Farmers Weekly NZ July 1 2019

22

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Vol 18 No 25, July 1, 2019

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Sad day looms for Coasters Annette Scott

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HE past five years as a Westland Dairy milk supplier have left Jon Sullivan $3 million out of pocket because the co-operative has dragged the milk-price chain.

A West Coaster all his life, Sullivan runs a 650-cow herd at Hari Hari south of Hokitika on land his father set up after World War II. Westland’s milk price continually running $1 behind the next lowest dairy company has been the killer, not just for Westland dairy farmers but for all the people on the West Coast, he says.

“It’s a very sad day that it’s come to this but there is no choice but to sell.”

He lays the blame fairly and squarely with the directors and senior management.

“As shareholders we asked questions but we didn’t get answers.

“The directors and senior management have ... herded us in a corner and given us absolutely no bloody way out,” Sullivan said.

“As shareholders we have not had a say, this whole lot has been a planned move and while the chairman (Pete Morrison) apologised at meetings last week for the oversight in telling us about bonuses that will be paid to senior management as part of the sale, that’s just taking the p… out of farmers.

Sullivan has cast his vote.

“I have already voted, yes, for – the reason being, that we have no damn choice.

CORNERED: Graham Berry says July 4 is going to be a very sad day for a lot of farmers and the West Coast people.

The directors and senior management have ... herded farmers in a corner and given us absolutely no bloody way out.

Jon Sullivan Farmer “We have 60-70% of West Coast farmers in debt with the banks chasing their tails.

“It’s that bloody serious.

“It’s do or die for most of us

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as there’s no option to go elsewhere.”

Franz Joseph dairy farmer Graham Berry also believes farmers have been pushed into a corner with no way out.

“I’m a Coaster all my life and I’m very sad to say I think there’s only one option,” Berry said.

“The past few years has led to this. It’s the result of silly options that have been taken, like the growth to Canterbury, that have put us in this position.

“For farmers and the West Coast economy there’s no real choice.

“It (July 4) is going to be a very sad day for a lot of farmers and the West Coast people,” Berry said.

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Heavily in debt, the 150-year old West Coast dairy co-operative called for help in 2017 and in a bittersweet proposal for its 420 shareholders, a sale to China’s biggest dairy company appears the only ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

Yili already owns South Canterbury’s Oceania dairy plant and in the sale proposal has committed to pick up all existing Westland milk supply and to match Fonterra’s farmgate milk price for 10 years.

It has also signed up to pay progressive bonus payments to Westland Milk’s senior management executives, including a $680,000 bonus to

chief executive Toni Brendish if the sale goes ahead.

A further $360,000 is understood to be on the table for the company’s chief operating officer, $302,000 to its general sales manager and $100,000 to its chief financial officer.

Farmers have also learned Australian investment banker Macquarie, which is managing the sale, will receive $5.8 million whether or not the sale goes ahead and significantly more, though the sum has not been disclosed, if the sale crosses the line.

Morrison declined to comment on any sale-specific business, citing advice against doing so and instead concentrating on preparing for the media engagement after the vote.

He urged all shareholders to vote.

The vote is on the proposal from Hongkong Jingang Trade Holding Co (Jingang), a wholly owned subsidiary of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group (Yili), to acquire 100% of Westland Co-operative Dairy Company for $3.41 a share.

“We need all shareholders to participate in the vote. This is a very important decision for Westland farmers and we want all shareholders to participate,” Morrison said.

At least 75% of the votes cast and more than half of all eligible votes must be in favour for the sale to proceed.

Morrison said a committee of five farners and five representatives of the new owners will be formed to maintain communications and transparency.

The deal will require High Court approval and consent under the Overseas Investment Act.

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NEWS

WEATHER OVERVIEW A week ago we were talking about an enormous high rolling in. This week we’re still talking about that same high but now it’s slowly moving away to the east. It will affect New Zealand for more than 11 days – impressive. With this high now departing it encourages a warm sub-tropical flow across NZ. In fact, on Tuesday and Wednesday the airflow will be coming from near Fiji, pushing overnight lows well up. Waikato, for example, will be 15C warmer at night this week compared to last week. We have some rain, possibly heavy this week, but it’s isolated to western areas at this stage. By next week we have yet another large high coming our way.

5 NZ questions US farm subsidies New Zealand is among a handful of World Trade Organisation members pushing the United States to come clean over billions of dollars paid to its farmers as compensation for the trade war with China.

Newsmaker ������������������������������������������������������22 New Thinking ��������������������������������������������������23

Pasture Growth Index Above normal Near normal Below normal

7-DAY TRENDS

Wind

Rain We have narrow areas of heavy rain midweek, which will bring a drenching to some but it’s still drier than normal for others. It’s a tricky forecast to be precise but central and western areas look most exposed to rain.

Opinion ������������������������������������������������������������24

ON FARM STORY Temperature Much warmer nights are coming this week compared to last week with some places 10C to 15C warmer by night. Daytime highs lift too, by a few degrees. Generally, this week is warmer than average for most regions.

28 It’s not weak to speak

NZX PASTURE GROWTH INDEX – Next 15 days

Sub-tropical northerly quarter winds dominate most of the country until midweek. Thursday might have variable wind directions because of a weak, developing front crossing NZ. It’s likely a cooler southerly quarter flow arrives late week and weekend then fades as another high arrives.

Highlights/ Extremes Some rain this week in the west will be heavy thanks to the sub-tropical flow feeding it. Central western areas look most exposed. A low will likely form and cross NZ on Thursday.

Another big high arrives by Sunday.

14-DAY OUTLOOK

In recent weeks soil moisture levels have returned to normal in many parts of NZ. WeatherWatch.co.nz is already seeing that reverse thanks to dry, high pressure. The Far North, eastern Northland and other eastern parts of both islands are showing signs of becoming drier than normal again with Canterbury perhaps the driest of all the regions over the next week or two. But warmer, subtropical weather coupled with some rain this week might see a midwinter boost in pasture growth for some.

SOIL MOISTURE INDEX – 27/06/2019

Luke Chivers speaks to a dairying couple whose change in perspective has transformed their farm, their family and their community.

REGULARS Real Estate �������������������������������������������������30-32 Employment ����������������������������������������������������33 Classifieds ��������������������������������������������������������34 Livestock ����������������������������������������������������������35 Markets �������������������������������������������������������36-40 Correction: A story in last week’s paper asserted that Yili is owned by the Chinese Community Party. It is a public company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of advertising revenue to the Rural Support Trust. Thanks to our Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer advertisers this week: $499.

Need help now? You can talk to someone who understands the pressures of farming by phoning your local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254.

Source: WeatherWatch.co.nz

This product is powered by NIWA Data

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

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

3

Adding $7000 to a bale of wool Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz A GROUP of farmers has achieved the unthinkable, receiving the equivalent of about $39 a kilogram for crossbred lambs’ wool.

But it wasn’t achieved through a conventional selling system.

Ten South Island farmers committed 2800kg of 31-32 micron wool to the project.

The wool was processed into worsted yarn in New Zealand then made into high-quality jerseys in China.

The farmers are selling the jerseys through their Dunedin firm Agwool.

Founding member Ken Algie says the return was achieved in part because there are no wholesalers, retailers or traders taking margins.

The other element is product quality.

The jerseys sell for $184 but Algie says they could conceivably sell for $300 or more in a shop.

The move lifted the value of a 180kg bale of greasy wool from $650 to more than $7800.

Farmer and Agwool director Rick Cameron says when pricing the jerseys, for the first time in his farming career he had to consider the price he would seek for a product from his farm.

“If we don’t seek quality and restore wool to where it should be then we won’t get proud consumers happy to buy wool again.”

Cameron doesn’t claim this will be the savour of the crossbred wool industry but in a small way it is raising awareness and the potential of wool while also coming up with a new model to replace one that is not working.

“The principle is each product is a pool on its own and all the proceeds go back to the growers.”

The success of this pilot project has encouraged Agwool to expand the product range and it is looking at other wool garments such as

A SMALL STEP: Agwool jersey pilot venture principals Ken Algie, left, and Rick Cameron wearing lambs’ wool jerseys.

If we don’t seek quality and restore wool to where it should be then we won’t get proud consumers happy to buy wool again.

socks and bush shirts, insulation using bellies and pieces and carpet.

It could also arrange the manufacturing of products to order.

Cameron says the Chinese jersey maker is enthused by the project and it could generate more orders and new products for crossbred wool.

That Agwool model is built on the frustrations at the parlous state

of the wool industry of Cameron, a former Wool Board director, and Algie, who spent 40 years in wool sales and design.

Together they created Agwool, which is constructed on the model used in an earlier venture they established, Agmatch, an on-line selling platform.

Agmatch is a member only entity through which Algie negotiates buying deals for members for farm products as diverse as houses and nails and even veterinary-only items such as dry cow products.

Algie says the key to both ventures is to keep costs to a minimum. He is the only employee and instead of paying a commission on sales Agmatch’s 550 members pay an annual fee.

Cameron says Agmatch’s negotiation and collective clout with more than 2500 businesses

saves him at least $5000 a year but in one deal a member saved $150,000 in fertiliser and another $20,000 in insurance.

Algie says they soon discovered the obstacles and costs were too great for the wool pilot to be contracted out and realised they had to do it themselves.

Knowledge accumulated from 40 years in the wool trade told him the degree returns were being eroded by margins at each step in the chain.

“To change that, you have got to take control and do it yourself and you have got to cut some of the fat out.”

Algie used his knowledge to oversee the process, which included designing the jersey, creating the brand and negotiating processing, shipping and manufacturing contracts.

The other key was quality.

Crossbred wool is seldom turned into worsted yarn, the highest quality yarn, but by keeping costs low it is possible to use it to produce competitively costed clothing and create garments with the look and feel of Merino fabric.

Farmers were invited to supply wool to strict specifications but they had to take on the risk and pay $68/kg up front for processing and testing.

For that they received a consignment of jerseys to sell but, just as importantly, the pilot highlighted issues, obstacles and processes they can avoid for future ventures.

The next product will be easier to process and the timelines shorter but Cameron believes the Agmatch model can be used for a variety of products and services from banking to selling fresh produce.

The lambs keep coming David, Robbie and Lawrie Selbie farm in western Southland, with hill country up to 920 metres above sea level. “We’ve been using Wairere Romneys for more than twenty years. We’ve come to expect 150% or better from our 5800 Wairere ewes. Even the worst season in the last decade resulted in 142% lambing.

The lambs finish quickly and the Wairere brand ensures a premium for stores when the season dictates going that way.”

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THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

Personal goals measure success Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz FARMING success today is much broader than the traditional measures of farm ownership or sharemilking contracts, farmers at the annual South Island Dairy Event in Invercargill were told.

While the dairy industry still offers a career path to those ultimate goals, a series of speakers at various stages in their careers told how they are fulfilling their aims, which do not necessarily mean sharemilking or farm ownership.

Chris and Lynsey Stratford are equity partners and lower-order sharemilkers for South Coast Dairy, a 400-cow farm at Curio Bay, east of Invercargill.

Even though they are one of four shareholders they run the farm – and the owners encourage them to run it – as if it is theirs.

They bought into the equity partnership in 2009 having spent three years in management roles at a 1000-cow farm near Lincoln.

Before that Chris worked on

farms in Britain, where he met Lynsey, a lawyer, but on returning to New Zealand he had to learn skills such as managing pasture.

While keen to progress their dairy careers they invested savings earned overseas in a rental property.

The Curio Bay farm equity partnership works well, Chris says.

The partners get on, have complementary skills and the same values and goals.

The shareholders meet regularly, communicate well, acknowledge the importance of family and set an annual farm plan that is left to the Stratfords to implement.

Chris says the couple have been able to pursue their own goals and values, which initially meant a salaried manager’s role so they could more easily manage their own banking affairs before moving to a lower-order sharemilking contract.

It also let them have a work-life balance, something Lynsey says is important with a young family.

“If our kids don’t see farming as

RISK TAKERS: Josh and Becs Dondertman from Rangitata have built their careers around running large herds and are not averse to taking risks.

a great lifestyle then we’ve failed.”

The arrangement aligns with their values, such as ensuring at least one parent attends events involving their children.

Chris says other standards they set themselves are to surround themselves with great role models, their children to have stable schooling, being part of a strong community and to be great stewards of the land.

While motivated to grow the business financially Chris says that will be a consequence of achieving their other goals.

Josh and Becs Dondertman have managed large dairy farms in Tasmania, Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay and Culverden but are now content to contract milk a 780cow property at Rangitata, Mid Canterbury.

Josh says the job meets all their criteria of working with people who are supportive, driven and successful, offers a work-life balance while still providing a challenge and the opportunity to continue developing skills and knowledge.

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“We truly believe that if you line up all of those things, profits will come,” Becs says.

Spending time with their young family is a high priority.

After graduating from Massey University they initially worked in Tasmania before shifting to a 1500-cow Manawatu farm.

The move to a manager’s role with BEL Group Dairies in Hawke’s Bay saw them manage 12 staff on a 2400-cow farm, a role which grew their skills in management, leadership and systems.

“Systems, systems, systems – you can’t do large-scale dairy without them,” Becs says.

The shift to Culverden added to their skill and knowledge, overseeing the conversion of land

RESPONSIBILITY: Farming as if the land was theirs … Chris and Lynsey Stratford from Southland discuss their goals for the dairy industry.

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to dairying, the construction of sheds and infrastructure and managing several farms.

Becs says they are not afraid of taking risks, which they feel they get from running large-scale dairy farms.

When Filipino Aldrene Fabela landed in south Otago in the middle of the 2007 winter to start a career in the dairy industry, he was too scared to turn on the electric blanket in case he was electrocuted.

He had never seen snow but the weather was not his only problem.

He was away from his family and being the only Filipino in the area he did not know anyone and had no one to talk to.

A relative found him a job at Otautau, Southland, where he soon progressed to managing a 1200-cow herd.

Fabela says he studied agricultural courses in his spare time and also learnt artificial insemination. In 2009 he was a finalist in the dairy farmer trainee of the year.

In 2012 he was appointed farm manager on Ross and Donna McKenzie’s farm at Riverton and says it is his goal to stay working for the McKenzies, who are very supportive.

His other goal is to buy a home for his family, who are now NZ citizens.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

5

NZ questions US farm subsidies Nigel Stirling nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com NEW Zealand is among a handful of World Trade Organisation members pushing the United States to come clean over billions of dollars paid to its farmers as compensation for the trade war with China.

In May US President Donald Trump announced a further US$16b in payments to follow US$12b in aid dispensed in July last year.

American farmers have borne the brunt of retaliatory tariffs on US exports to China.

They followed Trump’s own tariffs on US$200b of Chinese exports to the US. After the first payments were announced last July Trump’s top agricultural official Sonny Perdue claimed they were a short-term measure to tide farmers over till a deal to remove the tariffs was negotiated between the US and China.

At a meeting of the WTO’s agriculture committee last week NZ asked how the new payments differ from the earlier aid package.

“Does the US maintain that last year’s farmer relief package remains a one-off payment?” David Reid, NZ’s representative on the Genevabased committee asked.

China, Canada, the European Union, Australia and the Ukraine also had questions.

Under WTO rules subsidies are classified according to whether they are paid directly to farmers according to production or benefit them more indirectly, such as grants for environmental projects or market promotion.

In the preamble to its questions China said it

thought the aid programmes exceed the WTO’s limit for direct payments set at US$19.1b or 5% of US agricultural production.

The Government’s agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen said NZ has similar concerns.

“Two aspects to this include the overall amount, to make sure it does not exceed US commitments and, secondly, that these payments are not production and tradedistorting.”

We care as a matter of principle and if some is going in direct to US dairy farmers then that has an element of distortion as well.

Kimberly Crewther Dairy Companies Assn Dairy Companies Association executive director Kimberly Crewther said regardless of how the payments are categorised it is still all money in American farmers’ pockets keeping production higher than it would be without them.

“These are all just shades of distortions as opposed to distorting or not distorting.”

Crewther expects the latest payments will be mainly soaked up by US soy and pork producers hardest hit by Chinese tariffs.

“We care as a matter of principle and if some is going in direct to US dairy farmers

then that has an element of distortion as well.

“But also, if it is being put into the US general farming system, which also distorts the cost of feed inputs then that is equally productiondistorting for dairy as well.”

Chapman Tripp lawyer and former trade negotiator Tracey Epps said WTO members routinely seek information through the committee about agricultural policies of concern to them.

“Given the current administration’s propensities towards America First it is to be expected that any announcements such as the one about providing additional support to farmers is going to attract scrutiny.”

Epps said NZ will want to know how the US intends to classify the payments and whether they exceed WTO limits.

“Both issues will likely be relevant but at such an early stage we are most probably looking for as much information as possible so we can see where US farm policy is heading and understand what this might mean for the world market and our own exporters.”

Epps said countries can take up to two years to notify the WTO of subsidies.

“There has been a lot of concern over the general lack of notifications being made by WTO members in general so it is possible that the question is intended to provide a signal to the US and other countries that we believe these measures are notifiable and must be notified.”

Ironically, the US is pushing for improved notification as part of Trump’s push for a shake-up of the WTO more generally.

WORRIES: Concerns about United States’ payments to its farmers include the amount involved and the trade and production distortions that could result, agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen says.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

7

Reports at odds on carbon counting While BLNZ wants the definition of eligible forest extended, the commission says DairyNZ proposed a hybrid approach for dairy farmers, combining onfarm planting with the purchase of carbon credits from elsewhere.

Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

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ALLOWING riparian strips and small woodlots to be eligible to earn carbon credits was roundly dismissed by the Productivity Commission last year citing costs and conflict with international carbon accounting rules.

The commission’s Low Emissions Economy report released last August also found that small woodlots will sequester less than two million tonnes of carbon a year.

The Government has confirmed it is considering extending the eligibility of woodlots eligible for carbon sequestration to include areas such as riparian planting and shelter belts, enabling farmers to offset their emissions or earn NZ Units which they can trade.

But the commission doubted its worth.

“For instance, riparian planting at 5m wide would generate between three and eight NZ units a kilometre each year, providing between $60 and $160 in income.”

NZ units are traded on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) with one unit equivalent to one tonne of sequestered carbon dioxide equivalent.

The report notes it costs landowners $500 to register with the ETS and $102 to claim units.

The commission found that not only was the financial viability questionable, non-ETS land would sequester less than 2m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year.

Forests that qualify for the ETS are currently sequestering 24m tonnes of CO2 a year.

It quoted a study that found small woodlots would sequester 1m tonnes of CO2 equivalent if established on 0.4% of agricultural land, a 10m wide riparian strip running half the length of NZ streams and rivers would sequester a further 0.7m tonnes and peatland and wetlands 0.1m tonnes.

The study found that these forms of sequestration would offset at most only a minor proportion of pastoral farming emissions.

Productive Commission’s Low Emissions Economy report

COUNTED: The Ministry for Environment says the Interim Climate Change Committee (ICCC) has delivered a report to Government that includes options to allow small woodlots and riparian planting for carbon sequestration.

“The study found that these forms of sequestration would offset at most only a minor proportion of pastoral farming emissions.”

It did not look at forestry woodlots or indigenous forests, something Beef + Lamb NZ is seeking to have included given 2.8m ha of native forests, grassland, shrubland and wetland is on NZ sheep and beef farms.

The commission’s report noted that modern satellite and imaging technology could assist in mapping small woodlots, but other challenges remained, such as high administration costs relative to returns and satisfying international greenhouse gas

accounting rules which do not allow offsetting from small woodlots.

“Feasibility would depend on international greenhouse gas accounting conventions changing to include smaller plantings and technology emerging to costeffectively and reliably monitor carbon sequestering in such plantings.

“Aggregation for accounting purposes would also be required so that the rewards to participating landowners outweigh the administrative costs.”

The commission was told by the NZ Carbon Farming Group (NZCFG) that an NZU price

above $18.80 and policy certainty would encourage it to commit to planting 20,000 ha a year. It is currently about $22.

But the group noted that as more is planted in forests the price of additional land suited for planting increases.

The NZCFG says an NZU price heading towards $70 is likely to encourage increased afforestation mostly on marginal sheep and beef land.

Climate Change minister James Shaw has said the Government intends introducing measures to ensure the NZU price does not become too volatile, such as releasing more units once the price reaches a trigger point.

That could include communitybased afforestation blocks where farmers collectively bought land for carbon sequestration on to which dairy companies could to plant trees to offset their emissions.

A spokesperson for the Ministry for Environment says the Interim Climate Change Committee (ICCC) has delivered a report to Government that includes options to allow small woodlots and riparian planting for carbon sequestration.

That report includes options to broaden the definition of what woody vegetation that can be considered for carbon sequestration and options for soil carbon management as a means of reducing on farm emissions.

“The ICCC report was handed over to Government at the end of April and the Government is considering its response.

“The Government will consult with the general public on this response before making its final decisions.”

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THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

Plan changes could save millions CHANGES to the One Plan could save the Manawatu-Wanganui regional economy millions of dollars.

Manawatu-Wanganui regional councillors have recommended changes to fix problems with the plan’s nutrient management policy and rule framework after staff said the nitrogen leaching limits need to be recalibrated with the most up-to-date version of Overseer so they align with the latest science.

The plan’s nutrient management policy and rule framework also need change so farmers and growers who breach the limits can have resource consent applications assessed.

Paths include demonstrating

proposed nutrient reductions and mitigations, including using good management practice and innovation, or detailing a transition plan out of intensive land use over the short term.

The proposed changes, called Plan Change 2, do not mean water quality targets or the approach used to manage nutrients will change.

An Institute of Economic Research report commissioned by the council, which is also known as Horizons, into the economic impacts of One Plan’s intensive land use provisions said the original leaching limits will cut dairy production by 28% in Tararua and by 22% in Rangitikei while if the changes are approved it will fall by 10% in the two districts.

Commercial vegetable production in Horowhenua will

LIC to join NZX main board HERD improvement and agritech co-operative LIC will move from the alternative board to the main board of the NZX (NZSX) this month.

This comes as the NZX announced it will move to a single equities board from July 1 and close the NZAX and NXT. Of the companies migrating, LIC is the largest by market capitalisation, at approximately $109 million.

There are about 14 agritech companies on the NZX Main Board and only one other farmer-owned co-operative, Fonterra.

LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says LIC is excited to join the NZSX and be featured alongside some of New Zealand’s best-known brands and companies.

“The presence of LIC on the main board is an opportunity

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to further strengthen the profile of the primary sector on the NZSX.” McNee says the migration will not impact its 10,300 farmer shareholders.

LIC debuted on the NZAX in 2004 and employs 750 full time staff.

In the past four years, LIC has undergone a significant transformation programme, including separating its genetics and agritech businesses, completing a capital restructure and strategy refresh.

Its latest half-year results showed revenue and net profit up and the company is on track to hit its forecast of $18-22m for 2018-19.

The move to the main board also means LIC will become subject to listing rules that impose enhanced governance requirements.

fall by 64% under the original limits.

The report said lower agricultural production will lead to a fall in regional GDP and household spending.

It estimates GDP in the region will drop by $65.4 million under the original limits and $20.7m under the revised limits.

But it is not just farmers and growers who will be affected but also industries closely related to dairying and horticulture, it said.

Council chairman Bruce Gordon said though the proposed plan change is tightly scoped to fix a nutrient management implementation issue, it is a great step forward.

Farmers and growers will continue to be regulated under One Plan, he said.

“However, we cannot have our science, knowledge and practice frozen in time.

“These changes will provide our officers better mechanisms for assessing applications.

“However it does not guarantee a consent will be granted in every case.

“Proposed Plan Change 2 is the first of a number of plan changes and will be complemented by catchment reviews, which involve our communities in planning for our freshwater management in our region.”

The proposed changes have been given a cautious welcome by the Environmental Defence Society, which, alongside Fish and Game, took the council to court more than two years ago over the way it administered its plan.

“It has taken far too long to get to this point but it’s better late than never,” society chief executive Gary Taylor said.

“Whether the plan change deals effectively with the issues remains to be seen after detailed analysis of the proposal.

“There are some concerning signs.

CLARITY: Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon says the plan change will provide council officers with better mechanisms for assessing resource management applications.

It has taken far too long to get to this point but it’s better late than never.

Gary Taylor Environmental Defence Society “It seems as if good management practice is intended to be a way of avoiding regulatory limits, which is unlikely to be enough to achieve good water quality.

“But let’s see what more detailed analysis reveals. At least the affected community will have

something tangible to examine and submit on after an extended hiatus.”

Notification of the change will begin on July 22 and be followed by an extended consultation 60 working days. The extended consultation takes into account the start of calving.

Hearings will be held in February with a decision expected by the middle of next year.

But that’s not quick enough for the society, which wants the plan change referred straight to the Environment Court by Environment Minister David Parker.

“That would enable a quicker and less costly resolution than the protracted schedule 1 process under the Resource Management Act,” Taylor said.

LEGAL TALK with Barbara McDermott Farm owner must pay milk payment regardless of claim against sharemilker Federated Farmers Sharemilking Agreements are commonly used in New Zealand by farm owners and sharemilkers to govern their relationship. Disputes between farm owners and sharemilkers are usually resolved using the dispute resolution process set out in the Agreement and rarely come before the courts. However, High court action was necessary recently to resolve serious issues which had arisen between a farm owner and a sharemilker.

Sharemilker applies to Court for liquidation of farm owner The sharemilker sought an order from the court for the liquidation (or winding up) of the farm owning company because the company refused to pay milk payments due to the sharemilker. Under the Companies Act there is a process enabling a creditor to apply to the court to liquidate a company when the company has not paid the debt owed to the creditor. When a company is liquidated the company’s debts are paid (so far as the company has funds to pay those debts). To obtain the liquidation order the creditor must show the company is insolvent and must not use the process if the debt is disputed. The

court has a discretion to decide whether or not in the circumstances it should make the order.

The farm owner’s defence The company opposed the liquidation on the grounds it was entitled to deduct (or set-off) from the milk payments due to the sharemilker the amounts owing to the company for breaches of the Agreement by the sharemilker. As a result of the set-off, the company argued no money was owed to the sharemilker so the sharemilker could not use the liquidation process.

The judge’s decision The judge referred to the following clauses in the Sharemilking Agreement: 1. The “No Withholding of Payments or Set Off” clause (no set-off clause). This clause states that the farm Owner must pay the sharemilker the milk payments in full, without deducting or withholding any amount.

2. The dispute resolution clause. This clause requires disputes to be resolved by a process of negotiation, conciliation and arbitration.

www.nwm.co.nz

The judge found that the terms of the Agreement meant that the farm owner must make the milk payment “without dispute” and could not set-off any amounts owing to the sharemilker from the milk payment.

The sharemilker was therefore entitled to use the liquidation process. However, because the sharemilker would have to show the company’s insolvency to obtain the order, the judge adjourned the case to enable the company to establish solvency by paying the milk payment. The farm owner will now need to pursue its claims against the sharemilker without the benefit of the set-off.

Fairness of the decision Although the decision could be seen as unfair to a farm owner who has genuine claims against a sharemilker, that should be balanced against the unfairness and potentially disastrous financial consequences to a sharemilker if a farm owner is able to withhold milk payments without having to first prove justification for doing so.

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Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz

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News

10 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

You can bet on a fun day

STARTERS: Race day co-ordinators Bruce Taylor and Craig Wiggins are gearing up for a big turnout at the Ashburton Racecourse as farming families take a day off the farm.

Photo: Annette Scott

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LAST year’s inaugural farming families day at the races catered for more than 300 rural folk taking the chance to get off the farm for a fun day out.

This year organisers are gearing up for an even bigger day as they plan for the day on July 14.

Co-ordinators Bruce Taylor of Farmlands Ashburton and Farmers Weekly columnist and rural advocate Craig Wiggins want all farming families to swap a day on the farm for a day at the races with the Ashburton Trotting Club.

“It was such a success last year we decided we should do it again,” Wiggins said.

“We made a few calls and all the rural businesses, sponsors and supporters from last year were really keen to go again so with that confirmed we are pretty chuffed to be able to bring this event back for farming families in 2019.”

We were pretty stoked with the success of the event. We won’t be changing a lot about the format this year, just tweaking bits and pieces here and there, adding a few new bits and ensuring we make it a great day out Craig Wiggins Co-ordinator

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Last year 350 farming people from North Canterbury to North Otago attended winter race meeting incorporating the organised activities for farming families.

“We were pretty stoked with the success of the event. We won’t be changing a lot about the format this year, just tweaking bits and pieces here and there, adding a few new bits and ensuring we make it a great day out,” Wiggins said.

“The whole event revolves around everyone getting together,” Taylor said.

“We would like to think now we can make it an annual event,” Wiggins said.

The day is free admission with a free race book and fun for all the family with both children’s and adult entertainment, food, spot prizes, sulky rides for the kids, bouncy castles, face painting and a colouring competition.

A key spectacle this year will be the arrival on course of skydivers, weather permitting, and there will also be a line-up of vintage and classic cars on show.

The Rural Fashion in the Field competition is expected to attract some interesting outfits.

There will be eight races.

“There will be opportunity to get up close and personal with the drivers and we will have an education centre to help people at the tote.

“Best of all there will be losing tote spot prizes.

“It’s school holidays, it’s mid-winter, it’s precalving and lambing and it’s a break from the farm for a fun day out.”

The day kicks off at 11.30am and runs to 4.30pm.

To give organisers an idea of numbers people can register their interest on the Farming Families Day at the Races Facebook page or by emailing rst. midcanterbury@gmail.com

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

11

Breeders seek seed law overhaul Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz

DODGY SEED: Thomas Chin said NZ’s seed legislation has to fall into line with trade partners.

PLANT breeders are seeking an overhaul of New Zealand’s plant variety legislation, claiming the existing act risks putting NZ behind the rest of the world in varieties grown or developed here.

New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association general manager Thomas Chin said successive governments had dragged their feet when it came to updating this country’s 30-plus year old Plant Variety Rights Act. However there was now an opportunity for breeders to push for changes to the act, as the government seeks industry submissions on options to reform it.

“Really what lawmakers have is a once in a lifetime opportunity to design a regime that is future focused.

“Present legislation fails to deliver rigid protection to breeders for the IP in their germplasm, with inadequate fines.

“The legislation as it stands also fails to require a royalty be paid

Plant breeder’s world role THE appointment of a New Zealand representative to the International Seed Federation board is key to local plant breeders staking a peg on the global radar, Plant Breeders Association general manager Thomas Chin says.

Industry stalwart Brent Stirling was elected to the international role at the federation’s 95th World Seed Congress in France earlier this month.

“For NZ this is a key appointment as it keeps the NZ seed industry profile high amongst the international community and recognises that NZ has an important role and contribution to make in the international fora for industry

governance and policy,” Chin said.

Stirling, who has been involved in the seed industry for the past 33 years, is general manager of sales at Cropmark Seeds, a private NZ plant breeding, research and marketing company operating in both the domestic and international markets.

Stirling has also spent time on the NZ Grain and Seed Trade Association executive and was chairman of the forage and turf section for 20 years.

He is chairman of the Seed Quality Management Authority and for the past four years he’s been a member of the federation’s forage and turf section board.

Plant Breeders Association president Barry McCarter said Stirling’s qualification for the role is outstanding and his appointment will keep the NZ seed industry on the international radar.

Speaking from Europe, Stirling said he is looking forward to contributing his experience to help the global seed trade ensure the best quality seed is accessible to all.

This is the first time in five years NZ has had a representative on the fedeeration’s board.

NZ had representatives on the board from 2002-2008 with Selwyn Manning and John McKenzie from 2008-2014.

to breeders by farmers who use farm-saved seed.”

Chin said with NZ now a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) it was apparent just how far behind the member countries NZ was in terms or protecting plant breeders.

“All other member countries comply with a plant variety standard, UPOV91. It is a globally accepted standard that NZ must fall into line with under the conditions of the CPTPP if we are to fulfil our obligations as a member.”

The protocol ensures far more rigid and enforced protection of breeders’ plant variety rights. It will give greater peace of mind to potential international providers of new germplasm suitable for use in NZ, knowing their Plant Variety Rights (PVR)s would be protected.

At present certain grain varieties, including barley, did not always have the very latest hybrids on offer to our growers as seed companies held back their offerings.

“At the moment in NZ it is almost like our growers in cereal crops in particular only have access to the equivalent of an iPhone 6, when the rest of the world can use an iPhone 10.”

Following Canada’s ratification of UPOV91, plant breeders experienced a spike in variety applications.

Chin was adamant NZ breeders would experience higher levels of long term investment by overseas plant breeding companies if the protocol was ratified here.

Flipping things around, Chin said at present it was similar to the hesitancy NZ seed growers may feel sending varieties to China, where a loose approach to legislation made theft of germplasm IP very possible.

Farm-saved seed royalties would also be reinforced under the protocol.

“In the cereal space in particular that loss of royalties is quite challenging when it comes to a funding source for R&D.”

Estimates were about $2 million in royalties a year were lost that could go into R&D. The cereal sector’s development of suitable hybrids was hit particularly hard.

Chin said because of its small size it was hard for the cereal sector to leverage R&D funds for hybrid development and that was fast approaching tipping point, with funds needed sooner than later.

At the moment in NZ it is almost like our growers in cereal crops in particular only have access to the equivalent of an iPhone 6, when the rest of the world can use an iPhone 10.

Thomas Chin Grain Seed Trade Association “We have already had general agreement among all players in principal this is needed and the work now will be on a mechanism to deliver those royalties.”

The existing act was also woefully light on penalties for those ripping off plant varieties from seed companies.

Chin’s submission on the issue outlines costly and time consuming court processes, with inadequate fines of $500-$1000 an offence.

Typical illegal practices include fraudulent labelling of seed varieties and the misuse of farmsaved seed that is a proprietary brand, sold by farmers.

“In determining what penalties should be, we don’t have to look very far. Government has already reinforced copyright and patent legislation that deals with IP. Why not take that protection and use it as a base for seeds?”

The policy options paper is due for release in July.

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News

12 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

Iwi milk plant delivers value Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz THE skyline of the small Bay of Plenty town Kawerau has been dominated for the past 40 years by the big Tasman paper mill but now has another profile in the form of the new Waiu Dairy plant.

The joint iwi-Cedenco plant has been commissioned and its first commercial milk collection this week will be processed through the 900kg-an-hour drier.

Waiu chairman Richard Jones said the plant is the result of a bar-side conversation in 2012 with iwi business representatives when they were kicking around options for revitalising eastern Bay of Plenty.

The area has struggled since the Tasman mill wound down staffing by over 30% in the 1990s while also combating some devastating storms and poor youth job opportunities.

“We knew what Miraka had done over in Taupo and thought ‘why can’t we do that?’”

Several iwi entities had access to dairy herds and Kawerau is central to them. One iwi group owned land suitable for a dairy plant on the town’s outskirts.

The group began raising capital and soon had offers from four overseas interests to contribute $10 million to the $32m project.

Eleven iwi interests, including the Poutama and Putauaki Trusts, have invested $20m and collectively iwi interests hold 66% ownership.

One of the keen overseas interests was Japanese-owned Cedenco, which already has a strong presence in New Zealand through its horticultural, green shell mussel and dairy ingredients businesses.

“For us it became clear very quickly Cedenco was entirely suited to what we were proposing,” Jones said.

“They already had a respected presence in NZ and their Japanese ownership shared iwi values about long-

term, generational business ownership.”

Geothermal energy is provided from another iwi investment, the Ngati Tuwharetoa power plant, just a kilometre from Waiu’s site.

The plant can process both conventional and organic milk.

Incoming tankers are separated based on milk type and while organic is about 30% of the total it is expected to rise to half in coming years.

General manager Dominic Young said the United States market, in particular, is exhibiting double-digit growth in demand for grass-fed organic milk products and marks a good starting point for the company’s marketing efforts.

And there is a close relationship between staff, owners and suppliers with 80% of our employees connected through whanau to the business.

Richard Jones Waiu Dairy Organic milk is being sourced through the Organic Milk Hub but the company envisages getting more local organic farmers on board as it expands.

The company has six suppliers and Young is dealing with one farmer a week inquiring about supply.

Initial products will be highvalue milk proteins suitable for ingredients added to health bars and supplements.

Longer term, Waiu’s partnership with Cedenco means that company’s extensive distribution channels throughout Asia will provide valuable paths to market.

At this stage, however, management is taking a softly-

softly approach to market development with capacity next to the existing plant for another drier.

Jones said iwi are particularly keen to explore other milk processing options including goats and sheep.

“And we have considered plant-based milk products including hemp, which is a very new product area. Our limitation there may be in finding the area to crop it but the factory could be set up to process alternative plant-based milk products.”

Both men said Kawerau is proving an ideal base.

Its familiarity with industrial processing at the mill means there is a level of skill already there and the town’s infrastructure is more than capable of coping with the plant’s presence.

“Kawerau was originally designed around having a population of 15,000 but is about 7000 today. The wastewater and water supply are both able to more than cope with having the plant here,” Jones said.

Cedenco has also invested heavily in training locals to work in a plant that will ultimately have about 40 staff. Recruits from the area have been working in the company’s other food processing plants around NZ while Waiu has also engaged with Primary ITO to get staff trained.

“And there is a close relationship between staff, owners and suppliers with 80% of our employees connected through whanau to the business,” Jones said.

There is a huge level of goodwill towards the business locally with strong support from the council while the company also enjoys good relations with the likes of Miraka near Taupo.

“We are really quite small in the scale of the dairy sector and can provide some opportunities for larger companies to do smallscale product runs. We have no intention or capacity to process large volumes of whole milk COMMISSIONED: Dominic Young, left, and Richard Jones of Waiu Dairy say the powder.”

Kawerau plant has room to expand and energy to boot.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

13

Cooper to head AWDT Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz FORMER Agri Women’s Development Trust programme graduate and facilitator Linda Cooper is the group’s new chairwoman.

Cooper has more than 20 years of national and international executive leadership experience including governance and director roles in New Zealand and internationally.

She will take up the reins from interim chairwoman Mavis Mullins who will remain as patron.

“She brings a wealth of commercial knowledge and expertise to the organisation along with a passion for supporting women to reach their full potential,” Mullins said.

Cooper graduated from the flagship Escalator programme in 2013 and has been a programme facilitator.

She was also acting chief executive for three months last year.

“Linda is another example of

There’s opportunity to extend our work to equip and support women in all primary industries.

Linda Cooper AWDT our Escalator alumni giving back to the sector by taking up roles with AWDT to share their expertise and what they have gained from our programmes for the benefit of other women,” Mullins said.

Cooper said she’s looking forward to working on how the organisation can escalate its impact in the primary sector.

“There’s opportunity to extend our work to equip and support women in all primary industries so they can more fully play their part as vital partners in influencing progress and change.

“I’m also keen to grow our

NO STRANGER: Following several years of involvement with Agri Women’s Development Trust programmes Linda Cooper now leads the organisation.

connections with industry so they can be part of the economic, social and environmental impact these women are having on farms, in families, in the community and in companies.”

Cooper’s appointment is part of the trust’s planned leadership

succession over the past 18 months, which included the appointment of new general manager Lisa Sims in November last year after AWDT founder Lindy Nelson stepped aside from her role as executive director.

Nelson remains involved as a trustee and programme director.

This year AWDT will work with 1000 women and some of their farming partners through its personal development, farm business skills and leadership and governance programmes.

Completing the 12-month journey is unquestionably a hectic experience that provides a rich basket of knowledge, lessons and networks, immediately contributing to your personal and professional development.”

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News

14 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

Success from the ground up Luke Chivers luke.chivers@globalhq.co.nz

OPPORTUNITY: The idea for the posts stemmed from struggling to build a fence on an old rubbish dump, Future Post founder Jerome Wenzlick, centre, says.

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“We weren’t expecting to win, that’s for sure.”

The farmer-turned-entrepreneur said the idea for the posts stemmed from struggling to build a fence on an old rubbish dump.

His wooden fence posts kept breaking but they were not hitting concrete or rocks. They were hitting plastic waste buried in the ground.

“What we’re doing at Future Post is repurposing everyday waste that could have gone to landfill and turning it into a valuable product for local consumers,” Wenzlick said.

The company won the Fieldays Launch New Zealand Award. Judges said the product provides a way for farmers to address what is a massive environmental problem.

“This is a positive and potential game-changing step towards dealing with NZ’s plastic recycling challenge,” they said.

Every year New Zealanders send more than 252,000 tonnes of plastic waste to landfills and nearly a tenth of it is made up of items that have been recycled incorrectly – including soft plastic bags.

His business uses Anchor lightproof milk bottles collected from Fonterra Takanini and taken to Future Post’s Waiuku plant where they are mixed with soft plastics and turned into fence posts.

A standard post can be made from about 1700 plastic bags or 208 milk bottles.

The posts are just as strong as timber but more flexible and can be post-driven, cut, drilled, nailed, screwed, bolted and stapled.

“There’s no splitting, warping, cracking or rotting,” Wenzlick said.

“And the posts are impenetrable by water, frosts, insects and fungi.”

They are made from 100% recycled material and have a life expectancy of more than 50 years – nearly double that of a wooden post.

The posts will be particularly helpful for farmers who have issues with timber posts breaking and for the wine industry where treated timber cannot be used, he said.

For the past six months Future Post has been working closely with Fonterra to source a steady supply of raw material from the co-operative’s own recycling initiatives.

The posts are available in North Island Farm Source stores with plans to launch in South Island stores this year.

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Farmers Weekly columnist Craig Wiggins speaks to Future Post founder Jerome Wenzlick about his win at this year’s Fieldays Innovations Awards.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

15

Farmlands chairman steps down from role Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz LONG-SERVING Farmlands chairman Lachie Johnstone is standing down after almost 19 years on the co-op’s board, with former Silver Ferns Farms chairman Rob Hewett to step into the role.

Johnstone, a Waikato bull finishing farmer and accountant who joined the board of the then Farmers Trading Society in November 2000 and has been chairman since 2003, will not stand in director elections in November.

He was at the helm when Farmlands merged with South Island-based CRT Co-operative in 2013, becoming the inaugural chairman of the newly created Farmlands Co-operative, Johnstone said his nearly two decades in governance with the rural supplies and services co-op could be seen both as a positive and a negative but now is a good time for a change.

“It has been my privilege to have watched Farmlands grow its footprint nationally.

“It’s now a nationwide co-operative providing all the products and services our 70,000 shareholders need to succeed in business,” he said.

We’ve created a business that has an entire value structure built on giving back to those that trust us to help them with their livelihoods.

Lachie Johnstone Farmlands “We’ve created a business that has an entire value structure built on giving back to those that trust us to help them with their livelihoods.

“At the same time I’ve been vocal about the need for a stronger pool of candidates in rural governance.

“My view is 18 years plus is plenty for one person with one organisation and I look forward to continuing to work with Farmlands as a shareholder rather than a director.”

Farmlands, which last year made a profit of $12.2 million on revenue of $2.39 billion, is in good heart and well-positioned for the future, he said.

Changes to the Farmlands governance structure, approved at last year’s annual meeting, mean the previous set-up of eight shareholderelected and two independent directors is changing to six shareholder directors and three independents, a transition that will be bedded in over time.

Increasing the number of independent directors will bring in a vast range of experience and lift the board’s capability though the society’s rules state that the chairman must be a shareholder, The board has been refreshed over recent years with new people being elected and Johnstone is confident there is plenty of talent available to fill rural governance positions in the future.

“We’ve just got to be more pro-active in flushing them out.

“We also need to provide some insight into how that will help them grow personally, how they can contribute to the industry and how rewarding it can be.”

A challenge facing the rural sector is the significant gap between better-than-average commodity prices and the sentiment being expressed by many farmers, which Johnstone said is unusual, though there are a number of reasons for that.

One reason is the challenge from banks as to how people are operating their businesses and meeting their targets while another involves the

management of greenhouse gases and farming’s environmental impact.

Farmers have made great progress managing their impact on the environment and will continue to do so. They are also innovative and he is confident they will come up with ways to meet methane reduction targets.

Hewett, who stepped down as chairman of Silver Fern Farms in May, said “Steering two significant businesses through a merger of this scale in New Zealand is no mean feat and Lachie has been a strong and steady presence at the board table.

CALLING TIME: Lachie Johnstone has decided to step down as chairman of Farmlands later this year.

News

16 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

Snowstorm inspires stock-saver Tim Fulton timfulton050@gmail.com A SHATTERING snowstorm changed David Brown’s life and inspired a life-saving product.

The founder of the Woolover started out as a sheep and cropping farmer at Clandeboye in South Canterbury, near the Fonterra milk factory.

Running 3500 ewes he had lost his fair share of new-born lambs over a couple of decades, especially in three-day southerly storms.

After a marriage break-up and partial farm sale in the mid 1980s Brown had a few years as a grain agent. Canterbury’s Big Snow of 92 threw him sideways again.

Like so many other volunteers Brown hit the road to help farmers trapped in one of the worst storms of the century.

Worn down by seeing so many lost stock and broken properties he called one day at Wool Research of New Zealand at Lincoln.

Thinking of the stock losses Brown asked one of the technicians if they could make white underfelt for lamb covers.

Senior scientist Ian McFarlane told him WRONZ thought of the idea the year before but rang six farmers who said the young sheep weren’t worth saving.

Lambs at that time were barely worth $12 at the farmgate but Brown reckoned WRONZ was talking to the wrong six farmers.

Predicting lambs could be worth $30 by the next season he argued covers would be worth every cent.

The research institute made some fabric for Brown and he took it to AgResearch’s Ruakura research centre with a roll of fabric, a pair of scissors and a stapling gun.

“We wanted to find some live lambs, to look at the ewelamb bonding and look at

POPULAR: David Brown’s Woolover lamb covers are now sold around the world.

They’ll put them in the washing machine.

You wouldn’t believe what farmers will do.

David Brown Woolover just how good the covers were.”

After a few days of field tests Brown asked Christchurch clothes maker Lane Walker Rudkin to cut the material. By this stage he had a design patent on the product, estimating the first run of covers would be 20,000.

That turned out to be too conservative. He sold 50,000 in the first eight weeks.

His customers take their covers off a first young lamb after a week, wash them and put them on a second lamb and sometimes a third.

“They’ll put them in the washing machine. You wouldn’t believe what farmers will do.”

The design has stood the test of time.

Woolover’s NZ sales peaked in 1998 at more than 100,000 covers in New Zealand. With the fall in the national sheep flock, the numbers dipped to about 45,000.

The Woolover Lamb cover is made totally of wool and the design allows ewes to smell the tail and the head, ensuring ewelamb bonding is maximised and reducing reproductive waste.

The covers pay for themselves, he said.

“A lamb lying out on a frosty morning at 6 o’clock, by God, it’s

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a long time till the sun’s got a bit of get up and go. That lamb’s at risk just because of frost. But a 4 o’clock southerly this afternoon … these guys are saying ‘right, there’s six sets of twins out there. Before the onset of the storm, whip out there and put some covers on those twins’.”

In comparison, the plastic covers can be noisy and affect ewe-lamb bonding when it is windy or rainy, Brown said.

Some sheep breeds are more suspicious about the lamb covers than others but to help the ewelamb bonding process farmers can smear a bit of afterbirth on them. Corriedales can be a bit funny about it.

“And there are some ewes out there that want to be solo parents.”

Woolover also sells calf covers but only a few thousand because

0800 787 256 RURALCO.CO.NZ

most Kiwi dairy farmers have ready-made shelter on farms, including woolsheds and barns.

Brown got a start in the United States when the late Rob Cox, the New Zealand manager for World Wide Sires, suggested he give the country a crack through World Wide Sire’s parent company.

By chance Murray Prattley of Prattley Industries in Temuka needed someone to drive for him in the US while he navigated his way around on client visits.

“He said ‘I’m bloody hopeless at driving over there. Meet me in Sacramento on Tuesday week’.”

So away Brown went, turning up at World Wide Sires’ base at Handford, California. The marketing manager asked Brown to supply 400 covers, promising to pay for them and do market research.

“But what they did, they sent 400 covers to their worstperforming clients in the states.”

The approach was something like “Dear Sir, here’s a cover, pay us for this cover if it’s any good and don’t pay us if they’re not.”

World Wide Sires rang Brown eight weeks later and said it wanted a worldwide franchise on the covers.

The number of fibres in a cover is important, Brown said.

“The more fibres you have in there, the warmer it is. You want lots of fibres, all tangled up, doing their work.”

Wool length is crucial too.

“It’s quite critical that, because, if you get the wool too short the covers will come apart. We’ve been there, done that, tried to punch too short a wool.”

Woolover covers are made by Christchurch firm Terra Lana, which takes about 2.5 tonnes of machine-ready Woolover fibre at a time. Woolover sources a 32-micron blend of wool from PGG Wrightson through its subsidiary Bloch and Behrens Wool for the lamb cover and coloured wool for the calf covers.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

Grain sector eyes plant-based future Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz NEW Zealand is behind other countries in developing and investing in plant-based food ingredients and it’s time to bite the bullet, Plant Research managing director Adrian Russell says.

Agriculture and the world food supply are in the biggest revolution in history, Russell told the Grain and Seed Industry Forum at Lincoln.

“There’s incredibly exciting times to get into as an industry, things are changing and we need to change with it.

“The rise of the flexitarian consuming less meat is predicted to quadruple global pea protein demand by 2025.

“We are going to have to accept that and deal with it. It’s going to happen more and more.

Flexitarians are here to stay.”

While NZ can’t feed everyone it can feed 20 million people, less than 0.2% of the world.

“So the foods we can produce

WEBSITE

need to focus on the value.”

But emerging technologies are a key disrupter for NZ, which needs to have a gene-editing debate.

“We are getting left behind.

“Other countries are using it and doing things we could never do using conventional breeding system methods.

“The only way we can do it is to do it offshore – be nice to do it here.”

Russell cited several varieties of peas as key opportunities.

Field pea food products developed by Plant Research are taking off but not from NZ. “Our peas are grown in South Africa. We got 429.6 tonne off 50 hectares. That’s 8.592t/ha. That shows the potential.”

Varieties grown in Belgium and France are processed in Italy into pea butter, chocolate dairy dessert and hummus 50% cheaper than chick peas with very little difference in taste.

“Why are we not producing these in NZ? “Somebody has to bite the

www.crmcphail.co.nz

EMAIL

GRAIN IS GOLD: The New Zealand grains story is extremely powerful with hidden values waiting to be unlocked, Champion Flour business innovation manager Garth Gillam told farmers at a grain and seed forum in Lincoln.

Photo: Annette Scott

I’d like to think the gene-editing debate is re-opened in New Zealand and the science is debated in a useful way.

Adrian Russell Plant ResearchNZ bullet and have a go at it.

“I’d like to think the geneediting debate is re-opened in NZ and the science is debated in a useful way.

“NZ may be just a small blip on the big radar but we need to focus on niche, innovative and healthy products made from plant protein with improved and sensory attributes,” Russell said.

Champion Flour business innovation manager Garth Gillam said the grain industry needs to focus on producing

enquiries@crmcphail.co.nz

17

quality, fit-for-purpose grain that meets traceability and social responsibility standards.

“Cereal grains are going to be something of the future. We have got the quality and available land to do it, both speciality and ancient grains.

“NZ growers are small in scale but innovative and adaptive,” Gillman said.

“The success will be working in partnerships with growers, markets and consumers, managing what we have at the back door.

“Grain is gold. The NZ grains story is extremely powerful with hidden values waiting to be unlocked.”

Champion believes the journey

PHONE

(06) 357 1644

it is on with growers and industry technical support finding new applications and markets for existing grains is building growth and exciting opportunities for the future.

“The changes in global trends with movement to more higher fibre, natural protein diets with increased consumption of whole grains and wholemeals is very evident, not forgetting the growth in the resurgence of the ancient grains category.”

Champion and other companies are willing to grow value in specialty ancient grains and milling wheat volumes.

“We have brought the customer to NZ – the grower is the winner, NZ is the winner,” he said.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

19

When efficiency and safety go hand-in-hand This profile is part of a seven-part series from WorkSafe sharing the health and safety approaches taken by the grand finalists of the 2019 FMG Young Farmer of the Year competition. We are sharing a profile and short video about each of the finalists and how they incorporate health and safety into their work, from a dairy farm manager to a veterinarian.

EFFICIENCY and health and safety go hand-in-hand, Taranaki-Manawatu Young Farmer of the Year finalist Alex Field says.

“Before I do a job I plan how I’m going to do it efficiently and to do a job efficiently you need to do it safely.

“If you break an arm you aren’t going to be there to do the job tomorrow and that just isn’t efficient.”

Field grew up in a farming family on a lifestyle block at Apiti below the Ruahine Ranges.

His parents worked on a nearby dairy farm and his older brothers were shepherds. He would often spend his school holidays helping his brothers with their work.

“This was 10 years ago and back then a lot of health and safety was pretty vague but one of my brothers worked on a Landcorp farm where health and safety was already becoming part and parcel with everyday farm work,” he says.

Field spent two years at Telford Rural Polytech, gaining a rural business diploma.

His studies included health and safety, which he says provided the backbone of his knowledge.

“Then, from Telford, I went to work for Landcorp as a shepherd for five years, in Ohai in Southland and then at Te Anau.

“It was in these roles that I really started to see health

and safety as a priority. At the end of the day we all want everyone to go home safe and that’s the basis of life on the land.

“All the staff are given a good induction and basic training but then you will also go out with someone experienced and they ensure you know how to do things safely before you do them alone. That’s the best way to learn.

Fatigue, thirst and hunger are hidden risks.

Alex Field Young Farmer We were working in big teams and everyone looked out for each other’s safety.”

Field went on to work as a block manager in Waikato then last August became stock manager on a 1000ha farm at Turakina with 3000 sheep and 300 beef cattle.

It can mean long hours working alone – he might be up mustering stock at first light and not finish until dark some days but is very conscious about taking sufficient breaks and managing fatigue.

“One of the best pieces of work advice I’ve had was from a former colleague who used to say no-one works well if

Under the pump?

they are hungry. It’s true. If you press on to 2pm or 3pm without stopping for a break then your work rate drops and so does your decisionmaking ability. This can lead to mistakes or even injury.

“As well as planning ahead of a job, I think reflection is important too.

“If something doesn’t go well or if someone has a near miss it can help ensure that doesn’t happen again.

“I was kicked by a heifer in the yards recently.

“Luckily, she just skimmed me but it could have been far worse.”

“I thought through it all afterwards.

“It was one of those jobs when someone needs to be in the pen with the stock but it was nearing the end of a long task, we were loading the last truck, it was coming up to lunchtime and maybe I wasn’t as alert as I could have been.

“If I’d taken a 15-minute break and had a cup of tea then I would have been more efficient and, as result, more alert.

“You need to identify your risks and have policies and procedures in place to manage them but they are not going to be any use to you if you aren’t adept enough to apply them.

Fatigue, thirst and hunger are hidden risks and farmers need to manage them effectively too.” >> Video link: bit.ly/YFOTYfield

TWO SIDES: Reflection is as important as planning in maintaining safety, Young Farmer Alex Field says.

I perform at my best when I build rest and recovery into my daily schedule.

Sam Whitelock Farmstrong Ambassador

For tips and ideas,

visit farmstrong.co.nz

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being to with wool ent. the next three of investm g investment in forward for a base price “Ongoin five years has animal $20/kg clean. genetics, leading s and more than practice tion, one of husbandry VF Corpora , Annette Scott .nz new supply largest apparel @globalhq.co adoption of . the world’s annette.scott be required accessories models will footwear and ted to is incentivising “VF is commit NZM, companies, NCREASED grow alongside demand industry to tional working sheep NZ’s interna g community, is putting the shearin more fine wool. for fine wool growers,” reach tion, which breeders and VF Corpora Kiwi wool within The including a $2 Conneen said. owns labels of becoming dent enough Timberland, y.

“We’re confi to North Face, nded wool billion industr Merino of NZ-fou and in the future Smartwool New Zealand production ker, has executive incentivise brand Icebrea es m Company chief said if the incentiv idge through long-ter developed John Brakenr provide as part of its ed wool contracts and for farmers ble we can. half NZ’s crossbr to sustaina higher-value support where hard to commitment clip shifts into ts the “VF is working solutions. in and Stephen Bell Luke Chivers those commodity prices will fine wool contrac will be as leader be the global continue to stay up unless we coeconomic upside supply and Merino wool of environment ordinate and collaborate our sales N A global high as $2b. d partner tional the preferre Increased interna We’re efforts. characterised by increasing fine wool growers.” h m wool demand for “And farmers must still work uncertainty the primary The long-ter to NZM profit for sheep confident enoug could spell hard to make sure they get a good sectors are continuing to wool giving future of contracts offered the farmers with as profit.” deliver, Agriculture Minister run in the tivise wine a real growers, such kiwifruit and Despite economic and political Damien O’Connor says. rst, 10-year wool to incen y-fi in terms of industr gh money ker throu for their uncertainty affecting world Icebrea Joined by 100 farmers and production said. contract with ts for exports, he markets, New Zealand’s returns contrac industry leaders at the National in wool coupled with meat long term There is a future NZ, he merino have remained solid and though Fieldays O’Connor launched and for Silere, NZM’s and and Outlook for farmers owned there is continuing risk it is offset the latest Situation contracts. brand jointly , Industries said.

Alliance to some extent by the weak report for Primary with d news operate “Which is great l sheep by MPI. dollar.

(SOPI) produced producers make fine-woo een table across the sector for fine wool profinews “This export performance by “It’s great ring more Tom Conn conside farming othershowing and and farmers NZ’s primary sector producers withgrazing headline figures into it.”

VF Corporation than dairy , systems transitioning is all the more impressive continued growth.”

CHALLENGING: Primary industry export revenue is expected to jump by more than 7% this year to $45.6 billion, Agriculture for sheep farming both have risen by exports Global demand considering the weakening global Agricultural Minister Damien O’Connor told industry leaders at the National Fieldays when he attended with Prime Minister Jacinda and the based on analysisBio. natural fibre economic environment and $7.5 billion in the last two years Ardern. expect ny’s ethical NZM and Abacusd demand “Today we in s Merino Compa Merino is the high degree of uncertainty but returns are expected to soften increase product “The ZQ ts more of our wool brand of contrac in creating tensions across his year before growing again, ance and pendulum for and value design, performand social swinging the global economic growth to sustain growth in dairy export d our international markets,” MPI O’Connor said. has exceede environmental believe wool’s favour. expectations, rising protectionist director-general Ray Smith Export returns for primary We are moving into revenue despite constraints on ting more and we expectations. crest of “We are connec ibility with impact the sentiment and uncertainty caused milk production growth,” Smith said. produce in the year to June 30 are on respons growers challenging economic “We’re the g VF has and more wool contracts

by Brexit, United States-China said. are However, given the uncertain expected todoublin be $45.7b. nity to lead a wave and supply and opportu environments trade straight“NZ’s current run of export New Zealand andand long-term investm trade tensions and outbreaks of international backdrop The report also ent predicts a slight supply on our e,” VF global North Island down seeing has won a exampl are won l by have is the the right ook and we in dog handler being kicked around African swine fever. over the past two years and despite strong fall in theofcoming year before and materia Easterbrsuccess her dog Grit up seasons and export time a female in adoption s to again, to procurement sident Tom Photo: Heather of Waikari It is the first being soaked d. risks practice But the bigger concern for has occurred despite a rising performance the downside returns start climbing STEPH Tweed like a football. vice-pre genetics and be nship in Northlan can supply champio advance. y demand NZ is their potential impact on sense of uncertainty in global are heightened reach $48.5b in 2023. ed wool huntawato the forecast ensure this nship.

Conneen said. champio “Today a crossbr $3 NZ wool,” consumer demand in Britain, markets. the next few years.

“Horticulture has continued nationalover tion’s about supplied from VF Corpora fleece fetches s said.

Merino America and China.

“This is in part because the Production and returns are to be the star performer with its idge with wherea Damien O’Connor Brakenr partnership clean a kilogram ool 22 “We are moving into products we trade in haven’t been focus on the customer resulting in expected to fall slightly in the obvious choice Smartw has been an Agriculture Minister currently a directly affected so are and in part challenging economic next year before resuming its success,” O’Connor said. going t micron contrac environments and trade is being because the NZ dollar has fallen moderate momentum in the “The meat sector is solid and is kicked around like a football,” over the past two years. medium term in meat, dairy and likely to continue that way given O’Connor said.

“However, these issues do continue supporting export horticulture. the challenges in China with their “Our sector shouldn’t assume provide an increasingly uncertain returns. day. With 14 Sustained Chinese and pork production. on sale appealing“Strength anything and will need to backdrop to the otherwise in prices supported southeast Asian demand is “We’re also seeing aquaculture bulls look more fall of the hammer, covering FMG is making positive outlook.” by an increasing proportion of supporting strong prices grow which is a real positive. from the for just insurer, insuredand g 12 months products ically s leading rural Continued page 5 automat remainin bulls The clouds include slowing be higher-value is expected the weak dollar is expected to “But farmers can’t assume the country’ buy for As the chance to Bull Cover, they’ll keep that cover going don’t miss this on your days free Exclusive y. And you can the value of $50,000. So a better deal and infertilit be looking for their transit for bulls up to or buyer, you’ll attractive offer. purchase price, you’re a breeder more about this mighty 6.5% of the Because whether to find out covered by FMG. Call us on 0800 366 466 specific our to is subject services and bulls this season. fmg.co.nz products and wordings at

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WEEK BEGINN JUNE 17, 2019

MARKET REPORT POWDER WHOLE MILK AGO VS. MONTH (US$/TONNE

)

3100

Nicola Dennis

BEEF

(US/$)

7.60

5.43

BULL -MAY lamb kill

Lowest high ($/KG) at record low lights 5.20

NORTH ISLAND JUNE 14, 2019

0.659

1

MAY STEER - High

Currently ($/KG) trending below the 2011-2012 season

of

0.66

7.45

($/KG)

throughput

5.50 store lambs

LIVESTOTCK INSIGH

NZD:USD

LAMB - MAY ( $/KG CW 18KG)

MAY M COW -

NZ. The latest slaughterseason to and Lamb that, there may still the In saying to come to May 18 show at 14.7 million of lambs yet promise of date tally stands 856,000hd, or be plenty season. The is is also is a out this lambs which last year. This winter premiums to kill, good 5.5% behind enticing people season to date likely to be record low, to maximise of year. hold on to lambs for this time through the margins.

Looking back the saleyards, the last time Looking at AgriHQ database, volume was there has been le kill we can see that t of store a comparab 2011-2012 season a good throughpu the past 6 seen was in the lambs were recently. Over million lambs 14.9 when store lambs in the by this point weeks, 236,600hd via AgriHQ slaughtered been sold 2011-2012 season NZ. season. The total of 18.9M have saleyards in a with monitored from ended If this to 193,400hd processed.

Compare this or the head lambs the 2011-2012 time last season season follows end the season the same of the low-producing trend, we would lower than last 189,500hd season.

2011-2012 1 million lambs 200,000hd higher year. This is

4.00

through saleyards

Key Points

improve rally market in second US grinding record low Lamb kill at e Winter at Dannevirk Large yarding

Beef prices

NZD:USD

5.35

2.34

7.80

5.60

$/KG

0.66

US$/LB

$/KG

$/KG

M2 BULL

11.0

Thank you for subscribing to the AgriHQ market reports

Ewe fair

US IMP. 95CL

LAMB P2 STEER

US french rack 12.0

soil or in lower fertility Pasture growingwill grow at a slower rate. soil (such as on steeper faces 8.0 y, higher fertility at a faster the all the for this Conversel is likely to grow 7.0 region re-enter sees almost is not too wet really dairy pasture) moisture This week The King country from the soil is growing 6.0 Jun-19 rate.

JUNE 2019 favour patches removed regions received good time of year and the grass Dec-18 exporter's Jun-18 as most 5.0 easy country. are Currencies in deficit map Dec-17 a weak year, well on the Jun-17 been having growth indicatorslower dry in the making rainfall.

The NZD has The pasture for the 1 rain, it remains battling for NZ exporters strong recovery Manawatu Despite some are Nicola Dennis which is agreeable NZD/USD exchange showing some the some farmers Key Points cold, but it is North Island, althoughof a set back after deals overseas. The far North where of April and banned issues. It isn't since the start , main temporarily has had a bit with stockwater which is the has been sliding week, now sits at 0.656 indicator Brazilian beef grass Kikuyu is week. lift last too cold for after a small the cold, wet The NZD/GBP from China farms. last year's rate.

NZD/ staple for many foggy and a bit damp for lifting indicator 0.04 below last year at 0.517 and the Beef schedules Things were but agreeable 0.08 below our new pasture 95CL now last year at 0.581. in the Waikato, new AgriHQ China factor for sheep meat still held About is 0.02 below sitting at $2.34/ the Fieldays debuted the US with the mud Good US China scrambling gives an Euro has pushed beef prices Last week, we to lb for the paddocks US imported indicator. This high domestic add confidence the imported beef supply the a second rally, LY pretty pasture growthpasture growth over bay.

Forward contracts into a at supply has looking LW prices is of soil A good domesticbeef has have shown $2.34/lb for 95CL 2019 re, TW lights Plenty MAY at rain and indication rally been putting The Bay of lamb markets Currency on soil temperatu 0.696 NZ 2nd with a bit of US now sitting for the 90CL cow 0.662 of leaner grinding (sunlight week based pressure on 0.656 pressure on good for mid-June weather keeping the past solar radiation . and $2.15/lb NZD:USD 0.525 been putting beef prices warm moisture and 0.522 market conditions prices in recent product. weather stations.

0.517 a relatively the local NZD:USD expectations to out at far imported beef NT phosphate NZD:GBP this along. pricing 0.601 LAMB VIEWPOI much- intensity) the bridge Demand following (in particular somePoints 0.587 pasture ticking weekend NZ SLAUGHTER weeks. aligning farmgate 0.581 to go under 90CL Cow of pasture Soil fertility Bay receivedKey average Day holiday the 95CL bull & Domestic without be a lot of water RACK The Hawkes 0.931 with an increases as Q2 is a strong indicator indicator NZD:EURO This pushed US$2.30/lb Memorial US Imported 0.950 US FRENCH modest upside, $/KGCW There is still 0.654 stronger than , more so for levels) rain this week More 0.949 growth shown towards STEERprices have reporting has come back appreciated US$/LB activate more unsettledhas weakened the lack The pasture As we head 7.60 beef price below NZ SLAUGHTER 2.40 soil with an NZD:AUD and some areas contract the from spring. it appears a little last month. period. However, normal. On top of this, Beef and lamb This is the growth.

95CL different to rainfall of 48mm, The US market medium-fertilityon flat ground. beef into $/KGCW settles for a very brief to head For beef that away over the assumes market 10.65 70-100mm plus. has been up to be totallythan normal but 2.30 supplies set beef than prime. factor” meant to of supply of imported US IMPORTED getting carried 24 µg P/g Wharfgate are shaping anywhere from that this region the “China heavily on farmgate. With tighter manufacturing Olsen P of about 5.43 were able is weighing US$/LBthat arm of further been felt at the for many are winter, conditions 2.20 down movement shot in the some NZ exporters away from the the US Feed levels are aware the possibility e farms yet this hasn’t on we may see 2.34 past two years. also battling stability forecast the market. Most will continue 2.10 waiting for, so direct exports month. and productiv farmers are of the equati Short-term Growth last the farmgate not only that, NZ beef supplies low levels.

Approx. Grass US market, The supply side d remains strong in China 2.00 issues outside to the US fertility & FEED ess in the regulatory y, medium Mel Croad Temp to drop to winter a dominant Soil NZ beef exports WTO to forestry. deman WEATHER kgDM/ha/Da of cautiousn fight . Yet 1.90 in May which vs. LY being converted year there was plenty Canadian to With China should ensure . °C, 9am, 10cm Rainfall were 19,293t last Last 4wks the US have would get overheated This Week This time last many concerned itJun-19 of NZ beef, below May decision 1.80 vs. LY This and at a pricing to *week to 9am mm +1 was 8,000t the same time, buyer with Dec-18 Last 4wks to compete. be difficult 16.0 over this season absorbed willingly At This Week lamb market Jun-18 lamb were90CL 12.5 had to step up Thur g the of weeks it may NZD is also vs. LY 1.70 year (-29%). of Warm Domestic Dec-17 V. matter exports a 4wks +2 supportin is in the Last supplies before. beef in 17.8 USD:NZD levels seen money Jun-17 higher 90CL 13.5 This Week 16.4 Imported manufacturing5,100t (+268%) is currently 11.0 what we have that no matter how much towards winter prices. The recent downside The prime market Dry imported prices.

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VIEWPOINT

9.0

AgriHQ is our farm market data, analysis and insights business. Farmers and agribusinesses trust their AgriHQ reports to give them the information they need to make informed decisions. Off-the-shelf and bespoke reports available.

Y MONTHLBE EF

lift

SHEEP &for lamb underpins prices Demand

STRY RT FOREET REPO

US$/lb

Nicola Dennis

for beef Upside expected demand grows China’s beef repeating last Lamb prices years levels tumbles UK sheep flock

NZ DOLLAR

($/KG)

low ps to record by Beef estimates Lamb kill slum than previous statistics

Key Points

CK LIVESTO OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE NZ LAMB

US$/lb

LAMB

to record low Lamb kill slumps lift beef prices US imported n forecasts milk productio US has lowered nearly finished harvest season Maize grain

($/KG)

NZ P2 STEER

NORTH ISLAND MAY 2019

Key Points

MARK

model. is a licenced our business This report for respecting Thank you

Stratford

NZD:USD NZD:GBP NZD:EUR AUD:USD

LY

Waipawa

TW

LM

0.654

0.654

0.702

Dannevirke

0.516

0.513

0.525

Palmerston

0.580

0.586

0.595

artinb.

Masteron/M

0.687

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Newsmaker

22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

GROW SLOW: Kevin Ihaka believes forestry and farming can work together but plantings need to slow.

Photo: Mark Coote

Forest wants slow trees growth As opposition rises around the purchase and planting of large tracts of farmland for trees Forest Protection Services managing director Kevin Ihaka suggests it might be time for the Government to put the brakes on the ambitious Billion Trees project and get farmers back on side. He spoke to Richard Rennie about how trees and farms can stand together better.

F

OREST manager Kevin Ihaka feels like he’s being pulled in two directions.

From one direction comes pressure from pastoral groups like Fifty Shades of Green urging a rethink on forest policy.

From the other large scale corporates eye expanses of land for future forest plantations on a level unseen for a generation, incentivised by ambitious Government policy.

Ihaka’s company Forest Protection Services is regarded as a leader in management and employment practices.

Forest Owners Association president Peter Weir says when Ihaka speaks the industry listens, with his company setting standards in training, employment conditions and workmanship.

With the clamour growing through provincial New Zealand to revisit the Billion Trees programme Ihaka believes now is a good time to slow the 50,000 extra hectares a year for 10 years target.

Failing to temper it risks creating innumerable problems for the likes of his company and the communities he works in.

“Things are looking a bit wild west at the moment.

“We are seeing cowboys coming

into the industry, looking to set up gangs for planting. It’s very close to what we saw in the early nineties.

“Looking at those forests now, there are many farmers who resent going into forestry then.

“They ended up getting the wrong trees, had cowboys who did not prune and manage them properly and maybe did not get the return they could have from them. We don’t want this happening again.”

Weir said it takes only a minivan, eight shovels and a gang to constitute a tree-planting business, undermining those businesses that want to invest long-term in the sector.

Ihaka said part of the rush to plant is caused by the tension in the political necessity of a threeyear horizon to justify a policy to voters.

That comes up hard against forestry’s 30-year horizon and he has some sympathy for the position the Government is in.

That is made all the sharper by a Government acutely aware of already being called out on another bold target, its 100,000 home KiwiBuild policy.

“But it has become a bit of a mad rush.

“You really need a two to threeyear lead-in to double the size of

any industry. If we are going to grow jobs in this sector, let’s grow good, sustainable jobs.”

His fear is a repeat of the nineties, which saw, at its peak, 100,000ha of plantings in 1992 not only creating the cowboy problem but also a wall of wood requiring harvest about now.

“Well, we risk building another wall now.”

While there are more than enough seedlings to meet demand there is a risk of staff shortages for the hard graft of planting them.

“But that is the same for any industry right now and it is partly due to the poor employment practices the industry has used in the past – minimal wages, short employment periods like three months, layoffs.

“We have to work on tidying up our image.”

That requires an approach similar to what kiwifruit growers have done to secure more staff for seasonal spikes and ongoing work through the entire year.

“The good thing is the Government is playing alongside us as Crown Forestry and funding some projects so there is a lever there on the industry to come up to standard we have not had before.”

Halving the targeted planting

rate will also serve to give forestry jobs a longer future.

While disputing some of the Fifty Shades of Green claims on job losses to trees Ihaka agrees more effort is needed to consider social outcomes of forestry, capitalising on the upsides.

“Even if you were to get 20 50ha blocks on farms in a district this could create jobs for people over the forests’ entire life in that area.

“At present everyone tenders the lowest figure for preparation, for planting, for weed control, for pruning.

“Instead, we need to integrate forest teams into plantations for the entire life of that plantation, creating jobs with a wide level of forestry skills for those people – otherwise it is just a race to the bottom.”

He is cognisant of rural fears about proposed large-scale pasture to forest plantings gutting communities for good.

But Ihaka suggests more staggered plantings and some short-term plantings of 10 years coupled to processing plants could break up the typical 25-year window.

“And I think we won’t be cutting up logs for timber framing in the future.

“High tech wood plastics,

It has become a bit of a mad rush. You really need a two to three-year lead-in to double the size of any industry.

Kevin Ihaka Forest Protection Services for example, will provide more processing opportunities.”

He believes overseas companies getting into forestry without needing OIO approval could also do with a tune-up by demanding greater social responsibility around job creation.

“That could be, for example, requiring them to use staff to weed forests, not applying herbicide by chopper, helping create and keep employment.”

Spending much of his time in Wellington helping guide the tree policy Ihaka said he’s working hard to get the slow-it-down message in ministers’ ears.

“This has a minimum of a 30year horizon, 50 years really, and it is simply too important to bugger it up by rushing along too fast with plantings.”

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

23

Road-testing pasture options Diversified forages hold a great deal of promise for Northland farmers who routinely battle wet winters and dry summers and must factor in kikuyu grass. The results from a provincial project will also be applicable elsewhere in the country, Hugh Stringleman found out.

N

ORTHLAND dairy farmer Allister McCahon cut palm kernel feeding by 50% last season despite a very dry summer, partly by trying diversified pastures on his light, porous soils.

Plot and field trials produced extraordinary plant growth rates for McCahon and Pouto Peninsula neighbour Roger Gillatt, who is also a lucerne advocate.

Their sandy loams went through 100 days with soil moisture levels approaching permanent wilting point from January to March.

When ryegrass and clover pastures couldn’t grow, the deep-rooted lucerne, tall fescue, cocksfoot, plantain and chicory kept going and were block grazed and/or cut for silage.

The Northland Diversified Forages Project aims to improve farm system resilience and reduce feed supply risk by identifying and exploiting forage solutions that have advantages in yield, feed quality and/or timing of growth.

It also measures the alternatives to ryegrass species in a range of different environments all over the north.

Other grasses, legumes and herbs have all been researched before and are now being tried as season gap fillers, thrivers in drought and conserved feed sources.

In the west of the province two participating sites are near Te Kopuru (Gillatt and McCahon) and a third is on the Northland Agricultural Research Farm, just north of Dargaville. All three are dairy farms.

Funding over four years has come from the Ministry for Primary Industries, Northland Regional Council, Hine Rangi Trust, FAR, Ellett Agricultural Research Trust, Agricom, Ballance, PGG Wrightson Seeds, Eurofins and Northland Seed and Supplies.

The project is managed

by Gavin Ussher of Clover

Consultancy, Kaitaia.

No novices with lucerne, Roger and Barbara Gillatt enjoyed daily growth rates of 67kg/ha/day DM compared with less than 10kg for new ryegrass, clover and plantain during the driest period last summer.

The first cut for silage came in late October and the next cut or feed out was in early January, after which beef steer calves were fed during the really dry period and gained 1.5kg/day compared with siblings that lost weight by 0.3kg/ day on kikuyu and ryegrass.

After 15 years’ experience with the deep-rooted lucerne on light soils the Gillatts thought 10% of the effective grazing area would provide a specific solution for that farm, herd and climate.

For diversity’s sake they also sprayed out a 12-year-old lucerne paddock and last May sowed AR 37 perennial ryegrass (8kg/ ha seed), red clover (5kg), two varieties of white clover (1.5kg each), plantain (2kg), Persian annual clover (4kg) and Alsike clover (3kg).

In the 10 months to the beginning of May that paddock grew 12,600kg/ha DM, of which the ryegrass contributed 54%, the plantain 16% and the Persian clover 14%.

Maximum growth was 75kg/ ha/day DM in September and minimum 6kg at the end of January.

Another paddock sown with a similar seed mix totalled 13,200kg/ ha over 10 months but plantain was the biggest contributor at 39% overall and over 60% in the maximum growth period in late December.

The ryegrass-plus paddocks started growing earlier than the lucerne but crashed earlier in the dry. They were estimated to have also grown 15-16,000kg/ha despite the dry period.

Lucerne tested at 11.2 MJ ME/ kg DM in February and 32% of crude protein.

PATCHWORK: Allister McCahon has turned over parts of his Northland dairy farm to testing diversified pasture species on light soils.

DEDICATED: Roger and Barbara Gillatt, Pouto Peninsula, have grown lucerne for many years, initially for organic farming of dairy cows.

We are looking for a more sustainable strategy and this project enables us to road-test the alternatives to regrassing with annual ryegrass.

Allister McCahon Farmer Over the past two seasons it grew 18,000kg/ha DM and 1516,000kg (estimated).

Despite good plant densities it wasn’t all plain sailing with young lucerne.

Major soil pathogen problems emerged from April to June last year leading to crown rot and some root damage but the plants bounced back with growth rates of 40-70kg/ha/day DM from September to February.

On Allister and Maree McCahon’s 400ha effective, 1000cow farm the diversified paddockscale trials have focused on tall fescue, cocksfoot, white and annual clovers and lucerne, sown in autumn 2017.

Total production in year one was 17,500kg/ha DM and in year two 13,500kg, with a constant 7-8000kg coming from the grasses.

But clovers contributed 50% of the drymatter in the first season and only 15% in the second year while lucerne kicked in with 27% in the second year.

Ryegrass control plots were hammered with the summer dry and even in May after the autumn recovery the target species dropped to 24%.

By contrast the tall fescue and cocksfoot plots persisted with 85-100% target species after the dry and produced as much total drymatter over year two as ryegrass.

Plot samples taken in midJanuary in the Far North showed cocksfoot growing at 81kg/ha/day

TEAMWORK: Roger Gillatt, left, gets advice from Murray Lane, a scientist working for Ballance.

DM, with energy of 9.8 MJ ME/kg DM and protein of 12.9%.

The figures for tall fescue were 51kg, 9.5 MJ and 13.5% respectively, compared with ryegrass at 34kg, 8.9 MJ and 17.4%.

Other treatments on the McCahon farm involved putting plantain and chicory into a standard tall fescue, cocksfoot and clover mix and comparing the results to the same seed mix without the herbs.

All treatment mixes had 12kg/ha of tall fescue, 1.5kg of cocksfoot, 3.5kg of while clover, 4kg of red clover and 3kg of Persian clover.

The herbs were added at 1kg/ha each.

With plantain and chicory present total pasture growth was 15,991kg/ha/yr DM and without 13,578kg.

The herbs contributed about 50% of the drymatter and the grasses very little while in the paddocks without herbs the annual clovers supplied 40% of

the total mass, red clover 26% and grasses 23%.

The cost of the extra production from adding herbs was a simple calculation, being just the cost of the seed and they gave a considerable boost in the first year and could be expected to provide feed for a longer period.

“We are looking for a more sustainable strategy and this project enables us to road-test the alternatives to re-grassing with annual ryegrass,” McCahon said.

“We have two years’ positive experience and now we need to see what happens after three or four years in these diversified pastures.

“Climate change models say that we will have more persistent C4 grasses like kikuyu.

“It has several significant limitations, including an inability to carry quality feed into winter and annual mechanical control measures.”

Opinion

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

EDITORIAL Our future is in good hands

L

ATER this week the best and brightest of our young farmers will battle it out for the 2019 title. It’s always a wonderful event and the sheer range of skill and intellect on show is astounding.

Of course, the finalists have battled through very competitive regional qualifiers to get to this stage, which just goes to show not only the quality of the finalists but of the nationwide crop of our next generation. It gives those of us who have passed the age limit a great amount of hope the sector is in good hands. It gives us optimism.

But that optimism is tempered for many farmers at the moment despite the prices paid for our food being excellent across the board. The latest Rabobank farmer confidence survey shows a slight rise in confidence since the last quarter but the level remains low. Sheep and beef farmers and horticulturalists are feeling the best about the future but all farmers cite Government policy as their number one worry.

This week the Government is expected to release a report from the Interim Climate Change Committee that will add some meat to the bones of the Zero Carbon Bill. The agricultural sector knows it will have to reduce its emissions or pay a price but the figure isn’t yet known. Issues around what plantings can be counted to offset those emissions also need to be clarified.

Still, the big picture is clear, even if the details are not. We need to be lowemissions farmers who have the highest levels of animal welfare and improve water quality. Most are working towards those goals now and any farmers who aren’t probably don’t belong in our industry.

As the Young Farmer of the Year contest shows, it takes more than just the skill to solve the problem of a broken water main. Our best can also solve the bigger problem of where our food sits in the world and how we can secure our future.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Planting for more productivity AN EXCELLENT opinion piece by Denis Hocking in the Farmers Weekly of 17.6.19.

Like him and many other farmers I see as abhorrent the planting of whole farms in trees but on all sheep and beef farms and some dairy farms there are areas that could be planted with little or no loss of productivity.

The Billion Trees aim is going to happen so it is up to individual landowners to plant what they can to prevent whole farm plantings.

The only criteria is a decent depth of soil so trees don’t all end up in a tangled mess at the bottom of the hill when they get top-heavy and access to a road or, better still, a port.

I’ve had experience with the value of trees when I harvested 28-year-old trees

that had been planted in an unproductive gully.

They had grown tall with little taper and had been pruned to eight metres. The 1ha netted, after GST, minor earth works, refencing and regrassing the skid site, $37,000 which was twice the amount this area would have earned in stock over the 28 years.

After a couple of years grazing to let the trash rot away the gully has been planted again but I don’t expect to be around when this lot is harvested.

John Hill Urenui

Air up there RE: Alan Emerson, Tourism gases outdo cattle’s, Farmers Weekly 27-5-19.

Emerson is right on the

mark with his comments.

While agriculture has long been targeted for its sinful ways regarding environmental matters, never do we hear about tourism and air travel.

As he points out air travel and tourism are hardly essential activities compared to food production.

Yet we endlessly promote tourism and travel with not a mention of the toll on the environment.

The cynical observer would say that is because farmers are an easy target as they represent a small proportion of the voting public.

Whereas air travel and tourism involve a huge segment of the population (voters).

Prime amongst them are politicians and associated bureaucrats and hangers-on of various types, all endlessly

jetting around the world supposedly solving the world’s problems.

Can’t they use technology and do their pontificating via the various internet communication technologies now available?

All this tells me the whole climate change/emissions industry is very much political rather than about any genuine concern for the environment.

Neil Parker Tauranga

Letters to the Editor Letters must be no more than 450 words and submitted on the condition The New Zealand Farmers Weekly has the right to, and license third parties to, reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. Letters may also be edited for space and legal reasons. Names, addresses and phone numbers must be included. Letters with pen names will generally not be considered for publication.

Letterof theWeek EDITOR Bryan Gibson 06 323 1519 bryan.gibson@globalhq.co.nz EDITORIAL Stephen Bell 06 323 0769 editorial@globalhq.co.nz Neal Wallace 03 474 9240 neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz Colin Williscroft 06 323 1561 colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz Annette Scott 03 308 4001 annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz Hugh Stringleman 09 432 8594 hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz Alan Williams 03 359 3511 alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz Richard Rennie 07 552 6176 richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz Nigel Stirling 021 136 5570 nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com PUBLISHER Dean Williamson 027 323 9407 dean.williamson@globalhq.co.nz

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

25

Nats want climate targets revisited Todd Muller

R

ECENTLY the Climate Change Amendment Act (Zero Carbon) Bill had its first reading in Parliament.

National voted in favour of this Bill because we support the concept of an independent Climate Change Commission to provide advice on how we wrestle our emissions down over the next few decades.

But our support was not unfettered.

We signalled serious concerns, particularly with the proposed methane target, which appears to us as not supported by the science and available innovation and brings potentially severe economic implications.

Now the Bill will proceed to public consultation and select committee, where changes will be made before the Bill returns to Parliament.

We’ll be working hard in the select committee to ensure the Bill is fit for purpose and is not going to have unforeseen negative impacts on our rural communities.

National has engaged with the Government to offer bipartisan support for this institution.

We have taken a principled approach to these negotiations, stating that the framework must be based on scientific rather than political aspirations, that our pace of change should be enabled by both the availability of new technologies and the pace of the global response and ensuring our communities still thrive as we make the change.

The proposed Climate Change Bill goes some way to achieving these principles.

However, the proposed

The

Pulpit

methane reduction of up to 47% by 2050 is too onerous.

It’s a fact of life that cattle and sheep belch methane whenever they eat.

The more they eat, the more they belch.

The targets are still calculated to cost 9% of GDP or $300 billion between now and 2050.

Despite this we’ve been world leaders in managing to limit our emissions while still producing large quantities of exports.

Farmers have achieved this efficiency gain by producing more meat, milk and fibre from broadly similar amounts of feed.

This has resulted in a decreasing level of methane per unit of production.

However, these proposed targets assume actual reductions, not efficiency gains, so farmers would need to feed less grass and feed to our animals and reduce overall stock numbers.

Grasses derived through biotechnology and new methane vaccines might be able to shift this reality but the Coalition Government appears ideologically opposed to this technology and methane vaccines remain elusively over the horizon.

The modelling for the target assumes at least 20% of all sheep, beef and dairy land will be converted to forestry by 2050.

Is this the future we want to see?

Hill-country farmers are becoming increasingly concerned about the One Billion Trees Programme and the potential it has to gut rural communities by overriding best land use, resulting in trees being planted in the wrong place.

The number of new trees needed in New Zealand to deliver the right balance between our climate change goals and agricultural needs should be based on scientific assessment, not the desire to create an election headline.

Our communities expect us to be prudent, measured and to use evidence as we make the emissions reduction transition because, if we get it wrong, those who are so strongly underpinned by our agricultural exports and activity will be immeasurably damaged.

The economic analysis of the targets also raises questions.

The regulatory impact statement shows officials assumed NZ would increase electric cars to be 95% of the fleet, renewable electricity would be 98% of generation, we would double our

BALANCE: The number of new trees needed in New Zealand to deliver the right balance between our climate change goals and agricultural needs should be based on scientific assessment, not the desire to create an election headline, National MP Todd Muller says.

historical rate of energy efficiency improvement and we will gain access to new technologies that reduce agricultural emissions.

With this gale of a tailwind the targets are still calculated to cost 9% of GDP or $300 billion between now and 2050.

If technology is not so favourable the costs escalate substantially.

As the negotiation of the targets has become more problematic and the cost estimates more eye-watering it has reinforced our view that the issue of the target is precisely the issue that the new climate commission should consider.

Elected representatives need to be the ultimate decision-makers but independent advice supplied to all of Parliament and the public is needed to make this decision.

The Environment Select Committee is taking submissions on this Bill until July 16 and I urge you all to put your views forward on this important Bill.

National will be proposing the committee revisits the targets but takes the bulk of the remainder of the Bill forward.

Who am I? Todd Muller is the National Party climate change spokesman.

Your View Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across?

The Pulpit offers readers the chance to have their say. farmers.weekly@globalhq.co.nz Phone 06 323 1519

EFFICIENT: Todd Muller says it’s a fact of life that cattle and sheep belch methane whenever they eat but farmers here have managed to limit emissions while still producing large quantities of exports.

Opinion

26 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

Farm debt bill a good first step Alternative View

Alan Emerson

I WAS pleased that the Farm Debt Mediation Bill is to proceed through parliament.

It started as a private member’s bill from NZ First agricultural spokesman Mark Patterson and was accepted by the Government supported by agriculture minister Damien O’Connor.

Mark Patterson said the Bill was needed for several reasons.

“There’s evidence of a systematic pull back by the Aussie banks and we’ve had costly biosecurity incursions like M bovis. There’s also a major power imbalance between banks and farmers.

“In addition I’ve had a lot of paper over my desk about farmer bullying by banks,” Patterson said.

The proposed legislation requires creditors to offer farmers who default on payments mediation before any enforcement action is taken. Farmers can also initiate mediation.

Federated Farmers is in favour of it. Their recent survey showed one in six farmers claimed to have come under pressure from their bank, up 5% since November 1918.

Also last week the Court of Appeal awarded compensation to a Taranaki farming couple over the ANZ misrepresenting swaps.

My issue with the legislation is that it’s but step one in a long journey to make the Australian banks accountable, rather than being a harsh drain on the entire NZ economy.

According to media reports the Australian owned banks make $580,000 in New Zealand each and every hour and that’s obscene.

They were 26% more profitable here than in Australia.

An Australian investigation into the banks found “serious misconduct”.

Here we haven’t had a Royal Commission and as the past week’s activities have shown they’re out of control.

Recently the Governor of the Reserve Bank Adrian Orr suggested increasing the capital requirements of banks to protect the economy.

That suggestion encouraged hysteria from those banks.

In Farmers Weekly back in April we had dire predictions from Westpac.

There’s also been a campaign to panic ordinary lenders.

The proposed increase, and it is only a discussion document if accepted, would mean the banks would have five years to increase their deposit rates.

The Reserve Bank estimates if the proposition became law then interest rates would increase by just 20 to 40 base points.

That tells me that the banks built profiteering into their estimates.

That they are out of control is also obvious from the recent antics of the ANZ. The Reserve Bank found that ANZ had failed in its “control and attestation process”.

Former BNZ director Kerry McDonald said that chairman John Key and chief executive David Hisco should resign.

It was a major error and one that could have left depositors vulnerable but Key claimed, almost sotto voce, that the fault was caused by “someone quite junior in the organisation”.

There’s evidence of a systematic pull back by the Aussie banks and we’ve had costly biosecurity incursions like M bovis.

Is that telling me that the ANZ board and senior management don’t know what’s going on?

The Reserve Bank has asked the ANZ for two independent reviews, the first on capital reserves and the second as to whether the ANZ is complying with rules for the running of the bank by directors and staff, an indictment on the bank surely.

NEEDED: NZ First MP Mark Patterson’s Farm Debt Mediation Bill is but step one in a long journey to make banks accountable, Alan Emerson says.

That was followed by the Hisco expenses saga.

The chief executive had annual “non-monetary benefits averaging $A418,855” a year. That came to $A3.35 million for the eight years he was in the job.

That was on top of his $A1,168,324 salary and $A644,397 bonus.

That’s a little over the top especially considering he was paid out for 12 months and won’t have to pay any of the expenses back.

My issue is that the ANZ, according to media reports, makes $3800 in profits each minute.

It was caught using an unauthorised operational risk capital model with the mistake palmed off as the problem of a junior staffer.

Then we had the expenses claim that wasn’t detected here but in Australia.

The Key response was that “the way expenses were recorded made it difficult to detect”.

I would have also thought the selling of a central Auckland house to the Hiscos at a considerable discount was obvious to all except, possibly, the IRD. Key’s claim that Hisco had to go

because the bank had a “culture of integrity” to uphold is laughable.

So who is in control of the ANZ? It doesn’t seem to me as if it’s the board or senior management.

In the last few days we’ve had the minister of finance Grant Robertson telling us he’s going to guarantee bank deposits, which is good. National says Labour hasn’t done enough, which is laughable as they abolished a former scheme and refused to reinstate anything.

The Government is also considering making bank boards and senior executives accountable, which I’d support. I’d also like to see the Reserve Bank better resourced.

My view is that we need stronger legislation and better enforcement as the culture of blamelessness and denial, as evidenced by ANZ’s actions, shouldn’t be tolerated at the corner dairy let alone by our largest bank. Fortunately it’s not mine.

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

Chewing out the vegetarian preachers From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

I WAS a vegan myself once.

It was in India 40 years ago in a small village where it seemed everyone was vegan, going by the menus in the cafes.

But it was only for one day.

The next village appeared to eat meat and nothing else.

The term vegan was coined in 1944 when the Vegan Society was set up in England.

At first it was used to describe no-dairy vegetarian but from 1951 the society defined it as the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals.

Vegetarianism formally goes back to 1847 when the Vegetarian Society was formed, also in England. But the practice goes back thousands of years with the Indus Valley civilization, for example.

Vegetarianism and veganism

hill country with are trends that poor draining will increase soils, other than and we need ruminants and to understand trees. those trends After the and not feel interview I threatened. spotted the There will pictured continue to Chicken Free remain plenty of Chicken Soup folk wanting to eat in the superethically grown, market. I felt nutritious, healthy obliged to meat and animal buy it to products. share the I interviewed photo James Wilson the with you. other day on my A radio show. He couple once was a farmer of days in Manawatu and later we preached “the ate it and only good vegan it was very is a dead vegan”. nice but Now, he’s not only WHAT FLAVOUR? Chicken Free Chicken didn’t taste a vegan himself but Soup doesn’t taste remotely of chicken. remotely an activist and just of chicken. put out a book that Why a vegan would want to buy I’ll read sometime. chicken soup, though devoid of A health scare pushed this chicken, remains a mystery. once big meat eater into a vegan I’ve already had a go at James lifestyle. and Suzy Cameron recently after One thing he couldn’t answer they presented to that Taranaki was what I and all the other conference and preached to the farmers are going to farm on our

rest of us what we should be doing with our land and lives.

Since then they have featured on the Sunday programme, which continues with its anti-farming bias and which Mazda continues to sponsor.

It continues to expound the fallacy that our free-range, grass-fed animal proteins are in the same basket as grain-fed feedlot proteins with all their environmental drawbacks.

What the Sunday programme failed to point out or film is that the Camerons have no objection in using ruminants to graze on their land. They soon realised that mowing and cropping a whole farm is not sustainable so needed something to eat the grass and crop residues.

So, they don’t emit methane while they are on this particular property? And won’t be contributing to the food chain when they go home?

I’m told they have large numbers of dairy and beef cattle come in as well as stud ram hoggets and other finishing stock.

The good old ruminant digests this pasture and crop residue and sends it out the back end to be incorporated into the soil, greatly

assisting in building the soil fertility and structure so necessary for a sustainable, long-term cropping operation.

Cropping, of course, emits great quantities of carbon into the atmosphere as well as relying on those terrible emissions from burning all that diesel.

Last week I delved into hypocrisy.

Cameron does contribute to offset his emissions but he needs to because they are big.

They told us of their constant flights across the Pacific.

His three adjacent homes in Malibu with 24,000 square feet of living space and each with a heated swimming pool, Jet Ranger helicopter, yacht, fleet of cars and trucks and submarines to name a few of his toys jointly emit more than many countries.

I do agree with him that we all must all live with less.

I’ll get rid of the kids’ old go cart if he drops the submarines and helicopters.

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

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

27

Decision time at Westland The Braided Trail

Keith Woodford

THE time has come when Westland’s dairy farmers must make their decision.

Do they want to take the money and go with Chinese megacompany Yili, or do they wish to struggle on as a co-operative?

We will know the answer after the July 4 vote.

If farmers vote to take the money, it will then be up to the Government to agree to or refuse to accept Yili as the new owner. I will be surprised if they disallow the sale under the relevant OIO provisions. The ramifications of that would be severe.

Also important is whether or not the approval from Government is quick or drawn out. It is in no-one’s interest that it be drawn out, but OIO approvals can be remarkably slow. Yili could step away if approval is not forthcoming by October 31.

It seems likely that Westland farmers will approve the sale to Yili, but with great sadness and also bitterness at what they are giving up. Most of them did not see in advance the extent of the mess their co-operative had got into. I have written about that previously.

Nevertheless, the sale is far from guaranteed. It requires 75% support from votes that are cast and 50% support from all eligible votes.

The two largest shareholders are Pamu (Landcorp) and Southern Pastures. Pamu stated some weeks back that it had made no decision as to how it would vote.

In contrast, Southern Pastures has said it will abstain.

However, the direct effect of how the big entities vote will not be great. This is because voting shares are capped to ten votes per entity. Most of the smaller farmers will also have ten votes or very close thereto.

My expectation is that Pamu will vote for the sale. There is an $11 million cash payout for them at stake, followed by an ongoing series of superior milk cheques.

If they abstain or vote against the sale, it will be for non-financial political reasons and knowing that it is unlikely to affect the final outcome.

Southern Pastures (itself largely foreign owned) is in a unique situation as it has potential to be a major beneficiary of Westland’s proposed specialty-milk program.

The details of how that might play out under alternative ownership structures (Westland Co-operative or Yili) are not available.

Southern Pastures is also a 50% shareholder in Lewis Road and regardless of who wins Westland, Southern Pastures will be keen to maximise benefits from that Lewis Road relationship.

WANTED: Even if the sale doesn’t go through Westland’s Rolleston site could still end up in Yili’s hands, Keith Woodford says.

It is easy for those outside the Westland dairy industry to criticise the proposed sale.

Perspectives can be different depending on whether one’s livelihood is at stake. For outsiders it is often a philosophical and emotive issue, where issues of foreign ownership entangle with the specifics of a Chinese company.

The incentives for farmers to accept the deal are strong.

In recent days the debate has become further entangled with information that the senior Westland management will receive progressive bonus payments from Yili if the sale goes through, as long as they are still employed at the time of each bonus payment. Westland’s directors have pointed out that management is not involved in the sale process. Rather, the proposed payments to management by Yili reflect that Yili does not want to take over the shell of company, with physical assets in place but without a senior management team.

The incentives for farmers to accept the deal are strong. To start with, Westland’s own professional adviser, Grant Samuel and Associates, has estimated the

value of the shares is somewhere between 88c and $1.38, depending on specific valuation assumptions for such a highly leveraged company. In contrast, Yili is offering $3.41 a share to farmers as a cash payout.

The ongoing milk payout from Yili for the next ten years is guaranteed as being no less than the Fonterra milk payout, or if something drastically negative should happen to Fonterra, then no less than the mean payout of the next three largest South Island processors.

Yili is also agreeing that for the next three years the milk payment will be no less than what it pays its Oceania Farmers. In recent years they have been paying those farmers more than the Fonterra payout. They also pay more quickly, which helps farmers’ cash flow.

A relevant question is how can Yili afford to make such guarantees and will they stick?

The answer is that with the Chinese Government looking over Yili’s shoulder, those guarantees will stick. The only caveat is if New Zealand gets caught in cataclysmic happenings between competing world powers.

In contrast, any such guarantees from non-mega non-Chinese companies would be of limited value. Other companies would have much less strength to deliver on such guarantees. As for Westland itself, the Grant

Samuel analysis makes it clear such payouts are likely to be well beyond Westland’s reach.

ANZ is the key bank on the West Coast and will be sweating on the farmer vote. Of course, the ANZ chiefs also have some other things on their minds right now.

But for them, their West Coast exposure is not just to Westland Co-op itself. Their greatest exposure is to the dairy farming businesses on the coast that provide the milk to the cooperative.

Right now, the land market on the West Coast is dead. Should the Westland sale not go through, then ANZ is likely to end up with many impaired loans. Not only are Westland’s farmers struggling with their cash flow as a result of poor co-operative performance, many of the balance sheets look very poor. There will be questions to be answered back to ANZ’s Australian masters.

Should farmers agree to sell but the Government decline the sale, then all hell will break loose. The Government will therefore need to reflect on the implications for the West Coast. Let there be no doubt, the West Coast without a vibrant dairy industry would be a huge socio-economic mess.

My expectation is that Yili will make a success of things. They have integrated supply chains through to Chinese consumers.

They already understand, from their Oceania operations, the

intricacies of doing business in New Zealand.

One of the attractions of Westland to Yili will be the Rolleston (Canterbury) operations.

Ironically, those developments have been fundamental to Westland’s problems. However, the Rolleston infrastructure, including availability of land appropriately consented for further milk processing activities, would give Yili a Central Canterbury foothold.

I would expect Yili to move quickly with further developments on the Rolleston land and take on further suppliers. Given the chance, there will be many Fonterra farmers who would jump quickly across to Yili, just as occurred with Oceania.

Ironically, if farmers vote against the Yili deal, or if Government fails to approve the deal, then Westland will undoubtedly have to sell assets as part of its survival strategy.

These same Rolleston assets are the only ones that will be attractive to a buyer. They might still end up with Yili.

We do indeed live in interesting times.

Your View Keith Woodford was Professor of farm management and agribusiness at Lincoln University for 15 years to 2015. He is now principal consultant at AgriFood Systems. He can be contacted at kbwoodford@gmail.com

On Farm Story

28 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

It’s not weak to speak Farmers are by nature independent, optimistic, proud, resilient and strong. But the perfect storm of terrible weather, prolonged market weakness, global trade wars and more is driving some farmers to breaking point. Luke Chivers spoke to a dairying couple whose change in perspective has transformed their farm, their family and their community.

I

T WAS a warm, sunny afternoon in Takaka in Golden Bay. As daylight beamed through a window only to hit the back of a curtain Wayne Langford found himself bedridden in a cool, dark room. He had been flat on his back every afternoon for more than a week to escape his constant mental anguish.

But this day was different.

“I had like an out-of-body experience.

“It was as though I was hovering above myself looking down and saying ‘what the hell are you doing in bed?’”

It was 2pm on March 18, 2017.

It was his 34th birthday.

“I couldn’t help but think I should be out and about celebrating with people, not stuck indoors.”

Most people who knew Wayne knew this about him: He was in his early to mid 30s, married to Tyler and the father of three boys. He was a sixth-generation dairy farmer who owned and ran his Golden Bay farm. He was a Fonterra supplier and was the Federated Farmers dairy vicechairman.

On the surface things seemed good.

But underneath Wayne was suffering from depression, an illness he refused to name or discuss because he was worried he would be labelled weak.

It’s a characteristic of the stigma around mental health that has long been prevalent in New Zealand, particularly in rural areas, but that is, thankfully, on the decline.

Wayne grew up on a dairy farm at Kotinga, 5km southwest of the small rural township of Takaka at the northern end of the South Island in the mid 1990s.

“Though I didn’t always think I’d end up in the primary sector,” he admits.

“Initially, I considered teaching and sports coaching but that didn’t last very long.”

In 2001, aged 18, Wayne left the family farm and moved to Canterbury to study for a farm management diploma at Lincoln University.

During that time Wayne started dating Tyler, a fellow student.

“I was handing out pieces of my heart on Valentine’s Day during O-week and she just couldn’t resist,” Wayne says.

“It was literally pieces of paper in the shape of a heart.”

Tyler grew up in the big smoke of Invercargill.

“When I tell people I grew up in the city, they ask which city?

“To me it was a city. I had never set foot on a farm until I met Wayne. I didn’t have any farming connections and even though Invercargill is surrounded by farms, that’s not what my friends were affiliated with.”

Anyone who knows the Langfords will know it’s not usual for them to stay away from the

TOUGH GOING: Tyler and Wayne Langford bought the farm at Takaka in 2015 but it hasn’t been smooth sailing for them.

Photos: Tim Cuff

farm for long. Dairying is in their blood.

So it wasn’t a surprise that in 2003, shortly after graduating from university, Tyler and Wayne had tied the knot and found themselves moving to Bainham, bordering the northwest Nelson Conservation Park to run a recently bought 150-hectare family farm with his brother.

About every two years the wider

PERSEVERANCE: When Wayne sank into a deep depression Tyler wasn’t sure what to do but stood by her man and life is good for the couple now.

Langford family either bought or leased new dairy farms, which Wayne and Tyler ran.

“I was the family gypsy,” Wayne says.

“We moved around a lot to take the new farms on, got them going and then would move onto another family property.”

But after 10 years of relocating they decided to go out on their own.

In 2015 the couple settled a property at Kotinga, 7km southwest of Takaka, milking 250 cows once-a-day.

“It’s been interesting and exciting,” Wayne says.

“We had a couple of low payout years, we had a really poor production season and then last year we had a drought so it’s been a challenge. We’ve definitely learned a lot.”

Their property, Go Ahead, is 100ha (93ha effective), which Wayne describes as two-thirds flat, one-third rolling inland country that is typically summer dry for about four to six weeks a year.

The herd is primarily made up of Friesian dairy cows with some crossbred and Jersey in the mix.

Wayne’s family background was always going to secure the existence of Jerseys on the property, he says.

“We’ve always had Jerseys as a family.

“When we bought this farm it came with black and white cows.

Now we’ve got a third Friesian, a third crossbred and a third Jersey.

Hopefully, at some stage we’ll get back to an entirely Jersey herd.”

Takaka’s wet soils and the Langfords’ once-a-day milking is an ideal fit for Jerseys.

“We’ve done alright with the Friesians to be fair.

“We’ve been selling beef while the beef prices have been quite high so they haven’t been all that bad.”

Last season they achieved production of 70,000kg MS, which was 20% down on budget because of drought. Their target production for this season is 87,500kg MS on a mostly grass diet with a small amount of hay and no bought-in feed.

They recently swapped out turnips for lucerne as feed and this season will be their first year with a full 30-day rotation of the crop.

“Typically, we’ve been big fans of turnips but moved away from them in recent years and now we’re into feeding our cows lucerne,” Tyler says.

“We’re looking forward to that – it should be good.

“Particularly, going through the drought last year, lucerne helped us to get through that. Not only did it give us some extra balage in spring but it also gave the cows a green feed during the drought as well.”

They winter 100 cows off-farm

On Farm Story

WHERE TO GET HELP • Rural Support Trust 0800 787 254 • Depression helpline 0800 111 757 • Lifeline 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) • Suicide Crisis Helpline 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) • Healthline 0800 611 116 • Samaritans 0800 726 666 • Industry-specific advice and support for depression in the rural community is available at depression.org.nz/rural • In a life-threatening situation call 111

on a property near Nelson and while their calves stay on-farm their R2s are off for a year from April. The herd returns home before calving begins on August 7.

“It’s a tight calving spread with our once-a-day system,” Tyler says.

“We only do 12 days of AI during mating by using the Y-Wait programme where you bring the week-two cows into week one and the week-three cows into week two.”

It appears to be working as they have averaged 23% replacements for the past couple of years, which is better than the industry average, and they are on track to better that again.

In the meantime, they have gone to the effort of buying easycalve bulls from sheep and beef farmers Richard and William Morrison in Manawatu.

“It’s had a massive impact on our farming operation because not only do we have high-value, whiteface calves to sell in the spring but we also have less than 1% calving problems,” Tyler says.

“Plus we’ve reduced our bobby calf numbers from about 60% to 16% in the past two years so it’s good not having to put so many calves on the truck.

“We certainly don’t like to create more work for ourselves than what’s necessary,” Wayne says.

They face enough challenges as it is.

The downturn of the Global Dairy Trade in 2016 when returns to dairy farmers fell to a discouraging $3.90 payout meant life on the farm was tough. It is a time many dairy farmers won’t forget quickly.

“We had a few reserves to get through it but it was a hard couple of years,” Tyler says.

“We had a $3.90 year and then we went into a $4.80 year then we had one of the wettest seasons our

region has ever seen and then we had the drought.

“So, for the four years we’ve owned this farm it’s been a bit of a rough run.

“Our bank manager has kept saying to us, if you can farm your way through this year then I’m sure you can next year.”

They are quite open about their farm debt.

“We’re in the mid-$30s per kilogram of milksolids,” Wayne says.

“It drives performance.

Throughout our farming career our goal has been to achieve $4000 profit per hectare on a $6 payout and that’s what we drive our business around.”

That figure is in the upper quartile of production in the Golden Bay area.

“Our bank always said they lent us the money, not the farm. They lent based on our financial literacy rather than the farm numbers,” he says.

“That’s how, as a young family, we’ve been able to buy our own land. Most of the banks didn’t want to touch us but, thankfully, one did and we got a run.”

Wayne and Tyler have three boys, Lewis, 12, Gordie, 11, and Alfie, 10.

“They love it on the farm,” Tyler says.

“They all really appreciate how lucky they are to have the farm as their backyard.

“In fact, Gordie has got his own 10ha block up the road which he’s just started leasing and he’s running some bulls on it.”

Tyler says she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to bring them up in the city.

“The farm is incredible in the way it teaches kids life lessons without you actually having to parent, as lazy as that sounds.

“Our boys have learned things like learning to do jobs that sometimes you don’t want to do or that everything is quicker and easier if we work together as a team and they’ve learned the value of hard work, not to mention things as simple as the birds and the bees.

“They’ve also learned entrepreneurial and problemsolving skills. And they’ve been able to build a close relationship with their dad. I personally put that down to the farm.”

That upbringing has been paramount in recent years.

Two years ago Wayne was meeting the demands of the farm but his home life was an entirely different story.

EDUCATION: The Langfords’ boys have learnt a lot of things growing up on the farm including the value of hard work and entrepreneurial and problem-solving skills. Tyler and Wayne with Lewis, Gordie and Alfie.

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019 “It was just all the signs of poor mental health, disrupted mentally, sometimes angry and sometimes very tired. I spent a lot of time in bed.”

He had tumbled into depression.

As Wayne put it, his brain had cooked itself like a tractor engine.

As the weeks passed Wayne’s condition continued to escalate.

He sank into a deep hole for about nine months.

“I still had a public-facing role with Federated Farmers so I had to make a real effort to kind of get up for that, so that no-one would see my weakness, that’s what I thought it was the time and so I’d do that and then come home and crash quite often and take a couple days to kind of get over that.”

Tyler says watching her husband struggle was borderline unbearable.

“At first I noticed little things.

“Wayne was always someone who took joy in everyday things – that vanished. He shut himself off from his friends and his boys.

“He struggled to make decisions that in the past he had made with ease. He also lost interest in the farm, which was something he had always loved.

“He slowly slipped away from us into darkness,” she says.

Having met at the age of 18 and married at 22 they knew each other well so Tyler knew something wasn’t right.

“We were always best friends and communication came naturally for us but he stopped talking to me and that was horrendous,” Tyler says.

“I felt like I had completely lost the person I married and I didn’t know what to do. What do you say to someone you love who is slipping away from you?

“Should I push him? Should I walk away? Should I let him deal with it in his own way? He’s such a typical don’t-talk-about-yourfeelings Kiwi bloke.”

The couple battled on for nearly a year before the conversation that brought things to a head.

On that warm March afternoon in 2017 Wayne managed to pull himself out of bed, grabbing Tyler and their kids before jumping in the car and heading for the beach.

“On the way home that day I said to the kids and Tyler hey, let’s do this again.

“The next day I went to see my great aunt at the hospital and then from there on … it was all these different things.”

They decided that for the coming year they would do one thing each day to remind themselves why they are glad to be alive.

And, so, began the YOLO or you only live once project.

“To keep ourselves accountable we would post each day on social media,” Wayne says.

“I clearly remember in the beginning I was like ‘oh, I’m going to climb mountains, go bungy jumping’, all those sort of big statement things but I quickly realised that’s not me, I’m not a mountain climbing type of guy.

“What really gives me joy is being with my family and friends, connecting and sharing with people in the community.

“So, while we did go skydiving for YOLO day 400, my favourite

29

BE STRONG: Wayne sank into deep depression for nine months but didn’t seek help because he was worried it would be seen a sign of weakness.

YOLO to date was actually day six when we had a bonfire on the beach and cooked pancakes with the kids.”

At first the couple told family and friends he was celebrating life but as time went on the couple revealed the mental health reason behind their project and despite Wayne’s concerns they received nothing but support.

“The reaction was incredible.

“I started getting messages from people I had never met before, telling me their own stories and struggles and that was really humbling.

“That was when I realised that real strength is actually about being able to admit when things aren’t great.”

Before they knew it the blog had reached the one-year mark but buoyed by its effect Wayne and his family decided to keep the project going.

Now Wayne’s page @YOLOFarmerNZ has 23,000 followers on Facebook while @YOLOFarmerGlobal, for farmers from around the world, has more than 100,000 followers. #YOLOFarmer has been heralded as a call to view farming life through a different lens and challenge the status-quo for New Zealand’s rural community.

Posts are centred on the mental health pillars of gratitude, connection, pride in achievements, giving and learning.

Wayne has also been invited to speak at events including the Grow Agri Summit in Christchurch, the South Island Dairy Event in Invercargill and the upcoming ProteinTECH event in Auckland.

“Farmers, in particular, face a lot of stress,” he says.

“We are constantly managing different stresses at different times – there is pressure from all sides.

“Most of the time you can cope but then sometimes things just start to build up and it’s easy to tip over the edge. We never wanted the YOLO farmer to be a brag post but rather something everyone can do.

“I definitely think we’ve helped to take off the taboo for people to talk about mental health but I

That was when I realised that real strength is actually about being able to admit when things aren’t great.

Wayne Langford Farmer still think we’re struggling with the support available.”

While he did not seek medical help he has since become a board member of Te Whare Mahana Trust at Takaka, which provides community mental health services in Golden Bay and realises he shouldn’t have been fearful of reaching out.

“I was fortunate that the right people turned up at the right time.

My local community has been a huge support.”

The couple have both learned a lot during their journey. Tyler says one of her biggest lessons was to just be there until the time was right.

“I think that morning of his birthday was just right for Wayne.

He was ready to make changes. We started looking at life through a different lens.

“I thought the depression was a massive beast, something we could never tackle but through YOLO Wayne was able to reengage and slowly, bit by bit he came back to us.”

For Wayne the project has highlighted the importance of his family and loved ones.

“It’s changed the way I parent.

“I live in the moment more and realise what’s really important. If I say no to something my boys will remind me to YOLO. It’s also had a positive effect on my relationship.

“My wife put down her whole life to help pick up mine and that’s something I will never forget.”

MORE:

To follow Wayne’s blog search #YOLOfarmer on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. >> Video link: bit.ly/OFSLangford

NEW LISTING

Ngatapa 136 Smith Road

First class production capability

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In the desirable Ngatapa farming community, approximately 15 minutes to Gisborne city, is this coveted circa 275ha finishing farm. Incredibly well positioned with a very favourable mix of contour and production capability this farm is poised to drive performance and capitalise on a range of income streams. Comprising of 65ha of fertile flat land, with capacity for intensive finishing, cropping and further horticulture development of which 35ha are on separate titles. The flats are complemented by strong, clean hill country, equipped with a robust reticulated water system supporting thriving stock performance. The farming profitability is further enhanced by the 8ha citrus orchard. Boasting a secluded, elevated four bedroom home and supported by quality farm infrastructure including the 4-stand woolshed. This is a profitable, high performing farm not to be missed.

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Wed 31 Jul 2019 10 Reads Quay, Gisborne Simon Bousfield 027 665 8778 simon.bousfield@bayleys.co.nz James Bolton-Riley 06 868 5188

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MACPHERSON MORICE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/2751384

FINAL NOTICE

Kaukapakapa 137 Cameron Way Farm, family or subdivide!

Bathed in sunshine and enjoying panoramic rural views, this spacious 365sqm executive home - and the equally generous 80 hectares grazing farm it sits upon, in two titles - offers the ultimate Kiwi lifestyle. Step inside and discover four good-sized bedrooms, a media room and spacious open plan living areas which flow out to the in-ground heated swimming pool. The farm's flat to undulating contour has been well subdivided into approximately 32 paddocks and has all the infrastructure you'll ever need.

Mangatarata 296 North Road 4

3

2

Optimal grazing opportunity

Take a virtual tour: www.umoview.co.nz/14969

Searching for a grazing block that ticks all the boxes? Scale, location, and impressive improvements. This property has it all!

This 46.95ha (more or less) pastoral block is situated in the rural locality of Mangatarata, making this an optimal grazing opportunity in the heart of the Hauraki Plains. The land is of rolling to medium contour, fenced well with predominantly seven wire post and batten throughout. Water supply is reticulated via two springs to 10 of 13 paddocks as well as an array of impressive improvements including a functional set of yards for your ease of stock management. Located within a popular rural community only 14.1km away from Ngatea, town amenities and schooling are of a good standard and easily sourced.

bayleys.co.nz/1201695

bayleys.co.nz/2310555

Purchase the house and 80ha farm in two titles, or 78ha farm with barn accommodation, or home on 1.6ha.

bayleys.co.nz

Tender Closing 4pm, Thu 11 Jul 2019 41 Queen St, Warkworth View Sun 12-1pm John Barnett 021 790 393 john.barnett@bayleys.co.nz MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Auction (unless sold prior) 11am, Thu 25 Jul 2019 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton View 1-2pm Sun 30 Jun, Wed 3 Jul, Sun 14 Jul & Wed 17 Jul Karl Davis 027 496 4633 karl.davis@bayleys.co.nz Lee Carter 027 696 5781 lee.carter@bayleys.co.nz SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 1, 2019

Real Estate

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

31

RURAL 54 Kimbolton Road FEILDING feilding@pb.co.nz Office 06 323 5544

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Otiwhiti Station

TENDER WEB ID FR68752

HUNTERVILLE 4744 Turakina Valley Road Otiwhiti is an iconic Rangitikei station, which offers a multitude of business possibilities - trees, bees, food and fibre, as well as being the home of the renowned Otiwhiti Land Based Training School. Located 16km North West of Hunterville, the property comprises 1,679 ha of strong hill country and is offered concurrently with a 10 ha executive lifestyle block. Otiwhiti winters over 13,500 stock units and is subdivided into 38 main

pb.co.nz

paddocks, with excellent natural water. Improvements include four dwellings, support buildings, eight-stand woolshed with covered yarding, multiple sets of sheep/cattle yards, cook house, accommodation block and teaching rooms. The lifestyle property features an immaculate six bedroom homestead, set amongst mature and beautifully manicured grounds.

TENDER

VIEW By Appointment

Blair Cottrill

TENDER closes Thursday 25th July, 2019 at 1.00pm, Property Brokers Ltd, 54 Kimbolton Road, Feilding

Stuart Sutherland

Mobile 027 354 5419 Office 06 323 1538 Mobile 027 452 1155 Office 06 323 5544

Richard White

Mobile 027 442 6171 Office 06 327 0070

32

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 1, 2019

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

WAINGARO QUARRY NGARUAWAHIA, Waikato

PRODUCTIVE PRIMARY SECTOR OPPORTUNITY Located in the North Waikato and known as the supplier of choice for long-standing customers including farmers, forestry contractors and civil construction companies, this easy to manage ‘one-man operation’ provides a cost effective and attractive opportunity for a wide range of purchasers.

The sale of the Waingaro Quarry includes the freehold title and the transfer of current consents.

Call today for more information or data room access. + + + + + +

12.6926 ha freehold* Waikato District consent in place 23,453m³ annual production* 18 years of resource remaining* “Preferred provider” for the Waikato District Alliance Surplus to vendor’s requirements – will be sold

ASKING PRICE $800,000 + GST

CONTACT US JEREMY KEATING 021 461 210

WYATT JOHNSTON 027 815 1303

* Approximate www.cbre.co.nz/1801499Q2 CBRE (Agency) Limited, Licensed Real Estate Agent (REAA 2008)

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

OPEN DAY

Blundell and Mark Realty Ltd Licensed REAA 2008

463A MOONSHINE HILL ROAD, MOONSHINE, UPPER HUTT

LARGE BLOCK: MANY USE POSSIBILITIES

Queen Sells 300 Acres 123.5 hectares of pine trees and wilderness. Carbon credits, forestry, hunting, off grid getaway, motorbike or horse riding heaven.

Around 30ha of 25 year old Radiata (mostly unmanaged) on flat to easy contour (pre 1990 was mostly grazed farmland). Balance is regenerating manuka scrub and natives. Remnants of fences and tracks mostly blocked by windfalls. Bring your boots.

To access 4WD is essential to get through four stream fords. One and a half hours drive from Opotiki. Great neighbourhood.

Be a pioneer and live your dreams.

TENDER

(Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm, Tuesday 30 July

VIEW

11.00am-1.00pm, Sunday 14 July

Contact Grant Campbell on 027 442 0343: email grantc@bamre.co.nz or Lana Knaapen on 0221 88 0221: email lana@bamre.co.nz Andrew Fowler M 027 275 2244 E afowler@pggwrightson.co.nz Amanda Edwards M 027 463 3502 E amanda.edwards@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/TAR30593 PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

Unforeseen circumstances are forcing the vendor’s change of direction: make this your opportunity.

Helping grow the country

Text 463amoon to 3324 for your webbook of this property.

Viewing: Private Inspection Only Website: bamre.co.nz/BAM00268

LK0098372©

OPOTIKI, BOP 1677 Takaputahi Road

This large parcel of land is on two titles of approximately 43ha (106 acres) and 150ha (372 acres). Just 12 minutes from Upper Hutt and 40 minutes from Wellington, this property lends itself to entrepreneurs who could be looking at establishing a forestry regime or maybe planting Manuka for the popular honey trade. Being close to markets and the airport it could be also ideal for trekking, off-roading or conventional grazing - this holding ticks many boxes.

Currently run as a beef stud, the land is approximately 90% clean and subdivided into 20 paddocks with central race to yards with water supplied by dams and springs to most paddocks. Buildings on the property include a 3-stand woodshed with overnighting shelter, substantial cattle yards, and load out facilities. Whilst there is no house currently on the property, the barn with “overnight” accommodation has been improved to include a high spec solar power system (fully “off grid” power) servicing farm hotwiring and allowing for motorhome / caravan / pod accommodation.

Lana Knaapen 022 188 0221 04 527 2804 lana@bamre.co.nz

Grant Campbell 027 442 0343 04 527 2808 grantc@bamre.co.nz

NZ’s #1 Agri Job Board

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 1, 2019

– NGATAPA STATION

Ngatapa Station is looking for a senior shepherd position to join their team on their 800ha deer and beef property in northern Hawke’s Bay. Two-bedroom accommodation is available.

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

Farm Manager

JOBS BOARD

Orari Gorge Station

Chief Executive Officer Farm Manager

The person we are looking for must have a positive attitude, be capable of using their initiative and demonstrate a high degree of integrity. Competency in all aspects of beef cattle management is essential, as is a good team of four working dogs. Deer experience would be beneficial. General farming duties will be fitted around stock priorities.

Operations and Logistics Manager

The position requires excellent grazing management of both intensive and extensive systems for sheep, cattle and deer. Good team management, record keeping and communication skills are essential. The successful applicant will be responsible for the day to day running of the property as well as being involved in all strategy planning and development.

Other Shepherd Shepherd General

This role would ideally suit somebody with 3-4 years of experience, knowledge equivalent to PITO Level 3 and the ability to work independently to achieve farm targets.

Stock Manager Tractor/Truck/Machinery Operator

To apply for this position please email your CV to jobs@perrinag.net.nz or mail to Perrin Ag Consultants Ltd, PO Box 596, Rotorua before Friday 5th July 2019, quoting job reference 4460

Applicants can email robert@orarigorge.co.nz for more details and a full job description.

You’re reading the Farmers Weekly and so are the people you want to employ.

GET IN TOUCH

For all your employment ads Debbie 06 323 0765 classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

*FREE upload to Farmers Weekly jobs: farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

www.perrinag.net.nz

*conditions apply

Contact Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

LK0096815©

LK0098323©

AGRI JOB BOARD REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY Please print clearly Name: Phone:

Operations Manager Central Plateau Tuatahi Farming Partnership is a progressive and growing farming business formed in 2010 by two Maori Incorporations. The Partnership engages professional management and is governed by a Board of Directors.

Tuatahi is seeking a high level Operations/Farm Manager for one of its four stations located in the Central North Island. The Operations/ Farm Manager will report directly to the General Manager.

Heading: Advert to read:

Hangawera Station is one of nine farms and two support blocks owned and managed by Tainui Group Holdings Ltd (TGH). We are the kaitiaki (guardian) that provides economic wealth for Waikato-Tainui. We have a strong values-based culture with a sustainable focus on people, Maori culture, environment and commercial outcomes.

Our organisation will continue to grow so further career opportunities are likely to be available for those that perform and deliver.

Responsibilities – this is a working manager’s position with the following key areas of responsibility: • Operational Management – covering all areas including budgeting, targets, resource requirements and reporting • Planning, executing, reviewing and reporting against farm targets • Financial management and control • HR – management, recruiting, training, mentoring • Asset management • Identify opportunities, analyse and implement • Development of Strategy directly associated with the farm unit in conjunction with the Executive Team and Board

The successful applicant will need to demonstrate: • Pasture and farm production management experience • Alignment with Waikato-Tainui tribal values and a desire to proactively engage with the tribe and local Marae • Stock management experience and have their own dogs • Collaborative leadership and coaching skills with the ability and desire to develop yourself and other team members while working effectively and collaboratively within the wider team • A commitment to health and safety on farm • Farm planning, budgeting and reporting skills including the ability to use farming software and systems e.g. Farmax • Class 1 and 2 licences are required and ideally Class 4 (HT)

The position offers the successful candidates the prospects of significant career and skill development.

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Applications should be made in writing including a cover letter, CV and at least three employment referees directly to Rob Holland.

We are looking for a motivated individual committed to driving outstanding results. In return, we offer an outstanding opportunity for the right person to develop their career in rural operations, farm development and leadership. An on-farm 3-bedroom house is provided with this role, a farm vehicle along with three local rural schools close by, secondary schooling in Morrinsville 20km away and a full range of services in Hamilton 40km away.

If this is what you are looking for please apply online now at: www.tgh.co.nz/en/our-people For a copy of the position description please email mahi@tgh.co.nz Applications close at 5pm on Sunday 7 July 2019.

LK0098355©

The applicants need to have demonstrated: • Leadership skills working in a team environment, • The ability to develop people including themselves • Experience in, and understanding of, big station management – this is a large multi enterprise operation • High levels of competency in all technical and financial aspects of pastoral farming with a high level of industry knowledge

The closing date for applications is 19 July 2019

Hangawera Station is a 650ha comprising mainly rolling-to-steep country, based in the central Waikato (Tauhei). It is a sheep and cattle operation specialising in finishing bulls, fattening cattle and FE Coopworth ewes.

Email:

We are seeking to employ an experienced Farm Manager to manage the farming operation at Hangawera. As well as managing a small team at Hangawera, you will also work as part of our wider Drystock team (as directed by the Drystock Manager) and help with farming operations and development on our other sheep and beef farms based in the Waikato region.

Moerangi/Oraukura Station is a large sheep, beef and deer breeding operation with a bull finishing unit, wintering 25,350su on 2,572 eff ha. Winter numbers are 1,458 cattle, 13,700 sheep and 3,750 deer. The property is staffed by the Farm Manager, a head shepherd, three shepherds, a general hand, a part time fencer and a tractor driver. This property is farmed under a nitrogen cap being predominantly located in the Lake Taupo Catchment.

Email: projects@tuatahi.co.nz or phone 027 565 6661

Farm Manager – Hangawera

Address:

33

WE ARE THE SOLUTION

Orari Gorge Station is a progressive 4300ha property ranging from river flats to rolling downs to steep tussock Country. It is a breeding, finishing and stud property totalling 25,000su. It is located in the South Canterbury foothills just 10 minutes from Geraldine which provides a choice of schooling and other amenities.

LK0098385©

SENIOR SHEPHERD

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

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

34

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

Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 1, 2019

ANIMAL HEALTH

Tamarillos

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

8kg ctn direct ex-grower

www.fromthefarm.co.nz

ANIMAL HANDLING

• • • •

1 x 6 foot bale 2m diameter 15 feed positions 15 - 30 animals

0 $ 85 +GST

• • • • •

3 x 4 foot bales 2 x 6 foot bales 24 feed positions 24 - 48 animals 4m long

LK0096638Š

STANDARD FEEDER (C6 Pinned)

OVAL FEEDER (S2 Pinned)

$ 120+G0 ST

0800 104 404 | www.stockfeeders.co.nz

100% New Zealand Made Quality Stockfeeders

ATTENTION FARMERS

FLY OR LICE problem?

Electrodip - The magic eye sheepjetter since 1989 with unique self adjusting sides.

Incredible chemical and time savings with proven effectiveness.

Phone 07 573 8512 w w w. e l e c t r o d i p . c o m

CONTRACTORS

CRAIGCO SHEEP JETTERS. Sensor Jet. Deal to fly and Lice now. Guaranteed performance.

Unbeatable pricing.

Phone 06 835 6863. www.craigcojetters.com

GORSE SPRAYING SCRUB CUTTING. 30 years experience.

Blowers, gun and hose.

No job too big. Camp out teams.

Travel anywhere if job big enough. Phone Dave 06 375 8032.

DOGS FOR SALE

SELLING

New Zealand’s proven stock feeder for 24 years | 100% New Zealand Tensile Steel

SOMETHING? 0800 85 25 80

DOLOMITE Mobile welding & NZ’s finest BioGro certified

CITRUS TREES

We come to you anytime

(FROM PRIVATE BLOCKS) LK0098178Š

Servicing Bay of Plenty and Waikato NEW WORK and REPAIRS to anything on the farm or workplace

0800 436 566

Visit www.customweld.co.nz Facebook: Tauranga CustomWelding

Our aerial operation can selectively cull your feral deer population and pay a royalty.

Contact Lance McNicholas PHONE 027 294 7504 EMAIL mcnicholas@xtra.co.nz

Specialists in superior field grown trees, all varieties grown.

STEEL TANK SPECIALISTS

Price list available.

Fuelcon Farm and Trailer Tanks by:

COPPERFIELD NURSERIES

VIEW SIXTY DOGS. Deliver NZ wide, trial, guaranteed. www. youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553.

HEADING PUPS. Linebred ‘Deal’ NZCh and NZCh Sire. Phone 027 450 6095.

LK0092561Š

221 Snodgrass Rd RD 4 Tauranga

HEADING DOG, 4 yo.

Works sheep and cattle. $3500. Phone 027 772 2838.

WE HAVE A TOP selection of young Heading and Huntaways for sale. We are not traders we are breeders trainers and sellers based in Southland. Transport to the North Island no problem.

Join us on facebook workingdogsnewzealand.

Check out our web site w w w. r i n g w a y k e n n e l s . co.nz. Ringway Kennels.

Phone 027 248 7704.

PURCHASING FERAL DEER

light fabrication

Mg fertiliser For a delivered price call ....

FAST GRASS www.gibb-gro.co.nz GROWTH PROMOTANT Only $6.00 per hectare + GST delivered Brian Mace 0274 389 822 brianmace@xtra.co.nz

DOGS FOR SALE

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE

HEADING DOG PUP, 8 months, very well bred, ready to start. Trial potential. Phone 06 388 0212 or 027 243 8541.

HUNTAWAY DOG nearly 5 years old.Very easy to work.Selling on behalf.

Genuine reason for sale. $3500. Phone Mark Porter 07 825 4423.

B R O O K L A N D SIMMENTAL, LBW, short gestation, bulls, suitable for beef or dairy, EBV’s available. Phone 06 374 1802.

DOGS WANTED 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195.

QUICK SALE! No one buys or pays more! 07 315 5553. Mike Hughes.

FARM MAPPING FOCUS ON YOUR strengths with a farm map showing paddock sizes.

Contact us for a free quote at farmmapping.co.nz or call us on 0800 433 855.

GOATS WANTED

FERAL GOATS WANTED. All head counted, payment on pick-up, pick-up within 24 hours. Prices based on works schedule.

Experienced musterers available.

Phone Bill and Vicky Le Feuvre 07 893 8916.

HORTICULTURE NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp.

The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz

PROPERTY WANTED HOUSE FOR REMOVAL wanted.

North Island.

Phone 021 0274 5654.

PUMPS HIGH PRESSURE WATER PUMPS, suitable on high headlifts.

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

STOCK FEED HAY 12 EQUIVALENT squares $70. 15 equivalent rounds $75. STRAW 12 equivalent squares $55.

BALEAGE at $80. Unit loads available. Phone 021 455 787.

BOOK AN AD. For only $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone Debbie Brown on 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

WANTED TO BUY SAWN SHED TIMBER including Black Maire.

Matai, Totara and Rimu etc. Also buying salvaged native logs.

Phone Richard Uren. NZ Native Timber Supplies. Phone 027 688 2954.

“Your Fuel Storage Solutions�

Ph: 07 552 5780

Please proof read carefully - check all spelling and details.

Fax: 07 552 4638

This is a low cost proof which is not colour accurate and should be used as a guide only.

The signing of this proof indicates that you have checked the spelling and details of this proof and have agreed that the artwork can proceed to production. Signfusion will not be liable for any errors detected after production has begun.

signature

grant.tennet@xtra.co.nz www.copperfieldnurseries.co.nz

Client Description Date All artwork remains intellectual property of Signfusion until purchased by the client. No part of this concept, visual or artwork is to be reproduced either whole or in part without indebtedness to Signfusion.

enviroMate 100

TM

The latest in Pest Control ‌

enviroMate 100

TM

LK0098111Š

All it requires now is your help to make this change happen.

LK0098277Š

The game changer that will redefine the future of our forests.

0800 383 5266

is now available from Eco-Land.

www.ecoland.co.nz

www.petrotec.co.nz/products

e attl C HD dling Han w with o ...n UEEZE SQ

T H IN K PRE BU IL T Referendum – Commodity Levies (Wheat Grain) Order 2014 Reminder to Vote

NEW HOMES

SOLID – PRACTICAL WELL INSULATED – AFFORDABLE

On Saturday 15th June 2019 voting papers were sent to all Wheatgrowers to be returned by Thursday 11th July 2019.

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

ble

LK0098118Š

LK0098233Š

If you have not already voted, we urge you to vote before the expiry date of 11 July 2019. If you have misplaced your voting form and require a replacement, please contact: Brown Glassford & Co Ltd PO Box 39195 Harewood Christchurch 8545 Phone: 03 365 0881 Fax: 03 377 2991 Email: info@uwg.co.nz

N A ffo o rd I nno able v R elia ative

Our homes are built using the same materials & quality as an onsite build.

Easily transported to almost anywhere in the North Island. Plans range from one bedroom to four bedroom First Home – Farm House Investment – Beach Bach

This is a reminder to all growers of the importance of this referendum – maximum voter response is vital to decisions on the future of the Wheat Insurance Scheme.

™

0800 227 228 www.combiclamp.co.nz

South Island - Stuart 027 435 3062

Livestock

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 1, 2019

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

NZ’s No1 F.E. Meat Breed Flock * SIL * Parasite Testing Well Muscled - Fast Growth. Ph: David 027 2771 556

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A r v i d s o n W I L T S H I R E S - Pure Meat, No Shearing

35

S

STOCK FOR SALE 214 ROM 2TH SIL SUFTEX 05.03 171%

400 SIL ROM FE TOL 2 TOOTH TEXEL RAM 06.03 (Singles) WAIHORA BRED

STOCK REQUIRED

R2YR Traditional STEERS 400-520kg R1YR STEERS or HEIFERS 220-250kg

Call Nigel

0800 85 25 80 livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Date: Monday 15th July 2019 Address: 351 Otaua Road, Waiuku Start time: 11am

a/c M Hammond

STORE LAMBS 30-40kg

2nd July 2019 at 12.30pm Top Quality Capital stock clearing sale

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Ross Dyer 0274 333 381

710 head

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

50 years of top quality Hereford breeding in Northland farmed on steep West Coast farm hill country.

Vendors: Barriball Farms Comprising of 180 top quality dairy cattle 120 Frsn & FrsnX In-Calf Dairy Cows BW92 PW120 RA95% 40 FrsnX In-Calf Heifers BW117 PW135 Herd & Heifers calving from 1/08/2019 Herd mated to LIC 5wks, tailed Jsy bulls System 2, best production 400ms/cow M-Bovis clear, EBL free, Lepto vac.

Auctioneers note: Top herd in good condition.

We totally recommend this offering.

A rare opportunity to purchase genuine cows and heifers.

Herd for auction due to late farm sale.

R2YR Friesian BULLS 350-450kg

Vetted in-calf to Matapouri Hereford and Waitangi Angus bulls 50 x R2 Hereford heifers – Waitangi bull 1/8-25/9 32 x R2 Angus/Hereford heifers – Waitangi bull 1/8-25/9 68 x R3yr cows – VIC Angus & Hereford 60 x R4yr – Hereford cows – VIC Hereford 1/8-5/10 50 x MA Hereford Cows – VIC Hereford 1/8-5/10 180 x MA Hereford Cows – VIC Hereford & Angus 1/8-5/10 30 x MA Angus Cows – VIC Hereford & Angus -1/8-5/10 100 x Hereford Top R1 heifers 60 x Angus /Hereford R1 heifers

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING PHONE NIGEL RAMSDEN 0800 85 25 80

CAPITAL STOCK BREEDING HERD

a/c Vendor 50 x TQ Frsn Hereford heifers VIC Angus 1/8-20/9

a/c Vendor 30 x Frsn Hereford/ Frsn Angus R2 VIC heifers 10/8 – 8 weeks

Payment: 14 days after auction.

Contact Reuben Wright 027 284 6384

Enquiries to Paul Kane 027 286 9279

Or Dan Sweetapple 021 046 0755

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

LK0098273©

HAVE A SALE COMING UP?

BROADWOOD SALEYARDS

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LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

40 Years + LIC Bred Herd Auction

SALE TALK A man goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, you’ve got to help me.

My wife thinks she’s a chicken!”

MORRINSVILLE DAIRY SALE

The doctor asks, “How long has she had this condition?”

THURSDAY 4TH JULY 12 NOON On A/c Client

“Two years,” says the man.

LD

100 Frsn & X Bred July and August Calving Cows

“Good grief man, why did it take you so long to come and see me?” asked the doctor.

SO

Visit: mylivestock.co.nz WAI72404 Contact Steve Morton 027 246 5165

The man shrugs his shoulders and replies, “We needed the eggs.”

Enquiries: Rob Harvey 021 331 519

Here at Farmers Weekly we get some pretty funny contributions to our Sale Talk joke from you avid readers, and we’ve keen to hear more!

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

If you’ve got a joke you want to share with the Farming community (it must be something you’d share with your grandmother...) then email us at: saletalk@globalhq.co.nz with Sale Talk in the subject line and we’ll print it and

HAVE A SALE COMING UP?

credit it to you.

Conditions apply

LK0098392©

Gone completely Autumn Calving so complete genuine Spring Calving Herd.

Due to calve 20th July to 20th August.

All G3 profiled and tested for A2/A2.

These cows come forward in good condition, from a challenging farm and will shift well.

MORRINSVILLE SALE YARDS Tuesday 16th July 11.30am Start A/c D & DL Nixon Ltd, Pukekohe

0800 85 25 80

livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Also: 21 VIC Frsn/Frsn x Heifers DTC 1.8.19 to Angus Bulls, BW 86 PW 75

3RD ANNUAL IN CALF HIND SALE MELIOR VENISON C/- T&S Macfarlane, 480 Gudex Road, Fairlie Tuesday 9th July Viewing from 12 Noon Sale Commencing 1pm

Barbecue to be Sponsored by Duncan’s Venison Signposted from Pleasant Point & Geraldine Fairlie Highway For full and up to date details please refer to www.agonline.co.nz or www.temukasales.co.nz Enquiries: Tom Macfarlane 03 614 8262 or 0276 008 555 Murray Coutts 0274 039 377 or 03 614 7093 or contact your local Deer Agent

Weekly Auctions

Agents Note: Due to our Vendors retiring from dairying we are pleased to offer this very good Spring Content of the Herd, (Autumn Content sold) having been farmed on rolling hill country for the last 17 years, using a feed system 3, with a clear milk test for M Bovis.

The herd was dried off by the 25th May and will come forward for sale in excellent condition having produced 415 ms per cow (reared 100 calves) and a SCC Season Avg. of 118,000.

• Same day kill where possible • Payment within 2 business days of kill • Kill sheet – emailed afternoon of kill • Competitive schedules • New Zealand family owned business • Just a bunch of really good buggers

starting 2 July 2019 from 7.00pm

Tuesday night - Lower North Island Wednesday night - Upper North Island Thursday night – South Island

LIC Sale Catalogue will be available from the Auctioneers.

For more information go to bidr.co.nz or contact the team on 0800 TO BIDR

Payment – 14 days from day of sale.

In conjunction with: Whakapipi Stock Co. – Keith West 027 214 9180

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For enquiries contact: Stu Wells 027 282 8204 LK0097856©

For all livestock enquiries contact our livestock coordinator: Danny O’Leary Mob: 027 467 6251 Office: 06 363 7237 Email: danny@crusadermeats.co.nz

Call Nigel

Comprising: 82 VIC Frsn/Frsn x Cows (Spring Content) 2-8yr, BW 54/45 PW 61/64 RA 96% DTC 1.8.19 to LIC Frsn, Tailed Hfd Bull (32-A2 Profiled) + All Cows/Hfrs G3 Profiled

SOME REAL BENEFITS TO YOU THE FARMER IN SUPPLYING CRUSADER MEATS:

Helping grow the country

We will offer: Approx. 400-500 R2 European Cross Hinds Pregnancy tested in calf to High growth rate 30+ BV (12 Month weight) stags.

HIGH PRODUCING SPRING FRIESIAN HERD

PROCESSORS OF LAMB, MUTTON, GOATS & BOBBY CALVES

30 MA Murray Grey Cows R3 & Older Due 1st September 40 Rising 2 yr Murray Grey Heifers Due 20th August All Scanned in Calf Murray Grey Bulls (Torindale Bloodlines x Gore) 2 Sire Bulls Available.

TB Status: C10 For Sale due to Sale of property

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MARKET SNAPSHOT

36

Market Snapshot brought to you by the AgriHQ analysts.

Suz Bremner

Mel Croad

Nicola Dennis

Cattle

Reece Brick

Caitlin Pemberton

Sheep

BEEF

William Hickson

Deer

SHEEP MEAT

VENISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

5.65

5.60

5.40

NI lamb (17kg)

7.80

7.75

7.80

NI Stag (60kg)

9.00

9.00

11.10

NI Bull (300kg)

5.35

5.30

5.30

NI mutton (20kg)

5.35

5.30

5.10

SI Stag (60kg)

8.95

8.95

11.10

NI Cow (200kg)

4.30

4.20

4.35

SI lamb (17kg)

7.60

7.55

7.65

SI Steer (300kg)

5.30

5.25

5.30

SI mutton (20kg)

5.25

5.25

5.15

SI Bull (300kg)

5.05

5.00

5.05

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

3.85

3.60

3.95

UK CKT lamb leg

9.77

9.84

9.08

US imported 95CL bull

8.00

8.12

6.69

US domestic 90CL cow

7.48

7.56

7.12

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

$/kg CW

North Island steer slaughter price

6.0

North Island lamb slaughter price

6.5

$/kg CW

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb

Apr 2017-18

Jun

Aug 2018-19

WOOL

Feb

Apr

5-yr ave

Jun

2017-18

Dairy

2018-19

Last week

Prior week

Last year

-

-

3.26

625

625

483

321

321

302

833

833

750

-

-

4.75

DAP

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

Close

YTD High

480

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

4.8

4.85

3.38

Auckland International Airport Limited

9.8

9.8

7.065

440

The a2 Milk Company Limited

14.53

16.98

10.42

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

15.34

16.69

12.3

Spark New Zealand Limited

3.93

4.18

3.54

400

320

May-18

Jul-18

Sep-18

Nov-18

Jan-19

Mar-19

May-19

vs 4 weeks ago

440

YTD Low

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

4.47

4.48

3.51

Ryman Healthcare Limited

11.6

12.5

10.4 5.82

Contact Energy Limited

7.87

7.87

Port of Tauranga Limited (NS)

6.25

6.4

4.9

Fletcher Building Limited

4.93

5.55

4.57

Listed Agri Shares

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY Prior week

Urea

30 micron lamb

Mar-19 May-19 Sept. 2020

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T) Last price*

Aug 2018-19

Last year

3.35

360

Nearby contract

Jun

Prior week

-

$/tonne

6.25

Jan-19

Apr 2017-18

Last week

-

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

6.75

NZ average (NZ$/t)

37 micron ewe

Grain

Data provided by

Sep-18 Nov-18 Sept. 2019

Feb

Fertiliser Super

7.25

Jul-18

Dec

FERTILISER

Coarse xbred ind.

Aug

MILK PRICE FUTURES

5.75

Oct

5-yr ave

(NZ$/kg)

$/kg MS

$/kg CW

$/kg CW

$/kg CW

6.5

5.5

5.0

Dec

8.5

6.5

4.5

Oct

9.5

7.5

7.5

5.5

4.5

South Island stag slaughter price

10.5

8.5

South Island steer slaughter price

8.5

11.5

South Island lamb slaughter price

6.0

9.5

6.5

4.5

4.5

North Island stag slaughter price

11.5

7.5

5.0

Last year

7.5

5.5 5.5

Last week Prior week

10.5

Export markets (NZ$/kg) 8.5

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Ingrid Usherwood

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

Close

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

14.530

16.980

10.420

Comvita Limited

3.400

5.420

2.920

Delegat Group Limited

11.800

11.950

9.400

2930

2850

3145

420

SMP

2425

2455

2530

400

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

3.840

4.850

3.840

1.940

2.000

1.470

AMF

5620

5830

5900

380

Foley Wines Limited Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

0.870

1.050

0.750

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.870

2.980

1.870

340

PGG Wrightson Limited

0.520

0.580

0.470

320

Sanford Limited (NS)

6.860

7.060

6.350

Scales Corporation Limited

4.670

5.130

4.340

SeaDragon Limited

0.002

0.003

0.001

Seeka Limited

4.830

5.350

4.200

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

9.260

11.350

8.450

Butter

4750

4955

5100

Milk Price

6.40

6.40

6.40

$/tonne

WMP

May-18

* price as at close of business on Thursday

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Sep-18

Nov-18

Jan-19

Mar-19

May-19

350

$/tonne

3100 US$/t

Jul-18

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL

3200

3000 2900 2800

360

Aug

Sep Oct Latest price

Nov

Dec 4 weeks ago

Jan

300

T&G Global Limited

2.800

2.810

2.600

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity

15936

17434

15063

S&P/NZX 50 Index

10431

10431

8732

S&P/NZX 10 Index

10082

10082

8280

250 200

May-18

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Jul-18

Sep-18

Nov-18

Jan-19

Mar-19

May-19

15936

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

10431

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

10082

37

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019 NI SLAUGHTER LAMB ( $/KG)

7.80

NI SLAUGHTER STEER ( $/KG)

5.65

NI SLAUGHTER BULL ( $/KG)

5.35

R2 HEREFORD-FRIESIN HEIFERS, 325-375KG, AT FRANKTON ( $/KG LW)

2.99

DON’T STOP HERE...

If you love the information you get from these pages, you will love AgriHQ’s livestock reports.

LivestockEye

Stock enjoy dry ground NORTH ISLAND

I

T’S unbelievably dry in Northland for the time of year – parts are often sodden by now. Grass is growing slowly and ground conditions couldn’t be better. Prices for cattle have lifted.

Around Pukekohe a few heavy showers early last week gave way to fine, clear skies with light breezes. There’ve been a few frosts in sheltered places. Outdoor vegetable growers have seldom had winter weather this good which is making working on the land so much easier.

South Waikato had a boomer of a frost on Thursday morning and a few others during the week too. June’s been very kind and pasture is growing at more than twice its usual rate for the time of year. The farmer we spoke to saw his first calf for the season last week – born 26 days early.

She’s doing well. Cows are on swedes and fodder beet, which is helping them put on weight. Heifers are on kale. The farmer says he enjoys this time of year in the runup to calving. The days have a different rhythm.

King Country’s also had ripper frosts and clear days. Pasture covers are holding and because it’s dry underfoot animals are getting the most out of winter crops.

Often they can be trampled into wet ground.

In Bay of Plenty the country’s earliest avocados are coming off Motiti Island and some are hitting the local market from the Far North as well. The main Bay of Plenty harvest won’t start until mid to late August. Kiwifruit continues to be loaded onto ships and growers have been pleased to hear the estimated price for gold kiwifruit has increased. For the first time, this year New Zealand will sell more gold than green. Kiwifruit growers have been praying for frosts and they’ve arrived. Frosts really help with bud break on green vines. In a warm winter the number of flower buds can be 30% fewer than if it’s been cold.

Taranaki, too, has been frosty and fine.

Farmers are busy getting ready for calving – checking milking machines, making sure records are up to date and getting

shavings and woodchips delivered for calf sheds. Fonterra has offered incentives to farmers who have health plans for their animals so the farmer we speak to is consulting his vet to make sure he is on the right track. He is also going to a dinner hosted by Fonterra for farmers who have managed to get through the season without any penalties for the quality of their milk.

Gisborne’s had good weather for picking mandarins but the frosty starts have growers nervous. If the fruit freezes it rots.

The harvest has about three weeks to run. The region held its bull sales last week and one Angus bull was an absolute star. It came from Tangihau Stud and sold for $86,000.

Hawke’s Bay has also had stunning days and it’s dry underfoot. Farms usually wet at this time of year are loving it but those that are typically dry are even drier.

The earliest lambs are appearing. Some farmers didn’t mate hoggets this year – there was quite a bit of facial eczema around and they didn’t want to put them under stress with lambing.

Ewe scanning continues in Manawatu and results are back on previous years by about 10% to 15%. It was very dry from January to April and feed wasn’t as plentiful as it could have been so ewes were light going to the ram. Farmers are ploughing through work on the farm under beautifully clear skies.

In Wairarapa the olive harvest has been going flat stick for the past month and a half and is almost over. The weather’s been fine – nice to work in but it has been frosty and olives don’t like frosts.

The picking contractor we spoke to says he’s been picking 300 to 400 trees a day using a tractor-mounted tree shaker. He puts nets underneath like an upside down umbrella to catch the fruit.

SOUTH ISLAND Apple pruning in Nelson and Motueka is about a quarter of the way through.

Conditions have been good for pruning too with light frosts and fine days. In some orchards new tree varieties are

being planted and staff-wise, an orchard owner at Motueka says he’s got a great mix of Tongan and Kiwi workers this winter so no extra hands are needed.

Marlborough was fine and frosty all week. A hill country farmer near Blenheim says it got down to minus 4C and grass growth is slowing as soil temperatures have dropped to 5C. This week he’s separated the twinning ewes from the singles.

Ewes with twins are behind hot wires on 2.5kg of feed a day while the singles are on 1.1kg. Cattle are being break fed.

Vine pruning and trellis maintenance continue in the province’s vineyards and trucks, custom made to fit between the rows, are applying fertiliser.

Our contact at Lake Brunner on the West Coast says it was frosty with no rain all week. His cows are in barns on silage and hay and putting on good weight as they head towards August calving.

Cowsheds across the region are being checked and upgraded.

Canterbury had another settled week of weather with frosts and dry conditions.

Wintering stock is going very well so far with no mud and great use of feed. The annual Foundation for Arable Research conference was on last week and there’s been a lot of discussion about climate change, environmental impacts and herbicide resistance.

Central Otago’s chilly. A farmer up the Oturehua Valley says it’s down to minus 9C and with a few more frosts likely they might be curling on the Idaburn dam soon.

Last winter it didn’t get cold enough as the ice needs to be at least nine or 10 centimetres thick. Farm-wise everyone’s in winter feed mode with some early prelamb blade shearing getting under way.

Coastal Southland’s relatively mild. Our contact at Waimahaka says the ground’s firming up nicely after last week’s rain.

Dairy cows are wintering on chowmolia and fodder beet while sheep are rotating on grass. He says cow sales are subdued because of fears of Mycoplasma bovis while land prices are tailing off as people become more nervous about investing in farming.

Courtesy of Radio New Zealand Country Life You can listen to Country Life on RNZ at 9pm every Friday and 7am on Saturday or on podcast at rnz.co.nz/countrylife

We create transparency for the industry with these independent, objective reports providing full sale results and informed commentary covering 10 saleyards across NZ that are emailed directly after the sale.

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Every week, we explain the context of the current market situation, drivers which are impacting the livestock markets and what to expect in the coming week.

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BEST: Hawke’s Bay has enjoyed stunning days and it’s dry underfoot.

38

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

$9/kg contract a boost for store lamb market The announcement of a $9/kg CW fixed contract for August was music to lamb finishers ears and was a noted contributor to a stronger store lamb market at Stortford Lodge on Wednesday. Male lambs lifted $15-$20 a head while ewe lambs improved by $5-$10, with those improvements seen for all types.

NORTHLAND Wellsford store cattle • R2 traditional steers, 352-437kg, earned $2.95-$2.98/kg • R2 Hereford-Jersey steers, 313-369kg, improved to $2.76-$2.91/ kg • R2 beef-dairy heifers, 331-353kg, held at $2.61-$2.75/kg • R1 Angus and Angus-Hereford steers, 198-265kg, held at $575$790, $2.90-$3.03/kg • R1 Friesian and Friesian-cross bulls, 136-206kg, returned $435$550 A moderate yarding of just under 530 cattle were penned at WELLSFORD last Monday. The return of a couple of buyers combined with lifting schedules saw heavier cattle sell well, but younger animals were harder work. R3 beef steers, 481kg, were steady at $2.78/kg, while beef-dairy, 483-528kg, improved to $2.81/kg. R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 400-438kg, lifted to $2.79-$2.85/kg, while Hereford heifers, 357-413kg, softened to $2.70-$2.77/kg. Most R1 beef-dairy steers, 121-257kg, traded at $510-$720. Angus and Angus-Hereford heifers, 215-271kg, eased to $555-$605, as did Hereford, 156-198kg, to $355-$560. Hereford-Friesian sold in two main bands with 114-148kg at $350-$420, and 188-203kg, $550-$580.

Kaikohe cattle • 2-year beef-cross steers made $2.80-$2.85/kg • 2-year dairy-beef steers earned $2.70-$2.75/kg • R1 beef and exotic-cross steers fetched $3.30-$3.40/kg There was around 540 head penned at last week’s KAIKOHE sale, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. There was a strong trend throughout the sale that steers and bulls sold much more freely than female cattle who struggled. Two-year steers were steady, while two-year dairy-beef heifers eased to $2.40-$2.50/kg. R1 steers sold well, and beef-cross bulls held at $2.50-$2.60/kg, though dairy-beef heifers struggled at $360-$420.

AUCKLAND Pukekohe • Top prime steers made $2.75-$2.83/kg • Weaner store heifers earned $650, $3.01/kg • Good quality bulls fetched $1200-$1500, $3.10-$3.13/kg Increased schedules and a kind start to winter kept prices firm at PUKEKOHE last week, with the supply of prime cattle remaining tight, although lesser bred cattle remain a more difficult sell. Medium prime heifers sold well at $2.70$2.91/kg, while boner cows softened to $1.43-$1.83/kg. In the store pens, medium R2 steers made $2.50-$2.82/kg, while R2 heifers were $2.53-$2.69/kg. Small R1 steers sold for $470-$645, with off-types at $220-$465.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Yearling steers lift by 10c/kg • Top prime steers reached $3.06/kg • Store lambs made $78-$114 Competition for good store steers was strong last Thursday, Karl Chitham of Carrfields Livestock reported.

Good R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 499kg, made $2.99/ kg and 448kg Hereford-Friesian earned $3.02/kg while R2 heifers eased by 5c/kg with Hereford-Friesian, 423kg, earning $2.82/kg. Most yearling steers, 330-380kg, sold at $2.90-$3.12/kg and Hereford-Friesian weaner steers, 178kg, fetched $700, while weaner heifers, 264kg, made $805. Prime steer and heifer prices firmed last Wednesday, with heavy steers making $2.94-$3.06/kg and medium, $2.85-$2.89/kg.

Good-medium heifers traded at $2.90-$3.04/kg and wellconditioned Friesian cows earned $2.14-$2.26/kg. Medium cows fetched $1.78-$2.03/kg and lighter boners, $1.70$1.81/kg.

Monday’s sheep market was strong. Medium prime lambs returned $145-$170 and lighter were $128-$133.

Good ewes made $152-$171 and medium, $104-$131.

Lighter ewes sold down to $40.

WAIKATO Frankton cattle • R2 Hereford steers, 348-485kg, lifted to $2.76-$2.91/kg • R2 Hereford-dairy, 348-485kg, lifted to $2.76-$2.91/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 326-405kg, strengthened to $2.94$3.01/kg • Autumn-born R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 282-327kg, lifted to $3.04-$3.21/kg • R1 beef-dairy heifers, 122-249kg, improved to $450-$750 FRANKTON penned its largest yarding since early April, and buyers from South Auckland and Hawkes Bay increased competition and improved results, especially for heifers. R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 386-395kg, improved to $3.21-$3.24/kg, and 314-340kg, $3.03/kg. Heavier lines, 415490kg, traded at $2.92-$2.99/kg. R2 Angus-cross heifers, 344kg, lifted to $3.04/kg, with Angus-Friesian, 307-417kg, earning $2.90-$3.03/kg.

Results were pleasing in the R1 pens with Hereforddairy steers, 151-179kg, earning $525-$645. Friesian bulls, 135-148kg, held at $405-$475, and 272-309kg, $810-$890, whilst Hereford-dairy bulls, 172-186kg, returned $540$600. Autumn-born R1 heifers, 80-86kg, mostly earned $385-$427, with bulls, 88-94kg, fetching $450-$490. In the prime pens Hereford-dairy steers lifted to $2.84-$2.89/kg, and heifers of the same breed, 421-483kg, matched them at $2.78-$2.89/kg.

BAY OF PLENTY Rangiuru cattle and sheep • Top R3 Hereford-Friesian heifers sold for $1700, $2.90/kg • Prime Simmental-cross steers, 586-747kg, were $3.05-$3.13/kg • Top prices for prime lambs were $153-$160, and store lambs $126 A mild winter’s day at RANGIURU last Tuesday provided the perfect backdrop to the 270 cattle yarded, and better quality cattle sold particularly well. R2 steers were available in numbers, with 367kg Hereford-Friesian at $3.60/kg.

R2 Hereford-cross heifers, 360-370kg, traded at $2.85$2.86/kg, and Friesian, 387-410kg, $2.45-$2.56/kg. A line of R1 Friesian bulls, 173kg, from Matakana Island proved popular, selling for $595. The boner cow market was strong, although lighter lines were more prevalent. Friesian, 572kg, sold at $2.17/kg, and 453kg, $2.09/kg.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle • R3 Hereford-Friesian steers, 525kg, lifted to $2.91/kg • R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 222-255kg, made $905-$890 • R1 Hereford-Friesian bulls, 180kg, sold for $600 • Mixed age Angus-cross cows, vetted-in-calf to a Wagyu bull, sold well at $1290, $2.30/kg Last week’s sale at TARANAKI had a good volume of cattle for this time of year with 350 penned, which matched by a decent bench of buyers meant prices lifted. R3 steers lifted with 420-507kg mostly making $2.78-$2.80/kg, while both R3 heifers and bulls weren’t far off at $2.70-$2.75/kg. R2 dairy-beef and beef-cross steers sold on a steady to lifting market and most made good money at $2.90-$3.14/kg.

R2 heifers strengthened and nearly all pens sold in a tight range of $2.61-$2.73/kg.

R1 cattle performed well with most steers trading at $700-$785, and heifers were also in demand with most earning $634-$700. Lifting schedules also helped the prime market, with steers at $2.86-$2.94/kg and heifers above this at $2.95/kg.

POVERTY BAY Matawhero sheep • Heavy male store lambs sold for $161-$167 • Very heavy ewe store lambs made up to $161 • Prime lambs sold in a range of $140-$195 • Prime ewes earned $147-$150 • Prime 4th wethers made $150-$157 Tallies were down to just over 1500 store lambs at last

week’s MATAWHERO sale. The sale went very well and prices for particularly heavy lambs lifted. Medium to heavy ewe lambs made up most of the numbers and these made good money with mediums and $121-$136 and heavies $144-$154. Prime numbers were very limited and prices strengthened.

HAWKE’S BAY Stortford Lodge prime cattle and sheep • Very heavy male lambs softened to $190-$194.50 • Top ewe lambs traded at $170.50-$190.50 • Heavy ewe lambs improved to $148.50-$174.50 • Heavy mixed-age ewes held at $146.50-$159 • Medium to medium good mixed-age ewes improved to $123.50$134 Cattle numbers lifted at STORTFORD LODGE last Monday, and Angus and Angus-Hereford steers, 591665kg, improved to $3.06-$3.11/kg, and heifers of the same breeding, 485kg, $2.81/kg. Lamb throughput more than tripled, and very heavy ram lambs came back to $195$199, though heavy types held. Wether lambs were solid with all trading at $158.50-$194, though top mixed sex eased to $192. Heavy ewe lambs firmed $170.50-$190.50, as did good types at $143-$147.50. Ewe quality was mixed.

Very heavy mixed-age ewes held at $193, while very good eased to $138-$139, with good types steady at $135. Lightmedium ewes lifted to $114.50-$120, and the tail end was steady at $50-$105. More two-tooth ewes were penned and sold to $166, while heavy types held at $148. Good types strengthened to $142-$145.

Stortford Lodge store cattle and sheep • R2 Angus and Angus-Hereford steers, 450kg, made $3.03/kg • R2 Angus-Hereford heifers, 445kg, reached $2.85/kg • All male lambs lifted to $140-$166 • Good to heavy ewe lambs firmed to $137-$160 • Medium to good ewe lambs firmed to $122-$144 Store lamb prices lifted at STORTFORD LODGE last Wednesday, where 7400 were penned. Good entries from Wairoa boosted tallies, and both local and outside buyer’s competed. The top line of very heavy male lambs reached $166, while a small yarding of mixed sex traded at $120-$136. Ewe lambs sold to $158.50. A small yarding of breeding ewes made satisfactory returns, with four-tooth Romney to a Suffolk ram at $177, while five-year Romney also to a Suffolk sold for $161.

MANAWATU Feilding prime cattle and sheep • Prime lamb throughput lifted 900 head to 4559 • Top male lambs made $180-$199, and second cuts, $177-$179 • Very-good condition ewes sold for $157-$170 • Boner Friesian cows, 500-605kg, rose 17c to $2.13/kg There was another strong showing of sheep at FEILDING last Monday, with the yarding exceeding 6000 head. Prime lamb numbers were up, and the median was $178. Fewer ewe lambs were offered with the top line at $181, and the majority, $170-$178.

Very heavy mixed sex lambs firmed to $183-$189, and the next cut earned $170-$179. Heavy prime ewes lifted to $176-$189. A higher-than-normal proportion of bulls were on offer in the cattle pens, with the highest price for a 740kg Angus at $3.01/kg. Friesian bulls, 533-710kg, traded at $2.70-$2.72/kg while Angus cows, 505-520kg, sold for $2.12-$2.05/kg.

Feilding store • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 440-475kg, were $2.99-$3.11/kg • R2 & autumn-born Friesian bulls, 380-450kg, lifted to $2.80-$2.85/ kg • Good R1 Friesian bulls, 270-310kg, went for $890-$965, $3.13$3.31/kg • Average store lamb price jumped to $144.50 • Good mixed age Romney ewes, SIL 155-175%, were $190-$203 A little less than 1200 store cattle sold well as a whole.

Beef-Friesian lines and bulls were the main drawcard, all performing better than recent weeks. R3 steers were in short supply, with 445-475kg Angus at $3.11-$3.12/kg. Good 400-465kg R2 beef-Friesian steers matched the traditional at $3.08-$3.21/kg.

It was similar in the R2 heifers where 345-410kg beef and beef-cross were mostly $2.82-$2.96/kg, while R2 Friesian bulls were rarely below $2.80/kg. Autumn-born weaners went well with 125-150kg beef-Friesian bulls at $520-$555 and 140-145kg heifers $490-$505. Around 14,000 store lambs lifted yet again, particularly through the longer-term pens.

The vast majority of male lambs were picked up at $147.50-$169.50, with the rest mainly $126-$143. For ewe lambs the norm was $133-$153.50, though the top cuts were $156-$163 and lighter types made $120-$131. There were only 700 in-lamb ewes which sold in-line with past weeks.

SALE YARD WRAP

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019

39

STEAMING: James Fraser of Stern Angus brings his bulls down for sale on Thursday, June 20. Read the bull sale wrap on P40.

Rongotea cattle • 3-year beef heifers, 635kg, made $1600, $2.51/kg • 2-year crossbred bulls, 300-387kg, sold for $2.08-$2.20/kg • R1 Hereford-Friesian bulls, 217-308kg, earned $2.37-$2.71/kg • In-calf cows sold in a range of $670-$720 • Friesian boner cows, 442-542kg, fetched $1.69-$1.84/kg Fine weather in the area meant low numbers at RONGOTEA last week, NZ Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported.

Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 400kg, made $1000, $2.50/kg, and Devon-cross, 360kg, earned $2.61/kg, while two-year crossbred bulls sold in a wide range. Twoyear heifers mostly made $940, or $2.35-$2.65/kg, with crossbreds, 325-475kg cheaper buying at $2.00-$2.40/kg.

R1 Friesian and crossbred bulls, 245-290kg, ranged from $1.67 to $2.49/kg. R1 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 330kg, sold for $2.42/kg, and Devon-cross, 225kg, at $2.82/kg.

Weaner Friesian and Hereford-Friesian bulls, 160-180kg, made $500-$555, with Hereford-Friesian heifers, 98-161kg earning $400-$565.

CANTERBURY Canterbury park sale • Prime traditional steers, 600-790kg sold for $2.76-$2.85/kg • Heavy prime cows earned $2.07-$2.17/kg • R2 Angus heifers, 400kg, made $2.93/kg • Top prime lambs mostly fetched $209-$222 There was another small yarding of prime cattle at last week’s CANTERBURY PARK sale and mixed resulted in varied prices. Traditional cattle held although lesser-quality types mainly eased to $2.64-$2.76/kg, while prime heifers were mostly $2.52-$2.65/kg. Store cattle sold well and there was good competition for forward cattle with traditional and heavy beef-cross R2 steers, 425-459kg, at $2.92-$3.02/ kg.

Store lamb numbers continue to flow through, and prices lifted again. Heavy mixed sex and ewe lambs made $128-$144, while most medium lambs earned $117-$126.

Prime lambs lifted, while prime ewes mostly softened due to lighter weights although the top end still fetched $230$246.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY Temuka store cattle sale • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 444-508kg, made $2.84-$2.91/kg • R2 Angus heifers, 411kg, sold for $3.16/kg • R2 Friesian heifers, 373-458kg, sold for $1.95-$2.11/kg There was another small yarding last week at TEMUKA, although increased quality and a good bench of buyers lifted prices. R2 steers improved for the top end with 377508kg mostly earning $2.76-$2.91/kg, while lighter and lesser-quality types held at $2.55-$2.68/kg. Demand was strong for R2 heifers with good quality traditional types, 301-433kg, mostly earning $2.81-$2.97/kg, and better Hereford-Friesian at $2.70-$2.83/kg. R1 beef-cross steers, 193-198kg, made $730-$750, while heifers were mostly 173203kg and returned $575-$635.

Temuka prime and boner cattle; all sheep • Heavy male store lambs firmed to $131-$156 • Light to medium mixed sex varied from $89 to $128 • Good mixed sex lambs made $122-$132 • Good ewe lambs lifted to $125-$130 • Prime cow prices rose 9c to $2.06/kg Buyers were spoilt for choice with a good-sized yarding of store lambs at TEMUKA last Monday, boosted by 1600 from the Chatham Island’s. Heavy lines were presented after missing-in-action recently and they were rewarded with good prices.

Medium to good male lambs sold for $124-$146.50. Prime lambs sold on a good market with top pens reaching $230$235 and the next cut down, $180-$219.

Medium lambs sold for $160-$179. Prime ewe throughput doubled, with the pick at $210-$270, and most $150$197. Prime steers, all traditional beef or beef-cross, were generally sold in pens of one or two. A line of 482kg AngusHereford sold at $2.93/kg, while 485-695kg firmed to $2.76$2.85/kg. Boner cows sold well, with very good condition 500-685kg lines steady at $1.64-$1.76/kg, and 465-710, $1.63-$1.72/kg.

OTAGO Balclutha

• Heavy prime lambs, made $170-$200 • Heavy prime ewes earned $170-$180 • Top store lambs held at $120-$135 A quality line up of prime lambs at last week’s BALCLUTHA sale lifted prices with all selling above $120.

Prime ewes were mostly steady, and all sold above $100.

Competition was strong for store lambs as supply begins to tighten and prices at the top end lifted, while medium and light types varied at $85-$110.

SOUTHLAND Lorneville cattle and sheep • Heavy prime lambs lifted to $155-$178 • Heavy local trade rams fetched $60-$94 • Boner cows, 450-500kg, made $1.50-$1.60/kg • 1-year beef-cross steers, 206kg, traded at $605, $2.93/kg • 1-year beef-cross heifers, 220kg, sold for $630, $2.86/kg At LORNEVILLE last week prime lambs sold very well, with all making above $134. Heavy prime ewes softened a little at the top end to $158-$181, although most lights strengthened to $100-$126.

Heavy store lambs strengthened to $120-$135. There was a small yarding of prime cattle where steers 480kg and above earned $2.50-$2.60/kg and beef-cross heifers, 420kg, were bought for $2.30-$2.40/kg.

Store cattle were mostly steady with R2 Angus-Friesian steers, 309-344kg, fetching $2.47-$2.52/kg, while R2 AngusFriesian and Hereford-cross heifers, 311-433kg, varied at $2.33-$2.52/kg.

Charlton sheep sale • Heavy prime ewes strengthened to $192 • Heavy local trade rams lifted to $127 • Heavy store lambs made $140 Most sections lifted at CHARLTON last week with strong demand from buyers. Prime lambs lifted to $173 at the top end, with all selling above $125.

A good number of ewes also sold well, lifting for top end, although there was a wide range with light ewes down to $90. Store lambs also lifted $5, with mediums at $115-$125, though lighter types softened to $80.

Markets

40 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 1, 2019 NI SLAUGHTER COW

SI LOCAL TRADE

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB

($/KG)

($/KG)

AVERAGE LAMB PRICE AT STORTFORD LODGE

($/KG)

($/HD)

4.30

5.50

7.60

149.60

$177-$197 high $135-$150 heavy prime male lights Heavy store male lambs Very lambs at Feilding Prime at Temuka

ACROSS THE RAILS SUZ BREMNER

The boner cow season winds down at Temuka

SALE SUCCESS: One of the bulls at the recent Stern Angus sale checks out the auctioneers as stud principal James Fraser looks on.

Bull sale interest high Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz

I

T’S been a successful bull sale season with last week’s Gisborne and Wairoa sales signaling the end of a busy couple of months.

Sellers across the country reported good clearances and strong prices, reflecting the quality of the bulls available and good growing conditions.

Two $1 million sales attracted attention in the South Island earlier in the month.

Te Mania Angus got $1,496,000 while Kakahu Angus took $1,049,678.

PGG Wrightson national genetics manager Callum Stewart, who was at the Te Mania sale, was impressed with the consistency throughout the catalogue.

All but one of the 132 bulls it had available sold, at an average of $10,996 with the highest price paid $56,000 by Stern Angus.

The Wilding family who own Te Mania then showed their charitable side by

donating the proceeds from lot 16, $16,500, to the Will to Live charity.

They chose Lot 16 to show the significance of New Zealand’s rural suicide statistics, with a rate of 16 people per 100,000 from rural areas taking their lives every year compared to 11 per 100,000 living in cities.

At Kakahu 98 of 99 Angus bulls sold with a top price of $30,000 paid by Mount Peel Station and an average of $10,700.

There were also 17 Charolais bulls available with 15 sold at an average of $5013 and a top price of $7500.

Not quite reaching the million-dollar mark but going close was Taimate Angus.

Taimate sold all 65 bulls available with a top price of $85,000 paid by Turihaua Angus.

The sale grossed about $900,000 with an average of $13,892.

Another to gross about the same amount was Stern Angus, which sold 95 of 101 bulls at an average of $9463 with a top price of $28,000.

There were also some significant

prices achieved at Hereford sales.

Otapawa Poll Herefords, in partnership with Hukaroa Herefords, paid $60,000 for a bull from Okawa Herefords’ 40th annual sale at Mt Somers.

Okawa sold 50 of 53 bulls on offer at an average of $10,154.

It then paid the top price of $57,000 at Matariki Herefords’ sale, where 61 of 62 bulls sold at an average of $10,309.

Koanui Polled Herefords, the largest registered polled Hereford stud in NZ, sold 62 of 63 bulls on offer at its sale at an average of $10,088. The top price there was $21,000 by Merrylea Herefords.

The strong prices continued at last week’s sales.

Tangihau Angus celebrated its 70th year with its first on-farm sale, where it sold all 23 bulls available at an average of $20,913. The top price was $86,000

by Rangitira Angus while the quality of what was available was reflected by Black Ridge Angus Stud and Oregon Angus and Romneys buying bulls for $62,000 and $42,000 respectively.

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THE boner cow season is winding down and for the Monday sales at Temuka it has been another busy one. Volume was similar to last year at close to 6300 head for the period from February to June, with peak offloads from late April to early June. This is typically the time when the cow kill is also at its peak and processor space is very tight. The yards offer the luxury of being able to offload every Sunday or Monday rather than having to wait for the green light from the processors. Dry conditions meant more cows were offloaded earlier, after early pregnancy testing in February, while fewer farm conversions now also meant surplus cows that would have been soaked up there are now heading to auction.

Mycoplasma bovis has also played its part by filling up some processors, which also must be factored into the volume heading to the sale yards.

PGG Wrightson auctioneer Barry Fox said the season tracked along at fair levels considering the volume on offer. “A cull dairy cow has proved to be quite a versatile animal to farm. Once they are away from the milking shed they put on weight well but in the same breath can be pushed harder to clean up paddocks. They are a useful tool and with the low buy-in price compared to most other stock more traders are treating them as a very viable option.”

A larger than usual number of cows was paddocked after auction this year, either making a return trip to the yards when prices improved or being held until winter contracts come into play. North Island buyers typically don’t have an influence on this market in South Canterbury but up to five regular buyers are there any given week. Depending on how many are on the bench sets the tone for the day and prices are always underpinned by manufacturing schedules, both current and forecast. Prices from April this year started off on the back foot compared to 2018 but through the peak period prices balanced out, with most ranging from $1.25/kg to $1.50/kg for both years.

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