Farmers Weekly NZ December 9 2019

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Shortsighted?

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XPERTS fear high ewe prices are encouraging farmers to sell breeding stock to processors at such a rate New Zealand exports might in a few years not have enough product.

That would provide an opening for Australia to grab market share from NZ. There is also a worry a shortage of stock could lead to a single desk seller, thus eliminating procurement competition.

The problem is compounded by the falling number of farmers willing to breed the lambs. Many young farmers are not interested and instead buy in store lambs to fatten.

AgriHQ senior analyst Mel Croad says looking at the Australian sheep industry’s intentions for the next two years there’s reason for caution, signalled initially by Australian lamb exports at 66% of total production, up from 56% five years ago and on the back of a depressed breeding flock.

“Australia has made inroads into the export market very quickly and it’s concerning when we are not seeing any growth here, when our closest opposition is capitalising and playing the long term game.”

First cross ewe lambs in Australia are selling upwards of $370 to go back into the breeding flock and that’s achieving those

prices when the schedule is less than $8.

“At $9 a kg here it will be interesting to see if our breeders capitalise and sell their ewe lambs.

“The mutton schedule is $6.20/kg, up from the $2.90/kg in November 2016, but while the combined annual sheep meat exports of NZ and Australia are growing 20,000 tonnes a year, that growth is Australia,” Croad said.

Having a breeding ewe flock is not an attractive option for much of the younger generation.

Suz Bremner AgriHQ “They have wiped out four million from their sheep flock over the past couple of years, which, as of June 30 this year, is at 66 million but their future forecast data has the flock rebuilding to 74 million by 2022 – that’s a rebuild back to last year and some, despite drought and poor lambing.

“Certainly, there’s nothing coming out of NZ that replicates that upside.”

Croad said productivity gains are not offsetting the lower number of breeding ewes.

“We are in record territory at the moment.

“If the idea is not to increase

flock numbers then we need to be investing in genetics and technology. We need to get some confidence.”

AgriHQ analyst Suz Bremner said returns for mutton and lamb are $1/kg CW or $30 a head up on last year and, typically, where buyers are looking to replace ewes they will work on paying $30-$40 a head more than they received for their cull ewes.

That equates to a $60-$70 a head increase in price this year.

Compared to last year’s prices that would put most ewes at an expected $260-$350 this coming breeding ewe fair season but Bremner said there will likely be resistance at the $300 mark.

“I would expect to see a lot of good breeding ewes easily trading at $200-$300 with two-tooths more towards $250-$300 rather than the $200-$290 we saw last year.”

Some will exceed $300 but it’s not predicted to be a regular occurrence though the annual draft Border Leicester-Romney two-tooth ewes sold at Temuka in February will likely push to $350.

“I doubt we will see an influx of new buyers to the market as it seems that having a breeding ewe flock is not an attractive option for much of the younger generation, who would rather buy in and fatten lambs.

“That makes for an interesting future as you can’t produce lambs from trees and crops.”

Livestock broker Peter Walsh

Continued page 3

THE SAME BUT BETTER: Gore farm consultant Graham Butcher says southern farmers are looking to do their existing stock better rather than reducing or increasing ewe numbers.

Photo: Natasha Chadwick

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NEWS

WEATHER OVERVIEW This week starts with a short-lived cooler change. Monday is cooler nationwide while Tuesday will be a little cooler around Hawke’s Bay. But on Tuesday the South Island starts to warm up again with a large, high-pressure system in the Tasman Sea, which will feed in sub-tropical northwesters, this time for the lower South Island. The high will drift to New Zealand’s north this week, which encourages more dry, warm weather for the upper and eastern North Island while further south the westerly winds return once more. There will be some West Coast rain on Thursday and Saturday but elsewhere it will be dry or mainly dry with a few showers. Next week looks similar.

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An injection of up to $9 million in 23 Southland catchment groups should also help improve the wellbeing of farmers.

Newsmaker ������������������������������������������������������22

NZX PASTURE GROWTH INDEX – Next 15 days

Pasture Growth Index Above normal Near normal Below normal

7-DAY TRENDS

Rain A fairly dry seven days is coming up across NZ but some rain on Thursday and Saturday might be heavy around the West Coast. Elsewhere it’s dry or mainly dry and leaning drier than normal but there might be some weekend downpours.

Wind A cooler south to southwest flow for many regions on Monday but on Tuesday the west to northwest winds return to the South Island then generally west to northwest winds kick in nationwide. Winds aren’t overly strong this week.

New Thinking ��������������������������������������������������23 Opinion ������������������������������������������������������������24 World �����������������������������������������������������������������32

ON FARM STORY

Temperature Cooler-than-average nights kick off this week and Monday looks a little cooler nationwide and Hawke’s Bay is a little cooler on Tuesday as the South Island starts to head the other way. Warmer than average later this week.

Highlights/ Extremes Many regions are continuing to dry out. There will be some isolated showers this week and weekend. The West Coast has a much drier week but still a couple lower-level heavyrain risks.

14-DAY OUTLOOK

Those who had some downpours last weekend will get a nice pasture bump this week as warmer weather returns. Areas where pasture growth might really slow down will be the eastern North Island with so much hot, dry weather lately. Canterbury might get some wet weather to help on Monday but for the North Island’s east it’s cooler with only a few showers on Monday and maybe Tuesday, otherwise drier-than-normal trends remain across the upper and eastern North Island.

SOIL MOISTURE INDEX – 05/12/2019

28 Getting the best out of people Helping rural women connect with each other and realise their potential has become a source of inspiration for Sandra Matthews.

REGULARS Real Estate �������������������������������������������������34-38 Employment ����������������������������������������������������39 Classifieds ��������������������������������������������������40-41 Livestock ����������������������������������������������������41-43 Markets �������������������������������������������������������44-48 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of all advertising revenue in Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer to farmer health and well-being initiatives. Thank you for your prompt payment.

Source: WeatherWatch.co.nz

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

3

Top dollars paid at ram sales Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz RAM breeders around the country are smiling with prices paid at ram sales over the past few weeks well up on last year.

PGG Wrightson national genetics manager Callum Stewart says prices are up about 10% on last year, something he expects to continue as the sales continue this month and into January.

“The commercial guys are giving the stud guys a real run for their money. They’re not holding back.

“There’s good money if you’ve

got good quality product. If you want good genetics you’re going to have to pay for it.”

The commercial guys are giving the stud guys a real run for their money. They’re not holding back.

Waikato studs Nikau Coopworth and Waimai Romney, both breeding for facial eczema

tolerance, averaged $2059 and $2890 respectively while King Country’s Ruapuha Stud Perendales, also FE tolerant, averaged $2450.

In the South Island Fairlie ram breeder David Giddings is thrilled with his recent Meadowslea ram sale.

He says strong sheep meat prices and confidence in the industry are reflected in spirited bidding at the on-farm sale.

The stud sold 275 rams for an average of $1375 – a 30% increase on last year.

Giddings said that matches product prices.

“Historically, the old adage has always been that a ram is equivalent to the price of 10 lambs – with these early store lambs making around $130 at the moment we were probably right on target.”

There was plenty of interest right across the various breeds Meadowslea offered, he said.

“With a real positivity and excitement around sheep a lot of farmers are looking to increase their ewe numbers and this was reflected in demand for whitefaced sheep.

“At the same time those people looking to use a terminal want

Continued from page 1 said despite the critical level of supply farmers have done all they have been asked for to increase fertility and increase yields.

The volume is a processor issue and the threat of a single desk industry is concerning.

“Just look at Fonterra, it got control, got too big and suddenly efficiency sails away.

“When numbers get down the big players squeeze the little players out and it comes down to control and supply – it’s not about the markets.

“We need to look after the little players. They will keep the big players straight. If we get down to single desk, and that’s the current threat to the industry, we will lose the competition and we are not going to get the best prices.”

Walsh is optimistic new generation sheep farmers will have what it takes to keep the industry going.

“These young people are smart, they bring new thinking and new technologies that us older chaps have trouble with.

“When they see a $150 lamb in the paddock they’ll take it.

They are growing up with the technology that will enable them to make it.

WILL I? Winton lamb finisher David Queale considers his options at Simon Smith’s on-farm store lamb sale last week near Gore. The undrafted lambs sold from $80 to $139.

Photo: Natasha Chadwick

“These young fellas are bright young buggers we need to nurture them,” Walsh said.

Federated Farmers meat and wool chairman Miles Anderson said there are many variables affecting the future of the industry but by far the biggest challenge for sheep famers is compliance.

“I expect there would be more interest in running sheep on the back of some fairly positive indicators that the prices we are getting now will be sustainable longer term than we have seen in the past, if it wasn’t for so many variables.

“I am thinking if the lamb and

mutton prices stay buoyant the economic drivers would push people to seriously run more sheep if it wasn’t for the legislation challenges such as the freshwater package and national policy statement on biodiversity and generally stronger legislation around farming livestock.”

a top one as the terminal fatlamb market is a big part of their business now – so our terminals sold like hot cakes too.

“We’ve even had some inquiry for hogget-mating rams already, which really shows people want more sheep.”

The positive atmosphere at the sale was a continuation of what Giddings saw at last month’s NZ Agricultural Show.

“We saw this at the Christchurch show, young people in particular are excited about sheep and really want to be sheep farmers and see a real future for the industry, which is great to see.”

Anderson said what is holding sheep back too is the wool industry.

“If the wool industry could get some life breathed back into crossbred wool, sheep will be very good.”

Meantime, consultants doubt southern South Island sheep farmers considering options to cash in on high sheep prices will affect ewe numbers.

AbacusBio consultant Simon Glennie said there’s plenty of opportunity to improve margins by increasing lambing percentages, which have plateaued in recent years, and growing those lambs to heavier weights.

“It is better to do that than retain really expensive capital stock.”

Gore consultant Graham Butcher said few farmers will be changing ewe numbers but he expects some will take advantage of high prices by selling store lambs earlier than usual and look at other options such as finishing bulls.

Farmers are focused on increasing the per-head performance of their flocks.

“If you have a gap then maybe keep more ewes but not at the expense of per-head performance,” Butcher said.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Dairy prices pause on upward path Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz DAIRY prices paused on their recent growth path at the first Global Dairy Trade auction of December but analysts see further room for increases on the evidence of world milk production figures.

The GDT index slipped 0.5% after five consecutive auction increases since early September.

Casein, cheddar, skim milk powder, butter milk powder and even whole milk powder prices rose, in descending order of magnitude.

Butter and anhydrous milk fat both suffered 5% price falls, exacerbating the trend toward dairy protein products, mainly SMP, over fat products.

ASB senior rural economist Nathan Penny said fat prices are near their seasonal lows and he expects them to lift in

Production growth in the key dairy exporters is insufficient to meet growth in global demand.

Nathan Penny ASB summer with the usual fall in milk production.

But they are still higher than a year ago.

Penny also highlighted the narrow margin between WMP and SMP prices, now only 10% versus 30% at the start of the year.

SMP prices have recorded seven consecutive rises since August and are now up 23%.

In contrast to milkfat products,

Continued next page

GOING WELL: ASB senior rural economist Nathan Penny said fat prices are near their seasonal lows but are still higher than a year ago.

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5

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Early runs on board for Fonterra Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz

Continued from previous page SMP is now 55% higher than a year ago, and WMP is up 25%, both contributing strongly to the GDT index improvement of 33%.

No wonder Fonterra found cause a day after the GDT auction to raise its farmgate milk price forecast by 25c/kg MS, citing a 6% rise in GDT prices since it had

Miles Hurrell Fonterra

down Beingmate shares.

Chief financial officer Marc Rivers said the intention is to deliver those asset sales in this financial year and the proceeds of the previously announced sales of Foodspring and DSFE Pharma will contribute well to the FY20 bottom line.

Fonterra shed a further 200 jobs during the first quarter and reduced operating expenditure by $104 million.

The Q1 numbers included a normalised earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $171m, up $145m, and a reported Ebit of

$259m, up $233m compared with Q1 2019.

However, those Q1 2019 figures were dismal so the big increases in the comparatives are not especially meaningful.

Rivers characterised the results as a little better than those of previous first quarters, when Fonterra was trading profitably.

Fonterra ingredients lifted Ebit by $32m to $139m, validating the new emphasis on New Zealand milk in the strategy.

Hurrell said the key targets for 2020 include a gross margin of $3b, reduction in capital

expenditure by $100m to $500m and divestment of more assets to bring debt down to 3.75 times Ebit.

The underlying performance improved in Q1, delivering a gross margin on $740m, up from $646m.

Improved free cash flow to reduce debt and pay interest and dividends was $595m better than last year.

Hurrell reported some progress in Australia, including record market share in the chilled spreads category and some improvement in ingredients performance from a more

profitable product mix and reduced expenses.

He said the NZ Fonterra Brands business is showing early signs of a turnaround.

China food service continues to deliver higher sales volumes and gross margins.

“We have entered a further 24 cities, taking the total to 327, successfully marketed our Anchor range for use in local cuisines and continued to see strong growth in Chinese bakeries and beverages.”

Worldwide, the supply-demand balance has tipped slightly in favour of demand, which had generated a 6% rise in GDT prices since the previous forecast and the highest whole milk powder prices for three years.

“At this stage of the year we have contracted a good proportion of our sales book and that gives us the confidence to increase the mid-point of our forecast milk price range by 25c,” chairman John Monaghan said.

The updated NZ milk forecast is for 1530m kg, up 0.5% on 201819, and European and American milk supplies are growing at rates under 1%.

last made a prediction.

Now past the peak of the season, which was slightly lower than the previous peak, Fonterra has forward sold a good proportion of its production and can therefore narrow the range of its prediction, to $7-$7.60.

Penny’s comment was that anecdotally both October and November delivered lower milk

supply figures in New Zealand and that should translate into a resumption of upward-moving prices.

“European and United States production is also soft and, in short, production growth in the key dairy exporters is insufficient to meet growth in global demand.”

Both the Fonterra forecast and

his own prediction of $7.50 are, therefore, subject to upside.

Westpac market strategist Imre Speizer said solid world demand for dairy commodities, especially from China, and contained supply suggest the near-term price outlook remains positive.

NZX dairy analyst Robert Gibson said his milk price predictor has dropped 4c to $7.48.

Butter prices are being affected by the demand for SMP, from which butter is extracted during processing, contributing to a comparative over-supply of butter on world markets.

One more GDT auction will happen before Christmas, overnight on December 17 and they will resume for the new year on January 7.

SQUEEZE: Fonterra’s earnings are under pressure from the rising farmgate milk price, chief executive Miles Hurrell says.

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FONTERRA’s first-quarter results for the 2020 financial year show its strategy reset and operational changes have begun to deliver more consistent outcomes, it says.

In the Q1 announcements it held the full-year earnings guidance of 15c to 25c a share and added 25c to the forecast farmgate milk price, now in a narrower range of $7-$7.60/kg milksolids.

If delivered at the $7.30 midpoint, on which the advance price schedule is now based, it will be the fourth-best milk price from Fonterra.

Milk-supplying farmers will earn $11.2 billion for their 1530m kilos of milksolids in the full season, an increase of $382m on the previous forecast.

Responding to media scepticism that both earnings and a high milk price can be delivered together, chief executive Miles Hurrell conceded earnings are under pressure.

“We are going to have to work hard to achieve the gross margin and offset the milk cost increases in our value-add products, from which the earnings are generated,” he said.

“But at this stage we are comfortable with the earnings guidance, which is unchanged.”

Hurrell said there is not a lot to report on possible asset sales, now concentrated on finding buyers for China Farms, the Brazilian operations and selling

We are going to have to work hard to deliver earnings.

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

7

More farmland sold for forestry Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz THE Government has given approval for two foreign companies to convert a further 1000ha of farmland into forestry but has declined an application for a stake in a big dairy farming company.

Two European companies were last month given clearance by the Overseas Investment Office under the special test for forestry to buy and convert livestock farms in Otago and Northland into plantation forestry.

That adds to the more than 9000ha approved for conversion so far this year.

In addition, the OIO has granted its second standing consent to a foreign forest owner, the New Zealand Redwood Company, to buy land without seeking approval for each purchase.

But the OIO declined an application by Canadian company Mercury Agriculture to take a 68.3% stake in Rangitata Dairies, which owns eight dairy and dairy support farms over 3942ha of freehold land another 612ha of leasehold land in Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury and Otago.

The OIO decision said Mercury is an investment vehicle for Fiera Comox Partners, which has established a fund to invest in

NO GO: A plan by Rangitata Dairies to sell a stake to Canadian company Mercury Agriculture has failed to get Overseas Investment Office approval.

agricultural land and assets in NZ, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Rangitata Dairies intended using the partial sale to convert 111ha of farmland into an orchard and install irrigation and in-shed feeding systems on selected dairy farms.

Neither Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage nor Associate Finance Minister

David Clark were satisfied the investment will result in substantial and identifiable benefits to NZ and declined the application.

The NZ Redwood Company has been granted standing consent to buy up to 4000ha in the Manawatu-Whanganui region in a maximum of 10 transactions to be completed by October 31, 2023.

“This standing consent will act

as a form of pre-approval whereby the applicant must notify the OIO each time it settles a transaction in relation to this standing consent,” the OIO said.

To qualify for standing consent, the OIO said investors must have a proven track record and detailed business plans and processes to ensure they comply with conditions of the standing consent.

A subsidiary of the US-owned Soper Company, The NZ Redwood Company is the largest supplier of redwood planting stock in NZ and has been planting about 100ha of redwoods a year in the Taumarunui area over the last 35 years.

In October the OIO granted the same consent to Pan Pac to buy up to 20,000ha in 25 transactions of either existing forestry, forestry rights or land to convert to forestry.

In other November decisions approval was granted to Swiss company Corisol NZ to buy 522ha of farmland at Hindon, inland from Dunedin. Permission was granted under the Government’s special test related to forestry.

That process streamlines approval in recognition of the sector’s need for foreign investment.

Kauri Forestry, owned by Swiss and German interests, has been given permission to buy its fourth drystock farm this year.

The 488ha block at Pipiwai in Northland takes its farmland purchases this year to 6946ha on three farms in Northland and one in Wairarapa.

The Pipiwai farm has 285ha used for livestock farming, 154ha in existing forest and 47 hectares in bush or riparian planting.

The homestead and seven dwellings will not be used.

Weather causes a contracting backlog province was drying out.

November were terrible, with “We are now seeing crops near constant rain that left the going in and silage and baleage ground waterlogged even through operators are starting to get onto occasional dry periods.

AFTER a harsh spring in many He said contractors in the region it.” parts of the country, rural His message to farmers was to will be about four weeks behind contractors are trying to catch up be patient. “Farmers using their their normal spring/early summer on delayed work. services do need to recognise schedules.

Rural Contractors NZ president the risks of contractors pushing However, the end of November David Kean, of Winton, said themselves and staff into working and first week of December had weather conditions in Southland brought better conditions and the during October and much of METAREX INOV FARMERS WEEKLY 120MM X 265MM lengthy hours,” he said.

Riley Kennedy riley.kennedy@globalhq.co.nz

“Most contractors have rearranged their whole attitude to hours. The days of working 24 hours at a stretch are gone.”

Kean said contractors were trying to manage the busy time by doing things such as employing full-time cooks to provide meals for staff or running double shifts.

“Contractors really need to have a plan around staffing to ensure

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Chilled meat stays on the NZ to-do list Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz NEW Zealand’s market commitment and supply of beef and lamb to China is highly regarded there but that does not mean an early expansion to the access for chilled products.

It’s frustrating for us as supporters of free trade that some of our people can’t be part of that market.

John Loughlin Meat Industry Assn There are encouraging murmurings through the trade but no specific progress, Meat Industry Association chairman John Loughlin said after leading a working trip of industry leaders to China.

NZ already benefits from the big increase in demand and prices

for mostly frozen sheep meat and beef and all the signs are there will be increasing consumption of both meat proteins in the years ahead.

The beef forecast is demand will lift faster than world supply increases over the next 20 years.

Loughlin said the industry is getting good access to regulators and Government decisionmakers in China and had a couple of really good meetings. The delegation made the point the limited number of sites permitted to export chilled product means there is also a limited range of what can be supplied.

“China has noticed and views favourably both how we have been able to step-up exports when they’ve had a desperate need for proteins after the African swine fever outbreak hit their pork supply and also how we have done the hard yards in terms of going there time after time to put our case.”

However, China moves at its own speed and administrators are conservative and risk-averse.

The Government is concentrated on social outcomes

TOUGH: The meat industry faces a lot of hard work to retain its existing chilled meat access as well as gaining access for more plants, Meat Industry Association chairman John Loughlin says.

more so than the free-market principles by which the NZ meat companies operate.

“We put a premium on our companies’ open access and a level playing field but that is not a major concern for them and we need to recognise that.”

Only 10 NZ processing plants, owned by just six meat companies – the big four plus Greenlea and Ovation – are licensed for chilled lamb and beef exports to China.

That was two years ago and the

industry has been waiting for the list to be expanded.

“It’s frustrating for us as supporters of free trade that some of our people can’t be part of that market,” Loughlin said.

“Some chilled product is going there so it has to be an advantage for the companies involved.”

However, chilled access is still viewed as more about mediumterm positioning rather than a huge and immediate dollar prize.

The reality is the great strength

of the frozen supply market is compressing the theoretical margins achievable for chilled product.

Loughlin said he is always an optimist and, as such, always hoping for tangible progress next year.

“We don’t have a place there as of right so there will be a lot of tripping back and forth and a lot of hard work to keep what he have as well as trying to gain new access.”

Report identifies key red meat trends SOME of the recommendations in a new report on the future of the red meat sector are already being acted on, Beef + Lamb NZ global market intelligence and research manager Hugh Good says.

The report, produced by B+LNZ and market research agency Kantar Singapore, identifies seven emerging trends shaping the red meat sector, including a growth in alternative models of health and an explosion of personalised health data, emerging technology driving consumer purchasing decisions, a resistance to industrialised food production and a desire for total transparency.

It then outlines seven priorities for the sector to act on to ensure it can successfully respond to the trends and challenges.

The research recommends the sector continue a push towards food products tied to a unique New Zealand culture. This would involve NZ exporting a culture and story around NZ food that elevates the value of ingredients and allows the country to capture more value from branded red meat products.

The study also urges the sector to capture greater value from coproducts to drive profitability and hedge against the rise in meat and co-product alternatives.

Firmly establishing the health credentials of beef and lamb to leverage the growing consumer interest in health and wellbeing, and turning NZ’s sustainable red meat story into a unique selling point, are also recommended in the report.

Good says the report provides a lens for what the industry needs to focus on now and for the next five years.

The idea is to use it as a blueprint so that the whole sector understands future trends challenges ahead and a strategy designed to deal with them.

He says although global prices for beef and lamb are at record

highs, and the short-medium term prospects for farmers, processors and the wider industry are strong, nothing in the sector stands still.

Workshops have already been held involving the chief executives of meat processing companies covering potential new pathways to market, getting the most value out of co-products, environmental sustainability and health.

Discussions around sustainability have focused on how the industry can tell its story more effectively, while there is also a need to collect solid evidence about the benefits of eating NZ grass fed red meat to be able to lead the health debate.

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Aussie fund manager offers rural loans here Nigel Stirling nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com THE Australian fund manager behind the refinancing of $140m of Van Leeuwen Group bank debt says it is just getting started in New Zealand.

Merricks Capital is an established lender on farms and property development across the Tasman with $5 billion of assets under management for pension fund clients and the super-wealthy. The refinancing of the embattled owner of 11 South Island dairy farms is its first foray into the NZ lending market.

The Sydney-based investment manager is moving in just as the big banks are preparing to rein in their lending to farmers in response to hikes in regulatory capital confirmed by the Reserve Bank last week.

Chief executive Adrian Redlich said there are plenty of opportunities in the $63b of farm debt owned by the big banks.

“Our view is that for them under the new rules there probably needs to be $10b plus of alternate lending over the next five years.

“Our ambition over the next year or two is potentially to lend a billion dollars and maybe over five years to do several billion.”

Three more farm refinancing deals are already in the works. Those loans are smaller than the Van Leeuwen Group deal.

“While that loan was a good size and allows us to deploy capital more rapidly we do have dairy loans in Australia of $7m or $8m.

“There is some complexity around NZ at the moment but we are happy to look at $15m to $20m plus loans in dairy and we are doing just that.”

However, borrowers will pay more than the 4% to 5% banks have been charging for first mortgage lending secured on farms.

“We will be more akin to the finance companies,” Redlich said.

In return it would lend more and on more flexible terms than the banks.

“We may have loans where the interest rate can actually vary with the milk price or interest maybe capitalised to allow for expansion.”

Redlich said the outlook for NZ farmers is good but they are being put in a difficult situation where increasing regulation is asking them to sink more investment into their farms just as the banks are pulling funding.

In the case of the Van Leeuwen Group as well as refinancing its existing bank debt Merrricks is providing new funding for robotics and other farm improvements.

Redlich said the investors in his funds are comfortable funding those investments if they boost productivity of the assets their lending is secured against.

“If a bank is unavailable to provide the working capital to make that adjustment then it is going to be challenged.”

Redlich said raising new capital from investors to lend to NZ farmers will not be a problem.

He anticipated farm loans will generate returns of 4% to 5% above the return investors can get from owning relatively risk-free assets like government bonds.

At the same time the outlook for the assets the loans are secured against is sound.

Redlich said NZ farmers are recognised as among the most efficient in the world and their profits are being underpinned by subdued production increases among competitors.

“Owning NZ farmland has been aspirational for a lot of these groups.

“Now they have the opportunity to partner and generate a good, solid almost equity-like return from supporting the industry as debt.”

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

9

Two leading banks pledge to back farmers Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz TWO leading rural lenders say they won’t hang the sector out to dry as a result of a new Reserve Bank policy to increase trading banks’ capital holdings.

Rabobank and ANZ say despite being told they will need to significantly increase the amount of capital they hold they are committed to their rural customers and will support them through any changes.

From July 1 the total capital banks will have to hold will increase from a minimum of 10.5% now to 18% for the four large banks and 16% for smaller banks. The average level of capital now held by banks is 14.1%.

Banks will have seven years to build their capital, two more than the Reserve Bank originally proposed.

Federated Farmers has urged trading banks to absorb as much of the extra cost as possible rather than dump it all on customers, especially farmers already carrying large loans.

Its commerce spokesman Andrew Hoggard said the Reserve Bank has estimated the required lift in capital will be a 0.2% increase in average bank lending rates.

“But the impact on farming is likely to be much higher.

“This is because there is less lending competition in the agricultural sector and

NEW MONEY: Competitive pressures and alternative finance sources are needed to dilute the potential for interest rates to move up too far, economist Cameron Bagrie says.

The impact on farming is likely to be much higher.

Andrew Hoggard Federated Farmers we know banks are already looking to reduce their exposure to farm debt.”

Banks were putting the squeeze on farmers even before the change, he said.

The average mortgage for all farms is $3,833,000 and is significantly higher for dairy farmers so even a small increase in interest rates will hit farmers hard.

“Farmers are putting banks on notice. We want to see fairness. Kudos to Rabobank, which has already indicated it will absorb the extra costs.”

Rabobank NZ chief

executive Todd Charteris said it is fully committed to rural lending and the new requirements do not alter its strategy.

“Our ambition is to sustainably grow our rural lending portfolio by supporting our clients and exploring new opportunities with leading food and agribusiness operations.”

An ANZ spokesman said it has always supported the agri sector and remains confident in it.

“Any changes to our pricing or which sectors we will have more emphasis on will be a gradual process.”

A BNZ spokesman said it is working through the new capital framework and assessing the implications.

Bagrie Economics managing director Cameron Bagrie said the final cost of the changes to borrowers will depend on competitive

pressures and access to alternative sources of finance.

“We need both these factors to dilute the potential for rates to move up too far.

“Now that the Commerce Commission is finished with the petrol companies I know what sector I’d be having them to have a look at next.”

Banks are talking about a larger impact on borrowers than the Reserve Bank is but he errs towards the Reserve Bank’s estimates.

The Reserve Bank can offset any margin expansion by the banks by lowering the official cash rate, which would mean a lower NZ dollar than would otherwise be the case.

“There is also a lot going on in the rural space. Risk is being repriced in the dairy sector and this would be happening irrespective of what the Reserve Bank has done.”

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10 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Rural rates chain pulls tighter Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz THE Federated Farmers rates report for the year has highlighted the continuing ability of council rates to outstrip other cost indices, with property owners experiencing a 170% increase over the past 20 years.

That rise has left standard cost indices for dead, even when compared to typically high-rising products like alcohol and tobacco, Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said.

Those two products rose 120% over the same period, with significant tax increases on them through that period.

Food prices increased 50% over the same period while transport costs went up 30%.

Farmers are desperate for a handbrake on rates rises but concerned councils appeared to be signalling further rises are likely.

“Over reliance on property value rates is archaic, inequitable and essentially a ball and chain on local progress,” she said.

Federation rates analyst Nigel Billings was instrumental in the Feds submission to the Productivity Commission review of rating in July.

It was a review the organisation had mixed feelings over because the commission found current funding and financing methods, largely relying on rates, measure up well.

The Feds have, however, welcomed the report’s more targeted approach to charging specific users of council services.

Billings said as a long-standing, regular submitter on rate issues he could not see that happening in practice.

The Feds maintain the commission did little to address one of the Feds’ greatest concerns – reconsidering rates allocation between different types of properties in districts and regions.

“It is not realistic to anticipate simply switching to a targeted rate model would do anything substantial to alter the current distribution and allocation of rates,” he said.

Billings described the solutions offered to rates burdens as patchwork and incremental, unlikely to result in reform and doing little to increase rural community confidence in councils.

The Feds have also challenged the wider brief from central

EXPENSIVE: Federated Farmers president Katie Milne says rates are an archaic tax acting as a ball and chain on the rural sector.

government for councils to expand their roles.

A local government focus on localism, where services are decentralised, is also identified as a further cost pressure on councils, which future rates will be required to fund.

A message to New Zealand farmers Did you know that accidents on the farm, in particular those involving children, peak over summer?

It’s a scary thought and a timely reminder to look out for the health and safety of your family, workers and visitors on the farm.

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The Feds rates report does, however, outline some wins against councils over the year.

They ranged from a reduction in working dog registrations by 25% while in Hauraki lower rate increases came with the council using more uniform property

charges rather than property value ratings, for income.

A proposed rates increase of 15% in Horowhenua for some farmers was contained to 5% following a cost blowout by the council in its general rating budget.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

11

Manawatu farmer takes top award Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz HIGH-PROFILE Manawatu farmer, businessman and entrepreneur Mat Hocken has collected the Rabobank Emerging Leader Award, the first New Zealander to do so in the award’s history.

This year’s Rabobank agribusiness awards were also held in New Zealand for the first time.

Hocken, director of Grassmere Dairy, a familyowned, 1000-cow dairy operation has been intensively involved both on the farm growing the business and in local and national agribusiness ventures.

His return to the family business in 2013 came after a lengthy academic and professional career that included doing a masters degree in political science and government at Cambridge University in Britain.

The age-grade NZ rugby representative also played for Belgium’s national team while working in both government and industry consulting roles in Belgium and Australia.

I am very fortunate to have a supportive family network and a great team on farm. This has enabled me to pursue a number of off-farm projects.

country’s food and agricultural sector.

Hocken paid tribute to his family, farm staff and mentors in accepting his award.

“I am very fortunate to have a supportive family network and a great team on farm. This has enabled me to pursue a number of off-farm projects,” he said.

The supreme 2019 Rabobank Leadership Award went to Volker Kuntzsch, chief executive of Sanford, NZ’s largest seafood company.

WINNER: Manawatu farmer Mat Hocken, with wife Jana, has achieved a lot in his relatively short farming career.

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Mat Hocken Farmer Hocken has been Federated Farmers dairy sector chairman and an associate director of the NZ Rural Leadership Trust. He was also a Nuffield Scholar in 2017 when he examined the challenges around agricultural innovation.

In his report Hocken identified agriculture’s wicked problems prompted by trying to produce more food for more people off less land with a smaller environmental footprint.

He identified how the speed of innovation and uptake was making the usual top-down researchdevelopment-extension model typical of NZ farming redundant.

He maintained farmers and growers are the key component missing from most research models and getting them engaged up front would help speed up solutions development.

Hocken has championed farmers to get on board with innovation and that prompted him to help establish a collaborative innovation network in Manawatu for farmers with innovative ideas.

That resulted in the Rural Innovation Lab, which held a muster last month, showcasing farm and grower entrepreneurs forming its first candidates in a project that got $400,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund and a further $750,000 from other parties.

The early innovations include an aerial enabling better digital connectivity across the farm and a digital network to make farm technology more user-friendly.

Rabobank Australia and NZ managing director Peter Knoblanche said Hocken has demonstrated an ability to pull together a broad collaboration of people including iwi, farmers, tech companies and scientists to focus on the challenges facing this

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12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Big bucks to perk up farmers, nature Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz AN INJECTION of up to $9 million in 23 Southland catchment groups should also help improve the wellbeing of farmers.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced the funding at a Thriving Southland function at Five Rivers in northern Southland in what is the first region-wide extension project funded by the $229m Sustainable Land Use package.

Thriving Southland chairman Ewen Mathieson says the project will help farmers reduce their environmental footprint by paying for experts to provide them with advice and guidance.

Enhancing or extending the catchment group model will also provide a social outlet for farmers that should enhance their wellness in an era when they are becoming increasingly isolated.

“It is an opportunity to reconnect as a rural community,” Mathieson said.

The five years of funding will pay for the facilitation and support of catchment groups and coordinators to provide information on how farmers can mitigate their environmental footprints.

TOGETHERNESS: Ewen Mathieson, with wife Diane, says it’s a chance for Southland to reconnect as a rural community.

Part of that work will involve a stocktake on the steps farmers are already taking.

For example, the dairy industry’s Water Accord has quantified that 98% of waterways are fenced off from cows but the beef industry has no such record.

The four extension platforms to be funded by the project include managing nutrients for water quality and greenhouse gas emissions, rural community and farmer wellness, farm

systems and farm profitability.

Trade officials say customers want assurance New Zealand food meets environmental and animal welfare standards so this structure should provide that, Mathieson said.

Southland’s 23 catchment groups have different aims and challenges and that number could increase as regionally specific issues are determined and targets defined are tackled by smaller groups.

“We already have a catchment group model and we want to use it and facilitate and support it to a greater degree.”

The Government’s new national freshwater policy statement grants iwi greater involvement in freshwater management and catchment groups can provide communities with that platform to engage with iwi.

Most farmers are doing plenty to address their environmental footprint but often that is

happening in silos and Mathieson hopes the project will lead to an exchange of ideas and solutions.

“If we get the structure right and if we get the engagement right this has the potential to be a game-changer around farmer engagement and where we can move forward.”

O’Connor said the project will help Southland farmers and growers make the changes required to lift environmental sustainability and unlock more value for their hard work.

“Our farmers and growers are committed to making genuine change.

“Many are already doing it but they need practical information about what steps to take, clear direction about what to aim for and support to take action,” he said.

The Sustainable Land Use package has so far this year supported the establishment of three Maori agribusiness clusters in Whangaparoa, Raukokere and Cape Runaway and a Southern Wellness activities co-ordinator. Four more projects are planned in Kaipara, King Country, Hurunui and Ellesmere.

Some wool defies trend second time around Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz WOOL was mostly cheaper at Thursday’s Napier auction though some lines passed-in at previous sales was re-offered and achieved better money.

A small amount of lambs’ wool was well sought after, particularly 28 and 29 micron, and was bought for top-end contracts demanding no colour or vegetable matter, PGG Wrightson’s North Island auctioneer Steve Fussell said.

A full buyer bench was on-

hand for a good quality offering.

Some full-wool bales, notably 35 micron, improved in price amid other easier pricing. Second-shear wool weakened, notably in the 37 and 39 micron range. Napier’s pass-in rate was 12%.

In Christchurch a limited offering of crossbred fleece and hogget wool sold in buyers’ favour, compared to the sale a week earlier, PGW’s South Island sales manager Dave Burridge said.

The increase in the value of the dollar hasn’t helped buyers

negotiating with overseas customers in an already strained market for the 31 to 40-micron wools.

The finer end of the crossbred range was 1% to 3% cheaper and the coarser end up to 2% cheaper.

Crossbred second-shear was unchanged on average.

There was a small offering of mid-micron wools and that market also eased slightly, being 1% to 3% cheaper. The Christchurch sale pass-in rate was 16%.

Napier sales, all by micron,

price/kg clean: Full wool, good to average colour: 33, $3.20, down 33c; 34, $3.13, down 38c; 35, $3.09, up 3c; 36, $3.06, down 9c; 37, $3.84, up 16c; 38, $2.89; 39, $2.94, down 4c. Crossbred second shear: 35, 3-4 inches, $2.96; 2-3 inches, $2.67; 37, 3-4 inches, $2.64; 2-3 inches, $2.64, down 14c; 39, 3-5 inches, $2.78, down 17c; 3-4 inches, $2.70, down 17c. Lambs’ wool: 28, 2-3 inches, $6.47; 29, 2-3 inches, $5.96, up 17c.

Christchurch sales: Full wool, good-to-average colour: 25, $13.17, down 13c; 27, $10.63,

down 16c; 28, $9.69, down 35c; 29, $8.05, up 2c; 31, $3.95, down 47c; 32, $3.74, down 1c; 33, $3.32, down 29c; 34, $3.20, down 1c; 35, $2.94, down 14c; 36, $2.98, down 7c; 37,$2.99, down 9c; 38, $2.96, down 10c; 39, $2.94, down 12c. Crossbred, second shear: 33, 3-4 inches, $3.01, down 20c; 2-3 inches, $2.75, down 5c; 35, 3-4 inches, $2.84, down 8c; 2-3 inches, $2.72, up 3c; 37, 3-4 inches, $2.88, down 6c; 2-3 inches, $2.72, up 3c; 39, 3-5 inches, $2.85, up 4c; 3-4 inches, $2.75, steady; 2-3 inches, $2.64, up 4c.

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14 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Zespri gives green light to red fruit Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz ZESPRI will be sporting a tricolour product range in coming seasons as the marketer gives the green light for growers to plant the long-awaited Red fruit next season.

After over a decade of selection process and a major knockback from the Psa incursion in 2010, 150ha of the fruit will be allocated for planting next winter as Zespri takes a softly, softly approach to the fruit’s launch.

Its grower and alliances officer David Courtney said the true test of any new fruit release is how it performs along the length of its supply chain.

Meantime, at the end of that supply chain consumer acceptance of the fruit is looking highly positive.

“It has a sweetish, berry-like flavour and has been very well received by consumers in all the sensory research we have conducted.”

The fruit requires gentler

handling than its green and gold counterparts and has a shorter shelf life.

Partly for this reason Asian consumers are likely to be the main initial focus for the launch, given the shorter transport distances, and earlier trials in Singapore proved very successful.

It has a sweetish, berry-like flavour and has been very well received by consumers in all the sensory research we have conducted.

David Courtney Zespri Local consumers can also expect to see limited releases of Red in selected supermarkets and fruit outlets in 2020 and 2021 as

production ramps up.

The fruit’s red colour is derived from anthocyanin, a natural pigment linked to cardiovascular and cognitive health.

Traditionally, European consumers have favoured the tarter green variety while Asian consumers enjoy the sweeter SunGold fruit.

But SunGold also now enjoys strong success among European consumers.

The release of Red marks the first new kiwifruit type since SunGold (G3) was propelled onto the market as an acceptable and Psa-tolerant alternative to the Hort16a variety that was devastated by the disease between 2010 and 2012.

The Psa incursion prompted a massive and rapid regrafting by orchardists to the more tolerant SunGold variety.

Courtney said in trials around Bay of Plenty Red has proved to be relatively tolerant to Psa

SEEING RED: Zespri will soon be able to claim three colours in its fruit portfolio.

while its cropping volumes might be less than the heavy-fruiting SunGold variety.

“But it is not until you pass it to growers and let them work with a fruit that you really see how well it can perform.”

SunGold took the industry by surprise with its ability to crop heavily and consistently while proving successful outside the traditional growing area of Western Bay of Plenty.

Zespri has not yet determined how the 150ha will be allocated to growers.

Details will be released in March.

In 2013 SunGold licences were initially allocated at a cost of about $7000 a hectare before being open to an annual grower tender, with the latest round of licences this year selling for almost $300,000 a hectare.

Berries inspire new local brew for summer refreshment Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz A CHANCE conversation over the fence between a blueberry grower and a brewer prompted the men to combine their talents to create a blueberry beer for summer.

Waikato blueberry grower and Blueberries New Zealand chairman Dan Peach said it was a fortuitous encounter with Good George brewer Brian Watson that

provided a new market for his crop.

Watson said it has taken three years to get to the point the beer can be commercialised.

The resulting Smashed Blueberry beer represents a unique Waikato product, matching the growing Hamilton brewery with a popular locally grown berry.

“The beer itself is a difficult beer to make and for people to understand.

“Being kettle-soured it remains

in the brewing kettle for 48 hours compared to six hours for a standard brew with bacteria added to give it a tartness. The blueberries help balance that out.”

The brewery hopes to capitalise on greater consumer knowledge of craft beers and leverage off interest in citrus style beers generated by mainstream brands.

Watson said every 2000 litres of the beer contains 400kg of the high-value blueberries.

“That works out to be about 160 blueberries in every pint with the blueberries taking the edge off the tartness,” he said.

Watson stopped short of making any broad beer-related, healthgiving claims about his new brew.

However, he said blueberries are recognised for their high nutritional and antioxidant content while the beer’s lower alcohol content will hold consumer appeal over the summer.

Recent research has indicated blueberries can have a significant effect on memory and attention.

Children given a blueberry-rich drink before mental testing recorded a 9% quicker reaction time compared to children who had not been given the drink.

Peach said the use of blueberries in beer helps highlight the depth of blueberry uses in food and beverages as consumers become more experimental in their tastes and drinking experiences.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

15

Fonterra dreams big in India Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz FONTERRA’S latest capital-light expansion in India relies on a joint venture with one of the sub-continent’s largest integrated retail and logistics companies, the Future Group.

With 36 staff based in Mumbai the Fonterra Future Dairy Partners venture has quickly launched five consumer dairy categories in four metropolitan areas in the south and west of the country.

The strategy is to beat all comers on taste and quality while being positioned towards the upper end of the price range of domestic and imported brands, Fonterra Sri Lanka and Indian subcontinent managing director Sunil Sethi said.

The range is called Dreamery, with packs written in English, and has begun with natural yoghurt, called curd or dahi, toned (vitamin fortified) milk, milkshake flavours, Greek yoghurt and cheese slices.

Retail prices are about 10-15% higher than those of Amul, the largest Indian dairy co-operative with about 30% of the market.

In those metropolitan markets the Dreamery milkshakes have

already achieved 16% market share, the curd 10% and the fortified milk 6%.

Fonterra Future has also launched four categories from Anchor Food Professionals in the $5 billion westernised quickreservice restaurant market and higher-quality hotels and restaurants.

They are mozzarella, butter sheets, cream cheese and whipping cream, soon to be joined by cooking cream.

The first markets are in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The joint venture has coined a Dairy 2.0 promise to provide a healthy, exciting and indulgent range of dairy products in the consumption habits of India.

The first products were tweaked

by Fonterra’s Research and Product Development Centre in Palmerston North for Indian tastes and preferences.

The packs carry “designed in New Zealand” and “130 years of trusted dairy” claims that draw on Fonterra’s history.

Dreamery products are distributed by Future and sold in general trade stores (corner dairies) and in modern trade

LEADER: Ishmeet Singh leads the Fonterra Future Dairy Partnership in India after 25 years with Coca Cola and Vodafone.

outlets (supermarkets).

They are made from local milk at Schreiber Dynamix Dairies’ manufacturing plant near Mumbai, majority owned

by Schreiber Foods in Wisconsin, United States.

That plant also makes products for Nestle, Unilever, Danone, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Subway.

Fonterra Future has audited the milk supply chain from small farms and collection to chiller receival stations and into the Schreiber front gate.

Over time it will begin to pass back animal husbandry, genetics, feeding and milking machinery advice to the Indian dairy farmers in the same way it has done for years in Sri Lanka, Sethi said.

Because the Indian market for dairy is expanding and developing so quickly a 58% increase in milk consumption is predicted over the next seven years.

While India is technically selfsufficient in milk, the supply of 176 billion litres will need to grow to 278b.

It is predicted India will then be consuming 40% of the world’s milk and be the world’s largest dairy market, he said.

HUGE POTENTIAL: India will need a 58% increase in dairy products over seven years, Fonterra’s Sri Lankan and Indian managing director, Sunil Sethi, says.

MOTHER SHIP: Fonterra’s top men in Sri Lanka and India, Ishmeet Singh, left, and Sunil Sethi, in the Auckland head office sampling yoghurt.

As well during that period the demand for value-added dairy products will grow at 1.5 times the base milk rate.

The increasing demand and sophistication mitigate against any farmer-government parochialism and push-backs against foreign products and companies that was common in Sri Lanka.

Nevertheless, imported dairy ingredients and products are subject to 35-55% tariffs, Fonterra Future chief executive Ishmeet Singh said.

That is why Dreamery uses Indian milk and is made locally, whereas the Anchor food service products all come from NZ and their premium prices can carry the tariffs.

Dreamery products were launched in June and Anchor products in September and have

so far been received very well but the joint venture team said they are only scratching the surface of the enormous opportunities in India.

Future Group has its own payment app on mobile phones, with membership of 20m people in one year. It can track consumption patterns and report on new product acceptances.

Sethi said the old one household, one cow dairy industry is changing rapidly as people become wealthier, move from unpackaged to packaged food and extend their strong preference for traditional dairy foods to valueadded products.

Fonterra Future Dairy is aiming for $1b revenue in seven to 10 years and at that time will need eight or nine thirdparty manufacturing plants like Schreiber Dynamix.

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16 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Breeding value targets methane Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz BEEF + Lamb Genetics has launched a low methane breeding value tool so sheep farmers can breed stock that emit less of the greenhouse gas.

Farmers will have access to rams within two years – the time it will take to breed and grow rams on a commercial scale.

Till now the only option for farmers wanting to cut greenhouse gas emissions has been to constantly improve their overall farming efficiency, Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium general manager Mark Aspin said.

“This takes us a step further – towards actually lowering sheep methane emissions in keeping with the sector’s commitment to work towards reducing its greenhouse emissions.”

Though progress through breeding can be slow – about 1% a year assuming a breeder selects only for methane – it is cumulative.

Ram breeders wanting to tap into the methane breeding value will need to measure some of their flock using a portable accumulation chamber.

The chambers are on an AgResearch trailer that goes to farms. Sheep spend 50 minutes in the chambers where their emissions are measured.

Measurements are taken twice, at a 14-day interval, and the data collected is used alongside other genetic information to calculate a methane breeding value.

King Country stud breeder Russell Proffit, whose family has been producing rams for 40

years, had 84 rams measured in September.

He decided to measure for methane BVs because he believes an animal that is healthy and doing well should produce less methane and he wanted to test for that.

“I don’t know if that’s the case yet but, either way, breeding for less methane complements what we are working to achieve on our stud. That is more robust rams that require less inputs and make less demand on the environment.”

The consortium is working on another three technologies with a focus on reducing the amount of methane generated by feed.

Mark Aspin Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium Proffit breeds for facial eczema tolerance and hopes there is a link between sheep producing less methane and being more tolerant to FE. That’s yet to be determined.

He posted a video on the Raupuha Stud facebook page of his sheep being measured, which generated a fair bit of interest from farmers who got in touch to find out more.

Research shows breeding for low methane produces sheep with smaller rumens that lead to shorter, more frequent feeding.

The question, yet to be answered, is what impact that will have on ewes during peak lactation.

Aspin says those involved in the programme are well aware that, given a choice, farmers will choose to select for feeding efficiency rather than methane if it involves a significant compromise.

There have been some indications breeding for less methane emissions might also provide a small increase in parasite resistance.

The biggest influence on methane emissions is the amount of feed an animal eats, he says.

“To that end, the consortium is working on another three technologies with a focus on reducing the amount of methane generated by feed. So, by breeding sheep that produce less methane per mouthful eaten – as other methane-reducing technologies come on stream – the influence of these sheep on the national flock’s methane production becomes compounding.”

Those other technologies include research into types of feed that could reduce methane emissions and targeting the methanogens in the rumen through inhibitors and vaccines.

The feed research is focused on crops because it is very difficult to get a reduction in nitrogen outflow from the pasture that is the basis of NZ farming systems.

A diet of brassica rape can cut methane emissions by up to a quarter but fodder beet offers other challenges that need to be dealt with.

On the vaccine side work done so far has found ways to reduce methanogens in laboratory tests

SIGNIFICANT: Mark Aspin says the methane breeding value is a global first for any species of livestock.

but they are yet to be repeated in the rumen during trials.

An Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre report said three sheep vaccination trials did not reduce methane emissions.

However, new vaccine antigens have been identified and are being investigated in the laboratory to refine them before testing them in animal trials.

The report says the methane inhibitor programme is developing compounds that reduce methane by 20-30% and they can be fed to grazing livestock. Discussions are under way with commercial companies about the potential delivery of the inhibitors to farmers in NZ and overseas.

Aspin says once the tools are developed further testing will determine whether they will work together to produce a combined effect or whether they target the same methane-producing mechanisms.

Results from the sheep breeding programme have also led to the establishment of a NZ Dairy Genetics working group to develop breeding options for lowmethane cattle.

Based on a review of genetic programmes internationally it was decided to test the efficacy of using a C-Lock GreenFeed system to identify low-emitting phenotypes.

A trial will begin early next year.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

17

Hail limits summer supply of stonefruit Riley Kennedy riley.kennedy@globalhq.co.nz SOME stonefruit will be in short supply this season after a severe hailstorm damaged Hawke’s Bay orchards in October.

The storm hit the region at the most vulnerable time for growers when the fruit was in early spring growth.

SummerfruitNZ market support manager Richard Mills said the storm was very unusual for the time of year.

“An October hailstorm this bad had not been witnessed before by growers.

“The last widespread event similar to this one was in March 1994 and all summerfruit had been harvested by that stage.”

Apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums will be in short supply this season but cherries are unaffected.

“The volume that usually goes to market is down. Around 70% of

peaches, plums and nectarines are still being sold but only 30% of the normal early apricots are in the supermarkets,” Mills said.

Extensive thinning by growers means the fruit might have small skin blemishes but most should be in good condition.

“Not every orchard was hit by the storm meaning there will still be lovely fruit coming on to the market,” he said.

The full cost of the damage and revenue loss will not be known till the end of the season.

“The cost will vary with location relative to hail intensity,” Mills said.

“Some growers will not sell any fruit in order to maintain the assets, trees, for next season while some growers have been able to come close to a full crop with extra work like thinning damaged fruit.”

The storm has not yet affected retail price but Mills has said it’s to soon to tell.

“We hope that prices will stay

at a moderate to firm price for the season but ultimately it’s the market that decides.”

SummerfruitNZ organised a meeting for affected growers that was attended by the Rural Support Trust that focused on the issues caused by the storm.

An October hailstorm this bad had not been witnessed before by growers.

“We hope consumers can support our growers through this tough time by being prepared to accept fruit that might not be perfect,” SummerfruitNZ chief executive Marie Dawkins said.

The Rural Support Trust has remained available to growers if help is required.

HAIL HITS: Fruit like this might be in shorter supply this summer and some might be blemished after a Hawke’s Bay hailstorm.

Scales meets guidance but next year to be flat

GOOD SELLERS: All premium apple varieties sent to Asia and near markets had record sales this year, Scales managing director Andy Borland says.

APPLE company Scales Corp’s underlying net profit for 2019 will meet guidance and its operating profit for 2020 will be flat because of increased capital spending and lower interest income.

Underlying net profit for 2019 will come in between $32 million and $37m and the underlying result for 2020 will be between $30m and $36m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will fall between $49m and $55m, unchanged from the 2019 forecast.

The company will pay a fully imputed interim dividend of 9.5 cents a share on January 17 to those on the register on January 6 and said its directors are committed to paying not less than a 19 cents annual cash dividend while the company holds net cash.

Scales’ net cash on June 30 was $59m and a 19 cents a share dividend will cost it $26.9m.

“The past year has further reinforced our current strategy and, in particular, the replanting plan for the horticulture division,” the company said, adding it redeveloped 44 hectares into premium apple varieties in 2019 and has scheduled a further 32 acres for next winter.

“For the 2019 season all premium apple varieties to Asia and near markets have experienced record sales results while our traditional varieties had mixed results, particularly late season sales to Europe and the United Kingdom,” managing director Andy Borland said.

“Although the near-term forecasts for fruit volumes remain flat the

group expects significant returns from the replanting programme from the 2022 year, in line with our earlier announcements,” Borland said.

The 2020 results will be impacted by the orchard redevelopments, a material increase in capital spending in the horticulture division to address increasing domestic costs including labour and lower interest income, reflecting declining interest rates and the past benefit from selling the storage business.

Scales will provide a further update on 2020 when it delivers its annual results in February, Borland said.

Scales shares closed on Wednesday at $5.12 and have gained 14.5% year-todate, lagging the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index, which has gained 28.4%.

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18 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Trade trip explores EU red meat market BEHIND THE SCENES: People don’t realise how much work Primary Industries and Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministries staff are doing to safeguard New Zealand’s red met exports to Britain and Europe, Beef + Lamb director Martin Coup says.

A TRADE trip to Britain and Europe has highlighted the opportunities and challenges for red meat exports in the northern hemisphere.

Beef + Lamb northern North Island director Martin Coup was part of a primary sector delegation led by the New Zealand International Business Forum that discussed ongoing trade in a climate of uncertainty and paved the way for a NZEuropean Union free-trade agreement.

Trade Minister David Parker joined the group in Europe.

THE BEST DEFENCE IS A GOOD OFFENSE

Coup says they met several of the people working hard on behalf of NZ producers to retain and grow access into these key markets.

They included B+LNZ and Meat Industry Association Brexit response manager Jeff Grant, B+LNZ market access manager Ben O’Brien, Primary Industries Ministry representative Chris Carson from the Ministry and Chris Kebble from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“I don’t think people realise the work that is being done to protect NZ’s interests by the MPI and MFAT staff based in Europe as well as those specifically representing the red meat sector,” Coup said.

“O’Brien and Grant are working together to strengthen the red meat sector’s relationship with the United Kingdom to safeguard NZ’s exports into that market and have impressive relationships with the NZ officials based there and European industry groups.

“We don’t want to be worse off as a result of Brexit.”

A free-trade agreement with the EU would be the big prize.

We don’t want to be worse off as a result of Brexit.

Martin Coup B+LNZ

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Talk to us about how to protect your herd and productivity today.

Coup says trade deals are inevitably a long, slow process but he believes there are huge opportunities for NZ red meat, particularly for high quality beef cuts.

NZ’s market access is constrained by quotas, including a small, 1300-tonne quota for highquality beef. The Europeans prefer high-quality beef produced with strong environmental credentials. Consequently, the EU is a market NZ is well placed to target if it has better access But there could be resistance from European farmers who are 102% self-sufficient in beef production and they don’t welcome other countries entering the market, though NZ tends to target the premium end of the market and its volumes are small compared to EU production.

There are 11 million farms in the EU and the average herd size is just 31 cattle. A 1000-cow dairy herd would be considered industrial farming. The average nitrate loss across all European farms is 60kg/ha compared to an average of just 17kg/ha for NZ sheep and beef farms.

Water quality and greenhouse gas reduction dominate the media in the EU and Britain.

The EU and Britain are following NZ’s approach to addressing agricultural emissions closely. But a big difference is with mitigation. Their farmers get subsidies through the Common Agriculture Policy to fix it while Kiwi farmers have to pay for it themselves.

In the UK there is huge uncertainty around Brexit and with an impending split from the EU so UK farmers are now setting their sights on other export markets such as China.

When Brexit happens, NZ’s sheep meat quotas will be split between the EU and the UK but the European market looks strong with buyers competing for lamb because of tightening global supplies.

Contact us Editor: Bryan Gibson Twitter: farmersweeklynz Email: farmers.weekly@globalhq.co.nz Free phone: 0800 85 25 80 DDI: 06 323 1519

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

19

New water rules won’t overwhelm Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz OTAGO farmers will have some awkward discussions on water use in coming years but new Otago Regional Council chairwoman Marian Hobbs is promising they will not be overwhelmed.

Hobbs has been council chairwoman for eight weeks.

The former Labour government Environment Minister says in addition to implementing numerous Government policies the council has been instructed by the Government to address freshwater management planning, which it considers deficient.

That followed a review of council processes ordered

by Environment Minister David Parker who was concerned at the lack of progress in implementing the National Policy Statement on Freshwater before 356 historic mining privileges or deemed water permits and another 180 standard water permits expire in October 2021.

Hobbs says in addition to notification of other council plans and policies that will have to be done along with implementing Government policies on managing freshwater, high class soils and biodiversity.

To help the council grapple with those planning demands it will look to Environment Canterbury for guidance, given it is well advanced in implementing its various planning documents.

She has also had offers of help from the Environment Court and Ministry for the Environment.

The council’s initial focus will be on renewing the 68 deemed permits in the Manuherikia catchment in Central Otago. They will be rolled over for five years and renewals will be discussed based on water use, not paper allocations.

Once they are settled attention will turn to permit holders in the Arrow and Cardrona catchments.

“There are going to be some awkward conversations.

“Our job is to actively manage it for the whole community but firstly for the good of the catchment.”

She urges farmers not to be overwhelmed and promises

council staff will work alongside farmers to manage the transition.

She recalled the deluge of change when Tomorrows Schools was introduced when she was the principal of Avonside Girls’ High School in Christchurch and says the only way to cope was to tackle it term by term.

In farming terms, she says that means tackling these challenges season by season.

“If I’d looked at the whole lot of stuff coming at me I’d have turned tail and run.”

Part of her plans to ease the transition will see the region split in to 11 catchment groups, each with a dedicated councillor and council staff.

The groups will have representatives from interested parties who will help manage the resource and expectations.

“There will be a political look at this at the same time we have scientific, factual stuff.”

The council has traditionally adopted permissive consents, where limits and conditions are set but how consent holders achieve or stay within those limits is up to them.

That is set to change.

Hobbs says there is insufficient monitoring of the environmental effects caused by those consents until a problem arises so the council plans to impose more regulation and greater monitoring to prevent such degradation.

A new generation of council staff is being employed and she is confident they understand farming systems.

“I get the impression they understand the issues, that they are definitely not bookbound but, as are farmers, they are scientists who have to be evidenceled.”

Hobbs says farmers claim they have little or minimal impact on the environment but she wants to see evidence stocking rates, fertiliser use and nutrient loss are being managed to support the claims.

“I want proof,” she says.

Asked if Otago farmers have done a good or bad job managing the land, Hobbs says it differs between catchments.

POLITICAL SURVIVOR: New Otago Regional Council chairwoman and former Cabinet minister Marian Hobbs.

There will be a political look at this at the same time we have scientific, factual stuff.

Marian Hobbs Otago Regional Council

The Pomahaka, which runs through west and south Otago has issues but she praised the efforts of the local catchment group in addressing them.

Water has transformed Central Otago from a dryland, predominantly wool-producing region to one able to run higher stock rates, which has created some conflict and environmental and landscape issues.

As a former environment minister Hobbs initiated water reforms such as riparian fencing but 18 years on what she calls inaction has now caught up with the sector through poor water quality.

Her return to political life was driven by a desire to

complete unfinished business with the environment and challenges such as climate change and water quality and ultimately to make the world a better place for her grandchildren.

It was also to fill a void left by the recent death of her partner.

As a Labour Party politician Hobbs held multiple ministerial portfolios including environment from 1999 to 2005 and education from 2001 to 2004.

Before her political career Hobbs was a high school teacher in Christchurch, serving as principal at Avonside Girls’ High School from 1989-1996 before embarking on her political career.

Hobbs, now 71, retired from politics in 2008 and after a stint working for the Ministry for the Environment went to Britain where she worked in the education sector.

On returning to NZ she moved to Dunedin because of her love of tramping and the outdoors but last year decided to stand for the council believing she has something to offer.

Councillors elected her chairwoman in October, replacing Stephen Woodhead who retired.

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SYNLAIT’S Auckland infant formula blending and canning plant has been approved by China’s General Administration of Customs.

It can now progress brand registration processes for

China for the facility.

The Auckland facility was granted a Chinese general dairy registration in May 2018.

And Synlait got a second registration linked to its advanced dairy liquid

processing facility at Dunsandel.

Chief executive Leon Clement said “Our team has a strong track record at providing market access for customers and securing regulatory approvals for

Synlait facilities.

“We are navigating complex regulatory environments internationally and it is great to see this work recognised so Synlait can keep supporting its customers to grow.”

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20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Farmers, look after your body farmstrong.co.nz

FARMSTRONG has teamed up with VetSouth to produce a series of one-minute videos on simple things to do on-farm to avoid common strains and recover from injuries.

Neil Hume, a large animal vet and VetSouth director based in Winton, enjoys both the cattle and the client sides of his job but this year he added another string to his bow – video producer.

The reason? Well, the longer Hume has worked as a vet the more he’s come to realise everyone working in agriculture needs to look after their body.

“A lot of the work vets do is repetitive.

Four or five minutes of exercises a day would probably be enough to start strengthening those muscles for farmers.

Dennis Kelly Physiotherapist “You are using the same muscle groups and doing heavy lifting.

You’ve really got to look after your back, shoulders, elbows and wrists.

“After having examined thousands of cows over the years for things like infections and testing I’ve needed surgery on both my hands. Doing the same movement over and over is hard on your body. You can wear away in places if you don’t do something about it. It’s the same for farmers, too.”

So Neil and his team started working with local physiotherapist Dennis Kelly to come up with a solution.

“Dennis has given us exercises that all our vets can do before they start work and during breaks. We warm up just like rugby players do to help them get into the game.

We stretch the back, we stretch our shoulders. It makes a big difference.”

“We also take micro breaks.

“Some of our jobs can last seven hours. Nowadays, we might work an hour and take a wee break, drink some water, do some more stretches and get ready to go again.”

Kelly has been working with the rural community for over 20 years and has seen a lot of injured farmers.

“By far the most common injury I see is lower back pain and lower back injuries followed by necks and arms.

“Then there’s the seasonal stuff like wrists for shearers and people milking. All these injuries mean a loss of productivity for farmers and often farmers leave it very late to see their physio so it takes us even longer to get them right.

“I see a lot of farmers who come back with recurrent back pain every year because their core isn’t strong and their back isn’t ready for heavy lifting or prolonged bending in ditches or calving.

“Four or five minutes of exercises a day would probably be enough to start strengthening those muscles for farmers. It’s about making it a priority.”

To help farmers get started, Kelly and local teacher Mark Tree have made videos for Farmstrong demonstrating how even the busiest farmer can fit stretches and warm-ups into their day without ever going near a gym.

Tree was born and raised on a farm near Riversdale and knows how tough farming can be on the body.

ACTION: Vet Neil Hume has become a videographer to help farmeers avoid injuries.

LIMBER UP: Mark Tree demonstrates what he does on-farm to help prevent shoulder injuries.

“Farming’s a really physical job.

There are a lot of body positions you’re in for extended periods of time that are not normal, whether it’s picking up calves or lambs or shearing or milking.

“Most farmers would’ve had some type of injury.

“There’s lots of things you can do to prevent them and it doesn’t take a lot of time.

“Little and often is the key.

“The main thing is attitude.

Think about it as prevention. If you’ve got five minutes’ spare in the morning get your body ready for the day. There’s no point waiting to get an injury, going to

your physio and getting rehab.

That’s all downtime. So if you are time poor, this is going to save you time,” Kelly said.

Hume says “As you get older regular exercise often goes on the back burner. Ten years ago I was flat out just being a vet.

Now I make sure I regularly do something outside of work just to stay in shape.

“As a business we’re trying to do what Farmstrong recommends.

“We’ve started biking as a group, we go to the gym together, we have groups that play soccer, rugby and touch.

“We’re also taking steps to

manage stress because being a vet can be stressful. We encourage our staff to find people they can relate to and have a good old chat. We tell them, don’t let pressure and stress build up and cause you a problem.”

“I know a lot of farmers think they are too busy to do all this but my response would be you’ve got to find time. We’re only talking about a few minutes each day.

One of the most important things you can do for your business is to look after your own body.” is the official media partner of Farmstrong

PREPARE: Physiotherapist Dennis Kelly has provided exercises farmers and vets can do before starting work.

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*Agripreneur - People who combine their love of farming with visionary thinking and see challenges as opportunities.

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Enter online: farmersweekly.co.nz/2020-vision-competition Entries close December 16, 2019

22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Newsmaker

KEEN: Young viticulturalist Simon Gourley has won two titles this year and wants to get involved in industry governance as well as having a crack at making his own wine.

Photo: Lynda van Kempen

Winner wants to make a difference The horticulture sector has always been in Simon Gourley’s blood and he is now working hard to make a name for himself in the wine industry. He spoke to Riley Kennedy.

G

ROWING up in Invercargill Simon Gourley spent his school holidays and weekends on his grandparents’ berry orchard in Central Otago, which he believes is what inspired him to work in horticulture.

“I spent a lot of time in the school holidays and weekends up there and I knew it was the path I wanted to take,” he said.

After finishing school he went to Lincoln University to do a viticulture and oenology degree.

“The skills I learned while doing the course were really valuable to what I do now.”

Gourley believes anyone wanting to make a career in wine has to stick at it and work hardto make a good name for themselves.

“I am working hard to do that now and I’m climbing the ladder.”

After leaving university he worked at Two Paddocks as assistant vineyard manager and at Central Otago Wine Company as an assistant winemaker. He also did stints as a vineyard hand in Australia, France and Papua New Guinea.

Now he works at Domaine Thomson Wines in Cromwell as a viticulturist.

“I’ve been there for 18 months and I really enjoy my job.

“I oversee all the day to day operations of the vineyards and I enjoy the challenge of it.

“It’s a growing industry. It’s really interesting to be a part of.

“All the skills you learn you can take all over the world with you.”

In August he won the Bayer 2019 Young Viticulturist of the Year title. It was his second time competing.

“I competed at nationals in 2013 and I made it a mission to come back and win it but I’d been away overseas so this year felt like a good year to give it another crack.”

Contestants had to put together a biosecurity plan for a winery.

“I went to other people in the industry and talked about what they do and what they want to do.

It led me to talking about hygiene and a culture where biosecurity practices are the norm.

“I understand what people are saying about it being timely and the costs around it but doing something about biosecurity all

helps. You don’t have to go and invest millions.”

His message is for people to do what they can, when they can and get biosecurity actions rolling.

His win qualified him to compete in last month’s Young Horticulturist of the Year.

Doing something about biosecurity all helps. You don’t have to go and invest millions.

Simon Gourley Viticulturalist “It was a massive few months preparing for regionals and nationals of Young Viticulturist of the Year then straight to Young Horticulturist of the Year.”

Gourley competed against five other finalists in practical and theory modules over two days in Auckland.

The most challenging module

was the Agmardt project.

Contestants had to submit a business plan for a new product they would like to develop and launch then were quizzed by a panel of judges on its viability.

“It was the most challenging for me. I spent weeks preparing for it.

Doing the budgets and business plan really tested me.

“I designed a hand-held budrubbing tool that would hopefully take a lot of the manual labour out of job.”

Gourley is the eighth viticulturist to win the Young Horticulturist title in the 15 years it has been running. Last year’s winner, Annabel Bulk, was also a viticulturist in Central Otago.

“It was hard work and strong competition and definitely happy the award has gone to Central Otago for the second year in a row.

“It was a privilege to be involved in the Young Horticulturist competition and to represent the wine industry.

“It was definitely a career highlight winning the Young Horticulture and Young Viticulturist of the Year.”

He won a $7500 travel and accommodation package, $1000

worth of ICL specialty fertilisers, a one-year membership of Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science, a selection of Aorangi Merchant products and a $3500 travel scholarship for the practical activities award.

“I’m planning a trip to Europe next year to look at vineyards in France.

“It will be a great opportunity to take what they do over there and bring it back to New Zealand.”

Gourley believes winning both titles has helped build his name and hopes it will open doors.

“I want to go on the committee of the Central Otago wine growers and the NZ wine growers.

“I want to be able to make a difference in an industry I’m passionate about.”

He also wants a crack at growing his own wine on a small scale.

“I’d love to give it a crack to keep my finger on the pulse.”

The Young Horticulturalist second place went to Rico Mannall, of Christchurch, representing the plant producers sector and Jono Sutton representing the horticulture sector came third.

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

23

ACCOUNTED FOR: PaySauce founder Asantha Wijeyeratne says dairying is a particularly challenging industry for accurate wage recording.

Payroll irons out dairy lumps The challenge facing any start-up software company is how to deliver a solution to a real problem and how to best distinguish the company from the plethora of others competing to address the same problem. For native Sri Lankan and long-time Kiwi citizen Asantha Wijeyeratne the answer lay in developing a payroll system built specifically around New Zealand farmers’ needs. He spoke to Richard Rennie about the challenges.

B

USINESSES typically give payroll systems little regard, treating them as a must-have to deal with the weekly or monthly grind of paying staff correctly and on time.

“Partly due to that payroll is also one of the last areas that has not really seen a lot of innovation over recent years,” PaySauce founder Asantha Wijeyeratne says.

“People tend to be really committed to the solution they are using, regardless of how easy it may or may not be to use.”

Just as businesses might be averse to changing their bank and all the hassle that entails, they can also share that reluctance when it comes to payroll.

In 2015 alongside Troy Tarrant he set out to build a cloud-based payroll system to offer greater mobility and easier customer interaction.

Initially, he underestimated that commitment to existing systems, despite their faults and failure to fully account for seasonal and lumpy hour demands of New Zealand’s farming systems. He cast around through assorted industries including hospitality

with the software system he had developed.

“Then four years ago we went to a Dairy Women’s Network conference and did not get a single sale, despite being in front of all the people who mattered.

“We were told, however, about a problem we had not thought of that was the highly variable seasonal hours of dairy farming and the need to allow for that under employment rules.”

Farmers who might have signed staff up on a salary with a set number of hours for the year would often have those staff working 80-100 of those hours a week at busy times.

“But that may have worked out at less than $10 an hour over a busy week.

“The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment had told them they did not care about swings and roundabouts for farming and the minimum must be paid and those that did not faced thousands of dollars of fines.”

Wijeyeratne and his developers came up with an algorithm that recognised when the seasonal surge in hours was likely to

arise and once embedded in the software meant the staff member’s pay was automatically topped up to the pay level legally required without the farm owner having to log and calculate it.

We were told, however, about a problem we had not thought of that was the highly variable seasonal hours of dairy farming and the need to allow for that under employment rules.

Asantha Wijeyeratne PaySauce “From this point we found the uptake from the farming sector really took off, to the point we have achieved penetration of one in eight dairy farms.”

Another relatively simple but recurring problem for dairy operators has been introducing

and circulating a staff member’s employment contract in a timely, transparent fashion.

“For Federated Farmers an important revenue source is their employment contracts, all of which are quite different from conventional employment contracts including aspects like accommodation.”

After the Feds got increasing feedback on the time spent trying to shuffle a paper contract back and forth between employer and employee PaySauce focused on turning it into a digitised version the company hosted.

In a relatively simple form of block chain tech the contract can be viewed, altered by some parties then, once accepted, is locked in its agreed digital version.

Running separately from the PaySauce system, if required, the digital contract is proving popular in the dairy sector where migrant staff are often employed and contracted from overseas before arriving.

“And if the employer elects to use the PaySauce payroll software then this will integrate with the contract and the conditions within it relating to pay.”

The meta-data now compiled by his system is also helping farmers get a better handle on how well they are managing their staff costs, one of the big ticket items in any farm budget.

Incorporating the data into Fonterra’s Agrigate performance monitor enables them to compare their labour costs on local, regional and national bases.

As a long-time software and payroll developer Wijeyeratne said the farming sector has been an upfront, welcome market to deal with, providing frank feedback, both positive and negative.

With 2500 users after only three years and floating on the NZX, Wijeyeratne is positive about further developments, including a rostering capability and task allocation programme.

“If the employment information becomes portable between jobs a prospective farm employer can simply look at that employee’s data for full assurance they may have gained certain skills in their last job.

“That leaves the employer to look at more qualitative aspects of that employee before taking them on.”

Opinion

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

EDITORIAL

Farmers can sail safely to harbour

D

AIRY farmers got another boost last week with Fonterra adding 25c to its forecast milk price. This season’s payout is set to be the fourth-largest on record. Red meat prices are also astonishingly good.

Lambs are getting $9/kg and beef returns are great as well.

Usually, that would boost farmer confidence but that’s not the case.

Farmers are feeling the pressure despite the good returns.

Government policy in the form of greenhouse gas and freshwater legislation is either here or on its way.

Banks are looking hard at how they engage with farmers and what their appetite will be for debt.

The man or woman in the street has an opinion on the primary sector and is not afraid to tell their Facebook friends exactly what they think. These are challenges.

But rather than throwing their hands up in the air good farmers are taking stock, calmly eyeing up the opportunities and putting plans in place.

Freshwater reforms and climate change adaptations are not things that can be argued against. They are happening. Good farmers will see how they can use them to pivot their businesses towards profitability.

Innovation means constantly making small changes to improve.

When the wind changes sailors adjust the sails to ensure they keep their speed.

So it is with farming.

A headwind is a problem only if you insist on travelling into it. The rate of change is increasing, no doubt. But farmers are not alone in facing the future and they have the advantage of being integral to life itself.

If our industry understands its values, knows what type of food it wants to produce and what standing it wants to hold both in New Zealand and across the globe it can adjust its horizon and safely sail to port.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Radar misses forest strategy THE Ministry of Primary Industries is consulting on establishing a national strategy for forestry.

Who knew?

On the evidence thus far, not too many people at all.

On December 3 there was a meeting in Whangarei. Who knew?

Certainly not the provincial office of Federated Farmers, which represents the landowners who will certainly be affected by this strategy and not Kaipara District Council, which has extensive experience of what happens to an area, both economically and socially, when there is a massive governmentencouraged land use change to forestry and no individual farmers I know of.

Leaving aside the wisdom of a government, any government, embarking on a massive plan to plant a billion

trees with no real idea as to where, how or to what effect then deciding they had better have a public consultation on a forest strategy, it is timely to ask MPI to reconsider its methodology.

You really do need to do more than just mention it on your website.

Invite the councils that are going to be involved in providing infrastructure and will be involved with dealing with the consequent wind down of social services. Invite the people representing farmers, who are going to be directly involved in the consequences of this strategy.

Not every member of the community checks your website all the time to check what you are up to. If you are serious about wanting general input you must advertise generally. That might even mean having to revert to good, old-fashioned print media.

Having people present at your consultation meetings who might not be converted to your already established plan might lead to some slightly difficult conversations but I am sure it will result in a more robust strategy. Give it a try.

In the meantime there is a survey being conducted by MPI that can be accessed at www.teururakau.govt.nz. It takes only eight minutes to fill in. Please, anybody interested in this issue, access the survey and fill it in.

Richard Alspach Dargaville

Grower insights I READ with interest the suggestion from Andrew Barber of AgriLink that Overseer won’t work for vegetable growers (Growers told change needed now, November 29).

We acknowledge there

are some limitations with Overseer as a monthly timestep model for vegetable growers. We have made a range of usability improvements for entering crop information and are working continuously on improvements.

As it stands, Overseer, in the hands of a consultant who understands vegetable systems or mixed farm systems, can provide valuable insights to help growers with environmental planning.

Overseer exists to connect farmers and growers with the science they need to be more environmentally and economically sustainable.

We are committed to collaborating with growers and sector organisations to continue to improve the tool for the benefit of the sector.

Caroline Read Chief executive Overseer

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

25

OFF TARGET: Farmers who have done the most to protect native trees get no recognition and are burdened with the most regulation, Canterbury farmer Jamie McFadden says.

Nature policies an eco disaster Jamie McFadden

W

HEN government policy goes wrong it can deliver disastrous consequences.

Such is the case with the Government’s climate change policies.

North Canterbury is a stronghold of agriforestry and there are many benefits to having exotic forestry integrated on farms.

However, like the rural lobby group 50 Shades of Green, we have major concerns about the Government’s climate change policies. If the policy direction continues we will see changes to our landscapes and rural communities of a scale not seen since the land clearance subsidy days pre-1980.

The Billion Trees programme and Emissions Trading Scheme are heavily weighted in favour of pines over other trees, particularly natives.

These policies fail to take into account the more challenging and costly establishment regime required for native plantings verses pines.

Weeds and pests pose a significant threat to native vegetation and even native reversion is not easy because excluding stock often leads to an explosion of weeds like broom, gorse and blackberry. Without significant funding and resources large-scale native planting on hill country is impractical.

Many farmers in North Canterbury plant poplar poles that deliver a range of benefits including erosion control, stock shade and carbon sequestration.

However, the illogical Billion Trees criteria knock poplars out as a

The

Pulpit

viable, funded option and pines win again.

Livestock farmers face significant increases in compliance costs and many are looking at other options including exiting farming altogether. Add in the revenue options of carbon farming and the much easier compliance and reporting regime and exotic forestry is increasingly attractive. Like those on the North Island hill country, farmers in Canterbury are being approached by forestry interests looking for farms to buy.

One has only to look at another agriculture-dependent country, Ireland, where its Billion Trees policy equivalent has led to large areas of ecologically barren, introduced conifer forest and concerns of wildlife extinctions and the demise of rural communities.

We urge our Government to hit the pause button on its climate change and environmental policies and offer the following suggestions.

In the 1970s and 1980s voluntary catchment farm plans and QEII covenants resulted in many hill country farmers protecting extensive areas of native forest. Managing these areas for weeds and pests comes at a considerable cost to farmers while delivering many benefits.

The irony is under this Government’s policies farms that have lost all native vegetation are paid subsidies and carbon credits to plant trees, including pines, while those proactive in protecting native forest get nothing.

It is a national disgrace that farmers who have protected native forest delivering biodiversity, freshwater, erosion, landscape and carbon sequestration benefits over a long time receive no recognition and are burdened with the most regulation.

We fear the impending National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity will deliver even more headaches for our most conservation-minded farmers.

There is increasing concern among farmers and conservationists about the exploding numbers of deer and spread of weeds like old man’s beard, particularly from riverbeds.

These pests have a major, detrimental impact on existing native vegetation and native plantings to the extent we are losing regenerating native forest.

We believe it is much more effective to direct the Billion Trees funding to protect existing native forest rather than trying to establish a lot of new native plantings, particularly in areas with weed and pest issues.

Either way, a more co-ordinated, nationwide action plan is urgently required for weeds and pests and it must include Crown land.

The new climate change policies represent a significant lost opportunity to help farmers protect our native biodiversity.

A much fairer system that rewards farmers for their past conservation efforts is required.

The new climate change policies represent a significant lost opportunity to help farmers protect our native biodiversity.

Options include an increase in QEII Trust covenant funding and allowing pre-1990 native forest to be included in the ETS. There needs to be more flexibility and support for farmers who are prepared to increase planted buffers around streams and wetlands or pursue novel solutions like re-establishing totara, matai and other podocarps in existing native vegetation.

The Government’s fragmented approach to environmental policy has different legislation for freshwater, biodiversity, forestry, weeds and pests and now climate change.

That leads to conflicts such as one farm planting conifers under the ETS and Billion Trees while a nearby farmer is removing the same conifer species under the pests legislation. Fifteen years ago there was a huge outcry among environmentalists and rural communities about the impacts of forestry on landscape values and yet the Government’s policy settings are encouraging massive landscape conversion to exotic forestry.

We support Environment Minister David Parker’s recent announcement of a comprehensive review of the Resource Management Act. This needs to be wide-ranging and incorporate all other environmental policies including climate change. The amount of duplication is a massive burden on people and our economy and is a high priority for reform.

From an individual farm and catchment scale we point to the success of the catchment board model – one environmental legislation where every farm or catchment of farms has access to trained advisers who take a holistic view to decision-making incorporating environmental, economic, social and cultural considerations.

Any climate change tree planting proposals would consider other factors like biodiversity, water quality and erosion. Only then will we truly achieve the right tree in the right place.

Who am I? Jamie McFadden and his wife Linda Dodds established an eco-sourced native plant nursery that helps protect natural areas and provides environmental advice to farmers throughout Canterbury. It also coordinates and does poplar and willow erosion plantings for many farmers as the largest private initiative in the Canterbury region.

He chairs the Rural Advocacy Network.

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

Opinion

26 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Let’s start a new provincial party Alternative View

Alan Emerson

NEXT year is election year.

We’ll all be inundated with the usual messages, basically that one tribe is better than the other, that if we want economic salvation there’s only one tribe that can achieve it. Then, when we get closer to the election, if we don’t vote for a particular tribe our bollocks are going to collectively drop off.

Such will be the rhetoric.

As I’ve written several times farmers have no friends in Parliament. I’d now broaden that to suggest the provinces don’t have friends there either.

First there was the opportunistic and cynical manipulation of the Christchurch tragedy in the form of gun laws. The provinces were ignored by all political parties. That the gun laws are a shower from a gung-ho and gullible minister in the form of Stuart Nash is one thing. That all parties slavishly went along with the rhetoric proves without any shadow of doubt the trendy Auckland voter has far more pull with all parties than the provinces do.

That was followed by the zero carbon legislation. Despite promises to the contrary National and New Zealand First went meekly along with it. Again, they obviously consider the Auckland liberal vote more important than the provinces.

The problem with zero carbon and a lot of other legislation is the massive financial obligation put on the provinces, compounded by the one-size-fits-all philosophy of every political party.

My issue with the zero carbon legislation is it is pure feel-good and won’t actually achieve anything. It’s a bit like having a wee in a wetsuit.

It’s even worse than that. We had National bombastically telling us how they weren’t going to vote for the legislation unless changes were made and when the crunch came they meekly turned their little toes up.

So, neither Labour nor National have demonstrated any real support for farming and the provinces and NZ First successfully shot itself in the foot with Shane Jones’ arrogant redneck comment which he just couldn’t leave alone.

Redneck is an offensive term meaning, according to my dictionary, uneducated white farm workers.

It will cost NZ First dearly in the provinces.

In NZ politics the centre rules.

It certainly appears the centre is anti-farmer.

So what’s the answer?

I’ve heard a lot of murmurings lately about starting a farmers’ political party with the sole aim of representing farmers’ interests.

No-one does that now.

It has been tried in the past and been a dismal failure but conditions have changed. In addition, the thought of having someone, anyone in Parliament putting the farmers’ views has massive appeal.

The problem is there aren’t enough farmers to either take an electorate seat or get to the 5%.

It needs to be a provincial party with a narrow range of wellthought-out policies relevant to the provinces.

National and Labour are courting the Auckland vote with indecent alacrity. Having policies countering that would have wide appeal.

It isn’t going to be easy. For a start you need strong, popular leadership and feet on the ground. We do have leaders in the provinces. Fifty Shades of Green started in Masterton and developed a national profile in an extremely short time. The leadership qualities in that group are impressive and I’m talking just Masterton.

Look at the great leaders we have at the top of Federated Farmers. In addition to leadership you need money and resources and lots of both.

I believe the crisis in the provinces has become so great that getting the right amount of both is achievable.

LET’S DO IT: Farmers have shown impressive leadership in 50 Shades of Green, which organised a protest march on Parliament, so now it’s time to set up a new political party for provincial people.

Also, if I was running it, and I have no intention of doing so, I’d talk to National.

After all, they’ve no friends or possible coalition partners other than Act, which has shown itself over several elections as a waste of rations.

If National was strategic, and I remain unconvinced it is, it would be in its interest to give a safe National provincial seat to the Provincial Party.

You could also appeal to townies other than the Auckland liberal elite. As recent research has shown the majority of urban Kiwis support farmers.

It would mean National could concentrate on the mainstream city support knowing they would have a counter voice in government.

They would also have a potential coalition partner. If they were strategic, that is.

The challenge would be to have an independent provincial party

and not a National elite.

I’ve been told the new batch of legislation will have a greater fiscal effect on farming than the draconian reforms of the 1980s.

It will mean farming in some areas will become uneconomic.

The only way to counter that will be to have a provincial voice in Parliament.

Our future depends on it and to use a political quote from last election – Let’s do this.

As this is my last column for the year, all the best for the festive season and thanks for your support. I appreciate your emails whether you agree with me or not.

2020 looks to be a rocky ride for farming – collectively let’s keep on top.

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

The year Steve put his hand in his pocket From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

HEY, it’s me, Ditch.

You remember me.

I was the tiny pup the boss found a few years ago when some sod dumped me in the water table.

He rescued me, called me Ditch because he thought Watertable was silly, even by his standards.

He thought he’d give me a chance of being a sheepdog but then folk reckoned I was a rottweiler. But I never was. Classic sheepdog with a bit of beardy, judging from my shaggy coat.

I’m big though. The boss had three nice kennels for Gin, Sue and me but I was very snug in mine. He and Jane could hear my tail banging away at night because I’m always happy. It didn’t matter where he put my food bowl in the small run, next day I’d piddled in it. He’d get grumpy tipping it out

and going to sluice it clean. He wondered if I might be diabetic because in the summer there are always drowned bees in it. Does smell sweet though.

So, he finally felt sorry for me and has bought a set of kennels that are way bigger, up off the ground and, get this, have insulation to keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Life just gets better and better.

Gin was his mainstay but she had an operation in the year and the vets took out her female bits and pieces because she had cysts.

Now she’s getting fat and just cruising.

But you know the old saying “You snooze, you lose”. I was already getting pretty handy but I’m now his main man and he uses me most of the time. Sue, the result of a moment of inattention by the boss’s wife when Gin and I shouldn’t have been off together, is still learning the craft.

All the work I’ve been doing has kept me a bit pooped and I’m calmer and more focused on the job now. He tells Jane I’m not the best dog he’s had but I’m in the top five.

Here’s a good story. Every month or two the boss gets rung

up to talk on the radio about stuff that matters to farmers. Steve likes to remind the Aucklanders that if they like to eat food, its growers and farmers who send it to their table. He tells them we do want to make the world a better place but it can’t happen overnight.

Last week the announcer pulls the boss up when he tells him he’s 60 now. He doesn’t reckon Steve looks 60 in the photo in the column and the boss admits it’s old. Maybe 10 years. Claims he’s not vain, just useless and been meaning to update it for some time, given the ravages of time.

Maybe next year.

Talking about being 60, the boss can’t quite believe that’s snuck up just like that. Where did the time go, he asks? He reckons he’s been lucky with the body as he’s going not bad and still feels like about 20 in his head. He took a whole bunch of family and mates up to the Chateau for a birthday bash but us dogs didn’t get invited.

He reckons it has been a big year what with the party organising, a son’s wedding, hosting a niece’s wedding, building a house and running 3500 stock units on his own but it doesn’t do him any harm. He’s just

finished being club captain at the Waipukurau Golf Club so that will take a bit of pressure off.

He talks to me when we are out on the bike but doesn’t realise I understand. Just can’t talk back but I’m working on it.

He’s still no fan of American President Donald Trump and says the House of Representatives will impeach him. Says the Senate won’t do it because the Republicans think they are better with Trump for their own reelection prospects but wonders why vice president Pence doesn’t seize his opportunity and get his mates in the Senate to do it and make him president. Mind you, he could be even worse.

He talks about Brexit, whatever that is, and says it’s a debacle and feels sorry for the common people who are collateral damage in a power play by a bunch of egotists and idiots.

He feels terribly sorry for the Australian farmers and the folk dealing with the bush fires. It’s been several weeks now where we see the smoke from those fires from 3000km across the Tasman.

Vast swathes of forests with that smoke giving us hazy days and amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Mind you, he’d love to see the New Zealand cricketers beat the Aussies in the Boxing Day test and win that series so his sympathy goes only so far.

He is very pleased with the way the cricketers have carried themselves after that long night when they were robbed by a rule from winning the world cup and the way they just lift their cap to the crowd when they get a century compared to prats like Warner the Aussie who jumps and bounces all around like a kangaroo when he does something.

It’s a busy time of the year and I know cockies get fairly stressed with Christmas coming up. But you guys need a few days off anyway and like your partners tell you, you’ve known all year it was in the diary. So, make sure you have some time off and have a good festive season.

Oh, and don’t forget us dogs are quite partial to those leftover pieces of turkey, ham and lamb on Christmas Day.

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 – December 9, 2019

27

Jury still out on Alliance reset Meaty Matters

Allan Barber

ALLIANCE’S 2019 annual report states upfront the company is in the fourth year of its transformation strategy to capture greater market value and maximise operational performance, which has resulted in taking on some extra costs but already shows strong results and improved profitability.

To assess whether there is a clear trend that confirms the improvement in operational efficiency, a fitter business with a lower cost structure and effective investment in sales and marketing, I have gone back over the last four years’ financial performance instead of comparing the latest year with the previous trading period.

Over the four years the balance sheet has grown by $114 million with significant increases in trade debtors and inventories on the asset side of the ledger and more debt to fund higher receivables and the 2019 investment in the pet food joint venture, Meateor.

The buoyant international red meat market has obviously brought a substantial lift in revenue and product costs as well as in the value of inventories and accounts owing but it has also made it difficult to analyse how successful the investment in sales and marketing has actually been.

A simple comparison of revenue, costs and profit before distribution to shareholders over the years 2016-19 shows a somewhat up and down pattern

rather than a consistent upward trend.

That leads to the inevitable conclusion it is too early to claim long-term success, requiring another couple of consistently good years before Alliance can state confidently it has solved the traditional meat industry performance problem of paying too much for livestock supply.

Turnover has trended upwards from $1.358 billion in 2016 through $1.533.4b the following year to $1.715b in 2018 and $1.713b in the latest trading period while the gross profit has gone from $54m to $77m.

While this looks very positive the percentage gross margin over the four years was 4% in 2016, 4.4% in 2017 then 3.5% and 4.5% for the two most recent trading results. Therefore the 2019 result is impressive only in relation to a poor performance the previous year.

Gross margin is merely the amount of cash remaining after deducting the cost of sales but the operating profit after deducting sales and marketing, plant and administrative costs provides a better summary of how the business as a whole is performing.

The same period under review shows an even more inconsistent pattern with fluctuations between a low of $14.351m in 2018, worse even than 2016 on turnover 26% higher and much better performances in 2017 and 2019.

After steadily increasing finance costs as a consequence of more borrowings the annual profit before distributions to shareholders and tax has shown similarly wild swings.

While the 2019 result in isolation gives cause for hope it is little different from 2017 when revenue was quite a bit lower and costs apparently under better control.

The main culprit appears not to be sales and marketing expenditure, which has been

STUCK: Administrative overheads rather than sales and mareketing are the culprit for Alliance failing to significantly improve its position.

It’s too early to conclude Alliance or the meat industry as a whole has found a failsafe way of being economically sustainable. relatively constant over the period, but administrative overheads, which have followed an inexorable upward curve, increasing by $12m or 40%.

At the same time finance interest costs have risen by $3m, an increase of 46%. That is $15m Alliance must now generate annually just to stand still compared to four years ago. It is worth noting a profit before pool distributions and tax exceeding $15m has been achieved only twice in the past six years, with the other years being in a range between $7.8-$10.4m.

The 2019 annual report states early in the chairman and chief executive’s review “We had to evolve our approach as the

business moves forward. We continue to drive efficiencies to achieve operational gains, however, in some selected areas, we have consciously taken on additional costs to build for the future and stay ahead of the curve. We remain mindful of the need to be prudent with shareholders’ funds. We are building an inter-generational business that builds long-term sustained value for farmers.”

They are worthy objectives, which shareholders would surely agree meet their own farming strategic intentions but there is no guarantee of uninterrupted success from a differentiated, value-added proposition across an expanding product range in a number of new markets.

Bolstering the company’s sales and marketing resource will help to achieve this with the caveat not all new brands and products will establish themselves in the consumers’ mind without a lot of hard work and expense.

It’s too early to conclude Alliance or the meat industry as a whole has found a failsafe way of being economically sustainable

over the long term given the large number of challenges it faces, both at home and globally.

Nobody could argue with the intent to identify and satisfy consumers’ needs and wants as the most logical strategy for success but, when one considers how much consumer tastes have changed, even in the last five years, there is no guarantee of getting it right.

Alliance has changed substantially from the parochial Southland sheep meat business it used to be with top management now mainly based in Christchurch and an increasing focus on brands, beef and the North Island.

But it would be wise not to forget the conservative approach and tight control of costs which were traditionally at the heart of its business. The jury must still be out on whether its transformation will succeed.

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

MERRY FARMING CHRISTMAS!

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28 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

On Farm Story

Getting the best out of people Helping rural women connect with each other and realise their potential has become a source of inspiration for Sandra Matthews, as Colin Williscroft discovered.

S

UCCESSFUL farming partnerships are built around a connection between the land and those who work it and for Sandra Matthews that means ensuring women know they belong on farms and have important roles to play.

Sandra farms with her husband Ian inland from Gisborne in a partnership that can be traced back to their meeting 30 years ago at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, when they were on their OE. At the end of their travels they returned to their homes, Sandra to Australia and Ian to Te Kopae Station, the 536ha family farm that borders the Rere Falls, about 50km northwest of Gisborne, where the couple live today.

They stayed in touch, marrying 18 months later with Sandra moving to the farm that’s been in Ian’s family since 1910.

The couple are proud of the family’s history on the property, something that was recognised in 2016 with a Century Farm award.

That’s not to say it’s always been easy. Farming conditions have sometimes been tough over the years and Sandra initially struggled to work out where she fitted in on the farm.

The first 10 years were the hardest because not only was Sandra in a new environment, there were no support networks for her.

Though she married into a very welcoming family Sandra was isolated from what she knew, coming from Goulburn in New South Wales, a country town about an hour’s drive from Canberra that’s similar in size to Feilding or Ashburton, where her father was a policeman and her mother a teacher.

She grew up in a town that services the pastoral industry but Sandra is the first to admit she didn’t know much about farming.

Though she studied agriculture

at high school that was more to do with wanting to spend less time in a classroom than any future she saw on a farm.

After initially working for ANZ in Gisborne as a relationship manager Sandra’s first steps into better understanding how New Zealand farms work – and getting an appreciation of the life she had married into – saw her complete a two-year farm business management course, which was fortunately child-friendly because by then the couple had two young children.

What she learned on the course was about to come in very handy.

In 2003 she and Ian bought twothirds of the farm from his parents and Sandra began taking a more active role.

Over the years they have settled into what they describe as a pretty good partnership, helped by their involvement in a farm monitor programme from 2004, something that strengthened not only the farming business but also themselves as a couple.

But there have been some challenges along the way, including farming through three droughts in a row along with some pretty average product prices at times.

Looking back, Sandra and Ian say there was an upside to the hard times.

“You’ve got to have challenging times to make you stronger.”

To put herself in a better place to help overcome some of those challenges in 2014 Sandra took part in an Agri Women’s Development Trust pilot course called Understanding Your Farm Business (UYFB).

Unsure at the start whether it was for her she finished the three-month programme with a completely different attitude and a knowledge of farm finance and business that opened up her world.

She’d been on the farm for 20

PARTNERSHIP: Sandra and Ian Matthews farm next to Rere Falls, inland from Gisborne.

years but says, like many women, she didn’t really understand where she belonged or fitted in.

Buoyed by her experience on the course and the women she met Sandra helped set up Farming Women Tairawhiti (FWT), which aims to educate and connect rural women in the Gisborne area.

It’s a group that’s proved more popular than she ever imagined.

They expected about 25 to 30 women at its first event, which focused on health and safety.

Instead, about 85 showed up.

It’s just grown from there and these days has more than 600 members and is an incorporated society with charitable status.

Sandra is also heavily involved with the trust, facilitating UYFB, co-ordinating its regional hub

programme, coaching and mentoring leaders throughout NZ. “I meet a lot of women around the country and the stories I hear are often the similar … they don’t feel valued, they don’t understand where their place is.”

She says there has been a lot in the media about farming men being isolated and not properly understood.

The stories are similar for farming women.

“That’s not a reflection on men, it’s a reflection of how women feel.

“The stories I hear are similar to what my story was. A feeling of ‘I’m not sure where I fit on-farm’.”

Sandra says it’s her role to help women understand skills learned before living on a farm are transferable.

Having the knowledge is one part of the equation but they need to know how to put it into practice, which is where the courses come in.

Women of all ages get involved and through the networks that are established, older women can provide support for their younger counterparts through the tough times, such as pressures from drought or high interest rates.

“It’s spreading knowledge through experience.”

Younger couples are often focused on production but as they get older the focus often turns to making sure environmental and social goals are not completely outweighed by the economic ones.

It’s less about maximising the profit and more about getting the right balance.

Whether it’s programmes run by the trust or courses by FWT, women tend to learn better from other women and can then grow in confidence before taking that knowledge out to the wider industry.

In a learning environment it is important women feel comfortable speaking up and asking questions.

“When blokes are there they don’t always have the confidence to do that.”

The idea is for women to use the programmes as a stepping stone so when they attend mixed events they will have the confidence to speak up.

“Opening the door and enabling them to come through.”

Historically, many women have not been acknowledged for the work they have done on farms though that is changing, she says.

It does not matter what role women take on.

On Farm Story

FLORA: The farm contains a block of regenerating native bush.

“Whatever they choose to do, they make a valuable contribution to the bigger picture.”

Enabling the women also helps the men because it makes them more active listeners and communicators while discussion also provides a valuable sounding board for shared goals.

And, as in all partnerships, better communication among those involved leads to better results.

Having seen a need to help rural women achieve their potential Sandra is fortunate to have been given the chance to help.

She gets a lot of satisfaction from seeing women getting together and growing through their involvement in the groups.

“People come from far and wide. They want the human connection so they drive from all over because they know other women will be there.

“That’s what it’s all about. It makes it worthwhile.”

To further her own development Sandra did the trust’s Escalator governance and leadership programme.

One of 14 women chosen from around the country to do

TOP VIEW: Looking back towards the house from a hill on Te Kope Station.

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

GOAL: The focus is on kilograms of meat out the gate, with a view to growing better quality lambs.

the 10-month course in 2017, it opened her eyes as to what she and others can achieve.

“It’s not about the person at the front, it’s how to get the best from people, how to get them to use their own strengths.”

Part of that is getting people to value themselves, to value what they have already achieved and can achieve in the future.

She says a good cross-section of women from a variety of primary industries took part in her 10-month course, which had a wide-ranging approach to leadership development, providing women with skills and support while also addressing barriers women can face when taking part in decision-making.

The confidence, growth and communication skills she gained gave her the belief she could do more, encouraging others to empower themselves.

“Many of the skills were already there but Escalator bought them out, adding more skills to my toolbox.

“Women coming onto farms often lack a lot of confidence.

Escalator helped me realise my potential, realise that I have so much to offer.

“For me, it’s not about me, it’s about empowering others.”

It’s a far cry from the days before Sandra began taking the farm business courses.

In the early days of her marriage she did not want to go to social functions, the isolation she felt and not understanding where

You’ve got to have challenging times to make you stronger.

Sandra Matthews Farmer she fitted in almost selfperpetuating.

Today she can walk into a room and immediately network with the people in it.

Though she is passionate about connecting and enabling rural women, on a personal level being able to make a meaningful contribution to the farming business she runs with Ian provides Sandra with a lot of satisfaction.

“Being able to understand and deliver for our farm business, that really floats my boat.”

The property’s location on the east coast of the North Island means production can be limited by climate, with extremely dry conditions not uncommon.

They run 140 cows, which till recently were Angus, adding some R3 in-calf Hereford heifers in 2019.

They keep the males to finish as steers or bulls and buy in 150 Friesian bulls at 100kg to finish as two-year-olds.

The property also carries about 1700 ewes, with the lambing percentage lifting after getting through the drought years and

29

bringing in Hinenui Coopworth genetics.

The focus is on kilograms of meat out the gate, with a view to growing better quality lambs.

“We don’t want lots of little lambs,” Ian says.

“It’s not good for the flock or the sustainability of the farm.”

The last couple of years have been good ones but before that droughts made for challenging farming conditions, which meant they leaned towards trading out of cattle, he says.

For the Matthews, it’s not about pushing the envelope. It’s about knowing the land and the climate and learning from the past what could be coming so, where possible, they can see things before they arrive and prepare for them.

“The longer you’re on the land the more of a connection you have with it. You see the good times and the not so good and you farm for that.

“You understand the land and what you can and can’t do.”

Trying to be the biggest or the fastest does not mean you will be the best and diversification is important to provide options for when weather or prices don’t come to the party, he said.

They have a block of regenerating native bush they are proud of and enjoy taking time out in, appreciating the plant and bird life that are returning.

Like many farming families, Ian and Sandra put their children, Emma, now 24, and Jamie, 22, at the centre of their lives, a commitment they made from the start. Life’s too short not to, they say.

While Emma and Jamie are now making their own way in the world for Sandra and Ian the goal is to sustainably grow happy, healthy animals and enjoy quality time working alongside each other.

And for Sandra it’s to help connect farming women so they can share their experiences and see their own value – which will put farm businesses and the people in them in a stronger position to deal with future challenges while time appreciating the life they have.

>> Video link: bit.ly/OFSmatthews

We have to reconnect rural and urban Kiwis. Here’s how.

It’s clear that times have changed.

The things that used to bind urban and rural Kiwis together – city cousins pitching in over summer, three families to a farm – belong to a different time now. Today, 60% of urban Kiwis have no regular contact with rural New Zealand.* But that doesn’t mean urban Kiwis don’t care about their food, farmers and the land. On the contrary. They desperately want to reconnect with their rural roots.

Our problem isn’t an urban-rural divide or social media, it’s the lack of common ground to stand on together.

We need a place for honest conversations. A place to reconnect over the things that will always bind town and country Kiwis together – our land, food and families.

That place, our common ground, is Open Farms.

We talked to farmers and urban Kiwis.

They told us that…

Farmers

Urban Kiwis

“People are sceptical these days. Talk isn’t enough. They need to see the stream running clear for themselves.”

“Our kids need to know where their food starts, to connect the dots from farmer-to-market-to home.”

David Kidd, Beef + Lamb New Zealand Farmer Councillor, farming on the Kaipara harbour

“The experiences that will change perceptions of farming are behind the gate. Reconnecting with urban Kiwis won’t happen unless we farmers make it happen.”

“I want to step back from the daily grind - the concrete, traffic & social media – and just go back to the source, even for a day.”

Tracy Brown, Sustainability champion, dairy farming in the Waikato

Thank you to our sponsors

and supporters OUR LAND AND WATER

Toitū te Whenua, Toiora te Wai

1 MPI. 2017. ‘New Zealander’s views of the primary sector’. 60% of urban New Zealander’s do not often visit family or close friends that live in rural New Zealand.

JOIN US

Will you host an Open Farm day?

Nationwide on Sunday, March 1st 2020

We believe that every Kiwi should have a genuine on-farm experience, and we’ve built the roadmap to get there. But we can’t do it alone.

We’re asking farmers to reach out with us and invite urban Kiwis back onto the land for a day.

Visit WWW.OPENFARMS.CO.NZ to learn more and sign-up.

What does it take to host an Open Farms Event?

HOSTS

OPEN FARMS REGISTER

Sign-up and post your event description.

PLAN

Review the Open Farms Host Handbook for health & safety, activity ideas and more.

YOUR STORY, YOUR WAY

Set & track visitor numbers and showcase why you’re proud to farm.

VISITOR PROMOTION & REGISTRATION. We’ll take the lead on that.

THE KIT.

We’ll send you posters, signage & guides to help you on the day.

SUPPORT.

We’re always on call and you’ll join a community of farmer hosts.

World

32 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

US pushing to relax food rules LEAKED documents from BritainUnited States trade deal talks reveal the US pushing lower food standards on Britain after Brexit, including allowing imports of chlorine-washed chicken.

US trade negotiators offered to help the United Kingdom government convince a sceptical British public to accept chlorine chicken – and they stated Parliamentary scrutiny of food standards is unhelpful.

The US authorities even agreed to share their public lines on chlorine-washed chicken to help UK officials try to sell the controversial practice to British consumers and help inform the media narrative.

The papers also reveal the US team called for less nutritional labelling on foods and less protection for regional foods, such as stilton cheese.

The 451-page dossier outlines

six rounds of talks between UK and US trade officials, running from July 2017.

The documents show US negotiators had the most angst about European Union limits on the use of chemicals in food production, trying to persuade the UK to change and seek a clean break from EU rules that protect UK consumers by maintaining high standards on farms and in the food industry across the UK. Those rules were repeatedly discussed over two years, with the documents in July 2018 revealing a challenging and difficult meeting where US officials saw sanitary and phytosanitary rules as the biggest sticking point.

EU rules on sanitary and phytosanitary practices limit many pesticides, veterinary drugs such as growth hormones and pathogen-reduction treatments such as chlorine washing that

are allowed under US agriculture rules.

The US team said maintaining the EU’s high standards for UK food production is the worst-case scenario.

They added that in a no-deal situation there would be all to play for.

The US also wanted to ban any mention of climate change in a trade deal.

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said “These documents show that a Donald Trump post-Brexit trade deal poses a threat to the family farm as we know it.

“The US has far lower animal welfare and food standards, especially on the use of chemicals and growth hormones.

“The Conservative Party’s desperation for a US trade deal risks meaning these lower food standards are adopted by the UK.

DANGER: A trade deal with the United States is a threat to the British family farm, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Barke says.

They appear desperate for us to loosen our food regulations.

Kath Dalmeny Sustain “British farmers would then face a perfect storm – losing tariff-free access to vital European markets while being undercut by lowstandard imports from the vast US

industrialised agriculture sector.”

Farming campaign group Sustain said the leaked documents are concrete proof of the risks to British food, farmers and the environment from a future UK-US trade deal.

Chief executive Kath Dalmeny said “They appear desperate for us to loosen our food regulations so American food companies can send us products like chlorine-dipped chicken, hormone-treated beef and animal products raised with high levels of antibiotics.”

UK Farmers Weekly

Eco alternative for weeds on way AN ORGANIC, biodegradable alternative to glyphosate might be available to growers in the near future, as a foam-based weed solution is being developed for agricultural purposes.

Foamstream uses hot water to break down a plant’s waxy outer layer, allowing it to travel down the stem and kill the roots.

A foam made from natural plant oils such as wheat, maize and coconut is added to the water as it is applied to insulate the heat, ensuring it covers the targeted plant for long enough to kill it.

The Foamstream system, created by Weedingtech, is in use in a variety of applications in Britain, the United States and throughout Europe.

In the United Kingdom the system is primarily used to control weeds by councils that have already banned the use of glyphosate as a weedkiller in towns and cities.

While the technology has taken off in municipal settings the idea was initially developed for agriculture but the reapproval of glyphosate saw little demand for the technology in the sector.

However, with the future of glyphosate uncertain Weedingtech has again started developing an agricultural application likely to be available in a couple of years.

“The technology we have is being used in towns and cities as it’s a municipal range of machinery,” a company spokesman said.

“We are working on an agricultural solution, which uses the same principle but works on the back of a tractor. You would

have the same set-up but on a bigger scale and you can treat inter-row.

As well as needing to operate at a larger scale to treat inter-row the application of the foamed water will need to be more targeted.

A municipal system consists of a boiler, generator, a pump and a water tank.

The water is heated from an ambient temperature to 104C and is then mixed with one of the two foam products patented by the company then pumped using a hand-held lance.

Without the foam the 100C water would leave the lance as steam but by trapping the heat under the foam the water is kept above the 57C needed to kill targeted plants.

The heat also sterilises any seeds or spores in the soil, helping to reduce the amount of regrowth.

The foam is diluted to just 0.05% when mixed with the water, making it completely safe for the environment, animals and humans.

“It’s completely safe.

“You can use it in any weather, whether it’s raining, sunny or windy.

“You don’t have to worry about the water or foam drifting off and going into a river or into a stream or a lake because it is just water,” the spokesman said.

While the system uses 12 litres of water a minute, depending on the amount of vegetation being targeted, grey water and water from rivers and streams can also be used.

Along with a high water requirement the cost of weeding

KILLER: Foamstream is used around rose bushes to kill weeds in Hammersmith and Fulham.

with a Foamstream system is higher than for glyphosate.

“Anyone who says there is a solution for weed control which does everything, there isn’t.

“Weeds will always grow – the key is having the best tool which reduces the level of regrowth and which is safe to use, which you can use in any type of surface in

any type of weather on any type of weed.

“And that is what the Foamstream system does,” he said.

UK Farmers Guardian

World

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

33

Big protests stop European cities market with cheap agricultural imports, which threaten their viability.

In addition, they say Macron’s food law loi Egalim, which aims to give farmers fairer prices, has failed to make much difference to their revenues.

Dairy farmer and Jeunes Agriculteurs secretary-general Arnaud Gaillot said “Farmers are tired of being criticised, being assaulted when so much progress has been made and their situation is difficult.

“It must stop and our professionalism must be recognised.”

FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs called off the protests after Macron and agricultural ministers agreed to meet their representatives for talks to discuss the issues.

In Germany more than 5000 tractors and 10,000 farmers shut down Berlin as part of nationwide protests against the government.

The demonstration was organised by Land schafft Verbindung (Countryside Creates Connection), DBV – the German Farmers’ Association and the alliance Forum Natur.

Farmers are furious about government proposals to phase out and ban the weedkiller glyphosate by 2023 and tighter regulations on the use of fertilisers and slurry to reduce nitrate content in groundwater.

They have also raised serious concerns about EU plans to reduce direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy from 2021 and link payments more closely to environmental measures.

There is concern the policy will bankrupt hundreds of family farms.

DBV said it also fears the fallout for domestic agriculture over the EU-Mercosur trade deal.

Tractors staged go-slow protests as they headed to Brandenburg Gate. Some carried banners saying: “No farmers No food No future”, “Good local food only at

HALT: German farmers with 5000 tractors stopped Berlin when they staged a protest there.

fair prices” and “We will fill you up”.

The farmers believe they are being singled out as the bad guy by environmentalists and criticism is damaging the profession and the ability to attract new entrants.

Germany’s environment minister Svenja Schulze addressed an angry crowd of farmers at the Berlin protest, saying she is willing and ready for a dialogue.

“In the case of challenges such as nitrate pollution or species loss we have to work together, not against each other.”

Germany’s agriculture minister Julia Klockner said EU directives on nitrate pollution and insect killing cannot be ignored.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to hold a meeting with representatives of about 40 farming organisations to discuss the crisis.

Last month, thousands of Dutch farmers drove their tractors to The Hague to protest against the negative image of farming in the Netherlands.

UK Farmers Weekly

German farmers want tougher emissions controls A GERMAN court has rejected a lawsuit brought by a group of farmers trying to compel their government to do more to tackle climate change.

The farmers, backed by environmental pressure group Greenpeace, saw their claim dismissed after a fivehour hearing in Berlin on October 31.

The farmers fear rising sea levels could irreversibly damage farmland and blame the government, which has abandoned earlier plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 40% compared to 1990 levels by next year.

But the court decided Angela Merkel’s government is not violating their rights by cutting greenhouse gas emissions at a slower-than-promised rate.

Silke Backsen, one of the plaintiffs and an organic farmer from the island of Pellworm in north Germany, said “I am disappointed by this halfhearted decision.

“The court has not done what is good for our future.

“This ruling does not save a single tonne of carbon dioxide.

“We are already significantly affected by the climate crisis.

“How bad does it have to get?”

Greenpeace suggested there might be an appeal and stressed that though the court concluded the government should be given leeway on its emissions deadline, its ruling did highlight that a complaint seeking more climate

protection is admissible in principle.

That opens the door on future lawsuits for such violations of fundamental rights, it said.

Lawyer for the plaintiffs Dr Roda Verheyen said “For the first time in history a German court has ruled that people’s fundamental rights can be violated by the impacts of global heating.

“The court did not recognise a particular violation today but that is not out of the question in the future.

“The message is clear – climate protection means protection of fundamental rights. German climate policies must observe that principle.”

UK Farmers Weekly

0096008

71.67x200 Agrievents 2019

agrievents AWDT Understanding Your Farming Business & Wahine Maia, Wahine Whenua 3 full-day workshops and an evening graduation ceremony run over four months. Equips and supports women involved in sheep and beef farming to lift business performance.

Registrations for 2020 programmes are now open, visit the website for more information and to register.

Locations and dates (3 modules & graduation): • Drummond: 5 Feb, 5 Mar, 2 Apr & 30 Apr • Reporoa (WMWW): 12 Feb, 11 Mar, 7 Apr & 6 May • Tarras: 13 Feb, 12 Mar, 8 Apr & 7 May • Raetihi: 13 Feb, 12 Mar, 8 Apr & 7 May • Westport: 19 Feb, 18 Mar, 15 Apr & 13 May • Hokitika: 20 Feb, 19 Mar, 16 Apr & 14 May Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info AWDT Future Focus programme Programme designed for red meat farming partnerships to plan their business together. 2 full-day workshops delivered over two months.

Delivered in 20 locations around NZ, registrations for 2020 programmes are now open. Visit the website for more information and to register.

Locations and dates (2 modules): • Geraldine: 25 Feb & 24 Mar • Darfield: 26 Feb & 25 Mar • Rotorua: 10 Mar & 7 Apr Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info Red Meat Profit Partnership - Farm Business Transition and Succession workshop series Designed to take farm businesses through transition and succession, the series includes three half day workshops spread over a three-four-month period followed by a one-onone clinic.

Workshops begin March 2020 in 20 locations across New Zealand, fully funded for sheep or beef farmers. For more information and to register go to www.rmpp.co.nz.

Red Meat Profit Partnership - Aspiring to Farm Business Management and Ownership workshop A one-day workshop developed for individuals or couples wishing to manage or own a sheep or beef farm business.

Available in 10 locations across New Zealand from MarchJune 2020, the workshop is fully funded by RMPP. For more information and to register go to www.rmpp.co.nz.

LK0096008©

BIG protests have beens staged by farmers in Ireland, Germany and France as they fight imports, a weedkiller ban, critics and government policies.

Thousands of angry French farmers drove their tractors into Paris to protest against low prices and anti-farming government policies.

More than 1000 tractors headed into the capital from across France on November 27.

French farming unions FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs (Young Farmers) co-ordinated the demonstration in response to agri-bashing from campaign groups, the media and the French government.

Farmers dumped hay across the Avenue des Champs-Élysees and blocked roads headed towards the Place de la Concorde. Tractors carried banners saying: “We feed you, but we are dying”, “France, do you want farmers or not?” and “Macron: Answer us! Save your farmers.”

An FNSEA spokesman said the protests were done in an exemplary manner.

That action came after disgruntled German farmers brought central Berlin to a standstill on November 26 in protest over anti-farming government policies.

It also mirrored a similar blockade by Irish farmers in Dublin on November 26 against low beef prices.

Protests were also staged across France in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Tours and other French cities.

French farmers are angry with French president Emmanuel Macron about multiple issues from animal welfare and pesticide use to environmental protections.

Macron is pushing for a ban on the weedkiller glyphosate by 2021 but farmers say there is no viable alternative.

Farmers also fear a trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries will flood the

Should your important event be listed here?

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

Coromandel 52 309 Road Holiday home and income

Lake Taupo 59 Watene Lane 3

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Ignore all previous pricing, our vendor has purchased elsewhere and wants action now! This fantastic holiday home comes with good access and plenty of space to park the boat. Currently generating an income with a land lease in place. Set on 20.7909 hectares (more or less) this tidy home sits in a prime position complete with a wrap around deck to take in the panoramic views of the Coromandel harbour and the surrounding countryside. Call today to view this property and start living the lifestyle.

For Sale

by Deadline Private Treaty

bayleys.co.nz/2180277

MH REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED REAA 2008

(unless sold prior)

4pm, Fri 13 Dec 2019 459 Pollen Street, Thames View by appointment Glenn Tanner 027 486 2399 glenn.tanner@bayleys.co.nz

Grace, space and elegance Experience a taste of extraordinary where the grace, space and elegance of a traditional English manor blends seamlessly with contemporary finishing’s in a premium Taupo lifestyle zone.

Sensational for hospitality featuring a sprawling country-style kitchen, multi-zoned formal/casual dining and lounging areas opening to choices of patios, tropical themed in-ground pool and tennis court. The 5.3ha (more or less) parcel presents possibilities for subdividing (subject to consents) into smaller holdings. A unique home offered in pristine condition in a location where properties only infrequently present for acquisition.

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Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 12pm, Fri 7 Feb 2020 44 Roberts Street, Taupo View by appointment Alison Whittle 021 961 114 alison.whittle@bayleys.co.nz WESTERMAN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/2651926

FINAL NOTICE

FINAL NOTICE

North Canterbury 441 Blythe Road, Motunau

Kirwee 319 Tramway Road

Kilmarnock

'Woodlands Farm'

A rare offering combining scale, balance of contour and aspect, with plenty of future potential. Kilmarnock is a total of 1,913.5798ha and in recent years has undergone a large redevelopment project, which is currently still in progress. This has included some re-grassing on the downs and flats, with significant potential still available through fencing, water reticulation and forestry. Kilmarnock has recently been run as a beef breeding, trading and fattening operation and presents a wonderful opportunity to invest in a large-scale landholding. Our vendors will also consider offers on separate blocks.

bayleys.co.nz/5511270

bayleys.co.nz

For Sale

by Deadline Private Treaty (unless sold prior)

4pm, Mon 16 Dec 2019 3 Deans Ave, Chch View by appointment Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz Peter Foley 021 754 737 WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

243.586ha of freehold property, comprising approximately 180ha used as a milking platform with the balance used for support. A further 123.2241ha of lease land adjoining enables a milking platform of up to 303ha, with a further 216ha that could also be available to a new owner,which gives this property great scale. 50 bail automated rotary dairy shed. Irrigation by pivots, sprinklers and a Roto Rainer. Water from wells and CPW water and nutrients covered under the CPW Schemes environmental consent.

Numerous calf sheds and ancillary buildings including four houses on the dairy farm, plus a manager’s house on an adjacent 16 hectare property, which is used as dairy support.

bayleys.co.nz/5511256

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Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 4pm, Mon 16 Dec 2019 3 Deans Ave, Chch View by appointment Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz Craig Blackburn 027 489 7225 craig.blackburn@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

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RURAL Office 0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Thinking of retiring?

Dairy heartland 209 ha

WEB ID FU73140 POHANGINA 1195d Pohangina Road View By Appointment If you're thinking of a peaceful retirement - the stunning vistas from this lifestyle property in the Pohangina Valley are second to none. This 21 acre block is only 20 minutes to Palmerston North and Feilding. It currently Yvonne Forlong runs fallow deer and has a large workshop with 3-phase Mobile 021 456 565 power and other outbuildings. The 3 bedroom home sits yvonnef@pb.co.nz among attractive established grounds and includes a master bedroom with an en-suite and walk-in wardrobe, office, internal access double garaging, open plan living Bill Milham and a huge deck with gorgeous views up to the Ruahine Mobile 027 443 3324 Ranges. bill.milham@pb.co.nz

BY NEGOTIATION

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WEB ID HKR70905 HOKITIKA 192 and 306-351 Johnston Road View By Appointment We're delighted to offer for sale this 209 ha self-contained dairy farm located in the Kowhitirangi Valley, 25 mins from Hokitika. 5-year average production of 122,000 kgMS from 320 cows with replacement stock grazed on farm. The property features an excellent range of farm improvements: • 34-aside herringbone shed with meal feeding and cell sense Gareth Cox • 250 cow herd home Mobile 021 250 9714 • Full range of hay/implement sheds Office 03 929 0306 • 2 x 4 bedroom homes + cottage gareth@pb.co.nz

$4,900,000 + GST (IF ANY)

pb.co.nz

A real change in real estate.

The Property Brokers and Farmlands partnership means great things for provincial real estate* Together our combined strengths complement each other to create a unique offering: - A nationwide network from Kaitaia to Invercargill - Over 700 staff across 64 locations dedicated to real estate - A deep understanding of the land with market-leading expertise in property sales and marketing Bigger networks, more buyers, better results.

For more information call 0800 367 5263 or visit pb.co.nz/together *Farmlands will continue to administer its property management portfolio and its West Coast real estate sites, pending Commerce Commission clearance.

Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008

Proud to be together

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farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

’RATA’ - QUALITY SOILS AND CONTOUR 26 Putorino Road, Hunterville, Rangitikei Comprising a high proportion of Kiwitea silt loam as well as other quality soils around 75% of which is assessed as croppable contour, with the balance medium hill, enabling an integrated system of self-contained dairying/beef cattle, as well as growing supplement for associated dairy farms. The central 60 bail rotary shed with ACRs and adjacent feed pad are able to accommodate all of the 650 cows currently milked. The property has plentiful stock water, including allocation and consents for up to 235 cubic meters of stock water per day. In 13 titles with two dwellings.

Real Estate

395 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2081197 Tender Closes 11am, Tue 17 Dec 2019, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding.

Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

QUALITY FLATS & MEDIUM HILL BLOCK 867 Rangatira Road, Hunterville, Rangitikei ’Mellington’ offers a great balance of country quality Kiwitea silt loam flats and 108ha of medium hills running along one side, enabling this dairy farm to be operated as a largely selfcontained grazing unit. A highly automated 60 bail rotary dairy shed and integrated large feed-pad, have aided this property to average over 335,000kg MS as it has recently transitioned from a year round to spring calving system. Stock and dairy water sources include both the Hunterville and Mellington water schemes. Considerable areas have recently been cropped and re-grassed with fencing upgrades. 4 dwellings and 9 titles.

368 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2085432 Tender Closes 11am, Tue 17 Dec 2019, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding.

Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

2403 Ohura Road, Taumarunui

Entry Level Grazing in Matiere

Located 35 kilometres North west of Taumarunui, this attractive grazing block in the much liked Matiere Valley is well set up for dairy grazers and or fattening/ finishing cattle.

178.3399 hectares (more or less) 440 acres Good balance of contour including 29 hectares of flat to gentle rolling pastures Comfortably wintering 350 cattle Troughed water to all paddocks Good fertiliser history Solid 4 bedroom home and self-contained sleepout Genuinely for sale, our motivated vendors have their sights set elsewhere and need this property sold to make the next move.

Phone Kerry today to find out more, or come see for yourself at our next open day.

For Sale By Tender Tenders close 1pm, 17th January 2020 (Unless Sold Prior)

View: Open Days,

Friday 29th Nov, 6 & 13th Dec at 11am sharp. Please bring own ATV www.harcourts.co.nz/OH8627

Kerry Harty P 07 873 8700 M 027 294 6215 E kjharty@harcourts.co.nz

Otorohanga Blue Ribbon Realty Ltd mreinz Licensed Agent REAA 2008

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

HILL-COUNTRY FARM

Dannevirke 442 hectare (1093 acres) sheep and beef unit in Oporae, 30 minutes (40km) from Dannevirke. Excellent water supply from natural spring. Good balance of soil types and contours (easy to medium-steep). Back of farm summer-safe, front of farm winter-warm.

Capable of up to 3500 stock units. 3 stand woolshed with 500 night pen. 4 bedroom home in attractive setting.

Currently harvesting manuka honey and leased for grazing, this is an opportunity to add to your existing manuka portfolio or get into this highly profitable market.

Jerome Pitt M: 027 242 2199 O: 06 374 4107 E: @jeromep@forfarms.co.nz

For Sale by Negotiation

Property ID FF1299

THE DESTINATION FOR RURAL REAL ESTATE

Land is the biggest asset to any farming business so it pays to stay up to date with the market.

Connect with the right audience at

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

LK0068450©

www.forfarms.co.nz

LK0100529©

www.forfarms.co.nz - FF2919

Call me today for more information and to book your appointment to view.

$3,300,000 + GST Jerome Pitt M: 027 242 2199 O: 06 374 4107 E: @jeromep@forfarms.co.nz

This is a genuine sheep and beef breeding farm close to the rural service town of Dannevirke.

LK0100528©

Akitio, Dannevirke 1169 hectares (2888 acres) of manuka and bareland grazing situated on River Road, Akitio.

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www.forfarms.co.nz - FF2944 www.forfarms.co.nz

Property ID FF1299

Proven Performer - Cambridge

LK0068450©

1000+ HECTARES MANUKA & GRAZING

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

TENDER

Situated in the renowned dairy district of Kairangi just 17 km from Cambridge this attractive 136 hectare dairy Unit provides a great opportunity for those looking for scale with location. You are given the opportunity to purchase the full 136 hectares in two titles or alternatively 112 hectares with all the infrastructure or a separate 24 hectares of bare land. Milked through a 44-bale rotary with a wide range of farm buildings catering for calf rearing, farm machinery, hay, and workshop. The contour is flat to easy rolling with some sidling’s with free draining ash and silty loam soils. Water is sourced from two bores, effluent management is done through a modern holding tank irrigating approx. 22 hectares.

Infrastructure includes two three-bedroom homes.

TENDER: Closes Fri 13 Dec at 2.00pm, at Cambridge Real Estate, 47 Alpha Street, Cambridge (unless sold prior) Internet ID: CRR2204 Address: 550 Kairangi Road, Cambridge Open Days: Mon 25th & Wed 27th 11.00-12.30pm Contact David Soar 027 284 9755 or Matt Seavill 027 444 3347

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farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

06 323 3363 Farm & Lifestyle Sales Meeting the Market

OPEN FARM:

$6,952,000 + GST

06 323 3363 Farm & Lifestyle Sales Beef, Crop or Dairy

OPEN FARM:

Wednesday 11 December 1:00 - 2:00 pm

461 Kiritaki Road, Dannevirke

193.12 hectares

▪ The centrally located 54 bail rotary dairy is as neat as a pin with the furthermost paddock only 1.2km. Concrete platform, in-shed feeding, ‘Wetit” teat management ▪ Feedpad alongside the dairy plus two 250 tonne silage bunkers ▪ Three year average of 230,000kg milksolids under a system 3 to 4 ▪ Regular pasture renewal program and excellent soil fertility ▪ Impressive 400m² four bedroom home with office, two en suites, double glazing and 3 heat pumps. Two other 4 bedroom homes. Superb 6-bay workshop

The vendors have taken great care in developing this attractive farm and at $30/kgMS is priced to sell

Richard Anderson

M 027 543 1610 E richarda@ruralandlifestylesales.com

Web ID RAL720

Robert Dabb

M 027 255 3992 E robertd@ruralandlifestylesales.com

$6,995,000 +GST

Wednesday 11 December 10:30am-midday

672 Ruawhata Road, Mangatainoka

226.32 hectares

▪ River silt doesn’t come much richer than here and combined with reliable Tararua District summer rainfall the pastures are producing up to 16 tonne dry matter/ha ▪ 54 bail rotary dairy, concrete platform, cup removers, Protrack system ▪ Expecting 210,000kgMS this season from 580-600 cows ▪ All Resource Consents in place, and it is not in a Horizons ‘Priority Catchment’ ▪ Three houses and a wide range of support buildings including a 600 cow feedpad ▪ A great network of races to the 45 paddocks, the majority within 1.5km of the dairy ▪ Well located around 10km from Pahiatua and 30-35 minutes from Palmerston North

At $34,000/ effective ha it must also appeal for beef and cropping enterprises. Comprehensive Information Memorandum available on request

Richard Anderson

M 027 543 1610 E richarda@ruralandlifestylesales.com

www.ruralandlifestylesales.com

Web ID RAL711

Robert Dabb

M 027 255 3992 E robertd@ruralandlifestylesales.com

www.ruralandlifestylesales.com RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

NEW LISTING

Looking for the complete package?

We’ve got you covered with digital and print options.

2480REHP

Contact Shirley Howard phone 06 323 0760, email shirley.howard@globalhq.co.nz

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

OTEKAIEKE, WAITAKI VALLEY 92 Doctors Creek Road - Location - Production • • • • •

92.8002ha FH (multiple titles) flat to easy undulating contour, 16 main paddocks Irrigation approx 44ha pivot, 16ha K-line, 23ha border-dyke, Kurow-Duntron Irrigation Co. 36 ASHB, plus full complement of farm buildings Attractive four bedroom residence in private scenic setting Historic production, 2018/19 - 168,897 kgMS, achieved whilst incorporating adjoining leased land which is currently available for purchase

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 4.00pm, Tuesday 21 January

John Sinnamon M 027 457 0710

pggwre.co.nz/OAM31569 PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

Helping grow the country

NZ’s #1 Agri Job Board

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

Operations Manager or Contract Milker

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

GENERAL MANAGER – Hawke’s Bay

With a 560ha dairy platform and run-off this farm is set up to achieve exceptional dairying results. Running a system three and currently being a self-contained unit, we seek a person that can manage and lead an already great team, be proactive and agile in on-farm decision making and have proven problem-solving skills.

Apatu Farms operate a multi-dimensional Agribusiness throughout Hawke’s Bay. Our Livestock division consists 700ha of breeding and finishing country which is supported by 900ha winter lamb finishing platform working in conjunction with strategic cropping programs.

The business demands a high level of integration between systems.

This farm has scope for improved performance with good soils and a balance of hill and flat paddocks bordering the Pomahaka River. The farm has good infrastructure and plant with a rotary and herringbone cowshed, there is excellent housing for the whole team and the reputation of being a good employer to be upheld.

The operation comprises of the cropping platform on the Heretaunga plains and pastoral properties all within close proximity of Hastings, providing an added attraction to live in a Hawke’s Bay.

We have a real focus on profit, people, process and performance while animal welfare, environmental management and health & safety are critical to the farming company values and feature as part of every decision made within the business.

This position is about increasing performance and working with a great team… contact us today Applications close 20th December 2019 Please email your CV to Rhondda McMullen, FarmRight Ltd Email: rmcmullen@farmright.co.nz.

FARM MANAGER

The following experience, responsibilities and skills required are: • Day-to-day grazing management • Minimum of 5 years drystock experience • Excellence in animal husbandry, stock handling and feed budgeting • Self-motivated with a strong work ethic • Farm repairs and maintenance skills • Forward planning and high level communication skills • Accuracy and attention to detail with tallies and stock movements • Ability to assess pasture covers and stocking rates • Ability to work autonomously and achieve required deadlines • 4-6 dogs capable of yard work and mustering

A job description is available on request.

For more information on the Trust go to: www.waipaoa.co.nz Applications should include a letter of introduction, an updated CV and a completed employment application. The job description and employment application form, if not requested separately, will be provided on receipt of an application.

BDO Gisborne are managing the recruitment and questions can be directed to linda.paulson@bdo.co.nz Closing date: 17th December 2019

A 3 bedroom house located in close proximity could be available, if required.

REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY

Parengarenga Station

Parengarenga Incorporation is a Maori Incorporation based in Te Kao in the Far North (70km north of Kaitaia) that manages $52m of farm and forestry assets on behalf of 3000 shareholders. Its vision is “Being a world class business of the land and sea, growing our people and communities, shaping the future of the Far North”. The station is 5100 effective hectares of rolling pasture, 37,000 stock units of premium Angus, Charolais, Hereford cross and an early lambing Texel /Dorsett flock. The Farm currently employs 14 people who are passionate about the farm and the local environment.

There is flexibility for the duties to be split and undertaken from “Moonlight” and Gisborne. In general, the successful candidate will be expected to spend three days and three nights each week working from the Moonlight site, with other days each week potentially being worked from elsewhere. The 2020 academic year at Waipaoa commences on 18th January. We would like the successful candidate to start as early as possible in 2020 as the candidates existing circumstances permit.

EMPLOYMENT

Please email a cover letter and C.V to sonia@apatugroup.com or phone Tim Agnew for a confidential chat on 021 320 598.

Application close 10 January 2020

Parengarenga Incorporation is looking for an experienced people-focused Farm Manager to manage the Incorporation’s large beef and sheep farm.

This is a permanent position.

Our General Manager will be responsible for all aspects of the Trust by supporting the strategy and working collaboratively with all stakeholders to achieve stated outcomes. This role clearly defines governance and management accountabilities. This includes managing achievement of stakeholder KPIs, sourcing funding opportunities, managing Trust infrastructure as well as overseeing guardianship of Cadets.

This is a permanent position and remuneration will be dependent on skills and experience.

Please print clearly LK0100461©

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The Board of Directors are very proactive and engaged in the business and will support a high performing Operations Manager or Contract Milker in their role.

The Waipaoa Station Farm Cadet Training Trust is a charitable trust. It runs a two-year residential land-based agricultural training programme to NZQA standards for young people starting a career in farming. Their training initiatives are nationally recognised and lead the way in creating well rounded quality graduates to add value to farming businesses from day one.

Reporting to the Chair of the Board, you will be involved in strategy, setting budgets, planning fundraisers, and monitoring programme and cadet progress to meet academic goals.

We are looking for a motivated and experienced Stock Manager to be part of a small team to help run this dynamic and efficient livestock business through quality livestock and resource management.

This is a syndicated farm so the role is supported by the FarmRight Team.

FarmRight have a vast amount of expertise in dairy farming management and provide the support to run and manage a large scale dairy farm operation.

We are focused on appointing a proven high performer and the “best fit” candidate for this position so the management structure of the role has been left flexible at the application stage. Applicants must hold NZ residency. Start date 1 June 2020 or earlier if applicable.

Do you want to play an integral role in preparing motivated young people for their career in farming?

Stock Manager

Name: Phone: Address:

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

JOBS BOARD

Email: Heading: Advert to read:

Contract Milker

We do our own excavations, our own drainage, our own fencing and our own water reticulation and we have a substantial workshop to service all of our machinery.

Farm Manager General Manager

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 5 to 10 years experience at a senior level in a large-scale beef and sheep farm environment. Stock management and animal welfare knowledge must be of the highest standard

NZ-Ireland Exchange Programme

This person appointed will need to be people-focused, strong on communication and with outstanding leadership skills who is comfortable operating in a collaborative environment where team members in turn feel comfortable contributing.

Operations Manager or

The person appointed must also be computer literate and be familiar with up to date farming systems such as Farmax and FarmIQ.

Private Retreat Managers

Contract Milker Shepherd

The Farm Manager is a member of the Farm Advisory Committee, is involved in developing strategic and operational plans and provides regular reports and updates for the Committee on all matters impacting on the success of the farm.

*conditions apply

Contact Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

For further information, a Position Description or to submit an application email Allen Pascoe at tekao@bigpond.com

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This role comes with spacious accommodation and a competitive employment package wrapped up in a great lifestyle.

*FREE upload to Farmers Weekly jobs: farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

LK0100565©

From the farm gate, there is transport to local schools and a local village (Te Kao) is just 20 minutes down the road with Kaitaia a further 45 minutes away. We stretch from coast to coast, so it is never far to a beach. The Farm borders Parengarenga Harbour with easy access to great fishing.

Stock Manager

Applications close at 5pm on Friday 17 January 2020

We got noticed!

“ We advertised a client’s employment vacancy in the Farmers Weekly. The ad was well positioned. Service Matt – Ryan, Thomas & Co, chartered accountants (Advertised for a Shepherd on behalf of a client)

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

LK0100571©

We are inviting a professional Operations Manager or Contract Milker to apply for this fantastic dairy farm opportunity just outside Tapanui, West Otago. Just 15 minutes from Tapanui and 30 minutes from Gore the area offers a positive rural living environment.

“

and communication were to a high standard.

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

Auto delivery Bait Station for Possums and Rats www.ecoland.co.nz

Ph: 021 326 563

CRAIGCO

powered by

Noticeboard

Underground Locators Power  Phone Gas  Water Cables  Drains PVC & Steel Pipes www.pathfinder.kiwi.nz

021 08 959 158

SHEEP JETTERS SHEEP JETTERS SINCE 1992

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

DAGS .25c PER KG. Replacement woolpacks.

PV Weber Wools.

Kawakawa Road, Feilding. Phone 06 323 9550.

ANIMAL HEALTH

CHILLERS & FREEZERS

CRAIGCO SENSOR JET

ANIMAL HANDLING

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

[For farmers and hunters]

DOLOMITE NZ’s finest BioGro certified Mg fertiliser For a delivered price call ....

udly NZ Madew Pro Since 1975 Guaranteed Performance Save time and Money . Flystrike and Lice cost $$$ Quick to Set up . Easy to use . Job Done

021 441 180 (JC) frigidair@xtra.co.nz

www.craigcojetters.com

For information see TradeMe#2251190054

When only the best will do!

2 YEAR WARRANTY. NZ ASSEMBLED. ELECTRIC START & QUALITY YOU CAN RELY ON

TOWABLE FLAIL MOWER GST $4400 INCLUSIVE

12Hp Diesel. Electric Start

11.5HP Briggs & Stratton Motor.

Industrial. Electric start.

GST $4200 INCLUSIVE

50 TON WOOD SPLITTER

GST $4200 INCLUSIVE

To find out more visit www.moamaster.co.nz

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

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TOWABLE TOPPING MOWER

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13.5HP. Briggs & Stratton Motor. Electric start.

1.2m cut

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.

DEERLAND TRADING LTD DEERLAND TRADING LTD buying deer velvet this season and paying above the average. Also contractor required to buy deer velvet. Payment on commission basis. Contact 021 269 7608.

DOGS FOR SALE

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Robust construction. Auto shut gate. Adjustable V panels Total 20 Jets. Lambs 5 jets. Side jets for Lice.

Davey Twin Impeller Pump. 6.5 or 9.0 Hp motors

06 8356863 . 021 061 1800

0800 436 566

CONTRACTORS

Heavy duty long lasting Ph 021 047 9299

2½-YEAR-OLD Huntaway, well bred, needs work.

Good around mob and yards. Good potential.

Located Hunterville. Phone Geoff 027 274 1478.

4-YEAR-OLD Heading bitch, fully broken in. $3500. Phone 03 489 1617.

Otago.

9-WEEK-OLD Heading pup. Stationbred, proven cross. $200. Phone 06 376 6254.

END OF YEAR clearance sale. Delivering Northland to Southland 13th - 16th December. 30 day trial.

Ask your neighbours! www.youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553.

HUNTAWAYS WORKING. One Huntaway would suit cattle. Good noise and temperament.

YOUNG Heading dog ready to start.

Phone 06 388 0212 or 027 243 8541.

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

FORESTRY

DOGS FOR SALE KELPIE DOG, r&t, 3 months. $650. Phone 09 439 6720. Dargaville.

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

12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195.

BUYING OVER HOLIDAYS. No one buys or pays more! Mike Hughes. 07 315 5553.

HANDY DOG OR HEAD and Hunt, for mature flat farm, prefer bitch. Phone 0274 448 103.

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.

FARM SITTING SEMI-RETIRED farmer available to farm sit all types of farms - sheep, beef, dairy. Own dogs, quad bike and 4x4 ute. Husband/wife team can feed pets, water/ weed gardens as well. Call Dan and Wendy on 07 877 8686 or email weinberg@ orcon.net.nz

FORESTRY WANTED

NATIVE FOREST FOR MILLING also Macrocarpa and Red Gum, New Zealand wide.

We can arrange permits and plans. Also after milled timber to purchase.

NEW ZEALAND NATIVE TIMBER SUPPLIERS (WGTN) LIMITED 04 293 2097 Richard.

Water Filter Systems

• Town or Tank Water • Chlorine Removal

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

GOATS WANTED

DAIRY WEANERS OR heifers.

Approx 100 weaners or 60 dairy heifers.

Feilding / Palmerston North.

Phone 027 223 6156.

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

LEASE LAND WANTED GRAZING OR DAIRY. Looking for a suitable farm in the lower North Island. Any size up to approximately 500 acres.

Experienced in leasing.

Phone 027 223 6156.

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556.

MACHINERY FOR SALE FARMALL CUB. $4,500 going. Phone John 021 063 9041. Bay of Plenty.

PERSONAL

NAKI GOATS. Trucking goats to the works every week throughout the NI. Phone Michael and Clarice.

027 643 0403.

GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds.

Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten.

Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis.

LOOKING FOR GOOD woman to marry between ages 47 - 79. I am 57 years old. Only sincere persons apply. Please email bio with recent photo: happinessisfreefirm@ gmail.com

RAMS FOR SALE WILTSHIRE & SHIRE® Meat rams. Low input. www.wiltshire-rams.co.nz 03 225 5283.

NOTICEBOARD

• No Expensive Cartridges

ADVERTISING

• Installer Network

Have something to sell?

Advertise in Farmers Weekly

SHOP ONLINE

Ph 09 376 0860 www.jder-cintropur.co.nz

INTEGRATED VEHICLE wood chipper for local chipping of trimmed/ cut branches. NZ Patent 713280.

Easily driven to work site, operates independent of tractor or large truck/trailer combination solutions.

Retains material on-site for natural recycling without the carbon footprint of transporting the slash/ scrub cuttings. Minimizes volume of material from piles of cuttings. Contact: Silver Crags Engineering at richard.w.finney@gmail. com

GRAZING AVAILABLE

FOR SALE

TM

• Whole House

PINE WOODLOT VALUES Ltd. If you’re thinking of logging your pine woodlot, our totally independent assessment will tell you what you’ve got, what its worth, and how to achieve your share. Contact Ray Hindrup 027 353 4515 or hindrup.logs@gmail.com – www.pinewoodlotvalues. co.nz

FORESTRY/ SCRUB CUTTING

DOGS WANTED

LK0099618©

40

Phone Debbie Brown 0800 85 25 80 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

The best gift for every farmer this Christmas!!

Helping all farmers & growers (incl dairy, sheep and beef, arable & horticulture) to eliminate waste, save time, cut costs using proven lean tools.

“Reading The Lean Dairy Farm may be your best investment ever.”

Juliet Maclean, farmer and co-founder, OnSide and Synlait

Available at Paperplus & Whitcoulls & online at www.leanfarm.nz RRP $39.95

Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

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

41

Nature’s Gift For Baby

LK0100078©

The Original Victorian Style Drying Rack

The perfect gift : Merino blankets

The most enjoyable way to dry your washing fast and easy all while saving the planet!

3 sizes available

Join over 3000 satisfied Kiwis …

Lifestyle Products • www.lifestyleproducts.co.nz 0800 75 49 86 • info@lifestyleproducts.co.nz

HOLIDAYS

LK0100573©

FOR FARMERS 2020R

Next Stop BRAZIL

to 3 MA AR M 31 TUES

FRI 1

Just $98 incl GST

• 100% Merino • Simplicity of design • Classical styling • Attention to detail • Totally natural

WEBSITE

Phone: +64 21 682 590 Email: naturesgiftforbaby@gmail.com livestock@globalhq.co.nz– 0800 85 25 80

www.crmcphail.co.nz EMAIL

enquiries@crmcphail.co.nz PHONE

(06) 357 1644

Livestock Noticeboard

Rathbone Beltex & Dutch Texels

PAKI-ITI ROMNEY

PAKI-ITI RAMS

PAKI-ITI ROMNEY

PAKI-ITI ROMTEX

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

• Breeding for constitution, structural soundness and performance • All round performance – fertility, growth, ewe efficiency, survival • Five year lambing average – 150% unshepherded

Are ewe looking in the right direction?

PAKI-ITI ROMTEX Enhanced growth and meat yield option Rams sold from a stabilised flock focused on fertility Added benefits of hardiness Rams sold as 22ths

paki-iti.co.nz

Visit to view our breeding programs

Stewart Morton 06 328 5772 • Andrew Morton 06 328 2856 RD 54 Kimbolton, Manawatu • pakiroms@farmside.co.nz

LK0100579©

• • • •

Meat the Modern Hampshire Breed Qualities: Early Maturity LK0100504©

High Yielding Easy Lambing

Call HANNAH 0800 85 25 80

livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Northland Flock 98 Hawke’s Bay Flock 261 Flock 267 Canterbury Flock 260 Flock 144 Flock 1 Flock 265 Otago Flock 233 Flock 246 Southland Flock 259 Flock 242 Flock 223

• Improve carcass quality and conformation of finished fat lambs with double muscled genetics • Frozen semen and pedigree/purebred ewes available for embryo flushing • Able to advise on any import requirements • Established 20 years and based in the Yorkshire Dales UK If you require further information please contact Mike or Becki Phone +447972680541 rathbonebeltexandtexel@hotmail.co.uk or visit rathbone Panbeck beltex

LK0100326©

• 160 clients purchased or leased Paki-iti rams last year • Rams bred on a 870ha hard hill country property rising up to 637m asl (2090f asl)

LIST OF REGISTERED HAMPSHIRE BREEDERS A D & B I & G J D & V J Priest, Hikurangi 09 433 4703 Michael & Sheryl Vette, Waipawa Kevin and Christine Mawson, Hastings

027 210 0485 027 1136 354

B J Butterick, Kaituna L A Cairns, Rakaia C & R Knubley, Fairlie S I & H A Mangin, Methven

021 067 9594 03 302 1825 03 685 5778 03 302 8073

D M & A K Dodd, Ranfurly D C Greer, Ranfurly

03 444 9615 03 444 9533

W J Ayers, Wyndham G M Macfarlane, Te Anau M J & J F Mouat, Gore

0272 264 290 027 329 8703 027 480 9570

www.nzsheep.co.nz/hampshire

42

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

Livestock Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – December 9, 2019

SALE TALK "Maximising your return through personal livestock management"

"Maximising your return through personal livestock management"

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

Are you looking in the right direction?

Call HANNAH

_______________________________

byllivestock.co.nz

byllivestock

07 823 4559

0800 85 25 80

_______________________________

byllivestock.co.nz

07 823 4559

livestock@globalhq.co.nz

A guy walks into a bar, sits down and has a drink.

Suddenly, a man hollers at him, “I kissed with your mum last night!”

Disturbed, the man tries to ignore him. Again, he hears, “Your mum’s a great kisser!”

Again, he tries to ignore it.

The man is just about to speak again but the guy stops him and says, “Dad, go home, you’re drunk!”

Here at Farmers Weekly we get some pretty funny contributions to our Sale Talk joke from you avid readers, and we’re keen to hear more!

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 credit it to you.

Conditions apply

byllivestock

Weekly Auctions Wednesday night – North Island Thursday night – South Island Talk to one of our 180 accredited assessors from 7 livestock agencies about listing your stock on bidr.

Go to bidr.co.nz and click on the link “Find a bidr Assessor” or contact the bidr® team on 0800 TO BIDR.

NORTH ISLAND

D’Ath Timms

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard Brandon

Brosnahan

FRIESIAN INMILK A2 CAPTIAL STOCK CLEARING SALE To be held on farm Tuesday 10th December – 11.30am start A/c Raine Farms 344 Kaohatu-Kawatiri Hway, SH 6 Motupiko DCN 30920, Nelson

Langlands

Comprising: 160 2-8yr Friesian A2 inmilk Spring Calving Cows.

Due to a change in farming policy, Raine Farms offer their entire spring calving herd for sale. All cows are A2/A2. The herd is milked once a day off hill country at Motupiko, Nelson. This is a great opportunity to purchase capital A2 stock which have produced 152 milk solids to date in 110 days which includes the autumn calvers. Cows have been mated to LIC KiwiX and Friesian bulls due to calve from 7th August 2020. The cows come forward in good condition and will transition back to twice a day milking. Currently producing 1.63ms/cow with an avg SCC of 114,000. This is a very young line up of cows with 145 hd being 5 years and younger which will shift extremely well.

Otoi

Longview Harding Henricksen Robbie Gaskin Te Awaiti

de Vos

Catalogues available

Route posted

Light luncheon supplied

All enquiries to: NZ Farmers Livestock Agent James Perkins 027 232 8052

Anderson

LK0100465©

Brandon, Philip & Audrey – Otorohanga. P: 07 873 6313 Bryant, Maree – Urenui. P: 06 752 3701 Frank, Wayne – Waitara. P: 06 754 4311 Jury, Chris – Waitara. P: 06 754 6672 Langlands, Neil & Linda – Taumarunui. P: 07 896 8660 MacFarlane, James – Stratford. P: 06 762 5880 Proffit, Russell & Mavis – Mahoneui. P: 027 355 2927 Brosnahan, Sean – Ohope. P: 06 864 4468 Harding, Judy – Woodville. P: 06 376 4751 Otoi Farming Co – Wairoa. P: 06 838 7398 Longview – Maxwell, Graeme & Sue – Tutira. P: 06 839 7412 Proffit Gaskin, Rob & Heather – Levin. P: 06 368 0623 Henricksen, John & Carey – Pongaroa. P: 06 374 3888 Bryant D’Ath, Warren – Palmerston North. P: 06 354 8951 Jury Robbie, Donald & Marlene – Eketahuna. P: 06 376 7250 Frank Te Awaiti Station – Martinborough. P: 06 307 8881 MacFarlane Timms, Gilbert – Shannon. P: 06 362 7829

James Evans

SOUTH ISLAND

Tripp/Veronese Gallagher Elliott

Oldfield

Laing

Gardyne

Jebson Newhaven France McElrea Richardson

Slee Christie/Wilson

Mitchell Hillcrest Minty

Wilson

Awakiki Ridges Mitchell, P

Diamond Peak

Ayers

6th Waterton Ram Sale Charollais, % Charollais, Suffolk and South Suffolk Rams

Tuesday 17th December 2019 Viewing from 2.30pm Helmsman Sale 4.00pm Belmont Station 50 Kerr Road, Cave South Canterbury

Hill bred Commercially farmed SIL recorded Eye Muscle Scanned Brucellosis Accredited Over 50 years breeding

18 Pure Charollais – 40 Suffolk – 16 South Suffolk – 16 Charollais Suffolk – 19 Percentage Charollais

www.perendalenz.com

For more information or a catalogue, contact:

LK0100505©

LK0100347©

McKelvie

Anderson, Tim, Sue & Edward – Cheviot. P:03 319 2730 de Vos, Cor & Belia – Wakefield. P: 03 522 4280 Elliott, Ken – Akaroa. P: 021 221 4185 Evans, Ivan & Julie – Oxford. P: 03 312 1585 Jebson, John & Melissa – Darfield. P: 03 318 3796 Gallagher, Blair – Ashburton. P: 03 303 9819 James, Warrick – Coalgate. P: 03 318 2352 Laing, Andrew & Anna – Irwell. P: 03 329 1709 Oldfield, Philip – Geraldine. P: 03 693 9877 Tripp/Veronese, Annabel & Roy – Darfield. P: 03 318 6939 Awakiki Ridges Ltd – Balclutha. P: 03 418 0645 France, Richard & Kerry – Tapanui. P:03 204 8339 Gardyne, Robert – Oturehua. P: 03 444 5032 McElrea, Mike – Tapanui. P: 027 242 9376 Newhaven Farms – Oamaru. P: 03 432 4154 Mitchell Hillcrest – Clinton. P: 03 415 7187 Richardson, Allan – Tapanui. P: 03 204 2134 Ayers, Warren – Wyndham. P: 027 226 4290 Christie Wilson P/s – Gore. P: 03 208 1789 Diamond Peak – Gore. P: 03 208 1030 McKelvie Ltd – Wyndham. P: 027 249 6905 Minty, John & Judith – Otautau. P: 03 225 4631 Mitchell, Philip & Christine – Tokanui.P:03 246 8881 Slee, Hayden & Kate – Te Anau. P: 03 249 9097 Wilson, Pip – Gore. P: 027 207 2882

Chris Hampton PWA PWA PGGW 03 614 3330 Wayne Andrews Snow Buckley Greg Uren 027 202 5679 027 484 8232 027 561 4652 027 431 4051 cahampton@xtra.co.nz Linsday Holland Simon Eddington 027 266 0648 027 590 8612 Also on www.peterwalsh.co.nz

STOCK FOR SALE FRSN BULL CALVES 105kg+

1YR FRSN BULLS 380-460kg CAP STOCK 2YR ANG HEIFERS 440kg

Livestock Noticeboard Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook

Registration for tours close 20th December.

Conference registration close 30th January.

Register now at nzwhc.co.nz

FOR SALE

STOCK REQUIRED

YOUNG TO MIXED AGE -

BREEDING EWES

1YR FRSN BULLS 300-350kg www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

180 G3 xbred cows BW128 PW177 42 G3 i/c hfrs BW150 PW173 2.32kg M/S dtc 14/7/20 15 purebred hfd ic cows dtc 1/1/20 20 purebred ic hfd cows dtc 1/3/20 Brad Devlin 027 498 1203

BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM WORLD HEREFORD CONFERENCE QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND 9TH – 13TH MARCH 2020

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

27TH ANNUAL ON FARM WEANED CALF AUCTION A/C INVERNIA HOLDINGS GEORGETOWN, NORTH OTAGO 1.30pm, Tuesday 4th February 2019

Lot 1 10.12kg SA2

Henshaw 11.10kg SA2 5yrs

Harlem 5yrs

Lot 2 8.97kg SA2

33rd Annual

Elite Red Deer Sale

15th January 2020 1.30pm

Comprising approx: • 800 Friesian Bull Calves • 60 Friesian 18 month Bulls All calves de-horned, drenched and weaned off nurse cows in December.

TB Status C10.

1% Rebate to outside companies.

Further enquiries Simon Vernon 027 405 8248 Mark Yeates 027 5904 217, A/H 03 434 7980 PGG Wrightson Oamaru

Bronx 17.28kg SA2 4 yrs

Master Sire Wardlaw

28x 3yr old Sire Stags - top weight 11.28kg SA 70x 2yr old Velvet Stags 40 x 13 month old recorded hinds Catalogue available at www.netherdale.co.nz

David Stevens 03 201 6330 | 0274 331 383 | netherdale@xtra.co.nz Helping grow the country

www.netherdale.co.nz

Ben Beadle 0277 281 052 or your local PGG Wrightsons agent

ARDG vs Industry ARDG - DPX ARDG - NZMW Industry - DPX Industry - NZMW

LK0100514©

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

MARKET SNAPSHOT

44

Market Snapshot brought to you by the AgriHQ analysts.

Suz Bremner

Mel Croad

Nicola Dennis

Cattle

Reece Brick

Graham Johnson

Caitlin Pemberton

Sheep

BEEF

William Hickson

Deer

SHEEP MEAT

VENISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

6.30

6.30

5.50

NI lamb (17kg)

8.90

9.00

7.90

NI Stag (60kg)

8.80

8.90

10.80

NI Bull (300kg)

6.45

6.50

5.00

NI mutton (20kg)

6.20

6.20

4.90

SI Stag (60kg)

8.80

8.90

10.80

NI Cow (200kg)

4.90

4.95

3.85

SI lamb (17kg)

9.00

9.00

7.70

SI Steer (300kg)

6.10

6.10

5.25

SI mutton (20kg)

6.45

6.50

4.90

SI Bull (300kg)

6.25

6.15

4.80

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

4.75

4.75

3.75

UK CKT lamb leg

11.54

11.60

8.74

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

Export markets (NZ$/kg) US imported 95CL bull

10.48

11.01

6.48

US domestic 90CL cow

8.35

8.38

6.30

6.5

7.0

10.5 South Island lamb slaughter price

$/kg CW South Island steer slaughter price

$/kg CW

7.0

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb

Apr 2018-19

Coarse xbred ind.

Apr

5-yr ave

Jun

2018-19

Dairy

Aug 2019-20

Jun

Last week

Prior week

Last year

-

-

2.87

WMP

Last price* 3285

3355 3005

2930

AMF

4750

5150

5075

Butter

4050

4150

4050

Milk Price

7.44

7.50

7.38

787

778

Top 10 by Market Cap Company

400

320

Oct-18

3285

3080

787

DAP

vs 4 weeks ago

SMP

315

-

Dec-18

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

YTD High

4.96

5.54

3.38

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

21.58

22.21

12.3

The a2 Milk Company Limited

15.1

18.04

10.42

Auckland International Airport Limited

8.87

9.9

7.065

Spark New Zealand Limited

4.46

4.705

3.54

Ryman Healthcare Limited

15.37

15.48

10.4

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

4.78

5.62

3.51

Contact Energy Limited

7.19

9.05

5.82

Port of Tauranga Limited

6.71

6.9

4.9

Fletcher Building Limited

5.06

5.55

4.28

Company

Close

YTD High

YTD Low

15.1

18.04

10.42

420

Comvita Limited

2.8

5.42

2.5

Delegat Group Limited

11.4

12.5

9.4

4

4.85

3.15

400

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

380 360

Foley Wines Limited

1.89

2

1.47

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

0.8

1.08

0.75

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

0.199

0.24

0.192

340

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

2.2

2.98

1.76

320

PGG Wrightson Limited

2.39

2.52

0.47

Sanford Limited (NS)

7.7

7.8

6.35

Dec-18

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

Scales Corporation Limited

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL

3350

$/tonne

US$/t

3300 3250 3200 3150

Jan Feb Latest price

Mar

Apr 4 weeks ago

May

5.45

4.34

0.003

0.001

Seeka Limited

4.7

5.35

4.2

9.29

11.35

8.45

T&G Global Limited

300

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity Index

280

4.9 0.002

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

320

2.76

2.81

2.43

16615

17434

15063

S&P/NZX 50 Index

11258

11317

8732

S&P/NZX 10 Index

11112

11228

8280

260 240 220

Dec

5pm, close of market, Thursday

The a2 Milk Company Limited

SeaDragon Limited

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

YTD Low

440

Oct-18

* price as at close of business on Thursday

Close

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

Listed Agri Shares

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY Prior week

650

314

-

$/tonne

Nearby contract

616

314

-

Nov-19

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T)

616

30 micron lamb

360 Sep-19 Sept. 2020

Urea

2.80

$/tonne

6.25

Last year

-

440

Jul-19

Aug 2019-20

Prior week

-

480

Mar-19 May-19 Sept. 2019

Jun

Last week

37 micron ewe

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

6.75

NZ average (NZ$/t)

Super

7.25

Jan-19

Apr 2018-19

Fertiliser

Aug 2019-20

Grain

Data provided by

MILK PRICE FUTURES

5.75

Feb

FERTILISER

(NZ$/kg)

5.0

$/kg MS

Oct

WOOL

Feb

Dec

6.0

5.5

Dec

Oct

5-yr ave

5.0

Oct

8.5

6.5

8.0

6.0

4.5

9.5

7.5

9.0

6.5

South Island stag slaughter price

11.5

10.0

4.5

8.5

8.0

5.0

5.0

9.5

7.5

6.0

5.5

Last year

10.5

$/kg CW

$/kg CW

6.0

Last week Prior week

North Island stag slaughter price

11.5

9.0 $/kg CW

North Island steer slaughter price

6.5

North Island lamb slaughter price

10.0

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Ingrid Usherwood

200

Oct-18

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Dec-18

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

16615

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

11258

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

11112

45

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019 NI SLAUGHTER LAMB ( $/KG)

8.90

NI SLAUGHTER STEER ( $/KG)

6.30

SI SLAUGHTER BULL ( $/KG)

6.25

YEARLING TRADITIONAL STEERS, 320KG AVERAGE, AT MATAWHERO ( $/KG LW)

3.69

DON’T STOP HERE...

If you love the information you get from these pages, you will love AgriHQ’s livestock reports.

DOING HIS SUMS: Gareth Coutts runs his eye over the offering at Simon Smith’s on-farm store lamb sale last week near Gore. Prices were up on last year, which reflected the higher schedule and abundant feed.

NORTH ISLAND

I

T’S been a very warm 26C to 28C in Northland over the past few days.

The region is a dry green and there’s lots of seedy grass around. The cattle market is wavering but prices are still reasonably firm though animals are harder to sell.

Around Pukekohe brief rain at the beginning of last week gave way to fine weather with daytime temperatures up to 25C so irrigators have been in action.

More fields of onions are maturing and though still green, their tops are being clipped off in the field in preparation for sale. Potato growers are having a good run with their harvest.

Waikato’s become a bit dry in the past week but good rain, forecast for the weekend, should help set farms up well for summer. Maize crops will appreciate a good drink. Farmer morale has been given a much-needed boost by Fonterra’s announcement of a $7.30 mid point payout. Land values for dairy farms are stagnant.

In Bay of Plenty there was rain earlier in the week but it was patchy and the luckiest spots received only about 20mm.

It’s been warm and sunny otherwise and young stock have loved it. Bay of Plenty is 500mm short of its annual rainfall tally, which is a bit of a worry now summer has arrived. Some hill-country farmers report their dams are dry. Zespri announced this week 150 hectares of its new red kiwifruit will be planted. Till now there have been only trial blocks.

Taranaki farms soaked up moderate to heavy rain on Tuesday but many areas need more and farmers hoped it would come at the weekend. Milk production is holding up well.

Gisborne has had a lot of hot days and a lot of wind. There are still good feed levels but with very good lambing results there’s a lot of demand for it. Farmers are not panicking but are quietly sending lambs off to the works while the money is good. They’re probably sending a few more than usual and at slightly lighter weights. We’re told prices are magic at $2000 for good steers and $170 for lambs.

Hawke’s Bay has been the same almost every day for a month – hot, sunny and generally windy. Grape growers are walking around with smiles on their faces.

They say they used to have springs like this 15 years ago but they disappeared.

The region had 100mm of rain in mid October, grass took off and a lot of hay has been made. There’s still plenty of long, dry grass around, which is a fire risk. Grapes have had a very short flowering. Growers are now opening up canopies to get a bit more sun on the fruit.

Wairapapa needs decent rain after hot windy conditions. Store lamb prices are still respectable but they’ve taken a bit of a dive, down $25 a head in the last fortnight. Cull ewes are fetching marvellous money at $193 for ewes killing out at 32kg. The farmer we speak to says, in a lifetime of farming, he’s never seen prices like it. In 1985 and 1986 cull ewes were worth $6 each. Crops are establishing well but rabbits are a problem. They tuck into the young crops and the farmer says he’s been shooting about 20 a week.

Things are looking pretty good in Horowhenua. It’s had welcome moisture and temperatures in the low 20Cs. Maize has gone in late and a lot of balage is being made. Milk production’s on par with last year. Asparagus should still be available at Christmas. Usually supplies are dwindling by then but because it was such a cold spring the plants still have a bit of energy left and will keep on producing.

SOUTH ISLAND A hop grower at Tapawera in Nelson says the focus has been on getting the growing hop vines trained up the strings.

It’s the most labour-intensive part of the year. It’s important to have each variety trained up at their optimum age for perfect growth and has to be completed in a very small window of time. Soil fertility, weed control and moisture management all play their part. Good rains have been well received recently but wind has made spraying for weeds difficult. The grower says hop gardens are a beautiful

environment to be in from now to harvest and are a credit to those who have been working in them.

On a sheep farm in the Marlborough Sounds the winds have been strong, fresh and ongoing. Our contact says he’s lucky to have had some reasonable rain so moving into summer things are looking pretty tidy feed-wise. The dry could come quickly though because they’ve not had as much rain as usual. Meat demand couldn’t be stronger and most local farms will be heading straight to weaning – drafting off their heavier works lambs and looking after animal health. It’s usually a sprint to finish before the Christmas break.

A farmer at Lake Brunner on the West Coast says he recorded 300mm of rain last week with 150mm forecast for Saturday. Paddocks are sodden, plants are under stress and cows are on stand-off pads. He says his farm’s a mess and milk production’s dropped as a consequence.

Most farmers are still trying to get crops in and silage off.

Canterbury had a fierce week of weather with strong northwest winds and high temperatures. Even with full irrigation, farmers are battling to keep soil moisture up. Grass growth has also slowed over the last couple weeks to the point where some dairy farmers have begun feeding out again.

A Taieri farmer in Otago says the first round of AI’s done so he’s getting the cows checked to see which ones are in calf. He’s made two cuts of balage so far and he’s hoping to do one more before the new year. The ground’s heavy after a lot of rain last week but the grass is growing well with milk production up a few percent on last year.

Southland’s had a mixed bag of weather. A farmer at Waimahaka says he’s finally got his crops in. He’s planted kale, fodder beet, grass and a kale/ radish hybrid called Raphno. There’s still some balage to be made too. Artificial insemination’s going well. There’s another week or so to go then bulls take over. Milk production’s on par with last year. Lambs are being drenched and are due to be weaned after Christmas.

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

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

Dry weather affects store lambs market Rapidly drying paddocks across eastern areas of the North Island are affeccting the store lamb market as supply increases but demand tapers off.

Short-term lambs are still making adequate returns but more long-term lambs are coming forward and are meeting very limited interest.

Most sale yards reported a $10-$15 a head drop on top of softer markets the previous week.

NORTHLAND Wellsford store cattle sale • Two-year traditional steers, 435-544kg, earned $3.00-$3.05/kg • Two-year beef-dairy heifers, 415-458kg, softened to $2.89-$3.00/ kg • Ten yearling Simmental-cross steers, 311kg, earned $3.34/kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 340-343kg, fetched $3.00/kg • Yearling Friesian bulls, 343kg, held at $3.06/kg Throughput increased to 920 head at WELLSFORD last Monday. Quality was mixed throughout, though those with substance and type were well sought. Two-year beefdairy steers, 418-650kg, varied from $2.96/kg to $3.11/kg.

Angus heifers, 445-481kg, returned $2.97-$3.05/kg. Yearling Angus and Angus-Hereford steers, 328-358kg, traded at an improved but varied $2.99/kg to $3.20/kg. HerefordFriesian, 305-396kg, earned $3.01-$3.05/kg, and 245-296kg, $3.17-$3.24/kg. Speckle Park-cross heifers, 204-264kg, realised $2.84-$2.94/kg.

Angus-Friesian sold in two bands as 298-330kg earned $2.79-$2.95/kg, and 256-260kg, $2.44-$2.46/kg. HerefordFriesian, 253-258kg, softened to $2.77-$2.83/kg and Hereford-Jersey, 219-324kg, $2.61-$2.68/kg.

Kaikohe cattle • Better two-year beef steers held at $3.00-$3.17/kg • Two-year Hereford-cross and beef-cross bulls held at $3.10-$3.32/ kg • Top two-year beef heifers held at $3.00/kg • Yearling traditional and beef-cross heifers held at $3.00/kg • Beef cows with calves-at-foot earned $1100-$1200 per unit Continuing dry conditions meant that buyers were cautious at KAIKOHE last Wednesday, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. Heavier cattle held on last sale, though lighter types softened for most. Second cut twoyear beef steers managed $2.85-$2.90/kg. Fifteen-month Friesian and better beef-cross bulls returned $3.10-$3.20/ kg, with lesser types at $2.60-$2.75/kg. Top yearling beefcross steers held at $3.15-$3.30/kg, with lighter lines at $2.90-$3.00/kg; with their heifer counterparts softening to $2.60/kg to $2.80/kg. Weaner Maine-Anjou bulls, 120kg, fetched $610, with Angus and Hereford-Friesian at $550$600.

Heifers traded at $380-$490.

AUCKLAND Pukekohe cattle • Prime steers improved to $2.94-$3.23/kg • Prime heifers lifted to $3.04-$3.17/kg • Good steers sold well at $1,035-$1,330; $3.00/kg to $3.39/kg • Good 15-month beef-dairy heifers strengthened to $2.85-$3.17/kg • Boner cows traded at $1.93/kg to $2.20/kg A stifling hot day at PUKEKOHE on Saturday November 30 did not deter buyers, with most cattle enjoying improved results. Good feed levels and forecasted rain has helped restore buyer confidence. Lighter 15-month steers sold at improved levels of $2.96/kg to $3.59/kg. Medium weaner steers held at $550-$685, though heifers softened to $430$530.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Good 370kg Angus heifers fetched $3.09/kg • Friesian bulls, 505kg, sold well at $3.25/kg • Prime steers traded up to $3.26/kg.

• Charolais heifers, 535kg, made $3.17/kg About 650 store cattle were yarded at TUAKAU last Thursday and the market firmed, PGG Wrightson agent Chris Elliott reported. Most 350-550kg steers traded at $2.80-$3.20/kg, though top Hereford-Friesian made $3.70/ kg. Lighter 200-300kg steers ranged from $3.00/kg to $3.50/ kg. Off-coloured weaners, 160-180kg, fetched $650-$700.

Heifers, 450-510kg, earned $2.94-$3.00/kg and most 350-

450kg made $2.70-$3.00/kg. Weaner heifers, 160-180kg, returned $665-$720. Heavy-medium beef steers averaged a softer $3.16/kg and heifers, $2.98/kg last Wednesday.

Well-conditioned boner cows sold up to $2.60/kg. Heavy beef bulls fetched $3.30-$3.68/kg, and Friesians, $3.20$3.62/kg. About 3800 ewes and lambs were presented on Monday. Prime lambs averaged $165, trading up to $248, and heavy stores $110-$141. Heavy ewes made $150-$240, and medium, $100-$150.

WAIKATO Frankton dairy-beef weaner fair • Hereford-Friesian steers, 113-115kg, improved to $600-$685 • Hereford-Friesian heifers improved with 110-155kg up to $520$535, and 98-109kg, $445-$475 • Angus-Friesian bulls, 133-147kg, managed $605-$660 • Better Hereford-Friesian bulls, 104-121kg, held at $650-$690 • Quality Speckle Park-Friesian bulls, 106-132kg, were a highlight at $700-$730 Just over 1500 weaners were penned at FRANKTON last Tuesday. Fresh buying power kept competition strong and the market improved for most. Red Hereford-Friesian heifers, 122-141kg, strengthened to $520-$535, and 100118kg, $365-$420. Hereford-dairy heifers, 111-116kg, earned $420-$475. Angus-Friesian bulls, 103-118kg, held at $535-$555, as did Charolais-Friesian, 110-133kg, $580$690. Hereford-Friesian, 101-109kg, held at $600-$640, and 91-99kg, $555-$595. Red Hereford-Friesian, 104-121kg, improved to $500-$580, as did Hereford-dairy, 100-135kg, up to $495-$530. Friesian bulls, 102-139kg, earned $430$575, with lighter 88-98kg good shopping at $367-$400.

Frankton cattle sale • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 515-545kg, eased to $3.13$3.19/kg • Two-year Hereford-Friesian heifers, 407-478kg, softened to $3.06$3.10/kg • Autumn-born yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 357-454kg, lifted to $3.07-$3.15/kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 252-301kg, improved to $3.05$3.11/kg • Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 570-627kg, eased to $3.14-$3.17/ kg Another sizeable cattle yarding sold at FRANKTON last Wednesday.

Two-year Hereford-dairy steers, 453-507kg, eased to $3.11-$3.19/kg. Angus-Friesian, 542kg, traded at $3.09/kg, and Friesian, 461-526kg, $2.97-$3.04/kg. Hereford-dairy heifers, 399-439kg, were discounted to $3.04-$3.08/kg.

Friesian-cross bulls, 369-428kg, returned $3.03-$3.10/kg.

Yearling Angus-Friesian steers, 265-331kg, earned $3.21$3.29/kg, though 12 at 285kg pushed to $3.39/kg. HerefordFriesian had mixed results as 361-397kg eased to $3.15$3.19/kg, whilst 303-322kg improved to $3.21-$3.31/kg.

Hereford-dairy, 282-298kg, realised $3.29-$3.34/kg. AngusFriesian heifers, 263-298kg, improved to $2.85-$2.87/kg, and Hereford-Friesian, 252-301kg, $3.05-$3.11/kg, though 300-410kg eased to $2.95-$3.04/kg Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 493-561kg, held at $3.08-$3.14/kg.

BAY OF PLENTY Rangiuru cattle and sheep sale • Prime Hereford steers, 640-641kg, made $3.40-$3.41/kg • Prime Hereford steers, 560kg, were $3.32/kg • Prime Hereford heifers, 586kg, fetched $3.26/kg • Three-year Angus bulls, 728kg, earned $3.64/kg • Store lambs ranged from $50-$122 The steady flow of cattle continued at the RANGIURU last Tuesday, with the market largely steady to easing. The prime pens featured double the previous week’s total at 235 head and most beef and beef-cross steers traded at $3.04/kg to $3.29/kg. Heifers eased 5-8c/kg with the bulk Hereford-Friesian, 463-491kg, $3.00-$3.05/kg. Two-year

steers, 446-490kg, all made $2.93-$2.98/kg, while yearlings sold relative to their condition, with beef-cross above 300kg priced from $2.91/kg to $3.48/kg. Steers were mostly Hereford-Friesian, 334-345kg, at $3.25-$3.33/kg.

POVERTY BAY Matawhero cattle fair • Angus and Angus-Hereford cows with calves-at-foot made $1900-$2080 per unit • Two-year traditional steers held at an average of 450kg and $3.31/kg • Yearling Angus steers, 315-335kg, eased to $3.64/kg • Yearling Angus and Angus-Hereford steers, 260kg, made $3.90$3.92/kg • One pen of yearling Angus & Angus-Hereford heifers, 275kg, held at $3.45/kg The MATAWHERO cattle sale last Tuesday was the first of the last sales for 2019, and a larger than expected 1200 head were penned. Yearlings made up the majority though prices came back, especially for steers. Top exotic heifers, 295-320kg, eased to $850-$900, $2.81-$2.88/kg, though 235kg did earn $3.19/kg. Traditional and exotic bulls largely traded at $3.02/kg to $3.21/kg.

Matawhero sheep sale • Four-tooth Romney ewes sold for $200-$218 • One line of 308 5-year Romney ewes made $192 • Medium Wiltshire male lambs made $118-$120 • Prime ewes varied from $120 to $171.

Mixed-sex lambs were in the minority at MATAWHERO last Friday, and males filled the gap. Prices were notably softer than the previous week, despite the drafted lines.

Light Wiltshire males made $73-$90, and ewe lambs of same breed, $82-$91. Other medium males sold for $105$111, and a top line reached $120.50.

A small early ewe fair was held, though only 450 were penned.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle • Three-year Hereford bulls, 690-915kg, made $3.49-$3.59/kg • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 476-532kg, sold for $3.26$3.30/kg • Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 676-752kg, earned $3.25-$3.26/kg Last Wednesday’s TARANAKI sale had a smaller yarding of cattle, and the market softened for some categories. Killable cattle continue to be sought after with prime heifers, 508637kg, earning $3.14-$3.23/kg. Competition in the store pens for 2-year heifers was softer, and the better types sold for $3.11-$3.18/kg. Beef-type yearling steers above 316kg fetched $2.90-$3.07/kg, while heifers were mostly AngusFriesian, 305-321kg, which firmed to $2.95-$2.98/kg.

Taranaki dairy-beef weaner fair • Friesian bulls, 100-115kg, eased to $405-$500 • Friesian bulls, 120-167kg, traded at $500-$600 • Hereford-Friesian bulls, 104-105kg, sold well at $600-$640 • Beef-Friesian heifers, 100-130kg, mostly sold for $430-$550 • Speckle Park-cross heifers, 100-129kg, returned $490-$570 The offering at last Thursday’s TARANAKI dairy-beef weaner fair lifted to over 1500 head. Friesian bulls were unable to match the highs of the previous fair and fell $30 per head, as supply outweighed demand. Dairy-beef bulls continued to be in demand and prices were more resilient at an average of $570. Heifers of same breeding averaged 110kg and also came back $30 per head to $440.

HAWKE’S BAY Stortford prime cattle and sheep • Angus steers, 570-753kg, eased to $3.16-$3.21/kg • Angus heifers, 399-550kg, softened to $2.95-$3.10/kg • Heavy lambs eased to $163.50-$178 • Heavy ewe lambs earned $184.50 • Very-good ewes held at $158.50-$172 Total cattle numbers were almost identical to the week prior at STORTFORD LODGE last Monday. HerefordFriesian steers, 606-773kg, were discounted to $3.03-$3.17/ kg, as were heifers at $2.99-$3.06/kg. Traditional bulls, 685-730kg, held at $3.27-$3.29/kg. Angus cows, 598kg, also held at $2.79/kg, as did boner Friesian cows, 516-556kg, $2.45-$2.49/kg. The prime lamb market softened for most.

A very small top end held at $204, medium-good types made $131-$157, and light-medium to medium $110-$125.

Heavy to very heavy ewes traded at a softer $173-$192.50, as did good types back to $141-$145. Medium ewes held at $117-$124.

Stortford Lodge store cattle and sheep • Two-year South Devon-cross steers, 504kg, made $3.17/kg and heifers, 464kg, $3.03/kg • Yearling exotic-cross and traditional heifers, 348-406kg, firmed to $3.20-$3.22/kg

SALE YARD WRAP

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019

47

• Limousin bulls, 329-361kg, sold from $3.88/kg to $4.01/kg • Limousin heifers, 309-343kg, made $3.79-$3.85/kg • Top store lambs made $110-$128, with second cuts $90-$109 Several large consignments of ewes were put forward at COALGATE last Thursday, with 4000 penned. A third traded for $230-$300, while medium held at $190-$229 and lighter types $110 to $189. Prime lambs were popular, with top cuts mainly $180-$240 and mid-range types $160-$179. Prime cattle exceeded the number of store cattle available. Prime steers lowered 10-15c/kg with most Hereford-Friesian, 541653kg, at $3.00-$3.06/kg. Heifers over 500kg earned $2.90/ kg to $3.01/kg. Prices were down for boner cattle and most sold for $1.59/kg to $1.75/kg. In the store pens, yearling Charolais-cross steers, 283-357kg, sold in a tight range of $3.18-$3.25/kg, while yearling Angus steers varied from $2.34/kg to $3.26/kg. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 237-245kg, eased to $2.49-$2.53/kg.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY

ENDLESS: Blue skies have been the norm at Stortford Lodge recently.

• Good cryptorchid lambs held at $106-$127 • Medium mixed-sex lambs came back to $84-$105 • Very light lambs made $41-$67 Lamb volume increased to nearly 6000 head at STORTFORD LODGE last Wednesday and combined with a drop in demand prices came back. Ram lambs sold in two clear cuts at $78-$93 and $101-$104. Four vendors made up the bulk of the 360 head cattle sale. Yearling Friesian bulls averaged 370kg and $3.09/kg. A consignment of HerefordFriesian weaners featured and a pen of 99kg bulls made $580 while all other lines - bulls or heifers - sold for $450$485, including 25 Friesian bulls.

MANAWATU Feilding prime cattle and sheep • Hereford bulls, 750-790kg, made $3.40-$3.47/kg • Friesian cows, run-with Hereford bull and 550-593kg, made $2.49-$2.56/kg • Hereford-Friesian heifers, 547-554kg, made $3.00-$3.03/kg • Limited numbers of hoggets made $121-$214 The volume of sheep at FEILDING last Monday was the highest recorded in the AgriHQ database for a December prime sale at 8352 head. The top lines of lambs dropped to $185-$196, while most others sold for $139-$180.50. The 6000 ewes were attracted by strong market prices - the best made $200-$270, while other very-heavy were $171-$198.

Heavy ewes made $142-$169.50. A steady flow of ex-service bulls and dairy cows made for a busy cattle section. Quality varied which was reflected in the prices of poorer lines. Cow prices dropped with Friesian, 575kg, falling 6c/kg to $2.56/ kg.

Feilding store • Two-year traditional steers, 455-590kg, were usually $3.40-$3.50/ kg • A large line of 365kg yearling Friesian bulls made $3.40/kg • Yearling Charolais-cross heifers, 390-410kg, made $3.25-$3.30/kg • Average store lamb price dropped to $100 • Shorn Romney ewes with lambs-at-foot were $121 all counted Less than a thousand store cattle mainly met steady interest. There was a recovery of around 10c/kg on good numbers of traditional two-year steers, but mixed-quality lines did well to make $3.00/kg. It was a mixed bag on the yearling traditional steers which were anywhere between $3.60-$3.95/kg above 300kg, whereas Hereford-Friesians were fixed at $3.10-$3.25/kg.

Yearling bulls were mixed quality and sold accordingly.

Usually $3.35-$3.40/kg covered the good 365-395kg lines, but the rest were usually $2.95-$3.15/kg. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 280-430kg, made $3.05-$3.30/kg. A little more than 5000 store lambs found flatter interest. The heavy end of the market wasn’t too bad, with top cuts sitting roughly steady at $131-$140, though two pens went as high as $156.50-$157.

Other good-to-medium lines were typically $108-$123.

Quality dropped fairly significantly after that with mediumto-light types around $90.50-$104 while a sizeable bottomend were frequently $70-$80.

Rongotea cattle • Two-year Hereford-Friesian bulls, 468-483kg, managed $2.99$3.02/kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 225-375kg, sold over a range of $2.67/kg to $3.25/kg

Photo: Natasha Chadwick • Yearling Angus-cross heifers, 169-365kg, held at $2.51/kg to $3.08/kg • All weaner bulls and steers traded at $425-$510 • Friesian cows with calves-at-foot earned $1340-$1610 per unit Recent rain and the promise of more forecasted, helped to increase interest at RONGOTEA last Wednesday, New Zealand Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. Twoyear Friesian bulls, 434kg, returned $3.04/kg.

Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 159-357kg, earned $2.67/kg to $3.14/kg. Weaner Hereford-Friesian heifers, 110-133kg, improved to $400-$555, with Angus-cross, 111131kg, returning $480-$490. Friesian and Jersey boner cows, 420-545kg, held at $1.96/kg to $2.21/kg. Hereford-Friesian bull calves lifted to $330, with heifers back to $250.

WAIRARAPA Masterton lamb sale • Medium to good lambs sold for $107-$120 • Lighter lambs earned $75-$90 Short-term lambs sold to steady demand at MASTERTON last Wednesday, though long-term lambs proved to be harder work. 4000 were penned and overall prices did come back, though more so in the later pens. Buyers were mainly local, though some outside orders were also filled. Fewer blackface lines were offered, with the bulk of the yarding Romney cryptorchid, and a larger percentage of smaller types in.

Anerley Station on-farm sale • Top pen of lambs made $134 • Most ranged from $70 to $131 ANERLEY STATION in Wairarapa held their 3 rd annual on-farm lamb sale last Tuesday, with a full clearance of 7000 undrafted lambs – broken down into 2000 blackface mixed-sex and the balance Romney cryptorchid. Local buyers returned to the rails and led the sale, attracted by the quality on offer and big line sizes, with two at 900 head each and most others 200-400 head.

CANTERBURY Canterbury Park cattle and sheep • Prime exotic bulls, 580-810kg, held at $3.24/kg • Two-year Angus steers, 438kg, earned $3.43/kg • Two-year Hereford and Charolais-cross steers, 405-475kg, made $3.17-$3.26/kg • Yearling Murray Grey-cross heifers, 275-305kg, made $2.71$2.86/kg Nearly 1000 cattle were yarded at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday. Prices eased, and better 2-year dairy-beef pens dipped below $3/kg. Yearling cattle traded at reduced levels including Hereford-Friesian steers, 290-365kg, $3.11-$3.17/ kg. Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 600-745kg, fell 7c/kg to $3.12/kg and dairy-beef lines, 540-565kg, lost 12c/kg to $3.00/kg. Heavy store lambs proved popular at $119-$136, while medium lines eased to $88-$111 and lighter lambs $72-$94. Prime lambs firmed, with the best $200-$232, and heavy $160-$199. Ewe numbers were low, and few traded under $130. Top price was $282, with a quarter of the yarding $210-$267.

Coalgate cattle and sheep • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 518-540kg, made $2.95-$3.00/ kg

Temuka prime and boner cattle; all sheep • Friesian bulls, 640-668kg, earned $3.24-$3.26/kg • Friesian bulls, 504-603kg, fetched $3.08-$3.16/kg • Angus-Hereford heifers, 638kg, managed $3.04/kg • Store cryptorchid lambs made $110-$139 for most • Most mixed-sex lambs traded at $109-$140 There was a high volume of both cattle and sheep available at TEMUKA last Monday and both markets eased. Angus bulls, 640-705kg, were $3.30-$3.33/kg, while traditional steers, 640-705kg, lost 20c/kg to $3.07/kg. Beef and beef-cross steers consistently sold for $3.04-$3.14/ kg. Most heifers were beef and beef-cross that fell 14-18c/ kg to $2.90-$3.00/kg, while plenty of second cuts earned $2.79-$2.89/kg. Friesian heifers, 495-565kg, made $2.79/ kg, and cows, 580-700kg, $2.13/kg. Prime lambs traded at $150-$227. Ewe volume remained high, and a quarter of the yarding made $230-$310. A further third sold in the $170$198 range.

Temuka store cattle sale • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 414-423kg, earned $3.11$3.17/kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 325kg, made $3.20/kg • Yearling Simmental heifers, 378kg, fetched $3.52/kg • Yearling Friesian bulls, 253-323kg, were $2.67-$2.69/kg Capital stock Simmental cows and heifers with calvesat-foot were $1010-$1090 per unit Volume at TEMUKA was down to only 712 head, below the advertised number due to withdrawals. The market was a battle at times, with dry conditions affecting prices. Yearling steer prices fell 15-20c/kg, with the heaviest Fleckvieh-cross, 374kg, that made $3.16/kg, and the balance mainly $2.82/kg to $3.06/ kg. Yearling heifers provided the bulk of the yarding and prices dropped 30c/kg. Bidding was largely centred around Hereford-Friesian, 270-370kg, that averaged $2.56/kg while remaining beef and beef-cross traded at $2.60/kg to $3.05/ kg.

OTAGO Balclutha sheep and store cattle • Heavy prime lambs improved to $180-$220 • Heavy prime ewes softened to $170-$210 • A handful of store lambs made $110 • Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 335kg, were well sought at $3.20/kg A moderate yarding of prime sheep was penned at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday with prime lambs selling well, though heavy ewes came back. Light to medium prime lambs held at $120-$170, as did light to medium prime ewes at $100-$160. Heavier store cattle had good demand, but buyers were selective on lighter types. Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 250kg, eased to $3.00/kg, as did heifers, 280kg, back to $2.75/kg.

SOUTHLAND Lorneville cattle and sheep • Prime spring lambs traded at $166-$178 • Heavy ewes improved to $204-$255 • Top store lambs earned $120-$135 • Prime steers, 500kg+, strengthened to $3.00-$3.12/kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers sold well at $3.03-$3.20/kg A smaller yarding of sheep was well contested at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday, with medium to heavy prime hoggets steady at $168-$180. Light to medium ewes improved to $142-$201. Light to medium store lambs managed $95-$118. Prime heifers, 485kg+, earned $3.10/ kg, with bulls, 505kg, at $3.00/kg. Cows, 550kg+, improved to $2.30-$2.50/kg. Two-year Friesian steers, 452kg, returned $2.98/kg, though the store yarding was mainly yearlings of mixed quality and results reflected this. Angus-Friesian steers, 415kg, were well contested at $3.30/kg, while their sisters, 363kg, managed $3.03/kg. Hereford-cross steers, 270-330kg, softened to $3.12-$3.18/kg.

Markets

48 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 9, 2019 NI SLAUGHTER BULL

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB

SI SLAUGHTER COW

($/KG)

($/KG)

FRIESIAN BULLS, 125KG AVERAGE, AT TARANAKI WEANER FAIR

($/KG)

($/HD LW)

6.45

9.00

4.75

500

high $90-$112/hd lights Medium to good

mixed-sex lambs at Stortford Lodge

Meat exports hit record high prices

E

Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

XPORT lamb and beef prices reached their highest-ever levels in the September quarter while forestry products, mainly logs, had their biggest decline in more than 10 years.

Data released by Statistics New Zealand show export prices overall rose 1.9% in the quarter, to their highest level in over 10 years while import prices remained flat.

Meat prices rose 4.8%, driven by higher prices for lamb, up 6%, and beef, up 5.4%, because of demand from China seeking other proteins to replace the decline in pork as pigs are culled to control an outbreak of African swine fever.

Demand for alternative protein by China is expected to continue into next year, Rabobank’s latest beef outllook says.

Stats NZ figures show seasonally adjusted volumes of NZ meat exports for the September quarter were up 1.4% and values were up 8%. Lamb volumes fell 0.7% and values rose 7.9%. Beef volumes rose 2.9% and values were up 7.4%.

Prices for dairy products rose 8.9% in the quarter with milk powder up 9.6%, butter up 7.3% and cheese up 6.2%.

In contrast, forest product prices fell 9.7% following a 1.9% fall the previous quarter. Forestry product volumes fell 5.5% and values fell 12%.

The overall terms of trade for the quarter remained high at levels close to peaks seen in late 2017 when export prices for dairy and meat were also high.

Rabobank warns growing demand from China comes as global beef production is slowing, which could disrupt markets.

The bank’s senior protein analyst Angus Gidley-Baird says United States import

HARVEST GRASS EFFICIENT AND

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WORTH MORE: The value of both lamb and beef exports lifted in the September quarter, even though the quantity of lamb was down.

beef prices are likely to reach record levels last seen in 2014 so some buyers are seeking alternative domestic supplies, which is putting pressure on US prices.

To try to meet demand China has licensed 22 extra beef processing plants in Brazil, eight in Argentina, an unknown number in Europe while South Africa’s export licence has been restored.

AgriHQ analyst Reece Brick said the traditional October chilled premium of 30c to 80c/kg for lamb is absent this year though with an average export

price of $11.56/kg it is not a hardship.

That reflects weak European demand for chilled Christmas lamb, which has seen just 19% of October lamb exports sold chilled compared to the usual 27% to 36%.

Frozen markets and procurement competition have underpinned schedules.

“Where the problem lay was with sales into the United Kingdom and the Middle East, down 34% to 36%.

“Only France stepped up to fill some of the void, likely playing it safe on the chance that Brexit cut off their pipeline of UK-sourced lamb.”

$3.08-$3.16/kg Friesian bulls, 505640kg, at Temuka

ACROSS THE RAILS SUZ BREMNER

Thinking outside the square pays off SOMETIMES it pays to think outside the square and break from tradition because one might just be pleasantly surprised with the results. That rang true at Frankton a few weeks ago when the need for a bull-only sale became apparent and the idea was bandied around.

Bulls are left to later in the day on Frankton’s main selling day of Wednesday and New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Gareth Price said that creates some frustration for buyers and sellers alike.

“Buyers would have to sit through what could be up to three hours of selling before they even lay eyes on a bull and that put a number of people off. Also, the length of time bulls were standing in the yards was of concern so NZ Farmers Livestock opted to hold a separate sale on a Thursday and it was a huge success.”

The sale was built around two to three main consignments but with a bit of homework done by agents the tally grew to 280, mainly yearling, bulls. With good volume and spread of quality lines of typical bull breeds, local buyers were more than happy to make a return trip to the yards and appreciated the fact they could complete their shopping in under two hours, which was solely spent on bulls. For vendors it was a win, too, with prices at a premium to what would typically be achieved at the Wednesday sale. Friesian bull pricing was solid with most weighing 300-370kg and selling for $3.20-$3.31/kg while 11 Jersey bulls caught the eye of two buyers and at 250kg made a tidy $1000. Herefords sold as sires for $1560-$1610 and there were plenty of other success stories.

The sale was such a success a second bull-only day is already on the cards for Thursday December 12, which will feature yearlings again, as well as return service bulls. suz.bremner@globalhq.co.nz

Find out more about AgriHQ at agrihq.co.nz

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