Technology

Climate shifts may send maize production south

Annette Scott TECHNOLOGY

Arable

MAIZE is shaping up to be an option for South Island cropping farmers with a fi rst-year trial showing a warming climate will allow maize to be grown in areas which have previously been marginal for the crop.

Plant and Food Research also forecasts larger and more frequent drought events in the North Island, so – depending on future spring and summer rainfall patterns in the North – the South Island may become a major growing region for maize, Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) maize researcher David Densley says.

Maize silage demand from the dairy sector is also increasing as its use can complement pasturebased systems nutritionally and economically.

However, for maize silage to compete with palm kernel as a suitable pasture supplement for South Island dairy farmers, economic yields and consistent forage quality are required.

Densley says for arable farmers maize can provide an alternative income as well as several agronomic benefi ts.

These include the opportunity to use different herbicide chemistry and nutrients that may not have been accessible to shallower rooting crops, reducing the risk of nutrient leaching.

Crop management will likely be different to the North Island with different cultivation methods being investigated to demonstrate how to plant and harvest crops commercially using narrow row spacing compared with the industry standard practices optimised for the major growing regions in the North.

Meanwhile this season, for the fi rst time, maize growers and purchasers have the option of using a high-tech sensor as a measurement tool during harvest for maize forage trading.

New Zealand is possibly the fi rst country in the world to provide the option, streamlining the information-gathering process.

The near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy sensor is mounted on the delivery chute of a forage harvester to measure whole plant dry matter as it passes through a fi eld.

It will provide an alternative to the current practice of physically collecting samples.

Densley says about 80% of maize grown in NZ is for silage with about half of that traded between maize growers and dairy farmers.

For a fair transaction to occur between grower and purchaser, determination of dry matter tonnes (tDM) requires accurate weights of each truckload harvested (wet weight) and the dry matter percentage of that forage.

“We are excited about the opportunity to use this NIR technology as a tool to determine whole plant dry matter percentage after a rigorous evaluation by our research team and other collaborators,” Densley says.

Most of the industry uses the good practice guide for the trading of maize forage, which has been available since the mid-2000s. The guide, now overseen by FAR, provides protocols for the fair trading of maize silage between growers and dairy farmers.

“Summers are becoming hotter and drier, so there is an increasing level of maize variability within the fi eld, making the practice of hand-sampling to determine dry matter increasingly challenging.”

Contracts and protocols for using the new technology are available for the 2023 harvest.

Summers are becoming hotter and drier, making the practice of hand sampling increasingly challenging.

David Densley FAR CHANGING TIMES: FAR maize researcher David Densley says crop management on South Island arable farms will likely be diff erent to the North Island, and diff erent cultivation methods are being investigated.

Wet weather affects sowings

THE latest Arable Industry Marketing Initiative (AIMI) survey of NZ Maize growers reveals sowings and growth of both grain and silage crops have been affected by wet weather in several regions.

Some of the intended sowings may not be made, resulting in the 2023 harvest predictions being less reliable than in a more normal season.

Final average yield of maize grain at 11.2 t/ha for the 2022 harvest was slightly down on last season at 12.0 t/ha, while fi nal average yield of maize silage at 20.9t dry matter (DM/ha) was similar to the 21.1t DM/ha in 2021.

The estimated fi nal total tonnage of 187,000t for the maize grain 2022 harvest was 11% down on last season’s harvest tonnage at 209,300t, as the result of a reduced yield, down 6% and a reduced harvest area, down 5%.

An estimated 99.4% of the total crop had been sold at October 31, 2022, compared to 97.0% sold as of June 1, 2022. This corresponds to a reduction in unsold tonnage from 5600t on June 1, to 1200t on October 31.

The unsold tonnage on October 31, 2021 was zero. Stocks held by merchants are not considered here.

For maize silage, the estimated fi nal total tonnage of 1,194,900t DM for the 2022 harvest was up 2% compared to last season being the result of a slightly decreased yield, down 1%, and an increased harvest area, up 3%.

Spring 2022 sowings and sowing intentions for maize grain at October 31 were estimated to be up 7% on the area harvested last season.

Sowing was only 50% complete as compared to an eight-year average of 77% with an estimated 76% of the 2023 maize grain harvest forward sold.

For maize silage, spring 2022 sowings and sowing intentions are estimated to be up 6% on the area harvested last season. Sowing was only 51% complete as compared to an eight-year average of 70% with an estimated 92% of the 2023 maize silage harvest forward sold.

Nelson tech company lands the perfect catch

Staff reporter TECHNOLOGY

AgriTech NZ

SNAP Group has come a long way from Dave Rodley’s garage where his sons Chris and Andrew fi rst started playing around with webcams.

Rodley snr, who worked as an electrical engineer, put a camera on his holiday home in Hanmer Springs so he could keep an eye on the weather from his home in Nelson.

It was a bit of novelty back in the early 2000s, a fact refl ected in the $5000 price tag to import the camera from the United States.

“It was probably one of the fi rst webcams in New Zealand,” Chris Rodley, the chief executive and cofounder of Snap Group, said.

“But it was a crap piece of kit that took terrible photos. We fi gured we could do better. We bought a camera for $100, took it apart, hacked it, soldered new stuff onto it and embedded a tiny microprocessor that uploaded data to the web.”

Their high-defi nition camera caught the attention of tourism operators, MetService, TV3 weather and construction sites.

It was while working on a job for ASB in Auckland that Chris stumbled on an opportunity that changed the direction of the company.

“I was up a ladder installing a camera when the CEO of one of the largest fi shing companies in New Zealand walked past and said, ‘Can you put that camera on a boat?’” he said.

“We talked to Callaghan Innovation who helped us develop a marine-proof, AI-enabled camera and within 10 days we pitched to 10 fi shing companies and haven’t looked back since.”

The company received a number of 50% co-funded grants from Callaghan Innovation worth $2 million, which helped pay for R&D, and had help and guidance from NZTE and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Callaghan also provided strategic advice and support including project road-mapping and connections to high-end suppliers, and helped confi rm the company was focusing on the right opportunity.

“The support from Callaghan enabled us to hone our commercial skills, not just the technology and IP that startups tend to focus on,” Rodley said. “That was really helpful for us.

“The temptation is to think that your product — in our case the camera and the data capability behind the technology — is the star. But actually the customer’s problem should be the star, not your solution.

“When we’re working with any client or sector the fi rst question we ask is ‘What’s the problem you need to solve?’”

Snap offers GPS tracking, satellite communication, on-board video cameras, and specialises in AI-driven data storage that is capable of identifying fi sh species, type, and size. By auditing catch limits it enables safe, legal fi shing practices that reduce compliance costs and assures the ongoing sustainability of NZ’s wild fi sheries.

The real benefi t comes from empowering fi shermen to make changes to their business.

Chris Rodley Snap Group

In 2021, the Nelson-based company acquired Canadian partner Teem Fish Monitoring, a fi sheries enterprise using advanced electronic monitoring technology to support fi sh harvesters to meet their regulatory requirements and ensure the future of sustainable commercial fi sheries.

Before acquiring Teem Fish, Snap already delivered the majority of Teem Fish’s hardware and software required for its fi sheries monitoring systems.

“It made sense to combine our two areas of expertise,” Rodley said.

“It will help both companies to scale quicker than they could have otherwise. Using our tech and Teem Fish’s understanding of fi sheries, we know we can assist fi shermen with a compliance solution, but also take that data and repurpose it for business intelligence.

“The real benefi t comes from empowering fi shermen to make changes to their business. The value isn’t the camera or the data; it’s what you can do with the data. Good information leads to good decisions.

“If we know how many fi sh there are in the ocean we can set appropriate fi shing levels so our children and grandchildren can eat fi sh from the ocean when we’re gone.”