Global online route to market opens for wool
AN ONLINE global wool trading platform based on the Global Dairy Trade system is being launched by Wools of NZ.
The first of what will be monthly auctions hosted by the new Natural Fibre Exchange (NFX) is being held on April 2. Wools of NZ (WNZ) chief executive John McWhirter said it will be open to wool buyers from around the world.
As with the Global Dairy Trade (GDT), McWhirter said the larger pool of buyers and the way the NFX auction operates will create better price transparency than the current auction system. He said he believes it will eventually lead to better prices and greater demand.
“Now we have 6000 farmers selling their wool to hundreds of international buyers so it changes the dynamics of the auction system in the favour of farmers.
“We will make NZ farmers’ wool available to buyers around the world.”
NFX was built by and will be run by CRA International, which built and runs the GDT platform.
As with the dairy trading platform, McWhirter said one of the strengths of the NFX is that its global audience will reveal the actual price customers believe the fibre is worth.
“We want the world to know the true cost and value of NZ fibre by offering wool directly to the world
Neal Wallace MARKETS Food and fibre Continued page 3
in an open and transparent market platform.”
McWhirter said the NFX will operate the same as the GDT, which differs from a conventional system in that it is a circular auction.
Unlike a conventional auction, potential buyers continue to bid on all lots offered until prices are finalised for the whole offering or lots are withdrawn.
“We are shaping the future of wool trading by offering fair and competitive market pricing through efficient price discovery,” he said.
This should help unlock increased returns for wool growers.
John McWhirter Wools of NZ
“NFX will simplify the trading process, provide real-time price insights, and encourage collaboration between growers, buyers, and processors.”
For a handling fee, WNZ tests and collates its clients’ wool into lines with the same specification.
Significantly, it is then sold in 20 tonne lots suitable for containerised shipping, making it convenient for buyers.
McWhirter said individual farmers may sell their clip on the platform, but the reality is they will require an export licence
Sheep farmers roll up for Rollesby
This year’s Rollesby Valley Lamb Sale, in Burkes Pass, saw six farms participate, with 16,000 lambs sold at auction. Established in the mid-1990s by Bruce Dunbar of PGG Wrightson Livestock and the Munro family at Airies Station, the sale has grown from a single-farm event into a major annual fixture.
Photo: PGG Wrightson
Historic high prime stock prices reflect markets, demand and
Dynamic duo redefine the way they farm
Pushing boundaries and challenging what’s possible is how Michael Phillips and Andrew Evans from Waka Dairies plan to become one of New Zealand’s leading producers.
Photo: Yield Marketing
Ageing tech leaves rural households on notice over phone service.
Breathtaking shift from Ukraine supporter to profiteer, says Ben Anderson.
EDITORIAL
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News in brief
Positive forecast Hemp review
Fonterra’s latest forecast earnings update shows a bullish outlook on the back of a strong first half of the dairy season. It anticipates forecast earnings for the 2025 financial year will be in the upper half of the previously announced forecast earnings range of 40-60 cents per share. The co-operative is currently forecasting a 2024-2025 milk price midpoint of $10/kg MS.
The government’s Ministry for Regulation will review outdated and burdensome regulations around industrial hemp production.
Industrial hemp is currently classified as a Class C controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, despite containing minimal THC. The Ministry is working with MedSafe and the Ministry of Health to reassess the nearly 20-year-old regulations.
Funding secured
Fonterra and DSM-backed Dutch ingredients startup company Vivici have secured €32.5 million ($58.89m) in funding, which it will use to turn its precision fermentation technology into commercial reality.
The funding was led by APG on behalf of ABP, one of the largest pension funds in the world, and Invest-NL. The funding will be used to expand access into new international markets and launch a second dairy protein ingredient.
Kūmara resilience
Horticulture New Zealand and Kaipara Moana Remediation are partnering on a programme to build resilience across the Northland/Te Tai Tokerau kūmara industry. The pilot programme will see the organisations working together to support kūmara growers in the northern Wairoa catchment to achieve best management practice on the land and restore local waterways.
Meat prices maintain their lofty levels
Neal Wallace MARKETS Production
HISTORICALLY
high prices for prime lamb and beef reflect strong markets and demand as well as tighter supplies, says AgriHQ senior analyst Mel Croad.
Prices usually start to ease at this stage of the season, but Croad said there is little sign of that happening with both lamb and beef markets remaining buoyant, helped by a low exchange rate.
Prime lamb prices are $2/kg higher than last year at $8 to $8.20/kg and store lamb prices are over $1/kg higher, averaging $3.90-$4/kg compared to $2.50$2.80/kg last year.
Meat companies say they have been offering procurement premiums in the South Island.
Prime beef prices are about $1.50/kg higher.
“It’s not all procurement, it’s balanced as opposed to one thing driving these higher prices,” said Croad.
“The Easter chilled lamb trade has just finished and market prices were higher than expected.”
The average export value for lamb in January was $12.11/kg, $2/kg higher than January last year but 50c/kg lower than last December.
“We are seeing good support in terms of export value and the exchange rate is also helping.”
Lamb prices were higher in 2022 as the world spent up large post covid, but Croad said market conditions are more grounded this year.
“This is more stable because it is driven by supply and demand fundamentals instead of a world awash with cash.”
Continued from page 1
and have to arrange testing and handling.
He is buoyant about the future of the fibre, saying demand is growing for wool 50-100mm in length, which is suitable for wool carpet manufacturing, but volume is limited as farmers cut costs by stretching out shearing to every eight or 12 months.
“Given the current rising market, which is seeing demand for wool exceeding supply, this should help unlock increased returns for wool growers,” he said.
“We expect the NFX platform to have a positive impact on the global wool trade, leading to better outcomes for growers.”
WNZ has staff in China, India and eastern and western Europe, and feedback indicates growing interest in wool.
He does not expect a sudden jump in prices in the early auctions.
“Initially I believe prices will be as well as they are currently but I have no doubt we will deliver better pricing in the medium to long term.”
The NFX trading platform could eventually attract wool from growers around the world.
Croad said AgriHQ forecasts are for lamb prices to stay buoyant through to spring but without the sharp jumps in winter prices experienced last year.
However, a shift in the exchange rate or tumultuous world trade politics could alter those prospects, warns Croad.
China remains our largest volume market for lamb and it is paying higher prices than last year, but she said the real drivers are Europe and the United Kingdom, where prices are high.
It’s not all procurement, it’s balanced as opposed to one thing driving these higher prices.
Mel Croad AgriHQ
Eighteen weeks into the season the South Island kill was 735,000 or 20% behind last season and Croad said that raises questions whether those animals were ever born, succumbed to poor spring conditions or are being kept back to put on condition.
There were 2.95 million lambs processed in the first 18 weeks, well below the 3.5 million fiveyear average for that period and the 3.7 million processed last year.
The North Island kill is 8.5% ahead of last season, which was very slow to get going.
Croad described ewe prices as mediocre compared to where they have been previously but the South Island ewe kill is 200,000 ahead of last year, which could be a consequence of the poor spring.
Demand from the United States is underpinning high beef prices, with its domestic herd at a 64-year low and little talk of rebuilding it.
of NZ chief executive John McWhirter says having 6000 farmers selling their wool to hundreds of international buyers ‘changes the dynamics of the auction system in the favour of farmers’.
McWhirter said it will be open to any producer of natural fibre, be it Australian, Argentinian, British wool or even cashmere.
“We are happy for it to be an exchange for any natural fibre in the world excluding plastic.”
Beef prices are averaging $1.50/kg ahead of last year but significantly the market hardly shifted with the seasonal influx of cull cows.
Croad said companies are looking for cattle.
Alliance Group’s livestock manager Murray Behrent said the lower South Island kill reflects fewer lambs born and farmers holding back stock to add weight.
“However, large volumes of lambs from the North Island were sent south for finishing following last year’s extreme dry conditions.”
Behrent said processors offered procurement premiums to South Island farmers through February to attract lamb, prices he said that were not always aligned with global market signals.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and will adjust processing capacity as needed.”
Prospects for lamb were bright.
“Looking ahead, the prime lamb market is forecast to remain firm with good demand from all our inmarket customers.”
Silver Fern Farms chief supply officer Jarrod Stewart said demand for lamb has lifted and
HOLDING BACK: Alliance Group’s livestock manager Murray Behrent says the lower South Island kill reflects fewer lambs born and farmers holding back stock to add weight.
the company has used the lack of supply “to leverage some tension into market pricing”.
“At present, there’s around a 30% lift in farmgate pricing for lamb compared to the same time last year.”
Industry gives thumbs up to product review
Richard Rennie TECHNOLOGY Regulation
CROP treatment companies say there is a glimmer of hope in the just-released government report that includes wideranging recommendations for overhauling how their products are approved for use in New Zealand.
Ministers David Seymour, Penny Simmonds and Andrew Hoggard released the Ministry for Regulation’s first major report on red tape reduction.
The pastoral and horticultural sectors are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries if its 16 recommendations become reality.
The report estimates gains of over quarter of a billion dollars over 20 years are on the table to be made by cutting product approval times by half.
That compares to the ticking clock of more stringent European Union regulations that risk NZ being left out in the cold with obsolete banned treatments, also estimated to cost the sector a similar amount over the same time frame.
The report prioritises three key recommendations out of the 16 demanding immediate attention to help speed up a clogged approval pipeline.
Average application times under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO)
process almost tripled from 402 days in 2015 to 1048 days in 2023.
The report recommends “light touch” assessment pathways, and greater reliance on and use of assessments already made by other international regulators.
The third recommendation priority is drawing more on industry knowledge held by commercial operators by establishing a sector leaders forum.
Dr Liz Shackleton, head of Animal and Plant Health NZ, said industry knowledge is there to help, but remains untapped at present.
She has also had clear signals from her members that the approval delays have become untenable and timelines are increasingly tight, with changes in overseas markets’ approved treatments list looming.
“To meet those 2030 targets less than five years away, if they filed a new active in parallel, that takes 5.5 years to approve and 8.3 years if sequential. That does not even include the years of trial work needed.”
She said the industry welcomes all but one of the 16 recommendations. It challenges the recommendation on cost recovery, which has the approving agencies themselves determining how much those costs are.
With biosecurity threats increasing, the recommendation
He said the slow South Island lamb kill is due to deferred processing as farmers hold animals on farm but with short work weeks looming around ANZAC day and Easter, space is expected to tighten.
WELCOMED: Animal and Plant Health NZ head Dr Liz Shackleton says the regulatory review is a glimmer of hope, but the real test is how quickly the ship can be turned around.
With fall armyworm there are alternative treatments that have been sitting in the queue for four years.
Dr Liz Shackleton
Animal and Plant Health NZ
to enable faster emergency approvals under HSNO Act is welcomed.
“With fall armyworm there are alternative treatments that have been sitting in the queue for four years. It is about having the tools to respond to these emergencies,” she said.
Seymour said the cabinet had accepted all 16 recommendations.
It is expected to receive the formal details on the reforms by May.
“We are looking for some urgency on this,” Shackleton said.
DYNAMICS: Wools
Hot, dry winds hit maize ahead of harvest
Gerald Piddock NEWS Arable
LACK of rain in the new year has taken the shine off this year’s maize crops as harvest gets underway in the coming weeks.
Waikato Federated Farmers arable chair Don Stobie said he expects yields to be average this year after a challenging growing season.
Strong, hot westerly winds throughout January meant crops struggled to grow, he said.
“They stunted plant growth and they really sucked a lot of the water out of the ground and the transpiration levels have been higher than normal,” he said.
He expects crops to average around 21 tonnes/hectare for silage and 11t/ha for maize grain.
The rainfall that did occur was patchy at best with more farmers missing out rather than getting it.
On the positive side, the drier weather has kept most insect pests away, he said.
Corson Maize national business manager Graeme Austin said preChristmas, it was very dry for east coast growers while Waikato maize crops were looking great.
This has flipped with the dry
weather affecting Waikato crops while east coast areas received good rain over the past month.
“We’re probably looking at [silage] yields being at least 1520% down on average whereas
Marnco gets to try for Fertmark
Richard
Rennie NEWS Fertiliser
A YEAR after entering the New Zealand market, Australian fertiliser company Marnco is set to be registered for Fertmark, the industry’s quality assurance standard.
Company director Mark Been acknowledged the lengthy time taken for the Fertiliser Quality Council to confirm the company could register its products.
“But it is better late than never, the council is coming to the table. We welcome the opportunity to be able to verify our products to the same standards as the two main competitors,” he said.
Verification from independent
council audits would put the company on an even footing with the six other fertiliser companies that have certified Fertmark products.
Last year the company had a rocky entry into the NZ market. Its first shipload of largely super phosphate drew fire from the Fertiliser Association on the grounds it was not up to the Fertmark standard to label as superphosphate. It sought a court injunction against selling it as such.
This prompted Marnco to rename the product “SulPhos”, and to compensate any farmers who had purchased the product on the grounds it was advertised as superphosphate. Been confirmed that products
tick
Marnco will seek Fertmark registration on will include SulPhos, along with urea, sulphate of ammonia and sulphate of potash.
Fertiliser Council executive director Tyler Langford confirmed Marnco’s application.
She said having Fertmark certification is a competitive advantage in the market, giving farmers peace of mind the product is what manufacturers claim it is.
There are six companies with multiple products registered with Fertmark in NZ at present.
Langford said the council is keen to raise the profile of Fertmark and its certification value among non-certified companies.
“It is good to see Marnco can
the east coast has had rain from Christmas on and their crops have bounced back incredibly well.”
The region is flourishing, he said.
In Waikato, for a crop that yielded 21t in a good year, that equates to around 3-4t back.
Maize grain crops are also starting to be impacted, and he expects yields on those crops to also be down.
The lighter yields should not mean a feed deficit for farmers after most made plenty of grass silage throughout spring, he said.
Northland maize crops are also getting dry, but are not as affected as those in Waikato. Bay of Plenty crops are looking good and some maize crops in isolated areas in the lower North Island are starting to get dried out, he said.
Gavins Grains’ Andrew Geddes said they are just getting started on the maize harvest around Waikato and are hoping for a spell of fine weather over the next period to get the crop off the ground.
Julie Clark of Clark Contracting in Otorohanga is about to start
They stunted plant growth and they really sucked a lot of the water out of the ground.
Don Stobie Federated Farmers
harvesting this year’s crop. In the meantime her company has been busy delivering bales of feed to farmers battling the dry weather. It made a stark contrast to last year where there was little demand because there was so much surplus feed around, she said.
Ag contractor John Austin of John Austin Ltd has just started harvesting maize around Waikato and said the crops so far look to be varied in yield.
“I think we’re going to see a mixture of crops this year. Some areas have had good rain and some haven’t. There’s going to be some disappointing crops and there’s still going to be some good crops. It depends on whether you had rain or not.”
see value in certification of their products,” she said.
One year since entering the NZ market, Marnco claims to have sold 35,000 tonnes of product
ranging across all main fertiliser types.
NZ’s total fertiliser market totalled 1.6 million tonnes in 2023, a particularly low year for sales.
AVERAGE: Waikato Federated Farmers arable chair Don Stobie says he expects crops this year to average around 21 tonnes/hectare for silage and 11t/ha for maize grain.
MARKED: Marnco founder and managing director Mark Been says he welcomes the opportunity to get his company’s products assessed to the same standard as Ballance and Ravensdown.
Old rural comms tech poised for withdrawal
Richard Rennie TECHNOLOGY Communication
MORE than 2000 remote rural households are on notice for their phone service as Chorus signals the withdrawal of aging communications technology.
March 31 marks the date when Chorus will be retiring its decadesold customer multi-access radio (CMAR) and Country Set technology. It is used to provide voice telephone services to rural locations where even copper does not extend. It comes as Chorus also works to retire its aging copper network entirely by 2030.
On its website Chorus has highlighted the increasing difficulty in maintaining the aging equipment, along with a lack of spare parts and diminishing expertise.
“Completely munted” is the description given by one industry insider about the technology’s condition.
A letter sent to affected households highlights that Spark as service provider does not have an alternative voice solution, but other providers do. These include
satellite services, which Chorus as network operator offers to help them find.
But the decommissioning has a farmer in the Fordell district east of Whanganui concerned that the loss of the technology and the transfer to satellite or wireless may leave rural users vulnerable.
The Telecommunications Services Obligations (TSO) aims to obligate Chorus as network provider and Spark as retail provider to continue guaranteeing voice services that remain affordable.
Johnny Tripe owns a family farm on Ohaumoko Road with several dwellings affected by the CMAR decommissioning.
“I have a lot of sympathy for Chorus having to turn this tech off. But I think we could be at risk that at some time the provider of the service replacing Spark’s TSO guaranteed service stops, and people cease to have access to voice services.”
A Spark spokesperson confirmed the company is referring impacted customers to Chorus to help find an alternative provider.
“We sympathise with Mr Tripe in this situation and our team has offered to support him as the CMAR services are withdrawn. However, as we do not
Taranaki drought relief kicks in
Staff reporter NEWS Weather
DROUGHT conditions in Taranaki have prompted Agriculture Minister Todd McClay to declare a medium-scale adverse event, recognising the challenging situation facing farmers and growers in the region. Conditions on the ground are becoming extremely difficult with limited feed and pasture available, he said.
The lack of any decent rain for several months ... is causing huge stress for farmers.
Leedom Gibbs Federated Farmers
“Taranaki is experiencing hot, dry conditions and below-average rainfall.
“This has affected pasture growth and farmers have had to feed out or sell livestock earlier to fill the gap.”
The decision was welcomed by Federated Farmers Taranaki president Leedom Gibbs.
“The lack of any decent rain for several months, compounding a year and a half of much lower than usual rainfall, is causing huge stress for farmers.
“That’s especially in the Manaia, Hāwera and Kakaramea hotspots. They’ve never seen it so extremely dry, so early.”
Water tables are very low, meaning wells and bores have dried up and farmers have had to truck in water as well as feed.
McClay said that the government is making $30,000 available to rural support groups who are working closely with farmers on the ground in Taranaki.
The adverse event declaration means extra funding for Rural Support’s counselling and advisory services, with flexibility around tax for affected farmers, and the potential for Rural Assistance Payments from the Ministry of Social Development.
have an alternative service option he will need to contact Chorus for assistance migrating to an alternative service,” the spokesperson said.
Correspondence from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) confirmed that under the Chorus TSO deed, Chorus is required to provide voice calling when the system is decommissioned.
Chorus is required to make the service available for the residents until such time the household cancels its TSO voice service. It also requires Chorus not charge the household any more than the TSO maximum price, linked to the CPI.
Tripe remains concerned that continuity of the service is not guaranteed.
“It is hard to see why Chorus would keep a contractual relationship with customers who it no longer has a supply relationship with. I am not sure this is commensurate with the TSO spirit, by Chorus removing itself from the situation.”
He acknowledges local wireless and satellite services exist to fill the gap but maintains their longterm service provision should also be locked in under a TSO agreement.
VOICEOVER: WISPA chair Mike Smith says a concern greater than TSO obligations being met is whether the replacement tech customers use is fit for purpose, and includes voice capability.
I think we could be at risk that at some time ... people cease to have access to voice services.
Johnny Tripe Farmer
Mike Smith, chair of Wireless Internet Services Providers (WISPA), said rather than any TSO failure, the greater risk for rural users having to replace the tech is failing to incorporate good voice services.
Tripe said one option could be that smaller providers pay into the levy scheme that contributes to maintaining rural services.
“I am not sure our members would want to pay into the levy scheme, and it really would only be a drop in the bucket,” said Smith.
The bigger concern with this transition is that not all satellite systems offer voice as part of their service, for example StarLink.
“This is why we urge anyone shifting to replacement technology to get a local provider for local expertise and location.”
VOLUME: Scales chief executive Andy Borland says the volumes of premium apple varieties accounted for 72% of export sales.
Hort companies return to full flavour
Hugh Stringleman NEWS Horticulture
MAJOR horticultural listed companies
Scales and Seeka declared strong rebound profits for the 2024 financial year, ended December 31.
Their annual results, announced on the same day, showed the growing strength of the horticulture sector now the two-year adverse effects of Cyclone Gabrielle have passed.
Scales Corporation reported a net profit of $30.7 million, compared with only $5.2m in FY2023.
Seeka’s turnaround was even more dramatic, with $30m net profit before tax compared to a $21m loss in 2023.
Seeka achieved earnings of 51 cents a share and will pay out dividends totalling 15c, split between January’s 10c and April’s 5c.
The return to profitability for Seeka came out of 37% increase in revenue to $411m as the post-harvest operations
handled 43 million trays of kiwifruit, up 44% from 2023.
“Record profit before tax was achieved during a period of high interest rates and higher debt levels,” said chief executive Michael Franks.
“Seeka is set to benefit from lower interest rates, having also lowered net debt by $35m in 2024.”
Scales benefited from strong demand in its global protein division producing wholesale products for the worldwide petfood market.
Its horticultural division, one of the biggest apple orcharding and packing businesses in the country, had a 150% increase in underlying earnings to $37.7m.
Mr Apple’s own-grown production was just over 3 million tray carton equivalents (TCEs), up 11% from the harvest before.
Scales chief executive Andy Borland said the volumes of premium apple varieties accounted for 72% of export sales.
“Horticulture’s performance is
returning to more normal levels with improved apple volumes and average prices.
“Picking and packing has commenced at Mr Apple for the 2025 apple season with initial current crop indications being positive.
“A crop of around 3.4 million TCEs is forecast, which includes a higher proportion of premium varieties due to the Bostock and Craigmore transactions.
“Positive pricing is also forecast.”
Scales has reconfirmed its FY2025 guidance of net profit between $35m and $40m.
Scales share prices have risen steadily over the past year, adding $1 to achieve the present level of $4.10.
It paid an interim dividend of 7.25c in January and will make a further distribution in May.
Seeka share prices have also risen about $1 from a low point of $2.30 midyear to $3.30 now.
An update will be provided at the annual meeting on April 16.
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Watts: no hefty bill for missing targets
Gerald Piddock NEWS Climate change
CLAIMS that New Zealand will have to pay billions if it fails to meet international emissions targets are misinformation, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.
What matters is a country’s intentions, he told a group of farmers and local government leaders at an event organised by Waikato Federated Farmers.
These targets, as set under the Paris Agreement, aimed to get big players such as China and Russia to pull their weight and New Zealand had joined so it could be seen to do its part.
“Some will meet them, and some won’t just because [of] national circumstance. You have to have the intent to meet it and if you don’t meet it, no one sends you an invoice – and that’s why it’s not a liability on the government’s books.
“It’s not a liability on our books, it’s intent and there is no legal obligation in the context around that.”
That is not to say NZ and other countries will not do their best to achieve the Paris target, he said.
Watts said he and Finance Minister Nicola sought advice
from Treasury on this, and he was told it was not a liability on the government’s books.
The government is taking a practical approach to make sure that both domestic and international targets are achievable.
In late January the government announced a national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 51-55% below 2005 levels by 2035.
On the United States decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement, Watts said New Zealand cannot do the same because it risks jeopardising trade.
“NZ is not the US, and we don’t have the ability to play as they do.
“We need to be committed to these international targets. The reality is that our UK free trade agreement and our EU FTA both have clauses that say we are expected to stay within those agreements.”
Watts, who was appointed energy minister in the government’s recent cabinet reshuffle, said he had significant concerns about NZ’s energy resources.
“We went to the wire last year in terms of lack of energy because of the dry. It’s tight again this year and the decision to stop oil and gas have really put us at a massive disadvantage.”
Watts was questioned on the
You have to have the intent to meet it and if you don’t meet it, no one sends you an invoice.
Simon Watts Climate Change Minister
government’s response to the growth of solar farms on farmland.
Those concerns were fair, he said, and it is something that the country will have to work its way
through and be thoughtful around the consideration for these farms.
“But as a country, if we want to grow and be competitive, we need to have affordable energy.”
Speaking more broadly, he said the government wants to put in place as many setting changes in as possible before the next election.
“In effect, plant the seeds so at least we can start to see that sprouting next year or the year after because these things don’t happen overnight.”
government’s books.
This week’s poll question: Have your say at farmersweekly.co.nz/poll Should New Zealand withdraw from the Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas reductions?
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DEBIT: Climate Change Minister
Simon Watts says international climate targets are not a financial liability on the
PGW marks agricultural recovery underway
Hugh Stringleman MARKETS Agriculture
RURAL servicing company PGG
Wrightson has reported a sound set of interim results for the first half of the 2025 financial year, with operating earnings up 13% and net profit up 25% compared with the previous corresponding period.
Revenue for the six months to December 31 rose 2% to $570 million and net profit after tax was $16m.
The lion’s share of operating earnings for the financial year has been made, at $41.4m, and the guidance for the full year has been
reaffirmed around $51m.
That compares favourably with $44m in FY2024.
Chair Gary Moore said strong demand has underpinned livestock results and the real estate market has shown a positive rebound.
Agricultural input prices stabilised in the past six months but remain above historical norms.
Gary Moore PGG Wrightson
“Economic conditions are showing early signs of improvement, with several indicators
pointing to a healthier outlook with lower inflation and interest rates easing.
“Agricultural input prices stabilised in the past six months but remain above historical norms.
“In addition, a higher forecast milk payout, strong beef export returns, and generally solid commodity prices are beginning to positively impact farmer and grower sentiment.”
The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of 2.5c a share fully imputed, to be paid on April 3.
Chief executive Stephen Guerin said that as farmer confidence levels gradually return, the PGW rural supplies division has seen a positive impact.
REBOUND: PGG Wrightson chair Gary Moore says strong demand has underpinned livestock results and the real estate market has shown a positive rebound.
Nearly all categories have grown compared to last year and this has been most evident in animal health, seed, stock food, fertiliser, water and fencing.
Favourable growing conditions across most regions have produced excellent crop estimates, he said.
Over the rest of the financial year price pressures on overseassourced goods can be expected from the fall in the value of the NZ dollar, he said.
“Our business is seasonal with the strongest demand in spring and summer, where we make the
majority of earnings.
“That is also reflected in higher seasonal debt levels, covering payments from customers and the Go-Stock products.
“We are seeing strong interest in farm and orchard purchasing, but that has yet to play out during the autumn activity window.”
In FY2024 the rural company suffered its first drop in revenue in six years and Guerin said the recovery now seems to be underway, although velvet sales were delayed by the late reopening of China’s market.
‘Relevant’ Wānaka Show gets tails wagging again
Neal Wallace MARKETS Events
ONE of New Zealand’s largest A&P shows continues to evolve to attract an increasingly diverse audience.
Last year the Wānaka A&P Show drew 44,000 people. Upper Clutha
A&P Society board chair Keith Cooper says that constant evolution has not been at the expense of compromising traditional A&P events.
He said while the show stays true to its roots, it has tried to appeal to the diverse Wanaka and Upper Clutha community.
“We have focused on remaining
attractive and relevant to the high country farmers, tradies and their families in Wānaka as well as those who have relocated from Auckland to Wānaka.”
Trade space is fully booked and livestock entries are similar to last year. Alongside the usual family events, rides, food trucks and the annual Jack Russell race, several
new events make an appearance.
They include the Local Larder, which features artisan food and drink exhibitors alongside live cooking demonstrations from leading New Zealand chef Peter Gordon.
A new hub, the Agri Exchange, combines on one site rural innovation organisations along with
future thinkers, available to engage with those in the agri sector.
Home industry competitions are once again being held, including photography, arts, crafts, flowers, paintings, homebrew, vegetables and baking.
The show is being held on March 7-8 at Pembroke Park on the Lake Wānaka waterfront.
Photo: File
Vietnam a land of opportunity for NZ ag
Richard Rennie NEWS Trade
AS PRIME Minister Christopher Luxon visited Vietnam last week an Asia-New Zealand Foundation report on the country highlights the valuable trade opportunities within the young, tech savvy nation.
Vietnam is New Zealand’s 14th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at $2.68 billion in 2024. That compares to the likes of Thailand, with a similar period of diplomatic relations, that enjoys $4bn in bilateral trade.
The report, Vietnam and New Zealand at 50: the next chapter, has been published in conjunction with a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic ties with the country.
Following Vietnam’s reunification, NZ was one of the first countries in the world to form diplomatic ties.
The report notes Vietnam’s move from a traditional agrarian economy to a hi-tech, industrialised nation whose smart phone exports in 2024 were almost five times NZ’s dairy exports.
Samsung looms as a giant in Vietnam’s tech landscape, having channeled $37bn into the country and exporting $97bn worth of
smartphones and tech gear, making it Vietnam’s largest single exporter.
This makes Vietnam the second largest exporter of smartphones globally after China. With the links to Samsung, South Koreans are proving particularly inclined to now make Vietnam home.
The report also notes Vietnam is one of the most digitally connected countries in the region, with superior digital infrastructure and a digital economy growing at 20% a year.
Our exporters will need to do their homework and build market-specific knowledge of trade with the likes of Vietnam.
Warrick Cleine NZ Chamber of Commerce Vietnam
It is experiencing the highest rate of economic growth in the Asia Pacific region, and one of the highest in the world, forecast to be 6.3% for 2026.
Asia-New Zealand Foundation CEO Suzannah Jessep said NZ has a trade deficit with the country at present, with plenty of room to grow exports there. In 2024 NZ exported about $840 million there,
with the main exports being dairy, fruit and timber.
The main imports from Vietnam were electrical equipment, machinery and footwear.
Almost two-thirds of the NZ businesses active in Vietnam are in the food and beverage sectors.
Report author Haike Manning said the pace of change in Vietnam has been remarkable, with increasingly wealthy consumers who trust NZ’s high-quality, safe food underpinning much of NZ’s export growth in recent years.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade data shows trade between the two countries has grown by a solid 44% in the past five years.
With 55% of its population under the age of 35 and 40% of the country urbanised, cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are exhibiting disposable incomes significantly higher than the rural hinterland as inhabitants adapt more western-style dining habits, and spend more on imported food and drink.
Warrick Cleine, chair of the NZ Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said Vietnam represents a disproportionately greater opportunity for NZ in the future, given its exceptional level of growth. He said the challenge is for NZ exporters to set up and take the opportunity.
“Our exporters will need to do their homework and build marketspecific knowledge of trade with the likes of Vietnam. They will need to be clear on their channel to market and articulate why a Vietnamese consumer should buy their product.”
LARGE: Vietnam is New Zealand’s 14th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at $2.68 billion in 2024.
Photo: Pexels
QEII Trust welcomes budget reprieve
THE government’s decision to grant the QEII National Trust $4.5 million over three years has been greeted with thanks and relief by environmentalists and farmers alike.
The trust had faced the prospect of losing funding of $2 million a year when its Jobs for Nature funding ended come June.
This had it staring into a financial hole, unable to continue to accept a growing queue of farmers and landowners keen to protect land of high environmental value on their properties.
Trust CEO Dan Coup said he is grateful for the funding. He acknowledges it still leaves the trust short on annual funding by about $500,000 a year but is “better than zero” in a tight government funding environment, and gives the trust breathing space.
“It is a lifeline. We had a board meeting coming up where some tough decisions were going to have to be made. It won’t be back
to full steam ahead now, but it does mean we can continue to take on more covenanted properties.”
For the financial year ending in June 2024 the trust also earned $295,000 through donations and other grants.
Coup said the trust will be
exploring ways to lift that portion of income to help make up the gap.
Nationally the trust oversees over 180,000 hectares of covenanted land, almost the equivalent of Arthur’s Pass and Aorangi Mt Cook national parks combined.
Weed zapper remains on target
Richard Rennie TECHNOLOGY Pests
THE New Zealand developers of a laser-fired weed-killing system remain confident about their technology’s prospects in the face of a similar United States concept emerging.
Map and Zap head developer and AgResearch scientist Kioumars Ghamkhar attended the evokeAG agritech conference in Brisbane to showcase the technology to potential investors. He and AgResearch business development manager John Morris said there has been strong interest from within Australia and further afield. That included traditional broad acre cropping and horticultural businesses wanting to reduce their herbicide
use by opting for laser-targeting weed infestations.
Both acknowledged the emerging presence of a US start-up called Carbon Robotics, also using laser technology to destroy weeds.
Jointly owned by growers from the US, Europe and Australia, the technology is incorporated into a tractor-drawn implement that hooks onto the tractor’s threepoint linkage.
“The main difference between
Our technology can be retrofitted to existing equipment at considerably less cost.
them and us is that our technology can be retrofitted to existing equipment, at considerably less cost. We also offer the flexibility of being able to incorporate other technology into it, for other applications,” said Ghamkhar.
This could include camera tech capable of determining moisture levels in the soil for early drought detection, or incorporating artificial intelligence to determine disease risk in plants, before it becomes a bigger issue.
Ghamkhar also pointed to longer operating life for the NZdeveloped system’s lasers, with significantly lower replacement costs compared to the US lasers, valued in the tens of thousands with an operating life that requires more regular replacement.
“Yes, we know they are there in the market, but we are quite
Otago claims the greatest area, with 65,000ha registered.
The trust’s base funding of $4.27m a year received through the Department of Conservation has been frozen for the past decade.
Coup said the trust’s efforts to secure more funding have been well supported by both farming and environmental interests.
Federated Farmers vicepresident Colin Hurst said the announcement is not the doubling the Feds had been seeking but is a positive step in the right direction.
The Feds had pushed the trust’s case in a 30-minute slot before a Parliamentary primary production committee, explaining its importance to farmers wanting to protect land.
Corina Jordan, CEO for Fish and Game NZ, said the support reinforced the successful partnership model that encourages farmers to protect biodiversity on their land.
Gary Taylor, chair of the Environmental Defence Society, said in a year that has distinctly lacked much good news for the environment it is good to see some positive news.
He is hopeful more work will also continue on developing biodiversity credits that farmers and landowners can claim, based off protected land, including QEII Trust titles.
It won’t be back to full steam ahead now, but it does mean we can continue to take on more covenanted properties.
“It is a work in progress. It was always envisaged there would be some financial incentives for farmers to protect and restore forests.”
Coup said he understands discussions about biodiversity credits are continuing but they will take time to develop and implement.
The Maungatautari ecological island trust sanctuary in Waikato, which was started by neighbouring farmers, also received a one-off injection of $750,000 over three years.
confident what we are offering is a better option,” he said.
The technology is picked to fit well with shifts in cropping methods that require a lower use of herbicides, and more
ON TARGET: Map and Zap developer Kioumars Ghamkhar, left, is confident the Kiwi-developed technology is on track for scaling up successfully, once further investment is secured.
incorporation of biological/nonsynthetic weed controls.
“We have proven the technology, and it’s really just a case of getting the funding to got to the next level,” Ghamkar said.
Richard Rennie NEWS Conservation
SUPPORT: Trust CEO Dan Coup says the trust’s efforts to secure more funding have been well supported by both farming and environmental interests.
Dan Coup QEII Trust
Kioumars Ghamkhar Map and Zap
Robotics Plus joins forces with Yamaha
Richard Rennie TECHNOLOGY Agriculture
THE head of New Zealand startup Robotics Plus has welcomed the purchase of his company by Japanese giant Yamaha to form Yamaha Agriculture, focusing on autonomous artificial intelligence-driven agri equipment.
Robotics Plus co-founder Steve Saunders said the longstanding partnership his company has enjoyed with Yamaha since 2017 has given the company the ability to take its innovative tech further and faster than many start-ups often achieve.
Yamaha invested $10 million into the Bay of Plenty start-up in the company’s early life stage.
Robotics Plus has since become a major player in automated apple grading with the Aporo fruit packer, a robotic log scaler and Prospr, its autonomous multi-purpose orchard machine.
“Yamaha have also acquired an Australian agri-tech company The Yield, a digital data company. The opportunity now is to merge data insights with autonomous machines,” Saunders said.
He said the near decade transition from start-up to ownership by a large-scale Japanese company highlights what a longterm game agri-tech development is.
“The key for us has been about finding the
right capital and setting shared targets. We had a global view from day one, knowing you won’t get scale in NZ. Our purpose and goal has always been ‘How to solve NZ challenges’, but having to scale globally to make that achievable.”
One of Robotics Plus’s United States apple growing clients grows more apples than the entire NZ crop.
Saunders said Robotics Plus had always scaled its team up every year, expanding from 28 to 130 today including a large R&D team based in the Bay of Plenty rural district of Te Puna.
Robotics Plus initially focused on a robotic kiwifruit picking machine but the company soon recognised what a small portion of global fruit crop kiwifruit comprised.
It evolved into the Prospr machine, a multifunctional autonomous platform for varying orchard work. The company is building the machines at its Tauranga factory site, with the attachable spray equipment built by Croplands Australia.
The machines sell for between US$245,000 (NZ$428,000) and US$300,000 and four can be controlled by one person via phone or tablet.
Saunders acknowledged the support Robotics Plus has enjoyed over the years with grants from the likes of the recently extinct Callaghan Innovation fund, the Ministry for Primary Industries and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. He said the
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value of such funding agencies could not be underestimated.
ACC also invested in the company’s logscanner technology that removed the need for logging operators to make dangerous manual assessments of a truck’s log load.
“These grants have helped create a lot of
jobs and given NZ a lot of expertise.” He said the company remains committed to designing and manufacturing in NZ.
“Yamaha have recognised the talent that is here. We are not moving, our R&D remains here in NZ and we will continue to grow here.”
Workplace tests show uptick in opioid use
Neal Wallace PEOPLE Wellbeing
WORKPLACE drug testing has revealed 3.99% of samples taken in the last quarter of 2024 tested positive for the presence of drugs.
Cannabis was the most prevalent, accounting for 59.1% of cases but data released by the The Drug Detection Agency showed an increase in the use of amphetamine-type substances and opioids compared to the same quarter last year.
“This suggests shifting patterns in substance use that requires greater employer awareness and policy reinforcement, especially around nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals,” said Glenn Dobson, the chief executive of The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA).
Dobson said those living and working in the agricultural sector were similarly exposed to drug use but face additional pressures from living remotely, which can lead to mental health challenges and the use of drugs.
The 3.99% is down from 4.55% in the previous quarter, but testing rates reflect the volatility of the drug trade and the volume that makes it through customs, according to the TDDA. It notes that habits
can form over holiday breaks and continue when people are back at work, so the number of drug positive tests are likely to be higher in the next round of testing.
Wastewater testing reveals some rural communities have high drug use, which Dobson said can also be due to employment and socioeconomic pressures.
There has been anecdotal evidence that remote rural areas are favoured by methamphetamine manufacturers but Dobson said that, increasingly, ready-to-use drugs are being imported instead of made locally.
The report found amphetamine-type substances were detected in 24.4% of cases, up from 18.8% a year earlier, and opioids 12.1%, up from 11.9%.
The rates of other drugs detected were benzodiazepines at 3.5% and cocaine at 1.1%.
“The increase in amphetamine detections are a real issue, but opioid detections are what concerns me more,” said Dobson.
Globally the use of opioids is growing and can cause workplace accidents, long-term addiction and lead to the loss of life.
Opioids such as Tramadol can be legally prescribed by a doctor to control pain, but those using it need to be managed as it impairs the ability to function.
“Legally prescribed or illegally procured, they can cause workplace accidents, longterm addiction and lead to the loss of life in more ways than one,” said Dobson.
He recommends companies update their drug and alcohol policies to include stronger measures addressing opioids and amphetamines, train managers to recognise impairment, particularly the subtle signs of opioid use, and have regular and random drug testing to deter misuse and protect workplace safety.
Federated Farmers board member David Birkett said farmers and rural businesses are not immune from drug use and he urges farmers to assess whether to introduce testing as part of their health and safety plan.
“We’d certainly encourage farmers to look at drug testing as part of their health and safety plan for their business.”
TURNING JAPANESE: Robotics Plus co-founder Steve Saunders says the Japanese purchase reflects the strong partnership built with Yamaha since 2017.
TESTING: Farmers and rural businesses need to think about drug-testing staff, says Federated Farmers.
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Youngsters focus of mental health study
Annette Scott PEOPLE Wellbeing
GROWING and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of future farmers has been a key focus for a research partnership between Massey and Lincoln universities.
Over the past four years the two universities have shared research resources as they aimed to normalise the conversation around mental health to make a difference for young farmers and their wider rural communities.
The lead researchers – senior lecturer at Massey University’s School of Social Work Nicky Stanley-Clarke, and senior lecturer in the School of Agriculture and Environment Dr Chris Andrews – presented the findings during a recent forum at Lincoln University.
Throughout the four years key factors in mapping landscapes of support for rural young people have been to gain an understanding of the mental health needs of those 18-24 years of age in the agricultural sector; to undertake a review of the existing landscape of
support; identify where there may be gaps in support for barriers to accessibility; and identify recommendations for the role of industry partners in supporting young people in the farming sector.
Research revealed that while young farmers are more open to talking about mental health than previous generations, the statistics remain concerning.
Rural communities have a higher suicide rate than urban communities with rural mental health programmes aimed more at the farmer and farm owner.
Stanley-Clarke presented data in a rural context that revealed 25% of people who died by suicide on farms between 2007 and 2015 were farm labourers younger than 25 years old.
Few of these young people had contacted a doctor prior to their death or had any involvement in a mental health wellbeing programme.
Kicking off the research programme, WellMates – a resilience and positive mental health workshop for students from or engaged with the rural community – was developed in 2020 and delivered both in person
and as an online module.
“Engaging with support early allows for intervention and can save lives,” Stanley-Clarke said.
“Wellbeing education can develop lifelong skills for students that will build resilience, supporting them through tough times, while also learning what to do to support others.”
The programme had mixed results between the two universities.
WellMates increased student’s mental health knowledge and skills but while in-person delivery was highly effective at Lincoln, it was less effective at Massey, where the online programme, allowing the flexibility to engage at their own pace, in privacy, found more favour with students.
“The stigma about talking up in the classroom was a real learning for us, as was the differing culture between the two universities,” Andrews said.
Learnings showed that while stigma tops the barriers to engagement, it is dissolving.
Addressing stigma, driven by the prevailing attitude of “she’ll be right”, still endured.
Communicating across generations can go two ways –
RESILIENCE: Wellbeing education can develop lifelong skills for students that will build resilience, says Nicky Stanley-Clarke.
it can either create barriers or provide support.
Social connection is important.
Some great support services and programmes exist, “but are we doing enough? It would be good to capture those students that don’t make it through universities,” Andrews said.
“There are tens of thousands that don’t come through unis such as those that go through Primary Industry Training Organisations.
“We are now having those wider conversations.”
Stanley-Clarke said it is pleasing after four years to see the research is making a difference.
“We don’t have all the answers, we are open to ideas. We have just been doing some research in this much-needed space.”
The next steps include working with other agribusiness faculties to integrate findings into the curriculum or support services while continuing data analysis to monitor implications and assess key priorities towards extending the programme.
At FMG, we’re here to help dairy farmers stay informed and get ahead. That’s why along with offering useful advice and tips, we support dairy workshops and seminars happening right across the country Because at the end of the day, learning the latest techniques and developing new skills will help you make positive changes and better decisions So take the opportunity to stay ahead at a dairy event near you Head to fmg co nz/dairyevents to find out more.
here for
of
Photos: Annette Scott
STIGMA: Dr Chris Andrews says that while stigma about mental health tops the barriers to engagement, it is dissolving.
Wasps fly in by plane to attack pest
Rennie in Brisbane TECHNOLOGY Pests
CASTING thousands of parasitic wasp larvae from the sky has proven a saviour for Australian cotton growers affected by the voracious silverleaf whitefly.
New South Wales cotton farmer, agronomist and farm consultant Anna Madden and her husband Steve began trying to deal with the pest by getting up at 2am to cast the parasitoid wasp Eretmoncerus hyati in fields to combat whitefly.
Realising that their application method was not sustainable, they graduated to using drones. These, too, were limited in their effective coverage area, in this case to about 4000 hectares. They also ran into issues with irrigation timing and weather conditions.
“We realised we needed a way that could treat the 600,000ha of cotton grown every year in Australia,” Anna Madden told delegates at the trans-Tasman Brisbane Biological Symposium.
Cotton has become an increasingly important crop for Australia, comprising almost AU$3 billion in exports and making the country one of the world’s largest exporters. The area in cotton has grown tenfold in only five years.
As an industry it has been doubling down on efforts to reduce its environmental impact and that has included using GE BT-resistant cotton, and drawing on biological solutions to pest problems. The whitefly is a major pest for the sector, tainting blooming cotton with honey dew.
As the Crop Capsule company, the couple developed a broad acre solution for spreading the parasitoid wasp that attacks whitefly using specially developed biodegradable plastic capsules that hold the wasp larvae.
On distribution via a low-passing
light plane, the capsules always land the right way up. Their release is timed to be only hours before the larvae are due to hatch, after which they reproduce and proceed to target their prey or its eggs.
“The use of the biological control fits with the industry’s goal to reduce chemical use by 25% by 2025 and also fits well with cotton manufacturers’ own environmental goals,” said Madden.
As the couple work to develop the technology for application against other target pests, she said demand is likely to continue to rise for such biological controls.
The biologicals market is expected to be equal to the conventional market by 2043, experiencing annual compounding growth of 12%, compared to only 3% for conventional synthetic treatments.
But Madden also had some valuable insights as a farmer, agronomist and product developer for companies entering the biologicals market.
“Exciting research does not always translate into a viable product,” she cautioned.
“Cost effectiveness is crucial. If it’s too expensive it simply will not be taken up.”
Her product worked out cheaper than controlling the fly using
conventional spray compounds.
She said collaboration across all stages of development and commercialisation is critical, and education of growers is particularly challenging but vital to help farmers adopt the technology.
“They must be able to integrate into existing farming systems. You cannot expect farmers to change their system.”
Proactive timing when applying biologicals – applying before the problem manifests, not when it is visible – is one key area where biologicals differ from conventional crop treatments.
“They are different to standard industry chemicals approach,
and we had to work on this really hard.”
There is also an inordinately long time between discovery to final commercial approval that could be reduced, even in Australia. Meantime, at an operational level biological treatments have a short shelf life, making logistics and planning vital.
Like other players Madden called for a biologicals industry group to give the emerging sector more voice.
• Rennie travelled to the Brisbane Biological Symposium at evokeAG with support from Plant & Food Research.
Richard
PEST: Silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) is a major pest for the sector, tainting blooming cotton with honey dew. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
COTTON PICKIN’: As a farmer, agronomist and product developer, Anna Madden has some sharp insights on the challenges in developing an effective, affordable biological control product.
Queensland puts ag into overdrive
Richard Rennie NEWS Agriculture
QUEENSLAND’S primary sector is moving from strength to strength with its agricultural production now the largest by state in Australia. This year has the sector set to break another record, reporting AU$25 billion of earnings as the state government doubles down on a target of achieving AU$30bn earnings by 2030.
Addressing the Agriventures evokeAG conference in Brisbane, Queensland’s Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett said his government aims to supercharge the primary sector to make the state a national leader in primary production.
Late last year his government announced a state-first “sowing the seeds” fund of AU$30million aimed to boosting agritech innovation and development in the state, which is seven times the size of New Zealand and 2.5 times bigger than Texas.
“The fund will promote new tech and farming techniques, supporting the next generation of farmers, and boost agri tech adoption. We want our primary producers to achieve their best productivity with up-todate innovations,” he said.
The state support comes alongside grants from Australian’s enormous AU$5bn Future Drought Fund that kicked off in 2019. A condition of the fund was that at least AU$100million of grants be made every year to farmers and rural communities to increase their resilience to climate change.
A report released at the evokeAG conference also revealed Australia’s primary sector has enjoyed a lift in agritech funding investment of 140% since only 2022. Over 80% of the funding was directed to agri biotechnology, followed by novel farming systems.
Perrett predicted by 2030 one in three new jobs created in the state’s agri sector will be in new technology.
The state support comes alongside grants from Australian’s enormous AU$5bn Future Drought Fund.
He said the state’s diverse climate and productive farming systems have Queensland becoming a vast hub for agritech testing and proving. The state has a Smart Farms network that are test beds for new farming and supply chain practices and technologies to drive and support industry adoption.
With a population similar to NZ’s, seven times NZ’s land area and a GDP of NZ$550bn against NZ’s NZ$400bn for 2024, the state is enjoying solid growth with agriculture outperforming.
After coal and natural gas, beef was its highest earner for 2023-24, generating AU$6.7bn.
Meantime cotton has emerged as a valuable export crop, with land area nationally increasing almost tenfold in only five years, much of it within Queensland, where it generated AU$2bn income in 2023-
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24, close to the state’s sugar earnings.
But smaller crops in the horticultural sector are also enjoying strong growth with the likes of apples increasing 55% and grapes by 33% in the past year.
Queensland’s primary sector growth heads up the broader growth that Australia’s entire primary sector has enjoyed since the
devastating drought period that ended in 2020, with most regions enjoying relatively reliable rainfall.
A sector that was traditionally expected to generate about AU$60bn a year is poised to push over the AU$100bn earnings mark by 2030, meeting an Australian government goal.
Big turns to small in biological startup race
Richard Rennie in Brisbane TECHNOLOGY Agrichemicals
BIG agrichemical companies are struggling to find new actives to deal with a growing array of plant pests, with cost and timing also pushing the likelihood of discovery further out.
Adrian Percy, director of North Carolina State University’s plant science’s initiative, says regardless of whether the pest is fungal, insect or weed, companies are struggling to find new modes of action to work against them.
He was addressing delegates at the Brisbane Biological Symposium, focusing on the emerging biological crop treatments industry.
“Many do not make it out of early discovery phase. It takes US$300 million
WITHDRAWAL: Adrian Percy says conventional ‘big ag’ chemical companies have withdrawn from owning the early stage startup business involving biologicals, preferring to partner up in co-development.
and 10 to 15 years to get to market. Only companies with deep pockets and a high appetite for risk can make that commitment.”
He said Brazil is the one exception globally where biologicals have made an impact in terms of their development and uptake. Part of the problem for the rest of the world is that conventional synthetic chemical companies are big, and find it hard to move nimbly in such an emerging research area.
“It is hard to be both a cruise ship and a speed boat.”
Initially, large chemical companies were expected to take over small biological startups, but over time that has not manifested.
“Instead, they have opted to go via investment companies, such as Finestra.
“We are seeing that they are looking instead to take up the tech over time, or partner with them and co-develop the technology.”
His university’s research approach focuses on five areas relating to crop production, incorporating biotech science to improve productivity and resilience while reducing pesticide and fertiliser use.
He emphasised that his institution is also very focused on grower outreach and increasing the understanding of this emerging science and treatments among growers.
He sees RNAi tech as one of the most exciting emerging biological technologies, rapidly advancing in the United States and increasingly linked to precision fermentation, another emerging area of innovation.
At a time when New Zealand’s academic and government funding for science hangs in the balance, Percy said funding from those two will remain the sources for more innovation, particularly for early-stage ideas that in certain cases those institutions can take to market.
Meantime the conventional “big ag” chemical companies still have a definitive role to play. Their huge networks are a way to test and promote the treatments developed by their small-scale startup counterparts.
COOKING: While many Kiwis may be familiar with the Gold Coast, it is Queensland’s hinterland that is starting to generate serious export earnings for the state.
Photo: Pexels
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From the Editor
A new way to sell wool
Neal Wallace Senior reporter
WHEN Fonterra launched its Global Dairy Trade platform in July 2008 there were plenty of doubters who thought the co-operative would be too exposed, and prices would be depressed. That has not been the case and today the fortnightly auctions provide real-time market information on global dairy prices.
Generating new interest and establishing fair and competitive global prices are the goals of the new monthly global Natural Fibre Exchange (NFX) trading platform being established by Wools of NZ (WNZ). It will operate exactly as the Global Dairy Trade does and could disrupt the current dominance of the traditional auction system, which for decades has been the main barometer for establishing strong wool prices.
The auction system’s effectiveness has diminished as sheep numbers have fallen but also as prices have collapsed, prompting some crossbred wool farmers to
enter into direct supply, forward contracts or tender.
Others have sold to private buyers in what has effectively become a low-cost disposal system.
Ironically, given the decline in strong wool prices, WNZ says there is a shortage of quality shorter wool for carpet manufacturing as farmers watch costs and opt for eight- or 12-monthly shearing.
WNZ says NFX will expose its monthly offering to hundreds more potential customers than current auctions.
The company is also making the offering more attractive by collating wool of the same specifications into container-sized lots on behalf of growers.
Should it prove popular, a likely casualty from this market disruption will be wool brokers and other middlemen.
For decades the auction system has been the primary process for selling wool and brokers the conduit between farmers and buyers, providing feedback on market conditions and clip quality.
The primary questions growers will be asking is whether the NFX will improve prices and grow interest in strong wool.
Improving wool prices and thereby returning sheep to being a multi-purpose animal is the quickest way to lift sheep sector profitability, but after decades of little to no promotion of wool’s attributes, such investment is needed.
Should WNZ claims that the NFX
LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULT
More than 100 people responded to the poll, with almost three-quarters saying the big co-op should keep its consumer businesses.
This week’s poll question (see page 7): Have your say at farmersweekly.co.nz/poll Should New Zealand withdraw from the Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas reductions?
One voter said New Zealand is too small to lose that much direct contact with overseas customers. With what is going on in the world at present, we could be forgotten very quickly.
However, another thought that it’s inevitable Fonterra will eventually need to scale back its collection routes to remain viable. Some cash in hand would help push this event out further until small rural communities have had time to disperse and find alternative incomes.
will expose more soft floor-covering manufacturers to wool prove correct, that will certainly help.
While New Zealand wool is not on the same scale as the country’s dairy offering, making up 1-2% of global fibre, if it can secure a fraction of the economic activity the GDT has generated, it will provide a significant boost.
It will operate exactly as the Global Dairy Trade does and could disrupt the traditional auction system.
The NFX was developed by CRA International, which also developed the GDT, and since 2008 it has had customers and stakeholders across more than 60 countries generating trade worth $3.5-$5.2 billion a year.
Demand for wool carpets is growing.
In the 1990s wool carpets constituted about 95% of global soft floor coverings.
By 2021 that had fallen to between 10% and 15%, depending on the market, but latest data shows that has increased to 18-19%.
Whether or not a disruptor such as NFX will provide a further boost to carpet use, there will be much interest.
The one measure farmers will be watching, however, will be the price of wool.
Last week’s question: Do you support Fonterra’s plan to sell its consumer businesses?
Letters of the week Co-ops’ freeloader problem
Mike O’Connor
O’Connor Partners
ON FARMERSWEEKLY.CO.NZ last week, respected New Zealand agribusiness academics James Lockhart and Hamish Gow put the case for continued 100% farmer ownership of co-operative meat processor and exporter Alliance Group, under the headline “The true value of the co-operative”.
They argue that continued 100% farmer ownership of Alliance achieves significant outcomes for its farmer owners:
The first is that its return for red meat produces a benchmark against which all other meat companies in New Zealand must then compete (a competitive yardstick); this return by virtue of bundling the meat price and the dividend ought to be highly competitive in the medium to long term; members retain capital within the cooperative enabling them to operate seasonal production systems on farm by holding excess processing capacity off farm and the benchmark provided by the co-operative reduces financial risk across the industry – making it more bankable than would otherwise be the case.
They conclude that if farmers lose control of the co-operative then they “need only be paid enough for supply and nothing more”. They make an important point. Cooperatives form in the first place because like-minded individuals with common interests club together to take direct control of some part of the value chain that is important to them. The co-operative provides critical mass that enables its members to capture value that could not otherwise be captured by those individuals acting alone.
However, these clear benefits that cooperatives bring are difficult to contain only to their member-owners. This gives rise to a substantial freeloader problem. For example, I can supply milk or meat to any processor comfortable in the knowledge that the farmgate price I receive is effectively being set at the margin by the co-operative that can – as Lockhart and Gow point out – bundle its procurement prices and dividends. Moreover, I do not have to “share up” to enjoy that benefit.
The irony in this situation is that all farmers are better off by the presence of their co-operatives, but strong incentives exist for no single farmer to belong. Yet, if every farmer thought that way, there would be no co-operatives at all, and the benefits that the co-operatives otherwise bring would be lost to all. This phenomenon is called the Fallacy of Composition. I support Lockhart and Gow’s plea that farmers should support their co-operatives. If farmers do not, they risk returning to a time when they had little or no power to capture value for themselves.
For that support to materialise, all farmers must accept that they might have to pay something towards preserving their cooperatives and it is better that many pay a little rather than expecting a few to pay a lot and freeloading off their efforts.
Best letter
Friends behaving badly
Eating the elephant
Ben
lives in central Hawke’s Bay and farms deer, cows and trees. eating.the.elephant.nz@gmail.com
WE’VE all got them, or at least had them. Friends who have a habit of doing things we wish they wouldn’t. Perhaps they get mean with others. Perhaps they do silly stuff after a couple of pints. When we are young we are more tolerant of this kind of stuff, but as we become older, we end up making some choices. We either accept the behaviour, or call it out, or drift away.
On a global level it’s a bit more complicated. A long time ago I took a platoon of soldiers over to New Caledonia to train with the French army. This was the first time military relations with the French had occurred since the
bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.
As we were enjoying a meal and a beer at the end of a couple of good weeks’ training, one of the French directing staff came up to me and asked, “Do you remember how we swam with the compass to hold direction in the water?” I said I did.
“This is how my friend blew up your ship,” he said.
Until then I hadn’t really contemplated the big bad world I was living in. To be honest I was more interested in running around in it, chasing adventure and overseas allowances. Someone else could worry about the where and why.
The idea that a country who we had supported in two world wars could then blow up a vessel in one of our ports, before demanding we hand back the two shore agents we caught or lose it as a trading partner, was an eye-opening example of “hard power” politics.
The fact that the Lange government capitulated and handed back the agents in exchange for continued market access says as much about the vulnerability of New Zealand to foreign pressure as it does about the transactional nature of global affairs.
Today we are seeing what is probably one of the clearest examples of this, as the United States and Russia huddle together over the future of Ukraine.
Regardless of which narrative you choose to believe regarding the reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are some facts
that are indisputable. In 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Ukraine found itself the third largest nuclear power in the world.
In return for agreeing to denuclearise, Ukraine’s independence and security was guaranteed by the US, the United Kingdom and Russia in what is known as the Budapest Memorandum.
In 2014 Russia broke the agreement by occupying the part of Ukraine known as the Crimea, and in 2022 it attempted to seize the rest of the country by force.
For the past three years, Ukraine, with stuttering western support, has bravely defended itself, fighting tooth and nail for its independence against a vastly larger force. It could have capitulated, but it didn’t. Its president could have run, but he didn’t.
Russia has worked hard to justify its invasion, but the truth is as simple as President Vladimir Putin wanting to recapture a valuable land that he considers to be a rightful part of Russia.
And if Ukraine wasn’t winning, at least it was surviving. At least it was until Donald Trump was re-elected as US president. And now Ukraine is being sold out.
Under Trump’s leadership, the US reportedly intends to end its support for Ukraine, unless it is reimbursed to the sum of US$500 billion.
This is twice what it has actually spent in support of
a country we had supported in
world
blow up a vessel in one of our ports, before demanding we hand back the two shore agents we caught or lose it as a trading partner, was an eye-opening example of ‘hard power’ politics, writes
The shift from unconditional supporter to cold-blooded profiteer is breathtaking.
Ukraine, without any concrete guarantees for Ukrainian security going forward. The shift from unconditional supporter to coldblooded profiteer is breathtaking.
It’s hard to believe that the US has gone from a self-styled leader of the free world to an extortionist and an ally of the Kremlin in five short weeks.
It’s true that Europe can and should have done more to support Ukraine since the Russian invasion. Like many other US
allies, it has freeloaded off the US security umbrella for far too long. There are lessons to be learnt, but they don’t justify the betrayal of a country fighting for its life. I don’t know what will happen to Ukraine, but I do know what this new US approach to global security tells others. It tells China that the US will most likely not intervene if it invades Taiwan. It tells Russia that the US will probably stand on the sidelines if it wants to recapture other countries that used to form part of the USSR. It simply says “Help yourself”. It also tells New Zealand that Uncle Sam’s support is now available on “pay as you go” contracts. Our old friend is no longer who we thought they were, and the world is scarier for it.
Take the time to get GE balance right
In my view
Nathan Guy, Kate Acland, Tracy Brown and Kimberly Crewther
Guy is independent chair of the Meat Industry Association, Acland is the chair of Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Brown is chair of DairyNZ and Crewther is executive director of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand.
NEW Zealand stands at a crossroads in how we regulate gene technology. The reforms currently before Parliament’s Health Select Committee present a rare and overdue opportunity to shape our future.
Advances in gene technology have the potential to transform our food and fibre sector, helping us tackle some of the biggest challenges facing agriculture today. New gene technologies –especially the advent of particular kinds of targeted gene editing – have considerable potential. The rest of the world is moving to liberalise the regulation of gene technologies.
From reducing ruminant greenhouse gas emissions to improving plant and animal health and strengthening pest and disease control, these innovations could deliver real benefits. But for a country that relies so
LIMITED: New Zealand stands at a crossroads in how we regulate gene technology, say industry heavyweights, but ‘the rapid pace of the reform process has limited the ability to engage with farmers fulsomely on this key issue’.
heavily on its export reputation, it’s critical we get the settings right.
More than a third of New Zealand’s export revenue comes from dairy and red meat, making it crucial that any regulatory changes consider the implications for these industries.
Our export success is built on our reputation as a reliable and trusted trading partner with stringent government oversight.
Maintaining this trust is
paramount, and ensuring a robust, risk-based regulatory framework will support both market confidence and economic resilience.
The rapid pace of the gene technology reform process has limited the ability to engage with farmers fulsomely on this key issue.
Initial conversations indicate there is an opportunity to increase understanding of the technologies, the potential opportunities they
provide and managing the risks associated with gene technology to trade, people and the environment.
The engagement undertaken by our organisations so far indicates that farmers and processors are generally supportive of a review of legislation to enable the use of gene technology in New Zealand, provided those key risks are managed.
New Zealand pastoral agriculture is innovative and has always embraced new technologies.
But we have also heard that our farmers and members want to ensure that non-GMO farms can continue to co-exist alongside the use of new technologies, and that gene technology is able to be traced through the supply chain to meet customer requirements.
To achieve this, our organisations support implementing a risk-based regulatory regime that aligns with international standards while providing clear, sciencebased guidance on the use of gene technologies.
To strengthen the Gene Technology Bill and ensure a balanced approach, we are making recommendations to the Select Committee that seek to maximise the opportunities gene technology provides, while:
• Ensuring that potential risks to market access are considered
and managed within the regulatory framework to safeguard New Zealand’s global trade position.
• Strengthening decision making by the regulator when considering issues relevant to the primary sector by requiring these to be informed by expert advice.
• Providing options to enable coexistence of different farming systems and visibility across supply chains.
The dairy and red meat sectors are integral to New Zealand’s economy and way of life, employing more than 132,000 people – approximately 4.3% of the workforce – primarily in the regions. When our regions thrive, the entire country benefits.
We support the establishment of a robust regulatory framework that enables the responsible use of gene technologies while maintaining New Zealand’s reputation for premium, sustainable food production. By striking the right balance, we can harness innovation to address critical challenges while protecting our economic future.
It is critical that we take the time to get this right.
Ben Anderson
Anderson
HARD POWER: The idea that
two
wars could
Ben Anderson.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Sector Focus
Dynamic duo redefine the way they farm
PUSHING boundaries and challenging what’s possible is how dynamic duo Michael Phillips and Andrew Evans from Waka Dairies plan to become one of New Zealand’s leading producers.
The 650-cow dairy farm near Dannevirke also aims to sustain a business that produces food efficiently, improves their natural resources and creates a natural habitat.
Ten years ago the farm was out of balance and in comparison to today, it was overstocked, having to bring in too much feed and not producing enough of a profit to remain in business sustainably.
Phillips and Evans sat down nearly a decade ago and decided to “go big or go home”.
They decided to reshape the way they farmed.
“Big system changes like we have made here are not easy. They
come with plenty of challenges, but with the fantastic culture we have cultivated here at Waka Dairies, we are all able to sit down and tackle challenges head first together,” Phillips said.
Operating with a focus on the betterment of their taiao (environment), Waka Dairies developed its five key pillars of success: food, natural capital,
We knew we needed to once again make some serious changes to the herd’s diet.
Michael Phillips Waka Dairies
skills, culture and energy.
Going from 850 to 650 cows, selling off a low-returning run-off block and installing a massive 60m x 90m composting barn were just some of the changes they have made to their operation.
The composting barn has
become a big part of Waka Dairies’ toolbox, producing both highquality fertiliser and better welfare outcomes. One major impact this barn has had is a massive decrease in the calf mortality rates at calving time, down to less than 1%. The herd calves inside the barn in a warm and dry environment.
The herd improvement isn’t just limited to the environmental factors, though.
For Evans, his herd’s nutrition is his biggest passion. Ensuring the herd is fully fed every day is critical and Waka Dairies operates a policy of no hungry days.
“We don’t just let them fully feed on grass to a point where they are excessively excreting nitrogen; we only feed the highest quality supplements to our herd, and we constantly test to see their mineral levels,” Evans said.
The herd is performing well and production has lifted from 450kgMS/cow 10 years ago to 650kgMS/cow. With eight fulltime employees, Waka Dairies now grows 90% of its feed on the farm and, using a state-of-the-art feeding shed, delivers the right diet at the right time of year.
Waka Dairies farm has an exdairy processing plant out the front and has had years of whey being spread onto the pasture, producing pastures with Olsen levels ranging from 90 to 300. This was causing a lot of milk fever. The team was spending countless hours and resources treating sick cows, which took a toll on both their bottom line and their sanity.
“We knew we needed to once again make some serious changes to the herd’s diet. Through collaborating with Sollus, we gained access to an expert ruminant nutritionist Dr Joe McGrath,” Phillips said.
“We tweaked the cows’ mineral diet, introducing lime flour, and the results were nothing short of transformative.
“We went from dealing with 1520 cases of milk fever per day to maybe 10 per year.”
The dairy’s overall herd health and productivity have soared.
“The difference is night and day,” Evans said.
“We’re growing more grass, getting more out of our cows and running a much tighter, more efficient operation.
“Here at Waka Dairies, we’re all about reaching our true potential,” Phillips said.
“Through continuous evaluation and with the support of our trusted industry partners, there isn’t anything we couldn’t achieve.”
SCAN ME
Joshua Herbes ON FARM Dairy
PRIDE: Michael Phillips left, and Andrew Evans standing proud under the shelter of their composting barn. Photos: Yield Marketing
MIXING IT UP: Compost in Waka Dairies’ composting barn is turned before the herd comes in to shelter in the heat of the day.
‘I really enjoy the way New Zealand farms’
LIVING in Southland’s
Balfour,, half an hour from the nearest town, has brought a new level of planning and logistics for Carmen Tromp – a far cry from the quick pushbike ride to the local store she was used to back home.
However, forgetting a few groceries now and then feels like a small price to pay for the freedom and stunning landscapes of her new life in New Zealand, which this Dutch lass has come to love.
“I love everything about New Zealand!” Tromp said. “The freedom, the space, the scenery, it’s great! Everything is so amazing compared to the flat country I come from in Holland.”
It was a Facebook post in a Dutch genetics group that piqued her interest. She initially came over for a three-month gig during
calving that could extend to a year. Over two and a half years later she’s gunning for residency so she can call New Zealand home permanently.
“I really enjoy the way New Zealand farms,” Tromp said. “The seasonal concept gives you a bit more freedom over summer and winter, and it’s really interesting to learn how we do things here.”
Everything is so amazing compared to the flat country I come from.
She didn’t grow up farming, but she had many farming friends, and by the time she finished school, she was convinced she wanted to be involved in dairy farming. She studied agriculture, so when the opportunity came up to experience
New Zealand dairying, she jumped at it.
She started on a 580-cow farm in Balfour owned by the Blom family and managed by Nick Blom. And because she had done an artificial insemination course back home she picked up some AI assist work in Omarama between a couple of stints with the Bloms.
Now, she is on Glendhu Dairies, a 1500-cow farm with two new wintering barns, owned by the Duff family.
“It was a big jump coming to New Zealand since the farming is so different here, and our average herd size in the Netherlands is only 200 cows, so it was an even bigger jump going to 1500 cows!
“But I have enjoyed returning to the familiar system of using barns.”
The farm has an 80-bale rotary, and the cows are run in three herds across 550 hectares. There is also a neighbouring support block
for silage, and they’re growing some maize for the first time.
“The cows calve outside, and during lactation, they go into the barn every day for at least an hour to get a range of feed, including minerals.”
Tromp has immersed herself in the local community as an active
member of Balfour Young Farmers.
She’s a Teen Ag liaison, keeping in touch with local schools to encourage kids to go farming.
“Hopefully, I can show them that you can make your dreams come true even if you don’t come from a farming background.”
She escapes some of the winter each year to visit her family and friends back home. Her parents recently ventured to NZ for the first time. “They think it’s amazing here and can totally understand why I want to stay here now.”
In her free time, Tromp and her partner, Mikey Garvey, an Irishman who moved to NZ six years ago, love getting off the grid four-wheel driving and camping. One of her favourite experiences was a twoweek road trip around the South Island, camping everywhere.
She’s pretty excited to embrace further opportunities in New Zealand.
“Hopefully, I’ll get into artificial inseminating here and just see what life brings.
“Moving to the other side of the world was scary. I gave up a lot, but I’ve got a lot back too, and it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made!”
Samantha Tennent PEOPLE Dairy
PARTNER: Carmen Tromp met her partner, Mikey Garvey, through New Zealand Young Farmers. He is also a migrant who has fallen in love with the New Zealand landscape.
CLUB: Joining the local New Zealand Young Farmers club has provided Carmen Tromp with ample opportunities for activities and to meet people.
STAYING: Once her parents visited New Zealand, they understood why Carmen Tromp is so determined to stay here.
Carmen Tromp Balfour
Milk price hedging at farmers’ fingertips
NEWS Finance
AIRY farmers are to be offered
DMilk Price Protection through their Figured farm financial management platform, the largest in use by farmers and their accountants.
The MPP product, said Figured, can help manage milk price volatility and protect farm income.
Figured has teamed up with StoneX, a global agricultural risk management firm, to offer what it calls a locked-in minimum farmgate milk price with upside flexibility. It works with a dairy Put Option managed by StoneX while Figured integrates the MPP solution into the individual farmers’ financial information, helping to make informed and personalised decisions, it said.
Less than 20% of New Zealand milk production is price protected.
Like an insurance premium, farmers pay up front to secure a minimum milk price for all or some of their production up to three seasons in the future.
If market prices fall below that level they are protected and compensated, whereas if prices rise they can still benefit.
Figured chief financial officer Chris Lowe said a milk price calculator enables farmers to explore options, speak with advisers, estimate premiums and compare market outcomes.
The cost of the MPP tool depends on market conditions, milk production volume and the chosen minimum price.
Farmers can fund their premium using Figured Lending and structure repayments to match cash flow.
To qualify and participate, farmers must be wholesale investors, which includes a requirement to have $5 million in net assets.
StoneX has over 400,000 retail clients and operates on 40 exchanges, including direct clearing with all dairy exchanges globally.
It has been involved with NZX dairy derivatives since 2010 when that exchange began.
Figured said it has focused on making the process accessible and user-friendly
across its already huge field of partners and customers.
Figured is the largest financial management platform in NZ and Australia and has 6500 NZ dairy farms as customers, producing over a billion kilos of milksolids annually.
In a nutshell, farmers are buying the option to sell at a certain milk price but not the obligation.
Matt Manning StoneX
StoneX dairy derivatives broker Matt Manning, a Kiwi, said the structure of the NZ dairy industry, with Fonterra’s farmgate milk price benchmarking and Figured’s reach, make this MPP launch a worldwide pioneering event.
“What Figured offers by way of data and financial records, along with the modelling software, makes NZ an ideal place in which to offer price hedging.
“MPP works on the revenue side, while the Figured rural professionals help put all the costs and context in front of the farmer.”
He said the sellers of the Put Options that farmers are buying are existing institutional customers of StoneX, including some international dairy companies.
“In a nutshell, farmers are buying the option to sell at a certain milk price but not the obligation.”
New ear tag tech can send a ‘calf SOS’
Staff reporter TECHNOLOGY
Animal welfare
NEW ear tag technology has been launched in New Zealand to help monitor the welfare of heifer replacements from birth.
Youngstock is the latest extension from SenseHub Dairy, MSD Animal Health technology used by hundreds of New Zealand dairy farmers to monitor cow health and mating management.
Youngstock was launched in 2023 and is already operating on farms in 29 countries outside New Zealand, where calves are typically reared in individual calf enclosures.
Following development of the software over the past year in this country and testing on four large dairy farms last spring, Youngstock is now ready for use on local dairy farms where calves are mostly reared in larger groups.
This year it will also be launched in Ireland, where calves are reared and farmed in conditions similar to New Zealand.
Dairy farms using Youngstock will fit their heifer replacement calves with an ear tag with the same data monitoring capabilities as a SenseHub Dairy cow collar. The tag constantly collects data on the movement, suckling time and rumination of each calf through the rearing phase and after weaning.
Changes in behaviour outside each calf’s baseline data triggers an alert to a computer and mobile phone application, and to an LED light in each calf’s tag which flashes at specific times to indicate the calf needs attention.
so calf-rearing staff can intervene quickly to investigate.
He expects the new technology to appeal to those operating larger scale dairy herds where two or more rotations of calves are reared through the same facilities.
“Typically, rearing on those larger operations is done by short-term workers who are handling large numbers of calves and they sometimes struggle to pinpoint calves that are having a bad day.”
Heffernan said dairy farmers and staff understandably focus a lot of attention on their milking herd.
“What Youngstock helps them do is to put quality time into making sure all their replacement calves are performing as they should by reducing the time spent identifying calves that need attention and doing it early so the recovery time is usually quicker,” he said.
MSD Animal Health veterinarian Penny Mehrtens said when calves are compromised during the rearing phase, the knock-on effect on lifetime milk production, mating success and retention in the herd can be massive.
“There is lots of peer-reviewed trial work, including by Congleton in 1988, that confirms heifer calves that are lighter at their first mating calve later at lighter weights, and produce less milk in their first lactation,” she said.
SenseHub national commercial manager Austin Heffernan said the trial farmers confirmed Youngstock is accurate for detecting calves that are “having a bad day”,
Heffernan said the development of wearables like SenseHub Dairy collars highlights the depth of information available on cows and the value it delivers to dairy farms from extra milk production and less stress on owners and staff.
Hugh Stringleman
RISK MANAGEMENT: Chris Lowe, left, from Figured and Matt Manning from StoneX are holding seminars to introduce the Milk Price Protection product.
MONITOR: SenseHub Youngstock comes with a phone application that pinpoints calves having a ‘bad day’. Photo: Supplied
Fonterra considers organic for S Island
Gerhard Uys NEWS Dairy
FONTERRA is considering expanding organic milk production to the South Island.
Fonterra GM organics Andrew Henderson told Farmers Weekly that the co-op is in the early stages of exploring the potential to expand its organic milk collection and processing to the South Island.
Henderson said the co-op’s organics business has been running since 2002 and continues to grow in supply, product range and value.
“Over the last four years the programme has more than doubled in size and currently includes more than 100 farms.
“Today, the business is in a strong position. We continue to make the most of market conditions, including strong consumer demand as well as supply constraints globally.
“Long-term demand projections for organic dairy ingredients currently exceed our supply growth projections.
“Organic farmers earn a premium, and there’s also a benefit to all Fonterra farmers because around 20% of the programme’s revenue goes back to the co-op as a contribution to shared overheads and earnings,” Henderson said.
“More work is needed to determine whether there is sufficient supply interest in the right areas to enable efficient processing and to evaluate the investment needed to enable organic milk segregation and processing in the South Island.
“The midpoint for the forecast 2024-25 Organic Milk Price is $11.40 per kgMS, with a forecast range of at $10.90-$11.90, $11.40 is a record forecast price for our organic suppliers.
“There are several certifications required for farmers to achieve full organic certification and enable Fonterra to fully use its milk in the range of markets we export to, including USA, Canada, Europe, China and South Korea.
“Some of the characteristics of an organic farm include focusing more on preventative cow health rather than treatment, and switching from synthetic herbicides and fertilisers to an increasing number of natural alternatives.”
Henderson said global demand is growing as consumers are prepared to pay a premium for organic products.
According to a Euromonitor report, the global organic dairy market is currently valued at around US$27 billion and growing at 6% year on year, projected to reach around US$65bn by 2033.
Liquid milk, fresh and UHT, is the largest single segment of the organic dairy market, but there is significant growth in organic ingredient demand including butter, cheese, milk powders and proteins.
A Fonterra spokesperson said the co-op is still focused on expanding the North Island’s organic milk supply.
Southland dairy farmer Dylan Ditchfield said because he has followed a regenerative approach to milk production for the past seven years, he would consider transitioning to supplying organic milk if the opportunity presented itself.
“As time has gone on we’ve become more aware of food integrity. We try to focus on producing food that is less chemical and fertiliser intensive and to develop pastures that are more nutrient dense, which
then flows through into the milk that we produce,” Ditchfield said.
Ditchfield said farmers on a System 1, 2 or 3 should find it easier to transition to organic production.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to add another alternative to dairy farmers in Southland. It’s an opportunity for them to deliver their end product into markets that align with their values,” Ditchfield said.
MAKE THE CHANGE:
if the opportunity to supply organic milk in the South Island presents itself he will consider transitioning to organic systems.
Southland dairy farmer Dylan Ditchfield says
Photo: Gerhard Uys
Stack new tech for a profitable future
Hugh Stringleman TECHOLOGY Dairy
NEW Zealand dairying has extraordinary opportunities over the next decade for productive growth and good environmental outcomes, farming leader Andy Macfarlane says.
Keynote speaker to the annual Northland Dairy Farmers Conference, he began with global positioning, climate change and trading surpluses over the next 10 years.
Macfarlane is a director of Fonterra in his last year on the board, a senior farm adviser in Canterbury and very experienced dairy, deer and arable farmer.
“As we look at climate scenarios, NZ is the best place in the world for low volatility,” he said.
“However, NZ is not a climate island as global issues will affect our most valuable customers and they will want NZ to be part of the solutions.
“We are totally dependent on the quality of our trade deals and geopolitical risk is creeping into
step change in beef productivity he has seen in 25 years.
economic predictability for our producers.”
Macfarlane listed the imported issues that can be trade barriers or opportunities: deforestation, biodiversity, carbon accounting,
animal welfare, labour rights, gene technology and the age of processing calves for beef.
The big regulatory issues in NZ at present include nitrates, E coli, sediment, phosphate, water use and consent complexity and longevity.
He provided examples of new on-farm technologies that can be rolled out across the country to boost productivity and tackle these issues.
Precision soil testing and fertiliser application shows Olsen phosphate variation from 11 to 38 in just one flat Canterbury paddock.
Farmers can tackle soil compaction with stand-off pads, Herd Homes, settled cows and virtual fencing.
They can also save water and reduce energy usage with underground drip irrigation 300mm deep instead of pivots.
Deeper rooting grasses have potential to use more of the nutrients as they go down the soil profile.
“In Denmark they have developed turf grasses with roots up to 750mm deep instead of our
The economy and tariffs: gently does it
Hugh Stringleman NEWS Trends
INFLATION is back in the box and farm costs have stabilised, Infometrics managing director and principal economist Brad Olsen told farmers. He was speaking at the Northland Dairy Conference after a weekend back with his family at Ngunguru, near Whangārei.
At 2.2% currently, two components of GDP inflation –overseas-sourced tradables and goods – have fallen below the Reserve Bank’s guidelines, while the domestic non-tradables and services will take longer to ease.
On the eve of a 50 basis-point cut in the Official Cash Rate, Olsen suggested that the fall in interest rates through the year may not be as fast and far as earlier thought.
“We may be closer to the bottom of the cycle, as in the past two months some costs have pushed up and overseas inflation expectations are a bit higher.
“Don’t expect the 2% base rate of pre-covid; we think the Goldilocks zone is closer to 3% and the top of the Reserve Bank band for GDP.”
He said New Zealand’s exchange rate is 10% lower than two months ago. While great for exporters and farmers, everything we buy from overseas is now 10% more expensive.
More Chinese won’t be able to afford our products because they are out of work.
Brad Olsen Infometrics
“We know that cutting interest rates takes a year or 18 months to work, so will the Reserve Bank find in early 2026 that it has overcooked and needs to raise rates again?”
Farm costs are 28% higher than pre-pandemic but they have plateaued in the past nine months and eased slightly as interest rates fall.
“We are not seeing any additional pressure but we are still looking for the new normal.”
Olsen cautioned against being over-optimistic about the economic picture.
“It was badder and now it’s not as bad, and it’s better but it’s not good.”
Liquidations are up 37% in 2024 but 2500 out of 2 million businesses is not a disaster.
Spending has picked up 2% above the low point last July, but
ryegrass only 300mm – we can get those modified genes into pasture species.”
Perennial ryegrass with higher lipids and metabolisable energy would have proven environmental benefits in greenhouse gas mitigation and less nitrate leaching.
Gene editing of endophytes could reduce insect pest damage and the need for spraying, improve animal health and provide potential methane mitigation.
Lower methane pastures, forages and supplementary crops may substantially lift farm productivity but are probably still 10 years from market, Macfarlane said.
The rate of genetics progress in dairying could be doubled by using sexed female semen to the top 60% of cows followed by sexed male beef semen to the bottom 40%.
Macfarlane said the use of the top Dairy-Beef Progeny Trial sires available through AI is the first step change in beef productivity he has seen in 25 years.
Rumen bolus and wearables can measure heat stress, cycling, feed conversion and emissions.
As we look at climate scenarios, NZ is the best place in the world for low volatility.
Andy Macfarlane Fonterra
What if reverse osmosis was downscaled to the farm to take out water from milk before it is tankered to the dairy factory, he asked.
When these new technologies and environmental improvements are stacked up and verified it gives Fonterra and other agricultural exporters positioning power.
“The good news is that high productivity strongly correlated to good environmental outcomes and farm profitability but also gives Fonterra the confidence to invest in a future supply chain delivering returns well above the milk price.
“I am prepared to invest outside the farm gate with shares in Fonterra, knowing that my return on capital exceeds the cost,” he concluded.
that can be attributed to lower interest rates.
The unemployment rate is over 5% but filled jobs were up 0.3% in December from their October lows.
“Our exchange rate is the lowest
since 2011 but that is all to do with the United States, not us.”
Inflation-adjusted commodity prices are now a little too high but Olsen thinks it unlikely they will fall steeply, rather a gradual curve downwards.
CHANGE: Andy Macfarlane says the use of the top Dairy-Beef Progeny Trial sires available through AI is the first
Photo: File
SHINING LIGHT: Principal economist Brad Olsen, Infometrics, sums up the state of the economy for Northland farmers.
Tap into ‘huge’ opportunity
If the numbers stacked up to invest right now in one simple thing to produce 10% more milk or meat in 2025/26, would you do it?
Or would you let the opportunity pass you by?
That’s the challenge to farmers from one expert this autumn as the cumulative effect of two years of low pasture renewal takes hold. It’s not always obvious when you’re looking at your paddocks every day. But many farms are growing less feed and more weeds than they should be.
With no intervention, the decline will continue next season.
“It’s a bit like a child you don’t see very often ‘suddenly’ growing up between visits, only this is the other way round,” says Graham Kerr, pasture specialist for Barenbrug.
“Pastures that used to be in great shape are now going backwards, and taking farm productivity with them.
“Because it’s happened gradually, often farmers don’t realise how much yield and quality they’ve lost.”
Having travelled the country in recent months, he’s seen a lot of paddocks that are perfect contenders for undersowing this autumn, particularly where it’s got dry.
“This is an ideal option to restore pasture productivity as it’s fast, straightforward and relatively low cost.
“And direct drilling new seed into thin, open paddocks has minimal disruption on farm operations.”
You can get your contractor to do it the same time as seed is sown after any summer crops. And if you use quality seed, and the right cultivar, undersown paddocks will
improve farm production for the next three to five years.
“There’s a huge opportunity here for many farmers this autumn,” Graham says.
Depending on the situation you can add 10% to total farm productivity in terms of pasture dry matter, with the extra benefit of increasing pasture ME by 0.5-0.8 for better utilisation and animal performance, he says.
“This autumn is the chance to turn things around, and set the farm up for improved growth in 2025/26 and beyond.”
Several factors have contributed to low
levels of pasture renewal in the past two years, including high interest rates, low lamb prices and volatile dairy returns.
The fact remains, however - without thriving pasture, costs rise and profits fall.
“Grown, grazed, re-grown, and grazed again, pasture is the magic gift that keeps giving. If we look after it, it will look after us,” Graham says.
However he stresses that undersowing has to be done right to succeed.
“You need open pasture with bare ground for the new seedlings to germinate; if
paddocks are too thick with weeds or low value grass species, it won’t work.”
In these situations, other options are spraydrilling, cultivating paddocks for renewal, or sowing forage crops.
“The beauty of undersowing however is speed and simplicity, plus its relatively low cost and minimal disruption to the rest of the farm system. So check your pastures now, and if they fit the bill for undersowing, get ready to make the most of it.
“It will give farm performance a real shot in the arm.”
When it comes to inves ting in pas ture, cheaper isn’t bet ter Take the risk out of your pas ture renewal and get the bes t return by sowing a proven, qualit y produc t from Barenbrug
A sk your reseller, or learn more at barenbrug co nz
Undersow to revitalise farm productivity this autumn.
Roll up for bigger, even better SIDE
Staff reporter
REGISTRATION is open for the South Island Dairy Event 2025, taking place on April 7- 9 in Timaru.
The farmer-run event promises a lineup of workshops designed to tackle the issues that matter most to today’s dairy farmers.
“This isn’t just another industry gathering; it’s about revolutionising how we think, operate, and innovate in dairy,” said event co-chair Abby Rawcliffe.
“We’re bringing in experts from beyond agriculture – like Olympic champion Emma Twigg and leading economist Cameron Bagrie – to challenge perspectives and drive meaningful change on farms.”
This year’s programme features a diverse lineup of speakers covering leadership, farm performance, and cutting-edge innovations.
As well as Twigg and Bagrie, keynote speakers include Dr Ellen Ford, sharing insights on leadership under pressure, and Sam Owen, offering a unique perspective as both a farmer and educator.
“The impact of SIDE extends far beyond the event itself,” said event co-chair Myfanwy Alexander.
“These sessions are not just about learning. They’re about transformation. Attendees walk away with actionable insights that create real change on farms.”
The event will have an array of workshops tackling issues confronting South Island dairy farmers today, and include exploring technological advancements like DNA
insights in advancing dairy beef production and mastering mastitis management through farmer-driven approaches.
Attendees will also delve into elevating financial performance and using technology to offer actionable strategies for achieving on-farm gains.
New this year, the Science & Technology session will feature six presentations showcasing the latest innovations in agritech, science, and sustainability. Designed to unlock those crucial 1% performance gains, this session will equip farmers with practical strategies to boost efficiency and resilience in an evolving industry.
This is about revolutionising how we think, operate, and innovate in dairy.
“Every small gain on our farms contributes not just to individual success, but to the strength of the entire sector,” said Alexander.
“It’s time to embrace the science that drives progress.”
BrightSIDE, a one-day event designed for students, young farmers, and those considering a career in the dairy industry, is included as part of SIDE on Tuesday, April 8.
The program provides participants with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience and insights from industry professionals
through practical workshops and conversations with those already working in the industry.
As part of its commitment to supporting young people in the industry, BrightSIDE is also offering scholarships of up to $3000 for past attendees pursuing further
education or training in agriculture.
“Investing in young people is key to the future of dairy,” said Rawcliffe.
“By providing hands-on learning opportunities and financial support, we hope to encourage more people to consider a career in the industry.”
Time to improve your herd
Staff
reporter TECHNOLOGY Genetics
WITH a higher forecast payout, falling interest rates and renewed confidence in the dairy industry, farmers can move beyond day-to-day survival and plan how they can improve their herd long term.
That’s the focus of CRV’s Better Herd onfarm events, beginning this week at eight locations across New Zealand.
Now in their third year, the events bring together local farmers and CRV experts to share practical insights and advice on breeding more productive, efficient and sustainable herds. They begin at Martinborough on March 5.
“With a stronger payout forecast and better mating results this season, farmers have more flexibility to make strategic breeding decisions,” said CRV managing director James Smallwood.
we can give farmers access to the right solutions and support to help them build more productive, lower-emission herds faster. For those committed to the Co-operative Difference, this is a great opportunity to strengthen their herd with funding support from Fonterra.”
CRV myHERD Testing data shows that the top 25% of cows in every herd produce, on average, 165 kgMS more per season than the bottom 25%, while Fonterra data highlights that these top cows are over 16% more methane efficient per kgMS than the bottom 25%.
The timing for herd improvement couldn’t be better. Fine weather and good feed levels have meant this season has provided some of the best mating conditions in years.
Early data from CRV showed a 4.3% increase in non-return rates compared to last year, with cows mated using sexed semen achieving an 8.4% year-on-year improvement.
“Now is the time to focus on where replacements are coming from, improve herd fertility, and use the right genetics to strengthen herd performance and capitalise on the record payout.”
CRV is working with Fonterra through its Co-operative Difference programme to make herd testing and genetic tools such as DNA testing more affordable and accessible, helping farmers improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
Smallwood said despite the benefits, for many farmers, the cost of these types of tools and services can be a barrier to making improvements.
“By working together across the industry,
SHARING: CRV managing director James Smallwood says events such as this one in Southland last year bring together local farmers and CRV experts to share practical insights and advice.
Photo: Supplied
With more farmers using sexed semen, the top 20% of cows are being selected for replacements, while conventional semen and beef genetics are being used more strategically across the herd.
Along with advice from CRV experts, farmers at the events will get a first-hand look at a local farmer’s herd-improvement journey. The events will also provide an opportunity for farmers to exchange ideas, learning what’s working for others and what could work for them.
MORE: CRV’s Better Herd events are free to attend, with lunch included. For more details and to register, visit https://crv4all.co.nz/nz/service/events-2.
OVERSEE: SIDE co-chair Abby Rawcliffe supervises the Synlait calving simulator during last year’s BrightSIDE event. Photo: SIDE
Abby Rawcliffe SIDE
Demand in focus as production spills over
Several factors continue to make for an interesting dairy season wind-down.
Sector perspective
FEBRUARY, though a quieter period in the dairy season, was far from uneventful.
New Zealand’s milk production exceeded expectations in January, Global Dairy Trade (GDT) events saw contrasting results, and milk
price futures for the 2025/26 season reached NZ$10/kgMS. Meanwhile, national dairy exports increased by 9.6% year on year (YoY) for the month.
New Zealand’s latest milk production data showed significant growth in January, with milksolids output up 5.0% YoY to 211.85 million kg – far surpassing NZX’s forecast of 0.8% growth. This marks the highest January output since 2021 and brings the seasonto-date increase to 3.9% YoY. On a tonnage basis, production rose by 2.6% YoY to 2.39 million tonnes, 0.6% above the five-year average. Milk production in other key dairy regions showed mixed results.
Argentina and Uruguay reported YoY growth in January, up 5.6% and 2.2%, YoY respectively. The United States and Europe’s latest reports have been pretty flat. The US saw only marginal YoY growth of 0.1% in their reported January milk production and Europe 0.3% for December.
Meanwhile Australia reported a -1.0% YoY decline for the same month.
GDT auctions fluctuated throughout the month. Event 373 saw the overall price index rise by
3.7%, driven by whole milk powder (WMP) increasing 4.1%, skim milk powder (SMP) up 4.7%, and lactose surging 17.7%.
However, the momentum softened at Event 374, where the price index dipped by -0.6%, primarily due to SMP falling -2.5%. Despite this, butter rose 2.2%, and WMP saw only a slight decline of -0.2%.
These GDT movements, particularly after Event 373, contributed to milk price futures hitting the $10 mark for the first time in the 2025/26 season (MKPU26), while the 2024/25 (MKPU25) contract traded as high as $10.20. This provided farmers with a strong opportunity to secure future pricing.
For those looking to manage price risk, the NZX dairy derivatives team, in collaboration with SGX Commodities, Fonterra’s Farm Source and Rabobank, will be offering free milk price hedging workshops across New Zealand in March and May.
New Zealand’s strong dairy export performance was evident in January’s trade data. Total dairy exports rose 9.6% YoY to 386,420 tonnes, with export value surging by 29.6% to US$1.63 billion –
INCREASE: China, New Zealand’s largest dairy export market, reported a 17.3% increase in total dairy imports for December.
the highest monthly total since December 2022. High commodity prices for milk powders and milk fats were key drivers of this increase. With the exception of anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and buttermilk powder (BMP), all major dairy product categories saw export growth.
China, New Zealand’s largest dairy export market, reported a 17.3% increase in total dairy imports for December, with the value of imports rising 31.2% YoY. This was largely driven by SMP imports, which climbed 42%, and butter, up 39%.
Among other major dairyexporting regions, Australia was the only one to report growth, with December exports rising 27.7% YoY.
January exports dropped -17.4% YoY.
New Zealand continues to see strong dairy demand from key markets in southeast Asia and the Middle East. However, the recent resurgence in Chinese buying has been instrumental in maintaining price momentum.
As the season winds down, attention will turn to whether demand remains steady through to the start of the new season. China’s appetite for dairy products, particularly powders, has helped sustain the market, but demand is expected to ease as stock levels build.
The US recorded a -1.2% decline in December, while Europe’s exports fell -6.0%, and Argentina’s
Additionally, factors such as China’s internal economic conditions, domestic milk production trends, and the impact of new US tariffs will play a crucial role in shaping market dynamics over the coming months.
Cristina Alvarado Alvarado is NZX head of Dairy Insights
Pāmu methane research up and running
Gerald Piddock TECHNOLOGY Emissions
PĀMU’S new methane research facility in northeastern Taupō will play a key role in finding ways for the primary sector to reduce its animal emissions.
The facility at its St Kilda farm was built in September last year and has a large open barn subdivided into two pens with races running its length.
Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie said the facility will allow its breeding company, Focus Genetics, to develop its lowmethane beef and incorporate it into its dairy beef strategy.
The two pens are capable of housing up to 40 cattle and are equipped with feeders and water troughs. Both are equipped with sensors that measure an individual animal’s weight, feed efficiency and methane output.
Pāmu held an open day at the farm in early February, when staff and industry guests outlined the facility’s purpose and gave insight into the science and benefits that could come from the research.
After initial testing, the facility has a mob of dairy replacement heifer calves that are in their fifth week of a seven-week feed
METHANE: One of the dairy replacement heifer calves at Pāmu’s new methane research facility farm eats from a special feeder that measures the animal’s methane output.
intake study involving Fonterra’s probiotic Kowbucha product.
Facility manager Robyn Hirst said the initial results are that the calves are growing well, weighing 150-220kg,
The study is looking at how the calves respond to the food being offered.
That information, including the methane that is released, is captured from what the calves eat from 10 special bins attached to the side of the pen.
The bins are designed so only one animal at a time can feed from them. When its head enters the bin, sensors read the animal’s EID tag and measure the methane it emits.
It takes 24 minutes for the machine to measure the methane. To keep the calf in the machine, a sensor reads the calf’s EID tag and dispenses pellets from a hopper every 30 seconds.
That can happen five times a day per calf. Hirst said six weeks are needed because it gives them enough time to validate the methane readings.
The lucerne baleage feed is weighed and that information is transmitted to the animal’s tag. From there, the information is sent to a web interface.
Researchers also get daily reports showing the animal’s feed
data we can use to work out which animals are the most efficient in terms of their feed intake, but also in terms of how much methane they are producing.”
The drinking trough is equipped with scales and that data is calculated back to an average body weight.
intake and weight gain.
“Methane is closely related to feed intake so, loosely, the more she eats, the more methane she produces to break it down,” Hirst said.
“Measuring methane and the other gases alongside that gives us
“The take-home message is why wouldn’t we want to have animals in our herds or flocks that are more efficient?
“You have a limited resource in terms of nutrition, why wouldn’t you want to have an animal that’s better at growing – producing meat or milk on a least amount of feed?”
Hirst expects the first results to be available sometime in March.
The head of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ accelerating new mitigation technologies programme, Kelly Forster, said the facility will help New Zealand meet its obligations in the global effort to reduce climate change.
In terms of NZ’s trade drivers, the key free trade agreements NZ has signed with the European Union and the United Kingdom contain sustainability requirements.
“That wasn’t something NZ
offered up because we thought we were great. It was something we had to do in order to get those agreements across the line and we will be held to that.
“They will use those requirements as a barrier to trade if we are not seen to be delivering on them.”
Forster also warned about carbon border tax adjustments. While these do not yet apply to agricultural products, it is not hard to envision a future where this may change.
NZ’s competitors have tools like Bovaer that can be used to curb their emissions because they have different farming systems.
“Yes, we have always been at the top in terms of emissions efficiency, but our competitors will get the hop on us pretty quickly,” Forster said.
It means that NZ has to find its own solutions to reducing its emissions rather than relying on the other side of the world.
New mitigation technologies are no longer far away and are available now, Forster said
“That does mean we are well positioned through our programme to keep up with our competitors and meet those drivers.”
Two 18m wide x 80m long Composting barns, Ohaupo, Waikato
STUDIED: Pāmu St Kilda facility manager Robyn Hirst says their first batch of calves being studied at the farm in northeastern Taupō are growing well.
Our competitors will get the hop on us pretty quickly.
Kelly Forster Ministry for Primary Industries
Supporting y for a stronger
As the season turns once more, Dair yNZ delivers Autumn Smarts, which brings together the tools and resources farmers need to prepare for a successful season.
This is a critical period for breeding plans and decisions, while recruitment for the new season is top of mind for many Other key topic s at this time of year include preparing cows for transpor t, achieving BC S targets and winter preparation
Backed by scientific research, we ’ ve pulled together the essential resources in one place, to help you enhance produc tivit y and strengthen your bot tom line
Breeding decisions for genetic gain
Research shows that more than half of on-farm produc tivit y gains come from animal genetic s Herd improvement begins in late summer and autumn by selec ting top bull s to breed with
our autumn decisions bottom line
your highest breeding wor th (BW ) cows in spring
D air yNZ’s Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) list can help you make bet ter-informed breeding decisions
Attracting and retaining good staff
Now is an impor tant time to be considering your staffing for the nex t season, with a focus on at trac ting good staff to suppor t your business outcomes
When recruiting new staff, balancing your needs as an employer with employee needs is key to at trac ting top talent and building a produc tive workplace While it ’ s no surprise that higher pay at trac ts more applicants, clearly stating hourly rates can al so make your role stand out
Use D air yNZ’s Job Competitivene ss Calculator to assess how competitive your job offer is against comparable jobs in other sec tor s
Preparing cows for transpor t
It ’ s impor tant to care and prepare on farm prior to transpor t to
Be autumn-ready
Essential resources for your autumn toolkit
Set yourself up for success this autumn and the year ahead with the latest tools and research to suppor t smar ter decision-making From breeding plans to transition cow management and recruitment strategies, ever y thing you need is handily packaged in one place to help drive productivit y and boost your bot tom line
Visit dair ynz .co.nz/autumn
#AutumnSmar ts
help your cows stay healthy on their journey Key considerations include providing water right up to loading and standing cows off lush pasture for four to six hour s to reduce effluent load during transpor t
this autumn, as it is a high-risk period for both salmonellosis and leptospirosis These are both highly infec tious and can spread bet ween animal s and humans
A range of other considerations can be found on D air yNZ’s transpor t stock webpage
Focus on achieving BCS targets early
Meeting Body Condition Score (BC S) targets now will make it easier to manage cow condition before and af ter calving, positively affec ting reproduc tion, produc tion, and your bot tom line Waiting until the month before calving won’t be effec tive, as cows gain ver y lit tle condition at that stage due to the energy demands of pregnanc y
To check whether the condition of your cows is on track ahead of calving, you can use our BCS app
Biosecurit y is crucial in this high-risk period
It ’ s impor tant to have your biosecurit y measures in check
Having good health and safet y, alongside sound biosecurit y prac tices on-farm will help reduce the risk of these diseases spreading in your herd, or to your team
Preparation for a successful winter
While it feel s like winter may be a while away right now, it is impor tant to star t preparing now It ’ s key to star t with a clear plan for managing cow lying time during wet weather and grazing and share this with your team so ever yone is prepared and on the same page
D air yNZ’s winter grazing template is a great place to star t, while our cow care in winter page outlines options that will help allow cows to lie down in wet weather and suppor t the best animal outcomes, no mat ter the weather
Federated Farmers secure ‘lifeline’ for QEII National Trust
Afunding boost for the QEII National Trust secures vital breathing space and will allow the trust to keep ticking over, the organisation’s chief executive Dan Coup says.
Following strong advocacy from Federated Farmers, the Government have announced an additional $4.5 million for the trust over the next three years.
“It’s a lifeline,” Coup says.
“While the board is yet to discuss the news it almost certainly means we’ll be able to take on new covenants and I don’t have to look at some sort of major restructure of the organisation.”
Coup says he’s incredibly grateful to Federated Farmers for coming out so strongly in the media for more funding, and their calls to Ministers.
“I think it made a really significant difference.”
Hurst says the additional $4.5 million over three years, which comes on top of the annual $4.3m base grant, is a win for farmers and the environment.
“When it comes to environmental bang for your taxpayer buck, I can’t think of a better investment than the QEII Trust.
“Despite the amazing work they do in our rural communities to
improve biodiversity and other environmental outcomes, the trust hadn’t had an increase in base funding since 2015.
“During that time the trust has faced huge inflationary pressures and a 28% increase in demand for their services,” Hurst says.
“The Government’s announcement may not be the doubling of funding Federated Farmers called for, but it’s certainly a positive step in the right direction and will do a lot of good.”
The QEII National Trust was established in 1977, with Federated Farmers dairy chair (the late) Gordon Stephenson a key instigator.
The trust partners with landowners who are willing to voluntarily protect their land without selling or donating it.
Covenants ensure special areas of bush, wetland and biodiversity are protected for future generations, in perpetuity.
There are now more than 5200 covenants covering 187,774 hectares – the vast majority on farms.
“Without an increase in funding the QEII Trust would have been forced to stop taking on new covenants,” Hurst says.
“That would have been a huge setback for nature, and the ongoing efforts of many farmers who are
committed to protecting special areas of biodiversity on their land.”
Coup says there was long-term degradation of the value of the Government’s base funding due to inflation over the last decade.
Coupled with the loss of Jobs for Nature funding from June, this would have forced the Trust to make some tough decisions.
Over the last few years, QEII has been able to handle around 150 new covenant requests annually.
“With the new funding, we’re very unlikely to be able to keep doing new covenants at that same rate but this will allow us to keep ticking over.”
The priority is keeping faith with those farmers and other landowners who have already partnered with the trust over covenants.
“Pest control, fence repairs and other tasks on those properties still need to continue. Those people have done a deal with us, and we owe them our ongoing attention.
“There’s a saying in business that if you find yourself at the bottom of a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.”
Coup likens the trust’s situation to that of a social housing agency.
“The Government says, ‘here’s $4.28 million and we want you to
add 150 houses every year’.
“That’s fine but you’ve also got to maintain your existing portfolio of houses, and the money coming in doesn’t change. The more you add to your portfolio, the greater the maintenance bill.
“If you’re getting tight on money, it’s a no-brainer to stop adding to your problem at the same rate.”
Trust chair Alan Livingston is also pleased with the support and advocacy of Federated Farmers.
“Federated Farmer understands QEII’s crucial role in the rural community.
“We know there are plenty of landowners, mostly farmers, who
love and value the biodiversity on their land and want to see it protected for future generations.
“I’m glad we’ll be able to help a few more of them to do that,” Livingston says.
Colin Hurst says Federated Farmers will keep up their advocacy on this issue.
“We’ve been given a 30-minute slot in front of the Primary Production Committee to explain why we believe QEII deserves more support.
“We’ll certainly be taking up that opportunity and making a strong case for further funding increases that will allow the trust to expand their work.”
WELCOME INJECTION: A $4.5 million funding boost for the QE National Trust over the next three years is a positive step, but Colin Hurst says Federated Farmers will continue to advocate for more.
Chemical ban would ‘knee-cap’ grass grub fight
Action is needed to ensure farmers aren’t left without a potent weapon in the battle against grass grub, Federated Farmers biosecurity spokesperson David Birkett says.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is proposing a ban of chlorpyrifos, the most effective chemical currently available in New Zealand for controlling the native grass grub.
Costelytra giveni is a scourge for pasture and lawn, and also a risk to horticulture and native plant root systems.
“I’m amazed there hasn’t been a bigger outcry about this until Federated Farmers raised it,” Birkett says.
“This is our biggest agricultural pest by a country mile and banning it would knee-cap farmers’ ability to control it.
“We recommend the EPA should allow the continued use of chlorpyrifos until viable and affordable alternatives are readily available in the New Zealand market.”
Chlorpyrifos is one of two main controls for the grub, with the other
already being phased out of the market.
A 2018 study said native scarab grass grub causes losses of up to $380 million on dairy farms and $205 million on sheep and beef farmers every year – “and that’s with access to chlorpyrifos,” Birkett says.
I’m amazed there hasn’t been a bigger outcry about this until Federated Farmers raised it.
David Birkett Federated Farmers biosecurity spokesperson
He says while there are valid concerns with chlorpyrifos, New Zealand’s stagnant chemical market puts our farmers in a precarious position.
“Federated Farmers have been leading the charge in pushing for streamlining of our complex regulatory system for assessment and approval of new pest treatments.
“The backlog of applications
discourages overseas chemical companies from bringing products to market here.
“Any reassessment of existing chemicals, like chlorpyrifos, needs to take better account of how far off approvals are for effective replacement products, including biosecurity and pest increase issues, and how much delays would cost the country.”
Currently, assessments of new
chemicals and reassessment of existing ones are handled by different teams in the EPA.
“If the two teams were talking more closely, better awareness of what alternatives are making their way through the approval system could be taken into account in decision-making.
PEST: Until effective alternative treatments are available, farmers need chlorpyrifos to control the New Zealand grass grub, Federated Farmers say.
“The EPA would more quickly identify chemicals that should move to the front of the queue for assessment,” Birkett says. Federated Farmers understands AgResearch and ag chem companies are well underway with developing a new tool for combatting grass grub.
“We’re watching progress closely, but until we have an effective alternative treatment available to farmers, we need continued permission to use chlorpyrifos,” Birkett says.
Members’ Bill puts woke banks on notice
Federated Farmers say Andy Foster’s Members’ Bill, drawn from the ballot on February 20, will stop lenders from unfairly de-banking legitimate businesses and industries.
“Banks have been under huge pressure recently for some of their more unpalatable lending practices,”
Federated Farmers banking spokesperson Richard McIntyre says.
“This Bill is only going to add to that scrutiny and will shine a whitehot light on big banks that have
been forcing their ideological views down the throats of everyday New Zealanders.”
Federated Farmers have been vocal critics of the banking sector in recent years and were instrumental in securing the select committee inquiry currently underway.
They have also played a significant role in exposing discrepancies between the different targets big Australian banks are setting for Kiwi farmers compared to their Australian clients.
Late last year the organisation blew the whistle on the Bank of New Zealand’s outrageous decision to effectively de-bank legitimate businesses like petrol stations from 2030.
“Federated Farmers support this Bill and will be encouraging all Government parties to throw their support in behind it,” McIntyre says.
“Lending decisions should be based on financial drivers, not ideological or political considerations.
“Legitimate New Zealand businesses, like farms and petrol stations, should not be unfairly targeted by banks because of the industry we operate in.
“It’s important we can continue to access banking services and the capital we need to keep growing our businesses, creating jobs, and contributing to the economy.
Lending decisions should be based on financial drivers, not ideological or political considerations.
Richard McIntyre
Federated Farmers banking spokesperson
“Provided we’re following the laws set by our democratically elected Government, we should be able to go about our business without our bank becoming the moral police.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Farmers urged to report idle hives
Farmers are being asked to report abandoned or neglected beehives, as concerns rise over the alarming increase in deserted colonies across New Zealand farmland.
Tough times in the honey industry have seen an increase in beekeepers abandoning their apiaries, and authorities say it presents a significant biosecurity risk.
“The beekeeping industry is going through a very turbulent time and we’re getting a lot of reports about abandoned gear and hives,” says Niharika Long, general manager of New Zealand’s Management Agency for National American Foulbrood Pest Management Plan (the AFB Agency).
“Sadly, for economic reasons, some beekeepers have just up and left.
“That creates a risk for other beekeepers because American Foulbrood (AFB), a fatal bacterial disease, can spread from or to those colonies without anyone knowing about it.
“We really need farmers to call us if they notice hives on their farm have been abandoned or neglected.”
AFB affects honeybee colonies, spreading through spores carried on equipment, in honey, or by bees moving between hives.
Its spores are resilient and can persist for decades, making early detection and elimination crucial.
“The only way to get rid of AFB at the moment is to burn all infected hives – bees included,” Long says.
“You also have to burn the contaminated gear.”
The AFB Agency is calling on farmers to report abandoned hives as early as possible.
“While most farmers notify us after 12 months of neglect, we really need them to report concerns within six months,” Long says.
“We don’t have enough field staff to be everywhere at once, so we rely on farmers to be our eyes on the ground.”
Farmers also need to be aware that
We don’t have enough field staff to be everywhere at once, so we rely on farmers to be our eyes on the ground.
Niharika Long General manager of the Management Agency for National American Foulbrood Pest Management Plan
beekeeping is subject to regulations, including inspections.
Beekeepers are legally required to provide the AFB Agency with information about their hive locations, landowners’ contact details, and any potential access hazards.
“We want to ensure farmers know what to expect if an inspector comes around, knowing that these are the beekeeper’s obligations,” Long says.
“Inspections are mostly risk-based – we react to reports from other beekeepers finding AFB, and then we do surveillance around where the disease was reported, to find the source.
“Other times, we learn about beehives that we hold no records for, so we need to investigate.
“We don’t know who the landowner or beekeeper is, so our inspector will show up to try and figure that out.”
Long says another emerging issue is farmers who, realising hives have been abandoned on their land, decide to have a crack at beekeeping.
“Farmers already have a lot on their plate, so once they realise how much work there is behind beekeeping, they sometimes decide to just leave the gear in the paddock or sitting in a shed.
“But it’s that gear sitting there that
presents a risk and which we’d like to be able to locate and do something with.”
There have also been cases of farmers selling abandoned beekeeping gear through TradeMe or Marketplace, Long says.
“They’ll often end up selling individual hives off to different people, which means we have unregistered hives spread all over the place, with no record of them.
“If AFB was in those hives, it’s now spread far and wide.”
The AFB Agency runs a national apiary database, similar to farming’s NAIT system.
“So, when AFB is reported, we can see all the registered apiaries to find the source,” Long says.
“But if there are unregistered apiaries in the area, we have no way of tracing AFB infections.
“Then it’s just a wild goose chase.”
Federated Farmers biosecurity
spokesperson David Birkett supports the call for farmers to play their part.
“Bee populations are vital to agriculture and food production,” he says.
“Identifying abandoned hives is a key aspect of controlling AFB, to ensure pollination of our foods and food supply is achieved.
“I strongly encourage any farmers who notice hives on their farms haven’t been touched for some time to contact the authorities.”
MORE:
Farmers who come across neglected or abandoned hives should contact the AFB Agency immediately on 0800 AFB PMP (0800 232 767) or by email info@afb.org.nz.
There are currently 1845 cases of AFB nationally, out of 539,805 colonies, meaning it has a 0.34% prevalence. Learn more about the disease at www.afb.org.nz
RISK: Abandoned beehives like these create a risk for other beekeepers because American Foulbrood (AFB), a fatal bacterial disease, can spread from or to those colonies.
Gore plan goahead ‘deeply frustrating’
Local voices are being sidelined and ratepayers’ money wasted as Gore District Council presses on with a flawed district plan review, Federated Farmers Southland executive member Bernadette Hunt says.
“Councillors themselves have called the process ‘a mess’, ‘an embarrassment’ and ‘an absolute cluster’.
“But rather than slow things down, bring the community with them and wait for clarity on where the Government lands its overhaul of the RMA, the council is doubling down,” Hunt says.
Councillors themselves have called the process ‘a mess’, ‘an embarrassment’ and ‘an absolute cluster’.
Bernadette Hunt
Federated Farmers Southland executive member
Despite a letter urging a pause that gathered 116 Gore ratepayer signatures in a very short time, and detailed submissions from Federated Farmers Southland and others, Gore councillors voted on February 18 to push ahead with hearings.
“It’s deeply frustrating, not just for farmers but plenty of other district residents too.
“It’s also the sheer volume of documents, split hearings, and last-minute reworking of provisions because of questionable drafting. It’s going round in circles,” Hunt says.
The experienced Southland farming leader is no newbie to district plan land use rules, and has
the benefit of advice from two senior Federated Farmers policy experts.
“Nevertheless, I’m feeling completely overwhelmed at the constant stream of additional information, evidence, supplementary evidence, rebuttal, memos and a whole bunch of other very long documents,” Hunt says.
For the Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori (SASMs) chapter hearing on Wednesday, February 19, a 125-page document with “massive bearing” on the issues involved was lodged by a Ngāi Tahu advisor only the Friday before.
The Gore council planner’s response to issues raised in that report was filed after 5.30pm, with the hearing starting 8.30am the next morning.
“That’s grossly unfair,” Hunt says.
“Even people who work fulltime and are experts in this space have said they don’t have time to work through the information and respond in the timeframes.”
Federated Farmers have been forced to choose which of the proposed district plan’s 44 chapters to focus efforts on, and hope others pick up the details on the ones they can’t get to.
“So, how is a resident or ratepayer supposed to genuinely participate?”
Hunt asks.
“Given they’re the ones affected most by the outcomes – restrictions on how they can use their land, requirements for expensive resource consents – surely their participation is vital.
“This is turning into a plan developed by a group of people who, mostly, don’t live locally and are completely unimpacted by the outcomes.”
Council officers said the process
- Rober t Har ding
was 95% complete, and costs to pause now would be too high. Hunt rejects both counts.
Hearings on two further chapters, Ecosystems and Indigenous Biodiversity, and Natural Hazards, are still to happen.
“The wrap-up, due April, will also be a meaty hearing because so many issues have been raised throughout.”
Re-starting hearings at the end of this year would involve costs, but Hunt says even greater costs for ratepayers would likely come from having to revisit the entire set of planning rules after the RMA reform.
“For one thing, the Government has said there may not be district plans, just plans for entire regions.
“They’ve also said the new RMA will strengthen private property rights.”
Federated Farmers are concerned
with a range of proposals in Gore’s proposed district plan, but particularly the SASMs chapter.
The proposed plan says the entire district has ‘significance’, instead of identifying, mapping and introducing appropriate restrictions to protect sites and features of particular significance for local iwi.
Hunt says for someone looking to buy land, or an existing farmer looking to invest in improvements, they need a reasonable level of information about anything that might inhibit use of that land.
“Telling us the whole district has significance and that there’s a list of activities which may require cultural assessment to determine whether a consent can be provided, is not a reasonable indication.
“That’s like buying a multi-milliondollar lottery ticket.
UNFAIR: A very messy hearings process and deluge of documentation is shutting locals out from a genuine say in Gore’s district plan, Bernadette Hunt says.
“We could buy a farm, with specific plans in mind for it to be viable, only to find when we try to pursue those plans, they’re blocked.”
Hunt says this is not a ‘racist’ concern, as some have implied.
“Feds Southland has developed a good relationship with Hokonui Rūnanga. Through a working group we’ve set up, both parties have a better understanding of each other’s position.
“It wouldn’t matter what the uncertainty was around. If it has the potential to affect land use flexibility, farmers need to understand what and how, to enable due diligence on investment decisions.
“The need for certainty, and heading off unnecessary community angst and costs, is also why we want the Gore council to hold off decisions until after the RMA reforms.”
Cambridge 640 Brunskill Road 149 2 ha
Fantastic farm, fantastic location
Often sought but seldom found this 149 hectare (more or less) grazing property in the popular Cambridge farming district of Te Miro is a highly sought after commodity The property's neat paddocks with a robust fertiliser history run from a metalled central race fenced by well-maintained deer and seven wire post and batten fencing The property has previously been run as an extensive dairy heifer grazing operation but is currently running approximately 350 beef cattle and 100 breeding ewes A lovingly renovated 4 bedroom Hinuera stone home, 3 bay concrete floor lockable shed, 3 haybarns, woolshed, deer shed and the option to lease a 5 ha (more or less) neighbouring property complete the rural package bayleys co nz/2316504
Situated in the popular Waerenga-o-kuri farming community, across 647ha of clean country, Rimunui Station provides balanced contour and appealing scale for those seeking a high-performing farm Excelling in both productivity and quality and providing a diverse range of farming opportunities across sheep, beef and deer Rimunui features excellent fertilizer history resulting in strong Olsen P results Infrastructure includes a five-stand raised board woolshed and a deer shed for the 45-hectare deer unit The four-bedroom homestead is set privately at the front of the farm Rimunui is an exceptional opportunity for those seeking a performant farm in a productive, community-oriented area bayleys co nz/2753458
Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 2pm, Tue 25 Mar 2025 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton View 11am-12pm Tue 4 Mar or by appointment
Peter Kelly 027 432 4278
Sam Troughton 027 480 0836
Reads Quay, Gisborne
by appointment
Accelerating Success.
3048 Taihape Road, Hastings, Hawke’s Bay
Tender closing Wed 9 April 2025 at 2pm (unless sold prior)
Situated in the highly regarded farming district of Otamauri in the Hawke’s Bay is a rare opportunity to secure a trophy property with all the attributes that are often sought but rarely found Hafton Station comprises approximately 704 79 hectares of prime land offering a great balance of contour, favourable soil types, solid fertiliser history, quality water and impressive infrastructure Nestled in prime position the spacious four bedroom homestead provides a lodge style accommodation. The property benefits from years of investment enabling our vendors to profit from a high performing farming system
Waipu
Apiti 1085 Oroua Valley Road New Listing
Exceptional dairy opportunity - 121 ha
On the market for the first time in over 100 years, this is an outstanding opportunity to purchase a well-appointed dairy farm that is almost entirely flat and highly productive The current vendors have meticulously cared for the property for many decades, with regular fertiliser applications, re-grassing, fencing, and infrastructure upgrades
In addition to its productive capabilities, the farm offers significant aesthetic appeal, with mature trees strategically planted to provide shelter and shade for livestock. A 3.5 ha fenced-off wetland is also present, offering recreational opportunities. Farm improvements include 24 ASHB cowshed, three bedroom dwelling, multiple support buildings and a calf rearing shed.
Fairlie
13% + ROC - Central South Island dairy opportunity
This exceptional opportunity to invest in a highly established and high performing dairy operation of this scale is truly rare. With a strategic blend of approximately 465.74 ha freehold and approximately 289.48 ha leasehold land, the income potential is significant, underpinned by strong equity returns driven by the leased land
The 2024 season results show the units combined had a peak number of 1822 cows and a production of 806,632 kgMS. The farm is on track to produce 830,000 kgMS in the 2025 season. This is the perfect investment for those looking to enter or expand within the dairy industry, offering impressive financial returns and long-term environmental sustainability.
Tender closes 11.00am, Tue 25th Mar, 2025, 54 Kimbolton Road, Feilding View Wed 5 Mar 11.00 - 11.15am
Web pb.co.nz/FR200570
Ted Shannon M 021 833 536 E ted.shannon@pb.co.nz
Blair Cottrill M 027 354 5419 E blair@pb.co.nz
For Sale $22,000,000 + GST (if any) View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/AR198210 Jason Rickard M 027 245 8495 E jason.rickard@pb.co.nz
TENDER
TE MAPARA, WAIKATO 65 Arapae Road
RECEIVERSHIP SALE
Dairy Property - Piopio - Very well located 248 hectare (more or less) flat to easy to medium contoured dairy farm. High input generated from other two supporting properties have let the vendors achieve good production however this farm is at the size it can easily be a production standalone dairy farm. 42 ASHB shed, feed pad, 10 bay calf shed, one dwelling. Milking 670 cows - 150 of which are winter milkers. Three year average -231,826kg MS. Historically 300 calves have also been reared Easy access throughout this farm, including across the road via the underpass. Good soils throughout. TENDER Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 11.00am, Friday 28 March VIEW 10.00-12 00pm Wednesday 5 & 12 & 19 March E pwylie@pggwrightson.co.nz
M 027 473 5855
pggwre.co.nz/TEK41179
TENDER
TE MAPARA, WAIKATO Nohonoa Road
RECEIVERSHIP SALE
Support Property Located 9km northeast of Piopio this 141 hectares (more or less) property is used for supplement growing, winter cow grazing and calf rearing Maize and silage are grown on and transported to the vendors dairy farm at Arapae Road which we are also marketing. It is bare land with yards and load-out facilities. Water is from a legal easement across the Tikirau Road Contour and location is very good here.
pggwre.co.nz/TEK41182
TENDER Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 11.00am, Friday 28 March
VIEW 10.00-11.00am
Wednesday 5 & 12 & 19 March
M 027
E pwylie@pggwrightson.co.nz
ZON BIRDSCARER
NEW AND RE-SHARPENING OF ALL MAKES OF EARMARKERS
Ph: 06 357 2454 electro-tek@xtra.co.nz electro-tek.com
www.quinfert.co.nz
Just check the Cd content. For low fertility situations or low rainfall, use a blend of RPR and high-analysis soluble P. Fact 9. For N, rather than granular urea, use prilled urea, sprayed immediately prior to, or during, the spreading with urease inhibitor. Use of N can be literally cut in half with big savings. Fact 10. Potash is more e cient, and must less likely to cause metabolic problems, if applied in small doses 4 times a year, adding up to 50-60% of the total annual amount you are using now. Easy to mix with your prilled urea. Leaching of anions like nitrate will be minimised as well. For more info, email Bert Quin on bert.quin@quinfert.co.nz, or phone 021 427 572, or visit
RPR – fine and granulated, sulphur blends
See www.quinfert.co.nz for prices or contact Bert Quin 021 427 572 bert.quin@quinfert.co.nz
QSR – quick and sustainedrelease P and S combos Available ex Waharoa, Waikato and Washdyke, Timaru
Fact 7. in any case simple fenced-o 3-metre wide grass riparian strips are essentially as e ective and vastly cheaper than more complex strips. Both reduce bacterial and sediment losses. Neither will have any signi cant long-term bene cial e ect (on a whole -farm basis) on soluble P and nitrate-N loss. But grass strips can be harvested in summer to be fed out, to improve P and N cycling. Fact 8. In a nutshell, for maintenance of P levels any genuine RPR (not an RPR/Boucraa mix please!) can be used.
Fact 6. It is nonsensical to give in to pressure to install expensive mitigations riparian strips, excessively large wetlands and ‘phosphorus walls’ when you have no idea of their long-term e ectiveness and maintenance costs, and before you have established whether changing to sustained-release RPR is all you need to do!
run-o but releases P in a sustained fashion for plants. Fact 4. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. RPR-based fertilisers are even cheaper than super-based products as well! Added sulphur bentonite (sulphur 90) is far more e cient than the excess sulphate in super. Fact 5. Following 1-4 above will greatly reduce P run-o and leaching. This should be done before anything else, and the situation reassessed before spending huge amounts of money!
Dr Bert Quin
Hooftrimmers - Dehorners - Ear Markers - Zon Birdscarers
WANTED!!
DAIRY LISTINGS…
Due to strong demand & buyer interest Carrfields is actively looking for more herds & heifers to market on your behalf.
We have orders to fill RIGHT NOW! IN-MILK EMPTIES, CULL COWS & BULLS…
Carrfields offer premiums for in-milk MTs in the paddock & have continuing strong demand for cull cows & bulls through our local saleyards.
SOLD STOCK PRICES… Friesian/FriesianX cows
$1850 - $2350
Friesian cows
$1850 -$2400
Jersey Cows
$1800 - $2350 Autumn In-Calf Mixed Breed cows
$1850 -$2200
Friesian & Xbred R2yr heifers
$1750 - $2200
Contact your local Carrfields Livestock Representative, or visit www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz to view our current listings.
Friday 14th March 1pm
Friday 15th March 1pm
2th
- Romney (including a selection ideal for mating Merinos)
- Romdale - Texel x Romney
- Perendale X Texel X Romney
- k. X Romney
- k. Maternal (hogget Mating)
- Terminator - Tough Hill-bred Blackface 80 2th
To be sold on-farm and online through Yourbid. Videos and online bidding open March 8th at
To be sold on-farm and online through Yourbid. Videos and online bidding open March 7th at
David Giddings 027 229 9760 giddingsfamily@xtra.co.nz
George Giddings 027 656 3323 george@yourbid.org
On Farm Lamb Sale
Okare Station, 226A Okare Road, Wairoa
13th March Commencing 11am
7500
Crypto Lambs
Contact Andrea to add your stud name,
2500 Romney Ewe Lambs Freshly shorn, homebred Romney Lambs. 30-45kg weight range. Lambs will be sexed and drafted to suit all intending purchasers. 1.5% rebate to purchasing agents. Light lunch and refreshments available
Allow 1 hour from Wairoa.
Further enquiries
Daryl Fergus 027 209 2787
X & Belgian Blue Friesian X R1 Bulls
Will be weighed into weight ranges the morning prior to sale
Drenched & on mineral programme
Well marked | True to type
For enquiries please contact: Callum Stalker – 0274 730 846
On-farm at Meadowslea Mt Cook Road, Fairlie
Over a short number of years, his fame grew and soon people from all over the country were coming to his town to get him to paint their likenesses.
One day, a beautiful young woman arrived at his house in a stretch limo and asked if he would paint her in the nude.
This being the first time anyone had made such a request he was a bit perturbed, particularly when the woman told him that money was no object; in fact, and she was willing to pay up to 10,000 pounds.
Not wanting to get into any marital strife, he asked her to wait while he went into the house to confer with Mary, his wife. They talked much about the rightness and wrongness of it. It was hard to make the decision but finally his wife agreed, on one condition.
So in a few minutes he returned. “My wife says it’s okay.” he said. “It will be my pleasure to paint your portrait in the nude, but I will have to at least leave my socks on, so I have a place to wipe my brushes.”
FOR SALE
Due To A Change In Farming Practice
1500 MA Red Hinds R4YR-R10YR Sell any reasonable runout STOCK REQUIRED
Shorn male lambs 30–36 kg
300 Ang steer calves 240–270 kg
R2YR Ang & ang x steers 380–430kg
R2YR Exotic beef x hfrs 350–400kg
R2YR Beef & fries bulls 360–450kg
info@dyerlivestock co nz www dyerlivestock co nz Ross Dyer 0274 333 381
LINKING BUYERS AND SELLERS
SERVICES INCLUDING:
• Buying and selling
• Forward Sale & Purchase
• Livestock Valuations
• On-Farm & Online Auctions
• Service Bulls With options for:
• Purchasing
• Finance-A-Bull
• Lease with Link-A-Bull
CONTACT OUR TEAM OF EXPERIENCED AGENTS COVERING ALL OF NEW ZEALAND www.linklivestock.co.nz Or contact Head Agent Stewart Cuickshank 027 270 5288
streamed live on My Livestock
Speckle Park Registered Cows, and Speckle Park x Angus Cows
Full details to follow
Note: All calves for sale this spring will be available in a separate sale
John, while not a brilliant scholar, was a gifted portrait artist.
Planets align for stellar calf season
Several positive factors get set to deliver a stronger market, with only very dry conditions threatening to spoil the party.
Suz Bremner MARKETS Livestock
GRAB the popcorn because this year’s beef weaner fairs and calf sales could potentially be the best on record.
Plenty of positive factors are set to have an impact on a stronger market this year, though all ducks are not quite in a row as very dry conditions around the North Island and in areas of the South Island are worsening and will limit some buying ability.
The main classes of weaned calves at the upcoming fairs and sales, which run from March through to early May, are traditional and exotic-beef steers and heifers.
Looking at AgriHQ records dating back to 2010, the strongest year on record was 2017. In that year, all the stars aligned with
strong schedule pricing, positive outlooks and good feed levels in most regions.
In contrast, the lowest prices were paid in 2013 as drought conditions were unusually widespread and had a significant impact on the condition and prices for calves. Average North Island calf prices in that year were $503-$558, $2.29-$2.39/kg for steers and $389-$455, $2.01$2.02/kg for heifers. In the South Island, average returns were $525-$535, $2.24-$2.38/kg for steers, and $412-$442, $2.01/kg for heifers.
Compared to the peak year of 2017, those prices were just 48%-54% of the average prices achieved.
Weaned calf price trends have shown a steady increase since 2016, and 2025 is expected to follow suit. Cattle prices this season, across all weights, classes and breeds, have been riding the
crest of a good wave and returns have been exceptional.
Finished cattle have made good margins as schedules have not only been at the highest levels seen, but strong overseas demand and low supply to processors have kept prices up. Feed levels to date have been mixed but sustainable enough to put good condition on the cattle and keep buyers in the market.
All these factors have flowed into the yards this season and created a highly competitive, record-breaking environment that looks set to continue into the weaner fair and calf sale season as farmers approach with better budgets.
Projections for 2025 price averages are up, and prices are expected to be similar across the North and South Island, as the South Island is likely to have more grass-driven demand than the North.
Proudly sponsored by
Across the weaner fair/calf sale season, traditional steers are expected to average 220-235kg and $1100, $5/kg. Exotic steers should average 255kg and $1200, $4.70-$4.90/kg. Traditional heifers are predicted to average 210215kg and $870, $4.20/kg and the heavier exotic heifers, 235kg and $970, $4.10-$4.20/kg. (These figures have been calculated using AgriHQ Outlook schedule forecasts and weaner fair/calf sale price trends since 2010.)
A word of caution though – the first round of fairs at Stortford Lodge already has entries up to nearly 2200 steers, and 1500 heifers and bulls. Last year, there were 1500 steers and 940 heifers and bulls, and steer tallies did not
reach 2000 even in the drought year of 2013.
This significant lift in volume, as farmers look to take advantage of the high prices and take pressure off dry paddocks, will likely have an impact on prices at the first fairs, though may mean limited supply in the second round. The current widespread dry and drought conditions could also have a negative impact on the market. Annual buyers will still be making their purchases, but it is more the grass-drivendemand buyers that may not be as prominent as they otherwise would be.
Just as a teaser, there have been a few lines of weaner steers and heifers selling, which gives us an early glimpse into this market. At Feilding recently, empty-weighted Angus steers from Blenheim sold for $980-$1145, $5.24/kg and heifers made $815-$875, $4.16$4.36/kg. At Stortford Lodge, Angus & Angus-Hereford steers made $940-$1070, $4.72-$4.99/ kg and heifers, $750-$930, $4.04$4.10/kg. At Paeroa on Friday 21, later-born Angus steers sold for $820-$990, Hereford $780-$1075 and Charolais-cross, $820-$1190. Late-born Angus heifers made $720-$850, Hereford $750-$980 and Charolais-cross, $770-$870.
EARLY TASTER: These traditional calves at Feilding provided an early taster of the weaner calf market. They had travelled up from Blenheim and sold on an empty weight, with the steers above selling for $980$1145, $5.24/kg.
Cattle Sheep Deer
Weekly saleyard results
These weekly saleyard results are collated by the AgriHQ LivestockEye team. Cattle weights and prices are averages and sheep prices are ranges. For more detailed results and analysis subscribe to your selection of LivestockEye reports. Scan the QR code or visit www.agrihq.co.nz/livestock-reports
TOP SPOT: At $158, these mixed-sex lambs from Aokautere made the top per-head return at Feilding on Friday, February 21.
Prime dairy-beef steers, 540kg
Prime traditional bulls, 565kg
Prime dairy-beef heifers, 495kg
Boner Friesian heifers, 425kg
Store crossbred mixed-sex lambs, most
Store Halfbred mixed-sex lambs, all
Prime ewes, most
Prime lambs, most
Canterbury Park | February 25 | 302 cattle, 3897 sheep
Prime traditional steers, 550kg
HEIFERS HOLD UP: High throughput at Temuka on Monday, February 24 put markets under pressure but beef-bred heifers held
Tropical trouble vs high pressure bubble
Philip Duncan NEWS Weather
THE tropics were firing on all cylinders for the final week of February with four named tropical cyclones across Australasia.
We are now in the peak of the cyclone season, but remove the word “Cyclone” and from a tropical point of view that region is also in the peak of the rainy season.
At the same time the belt of high pressure from the Indian Ocean, along the south of Australia and into the New Zealand area remains strong. For now, anyway.
Just one gap between highs could see a tropical rain maker come southwards over the New Zealand area.
Most people don’t want a storm – but they do want a rain event as dry weather expands.
Some rain has fallen in our driest regions over the past couple of weeks. Not big totals, but in some cases enough to just ease conditions and buy yourselves a couple more weeks.
At the time of writing the area in
the central western North Island had officially left “drought” status in the New Zealand Drought Index but areas classed as “Extremely Dry” or “Very Dry” had expanded, especially along the western half of the North Island, but parts of the South Island too.
The high pressure belt bringing drought to parts of southern Australia and extremely dry conditions into parts of NZ actually got more intense in the final days of February, so March will also be starting with powerful high pressure.
But between the centres of these anticyclones you often find “the weak spot”. It’s like when you’re driving through a hilly area but the road is winding its way along a flat river valley. Low pressure zones look for these “valleys in the sky” –the path of least resistance.
Which gets us back to the tropics and the Coriolis effect. Tropical lows, given the chance, will pull south to southeast towards the South Pole. If there’s a gap in high pressure at the right time we get a low coming southwards and bringing with it much-needed rain. Everyone is starting to ask me “When’s it going to rain?”
ALFRED: Rainfall ‘Departure from Normal’ for the first six days of March highlights how tropical rain can stand out around dry high pressure. Most of the rain/blue in this map is being produced by Cyclone Alfred. The key on left shows percentage of normal rainfall expected this week, compared to what historically falls in early March. Image: GrADS/COLA
Long range modelling (and by that I mean weather maps that go out for 15 days) show plenty of low pressure in the tropics trying to reach NZ.
Some models even show Tropical Cyclone Alfred (in the Coral Sea area) reaching NZ – but the next day you check those maps and it shows blocking high pressure back again. It’s been like this for many days now and shows the rain wants to get to NZ, but needs that specific gap in high pressure for it to do so.
To make matters worse, various long range modelling is more conflicting lately, so less reliable when they all disagree. Some show rain is coming, others show high pressure stops that rain. March is a critical month to get rain back into NZ – we’ll all be waiting for that gap in the highs to allow rain back in.
