Farmers Weekly NZ March 16 2020 by AgriHQ

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Vol 19 No 10, March 16, 2020

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Exports still growing Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz

ESPITE coronavirus panic, drought’s bite and Mycoplasma bovis fears the forecasts for New Zealand’s primary sector remain in positive growth territory. In the year to June 30 the primary sector will have had 0.5% growth, earning $46.6 billion from exports, the latest Primary Industries Ministry Situation and Outlook report says.

So farmers and growers should be positive about their prospects as producers of high-quality protein and plant products despite the immediate effects of drought and global fears about coronavirus, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says. “We have travelled around and spoken with a number of large scale exporters. “They are saying they are finding there is already a bounce back from China where demand is again strong for products.” Reports of freed-up container space and improved supply chain

movements in China have become more frequent as the number of coronavirus cases reported in China starts to ease back. O’Connor acknowledged criticisms about NZ being too reliant on China, which now accounts for almost a third of this country’s exports. But the advantages of NZ’s established trading relationship cannot be ignored. In 2008 NZ got through the global financial crisis thanks largely to its trading relationship with China, benefiting from a newly minted free-trade agreement. “It is a different situation now with coronavirus but our relationship with China is even stronger than it was then. “Yes, there is interdependence there and that has risks and the virus has reminded us of that risk.” Finance Minister Grant Robertson has officials designing a package to support the economy when it comes out the other side of the coronavirus outbreak, including ways to diversify the nation’s international markets. However, China is prepared to pay top prices for top-end produce and that cannot be ignored, O’Connor said. The trading relationship might yet also help also ease NZ through the coronavirus crisis. The MPI report highlights the value the Chinese market, in particular, continues to put on food products, with dairy, meat and horticulture all predicted to rise in value. Dairy appears the least affected by the virus with annual export revenue forecast to rise 6.2% to

INCOME UP: Dairy exports will be least affected by drought and coronavirus with exports up 6.2% to $19.2 billion in the year to June 30, the Primary Industries Ministry predicts. Photo: Paul Sutherland Photography

$19.2b, up despite the forecast being revised back $400 million because of drought. The report points to continuing strength in cheese and casein prices and good export prices meaning strong payouts are still likely. Red meat and wool have also had a $220m reduction factored in but are still expected to rise 0.3% in earnings. That decline has been attributed largely to the lost supply opportunities that arose earlier in the year in China, with some products being diverted to lower earning markets. Forward demand appears strong, in part because of the

continuing impact of China’s swine fever outbreak on pork supplies. Horticulture will enjoy a double header of increased volume and value in exports, MPI says. Values are forecast to surge 3% and hit $6.3b. Kiwifruit and apples are the main drivers. The biggest losers out of the coronavirus remain forestry and seafood where earnings are expected to fall by 18% and 2.2% respectively. Meantime, NZ also appears to have ridden out the United StatesChina trade war in relatively good form. The report notes the easing of tensions and the different product

mixes between NZ and US also reducing the impact. Brexit uncertainties do, however, remain and O’Connor pointed to concerns over European demands on geographic indications on products as the main sticking point. Federated Farmers vicepresident Andrew Hoggard said drought is by far the biggest concern for many farmers while coronavirus appears to be taking greater hold in Europe as China’s infection rate subsides. “With so much of our trade in Asia now it may not impact as much as we thought but it is still early days.”

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24 It was all done on a handshake Stud breeding has enabled the Robertson family from Southland to settle family members onto farms. But Neal Wallace discovers that is only part of the formula for successful farm succession. Being a tight knit, focused and strong family unit also helps.

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9 Banks reassure farmers on loans 18 Shears patron still has passion Tighter bank lending requirements could prevent some farmers from meeting new environmental requirements, Massey University banking expert Professor David Tripe warns.

It’s one of the oldest volunteer-run events in the country and if competition entries and crowd numbers are anything to go by the Golden Shears will be around for a few more years yet, Laurie Keats says.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

SUPPORT: Mark Warren says farmers under pressure should not be afraid to ask for help when they need it.

Rural people show support Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz HAWKE’S Bay farmer Mark Warren has posted a call for help on social media in an attempt to let other farmers who are finding life tough know that it’s okay to ask for help. Warren, who owns Waipari Station in Central Hawke’s Bay, says after a sleepless few hours of the 2am churn and trying to be sensible and realise that his Ts and Ps (temperatures and pressures) are in the red zone, he realised he needed help. “Although I keep hoping to be back to 12 volts, after a weekend wading through waste-deep mud and pulling lambs out of dams I realise my volt meter is struggling to stay in the safe zone. “We are desperately trying to get winter crops sown to feed hungry stock going into what could be a very difficult and hard winter. “Works are overloaded at present due to worldwide issues and selling unfinished stock onto

an oversupplied store market is not a wise or sustainable option.” Warren says there are many others feeling the pinch and it seems many people outside rural communities don’t understand the depth of the problem. “On an economic basis no profit equals no tax. And we are one of many New Zealand businesses facing this situation. “Some will just go broke, leaving suppliers unpaid to start a larger cycle of economic collapse. “It seems very few people understand what the ramifications of that are.” Since going public Warren has received wide-ranging offers of help, which he says illustrates how supportive the farming community is. One reason he spoke out was to show other farmers is help and support are available and there is no shame in asking for it. “We need to raise awareness that there are huge support networks out there and people

If we work together ... FARMERS will have seen the We’ll weather together graphic in today’s paper. It is a symbol of our commitment to bring you the stories that show an understanding of all the challenges facing farmers today and in the future. Success will be driven by the

should not be afraid of sticking their head above the parapet. “It’s the silent ones I worry about. “They can end up making some really bad decisions.” Warren says farmers understand the realities of farming mean there will be tough times and they are not asking for a handout.

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clear-eyed decision-making farmers across New Zealand have shown for more than 150 years. Farming is a long game and we’re in it for the long-haul, just as you are. So this graphic will appear with stories that illustrate

But he says there needs to be a greater appreciation of the effect of the drought across the North Island coupled with mounting paperwork and compliance demands being put on farmers. “I’m sure I’m not the only one drowning under excessive unproductive compliance issues.”

farmers coping with those challenges and setting themselves up for the future. We hope they will illustrate the wisdom, tenacity, support and collaboration that are hallmarks of our rural communities. By working together, we’ll weather together.

The way forward for farmers is working together and looking after each other, encouraging them to regularly ring their neighbours to see how they are getting on, he says.

Contact your local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Be quick for worker visas Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz DAIRY farmers relying on migrant labour for the new milking season should get their visa paperwork in early because of expected delays caused by coronavirus. The disease continues to spread around the globe. In the Philippines, which the dairy industry relies on as a pool of labour, there were 33 confirmed cases the past week with president Rodrigo Duterte declaring a public health emergency on March 10. Federated Farmers employment spokesman Chris Lewis said while he appreciates it is an evolving issue, delays in processing visas have big implications for the workers’ families as well as the wider dairy industry heading into calving in July and August. “Because of the low unemployment rate we rely on migrants and if coronavirus gets any worse and the Philippines goes into lock-down, it’s going to cause some issues.

“With the delays, get your visas in early.” He employs four Filipino staff on his farm at Pukeatua, south of Hamilton, as well as New Zealanders. The buoyant local economy means good staff are difficult to find and he relies on migrant labour to fill the gap. One of his staff is in the third year of his three-year work visa and is trying to get that visa renewed. That staff member falls under Immigration NZ’s one-year stand down rules for workers with visas based on lower-skilled work, meaning he has to return to the Philippines for a year before qualifying to work in NZ for another three years. The rule could force Lewis to have to hire another Filipino worker to fill that position. “It doesn’t make sense under the current environment with the coronavirus.” The uncertainty has caused huge agitation for the staff. “They get so stressed because they have their kids and family

DON’T DELAY: Federated Farmers employment spokesman Chris Lewis says dairy farmers wanting foreign workers for the new dairy season need to get their documents to Immigration New Zealand as soon as possible because of the likelihood of delays caused by coronavirus.

here. ‘I still haven’t heard back, boss’ – I hear that every day from my staff and it’s so stressful for them.” Farmers with Filipino staff should check the expiration dates of their visas and read travel advisories if any choose to return to the Philippines for a holiday, he said. Immigration law and recruitment company The Regions managing director Ben De’Arth said most farmers have been proactive when it came to recruiting staff for the new season. “Coronavirus is incentivising employers to start a little bit early and employers on the whole are

quite educated that things may be delayed.” His clients expect about 400 new arrivals by August but he is realistic about the likelihood of delays. “We are absolutely braced for delays. Many times per day we are being asked by people who have annual leave and in normal circumstances might take a holiday back to the Philippines. We are being asked about that and the ability to fly back. We are taking a position that people should only fly out of NZ if there are urgent circumstances.” Despite the caution he is confident businesses should pull through.

Immigration NZ border and visa operations acting general manager Jeannie Melville said INZ’s Beijing office has been closed since Chinese New Year on January 24 so it is expected processing times for visitor, student and work visa applications will increase. “INZ has been working to put in place interim measures to manage this impact on processing times, including transferring applications to other offices where necessary and dedicating 50 immigration officers in NZ to work on visa applications that would normally be assessed in the Beijing office. We will continue to monitor the impacts of the actions we are taking over the coming weeks.”

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Big package for drought relief Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz THE Government has increased support for drought-hit farmers with a $12.421 million package. It has also reclassified the drought as a large-scale adverse event covering the entire North Island, top of the South Island, North Canterbury and the Chatham Islands. It is the first large-scale adverse event classification for drought since 2013. Drought relief has been extended to cover Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay with $90,000 in funding available for Rural Support Trusts to help primary sector communities, provide farm management advice and animal welfare support. The funding was announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Kaitaia while Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced the drought as a large-scale adverse event at Owl Farm in Cambridge on Thursday. The package includes $10m to respond to immediate needs such as delivering water for consumption, sanitation and wastewater systems in rural towns as well as for stock welfare and horticulture and $421,000 to extend the reach of rural assistance payments, which can be used to buy water. The reclassification unlocked up to $2 million in Government money to support farmers and growers from now to June 2021. The package includes money for drought co-ordinators and extra co-ordinators where needed, a feed working group, expanded psychosocial support including $90,000 for Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa, animal welfare information and expertise and professional advice for recovery. Tailored packages will be developed to suit each region’s needs. For those already in drought there will be money for

DROUGHT STRICKEN: Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says it is critical North Island farmers get rain before winter.

What this does do is that it signals to everyone else, their bank managers, the people in town and their suppliers that they are under a bit of pressure and it means people can give them a bit more consideration. Damien O’Connor Agriculture Minister extra drought co-coordinators if needed as well as access to recovery advice for affected primary sector businesses.

O’Connor said the reclassification was made after a long period of continued dry weather across the North Island, which has created severe soil moisture deficits. “There’s been incidences of rain, the odd shower here and there, up to 40mm in some places in western Waikato, but they have still got severe deficits that will mean for 18 months farmers will be chasing to catch up in terms of grass growth and making sure they can feed their animals.” The 2013 drought was not on the same sale as this one. The size of the drought means it is harder for farmers in unaffected regions to send stock feed to farmers in drought-stricken regions. He had visited drought-stricken farmers in Waikato and said they are optimistic and appreciative of the declaration.

“What this does do is that it signals to everyone else, their bank managers, the people in town and their suppliers that they are under a bit of pressure and it means people can give them a bit more consideration.” The declaration has given the banking sector a signal the drought is a national challenge and not one all farmers can resolve. It is now critical farmers get a good spell of rain before soil temperatures fall too low and prevent grass from regrowing. “Every week that goes by that doesn’t have it makes the situation all that more difficult and challenging in the winter,” O’Connor said. Rural Support Trust chairman Neil Bateup said it might rain tomorrow but farmers will still face months of pressure because

of deficits in soil moisture and feed across the North Island. It might also be the first time many younger farmers have experienced a drought and the decisions around feed buying and budgeting. “We just appeal to anyone who is experiencing a tough time and doesn’t know who to turn to, to contact us.” If feed is running short dairy farmers are being forced to dry off cows and lay off staff. When asked if stock feed supplies are running low he said “Some are, some aren’t. There’s a whole variation. I’m a farmer and I’m doing okay at the moment but I’m having to budget quite tightly what it will look like going forward.” He described farmer morale as pretty good but starting to falter over the past two weeks.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Kiwifruit expects workers aplenty Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz DESPITE the spectre of coronavirus hanging over most export sectors kiwifruit growers and exporters are optimistic about market and labour prospects as the new season kicks off. With crop already harvested in Gisborne and about to be picked in Bay of Plenty the peak of the season will not hit until the first week of May. The industry expects to need about 20,000 staff this season to pick and process the 155 million tray crop, Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated chief executive Nikki Johnson said. The crop estimate is an increase on last year’s 147 million trays exported and continues to reflect growth driven partly by increasing volumes of high-value SunGold crop. This season also marks the first commercial sales of Zespri’s Red fruit. Last year the sector ran a campaign to get more locals working in the industry and Johnson said it had achieved much of what was wanted, putting local people in jobs. “This is preferable in that it means you take some of the pressure off infrastructure if you can get local people working. For us that has meant retirees and students.” The commissioning last April of Waikato University’s Tauranga campus, drawing in almost 1000 students, will also help buoy worker numbers this season. Johnson said despite fears about coronavirus the industry is comfortable with the steps it is taking to reduce disease spread in pack houses and protocols are in place to ensure a high standard of worker hygiene.

In 2011 kiwifruit workers were put into quarantine after a suspected typhoid outbreak. One worker was found to have been infected, which resulted in Zespri destroying 100,000 trays of fruit, some destined for export. The worker was understood to have come to New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme. Johnson said RSE workers will be about 20% of the industry’s labour force this year and, fortunately, come almost entirely from the Pacific, reducing the risk they will bring in the disease. The slide in forestry work as a result of coronavirus reducing log sales to China might also provide more labour for the sector this season. Last year an official worker shortage was declared for Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay. The official acknowledgment meant it was easier for the likes of backpackers to get work visas. Johnson is uncertain how great the coronavirus impact would be on that source of labour. The upside of extended dry weather in Bay of Plenty is fruit flavour is expected to be good, with some impact on fruit size still to be determined. Zespri chief grower and alliances officer Dave Courtney said Zespri expects to harvest more SunGold than Green this season. Last year was about 50:50 and another 750ha of SunGold is coming on stream every year under Zespri’s licence tender programme. This year’s SunGold licence round is expected to at least match last year’s value, which averaged $290,000 a hectare. The tender for SunGold licences opens on April 3. Bayleys Te Puke real estate agent and kiwifruit specialist Snow Williams knows of several

growers who missed out last year and are keen to secure licences this year to graft on vines that already have rootstock in place. In a note to growers Zespri said it is seeing signs of China stabilising in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, with more people returning to work. Despite container congestion at ports Zespri’s main port is reported to be flowing well with the Chinese shipping programme due to start as planned and the first vessel to depart as scheduled, delivering fruit by early April. The company’s northern Italian office has been shut with staff working from home. Planned visits by offshore clients to New Zealand have also been cancelled.

SATISFIED: Kiwifruit Growers chief executive Nikki Johnson is confident the kiwifruit sector will meet the demand for staff this season.

M bovis head off Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz GEOFF Gwyn, who for nearly three years has led the bid to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis, is leaving the programme. Gwyn, the director of the Mycoplasma bovis Programme, will leave the Primary Industries Ministry on April 3 for secondment to a private sector consultancy as part of an exchange. It is understood the exchange is with financial and business consultancy firm PWC. MPI said his work there will not relate to M bovis and there is no intention for Gwyn to return to the programme after his secondment. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said Gwyn has done an outstanding job.

The stress and demands that came with the role would have broken anyone but his nature and determination meant he survived three years in the position. “I think Geoff Gwyn is moving out of the M bovis Programme exhausted by three years of never-ending challenges developing a programme that we have not got an international template for.” O’Connor says no one internationally would have greater knowledge of M bovis than Gwyn. “His knowledge of biosecurity and the M bovis programme in terms of on-the-ground projects would be the highest in terms of international experience.” O’Connor says a deliberate policy of developing broad knowledge and skills among

MOVING: Mycoplasma bovis Programme director Geoff Gwyn is being exchanged by the Ministry for Primary Industries in a swap with an accounting firm. senior programme managers will ensure his replacement has continuity. His replacement will be in the role before he leaves on April 3.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Bonfire of inanities promised by Nats Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz

OUT OF DATE: National Party agriculture spokesman Todd Muller says the Resource Management Act is like a ball and chain around a farmer’s ankle.

THE National Party will repeal the Resource Management Act and replace it with new legislation to give employers more certainty around decisions that affect their business if it wins this year’s election. But exactly what a new law will look like won’t be revealed till closer to polling date, agriculture spokesman Todd Muller says.

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He said the RMA is no longer fit for purpose. It can too easily be gamed and stops development from being done quickly while farmers are frustrated at the time it takes to get efficient responses from local government when making business decisions. “You want a regulatory framework that gives you some certainty, not one that keeps chopping and changing.” It will also give farmers more surety as they try to meet community expectations on environmental regulations, he said. “In my view, the RMA has morphed well beyond its intended brief.” He compared it to a ball and chain around a farmer’s ankle. “You get the sense that what you want is a regulatory framework that is anchored in science, has a very strong dollop of common sense, expects farmers to be what they have to be in 2020 and allows them to breathe and respond to the reality of farming.” The RMA repeal was announced by National Party leader Simon Bridges as part of its economic plan to create a bonfire of regulations to help NZ businesses. The RMA provides the legal framework for how the country manages its resources. While changing that will change how local government does its business, Muller hopes the net effect will let farmers and other business people operate in a way that is cognisant of the environmental expectations of the community and is easier than the existing “walking through treacle nonsense”, he said. Repealing the RMA will not open the door for development without environmental consideration. Conversations around environmental protection will be informed by science and he favours a catchment-by-catchment approach to manage freshwater improvements relative to economic opportunities, he said. “What we are signaling is that we don’t think the current RMA provides the appropriate direction, business certainty and enablement for those outcomes, both positive for the environment and economic, to be achieved. All it does is constrain both sides of that equation with suffocating red tape and process.” Bridges’ regulation reduction package includes adding a common sense test to the health and safety laws. Muller said details of the proposals are being finalised. Under the current laws employers are required to be able to prove they have taken every step possible to ensure the safety of staff or visitors to their workplace but it is difficult for employers to prove. “You can’t meet a test like that because you can’t be inside someone’s head all of the time. “To angle your legislative response around ‘lets prove that this is the boss’s fault this is happened’, I just disagree with that.” Muller said he wants to see a notion of personal responsibility where appropriate added into an official’s thinking during an investigation. That would add a degree of accountability to the actions of employees and if it can be shown the employer was negligent, that is a different conversation, he said. “It’s an intent of where we think the balance of judgment should sit.”

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

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Banks reassure farmers on loans Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz TIGHTER bank lending requirements could prevent some farmers from meeting new environmental requirements, Massey University banking expert Professor David Tripe warns. He is not surprised some trading banks are taking a tougher approach to rural lending though the banks say they will continue to support their rural customers. Some banks were late participants when the sector boomed and are now uncomfortable with the quality of some of their lending, Tripe said. “Some lending is not as good as it could be.” In replies to written questions banks say they remain committed to the rural sector. Banks tidying up their loan books could present problems for some farmers needing to borrow to meet the requirements of new freshwater standards, biodiversity and climate change, he said. “Some may not get their waterways fenced in time due to finance.” He also warns the credit market will only get tighter if the Reserve Bank imposes higher capital retention requirements on banks. Some rural lending was done at discounted interest rates to attract business but if banks have to retain more capital they will divert lending to areas that generate higher returns. “It is unlikely to make banks increase farm lending but is more likely to have the effect of making them shrink their lending to the farming sector. Federated Farmers vicepresident Andrew Hoggard said banks are increasingly risk averse and new Reserve Bank requirements could see them focus on areas potentially offering higher rates of return, such as housing. “There is going to be a real

WARNING: Banks might be more tight-fisted in lending to farmers wanting money for environmental compliance, Professor David Tripe says.

There is going to be a real challenge out there for some. Andrew Hoggard Federated Farmers challenge out there for some.” Hoggard says new environmental standards are also driving change. Where farmers would once assess a farm’s value in terms of dollars per kilogram of milksolids they now calculate the price on what they can afford to pay, the

return they need to achieve and any investment they need to make. Tripe said some early bank lending was not prudent business and banks are scaling back lending or requiring lenders to meet new repayment schedules to reduce their exposure. “Now they are behaving sensibly and prudently.” But there is a risk banks could be left with stranded assets, properties and loans no one wants because of the large scale of the business or the heightened risk from new environmental rules. He points to the lack of recent dairy farm sales in Canterbury as

an example of how banks have become sensitive in what they lend on. “The dearth of dairy farm sales in Canterbury reflects that they are going to have environmental problems and with the general pattern of global warming the climate is going to get drier.” BNZ’s agribusiness manager Dave Handley says nothing has changed and the bank invests and lends for the long term. “However, we are operating in a capital constrained environment and are taking a prudent approach to lending.” It supports customers with clear business plans running

sustainable farming operations and who meet cashflow, equity and security criteria. “We appreciate that the last few years haven’t been easy for farmers. “The sector is comparatively highly leveraged and some farmers are catching up on deferred expenses from the lower payout years.” Handley says customers are being encouraged to use high prices this year to pay back debt but those needing help to meet pending environmental rules will be supported. A Westpac spokesman says the bank is growing its share of lending to the primary sector. “In the last year we’ve increased our lending and market share in the sector and we are committed to working with our rural customers over the long term.” An ASB spokesman said the bank is also increasing its exposure to the rural sector with more than $11 billion in loans. Funding infrastructure upgrades will be considered on an individual basis. Rabobank’s chief executive Todd Charteris said his bank has not changed its approach to rural lending and in the year to September 2019 increased food and agri lending by about 5% to $10.7b with further growth expected this year. “Importantly, we will continue to achieve this growth within our existing, overall risk appetite, recognising that we have a responsibility to both our clients and prospective clients to be a responsible lender.” An ANZ spokesman said the bank has not changed lending policies to the rural sector but has been encouraging farmers to strengthen their balance sheets. The bank is committed to helping customers meet the cost of pending Government policy on water, biodiversity and climate change.

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10 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Livestock are providing answers Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz LIVESTOCK farmers already have answers to many of the accusations being levelled by critics, they just need to package their responses better, Michigan State University scientist Jason Rowntree says. He and other speakers at the World Hereford Conference in Queenstown said claims a world without ruminant livestock and diets free of red meat will reverse climate change are scientifically wrong. Managed properly, livestock on pasture can enhance and improve the environment by increasing organic matter, microbial activity and biodiversity while sequestering carbon in the soil. Rowntree said common sense has been missing in debates about the role of livestock and climate change. Even if all United States ruminant livestock were eliminated and every American followed a vegan diet, total US greenhouse gas emissions would be cut by just 2.6% or 0.36% globally. “It’s a drop in the bucket.” Perversely, a plant only diet will lead to increased use of synthetic

CATTLEMAN: Michigan State University animal scientist Jason Rowntree says claims about the negative impact of livestock farming on greenhouse gas emissions do not stand up to scrutiny.

fertiliser, greater soil erosion and nutrient-deficient diets. The US emits 6000 to 7000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year but only 9% comes from agriculture and less than 3% from cattle. NZ’s entire greenhouse gas footprint is less than the US’s beef emissions, he says. Rowntree is critical some of the debate about contributions

to climate change lacks scientific rigour and does not address whole systems, which reflects poorly on farming. He says the livestock and climate change debate is pitting the public against food producers with finger pointing, accusations and lashing out. He urges farmers to focus on what they can control and that is managing their land.

Methane has been produced for as long as there have been ruminant animals and Rowntree says it follows a natural biogenic cycle, breaking down after 10 years into carbon dioxide and water, which is then recycled to earth. So long as cattle numbers are falling, as they have in the US for several decades, methane emissions are also declining, reducing the effect of the greenhouse gas. Rowntree says farmers have an even better story to tell from managing regenerative pasture systems. Such systems include multiple plant species, avoid cultivation and fertiliser and cannot be overstocked. He defines regenerative agriculture as an alternative form of food and fibre production enhancing and restoring resilient systems that support and are supported by functional ecosystem processes and healthy soils capable of producing a full suite of ecosystem services. “Among those are soil carbon sequestration and improved soil water retention.” Managed correctly, NZ soil can sequester more than two tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a hectare a year,

making farms carbon neutral. Ruminants have a role in those systems providing fertility and creating a seed bed for seed propagation and establishment. Massey University’s Al Rae Centre chief scientist Dorian Garrick said farmers need to do a better job telling their story but must also find solutions to issues that will offend consumers, such as how to stop killing two million bobby calves each year. “People are buying the process not just the products.” He also challenged bull breeders to broaden the traits they measure as part of estimated breeding values to not only improve their livestock but to satisfy public concerns and needs. Massey is experimenting with urination sensors, which can identify nitrogen content of cattle urine. Three new EBVs he recommends farmers add are reproduction, animal health response to identify animals that might have developed resistance to drugs and nutritional values of meat, such as iron. Garrick says anaemia is a huge problem in women but studies show there is a variation of iron levels in pieces of meat, even from the same animal.

Cattle breeders focus on quality Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz BRITISH Hereford breeders are cautiously optimistic the hardy breed will help them through any post-Brexit regulatory uncertainty. United Kingdom Hereford Cattle Society president Mark Roberts says with the UK in the throes of leaving the European Union future subsidies to farmers being considered by the government are likely to be linked to environmental issues and not production. They will primarily be targeted at arable or land that can be cultivated and not land in permanent pasture. “Permanent pasture is grazed by native breeds like Herefords that produce high-quality protein from pasture, sequester carbon in the soil and do not release carbon through land being cultivated,” he says. The society is working with the Farms Cutting Carbon Toolkit to educate farmers how to reduce their carbon footprint, to quantify the carbon sequestering values of permanent pasture and show livestock farming has a role in reducing greenhouse gases. Roberts is in New Zealand for the World Hereford Conference. During the week the 130 participants based in Queenstown alternated between conference presentations, visiting Central Otago studs and taking in the sights including a cruise on the steamer Earnslaw across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station for the formal conference dinner. On Wednesday they visited the Campbell family’s Earnscleugh

Hereford Stud near Alexandra and the Brown family’s Locharburn Stud near Cromwell. After the conference they will visit other South Island studs. Roberts says beef farmers are relatively relaxed about the UK leaving the European Union because they still have a market of 68 million consumers to underpin prices. To try to cement their future the society is launching a consumer brand-recognition programme for Hereford Beef. “If we don’t have brand recognition it is difficult to tell people that we have got a highquality product,” he says. They are meeting those running NZ’s Hereford Prime marketing programme to learn how they have established what Roberts calls a clear, understandable brand that means quality beef. The society is working with a UK public relations food marketing company and society secretary David Deakin says a host of meat quality awards in recent years proves UK Hereford beef has a story to tell consumers. “The quality is there. It is just that the brand recognition needs to improve.” The programme will not be based on nationalism or promoting a native British breed of cattle but on meat quality from animals that have been fed grass. Deakin says the debate in the UK between veganism and red meat has put pressure on the red meat industry but the society is countering it by saying if consumers eat less red meat

Everyone’s happy Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

UK CONTINGENT: United Kingdom Hereford Cattle Society secretary David Deakin, left, and its president Mark Roberts at Earnscleugh Station in Central Otago during a stop on the World Hereford Conference tour.

The quality is there. It is just that the brand recognition needs to improve. David Deakin UK Hereford Cattle Society then when they do they should eat quality Hereford beef. “They will still have the same disposable income. We say spend it on quality Hereford beef,” he says. The society is also active on social media correcting false claims and accusations from critics of red meat or the farming of animals and will engage with them. The society has about 1000 active

breeders who each year register about 9000 calves. Roberts says the average herd size is relatively small with the largest running 250 registered cows but several have more than 100. In the last 10 years the use of Hereford bulls over commercial cows in the UK has increased 90%. He farms near the city of Hereford close to the Welsh border running about 60 cows, of which 35 are pedigree Hereford, and about 100 others. Roberts also farms broiler chickens and grows crops and fruit for cider production. He sees logic in the potential conflict between farming chickens and beef. “Everybody eats white meat once or twice a week so when it comes to the weekly treat meal I want it to be UK Hereford beef.”

ORGANISERS of the World Hereford Conference are hailing a successful conference, saying the feedback from the more than 130 international and 200 local guests has been overwhelmingly positive. Conference attendees spent a week touring the North Island then stayed in Queenstown and Wanaka where technical papers were presented and went to the Upper Clutha A and P Show before visiting South Island herds. Organising committee chairman Phil Barnett said his group was happy with how the conference was received with a highlight the gala dinner at Walter Peak Station, which attracted 400 people. Feedback indicates they successfully achieved the aim of providing a varied programme of education, events for youth, technical sessions, science papers, networking and visiting studs and farms. The next conference is in 2024 in Kansas City.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Don’t be a dope, avoid hemp feed It is an offence to use any unauthorised compound and no hemp products are authorised. Beef + Lamb North Island FEEDING hemp stubble to general manager Matt Ward said livestock is strictly forbidden while the area of hemp grown here and could put red meat exports is small and hemp has very low in jeopardy, Meat Industry levels of THC, the psychoactive Association chief executive Tim substance found in cannabis Ritchie says. plants, any trace of it could result The consequence of animals in export meat being rejected. eating hemp and having traces Even running stock on of tetrahydrocannabinol in meat harvested hemp crops might makes feeding hemp stubble to result in traces of THC being livestock totally unacceptable. found in meat, which could put It is illegal to feed unprocessed, red meat exports at risk, Ward harvested or hemp products such said. as balage or silage to animals. Given the poor feed quality of “Clearly, the potential hemp stalk it is unlikely to be used risk associated with residue for grazing lambs but farmers transferring to export product is a might be tempted to run cull ewes serious risk that must be avoided on crop residue before sending at all cost,” Ritchie said. them for processing, particularly Hemp and hemp products used as animal feed are regulated under given feed shortages and lack of the Agricultural Compounds and FARMERS WEEKLY HALF PAGE 265W Xkilling 200Hspace. MM “It would be very easy for Veterinary Medicines Act. Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz

DANGER: Feeding livestock on harvested hemp paddocks poses a serious threat to red meat exports.

farmers to unwittingly run old ewes or mature cattle onto hemp stubble without thinking of the remote but potentially devastating chance of THC tainting the meat.” While crop stubble is often valuable at this time of year for stock at or above optimum body condition hemp should be avoided and shut off from all livestock, Ward said. A Ministry for Primary Industries alert clearly states feeding unprocessed hemp to animals without registration is not

permitted and might also be an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Feed products made from processed hemp, like hemp protein powders, can be fed to or used on animals only if it can be proved there is no detectable THC and they meet the requirements for an exemption from registration. The chemicals in hemp and related compounds and any preparation or plant containing them are classed by the Ministry

of Health as controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Controlled drugs and anything containing them can be given to or fed to animals only after registration under the ACVM Act and even then registered products come under strict MPI controls and conditions of sale and use. Unprocessed or minimally processed hemp products, like hemp used for grazing, balage or silage will contain THC and are therefore strictly forbidden, MPI said.

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12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Improved access to India still possible Nigel Stirling nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com

DOOR OPEN: Trade Minister David Parker says he has been assured that India’s withdrawal from RCEP shouldn’t stand in the way of NZ and India increasing trade between themselves.

INDIA’S slamming the door shut on a massive regional free trade deal might not spell the end to New Zealand’s hopes of improved access to its market of more than a billion consumers. Despite its impressive growth rates and huge population, getting a foothold in the Indian market has been hard slog for NZ agricultural exporters. Dairy and sheep meat exports combined from NZ to India last year were less than $6m. Average agricultural tariffs of 34% have not helped. Those tariffs have been a target for NZ negotiators in bilateral talks that begun in 2010 and two years later came under the aegis of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade talks involving NZ and 15 other Asian countries, including India and China. India walked away from RCEP before an interim deal was announced at the end of last year although NZ was hopeful it could be enticed back to the table before the deal was

formally signed later this year. Trade Minister David Parker recently returned from India where he was given the message loud and clear that the country was no longer interested in RCEP membership. “The Indian positioning has become firmer that they are not intending to join RCEP at this stage.

The Indian positioning has become firmer that they are not intending to join RCEP at this stage. David Parker Trade Minister “And given that RCEP is expected to close this year we have to accept their strongly expressed word that they are exercising their sovereign right not to continue with the RCEP negotiation.” More positively, Parker said he had been assured that India’s withdrawal from RCEP shouldn’t stand in the way of NZ and India increasing trade between themselves.

“We are going to get on and do that,” he said. Whether that meant resuming bilateral trade talks, which last took place in early 2015, remained to be seen. While India was concerned about the potential for dairy imports from NZ and Australia undermining the viability of its own farmers it is understood its larger concern was local manufacturers being swamped by cheap Chinese imports if it had forged ahead with RCEP. The latter threat was seen as becoming even more elevated as the trade war with the United States ramped up last year and Chinese manufacturers sought alternative markets. Parker said India was facing potentially chronic shortages of protein in years to come as its growing population outstripped the capacity of its farmers to produce enough to meet demand. “So because of that there may be a way through these sensitive issues that deals with their concerns but also gives them the benefit of protein sources from NZ they may well need.”

Virus impact on trade subsidies unclear meet every two years to advance negotiations to free up world trade. The next meeting is in June and Parker said he was hopeful a longawaited deal to tackle subsidies causing overfishing could be done despite opposition from the European Union and Japan. “The leaders of the world agreed on that through the sustainable development goals by 2020 we would be protecting the fish stocks; so it aligns with

what leaders have agreed for countries of the world and you would think they could see it through.” Parker said a deal to rein in agricultural subsidies was less likely but still possible. “Some of the big players are wanting to phase out industrial subsidies and we and other countries including Brazil and big agricultural producers like them are trying to broaden that discussion to subsidies

more generally that are tradedistorting.” Asked if the virus could help or hinder efforts at the June meeting of WTO ministers to limit subsidies, Parker said it was unclear. Governments were likely to come under pressure to support industries hit by the economic impact of the virus with new or increased subsidies. At the same time tax revenues were also likely to take a hit as

economic growth slowed or even contracted, which could provide impetus for some to cut payments. “You never know what the triggers are going to be either way. “We just have to stay at the table and be out there promoting NZ’s interests,” Parker said. The Dairy Companies Association last month said left unchecked, global agricultural subsidies could reach US$2 trillion by 2030.

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14 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

VALUABLE: Melissa Baer says the data about our food will soon be more valuable than the food itself.

agrievents Wednesday 18/03/2020 Whangarei Agricultural Pastoral Society Karen Williams - National Board Member and Arable Industry Group Chairperson Federated Farmers of New Zealand Insights into the NZ Arable Industry. Venue: Barge Showgrounds Events Centre, Whangarei Time: 5.30-7.30pm Contact: business@wap.org.nz for more info. Thursday 26/03/2020 Climate Variability & Farming in the Manawatu District Manawatu District Council and Allen+Clarke are hosting a workshop evening to begin the conversation with our local agriculture sector about climate variability, its impact and implications for the future. Light refreshments will be provided. Venue: St Johns Hall, Bowen Street, Feilding Time: 5.30-7.30pm For catering purposes please RSVP to: Stacey.Eagle@mdc.govt.nz by Tuesday March 24, 2020 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. Delivered in over 30 locations around NZ. Registrations for 2020 programmes are now open, visit the website for more information and to register. Locations and dates (3 modules & graduation): • Kurow: 26 Feb, 25 Mar, 22 Apr & 20 May • Timaru: 27 Feb, 26 Mar, 23 Apr & 21 May • Onewhero: 26 Feb, 25 Mar, 22 Apr & 20 May • Other locations available from 29th April (refer to website) 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 designed for red meat farming partnerships to plan their business together. 2 full-day workshop delivered over two months. Delivered in over 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): • Rotorua: 10 Mar & 7 Apr • Taumarunui: 11 Mar & 8 Apr • Other locations available from 29th April (refer to website) Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info AWDT It’s all about YOU programme It’s all about YOU is a two-day personal development programme for women involved in the primary sector or rural communities. You’ll discover your true value, refocus on what is important, explore possibilities and create new networks. Locations and dates: • Cromwell: 18 &19 March • Milton 26 & 27 March • Whangarei 28 & 29 May • Matamata 18 & 19 June Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: tessa@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 / 027 696 7409 for more info

Should your important event be listed here? Phone 0800 85 25 80 or email adcopy@globalhq.co.nz

CREDIBILITY: Rob Hewett says creating more value out of less product will be about building trust in a digital world.

Food data is the new goldmine of exports Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz DATA about our food will soon be more valuable than the actual food itself, agriculture business analyst Melissa Baer says. Consumers are becoming more aware of and educated about where their food comes from, Baer told B.linc Innovation’s food transparency and trust workshop at Lincoln. Cutting-edge technology and the proliferation of data are creating more paths for consumers to make informed choices. While New Zealand has a great reputation for producing high-quality foods with exemplary animal welfare standards there’s a need to create opportunities through innovations in technology and storytelling. That will be necessary to create more value for NZ food producers and connect with the right markets. Food production must be targeted at the type of products markets are demanding to meet consumer expectations. “We need to push the envelope in thinking and address the disconnect of our food systems. “Data will be the future to get the magic back,” Baer said. “If we want environmental outcomes we need to be thinking differently. “The magic happens in a connected supply chain.” Baer referred to her farming experience in her homeland, Canada, throughout her

presentation to farmers and agricultural industry professionals. “Our disconnected supply chain has no accountability – how can we accomplish the magic of a local, connected supply chain in a global marketplace is where we have to go. “NZ has to be global because we live so far away. “We have to get understanding and pride back into our food systems.” Traceability and transparency are about GPS – is it really from where it says it’s from? Food safety, compliance, health and wellbeing, location in the supply chain, time from soil to shelf, soil and water data and environmental impact are what consumers are demanding in their food choices. “Data will be the thing that drives adoption. “If we can’t decrease the geographic distance, can we reduce the cognitive distance between eaters and their food.” NZ is good at meeting international standards of quality and elevating standards to reach new markets. “We’re good at moving large volumes, we’re good at technology and we’re good at environment.” But the lure of volume and commoditised products is real. “And the adoption of technology on farm is just not happening as it needs to. “We’re better at environment than most countries but we can’t

continue down the same track but we can and we are working on that.” How consumers see their food and how we work with that must come from both ends, the consumer and the farmer. Power players in the supply chain have no desire to change and that is one of the barriers to a globally connected food system, Baer said.

We need to push the envelope in thinking and address the disconnect of our food systems. Melissa Baer A behaviour shift is needed to counter the consumer data crunch. That doesn’t mean in five to 10 years there will be a job change in the way sheep and beef farmers farm. “But maybe there will be a new role on the farm – a data role. “Data will take the consumer on a journey, create a set of metrics that will give consumers a framework, a journey of how what happens and why it happens, creating a whole lot of loyalty before the food arrives. “Consumers are demanding more transparency around their food products and we need to do better storytelling,” Baer said.

Building consumer trust in how we drive the consumer requirement back inside the farmgate is not easy, Silver Fern Farms and Farmlands chairman and Turners and Growers director Rob Hewett said. “Put frankly, it’s a shit fight out there. “Every day fake news creating mass hysteria is growing the disconnect of the food to the consumer, not just in NZ but globally,” Hewett said. But there is no doubt consumers will need more protein and demand will go up. “Demand for more quality food that they can trust is happening and will continue to happen. “NZ can’t feed everybody. Our production systems are too expensive. “We are at peak meat and peak milk now. “Our challenge is how to create more value out of less product so we need to find those buyers who will by our product and pay the premium.” It will be about building trust in a digital world, Hewett said. “We have got to have the consumer trusting the fact that what you say you do, you are doing and if they want to they can check it out. So, that means we need to have that transparency readily available.” “Creating value starts with the consumer. It’s all about the emotion and the value will come back to the farmgate. “The challenge is monetising it,” Hewett said.

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16 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Research work reveals fodder beet’s value Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz NEW research into fodder beet shows portion control is critical to ensure safe feeding to dairy cows. Fodder beet is widely used on South Island dairy farms as a versatile, high-energy, highyield crop that allows cows to put on body condition quickly, if transitioned correctly. “This makes it an attractive option for farmers but because of the high sugar content careful transitioning onto the crop is critical,” DairyNZ senior scientist Dawn Dalley said. The Sustainable Use of Fodder Beet research project confirms the crop can be a key part of dairy farm systems. “But fodder beet should not make up more than 30% of lactating cows’ diet and 60% for non-lactating cows.” The project looked at nutrient

and mineral interactions and impacts on long-term animal health and welfare. A literature review confirmed the crop’s benefits and challenges. “Fodder beet will continue to be a key part of New Zealand dairy systems but it should not be seen as a complete diet,” Dalley said. Its use has increased significantly over the past 10 years with about 55,000 hectares estimated to be planted annually. Most is grown in the South Island with 79% of CanterburyNorth Otago farms and 58% of south Otago-Southland dairy farms feeding it to cows. In recent years some farmers have become concerned about potential health effects on herds. Cows can develop ruminal acidosis, milk fever or nutrient deficiencies if fodder beet is grazed for long periods without appropriate alternative feed and mineral supplementation.

COMMON: Most fodder beet is grown in the South Island with 79% of Canterbury-North Otago farms and 58% of south Otago-Southland dairy farms feeding the crop to cows.

The recent research and nutritional modelling reinforces recommendations portion control is key for consistent herd performance and to minimise nutrient deficiencies. Many farmers are successfully combining fodder beet with other feeds to provide cows with a diet that meets nutritional requirements and is cost-effective. “By using feed testing which includes mineral composition analysis of fodder beet and other feed, farmers can tailor cow

diets to address any nutrient deficiencies. “Using this approach fodder beet can be a valuable feed option which contributes to a productive dairy system,” Dalley said. Fodder beet is a hardy autumn and winter crop with environmental benefits. The beet’s low nitrogen content results in reduced urine nitrogen concentrations, leading to less nitrate leaching from animals grazing the crop, compared to kale.

It is also an important break crop in winter rotations that use kale and swedes. Regular communication and good planning are needed between dairy farmers and graziers to develop winter feeding plans that are affordable, easy to implement and meet environmental and animal welfare regulations. The survey sampled 285 farmers in Canterbury and North Otago and 223 farmers in Southland and south Otago.

Electricity for third drier at Awarua plant Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz OPEN Country Dairy will commission a third powder drier at its Awarua site in Southland in August and has already secured the milk supply to fill it next season, chairman Laurie Margrain says. The new eight tonnes an hour drier will be powered by steam from the country’s largest

electrode boiler, a 13 megawatt plant using electricity from Contact Energy. Along with higher-value whole milk powder grades the extension of the Awarua plant will facilitate production of skim milk powder and anhydrous milk fat. The dairy products output of Awarua will increase by 50% when the new plant is operating, he said. Without a natural gas option in

the deep south the power source was either going to be electricity or coal. Margrain said Open Country’s sustainability policy is to avoid fossil fuels where possible. Asked about possible processing over-capacity in the dairy industry now the country’s milk supply isn’t growing he said Open Country “ran its own race”. “We have modern, efficient plants in four locations and we

add value through improved productivity. “If an over-capacity does develop in the industry it will impact older, less-efficient plants.” He would not disclose the investment made in extending Awarua and would only confirm just over 1000 supply farms nationwide but not the number in Southland. However, the Southland farms

tend to have larger cow herds than those supplying Whanganui, Waharoa and Horotiu in the North island, he said. Awarua is also the processing site for organic milk from Aquila Sustainable Farming, owned by private German investors, with six farms and 5500 cows. Branded AwaRua milk powders for mothers and infants are now sold in New Zealand and Australia.

FE S T I VA L P A R T NE R :

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Green tools are not available Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz FARMERS need to increase and retain more carbon in soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions but don’t have the tools to do it, Landcare Research scientist David Whitehead says. “We have got to find a way for farmers to retain more soil carbon but it’s very difficult to do. “This is the problem, farmers are under pressure to do something about greenhouse gases but we don’t yet have the technologies available using current widespread, highintensity management practices without negative trade-offs for productivity. “We can’t expect farmers to do anything when we haven’t provided them with management options,” Whitehead said. Results from a four-year investigation testing practical changes to farming management reveal greater than expected carbon losses. High soil water content from irrigation was found to enhance carbon losses while irrigating lucerne with water and dairy shed effluent on stony soils really is not good practice, programme leader Whitehead said. The programme tested practical changes to farming management to reduce carbon and nitrogen losses on a dairy farm on stony soils at Lincoln University’s Ashley Dene Research and Development Station. The agriculture sector, particularly dairy farming, is facing increasing demands to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen leaching, more so in the eastern region of the South Island where soils are stony and nitrogen is lost through nitrate leaching and through nitrous oxide emissions, Whitehead said. “We examined farm management to reduce nitrogen

THE NITTY GRITTY: David Whitehead in the lab preparing soil for carbon analysis.

We can’t expect farmers to do anything when we haven’t provided them with the management options. David Whitehead Landcare Research and phosphorous losses by manipulating irrigation and carbon inputs from fodder species. “We are also looking into the soil microbiological processes that regulate nitrogen losses to gain a better understanding of how and why carbon and nitrogen are either lost or immobilised.” Carbon can be lost through decreases in soil carbon mainly caused by the sensitive balance between carbon inputs, harvest

intensity and removal of water constraints to decomposition of soil organic matter. Presenting the research to a workshop at Lincoln Whitehead said he’s surprised to find systems are losing so much carbon. “We didn’t expect to find we are losing so much carbon.” The next stage of the project is to change the sward to a mix with red and white clover, plantain and Italian ryegrass. “The prospect is that this will be much more effective in reducing nitrate leaching. “Careful management of the sward will help with the harvest versus grazing aspect and will impact on potential changes in carbon stocks that can be negative or positive depending on the grazing regime.” While plantain is showing promise to reduce nitrate leaching it has the disadvantage of having to be re-sown and is less effective in cold conditions.

Meantime, four years of seasonal and annual estimates of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus leaching losses under both water and effluent irrigated and non-irrigated lucerne growing on excessively drained, stony soils – typical of much of the land converted from dryland farming to irrigated in Canterbury have been gathered. Results of trials show the largest carbon losses occur in the later part of the season when photosynthesis declines faster than respiration. High soil content from irrigation enhances carbon losses but keeping soil water close to minimum crop requirement minimises respiration losses. For non-irrigated lucerne leaching losses were 7kg to 30kg of nitrogen a hectare a year with larger losses occurring in grazing relative to cut-and-carry management. In contrast leaching losses

from irrigated lucerne are higher, 39-102kg N/ha/yr with summer leaching having the highest losses. Inclusion of plantain with perennial ryegrass/clover can decrease nitrogen leaching by 14% and with Italian ryegrass/clover by 24%. Well managed irrigation minimises nitrogen leaching from August to December while a winter active crop such as Italian ryegrass following grazing of fodder beet crops is critical to minimise winter nitrogen leaching. Irrigating lucerne with effluent on stony soils leads to high nitrogen leaching and carbon loss. “So, this is not recommended practice.” Grazing rather than cutting non-irrigated lucerne retains more soil carbon, attributable to excreta returns and lower biomass removal rates, but the trade-off is a threefold increase in nitrogen leaching, Whitehead said.

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18 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

DEDICATED: Laurie Keats has been involved with the Golden Shears since its inception. Photo: Dean Williamson

Shears patron still has passion Earlier this month the Golden Shears celebrated its 60th anniversary. Colin Williscroft caught up with its patron, Laurie Keats, who helped organise the first event.

T’S one of the oldest volunteer-run events in the country and if competition entries and crowd numbers are anything to go by the Golden Shears will be around for a few more years yet, Laurie Keats says. Keats, who cut the ribbon to open this year’s event, was in and out of proceedings over its four days, sometimes preferring to catch up with old friends in Masterton for the competition in the quieter surrounds of the city’s shearing museum, which is only a few hundred metres down the road from the contest’s home at Masterton’s War Memorial Stadium. The 86-year-old played a key role in organising the first event and he has been involved in some way ever since, either through actively participating on the organising committee or, latterly, sharing his experience when asked. He says the inspiration behind the competition came from members of the Wairarapa Young Farmers Club in the 1950s. At that time Young Farmers ran a number of national competitions to test skills in areas such as public speaking and stock judging but there was nothing for shearing. Members wanted to change that

and though initially they couldn’t interest others in organising a national event they took it on themselves to run a standalone competition at the Masterton A&P Show, which attracted so much interest from shearers they had to close off entries. It also attracted long queues of spectators, despite an entrance fee, and organisers Keats, Iain Douglas and Graham Buckley realised they were on to something. However, there was still uncertainty over the viability of a national competition till 1959 when what was supposed to be a shearing and wool-handling demonstration for farmers was overrun by Masterton people who just wanted to watch shearing. That led to business people and representatives from Young Farmers, Federated Farmers and the A&P association getting together with farmers to organise what became known as the Golden Shears. The inaugural event was modelled on regional young farmer competitions of the day with three shearing classes: open, intermediate and junior. The popularity of the first Golden Shears in March 1961 exceeded all expectations. The event proved so popular that on the final night territorial soldiers in camp nearby were called in to control the crowd outside the stadium clamouring to join the thousands already crushed inside, many shoulder to shoulder. For the record, the top two places in the open event in that first year went to the Bowen brothers, Ivan and Godfrey, in that order, followed by Bing McDonald.

Keats says he was not surprised shearers from around the country were keen to take part, even if it cost them five pounds, about what they could make from shearing 100 sheep, to enter. “Shearers are competitive sort of buggers. “They always want to test themselves. Even when there’s only one of them they’ll compete against themselves to better what they’ve done before.”

We knew that if we set up a good, fair competition they’d keep coming. Laurie Keats Despite the success of the inaugural event there were still people who thought it could never last, describing it as at best a three-year wonder. Keats and the other organisers thought otherwise. “We knew that if we set up a good, fair competition they’d keep coming.” He says little has changed from the original format, which, in keeping with young farmer club competitions, included an open wool-handling event and a team shearing relay. Keats, who was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to shearing, served as Golden Shears president for six years and was a founding member and president of the Golden Shears World Council, set up in

1980 to join forces with other competitions around the world. The Golden Shears has been a boon to Masterton in more ways than one, he says. Not only does hosting the annual event attract plenty of visitors requiring food and accommodation it’s also put the city on the map overseas. Keats spent much of the 1980s shearing overseas and during that time attended a lot of shearing competitions in Britain. Whenever there was a shearer competing who had been to the Golden Shears it was always mentioned by the event announcer. “British farmers know all about the Golden Shears and where it is. “It’s a real claim to fame over there to have sheared at the Golden Shears in Masterton.” Keats’ travels didn’t just take in Britain. He also worked, demonstrated and instructed in France, Corsica, Iceland, Norway, the Falkland Islands about 18 months after the war, the United States and Saudi Arabia while he also went behind the Iron Curtain in 1983 to demonstrate and instruct shearing techniques as an official representative of the International Wool Secretariat. Though he didn’t get as far as Russia he did visit Yugoslavia, Hungary and Poland. Eastern Europe was a real eye-opener. Though generally welcomed everywhere he went it was during the Cold War so some people were very suspicious. Keats travelled with a Lister direct-drive shearing unit, a lexie tube and long extension cord, which was very different to what shearers in that part of the

world were using at the time. It allowed him to plug in almost anywhere and set to work. In Yugoslavia they were shearing with what were little more than scissors though the technology was slightly better in Hungary where most of the shearing was done by women, mainly by machine but nothing like the technology used here. Polish shearers, who also had access to machines rather than blades, were keen to learn the NZ style of shearing as demonstrated by Keats and explained through a translator. These days Keats is content running a few sheep on about 6ha that was once part of his original farm. He spends a lot of time at the shearing museum, sharing his knowledge and experience with visitors from NZ and overseas, while as Golden Shears patron he remains actively involved. The event is in good heart, he says, with ticket sales and the 500 or so competitors who took part this year illustrating its strength and relevance. He says it’s not out of the question the event could go for another 60 years and he is heartened by the large number of novices who took part this year, especially given sheep numbers are much lower than they once were. “It’s great to see the young ones coming through because it’ll be them who are going to carry it on. “Long may it last.”

WATCH: >> Video link: bit.ly/goldenkeats

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Food for the soul meets sustainable farm goals Food as an expression of self is a new but very real concept driving today’s teens to spend more on their calorie intake than their clothes, food innovator Mike Lee says. He told EvokeAg agri-tech conference today’s food market is a fragmented, individualised affair, departing rapidly from the traditions of the Green Revolution. Richard Rennie was there.

OOD innovator Mike Lee seriously doubts a product like Coca Cola could be launched in today’s food market. The expression of self through food type is a massively disruptive behaviour shift big multi-national corporates working in the earlier model have been unable to gear themselves towards. Lee’s company, Alpha Food Labs, has worked with the big players in the food sector including Barilla, Campbell’s and Danone along with small-scale alternative protein start-ups. “It would be extremely difficult to start Coca Cola today, thinking everyone would like a Coke, when in fact the market is just too fragmented today for that to work.” Much of today’s food corporates’ thinking has revolved around the staple crops generated through the Green Revolution. “That was basically just about how to produce more food with 75% of the world’s food sourced from only 12 varieties of plants and five animal species.” In contrast, he cited the complex matrix that goes with

ordering a simple hamburger today. “That can be red meat, no meat, maybe lab meat. Cheese could be dairy cheese or Perfect Day nondairy cheese, the cooking method could be grilled or smoked, the lettuce city sourced, indoor grown or standard.” His firm has detected three distinct consumer values new food product developers need to keep in mind. They are health, sustainability and experience factors. “And they will all be demanded together, which is tougher to do. “In terms of health the idea of food as medicine is growing as people become more jaded by pharmaceutical sector claims. The functional foods sector was worth $247 billion in 2018 and is still growing. Six out of 10 consumers want snacks that deliver health benefits beyond nutrition.” Sustainability and experience are two factors that have not been linked closely enough in the past but now two-thirds of consumers are prepared to pay more for sustainably produced food offering a quality eating experience.

FITTING FARMERS TO FOOD: Marketing specialist Mike Lee maintains going back to farmers and asking them what they enjoy growing can help provide sustainable food solutions.

“So you have companies like General Mills planning to regenerate one million acres of farmland by 2030.” The company aims to integrate regenerative agricultural practices with permaculture. Lee said food remains a messy confluence of heart and emotion, making production and marketing it one of the toughest gigs around. “We are not selling oil futures here. It’s emotion and you have to accept that consumers will be completely emotional in behaviour.” Adding to that is the primal scream of urban populations to be closer to their food source, helping drive the growth in rooftop gardens and urban orchards. “Plus, I pay attention to highend culinary circles. They may not be where everyone is dining now but they have this innovation microcosm – we look at how these ideas scale up.” Restaurateur David Chang and Row 7 Seed Company collaborated on breeding squash that taste better and feature in a hyped-up salad dish.

In the past areas like seed breeding have put the production and yield needs of food systems ahead of taste. The result is heirloom varieties have often left behind, not because of taste but because they might have been lower yielding or less hardy for transport over long distances, Lee said.

We are not selling oil futures here. It’s emotion and you have to accept that consumers will be completely emotional in behaviour. Mike Lee Alpha Food Labs Rather than beating consumers over the head with climate change statistics, making changes to flavours in products that also make their environmental footprint lower is more likely to

deliver for consumers, marketers and the planet. Further re-engineering the supply chain, Lee’s company recently went to some United States grain farmers and asked them what the crops they most enjoy growing. “One crop that came up was millet. But they didn’t grow it because there was no market for it despite it being a good crop for the soil.” The result of stepping right back to the growers was to develop a line of varietal crop crackers. They feature the previously lesser grown crops, including millet, flax, hard red winter wheat, northern spring wheat and garbanzo beans and yellow peas. The range of types all fitted within a three-year crop rotation between the varieties used in the crackers. All the crop ingredients and their growing methods play a role in boosting biodiversity, soil health and water quality, essentially contributing to a regenerative approach growers want to use and consumers want to see being practised.

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production is not jeopardised. “We need food Neal Wallace so other sectors need to do better. neal.wallace@globalhq .co.nz “This is a breath of someone to finally fresh air for HE red meat industry say Rankin says while that.” hopes to ramp up its reports have been previous Taste Pure Nature scathing of farming, this one brand campaign is less so. on “I felt like this the back of the report has helped latest international climate us turn a corner, that change report. affected by climate farmers are change but we The Intergovernmental also really need them.” Panel on Climate Change The report found (IPCC) report global food is being welcomed systems account by New for a quarter of Zealand farming greenhouse gas leaders as an emissions and endorsement of agricultural emissions our low impact of nitrous systems and the oxide and methane importance of are increasing. maintaining food But land also has a role production. as a The IPCC says carbon sink, absorbing land on which 30% of the we rely for food, planet’s greenhou water, se gas emissions health and wellbeing energy, between 2008 and 2017. is already under pressure Crop productio and climate n is being change will exacerbat affected by higher temperatures, through desertifica e that changing rain patterns tion degradation potentiall and land frequency of extreme and greater y affecting events. food security. The report warns consump tion The report’s advocacy patterns, land management and balanced diet including of a population growth will determine animal protein sourced the planet’s future from resilient, in a changing sustainable, low climate. greenhou systems is an endorsem se gas “Pathways with higher demand ent for NZ, for Beef + Lamb chief food, feed, and insight officer water, more ON-FARM training Jeremy Baker says. resource-intensive courses have an consumption important role to “This is the NZ She said there should and productio play n and more limited red always future, Feilding High in agriculture’s be an opportunity production system. meat technological improvem Reesby said the to role that form Meaghan Reesby School student ents training because do practical of training plays “It is definitely in agriculture yields, says. trained staff have in increasing the not saying that The year 13 pupil result in a better understand skills of people in we all need to higher risks from ing of how their agriculture should become vegetarian agri-commerce at plans study water scarcity workplaces, such not be overlooked Massey University or vegan.” in drylands, land as farms, function, and any future next year but said degradation and which is good for changes in how not everyone employers and It is an opportun food insecurity training course are interested in agriculture employees. .” ity to ramp delivered needs wants to go up promotion to remember that. Report contribut to university. of the Taste Pure Feilding High School The daughter of or Associate Himatangi dairy Nature brand, Professor Anita Some people prefer can build their practicalpupils farmers, Meaghan’s to tell Wreford, of farming brother global meat eaters 40 million on approach, whether a more handsLincoln University works experience while on the family farm, about NZ’s low’s Agribusiness that is through at school by complementing a cadetship or beginning carbon footprint, and Economic taking courses offered what he learns at he says. Research Unit, work with building their knowledge a job and Gateway, a programme through DairyNZ climate says it shows the practical courses, through change importance of for young while her sister courses offered people in their last ambassador Trish also is also full time not implemen by workplace year of school ting contradictory Rankin is training providers that allows them fitting her Massey on the farm, heartened the policies. such as Primary to report says some course work ITO. training made up complete around that. sectors need to “The report is of theory and reduce their highly practical unit standards. emissions faster for NZ as we grapple relevant to ensure food MORE: trade-offs involved with the greenhouse gas P3 emissions, with reducing adapting to the change, managing impacts of climate the we value and maintainiareas supporting our communities and ng and societies in this process.

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Opinion

20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

EDITORIAL

We’ll weather storms together

SK farmers what’s on their mind at any given time and the answer will probably be the same no matter what time of year it is: the weather. It is on everyone’s mind now as rivers dry up and green turns to brown. And rural communities are having to weather more storms, it seems. The quest for ever-increasing production from our farms is no longer being tolerated by New Zealanders or many of the consumers we hope to sell our food to. After years of inaction, lawmakers have moved to put the brakes on by setting goals to reduce freshwater pollution, greenhouse gases and the loss of biodiversity. Anyone who’s been reading both the aspirational goals of NZ’s primary industry bodies and international newspapers for the past 10 years will have seen this coming. The world wants sustainably produced food with a great story backing its production and we want to sell it to them. Having the boxes ticked is the price of doing this business. In times of change people are uncertain of the way forward and it is easy to find a villain. Many have found an easy target in the Government. But this evolution in our farming systems was happening before the last election and will continue after the next. The real villain is that of uncertainty itself. To vanquish that villain we need assurance. Take the Zero Carbon Bill as an example. Our industry worked with the Government to find a solution that puts farming in control of its destiny as it looks to reduce emissions. The bill sets concrete targets farmers can focus on. Let’s take that same approach to the other challenges we face. By working together as a community, as an industry and as a nation we can navigate the storms thrown our way as people, as businesses and as an industry. If we work together, we’ll weather together.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

More letters P23

Income will depend on farming GIVEN the imminent demise of the tertiary education sector, the timber industry and tourism as sources of export income it is obvious that once again New Zealand will be dependent on farming as its main source of foreign exchange. Product prices are good, dry conditions notwithstanding, but farmers’ morale and willingness to increase production are at a low ebb. Similarly, banks are reluctant to lend to farmers to enable increases in production. Why? The pending introduction of Governmentinitiated regulations concerning greenhouse gas emissions, fresh water management and now indigenous biodiversity are

all weighing in the balance against anyone taking on the risk involved in increasing production. Yet the longer the coronavirus crisis continues the more we will need all the production we can get. Perhaps now might be an opportune moment to suggest to the Government that, noble and aspirational as its goals might be, now is not a good time to introduce them and that the country’s main breadwinners might be able to perform better without the impediment of a self-imposed handicap. Bill Wrigley Dunsandel

Consult farmers IN RESPONSE to Fired up coasters threaten blockade, March 2.

It seems ironic Conservation Minister Eugene Sage can be worried about the biodiversity on the West Coast when her department manages 84% of the land on the West Coast. If the Department of Conservation cannot manage the environment it is delegated to manage at 84% of land then there are some serious inadequacies in the department and no chance of it successfully caring for the rest of New Zealand, where the areas it manages are significantly less. I am tired of hearing Sage rubbish our farming community and making people who live in the country sound like we are environment-destroying monsters because that is simply not true. West Coast-Tasman has a very large percentage already

managed by DoC compared to the rest of NZ and shows our people and councils have been working to protect biodiversity in our region long before it was required by our Government. The huge areas identified on private properties show there is no problem if more than a third of private land has been identified as having significant values that have already been maintained or restored by private owners before any regulation. In Tasman 63% of land and 76% in Golden Bay is managed by DoC and it is trying to confiscate private property without compensation under the guise of conservation. This seems to be in direct contradiction with property law that states the Goverment Continued page 23

Letterof theWeek EDITOR Bryan Gibson 06 323 1519 bryan.gibson@globalhq.co.nz EDITORIAL Stephen Bell 06 323 0769 editorial@globalhq.co.nz Neal Wallace 03 474 9240 neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz Colin Williscroft 06 323 1561 colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz Annette Scott 03 308 4001 annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz Hugh Stringleman 09 432 8594 hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz Gerald Piddock 027 486 8346 gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz Richard Rennie 07 552 6176 richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz Nigel Stirling 021 136 5570 nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com Riley Kennedy 027 518 2508 Cadet journalist riley.kennedy@globalhq.co.nz

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Many farmers ahead of regulators Mark Patterson

T SEEMS campaign mode is well and truly under way judging by Opposition agriculture spokesman Todd Muller’s egregious attack on New Zealand First (Farmers Weekly 2-3-20). No surprises in this, of course, as Simon Bridges has unwisely left himself very few pathways to the prime ministership. Taking out NZ First out seems his only plan. Much more capable National Party leaders than Bridges have tried and failed in that strategy over the past 27 years. While Muller’s political attack was predictable it amounted to not much more than a tired relitigation of the 2017 election result. Time to move on Todd.

It might be tempting for some farmers during a time of change look to leaders who tell them everything is okay and nothing needs to change but that would be to deny reality.

For me, what was truly disappointing about Muller’s tirade was that it was devoid of any attempt to articulate his own vision as a would-be agriculture minister. It might be tempting for some farmers during a time of change to look to leaders who tell them everything is okay and nothing needs to change but that would be to deny reality. Times such as these demand leaders prepared to address big, strategic challenges and articulate a genuine pathway to meet ambitious goals.

NZ remains as reliant as ever on our primary sector to drive the economic and social ambitions of our country. That’s never been more clearly demonstrated than during this term of the Coalition Government, in which, despite the constant peddling of gloom from the National Party, we have enjoyed record export receipts and extremely high terms of trade. We do need to keep some perspective here. If we step back and look at the big picture the reality is clear. We do have catchments where land use change has over-allocated nutrient and sediment loadings in some of our waterways. We do have international obligations to meet under the Paris Accord – commitments signed off by Muller’s own colleagues in the National Party. We need to continue evolve our farming practices on issues like animal welfare and stock wintering. If we don’t address these issues it will be the high-end consumers we aspire to market our produce to that we will be ultimately answerable to. The production-led commodity game is a strategy of the past. Disruptors like alternative proteins are not conceptual threats – they’re available right now at your local Burger King. Just ask the strong wool sector how ignoring such disruptors works out. From my experience a good number of farmers and growers implicitly understand these realities and are already well ahead of regulators. NZ First has not been in denial, however, we have played a significant role in providing balance to these debates and making sure farmers’ voices are heard within the Coalition. Results of this can be seen in the likes of curtailing of the capital gains tax, preventing feebates on utes and insisting on farming staying out

The

Pulpit

of an Emissions Trading Scheme without farm-level accountability. We have also taken very keen interest in submissions on freshwater and biodiversity proposals to make sure there is a degree of flexibility, pragmatism and fairness built into the eventual outcomes. To that end I have engaged extensively with farmers the length of the country and our door is always open to farming leaders who seek to engage constructively with solutions. Pleasingly, that door is well used. Additionally, Muller’s assertion that NZ First has not been a friend of rural NZ conveniently overlooks the Provincial Growth Fund, the massive $3 billion investment into our regions, the largest regional development fund per capita in the world. I know first-hand how appreciative the regions are to have this help to unlock their economic potential. It also ignores the farm debt mediation scheme that was enacted last year and is a brainchild of NZ First going back to the early 2000s. The legislation ensures creditors will offer mediation to farmers who find themselves in financial difficulties. With the banks piling enormous

ASSUMPTION: National has spent years taking the rural vote for granted, NZ First MP Mark Patterson says.

pressure on our farmers this initiative will be of great help. Like us or not, one thing is for sure, NZ First will be competing hard for rural NZ’s vote in September. My own pathway from being a member of the National Party to NZ First was seeing National’s complacency in rural NZ. For years National was allowed to take our rural vote for granted. Despite their rural rhetoric, to gain power National needs to win big in Auckland and urban NZ, that’s where the votes are and that’s ultimately who will pull their strings hardest. While it might be inconvenient for them to

face a battleground in their rural heartland, that’s exactly what we will be forcing them do.

Who am I? Mark Patterson is a New Zealand First list MP based in CluthaSouthland. He is spokesman for agriculture and primary industries, biosecurity and land information.

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

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Opinion

22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Stop snubbing farmers on water Alternative View

Alan Emerson

THERE’S been a lot happening recently concerning water quality. We regularly hear about water quality in the provinces, about how our rivers are polluted and how farmers pollute, seemingly at will. It’s a crisis, we are told, and we’ve had drafts, consultations, plans and expert panels spending an inordinate amount of time and taxpayer dollars considering water quality in the rural hinterland. What we don’t hear about is the crisis of water quality in the cities. For some reason they’re exempt from scrutiny. The cynic in me suggests offending provincial voters is fine but don’t stir up the city voters, certainly in election year. That means water in the provinces is a political football. Pollution in the cities is ignored. For example, the water systems are an absolute disgrace in Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown, for starters.

In Wellington a tsunami of sewage was released into Owhiro Bay. The inner harbour is polluted as have been Lakes Taupo and Wakatipu. Porirua, Nelson and Auckland harbours are polluted. In Auckland’s case 400 Olympic sized swimming pools of pollution is released into the sea each year. Far more people swim at the beaches of Auckland, Wellington, Porirua and Nelson than would ever swim in provincial rivers but there is one rule for the cities and another for the provinces. Have we heard a whisper of reproach from the Environment Minister David Parker, his ministry, Greenpeace, Fish and Game, Forest and Bird or the Environmental Defence Society? The answer is an emphatic no but if a farmer’s system breaks down and a litre of sewerage is leaked into a stream the hysteria is tantamount to thunder. The reason is simple. The politicians, bureaucrats and feel-good organisations like Greenpeace can look good by claiming they are trying to improve the environment by talking about swimmable rivers. The fact few want to swim in those rivers is incidental. When it comes to the cities who cares. It’s worse than that. I claim the

consultation process of the socalled Healthy Waterways scheme is corrupt. For a start, out of utter frustration, Federated Farmers used the Official Information Act to try to find out what was going on. It applied in September last year and didn’t receive a reply until February.

No-one from any farmer organisation has seen the document. That is arrogant in the extreme. Official Information Act requests are meant to be actioned within 20 working days. Federated Farmers says the OIA response shows the advice the Primary Industries Ministry offered was sound and practical. MPI highlighted the lack of analysis around the costs of the proposals to farmers and communities and the blunt and inefficient nature of the proposals. It also pointed out the relative benefits of taking a farmer-led catchment and waterway-specific approach to improving freshwater quality. It also wanted more analysis done.

So while the advice to ministers from MPI was sound, it didn’t travel through the consultation process. It effectively disappeared. One can only assume neither Parker nor the Environment Ministry liked what MPI said. Federated Farmers described the consultation process as a closed shop, which is no way to resolve anything. The next step in the process was an Independent Advisory Panel that prepared a report recommending changes. It is not clear whether it saw the MPI advice or was in blissful ignorance of it. It gets better as the report was released late last month to a small number of advisory groups. No-one from any farmer organisation has seen the document. That is arrogant in the extreme. We now have the issue that Cabinet will decide on the consultation without any input from agriculture. As Federated Farmers have aid, the approach that has been and continues to be taken is entirely unacceptable and underlines its view the freshwater reforms are rushed, ill-considered and already decided without regard for the impacts on farmers or rural communities or even the feasibility of the proposals.

Chris Allen is the mildmannered Feds water spokesperson. He said “Farmers want to know where they’re going. Any change will require a huge investment by farmers, surely they should be consulted. We want outcomes not numbers. Farmers want a healthy environment and farm practices and investment will achieve outcomes. The Government isn’t listening to any of that. We have no idea what’s going on.” In addition we have Landcorp’s Marnie Prickett on the MfE Freshwater Leaders Group for whatever reason. One can assume she, unlike farmers, is in the know. As spokesperson of Choose Clean Water she writes articles for the media. On one hand she is part of an inner circle on the other she is exhorting the Government to harden up on water regulation. Am I missing something or is that a conflict of interest? The Government should take note of the statement by retired Feds supremo William Rolleston to engage not enrage. That’s if it’s serious about real change.

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

Death could be a devastating experience From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

LAST week the World Health Organisation officially announced coronavirus is a worldwide pandemic. Through good management and luck New Zealand has just five cases at the time of writing, all back at home, and no deaths yet. Compared to Italy with 13,000 cases and more than 850 deaths already it’s easy to see what can go wrong very quickly. Worst case scenario here with a 50% infection rate is that 2.5 million Kiwis will catch it and at a 2% death rate some 50,000 people could die. Eight and a half thousand New Zealanders died in the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918 from a population of just over a million, so a comparable death rate. It would be a devastating experience but let’s hope the respite we have now gives us time to learn from elsewhere what to do and what not to do. Trump’s surprising announcement of a ban on flights from Europe for 30 days was pure politics and an unhelpful and likely damaging economic and social response.

Only two days earlier he was saying it would soon go away and much of the commentary was fake news contradicting health experts. It would be surprising given the economic impacts we are already seeing all around us that the economy doesn’t have a couple of quarters in a row of negative economic growth and slip into the definition of a recession. But of most interest will be how long a slowdown will last. The pundits are predicting a short, sharp shock as the virus runs its course.

If coronavirus hadn’t come along there would have been an inevitable correction from some other drama.

However, moves like Trump’s or other unexpected reactions could force a depression or maybe another global financial crisis if the banks aren’t in as good shape as they should be after the experience of 2008. Let’s consider the share market’s recent reaction to the growing crisis and take a look back into history for reassurance. The Dow Jones industrial average has dropped 20% from its all-time high over the last few

weeks. It shed 5% purely on the announcement by the WHO that it is now a pandemic. This sounds a lot and it is. I’m no expert on the share market and don’t have many shares but, like most of us, I’m in Kiwisaver along with all the family and everyone else I know and I suppose that’s dropped something like 20% but I haven’t bothered to check it out. I sent the 100-year-old graph of the Dow Jones index to my three sons and reminded them their Kiwisaver schemes are there for the long term. Keep calm and carry on. If our grandparents had tucked a little share portfolio away for us in 1932 after the plunges of the Wall Street crash of the late 1920s, that fund would now be 25,000 times bigger. Sadly, none of mine did. I see the years from 1966 to 1982 weren’t great times to be an investor in the share market though those farming during that period had a great time even though the last few of those years were propped up by Muldoon’s subsidies. I began farming in 1983 and watched those more established jump into the share market and things like Lloyds of London but we were in survival mode, not investing, so I didn’t share the pain in 1987 when it all came crashing down. It was an enormous deal at the time but when you look at the long-term graph it was just a correction from

STEADY: The Dow Jones index has seen some ups and downs in the past 100 years but its rise has been steady overall.

a bull run but took four years to get back to where it had been. I see the share market has increased tenfold since 1982 until now and muse that if I’d put my borrowed money into the share market instead of a small farm we would be in the same financial position as we find ourselves now. But I wouldn’t have worked decent toil or had the satisfaction of a farming career so no regrets there. The graph does show that the GFC of 2008 was a serious setback to the share market and, as we know, a close-run thing to a total collapse of the financial situation prevented only by governments bailing out banks all over the place.

That time it took six years to get back to the previous peak and, as we know, continued as an 11-year bull run until the last few weeks. If coronavirus hadn’t come along there would have been an inevitable correction from some other drama. How big this correction is and what sort of economic outcome results remains to be seen. As the old Chinese curse says, “May you live in interesting times”.

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 – March 16, 2020

A month of travel and homecoming The Voice

Craig Wiggins

MARCH is the month of reasons to get off the farm without travelling too far unless you’re a commentator or perhaps a farmer health advocate. This month I will attend the Urenui Rodeo and Golden Shears for Farmer First health checks, the Norwood Sports Awards, the Ford Ranger Rural Games, Feilding sale yards for Farmer First health checks and the Waimarino Rodeo 70th jubilee for two days. I’ll also go to Trev’s 2020 Farm Yarn bike tour for farmer wellbeing and finally be the clerk of the course at the Methven races on the last weekend of the month. Also running this month are many regional field days around the country. Farmers, I challenge you to get off the farm, leave behind the drought and lower prices, turn off the media speculation of what the coronavirus will mean for commodity prices and travel to enjoy some company you might not have seen for a while at one of the many events on throughout New Zealand this autumn. But don’t just do it now, try to do it more often. Visit a mate,

watch a local footy game, go to a school event or, better still, invite someone to your table. I know cost can inhibit many but even if it’s just a cuppa with a neighbour please just do it. Times are tough. We have had our grass burnt off and the banks are looking to reduce their rural involvement or at least increase the capital repaid. The election looms and already the double speak is confusing the issues and deferring the truth to another day. Not a lot is in our control at the moment but if time out, even for just a few hours once a week, can charge our batteries and keep us focused then make that time a priority.

Healthy communities are full of healthy people and healthy people build healthy communities.

This month I met Kane Brisco, a young man from Taranaki, who decided to get farmers off their farms and give them a chance to improve their health. He is a past boxer and rep rugby player who is now a share farmer. Not for profit or fame but for his community he runs a boot camp fitness programme every Wednesday and Friday nights for the locals who want to attend.

GO OUT: Going on a bike ride might not be your cup of tea but do something to get off the farm.

They lift posts, carry drench containers full of water, biff hay bales and roll tractor tyres. When they get worn out then they punch a bag and finally stretch. The benefits are physical, social and mental as the whole group works to lift each other. The frustrations of the day leave through the sweat they shed and the kilos they lose. The sleep at night comes easier and the community, which has no hall or focal point, is now growing in numbers as Kane facilitates a reason to get together. He is an inspiration along with those who regularly turn up. Farmfit is the name of his programme. Take a look at this month’s Farmers Voice video. It features Kane and his people. Leighton Minnell, an old mate from my Jetsprinting commentary days, is taking 17 Trevs from New Plymouth to Napier via farm

tracks on the old Honda stepthrough motorbikes, stopping off in places like Raetihi, my old home town, along the way. There will be a night out to listen to a rare breed of a man known as Cavie in Raetihi as he talks of his self-imposed isolation eating peanut butter in a cave for 40-odd days and his life as the wild man of jet sprint commentary both here and in Australia. These things might not be your cup of tea. Bike tours, races, rodeo and boot camps are only suggestions. Find something you think might enhance your community and start it up or if there is a struggling club you can lend a hand to, join it. Ask not what your community can do for you but ask what your community needs from you. It’s a good excuse to actually improve yourself along the way. About now I can hear all those

LETTERS Continued from page 20 cannot confiscate private property without compensation. While this policy might be appropriate in elsewhere in NZ it is not in West Coast-Tasman or any area where DoC already manages most of the land. Sage’s comment that for the last 150 years landowners have not compensated the community for the loss of wetlands is inflammatory and hatemongering. While our country might be looking to diversify in recent times, in decades past it was farming that kept our GDP healthy and fed our people before the global economy allowed for the level of food importation we have today. It still plays a vital role in our economy, accounting for 5% or $10.6 billion of GDP in 2018. And while Sage might want to keep us focused on farmers she is deliberately forgetting lots of people affected by this policy are

people heavily involved in their communities asking what Wiggy is on about. They are already doing that. With the transient nature of our rural workforce in today’s climate it’s up to those who are involved to welcome and invite the newbies to an area into the group or organisation they belong too. We all know there are people struggling with mental and physical health challenges. The isolation of farm work and increasing addiction to personal devices plays right into the hands of those challenges. My answer might be simplistic and back to the future but let’s rebuild our communities so everyone feels a part of them. Healthy communities are full of healthy people and healthy people build healthy communities. Brought to you by PGG Wrightson Livestock.

More letters P20 not farmers, they’re just people who live there, with families and mortgages and doing it just as hard as everyone else. Country people care about the environment and farmers are well aware of the need to keep their environment healthy because if they don’t they cannot farm successfully. Rural communities are really keen to implement policies to improve both our biodiversity and water quality, just like everyone else. Most have been very cooperative with councils identifying these areas, partly because they are being told it is a done deal. However, Forest and Bird are lobbying online to get this biodiversity Bill put through, which makes it clear that this is not a done deal but draft policy where consultation process is being skewed by well-funded and well-networked lobby groups. It is a shame Sage has chosen to condemn rather than praise West Coast-Tasman people for the

job they have done maintaining their environment before the implementation of the proposed new rules. If the department can’t manage biodiversity where it controls most of the land I suggest it seeks advice from the farmers who successfully manage much smaller areas. Kaya Blown Pakawau

Come and go DOWNTURNS, in my experience of farming, happen about every 10 years and can be a chance for others to get a start in farm ownership. In the late 1960s and early 1970s what were once economic units, if put on the market, would change hands only if they were split up. It was from one of these that enabled me and my family to get a start in farm ownership. Starting with 40 acres and a house then moving up to a so-called economic dairy farm

of 138 acres, 40 cows and a few pigs progression continued until today. One of our sons now farms 360-400 cows on about 140-150 hectares, self contained. Thank you Keith Woodford for your opinion of February 17. Opportunities come and go. Noel Dalley Leeston

Who pays? IN THE March 2 edition of Farmers Weekly Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage is quoted as saying “For the last 150 years of history landowners have not compensated the community for the loss of wetlands. They have not compensated the community for the loss of shrub lands or wildlife.” What an appalling statement. I suggest the community has been compensated 100 times over. This comes in the form of council rates, which are directly associated with improved land values and have played a large

part in building the communities in which we live. Just how does the minister suggest landowners compensate the community? Probably by more taxes going from farming communities to those who prefer to live in communities whose landscapes are dominated by concrete and asphalt. Ken Elliott Akaroa

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

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

On Farm Story

It was all done on a handshake Stud breeding has enabled the Robertson family from Southland to settle family members onto farms. But Neal Wallace discovers that is only part of the formula for successful farm succession. Being a tight knit, focused and strong family unit also helps.

T MIGHT be dismissed as a cliche but the adage that an apple never falls far from the tree is applicable to the Robertson family from Southland. The Robertsons farm Duncraigen Farm at Mimihau near Wyndham and the cornerstone of their business are stud Hereford cattle, Romney and Dorset Down stud sheep and various crosses of those breeds. Stud breeding and stockmanship is in Bruce and Carolynn Robertson’s blood. Bruce’s parents, Frank and Sue, were stud breeders near Greytown in Wairarapa; Carolynn’s father had a reputation as an exceptional stockman and now their two adult children will be the family’s third generation of stud breeders. Frank and Sue bred Romney and Dorset Down sheep and thoroughbred horses, including Melbourne Cup winner Rising Fast. The horse was the first ever to win the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate races in the same year, 1954. The following year Rising Fast ran second in the Melbourne Cup and won the Caulfield Cup for a second time. Bruce and Carolynn bought Duncraigen off the estate of Carolynn’s parents Harry and Jean Anderson in 1987 and have been breeding stud stock ever since. While it is a passion and an interest it has played a far more important role, allowing the

FAMILY: The Robertson family from Duncraigen Farm, from left, Casey, Marc, Bruce and Carolynn Robertson. Robertsons to grow their business to the point where they own two farms on which to settle the next generation. They are now in the process of assisting their son Marc and his wife Jolene and daughter Casey and her husband Luke Caldwell onto the farms. Bruce says it is possible because of the success and income generated from more than 30 years of stud breeding. Succession isn’t an easy process with Casey describing a recent day with an accountant as exhausting. The fact the Robertsons are in this position also reflects a strong family bond that has been cemented around the discipline and love of farm work and farm life, the challenge of breeding stud sheep and cattle, involvement in breed societies and from showing stock at A and P Shows. “The kids went everywhere we did,” Carolynn says. Bruce says that involvement

THE FUTURE: A Duncraigen stud Hereford bull.

means anyone asking about pedigree stock can ask questions of any of the family knowing they have been involved in the breeding philosophy and management. It is a family business in which Bruce and Carolynn are proud. “We don’t want to be a factory pushing rams and bulls out the gate. We want to ensure we produce quality and we want contact with people,” Bruce says. That training and knowledge have been aided by Marc and Casey being involved in Hereford youth organisations, which has taken Marc to Australia to study and observe Hereford studs and farming operations. He worked on farms, for contractors and had his own contracting business before returning home and is still heavily involved in promoting the beef industry. This year he is helping run the youth programme at the World

Hereford Conference, which involves farm visits and modules for young conference attendees covering a variety of breeding and management topics at two Southland Hereford studs, Waiau and Monymusk. Marc is also the past president of Future Beef NZ, an initiative launched in 2006 to encourage young people to become involved in the beef industry. It arranges weekend-long hoof and hook education sessions covering aspects of the beef industry, runs a beef ambassador programme and administers a variety of industry scholarships and other educational opportunities. Casey’s farming career was shared with rugby. From 2001 she lived in Canterbury after being the first female recipient of the Lincoln University Rugby Scholarship. Casey played 32 tests for the Black Ferns from 2002-14 including four World Cups of which the NZ side won three. When she wasn’t playing rugby she was working on farms in Canterbury. “I had an office job for a while but it did my head in.” She and Luke have a daughter and are expected twin boys while also preparing to take over running of the home farm, Duncraigen. Since retiring from rugby and returning home Casey has turned her hand to rugby coaching and for the last four seasons has coached the Wyndham men’s senior club side, winning two division one titles. Duncraigen Farm consists of two properties, the home property and Lauder Falls, each about 360ha in area. Combined, the farms carry 9000 stock units and while they are managed separately they are administered jointly. Bruce left Wairarapa and headed to Southland in about 1977 to get two-year’s

practical farming experience, a requirement before attending Lincoln University. He worked for Southland Angus and Romney breeder Willy Mitchell but two years turned into eight. It was while showing Mitchell’s cattle he met Carolynn, whose parents farmed Duncraigen at Mimihau, not far from the Mitchells. Carolynn’s farther was a renowned stockman and the then 200ha farm was recognised as an exceptional property. The Andersons initially farmed Linwood Station, a massive 25,000ha lease block near Te Anau. When the lease expired the Government took it over and subdivided the property to settle aspiring young farmers through the Lands and Survey land settlement scheme. Fortuitously, the last years of their lease coincided with the 1950s wool boom, which helped fund their purchase of the Mimihau farm. Carolynn worked alongside her father and when he unexpectedly died she and Bruce, who were by then married, managed the farm before buying it. Between opportunities to advance their farming career and playing rugby Bruce never made it to Lincoln. A more than capable rugby player, he played for the NZ Colts and was a regular in the Southland rugby team. But when they bought the farm interest rates were in double figures so he stopped playing to focus on the business. Carolynn’s father ran a commercial sheep and beef operation but Bruce’s family bred Romney and Dorset Down rams along with thoroughbred horses. Bruce and his brother Richie had started a Polled Hereford stud in 1977 on the home farm in Wairarapa. After a savage drought in 1984

On Farm Story

they decided to split the herd with half moving to Southland to form the nucleus of the Duncraigen stud. Each year they sell 25 bulls and 500 Dorset Down, Motu-nui Romney, Motu-nui Romney-Texel and Dorset Down-Texel rams. They also breed standardbred horses. Bruce says the family has always been prepared to try new systems and ideas and 17 years ago they broke with the traditional Romney breeding practice. Up to then Southland was considered the NZ home of Romney sheep but Bruce liked what he saw happening in Wairarapa. In 2003 he replaced his stud flock of traditional, large, heavy Romney sheep with those bred by Wairarapa Romney Development Group member John Le Grove. The North Island sheep were thriftier than those bred in Southland then and though not as big they had a sound body and were bred to perform on hill country under commercial conditions. “We saw an advertisement for Motu-nui rams and we decided to ask if they were interested in establishing a satellite stud,” Bruce says. “John came south, liked what he saw and we agreed over a handshake and that is how we operated for eight years, on a handshake. “Our lawyer and accountant were not impressed that the deal was sealed on a handshake but it worked.” An agreement was subsequently signed. Initially they exchanged rams every tupping, possible because of the North Island’s earlier lambing date, but the impact of travelling proved too great for the rams

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

MATERNITY WING: Stud cows and calves.

and Duncraigen now operates independently. Bruce says the move has been incredibly successful, not only for him but also his clients. The injection of Motu-nui genetics in the Robertson commercial flock has advanced their average kill date by a month and added 1kg to the average lamb weight. This year they are going to hold an on-line video bull sale through PGG Wrightson and Bidr. Previously they held a joint on farm sale with another breeder but Bruce says he wants to try something new. Three years ago the family was one of the first in Southland to align with the NZ Merino Company’s strong wool programme. Frustrated with the poor prices and the performance of existing selling methods for crossbred wool, they committed to supplying NZ Merino with lamb and second-shear wool. Each shearing they are visited by a NZ Merino field officer who instructs shed hands on how they want the wool prepared and

for which the Robertsons get a guaranteed price. “So far it is going well,” Bruce says. “They’ve got a passion for strong wool and believe it has a future. If we had kept doing what we were doing we were only going to keep getting the same result.” Similarly, they are trialling the merits of crossing Beltex rams over Dorset Down ewes with the first lambs born last spring. “You should never be frightened of doing anything differently,” Bruce says. Since taking over the home farm in 1987, the Robertsons have steadily added more land. It is a similar story for Lauder Falls, a 120ha farm when bought in 2002 has grown to 370ha. Combined, the two farms run 5000 ewes, of which 1500 are stud, 1500 ewe hoggets, 650 ram hoggets, 60 stud Hereford cows, 130 Hereford-Friesian steers and heifers, which are finished to 18 months and sold at 260kg carcase weight, and 110 yearling and rising two-year dairy grazers. The average weight of

CHECK-UP: Otago and Southland Dorset Down breeders send their top ram lambs to Duncraigen to be monitored for growth rates and eye muscle for three months.

commercial prime lambs is 19.4kg, stud ewes lamb at 156%, cows calve at 94% and ewes average 5.8kg of wool. Marc says everything they sell they would happily use over their own stock. “What we sell we’d comfortably use ourselves. I think that gives people surety that they are getting decent stock.” Their breeding philosophy doesn’t waver and reflects the reality their clients’ commercial sheep flocks and cow herds are being pushed further into Southland and Otago hill country, including some very dry areas in Central Otago. “We need to service their requirements and breed animals that will survive but which are also fertile, have good constitution, a quality carcase and thriftiness,” Marc says. With Casey and Luke likely to have their hands full with three children under the age of two Bruce and Carolynn will continue to run the farm for some time yet, a prospect that does not worry Bruce who says he still bounces

We don’t want to be a factory pushing rams and bulls out the gate. We want to ensure we produce quality and we want contact with people. Bruce Robertson Farmer out of bed each morning excited about what is in store. Bruce says he will never retire and is likely to continue running the studs but Marc and Casey are both optimistic they can still grab new opportunities and squeeze more production and productivity out of the business. “There is still room for incremental improvement and I am keen to try new things,” Marc says. >> Video link: bit.ly/OFSrobertson

WATCHING: Bruce Robertson checks stud cows and calves on his Southland farm.

FINAL NOTICE

Whakapirau 154 Mooney Road

Bracu Estate, 49 Main Road, Bombay, Auckland

Iconic coastal station This iconic coastal station is offered to the market for the first time in three generations. Consisting of 324 hectares of rolling hill country, including three kilometers of coastline, opportunities like this do not present themselves every day. Location, contour and infrastructure only add to what is a stunning piece of New Zealand, steeped in heritage. Situated only one and a half hours from the Auckland CBD this property provides astute investors, farming families and the discerning buyers the opportunity of a lifetime, you must put this property on your list.

Olive Estate and hospitality empire Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 2pm, Tue 31 Mar 2020 84 Walton St, Whangarei View by appointment Todd Skudder 027 439 1235 todd.skudder@bayleys.co.nz MACKYS REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

The land, buildings and businesses of Bracu Estate is one of the biggest commercially-run olive estates, function venue and restaurant empires in New Zealand. • 104.038 hectare property located 50 kilometres from Auckland’s CBD • Approximately 30,000 olive trees, with a fully functioning on site olive oil production facility • Award winning extra virgin olive oil and restaurant, plus exclusive wedding and function venue

Tender (unless sold prior) Closing 4pm, Wed 6 May 2020 Bayleys House, 30 Gaunt Street, Auckland, New Zealand. Jayson Hayde 027 443 9475 jayson.hayde@bayleys.co.nz Peter Sullivan 021 733 278 peter.sullivan@bayleys.co.nz BAYLEYS REAL ESTATE LTD, AUCKLAND CENTRAL, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008 BAYLEYS REAL ESTATE LTD, COUNTIES, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/1020423

bayleys.co.nz/1689837

NEW LISTING

FINAL NOTICE

Cambridge 123 Cox Road

Ahaura, West Coast 3564 State Highway 7

79 hectare dairy unit

To be sold!

This well located 79.46ha (more or less) dairy unit is an attractive proposition. Production averaging 64,317kg/MS is achieved through a 12 ASHB dairy shed with 24 cups and modern plant. A good array of support buildings are nearby with a central race feeding out from the dairy to all paddocks. Effluent is pumped from a clay pond to hydrants covering 12ha of pasture. Bore water supply is supplemented by the Pukerimu water scheme. The property is also complemented with two homes for accommodation. Flat to gentle rolling contour lends itself to a wide range of opportunities. Only a short commute to either Cambridge or Te Awamutu with Roto-o-Rangi Primary School nearby.

bayleys.co.nz/2311156

bayleys.co.nz

Auction (unless sold prior) 11am, Thu 9 Apr 2020 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton View 12-1pm Wed 18 Mar & Wed 25 Mar or by appointment Dave Kilbride 027 436 7082 dave.kilbride@bayleys.co.nz Scott Macdonald 027 753 3854 scott.macdonald@bayleys.co.nz SUCCESS REALTY LIMITED, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

This Grey Valley gem is to be sold under the hammer in March no messing around. Being located in the sought after Grey Valley gives you the best of everything, schooling options, proximity to town being 25 minutes and great farming for man and beast alike. This property will be approximately 246 hectares once a small boundary adjustment has been completed. You have a 50 bail rotary shed with pellet and molasses feeding ability at the heart of this property and an underpass for ease of management. The soil type allows for the ability to grow a variety of summer and winter crops giving you flexible farming options. Two good homes plus a singlemans unit cover all your accommodation requirements.

bayleys.co.nz/5511694

Auction (unless sold prior) 1pm, Thu 26 Mar 2020 3 Deans Avenue, Christchurch View by appointment Austen Russell 027 441 7055 austen.russell@bayleys.co.nz Shari Ferguson 027 266 6850 shari.ferguson@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Real Estate

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Self contained dairy

Buller dairying at its best

OPEN DAY

WEB ID TWR02614 TE AWAMUTU 546 Ngutunui Road VIEW Tuesday 24 Mar 12.00 - 2.00pm DEADLINE SALE closes Wednesday 8th April, 2020 at Well located 157.34 ha unit situated 27 km from Te 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) Awamutu and 23 km from Otorohanga and handy to Pirongia. Currently run as a self-contained dairy / beef unit milking 280 cows; raising 300 calves on whole milk. Howard Ashmore Quality infrastructure with a centrally located 31 ASHB, Mobile 027 438 8556 Office 07 870 2112 in-shed feeding, 30 x 16 m calf rearing shed as well as other shedding. Executive 4 brm home plus a very tidy 3 howarda@pb.co.nz brm second home. This farm has an enviable environmental footprint with approx 20,000 native trees Angela Quinn been planted over the past 6 years.

DEADLINE SALE

Mobile 027 430 7939 angelaq@pb.co.nz

4 2

WEB ID WER74676 CAPE FOULWIND 641 Cape Foulwind Road View By Appointment Well established 230 ha (160 effective) dairy farm located at Carters Beach, only 6 km from Westport. This property has been well farmed by our vendors for two generations over 50 years, who are now looking to Gareth Cox retire. Milking 330 cows with 5 year average production Mobile 021 250 9714 Office 03 975 4506 of 125,000 kgMS through a tidy, well presented 30 gareth@pb.co.nz ASHB dairy shed, plus a full range of farm outbuildings. A standout feature of this property is the excellent Willie McLaughlin accommodation options with an executive 5 bdrm Mobile 021 0267 4385 homestead complimented by a modern 3 bdrm Office 03 789 8777 Lockwood home. Available as a going concern. williem@pb.co.nz

$3,450,000 + GST (IF ANY)

pb.co.nz

NEW LISTING

THE DESTINATION FOR RURAL REAL ESTATE

Ashburton Surrounds 730 Hepburns Road English character Two story homestead set in a mature garden with 41.4194 hectares (more or less) fully irrigated. The ground floor of this home has a practical but glamorous kitchen area with a large walk in pantry. An open plan living/dining area and separate lounge and great indoor/outdoor flow to the paved courtyard. It has an entrance foyer, office, separate laundry, access to the attached double garage and a double bedroom with an ensuite. On the first floor there is the master bedroom and two other double bedrooms all sharing a large family bathroom. A detached two bay garage, a three bay hay shed, a four bay implement shed, established shelter belts, all fencing, lane way system and cattle yards of a very high standard and complete this property.

bayleys.co.nz/5511840

Deadline Sale (unless sold prior) 2pm, Thu 23 Apr 2020 201 West St, Ashburton View by appointment Jon McAuliffe 027 432 7769 jon.mcauliffe@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

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NORTHERN MANAWATU - 242.8 HA 133 Mania Road, Rangiwahia, Manawatu Situated 7.5km north of Rangiwahia and 20km east of Mangaweka, this medium hill country property weaned 720 lambs at 17kg+ CW this year. Typically considered a summer reliable locality with its close to 1,400mm annual rainfall and its proximity to the ranges, a large portion of the dams are spring fed. Well tracked, the solid fertiliser history should see this place bolt away with a bit more rain. The spacious four bedroom home was redecorated recently, with the four stand woolshed and livestock facilities located close-by. Livestock available at valuation from our retiring Vendor.

Real Estate

242.8 hectares Tender

nzr.nz/RX2239042 Tender Closes 1pm, Thu 2 April 2020, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding. Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

FARMERS WEEKLY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; March 16, 2020

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – March 16, 2020

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

MANUKA POINT STATION, RAKAIA GORGE FOR SALE MANUKA POINT STATION | 3916 DOUBLE HILL RUN ROAD, METHVEN, CANTERBURY

Considered by many as the ultimate high country hunting estate, Manuka Point Station, is set in a majestic outdoor playground all within 2hrs of Christchurch. At the doorstep to the Southern Alps this unique trophy hunting property has been thoughtfully developed and enjoys an international reputation for hunting being the natural home to the Rakaia red deer herd. This highly regarded high country station totals in excess of 1271ha freehold and enjoys a 21km frontage to the upper reaches of the Rakaia River in the picturesque Rakaia Gorge. With stunning landscape features including extensive cattle grazing on the river flats and natural beech forest this area is internationally acclaimed for hunting, fishing, skiing, adventure tourism and manuka honey. Manuka Point Station enjoys a richly deserved reputation as one of New Zealand’s foremost hunting estates bringing together a ruggedness and remoteness seldom found in the world. With some of New Zealand’s finest fishing on your doorstep – whichever way you look at Manuka Point Station – it will be a privilege to be its next owner continuing a legacy first started in 1863.

Mike Freeman 027 4360320 raywhite.com/2275952 Next Step Realty, Licensed under the REAA 2008

Shane O’Brien 027 471 6121 colliers.co.nz/p-NZL67008367 Agri Realty Limited, Licensed under the REAA 2008

Accelerating success.

Reach more people - better results faster.

TENDER

Ongaonga 458 Wakarara Road Flat + Fertile + Water = Options An opportunity exists to purchase this 101 hectare bare land property in the heart of the Ruataniwha plains. You are just 20 kms to both Waipukarau and Waipawa and only 3 kms to Ongaonga. It’s currently being used for dairy support. It bounds a large-scale dairy farm and pipfruit orchard. An extensive large scale horticulture development is underway nearby meaning this property has multiple land uses. It has an 80m bore with a consent to irrigate. Soils are the Takapau Silt Loam series (Class 3 LUC). A functional set of cattle yards and stock water system are in place. The disused woolshed and yard could easily be brought up to spec if intensive lamb finishing is preferred. For more information or to view this property call Paul today.

Tender

Closes 2pm, Thursday 16 April 2020, Harcourts, 207 Gloucester Street, Taradale (No Prior Sale). View Wednesday 18 & 25 March 12.30-1.30pm www.harcourts.co.nz/TL7235

Paul Evans M 027 533 3314 P 06 845 9100

paul.evans@harcourtshb.co.nz

207 Gloucester Street , Taradale - Regent Realty Ltd

Licensed Agent REAA 2008

colliers.co.nz

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

OPEN DAY

KAIMAI, BAY OF PLENTY 2722 SH 29 Kaimai Deer Farm A 70 hectare trophy deer farm with its own airstrip, amazing Bay of Plenty views and good contour. Wake up to spectacular sunrises from the master suite of this remodelled Lockwood home. Well maintained property with good water, pasture, fertility, fencing and deer handling facilities. The forest park boundary ensures ultimate summer grass growing conditions and a dense, clover rich sward. Waterfalls and swimming holes, goldmines, bush clad valleys and lots of hay country - amazing property! Ideal velveting, breeding, horses or beef unit.

TENDER

(Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm, Thursday 2 April

VIEW 11.45-1.15pm Sunday 15 March

Andrew Fowler M 027 275 2244 E afowler@pggwrightson.co.nz Amanda Edwards M 027 463 3502 E amanda.edwards@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/TAR31918

TE PUKE, BAY OF PLENTY 1431A No 2 Rd Rimu Heights • • • • • • • • •

14.7900 hectares total area Majority of easy rolling grazing land Balance pristine native bush Two storey substantial four bedroom home Modern kitchen and spacious living area Sheltered, sunny and private Numerous sheds and outbuildings A horse lovers dream For sale by Auction but can be sold prior

Phone or email to request the full Information Memorandum

AUCTION

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) 12.00pm, Thursday 2 April

VIEW 12.30-1.30pm

Wednesday 18 & Sunday 22 March

David McLaren M 027 223 3366 E dmclaren@pggwrightson.co.nz Karen McLaren M 027 555 0421 E karen.mclaren@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/TEP32106

OPEN DAY

EXCLUSIVE

LOBURN 466 Loburn Kowai Road Retiring Vendors - Market Come Speak To Us! 80.2888 hectares of attractive rolling country, which has grown good winter crops, is ideal for winter finishing and is regarded as summer safe, being fully deer fenced making it suitable for an array of livestock. Upmarket four-bedroom family home with modern tones throughout and great views from every window. Multiple living and generous kitchen. Approximately 15km from Rangiora and 45km from the Christchurch International Airport, this subdividable land offers many options for the astute purchaser and is well worth your serious consideration.

AUCTION

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) 2.00pm, Wednesday 8 April

VIEW 2.00-3.00pm Sunday 22 March

Paul Tapper M 027 224 1300 E ptapper@pggwrightson.co.nz Nick Rattanong M 027 308 5280 E nrattanong@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/RAN30460

SALTWATER CREEK 1966 Main North Road 'Whispering Sands', What an Opportunity! The decision has been made; Whispering Sands is on the market. Plan A is for outright purchase, Plan B is to lease it – there is no Plan C. Packed with potential this property is now ready to be taken to the next level – with a great central location it presents an opportunity for improvement, not just for dairying. Come see what you can't see! The vendors are serious, talk to your bank or financial advisor now! We welcome your enquiry.

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 2.00pm, Thursday 2 April

VIEW By Appointment Only

Bruce Hoban M 027 588 8889 E bhoban@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/RAN31953

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

‘Property Express’ rural property magazine out now – www.pggwre.co.nz/property-express Request your printed copy by contacting your local consultant today. www.pggwre.co.nz

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under the REAA 2008.

Helping grow the country

Central Districts Field Days

FARMERS WEEKLY – March 16, 2020

classifieds@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

HOMEOPATHY Another tool to use for the health of all your farming livestock

TALK DIRECTLY TO THE EXPERTS • • • •

1 x 6 foot bale 2m diameter 15 feed positions 15 - 30 animals

0 $ 85 +GST

OVAL FEEDER (S2 Pinned) • • • • •

3 x 4 foot bales 2 x 6 foot bales 24 feed positions 24 - 48 animals 4m long

HOMEOPATHIC FARM SERVICES

$ 120+G0 ST

info@farmservices.nz 07 858 4233

100% New Zealand Made Quality Stockfeeders

farmservices.nz

0800 104 404 | www.stockfeeders.co.nz

New Zealand’s proven stock feeder for 24 years | 100% New Zealand Tensile Steel

A full range with many features as standard.

tle Cat D H on ick! e l u ilab be q a v o 0 a st s 200 cks la $ 0 to le sto 0 5 $1 y whi m o r nl Safe gs f hes. O n i v s Strong Sa Cru

Auto Catch Auto Reset Easy for one person

Site O17-O19 @ Central Districts The original Combi Clamp. Still versatile.

ARE YOU A TRAILBLAZER?

THEN YOU COULD BE ON YOUR WAY TO THE USA

Still reliable. Here at Zimmatic® we want to acknowledge the world-class leadership of New Zealand and Australian farmers with the introduction of the Trailblazer Sustainable Irrigation Awards.

™

0800 227 228 www.combiclamp.co.nz

South Island - Stuart 027 435 3062

Still to come: Mystery Creek Fieldays

We’re keen to hear how you are working to lead the way in sustainable water management, environmental stewardship, resource efficiency and waterway protection while having a chance to win an trip for two to America. Talk to Bay Irrigation, site O -16 at the Central Districts Field Days for more information.

SELLING SOMETHING? Advertise in Farmers Weekly Phone Debbie Brown 0800 85 25 80 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

FOR SALE

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STANDARD FEEDER (C6 Pinned)

CENTRAL DISTRICTS FIELD DAYS SITE NO. O38

Agri Job Board

Noticeboard

GENERAL HAND

FENCERS

We are looking for someone with initiative, keen to learn and able to commence by the end of March.

Preferably to be able to stay out on the job. Full licence essential.

Single accommodation is available.

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Phone Nick 0274 008 765

Please provide CV with two references to: maradeefarm@gmail.com or if you require further information please call Mike on 027 292 5900

HOME-BASED FARM RELATED TELEPHONE INTERVIEWING

WE’RE HIRING Part-time/Casual Pre-press Production Designer GlobalHQ is the country’s most innovative multimedia agriinformation hub. We work hard to create valuable content that informs, inspires and entertains.

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

JOBS BOARD

We invest in great people and products, including the AgriHQ suite of data and analysis products, Farmers Weekly, On Farm Story and Dairy Farmer.

2IC

We have an opportunity for a casual/part-time position, based in our head office in Feilding, for a Pre-press Production Designer.

Bull Farmer Farm Manager

Cinta Research is looking for home-based telephone interviewers who wish to work on a casual temporary basis and able to work from home. It is preferable if you have an understanding of NZ farming or have a rural background.

The Pre-press production/designer role position exists to provide support in the production process of advertisements and editorial layout for all GlobalHQ publications, including AgriHQ reports.

Fencer General Hand Home Based Telephone Interviewers

If you have the following qualities: • Reliable and able to work to time deadlines unsupervised • Professional telephone manner • Clear and confident speaking voice • Conscientious approach to work • Remuneration is $19 per hour

We require someone with the following skills:

Large Scale Farm Management Opportunities

•

Operations Manager

• • • • •

Pre-Press Production Designer Shepherd

Please email your CV to Emma Field & Administration Coordinator field@cinta.co.nz | www.cinta.co.nz

GET IN TOUCH

Whanganui Sheep and Beef

For all your employment ads Debbie 06 323 0765

To request a job description and application form please email hr@globalhq.co.nz

*FREE upload to Farmers Weekly jobs: farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

Advanced knowledge of Creative Suite, particularly InDesign and Photoshop High level of grammar and spelling accuracy Excellence in customer service High level of attention to detail and accuracy Ability to work individually and in a team environment Ability to work to deadlines.

*conditions apply

Applications close Monday 23 March, 2020

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Contact Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

Thinking about retiring but don’t want to sell

the family farm? We would be very interested

Various South Island cycle destinations available now. Bookings open NOW for group holidays.

suitable for beef breeding/finishing

HOMES FARM SHEDS SUBDIVISIONS PUMPS

Prefer Waikato/South Auckland/

Prices include delivery to your door!

Farming family looking for property

property. Northland drystock / finishing farms of 350ha or more preferred. If bigger than

500ha then further away would be considered as well.

Northland areas

For more enquiries ring Marty Vermeulen 09 439 0004

For friendly & professional advice

Scott & Isabel Mabey themabeys@farmside.co.nz Phone: 09 429 0132 Mobile: 021 411 644

CALL 0800 843 0987 Fax: 07 843 0992 Email: power@thecableshop.co.nz

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years preferred.

CYCLE TOUR HOLIDAYS

4000 to 8000 stock units

We are looking to expand our current drystock

Five year lease with option to extend to 10

POWER CABLE

We could save you hundreds of $$

Farm Lease/Lease to buy

hearing from you!

Flexible starting date before July 1st 2020.

WANTED

THE CABLE SHOP WAIKATO

13.5HP. Briggs & Stratton Motor. Electric start. 1.2m cut

$4400

TOWABLE TOPPING MOWER

GST INCLUSIVE

12Hp Diesel. Electric Start

11.5HP Briggs & Stratton Motor. Industrial. Electric start.

$4200

GST INCLUSIVE

50 TON WOOD SPLITTER

GST $4200 INCLUSIVE

To find out more visit www.moamaster.co.nz

LK0101596©

Phone 027 367 6247 • Email: info@moamaster.co.nz

www.nzadventures.co.nz

Ph: 03 314 7220 Mob: 0274 351 955 Email info@southislandtoursnz.com www.southislandtoursnz.com

www.thecableshop.co.nz

TOWABLE FLAIL MOWER

info@nzadventures.co.nz Ph: 03 218 8569 027 550 6727 or 027 435 4267

Discounts available for group bookings of up to 14 people. Talk to us about your needs or special itineraries. Get in early to book the dates you want for.

2 YEAR WARRANTY. NZ ASSEMBLED. ELECTRIC START & QUALITY YOU CAN RELY ON

Information packs now available for 2020/21 season

For more information please visit our website or contact us

Choose from: • Molesworth Station Cycle Tour • Alps2Ocean Cycle • Nelson, Golden Bay & Farewell Spit Cycle • West Coast Wilderness Trail Cycle

SELLING SOMETHING? Advertise in Farmers Weekly

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LEASE OPPORTUNITY

Noticeboard

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classifieds@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

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You”re reading the Farmers Weekly and so are the people you want to employ.

Short Contracting is wanting experienced fencers for town and back country work, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay areas.

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WE ARE THE SOLUTION

A full time position is available on a 150ha dairy farm that runs 400su. The role includes all aspects of the day-to-day running of the farming operation.

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(Clevedon, Auckland)

FOR SALE

Phone Debbie Brown 0800 85 25 80 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

DOLOMITE

CHILLERS & FREEZERS

NZ’s finest BioGro certified Mg fertiliser For a delivered price call ....

[For farmers and hunters]

0800 436 566

ANIMAL HANDLING udly NZ Madew Pro Since 1975

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

021 441 180 (JC) LK0101362©

frigidair@xtra.co.nz

ANIMAL HANDLING

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

ANIMAL AND HUMAN healer, also manipulation on horses and dogs. 16th21st March, Canterbury. 23rd-25th March, Kaikoura / Blenheim. 26th March - 6th April, North Island. 7th-10th April, Nelson / Murchison / Calverton areas. For more information phone Ron Wilson 027 435 3089.

ATTENTION FARMERS FAST GRASS www.gibb-gro.co.nz GROWTH PROMOTANT Only $6.00 per hectare + GST delivered Brian Mace 0274 389 822 brianmace@xtra.co.nz

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

BIRDS/POULTRY PULLETS HY-LINE brown, great layers. 07 824 1762. Website: eurekapoultryfarm.weebly. com – Have fresh eggs each day!!!

50 TON WOOD SPLITTER

When only the best will do!

DOGS FOR SALE DELIVERING AND BUYING dogs NZ wide 21/3/20. www.youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553.

12HP, Diesel, Electric Start Heavy duty construction for serious wood splitting. Towable.

DOGS WANTED 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195. WHITE GERMAN SHEPHERD pup. Must be pedigree and must be white. Please phone Malcolm 021 0826 7450. LK0101699©

FARM MAPPING SIMPLE AND CLEAR farm maps with paddock sizes will help you achieve your daily goals. Get a free quote from farmmapping. co.nz

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GST Special Price $4200 INCLUSIVE Very limited stock

To find out more visit

GOATS WANTED

Phone 027 367 6247 Email: info@moamaster.co.nz

NAKI GOATS. Trucking goats to the works every week throughout the NI. Phone Michael and Clarice. 027 643 0403.

www.moamaster.co.nz

Heavy duty long lasting Ph 021 047 9299

GOATS WANTED 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.

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 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

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556. RED DEVON BULLS; Also in-calf cows + heifers, BVD vaccinated + weaners. Hill country stud. TB-C10 - 06 376 3966 RAMS. HILL COUNTRY Perendales. Easy care with good size and quality wool. $250-$550. Phone 06 376 4751 or 021 133 7533. RAMS. TERMINAL SIRES Southdowns and Suffolk/ Southdown X for heavy fast growing lambs. Suitable for Hogget mating. $250$550. Phone 06 357 7727 or 021 133 7533. TOP MATERNAL TEXEL 2TH rams for sale. Phone 027 484 2822 www.texel. co.nz

classifieds@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

PERSONAL Rural Lady Looking For Love! A country lady by heart, with brown hair and brown eyes. She would like to find a gentleman with similar interests. She enjoys bush walks, cooking, gardening, swimming, camping and a good conversation. To meet, please call 0800 446 332 Quote code 52

NOTICEBOARD REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY Advertise in the Farmers Weekly $2.10 + GST per word - Please print clearly Name: Phone:

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Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – March 16, 2020

Address: Email:

www.countrycompanionship.co.nz

Heading: Advert to read:

RAMS FOR SALE WILTSHIRE & SHIRE® Meat rams. Low input. www.wiltshire-rams.co.nz 03 225 5283.

SHEEP SCANNING AVAILABLE SERVICING SOUTH WAIKATO, King Country, Ruapehu, Taihape areas. Eight years experience, NZ & UK. Fully Pneumatic, 3 Way drafting, EID available. No mob too big or small. Wet/dry to Triplet and foetal ageing. Phone for prices and availability 027 479 4918.

WANTED TO BUY SAWN SHED TIMBER including Black Maire. Matai, Totara and Rimu etc. Also buying salvaged native logs. Phone Richard Uren. NZ Native Timber Supplies. Phone 027 688 2954. FOR ONLY $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds. Phone Debbie on 0800 85 25 80 to book.

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

Livestock Noticeboard

livestock@globalhq.co.nz– 0800 85 25 80

Benchmarked production and Johne’s disease info on your deer

JUST FOUND

60 Jersey cow herd BW 180 PW 190 Plus complete line 22 R2 heifers BW 203 PW 205. DTC 17/7/20 Bidr auction sale – Milking Shorthorns 8pm March 26th Bidr auction sale – All Breeds Embryo Flush Cows April 6th • Autumn calving HF cows

• 30 Jersey budget cows BW 198 PW 98 from

60 55

top herd. DTC 5/7/20

50 45 15/16

16/17

17/18

18/19

• 18 MT In Milk Jersey cows BW 230 PW 258

19/20

Season

Farmers choose us first for news, opinion, analysis, market updates and even their own livestock advertising.

• 32 Jersey X R2 heifers North American sires • 42 Complete line J+JX R2 Heifers

0800 456 453 or info@deerpro.org.nz

DP0320

BW 183 PW 203 DTC 15/7/20 Big heifers • 42 Complete line J+JX R2 Heifers BW 150 PW 155 • 52 Complete line R1 heifers BW 194 PW 205

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

Other lines of R2+ R1 Jersey heifers and bulls. Contact Ross Riddell 0272 111 112 Grant Aiken Northland 0272 458 821 Karen Fitzgerald Manawatu 0274 080 098

Call HANNAH 0800 85 25 80 livestock@globalhq.co.nz

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Are you looking in the right direction? Linking buyers and sellers

For more contact: Hannah Gudsell 06 323 0761 or 027 602 4925 livestock@globalhq.co.nz

farmersweekly.co.nz/advertising

2537FW BULL SALES

Base your deer management decisions on the numbers. Contact DeerPRO for your report.

Carcass weight (young deer)

farmers weekly hits 78,039 Rural letterboxes

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

Livestock Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – March 16, 2020

WANTED

STOCK FOR SALE

2019 Spring born Friesian heifers

STOCK REQUIRED

- F12 and Above $1475 / head - F8 to F11 $1375 / head - F0-F7 $1175 / head

"Maximising your return through personal livestock management"

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

Are ewe looking in the right direction?

STORE LAMBS 25-36kg

ANG ANGX STEER & HEIFER CALVES 180kg+ 16MTH FRSN BULLS 350-420kg

80 HERE M/A COWS Sept Calve BEEF BULLS 460kg+ 2.5YR STEERS 480-550kg

All prices are plus GST and less commission

Delivery Date – Approx 10th June 2020 • True to type Friesian Heifers

0800 85 25 80

livestock@globalhq.co.nz

Please phone TJ on 027 314 8833 for more information tj@dairylivestock.co.nz

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

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

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• Standard Chinese Protocol, heifers must have been on the property for a minimum of 6 months at the time of delivery.

Call HANNAH

230 HEREFORD BULLS 420kg Owner/Station Bred

_______________________________ byllivestock.co.nz

07 823 4559

byllivestock

Weekly Auctions Wednesday night – North Island Thursday night – South Island Sell your livestock on bidr® - all the benefits of an auction, with no vendor transport costs and livestock does not leave the farm unless sold at the price you want. For more information go to bidr.co.nz or contact the team on 0800 TO BIDR

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard

For Sale Pinnacles Wiltshire Rams • No shearing • All born twins

Extended entry closing date till the end of March due to dry conditions.

200 1st cross Perendale/Wiltshire 2th ewes

Phone Dave on Ph 06 327 7843 or 027 416 8188

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400 Wiltshire ewe lambs LK0101673©

Go to www.nzsheep.co.nz to obtain an entry form

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING with Farmers Weekly PHONE HANNAH GUDSELL 0800 85 25 80

Trade livestock like never before You control the reserve · No transport until stock sold bidr.co.nz

livestock@globalhq.co.nz – 0800 85 25 80

SALE TALK

CLEARING SALE

HIGH INDEXED CROSSBRED GENETICS On Account of: JUST ONCE MORE LIMITED Shaun & Kelly Bicknell 169 Horomanga Road, RD 1, Murupara. DN 22290 Tuesday 7th April 2020 - 12 Noon

For further information:

68 Capital Line R1yr BW221 PW238 Xbred dairy heifers, LIC bred Herd owned 40yrs, closed herd $750 Sam Arends 027 343 3529 Ref: DH1649

A/c Priory Farm Ltd C10 Pahau Downs, Culverden Friday 20th March 2020 1pm (After the Culverden Calf Sale)

ANIMAL HEALTH: TB C10, Lepto Vaccinated, M. Bovis undetected

445 Fsn/FsnX Herd BW93 PW107 RA95% DTC 1/8, 420ms, young herd, LIC bred $1625 Richard Andrews 027 536 8693 Ref: DR1651

225 Angus Steers 35 Angus HfdX Steers 120 Angus Heifers 40 Angus HfdX Heifers

AUCTIONEERS NOTE: NZ Farmers Livestock are privileged to offer this very well bred G3 Profiled Herd and young stock for auction. The Bicknell family have provided a number of bulls to the LIC Premier Sires team over the years and currently have “Just Once Cooper” as the top ranked Crossbred bull for gestation length. The Herd will come forward in good condition and offers buyers a good selection of crossbred genetics.

300 top Fsn Herd BW79, PW74 RA98% DTC 15/7, all G3, owned 46yrs $1900 Absolute top Fsn dairy herd, capacity cows Darrin Holm 027 242 2905 Ref: DR1401

The Vendor is in their third year of an AI Programme using New Zealand’s top proven Angus genetics.

460 Xbred Herd BW99 PW122 DTC 10/7 to LIC 4.5wks, rolling farm, HB shed Very uniformed, good dairy type, $1700 Richard Baird 027 407 0562 Ref: DH949

The Station is well recognised for their calves, which are known for their growth rate, structural soundness and temperament. Enquiries to: Michael Steel 027 211 1558

DAIRIES FOR SALE 250 Xbred Herd BW165 PW191 RA100% DTC 27/7, 360ms, LIC 40yrs, closed herd Top 2% index, will sell for earlier delivery $2000 Sam Arends 027 343 3529 Ref: DH1647

ON FARM CALF SALE

MATING: DTC 12/7/20 for 3 ½ weeks to LIC Frs, Crossbred & Jsy. Tailed with Hfd Bull. 65% Incalf to AI. Expected calf BW 217. R2 Yr Hefeirs DTC 12/7/20 with 60% incalf to AI Jsy. Expected calf BW 243. Tailed with Crossbred Recorded Bulls.

Conditions apply

Owner/Breeder Richard Loe • 027 208 5185

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

130 Aut C/O Cows BW102 PW157 RA98% All in milk, DTC 10/3, low cost farming, Fsn/FsnX HB shed, IC to Hfd, rolling farm $1750 Stewart Cruickshank 027 270 5288 Ref: DH704 Visit our Website for the best selection available

www.carrfieldslivestock.co.nz

Facilitated by Key: Dairy

Cattle

Sheep

Other

336 MA Capital Stock Jersey/ Jersey X Cows BW 129

DAIRY HERDS & IN-CALF HEIFERS FOR SALE PGG Wrightson Dairy representatives are specialists at marketing and selling dairy herds. Benefit from the nationwide team that is dedicated to matching herds with the right buyers and achieving an optimal outcome for your business.

PW 161

$1,700+GST

•

RA 99% Farm Sold - Vendors Retiring. Been in family for 40 years. Hard working Spring Calving Once A Day Jersey & Jersey X Herd farmed in a wet climate (this district is not drought affected). The bulk of the herd is DNA’D. Tim Pickering - 027 446 9963 Agonline ref: 6321

273 Capital Stock Friesian & Friesian X Herd BW 74

PW 88

$1,800+GST

•

RA 98% Long established, hardworking herd farmed in a difficult climate. Vendor exiting industry and farm is sold. Very low cell count. Herd tested and milked on System 2. Tim Pickering - 027 446 9963 Agonline ref: 6157

UPCOMING MARCH WEANER CALF SALES North Island Sales

Kaikohe Weaner Bull Rangiuru Weaner Fair Feilding Weaner Fair Taranaki Weaner Fair Masterton & Martinborough Weaner Str & Bull Masterton & Martinborough Weaner Hfr Dannevirke Weaner Fair Taupo Weaner Fair Matawhero Weaner Str & Bull

1.00pm 12.00pm 11.30am 12.00pm 11.00am 11.00am 11.30am 12.00pm 11.00am

18 March 18 March 19 March 19 March 24 March 25 March 26 March 30 March 31 March

For more information contact your local PGG Wrightson Livestock Representative

Freephone 0800 10 22 76 | www.pggwrightson.co.nz

Helping grow the country

QUALITY

FARM

MACHINERY

SALE

27 MARCH

VIEWING FROM 10.30AM AUCTION STARTS AT 12.30PM TINWALD SALEYARDS, ASHBURTON

To view all listed items visit carrfields.co.nz FREE NATIONWIDE FREIGHT*

CONTACT CLAAS HARVEST CENTRE CANTERBURY

03 307 9400

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Peter Walsh & Associates Ltd John Harrison • 027 435 6243

PRODUCTION: The Herd consistently produces 400kg ms/cow being milked OAD all season on a system 2 - 3.

If you’ve got a joke you want to share with the Farming community (it must be something you’d share with your grandmother...) PAYMENT & DELIVERY: The buyer has the option to take immediate then email us at: delivery or the vendors will retain possession until 29/5/20. The herd will saletalk@globalhq. be dry cowed at drying off. Payment will be 14 days from sale date. co.nz with Sale Talk in the Further enquiries: Agent: Michael Conwell 027 226 1611 Your source subject line and we’ll for PGG Wrightson livestock and farming listings Vendor: Shaun Bicknell 027 221 1977 print it and credit it to you.

Check out Bishampton Suffolks on Facebook or Phone Anna 021 08438170

2th Rams available - Ewe Flock 20.5 micron, 150-160% lambing. - Ram Hoggets EMA, Micron, Foot Test (Lincoln). Average 75kgs @ 11 months. Ideal for Hogget mating, will increase your returns on your Crossbred Flock

After 40 years of LIC Breeding the Bicknell Family are selling their entire herd and young stock. Consisting of 240 Cows BW 146 PW 210 RA 100% (BW’s up to 268, PW’s up to 550) 57 x R2 Yr Heifers BW 189 PW 207 70 x R1 Yr Heifers BW 203 PW 225 Cows 1, 2, 110, 210 are carrying contract matings. 210 & 1 being Dam & Daughter R2 Yr Heifers 18-221, 298 are carrying contract matings R1 Yr Heifer 19-104 (BW 290 PW 314) to be contract mated.

Beltex x Suffolk and Purebred Suffolk Ram Hoggets for sale Small number available. EMA scanned, out of stud Suffolks.

GLENLOE DOHNE RAMS AVAILABLE

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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!

Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook

LK0101667©

A young woman, Hannah, went to confession. Upon entering the confessional, she said, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” The priest said, “Confess your sins and be forgiven.” Hannah said, “Last night my boyfriend made passionate love to me seven times.” The priest thought long and hard and said, “Squeeze seven lemons into a glass and drink the juice.” “Will this cleanse me of my sins?” Hannah asked. The priest said, “No, but it will wipe that smile off your face.” Supplied by Lindsey Thompson

LK0101660©

Livestock Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – March 16, 2020

CONTACT DRUMMOND & ETHERIDGE

0800 432 633

*terms and conditons apply.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

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)

4.80

5.25

NI lamb (17kg)

6.90

7.00

NI Stag (60kg)

7.60

7.80

9.35

NI Bull (300kg)

4.85

4.80

4.90

NI mutton (20kg)

4.60

5.00

SI Stag (60kg)

7.60

7.80

9.35

NI Cow (200kg)

3.35

3.60

SI lamb (17kg)

6.80

6.60

SI Steer (300kg)

4.60

5.00

SI mutton (20kg)

4.10

4.80

SI Bull (300kg)

4.65

4.80

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

3.20

3.55

UK CKT lamb leg

10.92

10.85

8.85

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

North Island lamb slaughter price

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

9.5

7.31

7.13

10.0

US domestic 90CL cow

7.88

7.86

6.98

9.0

7.5

8.0

6.5

$/kg CW

7.25

6.5

$/kg CW

South Island lamb slaughter price

10.0

7.5

8.0

6.5

7.0

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb

Apr 2018-19

Jun

Coarse xbred ind.

5-yr ave

Apr

Jun

2018-19

Dairy

Aug 2019-20

Last week

Prior week

Last year

2.89

Dec-19 Sept. 2020

Last price*

WMP

2845

2805 3070

2970

AMF

4750

5175

Butter

4000

4150

Milk Price

7.21

7.20

7.21

320

Feb-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

Dec-19

Feb-20

380 360

320

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

Dec-19

Feb-20

3100 $/tonne

2900 2800 2700 Apr May Latest price

Jun

Jul 4 weeks ago

Au g

YTD High

YTD Low

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

24.29

27.5

21.2

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

4.36

5.8

4.1

The a2 Milk Company Limited

15.02

17.54

14.2

Auckland International Airport Limited

7.16

9.21

7.1

Spark New Zealand Limited

4.36

4.93

4.315 12.81

Ryman Healthcare Limited

12.95

17.18

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

4.43

5.62

4.28

Contact Energy Limited

6.19

7.74

6.15

Port of Tauranga Limited

6.03

8.08

5.99

Ebos Group Limited

22.53

25.23

22.3

Listed Agri Shares

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

YTD High

The a2 Milk Company Limited

15.02

17.54

YTD Low 14.2

3.25

1.84

Delegat Group Limited

9.76

12.1

9.75

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

3.76

4.06

3.73

Foley Wines Limited

1.6

1.91

1.6

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

0.8

0.82

0.75

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

0.193

0.197

0.193

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.75

2.3

1.75

PGG Wrightson Limited

2.11

2.47

2.03

Sanford Limited (NS)

6.45

8.2

6.29

Scales Corporation Limited

4.1

5.17

0.1

0.003

0.001

Seeka Limited

3.99

4.74

3.99

300

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

4.89

9.1

4.8

T&G Global Limited

2.8

2.93

2.6

280

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity Index

13866

16941

13866

S&P/NZX 50 Index

10333

12073

10333

260

S&P/NZX 10 Index

10393

12096

10393

240 220

Mar

Company

SeaDragon Limited

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL

3000

833

Comvita Limited

340

3200

US$/t

Apr-19

420

* price as at close of business on Thursday

2600

360

400

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

787

Top 10 by Market Cap

400

3050

3060

787

DAP

vs 4 weeks ago

SMP

321

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY Prior week

625

314

$/tonne

Nearby contract

567

314

3.35

Feb-20

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T)

567

30 micron lamb

$/tonne

$/kg MS

6.25

Urea

7.25

Oct-19

Aug 2019-20

Last year

2.45

440

Jun-19 Aug-19 Sept. 2019

Jun

Prior week

2.40

7.75

Apr-19

Apr 2018-19

Last week

37 micron ewe

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

6.75

NZ average (NZ$/t)

Super

Grain

Data provided by

MILK PRICE FUTURES

5.75

Feb

FERTILISER

(NZ$/kg)

5.0

Feb

Dec

Fertiliser

Aug 2019-20

WOOL

Dec

Oct

5-yr ave

5.0

5.5

Oct

8.5

9.0

6.0

4.5

9.5

6.0

South Island steer slaughter price

6.5 $/kg CW

10.5

5.5

4.5

South Island stag slaughter price

11.5

5.0

8.5

7.0 6.0

6.0

Last year

10.5

US imported 95CL bull

North Island steer slaughter price

Last week Prior week

North Island stag slaughter price

11.5 $/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Ingrid Usherwood

200

Feb-19

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

Dec-19

Feb-20

13866

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

10333

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

10393

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

NI SLAUGHTER LAMB ( $/KG)

6.90

SI SLAUGHTER STEER ( $/KG)

4.60

SI SLAUGHTER STAG ( $/KG)

GOOD MIXED-SEX LAMBS AT TEMUKA ( $/HD LW)

7.60

105

Despite the ongoing drought and uncertainty around coronavirus, autumn livestock markets are generally positive.

PULSE MEL CROAD

Weaner prices are okay

Livestock markets remaining upbeat

EANER cattle prices typically reflect trends seen in the store market leading up to the annual fairs and, unfortunately, store and slaughter prices were on the defensive this year. Prices were dropping in response to the drought conditions sweeping across the country and fears of the spread of coronavirus globally. The slide in demand through February rattled farmers’ expectations for strong returns for weaners. With lower prices expected many farmers have opted to take a different selling approach. There have been three common threads of thought leading into these sales – take the money and run, draft off the heavier calves and keep the lighter ones or simply back away from the sales and assess your options further down the track. These changes in policies mean some fairs have been cancelled or rescheduled and, in many cases, two-day sales have been rolled into one as numbers retreated. The methodology behind these options varies from farmer to farmer and is

dependent on feed circumstances. Last year buyers shied away from the lighter calves and values for them tumbled. If farmers are opting to hold onto calves for longer they will need to or will have already weighed up the cost to farm them on. Weaner prices to date have been back on the last four years but they have performed better than earlier expectations given the trying conditions. Stortford Lodge typically sets the scene for beef weaner prices over the balance of the fair season. That is partly because it is one of the largest of the early fairs. Prices at this month’s fair were on average back $117/head for heifers and $164/head for steers compared to last year. The Masterton fair confirmed the trend. South Island calf sales get under way this week. This market was severely tested last year as Mycoplasma bovis and lingering memories of an overheated market in 2018 took their toll. It is unlikely to be overheated this year but sellers will still need to adjust their expectations. In theory, prices could have been even lower at recent fairs had they recorded the same tallies as previous years. If

calves have been held back from these earlier sales it does highlight the risk that numbers at the later fairs could be higher than normal. If buyer demand and confidence continue to struggle and there are a greater number of calves offered then weaner prices through April and May will be lower. This theory was tested in 2019 when market and weather conditions improved late in the selling season and prices climbed higher as buyer confidence picked up. It’s hard to say if prices will do the same this time around and it would be a gamble to think like that. Farmgate prices are in the doldrums, influenced by dry conditions and coronavirus, which remains a moving target. The early thoughts coronavirus was going to be only a short-term disruption are looking less and less likely and that, in turn, will influence markets into the second half of the year.

To keep a watch on prices at weaner fairs around the country ask AgriHQ about a subscription to the LivestockEye reports. Phone 0800 85 25 80.

WEATHER

Overview

Soil Moisture

ALL eyes this week are on the cyclone to our north. It’s going to be a close call and on Friday there was still some uncertainty about a direct hit or a very near miss. Either way, Tuesday and maybe Wednesday could have some severe weather if this cyclone comes in close enough. The rain would certainly be welcome in Northland and Auckland but totals drop significantly further south. The main controlling feature of this storm will be high pressure over Tasmania. That high rolls in this week regardless of the cyclone but is moving through fast, followed by another area of high pressure and more mostly dry weather.

12/03/2020

Highlights

Wind

Southeast winds for many start this week and depending on the tropical cyclone we might see those easterly quarter winds ramp up if it moves closer to us. Otherwise high pressure this week and next means plenty more calm.

14-day outlook Source: NIWA Data

7-day rainfall forecast 7-DAY RAIN MAP

Temperature The last two weeks have had cool-downs but this week isn’t looking too bad with warmth increasing for many regions. However, Monday might be cooler than normal in Southland and coastal Otago. Later this week looks warmer.

PGG Wrightson Livestock national sales manager Matt Macfie says plenty of sales are providing encouraging signs for farmers. “Although tallies going through the sales are back, demand remains steady. When the quality of stock is good, buyers are forthcoming. In the face of challenging climatic conditions, the general condition of stock that farmers are presenting to the market remains excellent. While there might be limited buyers, and values have reduced somewhat from what were record levels prior to Christmas, the market is not seriously depleted, and prices are holding up well. “Markets in various sectors and different parts of the country have reacted positively. For example at the weaner fairs in the Far North, although prices are back by around $100 per head, that is off an all-time high, so still equates to excellent returns. Similarly, lamb prices in Manawatu have lifted,” he says. Online trading platform and New Zealand’s virtual saleyard bidr has gained momentum in recent weeks, showing the power of the internet and its potential to benefit farmers, says Matt Macfie. “One particular sale went exceptionally well. Earlier this month we conducted an auction for Elite Charollais of Feilding. On-site and remote bidding were available, we achieved a 100 per cent clearance, with 22 registered buyers from throughout the country, sale prices averaging 30 per cent above reserve and 66 per cent of lots sold to remote bidders,” he says. bidr also recently announced that it will host and co-ordinate dedicated sales of AngusPure qualifying cattle on the first Tuesday of every month from April. These sales will be exclusively for cattle tagged with an AngusPure source and trace tag, and for clients of the AngusPure partner studs. “Despite some short term challenges, the global demand for red meat protein remains. Present market activity reflects that, which will continue to serve New Zealand farmers well, particularly when they utilise the innovation at their disposal,” says Matt Macfie.

Highlights/ Extremes

This week is dominated by another large high rolling in from Tasmania. At the same time we have a tropical cyclone moving down from the northwest. It will cover much of the country and linger till the weekend. Next week NZ should be between highs, bringing the next chance of downpours or heavy showers for drought regions. Yet another big, powerful high will move back into the NZ area next week.

Most of the country is drier than average for the next week. Monday and Tuesday will have a few showers in east of both islands. Clearly, if the cyclone arrives heavy rain could affect northern regions but if it fails to deliver rain the long-range outlook leans dry with high pressure again expanding over New Zealand. Rain arrives on the West Coast on Friday but apart from isolated showers by this weekend most remain dry.

All eyes are on the cyclone moving down from the northwest. However, regardless of the cyclone, high pressure still looks likely to dominate may regions for the rest of the month.

Weather brought to you in partnership with weatherwatch.co.nz

For more maps and insights go to farmersweekly.co.nz/weather

Helping grow the country

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

Masterton tests the weaner fair market Masterton stepped up to the plate to test the weaner fair market, penning close to 1900 mainly traditional steers and heifers last Wednesday. With a benchmark created by Stortford Lodge the previous week, buyers and sellers alike had at least some indication of price levels, and the resulting market met expectations. NORTHLAND Wellsford weaner heifer fair • Traditional and exotic heifers averaged 230kg and came back to $645, $2.78-$2.80/kg • Beef-dairy heifers averaged 225kg and came back to $670, $2.71/ kg • Top line of Angus, 281kg, held value at $820 • Angus and Angus Hereford, 215-291kg, sold for $600-$825, $2.72$2.84/kg • Charolais, 227-257kg, made $645-$705, $2.74-$2.84/kg Weaner heifers were in the spotlight at WELLSFORD last Monday, and like the steers the overall tally was reduced to 62% of the previous year. Prices came back $55-$65 and sold to a mainly local bench of buyers. Condition of the cattle was very good, though most vendors only offered up their top lines. Light Angus, 181-186kg, held value at $545-$590, $2.99/kg to $3.17/kg, though 214-217kg eased to fall in that per head range also. Hereford-Friesian had good weight at 255-304kg, and sold for $670-$800, $2.63-$2.69/ kg. Kaikohe weaner fair • Autumn-born Simmental-cross, made $2.65-$2.75/kg, $760-$850 • Younger and lighter weaner heifers fetched $3.20-$3.30/kg, $450$490 There were around 700 weaner heifers at KAIKOHE last Wednesday with support from local buyers, Pukekohe and Waikato. The market performed better than expected with the dry conditions, helped by numbers being down by around 450 on the previous year, and the average per kilo value was just 10c/kg below year-ago levels, at $2.76/ kg. The yarding was equally split between Charolais, Simmental and Angus, with a few dairy-beef lines. At the top end, the bigger heifers traded at $650-$760, $2.70$2.85/kg, with medium types around $520-$650, $2.75$3.00/kg with better-quality types able to reach $3.10/kg.

AUCKLAND Pukekohe cattle sale • Small weaner cross-bred heifers, made $330-$475 • Medium weaner steers, earned $580-$620 The yarding was reportedly the smallest in many years at PUKEKOHE on Saturday 7th March. Buyers easily absorbed the offering and the market was firm. Light prime heifers held at $2.47-$2.59/kg, and medium R2 heifers sold in a similar range of $2.45-$2.50/kg.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Weaner steers, 173kg, made $570 • Prime Angus-Friesian heifers, 530kg, earned $2.69/kg • Prime lambs sold to $144 Long-awaited rain and low cattle numbers helped lift store prices at TUAKAU last Thursday, reported Karl Chitham of Carrfields Livestock. The 100-head yarding included red-bodied whiteface steers, 486-518kg, which traded at $2.51-$2.53/kg. Whiteface heifers, 273kg, earned $810. Weaner HerefordFriesian heifers, 155-165kg, made $535-$550. Wednesday’s prime sale drew a very small yarding and no steers were offered. Well-conditioned Friesian cows, 590kg, made $1.66/ kg, and other boners at 467-482kg returned $1.13-$1.27/ kg. Monday’s sheep sale was short and sweet. Prime lambs traded at $128-$144 and store lambs, $72-$98.

WAIKATO Frankton cattle sale • R3 Murray Grey-cross steers, 428kg, made $2.51/kg • R2 steers and heifers were steady at $2.42-$2.44/kg • Autumn-born R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 428kg, sold well to fetch $2.52/kg • Weaner Speckle Park-cross heifers, 204kg, traded at $585 • Weaner Hereford-Friesian bulls, 180kg, made $510 The yarding was predominantly weaner calves at FRANKTON last Wednesday and the market was mostly on par to the previous sale. The top end of the weaner calves were Hereford-Friesian, 245kg, which fetched $750 and Speckle Park-cross, 214kg, $720, and the balance mostly sold in a range of $560-$640. Weaner heifers mostly made $485-$520, while Friesian bulls, 122kg, lifted to $395. Prime heifers, 438-508kg, were purchased in a range of $2.43$2.48/kg, while boner cows, 465-536kg, held at $1.24-$1.34/ kg.

BAY OF PLENTY Rangiuru cattle and sheep sale • Prime Angus-Friesian heifers, 525kg, earned $2.44/kg • Boner Friesian cows, 430-510kg, remained steady at $1.21/kg to $1.34/kg • Boner crossbred and Jersey cows were typically $1.10-$1.20/kg • R2 Murray Grey steers, 388-407kg, made $2.53-$2.54/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers mostly fetched $2.31/kg to $2.56/kg Boner cows flowed into the prime pens at RANGIURU last Tuesday, but only a few other prime cattle were entered. It was a little easier squeezing out bids in the store cattle pens, of which largely featured weaners. The heavy end were beef-cross steers that traded at $500-$610, and heavy Hereford-dairy heifers were mostly $480-$525. Prime lambs made $104-$152, with ewes $66-$127.

POVERTY BAY

MOBBED: A selection of the 4200 store lambs on sale at Canterbury Park last week.

Matawhero sheep • Cryptorchid store lambs made $122 • Top mixed-sex store lambs traded at $120.50 • Prime wether lambs made $168 There was around 1400 store lambs on offer at MATAWHERO last Friday, ewe lambs earned $91-$99 and

male lambs fetched $100-$116. There was a large number of five-year Romney ewes on offer which traded at $134$138.50. Prime lambs mostly sold at $129-$136 with the bottom end at $111-$117.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle and dairy-beef weaner fair • R3 steers mostly sold at $2.47- $2.48/kg, with Angus-cross, 441kg, at $2.59/kg • R2 Angus heifers, vetted-in-calf to purebred Angus, fetched $2.55/kg. $1000 • Weaner, Welsh Black-cross steers, 229kg, traded at $680 • Weaner dairy-beef bulls, 157kg, made $525 Low volumes of weaner cattle lead to a combined sale at TARANAKI last Wednesday. There were around 450 dairy-beef calves on offer and anything at the lighter end struggled to sell. Heavy weaner Friesian bulls, 229-236kg, achieved $590-$635 and 163-175kg, $445-$490, while anything below this required vendors to meet the market. The majority of weaner heifers over 125kg fetched at least $400, and anything below this sold at $370 and below. There was good interest for older cattle and good-quality R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 362-379kg, achieved $2.65-$2.73/ kg and the majority of R2 heifers sold in a range of $2.42$2.52/kg.

HAWKE’S BAY Stortford Lodge prime cattle and sheep sale • Angus steers, 628kg, sold for $2.48/kg • Angus cows, 511-576kg, lifted to $1.50-$1.60/kg • Very heavy ewes firmed $4-$9 to $121-$134 • Heavy mixed-sex lambs firmed to $130-$165.50 Pockets of space at the processors helped firm the market in all sections of the STORTFORD LODGE sale last Monday. At 53 head the cattle tally was higher than the total number traded on a Monday to date this year, and cows featured. Hereford-Friesian, 547kg, sold for $1.44/kg. Sheep volume was seasonally low, and prices firmed. Most ewes were in good to very good condition and sold for $104-$112, with a light line down to $61. Two lines of heavy male lambs achieved $151.50-$170.50, and similar ewe lambs, $155. Stortford Lodge store cattle and sheep • Angus and Angus-Hereford cows, 418-521kg, returned $1.79/kg • R3 Angus-Simmental heifers, vetted-in-calf, sold for $1000$1100, $2.28-$2.29/kg • Good cryptorchid lambs lifted to $95-$106.50 • Good ram lambs also lifted to $98.50-$110.50 • Good ewe lambs lifted to $95.50-$116.50 A lift in store lamb volume at STORTFORD LODGE last Wednesday was met by a bigger bench of buyers, and the market improved $5-$9. A top pen of heavy ram lambs achieved $122, while most medium males firmed to $88$98. Good wether lambs made $99-$105, and medium ewe lambs, $87-$95. Following the weaner fairs, cows featured at a small store cattle sale. Vetted-in-calf and empty traditional lines made same values, while a small R3 heifer section varied from $2.10/kg to $2.37/kg for beef and beefcross. R2 Angus &amp; Angus-Hereford heifers, 399kg, sold for $2.46/kg, while weaner steers of same breed returned $420-$555, and heifers, $400.

MANAWATU Feilding prime cattle and sheep; feeder calves • Hereford and Hereford-Friesian steers, 715-890kg, earned $2.50$2.54/kg • Angus and Angus-Hereford cows, 619kg, made $1.64/kg • Calf prices softened with good Friesian bulls at $80-$90 and Hereford-Friesian $130-$150 There was an obvious rise in the price of boner cattle at FEILDING last Monday, as the odd spot of free space at processors appeared. Most were Friesian, 478-580kg, that improved 34c/kg and traded from $1.24/kg to $1.35/kg, with a small second cut at $1.18-$1.19/kg. The usual crowd of buyers applied more upwards pressure in the sheep section. Very heavy lambs increased to $181-$184, followed by $131-$171 for the medium to heavy pens. Volume in the ewe section remained very low with only four main pens entered; the top two pens were $130 and $138. Feilding store sale • R3 Hereford-Friesian steers, 570-580kg, went for $2.35/kg • R2 Friesian bulls, 360-475kg, were all $2.31-$2.37/kg • A consignment of 375-455kg Angus R2 steers made $2.76-$2.83/ kg • Store male lambs averaged $102 • Store ewe lambs averaged $85 A yarding of almost 400 store cattle were often showing signs of the tough farming conditions of late, however the market was still reasonable relative to the quality available. A few light and part-dairy R3 steers were around $2.32-

SALE YARD WRAP

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020

this was tempered by a high proportion of Chatham Island’s lambs close to finishing weight. Small entries of very-heavy pens made $152-$166 and heavy types eased to $110-$136. Most medium pens earned $94-$117, with shorn lambs at a premium. Prime lambs remained steady with most $110$176, while ewes were largely $91-$170. Temuka store cattle sale • R2 Red Devon-cross steers, 374-433kg, made $2.11-$2.20/kg • R2 Angus and Angus-Hereford steers earned $2.14/kg • Weaner Hereford bulls, 223kg with good bloodlines, returned $900 The store cattle tally at TEMUKA last Thursday exceeded 1000 head for the first time since November. A big shipment from the Chatham Island’s doubled R2 volume while a line-up of 680 beef and beef-cross weaners well exceeded the previous sale. R2 heifer prices softened and aside from a small pen of 330kg Gelbvieh-Angus that made $2.03/kg, nothing else broke the $2.00/kg mark. Most of the weaner section was mixed in quality, but there was still plenty of well-presented pens, including 60 Wagyu-cross steers, 143kg, that sold at $630. Other examples included Angus and Angus-Hereford, 296-333kg, that made $855-$930. The top heifers were Angus, 230-273kg, at $670-$750, while Wagyu-cross were 120-144kg and made $410-$520.

OTAGO Balclutha sheep sale • Heavy prime ewes earned $120-$140, and medium $90-$110 Top store lambs fetched $110-$120Prime lambs sold well at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday where heavy types made $130-$150, medium, $120-$130 and light, $110. There were around 700 store lambs on offer and new buyers to the market helped lift prices. Medium store lambs traded at $90-$100 with light lambs down to $60.

SOUTHLAND

BIG RED: Some of the Simmental-cross steers on sale at the Masterton weaner fair last week.

$2.35/kg, but a line of 475kg traditional steers did better at $2.63/kg. One set of traditional R2 steers did well at $2.76-$2.83/kg but anything else was mostly $2.40-$2.60/ kg for all types and weights. A line-up of 75 R2 Friesian bulls averaged $2.35/kg at 410kg. Quality was mainly sub-par through the heifers, but some 385-410kg beef-Friesian lines were at $2.14-$2.27/kg. A yarding of 20,000 store lambs shifted well, though did edge under the benchmark set a week ago, which was to be expected given the numbers available. Heavy male lambs peaked at $117-$123, with the bulk of the other decent cuts at $103-$113 and medium-tolighter types at $90-$98. For ewe lambs the market went up to $110-$112, but $89-$100 covered the other solid options. Medium ewe lambs were around $75-$85. Light lambs of all sexes were mostly $50-$70. Rongotea cattle sale • Friesian boner cows, 528kg, made $1.36/kg and crossbred cows, 425kg, $1.28/kg • R3 Friesian bulls, 425kg, traded at $1.91/kg • Autumn-born R2 beef-cross steers, 310kg, fetched $1.65/kg • Autumn-born R2 Friesian bulls, 255kg, sold for $1.81/kg There was a good yarding of autumn-born calves at RONGOTEA last Wednesday, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. These were met by a good bench of buyers and big Friesian bulls sold in a range of $85-$120, Hereford-Friesian bulls, $230-$315, and Charolais-cross at $250. Hereford-Friesian heifer calves made $130-$150, Angus-cross at $105-$155 and Charolaiscross, $205. In the weaner pens, Friesian bulls, 121kg, traded at $350, and Hereford-Friesian, 125kg, were bought for $610, while weaner Hereford-Friesian heifers, 122130kg, sold in a range of $340-$475.

CANTERBURY Canterbury Park prime cattle and all sheep • Medium and long-term store lambs fetched $70-$105 • Most heavy store lambs earned $106-$121 • Prime lambs were stable with the majority at $114-$174 • Prime ewes improved $2-$3 and generally made $97-$177 Plenty of confidence was evident in the store lamb

market at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday, with prices improving $5-$10 per head for most types, including big lines. In contrast most prime cattle pens held just one or two, with the biggest pen only five head. Steers contributed the biggest section and good beef and beef-cross lines over 600kg earned $2.27-$2.37/kg, while 525-575kg improved 12c/kg to average $2.24/kg. A small number of AngusHereford heifers, 520-560kg, managed $2.16-$2.26/kg, but most of the heifer trading was at the $2.00-$2.11/kg level. Coalgate cattle and sheep sale • Hereford cows, 650kg, earned $1.65/kg • Friesian cows, 478-539kg, sold in the range of $1.37-$1.38/kg • Prime lamb quality was lower, and they generally made $111$169 Another big yarding of store lambs at COALGATE last Thursday attracted a good buying bench. The top lines were again $110-$121, with shorn lambs purchased in preference to woolly. Two-thirds were medium types that held at $80-$109. Prime ewe volume edged toward normal levels and prices were stronger, with nearly a third $140-$158. Medium and good types made $100-$139. The cattle pens grappled with another quiet week. The prime steer section was the biggest at just 14 head; Angus-Friesian, 544kg, proved the best at $2.34/kg, and 440-465kg, $2.20-$2.22/kg. Angus heifers, 511kg, made the most money of the day at $2.40/kg.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY Temuka prime and boner cattle; all sheep • Traditional and Hereford-Friesian steers over 500kg fetched $2.30-$2.38/kg • Hereford and Angus-Friesian bulls were $2.37-$2.38/kg • Friesian bulls, 556-645kg, earned $2.31-$2.34/kg • Hereford-Friesian heifers, 548-604kg, generally made $2.28-$2.30/ kg Cull dairy cattle accounted for more than half of the entire offering at a small TEMUKA cattle sale last Monday. Heavy Friesian cows, 570-610kg, averaged $1.38/kg while 500-565kg gained 13c/kg to average $1.34/kg. Extra confidence trickled into the store lamb market, but

Lorneville cattle and sheep sale • Prime heifers, 540kg, traded at $2.25/kg • Boner cows, 400-450kg, fetched $1.10-$1.20/kg • R2 Hereford-cross heifers, 323kg, made $2.26/kg • Heavy local trade rams made $72-$80 • Good-quality 2-tooths sold for $90-$100 There was just a small yarding of prime cattle at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday. The bulk of the yarding was dairy heifers where 320-340kg sold for $1.20/kg, and 370kg made upwards of $1.45/kg. Heavier bulls at 740kg, earned $2.20/kg, with 400kg at $1.80/kg. The store pens were mainly weaner calves and this market was subdued. Weaner Hereford-cross heifers, 130-132kg, made $230$300, and good weaner Friesian bulls sold for $370. R2 beef-cross bulls, 383kg, made $2.19/kg, while same-aged Friesian bulls, 391kg were bought for $2.03/kg. Prime lambs softened a few dollars where heavy lambs made $123-$134, medium, $112-$122 and light $90-$107. Heavy prime ewes held at the top end at $104-$120, with medium $90-$103, and light $70-$78. Store lambs were steady at the top end at $100-$110, with light to medium types at $80-$98. Southern man 18-month cattle sale – day two • Top dairy-beef steers ranged from $2.30/kg to $2.50/kg • Traditional heifers sold for $2.30-$2.40/kg • Dairy-beef heifers met the market at $2.00/kg to $2.20/kg The second Southern Man 18-month cattle sale at LORNEVILLE was delayed a week due to low confidence, but results posted last Wednesday were on par with current store cattle values. Around 800 dairy-beef steers and heifers were penned, along with traditional heifers, and a full clearance was achieved to buyers from Oamaru, Otago and local. Lesser lines of beef-dairy steers sold for $2.00-$2.20/kg. bidr South Island Lamb Sale 12 03 20 • Good wether lambs returned $110-$113 • Heavy blackface mixed-sex earned $122 Bidr tested the waters with an on-line South Island lamb sale last Thursday night, which was deemed to be a success. bidr National Territory Manager Caitlin Rokela reported that a good variety of people tuned in for the sale, with 32 registered purchasers from three different agencies, and another 68 people watched. Just over 5800 lambs were offered in 16 lots, with the largest at 600 head, and in total 154 bids were received overall. One highlight of the sale was the competitive bidding for the line of 158 South Suffolk & Down-cross lambs from Omakau, with 44 bids coming in from five different bidders, and the lambs selling for $0.39/kg above their reserve. Two lots of good cryptorchid made $109-$112, while a heavy line of whiteface wethers returned $126 and medium, $93. Medium to good whiteface mixed-sex sold for $105-$108. Two lots of ewe lambs were offered with one passed in, and the other light-medium types that sold for just under $85.

Markets

40 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 16, 2020 NI SLAUGHTER MUTTON

NI SLAUGHTER COW

SI SLAUGHTER LAMB

($/KG)

GOOD CRYPTORCHID LAMBS AT STORTFORD LODGE

($/KG)

($/HD LW)

4.60

3.35

6.80

105

/hd high $2.72-$2.84/kg $1000-$1030 Top Simmental-cross Angus & Angus-Hereford lights heifers, 215-290kg, at steers at Masterton

Bids bring Beltex bedlam

Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz

HE top priced ram of the day fetched $18,000 and headed to Northland from the third annual Beltex New Zealand sale. Hosted by the Gallagher family on their Mt Somers Rangiatea property the auction this year offered 170 Beltex and Beltex-cross ram lambs including, for the first time, the Beltex-Cheviot and Beltex-Texel crosses. BeltexNZ director and breeder Blair Gallagher said while a pleasing sale it was one with an interesting twist. “Overall, we are very pleased with the sale. “We didn’t quite achieve the averages of last year but considering where we are at and the extra 50 rams we put before the gallery it was a very solid sale.” The top price of the day was $18,000 for a purebred Beltex bought by Sterl Roadley, who also paid the top price, $22,000, at the 2019 sale. “It’s good to see these breeders having good success and coming back to buy again. “There’s a lot of the sheep out in the industry now. Farmers are realising their value and gaining confidence in the breed. “People who brought at our first two sales were back again to buy this year. “There’s some really exciting progeny on the ground and again this year they went right across the country from Northland to Wyndham in the south.” This year the prices were more consistent, which brought the averages down but was still a good result, Gallagher said. “Last year there were more higher prices but this year all round has been different for farmers and really we can’t complain with how they sold.” All the purebreds sold and despite several passings at the auction, very few rams were unsold at the end of the day. “It was quite bizarre. We had reserves, which we believe were realistic, but

FULL HOUSE: The Rangiatea woolshed was packed for the third annual BeltexNZ auction. Photos: Ben Doubleday Photography

As far as actual sale proceedings go it was quite an experience. Blair Gallagher Farmer they didn’t bid up and we had several passings. “But after the auction there was a frenzy of activity, bedlam to be honest, and while we didn’t drop our reserves sales were negotiated and pretty much all the rams were sold. “I’ve never seen anything like it really. As far as actual sale proceedings go it was quite an experience but at the end of the day it worked.” The purebreds averaged $5270. The top price of the sale for a 50:50 Beltex-Suffolk cross was $8500 paid by a Canterbury syndicate with the average sale price $1874 while the 75:25 BeltexSuffolks averaged $1775.

THE BEST: The top priced ram of the day headed to Northland.

There was plenty of spirit and confidence with good numbers of commercial farmers seeing the benefit of the Beltex, which is good for the meat industry, Gallagher said. AI and embryo programmes are under way for the new season at Rangiatea. “We are into our fourth year and this year we have secured exclusive rights to the highest eye muscle scanning United Kingdom Beltex ram so that’s exciting for the programme,” Gallagher said.

Wellsford Weaner Heifer Fair

Weaner Fair

ACROSS THE RAILS SUZ BREMNER

Momentum is building up after a long, hot night MOMENTUM is building in the store lamb pens after what feels like a very long, hot night. Demand is improving and a few more vendors are seeing the chance to offload lambs they have been keeping an eye on in fast-drying paddocks. The seasons are changing and while many still need rain, the stinking hot days seem to be behind us, making life a little more bearable on the farm. The past two weeks in the North Island have seen a noted firming in prices across all types. That can be attributed to the odd shower of rain here and there, stabilised schedules and demand from a widespread buying bench that is growing each week. Rain is a key factor though, bringing competition from buyers who have already seen pasture cover and quality improve as well as those looking at promising long-range forecasts and opting to buy before significant rain creates a grass market. Similar price lifts in the South Island continue to keep a sizable margin between the two islands, which means it is still a viable option for the Southerners to look north for their lambs. Like the North Island there has been an increase in orders for store lambs as cropping farmers have had a good run over the last few weeks and most crops are now in. Attention now turns to their winter lamb finishing and contracts mean they can budget accordingly. With Mid Canterbury taking a large portion of the South Island store lambs for finishing they are, therefore, sourced from a large catchment and lower North Island prices have spread that catchment, for this year at least. Prices have firmed $5-$10 recently and there is optimism there is still room in margins for more increases, though by how much is the question many will be pondering. Presently, the increase in price is demand-driven rather than market-driven and there will be an upper limit found. suz.bremner@globalhq.co.nz

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Lifestyle Living Autumn 2020

123 Neave Road, West Melton Page 8

Property Brokers Licensed REAA 2008

Welcome to Lifestyle Living Autumn 2020

Being part of the rural fabric of New Zealand ticks more boxes than are possible to count. The appeal of lifestyle blocks is that they offer just that, a lifestyle change. They afford families with an opportunity for better living, lots of space, fresh air, enough land to have animals, and the potential for making money on the extra land.

there were 1,799 lifestyle property sales, compared to the 1,584 lifestyle property sales for the three months ended January 2019 (+13.6%) as per REINZ, February 2020. A total of 7,149 lifestyle properties were sold in the year to January 2020, on a par with the prior year. The value of lifestyle properties sold was $5.81 billion for the year to January 2020.

And, more and more people are looking for a lifestyle change. In the three months ended January 2020,

New Zealand

2007

2010

2015

2020

Total Number of Sales

7,082

4,237

7,412

7,149

Total Sales Volume

$4,257,273,206

$2,182,457,030

$5,614,050,949

$5,810,000,000

The table above depicts the change seen in New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifestyle block market over the last ten years. The impact of the Global Financial Crisis over 2007-2009 led to deteriorating financial conditions on both a national and global scale.

The market has made significant gains post GFC where back in 2010, the total lifestyle properties sold equalled $2.18 billion. Fortunately, the NZ lifestyle market has had a three-fold recovery in value over the last decade and now operating at levels substantially ahead of pre-GFC. The pressure on value still remains ahead of the supply of lifestyle stock across many of the regions, however, rural subdivisions are on the rise, reflecting both changes in local government zoning and economic drivers for rural land owners. Rural lifestyle living is very much an aspiration for many Kiwiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still attracting international interest too, particularly at the top end of the market. Motivations for purchase always vary, but a very consistent driver is quiet enjoyment. There are as many people seeking lifestyle properties to accommodate a growing family as there are those considering moving off the farm to retire, while still being able to keep doing what they love.

Upcoming Events Central Districts Field Days 19 – 21 March Manfeild, Feilding Located within the Farmlands marquee which is located at site K36–K38B on Farmlands Road.

AgFest 27 – 28 March Greymouth Aerodrome Located within the Farmlands marquee which is located at site 115-128 on the corner of Farmlands Lane and Grey Ford Lane.

Mackenzie Highland A&P Show 13 April Mackenzie A & P Showgrounds, Fairlie

New Zealand National Fieldays 10 – 13 June Mystery Creek, Waikato

My own personal experience of owning a lifestyle block out in the Pohangina Valley in the northern Manawatu has seen our boys learn to ride motorbikes, our small bush block and creek provide recreational hunting opportunities for rabbits, possums, eels and ducks. There have even been bold claims (very unverified) of seeing wild kiwi in their early childhood days. It has also afforded opportunities to farm on a small scale, learning all the important life lessons of stock husbandry, and making a profit. More latterly it’s helped to break in a new farm dog (pup) which tested both our family, and property, to its limits, but we got there. So, you don’t have to own a property spanning as far as the eye can see to provide a country backdrop to everyday family life. Many others, however, are seeking much smaller blocks of 1ha or less being close to the town boundary and allowing space for hobbies, extra garaging and excellent value for money in terms of the quality of the build and scale of hard landscaping.

Property Brokers continues to respond to the broader market demand for lifestyle living through dedicated marketing and specialization of our hard-working sales consultant team. There is a lot to know about buying a lifestyle property, and we’ve outlined some of that in this magazine, and equally, preparing the property for sale requires specialist support.

We invest a lot in our training and marketing approach in support of this category. We are pleased to present a number of quality lifestyle options from up and down the country, and in this edition, highlight a number of fantastic properties throughout the Canterbury region. Conrad Wilkshire, GM Rural for Property Brokers Ltd

“Rural lifestyle living is very much an aspiration for many Kiwis, and it’s still attracting international interest too, particularly at the top end of the market.”

“

This is the best thing that we’ve ever done for ourselves!

”

Moving the fenceposts The decision to leave a history-filled family farm for a lifestyle block was not an easy one for John and Sue Nation. Three generations of Nation’s had proudly farmed sheep and beef in Punawaitai, 30 km east of Waipawa, for 101 years. So, the decision to move from Punawaitai’s steep coastal hill country to a 4.19 ha lifestyle block was a result of much deliberation and introspection. The word “retire” wasn’t ever in the Nation’s vocabularies. They envisaged their future as being a busy one, a continuation of chasing sheep and bulls, running holiday accommodation and a wedding venue, making scones, weighing bulls, doing GST and more. In 2018, however, after health concerns, John and Sue started thinking about downsizing, and how this would look for them. John was 70, slowing down, and the body was beginning to hurt. After the 5.3 magnitude earthquake and flood in 2011, which saw Central Hawke’s Bay’s coast get three times the April average rainfall in 72 hours, John and Sue’s time was consumed with trying and hoping to salvage everything. The inundation carried away 50 per cent of their pasture. It brought them to their knees, physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, to say nothing of the total devastation on the farm and homestead gardens. It took John and Sue seven years to rebuild the farm and gardens into a saleable proposition.

The most significant barrier to moving that they encountered though, was the weight of responsibility - thinking that they had a duty or obligation to the family, the farm, and the preservation of its history.

We feel like we’ve gained an extra 15 years of quality life and living. We now have time to smile, time to go fishing, to go racing, to enjoy each other, friends and family - we have gained so much precious time.”

When asked what finally triggered the move, John says, “Definitely our health. Stress is unhealthy; the floods and debt placed a lot of pressure on our health. That, and the fact that Sue was no longer fast enough to get out of the way of 600kg bulls! Our trustees thought it was the best news they had heard in years.”

Continuing on, “Our home is serene. We enjoy expansive uninterrupted sea views, have 4.19ha of land with two houses, one being passive income. We are enjoying the peace that our new home brings, and also, the peace that comes with knowing that we sold our beautiful farm to a stunning young couple (with two little boys) who have energy, and a passion for the land and the animals on it.”

Their focus shifted to finding the ideal retirement property that afforded them both the space, and expansive views, that they needed to expand their horizons, and lift their lives and spirits going forward. When asked whether it was all worth it, the reply is a resounding, yes. Saying, “This is the best thing that we’ve ever done for ourselves! We get to actually go out for breakfast, honestly, we couldn’t do that being hours out of town.

When asked what advice they would offer others thinking of making the same move, they reply, “It’s important to remember that this is your life and your journey. Be young and healthy enough to enjoy it. Life needs to be celebrated. Do it sooner rather than later. It is a huge decision packing up, and downsizing is a tough exercise, but the gains are considerable.”

John and Sue Nation 5

A lifestyle change Has the thought of escaping city life got you dreaming of a picturesque quiet country property where the kids can explore, and the chooks and even possibly a couple of sheep are free to roam around?

lf you are looking for some fresh air and open space, or even just some peace away from the city, a lifestyle block could be a great option. While there may be a whole lot to love about living in the country, you will need to research and prepare when thinking of buying a lifestyle block that suits your needs.

First things first, what is a lifestyle block? Well, there isn’t an official parameter or land classification on what a lifestyle block is but a good rule of thumb is that the average lifestyle block is just shy of four hectares. A great tool to use if you are unsure of whether a property is a lifestyle block or not is: QV.co.nz - enter the address, and select the ‘Building Type’. Some councils also provide this information.

Research is imperative Research is always necessary when purchasing a property of any kind but is critical when thinking of buying rural ones as these come with a whole extra set of things to think about. While a wishlist is a great starting point, an issues list to be aware of, is equally as important. lssues could include:

•

The condition of the existing septic and plumbing system

•

Where are the local schools and will busses be available to collect them and drop them back?

•

What is broadband and cellphone reception like? Be sure to get in touch with internet providers to enquire about whether a new broadband line will be able to be set up (you cannot assume that if the neighbour has the internet, that you will be able to get it too as this is not always the case)

•

Be sure to check the distances from local rivers and wetlands - it’s important to assess the risk of flooding

More land = more responsibility Having more land to maintain can prove to be difficult. Make sure that you are up for the challenge, or, that you are able to afford help with more difficult jobs. lt is also a good idea to get your lawyer on board early to check titles, consents and other information that you gather in the process.

Are you aware of the rules? lt is important to remember that rural developments can be subject to rules that restrict what you can do. When talking to your lawyer, always ask that they check if there are any covenants on the property that may have an impact on a future business that you may want to run there; or any planned building projects. Rural properties (like all properties) can also have easements on the title which relate to access, water or power. Ask that your lawyer check the title, and check what the easements are. Also, ask that they check to see how these will have an impact on your rights and responsibilities as an owner. Examples could be: •

•

If the title allows a neighbour access to a piece of their land through your property, do you have any right to limit the type and frequency of that access if you buy it? There may be ‘unofficial’ easements operating; where the current owners may have an informal arrangement with their neighbours, but this may not remain when the property passes into new ownership.

Are you planning to use the property as a business?

Water, sewage and access - these can require more involvement in rural areas With many rural lifestyle blocks not being connected to sewage schemes, they instead rely on septic tanks or other sewage disposal systems. It is good to check the water sources for the property – does it have its own bore, and are there limits on the amount of water you can draw from it? What process needs to happen to ensure that it is safe to drink? What happens to the wastewater and sewage? Other things to consider are whether or not you are prepared for life with a septic tank, and also whether the current owner will ensure that the tank is empty as a condition of sale? Are you buying a block with an existing dwelling? Do you know what type of system has been installed and whether it has the appropriate permits or consents; or if there are any ongoing maintenance obligations? Are you looking at a bare block of land? Do you know whether resource consent will be required for sewage disposal, and what the current council requirements are? It may also be necessary to ensure that any current resource consents are transferred to you on settlement.

Access Will you be sharing a private road or right of way with any other properties, do you know what your responsibilities and potential costs for maintaining it will be? You may want to ask one of our rural real estate specialists these questions to help you decide if the property is right for you and your family: •

Where are the local schools, and does a school bus come near the lifestyle block?

As a general rule, if the property is currently being run as a business and is tax-registered the seller will probably add GST to the selling price, which essentially means you will pay an extra 15 percent. Before negotiating, clarify if the figure is GST inclusive, or exclusive.

•

How far are the closest shops and amenities?

•

ls there a motorway nearby and are there any NZTA plans for it?

Always ask that your lawyer or accountant check to see if the house or any other buildings on the property are GST-exempt. They will also be able to advise you on whether you need to be GST-registered.

•

What is the soil type, and which crops/plants suit it best?

•

Am l allowed to graze stock on the property?

•

Can l subdivide the land?

The Inland Revenue’s property tax decision tree is also a good place to start when trying to figure out your tax obligations.

lt is essential to go into a lifestyle change armed with knowledge. Our rural real estate specialists are on hand to help you with all of your questions. lf you see a property that sparks your interest – don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so that we can help you secure your block of paradise and live the lifestyle you’ve been dreaming of.

Central Canterbury Executive family paradiso - 4 ha

WEST MELTON 123 Neave Road This 430 sqm four-bedroom home exudes "welcome" as you pass under the portico to enter a space generous, well-planned home that makes the most of seamless indoor / outdoor living. Set on four hectares close to West Melton and multiple services, you may have your cake and eat it too. Throw the sliders open - have the best of both worlds. This home makes a statement.

WEB ID AL75004 The hub of the home is a large kitchen with island bench and breakfast bar centred and open between the everyday living and more formal dining area. Opposite lies a media room / lounge with surround sound. From one end to other multiple storage, bench spaces and drawers. Sensibly designed hub to be inclusive at meal and wine times.

DEADLINE SALE

VIEW By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Monday 6th April, 2020 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) Paul Cunneen

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190 Home 03 302 6751 paulc@pb.co.nz

Gareth Cox

Mobile 021 250 9714 Office 03 975 4506 gareth@pb.co.nz

4+ 2 3

North Canterbury Waiau River Estate - Opportunity awaits

HURUNUI 2254 Mouse Point Road Positioned above the mighty Waiau River at Marble Point just a 13 km drive to the internationally recognised town of Hanmer Springs, Waiau River Estate is a very aesthetically pleasing lifestyle option. Just imagine your own established restaurant for casual dining, cellar door trade and wine tasting plus catering for weddings and functions. Not forgetting 5 ha in grapes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Riesling, sold under the Marble Point and Hellsgate labels. This lifestyle

WEB ID RR74794 and/or business opportunity offers you choice. Live in the superior contemporary home with views up and down the river. Your family will be very comfortable with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, multiple living spaces plus garaging and a large shed. Looking for a lifestyle change? Waiau River Estate is unique, in a magnificent setting and viewing is sure to impress.

$3,075,000 + GST (IF ANY)

VIEW By Appointment

Hamish Anderson Mobile 027 678 8888 Office 03 310 6471 hamisha@pb.co.nz

Maurice Newell

Mobile 027 240 1718 Office 03 310 6471 mauricen@pb.co.nz

4 1 9

Central Canterbury Rest and recreation

VIEW HILL 60 Depot Road Magnificent is the only word. This substantial home is located in a popular rural location only 35 minutes from Christchurch Airport. Featuring spacious living with layout suitable for Bed and Breakfast or homestay if required. Excellent garaging.

WEB ID AL70548 Uniquely positioned with golf course over the fence, salmon fishing almost on the doorstep and ski-fields just up the road. Opportunity for peaceful lifestyle or rural living plus accommodation business options. All on 6 hectares - be quick!

FROM $1,200,000 + GST (IF ANY)

VIEW By Appointment

5 Rodger Letham

Mobile 027 433 3436 Office 03 307 9192 Home 03 308 3307 rodger@pb.co.nz

5 3

Mid Canterbury Lakeside luxury

HUNTINGDON 26 Ludlow Drive The moment you enter this amazing home, you will feel very special knowing your art is displayed proudly in the double-height atrium galley, and the backdrop - a water view from every room. Boasting 365 sqm of floor space (240 sqm downstairs and 125 sqm upstairs) plus another 68 sqm of patio and balcony there is absolutely no compromise required when entertaining or enjoying the lakeside lifestyle.

WEB ID LIU74921 Seamless flow between all living spaces has been meticulously planned for effortless entertaining. Looking for culinary or artistic inspiration? How about watching rowing practice in the morning sun from the kitchen table. Tie the boat up at your own jetty and water ski after dinner. Available for the discerning buyer hundreds of thousands below replacement cost. Inspection sure to impress.

$1,250,000

VIEW By Appointment

4 3 John Davison

Mobile 027 436 4464 john.davison@pb.co.nz

2 11

Mid Canterbury At this price why wouldn't you make a change?

ALLENTON 92 Rundles Road Compare the value for money here, to others, and make an appointment to view, it does not disappoint.

WEB ID AL73128 Features a detached large artists studio and great outbuildings. Fully irrigated.

Paddock area currently grazed by This stunning stone four bedroom neighbouring dairy farm. family home, set in a mature landscape, is great value at well below replacement cost. Attention to detail is evident in the quality appointments and amenities. Formal lounge and dining areas for the entertainers. 12

$1,450,000

VIEW By Appointment

Paul Cunneen

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190 Home 03 302 6751 paulc@pb.co.nz

Toby O'Donnell

Mobile 027 322 6256 Office 03 307 9176 toby@pb.co.nz

4 2 2

Mid Canterbury Lifestyle living at its best

GREENSTREET 370 Ashburton Staveley Road A property that will impress with the combination of an executive home along with all the features required for the perfect lifestyle package. The quality built home comprises some great design features, low maintenance materials, high spec fittings that cater for excellent family living in a quality rural address with the advantage of being only five minutes' drive from Ashburton.

WEB ID AL74977 • 2 ha with good fencing & paddock subdivision • 253 sqm quality home built in 2008 • Low maintenance Ultraclad aluminium & Schist exterior • Ducted heat pump to all rooms • Large double bedrooms, master with ensuite / WIR • Separate bathroom & laundry

DEADLINE SALE

VIEW By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Thursday 2nd April, 2020 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) Greg Jopson

Mobile 027 447 4382 Office 03 307 9196 gregj@pb.co.nz

Chris Murdoch

Mobile 027 434 2545 Office 03 307 9191 Home 03 307 2940 chris@pb.co.nz

2 13

Mid Canterbury Waterfront lifestyle at an affordable price

LAKE HOOD 5 Trent Place Make the change. Sell in the city and invest the difference in value with a better lifestyle to boot. Canal frontage 268 sqm on 885 sqm section. A high specification home with large living areas with defined spaces for multi-use. Quality kitchen and scullery with second oven and cooktop for ease of entertaining. Master and guest bedroom with ensuite. Sunny outdoor 14

WEB ID AU70944 living and patio. While away the summer hours BBQ, swimming, boating, fishing, biking. All at your doorstep. Double garage plus parking space for a boat. It just makes economic sense!! Real value!

$789,500

VIEW By Appointment

Paul Cunneen

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190 Home 03 302 6751 paulc@pb.co.nz

Toby O'Donnell

Mobile 027 322 6256 Office 03 307 9176 toby@pb.co.nz

4 2 2

Mid Canterbury The grape escape - 9.5 ha

TINWALD 22 Laings Road "CharRees" is a boutique vineyard just 1 km ex Ashburton formed with the dream of a family-owned vineyard/restaurant. Established in 1999 with 3,500 Pinot Noir and 4,000 Pinot Gris vines followed by 1,800 Resiling in 2008. The property has approx. 4 ha more of plantable land available to upscale production. Set amongst the vines, live the Tuscan dream and watch your passion develop, at a slow, steady place, into a rewarding lifestyle and income. Consented for restaurant

WEB ID AL75089 development to expand your income if you wish plus part of "okay2stay" for campervan guests. Privately placed 323 sqm attractive modern family home overlooking and set amongst the vines. Two large living areas and kitchen open to the sun, four generous bedrooms, (master with quality ensuite and walk-thru wardrobe), large office and spacious service areas. Tasteful decor throughout.

DEADLINE SALE

VIEW By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Tuesday 14th April, 2020 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior) Paul Cunneen

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190 Home 03 302 6751 paulc@pb.co.nz

Toby O'Donnell

Mobile 027 322 6256 Office 03 307 9176 toby@pb.co.nz

4 3 2 15

Mid Canterbury Equestrian excellence - 8.3 ha

ASHBURTON 349 Milton Road South This irrigated property has the lot. Located only minutes to Ashburton this home and lifestyle property is a sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of town. Built-in 2006 this 430 sqm home of four double bedrooms (master with walk-in robe and ensuite) separate office, and large games room.

WEB ID AL74850

$1,550,000 + GST (IF ANY)

Two living areas and large kitchen finish VIEW By Appointment this impressive home off. Large easy care garden with spring-fed stream. Special features include 60 m x 80 m equestrian ring with a river sand and Equi rubber base, five-bay totally enclosed shed, plus three-bay pole shed and cattle yards. This really is something special.

4 Chris Murdoch

Mobile 027 434 2545 Office 03 307 9191 Home 03 307 2940 chris@pb.co.nz

2 2

Waikato Almost country

TAUMARUNUI 28 North Street Discreetly nestled on North Street, Rangaroa, you will find this 1990's board and batten cottage-style home surrounded by superb gardens.

WEB ID TUL74260

BY NEGOTIATION

with amazing views over the grounds. It VIEW By Appointment is a two-story home and has great B&B potential if you wanted. You feel miles from town at this property, but it's an easy 10 minute walk to the It is on 1.41 ha of prime residential land supermarket or the main street for boasting privacy, space and charm! coffee and your morning paper. There is a paddock for any livestock or This home is sure to please in this quiet you may want, or mow it and enjoy the neighbourhood and is very easily space. The home has four bedrooms, an accessible. ensuite, and two living areas. Two of the bedrooms have their own balconies

4 Katie Walker

Mobile 027 757 7477 Office 07 895 7123 Home 07 895 7112 katiew@pb.co.nz

3 1 17

Manawatu Incredible lifestyle homestead on 12.35 acres

POHANGINA 1106B Pohangina Road The views are captivating! This superb elevated lifestyle property is privately positioned all within an easy 17 minute travelling distance to Palmerston North. Enjoy the beautiful Pohangina Valley which offers fishing, hunting, bush walks and great community. This beautiful double-glazed 384 m2 architecturally designed home has three separate, large living areas and is so 18

WEB ID BL73039

$1,250,000

well set up for large family living. Five VIEW By Appointment bedrooms and an outstanding designer kitchen opening out towards dining and the large entertainers deck and views. Large shed, 12.35 acres, load out yards, school bus nearby.

Absolute family paradise. Kay Nitschke

Mobile 021 262 3836 Office 06 354 3836 kay@pb.co.nz

3 3

Wairarapa Lazy days in Longbush

GLADSTONE 68 Eringa Road Enjoy the views from this purpose designed and quality built 1970's home, and stroll over the 10 ha of land with native bush. The home boasts three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office and two living areas. The kitchen is perfectly positioned for sun with doors opening onto patios to the north and west.

WEB ID ML74893 The grounds are well established with a variety of English trees and shrubs, and easy care gardens. There is an internal garage with sleepout, plus a large, separate double garage and a two-bay implement shed to house extra equipment. This is an appealing property in a sought after location.

BY NEGOTIATION

VIEW By Appointment

3/4 Paul Joblin

Mobile 027 443 3756 Office 06 378 7604 Home 06 372 7789 paulj@pb.co.nz

2 1+2 19

724 Porangahau Road Waipukurau

2.9 ha

211 Papaiti Road Papaiti

Lot 2 Seddon Road Puketaha

1.6 ha

151 Budd Road Masterton

2938 Puketitiri Road Rissington

30.9 ha

25.4 ha

2.2 ha

280 Rosebrook Road Gleniti

1.7 ha

Lot 1, 498 Dry River Road Martinborough

1.9 ha

318 Papatu Road Manutuke

2.0 ha

3818 Old West Coast Road Sheffield

12 ha

Results that speak for themselves

23 Johns Road Jervoistown

3.7 ha

112A Parkers Road Carterton

2.6 ha

1037 Wharekopae Road Ngatapa

242 Stewart Road Feilding

5.5 ha

780 Halcombe Road Feilding

73.8 ha

12 ha

4178 State Highway 26 Waihou

77 Lichfield Road Putaruru

6,941 m2

1196 Woodfields Road Waimakariri

4 ha

2.4 ha

72 Avenue North Road Levin

1.2 ha

Property Brokers would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all our vendors who entrusted us with the responsibility to market their lifestyle properties.

30 High Street Waitaki

3,978 m2

135 Sandy Road Meeanee

5.3 ha

33 Rogers Road Bay View

2.3 ha

52 Camp Road Tauherenikau

2.1 ha

Looking to buy or sell your lifestyle property? Call the team that gets results.

0800 367 5263

664 Back Ormond Road Makauri

1.4 ha

78 Tiniroto Road Patutahi

185 Turitea Road Sheffield

1.1 ha

251 Mount Stewart Halcombe Road Awahuri

4.3 ha

1 ha

489 State Highway 1 Foxton

80 Butlers Road Fairlie

7,628 m2

20 ha

Lifestyle Living Rodney District - Lifestyle with many options

WELLSFORD 23 Biddle Road Take the short drive from Wellsford township to view this well presented lifestyle block of approximately 40 ha. A wide array of improvements including a sunny and spacious bungalow of three-plus bedrooms, and separate garage with attached games room or office. Close to the farmhouse is a large implement shed (20m x 8m approx), a calf rearing shed close to the old 13

WEB ID WHR74289 ASHB milking shed, a large workshop with three-phase power (ex-woolshed), and two haybarns. The farm is set up on gently rolling pasture divided into 24 main paddocks and four smaller ones connected by a limestone race. Two dams for stock water fed by a spring and farm runoff, plenty of mature shelter trees, and well maintained fences.

TENDER

VIEW By Appointment TENDER closes Thursday 12th March, 2020 at 3.00pm, (unless sold prior)

3 Catherine-Anne Wilson Mobile 027 271 8551 Office 0800 367 5263 catherinew@pb.co.nz

2 1

Waikato - Hard to find

MATANGI 427d Matangi Road Tucked away at the end of Pollock Lane is this all-flat contour 4.05956 ha lifestyle block which is just a short drive to both Hamilton and Cambridge. The 1980s home consists of four double bedrooms (master with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe), separate toilet, bathroom with shower and spa bath, an office, open plan kitchen / dining area and a separate lounge opening

WEB ID TEL75156 onto a north-facing deck. Additional buildings include a large double garage and a three-bay (one lockable) implement shed. Bore water supplies the house and all nine paddocks. An excellent opportunity here as not often do properties of this size, in such a desirable location, come to the market. See www.pb.co.nz for open day dates.

AUCTION

VIEW By Appointment AUCTION 1.00pm, Thu 16th Apr, 2020, (unless sold prior)

4 Doug Wakelin

Mobile 027 321 1343 dougw@pb.co.nz

Lifestyle Living Whakatane - Popular horticultural location

WHAKATANE 81 Macdonald Road 4.94 ha (12.21 acres). Located in the heart of this intensively planted horticultural area of the Rangitaiki Plains, the property has previously grown kiwifruit. Some shelter hedges remain and have been maintained, the all flat land is presently in pasture. The regular shaped title sits between Macdonald and Paul Roads giving good access at both ends. A tidy

WEB ID WTR75050 four-bedroom home has an entrance VIEW By Appointment from Macdonald Rd. The carport off the back door provides handy sheltered access through a covered back porch. The master bedroom has an ensuite and walk-in wardrobe, all the bedrooms and hall area has been freshened with new paint, wallpaper and carpets. Living areas have access to outdoor relaxation spaces.

$895,000 + GST (IF ANY)

4 2 Maurice Butler

Mobile 027 451 4395 maurice.butler@pb.co.nz

Rotorua - Spectacular!

HAMURANA 97 Turner Road From the moment you wind up the tree-lined concrete driveway, you know you have entered a very special property. This fabulous 14 ha (approx) property, built for the sun and the view, boasts three bedrooms, two living areas, two bathrooms and has many more features. Spend the long summer evenings relaxing on the deck and soaking in the expansive views of

WEB ID RTU74842 Rotorua City and Lake. You can enjoy the beautiful bush backdrop whilst taking a walk to the waterfall which trickles away most of the year. The sheds for big toys just add to the list. Don't miss this beautiful property in popular Hamurana. Call the Badgers today.

BY NEGOTIATION

VIEW By Appointment

3 Marlene Badger

Mobile 027 357 5702 marleneb@pb.co.nz

Danielle Badger

Mobile 027 554 7359 danielleb@pb.co.nz

2 23

Lifestyle Living Taupo - "Horses galore"

ORUANUI 1434 Poihipi Road Fully set up equine property only a short drive to the Taupo CBD, beaches, boat ramps and the National Equestrian Centre. You will want for nothing here, as it is completely set up with arena, stables, tack and feed rooms, equipment storage shed and large hay barn which can accommodate a large horse truck and hay. Sheep and cattle facilities are also in abundance with a

WEB ID TPL71447 woolshed too. A large sunny VIEW By Appointment homestead is nestled in established grounds with tennis court and spa. Four large bedrooms and a very tastefully renovated dining and living area opening up onto sunny covered decks. A further one-bedroom cottage adds to the character of the property and would be an excellent Air BnB or permanent letting source of income. 33 acres.

BY NEGOTIATION

4 2 Greg Kellick

Mobile 027 619 3051 greg.kellick@pb.co.nz

Whanganui - The perfect 8 ha affordable lifestyle

WHANGANUI SURROUNDS 162 Reynolds Road This low maintenance four bedroom, two bathroom Lockwood style home consists of 210 sqm (more or less) of open plan living. Enjoy the indoor / outdoor flow this property offers with its beautiful countryside views and a great location for entertaining on the large deck. This property has it all. Stave off the winter cold with a large wood burner, and plenty of firewood on this

WEB ID WGL75166 block. Large shedding, cattle/sheep VIEW By Appointment yards all on 8 ha (more or less) of flat to mixed undulating land. The kids will love the treehouse and fields to play in, plus plenty of room for a pony. This property is situated just 15 minutes (approximately) out of Whanganui and approximately 45 minutes to Palmerston North, an ideal location and easy commute to the Rangitikei.

BUYERS $695,000+

4 Mark Lourie

Mobile 027 273 3458 Office 06 281 3714 Home 06 342 7734 markl@pb.co.nz

2 2

Lifestyle Living Tararua - Peaceful serenity

PAHIATUA 94 Pa Valley Road Located down a long private tree-lined driveway, this private lifestyle is situated approximately 26 km from Pahiatua in the Tararua. The home is set in established lawns and grounds and is awaiting its new owner. The home is a beautifully presented four-bedroom home that has gone through extensive renovations, with new kitchen and bathroom and a new deck providing

WEB ID DL74061 great indoor-outdoor flow. This provides views over the farmlet and beyond. Improvements consist of an array of sheds including a large calving complex and other farm sheds. Sound cattle yards with load out. The property enjoys an established gravity feed water system. The land is approximately 7 ha (17.385 acres) of flat contour, subdivided into seven paddocks.

TENDER

VIEW By Appointment TENDER closes Thursday 19th March, 2020 at 2.00pm, Property Brokers office, 47 High Street, Dannevirke

4 Jim Crispin

Mobile 027 717 8862 Office 06 374 8102 Home 06 374 6768 jimc@pb.co.nz

2 2

Tararua - Quintessential lifestyle opportunity

WOODVILLE 142 Vogel Street Wow, everything in this house is supersized ideal for extended family or Air BnB. Set back from the road for privacy and views sits this amazing 430m2 two-story home. Boasting seven bedrooms, (ensuite off the master), two living areas, spacious modernised kitchen with designated dining area there is room for everyone. Enjoy socializing with friends in the games

WEB ID WOL74857

TENDER

room or relax on the deck with a TENDER closes Tuesday 24th March, beverage at the end of the day. 2020 at 2.00pm, at Property Brokers, Extensive shedding offers four car 57 Vogel Street, Woodville garaging plus a garage converted to a designated "work from home" area. The 1.3623 hectares of land is well set up for the lifestyle lover. Post & railed Jude Challies driveway with 6 paddocks, 3 bay Mobile 027 513 1015 Office 06 376 5663 pole-shed and cattle yards complete this Home 0800 439 5833 fantastic package. judec@pb.co.nz

7 2 4 25

Lifestyle Living Manawatu - Lifestyle home and income

HIMATANGI 3 Rangiotu Road Sited conveniently between the growing beach communities of Foxton and Himatangi and the city of Palmerston North is the ultimate lifestyle home and income. This private two-bedroom, fully modernised character style home complete with inground swimming pool is complimented with an established wholesale and retail trading business.

WEB ID BC74754 Now, forget about any commuting to VIEW By Appointment work, as you step across the doorway to your own business. Country Village Limited imports a range of unique and exclusive garden products from Asia and the United Kingdom. The business has a loyal retail clientele base along with an extensive database of wholesale clients throughout New Zealand as well as huge potential for growth.

BY NEGOTIATION

John McArdle

Mobile 027 357 0896 johnm@pb.co.nz

Owen Kirk

Mobile 027 742 0225 owen@pb.co.nz

Tararua - Lifestyle and income potential

DANNEVIRKE 3345 Weber Road Formerly the site of Weber's only watering hole but now a family homestead, 3345 Weber Road, Dannevirke comes to the market looking for its next caretaker. At 315 m2, there is room for everyone here with seven bedrooms (master with ensuite), two bathrooms and six toilets. There is also three great sized living areas, a large kitchen and an impressive

WEB ID PL74980 outdoor living area. To complement this VIEW By Appointment amazing villa is the 14.46 ha that accompanies it all, fenced neatly into 10 paddocks with its own water scheme. The infrastructure here is impressive with cattle yards, sheep handling facilities and very adequate shedding. The potential here is huge, convert it back to a pub, open a shop, have it as a B&B or simply sit back and enjoy.

$660,000

Patrick Baker

Mobile 027 599 8141 Office 06 376 6555 Home 06 376 6555 patrickb@pb.co.nz

7 2+

Lifestyle Living Wairarapa - Admired by many - owned by just one

CARTERTON 17 Hughes Line If you are looking to secure a quality lifestyle, love animals and need to be close to town then this handily located property provides an ideal opportunity. Only minutes north of Carterton, opposite the Clareville showgrounds and set on 4.89 ha of flat land, "Clovelly" could be the property for you. The award-winning home is appointed with everything you could

WEB ID ML74357 need. You will be welcomed through a large entrance foyer leading to the formal living and dining area. Adjoining is a separate, large and modern kitchen and casual family / sitting room attracting all day sun and amazing 180-degree views of the land and majestic Tararua ranges.

BY NEGOTIATION

VIEW By Appointment Stephen Penn

Mobile 027 448 1221 Office 06 929 7533 stephenp@pb.co.nz

Paul Joblin

Mobile 027 443 3756 Office 06 378 7604 Home 06 372 7789 paulj@pb.co.nz

Rakaia - Room for everything

RAKAIA 2478 North Rakaia Road A property with many advantages. Located only 45 minutes from Christchurch and 20 minutes from Ashburton. Substantial five bedroom homestead with kitchen, living, dining plus separate lounge. Extensive workshops. All set on 1 hectare.

WEB ID AL67218 Close to the Rakaia river known for its great salmon fishing.

BUYERS $700,000+

VIEW By Appointment

Some finishing work required but a great opportunity here.

5 Rodger Letham

Mobile 027 433 3436 Office 03 307 9192 Home 03 308 3307 rodger@pb.co.nz

4 2 27

Lifestyle Living Mid Canterbury - Great family home - 8 ha

ASHBURTON 496 Boundary Road Willowby Located on the east side of Tinwald in the favoured Willowby farming area approx. 7 km from Ashburton. This very tidy recently modernised & redecorated home is looking for a new family. The home boasts five double bedrooms plus office or sixth bedroom, two bathrooms, two living areas, separate dining & kitchen.

WEB ID AL74996 A large separate attic room suitable as a games room, hobbies room etc. Super large double garage with two roller doors. This truly is a great family home with new carpet throughout.

DEADLINE SALE

VIEW By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Monday 30th March, 2020 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior)

6 Chris Murdoch

Mobile 027 434 2545 Office 03 307 9191 Home 03 307 2940 chris@pb.co.nz

2 2

Mid Canterbury - Life on the lake

LAKE HOOD 15 Waterton Point Stylish single level modern home with water frontage. Open plan kitchen / dining / living with quality appointments overlooking an expansive tiered lawn leading down to the jetty and beach.

WEB ID AU74956 Three bedrooms plus office. Master bedroom of good size overlooking the lake, extensive walk-through wardrobe and ensuite.

Luxury. The lake. And you. Walk, cycle, Indoors greets the outside via numerous boat, kayak, windsurf all at your stacker doors capturing your lifestyle in doorstep. the late afternoon sun.

$749,500

VIEW By Appointment Paul Cunneen

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190 Home 03 302 6751 paulc@pb.co.nz

Toby O'Donnell

Mobile 027 322 6256 Office 03 307 9176 toby@pb.co.nz

4 2 2

Lifestyle Living South Canterbury - Versatile lifestyle - 10 ha

GERALDINE 548 Pleasant Valley Road Big home, big land and a big opportunity, this property has a lot to offer. A true country-styled character home, modernised throughout with six bedrooms, multiple living areas and generous kitchen. Set on 10 ha, the property is fully deer fenced into nine paddocks with a central laneway and a good set of yards, offering impressive views and multiple options.

WEB ID AL73262 An outdoor BBQ area and large three-bay skyline garage top off this lifestyle package. Grow your own veggies, cut your own firewood, it's all here and only 10 km from Geraldine, the heart of South Canterbury.

$710,000 + GST (IF ANY)

VIEW By Appointment Toby O'Donnell

Mobile 027 322 6256 Office 03 307 9176 toby@pb.co.nz

Paul Cunneen

Mobile 0274 323 382 Office 03 307 9190 Home 03 302 6751 paulc@pb.co.nz

6 1

West Otago

CONICAL HILL 11 Watties Road Settled in the picturesque Blue Mountain Valley with the township of Tapanui close by and Gore only 25 minutes away, this 17.19 ha lifestyle block offers many options for new owners. A tidy four bedroom, north-facing home with indoor / outdoor living makes the most of this peaceful setting that is also supported by a great selection of buildings by way

WEB ID GOR73458 of a double garage, truck shed, workshop, implement sheds, woodshed, cool shed, sheep and cattle yards. Well fenced into 28 paddocks of rolling contour. Call for more information or to view this well-located unit.

$750,000 + GST (IF ANY)

VIEW By Appointment

4 Allan Thompson

Mobile 027 201 0410 allant@pb.co.nz

Nigel Moore

Mobile 027 444 6132 nigelm@pb.co.nz

2 29

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 70 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

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Here’s our promise Our people have the experience and expertise to support your needs and deliver you the best results. Our True Team promise is our undertaking that when you work with us, while you’ll still have a lead agent, you’re guaranteed to have a true team of equally committed agents, marketing experts and support staff working for you, right across the country. They will put your interests first, to get you and your property the best result. For over three decades, we’ve been contributing to the prosperity and wellbeing of provincial communities that we call home.

Looking to buy, sell, invest or have your property managed? Call us on 0800 367 5263 or go to pb.co.nz

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