Farmers Weekly NZ November 25 2019 by AgriHQ

Best trade/specialist publication and website – Voyager Media Awards 2019

Vol 18 No 46, November 25, 2019

farmersweekly.co.nz

Farmgate milk price heading towards $8 $4.00

Incl GST

Prices go crazy Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz

ED meat prices, buoyed by demand for protein, are sailing in uncharted waters with wethers fetching $373 a head at Coalgate on Thursday, Hazlett livestock general manager Ed Marfell says. Despite the season tracking behind in both grass and lamb growth, stock are fetching record prices. “It was a slow start but the way the season is unfolding now it is difficult to say where it might be headed. “The sheep sector is in a strong vein, $9 a kilogram for lamb is exceptional and with grass plentiful now, a high lamb schedule and record mutton prices there’s nothing but optimism in sheep.” Marfell said indications are the high prices will hold to Christmas. The New Year is looking positive too. “There’s confidence in the schedule and just this week there’s contracts come out at minimum $8.10/kg right up to Christmas and including Christmas week. “Even if schedules come back after that the market is still strong.” The Coalgate sale sent strong signals with record highs fetched for mixed age wethers and annual draft ewes. Peter Walsh and Associates

auctioneer Hamish Zuppicich said it was amazing to sell wethers at $373 a head. “It all comes back to demand for protein but it makes for a pretty expensive sausage,” Zuppicich said. “It’s certainly created hype at the sale and I expect set a benchmark for where lamb and mutton could end up this season.” The wethers, bought by regular buyers, are expected to end up in butchers’ shops. They were sold by Richard and Jane Maxwell of Mt Catherine Farm, Cheviot, making it a glorious exit from a lifetime of farming as the couple have sold their farm and are downsizing to a 50 hectare retirement block. Annual draft ewes selling up to $350 a head also set a record high for Coalgate. On-farm lamb sales at Highfields and Glenmark Springs in North Canterbury and Putiki Farm at Port Levy also made the record books last week. “It was always anticipated that it would be a good week and without a doubt it was the best pricing ever with all vendors extremely pleased with the very strong sales,” Marfell said. The top lambs at Michael Northcote’s Highfields sale, Waiau, fetched $195 with the average at $137. Overall 1206 prime lambs were sold at $8.80 to $8.90/kg. About 2000 stores sold around $4.30/kg with many stores bought by northern Southland farmers. Northcote said he lifted breeding ewe numbers this year.

pasture to make hay and silage for supplementary feed for when Whaleback lambs are weaned in January and brought down to Highfields to finish. At Glenmark Springs Ian and Jess Knowles sold 2500 Suftex lambs.

It all comes back to demand for protein but it makes for a pretty expensive sausage. Hamish Zuppicich Peter Walsh and Associates

RECORD HIGH: Auctioneer Ed Marfell of Hazlett Rural takes bids on Dovedale Farm, one of the on farm sales at the Glenmark Drive Lamb Sale, Waipara, North Canterbury. Photo: David Alexander

“This is real ewe-running country but I didn’t think this time last year that prices would be this good. The next two to three years are looking positive too.”

Northcote farms in partnership with his brother Hugh at Whaleback Station. Highfields has irrigation with the focus now on boosting

“It was a great sale, the best yet in our five years here. “We started here during the drought. That was tough but the three years since have been fantastic. “We had plenty of grass but not a lot of sunshine so the lambs were a bit behind where they are usually, a couple of weeks later and couple of kilos lighter.” Still the top price was $183 with a sale average of $129. The sale is usually 50:50 prime and store but this year it was 80:20 store to prime because of the lower weights, Knowles said. “We’re building up our ewe flock each year. There’s still plenty of grass and the season outlook is excellent so we’re pretty happy.”

YOUR BUILDING YOUR WAY INDUSTRIAL | RURAL | LIFESTYLE www.aztechbuildings.co.nz

NEWS

WEATHER OVERVIEW New Zealand has a hotter, drier end to November, for the most part anyway, but December might have an unsettled start. While the West Coast still gets some days of rain, possibly heavy, the region is generally starting to return to more normal rainfall. Over this week the northern half of the West Coast leans more towards normal and even drier than average. The entire North Island leans drier than average as does the upper and eastern side of the South Island. Some places in the North Island and upper or eastern South Island might have no rain for the rest of the month. Southland and Otago get a few showers but also lean drier than normal. It is warmer than normal for many.

NZX PASTURE GROWTH INDEX – Next 15 days

Pasture Growth Index Above normal Near normal Below normal

7-DAY TRENDS

4 Dry year effects are showing up As summer approaches with some regions hundreds of millimetres behind in their year’s cumulative rainfall there’s little chance of a quick recharge.

Newsmaker ��26 New Thinking ��27

Rain The North Island and upper and eastern South Island lean much drier than normal this week with some getting no rain or less than 1mm. Expect some rain on the West Coast, a couple showers for Southland and coastal Otago and a few inland downpours for the central North Island.

Opinion ��28 World ��34-35

ON FARM STORY

Temperature Temperatures are leaning warmer than average for most over the next week with some days 10C above normal. Hottest areas will be inland through both islands and leaning to the east. Coolest will be the West Coast.

Wind Wind flows will vary over the next week and while airflows will generally be coming out of the Tasman Sea and sub-tropics the local wind directions will chop and change a fair bit for some.

Highlights/ Extremes The rest of November leans warmer and drier for most regions but the West Coast is still leaning a little cooler and wetter and that is also brushing Southland at times. Very dry and warm conditions for the upper North Island’s dairy regions.

14-DAY OUTLOOK

This week will see soil moisture levels reducing as rainfall dries up in many places, combined with warmer-than-normal weather. For regions that have had plenty of rain lately this bodes well for a boost in pasture growth. For regions that have had hit-and-miss downpours the drying-out phase will likely see a pasture boost then a reduction. Most regions lean drier and warmer than normal but early December might see a spring-like change return briefly.

SOIL MOISTURE INDEX – 20/11/2019

32 Seeking sustainability at scale Ross and Jo Hay are typical of thousands of young farming couples who work hard and continually search for a chance to grow and get ahead.

REGULARS Real Estate ��36-53 Employment ��54 Classifieds ��54-55 Livestock ��55-59 Markets ��60-64 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of all advertising revenue in Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer to farmer health and well-being initiatives. Thank you for your prompt payment.

Source: WeatherWatch.co.nz

For more weather information go to farmersweekly.co.nz/weather

A real change in real estate. The Property Brokers and Farmlands partnership means great things for provincial real estate* Together our combined strengths complement each other to create bigger networks, more buyers and better results. For more information call 0800 367 5263 or visit pb.co.nz/together

Proud to be together *Farmlands will continue to administer its property management portfolio and its West Coast real estate sites, pending Commerce Commission clearance. Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008

This product is powered by NIWA Data

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Milk price climbs high Hugh Stringleman hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz A FARMGATE milk price of $7.50/kg milksolids with upside potential nearer $8 has been forecast following the latest positive Global Dairy Trade auction results. The market index rose 1.7%, whole milk powder prices rose 2.2%, skim milk powder 3.3% at last week’s sale. That prompted ASB dairy market analyst Nathan Penny to add 50c to his forecast, taking it to $7.50. And the November fixed milk price offer from Fonterra settled at $7.38/kg MS, close to the top end of its forecast range than the $7.05 set for advance payments. International dairy prices have arrived at a new, higher plateau now price volatility has fallen structurally. Milk production growth in key major exporting countries, including New Zealand, is

Overall, dairy auction prices have lifted 8% since early September at a time when the spring flush normally forces prices lower.

HOW MUCH: Market analysts like ASB’s Nathan Penny, whose milk price forecast is now at $7.50, think it might end up closer to $8.

Nathan Penny ASB insufficient to meet growth in global demand. “Overall, dairy auction prices have lifted 8% since early September at a time when the spring flush normally forces prices lower.” Penny also set his opening 2021 season milk price forecast at $7.50 because Fonterra will be able to reap the full benefit of a lower New Zealand dollar exchange

rate in next season’s payout. Along those lines, NZX dairy analyst Robert Gibson said the spot milk price after the latest GDT numbers is $8.07/kg. The spot price indicates what the milk price would be if the November GDT results were achieved across

the full season at current exchange rates. The NZX forecast, six months through the season, is for $7.53, at the top end of the Fonterra forecast range $6.55-$7.55. WMP prices have risen 12% since the start of the season, are

28% higher than November 2018 and are the highest they have been since December 2016. Westpac strategy head Imre Speizer said China took 48% of the GDT offering of 38,000 tonnes and that demand from China has been almost the sole source of growth in markets this year, October milk collections in NZ were 1.5% below October 2018 and it is now apparent milk production growth is non-existent here and elsewhere. October is the largest milk production month, closely followed by November and December, which means there’s little chance of domestic supply rising significantly in the near term given lagged weather impacts. “Global supply remains constrained, with the United States and European Union flat over the past year. “The implication from a supply perspective is that prices should remain firm,” Speizer said.

Former stock agent faces 24 charges Nigel Stirling nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com THE Serious Fraud Office has laid charges against a former highflying livestock agent relating to transactions totalling $2 million. Former Rural Livestock agent John Francis Williams, 38, is facing 17 charges of false accounting, two of obtaining by deception, one of causing loss by deception and four of theft. Williams appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Thursday to plead not guilty to all charges. In a statement an SFO spokesman alleged Williams

deceived his former employer and a number of the firm’s clients in relation to transactions totalling about $2m. Williams was employed by the Christchurch-based firm from 2008 till his employment was terminated in May 2016. Rural Livestock laid a complaint with the SFO about Williams’ conduct in August 2016. The SFO’s investigations had looked like being wrapped up almost two years ago. In December 2017 SFO investigator Matthew Preece emailed former clients of Williams. He said the office had trawled

Our obsession doesn’t sleep in

through financial information, records of livestock movements, Nait and LIC records and the investigations were largely completed. However, it was not till earlier this month that charges were laid against Williams. In the meantime Rural Livestock has had to defend itself from at least two lawsuits taken by former clients of the Balclutha-based former livestock agent. Milton farmer Ross Clark sued the firm for $640,000 in the High Court in relation to livestock deals brokered for him by Williams between 2015 and 2016. In April this year the firm was

ordered to pay Clark $207,000 despite arguing Williams had arranged the deals without the authority of his employer. And in March this year another south Otago farmer, Stephen Brook, sued Rural Livestock in relation to deals done on his behalf by Williams. In her submissions to the court Brook’s lawyer said Williams had been in the top 5% of the firm’s agents by volume of transactions. Rural Livestock is the South Island’s largest privately-owned livestock firm with 6500 farmer clients. Both the SFO investigation

of Williams and the civil cases brought against Rural Livestock have sparked calls for more regulation of livestock agents. In February Federated Farmers said a voluntary code of conduct adopted by the industry last year does not go far enough. Meat and fibre chairman Miles Anderson said the federation would spend the rest of this year investigating alternative regulatory options before presenting them to the Government. In the meantime, Williams has been remanded on bail to reappear in the Dunedin District Court on January 24.

To us, obsession is intimately knowing the local rural communities we serve. It’s sharing our expert advice and knowledge to help your farming business and family’s future. Our obsession is bringing you the most competitive discounts, products and services, all on one card that can be used instore or online, delivered direct to you. Join Ruralco today - we’re obsessed with agriculture.

ruralco.co.nz 0800 787 256

OBSESSED WITH AGRICULTURE

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Dry year effects are showing up Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz AS SUMMER approaches with some regions hundreds of millimetres behind in their year’s cumulative rainfall there’s little chance of a quick recharge. Latest cumulative rainfall figures reveal a yawning gap between what some regions have got so far and what they should have had on average. The two most depleted regions are Northland and Waikato. Northland is 470mm behind, 33% back on its year-to-date average of 1300mm. Waikato is 26% behind, down by 288mm.

The top half of New Zealand has caught some of Australia’s big, dry highs while the rest of the country has caught the winds, which have also had a drying effect. Philip Duncan Weather Watch Farmers Weekly weather forecaster Philip Duncan of Weather Watch said New Zealand has Australia to thank for a drier-than-usual year with little prospect of change between now and early December. The blocking effect of Australia’s drought-inducing high pressure systems extends right across the Tasman. “The top half of NZ has caught some of Australia’s big, dry highs while the rest of the country has caught the winds, which have also had a drying effect. “The coming couple of weeks are looking more like Christmas time-early January weather. We have seen some 30C plus days and are going to see more in coming days with well-below-average rainfall.”

Duncan expects NZ will by and large experience near zero rainfall until early December, except on the South Island’s west coast. “There are some exceptions, like around Southland, Otago and Taranaki, where a shower or two will be possible. The West Coast, however, has about another 300mm of rain to come.” Most farmers have enjoyed relatively benign conditions conducive to good calving, lambing, silage-making and cultivation preparation. The gloomier set-up around Southland has come from cloud spilling around from the West Coast but things might improve for the rest of November with some welcome warmer temperatures. So far intermittent rain through much of the North Island has helped disguise just how far behind rainfall figures are. But the hotter, drier weather to come puts grass growth on a precipice, with soil moisture levels likely to fall quickly from here on. Niwa’s soil moisture deficit to November 20 reveals Wairarapa, southern coastal Hawke’s Bay, central Northland and Hauraki Plains as drier than normal with soil moisture levels at only 30% of capacity. Predictions are much of the North Island and the South Island’s east coast will get just 5-10% of normal rainfall over the next 10 days. Farmers in Northland, Auckland and Hauraki Plains should prepare for what might be a longer dry spell. “Around Bay of Plenty, south Waikato and the Central Plateau there is a better chance of afternoon thunderstorms that could boost rainfall quite quickly by 30-40mm. We are experiencing more of these types of events now than we did in the past at this time of year.” Total Ag Northland farm consultancy services director Aaron Baker said 50mm two weeks ago spurred some good growth for silage-making but the region has had only about two-thirds of its annual rainfall to date.

CRISPY: Conditions are only likely to get drier, not wetter in coming weeks, Phil Duncan says.

“Normally, a year should get about 1200mm so year-to-date we are well behind. No farmer would turn down rain from a cyclone right now. “I would be advising farmers to assess stock and send off any they can now, particularly while the schedule looks good, rather than leave it too late.”

The lower half of the North Island is also becoming crispier by the day. Baker Ag farm consultant Gary Massicks said December is usually Manawatu’s second-wettest month. “Believe me, this year we need it to be. “We have had only enough to

keep things growing because we had 50mm not long ago but before that we were dry and are looking to become dry again. “It’s been brilliant for lambing and for tractor work and making silage but if we do not get an inch a week from here on in we will really struggle. Wairarapa is even drier again.”

American-made Cooper Tires guaranteed to last R emember when washing machines and refrigerators lasted a generation? And tyres used to last for years too? Things used to last back then. Now it seems things are made to wear out. The reason for this is that original tyres ﬁtted to new vehicles are made to the vehicle manufacturer’s price. The result may compromise on the tyres’ performance and life.

Tyre companies making aftermarket tyres exclusively for vehicle owners like you are still providing performance and longer life. Drivers choosing quality American made aftermarket tyres are ﬁnding they are getting a lot more mileage and better value for money than original tyres.

Coopers tyres are only available at selected Cooper Tire dealers.

Cooper Tires – making tyres last since 1920. In 1926, Ira. J. Cooper developed the “cooper Creed” which focused the company on providing “good merchandise, fair play and a square deal”. The vision of Ira. J. Cooper continues at Cooper Tires today.

Guaranteed to last up to 80,000km*

For example, Matt Jones of Exclusive Tyre Distributors explains: “When compared to the original tyres

(Bridgestone AT 693) ﬁtted to the Ford Ranger, the Cooper A/T3 LT has 12.7mm of tread depth – that’s over 50% more than Bridgestone’s 8.1mm tread depth.” That’s why Cooper are the only tyres

Cooper’s A/T3 LT is the perfect tyre for New Zealanders who use their vehicle for work, carrying weight and towing. Durable Tread Technology makes this the no. 1 all-terrain tyre for New Zealand’s harsh high chip and volcanic road surfaces.

in New Zealand with a mileage guarantee in writing that ranges from 50,000 to 80,000km, depending on size and tread pattern.

Freephone 0800 Mileage (645 3243) LK00100013©

Cooper tyres are better value

Comparison of tread depths. Bridgestone AT 693 (8.1mm), Cooper AT 3 LT (12.7mm)

www.cooperstires.co.nz

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Hailstorm hits arable crops hard CANTERBURY cropping farmers face hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses following a vicious hailstorm that pummelled the area last week. Hailstones the size of eggs battered cereal crops, shredded potato plants and ripped pea crops out of the ground. The hardest hit were South Canterbury farmers, some who say they expect to lose up to 80% of their crops, especially in the case of potatoes. United Wheatgrowers chairman Brian Leadley said the storm was extensive. He had peas one month from harvest battered and bruised and ripped out of the ground. A crop of purple milling wheat for New Zealand’s niche baking market is likely to be 20% down in yield in what Leadley expected would have been a 12.5 tonnes to the hectare crop. “The hail has just pummelled it, not just the seed heads but the split leaf is now at high risk of disease too. “It is a niche grain, it’s not a product we need huge volumes of but it will be a hit to NZ milling wheat self-sufficiency and it is a grain with good export potential too.” Since the storm Leadley has been spraying crops to try to prevent further losses from disease.

FLIGHT CONTROL: Terry Kingsbury, left, and Gerard Rushton of Agricultural Services Mid Canterbury prepare to fly a drone with new technology designed to pick up crop damage over a niche market wheat crop at Brian Leadley’s Dromore farm. Photo: Annette Scott

Yield will certainly be affected and collectively across Canterbury losses will be up there in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Brian Leadley United Wheatgrowers “Now, because of the hail damage, we’re spending money to try to save what we have left. “It’s a tough call for farmers but a little more cost. If it fits the programme for fungicide it has a good chance of preventing some disease as a result of crop damage.” Leadley said it is too early to put a figure on the losses. “We are still assessing crops and working out where we are at and what we may be able to save, certainly the peas are a serious issue. “Collectively, across Canterbury losses will be up there in the hundreds of thousands.” As part of his assessment Leadley is having his crops checked out with a drone that uses specialised technology to detect damage right across the crop. “That’s new technology we’re testing to assess crops with the

big areas we grow in one paddock these days and especially with hail that tends to be particularly patchy. “So, really, it will be a few weeks and even into harvest before we know the true dollars of the losses. Yield will certainly be affected and even if it’s 10-15% down, that’s the profit.” Leadley urged all growers to check their wheat carefully because all wheat in NZ is insured at $225 a tonne under the United Wheatgrowers levy order. “It’s production cost but it’s there so I encourage all farmers

Increase Milk Yield and Solids with MidPro ™

Canola Meal

with wheat to check their crops carefully because it is insured.” While claims are rolling in, insurers say it’s early days and it’s expected a lot of claims will be lodged in the next few weeks. FMG national claims manager Emma Town said about 157 claims, mostly from around South Canterbury have been received following the hail storms. Very few claims have been lodged for crop damage yet, with just a handful so far connected with United Wheatgrowers. “We’re mindful that farmers will

108 Canol a Meal

104

Control

100

96 Fat yield

Ask your local feed merchant for MidPro™ Canola Meal 021 288 2119 www.cargill.co.nz

still be assessing damage to their property. “That said, we encourage all clients to lodge any claim with us as quickly as they can as the sooner we receive it the faster we can help people get back on track.” Of the claims to date more than 100 are for damage to motor vehicles with another 39 relating to buildings and contents. Town said the storms are a timely reminder for everyone to check their insurance covers and ensure they have the right protection.

Protein yield

Milk Solids

Massey University Research has shown MidPro™ Canola Meal in the ration increases Milk Solids, Protein Yield and Fat Yield by more than 4% over control

LK0098495©

Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz

RAV-25NOV-FW

Mix and spread to save Endure® slug bait

Check your paddocks before and after sowing. Where needed, Endure can be mixed and spread with fertiliser.

Smarter farming for a better New Zealand®

• Non-toxic to earthworms and slug predators • Save new crops / pastures and on application costs Keep your costs down and growth up. Order an Endure slug bait and fertiliser mix today.

AVAILABLE IN A MINI BAIT FOR DRILLING WITH SEED

0800 100 123 ravensdown.co.nz

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Spreaders squeezed on fertiliser timing Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz OVERSEER’S prescriptive approach to nutrient application and pressure from regional councils on fertiliser timing are putting greater pressure on contractors in the busy spring season, they say. Nitrogen and phosphate application periods are starting to drift closer together with more regional council pressure on timing, Ground-spread Fertiliser Association president John Shultz said. “In Canterbury we have had the regional council advising no phosphate be applied in August when we would traditionally start applying in early July-August. There’s a real reluctance to start until September.” Meantime, those applications start to push into nitrogen applications in dairying regions, in particular, while cropping fertiliser applications are also coming on stream. “Then you add in the pressure that comes from the weather, for example, down in Southland this year where the weather means nothing can happen until it dries out a bit more.” But Shultz said the workings of Overseer also do little to ease pressure on timing and demands. “Down south, in particular, no early nitrogen application will go on. It shows up graphically on Overseer if it is in winter, which is fair enough if the risk of leaching is there. “But Overseer operates on assumptions. “It is calendar driven rather than condition driven and until July 31 it is classed as winter, whereas August 1 is okay, regardless of what conditions are actually like.” Schultz said for some farmers later August tends to be a wetter period than late July but the message through Overseer is that application is less risky in August.

HANG ON: Overseer head Caroline Read cautions about using it as a real-time application tool.

“But, theoretically, Overseer is a very good system. It operates to determine the losses of nutrients out the bottom of the system. There is certainly an awareness there from our clients to do the right thing. No one is saying we wish we could go back to where we were.” Schultz acknowledged phosphate losses have tended to be overshadowed by nitrogen in recent years but for some catchments phosphate-sediment issues are more significant for farmers to manage. “We have lived with nitrogen application changes out of sensitive periods for some time but this year is the first we have noticed it for phosphate. It is not a 100% shift but even a 10% shift out of usual application periods puts pressure on supply and application.” He wants Overseer modified to take more account of actual conditions at application time.

Under the pump?

“No one is saying we want to put more on. It’s just sometimes months like July can be good for application.” Overseer chief executive Caroline Read said it appears the software is being confused as a real-time application measurement tool when it is based on an assessment of a 30year climate profile rather than a dry month. “While there is no actual hard cutoff in the model, the model is set up with regional variations based on Niwa data. So areas where there might be a significant difference in average rainfall between July and August might see larger changes in drainage. “Where users have been informed there is a hard change in modelling between July 31 and August 1 in the year, this is not true, but the modelling reflects the long-term climate for a particular region not the specific climate for a specific year.” Overseer is not designed to advise farmers on the exact timing of fertiliser applications in a specific year. It is designed to describe the impacts of seasonal fertilising for their farm generally. “Overseer should not be relied on for day-to-day decisions on-farm. It should be relied on to assess the impact of different farm management approaches over the long term.” Determining if the conditions are suitable for applications in autumn or winter is best done by assessing timespecific environmental data from the farm. A fertiliser researcher said the model is based on a steady-state basis and a single application of fertiliser should have only a relatively minor effect on nutrient losses over time. “What Overseer has done is make farmers aware of where their losses may be and adjusting application time is one of the things they can do to reduce those.”

HI THERE: Teacher Cheryl Iro pats a cow at the teachers’ day out last week.

Teachers get hands-on day HAWKE’S Bay high school teachers spent the day learning about the food and fibre sector at a teachers’ day out on Thursday. The group visited Glenelg dairy farm, CP Wool and Te Mata Mushrooms. Woodford House food technology teacher Nicola Williams said she wanted to learn about what the primary insustries are doing, particularly with food. “When I teach food I always tell my students there are lots of jobs out there and today has enhanced that.” Williams said marketing the industry the right way will lead to more people

coming into the primary sector. CP Wool’s Hastings store manager Scott Small said the wool industry has lots of opportunities for young people, they just have to want to find them. Young Farmers chief executive Lynda Coppersmith said it is great to give secondary school teachers an accurate perception of what’s really going on the sector. “We want young people to have a clear view from the influencers in their life about what jobs are out there so we’re targeting the teachers who excite and nurture their students.”

When I’m really busy, I ask myself what are the top two tasks I need to work on today? Sam Whitelock Farmstrong Ambassador

For tips and ideas,

visit farmstrong.co.nz

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Co-op’s biggest profit in decade Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz ALLIANCE has recorded its best trading performance in a decade, banking a $20.7 million profit before tax and distribution for the year. Chairman Murray Taggart says the result for the year to September 30 is more typical than the $10m profit for the 2018 year, which included a $2m gain from land sales. Last year’s profit was the best in a decade or so because it reflects the company’s trading performance and gains from multiple areas of the business. “We have done a better job capturing value out of the market and in a whole lot of areas. We are running the business a lot better,” he says. “It is a game of 1% and not a silver bullet.” Taggart says the year was far from easy, especially with a lower lamb kill and having to pay record stock prices but beef margins were higher. The $20.7m profit came from $1.7 billion in turnover. Shareholders will share in the distribution of $9m, which, for the first time, will come with imputation credits made possible following a law change instigated by the co-operative. There was no profit distribution last year. Farmers will this year receive $1.50 a lamb supplied, 50c a ewe, $8 for cattle, $5 for deer and 50c for calves, which will be paid after the annual meeting on December 18. The balance sheet and shareholders’ equity, at 63%, remain strong. Taggart says the result reflects the co-operative’s drive to maximise operational efficiency, capture greater market value and grow its global food service sector. It was also helped by generally strong market prices. “Global market prices for most

SURPRISE: Alliance chairman Murray Taggart expects to make a market announcement soon as the global outlook is good.

It is a game of 1% and not a silver bullet. Murray Taggart Alliance species were generally strong across the board. “The outbreak of African swine fever and the subsequent culling of the Chinese pig herd led to an increase in demand for other proteins such as New Zealand beef.” Chief executive David Surveyor says farmers welcomed initiatives

such as the free store stock facilitation service, which lets lambs be moved to other farms for finishing. To improve farmers’ cashflow Alliance increased to $25/head the advance payment it makes for lamb. During the year the cooperative upgraded its Dannevirke and Smithfield plants and opened a new venison plant at Lorneville. “We continued to lift our beef processing performance with our Levin, Mataura and Pukeuri plants processing record numbers of cattle during the 2018-19 season,” Surveyor said. The co-operative also continued work on its safety performance,

targeting areas of risk and completing a programme to replace and upgrade all bandsaws with new BladeStop technology, which significantly reduces the risk of serious injury. Taggart says the company has also invested in people with 2000 of its staff involved in training and work under way on the company’s culture. Looking ahead Taggart says parts of the global meat market look positive. African swine fever should continue to benefit beef while the Brexit debate looks less disruptive to the lamb trade than it did a few weeks ago. Meat companies in the United

Duncan and Tina MacKintosh Duncan and Tina Mackintosh have a passion for their farm’s environment and are sharing that passion with their community. Wiggy caught up with them to see how they’re taking others along with them on their farming journey.

LK0098092©

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

WATCH NOW farmersweekly.co.nz/farmers-voice

Kingdom are seeking approval to export beef to China and if that extends to lamb it will reduce competition in the UK and European markets. “That will be helpful for NZ and if they find a home in China, we won’t even see it.” Some areas of the country have had excellent lambing but others less so while wet weather in Southland has slowed grass growth and stock performance. Alliance has major capital spending plans for the coming year including a new computer system, continued plant efficiency and Taggart expects to make a market-focused announcement soon.

Together, Creating the Best Soil and Feed on Earth

Together, reducing phosphate loss * by up to 75%

An effective and sustainable phosphate that is better for the environment. *Relative to superphosphate products.

ballance.co.nz | 0800 222 090

News

10 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Green tinge is nothing to fear Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz ON THE surface those at the Manawatu-Whanganui Regional Council table might have more of an environmental bent than in the past but farmers have nothing to fear, new chairwoman Rachel Keedwell says. Keedwell, who replaced former chairman and Marton agricultural contractor Bruce Gordon in the leadership role, says the mix of councillors is probably the most balanced it has been in a long time. “It’s a really good group with a great range of ideas and backgrounds,” she said. Gordon and Ruapehu farmer Weston Kirton are still councillors while returning councillors Allan Benbow from Dannevirke and David Cotton from Whanganui also have strong rural connections through farming and rural business interests. New councillor John Turkington from Marton has a finger on the rural pulse while horticulture now has a grower’s voice at the table through Emma Clarke, a manager and director at Levin’s Woodhaven Gardens. Turkington, a forestry consultant, replaced Feilding

sheep and beef farmer Gordon McKellar. He is joined by new councillors Fiona Gordon, from Palmerston North, and Horowhenua’s Sam Ferguson, both Green-leaning people encouraged to stand by Keedwell, and returning Whanganui councillor Nicola Patrick. Keedwell says her role as council chairwoman is more than full-time but it’s a matter of learning to manage that, which has seen her put to one side a business she ran with her husband. Since taking the role Keedwell, who is in her third term as a councillor representing Palmerston North, has been getting out and about, trying to gauge community feeling as to what direction the council should take. “I’ve been meeting with many different groups to try and hear where people are at.” Rather than forcing an agenda on the region she wants to listen and find out what people want and see how those goals might be achieved. “I’m not for radical change or change for change’s sake. “I’m not into autocratic. I’m not saying this is what I want and this is what we should do.”

INCLUSIVE: New ManawatuWhanganui Regional Council chairwoman Rachel Keedwell has been spending two days a week in the community to gauge its priorities.

It’s an approach Keedwell is also encouraging around the council table. She wants councillors to bring their agendas and views to the table to see if they can be achieved together so they are not fighting to be heard. The farming community will not be lost in those discussions and Keedwell says it should

be proud of what many of its members have already achieved. There are a lot of farmers in the region who are making a variety of changes for the good of the environment, to lessen their footprint on the environment, she says. “We need to hold these people up, to show there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Keedwell, a scientist with an ecology doctorate, is aware she does not have first-hand knowledge of running a farm but doesn’t see that as a problem. “I’m a city dweller so I don’t have enough knowledge in that area so I’m pleased there are farmers around the table. We need people who understand the challenges farmers face.” The council and the region are facing a number of big issues such as the implications of climate change and the importance of fresh water and how to restore its quality. The council will have to be forward-focused to meet those challenges and she wants it to be proactive not reactive. During her first two terms she has consistently pushed for sustainability in council decisionmaking. “Our economy depends on our natural resources, therefore, I continually advocate for wise management to ensure a resilient and prosperous future for our region. “There’s such a range of options available. If we can work out a way forward the community will thank us and have confidence in the future.”

FUNDING YOUR FARM PLANTATIONS

We can help you tailor your indigenous planting so that your One Million Trees Grant covers most – if not all the cost. Contact us today about applying for a One Billion Trees Grant for year 2020 plantings – minimum area 5 hectares.

www.kauriparknurseries.co.nz

PHONE 0800 125 287

PLUS we can show you how including Manuka trees can help add a signiﬁcant income stream !

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

New ECan boss is keen to get to know farmers Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz THERE are challenges ahead but opportunities too for the new fully elected Canterbury Regional Council as it takes up the reins for the next three years, new chairwoman Jenny Hughey says. The council, also known as Environment Canterbury and ECan, has been a transitional council, moving from the era of governmentappointed commissioners in 2010 to the return of a fully democratically elected council. “I feel privileged to be elected to lead council and firmly believe governance of Canterbury is not a matter of town or country. “It’s not a blame game, it’s about everyone living collaboratively and I believe people are up for that. “I don’t think there’s a ruralurban divide or a them and us.” Hughey, a lawyer in human rights and a first-timer on the council is confident her mediation skills will be an attribute she brings to her leadership. She has also worked for the past 11 years as a senior manager with Christchurch City Council and is co-chairwoman of the Community Law Centre of Aotearoa. What does she know about farming? “I am not a farmer but I come from a farming family. I grew up in Cheviot so I have lived in a rural community. “I know about eeling in the rivers, I know a lot about river beds and I have ridden horses over the hills – I live on a 10 hectare lifestyle block with six horses, five sheep and a few chooks.

“I very much love farming and the rural environment and I want farmers to prosper. “I have made my living in a city but I remain very connected to rural life. “I’m a bit divorced from how farms run today so very keen to get back on-farm, meet with farmers and engage.” It will be a case of taking it slowly over the next three years. “Council has done a very solid job and we need to build on that now, not make huge changes. “We have a talented and diverse range of councillors and with a great range of ages who are passionate about democracy.

I’m a bit divorced from how farms run today so very keen to get back on-farm, meet with farmers and engage. Jenny Hughey ECan “We haven’t looked after the land sufficiently and we are all in this together in partnerships with all walks and sectors of the community to try and fix nature and our relationship with it.” Hughey said her drive will be developing a culture in which everyone respects each other. “We have hard work ahead of us to develop a culture where we debate hard and discuss hard, get on and do it together to get solutions and achieve results.

“We will work in partnership with farmers to further develop ecologically sustainable solutions, something farmers are doing a lot of already.” Mixed cropping farmer Peter Scott, representing South Canterbury, was elected deputy chairman and is one of four farmers on the 14-strong council. He was part of the transitional council, on which he also served as deputy chairman. With 10 new members the first challenge for councillors is to get to know each other. “We need to allow everyone space to do their thing and have their voice heard. “I think we have got some big issues that are worrying new councillors who want to fully understand as we get into the work as a council for the next three years. “I am happy with where ECan has got to over the past three years and it is now about getting those plans working without beating up communities.” Scott acknowledged the freshwater reforms are a bit frightening. “But I believe ECan is in a good space on that and what (Environment) Minister (David) Parker is looking for around the country we are already well down the track in Canterbury and with about 100 scientists in the building we are well represented to provide the scientific data he requires.” As for climate change Scott said the council needs firstly to unpack all the stuff so it understands it all and secondly so it can be delivered to communities. “Nitrates are a whole issue and looking at what our plans actually offer and what

HASTE: People expect the council to work harder and faster on plans it has in place now it is a fully elected council, ECan deputy chairman Peter Scott says.

opportunities there are for farmers through extension and research and how we can help farmers is a path we need to pursue. “We need to create understanding on issues we are shining the lights on, emphasising it’s generational change not overnight change. “People will expect council to work harder and faster on the plans we do have in place now we are a fully elected council.” Scott believes the council had to go through the past 10 years to get where it is now. “The next three years will be really important for everybody that we fully understand what we do. “I don’t know that we are there yet but we will get there. It’s early days yet but very positive.” Re-elected Leeston dairy farmer John Sunckell, newly elected Eiffelton mixed cropping farmer Ian Mackenzie and fellow new councillor Claire McKay, a dairy farmer from Oxford, make up the four farmer representatives at the council table.

Stock up. ANDROVAX PLUS EWES = 20% MORE LAMBS Want a quick boost to your lamb production? Androvax® plus improves flock performance, instantly increasing twinning percentages by an average of 20%.

Council calls for further submissions leaching limits to have resource consent applications assessed and for the council to see greater progress towards environmental improvement. The change is focused on existing intensive farming land uses and includes the recalibration of nitrogen leaching limits with the latest version of Overseer so they align with the latest science. It does not mean water quality targets or the approach

used to manage nutrients will change. Council strategy and regulation manager Dr Nic Peet said the further submission process allows people to support or oppose other people’s submissions and to comment on how a submission could affect them. “Submissions should indicate whether they support or oppose all or some of the aspects of the original

submission and include information to support their views.” Submission rules and documents including online forms are on the council website. “People can also view the submissions we’ve received along with a summary of submissions and decisions made,” he says. Submissions must be received by December 3.

Ask your vet about how Androvax plus can help you lift your lambing percentages.

02165 MSD ANDRO 01

THE Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council (Horizons) wants more submissions than those originally made for on its plan to address problems in the One Plan’s nutrient management policy and rules. The proposed change seeks to provide a workable framework for intensive land use – allowing a path for existing farmers and growers in target catchments who have breached nitrogen

AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ACVM No: A9927. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz NZ/ADXP/1117/0003a © 2018 Intervet International B.V. All Rights Reserved.

News

12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

A natural blend of grains firms Tim Fulton timfulton050@gmail.com TWO New Zealand-based, foreignowned seed companies marked a milestone merger in October. PGG Wrightson Seeds chief executive John McKenzie has seen a good number of mergers and acquisitions over 45 years in the grain and seed trade. Some deals went well and good and others were distinctly disappointing. The lastest was a natural blend, he said. The sale of PGG Wrightson’s former grain and seed division has put McKenzie in charge of an Oceania business unit in a global business, DLF Seeds. At a welcoming event for PGG Wrightson Seeds’ new office space at Lincoln, McKenzie said even though the deal was described as a DLF acquisition of PGG Wrightson Seeds, in the NZ market it is really the other way round. PGG Wrightson had 480 staff in NZ and Australia while DLF had just nine in this country. “At the end, what really happened was DLF bought PGW Seeds Holdings, which owns all the PGW seeds group. PGW Seeds NZ basically bought DLF.” DLF was basically a grass seed company with a forage and turf business so it had structured that part of its business into four strategic business units for Oceania (NZ and Australia), South America, North America and Europe. In NZ, PGG Wrightson Seeds had an Ebitda of about $30m. The assets included two forage brands in Agricom and PGG Wrightson Seeds, which have about 60% of the country’s forage

GOOD FIT: The merger between DLF Seeds and PGG Wrightson Seeds Holding was a natural blend, PGG Wrightson Seeds chief executive John McKenzie says.

We would spend around $15-$16m a year on research and development. John McKenzie PGG Wrightson market, 80% of the turf market now that it has DLF and a large grain business. The grain operation has three parts. In the North Island it dries, stores and trades maize grain, a planting and seed business and a South Island grain trading business. The company also exports from NZ to about 40 countries, in commodity trading, seed

multiplication taking germplasm to produce seed on order and selling proprietary products. In Australia, PGG Wrightson Seeds sold forage brands, tropical and cereal seeds. Much of the trade was in annual legumes, alfalfa and lucerne rather than grass and clover, which dominate the NZ export market. The company’s big engine is its research and development capacity, McKenzie said. “We would spend around $15-$16m a year on research and development. And if you look at our proprietary sales, that is in the order of 12% of what our proprietary sales are.” Most of that investment was through the Crown research institute Plant and Food, through its firm, Forage Innovations, which developed brassica varieties

on an annual budget of about $1.3m. “It’s basically a virtual company. It doesn’t have any employees, it’s got a manager who is contracted in through the two shareholders, which are Plant and Food and ourselves. Then it contracts to both organisations, services to produce the varieties.” The partners delineate responsibilities between themselves to ensure they are not duplicating facilities because they want a partnership that’s successful. McKenzie said PGG Wrightson operates the same model with another research institute, AgResearch. The operating company, Grasslands Innovation, 70% owned by PGG Wrightson Seeds Holdings and 30% by Grasslanz Technology, manages

the exclusive breeding for cultivars for PGG Wrightson Seeds. “So, Grasslands Innovation is the equivalent of Forage Innovation.” Grasslands had a budget of about $9m, doing all the grass, clover and herb breeding. “Again, it’s a similar construct (to Forage Innovations). There are no employees that actually work for the company. It’s all contracted in from the participants and again PGG Wrightson Seeds has rights to utilise the products.” The other major partnership is Endophyte Innovations, a partnership rather than a jointventure company. “It does the endophyte work in NZ and we have access to those endophytes.” McKenzie said despite the axing of the original plan for AgResearch and Lincoln University to share space at Lincoln, something is needed at Lincoln to bring together academia, science research and private enterprise. Now the firm is set up in its own admin space, beside Lincoln University and industry organisations like DairyNZ and Plant and Food all those interfaces with a number of organisations became easier. PGG Wrightson Seeds originally planned to run its head office from suburban Christchurch with its research farm at Kimihia, just a couple of blocks from the Lincoln University campus. That idea was harder to realise than imagined. “You wouldn’t believe the rigmarole that you have to go through to be able to build an office for 100 people on farmland. You could just about build an office for the cost of the consents.”

Green farms impress Aussies STARKLY contrasting landscapes really hit home for two rising stars in the rural sector from Australia last week. The joint 2019 winners of the Zanda McDonald Award, Shannon Landmark and Luke Evans, were on a whistle-stop tour of the country. The pair, both from northern Australia, flew into Wellington and travelled to north of Gisborne, Taupo and Wairarapa before completing their week in the South Island with visits to Marlborough, Canterbury and Central Otago farms and agribusinesses. Evans manages a multifarm cattle enterprise in Northern Territory and Landmark is a veterinarian working on a large cattle genomics project across

the northern regions of Australia. Both were amazed at the intensity of farming in New Zealand, particularly the management of forage and stocking rates compared with Australia. After two years of serious drought in his region of Australia, Evans said it was great to see green pasture and hear how farmers here manage it. Landmark peppered her hosts with questions about everything from genetic progress in their herds and flocks to the legacy they hope to create. The Zanda McDonald Award is presented annually by the Platinum Primary Producers group, which includes many large-scale properties, leading farmers and agribusinesses from both sides of the Tasman.

VISITORS: Australian visitors Luke Evans and Shannon Landmark with Whangara B5 manager Richard Scholefield on their tour of his property.

MULTINE B12

Stands up in New Zealand conditions because it’s made for them.

MADE FOR NEW ZEALAND, IN NEW ZEALAND.

MULTINE B12 ®

With boosted convenience of Vitamin B12 ACVM No: A11311. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animalhealth.co.nz Ref 1: Baron Audit Data. June 2019. NZ/MLT/0518/000j © 2019 Intervet International B.V. All Rights Reserved.

In a country like this, things have to be made tough.

increasing productivity and boosting farm income.

So at MSD Animal Health, we make vaccines specifically for New Zealand conditions, ensuring they’re tough enough to work out here.

Multine B12 is New Zealand’s leading 5-in-1 clostridial vaccine, boosted with Vitamin B12 for convenience. It’s made for here, so it works here.

That’s why thousands of kiwi farmers rely on our vaccines and trust them to work, protecting valuable stock,

Ask your animal health advisor for Multine B12.

News

14 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Illegal kiwifruit is growing in China Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz ZESPRI has fired a warning shot at Kiwi growers over illegal SunGold kiwifruit plots in China and plans to crack down on increasing volumes of the illegally grown fruit being detected in the fast growing market. In his latest update to growers, the kiwifruit marketer’s chairman Bruce Cameron said investigations indicate the G3 (SunGold) hybrid fruit is now present in varying ages of maturity in several areas and includes some big growing operations. Zespri grower and alliances officer Dave Courtney said there are Chinese plots in the tens of hectares that total more than 2000ha, with typical areas averaging 10ha. “But if you think about how here in New Zealand the average orchard size is about 3.5ha then this is significant.” Zespri has identified a few larger commercial groups with orchards in place on a bigger scale. The alert comes as a civil

court case continues in the High Court at Auckland for millions in damages against an individual who allegedly sent SunGold G3 plants to China. The area covered by those plants is estimated at 160ha and

But if you think about how here in New Zealand the average orchard size is about 3.5ha, then this is significant. Dave Courtney Zespri they were discovered in 2016. The G3 plants can be grown only under licence and growers this season have paid almost $300,000 a hectare for rights to grow the popular SunGold variety. Because there are no provisions in NZ’s Plant Variety Rights Act for criminal proceedings the case is

being heard as a civil one. Courtney said Zespri is working closely with Chinese authorities to take action on the illegal use of Zespri intellectual property. Authorities there are very receptive to stamping out counterfeit activity but Zespri will be among the first fruit companies to deal with illegally grown fruit with an intellectual property claim over it. Illegally packaged fruit using counterfeit Zespri labelling has been an ongoing issue for the company but fruit grown incountry is a first and Courtney said the company aims to have tools to help identify the provenance of disputed fruit. “We will be able to tell where it is grown and even in what province but plant variety rights breaches in China are a new area.” The discovery made no impact on whether Zespri would or would not go on to grow its own protected and licensed G3 fruit in China. Some initial exploration work has been done but Zespri has not progressed any further.

IS IT OR ISN’T IT: No, it’s not. This kiwifruit on sale in a Chinese shop has been made to look like its from Zespri but it isn’t.

Vote favours levy SUMMERFRUIT growers have voted overwhelmingly to renew their commodity levy. The levy will pay for biosecurity, crop protection, export market access and other industry good activities. The vote was 84% in favour of the levy with 53% of those ellible voting. Levies provide more than two-thirds of Summerfruit NZ’s funding. “This outcome is a strong and welcome endorsement of Summerfruit NZ and the work we have done over the last 25

GROWING: Zespri chairman Bruce Cameron told growers that SunGold hybrid fruit is now growing in several areas in China.

years,” chairman Tim Jones said. “We have worked very hard to create a profitable and sustainable industry for our growers and this outcome shows that they appreciate what we’ve done and what they know we can achieve in the future. “Our voter turnout was higher than we have recorded before and was also higher than most other primary sector groups have achieved over the last couple of years. This reflects the level of engagement we have with our growers.”

TRANSPORTABLE HOMES

Farm Workers Accommodation • Additional Family Dwelling (Great for the Kids or Parents) • Rental Income 25% + Yield • Bed & Breakfast

houseme.co.nz Deluxe One Bedroom (on Skids) with Kitchen, Lounge and Bathroom

59,500 + GST

$ • • • • • • •

10.4m x 3.0m

Double Glazing Fully Insulated Top to bottom Quality Oven, Hobs, Rangehood and Fridge/Freezer TV Outlet and Wall Mounting Bracket Washing Machine Taps and Plumbing Bedroom Storage & Wardrobes FARMERS WEEKLY PROMO: Delivery price based on location FREE STAINLESS STEEL FRIDGE/FREEZER

WORTH $750

100% KIWI OWNED AND BUILT Show homes available to view: HouseMe 10am–4pm at 51-53 Hunua Rd, Papakura, Auckland For more information: P. 0800 468 736 E. info@houseme.co.nz

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Water storage project progresses Colin Williscroft colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz A PLANNED Wairarapa water storage project needs farmer support if it is to proceed to the next stage. A commitment from farmers and industrial water users is critical to release the final portion of Government funding earmarked to investigate and develop the Wakamoekau Community Water Storage Scheme in the hills northwest of Masterton, Wairarapa Water chief executive Robyn Wells says.

The stars are starting to align. Robyn Wells Wairarapa Water Earlier this year the Government said it would invest up to $800,000 through the Provincial Growth Fund in the project, subject to certain terms and conditions being met, because of its potential benefits across the Wairarapa community To release the final $200,000 the community has to show its commitment by contributing $300,000. To meet that farmers and industrial users are being asked for a combined $160,000 to top up the $140,000 already committed by local and regional councils. Wells says it is the first time in nearly 20 years of water storage investigations in Wairarapa that direct beneficiaries are being asked to make a financial contribution. “It has taken a long time to get to this point but in recent months the project has gained significant momentum. Depending on the level of funding achieved, consenting and procurement

MOMENTUM: The stars are starting to align for a water storage scheme near Masterton, Wairarapa Water chief executive Robyn Wells says.

could get under way in the latter half of 2020 with construction starting in 2022. “The stars are starting to align.” It is vital that farmers and industrial water users make their interest known now because it could influence the final design of the scheme, she says. The proposal is for a reservoir rather than a dam. About 2.5km by 1.5km in size, it could hold up to 19 million cubic metres of water and supply about 28m cubic metres a year. Water would be taken from the Waingawa River and Wakamoekau Stream. Where the water will be supplied

will depend on demand, Wells, a former North Otago Irrigation Project chief executive who took up her new role last month, said. Water will be taken as far as possible while at the same time retaining affordability and clusters of farmers joining will influence its final design. A series of meetings with potential water users is being held this month and next. To reach those who might be interested sub catchment or pod group leaders are being identified, who will then call their neighbours to gauge interest. Wells says that approach to spreading the word worked in the

past to ensure credible feedback. Wairarapa Water took over the project from Greater Wellington Regional Council in 2018 and has since concentrated on the Wakamoekau site. The scheme attracted PGF support because it could address urban, environmental, industrial and food and fibre production water demand, driven by climate change pressures and rising environmental standards. Wairarapa comes out at the extreme end of National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research climate change predictions, marked by hotter temperatures, lower rainfall on

the valley floor and increased droughts, where one in 10-year events could become normal. If the project goes ahead water stored in winter and released in summer will improve flows in rivers that have significantly reduced flows in summer. Wells says there has already been some commitment by interested parties as they recognise how it could help future-proof their businesses. “Securing a reliable water source for the future will help address some of the impacts of climate change, create new opportunities for the primary sector and build regional resilience.”

It protects sheep and boosts Vitamin B12. Multine B12: NZ’s leading 5-in-1 with the boosted convenience of Vitamin B12. Multine® is New Zealand’s leading 5-in-1 clostridial vaccine1, protecting against pulpy kidney, tetanus, blackleg and malignant oedema in sheep, cattle and goats. And now it’s even better with the boosted convenience of Vitamin B12. Ask your animal health advisor for Multine B12.

MSD_MB12_02

MADE FOR NEW ZEALAND, IN NEW ZEALAND.

ACVM No A11311. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz. NZ/MLT/0518/0001d. © 2019 Intervet International B.V. All Rights Reserved Ref 1: Baron Audit Data. June 2019.

News

16 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Strong demand shows in plantings Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz STRONG demand for milling wheat is a highlight of the latest Arable Industry Marketing Initiative survey signalling promising signs in the drive for milling wheat self-sufficiency. It is estimated unsold stocks of cereal grain reduced by 44% from July to October. “That’s a good sign that people have been meeting the market and getting product sold,” Federated Farmers grains vice-chairman Brian Leadley, said. Total production of wheat, barley and oats from the 2019 harvest at 799,900 tonnes is up 25,000t on the 2018 harvest. While unsold stocks across the six grain crops are up by 52,700t compared to October last year people shouldn’t read too much into that, Leadley said. “This time last year there was very little left about. “When you look at it on a five to 10-year rolling average stocks still on hand from the 2109 harvest, 108,492t unsold and 227,747t sold and stored on farms, are not that massive. “There’s a bit of concern about the feed barley market, which is a bit flat at the moment. We’d like to see that move a bit.” Overall, the situation is stable. “Prices aren’t bad but not a lot moved. It reflects the mood in agriculture. “Feed grains are being bought when it’s actually needed rather than being bought and stockpiled or bought in preparation.” Milling wheat options have been taken up with the mills responding well to calls from Federated Farmers and others in the industry to put out forward contracts early to send the right signals. “It’s given some confidence to growers,” Leadley said. In October the area already sown and that intended to be sown this season in wheat, barley or oats was estimated to be 5% or 5300ha down on the area harvested in 2018. Over the two-year period feed

CLEARANCE: Brian Leadley says unsold stocks of cereal grain reduced by 44% is a good sign people have been meeting the market and getting product sold. Photo: Annette Scott

barley area is down 18% while feed wheat area is largely unchanged, down just 2%, but milling wheat was up 27% and malting barley up 16%. “When there’s lesser demand for feed grains the lift for milling wheat fits in well. It also has a bigger window for planting. “For good yields of feed wheats they have to be planted early whereas with some of the milling varieties you can get them in a bit later. “That can work with the farming rotation given a lot of arable farmers have a livestock grazing system within their operation and with good returns for red meat, in particular, it supports that later planting possible with milling varieties.” On the whole, the trend is promising for the drive by the

Arable Food Industry Council for New Zealand to be self-sufficient in milling wheat by 2025, Leadley said.

Prices aren’t bad but not a lot moved. It reflects the mood in agriculture. Brian Leadley Federated Farmers Generally, things are ticking over pretty well in the South Island. In Canterbury it is starting to get dry with hot, windy conditions but recent rain has eased irrigation

pressure, which is the same further south. Planting has finished and everything is in the ground and growing. New season crops are reported as looking good. Grain sales have been reasonably slow, particularly into the dairy sector, and while that sector is still buying it remains fairly conservative buying. There’s been a suggestion of the bank squeeze coming off the dairy sector but it is likely that applies to only a handful of properties as there’s been no feedback of that translating to sales. Signals suggest there is still more work to do on highly leveraged farms. Industry feedback says South Island wheat is not yet

competitive with imported product from Australia. With variation in product quality between the two sources it might make it challenging for end users to switch to NZ at this stage, the NZX grains and feed insight reports. In the North Island maize planting is almost finished and while some crops have been slow because of cold weather, earlier plantings appear to be going reasonably well. Cereal crops are also expected to be all but planted, despite the need for some replanting. Though North Island markets remain a little slow excess stocks of barley are low but surplus maize remains a concern because it has to be used before silos are required for wheat or barley over the next couple of months.

YOU’RE NEVER ALONE.

EVEN WHEN THERE’S NO ONE ELSE AROUND. No matter how remote you are, FMG is always here to give you the advice and specialised insurance you need. It’s something we’ve been doing for farmers all over New Zealand for over 110 years. And it’s something we’ll continue to do for many years to come. If that sounds like the kind of insurer you’d like to deal with, ask around about us. Or better still, call us now on 0800 366 466.

We’re here for the good of the country. FMG0982FWFP

News

18 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Think about foodscapes, farmers told Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz CREATING future ethical and sustainable foodscapes influencing health and creating wealth should be the thoughtscape for primary industries production, Lincoln University Professor Pablo Gregorini says. He challenged farmers and industry leaders at Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science forum to think creation of a foodscape with NZ’s productive land. “Production and consumption influence our and our environment’s health. “In itself the foodscape notion captures different agendas on healthier and sustainable food production,” Gregorini, the head of livestock production, agriculture and life sciences at Lincoln University, said. “Foodscape is a conceptual framework that helps us focus on the opportunities to change the existing ways of food production, consumption and commercialisation, creating a new variety of future trajectories by selecting design over default.” Ethical and sustainable

trajectories promote community unity, integral health, food security, socio-ecological sustainability and resilience. Creating foodscapes with productive land use is all about perception. “It is not the landscape, it is an ethical and sustainable foodscape. “Rethink and reflect new and alternative pathways.” Landscape is a specific view of a space of a scenery from a perspective, it’s all about how we react. Foodscape is places and spaces we acquire, prepare, talk about. “Foodscape is used to study public health and food environments, including institutional arrangements, cultural spaces and discourses that mediate with our relationship with food. “Food, people and places – (foodscapes is) more than an assembly of two words.” Food environments are opportunities to obtain food through behaviours, choice, region. “Our relationship with the land and then foodscapes has changed. “We need to embrace complexity – complexity is not

NEW THINKING: Lincoln University agriculture and life sciences expert Professor Pablo Gregorini challenges farmers to think foodscapes with New Zealand’s productive land. Photo: Annette Scott

difficult. We need to juggle a lot of things, sometimes that’s not so easy. “Let’s keep thinking of different, more functional and ethical foodscapes then we create a foodscape with our productive land. “Creating an integration of NZ’s productive food landscapes along the rural-urban transect will create a framework of continuous productive foodscape. “Stop talking about farms and interconnect with multifunctional systems creating integrated, connected sociocultural production systems.” Farming will become more complex but not more

complicated in the transition to more functional and ethical foodscapes. “And that will create opportunity not only for farms but for what we eat and sell. “We need to provide food that enables us to live better and that fits in the way of our community. “The way of thinking underlies the relationship of food and to that end I challenge you, farmers, to think foodscape – the marriage between food and landscapes. “Food environments where you like to go and eat transcend the boundary of thought-scapes and the public perception of food producers. “We need to talk about

Foodscape is a conceptual framework that helps us focus on the opportunities to change the existing ways of food production. Professor Pablo Gregorini Lincoln University foodscapes influencing health to create wealth,” Gregorini said.

Muller Bill sorts out the co-operatives Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz A BILL to make co-operative shareholdings a simpler affair has made for a cross-party trifecta in legislative support through Parliament this month. Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller’s member’s bill to simplify the sometimes complex issue of co-operative wet and dry share rights was passed unanimously. It followed hard on the heels of the End of Life Choice Bill and only two weeks after the Zero Carbon Bill. While not as high profile as its predecessors, Muller said the bill will be welcomed by the rural business community, in particular, where rural suppliers or processors might opt for a cooperative model. The Companies (clarification of dividend rules in companies) Amendment Bill clears up a longstanding doubt about the ability of a company’s constitution to provide for dry shares that don’t carry the usual provisions for voting or dividend payments. “We have had conflicting interpretations of section 36 of the Companies Act that says you can provide differently for these

shares while section 53 says you cannot. A lot of people have thought I was having a go at the Co-operatives Act, which I was not. This was an anomaly in the Companies Act.”

We have had conflicting interpretations, with section 36 of the Companies Act that says you can provide differently for these shares while section 53 says you cannot.

BILLED: National MP Todd Muller’s bill was the third in as many weeks to gain cross-party support.

Todd Muller National MP As an ex-general manager of Zespri Muller said he had experienced first hand the challenges the legislation has posed over the years. “Zespri was required to establish itself under the Companies Act not the Cooperatives Act. But the legislation

was a pain for Zespri. You could not be sure when you put changes through regarding shares if you were going to get someone objecting under that section so Zespri was forced to come up with variations on share types to try and reduce that happening.” Under the change, even if a cooperative chooses to set up under

the Companies Act, as long as its constitution is clear about how dry and wet shares are treated, then it is now free to do so. Co-operative Business New Zealand chief executive Roz Henry said while the bill does not directly benefit Co-operative Business NZ members registered

as co-operative companies it does benefit those operating under the Companies Act but working on similar principles with supplier shareholders. The change removes uncertainty about their ability to pay dividends in relation to levels of trading, in the same way cooperatives operate.

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

No slacking for M bovis effort Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz THERE’S no time to slacken off over the next year if the Mycoplasma bovis programme is to limit the disease, M bovis governance group chairman Kelvan Smith says. The M bovis governance group, made up of Ministry for Primary Industries directorgeneral Ray Smith, DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle, Beef + Lamb chief executive Sam McIvor and independently chaired by Smith, meets monthly to discuss and review the eradication programme. Smith said the group is focused on strategic planning to ensure the programme builds on progress made to date and continues towards eradication. “To date the programme has found 207 infected properties, stopping further spread of the disease and clearing the infection from these properties,” he said. At this month’s meeting the group was joined by DairyNZ farmer elected director Colin Glass, Beef + Lamb chairman Andrew Morrison, its policy and advocacy manager Dave Harrison and independent expert Dr Roger Paskin. The strategy workshop included a briefing by the leaders of Ospri and Kiwi Vine Health, two organisations Smith said provided valuable insights from their experience in large-scale disease eradication programmes. “They share significant learnings and experiences, many of these directly and indirectly valuable lessons for the M bovis programme as we design and build the next stage of the programme – long-term surveillance to provide assurance that eradication has been achieved. “The governance workshop determined that now is not the time to reduce efforts or slacken off – indeed over the next 12 months we need to continue efforts to delimit the disease,” Smith said. Options are being developed so the group can consider risks and

DIFFICULT: Mycoplasma bovis will always be stressful and challenging but the programme works hard to support farmers, M bovis governance group chairman Kelvan Smith says.

Now is not the time to reduce efforts or slacken off. Kelvan Smith M bovis governance group trade-offs and decide which ones are to be worked up. “We are talking about the longterm focus and structure of the programme and how long-term surveillance can be delivered to ensure confidence that the disease is absent. “There are risks and tradeoffs in any approach taken and

it is important that they are considered.” Smith said farmer welfare will not be a trade-off. “Farmer welfare is and will remain of the highest priority of the programme.” The process to develop the plan will take a few months with agreement on the detailed plan expected in May. The plan is about the programme after the end of the phase of finding, containing and controlling the disease. “In particular, long-term surveillance to find any possible tail of infection and ultimately provide assurance that the disease is absent,” he said. The governance group’s views will guide the strategy, shape the

characteristics of the programme’s future and specify the design principles to be followed. “That’s about the design and implementation of the longterm aspects of the programme continuing to be led and overseen by industry.” Smith said the governance group is very aware of the impact M bovis eradication has on farmers involved and is committed to reducing that impact as much as possible. “It will always be a stressful and challenging time and the programme works hard to provide as much support to farmers as possible. “We know that the best thing to minimise the impact on farmers is to get testing completed as soon

as possible so they can get back to farming, free from restrictions. “We also believe that stopping farmers from being affected by ultimately stopping the spread of the disease and eradicating it is in the best welfare interests of all farmers. “The programme is committed to making improvements to benefit the farmer,” Smith said. MPI’s compensation team has made significant progress in reducing the number of aged claims waiting longer than 60 days with the 74 in the system in mid October now reduced to 16. “MPI is aiming to clear all aged claims by Christmas,” Smith said. So far more than $110 million compensation has been paid to farmers.

“Priced for YOUR proﬁt”

Full range of hay and straw supplements 20 Yrs quality service & delivery

Fibre for Animal Health & Proﬁtability

Call Neville 027 500 3554 • BJ 021 051 5149 • Ofﬁce 07 827 0105 • Farm direct unit loads

LK0099281©

“Try us , you’ll like us”

News

20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Vet tech course put on hold Richard Rennie richard.rennie@globalhq.co.nz MASSEY University’s decision to shut down a veterinary degree course might allow one more relevant to the needs of large animal practices seeking technical staff to take its place. The university is closing the three-year veterinary technology degree from next year while it reviews its long-term viability. The degree is advertised on the university’s website as diverse, providing graduates with a variety of transferable skills, including working with veterinary specialists in a vet hospital or with government and private organisations to help maintain and protect the health and welfare of wildlife, exotic, companion and production animals. It is one of only four such courses offered internationally. The university said graduates can perform similar tasks to vets, with the exception of performing surgical procedures, diagnosing and prescribing medication. Veterinary science head Professor Jon Huxley said “The bachelor of veterinary technology is financially unsustainable in its current funding rate and cohort size.” Its graduates are highly valued in New Zealand, partly because of the substantial component of clinical training. Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Society committee member Kate Sommerville suspects the course was too gold-plated for a technician’s role in most rural practices. “Vet techs are very practical, passionate people and the best way for them to gain their skills is on the job with practical experience.” She was surprised by the level of technical teaching the Massey

graduates had been given, often well beyond what is expected of a vet tech in the field. So losing the course will not be devastating for large animal practices. It lets Massey revisit and rework a more relevant, practically focused qualification. “If we could work with Massey where a tech could pick a practice to work and be bonded to and Massey develops a structure for training and a qualification from that. We know big practices are doing their own training but at present there is no way to measure and certify it.”

The Bachelor of Veterinary Technology is financially unsustainable in its current funding rate and cohort size. Professor Jon Huxley Massey University Southland veterinarian Mark Bryan said two of VetSouth’s 30 technicians have the degree. “And they have been outstanding. But you do wonder, with 25 graduates a year, and we only have two out of 30, you have to question where they all end up.” Bryan said he was also concerned the course was too high level with an intense amount of physiology, anatomy and nursing study required for a job that is often not that glamorous. Typically, in a rural practice a veterinary technician will be found doing repetitive, physically demanding tasks like pregnancy scanning, dry-cow

administration and vaccination routines in herds. Most VetSouth technicians come from a farming background or exhibit an affinity for animals and are trained in-house. He also sees something of a gap in veterinary training, with the vet tech degree offering a high level of training at one end and polytech training sometimes variable quality at the other. “To my mind the best training for a vet tech is through an apprenticeship, often the only way you can learn is on the job and also giving them a day a week to study and earn some sort of qualification.” Bryan has long been concerned about the need for a formal qualification for paraprofessionals in the veterinary sector who might be involved in vet tech roles like pregnancy scanning and calf disbudding. One long time veterinarian suspects the vet tech degree risked reflecting what had happened to physiotherapy when it became a four-year degree course. “You found that it became a very academic course with lots of course work when, in reality, what you ended up doing was a lot of the same exercises.” It is also often more appealing for vet clinics to hire a veterinary graduate rather than a vet tech graduate. “The vet graduates just want to get out and get their hands dirty, you can send them out after hours and the pay difference between the two is not that great at that stage.” Huxley said Massey welcomes feedback on the programme while it investigates ways to improve the qualification’s longterm sustainability. “We would strongly encourage vets and stakeholders from the wider industry to provide us with feedback,” he said.

CANNED: Professor Jon Huxley has made a call to shut down the university’s vet tech course.

MERRY FARMING CHRISTMAS!

Farmer at heart, living in town and dreaming of greener pastures? Subscribe to the Farmers Weekly or Dairy Farmer to get your agri fix no matter where you live Email: subs@globalhq.co.nz Ph: 0800 85 25 80

farmersweekly.co.nz/subscribe

Farmers Weekly $4 per issue ($196 incl GST / year) Dairy Farmer $8.95/issue ($98.45 incl GST / year) NB Each issue can take up to five days delivery

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

A2 sales, marginlift boosts shares A2 MILK shares raced higher on news of continued strong revenue growth and operating margins ahead of earlier guidance. In early trading on the NZX the shares sold up to $15, a $2.20 gain after bullish comments at the annual meeting in Auckland on Tuesday. A2 expects revenue for the six months ended December 31 to be in the $780-$800 million range, up from $613m at the same time last year, managing director Jayne Hrdlicka said. The Ebitda trading margin won’t match the 35% of that period but will be in the 31% to 32% range, above the 28% or so expected in late August when the 2019 full year result was released. A2’s second-half margin then was 28.2% so the gains are significant, given the lift in revenues. Margins in the June 30 full-year are expected at about 29% to 30%, Hrdlicka said. The company is achieving good momentum in the core Australia market and the growth markets, China and the United States.

We have a long history of working well in these channels and we will not take our eye off that ball. Jayne Hrdlicka A2 Milk First-half highlights include: • Chinese label infant nutrition sales expected at about $135m, up 84% on previous year. • Cross-border e-commerce sales expected at about $155m, up 54%. • Australia/New Zealand English-label infant nutrition sales about $350m, up 9%. • US sales expected to more than double to $27m. • Australia fresh milk sales expected at $75m, up 12%. Hrdlicka said the higher first-half margins compared to the second-half of this year will be from increased cost of goods, increased marketing and capability spend in the second-half. The fullyear marketing investment is expected to be about $200m. The US result will be excellent. A2 finished the 2019 year with 13,100 stores there and the December 31 figure will be about 2000 stores higher. Major chains Walmart and Safeway have committed to more distribution and products. The key consumer group has been identified and the in-store sales growth rate to these people is at double-digit percentages. The business is seeing major change in the Daigou sales channel in Australia, where personal shoppers buy product from retail stores or directly from A2 for on-sale to China. It has expanded well beyond personal shoppers. “Australian resellers are now more sophisticated, using a combination of web-based selling tools and commission-based selling, tapping into e-commerce networks and other channel pathways into China,’’ Hrdlicka said. The business will continue to improve that engagement. “We have a long history of working well in these channels and we will not take our eye off that ball.” While the reseller channel is performing well it is only a small part of the total market opportunity and A2 needs to ensure it executes effectively across the Chinese Mother and Baby stores and the cross-border channels.

SHOOTING UP: A2 Milk expects to improve Chinese label infant nutrition sales by 84% this year, managing director Jayne Hrdlicka says.

Channels outside what is sourced directly from Australia made up 90% of the total infant nutrition category value and A2 is significantly underdeveloped in most of them. A2 hads relatively low brand awareness but a very loyal consumer following and research shows there is a significant opportunity to accelerate brand scale by step-changing brand awareness, she said.

Consistently Better. Second Bolus administered (week 4) 100 PERCENTAGE OF ANIMALS AT PROTECTIVE LEVEL Measured using Serum Zinc levels

Alan Williams alan.williams@globalhq.co.nz

The Time Capsule

0 WEEKS

Second Bolus administered (week 6)

Other Bolus

1 WEEK

2 WEEKS

3 WEEKS

4 WEEKS

5 WEEKS

6 WEEKS

8 WEEKS

WEEKS AFTER TREATMENT

The Time Capsule® consistently protects* more cattle against facial eczema in your herd. In a 2019 NZ trial approved by an animal ethics

The Time Capsule continued to give consistent

committee, conducted by an independent research

protection for the length of the trial. The other bolus

company, The Time Capsule was tested using serum

was neither fully protective nor consistent, never

zinc levels* in cattle against another facial eczema

reaching 100% of animals protected. So maybe its time

bolus. The Time Capsule protected* 100% of the two

to change to The Time Capsule.

groups of animals one week after treatment. The other Available at your local rural supply store or vet.

bolus only protected 77%.

*Serum Zinc levels are the recognised method for reliably proving effective facial eczema protection levels. Serum Zinc greater than or equal to 18μmuol/L are considered to provide protection against facial eczema. The Time Capsule® is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, Nos A6275, A7600, A7763, A7931, A9006, and A10875.

0800 333 855 nzagritrade.co.nz Agritrade, a trading division of PGG Wrightson Ltd

News

22 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Want a gun ... become an actor Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz A FIFTH of applications from firearms licence holders seeking approval to continue using nowbanned semi-automatic weapons for pest control have been declined but actors can be armed. Police say 183 applications to continue using the firearms for pest control were approved by November 11, 99 are still being processed and 69 have been refused. No applications from firearm collectors, those involved in the theatre or dealers have been declined though some applications are still being considered. Farmers who have previously been allowed to use the nowbanned semi-automatic weapons for pest control say they are being refused because they don’t meet tougher thresholds in the Arms Act, introduced in April after the Christchurch mosque attacks. Police confirmed applications were declined for not meeting the requirements of the new law. “None of these refusals are due to the applicants’ lack of fit and proper status to be a firearms licence holder, simply that their applications did not meet the requirements of the Arms Act, sections 4A (1) and 30B,” police said. Federated Farmers board member Miles Anderson says the legislation does not reflect the realities of on-farm pest control

NO WORD: Federeated Farmers has been pressing the Government to let some farmers own now-banned weapons but hasn’t received a reply, spokesman Miles Anderson says.

nor the limitations of a bolt action weapon when confronted with multiple pest targets. “If you have got 30 or 40 wallabies in a paddock you might get one or two shots away before the rest are gone.” Some farmers are killing 50,000 rabbits a year and need rapidfire firearms while Anderson says poisoning has significant management implications if done too often.

The police data shows 100 firearms collectors have been approved and 347 are pending, 15 have been approved for theatrical reasons with a further 19 pending and 38 firearms dealers have been approved with 47 under consideration. A police spokesperson says the threshold to hold what is known as a P endorsement is high because it allows a firearms licence holder to possess a now-prohibited item.

The Act has a much narrower definition and requires a specific reason for an endorsement to be granted. Endorsements are limited to a person employed or engaged by the Department of Conservation to control wild animals or pests or someone with a concession granted by the Minister of Conservation to do wild animal recovery operations or who is employed by an agency under the Biosecurity Act to control wild animals or pests. An endorsement is also available to someone who runs or is an employee of a pest control business. To qualify an applicant must provide evidence of their pest control business and employment including existing and future contracts and proof it is their primary or significant income source. The Act prescribes pests as wild deer, chamois, tahr, wild pigs, wild goats, wallaby, feral rabbits, feral hares and Canada geese. In its report to Parliament in April the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee said it intentionally recommended a narrow exemption range limited to specialist pest control businesses or those working for DOC. “However, these exemptions would not cover pest control on private land, such as farms or non-conservation Crown land. “We consider that there would be some narrow circumstances

where use of a prohibited firearm was absolutely necessary to carry out pest control on private land or non-conservation Crown land for conservation, environmental or economic reasons.”

None of these refusals are due to the applicants’ lack of fit and proper status to be a firearms licence holder. Police

It recommended a narrow exemption range to allow private landowners to use banned firearms for pest control, which could still enable the removal of most semi-automatic firearms from circulation. Anderson says the federation is still pushing the Government to grant exemptions for farmers who need now-banned weapons for pest control but is yet to receive an answer. He warns that even if granted, it will apply after the December 20 deadline when banned weapons will be illegal and should be surrendered to the police. So weapons should be handed in and if the Government grants an exemption farmers can buy new ones.

Fowl under fire for pollution Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz SOUTHLAND dairy farmers have become more compliant with their resource consent conditions with the rate of significant noncompliance last year falling from 1.9% to 1.8%. In the 2018-19 year council staff inspected 783 dairy effluent discharge consents either on-site or by air and found 634 fully compliant, 139 graded as low risk or moderately non-compliant and 10, or 1.8%, as significantly noncompliant. The previous year 922 sites were inspected, some more than twice, and 17, or 1.9%, were found to be significantly non-compliant. The council’s regulatory committee chairman Neville Cook said the improvement shows farmers are aware of their responsibilities and are doing something about it. Significant non-compliance is when breaches of planning rules and national environmental standards lead to or can create significant environmental consequences. Cook says the council’s

approach to compliance is based on enabling, encouragement, education and enforcement including reminding urban residents about their responsibilities towards stormwater and wastewater discharges. “Our view is that education and support is the best approach to achieve continuous improvement in environmental performance across all sectors but everyone needs to play their part.” The number of high-priority incidents responded to by the council jumped from 462 to 660 last year, with most air-related complaints. Meanwhile, a study looking at faecal pollution in Southland rivers has found the dominant source is wildfowl – geese, swans, gulls and ducks. The study looked at the Aparima, Mataura, Oreti and Waiau rivers, known to have high levels of E coli, and found 80% of faecal pollution is from wildfowl. However, the council’s science manager Dr Elaine Moriarty says the risk to human health from wildfowl E coli is low.

REDIRECT YOUR FIRE: Fish and Game must take responsibility for wildfowl pollution instead of taking shots at farmers, National MP Hamish Walker says.

“The risk of becoming sick after swimming in a river that contains bird pollution is low while the risk of swimming in a river with even a small amount of pollution from human or ruminant sources is very high as the diseases this pollution carries are more readily transmitted to humans.” The study, jointly funded by the council and ESR, found pollution from ruminants in 50% of samples but that increased after rain. Faecal pollution from

ruminants typically contains bacteria such as campylobacter, cryptosporidium and salmonella, which are of concern for human health. Human faecal pollution was also detected at a limited number of sites. National Party’s MP Hamish Walker says the results show while targeting farmers over water pollution, Fish and Game ignored the contribution of wildfowl. “Fish and Game have been irresponsible in painting farmers

as the polluters while neglecting and ignoring other contributing factors. “They need to take some responsibility for the effect wildfowl are having on our waterways and focus on those effects, not continually firing shots at farmers.” The findings from the study will be used to direct the work being done by land care and catchment groups and industry bodies across Southland to reduce the health risk from the contaminants.

02165_MSD_SPV_10/19

Ever wondered why there are so many sheep in New Zealand?

CONTROL THE RISK OF TOXOPLASMA

CONTROL THE RISK OF CAMPYLOBACTER

For nearly 80 years, MSD have been developing sheep vaccines for New Zealand farmers. We have a complete range of vaccines to help you improve flock performance – including vaccines that help protect against losses from Toxoplasma, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and that are proven to increase the number of lambs born to ewes.

MADE FOR NEW ZEALAND. AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ACVM No’s: A004769, A009535, A007886, A009927. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Phone: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz. NZ/SPV/0917/0002 © 2019 Intervet International B.V. All Rights Reserved.

CONTROL THE RISK OF SALMONELLA

CONTROL HOW YOU INCREASE LAMB NUMBERS

They’re all made by us. And we’ve developed them here in New Zealand, for New Zealand. So, if you’ve ever wondered why there are so many sheep in New Zealand, now you know our vaccines are part of the reason. Talk to your vet about MSD sheep performance vaccines.

News

24 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Sustainability award for Stonehenge wool Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz OTAGO sheep and beef farmers Andrew and Francine Hore have been internationally recognised for their environmentally friendly farming. The couple, who are fourth generation farmers on the family’s 18,000 hectare Stonehenge property in Maniototo, took out the Reda Group’s Sustainability Award. The Reda Group, a Biella, Italy, leader in the production of Merino wool fabrics, held its annual conference in Queenstown earlier this month where it crowned the Hore’s Stonehenge Merinos as its second ever sustainability award winner. The accolade is designed to support the most environmentally friendly suppliers, breeders who have truly distinguished themselves by embracing sustainability and transparency on their farms. Stonehenge Merinos was established in 1969 by Andrew Hore’s father Jim and his brother Neville. For many years Stonehenge was widely known for its superfine fleeces but there’s now greater demand for stronger wool of 18-21 microns. Andrew and Francine Hore, while humbled to win, paid tribute to the work put in by Andrew’s parents, Jim and Sue. “We have not long bought the family farm so this award is a lot

due to the work put in by Andrew’s parents to get the style and quality required of the wool to get it into Reda as that is an achievement in itself,” Francine said. The Reda contract is very much year-on-year and dependent on quality, style and colour. “We don’t know each year just what we can come up with as it depends on very high standards and quality and depends a lot

They know our sheep and they know our clip. Every day in the woolshed needs to be on course. It’s definitely dependent on a team game. Francine Hore Farmer on how it’s prepared, too, as to whether it makes the grade. “We are blessed that we have the style and that’s because of the all the good work put in by Jim and Sue over many years. They set it up really and we have to make sure we stay on the game.” That includes not just growing the wool but there’s also a very strong emphasis on clip preparation. “The wool classer, wool hands, the whole shearing team needs to

be in the game too. If someone’s off in the woolshed it’s not good.” Francine said it’s fortunate they can get the same shearing team back each year. “That’s great for us in working toward the quality we need to prepare for the contract. “They know our sheep and they know our clip. Every day in the woolshed needs to be on course. It’s definitely dependent on a team game.” Last year Stonehenge Station had 100 bales, the most ever, accepted into the Reda contract. “This year, just a seasonal thing as much as anything, we didn’t quite make that with vegie matter.” A Reda Group spokesman said the sustainability award was born from a desire to recognise the farms that over time have shown a strong sensitivity towards animal welfare and the ecosystem. The chosen breeders are awarded a cash prize that can be reinvested to support further environmental, social and economic sustainability actions. Among the prerequisites for winning the award are the absence of mulesing, a great attention to the environment, the traceability of raw materials and respect for the high-quality standards that are key to Reda’s production. “With this initiative the Reda Group further confirms its commitment to sustainability taking a new step towards demonstrating the traceability of wool from the origin of

TOP TEAM: Farmer Andrew Hore watches Nathan Stratford shearing at Stonehenge Station.

production while guaranteeing respect for the environment and fair treatment of animals.” During the conference Reda Group directors Fabrizio and Francesco Botto Poala met wool growers to talk about the challenges the market is facing as well as Reda’s vision for the future. They said sustainable

innovation, their passion for excellence and a deeply-rooted Made in Italy tradition are the values that drive Reda in the manufacturing of exceptional quality Merino wool textiles. The Botta Poala family has guided the company in the production of Merino wool textiles since 1919.

Top farm is 100 not out Joanna Grigg tempello@xtra.co.nz FRASER and Shelley Avery, Bonavaree, have taken out top place in the Westpac Bayleys Marlborough Sheep and Beef Farmer of the Year 2019 and a $32,000 prize package. Together with Fraser’s parents Doug and Wendy Avery, the intergenerational farm partnership first made award headlines in 2010, winning South Island Farmer of the Year. Since then the business has grown in scale to 2232 hectares (effective) and six staff but the successful recipe around direct grazing of lucerne has not changed. Doug and Wendy have moved off the farm but maintain an interest and Fraser runs the business while Shelley has started working full-time for St John Ambulance. Bonavaree runs a highly productive, mixed-age flock of 4700 ewes lambing 141% and 1500 head of cows and trading cattle. The judges described the economic farm surplus as very high. Judging was based

on finances, land resource management, animal performance, community and business management/resilience. Fraser said the win was part of a really special year with the Avery family marking 100 years of farming near Lake Grassmere this month and Fraser celebrating his 40th birthday.

I’m really passionate about promoting good farming stories so that is why I entered. We need to sell our stories. Fraser Avery Farmer “We came second in the competition to a better farm business in 2016 but we like to be challenged and I credit the win this year to my family and staff. “I’m really passionate about promoting good farming stories so that is why I entered. We need to sell our stories.”

He was disappointed there were only two entries so will be getting into his mates to enter next time. He thanked the sponsors and said that, as a farmer, it doesn’t go unnoticed. “We try to support those who give.” Second place went to Warwick and Lisa Lissaman, Breach Oak, Seddon. Judges listed some of their strengths as a 50% increase in gross farm income achieved in three years and their land resource management including environmental and biosecurity plans and riparian management. Westpac area agribusiness manager Richard Borrell said that, as one of the judges, it is inspiring and very motivating to hear from cutting-edge farmers. “The intergenerational story at Bonavaree is a really successful one. “They have grown their business using a simple recipe that can be taken up and applied by farm staff beyond that key person. It’s not too complex.” Bayleys Marlborough director Glenn Dick said he likes the way the Averys were entrants

TOP OF THE SOUTH: Fraser and Shelley Avery, Bonavaree, are the 2019 winners of the Westpac Bayleys Marlborough Sheep and Beef Farmer of the Year.

previously and took their learnings and made improvements then had the confidence to enter again and win. “It shows a great attitude.” A public field day to profile the Avery farm business and the competition will be held at Bonavaree next autumn. “Topics are likely to include

governance, management systems, positioning yourself in the right head-space and people management as well as lucerne and livestock systems. “I’m looking forward to it and it won’t be a standard field day. It will be about cultivating a positive head space to see the opportunities.”

News

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Yes, there’s life after farming Retirement and succession planning can be a great source of stress for farming families. Timing, planning and communication are essential for a smooth transition, retired Hawke’s Bay farmer Kevin Mitchell says. KEVIN Mitchell enjoyed a 40-year career as a sheep and beef farmer at Te Pohue in Hawke’s Bay. Born and raised on a steep hill country farm he fondly remembers being brought up in a rural bubble. “As kids we just roamed the hills and loved it. It was our natural environment. We wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else.” After completing boarding school and his agriculture diploma at Massey University Mitchell took over the family farm with his brother. “The 1970s were great years. Prices were good and the climate was reliable. We continued the development of the farm that my father and his brothers had started.” But the 80s weren’t so kind. “Our first serious drought ws 1982 and that was a doozy. “We’d been brought up on reliable summer rainfall and it didn’t rain until mid April. We all had to change our farming methods through the 80s because we had a succession of droughts. “Cyclone Bola made an absolute mess of us in 1988. We got 75cm of rain in three days. It destroyed our infrastructure and we lost 162 hectares of land that either slipped away or was slipped onto. That woke us up to what Mother Nature was trying to tell us about breaking into marginal land. “New Zealand lost 20% of its farmers in the 80s. The times were that tough. “The commitment of my wife Rae during our tough farming times was amazing because without her and thousands of other farming wives a lot of us wouldn’t have stayed on our farms and our children wouldn’t have had the opportunities they got. “In 1986 Rae answered an ad to be prison officer in a male prison, only the second woman to work in a male jail. She continued this work for 24 years, latterly as a

HANDS OFF: When farmers retire they have to let go and let younger family members go for it, retired Hawke’s Bay farmer Kevin Mitchell says.

If you’re farming and want to retire early planning is crucial. Get all your ducks in a row.

unit manager and then a contract consultant. Her work gave us some financial certainty in very uncertain times and enabled us to send our three boys to boarding school and university.” On the farm Mitchell and his brother adapted too, planting blocks of pines and by the 1990s had over 200 hectares in forestry. That combination of farming and forestry proved a winner and saw them through until 2012 when he decided it was time to retire. “We decided to put the farm on the market because we don’t want to be old, crippled farmers. We wanted to have a life after farming. My brother and I were married

to sisters and we’d had five sons and a daughter but none of them want the farm so we put it on the market and sold it to a forestry company in end.” Mitchell says as hard it was leaving the job he loved it was the right decision. “Our deal meant we were able to stay there. So we kept the houses and a few paddocks, which lessened the shock of having to sell the farm.” He stayed involved in farming too. “I started mentoring a young couple up the road. They came from Auckland and had never been farming. The owner of the property they bought recommended me and I just loved it. We got together a plan, started right from the basics teaching them everything from how to hold a shearing handpiece through to stock rotation policy, ways to make money and ways not to make money. “I got a real kick out of it. You don’t realise how much knowledge

you pick up in a 40-year career in farming.” Mitchell says the key to making a smooth transition to life after farming is preparation. “If you’re farming and want to retire early planning is crucial. Get all your ducks in a row, whether it’s family or finance or your next moves or what the market’s doing. “Communication with your family is where it all starts. The earlier you have those conversations, the better. Sometimes farmers are not so good at this. I’d recommend that you get an independent person involved because often they’ve got information and knowledge about other options that they can put on the table. “It also just depersonalises the whole thing because often there might be a family member sitting back there who is working in a different industry but always had a hankering to have a go at farming. They might be the quiet one who never speaks up. But they

will come forward to an outside person.” The other essential ingredient is to have a plan on what comes next. “Selling the farm is one thing but where are you going to go and what are you going to do? You need to plan your next move. “You’re still pretty valuable in a rural community even if you don’t want to work full time. The first year that I sold the farm our neighbour’s head man had a bad accident so we spent the best part of a year working for him. It was a drought year so we jumped on our bikes and took our dogs and helped out.” Mitchell says it is also important for older farmers to let go when younger family members take over. “Micromanaging can be a real issue, that reluctance let the young ones have a go. Because if you kill their enthusiasm they will soon start looking elsewhere. My dad was 50 when he retired, he’d had a crook back. He’d been managing the farm since he was 15 so he was worn out and wanted a rest. I was 22 and my brother was 20. We were as keen as mustard and just went for it. But we were pretty lucky. Dad stepped right back. He still had an overview from a distance but he let us have a go. He realised that if you don’t make your own mistakes, you don’t learn.” Since he retired Mitchell has been active in the Hawke’s Bay Rural Support Trust. “That was another way to stay connected to the industry, which I’ve still got a real passion for,” he says. Now’s he’s getting behind Farmstrong as well. “Farmstrong’s extended the work the trust has done since the 80s to support farmers by getting ahead of the problem and helping farmers to get some balance in their life. That’s vital. “Farming’s hard yakka even when times are good. There’s big hours and big commitments. The stakes are higher now in farming, too. The numbers involved are bigger whichever way you look at it. So, yes, you’ve got to get stuck in and you’ve got to have a passion for it to be successful but make time for yourself, your family and friends, too. Work hard but make sure you make time for a bit of play too. We’re only here once. Enjoy the ride.”

“Give us a ring to chat about our breeding program and Rams on offer. Or better still -– come and view them.” Will Jackson - Piquet Hill Farms, Te Akau

Rams for sale by private treaty January 2019

Romney – Maternal Composite Perendale – Suffolk

LK0099235©

Will Jackson Phone 07 825 4480 william@piquethillfarms.co.nz

Newsmaker

26 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Fonterra watchdog checks itself Fourth-generation Waikato dairy farmer James Barron has been elected to one of the most difficult jobs in the dairy industry, that of chairman of the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council. His approach to the role and priority list were outlined to Hugh Stringleman.

RITICISM and misunderstanding of the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council are widespread and must be addressed in 2020, new chairman James Barron says. A review of the roles and functions of the council will be done but he welcomed the failed attempt by Southland shareholder Tony Paterson to set up an independent review. Paterson wanted a review to look at how the council can be a more effective cornerstone shareholder and whether there is a better model. His resolution to the annual meeting attracted only 44% support from farmers, mainly because the council had already initiated its own review. Barron said the objectives and mechanics of the two review proposals are similar and he is pleased Paterson’s group was concerned enough to get active. “We hear a lot of frustration about the council, most of it stemming from the performance of the company. “Some farmers think the council could and should have prevented Fonterra’s losses over the past two years.” The council-initiated review will be done by a steering group of council, board and

shareholder representatives with an independent chairman. It will develop terms of reference and report back before next year’s annual meeting. Another priority for the council is the capital structure review to follow the strategy reset. The council will be consulted when the board is ready with ideas, Barron said. “In such an important matter the council will be involved and we will be encouraging all shareholders to be involved.” His approach to the difficult role of council chairman will be to be himself, forthright and direct, and he will dedicate all the time and resources needed. He milks 450 cows on 140ha on the Waihou River, south of Matamata, and with wife Holly, a lawyer. They have three children aged 8, 6 and 4. After getting a commerce degree at Canterbury University and overseas travel, where he met Holly in Britain, they took over the dairy farm that has been in the family since 1933. Farm staffing now enables him to take an off-farm industry role and the council is his first, wholehearted venture. A ward 8 councillor since 2016, Barron was elected chairman in a contested election just before the company annual meeting and there was no succession arranged

HEAD ON: James Barron’s approach to the difficullt job of chairing Fonterra Shareholders’ Council will be forthright and direct.

by neighbouring ward 9 councillor Duncan Coull. Barron said his predecessor has very strong values and was an exceptional chairman. “Duncan had unwavering motivation and dedication to this role and left an enduring mark on the co-operative.” In his chairman’s remarks in the FSC annual report Coull said decisions had been made establishing the groundwork for a new way forward for the cooperative. “Unfortunately, the full fruits of that groundwork are yet to materialise into satisfactory financial results but I firmly believe we have started to lay solid foundations to continue building on.”

The annual report noted the significant disconnect between what shareholders and other stakeholders believe the council’s function are or should be and the functions set out in the constitution. “It’s time for shareholders to reconsider what they require in terms of representation, who is best placed to provide it and how.” Under the heading of capital structure and milk payments, the annual report said the council encouraged the board to make a full review of the milk payment and capital structures. Farmers need clearer signals throughout the season on the value of their milk and the capacity adjustment might be giving a distorted message.

We hear a lot of frustration about the council, most of it stemming from the performance of the company. James Barron Fonterra Shareholders’ Council Competing processors are picking off the best suppliers in the most economic dairying heartlands and leaving Fonterra with the fringes and that needs to be addressed.

START AGAIN: Fonterra’s big performance indicators should be refreshed to reflect the new strategy, the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council says.

Council looks to new strategy for success THE FSC annual report said Fonterra’s share of NZ milk fell last year by 1% from 81.8% to 80.8%. That was the only target set by the board under the heading of strategy that was achieved – all other six targets were missed. They included a $7/kg milk price ($6.35 achieved), normalised earnings per share of

25c to 35c (17c), sales volume in consumer and foodservice of 5.7 billion litres of milk equivalent (4.9b) and a return on capital of 7.6% (5.8%). “It is the council’s view that the key performance indicators need refreshing to reflect the new strategy and the measures of success that have been announced. “The statement of intentions

should be transparent to all stakeholders during the financial year it relates to, as opposed to reflection at the end of that year.” The council also updated the key performance measures, a year on from the report it produced with Northington Partners in November 2018. The average total shareholder return (change in share price plus

dividends) since formation was 4.1% reflecting that $1 invested in Fonterra would be worth $2.08 now. Those numbers were 6.3% and $2.84 at the end of 2018 financial year. Return on capital has averaged 5.6%, lower than the assessed benchmark of 6.8%-7.6%. The value-add business has returned 0.6%, less than ingredients, which was

significantly below the 1.3% premium needed to justify the increased risk. “Fonterra has failed to deliver meaningful returns over and above the cost of capital since inception,” the council said. “Milk growth was an impediment but is now largely historical. It is critical this is addressed to ensure continued supply of milk.”

New thinking

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

UNTAPPED: Many areas of the food supply chain could benefit from artificial intelligence technology, AI Forum of executive director Emma Naji says.

Time to widen tech’s scope The potential for artificial intelligence in New Zealand agriculture is not being realised. Colin Williscroft reports.

RTIFICIAL intelligence use in New Zealand agriculture needs to come out from behind the farm gate and include the whole value chain, AI Forum executive director Emma Naji says. “AI is the 21st century’s number eight wire – enabling NZ to achieve a premium position in the global food supply. “How we progress in shaping NZ’s place in the world’s food system will depend on how boldly we step up to the AI horizon.” A new report, AI for Agriculture, shows a need to find ways to use data throughout the food chain, not just on-farm, she said. Agriculture and horticulture play an important role in NZ’s economy with food exports of dairy products, meat, fruit, wine, fish and other seafoods making up about 40% of $80 billion annual exports.

However, the agriculture sector continues to face significant ongoing challenges including climate change, low productivity growth, labour shortages, increasing regulation and environmental sustainability. The report identifies how AI can be used throughout the food supply chain, including yield optimisation, addressing labour shortages, meat alternative research, food quality assurance, isolating disease outbreaks in animals and plants, waste reduction, biosecurity and conversion efficiency. “AI technologies can also be applied to reducing the environmental impact of agriculture in NZ and supporting more sustainable practices,” Naji says. “On the food testing front we are seeing the application of AI help develop new test methods and interpret complex test outputs faster and machine vision used as an alternative test method in some applications. “We are starting to see digital twins of farms and orchards emerge, which simulate operating and business models to allow smarter, no-risk cause and effect modelling.”

A research project supported by Callaghan Innovation uses machine vision AI for animal identification – applying facial recognition for sheep to reduce the cost of tagging and improve animal tracking. AI in NZ agriculture is disproportionally focused behind the farm gate with on-farm activity focused on sensors, precision farm data with smarter alerts, robotics and decision support, the report said. That needs to change and AI should be incorporated into supply chains to manage risk, provide transparency to consumers and maximise outputs through effective use of inputs. Complete supply chain data will provide opportunities to deliver traceability from farm to consumer and the ability to give consumers information on what has happened to the apple, including how many times it was sprayed, how old it is and its transport history. AI development is being hampered by a lack of investment with many prototypes not being validated or commercialised because of the time and cost involved. While there have been some

exemplar deals in recent years the reality is the capital gap between seed and venture remains a meaningful roadblock. NZ’s agritech start-ups are still developing products for behind the farm gate with marginal points of differentiation and narrow uses in an attempt to take a small slice of a small pie, which has led to competitive pressures. It says anecdotally, domestic start-ups are failing fast and farmers are losing confidence and trust in new companies with respect to investing time and money into the new technology. Another problem is that to be truly successful with AI in agriculture big data sets are needed, which require partnerships and collaboration across sectors. Unfortunately, that is being hampered by problems with data sharing and precompetitive advantage. Internationally, big companies are moving fast and setting a target NZ might struggle to catch if starting from scratch. The report gives the example of John Deere and Monsanto, now part of Bayer, which have been collecting data over the last three years and are believed to have multi-million hectares recorded

on yield maps, including data on harvest, planting and spraying. The implication is that collaboration on a national and international scale is becoming increasingly important for NZ agriculture if it is to capitalise on the benefits of AI. In addition, the ability to collaborate within sectors, across adjacent industries, with universities and Crown research institutes and with international researchers and companies will become increasingly important and will help spread the technology risk with early research and development as well as prevent duplication of effort. AsureQuality chief digital officer Darren Wilson says with the accelerating rate and scale of data production it is only through using emerging AI capabilities to collect, collate, curate and crunch the datasets that we can stay ahead of our competition and meet society’s challenges head on. “As a country we need to leverage our knowhow in food production while meeting the challenges of supplying food in an increasingly discriminating world. “The good news is that we are starting to see the building blocks emerge.”

December 201

KEEP AN EYE OUT

Door-to-door mi lk deliveries Employing migra nts a good choice Innovating farme rs

The latest Dairy Farmer will hit letterboxes on December 2

Fighting fit on the farm

Our OnFarmStory this month features Manawatu farmer Mark Olsen who talks about combining exercise and sport with farming.

Exercise and far ming for a Manawatugo hand in hand farmer

Get the full story at farmersweekly.co.nz

2460DF-12x7

Business health and wellbeing It is a good time of the year for a business health check. We look at some options to create extra income as well as taking a look at how to keep fit and healthy in the new year.

Business Health and Wellbeing

Opinion

28 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

EDITORIAL

Gun policy removed from farmer reality

EGIONAL New Zealand has once again been abandoned by policymakers. They can add the Arms Legislation Bill to recent laws that show a disconnect and complete disregard of their needs, a list that includes lowering the threshold foreign forestry companies must meet to buy land, the Zero Carbon Bill and freshwater reforms. A last-minute compromise in the Zero Carbon Bill removed at least some of its most oppressive elements but the obscene haste with which freshwater reforms have been introduced has created uncertainty and fear. The latest example of this haste-at-allcosts policymaking is the Arms Legislation Bill, the Government’s response to the abhorrent attacks on two Christchurch Mosques. Well intentioned, the Government has acted with unprecedented haste to introduce policies that clamp down on firearms licensing and semi-automatic weapons. That includes establishing a firearms register, which, combined with the ban on semi-automatics, not only removes a legitimate pest control tool for farmers but creates a new suite of regulation recording the transporting of firearms. As we report this week all applications so far for endorsements to possess these now banned firearms from dealers, collectors or those working in the theatre have been approved. Pest control is the only sector where endorsements have been declined with a fifth rejected by November 11. Most of those rejected are farmers captured by the legislation’s narrow focus, which recognises those culling wild animals for the Department of Conservation or someone working for a pest control business but not farmers. The law fails to recognise the role farmers have controlling pests or the scale of pest infestation on some properties that requires a semi-automatic firearm. Anyone who has seen the environmental degradation of a pest plague be they rabbits, geese, pigs, wallabies or deer will appreciate the need for rapid-fire weapons. But once again Wellington’s bureaucrats seem immune to these realities and in doing so are once again alienating many in rural NZ, eroding faith in the process and credibility in the policies.

Neal Wallace

LETTERS

Basic bank services essential THE recent announcement of a trial of rural banking hubs is welcome, albiet belated, recognition branch closures do have an impact on rural areas, even for those who rarely use branch services. Electronic banking has reduced the need for physical banking but while of great benefit for many rural people it is not 100% accessible, trouble-free nor suits everyone’s requirements. Physical branches are still vital in sorting out minor banking issues or matters that can’t be easily dealt with by other means. Branch closures do have far-reaching consequences for rural communities. It disenfranchises them, makes them less desirable places to live and work and makes it harder to attract new business or industry. It can be costly and time-consuming when one has to visit a branch

when it can be anything from a 60-minute to a four-hour return trip. It’s a realy pity the combined effects of neoliberal ideology on what was historically seen as a public service and mismanagament at the top have seen New Zealand Post recently all but complete a long-running process to rid itself of the last of its company outlets. Had the traditional post office network stayed largely intact and NZ Post been required to operate outlets itself in all towns with a population of say 1000 or more as a community service, the solution for providing banking services for smaller areas lay right under their noses. Post offices in NZ historically have undertaken banking functions with the post office savings bank and latterly Kiwibank until its recent move to standalone branches so it

would be no skin off their back to provide basic, over-thecounter banking servides in places where the major banks have pulled stumps. Indeed, in Australia, where traditional post offices still exist in many small rural towns, most of the major banks provide basic banking services there. Given that rural areas on both sides of the Tasman have similar dynamics this would have definitely worked in rural NZ. This concept seems far superior to the glorified ATM planned for the pilot trial. Smart ATMs are neither well liked nor suited to more complex transactions and don’t always work properly. It is said that to make progress sometimes you have to go backwards to move forwards. Why not then go back to the future and get the Government, major banks and NZ Post to bang their

heads together and provide combined postal and banking hubs in these smaller centres? Many former post office buildings could be required for this purpose and in the process restore a modicum of dignity back to the many centres that have suffered from the loss of many servicdes once taken for granted over the past three decades. Rob Arnold Matamata

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

Letterof theWeek EDITOR Bryan Gibson 06 323 1519 bryan.gibson@globalhq.co.nz EDITORIAL Stephen Bell 06 323 0769 editorial@globalhq.co.nz Neal Wallace 03 474 9240 neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz Colin Williscroft 06 323 1561 colin.williscroft@globalhq.co.nz Annette Scott 03 308 4001 annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz Hugh Stringleman 09 432 8594 hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz Alan Williams 03 359 3511 alan.williams@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 Steve McLaren 027 205 1456 Auckland/Northland advertising 09 375 9864 steve.mclaren@globalhq.co.nz Jody Anderson 027 474 6094 Waikato/Bay of Plenty advertising jody.anderson@globalhq.co.nz Donna Hirst 06 323 0739 Lower North Island/international advertising donna.hirst@globalhq.co.nz Sophie Hurley South Island advertising sophie.hurley@globalhq.co.nz Shirley Howard Real Estate advertising shirley.howard@globalhq.co.nz Hannah Gudsell Livestock advertising livestock@globalhq.co.nz

021 605 795 06 323 0760 027 474 6004 06 323 0761 027 602 4925

Debbie Brown 06 323 0765 Classifieds/Employment advertising classifieds@globalhq.co.nz Andrea Mansfield 027 446 6002 Salesforce director andrea.mansfield@globalhq.co.nz Steph Holloway 06 323 0142 AgriHQ Commercial Leader steph.holloway@globalhq.co.nz PRODUCTION Lana Kieselbach 06 323 0735 Production Manager 027 739 4295 production@globalhq.co.nz Advertising material adcopy@globalhq.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS

0800 85 25 80

ISSN 2463-6002 (Print) ISSN 2463-6010 (Online) Circulation: Delivered free to 78,632 farmers from Monday (Current audited circulation figure)

Best letter each week wins a quality Victorinox Hiker knife

So go on! Stick the knife in WRITE TO The Editor, Farmers Weekly P.O. Box 529, Feilding EMAIL farmers.weekly@globalhq.co.nz • FAX 06 323 7101

LK0096006©

Farmers Weekly is published by GlobalHQ, PO Box 529, Feilding 4740. New Zealand Phone: 0800 85 25 80 Fax: 06 323 7101 Website: www.farmersweekly.co.nz

Opinion

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Farmers support everyone every day

FORTHRIGHT: Farmer Sully Alsop told politicians what he thinks of them when he spoke to the crowd at the 50 Shades of Green march on Parliament. Photo: Mark Coote

Wairarapa farmer Sully Alsop expressed his concerns about foreign land ownership and a lack of consultation with farmers when he addressed the 50 Shades of Green protest at Parliament.

T TOOK me about a minute to get up here to speak to you today. And something amazing happened in that one minute. Something truly remarkable that happens every minute of every hour of every day in New Zealand. Something that you are all a part of. In that one obscure minute NZ exported another 5.5 tonnes of pastoral agricultural product generating more than $100,000 for NZ. The average income in NZ is $52,000, so, in less than a minute, the pastoral sector generated the annual household income for one family. The rural sector you all work so hard in just paid for a school teacher, a police officer, a nurse or maybe about a quarter of a politician’s salary. Maybe that minute made it possible for one of those non-farming households to take their family on a holiday or get their children a better education. And that is the message we all bring to Parliament today. This isn’t just about rural communities or urban centres. This is about all of NZ and protecting the way of life we all enjoy, the way of life the pastoral sector contributes to so significantly for all, every minute. And that pastoral sector that is so much the fabric of much of our country’s identity is confronted with unprecedented change and challenges. We are not here to push back against change, we are not laggards and do not have our heads buried in the sand. Quite the opposite. Much of the change being proposed is not actually change at all but a continuation of the good work done by our sector over the past decades – well before water quality and climate change became daily talking points. We should all be proud of the more than 50,000km of waterway fencing already undertaken. We should be proud that more than a quarter of the nation’s native bush is on our land that we protect and enhance. Our rural communities are proactive problem solvers. I am personally very proud of what has been achieved in my neck of the woods, Wairarapa. A

cyclone in the 70s caused huge damage on the delicate hill country. Soon after poplar and willow planting trials were done and since then millions of trees have been planted for erosion control. This was not legislated, it was not compulsory, it was just motivation of farmers and some education from regional land managers. That’s right Shane Jones, if you’re still trying to work out how to plant half a billion trees, you don’t need to be up all night researching on your laptop in a hotel room, you just need to pop over the hill and ask the farmers and land managers in Wairarapa. We are not here to push back against change, we are here to make sure that change is done right. And what you have proposed in the Healthy Waterways legislation is not right.

To be blunt, it is a lazy, unimaginative, piece of legislation that at best will be clunky, inefficient, ineffective, and demotivating. To be blunt, it is a lazy, unimaginative, piece of legislation that at best will be clunky, inefficient, ineffective and demotivating. New Zealanders, all New Zealanders deserve better. We are not here to push back against intended outcomes of this legislation but we are here to push back strongly against how you have proposed to achieve those outcomes. The Healthy Waterways legislation gives a broad-brush, one-size-fits-all attempt at dictating terms on a national level. Landowners were never consulted as to the relevance and practicalities of this plan. That is either arrogant or lazy and NZ deserves better. How can one document cover all the different soil types, topography and climates in this diverse country. The issues on Canterbury’s stony plains will be different to the high country, which will be different to the peaty

soils of Waikato, to the beaches of Auckland, to the dry hills of the east coast. If this Government really wanted to show leadership it would have taken the time to clearly define the issues and work with all stakeholders to come up with a practical solution that would work on the ground, rather than cave to public perception. This lack of consultation showed in the 17,500 submissions highlighting the weaknesses of the legislation. Why the pastoral sector was not consulted is beyond me. What you are proposing will have massive impacts on our businesses, our families, our communities and, in turn, the rest of NZ – the teachers, the nurses, the police officers agriculture supports every minute. It would be nice to think we were at the table and not simply on the menu. The lack of research was evident by ideas such as grandparenting land use change and audited farm plans being included. They have proved to be unfair and ineffective tools in regional plans throughout the country. The fact they showed up again in the Healthy Waterways legislation shows the lack of imagination and research. It was lazy and all NZers deserved better. So, I challenge our leaders. Instead of clunky, one-size-fitsall legislation give us the space and flexibility to come up with our own solutions tailor-made to our individual land and water quality issues. Instead of auditors and box tickers we will pay for either directly or indirectly, pour money into science. Our universities, Massey and Lincoln, so vital to the production gains made over the last 40 years can again be vital in this next stage of pastoral agriculture that is less about production and more

about maximising the value of that product. Give us fewer box tickers and more research and development. Instead of box tickers give us support and expert advice. We will come up with great solutions that even the universities cannot if you give us support, confidence and education where we need it. Instead of audits give us flexibility to come up with our own solutions. Instead of being stick wavers, be our partners. All New Zealanders, the nurses and policemen and teachers, rely on our success. I’m not scared of this change because it is not really change but a continuation of the good work we already do. I’m not scared of this change because our sector has been challenged before and we rose to that challenge and adapted. But we cannot do it without pastoral land. We have to stop the sale of productive land into foreign ownership. We cannot meet the challenges ahead and continue to provide all New Zealanders with the NZ we currently enjoy without pastoral land. We have to stop prostituting NZ out as the dumping ground for the world’s carbon addiction. Our rural communities matter. Our schools matter. And not just for our rural communities but for all those non-rural households our exports support every minute. These international owners don’t care about NZ’s future, they don’t care about our communities. They are simply here to dump their carbon rubbish and move on, leaving our grandchildren to wonder what happened. What happened to the NZ we, their grandparents talked about, what happened to all those nurses,

The

Pulpit

teachers, police officers that are no longer supported. I know this was never the intention of this legislation but by signing off on the first 30-year bandaid of an idea that springs to mind is short sighted, lazy, and again NZ deserves better. Show true leadership. Look for longterm solutions, don’t just settle for the best idea of a bad bunch. NZ relies on you doing so. To you all thank you and feel proud about what you do in every unremarkable minute of the day and the impact it has on this country.

Who am I? Sully Alsop is a Wairarapa sheep and beef farmer. He has worked as a farm consultant and director for Baker Ag and is a former winner of the sheep and beef consultant of the year title and was runner-up in the Young Farmers Contest in 2015.

Your View Got a view on some aspect of farming you would like to get across? The Pulpit offers readers the chance to have their say. farmers.weekly@globalhq.co.nz Phone 06 323 1519

Opinion

30 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Foresters need to get off carbon gravy train Alternative View

Alan Emerson

LET me start by saying I’m not anti-forestry. I’ve planted and harvested a forest and since planted more. I’m also a firm believer in the right tree in the right place. I’m not a fan of blanket planting good farmland with pines. Most of my colleagues share my view and many marched on Parliament on November 14. The forestry sector obviously considered that march and the group 50 Shades of Green as a threat they should counter. Their arrogance has been eye-watering. Before the march the Forest Owners Association, surprisingly the Farm Forestry Association and the Lake Taupo Forest Trust issued a media statement, which I found inaccurate. They started by telling me the march deliberately created confusion about the true nature

and recent scope of forestry expansion. How, they didn’t say though Farm Forestry Association president Hamish Levak did say 50 Shades of Green’s demands on the Government to restrict forest planting wouldn’t be supported by many farmers he knew. Two points from that. The first is to wonder how many farmers the association actually surveyed to establish the point. The second is 50 Shades of Green isn’t trying to restrict planting but wants the right tree in the right place and not on good, productive, flat land. The rhetoric is then stepped up by Levak who told me if farmers want to plant their whole farms that is fine and shouldn’t be stopped by some misinformed fringes of the farming community. I suggest he takes a deep breath and has a glass of water. To suggest the 1200 on the march were some misinformed fringe is somewhat arrogant, I’d have thought. Mind you, that paled into insignificance with his accusation 50 Shades are climate deniers. They’re not. He then said he couldn’t understand what 50 Shades

J’ACCUSE: Foresters suggesting the 1200 farmers who marched on Parliament are a misinformed fringe is arrogant.

has against the Billion Trees programme. He really should have done some basic fact checking. They’re not against programme. In fact they welcomed it. Moving into top gear Levak gets even more eloquent. “It is also ironic that some of the leaders of 50 Shades of Green identify with the wool industry, yet then criticise logs because timber can’t be eaten.” I think all sheep and beef farmers identify with the wool industry. Levak then goes on about timber being worth more in exports than wool is. “Timber exports are worth ten times the total value of the wool industry to New Zealand,” he proudly told us. Maybe he’d like to compare the wood industry with dairy and meat. I’d politely suggest wool has largely become a by-product of the meat industry, a bit like slash is to forestry. An advantage of wool is it doesn’t make the mess slash does, as I’m sure the good people of Tolaga Bay would agree. Looking at export value, as Levak brought the subject up, is interesting.

The latest export figures from Statistics NZ are for September when the value of exports increased over September 2018 by $216 million to $4.5 billion. The value of dairy and meat increased while forestry decreased. Dairy increased by $200m and meat by $100m while logs, wood and wood articles decreased by over $60m. What that means is that if NZ had planted the countryside in trees we’d be well and truly stuffed. Forest owners president Peter Weir then accused one of my favourite magazines of being misinformed and misinforming by claiming billions of dollars will flow into NZ farms from overseas to convert them to carbon farming. He says the Overseas Investment Office requires investors to harvest. The reality is it can’t make them. The investors can just spray and walk away. What can the OIO possibly do when that happens. My point is that forestry, planting trees and harvesting wood, can be a profitable pursuit, sometimes it isn’t. Planting trees for carbon

is highly profitable and government-guaranteed. At Parliament Pahiatua farmer Lincoln Grant made the point his 600-hectare sheep and beef farm, if blanket planted in pines, would give an annual return of $400,000 for doing nothing. A 400 hectare farm down the road was blanket planted by imported workers. Despite forestry advertisements claiming to employ more labour than traditional farming that will be the only labour that farm employs – ever. That means forestry is on a carbon farming gravy train and they’re keen for that to continue. I would humbly and respectfully suggest, however, they have a rethink from their position of giving the fingers to anyone who doesn’t agree with them. They might even like to bring some science and fact into their arguments. That would be a radical move wouldn’t it.

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

Farmer offers field trip to fend off redundancy From the Ridge

Steve Wyn-Harris

CHLOE Swarbrick (CS): Steve, I see you are due to be retrained. From The Ridge (FTR): I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that, I thought you said I was to be retrained. CS: Yes, that’s what I said. You are next on the list. It’s your turn. FTR: I’m sorry, I think we are at cross purposes here. Have you got the right person? I don’t need to be retrained. I’ve already got a job. CS: I’ll just check my list. Steve Wyn-Harris? FTR: Yes, that’s me. But I’m not looking for another job. I’m a farmer. CS: That’s why you are on the list for retraining. We love our farmers, which is why we want to

retrain you for a new career when farming becomes redundant. Recently, I spoke to Lincoln students and suggested this is what we need to do. FTR: Who says its going to be redundant? CS: I do and some of my colleagues in the Green Party. We must remove ruminants from the landscape, stop eating meat and start growing crops and vegetables instead. So, you and your colleagues are going to need to learn new skills. FTR: Have you been spending time with James Cameron? I see he’s banging on again about stopping eating meat to save the world. Doesn’t seem to worry himself about jetting about all over the place, running several houses and using ruminants on his properties to control the feed and eat crop residues. As it happens, I’ve just had a quick look at your own expenditure on air travel. Between April 1 and June 30 you managed to spend $9093 just for that quarter. That’s more than I’ve spent on air travel in 30 years. The previous quarter

you spent $12,000 and $9000 the quarter before that and $7000 before that making it $37,000 for the year. Oh, and some $13,000 on car travel during that year. That’s a large amount of emissions. Doesn’t that strike you as a little hypocritical?

We love our farmers, which is why we want to retrain you for a new career when farming becomes redundant.

CS: It’s a necessary part of my job. I must meet my constituents. FTR: Chloe, you are a list MP, you don’t have any constituents. And a necessary part of my job is to grow food to feed people. That’s why I have ruminants. CS: But Steve, don’t you see that if you got rid of the sheep and cattle off your land you could feed far more people with a plant-

based diet and you wouldn’t be destroying the planet with all that methane? FTR: Lady, I don’t know what planet you are on but on my farm and most other sheep and beef farms the soils, topography and climate mean we have only two choices – ruminants or pine trees. We can’t crop them. I struggle to grow a decent brassica half the time. CS: Well plant trees then. That would soak up lots of carbon. FTR: I’ve already personally planted 60,000 trees on my 360ha farm and recently got a gang in to plant another 15,000. How many trees have you planted out of interest? CS: I planted six natives in our back yard last year to offset my emissions. We seem to have got off track here. We are here to talk about your retraining options. You can learn to be a barista if you like. FTR: Haven’t we got enough baristas? There’s one on every corner here in Waipukurau. I imagine it’s the same everywhere else.

CS: Alright then, how about learning to grow plants for human consumption? FTR: I already do. We call it grass and we repackage it into convenient packs of protein called chops, burgers and steaks. CS: Steve, I don’t think you are taking our offer of retraining seriously. We want to help you transition from the current economic model to something more suited to one that leads to a sustainable future. FTR: I’ll tell you what Chloe, bring Golriz, Marama, James, Jan and the others to my place and we will have a drive around and a chat and see if we can find some common ground. You don’t think I’ve grasped the challenges ahead of all of us and I don’t think you have a pragmatic view on what is really happening in the real world. It’s a genuine offer. Deal? CS: Deal. See you soon.

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 – November 25, 2019

Unique model for local red meat Meaty Matters

Allan Barber

BEEF + Lamb New Zealand Inc is the domestic organisation responsible for promoting beef and lamb in NZ and is further distinguished from its near namesake by its unique funding model. Its activities are jointly and voluntarily funded by Beef + Lamb NZ Ltd, local retailers and meat processors. That makes it the only organisation of its kind in the world funded voluntarily rather than by government or industry mandate. B+LNZ Inc started out in the 1980s as the Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau, which was funded exclusively by retailers though by the mid 1990s that arrangement was in danger of collapsing. Rod Slater, previously one of the key people behind the Mad Butcher, took over running the organisation and succeeded in convincing the then Meat Board and Meat Industry Association processor members to take over financial responsibility. By 1998, in a major advance, the Quality Mark had been established as the symbol to guarantee eating quality of all NZ beef and lamb sold in restaurants and retail stores. Within a few years retailers accepted the importance of supporting an organisation that provided consumers with the Quality Mark assurance of quality. The three-way voluntary funding model was born. Now, some 15 years later, B+LNZ Inc is firmly established as the vehicle for domestic advertising and promotion, publicity, competitions, recipes and

nutritional advice. The Beef + Lamb ambassadors, Steak of Origin, Glammies, excellence awards and ambassador chefs programme all contribute to a very high and positive awareness for red meat in NZ. While the largest proportion of beef and lamb, about 80% and over 90% respectively, is exported, the domestic market is still very important, both because of the volume sold to New Zealanders and the demonstration of excellent eating quality to locals as well as overseas visitors. To read or listen to the media one gets the impression red meat consumption, locally and globally, is in serious decline, under attack from veganism, alternative proteins and concerns about environmental and sustainability issues as well as the impact of high export prices, which are automatically reflected in the domestic price. B+LNZ Inc’s general managermarketing Kit Arkwright says it is hard to get accurate information about domestic meat consumption and agrees it has declined over the last 10 years but still appears to be well within Ministry of Health guidelines for a balanced and healthy diet. There is no indication of a catastrophic fall as a consequence of a radical change to vegetarian alternatives but high prices undoubtedly affect the volume consumers can afford. Arkwright agrees there is a well co-ordinated campaign to shift people away from animal proteins without taking into account the knock-on health effects of removing iron and essential amino acids from a healthy diet. The assumed cost of iron deficiency to the health sector as a result of giving up red meat might well be seriously underestimated because of the many ways in which the effects can be revealed: fatigue and reduced work performance, impaired immunity, developmental delays in young

CHAMPION: Rod Slater convinced the Meat Board and Meat Industry Association processors to take financial responsibliity for domestic red meat promotion.

children, learning difficulties, low birthweight and anaemia. However, he doesn’t see alternative proteins as a major challenge for beef and lamb consumption because of NZ red meat’s value proposition as a naturally raised, nutritionally dense and healthy food with no additives. It will always form an essential part of a balanced diet but the challenge will be to educate people about the importance of good food and enjoyment of the cooking experience as a means of creating a healthy family environment.

The Taste Pure Nature campaign, launched earlier this year in California by B+LNZ, provides the model for attracting the conscious foodie consumer group, which expects greater quality and transparency throughout the whole supply chain. The domestic marketing body is working very closely with the farmer levy-funded B+LNZ to ensure consistency of approach across environmental, nutritional and sustainability strategies. A key aspect of this for B+LNZ Inc is the implementation of farm assurance plans on farms that supply the

domestic market because local as well as global consumers increasingly expect that level of assurance. B+LNZ Inc chairman Fred Hellaby says the high price of meat looks unlikely to come down in the foreseeable future, which makes it even more important to communicate strategically and positively with NZ consumers. He believes there needs to be greater clarity about how domestic promotional strategies will dovetail with Taste Pure Nature, which is more about farming systems than improved eating quality. That has to be done on a tight budget but Hellaby acknowledges the three funders might need to consider increasing their investment as a means of achieving cut-through with consumers who are asked to pay historically high prices for their beef and lamb while being subjected to a barrage of negative publicity encouraging them to reduce their consumption. The ultimate goal is to encourage consumers to continue eating beef and lamb but at the same time be willing to pay more for better quality. The relationship between B+LNZ, the levy funded body responsible for global red meat activity on behalf of sheep and beef farmers, and the domestically focused B+LNZ Inc has not always been as constructive as it is today because of differing objectives and governance structures. But there is no doubt both organisations are now united in their determination to ensure their strategies and programmes are aligned to achieve the best consumer response to NZ beef and lamb.

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

Oh, what to eat, take a lesson from mice DEAR Aunty Thistledown, What kind of diet do you recommend to minimise suffering, environmental impact and maximise health? Regards, Anxious Eater Hi Anxious, You aren’t asking for much, are you? Just a simple, three-step plan you can follow to save the whole damn world, for free, no less. All the other people who know were too expensive, right? They expect you to buy diet books, subscriptions to activism groups or capsules of powdered carrot, don’t they? Lucky your Aunty Thistledown is here to put you right. Let’s focus on the minimise suffering part of the question. Whose suffering are we minimising?

Ask

Aunty

Thistledown

If it is yours then I prescribe a balanced diet of whatever you like with a side of chocolate and a dash of wine. If it is the suffering of your

fellow man then you are going to have to be a bit careful with overseas products. Things like vanilla essence seem harmless enough until you google Madagascar vanilla wars. Other things you might not want to google include Vietnamese blood cashews, chocolate child slaves, Indian tea pickers, Thai shrimp factory, poisoned pineapple workers or banana plantation labour. If you meant animal suffering then you should be reassured New Zealand has some of the most stringent animal welfare laws in the world. It ranks second on the World Animal Protection organisation’s Animal Protection Index. That doesn’t always include wild animals that might be collateral damage in food production, ie the poisoning of rodents, but it is the second-best the world has to offer.

If by suffering you meant animal deaths then you are out of luck. It doesn’t really matter if you choose plant-based food or animal products, something died to be your food or so that your food was not eaten on its way to you. Your ancestors fought hard to put you near the top of the food chain, try not to spoil their efforts by overthinking it. You also asked about the environmental impact of food. That is also a tricky one. Do you mean water quality, water scarcity, soil health, greenhouse gases, monoculture, insecticides, pesticides, declining habitat for wild animals or perhaps the plastics in the sea? Buck up your ideas Buttercup. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Any food source pushed to the extremes of production will cause horrible, unthinkable issues. Balance and moderation are key.

You also asked about maximising health, thus giving me a third opportunity to disappoint you. Death and disease are not beneath you, sweetie. When it comes to diets there isn’t really anything that will turn the dial. Reducing red meat consumption can shave half a percent off the probability that you will pop your clogs during middle age. The most promising diet for prolonging your life is something called caloric restriction. By reducing a mouse’s diet down to 70% of the energy it would eat under ad lib conditions, researchers have managed to get mice to live up to nearly five years. And what a wonderful, long life it was, I expect, always being 30% hungry. This has never been proved in humans but is something you might want to consider.

32 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

On Farm Story

Seeking sustainability at scale Ross and Jo Hay are typical of thousands of young farming couples who work hard and continually search for a chance to grow and get ahead. Neal Wallace met the North Otago couple to find out how they are establishing their careers.

OSS and Jo Hay are not oblivious to the uncertainty associated with the clouds of rules looming on the farming horizon but they have decided to take a glass half full approach. Fuelled with enthusiasm and determination to pursue a farming career the Hays are confident there will be opportunity among the plethora of Government rules bearing down on the sector. “People got through the 1980s,” Ross says. Jo acknowledges challenges are coming but she is equally optimistic in her outlook. “It’s all about how you respond. Is it a noose around your neck or a golden goose? We don’t know,” she says. Ross and Jo, both 40, own the 274ha farm Springbank and lease 90ha at Herbert, 22km south of Oamaru, and are 18 months in to a 10-year lease on a 410ha block another 20km south at the historic coastal fishing village of Moeraki. The Herbert property was farmed for about 40 years by Ross’ parents Alan and Anne before Ross and Jo took it over in 2006. Their fundamental aim is detailed in their vision statement: To farm a sustainable, fully integrated, high-performing sheep and beef breeding and finishing operation using best practice to achieve consistent profits with environmental soundness. A key part of that goal was to increase cashflow, equity and farm profits to enable their business to grow and to employ a farm worker. A year ago Anna Sutton joined them. Their goal also drove their decision to take on the Moeraki lease and to install 81ha of irrigation at Springbank, lessening their exposure to drought and providing production certainty. The increased income and improved cashflow is part of a longer-term goal of buying a larger farm. They are concerned about the potential impacts of legislation such as the Zero Carbon Bill and the freshwater reforms on their business and rural communities. “The Climate Change Bill as set out now will damage farming, the rural economy and communities,” Ross says. But they take a broader view that society needs food producers. “It won’t wipe out farming because we are food producers and people have to eat.” Pending controls on wintering stock are also a concern, especially adult cattle, which the Hays need to control pasture. They fear it could be challenging meeting new pugging rules. They grow 22ha of fodder beet and 12ha of swedes to carry their stock through winter. To get ahead they need to increase their scale and broaden and strengthen their business. “We knew scale is something

VIEW: Jo and Ross Hay with the Moeraki coastline behind them.

It won’t wipe out farming because we are food producers and people have to eat. Ross Hay Farmer we needed and Ross’s passion is breeding ewes and development and the additional lease gives us the breeding unit,” Jo says. They learned early on the risks of being tied to one income when sheep prices collapsed. “You can’t have all your eggs in one basket. You need flexibility,” Ross says. Both are from North Otago farming families. On leaving school Ross worked on farms and went shearing for seven years, saving enough money to buy and lease pockets of land next to Springbank, which were merged into the home property when he took it over. Jo’s family farmed at Ardgowan for 148 years until the farm was recently sold. Ross and Jo met while she worked in woolsheds while training as a teacher. They married and Jo continued teaching but as the demands of the farm increased and family came along she devoted herself to helping with the farm and contributing to the community. “I am happy to be in gumboots.” That includes rearing bull calves and lambs. Springbank is a rolling, dryland property susceptible to drought

so when in 2017 the chance came to get water from the second stage of the North Otago Irrigation Company scheme they opted to buy shares. They later installed a centre pivot and K-Line system to water 81ha. Their water is from the Waitaki River and pumped to a head pond from which it is gravity fed to 200 offtakes in the Waiareka and Kakanui Valleys through a network of 200km of branch lines and 12 booster stations. The initial scheme was opened in 2006 and supplied 31,500ha. The 2017 expansion potentially supplies irrigation water to another 25,000ha. Ross says the first stage of the scheme was driven by dairy conversions but the heat had gone out of the dairy sector by the time the second stage was launched. As well as providing drystock farmers with irrigation the scheme has enabled farmers who have traditionally taken water from the Kakanui River to shift to the irrigation company. Springbank is one of the last farms on the scheme, about 50km from the head pond, but the water gives them certainty and means they are not at the mercy of the weather or being forced sellers of store or capital stock as they were previously, Jo says. “You know you are going to have grass to finish stock.” They can also make supplementary feed for use on both properties. The chance to buy water shares came at the end of a twoyear dry spell when stock they would normally sell prime were offloaded in store condition.

Photos: Neal Wallace “What it cost me during the drought is basically what I paid for irrigation,” Ross said. Instead of selling store or prime lambs at lower weights they are now selling them when the market and stock condition suit them. While 81ha will not insulate the farm from the full effects of a prolonged drought it gives them some reassurance and time. Jo says her husband is decisive when faced with making a call when it gets dry but they are decisions farmers would rather not have to make. With the irrigation established Ross and Jo realised they needed scale to achieve their aim of a sustainable, secure business.

HARVEST: Wool ready to be pressed.

In April last year they leased a 410ha Moeraki property, a strip of fertile soil between rolling hill country rising to 150m above sea level and the coastline. The two farms are now run as one unit with breeding ewes and cattle kept at Moeraki but prime and replacement stock at Springbank. The size and scope of the enlarged operation has added flexibility as well as meeting their cashflow and equity aims. “We had a system that wasn’t very flexible and all the ducks had to line up in a row,” Ross says. They now have that flexibility and can mix and match stock classes and management between

On Farm Story

the two properties as needed. They run 2700 Romdale ewes and 750 hoggets, 250 bull calves, 250 rising yearling bulls and a similar number of two-year bulls. Cattle are wintered on fodder beet and progressively sold in later winter and early spring. In the past Jo has reared up to 150 bull calves and 80 lambs. This year they changed the system to make it less onerous with the demands of lambing and looking after their three children. Jo and Sutton reared the lambs and 55 calves this year and bought in about 210 weaned calves at 100kg. They are sold prime at 270kg to 300kg carcase weight as rising two-year-olds. In addition, they run 40 steers bought in spring and primarily used to control pasture. The Hays have endured the emotional and stressful roller coaster of Mycoplasma bovis, three times having had trace cattle tested and culled, only to be subsequently cleared. They endured testing and having stock slaughtered and while it was restricting and stressful as they worked through the process, Jo says not having breeding cows meant they were not as severely affected as other farmers. The worst thing was the way they were treated by Government officials who forgot they were dealing with people’s livelihoods, businesses and their passion, she said. “I think that has really been forgotten, that it’s more than a business.” Officials lost sight of important things like the impact of having stock trucks turn up a day before scheduled to collect cattle for slaughter and officials telling farmers their herds have tested positive on a Friday then leaving for the weekend while the farmer is left in limbo. The Privacy Act restricted the flow of information and the ability for the community to extend help to those going through the process, which Jo and Ross found beneficial when their cattle were treated as testing positive. “It was nice to have a neighbour ring and say, ‘come round for tea’.” They have come out the other side but Jo and Ross have empathy for those still working through the

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

repercussions of the disease. When they endured the storm they tried to extend a helping hand to others in a similar situation, being sympathetic listeners and supporters. “When you are going through M bovis or a drought it feels like the world has stopped when in fact the world keeps going, there is stock to feed and to be cared for.” Lambs are weaned at 90 days and the irrigation and scope now allow decisions on when to sell them based on market conditions rather than the weather. They plan to finish all their stock and to buy in an extra 4000 store lambs each year but prices last year meant they bought only a fraction of that target. The Moeraki farm has required investment in a reticulated water scheme and fencing by the owners but Ross sees its potential given the soil fertility and rolling terrain. Rabbits are also a problem and in the last year well over 2000 were shot. Jo says the owners are passionate about the Moeraki farm, a piece of New Zealand that is very important to them and which they want carefully managed. “The owners are awesome,” she says. Mutual appreciation, understanding and commication are crucial when entering a lease. The Moeraki farm also creates some new challenges, dealing with the 30,000 cars a year that drive out to the historic Katiki Point Lighthouse, also known as the Moeraki lighthouse. Katiki Point is also home to yellow-eyed penguins, NZ fur seals and Penguin Rescue, a sanctuary for injured birds that also advocates for the species. Community is very important to the Hays. They are both involved with the Maheno School and Maheno Rugby Club and Ross is the North Otago Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman. Jo says getting rural families off the farm is essential. The loneliest place in the world is being trapped inside your head. “It is so important getting together, connecting with other farmers and realising your farming systems might be different but you all face similar issues and stresses.”

ON THE ROAD: The Hays share the road that services their leased farm at Moeraki with 30,000 cars a year carrying tourists to see the Katiki Lighthouse, yellow-eyed penguins and other marine life.

She is active in the Agri Women’s Development Trust. With AWDT support she has set up a regional hub called Lip Gloss and Gumboots, which meets every couple of months to enable the development of skills, confidence and creating connections. Jo says it also provides a forum for exchanging complementary ideas and the transferable skills women bring from their careers that are applicable to farming businesses. “One of the things I’ve learnt along the way is that while women want to be upskilled, we can learn those skills in lots of difference places and in lots of different venues. “But the one thing most women want and seem to be hungry for and are passionate about is personal development.” Another community initiative she introduced to the area was the Maheno Food Fairy in which a group of people collate food packages for new parents or families enduring a difficult time. Jo says the initiative has grown and now everyone who has benefited from the scheme is involved in providing provisions. The Hays are passionate about farming and the rural lifestyle it offers their children Charlie, 10, Phoebe, 8, and Archie, 6. >> Video link: bit.ly/OFShay

GLASS HALF FULL: North Otago farmers Jo and Ross Hay are optimistic about a career in farming.

STOCK: Ewes and lambs on the Moeraki farm leased by Ross and Jo Hay.

COMING AND GOING: A loading ramp with the Moeraki coastline in the background.

World

34 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Biostimulant effects still unclear BIOSTIMULANTS are being heralded as part of the solution to many of the challenges facing today’s arable farmers – from plugging the gaps in the declining fungicide armoury to dealing with the effects of climate change. One of the fastest-growing markets in agriculture, the biostimulants sector is made up of a huge range of products and product types, all put under one umbrella category for convenience. Within that, it is often split into two groups: microbial and non-microbial. Described as anything, other than fertilisers and pesticides, that can be added to a plant, seed or soil to enhance plant growth, biostimulants are accompanied by bold claims about their efficacy. They include improving plant vigour and increasing nutrient use efficiency as well as boosting both yields and quality and relieving plant stress. Without independent evidence, knowing when and where to use this emerging class of products is difficult. Despite having the environmental and crop safety credentials that suit the consumer mood it seems there is still work to be done before they become a routine part of agronomy programmes. Regular effects from biostimulants have been almost impossible to come by in trials by Niab Tag, its technical director Bill Clark says. So the inconsistent and unpredictable results are a problem for the industry. “Some products do have a genuine effect to offer,” he says. “There are those that trigger the plant hosts’ defences, just as some fungicides do, which means the crop can respond more quickly to disease. Others may have a stimulatory effect or nutritional benefit.” Despite having the environmental and crop safety credentials that suit consumer

mood it seems there is still work to be done before they become a routine part of farm practice. Biostimulants should be regarded in a different way to standard fungicides and agrichemicals, Zantra technical director Chris Bean says because there is about 50 years of experience to draw on with the latter. “It’s very early days for most biostimulants even though we’ve been trialling some since the 1990s. There is no doubt that there are products with activity – we just have to think a bit harder about how they should be used.” As results from biostimulants aren’t as reliable or guaranteed as those from traditional agrichemicals they are often viewed with some suspicion, he says. “That’s understandable, especially as there are plenty of products out there.” Being able to measure a yield response makes an application easy to justify, such as is the case with standard agrichemicals, he says. “That’s what biostimulants are up against. “Perhaps growers should weigh them up in the same way they look at seed treatments, where improving plant stands and protecting against disease are key.” As such, small-plot trials might not be the best way to assess them. “Large strip-trials or whole-field experiences aggregated from a number of growers may be better. Work needs to be done over bigger areas but in a scientific way.” Recent industry developments mean there is good reason to explore their value in sustainable agronomy programmes and to ask the manufacturers for more details on their responses, Bean says. “Biostimulants won’t perform if the basic agronomy of the crop

Types of biostimulants Non-microbial

Plant growth promoting bacteria

Humic substances

Non-pathogentic fungi

Phosphite and other inorganic salts Chitin and chitosan derivatives

“Our current high standards, including import requirements, will apply when we leave.” Carrington said the UK government has consistently said it will not allow food standards to be undermined by future trade deals, such as that proposed with the United States. He then asked Gardiner how the UK government will keep out goods produced to lower standards because that would almost certainly breach trade obligations under World Trade Organisation rules. Gardiner said “WTO rules allow WTO members to adopt and maintain trade-restrictive measures on specified public policy grounds, including the protection of human, animal and plant life and health, public morals and conservation.” Specifically, when asked about a possible UK-US trade

Mycorrhizal fungi Protozoa and nematodes

Anti-transpirants Amino acids Complex organic materials

isn’t right or if soil structure is poor. “Work has shown they are more affected by seasonal changes, which could help to explain why positive early growth observations aren’t always reflected at harvest.” Zantra trials indicate part of the answer is to get biostimulants on as early as possible – either as a seed treatment or autumn foliar application. “In cereals we’ve seen more consistent effects from seed treatments,” he said. “Crops that are up against it, for whatever reason, also show a benefit and spring-drilled cereals have responded better than winter-drilled crops.” In oilseed rape seed treatments have again proved useful while foliar-applied materials have given yield responses. Bean also highlights direct drilling situations as offering more potential for biostimulant use, especially where sites have more issues and building root systems could help with variable soil conditions. Microbial biostimulants can benefit both the plant and the soil bacteria by building soil fertility and providing crop nutrition, Steve Holloway of Soil Fertility Services said. The difference between their use and conventional inputs is that farmers can expect to see a steady improvement in crop performance over a number of years rather than an immediate response.

Food safety rules won’t change BRITAIN will adopt all European food safety, environmental and animal welfare standards on leaving the bloc, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Lord Gardiner says. Gardiner was asked by Lord Carrington in a Lords debate how the United Kingdom government plans to ensure food imports after Brexit meet the same standards as those required of British farmers. “This country has high food safety standards and these will continue,” Gardiner said. “We will remain global leaders in environmental protection and animal welfare standards, maintaining our high-quality produce for British consumers. “The Withdrawal Act will transfer on to the UK statute book all European Union food safety, environmental and animal welfare standards.

Microbial

Seaweed extracts

deal post-Brexit Gardiner said the government has made it clear all existing health and safety restrictions on hormone treatment, antibiotics and chlorinated chicken will remain in place. National Pig Association policy adviser Ed Barker said the pig industry will welcome Gardiner’s comments. For example, it will confirm a non-EU pork exporter to the UK will have to adhere to EU rules on demonstrating ractopaminefree pork exports. Ractopamine promotes leanness in animals raised for meat and is theoretically legal to use in the US. And speculation was circulating the UK government plans to review its no-deal tariffs proposals on agricultural goods, possibly raising them to exert leverage on the EU. UK Farmers Weekly

Biological solutions require a different way of thinking,” he says. “There’s no rule book where bacteria are concerned. There may be a few bumps along the road.” Knowing what the plant and soil need is the first step so starting with a soil test allows biological products to be tailored. “Every farm is different. There won’t be a universal solution that everyone can latch on to, which is why our trials are done with our customers on their farms.”

Holloway describes the company’s products as plant health growth promoters and most are based on compost – each coming with a very clear description of what’s in them. “There is often some chemistry involved as well,” he says. “We have soil conditioners, for example, that contain ionic surfactants, which are used to help with water infiltration. Along with the other ingredients they also aid rooting and soil structure.” Growers are making good use of biological products to reduce their reliance on bagged fertilisers and agrichemicals rather than replacing them completely. “By feeding the ecosystem it is possible to reduce nitrogen inputs by up to one-third and minimise fungicide use. Bacteria will also act as a defending home guard so are good at preventing disease rather than curing it.” UK Farmers Weekly

IT WORKED: Farmer Mark Chandler says results have been variable but biostimulants definitely performed on his oilseed rape.

Farmer test has variable results AGRICULTURE and Horticulture Development Board Petworth monitor farmer Mark Chandler is testing biostimulants for three years across a range of crops to see what they have to offer on his varied soil types. Last year, in four fields of milling wheat, he compared half fields with a foliar amino acid-based biostimulant being included on one side, costing £8/litre or £32/ha for three treatments. The 2019 results were inconclusive – with no physical difference being seen. Two of the fields yielded the same as the untreated part, one field did slightly better and the other slightly worse. In soya he tried another

amino acid-based foliar product. “Last year I was convinced it helped – we’re waiting to see how it did this year.” His oilseed rape, however, showed a positive result. Again, an amino-acid based foliar biostimulant was applied, going on once with the midflowering spray, giving an average yield lift of 0.4t/ha. “We had five tramline trials and they all performed better where the biostimulant was included. So, although our oilseed rape was very variable we did see an improvement from biostimulants in 2019. “The challenge now is to see if that’s the same in 2020. It seems that soil type, season and variety can all have a bearing.”

World

THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

Most people are backing British food

This suggests to me people value their British food supplies more than I ever would have believed. Richard Heady Farmer West Sussex farmer David Exwood suggested the report shows the need for country of origin labelling on British produce, especially in the food service sector. “For most people Brexit means backing Britain. “The survey shows very clearly consumers want to back British food and farming. “We need to take advantage of

that mood and allow consumers the chance to choose British.” Welsh farmer Dewi Eirig Jones said the British media demonises UK agriculture for destroying the planet but turns a blind eye to industrial agriculture supplying supermarkets. Tenant Farmers Association chief executive George Dunn said the government should pay close attention to the 84% of consumers who want UK standards imposed on imported products. Others said farmers should take the results lightly, suggesting what people say and what they do are two different things. The poll, done in September, also found younger people are more likely to buy lower standard food if it is cheap. “This is surprising, given the extent to which young people appear to be more switched on about environmental and animal welfare considerations than their older counterparts,” Dunn said. Other standout figures in the survey show 62% of respondents think farmers should receive taxpayer money to ensure a continued supply of British food post-Brexit. National Farmers Union Cymru president John Davies said the figure is recognition of the integral role farmers play in food security terms. Richard Heady, an arable, beef and sheep farmer from

UNEXPECTED: It is surprising young people, who appear more switched on about environmental and animal welfare, are more likely to buy lower standard food if it is cheap, Tenant Farmers Association chief executive George Dunn says.

Buckinghamshire, was stunned a majority want government payments to help boost food security. “This suggests to me people value their British food supplies more than I ever would have believed.” Kate Daniels, a smallholder in Worcestershire, agreed. On the figure that 79% of respondents are proud of the British countryside, she said “This is far from the impression we get from the British media, which seems quite disconnected with mainstream views.” Farmers Union of Wales president Glyn Roberts pointed out the survey sent a clear message the public wants to support farmers as food producers as well as custodians of the environment. The survey showed 36% of the

Heady found the support for public believe farmers do not GM, especially from young people, receive a fair price for produce really surprising. compared to 24% who think they “There could be some exciting do. opportunities ahead if decisionRoberts said the results proved makers listen to the British there is recognition of inequalities public,” he said. in the supply chain among UK Farmers Guardian shoppers while Dunn called on the government to intervene in the market to ensure fairness. On genetic modification and gene-editing, Agrievents 2019 the research shows 34% of respondents agree they should be Friday 28th November used in the UK. NZ Ewe Hogget Field Day Venue: 31 Station Road, Taihape – Brian and Anna Coogan Those aged Time: 12.30pm start for registrations 18-24 were more The annual ewe hogget competition identifies the top likely to agree with operators and rewards excellence. Brian and Anna won the the statement supreme award at this year’s NZ Ewe Hogget Compeition. than any other age A motorbike or side by side and safety gear are required for group. farm tour.

Farmers must have a say in systems BIG data and digital systems offer farmers huge potential but there are still too many barriers to uptake. Giving farmers a stake in systems being developed allows those systems to be as effective as possible, Jurgen Vangeyte of Belgian research station Ilvo said. He told a Politico event in Brussels “There is a lot of talk about data, robotics and artificial intelligence with big money being invested in the sector but there is a danger farmers get left out of the development process.” With government support his organisation helps companies develop new technology that is then tested on farms with feedback given in open workshops. “My advice for farmers is test before you invest and do not underestimate the importance of training and advice when adopting a new system. “Meanwhile, developers

HORSE’S MOUTH: Developers have been urged to involve farmers in developing systems.

should involve farmers in developing systems as early as they can,” he said. Latvian farm leader Maira Dzelzkaleja said like other Baltic countries Latvia has embraced digitisation of agriculture faster than many

other countries but there is still an issue of uptake, particularly among smaller and older farmers. Greater access to data has strengthened the links between farmers and consumers, according to

French MEP and farmer Irene Tolleret, at the seminar of the C’est qui le Patron or Who’s the Boss, consumer brand. It created an online survey asking consumers what is important to them and how aspects such as longer grazing times and improved milk quality will impact on farmers. Dzelzkaleja said “From that producers were able to develop a brand that paid farmers more and strengthened links between the producers and end consumers.” The brand now sells more than 80 million eco-friendly bottles of milk a year. Sustainable farming organisation Leaf explained how a farm-based review system using data from all aspects of production allows farmers to use inputs more effectively, improves environmental performance and access premium markets. UK Farmers Guardian

0096008

71.67x200

agrievents

Saturday 5th December GEA iXPRESS Open Day Venue: Paul and Julie Davis’s Farm, Mowbray Road, Waharoa. Supply #77277 Time: 11am - 1pm See how a good milk harvesting system like the Davis’s can improve labour efficiencies and cow health, while increasing throughput and milk returns. Guest speaker: Natasha Maguire from Farm Medix will be on-farm discussing how you can take a targeted approach to treating mastitis. Complimentary BBQ lunch provided. More: bit.ly/iXPRESS-open-day Contact: Grant Coburn, GEA Area Sales Manager South Waikato 021 980 013 Saturday 7th December Whangarei A&P Show Venue: Barge Showgrounds Time: 9am- 4.30pm Come along to the Show for the annual competitions, stalls, great food, performances and demonstrations. Visit: whangareishow.co.nz AWDT Understanding Your Farming Business & Wahine Maia, Wahine Whenua Programmes designed for red meat farming women. 3 fullday workshop and an evening graduation ceremony run over four months. Delivering in 40 locations around NZ, registrations for 2020 are now open, visit the website for dates, locations and to register. Website: To register visit www.awdt.org.nz/programmes Contact: keri@awdt.org.nz or 06 375 8180 for more info

LK0096008©

FARMERS have welcomed new research that shows four in five British consumers think food should be imported only if it meets United Kingdom standards and they hope they stick to their word when making purchasing decisions. A ComRes survey of more than 2000 adults, commissioned by the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists, found only 16% would buy products they knew were produced to lower standards.

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

FINAL NOTICE

Hawke's Bay 48 Hawkston Road, Patoka

Exceptional contour, fertility and ROI An opportunity to secure an exceptional 302 hectare dairy unit in the renowned Patoka farming district. Summer safe farming on easy contoured, fertile, free draining ash soils provide the ideal low cost pasture based farming environment. This very well set up dairy boasts a 50 bail rotary with in shed feeding, 700 cow yard, massive 1,400 calf rearing shed, approximately 600 tonne concrete silage bunker, three dwellings and supporting implement sheds. This very productive milking platform is exceptionally clean, has very good fertility with approximately 14 hectares of pinus radiata covering riparian waterways, the environmental planting requirement is near completion. A must view for those looking for a turnkey Patoka pasture based operation providing among the best return on investment in the country. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t snooze on this one.

Auction (unless sold prior) 11am, Fri 6 Dec 2019 52 Bridge Street, Ahuriri, Napier View by appointment Tony Rasmussen 027 429 2253 tony.rasmussen@bayleys.co.nz EASTERN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/2851912

Central Hawkes Bay 368 Boyle Road, Ashley Clinton

Te Wai Station

Te Wai Station, a 478ha well-balanced genuine hill country breeding and finishing farm located in the everpopular summer safe area of Ashley Clinton, 33km west of Waipukurau and 12km to Sherwood school. Subdivided into 55 paddocks with a small area of flats leading up into some strong medium to steeper hill country. Three main gullies with native bush growing throughout, one having the Mangatawai stream flowing through divides the property. A three bedroom home positioned at the front of the property, sits on a large elevated section with fantastic views. Infrastructure includes a four-stand woolshed with new covered yards, cattle yards, numerous shedding and a newly installed solar E-pump water reticulation system. Te Wai runs a terminal breeding ewe flock and Friesian bull policy. Opportunity to own a well balanced hill country farm.

For Sale offers invited by (unless sold prior) 4pm, Thu 12 Dec 2019 Railway Station, 11 Bogle Brothers Esplanade, Waipukurau View by appointment Andy Hunter 027 449 5827 Andy Lee 027 354 8608

bayleys.co.nz/2870680

EASTERN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz

NEW LISTING

Motunau 441 Blythe Road

Kilmarnock A rare offering in a favourable location, combining scale, balance of contour and aspect and with plenty of future upside. Situated within the well-regarded Blythe Valley, Kilmarnock is a total of 1,913.5798 hectares and in recent years has undergone a large redevelopment project, currently still in progress. This has included some regrassing on the downs and flats, with huge upside still available through fencing, water reticulation and forestry. There are two houses and farm infrastructure at both the southern and the northern end of the property, ensuring ease of management. Kilmarnock has recently been run as a beef breeding, trading and fattening operation, with some in-lamb ewes purchased, depending upon the season. This is a wonderful opportunity to invest in a large-scale, well-located landholding. Our vendors will also consider offers on separate blocks.

bayleys.co.nz/5511270

For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty (unless sold prior)

4pm, Mon 16 Dec 2019 3 Deans Ave, Chch View by appointment Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz Peter Foley 021 754 737 WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Boundary lines are indicative only

Oruanui 957 Poihipi Road

Whanganui 2789 Waitotara Valley Road

Montana - dairy farming with pride

This 199 hectares (more or less) property offers a solid investment in all that you would expect from a dairy farm. Only six kilometres from Taupo, this enables the new owner to capitalise on everything a thriving town like Taupo has to offer. Three dwellings compliment the property and the farm has two water supplies. Montana is milking 630 cows through a 44 ASHB. The 630 cows have produced in 2018/19 251,000ms with a clear target of 260,000ms for the 2019/20 season. This is the best example of a large dairy unit supplying Miraka just outside Taupo.

Auction (unless sold prior) 5pm, Fri 6 Dec 2019 Level 1, 38 Roberts Street, Taupo View by appointment Stan Sickler 021 275 7826 stan.sickler@bayleys.co.nz Marc Clinch 027 650 6257 marc@bayleystaupo.co.nz

bayleys.co.nz/2651877

WESTERMAN REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Farm, forestry, hunting - 1,281ha Orangimea is approximately 1,281ha, with over 700ha of native and regrowth, situated 28kms up the Waitotara Valley, including woolshed, cattle yards and covered sheep yards. Divided into 19 main paddocks, fencing is focused on stock movement and ease of access. The main stock handling facilities, being the four-stand woolshed, sheep and cattle yards, are located on the Waitotara Valley Road. Stock water is natural sources including dams, springs and streams. The three-bedroom home has had a tasteful make-over with numerous 'mod cons' and includes a onebedroom sleep-out, an outside toilet, workshop and covered quad parking. Call for more information.

bayleys.co.nz/3000965

For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty (will not be sold prior)

12pm, Tue 10 Dec 2019 158 Wicksteed Street, Whanganui View by appointment Knud Bukholt 027 222 6161 knud.bukholt@bayleys.co.nz Tracey Wilson 027 412 1586 tracey.wilson@bayleys.co.nz BARTLEY REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz

Boundary lines are indicative only

Whanganui 820 Rangitatau West Road, Maxwell Drystock, shell rock, bees - 283ha 283 hectares of mixed contours just over 8kms east of Maxwell in the Whanganui district. This property has been utilised as a sheep and beef breeding unit for many years but has diversified into bees with further potential in carbon and forestry. The main flats are sitting on a massive shell rock seam which puts an entirely different twist to this property. The house is a comfortable fourbedroom dwelling and has a colour steel roof and recent renovations have been done in the bathroom, laundry and kitchen areas. Improvements include, a four-stand woolshed with covered yards, cattle yards and large garage / workshop at the house. Two pine plantations have been recently harvested with clean-up operations underway. Call for more information.

Whanganui Cedar Drive and Camellia Avenue 1

For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty (will not be sold prior)

12pm, Thu 12 Dec 2019 158 Wicksteed Street, Whanganui View by appointment Knud Bukholt 027 222 6161 knud.bukholt@bayleys.co.nz Tracey Wilson 027 412 1586 tracey.wilson@bayleys.co.nz BARTLEY REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Farmers and developers take note 72.72ha This farm has a genuine country feel, right on the edge of town. 72.72ha of mixed contours, with dual access off Cedar Drive and Camellia Avenue. These blocks can cater for a wide array of rural pursuits from grazing, breeding and finishing, with genuine potential for residential and lifestyle development. Sitting on four titles. Three of these blocks are zoned rural-lifestyle, with approximately 20ha of flat and easy contours, the balance being 50ha of hill country including 11ha of native bush. The fourth title is a 2.75ha bare block, zoned residential with great potential for subdivision. Phone for more information.

bayleys.co.nz/3000945

bayleys.co.nz/3000967

Whanganui 413 Longacre Road, Okoia

Bideford 1844 Te Ore Ore Bideford Road

Diversity on Longacre - 68.94ha Tucked away on Longacre Road is a 68.94ha property, with mixed contours and support facilities, including the main structure of a 900 square metre tunnel house. A cosy three/four-bedroom farmhouse completes the scene with the property set up to cater for sheep and beef with a two-stand woolshed, and implement shed. A transformer is located between the woolshed and tunnel house and could potentially be utilised for numerous semiindustrial activities (purchaser due diligence required). The wellestablished home and garden are centrally positioned, with a private and pleasant sunny aspect. Note - in addition the owner has a second property for sale at 665 Longacre Road. (bayleys.co.nz/3000971). Call for more info.

bayleys.co.nz/3000970

bayleys.co.nz

Tender (will not be sold prior) Closing 10am, Fri 13 Dec 2019 158 Wicksteed Street, Whanganui View by appointment Knud Bukholt 027 222 6161 knud.bukholt@bayleys.co.nz Tracey Wilson 027 412 1586 tracey.wilson@bayleys.co.nz BARTLEY REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Rosebank Superb country living - it doesn't come any better. 19 minutes north east of Masterton, situated in the heart of the picturesque Bideford Valley, is this majestic property consisting of 83 hectares. Enter through the tree lined avenue to approach the magnificent, beautifully appointed homestead wonderfully situated between two terraces of 60 hectares of very fertile flats. Farm Cottage, woolshed, implement sheds, 14 hectares of mature forestry, phenomenal cropping and finishing flats. It's all here. Ideal for Bed and Breakfast. Viewing by appointment.

bayleys.co.nz/3150837

Tender (will not be sold prior) Closing 12pm, Wed 11 Dec 2019 158 Wicksteed Street, Whanganui View by appointment Knud Bukholt 027 222 6161 knud.bukholt@bayleys.co.nz Tracey Wilson 027 412 1586 tracey.wilson@bayleys.co.nz BARTLEY REAL ESTATE LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Tender (will not be sold prior) Closing 4pm, Thu 12 Dec 2019 186 Chapel Street, Masterton Lindsay Watts 027 246 2542 lindsay.watts@bayleys.co.nz Andrew Smith 027 760 8208 a.smith@bayleys.co.nz EASTERN REALTY (WAIRARAPA) LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

NEW LISTING

Domett, North Canterbury 47 Hurunui Mouth Road

Motukarara 1065 Hudsons Road

The complete small farm

Estate realisation

• An aesthetically-pleasing 144.2721 hectare North Canterbury finishing farm • Good balance of contour • A tidy property with excellent shelter • Well subdivided • Quality soils, good fertiliser history • Full array of farm infrastructure • An excellent home, fully renovated with recent extensions • Approximately 7.5km from Cheviot, Area School and amenities and around one and a half hours drive from Christchurch City • A lovely property

For Sale by Deadline Private Treaty (unless sold prior)

1pm, Thu 12 Dec 2019 3 Deans Ave, Chch View by appointment Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz Peter Foley 021 754 737 peter.foley@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

bayleys.co.nz/5511255

Newly Developed Dairy Farm Must Be Sold 11 Nuggety Creek Road, Murchison - 113ha approx.

We often hear the opportunities for up and coming farmers in New Zealand have long gone, but with 11 Nuggety Creek, what you put in is what you will get out! This recently developed Dairy Farm is still putting down its roots, offering a huge opportunity for a farmer with some vision and willingness to do the hard yards. With a current milking platform of 75ha approx. and a resource consent to irrigate 70 (which is not currently being fully utilised) the real opportunity on offer here is the 40ha approx. of rougher grazing and/or undeveloped land that could potentially be used as part of the milking platform or for wintering or running young stock. There is also a generous irrigation consent from the Buller River. The dairy shed is a surprisingly spacious 27 bale rotary shed that was previously milking 230 cows twice a day and has been supplying Fonterra. The home is a comfortable 2-bedroom character cottage that has had recent renovations undertaken without over capitalising the property, leaving potential options like building a secondary dwelling, on the table for purchasers. This property now must be sold, so we invite all serious offers to submit in the Deadline Sale (will not sell prior). For the full Information Memorandum or to organise an inspection of this great property please get in touch today with Toby or Sharyn. Deadline Sale closing Thurs 28th Nov 1pm (no prior sale) View: www.harcourts.co.nz/NN23938 Open: By Appointment

Toby Randall

Rural Sales Consultant Harcourts Nelson M: 027 233 9170 P: 03 548 3034 E: toby.randall@harcourts.co.nz

Sharyn Miller

Rural Sales Consultant Harcourts Nelson M: 021 377 930 P: 03 548 3034 E: sharyn.miller@harcourts.co.nz

A large scale irrigated property showing excellent performance, fattening cattle and lambs. Weight gains and the supply of a large number of quality cattle to the market are second to none. Lamb fattening has been increasing over the years with over 6,000 finished last season. Paddock size and shape has been considered for ease of Rotorainer irrigation. A further 105ha is under centre pivot. For sale as one large irrigated finishing block, or could be split into two separate units. One being 296ha of bareland with the centre pivot or 210ha which includes a cottage, numerous sheds, sheep and cattle yards. Location is critical with Christchurch and the Canterbury sale yards only 30 minutes away.

bayleys.co.nz/5511169

Price by Negotiation View by appointment Evan Marshall 027 221 0910 evan.marshall@bayleys.co.nz Ben Turner 027 530 1400 ben.turner@bayleys.co.nz WHALAN AND PARTNERS LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008

A real change in real estate.

The Property Brokers and Farmlands partnership means great things for provincial real estate* Together our combined strengths complement each other to create a unique offering: - A nationwide network from Kaitaia to Invercargill - Over 700 staff across 64 locations dedicated to real estate - A deep understanding of the land with market-leading expertise in property sales and marketing Bigger networks, more buyers, better results. For more information call 0800 367 5263 or visit pb.co.nz/together

*Farmlands will continue to administer its property management portfolio and its West Coast real estate sites, pending Commerce Commission clearance. Property Brokers Ltd Licensed REAA 2008

Proud to be together

0800 FOR LAND

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Sheep & beef

Multiple options

OPEN DAY

WEB ID TUR72499 TAUMARUNUI 1843 Oio Road VIEW Thursday 28 Nov 10.00 - 12.00pm TENDER closes Thursday 12th December, 2019 at 4.00pm, • 324.91 hectares (unless sold prior), 27 Hakiaha Street, Taumarunui • Wintered 10 SUs per hectare • Approx. 40 Hectares of rolling flats • Solid 3-bedroom home • 4 stand woolshed and covered yards This great farm is located 40 km South of Taumarunui in the Kaitieke Valley. The rolling flats complement the medium to steeper hill country which face North to North West. Good natural water is on the farm with 3 Katie Walker some reticulation and there have been serious efforts Mobile 027 757 7477 made towards fertiliser. A good house and further farm Office 07 895 7123 buildings support the farm, including a 4-stand Home 07 895 7112 1 katiew@pb.co.nz woolshed and haybarns.

TENDER

Gardners Road Farm - 106 ha

pb.co.nz

AUCTION

This is a super property that could lend itself to dairy grazing, stock finishing or breeding and finishing as it does now. The farm has good natural water supplies and some reticulation also. It sits in an east to west lying valley with the infrastructure placed at the base of the farm. Located between Taumarunui and Te Kuiti its location adds to its appeal as a run off or finishing block.

Katie Walker

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

4 1

Self contained dairy

TENDER

WEB ID PR69551 PAHIATUA Gardners and Nikau Roads This flat to undulating dairy unit provides options to the market, located just 20 km east of Palmerston North in a non-priority catchment this property is suited to continue as a well established dairy unit or a summer safe finishing or support property. Featuring favourable soil types with a consistent fertiliser and regrassing programme, excellent reticulated water and access providing a three year production average of 71,000 kgMS on a low cost once a day system. Infrastructure is well provided with a 26 ASHB cowshed (ability to be 36), modern plant and compliant effluent system.

WEB ID TUR72525 TAUMARUNUI Tapuiwahine Valley Road VIEW Wednesday 27 Nov 10.00 - 12.00pm AUCTION 11.00am, Wed 18th Dec, 2019, (unless sold prior) • 213.57 hectares approx. 170 effective • 50% very easy contour • Woolshed and yards • Airstrip with 60T covered bin • Solid fertiliser history

OPEN DAY

TENDER View By Appointment TENDER closes Wednesday 4th December, 2019 at 2.00pm, to be submitted to Property Brokers, 129 Main Street Pahiatua

Jared Brock

Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823 Home 06 376 6341 jared@pb.co.nz

John Arends

Mobile 027 444 7380 Office 06 376 4364 johna@pb.co.nz

4 1

WEB ID MOR01975 WHITIKAHU 760 Whitikahu Road VIEW 27 Nov & 4 Dec 11.00 - 12.00pm If you appreciate quality and location this is the property AUCTION 11.00am, Thu 12th Dec, 2019, (unless sold prior), Property Brokers, Morrinsville for you. 140.6 ha of quality land approximately 15 minutes from Hamilton and 1 hour from Auckland. Fully self-contained with approx. 320 milking cows, 70 rising 2 year heifers and 70 rising yearlings. This property grows all its own crops of grass silage, green feed maize and silage. Approximately 120 ha is flat consolidated peat and the balance gently undulating mineral soils. The quality of the peat soil is such that some years ago 4 commercial potatoes and of course the maize crops Stuart Stobie grown on peat soils have no equal. Mobile 021 776 173

AUCTION

Office 07 280 5534 stuart.stobie@pb.co.nz

PAHIATUA 129 Main Street Pahiatua pahiatua@pb.co.nz 06 376 8486

Property Brokers Pahiatua Ltd Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Greenlands - 490 ha

TENDER WEB ID PR70469

PONGAROA 275 Akaroa Road Greenlands is centrally located 6 km north of the township of Pongaroa and under 50 minutes drive to both Pahiatua and Dannevirke. The 480 ha of effective area features mostly cultivatable land which has been intensively developed over two generations will suit most farming practices.

Quality infrastructure includes over 70 dams, 2003 built four stand woolshed (750 np), airstrip, cattleyards, ample shedding and an impressive family home. This property is arguably one of the best farms in the district and provides the incoming purchaser with the ultimate turn key operation.

TENDER

VIEW By Appointment TENDER closes Tuesday 10th December, 2019 at 2.00pm, to be submitted to Property Brokers, 129 Main Street Pahiatua

Jared Brock

Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823 Home 06 376 6341 jared@pb.co.nz

John Arends

Greenlands is renowned for producing quality stock to the market and has averaged 155%-160% lambing and 97% calving.

Mobile 027 444 7380 Office 06 376 4364 johna@pb.co.nz

Balmoral - 844 ha

TENDER WEB ID PR71371

TIRAUMEA 13151 Route 52 Located in the renowned farming district of Tiraumea and centrally located to Pahiatua, Pongaroa and Masterton is Balmoral, a 6800 s/u breeding and finishing property.

and combines well with 4 sets of satellite yards to create ease of day to day farming operation. The improvements are of a high standard including a 5 stand woolshed with an excellent covered yard facility (1200np), an impressive 4 bedroom family home as well as a 1990's 3 This well fertilised farm has a mix of easy to medium hills bedroom cottage, single man quarters and two large and over 34 ha of flats in improved pastures, a further lockable implement sheds with concrete floors. 40 ha is suitable for cultivation with the 110 ha of ineffective area made up of small stands of Pines and Balmoral provides scale with desirable contour and over 80 ha of picturesque native bush. An all weather excellent improvements in a sought after location. laneway provides excellent access through the property

pb.co.nz

TENDER

VIEW By Appointment TENDER closes Friday 6th December, 2019 at 2.00pm, to be submitted to Property Brokers, 129 Main Street, Pahiatua

Jared Brock

Mobile 027 449 5496 Office 06 376 4823 Home 06 376 6341 jared@pb.co.nz

John Arends

Mobile 027 444 7380 Office 06 376 4364 johna@pb.co.nz

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

HOKITIKA 22 Weld Street Hokitika hokitika@pb.co.nz Office 03 755 8138

Property Brokers Limited Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008

First farm - 105 ha

Dairy heartland 209 ha

DEADLINE SALE

NEW LISTING

WEB ID HKR73009 HOKITIKA 1575 Kaniere-Kowhitirangi Road View By Appointment DEADLINE SALE closes Thursday 12th December, 2019 at This 105-hectare dairy farm positioned in the heart of 4.00pm the Kokatahi/Kowhitirangi Valley only 20 minutes from Hokitika boasts excellent fundamentals of free draining and productive soils, excellent fertility and shape. Milking 230 cows with average production for the past 6 seasons of 76,010kgms, on a low cost grass based system. Farm improvements include an older 12-aside herringbone dairy shed, large concrete feedpad, 4 Gareth Cox numerous implement sheds plus an office/workshop. Mobile 021 250 9714 The main homestead is a spilt level 4 bedroom house. Office 03 768 7145 1 Our Vendors have undertaken significant development. gareth@pb.co.nz

DEADLINE SALE

pb.co.nz

WEB ID HKR70905 HOKITIKA 192 and 306-351 Johnston Road View By Appointment We're delighted to offer for sale this 209-hectare self-contained dairy farm located in the Kowhitirangi Valley, 25 mins from Hokitika. 5-year average production of 122,000 kgMS from 320 cows with replacement stock grazed on farm. The property features an excellent range of farm improvements: • 34 ASHB with meal feeding and cell sense Gareth Cox • 250 cow herd home Mobile 021 250 9714 • Full range of shedding Office 03 768 7145 • 2 x 4 bedroom homes + cottage gareth@pb.co.nz

$4,900,000 + GST (IF ANY)

Farmers Weekly - 25 November 2019

Vendor funding available A great start-off property for the enterprising operator seeking a first farm investment or an addition to an existing portfolio, located in the Ngutunui district, approx 30 kms south-east of Te Awamutu

 67 Okoko Road, Ngutunui - accessed from Kawhia Road  182.4 ha

1 title - ideal first farm opportunity

 83 hectare (approx.) dairy platform; balance area planted in manuka and a diverse range of native species with a small area of steeper country in pines  potential for future carbon credits (via Emissions Trading Scheme)  contour ranges from easy rolling to areas of steeper country  free draining volcanic ash soil, - approx 60 paddocks  good water reticulation; strong applications of fertiliser  230 cows calved; 3 year average 91,258 kgs ms  20 aside hb farm dairy plus standard range of farm buildings

Tenders close

 4 brm dwelling on two levels; detached garage / workshop

4.00 pm

Thurs, 5 Dec 2019

Open day: Thurs, 28 Nov - 11.00am to 1.00pm

 handy to local primary school; secondary schooling in Te Awamutu or Otorohanga  Vendor finance available, limited to parties meeting pre-determined criteria

 web ref R1309 On Farm biosecurity protocols will apply vehicles and footwear to be clean prior to arrival

Dave Peacocke 0274 732 382

Licensed Real Estate Agent - REAA2008

Brian Peacocke 021 373 113

phone

07 870 2112

office@pastoralrealty.co.nz

MREINZ

Location & Versatility An attractive, smaller dairy unit with a tonne of scope, featuring extensive road frontage and four generations of ownership, situated in a prime lifestyle location in the Te Rahu district, on the northern town boundary of Te Awamutu  1807 Te Rahu Road, Te Awamutu  76.5 hectares  flat to very gentle contour, river boundary in part  a mix of silt loam and sandy loam soils  well raced and subdivided, with a good water

reticulation system

 calving 210 cows, producing 3-year average of

62,296kgs ms

 low input farming with easy potential for more

output

 16 aside farm dairy, standard range of shedding

Tenders close 4.00 pm Thurs, 12 Dec 2019

Open day: Thurs, 28 Nov - 11.00am to 1.00pm

Tenders close 4.00 pm Thurs, 5 Dec 2019

Open day: Thurs, 28 Nov - 1.30pm to 3.00pm

 well established 2-storied homestead, 5 bedrooms,

spacious living, covered deck leading to inground pool

 v.g. selection for schooling with school bus at gate  a quality property offering excellent potential and

versatility of land use On Farm biosecurity protocols will apply vehicles and footwear to be clean prior to arrival

web ref R1310

Brian Peacocke

021 373 113

Beef and calves An attractive well-farmed property situated in the Ngutunui district with good main road access to Pirongia, 19 kms; Te Awamutu, 30 kms; Otorohanga and Hamilton  4 Okoko Road, Ngutunui, Te Awamutu  87.8 hectares; incl pockets of native bush  predominantly mairoa ash soil - v.g. rainfall area  contour varies from easy rolling to medium to

steep hill  good spring-fed water reticulation system  very tidy with good fencing and farm tracks  currently rearing beef calves and finishing adult beef

cattle

 a good range of farm buildings including a 3-stand

woolshed (2 shearing plants); lockable enclosed implement shed / workshop; lockable 2-bay half round hayshed  a comfortable, well maintained brick homestead

incorporating 4 bedrooms, new kitchen & dining, separate lounge opening onto extensive decking area; good bathroom facilities incl 2 toilets  school but at gate for Ngutunui Primary then bus

from there to secondary college at Te Awamutu

 web ref R1311 On Farm biosecurity protocols will apply vehicles and footwear to be clean prior to arrival

Dave Peacocke 0274 732 382

Licensed REAA 2008

Brian Peacocke 021 373 113

phone

07 870 2112

office@pastoralrealty.co.nz

MREINZ

End of an Era Available for the first time in several generations, retiring vendors say it is time to sell their faithfully farmed and well presented dairy unit, nicely situated approx 10 kms north of Otorohanga and 16 kms south of Te Awamutu  1234 State Highway 3, Otorohanga  81.3 hectares in 3 titles  contour ranges from flat to easy rolling to medium hill  soil types incl mairoa ash, silt loam and a small area of peat  well subdivided and raced, easy walking for the herd  a good water reticulation system  consistent fertiliser applications over many years  approx 210 cows, 5 year average of 84,221 kgs ms  spacious 18 a/s herringbone; a good range of farm buildings

Tenders close 4.00 pm Thurs, 19 Dec 2019

Open day: Fri, 29 Nov - 10.00am to 11.30am

Tenders close 4.00 pm Thurs, 19 Dec 2019

Open day: Fri, 29 Nov - 1.00pm to 3.00pm

 substantial 3 brm homestead, very good living areas, in excellent condition; single garage with office attached, v. attractive landscaped gardens with a backdrop of mature trees; a good 3 brm second dwelling with separate garaging  an excellent district enhanced by good options of schooling with bus at gate for primary at Kio Kio and secondary at Te Awamutu On Farm biosecurity protocols will apply vehicles and footwear to be clean prior to arrival

web ref R1312

Brian Peacocke

021 373 113

Prime Dairy Quality Heifer Grazing Two adjoining properties, one owner, situated in an excellent location within the Tokanui / Te Mawhai district, approx 12 kms south of Te Awamutu, available as per the options below Option 1

     

227 Cruickshank Road, Te Awamutu 72 hectares dairy unit flat to rolling contour, mairoa ash soil very well fenced, raced, fertilised with v.g. water reticulation being farmed in conjunction with adjoining dairy unit good 18 a/s herringbone, not milked in since last season but in good operating condition; v.g. facilities with a lined effluent pond  full range of farm shedding  2 good 3 bedroom homes Option 2

    

210 Cruickshank Road, Te Awamutu 67.34 hectares dairy support unit easy rolling running into steep clean hill at rear of farm well fenced, raced and watered; v.g. fertiliser history current land use - growing out dairy heifers for adjoining dairy farm - could also grow maize successfully  disused cowshed, older farm shedding  1 x good quality 3 brm home with separate garage Option 3

 combination of the above two properties  139.34 hectares - Cruickshank Road, Te Awamutu  a great opportunity for a fully self contained dairy unit with scope for farming additional beef cattle & growing maize

 very well farmed and well set up for continuation of existing land use being dairy and heifer grazing

 3 good dwellings plus a full range of farm shedding  a first-class location with v.g. options for schooling On Farm biosecurity protocols will apply vehicles and footwear to be clean prior to arrival

web ref R1313

Licensed REAA 2008

Brian Peacocke

021 373 113

phone

07 870 2112

office@pastoralrealty.co.nz

MREINZ

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

Boundaries Indicative Only

Proven Performer - Cambridge

TENDER

Situated in the renowned dairy district of Kairangi just 17 km from Cambridge this attractive 136 hectare dairy Unit provides a great opportunity for those looking for scale with location. You are given the opportunity to purchase the full 136 hectares in two titles or alternatively 112 hectares with all the infrastructure or a separate 24 hectares of bare land. Milked through a 44-bale rotary with a wide range of farm buildings catering for calf rearing, farm machinery, hay, and workshop. The contour is flat to easy rolling with some sidling’s with free draining ash and silty loam soils. Water is sourced from two bores, effluent management is done through a modern holding tank irrigating approx. 22 hectares. Infrastructure includes two three-bedroom homes. TENDER: Closes Fri 13 Dec at 2.00pm, at Cambridge Real Estate, 47 Alpha Street, Cambridge (unless sold prior)

Looking to Retire from Farming? KATIKATI 184B & 184C PRESTIDGE ROAD 14ha (approx.) waterfront property in two titles. 7.9 ca/ha of high producing avocados, with the harbour flanking the northeastern boundary of both titles, stunningly presented and cared for. You are literally spoiled with amazing harbour spots you could build your dream home on. Accessible directly off one of these blocks is Te Hopai Island. This would be a fantastic step down from farming - earn and live but enjoy more free time!

Internet ID: CRR2204 Address: 550 Kairangi Road, Cambridge Open Days: Mon 25th & Wed 27th 11.00-12.30pm

(unless sold prior)

P 07 549 3769 M 027 949 3725

Contact David Soar 027 284 9755 or Matt Seavill 027 444 3347

BARELAND X 2 – MARTON

12 Dec, From 1pm

Durrelle Green E durrelle.green@eves.co.nz Web durrellegreen.eves.co.nz

VENDOR FINANCE

TENDER

HELD 247 Cameron Road, Tauranga WEB www.eves.co.nz/ektc2160 VIEW Sunday 11.00am-12.00pm

MOUNT VIEW GOATS

354 Paraite Road, Paraite, New Plymouth Mount View Goats, in its 6th year of supply, holds 63,000 kg of Milk Supply Rights. Having consistently milked 500 mixed age goats and having averaged 112 kgMS per goat. This season stock numbers have increased to 560 mixed age goats. With infrastructure being relatively new and an exceptionally tidy 40 aside rapid exit herringbone milking shed, milking time is approx. 1 hour. Loafing barns have capacity for approximately 800 goats and plans are in place to develop an outdoor loafing area. Other farm buildings include a 5-bay implement shed and comfortable home. This operation sits on an 11.6Ha freehold title and beside this is a 4.11Ha West Coast Lease bareland block that complements the farming operation. Milk pay-out is consistent and has increased annually over the past thirty years with the future being bright. Call today to view. Tender Closes:

4pm, Friday 6 December 2019 at McDonald Real Estate Ltd, Inglewood

Contact:

Brent Dodunski - 027 498 4346 Peter McDonald - 027 443 4506

eieio.co.nz # NPR01494

Turakina Vendor says sell. Two properties available, buy one or buy them both, with Vendor finance to approved purchaser if required. Flexible possession date. Both properties have been run as beef and lamb finishing blocks and are just 5km off State Highway 3, Turakina. Block 1 – Glencairn Road – 68ha Approximately 55ha tractor country. Good water, fencing, sheep and cattle yards. Great building sites with panoramic views. Rateable Value – $1,555,000.

David Cotton

M: 027 442 5920 H: 06 342 9666 E: davidc@forfarms.co.nz

John Thornton

Looking for the complete package?

M: 027 443 0045 H: 06 344 1111 E: johnt@forfarms.co.nz

Block 2 – Bruce Road – 72ha Good balance of contour. Good water, fencing, sheep and cattle yards. Rateable Value – $880,000.

We’ve got you covered with digital and print options.

2480REHP

Property ID FF1299

LK0068450©

www.forfarms.co.nz – Property ID FF2922 www.forfarms.co.nz

Contact Shirley Howard phone 06 323 0760, email shirley.howard@globalhq.co.nz

LK0100008©

Offers invited by Thursday 12 December 2019

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November 25, 2019

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

FINAL NOTICE

A Slice Of Quality

The Secret's Out

49 McKinley Rd, Te Aroha

247 Waterworks Rd, Te Miro

The end of an era. Our retiring vendors are reluctantly selling 40 hectares of their prized dairy farm that has been in the family for three generations. Flat Waihou sandy loam blocks such as this will only become more desirable as the environmental constraints on land uses take hold. The title includes two water sources, one being town supply. All of the farm infrastructure including a tidy 20 ASHB and a beautifully presented five bedroom family home in a magnificent setting. Grab it before someone else does.

matamata.ljhooker.co.nz/G5WHR1

Auction

The last time this property was on the market was

Auction

___________________________________

good, simply do not come along often. This fertile

___________________________________

Wed, 4th Dec, 1:00pm (unless sold prior) Matamata Club

View

Wed 27th Nov 12 - 1pm

___________________________________ Agent Rex Butterworth 021 348 276 Peter Begovich 027 476 5787 LJ Hooker Matamata 07 888 5677 Licensed Agent REAA 2008

around 1915. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how good it is! Dry stock blocks as property is very well subdivided and is currently farmed as a heifer grazing unit. A large percentage of the 118

hectares is able to mown or cropped, so plenty of options here including utilising the large sheds. Situated on Waterworks Road, a great location central to most Waikato destinations.

This one will be hard to beat.

matamata.ljhooker.co.nz/G79HR1

Tender

Glentor Farm - Kaipara Flats

180.0hectares

Kaipara Flats Warkworth - Farm or Develop A unique chance to own this very attractive property, 180ha in eleven Titles, flat to rolling with a small area of hill. The farm is well planted providing shelter throughout making it Ideal for fattening or breeding. Infrastructure includes a woolshed, cattle and sheep yards. An excellent location a short drive to Warkworth, down the road to Kaipara Flats Village, school and sports club and handy to the new motorwat exit. An excellent opportunity for an investor. Farm and enjoy this stunning property or subdivide into smaller parcels. It is rarely that properties with the options that this has come on the market.

ljhooker.co.nz/C9NHAY

Wed 4th Dec, 1:00pm (unless sold prior) Matamata Club

View

Thurs 28th Nov 11am - 12pm

___________________________________ Agent Peter Begovich 027 476 5787 Rex Butterworth 021 348 276 LJ Hooker Matamata 07 888 5677 Licensed Agent REAA 2008

FINAL NOTICE

Next Level 783 Waihekau Rd, Waitoa, Ngarua

Tender

Closes 4pm Thursday 12th December at LJ Hooker, 20 Queen St, Warkworth.

If your criteria are: it must be in the dress circle, high

Auction

current owners are retiring after cherishing this 65ha

___________________________________

producing, flat, fertile and free draining then read on. The

___________________________________

dairy farm for the last 76 years. An exceptional property

View By Appointment Only ___________________________________

in two titles complemented by two very nice homes, plus

an older cottage. Milking 230 cows through a top 32 ASHB

Agent Jennie Georgetti 021 389 236

feed pad. Production average of 127000 kgs/ms.

LJ Hooker Warkworth (09) 425 8589 Broadbents 2001 Limited Licensed Agent REAA 2008

Broadbents 2001 Ltd Licensed Agent REAA 2008. All information contained herein is gathered from sources we consider to be reliable. However, we cannot guarantee or give any warranty about the information provided. Interested parties must solely rely on their own enquiries.

packed with features including an adjoining 350 cow It really is as good as it sounds!

Wed 4th Dec, 1:00pm (unless sold prior) Matamata Club

View

Wed 27th Nov 11am - 12pm

___________________________________ Agent Peter Begovich 027 476 5787 Rex Butterworth 021 348 276 LJ Hooker Matamata 07 888 5677

matamata.ljhooker.co.nz/G64HR1

Licensed Agent REAA 2008

"RATA" - QUALITY SOILS AND CONTOUR ON A RARE SCALE 26 Putorino Road, Hunterville, Rangitikei Located just south of Hunterville and close to State Highway 1, Rata comprises one of the largest areas of finishing and cropping country to ever avail itself in the region. With a high proportion of the highly regarded Kiwitea silt loam as well as other quality soils, around 75% is assessed as croppable contour, with the balance medium hill. This has enabled an integrated system of a self-contained dairying, beef cattle as well as growing supplement for associated dairy farms. Central to the flats is a 60 bail rotary shed with ACRs, with an adjacent feed pad able to accommodate all of the 650 cows currently being milked. The majority of the circa 70 hecatres of hill contour is located at one end of the property and could be potentially sold separately. Well subdivided and laned, the property has plentiful stock water, including allocation and consents for up to 235 cubic meters of stock water per day, from the local water scheme and bore sources. With 13 titles, two dwellings, a dividing quiet road and the semi-separate hill block, there are numerous options for this property. The former potato factory sits on its own 7.5 hectare title and could be ideal for those requiring large storage, so close to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main arterial route. In a favourable location for families, with the Hunterville primary bus passing the gate, and the Rangitikei College bus just a short stroll away.

"MELLINGTON" - A HIGH % OF QUALITY FLATS + MEDIUM HILL COUNTRY BLOCK ALONGSIDE. 867 Rangatira Road, Hunterville, Rangitikei Offering a great balance of country with circa 260 hectares (75%) of contiguous quality Kiwitea silt loam flats and 108 hectares of medium hills running along one side, enables this dairy farm to be operated as a largely self-contained grazing unit. The Kiwitea soils sit amongst the regions best, and they are used for a wide range of intensive land-uses, including dairying, cereals, maize grain and silage, intensive sheep/beef finishing systems and horticultural crops such as potatoes, that this property has grown lots of in the past. Central to the flats is a modern, highly automated 60 bail rotary dairy shed and integrated large feed-pad, that has assisted this property to average over 335,000kg MS as it has recently transitioned from a year round to spring calving system. Stock and dairy water is sources include both the Hunterville and Mellington water schemes, considerable areas have recently been cropped and re-grassed with fencing upgrades. With four dwellings and nine titles, there is potential here to purchase in a number of size options, including a number of 30+ hectare titles over Rangatira road. Located only 8km from Hunterville and within a dairy dominant local district, the primary school bus to a strong primary school passes the gate.

395 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2081197 Tender Closes 11am, Tue 17 Dec 2019, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding. Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

368 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2085432 Tender Closes 11am, Tue 17 Dec 2019, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding. Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

N O TI CE FIN AL

FIRST CLASS TURN-KEY FINISHING UNIT Clyro, 84134 State Highway 2, Eketahuna, Tararua

340 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2045101

"Clyro" is a farming operation of exceptional quality, balance and productive capacity. Situated on the outskirts of Eketahuna in a "summer safe" climate this is a flat farm with some good quality hills- close to 60% of the effective area of 312ha (340ha total) are productive flats with the remainder top class easy to medium hill country. This balance allows the farm to run a highly productive sheep breeding and finishing system in tandem with a lamb and bull finishing operation. Recent soil test results are pH 5.9 av & Olsen P 42 av. The farm is supported by a three bedroom plus office home, a four stand woolshed and modern covered yards complex, very well sited and maintained cattle yards and three further satellite sheep yards. The water supply is fully reticulated around the flats, and dams on the northern flats and hills. Our vendors meticulous care and passion, significant development work, regular pasture renewal, well developed metalled lane network, comprehensive fertiliser policies, drainage of the flats and quality infrastructure supports the ability of the farm to turnover high numbers of stock. Clyro is a true statement of the benefit of doing things once and doing them exceedingly well. Clyro presents a Turn-Key opportunity-donÂ´t delay, call today! Tender Closes 4pm, Thu 5 Dec 2019; Address for Tender; NZR Level 1, 16 Perry Street, Masterton 5810

OPTIONS GALORE Whakapapa Road, Owhango HereÂ´s an opportunity rarely available to secure an attractive 33 hectares of flat to undulating contoured land. Currently run as a deer unit but with contour gives the discerning buyer plenty of options. Infrastructure includes a deer handling facility on a concrete floor plus a separate load out yard all easily accessed from a centralized race running through the farm to connect the 20 paddocks to all faculties along with a handy five bay implement shed. Included is the luxury of a reliable reticulated water source from the Owhango water scheme and the versatile loamy sand soils.

33 hectares Tender

nzr.nz/RX2041815 Tender Closes 4pm, Thu 12 Dec 2019, NZR, 1 Goldfinch St, Ohakune. Jamie Proude | Alan Blackburn 027 448 5162 | 027 203 9112 jamie@nzr.nz | alan@nzr.nz NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

Blair Stevens AREINZ 027 527 7007 | blair@nzr.nz Dave Hutchison 027 286 9034 | dave@nzr.nz NZR Real Estate Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

OHINEPUA 209 Ruanui Road, Taihape Ohinepua is an attractive bull beef and sheep finishing farm, only a short trip from Taihape. The appealing contour consists of undulating, cultivatable areas to medium hills. An emphasis on modernising pasture species is aiding with the great livestock performance that is being achieved, along with the excellent access makes this farm a real treasure. Infrastructure includes a character 4-bedroom homestead, a shared quality 4-stand woolshed with covered yards, cattle yards and implement shed. Recreational enthusiasts will enjoy trout fishing on the Hautapu Stream boundary and deer roaming the property.

149 hectares Tender

nzr.nz/RX2087694 Tender Closes 11am, Fri 29 Nov 2019, NZR, 1 Goldfinch St, Ohakune Jamie Proude AREINZ 027 448 5162 | 06 385 4466 jamie@nzr.nz NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

"MAHI" TOP NOTCH IN ALL REGARDS 468 Ruanui Road, Taihape If you are looking for that farm to just walk in and start farming then this 219 ha farm has to be seen. Well balanced contour with approximately 96 ha of cultivatable land along with clean medium hill country and smaller margins of steeper country. Strong soils types comprise of Ohakune and Mangaweka silt loams that are all renowned for producing quality livestock production. Reliable springs providing fresh, clean water all year long for stock and domestic use. Infrastructure comprises of a quality, low maintenance 3 bedroom home, set among wellestablished gardens along with garaging.

PRODUCTIVE ALLUVIAL SOILS - 65.3 HA 601 State Highway 1, Bulls/Marton, Rangitikei Just 4km north of Bulls, soil maps describe around 3/4 of this property as Crofton Silt Loams, an alluvial soil giving you more winter livestock options. Used as a bull finishing unit, maize silage, cereal and fodder beet have been grown in a program that has seen around 40 ha re-grassed in the past 7 years. Centrally raced for cattle, there is a 2 std woolshed and a bore for stock water. The 4 bedroom home is set amongst mature trees and features an in-ground pool.

219 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX1857077 Auction 11am, Thu 5 Dec 2019, Taihape Town Hall, Taihape. Jamie Proude AREINZ 027 448 5162 | 06 385 4466 jamie@nzr.nz NZR Central Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

65.3 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2086415 Tender Closes 11am, Wed 4 Dec 2019, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding. Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

BARELAND SILT LOAMS - 37.6 HA 276 McDonell Road, Ohakea Just 9km south of Sanson next to the Rangitikei River is this versatile block of free draining country. Soil maps describe a mix of Manawatu Fine Sandy Loam and Rangitikei Loamy Sand, transitioning to a stonier area near the river. Currently used to grow maize, cereals and finish cattle, land-use in the past has seen onions and potatoes grown here. With well formed lane access to a large hay/implement shed, reticulated stock water is supplied via an easement.

DAIRY OR FINISHING / CROPPING UNIT 147 Mellington Road, Hunterville, Rangitikei A quintessential "first farm", with soil types that offer lots of land-use alternatives.

37.6 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2090418 Tender Closes 11am, Tue 3 Dec 2019, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, Feilding. Peter Barnett AREINZ 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008

87.96 hectares Video on website

nzr.nz/RX2075576

Tender Closes 11am, Wed 11 Dec 2019, Around 72 hectares is of croppable contour, Kiwitea Silt Loam, NZR, 20 Kimbolton Road, with the balance medium hill. Considerable recent Feilding. development includes upgrades to the water system, fencing, Peter Barnett AREINZ effluent, and generous capital fertiliser. Running a 180-190 027 482 6835 | peter@nzr.nz cow, wintered on system, the recent seasons average has been NZR Limited | Licensed REAA 2008 80,000kg MS. Two solid homes, largely original to their 1960s heritage.

Real Estate

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate 0800 85 25 80

06 323 3363 Farm & Lifestyle Sales Superb Soils, Productive Pastures

OPEN FARM:

$6,995,000 +GST

Wednesday 27 November 10:30am-midday (or make an appointment to view earlier)

672 Ruawhata Road, Mangatainoka

226.32 hectares

▪ River silt doesn’t come much richer than here and combined with reliable Tararua District summer rainfall the pastures are producing up to 16 tonne dry matter/ha ▪ 54 bail rotary dairy, concrete platform, cup removers, Protrack system ▪ Expecting 210,000kgMS this season from 580-600 cows, 205ha dairy platform ▪ All Resource Consents in place, and it is not in a Horizons ‘Priority Catchment’ ▪ Three houses and a wide range of support buildings including a 600 cow feedpad ▪ A great network of races to the 45 paddocks, the majority within 1.5km of the dairy ▪ Well located around 10km from Pahiatua and 30-35 minutes from Palmerston North

At $34,000/ effective ha it must also appeal for beef and cropping enterprises. Comprehensive Information Memorandum available on request

Richard Anderson

M 027 543 1610 E richarda@ruralandlifestylesales.com

Web ID RAL711

Robert Dabb

M 027 255 3992 E robertd@ruralandlifestylesales.com

www.ruralandlifestylesales.com

07 883 1195 Farm & Lifestyle Sales Te Awamutu Dairy Farm

TENDER

OPEN FARM: 28 November & 5 December 11.00am - 12.00pm Cambridge Road 64.8 hectares (subject to survey)

▪ Situated less than7kms from Te Awamutu and only 19kms from Cambridge. ▪ 30 ASHB with cup removers, auto plant wash, Protrack auto drafting, 1.3m litre lined effluent pond, concrete silage bunkers, feed pad for 270 cows. ▪ Offered for sale without a house, build your dream home on this dream farm. ▪ High quality races going to 27 paddocks with free draining Mairoa Ash soils and gentle contour. ▪ This farm provides plenty of options, keep it dairy or diversify into kiwi fruit or horses.

Tenders close on Friday the 13 December at 4.00pm to the Rural and Lifestyle Sales Office at 29 Main Road, Tirau Web ID RAL682

David McGuire

M 027 472 2572 E davidm@ruralandlifestylesales.com

Steve Mathis

M 027 481 9060 E stevem@ruralandlifestylesales.com

www.ruralandlifestylesales.com

06 323 3363 Farm & Lifestyle Sales “Ederdale”

THE DESTINATION FOR RURAL REAL ESTATE

Land is the biggest asset to any farming business so it pays to stay up to date with the market. Connect with the right audience at

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

Kimbolton

AUCTION

OPEN FARM: 28 November & 5 December 1.00 - 3.00pm Quad bike and helmet required

932 Rangiwahia Road

213.26 hectares (526.98 acres) 169 hectares effective

▪ Situated only 37kms north of Feilding and 9kms from Kimbolton. ▪ 3 stand woolshed with attached covered yard. An excellent quality facility and 1000 Lambs/600 Ewes NP undercover. ▪ 4 bedroom home with extensive northerly views. Large family lounge, separate dining room and downstairs/rumpus room and garaging. ▪ Water supply comes from the Kiwitea water scheme with 14 units. Water troughs in all paddocks. ▪ “Ederdale” is well tracked throughout for paddock access with one main laneway going to the 19 hectares of excellent free draining river flats.

To be Auctioned on Wednesday 18 December at 11.00am 56 Stafford Street, Feilding Web ID RAL713

Richard Anderson

M 027 543 1610 E richarda@ruralandlifestylesales.com

Robert Dabb

M 027 255 3992 E robertd@ruralandlifestylesales.com

www.ruralandlifestylesales.com

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

TENDER

OPEN DAY

WHAKAMARAMA, BAY OF PLENTY Desirable & Fertile 17.99ha in two titles with three road entrances. Surely the finest grazing. Pristine plateau pastureland with a panoramic BOP Bay ocean view above the thundering Waipapa Falls and a river boundary. The twin atrium architecturally designed home is delightfully private and sheltered. A guaranteed massive sea and farm vista from both lounges and two of the four bedrooms and the spa pool. This is an executive styled home with quality craftsmanship. An enviable address, exclusive tarsealed driveway, landscaped grounds, expansive lawns and mature gardens, lots more! Contact us today!

TENDER

(Unless Sold by Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm Thursday 12 December

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

pggwre.co.nz/TAR31396

Multi Options at Mahoenui

•

388 hectares freehold with another 75 hectares of lease Up to 640 cows have been milked on farm in the past with all stock wintered on 50 bail rotary with feed pad, three dwellings, calf sheds, implement shed, tractor shed, workshop and hay barns Multi revenue streams available - dairy, grazing, cropping, forestry, carbon credits. A self sufficient farm Fertility, races and comprehensive re-grassing have all been done to the highest order

$6M

Plus GST (if any)

VIEW By Appointment Only

Peter Wylie M 027 473 5855 B 07 878 0265 E pwylie@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/TEK31351

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 4.00pm Tuesday 10 December

VIEW 12.00-1.00pm

Monday 25 November Monday 2 & 9 December

John Sisley M 027 475 9808 E jsisley@pggwrightson.co.nz

HUNTERVILLE, WANGANUI

TENDER

Buy One Or Buy Both - 609 Putorino Road These two properties are currently farmed in conjunction with a successful dairy farm. Property 1 (609 Putorino Road - 20.4038ha) is predominately flat on two terraces, with medium to steeper sidelings. There is a well positioned three bedroom home, set on an elevated site with good views of the Putorino Valley. The property, which is well fertilised and on a water scheme, is also complemented by a good hayshed/implement shed. Property 2 (Smiths Road and Putorino Road 19.9308ha) is flat with two road frontages and two half-round hay sheds.

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold By Private Treaty) Closes 4.00pm Monday 16 December

VIEW By Appointment Only

Doug Glasgow M 027 204 8640 B 06 349 2005 E dougglasgow@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/FDG31384

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

For more great rural listings, visit www.pggwre.co.nz www.pggwre.co.nz

Located just 12km from the Hamilton CBD this property comes with a number of features that should appeal to a wide range of prospective purchasers. These include: • 176ha - 3 titles, 1x 26ha, 1x 111ha, 1x 39ha • Contour - 85% flat - balance gentle rolling • Soil types - Peaty, peaty loam, Horotiu sandy loam, and ash over clay loam on rolling • 36 aside HB - 300 cow yard with two calf sheds For details contact the agent today.

TENDER

MAHOENUI, WAITOMO

•

Privacy, Position & Possibilities

pggwre.co.nz/HAM31365

EXCLUSIVE

•

OHAUPO, WAIKATO 3/84 Herman Road

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under the REAA 2008

Helping grow the country

NZ’s leading rural real estate company

Helping grow the country

RURAL | LIFESTYLE | RESIDENTIAL

TENDER

EXCLUSIVE

PORANGAHAU, CENTRAL HAWKES BAY Versatile Bare Land • • • • • •

150.328ha (371 acres) (subject to survey Easy/medium hill suitable for grazing or forestry Quality pastures and newly sown fodder crops Excellent house sites with coastal views 40km south east of Waipukurau Plant Pasture, Pasja or Pines

TENDER

Plus GST (if any) Closes 4.00pm Friday 20 December 2019

VIEW By Appointment Only

Max Lyver M 027 597 5818 B 06 858 6780 E mlyver@pggwrightson.co.nz pggwre.co.nz/WPK31516

WEST MELTON, CANTERBURY Large, Irrigated, Well-Located Land Holding 225.2993 hectares total with multiple purchasing options. Farm, develop or land bank opportunity. The property has good road frontage with excellent shelter, fencing and a good array of farm buildings. With low cost surface water irrigation, the property has been faithfully farmed by our retiring vendors finishing lambs and cattle. A comfortable three bedroom home in an established sheltered setting. Located close to the I-Zone and Rolleston, and 23km from Christchurch international airport, the property is available for sale for the first time since 1953.

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 2.00pm Thursday 5 December

VIEW By Appointment Only

Sam Davidson M 027 488 8269 E sdavidson@pggwrightson.co.nz Mark Clyne M 027 531 2964 E mark.clyne@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/CHR31366

EXCLUSIVE

METHVEN, MID CANTERBURY Scale And Splendor In The Foothills Seldom do properties of this scale come to the market in the rain belt of the Canterbury foothills. This picturesque 476ha block has been well run as a cattle and lamb fattening operation as well as dairy grazing through the winter. Known for its finishing prowess, this block at the base of Mount Hutt has a baseline of 66kg N/ha. There are three dwellings, outbuildings and cattle yards, with a newly refurbished set of sheep yards. Purchase options include - as one unit of 476ha; 374ha or 101ha. Option 4,5,6 (subject to survey) 67ha, 154ha or 152ha.

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 3.00pm, Friday 29 November

Robin Ford M 027 433 6883 E rford@pggwrightson.co.nz Tim Gallagher M 027 801 2888 E tim.gallagher@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/ASH30667

MABEL BUSH, SOUTHLAND

Well Presented Property • • • • • • • • •

176.0334ha Centrally located property within easy distance of Invercargill, Winton and Gore Rolling contour with northerly aspect Excellent fencing and subdivision Good well maintained farm buildings Three bedroom brick and roughcast dwelling with amazing views Dressage arena and stables Healthy stock country Well presented property worthy of inspection

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY Plus GST (if any) (Unless Sold Prior) Closes 12.00pm Monday 16 December

VIEW By Appointment Only

Ian Russell M 027 478 6517 E irussell@pggwrightson.co.nz

pggwre.co.nz/INV31420

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under REAA 2008

For more great rural listings, visit www.pggwre.co.nz www.pggwre.co.nz

DEADLINE PRIVATE TREATY

PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under the REAA 2008

Helping grow the country

NZ’s leading rural real estate company

Helping grow the country

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

Agri Job Board

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

Noticeboard DOLOMITE www.ecoland.co.nz

0800 436 566

HEAD SHEPHERD / STOCK MANAGER We are looking for an enthusiastic and passionate Head Shepherd/Stock Manager for our finishing farm ( Pukenui Station) is 224ha close to Napier (45-60 minutes) to Taupo and supports (7500su) sheep, deer, cattle including 600 breeding hinds, 380 breeding cows, 2000 breeding ewes. All terminal sired. Hineuru Station is 866ha sheep, cattle, deer breeding unit. Both farms are located at Te Haroto.

Power  Phone Gas  Water

The successful candidate will report to the Farm Manager and will have the opportunity to be involved in the day-to-day management and planning responsibilities of this business, in a supportive environment.

Cables  Drains PVC & Steel Pipes www.pathfinder.kiwi.nz

LEASE DAIRY FARM or 50:50 POSITION WANTED

Underground Locators

Please send inquiries via NZAB to: Brendan Clare at brendan.clare@nzab.co.nz or call 021 290 0239

Join over 3000 satisfied Kiwis …

Lifestyle Products • www.lifestyleproducts.co.nz 0800 75 49 86 • info@lifestyleproducts.co.nz

w w w. e l e c t r o t e k . c o . n z

20M2A0R

This opportunity also includes a very tidy three-bedroom home with primary school bus at the gate and access to a range of fantastic recreational activities on your doorstep.

DE HORNER

Phone: +64 6 357 2454 HOOF TRIMMER

(All volumes – big or small)

Next Stop BRAZIL

All paper work is done for you around health and safety, resource consent application and management.

GUARANTEED PAYMENTS LK0100185©

LK0099665©

LK0100418©

H.P.L is committed to providing a safe and drug free workplace and the successful applicant will be required to pass a drug test.

Call or email Aaron West 027 562 3832 aaron@westtreenz.co.nz for a no obligation appraisal

CRAIGCO

farmersweeklyjobs.co.nz

JOBS BOARD

SHEEP JETTERS

Heavy duty long lasting

SHEEP JETTERS SINCE 1992

WEBSITE

www.crmcphail.co.nz

CRAIGCO SENSOR JET

enquiries@crmcphail.co.nz PHONE

Agronomy

EARMARKERS

We purchase standing trees, land and trees or harvest and market on your behalf.

3 R 31 MA TUES

FRI 1

electro-tek@xtra.co.nz

WANTED FORESTRY/ FARM WOODLOTS

FOR FARMERS

We are offering a comprehensive remuneration package and will commensurate with the level of skill and experience of the applicant. We are committed to providing ongoing personal development opportunities to help you reach your personal career goals.

STOP BIRDS NOW!

P.O. Box 30, Palmerston North 4440, NZ

ZON BIRDSCARER

HOLIDAYS

Applications close 4 December 2019

3 sizes available

They are now looking for their next opportunity. Ideally 400 plus cows

The successful applicant would: • Require 3-4 well controlled working dogs • Deer experience preferred • 3-4 years sheep, beef experience preferred • Have excellent stockmanship, and animal husbandry • Effective communication skills and friendly personality • Commitment to high standards of quality and safety • Knowledge of stock nutritional requirements • Current and full NZ drivers licence • Experience in operating and maintaining farm machinery • Attention to detail and good general farm skills

Please send CV to: recruitment@agfirst.co.nz

The most enjoyable way to dry your washing fast and easy all while saving the planet!

We have clients with an outstanding track record of improving production and profitability whilst also improving the properties they have been involved with.

021 08 959 158

The key stock policies are to grow all young lambs, calves and fawns from the main farm to target weights.

Ph: 021 326 563

LK0100078©

Auto delivery Bait Station for Possums and Rats

LK0100285©

Hineuru Property Limited

(06) 357 1644

Ph 021 047 9299

Farm Manager

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

Farm Research Senior NZ-Ireland Exchange Programme

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

Private Retreat Managers Shepherd

TOWABLE TOPPING MOWER

12Hp Diesel. Electric Start

Guaranteed Performance Save time and Money . Flystrike and Lice cost $$$ Quick to Set up . Easy to use . Job Done

Stock Manager *conditions apply

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

TOWABLE FLAIL MOWER GST $4400 INCLUSIVE

11.5HP Briggs & Stratton Motor. Industrial. Electric start. GST $4200 INCLUSIVE

Robust construction. Auto shut gate. Adjustable V panels Total 20 Jets. Lambs 5 jets. Side jets for Lice. Davey Twin Impeller Pump. 6.5 or 9.0 Hp motors

50 TON WOOD SPLITTER

GST $4200 INCLUSIVE

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

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

LK0100238©

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

06 8356863 . 021 061 1800

www.craigcojetters.com

LK0100155©

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

The Original Victorian Style Drying Rack

Noticeboard DOGS WANTED

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

12 MONTHS TO 5½-yearold Heading dogs and Huntaways wanted. Phone 022 698 8195. SELLING YOUR DOGS? No one buys or pays more! Mike Hughes 07 315 5553.

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

ATTENTION FARMERS DAGS .25c PER KG. Replacement woolpacks. PV Weber Wools. Kawakawa Road, Feilding. Phone 06 323 9550.

CONTRACTORS GORSE SPRAYING SCRUB CUTTING. 30 years experience. Blowers, gun and hose. No job too big. Camp out teams. Travel anywhere if job big enough. Phone Dave 06 375 8032. BOOK AN AD. For only $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone Debbie Brown on 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email classifieds@ globalhq.co.nz

DEERLAND TRADING LTD DEERLAND TRADING LTD buying deer velvet this season and paying above the average. Also contractor required to buy deer velvet. Payment on commission basis. Contact 021 269 7608.

DOGS FOR SALE B&T HUNTAWAY, good noise. 2 1/2 years old. Phone 06 388 0212 or 027 243 8541. HUGE SELECTION Huntaways and Heading dogs. Deliver, trial. www.youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553. SOUTH ISLANDERS! Last shipment of the year 14/12/19. www.youtube.com/user/ mikehughesworkingdog/ videos 07 315 5553.

FARM MAPPING FOCUS ON YOUR strengths with a farm map showing paddock sizes. Contact us for a free quote at farmmapping.co.nz or call us on 0800 433 855. FOR ONLY $2.10 + gst per word you can book a word only ad in Farmers Weekly Classifieds section. Phone Debbie Brown on 0800 85 25 80 to book in or email classifieds@globalhq.co.nz

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. PINE WOODLOT VALUES Ltd. If you’re thinking of logging your pine woodlot, our totally independent assessment will tell you what you’ve got, what its worth, and how to achieve your share. Contact Ray Hindrup 027 353 4515 or hindrup.logs@gmail.com – www.pinewoodlotvalues. co.nz

FORESTRY/ SCRUB CUTTING INTEGRATED VEHICLE wood chipper for local chipping of trimmed/ cut branches. NZ Patent 713280. Easily driven to work site, operates independent of tractor or large truck/trailer combination solutions. Retains material on-site for natural recycling without the carbon footprint of transporting the slash/ scrub cuttings. Minimizes volume of material from piles of cuttings. Contact: Silver Crags Engineering at richard.w.finney@gmail. com

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

GOATS WANTED GOATS WANTED. All weights. All breeds. Prompt service. Payment on pick up. My on farm prices will not be beaten. Phone David Hutchings 07 895 8845 or 0274 519 249. Feral goats mustered on a 50/50 share basis.

HORTICULTURE NZ KELP. FRESH, wild ocean harvested giant kelp. The world’s richest source of natural iodine. Dried and milled for use in agriculture and horticulture. Growth promotant / stock health food. As seen on Country Calendar. Orders to: 03 322 6115 or info@nzkelp.co.nz

LEASE LAND AVAILABLE 77HA HIGH QUALITY Grazing property available for lease. Excellent facilities water, yards and paddock sub division. Contour a mixture of easy to strong rolling, with some sidlings interspersed. Over 70ha mowable. Location 13km east of Cambridge. Contact Richard - 021 274 2476 or richard@ abreeds.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND EWE HOGGET FIELD DAY Friday 29 November 2019 12.30pm start for registrations

Late January delivery 2020

Brian and Anna Coogan - 31 Station Rd, Taihape

FRIESIAN HEIFERS

The annual ewe hogget competition identifies the top operators and rewards excellence. Brian and Anna Coogan won the supreme award at this year’s New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition.

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE WILTSHIRES-ARVIDSON. Self shearing sheep. No1 for Facial Eczema. David 027 2771 556. PUREBRED RED DEVON yearling bulls. BVD negative. Phone Don 06 375 8589.

18 Born In Calf - $1650 19 Born Autumn - $1250

The couple are hosting a field day on their farm to celebrate their win and to discuss the management and genetics that go into producing the country’s best ewe hoggets. A motorbike or side by side and safety gear are required for farm tour. COMPETITION SPONSORED BY

North Island Luke McBride

027 304 0533

Wayne Doran

027 493 8957

Harry Van De Ven

027 486 9866

South Island Richard Harley Grey Collins

IPURUA WILTSHIRES Genuine full shed sheep

021 765 430 027 481 9772

ADELONG

15th ANNUAL ON FARM RAM SALE A/c Neville & Dianne Greenwood Wednesday 4th December 2019 @ 2pm Inspection available from 11am on Sale Day

2T Rams available

LEASE LAND WANTED MEDIUM TO LARGE scale beef and/or sheep block to lease. Preferably around the Rotorua area but open to other options. Phone 027 319 5078.

EXPORT WANTED

NO SHEARING NO DAGGING NO DIPPING SIL RECORDED

Talk to us about our FE programme

PETER & CAROLINE FOSS

PERSONAL

495 Potaka Road, RD 1 Aria, King Country Ph/fax: (07) 877 7881 E: pcfossy@xtra.co.nz

LOOKING FOR GOOD woman to marry between ages 47 - 79. I am 57 years old. Only sincere persons apply. Please email bio with recent photo: happinessisfreefirm@ gmail.com

120 Poll Dorset 1 Shear Rams 46 Suffolk x Texel x Poll Dorset Rams 40 Poll Dorset Rams in Catalogue with footscores from 1.1 to 1.3 Catalogues available from: Carrﬁelds Agent Callum Dunnett 027 587 0131 or PGG Wrightson Simon Eddington 027 590 8612 Stu Uren 027 591 0446 or Vendor Neville Greenwood 027 431 1431 or 03 329 5799

LK0100267©

ANIMAL HANDLING

Livestock Noticeboard

LK0100404©

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

NOTICEBOARD REACH EVERY FARMER IN NZ FROM MONDAY

PERFORMANCE, PRODUCTION & PRICE – THE WINNING COMBO

Advertise in the Farmers Weekly $2.10 + GST per word - Please print clearly Name:

Email: Heading: Advert to read:

Return this form either by fax to 06 323 7101 attention Debbie Brown Post to Farmers Weekly Classifieds, PO Box 529, Feilding 4740 - by 12pm Wednesday or Freephone 0800 85 25 80

Every Every drop drop means means quite quite a a lot lot when it’s from Genetics Every drop means a lot Peters when it’s from Peters Genetics when it’squite from Peters Genetics

LK0099517©

Address:

021906s6207-f 021906s6207-f

Phone:

TREVOR PETERS TREVOR 03 446PETERS 6030 03 446 027 2016030 4490 027 201 4490

CLAYTON PETERS MORGAN PETERS PETERS CLAYTON PETERS MORGAN 03 204 8849 03 204 8817 03 204 03 204 027 4408849 7411 027 2228817 4421 027 440 7411 027 222 4421

SHANE CARTER SHANE 03 446CARTER 6064 03 446 027 3646064 1438 027 364 1438

Call Call the the Peters Peters group! group!

www.petersgenetics.co.nz www.petersgenetics.co.nz

On-Farm Ram Sale Friday 6th December 2019, 2.00pm, by Auction

12th Annual Ram Sale • • • •

Rams that will MEAT your requirements.

350-420kg 2YR BEEF BRED HEIFERS

North – Tom Suttor 0276164504 – South – Callum Dunnett 027 587 0131 Auctioneer – Neville Clark 027 598 6537 or contact your local Carrfields Agent

Est 1951 Farmed on Taihape Hill Country 500 – 700 mtrs

2YR

www.dyerlivestock.co.nz

Ross Dyer 0274 333 381

Phone HANNAH GUDSELL 0800 85 25 80 or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz

A Financing Solution For Your Farm E info@rdlfinance.co.nz

GET INTO A SUFFOLK!

• • • •

Proven fast growth Hybrid Vigour Easy identification High yields

They have already exported Beltex genetics to N.Z. via frozen semen and embryos with great success.

We have developed 3 types of doubled muscled sheep to improve the carcass quality and conformation of finished fat lambs. Below outlines the differences between the types in the hope of offering selected genetics to the N.Z. sheep industry. Type 1 is the extreme Beltex – profound double muscling with tight fleece qualities. These are the basis of our pedigree sale and show team. They require closer shepherding and supervision at lambing and are

The Rathbone flock based in the Yorkshire Dales, has topped pedigree sales and shows across the UK.

Our aim is to produce a medium sized double muscled terminal sire selected for muscling across the loin and gigot. This results in a long fine boned sheep with large hindquarters. The high muscle to bone ratio allowing for ease of lambing and a high killing out percentage. The demand for premium lamb carcasses in the UK have made the Beltex and Dutch texel a dominant terminal sire across all levels of the sheep industry.

FOL UF K

SEA

Using a Suffolk ram results in 100% of offspring being in the black, which will in turn, put YOU in the black.

PERFOR

cheer up your bank manager today! Tell him you’ve bought a Suffolk! FIND YOUR NEAREST SUFFOLK BREEDER: nzsheep.co.nz/suffolk

Improve lamb carcass quality with Rathbone double muscled Beltex and Dutch Texel sheep The Rathbone flock is run by Micheal Davis and his daughter Becki Dakin.

BEEF BRED BULLS 470+kg

To advertise

Easy Care ǀ High Lamb Survival ǀ Ideal for Hogget Mating

Barry Cleaver ǀ Mataroa, RD 1, Taihape ǀ Ph: 06 388 7871 barrycleaver@slingshot.co.nz ǀ www.mataroacheviots.co.nz

2YR TRADITIONAL STEERS 500+kg

Have ewe heard the most successful place to advertise your livestock is in Farmers Weekly?

GET INTO THE BLACK

MATAROA CHEVIOTS

FOR SALE ON FARM FROM MID DECEMBER Enquiries Welcome

20-25kg MALE LAMBS

1YR BEEF BRED HEIFERS 250-320kg

SIL Recorded High growth and high yielding rams Born and bred under challenging conditions All Sires DNA foot scored

For further information or catalogues please contact: Simon Prouting, 06 374 3661, 1529 Ngapaeruru Road RD3, Te Uri, Dannevirke • prouting@inspire.co.nz

YOUNG WET DRY EWES

with Farmers Weekly

LK0100230©

•

Stud and Flock rams available Approx 130 South Suffolks Approx 30 Poll Dorsets Approx 20 South Suffolk and Poll Dorset Texel cross Eye muscle scanned

STOCK REQUIRED

• • • •

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

Paddy stumbles across a mass baptism at a river. He walks into the river and stands next to the Preacher. “Are you ready to find Jesus my son?” Paddy says, “I am sir.” The Preacher puts him under the water then says, “Have you found Jesus?” “No sir.” He then puts him under for longer…. “Have you found Jesus?” “No sir.” He puts him under for 2 minutes… “Have you found Jesus?” Paddy says, “Are you sure this is where he fell in?” Supplied by Lindsey Thompson

SOUTH SUFFOLKS & POLL DORSETS

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

SALE TALK

Livestock Noticeboard

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

LK00100011©

not well suited to extensive systems. The extreme double muscled rams are ideal to cross over other breeds with good locomotion and maternal traits to rapidly improve muscling with in a flock. Type 2 is the standard Beltex – A more commercial type which still carries excellent double muscling. Selected to be larger and more mobile with a higher head carriage and a longer neck developed with improved milk production, mothering traits and ease of lambing. The standard Beltex is better suited to extensive systems and being farmed in larger numbers. Type 3 is the Dutch Texel – (the original Texel line that the Beltex was developed from) A larger sheep again especially on the female side. Excellent double muscling particularly in the rams and due to genetic variation and increased milk production lambs grow more rapidly and achieve slaughter weights sooner.

Despite the increased size the Dutch Texel retains the fine bone structure and small head hence reducing lambing difficulties. The fleece is slightly more open and head carriage is up with whiter colouring. Maternal traits are strongly selected for with good milk production, mothering and ease of lambing. The Dutch Texel has a proven commercial base and can be farmed in large numbers in pedigree or pure form or can be crossed into other breeds as a carcass improver where size and increased growth rates are required. The Rathbone flock has developed using A.I, embryo flushing from elite ewes and most importantly by farming large numbers of pedigree and home purebred ewes over 20 years. We feel this experience places us in a position to promote and advise farmers keen to take advantage of double muscling genetics.

If you require further information please contact Mike or Becki rathbonebeltexandtexel@hotmail.co.uk or visit our Facebook page

LK0100313©

We have frozen semen and pedigree and homebred ewes available for embryo flushing and can advise on any import requirements.

Livestock Noticeboard

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

CRAIGNEUK

WE NEED Grazing FARMERs!

18th Annual on Farm Sale Friday 17th January 2020

• Do you need more stock for your farm? • Do you want a regular income? • Could you grow healthy dairy heifers on your farm?

On offer 260 Rams Made up of 200 Terminal Rams • Dorset Down X lambs growing 500 to 600 grams a day from birth to weaning • South Dorset Rams for quick maturity • SIL Recorded and Studfax • Autumn Scan

To find out more

CALL 0800 10 84 94 WWW.GRAZING.NZ

Also 60 Halfbred Maternal Rams Merino Ram/Romney Ewe MILK • WOOL • MEAT Bred to fit the Smartwool Contract 20-25 micron Grown in the harsh Maniototo climate

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING Are you looking in the right direction?

farmersweekly.co.nz

LK0100253©

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

Enquiries to: Johnny Duncan 027 327 2372 or email: JDuncan.Craigneuk@xtra.co.nz

FEILDING ELITE RAM & EWE SALES MANFEILD PARK, FEILDING

TUESDAY DECEMBER 10, 2019 WOOL BREEDS Sale starts: 10.30am 4 Perendale Rams 1 Cheviot Ram

NORTH ISLAND

Followed by

13 2 27 13 14 15 2

Poll Dorset Rams + 6 Poll Dorset Ewes South Suffolk Rams Southdown Rams + 2 Southdown Ewes Dorset Down Rams Texel Rams Suffolk Rams Dorper Rams

View catalogue online at www.pivotdesign.co.nz under catalogues 2019.

LK0100311©

MEAT BREEDS

Brandon, Philip & Audrey – Otorohanga. P: 07 873 6313 Bryant, Maree – Urenui. P: 06 752 3701 Frank, Wayne – Waitara. P: 06 754 4311 Jury, Chris – Waitara. P: 06 754 6672 Langlands, Neil & Linda – Taumarunui. P: 07 896 8660 MacFarlane, James – Stratford. P: 06 762 5880 Proffit, Russell & Mavis – Mahoneui. P: 027 355 2927 Brosnahan, Sean – Ohope. P: 06 864 4468 Harding, Judy – Woodville. P: 06 376 4751 Otoi Farming Co – Wairoa. P: 06 838 7398 Longview – Maxwell, Graeme & Sue – Tutira. P: 06 839 7412 Proffit Gaskin, Rob & Heather – Levin. P: 06 368 0623 Henricksen, John & Carey – Pongaroa. P: 06 374 3888 Bryant D’Ath, Warren – Palmerston North. P: 06 354 8951 Jury Robbie, Donald & Marlene – Eketahuna. P: 06 376 7250 Frank Te Awaiti Station – Martinborough. P: 06 307 8881 MacFarlane Timms, Gilbert – Shannon. P: 06 362 7829

Rams for the Feilding Sale have been selected on type and performance for typical North Island sheep breeding conditions.

D’Ath Timms

Auctioneers: NZ FARMERS LIVESTOCK • CARRFIELDS LIVESTOCK

Brandon

Brosnahan

Langlands Otoi

Longview Harding Henricksen Robbie Gaskin Te Awaiti

de Vos

Anderson

SOUTH ISLAND

James Evans Tripp/Veronese Gallagher Elliott

Oldfield

Laing

Gardyne

Jebson Newhaven France McElrea Richardson

Slee Christie/Wilson

Mitchell Hillcrest Minty

Wilson

Awakiki Ridges Mitchell, P

Diamond Peak

Ayers

P: 07 8 9 4 6 1 3 6

LK0100347©

McKelvie

Anderson, Tim, Sue & Edward – Cheviot. P:03 319 2730 de Vos, Cor & Belia – Wakefield. P: 03 522 4280 Elliott, Ken – Akaroa. P: 021 221 4185 Evans, Ivan & Julie – Oxford. P: 03 312 1585 Jebson, John & Melissa – Darfield. P: 03 318 3796 Gallagher, Blair – Ashburton. P: 03 303 9819 James, Warrick – Coalgate. P: 03 318 2352 Laing, Andrew & Anna – Irwell. P: 03 329 1709 Oldfield, Philip – Geraldine. P: 03 693 9877 Tripp/Veronese, Annabel & Roy – Darfield. P: 03 318 6939 Awakiki Ridges Ltd – Balclutha. P: 03 418 0645 France, Richard & Kerry – Tapanui. P:03 204 8339 Gardyne, Robert – Oturehua. P: 03 444 5032 McElrea, Mike – Tapanui. P: 027 242 9376 Newhaven Farms – Oamaru. P: 03 432 4154 Mitchell Hillcrest – Clinton. P: 03 415 7187 Richardson, Allan – Tapanui. P: 03 204 2134 Ayers, Warren – Wyndham. P: 027 226 4290 Christie Wilson P/s – Gore. P: 03 208 1789 Diamond Peak – Gore. P: 03 208 1030 McKelvie Ltd – Wyndham. P: 027 249 6905 Minty, John & Judith – Otautau. P: 03 225 4631 Mitchell, Philip & Christine – Tokanui.P:03 246 8881 Slee, Hayden & Kate – Te Anau. P: 03 249 9097 Wilson, Pip – Gore. P: 027 207 2882

www.perendalenz.com

SHEDDING WILTSHIRES 1st Annual 2th Ram Sale Shabor Ltd Oparau Friday 29th November, 11am Te Kuiti Saleyard

Annual Flock Annual EliteElite Flock Ram Sale Ram Sale

Wednesday 5th December 2018 4pm. Gore A&P Grounds. Gore

Wednesday 4th December 4pm. Gore A&P Grounds. Gore

• Selected from an elite flock within one of New Zealands largest commercial flock of Wiltshires.

The South Islands Premier Coopworth sale offering only 100% Pure Coopworth rams

Ross & Ruth Mitchell 0274338613 Contacts:

LK0099526©

Phone Stu 06 862 7534

• Bred for growth, meat yield, strong conformation, eczema & parasite tolerance.

Breeders:

George & Elaine Fletcher 0274334773 Fraser Fletcher 027 497 8104 Fraser Fletcher 0274978104 George Fletcher 027 433 4773

Meadowslea Hill-Bred Rams

• 35 Hill country bred Wiltshire 2th Rams.

www.otago-coopworths.co.nz

Farmed easy-care on steep hill country.

Check out Poll Dorset NZ on Facebook

MOERANGI

Otago Coopworth Breeders

Ewes, rams, ewe hoggets. No shearing, crutching, docking. Minimal dagging. Scanned 175% ewes, 103% hoggets.

FARMERS WEEKLY – November 25, 2019

GLENGARRY POLL DORSET

• All rams Bruccellosis tested clear.

Enquires: Rhys Hughes 07 280 7678 email r.hughesy1@gmail.com Paul Mitchell (PGW) 0272 733 538 Cam Heggie (PGW) 027 501 8182

3rd On Farm Lamb Sale

53RD ANNUAL SALE

RAM SALE

Anerley Station Tinui Valley Road Masterton

Monday, December 2nd, 2019 – 1pm Feilding Saleyards, Manchester Street, Feilding

300 rams across 7 breeds

300 rams across 7 breeds Thursday 28th Thursday November November 29th 12:30pm on-farm SH 8, Fairlie 12:30pm on-farm SH 8, Fairlie

(approx 20km from Tinui Village)

Tuesday 3rd December 11.30am start Comprising approx 7000 lambs: • 1500 M/S Black Face lambs • 4000 White Face C/O lambs – Romney

130 Rams up for Auction Why you should buy a Glengarry ram: • 43 years performance recording • Major emphasis on growth, survival and muscling • All sires DNA tested for footrot and muscling genes • No. 1 ranked Terminal Sire 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010 & 2017 (SIL ACE list) • 550 stud ewes means only the best rams are sold • Three rams in Top 20 2019 SIL Terminal Lamb Growth • 1st Ranked Ram 2019 SIL Terminal Sire Lamb Growth

All lambs undrafted and antibiotic free. Craig Nelson 021 457 127 Vendor: Hamish Johnson 06 372 6879

HAVE A SALE COMING UP? Call HANNAH 0800 85 25 80 livestock@globalhq.co.nz

••Romney • TexRom • Romdale Romney • Texel x Romney • Romdale ••Perendale x Romney Romney Perendale xx Tex Tex x • kelso. kelso.Terminal Terminal • kelso.xxRomney Romney •• kelso. (Blk Face) Maternal • kelso. • kelso. Maternal (Blk Face)

Contact: Contact: David Giddings - Meadowslea – 027 229 9760 David Giddings – 027433 2296443 9760 PGW – Callum– Meadowslea McDonald 027 PGW – Callum McDonald 027 433 Keith Willson 027 412 57666443 Keith Willson 027431 412 4051 5766 Greg Uren 027 Uren 027 RLL – Greg Anthony Cox431 0274051 208 3071 Carrfields – Callum Dunnett 027 PWA – Hamish Zuppicich 027587 4030131 3025 RLL – Anthony Cox 027 208 3071

www.facebook.com/meadowslea PWA – Hamish Zuppicich 027 403 3025 www.meadowslea.co.nz

On a/c Te Mai Iti

www.facebook.com/meadowslea

1200 M/S Terminal lambs 300 Romney C/O lambs

For ram and semen enquiries contact Ross & Ben Pratt today: Ross 06 323 3827 • RD 5, Feilding Ben 027 2356 577 • RD 2, Kimbolton • benpratt@xtra.co.nz

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

www.meadowslea.co.nz

Weekly Auctions

GOING GOING GONE!

Wednesday night – North Island Thursday night – South Island

Call HANNAH

Go to bidr.co.nz and click on the link “Find a bidr Assessor” or contact the bidr® team on 0800 TO BIDR.

0800 85 25 80

Talk to one of our 180 accredited assessors from 7 livestock agencies about listing your stock on bidr.

Callum Stewart 0272 802 688 Maurice Stewart 0272 469 255 Ryan Shannon 027 565 0979

LIVESTOCK ADVERTISING

LK0100264©

Wiltshires for sale

Livestock Noticeboard

LK0100286©

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

LK0100304©

NZ’s Virtual Saleyard

PGW New Zealand Hind/Stag/Wapiti Bull Sales Itinerary November 2019 Sales Fri 29th

Melior Genetics Balfour Open Day

December 2019 Sales Fri 6th

Tue 10th

Peel Forest Est. Peel Forest Forester Sale Venison Genetics 1.00pm. Velvet Awards Dinner Invercargill

Wed 11th Ruapehu Red Deer Taihape 1.30pm Fairlight Station Northern Southland 11.00am

Sat 14th

Tower Farms Cambridge 5.00pm

Tue 14th

Sun 15th

Sarnia Deer Cambridge 9.00am

Wed 15th Netherdale Deer Balfour 1.30pm

Fri 13th

Sun 12th

Sat 14th

Forest Road Farm. NZ Red Deer Hawkes Bay 12.30pm Wilkins Farming Ltd. Hawkes Bay 3.00pm Crowley Deer Hamilton 1.00pm

January 2020 Sales

Peel Forest Est. Peel Forest 1.00pm Deer Genetics NZ Geraldine 4.30pm

Mon 13th Ruper t Red Deer Geraldine 11.00am Rothesay Deer Methven 4.00pm

Thu 16th

Fri 17th

Black Forest Deer Park Outram 2.00pm

Arawata Red Deer Pinebush 12.30pm Altrive Red Deer Riversdale 5.00pm Annadale Deer Invercargill Open day/ Auction? 9.30am Wilkins Farming Ltd. Athol 2.00pm

Sun 19th

Lochinvar Wapiti Te Anau 11.00am

Mon 20th Littlebourne Wapiti Winton 1.00pm Tikana Wapiti Winton 3.30pm Tue 21st

Clachanburn Elk Ranfurly 1.00pm

Thu 23rd

Edendale Wapiti Mt Somers 12.00 Raincliff Station Wapiti Raincliff 5.00pm

PGG Wrightson Deer Specialist Team Graham Kinsman NZ Deer Stud Co-ordinator 027 422 3154

Murray Coutts Mid & South Canterbury 027 403 9377

John Williams Otago 027 241 4179

Ben Beadle Southland 027 728 1052

Ron Schroeder North Canterbury/West Coast 027 432 1299

John Duffy Deer Auctioneer 027 240 3841

NORTH ISLAND HERDS & IN-CALF HEIFERS FOR SALE

DAIRY HERDS & IN-CALF HEIFERS FOR SALE

350 Kiwi X Cows BW 107

274 Jersey Cows $1,850+GST

•

RA96% Calving 22nd July, young herd 300 cows 4yr younger sole agency. Dean Cook – 027 243 1429

Agonline ref: 5555

210 Frsn/Frsn X Cows BW 104

PGG Wrightson Dairy representatives are specialists at marketing and selling dairy herds.

PW 138

PW 161

$1,930+GST

•

RA 96% Calving 15th July, 360 m/s per cow, grass based system. Dave Stuart 027 224 1049 Agonline ref: 5530

BW 150

PW 168

220 XBred Cows $2,150+GST

BW 109

•

RA98% Calving 19th July, 40yr one owner closed herd. Chris Ryan – 027 243 1078

•

Agonline ref: 5675

Agonline ref: 5494

145 Frsn/Jersey X Cows

SOUTH ISLAND HERDS & HEIFERS FOR SALE

BW 79

PW 117

$1,600+GST

•

RA 99% Calving 10th July, 50 years one owner, 3 digit herd code. Kent Stove 027 224 0999 Agonline ref: 5514

605 Tidy, Friesian X Herd BW 78/39

PW 116/45

$1,900+GST

•

RA87% Milked on challenging farm, producing 430-450 M/S per cow. SCC avg for last six years: 98,000. If sold prior to mating, dates and bull type can be chosen by purchaser. Mike Van der Linden – 027 609 9187 Agonline ref: 5105

For photos and more information visit www.agonline.co.nz

NATIONAL TEAM. LOCAL KNOWLEDGE.

Your source for PGG Wrightson livestock and farming listings

Key: Dairy

Cattle

Sheep

Other

ON FARM LAMB SALE THE BROTHERS STATION

McMILLAN SHEDDING SHEEP 2TH RAM SALE

COMPLETE DAIRY DISPERSAL SALE

Three Mile Bush Road, Pleasant Point

Thursday 28th November, 12pm Te Kuiti saleyards Comprising 100 - 2th Wiltshire rams. These rams have been selected out of a large number. They are fully shedded and all are born as twins. Grant and Sandy have been breeding and farming these sheep commercially on Ongarue hill country since 2004. They are bred for shedding ability, facial eczema tolerance and growth rates. Brucellosis Accredited.

Morrinsville Saleyards Wednesday 27th November, 2019 Commencing 11am

Wednesday 27th November, 2019 Commencing 1pm 3000 Suffolk x Suftex x M/S Lambs (Undrafted) On Farm Sale 348 Koi Road, RD 1, Gore Tuesday 3rd December, 1pm Offering comprising approx: • 140 Romney 2th Rams • 90 Southdown 2th Rams Both breeds fully SIL recorded. All Rams eye muscle scanned as lambs. OB accredited. Using a combination of stockmanship and SIL data, Merrydowns have produced a quality even line of grunty Commercial Rams. Merrydowns are not solely focused on high index sheep, they are more interested in the commercial traits of: Lambing % to the Ram, ensuring that the Ewes have the capacity to hold and rear their Lambs, top quality wool, longevity, structural soundness, constitution, growth rate, early maturity and actual fertility. An Open Day will be held on Tuesday 26th November from 10.00am until 6.00pm. If you would like an alternative time to view the Rams, please contact Blair or Sally. Catalogues available to view online at: www.merrydowns.co.nz Enquiries: Blair or Sally Robertson 03 207 6851 Callum McDonald (PGW Genetics) 027 433 6443 Paul Pearce (PGW) 027 478 5761

$1,875+GST

RA 97% Calving 22nd July, 360m/s per cow, top 5% SCC, young herd. Dean Cook – 027 243 1429

Benefit from the nationwide team that is dedicated to matching herds with the right buyers and achieving an optimal outcome for your business.

11TH ANNUAL MERRYDOWNS ROMNEY AND SOUTHDOWN RAM SALE

PW 141

1000 CFA Ewes These lambs can be recommended for their shifting ability. Main lines of store lambs will be sold in sex lines. Lambs have been drenched and jetted. Sign posted from Pleasant Point Hotel. Enquires: Tim Allan 027 251 9011 Rob Harvey (PGW) 021 331 519

MOERANGI SHEDDING WILTSHIRES 1st Annual 2th Ram Sale Shabor Ltd Oparau Friday 29th November, 11am Te Kuiti Saleyard 35 Hill country bred Wiltshire 2th Rams. Selected from an elite flock within one of New Zealands largest commercial flock of Wiltshires. Bred for growth, meat yield, strong conformation, eczema & parasite tolerance. All rams Bruccellosis tested clear. Enquires Rhys Hughes 07 280 7678 email r.hughesy1@gmail.com Paul Mitchell (PGW) 0272 733 538 Cam Heggie (PGW) 027 501 8182

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

Further enquiries: Grant and Sandy 07 894 6136 Marty Cashin (PGW) 027 4976 414

ELITE CHAROLLAIS RAM SALE Tuesday 26th November 12 noon Feilding Saleyard, Complex 15 Pure Bred Charollais 2th Rams 13 88% Charollais 2th Rams 27 63-81% Charollais 2th Rams 5 Char/Black 2th Rams High growth, high yield, easy lambing, great carcass characteristics and ideal for hogget mating. Contact: Tony Gallen 0275 901 711 Ryan Shannon 0275 650 979

On A/c Mrs Langridge Complete Dairy Herd comprising of 200 Jersey and X Bred Cows BW 84/40 PW 118/59, Ancesty 80% Six cows have a PW ranging from 333 to 456. TB Status C10, EBL Free, Cell Count Average 200,000. Entire herd on one herd code. The cows have had the opportunity to AI crossbred insemination and are due to calve from the 12th July 2020. All mating dates will be available on sale day. The cows will come to market in very good condition having been milked once a day for the past four seasons on heavy Northland Limestone soils. On inspection of the cows they are of very good dairy type and temperament, with excellent udder confirmation. For further information please contact: PGG Wrightson Livestock Agents Kevin Brown 0274 347 561 Steven Joseph 0274 205 167 Richard Healey 0279 727 372 Regan Craig 0275 028 585

Breeding better business pggwrightson.co.nz/ramsales

Helping grow the country

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Market Snapshot brought to you by the AgriHQ analysts.

Suz Bremner

Mel Croad

Nicola Dennis

Cattle

Reece Brick

Caitlin Pemberton

Sheep

BEEF

William Hickson

Deer

SHEEP MEAT

VENISON

Last week

Prior week

Last year

NI Steer (300kg)

6.30

5.60

NI lamb (17kg)

9.00

8.10

NI Stag (60kg)

9.00

9.20

11.00

NI Bull (300kg)

6.40

6.30

5.10

NI mutton (20kg)

6.20

5.00

SI Stag (60kg)

9.00

9.15

11.00

NI Cow (200kg)

4.90

4.00

SI lamb (17kg)

9.00

7.85

SI Steer (300kg)

6.05

5.40

SI mutton (20kg)

6.25

6.05

5.00

SI Bull (300kg)

6.10

6.05

4.80

Export markets (NZ$/kg)

SI Cow (200kg)

4.70

3.85

UK CKT lamb leg

11.60

11.58

8.83

US imported 95CL bull

11.01

10.96

6.39

US domestic 90CL cow

8.38

8.30

6.21

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Last week Prior week

Last year

Export markets (NZ$/kg) North Island lamb slaughter price

10.0

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

$/kg CW

6.0

7.0 6.0

11.5

5.0

10.5 South Island lamb slaughter price

$/kg CW

9.0

South Island steer slaughter price

6.5

$/kg CW

6.5

10.0

4.5

8.0

Oct

Dec 5-yr ave

Feb

Apr

Jun

2018-19

Aug 2019-20

Prior week

Last year

Coarse xbred ind.

2.87

37 micron ewe

$/tonne

6.75 6.25

Dec-18

Feb-19 Apr-19 Sept. 2019

Jun-19

Aug-19 Oct-19 Sept. 2020

DAIRY FUTURES (US$/T) Last price*

vs 4 weeks ago

WMP

3265

3240

3110

SMP

2425

2455

2530

AMF

5620

5830

5900

Butter

4750

4955

5100

Milk Price

7.42

7.38

7.05

616

650

2.85

Super

314

315

DAP

787

778

NZ average (NZ$/t)

Top 10 by Market Cap Close

YTD High

480

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd

20.74

21.07

12.3

Auckland International Airport Limited

9.18

9.9

7.065

Meridian Energy Limited (NS)

4.32

5.54

3.38

440

The a2 Milk Company Limited

14.71

18.04

10.42

Spark New Zealand Limited

4.47

4.705

3.54

Ryman Healthcare Limited

14.24

10.4

Mercury NZ Limited (NS)

4.7

5.62

3.51

360

Contact Energy Limited

6.85

9.05

5.82

Port of Tauranga Limited

6.5

6.8

4.9

320

Fletcher Building Limited

5.23

5.55

4.28

Dec-18

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

Listed Agri Shares

YTD High

YTD Low

The a2 Milk Company Limited

14.71

18.04

10.42

Comvita Limited

2.97

5.42

2.5

Delegat Group Limited

11.27

12.5

9.4

Foley Wines Limited

$/tonne Apr

1.47

0.8

1.08

0.75

360

0.21

0.24

0.192

New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd

2.23

2.98

1.76

PGG Wrightson Limited

2.44

2.52

0.47

Sanford Limited (NS)

7.35

7.4

6.35

Dec-18

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

Scales Corporation Limited

5.27

5.45

4.34

SeaDragon Limited

0.002

0.003

0.001

Seeka Limited

4.78

5.35

4.2

Synlait Milk Limited (NS)

9.5

11.35

8.45

T&G Global Limited S&P/NZX Primary Sector Equity Index

Mar 4 weeks ago

3.15

Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd (NS)

350

Feb

4.85

Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited

WAIKATO PALM KERNEL

3100

4 1.6

380

Oct-18

3200

5pm, close of market, Thursday

Company

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund (NS)

400

320

3300

YTD Low

400

340

3400

Dec Jan Latest price

Aug 2019-20

Urea

420

WMP FUTURES - VS FOUR WEEKS AGO

Nov

Jun

Last year

440

* price as at close of business on Thursday

3000

Apr 2018-19

Prior week

CANTERBURY FEED BARLEY Prior week

Feb

Company

Oct-18

$/tonne

Nearby contract

Dec 5-yr ave

Last week

CANTERBURY FEED WHEAT

7.25

5.75

Oct

Fertiliser

Aug 2019-20

Grain

Data provided by

MILK PRICE FUTURES

$/kg MS

Jun

Last week

30 micron lamb

Dairy

7.5

FERTILISER

(NZ$/kg)

5-yr ave

US$/t

Apr 2018-19

WOOL

5.0 Feb

8.5

6.5

5.5

Dec

9.5

7.0

5.0

Oct

South Island stag slaughter price

6.0

4.5

8.5

8.0

5.5 5.0

9.5

7.5

$/kg CW

6.5

Last year

10.5

9.0 North Island steer slaughter price

Last week Prior week

North Island stag slaughter price

11.5 $/kg CW

Slaughter price (NZ$/kg)

Ingrid Usherwood

300

2.71

2.81

2.43

16618

17434

15063

S&P/NZX 50 Index

10958

11219

8732

S&P/NZX 10 Index

10796

11001

8280

250 200

Oct-18

S&P/FW PRIMARY SECTOR EQUITY

Dec-18

Feb-19

Apr-19

Jun-19

Aug-19

Oct-19

16618

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX

10958

S&P/NZX 10 INDEX

10796

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

9.00

SI SLAUGHTER MUTTON ( $/KG)

6.25

SI SLAUGHTER BULL ( $/KG)

6.10

PRIME MIXED AGE EWE MEDIAN AT FEILDING ( $/HD LW)

187

Some too wet, some too dry NORTH ISLAND

T’S bordering on dry in Northland despite a few showers earlier last week but there’s still enough grass to keep beef farmers pretty happy as are the prices they’re getting at the works. The cattle kill is starting to pick up speed with prices up. Bulls are fetching $6.40 to $6.50/kg. Around Pukekohe cool temperatures with rain earlier last week changed to fine weather by Friday. The predicted drier days for the coming week are bringing warmer temperatures that will likely see a lot more irrigation in action. Waikato also had some welcome rain earlier in the week. The region needs every bit of moisture, especially with a dry period coming up, and is playing catchup after the dry autumn. Despite that the feed situation is pretty good. It’s full noise on farms with docking still happening on Central Plateau farms, shearing coming up and weaning under way. Beef is fetching amazing prices underpinned by competition in export markets and better exchange rates. As one consultant says, sheep and beef farmers are going through a purple patch, onfarm at least. There’ve been a lot of cold southerlies in Bay of Plenty but a consultant told us Friday was a delicious day. The bees are busy pollinating Hayward kiwifruit and orchardists have started irrigating. In King Country the weather’s been great and farmers have been able to tick off the jobs that need doing. It’s been a bit chilly and one farmer, who looks out at Ruapehu, says the mountain is still snowclad though its neighbours are starting to lose their cover. There’s been enough rain and sun this spring and some farmers are starting to shear with lambs at foot. Dairy farmers have nearly finished artificial insemination and are into weaning. Silage is being made. Last week fined up in Taranaki after a wet start and it’s a job keeping on top of the weeds. Aritificial insemination is still under way, maize crops are in and growing well. Everything is ticking along nicely in Gisborne, which had a few showers earlier in the week to keep the green top and pasture growth rates up. Lamb weaning has started and there’ve been some outstanding results. A consultant says instead of the normal $120 they’re getting $170 for 18.5kg lambs. Sheep and beef prices are expected to remain very buoyant as long as the region keeps getting showers. The maize crops have gone in and apple orchardists are busy thinning and preparing for the season ahead. It cooled off slightly in Hawke’s Bay but generally orchardists have no complaints about last week’s weather. Irrigation is starting to crank up with topsoil drying off. Thinning’s full on in apple orchards and, with labour the biggest challenge facing growers, a consultant says anyone prepared to work should get on up to Hawke’s Bay. Damage to apples from the two hailstorms might be able to be thinned out but it’s looking like the crop will be down 3% to 4%. The hail made a much bigger dent in the stonefruit crop.

If you love the information you get from these pages, you will love AgriHQ’s livestock reports.

LivestockEye

ALL EYES: Buyers check lambs at Ian and Jess Knowles’ farm, Glenmark Springs Partnership, a venue for one of the on-farm sales at the Glenmark Drive lamb sale, Waipara, North Canterbury.

A farmer in Rangitikei is pleased he’s ahead of his schedule after a gang of English shearers floated past and he’s been able to get all his shearing done before Christmas. It’s a challenge finding good young people up for the job and when they’re keen it’s good to give them the opportunity. It’s been cold but with the longer daylight hours pasture growth is steady and cover is fine. There’s been a lot of constructive talk outside the farm gate this week with Federated Farmers gathering in Wellington. The farmer we spoke to says farmers are up for the challenges facing them. A Wairarapa arable farmer is crossing her fingers that once again there’ll be no pea weevils found in the latest trap pea crop they’ve just sown. These trap crops are on 15 sites around the region and have been set up to lure any rogue pea weevils. There’s been a ban on growing peas in the region since the pest was discovered there in 2016. Farmers should know in February whether the ban can be lifted. Wairarapa had periods of rain amid the heat and wind last week that will keep paddocks green and lush. SOUTH ISLAND Everyone’s in the thick of hand thinning in apple orchards in the Nelson region. Cover sprays are going on but thankfully the worst period for the black spot disease has passed. Irrigation systems are being turned on now the ground’s starting to dry out. Marlborough’s finally transitioned from what has been a fickle spring into summer. Lambs that have been finished are being sold but due to cool early spring conditions they are two or three kilograms lighter than normal. Pricewise our contact says he’s getting $9/ kg at the works so he’s extremely happy. Ditto for beef stock he’s selling at $6.10/ kg. The market’s very buoyant with most animals weighing in at about 320kg on the hook. In paddocks there’s been a drop in feed quality as things dry out but that is expected. All prep work for autumn

sowing is done. In the province’s vineyard flowering has started in chardonnay and pinot blocks while the sav blanc variety is about a week away. Spraying continues for powdery mildew. Now the skies have cleared and the sun’s out everyone’s out making as much balage as they can in North Canterbury. The first draft of lambs has gone to the works at an average of 18kg and people are getting mobs weaned. A farmer at Hokitika on the West Coast says it’s been very wet over the past couple of weeks. Grass growth has been too slow on his farm to make any silage and he’s started putting fertiliser and effluent onto paddocks to encourage growth. Milk production has dropped, too, because the lack of feed. Artificial insemination has been challenging. Due to the weather cows have had their tails down and bums to the wind breaks so it’s been hard to pick which cows are cycling. Because of the muddy conditions some people have yet to put winter crop paddocks back into grass. It’s been another wet week in south Otago. Every day there’s been an extra 5mm or 10mm in the gauge and the ground is saturated. Getting tractors into paddocks to top pasture to keep the quality up has been challenging. As a result milk production is down. Out contact says his bulls have been out for three weeks for mating and he hopes the conditions do not impact too much on conception rates. Southland’s wet underfoot. A farmer at Blackmount in the east says he hasn’t been able to put any crops in yet. If the weather holds over the weekend, though, he’ll hook on the plough on Monday and start working over the land. Feed levels and stock are okay. The farmer has just finished the bulk of tailing with the tail count sitting at 145%. The hoggets are still to come. On dairy farms overall milk production for the region is back on last year by between 5% and 10%, mainly because of low grass quality and wet conditions.

Courtesy of Radio New Zealand Country Life You can listen to Country Life on RNZ at 9pm every Friday and 7am on Saturday or on podcast at rnz.co.nz/countrylife

We create transparency for the industry with these independent, objective reports providing full sale results and informed commentary covering 10 saleyards across NZ that are emailed directly after the sale.

Livestock Insight

Every week, we explain the context of the current market situation, drivers which are impacting the livestock markets and what to expect in the coming week.

Livestock Outlook

For those who want to see and understand forecasting, this monthly report projects farmer operating prices six months ahead and supports these prices with analysis of supply/demand, procurement factors, key export markets and exchange rate effects.

INDEPENDENT • OBJECTIVE TRUSTED • WORTHY Discover how we can help you keep up to date with market conditions.

agrihq.co.nz 0800 85 25 80

2476AGHQ

NI SLAUGHTER LAMB ( $/KG)

DON’T STOP HERE...

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

No lambs for under $100 at Wairarapa lamb sales The biggest offering of store lambs so far this season was found in Wairarapa on Wednesday where 11,000 sold at Masterton and the Te Whanga Station on-farm lamb sale. Both sales are highlighted on calendars from as far afield as the South Island, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu and Rangitikei with regular buyers always making a return trip. These early sales always attract premium prices and PGG Wrightson agent Steve Wilkinson said they did not sell a lamb under $100, such was the strength of the demand and prices. Te Whanga Station offered well-bred and presented blackface and Romney cryptorchid lambs and lines sizes of 300 head up to 1300 meant buyers could filla unit with one or two bids. Sale prices were up on average $20 at both sales with top lambs at Te Whanga reaching $172-$174 while medium and good types at both sales made $127-$153. NORTHLAND Wellsford store cattle sale • Two-year Angus-Friesian steers, 326-435kg, returned $3.05-$3.15/ kg • Quality two-year Hereford-Friesian heifers, 374-442kg, held at $2.99-$3.07/kg • Yearling traditional steers, 301-377kg, held at $2.99-$3.02/kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 286-354kg, held at $3.29-$3.39/ kg • Yearling Friesian bulls, 300-325kg, fetched $2.99-$3.10/kg Buyers were not put off by changeable weather at WELLSFORD last Monday, with the 558 yarding well met by a moderate buying bench. Two-year beef-dairy sold well and Hereford-Friesian steers, 441-482kg, improved to $3.24-$3.25/kg, outdoing a traditional bred line, 377kg, at $3.02/kg. Hereford-dairy heifers, 327-419kg, traded at $2.87-$2.98/kg. Yearling Hereford-dairy steers, 250-315kg, managed $2.96-$3.03/kg. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 251263kg, softened to $2.83-$2.91/kg, though Hereford-dairy, 255-336kg, held at $2.94-$2.95/kg. Weaner Angus steers, 179kg, earned $610, and Hereford-Friesian heifers, 108109kg, $480-$490. Five Hereford bulls, 213kg, managed $600, with Hereford-Friesian, 158kg, $695, and similarly weighted Angus-Friesian $425. Kaikohe cattle • Two-year Angus-cross and beef-dairy steers improved to $3.30$3.56/kg • Top two-year heifers returned $3.00/kg • Most yearling exotic and beef-cross steers earned $3.40-$3.55/kg • Yearling Speckle Park bulls were a highlight at $3.36/kg • Weaner Friesian bulls traded at $400-$450 Throughput eased slightly at KAIKOHE last Wednesday with 560 head penned, and was met by strong competition from the bench, particularly in the two-year steer section, PGG Wrightson agent Vaughan Vujcich reported. Most two-year bulls earned $2.80-$2.85/kg. Yearling beef-dairy steers held at $3.25-$3.35/kg, with off-bred heifers harder to shift at $2.75-$2.90/kg. Yearling beef-cross and Friesiancross bulls made $2.55-$2.80/kg Weaner beef-dairy heifers fetched $450-$500. Good cows with calves-at-foot returned $1400-$1460 per unit, with lesser types at $1000-$1050 per unit.

AUCKLAND Pukekohe cattle • Top prime steers eased 6c/kg at the top end, trading at $3.09$3.21/kg • Top prime heifers softened to $3.07-$3.12/kg • Medium 15-month steers lifted to $3.00-$3.89/kg • Boner cows were mostly steady at $2.13-$2.34/kg A good offering of quality cattle coupled with good local rain helped to keep the market solid at PUKEKOHE on Saturday November 16. Buyer numbers increased and bidding was spirited throughout. Good store steers managed $3.34-$3.59/kg. Weaners were well sought, with both heifers and steers improving; steers lifted to $535-$800, with heifers close behind at $560-$785.

COUNTIES Tuakau sales • Top Charolais steers, 402kg, returned $3.65/kg • Good Hereford-Friesian weaner heifers, 130kg, earned $620 • Prime beef heifers lifted to an average of $3.20/kg • Top new-season prime lambs made $246 TUAKAU drew another big yarding of store cattle last Thursday, PGG Wrightson agent Chris Elliott reported. Most heavy steers traded at $3.10-$3.25/kg, with 300400kg earning $3.00-$3.20kg. Hereford-Friesian weaner

steers, 100-130kg, made $600-700. Bulls sold strongly, with 260-430kg Friesian and beef lots making $3.00-$3.25/kg. 400-470kg Heifers returned $3.00-$3.20/kg, with 200-400kg earning $2.90-$3.30/kg. Wednesday’s prime market was strong, especially for heifers which lifted by 10-15c/kg. The best made $3.35/ kg, and lighter beef types sold from $3.04/kg. Heavy beef steers averaged $3.20/kg, also selling up to $3.35/kg. Boner prices ranged from $1.70/kg to $2.58/kg, averaging $2.20/ kg. New-season prime lambs averaged $170 on Monday and a big yarding of store lambs sold from $70 to $160. Heavy prime ewes averaged $180, selling up to $215, and ewes with lambs-at-foot made $85-$116 all-counted.

WAIKATO Frankton dairy-beef weaner fair • Hereford-Friesian steers, 105-136kg, held at $645-$700 • Hereford-Friesian heifers, 101-120kg, earned $510-$570 • Friesian bulls, 88-99kg, lifted to $440-$490 • Hereford-Friesian bulls, 90-132kg, held at $605-$660 • Autumn-born Angus-Friesian steers, 213-216kg, fetched $650$740 A sizeable yarding of 1555 weaners was offered at FRANKTON last Tuesday, with something for everyone amongst the mixed yarding. Heifers sold to good demand and Angus-Friesian, 105kg, returned $530. HerefordFriesian, 93-100kg, earned $485-$495, and 89-91kg, $442$450. Red Hereford-Friesian, 98kg, made $420. Weaner bulls had varied results. Friesian, 106-138kg, traded on a steady to lifting market at $505- $570. Angus-Friesian bulls, 95101kg, improved to $432-$490, while Red Hereford-Friesian, 94-103kg, softened to $430-$500. Autumn-born HerefordFriesian steers, 166-191kg, held at $685-$700. AngusFriesian heifers, 199kg, traded at $640 and Hereford-Friesian bulls, 175-180kg, softened to $675-$695. Frankton cattle sale • Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 620kg, pushed to $3.29/kg • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 391-497kg, improved to $3.25$3.39/kg • Two-year Friesian bulls, 510-513kg, strengthened to $3.53-$3.68/ kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 217-222kg, earned $4.10-$4.15/ kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 280-324kg, returned $3.13$3.20/kg A smaller sale following two big weeks was well-supported by mainly local buyers at FRANKTON last Wednesday. Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 506-558kg, softened to $3.15$3.17/kg, while heifers, 442-538kg, held at $3.14-$3.16/kg. Boner Friesian cows eased to $2.21-$2.26/kg. Two-year red Hereford-Friesian steers, 408-511kg, improved to $3.19$3.29/kg. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 345-405kg, held at $3.12-$3.19/kg. Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers, 289-326kg, strengthened to $3.53-$3.68/kg. Most Angus-Friesian, 240-305kg, eased to $2.62-$2.75/kg, though 19 at 283kg were chased to $3.53/kg. Hereford-Friesian heifers, 218kg, realised $3.31/kg, with Hereford-dairy, 284-375kg, steady at $3.05-$3.11/kg. Angus-Friesian, 257kg, lifted to $3.04/kg.

BAY OF PLENTY Rangiuru cattle and sheep • Prime Hereford-Friesian steers, 570-755kg, improved to $3.39/kg • 2-year exotic-cross heifers, 448-449kg, sold well at $3.17-$3.20/kg • Yearling Friesian bulls, 338-356kg, were $3.15-$3.22/kg • Prime lambs were $125-$197, with stores $91.50-$117 It was a busy day at RANGIURU last Tuesday, with a goodsized yarding of cattle and over 800 sheep. Top prime steers earned $3.35/kg to $3.53/kg, while the

bulk of the section were Hereford-Friesian, 525-561kg, $3.16-$3.24/kg. Heifers improved on the previous week with all lines $3.03/kg to $3.22/kg. Two-year steer numbers were low and Angus-Friesian and Hereford-Friesian, 368465kg, traded for $3.27-$3.31/kg, and a larger heifer entry, $3.18-$3.23/kg. Yearling cattle varied in quality; most were Hereford-Friesian steers with better lines up to $3.82/kg, and $3.30/kg to $3.59/kg typical. Weaner prices couldn’t top the previous week’s results, though a few lines came close at $560-$590.

POVERTY BAY Matawhero sheep • Big lines of medium to good store lambs achieved $120.50-$145 • Prime mixed-sex lambs returned $135-$179 • Prime ewes sold for $145-$192 Store lambs contributed nearly 2300 of the overall total of 2400 sheep present at MATAWHERO last Friday. This tally was double the previous sale, but prices were on par. Very light lambs made $51-$64.50. Weaning brought out more cull ewes and light to medium types made $107-$135.

TARANAKI Taranaki cattle sale • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 478kg, made $3.45/kg • Top 2-year Angus service bulls earned $2000-$2100 • Yearling Friesian bulls, 335kg, traded at $1000-$1030, $2.99-$3.07/ kg Last Wednesday’s TARANAKI cattle sale had just over 400 head, with vendors seeing good results across the board. Two-year steers continued strong form as Hereford-Friesian, 498-548kg, earned $3.33-$3.35/kg, while same age heifers varied with the top end at $3.12-$3.21/kg. Yearling HerefordFriesian steers were sought after to strengthen to $3.55$3.62/kg, while same breed heifers sold around the $3.00/ kg mark. Taranaki dairy-beef weaner fair • Hereford-Friesian bulls, 94-108kg, lifted to $600-$605 • Friesian bulls, 114-121kg, also lifted to $500-$570 • Friesian bulls, 100-112kg, lifted to $490-$530 • Hereford-Friesian heifers, 101-111kg, eased to $445-$520 Friesian bull vendors were rewarded at the TARANAKI Dairy-Beef Weaner Fair last Thursday, as prices lifted $20$55 due to outside competition. The better end at 126136kg, sold to $570-$615. Hereford-Friesian followed suit and light lines traded up to $6.53-$6.70/kg. Smaller buying orders for heifers however eased the beef-Friesian market. Speckle Park-cross entries grew and proved very popular. Bulls, 97-141kg, sold for $640-$700, while steers, 121-146kg, made $650-$705 and heifers, 99-142kg, $530-$565.

HAWKE’S BAY Stortford Lodge prime cattle and sheep • Very-heavy ewes held at $217-$238 • Heavy ewes lifted to $182-$201.50 • Medium ewes improved to $141-$160 • Very heavy prime lambs returned $185-$196 • Angus cows, 575-626kg improved to $2.78-$2.84/kg Spring lamb numbers increased at STORTFORD LODGE last Monday, and heavy types held at $164-$186, while good eased to $146-$147.50. Ewes either held or firmed, with good to very-good steady at $165.50-$181, while light-medium firmed to $121.50-$149, and light $88-$107. Hoggets traded at steady levels. Most were good males at $150-$159, while heavy mixed-sex earne $178-$183.50, and lighter $130-$131. The cattle sale was dominated by heifers and cows. Angus heifers, 482-542kg, held at $3.12-$3.24/kg, and HerefordFriesian, 485-683kg, $3.19-$3.27/kg. Friesian-cross heifers and bulls, 540-590kg, were well-contested at $3.10-$3.20/kg. Stortford Lodge store cattle and sheep sale • Medium to good blackface mixed-sex lambs lifted to $123$156.50 • Medium Romney ram lambs sold for $113-$123.50 • Light Romney ewe lambs fetched $93.50-$108.50 • Two-year Hereford-Friesian heifers, 483-548kg, earned $3.08$3.17/kg • Weaner Friesian bulls, 95-103kg, returned $450-$485 The bulk of the store lambs offered at STORTFORD LODGE last Wednesday were from four vendors and included Romney lines from Wairoa. Most blackface mixedsex lifted, while medium to good terminal ram lambs earned $121-$140 and light Romney rams, $96-$107. Hoggets with lambs-at-foot sold for $117-$125.50 all counted. Cattle tallies dropped to 290 head, with a mainly beefdairy yarding presented. Two-year Angus-cross steers, 468kg, fetched $3.41/kg, and yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 306-338kg, $3.25-$3.27/kg. A feature line of yearling Simmental-cross heifers, 380kg, sold well at $3.37/kg, while 14 Angus and Angus-Hereford cows with young calves pushed to $1980 per unit.

SALE YARD WRAP

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019

• Hereford bulls, 572-590kg, made $3.30-$3.34/kg • Better prime hoggets made $200-$268, with the majority $160$196 • A big yarding of ewes with lambs-at-foot sold $100-$121 all counted A few extra buyers were at TEMUKA last Monday. Steers provided good returns with Angus, 570-670kg, making $3.28-$3.37/kg. Heifer values improved as traditional, 555-610kg, rose 17c/kg to $3.21/kg and good yielding Hereford-Friesian, 473-580kg, traded for $3.12-$3.22/kg. Better beef and beefcross cows were $2.38/kg to $2.53/kg. Boner Friesian cows held, except for 505-555kg which increased 13c/kg to $2.11/kg. Store new season lambs sold to good demand with heaviest lines making $144-$164 and mid-range $113-$128. Prime new season lambs rose, with a handful sold for $232-$240 and other top lines $204-$228. Ewes surpassed expectations with the top pen $312 and half the 623 yarded $200-$300, with the balance mostly $150-$198.

BIG NUMBERS: PGG Wrightson agents Steve Wilkinson, left, and Brian Diamond look for bids at last week’s Te Whanga Station on-farm lamb sale in Wairarapa.

MANAWATU Feilding prime cattle and sheep sale • Hereford heifers, 555-570kg, rose to $3.22-$3.28/kg • In-calf Friesian cows, 566-643kg, traded at $2.75-$2.77/kg • Angus cows, 574-612kg, made $2.81-$2.90/kg • Hereford-Friesian cows, 625kg, earned $2.92/kg. Of the 92 cattle penned at FEILDING last Monday, 54 were boner cows or heifers that were selectively bought. No steers attended but there was spirited bidding for prime heifers as Hereford- Friesian and Speckle Park heifers, 455-533kg, all made $3.15-$3.21/kg. Ewes continued to come forward in increasing numbers, with a total of 4549 offered. A third were very heavy types that sold at $192-$233, while heavy lines earned $175-$190. The top new season lambs lifted to $192-$210 and heavy, $163-$189. Hogget quality was lower and prices fell; the best condition lines sold for $220, with the next cut $192-$206 and heavy, $170-$182. Feilding store • Straight beef two-year steers, 430-600kg, were $3.40-$3.60/kg • Yearling South Devon steers, 430-460kg, were $1600-$1710 • Big lines of 315-380kg yearling bulls were $3.42-$3.44/kg • Average store lamb made $133 • Mixed age ewes with lambs-at-foot were $128-$129.50 A smaller yarding of cattle mainly sold to steady interest. The two-year steers were mainly straight-beef types, only going below $3.45/kg on the odd occasion. Two good-sized lines of 435-455kg two-year Friesian bulls were $3.43-$3.53/ kg, while some 375-470kg Angus and South Devon two-year heifers were $3.24-$3.36/kg. Yearling traditional steers, 315-360kg, were $3.95-$4.15/ kg. Mixed quality meant there was a wide spectrum of prices on the beef-Friesian lines. A lot of the smaller and mixedquality lines of yearling bulls made $2.95-$3.05/kg, where the larger pens were $3.20/kg plus. The few traditional and Charolais-cross yearling heifers, 275-335kg, made $3.31$3.39/kg, with beef-Friesian lines anywhere between $2.75$3.20/kg depending on quality. Store lamb numbers jumped to 6000, almost all mixed sex blackface or male whiteface lines. The main strength was in the short-term lambs, with the market getting stickier the lighter the lambs became. A few top cuts were $157.50-$170, however the core of the good lines were $135-$151. Through the mediums $130$135 was commonplace, while light pens bounced around considerably depending on when they were sold (mainly $91-$120.50). Very few ewes were sold – a capital stock line of ewes with lambs-at-foot were $128 all counted, with some other good wetdry ewes making $183-$200. Rongotea cattle • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 440-640kg, earned $3.07-$3.26/ kg • Two-year Angus bulls, 470kg, made $3.08/kg • Yearling Friesian bulls, 335-375kg, returned $2.78-$3.20/kg • Yearling Hereford-Friesian heifers, 172-350kg, sold over a range of $2.56-$3.31/kg • Friesian boner cows, 435-540kg, improved to $1.78-$2.35/kg The grass market was in full swing at RONGOTEA last Wednesday where demand was strong for cattle with quality and size, New Zealand Farmers Livestock agent Darryl Harwood reported. Two-year Hereford-Friesian bulls, 460kg, and cross-bred, 394kg, traded at $2.92-$2.98/kg. Angus-cross heifers, 260-425kg, ranged from $2.31-$2.85/kg. Yearling Angus-cross heifers, 207-258kg, managed $3.10$3.39/kg. Weaner Friesian bulls, 96-190kg, held at $415$580. Hereford-Friesian steers, 108kg, sold at $570, and their sisters, 108-135kg, sold between $500-$540.

WAIRARAPA Masterton lamb and Te Whanga Station on-farm lamb sale • Good blackface mixed-sex lambs made $137-$153 at Masterton • Medium lambs at Te Whanga Station traded at $123-$126 • Small lambs at both sales made $100-$105 A total of 11,000 lambs were up for sale last Wednesday in Wairarapa, with 4500 offered at the MASTERTON sale yards, followed by 6500 at TE WHANGA STATION. At Masterton most lambs were annual draft and blackface mixed-sex, and medium lines sold for $127-$133. At Te Whanga over half the offering were also blackface mixed-sex, with the balance Romney cryptorchid. The sale took just 15 minutes as line sizes varied from 300 to 1200 head. Heavy lambs reached $172-$174, with good lines making $135-$139.

CANTERBURY Canterbury Park cattle and sheep sale • Yearling Angus and Angus-Hereford steers, 268kg, were $3.69/kg • Prime traditional steers, 495-600kg, improved to $3.33/kg • Prime beef-dairy heifers, 440-595kg, made $3.12/kg • New season store lamb volume was low and most made $90$132 The top 2-year steers at CANTERBURY PARK last Tuesday were Hereford-Friesian, 429-458kg, that achieved $3.44$3.50/kg. Most other steers sold from $3.19/kg to $3.32/kg. Strong bidding continued into the heifer pens with heavy lines all $3.13-$3.20/kg. Yearling Hereford-Friesian steers were mostly $2.92/kg to $3.29/kg, while prime exotic steers traded for $3.33-$3.39/kg. Dairy-beef steers sold on a steady market, typically $3.15-$3.25/kg, while bulls were priced up to $3.59/kg. Prime new season lambs outnumbered hoggets by a decent amount for the first time this season. The top end made $201-$226, with the balance $150-$197. The ewe market continued to show good strength with a decent portion very heavy lines at $200-$270, while heavy mostly sold for $170-$199. Coalgate cattle and sheep sale • Prime steers, 485-585kg, averaged $3.22/kg. • Prime heifers, 582-612kg, earned $3.24-$3.30/kg • Two-year Hereford-Friesian steers, 370-395kg, made $3.04-$3.05/ kg • Heavy prime hoggets made $230-$246, with most $200-$228 Older sheep had an exceptional sale at COALGATE last Thursday. The best ewes made $350 but was eclipsed by wethers at $373. Other large ewes made $200-$231, with mid-range $150-$198. New season prime lambs sold for $200-$244, and store $109-$135. The best store hoggets earned $133-$141, with the majority $122. In the cattle pens most 2-year heifers were HerefordFriesian, 290-350kg, $3.08-$3.16/kg. Yearling cattle were mixed in quality and Hereford-Friesian steers ranged from $2.76/kg to $3.18/kg. Heifers outnumbered steers 2:1 and sold well; Angus, 265kg, were $3.32/kg and exotic lines $3.00/kg. In the yearling bulls a special entry of Santa Gertrudis, 333kg, made $3.45/kg, with most of the section HerefordFriesian that varied from $2.57/kg to $3.01/kg.

SOUTH-CANTERBURY Temuka prime and boner cattle; all sheep • Beef-cross steers, 525-675kg, improved 10c/kg to $3.24/kg • Hereford-Friesian heifers, 515-675kg, rose 9c/kg to $3.14/kg

Temuka dairy-beef calf sale • Autumn-born Hereford-Friesian steers, 220-241kg, sold for $725$770 • Autumn-born Hereford-Friesian heifers, 230kg, made $670kg • Weaner Hereford-Friesian bulls, 109-119kg, traded for $490-$510 A good tally of weaner cattle was yarded at TEMUKA last Thursday, with 1635 head attending. Autumn-born Hereford-Friesian steers, 158-201kg, made $500-$640 with similar prices in the heifer pens where most in the 173233kg range sold for $500-$645. In the spring-born pens Hereford-Friesian steers, 118kg, were the heaviest and highest priced at $555, while most others of that breed were closer to 100kg and $450-$540. Heifer prices were softer, with Hereford-Friesian, 99-118kg, sold for $415-$430. Plenty of Friesian bulls were penned, with a few too many for the buyers. The better lines made $425-$510, and midrange pens were generally $380-$420.

OTAGO Balclutha sheep and store cattle • Heavy prime hoggets held at $180-$200 • Heavy prime ewes improved to $200-$240 • Prime rams lifted to $90-$120 • Two-year exotic-cross and beef-dairy steers, 430-440kg, strengthened to $3.40/kg A smaller offering of prime sheep was penned at BALCLUTHA last Wednesday, with ewes seeing very strong demand, PGG Wrightson agent Russell Moloney reported. Light to medium prime hoggets lifted $10 to $120-$170. Medium prime ewes had good gains, improving to $170$200, with lighter types steady at $130-$140. Yearling Hereford-Friesian bulls, 300kg, managed $2.90/kg, with heifers of the same breeding and weight going one better at $3.00/kg.

SOUTHLAND Lorneville sale • Spring lambs earned $202 • Heavy ewes held at $202-$244 • Local trade rams improved to $102-$136 • Good prime heifers, 450kg+, improved to $2.80-$3.00/kg • Two-year Angus-cross steers, 346-377kg, returned $3.20-$3.43/kg. Store cattle numbers increased at LORNEVILE last Tuesday with good buyer interest throughout. Two-year Hereford-cross steers, 370-403kg, managed $3.37-$3.40/kg, while their sisters, 435kg, sold at $3.24/kg. Yearling AngusFriesian steers and heifers, 320-350kg, improved to $3.18$3.28/kg. Weaner Friesian bulls managed $400-$450. Beefcross bulls returned $500-$550, and their sisters, 110-116kg, sold at $450-$470. Good prime steers, traded at $2.70-$3.00/kg, with good beef cows lifting to $2.40-$2.50, and dairy bred lines earning $1.70-$1.80/kg. Prime bulls 500kg+ fetched $2.80-$2.90/kg. In the sheep section prime hoggets eased, with all trading at $140-$200. Good two-tooth ewes managed $146-$174, while light to medium improved to $120-$164. Ewes with lambsat-foot strengthened to $125-$130, whilst hoggets with lambs-at-foot returned $110-$118. Charlton prime sheep • Prime spring lambs earned $162-$174 • Heavy prime hoggets improved to $212 • Heavy prime ewes lifted to $240-$266 • Medium to heavy local trade rams lifted to $160-$185 New season lambs made an appearance at CHARLTON last Thursday and were well received. Heavy lambs and ewes sold to strong demand, though lighter types were less popular. Medium prime hoggets were steady for most at $165$180, while lighter lines eased to $120. Medium prime ewes softened to $180-$200, as did lighter types back to $115.

Markets

64 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – November 25, 2019 NI SLAUGHTER COW

NI SLAUGHTER BULL

SI SLAUGHTER STEER

($/KG)

WEANER FRIESIAN BULLS, 115KG AVERAGE, AT TARANAKI

($/KG)

($/HD LW)

4.90

6.40

6.05

high $330-373/hd LW $137-153/hd LW Good blackface lights Very heavy prime mixed-sex lambs at

535

ewes and wethers at Coalgate

Price surge a surprise Hugh Stringleman

hugh.stringleman@globalhq.co.nz

EEF prices are in unknown territory and meat exporters are pondering their next moves as their cattle suppliers are keen to count the cash. Imported beef prices for the United States market, which until recently drove all markets in countries around the Pacific Rim, have soared to their highest levels. China has sucked up more imported beef, partly to replace its devastated pork production, and US importers have fought back, forcing prices into record highs. What analysts call a phenomenal 60% rise in the 95CL bull beef indicator from less than US$2/lb to well over US$3/lb in the past year has caught everyone along the beef supply chain off guard. The cattle store market and the margins calf rearers get have been slow to react, partly held down by Mycoplasma bovis fears concerning Friesian bulls and the delay in bulls reaching finishing weights. Store bulls are better buying than store steers for that reason and the margins for finishers have never been better, according to AgriHQ market analyst Mel Croad. Coming into the peak slaughter season for dairy-beef bulls meat companies must wonder if farmers will hold back cattle in expectation of even better prices ahead. Official weekly kill figures to week four of the new season for bulls are 10% behind last year, driven by slower offload rates in the North Island as farmers await higher temperatures for pasture growth and quality. Slaughter rates have lifted in the last week, however, which follows normal trends. Rabobank animal proteins analyst Blake Holgate said the pork supply gap created by African swine fever is a key factor in the surge of New Zealand beef exports into China this year and the trend is set to extend into 2020.

AS GOOD AS: Farmgate beef prices next year are likely to be equal to or better than this year, Rabobank animal proteins analyst Blake Holgate says.

Another significant jump in Chinese demand for NZ beef products is forecast over the next 12 months. Blake Holgate Rabobank “Another significant jump in Chinese demand for NZ beef products is forecast over the next 12 months, further cementing China’s recently-acquired position as our largest export market for beef products. “With this continuing to put upward pressure on export returns we expect to see farmgate pricing at levels equal to, or above, those received in 2019,” he said. In the second-largest market, the US, the outlook is for good returns in 2020 because of limited availability of NZ and Australian beef supplies and an expected easing of the NZ dollar. Livestock managers for the major meat

companies said the sharp increases in the US prices has only just happened and exporters are still processing and shipping contracts made at lower price levels. “We don’t buy and sell on the same market and we are forward contracted on bull beef into December,” one said. The procurement indicator is the most basic of measures and does not factor in non-US markets, hides, by-products and the rising costs of processing and transport. “This situation is very unusual and goes against the normal price trend at this time of the year so no-one knows what to make of it,” one said. “Meat companies that haven’t been very profitable recently are not going to hand out large schedule increases every week to bull beef farmers.” Margins for those farmers are up at $800-$900 a head and replacements for the $2000 finished cattle can be bought for $1100-$1200, livestock buyers said. Sending to the works bulls that would kill out at 280kg would help fill the forward orders and still provide a good return to farmers, was one suggestion.

Masterton

ACROSS THE RAILS SUZ BREMNER

Cull ewes hit their straps LAMB weaning is well under way and it is that time of year when cull ewes hit their straps in the markets with a boost in supply and prices. Saying last year’s market was good is a bit of an understatement but again we have seen it push to new levels in 2019. The few fingers of responsibility for that can be firmly pointed at strong schedule prices, high demand and low supply of lambs. This time last year I sang the praises of a consistent year for mutton and, at the risk of repeating myself, 2019 has been almost a carbon copy though with a few extra dollars banked for farmers. High mutton schedules are leading the charge, of course, with North Island prices ranging from $6-$6.30/kg CW and South Island, $5.90-$6.40/kg CW. Compare that to last year’s levels around this time of $4.95-$5/ kg CW average and it’s easy to see why buyers are comfortable putting their hands a bit deeper into their pockets. This has led to stronger markets at sale yards around the country and, taking a snapshot comparison of recent auction prices for cull ewes, we see the market has gained some hefty ground in 12 months though that increase has been spread over that period. At Feilding and Stortford Lodge most ewes are selling for $120-$235 while last year the range was $85-$160. The South Island has again taken the cake for the highest prices so far, though as records were broken at Coalgate, where a few lines of ewes reached $330-$350 and fine-wool wethers sold to $340-$373. Temuka had a similar result with a lot of ewes making $170-$300, whereas this time last year $120-$255 was common. High cull ewe prices always do beg the question about what levels we will see come breeding ewe fair time, given the market will be underpinned by processors. The optimist in me looks forward to seeing good ewe retention and high returns but will they be record levels? Time will tell. suz.bremner@globalhq.co.nz

Find out more about AgriHQ at agrihq.co.nz

SHEEP JETTER Sheep dipping… made easier!

Innovative Agriculture Equipment

• Fantastic penetration • Get one now before price increase

7685

$ Serving NZ Farmers since 1962

+ GST

www.pppindustries.co.nz / sales@pppindustries.co.nz / 0800 901 902

LK0097943©

• Manufactured from stainless steel • Electric Eye • 800-1000 sheep per hour