47 minute read
Australian farmers bounce back
News Australian farmers bounce back
Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz
A YEAR after devastating bushfires roared through rural Australia, the worst hit regions are reporting a complete turnaround in fortunes.
Last year’s fires seared through 18.6 million hectares over a six-month period with no state untouched, killing 100,000 sheep and 25,000 cattle, and also wiping out 1250 beehives and 3500ha of vineyards.
The final tally of losses was lower than initially anticipated, with early estimates by analysts putting stock losses as high as 450,000 head.
The other silver lining was the fires marked the end of a protracted drought period and the Australian pastoral sector is surging in response to unexpectedly high rainfall events and cooler than usual temperatures so far this summer.
Central Victorian hay cropper Dave Cossar says he is in the fifth year of an exceptional run for his district, which was one untouched by last year’s fires.
His hay business surged on the back of the feed shortage resulting from the drought and the fires, but he says this year all regions are benefitting from moisture with exceptional feed levels depressing demand for his hay supplies.
Last year he donated significantly to help farmers hit by the devastating fires (see Farmers Weekly February 25, 2020).
His region, which only receives about 400mm of rain a year, got 120mm of that last April alone and rainfall continued with generous spring downfalls kicking crops along well into this summer.
Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz
TWELVE thousand volunteers, $15 million of donations and thousands of kilometres of fences later, the rural Aussie charity BlazeAid can claim to have finished the mammoth task last year’s bush fires set for it.
Established to help farmers rebuild fences and structures after natural disasters, the charity has had bushfires occupy much of its volunteers’ time and efforts in recent years.
Charity founder Kevin
Butler who farms near
Melbourne says this summer has so far provided a welcome reprieve for him and fellow organisers, with cooler temperatures and an El Nino weather pattern lowering fire risks so far.
“We have only had one total fire ban day so far all summer this year. Last year we would have already had 15-20 in
Victoria,” Butler says.
Dave Cossar Hay cropper
BOUNTY: Central Victoria hay cropper Dave Cossar says Aussie farmers are celebrating a boomer year, thanks to generous and timely rainfall.
“And December has been one of the coolest on record for Victoria – even in January we have not had any real heat yet,” Cossar says.
A new baler he purchased this year, partly aided by a generous government covid allowance of $150,000 per farm business, has already worked through 44,000 bales.
Australian Fodder Industry Association chief executive Paula Fitzgerald says the biggest issue facing farmers was finding space to store fodder surpluses this year, with demand for hay being low for several months and not expected to increase.
All of southern Australia is reporting some of the highest yielding crops seen in years and for some areas harvesting has been limited due to exceptionally wet weather.
Australian farmers are presently in the process of restocking post-drought, and agents are reporting demand for stock is also intensified by the “grass fever” market driven by good crop and grass growth and a capital livestock shortage.
Cossar says all livestock classes have experienced surges in values.
“For example, 12-month weaner steers that were selling at $1100 a head last year are $1800 this year, and that is right up the eastern seaboard and in New South Wales,” he says.
There were expectations that in-calf cows could be worth up to $4000 each amid stock shortages and even four-day bull calves had sold for $300 a head.
Southern Victoria farmer and BlazeAid charity manager Kevin Blake says he had just sold 2500 store lambs for $146 a head in what has proven to be a “fabulous” summer to date.
“I think that if you cannot make money this year there is something wrong with you,” Blake says.
He says some buyers with deep pockets are paying up to $400 a head for ewes this year.
Cossar says the renewed optimism within rural Victoria after a tough few years for some districts is now feeding into land prices throughout the state, as well as livestock prices.
“Good potato country that sold for $7000 an acre four years ago sold last year for $11,000. Broadacre cropping country southwest of Ballarat has sold for $7500 an acre, that does not seem sustainable,” Cossar says.
Thomas Elder Markets analyst Matt Dalgleish has highlighted the stock building process happening in Australia.
He reports lamb throughput at yards along the east coast being 16% up on average, and as high as 33% up in Victoria.
Meanwhile, lamb slaughter rates are well down at 22% below seasonal averages and beef cattle slaughter numbers are a third lower than the five-year average, and 43% behind that seen a year
Aussie volunteers hope for summer break
ago.
The damage inflicted last year commenced over a long season, starting with early fires in September 2019, peaking in the ravaging blazes of early January 2020.
“Last year we had 45 base camps across Australia, extending from Kangaroo Island right up into Queensland,” he says.
Four base camps remain open and only one significant fire event has been recorded so far, in South Australia.
The camps were staffed with volunteers who on average gave up to 10 working days each to work in hot, demanding and often isolated conditions helping restore farm fences and water systems.
Butler says their efforts have gone a long way to help fireproof the properties against future devastating events, with largely steel components replacing timber posts and rails.
Covid lockdowns slowed work significantly after March, with volunteers restarting in June, including thousands of backpackers who had stayed in Australia with extended visas.
Camp organiser Bill Gerritsen says farmers in his north-eastern Victoria zone of Corryong have got their lives back on track and are having an extremely good year.
“I have just seen a crop of canola that is above the fence line, I have not seen one that high for a very long time,” Gerritsen says.
His camp peaked at 90 volunteers working in the steep hill country before having to go into lockdown, after which numbers were limited to 20.
Both men say they have their fingers firmly crossed this summer will be more forgiving after last year’s stressful impact on rural communities.
“The risk is still there for fire this year … there have been a couple of grass fires here and there.
“It is ready to go,” he says.
#AginED ED FOR FUTURE AGRIPRENEURS! G
Volume 40 I January 25, 2021 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz Staying safe on your farm
We want you to have a think about what hazards are on your or others farms. Head to our website https://sites.google.com/view/agined/home and download the BE SAFE POSTER. Fill this out and next week we will print a completed copy in AginED for you to compare your answers and see the similarities or differences between the hazards you identified and ours.
DON’T FORGET TO SEND US YOUR PHOTOS!
‘Be Safe, Be Seen’ and the whole Gurt and Pops collection could be yours! - We want to see howyou stay safe on the farm. Send us in a photo of you being safe on the farm these holidays, along with your answers to two of the questions below to get yourself in the draw. Let Ted and Pops teach your children how to use their ‘Think Safe Brains’ to keep the little ones safe this summer!
BE IN TO WIN!
Why do you never drink out of bottles that are in the workshop? If we walked into this paddock with cattle what could go wrong? Before riding your motorbike, what should you dress yourself in and why? Why should you never go somewhere on the farm without talking to an adult first?
Send your entries to: agined@globalhq.co.nz (we will draw the winner on February 8th)
1
Go the AgriHQ market snapshot page Go the AgriHQ market snapshot page 2 What was the South Island mutton price last week? 3 How is this tracking compared to year-ago levels?
1 Go to www.farmersweekly.co.nz
2 Find and watch the OnFarmStory of Wiliam Morrison
“We determine our future” 3 What do the Morrison’s farm? 4 Who makes up Morrison farming?
STRETCH YOURSELF:
1 How many generations of farmers have there been in the Morrison family? 2 How does William believe that we can use social media to improve our lamb and beef farm productivity? 3 Do you think that this is a good way to help people outside of farming understand where their supermarket or restaurant sheep and beef comes from? How does this benefit farmers? 4 What do you believe are the most important things that farmers can do, or need to show to the world that could increase the value and profile of NZ lamb and beef products?
Let us know your thoughts at: agined@globalhq.co.nz
STRETCH YOURSELF:
This graph shows the NI AgriHQ average mutton slaughter price in $/kg. 1 Mutton schedules have held much more resilient than lamb schedules this season. Looking at the graph, how does the latest average value compare to the previous season and the fiveyear average? 2 According to Beef + Lamb NZ, breeding ewe numbers have fallen by over 5 million head in the last 10 years. What are some long term impacts of this? Hint: If there are less ewes in NZ, what might this mean for lamb numbers and therefore export volumes in the future? 3 Head to www.agrihq.co.nz and read the Pulse article “Rebuild confidence now’ for more on this topic.
Our regenerative piece really peaked people’s Ewe said: interest and we got some very interesting responses, here is Claire Bleakley’s viewpoint:
Regenerative farming is a process using Organic farming principles of allowing the soil ecology to thrive. Regenerative Organic farming uses compost, animals, and biodiversity to maintain the health of the soil. It restricts use of any practice that harm the soil ecology and is an arable farming system free of synthetic pesticides and GMO’s. The grazing and tilling are restricted and cover crops are grown to ensure no bare ground. By growing a diverse sward of pasture with animal to graze nutrients are cycled through the animal and returned to the ground to be used by the microbiology of the soil increasing the soil organic matter and building humus. Plant roots grow deeper protecting them from weather extremes. The increased organic matter acts like a sponge which restricts nitrogen run off, conserves soil moisture, and sequesters CO2. Regenerative Organic Farmers are finding that they are economically better off due to stable yields and the ability to protect themselves from the adversity of climate change. New Zealand has a grass arable agriculture. It would not be difficult for arable farmer to move to regenerative farming practices. However, the beliefs and education around the dependence on synthetic inputs to maintain productivity is not benefiting farmers as the cost is becoming prohibitive as the soils degrade further. The use of self-sustainable practices would impact heavily on the industrial economy that promote the use of fossil fuel derived chemicals and fertilisers. Many of these industries fund research and newspapers by advertising their products. There will be a strong resistance against moving away to alter the industrial paradigm unless somehow, they can be brought into the system and re jig their products to support Regenerative Organic practices. As Agriculture contributes to nearly half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions it is extremely important for the government to lead the way internationally by robust research into Regenerative organic methods to reduce the impact of our footprint.
FILL YA BOOTS:
1
2
What are the symptoms and causes of facial eczema? What time/s of year is it likely to be prevalent? What are the symptoms and causes of staggers in sheep?
For more related content please head to our website at: www.sites.google.com/view/agined/home
A NEW APPROACH: New Fish & Game NZ chair Ray Grubb says a new approach is needed to acknowledge that society was concerned about the environment, and that groups such as farmers were also making changes.
New direction for Fish & Game
The winds of change may be about to blow away years of antagonism by Fish & Game New Zealand towards farming. Neal Wallace meets the organisation’s new chair Ray Grubb, who is determined to nurture a better relationship with farmers.
DIRTY dairying has gone.
The term, coined by Fish & Game NZ (FGNZ) to describe the environmental impact of dairy farming, has been widely vilified by farmers and credited with the deteriorating relationship between anglers, hunters and farmers.
New FGNZ chair Ray Grubb agrees and promises to dispense with the campaign in what he says will be a less antagonistic approach to farmers under his reign.
Grubb promises to be less confrontational with farmers and farming groups, to cooperate and show mutual respect and to agree to disagree on issues.
This approach has been endorsed by FGNZ’s national council and will build on the strong community relationships the organisation has at regional level, but which Grubb says is missing at the national level.
This new co-operative approach does not mean FGNZ is diverting from its role of advocating for clean, fresh water and the trout fishery, but Grubb says its focus will be on influencing regional council rules and regulations.
A new approach is needed to acknowledge that society was concerned about the environment, and that groups such as farmers were also making changes.
“The tide has shifted and more people are doing good things for the environment,” Grubb said.
“The farming industry’s focus has also shifted to what can be achieved with conservation rather than what can be used without care.”
If a water quality or quantity issue arises, Grubb wants FGNZ to be able to talk constructively with Federated Farmers, DairyNZ or Beef + Lamb NZ.
“We’ll differ on some things and agree on others,” he said.
One example of this change is the approach to water storage, which Grubb says has a place provided it enhances summer low flows in rivers and streams and allows for flushing.
“I don’t think enough attention and enough money has been spent on it (water storage),” he said.
“The cheaper option is to take more water out of the rivers.”
He described the FGNZ dirty dairying campaign initiated by former chief executive Bryce Johnson, as aggressively worded and adopted by other groups, but FGNZ will not use it again.
“It served a purpose and will not be used again,” he said.
“The community has moved beyond that. Dairy farmers have moved beyond that.”
It had come at a cost with a noticeable increase in landowners curbing access to fishermen and hunters over their land to waterways.
This was an incongruent situation for Grubb who was raised with the view that fishing and hunting was a NZ birthright and access based on 150 years of cooperation with landowners.
Ray Grubb FGNZ
Farmers, who are personal friends built during the 35 years he has been fishing and hunting, gave him a blunt assessment of the damage FGNZ and its dirty dairying campaign has done to those relationships.
He says they have been able to have frank discussions about issues and agree to disagree on some, while still maintaining their friendship.
This should be able to occur at a national level.
In addition to the growing community awareness of water quality and quantity, Grubb says the increasing use of technology and tools such as farm plans will assist farmers reduce their impact on waterways.
Grubb spent the initial 17 years of his career working as a public servant for Foreign Affairs and then the NZ Electricity Department.
For the subsequent 17 years he and his late wife Marian van der Goes ran the Brunner Lodge, a tourism business on the West Coast.
Grubb operated a fishing guide business while his wife ran the lodge.
His relationship with farmers was enhanced during this period, with farming families employed by the lodge and local farmers hosting their tourists to provide an insight into agriculture.
It was while dealing with tourists that Grubb says he realised just how spectacular NZ’s environment was.
“You see it through their eyes and begin to appreciate what we’ve got,” he said.
“We’re born to it, so don’t always see the same value.
“Environmental credentials come to you.”
They sold the business in 2001 and moved to the coastal Otago town of Karitane before spending the next three years driving from Singapore to London.
On returning to NZ Grubb worked as a consultant, held governance and company directorships and served on the Otago Fish & Game council from 2009-15 before taking a three-year break for personal reasons.
He was successfully re-elected in 2018 and last year elected as a national councillor.
Last November he replaced chair Paul Shortis who stood down for personal reasons.
But any honeymoon was shortlived with the organisation’s chief executive for the previous three years, Martin Taylor, resigning just prior Christmas.
Grubb says Taylor resigned to pursue different options and FGNZ is on the hunt for a replacement.
Also looming is the first government review of the organisation in 35 years, which he expects to be released in late February-early March.
Grubb, who now lives in Wanaka, says his tenure will be judged by the quality of rules adopted by regional councils and the subsequent quality and quantity of water flowing in our waterways.
But he also wants better relationships between anglers, hunters, landowners and farming groups, and says central to that will be mutual respect and replicating nationally the community links that already exist at FGNZ regional level.
Chance to change viruses’ rep
Twenty-twenty proved to be the year where most of the world learnt more than ever anticipated about viruses. Plant & Food Research lead scientist Dr Robin MacDiarmid views this increase in understanding as a silver lining in the covid cloud. But her research is also finding another silver lining in viruses, learning where they can serve good for more sustainable food production. She spoke to Richard
Rennie.
ASINGLE slice from any flora or fauna sample analysed in a lab may contain hundreds if not thousands of viruses and bacteria, but the number actually known, categorised and understood by scientists may well pale against the total there.
For Dr Robin MacDiarmid, identifying and categorising the viruses represents barely half the job at hand. In recent decades genomic sequencing has made that task simpler, quicker and more affordable for researchers.
“But once you have discovered and categorised a virus, you are really only at the ‘so what?’ stage. The big questions come after that, in terms of what is its cell biology, and what is the ecosystem it functions in?” MacDiarmid says.
“Typically, and particularly in 2020, people tend to think if something is a virus, then it must be bad, that’s the reputation they have.”
She compares this to their microscopic bedmates bacteria, where people are familiar not only with their negative impact, such as causing infection, but equally comfortable with their positive side. This includes creating fermented foods and in the human microbiome that assists us in nutrition and disease control.
So, MacDiarmid welcomes the timely discussions around the use of tools like attenuated viral vaccines in the war against covid if it helps increase knowledge and understanding of those potential positives.
Attenuated vaccines are created by reducing the strength of a viral pathogen, but keeping it viable or live. This stimulates a strong immune response from the host that tends to be long-lasting.
Attenuated vaccines, such as those being developed at the University of Melbourne, are one of six categories of vaccine being worked on for covid defences
The use of a virus as “mild strain cross-protection,” is a type of vaccination used to inoculate plants against viral diseases which can otherwise be hard to deal with. An example is potato viruses which can require treatment of soils with to eradicate them
While known for over 100 years, the past decade has seen a rise in interest in inoculants’ use as researchers seek alternative nonsynthetic crop treatments. Such treatments have proven effective in trials on apple and tomato mosaic viruses.
Life and crop-saving vaccines aside, the positives viruses’ invisible presence may bring can be difficult for researchers to prove.
“We have been carrying on life not thinking about viruses, but have probably been propagating them,” she says.
“Many of our crops today are not raised from seed, but propagated through vegetative techniques like grafting, cuttings and tissue culture. This means any viruses from the original mother plant remain, and are passed on through those generations for many decades. What we have not done is ask ‘what are the viruses found in these plants conferring, possibly in a positive way?’”
It is a difficult question to answer, requiring researchers to tip the conventional research approaches on its head – that is one usually requiring them to look at unhealthy samples to find out
PERCEPTION: Dr Robin MacDiarmid says scientists have a task ahead convincing growers and consumers that not all viruses are bad viruses.
Dr Robin MacDiarmid Plant & Food Research
why they are in malaise.
“It’s a steep research path, having to test for what the factors are that cause that virus to be present in a positive, healthy host, quite a contrast to identifying and treating harmful viruses,” she said.
New Zealand presents more challenge and opportunity in this area, given when the country was settled, edible plants were difficult to prepare.
“We have this very unique flora and fauna in NZ that has had exotic crops, pathogens and pests introduced to it. But there has been very little research on the impact of exotic viruses on our indigenous plants, or vice versa for that matter,” she says.
MacDiarmid sees plenty of opportunity over the next five years to examine viruses that may play a positive role in replacing synthetic sprays and offer a more socially acceptable means of protection.
There is also the potential for viruses to be used to attack the pathogenic bacteria that impact on our crops. Known as phages, work is going on here too, and could hold potential to deal with problematic bacterial diseases in a wide range of horticultural crops.
“We are hoping the concept of good viruses is one that becomes acceptable to growers and consumers. This is a great area of research – there is a mix here of science, philosophy, social and economic research,” she says.
Nationwide Open Farm Day
Sunday February 21st, 2021
In 4 weeks, Kiwi farmers will open their gates, welcoming townies to reconnect with our food, land and farmers.
COME AND JOIN US.
Host an Open Farm day yourself or sign-up to visit a farm near you.
Nationwide Numbers
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EDITORIAL
Forget, forgive and look to the future
SOME encouraging signs emerged last week concerning farming’s place in wider New Zealand society.
The new chair of Fish & Game New Zealand told our reporter Neal Wallace that the days of decrying dirty dairying were behind the organisation and it would now work to work with rural communities to improve water quality.
And, the new chair of the Primary Production select committee Jo Luxton told reporter Colin Williscroft that she wants to rebuild some of the trust that farmers have lost in the Government.
With regard to Fish & Game, many farmers would perhaps say that the damage has already been done. The chasm that’s opened between rural and urban communities over the past decade or so owes much to those two words coined by a previous leadership.
It’s meant that having a rational conversation about shared environmental goals has been made that much harder.
Still, it appears a line’s been drawn in the sand and it’s now up to the leadership on both sides to forget past grievances and look to the future.
Luxton’s words will also have to be followed up with action. Many farmers are struggling to come to terms with the regulation that’s been placed on their farming businesses. They’re unsure how to navigate them while staying profitable.
Still, many in rural communities voted for the current government last year and now the Government needs to acknowledge that support.
That means ensuring farming business owners feel assured they have a path forward that will reward their commitment.
It’s a fine balance – the path to a more environmentally-friendly sector is one that needs to be both economically sustainable and one that satisfies the rest of the electorate and the increased scrutiny of the world that buys our food.
Last week’s news that honey exports to Japan may be in jeopardy because of glyphosate traces is another sign that the world is moving very quickly.
Our challenge is to quicken our pace as well – without tripping up.
Bryan Gibson
LETTERS Need to streamline wool auctions
AT PRESENT, wool sold by auction without a farmer’s voice often includes messy arrangements in wool sheds, plus the cost of transport to wool store and cost of auction.
In order to streamline the system we should cut the auction system and use the latest technology, like a camera loaned to farmers by local shearing agents. This can illustrate processing from table to press to cover visual appearance and length. It also tallies the numbers shorn. Can a core test be done by a different method? Weight isn’t a problem. Then send all this information to HQ, plus the exact wool ID.
Utilising this information, the wool buyer establishes a suitable price for manufacture or export.
After the price is confirmed, the wool is sent directly to the agreed destination, meaning considerable cost savings to the farmer.
Could this project be developed? Very interested to hear other farmers’ views.
David Blackley
Bay of Plenty
Dear Mr Editor
I AM Sean, I am six years old. What type of cows do you have? Do you have a dirt bike?
My dirt bike is a Honda 50. My two brothers have dirt bikes, too. One is an XR70 and one is a CRF. Dad has a 250.
We like doing laps around the farm and the bonfire.
I am writing to you to try and win the Victorinox Swiss army knife. How many people have written to you? I hope you like my letter. I chose green paper for grass and blue felt pen for rain. I drew raindrops in the corners of the paper. Rain is important for farming to make the grass grow. Has it rained at your place?
How many cows do you have? Do they have heaps of maize to eat? Rain makes maize grow too.
Sean, 6 Waikato
Letters to the Editor
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Starting ‘em young
THOUGHT you might like to see a photo of a young reader, our nine-week-old son Harrison Tylee.
Mark and Emma Tylee
Owhango
Farmers Weekly is published by GlobalHQ, PO Box 529, Feilding 4740. New Zealand Phone: 0800 85 25 80 Website: www.farmersweekly.co.nz EDITOR Bryan Gibson 06 323 1519 bryan.gibson@globalhq.co.nz EDITORIAL Carmelita Mentor-Fredericks 06 323 0769 editorial@globalhq.co.nz Neal Wallace 03 474 9240 neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz Colin Williscroft 027 298 6127 colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz Annette Scott 021 908 400 annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz Hugh Stringleman 09 432 8594 hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz Gerald Piddock 027 486 8346 gerald.piddock@globalhq.co.nz Richard Rennie 07 552 6176 richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz Nigel Stirling 021 136 5570 nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com PUBLISHER Dean Williamson 027 323 9407 dean.williamson@globalhq.co.nz ADVERTISING Andy Whitson 027 626 2269 New Media & Business Development Lead andy.whitson@globalhq.co.nz Steve McLaren 027 205 1456 Auckland/Northland advertising steve.mclaren@globalhq.co.nz Jody Anderson 027 474 6094 Waikato/Bay of Plenty advertising jody.anderson@globalhq.co.nz Donna Hirst 027 474 6095 Lower North Island/international advertising donna.hirst@globalhq.co.nz Ernest Nieuwoudt 027 474 6091 South Island advertising ernest.nieuwoudt@globalhq.co.nz Clint Dunstan 027 474 6004 Real Estate & Farm Machinery advertising clint.dunstan@globalhq.co.nz ISSN 2463-6002 (Print) ISSN 2463-6010 (Online) Ella Holland 06 323 0761 Livestock advertising 027 602 4925 livestock@globalhq.co.nz Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 Classifi eds/Employment advertising classifi eds@globalhq.co.nz Grant Marshall 027 887 5568 AgriHQ Partnership Manager grant.marshall@globalhq.co.nz Andrea Mansfi eld 027 446 6002 Salesforce director andrea.mansfi eld@globalhq.co.nz Steph Holloway 06 323 0142 AgriHQ Commercial Leader steph.holloway@globalhq.co.nz PRODUCTION Lana Kieselbach 027 739 4295 production@globalhq.co.nz Advertising material adcopy@globalhq.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS 0800 85 25 80 subs@globalhq.co.nz Printed by Ovato NZ Ltd Delivered by Reach Media Ltd
of theWeekLetter
Best letter each week wins a quality Victorinox a quality Victorinox Hiker knife So go on! Stick the knife in
Climate change will need leadership
Andrew Hoggard
THERE are all sorts of targets for Federated Farmers’ advocacy efforts on government policy in 2021. Not least, there’s a mountain of work ahead to help bash the freshwater regulations into a framework that’s practical and cost-effective, and lobbying to try and ensure the long-awaited reform of resource management legislation doesn’t see the useful things in the existing RMA thrown out with the bad.
But first cab off the rank is the February 1 release of the Climate Change Commission’s draft recommendations on how we could meet our Paris Agreement commitments, along with the country’s first three five-year emissions budgets running to 2035. The Commission’s website says this will include “advice on what potential reductions in biogenic methane might be needed in the future.”
What I want to see from Jacinda Ardern’s government is a stronger commitment that they’ll be guided by science on climate change, rather than politics. I want to see our MPs back up all those pretty words said to farmers about how important agriculture is to our economy by a willingness to go to the international community and argue for a more scientificallyrobust greenhouse gas metric that takes account of the different global warming impacts of longlived gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, and short-lived gases such as methane.
Victoria University’s NZ Climate Change Research Institute director Professor Dave Frame was unequivocal on the topic at the Primary Industries NZ Summit late last year.
“The problem is dominated by CO2, and increasingly dominated by CO2. It’s the main event in climate change,” he said.
Make no mistake, the world –
ThePulpit
and our farmers – need to reduce nitrous oxide and the ‘flow’ gas methane too. But the science is clear: for NZ to ensure its methane emissions have no additional warming impact annual reductions of 0.3% are needed. The Government’s current 10% cut by 2030 and 24-47% by 2050 targets are at least three times more severe than required.
As Feds said in its original submission on the Zero Carbon Bill, an annual 1-2% biogenic methane reduction target (based on that 24-47% cut by 2050) would directly cost our livestock sector $300-$600 million a year currently, compounding to an annual cost of $7.2-$14 billion in today’s dollars. That’s a lot of lost income and jobs for NZ.
Thankfully, there is growing international recognition that the GWP100 metric we’ve long used to describe the warming impact of greenhouse gases has shortcomings when it comes to the temperature response of short-lived emissions such as methane. The GWP* – or GWP-we (warming equivalent) – metric proposed by leading climate scientists, such as from the UK’s Oxford University’s Martin School, provides a more accurate measure of the behaviour of methane in the atmosphere.
Lost in the Christmas and covid melee mid-December was a joint statement from 16 agricultural organisations from across the UK and NZ backing the GWP*/ CO2-we metric, and warning that continuing to use the inaccurate metric could lead to poor policy decisions.
Frame was even more blunt at the PINZ Summit. He pointed out that countries with emission profiles dominated by methane are the poor and developing nations. It just so happens NZ has that same profile because so much of our energy generation is already renewable/non-fossil fuel burning, meaning our agricultural gases dominate the emissions that are left.
If the world continues to demand that all gases – short or long-lived – need to get to net zero, we’re in effect telling poor nations they have to undo all their contributions to warming so all the rich countries have extra space for their CO2-dominated contributions to warming. Hardly fair.
A twin to the Paris Agreement are the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which include food security/ending world hunger. NZ grows food for around 40 million people beyond our shores, and with a much lower environmental footprint than most.
ACTION: Feds president Andrew Hoggard says he’s keen to see our MPs back up all those pretty words said to farmers about how important agriculture is to our economy with action.
Frame is right when he said we need to link up with other food producing nations such as Uruguay, Argentina and Thailand (the latter because rice growing is also a big generator of methane), to fight for a fairer greenhouse gas measurement metric.
UN negotiators have no appetite for individual nation’s special pleading, so we need to frame our arguments in a much more international way.
Frame also threw out a challenge to us farmers that we are taking up. He said He Waka Eke Noa, the cross-sector effort currently underway to find ways to accurately measure on-farm emissions and drive them down, is a great platform from which to propose sound solutions the rest of the world will be interested in emulating.
If NZ wants to demonstrate, and not simply talk about, real climate leadership on the global stage, promoting the GWP*/CO2-we metric is a great place to start.
Who am I?
Andrew Hoggard is the president Federated Farmers NZ.
Your View
Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across? The Pulpit offers readers the chance to have their say. farmers.weekly@globalhq.co.nz Phone 06 323 1519
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Opinion
Time for Govt to walk the walk
Alternative View
Alan Emerson
I SAW a government statement recently that was, in a word, underwhelming. Parliament had declared a “climate emergency” we were told. I could understand declaring a housing emergency but climate?
According to my dictionary emergency means “an unforeseen or sudden occurrence, especially of danger demanding immediate action.”
I would humbly and respectfully suggest that climate change is neither unforeseen or sudden, and any immediate action is far on the horizon.
In fact, such is the worldview of our reaction to climate change that we faced exclusion from a “major event of carbon-cutting nations.” The reason given was because of “our lack of action on climate change.”
So instead of actually doing anything constructive, we’ve declared an emergency.
Mind you local government have been at the forefront of climate change emergency declarations.
According to my research Auckland, Wellington Christchurch and Dunedin have all put their hands up, as have
From the Ridge Steve Wyn-Harris
THIS week I feel a need to write about farm accidents causing death and injury, particularly motorbikes, but tractors have also recently taken lives, and animals remain problematic as well.
Our area has had a bad series of deaths lately and it has shaken all of us, and of course deeply and profoundly affected the families and friends of these poor people.
One death is one too many and just locally we have seen several in recent months and three in this new year already.
I know there have been other fatalities in other parts of the country over the summer as well.
I’m not going to talk about any of the specifics of these tragedies but like suicide, it is something we need to keep discussing and working on ways to prevent it happening again. Nelson, Kapiti Coast, Hutt City, Hawke’s Bay, Porirua, Nelson and Queenstown Lakes.
I’m pleased to say Masterton hasn’t, which tells you a lot about the intellectual grunt of provincial NZ.
Making declarations is easy and achieves nothing. The hard work is in the doing.
The prize for talking but not doing must go to the Christchurch City Council.
“The scientific evidence that our planet is in crisis is irrefutable,” Mayor Lianne Dalziel effused.
“By declaring a global climate and ecological emergency we are raising awareness about the urgency of the need for everyone to take action to reduce carbon emissions to zero.”
It gets better.
The Government has put out a National Policy Statement on housing density, encouraging more dwellings in central cities. It makes sense if you want to reduce your carbon footprint as it means that people can walk to work.
Not so in Christchurch, where nimbyism is rampant.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel and her 16 councillors were united in their disapproval of the Government’s national policy that aims to increase housing density and encourage development in places close to public transport.
Dalziel said she felt extreme frustration with the central government imposing Auckland rules on the rest of the country.
So, on one hand we have a council waxing eloquently about climate change and declaring a climate and ecological emergency
A lot of scrutiny will come on these machines, but it comes down to how we are using them, and we continue to show not very well.
A big problem currently is how long the grass is after an explosive growth spurt in November.
When riding around the farm, you just can’t see the holes, dips, pinecones (they can be problematic on my two-wheeler), sticks and logs.
Because of this, I’ve been cautious. But even caution is not enough.
Before Christmas I was mustering some lambs on my twowheeler and going very carefully and slowly down a small slope. Next thing I know the front wheel flicks out and I’m thrown off into the Californian thistles and, as I’m going slowly, my right leg is stuck under the bike. And, because I’m downhill of the bike, I must use my other leg to lift the bike up to pull myself out.
Fortunately, I’m not hurt but get up, muttering about how I’m too old for this bloody carry on.
I look in the grass to see what caused this minor accident and it’s a small, wet and thus slippery stick. Like one you would throw for a dog.
NEW WORLD: Covid-19 has proven we don’t have to fly, so will Cabinet ministers be attending Zoom conferences rather than flying business class?
and on the other, not wanting to take a logical step to reduce their carbon footprint.
Talking the talk is one thing, but walking the walk takes effort. Surely, if you have a climate change emergency you would be encouraging people into the inner city and close to public transport.
Auckland has the same problem as Christchurch. Opposition to high rise in inner city suburbs, a clogged roading system and the lack of a credible public transport system.
Another news item reinforced that fact.
According to a highly reputable international study, climate
And yes, I recorded the incident in my near miss report.
I note it because it’s a small thing and happened under genuine caution and yet could have had more serious outcomes, but I was lucky.
And luck does come into it in a big way.
I had a friend who 20 years ago was going across a slope on his two-wheeler when it slipped over. He wasn’t going fast but his head hit a stone and he was killed.
Like most of us, I’ve known others who have died on their farms.
In my 40-year farming career, I’ve had at least four close calls.
And each time it could have gone either way, but I was lucky or reacted quickly enough to save my own life.
I’ve not rolled a four-wheeler but once while cautiously creeping down a slope, the downhill front wheel slowly drove into a small depression that again was hidden by long grass.
The bike was close to rolling and I carefully put it into reverse and backed up the hill. I got off the bike and sat down for a bit as I realised how close it had been.
Not long after, I put a roll bar on the back of the bike. researchers take more flights than other academics and we know how academics love to travel.
They’re obviously not concerned about climate change as the research showed that climate researchers took 50% more flights than other academics.
So climate researchers, those berating us over saving the planet, aren’t doing their bit.
Considering the climate change emergency, we are told government departments must decarbonise by 2025, just four years away or purchase carbon credits from their baseline budgets to do that. The police have just purchased 3000 petrol vehicles. When they get hit with purchasing carbon credits what will go? The vetting of firearms licences.
If we have a crisis in the Pacific with the need for massive defence resources, will that be declined in the interests of carbon neutrality, or climate emergency?
My frustration is at the selective nature of the actions of the
We all have stories like this and most of the time luck and skill gets us out of sticky situations.
But as we have just seen, and seen in the past too many times, not always.
There are about 20 agricultural fatalities each year and around half of these involve quads and tractors.
Worksafe is not our nemesis, they are working hard to try and keep us safe.
Listen to what they are saying and act on it.
Choose the right vehicle for the job and consider the weather and terrain.
If you are in a tractor working on climate change disciples.
Covid-19 has proved we don’t have to fly so I look forward to Cabinet ministers practicing Zoom conferences rather than flying business class.
Then we could encourage ministers and senior bureaucrats on bikes, a Toyota Prius or public transport to further reduce their footprint.
For the record I am not a climate change denier. I accept that the climate is changing and that we need to do something about it.
Declaring a state of emergency achieves nothing.
If we’re serious about climate change one could respectfully and humbly ask why we’re extending the life of the Tiwai Point smelter with the huge carbon footprint it has.
Finally, the Government owns Air New Zealand, a major contributor to our carbon footprint. Will they insist it is carbon zero in four years as they have with other government departments, or hide behind the fact that air travel is excluded from the Paris Accord?
If they present the exclusion argument, then to be consistent they need to exclude livestock methane emission as food production is excluded in the accord as well.
It will be interesting if nothing
Your View
Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com
On-farm safety a matter of life, death
STATS: There are about 20 agricultural fatalities each year and around half of these involve quads and tractors.
else. sloping terrain, use the seat belt.
Don’t push the motorbikes to the edge of their capabilities.
Treat these useful but heavy machines with respect.
Wear helmets and get some roll protection devices installed.
Don’t drive them when fatigued and for goodness sake, don’t be in a hurry.
Make sure everyone is trained in the safe use of all machinery.
Take care, stay safe.
Time for progress around free trade
Meaty Matters
Allan Barber
THE Brexit agreement and the start of the new year signal the moment has come to get serious with negotiations on two key issues: retention of the EU sheepmeat and beef quotas determined by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the 1986-1994 Uruguay round and separately, free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UK and EU. Although the two matters are clearly linked, Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva is adamant they must be dealt with separately, because the quota must be addressed sooner rather than later. Equally, New Zealand does not want to be in a situation where, as part of the FTA negotiations, it is offered some minor compensation for what has already been removed unilaterally.
As a small country, NZ’s influence is limited, which means using whatever points of leverage it can as a member of larger groups, as well as on its own account.
Trade negotiator Vangelis Vitalis expects the UK to put in a formal request by the end of the first quarter to join the Comprehensive
Cameron Bagrie
CONSENTS are a key indicator of the economy. The same can be said for components of building consents, including farm buildings as a part of farm investment. Farm building consents are well down on two years ago, though still at reasonable levels.
Building consent data includes residential buildings such as houses, apartments, townhouses and retirement villages. Nonresidential includes hotels, motels, prisons, hospitals, education buildings, commercial and industrial buildings, shops, restaurants, factories and farm buildings.
Both residential and nonresidential building consents are very procyclical and large in size.
There were almost $17 billion of residential building consents issued in the past year, and another $6.9b of non-residential consents.
Farm building consents for $281 million have been issued in the past year, down from $310m a year ago and mirrored the 9% fall we have seen in total non-residential and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), but to do this the UK must first make serious progress towards concluding bilateral FTAs with Australia and NZ. A key negotiating point will be to provide 100% tariff liberalisation which will test the UK’s resolve to demonstrate its free trade credentials.
On the EU front, Vitalis says the new EU Commissioner will be very aware the bloc has very few trade partnership options currently underway and, of these options, NZ offers the best opportunity to show political intent.
A further point of leverage is NZ’s membership of the Cairns Group, which can get onto the WTO ministerial meeting agenda its concrete proposal “to cap and reduce by at least half the current sum of global agricultural trade and production distorting support entitlements by 2030.” Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor has been invited to join the miniministerial WTO meeting in the first quarter, which will decide what negotiators should work on before the main meeting at the end of the year.
Former trade ambassador Mike Petersen, speaking from personal experience, is not optimistic about making fast progress, because he believes both the UK and EU only see things through their own lens and NZ will have to scrap every inch of the way. The sheepmeat and beef quota issue will be hard to crack, but it is a matter of building consents over the same period.
Farm building consents are typically a bit over 5% of nonresidential consents. But they have been as high as 9% and as low as 1.9%. They are 4.1% now, lower than what is typical but well above previous lows.
Farm building consents have fallen 22% in the past two years. They peaked at $382m in the 2018 calendar year.
One region dominates the fall. Canterbury.
Canterbury farm building consents were knocking on the door of $100m in 2018, they are now sub $30m. That is a titanic fall in one region, even accounting for some large projects.
Taranaki has seen a fall from $30m to $12m in two to three years. Nelson and Marlborough have seen large declines, too.
Waikato continues to provide backbone, accounting for around one-third ($100m) of farm building consents in the past year. Waikato’s share has jumped from 20% to around 30% for the past three years.
Hawke’s Bay takes the crown principle to keep fighting for what was agreed at the WTO, regardless of whether the sheepmeat quota can be filled.
Petersen says NZ took a big cut in the combined volume of product it was entitled to send to the UK and Europe when Great Britain joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, but the agreement provided flexibility to choose between European destinations. This principle has now been unilaterally abandoned following the decision under the Brexit agreement to split the quota between the two markets.
The decline of the NZ sheep flock from its peak of more than 70 million to 26m, and the development of profitable alternative markets since the 1970s mean exports to the UK and EU no longer come anywhere close to breaching the quota. The 2019-20 season saw total exports hit just under 80,000 tonnes of sheepmeat, split evenly between the two markets, while exports to China exceeded 130,000MT.
It is difficult to see the quota split actually causing NZ exporters any practical difficulty, since sales volumes would almost have to triple before the limit is reached. ANZCO’s general manager of sales and marketing Rick Walker concedes there will be no practical impact on his company’s business, but agrees with the importance of ensuring trading partners stick to agreed rules, rather than letting them get off without following due process. for the largest rise in the past two years, with farm building consents more than doubling, reaching almost $17m.
There are numerous reasons for the shifts.
Some major projects boosted the figures, particularly in Canterbury over 2018 so the fall is coming off an exaggerated high, though Waikato figures recorded large boosts in May and June 2020 as well. One-offs can be somewhat regular.
Covid created uncertainty, which meant pausing some investment. Agriculture sector deposits with banks are up $485m in the past year.
For New Zealand Inc, progress towards concluding the respective FTAs are the more critical negotiations because of the potential benefits to a much broader range of exports. On the agricultural front, beef and dairy would benefit enormously from a relaxation of current restrictions.
The high quality beef quota entitlements into the EU (846MT) and UK (454MT) incur a 20% ad valorem tariff, while NZ may also compete for a total of 116,703MT under the “most favoured nation” quota, also incurring a 20% tariff. A look at the statistics suggest NZ exporters do not supply much product at all under these conditions, most likely because there are more profitable alternative markets available to exporters, including the US, China, Japan and other Asian countries.
Dairy has no access to the UK, one of the largest importers of dairy products globally, in stark contrast to the EU which enjoys tariff-free access. While there are dairy quotas into the EU, it is virtually impossible for NZ to access them because of the restrictive conditions that apply.
Vitalis acknowledges the
KNOCK-ON EFFECT: Government policy shifts have scaled back growth parts of the rural sector and imposed additional costs, policy has impacted all areas.
Some sectors have been expanding. Horticulture debt has risen 31% in the past two years. Conversely, dairy sector debt has fallen 6% ($2.5b) over the same period. Bank debt has been more difficult to obtain and a huge focus has been on improving balance sheets. That has meant less spending.
Government policy shifts have scaled back growth opportunities across parts of the rural sector and imposed additional costs. Environmental policy is having a huge impact across all areas, but particularly Canterbury. On-farm investment is being spent outside of buildings.
OPTIONS: Trade negotiator Vangelis Vitalis acknowledges the importance of concluding free trade agreements with large trade blocs, but makes the point that there are other options open to New Zealand.
importance of concluding FTAs with these large trade blocs, but he makes the point that there are other options open to NZ. The Chinese FTA upgrade was concluded at the end of 2019, but has not yet been formally signed which is a priority. Also, positively, Canada announced officially in December that it wishes to join the digital economy partnership agreement to which NZ is a signatory. Although an FTA with the US is not on the table, as chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) NZ can demonstrate a willingness to work with them, for instance encouraging them to re-engage with trading partners without the toxicity of (CPTPP) negotiations.
As always, there are challenges as well as opportunities for our hard working trade negotiators. They won’t achieve everything they wish, but whatever the outcome NZ exporters are highly likely to benefit from their efforts.
Your View
Allan Barber is a meat industry commentator: allan@barberstrategic. co.nz, http://allanbarber.wordpress.
Building consents down but not out
opportunities across while environmental
com
Farm business models are evolving and farm systems are changing as production deintensifies. Forestry is gobbling up land and does not need the same building structures.
Some new types of building work also no longer require a building consent. This includes single-storey pole sheds and hay barns in rural zones. Farm building consents might be off their highs, but they are not showing the extent of declines we have seen in previous cycles. It is a sign of ongoing investment, albeit at more moderate rates.
Farm building consents are an indicator that deserves a bit more attention than it gets.
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