Farmers Weekly NZ July 24 2017 by AgriHQ

3 High steaks Vol 16 No 29, July 24, 2017

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Billion-dollar weed bill We are losing efficacy with chemical herbicides against many pasture weeds.

Neal Wallace neal.wallace@nzx.com

NEW study estimates primary production losses of $1.6 billion a year from the infestation of just 10 weeds, amid warnings holding back the onslaught of pest plants was becoming increasingly difficult. AgResearch principal scientist Graeme Bourdot said the $1.6b estimate didn’t include control costs, the loss of production from all 187 problematic pasture weeds, or the effect from the spread of unwanted plants. “It’s a big number – and the real one is even bigger,” Bourdot said, although he was reluctant to be drawn on what it could be. Researchers from AgResearch and Scion, with economists from Lincoln University’s Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit, used published papers to calculate the economic cost. Weeds in wheat, barley, maize grain, and herbage seed arable crops were calculated to cost $18.2 million in lost production, and in forestry, $333.6m. Lost pasture production from gorse, California thistle, sweet brier, hawkweed, broom, giant buttercup, yellow bristle grass, Chilean needle grass, nassella tussock and blackberry was calculated at $1.3b. The weeds having the biggest effect on pastoral production were California thistle at $704m, yellow bristle grass at $258m, and giant buttercup, $210m. Bourdot said the study didn’t calculate control costs – he was aware of a large North Island East

Graeme Bourdot AgResearch

GROWING PEST: AgResearch principal scientist Graeme Bourdot says California thistle is estimated to cost New Zealand agriculture $704m in lost pastoral production every year. Photo: Johnny Houston

Coast farm that spent $100,000 a year spraying thistles. Researchers calculated that if giant buttercup occupied its entire potential range in 20 years, it would cost the dairy industry $592m. Bourdot said reliance on herbicides was not a long-term solution, with thistles and buttercup showing signs of resistance. “We are losing efficacy with chemical herbicides against many pasture weeds.” Orion AgriScience has detected

Fionfafnecr

Extended

an incidence of early-stage resistance to the herbicide nicosulfuron to summer grass, a weed affecting maize paddocks. Massey University’s senior lecturer in weed science, Kerry Harrington, who was also the convenor of the New Zealand Herbicide Resistance Task Force, said tests of seed from a Bay of Plenty farmer showed a two-fold level of resistance. “This means that twice the usual amount of chemical is required for control, which probably means the strain is at the

early stage of resistance,” he said. Research manager for the Foundation for Arable Research, Mike Parker, said growers should alternate between different modes of chemical action groups when the same crop was grown in the same paddock in consecutive seasons, or rotate crops that used a different chemistry. Herbicide resistance was a significant issue with California thistles in North America, and Bourdot said it was inevitable it would happen here. Of the 63 thistle species in

NZ, nine were problematic but the cassida beetle, which strips thistles of foliage, was showing promise. Similarly, natural agents were proving successful targeting gorse and broom in North Canterbury. There were few options for giant buttercup, with fears a biological control would also target native buttercup species. “We’ve put that in the too-hard basket, but the thistle is one where we are making real progress with,” Bourdot said. He said the research was a timely reminder about the need to continue to invest in weed research, and he urged landowners to advocate for funding and to help spread biological control agents. Community support had worked with dung beetle and wilding pines, with the Government pledging $16m over four years to the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme. Massey’s Kerry Harrington said weed control wasn’t taken seriously by many, or was only focused where it was most visual such as footpaths, roads or streams. This report was a timely reminder about the role of research to find new solutions, he said. WWW.SUZUKI.CO.NZ

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NEWS

NEW THINKING

17 New centre of attention for

scientist

60 Wetter than

New Zealand’s pre-eminent animal breeding scientist wants to branch out into radiata pine trees, ryegrass and white clover.

OPINION

20 Alternative View Alan Emerson seeks some truth from our political representatives.

4 Fonterra at risk of board

Soil Moisture Anomaly (mm) at 9am July 20, 2017

normal (mm)

-10

-20

Editorial �� 18

-30

‘brain drain’

Cartoon �� 18

-50

Fonterra has begun the second part of reducing its farmer-directors from nine to seven by opening nominations for this year’s election.

Letters �� 18

7 Quake volunteers clock up

big hours

Drier than normal (mm)

Pulpit �� 19 Alternative View �� 20 From the Ridge �� 21 From the Lip �� 21

Skilled workers pitching in for South Island farmers have clocked up more than 14,000 hours of emergency fencing after the Kaikoura earthquake in November.

8 Dogs’ tails spared in welfare

upgrade

Docking of dog’s tails is out, and pain relief for disbudding cattle is compulsory under a pen-full of new animal welfare regulations.

REGULARS Real Estate �� 23-25 Employment �� 26 Classifieds �� 26-27 Livestock �� 27

MARKETS

Surge in over-60 quad deaths �� 3 Fonterra at risk of board ‘brain drain’ �� 4 Lewis takes hot seat �� 5 Quake volunteers clock up big hours �� 7

Map reading tips 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.

Job

of the

Week

Agricultural/Diesel Mechanic and Machinery Operator Opportunities - Taupo Landcorp. Two vacancies. Are you looking for a challenging and exciting role? We’re seeking an experienced Agricultural/Diesel Mechanic and Machinery Operator to join our busy team here at Central Farm Services. As a mechanic you will assist with day-to-day duties in the workshop and provide mobile services and repairs out on farm. For more information and a full job description visit the Farmers Weekly jobs site: farmersweeklyjobs. co.nz and click on Tractor/Truck/Machinery Operator category. To find all other agjobs click on ‘All Categories’. #agjobs at your fingertips.

Dogs’ tails spared in welfare upgrade �� 8 Arable farmers wary of plant act review �� 10 Rationalisation on cards for Cavalier �� 11 NZ lamb quota gets surprise early airing �� 14

NEWSMAKER

16 ‘Thought leadership’

32 R2 steers in demand

AgResearch’s new chairman Jeff Grant wants to keep the science outfit close to farmers while also pushing the boundaries.

Market Snapshot �� 28

AgResearch chair’s goal

Beef finishers around the country are paying high prices for rising two-year-old steers because there’s not enough on the market to meet demand.

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 – July 24, 2017

Surge in over-60 quad bike deaths Neal Wallace neal.wallace@nzx.com WORKSAFE New Zealand officials are perplexed by the sudden surge over the past five years in the number of quad bike deaths of people older than 60. This contrasts with research into quad bike deaths in Australia and NZ by the University of Otago and University of Sydney between 2007 and 2012 that found almost identical fatality rates, although 30% of those killed in Australia were aged over 65 compared to just 3% (one victim) in NZ. WorkSafe agriculture programme manager Al McCone said since 2012 half the victims of quad bike deaths were aged over 60 and males, who could be considered “very experienced operators”. The number of people killed from quad bike accidents was

relatively stable at about eight a year. The reasons for this sudden upsurge in death among older riders was unclear but McCone thought it could be complacency from doing something that’s been done many times before, or age slowing down reaction to the loss of control, or a quad bike tipping.

There were 101 quad bike fatalities in Australia and NZ from 2007 to 2012 – 69 were in Australia, and 32 in NZ.

McCone said a lot of older people ran farms and quad bikes were their vehicle of choice. Three-quarters of farm fatalities

or serious harm involved quad bikes, tractors, machinery or other vehicles, and McCone said concentrating on reducing risks from these aspects would have a massive effect on reducing death and harm rates. The university researchers looked at data for 95 quad bike fatalities from 2007 to 2012, which showed there were 7.3 deaths per year per 100,000 quad bikes owned in Australia and eight per 100,000 in NZ. It reinforced other findings that most deaths were males, occurred on farms, and just over half were work-related. There were 101 quad bike fatalities in Australia and NZ over that period – 69 were in Australia, and 32 in NZ – but an indepth study of coronial files determined the socio-demographic, injury, vehicle and environmental factors behind the incidents. It concluded fatality patterns

Sad statistics

The cause of the 66 agricultural workplace fatalities from January 2013 to April 2016: • 3 burnt • 4 drowned • 2 falls • 1 tree • 7 machinery • 4 fertiliser truck (4 rollover) • 18 quad bike (13 rollover) • 14 tractor (7 rollover) • 3 side-by-sides (2 rollover) • 10 other vehicles (3 rollover)

were broadly similar, that they mainly happened to males on farms, involved a rollover and resulted in crush injuries to the head and thorax, and that the wearing of helmets and alcohol or

drug use was infrequent. Areas where there were differences were the agricultural commodity mix on which victims worked, demographics and topography.

Angus on top at Steak of Origin TIM and Kelly Brittain, from Otorohanga, have been awarded this year’s Steak of Origin grand champion title for their Angus steak. Being recognised as New Zealand’s top beef producer is an achievement the Brittains are extremely proud of. “Each year our entries into this competition have stepped up a level, and I am so proud that tonight all our work and efforts can be celebrated,” Tim Brittain said. “This outcome is a significant achievement, and something that Kelly and I have been working towards.” The panel of judges, including renowned chefs

Ben Bayly, Gareth Stewart and Shaun Clouston, completed two rounds of judging before the Brittains’ steak was judged the nation’s best from an initial line-up of 64 semi-finalists. Prior to judging day, scientists at Carne Technologies tested all 305 of the competition entries to determine the top 20% in each competition class to progress through to judging. The two rounds of judging had the chefs assess each steak against a set of criteria such as aroma, tenderness, juiciness and taste. The competition’s six best-of-breed classes were open to all NZ beef farmers and included classes for

European, British Angus, British Hereford, British Other and Crossbreeds, as well as a class for lifestyle farmers. The best-of-brand competition included a class for retailers, and a class for wholesalers and food service suppliers. The 2017 brand winner was also announced, with Countdown taking home the title with their Countdown Angus brand. The processor of the 2017 grand champion was Auckland Meat ProcessorsWilson Hellaby.

For full results go to farmersweekly.co.nz

SIMPLY THE BEST: Tim and Kelly Brittain’s Angus steak has won this year’s Steak of Origin grand champion title.

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News

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

Fonterra at risk of board ‘brain drain’ Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com FONTERRA has begun the second part of reducing its farmerdirectors from nine to seven by opening nominations for this year’s election. The two-year down-sizing was approved by shareholders nearly a year ago after a longrunning review of governance and representation in the co-operative. Fonterra is exposed to possible loss of board experience because the terms of six of the current eight farmer-directors expire either this year or next. Three farmer-elected positions are to be filled this year because of the resignation earlier this year through ill-health of Michael Spaans. Three sitting directors have served their three-year terms since 2014 – John Monaghan, who was first elected in 2008, David Macleod, first elected in 2011, and Leonie Guiney, elected in 2014. If they want to seek re-election they are subject to assessment by the independent selection and nomination panel where a newcomer might be preferred, and then face the annual meeting vote of shareholders where 50% approval of each candidate is required. Next year Fonterra chairman John Wilson, three-term director Nicola Shadbolt, and one-term director Ashley Waugh will face the same process. On September 11 the returning officer will announce the

EXPOSED: Fonterra is facing a potential loss of board experience, with the terms of six of the current eight farmer-directors expiring either this year or next.

three selected and nominated candidates to face shareholders. Nominations are open until September 7. Two weeks follow in which a self-nominated candidate must gain the endorsement of 35 shareholders to be able to join in the contest. All candidates will be confirmed on September 25. The responsibility for balancing the retention of experience with a need for new blood and relevant skills lies with the independent panel that consists of Dame Alison Paterson, John Spencer and Tony

Carter. They will know that some experience has already been lost among farmer-directors, and that the four independent directors are relative newcomers. They have been on the board for a total of seven years between them. They are Simon Israel (2013), Clinton Dines (2015), Scott St John (2016), and Bruce Hassall, only just appointed to replace 10-year veteran David Jackson. Hassall also needs a 50% approval from the voters this year. An added requirement is the

guidance on maximum terms for directors, which is a mechanism to show directors intending to repeat if they still have the confidence of their fellow directors. The board charter says that after nine years a director should consult with the chairman and fellow directors before seeking re-election. That applies to Monaghan this year, and both chairman Wilson (five terms) and director Shadbolt (three terms) will be in that position next year. After 12 years, a director must seek formal guidance from the board before reapplying for election. If he or she does so then that’s explained to farmers together with reasons for the extension, before the farmer vote. But chairman Wilson is specifically “exempted from the 12-year limit” because board support is continually required for the chairman to stay in that role. Moreover, a chairman hasn’t historically been appointed to that role until after their second term. Wilson, Monaghan and Shadbolt are now the longestserving directors during a period of change on the board. Monaghan and Shadbolt are also heir-apparents for chairman should Wilson choose to retire after a representation and governance effort stretching back to Fonterra’s formation in 2001. When approached for comment, a Fonterra spokesman said a key element of the new election process was confidentiality of the candidates

putting themselves forward, either existing directors or aspirants. “Any conversation about people retiring or restanding would be purely speculation, at least until the preferred candidates are announced.” The original pathway from nine farmer-directors down to seven had been affected by Spaans’ illness and resignation.

Fonterra’s board charter states ‘there must be an appropriate balance of experience on the board’.

Three-term director Ian Farrelly, who retired before last year’s election, had been asked by the board to return as temporary replacement for Spaans until this year’s election. Therefore, three seats were to be filled instead of the originally scheduled two. The wording of the “maximum term” provisions in the board charter still left adequate room for the retention of needed skills and experience. The charter states “there must be an appropriate balance of experience on the board”. The work of the independent nomination panel was very important, reflected in the experience and mana of the three appointees.

GDT platform considers rule changes to expand reach Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com THE GlobalDairyTrade platform wants to expand its reach and relevance with more sellers and more products, by using multiseller pools. The governing body has proposed three rule changes and opened a period of public consultation, which ends on July 28.

Should the third rule change concerning multi-seller pools be implemented, the first new users would be a group of United States lactose processors. They would be publicly identified, and be required to offer a minimum quantity of the standard lactose specifications each year. But each company could pick and choose its GDT events, and

actual tonnages offered and prices made by each company wouldn’t be disclosed. Instead buyers would bid on US lactose pools and tonnages, knowing which companies were registered sellers and that their premises and products were independently certified. Information on offer quantities and starting prices would

be provided to bidders at an aggregated pool level. The GDT Events oversight board said a number of US dairy companies wanted better price discovery mechanisms, but didn’t want to disclose their supply data. The pooling method would provide some confidentiality, but resulting contracts would be conducted normally between

winning bidders and willing sellers. Successful buyers would be allocated to one of the pool sellers shortly after the close of the event. The pool structure had also been designed to account for significant differences in freight costs, so buyers were aware of the costs and sellers received equal net return.

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News

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

Lewis takes hot seat Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@nzx.com THREE outspoken dairy farmers are now seated at the top table for Federated Farmers, at a time when much of the dairy industry feels itself under attack from urban advocates. Media attention has been focused on Katie Milne’s election to national presidency as the first woman in 118 years to lead the peak farming organisation. She is a West Coast dairy farmer and director of Westland Milk Products, a former Dairy Woman of the Year, and the 2015 Rural Woman of Influence. On the federation’s board since 2012, she came to national prominence as spokeswoman for biosecurity and adverse events. Milne’s vice-president is Andrew Hoggard from Feilding, formerly the dairy industry group chairman. Hoggard has been replaced by his deputy, Chris Lewis, from Pukeatua. Hoggard and Lewis, both 42, were former provincial presidents of Manawatu-Rangitikei and Waikato respectively. The three young dairy farmers now make up 40% of the sevenperson national board. The others are new meat and fibre industry group chairman Miles Anderson of South Canterbury, re-elected arable industry group chairman Guy Wigley, also from South Canterbury, re-elected national board member Chris Allen, MidCanterbury, and newly-elected board member Lynda Murchison, also North Canterbury president. Portfolios would be discussed and allocated at the first national board meeting, Hoggard said.

“After the election we looked at the board composition and said ‘four Cantabrians’, but at the time it was the best person for the job.” For the Feds it was the first time since 2002-05 that both national president and vice-president were dairy farmers – then Tom Lambie and Charlie Pedersen respectively. Contested elections for senior positions had also been few and far between. The election of Bruce Wills as president in 2011 was a strongly contested one, and the first to be so in 15 years. Wills, as meat and fibre chairman, won against two controversial dairy farmers, Lachlan McKenzie and Frank Brenmuhl, and high-country leader Donald Aubrey. Commentator Rod Oram called that Bruce Wills-William Rolleston election “a constructive change after six years of negative, adversarial, presidential politicking by Charlie Pedersen and Don Nicolson”. Also in 2011, the first woman to serve on the national board, Jeanette Maxwell, was elected meat and fibre chairwoman. She was followed by board member Katie Milne in 2012, and by Lynda Murchison this year. In late June, Milne contested the national presidency against previous vice-president Anders Crofoot, and Hoggard contested the vice-presidency with previous meat and fibre chairman Rick Powdrell. Hoggard had wondered whether delegates would want two dairy farmers at the top, but in the event that wasn’t raised by any delegate as an objection. He had already served 12 years, since leaving Young Farmers, in a

MOTIVATION: Farmers realise there is a long way to go, but they need to be encouraged to find solutions, new Federated Farmers Dairy section chairman Chris Lewis says.

We have been around for a while now, and we have a lot of knowledge of the organisation and the issues it deals with. Andrew Hoggard Federated Farmers progression of leadership roles for the federation – at provincial and then dairy group levels. Therefore, the demands of six more years, first as vice-president and then possibly president, had to be weighed carefully against family and farm. Hoggard’s dairy farm operates with two people minimum, but three ideally, and so he had employed enough staff members to cover his absences. It was during the most challenging parts of the season, like calving, that his experience and guidance would be most needed. The honorarium for the national position would help pay for the additional staffing.

Hoggard thought younger faces around the board table belied the length of service those people had already given. Milne, Lewis and he had all begun provincial representation more than a decade ago, and had worked their way through local government and resource management issues over several terms in different roles. “We have been around for a while now, and we have a lot of knowledge of the organisation and the issues it deals with,” Hoggard said. An ongoing challenge for the Feds was growing its membership by convincing farmers they needed to fund the advocacy work done on their behalf and for their financial benefit, particularly at local government level. More sheep and beef farmers were needed to balance the membership with farming demographics. Hoggard said he normally played the ball, not the man, but his final speech to the Feds’ national conference as dairy chairman was an exception. Constant harping by environmental activists on

freshwater quality had gone overboard, and the facts were nowhere as dire as they claimed, he said. “The end-is-nigh diatribe is continually dished out, and the broad brush efforts to take us back to subsistence agriculture are not the solution. “Auckland Harbour water quality is getting attention, and the media is searching wider than dairy farms for reasons.” Chris Lewis said he hoped for three settled years as national dairy chairman, in which the industry could concentrate on solutions to the problems. The federation wanted to move past what Green Party co-leader James Shaw had called a Punch and Judy show. “We want practical, affordable solutions that achieve real change, and not have national policies that achieve nothing. “We reserve the right to defend ourselves at all times, but we will do that with credible arguments, not emotion, hyperbole and scare-mongering. “Farmers realise there is a long way to go, but we need to encourage them to find solutions, not browbeat them,” Lewis said.

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Final cattle grazing event in a winter crop of kale. The cattle were grazed in this critical source area for 3-4 hours when soil conditions were relatively dry underfoot, then removed from the paddock to reduce risk of further damage to the soil.

TEN TOP TIPS FOR WINTER GRAZING OF CROPS Winter grazing of crops is a key source of sediment, nutrient and pathogen loss into waterways from farms. Reducing losses from winter crops can go a long way to reducing total farm losses. With a few simple steps, you can make a real difference now!

Soil is our greatest asset, holding on to more of it makes good economic sense. Damage to soil from poor grazing management of winter crops will impact on the future productivity of that paddock. Too much soil and nutrients in waterways impacts on their ecology and can kill freshwater species.

What can you do? 1

Exclude stock from waterways. Create an ungrazed buffer zone of crop between the livestock and the waterway. 3-5 metres is a good starting point but this should increase with slope and instability of soil. Leave an ungrazed buffer zone around either side of Critical Source Areas (CSAs). These are parts of the paddock that can channel overland flow directly to waterways, like gullies, swales, very wet areas, spring heads, waterway crossings, stock camps and vehicle access routes. Graze paddocks strategically. On a sloping paddock, fence across the slope and start grazing at the top of the paddock, so the standing crop acts as a filter. Or, if there is a waterway present, start grazing at the opposite end of the paddock.

Make breaks “long and narrow” – research shows that the crop will be utilised more efficiently by cattle.

Back fence. Regularly backfence stock off grazed breaks to help minimise pugging damage and to reduce runoff risk.

Place troughs and supplementary feed in a dry central part of the paddock well away from any waterways or CSAs.

Look after your stock. Provide adequate feed, shelter and clean fresh drinking water. Doing this will also limit stock movement and help reduce damage to crop and soil.

Graze the buffer strips around CSAs when soil is not so wet and risk of loss has reduced. Graze quickly and lightly if you can.

rea e) e A ssibl c r u po

So if al ing itic graz r C d

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Plant a catch crop. Where soil conditions and farm management allow, consider planting a fast growing crop in spring such as greenfeed oats. It can make a dramatic difference to reducing nitrogen losses. Plan early. When choosing paddocks for next year’s winter feed crop, think about how you can improve your management of CSAs and waterways.

The Pastoral 21 research programme demonstrated that you can reduce losses of sediment and phosphorus (P) from winter crops by up to 80-90% through strategic grazing and careful management of Critical Source Areas (CSAs).

READ

B+LNZ Factsheets on good management practice for winter grazing. Email resources@beeflambnz.com or call 0800 233 352.

LISTEN

AgResearch soil scientist Ross Monaghan discusses winter grazing on a B+LNZ podcast: beeflambnz.podbean.com

Minimum Size use is 30mm wide.

DISCUSS

For more info, contact your Regional Council’s land management advisor.

News

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

Quake volunteers clock up major farm-repair hours Tim Fulton SKILLED workers pitching in for South Island farmers have clocked up more than 14,000 hours of emergency fencing after the Kaikoura earthquake in November. And that’s only scratching the surface of the job ahead, a recruitment company manager says. From January to the end of June, volunteers and paid staff did 14,342 hours of fencing from Waiau in North Canterbury to parts of southern Marlborough. A government-funded scheme run by labour recruiters AgStaff paid for the temporary farm hands to return farms to a workable state. The programme set aside $600,000 for essential repairs to cultivatable land, forestry, bridges, tracks and other infrastructure, most of which wasn’t typically covered by insurance. Among the volunteers were the Handy Landys, a Lincoln University-based group of students volunteering for earthquakerecovery projects similar to the Student Volunteer Army after the Christchurch earthquakes, or another farming group, the Farmy Army. Paige Harris, a second-year agricultural science student, said

some of the damage her team saw at Waiau was unbelievable. In partnership with AgStaff, her team chipped in one weekend with about 10 other Handy Landy crews, starting with a day’s gardening at a farm where a woman had recently been through shoulder surgery. At another property, one of the guys chopped firewood and elsewhere did heavyduty fencing. Harris said they originally planned just a single day in the area, but heard about the plight of Rebekah and David Kelly whose ravaged property sported “Lake Rebekah”, the result of a dam created by the earthquake. A group of Handy Landys plan to go back to the Kelly’s farm again in August. AgStaff and its main partner, Federated Farmers, sent teams of four or five workers throughout the upper South Island. Workers went to 36 farms in Marlborough and 29 in Kaikoura, as well as Molesworth Station and farms along the Inland Kaikoura Road between Waiau and Kaikoura. The relief scheme was extended from May 30 to June 30 to cope with demand. Nearly 90% of the work was fencing, track repairs, stock work and reticulation of water, AgStaff

Repairing the situation THE Government pledged $4 million towards a primary industries earthquake relief fund for uninsurable infrastructure repairs after November’s Kaikoura earthquake. All earthquake-affected farmers, fishers and growers in the Hurunui, Kaikoura and Marlborough districts were invited to apply. At the time, the Ministry for Primary Industries said the grant would contribute towards repairs, but wouldn’t completely cover costs for restoring uninsurable primary sector

infrastructure, re-establishing uninsurable pasture (on cultivatable land only), crops and forestry, and initial cleanup of silt and debris (where uninsurable). Eligible assets were to include onfarm access roads, tracks, races, bridges without sides, dams and reservoirs, because these were generally uninsurable. Priority was to be given to essential repairs to continue farming, such as roadside boundary fencing, other boundary fencing, access tracks and stock water supplies.

project co-ordinator Trina Moore said. The idea was to do urgent repairs to get livestock back where it should be, she said. “In the grand scheme of things we’re only just taking the base.” Relief workers worked an average of 6-8 days on farms, but one Marlborough farm had 33 days of help. The recovery effort added up to 471 “team days”, powered by 43 paid, skilled workers and 51 volunteers. One of the workers was German backpacker Edgard Braun, who was in New Zealand for a working holiday. Fencing skills that he acquired in Waikato came in handy over a four-month farm odyssey in the upper South Island. Braun went to Ward, Seddon, Kekerengu, Clarence, Waiau and Awatere. Some farms were heavily damaged, others only a bit, he said. His most vivid memory was a farmer in Seddon who had meticulously fenced his property, only to see the work ruined in a heartbeat. AgStaff provided accommodation, which varied from a month in shearers’ quarters at Kekerengu, to a campsite at Seddon for two months, and occasional stints on farms. Sometimes a farmstay was the only option because it took two hours to get on to the property. Braun is now working on a dairy farm in Taranaki. He said he didn’t come to NZ with the idea of being a farmer, but was keeping his options open. AgStaff’s Trina Moore said some of the volunteers did 150 hours and chose not to claim back any of the expenses they were entitled to, such as travel. A couple of overseas backpackers opted to help in Waiau rather than head to Queenstown as they originally planned. AgStaff was considering extending a similar programme on a commercial basis after winter when farm tracks were drier, Moore said.

HELPING HANDS: From January to the end of June, volunteers and paid staff did 14,342 hours of fencing repairs in areas of the upper South Island following last year’s earthquake near Kaikoura.

Taking stock of the winter white-out Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com UP to 400,000 stock units, and probably more, in the high country around Taihape and Waiouru went into the weekend still under stress from the previous week’s snowstorm. In some areas the thawing of up to 20-50cm of snow had been slower than expected, with frosts occurring rather than rain to wash it away, Taumarunui-based farm consultant Geoff Burton said. This was particularly so on some easier land, whereas sunny-facing hillsides had mostly cleared. There was concern going into the weekend about a new band of forecast rain, but reports of the front being warmer than initially thought eased anxieties, with the hope it would also help with the thaw. Burton, who has a lot of clients in the wider area, said there had been stock losses among both sheep and cattle because of the snowstorm, with incidence of staggers and sleepy sickness. A lot of stock had spent three to five days in the snow. Farmers around the Taihape and Waiouru areas were wellprepared with feed and getting access to higher areas, but this was not the case in the

Rangiwahia area where there was less experience in handling significant snowfalls. Livestock were in excellent condition going into winter and the great majority will survive the conditions, but the full effect mightn’t be known for another six weeks or so until the start of lambing and calving, Burton said. Some farmers were intending to cancel ewe scanning to ease stress on their ewes. Lambing is typically in September-October, and calving October-November, to allow for harsh and long winter conditions on the higher ground. Burton drove into the area last Monday, and checked again with many of the highcountry stations by phone last Thursday. Farmers were resilient and appreciated the early snow warning from MetService, he said. While they had gone into winter well-prepared with feed, stock had “gobbled up” quite a bit of that so far this season. The high-country areas are breeding and finishing country with stock units typically 60% sheep and 40% cattle. There are also some deer farmed. Burton, who is also policy agent for the area for the Ministry for Primary Industries, said the snowstorm had caused problems beyond stock welfare.

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

Dogs’ tails spared in welfare upgrade Tim Fulton DOCKING of dog’s tails is out, and pain relief for disbudding cattle is compulsory under a pen-full of new animal welfare regulations. Tail docking will be banned unless by a vet treating significant injury or disease, one of 46 proposed additions to the Animal Welfare Act says. An independent scientific review of docking concluded it was “a significant surgical procedure with the potential to cause considerable pain and distress” and wasn’t justified by

any benefit to the dog, a Ministry for Primary Industries report said. New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) head of veterinary services, Callum Irvine, said the organisation had long advocated the docking decision. The new provisions also make pain relief compulsory for disbudding cattle, and introduce “enforceable” regulations for transporting lame, diseased or ill animals. The full range of regulations covers stock transport, farm husbandry, companion and working animals, pigs, layer

PAWS FOR THOUGHT: Tail docking of dogs will be banned unless by a vet treating significant injury or disease under proposed additions to the Animal Welfare Act.

hens and the way animals are accounted for in research, testing and teaching. “The NZVA acknowledges the enormous amount of work and consultation that has gone into the development of these regulations, and we applaud the ministry’s ongoing commitment to animal welfare in delivering them,” Irvine said. Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said he hoped the additions would give animal welfare law more teeth, continuing the impetus of last year’s Young Calf and Live Animal Export regulations.

That law contributed to a reduction of more than 50% in mortality rates for bobby calves during the 2016 season, he said. MPI aimed to have the latest regulations in law by the end of this year and in effect, after a transition period, before October 2018. “The delayed lead-in time will enable farmers, processors, transporters and others to ensure that their systems are up and running before the new regulations take effect,” Guy said. MPI last year consulted on 91 animal welfare regulations and received more than 1400

submissions from a wide range of individuals and organisations, all with different perspectives on animal welfare. The remaining regulations that were consulted on last year would be considered in a third package in 2018, for introduction in 2019. Animal welfare was extremely important to New Zealanders and the country’s international customers, Guy said. In 2014, New Zealand’s animal welfare system was ranked firstequal out of 50 countries assessed by the global animal protection charity, World Animal Protection.

Kiwifruit industry turns over new leaf 53% of employers were failing to meet all minimum employment standards, such as providing employment agreements and ALL contractors supplying labour paying at least the minimum to the kiwifruit industry will be wage. required to meet international Most of the contractors were employment law and worker using migrant labour, MBIE welfare standards from next Labour Inspectorate regional harvest season. manager Kevin Finnegan said. The industry has been stung Some employers had been by a government agency report able to immediately address the saying the majority of labour hire breaches, but 20 improvement contracts were breaching their notices and six enforceable obligations as employers. undertakings were also issued to The report, based on an audit of compel employers to meet their the sector during the 2016 harvest obligations. period, make industry standards Johnson was still waiting to sound worse than they are, hear from MBIE about the details of breaches, but noted that only two infringement notices had been issued on top of improvement notices. “I don’t want to underplay this, but it seems like it is mostly simple paperwork Excellence through science being the issue, not employers exploiting workers.” She said there were about 350 contractor businesses offering services to the kiwifruit industry. The industry has about 10,000 permanent workers, and 8000 seasonal workers. “My understanding is that they looked at companies where they were aware of there being an issue, so I don’t think this is a fair Contact us to discuss further: reflection of the industry Ph: Stephen – 020 412 22 858 or Bronwyn – 027 6666 863 overall.” Email: info@manukafarmingnz.co.nz Johnson accepted that the audit process was done Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers (NZKGI) chief executive Nikki Johnson said. The new requirement followed a pilot programme also during 2016, and would add to changes already being made. As the industry expanded, worker welfare was paramount and any instances of poor employer compliance was disappointing and unacceptable, she said. The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment said last week that audits of 62 labourcontracting companies over a three-month period showed that

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on a surprise basis, but said she would’ve liked some warning about MBIE’s findings, which she only learned of from the press release. “It is a sensitive issue for our customers, and we would have welcomed being able to prepare the (Zespri) staff who were selling fruit internationally.” MBIE’s Kevin Finnegan said the audit uncovered significant pay arrears, with one employer owing more than $25,000 to workers. The breaches had been disappointing, but not surprising because the issue had been raised with the industry over a number of years, he said. The kiwifruit industry had taken steps to lift the compliance rate

since the 2016 audit, and needed to continue doing so. Johnson believed significant improvement had been made and more would be done. NZKGI is part of an international programme, GlobalGAP GRASP, under which next season all orchard contractors and all growers would be assessed for compliance with employment law and worker welfare. This was a worldwide standard on good agricultural practice. The organisation had also commissioned independent research on labour practices in the industry, covering recruitment, employment and management of seasonal labour.

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News

10 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017

Arable farmers wary of plant act review Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com ARABLE farmers have signalled their concern over the current review of the industry’s Plant Variety Right Act. While plant breeders and the seed trade welcomed the longoverdue review, arable farmers were not so confident the proposed outcome would be in growers’ best interest, Federated Farmers arable industry vice chairman seeds, Colin Hurst, told the sector’s recent conference. A review of the Plant Variety Right (PVR) Act had been on the Government’s radar since the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was being developed. But with uncertainty surrounding TPP, the Government decided to forge ahead and initiate the review now under way. Hurst highlighted the act review as a big issue for the arable industry group over the next three years. He said the act was loosely based around the provisions in the International Union for Protection for New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) agreements and while it had been updated in 1978 and 1991, each successive agreement had strengthened the rights of plant breeders and PVR holders.

While Federated Farmers had participated in the first two industry plant workshops designed to identify the interests, issues and problems with the current act, there was cause for concern. This concern particularly stemmed around the push from plant breeders who wanted exclusive control over any harvested material and possible provisions around farm-saved seed. This would effectively strengthen the rights of the plant breeders while weakening the rights of farmers. Of particular interest were provisions regarding payment for any farm-saved seed used onfarm and the potential to strengthen plant breeders and PVR holders over harvested material. “While we may understand the drivers for this in the horticulture industry, the reality for arable farmers is we could have absolutely no say in the final destination of our product and could receive no financial rewards for our inputs,” Hurst said. He said while farmers recognised the amount of work and expense that went into plant breeding, the commercialised plant breeding sector had only

been in existence for the past 100 years. “Before that farmers were plant breeders, and we argue that we should be adequately rewarded for our inputs and farming practice, and have choice over the final destination of our product or our choice of seed selection without being unduly financially punished.” Federated Farmers had made its position clear to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment officials and the minister, and was in the process of arranging a farmer workshop with MBIE. Hurst encouraged farmers to get involved with the process and let MBIE know their views.

MBIE official Ema Hao’uli said it was MBIE’s intention to publically consult on changes to the act later this year with expectation that new legislation could be introduced in the House in early 2019. She said MBIE had made no firm decisions as to whether the current act needed a complete overhaul by incorporating all the principles of the UPOV 91 Agreement, or whether the current act just required some tweaking to make it more fit for purpose. Hao’uli said the review process was just six months in and would take three years. A key issue of the review would be farm-saved seed, and under TPP, New Zealand was required to bring its PVR regime into line with UPOV 91. “If the review accedes to UPOV 91, PVR owners’ rights would be extended to include right to use the reproductive material of the variety to produce or reproduce protected variety. SEEDS OF DOUBT: A complete overhaul or a tweak to make the Plant Variety Right Act more fit for purpose is yet to be decided, MBIE official Ema Hao’uli says.

“That would mean growers would have to pay a royalty to save seed,” Hao’uli said. NZ plant breeders’ association general manager Thomas Chin said the seed trade welcomed the review – it had lobbied government for a number of years to align local plant laws with those required in the international community. Plant breeders wanted three core components included in the updated legislation. These were confirmation of farmers’ right to save seed, enablement of a system for collecting royalties on farm-saved seed and a robust enforcement regime to safeguard against parties allegedly infringing intellectual property rights. Updated legislation would mean strong protective measures for plant breeders with IP rights. Farmers would have better access to a wider and improved range of pasture and cereal crop seed genetics. Chin said once the new plant laws were in place it should be easier for IP right holders to release new seed into the NZ market, spurring new research and development. There was also potential for increased farm productivity and opportunities for new exports.

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

Cavalier looks to rationalise scours CAVALIER Wool Holdings is still working out the best way to rationalise its three Hawke’s Bay wool scours. It has two major scour plants, and one “overflow” scour. With the size of the North Island wool clip, the group needs more than one scour and is working on options, Cavalier Corp chief executive Paul Alston said. “We’re working on options – it could be a mix of plants or we could do everything at one plant and extend that. We need to make a decision soon.” The change follows the merger of the Cavalier Wool and New Zealand Wool Services International (WSI) scour businesses. The consolidation of the South Island plants has already been completed, with some of WSI’s Kaputone plant near Christchurch installed at the Cavalier site in Timaru. The Kaputone site has been sold. The Hawke’s Bay business is likely to be based on the large Cavalier site at Awatoto. Cavalier also had the overflow plant at Clyde, while WSI operated a scour at Whakatu. The Hawke’s Bay decision will be based on the size of the wool clip, and there’s an issue with that now because the collapse in wool prices means many farmers are storing their wool rather than putting it forward for sale, so scour volumes are also well down. Up to the start of this year, the scours had been operating around the clock, seven days a week, but the collapse in volumes mean they’re just operating five days a week, Alston said. The low volumes are hurting the scour division profitability, as well as making trading very difficult for the group’s Elco Direct wool-buying business. These negatives have added to the tough trading conditions in Australia for the Cavalier Bremworth carpet manufacturing and distribution business, compounded by the high NZ-Australia foreign exchange rate. About half of group sales are in Australia. The NZ carpet market is still performing reasonably, though off earlier highs. Longer term, the fall in the wool price should help the carpet business by reducing the group’s raw material costs. There is typically a nine to 12-month lag time between buying wool and getting carpet into the market, and the business is getting close to that tick-over point, Alston said. He’s expecting improved profitability for Cavalier Bremworth in the financial year, which started on July 1. Cavalier Corporation told Farmers Weekly that it expects a loss of $2 million (on a normalised trading basis) for the latest June 30 year. That downgrade on June 1 replaced a forecast in February of a break-even result. The group also had heavy restructuring costs from major changes in its yarn-spinning operations. Lower operating costs because of those moves is also expected to help current-year earnings. Cavalier Corp owns 27.5% of the merged scour business, so is suffering from the low volumes affecting earnings there. The Cavalier share price has fallen heavily this year. This fall was putting extra pressure on the group, Alston said, but his message remained the same. “We’ve had a year of investment and a lot of time and effort in consolidation to reduce costs and increase profitability in the new year.” Cavalier shares have fallen 59% this year, to 32c at time of writing from 78c at the start of January. The fall in July alone has been about 8%, from a starting point of 35c. In earlier years, the carpet manufacturer was one of the best performers and most consistent dividend-payers on the NZ Stock Exchange. Ten

years ago, the shares were worth $2.28 each, according to NZX data. The founding families remain the biggest shareholders: the Timpsons with 13.99% through their Marama Trading Ltd, and Grant Biel with 12.33% through his Rural Aviation (1963) Ltd. ACC owns 5.69% of Cavalier Corp. It is also a minority shareholder directly in the Cavalier Wool Holdings scour business, in which Chinese-owned Australian company Lempriere is the biggest investor.

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12 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017

Kiwi venison a cut above in Sweden Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com CUTTING the meat to meet the market has reaped reward for venison processor and marketer Mountain River. The Canterbury-based venison exporter has made a breakthrough for New Zealand venison in Sweden with the official launch of its range of novel grilling cuts. Connecting with one of Sweden’s leading restaurant wholesalers, Menigo, Mountain River cemented the breakthrough deal that has the venison marketer dealing direct with a one-stop shop for Swedish food professionals. Mountain River marketing manager John Sadler said the company had been active in Sweden for 20 years, but this launch was different to what the company had done in the past. It was particularly exciting at a time when some of the most innovative contemporary cooking was coming out of Scandinavia,

with chefs around the world looking to them as trendsetters. “Instead of working through an importer, we are now working directly with a distributor who is as enthusiastic as we are about NZ venison,” Sadler said. The launch had been 18 months in the making. “I was first approached 18 months ago by Richard Hofbauer, their (Menigo) meat buyer. “He was looking for some restaurant-ready cuts at a good price point. We invited him to NZ, showed him the industry and what we had to offer, and he liked what he saw,” Sadler said. Mountain River proceeded to work with Hofbauer, company colleagues at the plant, and Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) executive chef Graham Brown to look at options that might work for Menigo. “Not only did we develop some novel shoulder and leg cuts, which were launched in Sweden in May, it was also great for establishing a partnership,” Sadler said.

“We’re now one of Menigo’s key suppliers.” Menigo is a one-stop shop for food professionals, with warehouses and food halls in Stockholm, Malmo and four other Swedish cities. It prides itself on providing products and services that are tailored to the requirements of each of its chef customers. The frozen cuts, all of which were suitable for grilling, were being actively promoted as NZ farm-raised venison to Swedish restauranteurs by Menigo’s sales team. A series of launch events had also taken place at leading Stockholm restaurants. At these events Graham Brown worked with chefs to perfect the cooking of the cuts and to gauge reaction from paying customers. “The first-hand feedback we have been getting from customers and chefs is allowing us to finetune the selling message as we go.”

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BREAKTHROUGH DEAL: NZ venison processor and marketer Mountain River has formed a partnership with one of Sweden’s leading restaurant wholesalers.

Sadler said the next step was to build demand in the Swedish autumn-winter game season. This would include Brown hosting chefs’ academy workshops, further events with restaurants and also a refresh training of the sales teams. DINZ had helped fund elements of the launch from its European key account programme. The programme provided support to each of NZ’s five venison marketing companies for promotions, with a current focus on developing and retaining key accounts at a time when venison supply was tight, DINZ venison marketing manager Marianne Wilson said.

Deer sector mulls biosecurity agreement Annette Scott annette.scott@nzx.com

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“Eating reindeer is part of the Swedish culture. While eating grilled venison in summer is unusual, their chefs are innovative and have responded well to the launch. She said Mountain River was continually evolving its portfolio of products to suit customer needs, and the building blocks were now in place for them to expand their sales into Sweden over the next few years as venison production increased. “From an industry point of view this is a good diversification, creating more year-round demand for branded NZ farm-raised venison outside the Eurozone.”

DEER Industry New Zealand (DINZ) has begun exploring the benefits of entering a Government Industry Agreement (GIA) on biosecurity. The organisation’s science and policy manager Catharine Sayer said maintaining the health of NZ’s deer herd and protecting it from biosecurity risks was critical to the industry, prompting DINZ to explore the benefits of entering a GIA. She said livestock industries, including DINZ, had been fleshing out with the Ministry for Primary Industries what a GIA would look like for the sector. “We have been using footand-mouth disease (FMD) as a high-impact scenario of what would happen if a GIA was in place at the time of an outbreak. “At the same time, we have been working together to significantly improve the country’s readiness in the event that a FMD outbreak did occur,” Sayer said. GIAs cover pest and disease readiness and response activities, and to date 14 industries had signed GIAs including the pork, forestry

and several major horticultural industries. The arable sector, having been told by MPI that it couldn’t rely on government alone to build an effective biosecurity fence, was currently working though the processes of forming an industry-wide entity to collectively enter an agreement that was expected to include all related stakeholders, including feed manufacturers and millers. Entering a GIA involved industry bodies signing a common GIA deed. “First, the industry needed to show it had properly consulted with those it represented and that it could fund industry commitments made as part of the agreement,” Sayer said. She assured deer industry levy payers they’d be consulted before a decision was made. “DINZ will later this year provide levy payers with more details about how entering into GIA would affect the deer industry, and will seek their views on whether doing so is in its interests.” Sayer said other livestock farmer bodies would be doing the same, while organisations representing red meat and dairy processors had already been consulted and were close to making a decision.

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News

14 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017

NZ lamb quota gets surprise early airing Colin Ley

UK National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker

AN UNEXPECTED early start to trade talks on the fringes of the Brexit process, including the leaking of ideas on how New Zealand’s lamb quota may be divided up between the European Union and United Kingdom in two years’ time, has drawn a “concerned” response from British sheep-farming leaders. Despite repeated warnings in recent months that the UK will need to settle its membership “debt obligations” to the EU and agree the rights of EU citizens in Britain before discussions can even touch on post-Brexit trade issues, details have suddenly emerged concerning how tariff-free quotas might be handled. This includes the quota arrangement governing

NZ lamb exports to the EU, under which NZ is allowed to export up to 230,000 tonnes of sheep and goat meat a year to the EU with about 40% of that total ending up in the UK. It appears that European Commission (EC) officials are considering three possible post-Brexit solutions for NZ lamb: first, continue as present with the UK’s share being spread between the remaining 27 members; second, Britain would take over a portion of the EU quota, subject to changing the arrangements for sensitive products such as beef and butter; and third, reduce NZ’s current EU quota and leave Britain to negotiate its own new quota terms. “Although these are the sort of options we will have to consider at some point, no one in the UK industry was expecting such details to

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emerge at this stage,” National Sheep Association chief executive, Phil Stocker, told Farmers Weekly. “I’m surprised this has begun now, therefore, and am definitely concerned about it. “If we get bounced into making decisions about these sort of things before we’ve had the chance to adjust to our exit from the EU and start thinking about wider trade deals, we could end-up with piecemeal decisions that don’t take full account of the whole picture. “While this development makes me nervous, if we have to start talking then we’ll just have to get on with it.

It looks like we’re being bounced into this by the European Commission and we need to resist decisions being made without our input. Phil Stocker UK National Sheep Association “We’ve said all along that what we need is stability in our markets and, as far as possible, to stay with the status quo in terms of tariff-free access to the EU. “Probably a good starting point in talking about the potential splitting up of quotas would be to look at the volumes of NZ lamb we’ve seen in the UK over these last few years,” Stocker said. Back on the surprise of these issues being raised now, however, Stocker revealed he was involved in talks with senior UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials very recently, along with traders involved in taking imported lamb from NZ, and no one was aware the quota issue was about to break. “I don’t think anyone was expecting this,” Stocker said. “It looks like we’re being bounced into this by the EC and we need to resist decisions being made without our input. “The general issues have obviously been discussed over recent months but not in terms of the specifics. It would be entirely wrong for decisions to be made without the industry having its say,” he said.

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16 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017

Newsmaker

‘Thought leadership’ new AgResearch chairman’s goal Farmer Jeff Grant has seen life from many angles. He has a long involvement in governance and spent three years as a National MP. He’s now taken over the reins as AgResearch chairman from fellow farmer Sam Robinson, and will focus on delivering science that’s highly relevant to the future of farming. He told Stephen Bell how he sees himself in the role.

GRESEARCH’S new chairman Jeff Grant wants to keep the science outfit close to farmers while also pushing the boundaries. As a farmer steeped in industry leadership with experience as a politician and a professional director dealing with management and bureaucrats, he has a clear idea of what he wants and where AgResearch, scientists, farmers and the country stand. He’s been known to speak out on issues and stick up for farmers, the most recent being meat industry reform, and won’t be afraid to do it again if he feels it’s necessary. Grant has also been known to remove himself from groups he felt were going in the wrong direction. When approached to chair AgResearch he considered the boundaries imposed by such a role, but never thought of them as a constraint on robust but constructive public policy debate. He acknowledged he hasn’t avoided having a view on wider issues and doesn’t see that as a particular problem where he believes speaking up is for the

good of the pastoral sector. Grant has taken over as the controversial Future Footprint reorganisation is being bedded in. “Future Footprint is a reflection of a lack on investment for the last 20 years,” he said. And he sees the irony in the continual questioning of Crown investment in the pastoral sector at a time the Government wants it to double the value of exports by 2025. In the past five years income from the Crown and industrygood and commercial sources had declined, but if that was the new long-term model AgResearch had to adapt to it. So, with old and tired laboratories needing money spent on them, but investment not at a rate to provide the best environment for doing the best science, a plan was needed. Concentrating activity around Massey and Lincoln universities was a critical step in the direction AgResearch needs to go. And with 80% of staff from overseas that means attracting Kiwis. Locals hadn’t been attracted into science in productive areas

It’s about a cocky kicking a bit of grass and telling a scientist what he thinks of it.

TALKING POINT: New AgResearch chairman Jeff Grant wants scientists and farmers communicating with each other out in the field.

since the 1980s. Grant wants to get more Kiwis involved in doing the work in the paddocks and in industries. It was critical to have a connection through people who understood the New Zealand psyche to tertiary education, and the wider Crown research institutes group. Grant wants to create a platform to encourage good thinking. “The next big thing for me and the board is to get back into thought leadership as farmers turn to us to see what can be done.” And with a focus on farm systems and environmental sustainability, science had to find the most effective mitigation. AgResearch wanted to get back to the forefront of that science. Another area was how best to use new technology. Kiwis were really good at collecting data but limited in their use of it for good practice. Grant believes AgResearch has a responsibility to make data more available to farmers as smartphones – giving a range of farm tools and ways of operating businesses – become quite significant. He wants to put AgResearch at the leading edge without duplicating stuff being done in the commercial sector. But with limited funding he believes the board and management tend to be plugging holes more than looking for far-reaching Western Australia Sept - Wildflowers, farming, dramatic scenery science really testing the Tasmania Nov - A fantastic way to discover this unique island state! boundaries of new systems or practices. And with everyone Farm To Farm Tours Discover some of the world’s best farming, grappling with disruptor PO Box 239, Victoria St, scenery and experiences Rangiora, 7440 technology, science had to in the company of like info@farmtofarm.co.nz be fleet of foot. minded travellers. Ph: 03 313 5855 NZ had an advantage there because its scientists were Ph: 0800 3838 747 www.farmtofarm.co.nz very adaptable, with a broad

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range of knowledge making their ability to shift impressive. “We are 60% there. We have got to get better but sometimes we are hamstrung. The classic example is around genetic science.” With its high metabolisable energy ryegrass, AgResearch had to decide what to do when laboratory tests indicated it could grow 50% faster with more energy and was more drought-resistant. So it had to go to the United States to be tested in a more commercial environment. “What do we do if we can’t use it in NZ? Without any doubt debate in this area has got muddied.” Science had moved on from the days of horrifying prospects of transferring genes between species to better genetic manipulation within a plant or animal, something that had been going on through natural selection anyway. Grant said the economy will depend on a high proportion of plant-based production in the next 50 years, but if we don’t push the frontiers we won’t get the science. “We should at least explore the possibilities.” Public policy debate had to decide whether the benefits of genetic modification were greater than the risk, and sending the grass offshore to continue the work might provide answers that could become part of that debate. As the country grappled with its peculiar problem of having biologically-driven greenhouse gas production, the grass could help cut methane and nitrogen. “It would be wrong not to explore how it could affect NZ production.” He saw the issue as evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and public perception had to be informed by science better explaining both the good and bad aspects.

Grant describes himself as a GM sceptic who urges care, but he said the science should be done if it can be done carefully. And despite the high profile of GM work he sees AgResearch’s core function as responding to farmers’ needs by providing practical applied science they can use such as its quick response to questions about putting breeding ewes on fodder beet. And that’s where the future lies – in the people AgResearch has rather than the building or where they are. So all the people involved, farmers and scientists, need to be in close contact. Which is why Grant is a fan of the Southern Dairy Hub and defends AgResearch’s investment in the farm, which could try a whole lot of things in a production environment where farmers could see the science working. “Nothing inspires a farmer more than kicking the dirt on a research farm that looks more like his farm than a laboratory. “I’m a really strong supporter and want to see more of these around NZ.” It was important to produce science papers but AgResearch had to be just as successful at the other end putting out really good data and making sense to farmers. The best way for farmers and scientists to communicate was over a cup of tea in a woolshed and there should be more of it. “It’s about a cocky kicking a bit of grass and telling a scientist what he thinks of it.” And Grant likes hearing from scientists about what they’re doing. “I find it exciting. I love going on a campus. I want to go to all our campuses and get them to tell me about the exciting things they are doing. “I get a huge thrill out of it.”

New thinking

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

New centre of attention for scientist World-renowned animal geneticist Dorian Garrick has returned to his home country and alma mater to be chief scientist in a new Massey University centre for genetics and breeding. He can apply quantitative breeding and molecular genetics to make progress in the primary sector, he told Hugh Stringleman.

EW Zealand’s preeminent animal breeding scientist wants to branch out into radiata pine trees, ryegrass and white clover. Professor Dorian Garrick will be chief scientist for the newlyformed Massey University AL Rae Centre for Genetics and Breeding, based at AgResearch’s Ruakura campus just outside of Hamilton. The centre was launched last week with a funding fanfare from The Norman FB Barry Foundation and a function attended by Prime Minister Bill English and his principal science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman. Garrick’s homecoming after 15 years’ teaching in the United States and consulting around the world has been hailed as the beginning of a renaissance for population genetics, and the training of PhD students in several disciplines. Massey professorial colleague Hugh Blair said money was not enough to draw students and industry support, and that the new centre’s drawcard was Garrick as chief scientist. “I’ve been trying to get him to return for a number of years,” Blair said. “He is one of the world’s top animal breeders and he has worked on a variety of genetic improvement programmes around the world including beef cattle, dairy cattle, dual-purpose sheep, fine-woolled sheep, pigs,

elk, chickens, salmon and tree breeding.” Garrick said the now somewhat neglected and underfunded field of quantitative breeding – which is selection through progeny testing – must be brought together with the newer, faster but expensive molecular genetics. “NZ has numerous opportunities to improve the returns from its primary industries through selection based on more accurate predictions of performance using genomic data,” he said.

NZ has numerous opportunities to improve the returns from its primary industries through selection based on more accurate predictions of performance using genomic data. Dorian Garrick Massey University Work at the new centre would be applicable to a wide range of traits and species. Garrick said NZ had five economically important species in which this country must do the science, because no one would do it for us – sheep, deer, radiata pine

WELCOME HOME: Professor Dorian Garrick is the chief scientist for the newly-formed Massey University AL Rae Centre for Genetics and Breeding near Hamilton.

trees, ryegrass and white clover. “These are priority areas because these species influence prosperity in NZ,” he said. “In other species like maize, pigs and chickens, we are too small to run elite breeding programmes, and access is purchased from overseas. “Dairy genetic improvement has been well-served through LIC and other breeding companies, and beef cattle work is shared around several key countries.” Farmer breeders found it challenging and expensive to use molecular genetics so collaborative funding and resourcing via groups like Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics was essential. “We can lift the game considerably in sheep, beef and pasture genomics,” Garrick said. Productivity improvements through genetics in these species had lagged behind the 1-2% annually expected by most breeding programmes. For instance, cattle growth rates had improved partly through higher mature cow weights, requiring more feed, but resulting in less efficiency. “My work is on the theory of how we put different traits together for selection indexes and breeding programmes, then applying them to whichever industries want to address their particular problems.” Garrick and his students

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will have access to adequate computing power, in NZ and in the cloud, but access to phenotypic records for all traits may be more limiting. “In the past the people who ran herd recording schemes, for instance, never talked to molecular geneticists, so their data sets never came together,” Garrick said. “Now we are still using pedigree and performance, but for the best outcomes we combine that with molecular information obtained by DNA profiling.” There had been inadequate levels of graduates and postdoctoral researchers trained in NZ agriculture in recent decades. Animal genetics in NZ went through a lean period after the introduction of tuition fees for students who wanted to go on for PhDs. Also, fewer post-graduates were produced by the agricultural faculties following the talk of sunset industries. Garrick also pointed back to a misguided view that breed records had intellectual property value that should be kept secret, without sharing of data. “Now those organisations recognise they get more value from having other people working on their data. “More students realise that data science in agriculture can be exciting with modern techniques such as genomics.”

Industry bodies and companies clustered around Hamilton were expected to put forward staff members for further training – for example, from LIC, CRV Ambreed and DairyNZ. This was among the reasons the AL Rae Centre would be at Ruakura, and not one of Massey’s three campuses. Barry Foundation trustee and Associate Professor Tony Pleasants, also a sheep and beef farmer, said Garrick was a unique geneticist who was passionate about applying his work to help farmers. He had inherited the common touch from mentor Al Rae, along with the understanding that animal breeding didn’t exist outside of farming systems. He was ideally placed to apply new technologies to primary sector matters, such as animal efficiency and maintenance energy, environmental constraints and epigenetics. Molecular geneticists had spent a fortune on DNA sequencing, but the real world needed “agricultural engineers” like Garrick to apply that knowledge, Blair said. Blair is chairman of the NZ organising committee for the 11th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production to be held in Auckland next February, a four-yearly event, and Garrick is on the committee.

Opinion

18 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017

EDITORIAL Low blow from snow

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Bright future for young farmers TEAGAN, thank you so much for your wonderful letter about my photo on the front-page of Farmers Weekly (July 10). Your parents are so lucky to have you and your sister as little farm hands – you certainly look the part! I can tell that you’ll do extremely well in agriculture because you’re so passionate about it. We need more kids like you and Keeley! If you ever decide to enter the Young Farmer of the Year contest when you’re older, I’ll be cheering you on 100%. Lots of love, Lisa. Lisa Kendall Karaka

Wool reform NEAL Wallace’s recent editorial (Farmers Weekly, July 3) points to some of the causes for the downward spiral of wool. As a meat and wool farmer

for 45 years I have seen it all, hence my involvement in campaigning for reform over the past 20 years. Numerous reports and proposals – the McKinsey Report, Strongwool NZ, franchising of the Fernmark brand and so on – have been kicked to touch. Those with a vested interest in today’s competitivedestructive model have conspired to destroy these proposals, often with the support of rural media. So woolgrowers have been left confused and disconnected from the debate about the opportunities for sector unity. Woolgrowers must take control and champion our environmentally sustainable product through education, research and development, and marketing. Unless the organisation making these investments also sells the

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Letterof theWeek

EDITOR Bryan Gibson bryan.gibson@nzx.com

wool, little is achieved – the failure of the Wool Board is an example. The ability to drive demand and create discipline inmarket with the right model is monumental because downblending and weak selling will be removed. Many other New Zealand primary producers have to their credit adopted this model with great success. However, our own co-op, Wools of NZ (WONZ), has all this in place but without majority support by growers the industry faces a declining wool market through ticket clippers. Woolgrowers can arrest this decline by joining WONZ to support wool market development. So we still have an exciting opportunity through unification to effect the quantum shift required to rebuild wool’s place as a premium fibre in the world.

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IVING 450-metres above sea level can be both a joy and a curse. The recent storm brought us about 20cm of snow, which of course was lovely to watch and got me a day at home because the road into town was closed. It wasn’t so lovely later in the day when I realised that if I had any hope of getting to work the next day I’d need to dig a path for the car. It also wasn’t lovely a couple of days later as I spent half a day sawing down tree branches that didn’t have the strength to hold the snow. When it snows it tends to go quiet outside, but the breaking of tree branches that crack the silence is one of the spookiest sounds I know. These are minor complaints, of course. With two sheep and a handful of chickens, my worries are minuscule compared to the farmers that worked around the clock to make sure their stock was fed, watered and safe. I had almost a day without power following the snowstorm – it miraculously came back on just as it got dark. Others further up country weren’t so lucky – many were without power for days on end. Of course, no power means no water for many people because they need power to run the water pump. It’s a reminder just how fragile the infrastructure in rural communities is. I imagine if a suburb in a major city had its road access, power and internet cut off for almost a week there’d be hell to pay. If you’re in the foothills of the Ruahine Ranges, however, it’s a part of life. But is that good enough? Why is it a given that rural people need to be “resilient” and “resourceful” and expected to live with these disruptions while trying to raise families and run businesses? With an election fast approaching, perhaps we should be asking those that represent us if they think it’s good enough.

Opinion

farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017

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NZ’s wool story at the crossroads Eugene O’Sullivan

E’VE read many times in recent years of the dire straits the crossbred wool market is in, and heard farmers’ plaintive cries for help to whoever will listen. The old cliches are present: blaming the poor standard of wool preparation resulting in the downgrading of the clip, exchange rate effects on the confidence of exporters and so on. The story has been constantly repeated for the past 25 years. Most tourists visiting New Zealand seem only to want to buy Merino clothing, or at least some of this country’s bettergrown halfbred wools, in the form of outer apparel. Crossbred wool doesn’t feature at all. The reason crossbred has slipped so far in actual quality since the 1970s is a sorry reflection on NZ’s wool industry in general. Gone are the days when the wool rep went with the farmer to select new sires, or put the overalls on to help cull the poorer-wool sheep out of the maiden ewes entering the main flock. The other big and most destructive influence has been the “airflow” test method that was set as the standard for the sale of crossbred wool, along with other wools, in 1970. However, airflow only measures micron. This is a method that’s 47 years old – name another regulation in NZ that’s stayed the same for that length of time! Wool farmers, would you like to go back to farming exactly as it was in 1970, even if there were 23 woollen mills operating then? At Pastoral Measurements, we’ve been measuring the wool of individual sheep since 1998, initially with an OFDA 100 instrument in a mobile laboratory using a solvent fluid to clean the wool, then an OFDA 2000. Since 2011, we’ve used our

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Airflow only measures micron. This is a method that’s 47 years old – name another regulation in NZ that’s stayed the same for that length of time! own Fibrescan 1100 and have noticed a huge subsequent deterioration in quality. This has been partly influenced by new breeds introduced into NZ in the 1990s, as well as the resultant crosses from the early 2000s that have manifested variations in wool quality. With the histogram of fibre measurements growing rapidly larger, and the presence of medullated fibre, the standard of crimp is diminishing – in fact it’s a falsehood to call it crimp anymore, it’s more like a wave. For example, I recently measured entries in the National Golden Fleece and Wool Expo at Wanaka. In the crossbred section there was only one fleece I considered met the criteria for quality that would have a fabricator ecstatic with joy. The Fibrescan technology measures every 19 microns down the total length of fibre

presented, giving a complete diary of the fibre-growth profile, genetic stability, the farmer’s management, and the season past – all we do is read what’s “written” in the fibre. Curvature, or degrees of crimp per millimetre, is by far the most important measurement we capture – the higher the curvature, the greater the wool’s memory to return to its natural state. The bounce, weight of the fabric – knitted or woven, the ability to entrap the warm air next to the skin and conversely wick away moisture for those pursuing athletic ambitions are all aspects of greater curvature. Curvature also has a huge influence on the drape of the fabric, and is peculiar only to sheep, alpacas and some goats, and perhaps surprisingly, also the common hare. Growing at 2-3mm a week in soft, pliable skin where the follicle can express itself freely, the unique characteristic of wool memory can’t be replicated by man-made fibres. We’re also involved with Dr Jon Hickford at Lincoln University, photographing under magnification wool fibre ends and the consequential shape of fibres. This has been a real eyeopener, but the next step will be a hard look at genetics and the ability of gene markers to better understand the growing of wool. We can no longer ignore wool as a unique product. Among other properties, it’s the only farming product that’s nonperishable when stored in basic weather-proof buildings, preferably wood so it can breath – after all, it is a living fibre. • Eugene O’Sullivan is manager of Pastoral Measurements Ltd.

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Opinion

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

No ‘shroom for pretence this election Alternative View

Alan Emerson

WITH the election only two short months away, I’m over it. The electioneering spin is driving me, more than normally, to drink. For a start I’m getting sick and tired of the total lack of accountability from both the Government and-or bureaucracy. I believe we’re being subjected to the political and bureaucratic version of the mushroom treatment – kept in the dark and all that. Further, the spin machine is in overdrive and it is hard to get any facts. On top of that, Official Information Act requests are frequently abused with the Transport Ministry recently trying to manipulate the process. That was followed by the disgraceful efforts of Internal Affairs over American billionaire Peter Thiel’s citizenship saga. They buried the information until

ordered by the Ombudsman to resurrect it. A bureaucracy playing a political game isn’t democracy as I believe it. My point is that lack of political accountability has become endemic. Starting with the hoary chestnut of the Pike River mining disaster, the only consistent point is the total unwillingness of anyone to take any responsibility for anything. I have reached the stage with Pike River where I don’t believe a word the Government tells me. The Todd Barclay affair is a more recent example of political obsfucation. The police are investigating whether a crime was committed but the incident was known to Bill English all along. The police, while relentlessly pursuing freelance cameraman Bradley Ambrose over the 2011 “teapot tapes” affair, which included raiding media outlets, just gave this one the wide berth. This is, in my view, a political sycophancy that’s distinctly unhealthy in a democracy. The Prime Minister “refuted allegations of a cover-up”. Spare me, it was a cover-up pure and simple. However, the master of taking no responsibility for anything is Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.

The snarl-up with funding for district health boards was monumental but, hey, there’s no one taking any responsibility for anything. We’re talking millions of dollars here. It’s just not good enough because two-thirds of the country’s DHBs, courtesy of a bureaucratic blunder, have been forced to operate with less than their entitlement. Then we had the Unicef Innocenti report into child wellbeing. It placed New Zealand 34th out of 41 countries, which I find appalling. These people are our future, yet our Health Minister is maintaining that “conditions have improved for vulnerable Kiwis”. He must surely be the only one who thinks that. Mind you, when a private donor offered $50 million to build a Wellington children’s hospital Coleman showed indecent haste at being publicly supportive of it. It had nothing to do with the Government minister – back off, Dr Coleman. Next there was the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment cooking the books over housing affordability. According to MBIE, things were rosy in the garden until we found out that the Reserve Bank had

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warned them they should be using a higher interest rate in their calculations. My reading on that is we have a government department intentionally distorting the truth to pander to their political master – in this case, Stephen Joyce. With education we had the Ombudsman’s report into Christchurch school closures post the 2011 earthquake. To say it was a politically-inspired calamity would be charitable but while we’ve had a kind of an apology from MBIE there has been no political accountability whatsoever. The Chief Ombudsman’s statement that “they (officials) were just too scarce with the truth” is a damning indictment. Where is the political accountability? The greatest scandal at the moment that’s being ignored is the physical and sexual abuse of our vulnerable youngsters in state care, not centuries ago but between 1960 and 1990. So bad was it that people joined gangs to stay safe or committed a crime, suicide or went to prison. I’d suggest that youngsters in state care have a right to feel safe – it isn’t a privilege, and think of the massive eventual cost to

the taxpayer from that failed policy. Will the politician responsible, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley, hold an enquiry? Unequivocally, no. It’s a position I’d call offensive, elitist and racist. Then we have the housing crisis, which isn’t a crisis at all in the Government’s view. They must be the only ones with that opinion. If you put more than the entire population of Wairarapa into Auckland each year, you’re going to have problems with housing, health and infrastructure. The problem is that no one is taking any responsibility for that, including the 41,000 homeless that are being ignored. So this election I’m going to do something different. To clear the air, I have absolutely no idea which political party I’m going to vote for – that’s a first for me. At a local level, however, I will vote for the candidate that I believe has the greatest integrity, regardless of party.

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

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Opinion

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

Ditch’s diary: Where there’s a will .… From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

BOY, oh boy, oh boy. There’s a lot been happening since my first diary entry. I don’t know where to start. For those who missed my first entry – just so you know what’s going on – I should tell you that the boss found me dumped in the water table (he thought Ditch was easier to say) out on the road as a tiny puppy. The big joke was that the vet and several others told him I was a Rottweiler, which put the cat among the pigeons. The boss’ wife would take me out for walks and as I got bigger, because I’m a bit clumsy, I’d come running to her and knock her over. She told the boss she was worried I might decide to rip her throat out while she was on the ground, but he said that was just silly talk. I was far more likely to lick her to death.

But its turned out to be utter nonsense. Sure, my face looks like a Rotty and I’m real big, but I’m definitely some sort of sheep-andcattle dog with a hairy coat. I’m obsessed with sheep and cattle, which is a good thing, but honestly when I see them I forget all those many times on the lead and the sharp tug, and “Get in!” in the shouty voice, and just run up and down the fence and bark my head off until the boss finally catches me. I heard him saying that it was a good thing I haven’t learned how to get through a fence yet. And just as I was about to learn that skill so I could have a proper go at those silly sheep, the nice new-collar thing the boss had given me gave me a sharp little bite the next time he yelled “Get in!” – and boy did I get in. Its only done that two or three times again, but when the boss says “Get in!” I go straight back to him and he pats me and makes a big fuss. He even lets me go into the paddock with the sheep now, and I watch those things very closely, but I stay near him just in case. But here’s the big news. His other dog Gin seemed to be getting old before her time and

having trouble jumping up on the ute and bike. Last week he went to let her out of her kennel and she had been sick. He noticed her stomach was fairly blown up, and because he’s lost a couple of dogs from twisted stomach he took her straight into the vet. The young vet inspected her tummy and asked a few questions, finishing with “when was her last heat?” The boss made a funny noise, said about 45 days ago and immediately ran his hand along her belly. The vet took Gin away for a scan, came back and confirmed she was full of pups. The boss explained that it couldn’t be possible because he had her shut-up while me and his son’s visiting heading dog Mate had a run. He even wired her door shut because I can open her latch from the outside. He said he did feel a bit guilty about Gin being in the kennel between me and Mate, but that was the usual sleeping arrangements. But there was sound netting between the kennels. The vet told him she had been called-on to disentangle dogs and bitches a couple of times who had

GONE TO THE DOGS: Steve Wyn-Harris is expecting a litter of (unexpected) pups.

managed to overcome that minor obstacle. The boss could understand that a bitch might press herself up against the netting, but a dog wouldn’t be able to lift himself up at all given the low roof. The vet just shrugged, saying “Where’s there’s a will there’s a way” and reiterated she’d seen it with her own eyes. Cruelly, I heard the boss say he hoped the puppies would be black and white like Mate, and not look like me. He’ll just have to wait a few days to find out, won’t he? When the boss got back from the vet he noticed something odd on the ground. It was a large and very rotten fish – the very same fish some prankster had put near his letterbox at Easter. The same fish he’d got one

Grabbing the bull by the horns From the Lip

Jamie Mackay

IT’S good to be back in print after an absence because of a family bereavement. When you lose someone near and dear to your family, it’s always a time for reflection and to take stock of your life. One man who’s certainly taken stock of his life is the inspirational Marlborough farmer Doug Avery whose new book, The Resilient Farmer, is due for release this week. I’ve known Doug since he was named the South Island Farmer of the Year in 2010. His work in the field of farmer mental health has been welldocumented, and he was recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list. As a regular correspondent on my radio show, I’ve been well-aware of his tremendous contribution to the rural community in recent times. What I really found fascinating about his story though was the early years of struggle – climatically, financially and mentally – before he discovered Dr Derrick Moot from Lincoln University and the drought-proofing qualities of lucerne in 1998. That was the year Marlborough had its worst drought on record. Doug had a carefree upbringing on

his family’s Marlborough farm until fate intervened on May 21, 1966. He described it as a day that changed his family’s life forever. As a rugby-mad youngster, 11-year-old Doug went off to watch the local senior side play in Seddon. His older brother Eric, who was unhappy at boarding school, decided to stay home and go hunting. He was found the next day with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. It was never confirmed whether it was a tragic accident or a parent’s worst nightmare. But what it did do was destroy Doug’s father, who blamed himself for letting a 13-year-old boy go out hunting by himself with a gun. Reading this tragic tale made me wonder whether this might have been one of the drivers for making Doug Avery such a staunch advocate in the fight against rural suicides? Tragedy struck again in 1976, on the day Doug returned home from his honeymoon with his new bride Wendy, when his young farmworker was killed in a tractor accident as Doug helplessly watched on. In Doug’s words, “Wendy’s introduction to married life was a man who woke every night with terrible nightmares. All I kept thinking was, what could I have done? What didn’t I do to prevent that?” Despite all this great personal adversity Doug lived to tell the tale, turning his life around to help others. He describes it as his second chance. One young man who didn’t get a second chance was Private Morgan Fraser, a splendid young army lad with most of his life in front of him. He was tragically taken, at the tender age of just 22 years, in a climbing accident recently on Mount Taranaki. Morgan was my late brother’s beloved stepson.

Your family’s grief makes you take stock, reassess what’s important and take time to stop and smell the roses. So with that in mind, and on a much lighter note, I’ve decided to grab the (Texas Longhorn) bull by the horns and take up an opportunity I’d previously decided I couldn’t afford the time to do. It’s a two-week sojourn to the southern states of America in November in search of such things as jazz and jambalaya in New Orleans, a Mississippi steamboat river cruise, Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Space Centre, Elvis’ Graceland home in Memphis, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the Jim Beam Distillery and Kentucky bluegrass thoroughbred country in Lexington, and the Muhammad Ali Centre and Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) in Louisville. Throw in five farm visits along the way to the likes of a Texas beef ranch, an intensive housed dairy farm and a Kentucky horse stud, and you have an ideal two-week break post-calving, lambing, mating, docking and crops in the ground – a real breather before the pre-Christmas onfarm rush. And the best bit is that for farmers, it’s a legitimately claimable expense. Life’s short. You’re a long time dead. There’s no point in being the richest person in the cemetery. If you don’t travel business, your kids will go first-class. Throw whatever cliche you want at it! Smell the roses. Dust off the passport. Departure is November 12.

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

of his son’s mates to bury as a punishment for being sick on the carpet after they’d had a party. And the same fish that Gin had dug up the night before and sampled, which explained the sick in the kennel. Now it seems I might be the only active dog available, a prospect I’m very excited about. However, the boss seems less excited. I heard him say to his wife today, “If during a farming career all your dogs are always average, it’s probably not the dogs.”

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

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Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – July 24, 2017

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

WAIBURY

GROUP FARMS

THE OFFERING

THE OVERVIEW

• Land and Buildings - 8 Dairy Farms - 115ha bareland runoff • Stock, Plant and Equipment • Fonterra Shares

Total Farms

Total Area

2,164 hectares

Effective Area

2,027 hectares

The Waibury Group will be sold with the existing equity operators of each dairy unit in place, which under the present structure, a new owner would have an approximately 86% share of the Group.

Total production 16/17 season 3,348,820kgMS Cows wintered 2017

7,600

There is a separate management company, Total Management Services Limited, which could continue into the future, or help a new owner transition into the Group if required.

Plus runoff

115 hectares

Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz

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

DEADLINE SALE 4pm, Fri 25 August 2017 (unless sold prior) bayleys.co.nz/555080

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

Deadline Sale

South Canterbury | Timaru

Deadline Sale

110 Hectares For Sale / 215 Hectares For Lease Attention All Vegetable Growers And Cropping Farmers. Opportunity to purchase and lease a substantial amount of premium irrigated South Canterbury land. Located on the Levels Plain, on the fringe of Washdyke and Timaru. The land is currently growing a diverse range of vegetable crops, cereals and small seeds with contracts to supply local and international markets. High quality Templeton silt loams, well proven to produce consistently high yields and quality product. Irrigation Water is supplied from the reliable Opuha Irrigation Company and shares are included with the sale of the land. Call to discuss the different purchase options available. | Property ID TU10979

Licensed under REAA 2008

Closing 1pm, Thursday 3 August 2017

Inspection By appointment

Contact Simon Richards 027 457 0990 Eddie Moir 021 731 199

0800 200 600 | farmlandsrealestate.co.nz Contributor to realestate.co.nz

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – July 24, 2017

RURAL

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST CONTRACT GROWERS REQUIRED NORTH WAIKATO

Office 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed REAA 2008

Kaitawa - 542 ha

DIVERSIFY YOUR FARM INCOME 10 YEAR LEASE AVAILABLE + Outstanding opportunity to become an Ingham’s free range poultry grower + North Waikato location – within 75km of Te Aroha

+ Comprehensive information available + Sophisticated supply chain and full grower training provided

+ Approximately 20ha of land required

+ Plans and specifications to assist shed design and costing

+ 10 year lease, with Rights of Renewal and periodic rent increases

+ Call us for a confidential no-obligation discussion DEADLINE EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Thursday 3 August 2017 at 4.00pm JEREMY KEATING 021 461 210

WYATT JOHNSTON 027 8151 303

WEB ID MR56544 ALFREDTON 14405 Route 52 TENDER closes Wednesday 9th August, 2017 at 4.00pm, Located in a renowned farming district is this 5200 su Property Brokers Limited, 84 Chapel Street, Masterton + grazing and semi-finishing property. This strong farm Paul Joblin has a balance of northern facing hills and 45 hectares Mobile 027 443 3756 of flats in improved pastures. The pastures on the hills Office 06 378 7604 4 are indicative of an excellent fertiliser programme. The Home 06 372 7789 paulj@pb.co.nz improvements are of a high standard including a 3 stand woolshed with an excellent covered yard facility 2 Jared Brock (1500NP), a sound 4 bedroom home, a good 3 Mobile 027 449 5496 bedroom cottage and a variety of farm buildings Office 06 376 4823 Home 06 376 6341 including an impressive 10 bay calf rearing facility. 2

TENDER

jared@pb.co.nz

www.propertyconnector.co.nz/208248Q27 CBRE (Agency) Limited, Licensed Real Estate Agent (REAA 2008)

www.propertybrokers.co.nz

Proven, Preferred, Professionals For more information on real estate advertising contact Shirley Howard on 06 323 0760 or email shirley.howard@nzx.com.

2355RE

Talk to your agent now and make sure you are in the paper that more farmers read.

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – July 24, 2017

Real Estate

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

Licenced under REAA 2008

OPEN DAY

A1 Green Kiwi Opportunity

Katikati TENDER (Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm, Wednesday, 16 August

• A top production block 4.1 can ha Hayward green, early start location • Harbour side of highway predominantly north facing on own driveway • Exclusive Walker Road East address, an ideal place to build a home • Agbeam, strong structures, healthy shelter, ideal G3 Gold conversion • Being sold pruned and tied down, mobile frost fans included • An outstanding opportunity, call today for an information memorandum

OPEN DAY 11.00-11.45am, Wednesday, 26 July Sunday, 30 July

www.pggwre.co.nz ID: TAR26385

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

pggwre.co.nz

New Zealand's leading rural real estate company

Licensed under REAA 2008

FIN AL

N O TI CE

NEW LISTING

Outstanding Levels Lifestyle This outstanding property has it all; 17.8515ha (three titles) of flat to gentle rolling fertile soils, nine main paddocks, mostly deer fenced with excellent subdivision and lane systems. Well maintained shelter belts and aesthetic plantings. Excellent stock handling facilities including deer yards, cattle yards and a small sheep yard. Consent to irrigate with K-line irrigation, the mainline system feeding hydrants to all paddocks. A magnificent architecturally designed, four bedroom home. www.pggwre.co.nz ID: GER26415

Timaru DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY (Unless sold prior) Closes 4.00pm, Thursday, 24 August CONTACT AGENT FOR OPTIONS TO PURCHASE Richard Scott B 03 687 7330 M 021 352 701 H 03 687 7330

pggwre.co.nz

Top Quality Murray Valley Milk Producer

Kauarapaoa Road, Brunswick, Wanganui The opportunity to secure a close to harvest forestry investment property, totalling 644ha comprising of 4 titles with approximately 170 ha pine plantation planted in 1993, 1994 and a balance of 30 ha in 1995. The remaining area consists of 60 ha of manuka and regenerating native species, 8 ha livestock grazing pasture and 406 ha of virgin native forest. The hill country property has good strategic tracking throughout the pine forest to assist harvesting and placement of a small number of Beehives.

644 hectares Tender (unless sold prior) www.nzr.nz | Ref: R269 Tender closes 4pm, 3rd August 2017 1 Goldfinch Street, Ohakune Jamie Proude AREINZ 06 385 4466 | 027 448 5162 jamie@nzr.nz NZR Central Ltd | Licensed REAA 2008

295,000 KGs MS – 530 Cows • • • • • • •

221ha of prime soil types Current milk contract in place Top quality 50-stand rotary dairy, auto ID, drafting and feed system, 600-cow yard 600-cow concrete and crushed rock feed pad Two well maintained 3 and 4-bedroom homes Approximately 95% lasergraded and approximately 80ha auto irrigation 4.91 GMW delivery shares, 238 ML low security waterright, 240 ML shallow bore licence and 420 ML drainage diversion licence • Farm management in place For Sale on as a going concern basis by negotiation

LK0088460©

MATURE FORESTRY INVESTMENT

Full details from selling agents Rural Property International Cobram Andrew Gilmour +61 448 778072 andrew@ruralinternational.com

Rocky Point Station Ltd is a cropping, sheep and cattle operation in Hakataramea Valley. We are looking for an experienced Machinery Operator to join our team and run modern gear for planting, spraying and harvesting plus other farm duties. The ideal applicant would have: • Experience with direct drilling and spraying • Strong mechanical knowledge to carry out servicing of gear • Honest, reliable and good communication skills • HT licence (not required) is a bonus • Ability to work as part of a team • Strong commitment to health and safety Excellent package available. CV’s and applications to: tom.hayman@yahoo.co.nz

Crosshills Station Ltd

TERRITORY MANAGERS

Upper North Island Lower South Island Upper South Island You will be on the ground driving the execution of our strategy, farmer uptake and trading support. Are you a self-starter with a high level of livestock transactional competence, along with the know-how to relate to and communicate with farmers and agri-professionals?

1400ha, 12000su breeding and finishing farm situated between Pongaroa and Akitio villages, 70km east of Dannevirke or Pahiatua.

For more information go to the CLASSIFIEDS page on stockx.co.nz or call us on 0508 786 259

Applicants require: • Ability to work with other staff • Feed budgeting skills • Sound team of dogs

Applications close 5pm Monday 31st July

Changing the face of livestock trading

LK0088490©

Good 3-bedroom home with primary and pre school bus to gate. Excellent rural community. CV and references to Dean Moynihan 1006 Coast Rd Pongaroa 4991 or deanmoynihan@hotmail.com

STOCKPERSON

NEED

Are you looking for a challenging and exciting role? We’re seeking an experienced Agricultural/Diesel Mechanic and Machinery Operator to join our busy team here at Central Farm Services.

STAFF?

As a mechanic you will assist with day-to-day duties in the workshop and provide mobile services and repairs out on farm.

Advertise your vacancy in The NZ Farmers Weekly

As a machinery operator you will be responsible for driving agricultural machinery to help with land preparation and cultivation, assisting with the day to day operations and maintaining and repairing agricultural equipment. These are both great opportunities to join our in-house team meeting the ag-servicing and engineering requirements of dairy farm operations totalling 30,000 cows in the Central North Island. What we have to offer: • A competitive remuneration and benefits package • A strong focus on people and safety in the workplace • Modern facilities, machinery and technology • In-house training and staff development to help you reach your personal and career goals • A supportive team environment and good working conditions Info about the vacancy and details of how to apply for these two roles: www.landcorp.co.nz/careers

Plus receive added value of online free of charge* Call Debbie

0800 85 25 80 classifieds@nzx.com

Applications close 5pm, Sunday 6 August 2017.

*Available for one month or until close of application

classifieds@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

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

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

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).

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

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

3-YEAR HANDY Heading dog, suit lambing or bull beef. 14-MONTH Handy Huntaway, easy to work. 14-MONTH strong eye dog, firm. Phone 04 4722 351.

ANIMAL SUPPLEMENTS

40 WORKING DOGS in stock! $1000-$2500. View on sheep and cattle online or on farm. Deliver Northland to Southland. Trade ins welcome. 30 day exchangeable. 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes.

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

BIG BLACK/TAN 2-year Huntaway bitch. Huge potential, $2000. Phone 07 877 6607.

If you have questions please call: Paul Rowe, Farm Manager on 06 864 0813 Applications should include an updated CV and a covering letter outlining your skills and experience to: matahiia@ingleby.co.nz Further information about Ingleby can be seen on their website www.inglebyfarms.com

Applications close: 14 August 2017

Classifieds

FORESTRY

DOGS FOR SALE

The company has a drug & alcohol policy and a pre-employment medical and drugs/alcohol test will be required.

Applications with CV’s emailed to: opoho@xtra.co.nz

FARM MAPPING

ANIMAL HEALTH

Please send CV and cover letter to: turkeycreekfarm516@yahoo.co.nz

A full and current class 1 driver’s license is essential. Ingleby NZLP is a strong supporter of health and safety and encourages employee participation and team work. On site accommodation of a 3-bedroom home is available Remuneration will be set according to skills and experience.

Accommodation available on the property.

DOGS FOR SALE

PRITCHARD MASONRY. Milking shed masonry repairs. Concrete or block. Solid plastering or pad placement etc. Workmanship guaranteed. Prepared to travel. Phone 06 346 5617 or 027 2740 306.

4-bedroom home and 2-bedroom cottage available.

You need to have the following skills: • Fencing – new and R&M • Tractor driving • A positive attitude • A good work ethic

A remuneration package tailored to suit the successful applicant’s skillset and experience.

ATTENTION FARMERS

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

Financially sound and take great pride in achieving the highest standards throughout their operation.

Candidates wishing to work for a progressive company and who like the odd challenge along the way would be perfect!

This position could develop in the future to a managerial role with the right applicant.

ANIMAL HANDLING

DAIRY SHED REPAIRS

Successful applicant must be conscientious and ‘hands on’. Have strong pasture management and stockmanship skills.

Experienced Fencer required. Permanent, full time position. This role would suit someone who is fit and willing to turn their hand to a broad range of tasks for the ongoing development and improvement of the farm. Matahiia Station is a sheep and beef property located north of Gisborne.

The successful applicant will have the following attributes: • A passion for agriculture and a desire to advance your farming career • Sound understanding of basic farming practices with a high level of pasture and stock management skills • Positive attitude and excellent work ethic, with the ability to work efficiently on your own and effectively as part of a team • At least three years shepherding experience with 3-4 competent working dogs • Excellent communication skills, initiative and a willingness to perform accurate record keeping practices • Fencing experience, tractor and machinery knowledge will be an advantage • Respect and understanding of Health and Safety protocols • Current NZ drivers licence • Excellent references

For further information: Phone Tim Powdrell 06 837 7630 evenings

West Coast

Required for 18/19 season, Upper Grey Valley. 365 cows, 170ha milking platform, 30ha rough grazing. System 3, production to 172,000kgms with run-of-grazing young stock. 40-aside Herringbone dairy.

Fencer

Systems include: • Sheep and beef breeding and finishing on specialised crops • Advanced beef winter feeding system • Maize grain and silage production

AGRICULTURAL/DIESEL MECHANIC AND MACHINERY OPERATOR OPPORTUNITIES– TAUPO Two Vacancies

A fantastic opportunity has become available to be involved in a diverse and progressive 750ha coastal farming operation. Situated on State Highway 2, Northern Hawke’s Bay Currently wintering 9000 stock units.

50/50 Sharemilker

CHOCOLATE LABRADOR pups, ready now. Out of top field and water bitch. Sire: 1st season shot over. Approved homes only. Phone 09 233 4066 / 027 470 5508. HEADING PUPS (two males). Tri-coloured from good working parents. 14 weeks old. Phone 07 871 9934 or 027 476 2579.

DOGS WANTED 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195. NORTH ISLAND MONTHLY buying trip, 29th July. Taking bookings now! Buying 300 dogs NZ wide annually! Quick easy $ale! No one buys or pays more! 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes.

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

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. BOOK AN AD. For only $2.00 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in The NZ Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone Debbie Brown on 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email classifieds@nzx.com

WANTED

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.

LK0088476©

Stock Manager Required

LK0088519©

Agricultural Machinery Operator

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – July 24, 2017

GRAZING AVAILABLE SECURE GRAZING FOR 300-500 beef cows or other for 3-6 months. Longer term negotiated, [equity share farming/ lease], dependent on amicable honeymoon period! Phone 027 685 5333.

HOUSE WANTED RELOCATABLE HOUSE wanted. Wairoa / HB or Gisborne areas. Phone 06 83 76 724 evenings.

FOR SALE

SELLING

SOMETHING?

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE 12 MIXED-SEX Angus x AND 16 sucklings porkers. Phone 027 685 533. Northern HB.

PROPERTY WANTED

Have something to sell? Advertise in The NZ Farmers Weekly

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

WORK WANTED

WANTED FOR FIREWOOD

SHEPHERD LOOKING for full time or casual position. Seven years experience. CV and references available. Selwyn area. Phone 027 425 5429.

TREES. BLACK WATTLE, Blackwood, Casuarina, Gums etc wanted. Clean up guaranteed. Waikato / BOP areas. Tokoroa based. Phone 07 886 6387.

Phone Debbie Brown 0800 85 25 80 or email classifieds@nzx.com

LK0088456©

Employment

LK0088459©

classifieds@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

LK0088520©

Classifieds

THE NEW ZEALAND FARMERS WEEKLY – July 24, 2017

classifieds@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

FARMERS

T H IN K PRE B U I L T

Do you need new farm tracks or upgrade existing ones? Good tracks and raceways: • make it quicker and easier to get around the farm • reduce wear and tear on farm vehicles • help prevent lameness in stock

NEW HOMES

SOLID – PRACTICAL WELL INSULATED – AFFORDABLE

Phone Debbie Brown 0800 85 25 80 or email classifieds@nzx.com

livestock@nzx.com – 0800 85 25 80

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

FOR SALE

LK0086497©

SELLING SOMETHING? Advertise in The NZ Farmers Weekly

OR Have metal that could be used for crushing? We have two mobile crushers and screening plant. We do: • on site metal crushing • metal supply and cartage • upgrade existing tracks & drainage • retaining wall construction • river production and stream maintenance • all types of earth works and metal contracting

LK0088518©

LK0088510©

• LEASE • BUY • SERVICE • COMPLIANCE

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

Tim McColl Contracting Ltd

17 Simon Street FEILDING Office: Phone 06 323 8889 Tim: 027 446 3383

Livestock

SALE TALK

STOCK REQUIRED TOKOROA WEEKLY CALF SALE

150-230kgs R1 YR HEIFERS

R1 YR BULLS 150-250Kgs

Commencing Friday 28th July 2017 – 12 Noon 547 State Highway 32, Tokoroa

R1 YR ANGUS STEERS

Contact: Steve Emile – Putaruru/Tokoroa 027 224 3380 Michael Conwell – Rotorua/Reporoa 027 226 1611 Bryan Sweeney – Te Poi/Tirau 027 869 2620

STAY OUT FRONT

OF THE MOB

220-280kgs

R2 YR STEERS 420-500kgs 400-500kgs R2 YR BULLS FRIES & BEEF

FRANKTON FEEDER CALF SALE Sales every Wednesday 12 Noon

Have ewe heard the most successful place to advertise your livestock is in The NZ Farmers Weekly?

MA SIC COWS Nov/Dec/Jan BULL

Contact: Stu Wells 027 282 8204 Strong demand for Friesian bulls. Recorded Friesian heifers & Whiteface calves. ALL CALVES MUST BE NAIT TAGGED!

To advertise phone Nigel 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@nzx.com

LK0088409©

Jennifer’s wedding day was fast approaching. Her parents divorced, but that never stopped her from wanting to get married. Her mother had found the perfect dress to wear. A week later, Jennifer was horrified to learn that her father’s new young wife had bought the exact same dress as her mother. Jennifer asked her stepmother to exchange it, but she refused. ‘Absolutely not. I look like a million bucks in this dress and I’m wearing it,’ she replied. Jennifer told her mother who graciously said, ‘Never mind sweetheart. I’ll get another dress. After all, it’s your special day.’ A few days later, they went shopping and did find another gorgeous dress. When they stopped for lunch, Jennifer asked her mother, ‘Aren’t you going to return the other dress? You really don’t have another occasion where you could wear it.’ Her mother just smiled and replied, ‘Of course I do, dear. I’m wearing it to the rehearsal dinner, the night before the wedding.’

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

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

Download the app today

NATIONAL MURRAY GREY SALE The Murray Grey breeders of New Zealand offer a quality line up of yearling bulls suitable for use over beef heifers to produce calves that are born easily, and get up and go!

KAUROA (RAGLAN) SPRING CATTLE FAIR Thursday 3rd August, 12noon Start 800 Cattle, Comprising 60 2yr Exotic x & Hfd/Frsn x Steers 300 1yr Angus Pure Steers 150 1yr Angus Pure Heifers 150 1yr Exotic Hfd/Angus x Steers 150 1yr Exotic Hfd/Angus x Heifers

The sale will be run online with StockX from the

Friday 1st September to 8pm, Wednesday 6th September.

The Angus Pure entries are sired by top Angus bulls from Kaharau, Rangatira, Springdale, Mangapapa, Tangihau, Waitangi & Mautauri Angus Studs. Chris Leuthart 07 825 8410 or 0274 936 594

ENQUIRIES TO:

Micheal Phillips - P: 07 873 8115 (North Is) George Climo - P: 03 327 6445 (South Is) Digby Philip (StockX Livestock Manager) M: 027 433 9501 or Email: digby.philip@stockx.co.nz

www.stockx.co.nz 1

2016

Sheep Country-Wide Sheep 2017 will be delivered to over 15,000 sheep and beef farmers by the end of September.

Contact Nigel Ramsden, Livestock account manager today! freephone 0800 85 25 80 email livestock@nzx.com

Efficiency making more

from less

October 2016

Country-Wide Sheep October 2016

$12.00

incl gst

Publication date: September 25, 2017 Booking deadline: August 30, 2017

Country-Wide Sheep October 2016

FE TOLERANCE

What to look for when buyi ng rams 1

MARKET SNAPSHOT

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Grain & Feed Prior week

Last year

Canterbury (NZ$/t)

6.68

AS OF 24/05/2017

AS OF 20/07/2017

6 5 Dec 16

Feb 17 AgriHQ Spot Fonterra forecast

Apr 17

Jun 17 AgriHQ Seasonal

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

WMP GDT PRICES AND NZX FUTURES

335

333

NI mutton (20kg)

4.10

2.65

342

279

SI lamb (17kg)

6.65

5.30

Feed Barley

352

257

SI mutton (20kg)

4.15

2.60

227

Export markets (NZ$/kg) 8.22

8.29

7.22

221

UK CKT lamb leg

Maize Grain

410

342

PKE

220

222

* 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.

North Island 17kg lamb 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5

INTERNATIONAL Last week

Prior week

Last year

Wheat - Nearest

256

259

219

Corn - Nearest

203

206

187

5.0

CBOT futures (NZ$/t)

4.5

3500

APW Wheat

380

367

332

3000

ASW Wheat

375

362

322

2500

Feed Wheat

290

278

260

Feed Barley

332

315

274

South Island 1 7kg lamb

7.0 6.5

PKE (US$/t)

Jun 17 Sep 17 NZX WMP Futures

5.45

342

4000

1500 Sep 16 Dec 16 Mar 17 C2 Fonterra WMP

6.70

338

Australia (NZ$/t)

2000

Ex-Malaysia

NZ venison 60kg stag

6006.0 5005.5 4005.0 300

4.5

Oct

114

Oct

Dec

Feb

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

Prior week

vs 4 weeks ago

WMP

3150

3130

3050

SMP

2030

2080

AMF

6700

Butter

6300

Last week

Prior week

Last year

Prior week

Last year

2225

Urea

477

475

6.65

7.75

6700

6825

Super

309

314

35 micron

3.30

5.40

5900

DAP

784

39 micron

2.65

5.30

702

5.5

Nov

Dec

Jan

250 150 Jul 13

AFTER a quiet week on the economic data front the previous week, last week was full-noise for New Zealand, starting with Q2 inflation figures early in the week. Second-quarter inflation figures disappointed, coming in below expectations. For the quarter, expectations were for a 0.2% increase from Q1 – however, the consumer price index (CPI) was flat for the quarter. Following the release of lacklustre CPI numbers the NZ dollar fell sharply, dipping more than 0.5% against the greenback. However, this was later reversed with the latest GDT auction. The auction yielded a small gain in the average price, rising 0.2% after two auctions of declines. The market cheered the stabilisation of prices that have been apparent over the past few months. Whole milk powder also had further signs of price stabilisation, rising 0.3% at the July 18 auction. The NZX 50 rose to record highs last week, buoyed by positive news flow from across the globe. However, there was a marked pullback last Thursday driven by the announcement from Fletcher Building of yet another earnings downgrade. Prior to the market opening on Thursday, Fletcher said they now expected earnings for the full year to be $525 million, down from a previous range of $610-$650m. Market commentary provided by Craigs Investment Partners

7672

Jul 14

Jul 15

Jul 16

Feed barley

Sharemarket Briefing

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

$/kg

350

4 w eeks ago

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

7450

NZ venison 60kg stag

600

c/k kg (net)

US$/t

NZ$/t Oct

39 micron wool price

6.5

CANTERBURY FEED PRICES

2750

13568

This yr

6.65

3000

11004

Aug

Last week

3250

S&P/FW AG EQUITY

Last yr

Aug

29 micron

450

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR

Jun

(NZ$/kg)

3500

Latest price

Jun

NZ average (NZ$/t)

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Sep

Apr

WOOL

* price as at close of business on Thursday

Aug

Apr

FERTILISER

Last price*

2500

Last year

6.75

Feed Wheat

Waikato (NZ$/t)

Last week Prior week

NI lamb (17kg)

Milling Wheat

PKE

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg

6.50 MILK PRICE COMPARISON

$/kgMS

Last week

AGRIHQ 2017-18

FONTERRA 2017-18

US$/t

SHEEP MEAT

DOMESTIC

$/kg

MILK PRICE FORECAST ($/KGMS) 2017-18

Sheep

c/kkg (net)

Dairy

Jul 17

PKE spot

Auckland International Airport Limited

YTD High

YTD Low

7.01

7.43

6.31

Meridian Energy Limited

2.88

3.02

2.57

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

3.87 10.96 7.59 3.49 9.03 3.415 5.21 25.74

3.93 11.67 10.86 3.545 9.12 3.595 5.31 26.36

3.32 8.5 7.38 2.94 8.12 2.08 4.65 17.47

Company

300

2.5Oct Oct

Dec

Feb

Apr

Last yr

Jun

Aug

This yr

Dollar Watch

Listed Agri Shares

400 3.5

5‐yr ave

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

4.5

500

5pm, close of market, Thursday

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

3.94

4.15

2.06

Cavalier Corporation Limited

0.32

0.81

0.27

Comvita Limited

5.98

8.65

5.15

Delegat Group Limited

6.71

6.72

5.65

Foley Family Wines Limited

1.3

1.5

1.2

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

5.99

6.4

5.88 2.35

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

2.4

2.61

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.72

1.75

1.22

PGG Wrightson Limited

0.6

0.61

0.49

Sanford Limited (NS)

7.29

7.75

6.7

Scales Corporation Limited

3.44

3.65

3.21

Seeka Limited

5.08

5.5

4.3

Tegel Group Holdings Limited

1.3

1.46

1.05

S&P/FW Primary Sector

11004

11034

9307

S&P/FW Agriculture Equity

13568

13625

10899

S&P/NZX 50 Index

7672

7733

6971

S&P/NZX 10 Index

7450

7563

6927

THE New Zealand dollar This Prior Last NZD vs should run out of oxygen week week year at its current level of above USD 0.7409 0.7321 0.6998 US$0.74, ANZ Bank senior EUR 0.6371 0.6417 0.6348 economist Phil Borkin says. AUD 0.9306 0.9467 0.9338 This high for the year is because of quite a weak GBP 0.5711 0.5655 0.5297 picture economically and Correct as of 9am last Friday politically for the United States. “The US dollar is weak against the other currencies, and we’re a sort of reluctant participant against it,” Borkin said. A very low inflation reading in NZ last week validated the Reserve Bank’s view that there’s no need to lift the official cash rate any time soon, and this should cap any upside for the kiwi. “We’re a bit nervous about this sort of level,” Borkin said. The RBNZ has indicated no lift in the OCR till late 2019 – ANZ thinks next year more likely, but with the risk that it could be a bit later. In its forecasts, ANZ expects the kiwi to be at US$0.70 at year-end, and 0.67 late next year. The kiwi fell against the Aussie dollar and the euro during the week. The Reserve Bank of Australia gave a more upbeat assessment of the Australian economy about the same time the soft NZ inflation data was released. In Europe, the European Central Bank indicated again that the time for ending its very easy money strategy was getting closer, but Borkin said ANZ remained cautious on the euro-US outlook because Eurozone inflation remains very low, and that cross influenced the other cross-rates. Alan Williams

Markets

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

NI SLAUGHTER LAMB

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB

NI SLAUGHTER COW

($/KG)

BONER FRIESIAN HEIFERS, 415-495KG, AT TEMUKA

($/KG)

6.65

6.75

4.50

2.28

high lights

$127-$148

$1650

Mixed age Romney and Coopworth ewes, SIL 160-180%, at the Temuka Ewe Fair

R2 Angus steers, 485kg, at Frankton

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

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

5.65

5.50

NI Bull (300kg)

5.60

5.65

5.40

NI Cow (200kg)

4.50

4.55

4.50

SI Steer (300kg)

5.55

5.70

5.30

SI Bull (300kg)

5.20

5.25

5.10

SI Cow (200kg)

4.35

4.30

4.15

US imported 95CL bull

7.15

7.19

6.78

US domestic 90CL cow

7.06

7.03

6.68

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

North Island steer (300kg)

6.5

$/kg

6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0

SUNNY DAYS: A blast from the past as buyers bid on stock at a Feilding sale in January 2013.

South Island steer (300kg)

6.5 6.0

More photos: farmersweekly.co.nz

NZ venison 60kg stag

c/k kg (net)

$/kg

600 5.5 500 5.0 400 4.5 300

4.0

Oct Oct

Dec Dec

Feb Feb

5‐yr ave

Apr Apr

Jun Jun

Last yr

Aug Aug This yr

VENISON Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

NI Stag (60kg)

8.90

8.80

7.95

NI Hind (50kg)

8.80

8.70

7.85

SI Stag (60kg)

9.10

7.95

SI Hind (50kg)

9.00

7.85

New Zealand venison (60kg Stag)

10 9 $/kg

NZ venison 60kg stag

c/k kg (net)

600 8 500 7 400

300 6

Oct Oct

Dec Dec 5‐yr ave

Feb Feb

Apr Apr Last yr

Jun Jun

Aug Aug This yr

Ewe fair doesn’t deliver as expected

HE TEMUKA in-lamb ewe fair fell a bit flat considering the type of prices paid in the lead-up to the auction. The 11,000 head offered generally sold around $20 below vendors expectations, and was even a little softer than last year. Mixed age Romney and Coopworth lines, SIL 160-180%, were $127-$148. A combination of the rough weather, large yarding and cautious sentiment towards next seasons lamb price were touted as the main reasons behind the prices. Other in-lamb ewe sales around

the country appear to be down a little on past weeks. Mixed age lines, SIL 152-160%, were $132-$140 at Stortford Lodge, while similar lines were $150$152 at Lorneville and Balclutha. NORTHLAND NORTHLAND A slightly larger yarding at WELLSFORD proved too much, and the beef-dairy cattle felt the brunt of the weakness. R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 445555kg, were easily back 5-10c/kg at $2.75-$2.84/kg, while some 375-440kg Hereford-Jersey lines were $2.75$2.81/kg. Even proper beef cattle

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couldn’t break the $3.00/kg barrier, with Charolais-cross and Simmentalcross, 400-410kg, making $2.89-$2.96/ kg. R2 heifers weren’t quite as soft as their brothers. Angus, 340-400kg, consistently made $2.94-$2.95/kg, and Hereford-dairy types, 370-410kg, were $2.77-$2.82/kg. R1 steers were basically stable, where beef-Friesian’s, 225-270kg, made $770-$905, $3.32-$3.42/kg. Lighter types didn’t make much more than this on a per kilo basis. R1 Hereford and Hereford-cross heifers,

Continued page 30

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Markets

30 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017 150-230kg, were all bought at $575-$640. R1 Devon and xBred bulls, 215-250kg, were $585-$710, $2.71-$2.83/kg. AUCKLAND AUCKLAND A nice sunny day greeted bidders at PUKEKOHE, where the market for cattle was essentially stable. Farmers are tiring of farming heavy cattle on wet paddocks, drawing forward good numbers of what where fairly plain cattle. The better older steers went for $2.70-$2.75/kg, easing to $2.64$2.73/kg for the more average types. Medium prime heifers matched their brothers at $2.65$2.81/kg, and lighter heifers were $2.63-$2.70/kg. Boners cows made anywhere from $1.26/kg to $2.38/ kg, with $1350 the top per head price paid. Quality store cattle were in demand, with medium R1 steers making $710-$830, $3.10-$4.25/ kg. Medium R1 heifers made $640-$700, $3.23-$3.95/kg. R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 370kg, were $1020-$1030, $2.77/kg. COUNTIES COUNTIES About 550 cattle were yarded at TUAKAU last Thursday, Kane Needham of PGG Wrightson reported. Heavier, well-conditioned steers and heifers sold up to recent rates but lighter and younger cattle were harder to shift. The offering included 500kg Angus and Angus-Charolais steers, which traded at $3.02/kg, $1510. Another lot at 467kg earned $3.08/ kg, $1440, and 415kg whiteface steers $3.04/kg, $1260. Weaner whiteface steers at 220kg made $825 and 165kg Simmental-cross steers $690. In the heifer section, a 408kg Angus pen sold at $2.96/kg, $1210, and a 414kg Angus-Charolais lot earned $2.97/kg, $1230. A line of 368kg whiteface heifers, straight off the cow, fetched $1075, with a 183kg Simmental-cross pen making $730 and 133kg whiteface heifers $575. About 400 cattle were on offer at last Wednesday’s prime sale and the market lifted by around 5c/kg across the board. Heavy prime steers traded at $2.95-$3.03/kg, with medium lots making $2.90-$2.95/kg and lighter steers $2.83-$2.89/ kg. Heavy beef heifers returned $2.88-$2.95/kg and medium lots $2.78-$2.86/kg. Lighter beef heifers earned $2.75-$2.80/kg and well-conditioned beef cows $2.15$2.45/kg. Good, well-covered Friesian cows fetched $1.95-$2.05/ kg, with medium cows making $1.82-$1.90/kg and lighter boners $1.65-$1.75/kg. Heavy beef bulls $2.95-$3.11/kg, mediums $2.75$2.90/kg and lighter bulls $2.60$2.75/kg. The market for a yarding of 1700 ewes and lambs was firm last Monday, with the best of the prime lambs selling at $145-$157. Good-medium primes made $120-$135 and lighter lambs $110-$120. Good store lambs earned $95-$110, with medium stores making $85-$95 and lighter lambs $55-$70. Heavy prime ewes $110-$119, mediums $85-$98 and lighter ewes $60-$70.

BAY OF PLENTY BAY OF PLENTY A moderate sized yarding at

CLOSE UP: Eye to eye at the Frankton saleyards in 2013.

Photo: Sarah Brook

More photos: farmersweekly.co.nz

RANGIURU still managed to draw a decent crowd from South Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, and a few places in-between, giving the sale a spring feel to it. R3 cattle were short on numbers, though a line of 630kg Angus steers were $1890, $2.99/ kg, and some 550kg Angus heifers managed $1610, $2.92/kg. R2 lines were basically limited to just heifers. Hereford-Frieisian’s, 340395kg, were steady at $2.88-$2.98/ kg, with some 375-395kg Angus’s making $1080-$1100, $2.78-$2.89/ kg. A line of autumn-born R2 Hereford-Jersey steers, 255kg, did make $750, $2.95/kg. Quality was easy to find through the R1 cattle, and bidders were more than willing to pay a premium for these. The highlight of the sale was a line of 290kg Limousin steers, which went for a very impressive $1260, $4.33/kg. Hereford and Charolais-Hereford steers, 165-185kg, also made a decent $705-$810, $4.25-$4.38/kg. R1 Hereford heifers, 125-165kg, were $4.27-$4.40/kg. Any beef-type R1 bulls, 180215kg, made a solid $675-$825, $3.79-$3.94/kg, while two lines of 190-220kg Friesian’s made $640. WAIKATO A larger than expected yarding was well received at FRANKTON. Good quality stock continues to sell well, in some cases starting to show a lift. R3 Angus steers, 600-642kg, lifted to $3.02-$3.03/kg. Beefcross, 549-622kg remained steady at $2.99-$3.02/kg as did their Hereford-Friesian counterparts, 529-547kg making $2.89-$2.95/ kg. R3 Hereford-cross heifers, 400427kg managed $2.85-$2.93/kg R2 Angus steers were a highlight with, 420-485kg, returning $3.02$3.40/kg. An annual line of R2 Hereford steers, 398kg, sold well at $3.39/kg. R2 heifers were mostly on par with previous weeks, Hereford-cross, 323-381kg, made $2.72-$2.78/kg. With AngusFriesian, 342-393kg, lifting slightly at $2.81-$2.85/kg. Good buyer demand for younger replacement stock meant the R1 and autumn-born pens sold well. R1 Angus-Hereford

steers, 204-241kg, remain in line with previous weeks making $780-$900. Hereford-Friesian, 209-226kg were well received and made $870-$960. Angus-Hereford R1 heifers, 186-250kg, were strong at $710-$900. R1 Friesian bulls, 201-227kg, sold well managing $710-$845. Angus-Friesian, 161190kg, were steady at $455-$608. Autumn born heifers HerefordFriesian, 93-104kg, returned $475-$550 with their brothers, Hereford-Friesian, 95-97kg, at $595-$635. Four Friesian vetted-in-calf mixed-age cows, 453kg, made $905. All classes of sheep were in high demand for the 2500 head yarding at TE KUITI, Carl White of Carrfields reported. Lamb finishers signed onto winter supply contracts were key to store lamb demand as they look to top up their numbers. Heavy male lambs went for $120-$125, with the cut below still making an impressive $110-$120. Longerterm lines were anywhere between $80 and $100. Extra heavy prime lambs topped the sale at $150-$160, while anything estimated 22-24kgCW sold to a solid $140-$148. The lighter sorts fell into the $120-$125 range. Scanned empty ewes were very strong, rising to $110-$126 for very heavy lines, with lesser types selling to $80-$100. Empty two-tooth butcher ewes were $100-$110. TARANAKI TARANAKI The STRATFORD sale was possibly a touch softer than the previous week, though prices weren’t exactly poor either. Per kilo pricing was very consistent through the 2-year steers, where 345-505kg Murray Grey, Hereford-cross and Hereford-Friesian all sold for $2.93-$3.04/kg, with one line of 595kg Hereford-cross making $1700, $2.86/kg. Some 20 month Hereford-cross steers, 415-470kg, were $1370-$1410, $3.00-$3.29/kg. The better of the 2-year heifers were some Murray Grey and Angus-Friesian, 365-400kg, selling for $960-$1050, $2.63/ kg. Consistency was common

through the 20 month heifer lineup, where 380-420kg HerefordFriesian, Hereford-cross and Shorthorn-Devon made $2.66$2.74/kg, $1050-$1150. Top dollar for the sale went to a line of 655kg 2yr Friesian bulls at $1899, $2.90/kg. Yearling Hereford-cross and Hereford-Friesian steers, 200215kg, all made $750-$770, $3.58$3.71/kg, with a line of 265kg Shorthorn making $940, $3.55/kg. A line of 215kg yearling Herefordcross heifers were $610, $2.84/kg. Yearling bulls were very mixed, but some 330kg Hereford did quite well at $1200, $3.64/kg. A mixture of Murray Grey and Hereford-cross cows, 355-480kg, all went for $1.79-$1.94/kg. POVERTY BAY POVERTY BAY It was a bit of a mixed bag at MATAWHERO when it came to the yarding of mainly medium and heavy store lambs. Pens with good numbers in them clearly made a premium over the rest. Heavy male lambs sold anywhere in the $104-$115 range. Medium males were usually $101-$107. The bulk of the ewe lambs were medium sized, making $79-$98. There were a decent number of 6-year and mixed age scannedin-lamb ewes too. The 6-year Romney, SIL multiples, were $135.50-$140. All mixed age Romney were $100-$109 no matter the scanning percentage. HAWKE’S BAY HAWKE’S BAY A stunning winter’s day lead a strong sale at STORTFORD LODGE last Wednesday. There weren’t quite enough cattle at the STORTFORD prime sale to be certain where the market is at, but what was offered generally sold in the same ballpark as the week before. Angus steers, 620-695kg, made $3.00-$3.02/kg. The better heifers were only down a little on the steers, with 520-530kg Angus and Hereford-Friesian making $2.95$2.98/kg. A line of 585kg Angus cows sold for $2.17/kg, but other 385-450kg only managed $1.91$2.00/kg. The sheep section was fairly uneventful too, where a familiar

crowd kept a slightly smaller yarding steady as a whole. There was plenty of quality through the prime ewes, where the better mixed age and two-tooth lines made $111.50-$124. The bulk of the other medium types were $90-$112. The heaviest prime lambs were bought for $161-$170, though $113.50-$132 covered the core of the sale, unchanged week-onweek. A larger yarding of ewes showed that supply was met with demand, all easily absorbed by buyers. A specially advertised line of 5yr Romney, scanned-in-lamb 200%, topped the sale. The top cut sold from two pens making $168 and $165 respectively. More of the same scanning at 100%, made $101-$136. Mixed age Romney, scanned-in-lamb 152%-160%, managed $121-$140. The lamb pens were firm and in some cases lifted. Heavy male lambs remained steady $119$133. Good and medium good male lambs both lifted slightly at $112-$119. Heavy mixed sex eased making $120-$134.50, whilst medium good lifted to $100.50$105. Heavy ewe lambs were firm at $110.50-$113, as were medium good ewe lambs at $98-$120. The cattle were met by a mainly local buying bench. R2 Traditional steers, 478kg, were firm at $3.19/ kg. Whilst their sisters 335-428kg eased off the high of last week to $2.78-$2.97/kg. Charolais-cross R2 steers, 356kg, were well sort after making $3.57/kg. R2 Angus bulls, 394-442kg, remained steady at $3.10-3.16/kg. Whilst their Friesian counterparts eased to $3.12/kg. R1 Angus-Hereford cross steers, 295kg, sold well at $1075, as did Charolais-cross, 280kg, making $1090. Angus and Angus-Hereford R2 heifers, 265kg, managed $895. In the R1 bull pens Friesian featured strongly with, 259-348kg, making $905-$1055. Hereford-Friesian mixedage vetted-in-calf cows, 533kg, returned $1080. MANAWATU MANAWATU The RONGOTEA sale saw 2-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 355-485kg, make $1050-$1410, $2.90-$2.94/kg. Angus-cross 2-year heifers, 465kg, were $1190, $2.55/kg, while some 260-275kg crossbred were $660-$670, $2.40$2.60/kg. There were only two lines of 2-year bulls, with 475kg Friesian at $1160, $2.44/kg. Yearling Galloway steers, 200kg, were $675, and other 150-200kg crossbred were $505-$600. Yearling Friesian and Galloway heifers, 180-200kg, sold to $500$580. Jersey and crossbred bulls, 145-190kg, were traded at $360$480, while 125-215kg Friesian were $330-$650, $2.75-$3.02/kg. Friesian and Jersey cows, 475525kg, went for $760-$810, $1.54$1.60/kg, with 385kg HerefordFriesian at $850. Mixed sex lambs were $40-$75 and ram lambs $45-$88. Weaner pigs were $60-$80. It was a fairly standard winter offering at the FEILDING prime sale. Heifers dominated the cattle yarding, where 430-530kg Friesian’s went for $2.40-$2.52/kg, with some 460-520kg HerefordFriesian’s at $2.71-$2.76/kg. A line of 625kg in-calf Jersey-cross

Markets

out in force too, and generally met expectations. A pen of 269 two-tooths made $202, with a large two-shear line also making $187. Other decent lines of all ages generally made $148-$170. Prime lamb and ewe values were around the same level as a fortnight ago. Prime lambs were evenly spread across $110-$158, while the mixed age ewes went for anywhere in the range of $80$149. A handful of very heavy ewes were exceptionally expensive at $192-$195.

ON HIGH: An aerial view of a sale at Coalgate in 2015. Photo: Johnny Houston More photos: farmersweekly.co.nz

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18, ARY

2017

JANU

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CANTERBURY CANTERBURY Schedules are putting a cap on prime cattle values, and CANTERBURY PARK was no exception. No heavy prime steers were able to break the $3.00/kg barrier, instead 535-765kg were $2.90-$2.97/kg. Forward store steers weren’t all that well sought after either, usually making $2.75$2.85/kg. Beef-type heifers weren’t too far off the steers, making $2.80-$2.90/ kg, while Hereford-Friesian lines were more like $2.75-$2.80/kg. A handful of 665-680kg cows came in at $2.12-$2.20/kg. Two lines of R1 Hereford and Hereford-cross heifers, 225-265kg, were $720$730. Farmers are continuing to finish lambs themselves, keeping

store lamb numbers at less than 1000 head for nearly two months straight. This played into vendors hands however, as the majority of medium lambs were $107-$111, rising to $116-$120.50 for the heavy end. Prime lamb and ewe numbers were also shorter. On average the prime ewe section lifted $2-$3/ hd, with the core of the numbers selling to $100-$129. A few very heavy ewes made for a talking point at $188-$191. Prime lambs were essentially steady with recent weeks. Some heavy lambs did make as much as $170-$177, but $140-$150 was the common value. The postponement of the previous week’s sale meant there was a bit more to choose from in both the cattle and sheep sections at COALGATE. Prices didn’t suffer though, generally holding at least stable on a fortnight ago. Prime steers were similar to the last sale. Better 551-730kg lines were $2.89-$2.96/kg, and much of the rest $2.66-$2.78/kg. The prime heifers didn’t change much either, where the decent quality 415515kg lines made $2.67-$2.83/kg. Top prime cows, 522-604kg, were at $2.10-$2.16/kg, and other 518559kg lines made $2.00-$2.10/kg. Heifers have sold well through the South Island lately and Coalgate followed this trend. R2 Hereford- Friesian, 366-410kg, were exceptionally strong at $1400-$1500, $3.66-$3.83/kg. A large portion of the R1 lines were a consignment of Welsh Black cattle. R1 bulls, 243-293kg, made $2.66$2.67/kg, while 241kg heifers went for $705-$720, $2.93-$2.99/kg. R1 Charolais-cross heifers, 192240kg, made $680-$725. Store lambs essentially traded to a steady value, with the core of the sale making $100-$119, though one line of 230 head did make $125. In-lamb ewes were

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most attention in the steer and heifer section sections and the better Friesian bulls took the eye. R2 cattle in general lifted in cents/ kg. Top Angus R3 steers, few in number, sold up to $1850, $3.06/ kg, while top R2 Angus sold to $1672, $3.27/kg, and top R1 sold for $1135, $4.05/kg. More bulls attracted more buyers and R1 Friesians lifted up to $1190, $3.23/kg, and the better R2 Friesians up to $3.15/kg. A very good entry of traditional heifers lifted that section as well. The heaviest made up to $1415, $2.93/kg, with the good, lighter heifers exceeding $3.25/kg. Steers; R3, 548-603kg, $1700$1850, $3.06-$3.13/kg; R2, 315510kg, $950-$1672, $2.52-$3.58/ kg; R1, 206-280kg, $770-$1135, $3.63-$4.71/kg; Bulls; R2, 348606kg, $1050-$1780, $2.93-$3.28/ kg; R1, 196-368kg, $770-$1190, $2.60-$3.92/kg; Heifers; R2&3, 317-534kg, $975-$1415, $2.61$3.25/kg; R1, 105-262kg, $525$880, $3.35-$5.00/kg.

SOUTH CANTERBURY SOUTH CANTERBURY Weaker schedules had an impact at TEMUKA, where the market was just a little softer for prime cattle. All steers in the 470610kg weight bracket made $2.80$2.86/kg, regardless of breed. Better prime heifers were more or less unchanged, where 465-635kg Hereford lines were consistently $2.70-$2.81/kg. Boner Friesian heifers were back a little though. Anything 500kg plus where often $2.50-$2.59, but 430-495kg came back to $2.29-$2.40/kg. Cows held their ground better than the other classes. Friesian’s, 455kg plus, all made $1.91-$2.00/ kg, with a few 520-635kg Angus at $2.07-$2.16/kg. A solitary Hereford bull, 650kg, made $2.70/kg. The sheep pens were notably empty, but there was still some good money paid. Store lambs were particularly short of numbers, though a line of medium mixed lambs made $109, and a heavy pen went all the way to $124. Two decent sized lines of very light halfbred lambs were $45-$56. Prime lambs and ewes both lifted a little, bring the majority of the lambs to $130-$149, while ewes were evenly spread across $100-$139. Heavy ewes didn’t have the same presence as the week before, meaning the top dollar for the prime ewes was only a relatively low $165. The in-lamb ewe fair on Wednesday definitely fell flat based on earlier expectations. Vendors walked away disappointed as there simply wasn’t enough bidding power there for the 11,000 head offered. Wet conditions through Canterbury, a large yarding and caution towards next seasons lamb market were all worked against prices. More than half were mixed age lines. Coopworth, SIL 160180%, typically made $130-$148, while Romney, SIL 160-179%, were bought for $127-$142. The top-line mixed age ewes were mostly $148-$155. Halfbred and Corriedale-Perendale, SIL 139145%, made $95-$119. The core of the five-year ewes, SIL 161-186%, made $134-$151.

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heifers were the highlight at $2.82/ kg. The few cows traded found a firmer market, with in-calf dairy lines, 490- 570kg, making $2.00$2.09/kg. There were no bulls or steers of note. It was a fairly standard winter offering at the FEILDING prime sale. Heifers dominated the cattle yarding, where 430-530kg Friesian’s went for $2.40-$2.52/kg, with some 460-520kg HerefordFriesian’s at $2.71-$2.76/kg. A line of 625kg in-calf Jersey-cross heifers were the highlight at $2.82/ kg. The few cows traded found a firmer market, with in-calf dairy lines, 490- 570kg, making $2.00$2.09/kg. There were no bulls or steers of note. A smaller yarding in the sheep pens made for competitive bidding among contract suppliers. Prime lambs lifted by around $4/ hd, meaning the heavier types sold to $154-$170 while the bulk of the rest made $124-$152. The few store lambs were up on the weather-affected sale on the Friday beforehand. The increases weren’t limited to just the lambs though, as the prime ewes firmed too, but not to quite the same extent as the lambs. Proper heavy lines were in short supply, selling to $118$120. Medium and lighter prime ewes were $85-$117 and $59-$81 respectively. A smaller yarding in the sheep penson Friday made for competitive bidding among contract suppliers. Prime lambs lifted by around $4/hd, meaning the heavier types sold to $154$170 while the bulk of the rest made $124-$152. The few store lambs were up on the weatheraffected sale on the Friday beforehand. The increases weren’t limited to just the lambs though, as the prime ewes firmed too, but not to quite the same extent as the lambs. Proper heavy lines were in short supply, selling to $118$120. Medium and lighter prime ewes were $85-$117 and $59-$81 respectively. A week without buying lambs for most of those in the market led to more enthusiasm to purchase at this sale with nearly 10,000 lambs selling to an obviously lifting market with the lighter lambs lifting the most. The same enthusiasm was not displayed in the scanned- in-lamb ewe pens with only the younger and better ewes attracting much bidding. A line of 97 two-tooth ewes, SIL twins, sold up to $182 but a few pens were passed in. The heavier male lambs lifted by around 10 cents/kg above last week’s storm sale level and sold up to $142.50 for 150 woolly cryptorchids and every reducing weight range seemed to add another 10 cents/kg to the price lift which brought in most of the ewe lambs and the top ewe lamb price was $135 for 123 blackface ewe lambs. The woolly lambs were damp, which added to the weight but the buyers didn’t care. Ewes; SIL, $96-$182; Lambs; very heavy, $120-$142.50; heavy, $112.50-$136.50; medium, $98$119.50. Cattle entries were above 1,000 again and once again the better traditional cattle attracted the

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

The 2–4 shear lines did well enough considering the other results, typically selling to $148$160. Top dollar went to three separate 1 shear lines at $186, but the rest were well below this. Other 1 shear lines, SIL 100-130%, were $121-$140, with SIL 151153% making $144-$149. Cattle shipped across from the Chatham’s accounted for the vast majority of the store cattle numbers on Thursday. The relatively small buying bench were competitive for these though, with per kilo rates generally solid at worst. The R2 heifers were arguably the highlight of the sale. Murray Grey, 335-385kg, were chased to $3.13- $3.20/kg, $1065-$1200. Light Hereford- Friesian’s, 250270kg, were also strong at $3.37$3.42/kg. An absense of R2 steers was offset by a large selection of R2 Devon-cross bulls. Those in the 270-420kg range were a solid $740-$1070, $2.56-$2.74/kg. R1 Devon-Hereford steers, 146256kg, consistently made $3.48$3.70/ kg. Their 205-265kg sisters at went for $710-$790. There was a reasonable consignment of R1 Devon-Hereford bulls too. Anything weighing 215-245kg were $715-$770. A line of 220kg Friesian bulls made $680. OTAGO OTAGO A good yarding of prime lambs found strong demand at BALCLUTHUA, Emmett Sparrow of PGG Wrightson reported. The heavier prime lambs made $135$151, easing to $115-$125 for medium types and $107-$113 for the back end. A medium yarding of prime ewes softened just a little. The better end were in the $100$120 range, with mediums at $80$95 and lighter types $60-$70. A smaller yarding of store lambs went as high as $100-$108, though medium pens were $80-$95. Mixed age in-lamb CoopworthTexel ewes made $152. SOUTHLAND SOUTHLAND A small selection of prime cattle at LORNEVILLE mimicked other results throughout the South Island. Hereford-cross steers, 505kg, made $2.85/kg. Some light condition Hereford-cross heifers, 400-430kg, could only manage $2.40/kg, only just above the $2.30/kg that 400-500kg Friesian’s were making. Heavy dairy cows, 480kg plus, made $1.90/kg, Good quality R1 cattle were in demand. Angus-Hereford steers, 200kg, were the standouts at $890, $4.50/kg, though some 180kg Charolais steers were still decent at $720, $4.00/kg. R1 Friesian bulls, 230kg, made a steady $760, $3.30/kg, and some 220kg MurrayGrey cross were $680, $3.10/kg. A line of light Angus-Hereford heifers, 170kg, made $640, $3.75/ kg. Prime sales were basically limited to just ewes. Heavy mixed age ewes were $110-$138, with mediums at $84-$103, and the lighter end $50-$76. Good twotooth’s made $95-$105, easing to $80-$94 for mediums and $71-$76 for the lighter types. Store lambs peaked at $85-$90 for the best lines. Medium and light lambs were $70-$80 and $50-$65 respectively. Medium condition mixed age Romney ewes, SIL, were $150.

Markets

32 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 24, 2017 CANTERBURY MILLING WHEAT

NI SLAUGHTER BULL

SI SLAUGHTER STEER

($/T)

($/KG)

MEDIUM EWE LAMBS AT STORTFORD LODGE

($/KG)

($/HD)

338

5.60

5.55

104-108

high lights

R2 steers in demand Alan Williams

alan.williams@nzx.com

EEF finishers around the country are paying high prices for rising two-yearold steers because there’s not enough on the market to meet demand. “People are hunting them down and big money is being paid. There must be some question about the margins when spring slaughter comes round,” AgriHQ analyst Rachel Agnew said. Agents have reported phenomenal demand for Angus and Angus-Hereford cross steers – on the North Island’s East Coast the money in the paddock is in the $3.10-$3.20/kg range, rising to $3.40/kg in the saleyards. “The demand peak is about now,” Agnew said. Heifers are also in strong demand and short supply. The R2 steers are the sought-after animals in the beef market through winter. Buyers look for a quick and profitable turnaround with processing in the Septemberthrough-December period. The shortage of stock follows on from a declining New Zealand beef herd over the past few years, and for heifers, shipments of live animals to China is a factor. On the demand side, more farmers are switching from sheep to cattle rearing. Wet weather and sodden pastures around the country

RISING PRICES: R2 beef steers are selling at about 56% of schedule at the moment, AgriHQ analyst Mel Croad says.

may be the one factor to bring more stock on to the market over the next few weeks, Agnew said. AgriHQ analyst Mel Croad said in a report that unwavering buyer demand was the main reason for the record prices for this time of year. Her analysis showed that through July, R2 steers typically sold at 52% of the schedule, but the market was now about 56% of schedule, meaning that buyers were paying 20kg “above the odds”. For rising one-year-olds the premium was higher again,

with heifers up to $3.60/kg in the paddock at 63% of the schedule instead of the typical 54%. That’s a premium of 55c/ kg. For R1 bulls and steers, the premium over schedule is 30c-35c. However, the R2 market is the big one at this time of year – R1s usually come on to the market in numbers from early to mid-August onwards. AgriHQ data shows an expected schedule for a 295320kg steer at $5.90/kg in August, $6/kg in September, $5.95/kg in October and November, and $5.80/kg in December.

“They’ll be eating a huge amount of food to get to processing,” Agnew said of the cattle. Store prices usually follow the processing price higher through late August and early September, but Croad said it could be a big ask to see strengthening from already well-above-average prices. However, the August price ratios have risen to even higher levels at least once in the past, and if there’s a repeat R1 bulls could hit $4/kg in the store market, with a possible 5c-10c lift for R2 cattle.

$1260

$1065-$1200

R1 Limousin steers, 290kg, at Rangiuru

R2 Murray Grey heifers, 335-385kg, at Temuka

Good times at Matawhero WITH the one-year anniversary of the legendary Barrie Gordon’s passing on July 23, it seems only fitting that this week’s column be based around a place he held dear to his heart, the Matawhero Suz Bremner saleyards. AgriHQ Analyst Matawhero sits 8km west of Gisborne, and in its heyday up to 12,000 cattle each sale would be sold through the yards, as well as plenty of sheep. Buyers travelled great distances to be part of the action, with the hill-country stock in the area renowned for its breeding and growth potential. That hasn’t changed despite sheep numbers dropping dramatically – the recent Friday sale I went to was mainly a small affair. Cattle sales are held monthly and still offer some of the best traditional cattle available at any saleyard, though over the years a bit of dairy-beef has also snuck in. What the sheep sale lacks in size, it makes up for in character. With the passing of Barrie, Matawhero lost one of it’s larger-than-life identities although there are plenty of others on the rails. The thing about Matawhero is it’s like one big family – everyone knows everyone, and if you don’t by sale’s end you do. The Friday sale I attended was an entertaining day. The auction was held in good humour, and while there were still sheep to sell, this was completed effectively and efficiently. One essential addition to the yards this year has been a weigh system for cattle. While everyone knew the area’s cattle packed good weights, it can now be proven on sale days. Because no selling rostrum is used for cattle sales, the cattle are unloaded, drafted into their appropriate lines and then weighed, with the weight written on the cards. I highly recommend a trip to the Matawhero saleyards. Good-quality stock at very reasonable prices are always on offer, and there’s the added bonus of a good belly laugh. suz.bremner@nzx.com

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