Farmers Weekly NZ February 20 2017 by AgriHQ

20 World champ talks success Vol 16 No 7, February 20, 2017

farmersweekly.co.nz

Time to deliver Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com

TOUGH outlook for meat and fibre farmers facing the most challenging economic conditions for years means it is time for industry research projects to deliver results, Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman Rick Powdrell says. And more big bumps in the road ahead called for unity among farmers and industry leaders. The industry was the meat in the sandwich of global ructions and wool was the biggest victim. “We all know that wool is at a very low point at the moment with trade to China pretty much nonexistent and we are monitoring that very closely,” Powdrell said. China was a primary market for New Zealand but with the politically unstable state of the world, China was very mindful of the trade disruption, not just for wool, so was running all its stocks down. “That uncertainty is making other players cautious and wool has been caught right in the middle of it all,” Powdrell said. “The high level of global uncertainty is really affecting farmers and listening to the Reserve Bank governor (Graeme Wheeler) it, too, is sitting on the fence due to the unstable global trading environment.” The industry had a number of Primary Growth Partnerships (PGPs) under way.

WHERE TO FROM HERE? Farmers need results from wool research because the medium term prospects keep disappearing into the distance, Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman Rick Powdrell says.

“But to date farmers would say they have not seen any results as yet. “Both industry and Government have given a substantial level of funding support to these PGPs and they need to deliver,” Powdrell said. “Hopefully they will look at the fundamentals of how and what we do in the industry and those results will see benefits for everyone. “The big questions is how long do we wait?” Farmers were forever hearing

the medium term looked promising. “But at the moment the medium term keeps running away into the distance and we are not catching up and that is of concern to farmers.” For a number of years leaders had talked about a positive outlook for industry returns in the medium term. “I believe the medium term continues to run in front of us with the risk of a significant industry not existing when we catch up to it.

“I always find it interesting to witness the different response from the powers that be to severe economic stress in the dairy industry as against meat and fibre – perhaps the meat and fibre farmers are more resilient,” he said. “Admittedly, three years ago nobody would have foreseen that the United Kingdom would be leaving the European Union and Donald Trump would be leading the United States. “These two events have and will continue to influence world

trade markets for some time.” After increasing elimination of trade barriers it appeared unrest in world markets was prompting governments to review their stance and barriers once again presented various challenges for NZ exporters. But farmers must concentrate on the elements of their business they could influence, leaving the uncontrollable factors beyond the farmgate to others. “It will be vitally important that our industry leaders approach the big bumps ahead of us in a unified manner. “As an industry, from farmers up, we have not been as good at being unified as we will need to be going forward,” he said. “Without unity we run the risk of not achieving the best outcomes for all participants. “The future of sheep and beef production in NZ will struggle if we continue to see declining numbers as loss of scale continues to pressure returns at all steps of the value chain.” The longer the situation prevailed, the more the ability of industry participants to reinvest in the industry declined and opened more opportunity for foreign investment, Powdrell said. At the same time farmers faced increasing regulation, particularly for water and the environment, rising costs and the increasing influence of activist groups. “The key to knuckling down in 2017 to face all the issues will be our ability to engage, be unified and move in the same direction.”

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NEWS

OPINION

Soil Moisture Anomaly (mm) at 9am February 17, 2017

60 Wetter than

normal (mm)

-10

4 Prices for good wool on the rise

24 Alternative View

Good style and colour crossbred wool finally made it into the positive column at Thursday’s wool sales after months of falling prices.

Alan Emerson is not so sweet on manuka.

7 Co-op’s job to encourage loyalty

Cartoon �� 22

Silver Fern Farms Co-op is encouraging loyalty among suppliers and incentivising those who aren’t shareholders to join.

12 Farmers return to herd-testing An improvement in herd-testing returns was a feature of LIC’s first-half trading with higher revenues and profits.

Rural people help fire response �� 3 Prices for good wool on the rise �� 4 Farmers question accounts in plan �� 5 Co-op’s job to encourage loyalty �� 7

-20

Editorial �� 22

Alternative View �� 24 From the Ridge �� 24

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

REGULARS Real Estate �� 26-39 Employment �� 40-41 Classifieds �� 41 Livestock �� 42-43

MARKETS

Farmers return to herd-testing ��12 Rural sports award nominees named ��16 Hives on track with BuzzTech ��18

success

Map reading tips

Meaty Matters �� 25

Keeping BVD out the best option ��11

There was nothing glamorous for John Kirkpatrick after being crowned the best shearer on the planet.

Drier than normal (mm)

Pulpit �� 21

Wet hits cows, crops, spirits ��10

20 Right gear the secret to

-50

Letters �� 22-23

Dairy farms should be in profit �� 8

NEWSMAKER

-30

48 Cattle prices hold up Cattle sales and prices are holding up well despite dry conditions taking the shine off slightly but supply/ demand issues are looming.

Market Snapshot �� 44

Job

of the

Week

Block manager – Piquet Hill Farms is seeking an enthusiastic and self-motivated person to work on its sheep and beef property at Te Akau, Waikato. The family-owned business has about 1700 hectares of hill country farmland running a successful ram stud operation as well as providing breeding bulls to the dairy industry. For the full job description visit the Farmers Weekly jobs site: farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz and click on Manager category. To find all other agjobs click on All Categories. #agjobs at your fingertips.

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

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News

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

Rural people help fire response Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com RURAL communities rallied as fire rampaged across 2000 hectares of Christchurch’s Port Hills in what was described as the biggest and worst fire in New Zealand. At least two farm houses and several sheds were destroyed with many others damaged while stock losses were yet to be determined, North Canterbury Rural Support Trust and Federated Farmers spokeswoman Pam Richardson said. Farmers hardest hit were in the Cashmere area with hundreds of hectares of forestry blocks and lifestyle farmlets close to the Christchurch City boundary also falling victim to the raging inferno. “It’s just been such a ruthless fire and it is early days. “Many farmers have had to leave their properties and have not been allowed back yet so we have no idea at this stage what the extent of homes, stock, property and farm building losses will be,” Richardson said. “What we do know is that it has been mayhem but as rural communities do, the rural people have rallied from far and wide.

“Everybody is toeing the line,” Richardson said. One young farming couple forced to flee their property managed to get their lambs and cattle out but some tough decisions had to be made. Livestock agents and trucking companies were on hand and the 600 lambs went straight to the store market while alternative grazing was found for the cattle. Federated Framers had shepherds and dogs on hand and Banks Peninsula farmers were taking stock, Richardson said. “It’s been simply amazing and particularly great to have the local knowledge that has been of huge help to the firefighters as well. “We have been trying to make contact with as many farmers as we can and it’s been absolutely amazing how over joyed people have been to hear from us.” “There’s fencing down everywhere. Once they can get back farmers will be chasing stock for several days,” she said. McVicar Timber reported forestry losses climbing into the millions of dollars. Volunteers from 26 rural fire crews with pumps and tankers

CHASING SMOKE: The Mayfield rural fire unit used its Smoke Chaser to get to hot spots fire trucks couldn’t access.

FLYING SQUAD: Helicopters were used to help fight the fires on rural land near Christchurch.

from around Canterbury were among the more than 400 firefighters, 14 helicopters and three planes that battled the blaze. Ravensdown also had planes in the air dropping fire retardant. Mayfield Rural Fire from Mid Canterbury had four firefighters and their specially designed Smoke Chaser pump and tanker trailer unit dampening hotspots all day Thursday. “It is a pretty new unit we made up. It hasn’t been used that much but it had a pretty good workout today and worked extremely well,” Mayfield Rural Fire deputy chief Alex Quigley said. “We surely pumped a lot of water. It’s been a long, hot, tiring day but with the chaser we were able to get to places that the fire trucks couldn’t access,” he said. While he was taking time out to get married on Saturday Quigley

said the crew would take the unit back to the Port Hills over the coming week if they were called. With firefighting resources stretched to the limit national rural fire officer Kevin O’Connor suspended all fire permits in Canterbury until further notice. A total fire ban was declared for Canterbury on Thursday. In Hawke’s Bay raging grassland fires near Hastings early last week were put out before causing significant damage to farmland. The biggest threat was to lifestyle blocks in the Waimarama area, with more than 20 homes evacuated, as strong winds pushed the fire westwards through very dry territory. Hastings District Council had quickly declared a state of emergency, ensuring sufficient resources were quickly put in place to fight the fires.

Photo: Supplied

But this is only the beginning of the journey and once access is allowed back to the properties the extent of that journey will be realised. Pam Richardson Rural Support There were about five fires in all. Hawke’s Bay Federated farmers chairman Will Foley said he had not heard of any stock losses on commercial farms. At Te Hauke a fire had damaged water supply infrastructure on one farm, with lesser impact on two neighbouring farms.

Wairere turned our in

They look after you

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Robin and Karl Farrell farm a 336ha breeding block at Tiriraukawa near Taihape, plus a terminal flock on a second property of 340ha. The 1600 ewes on the breeding block were lambing at 115% nine years ago, but the change to Wairere Romney has seen recent years at 155% average. The weaning weight has also improved from 28kg to 32kg. “The key is the great survival in both ewes and lambs; we lost only 11 ewes last year, and our scanning to docking wastage was just 16%. The heavy weaning weight allows us to sell more lambs at weaning and look after the ewes and replacements. Look after the ewes and they look after you.”

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News

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

Trump blamed for Chinese absence Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com MANY Otago sheep farmers are holding back a lot of wool from sale because of low prices, Federated Farmers provincial chairman Simon McAtamney says. “It means there’s a big stockpile to work through and that’s likely to keep prices depressed.” McAtamney, who was on the national meat and fibre industry group, said one theory for the continued near absence of Chinese buyers at auction, the major reason for the fall in prices, was that manufacturers there feared trade tariffs being put in place in the United States by president Donald Trump. Most Chinese end-products were sold in the US and the issue was likely to take some time to play out, one way or the other. While a lot of farmers were holding onto their wool, Balclutha farmer McAtamney was shearing and selling

to keep wool and cashflow moving. While prices were very low, money still could be made from a ewe fleece because of the volume of wool. “If you’re getting 3kg to 4kg of wool, that means $8 to $10 a fleece, against shearing costs in the $3.50 to $4.50 range.” He didn’t shear lambs but said prices mean farmers who did would be struggling to make money. Wool made up about 15% of McAtamney’s sheep income last financial year, including a period of higher prices, but he reckoned the figure would be below 10% this year. He thought meat returns from lambs were tracking well this year and they might have been $10 a head higher except for the impact of the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom last year. Generally, McAtamney said the wool sector was suffering from a fractured industry, with farmers having a lack of market information.

Prices for good wool on the rise Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com GOOD style and colour crossbred wool finally made it into the positive column at Thurday’s wool sales after months of falling prices. “It’s on very limited volumes because there’s a lot of wool withdrawn from the market but it’s a milestone after all this time,” PGG Wrightson South Island auctioneer Dave Burridge said. Only about 20% to 30% of wool offered had the good style/colour status and was sought after, with prices above $4kg/clean for the best 37 micron longer lengths. Good lamb wool and second shear was fairly steady and that was seen as a victory given the state of the market, Burridge said. Growers were taking their wool out of the sales as a signal to overseas buyers of serious resistance to the low prices and that was starting to have an impact.

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Of the 15,500 bales offered for the Christchurch and Napier sales, 2500 were withdrawn before the auctions, NZ Wool Services International marketing manager Malcolm Ching said. The pass-in rate for remaining bales over the two sales was about 30%. Having a lot of wool taken out of the market had helped prices, along with the currency being steady and signs of a better tone at the previous week’s Napier sale, Ching said. “But, really, we’re struggling to make it look rosy.

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Wool price can’t go much lower Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com

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HARD WORK: It’s a struggle to make the wool price look rosy, NZ Wool Services International marketing manager Malcolm Ching says.

“Some of the gain is from exporters having to buy because they’ve got no stocks to ship out or they’ve even been caught with short positions rather than an indication of overseas demand.” Prices were still shockingly low and a 4% to 7% lift on a $3 price or less was nothing but if the trend emerging now continued, the bottom of the market might have been reached. A risk now was that at some point a lot of the wool being held back by farmers could come on the market at the same time as soon as a price recovery looked like it might set in, creating further falls. Exporters and brokers had met to discuss that and the industry needed to ensure that supply came back on gradually, Ching said. Demand had been opportunist and very targeted at the best wool and often the wool of the next length or colour quality was ignored by buyers. A 12-month fleece, 38 micron of four to six inches and very good quality and colour made up to $4.15/kg clean in the South Island and $3.70 in the North Island. Average style was $3.55/kg clean, and poorer wool $2.90.

THE collapse of the coarse wool price is purely a supply and demand issue, industry leader Derrick Millton says. He thought there would be a recovery because it was at a point it couldn’t go much lower and said farmers holding back from supplying wool were taking the right approach. “Enough is enough and that’s what I’ll be doing, without being too militant about it,” Millton, who is chairman of the main wool research funding group WR (formerly the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand), said. He put the collapse in the price of strong wool down mainly to China’s virtual absence from the market, as well as currency issues facing some other markets. “It’s disappointing but I think prices will quietly draw back up. It’s a question of who’s in the market.” He feared if the wool price remained very low, the quality of wool would fall away as farmers reduced shed handling resources or threw all the wool together to save sorting costs. The problem was clearly with

strong wool, with Merino and midmicrons having their established markets. “There’s still a need for wool. You don’t see it lying round not being used.” WR, along with Crown agencies and partner companies, funded much of the wool research in NZ, aimed at finding new uses for product to lift the value of the clip. Millton said the work was taking time but was confident the operating company Wool Industry Research was working well in finding new uses, outside of carpets, and deconstructing the wool fibre to put it into a usable state. “It’s going from strength to strength. “We think there are completely new uses which could absorb big volumes” They involved foams, powders and gels for use in skin and health care and other products for use in low-micron fashion garments and for filtration products. The WR funds came from the income from an investment fund set up with residual wool industry money several years ago. The fund was conservatively managed to protect the capital base and was worth close to $38 million, Millton said.

News

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

Farmers question accounts in plan Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com

SET LIMITS: Farmers can still make submissions on the Healthy Rivers plan to say how much information they want to give to Waikato Regional Council, Federated Farmers provincial president Chris Lewis says.

to enable Overseer calculations on nutrient and feed inputs to be calculated accurately, with the remainder providing enough information through physical onfarm data. Waikato Federated Farmers president Chris Lewis challenged any plans that might include a requirement to furnish financial data. “A good management plan could be done by a registered farm consultant rather than having your business micro-managed by filing IRD accounts to the council. No other authority takes this approach. It is authoritarian and intrusive.” However, he also cautioned the

Healthy Rivers plan was in its early stages, with submissions still to close off in early March. “There are aspects of this plan farmers think are good but others like this that are worrying. We are also concerned about how secure that information would be, given councils tend to leak like sieves.” Like farmers or anyone in the community affected by Healthy Rivers, council staff could submit on the Healthy Rivers plan. That would provide an avenue for any increases in information requirements, should they maintain more information was required. Full submissions would become public on March 8.

The council was keeping the door open on exactly what information farmers would have to give. A spokesman said the council was still working through the detail of the exact reporting requirements farmers would have to meet under their FEPs, with discussion with relevant farming sectors about the shape of the industry-led schemes. “There are also new requirements for farmers to register their property and provide information about their land use and nitrogen losses to (the) council. Many of these reporting requirements will be new to most farmers.”

No other authority takes this approach. It is authoritarian and intrusive. Chris Lewis Federated Farmers

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FARMERS feel they are in the dark about how much information they will have to supply to Waikato Regional Council under its proposed Healthy Rivers plan. Speculation has been strong among the region’s farming community about whether the council would seek access to farm financial records as part of the information the plan would require. Schedule B in the plan laid out the information requirements for properties greater than 20ha, including furnishing a Farm Environment Plan (FEP) to manage losses of contaminants from farms. The FEPs were expected to be part of industry-led and endorsed environment management schemes to ensure consistency and accuracy. In the unlikely event some farmers chose to opt out of an industry scheme, they would be required to apply for a resource consent and file an FEP. They would also have to report back to the council on their management of it. Farmer concerns were spurred by a notification letter sent from the council to a farmer in the Lake Taupo catchment, itself subject to land use consent to farm under Variation 5, which was developed to protect the lake’s water quality. That notification asked the farmer to file a full set of monthly stock reconciliations, invoices on livestock sale and purchase, grazing invoices and feed and nutrient data. It also asked him to forward annual accounts for the property for the past financial year. However, not all farmers in the Taupo catchment were providing financial information. It was understood about a third of the 80 farming consent holders provided farm account details

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News

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

Co-op’s job to encourage loyalty Neal Wallace neal.wallace@nzx.com SILVER Fern Farms Co-op is encouraging loyalty among suppliers and incentivising those who aren’t shareholders to join. More details were released at the co-op’s annual meeting about how the company’s new structure would function now the operating arm of the business, SFF Ltd, was jointly-owned by Shanghai Maling and SFF Co-op. In a move to create loyalty among existing shareholders, from this year those owning shares at a predetermined level would receive a rebate payment set by the co-op board from dividends from SFF Ltd. SFF Ltd had a policy of distributing half its profits to its shareholders. A patronage programme, also based on shareholding, would offer preferential killing space, access to value-add programmes such as Reserve Beef and Venison Global Retail and other company incentives. Chairman Rob Hewett told the 30 people at the meeting the role of SFF Co-op was to appoint five directors to SFF Ltd, to build governance skill and capability, to maximise investment

DIFFICULT YEAR: Silver Fern Farms Co-op chairman Rob Hewett addresses the company’s annual meeting in Dunedin.

opportunities including developing supplier loyalty, to ensure agreements with SFF Ltd were being met and to manage the affairs of the co-op. Speaking after the meeting Hewett said the co-op would not employ anyone but would contract expertise as needed. Three of five co-op directors to serve on SFF Ltd would be farmerelected and two independent.

Those directors were Hewett, Dan Jex-Blake, Trevor Burt, Jane Taylor and Richard Young. Earlier he described the last financial year as extremely difficult in which progress in operating efficiency and growing chilled and added-value products were offset by difficult market conditions and an unfavourable exchange rate. Revenue was down 12% to $2.2

billion, despite maintaining its share of processed livestock, with the company reporting a $7.5 million loss after depreciation and interest and before impairment and tax. That compared to a $30.8m profit a year earlier. Hewett said all classes of livestock processed nationally last year were back 5%. Chief executive Dean Hamilton said the unfavourable exchange rate was again hurting exporters even though markets for all species were favourable. Shareholders asked several questions about foreign currency hedging and the sustainability of low lamb prices. Hamilton acknowledged prices were low but said the only way to improve them was from the market, which it was doing through value-added products. “We can only grow it as fast as customers allow.” Branded and value-added sales grew 31% last year and December sales of branded retail packs in NZ were the highest ever. It felt as though the meat industry was assuming responsibility for the problems of the sheep industry, given low wool prices, Hewett said. The $267m investment from

Shanghai Maling would provide capital to invest in developing branded product specifically in NZ, Germany, China and the United States. Hamilton said he wasn’t reading the last rites on the Trans Pacific

It felt as though the meat industry was assuming responsibility for the problems of the sheep industry, given low wool prices. Rob Hewett Silver Fern Farms Partnership just yet but if it failed NZ’s greatest missed opportunity was improved access to the Japanese market. And it could be another year before chilled meat protocols were established with China. Looking ahead Hamilton said the company was making progress, management remained disciplined and SFF Co-op would benefit from a stronger capital base. ADVERTISEMENT

What impact are mineral decisions having on the bottom line? Julie Wagner

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Just like soil, if your stock don’t have the required amounts of the right minerals (including trace elements) their productivity will be negatively affected. It is a balancing act to make sure your stock have everything they need to perform, without compromising farm profitability. Combining mineral information from dietary inputs and animal testing gives you the opportunity to establish customised mineral programmes best suited to meet your stock needs. Irrespective of your farming operation, following the simple process below will help maximise animal performance. Developing a balanced mineral programme Start by collecting information on the key minerals from: 1. Animal and pasture tests 2. Other non-pasture feed supplements 3. Other mineral inputs Animal testing is the definitive way to confirm whether there may be shortfalls in your current mineral programme. Liver, blood, and tissue samples all

provide important information. Some tests will be better than others in terms of the results they provide e.g. liver copper is preferable than blood copper. It’s also important to ensure the sample is representative of the herd (or flock). Animals should be on the farm for several weeks before testing. Avoid testing sick, old, diseased, or recently treated animals. Mineral interactions, physiological differences, and animal disease can all have an adverse effect on mineral uptake, that’s why herbage samples are the next best source of information. While they won’t always directly relate to levels in your stock, they will give a good indication of where issues may occur. To get the most from herbage tests, it is important that samples are taken from grass that is actively growing e.g. when moisture and temperature are not limiting pasture growth. Samples should always represent what your animals are actually eating. Collect samples from a number of paddocks across the

Part three of a four-part series for farmers on best practice for managing animal health and welfare on-farm. farm to get a clearer picture of the farm’s mineral balance. At best it will only be a snap-shot of a particular point in time. Non-pasture supplements such as PKE and fodder beet will impact on the mineral budget. Some supplementary feed options have known mineral anomalies - PKE has a relatively high copper content, and maize is low in sodium, calcium and

magnesium. It is important to account for these variables, when feeding these supplements in large amounts over an extended period of time, because this will impact on stock mineral levels.

Ravensdown animal health advisors can help you build a full picture of your farm’s mineral position and customise a programme to optimise stock productivity.

Other mineral inputs, including drenches, injections and fertiliser additives, will also affect the mineral budget, so make sure these are discussed with a trusted advisor.

To view the previous best practice articles, search ‘animal health’ at ravensdown.co.nz.

News

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

Dairy farms should be in profit Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com DAIRY farmers should plan for another season of $6-plus payout and should be able to make money sustainably, MyFarm Rural Investments chief executive Andrew Watters believes. The milk price for this season now looked secure at $6 to $6.25/ kg milksolids and budgeting for next season for the dairy farm syndicates under MyFarm management would start at $6. Watters published a note to clients headed Dairy to have at least two good years? “This season is almost done and dusted and it looks as though the milk price will be higher than Fonterra’s current $6 forecast. “Hedging will have locked in the $NZ at good prices and just over 75% of product due to be sold has been sold on GDT.” He thought $6, rather than $7, was a good starting point for next season’s budgets. Because of the lower cost structures farmers had to use during the downturn, $6 returns were profitable and sustainable. The MyFarm syndicates, on average, were forecast to generate an Ebitda of $2.64/kg this season despite slightly lower production with the difficult weather. “At this milk price, dairy farms will be returning to significant profitability as a result of these two good seasons. We no longer need $7/kg to be profitable.” Watters said the 43 MyFarm syndicated dairy farms, mostly in the South Island, were 1.6% behind last season in milk production. Chasing milk production was a mirage because extra milk meant supply/demand imbalance, lower prices and higher costs. Farms needed a cost structure that emphasised all-grass feeding with a little supplementation and that was repeatable for year-on-

ALMOST THERE: It is close but not quite time for MyFarm to invest further in the dairy industry, chief executive Andrew Watters says.

Bottom line, it pays to be cautious in thinking about next season as margins may not be as comfortable as seemed likely six weeks ago. J T Macfarlane MyFarm year weather changes and volatile international dairy prices. When asked if his overview of prices and prospects suggested a time for re-investment in the dairy

WORLD LEADING

industry arranged by MyFarm, Watters said, “close, but not quite.” “For farmer investors, interest is probably coming back into the market but non-farmers remain cautious and would like to see higher returns yet. “We are certainly looking (for suitable purchases), whereas we weren’t looking last year.” But Watters also drew attention to some negative trends mentioned in an early-February blog by MyFarm director and former investment banker J T Macfarlane. The NZ-born, Melbournebased commodities specialist was commenting before the latest Global Dairy Trade auction rise of 1.3%, including whole

milk powder (WMP) up 1%. WMP futures prices had fallen across all contract dates, skim milk powder prices in Europe and the United States had fallen about 10% because of the “hangover” of discount intervention stocks and there was considerable weakness in the outlook for the 2017-18 season. His conclusion was a forecast $6/kg milk price, not $7, Macfarlane said. “Bottom line, it pays to be cautious in thinking about next season as margins may not be as comfortable as seemed likely six weeks ago.” AgriHQ dairy analyst Susan Kilsby agreed with MyFarm on the $6-plus outlook for 2017-

18 season, though the price for milk futures on the NZX Dairy Derivatives market had fallen 15c recently to be at $6.30. For this season, milk futures were at $6.20, which indicated the market believed Fonterra’s forecast would move higher and next season would be slightly better for farmers than this season. Synlait’s increase of 25c to $6.25 last week was also a boost to expectations of a higher Fonterra forecast announcement imminently, she said. That was because Synlait, as a private company, wouldn’t knowingly expose itself to pay more than Fonterra, the benchmarking co-operative.

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News

10 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017

Wet hits cows, crops, spirits Anne Hardie WEST Coast dairy farmers who have spent much of summer in their wet weather gear now face a winter feed shortage because less supplements were made and crops were left struggling. From Karamea in the north to Franz Josef in the south, the sun seldom appeared through spring and summer and DairyNZ senior consulting officer Ross Bishop said the wet conditions had been unrelenting. “The overwhelming sentiment is they just want to see the back of it. “It’s one of the wettest seasons farmers have experienced for 20 years at least.” In some areas it had been wet since the end of May, especially through the pre-calving period, with no chance for the ground to dry out since then. Winter crops were planted late because the ground was too wet then farmers were forced to plant alternative crops that yielded less and they were now struggling to get going, he said. Many did not get the chance to harvest supplements and low

returns meant there were fewer opportunities to remedy the situation. “The proactive ones are getting in and making early decisions because the longer you hold off making a decision, the fewer options you have.”

The coast is tight on money at the moment and every dollar counts but if they try to milk right through, they’re going to run out of feed. Simon Pontin FarmWise It was a similar situation to drought and farmers needed to look at shorter lactations, grazing off and buying in supplements as options. It was a depressing time for farmers and they needed to look after themselves, staff and

neighbours and spend time off the farm to relieve the stress. FarmWise consultant Simon Pontin said the weather had created a gloomy picture for West Coast dairy farmers who were financially stretched already and coping with a summer that was more like winter. Most crops would reach only about 30% of their expected yield while heavier rain had caused 11 floods on a Karamea farm since the beginning of December. As well as drying cows off earlier and culling cows, some farmers might have to consider reducing capital stock if they could not borrow more money or extend their credit to buy in extra supplement. “The coast is tight on money at the moment and every dollar counts but if they try to milk right through, they’re going to run out of feed.” Westland Milk Products’ payout was expected to be at least $1/ kg milksolids behind Fonterra this season and farmers might receive little money through winter while facing the extra costs of unbudgeted supplements or grazing stock off farm.

Phonse Carroll farmed near Whataroa in the southern reaches of the region where rainfall was measured in metres and his farm recorded 5m of rain during a 12-month period, up from his usual 3.5m, with no relief through January and February. But that was less than some farmers in his area who recorded 6m. “The lack of sun has been the killer. “We haven’t had the sunlight so the ground hasn’t had a chance to dry out and a lot of crops have failed. “Supplements will definitely be in short supply and winter crops will be lighter so it’s a case of importing feed. “If you budgeted on having a good amount of crop and don’t have it, it’s going to be a huge expense. “Over the past six to eight years there’s been some fairly low times so farmers have got pretty resilient. But there’s only so many days without sunlight you can cope with.” Westland’s milk supply manager Taane Johnsen said the wet weather was demoralising for

SOGGY: The West Coast has had one of the wettest summers farmers have seen for 20 years, DairyNZ consultant Ross Bishop says.

farmers and had knocked 7% out of production for the season so far compared with last season, with quite a few farmers down 10%. “Farmers are having to make some hard decisions and they’re being pushed into them to try to set up for next season,” he said. “To say the season has been challenging is an understatement and farmers have done an exceptional job with coping – just being able to keep farming through these conditions.”

Seed exports going up Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com GRAIN and seed export sales earned $180 million last year with vegetable seeds the star performer. The latest trade statistics showed the 2016 export earnings were up 4% on the previous year’s $173m. Grain and Seed Trade Association general manager Thomas Chin said seed produced in New Zealand commanded a premium over that exported by competitors such as Chile, the United States and Australia. Traders indicated that was because of the industry’s focus on quality and reliability of supply, Chin said. Vegetable seeds remained the star performer with NZ supplying about 50% of the world’s hybrid radish, carrot and beet seed.

TOP NOTCH: New Zealand is regarded as a premier producer of seed, Grain and Seed Trade Association general manager Thomas Chin says.

Statistics NZ data showed vegetable seed contributed $81m (45%) of total export earnings in 2016. Pasture seed, such as ryegrass and clover, accounted for $74m (41%) and grains made $25m (14%). “NZ is a premier producer and exporter of high-grade grass seed for use in agriculture and sports arenas, cereal seed for the arable sector and vegetable seed for the horticulture industries,” Chin said. Most of the seed was harvested in Canterbury, which had ideal growing conditions, with low pest and disease rates. Gisborne, Manawatu and Wairarapa were also important seed production regions. “As an industry we further benefit from the fact that our production season coincides with the northern hemisphere’s off-season,” Chin said. Modern plant genetics, state of the art processing systems, highly skilled farmers and access to water and irrigation strengthened NZ’s competitive advantage over other production regions, he said. Locally grown seed was distributed to more than 60 countries across the world with key markets being Europe, North and South America, South Africa and Australia. Australia was the number one market for NZ ryegrass seed with the Netherlands the leading destination for beet, carrot and radish seed. Top export destinations by value were Netherlands, Australia then the US.

News

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

Keeping BVD out the best option Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com A HAMILTON pathology company hopes a shift in focus around bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) detection will significantly reduce its occurrence in cattle herds. The insidious and complex disease has been under increased scrutiny by the pastoral sector over the past decade, with its main symptoms of ill-thrift, empty cows, deformed calves and poor production often confused with seasonal conditions or other diseases. Hamilton-based SVS Laboratories chief executive Richard Campbell said the focus on bulk testing milk samples in recent years has proved effective in identifying if herds had the disease. “However, if we are serious about actually reducing the number of infections in herds after almost a decade of monitoring it, we need to start identifying new replacement animals coming into herds that are carrying the infection in the first place.”

It will come down to the industry itself to deal with it.

“That cost would be into the thousands. “And it is true that often it may be the poorest, snottiest cows in the herd that have BVD but we have also found herds with what appear to be very good cows in them that are also infected. “We need to identify them sooner so they are not even getting into the herd in the first place.” SVS intended to work closely with vets to help farmers focus more on BVD identification in coming months.

SCRUTINY: SVS Laboratories laboratory manager Raewynne Pearson tests for BVC. Photo: Sarah Brook

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Richard Campbell SVS Laboratories His company decided to embark on a campaign to push farmer awareness of the disease beyond a straight “monitor and cull” approach, to a more preventive phase that tested replacement animals before they entered the main herd. The nature of the complex disease meant it could be passed on in-utero from mother to calf, should the cow become infected before or during pregnancy. Work done late last decade by a BVD steering group found 60% of herds had been exposed to BVD and 15% were infected at any one time. The group estimated the average cost of the disease was $20,000 a year per infected herd, with a national cost to the dairy sector of $30 million a year. Campbell said NZ risked being left behind by countries including Ireland that were embarking on campaigns to eliminate the disease. Switzerland already claimed it was eliminated. “But, given NZ’s free market, subsidy-free environment and the fact BVD does not have a human health risk, unlike, say, leptospirosis, we are unlikely to see such a campaign here. “It will come down to the industry itself to deal with it.” Modern farming practices including wintering off and grazing young stock off home properties had increased the risk and susceptibility of herds to BVD infection. Vaccination was available but farmers had also been encouraged to practice good biosecurity procedures whenever new stock went onto a farm and to ensure neighbouring stock could not enter the farm to infect a herd. Campbell said new testing methods for viral antigens meant calves no longer had to be over 35 days old before being tested, making the job one that could easily be fitted in around other veterinary tasks like de-budding. “We would encourage vets to talk to farmer clients about redirecting how they spend the money they have been on bulk milk sampling. Do we still want to be just sampling and identifying infected herd members in five to eight years’ time or would we rather divert some of that money and time to keeping them out in the first place?” The greatest cost to farmers came from rearing a high-value replacement calf that was infected and not identifying it until she was in the milking herd, only to have to cull her.

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12 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017

Farmers return to herd-testing Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com AN IMPROVEMENT in herdtesting returns was a feature of LIC’s first-half trading with higher revenues and profits. Chairman Murray King believed some dairy farmers had cut down on services the previous year to cut costs in a tough farming environment but might have decided in hindsight they shouldn’t have. “I think that showed up in their culling decisions, challenging milk quality and then having some free-loading cows and so they’ve come back to herd-testing this season.” LIC ‘s total revenues were lower for the six months ended November 30 but profits improved as the co-operative kept a very tight hold on costs. Revenues were $130.3 million, down from $142.7m a year earlier, but after-tax profit rose to $19.29m from $15.89m. King was pleased with the improvement, saying farmer spending had still been constrained during spring – the peak for the core genetic services – as the “glimmer of hope” the industry now had, had not kicked in at that time. “The outlook’s been more positive these last three months though farmers are still being careful with their capital.” The first-half was the main earning period for the group, whereas the second half carried the same cost overheads but not the genetic services revenues. However, it expected to make a modest profit for the full year to May 31, after a loss previously.

The outlook’s been more positive these last three months though farmers are still being careful with their capital. Murray King LIC

SECOND THOUGHTS: Dairy farmers who saved on herd testing a year ago might have decided they shouldn’t have, LIC chairman Murray King says.

Following usual practice, King wouldn’t put a number on the expected profit level. The NZ genetics business provided well over half the group’s revenues and profits. For the six months, revenues dropped to $70.5m from $76.9m at the same time last year, with the pre-tax segment profit slipping to $44m from $47.7m. LIC had about 75% of the

industry AI business and increased market share in an overall lower dairy cow population, he said. Herd-testing revenues rose to $9.7m from $9.1m, with profits at $3.7m from $3.03m. The newer businesses, farm automation and farm software, both improved with increased margins. Software revenues were just

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over 1.5% higher at $19.79m but the pre-tax earnings rose 10% to $15m. Automation improved further with sales up 6% to $12.7m and earnings up nearly 50% to $15m. King said the margins were “not bad” for those services but there were also some timing issues that helped the results. Group operating cashflow improved sharply though there

was still a net outflow of $443,000 compared to $17.47m previously. That reflected stronger cash collections despite lower sales levels and reduced operating costs. The directors had scrutinised every part of the business to minimise operating costs and looked for better ways of doing business. LIC ended the half-year with total assets of $355.47m, including $231m in equity, an equity ratio of 65%. Borrowings of $51.5m made up 14.5% of total assets. That reflected a strong balance sheet with some of the borrowing used to fund capital expenditure, he said. The co-operative expected to report back to dairy farmer shareholders fairly soon on plans for the capital structure so it better reflected both classes of shareholders. About a third of shareholders held only the co-op shares and did not have an interest in the NZAX-listed investor shares. Those shares could be owned only by the co-op shareholders.

FONTERRA and LIC have launched their new Agrigate online platform to help dairy farmers make better decisions. The joint venture was formed last year to develop and commercialise what has been named Agrigate, to put data collection and report generation together seamlessly. The dashboard would run on smart phones, tablets and personal computers. Agrigate would be free for Fonterra and LIC farmers until July 31 and after that subscriptions would be related to what information farmers wanted and the cost would be kept as low as possible. “Having data in one place and working in real time makes it easier to make comparisons, see trends and make better management decisions,” LIC chief executive and Agrigate chairman Wayne McNee said. It would help farmers plan ahead, using existing data to assess the interaction between different onfarm factors, such as weather conditions, animal health, milk production, financials, pasture cover and fertiliser applications. Farmers would be able to track what effect each factor had on the others so they could plan accordingly. For example, they would be able to see what impact factors like herd size, milking frequency

and fertiliser use had on pasture cover, milk volume and quality, and milksolids production. Agrigate would also allow farmers to benchmark those farm factors on a scale they hadn’t been able to in the past. “The ultimate goal of this project is to support our farmers by giving them a tool to help maximise their onfarm performance, productivity and profitability,” Fonterra Farm Source chief operating officer Miles Hurrell said. “As a simple, easy-to-use tool Agrigate is a great example of dairy industry innovation. “It allows farmers to identify areas of their business where they are performing well and areas where improvements can be made.” Waikato farmer Bill Aubrey, one of 70 farmers who tested a prototype last August, said benchmarking with past, present, regional and national data would be a powerful tool. “Agrigate streamlines the way I view and analyse my farm’s most important data. “Combining information from multiple sources, it gives me a top-line view of everything I need, at any time and in real time, on one web page. “Weather forecasts, pasture growth and cover, production data and more, all on one single dashboard.” Farmers could join by visiting the web page www.agrigate.co.nz and the new service would be featured at regional field days and at National Fieldays this year.

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News

14 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017

Zespri boosts Italian production Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com

The Italian growers have the benefit of being on the doorstep of our major European markets.

GROWING consumer demand and the need to offer year-round supply for SunGold kiwifruit have prompted Zespri to boost its northern hemisphere plantings. They will be largely in Italy, with 1200ha allocated there and a further 600ha still to be determined. Zespri has growers with 1600ha of kiwifruit in Italy and 200ha in France. Zespri chief operating officer Simon Limmer said the grower model for the SunGold fruit would differ significantly from that used in New Zealand. Here growers were required to buy a licence through a tender round with the latest tranche of 400ha licensed crop selling for about $180,000 a hectare. Three further tranches of 400ha were to be released over the coming three seasons. “But it is quite a different process in Europe. We really want to get supply lifted quickly there and are not seeking a licence fee up front from growers. “Instead Zespri will be taking an increased commission at sale. We did not want to slow up the process of getting the fruit supply growth there,” he said. The main SunGold growing area in Italy was the Latina region in the hinterland of Rome which offered similar growing conditions to the western Bay of Plenty, albeit on heavier soils and with cooler winters. Limmer said the need for 12-month supply of the fruit was critical if Zespri was to maintain the momentum of sales growth

Simon Limmer Zespri

CONTINUOUS: Zespri is boosting northern hemisphere kiwifruit production to ensure year-round supply, chief operating officer Simon Limmer says.

achieved in recent years with a fruit that had found strong appeal in both European and Asian markets. “The Italian growers have the benefit of being on the doorstep of our major European markets and currency movement is not the

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issue for them as it is for us here. They are, however, also six weeks shipping from our key Asian markets.” While Zespri could supply from NZ for six to eight months, the remaining four months opened a window for competition to fill the

gap or for consumers to switch to another fruit. Productivity levels differed significantly between Italian and NZ kiwifruit orchards, despite similar sized areas averaging 3-4ha. SunGold production in Italy

was just over four million trays from 800ha, putting productivity per hectare at about a third what Zespri’s NZ orchardists were achieving. A further 850ha would hit full production in coming years. Combined with the new 1200ha, production was expected to quadruple to about 15m trays in the next five years, plus production from the additional 600ha to be allocated. “We are probably three years away from full production.” He acknowledged that over time Zespri had accepted the differences in production and practices between Italy and NZ. “Our philosophy is pretty clear now. We are seeking a sustainable basis of growing and harvesting. We certainly do not pretend to know everything there is to know about growing fruit in Italy. “It has been a two-way street. We learnt a lot about Psa management from the Italians. And we have a global technical support team to help determine best practice for growers. There is a lot of cross-pollination there.” The new plantings would go in over the next two years with the 600ha destined for planting elsewhere in Europe by 2019-20.

Rural sports award nominees named NOMINEES for the Norwood New Zealand Rural Sports Awards include national and world champions in shearing, wood chopping, fencing, tree climbing and gumboot throwing. The awards were to be announced a dinner at Awapuni Racecourse in Palmerston North on Friday, March 10, the night before the NZ Rural Games, where several of the nominees would be competing. The shortlist for the Rural Sportsman of the Year includes 2016 Wiremark Golden Pliers winner and 2015 world champion fencer Shane Bouskill, Hawke’s Bay, national tree climbing champion and three-time world champion Scott Forrest, Bay of Plenty and reigning Golden Shears and NZ shearing champion and 2016 world champion Rowland Smith, Hawke’s Bay. The nominees for Rural Sportswoman of the Year award were gumboot throwing champion and women’s national record holder Kristen

BOOT IT: Kristen Churchward on her way to a new national gumboot throwing record at the 2016 Hilux New Zealand Rural Games. Photo: Paul Green

Churchward, Taihape, reigning world tree climbing champion Chrissy Spence, Gisborne, and shearer and woolhandler Pagan Karauria, Alexandra. Pagan was nominated as the outstanding woman in most major shearing events in NZ last year. The Young Rural Sportsperson of the Year nominees were Brody Channings, Hunterville, winner of the Bill Schuler Novice Round at the 2016 NZ National Fencing Championships, Jack Jordan, Taranaki, winner of three

underhand open wood chopping world titles last year and NZ women’s junior shearing champion Angela Stevens, Napier. Contribution to the Rural Sports Industry would be contested by endurance horse rider, trainer and official Wendy Farnell, Ashburton, fencer Paul Van Beers, Masterton, a 13-time winner of the Golden Pliers trophy as well as a respected competition official and Lance Waddell, Whangarei, for services to Shearing Sports NZ.

News

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

Kiwi gives Scots his farm advice Colin Ley NORTH Scotland farmers John and Fiona Scott are up for the fight post-Brexit, even if that involves living without subsidies. Based at Fearn Farm in Rossshire, the husband-and-wife team have also made full use of some solid New Zealand farm business advice, getting face-to-face input from Feilding consultant Trevor Cook while also employing a steady stream of kiwi workers on their 1200-hectare mixed farming enterprise, split between Rossshire and Sutherland.

The Scotts are pedigree Texel and Beltex breeders also running flocks of NZ Suffolks and Aberfeilds. They use Southdown rams to produce prime lambs at a range of weights. “Brexit will bring challenges, of course, but will also bring opportunities,” John Scott said. “We’re pretty focused therefore on getting our business ready to handle the challenges that arise while also making the most of any opportunities that may follow. “For a number of years, in fact,

we’ve felt that support payments were going to reduce. “As a result, we’ve been working hard to put measures in place to make our business less reliant on support payments. “That has involved revolutionising our approach to grass and how we manage it, utilising far more forage crops than we ever did before while also working with cutting edge technology and the best genetics we can obtain. “All the while, we’ve worked with Trevor to help us focus on being fit for farming in the

GETTING READY: Scottish farmer John Scott uses kiwi sheep and workers on his farm and takes advice from Feilding vet and consultant Trevor Cook as he prepares for life post-Brexit.

European farmers face subsidy cuts EUROPEAN farmers will have their direct payment subsidies cut post-Brexit, European Farm Commissioner Phil Hogan says. It was a revelation likely to send shockwaves throughout the bloc. German magazine Der Spiegel said Hogan acknowledged Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies would be slashed because Britain would no longer be contributing £2.5 billion a year to the farming budget.

Hogan’s comments came as concerns began to grow about the state of the European Union’s finances. German farming union DBV president Joachim Rukwied said farmers in Germany were already greatly concerned about a huge gap in EU funding when Britain left. Dr Simon Schluter, of the DBV, said “There is a difficult discussion to be had here. There are lots of tasks which have to be

done by the commission and responsibilities which have to be dealt with which need funding, and not just in agriculture. “Remaining member states may have to contribute more.” A new secret Brexit report being prepared by MEPs on the agriculture committee warned of the significant gap in CAP finance without the United Kingdom’s budget contribution. The concerns about the CAP’s financial future came

as Hogan opened a public consultation on modernising and simplifying the policy. National Farmers Union president Meurig Raymond said it was clear from speaking to commission officials and MEPs the CAP budget was under pressure. “What happens over there will reinforce the message we are making to the UK Government that we must not be disadvantaged relative to our European competitors.” UK Farmers Guardian

British must embrace Brexit’s opportunities Colin Ley NEW Zealand’s high commissioner to Britain, Sir Lockwood Smith, has challenged British farmers to embrace Brexit in the way kiwi farmers approached the ending of subsidies in the 1980s. Writing in the Financial Times, he said the NZ economy was “tanking” in 1985, when a new government set about major economic reforms,

sweeping away agricultural support. “The aim was to expose the NZ economy to international competition. “Freed from the distraction of subsidies, farmers focused on the market once more. “They looked to science and technology to improve productivity and increase profitability,” he said. The thrust of his article was that United Kingdom farmers today should start looking towards the opportunities of the post-Brexit era, a message NZ sheep and beef business consul-

tant Trevor Cook described as somewhat bold before giving a Profit from Pasture presentation to farmers in the north of Scotland. “I wouldn’t be quite that extreme in my comments, certainly, as we don’t know what Brexit is going to look like,” Cook, who combines his co-ownership of Totally Vets with a consultancy role that includes working with farming clients throughout NZ and the UK. “My current assessment of UK livestock production is that while many businesses are generally very productive they are not very profitable. “However, with the threat of a change in UK circumstances regarding support through subsidies looking highly likely in the not too distant future,

doing the same, irrespective of whether they’re based a few miles down the road in Ross-shire or on the other side of the world in NZ.” Scott was speaking before hosting a Quality Meat Scotland grazing seminar with Cook as one of the keynote speakers.

future, whether that’s in or out of Europe and with or without subsidies. “We’re concentrating, of course, on the factors we can influence, seeking all the time to make our business as streamlined and efficient at possible and learning what we can from others who are

the drive is now on to make British farming systems more profitable.” That meant making pasture the cornerstone of the feed platform on such farms rather than relying on buying feeds that “gobble up all the profits”. Asked to also comment on how British farmers viewed the approach of a future UK free-trade agreement with NZ, especially in light of the recent criticism by UK sheep farm leaders of such a move, Cook said “I think they are overstating the risks that exist. “The development of a true FTA between the UK and NZ would allow a real win-win situation to be created in terms of NZ trade, coupled with an improved use and sale of lamb in the UK.”

Kiwi lamb comes under fire again Colin Ley A WEEK after criticising British supermarket chain Waitrose for mislabelling New Zealand lamb as a British product, the English National Farmers Union has turned its attention on the Morrisons chain. It accused Morrisons of confusing consumers by running a promotion centred on NZ and Australian lamb under its Market Deals brand. “Morrisons has traditionally been a strong backer of the British livestock industry and much of its messaging to shoppers is centred around being 100% British on all fresh meat,” NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe said. “We appreciate that Morrisons purchases around 750,000 lambs every year but in our view it’s a real shame that the retailer is now acting contrary to its commitments to consumers. “We also have concerns that these imported products are being placed near British messaging at the point of sale, potentially leaving shoppers confused about the origin of the product they are purchasing. “We want shoppers to be able to buy British food confidently.” A Morrisons spokesman said all its branded fresh lamb was British and NZ and Australian lamb would always be branded as Market Deals and should never appear on the chain’s butchery counters. “We were therefore really disappointed to hear that your (NFU) members have seen it on our counters. “We are investigating and will recommunicate our policy to our butchers,” he said.

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16 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017

Deer prices prompt strong demand

IN DEMAND: Finishers want to buy more weaner deer this year, farmer Kris Orange says.

Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com STRONG demand for weaner finishing deer is expected at autumn sales as prices reflect good times in the industry. South Canterbury deer farmer and former New Zealand Deer Farmers’ Association (NZDFA) chairman Kris Orange said finishers were looking for greater numbers of weaners this year. In Canterbury that was prompted by a

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phenomenal growth season with heaps of feed around and people making twice as much balage as they needed. But price was also a significant factor in the renewed confidence in deer farming. There had been a couple of processors this month offering contracts at $8 to $8.40 a kilogram from now until the end of winter. “We have not had something like that in concrete at this time of year before and one could imagine when we get into the chilled season that will rise a bit from here too,” Orange said. “Effectively it’s taken the troughs out which has increased demand but also renewed confidence in the industry when two and three years ago we were at just $6 to $6.40/kg. “This $8 mark now will make a huge difference to farmer’s returns and the decisions they will make come autumn, particularly when culling hinds.” Orange said there was less product in the market and coupled with the cream coming off dairy grazing and lamb finishing options, weaner deer were understandably in greater demand. “The deer industry is at a really strong point and confidence has also shown out in buying sire stags this season. Sales have been quite strong. “I am damn sure it’s a confidence factor where farmers see the benefits of putting money into their business given where the price is at,” Orange said.

I am damn sure it’s a confidence factor where farmers see the benefits of putting money into their business given where the price is at. Kris Orange Farmer

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While there wasn’t much sign of people buying weaner females for breeding given the national herd rebuild, sales of in-fawn hinds had been up, which was another indication of confidence in the industry. Elders livestock agent Derek Mickleson said several factors were underpinning the market including the shortage of stock when venison prices were strong, as well as a decline in the number of dairy heifers available for grazing. “People who have been doing dairy support and have deer fencing are looking again at venison finishing as a profitable option,” Mickleson said. The most demand for weaners in the South Island was likely to come from bigger, well established properties rather than new entrants to the industry, PGG Wrightson NZ deer manager Graham Kinsman said. Strong venison prices would continue to support demand for weaners but there would be a natural ceiling on prices. “If you pay too much you won’t make any money,” he said. PGG Wrightson deer agent Robert Auld expected demand at the Taihape weaner sales in April to be strong though that could be tempered if the dry spell in parts of central North Island evolved into a drought. “Two years ago it was hard to sell weaner hinds,” Auld said. Now demand for female weaners as replacements to build up breeding herds was likely to help support prices, however, most of the weaners for sale at Taihape were hybrids bred for finishing, he said. The industry reported the rate of people exiting the deer industry had fallen with herds that were being sold generally because the farm was being sold.

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News

18 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017

Hives on track with BuzzTech Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com

now managing as many as 50,000 hives, their ability to log, monitor and locate hives had to be made as simple and accessible as AN IT expert turned beekeeper possible to be really useful for hive has used his unique combination owners and field staff. of skills and experience to create “These are the operators a software solution making it who may have their hands full easier for apiarists to keep track of running their business’ day to day thousands of hives scattered over operations and need a backroom hundreds of square kilometres. system to keep track of their hive BuzzTech director Julian location, stock and condition.” McCurdy of Auckland has gone Despite also developing sensors commercial with his beehive to monitor hive population and management software. health, he quickly came to see it The system opened the door was the software management for beekeepers to ultimately system that would provide the include sophisticated sensors and “in” for his business, with the monitors into their valuable hive installation of sensors a logical colonies. upgrade option for most. With that came the potential With a dozen beekeepers over time to paint a picture of already signed onto the software’s individual hive productivity, subscription model, he was bee health and even identify starting to get feedback on what biosecurity risks before they particular components of the became contagious. software were proving most The launch of the BuzzTech invaluable to users. software marked six years of “Most hive owners want to development for McCurdy who, be able to see where their hives after enjoying his OE, returned to have been moved to, who has help his beekeeping father. visited them and information to Over the four years spent determine where they are to go working in the field he could next and to see it on a map with see the opportunity to develop satellite imagery of an area.” a programme that would help With hives increasing in number beekeepers keep track of their and often worth hundreds increasingly dispersed charges. With some large-scale operators of dollars when harvesting Manuka honey, in particular, managing the hive inventory was increasingly critical, more so when the risk of theft was also factored in. Ideally GPS Wednesday 22/02/2017 monitors on AWDT Understanding Your Farming Business every hive could Three full-day workshops and an evening graduation ceremony run over four months – 22nd Feb, 22nd March, take care of 19th April and 17th May exact location Venue: The Park Hotel, Ruapehu, National Park but BuzzTech Contact: anna@awdt.org.nz Website: To register for the programme follow this link technology could http://www.awdt.org.nz/programmes/understanding-youruse Bluetooth farming-business/ to create a Friday 24/02/2017 “mesh” network Kaitaia A & P Show (Indoor Section only) comprising all the Venue: Te Ahu Centre Hall hives, all linked Contact: Rose Walker 09 406 7084 or into a single freshstart@xtra.co.nz Website: www.kaitaiashow.nz hub device that communicated Friday 24/02/2017 – Sunday 26/02/2017 with the internet. Pongakawa School 125 Year Jubilee Registration: www.jubilee.pongakawa.school.nz “That gives Email: jubilee125@pongakawa,school.nz you the ability to Phone: Frances Patete on 533 3731 Wed to Fri. identify a missing Facebook: PongakawaSchool125Jubilee

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Saturday 25/02/2017 Kaitaia A & P Show (Indoor and Outdoor sections) Venue: Kaitaia Show Grounds, South Rd, Kaitaia Contact: Lynne Macrae 09 406 7183 or kaitaia.entries@xtra.co.nz Website: www.kaitaiashow..nz

Julian McCurdy BuzzTech hive which can “ping” its location to the beekeeper if it comes out of that mesh network.” Productivity monitoring was now possible for beekeepers, capturing honey harvest data per hive and over time being able to identify what geographic areas were yielding the greatest volumes on a catchment or per hive basis.

Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com

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Monitor hives are used in Australia at port facilities to capture any unwelcome pests early.

Installing hive sensors at a later stage took the system to another level of monitoring. Beehive health sensors sat across the top of the brood chamber collecting multiple temperature data points and sample audio signals. With varroa now endemic, the sector was keen to try to avoid any other equally devastating diseases entering New Zealand and the BuzzTech software sensor system could play a role in keeping them out. “Monitor hives are used in Australia at port facilities to capture any unwelcome pests early. The audio and temperature sensors mean you can follow the colony health with actual data.” For example, incursion of the unwelcome pest small hive beetle would cause a shift in the audio

signal in the hive, providing an early indicator of its presence. McCurdy hoped his software would set something of a standard for transparency and assurance in the beehive trade, somewhat similar to what LIC software did for dairy herd ownership and movements. “At present there is no traceability or accountability in hive sales and transfers.” It took McCurdy six years to get to the commercial phase of the software and he was thankful for some seed funding through the Venture Investment Fund and in turn linking him to angel funding from the Manawatu Investment Group. “That whole process went very well. I also have some other ideas in the pipeline I need to consider how to fund in the future.”

Tractor for Young Farmers champ

Thursday 02/03/2017 – Saturday 04/03/2017 Golden Shears – 57th Annual Championships Venue: War Memorial Stadium, 2 Dixon St, Masterton. Tickets & Entries: www.goldenshears.co.nz

Saturday 04/03/2017 Rangitikei Station to Station 4WD Trek 2017 Registration: www.ngatawa.school.nz/4wd Facebook: Rangitikei Station to Station 4 wd Enquiries email: fidalgety@xtra.co.nz

TAKING OFF: Software developer Julian McCurdy, left, works on a monitored hive with Peter Bennett.

FOR the first time in 20 years the winner of the Young Farmer of the Year contest will take away a tractor. New Holland has joined as a sponsor for the FMG Young Farmer of the Year 2017 contest and would give away a Boomer 25 tractor at the grand final to be held in Manawatu in July. The tractor was part of

a $270,000 prize package, making the contest one of the richest competitions in New Zealand. The last time a tractor was given away was in 1998 when Waikato dairy farmer Steve Hines won the grand final in Invercargill. Contest chairman Dean Rabbidge was delighted to have a tractor as part of the prize. “Although prizes are not why competitors enter the contest, it is fantastic to see our main agricultural

companies recognising what an incredibly important and progressive event the FMG Young Farmer of the Year is,” Rabbidge said. The partnership was just one aspect of an upcoming campaign New Holland was launching in 2017. Titled True Blue Future Farmers, the campaign focused on supporting upcoming generations of farmers, ensuring they had the tools, knowledge and support to be successful, New Holland operations

manager Brett Stiven said. “We have been thinking about how we can engage and support the future farmers of NZ. “We want to show that when it comes time to roll your sleeves up we are more than just a fantastic tractor brand. “We care about the future and sustainability of NZ farming and we see our upcoming generation of future farmers as the backbone to our industry,” Stiven said.

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Newsmaker

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

Right gear the secret to success It took him four goes but John Kirkpatrick finally achieved the ultimate, winning the final of the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill. He spoke to Neal Wallace about his preparation and motivation. Neal Wallace neal.wallace@nzx.com

HERE was nothing glamorous for John Kirkpatrick after being crowned the best shearer on the planet. Within hours of winning the title at the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill he drove to Queenstown to catch Sunday’s 7am flight north so he could be home in Napier ready to start work on Monday. Not that Kirkpatrick was fazed by having precious little time to soak up the atmosphere or to bathe in the glow of reaching the top of his sport after three previous attempts. A Hawke’s Bay farmer had a shed of dry sheep needing shorn. A regular on the NZ competition shearing scene for more than 20 years, Kirkpatrick said the secret to winning the world title was ensuring he used the correct gear. At the elite level of any sport the margin between winning and losing was paper thin. In the case of shearing, it was a scratch or a nick. All through the preliminary rounds Kirkpatrick said his focus was on choosing the correct combs and gear. “Choosing a wrong comb is worse than having a bad sheep. “You can shear a bad sheep if you have got the right gear.” A second placing in the All Nations competition when he used thinner combs, which he used for second shear in the North Island, showed why his focus was on his gear. “By the time of the worlds I knew which gear to use. “Thicker combs were probably the difference. The gear started to run right.” Another obstacle to winning the title was adjusting to full-woolled sheep.

Most North Island flocks were second shear so after preparing by competing at the Dannevirke and Marton shows, he flew south on the Sunday before competition started to practice on full-woolled ewes and lambs a friend had arranged for him. “I did a couple of runs to keep my hand in. “I didn’t try to do big days but to go over small things.” The day before competition he and fellow NZ representative Nathan Stratford looked over the sheep initially chosen for the competition but rejected. They shore 10 to 15 and Fitzpatrick said that gave them an insight into the size of the sheep and how soft they were. Lining up for the final in front of 4000 people crowded into Stadium Southland, Kirkpatrick said he was relaxed even though it dawned on him that this was the moment he had prepared for. “I knew Gavin (Mutch) and Hamish (Mitchell) would come out of the blocks and shear their first sheep as quickly as they could. “What they do is not as important as how you attack it.” Fitzpatrick tended to quicken as he warmed to his work so he began his run on full-woolled sheep, selecting those that shore best first, then second shear and lambs last. As he predicted he was third off the board behind Scotsmen Mutch and Mitchell and 1.5 points behind Mutch. Kirkpatrick was confident he had not made mistakes that would lose quality points and he was correct, finishing 1.353 points ahead of Mutch with Stratford third. An unassuming man, he described the win as “amazing”. “The World Championship is something everybody wishes to achieve and to have the World Champion title is an honour.”

WINNING BLOWS: John Kirkpatrick shearing his way to the top of the sport at the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill.

Kirkpatrick rose rapidly through the sport after an inauspicious start. His father was a farm manager and initially Fitzpatrick worked as a shepherd on the East Coast but followed his brothers into shearing as an 18-year-old because the money was better. Encouraged by wife Raylene to start competing, in his first match in 1993 he didn’t advance past the heats but she convinced him to have another go and he won his second event. After shearing at six further shows he won the Golden Shears intermediate title. The next year he won the senior title and has since won more than 250 titles including four open Golden Shears. He has shorn at three world

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championships, coming second in Norway, third at Masterton and fifth in Ireland.

Choosing a wrong comb is worse than having a bad sheep. You can shear a bad sheep if you have got the right gear. John Kirkpatrick World champion Kirkpatrick was drawn by the physicality and the hard work of shearing, along with the people he

met from around the world. Two years ago he and Raylene set up their own contracting business employing two gangs. They have three children, son Daniel is playing rugby in France, daughter Angela Stevens is married to a shearer and won the All Nations senior woolhandling title and her partner came fifth in the All Nations shearing final. Their other daughter Mary occasionally does woolhandling but was involved in the rodeo circuit where her partner rode bulls. Aged 46, Fitzpatrick intended continuing to shear competitively, with the aim of defending his title in France in 2019. “So long as I am shearing every day I still have a chance of making the World Championships.”

Opinion

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

Farmers are clean, green leaders Robin Greer

S A country we have a great opportunity to capitalise on what is left of the world’s perception that New Zealand is clean and green. We always hear people talking about adding value to our exports, in which I include tourism. I believe the easiest value for us as a country to add and capitalise on is to enhance our clean, green image. Don’t get me wrong, we have to be always looking at adding value but this is something that can be done for all our food products and tourism quickly and is already recognised in some parts of the world. It is extremely important that to maintain our standard of living we need to add more value to our exports. So what does the clean, green image really mean? Talking with tourists it is very interesting. Yes, they talk about great landscapes, rivers, lakes, wide open spaces but also about all our urban areas also being environmentally friendly with recycling and modern, environmentally friendly waste disposal. Well, I was all ears when I was told they had read about the dumping of sewage in Lake Wakatipu. They told me that was what they expected in countries less developed than NZ. So, that made me do a bit of research on NZ urban waste disposal systems. I am now convinced that as a nation we have a huge task ahead of us to retain our clean, green image. While 25 years ago dairy farmers were unaware of the environmental issues they were adding to, they have now invested huge amounts to correct that but I believe our urban centres are at the same place as farmers were 25 years ago. Auckland storm-water drains have raw sewage overflow into

The

prepared to pay a premium for. And one where tourists want to come to experience our great environment. We need to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. NZ cannot feed the world but we can produce high-value food for those who are prepared to pay a premium for it.

Pulpit

As farmers, we have led the way in correcting our environmental issues but sadly the rest of our nation has not joined us in doing the same. them in heavy rain, which then runs to waterways and the harbours. Do you realise at 10 Auckland beaches swimming is banned because of sewage pollution? Others are being monitored and could be closed for swimming. Manukau Harbour now has sewage dumped into it on average 20 times a year because Auckland does not having the capacity to treat it. In two days last year the volume of 124 Olympic swimming pools of partially treated sewage was dumped into Manukau Harbour. Imagine if industry and dairy farmers used heavy rain as an excuse to dump effluent into water ways. The Super City decided the former Auckland City Council’s plan would cause “massive disruption” and that it will be cheaper to install new interceptors for the overflow from the combined drains. Somehow, this will take longer than laying a new network of pipes, which was to be done by 2021. Now it will be 2035 before the remedial work is completed and then it will not be a complete solution. The Auckland council’s “healthy waters” manager, Craig Milroy, said, “Overflows can be reduced

LOOK AT YOURSELVES: Urban New Zealand is criticising farmers while not dealing with its own environmental problems, Robin Greer, who runs Retro Organics in Southland, says.

to the extent they compromise public safety or the ecological health of our waterways.” What a cop-out – 18 years to correct the problem. Are they really serious? Its time people told councils this behaviour is not acceptable. Wellington City sewage dumped 56,053 cubic metres of partially treated sewage into the sea in 2016. Other cities dump treated sewage directly into the sea. I wonder how many are dumping

partially treated waste into the sea and not being monitored. It’s time all our communities took these issues seriously. Huge capital expenditure needs to happen to sewage and storm water systems to bring them bring them up to speed. As a nation it is time all these issues were taken seriously and we all work together to create the cleanest, greenest nation in the world recognised as the producer of great food produced in a sustainable way that people are

We do not need excessive numbers of tourists. That just causes its own infrastructure problems. We need tourists prepared to pay a premium for what we have to offer. We need to value our environment and what we do to it needs to be part of our culture. That means every citizen is proud of our environment and what we do with it. As farmers, we have led the way in correcting our environmental issues but sadly the rest of our nation has not joined us in doing the same. It is time that we in the rural communities were proud of the big investments we have made and be more outspoken about what we have done and get all NZ on board to correct other areas that still need addressing. The whole nation needs to be on the same page. Be proud to be a farmer and encourage others that NZ can lead the world if we all get on board.

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

Volatility and close scrutiny here to stay VOLATILITY and close scrutiny of animal welfare and environmental management are likely to be constant companions for dairy farmers, Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says. “We need to assume risk is there and make sure our businesses are resilient for it,” Hoggard told the national board meeting in Wellington. While global prices seemed to have improved “and I think we can start to get confident this season will deliver a milk price that is reasonable”, Hoggard said he could not detect any great change in global demand that would suggest steady prices in the long term. “To be blunt, it feels like the world is even more of an unstable environment to be

trading in now than it was this time last year. “That instability could go either way,” he said. “If the great wall of Trump is built, will it mean increased dairy trade opportunities to the south of it for us and decreased competition from north of it because all the people that do the actual milking got deported?” In Europe, Dutch farmers might be forced to reduce their herd numbers to meet phosphate limits or the politicians might cave in on that front. Dairy farmers were tackling water quality issues head-on, despite what some critics claim, he said. “What we are concerned about environment-wise isn’t necessarily what the rest of the world is so concerned about.

Overseas, more emphasis is placed on climate change and biodiversity. “While we currently have a great story to tell around carbonefficient food production here does any of us actually know how any changes to our systems might affect that claim? “There is the potential that we could lose that world-leading position without realising it,” he said. Animal welfare regulations were among the world’s best. “However, as competition gets tougher, when we trumpet our free-range, pasture-fed status, expect to get questions around shade and shelter.” Antimicrobial resistance and proper use of antibiotics was another concern gaining traction.

“Again, we are among the best for low antibiotic use, however, our customers won’t want to know just what the averages are. “They will want to see best practice on all farms they purchase from. “Best practice means correctly identifying the illness and treating with the appropriate drugs and that critically important antibiotics are only used when first-line treatments are not sufficient.” Hoggard questioned whether every person on dairy farms making treatment decisions on livestock had received sufficient training around treatment choices. He suspected not. “And in the future that is likely going to need to change.”

NO HIDING: Overseas customers’ environmental concerns are not the same as those here so dairy farmers can expected increased scrutiny on climate change and biodiversity as well as animal welfare, Federated Farmers dairy head Andrew Hoggard says.

Opinion

22 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017

EDITORIAL

Why is wool languishing?

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

More letters P23

Feds must listen to members FEDERATED Farmers laments the freeloaders in the February 6 Farmers Weekly. I am close to becoming one of them and I won’t have a single pang of conscience. Instead of telling us what a great job they are doing, they need to listen to their members and the freeloaders and find out why they are bleeding membership. A few years back they bragged they had done 100 submissions in 100 days. In that time I personally did three in my spare time while running a farm. It is frustrating that many of the federation’s submissions do not remotely represent my views or those of many other farmers I know. For the last five and a half years they have espoused the

idea of collaboration rather than confrontation. That’s fine until truth becomes the victim. About 18 months ago they woke up to the fact that the water issue needs to be fought on science, not emotion. For all that, a group of farmers in our area clubbed together and we paid a professional to submit on our behalf on our district council’s water plan. We were concerned about several issues that the federation was not. They still have not brought science to the climate change table and carry on bemoaning the fact we can do nothing about our livestock methane emissions yet. But any science-literate person knows a constant number of animals do not change the atmospheric

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the savings we will make on the removal of the Emissions Trading Scheme will easily outweigh the tariffs we pay, not to mention the halt in the wall of pines devouring our good hill country farms for carbon credits. I won’t give details of the money I wasted on their loans agreement, which turned out to be worthless and is in the bin. Nor will I bother with the assistance they never gave when I was dissatisfied with the terms of agreement of NAIT. There is more but space is up. Get real Feds. Listen to your members or bleed to death. Neil Henderson Te Karaka Continued next page

Letterof theWeek

EDITOR Bryan Gibson bryan.gibson@nzx.com EDITORIAL Stephen Bell editorial@nzx.com Neal Wallace neal.wallace@nzx.com Andy Maciver andy.maciver@nzx.com Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com Richard Rennie richard.rennie@nzx.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Tony Leggett tony.leggett@nzx.com

concentration of methane. Only an increase in livestock numbers can increase emissions and there is no way they produce a third of this country’s total emissions as our Greenhouse Gas Inventory purports. Even Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright was courageous enough to make subtle suggestions along these lines last year. The bigwigs at the top all seemed stunned by Brexit and Trump and now seem miffed the Trans Pacific Partnership is gone. Sure, we lose some potential tariff reductions but we save on royalties to genetech companies and reduce the risk of losing sovereignty. Further, if Trump does succeed in torpedoing the Paris Climate Agreement

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AST week’s Shearing and Woolhandling World Championships showcased the best of that industry. World Champion John Kirkpatrick, profiled on page 20, epitomises what it takes to excel as a high-performance athlete. It’s not only the training and the hard work that makes a champion, it’s being able to find that edge, in his case wellchosen equipment, that will give him that extra half a percent, which is all it takes to put you over the top. Doing the same thing as everyone else will only get you to their level. To beat them you have to do something differently. This is a mindset the wool industry as a whole has been grappling with but perhaps failing to master. Once again strong wool prices are languishing and questions are being asked about its future. Farmers are being told to keep their wool in their sheds until prices improve. I’ve asked this question before here but it’s worth repeating: why is wool not a highly-valued product that demands a premium for farmers? We all know that synthetic carpet has overtaken wool as the go-to fibre for the floor. We also know there has been a long succession of research projects funded to find new, unique uses for wool. Some have been a success, some have slipped away quietly but what they haven’t done is added up to being a fix for the fibre. It’s heartening to hear that yet more research is going into novel uses for wool and those behind it are confident there will be positive outcomes. Farmers could perhaps show some more interest. They’ve been asked to fund research and promotion in the past and declined. Have they given up on wool or are they simply happy to ride the commodity cycle? A week after the highs of the shearing world champs, it’s disappointing to see that wool, clipped from animals by skilled athletes, is quietly being stacked in the corner to wait for the market to turn.

Opinion

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

Rapid reactions

Farmers Weekly Farm Life Competition

PULPIT: Remarkable success story to go on

We will be running this competition every month, so send your Farm Life photo to our Facebook page or Twitter with the hashtag #farmersweeklycomp or email them to us at nzfarmersweekly@nzx. com and you will go in the draw to win a cool spot prize.

There’s been a bit of talk lately about the decline of the sheep industry. In particular, that the sheep flock is half what it was in 1990. But there’s a story hidden in the numbers and it’s not a bad one. Peter McDonald “I’m absolutely confident in the future of the sheep meat industry” the farmers actions over the last twenty five years tell a differing story. Approximately a million ewes gone every year since 1990 on average. lambing hoggets and calving heifers won’t get us from here to there.

FW Poll

Paper roads not part of farms

Is wool’s battle against synthetic carpets lost? Yes No

Being forewarned is being forearmed when it comes to understanding the status of a paper road, Federated Farmers policy adviser Bob Douglas says.

bit.ly/FWpolls

@Nzhorserec Finally farmers getting the message on ULRs

JUST A TRIM: Gail Simons’ stags off to the yards to have their hard antlers removed before the mating season.

Last week’s poll: Should consumers be willing to pay a premium to help environmental endeavours or is that a farmer’s problem? ??? Yes, they should pay ??? No, it’s the farmer’s duty

LETTERS Coat not vital IT IS hard to have an intelligent discussion with Alan Emerson about coal in the dairy industry when so many of his facts are simply wrong. It is some time since power generation was the largest user of coal in New Zealand. There is only the Huntly power station left, two of its four units are permanently closed and the other two are due to close in 2022. Electricity in NZ is now 80% renewable. The largest coal user is the steel industry, which has no other options right now. Second is Fonterra, calculated from the company’s own figures, and unlike other uses of coal, it has been growing fast. Clandeboye, just one of 13 Fonterra coal-fired plants, uses 180,000 tonnes of coal a year. Cement, lime and plaster are a long way behind.

Yes, oil and gas also produce greenhouse gas emissions. But coal is much higher in carbon so emissions per unit of useful energy are greater with coal. Worldwide, coal is the number one source of climate change. The climate change movement does work on coal and gas, opposing deep sea oil drilling, calling for energy efficiency standards for motor vehicles and driving the smallest most efficient cars we can. Our action at Clandeboye followed a weekend of working with all the other climate action groups on how best to combat climate change and Coal Action Network was joined by members of 350, Greenpeace, Forest and Bird and other parts of the movement. It is classic straw man debating tactics to pretend the only alternative to a Clandeboye

running on coal is no Clandeboye. We have never advocated closing the plant and have always put forward feasible alternatives to coal. The obvious one is to burn some of the waste wood that is stockpiled on skid sites throughout the forestry industry. There are firms that supply it to other industries. Fonterra knows this; says it has run trials but refuses to release any results; says there is not enough material but has never, to our knowledge, put out a request for proposal to test the market. No-one knows the price of a product until there is a market to discover it. Where we do agree with Emerson is that selling 13% of our electricity to the Bluff smelter is a daft idea and giving it an extra $30m handout is even dafter. But just giving it to Fonterra

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instead is not sensible either. Smelting is an electrical process and requires electricity. Boilers require enormous quantities of heat and electricity is not usually the most economic way to get it. Jeanette Fitzsimons Thames

Get your goat WHEN will the producing, processing, academic and political elements of our industry recognise the lost opportunity for adding pastoral goats to the livestock mix? They can be as important as fencing and fertiliser for benefits of low cost/low risk biological weed control and grazed pasture quality improvement. But meat returns should send some signal too. Our Meat and Livestock

Australia competitors report January dressed weight hook price has increased by 20% to $A6.12/ kg over the last year for 12.1-16kg carcases – about twice what we get. Ironically, we can produce better goats for a United States market where 12kgCW kids sell for US$2.40 a pound live at auction compared with US$1.30 a pound live for stocker calves. As they say – you do the maths. The answer to the first question is partly because they accept economic analyses using stock units that do not measure goat feed, labour and capital cost advantages. The other part seems to deliberately ignore facts. More information at www.caprinexnz. com. Garrick Batten Brightwater

Opinion

24 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017

Beware of snake oil in honey I’M NATURALLY suspicious of fads. I didn’t go into the initial kiwifruit frenzy or goats. I’ve certainly never owned ostriches or emus and I remain unconvinced planting manuka for honey production will provide any panacea. There’s just too much about manuka production we just don’t know. Mind you, that hasn’t stopped a pile of snake oil, forestry-type consultants pushing manuka as the great opportunity. Just plant manuka and it will grow, provide carbon credits and give farmers massive returns. Like protesters, they don’t let the facts get in the way of the story or, in this case, their profits. I’ve seen a few manuka plantings, done at great expense with solid “consultants” fees, that haven’t come to much. It is not just a matter of planting it and leaving it to grow and produce. There’s a lot more to it than that, feral animals for one. It starts with the definition of manuka honey and there isn’t one. There is no formal standard in place, there are only labelling guidelines. Granted, Primary Industries Ministry staff are doing serious work on the issue and hope to have a science-based definition of manuka honey ready for consultation by mid-year. Following that there will be proper testing before export. That is good news and it will be interesting to see just how much “manuka” honey will survive the rigours of testing. It is an important process as we’ve had consultants saying that planting manuka will give manuka

Alternative View

Alan Emerson LUCKY DIP: There are no standards governing manuka honey. honey and lots of it but until there is a properly established testing regime no-one really knows. In addition, it’s been suggested to me that we actually export more manuka honey than we produce. That tells me a lot of work needs to be done before we have a credible export crop with a longterm future. It was also with some interest that I read MPI had appointed consultants to investigate the planting of manuka and kanuka for erosion, carbon farming and honey production.

It starts with the definition of manuka honey and there isn’t one. There is no formal standard in place, there are only labelling guidelines.

It is a move I strongly support but will provide little comfort for those who, over the past few years, have been assured that planting the shrub would fix all of the above. We just don’t know. The point is that according to MPI there is little information

available for landowners regarding best practices for planting and maintaining manuka plantations. The move by MPI is to be applauded but again some who have already planted manuka could be confused as they might have been assured some years ago that the work had already been done. MPI also claim there is little credible information available for landowners about which varieties are best suited to the land type and climate. In addition, the MPI research will investigate optimal planting densities, best practice for site preparation, optimal soil and climate types and the management of planted manuka. Again that hasn’t stopped “consultants” assuring farmers they have the credible oil and in fact had it some years ago. I look forward to the completed MPI research with some interest and I’m pleased they have taken the initiative on this. As I said at the start, we need hard, independent and credible

information, not empty rhetoric. Concerning the credibility stakes I believe the Manuka Farming New Zealand PGP work on manuka and manuka honey is credible and progressing well as is the work by Comvita. My issue is that in our part of the country bee hives are becoming a little like the Wild West with hives by boundary fences, Dutch auctions for the placement of hives and the like. It is now unusual to drive into Masterton and not pass one or two honey trucks. Two years ago you hardly ever saw one. My view is that the MPI standard and research can’t be completed quickly enough as the bottom could fall out of the entire industry. For example, just recently in Britain the Queen’s grocer, Fortnum and Mason, pulled our manuka honey from its shelves because it was concerned about the product’s authenticity. Its testing showed lower than expected levels of a key ingredient. That is serious.

The issue I had was that the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association admitted the industry had taken a hit while accusing some sellers not taking due care. The association had no idea where the sub-standard product came from and that in itself is a worry. In addition, the Aussies have a march on us both with their research into the medicinal properties of their manuka honey and the fact that 83 out of the 87 Leptospermum species are found there. So, would I plant one hectare of our property in manuka when there’s no credible research publicly available about it and no product definition of manuka honey while there’s market resistance along with dodgy honey being marketed? Hell no.

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

Coping with loss is toughest part of being human From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

TWO or three years ago I was a speaker in a series of seminars. The other speaker was an Australian psychologist whose talk was about dealing with adversity and stress. We had to listen to each other’s talks a number of times. The thing I remember was his opening gambit when he asked those in the audience to raise their hand if they hadn’t encountered tragedy and maybe a third did. “Don’t worry,” Dennis would say, “you will and I’m here to give you some of the tools to deal with it.” We got a garbled call to get ourselves to Havelock North quick a week ago and we did, to find that my brother-in-law and close mate Glen Clark and husband to my oldest friend and sister Susanna had died suddenly.

She had gone through 20 ghastly minutes performing CPR until the ambulance arrived and by the time we arrived Glen was pronounced dead. We’d only been there four weeks earlier with friends and family to celebrate his 60th birthday on a happy occasion and now in an instant his family’s lives had changed irrevocably forever. Within two days the coroner rang me with the news that he had been taken by a brain aneurism, which was of some comfort given it was immediate and no matter how good or poor Sue’s efforts or the response time, it made no difference. We’ve had tragedy and tough times before but holding your sister while she rang her three kids scattered around the world to tell them the appalling news will stay with me all my days. As is part of the process that we must all go through at various times in our lives, once we got through that long, appalling night, arrangements for a suitable farewell needed to be put in place. Busying yourself with that, I’ve found, is one of the mechanisms to cope with the

LAST LAP: Glen Clark made his last lap in a beloved Holden.

sudden reality we are faced with. I was honoured to be entrusted by Susanna, Hamish, Adam and Dana to deal with the funeral directors, police, coroners and caterers while they, Jane, our families and friends dealt with their grief and the large amount of folk who came to offer their support. Glen was a roading engineer with Opus and used by the

company for training young folk as he was a terrific mentor. I was the celebrant at his farewell and had kept myself reasonably together until the last speaker Quentin, Glen’s first cadet spoke about how he had been a lost boy and Glen had saved him, given him purpose and direction and remained a lifetime friend and support. Glen’s wife and kids all spoke

earlier on and gave such heartfelt tributes that the 500 folk who shared this wonderful occasion broke into spontaneous applause, something I’d always been tempted to do myself after terrific eulogies at other funerals but hadn’t. Following that, his motorsport mates, boss, social cricket team members, sister, my young brother and the Mackie kids who had grown up with his children after they performed a stunning version of his favourite song, Comfortably Numb, were all clapped. He even got applause as he was driven away for his final lap in a beloved Holden. He was a terrific fellow and will be greatly missed by all his family and friends. Life is a wonderful thing but the toughest aspect of being human and of love is that in the end one must deal with loss and learn those tools and mechanisms to make it as bearable as possible.

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

Opinion

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

Red meat story ready for telling Meaty Matters

Allan Barber

THERE has been a great deal of progress towards the development of the New Zealand Red Meat Story but most of it has been happening under the radar. That is all about to change. Beef + Lamb NZ is holding a workshop on March 1 and 2 at which a wide group of industry participants – farmers, Government, processors and exporters – will gather to start formulating the detail of the story, assisted by a strong line-up of guest speakers with international experience in brand development. Over the last 18 months B+LNZ has focused on implementing its market development action plan arising from extensive consultation with levy payers. The most obvious change was to close marketing offices in mature markets like the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea where exporters already have much deeper relationships with customers and feedback from farmers and exporters suggested funds could

be better spent in other ways and in developing markets with greater potential. The change in focus has resulted in the creation of three new roles: one with responsibility for the development and implementation of the Red Meat Story, a market research specialist to focus on consumer insights and a market innovation specialist charged with capturing new market benefits. Detailed research has been gathered through interviews with farmers of different ages, farm types and ownership structures throughout the country about their story, as well as with selected worldwide customers to find out why they buy NZ beef and lamb. According to B+LNZ market development general manager Nick Beeby, who has overall coordination accountability for the programme, the Red Meat Story is about more than growing NZ’s share of global consumption. It is also about building credibility for our red meat with consumers in competition with other forms of protein. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure the story’s building blocks are all in place, which is where the work of the Red Meat Profit Partnership comes into play. The development of the NZ Farm Assurance Programme (FAP) is progressing well, with Anzco, Alliance, Silver Fern

Farms, the Progressive group and Deer Industry NZ all committed to adopting the same baseline standards while discussions with Affco are also in hand. Anzco has begun rolling out the FAP and a further six processors will have done so by the end of March and another before the end of May. Meat companies supplying certain retailers or food manufacturers already have their own FAPs in place but the establishment of a common NZ standard programme across the whole industry will enhance the credibility of the NZ red meat brand with international customers. It will then be possible to lift the standard to meet customer demands. Another important step is the Ministry for Primary Industries’ authorisation for the RMPP to work with OSPRI on developing an electronic animal status declaration process that would ultimately help to overcome the loopholes in the NAIT system. A trial is about to be done at SFF Finegand to establish how successfully the EASD will replace the less-than-perfect manual ASD. Once the robustness of the farmer-to-processor transaction has been tested, attention will turn to farmer-to-saleyard and farmerto-farmer transactions.

GET IN BEHIND: Sheep must surely be brought into the NAIT traceability system as the Red Meat Story is told.

Traceability is an essential component because it is a mandatory building block without which a credible red meat story has no firm foundation. Another important element of the red meat story, particularly for the European Union in the event of the anticipated freetrade negotiations, will be how NZ addresses the question of protected geographical indication (PGI) for which a series of environmental, animal welfare and production standards will be necessary. All the brand image-building in the world backed by spurious claims to be clean and green or 100% pure will count for very little unless the claims can be backed up by a robust farm-assurance programme underpinned by electronic ASDs and a cast-iron traceability system for all red meat. If this is to be achieved, the industry must grasp the nettle or, mixing metaphors, address the elephant in the room.

When deer and beef are comprehensively covered by electronic traceability and the red meat sector subscribes to a uniform FAP sheep must surely be brought into the traceability system. The inclusion of sheep traceability is also likely to form a necessary part of any PGI application. The cost to farmers of introducing sheep traceability is an issue the Government will have to confront full-on if the Red Meat Story is to achieve its prime objective of gaining consumer trust in the NZ brand. There are also encouraging signs the long hoped for mirage of industry co-operation for the national good mighjt be getting closer.

Your View Allan Barber is a meat industry commentator: allan@barberstrategic. co.nz, http://allanbarber.wordpress. com

Farmers must demand accountability John McCarthy ONE of my New Year resolutions was never to darken the pages of the rural newspapers again. However, having followed the variously opposed commentaries on the evolution of Silver Fern Farms I have been sorely tempted. The final straw was the somewhat self-serving and seriously at odds with reality Pulpit piece by newly anointed Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Sam McIvor. Self-serving because as long as his organisation staggers on buoyed by spurious messages of new dawns and riches round the next bend he continues to collect his salary. The title of his piece is unbelievable, Remarkable success story to continue. What planet is he on when most of the farmers who fund his salary struggle to make ends meet, as the price of lamb continues to deteriorate and the prospects look increasingly dismal? We continue to lose 3000 sheep a day and he, the chief executive of our representative body heralds success. By any measure an outrageous position. In my view and as a former director of that organisation, its very existence is a fraud. That existence is predicated

NEARLY ALL: John McCarthy, a former Meat Industry Excellence chairman, gives thanks for a career that has given him everything except riches.

on a vote every six years under the Commodity Levies Act. In the last election it received a little over 30% of farmer support to continue. If one strips away the corporate votes, the Landcorp vote, various affiliated farming entities and individuals directly benefitting from their B+LNZ affiliations, the true level of support is probably half the above. Tragic by any measure is that farmers, the supposed champions of the free market are actually the last bastion of compulsory unionism. Surely, it is time for B+LNZ to stand or fall on its own merits? Its most important area of responsibility is around

the administration of quota arrangements. It makes me increasingly nervous therefore when I hear B+LNZ has withdrawn its physical presence from the United Kingdom and European Union and continues to bang on about the merits of the Trans Pacific Partnership when the new United States government has made it clear TPP is dead. The US door is open for new bilateral trading arrangements. I would have thought B+LNZ should be fighting to get to the front of the US trade queue at a time when we are facing increased parochialism from the farmers and traditional trading arrangements are being

tipped on their head by the Brexit uncertainties, the rise of nationalism in France, Greece, Italy and of course by the Trump election. If ever there was a time to re-emphasise our gratitude and appreciation for our historical alliances, this must be it. As the fortunes of those down on the farm decline the only ones who continue to prosper are the myriad of directors, officers of various companies, farming organisations and the like. The rural media are essentially propagandists and in some cases literary guns for hire, occasionally moonlighting as journalists. The blame for the disaster that is this industry lies not with the ticket clippers and the handsomely rewarded directors and staff of our farmer companies and representative bodies. Their behaviour is entirely understandable. The fault lies with us, the farmers, in that we do not insist on accountability and more importantly we do not hold the people, who essentially and compulsorily collect their salaries and stipends from our hardearned income, to account. B+LNZ is essentially unaccountable. It is exempt from censure from traditional avenues such as the Ombudsman and

the Auditor General. It is not accountable through the voting process. On that note it is worth belatedly explaining the purpose behind that remit was to secure funding to inform and provide farmers with an alternative to what is now effective foreign control of over 50% of their value chain. The cost of providing farmers a balanced alternative point of view was minimal but at least farmers could then have made an informed decision. On that note and to that end, we also approached the National Government and, like B+LNZ, were declined. To my mind the issue of foreign dominance of our supply chain was a pivotal watershed and as such deserved an informed process. Bill English, in spite of his shearing prowess will be remembered as a key player in the Government that passively ceded our second largest export earner to foreign control. It’s not all bad news however. Yesterday as I rode my new horse on an early, misty morning to muster cows and calves, their coats glistening from a great season, it was good to be alive and I thank the career that has given me everything except riches as I near retirement.

MODEL DAIRY FARM

128 Mangamutu Road, Galatea

On offer is approximately 98ha in three titles, located in Galatea approximately 75km to both Whakatane and Rotorua. Flat contour provides the opportunity for production and ease of management currently milking 250 cows through a tidy 20 ASHB shed, three year average from the estimated 76ha milking platform is 133,000kg/MS. 8ha is located 1.5km away and has been milked on, however this is well suited for young stock and winter grazing. The milking platform is fully irrigated via Bosch type laterals with water consented from farm bore ensuring quality feed is available all season. Excellent improvements include two herd homes affording the ability to comfortably house 150 cows each for shelter, calving and feeding to suit your management; double bay roofed concrete bunker, substantial five bay shed and additional haybarns add further to this quality property. Accommodation is well provided via two good homes, the main is a spacious four bedroom home beautifully set at the front of the property with the second a very tidy three bedroom plus office with good shedding. Our vendors are retiring so stock and machinery are also available. Contact me now for a full information pack.

Tenders Close 4pm, Tues 7 Mar 2017 247 Cameron Road, Tauranga

View Wed 11-12pm

www.bayleys.co.nz/2849525

Mark Spitz M 027 442 1295 B 07 579 0606 mark.spitz@bayleys.co.nz

NE W

IN G

SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

"KINELLAR DAIRIES"

Methven, Mid Canterbury

2877 Methven Highway

Deadline Sale 4pm, Thurs 23 March 2017 (unless sold prior)

The sale of "Kinellar Dairies" offers a unique opportunity to invest in some of Mid Canterburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prime agricultural land. On offer is a 215.9506 hectare (subject to final survey) dairy platform, plus an option to purchase a 60.1666 hectare irrigated support block adjoining the dairy farm. Currently milking approximately 700 cows through a high spec 54 bail Rotary shed with in shed feeding system. Budgeted production for 2016/17 is 325,000kgMS. Excellent irrigation water via the Ashburton Lyndhurst/Barrhill Chertsey irrigation schemes is delivered via centre pivots plus some K-Line. Housing includes modern two storey four bedroom main homestead built 2006, four bedroom managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home built 2012 plus staff cottage. Farm buildings include calf rearing facilities, supplementary shedding and grain silos. Good access lanes, underpass, excellent pastures and quality Mayfield moderately deep silty loam soils, all contribute to making this an outstanding and desirable unit. This property has potential upside to further increase production and cow numbers. Located within very close proximity to the Methven township.

www.bayleys.co.nz

View by appointment www.bayleys.co.nz/554006

Pete Hayward M 027 433 3340 B 03 307 7377 pete.hayward@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

FOUR FARMS FOR COMBINED OR INDIVIDUAL PURCHASE

North Otago

Oamaru

Price by Negotiation View by appointment

Four immaculate dairy farms with a combined 992 hectares and producing approximately 1,418 kilograms of milk solids annually. Pleasant Creek Farm - 321 hectares divided into 42 paddocks, milking 980 cows. The farm has five dwellings. Kauroo Flats Farm - 225.4 hectares divided into 32 paddocks, milking 980 cows in an automated 70 bail rotary shed. The farm has three dwellings. Incholme Farm - 197.4 hectares divided into 29 paddocks, milking 720 cows in a 46 aside herringbone shed. The farm has three dwellings. Kinloch Farm - 247 hectares divided into 34 paddocks, consented to milk 700 cows in a 54 bail rotary shed built in 2015.

www.bayleys.co.nz/553543

Kurt Snook

Noel May

M 027 256 0449 B 03 687 1227 kurt.snook@bayleys.co.nz

M 021 457 643 B 03 687 1227 noel.may@bayleys.co.nz

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

Summer Road, Matakohe, Northland

DAIRY & BEEF - A GREAT COMBINATION

Hikurangi, Whangarei

HARBOURFRONT FARM & FISH!

An option of purchasing one or both of these two outstanding top

For Sale View by appointment

Wake up to the gentle sounds of the sea lapping against the sandy

quality and high producing adjoining dairy and beef farms. Centrally located in the sought after farming location of east Hikurangi.

shore, wood pigeons nestling overhead on a Puriri tree and cattle

www.bayleys.co.nz/1050020

grazing on distant pastures, on this 227ha (561 acre) harbour front

Byles Road Dairy Farm: Comprised of 260.947ha (more or less) this

Stewart Ruddell

grazing farm. Currently run as a beef grazing unit set in 3 titles,

attractive and well managed dairy unit has a two year average

M 027 273 6860 B 0800 80 20 40 stewart.ruddell@bayleys.co.nz

infrastructure includes a woolshed, a large set of cattle yards, a

production of 153,500kgMS from approx. 400 cows. Infrastructure

hayshed and a reliable ("drought proof") all year round water supply.

Tenders Close 4pm, Thurs 2 Mar 2017 41 Queen Street, Warkworth

View by appointment

www.bayleys.co.nz/1200354

John Barnett

sheds and more. The property is complemented by a stunning

M 021 790 393 A/h 09 422 3303 been well subdivided to a high standard and is linked by an extensive john.barnett@bayleys.co.nz

342m² home. Doidge Road Beef Farm: 278.98ha (more or less)

track network system. Down by the water’s edge is the farm’s

comprising some alluvial flats including 30ha dairying land with the

cottage, a mere twenty paces from one of your three private sandy

balance higher grazing country. Featuring very good infrastructure

beaches. This is a quality farm, set on the edge of one of the world’s

including two homes. Highly productive, carries stock well and has

largest natural harbours, with snapper, sea and sand within seconds

good access. Each property has an excellent fertiliser history and

of the doorstep. Don’t delay, start your family legacy today!

ample water sources. Buy one or buy both.

Take a virtual tour: www.umoview.co.nz/14010

includes a 20ASHB cowshed, feed and calving pads, implement

MACKYS REAL ESTATE LIMITED, BAYLEYS LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

The farm’s predominately flat to undulating to easy hill contour has

MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

www.bayleys.co.nz

RE CE SAIVER LE SH IP

SWING AN AXE OR FROM A TREE! Looking for a solid passive investment and/or somewhere to hide from the hustle and bustle of the citylife? Perfectly positioned at the end of a no exit road is this 79 hectare forestry property with multiple leisure activity and income stream opportunities. This property is more than just a forest. It also offers up large blocks of non-covenanted native bush with further development opportunities,

Wenzlick Road, Puhoi

RIVERBEND DAIRY FARMS

Tenders Close 4pm,

This 142 hectare dairy unit, located near Whatawhata, is just a short

Wed 1 Mar 2017 41 Queen Street, Warkworth

around 70 hectares of flats and the balance gentle rolling to some

View by appointment

medium hill. The modern 36ASHB is centrally located with a concrete

www.bayleys.co.nz/1200364

feed pad adjacent plus two large feed bunkers. A good race system

John Barnett

waterfalls, a designated building site plus all the peace and quiet

M 021 790 393 A/h 09 422 3303 john.barnett@bayleys.co.nz

that comes with such a private piece of paradise. Call in the

MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

an extensive track system that weaves right through the forest,

drive from ’The Base’ and the Hamilton CBD. The contour is a mix of

fans in three directions to approximately 85 paddocks. The effluent system is a clay lined pond and is fed from both the dairy and feed

from two bores approximately 36 metres deep with submersibles.

the forest, build a hideaway, hunting lodge or simply watch your

There is a good array of support buildings including two dwellings.

passive income grow! Well located, 5kms from the historic Puhoi

This very well set up dairy unit is close to Hamilton yet enjoys the

village and within 35 minutes of Aucklands CBD.

privacy of a no exit road and great balance of contour.

Take a virtual tour: www.umoview.co.nz/14011

Open Day Tue 21 Feb 12-1pm

Putaruru

LAKESIDE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

59 Arapuni Road

Auction 11am,

230ha property positioned with spectacular views over Lake Taupo.

This 75ha dairy farm provides a great opportunity for the new owner

Thurs 16 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior) 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton

with its consistent production history, well maintained infrastructure and superb contour. Located just west of Putaruru, the farm is on prime dairy land which

View Tues 21 & 28 Feb 11am

www.bayleys.co.nz/812449

is reflected by the above average production. With the introduction of Stuart Gudsell AREINZ M 021 951 737 in shed meal feeders, last season’s production increased to 112,000MS from 218 cows and the generous water consent accommodates up to 250 cows. The farm improvements include a 20 ASHB dairy shed, barn, implement and calf sheds. The four bedroom brick dwelling has a double, internal access garage with office.

B 07 834 6740 stuart.gudsell@bayleys.co.nz

Sharon James AREINZ M 027 235 4771 B 07 834 6742 sharon.james@bayleys.co.nz SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

The effective grazing area comprises 190ha of flat to undulating and 30ha of moderate to steeper land. Carrying service bulls, ewe replacements and finished lambs, current consent also allows the block to be utilised for ’cut and carry’ operations with approx 80ha annually cropped. The property is located in the Lake Taupo Catchment area, which requires farming practices to comply within the nitrogen discharge allocation. It has an allowance of 2,837kg/

View Tues 21 Feb 12-1pm

www.bayleys.co.nz/812434

Mike Fraser-Jones M 027 475 9680

SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

550 Puketapu Road, Taupo

Tenders Close 2pm, Wed 22 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior) 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton

View Wed 22 Feb 12-1pm www.bayleys.co.nz/812456

Mark Dawe M 027 507 0861 B 07 834 3839 mark.dawe@bayleys.co.nz

year which equates to approximately 13kg/ha/year over the effective area. Improvements include a three bedroom home, three hay barns, Stan Sickler stockyards, central laneway and reticulated water supply. Situated only 20kms to Kinloch and 40kms west of Taupo. A dream location makes this attractive investment a very special and rare slice of kiwi paradise. Tainui no longer require the property and it will be sold.

www.bayleys.co.nz

Auction 11am, Thur 9 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior) 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton

pad. There is a pump and stirrer in the pond with 90mm underground B 07 834 3841 mike.fraserjones@bayleys.co.nz piping to five hydrants and a travelling irrigator. Water is sourced

chainsaws crews, ride your horse, mountain (or motor) bike through

SPRINGFIELD DAIRY FARM

102 Casey Road, Whatawhata

M 021 275 7826 B 07 376 0099 stan.sickler@bayleys.co.nz

SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008. WESTERMAN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

DAIRY IN TOP CAMBRIDGE LOCATION This 107 hectare (more or less) dairy farm is situated in Te Miro, east of Cambridge. Contour is flat to rolling, with some steeper. Subdivided into 33 paddocks, with good support buildings and a 30 aside HB shed with in-shed feed system. Winters 270 cows with 60 to 65 calves on until 1st May. Production average on last three years is 95,000MS. Fenced by 2, 3, or 4 wire electric fencing, plus post and batten boundary fencing, along with some hedging. Several

1/1052 Maungakawa Road, Cambridge

LOWER VALLEY DAIRY UNIT

271-354 Kumuiti Road, Fordell

Auction 11am,

Nestled in this amazing valley is a very well set up and fully self

For Sale Offers invited by

Thurs 16 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior) 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton

of titles. The genuine low production cost property has been very well (unless sold prior)

View Wed 22 Feb 11-12pm Wed 1 & 8 Mar 11-12pm www.bayleys.co.nz/812372

Alistair Scown

water sources supply the farm and the homes. Variation 6 compliant. M 027 494 1848 alistair.scown@bayleys.co.nz Two homes include a main 1920s four bedroom, two bathroom weatherboard home, set in lovely mature grounds. The second home

SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

contained dairy unit comprised of just over 183ha held in a number laid out with very good fences and tracks to subdivide the milking platform of 129 hectares. The additional land is well utilised for grazing the replacement stock, with all livestock wintered on farm

4pm, Thurs 23 Mar 2017

View by appointment www.bayleys.co.nz/3100052

Andrew Bonnor

lease land. Supporting infrastructure is of a very good standard, with

M 027 941 7630 A/h 06 323 0563 andrew.bonnor@bayleys.co.nz

a feature being the 2015 built, 40 bail rotary cowshed. This

Dean File

impressive shed is well set up for one person with a high quality Tru

M 021 544 364 A/h 06 210 2185 dean.file@bayleys.co.nz

each season, with the assistance of an adjoining just over 14ha of

is a three bedroom newish brick home. Both homes have double

Test Milk Hub automated system to assist in the milking and

garaging. The property is complimented by stunning rural views.

management of the 400 cow herd with a three year average

Beautiful Cambridge town is nearby for all amenities.

production of 173,271kg/MS.

Early registration of interest is recommended.

Offers Closing: 4pm, Thurs 23 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior)

COAST TO COAST LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

383 HECTARES CLEAN HILL COUNTRY

Mangaweka

SELF CONTAINED HOROWHENUA DAIRY

385 Waikawa Beach Road, Manakau

"Makohine" 1168 Manui Road

For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty Offers Close

This slightly over 216ha Dairy Unit is located at the southern end of

For Sale Offers invited by

Makohine is a very well developed farm featuring clean hill country soils with quality fencing, superb tracking and reliable water. Located on Manui Road in the Makohine Valley only 12 kilometres off SH1 at Mangaweka, the farm currently winters 1850 ewes and 650 hoggets, plus 81 cows and 58 heifers. Improvements include a tidy three bedroom 1950s home on an elevated site, 4-stand woolshed with covered yards for 1000NP, multiple satellite sheep yards and two very high standard sets of cattle yards. The Turakina silt loam soils are regarded as fertile hill country soils

4pm, Thurs 30 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior)

View by appointment

www.bayleys.co.nz/3100055

Pete Stratton M 027 484 7078 B 06 388 0098 A/h 06 388 0568 peter.stratton@bayleys.co.nz COAST TO COAST LTD, BAYLEYS LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

the Horowhenua District in a very handy location. Currently 125ha is utilised as the milking platform with the replacement stock and beef weaners grazed on the balance. Production from the 300 cow herd was 96,518kg/MS on this fully self contained unit. The mixture of flats and rolling hills are well subdivided and are showing good levels

4pm, Thurs 30 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior)

View by appointment

www.bayleys.co.nz/3100053

Dean File M 021 544 364

of fertility on this well laid out property. Cows are run in a single herd A/h 06 362 7835 and milked through the 2011 built, 24 a-side herringbone cowshed. dean.file@bayleys.co.nz Other farm improvements include the 280mÂ˛, six bedroom home,

Lea File

implement sheds and haybarn. The opportunity exists for a new

M 027 305 5190 A/h 06 362 7835 lea.file@bayleys.co.nz

owner to purchase this property as land and buildings only or with all

on mudstone. Reliable stock water is provided by many well

livestock. Not many properties of this size come to the market in this

maintained spring fed dams.

location and we urge those looking for a sizeable holding, in a great

Adjacent 828ha & 155ha farms are also for sale.

location, to enquire today.

COAST TO COAST LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

www.bayleys.co.nz

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

AVOCADO ORCHARD - HOUHORA REGION The Houhora area is recognized as being the most consistent growing region in New Zealand for avocados. Lying north of the main growing district, this 17.77ha property is still within a proven growing area and handy to beaches on both coasts. It offers a great buying opportunity for someone with ambition, vision, dedication and passion. With good internal access ways, shelters and irrigation from a stream, the opportunity is for a new owner to capitalize on the existing infrastructure and plantings and plan a total redevelopment. Currently there are approximately 1000 trees of mixed age and health.

GOING CONCERN

LARGE SCALE BLOCK FOR LEASE

Tenders Close

4pm,

to lease an area of approximately 780ha, situated on the outskirts of 3 Deans Avenue, Christchurch the Isaac Quarry operations, it has a 100 year history of sheep

View by appointment

www.bayleys.co.nz/553911

Ben Turner

production. There is a small irrigation consent for approximately

M 027 530 1400 B 03 375 4700 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz

80ha but it is predominantly a dryland, light-land farm, suited to a sheep breeding, fattening or trading operation. The lessee will be someone who can work with, and among, a series of other activities beyond quarrying, being conservation areas, walkways and a firewood operation, which do not impose unduly on the property’s

Alan Broadbent M 027 441 8149

Vinni Bhula

M 022 632 0630 vinni.bhula@bayleys.co.nz MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

This property is 4.6ha of easy contour, well fenced and maintained to a very high standard. The property is an easy 25 minute drive to Taupo. 15 minutes to Whakamaru with service station, vets, cafe’s and dairy. Kinloch is only 16km away with marina and boat ramp. The dwelling is approx 120m² with three bedrooms, a J line Junior fire place and a double garage, with sleepout.

The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust are offering the opportunity Wed 8 Mar 2017 Christchurch City. Although some parts of the property are involved in

Auction (unless sold prior)

2pm, Wed 15 Mar 2017 Bayleys House, 30 Gaunt Street AKL www.bayleys.co.nz/1000363

143 Waihora Road,Marotiri

Harewood, Christchurch

130 McLeans Island Road

5163 State Highway 1, Ngataki, Far North

Auction (unless sold prior) 5pm, Fri 24 Mar 2017, Level 1 - 38 Roberts Street, Taupo www.bayleys.co.nz/2650195

Mike Adamson M 027 221 1909 mike.adamson@bayleys.co.nz

Stan Sickler

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

M 021 275 7826 stan.sickler@bayleys.co.nz

management. A four-bedroom home, sheep and cattle yards, two haybarns and a three-stand raised-board woolshed are included in

WESTERMAN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

the proposed 5 + 5-year lease period. This is a property with scope.

www.bayleys.co.nz

All companies within this composite are Members of Bayleys Realty Group

RURAL GRAZING\DAIRY SUPPORT FARM

75 Upper Kahui Road, Rahotu, Taranaki Move into the nice three bedroom summit stone home on this property and enjoy your piece of rural New Zealand. This 55.8ha grazing farm is currently running dairy heifers and a flock of romney ewes. In a summer safe area, the appealing rolling land with a good portion of flat and some hill has a two stand woolshed with covered yards (great for calf rearing), two hay sheds, cattle yards and a large carshed/workshop.

Office 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed REAA 2008

Priced to sell

For Sale BEO $1,340,000 by Tues 7 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior) View 11am-12pm, Wed 22 Feb & 1 Mar www.bayleys.co.nz/522276 John Blundell M 027 240 2827 SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

OPEN FARM

OUTSTANDING BARELAND OPPORTUNITY

Charing Cross, Darfield, Canterbury

Wards Road

Deadline Sale 4pm,

An outstanding 173ha (subject to survey) bareland block which holds shares in CPW Stage Two to irrigate approximately 160ha, presenting numerous options to a discerning buyer to capitalize on the future irrigation prospects for this reliable and productive unit. Around 100ha has been leased for dairy grazing, the balance used for breeding and finishing lambs. Stock water supplied by a water race, some areas are in new grass. Seize the opportunity - phone now to inspect.

View by appointment

www.bayleys.co.nz

Wed 8 Mar 2017 (unless sold prior)

www.bayleys.co.nz/553914

Ben Turner

M 027 530 1400 B 03 375 4700

Mike Adamson M 027 221 1909

WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008.

WEB ID TER54111 $3,475,000 + GST TIHIROA 84 Tihiroa Road VIEW Wednesday 22 Feb 11.30 - 12.30pm 117 ha dairy unit in close proximity to both Te Awamutu and Otorohanga. Previously averaging around 86,000 kg/ms off an effective 92 ha. Currently run as a split calving, self contained operation milking 180 friesian cows on target to achieve forecast production of around 75,000 kg/ms. Currently supplying Open Country. Infrastructure includes 31 ASHB shed with meal feeders, 2 haybarns, 6 bay Doug Wakelin implement shed, feed pad and fert bin Dwellings Mobile 027 321 1343 consist of a 4 bedroom brick main home and a tidy 2 dougw@propertybrokers.co.nz bedroom weatherboard cottage.

www.propertybrokers.co.nz

(IF ANY)

4 2

RURAL rural@propertybrokers.co.nz 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Hirawai - 603 ha

Options aplenty

NEW LISTING

WEB ID PR52997 TENDER DANNEVIRKE 304 Otope Road View By Appointment TENDER closes Thursday 9th March, 2017 at 2.00pm, Lloyd Hirawai, a well located sheep & beef breeding/finishing Dodson and Pringle, 9 Ward Street, Dannevirke property 5kms east of Dannevirke. Hirawai features an estimated 510ha of tractor country including 70ha of alluvial flats along the boundary of the Manawatu river. An aesthetically pleasing property with extensive Jared Brock wetlands, well tended wood lots & native plantings. Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823 Infrastructure includes centrally located 5 stand Home 06 376 6341 woolshed, 3x cattle yards, 2 smaller woolsheds & 2x jared@propertybrokers.co.nz satelite sheepyards with accommodation provided by 3 Pat Portas homes with the main a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom recently Mobile 027 447 0612 refurbished family home. Office 06 928 0521 Home 06 855 8330 patp@propertybrokers.co.nz

WEB ID PR53918 EKETAHUNA 525 Mangaoranga Road • Option 1: 105 ha, 30 ha cultivated in superior pastures, 3 stand woolshed, excellent sheep yards. • Option 2: 79 ha, 21 ha cultivatable, (13 ha in superior pasture) cattle yards with loadout and satellite sheep yards. • Option 3: 0.72 ha lifestyle property complete with 4 bedroom family home, open plan living, large deck area, 3 bay implement shed. • Option 4: Entire property - 186 ha Our vendors Instructions are clear, any block can be sold separately. Whether your need is finishing, dairy support, first farm or lifestyle block this property has all the options.

TENDER View By Appointment TENDER closes Wednesday 15th March, 2017 at 2.00pm, Property Brokers 129 Main Street Pahiatua

Jared Brock

Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823 Home 06 376 6341 jared@propertybrokers.co.nz

Tironui

WEB ID TMR53958

HAKATARAMEA 242 Hayes Road • 626.6853 hectares • Tonne of potential • Irrigation • Good arable soils • All-weather central laneway Tironui is a farm with scale and a tonne of potential, currently run as a mixed farming operation with approximately 160 hectares arable for cereal harvest, 1300 mixed aged ewes & hoggets, plus 800 head of cattle.

Successfully farmed for the past 17 years by the vendors VIEW By Appointment and ever improving and adapting to the changing farming practices, the vendors have turned Tironui into a DEADLINE SALE closes Tuesday 7th March, 2017 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) varied and successful farming enterprise. The major potential in Tironui is the irrigation with a large storage dam enabling irrigation of up to 140 hectares, plus a second take of up to 30 litres per second with further options available to irrigate a much larger portion of the farm, which will ensure this farm can diversify even further.

www.propertybrokers.co.nz

DEADLINE SALE

3 Michael Richardson

Mobile 027 228 7027 Office 03 687 7145 michael@propertybrokers.co.nz

1 2

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

Outstanding opportunity    •  •  • 

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•  •  • 

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    

   

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• 

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    





SOUTHERN WIDE REAL ESTATE

ROTHERWOOD” BLUE RIBBON MANIOTOTO PROPERTY

LEVELS FINISHING FARM

NEW LISTING TENDER

986 GIMMERBURN-WAIPIATA ROAD, RANFURLY 753.5914 HA

Web Ref SWDR1190

JOHN FAULKS M: 0274 525 800

RAY KEAN M: 0274 357 478

413.6394 HA

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

21 Macandrew Road Dunedin 9012 p 03 466 3105

Seldom do top finishing properties become available in such a location with this scope and size. This property has had high inputs and produces at very high levels. Presently run as a sheep and beef finishing property. It has also run dairy stock, crop and deer. The homestead is five bedrooms plus an office with a large living/dining/kitchen area and a separate lounge. The property is well laid out with an extensive lane system and extremely good infrastructure. Expressions of Interest by Tuesday 28 February 2017

Web Ref SCAN00121

PAUL BROWN M: 0274 326 864

LK0086040

422 LEVELS VALLEY ROAD, PLEASANT POINT

LK0085961

Southern Wide are privileged to offer ‘Rotherwood’ for sale, which has been in the Blakely family for 126 years. Situated in the Ranfurly/Gimmerburn area, Maniototo Region, currently breeding/finishing sheep and finishing quality large steers. Well-developed property with great infrastructure. Having excellent stock health and the properties are renowned for quality stock. Currently irrigation is a contour system, some border dyked, irrigating approximately 250ha. Water includes shares in the Maniototo West side, Waipiata and Hawkdam Idaburn Irrigation schemes. And a 200,000 l/hour winter consent to fill the approximate area of 7.5ha dam for storage. Overall a quality property with huge potential using the water under a spray irrigation system, combined with quality soils on a good scale. This opportunity is a rear commodity in the market and especially the Maniototo. THREE OPTIONS AVAILABLE. CONTACT SOLE AGENTS TO INSPECT – TENDER 14th March at 12 Noon, Dunedin Office.

21 Macandrew Road Dunedin 9012 p 03 466 3105

MELLINGTON DAIRY - 260 HA PLATFORM PLUS 108 HA SUPPORT ALONGSIDE Rangatira Road, Rangitikei Located just off State Highway 1, this property offers a great blend of scale, quality soil types, a high standard of dairy shed infrastructure, a great district community and primary school, while being an easy commute to Palmerston North City. Comprising a 260 hectare milking platform of Kiwitea silt loam, with 108 hectares of medium hills alongside, which provide potential to run a self-contained operation (50 ha of the hills are not farmed by the dairy unit). These highly regarded dairying soils have been regularly cropped for potatoes in the past. The 60 bail rotary dairy and feed pad were commissioned in 2009 and include an automated dairy management system including auto weighing, heat detection, mastitis monitoring, production management, auto drafting, in-shed feeding and ACRs. Milking year round, the farm has produced a past five year average of over 411,000kg MS under the current higher input farming system. The farm has three homes, primary school bus at the gate and is close to the active Hunterville community. A property offering quality natural resources and infrastructure, whether you choose to maintain a similar or different farming system.

A DAIRY WITH THE "X FACTOR" Manson Siding Road, Owhango

368 hectares Deadline Private Treaty www.nzr.nz/F082 - includes video Deadline Private Treaty Offers Close 3pm, Thu 23 Mar 2017 (if not sold prior). Peter Barnett 027 482 6835 | 06 323 4434 peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

438 Hectares By Negotiation www.nzr.nz/nnzz094

If a better summer rainfall farming environment is needed this property needs to be seen. A low input 350 cow herd on the 180 hectares dedicated milking platform Jamie Proude 06 385 4789 | 027 448 5162 with the balance of land utilised as the support plus a sheep/beef and deer operation adds to this exciting mix. A versatile 438 hectares situated a short distance south of Owhango a district renown for the reliability of production through the defined seasons. Farm buildings include 2 dwellings being a main 4-bedroom home jamie@nzr.nz and another 3-bedroom cottage recently renovated, a 50 aside herringbone shed, woolshed and 2 deer yard complexes and a large implement shed with office and NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008 single manÂ´s quarters. Opportunities are endless from the scale and contour this farm presents. Located centrally in the heart of the adventure capital of the North Island, close to two major ski fields, top trout fishing, cycle ways and great deer hunting within the farm boundary. This is a great opportunity for Waikato and Taranaki buyers to purchase at less than half their $/ hectares going rate and a settlement prior to the start of the new season.

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

Tender

2 Gardiner Place, Pukehina Parade

CLOSES: 4:00pm, Friday 3 March 2017 (unless sold prior)

HIGH PRODUCING COASTAL DAIRY FARM A very rare opportunity has arisen to buy a 128 hectare coastal dairy farm. The flat contour property is in three titles (75 hectares, 38.3 hectares and 14.7 hectares), and leases a further 37 hectares from the neighbour (also for sale) which makes up part of the dairy platform. This high production farm currently milks 530 cows with an average production of 300,000kg/ms over the past three years. The 40-aside dairy shed with 20 automatic cup removers is centrally located and is well supported with infrastructure including, a feed pad, two standoff pads, silage bunkers, 4-bay implement shed, hay barns, calf rearing sheds, commodity bin and more. The bulk of the supplements used are grown on a leased property, with an opportunity to renew this lease. This property has three, three-bedroom dwellings, is close to local schools and Te Puke is only 25 kilometres away. This is a quality farm, with snapper, sea and sand within seconds of the doorstep. So, don’t delay – coastal properties of this calibre are a rarity, start your family legacy today.

View Wednesday, February 22 12:00-1:00pm Web ID: rwpapamoa.co.nz/PPS22606

Janelle Taft Quintin Havenga 021 514 844 021 032 0635 Papamoa Sales Office 07 542 0501

LK0085809

Realty Focus Ltd Licensed (REAA 2008)

275 Pukehina Beach Road, Pukehina COASTAL PROPERTY UTILISED AS A DAIRY FARM

Flat contour 37 hectare block of prime dairy, grazing or cropping land, won’t be on the market for long. Currently incorporated within the neighbouring dairy farm (also for sale) where excellent fences and races have been established to run as one large dairy unit.

THE ADDRESS FOR RURAL REAL ESTATE

Tender TENDER CLOSES: 4:00pm, Friday 3 March 2017 (unless sold prior) View Wednesday, February 22 11:00-11:45am Website & ID number: rwpapamoa.co.nz/PPS22622

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

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

Janelle Taft 021 514 844 janelle.taft@raywhite.com Papamoa Sales Office 07 542 0501

LK0085897

This property complements the neighbouring lessee’s farm; however, it also offers great grazing/cropping options, plus lifestyle possibilities, all of this in a top location for future growth.

This property has a three-bedroom home, single garage, two-bay shed and a decommissioned cowshed. The school bus route is at the front gate, Te Puke is a mere 25 kilometres away and with the new Eastern Link Highway, Tauranga is closer than ever before.

Realty Focus Ltd (Licensed REAA2008)

Marquee Dairy Farm 95 LETHBRIDGE ROAD, TE AWAMUTU Strike the jackpot on this beautifully presented dairy farm with a 172ha milking platform, including 117ha of fully irrigated pasture, which has been faithfully farmed for five generations by the same family. The effluent system, feed pad with green water flood wash, reliable water supply and all other farm infrastructure has been designed, built and maintained to a very high standard. A total of three very tidy houses complement this marquee property. * Milking approx 600 cows

Sale by Tender CLOSES: Wednesday March 29th 2017. At Ray White Te Awamutu office, 223 Alexandra St, Te Awamutu, no later than 4pm. Highest or any Tender not necessarily accepted. Price will be plus GST (if any). (MAY NOT BE SOLD PRIOR) Web ID: rwteawamutu.co.nz/ID#TEA22521 View Wednesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s March 1, 8,15, 22 ALL OPEN DAYS 11am - 1pm

* 44-bail internal rotary shed with Waikato cup removers * 117ha irrigated - K Line with some long laterals * Green water feed pad flood wash

* 90-110mm effluent loop line with hydrants * Approximately 43mm water applied to 117ha every 6-10 days * Average production over past three seasons 300,000kg MS On the market by way of Tender this property is well presented, lays well for the sun and has a good mix of contour. You need to check this one out! Opportunities like this are rare! Call Neville Kemp for further information and plan to be at the Open Days!

Contact Neville Kemp Mob 027 271 9801 A/h 07 871 9801 Email: neville.kemp@raywhite.com www.nevillekemp.co.nz

Rosetown Realty Ltd Licensed (REAA 2008)

LK0086004

* Fully lined 5000cu effluent pond with two stone traps, variable speed drive pump with flow meter

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

For Sale

South Canterbury

NEW LISTING

Timaru 164 Hectares Price

All offers invited on or before 1pm, Friday 24 March 2017

Contact Simon Richards 027 457 0990

Established And Proven Deer Park. This well established deer unit has been taken to the next level of production with the introduction and development of irrigation on part of the property from a reliable on-farm bore. The property has a diverse contour that suits all types of deer or cattle farming. The deer handling facilities and cattle yards are of a high standard and the attractive four bedroom home is in a private and sheltered setting. This property is for genuine sale. | Property ID TU10908

North Otago Northland | Matakohe

Tender

191 Hectares Quality Dairy Unit. This dairy farm offers a near new rotary cow shed and good contour in a sought-after location. It has produced a six-year average of 84,873kgMS on a grass-only system while also rearing all of its 300 plus calves to weaning and running its own young stock up to one year of age. The thoughtfully designed 30 bail Milfos rotary cowshed is centrally located. The water system is also new, the races are in good condition. There are ample good quality sheds, a totally refurbished family home and one workers cottage. Located only 3km off SH12 and only 13km from Ruawai where there is good schooling, groceries, and a range of rural support businesses. CV $2,615,000. | Property ID DG1021

Closing 2pm, Tuesday 21 March 2017 (unless sold by private treaty)

Deadline Sale

Inspection

Contact

By appointment

Merv Dalziel 027 439 5823 Barry Meikle 027 436 5131

Closing 4pm, Thursday 2 March 2017

Contact Nicky Reid 021 103 6277

0800 200 600 | farmlandsrealestate.co.nz

Southernwide Real Estate

Fernhill Farm. 100 hectares irrigated via K-line with a further 78 hectares arable dryland plus 60 hectares steeper grazing. Established shelter belts and subdivided into 37 paddocks. Three bedroom plus sunroom home, double garage and separate studio. Large workshop and calf rearing shed, woolshed and both sheep and cattle yards. Currently being run as dairy support and sheep and beef property. In four separate titles with purchase options available. | Property ID TU10914 0800 200 600 | farmlandsrealestate.co.nz

Licensed under REAA 2008

Autumn 2017 Property Pull-Out We’ve got you covered Following the successful Spring Property Pull-Out in 2016 comes the Autumn 2017 Property Pull-Out feature that runs in The Farmers Weekly issues through all of March. Book a campaign of three or more advertisements in March and get a complimentary editorial on your property in one of our pull-out specials. We’re very proud that The Farmers Weekly remains committed to the Real Estate Industry, and that we have been the most read rural publication for more than a decade. Talk to your agent now and make sure you are in the paper that more farmers read.

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

For more information on real estate advertising contact Shirley Howard on 06 323 0760 or email: shirley.howard@nzx.com Terms and conditions apply. ©2107RE

Licensed under REAA 2008

Oamaru 242 Hectares

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

Real Estate

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

Licenced under REAA 2008

OPEN DAY

Totara Falls Farm

Welcome Bay

Totara Falls is a trophy farm. 104ha in total with massive sea and island views, stunning large, cascading waterfalls. Build your dream home near the airstrip or closer to the road? Around 1ha of mature pine trees, 22.5ha of magnificent, covenanted native forest. Well fenced sheep and cattle yards, two water supplies, good sheds, strong, fertile pasture and plenty of hay country. The ultimate lifestyle farm, run off or eco tourism business with horse trekking, canyoning, hiking, 4WD and mountain biking options. Close to Mount Maunganui and Papamoa Beaches. Totara Falls Farm is a fully working sheep and beef farm. Vendors have loved this property and regretfully offer the property for sale after many happy years of ownership.

TENDER (Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm, Wednesday, 15 March OPEN DAY 1.30pm leaving for farm tour Sunday, 26 February 538A WAITAO ROAD

Waitao Road is a great address and beautiful, recent subdivision on the farm has offered descriptions like ’new Minden’ for this exciting area. Totara Falls Farm - What a stunning place to live. www.pggwre.co.nz ID: TAR25415

Andrew Fowler B 07 571 5797 M 027 275 2244

pggwre.co.nz

Accelerating success.

New Zealand’s leading rural real estate company

Reach more people - better results faster.

Licenced under REAA 2008

Mount Stalker

North Otago

• 7,900ha (19,521 acres) - 2,300ha FH, 5,600ha pastoral lease • Balance of arable downlands oversown hill & clean tussock • Two quality homes plus full range of quality support buildings • Wintering 14,000 stock units with a range of income streams from sheep, cattle, deer plus maturing forestry woodlots • The native bush provides wild game for hunting on this impressive large scale property

PRICE ON APPLICATION Plus GST (if any)

Laurie Farmer M 027 435 7535 Allan Turner M 027 454 4222

Barry Meikle M 027 436 5131 Paul Brown M 027 432 6864

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: OAM25215

colliers.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

Licenced under REAA 2008

TENDER

The Heart Of Waikaretu

Waikaretu

Opportunity Knocks!

Waikato

Waikaretu is midway between Pukekohe and Hamilton. The property is a 244.1607ha flat to rolling finishing farm and the soil type is predominantly Mairoa Ash. The farm is in good heart with good fertiliser history and has plenty of ancillary buildings. A four bedroom home is set up for a family who wish to take advantage of owning this tidy property. Glenview Farm has been diligently farmed to a high standard by the Smith family for 27 years.

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

• • • • • •

TENDER

+ GST (if any) Closes 4.00pm Tuesday 28 February

48 hectares close to Hamilton Two homes - 10 aside HB dairy Two titles split by State Hway 3 Flat to easy contour First time on market for many years Phone the agent for more information

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: HAM25413

(Unless Sold Prior by Private Treaty), Closing 3.00pm, 16 March PGGWRE, Cnr Rostrevor & Vialou Sts, Hamilton OPEN HOME 1 - 2pm, Tuesday, 21 Feb 4333 OHAUPO ROAD

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: PUK25220

Adrian van Mil B 09 237 2041 M 027 473 3632

FINAL NOTICE

John Sisley M 027 475 9808

FINAL NOTICE

Self Contained Dairy Unit

Otorohanga

Greenfields

Piopio

• 170.9229ha (more or less) hill country dairy farm • Approximately 110ha dairy platform, 30 hectare dry stock, balance is bush • Contour 1/3 flat to rolling, 1/3 medium, 1/3 steeper • Milking 300 cows, 2015/2016 production 110,000kg MS, all replacements and extras wintered on • 27 ASHB with feeders and numerous farm buildings, three dwellings • Great opportunity to purchase a well located self contained dairy farm

AUCTION

• 95 hectares, more or less, freehold with 13 hectares of leasehold land • Situated right in the heart of the Piopio Village • Milking 280 cows, 76,000kg MS on 91 hectares of effective dairy platform • Balance is planted in natives, pines and Douglas Fir • 26 ASHB shed, assorted farm buildings • Very tidy 1991 built three bedroom dwelling • Excellent first farm opportunity

AUCTION

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: TEK25241

(Unless Sold Prior), 11.00am, Wednesday, 15 March, PGGWRE, 87 Duke Street, Cambridge OPEN DAYS 11.00am-12.00pm, Friday, 24 February, 3 March, 655 PUKETAWAI ROAD

(Unless Sold Prior), 11.00am, Friday, 10 March, Panorama Motor Inn, Awakino Road, Te Kuiti OPEN DAYS 11.00-12.00pm, Thursday, 23 February, 2 March, 28A KEA STREET

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: TEK25042

Peter Wylie B 07 878 0265 M 027 4735 855

pggwre.co.nz

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

Licenced under REAA 2008

TENDER

Well Located Grazing Property

Taumarunui TENDER

• 240 hectares - approximately 190 hectares effective • Contour is flat to easy rolling with steeper hills at back of farm • Traditionally running 90 MA cows, 20 rising 3yr cattle, 60 rising 2yr cattle, 60 rising 1yr cattle, 380 ewes, 330 hoggets • Very tidy five bedroom homestead set back from the road • A well located farm with ample easy contour which offers numerous opportunities • 4WD motorbike needed and helmets are mandatory

(Unless Sold Prior By Private Treaty), Closes 11.00am, Friday 24 March, PGG Wrightson Ltd, 31 Miriama St, Taumarunui OPEN DAYS 11.00-1.00pm, Thursday, 23 Feb, 2, 9 Mar, 1462 WHANGANUI RIVER RD

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: TEK25456

Peter Wylie B 07 878 0265 M 027 473 5855

AUCTION

Don’t Miss This One • A very attractive desirable 66.245 hectare grazing property • Well balanced with approximately 38ha flat, 17ha rolling and 10ha hill country • Excellent fertility, good quality pastures, well subdivided, cattle yards and good water supply from own bore • Bare land of this quality is hard to find in the popular Waikite Valley area.

Waikite Valley AUCTION (Unless Sold Prior) 1.00pm, Thursday, 23 March PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited Cnr Marguerita & White Sts, Rotorua OPEN DAY 11.00am - 1.00pm, Thursday, 9 March

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: ROT25338

Brett Ashworth B 07 347 6076 M 021 0261 7488

pggwre.co.nz

MARKET SNAPSHOT

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Grain & Feed

MILK PRICE FORECAST ($/KGMS) 2016-17

6.38

AS OF 18/11/2016

AS OF 09/02/2017

Prior week

Last year

WMP GDT PRICES AND NZX FUTURES

5.15

4.80

327

350

NI mutton (20kg)

3.10

2.30

294

293

306

SI lamb (17kg)

5.20

5.25

4.80

Feed Barley

287

294

SI mutton (20kg)

3.10

2.15

228

Export markets (NZ$/kg) 7.77

7.83

7.34

245

UK CKT lamb leg

Maize Grain

370

352

PKE

248

225

* 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.

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

6.5

Last week

Prior week

5.0

Last year

CBOT futures (NZ$/t)

4.5

Wheat - Nearest

227

226

256

Corn - Nearest

203

202

217

South Island 1 7kg lamb

6.5 6.0

313

303

355

3000

ASW Wheat

290

275

347

2500

Feed Wheat

279

256

313

2000

Feed Barley

244

239

312

102

113

PKE (US$/t) Ex-Malaysia

NZ venison 60kg stag

5.5

600

$/kg

APW Wheat

Jan 17 Apr 17 NZX WMP Futur es

6.0 5.5

INTERNATIONAL

3500

1500 Apr 16 Jul 16 Oct 16 C2 Fonter r a WMP

North Island 17kg lamb

7.0

Australia (NZ$/t)

4000

5005.0 4004.5 3004.0 Oct Oct

Dec Dec

Feb Feb

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

Prior week

vs 4 weeks ago

WMP

3260

3350

SMP

2490

2630

AMF

5550

Butter

4540

Last week

Prior week

Last year

Last week

Prior week

Last year

2600

Urea

482

525

29 micron

6.65

8.95

5550

5390

Super

317

330

35 micron

3.70

3.50

5.73

4540

4290

DAP

850

39 micron

3.55

3.35

5.65

739

3500 3250 May

Jun

Jul

Aug

MARKETS rallied last week, driven by positive corporate earnings and promises from United States President Donald Trump for an exceptional tax plan. The three main indexes in the US saw the longest streak of record closes since the early 90s as Trump continued with his tax rhetoric, saying again it will be phenomenal. Since the election US markets have rallied on the back of the fiscal stimulus measures Trump campaigned on. The local economic calendar was fairly quiet with investors largely turning to the corporate reporting season for direction. Things ramped up with a large number of corporates reporting both half and full year results. This week it gets even busier. Expectations were for median earnings growth on the NZX50 of 8.2% for FY17 and 7.8% for the ASX50. We will be watching results from Chorus, EBOS Group, Air New Zealand, Meridian Energy and Port of Tauranga. A2 Milk was a stand-out for the reporting season in New Zealand so far, more than tripling its first half net profit from the previous year. Earnings were driven by a huge increase in demand for its infant formula in China. Market commentary provided by Craigs Investment Partners

9593

S&P/FW AG EQUITY

11372

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

7100

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

7120

$/kg

250 150 Feb 13

4 weeks ago

Sharemarket Briefing

5.5

NZ venison 60kg stag

600

c/k kg (net)

350

NZ$/t

US$/t

3750

35 micron wool price

6.5

CANTERBURY FEED PRICES 450

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR

This yr

(NZ$/kg)

4000

Latest price

Last yr

Aug Aug

NZ average (NZ$/t)

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Apr

JunJun

WOOL

* price as at close of business on Thursday

Mar

Apr Apr

FERTILISER

Last price*

3000

Last year

5.25

Feed Wheat

Waikato (NZ$/t)

Dec 16 AgriHQ Seasonal

Last week Prior week

NI lamb (17kg)

Milling Wheat

PKE

Sep 16 AgriHQ Spot Fonterra forecast

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

c/kkg (net)

$/kgMS

MILK PRICE COMPARISON

US$/t

Last week Canterbury (NZ$/t)

6.00

8 7 6 5 4 3 Jun 16

SHEEP MEAT

DOMESTIC

AGRIHQ 2016-17

FONTERRA 2016-17

Sheep

$/kg

Dairy

Feb 14 Feed barley

Feb 15

Feb 16 Feb 17 PKE spot

YTD High

YTD Low

Auckland International Airport Limited

6.75

7.04

6.31

Fletcher Building Limited

10.11

10.86

9.94

Meridian Energy Limited Spark New Zealand Limited Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd Ryman Healthcare Limited Mercury NZ Limited (NS) Contact Energy Limited Vector Limited Port of Tauranga Limited (NS)

2.64 3.56 8.89 8.73 2.97 4.89 3.27 4.40

2.77 3.71 9.20 8.88 3.10 5.02 3.30 4.52

2.57 3.41 8.50 8.17 2.94 4.65 3.15 3.86

Listed Agri Shares

400 3.5 300

2.5

Oct Oct

Dec Dec 5‐yr ave

Feb Feb

Apr Apr Last yr

JunJun

AugAug This yr

Dollar Watch

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

4.5

500

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

2.460

2.850

2.060

Cavalier Corporation Limited

0.630

0.810

0.580

Comvita Limited

6.900

8.020

6.000

Delegat Group Limited

6.120

5.650

Foley Family Wines Limited

1.500

1.480

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

6.220

6.300

5.990

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

2.560

2.600

2.550

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.380

1.420

1.270

PGG Wrightson Limited

0.550

0.490

Sanford Limited (NS)

7.020

7.120

6.700

Scales Corporation Limited

3.450

3.530

3.320

Seeka Limited

4.600

4.300

Tegel Group Holdings Limited

1.290

1.460

1.280

S&P/FW Primary Sector

9593

9716

9307

S&P/FW Agriculture Equity

11372

11571

10899

S&P/NZX 50 Index

7100

7180

6971

S&P/NZX 10 Index

7120

7254

7047

THE kiwi dollar remained This Prior Last NZD vs firm against strong United week week year States data and consumer USD 0.7232 0.7190 0.6632 confidence and the Federal EUR 0.6781 0.6745 0.5959 Reserve chair indicating AUD 0.9397 0.9422 0.9286 interest rate rises are on the agenda. GBP 0.5795 0.5750 0.4631 That showed traders Correct as of 9am last Friday already long on the US dollar, some market nervousness about the talk from President Trump ahead of any policy implementation, including a desire for a lower US dollar, and also a global picture supporting the kiwi, BNZ currency strategist Jason Wong said. It had still been surprising that all the influences had not pushed the US dollar higher. Any Trump talk can slow down the US dollar in the short term but economic growth and firming interest rates will eventually push it higher. The BNZ thinks the kiwi itself could rise in the next few weeks, with resistance at a fair value estimate of US$0.74, then from mid-year falling to a year-end figure round 0.67. That would be consistent with a Fed increase in interest rates in June. “We are a bit nervous on that call and the risk is to the upside. The NZ and Australian dollars have been the best performers over the last year and will be supported by the world economy recovering to the best growth rates in years,” Wong said. BNZ expects the kiwi to rise against the euro till key elections in major euro-zone countries are settled and to trade in the £0.58 to 0.59 range. Alan Williams

jobs.farmersweekly.co.nz 0800 85 25 80

Employment

WORKING FARM MANAGER 1,350 Cows – Te Awamutu

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT SHEEP?

Every now and again a great opportunity arises and this is definitely one of those if you are a hands on, pasture focused, profit driven, large herd manager that loves ‘their’ cows. Our long term client is a family owned and operated business that milks 1350 cows through two sheds just 10 minutes from Te Awamutu. This newly created role is aimed at the cream of the Farm Manager crop, and the ‘right’ person will be rewarded accordingly. The farm is extremely well set up with the two dairies, races, water and pastures all ‘top notch’. The farm is moving to split calving with the status quo being 40% autumn calving and 60% spring calving, with the winter herd being milked through one of the two sheds (the 50 bail). Production is budgeted at between 500,000kgMS and 550,000kgMS, with the variance being totally reliant on the availability of supplement at a profitable price. If you want to join a fantastic operation, and lead a great team, all in the heart of the Waikato, then you need to consider this role. The successful candidate can start any time from now on and will have a competitive reward package that includes a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house. To apply, either call us on 07 823 0117, or email your CV to jobs@fegan.co.nz. But be quick as applications close Friday 24 February 2017.

TRACTOR DRIVER/STOCKPERSON

Are you an innovative farmer?

10,400ha, mixed cropping & sheep

If you answered yes to these, this WILL interest you. Our clients are a large (10,400ha) family owned and operated mixed cropping and sheep operation, just 60 km from Albany. …. And no this is NOT the typical isolated West Australian Station, the town of Albany has a population of 34,000, is on the coast with beautiful white sand beaches and is a bit of a tourist destination. …and is just 30 minutes from the farm.

The Curwen family are progressive and innovative farmers with their operation based at Albany, Western Australia. And no, this is not the typical isolated West Australian Station. The town of Albany has a population of 34,000, is coastal with beautiful sandy beaches, and is a bit of a tourist destination. And is just 35 minutes from the farm.

We are seeking someone to focus on the sheep side of the business. Presently they have a flock of 14,000 ewes and the aim is to finish all the lambs (other than replacements). …approximately 11,000 in all. This is achieved through utilising a mix of pasture, crop residue and a feed lot. But to be fair, the focus has been on the cropping, hence the creation of this new role as they recognise there is room to lift the performance of this part of the business. This senior person will be part of the leadership team and once familiar with the business, will ideally lead the sheep side.

This role is really the ultimate job for someone that loves working with (big) good gear and also enjoys working with sheep from time to time. The split is probably 80/20 (80% machinery). The business grows canola, barley and wheat and is self-contained (they own 7 harvesters). All staff on farm work as one at key times, with the sheep guys helping at peak times during the arable season and vice versa. The successful applicant will have a can-do attitude and is prepared to put in the hours at key times. The employers pay their staff well and they pay them for every hour worked, so a highly motivated person will be able to earn in excess of $80K plus super plus house.

The family works hard and rewards their people accordingly, so this presents a real opportunity for a like-minded person who is presently at or near to Stock Manager level and is wanting to grow. The successful applicant will be offered a very competitive package that includes a good 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, a farm ute, and for the ‘right’ person a six figure monetary reward.

Don’t take my word for this, visit our website to view the videos, photos and links and then apply by emailing your CV to jobs@fegan.co.nz. or call us on 07 823 0117.

Applications close 4pm Friday 3 March 2017.

To view photos go to our website www.fegan.co.nz

Human Resources • Recruitment

750 Cows, near Tauranga

David and Lesley Jensen own an excellent 240ha dairy farm just 20km from Tauranga City. The farm has a history of producing around 260,000kgMS per year from around 750 cows and has been grade free for six years. The farm has very good infrastructure including a recently refurbished 50 bail turnstyle Rotary. There are three good dwellings on the property, including a 5 bedroom plus sleepout and double garage main house for this role. We are seeking a quality operator who will farm this place as if it were their own, have a proven history of performing to a high standard in all key areas including a proven record of grass based milk production and quality staff management skills. In return the successful applicant will get to work less than half an hour from Tauranga (and a magnificent view) and to work with quality owners who support without being ‘in your face’. If this role is for you please send your CV to jobs@fegan.co.nz or call us on 07 823 0117. To view photos go to our website www.fegan.co.nz

EMPLOYMENT

REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY

We are now looking for: ● Farm Manager ● 2IC ● 2 x Dairy Assistants

● Business Manager

$2.00 + GST per word - Please print clearly Name:

The combination of both dairy farming and research provides an exciting and unique opportunity to be involved in this first of its kind research facility at scale in the southern hemisphere. The Southern Dairy Hub, located in Makarewa, has been established in response to Southland and Otago farmers wanting to address farming challenges in the region through local research and demonstration. The farm is a newly converted 349ha selfcontained property designed for running up to 800 cows in four herds of 200. The property also allows for wintering and young stock management, allowing research to be implemented across the whole system.

Phone: Address: Email: Heading: Advert to read:

Visit www.southerndairyhub.co.nz for further information

SHEPHERD Sisam & Sons Limited

Ruatahuna Farm Trust

Sisam & Sons Limited are recruiting for the position of a shepherd on a 1100 ha block, situated 24km south of Whakatane, Bay of Plenty.

Situated 110km south-east of Rotorua in the heart of Te Urewera. This 980 hectare (effective) sheep and beef breeding and finishing property provides a unique opportunity. Working closely with the farm advisor, the successful applicant will: • Be suitably experienced • Have excellent communication skills • Be responsible for implementing farm management plan • Be comfortable managing two fulltime staff • Take pride in their work and house provided • Be honest, reliable and resilient

NEED

STAFF? Advertise your vacancy in the NZ Farmers Weekly

Three bedroom renovated home provided. Start date May 2017

The successful applicant must have excellent stockmanship skills and run a minimum of two dogs. A positive attitude, sound judgement, initiative and dependability together with good communication skills and the ability to be a team player being important attributes. This position offers a wide experience of intensive and extensive farming sytems comprising of bulls, steers, dairy heifers, carry over cows and breeding ewes. This is an excellent opportunity to develop management skills.

LK0086175©

FARM MANAGER

Please attach CV and written application to: Matt Sisam, matt@sisamson.co.nz or 31 Sisam Valley Road, RD1, Whakatane

Send CV and Cover letter to: rotorua@agfirst.co.nz

Call Debbie

LK0086209©

Or send CV to: Farm Manager 078 PO Box 976, Rotorua 3040

Exciting and unique opportunities

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CONTRACT MILKER

www.fegan.co.nz

0800 85 25 80 classifieds@nzx.com

Enquiries phone: Matt Sisam 07 312 9060 (evenings) or Ken Stewart 07 312 9399 (evenings) Applications Close Friday 3rd March

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

Employment

LOOK!

Classifieds

Classifieds 0800 85 25 80

NO GST PRICE INCREASE!

Innotek NZ is maintaining all current low prices

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

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ANIMAL SUPPLEMENTS

Contact Andrew Heard, General Manager, on 021 272 7522 or 03 314 6022

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

ATTENTION FARMERS

Applications close Wednesday 15th March, 2017

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

Shepherd / General A position is available on a 11,000su hill-country sheep & beef, breeding & finishing property, 15km from Ohura. The successful applicant will need to have previous experience, with the ability to work as part of a team or on their own as required, taking some responsibility for the day-to-day operation.

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

Key requirements are: • Able to work in a support role alongside the manager and 2IC • A sound knowledge of farming activities • Be honest, reliable and take responsibility • Good communication skills • 3-4 dogs under good command • Take pride in their work and be self-motivated

EXPERIENCED HAY RUNNERS available in Rodney and Auckland. Phone 027 284 6636. Nicola.

This job offers regular dog work, tidy 2-bedroom accommodation and a competitive remuneration package. If you feel you have the suitable qualifications for the job and would like to apply please send your CV to:

DOGS FOR SALE

LK0086232©

19 Tawa Street, Ohura 3926 or email rossco.or@xtra.co.nz.

BRIAN BURKE, NZ Champ 1984 and 5 times NZ Champ finalist, available to train your working dog. In three weeks he will transform your heading dog into a productive asset for the farm. Contact Brian 06 343 9561 for further details and pricing (heading dogs only).

JUST COUNTRY Dating Service

Ph 027 390 9189 or email justcountry123@ hotmail.com

Servicing our rural clients

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

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

FOR SALE

Gumboots Work Boots www.thesocklady.co.nz

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

GOATS WANTED

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

GRAZING AVAILABLE GRAZING AVAILABLE for dairy weaners and /or heifers. Long or short term. Located North Taranaki. Phone 06 752 9030. FOR BEEF COWS, NW Waikato. Large numbers. 20th May. Phone 027 697 1049.

* Up to 6 rechargable waterproof collar units and remotes * Model SD-1825 – 1.6km range (1 mile) * Model SD-1225 – 1.2km range

STOCK FEED

GREAT * Model SD-825 – 800 metreVALUE range

MOISTURE METERS Hay, Silage dry matter, grain. www.moisturemeters.co.nz 0800 213 343. HAY – STRAW. Rounds and squares from $45. BALEAGE $75. Unit loads available. Phone 021 455 787. Dispatches from Lower N.I.

WORK WANTED

SD-1825 with- 1 collar $685.00 * 24 levels of correction 3-year warranty SD-800 with 1 collar $535.00 Extra collars $245.00 GREAT VALUE Prices include GST SD-1825 WITH 1 COLLAR $695.00 SD-1225 WITH 1 COLLAR $595.00 SD-825 WITH 1 COLLAR $495.00 EXTRA COLLARS $275.00 (usually $375.00) PRICES INCLUDE GST

I’M A SINGLE 55-yearold male with a life time of experience in farming. Experience in dairying but my preference is fencing, cattle or beef grazing /managing. Willing to locate anywhere. An excellent team of dogs and references. Phone Brian 027 514 4662.

sales@innotek.co.nz • Anti-bark training collars • Containment systems

For a free brochure or to order call

0800 872 546

www.innotek.co.nz or Ph 0274 935 444

MAKURI LIME

AGRICULTURAL LIME: High calcium content Fine particle size Easy spreading Trace element mixing available RACE LIME: Long lasting compaction Soft on cows feet Other Uses include: Driveways Forestry roads Horse arenas Shed ﬂoors Wet areas/Gateways Extremely competitive pricing throughout lower North Island. Bulk order discounts apply. Delivery Available/Pick up welcome. Enquiries

Phone Matt 06 376 3900

welcome

The most versatile Sheep Handler on the market • No power • No air • No breakdowns • Hands free operation • Good flow • Complete control • Portable • Weigh, dag, draft, feet, vaccinate – all in one pass!

We could save you hundreds of $$

HOMES FARM SHEDS SUBDIVISIONS PUMPS

NEW Combi Trailer

Prices include delivery to your door!

• Road legal • Swing-arm suspension • 400ml ground clearance • 2 minute setup • Lowers flat to ground • Stone guard converts to roof • Fits existing Combi Clamps

Cattle Handling Equipment

Standard Crush, Vet Crush, Weight Crate, Auto Head Yoke, Sliding Gates • Heavy Duty • Hot dipped galvanized • Efficient • One-man operation • Sure catch – never miss • Self-catching with auto reset • No weight limit • Easily adjustable width • Built to last • Full range of options available

T H IN K PRE BU IL T

SOLID – PRACTICAL WELL INSULATED – AFFORDABLE

Interiors/Exteriors Water blasting Roof repaints Wallpapering Airless spray painting Fence, deck and barn staining.

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

eliable Strong, fRficient and E

From prep to finish 10% Discount to gold card holders Ph 021 076 5718

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

LK0086043©

All work guaranteed

Email: blessed.withtools @gmail.com

KEEP YOUR WORKING DOGS ON THE JOB

RAMS. SOUTHDOWNS AND Suffolk/ Southdown X for heavy fast growing lambs. $250- $500. Phone 06 357 7727 or 021 133 7533.

Combi Clamp Sheep Handler

POWER CABLE

For friendly & professional advice CALL 0800 843 0987 Fax: 07 843 0992 Email: power@thecableshop.co.nz THE CABLE SHOP WAIKATO www.thecableshop.co.nz

RAMS. HILL COUNTRY Perendales. Easy care with good size and quality wool. $250-$500. Phone 06 376 4751 or 021 133 7533.

NEW HOMES

LK0086207©

LK0086163©

The applicant must:

Applications close 14th March 2017

FARM MAPPING

WANTED

PAINTER / DECORATORS

Te Akau is a fantastic rural community which has a primary school on the farm boundary. A 4-bedroom house is available.

If this appeals to you either send C.V to becks@piquethillfarms.co.nz or phone William on 07 825 4480 A/H

12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195. HEADING, HUNTAWAY, handy, backing dogs or bitches, 2-6 years. Top money paid. Phone Ginger Timms 03 202 5590 or 027 289 7615. BUYING NOW! Capable Handy, Mainstay Huntaways. NZ wide! 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes. FOR ONLY $2.00 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds. Ph Debbie on 0800 85 25 80.

FORESTRY

CONTRACTOR

This position is for a manager to run a 900ha block with two bull finishing units and a Romney stud of 1100 ewes. The successful applicant will need to be perceptive and knowledgeable in sheep genetics and modern breeding systems. A team player who is an effective communicator with good planning skills is essential.

• Have drive and passion for the sheep and beef industry • Be self-motivated • Have excellent communications skills • Have a current drivers licence • Must enjoy working in a team environment • Have a good team of working dogs • Good previous knowledge in the sheep and beef industry

LK0085890©

For Town & Country clients NZ wide.

Piquet Hill Farms are seeking an enthusiastic and self-motivated person to work on their sheep and beef property in Te Akau, Waikato. The family owned business has approximately 1700 hectares of hill country farmland which runs a successful ram stud operation as well as providing breeding bulls to the dairy industry.

DOGS WANTED

Merino Mid Sock

PERSONAL

Block Manager Type: Full time, Permanent

KELPIE PUPS, black B, one r&t B, one r&t D, one red D. Proven workers. References available. Micro-chipped and vaccinated. $500. Phone 09 439 6720. FORTY HUNTAWAYS, Heading, Handies. $500$2500. Ship NZ wide. 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes.

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE

LK0086185©

ONE HUNTAWAY PUP. Seven months. Two dogs to choose from. Ready to go. $700. Vaccinated. Phone 07 984 7103.

ANIMAL HEALTH

For this position you will need: ■ 4 - 5 years farming experience ■ To be able to work collaboratively in a team environment ■ An ability and interest in using modern technology ■ Two or three working dogs ■ An open mind, receptive to what’s possible on a large organic farm

For further information please contact: Ross Perry – Farm Manager Phone 07 893 8751

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

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

0800 227 228

Farma ra Law ma 23rd, 2 rence 4th Fe b. Cen Field Dtral District a y s , 16th,1 7th site O18, Sth Isla ,18th March n Days, s d Kirwee F ie it 30th, 3 e 282, 29th ld , 1st Ma rch

www.combiclamp.co.nz

Videos on website – On-farm demonstrations available Stuart Oliver - SI Agent 03 318 0771 / 027 435 3062

LK0086228©

Mt Cass Station, Waipara, is a diverse 3000ha coastal property running 14,500su of sheep and beef, with all stock finished. The farm grows 150ha of specialist crops and has 200ha of newly established pivot irrigation. The farm has been organically certified for the last eight years and has recently launched its own meat brand. We seek an enthusiastic person to join our team, to assist with livestock, cropping and general maintenance duties.

DOGS FOR SALE

LK0084844©

NORTH CANTERBURY

ANIMAL HANDLING

LK0085321©

FARM GENERAL POSITION

Livestock

MEADOWSLEA

Fairlea Texels

For Sale

50 Liberty Young cows 500 M/S $1800

Autumn Ram Sale On-farm Fairlie – Friday March 17 – 1pm

120 2th Rams-including selection for hogget mating • Romney • Kelso Maternal • Romdale • Kelso X Romney • Texel X Romney • Kelso Terminal (Black Face)

Meaty Muscle Makes Money

• Perendale X Texel X Romney

23 XBred 3rd calvers BW 104 PW 175 6 weeks AI then Hereford

93 3rd calvers XBred BW 90 PW 81

Premier sires 4 wks Rotary shed $2050

800 XBred herd 130 I/C heifers

$2150

100 F/R Friesian cows 500 M/S

$2000

250 F/FX Unrecorded 400 M/S

$1650

MT Friesian/Friesian X heifers Agents enquiries welcome

Lower North Island buyers seeking: In-milk cows, in-calf or empty, all breeds and types Friesian or Kiwi-cross heifer calves

TAR41296 737 Capacity capital stock Friesian cows. A2A2 sires and breeding. BW 73; PW 77; RA 92%. DTC 20/7 (6 weeks AB LIC, tailed Hereford) $2100 Also, outstanding 176 spring calving Friesian heifers available from this herd BW 112 PW 106. Calving 20/7/17 to Jersey bull. $1800. Simon Payne 027 241 4585

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

KAUROA (RAGLAN) ANNUAL WEANER FAIR

Morrinsville Dairy Complex Tues 28 February – 12 Noon

Tuesday 7th March A/C Client – Matawai 600 2½ year Traditional Steers Approx 450 Ang, Ang/ Hfd x 150 Exotic x Well Bred Hill Country Cattle Tony Blackwood 0272 431 858

Phone Ollie Carruthers for further details 0274 515 312

ANNUAL 15 MONTH HEIFER FAIR

Visit www.mylivestock.co.nz and search “events” tab

LK0086227©

MAN43239 480 Friesian/FriesianX genuine cows. Sharemilkers herd. BW58 PW79 RA95%. $2100. Malcolm Coombe 027 432 6104

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz 296 Fr/FrsnX/Jsy Herd BW76 PW88 RA93% DTC 20/7. $2100. Keith West: 0272 149 180 293 Fr/FrX Herd BW85 PW86 RA100% DTC 10/7. $2100. Jasyn Yearbury: 027 655 6551

Introducing our new Livestock account manager Nigel Ramsden.

158 Jsy/JsyX O.A.D Herd BW89 PW101 DTC 20/7. $1850. Paul Collins: 027 304 8994

Nigel comes from a wide farming background, inclusive of sheep, beef, deer and arable. With diverse experience in agri-marketing, Nigel understands the importance of having effective advertising in place, and is here to help tailor your campaigns to meet your marketing needs. Nigel looks forward to talking to you about how you can increase your marketing horsepower through a customised livestock campaign with us. Welcome Nigel!

295 Frsn/FrsnX hfrs CRV BW53 PW54 DTC 25/7, 3G. $1750ono. Kris Sturge: 027 510 4385 100 Frsn hfrs BW96 PW102 DTC 3/7 top line. $1500. Tim Williamson: 027 511 7778

More stock available on our website or contact National Dairy Coordinator Paul Kane Ph 027 286 9279 – paul.kane@carrfields.co.nz

LK0085509©

75 Fr/FrsnX/Jsy hfrs BW111 PW118 RA 93% DTC 20/7. $1700. Keith West: 027 214 9180

2336FW

Phone: 06 323 0761 Email: livestock@nzx.com

I/C Heifers

15 Fr/FrX hfrs BW141 PW152 RA100% DTC 22/7. $1750. Paul Kane: 027 286 9279

Friday 24th February, 12.30pm Tuakau Saleyards A/C Waipuna Valley Farms 1500 15 month Beef Heifers comprising: 750 Angus 320 Angus/Hereford x 70 Hereford 260 Char x, Sim x, Dev x 100 Stabiliser • Quality Line of Traditional & Exotic Bred Cattle • Farmed In Large Mobs on Genuine Hill Country • Cattle In Hand Several Days Prior to Sale Day, Weighed Dead Empty • Top Bred Cattle Purchased ex South Island Weaner Fairs • Good Condition Cattle Contact: PGGW Tony Blackwood 0272 431 858 Vendor David Short 07 826 7763

WAIKATO HERDS FOR SALE

518 Frsn R3yr 2nd calvers DTC 25/7 BW81 PW94. $2000. Graham Brown: 027 271 4722

48 Xbred hfrs BW153 PW169 DTC 20/7 to Jsy bull. $1600. Paul Collins: 027 304 8994

Thursday 2nd March, 12.30pm Start 600 Weaner Steers 400 Weaner Heifers Exotic x, Angus, Ang/Hfd x, Hfd & Hfd/ Frsn x Annual Drafts ex Coastal Hill Country Chris Leuthart 07 825 8410 or 0274 936 594

MATAWHERO SALE

Approximately 200 Frs/Frsx & Jsy in-calf cows

WAI43860 75 Kiwi X in-calf heifers. BW 120; PW 131. All G3 profiled. $1750 Excellent condition 3 digit code. Ollie Carruthers 027 451 5312

More listings available on website below.

Call your Farm Source Livestock Representative to arrange inspection and selection on Freephone 0800 548 339 or our Livestock Administration Team 07 858 0611

PRELIMINARY SALE NOTICE

WAI44003 100-250 Xbred Cows on computer split from 300 cows. BW 77; PW 95; RA 94%. $2050 Really young herd. Liam McBride 021 222 2662

25 Autumn calving cows. BW37 PW61. Bull out 1st June for 7 weeks. Vendor negotiable. Allan Swindlehurst 027 493 2844

To receive the Prime Range Meats weekly schedule prices via email, contact the Procurement Manager Ken Cavanagh on: 027 436 8560 or email ken.cavanagh@primerange.co.nz

AUTUMN CALVING COWS

TAR41818 73 Beautiful Friesian cows. BW 69; PW 73; RA 93%. DTC 10/7. $2350 All calving in 14 days. Bryan Goodin 027 531 8511

LK0086237©

Call Andrew Leggett 022 038 3216 PROGRESSIVE LIVESTOCK LTD

HERDS & HEIFERS FOR SALE

MAN41702 60 G3 DNA capital line Friesian heifers. BW 87; PW 84. $1750. Emmet McConnell 027 443 7671

Autumn-born dairy beef bull calves

2015 born Records not required No IBR testing 1 April delivery (firm)

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

One schedule price for all farmers

*Suftex first-cross rams also available

Contact Graeme Saunders 027 448 4454

Stock Wanted

Wanted Ewes

1808 Makino Road RD 9, Feilding 4779 Ph: 06 328 8710 Fax: 06 328 8712 Mob: 027 226 5784 Email: fairleatexels@xtra.co.nz

LK0086211©

LK0082960©

Wanted

• • • •

nzfss.livestock@fonterra.com

Call Hugh & Helen Winder on 0800 328 877

Contact Hugh Davidson 027 226 6568

XBred In–Calf Heifers for Export

Contact: David Giddings 03 685 8027 Auctioneers PGGW Keith Willson 0800 309 554 Callum Dunnett 027 590 8612 or your local agent www.meadowslea.co.nz

$2050

WANTED

Private sales option for early mating delivery

LK0085872©

Oamaru

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

LK0086208©

LK0085889©

Livestock 0800 85 25 80

LK0086203©

530 Frsn/ Frsnx Cows, BW69, PW93, RA99% Calving 7th July, Ambreed Herd. Ave 504M/S per Cow. Will Computer Split. $2,250.00 Shaan Featherstone 0276 661 198 330 Frsn/ Frsnx Cows, BW91, PW109, RA99% Calving 20th July. Young Herd, Will Computer Split. $2,100.00 Richard Todd 0274 942 544 290 XBred/ Jsy Cows, BW68, PW91, RA89% Calving 6th July. Tidy Herd, Low Inputs. $1,750.00 Jason Roberts 0272 431 429 200 Frsn/ Frsnx Cows, BW71, PW78, RA89% Calving 20th July, 2nd/ 3rd Calvers. $1,900.00 Todd Van Berlo 0275 297 748 150 Jsy Cows, BW104, PW97, RA95% Calving 21st July. Strong Boned Jsy Cows. $1,850.00 Jason Roberts 0272 431 429 Over 80 Lines of Incalf Heifers Available Check out Agonline for all the Details.

Further Inquiries John Duffy Keith Willson

027 240 3841 027 412 5766

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

• • • • • • • •

Good, heavy well-‐bred ell-‐bred

5 YR o r MA EWES WES 5-‐35kgs Store LAMBS 25-‐35kgs

FOR SALE

30 MA ANGUS COWS ANG BULLS ULLS th

10 Nov, Nov, to be scanned canned DAIRY LISTINGS, please refer to website ebsite

Contact: M.R. Skelton Central Otago 03 448 8545

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Ross Dyer 0274 274 3 333 33 381

WHAT DO YOU SEE? That’s right, guaranteed black face lambs sired by Suffolk rams.

Maximises the premiums being paid High dress-out percentage High value conformation Excellent meat to bone ratio (saleable meat yield) Less waste Succulent and well textured meat Has its own unique flavour Takes less time to cook Doesn’t leave a fatty taste in your mouth Sought-after by butchers and supermarkets Meets the consumer’s demand A consistent high-quality product

www.nzsheep.co.nz/texel

Whether finishing or selling store, only a genuine black face Suffolk ram can give you this advantage.

Growth - Meat - Survival

FOL UF K

SEA

PHONE NIGEL RAMSDEN 0800 85 25 80

• • • •

EMPTY BEEF COWS OWS

FRIESIAN BULL CALVES ALVES 120-‐160kgs 120-‐160kgs

PERFOR

IT’S TIME TO MEAT A MODERN DAY SUFFOLK FOR A SUFFOLK BREEDER NEAR YOU VISIT nzsheep.co.nz/suffolk

Providing the most comprehensive Dairy Livestock network in New Zealand. NORTH ISLAND HERDS FOR SALE:

NORTH ISLAND HEIFERS:

SOUTH ISLAND HERDS FOR SALE:

167 M/A Jsy, JFX, JAX Cows, BW 74/45, PW 66/66. Been in family for 50+ years, production 442MS last season. (Farm Sold).

260 Frsn, FJX I/C Hfrs. Beautiful Well Grown CRV Hfrs, Nice Dairy Type, 1st June Delivery, Avg Wgt: 374 Kgs 5/2/17.

340 M/A X/B Cows, BW 59, PW 86. No Mating Interventions, 3% to 4% Avg M.T. Rate, Six Week Scan normally 80%.

(Agonline Ref: 060405)

(Agonline Ref 060688)

(Agonline Ref 060664)

460-470 M/A Frsn, X/B Cows, BW 92, PW 115. C/D 22 July – 6 weeks Lic & tailed with Hereford, Age average 3.94.

90 F/FJX/J I/C Heifers, BW:116,PW:137. Blacks to Black & White - Tidy, mostly G3. Very Well Recorded.

295 2-5yr Xbred Cows,BW:85,PW:106. “Reduced to Sell” Ex Sharemilker’s Herd, currently leased out “Cartage to be Paid up to 50 km”.

(Agonline Ref: 060427)

(Agonline Ref 060624)

$1,950 +GST

Tim Pickering, 0274 469 963

$2,150 +GST

Peter Forrest, 0275 986 153

$1,100 + GST

Alan Aldridge, 0274 720 901

$1,800 + GST

Dave Stuart, 0272 241 049

120 M/A Frsn, X/B Cows, BW 76, PW 92. Good Uddered X/B Herd, Low Cell Count, Owner Milked.

61 Kiwi X I/C Hfrs, BW 122, PW 115. It’s an End of an Era. Vendors Herd was sold last year.

(Agonline Ref: 060517)

(Agonline Ref 060484)

$1,900 +GST

Rhys Mellow, 0272 240 999

$1,675 + GST

Steven Josephs, 0274 205 167

$2,000 + GST

Roddy Bridson, 0274 582 775

$1,925 + GST

(Agonline Ref 060194)

Stu Walsh, 0274 344 093

180 MA Frsn,XB Cows,BW:51,PW:70. Herd History of 420-450 Kg MS/Cow. Very nice type of Cow, medium frame with capacity.

$1,950 + GST

(Agonline Ref 060686)

Fraser Weir, 0278 073 254

SOUTH ISLAND HEIFERS: 133 Frsn, FJX I/C Hfrs, BW 94, PW 112. Very Even Line of Exceptional Hfrs, suit the most discerning of buyers.

$1,600 +GST

(Agonline Ref: 060613)

David Walker, 0272 189 526

103 F/FX I/C Hfrs, BW:90, PW:93. Well grown line of Heifers, I/C 3 weeks AB, Tailed M/G out 31/12.

44 F/FJX I/C Hfrs,BW:93,PW:112. All Heifers mated to AB over 3 days. Weighed 2/1/17. Complete replacement line.

$1,750 +GST

(Agonline Ref: 060455)

For photos and more information visit www.agonline.co.nz:

Craig Taylor, 0274 357 437

$1,700 +GST

(Agonline Ref: 060475)

Victor Schikker, 0275 908 061

www.pggwrightson.co.nz

For sale photos and catalogues please visit www.agonline.co.nz/sales/upcoming#

Helping grow the country

LK0084204©

Auctioneers Note: The above ewes are big, fertile, sound in the feet with short wool that sheds naturally. They milk well producing fast growing lambs with good lean heavy carcasses. The ewes and lambs will be offered in lines to suit all intending purchasers from lifestyle blocks to commercial farms.

TEXEL MEAT QUALITY YOU CAN TASTE

Approx: 24 Wiltshire 2th Ewes 50 Wiltshire 4th Ewes 80 Wiltshire 6th Ewes 70 Wiltshire FM Ewes 130 Wiltshire Ewe Lambs 4 Wiltshire Ram Lambs 2 Wiltshire 2th Rams 2 Wiltshire 4th Rams

18 MTH ANGUS & ANG X HEIFERS 300-‐380kgs 18 MTH 18 MTH FRIESIAN RIESIAN BULLS 350-‐420kgs 350-‐420kgs BULLS

• 40 selected rams to sell • Only East Friesian stud in NZ to eye-muscle scan for meat production • Rams are brucellosis accredited • Limited number available • Rams semen available for AI (NZ and overseas)

• Traits for growth rates, survivability, milking and mothering ability from years of experience • All pedigrees can be traced back to original imported rams • Ewes have been selected over the past 15 years • Bred from the coldest place in NZ and now in the driest place in NZ!

STOCK REQUIRED EQUIRED

PGG Wrightson have been instructed to offer the following capital stock, owing to our vendors pending sale of her property.

Simply the best genetics

A/C Chatto Creek Farm Ltd C/- Mrs E Badman Kinney Road Chatto Creek, Central Otago (Signposted from Chatto Creek Tavern)

Est 1999 • Flock #62

Tues 14 March @ 1pm

SILVER SHEEP EAST FRIESIAN

LK0083842©

Wiltshire Sheep - On Farm Auction “No Shearing Required”

This middle-aged couple had played golf together for most of their married life. One night over the evening meal she mused: ”If I die before you, will you get married again?” Although he was absorbed in the evening newspaper he muttered, ”I guess so”. “Would you play golf with her?” “I guess so,” he mumbled. “Would you take her to our golf Club?” “I guess so,” he said. “Surely you wouldn’t let her use my clubs?” “No, of course not. Anyway she is lefthanded!”

Livestock 0800 85 25 80

LK0086109©

SALE TALK

Livestock

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – February 20, 2017

Markets

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

WAIKATO MAIZE GRAIN

SI SLAUGHTER STAG

SI SLAUGHTER MUTTON

($/T)

($/KG)

BONER FRIESIAN COWS, 525-575KG, AT RANGIURU

($/KG)

($/KG LW)

8.00

370

3.10

1.72

high lights

$2.71-$2.77/kg $70-$80 R3 Angus heifers, 340-465kg, at Stortford Lodge

Medium Merino wether lambs at Omarama and Tekapo sales

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

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

5.25

5.20

5.30

NI Bull (300kg)

5.15

5.05

5.30

NI Cow (200kg)

4.00

3.90

4.20

SI Steer (300kg)

5.25

5.20

SI Bull (300kg)

4.90

4.70

SI Cow (200kg)

3.95

3.70

US imported 95CL bull

6.94

6.82

7.13

US domestic 90CL cow

6.35

6.36

6.97

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

North Island steer (300kg)

6.5

$/kg

6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5

ALL TALK: Buyers at the Stratford saleyards last month.

4.0

More photos: farmersweekly.co.nz

South Island steer (300kg) 6.0 5.5

NZ venison 60kg stag

c/k kg (net)

$/kg

600 5.0 500 4.5 400 4.0 300

3.5

Oct Oct

Dec Dec

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5‐yr ave

Apr Apr

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Last yr

Aug Aug This yr

VENISON Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

NI Stag (60kg)

8.00

7.20

NI Hind (50kg)

7.90

7.10

SI Stag (60kg)

8.00

7.20

SI Hind (50kg)

7.90

7.10

New Zealand venison (60kg Stag)

9.5 8.5 $/kg

NZ venison 60kg stag

c/k kg (net)

600 7.5 500 6.5 400

300

5.5

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Dec Dec 5‐yr ave

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Apr Apr Last yr

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Feed drives sales

HERE has been plenty of talk about stock selling to outside areas, and the main areas buying cattle and lambs in the North Island has been Manawatu and Wairapapa. Excellent feed levels, and the right farming practices has enabled these areas to take on large numbers of cattle and lambs each week, which has kept demand high in dry areas. NORTHLAND NORTHLAND There was more life in the cattle market at KAIKOHE last Wednesday. Over the 300 head yarding, prices lifted an average of 10-15c/kg, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. Feature cattle included R3 Angus steers at $2.70/kg, while R2 steers were mainly Angus-cross, and traded

at $2.70-$2.78/kg. The heifer line up was not far off the pace, and the beefcross offering fetched $2.65-$2.75/kg. Autumn-born Charolais steers, 270280kg, returned $3.08/kg, but strong demand for their sisters pushed their price up to $3.25/kg. A small offering of weaner Hereford-Friesian bulls finished off the store section, though were of mixed quality and made $420. Heavy cows sold on a firm market at $1.78-$1.80/kg, though the lighter types lifted to $1.55-$1.60/kg. The regular cattle sale last Monday at WELLSFORD was the calm before the storm, with dairy-beef weaner fairs held last Tuesday and Wednesday. With special days for the younger cattle, they were largely missing from the small line-up of 200, and most other cattle came forward in line sizes of 3-6 head.

The market was solid on the back of the low numbers, and R3 beef-Friesian steers, 473-553kg, made $2.56-$2.63/ kg, while their younger brothers, 390-433kg, returned $2.69-$2.73/kg. In the heifer pens R2 Hereford-cross, and Hereford-Friesian, sold on a better market, and at 330-401kg, earned $2.48-$2.52/kg, with a lighter line at 330kg, managing $2.67/kg. A small offering of R2 bulls sold with mixed results, and Jersey-cross was the best seller on the day, making $2.52/kg for 480kg. The first of the dairy-beef weaner fairs was held last Tuesday, with 1354 steers and heifers offered. Autumn-born lines were well sought after, and with the yarding predominately Hereford-Friesian,

Continued page 46

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Markets

46 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017 these gave a good indicator of prices. Heavier weaner prices were back on 2016 fair prices, with Hereford-Friesian steers, 190250kg, making $710-$790, while 200-240kg heifers returned $600$670. Medium types however held their value, and steers, 120-160kg, made $600-$670, while 108-110kg were steady at $480-$560. Lighter Hereford-Friesian heifers were harder to move and at 81-120kg, made $342-$465, while 184-185kg sold for $560-$570. The top steer price was $960 for a small line of 346kg Charolaiscross, with their 308kg sisters taking top honours in the heifer section at $805. Wednesday played host to the dairy-beef weaner bull fair. Demand was good for the autumn-born, and better weaner bulls, though the market was harder going for lesser quality, mixed-breed lines. Hereford bulls, 253-295kg, made $1040-$1190 to go to the dairy herds, while heavy autumn-born Friesian bulls sold on a softer market, with 206240kg making $660-$795. Prices improved for the good quality 120150kg lines, which went under the hammer for $550-$640. AUCKLAND AUCKLAND Bids flew with gusto after a few weeks off for the PUKEKOHE sale, with the return to sales on Saturday 11th February drawing a big crowd. Cattle numbers were also up, but the big demand meant almost a full clearance at good levels. R2 steers were of medium condition, and at 389-436kg, sold for $2.59-$2.75/kg, while light 1-year lines, 216-225kg, returned $575-$790. Quality was better in the R2 heifer pens, and 392-431kg sold for $2.58-$2.63/kg, with lines at $1000 and over. Medium 15-month heifers, 319-338kg, made $2.63-$2.72/kg. Weaner cattle were the feature, and sold above expectations. The top steers, 243kg, made $850, while medium crossbred, 135-136kg, returned $520-$685, and 97-104kg, $360-$500. Heifers, 130-134kg, sold for $450-$610, and 100-102kg crossbred, $270-$435. Prime cattle sold on a very solid

market due to increased demand, and steers, 498-659kg, made $2.60$2.67/kg, and heifers, 494-564kg, $2.58-$2.63/kg. Heavy cows were also a highlight, with 842kg making $1.90/kg, while light boners made $1.29-$1.40/kg, and bulls, 630kg, $2.41/kg. COUNTIES COUNTIES About 300 store cattle were yarded at TUAKAU last Thursday, and prices for most classes were similar to the previous sale, Robin Eyre of PGG Wrightson reported. The better 18-month steers, 400-450kg, traded at $2.75/kg, while light lots, 320-370kg, sold up to $2.90/kg. The best of the weaner steers fetched up to $3.50/kg, with lighter weaners selling up to $4.00/ kg. Most of the bigger 18-month heifers, 370-400kg, traded at $2.65$2.75/kg. The bulk of the weaner heifer offering sold at $3.00/kg, with the top lot making $680, and light lines selling down to $580. Most of the steers sold at $2.75$2.80/kg, and the bulk of the heifer offering earned $2.55-$2.65/kg. A small entry of beef cows made $2.00-$2.05/kg and the heavier Friesian cows returned $1.70$1.75/kg. Medium boners sold from $1.50/kg and lighter cows down to $1.20/kg. An entry of Hereford bulls, 658kg, made $2.72/kg. Over 2000 ewes and lambs were on offer at last Monday’s sheep sale. The best of the prime lambs fetched $102, and good-medium, $88-$95. Good store lambs sold up to $75, with light lots down to $30. Heavy ewes traded at $85, medium $74, and light $50-$55.

BAY OF PLENTY BAY OF PLENTY The RANGIURU sale last Tuesday commenced with a moment silence for two local identities. Prices eased for prime lambs, with top lines making $100, while medium returned $84. Most of the store lambs traded at $50-$84. The top end of a 420 head yarding of prime ewes sold on a solid market at $73-$84, with lighter types down to $33. Pregnancy testing is underway on dairy farms, which is bringing

out the dries, and prices were steady for the bigger yarding of cull cows. Friesian, 493-566kg, made $1.69-$1.73/kg, which covered most of the lines offered. Friesian & Friesian-cross, 355-497kg, traded at $1.34-$1.58/kg, with a vetted-in-calf line up to $1.80/kg. A small yarding of prime steers sold well, with Hereford-Friesian, 613-660kg, making $2.68-$2.77/kg, and a small line of Hereford, 748kg, $2.87/kg. The store sale was on the small side, with weaner bulls the biggest section, though quality was mixed. Two sizeable lines of Friesian, 110-139kg, made $435-$530, while Friesian-cross was softer at $245$430. R2 heifers were a highlight, with Hereford-Friesian, 354-450kg, trading at $2.57-$2.74/kg, while R2 bulls were mainly Jersey, with most 352-380kg, and making $2.07$2.12/kg. WAIKATO Cattle numbers dropped to 200 head at FRANKTON last Wednesday, though lines size averaged just 4 in each, which stretched out proceedings. The largely dairy-cross line up was of mixed quality, and price reflected that. R3 HerefordFriesian and Hereford steers, 485-589kg, sold for $2.58-$2.66/ kg, with values similar for R2 Hereford-Friesian, 383-388kg, at $2.63-$2.68/kg. Friesian steers, 407-458kg, made $2.52-$2.57/kg, while their R2 sisters, 396-408kg, traded at $2.27-$2.32/kg. R3 heifers were a mixed bunch, and better types traded at $2.56$2.58/kg, with lesser lines earning $2.05-$2.11/kg, while in the R3 bull pens Angus, 509kg, made $2.47/kg, and Friesian, 571kg, $2.45/kg. TARANAKI TARANAKI The combined sale at STRATFORD last Wednesday brought numbers to 440 head, with a good showing of cows and ex-service bulls, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Stephen Sutton reported. Cows kicked off the sale, and a competitive bench ensured good prices, with heavy types making $2.10/kg, and the bulk trading at

$1.70-$1.90/kg. Prime steers also sold well at $2.87-$2.91/kg, though price ceilings were in place on the heifers, and most traded at $2.60$2.70/kg. A big yarding of bulls made good money, and a 660kg line sold to $2.94/kg, with most 600-700kg and returning $2.80-$2.90/kg. Bulls in their working clothes, and 450-500kg, mainly traded at $2.65-$2.70/kg, with Jersey earning $2.50-$2.60/kg. Dairy influence was prevalent through the R2 pens, where 18-month Friesian bulls were right in the per head slot, and at 260-300kg, made $2.80-$2.85/ kg, while heavier types fetched $2.60-$2.70/kg. R2 steers made up a good chunk of the offering, and well-bred beef-Friesian sold on a softer market at $2.85-$3.00/ kg, while around 90 head were Friesian-cross, 390-440kg, and traded at $2.63-$2.70/kg. Empty Friesian heifers were purchased as replacements, and at 320-400kg, made $2.10-$2.40/kg, with better beef-cross lines making $2.56$2.60/kg. POVERTY BAY POVERTY BAY The first cattle sale for 2017 at MATAWHERO was a big affair last Tuesday, and coupled with very hot, dry weather, the sale proved to be a long one. A good sized buying bench were very active on the high quality traditional cattle, and the top R3 Angus steers, 490kg, made $3.01/ kg, while most other lines traded at $2.83-$2.90/kg. R2 Angus steers, 350-375kg, returned $3.08-$3.13/ kg, with heavier Charolais, 425440kg, not far off that pace at $3.06-$3.07/kg. The dairy and dairy-cross lines sold at lesser rates, with Friesian, 305-340kg, returning $2.59-$2.61/kg. Angus and Hereford also featured in the R2 heifer pens, and sold well, with Hereford, 275-350kg, earning $2.81-$2.89/kg, while Angus, 250320kg, sold to $2.88-$2.92/kg. Bulls were mainly Angus-cross and well sought after, with most trading at $1040-$1070, with a top line of 40 selling to $3.15/kg. The return on consistent rainfall throughout the East Coast meant minimal numbers of store lambs

were on offer at Matawhero on Thursday. Store lamb lines only reached half a dozen, with light types particularly absent when compared to recent weeks. Medium-to-heavier lines were bought at $65.50-$79, with other lighter pens $50-$52. Breeding ewes actually outnumbered lambs because of a few decent sized lines. Medium-to-good five-year ewes were $74-$84, while one line of good two-tooth’s made $110. There was a good number of prime ewes on offer which all made decent returns at $72-$80. Prime lambs were varied, with the top line making $111.50, while the rest were $85-$96. HAWKE’S BAY HAWKE’S BAY STORTFORD LODGE ticked off a very successful selling week, with store and prime sheep in particular standing out. Prime ewe, and store lamb prices lifted, and cattle prices were robust. Another very small prime lamb section resulted in strong bidding and firm prices last Monday, with the mainly mixed sex line up returning $71-$105. Results for ewes was some of the best seen of late, with all types well sought after. Heavy ewes managed $86-$99, pushing past the $90 price ceiling, medium to good $70$86, and light, $50-$69. Cattle numbers lifted to 118 head and was largely heifers, with a good cross-section of traditional and dairy. Local trade Angus, 408440kg, sold well at $2.61-$2.71/ kg, while heavier Hereford, 482486kg made $2.45-$2.53/kg. Dairy results were mixed, with a few lines trading under $2/kg. A line of Angus featured in the steer pens and prices were firm, with 538kg trading at $2.79/kg, while most other lines had dairy influence and were steady at $2.60-$2.70/kg. Last Wednesday saw over 7300 store lambs offered, with a large portion forward station lambs sold in big lines. Prices lifted by an average of $8 per head, to a mainly outside buying bench. Male lambs featured, and medium types lifted to $67-$72, while good lines made $68-$87. Ewe lamb numbers were low and most medium to good

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Markets

types at $70-$88, while light mixed sex returned $52-$66, and better types, $68-$87. Also offered for sale was 1000 capital stock 2-tooth Romney ewes, due to a change in farming policy. The top 3 lines made $130$143, with a lighter line at $116. The store cattle sale was large, with 820 mainly Angus and Hereford-Friesian cattle offered. A big bench of buyers gathered from all around the North Island, and the majority of the cattle headed out of the local area. R2 steers made up a large chunk of the offering, with almost an even split between Angus, HerefordFriesian and Friesian. Angus sold for a premium over the other breeds, with 418-420kg earning $3.15-$3.17/kg, and a lighter line up to $3.32/kg. Hereford-Friesian, 374-408kg, returned $2.82-$2.87/ kg, though one heavy line, 487kg, sold to $3.03/kg and Friesian, 432-487kg made $2.32-$2.41/kg. Over 200 R3 Angus were also sold, with a large number of Angus lines gathered up. Vetted-in-calf Angus, 451-507kg, made $1400-$1560, while the remainder sold over a very tight range of $2.71-$2.77/ kg for 340-465kg. In the R2 heifer pens Angus, 387kg, sold well at $2.79-$2.83/kg, while Charolaiscross, 255-329kg, returned $2.78$2.80/kg. DANNEVIRKE recorded a strong sale last Thursday, with a good quality line up of store lambs selling to good competition, and prime ewes also well sought after, PGG Wrightson agent Bjorn Andersen reported. Store lamb numbers pushed up to nearly 1000, and offered a good mix of male, ewe and mixed sex lines. Cryptorchid lambs in particular stood out, with prices lifting, and top lines made $80-$85, and medium to good, $76-$79, with few selling under that level. Ewe lambs sold on a firm market at $67-$75, while mixed sex lambs returned $67-$79. Prime lambs traded at $77-$100. A moderate yarding of prime ewes sold to a determined buying bench, with top price of $98 achieved, and an average of $67. MANAWATU MANAWATU Weaner dairy-beef bulls and heifers featured at RONGOTEA for the second week running, with another good yarding of empty Friesian heifers also on offer, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. The yarding was very much dairy dominated, with bulls to service the industry, as well as progeny from it. Hereford bulls, 562-712kg, made $2.78-$2.93/kg, while White Galloway, 390-510kg, returned $2.63-$2.97/kg. R2 bull numbers were limited, but the standout was also White Galloway, 275kg, at $3.30/kg. Older steers were a mixed bunch for the limited number offered, and the best of the line-up made $2.75-$2.87/kg, while 1-year Hereford-Friesian, 250-325kg, returned $2.81-$2.88/kg, and Charolais-cross, 327kg, $2.90/kg. Friesian heifers sold well, and R3, 355-515kg, fetched $2.50$2.52/kg, while Hereford-Friesian, 334-454kg made $2.45-$2.74/kg, and Jersey, 355-510kg, $2.11-$2.47/ kg. R2 heifer numbers were low, and Angus-cross, 358kg, sold for $2.67/kg, while lighter dairy lines

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017 were well off the pace. The weaner pens were the busiest on the day, with lines for all budgets. Friesian bulls, 110-165kg, made $460-$490, crossbred, 117138kg, $390-$465, and HerefordFriesian, 105kg $465. HerefordFriesian heifers, 144-165kg, made $615-$670, and 90-127kg, $480$570. Good competition for boner cows resulted in a solid market, and 520-630kg Friesian made $1.61-$1.97/kg, and 360-488kg, $1.56-$1.81/kg. Jersey, 353-490kg, were off that pace but still strong at $1.36-$1.64/kg, while HerefordFriesian, 415kg, returned $1.71/kg. Weaner pigs sold for $62-$77, mixed age ewes $68-$89, and mixed sex lambs, $52-$91. With finished lambs slow to come forward at the processors, the good sized yardings of prime lambs at FEILDING are proving popular, and last week prices held the lift from the previous week.

types making $100-$144, mediumgood, $80-$99, and light-medium, $50-$79. Of the 203 prime cattle offered, 103 were steers, of which most were largely beef-Friesian. Buyers were not deterred, and the best of the steers made $2.80-$2.90/kg, with the next cut earning $2.76$2.79/kg. The top heifers traded at $2.75-$2.85/kg, though local trade types eased to $2.60-$2.74/kg as a lesser quality yarding was offered. Bull and cow numbers were low, but beef cows, 565-705kg, returned $2.05-$2.11/kg. The store section was also top heavy with steers, and like the prime, Hereford-Friesian dominated. Prices eased slightly for R2, with 343-415kg, returning $2.93-$3.05/kg, though a premium was paid for Angus, 372-412kg, at $3.30-$3.40/kg. R2 HerefordFriesian heifers, 321-367kg, traded at $2.80-$2.94/kg, while weaner steers, 133-181kg, sold over a tight

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Monday and Thursday, with a combined store cattle and calf sale on the latter day. Store lamb numbers dropped from over 6000 to just 1100 last week, though the market was slighlty softer, as on-farm sales fill the gap. Most lambs were mixed sex, and light types sold for $53$68, with medium lines returning $70-$78. While store numbers dropped, prime lamb’s came up by 1000 head, and was easily absorbed by an enthusiatic bench of buyers. Very heavy lines made $120-$124, with the remainder steady at $80$119. Ewe prices remained solid, and heavy lines made $90-$109, medium $70-$89, and a very tail end, $38-$46. Processors are sourcing cattle from the yards as farmers hold onto cattle to finish to heavier weights. This is keeping plenty of competition in the auctions, and

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Close to 4300 prime lambs were offered, with a number of lines of 100 head plus, and most traded at $85-$120. Ewe prices also retained the previous weeks improvement, and with a large portion in the medium category, $67-$85 was common, with heavy types at $86$99, and light, $42-$63. A small cattle sale featured Jersey bulls, with top lines 480630kg, and returning $2.38-$2.49/ kg, while a larger portion were 367440kg, and made $2.20-$2.28/kg. The cow market firmed for the small number available, and Friesian, 495-620kg, sold for $1.71-$1.84/kg, with most sold in this range. Heifer numbers were limited to 8 of mixed breed, though all sold for $2.53-$2.62/kg. Details from Friday’s prime sale were not available at time of printing. Visit farmersweekly.co.nz for full coverage. For full reports on these sales visit agrihq.co.nz/farmer CANTERBURY CANTERBURY Nor-west winds are drying out the Canterbury region, and at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday, vendors are starting to offload small lines of stock. Store lamb numbers were similar to the previous week at 3700, but prices eased, with $60$70 more common. Light-medium mixed sex eased, and made $40$70, with a small top end selling to $71-$83. Male lambs mainly traded at $67-$78, while a small ewe lamb offering returned $66-$70, with light ewe lambs the best sellers on the day. Heavy prime lambs eased for a yarding of 1200, and no lambs sold over $119, with most trading at $80-$119. Mutton schedules are improving, and over 1700 ewes sold on a firm market, with heavy

range at $460-$610. Angus cows were also a rare treat, and at 468592kg, fetched $1280-$1380. Just over 1000 store lambs were offered at COALGATE on Thursday, and results were mixed, with good lines easing to $75-$80, while light to medium types were steady at $50-$74. Prime lamb numbers tipped over 2000 head, far exceeding the store lamb numbers. Heavy types eased, with a smaller portion making $110-$124, though a good number sold for $90-$109, and third cuts, $80-$88. The ewe market held its own once again, and prices were steady across the board, with most medium to heavy, and trading at $70-$108. Dairy cattle made for a busy day in the cattle pens and empty dairy heifers traded over a wide range at $1.87-$2.44/kg, depending on breed and condition. Prime beef heifers sold to $2.68-$2.78/kg, with a few to $2.84/kg. A smaller steer offering was of mixed quality, though prices lifted for the high yielding types, with $2.88-$2.98/kg common. The best of the beef cows made $2.14-$2.19/kg, with second cuts earning $1.96-$2.04/kg. In the store pens, R2 Friesian steers, 362-406kg, made $2.44$2.49/kg, while the top heifers were beef-cross, and fetched $2.77-$2.84/kg. Seven lines of R2 bulls were a real mixture of breeds, though all sold within $2.33-$2.49/ kg. Weaner numbers were low, but featured Friesian bulls, 98-102kg, at $390-$400, and Here/Frx heifers, 142kg, $490. SOUTH CANTERBURY SOUTH CANTERBURY Following two big weeks of store lamb sales, numbers dropped significantly at TEMUKA last Monday, and prices softened. Cattle numbers were up on both

prices were firm across the board. Steer numbers were low, though most were good prime types over 500kg, that traded at $2.77-$2.88/ kg. A large heifer offered included Angus and Hereford, 445-604kg, at $2.74-$2.87/kg, while Friesian sold in two main weight lines – with 465-566kg earning $2.56-$2.66/ kg, and 341-376kg, $2.40-$2.48/ kg. The bull market was firm and Hereford, 595-711kg, returned $2.74-$2.80/kg, while Friesian, 541-632kg, made $2.64-$2.73/kg. The cow section was predominately dairy, and prices were firm, with $1.78-$1.83/kg common ground for the better Friesian, and 428-508kg returned $1.57-$1.70/kg. A combined cattle sale was held last Thursday, with the calf sale kicking off at lunchtime, after a yarding of R2 store cattle were sold. Very strong demand for the older cattle saw Hereford-Friesian steers, 329-429kg, make $1020-$1350, with the heavier types selling to $3.06-$3.15/kg. A consignment of Shorthorn-Friesian also sold well, and 358-365kg fetched $2.74$2.79/kg, though the lighter lines were over $3/kg. Their sister’s proved popular, and 324-331kg made $2.93-$2.99/kg, while Friesian, 358-407kg, sold for $2.49$2.58/kg. Jersey bulls, 365-386kg, traded at $2.25-$2.33/kg, while Friesian, 445kg, made $2.72/kg. Nearly 750 calves were also on the books, and while the market was robust, prices were back on the last fair. Hereford-Friesian dominated the steer and heifer sections, and steers, 114-126kg, made $490-$570, while heifers sold in two main weight bands, with 107-120kg earning $480-$520, and 130-140kg, $540-$565. HerefordFriesian bulls, 90-130kg, sold for

$465-$570, and Friesian, 104136kg, $430-$510. OTAGO OTAGO A solid market across all sheep classes at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday was the result of strong demand across the board, PGG Wrightson agent Emmett Sparrow reported. The store lamb section was small but mighty, with top lines steady at $80-$83, while medium and light lambs firmed to $72-$76 and $60$66 respectively. Quality prime lambs sold well with top lines making $110-$120, medium $95-$103, and light, $87-$93, with all types firm on the previous week. Heavy prime ewes regained ground lost the previous week, with prices up to $95-$105, while medium and light lines remained steady at $75-$87, and $45-$70. Prime rams returned $58-$70, with 2-tooth rams earning $94. SOUTHLAND SOUTHLAND Weaned calves were the main feature in the cattle pens at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday, while a good yarding of sheep were offered after a week off for the ewe fair. A good sized yarding of 850 store lambs sold well, with top lines earning $75-$80, medium $65$72, and light $35-$62. Top prime lambs sold on a steady market at $108-$120, with medium lines earning $96-$106, and light, $85$90. Ewe prices also reflected very strong demand, and heavy lines made $100-$124, medium $75$95, and light, $50-$70. Medium Romney 2-tooth ewes met keen interest from the rails, and sold for $130-$135. In the cattle pens, the yarding of 480 store’s featured mainly calves, with quality good and the market robust. Top beef-Friesian bulls, 150-180kg, fetched $560-$650, with medium lines, 130-150kg, earning $500-$560. Friesian, 180-220kg, made $560-$660, and 130-150kg, $430-$500. In the heifer pens beef-Friesian, 150kg plus, traded at $450-$500, and 130-150kg, $420-$450. A small offering of R2 Friesian steers, 339kg, sold for $850, and beef-Friesian heifers, 312kg, $800. The prime cattle market was very strong, with good demand for all types. Steers, 450kg plus traded at $2.70/kg, while beef heifers, 420kg plus, returned $2.60/kg, and dairy, 350-420kg, $2.10-$2.40/kg. Heavy bulls traded at $2.50-$2.60/ kg, and 350-400kg, $2.20-$2.30/kg. The cow market was a highlight, with heavy lines making $1.80$1.90/kg, medium $1.70-$1.80/kg, and light, $1.50-$1.60/kg. The sheep sale at CHARLTON last Thursday offered up a small yarding of store lambs, though bigger numbers of prime sheep were penned, David Morrison from PGG Wrightson reported. Demand was strong for medium and light ewes, and prices reflected the lift in competition, with medium types earning $85-$90, and light $65-$75. Heavy ewes sold to $115, while rams fetched $60-$100. Prime lamb prices eased slightly, with heavy types making $113, medium $95-$100, and light, $88-$94. A small yarding of store lambs sold on a steady market, with top lambs earning $70, medium $65$68, and light, $50-$55.

Markets

48 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – February 20, 2017 NI SLAUGHTER LAMB

NI SLAUGHTER BULL

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB

($/KG)

LIGHT MIXED SEX LAMBS AT CANTERBURY PARK

($/KG)

($/HD)

5.25

5.20

high lights

Cattle prices hold up I hope the price stays strong for them when they want to move stock out of the system.

Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com

ATTLE sales and prices are holding up well despite dry conditions taking the shine off slightly but supply/demand issues are looming. The industry was looking good right now but there could be some risk for store stock buyers when the market was performing strongly, New Zealand Farmers Livestock general manager Bill Sweeney said. There were conflicting stories from overseas, including reports that the United States beef herd numbers had built up substantially in recent months, that could have implications for NZ farmers supplying stock over the next 15 months to two years. About half of NZ’s beef was sold into the US and there had been a recent price hike for imported beef but the more domestic supply they had eventually, the less need for imports, AgriHQ analyst Mel Croad said. US herd numbers had recovered to seven-year highs. There’s a fair bit of sales activity over the next few months, for 18-month to two-year cattle and then the weaner fairs starting next month and building into the big sales in April. Weaner prices were at record levels last year

Bill Sweeney NZ Farmers Livestock

INEXPENSIVE: Weaners provided a cheap option for farmers to build up stock numbers, AgriHQ analyst Mel Croad says.

because the beef market was performing strongly and most regions had plentiful grass supplies for feed. Weaners were popular because they were the cheaper option for a lot of farmers to build up stock levels, including many who had previously been providing dairy-support grazing till demand from dairy

farmers dried up, Sweeney said. “I hope the price stays strong for them when they want to move stock out of the system. It can be risky when the market’s strong because it is a long time till you have the cattle killed.” The early weaner sales in March were in Northland and

Hawke’s Bay, both dry regions, Croad said. Animals would be considerably lighter than a year ago with dairy weaners at Wellsford last week said to be up to 20kg lighter and not a lot of local buying. Buyers from areas with more rain and grass, notably more western parts of the North Island, King Country, Manawatu and parts of Wairarapa would be active. A better guide to the weaner season would come in April when the big sales at Feilding and Temuka were scheduled. The feed outlook might be better then as well, Croad said. Overall supply for the beef market was tight in the US and that was benefiting NZ. But Croad believed the US domestic supply might swing upwards in the second half of the year, with talk also that the very tight Australian supply might also lift then as well. A lift in NZ dairy cow culling was expected through the autumn, which could affect short-term pricing but Croad didn’t expect the peak of the last two years.

$560-$645

$3.08-$3.13/kg

Hereford-Friesian weaner steers, 110130kg, at Wellsford

R2 Angus steers, 350-375kg, at Matawhero

Wool breeds lead the sales ONFARM lamb sales are a significant part of the South Island lamb market and go largely unfollowed. While lamb throughput at regular sales has been on the Suz Bremner slow side, annual onfarm and AgriHQ Analyst special sales have well and truly filled a gap for those willing to make the journey to them. So, we shall step out of the saleyards this week and have a brief look at the big number that have been going on over the past few weeks. The beginning of February saw a number of sales held through North and Mid Canterbury and following on from what has been a good early summer, most sale numbers were up because of better lamb survival rates and the lambs came forward in excellent order. Very strong demand and the better condition on the lambs ensured vendors were well rewarded with prices above expectations. Mid Canterbury sales included 10,000 Poll Dorset-Merino cross lambs at Castle Ridge plus a small portion from Mount Arrowsmith Station with a big buying bench pushing prices to $70-$134, with most more than $100. Moving to South Canterbury and into North Otago and the last two weeks have seen plenty of lamb-selling action on the books with 22,500 lambs sold at Rollesby where prime lambs made $90-$135 and stores $65-$90. Last week Tekapo and Omarama saleyards played host to 18,500 mainly Merino wether lambs. Usually the fine wool lambs are behind meat-breeds but this year is one out of the box. The top Merino wethers made $80-$90, medium $70-$80 and light $55-$65. suz.bremner@nzx.com

MORE FROM AGRIHQ: MARKET SNAPSHOT MARKET WRAP

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