YOUNG FARMER: Four-year-old Lianè Erasmus on her farm south of Havelock North helping dad with the docking of the lambs. She has two orphaned lambs she is taking care of, with dad’s help. Photo: PC Groenewald

consistently falling between $1115 and $1200. Heifer prices eased and Hereford-Friesian, 327-444kg, sold for $2.80-$2.91/kg. One line of 10 Angus bulls, 382kg, looked to be good shopping at $1065, $2.79/kg. There was very little to talk about in the R1 pens, but it was clear that a lesser quality offering of Friesian bulls, 234-314kg, had a limited audience as they sold for $2.69-$2.78/ kg. A few lines of autumn-born weaners did appear and the good types sold to solid demand. Four Hereford-Friesian steers, 145kg, managed $725, $5.00/kg,

and 10 heifers, 103kg, $510. Two lines of cows with calves-atfoot were offered and sold by two different means. Four Hereford-cross cows with four calves made $1145 per unit, while a line of Friesian-Jersey cows with calves sold all counted for $325. AUCKLAND AUCKLAND All classes of cattle sold on a buoyant market at PUKEKOHE on Saturday 18th August. High demand for finished cattle meant light prime steers, 496-534kg,

Continued page 46

29, 2017

NOVEMBER

EYE LIVESTOCK TTLE TARANAKI CA

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT YOUR SALEYARD?

2.47

2.96

2.86

2.73

Store cattle

not enough475n good but while Angus-Friesian, Localisededrai $2.82/kg, $2.74-$2.77/ off the pace at on a quiet note VIEWPOINT

Suz Bremner

225 - 245KG

310KG

350 - 415KG

400 - 505KG

1-YEA R HEIFE BEEF/ DAIRY

1-YEA R STEER BEEF/ DAIRY

2-YEA R STEER BEEF/ DAIRY

tallies

Weaner 13

Steer Heifer

1-year 112

2-year+ 34 9

Total 159

2-YEAR STEER Dev x Ang/Fr Ang/Fr Ang/Jer Ang/Jer Here/Fr

Jer

1400

540 475 - 506 401 - 445 366

M/G M

546 492 377

2 R

2-YEAR HEIFE Ang/Fr

Here/Jer Fr & Fr x

M/G

Jer x

Ang/Fr Here/Fr

M/G

L/M

530 370 467 315 451 320

4.0

$/kg

$/hd 1140

452

Fr x

Weight

Cond.

Tally

1300 - 1400 1090 - 1200 940 1542 1220 600 1455 910 1285 800 1060 400

3.5

2.52

3.0

2.59

2.5

2.74 - 2.77 2.70 - 2.72

2.0 100kg

200kg

300kg Steers

500kg 400kg Heifers

2.82 2.48 1.59 2.75 2.46 2.75 2.54 2.35 1.25

ph 0800 85

info@agrihq.co.nz

600kg

2.57

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AT AGRIHQ.CO.NZ/FARMER

agriHQ.co.nz

Beef/Dairy

STORE CATT

Receive comprehensive liveweight-based results from the entire sale even when you can’t make it there yourself. Sign up to LivestockEye reports and keep your head in the game.

0800 85 25 80

3 Bull ed , were November finish apart from a doozy 506kg s-Jersey, 401-445kg, return 297 Cow 62 Angu sale, 169 upted the kg. -$2.77/kg. at the Taranaki 19 m that interr Total and two $2.74 of a thunderstor a mixed bunch cattle were Heifers were reached A total of 340 auctioning. cons isted beef-Friesian gh main ly small lines of other lines well below tallies Total penn ed, thou three over Prime cattle all Cow just with /kg 15kg, with Bull Heifer 40 of smal l lines localised $2.75 Ex-service Red bulls, 688-7 Steer 20 ite the odd /kg. 1 getting that. 10 head. Desp 19 ged $2.94-$3.00 and some areas hit and itions on mana had to be quite light to thunderstorm Lines yesterday, cond steer pens, up to 25mls drying out in the 1-year n tallies rties are still old effect pass $3.00/kg Hereford-Friesia Store cattle most prope ever-popular causing a two-f g to but the a few occasions. 1500 on fast, which is comin that cattle ge 10kg, quality did mana h were 308-3 them. of more mixed offered thoug buyers to greet at $2.92- 1200 sale and fewer sold over a very tight Mostsold on a steady market 900 sian, and er Angus-Frie Prime steers what was a /kg, with heavi s. -$2.88/kg on 600 is tight. $2.97 g similar value range of $2.83 as processor space/kg. 335-381kg, makin1-year heifers could 300 softer market $1.75-$1.82 20-Dec The best the 6/kg for 6-Dec -$2.5 0 Boner cows made pens included some $2.52 22-Nov This year age was 8-Nov this was Last year The 2-year steer albeit in very small man n, but again 5-yr ave riesia y, ord-F nice lines of qualit best of the bunch Heref tion of the quality. the reflec a and at , ers, 546kg numb ($/kg) ord-Friesian, steers and heifers was three Heref

25 80

grihq.co.nz

web agrihq.co.nz

email info@a

2398HQV2

421

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018

Markets

46 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018 pushed to $3.00-$3.05/kg, but better yielding heifers outbid them with 509-538kg realising $3.04-$3.15/kg. Boner cows, 594kg, sold for $2.39/kg. A standout line of good quality but lighter R2 steers, 389kg, sold exceptionally well at $3.59/ kg, while 400kg made $3.25/kg. Friesian steers, 429-453kg, made $2.33-$2.80/kg, and plain heifers, 390-435kg, $2.82-$2.96/kg. In the R1 pens steers, 212215kg, returned $740-$840, and 15-month heifers, 300-320kg, $870-$1040. Light crossbred heifers, 260-279kg, fetched $740$825 and 186-191kg, $655-$695. Small crossbred steers, 122-156kg, sold for $400-$650, and weaner heifers, 102kg, $380. COUNTIES COUNTIES Last Thursday’s store cattle sale at TUAKAU drew a small yarding of 280-head and the market was firm, Chris Elliott of PGG Wrightson reported. Demand for the heavier steers was particularly strong, with most lots selling at around $3.00/kg. The yarding included 490kg Hereford-Friesian, which made $3.00/kg, with 470kg earning $3.04/kg. Others at 320-350kg returned $3.13/kg, and 260kg, $930. Weaner steers, 129kg, fetched $540 and a small line of Friesian-cross bulls, 80kg, $250. In the heifer section, HerefordFriesian, 450kg, traded at $3.02/ kg, $1380, and 340kg $3.00/kg. A very nice line of 207kg HerefordFriesian made $800, $3.85/kg. Steer and heifer prices lifted again at last Wednesday’s prime sale. Heavy prime steers traded at $3.18-$3.26/kg, with the top rate paid for 728kg Hereford-Friesian that made $2375. Medium steers earned $3.06$3.18/kg and lighter Friesiantypes sold down to $2.79/kg. Heifer prices were on par with the steers. The top rate of $3.26/kg was paid for 622kg Angus, which made $2029. Medium heifers made $3.06-$3.15/kg, and lighter beef heifers sold from $2.75/kg. A small entry of beef cows earned $2.35/kg and the best of the heavy Friesian made $2.30/ kg. Other well-covered cows earned $1.85-$2.08/kg, and lighter boners traded down to $1.52/kg. A handful of Hereford bulls made $2.84-$2.95/kg and Jersey service bulls, $2.45-$2.62/kg. Prices for a small yarding of 540 ewes and lambs reached record levels at last Monday’s sheep sale, with the top prime lambs selling to $220. Lighter primes sold from $140 and all prime lambs averaged $177. Good store lambs in forward order traded up to $160 and the lighter stores sold down to $68. Ewe prices were also very strong. The best of the heavy prime ewes made $210 and lighter ewes sold from $110. All prime ewes averaged $165.

WAIKATO A very wet day greeted sale-goers at FRANKTON last Wednesday, though with good local support it was business as usual. The mixed yarding had varied results, with a solid market for quality while lesser types softened. R2 Hereford-cross steers, 385386kg, softened to $2.73-$2.82/kg, while R2 heifers, 361-397kg, were

steady at $2.80-$2.96/kg. Friesiancross bulls, 381-432kg, managed $2.70-$2.71/kg. Autumn-born R2 HerefordFriesian heifers, 319kg, maintained levels of $2.80/kg, while Hereford-cross, 311kg, softened to $2.90/kg. The R1 pens managed steady returns for most, with the market strong for Hereford-Friesian lines and Friesian bulls. HerefordFriesian steers, 222-310kg, earned $900-$995, and heifers, 160-239kg, $550-$825. Most heavy beefcross heifers, 192-224kg, traded at $600-$715, while Angus-cross 183-226kg softened to $530-$780. Twenty-two Angus bulls, 239kg, sold well at $835, and Friesian bulls, 175-192kg, were solid at $630-$660. Autumn-born R1 HerefordFriesian steers, 108kg, managed $670, breaking the $6/kg mark. Heifers of the same breeding, 114-144kg, were steady at $510$560, as were bulls, 100-123kg, $630-$665. Friesian bulls were also steady with 111-159kg earning $532-$645. The prime market was solid and all steers 630-840kg managed $3.12-$3.16/kg, while AngusFriesian heifers, 411-432kg, traded at $2.80-$2.91/kg. The market was strong for 865 feeder calves on offer. Friesian bulls were steady with good types earning $160, medium $100 and small $40. Hereford-Friesian bulls lifted and good types returned $450, medium $330 and small $120. Quality improved from last sale in the Hereford-Friesian heifer pens and good types fetched $200, medium $130, and small $50. BAY OF PLENTY BAY OF PLENTY There were plenty of buyers at RANGIURU last Tuesday, but cattle numbers were seriously lacking. Prime prices were nothing short of outstanding but numbers very limited. Three small lines of steers were a mix of breeds and two lines at 690-696kg reached $3.28-$3.29/ kg, while a lighter line of Friesiancross made $3.09/kg. That trend continued into the small heifer section where two beef lines, 486520kg, sold for $3.12-$3.17/kg. Four Hereford-cross bulls, 562kg, also managed $3.11/kg. Boner prices were variable and those with better yields sold to $2.11$2.21/kg, while vetted-in-calf lines to a Hereford bull realised $1190$1330. The pace did not let up in the store pens for a mixed quality yarding of mostly heifers. R2 heifer prices were strong, with stand-out lines of Angus & Angus-Hereford and HerefordFriesian, 327-328kg, earning $2.99-$3.00/kg. The biggest section was the R1 heifers and feature lines included Angus-Friesian, 242kg, $840, and Hereford-Friesian, 211kg, $740. Lighter Hereford-Friesian, 137182kg, cracked $4.00/kg when they sold for $600-$750. KING COUNTRY KING COUNTRY The inclement weather caused a few access issues and some advertised stock did not make it to the TAUPO sale last Thursday, Central Livestock agent Shane Scott reported. Of those offered 99% were dairy-

beef, with most selling below expectations. R2 cattle were very limited and so the sale moved quickly into the R1 pens. An annual draft entry of quality Hereford-Friesian were penned and a line of 246kg steers managed $950, $3.86/kg. Heavier lines, 255-271kg, made $880-$920, $3.43-$3.45/kg. This scenario was repeated in the heifer pens, though for similar weights the range was $690-$775, and 188213kg, $600-$680. Two lines of Friesian & Friesian-cross bulls were variable, with 330kg making $900 and 206kg, $595. A consignment of autumn-born dairy-cross weaners were mainly Friesian-Jersey cross and they sold to market value. The steers traded at $250-$390, and bulls, $300$510. A small line of HerefordFriesian bulls, 205kg, topped the section at $580. TARANAKI TARANAKI More cattle came out of the woodwork at TARANAKI last Wednesday, with numbers growing to over 300 head. The older cattle market

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continued on a similar path as the fair with prime steers mostly trading at $3.10-$3.18/kg, though one line of Hereford-Friesian, 533kg, sold to $3.23/kg. A small line of 612kg heifers reached $3.07/kg. Demand for short term cattle is high and a small R2 entry could have sold twice over. All exotic, beef and beef-cross steers, 333-381kg, sold for $3.21-$3.31/ kg. Heifer prices were steady as Murray Grey-cross and beefFriesian, 356-417kg, traded at $2.78-$2.88/kg. Most of the action was in the R1 pens and there were good weighted lines in both the heifer and steer pens. Hereford-Friesian steers, 299-342kg, made $1010$1050, while Charolais-cross heifers, 327kg, sold for $950. A consignment of light AngusFriesian heifers, 148-182kg, suited budgets of $600 and less as they earned $525-$590. A stand-out line of R1 Hereford-Friesian bulls, 340kg, sold for $1090, $3.21/kg. POVERTY BAY POVERTY BAY Prime ewe tallies jumped up at MATAWHERO last Friday as scanned dries and wet-dries entered the yards. This market was firm, with the top line making $185, and the remainder, $120$167. Store ewes sold for $40-$111. The highlight of a small store lamb section was 59 heavy blackface ram lambs which sold to $190. Male lambs made $139-$140

and two lines of ewe lambs varied from $93 up to $128. A small entry of prime lambs made $129-$185. Around 40 calves were sold after the sheep and the best of the bulls were Hereford-Friesian at $205, with the balance selling down to $120. A consignment of 25 Kiwicross bulls ranged from $70 up to $120. Hereford-Friesian heifers made $172. HAWKE’S BAY HAWKE’S BAY A busy Wednesday store sale at STORTFORD LODGE was not without its dramas, though the markets themselves were positive. Both prime cattle and lamb volume doubled, but met keen interest. A consignment of 29 548kg Angus cows bumped up prime numbers last Monday and sold for $2.39/kg. A good buying bench was in place for the sheep section and the ewe market was strong. The heavier end strengthened, with very heavy ewes earning $173$197, and heavy lifting to $167$172.50. Very good through to lighter types were steady for the majority with good to very-good types earning $140-$148.50, medium to medium-good, $120$130, and light-medium, $110$117. Lamb throughput doubled on last sale, which may have contributed to a softer tones. Male lambs were steady for the majority with very heavy male and ram lines earning $212-$226. Other very heavy male lines had varied returns with all trading at $180-$210. Top mixed sex lambs lifted to $223.50-$236, while very heavy lines eased to $190-$199. Ewe lambs softened off of the highs seen at last sale with very heavy types returning $199-$211, and heavy ewes traded at $169.50$197. Demand was high across all the sheep pens last Wednesday, with strong returns for ewes with lambs-at-foot and heavy lambs. Lighter ewe lambs eased. A larger than usual entry of very heavy lambs were attracted by high prices and vendors were rewarded. Heavy male lambs traded at $174-$183, with one line of rams and another of mixed sex pushing to $196 and $197. Few males sold below this range. Good to heavy ewe lambs firmed to $165-$175, but anything lighter sold on a softer market. Good types eased to $132-$166, and medium, $125-$144. Good to heavy mixed sex made $152-$180, while medium-good types were steady at $130-$150. Small lines of good ewes with older, docked lambs sold to $132.50 all counted, while 5-year with multiple lambs made $123.50-$125. Lesser conditioned ewes dropped below $100 at $88$97 all counted. Angus featured in nearly all sections of the cattle sale and it was noted that short term cattle were top of many buying lists, while R1 cattle were carrying more weight than usual and met some resistance. Prices for short term cattle reached early high spring levels, and R3 Angus steers, 494-559kg, made $3.27-$3.38/kg, while lighter lines and R2 pushed to $3.40$3.50/kg. Some lines had been

yarded overnight and so attracted a higher $/kg level. A smaller bench of buyers was active in the R2 heifer pens but the market remained steady. Angus, 364-430kg, traded at $3.10-$3.20/ kg, while Hereford-Friesian also sold to good demand and made $2.88-$2.91/kg for 350-372kg. Two lines of R2 bulls, 432-445kg, sold on a softer market at $3.00$3.00/kg. It appeared buyers were not quite ready for younger cattle and the market was softer than anticipated, though still strong. Angus steers, 275-305kg, firmed to $4.06/kg, though two lines of Charolais-cross had a 30kg variance but made similar per head values at $1045-$1050. The heifer market was sticky and Angus, 207-223kg, made $845$880, while Hereford-Friesian, 173-182kg, traded at $600-$705. A line of 20 Friesian bulls, 257kg, fetched $895. MANAWATU MANAWATU Older cattle and weaner numbers were much lower at RONGOTEA last Wednesday, with most of the action in the R1 and feeder calf pens. Dexter featured in a few sections including boner cows, 373kg, at $1.50/kg, with Friesian reaching similar levels. R2 cattle were long term types and sold to limited interest. Angus-cross steers, 350kg, sold for $2.24/kg, while crossbred steers and heifers, 367-384kg, traded at $2.02-$2.07/kg. 15-month crossbred bulls, 415kg, returned $2.35/kg. A bit more volume and quality in the R1 pens meant more lively bidding. Hereford-Friesian steers, 185-247kg, sold for $670-$755, with heifers falling in a similar weight range and making $650$710. Most other steers were lighter types and at 155-180kg all sold for $560-$660. A heavy line of Dexter heifers, 259kg, managed $730, while 198-235kg Anguscross sold for $610. Dexter bulls were also offered and at 300kg sold for $785, though were bettered by heavy crossbred, 288kg, $795. Hereford-Friesian, 165kg, made $620, and Friesian, 200kg, $580. Weaner numbers were low and mostly Hereford-Friesian. Steers, 120kg, returned $605 and bulls 115kg, $500. The heifers came in at 105-121kg and sold for $510-$590. Calf numbers continue to grow and prices for bulls eased though a better quality offering of heifers sold on a firm market. The best of the Friesian bulls made $140-$200, and smaller calves, $60-$130. Good Hereford-Friesian sold to $140-$200 and second cuts, $80$130. Other breeds mainly sold for $80-$185, though Simmentalcross reached $285. Heifers firmed and Hereford-Friesian returned $130-$200 and $60-$120 for lighter types. Angus-cross made $145 and White Galloway, $170-$185. Mixed age ewes sold for $105, and mixed sex lambs, $120-$178. High prices continue to be the main attraction at the FEILDING prime sale, with lamb entries still high. Prices in the prime lamb pens firmed and the top price of the day was $230 for a line of very heavy cryptorchid. Very heavy lambs across the all sexes held value with most males and mixed

Markets

sex trading at $200-$230, while the top ewe lambs earned $194-$198. Prices for medium and heavy lines firmed and most other ewe lambs sold for $170-$188, and mixed sex $173-$190. The ewe section is just a formality at present. Most sold on a steady market at $146-$160, with medium types earning $123-$132. Cattle numbers were low but the market strong. One lone Angus steer, 600kg, sold up to $3.07.kg, while a Hereford cow managed $2.51/kg. The main feature was six Friesian cows, which sold on a firm market at $2.28-$2.31/kg for 470-490kg. A yarding of 380 head feeder calves sold on a mainly steady market. Good Friesian bulls made $180-$200, medium $120-$160 and small, $40-$100. HerefordFriesian returned $200-$260 and $130-$160. Most heifers were of same breeding and sold for $120$190. A smaller entry of 250 calves were offered at Manfield last Thursday. Hereford-Friesian bulls continued to sell on a solid market, but Friesian trended down. The highlights of the sale were a pen of Hereford-Friesian heifers which made $200, and Angus-cross bulls at $245. The best of the Friesian bulls made $165-$185, with medium types earning $100-$150. Hereford-Friesian bulls sold to $250-$305, and medium $140$200. Hereford-Friesian heifers reached $160-$200, and medium $95-$140. After a damp week sale-goers enjoyed the sunshine at FEILDING last Friday, though the brisk wind kept hands in pockets. Now that the hogget fair has passed store lamb throughput traditionally trends down, and that was again the case with just over 7000 lambs entered. Male numbers are coming to an end and buyers looked to secure what they could. Most sold over a tight range of $170-$187, which reflected the size of the lambs as well as a steady market. Just one decent line of mixed sex was penned, with 323 head making $171. Ewe lambs showed some softening for good types, with prices easing to $151-$168. Heavier types sold for $166-$187. There was a larger instance of very long term lambs and for the first time in quite a while a good portion of the sale sold at the lower end of the market at $91$135. While store lamb numbers fall ewes with lambs-at-foot are growing, and just over 440 ewes and 600 lambs were penned. Most ewes were Romney or Romneycross and of medium to mediumgood condition. Prices eased and just one line of 79 ewes with 106 forward terminal lambs exceeded $120 to sell for $124 all counted, with most other lines with similar lambs making $116-$118. A few pens with very young, docked lambs were offered and did not quite have the following of the older lambs, selling for $93-$95 all counted. It was back to big tallies in the rostrum with just over 1300 head advertised. Short term Angus steers were in high demand and 452-499kg, sold for $3.26-$3.34/kg,

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018 following a trend set at Stortford Lodge last Wednesday. Heifer prices were more variable and while good lines of traditionals reached $3.04-$3.13/kg, lesser sorts were well off the pace. Friesian bulls came back 11-15c/ kg, with 535-551kg earning $2.91$2.97/kg. A special entry of R1 Charolaiscross steers and heifers had quite the following and the steers, 237-300kg, made $920-$1200, with nearly all lines at $4.00/kg and better. The heifers, 264kg, returned $920. Traditional steers sold on a steady market. A big entry of Friesian bulls was harder work and prices eased on recent results. Three big lines, 290-295kg, all sold for $970 at $3.28-$3.35/kg, while lighter lines mainly traded at $600-$720. CANTERBURY CANTERBURY While the rostrum at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday was busy with small lines of store and prime cattle, the sheep pens were much quieter. A total of 2,265 sheep were penned, with the majority prime lambs. Prices firmed and 45% sold at $200-$228, with most other lines earning $170-$199. Third cuts returned $140-$169. In contrast ewes were virtually non-existent and prices remained on par. Very heavy ewes hit the same level as the top lambs at $200-$228, while heavy types made $170-$198, medium $145$169, and lighter, $129-$137. Quite a large entry of male adult sheep were also on offer and four wethers hit $221-$231, but rams mainly sold for $96-$106. Store lamb numbers fell below the 1,000 head mark and overall there was a slight softening to the market. However good mixed sex lifted to $140-$162, though ranges either side eased. Medium-good types sold for $128-$154. A busy day in the rostrum had 130 lots to sell, with moderate numbers of store cattle and a good yarding of prime. The prime market was very strong with prices lifting for most. Ranges of $3.12-$3.16/kg was common for high yielding beef steers. Forward stores and second cuts of the prime lines largely traded at $3.00-$3.10/kg. The Angus-cross heifers were a sight to see and the heaviest lines at 532-655kg sold to $2.96-$3.05/kg, though were bettered by Charolais, 540-770kg, $3.06-$3.10/kg. Local trade types earned $2.87-$2.97/kg regardless of breed. The bull pens included a consignment of beef-cross which sold well below market value at $2.35-$2.45/kg. R2 Hereford-cross heifers from the same property and 311-383kg were also good buying at $2.21-$2.59/kg, though shorter term lines made $2.89/kg. Short term cattle sold to high demand in the store pens. Angus steers, 379-401kg, earned $3.34$3.38/kg, with 30-60kg heavier lines making $3.21-$3.27/kg. Speckle Park, 411-452kg, sold for $3.23-$3.31/kg. Both the above breeds topped the heifer section as 396kg and 403kg made $3.18/kg and $3.23/kg respectively. The R1 market was disappointing as buyers were selective. Almost all the steers sold

for $670-$780, $3.40-$3.58/kg. Heifers traded at $3.26-$3.32/kg for Hereford-cross, but there were a number of lines that fell below $3.00/kg. After a run of warm, springlike weather a bitterly cold day at COALGATE last Thursday was a shock to the system, but luckily a bigger cattle sale and small sheep sale were free flowing for most and completed in good time. Store lamb numbers were very low at 200 head and quality mixed, which was reflected in the prices. One line of 41 ewe lambs reached $151, and better mixed sex types made $140-$148. Medium types sold for $110-$125. Prime lambs made up the majority of the yarding and heavy lines made steady returns, while medium types firmed. Heavy types traded at $190-$225, and medium $160-$189. Ewes were limited both in numbers and quality. A small top end achieved $200-$226, but from there most other pens were well spread through a $100 to $178 range.

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Good returns at auction are driving more cattle to the yards, and none more so than prime steers as 142 were penned. The market lifted despite the bigger entry and most prices varied from $3.00/kg up to $3.15/kg across all weights, from forward stores at 480kg up to finished lines at 630-650kg. For heavier types, 542-551kg, $3.04-$3.16/kg was common, while forward stores, 480-518kg, mainly traded at higher levels of $3.13-$3.25/kg. Prime beef heifers, 500-635kg, firmed to $3.03-$3.12/kg, with local trade, 443-450kg, earning $3.00-$3.05/kg. Store numbers also increased and older steers were the highlight, selling on a lifting market. Angus, 434-484kg, fetched $3.22-$3.25/kg, though HerefordFriesian, 394-455kg, were not far off the pace at $3.10-$3.16/kg. Heifers, 317-318kg, mostly traded at $2.83-$2.89/kg. A few autumn-born weaners came out, but interest for these was limited. All Hereford-Friesian bulls and heifers from one property sold for $380, while another consignment of mixed sex and heifers made $300. Friesian heifers, 136kg, also made $300. SOUTH CANTERBURY SOUTH CANTERBURY A quieter day at TEMUKA had fewer cattle and sheep, though still kept auctioneers busy. The store lambs included 1000 Merino wether hoggets which sold to keen interest. The highlight

was a line of 203 light-medium wethers at $179. The remainder traded at $110-$158, which was discounted on meat lines but still good value for these hoggets. Heavier store lambs hit price ceilings and eased, while medium types were more consistent. Males were in short supply and most were longer term types which sold for $140-$152. Heavy mixed sex eased to $164-$167, with good types also easing. Light to medium lambs still managed $127-$148, and ewe lambs sold well at $152$168. Heavier lambs were more in favour in the prime pens and firmed $2-$3 to $191-$221, while the remainder made $170-$189. For prime ewes it was business as usual. Volume did fall and heavier types sold to $200-$278, and medium to good, $140-$178. Lighter types returned $110-$137. Quality was not up to recent levels in the cattle pens and that caused the market to soften. Heifers bucked that trend though with strong results posted. A few steers managed to hit $3.00/kg, but a drop in quality in the beef-cross pens did soften the market and 555-700kg eased to $2.98/kg, with most lines across the steer section trading at $2.93$2.99/kg. In contrast the prime heifer market was stronger. Angus, 513530kg, traded at $2.87-$2.97/kg, and Hereford, 543-560kg, $2.88$2.91/kg. Second cuts fetched $2.75-$2.83/kg. Dairy heifers eased though and few exceeded $2.00/kg as Friesian, 365-416kg, traded at $1.80-$1.99/kg. Cow results were mixed with prime beef lines selling well, while boner prices eased. Prices of $2.20-$2.33/kg were common through the prime pens, though higher yielding Simmental-cross, 684kg, realised $2.41/kg. Better yielding Friesian, 493-563kg, managed $2.05-$2.12/kg, but lesser types in a 385-538kg range dropped to $1.80-$1.94/kg. OTAGO OTAGO While a big yarding of cattle took some of the focus away from the sheep pens at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday, no one was in any doubt of the strength of all the markets. The sheep market was a mirror image of the previous week, with all classes maintaining the high levels set, PGG Wrightson agent Alex Horn reported. A feature in the store lamb pens was good quality medium ewe lambs which traded up to $140-$150, while other good types realised $130-$150. Medium lines were steady at $120-$130, and light, $100-$120. Prime lamb volume was considered to be medium and prices were on par with the previous week. Heavy types made $170-$201, medium $150-$170 and third cuts, $130-$150. That was repeated in the ewe pens where steady prices across the board had heavy types at $180$201, medium $130-$180 and light, $90-$130. Two-tooths sold to $125-$140, medium $110-$125 and light $98-$110, while rams sold for $30-$80. The much anticipated store cattle sale drew out good quantities of buyers and cattle, and strong results will no doubt

entice more of the latter out. Premiums were paid across all classes for straight beef cattle, though dairy-beef lines sold well relative to past market values. R2 beef mixed sex, 350-500kg, sold for $3.00-$3.30/kg, while dairy-beef, 350-450kg, returned $2.90-$3.10/ kg. High demand for straight beef R1 cattle meant mixed sex, 200-350kg, made a premium of $4.00-$4.30/kg over dairy-beef at $3.20-$3.70/kg. Friesian bulls of same weight returned $2.80$3.20/kg. SOUTHLAND SOUTHLAND Store cattle were a big feature at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday, and the mainly R1 lineup sold on a solid market. The sheep market was marginally softer last week though that was due to the quality penned rather than market movements. Good store lambs sold to $125$135, medium $110-$120 and light, $90-$105. Tail-end lambs made $45-$55, and ewes with lambs-at-foot $115 all counted. Heavy prime lambs made steady returns at $172-$190, though medium types eased $8 to $151-$169. Lighter lines also softened to $142-$150. A lesser quality yarding of ewes also did not reach the high prices of the previous week. Heavy types made $165, medium $134-$142, and light, $94-$122. Two-tooth’s sold for $121-$134, and rams, $82-$92. The prime cattle yarding was small but the market strong. Medium steers and good heifers, 400kg plus, all traded at $2.90$3.00/kg, with medium dairy heifers making $2.00-$2.20/kg. Cows, 460kg plus, firmed to $1.90$2.05/kg, and 420kg, $1.82-$1.92/ kg. Store cattle came forward in good numbers. R2 Friesian steers, 369kg, made $2.73/kg, and Murray Grey-cross heifers, 368kg, $2.71/kg. These were matched by Hereford-cross bulls, 365kg. Demand was strong in the R1 pens and quality lines were chased. Charolais-cross mixed sex, 322kg, sold well at $1110, while Angus-cross steers, 290-300kg, made $1000-$1030. Heifers of same breeding and similar weight earned $950-$1000. Herefordcross bulls, 230kg, returned $700$730, and Friesian, 220-246kg, $700-$750. A small yarding of beef-cross feeder calves met good demand and very good Hereford-Friesian bulls sold to $195, with good types earning $155. Friesian bulls returned $70. Hereford-Friesian heifers sold for $140-$150. ‘Firm market’ was the catch phrase for the CHARLTON sale last Thursday, with all classes in that boat, PGG Wrightson agent Greg Clearwater reported. A feature in the store lamb pens was a consignment of capital stock ewe hoggets. The top draft sold for $178, with the second cut earning $166. Top store lambs made $140, medium $115-$125, and very small $65. Prime sheep numbers were also limited and the best of the lambs made $190, with medium types earning $165-$180 and lighter, $140-$150. A firm market for ewes had heavy types at $182, medium $145-$160 and light, $110-$120. Rams ranged from $70 up to $100.

Markets

48 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – August 27, 2018 UREA

NI SLAUGHTER STEER

NI SLAUGHTER LAMB

($/T)

($/KG)

R3 ANGUS STEERS, 495-560KG, AT STORTFORD LODGE

($/KG)

($/KG LW)

5.75

523

8.35

3.33

high $4.00-$4.30/kg lights Mixed sex, R1 beef cattle, 200-350kg, at Balclutha

Dairy buyers holding off hugh.stringleman@nzx.com

REFLECTION: Dairy commodity prices reflect general weakness in fat markets though they are firming in Europe, RabaResearch analyst Emma Higgins says.

At this stage buyers are in no rush to procure stock. Emma Higgins RaboResearch

maintaining its milk price forecast at $6.80/kg for the new season. Other commentators have $6.50 predictions and say there is significant downside risk that suggests Fonterra will have to revise its $7 forecast downwards. ASB senior rural economist Nathan Penny said the recent falls in the value of the NZ dollar against the US dollar were partly reversed in recent days and are no longer providing a boost to dairy returns. AgriHQ dairy analyst Amy Castleton said her computerised model indicates a farmgate milk price of $6.43 based on the last GDT results and the futures prices.

OCEANIA is a bit of an anomaly in dairy commodity markets. Prices are falling here but have started to lift again in both Europe and the United States. Prices fell 3.6% at the August 21 Amy Castleton Global Dairy Trade (GDT) event, AgriHQ Analyst largely because of plummeting milk fat prices. Butter prices fell 8.5% while anhydrous milk fat prices fell 6.9%. Prices had been expected to fall but this was a much larger drop than expected. Extra volume of both butter and AMF had been put on GDT ahead of the August 21 event, which seems to have been the main driver of the fall. Oceania is the cheapest source for milk fat at the moment. European butter prices remain well over US$6000/t – at least US$2000/t higher than Oceania prices. European prices were also starting to ease but have resumed their upward trend over the past week. US butter prices are about US$5100/t. Oceania prices are expected to lift; however, the market is uncertain and Oceania processors are reluctant to sell at such low levels – though there is plenty of demand. We could just as easily see a bit more of a fall before we see any increase. The falls at the most recent GDT event have done nothing for certainty on milk prices this season. Fonterra’s $7/kg of milksolids forecast for the 2018-19 season is looking increasingly ambitious. The AgriHQ milk price forecast for 2018-19 is $6.43/kg MS. The September 2019 milk price futures contract trading on the NZX Dairy Derivatives market was priced at $6.47/kg MS on Friday, having fallen 13 cents from a week earlier. Whole milk powder, the key component of NZ’s milk price, was down 2.1% at the most recent GDT event. The Derivatives market expects WMP prices to continue falling in September then lift through the rest of NZ’s dairy season. However, prices are expected to remain under US$3000/t until mid-2019. amy.castleton@nzx.com

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As the world’s largest producer of tradable butter Fonterra has done particularly well from the very high prices but now appears to be precipitating the price decline. RaboResearch dairy analyst Emma Higgins said lower GDT prices reflect general weakness in fat markets offshore though they are beginning to firm in Europe.

“The lift in volumes of both AMF and butter on the GDT, by 5000 tonnes over the next 12 months, wouldn’t have helped these results,” she said. “The general feel is that NZ milk production is anticipated to be plentiful with benign weather conditions suggesting a strong start to the season and helped further by farmgate milk prices remaining strong. “At this stage buyers are in no rush to procure stock and are happy to wait and see how our spring peak pans out.” RaboResearch still anticipates milk production across the season to lift by 2% and is for the present

R1 Charolais-cross steers, 280-300kg, at Feilding

Prices falling only in Oceania region

Hugh Stringleman ORLD milk fat product prices have slid a long way off their 2017 highs and are now threatening to pull down farmgate milk prices as the New Zealand spring flush begins. NZ dairy farms have most of their cows calved and in milk and are approaching the early September balance date, when warmer weather gives pasture growth in excess of the herd’s daily needs. International buyers of dairy products await news of NZ spring weather and milk production prospects before committing themselves to big buys, dairy analysts say. The Global Dairy Trade index of prices fell 3.6% at the latest auction but that was not on news of any change in dairy fundamentals of supply and demand. The fall in butter prices of 8.5% and in anhydrous milk fat of 6.9% was a result of bigger quantities to be placed by Fonterra on the auction platform over the next 12 months. At US$4400/tonne butter is back to where it was 18 months ago before it soared to the record highs of $6000 a year ago. At $5300 AMF has returned to a level last seen in late 2016 and is now 24% below the record $6885 in November last year.

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