Farmers Weekly NZ July 19 2021

20 Farm machinery sales steady Vol 19 No 28, July 19, 2021

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UNITED: Farmers, contractors, utes, dogs, transport companies and tradies CROWD: Groundswell protest co-organiser and former Waikato Regional Council chair Peter Buckley addresses the turned out in droves for Groundswell NZ’s Howl of a Protest, converging on crowd at Morrinsville.

Photo: Gerald Piddock Ashburton.

Photo: Annette Scott

Can you hear us now?

Annette Scott & Gerald Piddock

T

HE deluge of new regulations and costs from the central government spilled over into protest on Friday when farmers, contractors and tradies across the country rallied for the Howl of a Protest.

Trucks and harvest machinery, tractors, utes, transport companies and dogs took to Ashburton’s streets – just one of more than 45 towns and cities from Kaitaia to Invercargill – to host the peaceful protest rallies.

The event was organised by Groundswell NZ, in an effort to stand up for farmers, food producers, contractors and tradies against what it claims to be a tsunami of unworkable rules imposed by the central government.

Groundswell is seeking the scrapping of the freshwater, SNA, biodiversity and ute tax policies, changes to immigration, climate change and the Crown Pastoral Lease Act policies.

Organiser Laurie Paterson says the collective protest was about sensible persuasion

in united support.

A diverse crowd of hundreds of people and dozens of utes and tractors decked out in antigovernment placards gathered at the Groundswell protest in Morrinsville.

Among the tractors parked up was Myrtle, the vintage tractor made famous when former National MP Shane Ardern drove it up the footsteps of Parliament to protest a proposed fart tax in 2003.

The crowd reduced the town’s main road to a single lane, as the vehicles parked up near the town’s giant cow.

It had support of those driving through, despite the disruption with people giving the protestors a thumbs up and tooting their horns in support.

“Stick to your guns,” a retiree said from his car as he drove past.

“It’s quite emotional,” retired dairy farmer and protest coorganiser Lloyd Downing said.

“I didn’t think anyone was going to come and look at it,” he said looking out to the crowd.

Former Waikato Federated Farmers president Andrew McGiven outlined a list of demands Groundswell wanted

from the Government.

“Everyone is feeling overwhelmed by the avalanche of poorly designed policies and the ‘we know best, one-sizefits-all mindset of this current government,” McGiven said.

He described the ute tax as another tax on the productive sector.

“Who drove their ute or tractor here today? I hope it was for a legitimate use and I hope you were masculine enough to drive it. Here’s a message to Julie Anne Genter: ‘rural women need utes too’,” he said.

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NEWS

17 A first for Alliance Group North Canterbury farmer Victoria Trayner has been appointed the Alliance Group’s first associate director.

REGULARS Newsmaker ��������������������������������������������������� 24 New Thinking ����������������������������������������������� 25 Editorial ������������������������������������������������������� 26

19 Yes vote ‘validates’ B+LNZ Farmers have voted to continue paying the sheepmeat and beef levy and also supported an increase to the sheepmeat levy.

Pulpit ������������������������������������������������������������� 27 Opinion ��������������������������������������������������������� 28 World �������������������������������������������������������������� 31 Real Estate ���������������������������������������������� 32-33 Tech & Toys ���������������������������������������������������� 34 Employment ������������������������������������������������� 34 Classifieds ����������������������������������������������� 34-35 Livestock ������������������������������������������������������� 35 Weather ��������������������������������������������������������� 37

12 Faith in farming future

23 Taking stock after 50 years

Future increases in the price of carbon will push hill country farmers off the land, a Central Hawke’s Bay farmer says.

Livestock buying is in Doug Marra’s blood, so there was little surprise when he became the third generation of his family to take up the vocation. On his retirement from Silver Fern Farms, he spoke to Neal Wallace.

shaken

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

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Immigration changes will help Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz CHANGES to Essential Skills visa rules are expected to ease some of the pressure on the primary sector’s migrant workforce and their employers.

The Government is increasing the duration of some Essential Skills visas and streamlining the application process, which it says will benefit employers and visa holders with more certainty while covid border restrictions remain in place.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi says the Government recognises ongoing labour demand pressures being faced by sectors, including the primary sector, and wants to make the most of the skills already in the country.

From July 19, the maximum length of Essential Skills visas for jobs paid below the median wage will increase from 12 months to 24 months. The maximum duration of Essential Skills visas for jobs paid above the median wage is already three years.

Faafoi says the application process for Essential Skills visas will also be simplified for workers remaining in their current roles.

Employers won’t be required to complete a labour market test where a worker is applying for a visa for a full-time role which the worker already holds. Those applicants also won’t need to provide medical and police certificates to Immigration New Zealand if that information has been supplied previously.

A labour market test will still be required where employers are filling a job vacancy to prove there are no New Zealanders available before a migrant worker can be hired. This is in line with the Government’s objective to ensure Kiwis are prioritised for jobs.

“These changes complement the recent extension we granted for around 10,000 Working Holiday and Supplementary Seasonal

SUPPORT: Federated Farmers employment and immigration spokesperson Chris Lewis says migrant staff are highly-valued and this is an important step to help keep them here.

These changes complement the recent extension we granted for around 10,000 Working Holiday and Supplementary Seasonal Employment visa holders.

Kris Faafoi Immigration Minister Employment visa holders,” Faafoi said.

Earlier requirements for all employers and workers to move to the Accredited Employer work visa, which was due to come into effect on November 1, have been delayed until the middle of next year.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the changes

acknowledge feedback that employers were desperate to hang onto migrant staff, like dairy farm managers, who had often worked for the same employer for several years on an Essential Skills visa.

“This will provide welcome certainty for those farmers and farm workers, and adds to the recent border exception to bring in 200 migrant dairy farm workers and their families,” O’Connor said.

A special report in last week’s Farmers Weekly looked at the rural labour shortfall that has been exacerbated by covid-19.

Federated Farmers employment and immigration spokesperson Chris Lewis says migrant staff are highly-valued and offer just what their visa says.

“We need them helping with calving and putting cups on cows now more than ever with the border still closed and low domestic unemployment,” Lewis said.

He says alongside the need for the current exception process for

bringing new workers across the border, keeping hold of people already working in the dairy industry is key.

“We don’t want these people taking their good skills and work habits and exiting the country because of visa uncertainty, and this is an important step to help keep them here,” he said.

“We are doing what we can to attract Kiwis to the industry, but all provincial employers feel like they are fighting over the same scraps of the labour force pie at the moment.”

Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says without the extension, 100 of the industry’s 250 halal butcher workforce faced losing their right to stay in NZ next year.

“These roles are critical to supporting employment for thousands of other employees in the red meat sector, mainly in the regions, and the Government has clearly listened to our concerns,” Karapeeva said.

“Without halal butchers, there is a real potential that the overall value of each animal processed is reduced, meaning less revenue for companies, farmers and the New Zealand economy. Halal processing generates over $3.3 billion of value-add halal certified meat products.

“However, we still face ongoing challenges in recruiting enough halal butchers. New Zealand has a relatively small Muslim population and this means that the industry must recruit from overseas to make up for the shortfall.”

Faafoi says the visa changes are temporary measures to support employers in the unique covid-19 situation.

“We want to work with sectors and see them develop plans to attract, train and upskill Kiwis into roles, and invest in productivity changes that can help them move away from a reliance on low-paid and low-skilled migrant workers,” he said.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Freshwater changes welcomed Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz CHANGES to the Government’s stock exclusion and low-slope map proposals have been welcomed by primary sector groups.

Consultation documents for the development of freshwater plans and stock exclusion lowslope maps were recently released

by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Environment Minister David Parker.

They are now seeking feedback on them, including what they say is a new, more accurate, mapping approach for stock exclusion that better reflects what farmers see on the ground.

Thanking industry organisations for their input so far, which he says has improved the Government’s original proposals, O’Connor added that many farmers and growers are already committed to practices to improve water quality and it’s vital they contribute to the consultation.

“Taking a farm planning approach is a flexible alternative.

It also provides farmers a visible way of showing their sustainability credentials to the markets we sell into, which will help boost value growth,” O’Connor said.

He encourages on the content of freshwater farm plans, their potential outcomes and how plans could be certified, audited and amended.

“We will also be asking about the balance between using the low-slope map and freshwater farm plans for identifying areas for stock exclusion,” he said.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Sam McIvor says the

Government’s original low-slope map identified thousands of hectares of steep land as lowslope and therefore required fencing, which was unworkable and wouldn’t deliver good environmental outcomes.

“That’s why we are pleased the Government has listened and changed the stock exclusion trigger from a 10-degree slope to a five-degree slope and introduced an altitude limit. That means if the area of an extensive farming operation is at a certain altitude, or/and above five degrees slope, it will not be required to be fenced.

That’s a common sense solution,” McIvor said.

He says there are still areas of concern, including what the freshwater farm plans will require farmers to do, the costs associated with certification and auditing, and the extent farmers’ personal or business information will become publicly discoverable.

“We have been clear from the outset that farm planning should be farmer-owned, effects-based in relation to environmental outcomes, enable innovation, adaptation and be flexible enough to respond to different farms, not one size fits all,” he said.

“The only information that should be made available to the public about an individual certified freshwater farm plan is its most recent audit outcome – basically whether it passed, similar to public-facing food safety grade certificates at a restaurant or café, or a WoF sticker on a car.”

Federated Farmers water quality spokesperson Chris Allen says on his initial reading of the proposals it looks like the Government

ENCOURAGED: Beef + Lamb NZ chief executive Sam McIvor is pleased with changes to the Government’s freshwater proposals but says there are still some areas of concern.

has taken on board many of the problems that were pointed out to them.

However, he says there are still some problem areas to be worked through, including stock exclusion on farmland that is at low altitude, on low slope and of low intensity, such as South Westland, where it is not economic to do what the proposals stipulate.

We will also be asking about the balance between using the low-slope map and freshwater farm plans for identifying areas for stock exclusion.

Damien O’Connor Agriculture Minister Allen sees freshwater farm plans as part of an ongoing solution to water quality, as the other option of farmers needing resource consent to continue their operations is “totally unacceptable”.

“However, the degree of rigour and oversight will be of concern to (Federated Farmers) members,” Allen said.

“From what we’ve seen in Canterbury, you can have what seems like a good idea but then the costs start running away and you have to increase production to pay for what you’ve always done.”

O’Connor says the latest proposals and consultation show that the Government is listening.

He is not dwelling on opinions that it should have undertaken more consultation before it released its initial package of freshwater proposals.

“It’s no good crying over spilt milk,” O’Connor said.

“The important thing here is to make sure that through legislation there’s an obligation to have a farm environment plan in place. We need to make sure that it’s effective, that it’s practical and that farmers embrace it enthusiastically.

“What we’ve seen through industry assurance programmes, through the requirements for some of the processors, be it Synlait or Silver Fern Farms, everyone is having to step into this

space. We just need to make sure from a regulatory perspective that it is complementary and achieves the outcomes that we want.”

Public consultation with farmers, agricultural sector groups, iwi and Māori, councils and environmental groups will run from July 26 to September 12.

The discussion document is available now on the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and the Ministry for Primary Industries websites.

Online submission forms will be available when the consultation opens on the week of July 26 on the MfE’s website in the ‘have your say’ section.

Parker says feedback will be carefully considered and it’s expected the outcome will be released later this year.

The plan is for a phased introduction of freshwater farm plans starting in the first half of 2022.

The first tranche of freshwater farm plans certified will use the best local information and catchment context available at the time, recognising plans will need to be updated as catchment vision, values, limits and rules are set.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

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Post-flood frustrations mount Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz CANTERBURY flood-affected farmers face an uncertain future while they wait for permanent river repairs.

At a community information update meeting in Ashburton, farmers were warned another rain event of more than 50mm will see the river again flood farmland.

While farmers and residents in the flood-prone areas called for Environment Canterbury (ECan) to get the shingle out of the river, the fix is not that easy, rivers manager Leigh Griffiths says, adding ECan’s priority is temporary work to give the river some resilience if it rains again, Of the $2 million spent on repairs to date, 90% of that is temporary work.

“We are not able to start on permanent repairs yet, we want to restore the scheme to what it was as a first step, then what extra we do looking ahead will not necessarily mean we put infrastructure back as it was,” Griffiths said.

“We are not in a position to have these specific conversations; it is quite sensitive with what land ECan does own responsibility for.”

To undertake a full programme of recovery works will require adjusting pre-flood work schedules and budgets to restore critical infrastructure.

“This will exhaust all funding and we will pitch a business case to the central government for national co-investment, but it will take time to secure these funds, business cases take time to put together,” she said.

Griffiths assured farmers there is no plan to reduce the level of protection, if anything increase future protection.

In the meantime, there is risk in the river.

“If we get 50-100mm of rain the river will be out again somewhere,” she said.

UPSETTING: Ashburton farmer Darryl Butterick claims Environment Canterbury is shirking responsibility and the uncertainty over how to pay the bills has forced him to call a halt on repairing his flood-ravaged farm.

One of the worst hit farmers Darryl Butterick says the meeting left him more frustrated.

“It’s the uncertainty; we have been left exposed and vulnerable,” Butterick said.

If we get 50-100mm of rain the river will be out again somewhere.

Leigh Griffiths ECan rivers manager “There’s no bloody point in fixing up shit and we get 100mm of rain.”

He has been forced to make the tough decision around repairing his farm.

“I’ve pulled all the gear out, stopped clearing paddocks and rebuilding creeks and fences; we can’t just keep spending money we haven’t got,” he said.

“I’m very conscious of running up monstrous bills we can’t pay.

“We pay ECan river rates to protect us; they have failed us and they are not helping us.

“It is disappointing the way they (bureaucrats) are managing this, they are conspicuous by their absence, they just run.

“Yes, Ian Mackenzie (local councillor) has been amazing but these ones that sit in the office have been silent.

“They lack understanding – they don’t get it that as farmers we run a seven-day operation and a cow doesn’t wait to calve or an ewe wait to lamb, while we wait for bureaucrats to make decisions.”

While he is considering a legal approach, Butterick says he is waiting in hope that ECan may come to the party.

“I am hoping ECan will dig in its backpocket and find a few dollars to pay for what is their responsibility, so we can get on and farm with some certainty,” he said.

“We can’t wait months and years, as they are suggesting it might take, so I am not holding my breath.”

ECan councillor Ian Mackenzie says discussions are happening around allowing farmers to clean up areas of river berm, but the issue is not straightforward.

The problem is in the current rating system there is simply not enough money to go around and there is no timeframe to work out what minimal amount of work

can be done by landowners.

“To take out a tree or two, or move a bit of shingle, is under the control of the river management team,” Mackenzie said.

“We need another $1m a year to manage the build-up of shingle to ensure flood protection is adequate.

“At the end of the whole exercise we need much better debate on how we go forward.”

Government’s $4m was also called into question, with a clear message it is not enough.

Federated Farmers provincial president David Clark reminded farmers it was said to be a start.

“The Prime Minister did say that it was a start and I will hold her to it,” Clark said.

Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown says the district faces a $5 to $6m bill to repair flood damage to the roading network.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

7

Casualty calf services on offer Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz FARMERS are being advised to check what casualty calf and lamb collection services are available in their areas, as calving and lambing gets under way in many regions.

Federated Farmers dairy chair Wayne Langford says casualty calf collections had not reverted back to the service offered pre-covid after the leather industry suffered a slump in prices.

Farmers needed to check to see what services are available in their area.

“We’re encouraging farmers to contact their regular pickup. In most cases they are still running; in some places we have heard they are and in other places they aren’t,” Langford said.

He says those farmers in areas where pickups no longer occurred needed to make sure they were properly following their local councils’ guidelines when disposing of these animals.

“It’s not a major issue and they just need to ensure it’s done properly,” he said.

Around 4.5-5 million calves are born in New Zealand every year.

Of those, around 40% are bobby calves, 30% are replacements and the rest are reared for beef.

According to Beef + Lamb NZ’s 2020 Lamb Crop report, around 22.9 million lambs were born last year.

In the North Island, calf collection services are available in the greater Waikato area through Waitoa Tannery.

Waitoa chair Tony Egan says the service ran from the Bombay Hills south of Auckland, down to Taupō.

It had ceased pickups in Northland because the transportation costs involved in the collections meant it was no longer economically viable.

He says the skin market had improved following its covid slump.

“Skins have improved over the last year, which is good because we lost money last year,” Egan said.

“They are very low in tallow, which is why you don’t get much

OPTIONS: Farmers have been told to check what services are on offer this season if they need to dispose of casualty calves.

The calf market has improved a bit and the guts of that is that the material that comes from the casualty animals is sold at a discount. It’s improved a bit, but it’s nothing like what it has been.

Bernie Lynskey WG Ltd Partnership for them. The skin basically pays for the exercise.”

Taranaki By-Products Ltd covers Urenui to Waverly and the coast, according to its website. It picks up cows, sheep and goats, as

long as the animal is over 100kg. It only collects calves if it is physically tied to a cow.

Likewise, Hawke’s Bay-based Lowe Corporation does not collect calves.

In the South Island, Christchurch-based WG Ltd Partnership general manger Bernie Lynskey says they had informed farmers in the greater Canterbury area that there will be a full collection service for casualty calves.

Farmers will be required to pay $12 for the collection to cover transport costs. A decision had yet to be made whether to include lambs in that service.

“We traditionally have always done lambs but at this stage if we do lambs, it will be a limited service,” Lynskey said.

“If I was a betting man, there

would be no collection.”

Leather prices had been on a downward trend and the covid-19 pandemic pushed the market over the edge. While there had been a slight improvement in bovine leather prices, it had still not recovered to a level where it was profitable.

“The calf market has improved a bit and the guts of that is that the material that comes from the casualty animals is sold at a discount. It’s improved a bit, but it’s nothing like what it has been,” he said.

“The reality is that people made no profit last year and made a bloody big loss.

“Unfortunately, the model that farmers liked, where they got paid something for the casualty stock, I think that’s probably gone forever.”

The last decent season for casualty calf and lamb collections was three years ago.

At the time, there were five companies servicing farmers.

Two of these were on the West Coast and the rest offered services in Southland/Otago and Canterbury.

Today, WG Ltd Partnership were the only business still running after Slink Skins went into receivership last year and the Lowe Corporation pulled out of the casualty operation in the South Island.

Lynskey says they also pulled out of the West Coast because it became too costly to service.

In Southland, Newtons Slinkskins owner Trevor Newton says he was still deciding whether to offer a collection service this year.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

GOOD MONTH: Owl Farm manager Tom Buckley says kind weather in June means good prospects for July and August.

Dairy ‘well set’ for new season Farmers Weekly reporters CALVING and milking has begun in all northern dairying regions, with tailwinds from warmer early winter weeks and prospective higher milk prices persisting.

Planned start of calving in the South Island is two or three weeks away and pasture conditions and winter feed crops are in good shape, farm consultants report.

NIWA figures disclose that soils have field capacity saturation in all districts of the country except Central Otago and coastal Wairarapa.

The standardised precipitation index is “near normal” over 85% of the country, the exceptions being severely dry along the west coast of Northland, moderately dry in the rest of the Kaipara District and Coromandel, and severely or extremely wet in Southland and coastal Taranaki.

Rainfall figures in previously dry regions have shown regular useful falls during the winter weeks so far, although soil moisture profiles have not yet recovered in many places.

DairyNZ’s head of the North Island regional teams Rob Brazendale says pasture covers and cow conditions were generally good going into calving and the new dairy season.

“June was excellent for pasture growth and good utilisation because it was still dry under foot and warmer than normal,” Brazendale said.

“It has only really been in the past 14 days that growth has slowed down, but most farmers are well set for the remainder of winter.

“Soil moistures have barely reached field capacity and the aquifers and streams are not fully recharged, which is a little concern, but we have plenty of time yet for heavier rainfall.”

DairyNZ’s South Island teams head Tony Finch says temperatures had been mild and pasture growth good until last week.

“Most farmers have been able to catch up on their pasture covers and grow their winter feeds well,” Finch said.

“The more difficult regions are West Coast, where the situation is only manageable, and Southland where soils are saturated, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“Winter has been quite forgiving so far, except for the floods in Mid Canterbury.”

Finch says a third seasonal payout over $7/kg was unprecedented and farm businesses were well-placed financially, having caught up with the damage done between 2013 and 2015 and able to cope with compliance and regulatory costs.

LIC FarmWise national manager Edward Hardie says five seasons of good milk prices had been interrupted by droughts in some regions, where financial gains had been paid out in extra feed costs.

Generally, dairy farmers had caught up with delayed repairs and maintenance, paid down some of their borrowings and worked on environmental improvements.

“The industry has made good progress through this time, but we have unknowns, such as covid effects in the markets,” Hardie said.

“Among the good signs are an increased number of farm sales.”

In Waikato, Owl Farm manager Tom Buckley says kind weather through June had set up the 164ha farm well for July and August.

It meant they were able to utilise feed much better and build up their feed covers for the months ahead.

In the past 14 days growth has slowed down, but most farmers are well set for the remainder of winter.

Rob Brazendale DairyNZ “I think the growth rates will become a little bit more normalised now, with slightly wetter soils and cooler temperatures. We had really good growth through June, which was great and really good utilisation too,” Buckley said.

The farm at St Peter’s School near Cambridge is about 25% through calving its 402-cow herd.

Buckley says the herd was in great condition thanks to those good pasture growth rates.

“We’re still sitting above 2400kg DM/ha and we’re pretty confident going forward. We’ll start speeding up the rounds in the coming weeks now that we have them calved and are producing a lot of milk,” he said.

He says one potential concern was soil moisture. While there had been enough rain to start building reserves, the farm could do with a good downpour.

“We’re still a long way behind after two dry years of half the average rainfall. We’re a full year behind after two years,” he said.

Demonstration manager Jo Sheridan says the rain that had occurred had kept the pastures growing, but had not been enough to fill up soil moisture profiles.

Owl Farm has had about 750mm per year for the past two years, well below the 1250mm average.

“That last rainfall we had was the first time the soils have been at full capacity since August 28, the year prior. It’s almost been 11 months since the soils were filled right up again,” Sheridan said.

Further south near Te Kuiti, Waikato Federated Farmers president Jacqui Hahn says things were looking relatively good feed and animal conditionwise.

“Dry stock prices are high and probably in relation to high pasture cover. Groundwater is still lower than usual as ephemeral seeps have not run, and soil is still drier than normal in many areas,” Hahn said.

Southland is experiencing one of its wettest winters for a number of years, which is helping replenish soil moisture levels.

Agri Business Ltd farm consultant Deane Carson says after a dry start to winter, the last month has been wet, which has caused some feed utilisation issues.

“People are going through feed quite quickly, which is impacting on a few feed budgets,” Carson said.

However, farmers have plenty of baleage, which is being used to breach the feed gap.

He says the past few years have been dry, so the wet will help recharge soil moisture levels.

South Otago is experiencing what Federated Farmers vice president Stephen Crawford described as a normal winter, with rainfall for the year-to-date about average.

Crawford says farmers will welcome soil water tables being replenished.

Winter has arrived in North Otago bringing regular rain and some grass growth, with farmers hoping the cycle of two-and-ahalf years of irregular weather patterns could finally have ended.

“We’ve had two-and-a-half seasons that have been difficult, where we have been living hand to mouth,” Duntroon farmer Matt Ross said.

Dry weather since January means crop yields are low, with many farmers relying on boughtin supplementary feed. But regular recent rain has set the district up, should they have a favourable spring.

After a dry autumn, North Canterbury is also welcoming recent rain, although local Federated Farmers president Caroline Aymes says the areas hit by the May deluge was patchy.

That storm was followed by a mild June, which encouraged some pasture growth, although that has been stopped by a series of frosts in July.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

9

Aussie lures migrant dairy staff Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz MIGRANT dairy workers are being lured from New Zealand to Australia by promises of residency for themselves and their families.

Southland Federated Farmers sharemilkers chair Jason Herrick says his Filipino staff told him it was occurring among the migrant community.

It was also confirmed to him by farm owners he had contacted who had placed new advertisements over the past week wanting staff.

Four out of 15 of these new advertisements were due to workers leaving for Australia. The rest were because the staff had been poached by other farmers.

Workers were also taking advantage of the shortage by making demands such as higher wages or other benefits.

“It’s becoming a very intense situation and it will end up with catastrophic circumstances if we don’t get it rectified quickly,” Herrick said.

“What they are offering are four-year residence visas and their families to come straight across the border through the MIQ (managed isolation and quarantine) services in Australia.

MITIGATE: Southland Federated Farmers sharemilkers chair Jason Herrick says the Government has the power to stop the exodus.

We’re not offering that here.”

Herrick says the Government could stop this exodus if it offered these workers the chance to be reunited with their families. It was an issue the organisation repeatedly raised with the Government.

“Farmers here can’t offer that and because they can’t, they’re taking these offers up in Australia.

The only way this will change is if the Government gets off its arse and does something,” he said He says every farmer he knew

in the region was not fully staffed and were looking for one staff member, if not two.

It was causing a lot of stress among farmers in the region about the uncertainty it was creating and it was not being addressed by the Government.

“There is a huge need for herd managers/managerial people, but there’s even a bigger need for assistants,” he said.

Herrick understood the exodus to Australia was also happening in other regions, but not to the same

extent as Southland. He heard anecdotally workers were being lured to Canada from NZ for the same reason.

A DairyNZ-Federated Farmers commissioned survey undertaken earlier this year estimated the dairy industry would be about 4000 workers short.

Herrick says about half of those were in Southland, while the rest were spread out around the country.

Southland relied on migrant workers and their wages had always been above NZ’s national minimum wage. That wage had risen from $22/hour before last year’s lockdown and as of July 19 it was $27/hour.

“If Kiwis wanted to work, I’d be happy to pay them what I pay my migrant workers, but the problem is we can’t attract Kiwis into the Southland sector,” he said.

This is despite the efforts of initiatives including Go Dairy and other training institutions.

“I’ve got three staff and currently not one of them is below $65,000,” he said.

In June, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced new border exceptions to allow 200 farm workers and 50 vets into the country.

DairyNZ is now taking

It’s becoming a very intense situation and it will end up with catastrophic circumstances if we don’t get it rectified quickly.

Jason Herrick Federated Farmers applications from farmers for these exemptions.

DairyNZ responsible dairy general manager Jenny Cameron says applications will be open for an initial two weeks so it can assess and understand the interest from farmers looking to bring workers into the country through these exceptions.

If exception spaces are not filled in the two-week period, applications will remain open.

If it’s oversubscribed, it was a good signal to the Government to consider making more spaces available.

“We understand the urgency of our farmers wanting to get people on-farm, especially as we are entering such a busy time on the farming calendar,” Cameron said.

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News

10 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

New appointment at DINZ Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz LEADING farm animal welfare specialist Rob Gregory has been appointed as general manager quality assurance of Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ).

In a changing of the guard, Gregory takes up the role of John Tacon who is retiring at the end of this month after more than 30 years in the deer industry.

Gregory has extensive international experience in animal welfare and quality systems.

His most recent position was with the RNZSPCA, where he assisted with the launch of SPCA Certified, the RNZSPCA’s flagship welfare assurance programme.

From 2012 to 2019, Gregory was based in Thailand working first as Asia-Pacific programme director for World Animal Protection (WAP), an animal welfare NGO, and then as an international animal welfare consultant.

While working for WAP, he led the development of the first National Code of Practice for Dairy Welfare in India and facilitated the creation of the first pre-stun slaughter facility for local cattle in Indonesia.

Previously Gregory worked for MPI and DairyNZ and from 2003-

2006, worked for DINZ on deer welfare matters.

DINZ chief executive Innes Moffat says Gregory’s appointment reinforces the industry’s commitment to farm animal welfare as quality assurance, including high standards of animal welfare, are becoming ever more important to consumers of premium animal products.

“The deer industry has a long history of investing in leading QA programmes, including NZ’s first on-farm and transport quality assurance programmes,” Moffat said.

“Under JT’s (Tacon) leadership, farmers and transport operators have at times made hard-calls to ensure the welfare of the deer in their care.”

We have much to be proud of, Moffat says – but nothing stands still.

“Meeting the expectations of consumers, as well as the requirements of regulatory authorities in NZ and in overseas markets, is an ongoing challenge for which Rob (Gregory) is very well qualified,” he said.

Gregory started with DINZ on July 1 and Tacon retires on July 31, giving a one-month handover period.

Tacon, who was awarded the prestigious Deer Industry

Award in May, has overseen the establishment of rigorous animal welfare standards across the deer industry – on-farm, velvet removal, deer transport and deer processing.

Accolades and endorsements supporting his nomination were fulsome from right across the industry.

From the early 1980s, Tacon owned and operated a deer transport business based out of Hokitika, specialising in the transport of feral deer during the expansion phase of the industry.

In those days, deer were worth $1200–$3000 a head, with individual stags considerably more.

His reputation, quiet and calm approach, innate knowledge of deer behaviour, commitment to service and his unruffled approach to stock found him well respected.

He was considered among the best of operators in this emerging specialist transport business.

His leadership for 30 years in this area is said to be the stuff of legends.

DINZ producer manager Tony Pearse says Tacon’s style is unassuming, but firm and clear.

“John (Tacon) is one of the fathers of quality assurance programmes in NZ agriculture, and while the wheel takes time

EXPERIENCED: DINZ’s new general manager quality assurance Rob Gregory has extensive international experience in animal welfare and quality systems. He replaces retiring industry veteran John Tacon.

to turn again, the widespread adoption of on-farm quality assurance is based on the pioneering work led by him in conjunction with the NZ Deer Farmers’ Association and processing companies,” Pearse said.

Tacon was the DINZ lead on the implementation of the velvet removal Regulated Control Scheme and more recently assumed a bigger role in the implementation of VelTrak.

“Both are substantial changes to the way we do business and due to John’s consultative and practical approach are seen as positive changes for the deer industry,” Moffat said.

“In the complex arena of animal welfare and transport especially, Tacon is a legend and a very worthy nominee for deer industry recognition,” former MPI animal welfare team manager and principal adviser Mark Fisher said.

“His proactive, inclusive and practical approach to animal welfare should be an example to all other farming industries.”

Tacon says he is proud and honoured.

“I’ve got the best job in the world, working with deer and livestock transport,” Tacon said.

“I’ve been so proud to work in the deer industry and alongside such a fantastic, qualified and amazing group of people.”

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News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Waiting game for fund manager

CONCERNS: In common with supply shareholders, unit holders are most concerned about the big fall in share and unit prices since the capital restructuring process was first announced.

Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz A BUYBACK of the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund (FSF) would require a negotiated price and be conditional on approvals and legislative changes, fund chair John Shewan says.

His first public response to the Fonterra capital restructuring process contained no answers but plenty of open questions.

Shewan says a possible buyback was way down the track, following a confirmed appetite for the move among Fonterra’s farmer-shareholders, a price negotiation, a 75% approval from unit holders and conditional on Dairy Industry Restructuring Act changes.

The management company of the FSF has met with Fonterra several times, most recently for a confidential briefing on the consultation feedback on June 14.

In common with supply shareholders, unit holders are most concerned about the big fall in share and unit prices since the capital restructuring process was first announced (Farmers Weekly, June 25).

“The manager can give unit holders no assurance about the price or liquidity of trading in the fund as these are matters the manager has no control or influence over,” Shewan said.

“Farmer support seems mixed on Fonterra’s consultation on whether farmers would prefer the fund to be bought back, or continue with a permanent cap.”

Any buyback would have to be approved by 75% of all unitholders eligible to vote.

Shewan said the whole restructuring proposal remained up in the air and would be discussed for several months to come.

When Fonterra placed a temporary halt on transfer of dry shares to fund units on May 6, the fund manager and its independent directors had no role in the decision, except for a prior confidential briefing.

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A SMALL number of early July sales on the East Coast and in Northland finished the 2021 twoyear-old bull sale season strongly compared with last year.

Wilencote Polled Herefords at Gisborne made a top price of $16,000 and averaged $9500 for the 20 bulls sold out of 23 offered.

The Reeves family at Mokairau Herefords, also Gisborne, offered 29 and sold 23 for an average of $7391 and thrice made a top price of $10,000.

Moving north, Te Puna Herefords at Okaihau offered 14 R2yo bulls and sold nine with an average of $4933 and had a full clearance of eight 18-month-old bulls for $3062 average.

Also at Okaihau, Moana Polled Herefords offered 23 and sold 20 with an average of $4390 and a top of $7500.

Finally, the Glenrossie stud near Whangarei had a full clearance of 15 bulls, 10 of them Beef Shorthorns and five Santa Gertrudis.

The average for the Shorthorns was $6070, with a top of $9000, and the average for the Santas was $5980, with a top of $9700, paid by Percy Farming.

11

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News

12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Faith in farming future shaken being eyed up for tree planting because the likely future returns from carbon will outweigh what can be made from sheep and beef FUTURE increases in the price production. of carbon will push hill country “The price of land now is solely farmers off the land, a Central valued relative to the price of Hawke’s Bay farmer says. carbon. That’s the value of land, Clem Trotter, who farms with not what we can produce on it,” his wife Mickey west of Ongaonga, he said. questions what sort of future As the price of carbon increases, sheep and beef farmers on the east Trotter says farmers like himself coast of the North Island face. would be at least three times better The couple attended last off planting their whole property month’s carbon forestry in trees. conference in Rotorua and He says given the price of prior to that they believed that carbon in NZ, which is currently targeted tree planting on-farm, just under $48 a unit on spot price, while retaining productive areas could double in the next two to for agriculture, offered plenty of three years, land values could opportunities for farmers but follow. the wholesale planting of regions “That means the carbon income needed to stop and something had off the hardest piece of hill country to be done about it. on the east coast could potentially From what Trotter heard at be north of $3000 a hectare a year. the conference, which he says That’s dairy farming money,” he attracted far more lawyers, said. accountants and investment He says in recent years that had managers than it did farmers, he good seasons and good product now thinks it’s too late for that. prices, the top 1% of hill country “I just think we’re wasting our farmers were only returning an energy trying to fight it; the ship’s effective farm surplus of about sailed,” Trotter said. $800-$900 a hectare.

He says the global economy is “And they were the very, very geared around a carbon model to few. They were the real good guys such an extent that it is driving the with a tailwind,” he said. cost of land and every farm now “The average is closer to a third being sold on the North Island’s of that. east coast, with the exception of “We’re looking at land-use horticultural or dairying land, is change like NZ hasn’t seen since the pioneers turned up and started burning What are bush. you looking for “It’s shaken our in a maize seed faith in the future provider? a little bit. I mean, is there one in what we do?”

Trotter says not enough consideration has been given to government policies around tree planting.

“I think it was because of the urgency they wanted to get

Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz

“We wanted someone to guide us through the whole journey from paddock to stack and feeding out.”

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PROFIT: Hawke’s Bay farmer Clem Trotter says likely future returns from carbon will outweigh what can be made from sheep and beef production.

trees in the ground, but why didn’t we work out how many hectares we needed to plant first?” he asked.

“Once we knew that we could have worked out what it meant if everyone had to get involved.

We’re looking at land-use change like NZ hasn’t seen since the pioneers turned up and started burning bush.

“Say it worked out at 10% of land, then all landowners would have to plant 10% (in trees). You pick where you do it, but you have to do it.

“They could have said these are the tree species that you can use because they are going to sequester carbon at the rate that we need to sequester at.”

He admits that’s a simplified version of a solution and there will be some parts of the country

where that won’t work “but I’m sure with the collective brainpower of NZ we could have added in some complexity and worked out a better way forward rather than just saying ‘East coast, bin it. Just put it into trees, that will allow the rest of NZ to keep flying, driving and et cetera for a bit longer’.

“You’d be putting the onus back on landowners.

“Everyone. People in town. If you’ve got lawn in the back of your yard, plant a tree in the corner.

“Then everyone buys into it.

Everyone takes some ownership of the carbon zero goal, rather than just hiding it in the hills.

He says councils could plant more trees in their parks.

“You could have legislated for that rather than what’s happening now, which is just basically paying people to get off the land,” he said.

“And you would retain regional economies and communities.”

Trotter says a lot of the big blocks currently being planted in trees are owned by either big syndicates or overseas money, which has the potential for future problems.

“That ownership model, there’s no duty of care. It’s just a percentage return on a piece of paper,” he said.

“And if the percentage return says ‘we’ll milk all the carbon out of it up until a certain point and if by that stage we’ve made the investment back in the land itself 10 times over, well, we’ve made our money’.

“Then if the price of carbon starts to drive itself back down again like it’s supposed to, what’s to say these people don’t just walk away and leave us with a great big mess of old man pines?”

He says like most farmers, he is not anti-trees or the environment.

“Far from it, we’ve been planting and fencing off waterways for years,” he said.

“So often in the mainstream media farmers are painted as the bad guys, Neanderthals out there wrecking things.

“We really do care. We want this to work.

“We want to be part of the solution but we’re not being given a chance to do that.”

AGL, AngusPure extend premium portfolio Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz ALLIANCE Group Ltd and AngusPureNZ have extended their partnership with the added offering of a new premium programme, including an Angus branded export quality beef.

The new differentiated Angus beef programme encompasses the existing AngusPure domestic brand, as well as a new Angus export brand to be developed for markets in North America and Asia.

Alliance will reward farmers who have qualifying animals with premiums of up to 40c/ kg.

“We’re building a

differentiated premium portfolio and increasing the value we create for New Zealand’s farmers by creating global supply programme opportunities,” Alliance Group category director for beef Darren Drury said.

AngusPure NZ director Guy Sargent says the partnership will benefit all Angus breeders, but especially those in the South Island.

“Alliance and AngusPure share a common belief that quality should be rewarded,” Sargent said.

“Not all Angus’ are equal and Alliance will reward those suppliers who provide quality livestock.

“This new programme also opens up another option

to finishers right across the country for processing and there will be increased demand and premiums paid for cattle tagged with AngusPure Source and Trace ear tags.”

The animals will be processed and selected by specially accredited graders at Alliance’s Mataura, Pukeuri (Oamaru) and Levin plants.

To qualify, animals must be 100% grass-fed and tagged with an AngusPure Source and Trace ear tag.

Carcases must achieve a marbling score of 1 or greater, have fat and meat colour of 1 to 4 and a pH of 5.7 or less.

The programme is for steers and heifers only and stock must be 245kg-plus,

antibiotic-free, Farm Assured properties, NAIT tagged, meet the special raising claims programme and must be at least 75% Angus and sired by a Registered or PRAC/APR Recorded Angus bull.

The premiums will be 40c/ kg from May 1 to October 31 and 30c/kg from November 1-April 30 for carcases 270.1kg-plus.

For carcases between 245-270kg, farmers will be paid 20c/kg between May 1 and October 31 and 10c/ kg between November 1 and April 30.

If animals meet the criteria for Alliance’s Handpicked Beef range, they will automatically receive the relevant premiums of up to $1 per kg.

News

14 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

A2 Milk reorganises Asia Pacific division A2 MILK is reorganising its Asia Pacific division into three business units and announced two new appointments.

The move follows the resignation of chief executive for Asia Pacific Peter Nathan. It also comes as the company struggles to regain traction after a series of profit warnings as covid-19 severely restricted its daigou, or cross-border, trade into China.

The stock last traded at $7.60 and is down 62% over the past 12 months.

“Together these appointments and organisational changes will provide more dedicated leadership and focus on key components of our business and improve execution going forward,” chief executive David Bortolussi said.

The Asia Pacific division comprises the vast majority of a2 Milk’s business.

Chief executive officer for Greater China Xiao Li will report directly to Bortolussi and will continue to be responsible for the company’s China label infant milk formula and other domestic business.

Yohan Senaratne will join the company on Thursday in the role

of executive general manager – international, reporting to Bortolussi.

Senaratne will be responsible for leading the company’s crossborder export business, primarily focused on English label IMF products manufactured in New Zealand and sold into China, but also including liquid milk and other nutritional products.

The international team will be responsible for managing English label IMF products sold through all channels, principally via the daigou/reseller and crossborder ecommerce channels. The international team will also be responsible for developing the company’s business in emerging markets.

Senaratne joins a2 Milk from his most recent role as sales and marketing director at Bellamy’s Organic.

Kevin Bush will join the company’s executive leadership team in the new role of executive general manager – Australia and NZ, also reporting to Bortolussi.

He will be responsible for leading the company’s business in ANZ with a focus on continuing to grow the liquid milk business in the near term as well as “evolving

its strategy to realise the full potential of the brand”.

He has held the role of sales director for Australian and NZ at a2 Milk for the past five years. He begins his new role today.

Together these appointments and organisational changes will provide more dedicated leadership and focus on key components of our business and improve execution going forward.

David Bortolussi A2 Milk Earlier this month, investors were cheered when a2 Milk announced it had snagged a new chief marketing officer from Danone. Edith Bailey is due to start her new role later in 2021.

– BusinessDesk

OPPORTUNITY: A2 Milk chief executive David Bortolussi says the organisational changes will provide more dedicated leadership and focus.

Could NZ implement a carbon import tax?

THE idea of a carbon border tax for imports into New Zealand is being floated by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE).

A carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is put forward as a potential future option for dealing with the issue of local industries having to pay carbon prices when their international competitors do not.

The discussion paper is focused on readjusting the industrial allocation of free NZ Units (NZU) for emissions intensive, trade exposed industries (EITE). The free allocation means qualifying businesses get a percentage of the NZUs they have to supply under their Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) obligations.

The Government wants to change the allocations as officials say there is evidence of the free units being oversupplied. They also want to speed up the current plans to phase them out over the coming decades.

The free allocation is intended to stop EITE industries facing higher costs than their competitors. This is for those exporting, but also for goods made in NZ for local consumption and which face foreign competition.

Amongst the largest sectors are steel makers. But there are also smaller operators such as those using gas and coal in horticultural hothouses.

The policy reasoning behind the free allocation is that if the local businesses were no longer

PROPOSAL: The Government wants to change the industrial allocation of free NZ Units for emissions intensive, trade exposed industries.

profitable, the goods produced would be replaced by those made in other countries not facing the same carbon costs.

This is known as “emissions leakage” and the discussion document puts forward alternative mechanisms to reduce the risk.

One of these is a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to compensate for the difference between the carbon pricing applied to domestic goods and the carbon pricing, or lack of it, applied to imports in their country of origin.

The idea is not new.

Some territories, notably the United Kingdom and the

European Union, have been looking at such moves for some time.

Some view them as a trade barrier by another name.

Others argue, in the global drive to reduce emissions, it will be necessary to bring slow-moving countries into line and prevent more climate friendly industries being driven out of business.

The discussion document said CBAMs can take different forms, including a tax on imports equivalent to a domestic carbon cost (adjusted at either the point of sale/consumption or at the border), an extension of a domestic ETS to imports; or a rebate of carbon cost on export.

They are all broadly aimed at incorporating the cost of carbon emissions into the pricing of imports.

“CBAMs raise issues of consistency with international trade obligations and any introduction in New Zealand would require a complex and lengthy development process.

A CBAM could help ensure equitable emissions pricing is applied to emissions intensive imports and exports,” the paper said.

“By levelling domestic and international commodity prices, a CBAM would ensure the NZ ETS price signal is better reflected in the domestic economy.”

The free industrial allocation “on the other hand compensates EITE firms so they can compete with cheaper offshore production, subject to weaker emissions pricing. This results in lower prices for emissions-intensive goods, which can disadvantage the purchase of lower-emissions products such as timber.”

A CBAM could also generate revenue for the Crown that could fund projects for mitigating or adapting to climate change.

“CBAMs are often viewed as difficult to design and implement, given the need to be transparent, administratively efficient, environmentally effective, scientifically robust and compliant with World Trade Organisation rules. Some jurisdictions are currently

CBAMs raise issues of consistency with international trade obligations and any introduction in New Zealand would require a complex and lengthy development process.

MfE considering CBAM proposals. It is not yet clear how these will be designed or implemented,” the paper said.

The paper says the design of such a scheme and how to apply a carbon border tax is fraught with difficulty.

For instance, applying such a charge on an individual business exporting to NZ would be difficult and expensive to administer.

Applying it on a country-bycountry case basis also raises issues.

For instance, would it be applied on a country’s general record in reducing emissions or based on its pledges?

If countries were to put in place a reciprocal scheme, NZ would do well when it came to pledges but not so much on emissions reductions.

– BusinessDesk

Every farm is unique, even if they’re neighbours.

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Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz. NZ-NLV-210500001 NZ/NLX/0518/0003e © 2021 Intervet International B.V. All Rights Reserved. 1. Baron Audit Data. March 2021.

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16 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Compliance efforts on track Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz

IMPRESSIVE: Environment Southland says the aerial survey has revealed “excellent compliance.”

SOUTHLAND farmers are being praised by their regional council after an aerial inspection of winter grazing practices last week found almost all were being exceptionally well managed.

Three farmers will have follow-up inspection as potentially having issues, but Environment Southland chief executive Rob Phillips describes the survey as revealing “excellent compliance.”

“I’m really pleased with what the team has seen,” Phillips said.

“These flights help to reinforce that what’s being seen from the road isn’t always reflective of a breach of rules or environmental damage.

“Farmers are working hard and understanding

the situation and making a real effort to improve things.

“This sustained improvement is something that Southland as a whole can be proud of.”

The flight covered a large portion of eastern Southland, from Waituna, Fortrose and Waikawa, to Mataura, Waikaka and Riversdale areas, and Phillips noted one area that could be improved was the grazing of buffers.

“We noticed that while there were good buffers in place, some had been grazed,” he said.

“It’s important buffers are left ungrazed to remain an effective tool for reducing sediment getting to waterways.”

Further aerial compliance flights are planned for other catchments.

Farmers are working hard and understanding the situation and making a real effort to improve things.

Rob Phillips Environment Southland

BASE: The Olam dairy plant will be built in Tokoroa in South Waikato.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Olam to build NZ dairy plant SINGAPORE’S Olam International says it is progressing plans to directly invest in its own dairy processing facility in New Zealand.

“The plant development is in the early stages, we are recruiting for our New Zealand team and a formal announcement is planned in the coming months,” Olam Food Ingredients senior vice president Naval Sabri said.

The plant will be built in Tokoroa in South Waikato.

According to Sabri, there is “a strong and growing demand from our global customers for high quality, New Zealand dairy products”.

The aim of the plant is to meet that demand and offer more customised solutions.

He noted the company has “enjoyed a long and successful history in New Zealand through our previous investment in Open Country Dairy.”

Earlier this year, Olam sold all its 15.19% stake in Open Country Dairy to Talley Group for approximately $80.9 million through Talley’s takeover offer in February. Open Country Dairy is NZ’s second largest dairy processor and has operations in the Waikato.

Sabri says the company’s priority is currently to meet with, and listen to, the views of farmers first.

“This will ensure we deliver on our commitment to develop milk supply partnerships in a way that best meets local needs,” he said.

– BusinessDesk

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Covid stymies Aus opportunity SIX young New Zealanders who were due to represent their country in prestigious Australian Agricultural Show competitions next month are unable to attend because of covid-19.

Cara Doggett (beef paraders), Georgia Whitworth (dairy paraders), Marie Fitzpatrick, (rural ambassador), Tayla Hansen (sheep judging), Courtney Davies (beef and dairy judging) and Niamh Barnett (merino fleece judging) had all qualified to compete at the Agricultural Shows of Australia (ASA) national finals for people aged under 25, which are due to be held at the Royal Queensland Show in Brisbane from August 7-9.

A first for Alliance Group Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz NORTH Canterbury farmer Victoria Trayner has been appointed the Alliance Group’s first associate director.

Trayner and her husband Glen are fifthgeneration farmers, sharemilking 650 cows near Oxford in North Canterbury and are also involved in their family’s farming enterprise, across pig farms, cropping, dairy and an Angus beef stud.

She also lectures in agribusiness and production management with Primary ITO and is chair of the Waimakariri District’s Primary Sector Plan Change 7 Committee, coordinating a sector response to the council’s regional plan.

Trayner is also a director of Waimakariri Irrigation Ltd, which delivers irrigation water to 23,000ha within the Waimakariri District.

Alliance Group chair Murray Taggart says her appointment is designed to create the next generation of industry leaders.

“Victoria impressed us with her desire to learn and develop, her commitment to farming sustainably, and the leadership role she plays in her community,” Taggart said.

“She certainly represents the future of our industry and we are pleased to have her on board for the next 12 months.”

Trayner says she is looking forward to gaining experience in board governance within a cooperative structure and also gaining insight into the complexities of the meat industry beyond the farm gate.

“I want to use this knowledge to contribute to the future success of our sector and make a better New Zealand for the next generation to grow up in,” Trayner said.

She will join the board for 12 months from August 2021.

They qualified through winning Royal Agricultural Society of NZ (RASNZ) events.

RASNZ chief executive Debbie Cameron says due to uncertainty with covid-19, the decision had to be made earlier in the year about sending the team and it was decided not to.

THWARTED: Courtney Davies, pictured, is one of half a dozen young New Zealanders who is unable to pit their skills against their Australian peers because of covid-19.

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NEW CHALLENGE: Victoria Trayner says she is looking forward to gaining experience in board governance within a co-operative structure.

ACVM No’s A3977, A934, A935, A11311, A11766. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz NZ-NLV-210500001 NZ/NLX/0518/0003e © 2021 Intervet International B.V. All Rights Reserved. 1. Baron Audit Data. March 2021. *Vaccinating ewes earlier at pre-lamb helps avoid stress associated with yarding which has been identified as a predisposing factor for sleepy sickness. Beef + Lamb NZ. Metabolic Diseases in Ewes Fact Sheet July 2019.

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

19

Spring Sheep wins innovation award Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz SPRING Sheep Milk has beaten global giants Nestle and China Feihe to win the best infant nutrition category product at the World Dairy Innovation Awards.

The company won the category with its Gentle Sheep infant milk drink, beating Wyeth Nutrition, which is owned by Nestle, Chinese infant formula giant China Feihe and Blueriver Nutrition Co. Spring Sheep’s general manager of milk supply Thomas Macdonald says they are proud of the achievement.

RECOGNITION: Beef + Lamb New Zealand chair Andrew Morrison says the result showed farmers valued the work of B+LNZ.

B+LNZ vote ‘heartening’ FARMERS have voted to continue paying the sheepmeat and beef levy and also supported an increase to the sheepmeat levy.

Almost 90% of farmers voted in favour of the sheepmeat levy on a one farmer, one vote basis, with support of 92% on a weighted stock unit basis.

Results also showed 88.1% of farmers voted in support of the beef levy on a one farmer, one vote basis, with support of 89.4% on a weighted stock unit basis.

Farmers strongly endorsed B+LNZ’s role in advocacy, but we also heard loud and clear from them that there’s a lot of frustration out there about the scale and pace of regulatory change and they want us to fight as hard as we can on their behalf…

Andrew Morrison B+LNZ In terms of the proposal to increase the sheepmeat levy from 70 cents to 75c, 68.3% voted yes on a one farmer, one vote basis, and 70.4% voted yes on a weighted stock unit basis.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chair Andrew Morrison says the result showed farmers valued the work of B+LNZ. “Now more than ever, farmers

need a strong voice representing their interests domestically and internationally, positioning our product with consumers and providing them with the support they need on-farm to run more sustainable and profitable businesses,” Morrison said.

“We’re very pleased with the result, particularly given the amount of farmer concern out there about the wave of regulation coming at them. I’d like to thank everyone who had their say and for giving us a mandate.

He says the result “validates” its efforts and “it was heartening to hear from farmers during our recent roadshow that there’s a lot they like”, especially around the farming excellence work and programmes such as Taste Pure Nature.

“Farmers strongly endorsed B+LNZ’s role in advocacy, but we also heard loud and clear from them that there’s a lot of frustration out there about the scale and pace of regulatory change and they want us to fight as hard as we can on their behalf, working more closely with Federated Farmers and DairyNZ in responding to this. I can assure farmers we are taking this on board,” he said.

The result on the sheepmeat levy increase was also encouraging.

“We’re pleased that farmers have taken the information on board and seen why we need this increase,” he said.

Morrison says he has informed Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor of the result and B+LNZ would be applying for new levy orders that would run for six years from when the new levy order becomes effective.

We’re now having to backfill that with bringing new farms onboard and we have five new farms starting in the next few weeks.

Thomas Macdonald Spring Sheep Milk

“They are some pretty big names playing in the infant space globally and a sheep milking company from New Zealand managed to beat them.

It also validates the consumer story,” Macdonald said.

The winners were announced during a virtual ceremony with the judging panel considering 222 entries from 25 countries across 20 categories.

Macdonald says its Gentle Sheep range had been selling well since its launch in 2019 in Malaysia. The company was constantly seeing an uptick in demand as new consumers discovered the product.

It has also partnered with actress Antonia Prebble and athlete Alison Shanks who will act as ambassadors for the company.

He says this was helping build awareness around sheep milk, which was fuelling demand.

“We’re now having to backfill that with bringing new farms onboard and we have five new farms starting in the next few weeks. They’ll start lambing and supplying milk,” he said.

This lifted Spring Sheep’s total of supplying farms to 16.

PLEASED: Spring Sheep’s general manager of milk supply Thomas Macdonald says they are proud of the achievement.

“The sheep milking category’s been growing at 65% per annum since its inception in 2015.

That’s a phenomenal growth rate,” he said.

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20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Tractor and machinery sales strong THE first half of 2021 has got off to a superb start for sales of farm equipment.

Tractor and Machinery Association of New Zealand (TAMA) president Kyle Baxter says there had been substantial sales increases across all tractor horsepower segments and equipment compared with the same time last year.

He says the big increases reflected a continuing catch-up in on-farm vehicle investment as farmers looked again to the future.

“It’s fantastic to see the confidence continue across all of the sectors and, in turn, this confidence flowing into the wider economy,” Baxter said.

“This significant increase isn’t an accidental one, nor a blip, it requires sustained customer and supplier confidence over a 12-month period in that the required product is ordered and arrives into the country to meet current demand.”

The overall increase in actual units delivered across NZ was 35%. This represents an additional 450 tractor sales compared to the same period of 2020. Sales in the lifestyle under 50hp sector increased over 40%, while sales numbers in the 60-80HP segment, which are predominantly delivered into the horticulture sector, increased around 50%.

“Not to be left out of the rising market, sales in the 100-140HP segment are up more than 30%.

Tractor deliveries into the larger end of the market, focused on 180-250HP cropping and contracting tractors, increased by more than 50%,” he said.

While the market remained strong and looked set to remain so for the rest of 2021, there were

several challenges impacting the market.

“We are hearing from our members that ongoing production stoppages in global factories due to covid lockdowns and community outbreaks continue to affect manufacturing timeframes.

Europe continues to be a rapidly changing space by the day, as one country announces a ‘return to normal’ date, another country announces new control measures to help stem the spread of the virus,” he said.

Global logistics dominated many of the discussions TAMA members were having with their suppliers and customers. With no relief in the short to medium-term horizon, the increased shipping times looked set to continue well into 2022.

“Almost every point of the logistics supply chain is affected.

Delays of an extra 90 days in receiving a container load of equipment from Europe are not uncommon. Reduced air cargo space, due to fewer flights globally, is also adding to the cost of air freighting spare parts and causing delays in getting urgent spare parts into the country,” he said.

“The cost of shipping a container here has increased drastically. This, coupled with importers of agricultural equipment generally only able to ship one to four machines per container due to their size, is driving up the freight cost of each item shipped.”

Baxter says while strong commodity pricing was fantastic for the NZ agriculture industry in terms of the export value of agrelated produce, there was a sting in the tail.

Raw materials sourced to build the equipment were also

DEMAND: While New Zealand’s tractor and farm equipment sales are tracking well, TAMA president Kyle Baxter says they’re still facing many covid-induced challenges.

under immense upward price pressures. Many manufacturers had already signaled or passed on manufacturing price increases directly related to the increased price of the raw materials.

“Our members are particularly concerned about the strong inflationary surge of raw materials, which is affecting many components used in the build of equipment,” he said.

The price of steel has more than doubled in one year (from €550 euros per tonne to €1250 euros/t).

Steel can represent 30-40% of the average production cost of farm machinery. There have also been substantial increases in the prices of aluminum (+22%), copper (+63%), rubber (+67%) and foundry products (+90%) over the past nine months across the

Asia, the US and Europe, where much of the NZ farm equipment is sourced from.

He says labour shortages remain another major concern for the tractor and machinery industry.

“The lack of skilled labour is paramount in the minds of all our members. We’re all training young people and taking on apprentices but the industry needs more skilled people than we currently have available,” he said.

“Like many others in the primary industry, we need to be able to access overseas workers to help with the immediate shortfall for the upcoming season. We will be working on behalf of our members to ensure these issues are highlighted and to implement the possible courses of action to address the shortfall.”

We are hearing from our members that ongoing production stoppages in global factories due to covid lockdowns and community outbreaks continue to affect manufacturing timeframes.

Kyle Baxter TAMA

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

21

Lincoln unveils new facilities LINCOLN University officially opened the first of two new science buildings, marking a significant milestone along a journey that began more than 10 years ago, following the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes.

Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Dr Megan Woods performed the formalities at the event, cutting the ceremonial ribbon to officially open the building that will be home to over 50 staff and postgraduate students from the university’s Department of Agricultural Sciences, responsible for teaching and research in the animal sciences.

During the ceremony, Lincoln also acknowledged its elevated profile as a worldranked land-based university, underpinned by its substantial growth in domestic student numbers and its expanding influence within New Zealand’s increasingly important food and fibre sector.

Acting vice-chancellor Professor Bruce McKenzie says the new science facility will strengthen Lincoln’s commitment to help drive NZ’s transition to a more productive, low-emissions economy.

“Lincoln University has always been a chief driver of innovation in agriculture, particularly in the food and fibre sectors, and our new facilities will position us to take an even more prominent role in developing solutions for the most pressing challenges facing the land-based industries,” McKenzie said.

“Our university has been producing primary sector graduates for more than 140 years, and we remain dedicated to attracting and inspiring future generations of tauira, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to grow a better future.

“It’s appropriate and timely that we deliver a new cutting-edge science facility as a base where our people, including our world-leading researchers, can continue their critical contribution to shaping more prosperous and sustainable communities.”

Among the new building’s state-of-theart facilities is a purpose-built gene marker laboratory where Professor Jon Hickford leads a team specialising in the molecular genetics of ruminants, working to identify genetically superior animals. Hickford’s team is internationally recognised and recently won the Science and Research Award at the 2021 Primary Industries New Zealand Awards.

Taking just 12 months to complete, the new agricultural sciences building began its construction phase in late June 2020, with a sodturning ceremony conducted shortly after the covid-19 lockdown was lifted.

The new building incorporates a mix of laboratories, offices, open plan workspaces, meeting and collaboration zones, all complemented by a comfortable and wellappointed staff kitchen and social area adjoined by an exterior private courtyard.

In line with the university’s sustainable infrastructure goals, the building is built to Level 4 green star standard and features wool carpets and wool acoustic wall insulation, a cement substitute mix floor slab, as well as thermally-insulated exterior cladding.

The roof-mounted solar array adds a further 60kWh to the university’s existing commercialscale solar generating capacity, which now totals more than 522,000 kWh – enough to power 72.5 houses for a year.

Lincoln remains the only NZ university to achieve a ranking on the UI Green Metric World University Rankings; currently ranked 51 out of 912 universities.

The new science facilities are part of a wider campus development programme for Lincoln that has already seen the launch of a vibrant and bustling new student hub and an expansive new

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outdoor events space featuring native plantings and a cultural heritage-inspired paved pathway.

Further campus projects – including an ambitious and extensive decarbonisation programme which supports the university’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to cease the combustion of coal by 2024, the restoration of Ivey West and Memorial Hall and an overarching visionary landscaping masterplan – are in various stages of development.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Dr Megan Woods cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially open the building.

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22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Kaipara Kai charts new course Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz THE Kaipara Kai project has changed direction with the closure of its shopfront premises in Ruawai and a search is under way for new crops to be grown under irrigation.

Kaipara District Mayor Jason Smith, also a sheep, beef and arable farmer near Ruawai, says the first 18-month phase of the project had been completed and its findings were being written.

The Ruawai hub had been closed because the building was found to have asbestos and funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) had finished.

It was opened in March last year by Northland politicians, including then Economic Development Minister Shane Jones.

Earlier this year, considerable publicity was generated by peanut cropping trials on sandy soils on Pouto Peninsula, Ruawai and Kai Iwi Lakes districts, as part of the effort to find viable crops to complement the nation’s kumara output.

Yields and flavours are promising and peanut growing should be extended to more sites next season, although commercial contracts with Pic’s Peanut Butter are confidential.

Smith says the objective of

For next two growing seasons, decisions are needed on crop possibilities and trial structures.

Vaughan Cooper Northland Inc

FINISHED: The Kaipara Kai hub in Ruawai, Northland, has been closed and the signage taken down after being opened by local politicians in March 2020.

Kaipara Kai remained to find crops, fruits and vegetables that are suited to specific sites in the district.

Kaipara District officials and landowners wanted to see the impetus from the first 18 months of Kaipara Kai continue with more trials on the ground.

Northland Inc is now managing Kaipara Kai out of its Orchard offices in Whangarei, with a new emphasis on food production in all the north, not only the Kaipara district.

General manager of investment and infrastructure Vaughan Cooper says he was waiting on a consultant’s report into the ways Kaipara Kai could be delivered in future.

The project was governed by an activation plan and Northland Inc was one of a number of partners tasked with delivering the plan.

For the next two growing seasons, decisions were needed on crop possibilities and trial structures.

With central government funding for a Kaipara Water programme, a pivot irrigator has been installed near the town of Te Kopuru on the Pouto Peninsula and will be used over back-toback new crops.

It will draw water under consent from a local stream but longer-term should be connected to the Te Tai Tokerau Trust Redhill water storage and reticulation scheme under construction presently.

Smith says a second crop

during summer and autumn would only be possible under irrigation because the peninsula got very little rainfall at that time of the year.

A different type of irrigator is planned for further north in the Kaipara District, nearer to the Maunganui Bluff, to trial other crops on different soil types.

Smith says Kaipara District and Far North District Council were now shareholders in Northland Inc, the regional economic development agency, which was previously a company wholly owned by Northland Regional Council.

It is possible that Ngāwha Innovation and Enterprise Park near Kaikohe will host a food hub for startup companies, rural advisors and specialist services, such as fruit processing.

Smith says Far North Holdings was working in conjunction with Northland Inc on the possibilities.

Attendance record set at Fieldays 2021 Gerald Piddock gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz LAST month’s Fieldays at Mystery Creek was the second biggest in its 53-year history, which saw 132,776 people attend the four-day event.

It also set a new record for single-day attendance when 44,044 visited the event on June 18, beating the previous record of 41,219 on Friday in 2014.

Beyond the numbers, the intangible factors that can’t be measured, such as the smiling faces and people reuniting and having a good time, tell me this year’s event was a huge success.

Peter Nation Fieldays

Data on Fieldays’ economic impact is still being collated and will be known later in the year.

New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation was thrilled with the public’s response to this year’s event.

“The events industry is a huge part of our DNA and this was reflected by the astronomical numbers of people coming through the gate,” Nation said.

“Beyond the numbers, the intangible factors that can’t be measured, such as the smiling faces and people reuniting and having a good time, tell me this year’s event was a huge success.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Fieldays “could well be the (most) significant show of its kind globally this year”, during a television interview on the event’s opening day.

Many people opted for alternative transport options to get to Fieldays this year.

Over 14,000 people took the bus, with 292 trips taking place.

PACKED: This year’s Fieldays saw 44,044 people coming through the gate in a single day.

Around 1100 visitors also travelled to Fieldays in the Waikato River Explorer, with 536 catching the Camjet and over 100 people took to the skies, flying to Fieldays in a helicopter with Helicorp.

The Fieldays Health and Wellbeing Hub was in high demand, with 33,000 people visiting it to receive free checkups and advice to meet every aspect of physical and mental wellness.

During Fieldays, 673 skin cancer spot checks, 364 hepatitis C tests, over 1200 blood glucose tests, 722 blood pressure checks and around 550 atrial fibrillation

checks were among the check-ups the Hub completed.

Over 1600 school students visited the Careers and Education Hub, which highlighted the wide scope of training and career opportunities on offer in the primary sector.

It was also the first time that Fieldays had staged a hybrid event, bringing the best of the physical and virtual events together. The virtual extension of the event Fieldays Online connected with rural communities that are more isolated or weren’t able to attend the physical event.

It brought NZ agriculture to the

world, with high visitation from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and South Korea.

The annual Innovation Awards had 64 entries on display in the Innovation Hub. Winners included Springarm Products Limited with their ballcock arm that flexes and won’t break (Prototype Award), Cropsy Technologies with their AI-enabled hardware that helps winegrowers monitor their crops (Early Stage Award and Young Innovator’s Award).

IGS Limited won the Growth & Scale Award for their vertical farming technology.

AginED Ag ED

#

FOR E FUTURIA G R R S! U PR EN E

Volume 65 I July 19, 2021 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I w w w.farmersweekly.co.nz This table shows a selection of data from the Temuka in-lamb ewe fair held July 7th.

STRETCH YOURSELF: 1

Kayla was a practice nurse and is now studying medicine at Otago to become a doctor or specialist. What drove her decision to go back to study?

2 Statistically there are quite a few rural practitioners that are due to retire in the next five to ten years. What effect could this have for rural areas?

Temuka in-lamb ewe fair

3 What are the core crops that the Gardynes produce?

Have a go: 1

Go to www.farmersweekly.co.nz

2 Find and watch the OnFarmStory of Jono and Kayla Gardyne “You’ve just gotta make it happen” and read the article “Caring for the rural community”.

3 Where in NZ do the Gardynes farm?

4 Along with sheep and beef production, what else do they use their land for?

4 Jono says that one of the biggest immediate challenges for them is keeping track of environmental and broader Government legislation, why is this?

5 Their own lambs are finished by February. They then buy in store lambs and finish them by the end of April, why is it best that they are finished by this time?

6 Do they have any other facets to their farming business?

Have a go: 1

What are the details of the line of ewes which made the highest value?

2 What are the details of the line of ewes which made the lowest value?

3 What does ‘SIL’ stand for?

4 Can you write the full name of the breeds listed?

STRETCH YOURSELF: 1 Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics is running a Low Input Sheep Progeny Trial to identify genetic qualities to futureproof NZ’s sheep industry.

The first run of lambs were born in 2019 and the third mating has just finished. To learn more about this trial head to: https://beeflambnz.com/news-views/trialseeking-future-proof-nz-sheep-industry

THE NEW ZEALAND JUNIPER STUDY Juniper berries provide the unique flavour in gin.

Massey University and industry partners have been awarded funds to research, evaluate and identify suitable juniper berry strains and propagation methods with potential to give New Zealand-made gins a unique sensory signature or terroir.

Terroir refers to the flavour and sensory characteristics of drinks (including gin and wine) imparted by the environment in which the fruit for that drink is grown.

What do you know about Juniper plants?

• Which species of juniper is the main source of gin juniper?

• Juniper ‘berries’ are not actually berries – what are they really?

• Juniper berries have a vast range of uses in addition to gin. What are some uses for Juniper essential oils and extracts?

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE:

What attributes are they testing in this trial?

How could this benefit the NZ sheep industry in the future?

• Harvesting of juniper berries is tricky because the trees are spikey, and berries ripen inconsistently over two to three years.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Photo: Massey Horticultural Science Masters student Su Liu is currently conducting a study to find out the best method of propagation of juniper plants to help NZ Gin industry to produce all gin ingredients locally. She is using a variety of combination of plant growth regulators and propagating approaches including micropropagation from tissue culture.

Massey University has a successful partnership with Venture Taranaki, supporting local businesses around food, agriculture, horticulture, engineering, and sustainability.

Visit the website to find out more about some of the exciting students internship projects , including Shikeale Harris and Tash Kui-Snowball working at Begin Distilling on the Juniper project - https://www.venture.org.nz/science-andresearch/massey-partnership/

Want to learn more about the Horticulture and Plant science at Massey? Check out https://www.massey.ac.nz/bhort

2 The percentage shown indicates the ‘lambing percentage’. What does this mean and why is it important?

3 Analyse the highest and lowest values. Looking at each column in the table, why do you think the highest value achieved that price?

4 What other details do you think a farmer takes into account when deciding how much to pay for ewes?

DID YOU KNOW? • Junipers are dioecious trees, which means there are separate male and female trees. To produce berries, plants of both sexes must be grown in close proximity to facilitate wind borne pollination.

Capital stock means that these ewes are retained for breeding and usually only sold in the case of a farm sale or change of farming policy. Why would this be an important detail to include? Would they be more or less sought after by farmers?

5 The outlook for spring lamb schedules at the processors is expected to be good. How do you think this is likely to affect in-lamb ewe prices compared to year-ago levels?

CONGRATULATIONS! Hugo Dupont, aged 9, from Beaconsfield School.

OUR

CAP WINNER!

Newsmaker

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

CLOSING THE GATE: Retired livestock buyer Doug Marra.

Photo: Alan Gibson/Dscribe Media

Taking stock after 50 years Livestock buying is in Doug Marra’s blood, so there was little surprise when he became the third generation of his family to take up the vocation. On his retirement from Silver Fern Farms, he spoke to Neal Wallace.

M

UCH happens in a 50-year career, so it is always curious reflecting on those pivotal

moments.

In the 51 years Doug Marra has worked in the meat industry, some of his recollections are more about his clients and associated experiences than the process of procuring and processing livestock.

Those include livestock buyers supplying both the car and being the designated driver to take clients to rugby matches – after which post-match festivities often extended well into the night – to spending hours each night on the phone arranging drafting appointments with farmers and organising the transporting of stock.

Another recollection is the various machinations of meat industry mergers and acquisitions and, having spent most of his career in Rotorua, he vividly recalls the displacement of sheep and beef farms by dairy in the Central Plateau.

“You wonder where it has all gone,” Doug said, as he reflected on his career.

“You start out as a young man straight out of high school and next minute you’re retiring.”

His father Ray and grandfather Jack both worked as livestock buyers for R & W Hellaby Ltd and despite initially considering an accountancy career, Doug decided in 1970 to accept an offer of a three-year cadetship with Hellabys, similar to a modern

day graduate programme.

Hellaby, a multi-plant processor based in Auckland, both exported meat and operated 30 butchers shops in the city under the trade name Prime Meats.

The cadetship exposed Doug to multiple aspects of the industry, from small goods, export sales and stock procurement, to working on the slaughter floor at the Shortland freezing works at Otahuhu.

That role required Doug to balance each day’s kill and to each night call agents with the weights of the stock they consigned.

Soon Doug reached a point where he had to decide what role he wanted to pursue with Hellaby, a decision that was made for him when he spent a summer working alongside Rotorua agent Eric Anderson.

“I had decided I was not that good at anything, so I got a job at Rotorua and spent summer working with Eric Anderson,” he said.

“For three to four months I worked as a backing dog, drafting tens of thousands of lambs on the Central Plateau.

“It meant a lot of 5am drafts.”

His first job was drafting 100 mostly wild bullocks on horseback – a challenge for someone who was not a horse rider.

At the end of the 1973 summer, Doug was to head back to Auckland but Anderson intervened, telling his employer that he had trained him as he wanted him trained and that Doug should stay.

He believes there was another reason Anderson intervened.

A former All Black, Anderson coached the Old Boys club and Doug was a handy player, having represented Auckland age group sides.

He stayed in Rotorua as a junior agent, having also met Sue, his future wife.

They had four children: Jodeen, Jeff, Simon and Tim.

You start out as a young man straight out of high school and next minute you’re retiring.

Doug Marra Livestock buyer In 2013, they semi-retired to Ohope in the Bay of Plenty, during which Doug continued to work for longtime clients, some of whom go back 45 years.

His son Simon took over his Rotorua position, the fourth generation of the family to work as a livestock buyer.

Having now retired, Doug is closing a chapter on a career that has provided plenty of change.

Having started working for Hellabys, sales, mergers, acquisitions and job opportunities meant he has also worked for Producer Meats Ltd (PML), where future Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith

Cooper worked, Andy Lowe’s Hill Country Beef business as a commissioned buyer, Richmond and finally Silver Fern Farms.

His time with Hill Country Beef coincided with one of the most significant individual improvements for the industry, the introduction of cellphones.

Same day killing was also introduced and later, the advent of the internet and email reduced the time spent each night planning his days.

On a personal level, the changing farming landscape gave Doug the chance to reinvigorate his career.

“I had gotten a bit stale after 20 years,” he said.

“Sue and I had four children and I was reflecting on what I wanted to do.”

That injection of enthusiasm came from the influx of dairy farmers converting sheep and beef farms on the Central Plateau.

“Dairy farmers need bulls and to quit calves, so I saw an opportunity and went to a commercial bull breeder and arranged a source of service bulls,” he said.

“My business was quiet from August to October, so that is when I was supplying service bulls to the industry.

“I had one breeder supplying 1200 bulls to the industry.”

His business changed to 80% supplying prime stock and 20% service bulls and weaner bulls.

All the time the business dynamics were changing, Doug says the fundamentals of servicing clients remains

the same: communication and respect.

“It’s that sort of service to clients that is important and (that) has not changed,” he said.

“You don’t screw over a guy one week and hope to do business with him next month.”

Getting adequate space allocation at meat works at certain times of the year remains an agent’s greatest challenge.

“Space was always an issue from January to May when everyone wanted it when it could get dry,” he said.

“You never get as much as you want, but it’s how you manage your clients and work with farmers and the meat company.”

The meat industry is a very different beast today. Where once there were two large plants in Hawke’s Bay, today there is one large plant working shifts.

Another significant change is the growth of bull beef, with some farmers now some of Doug’s largest clients.

He praises the management at SFF, saying they are supportive, innovative and by being marketled have changed the meat industry.

“The guys at the top of our company now are really good leaders and good communicators and I think that is important,” he said.

Doug says it has been an enjoyable career through which he has made some wonderful friends, both other buyers and farmers along the way, but he now and Sue hope to spend more time with their 11 grandchildren.

New thinking

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

25

Water tech unlocks new crop An innovative irrigation system integrated into newly planted cherry orchards around Tarras, Central Otago, signifies not only the arrival of new technology, but a significant shift in the district’s land-use. Carrfields Irrigation sales and design manager Brendan Hawes spoke to Richard Rennie.

T

HE breathtaking country around Tarras and Lindis Pass is witnessing a shift in land-use as traditional sheep and beef farmers look to tap into new irrigation technology and proven high-value horticultural crops to diversify their farm income.

Brendan Hawes says in his time spent in the irrigation industry he has seen farm clients evolve from dry land drystock operators to centre-pivot irrigated stock finishers and most recently, to cherry and stone fruit growers.

His company has been working closely with orchard developers and investors Hortinvest Ltd, to install an innovative new micro-spray irrigation system that promises to make water application smarter, more sustainable and more effective for

INNOVATION: Brendan Hawes says the new irrigation technology helps optimise the Lindis Pass district’s natural resources suited to cherry growing.

the newly established orchards.

Hortinvest orchards in the district cover a total of 200ha planted predominantly in cherry trees, planted largely in the past year and totalling about 85,000 trees.

The company has four orchards, with Ardgour Valley and Lindis Peaks the two most recently established.

These have been developed in conjunction with the Jolly family of Ardgour Station and the historic Lindis Peaks Station.

A need to combine effective frost mitigation with a system capable of good irrigation coverage prompted Hortinvest to commit to Carrfields’ understorey micro-spray system.

The system has the ability to direct water effectively to the entire root area of the tree, and also operate as a fertigation system.

Application of water understorey as frost mitigation helps reduce disease risk, compared to above tree application.

“Being low to the ground also helps reduce wind drift and the ability to apply fertiliser means you can be very precise with application and do away with the need for trucks and spreaders and the ground compaction that can go with that,” Hawes said.

To optimise the layout of the pumped and gravity-fed system, high resolution drone mapping was used alongside irrigation software. This ensured water flow and pressure was matched to the land contour, critical when combined with a fertigation system requiring even spread of applied nutrients.

NEW CROP: The Lindis Peaks cherries will be harvested for the first time this coming summer.

The system has one pressure regulated sprinkler per two trees, with control software provided through a cloud-based system capable of being operated through an iPad or smartphone.

Ultimately, the amount of water applied per hectare is similar to that used for growing pasture and the irrigation system means higher-value cherry and apricot crops can also be included alongside conventional pastoral farming.

“With the Lindis Peaks orchard we have the areas not irrigated by centre pivots doing the pasture planted in cherries and at Ardgour, one pivot has been reduced to a half a circle, with the rest in cherries,” he said.

The developments represent a move out of the traditional cherry growing areas of Otago nearer Cromwell, but one Hawes believes

could expand even further in coming years.

“Typically, the traditional areas for growing cherries are where they are because of water rights going right back to the mining days. However, these new sites with good water supply, a dry climate and good chilling have just as much going for them,” he said.

The sites have an elevation of about 400m above sea level and the first Lindis Peaks cherries will be harvested in the summer of 2021-22, with full maturity reached in 2025-26.

The farming families of Lindis Peaks and Mt Pisa are also among the investors in Deep Creek Fruits, the company that earlier this year announced a second capital raise to fund a packhouse and to expand its orchards at Lindis Peaks from 35ha to 80ha.

Typically, the traditional areas for growing cherries are where they are because of water rights going right back to the mining days. However, these new sites with good water supply, a dry climate and good chilling have just as much going for them.

Brendan Hawes Carrfields Irrigation

Opinion

26 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

EDITORIAL

Lack of leadership fuelling disconnect

F

ARMERS across the country descended on towns and cities on Friday to protest against the raft of reforms they say unfairly target their livelihoods.

When asked about the protests last week, the Prime Minister agreed that reform was coming thick and fast and that it was a challenging time for those working in the primary industries.

But she maintained that transforming our economy to limit climate change and environmental degradation would only get harder the longer it was left.

That may be true, but what is also true is that if a sector of society feels that its only way forward is to take to the streets, then there’s been a failure of communication and leadership.

That responsibility falls on the Government, industry leadership and every other stakeholder.

Change requires buy-in and it’s obvious that the opportunities that await along the road to greater sustainability haven’t been sold to those who are being asked to make the journey.

At the moment those opportunities are being obscured by rules, costs and uncertainty.

A couple of weeks ago Silver Fern Farms announced a push into regenerative farming that will boost farm returns.

And last week, Fonterra said the country had reached peak milk and it planned to grow the value it gained from the milk available by telling a sustainability story.

That story will need hard data to back it up and that data will come from rules and data capture.

So in many ways the companies that process and sell our food are on the same page as the regulators. They can see there’s value to be gained in marketing our sustainably-grown food and fibre.

Yet there’s still that disconnect between processors, the Government and farmers.

We’ve just not been able to bring everyone along on the journey and it’s hurting our sector.

What’s most disappointing is that in the end, everyone involved wants the same thing.

Bryan Gibson

LETTERS

Dairying appeal sorely lacking WHEN I see and hear politicians in pinstripe suits and executives in corporate uniforms extolling the great future for young folk on dairy farms, I cringe.

I taught our dairy farm trainees at The Waikato Polytech decades ago, before it was killed by NZQA units and bureaucracy. It was an ideal course for young 15 to 16-year-olds from January to June 1, who had left school by choice or teachers’ urging. A vital part was two three-week work experience sessions with selected farmers who understood what the then Generation Y young folk needed, so they were eased into the industry and not dumped.

These young folk matured massively at Polytech and got out of school class behaviour,

where they were totally bored and moved to be adults. Their parents paying $600 for the course certainly helped them learn responsibility. They needed massive help which the Polytech could provide with reading and writing skills, which 40-50% needed. Today’s Generation Z will be worse having been weaned on the internet.

But the major challenge when teenagers leave for a farm job is the simple fact that they have to live with their employer 24/7. It can be a nightmare with so many social rules not in the employment contract, if there ever is one.

There’s the boss in the house and the boss on the farm – or both on the farm, who often disagree, so the student gets conflicting orders. There’s who pays the nightly phone

calls home as home sickness can be a problem, what TV channels are watched, acceptable language in the house and on the farm, the music in the shed, the food, sleep and laundry. What about mates coming around or girlfriends for a drink or more?

If a sleepout is provided, who does the cleaning, washing or cooking?

What about time off and encouragement to continue classes, and what would they learn on the farm? One top student said all he did was milk, spray weeds and spread urea daily after the cows moved on.

That’s just a few issues.

Some good advice I remember from a student was that when going for an interview, call at the nearest service station and store and ask the way to the

farm. Say you are going for a job interview and take great note of the verbal and body language. One student said it was important at an interview to ask if the boss indoors was a vegan, vegetarian or especially signed up with Jenny Craig.

But even with the best of our care, the dropout rate was massive when the young folk started to move up the farming ladder. One of our girls kept in touch with all her classmates and after two years only two of the 19 were still in dairying.

I can’t see things will have changed much, despite all the good news from those trying to reduce the reliance on overseas staff.

Clive Dalton Waikato

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Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

27

The art of avoiding war The

European countries will join in the containment rhetoric to a degree, but a real alliance is unlikely, for working with China offers Europe long-term economic benefits the US cannot match.

Pulpit

David Mahon

F

EW governments undertake foreign relations from long-term strategies. They tend to react according to their immediate interests and couch their reactions in diplomatic language that suggests strategy but often lacks substance.

The United States is trying to corral its allies and dependents into a bloc to contain China, while making references to upholding international law and human rights. These same laws and rights it ignores in the name of national security, such as with its ill-fated forays into the Middle East and handling of detainees suspected of terrorism nearer to home.

The US government appears motivated by a fear of China’s rise, which it mistakenly sees as responsible for the receding tide of its global power. China also provides the US population with an external enemy to hold responsible for internal American problems.

In this, President Biden differs only in tone from his predecessor, while nurturing the seeds of a future conflict that the previous administration planted. In the recent G7 meeting in England, Biden tacitly made US support

Climate change terrifies me STEVE Wyn-Harris’ (Farmers Weekly, July 5) wants tourists to enjoy our scenery again and for families to enter NZ without quarantining.

He says vaccinated people cannot contract or transmit covid and a negative test should be enough to avoid MIQ facilities.

He is incorrect.

A negative test and covid vaccination do not guarantee against having covid or transmitting it to others.

Studies show vaccine efficacy is between 64% and 95%, not 100%.

A nasal swab can also give a false negative in the early stages of the illness.

Instead of advocating for a return to ‘normal’ and more tourism, Steve should spare a thought for people affected by the climate crisis.

FOCUSED: Beijing-based trade and investment advisor David Mahon says while the Chinese government lacks a coherent foreign relations strategy, it has two general aims.

for NATO conditional upon a European alliance with the US against China.

European countries will join in the containment rhetoric to a degree, but a real alliance is unlikely, for working with China offers Europe long-term economic benefits the US cannot match.

The Chinese government also lacks a coherent foreign relations strategy, but has two general aims: to be recognised as a pivotal power in the world (a revived Middle Kingdom), and to exert influence within the region and on its trade routes commensurate with its economic and geographical scale.

The former is problematic, for by harking back to the pre-Opium War dynastic past, it risks making China’s aims seem imperial, when the core motive is to recover lost prestige.

The latter is more practical and should not be interpreted simply as expansionist, for China perceives that its large landmass and population require a commensurately large zone of maritime influence.

China has demonstrated a capacity for comprehensive domestic strategies spanning decades, such as reforms in banking, the creation of a largely free-enterprise-driven market system, the expansion of common wealth and the beginnings of environmental renewal.

China’s mistake in the past five years has been to confuse forcefulness of tone for demonstrations of internal strength. Some government spokespersons sound as if they are reacting from anger over historical injury and current insecurity rather than representing a powerful, stable, largely modern country with a vision for the future.

Currently, British Columbia and the US are experiencing recordbreaking heat waves, increasingly severe droughts and more devastating wildfires.

The town of Lytton BC survived record 50degC temperatures, only to be destroyed days later by wildfires.

Water shortages are threatening to make states like California uninhabitable and are turning once prime agricultural land into desert.

Climate change terrifies me.

My overseas friends and family know I won’t fly or take overseas holidays and I won’t encourage them to visit.

The car does low kilometres and I’m planting more trees.

That’s in addition to the 12ha in forestry plantation, retired stream plantings, hundreds of shade trees and half a hectare garden.

I’ve reduced cattle numbers

by 20% to comply with Rotorua’s nitrogen allocation and am recreating a wetland.

Despite my efforts, OverseerFM reports my farm emits 233.9 eCO2 tonnes a year.

Methane GHG emissions, the bulk of that total, are 171eCO2t/ year.

The only good news is the farm sequestered 10,000t of CO2 last year.

Farmers are told low methane genetics or methane busting additives are in the pipeline but we need them now.

In the meantime, I urge all NZ farmers to do their best to reduce emissions and protect our industry, our children’s future and the planet from what is a fast moving, devastating climate crisis.

Winning the world back Chinese people invariably praise their government’s handling of covid and ongoing economic reform, but many criticise the degree to which their government has alienated so many of its trading partners with its aggressive rhetoric.

President Xi’s speech in June to

Trish Hosking Bay of Plenty

the Politburo Study Session called on officials to adopt a softer tone in foreign affairs. Perhaps this denotes an awareness of general discomfort in the administration and the wider population of China’s increasing alienation. The proof would be in a quieting of the wolves in China’s foreign service.

The Western world is turning against China at an alarming rate and no matter how justified China’s conviction may be that it is being unfairly punished for its economic success and growing national confidence, Beijing is far from powerless to reverse this trend.

Recent polls in the US, Australia and other Western countries show that more people have a largely negative view of China than a positive view. While there is no current national data on the Chinese people’s views of other countries, anecdotally it appears that they have a growing sense of regret and resentment that attitudes towards their country have changed, more so than direct rejection of the cultures that judge them.

ETS criteria is flawed I READ Lewis Hore’s letter (Farmers Weekly, July 12) with interest and total agreement in which he took Forest & Bird to task for the “woolly idea” that wild animals have to be eliminated because the creatures are causing emissions.

Forest & Bird’s woolly thinking has infiltrated groups like the Green Party and the Department of Conservation. The same warped thinking has led to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) where it has selective rules excluding all vegetation under five metres in height. Much native vegetation is under five metres in height.

Obviously pasture is. Yet both must have a carbon sequestering value?

Alan Emerson seemed to somehow believe Forest & Bird’s call to eliminate wild animals to comply with ETS targets. Perhaps

Just as Mao unified his country one guerrilla engagement at a time, China needs to secure the trust and respect of large and smaller nations one by one.

A few carefully timed larger initiatives, such as Xi Jinping sitting down with President Modi to address the tensions on the Chinese-Indian border, would offer China and its counterparts opportunities to demonstrate their power and maturity. These sorts of pairings would show that the US and Europe are participants but no longer the arbiters of global relationships.

Sadly, such rapprochements are unlikely.

While full war is not imminent, conflicts become more likely the longer sides hold their stances in seeing the other side as the enemy.

In the case of China, with a strong economy and relatively high social morale, the sooner Beijing can pursue rapprochement with important counterparts the better, before it is distracted by multiple pressing domestic and foreign policy challenges at once.

Who am I? David Mahon is the managing director Mahon Investments in Beijing, China.

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

he should leave wild animals alone and instead take aim at the flawed ETS criteria over excluding vegetation under five metres in height and the folly of the carbon trading ‘system’, which is a speculative playground for corporates to make big bucks from NZ by creating monocultures of pines.

Laurie Collins Sporting Hunters Outdoor Trust Westport

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Opinion

28 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Support farmers’ dam endeavours Alternative View

Alan Emerson

LEN French is an innovative and well-respected farmer from Whareama, east of Masterton. Len takes farming seriously. He can tell you his farm’s carbon profile and any nutrient runoff. He adopts several measures to limit his runoff and uses Overseer. He’s also a patient farmer and he needed to be.

Back in 2013, he purchased some additional flats. The soil was excellent and the temperatures benign but after two dry years he figured that he needed to irrigate.

He decided to build a dam and that was the start of a complex, expensive and often frustrating saga.

To build the dam he needed two consents: a resource consent and a building consent. In one small corner of the flat-bottomed valley that would be flooded, a slip had come down some years ago and blocked a small drain. This caused the water to back up and create

what the council considered was a natural wetland.

Many experts agreed there was nothing significant in the wetland but the regional council still argued it was “significant”.

Putting it in perspective, the proposed dam was 13ha in size and 10 metres deep. The wetland, for what it was, occupied less than a hectare. Because the wetland was in the Wellington region, which is apparently short of wetlands so all wetlands were considered significant.

Despite being told he couldn’t proceed, French didn’t give up and found a way through the maze of regulations that the council seemed unaware of.

French then got Federated Farmers involved, who helped him fight the new regulations. The council finally allowed French to offset the wetland by creating additional wetlands elsewhere. He had planned to do that anyway.

If the regional council had looked at the site in the middle of summer they would have been unaware of any wetland. If any old drain can be considered a wetland then all farmers will have major issues.

Another problem was that the local Whareama River was considered to have “special ecological value”. The drain over which the main dam wall would

be built was considered a tributary of the Whareama. French was told that the proposed dam would “destroy the ecology” of the old, blocked drain.

The end result was that French had to fence three kilometres of stream and plant 7000 natives.

There was an issue of fish passage and that required expert input from a scientist in Whakatāne who had to fly down and consult, all at the farmer’s expense. The solution was to have novaflow pipes and spat ropes.

This was despite the fact that fish couldn’t get into the existing dam due to a natural barrier.

Finally, the modified plan was accepted by council and it went out for public consultation. The locals welcomed it, as did iwi and the district council, but Forest & Bird objected. Surprisingly, they didn’t say what their concerns were.

French invited the local Wairarapa Forest & Bird representatives to view the proposal and they supported it.

Head office didn’t and couldn’t even be bothered to visit the site.

After several months of repeated approaches they withdrew their objection with no explanation.

I’m pleased they did but the process seemed ridiculous. We live in an area subject to drought and anyone neutralising the effects of

RED TAPE: Alan Emerson recounts a farmer’s five-year battle to get consents to build a dam.

drought should be supported.

So come spring, work will start on the dam construction. It is the result of five years of meticulous planning and huge dollops of cash.

The consent process has cost over $350,000 before a sod has been turned, plus an additional $280,000 for non-dam conservation work. The cost of the dam itself will be an extra $1.5 million.

The dam will irrigate between 140-200ha, with the farm continuing to run sheep and cattle.

Small seeds and other options will be considered in the future. The farmers are resolute that the dam will enhance the environment and not adversely affect it.

At this stage the French’s are hoping for a return on investment of 5-6%.

There are additional returns for the community.

There will be 3km of public walkway, plus boat ramps and native planting.

The local rugby ground, home of the mighty East Coast rugby team, will receive free irrigation.

What needs to happen from here is a complete change in mindset from the bureaucracy.

Farmers need to be encouraged to put dams on their property.

It should be an inexpensive and streamlined process to get all the consents and approvals.

Notice also needs to be taken of the local community and the facilities a dam may provide.

Finally, we need more farmers like French, who are prepared to put their time and money where their mouth is and go out to create a dam.

We need more farmers with his commitment and a lot more dams.

Your View Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com

Hosting Olympics during tough times From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

THEY might still be calling it the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after last year’s postponement, but it starts this week in the middle of 2021. Nothing should surprise us anymore.

A brave call to continue with it while the pandemic still rages and most Japanese think it’s a bad idea.

As you might know, I’m a history buff so I’ve been thinking of the Belgium Olympics, which were 101 years ago in 1920. There are some parallels with Tokyo but when I investigated it, Belgium had it far tougher.

The First World War had raged for just over four years and was immediately followed by the worldwide pandemic known as the Spanish flu. It didn’t originate in Spain and was first identified in the United States in Kansas in March 1918. But neutral Spain wasn’t censuring the deadly effects of this virus, thus it was in their

media unlike other countries who were still fighting and chose to keep it quiet so as not to further undermine morale.

The Belgium Olympics based in Antwerp began in April 1920 just as the fourth and final wave of the pandemic finished. The virus possibly killed 50 million but there are high estimates of up to 100 million. A third of the world’s population had been infected.

It was to be another decade before anyone saw a virus down a microscope. To date, covid-19 has killed four million but hasn’t yet run its course.

Belgium had bid back in 1912 to host the 1920 games but the war got in the way of a decision.

Just after the Armistice in November 1918, the Olympic committee gave Belgium the option to host the games in the hope of bringing Belgium “a spirit of renewal”. Even though they had only just been liberated. Their country was trashed by the war as the Germans gave them hell and a lot of fighting was on their soil.

Despite this, in March 1919 they accepted the offer giving them just 18 months to prepare. And during that time, they, like everyone else, battled the pandemic.

As well as the virus, they had bad weather, needed to clear the rubble of the war, suffered economic woes and yet they still

HISTORY-MAKERS: New Zealand competed in the 1920 Olympics for the first time under its own name. Among those representing NZ were (backrow) chaperone Cecil “Tui” Walrond, Violet Walrond, George Davidson, (front) Harry Wilson and Darcy Hadfield.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

managed to run an event.

They didn’t quite get the new stadium finished and athletes slept on cots in military barracks.

There were no heated pools, so the swimmers competed in canals that were so cold that quite a few had to be rescued suffering from hypothermia.

Belgium was struggling to feed its own populace, so the athletes didn’t fare a lot better. Breakfast

consisted of a roll, coffee and a single sardine. If you wanted anything else, you went out and bought it.

There will be no spectators at Tokyo this year and there were few at Antwerp, as most couldn’t afford the cost of tickets. In the final days, they opened the gates to school children, which was probably the only highlight of a very tough and brutal childhood.

Only 29 nations took part in these games.

Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were banned from competing in the games for starting the war.

Russia didn’t attend as they were busy trying to invade Poland, which failed, but 19 years later they were back. Poland wasn’t there either, as they were busy with the Russians.

New Zealand was present though, competing for the first time under its own name.

At two previous appearances, we had competed with Australia as Australasia.

We had just four competitors and they are the most successful team we have ever had. They all finished fifth or better in at least one of their events.

Violet Walrond at just 15 was the first woman to represent NZ and swam in two events coming 5th and 7th.

George Davidson came fifth in the 200m final and Harry Wilson was fourth in the 110m hurdles.

Darcy Hadfield competed in the single sculls and secured a bronze medal, which was the first under the NZ banner.

Paavo Nurmi from Finland is a name that we are still familiar with 100 years later. He became known as the Flying Finn. At these games he won three gold and a silver in middle and long-distance running. After two more Olympics, he ended up with nine gold and three silver medals, second equal on the all-time list.

Belgium managed to run the games under trying circumstances. They made huge losses at a time when they couldn’t afford it and have never offered to do it again.

Now, it’s Japan’s turn to host under difficult conditions.

Worst case scenario is that this becomes a virus super-spreader event.

But everything will be done to ensure this doesn’t happen.

How it all plays out will be as interesting as the events themselves.

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

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

29

The big picture on sheep The Braided Trail

Keith Woodford

IN RECENT months, I have written four articles focusing on the sheep and beef industries across New Zealand. My main focus has been to identify the current situation and to document how the situation varies for different classes of land across the country. Here I return to the overall big question: what is the future of the sheep industry?

There are two parts to that question. The first is the market opportunities. The second is about competing land-uses.

Market opportunities Apart from some dry hill and high country farms lying east of the South Island Main Divide, wool is largely irrelevant.

Fine-woolled Merinos are big contributors on low-rainfall South Island farms and I expect that to continue. But elsewhere, wool no longer makes a worthwhile contribution to farm income. We can always live in hope, but that is not the basis on which to make land-use decisions.

I remain an optimist in regard to sheepmeat, but there is one big caveat. Without China, we would be in big trouble. If we cannot manage the China relationship, then it will be a disaster for sheep farmers.

According to MPI’s latest ‘State of Primary Industries (SOPI) report, 43% of export lamb income and 80% of mutton earnings in the 12 months ending March came from China. Quite simply, there are no alternative markets that could take that product.

Neither Europe nor the UK want more sheepmeat products from NZ. They will make sure that any free trade agreements (FTA) are not actually free when it comes to sheepmeat. North American lamb markets have been an industry project for the past 50 years and with considerable success, but further increases will only come slowly.

The biggest potential new markets are in the Middle East, with Iran the greatest potential prize. However, the Americans control the global financial system and none of our financial institutions wish to tangle with the Americans in relation to Iran.

The financial risks of getting the money from Tehran to NZ, without the Americans grabbing it, are too great. So, as long as the Americans say ‘don’t go there’, we snap to attention.

Returning to China, there is a huge natural alignment between what we produce and what China wants. Ironically, some of the big users are Chinese Muslim communities, including ethnic minorities in the north and west.

FUTURE: Keith Woodford delves into sheep’s place in a changing consumer and land-use landscape.

It is easy to forget that China has more than 25 million Muslims and they don’t eat pork.

But China does not have to purchase our sheepmeat. It will hurt us a lot more than it will hurt them should they close down the trade.

If we upset the Chinese sufficiently, then they will treat us like they are treating our Australian cousins across the ditch. I heard former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who himself speaks Mandarin and in an earlier life was a diplomat based in China, say recently that you can disagree with China but you do need to show respect in how you do it. I thought that summed up the situation rather nicely.

Accordingly, my optimism relies on the belief that we have some wise heads in our government when it comes to China. But it is a tricky game.

To those who say that we should never have developed the Chinese market for sheepmeat in the first place, I say that actually we didn’t. Rather, the Chinese came to us. For the past 10-12 years they have offered the best prices, particularly for mutton and the lamb forequarters.

I recall one meat company chief executive telling me some 10 years ago that his board put a limit on how much he could sell to China because of the risks of a concentrated market.

A few months later he had to tell the board that unless they raised the limit, he could not be price competitive in purchasing livestock and the company would have to cease operating.

Forestry is going to be the big competing land-use The price of carbon is rising and the carbon value of timber is closing in on $50 per tonne. Two years ago it was less than $25. Just a few weeks ago it was around $37.

Yes, the world has changed.

Carbon markets are

We can always live in hope, but that is not the basis on which to make land-use decisions.

artificial markets controlled by governments. There lies the risk.

However, it would be politically untenable for the Government to allow that market to crash. The big advantage of growing trees for carbon is that you don’t have to wait for the trees to grow and be harvested. The cash flows each year.

I expect we will see farmers increasingly planting pine forests on the steeper North Island hills. It’s simple economics. In the South Island, the plantings will be less but they will still occur. However, I would have considerable reservations if this should also occur on better country.

For those who think that lumber will always earn big dollars, I say, be wary! Right now, the majority of our logs end up in China where the main use is formwork, allowing concrete structures to be built. It won’t always be that way.

Accordingly, it is likely that new forestry is going to be more for carbon sequestration than lumber.

That means it won’t be earning foreign exchange.

That is a worry.

Most urban New Zealanders have yet to figure out that their lifestyles are dependent on the foreign exchange earned by primary industries. MPI has calculated that in this last year 83% of our merchandise export earnings came from primary industries. The sheep and beef industries

alone earn about $10 billion of export income from meat plus byproducts such as skins, offal and wool.

That 83% figure is remarkable.

The source is MPI. They also say in their SOPI report that it has been increasing each year for the past nine years. The agricultural sun does not want to set.

Sheep versus beef This is another of those imponderables. However, it will be the market that will be the determining factor. The calculations are much easier and decisions are more revocable than for forestry. I expect most farmers will figure out as to what is best for their own situation. As with most other primary industry products, China is also our biggest beef destination. But the dominance is less than for sheep.

The big leverage for beef is the supply of unused bobby calves from the dairy industry. There are somewhere around two million calves each year that get killed at a few days of age. That is not going

to be allowed to continue for much longer. It is all about getting the breeding sorted out for a dualpurpose industry.

Returning to the big picture The tide is running against the sheep industry. This is ironic given that sheepmeat prices are excellent. But I have not given up on sheep. Particularly in the South Island, sheep will often still be the most logical choice. But overall, I see nothing that gives confidence that there will be any turnaround in sheep numbers.

That all leaves me a little sad.

I think NZ still needs a vibrant sheep industry as one key part of our export-led economy. It can be an amazing meat. NZ could be the world-leading marketer of a niche product.

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

World

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

31

‘Game-changing’ on-farm bTB test

Labour crisis takes its toll INCREASED wages are doing little to solve the food and farming sector’s labour crisis, with the fallout from Brexit and covid-19 both weighing heavy.

Growers have warned of supply shortages if crops are left unpicked or are unable to be packaged and processed, while meat processors said the sector was in danger of collapse when the workload increases this autumn.

Competition for workers is so high that some firms have raised hourly wages by 5% and companies such as West Sussex vegetable specialist Barfoots of Botley have promised a £600 (about $1181) bonus if workers stay for 12 weeks this summer.

But NFU horticulture and potatoes board chair Ali Capper says wage rises were not the solution.

“We need an immigration policy that is fit for purpose and while our sector is lucky in that we have the permit scheme, it is not bringing us enough people and I can only see the EU picture getting worse,” Capper said.

She called on the Government to make the Seasonal Agricultural Workers (SAWS) pilot scheme permanent to instil grower confidence.

“Anxiety levels are at the highest I have ever known them and the lack of labour could decimate our industry as growers will not plan to produce the same volumes in the future to mitigate this risk,” she said.

The British Growers Association said margins were already being squeezed, with employers investing in “very necessary and important” regulations to keep staff safe from the virus.

Covid-19 illnesses, isolation rules and travel restrictions have compounded an already tight situation, with many workers who returned to their home countries during

the final weeks of Brexit not showing any signs of returning and new immigration rules which no longer permit freedom of movement for EU nationals. The Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) said its members, who process the vast majority of the country’s red meat, were currently facing a 10-15%shortfall in staff.

“The UK Government is responsible for ensuring there is sufficient food for the nation and that responsibility is in serious danger of collapse later this year,” a SAMW spokesperson said.

“Members are just about managing to meet current demands for meat, but this is a relatively quiet time of the year.”

Members are just about managing to meet current demands for meat, but this is a relatively quiet time of the year.

SAMW There is a cross-industry call on the Government to relax the restrictions on foreign workers, with one option a short-term visa, which would allow EU workers to be employed in the UK for a set period of time.

Speaking to Farmers Guardian at the Great Yorkshire Show last week, Defra secretary George Eustice said they “are discussing whether there should be a further extension of the SAWS pilot or whether indeed we should try to do a more permanent scheme, but we are not in a position yet to make any final decisions”.

UK Farmers Guardian

“How the test will be used we are not absolutely sure,” Yewdall said.

“It might be used as a back-up to the skin test to confirm animals we are not sure about.”

Research to date shows that it tallies with the gamma interferon test on positive readings.

It could also be used to differentiate between animals that are infected or vaccinated, allowing the introduction of a vaccination programme and as a pre-movement test.

“If I was buying or selling a cow, to find out if it has got Johne’s

PROCESS: The blood test analyses live mycobacteria and gives a simple “positive” or “negative” answer within six hours.

Dairy farmer earns Olympics spot A US track-and-field athlete who grew up milking cows on the family farm has secured her place at the Tokyo Olympics after setting a new trials record in the 1500m race.

Competing at the US Olympic track-and-field trials in Oregon last month, Elle Purrier St. Pierre set a new trials record of 3min, 58.03sec, to seal her seat on the plane to Tokyo this summer.

The Vermont dairy farmer beat the old record set by Mary Slaney more than 30 years ago, the Boston Globe reported.

St. Pierre has said that farm life shaped who she is as an athlete.

The 26-year-old would milk the cows on the family farm in Montgomery before

or TB prior to sale would be a massive game-changer. It would prevent the disease from being moved around,” he said.

One of the benefits of the test is its simplicity – the sample doesn’t need to be stored under special conditions and it can be posted to the laboratory.

Yewdall lost a third of his dairy herd in Devon following a positive TB test and some of the animals he bought to replace these showed signs of Johne’s.

“I hope Actiphage will eradicate this disease,” he said.

UK Farmers Weekly

heading off to school.

“Growing up on a farm, I just feel like you always have this sense of responsibility,” she told the New York Times.

Other farmers with Olympic pedigree include Somerset farmer Ed Ling, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the men’s trap shooting.

“I love my farming and I love my shooting. I’ve done my shooting, now I want to get back to the farm,” Ling said after his win.

Peter Wilson, whose family farm in Dorset, won gold in the double trap shooting at the London 2012 Olympics.

Wilson “broke his first trap” when he was 12 and partly attributes his interest in shooting to his upbringing on the farm.

UK Farmers Weekly

ON TRACK: Elle Purrier St. Pierre (centre) competing at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. Photo: Reuters

Agrievents Building Your Farm and Family Futures Presented by Family Business Central & Whanganui and Partners.

Workshop #4: Wednesday July 21, 1pm – 5pm How to have the Family Conversations regarding the Farm, the Business, the Family.

For more information go to: https://www.whanganuiandpartners.nz/resources/ building-your-farm-and-family-futures Know Your Mindset. Grow your influence Programme run across two sessions: Module 1: Online Zoom • Pahiatua - Tararua/Wairarapa Tuesday 27 July, 7.00-8.30pm • Invercargill (1) - Southland Monday 6 September, 7.00-8.30pm • Invercargill (2) - Southland Monday 6 September, 7.00-8.30pm • Lake Karapiro (1) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 22 September, 7.00-8.30pm • Lake Karapiro (2) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 22 September, 7.00-8.30pm Module 2: In person • Pahiatua - Tararua/Wairarapa Wednesday 11 August, 12.00-2.30pm • Invercargill (1) - Southland Tuesday 21 September, 12.00-2.30pm • Invercargill (2) - Southland Tuesday 21 September, 6.00-8.30pm • Lake Karapiro (1) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 29 September, 9.00-11.30am • Lake Karapiro (2) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 29 September, 12.30-3.00pm Light refreshments (lunch or supper) will be provided at the face-to-face workshops.

Cost: $30 per person, covering both sessions To register: https://www.awdt.org.nz/applying/ Should your event be listed here?

Phone 0800 85 25 80 or email adcopy@globalhq.co.nz

LK0107420©

INCENTIVE: Competition for workers is so high that some firms have raised hourly wages by 5%, with some offering bonuses.

A NEW test, costing £30 (about $59) a cow and described as a “game-changer” in preventing the spread of bovine TB and Johne’s disease, could be used on UK farms as early as next year as a back-up to the statutory skin test.

East Anglian firm PDB Biotech is seeking validation from the World Organisation for Animal Health for its Actiphage blood test to be accepted as a tool for detecting disease in herds classified as TBfree.

Currently it can be used only with special permission from the Animal and Plant Health Agency in chronic breakdown herds.

Former dairy farmer Jonnie Yewdall, who estimates that TB cost his business up to £400,000 and who is now commercial director of PDB Biotech, says a validated test could be authorised for use in TB-free herds next year.

“We are at the scientific stage of testing and we will go into the field later this year to start testing, to prove that the positives are positives and the negatives are negatives,” he said at an online Agri-TechExpress event.

Actiphage tests for live mycobacteria and gives a simple “positive” or “negative” answer within six hours.

Parawera 74 Ellicott Road Tender

Great land with even better views The opportunities on this 88 ha property are plentiful and the views are stunning. Ready to move into with a 3 brm home built in 2013. Alternatively, use this opportunity to build your dream home with some of the best views in the Waikato.

Currently being run as part of a larger dairy farming enterprise with the underpass connecting the property to the dairy unit across the road, 74 Ellicott Road is a highly productive property with approximately 62 ha planted in modern rye grass cultivars that have been established alongside a significant maize cropping program. The farm features a woolshed that has been converted to rear calves, 12 ha of pine trees (planted 2019), and a 60m deep-bore that supplies both stock and domestic water. All fenced into 26 paddocks for easy management with every paddock accessed from the central race system.

19km from Te Awamutu and 25km from Cambridge, this fantastic property will suit farmers looking for a block to rear young stock and grow maize.

Tender closes Tuesday 5th October, 2021 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior), Property Brokers Te Awamutu - 138 Arawata Street, Te Awamutu View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/CBR90957

David McGuire M 027 472 2572

E david.mcguire@pb.co.nz

Parawera 99 Ellicott Road Tender

220 ha dairy unit With a dairy platform of approx 137 ha on a total area of 219.7 ha of mostly Mairoa Ash soils, this property has plenty of scale and the opportunity to purchase a further 88 ha next door. In the heart of the Waikato, between Te Awamutu and Cambridge at Parawera, this unit is in a prime location and comes with a range of forestry, native bush and ponds.

The 60 bale Westfalia rotary dairy is centrally located with races feeding out in four directions including to the underpass that connects the farm to the property across the road. Water is sourced from the spring fed bush stream and the 40m deep bore located at the dairy. There are plenty of support buildings including the 3-bay high roof feed shed with a further 2 bays of mineral storage, a small lockable implement shed, a 4m x 6m x 50m concrete silage bunker and a 1,995 m2 feed pad. The effluent is managed with a solids separator and lined pond.

Two 3 bedroom dwellings.

Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008 | pb.co.nz

Tender closes Tuesday 5th October, 2021 at 4.00pm, (unless sold prior), Property Brokers Te Awamutu - 138 Arawata Street, Te Awamutu View By appointment Web pb.co.nz/CBR87343

David McGuire M 027 472 2572

E david.mcguire@pb.co.nz Proud to be here

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 19, 2021

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Te Karaka Part 1, 2433 Matawai Road

Circa 131ha within 30km of Gisborne Secure your own hill country property, including smaller lots of mature forestry and boasting a range of magnificent potential house sites. Located 24km up Matawai Rd north of Gisborne, this 130ha (subject to survey), provides a multitude of opportunities for a range of buyers. Be it grazing and capitalising on the return from harvest of mature pine, or considering more intensive land use - there are many possibilities! An all weather road weaves it's way to the top of the property, providing exceptional access and opening opportunities aplenty, to build that dream home on a seldom found site. Be it views east towards Gisborne and the ocean, or north to uncompromising panoramic views of natural rural landscape, the property offers an extensive range of options for your dream home. Call now, to book your own personal inspection!

Auction (unless sold prior) 1pm, Fri 30 Jul 2021 10 Reads Quay, Gisborne View by appointment Simon Bousfield 027 665 8778 simon.bousfield@bayleys.co.nz Stephen Thomson 027 450 6531 stephen.thomson@bayleys.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/2752205

BOUSFIELD MACPHERSON LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Your destination for rural real estate Market your property to an audience that counts

Add another touchpoint to your campaign on the website built for farmers.

Align your brand with content farmers read: • Geo and agri sector targeting options available • Post campaign analysis of your adverts performance • Advertise on our Real Estate page alongside relevant editorial content • Enrich your print ad - Click through to your property videos or websites from the virtual edition.

Contact your agent to advertise today!

0800 85 25 80 farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

33

34

farmersweekly.co.nz/advertising 0800 85 25 80

Tech & Toys

Waste Treatment Systems

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 19, 2021

WHERE RELIABILITY & PERFORMANCE ARE GUARANTEED

Supplying and installing separators since 2002 Dairy and Pig Farms, Meat Works & Truck Wash Stations

INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURE EQUIPMENT

1962 - 2012

0800 901 902

50 years

Primary Pathways – Jobs, Education & Training

JOBS BOARD

Business Manager

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

Rimanui Farms Limited Rimanui Farms Limited is a largescale farming business operating eight sheep and beef cattle farms across the North Island and includes some of New Zealand’s most iconic farms: Lochinver, Erewhon and Huiarua.

Account Manager AgDrive Training & Recruitment Business Manager Dry Stock Assistant and Machinery Operator Farm Manager General Hand Interested in a Career in Farming?

Labourer Nuffield New Zealand Pilot Training Production Support Administrator Real Estate Partnership Manager Senior Leadership Team Position Trainee Drone Pilot

THE OPPORTUNITY...

*conditions apply

Contact Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz LK0107423©

Lower South Island

Our client has a long history of providing exceptional service to its clients, supplying building underlays, roofing netting and wire fencing products.

DOGS FOR SALE NZ BIGGEST SELECTION. Deliver NZ Wide. www. youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553.

RECRUITMENT & HR Register to receive job alerts on www.ruraldirections.co.nz

LK0107865©

Due to border restrictions, we may only be able to consider job seekers currently residing in New Zealand with full work eligibility, or NZ Citizens/Residents returning home in 2021.

Reporting to the National Sales and Marketing Manager, the focus of this role is to generate revenue through finding opportunities and converting these to sales in order to meet revenue targets and exceed customer expectations. This role manages a territory from the Waitaki River south and as such, will require the successful candidate to travel away for approximately eight (8) nights in a month.

PURINA PROPLAN WHATATUTU dog sale.

Saturday 21st August.

At Otara Station, 319 Whatatutu Road, Te Karaka, Gisborne. Sales start at 12 noon. Dosing clearance required.

Enquiries and to enter go to: Whatatutu Dog Sale Facebook page.

Run off your feet?

Farmers Weekly delivered each week to over 77,000 rural letter boxes.

All ads in Primary Pathways go online to FB Jobs, (7000 monthly page views) and FaceBook - Primary Pathways Aotearoa, (current followers over 6.4k).

To list your vacancy, training programme or education opportunity: LK0107846©

For more information please contact Sarah Metcalfe on 027 2166 823 or to apply for this role please visit HR Connect at: https://hrconnect.qjumpersjobs.co/jobs/ details/Account_Manager_-_Lower_South_ Island-1046122

Phone 06 323 0765 Email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

FORESTRY WANTED

NATIVE FOREST FOR MILLING also Macrocarpa and Red Gum, New Zealand wide.

We can arrange permits and plans. Also after milled timber to purchase.

NEW ZEALAND NATIVE TIMBER SUPPLIERS (WGTN) LIMITED 04 293 2097 Richard.

GIBB-GRO GROWTH PROMOTANT PROMOTES QUICK PASTURE growth.

Only $6+gst per hectare delivered. 0508-GIBBGRO [0508 442 247] www. gibbgro.co.nz. “The Proven One.”

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

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE RED DEVON BULLS. Waimouri stud, Feilding.

Phone 027 224 3838.

RED DEVON BULLS, one and two year olds.

Purebred. Members of RDCBA. Phone 06 762 8803. Taranaki.

RED DEVON CATTLE. Heifers and bulls. Also Wiltshire sheep. Taranaki.

Phone 022 151 4344.

WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556.

WANTED TO LEASE EAST TARANAKI FARM LAND. Sheep and beef.

Phone 020 4018 9927.

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

GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds.

Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten.

Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis.

Got something to sell?

List it in Farmers Weekly classifieds

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.

HAY FOR SALE

DOGS WANTED 12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195.

This role offers an excellent renumeration package and the opportunity to be part of a collaborative, supportive and driven team.

Please note pre-employment drug test and Ministry of Justice report will be required.

SUREFOOT MAT 1.5m x 1m x 24mm $99ea + freight and gst. Phone 0800 686 119.

WORD ONLY ADVERTISING. Phone Debbie on 0800 85 25 80.

To grow and be successful in this role, you will ideally bring the following: • Prior farm management or consultancy experience • A degree in Agriculture • Strong Farm Management Analysis and implementation experience • Experience in compliance such as Environment / Health & Safety / Human Resources • Competency in the use of farming systems such as Farmax / FarmIQ / Cloud Farmer • Strong financial budgeting and analysis skills • Excellent communication and reporting skills

Applications close Sunday 1st August 2021

BUYING DOGS NZ Wide. email: mikehughesworkingdogs@ farmside.co.nz 07 315 5553.

CALF TRAILER MATS

For more information or to apply please visit www.ruraldirections. co.nz or call the Rural Directions team on 06 871 0450 (Ref#753637).

They are looking for an experienced Salesperson with a proven track record of finding new business and securing sales.

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

PULLETS HY-LINE brown, great layers.

07 824 1762. Website: eurekapoultryfarm.weebly. com – Have fresh eggs each day!!!

A BIT ABOUT YOU...

Account Manager

DOGS WANTED

BIRDS/POULTRY

This position forms part of the Rimanui senior leadership and the Business Manager will be expected to contribute to the strategic direction of the business. The company office is based in Auckland offering interactions with the General Manager, Advisory Board and ownership structure. The appointee will ideally be based in Auckland, however there is some flexibility around the location of this role for the preferred applicant (North Island is essential).

HORTICULTURE

ANIMAL HANDLING

CRAIGCO SHEEP JETTERS. Sensor Jet. Deal to fly and Lice now. Guaranteed performance.

Unbeatable pricing.

Phone 06 835 6863. www.craigcojetters.com

This is a unique opportunity to play a key role in the management and development of some of New Zealand’s most significant farming assets. The Business Manager works closely with the Farm Managers to develop farm systems that realise the potential of the farms and supports their implementation. In addition, the Business Manager will assist the Farm Managers to provide leadership to staff on individual farms.

*FREE upload to Primary Pathways Aotearoa: www.facebook.com

Applications close 5 August 2021.

Noticeboard

0800 85 25 80 classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

SHED STORED SQUARES $75+gst and rounds. Baleage $75+gst.

Unit loads available. Top quality. Phone 021 455 787.

MOWER MASTER SPECIAL

® Assembled with SKF bearings FIELDAYS

TOWABLE FLAIL MOWER 13.5HP. Briggs & Stratton Motor.

Electric start. 1.2m cut Assembled with SKF bearings.

Assembled by Kiwis for Kiwi conditions – built to last.

GST $4400 INCLUSIVE

GO THE MOA!

$4100 GST INCLUSIVE

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

Ph 028 461 5112 • Email: mowermasterltd@gmail.com

LK0107714©

Serving NZ farmers since 1962

www.pppindustries.co.nz sales@pppindustries.co.nz

LK0107794©

• Inspection door to check screen • Reinforced stainless steel screen • Tungsten tipped auger

Noticeboard

FARMERS WEEKLY – July 19, 2021

DOLOMITE Got something to sell?

Nominations are called for candidates to stand for election for the director positions to represent Areas 1, 4 and 5 as described below. The incumbent directors for these areas are due to retire by rotation later this year. Pete Moynihan (Area 1) and Bruce Wills (Area 4) have confirmed they intend to stand for reelection. John Henderson (Area 5) will not stand for re-election as he has served the maximum 12 year term in office.

Weta Woods Nursery Good quality, well priced native plants

Advertise in Farmers Weekly

Area Number LK0107004©

0800 436 566

wetawoods.co.nz

Current Director

Area Description

1

Pete Moynihan

Clutha, Gore, Southland Districts, Invercargill City, Central Otago, and Queenstown-Lakes Districts, part Waitaki District (that portion south of Kakanui), and Dunedin City.

4

Bruce Wills

Gisborne, Wairoa, Napier City, Hastings, Central Hawke’s Bay, Tararua, Masterton, Carterton, South Wairarapa and eastern parts of Lower Hutt City.

5

John Henderson

New Plymouth, Stratford, South Taranaki, southern parts of Ruapehu and Taupo, Whanganui, Rangitikei, Manawatu, Palmerston North City, Horowhenua, Kapiti Coast, Porirua City, Upper Hutt, Wellington City and western Lower Hutt City.

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

(over 35 years industry experience)

Nominations must be made on the official forms, which can be obtained from the Returning Officer.

Each nomination form must be signed by the candidate and two nominators who must be transacting shareholders of Ravensdown and who are eligible to vote for the Area’s election. Nominations must be received by the Returning Officer by 5pm on Friday 13 August 2021.

Custom Design – unique to you LK0105455©

For further information or nomination documents please contact the election helpline 0800 666 034 or email iro@electionz.com Anthony Morton, Returning Officer - Ravensdown Limited PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140 LK0107827©

Heavy duty long lasting Ph 021 047 9299

Selling something?

All jewellery services available, including repairs

0800 85 25 80

Contact us: 03 355 3352 or email: masoncarterjewellers@gmail.com

Call Debbie

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

“You’ll know tonight,” he said.

Annually sell 600 ewe hoggets, 250 ewes, ram hoggets, multiples scanning 180%

Here at Farmers Weekly we get some pretty funny contributions to our Sale Talk joke from you avid readers, and we’ve keen to hear more!

If you’ve got a joke you want to share with the Farming community (it must be something you’d share with your grandmother...) then email us at: saletalk@ globalhq.co.nz with Sale Talk in the subject line and we’ll print it and credit it to you. Conditions apply.

farmersweekly.co.nz/enewsletters

STOCK REQUIRED MALE or EWES 34-48kg

Paying top prices Autumn & Spring born 2020

STORE LAMBS

SIL EWES Mar/Apr Ram

R1 YR FRSN BULLS

180-250kg

R1 YR ANGUS HEIFERS 180-220kg R2 YR

HEIFERS 370-420kg

R2 YR BULLS 420-480kg

Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook

Beef up your bull knowledge

Subscribe to our bull sales eNewsletters to receive updates with the latest results from across the country direct to your inbox.

Wanted to Buy – Wagyu Crossbred Heifers

Ph Stu 06 862 7534

Delighted, she opened it to find a book entitled “The Meaning of Dreams.”

To advertise your travel products and services contact: Debbie 06 323 0765 or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

Livestock Noticeboard

WILTSHIRE

That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife.

Promote or find your next adventure in our Travel & Tourism section published monthly.

Next issue – August 9: Booking deadline Wednesday August 4– 12 noon

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard UPCOMING AUCTIONS Friday, 23 July 2021 11.30am Feilding Saleyard - Store Cattle Sale Thursday, 5 August 2021 7.00pm Altrive Red Deer Annual Hind Sale

Must have been on property for 6 months and meet Chinese Export Protocols.

Monday, 9 August 2021 7.00pm Brock Deer 6th Annual Winter Hind and Weaner Sale Tuesday, 10 August 2021 7.00pm Foveran Deer Park 38th Annual Elite Hind and Weaner Sale

Min weight at delivery -180kgs.

Delivery date July/August 2021.

SPRING BULL SALES dates coming soon

Contact: Sharon Browne Ph: 07 843 7577 or 027 490 6146

For more information go to bidr.co.nz or contact the team on 0800 TO BIDR

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

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

HYBRID

LIVE STREAM

Saleyard

Watch and bid from anywhere!

LK0107804©

A woman was taking an afternoon nap. When she woke up, she told her husband, “I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace.

What do you think it means?”

Travel further with Farmers Weekly

LK0107845©

SALE TALK

35

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MARKET SNAPSHOT

36

Market Snapshot brought to you by the AgriHQ analysts.

Mel Croad

Suz Bremner

Reece Brick

Nicola Dennis

Sarah Friel

Caitlin Pemberton

Deer

Sheep

Cattle BEEF

SHEEP MEAT

VENISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

6.00

5.90

5.45

NI lamb (17kg)

8.80

8.50

7.20

NI Stag (60kg)

5.50

5.50

6.10

NI Bull (300kg)

5.90

5.80

5.45

NI mutton (20kg)

6.40

6.30

4.95

SI Stag (60kg)

5.60

5.60

6.10

NI Cow (200kg)

4.50

4.30

4.15

SI lamb (17kg)

8.40

8.30

6.95

SI Steer (300kg)

5.50

5.40

4.85

SI mutton (20kg)

6.45

6.40

4.55

SI Bull (300kg)

5.35

5.25

4.70

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

3.20

4.10

3.50

UK CKT lamb leg

12.08

12.03

9.31

US imported 95CL bull

9.07

9.13

8.07

US domestic 90CL cow

9.07

8.82

8.08

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

5.50

5.0

5.00

9.0

4.50

8.0

South Island steer slaughter price

6.50 $/kg CW

10.0

South Island lamb slaughter price

5-yr ave

Dairy

Jun

2019-20

Aug 2020-21

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb

Apr 2019-20

Jun

Last week

Prior week

Last year

2.77

2.73

1.88

Apr

Jun

Aug

2019-20

2020-21

6.50

799

799

572

339

339

294

1055

1055

750

-

-

DAP

Top 10 by Market Cap

400 390

370

Jul-21

Jun-20

Company

Close

YTD High

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

30.56

36.55

27.1

5.3

9.94

5.04

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

380

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T)

Urea

-

6.00 Mar-21 May-21 Sept. 2022

Last year

30 micron lamb

$/tonne

7.00

Prior week

-

410

Nearby contract

Feb

Last week

2.10

8.00 7.50

NZ average (NZ$/t)

2.75

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

Nov-20 Jan-21 Sept. 2021

Dec

FERTILISER

37 micron ewe

420

Sep-20

Oct

Fertiliser

Aug 2020-21

Super

8.50

Jul-20

7.0

5-yr ave

Grain

Data provided by

MILK PRICE FUTURES

5.50

8.0

5.0

Coarse xbred ind.

Apr

9.0

6.0

(NZ$/kg)

Feb

South Island stag slaughter price

11.0

WOOL

5.00 4.50

$/kg MS

5.0

5.50

Dec

7.0

7.0

5.0

Oct

8.0

6.0

6.00

4.00

9.0

6.0

7.0 6.0

4.00

North Island lamb slaughter price

8.0

6.00

$/kg CW

$/kg CW

6.50

Last year

North Island stag slaughter price

11.0

$/kg CW

$/kg CW

North Island steer slaughter price

Last week Prior week

10.0

Export markets (NZ$/kg) 9.0

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

William Hickson

Ingrid Usherwood

Aug-20

Oct-20

Dec-20

Feb-21

Apr-21

Jun-21

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY

YTD Low

Auckland International Airport Limited

7.47

7.99

6.65

Spark New Zealand Limited

4.79

4.97

4.37

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

6.55

7.6

5.79

Mainfreight Limited

77.8

80

64.85 12.5

Ryman Healthcare Limited

13.14

15.99

Contact Energy Limited

8.22

11.16

6.6

Fletcher Building Limited

7.29

7.99

5.67

Infratil Limited

7.56

7.9

6.74

Listed Agri Shares Company

5pm, close of market, Thursday Close

YTD High

YTD Low

ArborGen Holdings Limited

0.3

0.305

0.161

The a2 Milk Company Limited

7.35

12.5

5.42

Comvita Limited

3.33

3.6

3.06

Last price*

Prior week

vs 4 weeks ago

WMP

3820

3850

3960

410

Delegat Group Limited

14.31

15.5

13.75

SMP

2835

2830

2825

400

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

3.74

5.15

3.61

Foley Wines Limited

1.63

2.07

1.58

390

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

1.21

1.21

0.81

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

0.28

0.65

0.24

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

1.48

1.72

1.43

PGG Wrightson Limited

3.4

3.65

3.11 0.37

4140

4100

4050

Butter

3500

3460

3430

Milk Price

7.61

7.61

$/tonne

AMF

420

380

7.61

370

Jun-20

* price as at close of business on Thursday

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Dec-20

Feb-21

Apr-21

Jun-21

400

3800 3600 3400

Rua Bioscience Limited

0.415

0.61

Sanford Limited (NS)

5.06

5.23

4.3

Scales Corporation Limited

4.63

5.09

4.22

Seeka Limited

5.05

5.68

4.66

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

3.9

5.24

2.85

T&G Global Limited

350 $/tonne

US$/t

Oct-20

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL

4000

3200

Aug-20

300

3

3

2.85

S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity Index

14001

15491

12865

S&P/NZX 50 Index

12671

13558

12085

S&P/NZX 10 Index

12375

13978

11776

250 Jul

Aug Sep Latest price

Oct 4 weeks ago

Nov

200

Jun-20

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Aug-20

Oct-20

Dec-20

Feb-21

Apr-21

Jun-21

14001

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

12671

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

12375

37

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

Analyst intel

WEATHER

Overview This week is slightly milder than the past few weeks have been. Not to say it’s tropical and warm, but just that the intense cold has melted away and we’re back to more usual winter weather.

Generally speaking, New Zealand kicks off with westerly quarter winds on Monday and Tuesday and by Wednesday a northerly quarter flow, with heavy rain and gales, moves through. Then Thursday and Friday turns colder in the South Island, with a southerly change and some rain and snow. Despite this, it’s not a major cold week, but Southland, Otago and parts of Canterbury will experience a colder change, with snow on the hills around Thursday. Beyond this, weak low pressure looks likely for the weekend and next week will be windy – milder, northerly quarter winds and more rain.

14-day outlook Has NZ passed peak winter?

By that we mean the most consistent run of cold weather and low temperatures. Over the coming week we still have more cold air, but it’s mixed in with rain clouds, windy westerlies and windy northerlies, which all helps add a little more warmth.

Not to say that winter is over – we could get worse cold events – but the length of the recent cold spell was a good few weeks and the upcoming pattern looks more changeable.

T

Soil Moisture

Highlights

15/07/2021

Wind

Windy on and off over the next 10 days, from all directions on the compass. To make sense of it all, check out the wind graphs at www.

RuralWeather.co.nz – simply move the mouse over each hour to see your local wind speed, gust and direction.

Source: NIWA Data

Temperature This week is a little milder than last week, but another cold change around Thursday will impact Southland, Otago and Canterbury in particular.

There’ll still be some cold nights with frost, but frosts are not as likely – or widespread – as they have been in recent weeks.

7-day rainfall forecast The bulk of the heavy rain has just fallen over this past weekend, but more rain is on the way for both islands and with quite a bit of variety – not just one side of NZ’s getting it. Rainfall totals are fairly high for most regions, with three main rain bands coming: first one is expected around Wednesday/Thursday; then this weekend; followed by next Tuesday/ Wednesday.

Further MetService rain warnings are possible here and there.

0

5

Good payoff for in-lamb ewes

Highlights/ Extremes

10

20

30

40

50

60

80

100

200

400

Messier weather pattern means we have more chances of mild days in the mix over the coming two weeks, although not as many southerlies in the mix, with more northerlies and westerlies and easterlies (variety).

Cold change on Thursday in the south is worth monitoring.

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

Reece Brick reece.brick@globalhq.co.nz

HE North Island in-lamb ewe market has now been running for enough weeks to get a good gauge on this market. And going off the numbers, prices are about where they should be – at record levels.

More than 15,000 mixed-age and fouryear, plus SIL ewes, have passed through the Matawhero, Stortford Lodge and Feilding yards since the start of June, where an average price of $200 has been paid.

This is $20 more than the previous peak in 2019, and a long way from the days of 2009-2016, where averages ranged from $90-$125 in all but one year.

There’s much less South Island data due to the smaller influence of sale yards.

However, the 4000-head Temuka in-lamb ewe fair on July 9 at least met the North Island market, exceeding expectations on some consignments. Older ewes mainly traded at $220-$260 and $240-$270 covered the younger types.

Schedules obviously play a big role in what buyers will pay. Analysis shows the North Island market closely follows a rule of plus-minus $15 for every dollar change in the lamb schedule and plus-minus $20 for the same change on mutton schedules.

Using this logic, prices are bang on where they’d be expected to be.

Loosely speaking, these early-lambing

lines are usually cashed in on at the start of the following season.

We’ll assume a typical line weans at 150%, ewes kill out at 25kgCW and lambs 17kgCW, both in the second half of November. On this basis, a typical margin on this trade in the North Island would be $120-$160, though it has fallen below $100 on the odd occasion.

This maths points to a cautious new season outlook at the farm gate. Or at least good margins on in-lamb ewes.

Should the market follow the pattern forecast in the latest AgriHQ Livestock Outlook – mutton at $6.50/kg and lamb $8.50/kg in late November – then $180 would be the return for farmers.

Even under a relatively ‘bad’ scenario – taking a dollar out of both prices – this would still leave a healthy margin of $130.

Interestingly, the two-tooth and fourtooth market hasn’t really taken off to the same extent as the older ewes. There is a premium there, but it’s only around $20$30, which isn’t much different from other years when the base price was much lower.

This mostly reflects the more pessimistic longer-term perspective for the sheep industry, or at least the view that this latest round of strong slaughter prices won’t last forever.

Though there hasn’t been an abundance of quality lines on the market, at least through the North Island where a number of regions are holding onto these sorts after cutting numbers back last year through the drought.

North Island MA & 4-year plus SIL ewe saleyard price Nth Isl. MA & 4-year plus SIL ewe saleyard price

200 160 120 80 40 0

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

38

SALE YARD WRAP

Cattle markets start to plateau The wider store cattle market appears to have reached its level for the time being. Most yards were reporting steady or occasionally weaker prices, following a few weeks of gradual increases. The colder weather and growth in supplies are both having some role.

Decent-quality R2 dairy-cross steers have been consistently $2.85-$3.05/kg through the North Island yards.

The big run of store lambs took a bit of steam out of the Stortford Lodge market, back by an average of $10. The change wasn’t as extreme through the South Island yards, though a few big yardings through Canterbury did ease the market there.

NORTHLAND Kaikohe cattle • R2 beef-cross bulls made $2.80/kg • Better R1 steers achieved $3.20-$3.25/kg • Quality R1 Friesian bulls, 188kg, sold to $3.50/kg • Vetted-in-calf cows earned $2.05-$2.10/kg • Boner cows eased to $1.80-$1.90/kg Store cattle have continued to flow into the yards at KAIKOHE driven by prolonged cold weather limiting pasture growth, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. The market was on par to previous weeks and R2 beef steers made $2.88-$2.95/kg. Better R2 heifers achieved $2.70-$2.75/kg, though anything of lesser quality was difficult to move and sold down to $2.35-$2.45/kg. R1 Belgian Blue-Friesian heifers realised $3.07/kg, though the rest was more typically around $2.40-$2.50/kg.

Wellsford store cattle • R2 Angus steers, 392-466kg, earned $2.83-$2.97/kg and 305349kg reached $3.05-$3.16/kg • R2 Angus-cross heifers, 361-460kg, returned a mainly steady, $2.63-$2.75/kg • Autumn-born yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 289-319kg, fetched $3.29-$3.32/kg • R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 195kg, held at $750, $3.85/kg • Six R1 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 1857kg, realised $610, $3.26/kg A mixed-quality yarding of just under 480 head met with a good bench of local buyers at WELLSFORD last Monday and results were mainly in line with quality. A handful of traditional R3 steers, 549kg, fetched $2.91/kg, with 572kg beef-dairy at $2.85/kg. R2 Angus-Friesian steers, 364kg, were well sought realising $3.02/kg. Hereford heifers, 377-391kg, softened to $2.72-$2.76/kg as did Hereforddairy, 309-373kg, at $2.48-$2.55/kg. R1 Red Devon-cross steers, 176kg, fetched $575, $3.27/kg. Beef-dairy heifers, 184-208kg, realised $525-$585, $2.81-$2.94/kg. Friesian bulls, 176kg, lifted to $555, $3.15/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

AUCKLAND Pukekohe cattle • Medium yearling crossbred steers earned $2.65/kg to $3.10/kg • Good-quality R2 heifers sold in a range of $2.58/kg to $2.75/kg • Boner cows made $2.04/kg to $2.38/kg • Cows with calves-at-foot achieved $1840 Demand remained strong despite a lift in throughput at PUKEKOHE on Saturday 10th July. Prime steers lifted to $2.77-$2.87/kg and heifers made $2.72/kg to $2.84/kg.

Small weaner steers earned $405-$510 and heifers $390$495.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Hereford-Friesian steers, 268kg, sold strongly at $1000 • Heavy prime steers returned $3.00-$3.19/kg • Top lambs fetched $219 • Heavy prime ewes realised $160-$251 About 650 store cattle were presented at TUAKAU last Thursday and the market held firm, PGG Wrightson agent Craig Reiche reported. Hereford-Friesian steers, 551kg, made $2.98/kg, with 480kg Charolais-Angus at $3.05/kg and 407kg Angus-cross, $3.02/kg. Hereford-Friesian weaners, 199kg, managed $755. In the heifer section, 428-455kg Hereford-Friesian returned $2.86-$2.92/kg and 208kg, $660. Wednesday’s prime market lifted 10-15c/kg. Medium steers returned $2.90-$3.00/kg and light, $2.79-$2.90/kg.

Heavy prime heifers earned $2.95/kg to $3.13/kg, with light-medium at $2.82-$2.95/kg and beef cows, $2.00/kg to $2.68/kg. Good boners managed $1.95/kg to $2.18/kg and light-medium, $1.40/kg to $1.95/kg. Monday’s sheep market firmed. Heavy prime lambs earned $187-$219, medium $165-$187 and store lambs, $90-$145. Medium ewes realised $140-160, with light selling from $80.

WAIKATO

Frankton cattle 13.7 • R2 Hereford-Friesian and Red Hereford-Friesian steers, 382427kg, improved to $2.84-$2.92/kg • R1 Angus-Friesian, 205kg, firmed to $3.51/kg • Autumn-born weaner Friesian bulls, 102-110kg, earned $460$530 Just 510 cattle were penned at FRANKTON last Monday for PGG Wrightson and they met with a good number of buyers. Specially advertised R3 South Devon steers, 515596kg, sold to good demand at $3.10-$3.13/kg. R2 AngusFriesian steers, 388-498kg, strengthened to $2.77-$2.84/kg and Hereford-Friesian heifers, 421kg, also lifted to $2.85/kg.

R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 295-328kg, held value at $2.92$2.96/kg, while same breed heifers, 183-255kg, eased to $490-$690. Beef-dairy bulls, 107-157kg, returned $450-$550.

Most autumn-born beef-dairy weaner heifers, 66-128kg, sold to per head budgets at $300-$415. Hereford-Friesian bulls, 101kg, improved to $575, $5.69/kg. R3 to R7 Hereford cows vetted-in-calf to Hereford bulls, 431-516kg, realised $1030-$1190. Prime steers, 596-736kg, firmed to $3.05$3.15/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye. Frankton cattle 14.7 • R2 Angus-Friesian steers, 370-411kg, fetched $2.87-$2.94/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 343-420kg, softened slightly to $2.77-$2.81/kg • Prime Hereford-Friesian heifers, 422-474kg firmed to $2.83-$2.89/ kg Store cattle throughput lifted to 416 with a moderate bench of buyers in the pews. R2 Hereford-dairy steers, 341-474kg, improved to $2.86-$2.96/kg, as did Friesian, 383kg, up to $2.31/kg. Autumn-yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 290-304kg, sold to strong interest at $2.96-$3.10/kg.

R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 126-223kg, returned $530-$690 and same breed heifers, 145kg, managed $445. The top end of autumn-born weaner beef-dairy heifers, 97-100kg, were consistent at $360-$370. Friesian bulls, 106kg, softened to $425, $4.01/kg. Prime cattle numbers increased to 107 head. South Devon steers, 559kg, reached $3.02/kg, while the remainder, 469-587kg, held at $2.85-$2.96/kg. HerefordFriesian heifers, 422-474kg, lifted to $2.83-$2.89/kg. Boner cows, 392-540kg, earned $2.02/kg to $2.26/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

KING COUNTRY Te Kuiti sheep • Top store ewe lambs made $150-$158 • Medium mixed-sex store lambs achieved $145-$150 • Prime 2-tooth ewes sold to $169 The store lamb market eased at TE KUITI last Wednesday.

Top male lambs made $175 and the next cut $155-$164.

Heavy prime lambs earned $213-$216 and the next cut $150-$170. Heavy prime ewes were sought after to reach $232, medium $170-$192 and light $90-$100.

POVERTY BAY Matawhero sheep • Top ewe lambs held at $170, medium $118-$146 and light $76$110 • Mixed sex store lambs earned $106 • Scanned-in-lamb ewes traded at $203-$221 • Better mixed age prime ewes sold to $185-$191 • Prime 2-tooth ewes made $182-$197 The store lamb market dropped at MATAWHERO last Friday. The top end of male lambs made $161-$169, medium $142-$155.50 and light $100-$136. Heavy prime lambs eased to $197, medium $165-$176 and light $140$150. Read more in your LivestockEye.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle • The top end of R1 steers made $3.30/kg to $3.45/kg, $760-$910 • Better R1 heifers sold to $600-$660 with the next cut at $480-$580 • Autumn-born weaner heifers fetched $400-$430 and bulls $500$515 • A handful of prime steers above 596kg achieved $3.12-$3.14/kg

Quality types sold on par to the previous weeks at the TARANAKI cattle fair last Wednesday, though lesser cattle were more difficult to move. R2 steers made up nearly 40% of the yarding. The top cut of Angus and Charolaiscross sold well to $3.06-$3.14/kg though the lion’s share traded at $2.90-$3.00/kg. R2 heifers sold over a wide range, while better Hereford-Friesian realised $2.71/kg to $2.83/ kg, the bulk was mostly $2.50-$2.60/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

HAWKE’S BAY Stortford Lodge prime cattle and sheep • Mixed-age good to very good ewes held at $159-$178.50 • Mixed-age medium to medium-good ewes firmed to $140$154.50 • Very good to heavy 2-tooth ewes lifted to $169-$200 • Very heavy mixed-sex lambs improved to $200-$210 An increased offering of 1625 sheep were penned at STORTFORD last Monday with ewes making up close to 90% of that tally. Mixed-age ewes sold on a steady to improving market with lighter to mid weight lines showing improvement. Some superlative sized ewes returned $229$254. The better end of light ewes improved to $116-123, as did light-medium up to $131-$135.50. Medium to good two-tooths ewes realised $144-$155.50, with light to lightmedium at $90.50-$122. A limited ram lamb section had heavy to very heavy types at $165-$205. Good to heavy mixed-sex lines earned $150-$171 and very heavy ewe lambs held at $170. No cattle were presented. Read more in your LivestockEye. Stortford Lodge store cattle and sheep • R2 Friesian bulls, 420-460kg, made $2.92-$3.04/kg • R2 traditional steers, 415-490kg, eased to $2.92-$2.96/kg • Good mixed age Romney-cross ewes, SIL 179%, were $222-$235 • Store male lambs averaged $162 • Store ewe lambs averaged $132 Only a little more than 200 store cattle were yarded at STORTFORD, selling on a weaker market. Autumn-born 2-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 355kg, made $2.57/kg, while 310kg R2 traditional heifers sold for the exact same amount. Some 225kg R1 Angus sold for $705, $3.11/kg. The trend was down for the 7000 store lambs. Heavy-to-very heavy males were $175-$185, good types mainly $160-$170, mediums $140-$160, and the lighter end $120-$135. A few heavy ewe lamb lines were $170-$175, good lines were $145-$155, with much of the rest lighter sorts at $100$125. Hill-country two-tooth Romney, SIL 150%, made $175-$210, but many other older ewes were medium types scanning 105-140%, these making $135-$167. Read more in your LivestockEye

MANAWATU Feilding prime cattle and sheep • Beef-cross rigs, 645kg, earned $3.10/kg • Angus and Angus-Hereford cows, 700kg, returned $2.23/kg • Hereford cows, 523kg, made $1.90/kg • Friesian cows, 501-603kg, often fetched $1.95/kg to $2.11/kg A very large prime yarding of nearly 10,000 head turned out at FEILDING last Monday. Two-thirds of the prime lambs were very heavy types that sold from $190 to $237 while most of the remainder were heavy lines at $145-$189.

The best ewes were in very heavy condition and reached $200-$238, followed by heavy lines at $184-$196. Close to a third of the yarding were good types that earned $151-$181.

Read more in your LivestockEye. Feilding store cattle and sheep • R2 traditional steers, 410-530kg, made $3.20-$3.30/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 400-410kg, were $2.90/kg • Good early-lambing five-year ewes, SIL twins, made $256-$257 • Store male lamb average eased to $160 • Store ewe lamb averaged softened to $140 It was a mixed market for the 500 cattle at FEILDING. Capital stock, 7-8 year, in-calf Angus cows, 590-710kg, sold for $1290-$1555, $2.20/kg. R3 traditional steers, 550580kg, were $3.15-$3.35/kg, while 360-450kg dairy-cross

39

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021

GREAT WEATHER: A sunny day at the Temuka yards for a yarding of 4800 store lambs. These Coopdale ewe lambs were brought in from Timaru, selling for $130.

and mixed-quality R2 steers were mostly $2.70-$2.90/kg.

Some R3 traditional heifers, 555kg, made $3.05/kg, while 320-440kg R2 dairy-cross heifers were anywhere between $2.45/kg and $2.80/kg depending on quality. Prices fell on the 11,000 store lambs. For the males, heavies were mainly $175-$185, down to $155-$170 on the good lines, $145-$155 for the mediums, with $115-$135 covering the bulk of the lighter pens. On the ewe lamb, heavy sorts were $165-$185, good types $145-$160, mediums $125-$145 with $110-$120 for the lights. Good quality, high-scanning ewes went well at $219 plus, but many were medium-type, lower-scanning lines which were knocked back to $150-$180. Read more in your LivestockEye. Rongotea cattle • Speckle Park-cross feeders calves made $200-$255 and Devoncross $150-$205 • R3 Hereford-Friesian steers, 615kg, sold to $3.07/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian heifers, 255-405kg, earned $2.16/kg to $2.42/ kg • R1 Friesian bulls, 178-288kg, achieved $2.43/kg to $2.80/kg • Friesian boner cows, 335-487kg, realized $1.49/kg to $1.64/kg The first of this year’s crop of feeder calves arrived in the yards at RONGOTEA last Tuesday, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. Friesian bull calves made $100-$130, Belgian Blue-cross $205 and Speckle Park-cross $160-$260. R2 Hereford bulls sold to $3.57/kg and 470kg Friesian $3.04/kg. R1 Hereford-Friesian steers, 243-250kg, fetched $2.52/kg to $3.03/kg and 198260kg heifers $2.07/kg to $2.48/kg. Autumn-born weaner steers were bought for $350-$590 and heifers $330-$485.

CANTERBURY Canterbury Park prime cattle and all sheep • Prime high yeilding steers and heifers fetched and $2.99/kg to $3.10/kg • Dairy-beef steers and heifers, 450-550kg, were predominantly $2.76-$2.86/kg • One pen of heavy store ewe lambs with breeding potential earned $200 • Angus cows, 633kg, traded at $2.30/kg • Other beef cows over 500kg typically returned $2.01/kg to $2.18/ kg Several particularly heavy pens of ewes achieved $340-

$348 at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday. Plenty of other very heavy pens earned $201-$294 with heavy types at $184-$195. Good pens were centred around $150-$169, while one pair of very heavy wethers earned $258. Buyers spent up to $230 for the heaviest pen of lambs followed by half of the yarding at $200-$226. Very good and heavy pens managed $170-$198 and few sold for less than $150. A level of $140-$159 covered most of the store lambs.

Coalgate cattle and sheep • Coalgate cattle and sheep • Prime Hereford-Friesian and Murray Grey-cross steers over 600kg returned healthy $2.87-$2.91/kg • Prime Limousin bulls, 428-473kg, earned $2.94/kg • R2 Hereford-Friesian steers and heifers, 356-376kg, earned $2.42$2.52/kg • Over 130 scanned-in-lamb breeding ewes earned $142-$168 Big consignments from the West Coast boosted store lamb throughput to record levels at COALGATE last Tuesday. They were subjected to good competition and half the yarding sold from $150-$164 including plenty of males and ewe while second cuts managed $130-$147.

Competition was calmer for longer term lambs and most sold for $80 to $138. Prime lambs were still well sought after at a level of $160-$188 for the majority but a small number pushed to $229. The best ewe managed $318 and nearly a third of the mixed-age pens sold above $200 with only small pockets of lesser quality lines trading below $142. Read more in your LivestockEye.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY Temuka prime cattle and all sheep • Angus-Hereford steers, 630kg, earned $3.00/kg • Hereford-Friesian steers, 587-615kg, fetched $2.97-$3.01/kg • The first new season lambs sold alongside their mothers at $141 all counted Store lambs came from all points of the compass to TEMUKA last Monday. Plenty of forward stores earned $150-$183 while medium pens were generally $130-$149.

Prime lambs continued their strong run and half earned $190-$228 while most of the remainder posted at least $170.

The top 10% of the ewes managed $208-$300 while the rest were centred around medium types at $150-$198 while the balance was generally $100-$148. A level of $2.78-$2.87/kg

covered most of the 450-550kg steers and heifers offered.

Friesian cows, 520-660kg, typically earned $1.80-$1.90/kg although they were pipped to the highest price by pair of 678kg that made $2.25/kg. Read more in your LivestockEye.

OTAGO Balclutha sheep • Heavy prime ewes held at $170-$200, medium $130-$150 and light $80-$100 • Top store lambs made $140-$150, medium $110-$130 and light $80 Prime lambs sold to mixed demand at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday. Heavy types eased to $180-$200 and medium $160-$170. A small yarding of store cattle met a strong, though small bench of buyers. R2 Hereford-Friesian steers, 400kg, sold to $2.70-$2.80/kg and 360-400kg heifers $2.60$2.70/kg.

SOUTHLAND Lorneville sale • Boner cows above 480kg earned $1.90/kg • R2 Hereford steers, 320kg, fetched $2.75/kg • R1 Hereford heifers, 186kg, achieved $500 • Top store lambs eased to $120-$140, medium $100-$110 and light $80-$90 There was a small yarding of prime cattle at LORNEVILLE last Tuesday. Better prime steers made $2.31/kg, and heifers $2.28/kg. In the store pens, R2 Hereford-cross steers, 394kg, sold to $2.58/kg and same-breed bulls, 426kg, $2.46/kg.

Heavy prime lambs lifted to $190-$213, medium $150-$182 and light $120-$142. Prime ewes also improved with heavy types up to $194-$245, medium $152-$188 and light $122$148.

Charlton sheep • Top store lambs made $130-$155, medium $115-$125 and light $80-$105 • Mixed-age Texel-cross scanned-in-lamb ewes achieved $200 Prime lambs sold well at CHARLTON last Thursday with heavy types at $190-$230, medium $165-$185 and light $145-$160. Prime ewes sold to $210-$240, medium $185$205 and light $165-$180.

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Markets

40 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021 NI STEER

NI LAMB

SI LAMB

($/KG)

($/KG)

($/KG)

6.00

8.70

8.40

R2 DAIRY-BEEF STEERS, 430KG AVERAGE, AT TARANAKI ($/KG)

2.93

$231-$348 high $222-$235 ewes, SIL 179%, Very heavy prime mixed lights Romney age ewes at Canterbury at Stortford

Healthy commodity prices to continue Hugh Stringleman

E

hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz

XCELLENT rural commodity prices should persist and may even rise further over the rest of 2021, ASB economist Nat Keall believes.

“It has been a glorious autumn and a cracker start to winter for commodity prices,” Keall said in the July newsletter of Farmshed Economics, titled Pain and Glory.

“With the global economy reopening, consumption lifting and growth forecasts strengthening, demand for most major commodities have moved up sharply.

“Meanwhile, supply for many goods remains constrained.”

Keall called that a potent combination for commodity prices and he expected the favourable supply and demand conditions would continue, with little prospect for a sharp correction in the near term.

PROMISING: Beef prices have bounced back from covid-19 depressing effects, lifting 20% in the But on the pain side of his headline, past three months. labour woes and rising cost pressures look set to remain for some time to come. quickly, having spiked briefly during the Dairy prices are the star of the show, pandemic. reflected in ASB’s forecasts of $7.60/kg Prices are getting “Grain and oilseed markets remain tight milksolids final payout for 2021 and a very further support from coming off the back of the 2020 season bold $8.20 for the new season.

China’s insatiable demand and are likely to remain so given this “We are seeing the makings of another season’s crop yields aren’t projected to be strong season and even a price nearer the for feed. enough to restore the balance,” he said. bottom end of Fonterra’s forecast range “Prices are getting further support from ($7.25-$8.75) would be a solid result,” he China’s insatiable demand for feed.” said.

Nat Keall He says labour shortages are really The recovery of lamb prices from the ASB starting to hurt producers after 18 months covid-19 restaurant shutdowns has been of border closures. impressive and NZ exports are enjoying a “It increasingly looks as if employment from covid-19 depressing effects, lifting strong winter. is running up against its maximum 20% in the past three months.

The lamb price index has risen nearly sustainable level, and we see wage “While the moves in beef prices haven’t 30% over the past quarter. pressures strengthening over the course of been as spectacular as those for lamb, the Now that $9/kg contracts are available the year.” prospect that prices could exceed their for early spring lambs, Keall expected Unfortunately, any border opening was 2019-20 record peak ($5.75/kg) remains that level to be topped over the next few 1 6/11/21 11:03 AM getting pushed back by the delta variant live,” he said. months. Farmlands_pre-lamb_farmers_weekly_01_100x265.pdf of covid-19.

But animal feed costs are increasing Beef prices have also bounced back

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SURVIVING AND THRIVING IS LESS THAN YOU THINK.

When your lambs thrive, so does your bank balance.

A little planning and care today can pay dividends tomorrow. The Farmlands team has a wealth of knowledge at your disposal our experienced agronomists, nutrition experts and teams in the field are here to help provide you with a full-package solution.

Talk to Farmlands about your pre-lamb plan today.

Park

ACROSS THE RAILS WILLIAM HICKSON

Store lamb market riding high SALE yards were jam-packed with sheep over the past two weeks as sellers looked to take advantage of the strong prices at auction for both store and prime stock.

During the week of July 5-July 9, nearly 62,000 sheep passed through the main yards covered by LivestockEye reports, a level that trumped the previous weekly record for sheep sold in July, set in 2019, by over 8000 head.

A yarding of 20,000 store lambs at Feilding isn’t unusual earlier in the season, but in mid-winter lambs are that much bigger and this forced the liberal use of overflow pens at the July 9 sale, to meet the logistical challenges.

There was little respite for yard staff, as the following Monday nearly 10,000 lambs and ewes were presented for the prime sale. This made for the busiest FridayMonday sale pairing at this venue since April 2017, and a level exceeded only five times in the past 10 years. Over the same time period at Stortford Lodge, the second and third highest ever weekly tallies were reported, beaten only by one postlockdown week in June 2020.

The store lamb market has been riding high over the past few weeks and some of the increase in volume was attributed to the recycling of store lambs through the heated market. While this has come off the boil the past few weeks, the margin between lambs purchased earlier in the season and current levels may see this higher than usual throughput continue later into July.

Strong competition from the rails for finished lambs and ewes has only encouraged more vendors to send them to market via the sale yard route and the good entries for these classes are likely to continue in the short-term, particularly as scanning pushes ewes into the market in many areas of the country. william.hickson@globalhq.co.nz

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